108 
regular fupply of new coin (which 
alone could fill up the void occafi- 
oned by the decreafe of circulating 
paper) had diminithed of late years. 
From the evidence of the Go- 
. vernor of the Bank, and from the 
report of the laft Sccret Committee 
which has been laid before this 
Committee, it appears that it was 
not fingly the diminifhed flate of 
their cafh which gave the Dire¢tors 
any great alarm; the Governor 
and Mr: Bofanquet rather impute 
this alarm to the progrefflively in- 
creafing demands for cafh upon 
them, particularly in the week pre- 
ceding the 26th of February, and 
to the reafons they had to appre- 
hend that thefe demands, and the 
confequent progrefiive reduction of 
cafh would continue, and even in- 
creafe: and they add, that this 
drain was in great part owing to 
demands for cafh from the country, 
fuch demands being made upon the 
Bank indireétly from the country, 
but directly from the bankers of 
London, who were to fupply the 
country. 
The Directors of the Bank, un- 
der the impreffion which thefe a- 
larms and embarraffments had oc- 
cafioned, appear to have judged it 
prudent to diminifh their notes in 
circulation, and the confequent de- 
mands that might come upon them, 
fo as to make the demands more 
nearly correfpond with the ftate of 
their cafh. It will be feen, in the 
accounts prefented to the Commit- 
tee, of the amount of bank-notes in 
circulation at different periods, that 
the average amount of thefe notes in 
circulation, for feveral years previ- 
ous to the end of the year 1796, may 
be ftated at between 10,000,0001. 
and 11,000,000l. hardly ever fall- 
ing below 9,000,000. and not often 
APPEN DEX TO 
exceeding, to any great. amount, 
11,000,0001. It will appear, by 
one of the afore - mentioned ac- 
counts, that in the latter end of the 
year 1796, and in the beginning of 
1797, the amount of bank notes in 
circulation was lefs than the average 
before ftated; and on the 25th of 
February laft it was reduced to 
8,640,250. 
It is true, that in an account pre- 
fented to the Committee, of the 
amount of bank notes in circula- 
tion in the years 1782, 1783, and 
1784, the quantity was then gene- 
rally even lefs than the fum laft 
mentioned; but at that time the fo- 
reign commerce of the kingdom 
was not even one half of what it is 
at prefent, as will be feen in the ac- 
count of imports and exports in- 
ferted in this report. 
It is not probable that the re- 
duction of bank notes to 8,640,250l. 
immediately previous to the iffuing 
the Order in Council of the 26th 
of February, was owing to any di- 
minution of the demands for them; 
for at that time the merchants of 
London were fubjeét to difficulties, 
from not being able to get their 
bills difcounted. 
The Directors of the Bank had, 
on the 31ft of December 1795, 
come to a refolution to. diminifh 
their difcounts; but notwithftand- 
ing that refolution, they did not di- 
minifh the amount of their dif- 
counts in the courfe of the year 
1796, compared with what they 
were in 1785, but had rather in- 
creafed them; not, however, to 
fuch an extent as to make them 
correfpond with the wants of the 
commercial world. A confiderable 
degree of diftrefs confequently en- 
fued; which diftrefs may alfo be 
imputed to another caufe in evi- 
dence 
