leon. This is possible; but Lord Talavera has had no hand in the glorious work, and I, therefore, should certainly not be disposed to thank him for it.--He is, as was said before, just where he was last year; but then the country behind him was untouched; now it is devastated, ravaged, ruined, the very germe of its wants being, to a great extent, destroyed. For what, then, is he to be thanked? JUBILEE DOLLARS.- Since my last Number, two fresh puffs have appeared, in order to persuade the public, that Silver will shortly become more abundant, and that, of course, it is not worth their while to hoard. On the 25th the following paragraph was circulated :-"The Bullion "Brokers to the Bank have, it is said, for "ment, and fine at the discretion of the "Court. The defendant was admitted to “ bail.”——This is precisely such another case as that of DE YONGE. But, what enables this news-writer to say, that this act was against the Statute of the 3d of Ed. III. There is not a word of truth in it. The statement is wholly false. It is an attempt to frighten people; and, is, in fact, like the tricks that they had recourse to in France to deter people from giving gold and silver a preference to paper. -But, that which is most to be dwelt upon is the folly of all this, while, at the same time, it can, I dare say, be proved, that coin is bought with paper at a premium, or, in other words, that paper is bought with coin at a discount, in every street in London, and in every town in the country. However, such things will be. There never yet has been adepreciated paper-money unattended with such symp toms. They belong to it. They make part of its appurtenances; and, as the paper goes down, they will increase in number as well as in force.--There is one puff, which, out of many, I shall select for insertion on account of its great curiosity. It will make the sensible reader laugh; but, he will also perceive, that it may serve to dupe some few of those who are enabled to hoard. The ob ject of it is to persuade the public, that great masses of gold and silver may shortly be expected from China and India.→→ "A SINGULAR CHANGE is about to "take place in our commercial relations "with the East, and especially with China. For AGES, the precious metals exported to the latter have been in a "state of accumulation; a large portion of "them will probably, in a short time, re"turn to this quarter of the globe. An absolute want of raw materials of various descriptions has at length opened the eyes of the Chinese to the folly of retaining within their own empire, through "motives of jealousy, a commodity which derives its chief value from its being con "sidered as the only general instrument of "commerce. The countries contiguous to "China begin now to experience the be 66 mally declared, that Silver has within a "few days fallen in value in such propor"tion, as to reduce the intrinsic value of "a dollar to five shillings one penny and a "fraction.". -Whence this puff comes is very evident; but, will the Bank let out their dollars at this price? They know better; and I must actually see the thing, before I will believe, that they will let out any dollars at 5s. 6d. If they do, these dollars will not remain long in circulation, in spite of all the prosecutions that may be commenced against the dealers in coin, In my last I mentioned the case of the dealer, taken up for selling Bank Notes. Since that, it has been published more circumstantially, as follows. "Mansion-House, Tuesday, April 23.-"JAMES KING, Guard of the Yarmouth "Mall Coach, was brought up for examination, upon a charge of purchasing eight guincas, the coin of this realm, at a price considerably beyond their current value. "The charge was brought by Mr. Nalder, "the Under-Marshal of the city of Lon"don; who, in consequence of informa "tion received from the Treasury, that "there were persons about town employed "as agents to purchase guineas for exporta"tion, made different enquiry, and having "found out the defendant, be marked eight "guineas, and went with Sayer, the Bow"street officer, who sold those guineas to the prisoner, and received for each 11. 5s. 6d. neficial consequences of the change. Con"Mr. Nalder shortly afterwards took the "siderable supplies of specie have already prisoner into custody, found the marked "reached various parts of India from guineas upon him, and brought him be- "China; and in Bengal, silver has recent"fore the Lord Mayor; the transaction "ly been most abundant. Indeed, it is being against the Statute of the third of" so plentiful at Calcutta, that the rate of "Edward III. which subjects offenders to interest, which in India has usually been "the penalty of twelve months imprison-extremely high, bas fallen almost as low 66 66 66 passes this, or any other, part of their creed. This quality in us was well known to the author of the above paragraph, who did not put pen to paper 'till he had well considered the character of those whom he wanted to dupe. I do not know why we should not believe, that the Emperor of China is going to send over ship loads of gold and silver to our Bank; and, I dare say, I verily believe, that the story will be swallowed by thousands amongst us. Not that these tricks will answer any purpose in the end; but, the object of those who play them off is just to postpone the evil hour from day to day, as they sometimes, I am told, borrow money in the city, for half a day at a time! "as in Europe. In some of the ships about "to arrive from India, large supplies of dol"lars, and specie in general, are expected; "and it is calculated, that, before any very long period elapses, we shall in this country receive from that quarter further "supplies to the amount of 7 millions of dol"lars."