128 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



carefull}' and strongly to be guard- 

 ed. But all these may be effectu- 

 ally provided for, by intrusting to 

 the discretion of the Bank itself 

 the chargeof conducting and com- 

 pleting the operation, and by allow- 

 ing to the Bank so ample a period 

 of time for conducting it, as will 

 be more than sufficient to effect its 

 completion. To the discretion, 

 experience, and integrity of the 

 directors of the Bank, your com- 

 mittee believe that parliament may 

 safely intrust the charge of effect- 

 ing that which parliament may in 

 its wisdom determine upon as ne- 

 cessary to be effected ; and that 

 the directors of that great institu- 

 tion, far from making themselves a 

 party with those who have a tem- 

 porary interest in spreading alarm, 

 will take a much larger view of the 

 permanent interests of the Bank 

 as indissolubly blended with those 

 of the public. The particular mode 

 of gradually effecting the resump- 

 tion of cash payments ought there- 

 fore in the opinion of your com- 

 mittee, to be left in a great mea- 

 sure to the discretion of the Bank, 

 and parliament ought to do little 

 more than to fix, definitely, the 

 time at which cash payments are 

 to become as before compulsory. 

 The period allowed ought to be 

 ample, in order that the Bank di- 

 rectors may feel their way ; and 

 that, havinga constant watch upon 

 the varying circumstances that 

 ought to guide them, and availing 

 themselves only of favourable cir- 

 cumstances, they may tread back 

 their steps slowly, and may pre- 

 serve both the course of their own 

 affairs as a company, and that of 

 public and commercial credit, not 

 only safe but unembarrassed. 



" With this view your commit- 

 tee would suggest that the restric- 

 tion on cash payments cannot 

 safely be removed at an earlier 

 period than two years from the 

 present time ; but your committee 

 are of opinion, that early provision 

 ought to be made by parliament 

 for terminating by the end of that 

 period, the operation of the several 

 statutes which have imposed and 

 continued that restriction. 



" In suggesting this period of 

 two years, your committee have 

 not overlooked the circumstance, 

 that as the law stands at present, 

 the Bank would be compelled to 

 payincashat the end of six months 

 after the ratification of a definitive 

 treaty of peace ; so that, if peace 

 were to be concluded within that 

 period, the recommendation of 

 your committee might seem to 

 have the effect of postponing in- 

 stead of accelerating the resump- 

 tion of payments. But your com- 

 mittee are of opinion, that if peace 

 were immediately to be ratified, in 

 the presentstateof our circulation 

 it would be most hazardous to 

 compel the Bank to pay cash in six 

 months, and would be found wholly 

 impracticable. Indeed the restora- 

 tionof peace.byopening new fields 

 of commercial enterprise, would 

 multiply instead of abridging the 

 demands upon the Bank for dis- 

 count, and would render it pecu- 

 liarlydistressing to the commercial 

 world if the Bank were suddenly 

 and materially to restrict their is- 

 sues. Your committee are there- 

 fore of opinion that even if peace 

 should intervene.two years should 

 be given to the Bank for resuming 

 its payments; but that, even if the 

 war should be prolonged, cash 



