the late Mr. Pitt did, say he was very sorry that the Bank had gone, but that the government and the currency of the country could not stand still. He hoped that we should long continue to live in peace; but he was not the less convinced that it would be impossible to get through two campaigns in a time of war, without this being the result-unless the Bank system should be built upon a much broader basis. Upon this subject he wished to draw the attention of the House to the marked difference between the in to deal at the time of its commencement, and those who at present stood in the same relation to it. At the period he alluded to, the Bank stood like a sovereign surrounded by little dependencies; now, some of the persons who had deal calling upon bankers to make returns of the amount of all notes issued within the last three years. The reduction of these notes, necessary as it was, could not begin, until the present state of excitement had passed over. It would rather be wise in the parliament to afford to the country bankers every facility, as far as was prudent, in conducting their affairs. As a skilful surgeon, who was desirous of replacing a dislocated limb, would not apply his screws, however necessary that operation might be for the recovery of his patient, until the fever had passed, so individuals with whom that institution had the present state of things, however desirable it might be that the system of issuing one-pound notes by the country bankers should be restrained, this was not the time in which this operation could be safely performed. The amount of those issues might be taken more or less cor-ings with it possessed of themselves capirectly, at eighteen millions. These, it would be remembered, must be replaced by gold. It would not do to go to the Bank of England for notes to replace this sum; gold, and nothing but gold, could be substituted for it. He had heard frequent allusions made to the charter of the Bank of England, and to the terms on which it should be renewed, when the time should arrive for its renewal. He was of opinion that it was for the real benefit of the country that the highest legislative distinction should be given to the Bank, and that its dignity should at all events be kept up, investing it at the same time with only such power as might be thought safe; because it was evident, that it would be impossible, in the event of a war, to go on two campaigns without the assistance of the Bank; and, to make this assistance available, the means of the Bank must be considerably enlarged. The government could at no time take credit to itself for not having suspended the Bank payments, because this was to assume that it was at the option of government to do so. They could never either hasten or avoid that event. They might throw a cloak over it when it was about to fall, but they could do no more. The country must have some circulating medium. Nothing would induce the government to consent to paper being made that medium, but the failure of all the others; and this failure would be an inevitable act of bankruptcy. Whoever might be the chancellor of the Exchequer when that event should happen, must come down to the House with a long face, and, as tals to an amount which then had never been heard of as being possessed by one man. Another alteration which he be lieved must of necessity be adopted, was to make the circulating medium here, as in other countries, silver as well as gold. Without this, the Bank even might be put in danger. There was a great quantity of silver sent to England from the Spanish colonies. This must now be sent over to France or Holland for the purpose of buying gold, which was then only an article of merchandize, subject to the same accidents as all other merchandize, sometimes to be obtained, and sometimes not, and which it was always in the power of speculators, if it should suit their purpose to prevent coming to this country at all. He did think, that, as to power, the Bank of England was a mere pigmy to what it was a few years ago; and that something, therefore, ought to be done to renew and increase it. Unless, indeed, in this respect, and in regard to an improved standard, something of the kind he had mentioned were speedily adopted, they might all go to sleep, under the flattering impression that they had established something like a permanent currency; but some morning they would infallibly awake, and find that that season of alarming difficulty to which he had been adverting had at length really arrived. He would say one word with respect to the proposition for establishing larger banks. Undoubtedly, the surrender of that part of the Bank charter, which was the present obstacle to their esta blishment, was very desirable, and would his fixed opinion, that, under all the cir cumstances, it would be found both to confer adequate respectability, and insure sufficient confidence. The object, however, which induced him to rise, was to warn ministers of the danger of tampering with that description of our public securities, and to implore them, in their con be a sacrifice which it would be the more creditable in the Bank to make, because men were never observed to part with power which they had long possessed, very willingly. But he confessed that he could not anticipate all the beneficial results which some hon. gentlemen seemed to expect from extending these banking partnerships. He, for one, did not ima-sideration of the time for the adoption of gine that country gentlemen would be fools enough to part with their money, in order that they might become the sleeping partners in such concerns. He trusted they would not be tempted to do any thing so ridiculous. He had seen too many instances of gentlemen who did not at all understand business, engaging in it to their own prejudice, not to warn country gentlemen to beware how they allowed themselves to be persuaded to become country bankers. He had heard