901 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



that when he addressed the House 

 last year on the financial situation 

 of the country^ tlie three per 

 cent, consols, were only between 

 62 and 63 ; at present they were 

 above 74. This was an improve- 

 ment of twelve per cent, on 6^. 

 which, calculated Upon 100/. 

 stock, was equal to nearly 20 per 

 cent. The exchequer bills were 

 then at an interest of 5| per cent., 

 and were sold at par. Those now 

 in circulation bore an interest of 

 only 3 1 per cent.; and on this 

 very day those bills bore 12s. 

 premium. These weie circum- 

 stances which pioved the manifest 

 advantage of the system he had 

 piusued, and now proposed to 

 continue. But it was not in the 

 money market only that the be- 

 neficial influence of that system 

 had been felt. A proportional im- 

 provement was experienced in 

 every description of propeity in 

 the country. Large sums had 

 already been sold out of the funds, 

 and applied in aid of the landed 

 interest, in purchases of real pro- 

 perty and advances upon mort- 

 gages. Siinilar accommotlation 

 had been afforded to the conuiier- 

 cial interests of the country by 

 the increasing facility and cheap- 

 ness of discoxnit Another mo.st 

 important improvement in the 

 situation of the coimtry had taken 

 place since his last financial state- 

 ment in the virtual resumiition of 

 cash payments by the bank. When 

 he had su£,-gested that the bank 

 might be enabled to pay in specie 

 in the course of two years, his 

 statement was received vvith ridi- 

 cule and incredulity. The sug- 

 gestion which he threw out had, 

 however, been completely leal- 

 jzed J for the paymentfe in cash 



had been for every practicable 

 purpose resumed. He could not 

 but congratulate the House and 

 the country upon the removal of 

 the doubts and alarms which had 

 been entertained on this subject. 

 None of the evils which had been 

 so profusely foretold, had occiu- 

 red ; Jind this great change had 

 been accomjilished without any 

 shock or danger to public credit. 

 Those who had with regret anti- 

 cipated these mischievous conse- 

 quences, he was sure, would now 

 ioin with him in rejoicing at the 

 state in whicli our country was 

 now placed. The notes of the 

 Bank of England had even during 

 the restriction been preferred to 

 those of every other bank in 

 Europe. What then must be the 

 effect of the removal of that re- 

 striction ? A third circumstance, 

 to which he could not but call the 

 attention of the committee with 

 peculiar satisfaction, was that, 

 with regard to the public debt, 

 the expectations he held out last 

 year had been more than re- 

 alized. He had stated an exj>ecta- 

 tion that it would be reduced at 

 least 3,000,000/.: the balance of 

 debt repaid exceeded this sum. 

 I'he araovmt paid in 1816 had 

 been stated liy the committee on 

 finance at 9,400,000 /. ; but from 

 this sum it might be fair to make 

 a deduction of 6,000,000/., which 

 formed part of th« loans raised 

 foj' the service of 1815, but which 

 had not been paid into the ex- 

 chequer till 1816 ; so that the 

 actual balance discharged was 

 3,400,000/. This was most satis- 

 factory: but it was not all j for since 

 the 1st of November 1815, at 

 which time the national debt stood 

 at its highest amount, thirty-two 



millions 



