a ee ee 
HISTORY OF EUROPE. 
permitted we would give a fuller 
account than these few notes of 
a speech of considerable length on 
an occasion of great alarm, and 
fraught with great genius or inven- 
tion. as well as solid observation and 
penetration, into the nature and ef- 
fects, common, probable, or possi= 
ble, of banking. Though we have 
already exceeded our usual limits, 
in parliamentary affairs, on the pre- 
sent novel and important subject, 
we cannot help bringing what fol- 
lows under the notice of our readers. 
‘*T have said enough to shew, that 
government has been rendered de- 
pendent on the bank, and more par- 
ticularly so in the time of war; and 
though the bank has not yet’ fallen 
ipito the hands of ambitious men, 
yet it is evident that it might, in 
“such hands, assume a power sufficient 
to control and overawe, not only the 
executive government, but king, 
lords, and commons. 
«© As the bank has thus become 
dangerous to government, it might, 
on the other hand, by uniting with 
an ambitious minister, become the 
means of a fourth estate, sufficient 
to involve this nation in irretrievable 
slavery, and ought, therefore, to be 
dreaded as much as a certain East- 
India bill was justly dreaded at a 
period not very remote. I willnot 
say, that the present minister, by 
endeavouring, at this crisis, to take 
the bank of England under his. pro- 
tection, can have any view to make 
use hereafter of that engine to per- 
tuate his own power, andto enable 
im to domineer over our constitu- 
tion: if that could be supposed, it 
would only shew, that men can en- 
tertain a very different train of 
ideas, when endeavouring to overset 
arival, from what occurs to them 
when intending to support and fix 
v 
£208 
themselves. My object is to secure 
the country against all risk, either 
from the bank, as opposed to go- 
vernment and the constitution, or as 
the engine of ambitious men, to 
maintain themselves in a dangerous 
power. I could wish to know, if 
any man thinks that his majesty 
.would be at free liberty to change a 
minister, who had once obtained a 
decided ascendency in the direction 
of the bank of England, retaining 
its monopoly ?”” 
Sir William, having blamed the 
chancellor of the exchequer for not 
preparing the-house and the public 
mind for the adoption of such a 
plan as he had to propose, 
Mr. Pitt said, that this was not 
the time for entering on the various 
topics touched upon with so much 
ability and ingeniousness by the 
honourable baronet, whose speech 
was intended only to prepzre the 
house for the practical developement 
of his plan: "hae! he thought it fit to 
say, now, that when the hohourable 
baronet er assumed, that his ma- 
jesty’s chancellor of the exchequer 
was wrong not to prepare the pub- 
lic mind for the yeception of opini- 
ons, which so far from entertaining 
before, he did not even now enter- 
tain, he had assumed more than 
the house would agreeto. If, like 
the honourable baronet, he had 
been for several years convinced of 
those points, he would have been 
blameable indeed not to have dis- 
closed them: but till he had formed 
those opinions, he could hardly be 
said to. be wrong in not expressing 
them. 
Sir William Pultney’s motion be- 
ing negatived, the bank-bill was 
passed, and in a few days thereafter 
carried through the house of lords 
without any alteration. 
Sir 
