present restriction: for it did not appear that the imposing or continuance of it had produced any effects on the exchange one way or other. Another important benefit he had forgotten to enumerate, which was, that the restraint had ascertained that this country could bear a circulating paper of fifty millions*: for bank notes and exchequer bills to that amount, it appeared, had been afloat last year. Indeed, the distinction between one and the other was merely that the one carried interest, and the other saved interest, and was therefore prefer able to coin. He concluded by giving his support to the original motion.

The chancellor of the exchequer remarked, that his honourable friend (Mr. Banks) said he was ready to continue the restriction till the first of May, upon condition that, in the mean time, an inquiry by a committee should take place. His (Mr. Addington's) wish was, that parlia ment should not put it out of their power to repeal the bill; but foreseeing, as he did, the little probability of its being able with safety to do so in the course of the present session, he looked forward to that power which might be exercised by the next. If therefore he were to adopt the terms of his hon. friend's motion, he should raise delusive expectations in the minds of the country bankers, that parliament would by that time be able to repeal the act altogether. This would oblige them to make preparations, which in the present state of things would be unwise. It would have the effect of locking up part of their capital, and it would oblige the bank to make immediate pur

chases of bullion at a very great disadvantage. Every one knew the losses which would be sustained by purchasing bullion at that juncture.

And what would be the consequence? Though a large supply of bullion would undoubtedly be brought into the bank, it would certainly find its way to the continent, while the rate of exchange continued as it was. He would therefore see the course of exchange steady and permanent,. before he would deprive the coun-, try of the benefit of the restriction on the bank. By removing it be. fore that period arrived, he was fully sensible he should only be under the necessity of recurring to it again; but by waiting for it, he thought he was not flattering himself or the country, when he stated, that there would be every reasonable prospect of such a measure being in future entirely unnecessary. These were the grounds on which he rest, ed his opinion, that there was no occasion for an inquiry, provided the sufficiency of the bank were admitted. His hon. friend seemed to think it material to ascertain whe ther the bank directors had done their duty. On this subject he thought an inquiry particularly unnecessary. The concurrent opi nion of all those who had ever adverted to the conduct of the bank directors, was a proof that they possessed the confidence and appro bation of the public in general; but if there could be a doubt, the paper on the table was an ample proof that the directors, since the restriction was imposed, had made no improper use of the issue of paper money, or turned the power with which they were invested to account

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in an unbecoming manner. It was the power of issuing accredited paper money that constituted one of the sources of the wealth and strength of the country. The confidence with which it was received, was one of the circumstances by which the trade and commerce of the empire had been made to flourish under every difficulty; it was one which had afforded, and whenever it should again become necessary would afford, the surest ground of national hope and consolation. Who was there that did not recollect, that in the year 1793, when money suddenly disappeared, without any one knowing to what cause to attribute its disappearance, it was not by importing bullion, at a considerable and certain loss, a remedy for the evil was provided; but it was by introducing a new circulating medium the mischief which threatened the commercial world was prevented? What had been, and was, then the case of the bank? It appeared, when the exchange was against us, the issue of paper money increased, and then when the former was getting nearly at par, the latter was diminished, with the exception of one-pound notes, which had been issued as a substitution for guineas. If we compared the quantity of paper in circulation then with what it was in 1793, the increase would be found trivial, considering the great export of money for the purchase of corn. The circulation was at present sixteen millions, including four millions for small notes, which was a sum less by one million than it was at the period immediately preceding the restriction. His learned friend said, every one must lament the want of gold for the purposes of trade and commerce. He was convinced, by his observation, that he could not have considered the consequence and effect of paper circu

