Debates an peoreetttnits- fit' Wartfament

PREVENTION OF CRIME DT IRELAND.

In the House of Commons, on Monday, Sir Gstonoa-GuEx obtained leave to introduce a bill " for the better. prevention of crime and outrage in certain parts of Ireland."' The bill was read a first time the same night. An account of the debate, on a larger scale than our usual weekly limits allow, will be found in the Supplement that accompanies this number.

SWITZERLAND.

On Tuesday, Mr. URQUHART, after due notice, asked, " whether it was the intention of her Majesty's Government to interfere in the affairs of Switzerland otherwise than as 'a mediator invited to act by both the parties?"

Viscount PALMERSTON replied as follows— "An answer to that question might almost be given by referring to the passage in the Queen's Speed' which relates to the affairs of Switzerland; but I will state to the House, that the original disposition of her Majesty's Government was to abstain entirely from any interference, of any sort or kind, in the affairs of Swit- zerland. At the earnest request, however, of the Government of France, her Majesty's Government consented, in conjunction with the other four Powers, to offer their mediation between the two contending parties in Switzerland, with a view, if possible, of bringing about an amicable settlement of the differences which have led to hostilities in that country. But her Majesty's Government made it the condition of their joining with the other Powers in that offer, that it should be left entirely optional to both or either of the parties to accept or refuse the offer; and that the refusal of such offer by either one or both of those parties should not be made by any other party the ground of hostile measures or armed interference. It is nght, however, that I should state, on the other hand, that there was a distinct understanding requested by the other Powers, that that con- dition should not be considered as fettering any of those Powers with regard to the exercise of any rights they might conceive themselves to possess by virtue of treaties. I think it right to remind the House of that which many honourable Members may not bear in mind—that by a declaration signed by the five Powers in November 1815, at Paris, the five Powers declared that they guaranteed the neutrality, the independence, and the inviolability of the territories of the Swiss Confederation, as those territories were defined by the Congress of Vienna, and by the treaty of Paris signed on that day; and that they considered it was for the interest of the whole of Europe that that independence and inviolability should be preserved, and that the Swiss territory should be exempt from any foreign inter- ference. I have stated the course her Majesty's Government have taken; and I may add, that we are ready, in conjunction with the other Powers, to offer our friendly offices for the purpose of adjusting the differences between the two parties in Switzerland, but that Great Britain will not be a party to any forcible interfe- rence between those two parties." (Cheers.) Mr. OSBORNE wished to ask whether there would be any objection on the part of the Government to lay before the House the papers relating to this subject? Lord PALMERSTON replied, that there would be no objection to the pro- duction of the papers as soon as the transactions were so far concluded as to enable the Government to lay them before the House. In reply to Mr. JOHN O'Coinizia., Lord PALMERSTON stated, that the

Federal Compact between the different Cantons had as its basis the inde- pendent sovereignty of each of the competent and confederate Cantons.

Mr. URQUHART said, Lord Palmerston had answered satisfactorily the question he had put; and he now wished to ask another question—whe- ther England, in abstaining from interference save as a mediator, would re- sist the attempt of any other Power to interfere actively? (A cry of " 0/1, ohl") Lord PAL MERSTON was sure the House must feel that it would not be proper for him to state what course the Government of this country might take in any supposed emergency. (Cheers.)

THE BANK CHARTER ACT.

On Tuesday, Sir CHARLES WOOD moved, " That a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into the causes of the recent commercial distress, and how far it has been affected by the laws for regulating the issue of bank- notes payable on demand." This motion he prefaced by a long explana- tory statement of the views of- the Government on the subject, and more especially of the reasons for the letter from the Treasury to the Bank of England on the 25th October: He was very sensible of the responsibility which attached to himself; for it is no light matter to sanction. a departure from the law, although in point of faot-nmdeparture had taken place. He knew-that- Ministers would incur the blame always incurred by a middle course—for not having completely upheld nor completely abandoned the sot of 1844. If he had abandoned the act, he should have gone directly counter to his conviction; for he still thought its principles quite sound. On. the other hand, laws devised by mere human-wisdom, even more sacred than those of the act of 1844, may ab extraordinary times be beneficially suspended; as ill the instance of trial-by jury and the Habeas Corpus-

" Thus also the act of 1844 is one which it is not indispensable to carry into strict execution under all circumstances; and I say that more especially when it was first brought into operation under such peculiar circumstances, under a combination of adverse circumstances so peculiar that they have been unprece- dented for years, and I trust will be unparalleled for years to come. I say that we have not seen for years such an unexampled extension of credit, so heavy a drain upon the available capital of the country, either for the purchase of corn or for the construction of permanent works; we have not seen so general an inability throughout large branches of our trade to meet their immediate engagements; we have not seen so general a distrust pervading the commercial world; we have not seen that distrust rising- into so universal a state of alarm and of panic as pre- vailed some six weeksago.. And I would ask what legislation can provide against the effects of alarm and ppaannic? All legislation, every system, proceeds upon the supposition that men will.be actuated by the ordinary motives of human actions and against their conduct when it is influenced by other motives, no system, no legislation can provide. It is no fault of the principle of the act of 1844 that it was unable to provide against that which no other principle and no other system that has ever yet been advocated for the- regulation of our currency could have provided against."

But although no-provision can be made for such circumstances, it is not because they have not been foreseen. The actual state of things was an- ticipated by Mr. Jones. Loyd, one of the most distinguished advocates of the principles embodied- in the-act of 1844, in a pamphlet which he wrote in 1$40 and published in 1844.

Mr. Loyd first quotes the following passage from a pamphlet by Mr. Hinkle- son; who says—" The consequences of sudden alarm cannot be measured. They baffie all ordinary calculation. Cash is then withdrawn, not because the circula- tion is excessive, but by the country banks and the town bankers, for the purpose of meeting possible demands upon them, and by the community at large, either directly from the Bank, or indirectly through the former channels, for the purpose of hoarding, from the dread of some imaginary or contingent danger. In such a crisis, every redaction in the amount of bank paper is se far from checking the drain that it aggravates the general distress. The possible cases, however, which may call for such an intervention of power are not capable of being foreseen or defined by law. The necessity may not occur again; if it should, the applica- tion of the remedy must be left to those who may then be at the head of affairs, subject to their own responsibility and to the judgment of Parliament." Upon these words of Mr. Huskisson Mr. Jones Loyd proceeds to observe—" These re- marks of Mr. Huskisson furnish the true answer to the memorial of the London bankers, in which they urged the introduction of a special clause to facilitate the suspension of the operation of the bill in periods of peculiar pressure on the money-market. To accede to such a request would be virtually to destroy the efflemy of the measure. The commencement of a drain of bullion, and. consequently of pressure on the money-market, is the period at which the provisions of the bill become practically important; and, unless they are then strictly adhered to, the whole measure becomes a nullity. For all con- tingencies which can be reasonably anticipated, and which are susceptible of being previously defined by law, the firm application of the provisions of the bill is es- sential; and against the occurrence of those contingencies which are not capable of being foreseen or defined by law, but which are not altogether impossible, the bill itself affords the best protection that can be obtained. Should a crisis ever arrive bathing all ordinary calculation,' and not amenable to the application of any ordinary principle, the remedy must be sought, not in the previous provisions of the law, but, quoting Mr. Huskisson's words, 'in the discretion of those who may then be at the head of affairs, subject to their own responsibility, and to the judg- ment of Parliament,' " It remained, however, for Ministers to justify the actual course which they took. " We interfered," said Sir Charles Wood, "not because we thought. we could provide capital for those who had it not—not-because we thought we could enable those to borrow who had no good security to give for repay- ment—but because we believed that the circulation was paralyzed by a state of alarm and of panic. From that alarm and that panio we endeavoured to re- lieve it." Sir Charles proceeded to state what Ministers believed to be the causes of the pressure. He began with the drain of available capital in the summer of 1846, partly for the purchase of foreign corn, partly for permanent investment for railroads; and he employed the historical recapitulation of events to prove that "it was not from the mere want of bank-notes or of Bank accommodation that the pressure arose, but from the fact that.trade was not in a sound and healthy state." " On the let October 1839, the circulation—by which I mean notes in the hands

