❝ circulation. They all knew what "disgraceful measures had been taken "in past times, in this country as "well as in the other countries of Europe, by debasing the currency to obtain some immediate profit to "the Government. There was, how"ever, this difference between that case "and the one which he was now con"sidering that something of fixed "value was still given in lieu of that "which circulated before. The effect of the new doctrine would be to say, that they would have no fixed "standard, but would leave to a body "of men, (most respectable he ad66 mitted, and who had exercised with "signal moderation the great power "entrusted to them), to the Bank of "England, a discretionary authority "to make money, which they denied to "the Sovereign himself, who would exercise it under the control of "Parliament-(hear)."

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it. He shall never pass another session, this hole-digging statesman shall not, so quietly as he passed the last.

But, of all the retractors, GRENVILLE Seems to have been the most eager. His speech contains matter for plenty of fun, if the subject were not too serious for joke. A great part of what he said was, indeed, very true; but, not one single truth did he utter, connected with the doctrines of the subject, which I had not uttered before him, and for the uttering of which I had not been abused. Let us, however, put upon record a little of his stuff, and then hear what can be said upon it. Any thing said by this man is unworthy of remark, except as it may tend to shew how impudent and wicked the Boroughmongers have been; and, at the same time, how ignorant. The beastly ignorance of the dungeon-making crew, of the insolent pretenders to superiority of birth, of the audacious gang who call us all in a lump "the Lower Orders;" this beastly ignorance ought never, for one single moment, to be out of our sight. Now let us hear the dull and arrogant Grenville, who was a volunteer for the dungeon-bill.

The attempt to disguise, here, the robbery committed on me, in my Letters to the Regent of last winter, is like that of scoundrels, who, when they have stolen a horse, cut off his tail and ears and knock out an eye. I beg leave, however, to except the parenthesis in favour of the BankDirectors; for, never have I, at any time of my life, called them, or thought them, a respectable body of" men on the contrary, I have always said, that they were most zealous instruments in the hands of a most detestable tyranny.

"Lord GRENVILLE.-The Noble Earl who had opened the debate, "had explained the plan which he had proposed to their Lordships in so "Juminous and argumentative a "speech, that there was very little " occasion for him to add a single "word upon the subject. But having To be sure it is a most degrading" considered this restriction as one of thing to king and people, that a band "the greatest calamities under which of fellows, at a big building in Lon-" this suffering country had laboured; don, should have the power to make money, at their discretion; and that they should be able, whenever they pleased, to cause a violation of all contracts. But, I have been saying this every month for thirteen years; and, which I beg to be remembered, I" proposed a remedy for this more than twelve years ago. And yet the shal-" low and impudent CASTLEREAGH reviled me as a man aiming at distinction, without having capacity to merit

"having frequently had occasion to la"ment and deplore the part which he

had himself taken, on its original proposition, in prolonging it for the "term of the then existing war; "having avowed his error in so doing, as became an honest man, at the commencement of the last war; and having prophecied but too truly all "the distress and misery which would “befall the nation in consequence of " it, he could not help expressing his

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fixing an arbitrary value upon the "national currency. He was inclined

"joy and satisfaction that the country "cular moment avert an impending was at last arrived at that period" danger, to meet such a momentary " in which it could look forward with "crisis,it might be necessary to resort to "certainty to the repeal of this inju-" a forced circulation; still such forced "dicious and unfortunate measure. "circulation should not be continued "He could not remain silent when a beyond the momentary necessity. measure was proposed to their" For he held it to be a maxim, that "Lordships, which was almost posi-"there was no difference in principle "tively certain of success, but must or effect, between excessive issues "be allowed to add his voice, weak" forced upon the country at par by "and humble as it was, to that of "legislative enactment as soon as they "those who had spoken so ably and "became depreciated; and the more "eloquently upon it. The Noble direct system pursued by Austria, "Earl had said that the Bank had "Prussia, Russia, and the other Con"been of the greatest utility to the❝tinental Governments, of at once "Government during the war, and "had advanced many large sums to 66 carry it on with vigour and energy ❝he did not mean to deny this asser❝tion; but he could not help ob<< serving, that it was his opinion that no permanent advantage had been "derived from the connexion between "the Government and the Bank suf. "ficient to compensate the evils to "which it had given birth. He need 66 not tell their Lordships his opinion" and only aspect which could bear regarding the war which we had waged with France—that must be sufficiently well known to all of "them; he need not repeat to them "what he had often before stated, "that he considered no sacrifice which "could be made, too great to bring "that war to a successful termination; "but he must inform them, that even "with those sentiments, he was

