
TRANSACTIONS OF THE SECTIONS. 115 
however industrious, after living four years and ten months in one place, might fall 
ill, require casual relief, and thereby lose his settlement ; even if an Irishman gave 
Scotland the benefit of his labour for thirty years, and acquired several settlements 
in the country during that time, he lost all claim to relief if he had not been residing 
five years in the parish where he lived when first requiring relief. A married woman, 
however respectable, could not gain a legal settlement by her own labour, if deserted 
by her husband; although an unmarried woman, however profligate, might do so. 
And the forcible removal of persons thus denied relief led to much fraud, expense, 
concealment of contagious disease, and other evils of which he gave examples. 
He agreed with Mr. Pashley, Q.C., in recommending that the legal right to relief 
should take effect wherever destitution might show itself; the relief being admini- 
stered, as at present, by local boards, under due supervision from a_ general fund, 
two-thirds of which should be raised throughout the whole United Kingdom, and 
one-third only in the district where the relief was given, in order to ensure caution 
and ceconomy in the administration ; and in this way he thought that much expense 
would be saved (now incurred by disputed questions of settlement), and the various 
evils above stated be entirely avoided. : 

On the Neglected and Perishing Classes, and the Means of their Reformation. 
_ By Rey. Joun Enear, D.D. 
— 
On the Laws of the Currency in Ireland, as exemplified in the Changes that 
have taken place in the amount of the Annual Circulation of Bank Notes in 
Ireland since the passing of the Act of 1845. By J.W.Gitpart, F.RS. 
In 1845, the average amount of notes that had been in circulation during the year 
ending the Ist of May 1845—#£6,354,494—-was made the fixed or authorized issue. 
For any amount beyond its authorized issue each bank was required to hold an equal 
sum in gold or silver coin, the silver not to exceed one-fourth of the gold coin. The 
Act came into operation on the 6th of December 1845; and from that period each 
bank has made returns, stating the average amount of notes in circulation during the 
preceding four weeks, distinguishing the notes under £5 from those of £5 and up- 
wards, and stating the amounts of gold and silver coin it held in its vaults. These 
returns were made by all the banks of circulation in Ireland. The proportion per 
cent. these averages bear to the certified circulation of £6,354,494 is also stated 
hereunder :-— 
Average Proportion to 
Circulation. Certified Circulation. 
POA AAR TARO LO LO Rikattescascccsteccvecss 114°25 
Ty ET 2k 6008, 83D) caccccecccc cee cectonees 94°55 
1848 eRe weRE BAO ee, ARIE ee 76 ‘ 
oe rae as ey RRUEU Ets PAS ROLOGO cin tecsenteccesevcses se 67°83 
LO5OP RE EAE aad 0 Wie og 71 
FR , 4,462,908 ...... ECG C OREO E eG 70°25 
From this it appeared, that, if the authorized issue be represented by the number 
100, the actual circulation for the six years, 1846 to 1851 inclusive, will be repre- 
sented by the numbers 114, 94, 76, 67, 71, 70. The question occurs—What is the 
cause of this falling off in the annual circulation since the passing of the Act of 
1845? The amount of notes in circulation does not correspond with the amount of 
gold in the Bank of England; for the gold in the Bank of England is at the present 
time much higher than it was on the Ist of May 1845, although the Irish notes 
in circulation are much less. There were three negative laws of the currency in 
Ireland, namely, that the amount of notes in circulation is not regulated by the 
Act of Parliament, nor by the wishes of the Irish bankers, nor by the stock of 
gold in the Bank of England. Notes are issued in Ireland chiefly for the purpose 
of purchasing agricultural produce; it would seem to follow that the amount of 
notes put into circulation will be regulated mainly by the quantity of that produce, 
and by the price at which it is purchased. If, then, we found that, in the years 
since 1845, the quantity of agricultural produce has been less, or the price at 
> g* 