of the public, including Bank post-bills, which were then included in the cir- culation '—was 16,857,0001; on the 2d October 1847, the amount of notes in the hands of the public, again including Bank post-bills, was 19,577,0001.; being an increase of nearly 3,000,0001. The private securities held by the Bank were 13,290,0001. on the 1st October 1839, and 21,260,0001. on the 2d October 1847; making, so far as that is a test of the accommodation afforded by the Bank to the public, a difference of no less than 8,000,0001. At this time to which I have been referring, there was no pressure whatever upon the commercial world; and why? Because at that time trade was in a sound and healthy state: the events of 1837 had removed from commerce those houses that bad unduly extended their ciedit, and persons at that time were carrying on a healthy and sound trade."

In the Summer of 1846, there was an enormous amount of bullion in the Bank

—16,000,0001, and a reserve of 9,500,0001, proving, even from the state of the Bank, an amount of 5,000,0001. or 6,000,0001. of bullion not required in the cir- culation for the purposes of trade. Then came the drain for food, and the in- creased demands for railways; simultaneously there was a high price of cotton, and a diminished demand for manufactures consequent on the high price of food in this country. " From the beginning of the autumn a drain of gold took place. This state of things prevailed throughout the autumn. Up to January, no step was taken by the Bank of England, or by any body, which might act as a warn- ing to the country. The drain of gold went on for some time unchecked; the stock of bullion was so large that the Bank were able to allow it to operate upon their own coffers alone, without being obliged to affect in any way the public. In January, however, they raised their rate of interest, first to 3} and then to 4 per cent. But the drain of capital for the railroads and for corn then increased most rapidly; the importations of corn became infinitely larger in the earlier months of the year; and the usual effect of that was perceived in the rise of the rate of in- terest, not by the Bank of England, but in the commercial world. I cannot give a better proof of it than by mentioning, that notice was published early in April by the chairman of one of the best railroad companies in England, the North- western, aunouncing that the company were prepared to pay 5 per cent for all the money they borrowed—the highest amount which by law they were able to pay. About the same time the Bank of England—though too late,. I believe— raised their rate to 5 per cent. Then cane what was called the panic of the spring."

Although forewarned, the Bank had let out their reserve till May, over the

period when the dividends became due; so that they were not in funds when funds were required in April. However, that panic subsided; trade resumed its ordi- nary course; and the speculative tendency was again developed. In the early part of June the amount of notes in public circulation was 18,900,0001.,—a much Larger amount than at the corresponding period of the previous year; and there was no extra demand on the Bank for advances. On the 5th of August, the Bank raised the rate of discount to 5/1 per cent; and on the 10th of that month the house of Leslie, Alexander, and Co.- failed. Most of the early failures were con- nected with the corn-trade: there had been enormous importations, and the price of corn fell from 102s. to 48s. The houses in the corn-trade had made a miscal- culation: but trade generally seemed to be prosperous; and this explained Sir Charles's often-censured expression of a belief that " the worst had passed." That expectation was erroneous. In September there was a melancholy sucoes- sion of failures; but not owing to a deficiency of the bank-notes then in circula- tion. The Bank announced that they would make advances till the 4th of October at 5' per cent: this was in accordance with the usual practice of the Bank to charge a lower rate of discount on short loans repayable before the pay= ment of the dividends, and it did not practically affect the state of the advances; but it had the ill effect of producing an undue confidence in the market. The circulation of notes, which usually decreases at that season, and had fallen to 17,840.0001., rose by the 2d of October to 18,712,0001.-200,0001. more than it was in June, when all was going on prosperously. And the accommodation of the Bank, granted upon "other securities" [private securities] stood at 21,259,0001.; having increased in the course of two months (August and Sep- tember) by 6,000 0001. The amount advanced on "other securities" in former years stood thus—

On the 5th of October 1844 .£10,510,000 4th 1845 15,188,000 „ 3d „ 1846

15,056.000

2d „ 1847 21,2596:00m00

Another proof that the circulation was not contracted so much as it has been alleged at the period when this pressure came upon the country, is the fact that the amount of the circulation of Country bank notes had not been reduced in any considerable degree. The amount of Bank of England notes in circulation in the months of August and September last was only 200,0001. or 250,0001. below the amount in circulation in the correspouding months of the preceding year; while the circulation was upwards of 1,000,0001. below the legal limit of their issues. It was not the want of notes, but of capital, that caused the pressure.

Sir Charles now showed the amount of available capital which had been abstracted from the commercial world. From June 1846 to 5th January 1847, the cost of corn imported (the cost to the importer) was 5,139,4761.; from 5th January to 5th July, 14,184,0001.; from 5th July to 10th Octo- ber, 14,240,0001.; in the whole of those fifteen months, 33,563,4761. ex- pended for foreign corn. The greatest commercial pressure was felt pre- cisely in the last three months of that period—those of the greatest expen- diture.

The amount abstracted for railways was equally large—already stated by Sir Charles on Friday. He now made a correction—he had under- stated the amount for 1841 and 1842; as being between 1,000,0001. and 2,000,0001.; whereas it should have been 4,500,0001. for each year. The amounts stated by him did not include one farthing for " preliminary ex- penses "; but, including those expenses, the amount abstracted for railways this year would be not leas than 80,000,0001. or 90,000,0001. Part of this, no doubt, was only transferred from hand to hand; but some-sixty millions would be converted from floating to fixed capital.

