them, is, in every view of the matter, unjustitiable; and, such attempts assume a dye peculiarly dark, when we consider, that they generally proceed from that poli tical cowardice, which, daring not assail the author and champion of the system, skulks from the cause, the mighty, the compact, the one-and-indivisible cause, and fastens successively upon the widely scat tered and defenceless parts of the effect. evif effect that might arise from taking the word "avarice" in the most unam able sense, I took care to state, that it was the duty of every one, having authority or in fluence, to check all attempts to excite a public prejudice against the persons engaged in the growing, the preparing, or the vending of bread. This was, endeavonred to be enforced by shewing, that the exis tence of such prejudice must, in its degree, tend to enhance the price of bread, by creating a charge for risk from popular discon-objections which D. B. has urged against tent and consequent commotion. The harsh epithets bestowed upon speculators in.corn or meal, as likewise on the bankers.connected with such speculators, were expressly disapproved of; because, as it was then observed, such persons are doing no more than follow their lawful occupations, Occupations by which they and their fami lies must live. The system, by which cornspeculators and makers of paper-money have been created, that, indeed, may be, and I think is, deserving of the severest reprobation; but, as to the persons themselves, they can, with justice, no more be blamed for following their trade, than the followers of any other pernicious trade pérmitted by the law. For my part, I would defend a banker, one who makes promis sony notes with not the least, intention of fulfilling his engagements; I would reso lutely defend, against the violences arising from popular discontent, even such a banker, upon the same principle that I would, un der similar circumstances, defend the lis censed preacher of a methodist meeting or a licensed vender of lottery tickets; for, though there certainly are much more honest ways whereby to procure a livelihood, yet where these are permitted and even encouraged by the law, though one would not select, as friends or acquaintances, the persons who yield to the temptation, it is impossible, consistently with any principle of justice, not to disapprove of their being persecuted for those arts, in the constant practice of which their profession necessarily consists: and, upon this same principle it was, that the parliament must have been shacked to hear the minister lately declaim so bitterly against crimping, another trade which has increased in a proportion surpas sing even the increase of our exports and imports, and, which owes its existence solely to that military system, which, in spite of the united voice of military men, he has thought proper to persit in: In short, while the present paper system exists, to attempt to excite a popular prejudice against papermoney makers and persons connected with I should now proceed to examine the the principle laid down by Mr. Howison, and more pointedly against the conclusion, which I took as the motto of the Register alluded to, But, it is first necessary to ex plain a very material misapprehension, into which D. B. has evidently fallen as to the meaning of Mr. Howison, whom, in consequence thereof, he has regarded as being "involved in such a confusion of ideas, that "it seems a hopeless task to endeavour to extricate him from his perplexity." Whether D. B. has really desired and endea youred to assist Mr. Howison is more than I can positively determine; but, if he has, it is easy to perceive, that his desire has not been accomplished, that his efforts have completely failed; and, there is some reason to fear, that, if Mr. Howison should happen to cast his eyes upon this sheet, he will be clined to think, that, in this particular in stance at any rate, his " antagonist has not "been his helper." With D. B.'s per mission I will now try my hand at this "hopeless task," supported by the assu rance, that, if I fail, his failure will keep me in countenance. Mr. Howison, after having spoken of the mischievous effect which the facility of discounting has, in seasons of scarcity, by adding to the distresses arising from dearth, proceeds to shew, thar; in seasons of great abundance, this effect of discounting ceases. These are his con cluding words: Corn is now become in "such plenty, from the late favourable sea sons, that the ficticious state of paper"money cannot influence it ; notwith standing the depreciation of money, that "article has fallen back in price." These are the words which present to the mind of D. B. such a confusion of ideas, such a përplexity, that he really seems, at times, to have lost himself in the maze. According ly he runs out into a dissertation upon the nature and effects of capital and credit con trasted with those of a depreciation of money; he states case upon case, supposition upon supposition, and oversets them one after another; and, at last, quits the hopeless task with gravely observing, that the dis