192] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1797. 
lie eredit, was designed to be per- 
manent, assured the house, that no- 
thing eould be farther from his in~ 
tention. However, while it conti- 
nued, it ought to have the sanction 
of legislative authority. Withregard 
to what was said by Mr. Hussey, 
"© pay the bank, and all will be 
well,” it was founded ona mistake : 
for, by far the greater part of the 
sum dué to the bank, was floating 
advances not now made for the first 
time. Nor were there more ad- 
vances now outstanding than there 
had been before on many occasions, 
prior to his coming into office. 
. Mr. Curwen, Mr. Brandling, and 
Mr. Bastard, declared their oppo- 
sition to a secret and partial in- 
quiry into the present and alarming 
situation of the bank, in the strong- 
est terms. 
Mr. Sheridan did not conceive 
the measure that had been adopted 
for its relief, as a temporary expe- 
dient. . He foresaw that the bank 
never would be able, afterwards, to 
defray its outstanding engagements 
incash. For, how was it possible 
they could? since they were about 
fo issue a greater quantity of paper, 
and their cash was seized on for the 
public service ? He did not approve 
of appointing a committee to in- 
quire into the affairs of the bank, as 
he had the firmest confidence in its 
solidity: but he deemed it highly 
expedient, that a committee should 
be appointed to inquire into the 
grounds on which the order of the 
ptivy council had been given. He 
was unfriendly to a committee for 
inquiring into the situation of the 
bank, but instead of opposing it 
would move an amendment, which 
consisted in an additional clause, in- 
structing the committee, to “inquire 
into the causes which had produced 
the order in counei), dated February — 
26, “ providing for the confrmae — 
tion and continuance of the mea- 
sure contained in the order.” 
Mr. Dundas said, that the amend- — 
ment proposed negatived the ofigi- 
nal motion. While Mr. Sheridan 
professed himself averse to an in- — 
quiry, he proposed to enlarge it, by ~ 
adding a question respecting the | 
causes of the embargo; which were 
alleged to bea total mismanagement _ 
in every department of finance. 
Thus an inquiry into every circum- 
stance of the war, from its com- — 
mencement, would be set on foot, 
and the first and great object of sa- 
tisfying the public with respect to 
the solvency of the bank, would be 
delayed till the state of the nation, — 
in every particular, could be ascer- 
tained, 
Mr. Fox considered the two 
questions of the measures to be 
adopted, and the cause of the pre- 
sent situation of the bank, as inse- 
parable. Until the house were aps . 
prized of what had produced the 
order of council, relative to the. 
disorder, they could not possibly 
know how to apply the remedy. 
Mr. Pitt observed, that though 
the motion and amendment coms 
prized three distinct questions, yet 
Mr. Sheridan, by the tenor of his 
speech, had objected to that part 
of the motion which pressed an in- 
quiry into the state of the bank. 
This inquiry, however, he wished 
to be made, with a view to shew 
that its ultfmate resources were 
solid. And this he considered to 
be the more necessary, that Mr. 
Fox, at the same time tiat he had. 
expressed his conviction that they 
were so, had yet stated their late 
conduct 
