v'n '•■>.<^' ?.;'■/ >.-^m4«^M The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for disciplinary action and may result in dismissal from the University. University of Illinois Library i/iji. J5 L161— O1096 I AN ADDRESS PROPRIETORS OF BANK STOCK, HonKon ariK ©buntra JJanfetriS PUBLIC IN GENERAL, ON THE AFFAIRS OF TXZE BANK OF ENGLAND. " HOMINEM PAGINA NOSTRA SAVIT."— Martial. LONDON : SAUNDERS AND OTLEY, CONDUIT STREET. 1828. The great powers possessed by the Bank of England, and the abuse in the exercise of these powers, have led to con- sequences of fatal injury to the country. As few persons are aware to what extent these wrongs have been inflicted, and how deeply, directly or indirectly, every individual in the state is affected by them, it is desirable that plain informa- tion of what has already occurred should be supplied ; and, as these powers, with their inherent liabilities to abuse, so far from being diminished, are constantly increased, either by new concessions yielded, or fresh advantages usm-ped or aimed at, it is of the highest importance that Public Opinion should exert its influence to arrest, in some measure, if 359^55? possible, the fatal progi'ession for the present, and to prevent the renewal of the exclusive privileges of the Bank of England, at their expiration on the ter- mination of the Bank Charter in 1833. To those who are already acquainted with the subject, an apology might be offered for the statement of several fami- liar details, were it not that an excuse presents itself naturally in the advantage, which, it is presumed, will be experi- enced, in having in one view many parti- culars, which can only be found by search amongst various scattered documents. ADDRESS, Sfc. The Bank of England was established in 1 6 94, in consequence of having made an advance to Government of 1,200,000/., which sum con- stituted its capital. The term of the Charter granted to the Company was from 1st August, 1694, to 1st August, 1705, when it was termin- able, on the repayment of the sum of 1,200,000/. advanced. No such repayment having been effected, renewals of the Charter have, at various periods, been made, and, at present, it is in force until the 1st of August, 1833;* the Bank having, from time to time, made further ad- vances to Government, amounting together to 14,686,800/. which (within a small difference) is the present amount of their stock or capital, f redeemable by Government at par. • See Appendix, No. I. t The exact amount of their capital is 14,553,000?. B 2 Tliough the Bank give at present a dividend of eight per cent, per annum to the holders of their stock,* such dividend arises from their real, or supposed, profits of business, and is not the same dividend or interest that is paid to them by Government, which is only three per cent, per annum, amounting on their capital to 440,604/., whereas the dividend paid by them to the holders of their stock, at eight per cent., amounts to 1,164,240/. per annum. In 17 13 Government commenced issuing Ex- chequer Bills through the Bank of England ; and In IT 18 subscriptions for loans were com- menced to be received at the Bank. From this period Government have found it more conve- nient to employ the Company as their agents for all operations of this nature, than to transact them at the Treasury or Exchequer; and the Bank, having become by degrees more and more connected with Government, established the prac- tice of lending money to Government, in antici- pation of the land and malt taxes, and of making temporary advances on Exchequer Bills and other securities, f although in their Charter it is * See Appendix, No. U. of the different rates of dividends paid by the Bank. t Account of the Public Funds, by W. Fairman, 7th Edition, p. 56. expressly enacted, in order that the Bank should be as little as possible connected with, or under the influence of. Government — " that they " shall not purchase any land or revenue he- " longing to the Crown ^ or advance or lend " to their Majesties, their heirs, or successors, " any sums of money, by way of loan or sub- " sa'iption, on any part of the revenue, other "■ than any part on which a credit of loan shall " be granted by act of Parliament y* The sums thus lent to Government (in addi- tion to the permanent debt or stock) amounted in 178 If to upwards of 8,000,000/., and, by gradual increase, they had, on 19 th December, 1795, advanced to 12,846,700/. ! This departure of the Company from the principles of banking-business and their own express Charter, in making unwarranted ad- vances to the Government, and locking up their resources, has been the fatal cause of the chief pecuniary distresses of the nation. * In order to keep to the letter of their Charter, according to the last part of this regulation, though not to the spirit, according to the first part, the Bank have always had clauses inserted in each Act for the issuing of Exchequer Bills, allowing them to make advances on such. f See Appendix, No. V. Government being unable to repay the money which they had borrowed, and the Bank being thus deprived of the means of meeting the demands upon them, the well-known Order in Council for suspending cash-payments was issued on the 26th of February, 1797. " In the Reports of the Select Committees " of the Houses of Lords and Commons, in the " examination of the Bank Directors, they at- " tribute the cause for the necessity of the order " in Council of the 26th February, 1797, to " the large advances, made by the Bank to " Government ; and, as it was in the option " of the Directors, either to make or to withhold " these advances, it may be fairly presumed " that the conduct of the Directors was the " cause of the suspension of the cash payments. " It will not be very difficult to prove that the " connexion between Government and the " Bank is disadvantageous to both parties, very " prejudicial to the public in general, and to " mercantile and manufacturing interests in *' particular, as the funds of the Bank ought "to be left unfettered and unincumbered. " These large advances to Government put the *' funds of the Bank entirely out of their con- " troul, so that the Directors could not regulate " their affairs as circumstances required."* These large advances had another evil of great magnitude, in the immense increase of Bank-notes. The amount in circulation On 25th February, 1787, was £8,688,570 Average of ... . 1797, — 11,019,879 Ditto ....... 1807, — 16,705,903 And on 15th July, 1817, — 31,439,094+ Few persons require to be informed that an increase of the circulating medium causes an increase of prices of commodities. The super- abundance of money, like the superabundance of any other article, depreciates its value in comparison with other things ; and, therefore, when money is abundant, and consequently depreciated in value, larger sums of such money, or, in other words, higher prices, are required for the purchase of all commodities. Money abun- dant and articles dear, mean the same thing. It is a fact almost too notorious to mention, were it not for the sake of historical progres- sion, that the increased circulation caused a * An Address to the Proprietors of the Bank of Eng^land, by A. Allardyce, Esq. M.P. London, 1798. f See also Appciiilix, No, VII. general increase of prices ; that property became transferred and revolutionized ; and that, though the pound sterling was nominally the same, it was intrinsically changed in value. At length, the return to metallic currency took place on the 1st May, 1821, after a suspension of cash payments of nearly twenty- five years. This was very unwillingly acceded to by the Com- pany, * and may chiefly be attributed to the call of Public Opinion. The Bank being obliged gradually to reduce their issuesf to meet this return to cash, caused a re-action and counter revolution in money ; but the public submitted willingly to a sacri- fice that they conceived would insure a " sound state of things." This pleasing expectation was, however, not suffered to be long entertained ; for, in less than two years from the resumption of cash payments, the Bank entered into a fresh ad- vance to Government, by agreeing to pay them J upwards of thirteen millions, against an * See Appendix, No. X. t Bank-uotes in circulation — Ou 15th July 1817 - - £31,439,095 24th Teb. 1821 - - 24,049,421 1822 - - 18,348,009 See also Appendices, Nos. VII. and VIII. J See Appendix, No. XII. annuity of 585,740/., for forty-four years, which transaction is known by the name of the dead weight. About the same period they came to the determination of making advances on mortgage, on long-dated bills, and even on stock, to say nothing of the celebrated loan of bullion made to Mr. Rothschild. These various operations led to a gradual increase of Bank-notes ; and the superabun- dance of money beyond the legitimate wants of the country, drove people to seek employment for their capital in the loans made for all the States of Europe and South America, and gave rise to a variety of speculations and bubbles, which demoralized all ranks of the people by the thirst of inordinate gains, and which, at length, brought on the fatal panic of December, 1825, and all its ruinous consequences. The Government attributed these evils to the Country Bankers ; * and Branches from the Bank being suggested to the Legislature and recommended to the Bank, they agreed to es- tablish such, appai-ently merely yielding to the wishes of Government. It is self-evident that it was the intention of Government, when the measure was proposed, that Branches should be established only where they were wanted, * Sec Appendix, No. XI. 10 from any deficiency of number, or from in- efficiency of means of Country Banks, and that they should facilitate the metallic currency, by changing for gold all notes of the Bank of England ; instead of which, the Bank has only established them where profit was to be expected, and the Branches exchange only their local notes ; and, in a word, the whole of their proceedings evince, that the Bank of England's main object is to engross, if possible, all the banking business of the kingdom, solely for their own advantage. It is evident, therefore, that the Branches neither have afforded, nor are likely to afford j to the public any of the contemplated advantages superior to Country Banks, and that the measure has been carried into effect quite contrary to the intentions of those by whom it was recommended. In reviewing the transactions of the Bank of England, the most prominent feature of defor- mity on the face of their affairs, is their connec- tion with Government, which has caused — 1. Over-issues of money. 2. Locks-iip of their resources. 3. Suspension of their payments. The Bank of England can justly claim no higher rank than that of being the greatest Banking Establishment in the kingdom, and 11 their proceedings ought to be regulated by the same principles that guide smaller banking houses ; and, but for their exclusive privileges, which prevent the establishment of a compe- titor, would be controlled by them. Any private banker would be blamed, and most justly blamed, for issuing more notes than his available resources would enable him to an- swer: so far the positions are parallel. But, in another point of view, the difference is striking. The misconduct of the private banker can only cause loss to himself and to the holders of his notes ; whereas,* the over-issues of the Bank of • Amount of Bank Notes in Circulation : f Peel's Bill to com- 1817 26 Feb. 27,058,578 ) pel the Bank to pay 1818 26 „ 28,279,043 i >" ^°^^y passed in ' L1819. 1819 26 „ 25,947,637 1820 8 April 24,683,533 15 July 26,384,894 1821 7 „ 23,671,274 14 „ 23,361,691 1822 6 „ 17,149,300 13 „ 20,896,903 V Thesmall NoteBill "55 ^ passed in 1822. 1823 5 „ 16,845,840 12 „ 20,785,758 1824 3 „ 19,313,989 17 „ 23,004,243 1825 2 „ 20,328,979 16 „ 21,763,417 „ 2 Sept. 18,252,170 17 Sept. 18,252,170 „ 3 Dec. 17,477,294 3 Dee. 17,477,294 J ;^^on825''"' „ 24 „ 25,611,805 24 „ 25,611,805 1826 8 April, 24,947,795 15 July, 23,564,518 182731 March 20,7 10,683 22 Sept. 22,000,000 1828 21 „ 20,500,000 The maximum of the issues was in 1817, of which about nine millions were Notes under £5. The quotations of Sept. 1827, and March, 1828, are the amounts stated by the Governor at the General Courts. The Deposits should be also added, but of these there is no return. c2 12 England, and the sudden contractions which are likely to follow over-issues, affect the in- terest of every individual, causing constant al- ternations of high and low prices, encouraging speculations at one moment, and, at the next, ruining those that have engaged in them. At present, the over-issues of the Bank, occasioned by advances to Government of about twenty-one millions, besides their capital of 14,553,000/., their advances on mortgage, and other locks- up, have caused such superabundance of paper, that capitalists have great difficulty in employ- ing money, and large sums are lying quite un- productive. It is estimated that at present there are deposits of unproductive capital, be- longing to individuals, in the hands of the Bank of England alone, of between five and six mil- lions.* Does it require any argument to prove that the issues are excessive, when such is the case 7 Does it require any argument to prove that the issues are excessive when they are be- yond the wants of the country ? Though the Bank have made advances to Government of about twenty-one millions, their present dis- ♦ Report of Bank Meeting, 20th March, 1828. 13 counts of commercial bills are estimated not to amount to one million ;* but if their issues were confined to the real demands of the country, in- terest of money would rise to its proper value, discounts would flow in upon the Bank, and they would be able to issue their notes upon the real principles of banking business, from which they are less justified in departing than any other banking establishment. In the year 1798, Allardyce wrote on this subject, as follows : — " If the Court of Directors persist in their " vain endeavours to render a feeble aid to Go- *' vernment, they may ruin the Bank without " giving any solid or essential assistance to the " State. Parhament is the only constitutional " source from which the exigencies of the State " can be provided for. Making permanent ad- " vances to Government disorders the whole " machinery of the Bank, and renders it inca- " pable of performing its natural functions of ♦ In 1793, their Bank Notes in circulation amounted to 11,451,180/. ; and their discounts of Commercial Bills to 4,817,000/., being consider- ably above one-third of their circulation. At present their Discounts do not amount to one-twentieth part of their cu-culation. 14 " dealing in discount of paper of two months, " thereby furnishing an active capital for trade, " commerce, and manufactures, by which Go- " vernment will be more benefited than by par- " tial advances to itself, which must sooner or " later be repaid with interest." And the following observations, in the Second Repm^tfrorn the Select Committee on the Bank resumi7ig cash payments^* ^pply precisely to the points under discussion : — " As the notes which ' are issued by the Bank upon the discount of ' mercantile bills revert to them at the expiration * of the period which those bills have to run, ' and which never exceeds sixty-five days, it ' is clear that that portion of their issues can be * extended or limited at their discretion ; whilst ' over the notes that are issued in consequence ' of advances to Government, they have not ' practically the same controul. To whatever ' extent these advances may be reduced, the * Bank will gain a corresponding controul over ' the amount of their circulating paper, and will ' be enabled to supply the diminution of notes * No. 282, ordered to be printed 6th May, 1819. 15 " thus created by an increase of their issues, " either upon the discount of mercantile bills, or " by the purchase of bullion, or if necessary, to " make a reduction in the total amount of notes *' outstanding equal to the whole or any part of " the repayment." The Bank Directors shewed the utmost un- willingness to return to cash payments,* al- ledging that it was impossible to do so, unless a large part of their advances was discharged. Government, in consequence, repaid them at that time about ten millions of Exchequer bills ; and it is most remarkable, that they no sooner had their demand con)plied with, which they had evidently urged in order, if possible, to ob- tain a continuation of the restriction, with the profits of unlimited advances to Government, and unhmited issues of notes, and not, as they pretended, that they might have their resources more under their command, than they com- menced making renewed advances on Exche- quer bills, which they have continued doing annually,"]- began to lock up their money in mortgages, and purchased 585,740/. per an- * See Appendix, No. X. f See Appendix, No. VI. 16 niim for forty-four yeai-s, of what is called the dead weight annuity, for which they be- came bound to pay Government by instalments 13,089,419/. This payment will be completed next July.* In reference to the advances made on Ex- chequer Bills, it is necessary to keep in view the distinction between " Exchequer Bills is- sued," and " Exchequer Bills purchased." Those of the first denomination-]- the Bank can * Appendix, No. XII. \ " The bills described as ' Issued,'' are those which pass directly " to the Bank from the Exchequer, under special contracts or agree' " ments entered into. The bills ' Purchased,^ are those which are " taken by the Bank, when an issue of Exchequer bills takes place, *' and when they cannot be sold to the public at a premium. The Bank " never credit any premium nor deduct any discount upon the bills " thus taken, nor do they re-sell such bills to the public." — Report from the Commons, No. 282, 6 May, 1819, p. 7. And again. — " The effect of the extent of the advances to Govern- " ment upon the situation of the Bank, is evidently to cramp its opera- " tions, by placing a large proportion of its issues beyond its controul. " The advances made directly to Government are only repaid at the " period fixed by law. The Exchequer bills purchased by the Bank " could not be sold in large quantities without reducing them to a " considerable discount, and this discount would bring them into the " Exchequer in payment of the taxes, to such an extent as might ma- " terially derange the provisions for the public service. An under- " standing, therefore, without express agreement, appears to have " prevailed, that when thus purchased they should not be sold by the " Bank. On the other hand, the issue of notes upon discount revert " to the Bank at periods so short, that any reduction of the paper 17 sell if they think proper, or if they can find buyers; while those of the last denomination are taken on the express understanding that they are to be dead locks-up. The following is a copy of the last return,* made by order of the House of Commons, of the "Amount of Advances made by the Bank " of England to Government on Exchequer " Bills, &c. &c. to 26th February, 1828 :"— On account of Dividends - £1,085,908 Exchequer Bills issued - - 3,328,628 purchased - 6,132,000 Annuity for 44 years, (or Dead i lO 416 859 weight) £20,963,395 (Signed) H, Hase. Bank of En fj land, 12th May, 1828. " so issued, which circumstances may render necessary, is always " within their reach. With this controul over their issues, they are " enabled to feel their way, and to restrict or enlarge them, either " as the wants of the country may permit or demand 5 or as the " exchanges and the price of gold may appear to require. It ap- " pears, therefore, to the conmiittee to be highly expedient that means " should be taken to repay to the Bank a large amount of their ad- " vances at an early period." — Rejjortfroni the LordSy 12 May, 1819, No. 291, p. 10. ♦ See Appendix, No. XX. D 18 In addition to the Dead weight to February 1828, as precedes - £10,416,859 There will be a further payment next July of - - - - 1,027,500 Together £11,444,359 No official account has been rendered of the outstanding demands on the Bank of England, and of the funds for discharging the same since 1819,* but the following estimate may be formed from different detached returns made to Parliament : — Demands for which the Bank is liable. Bank notes in circulationt 20^ millions. Balances on account of Bankers and other in- dividuals unable to em- ploy their capital^ - 5| „ 26 millions, due on demand to the public. * See Appendix, No. XVII. f " Bank meeting, 20th March, 1828. Question. — What is the " amount of Bank notes issued at this time by the Bank of England ?" The Governor. — " It is about 20^ millions, or little over ; it is under " 21 millions. And in this sum is included an amount not exceeding " £600,000 issued for the service of the Branch Banks." J See Report of said meeting. 