intelligible as D. B. seems to regard it; and, though we cannot but admire the ingenuity which he has displayed in the last paragraph but one of his letter, no one can help lamenting that it should have been employed in a discussion where it is entirely useless. able, at least, all collateral annoyance, I now approach the main point in dispute. The principle laid down by Mr. Howison, was this, that, the facility of discounting bills, enabled the corn-dealers, in times of scarcity, to keep corn back from the market. After illustrating his proposition by a reference to the consequences of a speculation in rum, founded on discounted bills, and after very distinctly stating, that discounting loses its power as to the prices of corn upon the return of abundance, he makes this conclusion, that, wherever necessity and scarcity are combined, pa counting of bills, with which Mr. Howison set out as the cause of adding to the distresses of dearth, is something "perfectly dis "tinct from the depreciation of money." D. B. very justly observes, that, in the ardour of speculation, we are very apt to think we have exhibited a new and lumi-Having thus removed, as far as I am nous exposition; and, indeed, I cannot help thinking, that it was an ardour of some sort or other that made him overlook a meaning in Mr. Howison's words, which meaning would have spared him the mortification of having failed in the task which he was so good as to undertake; for, to me, who can look coolly over the sentences of Mr. Howison, the passage above quoted appears to mean, that, corn is now in so great abundance, that the speculators cannot keep up its price by means of their discounts, that is, by the aid of ficticious capital, or money; and, therefore, the price has fal-per-money will always be an instrument to add to len back, and is lower even in nominal value than it was a year or two ago, not withstanding money has been constantly depreciating up to the present time.' It is not denied, that, in the sentence of Mr. Howison, the construction might have been more full, that the pointing might have yielded more aid to the words, and that the circumstance of depreciation of money might have been omitted; but, such as it has now been explained was the meaning that first -presented itself to me, and that it so appear. ed to others will be seen by a reference to the letter of J. T. who, in page 417, has favoured me with his remarks upon the same subject. Indeed, the ideas are kept perfectly distinct. By introducing the circumstance of depreciation of money, Mr. Howison only meant more strongly to mark the fact that he was stating, namely, that the system of dis. counting could not, in seasons of great abun. dance, keep up the price of corn. He was not speaking of the depreciation of money as synonymous with "the fictitious state of paper-money," which latter appellation he obviously confined to the effect produced by those pecuniary relations and contrivances, by means of which men trade beyond their real capital, and, sometimes, without any real capital at all. Such trade (if it ought not to be called gambling instead of trade) must of necessity be carried on by fictitious capital, by the mere signs of property; and, as these are obtained, or, at least, with so much facility, only in consequence of the ease with which paper money is now created, was it so very improper and unintelligible to speak of "the fictitious state of pa per money?" If the expression be not so precise as we could wish, neither is it so un the distress. These opinions having been adopted by me, D. B. has thought it necessary to controvert them. He rejects the principle upon which Mr. Howison proceeds; he denies that the discounting of bills can, at any time, or in any degree, suspend or diminish the supply of the corn-market; he insists, that none of the evils peculiar to scarcity ought to be attributed to the papermoney; and, from the arguments he has submitted, he says he is convinced, that the real value of corn is fixed by those princi. ples which moulded society into its peculiar form, and which act as uniformly and as steadily as those laws of material nature by which the physical constitution of the creation is upheld. In support of this conclusion he quotes a passage from Burke's Thoughts on Scarcity, which passage must, I think, be regarded as containing observations far too general to afford much aid in their present application; especially when we take into view the very material circum. stance, that, when Burke committed to paper his Thoughts on Scarcity, the idea of a paper-money not convertible into specie, the idea of the principal cause of the evils of which we complain, could never have entered his mind. Great, therefore, as would, in an opposite case, have been the weight of such authority, it certainly leaves the opinions of D. B. to depend upon the solidity of his own arguments.Of these arguments the first is, that if the opinion of Mr. Howison be well founded, it must apply to every society, or state of society, where paper-money is in use; because, paper-money must always facilitate, in a greater