STATE PAPERS. 



473 



Assuming that the notes in the 

 two first of these classes were all 

 issued for the lowest denomination 

 to which the duties respecfully at- 

 tach, and such as are most com- 

 monly met with in the circulation 

 of country paper, viz. notes of 5/. 

 and 10/. [although in the second 

 class there isaconsiderable number 

 ©f 20/.] and even omitting altoge- 

 ther from thecomparison the notes 

 of the three last classes, the issue 

 of which your committee under- 

 stand is in fact confined to the 

 chartered banks of Scotland, the 

 result would be, that, exclusive of 

 anyincreaseinthe number of notes 

 under 2/. 2s. the amount of coun- 

 try bank paper stamped in the year 

 ended the 10th of October 1809, 

 has exceeded that of the year end- 

 ed on the lOth of October 1808, 

 in the sum of 3,095,310/. Your 

 committee can form no positive 

 conjecture as to the amount of 

 country bank paper cancelled and 

 withdrawn from circulation in the 

 course of the last year. But con- 

 sidering that it is the interest and 

 practice of the country bankers to 

 use the same notes as long as pos- 

 sible ; that, as the law now stands, 

 there is no limitation of time to the 

 re-issuing of those not exceeding 

 21. 2s.; and that all above that 

 amount are re-issuable for three 

 years from the date of their first 

 issuing ; it appears difficult to sup- 

 pose that the amount of notes 

 above 21. 2s. cancelled in 1809, 

 could be equal to the whole amount 

 stamped in 1808; but even upon 

 that supposition, there would still 

 be an increase for 1809 in the 

 notes of 51. and 10/. alone, to 

 the amount aboved specified of 

 3,095,34-0/., to which must be 

 added an increase within the same 

 period of Bank of England notes to 



the amount of about 1,500,000/., 

 making, in the year 1809, an ad- 

 dition in the whole of between four 

 and five millions to the circulation 

 of Great Britain alone, deducting 

 only the gold which may have been 

 withdrawn in the course of that 

 year from actual circulation, which 

 cannot have been very consider- 

 able, and also making anallowance 

 for some increase in the amount of 

 such country paper, as, though 

 stamped, may not be in actual cir- 

 culation. This increase in the ge- 

 neral paper currency in the last 

 year, even after these deductions, 

 would probably be little short of 

 the amount which in almost any 

 one year, since the discovery of 

 America, has been added to the 

 circulating coin of the whole of 

 Europe. Although, as your com- 

 mittee has already had occasion to 

 observe, no certain conclusion can 

 be drawn from the numerical 

 amount of paper in circulation, 

 considered abstractedly from all 

 other circumstances, either as to 

 such paper being in excess, or still 

 less as to theproportionofsuch ex- 

 cess; yet they must remark, that 

 the fact of any very great and ra- 

 pid increase in that amount, when 

 coupled and attended with all the 

 indications of a depreciated circu- 

 lation, does afford the strongest 

 confirmatory evidence, that, from 

 the want of some adequate check, 

 the issues of such paper have not 

 been restrained within their pro- 

 per limits. 



Yourcommittee cannot quit this 

 part of the subject without further 

 observing that the addition of be- 

 tweenfourand fiveraillions sterling 

 to the paper circulation of this 

 country, has doubtless been made 

 at a very small expense to the par- 

 ties issuing it, only about 100,000/. 