lation on our trade and commerce. We might attribute the increase of our wealth to our paper circulation, and show that it was among the primary causes of those resources. Did the honourable gentleman imagine, that, by opening the bank, the incon venience of wanting gold would be obviated? No; the rate of exchange must be uniform. Without this, whatever might be the influx of bullion, it must return to the continent. His honourable friend said, he did not wish to see too close an intimacy between government and the bank. To this sentiment, in the abstract, he acceded; but he denied that any intimacy did exist which was not as advantageous to the affairs of the bank as those of the government. He did not wish the bank should give unlimited credit to govern ment. In answer to this, he had only to remark, that the amount of the advances by the bank to government, were less than they were im mediately before the restriction took place; and sure he was, it would not be said, that any outstanding demands due from government constituted the slightest impediment to the bank resuming its payments in specie. Mr. Addington said, he should adhere to the original proposition he had made, for continuing the restriction till six weeks after the commencement of next session of parliament, with the reserve for repealing or altering it, if necessary, during the present one. The que stion being put, the original motion was agreed to. The clause proposed by the attorney-general was also agreed to by the house.

The bill was passed on the 14th of February.

A great deal of debate took place also on the same subject in the lords; but we have already assigned as much room to this article as our limits will allow. In the

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house of peers, however, the subject of restriction on the Irish bank was introduced by lord King, on the 25th of February. He moved for several accounts relative to the quantity of notes of the bank of Ireland in circulation at given periods, and spoke of the immense discount at which Irish notes were, at one time during the war, between Dublin and Hamburgh (from 154 to 174), which, he said, partly arose from there being no direct communication between Dublin and Hamburgh, but that it was necessarily managed through the medium of London, which of course aggravated the expense,

The marquis of Sligo said, the noble lord appeared to him to be utterly mistaken respecting the notes of the bank of Ireland. The notes of the national bank of Ireland had not been at a discount, but the notes of the private banks; which made their payments, when their own notes were presented, in notes of the national bank; and if they failed in so doing, they were liable to have a commission of bankruptcy issued against them. Lord King made three motions, the substance of which (when corrected by an observation of lord Pelham) was as follows:-"That the proper officers do lay before the house an account of the amount of the notes of the bank of Ireland, in circulation on the 1st of January, April, and September, 1797; on the 1st of April, May, and June, 1801; and the 1st of June, August, October, and Deçember, 1802; and the 1st of January 1803, respectively." Ordered. The second reading of the bill, on this occasion, did not take place till the 3d of May, when

Lord King rose, and in a speech of some length, fraught with finan

cial calculation and detail, delivered his sentiments on the measure before the house. What he had to say should be confined to the effect which the restriction had on the commerce of Ireland; the disadvantages that country laboured under, by the course of exchange being so much against her, and by the depreciation which the notes of the bank had suffered. Perhaps he might be told, by way of defence for the bank, that these effects had been produced by country banks. He hoped to be able to show they were produced by the bank directors themselves. He would not hesitate to say, that the directors of the bank of Ireland had been guilty of a gross abuse of the discretionary power vested in them, by the immense quantity of notes which they issued. It appeared by the papers laid on the table, that in the year 1797, there were no more than 621,0001. of notes in circulation. Then, there were in circulation no less than 2,636,0001. Could any thing, he would ask, be a more palpable abuse of power than thus inundating the country with paper-money? And was there any difficulty in accounting for the depreciation which that paper had experienced? The increased issue of the bank of England, since the stoppage of payments in cash, was not more than one third of its former issue; but in Ireland it was four times as much. What motive could there have been for this conduct, which was pursued in Ireland? Nothing else but to increase the profits of the directors and proprietors of bank stock; he had almost said, to increase their divisions of the plunder they committed on the public. However advantageous it might have been to individuals, to the public at

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large it was a great injury. The depreciation of paper was a natural and necessary 'consequence of the immense quantity of it in circulation, and the same cause had produced the great difference in the course of the exchange, which, if their lordships required him to prove, he was ready to do. He did not mean to oppose this bill altogether; but when it came into the committee, he should move to introduce a clause by which the bank of Ireland should be obliged, after six months, to give bank of England notes in return for their own notes, whenever they should be presented.