19 Brought over 26 millions Balance of public ac- counts* _ - - 4 millions, due on de- mand to govern- ment. 30 millions, due on de- mand. Probable surplus profitf 3 millions, dueto pro- prietors of Bank stock. Total - 33 millions. Funds for discharging the same, appropriated as follows : — Advances on Dead weight annuity ll^ millions. on Exchequer Bills - 9J „ on Account of Dividends ] „ on Mortgages - - 2 „ on Buildings - - 1 Dead locks-up - - - - 25 millions. Bills discounted - - - - 1 million. Probable balance in hand - - 7 millions. Total - 33 millions, as above. ♦ The last account published shewed an average of £4,223,867, as per ParliameutEiry papers. No. 316, 13th May, 1828, and Appendix, No. XX. f The surplus balance, by account rendered to Parliament by the Bank, was, ui 1819, £5,202,320. Sec Appendix, No. XVll. which must d2 20 To the union of over-issues and locks-up, both arising from the Bank's connection with Government, and its departure from the legiti- mate principles of Banking business, are at- tributable the pecuniary distresses that have ensued. In 1797 they caused the suspension of Cash- payments,* which lasted a quarter of a century ; in 1825 they caused the Panic, when a second suspension was, with great difficulty, avoided ;f and now they expose the Bank proprietors to the danger of bankruptcy. Not from the in- solvency of the Bank, but from the loss of com- mand of their resources. How many a commer- cial failure takes place fiom similar causes ! have been considerably diminished by the Bank continuing to pay 10 per cent, dividend even after the return to cash payments up to March, 1823. * The following are the amounts of the advances to Government, and of the progressive drain of gold before the suspension : — Amount of advances Amount of Cash and by the Bank to Go- Bullion in the hands of vernment. the Bank. 1794 - 10,816,867 - 8,608,000 1795 - 13,118,013 - 7,940,000 1796 - 12,717,239 - 2,972,000 (26 Feb.) 1797 - 10,181,862 - 1,272,000 f And a Cabinet minister acknowledged in the House of Commons* thai we had been within a few hours of a state of barter. 21 and how many a man worth upwards of twenty shillings in the pound, has been obhged to go into the Gazette ! It has been seen from extracts (page 6) of Allardyce's Address in 1798, how much the Bank Directors were then blamed for their proceedings, even when they had made re- peated* applications to Government for repay- ments, and when Government was at least equally to blame. What can their strongest advocates and most partial friends say, in favour of the Managers of the affairs of the Bank, for their conduct since the resumption, when they have retrod the old path of error, without the excuses of inexperience, but fully conscious of its dangers at every step, and of the precipice from which they may be hurled, dragging the whole nation with them, and contraiy to the dictates of prudence and of duty, and contrary to the express recommen- dations of the Legislature, which points out * By the Reports of the Committees of Lords and Commons, it ap- pears that the Court of Directoi-s, between the 14th January, 1795 and 24th February 1797, had made nine-and-twcnty representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, stating the inconvenience which the Bank suffered, and the evil consequences which were likely to ensue from the large amount of their advances to Goveruiueut. 22 the very opposite coui-se that they ought to have pursued.* It is dreadful to contemplate the conse- quences to be apprehended, should another panic arise ; for the same causes, to which that of 1825 was owing, are in existence, and the same effects may result, with the additional evils that would arise from war, producing loans and foreign expenditure, when the exchange would turn against us. With only seven millions at their disposal, how can they answer their liabilities for thirty millions, payable on demand"? (seepages 18 and 19.) They cannot call in mortgages and advances on buildings, when their customers' drafts and their own Bank-notes are presented at their counters. They cannot dispose of their dead weight annuity, or Exchequer Bills, at a moment when they would become unsaleable from the very cause that would occasion a run on them for cash. From what has been stated, it is presumed that sufficient proof has been adduced, that the proceedings of the Bank of England have been highly injurious to the nation and public * See note in page Iti, Report from the Lords. 23 in general ; and that its present state is most alarming to every man who has property in existence, and who does not voluntarily shut his eyes to its security and continuance. There are, however, two classes of indivi- duals, who are not only liable to be co-sufFerers with all others of the community, in any gene- ral convulsion or final ruin to the Bank ; but who are foredoomed to immediate loss, and almost annihilation, if the Bank should be able to carry their wishes into execution. These are the London Bankers and the Country Bankers. The Bank are the sole Government Agents ; they are the sole issuers of paper in London, and within a circle of sixty-five miles from London ; and they possess many other peculiar advantages, all technically denominated their Exclusive Pinvileges, which prevent any check by competition. Not satisfied with these exclusive privileges, they are endeavouring to appropriate to themselves the entire monopoly of the Banking business of both town and country. With the London Banker they have entered into direct competition, by engaging to pay drafts for so small sums as 5/., instead of 24 10/., as hitlierto ; by receiving checks, and clearing them eastward of Temple Bar, till three o'clock, instead of two o'clock, as for- merly ; by receiving dividends under powers of attorney ; by taking charge of Exchequer Bills, and exchanging them for all persons keeping drawing accounts at the Bank.* These facilities are of course intended to induce persons to keep their accounts with the Bank of England, instead of with private Bankers. In the same light must be viewed the insinu- ations, after Fauntleroy's forgeries, that it would be safer to trust the Bank than any pri- vate individual. If Fauntleroy has existed as a private Banker, has not the Bank of England had an Astlett ? And, great as may have been the loss of the Bank by the forgeries of Faunt- leroy, was it not much greater by Astlett' s robbery'? Still they think it politic to make as much noise as possible, about Fauntleroy's forgeries, and to keep Astlett's fraud of ma- king away with Exchequer bills for a succes- sion of years as quiet as they can. These are * The Branch Banks also receive dividends without any charge of commission and undertake buying and selling stock, on which they charge a quarter per cent. 25 These are measures unworthy a great pubHc establishment. But, besides these overt acts, the London Banker is materially affected by their over- issues; as, from the consequent superabun- dance of money, his discounts are much dimi- nished in amount, or reduced in their rates, and the money lodged in his hands by his customers is, with great difficulty, employed at low interest, or remains entirely unproductive. He is thus either deprived of his true sources of income, or very inadequately remunerated for his time and the value of his property. He cannot, like the Bank, lock up his money in mortgages, in dead stock, or Exchequer Bills, encumbered with the stipulation that they shall not be sold when his customers want their money, nor can he dis- charge their demands by a fresh issue of more paper, as the Bank of England, by its exclusive privileges, is enabled to do. The establishment of Branch Banks was, ap- parently, rather consented to, at the request of Government, than voluntarily formed for the Bank's own advantage. However speciously the former view may be held up to the public, there can be no doubt that the latter is the ob- £ 26 jectboth desired and expected by the Bank. It is only necessary to refer to the celebrated Ch'- cular,* which, though disavowed by the Bank as a body, is well known to have been written by a Member now holding a very high rank in their affairs : and to the manner in which those Branch Banks are conducted, with the professed intention of depreciating the Country Banks in the estimation of the people. It is urged that Country Bankers are liable to failure, and that the true and solid foundation for country circu- lation, are the notes of the Bank of England. Against this commendation of themselves, may not the Country Banker appeal, by reminding the Bank of England that they suspended pay- ments for twenty-five years ; that their notes were at from twenty to thirty per cent, discount ; that they were very nearly in precisely the same situation in the end of 1825, and that now their resources are more locked up than those of perhaps, any existhig Country Banker. The latter have felt greatly alarmed at the proceed- ings of the Bank, and have had several meetings, which appear more to have expressed the sense * Vide Appendix, No. Xni. 27 of the dano-eioiis attacks made and iiiakin«>: on them than to have been productive of resohite actions to counteract them.* As the Branch Banks will not receive the Country Banker's notes, unless he keeps an account and balance equal to their amount with the Branch Bank,f it is clear that his course ought to be to refuse to take the notes of the Bank Branches, as they refuse his ; and, in place of keeping his reserve in notes of the Bank of England, he should hold nothing but gold. Towards its own proprietors it does not ap- pear that the proceedings of the Bank can be better justified than towards the public. In the first place, the Directors obstinately refuse to render to their proprietoi^s any account of their aflraii's,^ for which the only reasonable excuse * See Appendix, No. XIV. f See Appendix, No. XV. J The Directors merely keep up the shadow of their institutions by calling their Proprietors together each half-year. But the latter are not allowed to exercise any judgment, either as regards tlie rate of dividends, or in the choice of Directors; they settling the whole within themselves, and only calling upon the Proprietors to register, without knowing why, the previous resolutions of the Directors. New Direc- tors are introduced only by degrees, and they are generally junior partners in mercantile houses, and are made to tread the beaten path of their predecessors and companions. A seat in the Direction of the Bank of England is, of course, a great desideratum, not from its af- fording any pecuniary advantage, but from the insight which it given e2 28 that can be offered is, that their transactions are such as their Proprietors could not approve of, and as the pubhc would be alarmed at. The chartered Banks of Scotland,* and the Bank of France, f give regular accounts to their Pro- prietors, and there can be no doubt that the Directors of the Bank of England should do the same ; J and even the public have a right to de- mand an insight into the affairs of a Company that has assumed the management of the pecu- niary interests of the whole nation, and in which. into the affairs, and the early information which it furnishes of pecu- niary difficulties, of other houses, besides the priority of intelligence of all financial intentions of government. * The Bank of Scotland was erected in 1695. Its original capital was 100,000/., which it has since from time to time increased to 1,000, 000^. sterling. Adhering to its original constitution, it exhibits its accounts once a year. The Royal Bank of Scotland was erected in 1727. It has likewise increased its capital to 1,000,000/., and it exhibits its account to the Proprietors four times every year, (o) The Bank of Scotland, and the Royal Bank of Scotland, are chartered Banks. They are conducted on safe and liberal principles, and have afforded great accommodation to the agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing interests of that country. But they make no permanent advances. No Bank can long be a Bank if it does. — Allardyce, 1798, p. 131. f See in Appendix, No. XXIII., a copy of the last account published by the Bank of France. J See Apppendix, No. XVI. (a) Since increased to 1,500,000/. It appears that the circulation of the three chartered Banks is not at a maximum more than a million and a half, which is about half a million each. — (See Appendix, No. XXII.) 29 therefore, every one lias an interest. The last account rendered by the Bank is dated 30th January, 1819,* and this was forced from them by demand of Parliament. By this but little information is gained, owing to the manner in which the statement is rendered. In the absence of regular accounts, the statement given in No. XIX. of the Appendix, may be received as an attempt to form an esti- mate of the profits of the affairs of the Bank of England for 1828 :— It will be observed, that the interest on the advances to Govern- ment on Exchequer Bills, and on the Dead Weight Annuity, constitute more than half the profits, and, that, if these were abstracted, the dividend on their stock would be only about 4 per cent per annum. According to the present value of money, this is surely as much as can be expected ; for why should the Bank pay eight per cent, dividend, when other funds, and the interest of money generally, yield not more than from a quarter to half so much ? And yet, merely for the sake of keeping up a high dividend, or to give to their stock the appearance of its be- ing a permanent 8 per cent, stock, do they • Sec Appendix, Ko. XVil. 30 engage iii transactions which injure all, and en- danger their own existence. Besides the duty of not keeping up a high dividend beyond the profits of business conducted on proper Banking principles, their dividends ought not to be at any permanent rate whatever, but they ought to vary each year according to their profits of business, which should be divided annually amongst their partners, the holders of Bank- stock, as is done in all other commercial partner- ships, and as it expressly stipulated in their char- ter and in their own bye-laws. * Instead of this, it will have been seen, by the account laid before Parliament in 1819, that there was then an undi- vided surplus balance in hand, due to the Pro- prietors of Bank-stock of 5,232,320/. f This amount has no doubt been reduced by their conti- nuing to pay a higher dividend, for some years subsequently, than their profits allowed ; as tlie dividend was not lowered from 10 per cent, to 8 per cent, until Lady-day 1823. An attempt has been made at an estimate of their profits for the year preceding J (1822), which verifies this observation ; and about three millions may be considered the maximum of their existing * See Appendix, No. XVI. f See Appendix, No. XVII. X See Appendix, No. XVIII. 31 surplus balance, or undivided profits, which is about 20/. 15.9. per cent, on their capital, making the actual worth of lOOZ. Bank-stock at this time about 120/. Will the conduct of the Directors be approved by those proprietors, who, from looking upon Bank-stock only as stock yielding 8 per cent. per annum interest, have been induced to in- vest their money into a fund, at the price of from 200 to 250 per cent., which is worth only about one-half of what they have given for it.* Or will the proprietors approve of the Di- rectors having locked up their money in Ex- chequer Bills and dead annuities '? And, after these fatal errors had been committed, will they approve of their not having corrected them, when they might have done so in 1824 and 1827, by selling part of their Exchequer Bills, and by gradully disposing of their dead weight annuity, which, in 1824, would have sold at more than 25 per cent, profit, and would have yielded a gain of nearly three millions, f and would thus have made a bonus of about 20 per * The lowest price of Bauk. Stock wasi>l, viz., on the 29th of January 1762. t See Appendix, No. XXI. 32 cent, on their stock ? In case of a war or a panic, it would be impossible to dispose of either the dead weight annuity, or of any considerable amount of Exchequer Bills. From the foregoing observations the follow- ing facts, it is believed, will be deducible : — I. That the connexion of the Bank of Ena- land with Government has led to the most in- jurious consequences to the country, by causing, 1. Advances completely at variance with sound principles of banking. 2. Locking up of resources. 3. Suspension of cash payments. 4. Over-issues of paper, and consequent gambling speculations. 5. Sudden contraction of circulating me- dium, and consequent failure, and gene- ral distress. 6. The whole system occasioning constant alternations of high and low prices, and general derangement of monetary trans- actions, II, That the Bank have used their exclusive privileges and advantages solely for their own benefit, and to the injury of 1. The country in general, as precedes. 33 2. To the London Bankers. 3. To the Country Bankers. III. That the Bank have acted unjustly to- wards their own members and partners in trade 1. By refusing to render to them accounts of their affairs, to which they are entitled. 2. By not dividing the profits according to their charter. 3. By appropriating the funds at their command, so as to endanger their very existence. That their exclusive privileges will not be continued beyond the year 1833, has already been intimated to them by Government, in a letter from the First Lord of the Treasury and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the Go- vernor and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, dated 13th January, 1826, of which the following is an extract : " With respect to the extension of the term *' of their exclusive privileges in the metropolis '' and its neighbourhood, it is obvious, from *' what passed before, that Parliament will *' never agi*ee to it. " Such privileges are out of fashion; and '* what expectation can the Bank, under present F 34 " circumstances, entertain that theirs will be re- " newed '? But there is no reason why the Bank " of England should look at this consequence " with dismay. They will remain a chartered " Corporation for carrying on the business of '* Banking. In that character they will, we " trust, always continue to be the sole Bankers "of the State, and with these advantages, so '* long as they conduct their affairs wisely and " prudently, they always must be the great " centre of Banking and circulation. " Theirs is the only establishment at which " the Dividends due to the Public Creditor can " by law be paid." * The Bank of England, though she may thus be shorn of some of her beams, will be deprived of those only that have consumed the best interests of herself and the country ; and the rays that will be left will still shine on her as one of the first Banking Establishments in the king- dom. It is highly important to keep in view that the cessation of the exclusive privileges of the the Bank, and the open field for fair competi- * See Appendix, pagje 68. 35 tion which will then exist, should be accompa- nied witli specific acts of legislature, obhging the Bank of England, and any rival public Banks that may subsequently become issuers of promissory notes, to publish in the Gazette eveiy quarter statements of their affairs, paiti- cularizing the amount of their capitals, the quantity of bullion in their hands, the amount of notes in circulation, the amount of deposits, and a detail of their advances and investments. Should the Bank, notwithstanding the pledge fi'om Government to the country, make any re- newed attempt for the extension of the term of their exclusive privileges, the voice of the nation would raise itself against such measure, were the wrongs that have been complained of in the pre- ceding observations but generally known. Mankind generally submit to sufferings with- out much complaint, when they are conceived to arise from causes too intricate to be traced, or too independent of human power to be con- trolled. Our pecuniaiy derangements have, therefore, been allowed to arise and to continue, without due consideration whence they have originated, and without due efforts to arrest their progress. f2 36 The first steps towards the removal of evils are to ascertain their cause, and to make the knowledge of their discovery general. To give publicity to the simple facts detailed in these pages, is therefore to render service to our country. The rest to be desired must and will be ef- fected by the justice, intelligence, and good sense of the nation. APPENDIX. 38 Appendix, No. I. An ACCOUNT, stating the respective periods at which the CHARTER of the BANK of ENG- LAND has been renewed or extended, from the original Grant of the Charter down to the present time; and stating- the Number of Years for which each such Renewal or Extension has been granted. 1694 :— 5 and 6 William 3d, c. 20. The Charter of the Bank of England was granted in pursuance and under the authority of this Act; redeemable upon the expiration of 12 months' Notice to be given after the 1st of August 1705, and on payment by the Public to the Bank of the demands in this Act specified. 1697 :— By the 8 and 9th William 3d, c. 20; The said Charter was extended or renewed, until the expiration of 12 months' Notice to be given after the 1st of August 1710, and until payment by the Public to the Bank of the demands therein speci- fied ; being an extension or renewal for 5 Years. 1708:— By the 7th Ann, c. 7; The said Charter was extended or renewed, until the expiration of 12 months' Notice to be given after the 1st of August 1732, and until payment by the Public to the Bank of the demands therein specified; being an exten- sion or renewal for 22 Years. 1713:— By the 12th Ann, stat. 1. c. 11 ; The said Charter was extended or renewed, until the expira- 39 tion of 12 months' Notice to be given after the 1st of Aug-ust 1742, and until payment by the Public to the Bank of the demands therein specified ; being- an extension or renewal of the said Charter for 10 Years. 1742:— By the 15th Geo. 2d, c. 13; The said Charter was extended or renewed, until the expira- tion of 12 months' Notice to be given after the 1st of Aug-ust 1764, and until payment by the Public to the Bank of the demands in this Act specified ; being an extension or renewal of the said Charter for 22 Years. 