of the extraordinary faculty of some creatures sleeping with their eyes open. Such a quality should that man possess who became a dormant proprietor in any concern of importance. He should be a sleeping partner with his eyes open, to watch and scan the motions of those who were about him. If it was desirable to form banks in the great commercial towns, such as Manchester, Bristol, and York, which should be perfectly in possession of public confidence, it should be done either by the means of branch banks from the Bank of England—a plan which, however, from its interfering with the present provincial interests-might not prove very palatable-or they should, by an act of incorporation, allow a number of gentlemen to embark certain portions of their capital, say 10,000l. in a joint banking company. That sum, from ten men, would be 100,000l.; an amount, in his opinion, quite adequate to support the respectability of the ordinary run of such concerns. There were very few men of capital who would not, he apprehended, be induced, by the ordinary gains of such establishments, to become one of a company of such a kind as he had described; but no prudent man would or ought, after what had taken place in the last few months, risk his whole property by becoming a sleeping or acting partner in the ordinary mode. He was not prepared to say, that a rule, exempting the property of the individuals composing a company, from all liability beyond their subscribed capital, would be proper for the ordinary purposes of trade; but for banks, it was VOL. XIV. their proposition, to reflect that security should be bestowed as soon as possible. One word as to the Silk trade. The right hon. gentleman had that night declared, that it was the firm determination of his majesty's ministers to adhere to the principles which had regulated their conduct with regard to that trade. That declaration had been received with considerable cheering; and he was not one of those who felt any disposition to find fault with the candour and firmness of that declaration, because he thought, that if such was the determination of government, the sooner it was known the better. The alterations which it had been deemed expedient by government to adopt in the trade, had undoubtedly produced a great deal of immediate misery. Those alterations he had given a decided opposition to on former occasions; and he was ready to acknowledge, not only that such opposition was overruled by a large majority of that House, but that he had found scarcely an individual to support him. He still remained firmly of opinion that France would beat us in this trade. Political economists said, "Very well; so much the better; if it be a trade that requires such large protections and indulgencies, the sooner it is got rid of, the better for the country." With gentlemen who reasoned in that way, he would not argue; for he could not look with indifference on the extinction of a long established manufacture, or on the inevitable misery of the many thousands which such a result would occasion. In alluding to that part of his Majesty's Speech which related to foreign affairs, he could not avoid expressing his unqualified admiration of the way in which the whole of the business of that department had been conducted; or abstain from giving utterance to his conviction, that however slow the right hon. Secretary might have been supposed in obeying the unanimous feeling of the country, with regard to the South American states of Portugal and Spain, still that the very slowness complained of had been the means of arriving at the G surest possible conclusion. In the present artificial state of our circumstances, and when the right hon. gentleman (Mr. Huskisson) had been defeated in his views of reciprocal treaties with France and the continent, nothing could be more important to England, than the cultivation of our connections with the states of the New World; and nothing could be more conductive to that end, or more likely to give those relations permanence, than the firm, honourable, and candid declarations of the right hon. Secretary for Foreign Affairs. What he wished particularly to call to the attention of the House was, the treaty concluded between the Brazils and Portugal, under the mediation of this country; that treaty he took to be objectionable, in so far as that it was concluded between two contracting parties, separate at present, but likely at some period to become one; for, although there was an emperor in Brazil, and a king in Portugal, still there was no provision against the son succeeding his father upon the throne of Portugal. It appeared to him, therefore, that we had mixed ourselves up with an uncertain contingency, with a something which might, after all, be rendered nugatory by the amalgamation of the two contracting powers. Mr. Huskisson said, that although he had listened to the observations of the hon. member for Taunton with all the attention so justly due to his profound commercial knowledge, and extensive experience, yet, as so many opportunities would occur for a better examination of the various topics touched upon in the course of his address on this occasion, he would not go further than to reiterate the determination expressed by his right hon. friend, of not going into any details, until the House should be more fully in possession of the nature of the measures which it had been resolved at the present crisis to adopt. This much he might, however, say, that his right hon. friend would, at the earliest possible moment, submit his proposition for their consideration. The House would, he trusted, when any delay was complained of, recollect that it was only on the coming morning, when any plan of the House; adopted by the Bank directors, at the suggestion of his majesty's ministers, could be by them submitted to the approbation of the proprietors, whose trustees they were, and without whose sanction no measures