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to express his sentiments on this "subject in the strongest manner, "because, hoping as he now did, that an end would at length be pat lo the Restriction, he wished to impress his country with that serious view "of the question, which, after long "and anxious and laborious delibera"tion, he was convinced was the true

"the test of principle. He was dis"posed to go very far on this point; he would say, that under any cir"cumstances, a restriction on cash

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payments, or in other words, à "forced, and consequently an exces"sive paper circulation must be at"tended with greater evil than good; "he would refer to its natural effects, 66 of commercial distress, increase of 66 opinion that the restriction was an prices, increase of taxes; and he "evil of such magnitude, that the "would say, that these circumstances sooner it was abolished the better must so cramp and contract all the it would be for the country. He "natural energies of the country, as did not believe that any men sin- even in time of war to obstruct the cerely wishing the welfare of their necessary efforts, and thus produce country, could at any time resort to a mischief far to overbalance the "such a measure, without a sorrow. "advantage accruing from the facility "ful apprehension of the difficulties of loans. The war terminated just "and dangers to national and indi"before the breaking up of the bubble, "vidual interests which must neces- "and it was fortunate, it was provisarily result from it, and without a dential, that it did, for its conti"conviction that it was for the mo"ment absolutely essential for a par"ticular crisis. Certainly if the 66 question were, whether any extraordinary excrtion might at a parti"

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system by which, it is impossible it "could ever be terminated. It was "with great surprise and pain that he "had heard a most intelligent witness (to whom the Noble Earl had referred) declare, that the Suspension "Act afforded great facilities to in"dustry and commerce, without any countervailing evil. There were "others who maintained, that while the measure was of the greatest "service to the commercial world, it "might be injurious and even ruinous to the other interests of the com. munity. With the latter part of this opinion he perfectly agreed; "from the former part he must ex(6 press his most decided dissent. The

"further exertion was necessary than ❝ to wind up the war expenses, it had "been found to be not only impru"dent, but impracticable to remove "the Bank restriction; and when it was necessary to have recourse to those methods of raising money, "usual only in war; what would "have been the case if the Country" "had been called upon to make "fresh and extraordinary efforts for "the farther conduct of a war, or ❝ rather for the existence of the "Country? It would have been this "that the Country would have had ❝to learn, by its absolute destruction," "the effects of a measure intended to its existence (hear.) He preserve "did not now look to live to see the practical results of any of his opinions; but he was anxious to be "explicit, that future Statesmen, who "might have to propose a similar measure, might at least not have "to say, that the opinion of such a 66- measure having once saved the country was unanimous. So far " from wishing to be thought a party "to such a doctrine, he hoped (if indeed any opinion of so humble 66 an individual as himself could be "expected to be remembered, he "would not say after his death, but 66 even for the few remaining years of" became troubled, that the flattering life he hoped) that it would be "recorded of him as his decided con"viction, that in proportion to the danger under which the country laboured, he would almost say in "proportion to the extent of that" "danger was the impolicy and despe"rute madness of such a measure as "they were now considering how to ❝ rescind. Having providentially" "emerged with success from the war "(for Providence would not suffer "such an example of morals and laws

facilities of commerce returned on "commerce with aggravated mischief; "and whatever temporary advantages "might be furnished to individuals, "it rarely happened that these indivi"duals did not ultimately suffer ten"fold injury, He would refer to "the memorable example of 1816. "There was, indeed, nothing new in "the progress and effects of a depre"ciated currency. For a time all "seemed brisk and cheering; the "vessel rode along in full sail, and with favouring current, but it never "failed to happen that the calm sea