1764:— By the 4th Geo. 3d, c. 25; The said Charter was extended or renewed, until the expira- tion of 12 months' Notice to be gfiven after the 1st of August 1786, and until payment by the Public to the Bank of the demands therein specified; being an extension or renewal of the said Charter for 22 Years. 1781:— By the 21st Geo. 3d, c. 60; The said Charter was extended or renewed, until the expira- tion of 12 months' Notice to be given after the 1st of August 1812, and until payment by the Public to the Bank of the demands therein specified; being an extension or renewal of the said Charter for 26 Years. 1800:— By the 40th Geo. 3d, c. 28; The said Charter was extended or renewed, until the expira- tion of 12 months' Notice to be given after the 1st of August 1833, and until payment by the Public to the Bank of the demands therein mentioned ; being an extension or renewal of the said Charter for 21 Years. Bank of England, ROBERT BEST, 12 February 1817. Secretary to the Governor and Company of the Bank of England. 40 Appendix, No. II. DIVIDENDS on BANK STOCK, from the Es- tablishment of the Company to the present time. Years. DW idend. 1694 8 per cent 1697 9 1708> Varied from 9 1729S to 51 per cent Lady-day 1730 6 » Michaelmas 1730 H >> Lady-day 1731 6 » Michaelmas 1731 5^ „ Lady-day 1732 6 n Michaelmas 1732 5.^ >» Lady-day 1747 5 » Ditto 1753 4^ >» Michaelmas 1753 5 » Lady-day 1754 4h >» Michaelmas 1764 5 „ Ditto 1767 5^ » Ditto 1781 6 >» Lady-Day 1788 7 » Ditto 1807 10 » Ditto 1823 8 M 41 Appendix, No. III. An ACCOUNT of all DISTRIBUTIONS made by the BANK of ENGLAND amongst the PRO- PRIETORS of BANK STOCK, whether by Money Payments, Transfer of £5. per cent An- nuities, or otherwise, under the heads of, — Bonus ; Increase of Dividend; and, Increase of Capital ; — betwixt the 25th February 1797, and 1st May 1819, in addition to the ordinary Annual Divi- dend of £7. per cent on the Capital Stock of that Corporation existing in 1797, including- therein the whole Dividend paid since June 1816 on their increased Capital ; stating the period when such Distributions were made, and the aggregate Amount of the whole. o © © o o o Tf K^^ r»."s*-i ^ o o o o rvA>^ Ol n ^>A<^-\ • o o a o S P Q Q Q Q c 5 CS tc c to — o ~ 2 c s O fl ^ '-> o « ;-< 15 s o '5, 3 c3 psf 5 „ c c 4) I' o "^ C3 . cl 2^ o © o o o 5 o "Cf ■" o s « ^ 0.*j u © CI o "^ u o OJ %- S 5 ^ 3 izT — u ■»- 1) c a. o Q aj .2 i©" ' C* « ^ o c o s © 3 t^ CS d S co<^ Q CO ** • S2 -CS "S 2§ r^ o2 S ; © c c ^ s ,? 2 tT •s 00 -^ " o o ^'*< •^ ^ CI -N m rj- ift > > . §2^ V O o..= — « 5 a O o o CJ o a 3 -<5 |2^ c3 i-T 15 2 « go e« (^ « (t. < <; 42 Appendix, No. IV. An ACCOUNT of the PRICE of BANK STOCK, on the 1st of March, 1st of June, 1st of September, and 1st of November, in each Year, from 1807 to 1819, or on the subsequent days on which there was a Price. 1807 2d Mar. 2251 2d June 232 lstSep.233| 3dNov.224| 1808 1st — 231^ 1st — 238| 1st — 239i 2d — 236 1809 1st — 245| 1st — 250 1st — 267i 1st — 286 1810 2d — 274| 1st — 262| 3d — 256 3d — 252J 1811 , 1st — 2431 6th — 240^ 51 h — 238^ 6th — 232J 1812 2d — 230l 1st — 223:^ 1st — 225;^ 3d — 214? 1813 1st — 2193 1st — 215 1st — 217J 2d — 219| 1814 1st — 261 2d — 248 1st — 253.^ 2d — 247 1815 1st — 256f 1st — 2271 1st — 255i 1st — 241 1816 1st — 251| 5th — 223i| 3d -~ 216| 2d — 216^ 1817 1st — 246i 2d — 256^ 1st •— 279| 3d — 2861 1818 3d — 28'' 1st — 279^ 1st — 26S| 2d — 273^ 1819 2d — 261| Lotlibury, TEMPLEMAN, COLE, & CHILD, 24tl I May, 1819. Brokers. In addition to the above, the following are the Prices of Bank Stock at various dates. 1792 2161 1803, Mar. 190 1821 . 223 1825 . 230 1797 . 1161 May 145 1822 . 238 1826 200 1798 116^ July 1361 1823 . 245 1827 203 1802 . 200 1820 . 222" 1824 . 234.1 1828 208 43 Appendix, No. V. An ACCOUNT of ADVANCES by the Bank to Government on Land , Malt, Exchequer Bills, and other Securities, on the 25th of February in eacli of the twenty years precedinfi^ the ^th February 1797. Loan to Go- Land and Exchequer Treasury vernment Malt. Bills. Bills. without lute- rest. TOTAL. £. £. f . £. £. 1777 . 4,912,000 2,500,000 7,412,000 1778 . 5,251,000 2,500,000 2,760 7,753,760 1779 . 5,682,000 2,769,000 15,664 8,466,604 1780 . 5,613,000 3,104,400 33,582 8,750,982 1781 . 5,517,000 202,230 49,541 8,188,841 1782 . 5,659,000 4,289,050 43,628 9,991,678 1783 . 4,962,000 4,662,200 4,871 9,629,071 1784 . 3,901.000 3,641,000 23,853 7,565,853 1785 . 3,102,000 3.900,000 28,200 7,030,200 178G . 2,307,000 4,303,203 24,672 6,634,872 1787 . 2,809,01)0 4,334,200 1,696 7,144,896 1788 . 2,636,000 4,707,400 4,299 7,347,699 1789 . 2,928,000 5,000,200 20,235 7,948,435 1790 . 2,882,000 5,006,500 20,468 7,908,968 1791 . 3,334,000 6,247,100 22,878 9,603,978 1792 . 2,802, 6,633,600 26,999 37 ( 5,7: 39 9,839,338 44 APPENDIX, No. VI. The Amount of ADVANCES made by the Bank of England to Govern ment, on Exchequer Bills and other Securities ; including Excheque Bills, Navy Bills, Victualling Bills, &c. Out of Sums issued for the Payment of Dividends. 26 26 26 26 26 25 25 26 26 25 26 26 26 26 26 26 1792 Feb. 25 Aug. 25 1793 Feb. 26 Aug. 26 1794 Feb. 26 Aug. 1795 Feb. Aug, 1796 Feb. Aug 1797 Feb. Aug. 26 1798 Feb. 26 Aug. 1799 Feb. Aug. 1800 Feb. Aug. 1801 Feb. Aug, 1802 Feb. Aug, 1803 Feb. Aug. 26 1804 Feb. 25 Aug. 25 1805 Feb. 26 Aug. 26 1806 Feb. 25 Aug. 26 1807 Feb. 26 Aug. 26 1808 Feb. 26 Aug. 26 1809 Feb. 25 Aug. 26 Exchequer Bills Issued. £. 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,736 376,739 376,739 376,739 376,739 876,739 876,739 876,739 Exchequer Bills Purchased. £. 9,420,600 9,891,600 8,609,600 9,430,000 7,685,900 5,484,000 8,593,000 9,413,000 10,795,000 7,089,000 8,222,800 5,916,800 8,176,000 7,128,000 8,670,000 7,140,000 8,772,500 9,681,500 10,663,500 8,618,000 9,928,000 8,483,000 7,224,000 7,137,000 7,588,000 7,414,000 9,403,000 8,416,000 8,226,000 7,759,000 8,933,000 7,453,000 6,122,000 10,008,000 8,089,000 9,493,000 Navy and Victualling Bills. £. 585,570 342,190 1,717,200 700,000 1,228,000 1,926,700 1,036,000 1.469,700 4,052,400 2,838,000 4,249,200 2,953,800 3,979,500 4,692,600 1,995,200 6,121,500 6,750,500 7,513,700 7,423,000 2,952,600 6,060,600 6,309,600 4,453,800 5,835,600 7,866,200 4,792,800 6,434,400 5,639,600 Treasury Bills of Exchange. £. 468,056 701,077 844,004 844,004 1,202,046 1,124,059 1,665,263 1,038,2631 689,898 318,594' 15,899 14,545 £. 26,999 21,150 69,685 57,232 718,349 1,334,015 2,127,961 2,352,317 651,002 823,706 1,512,274 96,438 American Debentures. TOTAL £ 675,912 693,918 629,800 557,843 491,643 418,9931 355,050! 279,8251 204,600 129,375 54,150 40,612 27,075 13,537 £. 10,968,3C 11,684,48 10,529,8i ll,851,3f 10,816,8( 8,737,8( 13,118,0; ll3,460,L 12,717,2;. 10,454,6 10,181,S( 7,l45,i;,' 9,807,8| 9,444,9'! 10,082,7;i. 8,986,4;i' 13,201,6;i 12,899,2;i 15,289,4» 11,948.5;' 14,284,2:1 ]3,552,3;i 9,595,9;i 13,635,2;r 14,715,2;', 15,304,4;* 17,202,7:1 11,745,3:1 14,663,3:1 14,445,3;t 13,763,5:i 13,665,3;i 14,364,9;t ]5,677,5;i 15,400,1;^ 16,009,3; (contiiiued.Jj 45 (6.) — Amount of Advances made by the Bank to Government on Exchequer Bills, &c. — (Continued.) Out of Sums issued for the Payment of Dividends. f. 876,739 876,739 876,739 876,739 876,739 876,739 Exchequer Bills Issued. £. 7,860,000 9,526,000 7,542,000 9,497,000 9,066,000 9,205,000 876,739|10,417,000 876,7391 9,432,000 876,739 10,500,000 876,739 9,435,000 9.401,000 7,577,000 4,500,000 11,758,000 9,000,000 10,217,218 876,739 876,739 876,739 1,180,245 974,070 979,482 1,033'523! 9,000,000 1,026,96511,030,000 Exchequer Bills Purchased. 1,098,820 1,017,.330 1,074,304 1,110,547 1,066,720 1,121,425 1,150,300 1,089,258 1,151,754 1,120,797 1,101,581 1,063,949 1,047,942 1,005,612 6,598,000 8,498,000 6,591,000 5,276,000 3,435,000 6,653,000 3,598,000 4,921,800 3,106,800 1,376,800 696,800 16,800 4,185,758 3,852,922 1,001,897 2,487,488 956,287i 1,865,315 1,064,440 3,014,906 1.095,955 3,727,331 1,085,9081 3,328,628 £. 6,281,100 7,287,000 9,649,700 12,322,500 12,609,000 11,875,900 1 4,600,200 15,422,500 13,107,300 25,502,800 17,755,000 16,502,100 14,488,300 13,284,600 13,319,500 13,723,500 14,952,000 13,080,000 13,080,900 13,080,900 12,939,900 12,039,900 11,839,900 9,139,900 9,139,900 9,139,900 10,411,000 10,411,000 10,411,000 10,411,000 9,411,000 7,411,000 8,327,000 8,327,000 6,882,000 6,882,000 6,132,000 Treasury Bills for the Service of Ireland. £. 1,000,000 3,080,000 3,080,000 2,750,000 2,650,000 2,650,000 2,650,000 2,100,000 2,100,000 Com- missioners of His Majesty's Woods, &c. New Street Account. Advanced towards the purchase of an Annuity of je'.')85,740, for 44 Years ; per Act 4G.IV. c.22 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300.000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 3U0,000 300,000 300,000 £. TOTAL. 2,110,719 3,091,399 4,002,719 5,034,588 5,991,566 6,907,861 7,813,293 8,707,615 9,575,599 10,416,859 £ 15,017,839 17,689,739 18,068,439 22,696,239 22,551,739 21,957,639 25,893,939 25,731,239 24,484,039 35,814,5.39 28,032,739 24,955,839 19,865,039 27,222,845 26,373,570 28,300,200 28,035,523 28,087,865 23,727,720 25,546,230 23,005,204 20,826,447 16,641,620 17,214,-325 14,188,200 15,450,958 14,969,554 15,319,316 15,600,780 15,884,468 19,679,288 18,261,100 18,724,246 18,961,895 19,668,961 21,280,885 20,963,395 The preceding Tables are taken from Report on Bank resuming Cash Payments, No. 282, 19 May 1819; and Parhamentary Papers, No. 215, 5Aprill826i No. 249, 9 April 1827; and No. 316, 12 May 1828. 46 APPENDIX, No. VII. An ACCOUNT of the Amount of BANK NOTES in Circulation on the under mentioned Days ; disting-uishino- the Bank Post Bills, and the amount of Notes under Five Pounds, with tlie Ag'greg-ate of the whole. Notes of £h and uuwards. 1792 February 25 August 25 1793 February 26 August 2G 1794 February 2G August 26 1795 February 26 August 26 1796 February 26 August 26 1797 February 25 August 26 1798 February 26 August 25 1799 February 26 August 26 1800 February 25 August 26 1801 February 26 August 26 1802 February 26 August 26 1803 February 26 August 26 1804 February 25 August 25 1805 February 26 August 26 1806 February 25 August 26 1807 February 26 August 26 1808 February 26 August 26 1809 February 25 August 26 Bank Post Bills. £. 10,394,106 10,281,071 10,780,643 10,163,839 10,079,165 10,060,248 12,968,707 10,939,880 10,266,561 8,981,645 8,167,949 9,109,614 10,856,188 9,997,958 10,576,510 11,260,675 13,106,368 12,221,451 12,975,006 11,715,665 12,038,970 12,801,746 11,796,424 12,413,924 12,054,943 11,766,628 11,403,290 11,182,188 11,994,350 14,141,510 12,274,629 15,077,013 13,746,598 12,440,930 12,730,999 13,255,599 £. 755,703 725,898 647,738 674,375 618,759 567,972 570,456 518,502 643,133 549,690 474,615 524,587 551,549 553,236 607,907 653,766 723,600 823,366 954,982 759,270 803,499 772,577 820,039 776,030 848,894 743,841 1,029,580 718,510 725,736 702,425 724,485 725,262 742,671 795,102 944,727 880,104 Bank Notes under £b. 934,015 1,442,348 1,639,831 1,451,728 1,345,432 1,406,708 1,690,561 2,647,526 2,495,386 2,616,407 3,312,790 2,960,469 3,846,005 4,673,515 4,813,525 4,801,596 4,395,480 4,428,360 4,228,958 4,206,230 4,231,837 4,103,785 4,129,234 4,338,951 5,221,538 £. 11,149,809 11,006,969 11,428,381 10,838,214 10,697,924 10,628,220 13,539,163 11,458,382 10,909,694 9,531,335 8,601,964 10,568,216 12,850,085 12,191,025 12,636,145 13,259,873 15,236,676 14,735,378 16,577,514 14,970,321 15,458,876 16,887,113 15,576,932 1 7,035,959 17,577,352 17,323,994 17,234,466 16,296,178 17,148,446 19.072,893 17,205,344 20,034,112 18,593,054 17,365,266 18,014,677 19,357,241 (continued.) 47 (7.) — An Account of the Amount of Bank Notes in Circulation, &c. — (Continued.) 1810 February 26 August 25 1811 February 26 August 26 1812 February 26 August 26 1813 February 26 August 26 1814 February 26 August 26 1815 February 25 August 26 1816 February 26 August 26 1817 February 26 August 26 1818 February 26 August 26 1819 February 11 1820 April* 8 1821 February 24 1822 February 24 May 18 1823 February 23 1824 February 28 1825 February 26 1826 February 25 1827 February 24 1828 March 20 Notes of jg5 and upwards. Bank Post Bills. 13,650,592 16,078,390 15,110,688 15,203,611 14,523,049 14,873,705 14,567,267 14,975,479 15,632,250 18,066,180 16,394,359 16,332,275 15,307,228 16,686,087 17,538,656 20,388,502 19,077,951 17,465,628 16,774,216 £. 907,620 1,145,832 1,133,419 1,016,303 1,059,854 987,880 1,034,882 1,015,616 1,091,242 1,246,479 1,184,459 1,115,079 1,336,467 1,286,429 1,376,416 1,712,807 1,838,600 1,627,427 1,728,319 Bank Notes under jSb. £. 5,871,069 7,221,953 7,140,726 7,573,201 7,415,294 7,621,325 7,705,322 8,033,774 8.371,923 9,667,217 9,094,552 9,576,695 9,036,374 9,103,338 8,143,506 7,998,599 7,362,492 7,509,782 7,445,102 £. 20,429,281 24,446,175 23,384,833 23,793,115 22,998,197 23,482,910 23,307,471 24,024,869 25,095,415 28,979,876 26,673,370 27,024,049 25,680,069 27.075,854 27,058,578 30,099,908 28,279,043 26.602,837 25,947,637 24,683,533 24,049,421 18,348,009 16,984,938 17,839,486 19,736,986 21,060,144 24,955,049 21,588,068 20,500,000 N. B.— No Return for February 1820. The precedino^ Table is formed from the Report on the Bank resuming Cash Payments, No. 282, 1,9 May, 181.0; and Parliamentary Papers, No. 38(J, 2 June, 1825; and No. 344, 15 May, 1827. Tlie last item is from the Report of the Governor of the Bank of England, at the General Court last March. 48 Appendix, No. VIII. An ACCOUNT of the Amount of all the PRO- MISSORY NOTES and POST BILLS of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, in Circulation at the close of the business on Saturday in every Week for Seven Years, as per Accounts rendered by the Bank of England to the Commissioners of Stamps. 1820: 1820: April 8. 24,683,533 9 3 Sept. 23. 22,951,526 18 6 15. 24,990,420 19 9 30. 22,944,463 11 9 22. 25,182,963 9 6 29. 24,732,257 3 11 Oct. 7. 22,736,129 5 4 May June Julv 6. 24,317,747 3 1 13. 24,032,936 19 — 20, 23,840,981 8 1 27. 23,659,819 9 11 3. 22,655,207 19 8 10. 22,511,175 9 7 17 22,467,408 12 11 24. 23,026,436 3 7 1. 8. 15. 22. 29. 23,417,929 13 26,280,156 16 26,384,894 9 25,588,137 7 25,462,755 — August 5. 25,066,749 13 11 12. 24,723,667 9 2 19. 24,282,350 11 8 26. 24,453,388 4 8 Sept. 2. 24,437,125 1 3 9. 23,411,387 6 2 16. 23,098,623 13 — Nov. Dec. 14. 24,547,427 15 6 21. 24,013,768 4 5 28. 24,224,012 9 — 4. 24,248,239 14 4 11. 23,577,525 7 11 18. 23,302,950 4 10 25. 23,222,599 7 — 2. 9. 16. 23. 30. 1821: Jan. 6. 13. 20. 27. 22,771,200 4 8 22,102,220 — 4 22,356,306 4 8 22,647,165 6 1 22,865,078 18 11 21,571,714 9 25,722,891 19 25,904,357 4 25,222,425 8 Feb. 3. 24,914,285 15 4 10. 24,523,184 3 11 17. 24,231,585 12 1 24. 24,049,421 1 5 BANK NOTES IN CIRCULATION. 49 1821: 1822: March 3. 23,702,175 19 7 Jan. 5. 16,950,147 5 4 10. 23,576,084 8 5 12. 20,764,267 16 6 17. 23,329,580 — — 19. 20,211,459 19 — 24. 23,447,112 1 6 26. 19,673,545 2 3 31. 23,847,239 8 4 Feb. 2. 19,211,844 13 10 April 7. 23,671,274 8 9 9. 19,034,229 2 4 14. 25,649,340 10 4 16. 18,679,242 14 10 21. 25,101,030 11 10 23. 18,348,009 2 7 28. 24,532,258 1 1 March 2. 18,387,046 10 9 May 5. 24,346,072 18 10 9. 17,803,676 2 1 12. 24,053,418 11 3 16. 17,709,605 17 1 19. 23,370,431 8 7 2^. 17,467,140 11 7 26. 22,678,265 — 9 30. 17,388,480 12 5 June 2. 21,512,016 4 7 April 6. 17,149,300 15 5 9. 21,099,138 5 6 13. 19,025,399 18 2 16. 20,667,229 1 3 20. 18,583,120 6 11 23. 20,330,418 16 1 27. 18,105,998 1 10 30. 20,537,088 8 6 May 4. 17,798,294 10 9 July 7. 19,304,718 16 6 11. 17,461,160 4 — 14. 23,361,691 8 2 18. 16,984,938 2 9 21. 22,948,802 15 5 25. 17,036,996 9 10 28. 22,138,808 5 10 June 1. 16,505,295 16 — August 4 21,770,500 19 10 8. 16,785,480 — 6 11. 21,453,634 14 6 15. 16,304,837 4 4 18. 21,028,527 6 4 22. 16,404,929 19 7 25. 20,327,753 7 10 29. 17,005,527 5 6 Sept. 1. 20,172,215 9 10 July 6. 16,834,793 10 10 8. 19,722,284 14 2 13. 20,896,903 17 2 15. 19,449,893 11 8 20. 20,579,129 19 11 22. 18,889,453 12 1 27. 19,748,395 7 4 29. 19,173,682 10 — August 3. 19,287,789 10 10 Oct. 6. 18,742,234 17 7 10. 18,833,457 11 11 13. 20. 19,845,071 16 19,802,450 4 1 3 17. 24. 18,503,575 16 10 18,498,856 4 3 27. 19,452,332 16 Sept. 31. 7. 17,464,790 7 4 17,149,134 7 8 Nor. 3. 19,259,894 — 5 14. 17,540,954 15 '•> 10. 19,006,236 9 4 21. 16,796,584 16 » 17. 19,008,033 17 1 28. 16,798,699 3 9 34. 18,175,260 I 11 Oct. 5. 17,231,846 9 7 Dec. ]. 17,635,927 5 10 12. 16,693,870 6 6 8. 17,486.083 1 8 19. 18,387,096 — 10 15. 17,474,501 13 5 26. 17,991,058 7 4 22. 17,375,661 11 — Nov. 2. 17,753,077 3 11 29. 17,443,650 3 11 9. 17,456,990 7 11 H 50 BANK NOTES IN CIRCULATION. 1822: 182 3: Nov. 16. 17,382,866 10 7 Sept. 13. 18,409,-592 12 — 23. 17,218,659 10 3 20. 17,820,420 6 — 30. 17,457,243 18 27. 17,824,286 8 7 Dec. 7. 16,370,602 4 11 Oct. 4. 17,879,269 16 5 14. 16,088,529 6 — 11. 17,541,489 18 11 21. 16,642,042 7 4 18. 19,919,413 17 8 28. 19,483,696 10 1 25. 19,386,184 4 10 1823: Nov. I. 21,779,665 12 6 Jan. 4. 16,379,530 14 3 8. 20,679,004 5 7 11. 20,157,481 15 8 15. 20,353,142 18 4 18. 19,969,577 19 11 22. 19,820,208 11 3 25. 19,879,316 12 10 29. 19,400,803 11 3 Feb. 1. 18,652,607 12 2 Dec. 6. 18,664,214 6 2 8. 18,404,360 19 7 13. 18,031,400 9 1 15. 17,802,629 1 7 20. 17,575,970 11 11 22. 17,839,486 7 1 27. 17,551,530 15 11 March 1 . 18,106,362 8 10 1824: 8. 17,224,579 2 — Jan. 3. 17,230,799 2 3 15. 17,121,785 18 5 10. 20,577,959 3 5 22. 17,070,015 7 4 17. 20,695,453 4 — 29. 17,174,946 1 2 24. 31. 20,218,040 17 20,280,821 7 I 5 April 5. 16,845,840 11 3 12. 19,282,021 16 — Feb. 7. 20,309,188 3 3 19. 19,198,274 9 7 14. 20,357,168 12 — 26. 18,943,557 7 1 21. 28. 19,866,854 6 19,736,986 11 2 10 May 3. 18,9J4,049 14 10 10. 18,585,349 5 9 March 6. 19,301,037 15 1 17. 18,464,533 7 1 13. 18,937,154 18 6 24. 17,971,839 15 — 20. 18,979,601 6 6 31. 17,425,713 5 3 27. 19,156,933 15 6 June 7. 17,602,986 7 6 April 3. 19,313,989 4 2 14. 17,059,266 16 6 10. 21,237,348 — 5 21. 16,703,737 9 10 17. 21,392,852 7 6 28. 16,835,669 2 11 24. 20,645,606 9 3 July 5. 16,975,891 7 May 1. 20,514,142 16 11 12. 20,785,758 11 9 8. 20,289,684 14 2 19. 20,680,962 10 2 15. 19,961,919 7 10 26. 20,359,367 6 9 22. 29. 19,719,356 12 19,149,378 — 6 6 Aug'ust 2. 20,221,912 19 6 9. 19,966,005 9 9 June 5. 19,396,865 4 6 16. 19,716,775 12 8 12. 18,937,401 3 7 23. 19,582,348 9 4 19. 19,071,462 7 5 30. 19,231,240 6 9 26. 19,158,504 13 6 Sept. 6. 18,884,217 3 5 July 3. 18,804,994 8 7 BANK NOTES IN CIRCULATION. 51 1824 : 1895 : July 10. 22,220,754 4 — May 7. 17. 23,004,343 11 4 14. 24. 22,276,232 6 7 21. 31. 21,998,640 13 9 28. August 7. 21,312,124 8 9 June 4. 14. 20,960,542 18 5 11. 21. 20,535,350 6 2 18. 28. 20,293,326 — 11 25. Sept. 4. 19,737,823 13 10 July 2. 11. 19,208,522 11 11 9. 18. 19,049,486 8 10 16. 25. 18,715,299 13 6 23. 30. Oct. 2. 19,065.322 2 8 9. 19,135,351 7 10 August 6. 16. 21,461,807 14 8 13, 23. 21,072,383 8 11 20. 30. 21,042,025 14 4 27. NoF. 6. 21,413,902 7 4 Sept. 3. 13. 21,411,425 13 5 10. 20. 20,817,379 — 2 17. 27. 20,850,260 1 9 24. Dec. 4. 20,352,087 17 11 Oct. 1. 11. 19,500,444 13 6 8. 18. 18,915,157 14 5 15. 25. 19,447,396 16 9 22. 29. 1825 Jan. 1. 20,756,948 16 3 Nov. 5. 8. 21,790,472 2 4 12. 15. 22,337,331 15 11 19. 22. 32,328,627 5 11 26. 29. 21,960,334 5 11 Dec. 3. Feb. 5. 21,931,937 3 4 10. 12. 21,307,879 1 1 17. 19. 21,234,763 13 7 24. 26. 21,060,144 19 4 31. March 5. 20,342,416 11 4 1826: 12. 19,875,857 18 8 Jan. 7. 19. 19,560,432 14 2 14. 26. 19,611,349 — 2 21. 28. April 2. 20,328,979 10 4 9. 20,687,516 12 5 Fell. 4. 16. 21,060,103 5 — 11. 23. 20,717,044 3 8 18. 30. 20,536,632 13 9 25. 20,500,259 4 7 20,046,091 5 11 19,723,489 6 10 19,653,011 11 — 19,298,201 18 5 18,639,891 17 4 18,327,735 14 9 18,372,368 16 2 19,038,339 9 4 21,714,838 8 6 21,763,417 15 3 21,198,817 11 10 20,794,729 17 11 20.157.200 — 2 19,738,769 18 1 19,-589,055 16 10 19,290,570 6 4 19,028,070 3 11 18.517.201 16 2 18,252,170 12 1 18,009,781 5 7 18,506,561 13 9 18,173,445 3 7 19,686,586 2 5 19,027,460 1 4 18,692,227 14 1 18,407,423 1 — 18,031,871 12 6 17,594,301 5 10 17,464,890 — 6 17,477,294 2 6 18,037,966 4 8 23,942,827 2 — 25,611,805 15 10 25,709,525 13 9 24,120,415 12 11 36,104,904 — 9 25,013,790 17 6 24,255,924 12 11 23,673,737 6 1 23,450,150 13 4 24,466,510 5 5 24,955,049 17 2 11 2 52 BANK NOTES IN CIRCULATION. 1826: 1826: Marcli 4. 25,115,173 9 2 Sept. 23. 20,264,363 11 10 11. 24,375,453 10 2 30. 20,408,194 2 11 18. 24,164,274 5 1 25. 24,060,900 18 7 Oct. 7. 14. 19,584,501 9 4 20,654,312 12 4 April 1. 24,161,171 6 6 21. 21,050,060 3 3 8. 24,947,795 12 7 28. 20,875,942 13 9 15. 25,562,054 15 4 22. 25,569,373 18 8 Nov. 4. 20,834,837 14 2 29. 24,482,967 4 4 11. 18. 20,527,489 18 3 20,416,249 12 11 May 6 13. 23,653,999 16 22,976,214 12 8 6 25. 19,906,856 17 — 20. 22,293,813 10 10 Dec. 2. 19,301,328 5 6 27. 21,909,490 5 3 9. 16. 19,031,616 10 7 19,049,077 15 8 June 3. 21,355,404 11 5 23. 19,084,901 16 9 10. 20,878,407 19 4 30. 19,049,737 19 10 17. 20,852,693 5 1 24. 21,045,574 17 5 1827: Jan. 6. 18,303,476 6 9 July 1. 20,787,013 4 4 13. 21,617,840 18 2 8, 22,630,822 14 9 20. 22,506,937 16 8 15. 23,564,518 6 2 27. 22,229,740 1 5 22. 22,871,630 4 11 29. 22,852,219 10 10 Feb. 3. 10. 22,065,896 21,881,791 10 1 Aug. 5. 22,653,453 17 10 17. 21,712,081 12 7 12. 21,983,283 10 9 24. 21,588,086 7 — 19. 21,660,960 16 — 26. 21,388,028 15 10 March 3. 21,239,269 15 11 10. 21,113,818 1 7 Sept. 2. 21,421,297 8 1 17. 20,807,411 3 6 9. 21,132,436 11 7 24- 20,736,507 9 3 16. 20,653,133 13 3 31. 