Another cause described by Sir Charles was a general reckless. misma- nagement in the commercial world- " It is painful to speak of the insolvency that has recently taken place among many parties, several of whom we have been personally acquainted with, and for whom we entertain sincere sympathy and respect. '1 hey have failed on account of their inability to meet their engagements. I see in a printed letter which I have received from Sir John Gladstone, that it is his opinion that few of those houses that have recently failed had for years possessed adequate capital to carry on their commercial transactions. Go,' says Sir John, over the list of East India failures, or of foreign traders, and point out one who has not been long without adequate capital or means.' It is also stated in the same printed letter, that a great portion of the commercial business of this country was carried on by par- ties not so much with a view to the profit and loss of legitimate trading as with I view of creating money by means of bills. I cannot say that the practice is to. tally new; but it has been of late carried to an extent altogether unexampled and unprecedented; and I believe that no small portion of that discredit which has roe cently attached to that portion of British trade has been owing to this system. fully admit that the trade of this country can only be carried on partly by capital and partly by credit; but there must be some proportion between the capital possessed by the parties and the credit which they seek to establish upon it; there must be a basis of capital for the superstructure of credit; and when parties overstep that due proportion, and when an adverse state of circumstances conies about, my opinion is, that no issuing of paper money can prevent or avert such a catastrophe as that which we have lately bad to lament. Some large houses have failed because the produce-brokers would no longer accept their bills, in consequence of their having overdone their credit. Those houses relied for a means of carrying on their business upon a system which was reprobated by the Banking Committee of which I had the honour to be chairman, and which is dia., claimed by many of the oldest and steadiest banking concerns, although practised to a great extent in the Metropolis, in spite of the exceeding danger attending it, —namely, the system of bankers placing large sums of money at call,' as it is termed, with bill-brokers in London. It is true that country bankers advent* money at call upon sufficient security: but herein consists the safety of that pro- ceeding, that whatever may be the aggregate amount of the deposits, the number of the depositors and the variety of interests which influence them render it ex-

tremely improbable that all, or even a large proportion of the deposits, should be drawn out at one and the same time. But the practice which prevails in London is different, and possesses none of the safeguards to which I have just adverted. The London bankers place large Burns of money with the bill-brokers; but it un- fortunately happens that the same circumstances which cause one banker to with- draw his money from the bill-brokers usually operate upon all other London bankers at the same time; and the consequence, therefore, is usually a serious derangement of commercial transactions. When we find that more than half the means with which parties carry on their business are deposits at call, it must be obvious that when circumstances arise to prevent bill-brokers from extending the usual accommodation to their customers, it will have an extraordinary effect upon credit." Alluding to the suspension of the Royal Bank of Liverpool, which, with a paid-up capital of 500,000L, had lent 400,0001. to one house, Sir Charles said, " I can assure the House, that in contemplating the circumstances which have been brought to my knowledge during the last eight weeks, respecting the con- duct of persons of even great experience, who have been long conversant with trade, I sin utterly astonished at the reckless character of the transactions into which they have entered." He possessed the means of verifying this statement.

In October, an occurrence took place which caused a considerable change in the state of public feeling— Towards the end of September, the demand for loans had nearly ceased: the usual demand had not exceeded 20,0001., 30,0001., or 40,0001. a day; but on the two last days of that month it amounted to 149,0001. and 362,0001.! On the 2d of October the Bank announced that they could not increase the amount of their advances, and that the loans must be repaid within the specified time, in order that the money might be applied to the payment of the dividends. "It is cer- tainly the fact, that the whole commercial world of London seems to have been surprised at this announcement, and looked upon it as being one of the most un- justifiable notices ever promulgated; but I hope that gentlemen in the City will forgive me for saying that it appears to me perfectly childish for any man in his senses to view it in that light.' It was a matter of perfect notoriety that the money would be wanted; and in April Sir Charles himself had expressly referred to such an occurrence as coming within the natural order of events. Nor were the advances of the Bank much limited after that period: the aggregate advances were 4,725,0001. on the 25th of September, and 4,544,0001. on the 9th of October. In fact, the Bank only did their duty in preparing for payment of the dividends. " However, when I came to London on the 2d of October, I found the whole City in a state of the greatest excitement and alarm; and certainly I never passed through so.painfid and anxious a period as the three weeks which succeeded that day. My time was occupied in seeing persons of all descriptions from the moment I came down in the morning until I went to bed at night. I was informed that the rate of continuation, as it is called, was 6 per cent per annum for each day. Parties came to me, and represented that it was perfectly impossible the loans could be paid back to the Bank; that if the Bank relied upon that for the pay- ment of the dividends, they would be disappointed; that the Bank dared not sell their securities; and consequently, that it was impossible the public credit could be maintained daring the next week. What, however, was the fact? The loans were returned to the Bank, and the dividends were paid in the ensuing week. I ought to state, that during the whole of this period, the Governor and Deputy- Governor of the Bank acted with extreme prudence and discretion; and it is satis- factory to know that on the whole the loans were very punctually repaid. The place of the notes paid into the Bank on account of the loans was supplied by others paid out in discharge of the dividends. It is worthy of remark, too, that although it is represented that the want of bank-notes was, at this period, causing the ruin of the half of London, more notes by 300,0001. in value were paid out of the Bank than during the corresponding period of 1846."

Sir Charles here recounted the suspension of the Liverpool Bank; the danger of the Newcastle Bank, saved only by aid from the branch Bank of England, on the responsibility of Mr. Grote the manager; the Scotch banks also applying to the Bank of England for assistance; the London banks called upon to support their country correspondents; two bill-brokers fail- ing, and two others paralyzed. Thus the whole market for discount was thrown upon the hands of the Bank of England. Notwithstanding this, the Bank never refused a bill which it would have discounted at another time; but the large mass of bills which under ordinary circumstances are discounted by bill-brokers could not be negotiated. It became impossible for the Bank to go on rendering assistance to the English and Scotch banks, and at the same time to "take care of itself"—that is, to comply with the law. A feeling that Government must interfere appeared to be generally entertained. Sir Charles hesitated, reluctant to infringe the law. He took the utmost pains to ascertain the accuracy of the statements laid before him. Evidence was adduced which convinced him that gold and bank-notes were hoarded by private parties, thus aggravating the pressure; in fact, as soon as the panic ceased, thousands and tens of thousands were taken from the private hoards and deposited in the banks. "Parties of every description made applications to us for assistance, with the observation, We do not want notes, but give us confidence.' They said, Any- thing you do will give us confidence; say you will stand by us, and we shall have all that we want; do anything, in short, that will give us confidence. If we think we can get bank-notes, we shall not want them. (A laugh.) Charge us any rate of interest you please.' ("No, no! ") I beg pardon of the honourable gen- tleman who cries 'No,' but I may be permitted to know what was said to me. ("Hear, hear! ") The constant application made to us was, 'Let us have notes issuable by the Bank; charge us what rate of interest you please, 10 or 12 per cent: we do not want them—only let us know that we can have them, and we shall then have sufficient resources of our own to go on with.' An honourable gentleman asked the other day, what had induced us to act on the Saturday in- stead of the Thursday. The reason was, that on Friday and Saturday a very dif- ferent state of things existed to what had previously occurred; and we were con- vinced that at length the time had arrived, when, in the words of Mr. Huskisson, to which I have already referred, 'the stagnant and straitened circulation of the country wanted life and aid, and became every day more embarrassed, whilst each new calamity produced by such a state of things contributed to spread and in- crease the general apprehension.' It was on Saturday, and not before, that this conviction was forced upon us; and it was not till then that we felt it necessary to sanction a violation of the law."

Those who applied for assistance concurred in suggesting a limit to the amount of notes issuable. But to limit the amount would have had this ill effect, that there would have been a scramble for the assistance, and then as soon as the notes had been absorbed the panic would have begun again. Another suggestion was, to effect the same object by fixing the rate of interest for the aid. It must be high, or the very assistance would have checked the importation of bullion. Ten per cent was suggested: Govern- ment fixed 8 per cent. Although the minimum rate of the Bank was then 51 per cent, the average rate of their discount was 71 per cent; so that the new rate was only per cent higher. At the same time, the rate in Ham-

burg was seven per cent, and not much less in any part of Germany or America. An okection has been taken to the paragraph in the letter claiming for the Government a share in the profit arising from the high rate of discount charged. That paragraph was introduced very much at the suggestion of the Bank authorities, and was introduced on purpose to protect the Bank from the suspicion of inordinate profits.