gale swelled into a storm-such a "storm as that from which this coun"try had with difficulty saved itself, " and from the effects of which it still "suffered, and would long continue to suffer. As an illustration of his " argument he would refer their Lordships to the lists of bankrupts, from "the year 1790 to the present time; and their Lordships could not fail "to remark the striking coincidence "of increased bankruptcies with the "system of increased facilities.--as this country afforded to be lost "While the Bank was lending money "to the world) they had now to de- "with one hand, with the other it liberate and decide, whether in time was shaking the foundations of con"of peace they would consent to pro-"tracts, affecting all prices, and in"long the measure of restriction indefinitely, and place its control in the hands of those who act on a

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volving the country in distress, and "individuals in ruin, and in a proportion tenfold greater than any ad.

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has been constantly going on. This" of the right of calling themselves is the way, in which the paper-system augments taxes. It has enabled the Borough tribe to give millions upon millions (taken from the earnings of the people) to rascally French emi-" grants and to the Clergy in England" and Wales. This is the way that the paper-system works as to taxes; and, pray, good Daddy, do you propose" any remedy for this evil? Does your scheme, Daddy, contemplate a reduction of taxes? No; but an addition to them; for, you propose to pay in gold that which was borrowed in paper, and in a depreciated paper" too!

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guardians of interests which they "would pretend Parliament was un"able to maintain. The question now was, would Parliament perform its own duty; or leave it at the absolute disposal of men, who, however respectable individually, yet as a body not only were not invested with the trust they assumed, "but held a trust in its nature totally incompatible with it? His Noble "Friend (Lord Lauderdale) had as"serted his opinion of the necessity "of a return to a standard of value; and certainly that opinion was not "uncalled for on presenting such a There are, my Lord Folkestone, a "Petition as he had that night prefew more extracts to make from the "sented; for, when all classes acDaddy's speech. He is most eloquent" knowledged that something at least upon the subject of the Bank's pre- ought to be done towards a return to tending to be the guardians of the na"such a standard; when none vention. Aye, presumptuous dogs!"tured to deny that at some period What! had they forgotten that they "cash payments should be resumed, were tools? Thirteen years ago, "it behoved those who came forward when the Daddy himself was prime "with such unqualified abuse of the minister, I told him, that the Bank" proposed plan, to propose themwere more dangerous to him than "selves some plan, or to suggest at Buonaparte; and yet the Daddy is" least the propriety of one. now surprized to find, that they have" depreciation of paper had been pretensions to a co-partnership in "nearly one-third, and the loss to all power. But, let us hear him; for it "classes of the community who held does one good. "it to that amount. Whether or not "that depreciation arose from exces"sive issues, it was impossible, nay, "there was no disposition now, in any "class, to deny that paper had been de

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"These were his grounds for asking, whether we ought to go on "with a system of variable value, or adopt some plan in order to arrive "at the end of a system, which, while "it continued, no one could say he "did not hold his property, not in"deed at the mercy of a despotic government, but of a body of indi"viduals, who, constituted for other purposes, took upon themselves for"sooth the guardianship of the in"terests of the country. He wanted "no such guardianship. He wanted

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a currency established on public "faith-on public laws; and for this he should look to the wisdom of Parliament. If there were no other objection to the paper system, he would object to it on account of the self-assumption in this body of men

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preciated more than 30 per cent. "Against the recurrence of such an "evil there was at present no security "whatever.-Parliament had by repeated Acts first fixed the termina"tion of the system, then prorogued it, then again; and now again, it " being still held impossible to bring "it to any, could any man hope that "what had not been would now be "done decidedly and beyond all "doubt? He meant to cast no re"flection on the Bank, but he could

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only judge how they would execute "their trust, by the way in which they had executed it in time past. The exchanges at one period had righted

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