——This is as nice a thing as I have cast my eyes upon for a long time. It is worth being put upon record; and will, I am certain, not be deemed unworthy of particular notice by him who shall write the history of our paper-money, which will long be remembered in the world as the most complete instance of the effects of human credulity.This paragraph, were there nothing else; this paragraph itself, is, I think, a clear proof of cullibility of this nation. What tell us, that the Chinese, who have, for ages, been accumulating gold and silver, have now, all of a sudden, resolved to let them go out of their country; and that part of them are, at this moment, about to arrive in England! Tell us this, and hope that it will induce us not to hoard?--But, I shall be told, perhaps, that, because this paragraph is written and an insertion bought for it in a news-paper, it does not hence follow, that the people are fools enough to believe it. Yes, it does' The people who insert such paragraphs, know very well whom they are addressing. They are cunning enough to know that; and, besides, if there were people to believe, if there are people to believe, and strenuously to contend, that the paper is not depreciated, though the guinea will fetch 25s. 6d. worth of it from the hands of the middle man, who has yet to take a profit upon the transaction; if there are people, who, in the face of such facts notorious as the sun at noon day, will contend, and sincerely contend, that the paper is not depreciated; why, then, I say, that man must be very incredulous, who thinks them incapable of believing this story about the Chinese. Why should they fot believe it? Why should they not believe, that the Emperor of China is going to send a parcel of gold in exchange for some of our Bank notes? What is there that they may not believe? Why should they not believe that paper is gold? Why should they not believe that Bank Directors have the power of working miracles? Talk of Transubstantiation indeed! Pretend to laugh at Catholic nations! Our faith in pecuniary matters (to say nothing of our religious faith which is quite equal to theirs) sur -There is one little point, in which the fabricator of this paragraph forgot himself. He says, that the Chinese have discovered, that Gold and Silver derive their chief value from being considered as the only general instrument of commerce.--Indeed! I thought you told us, but the other day, that paper was better? There are not less than half a dozen of dunces pestering the public with pamphlets about the superiority of paper over gold. Mr. BOASE tells them that guineas are an incumbrance, and the BARONET, whom the public have, as it were by intuition, surnamed the wise, calls Bank notes a mine of national prosperity. In the face of all this, it is a little too bad to tell us, that the Chinese have discovered, that gold and silver are so essentially useful in commerce, and are, indeed," the only general instrument "of commerce."--But, as I said before, there is nothing too absurd for us to swallow. We are, in this way, the most gross feeders that the world ever saw. The truth is, that, as the old regular trader, Mr. CHALMERS, says, almost every man depends upon paper for his daily bread. Nine out of every ten think they have an interest in supporting the thing. There are, comparatively, few who look deeply into such matters. There is an old saying, If I buy the Devil, I'll sell the Devil." And it is thus with the paper. Even those who view it in its proper light, take and pass it as other people do. Indeed they cannot help themselves. But, all this will not prevent the natural end of the papermoney, nor any of the consequences that the paper-money is destined to bring forth.--MR. MARRYATT opened a scene somewhat new, on Thursday evening, in the House of Commons. He explained a species of traffic carried on by the Bank in Erchequer Bills, these latter being a species of promissory note bearing interest; and these the Bank buys and keeps by them, and, of course, receives the interest for them; and, observe, they pay for them in their own notes, which bear no interest.—This is a curious operation, and worth illustrating a little.The government issues notes called Exchequer Bills, in payment of debts that it owes, or in order to get money for the purpose of paying debts.Now, to speak in round numbers, suppose the government wants a thousand pounds, and has not so much in the Exchequer. Why," say you, "as "paper is easily printed, and as people are willing to take paper for labour and "goods, the best way is for the govern"ment to make a hundred ten pound "notes at once; and thus pay in its own “home-made coin. Why not do this?" --Indeed, it does seem absurd, that the government should go to the Bank to get paper to pay with, when it could make it as well at home. But, there is something in appearances; there is something in settled opinion; and I have heard a man in the country say, that he thought the National Debt, or Funds, would fall; but, that the Bank of England would stand. Aye, it is that of England put to the end of it; and long habit, which is second nature. Besides, it would not look well for the government to issue its own money; to print it off and publish it from Whitehall; for, it would easily occur then, to every one, that there could not possibly be any want of money so long as there were paper and ink.--Hence it is that the other way. is chosen; and this brings us back to our supposition of the thousand pounds wanted by the government.-It issues, not bank notes. Oh, no! not for the world! It does not grind its own money. It issues an Exchequer Bill for a thousand pounds. That is to say, it makes a promissory note, bearing interest; the Bank takes the said note, and gives the govern ment a hundred of its notes for it at ten pounds each, or ten notes at a hundred pounds each, no matter which; and these the government pays away for goods or services, or no matter what.So, you see, the government gives promissory notes that bear an interest in exchange for promissory notes that bear no interest.