20,710,683 8 4 52* Supplement to No. VIII: of the Appendix, (Continued from Page 52.) [Thefolloioing Parliamentary Paper has been issued since the preceding part went to Press.'] An ACCOUNT of all PROMISSORY NOTES and POST BILLS of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, in Circulation at the close of the business on Saturday in every Week for the Year preceding 6th April, 1828, as returned to the Stamp-office, pursuant to 55 Geo. III. c. 184. 1827: £. s. d. 182 7: £. s. d. April 7. 20,629,512 9 — Oct. 13. 21,669,437 16 4 14. 22,919,347 4 7 20. 21,990,255 3 11 21. 23,027,102 8 4 27. 22,048,087 8 7 28. 22,888,307 14 7 Nov. 3. 21,754,081 2 9 May 5. 22,653,568 8 3 10. 21,452,150 19 1 12. 22,400,556 9 10 17. 21,433,397 2 9 19. 21,988,943 16 5 24. 20,905,085 17 9 26. 21,857,013 6 2 Dec. 1. 20,573,285 2 8 June 2. 21,372,250 10 4 8. 19,629,896 5 6 9. 20,562,477 15 4 15. 19,311,365 4 11 16. 20,503,058 18 9 22. 19,225,271 15 7 23. 20,001,605 5 2 29. 19,181,217 1 10 30, 20,161,492 8 3 1828: July 7. 20,08.S,390 4 8 Jan. 5. 19,091,051 18 3 14. 23,575,202 5 3 12. 22,084,979 1 5 21. 23,845,915 17 2 19. 22,554,770 3 8 28. 23,833,914 9 2 26. 22,931,609 11 5 August 4. 23,774,884 7 10 Feb. 2. 22,900,167 15 9 11. 23,494,367 9 6 9. 22,697,334 2 11 18. 22.796,853 11 1 16. 22,367,146 7 1 25. 22,007,072 14 4 23. 22,046,687 18 6 Sept. 1. 22,348,220 15 2 Marc 1 1. 21,693,406 8 9 8. 21,929,649 3 3 8. 20,656,860 7 9 15. 21,295,260 2 I 15. 20,471,423 18 9 22. 21,082,465 19 11 22. 20,238,389 11 1 29. 21,191,86.5 9 8 29. 20,267,283 16 7 Oct. 6. 20,737,816 4 3 April 5. 19,977,133 9 3 Ace . snd Compt. General THOMAS LIGHTFOOT, Offi ce Stamps. A. & C. G. 20th May, 1828. 53 Appendix, No. IX. ACCOUNT of BANK NOTES and BANK POST BILLS in Circulation, and of Advances by the Bank to Government, on the 26th February (or nearest date) each Year, from 1787 to 1828, — formed from the preceding- Tables. Year. 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 Notes In Circulation. £. 8,688,570 9,370,350 9,905,240 10,217,360 11,699,140 11,149,809 11,428,381 10,697,924 13,539,163 10,909,694 8,601,964 12,850,085 12,636,145 15,236,676 16,577,514 15,458,876 15,576,932 17,577,352 17.234,466 17,148,446 17,205,344 18,593,054 18,014,677 20,429,281 23,384,833 22,998,197 23,307,471 25,095,415 26,673,370 25,680,069 27,058,578 28,279,043 25,847,637 24,683,533 24,049,421 18,348,009 17,839,486 19,736,986 21,060,144 24,955,049 21,588,068 20,500,000 £. 7,144,896 7,347,699 7,948,435 7,908,968 9,603,978 10,968,306 10,529,828 10,816,867 13,118,013 12,717,239 10,181,862 9,807,814 10,082,739 13,201,639 15,289,439 14,284,239 9,595,939 14,715,239 17,202,739 14,663,339 13,763,539 14,364,939 15,400,139 15,017,839 18,068,439 22,651,739 25,893,939 24,484,039 28,032,739 19,865,039 26,373,570 28,035,523 23,727,720 23,005,204 16,641,620 14,188,200 14,969,554 15,600,780 19,679,288 18,724,246 19,668,901 20,963,395 54 Appendix, No. X. REPRESENTATION, agreed upon the 20th day of May, 1819, by the Directors of the Bank of England, and laid before the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ordered, by the House of Com- mons, to be Printed, 21 May, 1819. At a Court of Directors at the Bank, on Thursday, 20th May, 1819. THE DIRECTORS of the Bank of England, having taken into their most serious consideration the Reports of the Secret Committees of the two Houses of Parliament, appointed to inquire into the state of the Bank of England, with reference to the expediency of the Resumption of Cash Payments at the period now fixed, — have thought it their duty to lay before His Majesty's Minis- ters, as early as possible, their sentiments, with regard to the measures suggested by these Com- mittees for the approbation of Parliament. In the first place it appears, that, in the view of the Committees, the measure of the Bank recom- mencing Cash Payments on the 5th of July next, the time prescribed by the existing law, " is utterly " impracticable, and would be entirely inefficient, " if not ruinous." Secondly, it appears, that the two Committees have come to their conclusion at a period, when the outstanding Notes of the Bank of England do not much exceed £25,000,000; when the price of Gold is about £4 Is. per ounce ; and when there 55 is great distress, from the stagnation of Commerce, and the fall of prices of imported articles. It must be obvious to His Majesty's Ministers, that, as long as such a state of things shall last, or one in any degree similar, without either consider- able improvement on one side, or growing worse on the other, the Bank, acting as it does at present, and keeping its Issues nearly at the present level, could not venture to return to Cash Payments, with any probability of benefit to the Public, or safety to the Establishment. The two Committees of Parliament, apparently actuated by this consideration, have advised that the Bank shall not open payments in Coin for a period of four years, but shall be obliged, from the 1st of May, 1821, to discharge their Notes in standard Gold Bullion, at mint price, when de- manded in sums not amounting to less than thirty ounces. And, as it appears to the Committees (ex- pedient, that this return to payments at mint price should be made gradually, they propose, that on the first day of February next, the Bank should pay their Notes in Bullion, if demanded in sums not less than sixty ounces, at the rate of £4 Is. per ounce, and from the 1st of October 1820 to the 1st of May following, at £3 19s. 6d. an ounce. If the Directors of the Bank have a true compre- hension of the views of the Committees in submit- ting this scheme to Parliament, they are obliged to infer, that the object of the Committees is to secure, at every hazard, and under every possible variation of circumstances, the return of payments in Gold at mint price for Bank Notes, at the expi- ration of two years ; and that this measure is so to be managed, that the mint price denominations shall ever afterwards be preserved, leaving the 56 market or exchange price of Gold to be controlled by the Bank, solely by the amount of their issues of Notes. It further appears to the Directors, with regard to the final execution of this plan, and the payment of Bank Notes in Gold at mint price, that discre- tionary power is to be taken away from the Bank ; and that it is merely to regulate its Issues, and make purchases of Gold, so as to be enabled to answer all possible demands, whenever its Trea- sury shall be again open for the payment of its Notes. Under these impressions, the Directors of the Bank think it right to observe to His Majesty's Ministers, that being engaged to pay on demand their Notes in statutable Coin, at the mint price of £3 17s. lOid. an ounce, they ought to be the last persons who should object to any measure calcu- lated to effect that end ; but as it is incumbent on them to consider the effect of any measure to be adopted, as operating upon the general issue of their Notes, by which all the private Banks are re- gulated, and of which the whole currency, exclu- sive of the Notes of private Bankers, is composed, they feel themselves obliged, by the new situation in which they have been placed by the Restriction Act of 1797, to bear in mind, not less their duties to the Establishment over which they preside, than their duties to the Community at large, whose in- terests, in a pecuniary and commercial relation, have in a great degree been confided to their dis- cretion. The Directors being thus obliged to extend their views, and embrace the interests of the whole Community, in their consideration of this measure, cannot but feel a repugnance, however involun- 57 tary, to pledge themselves in approbation of a system, which, in their opinion, in all its great tendencies and operations, concerns the country in general more than the immediate interests of the Bank alone. It is not certainly a part of the regular duty of the Bank, under its original institution, to enter into general views of policy, by which this great empire is to be governed, in all its commercial and pecuniary transactions, which exclusively belong to the Administration, to Parliament, and to the Community at large ; nor is it the province of the Bank to expound the principles by which these views ought to be regulated. Its peculiar and appropriate duty is the management of the concerns of the banking establishment, as connect- ed with the payment of the Interest of the National Debt, the lodgments consigned to its care, and the ordinary advances it has been accustomed to make to Government. But when the Directors are now to be called upon, in the new situation in which they are placed by the Restriction Act, to procure a Fund for sup- porting the whole National Currency, either in Bullion or in Coin, and when it is proposed that they should effect this measure within a given period, by regulating the market price of Gold by a limitation of the amount of the Issue of Bank Notes, with whatever distress such limitation may be attended to individuals of the community at large ; they feel it their bounden and imperious duty to state their sentiments thus explicitly, in the first instance to His Majesty's Ministers, on this subject, that a tacit consent and concurrence at this juncture may not, at some future period, be construed into a previous implied sanction, on I 58 their part, of a system, which they cannot but con- sider fraught with very great uncertainty and risk. It is impossible for them to decide before hand what shall be the course of events for the next two, much less for the next four years ; they have no right to hazard a flattering conjecture, for which they have not real grounds, in which they may be disappointed, and for which they may be consi- dered responsible. They cannot venture to advise an unrelenting continuance of pecuniary pressures upon the commercial world, of which it is impos- sible for them either to foresee or estimate the consequences. The Directors have already submitted to the House of Lords, the expediency of the Bank paying its Notes in Bullion at the market price of the day, with a vievi^ of seeing how far favourable commercial balances may operate in restoring the former order of things, of which they might take advantage. And with a similar view they have proposed, that Government should repay the Bank a considerable part of the sums that have been advanced upon Exchequer bills. These two measures would allow time for a cor- rect judgment to be formed upon the state of the Bullion market, and upon the real result of those changes which the late war may have produced, in all its consequences, of increased public debt, increased taxes, increased prices, and altered re- lations, as to interest, capital, and commercial dealings with the continent: and how far the alter- ations thus produced are temporary or permanent ; and to what extent, and in what degree, they operate. It was the design of the Directors, in pursuance of the before-mentioned two measures, to take 59 advantage of every circumstance which could en- able the Bank to extend its purchases of bullion, as far as a legitimate consideration of the ordinary wants of the nation, for a sufficient currency, could possibly warrant. Beyond this point, they do not consider themselves justified in going, upon any opinion, conjecture, or speculation, merely their own ; and when a system is recommended, which seems to take away from the Bank any thing like a discretionary consideration of the necessities and distresses of the commercial world ; if the Di- rectors withhold their previous consent, it is not from a want of deference to His Majesty's Govern- ment, or to the opinions of the Committees of the two Houses of Parliament, but solely from a serious feeling, that they have no right whatever to invest themselves, of their own accord, with the responsibility of countenancing a measure, in which the whole community is so deeply involved ; and possibly to compromise the universal interests of the empire, in all the relations of Agriculture, Manufacture, Commerce, and Revenue, by a seem- ing acquiescence, or declared approbation, on the part of the Directors of the Bank of England. The consideration of these great questions, and of the degree in which all these leading and com- manding interests may be aflected by the measure proposed, rests with the Legislature ; and it is for them, after solemn deliberation, and not for the Bank, to determine and decide upon the course to be adopted. Whatever reflections may have from time to time been cast upon the Bank, whatever invidious representations of its conduct may have been made, the cautious conduct it adopted, in so measuring the amount of currency, as to make it adequate to 60 the wants both of the nation and of the Govern- ment, at the same time keeping' it within reasonable bounds, when compared with what existed before the war, as is shown in the Lords' Reports, pages 10, 11, 12 and 13, the recent eflfort to return to a system of Cash Payments, which commenced with the fairest prospects (but which was afterwards frustrated by events that could not be foreseen nor controlled by the Bank) ; are of themselves a sufficient refutation of all the obloquy which has been so undeservedly heaped upon the establish- ment. The Directors of the Bank of England, in sub- mitting these considerations to His Majesty's Mi- nisters, request that they may be allowed to assure them, that it is always their anxious desire, as far as depends upon them, to aid, by every consistent means, the measures of the Legislature, for fur- thering the prosperity of the empire. ROBERT BEST, Sec. 61 AppendiXj No. XI. BANK OF ENGLAND.— RETURN to an Or- der of the Honourable House of Commons, dated the 3d February, 1826; — for Copies of Communications between the First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, and the Governor and Deputy Go- vernor of the Bank of England; relating- to an Alteration in the exclusive Privileges en- joyed by the Bank of England. — Ordered, by the House of Commons, to be Printed, 6th February, 1826. Fife House, Jan. 13, 1826. Gentlemen, — We have the honour of transmit- ting to you herewith a paper, containing our views upon the present state of the Banking System of this Country, with our suggestions thereupon ; which we request you will lay before the Court of Directors of the Bank of England, for their con- sideration. — We have the honour to be, Gentlemen, your most obedient humble servants, (Signed) Liverpool. Frederick John Robinson. The Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. The panic in the money market having subsided, and the pecuniary transactions of the country having reverted to their accustomed course, it be- comes important to lose no time in considering 62 whether .any measures can be adopted to prevent the recurrence in future of such evils as we have recently experienced. However much the recent distress may have been aggravated, in the judgment of some, by incidental circumstances and particular measures, there can be no doubt that the principal source of it is to be found in the rash spirit of speculation, which has pervaded the country for some time, supported, fos- tered, and encouraged by the Country Banks. The remedy, therefore, for this evil, in future, must be found in an improvement in the circulation of country paper ; and the first measure which has suggested itself to most of those who have considered the subject, is a recurrence to a gold circulation throughout the country, as well as in the metropolis and its neighbourhood, by a repeal of the Act which permits Country Banks to issue one and two pound notes until the year 1833; and by the im- mediate enactment of a prohibition of any such is- sues, at the expiration of two or three years from the present period. It appears to us to be quite clear that such a measure would be productive of much good ; that it would operate .as some check upon the spirit of speculation, and upon the issues of Country Banks; and, whilst, on the one hand, it would diminish the pressure upon the Bank and the metropolis, inci- dent to an unfavourable state of the exchanges, by spreading it over a wider surface ; on the other hand, it would cause such pressure to be earlier felt, and thereby insure an earlier and more gene- ral adoption of the precautionary measures neces- sary for counteracting the inconveniences incident to an export of the precious metals. But though a recurrence to a gold circulation in the country, for 63 the reasons already stated, might be productive of good, it would by no means go to the root of the evil. We have abundant proof of the truth of this po- sition, in the events which took place in the spring of 1793, when a convulsion occurred in the money transactions and circulation of the country, more ex- tensive than that which wehave recently experienced. At that period, nearly a hundred Country Banks were obliged to stop payment, and Parliament was induced to grant an issue of Exchequer bills to re- lieve the distress. Yet, in the year 1793, there were no one or two pound notes in circulation in Eng- land, either by Country Banks or by the Bank of England. We have a further proof of the truth of what has been advanced, in the experience of Scotland, which has escaped all the convulsions which have occurred in the money market of England for the last thirty-five years, though Scotland, during the whole of that time, has had a circulation of one pound notes ; and the small pecuniary transactions of that part of the United Kingdom, have been car- ried on exclusively by the means of such notes. The issue of small notes, thoug-h it be an asforava- tion, cannot therefore be the sole, or even the main cause of the evil in England. The failures which have occurred in England, unaccompanied as they have been by the same oc- currences in Scotland, tend to prove, that there must have been an unsolid and delusive system of Bank- ing in one part of Great Britain, and a solid and substantial one in the other. It would be entirely at variance with our delibe- rate opinion, not to do full justice to the Bank of England, as the great centre of circulation and commercial credit. 64 We believe that much of the prosperity of the country for the last century, is to be ascribed to the general wisdom, justice, and fairness of the deal- ings of the Bank ; and we further think, that during a great part of that time, it may have been, in itself and &y itself, fully equal to all the important duties and operations confided to it. But the progress of the country during the last thirty or forty years, in every branch of industry, in agriculture, manufac- tures, commerce, and navigation, has been so rapid and extensive, as to make it no reflection upon the Bank of England to say, that the instrument, which* bj/ itself, was fully adequate to former transactions, is no longer sufficient without new aids, to meet the demands of the present times. We have, to a considerable degree, the proof of this position, in the very establishment of so many Country Banks. Within the memory of many living, and even of some of those now engaged in public affairs, there were no Country Banks, except in a few of the great commercial towns. The money transactions of the country were car- ried on by supplies of coin and Bank-notes from London. The extent of the business of the country, and the improvement made from to time in the mode of conducting our increased commercial transactions, founded on pecuniary credit, rendered such a sys- tem no longer adequate, and Country Banks must have arisen, as in fact they did arise, from the in- creased wealth and new wants of the country. The matter of regret is not, that Country Banks have been suffered to exist, but that they have been suffered so long to exist without control or limitation, or without the adoption of provisions 65 calculated to counteract the evils resulting- from their improvidence or excess. It would be vain to suppose that we could now, by any act of the Legislature, extinguish the exist- ing Country Banks, even if it were desirable ; but it may be within our power, gradually at least, to establish a sound system of Banking throughout the [ country ; and if such a system can be formed, there can be little doubt that it would ultimately extinguish and absorb all that is objectionable and dangerous in the present Banking establish- ments. There appear to be two modes of attaining this object : First, — That the Bank of England should esta- blish Branches of its own body in different parts of the country : Secondly, — That the Bank of England should give up its exclusive privilege as to the number of partners engaged in Banking, except within a certain distance from the metropolis. It has always appeared to us, that it would have been very desirable that the Bank should have tried the first of these plans; that of establishing Branch Banks, upon a limited scale. But we are not in- sensible to the difficulties which would have at- tended such an experiment, and we are quite satis- fied that it would be impossible for the Bank, under present circumstances, to carry into execution such a system, to the extent necessary for providing for the wants of the country. There remains, therefore, only the other plan, the surrender by the Bank of their exclusive privilege, as to the number of partners, beyond a certain dis- tance from the metropolis. The effect of such a measure would be the gra- K 66 dual establishment of extensive and respectable Banks in ditferent parts of the country ; some per- haps vvith charters from the Crown, under certain qualifications, and some without. Here we have again the advantage of the expe- rience of Scotland. In England there are said to be between eight and nine hundred