metrically opposite to that, which the question; this was the obwas come to by the Committee. [ject of inquiry; and, yet, this For, the whole of the persons object seems never, for scarcely examined, with the exception a moment, except accidentally, of four, stated that the plan, if to have attracted the attention adopted, would plunge the coun-of the Committee! Verily, Sir, try into misery, if not confusion; these are most insincere, or most and those four did not pretend to ignorant, men! This Committee be able to judge as to that part say, that the affairs of the Bank of the subject; they only know- are in a most "flourishing coning that a man might be made dition;" yet the evidence shows to lay naked out in the snow, that the Bank has no gold; that but not knowing whether it all its possessions consist of pawould do him good or harm; per; and the Committee, when whether he would be able to they come to speak in the House, bear it or not. call the paper, “paper-bubble.” Verily, Sir, this was a Committee fit to be praised by the Speaker for their assiduity, skill, and fidelity. A Committee no bad epitome of His Majesty's faithful Commons.

The Bank Directors, in their part of that evidence, state their case very fairly. They say, that all the gold has been exported; they say, that, to get it. back, they must purchase it; they say, that they have nothing to pur- This Committee, in speech as chase it with but Bank notes; well as report, accuse the Bank and they say, that the real ob- of want of judgment in issuing ject of inquiry now is, "not the sovereigns and half-sove"when the Bank will be pre-reigns without, at the same time, "pared to resume payments in drawing in paper-money in an "specie, but whether the public amount equal to that of those "will be able to bear that re-new-fangled coins. Of all the “duction of the circulating me-accusations that ever were pre"dium," which a resumption ferred, this is (except those will render necessary.

To be sure, there was nothing here, which had not been said by me, long before, in a letter to

Mr. Tierney; but, this really was

against the Reformers) the most stupid as well as the most unjust.

It would not occur to me to offend the ear of your Royal

Highness by mentioning this published a year back, I again shewed, that the Bank never could add to its stock of gold in the way that the wise acre Committee suppose; but, in order to save your Royal Highness trou

1

stupid accusation, were it not a good text, on which to proceed in my. humble endeavours to explain to you the real state of the despicable system, and to show you how clearly it is impossible, ble, I will now, with your per that it should be retrieved by mission, explain the thing again. any of those pitiful means that The Committee appear to have have been adopted, during the filled their heads with a parcel last session of parliament. of rubbishy thoughts, collected The Bank, in answer to this from stock - jobbers and exfool-like accusation, say: We change-brokers. With heads “had no gold in our house: we thus crammed it is not surprizing "made notes and therewith that they appear to have lost "bought it: consequently we sight of common sense. "sent out as much paper-money "as gold-money, upon this oc"casion."

May I humbly beseech your Royal Highness to read Letter XXV. of " Paper against

Here is a Bank, which has no sovereigns. Well; it wants to pay out some sovereigns. But, as I told that venerable wrangler and scrambler, Mr. TIERNEY, before a Bank can pay out soGold," written while I was vereigns, it must get some 80 in prison for having expressed vereigns in. There are several my indignation at the flog-ways of getting sovereigns in. ging of Local Militia-men, in But, begging your pardon for the heart of England, under a the omission, the sovereigns guard of German bayonets? It must be made before they can is a little work, Sir; but, I be- be got in. The Bank, then, beseech you to read it. It will fore it can get sovereigns in, make you smile at the Speaker's must get some gold to send to Speech; and, it will prove to the mint to be made into so . you, that the answer of the vereigns; and, then, there are Bank to the above fool-like ac- several ways of a Bank's getting cusation was actually prepared gold. First, it may steal it priand written and printed and published by me eight years ago. In my Letter to Mr. TIERNEY, on the high-way; third, it may

vately second, it may take it

receive it as a present;

"claim the feelosofers of Edinthe stones in the street may be burgh, "that is just what we tarned into gold; fifth, the gold" say, that the Bank ought to may drop from the clouds; sixth," have bought the gold with the Bank may get the gold by" notes already in "notes already in circulation.” giving something in exchange No: you cunning foot, you canfor it. The Committee, with the not mean that; for, in order to dead lawyer, Horner, and the get those notes into his hands, live wiseacres of the Edinburgh the Bank must have given someReview, appear to have thought, thing for them; or, if you mean, that the gold might have been that it might have drawn in the gotten by the Bank in some one notes, lent out in discounts, then or all, of the first five ways. there was the trade all ruined But, the Bank, with more frank- before the sovereigns could get ness and truth than I could have expected from that body, say, that the sixth was the only way, in which they could possibly obtain the gold to make the Sovereigns of

Now, then, what had the Bank to give in exchange for the gold? It had no corn, meal, beaves, sheep, swine, lands, houses, or chattels of any sort. It had, in short, nothing of real intrinsic value. It had no coin; because it was the want of coin

out.

