offices to be abolished or regulated."*.--It appeared to Mr. Bathurst, that the substitute was likely to become more unpopular than the sinecures, because it held out to the public the semblance of a desire to remove a burthen, while it only got rid of a name; because, in fact, it involved an attempt at delusion. Mr. Long spoke to the same effect. But Lord Milton, Mr. H. Thornton, Mr. Macdonald, Mr. W. Taylor, and Mr. Wilberforce spoke in favour of the amendment. The house divided for the amendment, 105-against it, 95. The rest of the resolutions were then put and carried.

:

It is in the Chapter on the Public Expenditure and Income that we are to notice the appointment of the Bullion Committee, which arose out of the embarrassments of our commerce, the grand spring of finance. For some time back we had suffered in our exchanges in foreign markets a loss of not less than from 15 to 20 per cent. From our circulating medium golden coins had almost wholly disappeared: the only medium of circulation in commercial transactions, and dealings of all kinds, was paper currency. The price of gold had risen from 31. 173. per ounce in Bank notes, to 41. 123. A prodigious and very distressing

rise had taken place in the price of all commodities. This rise had proceeded in a much higher and more rapid proportion of increase within these last ten or fifteen years, than within any former period of equal duration; and by this rise in prices, or depreciation in the value of our paper currency, the public finances were as much lessened in their value as those of individuals.

House of Commons, Feb. 1. Mr. Horner, † pursuant to notice, rose to move for a variety of accounts and returns respecting the present state of the circulating medium and the bullion trade. He expressed a decided opinion, that it was necessary for the house to make inquiry into the causes of the present high price of bullion, and the consequent effect on the value of the paper currency. For the investigation of this highly interesting question, it was his intention on an early day to move the appointment of a select committee. But it would be not only inconvenient, but indispensable, in the first place, to obtain all such information on the whole of that subject as papers might afford; which information could afterwards be referred to the committee. He did not presume as yet to form a clear or confident conclusion on the subject. It was in order to

arrive at a correct opinion that he wished the house to call for the information, and undertake the inquiry he meant to propose. His present conjecture was, that the high price of gold might be produced partly by a larger circulation of the Bank of England paper than was necessary, and partly by the new circumstances in which the foreign trade of this country was placed. But all this was matter for inquiry. What remedy ought to be provided, would, of course, turn upon what should be ascertained to be the cause of the evil. Mr. Horner concluded with moving, that there be laid before that house" returns of the imports and exports of bullion and foreign coins; the amount of bank notes and dollars; the number of licences to country bankers; an account of the quantity of gold and silver exported by the East India Company to China and the East Indies;" and some other papers. Some members entered a little into the subject of paper currency and the bullion trade; but all agreed that it was a subject well worthy the most serious attention of the house, and that it had been introduced by Mr. Horner in a manner suitable to its importance.

All the resolutions produced by Mr. Horner were agreed to. A committee was appointed for the purposes above stated, and Mr. Horner was chosen chairman. Their report was not given in to the House of Commons till the evening of the day preceding the prorogation of parliament. It was

printed, and copies ordered for the members about the middle of August.*

The Bullion Committee, after a patient and laborious investigation, were decidedly of opinion, that the evils into the causes of which they were commissioned to inquire, were to be attributed to an excessive issue and circulation of Bank of England paper: "a general rise of all prices, a rise in the market price of gold, and a fall of the foreign exchanges, will be the effect of an excessive quantity of circulating medium in a country which has adopted a currency not exportable to other countries, or not convertible at will into a coin that is convertible." But, though the Bank of England notes were in reality at a discount, that discount, in the judgment of the committee, did not arise from want of credit, or confidence in the funds and stability of the Bank, but merely from over issue. The remedy proposed by the committee for the unnatural and distressing state of our circulating medium, was stated by the committee in these words:

66

According to the best judgment your committee has been enabled to form, no sufficient remedy for the present, or security for the future, can be pointed out, except the repeal of the law which suspends the cash payments of the Bank of England.

"In effecting so important a change, your committee are of opinion that some difficulties must be encountered, and that there are some contingent dangers to the Bank, against which it ought most

carefully

carefully and strongly to be guarded. But all these may be effectually provided for, by intrusting to the discretion of the Bank itself the charge of conducting and completing the operation, and by allowing to the Bank so ample a period of time for conducting it, as will be more than sufficient to effect its completion. To the discretion, experience, and integrity of the directors of the Bank, your committee believe that parliament may safely intrust the charge of effecting that which parliament may in its wisdom determine upon as necessary to be effected; and that the directors of that great institution, far from making themselves a party with those who have a temporary interest in spreading alarmi, will take a much larger view of the permanent interests of the Bank, as indissolubly blended with those of the public. The particular mode of gradually effecting the resumption of cash payments ought therefore, in the opinion of your committee, to be left in a great measure to the discretion of the Bank, and parliament ought to do little more than to fix, definitively, the time at which cash payments are to become, as before, compulsory. The period allowed ought to be ample, in order that the Bank directors may feel their way; and that, having a constant watch upon the varying circumstances that ought to guide them, and availing themselves only of favourable circumstances, they may tread back their steps slowly, and may preserve both the course of their own affairs as a company, and that of public and commercial credit, not only safe but unembarrassed,

"With this view, your committee would suggest that the restriction on cash payments cannot safely be removed at an earlier period than two years from the present time; but your committee are of opinion, that early provision ought to be made by parliament for terminating, by the end of that period, the operation of the several statutes which have imposed and continued that restriction.