Country Banks ; and it is no exaggera- tion to suppose, that a great proportion of them have not been conducted with a due attention to those precautions which are necessary for the safety of all Banking establishments, even where their property is most ample. When such Banks stop, their cre- ditors may ultimately be paid the whole of their demands, but the delay and shock to credit may, in the mean time, involve them in the same difficulty, and is always attended with the greatest injury and suffering in the districts where such stoppages occur. If this be the case where the solidity of the Bank is unquestionable, what must it be when (as too often happens) they rest on no solid foundation. In Scotland there are not more than thirty Banks, and these Banks have stood firm amidst all the con- vulsions in the money market in England, and amidst all the distresses to which the manufacturing and agricultural interests in Scotland, as well as in England, have occasionally been subject. Banks of this description must necessarily be con- ducted upon the general understood and approved principles of Banking. Individuals are, from the nature of the institu- tions, precluded from speculating in the manner in which persons engaged in Country, and even in London Banks, speculate in England. If the concerns of the country could be carried on without any other Bank than the Bank of Eng- 67 land, there might be some reason for not interfer- ing* with their exclusive privilege ; but the eifect of the law, at present, is to permit every description of Banking, except that which is solid and secure. Let the Bank of England reflect on the dangers to which is has been recently subject, and let its Directors and Proprietors then say, whether, for their own interest, such an improvement as is sug- gested in the Banking system, is not desirable and even necessary. The Bank of England may perhaps propose, as they did upon a former occasion, the extension of the term of their exclusive privilege, as to the me- tropolis and its neighbourhood, beyond the year 1833, as the price of this concession. It would be very much to be regretted that they should require any such condition. It is clear that, in point of security, they would g"ain by the concession proposed to them, inasmuch as their own safety is now necessarily endangered by all such convulsions in the country circulation, as we have lately and formerly witnessed. In point of profit, would they lose any thing by it, for which they are entitled to demand compen- sation ? It is notorious, that at the present time their notes circulate in no part of England beyond the metropolis and its neighbourhood, except in Lan- cashire ; and perhaps for that district some special provision might be made. But as it is the interest, so it has been and ever will be the endeavour, of the Country Bankers to keep the Bank of England notes out of circulation in those parts of the kingdom where their own cir- culation prevails. In this thev must always be suc^ k2 ^ 68 cessful, whilst public credit continues in its ordinary state, and the exchanges not unfavourable to this country. The consequences are, that in such times, the Bank of England becomes in a manner the sole depository for gold ; and in times of an opposite tendency, the sole resort for obtaining it : that at one period their legitimate profit is curtailed by an accumulation of treasure beyond what would be required by a due attention to their own private safety as a Banking establishment ; and at another period, they are exposed to demands which endan- ger that safety, and baffle all the ordinary calcula- tions of foresight and prudence. . If then the Bank of England has no country cir- culation, except in the county above named, the only question for them to consider is, whether, on the ground of profit, as well as security to them- selves, the existing country circulation shall or shall not be improved. With respect to the extension of the term of their exclusive privileges in the metropolis and its neigh- bourhood, it is obvious, from what passed before, that Parliament will never agree to it. Such privileges are out of fashion ; and what ex- pectation can the Bank, under present circum- stances, entertain, that theirs will be renewed? But there is no reason why the Bank of England should look at this consequence with dismay. They will remain a chartered Corporation for carrying on the business of Banking. In that character they will, we trust, always continue to be the sole Bankers of the State, and with these advantages, so long as they conduct their affairs wisely and prudently, they always must be the great centre of Banking and circulation. 69 Theirs is the only establishment at which the dividends due to the public creditor can by law be paid. It is to be hoped, therefore, that the Bank will make no difficulty in giving up their exclusive pri- vileges, in respect to the number of partners en- gaged in Banking, as to any district miles from the metropolis. Should the Bank be disposed to consent to a mea- sure of this nature, in time to enable the Govern- ment to announce such a concession at the opening of Parliament, it would afford great facilities to the arrangement which they may have to propose for ensuring the stability of private credit, in which the support of public credit and the maintenance of public prosperity are so materially and closely in- volved. Appendix, No. XII. NAVAL and MILITARY PENSIONS.— Cor- respondence, relating to Agreement between Trustees of Naval and Military Pensions, and the Bank of England. Fife House, March 21, 1823. My Lords, — We have the honour of reporting to your Lordships, that, after bestowing our fullest consideration upon the means by which the ob- jects of the trust reposed in us might be most effec- tually secured, it has appeared to us to be highly expedient, that the power vested in us by the Act of the 3d of His present Majesty, c. 51. should be 70 so far extended as to enable us to dispose at once of such a portion of the Annuity thereby created, as may be sufficient to provide for the quarterly payments to be made by us into the Exchequer, for a certain number of years, under an engage- ment with the Bank of England. We have therefore thought it our duty to enter into a communication with the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank upon the subject ; and we have now the honour of transmitting copies of the Correspondence (N°^ 1. 2. 3.) by which we have concluded an agreement with that Corpora- tion, for the payments to be made between the 5th January 1823, and the 5th July 1828, subject to the approbation of Parliament. We have the honour to be, &c. &c. &c. (signed) Liverpool. The Lords Commissioners F. J. Robinson. of H. M. Treasury. Cha* Long. The rate of Interest according to which the amount of the Annuity to be transferred to the Bank has been computed, is £4. 2. 1. per £100. per annum, being the rate indicated by the price of the long annuity having 37 and f quarter years to run ; viz., £18. 17. 9. after deducting the value of the accruing dividend thereon, on Saturday the 1st of March. Enclosure, No. 1. Treasury Chambers, March 3, 1823. Gentlemen, — With reference to the conference which we had the honour of holding with you yesterday, upon the subject of the purchase, by the Bank of England, of a portion of the Annuities created by tlie Act of the 3d of His present Ma- 71 jesty, for defraying the charj^e of the Naval and Military Pensions, we now beg leave to express our readiness to conclude an engagement with the Bank for that object, upon the following basis : subject to the approbation of Parliament : — The Bank of England to undertake the payments to be made in pursuance of the provisions of that Act, from the 5th January 1823, to the 5th of July 1828, both inclusive, upon the transfer to the Bank of England of such a portion of the Annuity created by the Act, as may be equal to the present value of the excess of such advances beyond the amount which will remain applicable to those pay- ments, after such transfer to the Bank ; the value of the Annuity to be computed according to the current price of the long annuity, when the books of the Bank for the transfer of that stock closed on Saturday ; due allowance being made for the longer term of the duration of the annuity pro- posed to be transferred. We have the honour to be, Gentlemen, Your obedient humble Servants, (Signed) Liverpool. F. J. Robinson. The Governor and Deputy Charles long. Governor of the Bank. Enclosure, No. 2. Bank of England, March 13, 1823. My Lord, and Gentlemen, — I have the honour to acquaint you, that the Court of Directors have approved of the agreement entered into for advancing the sums specified at foot, to defray the charge of Military and Naval Pensions, between the 5th of January 1823 and the 5tli of July 1828, both inclusive, and to receive in lieu thereof a 72 transfer of a portion of the Annuity created by the 3d of His present Majesty, c. 51, to be calculated at the same rate of interest as that aflforded by the long annuities. The agreement must be subject to the approval of the Court of Proprietors, on Thursday next. I have the honour to be. My Lord, and Gentlemen, Your most obedient humble servant, (Signed) John Bowden. 1823 5 April £ 885,719 15 July 1,225,000 20 October 67,870 1824 January 1,175,000 April 67,870 July 1,175,000 October 27,870 1825 January 1,135,000 April 27,870 July 1,130,370 1826 January 1,097,870 July 1,067,870 1827 January 1,037,870 July 992,870 1828 January 947,870 July 1,027,500 Total £13,089,419 Enclosure, No. 3. Bank of England, March 21, 1823. My Lord, and Gentlemen, — I have the honour to enclose you a copy of the proceedings of the General Court of Proprietors, held at the Bank yesterday, approving of the arrangement entered 73 into between you, as trustees of the Military and Naval Pensions and Superannuations, and the Court of Directors. I have the honour to remain, My Lord, and Gentlemen, Your most obedient humble Servant, (signed) John Bowden,*^Gov'". The Right Hon. the Earl of Liverpool. The Right Hon. F. J. Robinson. The Right Hon. Sir Chas Long. At a General Court of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, held at their Public OflSce in Threadneedle-street, on Thursday the 20th March 1823 : — Present ; John Bowden, Esq. Governor ; Cornelius Buller, Esq., Deputy-Go- vernor; and divers Directors and other members. The Governor acquainted the Court, that they had been summoned on special affairs, for the purpose of submitting to them, that His Majesty's Ministers had made a proposal for the purchase, by the Bank, of a portion of the Annuity created for defraying the Military and Naval Pensions ; which, upon full consideration, the Court of Directors had agreed to, if it should meet with the approbation of the Court of Proprietors ; and the Governor then read the letter from the Trustees, and the resolu- tion of the Court of Directors thereon ; — viz. " Treasury Chambers, March 3, 1823. " Gentlemen, — With reference to the confer- *' ence, &c. &c. "At a Court of Directors, 20th March, 1823. " Resolved, " That in conformity to the agreement entered " into by the Governor and Deputy Governor, with " the Trustees of the Annuity created by the 3d L 74 " Geo. 4. c. 51. for defraying the charge of Military " and Naval Pensions and Civil Superannuations, " the Court do engage, subject to the approbation " of the Court of Proprietors, to make the follow- " ing payments, at the periods specified hereunder, " on the said Trustees transferring to the Bank an " Annuity of £585,740 ; to commence from 5th " April, 1823, and to continue for a term of 44 years, " and then to cease. "1823 April £ 885,719 July 1,225,000 October 67,870 « 1824 January 1,175,000 April 67,870 July 1,175,000 October 27,870 « 1825 January 1,135,000 April 27,870 July 1,130,370 « 1826 January 1,097,870 July 1,067,870 " 1827 January 1,037,870 July 992,870 « 1828 January 947,870 July 1,027,500 Total £13,089,419" Resolved, by the General Court of Proprietors, That this Court do agree with the said Resolution of the Court of Directors, and authorize them to carry the same into effect. 75 Appendix, No. XIII. (circular.) May 23, 1827. — " Assuming it to be desirable to retain a paper money currency convertible on de- mand, the great question for consideration is, how that paper money can be so regulated as to afford the greatest security for receivers, both as regards the solidity of the issuer, and the power of obtaining coin for the same on demand. " In order to obtain those objects, it is necessary* in the first instance, to free the paper money, as far as may be possible, from the effects of what has been termed panic. In a great commercial country like this, periods of speculation and overtrading may frequently arise ; still, no event of that nature ought, under proper regulation of the currency, to affect the credit of the paper money, the discredit of which has hitherto tended very greatly to aggravate the evils which we have in such times sustained. Now, under the present system of issues by the Bank of England, and the Country Bankers, there is the greatest difficulty, amounting almost to an impracti- cability, of so regulating the paper money currency as to attain the objects immediately referred to. The confliction of action and interest between these two description of issues is the main difficulty ; the fact being that, as prices expand, and even where the notes are returning upon the Bank for gold, to be exported, the issues of the Country Bankers are extending, and arc never attempted to be with- drawn, until the Bank makes an evident demonstra- h2 76 tion to the country of contracting, from a continu- ance of the drain upon that establishment for gold. That action, though of the most trifling amount, im- mediately lays the foundation of alarm, and the paper money issued by the Country Bankers be- comes discredited, before they can be provided to meet the run upon their establishments. Stoppage is the consequence with many ; and although they may eventually realize sufficient assets to meet their engagements to the actual holders of the notes, yet the country has to sustain all the evils attendant on the first discredit, and which no final payment can ever alleviate. It is in this state of discredit, attending the private paper money currency, that the Bank of England is looked to, not only for gold in exchange for its own notes, but also to supply an almost instantaneous demand to a very great ex- tent on the part of those Country Bankers who have the command of funded or other tangible property to oiFer as security, the magnitude of which inter- nal demand for gold actually places the Bank in the greatest possible danger, and with that danger the credit of the country is placed at hazard. " It may, perhaps, be deserving of consideration, whether the hazard and difficulties of our present system might not be obviated by confining the issue of the paper money currency to one body of un- doubted solidity ; and believing thatsuch a measure, if practicable, could not be so satisfactorily carried into effect as by the Bank of England, under proper and efficient Parliamentarz/ regulations, it isproposed that the paper of that corporation should be that alone permitted to circulate. There could, how- ever, be no objection to the substitution of any other body of equal credit, which might be deemed more advantageous for the country. In thus limiting the 77 issue to one body, the accommodation and advan- tag-e derived by the public from Country Banks oug-ht to be preserved as far as may be practicable ; and which, it is presumed, might be effected by con- tinuing in that channel the issue of the paper money proposed to be adopted, in such manner, and at such rate of interest as may afford a fair proportion of the advantage which the Country Bankers have for so many years been permitted to enjoy in their own circulation. It remains, therefore, to be shown, in what mode a plan of that nature could be adopted. " The advantage hitherto derived by the Country Bankers upon their issues, may be estimated at 5 per cent, per annum ; from which, however, should be deducted : — " 1. The expense of printing, issuing, &c. " 2. The stamp duty. " 3. The interest on the amount of Bank of Eng- land paper, or bullion, which they oufjht to keep to meet returns. " 4. The risk oj' loss in times of general discredit of private paper money, upon realizing funded or other property, which, under the present system, has generalliy occurred once in Jour or Jive years ; and there appears no reason to suppose that it will occur less frequently hereaj'ter. " These deductions may be fairly estimated at from 2 to 3 per cent, per annum, the residue form- ing the amount of net prolit. It might, therefore, be proposed, that every Country Banker withdraw- ing his own paper circulation, should receive that of the Bank of England to the same amount at a re- duced rate oJ interest, giving- to that corporation se- curity for such issue; one-third of which should be in bills of exchange, or other convertible securi- 78 ties, which, in the event of a contraction becoming" necessary to correct the exchanges, might be with- drawn by the Bank upon three months' notice, in sums not exceeding 5,000/. in succession ; and any sums so withdrawn should, if required, be again re- issuable in the same manner, and upon the same terms. The remaining two-thirds to be a perma- nent advance upon funded or landed property, dur- ing the term of the Bank charter, at the option of the borrowers. " The Country Bankers would thus derive the full benefit between the rate of interest paid to the Bank, and that which they would obtain from their borrowers, free from all anxiety arising from panics, and from other causes discrediting private paper money. There might, perhaps, be some little diffi- culty in laying down regulations for keeping up this system, upon the dissolution of existing country establishments : that difficulty might, in all proba- bility, be got over when the details of the plan came to be considered. " The Bank paper thus proposed for circulation might be issued from the branch banks established in central parts of the country, affording the facili- ties of exchange, and payment in coin when de- manded ; and from which branch banks any further issue might be made upon discount at the current rate of interest, which might be required by the expansion of' prices, so long as the exchanges were in favour of the country ; thus affording at all times a full and efficient currency. In order to give the desired effect to a plan of this description, it would be essential to obtain the concurrence of the majority of the country banking interest, and which from a limited inquiry that has been made, it is thought would be given, provided no material 79 difficulty arose in arranging of details. And, finally, to give stability to the system, the Bank of England should be required to publish in the Ga- zette every quarter, the amount of notes in circula- tion, with the bullion, and securities in deposit, that the public might be apprised of any fluctua- tion in either paper or bullion which might occur, and which publication would, it is conceived, be a sufficient security against any undue use of the power thus placed in the hands of the Bank. " It is presumed, that by the foregoing plan all the advantages and convenience of the country bank establishments might be retained, and perma- nent solidity be given to our paper money cur- rency, no contraction ever being likely to occur, except in the event of a continuance of an unfa- vourable exchange, and the consequent return of paper upon the Bank and its branches for gold to be exported, which return of paper, if not improvi- dently re- issued by the Bank, would, in all proba- bility, be sufficient to correct the exchanges, and bring back the gold which might have passed abroad. If the demand, however, for gold should at any time be very rapid and extensive, it might possi- bly, in such case, require some trifling check, either by contraction of the paper circulating through- out the country, or by a limitation of the mercan- tile discounts at the Bank, the effect of which would be to contract at an early period that part of the currency which may be termed collateral — viz. bills of exchange and credits; thus lowering the prices of commodities, so as to render them cheaper articles of payment to the foreigner than the bul- lion previously required. " If, upon giving tiiis subject the fullest consider- ation, it should he deemed objectionable to confine 80 the issue of paper money to one body, it appears to be doubtful ivhether any real and effectual security can be given arjainst the recurrence of the evils we have so latelj/ sustained. So long as the Bank and the majiy exist together, so long will the latter always rest upon the former in the day of distress and discredit ; and from what has hitherto so fre- quently occurred, it may be confidently asserted, that under the great existing state of our paper money, the Bank, continuing to act as heretofore, must necessarily incur the greatest risk of stoppage^ and thereby place at hazard the very credit of the country. " In considering the preceding statement, the following principle should be admitted : — that all supposed vested interests, either in the Bank of England or other establishments issuing paper money, should be deemed subservient to the na- tional interests ; consequently the security of gene- ral property should form the only object of consi- deration