or less degree, the obtaining of discounts. Such is the tendency of this argument, that it is a matter of per son's illustration of his principle, as well as the conclusion that I adopted, clearly show, that it was to times of scarcity that the supposed influence was confined. He explicitly stated, that, though avarice dictated the conduct of the corn-dealers, their ruin was frequently the consequence of their speculations; and, as for myself, I took quite sufficient care, I thought, to guard against the notion of an unlimited duration to the influence spoken of; for, after saying drat the corn-bill had, doubtless, a share in the sudden rise of the price of bread, because from the moment it was passed it became, an inducement with the speculators in corn to with hold that commodity from the market, which they were "enabled to do by the "facility which the paper-system afforded "them of obtaining discounts, and thereby postponing the demands upon them for payment: After this I proceed to sayThat finally all their corn (upon a supposition that no exportation took "place) must come to market, and that "they will be ruined if they keep it " back too long, is certain; but, the know"ledge of these facts will, in the mean "time be no consolation to the suffering fect indifference whether its conclusion be granted or denied; for, if I were to allow, that a paper-money unchecked in its issues by the constantly existing right of the holder to demand payment in specie; if I were to allow, that such a paper-money contained the same power of checking discounts as is contained in a paper-money convertible into specie; yet, the objection as to the degree would still remain, which is, indeed, the principal objection; because till the degree be considerable, the effect of discounting is scarcely felt, and, of course, does not amount to an evil to be complained of. That the amount of discounts must be in proportion to the quantity of paper is evident; and, that the non convertibility of the paper is the principal cause of the augmentation of its quantity has been proved by documents too authentic to be suspected of inaccuracy. Indeed, no one will venture to deny either of these positions.--But, D. B. denies that corn can ever be kept from the market by the means of discounts. He denies that the discounting of bills can, at any time, or in any degree, suspend, or diminish the supply of the corn-markets; and he complains that Mr. Howison has not proved that it can. "There is a link," says 66 he, wanting in "the chain of sylogistical deduction. Articles of necessity must be had-any means which enables the dealer to with hold "them from the market also enables him to "fix the price." "Here," adds he, “ fol"lows the break that ought to be filled up by proving, that by means of paper credit corn is witheld from the market." With the indulgence of the reader I will endeavour to fill up this break; first insisting, however, that, both as to the extent and duration of the influence of discounts upon the price of corn, D. B. has over-rated the suppositions of Mr. Howison and myself; for, it is material here to observe, that the text of that gentleman could not be fairly combated by D. B. but in conjunction with the qualifications contained in my comment. The conclusion, which I regarded, and which I still regard, as incontrovertible, was, "that wherever necessity and scarcity are "combined, paper-money will always be 46 an instrument to add to the distress." The extent of the distress by this means added was left unascertained; and not only left unascertained, but the task of ascertaining it was expressly confessed to be one too dithcult, perhaps, for persons possessing infinitely more talent than I could pretend to. Neither was our meaning, as to the duration of the influence of discounting, by any means such as D. B. has considered it. Mr. How people." Hence it is, I think, evident, that the article of the Register, to which D. B. has referred, did not, when fairly considered as a whole, tend to encourage the notion of any thing more than a transitory influence upon the price of corn, arising from the facility of discounting: and, seeing that this was the case, I cannot help thinking, that it was rather cruel to pour upon me argument upon argument to prove, that it would be impossible for the corndealers to act by combination and to keep the whole of the corn from market, for even a single hour; or, to raise the cora, by the assistance of discounts, to any price they pleased, and so to keep it for any length of time they might choose; suppositions too absurd to be entertained by any man of common understanding.That part, however, of the corn can be kept back from market by the means of discounted bills, or, in other words, that the supply can, in a certain degree and at certain times, be diminished by the means of discounted bills, I still think there can be little reason to doubt; and though it is, perhaps not easy to afford the sort of pray that 2. B. may require in order to form the link woning in the "chain of sylogitical deduction yet, it appears to me, that as good proof con be given as can be reasonably, expected ilin the naine the rose.