would be found wholly impracticable. In deed, the restoration of peace, by opening new fields of commercial enterprise, would multiply instead of abridging the demands upon the bank for discount, and would render it peculiarly distressing to the commercial world if the bank were suddenly and materially to restrict their issues. Your committee are therefore of opinion, that even if peace should intervene, two years should be given to the bank for resuming its payments; but that even if the war should be prolonged, cash payments should be resumed by the end of that period. Your committee have not been indifferent to the consideration of the possible occurrence of political circumstances, which may be thought hereafter to furnish an argument in favour of some prolongation of the proposed period of resuming cash payments, or even in favour of a new law for their temporary restriction after the bank shall have opened. They are, however, far from anticipating a necessity, even in any case, of returning to the present system. But if occasion for a new ineasure of restriction could be supposed at any time to arise, it can in no degree be grounded, as your committee think, on any state of the foreign exchanges, (which they trust that they have abundantly shewn the bank itself to have the general power of controlling), but on a political state of things producing, or likely very soon to produce, an alarm at home, leading to so indefinite a demand for cash for domestic uses, as it must be impossible for any banking establishment to provide against. A return to the ordinary system of banking is, on the very ground of the late extravagant fall of the exchanges and high price of gold, peculiarly requisite. That alone can effectually restore general confidence in the value of the circulating medium of the kingdom; and the serious expectation of this event must enforce a preparatory reduction of the quantity of paper, and all other measures which accord with the true principles of banking. The anticipation of the time when the bank will be cnstrained to open, may also be expected to contribute to the improvement of the exchanges; whereas a postponement of this era, so indefinite as that of six months after the termination of the war, and especially in the event of an exchange continuing to fall, (which more and more would generally be perceived to anse from an excess of paper, and a consequent depreciation of it) may iead, under an unfavourable state of public affairs, to such failure of confidence (and especially among foreigners) in the determination of parlia ment to enforce a return to the professeď standard of the measure of payments, as may serve to precipitate the further fall of the exchanges, and lead to consequences at once the most discreditable and disas trous. Although the details of the best mode of returning to cash payments ought to be left to the discretion of the bank of England, as already stated, eertain provisions would be necessary, under the authority of parliament, both for the convenience of the bank itself, and for the security of the other banking establishments in this country and in Ireland. Your committee conceive it may be convenient for the bank to be permitted to issue notes uuder the value of 51. for some little time after it had resumed payments in specie. It will be convenient also for the chartered banks of Ireland and Scotland, and all the country bauks, that they should not be compelled to pay in specie until some time after the resumption of payments in cash by the bank of England; but that they should continue for a short period upon their present footing, of being liable to pay their own notes on demand in bank of England paper. GENERAL INDEX TO THE THIRTIETH VOLUME. PAGE. PAGE. ABERYSTWITH, improvements at 255 Artillery, improved method of increasing Abyssinia, intelligence from Academy, meeting of the Royal Affairs, state of public, 73, 168, 272, 157 the effects of 364, 456, 562 108 African institution, report of the the 215 Asses, used in agriculture 485 Agricultural report 194 Asthma, effectual remedy for conval- societies, proceedings of sive, 129. See Stramonium. the, 84, 85, 90, 93, 190, 285, 469, Avening, Gloucestershire, acnient Aienton, experiment relative to the 507 Alkalies, on the fixed 439 Backsword playing, on 2.4 Alligator, account of a fossil 267 Balsam of Mecca, account of 133 Almonds, ancient account of 344 Banks, on the odium cast against coun- Aloe in flower, account of an 186 Aloes, where produced Amelia, princess, memoir of America, travels in North 415 Bankers, proposed regulations for, 6, post office, establishment of 579 Banking system, vindication of the 565 Bankruptcies, lists of, 78, 166, 263, Antiquities, discovery of, 155, 156, 132 Bardolph, on Shakespeare's character 330 of 192, 267, 284, 289, 357, 485, 591 of the description of an eye 463 134 449, 93 155 285: 587 Aquatic sledge, a description of 249 Arches, on the Emersion theory of - Arms, artificial Armstrong, letters of general 69 Beans, method of keeping French 356 283- Apple tree, a remarkable 189 dreadful accident at 556 Baths, inventress of hot 1 PAGE. Bedford, on the statue of the duke of 123 Cambridge, annual prizes at Bell, Dr. his benefaction Bells, account of electric Belvoir castle, description of Bencoolen, state of the plantations at 156 agricultural meeting -- and Wilts canal opened account of a ride in Bethlem hospital, removal of PAGE 89 £1 357 20 15 Canterbury, projected canal at 283 77 434 285 506 482 Carlisle, Mr. his anatomical lectures 561 254, 640 68, 266 Bible society instituted 82 known to Virgil 537 Cafter, Join, account of 450 434 31, 119 212 442 565 Bishop Wearmouth, Bible society at 82 Change, scarcity of small 575 Charcoal, on the combustion of 209 583 508 Charles II. account of the escape of letters from 137 913 road at 117, 228, 509 593 121 388, 487, 592 Chemistry, improvements in animal 151 69, 356 579 255, 404 Bottles, paper stoppers for 556 Children of the poor, on the treat- Bourbon, capture of the isle of Breweries, state of the Loudon Brewing, an improvement in Bridge, proposal for a new Bridges, improved inode of construct- ing benevolent institution at 190 to 507 British Muscum,on the Townley mar- Clay, discovery of a vein of fine 288 bles in the 101, 289 Commons, on reform in the house of 505 Cadiz, recent voyage to, 34, 202, 315, 499 Copenhagen,questions of the academy Burns, the birth-place of Busaco, battle of |