could be resolved upon between government and the Bank. It was impossible, therefore, to lay any proposals before the House, until the directors had obtained that favourable decision from the proprietors, which was anticipated by them and the government. His right hon. friend had, however, stated very clearly that measures would be adopted, which, he trusted, would have the effect of preventing a recurrence of those disasters which had recently convulsed the com. mercial world. He agreed with his hon. friend, that no change of the currency was politic or safe that was not gradual; and that at a time when, if they hastily withdrew a large portion of the paper currency, they had not the means of supplying a substitute, such a principle was of still more consequence. It was not, therefore, the intention of his right hon. friend to propose the withdrawing of eighteen millions of paper from circulation, but only that portion of it which consisted of one and two pound notes, amounting to perhaps six or seven millions: but even with that amount it was his right hon. friend's intention to deal with caution and care; indeed, he proposed to allow those notes to wear themselves out, guarding, however, against the possibility of any fresh issues; a plan by which they would gradually disappear from circulation, without any sudden inconvenient limitation of the currency of the provincial towns. As to the period at which the change of the constitution of the country banks was to take place, by permission of the Bank of England, he did not see any great difficulty likely to arise from its happening in a short time. He, for one, did not understand that it was the intention of the Bank of England to establish great banking companies in districts of the country, but to allow any persons disposed to form a company of more than six partners to carry on the business of bankers within a certain distance of the metropolis. He could see no well-founded alarm, in the project of allowing any of the establishments which had held firm during the late pressure, to add an additional number of partners to the existing firm. In order, however, to give time to those most interested to look about them, it was thought desirable to specify a period, after the passing of the act, for the commencement of the new establishments. Six months, he thought would be sufficient to enable bankers to wind up their concerns in any old estab lishment, and to make their arrangements for going into a new one. With regard to the services which had been rendered to the public by the Bank of England, there could only be one opinion. They had been important, liberal and seasonable; and, what was more, he firmly believed that, in saving others, the Bank had actually saved itself. One word more, upon a subject which had been described as a very alarming and astonishing circumstance: he meant the silk company. The truth was, that some time last year, a few persons, who thought that the cultivation of the mulberry tree and the propagation of the silk-worm might be successfully attempted in Ireland and the colonies, applied to government for its approbation of their plan. He (Mr. H.) had accordingly recommended a charter to be given to them; and after it had been granted, he was requested to become honorary president. It was at the same time asked both of him and of the noble earl at the bead of the Treasury, what number of shares they should be willing to have at their disposal; a question to which both the noble lord and himself had replied, that what they had done was solely on the ground of public good, and that they neither expected nor wished to derive any private advantage from connecting themselves with the experiment. Sir M. W. Ridley suggested, that in order to carry into effect the intentions of government, a short bill should be passed to prevent new issues, as the one pound notes were not to be withdrawn till they were worn out. Many insinuations, he said, had been thrown out against the country bankers, which were as unfounded as they were unnecessary. That the country bankers had been the means of producing the commercial distress, he entirely denied. They had no power of over-issue; they were unable to raise a fictitious credit: they could not keep in circulation a single note longer than it was absolutely necessary. The Bank of England, when not required to pay in gold, could issue as many notes as they pleased; but the country bankers, who had always been obliged to pay in gold or Bank of England notes, were necessarily restrained from any over issue. The right hon. gentleman had made a calculation, as to the number of country notes in circulation. The best authority on that point was the Stamp office. He had estimated them at different periods at three, five, and eight millions. The amount varied materially, as the public confidence was stronger or weaker in the Bank of England. When this confidence was diminished, then there was an increased circulation of country notes. As this confidence returned, the country notes gradually disappeared, and those of the Bank of England took their place. The great fault committed by the Bank of England was in taking upon itself the dead weight, and lending upon mortgages. If, instead of extending it had contracted its issues, the country would not be in its present state. The right hon. gentleman had said, that six months would afford sufficient time for the bankers to wind up their affairs. He was of opinion that the right hon. gentleman could not have meant this. Much had been said about the greater solidity of a banking establishment from the number of partners. For himself, he thought that that bank was the safest which had the fewest partners. Every man knew the state of his own affairs, but he could not be equally conversant with those of another person. With regard to the one-pound notes, it was possible that it might answer the purpose of a few bankers