you now to convert into cash the notes for which we have given you credit so long," and the Bank ought to be provided to answer this reasonable request. They could have no apology for declining it, unless incapacity: and he did not suppose that to be the case. No director could dare to say, at a time when trade was flourishing, profound peace prevailing, and no alarm whatever appearing, that the exchange being at par would be a sufficient ground for the motion before the House. He exhorted the chancellor of the exchequer to allay the opinions which were afloat. Several factions agitated the public mind, and each had their literary advocates. One of these advocates, in defence of the system of his party, had lately written a pamphlet, entitled, "The Iniquity of Banking," and another immediately replied in a pamphlet, entitled, "Guineas an useless Incumbrance." Perhaps it would be very prudent in the House to step in between these disputants, and by the report of a committee set the public mind at ease. Something ought certainly to be done to put an end to a measure which injures our credit in the eyes of foreigners, and distracts the course of pecuniary dealings in our own country.

Mr. Tierney admitted, that though originally hostile to the stoppage of the Bank, he thought that the peculiar circumstances of the country last session, rendered it inexpedient to take off the restriction; but those circumstances no longer existed, and he therefore objected to the motion without some previous inquiry respecting the Bank. He did not now intend to give any opinion whether the restriction ought to continue, or to be abolished altogether; but he wished to impress upon the House the propriety of previous inquiry. The right hon. gentleman, indeed, had mentioned the state of the exchange; but was the House to have no other information but from his speech? How few were the members of that House, whose habits or connexions gave them an opportunity of knowing any thing about the exchanges? Of the necessity of a committee of inquiry to satisfy the public mind, he was firmly persuaded; but though it appeared to him highly desirable, yet he would not wish to provoke a debate if the sentiments of the House did not seem to coincide with his own. If they did, his proposal would be to pass the bill for two months, and to appoint a committee in the interim, to consider how far it would be proper to continue the restriction farther, or to discontinue it altogether. No other ground was laid for the present motion, but that the exchange with Hamburgh was at par; and upon that naked fact it was proposed to do away the right of the public creditor to convert bank-notes into cash. He trusted the House would not adopt this monstrous bill at a time when there was no plausible pretext for it, when no money was likely to go out of the country, when no alarm prevailed in either domestic or foreign politics, when no fear of any sudden press on the Bank could be entertained. The Bank directors ought to show that there was no danger in their responsibility. They could not be afraid of a run upon them, for who could now think of any material advantage from hoarding gold? They should not plead any little expense or trouble which might occur in procuring bullion, if they want it, as a reason against accommodating the public by paying their own notes, particularly after the vast sums they had put in their pockets. The public had a right to say to them, "You have been for the last six years reaping a productive harvest from our inconvenience; we only ask of

Mr. Fox began by observing, that if the right hon. gentleman felt the reluctance he had expressed to bring forward the present proposition, much more urgent reasons than those he had heard should, in his opinion, be adduced in its support. If, however, necessity called for its adoption, he was not disposed to object to it: at the same time, he should feel more satisfaction if there were laid before him sufficient grounds to justify his assent; and in that view he concurred with the hon. gentleman who spoke last, in thinking that some inquiry should be instituted into the causes of the continuance of the restriction, that it might appear whether they were of a nature to render the restriction necessary or not. The principal grounds on which the continuance of the suspension now seemed to be rested, were the state of the exchange, and the small quantity of bullion that of late had been imported. Was it then to be understood, that whenever the state of the exchange was so unfavourable as to leave no room to expect the importation. of bullion, a restriction should be put on the cash payments of the Bank? Such a mode of reasoning would, on the face of

former case, when our currency was meliorated, the course of exchange turned in our favour, so also, if the Bank now resumed its cash payments, the same fa. vourable circumstances might attend the change? This was a matter that well deserved to be inquired into. There were many other points to which an inquiry might be usefully directed, and he should not be sorry to see a motion made for instituting one.

Mr. Bankes felt rather undecided how he thould act on the present occasion. If it was intended that the bill should go beyond a very short period, the dignity of the House and the security of the public credit might require that some investigation should be made into the unnatural state in which imperious circumstances had, for some time past, placed the Bank. Since peace was now restored, and those circumstances no longer continue to operate, the House should be slow in acceding to such a measure, as that now proposed, without very satisfactory grounds to justify them in adopting it.

Lord Hawkesbury said, that the only question now before them was, that leave be given to bring in a bill. When it came to the stage for filling up the blanks, then an opportunity would occur to discuss the time to which its operation should be limited, and to advance the reasons why a committee of inquiry should be appointed. Gentlemen seemed to imagine that his right hon. friend ascribed the necessity of the measure solely to the state of exchange. Now, his right hon. friend, in stating his opinion of the measure, locked back to the necessity which justified it at the time it was first proposed, and to the salutary consequences which its adoption had produced; and in that view he could not but applaud it as a wise precaution; but looking at it now generally and abstractedly, he could not but regard it as an evil, and he therefore felt anxious for the arrival of the period when the cash payments might be safely resumed. He entertained nearly the same opinion; but what added to his embarrassment was, the difficulty of taking off the restriction after it was once imposed. His right hon. friend had observed that the restriction had been continued for many years, without any inconvenience having resulted from it; and this he was ready to ascribe, to the excellence of the institution itself, and to the prudent conduct of the gentlemen who administered its affairs. If, therefore, no inconvenience [VOL. XXXVI.]