-. discounting at all god 19 ppSipahigang m prospect or even rumour of scarcity of any article, would cause such article to be, in some degree. kept back from the consumer; but, then that degree, which must bear a due proportion to the real capital of the possessors of the article, would never be so great as to amount to an evil. Indeed, thus far the power of with-holding from the market is a good; because it operates as a check to consumption, which as to the necessaries of life, is the great preventive of famine. If the with ho ding here spoken of be allowed to be practicable, it is, then, admitted, that corn may, for a time, and in a certain degree, be kept back from market by the means of that capital which enables the possessor of such corn to meet the demands upon him without bringing all his corn, or so much of it as he otherwise would bring, for sale to the consumer; and this being admitted, which it in substance is by D. B. himself, it does, I think, naturally follow, that discounting, by adding to the quantity of capital, must also, in its degree, confer the power of with holding corn from the market. Of this inference, indeed, D. B. seems to have been aware, for he premises, that discounted bills must be considered as merely subsidiary to capital already accumulated. But, is it not notorious, that a considerable portion of discounted bills are founded upon no real capital at all? that they are truly the representatives of nothing valuable that they are drawn and discounted for the express purpose of speculation? And, if this cannot be denied generally, what reason is there to make an exception in the particular instance of speculations in corn? The vast amount of the article of corn, does not, that I can perceive, form any objection at all to the supposition of Mr. Howison; for, whatever be the worth of the corn, in whatever degree that article surpasses every other article in amount of value, the capital, whether real or fictitious, possessed by,. or at the command of, the persons concerned in buying and selling corn, must bear a due proportion to that amount. The very great number of persons concerned in the corn-trade would have been a good objection, if the fact or the probability, or even the possibility of a direct combination had been insisted on; but, when opposed to an argument founded on the necessarily general inclination and constant propensity of dealers, neither the vast number, nor the scattered locality, nor the partially contending interests of those dealers, can have any considerable weight. They do not combine; but they all act, in certain cases, and particularly in the case of a scarcity, in concert as perfect (each in proportion to his means) as if united in one firm of trade, because they act under an influence which operates upon them with an uniformity like that of cold or heat. If a law were to be passed granting a premium of a guinea for each bushel of corn exported after next Christmes, will D. B. deny, that such a law would induce all the corn-dealers to raise the corn in hand, and that too from one and the same motive? This is only mentioned to shew, that an union of persons and of particular interests is not always necessary to produce an union of action. There has, for instance, been no visible combination, no union of persons, no concerted plan of action amongst the linen, sellers and others in the north of Ireland: they are very numerous, are rivals in trade, must be constantly desirous to out-trade each other; and yet we see, that, by the operation of a feeling, uniform in its ef. fect, that vile instrument of deception, called paper-money, has beem completely banished from that part of his Majesty's do minions.If, then, all active capital does, in proportion to its amount, induce and enable the possessor to keep corn back from the market in times of scarcity or approaching scarcity; and, if the discounting bills, unchecked by a due reference to real capital accumulated, greatly and instantaneously adds to the active capital; if these two positions are granted, and I think they will not be denied, it follows of course, that, by means of discounting bills corndealers are induced and enabled to keep corn back from the market in those seasons when corn becomes an object of speculation.It is not, nor ever has been, contended, that the trade of a corn-dealer is, upon the whole, any more profitable on account of the facility of obtaining discounts. That, first or last, all the corn must come to market no one denies; but, would it not have been better if the quar tern loaf had been sold at fifteen-pence all through the year 1801, instead of selling for a considerable part of the year at twen ty-pence, and afterwards as low as tenpence? We do not speak of paper-money as a cause of scarcity, as creating scarcity, but as adding to the distress when a scarcity of provisions already exists. Neither do we pretend that the application of fic titious capital was the sole cause of the fluctuation of prices in 1801, nor in this year, when, in