The earl of Limerick answered the arguments of the noble lord who had just sat down. He had heard from the noble lord an imputation thrown out against the directors of the bank of Ireland, of having been in fault, and even that they had abused the trust vested in their discretion. He could not only assert, but prove beyond all question, that the conduct of the directors of the bank of Ireland had been uniformly wise, prudent, and exemplary; and most of the charges brought against them by the noble lord, when properly explained and rightly understood, would be found to be so many proofs of their active, cautious, and judicious conduct. The noble lord had commenced his account of the issue of notes of the bank of Ireland, and put into circulation, as well as the rate of exchange, 'from the year 1797, which the noble lord had stated to be the first year of which he could produce a correct account. He happened, lord Limerick said, to have in his hand an account a year earlier, viz. the year 1796. In that year a most unnatural rebellion was form

ing, and at the head of it were some men of considerable rank and talents. Their plan was to distress the government, and embarrass it by forcing a run upon the bank of Ireland, through the medium of a run upon the private banks of Ireland, which must necessarily produce the first object as an inevitable consequence. In the executive committee of the conspirators, they had entered into a resolution that all the members of the united Irishmen should refuse to take bank-notes in payment, and that they should all make a run upon the bank, by presenting all the notes they had in their possession for payment. The order was issued by the executive committee to all the subordinate branches of that union; and was obeyed by all the members with a degree of punctuality of which the history of the world furnishes no example, unless we refer to the marvellous accounts that are related of a set of assassins which once existed in Syria. The directors of the bank of Ireland became apprised of this, and they felt it their duty to be provided against the meditated mischief. They therefore limited their discount, and issued an adequate number of notes to meet the exigency, which no man who knew the cause would consider in any other light than as a measure founded in provident caution, sound judgement, and true policy. Soon after a law was passed to prevent payments in cash; but this was very evident, that the depreciation of notes was occasioned by the conspirators, and the insecure state of the country might have added to that cause. The quantity of notes then in circulation in Ireland was not greater than was absolutely necessary for the country. The

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great number of private banks was one cause of this increased circulation; for all the country banking houses were obliged to keep a quantity of national bank-notes by them, in order to answer the demands that might be made upon them. All these notes might be considered as being out of circulation, and they must have increased the quantity of those issued by the bank. Another material cause of the increase of bank-notes in Ireland was, the increase of its revenue and its debt. Another was, the vast number of persons from Ireland, spending the greater part of their fortunes in this country. This grievance unfortunately existed in a still greater degree since the union, and it might be considered in some degree as the price paid by Ireland for that great blessing Let the political situation of affairs at the time, in respect to Ireland, also be taken into the account. A French fleet of force was riding at anchor for a considerable time in one of the bays in the western extremity of Ireland; and as the people of that island always looked up to England and its fleets and armies for protection, they were, on that occasion, disappointed; the British fleets being by adverse winds and storms locked up in their own harbours. This incident unavoidably produced consequences which pressed on the bank of Ireland; but they bore up against it, and firmly sustained the shock it occasioned.

The country banks of Ireland, to which the noble lord rightly anticipated his intention to ascribe the evils which he had deprecated, though this was by no means the principal cause, had issued a vast

number of small notes, and, by means of the army agents, forwarded them to be circulated among the army. The administration of that period, with an attention to the interests of the country, eminently praise-worthy, had turned its thoughts to that subject. It was feared that these banks might be partly conducted by adventurers who might impose upon the people. In case of their failure, the loss would fall heavily upon the poorer classes, among whom the notes, on account of their smallness, chiefly circulated. A bill was therefore brought into parliament, which, after a severe struggle, passed into a law, by which these bankers were prohibited from circulating notes below the value of 51. Their former notes were ordered to be returned, and they were obliged to pay the notes of their new circulation with notes of the bank of Ireland. very considerable number of additional notes of the Irish bank were necessary to fill up the immense chasm that was thus made.

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With regard to the different rates of exchange, his lordship assigned many and strong reasons to account for the variations and increase. He said, when he came to look to the account of the comparative amount of the debt of Ireland, he himself could scarcely credit what he saw, In 1797, the debt amounted to seven millions only; and in January 1803, the amount was forty millions. . This increase however was easily to be accounted for, when the causes of it were examined; and those causes had contributed also to the increase of the rate of exchange. First, the rebellion, during its continuance, had put a check upon their G 3

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