--. After this, the reader will enter with due preparation upon Mr. MARRYATT's Speech, which I shall insert immediately after this Summary. The Speech, as will be seen, received no answer; and indeed, none could it receive.--I beg the reader to remark the expressions about the "PAPER" MILL." Seven years, seven long years, have I been abused like a thief for making use of such like expressions.--I must, once more, beg the reader to go through Mr. MARRYATT'S Speech. It is not long; and it opens a new and very interesting scene. In WM COBBETT. State Prison, Newgate, Friday, MR. MARRYATT'S SPEECH the House of Commons, 25th April, 1811, on the subject of Exchequer Bills bought by the Bank. MR. MARRYATT requested the attention of the House for a few minutes, on a subject which to him appeared of considerable importance; it was the excessive purchase of Exchequer Bills by the Bank of England. From official communications, it had appeared, that the quantity of Bank paper in circulation before the Bank restriction, was on the average fourteen millions; that at the time of the restriction, eleven milions; and that at the present about twenty-four millions. The excessive nature of this latter issue was found in the increased price of provisions, and every article of common use. Some of the evils which were imputed to this circulation, were, it was true, referred to the unguarded system of granting licences, which had been lately pursued; and if Parliament could pass an act for closing up the doors of the room where the Lords of Trade sat to grant those extravagant licences, and another to close up that where the Bank Directors met to manufacture their notes, parliament could not pass two Acts more highly beneficial to the community. The fact of the exces sive issue of Bank-notes was not to be denied; it was plain and palpable; but then there came an answer promptly on the other side. The Bank, it would be said, made no attempt at forcing their paper into circulation, and the people only got it as they asked for it. But the matter of mischief lay in another direction. The Bank formerly drove a most flourishing Discount trade. It was notórious that the trade was cut short at once; and it was equally notorious that it was cut short merely by their most regular and best customers having found their way inte culation, and were made to pay even a lower interest than now, they might pass as Bank-notes do; they would be received more willingly than Bank-notes, and would naturally help to check their exorbitant issue. A profit would be derived from them, and divided between the pub lic and the directors; not buried in the exclusive coffers of the Bank. It was true, that those issues and purchases furnished the Chancellor of the Exchequer with an occasional opportunity of display on the rising wealth of the country. But the ground was false and hollow. The whole statement arose from misconception. The whole system was fallacious; and the nation, like children looking through a magnifying glass in a raree the Gazette. When this prosperous traffic was at an end, the Bank looked about for another. They came into the market, bought up Exchequer Bills, and paid with their own paper. They thus pushed out an immense quantity of paper which cost them nothing; but which the public neither wished for, nor wanted. Let the House consider the effects of this principle once established. The whole transaction went against the original objects of a National Bank. The Bank was established for the assistance of commerce, to discount bills, to buy up bullion, and other purposes of the same kind. There was present to the minds of the founders of the Bank, all the danger which might arise from too close a connection between the Bank and the Government, and they adopted every pre-show, were only more deceived as they caution in their power against the evil. But in 1793, a Bill was brought in by Mr. Pitt, to allow the Bank to issue money upon Treasury acceptances. Even then the principle was so far respected, that the issue was limited to 600,000l. Some modifications of the law had since taken place, and it was possible the Bank might be sheltered by the letter, but they had certainly violated the spirit of the law, even as it stood at this moment. The House should look at the hardships sustained by individuals in this trade. What was to be the chance of private men, in a competition with the Bank of England? In the first instance, this mighty purchaser swelled the price of the article by his perpetual presence in the market. In the second place, he swelled the price, without suffering any thing by his own extravagancies. The individual brought actual property; the price of his land, his inheritance, his goods, and must lay those down for the Exchequer Bill. The Bank was not pressed by this inconvenience. It parted with no thing. It was liberal of nothing that was worth keeping. It simply went to its paper mill. The mill was set in motion, the purchase was made without difficulty, and the price of every thing we eat, or drink, or wear, was instantly increased. But why did it not strike the Minister that the Exchequer Bills might be subservient to more useful purposes than the profits of the Bank, and the increase of a paper circulation already enormous? The country would be better inclined to receive Exchequer Bills paying interest, than Bank-notes paying none. If the Exchequer Bills were put into a form fit for cir were more delighted. A Right Hon. Baronet (Sir J. Sinclair), in a late publication, had actualy ventured to state, that a Minister wanting to borrow, should endeavour to increase the circulating medium of the country. To mention this singular opinion was enough for it. But there was a circumstance springing from this unjustifiable intercourse