as their wisdom and judgment thought proper; which mode of proceeding could not fail of giving the utmoft fatisfaction without doors. His grace declared, he concurred entirely with what the noble earl had faid respecting a bill of indemnity; he thought it the wifeft way that minifters could adopt to preferve the law and conftitution, which he confidered as violated.

Lord Grenville reprobated the idea of an open committee relative to the concerns of the bank as highly improper, and highly impolitic: neither could he fuppofe, that by instructing the committee in the manner mentioned in the motion, the power of the house was taken away.

His lordship obferved, when the committee made their report, it would of course be fubject to the confideration and difcuffion of the houfe, who would exercite their judgment upon it. With refpect to a bill of indemnity, he did not fay there were not grounds for fuch a measure, though the bank were not legally obliged to act upon the requifition contained in the order of council.

His lordship concluded by faying, he had not the leaft objection to an act of indemnity. He obferved, however, that as there was no difference with respect to the firft motion, the house had better decide the queftion upon the addrefs.

The queftion being put, the addrefs was agreed to nemine diffentiente.

The motion for a fecret committee was then made by lord Grenville, and read by the lord chancellor.

The earl of Guildford rofe, and renewed his objections, and remark ed that the words, "Confirmation and continuance of the measure,"

contained in the motion, wanted fome explanation. If it was to continue the ftoppage of payment, it certainly would ruin public credit.

The duke of Bedford ftated feveral objections against the appointing of a fecret committee. He thought that a fubject of fo much importance could not be made too public; as its publicity tended to elucidate the folidity of the bank. His grace faid, before he fat down, he fhould move to leave out all that part of the motion, relative to the committee's reporting their opinion upon the continuance of the mea fure. With refpect to its expediency he could fay nothing. But confidering the ill conduct of minifters throughout the war, and the alarming ftate to which they had reduced the country, he thought it not improbable that the measure was indifpenfably neceffary. His grace remarked, that when he read the order of council, he was aftonifhed to find that the unusual demand of fpecie was imputed to ill founded and exaggerated apprehenfions of individuals, though minifters tbemfelves bad been the caufe of raif ing them. His grace reprobated the conduct of minifters in the most pointed language, and contended that they had done every thing in their power to difgrace the British character, and reduce the country to a fiate of ruin. He then adverted to a number of inftances to prove the careleffness and inattention of minifters. He alluded to the invafion of Ireland, and faid; had not the elements interfered, and obliged them to retire, the enemy would have done there incalculable mifchief. The duke alfo made fome remarks on the difembarkation of the enemy in Wales; and, after enlarging upon these topics, and in

I 2

dulging

dulging in a variety of reflections on minifters, in whom the house (he faid) had been in the habit of placing implicit confidence, he returned to a confideration of the motion before the houfe, and was aftonished that any individual should determine a national confideration of fuch immenfe importance, on the opinion of nine lords, however refpectable. The words as they now stood in the refolution, authorifed the committee to report their opinion of the neceffity of confirming and continuing the measure adopted by the bank in confequence of the order of council, which was neither more nor lefs, than that the bank fhould continue to ftop payment, and to give only paper inftead of cash, when payment in money was demanded, which was both inconfiftent and alarming. His grace, therefore, moved, by way of amendment, to leave out all the remainder of the motion after the firft part of it. He concluded by again afferting, that he was a friend to open difcuffion, as their lordships would be enabled by that to form a judgment of facts within their own knowledge, and to ascertain how much of the prefent calamitous ftate of the country was connected with the bank. His grace moved his amendment accordingly.

Lord Auckland faid a few words on the fubject, and contended, that in matters of fo delicate a nature as an inquiry into the affairs and folidity of the bank of England, common policy forbade a disclosure. His lordfhip, however, lamented the neceffity of having the committee fecret, as being a very unfortunate circumftance.

Lord Grenville rofe to notice fome of the obfervations made by the duke of Bedford, most of which

(he faid) their lordships had heard refuted again and again. His grace had been pleafed to reprobate the conduct of minifters in almost every inftance, and had made ufe of language which was neither parliamentary nor decent. The noble duke had charged ministers with having themselves been the authors of ill founded and exaggerated apprehenfions relative to invafion; yet, in the fame fpeech, it was not a little fingular, where the noble duke charged minifters with raifing falfe alarms, he mentioned two actual attempts of the enemy to invade this country. With regard to the noble duke's motion for an amendment, he fhould certainly oppofe it, as it tended to take away an effential part of the original motion, and render the other of little ufe. Many arguments had been made use of to prove the advantage of a public and open inquiry relative to the affairs of the bank: but nothing that had fallen from their lordships on that fubject, had in the fmalleft degree changed his opinion; he was well affured, that expofing a fubject of fo delicate a nature would be dangerous in itself and useless to the public.

The duke of Bedford rofe to make fome remarks, in answer to the noble baron (lord Auckland) relative to a fecret committee. His grace concluded with declaring, that he should take the sense of the houfe on his amendment.