the course of only one month, the quartern loaf rose from eight pence farthing to a shilling; a rise not by any means to be accounted for upon the princi ple of D. B. who insists, that the " only cause of distress peculiar to a scarcity is "an increase of real value in the commodity,occasioned by the great preponderance "of the demand above the supply." Very true: but what cause had produced such a sudden augmentation of the demand, or such a sudden decrease in the supply? A month was no space for the effects of seasons to operate: the harvest was, indeed, hardly begun the scarcity, as yet, existed only in the mind; but, as the paper-system afforded the means of instantly acting upon the dictates of the mind, the scarcity, as far as it ought to be called one, produced nearly the same evils as if it had all at once become real to the same extent and thus, în this instance, the paper-money has added, and it at this moment adds, to the distresses of dearth, by precipitating and adding to the rise in the price of bread, and thereby creating a greater disproportion than otherwise would exist between the price of bread and the price of labour, the latter not admitting of so sudden an alteration. It has been stated, by a correspondent, in p. 417, who admits that the corndealers are, by the means of discounts enabled to withhold corn from the market, in certain cases and to a certain extent; by this writer it has been stated, that only those who live upon fixed incomes suffer from that part of the augmentation in prices, which arises from the power of discounting. The effect here spoken of is synonymous with depreciation of money; and, as D. B. in pursuing a mistaken meaning attached by himself to Mr. Howison's words, has deviated into the subject of a depreciation of money considered as to its effect in times of scarcity, has thereon stated that the rise thus occasioned is a rise only in the nominal value of provisions, and that the only cause of distress peculiar to scarcity is an increase of real value in the provisions, I think it necessary, by way of conclusion, just to observe, that, when provisions begin to rise, and, indeed for many months afterwards, the price of labour, particularly agricultural labour, the amount of which will admit of little diminution without producing great distress, does not take any rise at all. Such is the case at present in the country, the quartern loaf has, since the first of July, risen from seven to eleven pence; and, after having taken some pains to ascertain the fact, I think I am warranted in asserting, that the price of labour has experienced no rise at all: indeed there requires little consideration to convince one, of the impossibility of the price of labour keeping pace, under such circumstances, with the price of bready With respect, therefore, to the labourer, I need not point out to D. B. that, in whatever degree the present rise in the price of provisions is owing to a depreciation of money, in that same degree the depreciation of money has caused an addition to the real as well as to the nominal value of those provisions. CATAMARAN PROJECT.A publication that follows events at only a day's distance can hardly make shift to record the follies of Downing Street, or rather, indeed, of Walmer Castle, quick enough to keep them distinct. What, then, can be expected of a sheet that appears only once a week! The Catamaran Project, however, must have a place. All the resources of indignation and ridicule have been exhaust→ ed on it. Nothing need be said to expose either the project or the projectors to the contempt that they deserve. The use, therefore, that I shall make of it is, to exhibit to the world, in two separate accounts of the Catamaran Expedition, taken from two different ministerial newspapers, a complete specimen of the ignorance and baseness, to which the present ministers (lower, aye, far lower, than their predeces sors) stoop for support.--The public will remember, that these accounts were pub lished on Friday the 5th instant, their pretended news having been circulated the night before.I shall not distinguish any of the passages by Italick characters, begging the reader to give its full weight to every sentence; and, at the end of every paragraph to say to himself: " such are the men, who praise Mr. PITT and Lord "MELVILLE!!!"The first extract is from a London newspaper called the Morn ing Post. We have, at length, the "exulting satisfaction of communicating to our readers an event which varies the "hitherto dull inactive nature of the war, "and which, at the same time that it is the "commencement of the great shocks that "were to be expected between the two "countries, so powerful fand so much irri "tated, adds new glory to the wreath of "British victories, and gives a happy pre-We sage of the issue of the contest. "have for some time known that an expe "dition was to take place against the ene 66 my's flotilla at Boulogne, though pruden "tial motives induced us to say but little "upon the subject. We have nów to "communicate an account of the expedi "tion having taken place, and of its having |