HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



127 



«rriveat a correct opinion that he 

 wished the House to call for the 

 iriformaLion, and undertake the 

 inquiry he meant to propose. His 

 present conjecture was, that tiie 

 high price of gold might be pro- 

 duced partly by a larger circula- 

 tion of the Bank of England 

 paper than was necessary, and 

 partly by the new circumstances 

 in which the foreign trade of this 

 country was placed. But all this 

 was matter for inquiry. What re- 

 medy ought to be provided, would, 

 of course turn uponwhatsbouldbe 

 ascertained to be the cause of the 

 evil. Mr. Horner concluded with 

 Bloving, that there be laid before 

 that House *' returns of the im- 

 ports and exports of bullion and 

 foreign coins ; the amount of bank 

 notes and dollars ; the number of 

 licenses to country bankers ; an 

 accoant of the quantity of gold 

 and silver exported by the East 

 India Company to China and the 

 j£ast Indies ; " and some other 

 papers. Some members entered a 

 iittJe into the subject of pa{)er 

 currency and the bullion trade ; 

 4)ut all agreed that it was a sub- 

 ject well worthy the most serious 

 attention of the House, and that 

 it had been introduced by Mr. 

 Horner in a manner suitable to 

 its importance. 



All the resolutions produced 

 by Mr. Horner were agreed to. 

 A committee was appointed for 

 the purposes above stated and 

 Mr. Horner was chosen chairman. 

 I'heir report was not given in to 

 the House of Commons till the 

 evening of the day preceding the 

 prorogation of parliament. It was 



printed and copies ordered for 

 the members about the middle of 

 Auaust.* 



The Bullion Committee after a 

 patient and laborious investigation, 

 were decidedly of opinion that the 

 evils into the causes of which they 

 were commissioned to inquire, 

 were to be attributed to an exces- 

 sive issue and circulation of Bank 

 of England paper : " a general rise 

 of all prices, a rise in the market 

 price of gold, and a fall of the 

 foreign exchanges, will be the ef- 

 fect of an excessive quantity of 

 circulating medium in a country 

 ■which has adopted a currency not 

 exportable to other countries, or 

 not convertible at will into a coin 

 that is convertible." But, though 

 the Bank of England notes were in 

 reality at a discount, that discount 

 in the judgment of the commit- 

 tee, did not arise from want of 

 credit, or confidence in the funds 

 and stabilityof theBank,butmere- 

 ly from over issue. The remedy 

 proposed by the committee for the 

 unnatural and distressing state of 

 our circulating medium was stated 

 by the committee in these words : 



" According to the best judg- 

 ment your committee has been 

 enabled to foi-m, no sufficient re- 

 medy for the present, or security 

 for the future, can be pointed out, 

 except the repeal of the law which 

 suspends the cash payments of 

 the Bank of England. 



" In effecting so important a 

 change, your committee are of 

 opinion that some difficulties must 

 be encountered, and that there 

 are some contingent dangers to the 

 Bank, against which it ought most 



■• The great number of tables it contained, H-itb acoDimts in ciphers, made it 

 impossible to publish it sooner. 