"In suggesting this period of two years, your committee have not overlooked the circumstance, that as the law stands at present, the Bank would be compelled to pay in cash at the end of six months after the ratification of a definitive treaty of peace; so that, if peace were to be concluded within that period, the recommendation of your committee might seem to have the effect of postponing instead of accelerating the resumption of payments. But your committee are of opinion, that if peace were inmediately to be ratified, in the present state of our circulation it would be most bazardous to compel the bank to pay cash in six months, and would be found wholly impracticable. Indeed, the restoration of peace, by opening new fields of commercial enterprise, would multiply. instead of abridging the demands upon the Bank for discount, and would render it peculiarly distressing to the commercial world if the Bank were suddenly and materially to restrict their issues. Your committee are therefore of opinion, that even if peace should intervene, two years should be given to the Bank for resuming its payments; but that, even if the war should be prolonged, cash

payments

payments should be resumed by the end of that period. "Although the details of the best mode of returning to cash payments ought to be left to the discretion of the Bank of England, as already stated, certain provisions would be necessary under the authority of parliament, both for the convenience of the Bank itself and for the security of the other banking establishments in this country and in Ireland.

"Your committee conceive it may be convenient for the Bank to be permitted to issue notes under the value of 51. for some little time after it had resumed payments in specie.

"It will be convenient also for the chartered banks of Ireland and Scotland, and all the country banks, that they should not be compelled to pay in specie until some time after the resumption of payments in cash by the Bank of England; but that they should continue for a short period upon their present footing, of being liable to pay their own notes on demand in Bank of England paper."

The substance of this report was immediately circulated in the newspapers, and a correct edition of the whole was published on the 20th of September. The alarm which this occasioned among the bankers, and the merchants who were accustomed to look to the Bank for discounting their bills, was followed by many failures in mercantile houses in Londoh, as well as of some country banks.

The fifth report of the committee on public expenditure presented to the House of Commons

VOL. LII.

this session, expcses various in-. instances of default and delinquency, in the misapplication and embezzlement of the public money. The committee express their opinion, that great temptation and opportunity to the commission of similar offences are afforded by the loose, inaccurate, and irregular manner in which the accounts were audited; and proceed to inquire how those accounts might be examined in a speedy, regular, and effectual manner. The committee of inquiry commonly do their duty well, and give not only the most important information, but propose the wisest measures for the adoption of the legislature. But they are for the most part suffered to lie on the table as merely so much dead letter: yet this is not always the case. On the 23d of May Mr. Calcraft moved, that the twelfth report of the commissioners of military inquiry be read. This being done, he stated, that notwithstanding the act that had passed to restrict the treasurer of the ordnance from drawing on the Bank, unless for the public, Mr. Hunt, a member of that house, the late treasurer, had drawn on the Bank, in the names of persons who were connected with the ordnance, 10,000l. nearly the whole of which he owed to the public. He was sorry to say, that many similar occurrences had not been taken notice of by the house. He should mention only that of Gen. Delancey, who was indebted to the public 100,000l. and yet possessed the rank and pay of a general in the service. By such things the public feelings were in

sulted

sulted. He concluded by moving the following resolution: "That Joseph Hant, Esq. late treasurer, had been guilty of a violation of the act of the 40th of his Majesty, for regulating the office of treasurer of the ordnance, and of misapplying certain sums of public money whilst be held that office:" which was agreed to nem con. He then moved, "That for the said offences Joseph Hunt, Esq. be expelled this house." This resolution was also agreed to

nem. con.*

This session was passed what was called the Embezzlement Bill; which was brought into the House of Commons by Sir John Newport. A collector had absconded with 27,000l. of the public money in his hands, and had afterwards been taken with 70001. of it in his possession. In that case, if the clerk of the collector had been guilty, he would have suffered death. But as the law at present stood, no adequate punishment could be inflicted on the principal, and therefore the law officers had not thought it desirable to proceed against him. It was to remedy this glaring defect in law that Sir John Newport brought forward the embezzlement bill.-Mr. Rose observed, that gentlemen of respectability would not be desirous of engaging in the public service in places of great trust, with the penalty of transportation hanging over them, as would be the case if this bill were to pass. Sir John

Newport said, when he considered that the right honourable gentleman must have been a party to the passing of a bill imposing the penalty of death on the clerk or cashier of a banker for embezzlement; and also to the act for rendering it a transportable offence to shoot, ensnare, or kill a deer in a close, park, or paddock, he could not help admiring his tender sensibility on an occasion where the son or brother of a great man might be affected. But it was the duty of the house to mete out equal justice to all; to have but one and the same law for the rich and for the poor. Could they forget the cases of Mr. Villiers † and Mr. Hunt, as well as others which had recently occurred, and reflect on the consequences of such cases remaining unpu nished, and yet think the punishment of transportation too severe for the crime of fraudulently embezzling or making use of the public money? It would be for a jury to determine what was the embezzlement.

The Solicitor General observed, that at present the embezzlement of public money was punishable by unlimited fine and imprisonment, and even pillory, while at the same time all his property, his person also, and all the property of his sureties, were subject to the writs of extent for the security of the debt due to the public. By the present measure, however, supposing a public defaulter to flee

to return.

the