The duke of Norfolk faid, be had unfortunately not been prefent when the noble fecretary of State opened the fubject and explained the grounds of his motion. He, however. ftrongly objected to a fe cret committee. He thought it was for the honour of the bank that there fhould be no concealment, if they were equal to all demands. His grace

obferved,

ebferved, that any thing like fecrecy upon a fubject to important and interefting muft make a ferious impreffion without doors. With refpect to the order of council, and the proceeding of the bank in confequence, he must take the liberty of putting a question to the noble fecretary of state, and he hoped he would favour him with an anfwer. Had the directors of the bank confented to the meafure fuggefted in the order of council, voluntarily; or had they only acted upon the impulfe of the arguments and perfuafions of the board?

Lord Grenville faid, he did not feel himself bound to give any anfwer to his grace's queftion, as he had fufficiently explained himfelf upon thofe points in the beginning of the debate.

The duke of Grafton rose to declare that he perfectly agreed with the noble duke's amendment, and entreated minifters not to confider him as acting hoftilely to them, when he recommended the omiffion of that part of the motion referred to by the noble duke. Let their lordfhips put the cafe either way, let the committee report as they might, if they gave it as their opinion that the measure in question was wrong, in what a fituation would minifters and the country ftand? If, on the contrary, the affairs of the bank were found to be in a flourishing ftate, as the directors themselves had declared, the latter part of the motion would be found inconvenient. His grace remarked, that when he had a conIcern in the king's councils, the profperous ftate of that great company was fuch, that they might have challenged their bitterest enes mies to examine their fituation. His grace concluded by saying he could fee no reason whatever for

fecrecy, and thought the inquiry ought not to go on in a myfterious manner, which muft neceffarily excite fufpicion and diftruft.

The marquis of Lansdowne faid, 1 he had declined to deliver his fentiments upon a fubject of so awful and portentous a nature, until he had heard the opinions of other noble lords, and collected fuch information as he was able from hismajetty's minifters, concerning the conduct they meant to purfue. He had long forefees the confequence of perfifting in measures which could only end in ruin to the country; and had frequently used his utmoft endeavours to convince them that they were near the precipice, close upon the edge of which they now food. Their lordships would do him the juftice to recollect, that, fo long ago as the year 1793, he had entered a proteft exprefsly for that purpofe. His mind, he faid, had been early impreffed with a facred reverence for that moft delicate and indefinite thing called pub. lic credit, upon which he had formed the prefent notions. A fmall tract by the earl of Oxford upon that fubject had given him his firft ideas, and which had fince be come confirmed and established. That noble author, in illuftrating the important fubject, fays, that pub lic credit was as the foul to the human body, nothing till put in action, and then it both gave and re. erived its animation and exiftence. It was not property, for no part of the body politic could call it its own. It was not the credit of the king, nor of the minifters, nor of the government. It was public credit-the credit of the nation, which was the very foul of England; it was that alone which gave it ftability, and infpired confidence it. At prefent the bank of Eng

land,

ney, and one for paper. He reprobated the idea of afcribing the prefent exigency to the unfounded and exaggerated alarms in different parts of the country. His lordship men tioned the two late attempts of . the enemy to land in Ireland and Wales; and had not the elements interpofed in the cafe of Ireland, they would certainly have landed nor was the late attempt in Wales to be paffed over as a ground of un founded and exaggerated alarm. The noble marquis obferved, he wished to avoid making any animadverfions relative to the juftice of the war; though he acquitted the minifler of being the immediate author of it, he did not mean to acquit him of all criminality. His lordthip concluded by a fincere recommendation of peace, and, at the fame time, hoped that no more money would be fent out of the country, to the petty princes of Germany, in the form of fubfidies.

dent they were equal to all their own engagements, and that they dreaded but the interference of the fitate. He, indeed, approved of the committee being fecret, as the bank of England was a private company, and parliament had no right to inquire into their affairs; however, he thought the investigation ought to be limited to their funds and their engagements-no further. He was forry to have feen in the order of council fo improper a term as the word "require; it was a word unknown to the English law, and ought not to have been used, as it implied force. Why not have chofen the word "recommend?" It ought to have been a recommendation, and not a requifition to the bank. If you attempt to make bank-notes a legal tender; their credit will perith: they may go on for a time; but the confequence is certain, nothing can prevent their falling to a difcount; the fall, perhaps, will be flow and gradual, but certain. Let their lordihips recollect that, banknotes reft folely on opinion; in that they differed from the French af fignats, which held forth the national domains as a fecurity, and it is well known how much eloquence had been displayed to prove an affignat, even with that fecurity, a contemptible fubftitute for currency. His lordship mentioned another fource of the prefent evil, viz. the immenfe quantity of paper circulated throughout this country, through the means of the country banks, and which in the end of 1793 rofe fo much above the mark, though it had received feveral falutary checks. He adverted alfo to jobbing in bills and money, as another fource of evil which ought to be dreaded, as every article would bear two prices, one for mo

The lord chancellor left the woolfack to fay a few words in anfwer to the noble marquis relative to ufing force to compel the acceptance of notes as currency. He could affure his lordship, that nothing that was contained in the order of council, or that had fallen from the noble secretary of ftate, went to prove that coercive means of any kind were intended to be exercised in order to compel the reception of the notes of the bank of England in the lieu of cath; neither had his majesty's minifters the leaft inclination to adopt fuch a measure. His lordship faid, he fhould not have troubled their lordfhips with a word upon the fubje&t, had he not felt that the inference drawn by the noble inarquis did not of neceffity arife, and that fuch