to put as many of them out as they could, and send them to markets and country towns, but this could only serve a temporary purpose. Every country banker who continued a forced circulation, would soon find himself in an unpleasant situation, if not in the list of bankrupts. It might appear wise in theory to contract the circulation of the one-pound notes, but if it were not carried into execution with the greatest caution, the business of the country could not go on. It was a mistake to suppose that country bankers issued their notes solely with a view to profit. They issued them more with a view to the convenience of others. Mr. Hudson Gurney said, he did not rise to object to any of the plans indicated by the chancellor of the Exchequer; but, he could not let the debate close, without remarking, that the right hon. gentleman, and all those who had followed him, utterly blinked the main question, which was intirely a question of prices. Mr. Gurney said, he had always disliked the bankers' circulation, and particularly detested their one pound notes. He had always been convinced, that it was their circulation, that was, their bidding against each other in credits, which had reduced the banking business to the minimum of profit on the operations performed: and, if the right hon. gentleman could place the circulation of the country on a better footing, there was no class which would be so greatly benefitted as the bankers themselves. But how the proposed changes could be carried into effect, and golden sovereigns at 3. 17s. 104d. an ounce could be substituted for the present paper issues, was to him totally incomprehensible. The very endeavour to do it (for it never had been effected) occasioned all the pressure of 1821-2; and, under the existing mass of public and private engagement, if that substitution could be accomplished, it would occasion a greater and more general ruin, than had ever been witnessed in this or perhaps any other country. mean to proceed with the subject this session. While the principles of free trade were acted upon with regard to those articles which administered to the comfort and luxury of the rich, was it dealing fairly with the poor man to withhold the same benefit from him, and to uphold the price of the chief article of his subsistence? This could not continue without bringing misery and desolation among thousands and hundreds of thousands. There was an amount of distress among the people, of which ministers were by no means aware. In a multitude of pursuits the best workman in full employment could not earn more than six, seven, or eight shillings a week. How was he to support and clothe himself and family out of this wretched pittance? Foreign manufactures were now allowed to com Mr. Denman said, he did not mean to question the conduct of the Bank of Eng-pete with us in our markets at home, land, nor the justice of the high eulogium passed upon it. The directors had a duty to perform towards the proprietors; but as far as the public were concerned, he did not conceive that they, more than any private bankers, were bound to consult the public interest. The interests of the proprietors alone they were bound to promote, when they did not interfere with the rights of others. The hon. member, as the organ of that powerful establishment, in giving the reason why it wished for a change in its charter, had thought fit to eulogise it, and said that every thing was right and proper. He had lauded their judgment, liberality, and promptitude. This reminded him of the epigram of Prior “To John I ow'd great obligation, But John unluckily thought fit To publish it to all the nation, So John and I are more than quit." The balance had been fairly struck; whatever good had been done by the Bank had been more than acknowledged. He did not agree with the right hon. gentleman opposite, that parliament could not interfere with the Bank. Nothing could be more simple than to limit their issues; nothing more easy. He admitted, that nothing could be more clear and satisfactory than the explanation of his measures by the right hon. gentleman; but he should not do his duty to his constituents, if he did not express his disappointment, that not a word had been said on the Corn laws. On this important subject not a word had been said by the king's ministers except that one right hon. gentleman had said, that they did not while we were shut out from the possibility of entering into competition with them abroad, by the high price which the landlords exacted from the poor man for his bread. Upon this subject they would assuredly hear much more in the course of the session. Delay would not lessen the urgency of its demands on the consideration of the House; for attention would, by and by, be forced to it by the cries of perishing thousands. He did not quarrel with the principle of a free trade; he only objected to its partial application. He did not blame ministers for repealing prohibitory laws; but, he contended that while a free trade was allowed in minor articles, it should be extended to the most important article of life, bread. There was another important part of the Speech which related to the circulating medium, and from which much of the present distress was stated to have arisen. In this he could not agree. He saw no difference between the issuing of one and two pound notes, and ten pound notes, so long as there was no compulsion to take them. The amount of the note made no difference, unless that, when the misfortune came, it fell upon those who were least able to bear it. From the view taken of it by some hon. members, the cause of the present distress appeared to be a subject of mystery, and the Speech from the throne did not account for the existence of the evil, nor did it point out a remedy. After telling them, that the country had been visited with a panic, it stated that there was nothing to account for it. There was no war, no great de |