of the Bank with Government, which ought to awake the House. It was recorded in the report of the Lords' Secret Committee on the Bank Restriction, that in 1797, the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank, on the occasion of some transaction with the Government, actually demanded of Mr. Pitt an obligation, that he would not subsidise, or, enter into any money negociation with any foreign Government, Power, or Potentate, without acquainting the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank forthwith. The promise was extorted from Mr. Pitt; and thus were the most important secrets of the State, and the whole course of our foreign policy, put at the mercy of those two men. Let this be not forgotten by the House. Mr. Pitt was forced to submit to the demand; and did the House ever expect to see a firmer Minister than Mr. Pitt? Bot the Bank had still more power at this moment. Then, they had but their share in the circulation of the country; now, they had the whole circulation by their papermill. The Bank were now purchasers of Exchequer Bills to the amount of seventeen millions. This might be shewn to be highly injurious to the general interests of the Empire. But where was the purchase to stop? Was it to be said that an enquiry into these things was an enquiry into the circumstances of private property?rities was an injury to the country, The Certainly not. From the moment of the Bank made no profit by these transactions, Bank restriction, the Bank ceased to be a It had only complied with the regulations private undertaking. It became a public adopted by the wisdom of Parliament, instrument, strongly affecting public inte- without travelling into the vague staterests; and it was as justifiable to call such ments, of its having raised the price of the an agent to account, as any of his Majesty's necessaries of life by its issue of paper ; Ministers. The charge now brought all which he (Mr. Manning) must most against the Bank was plain and intelligible. positively deny, (hear! hear! from the It was that of converting the means which Chancellor of the Exchequer): be must were confided to it for public profits, inform the Hon. Member, (Mr. Marryatt) into its own aggrandisement, and that that every paper which could be required charge was only to be met by a fair, open, for his satisfaction was already on the table, and candid refutation. The papers might in the Appendix to the Bullion Report, be refused; but if the Bank was guiltless, and in the accounts which the cashier of the they would not be refused. It would be Bank had lately presented to the House. impossible to attribute refusal to any other As to other transactions, not connected motive than the consciousness of guilt, and with matters of a public nature, it was not the fear of exposure. Mr. Marryatt then to be expected that any gratification moved, "That there be laid before the would be given to mere curiosity. House, an account of the Exchequer Bills held by the Bank of England on the first day of January, April, June, and October, in each year, from 1797, up to the latest period to which the account could be completed." MR. MARRYATT complained that the only account which was material should be still refused. He desired to know, not the amount of the Bank dealing with Government, but the actual amount of the purchase of Exchequer Bills by the Mr. MANNING observed, that the charge Bank, on its private account in the maragainst the Bank rested merely on the ket. But the Bank was now putting itself authority of the Hon. Member who had forward as the supporter of the public sejust spoken. There was no document on curities. Why was it to stop at seventhe subject before the House, and the teen millions? Why not buy up the House was certainly not bound to take whole thirty millions of Exchequer Bills notice of a mere unauthenticated state- that were out? Why not buy up all ment. Some Acts of Parliament had other securities? It would cost the Bank been stated as limiting the purchase of nothing but another application to the Exchequer Bills to 600,000l. It was true paper-mill. The Bank might then, with that there had been a regulation for that the whole mass of public securities in its purpose, but it was merely temporary, hands, proceed to model its proceedings as and died with the time. (The Hon. Mem- might best suit its convenience. One of ber then quoted a variety of acts, in which its operations might be the reduction of purchases to the amount of millions were the interest; and the five per Cents. might authorised by Parliament.) There had become four, and four three, and so on. been, in the passing of those various Acts, These might be the first fruits of the new opportunity enough to resist the exten-power which the Bank had now taken to sion of the purchase, if it were really ille- itself, and only a beginning of what might gal. When the Bank was charged with be effected by collusion with the Minister the extravagant traffic in Exchequer Bills, of the day. The papers necessary for deit ought to be known, that it never pur-monstrating those charges might be rechased at a premium. It was only when money was greatly wanting in the market and the most serious inconveniencies might result from withholding their purchase, that the Directors of the Bank appeared in the market. The Bank had been charged with raising the price of the government securities. This was a curious charge, and he (Mr. Manning) must go to school again, if he was to learn, that keeping up the value of government secu fused; but as a public man, he could not give confidence to those who demanded that he should give it blindly, with a precipice at his feet. He could not give his entire acquiescence to those who told him to shut his eyes, and walk on. After a few words from Sir J. Newport, the question was put, and negatived without a division. |