in any plan for substituting paper money for coin."" Appendix, No. XIV. At a MEETING of COUNTRY BANKERS, held at the Old London Tavern, Bishopsgate-street, December 7, 1827, Sir John Wrottesley, Bart. M. P. in the Chair. Resolved unanimously^ — That this Meeting dis- claim every sentiment of hostility to the Bank of England, upon its original principles, being firmly persuaded that the Bank of England and the va- 81 rious other Banking establishments of the kingdom have, together, long been found to promote the in- terests of the public, and to afford a salutary check upon each other. That the late measures of the Bank of England, in the establishment of Branch Banks, have the evi- dent tendency to subvert the general Banking sys- tem that has long existed throughout the Country, and which has grown up with, and been adapted to, the wants and conveniences of the public. That it can be distinctly proved, that the pros- perity of trade, the support of agriculture, the increase of general improvement, and the pro- ductiveness of the national revenue, are intimately connected with the existing system of Banking. That the Country Bankers would not complain of rival establishments, founded upon equal terms ; but they do Complain of being required to compete with a great company, possessing a monopoly and exclusive privileges. That should this great Corporation, conducted by directors who are not personally responsible, suc- ceed, by means of these exclusive advantages, in their apparent object of supplanting the existing Banking Establishments, they will thereby be ren- dered masters of the circulation of the country, which they will be enabled to contract or to expand, according to their own will, and thus be armed with a tremendous power and influence, dangerous to the stability of property and the independence of the country. That a deputation be appointed, to request an interview with Lord Viscount Goderich and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to present the above resolutions, to offer any explanation, wliicli the prac- tice and experience of the deputation may enable M them to aftbrd ; and to urg-e Lord Viscount Gode- rich and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to take their case into consideration, and grant such relief as may be just to the Country Bankers and benefi- cial to the public. That the deputation do consist of — Sir J. Wrot- tesley, Bart., M.P. ; W.Beckett, Esq., of Leeds; J. S. Harford, Esq., of Bristol ; Deane John Parker, Esq., of Canterbury ; R. Spooner, Esq., of Birmingham ; P. M. James, Esq., of Birmingham ; and W. D. Crewdson, Esq., of Kendal. That the Select Committee, appointed at the last meeting, be requested to continue their services. That this Meeting to adjourn to Monday next, then to assemble at one o'clock, at the same place. John Wrottesley, Cairman. At a MEETING of the GENERAL COMMITTEE of COUNTRY BANKERS, held upon Monday, the 10th of December, at the Old London Tavern, pursuant to adjournment. Sir John Wrottesley, Bart., M. P., in the Chair. The Chairman reported to the Meeting the inter- view of the deputation with Lord Goderich and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and read their an- swer, as follows : — '* Downing-street, December 10, 1827, " Lord Goderich and the Chancellor of the Ex- chequer state to the deputation, that they were ful- ly sensible of the great importance of the subjects which were brought before them by the deputation j and that, although it was obviously impossible that they could undertake, on the part of the Govern- ment, to express upon that occasion any opinion 83 (ipon the matters under consideration, they could assure the deputation, that all that had been com- municated should receive the most deliberate and serious attention." Resolved wianimousljf, — That the following- gen- tlemen be a standing- Committee, for the protection of the Country Banking interest, with power to add to their number, and that the Chairman of this Meeting, Sir John Wrottesley, Bart., M. P., be em- powered to reassemble the said Committee when- ever he may receive any further communication from Government, or upon any other occasion he may think necessary : — J. Backhouse, Esq., Sunderland W. Beckett, Esq., Leeds W. Birbeck, Esq., Settle J. E. Bowman, Esq., Wrexham W. W, Brown, Esq., Leeds Sir W. Cooke, Bart. W. D. Crewdson. Esq., Kendal Henry Davies, Esq., Monmouth T. Eyton, Esq., Shrewsbury C. S. Forster, Esq., Walsall J. J. Guest, Esq., M. P. J. S. Harford, Esq., Bristol John Harris, Esq., Plymouth J, P. Heywood, Esq., Liverpool P. M. James, Esq. Birmingham S J. Lloyd, Esq., Manchester Jolin Milford, Esq., Exeter John Moss, Esq., Liverpool D. J. Parker, Esq., Canterbury W. Rickford, Esq., Aylesbury R. Spooner, Esq., Birming-ham T. Swann. Esq., York W. Tweedy, Esq., Truro D. Veasey, jun., Esq., Hunting-- don John Webb, Esq., Burton John Wrio:ht, Esq., Nottingham Sir John Wrottesley, Bart., M. P. That five members of the Standing Committee be empowered to act. That the cordial thanks of this meeting be pre- sented to Sir John VV^rottesley, Bart., M. P., and the Gentlemen who accompanied him as a Deputation to his Majesty's Ministers, for their valuable ser- vices. That the proceedings of this day, together with the resolutions submitted to his 3Iajestv's Ministers, and their answer thereto, be transmitted to all Bankers throughout the kingdom, and be |)ublishod in the London newspapers. That the grateful thanks of the Country Bankers m2 84 are eminently due to their honorary Secretary, John Easthope, Esq., M. P., for the very able and disinterested services which he has rendered to Country Bankers. John Wrottesley, Chairman. The Chairman having- quitted the chair, and W. W. Brown, Esq., called thereto, It was resolved — That this Meeting is impressed with a hig-h sense of the important assistance rendered by their Chairman, Sir John Wrottesley, Bart., M. P., and beg- to express to him their warm and unanimous thanks. W. W. Brown. 85 Appendix, No. XIV, continued. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD GODERICH, FIRST LORD COMMISSIONER OF HIS MAJESTY'S TREASURY. The Memorial of the under signed Bankers in the town of Birmingfham and its neiofhbourhood, " Respectfully sheweth — That by 55 George III, cap. 184. inland bills of exchange, either on de- mand or otherwise, not exceeding two months after date, or sixty days after sight, are made chargeable with certain ad valorem stamp-duties therein specified. "That your Memorialists, in the course of their regular business, have been in the practice of drawing bills of exchange, to enable their customers to transmit sums of money from one part of the of the kingdom to another — each bill upon a stamp, agreeably with the above enactment. " That since the establishment of Branches of the Bank of England, the agents of these Branch Banks have drawn bills of exchange at 21 days after date, upon unstamped paper, considering, as your Memorialists are informed, that their bills of exchange are exempted from stamp-duties under the 20th section of the above Act, which allows the Governor and Company of the Bank of England to pay a composition upon their " promissory notes and Bank-post bills," in lieu of duties. " That the following statements will serve to show the difference in amount of duty between that which is paid when every bill of exchange is drawn upon a stamp, as in the case of your Memorialists, and the duty paid by the Gover- nor and Company of the Bank of England, for 86 bills of exclianjre drawn by them under the com- position for their " promissory notes and Bank post- bills." The Stamp Duty Bank of England IS pays £ S, d. 5. d. For a Bill of Exchange of £50 2 6 2| 100 3 6 5 200 4 6 9f 300 5 1 2f 500 6 2 0| 1,000 8 6 4 1 A Circulation of Will subject the Bank Whilst other Bankers 10,000/. in Bills of Ex- of England, per An- would pay per An- change, issued by num, to a Composi- num in Stamp Da- Branch Banks. tion of ties. Of £20 each £35 £650 30 35 577 15 6 50 35 433 6 8 100 35 303 6 8 200 35 195 300 35 144 8 10 400 35 130 500 35 104 600 35 122 15 6 700 35 105 4 9 800 35 92 1 8 900 35 81 17 1,000 35 73 13 4 " That the injurious effect to His Majesty's reve- nue above noticed, arises from the circumstance of one charge only being made in the year upon the laro-est amount in circulation at anv one time of the Bank of England draughts at 21 days, whilst the charge of stamp-duty upon the average amount of draughts of other Bankers, drawn at the same date of 21 days, is repeated 17^ times in the year. m " Your Memorialists respectfully submit the fore- going- to your Lordship's attention, and pray that all bills of exchang'e be made liable to the same stamp-duty, whether drawn by the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, or by others of His Majesty's subjects." To Country Bankers in the Neighbourhood oj" Bank of England Branch Banks. " Gentlemen, — Engaged in the same business with yourselves, I cannot look on the manifest de- signs, and the present proceedings of the Bank of Enoiand, without a degree of alarm. " Sensible as I am that it is necessary for something to be done, I am at the same time sensible that we have so much justice on our side, that a mere de- monstration on our part would call forth an express sion of public opinion to the discomfiture of the enemies alike of ourselves and of the public. What motive have the Bank of England for intruding themselves into our business, but their own interest? Are they actuated by a laudable desire to improve the circulating- medium of the country ? No such thing : they are rather actuated by the illaudable desire to enrich themselves by an extension of their own monopoly, reckless of consequences ; and what those consequences would be to the community you well know. " My present object is to excite you to action. Do not slumber at your posts; the Bank of Eno-. land have besieged you in your citadel ; the siege may be slow, but the event, if you continue inac- tive, is sure ; tliey are sapping your foundations, and if your defences do not fall about your ears, 88 you must eventually perish by famine. It is there- fore your duty to take the field manfully against them, and to conquer fairly, or to fall in the attempt. " What could be more impolitic, or more suici- dal, than your submitting- to keep accounts with the Branch Banks, to induce them to do — what ? — To take your notes ! Are you not aware, that with- out this imprudent concession they could scarcely have kept a single account, for who would have in- curred both the odium and the trouble of runninc/ you daily, to enable him to keep an account with the Branch Bank ? " Withdraw your balances — defy the Branch Banks to refuse your notes — keep no Bank of Eng- land notes — nothinsrbut sovereigns. If the Branch Banks refuse to take your notes, take theirs, and present them daily for payment. Meet your ene- mies fairly in the field, and you will soon beat them out of it. I am, Gentlemen, your sincere friend, « October G, 1827. A Country Banker." Since the preceding documents were sent to the press, the following Memorial has been addressed to the Lords of the Treasury. Memorial of the Deputation of Country Bankers to the Lords of the Treasury. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE LORDS COMMISSIONERS OF HIS majesty's treasury. The humble Memorial of the Country Bankers in England and Wales, " Sheweth, That the Banking System established in this country forms a most important and essential part of its commercial economy ; that the Bank of 89 Eng-land has heretofore been principally engaged in performing the functions of a State Bank, and in transacting business in London : the Country Banks have been the medium of the most important pecu- niary transactions in all other parts of the kingdom ; and with this system are intimately connected the prosperity of trade, the support of agriculture, the increase of general improvement, and the produc- tiveness of the national revenue. " That an important and extraordinary change in the system was suggested by the First Lord of the Treasury and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, * upon the most erroneous conception of the actual state of the case ; general charges of misconduct in the practice of Country Bankers, which were groundless, formed the basis upon which a new sys- tem was proposed and undertaken ; and your Me- morialists cannot refrain from pressing upon the at- tention of your Lordships, that, had due inquiry into the subject preceded the suggestion, the measure of establishing Branch Banks would not have taken place. " Your Memorialists beg further to state to your Lordships, that should these branches, conducted by Directors not personally responsible, succeed, by means of exclusive advantages, in their apparent object of supplanting the existing Banking Esta- blishments, the Bank of England will thereby be rendered masters of the circulation of the country, which it will be enabled to contract and expand at pleasure, and thus be armed with a tremendous power and influence, dangerous to the stability of property, and the independence of the country; a power which, if this Corporation is suffered to ex- ercise uncontrolled during the unexpired term of • See Appendix, No. IX. N 90 their exclusive privileges, will place them in a situa- tion to dictate terms to tlie Government, and thus virtually, if not by Statute, render their monopoly perpetual. Then will the value and rental of land, the value of all domestic produce, and of all com- modities consumed at home, the revenue of the state, the wages of labour, and the employment of the poor, be made to fluctuate according to the se- cret and uncontrolled regulations of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England. " Your Memorialists, therefore, deeply regret that your Lordships do not feel justified in adopting measures for the withdrawal of Branch of Banks ; and they hope that your Lordships will be pleased, as far as lies in your Lordships' power, to prevent any interference with the business of your Memo- rialists ; and that your Lordships will be pleased to institute an inquiry into the system of Country Bank- ing, and take into your Lordships' consideration the claims of the Country Bankers to be regarded as parties in the intended application for the renewal of the Bank Charter ; and that no special privilege or monopoly be granted or continued to the Governor and Company of the Bank of England ; but that they may be placed on a perfect equality with Country Bankers in the competition which, by means of their Branch Banks, they are now car- rying on with your Memorialists. " By order of the Meeting, (signed) " John Wrottesley, Chairman.'* May 9, 1828. COUNTRY BANKERS' NOTES. Number of Country Bankers' Notes Stamped in each Year, from 1810, and up to the bth April^ 1828 ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND. IRELAND. 1 CO c . -a o X 01 o 5d. — 60 — ■3 6C 11 5 H ■5 D O ° u lOd. ■a So « c U Is. 3d. •c s a . .5 '"'' to 60 i; Is t^ K Is. 9d. o a ■a s 13 . — ' to 60 = w 2s. o c •a S . sM M 60 60 = "^ S X 8;i,824 22,181 203,673 1 49,280 7,250 71 1,060 4)5,369 26,800 j 19,623 240 110 2,107,624 46,999 20,180 243,739 11,100 49,226 2,000 8,838 1,9C0 50 417 1,000 600 3.'i4;041 .^700 6^146 75 '24 2,214,623 20,180 264,839 51,226 10,738 50 417 1,600 354,041 5,700 6,146 76 24 1,853,.V.9 35,400 11.700 259,213 8,000 63,032 2,000 10,156 3,600 100 206 6R0 400 From 15 th Aug. 1822, ! lirf. By Act 3. Geo. 4. 334,570 10,000 8,H49 " Y2O "ibb 1,888,959 11,700 267,213 65,032 13,756 100 206 1,060 334,570 10,000 8,849 120 100 1,905,359 64,400 25,1 ;0 263,184 10,000 73,232 1,000 9,323 250 199 292 992 400 270,301 6,800 .V,926 ■••^0 ' " 20 1,969,758 25,110 273,184 74,232 9,573 199 292 1,.392 1 270,301 5,800 5,925 30 20 f England 1824^ Scotland (.Ireland 2,449,3.73 62,496 21,500 434,512 7,600 130,196 1,000 18,789 3,400 14 528 1,801 069,602 16, 000 12,200 ' 200 (England 11825 \ Scotland ; l Ireland ' r England lS2r)-' Scotland L Ireland 1 fEngland 1827] Scotland (.Ireland Sth fEngland Apr. Scotland (828 (. Ireland 2,501,849 21,500 442,112 131,196 22,189 14 528 1,801 1 669,602 16,000 12,200 200 300 300 3,038,875 133,(.02 39,511 510,946 47,000 155,833 2,400 35,092 ll,3;0 12 381 1,845 l,2i.3,'486 128,814 2ii',obo ' 6 00 .3,172,477 39,51 1: 557,946 158,233 46,.392 12 381 1,845 1,213,486 |28,814 20,000 500 119,604 128,513 139,603 2,000 46,399 1,971 .341 12 376 558,231 30,406 14,450 248,117 141,603 1 45,399 1,971 .341 12 375 558,231 30,405 14,4:.0J .... 29r,.377 245,911 57,683 6,933 95 208 46o,'435 .V,:(00 6,269 291,377 .... 1 245,911 1 57,683 C,9.33 95 208 406,4;S5 1 3,.300| 5,269 Ve.boo .... 60,451 1,100 13,867 4,250 140 1,020 ' '9,'200 "m '"m 16,090 1 .... 1 Cl,.151 1 l:i,867 1 4,250 .... 140 1,020 9,200 1 100 lOol .... The Scotch .inguisliable fr Banks obtain their Note Stamps chiefly throngh their London Agent jm those obtained through the same medium for the Country nniike nade for Scr>>l""'l i" nc'rvRnrilv ronliiipd tn ihc Notes sent up from S «, and rs in !• otliind which ngluiK , throu are no . The uh the tdis- IU-- dis. jibiitor, to be ipplicablf only stamped, p> to Scotlnn ccpt tl 1. Th ic Notes c Ch.irt. „„ .i,„ ... of n Ifssc ri-.l Ilant r value s obta h Ilaiil than 5/. stanipod since the in the Stamps for their N fd Feb )tcR rl uary, IH26 ; hi-ing icfly tlirouph their 92 Appendix, No. XV. NOTICE OF THE BRANCH BANK AT LEEDS. The Notes of the Bankers in Leeds are received for deposit or drawing accounts until two o'clock, at which time they are sent out for payment, and if' paid, are immediately passed to the account of the customers; but to facilitate business] the Bankers both of Leeds and the surrounding country are at liberty to open accounts with the Branch Bank, and their notes will then be immediately received to the extent of their balances. The Banker's accounts may be kept by a deposit of gold, Bank of England notes. Bank post bills due, or by discounted bills, upon the banker mak- ing application to the agent for leave to open a discount account, for the sole purpose of liquidating his notes. Appendix, No. XVL The following are extracts from " A Second Ad- " dress to the Proprietors of Bank Stock, by Geo. " Allardyce, M.P., 1801," respecting the accounts which the Bank ought to render ; and also a copy of Sir James Mansfield's Opinion on the subject. Mr. Allardyce did not live to act on the plan re- commended by Sir J. Mansfield. Since then the subject has remained dormant more than a quarter of a century : — 1697.— 8 William III. chap. 20. It is Enacted, " That all the profit, benefit, and " advantage, from time to time arising out of the " management of the said Corporation, shall be " applied to the uses of all the Members of the " said Corporation of the Governor and Company " of the Bank of England, rateably and in propor- " tion to each Member's share and interest in the " common and principal stock of the said Gover- " nor and Company." 1697.— 9 William III. chap. 3. " The Directors are required and enjoined, from « and after the 25th March, 1698, to make such " dividends, once in each six calendar months at " least, unto the members of the said Corporation, " according to their respective shares and interests " in the said capital stock." 1708.— 7 Anne, chap. 7, sect. 63. It is Enacted, " That all the profits, benefits, and " advantage, from time to time arising out of the " management of the said Corporation, shall (the " charges of managing the business of the said " Governor and Company only expected,) be " applied, from time to time, to the uses of all " members of the Corporation for the time being, " rateably and in proportion to each member's " share of the capital stock." From a general view of all the acts respecting the Bank, and its management, it seems clear, that the capital cannot be increased, but by the autho- rity of Parliament. By the Charter, " the General " Courts are empowered to make Bye Laws for " and relating to the affairs of the Company, so they " be not repugnant to the laws of the kingdom." 