The measure, he believed, has had the effect of relieving the commercial world. No doubt, pressure still remains, the causes of pressure being still in operation; and the disappointment of assurances respecting a renewal of trade in the summer checks too confident anticipations now. Nevertheless, orders from abroad are coming in; more mills are now working full time; employment of artisans is increased; cotton is cheaper; bullion is coming in from America, and goods will go back in its place; bills have been more punctually paid; and on the whole trade seems in a sound and generally healthy state.

Sir Charles advanced divers apologetic reasons for not having interfered sooner,—reluctance to tamper with an act so recently passed by an WON whelming majority in Parliament; the passing off of the panic, in the spring without intervention, &c.

" It has been said that there was no necessity for demanding so high a rate of interest as 8 per cent, at a time when the Bank had 8,000,0001. in gold. Sr

we owe mach to that 8,000,0001. We did not take the step which we adopter{ till the exchanges had decidedly turned in our favour, and till the bullion began to flow in from abroad. And to what are we indebted for that 8,000,0001., -bus to the operation of the act of 1844? But for that act I know of no security, we should have had for the ion of any bullion in the country. (Cheers.) If the Bank had discoun advances at 4 or 5 per cent, is there any reasonable pro- bability of their having had so much gold as 8,000,0001. in their possessma? During the whole summer the exchanges were barely in our favour; and only about 250,0001., whether of gold or silver, was purchased by the Bank through.- oat that period. If it is argued that a want of capital or credit is to be supplied by an unlimited issue of notes, I should like to know what check can be applied to it ? It is quite clear that in the present instance, at least 30,000,0001. would have been required. If there had been no rise in the rate of interest, and if rail- roads had found no difficulty in borrowing money at 4 or 5 per cent, the railroads alone would have swept away more than the whole circulation of the country. It was perfectly impossible that that state of things could have continued. Over- trading would have gone on for a much longer period; the demand for railroads would not have been checked so early; but sooner or later the time must have come when stringent measures would have been necessary on the part of the Bank, and the longer that state of things had existed the more sudden that check would have been. It is unnecessary to refer to more than the effect of the sudden check to show what would have been the effect on the trade and com- merce of the country if that check had never taken place; for if the drain of bul- lion had gone on—if it had been diminished as heretofore by 2,000,0001. or 3,000,0001.—the publications to which I have referred stating accurately the facts, week by week,—does anybody suppose that, under those circumstances, the want of capital and the alarm now felt would not have taken the course of a ran upon the Bank of England for gold? Former experience teaches us that that would have been assuredly the case, and proves the wisdom of those measures by which we have been able, without difficulty, to retrace our steps. Without those measures, we should have been in imminent danger of a suspension of cash pay- ments; and we must either have come to Parliament or issued an order in Coun- cil, which is one of the severest measures we could have adopted to save the cre- dit of the country. And if we have avoided that danger, great as it has been, it is to the operation of the act of 1844, in the early part of the year, that we are indebted for being saved from it."

Sir Charles combated the notions, that the pressure had been caused by free trade, and that the act of 1844 ought to have prevented all commer- cial convulsion—who could expect so much?

He would not, however, altogether applaud the management of the Bank of England- " I am afraid that recent events have somewhat shaken the confidence of the public in the direction of that Bank. ("Hear, hear!") It may be difficult to suggest a mode of improving that management; bat of this I am sure, it is a subject well worthy of consideration, and one, perhaps, that may form a subject of inquiry by the Committee which I am about to move for. I believe that, al- though the Bank Charter does not expire for some years, the Bank Parlour is not indh.posed to concur in any measure which the wisdom of Parliament may sug- gest; for they find some difficulty, I believe, in inducing persons to undertake the heavy and responsible office of Governors of the Bank of England." Sir Charles was aware that on these points many persons of great author ity and great practical experience differed from him, and also differed among each other; and he exhorted them to use the light furnished by the phsenomena of the last eighteen months for a deliberate investigation into the whole of this complicated and difficult subject: it had no party bear- ing, and he hoped it would not be considered in a party spirit.

In reply to Mr. BLEWITT, Sir CHARLES WOOD stated that Government did not intend to propose any immediate measure- " We believe there is not the slightest probability of any such measure being necessary; the state of the Bank being such, that we believe no person can enter- tain the slightest apprehension as to its power of meeting all demands made upon it. I hold in my hand a statement of the amount of reserve and bullion in the Bank last night: the reserve was 5,800,0001. and the bullion 10,600,0001. The mere statement of those sums will show the House that there is little probability of any occasion for a legislative measure immediately."

Mr. JAMES WILSON said, it was because he cordially agreed in the ap-

pointment of a Committee that he thought it necessary to move an amend- ment—to limit the inquiry, lest the time of' the Committee should be occupied by too many topics. The questions to be determined were, whether the law of 1844 should be maintained in all its integrity, or should be subjected to such modification as circumstances might call for, or should be abandoned altogether. Unless those three questions were answered, Parliament would vainly endeavour to restore the public confidence which existed three months ago. There are other reasons why the attention of the Committee should be confined strictly to the subject of banking. The Committee appointed in 1840 on the Bank Charter Act, of which Sir Charles Wood was the efficient chairman and Sir Robert Peel an efficient member, was brought to a close by the dissolution of Parliament iu 1841, without making any final report.. He could not but conclude, therefore, that Parliament had not done all that was necessary, before the act of 1844 was passed, in order to ascertain precisely those principles uptin which it would have been safe to legislate. Mr. Wilson went into a long disquisition to establish certain principles of currency. He exposed the fallacy which treats what is called "the Mint price of gold" (merely a regulation to fix the amount of coin into which an ounce shall be divided) as being a real market "price ": it might be as well said that we seek to fix the price of wheat in enacting that a quarter shall invariably represent eight bushels. He showed the inexpediency of a double standard. It would have been a wide complaint if the Bank had had power to purchase gold and silver by issuing notes, and then to redeem those notes in the cheaper metal; and as to the proposition that the Bank should have power to issue notes on silver though bound to redeem therein gold, it is unreasonable to ask the Bank to issue notes on any commodity whatever except that in which it is bound to redeem them.

The working of the Bank Act would alone present an ample fieldlor investigation. There has been great disappointment at the results of that act. He did not deny that the public had formed extravagant expectations as to the change which it was to produce. But its author and supporters had certainly held out hopes that it would restrain speculation, diminish fluctuation in prices, counteract violent fluctuations in the currency, and lessen the chance of future panic or distress. Well, it has been tried, and we have had panic more intense than ever, fluctuations in price more ex- treme, and all the phrenomena of former crises in an aggravated form. He could bear witness to the fact that many eminent merchants had expressed their conviction, in 1845, that notwithstanding the mania which had pre- • veiled, the act of 1844 would carry them through without any precaution, and would save them from all ill consequences. Many of those who had since fallen sacrifices to the commercial pressure had entertained the same belief, and had consoled themselves with the hope that, from the self-acting principle of the bill, nothing like a panic could occur; so that the attention and discretion needful in former years were no longer necessary.