What, then, was the Bank to do, in order to get the gold to make the sovereigns of? Precisely what it says it did, and what I, long ago, said it must do; namely, make new notes, and give them for the gold; and make them, too, and pay them out, not only before the sovereigns were got in; but before the gold went to the mint to make the sovereigns of.

Now, then, behold the Bank,

in which the transaction ori-shouldering away the gold to ginated. What had it, then? the mint, and leaving its new It had nothing. Yea, Sir, no- lot of paper in circulation. This thing that I can think of in this new lot lowers the value of the whole world, except the parings paper and raises that of gold, of the nails and the clippings of so that, by the time that the sothe hair of the persons compos-vereigns are ready to be paid ing the Bank Company. It had, out, they are worth twenty-one indeed, Bank Notes. Ah! ex-shillings in paper instead of

twenty. They assist the paper, the Treasury. Mr. BARING quotmade to buy them with, in raised to them Mr. Hume's "Essay ing the prices of all the things on Money," which says, "the of real value. They are at a " consequences of a contraction premium: they are worth pur-" or expansion of the amount of "or chasing to export: and the hole-" the money in a country, seem digging political economist, with more felt during the progress gaping jaws and out-stretched" of such contraction or expanhand exclaims, "the sovereigns" sion, than from any positive are all gone!" Gone, too, to the amount of money at any one French mint, to augment the" given period. It is not, in currency of France! Bless us and" my opinion, of great importsave us! What a strange thing! ance, what amount of money Why, Sir, fish-women at Bil-" may exist in any country; but, lingsgate, their hands grimy" that, the question, of whether with scales and slime, and their “it is on the increase or decrease, throats full of gin, never belched" is one of great importance to forth nonsense equal to that of " every branch of industry.” this Committee, for whose un- This, though a very correct wearied examinations and in-view of the matter, appears to quiries and whose wise measures me to have served as the founthe Speaker has the consciencedation of much of the error and to call for your Royal commen- stupidity manifest in the Report dation, and which commenda- and subsequent projects of this tion your Ministers have advised Committee. Mr. HUME had in you so liberally to bestow! his eye a country without a Debt

However, this is only one in-and without enormous taxes; stance of the incapacity of this without a territory and an inCommittee. They appear to dustry mortgaged beyond their have wholly overlooked all the value; without FIXED annuigreat features, or, as the hole- ties, pay, salaries, and stipends, digger would call them, the swallowing up so much as to “fundamental features," of the case. They seem wholly to have forgotten the Debt, Army, Sinecures, Pensions and Grants, the eye of Mr. HUME, it would, and all the fixed out-goings of indeed, be of little or no con

leave not half enough as a remuneration for labour. In à country, situated like the one in

sequence what was the positive the quantity of the circulating amount of the money in it at medium? Will there not be a any given period, and any evils smaller nominal amount of mothat such a country might feel ney in the country than there (and some even it would feel) was before? If the Committee from the contraction, or expan-answer in the negative here, sion, of its money, would be they will merit kicks and cuffs. chiefly confined to the period of It would be degrading to atthe contraction, or expansion. tempt to reason with them. But, very different is our case;

Thus, then, specie payments, and very different must be the cannot return without a reducconsequences; though the Com-tion of the nominal amount of mittee, like the ass that was money in the country. This, as soundly cudgelled for imitating Mr. HUME says, would be. of litthe spaniel in jumping up on his tle consequence to the commumaster, could not (profound nity at large in any thing like hole-diggers), see the difference. an ordinary and natural state of And so, they took it into their things; for, if the guineas of a beads, that it would be only to country were to become halfmake the people endure the pe-pence, all of a sudden, the halfriod of the progress of the con-pence would perform the office traction; and that, then, all of the guineas, and all would would be right again! And so be well. But, in a country with they reported in favour of cash-an enormous Debt, Army, hordes payments: and so they resolved of sinecure placemen and pento eause cash-payments to re-sioners, with FIXED pay, the turn and so, as the Speaker half-pence would not perform says, it was most deliberately the office of the guineas in the enacted to return quickly, but paying of all these; and the with due precautions, to our mass of the people must, if the ancient and healthful state of Debt, army, placemen, pensicurrency! oners, and granters be all paid

Payments in cein are to be in the former sum of gulneas, produced in no way but one, be totally ruined and starved. and that is by lessening the During the period of the proquantity of the paper-money.gress of the change from guineas Well, then, will not this lessen to half-pence, the misery would