94 Bye Law 12, Ordains, " That, twice in every year, a General " Court shall be called and held, for considering- " the general state and condition of the Company, " and for making of dividends out of all and sin- " gular the produce and profit of the Capital " Stock and Fund of this Corporation, and the " Trade thereof, among the several owners and " proprietors therein, according to their several " shares and proportions." This Bye Law, if properly observed, would enable the Proprietors not only to consider the state and condition of the Corporation, but also to determine what ought to be the half-yearly divi- dend. A general account of the state and condi- tion of the Company, with an account of the profits and an account of the charges of management for the preceding half-year, ought to be before them, from which alone they can properly determine what the quantum of the Dividend should be, as the law expressly directs that a Dividend shall be made of all the profits, the charges of management only deducted. For a long time, however, this Bye Law has been a dead letter. All that generally passes at the Courts, called for considerino- and declarin"" Divi- dends, is, that the Governor declares the Directors are of opinion that the Dividend should be so much, and, desiring the Proprietors to signify their assent or dissent, the Dividend is declared without any production of accounts, and the opinions and conceits of the Directors, that only a part of the profits ought to be divided, are adopted in contra- diction to positive Acts of Parliament, which direct that the whole of the profits shall be divided among the Proprietors for the time being. By 95 this means you receive a Dividend of only 7 per cent, per annum, when it is probable you are entitled to a Dividend of more than 10 per cent, per annum. For what is this undivided part of the profit reserved? It must be either to create an in- creased capital, which cannot lawfully be in- creased without the authority of Parliament, or, being the property of the Proprietors for the time being, it is retained to augment the Dividends of those who may be Proprietors in time coming, who cannot have the least particle of right to it. It is the duty of the Court of Directors to lay before the General Court such documents as will enable them to declare a Dividend of the whole profits; if the Directors refuse to do it, there are means of com- pelling them to do it. The law directs that Gene- ral Courts of the Proprietors shall be held for the declaring and making Dividends, which Dividends, it directs, shall be of all the profits from time to time arising from the management of the Com- pany, among the partners for the time being, at least twice a year. If the General Courts do not obey the law, the law will compel them to obey it. It becomes me to shew that the directions of the Acts respecting Dividends have not been obeved. The disaster of the Company in the be- ginning of 1797, produced investigations by Com- mittees of the two Houses of Parliament into its concerns, the result of which was, in respect to its funds, that, after the payment of all its debts there was a surplus of £3,826,890, besides the permanent debt of Government, of £11,686,800. It is con- ceived that the whole of this surplus is in the nature of an increased capital, without the autho- rity of Parliament, but that it ought to have been 96 divided, from time to time, as it arose, among- the Proprietors for the time being*. Mr. Mansfield's Answer. I am of opinion, that every Proprietor, at a Ge- neral half-yearly Court, has a right to require from the Directors, and it is the duty of the latter to produce, all such accounts, books and papers, as are necessary to enable the Proprietors to judge of the state and condition of the Corporation and its Funds, and to determine what Dividend ought to be paid. The proper method to be pursued by those who consult me in order to obtain such a production, is, that a number of respectable pro- prietors should immediately give notice to the Go- vernor and other Directors, that they shall require at the next General Court, a production of all the necessary books, accounts, and papers, and at the General Court, when it shall be held, to attend and require such a production. If it shall not be obtained, I then advise them immediately, or within a few days after the holding- of the General Court, to make an application to the Governor, to call a General Court, which application must be made by nine members at least, having each £500 stock. If the Governor shall refuse to call such Ge- neral Court, then the nine members who shall have applied to him to have a Court called, may them- selves call one in the manner prescribed by the Charter ; and whether the Governor calls such Court, or it is called by the nine members, I advise them, as soon as it is called, to apply to the Court of King's Bench for a mandamus to the Governor and Directors, to produce at such Court all the necessary books, accounts, and papers. (signed) J. Mansfield. Temple, March 9, 180 J. 9T Appendix, No. XVII. An ACCOUNT of the total amount of OUTSTAND- ING DEMANDS on the Bank of England, and like- wise the Funds for discharging the same ; 30th January 1819. Dr To Bank Notes out - To other Debts ; viz. Drawing- Accounts Audit Roll - - Exchequer Bills de posited - - And various other Debts - - - Balance of Surplus in favour of the Bank of Eng-land, exclu sive of the Debt from Government, at £3 per cent £11,686,800 And the Advance to Government, per 56 Geo. III. cap 96. at £3 pel cent. £3,000,000 The Bank, £. 26,094,430 V 7,800,150 33,894,580 5,202,320 39,096,900 Bank of England, 1 22d February 1819. J 30th January 1819. By Advances on Go- vernment Securi- ties; viz. On Exchequer Bills on Malt, &c. 1818 Bank Loan, 1808 - Supply, 1816, at £4 per cent. - - Growing- Produce of the Consd Fund to 5th April 1819, and Interest due, and Loans to Govern menton Uuclaimed Dividends - - By all other Credits ; viz. Cash and Bullion - Exchequer Bills pur chased and Inter est - - - _ Bills and Notes dis. counted - . _ Treasury Bills for the Service of Ireland Money lent, and va- rious other Arti- cles - - - Cr £. ^ 8,438,660 >30,f?58,240 39,096,900 By the permanent Debt due from Govern- ment, for the Capital of the Bank, at £3 per cent, per annum By the Advance to Go- vernment, per Act 56 Geo, III. cap. 96, at £3 per cent, per annum . ■: _ 11,686,800 3,000,000 WILLIAM DAWES, Accountant General* 98 Appendix, No. XVIII. ESTIMATE of the PROFITS of the Bank of Eng- land, for the Year ending 5 April 1822, when a Dividend of 10 per cent, was paid on Bank Stock. PROFITS. Interest on their Capital advanced to Government, at 3 per cent., viz., on £14,686,800 - - - £440,604 Allowance for the manag-ement of the Public Debt, &c., for one year, ending 5tb April, 1822 - 270,135 Interest on advances to Government on Exchequer Bills, &c., average about ^g'14,000,000 - 420,000 Discount on Mercantile Bills — say ,£2,000,000, at 5 percent. - 100,000 Gross Profits - 1,230,739 DEDUCT EXPENSES. Paid to Government for Composition on Stamps - . - . _ £85,000 500 Clerks, at average of £150 each - 75,000 Salaries to the Directors, Allowances to retired Clerks, Buildings, Law Expences, Taxes, Stationary, Coals, Candles, &c. . - - - 50,000 Forgeries, Bad Debts, &c. - . 30,000 240,000 Net Profits - - £990,739 Dividend on £14,553,000, being the Bank Capital, at 10 per cent. ..-.-._ 1,455,300 Excess of Dividend beyond Profits, for the year 1822 £454,561 99 Appendix, No. XIX. ESTIMATE of the PROFITS of the Bank of Eng- land, for the Year ending 5 April 1828, when a Dividend of 8 per cent, was paid on Bank Stock. PROFITS. Interest on their Capital advanced to Government, at 3 per cent, viz., on £14,686,800 - - - £440,604 Allowance for the management of the Public Debt for one year, ending- 5th April, 1828 ... 260,269 Exchequer Bills, on 26th February, 1828, were £9,460,628, say £10,000,000, on average at 2d per day - - - - . - . - 304,045 Advanced to Government, on 26th February, 1828, in paymentof an Annuity of £585,740, £10,416,859, Interest on which sum at £4 2s. Id. per cent., amounts to------- 427,056 Advanced on Mortgages, say £2,000,000, at 4 per cent. .,--.-.. 80,000 Bills Discounted, say £1,000,000 at 4 per cent. - 40,000 Gross Profits - 1,551,974 DEDUCT EXPENSES. Paid to Government for Composition on Stamps ..... £73,500 500 Clerks, at an average of £150 each 75,000 Salaries to Directors, Allowances to re- tired Clerks, Buildings, Taxes, Law Expences,Stationary,Coals,Candles, &c 50,000 Forgeries, Bad Debts, &c. - - - 30,000 228,500 Net Profits - £1,323,474 Deduct Dividend on £14,553,000, being the Bank Capital, at 8 per cent 1,164,240 Probable Surplus Profits, for the Year 1828 - £159,234 o 2 100 BANK OF ENGLAND. RETURN loan Order of the Hon. House of Commons, dated March 14, 1828, for an Account of the anionnt of the Composition pay- able by the Bank of England, for the Stamp Duties on their Promissory Notes, Bank Post Bills, and Bills of Exchange, for the years 1823, 1824, 1825, 1826, 1827, and 1828. The account rendered by the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, does not enable the Stamp-office to comply with the order of the Hon. House of Commons. The account delivered by them, in pursuance of the Act of 55 Geo. III., merely contains the gross amount or value of all their Promissory Notes and Bank Post Bills in circulation on each Saturday in every week. The following is the amount of the Composition paid by them during the period required : — 1823 £71,750 1824 64,750 1825 06,500 1826 70,000 1827 71,750 1828 73,500 STAMP DUTIES' COMPOSITION. An ACCOUNT of the Average Amount of Circulation on which the Bank of England pays a Compensation in lieu of Stamps ; dis- tinguishing the amount of Bank Post Bills, with the amount of Composition payable thereon : also the Amount of Bills drawn by the Branch Banks, with the Amount of Composition payable thereon. Average Amounts formed from Weekly Totals, from the 9th of April, 1825, to the 5th of April, 1828. Amount of Composition, after the Rate of 3,500/. per Million. £ s. d. Bank Notes - 19,178,582 8 1| Bank Post Bills 2,122,405 10 Jl Bills drawn by the Branch Banks - - 16,530 3 2f £21,317,518 2 3^ £ s. d, 66,125 4 11 7,317 15 6 56 19 lOi fractions £73,500 Bank of England, April 14, 1828. WILLIAM DAWES, Accountant-General. 101 Appendix, No. XX. BANK OF ENGLAND.— Four Accounts. 1. An ACCOUNT of Money paid or payable at the Bank of England, for the manag-ement of the Public Debt, in the Year 1827, to^-ether with an Account of all Allowances made by the Public to the Bank, or charg-ed by the Bank ag-ainst the Public, for transacting- any Public Service in the Year 1827 ; describing" the nature of the Service, and the Amount charg^ed thereon in the said Year, and including- the sum of £4,0()0, under the denomination of House Money, or House Expences; and also, the sum of £1,898 Ss. bd., under the denomination of Charges of Management on South Sea Stock ; and statin^ the aggregate Amount of the whole. CHARGE for Manag'enient of the Unredeemed Public Debt for one year, ending- the 5th April, 1828, being the annual period at which the Accounts are made up, as directed by the Act 48 Geo. Ill, c. 4. Ditto ditto for one year, ending ditto on sundry "^ Annuities transferred to the Commissioners/ for the Reduction of the National Debt, for /> the purchase of Life Annuities, per Act 48% Geo. III. and subsequent Acts - - -J Charges of Management, being part of an entire yearly fund of £100,000, enjoyed by tiie Governor and Company of the Bank of England, originally by the Act of the 5th and 6tb of William and Mary, c. 20. con- firmed to the said Governor and Company by several subsequent Acts, and lastly, by the Act of the 39th and 40th Geo. III. c. 28. as per return made to The Honourable House of Commons, on the 21st June, 1816 - - . Ditto ditto on £4,000,000 South Sea Stock, \ purchased by the Governor and Company of the Bank of England of the South Sea Com- pany, and transferred by them to the said Governor and Company, in pursuance of the Act of the 8th Geo. I. c 21., and which charges of management were assigned by y the said South Sea Company to the said Go- / vernor and Company, out of a Sum of £9,397 9^. dd. per annum, then paid by the Public to the said South Sea Company, for charges of management on their funds, as per return made to The Honourable House of Commons, on the 21st June, 1816 - -/ 251,545 15 — i 2,825 14 11| 4,000 — — 1,898 3 5 11. HASE, Chief Cashier, Bank of England, 12lh May, 1828. £260,269 13 5 102 An ACCOUNT of the Aggregate Amount of all Balances of Public Money in the hands of the Bank, including the Money taken from the Exchequer by the Bank in exchange for Exche- quer Bills deposited at the Exchequer, and including also the Balances of the Accountant General of the Court of Chancery, Unclaimed Dividends, and Lottery Prizes, and all other Public Deposits on the 1st and 15th days of each month, for the Year 1827 ; stating the Average Amount of the whole made up from the said days. £. 5,324,710 6,450,113 4,104,601 3,338,736 3,254,845 2,951,144 2,794,734 5,740,247 3,432,457 3,097,375 3,014,706 3,463,701 4,249,518 7,493,663 4,563,165 4,491,179 3,557,895 3,511,523 3,763,835 6,801,238 5,236,875 4,214,127 3,500,858 4,021,565 1827. January 1st 15th February 1st 15th March - 1st 15th April 1st 15th May - 1st 15th June 1st 15th July - 1st 15th Aug;ust 1st 15th September 1st 15th October 1st 15th November 1st 15th December 1st 15th 24)101,372,810 Average - - 4,223,867 WILLIAM DAWES, Accountant General. Bank of England, 12th May, 1828. 103 3. An ACCOUNT of the Amount of Advances made by the Bank of England to Government, on Exchequer Bills, and all other Securities, including" Exchequer Bills, Deficiency Bills, Navy Bills, Victualling- Bills, &c., on 26th August, 1827, and 26th February, 1828. 1827, Auo-. 26. 1828, Feb. 26. Out of Sums issu-'T7„„i ed for the I^^^J'.f?"" Payment of Divi- dends. Bills Issued. £ £ £ 1,095,955 3,727,331 6,882,000 Exchequer Bills Purchased. 1,085,908 3,328,628 6,132,000 Advanced to- wards the Pur- chase of an An- nuity of ^.585,740, for 44 Years, per Act 4 Geo. IV. Total. £ 9,575,599 10,416,859 £ 21,280,885 20,963,395 Bank of England, 12th May, 1828. H. HASE, Chief Cashier. 4. An ACCOUNT of the Number of Branch Banks of the Bank of England, that have been estab- lished under the Act 7 Geo. IV. c. 46. NINE Branch Banks of the Bank of England hare been estab- lished under the Act 7 Geo, IV. c. 46. W^ILLIAM DAWES, Accountant General. Bank of England, 12th May, 1828. The following are the places where, and the order in which, the nine Branch Banks of the Bank of England have been established : Gloucester, Manchester, Established before 7th April, 1827, as per Parliamentary Paper, No. 249. Established subsequently to the above date. Sioansen, Birminghatn, Liverpool, Bristol, Leeds, Exeter, Newcastle-on- Tyne. And it is understood that since the above return was made, the Bank of England have purchased houses at Wm/Z and Nnrwirh, for the purpose of establishing branches at these places, which will make the total number, eleven Branch Banks. 104 Appendix, No. XXI. MILITARY AND NAVAL PENSIONS. An ACCOUNT of the Value of an ANNUITY, transferred to the Bank of England, of £585,740, for Forty-four Years; estimated at the Current Prices of Annuities for the like period on the Stock Exchange, on 21st March, 1823, on ()th July, 1824, and on 5th January, 1826. THERE were not any Annuities for the period of Forty.four Years, sold in fact, on the Stoci< Exchange, at any of the dates above mentioned ; there being no Public Annuity for a limited term of years, in the market, except that which is known by the name of *' Long Annuity,'" and which terminates on 5th January, 1860. This Annuity was, moreover, shut from 1st March, 1823, until the 7(li April following, so that on the particular day first above men- tioned, viz., 21st March, 1823, it could not be sold on the Stock Exchange : But, abating the accrued Dividends, its net Price, on the 1st March, 1823, was 18.849 years purchase : and on 7th April ... 18.745 : So that taking a mean price for the 21st March, it would, if sold on that day, have probably been at 18.797 years purchase, at which time this Annuity had 36.79452 years to run, or 36 years 290 days. On the second date above mentioned; viz., 6th July, 1824, it had only 35| years to run, and sold at the net Price of 22.44283 years purchase ; and on the third date (5th January, 1826) when it had only 34 years to run, its net price was 19.8792 years purchase. Understanding, however, that the Return to the Order of The Honourable House of Commons, is to be founded on the Price at which an Annuity for Forty-four years, oug^ht justly to have been valued at each date, in reference to the above Prices of another Annuity which is in fact of shorter duration; the ansveer is as follows* : — On the 21st March, 1823, an Annuity for 44 years was worth 20.1623272 years purchase : 6th July, 1824 - 25.2567147 do. 5th January, 1826 22.48669127 do. So that the Value of the said Annuity of £585,740 was, on the 21st March 1823, equal to the sum of £11,809,881. on the 6th July - 1824, - - - 14,793,868. and on 5th January 1826, - - - 13,171,354. JOHN FINLAISON, Actuary, and Principal Accountant of the National Debt. National Debt Office, 16th February 1826. * No Mathematical Formula for the exact solution of this problem bus ever yet been discovered. It can only be solved, therefore, near enough for practical purposes, by methods of continual approxi- mation. 105 Appendix, No. XXII. EXTRACT from the Report from the House of Lords, No. 291, 12th May, 1819. Ebenezer Gilchrist, Esq, examined. Q. What is your business? A. I am the manager of the British Linen Company, an Incor- porated Bank at Edinburgli. Q. Can you form an estimate of the total amount of Paper circulated in Scotland ? A. 1 have been led to think that the circulation of Scotland may be from two and a half to three millions. I do not think that the circulation of all the Banks ever exceeded three millions, and I do not think it has ever been under two millions. Q. What do you conceive to be the proportion between the cir- culation of the three Chartered Banks, and that of the twenty-fiTe private Banks ? A. I should think that the circulation of the three chartered Banks is better than one half of the whole. 106 Appendix, No. XXIII. BANQUE DE FRANCE. Assemblee Generale des Actionnaires de la Banque de France, du 24 Janvier, 1828. — Compte rendu, au nom du Conseil-general de la Banque, par Mr. le Due de Gaete, Gouverneur. Messieurs, — Je viens vous presenter, au nom du Conseil-general, le compte resume des opera- tions de la Banque de France pendant I'annee qui vient de s'ecouler. Diverses causes, telles que la privation des avan- tag"es extraordinaires que le service des emprunts avoit procures a la Banque dans les annees ante- rieures, celle de la retribution precedemment ac- cordee pour le paiement des rentes que le Tresor a acquittees directement, et la mediocrite des pro- duits obtenus sur la foible quantite de Bons Royaux escomptespour ce paiement, ont concouru a I'affoi- blissement du benefice de I'annee derniere,qui s'est arrete a 81 fr. par action, y compris les reserves. Toutefois, il convient de faire remarquer qu'il subsiste encore une augmentation de plus de 300 millions sur la masse des escomptes de 1823, qui ne s'etoient eleves qu'a 320 millions, et que, d'un autre cote, un beaucoup plus grand nombre d'effets du petit commerce est entre dans la composition habi- tuelle du porte-feuille de la Banque, qui a rempli 107 d'autant plus completement le but de son institu- tion. La derniere presentation de I'annee a depasse 12 millions, et I'on a pu y voir un augure favorable pour I'annee qui commence. Le porte-feuille etoit, au 31 Decembre dernier, de 106,960,000 francs. 11 a ete preleve, conformement a laloi.sur les be- nefices de i'annee derniere, une reserve qui a re9u le meme emploi que les precedentes, et a porte a 337,000 fr. le revenu que les Actionnaires retirent des nouvelles reserves efFectuees depuis le ler Juillet 1820. Le Conseil-general, dans I'intention de favoriser I'introduction des matieres d'or et d'argent de Tetranger, et d'en determiner principalement le commerce a Paris, a fixe, il y a quatre ans, au taux modique d'un pour cent seulement, par an, I'in- teret des avances que la Banque pourroit faire sur les depots de ces matieres. Le produit de cette utile operation s'est eleve, en 1827, a 105,437 francs. La Banque a continue d'epargner au Tresor Royal les frais de refonte des anciennes monnaies qui sont rentrees dans ses caisses, par les versements des Re- ceveurs de deniers publics. Les fabrications qu'elle a fait faire depuis le milieu de Tannee 1820, for- ment aujourd'hui un objet de 105,904,180 fr., sans qu'il ait pu, ainsi que j'ai eu precedemment I'hon- neur de vous le faire observer, en resulter aucune perte pour elle ; I'abondance des capitaux, que la confiance laisse habituellement oisifs dans les caisses de la Banque, lui ayant toujours permis, sans pre- judice pour elle, d'accorder au Directeur des mon- naies, avec les garanties necessaires, quelque delai pour le remplacement des vieilles especes qui lui p2 108 ont ete confiees. Lajouissance de ces fonds sans interet lui tient lieu du paiement des frais de fabri- cation, reg-les par la loi. La situation de la reserve de la Banque, en nume- raire, a constamment depasse de beaucoup la pro- portion necessaire pour assurer la plus scrupuleuse exactitude dans le remboursement des Billets. Les Tableaux qui vous ont ete remis vous ont fait connoitre les details des frais que I'Administra- tion de la Banque a necessites pendant I'annee 1827. Les comptes qui forment les elements de ces Ta- bleaux ont ete examines par MM. les Regents et verifies par MM. les Censeurs. J'ajoute, suivant I'usage, a, ces renseignements, celui concernant le mouvement des Caisses pendant le cours de I'annee derniere. II est entre et sorti, dans les deux semestres, En Argent f. 534,888,678 En Billets 5,875,775,500 Total 6,410,664,178 Le Conseil-general de la Banque a toajours de nouveaux eloges a donner a I'activite et au zele de tous les employes qui concourent au succes do ce grand Establissement. M. Ollivier, regent, dont I'exercice finissoit avec I'annee 1827, a adresse sa demission au Conseil-ge- neral, et a ainsi renonce a des fonctions dans les- quelles il avoit montre, pendant 25 ans, autant de lumieres que de zele pour les interets de la Banque. Les lettres que j'ai eu I'honneur de vous adresser vous ont fait connoitre, et je vous le rappelle ici, que les Membres, au remplacement desqueJs vous aurez a proceder, apres que vous aurez entendu le Rapport de MM. les Censeurs, sont ; Parmi MM. les Censeurs : M. Outrequin, dont I'exercice a fini en 1827 ; Parmi MM. les Regents : M. Ollivier, demissionnaire, dont I'exercice eut fini en 1827 ; MM. Delessert, ^ g^rtant d'exercice. Hottinguer, b Vous savez que MM. Outrequin, Delessert et Hottinguer sont reeligibles. 