The principle of the act of 1844 was, that the circulation of notes should be regulated by the foreign exchanges. He would not have bankers ne- glect the foreign exchanges; but he could not find one reason to induce him to believe that they either could or should attempt to regulate the internal circulation of the country by foreign exchanges. He agreed with the au- thors of the act of 1844 in preserving the principle of convertibility, and the single standard of value; and in preserving the principle that whatever currency was adopted, whether purely metallic or mixed, in all its fluctua- tions and changes it must conform to that which a metallic currency must conform to. But he denied the power of the Bank to expand or contract the circulation of notes at their pleasure. That could only be done by sub- stituting bullion for notes; and he should be glad to know how the Bank could be benefited by an attempt to contract their proper circulation by the issue of sovereigns; taking the word " circulation " to mean the notes in the bands of the public. With an inconvertible currency, of course, the quantity of notes might be increased or diminished at pleasure, and hence become depreciated by being in excess; but with a convertible currency the operation of convertibility is itself the measure of the quantity which the public will bold. The fundamental error of the bill of 1844 was, that those who framed it confounded circulation with capital, and currency with bullion; for the currency is the amount of the circulation of the Bank of England, and not the amount of the capital at the command of the public by means of discounts. A legislative restriction of the circulation is un- necessary so long as there is convertibility; and it tends to draw public attention from the more important consideration, the amount of reserve or capital. Mr. Wilson quoted returns, prepared by himself with great labour, showing the state of deposits in the Bank of England and Ireland for the years 1838 and 1839. The totals for the last quarter of 1838, a year of ordinary prosperity, were 7,144,0001.; in the last quarter of 1839, a year of distress, 5,413,000/. The deposits in the 400 banks of Scotland alone extend to 30,000,0001. sterling; the number of banks in the United King- dom is 1,600; and the total deposits are probably not less than 200,000,0001. Now if there was a reduction on these deposits proportionate to that in the Bank of England and Ireland, we might well conceive the cause of the ex- treme pressure felt in 1839: and if such was the effect produced by the bad harvest in 1839, what might not be conceived when not only has there been a severe drain on the country for grain, but a large railway expendi- ture in addition. This shows the error of confining the attention too much to the subject of circulation, and not directing it sufficiently to the subject of capital; capital being represented by the amount of deposits in the hands of the bankers.

He might be asked, what use there was in calling upon bankers to keep their attention upon, and regard with a vigilant eye, the state of the foreign exchanges? The answer was obvious—that bankers might know what was likely to be the drain upon their funds, and the demand for capital. If the Bank had directed its attention to this point—if it had looked at the foreign exchanges, and raised its rate of interest at an early period upon loans and discounts—he thought that that raising. the rate of interest at an early period would have had a most beneficial effect, instead of leaving the rate of interest 3 per cent until January, and raising it to 4 per cent in April. By raising the rate of interest early, he thought the crisis and panic might have been mitigated if not avoided, and that a considerable relief would have been afforded to the country. He did not see that the proposed Committee could do anything to pre- vent the recurrence of these difficulties, except to supply the public with information. The present state of things cannot be improved by anything that the House can do, but by the operation of gradual means of renova- tion. An expenditure has been going on in excess of our means and ca- pital. Sir Charles Wood's Railway Bill would liberate a large amount; though it would also have a bad effect upon the state of commerce, if it threw out of employ, during a long period, a number of persons who had been in the receipt of high wages. And we must recollect that a large ex- penditure is yet to come; for the country must look to pay a further penalty for its indiscretion. He lamented, therefore, that we must look forward to a period of considerable depression. His amendment on the Chancellor of the Exchequer's motion was,

"That all the words after the word 'inquire' be omitted, for the purpose of in- serting the following words—' how far the recent commercial distress has been affected by the laws for regulating the issue of bank-notes payable on demand." Mr. WILLIAM BROWN seconded this amendment.

Mr. THOMAS BARING defended the trading community from the charge of recklessness and overtrading, and assailed the Bank Charter Act. If any one had been guilty of overtrading with the community, it had been Sir Charles Wood, by throwing a large number of Exchequer Bills upon the market, for which there was not sufficient demand to keep them from a disgraceful state of discount. Sir Charles had indeed committed several blunders, which if he had been a small trader would inevitably have put him in the Gazette. The great complaint against the Bank Charter Act is, that it does not enable those possessing property to meet engagements which the misfortunes of the country bring upon them. It renders it im- possible for the Bank, whatever it may foresee in the course of trade, to make advances on the most undoubted security. The act was to have prevented the crisis: the crisis, however, was not prevented; but when it came a violation of the law was necessary. There could not be a better Proof of that necessity than the result which followed. The country, in fact, has been sitting in committee on the bill, and has condemned it: and Mr. Baring deprecated the shelving of the question in Committee for eight een months. The commercial body wished to know whether in the

interval, should the same occurrences take place, the same power of vio- tiding the law would again be extended, or would be withheld until depu- tation after deputation had been heard, until failure after failure had taken place. The whole commercial world ought not to remain in a state of uncertainty until the indefinite time when this Committee shall have com • pleted its inquiry. He thought it desirable that, accompanying the reso- lution proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, there should be some measure whereby that portion of the bill of 1844 which restricted the issue of notes upon silver to one-fourth of the gold in the Bank of England should be suspended, or a discretionary power left in the hands of the Government until the Committee should have reported.

Mr. G. R. Rommosr also treated the appointment of the Committee as a tacit admission that the act of 1844 demands revision : and he added a dis- sertation on the Free-trade measures of Government—advocating a return to Protectionist principles, and an extension of the currency, with a regu- lated issue of small notes.

Sir WILLIAM MoLzswortru presented a Bynopais or digest of the whole subject in controversy; methodically inquiring,

"First, as to the causes of the pecuniary embarrassment of the country, and of the late panic; secondly, whether that embarrassment or that panic was produced or aggravated by the provisions of the Bank Charter Act, or by the conduct of the Directors of the Bank of England; and thirdly, whether her Majesty's Minis- ters were entitled to praise or blame for the advice which they tendered to the Di- rectors of the Bank of England."

Under the first head, he traced the distress and embarrassment, through the usual stages of crops, corn-importation, railway speculation, and

general overtrading. In the second, he acquitted the Bank Charter Act and the Bank. Thirdly, he vindicated and applauded the Ministers for their advice. The most striking part of Sir William's elaborate compilation was a picture of the rise, progress, and consequences of the speculation madness-

" One half of the community were occupied in devising railroads, calculating imaginary traffic-tables, and surveying the length and breadth of the land. The other half were busy in buying and selling scrip. Men and women of every class and grade in society, from the peer to the peasant—one-half of the House of Lords three-quarters of the House of Commons, engaged in these transactions; men with small capitals embarked in them in the hopes of eking out their scanty in- comes—men with no capital, expecting suddenly to acquire the fortunes they could not obtain by steady and honest industry; and men with broken fortunes, crippled with debts, traders on fictitious capital, swindlers in the garb of mer- chant princes, impostors, and deceivers of the public, clutched at these specula- tions, in order to stave off the day of reckoning and to postpone for a time the inevitable crush. It mattered not where the railroad was to be; railroads over in- hospitable moors, through decayed towns, to harbours without commerce—rail- roads up impossible gradients, and through impracticable tunnels—railroads in

