HISTORY) OFS EUROPE, 
to.enter- into the examination. and 
discussion of ‘every circumstance 
which might be supposed, in anyre- 
speci, deranged the ordinary chan- 
nel through which the finances and 
tgsources of the country Howed, and 
to ascertain, not merely what. re- 
lated to the bank, but what was the 
real and undisguised situation of the 
country. . He moved, then. for 
* leave to bring in a bill to contiane 
and:confirm, for a limited time, the 
yestriciion against the issuing of mo- 
ney in specie by the. bank of Eng- 
land.’ ‘This bill, the chancellor of 
the exchequer brought up again, on: 
the 13th of March, yunder the title 
of « A bill for enabling the bank of 
England to issue notes in payment 
of demands upon them, instead. of 
cash, pursuant to the late order of 
council to that effect :’’ the bill was 
read a first time, and ordered to’ be 
- printed. It was taken. into. consi- 
deration by a committee of the 
- wholeghouse on the 22d of March, 
andina farthér committee on the 
24th of March. When the clause 
which provided for. ,the payment of 
the army and navy, fin specie, came 
poder discussion, Mr. Fox granted 
‘that their claims upon the public 
were great, but contended that the 
claims of the public creditor were 
at Jeastequally so. 
Mr. Whitbread saw a good reason 
-why the navy should be paid j in spe- 
cie: but why the soldier should be 
paid in cash, when the day-labourer 
and working artificer were to be 
paid in paper, he could not compre- 
hend, unless ministers preferred 
eying. men with arms in. their 
ands, in order to call on them to si- 
lence the murmurs of those who 
were disarmed. But the clause, afier 
‘a few words from the chancellor of 
the exchequer, was agreed to. 
F204 
The report of the committee of 
the bank-bill was brougbt up on the 
27th of March: when Mr, Pitt pros 
posed a, clause , “* providing that 
bank-notes should be received in 
payment, by the collectors in every 
Peanaitek the revenue, during the 
restriction on’ the bank from issu 
ing payments in cash,”,. which was 
agreed to. He then proposed anor 
ther clause.of great importance, the 
substance of which was, ‘that if 
any mau offered a bank -note, in pay- 
ment of any, demand, that offer 
should do away the effect of a per- 
sonal arrest in the first instance.” 
The clause did not go the length of 
making, bank-notes.a legal, tender, 
nor to take away the power, of, the. 
creditor to pursue, in. course ofle- 
gal process, mivans to obtain pay- 
ment of his demand.in.cash; but it 
hindered him from proceeding-to an 
arrest in the first instance; it saved 
the inconveniency of giving bail to 
an action. The condition. of the 
creditor by the clause was. this, that 
the bank-note stood as a security 
for his demaud, tati! he should, in 
a due course of law, obtain his judg- 
ment. hisarticle being agreed to, 
Mr. Fox moved ‘ That it shall not 
be lawful for the bank to issue any 
cash to government, by way of 
loan to any foreign power, pending 
the operation of the restriction laid 
on the bank, by the late, minute of 
council,” 
The chancellor of the exchequer 
said, that he had no objection to the 
_ principle of the clause, but that he 
thought there should be some ex- 
ception introduced into it, confer- 
riug power ot issuing money to a 
Jimited amount, such as 600,000/, 
and that only on ‘the credit of ex- 
chequer-bill , already authorized by 
a vote of parliament, The clause, 
with 
