fame, and to report the Refult there of to the Houfe, together with their Opinion on the Neceffity of provide ing for the Confirmation and Continuance of Measures taken in purfuance of the Minute of Council on the 26th of February laft.

Ordered to report, THAT the committee having, in purfuance of the order of the houfe, proceeded to take into their confideration the several matters referred to them, have agreed to report thereon as follows:

With refpect to the first part of the order of the house, by which they are directed to examine and report the total amount of outftanding demands on the bank of England, and likewife of the funds for difcharging the fame, they called upon the governor of the bank, and upon Mr. Bofanquet, one of the directors of the bank (who at tended them in the absence of the deputy governor), for an account to that effect; which account having, by them, been produced to the committee, was verified by the deputy accountant of the bank; and the fame having been examined by the committee, it was agreed to report the refult thereof to the houfe, as follows:

That the total amount of outftanding demands on the bank, on the 25th day of February laft, was 13,770,390l.; and that the total amount of the funds for discharging thofe demands, over and above the permanent debt due from government of 11,686,800l. was, on the fame day of February laft, 17,597,280l.; and that the refult is, that there was, on the 25th day of February laft, a furplus of effects belonging to the bank beyond the total of their debts, amounting to the fum of 3,826,89ol. over aud

above the before-mentioned per manent debt of 11,686,8ool. 'due from government.

The committee think it right to obferve, that this account is made up to the 25th of February inclufive; and that fince that day, feveral confiderable iffues have been made by the bank in bank notes, both upon government securities, and in difcounting bills, the particulars of which could not immediately be made up; but that, as thofe iffues were upon corre fponding fecurities, taken with the ufual care and attention, the actual balance in favour of the bank has not been materially varied, but, if at all, has been rather increased.

In proceeding to the confideration of the fecond part of the order of reference, in which the committee are directed to report to the house their opinion on the neceffity of providing for the confirmation and continuance of the meafures taken in pursuance of the minute of council of the 26th of February, the committee have thought it right to confine their inquiries to thofe points only on which that neceffity appeared to them principally to depend; and having examined to thefe points the governor of the bank, and the faid Mr. Bofanquet (one of the directors thereof), the committee find,

That the bank of England has lately experienced an unusual drain of cafh

That this drain was owing, in great part, to demands for cafh, from the country; fuch demands being made upon the bank indirectly from the country, but directly from the bankers of London, who are to fupply the coun try.

That by the effect of this drain,

the

of paper much exceeds the quantity of coin in circulation. The committee have no fufficient means before them, to judge of the proportion of cash and paper, in the metropolis, except as far as any inference can be drawn from the quantity of cash paid at the bank, compared with the amount of the notes iffued by that corporate body, as ftated in the evidence of Mr. Newland, principal cafhier of the bank; and particularly from the proportion of cafh paid quarterly at the bank, in discharge of the dividends of the public ftocks, a part of which only is received by bankers, the remainder by perfons of every defcription.

But, in the country, and particularly in thofe parts of it where no confiderable manufactures are eftablifhed, and no great commercial enterprife is carried on, there is reason to conclude, that the quan tity of paper exceeds in a lefs proportion the coin in circulation, than in the metropolis. It muft vary according to circumstances of time or place; and the committee have no information which enables them to form a judgment on this fubject. It can hardly, however, be doubted, that there is too little of British coin, particularly of filver, current in the kingdom, from a caufe which will be hereafter ftated.

The bank of England is at the head of all circulation. It is the great repofitory of the fpare cafh of the nation, and alone carries bullion to the Mint to be coined. It is fubject, on that account, to be called on for cafh, directly or indirectly, by thofe who are in want of it, and is neceffarily fenfible of every material failure or diftrefs, which arifes from any defi

ciency or want of coin, in every part of this kingdom or Ireland.

It appears that the circulation of paper was carried to its greatest height, a fhort time previous to the beginning of the year 1793.

But early in that year a great diminution took place, in the circulation of country bank bills, from the fudden failure of many of the country banks. Mr. Ellison ftates, that previous to this period there were about two hundred and eighty country banks in England and Wales, and that he does not believe they exceed at present two hundred and thirty; the bufinefs of which has by no means increafed, in proportion to the reduction of the number—and that the iffue of country bank bills has confiderably diminished-that the quantity of fpecie actually kept by the prefent country bankers, is at this time larger than it was before the year 1793, and that they have leffened their balances with the London bankers.

Mr. Thornton's evidence con firms the account given by Mr. Ellifon, of the failure of the country banks in 1793, and of the confequent diminution of the circulation of country bank bills at that time-fubfequent to this event, thefe country bank bills increased again in fome degree, but never to their former extent. Both Mr. Thornton and Mr. Ellifon are of opinion, that confiderable quantities of cafh must have been drawn from the metropolis into the country, in order to fupply the deficiency of these country bank bills.

In the beginning of the year 1793, when from the caufes before mentioned, the circulation of this kingdom began to be fo much diminished,

diminished, the prefent war commenced. A ftate of war always requires a more ample circulation, even within the kingdom. The public loans, which in all wars are neceffary, and in the prefent war have been particularly great, employ a confiderable proportion of the circulating capital. The prefent increased value of money, which is fufficiently proved by the high rate of intereft, clearly fhews what must be the demand for it, and confequently, the fcarcity of it. But during the prefent war, it is worthy of remark, that expenfive enterprises of a private nature have not diminished, as in all former wars, but even augmented. It.appears by an account inferted in this report that the number of bills of inclosure which paffed in the four years preceding the prefent war was one hundred and thirty-eight, and that the number which have paffed during the four years of the war was two hundred and eightythree. That the number of bills for navigations and canals, which paffed in the four years preceding the prefent war was thirty, and that the number which have paffed during the four years of the war was fixty-nine. And farther, that the fum authorised to be borrowed for the making thofe canals and navigations, was in the firft four years, 2,377,200l.; and in the laft period of four years, 7,415,100l.

But the demand of money for public expenfes abroad, more particularly applies to the present fubject: the loan made to the emperor in the year 1795 of 4,600,000l. the fubfidies paid to foreign princes, the money remitted for the pay of British troops, or foreign troops in British pay, while this kingdom had an army on the continent; and the advances made to

the court of Vienna; together with the money sent to the West Indies and the Cape of Good Hope, for the pay of British troops there; if they did not all together draw Britifh coin out of the country, in any great amount, muft at least have prevented that influx of coin or bullion which, in confequence of a favourable balance of commerce, would have otherwife Tupplied the circulation of the kingdom. Mr. Boyd, however, in his evidence, ftates, that in remitting the imperial loan, as well as the late advances to the emperor, he never fent any British coin out of the kingdom (which could not indeed legally be done); and that in remitting the faid loan, he sent in foreign coin or bullion, to the amount only of about 1,200,000l. That the remainder of the loan, and the whole of the advances, were remitted in bills of exchange. It is obvious, however, that the drains occafioned by expenditure abroad for the purpofes before mentioned (large as the amount of them may have been), are nothing more than what has happened in all former wars, in which the government of Great Britain has found it effential for its interefts, to maintain armies on the European continent, or at any great diftance from the kingdom."

It appears by an account inferted in this report, that all the remittances made for the services of the war in the Weft Indies, on the continent of Europe, in the island of Corfica, and other diftant parts of the world, amounted, during the four last years, tó (vide Account No. 24) 33,510,7791. os. 70.

It appears by another account (No. 23.) inferted in this report, which has diftinguifhed the fums expended on the European conti

nent,