Spain, railroads in India, railroads in Canada, railroads at the Antipodes—

all found eager purchasers for scrip at a premium. Successful specula- tors were crowned and worshiped; thousands and thousands of pounds were sub- scribed for their honour in this House; they were travestied into statesmen, and

a network of iron was prescribed as the remedy for the hunger and misery of a starving people. In this mad and universal worship of the demon of specula-

tion, a large portion of the community undertook to provide, within a short pe-

riod of time, a much greater amount of capital than they themselves possessed, or than the nation could immediately spare for permanent investment, The ef-

forts to meet engagements—the competition to obtain capital by means of loans, or by the sale of securities—produced the pressure in the money-market; the rate of interest rose, the price of all securities fell, capital became scarcer and scarcer —the demand for it more and more intense; the deposits of the bankers were drawn out to pay up railway calls and to purchase railway debentures; the bankers were unable to furnish their usual supplies to the money-brokers; the money-brokers were in consequence unable to discount the bills of mer- chants; and the merchants, who had been trading on borrowed or on insuffi- cient capital, or whose capital was locked up in foreign plantations and other improper investments, were the first who were unable to meet their en.. gagements. In this struggle, therefore, the most imprudent and deeply involved first failed, and among them, to the amazement of the public, many who were unjustly held in the highest repute. Some were joint stock banks, with enormous paid-up capitals, whose directors had disregarded every sound principle of banking, and had squandered away the funds of their proprietary in abetting the wildest speculations. Others were long-established homes, who ap-

pear never to have been solvent within the experience of the existing partners: those partners were men who a few months before had ranked among the chiefs

of the commercial world; men with hundreds of thousands of liabilities, yet un- able to pay more than a few shillings in the pound; men who had gone on year after year fraudulently contracting engagements they could never discharge, reck- lessly increasing their debts, careless of the ruin and misery they must produce. Hardly one of those failures was to be regretted, but they shook public con- fidence and produced the panic." Mr. CATLEY called for a reply to Mr. Baring's unanswerable speech. He condemned the Bank Charter Act, as violating the principle that we ought to buy in the cheapest market and sell in the dearest; since it obliges banks to buy gold dear and sell their best securities cheap. In re- ference to the extent of the pressure, Mr. Cayley said, he had been told that in many parts of the country the rate of discount charged was even as high as 25 per cent. On the motion of Mr. Umanueur, the debate was adjourned; and at the suggestion of Lord Joust Russann, the House also was adjourned till Thursday.

In resumption, on Thursday, Mr. URQUHART reviewed the commercial policy of this country " ever since the peace of 1815," and " Peel's Bill " of

1819, nay, since "the discovery of America, and consequent depreciation of the precious metals "; with glances at the taxation that falls principally on the industrious classes, an euloglum of the Scotch system of banking, and other topics. He ascribed all the evil to the fixed standard of gold: they had proclaimed free trade, except in the article that represents all things! He treated the act of 1844 as the supplement to the act of 1819; com- plained that the power given to the Bank of "putting on the screw," and thus " casting down the value of property or raising it up, and of making property change hands in enormous quantities," is " unconstitutional "; and declared that the effect of the act of 1844 had been " to supersede the con- stitution of the country, and leave the country in a state of chaos, or as if on the morrow of the Deluge." He invoked the Irish Members to aide with the Scotch in putting down the present system of banking.

Mr. ELLICE also went back in a critical vein to the peace of 1815, and to the act of 1819, which he had opposed. He rebuked Sir Charles Wood for telling the commercial people that they ought to have been forewarned he doubted whether his right honourable friend was any wiser. It was easy, however, to find fault with one circumstanced like Sir Charles, and Mr. Ellice doubted whether he himself should have been at all wiser than his

right honourable friend. (Laughter.) He described the country .as being in :s state of transition, its means being locked up until the completion of railways; and he desired information as to the mode of best getting over the interval. He therefore concurred in appointing the Committee, and should go into it without bias; though recent occurrences had shaken his belief that the system of convertibility.could be maintained. One point that required special attention, was the new practice of the Bank in dealing as sellers in public securities--adangerous innovation.

Mr. NEWDEGATE made a long currency speech of the anti-gold school; declared that it would be impossible to maintain free trade in the teeth of recent facts; pointed to the dangerous liability incurred by this country in admitting investments of gold by the Emperor of. Russia; and called on Ministers to accept the indemnity of which they had incurred the necessity.

Mr. MITCHELL defended free trade and the act of 1844: the deplorable evertrading of the last thirty years would not have been checked half so effectually as by the severe hit which has this year fallen on the commer- cial interests. He consoled Mr. Newdegate•with the information that the Emperor of Russia always has gold in this country.

Mr. HENRY DRUMMOND, who had maintained the late Corn-laws, avowed that their repeal had nothing to do with the distress: but he blamed the Ministers, late and present, for not checking the railway mania; also the gentlemen throughout the country who lend their names to schemes got up by designing attornies and engineers. He deplored the good old times of trade in goods, and bullion, before a Dutchman persuaded this nation, in its wisdom, to adopt paper; deplored the undue consideration awarded to money, Above moral worth or manufacturing skill—goods being often sold below the cost of making them; declared the whole tendency of the recent policy to be, to try down the land and exalt the manufacturers—to cry down wool and exalt cotton—to cry down landlords and exalt cotton lords—making "the towns rale the country," and abolishing the old dis- tinction between what is permanent and what is transitory; and he glanced at recent elections, in which London has coupled a Jew with the First Lord of the Treasury, and _Modern Athens has substituted a gentleman who oould teach them how to make paper in lieu of the modern Demosthenes.

Mr. MAcGREGOR would remedy defects in the Bank Charter Act; and be vindicated the Scotch banking system.

Mr. SANDARS vindicated the railway system, which extends employment And distributes money throughout the land; assailed, as a fraud upon the community, the system of convertibility ; and suggested a double standard, of gold. and-silver, an issue of Government notes to pay the Bank debt of 14,000,000/., and power for the Bank of England and all banks to make unlimited issues of notes on adequate security for redemption.

Sir WIT r TAU CLAY defended the act of 1844, though he had not dealt in such large expectations of it as many did; excused Ministers for the letter of 25th October ; condemned the mismanagement of the Bank ; saw no extrication from present embarrassments except through economy and industry ; and supported the motion, though he wished its terms had been less large.

Mr. MASTERMAN testified. to the beneficial effect of the letter of the 25th October—too slightingly mentioned by Sir William Clay—in allaying panic and releasing notes that ought to have been in circulation from hoarding in private stores. He expressed no opinion as to the goodness or badness of the Bank Charter Act—of that he was no judge; but thought it a bold word to say that 14,000,0001. was the exact amount of circulation needed by this country; and therefore, as no person could tell how long the Com- mittee would sit, he hoped that in the mean time some resolution would be adopted by the House, whereby the public would know that the Bank might issue more notes, provided they had the sanction of the Government. On the motion of the Marquis of GRANBY, the debate was again adjourned at midnight.