110 RESULTAT des OPERATIONS de la BANQUE db Cinquante-cinquieme Dividende. DOIT. Extrait du Compte de Profits et DEFENSE FIXE. ^ Loidu 22 Avril 1806, et Statuts du 16 Janvier 1808). fr. Honoraires de M. le Gouverneur et de MM. les Sous-Gou verneurs 60,000 frs. ^ Indemnites de MM. les Sous-Gouver- neiirs, pour chaufFagfe et lumiere, /* 63,000 Q fixees par arrete du Conseil-g-eneral du 27 Avril, 1809, en consequence de Particle 29 des Statuts 3,000 DEFENSES VARIABLES de liber es par le Conseil- general. Appointements de 86 Employes et de 118 Gar9ons de Recette, de Comptoir, de Bureau, etc. ; d'un Officier de Sante et d'un Mecanicien 290,472 11 Indemnites accordees aux Comptables pour les erreurs et pertes 14,300 Indemnites temporaires ou accidentelles : Supplement aux Pensions assig'nees sur la Caisse de retraite des Employes ; et secours, nne fois payes, aux veuves et enfants Employes decedes avaut d'avoir acquis des droits k la pension 14,559 87 Actes de bienfaisance : Secours aux Indigents des 12 Arrondisseroents de Paris, et a des Associations plii- lantropiques 17,000 Contributions foncieres et Impots des Portes et Fenetres 6,992 80 Garde exterieure et Pompiers 4,874 Entretien des Batiments de la Banque 6,720 75 Entretien des Chariots et des Chevaux pour le service des Recette 2,123 16 Droits de Timbre pour les Actions et les Registres; Fournitures de Bureaux ; ports de Lettres ; papier pour les Bureaux et pour I'lmprimerie §tablie a la Banque 111,63 22 Chauffage et Eclairage des Bureaux 2,931 55 Droits de presence 18,472 50 D^penses diverses : Frais de Justice ; passe des Sacs ; achats de Barils ; entretien et renouvellement du Mobilier des Bureaux; menues depenses de toutes natures ; depreciation des Mobiliers et du compte des frais de la fabrication des Billets 15,483 08 Depenses arrierees : Solde des Memoires non regies au 24 Decembre de cliaque annee 916 70 Frais d'Uniformes aux Garfons de Recette et de Bu- reaux 4,365 80 Total des Depenses Administratives 473,375 53 Escompte non acquis et reserve pour le semestre proch. sur 89,463,116 f. 83 c. d'Eftets sur Paris, escomptes au commerce de Paris, existant en portefeuille, le 24 Juin dernier : 328,068 58 Int^retsnon acquis le meme jour, sur 8,442,745 francs d'avances faites sur Depot de Lingots et Monnaies d'Or et d'Argent, reserves pour le semestre prochain 4,663 Depreciation, a raison de dix pour cent, sur les Eftets en souffrance 3,830 809,973 11 Solde en Benefices 2.966,21^-1^- » 111 s FRANCE, PENDANT le SECOND SEMESTRE 1827. Premier Semestre de I' An 1827. Pertes, au 24 Juin meme annee. AVOIR. Fr c. Escompte des Effets existant en porte-feuille, le 24 Decembre dernier, iion acquis au Semestre pre- cedent, et reserve pour le present Semestre : 10. Sur 102,710,563 francs 15 cen- ^ times d'Effets sur Paris, es- J comptes a Paris 444,607 fr. 83 c. ^ 2*>. Sur 20,064,387 fr. 50 c. de Bons )> 490,869 48 Royaux, esconiptes ail Tresor 33,944 45 3°. Sur 20,531,920 francs deLingots et Monnaies d'Oret d'Argent.... 12,317 20 Excedant des Benefices du precedent Semestre, non reparti 5,818 27 Escompte pendant le present semestre : 1°. Sur 277,346.527 fr. 73c.d'Ef- fets sur Paris, escomples au Commerce de Paris 1,846,678 45 v , qoq c^„ ,« 2». Sur 30,548,332 francs 50 cen- ( *>^»^>3"'» =>" times de Bons Royaux, esconiptes au Tr6sor Royal 142,888 05 Six mois d'arrerages de 2,313,000 francs de Rentes, cinq pour cent consolides, eclius le 22 Mars dernier 1,156,500 Recettes diverses se composant des droits de garde des Depots volontaires, etc. etc 3,177 19 iRembourseraent des frais de la Banque, pour le paie- ment du premier Semestre de cette annee, des Ar- rerages de !a Dette publique 60,000 Interets des Avances sur Depots de Lingots et Mon- naies d'Or et d'Argent 70,924 85 3,776,856 29 Dividende legal sur 67,900 Actions en circula- tion, a 30 f. Oc. 2,037,000 2me. Dividende a 9 611,100 Reserve a 67,900 Actions a 4 50 305,550 Dividende et reserve 2,953,650 Appoint porte au credit de profits et pertes, coDipte nouveau 13,269 1 8 Total egal aux benefices 2,966,919 18 112 RESULTAT des OPERATIONS de la BANQUE di Cinquante-cinquieme Dividende DOIT. Extrait du Compte de Profits e< DEFENSE FIXE. {Loi du 22 A vril, 1806, et Statu ts du 16 Janvier 1808.) fr. Honoraires de M. le Gouyerneur et de MM. les Sous-Gouverneurs 60,000 frs Indemnites de MM. les Sous-Gouver- neurs, pour chaufFage et lumi^re, V> 63,000 C fixees par arrfit^ du ConseiUg^neral, du 27 Avril, 1809, en consequence de Tarticle 29 des Statuts 3,000 DEFENSES VARIABLES deliberees par le Conseil' general. Appointements de 86 Employes et 118 Garfons de Recette, de Comptoir, de Bureau, etc.; d'un 0£Bcier de Sante et d'un M^canicien 288,505 46 Indemnites accordees aux comptables pour les erreurs et pertes 14,050 Indemnites temporaires : supplement aux pensions as signees sur la Caisse de retraite des Employes 14,503 35 Garde exterieure et Pompiers 6,142 Entretien des Batiments de la Banque 3,824 73 Entretien des Chariots et des Chevaux pour le service des Hecettes 1,689 32i Droits de Timbre pour les Actions et les Registres ; Fournitures de Bureaux; ports de Lettres; papier pour les Bureaux et pour I'lmprimerie etablie a la Banque 13,243 40 Chauffage et eclairage des Bureaux 23,726 70 Droits de presence 16,416 Depenses diverses : Frais de Justice; passe des Sacs ; achats de Barils ; entretien et renouvellement du Mobilier des Bureaux ; menues depenses de toutes natures; depreciation des Mobiliers et du compte des frais de la fabrication des Billets 22,042 24 Frais d'Uniformes aux Garfons de Recette et de Bu- reaux 684 25 Total des Depenses Administratives 467,832 45 Escompte non acquis sur les EfTets existant en porte- feuille le 24 D6cembre, et reserve pour le semestre prochain, savoir : , 1°. 97,148,017 francs 54 c. d'Effets sur Paris, es- ^ comptes au Commerce de Paris. .400,661 fr. 40 c. f . .- „-, .q 2", 6,000,000 fr. de Bons Royaux, C escomptes au Tr^sor R 10,000 7 Int6rlts non acquis le meme jour, sur 4,736,930 fr. d'avances faites sur D6p6ts de Lingots et Monnaies d'Or et d'Argent, reserves pour le semestre prochain 2,302 30 Depreciation, a raison de dix pour cent, sur les Effets en souffrance 3,000 883,796 15 Solde en Benefice* 2,554,930 19 3,438,726 34 113 lANCE, PENDANT le SECOND SEMESTRE, 1827 amestre de VAn 1827. jrtes, au 24 D6cembre mfeme ann^e. AVOIR. Fr. c, conipte des EfFets existant en Porle-feuille le 24 Juin dernier, non acquis an seniestre precedent, et reserve pour le present seniestre: . Sur 89,463,116 fr. d'Eflets sur ^ Paris, escomptes a Paris 328,068 fr. 58 c. v, o'^o 701 ca . Sur 8,442.745 fr. deLingotset I JvJ^,/Ji o» Monnaies d'Or et d'Argent 4,663 3 icedant des Benefices, du precedent Semestre, non reparti 13,269 13 icompte pendant le present Seniestre : . Sur 278,726,280 francs 75 cen- times d'Eflets de commerce, es- comptes a Paris 1,823,228 95 ^1,8901,73 35 . Sur 34,500,000 francs de Bons iRoyaux, escomptes au Tresor ,. 66,944 40 X raois d'Arrerages de 2,329,000 francs de Rentes, cinq I pour cent consolides, eclius le 22 Septenibre dernier 1,164,500 ecettes diverses, se composant des Droits de garde sur Depots ■volontaires, etc 3,539 93 it^rcts des avances sur Depots de Lingots et Mon- 1 naies d'Or et d'Argent 34,512 30 3,438,726 34 Dividende legal sur las 67,900 Actions en cir- culation, a 30 f. c. 2,037,000 2nie DiTidende a 5 339,500 Reserve k 67,900 Actions a 2 50 169,750 Dividende et reserve 2,546,250 Appoint porte au credit de profits et pertes, compte nouveau 8,680 19 Total egal aux benefices 2,554,930 19 114 RAPPORT de MM. les Censeurs, fait Par M. le Chevalier Outrequin, (I'un d'eux). Messieurs, — Vous venez d'entendre le Discours de M. le Gouverneur, qui vous presente le resume des operations faites par la Banque pendant le cours de I'annee qui vient de s'ecouler. Le devoir de vos Censeurs etoit de surveiller ces operations, et ce devoir, ils croient I'avoir rempli avec toute I'attention que leur commande la con- fiance dont vous les avez honores : ils ont la satis- faction de vous declarer que vos statuts ont ete re- ligieusement suivis. Le resultat de ces operations n'a pas ete aussi brillant que celui des annees precedentes : M. le Gouverneurvous en a indique les causes principales. A mesure que le credit public s'est fortifie, les secours de la Banque sont devenus moins neces- saires ; les capitaux particuliers sont venus peu-a- peu se fondre dans nos efFets publics, et remplacer ceux que la Banque s'etoit erapressee de leur offrir, pour les soutenir et les amener a un point d'eleva- tion tel, que son appui est devenu a peu pres inutile. Pendant plusieurs annees le Tresor a eu recours a la Banque pour faciliter le paiement des rentes : ce service lui procuroit I'escompte de Bons Royaux pour des sommes importantes, independamment de I'indemnite qui lui etoit allouee pour efiectuer ces paiements. Aujourd'hui le Tresor fait lui-meme son service, et ses propres moyens lui rendent peu necessaires les escomptes de ses Bons. Pendant quelques annees le mouvement des especes et des matieres d'or et d'argent en avoit 115 amene sur la place de Paris pour des sommes con- siderables, qui venoient se deposera la Banque. Les avances qu'elle faisoit sur ces depots lui procu- roient des benefices qui se sont eleves quelquefois au-dela de 600,000 fr. par an. Ce mouvement s'est bien ralenti ; il n'a produit cette annee que 105,436 francs. De nouvelles combinaisons financieres, soit en France, soit dans les Etats voisins, peuvent r'ouvrir de nouvelles sources de benefices de ce genre, et la Banque, avec ses puissants capitaux, se trouvera toujours en mesure d'en profiler. La Banque s'est done trouvee pendant toute I'annee derniere, par la force des choses, reduite aux operations qui sont le but principal de son in- stitution, qui est de donner au commerce tous les secours dont il peut avoir besoin. Son porte-feuille s'est presque exclusivement compose d'eflfets de commerce : eh bien ! Messieurs, la difference sous ce rapport, avec les anneesles plus productives, n'a pas ete tres-sensible. En 1827, le montant des effets escomptes a ete de 621 millions 121 mille 159 francs, et les Bons Royaux n'y ont figure que pour le dixieme environ. Si les annees 1825 et 1826 ont offert de plus fortes sommes, c'est que les Bons Royaux y figurent dans une proportion beaucoup plus forte. Le porte-feuille d'effets de commerce a ete pres- que constamment compose d'environ 100 millions. La verification s'en est faite regulierement tous les trois mois, et n'a donne lieu a aucune obser- vation. On doit done rendre cette justice a la Banque, qu'elle a ouvert ses caisses au commerce avec la meme largesse, et que le fonds de ses benefices na- turels, de ceux auxquels elle tient le plus, s'est sou- 116 tenu au meme niveau, malgre la stagnation gene- rale des affaires. Si la paix generale, si lastabilite dans nos insti- tutions interieures, si la securite de nos relations exterieures venoient ranimer notre industrie et don- ner a notre commerce tout I'essor dont il est sus- ceptible, vous pouvez. Messieurs, vous former une idee du developpement que pourroient prendre les operations de la Banque. La Banque a continue de faciliter la refonte des vieux ecus de 6 de 3 livres, sans qu'il en result^t aucuns frais pour elle, ni pour le Tresor. Etre utile au public a ete son but et sa recompense. La refonte s'est elevee pendant le cours de I'annee a 11,335,000 francs, et, depuis I'annee 1820 jusqu'a ce jour, a 105,900,000 francs. La reserve en especes a ete, pendant toute I'an- nee, de 180 a 200 millions, et les billets en emission de 190 a 230 millions ; cette surabondance est le resultat du peu d'activite des affaires. Les Comptes courants, dont le nombre va tou- jours croissant, ont ete tenus avec la meme exacti- tude, malgre I'augmentation du travail. 11 y a eu 510,053 effets verses au comptant, for- mant une somme de 836,263, 1 79 fr.; c'est, a une Jegere difference pres, la meme chose que I'annee precedente. Les encaissements des etfets escomptes ont monte a 556,072,807 fr. Non compris les Bons Royaux pour 65,048,352 Le mouvement general des Caisses a ete de 534,888,678 en Especes, et de 5,875,775,500 f. en Billets. Ce mouvement se rapproche de celui de I'annee precedente. 117 Les Mandats de virements ont occasionne un mouvement de 2,005,585,000 francs. Tous ces mouvements reunis forment un mouve- ment total de 8 milliards 416 millions 247 mille 170 francs. En resume, Messieurs, vous remarquerez que les mouvements qui proviennent des operations commerciales n'ofl'rent pas une grande difference avec ceux de meme nature qui ont eu lieu dans les annees precedentes, et que les plus grandes diff'e- rences proviennent des operations eventuelles de la Banque avec le Tresor, ou qui avoient leur source dans le mouvement general des effets publics. La Banque a done ete constante dans la marche qui lui est tracee par ses Statuts; elle a ouvert ses caisses au commerce dans les proportions de ses besoins, et elle est toujours prete a seconder ses efforts par tous les moyens que vous avez mis a sa disposition. Les mutations d'Actions n'ont pas ete propor- tionnellement plus nombreuses que dans les annees precedentes. Les Actions de banque sont deve- nues une espece d'immeubles dans les families, et se transmettent plus par voie de succession que par des negociations a la Bourse. Les fonds de la reserve se sont accrus, par les deux semetres de I'annee derniere, de 475,300 francs, qui ont ete employes, comme les precedents, en achats de rentes cinq pour cent. Le montant total de la reserve est aujourd'liui de 6 millions 623 mille 625 fr. representes, sauf un appoint de 9,149 fr., porlc a. compte nouvcau par 337,000 fr. de rente, qui resortent au prix moyen de98fr. 13 c. D'apres les comptes que vous avez sous les yeux, vous verrez, Messieurs, que le chapitre des de- 118 penses administratives pour les deux semestres, s'eleve a 941,207 fr. 98 c; mais il faut en distraire 25,855 fr. 30 c. pour prelevement de cinq pour cent pour la depreciation du Mobilier, et de dix pour cent pour les frais de fabrication des Billets ; arti- cles qui ont ete passes separement dans les comptes precedents ; ce qui reduit les depenses administra- tives, pour 1827, a 915,352 fr. 68 c. ; et consequem- ment a 15,917 fr. 20 c. de raoins que I'annee prece- dente, ou elles s'etoient elevees a 931,269 fr. 88 c. Toutes ces depenses ont ete examinees avec le plus grand soin, et aucune n'a paru a vos Censeurs pouvoir etre economisee ; elles ont ete fixees avec justice et verifiees avec attention. Les details vous convaincront que I'esprit d'ordre et d'economie a preside a chaque nature de depense. Vos Cen- seurs ont assiste a la discussion de chacune d'elles; ils les ont approuvees, bien convaincus qu'aucune reduction ne pouvoit avoir lieu sans compromettre la marche d'une Administration si etendue et si compliquee dans ses details. II est de leur jus- tice de vous reiterer le temoig-nage qu'ils vous ren- dent chaque annee de I'exactitude avec laquelle tous les employes remplissent leurs devoirs. Vous en serez convaincus quand vous songerez que dans un mouvement aussi considerable, tout se fait avec une regularity et une precision telles, que chaque soir la balance generale est rigoureuse- ment etablie. L'Assemblie a reilu: Censeur pour trois ans, M. le Chevalier Outrequin Et Regents pour Cinq ans, MM. les Barons Hot- TINGUERet DeLESSERT. Elle a nomme Regent, pour cinq ans, M. Pillet- WiLL, Banquier. 119 BANQUE DE FRANCE, rve La VrilUre. La Banque de France a, par les lois des 24 germinal an xi (14 Avril 1803) et 22 Avril 1806, le privilege d'emettre seule des billets payables an porteur et a vue. Elle a ce privilege pour quarante ans, a compter du ler vendemiaire an 12 (23 Septembre 1803). Les operations de la Banque consistent : 1" A escompter a toutes personnes des lettres de change et autres efFets de commerce a ordre, a des ^ch^ances determinees qui ne peurent exceder trois mois, timbres et garantis par trois signatures, au raoins, de commerfans et autres personnes notoirement solvables. Elle admet n^anmoins a I'escompte des effets garantis par deux signatures seulenient, inais notoirement solvables, apres s'etre as- •uree qu'ils sont crees pour fait de mavchandises, si on a ajoute a la garantie des deux signatures un transfert d'actions de banque ou de cinq, de quatre et demi, de trois pour cent, ou des annuit^s, ou des actions des canaux liberees, dont, en definitive, le gouverne- ment est debiteur, ou autres efFets publics dont il est debiteur. 2". A faire des avarices sur les effets publics qui lui sont remis en recouvrement, lorsque leurs echeances sont determinees. 3°. A faire des avarices sur les depots de lingots ou monnaies etrangeres d'or et d'argent qui lui sont faits, moyennant I'int^ret d'un pour cent I'an. Le terme fixe pour les depots est de quarante- cinq jours : ils peuvent etre renouveles. L'interet est retenu sur lesayances; il reste acquis a la Banque, quoique les depdts soient retires avant Teclieance. La Banque peut disposer du d^pol, s'il n'est pas retire a Techeance, ou s'il n'est pas renouvele. La Banque n'admet pas de depot au-dessons de dix mille francs. 4". A tenir une caisse de depots volontaires, pour tous titres, efl^ets publics nationaux et etrangers, actions, contrats, obligations de toute espece, lettres de change, billets, et tous engagemens a ordre ou au porteur, les lingots d'or et d'argent, les monnaies d'or et d'argent nationales et etrangeres, et les diamaus, moyennant un droit de garde sur la valeur estimative du depot, qui ne peut exce- der un huitieme d'un pour cent pour chaque periode de six mois et au-dessous. Ce droit, payable d'avance, reste acquis a la Banque, quoique le d^pot soit retir6 avant le terme convenu. 5°. A se charger, pour le compte des particuliers et des ^tablisse- mens publics, du recouvrement des efFets qui lui sont remia. 6°. A recevoir en compte cour ant \e% somvaes qui lui sont versees par des particuliers et des ^tablissemens publics, et a payer les dis- positions faites sur elle, et les engagemens pris a son domicile, jusqu'a la concurrence des sommes encaiss^es. La Banque fournit aux personnes qui le desirent des r^cepisses de toutes sommes payables a vue. Ces r6cepisses sont nominaux j ils ne sont payes que sur I'acquit de la personne qui les a refus; ce qui previent toute espece de danger, de soustraction, de vol, &c. Les jours d'escotnfe sont les lundis, mercredis et vendredis. Le taux est d6termin6 par le conseil-general. Pour etre admis d Vescompte et avoir un compte courant h. la banque, il faut en faire la demande par ecrit u M. le gouverneur, et Taccompagner d'un certificat signt du demandeur et de troii personnes connues qui certifient signature et qu'il fait bonneur a 120 se» engfageniens. Les failHs non r^habilit^s ne peuvent pas ^tre adinis k I'escompte. La Banque ne peut admettre d'opposition sur les sommes qu'elle a en compte courant. Ceux qui font des dispositions sur la Banque, sans lui en avoir fait les fonds pour les ech^ances, peuvent etre prives deleur compte courant par le conseil-general. On peut ceder I'usufruit des actions de la Banque. Nonobstant la cession de I'usufruit, on peut disposer de la nue propriete. Les actions de la Banque peuvent etre inimobilisees par la simple declaration du proprietaire : des lors elles sont k I'instar des iin- meubles de toute nature ; elles sont sujettes aux monies lois, elles ont les memes prerog-atives. Un arret du conseil d'etat du 18 aout 1825, a decide que les actions immobilisees ne peuvent pas ^tre remobilisees, si c'est dans les cas prSvus par les status de 1808 et 1809, concernant les majorats. Les actions immobilisees peuvent etre afl'ectees a la dotation d'un majorat. GOUVERNEMENT DE LA BaNQUE. M. le Due de Gaete (G. C. *), gouvemeur, r. de Clicby, 5. M. le Bn. Tliibon *, ler sous-gouverneur, a la Banque. M. le Bn. Rodier, 2e sous-gouverneur, d la Banque. Administration de la Banque. Conseil General. — 15 RSoens. Bn. Jn. Chs. Davillier, neg. Bn. Benj. Dellessert, O. Bn. Hotting-uer, neg. Chev. Vital-Roux, neg. Guiton, jeune, neg. Olivier, anc. neg. Jacq. LafFitte, banq. Buflault, recev-gen. delaMeuse De Saulty, recev-gen. de Seine et Oise Jacq. Lefebvre, neg. Cottier, banq. Cir. Perier, banq. Caccia, banq. Reiset, recev.-gen. Seine-infer. Bn. Mallet, banq. Odier, neg.-manuf. Outrequin, banq. 3 Censeurs. I Moreau, neg. Conseil (VEscompte. — 12 Membres. Bellange, n^g—fab. Ardoin, banq. Besson, neveu, commerce de vins Valois, jeune, neg. Gasp. Got, neg. Ternaux, fils, neg. Lafond, fils, commerce de vins Hacquart, O., ancien imprimeur Davillier, aine, n6g. Vassal, banq. Rougeoin, ain6, architecte Fould, banq. Bn. Garat, directeur Bn. de Crousaz-Cretel, caissier princip. Chefs Principaux. Maillard, controleur Audibert, pere, secret, du conseil general. 121 Chefs ParticuUers. Soret, bur. de I'escompte Poyanne, bui. des actions Gastellier, bur. des efletf au comptant Brisbarre, jeune, bur. des livres Ville, fils, bur. de riniprimerie et des billets. Caissiers ParticuUers. Maisonnier, recettes Moulta, Ire caisse de paiement Delafrenaye, 2e caisse de paiemt. Audibert,fils, 3e caisse de paiemt. Messi6, echange des billets con- tre especes Henry, paiement des rentes Conseil du Contentleur;. Bonnet, 0., conseilleur, Cour de Cassat Perignon, avocat, cour royale Vilde, avocat aux conseils du roi Juge, jurisconsulte, anc. avoue Corbin, notaire Hocmelle, jeune, avou^ Trib. Ire instance A. Durand, defenseur agr^e au Trib. de Commerce Vaunois, huissicr Bonneville, ain6, essayeur DelaDnoy, arehitecte I Lacroix, doct. en chir. (iL-NNKLl AN'li sUUAKMAN, PaiNTUUS, HALlbilUUY :iUUAHK. r 4 n