S T A T E PAPERS. 



477 



directors may feel their way, and 

 that, having a constant watch upon 

 the varying circumstances that 

 ought to guide them, and avaihng 

 themselves only of favourable cir- 

 cumstances, they may tread back 

 their steps slowl^^, 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 committee 

 would suggest, that the restriction 

 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 se- 

 veral 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 pay 

 in cash at the end of si.K 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 

 Lave the effect of postponing, 

 instead of accelerating the re- 

 sumption of payments. But your 

 committee are of opinion, that if 

 peace were immediately to be 

 ratified, in the present state of 

 our circulation, it would be most 

 hazardous to compel the bank to 

 pay cash in six montiis, and would 

 be found wholly impracticable. 

 Indeed the restoration of peace, 

 by opening new fields of com- 

 mercial enterprise, would mul- 

 tiply instead of abridging the de- 

 mands upon the bank for discount, 



and would render it peculiarly 

 distressing to the commercial 

 world if the bank were suddenly 

 and materially to restrict their 

 issues. Your committee are 

 therefore 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 pro- 

 longed, cash payments should be 

 resumed by the end of that period. 

 Your committee have not been 

 indifferent to the consideration of 

 the possible occurrence of politi- 

 cal circumstances, which may be 

 thought hereafter to furnish an ar- 

 gument in favour of some prolong- 

 ation of the proposed period of re- 

 suming cash payments, or even in 

 favour of a new law for their tem- 

 porary restriction after the bank 

 shall have opened. They are, 

 however, far from anticipating a 

 necessity, even in any case, of re- 

 turning to the present system. 

 But if occasion for a new measure 

 of restriction could be supposed 

 at any time to arise, it can in no 

 degree be grounded as your com- 

 mittee think, on any state of the 

 foreign exchanges (which they 

 trust that they have abundantly 

 shewn the bank itself to have the 

 general power of controlling) but 

 on a political state of things pro- 

 ducing, or likely very soon to 

 produce an alarm at home, leading 

 to so indefinite a demand for cash 

 for domestic uses, as it must be 

 impossible for any banking estab- 

 lishment to provide against. A 

 return to the ordinary system of 

 banking is, on the very ground of 

 the late extravagant fall of the ex- 

 changes and high price of gold, 

 peculiarly requisite. Tha talone 

 can effectually restore general con- 

 fidence in the value of the circulat- 