In the House of Lords, on Thursday, the Marquis of LANSDOWNE made a -motion parallel to that of Sir Charles Wood—for a Select Committee "to inquire into the causes," &c. His speech naturally went over the same ground, but in a more brief and general manner. In doing so, Lord Lansdowne expressed .a very impartial and unsettled state of judgment as to the Bank Charter Act-

" When be was asked whether, under all circumstances, and at all events, and et all hazards, he was prepared to maintain that act unchanged, he declined then, and he mow declined, to answer any such question. After the events that had taken place, he was no more prepared to say that that measure had been the cause of our safety or our suffering, than he should be prepared to affirm that the con- struction of a particular vessel had enabled her to escape a sweeping tornado and sail safe and unharmed into port. He might be told, as he had been told, that such a construction was not fitted to enable the vessel to grapple with such a se- ries of events as those to which she bad been exposed ; so he was not prepared to say that the existing state of the laws which regulated our currency had or had not been su'fficient to enable the country to bear up against its present difficalties , but this he was fully prepared to say, that he had no intention to propose the ap- pointment of a Conunittee for the purpose.of going into inquiries with a view to a revision of the currency as it now existed, subject to convertibility into the pre- cious metals—that he had no intention to propose from that basis to depart." Subsequently, alludiug to the drain of capital for railways and corn, the Marquis said, it was the concurrence of these two immense demands that created the pres- sure; and he believed that pressure would have existed under any system—with the act of 1844 or without it. He would go further, and say, if the effect of that bill had been to make the pressure sooner felt, that its consequences might be sooner guarded against, it had effected a great good. If it made the public per- ceive it was outstripping ita means, and attempting to accomplish more than it as able to do, he believed a valuable service bad been done. It put all parties on the only safe way in which a remedy could be found, that of gradually draw- ing in the scale of their operations. lie bespoke for the Bank Charter Act a fair trial at the hands of their Lerdehips.

Lord STANLEY concurred in the appointment.of a Committee; but sug- gested, that instead of calling it " the recent commercial distress," it should

be more correctly called, in the terms of the Queen's Speech, "the dis- tress which has for some time prevailed among the commercial classes." Re charged Ministers with underrating the effects of the distress; and in- siated,,that if it was the occasion of calling Parliament together, Ministers ought to have been prepared to suggest some remedy for it, or at least a palliative. The great question was, whether the Bank Charter Act had not aggravated the pressure and so increased the distress: but respecting that act, and the causes of the distress, Lord Lansdowne seemed to have no opinion at all! If thanohle Marquis did not think it had had a share in increasing the evils under which the couutry waalabouring, why did he not say that, under all cir- cumstances, the act of 1844 ought to be maintained unimpaired and unaltered ? .After their letter to the Bank, they must suppose the opinion of the Government

to be, that when the operation of the Bank Charter Act was most relied UFO; and was expected to be most efficient, then the act broke down. And notwith-

standing the similes of the ship in the tornado, and others to which the noble Marquis had treated the House, he could not help thinking that a prima facie case existed for supposing that the Government had themselves some doubts about the operation of the act—that in their opinion it worked well when it did not act at all, but that when the crisis came its operation was found to be so de. structive as to be entirely impracticable; and the Government then, much as they were attached to the principles of the act, were obliged to give way and consent to repeal it. Lord 'Stanley had been spoken of, en a former evening, as . an author of the measure: he certainly was willing to take his share of responsibility as a member of the Government with whom it originated; but it is well known that 'in the ordinary business of Governmeut -each department exer- cises a preponderating influence in its own affairs; and in calling the act his " offspring," Lord Lansdowne went beyond fairness. It was strenuously supported by the Opposition of the time, including Lord Lansdowne. Lord Stanley still upheld the principles of the act—a metallic standard, convert- ibility of gold into paper, and control of the currency in accordance with the foreign exchanges. There was no inconsistency in saying,that events since 1844 bad demonstrated that the restrictions imposed by the set in seeking to effect these objects had been unnecessary in themselves, and had injuriously affected the free exercise of the discretion of the Bank. In restraining the issue of notes by the Bank, the act had prevented that body from giving such an amount of accommodation as, with the bullion in their possession and the prospect of .an .additional influx of gold from the state of the foreign exchanges, they mould have been fully warranted in affording. If the Bank Charter Act had not affected the panic and increased existing evils, what induced the Government to authorize the Bank to violate the act of Parliament? He thought that violation wise; but be thought that it might have been adopted earlier.

He attributed much of the difficulty to the-drain of capital for the im- mense importations of corn—

But if the noble Marquis supposed that he attributed to the operation of free trade the large influx of corn which had taken place, he had only to restate what he did say, namely, that whether free trade existed or not, his opinion was that importation to:a very large amount would have taken place. That importation would have taken place as much under the Com-law as if the law had not been repealed. The argument he was prepared to maintain was, that whereas those who advocated the repeal of the Corn-laws, anticipating a large importation of foreign corn, had also predicted, as a necessary consequence of that importation, a large exportation of British manufactures and promised great national pros as the result,—they on the contrary, who maintained that the importation which had taken place had done so without reference to free trade, held also that the large importations of foreign corn did not necessarily or practically lead to a large exportation of goods, and to that, general .manufacturing prosperity which was anticipated by the supporters of the measure for the repeal of the Corn-laws. The noble Marquis said, on the subject of corn, that nothing could guard against the effect of great speculations. Granted. But by whose act and on whose encoa- rngement was it that those inordinate speculations in corn took place? Her Ma- jesty's Government could not be exempted from blame. They had suspended the liavrgation-laws to afford every possible facility for the introduction- of foreign corn; and it was too much far her Majesty's Government to turn round and say it was impossible to provide against the consequences of improvidence and rash spe- culation.

Though he did not oppose the -motion, he must express a deliberate judgment that a question such as the present ought not to be thrown loosely by the Government for inquiry upon a' Parliamentary Committee.

It was their duty, he did not say to propose a remedy, but to offer a palliative, and that on the responsibility of Government. They shrank from that duty. He did not intend to give any notice on the subject; but her Majesty's Govern- ment having intimated that the only 'measure they had to propose was the ap- pubstment of a Committee, they must not be surprised if on their abnegation of their duties, a proposition to deal more directly with the matter were to proceed from some other quarter.

Earl GREY defended the tourse taken by Government; reiterating many positions already advanced by his colleagues. He successfully repelled the charge that they had " no opinion " on the act of 1844— They believed that the act might require alteration on some points, but that the main principles of that act were undoubtedly correct; and that to teach the commercial classes in this country, or to teach men generally, to look for relief to what was called a relaxation of the currency, would be to encourage a delusion of the most dangerous kind. It was not in contemplation to , propose any relief of that kind; but they proposed a Committee to consider whether the arrangements of the act of 1844 were not susceptible of improvement. They knew that there were various points in which persons of conflicting opinions contended that im- provements might be made. One set of persons contended for some authority to be intrusted to the Executive Government on special emergencies, to take- course analogous to that which had been just sanctioned, without the authority a law. There were some who thought the principles of the act of 1844 were good, but that they were not carried out to theirIegitimate conclusions. It was thought by some that too much power was left in the hands of a corporation— the Bank of England; and that the directors of that institution represented the interests of the Bank rather than those of the public. It certainly did appear to him, that when the arrangements of the act had been so far departed from, it was a fit and proper thing that Parliament should appoint a Committee to consider all these various questions.

Lord Grey proved in a masterly manner that the immense importations of corn, so far from enhancing, had mitigated the distress; and that they could only have taken place after repeal of the Corn-law; the sliding scale imposing a penalty on those who imported corn from remote regions.