has as yet accrued from the restriction, would it not be wise to pause awhile, and look for the period when the removing of it may be attended with as little danger as possible? The noble lord then enumerated the causes why the course of exchange was against this country, and why the quantity of its bullion was diminished. A great quantity of it was known to have been sent abroad, not only for the purchase of corn but for the maintenance and use of the army and navy. The exportation of our bullion was then a matter of necessity; for the exchanges were with regard to us reduced extremely low : but they are now improved, and may soon be expected to be at par. If, therefore, any inconvenience still remains that may be likely to arise from a premature change of system, is it not proper to look forward to a period when no obstacle may impede it? It was not upon any prospect of an unfavourable change that the present measure was grounded, but rather the delicacy of reverting to the old system without taking the advantage of a favourable moment. That moment was perhaps at no great distance, and prudence admonished, that it should be waited for with patience. As to the appointment of a cominittee of inquiry, he objected to it, chiefly because its only effect would be to create alarms that might be extremely prejudicial. The appointment of such a committee might be necessary if any doubts were entertained of the sufficiency of the Bank; but on that point the most perfect satisfaction had already been afforded. It might perhaps be proper, at a future period, to revise the whole system of our paper credit, but then that should be done merely with relation to that system itself, and without any reference whatever to the institution and conduct of

the Bank. An hon. gentleman has observed, that in 1773 the course of exchange was against this country when our gold coin was of an inferior value, but that immediately after the recoinage, it turned round in our favour-but the fact is, that at that period the exchange was against us only in appearance, in substance it was in our favour. No inference can therefore be drawn from that circumstance, that restriction on the Bank is the cause of the unfavourable turn of the exchange, or that the exchange would turn in our favour, if that restriction were taken off.

Sir F. Baring observed, that circumstances wholly unnoticed or unattended [4 E]

with the noble lord, that, when the Bank issued paper to an extraordinary amount, their notes must suffer a depreciation, and the price of bullion must also rise in proportion. Gold was not sold for gold, but for paper; and its price would always be in proportion to the greater scarcity or plenty of paper, or to that against which it was exchanged. He wished to direct their lordships attention to the compact, in which the Bank was bound towards all those who had intrusted their money to their integrity. Was a compact so sacred lightly to be trifled with? Look at the facility which the Bank might afford government for the issue of exchequer bills; the Bank might be screened on one side by the continuance of the restriction, and be tempted on the other by the superior advantage of buying up government paper of that description. Indeed, when this motive for the renewal of the restriction occurred to his mind, he discovered a quality in the transaction which rendered it altogether uncongenial to his mode of thinking, and he was sorry that ministers had advanced no plausible argument to do away that unfavourable impression.

which the Bank had entered into with the public when government granted them a charter; and could their lordships precipitately assent to such a measure without such reasons having been adduced for its absolute necessity as ought to enforce the strongest conviction in their lordships' minds? But where were the proofs of that necessity? Did the country now la bour under that extraordinary pressure, arising from a variety of difficulties and dangers which were advanced in support of the first adoption of the restriction? On the contrary, was it not confessed to be in a state of the highest commercial prosperity? Where then, could be the urgent necessity of its renewal? what would be the effect of it, but the encouraging of an enormous issue of paper, which raised the price of every article, and must continue to keep the state of exchange unfavourable to us? To prove that such must be the effect resulting from such a measure, the noble lord entered into a variety of comparative statements of the course of exchange at different periods. According to these statements it appeared, that from the time the restriction was first imposed, the course of exchange began to turn against this country in various proportions to the quantity of paper in circulation. Previous to the laying on the restriction, the Bank seldom issued notes to more than the amount of 10, 11, or 12 millions; but since that period, they issued to the amount of 15 and 16 millions. Hence the rise in the price of but lion; for it was justly remarked, that in proportion as paper was plenty, and therefore cheap, gold would be scarce, and consequently dear. The average amount of our circulating medium was about ten millions: that had been found fully sufficient to answer all the purposes of the country. When, therefore, an unnecessary addition was made to it, of one, two, or three millions, there was a depreciation in the value of paper in the same proportion. But it was not merely on account of the inconveniences arising from the measure that he objected to it: he objected to its principle, and to its being drawn into a precedent, which, he feared, would be the case whenever it might suit the convenience of ministers or the Bank; and thus parliament might be called upon not only to confide implicitly in ministers, but also to place the same confidence in the directors of the Bank.

The Earl of Moira perfectly concurred

The Earl of Westmoreland contended, that the present question had nothing to do with the stability of the Bank, or the expediency of the original restriction. These points were long since satisfactorily settled. The only question now was, with regard to the expediency of removing, at the present moment, a restriction, the beneficial effects of which have been already fully experienced. At the time when the restriction originally took place, the expediency of the measure did not originate from any idea of the inadequacy of the Bank to answer every just demand, but was the result of an extraordinary and unaccountable alarm, which gave rise to an unusual demand. It never was the intention of the establishment of the Bank that there never should be an issue of paper greater than, at a moment's notice, could be covered by an issue of cash. This, indeed, would be completely contrary to the very nature of such an establishment. It was only necessary that the funds of the Bank should bear a full proportion to the demands for which they might ultimately become responsible. That the resources of the Bank were completely adequate to every demand was questioned by no one, and therefore the question of continuing the restriction was simply one of expediency. On the