Lord Bnononam ascribed the distress not more to the imprudence of individuals than to the imprudence of the Legislature in furthering railway speculation, in spite of warnings from himself and the Duke of Wellington for the last ten years. He foresaw, in addition to the catalogue of difficul- ties, a "landowner embarrassment," under the operation of the present Usury-laws. He suggested that the inquiry by the Peers should be de- ferred until the Commons should have made their inquiry: not examining upon oath, the Commons world extend their inquiry to a wider field.

The Duke of GRAFTON imputed -the distress to restriction of -the cur- rency. Lord Aannunrox passed strictures upon the commercial policy of mo- dern times, which has injured the character of the country, and made. the name of British merchaut a byeword. He especially condemned the sti- pulation in the letter of the 25th October, fixing the exorbitant rate of S per cent interest. The moment the act of 1844 was suspended, credit re- vived :.the act, then, has been condemned. But, as the inquiry would out- last the siege of Troy, he -should reserve to himself liberty to propose so specific measure, without waiting for the close of the inquiry. The Earl of EGLINGTON asked, whether the Scotch banks would be in- cluded in the inquiry? In reply to this question, and others from Lord Atunroarow and Lord WHARNCL1FFE, the Marquis of LANSDOWNE stated, that it would be within the discretion of the Committee to extend the in- quiry to the Scotch banks—the whole monetary system of the country would come under review.

The motion, amended in accordance with Lord Stanley's suggestion, (roagree with the phrasing in the Queen's Speech,) was carried nemine contradicente.

REPAYMENT OF IRISH ADVANCES. In reply to Mr. FRENCH, on Monday, SirCuaieiir3 WooD stated, that the amount expended under the Temporary Belief Act, for Ration Act,) which he had estimated at 2,200,0001., was only 1,673,0001, including the maintenance of fever hospitals. The amount to be re- paid by the several anions would vary according to the ability of those unions. For example, Ballina, to which 43,6101. had been granted, would only have to repay 13,7161. Ballinasloe, to which the total amount given was 31,4701., would repay 20,3461. With respect to the completion of roads, it must depend mainly on what the Irish Grand 'Juries chose to do. The roads were undertaken not with the view of completing them, but with the view of affording employment: the necessity for their continuance as relief works has ceased; and Sir Charles did not propose to impose upon the people of England any further barthen merely for the purpose of completing these works.

LANDLORD AND TENANT IN IRELAND. In reply to Mr. JOHN O'CON- NELL, on Tuesday, Sir GEORGE GREY stated, that it was not the intention of Government to propose any further advances to the landlords of Ireland. Minis- tare had under consideration a bill on the subject of the laws relating to landlord and tenant. He could not pledge himself to the precise time when that mea- sure would be brought forward; but the bill had been drawn, and was now under the consideration of the Government; and it was their intention Ito submit it to Parliament as soon as they were satisfied that it was likely to work efficiently. .ADMINISTRATION OF THE POOR-IAIV. On Thursday, Mr. Beziarts moved for leave to bring in a bill to amend the Poor-law Administration Act by re- ducing the charge upon the public; and he called for some explanation as to the state of the Commission. One [Mr. Cornwall Lewis] was now in that House; another [ Sir Edmund Head] is reported to have received a high foreign ap- pointment; and the business could not be carried on because a Board could not be formed. If it were to remain so-4f there were to be only one Commissioner— let the new arrangement be embodied in a bill, and the salaries of the two Com- missioners be saved. Lord JOHN RIIMIELL explained, that the new Board, with one paid President at 2,0001. a year and two Secretaries at 1,5001. each, would cost 5,0001. instead of 6,0001., the present amount. Mr. Coniewall Lewis has resigned his place at the Board; but two Commissioners, Mr. Nicholls and Sir Edmund Head, are still at Somerset House, carrying on the business of the Commission. In about a week or ten days, however, the arrangements for the, new Commission would be complete. He presumed that Mr Bankes would not persist in his motion. Mr. BARNES -would withdraw it till after the recess, to see what Ministers would do.

HYPOTHECATION OF GOODS IN INDIA. On Tuesday, the Earl of 'ELLEN- BOROUGH moved for certain returns, illustrating the practice of the East India Company in granting advances on the hypothecation of goods in India; the pro- poW discontinuance of that practice in 1843; the rates demanded for bills on this country, &c. The mode in which changes had been carried out formed the sub- ject of constant complaint on the part of commercial men ; and he believed that the failure of several houses was connected with the practices concerning which be sought information. It was reported that the East India Company had given directions for a transfer of bullion to this country, to enable them to meet their engagements; an export which Mr. Trevelyan reported to have been at-. tended with disastrous effects in 1832. 'Lord EUenborough earnestly recom- mended Government to take these matters into their earnest consideration. The motion was agreed to.

NOTICES OF MOTION.

Hurr—Select Committee "to Inquire Into the expediency of maintaining the ex- iStIng system for the suppression of the slave-trade." (After the recess.) Lord AMILIglr—" To bring under the notice of the House the evidence taken before the Committee In 1844 on medical relief to the atek poor ; also, the state of the juvenile population in many parts nf the Metropolis and other large towns." (After the recess.) • Mr. Huns—Select Committee "to. Inquire into the state of the public income and expenditure of the United Kingdom ; to examine the public revenue, under its separate heads, as regards the assessment, collection, custody, and the establishments employed for the same ; and to report whether any and what alteration or repeal can be made under any of these heads, with benefit to the public revenue ; also, to examine into the public expenditure, under separate heads, and to consider and report what measures can be adopted for the relief of the country by altering or reducing any portion of the said expenditure, without detriment to the public service." (Thursday 9th December,) • Colonel Trtostesow—" To call the attention of the House to the facts and consequences ef the present invasion orMexico." (Tuesday 14th December.) air. SU/LIMAN CRAWFORD—. Bill to ware the custom known In the province or Ulster by the name of tenant-right; and to extend to tenants in other parts of Ireland, under fitting regulations, the benefits of said custom." (Tuesday 14th December.) Mr. Ossoaws—" To call the attention of the House to the state of the national, defences of Great Britain and Ireland." (Early day.) The Earl of HAILDWICKE has given notice in the House of Lords, that he will call the attention of their Lordships tofthe state of the National Defences. (After the Christmas recess.) Ma. Poutrrt Semorz—" To-call the attention of Government to the expediency of affording a diseretionaly power and due facilities to the Boards of Guardians of the several unions both in England and Ireland for setting to work their able-bodied poor, as prescribed- by the Poor-law Of Elizabeth." (On an early day.) Mr. CHARLES PEARSON has given notice that he will move for leave to bring In four regulate the practice and charges of counsel defending prisoners ; to provide for the suitable detention and treatment of insane criminals ; to provide profitable em- ployment for convicted prisoners, task-labour being substituted for fixed periods of im- prisonment ; and to declare the unaltered common law of England, by which children under the age of discretion are held to be incapaces dolt ; and to provide for their treat-, went in the spirit of that maxim. (On an early day.) Mr. EVELYN Demos—. Select Committee to Inquire into the composition and. management of the Ecclesiastical Commission." (After the recess.) Mr. MOIL0MAN'0 motion on Ecele.t.wir,t1CommIsaion is deferred from the 7th to the lath instant. Lord JOHN RUSSELL has deferred his motion on the subject of Jewish Disabilities from the 9thto the 16th instant.