374 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1818. 



and have agreed upon the fol- 

 lowing Resolutions : 



1. That the laws regulating or 

 restraining the rate of interest 

 have been extensively evaded, 

 and have failed of the effect of 

 imposing a maximum on such 

 rate ; and that of late years, from 

 the constant excess of the market 

 rate of interest above the rate 

 limited by law, they have added 

 to the expense incurred by bor- 

 rowers on real security, and that 

 «uch borrowers have been com- 

 pelled to resort to the mode of 

 granting annuities on lives, a 

 mode which has been njade a 

 cover for obtaining higher in- 

 terest than the rate limited by 

 law, and has farther subjected 

 the borrowers to enormous 

 charges, or forced them to make 

 very disadvantageous sales of 

 their estates. 



2. That the construction of 

 such laws, as applicable to the 

 transactions of commerce as at 

 present carried on, have been 

 attended with mucli uncertainty 

 as to the legality of many trans- 

 actions of frequent occurrence, 

 and consequently been produc- 

 tive of much embarrassment and 

 litigation. 



3. That the present period, 

 when the market rate of interest 

 is below the legal rate, affords an 

 opportunity peculiarly proper for 

 the repeal of the said laws. 



REPORT FROM THE SELECT COM- 

 MITTEE ON THE EDUCATION 

 OF THE LOWER ORDERS. 



The Select Committee appointed 

 to inquire into the Education of 

 the Lower Orders^ and to Re- 

 jiort their Observations there- 



upon, together tuith the Minutes 

 of the Evidence taken before 

 them from time to time, to the 

 House ; and who were instructed 

 to extend their Inquiries to 

 Scotland ; — Have considered 

 the Matters to them referred, 

 and agreed upon the following 

 Report : 



Your Committee rejoice ia 

 being able to state, that since 

 their first appointment in 1816, 

 when they examined the state of 

 the Metropolis, there is every 

 reason to believe, that the exer- 

 tions of charitable individuals 

 and public bodies have increased, 

 notwithstanding the severe pres- 

 sure of the times ; and that a 

 great augmentation has taken 

 place in the means provided for 

 the instruction of the Poor in 

 that quarter. They are happy 

 in being able to add, that the 

 discussion excited by the first 

 Report, and the arguments urged 

 in the Committee to various 

 patrons of charities who were 

 examined as witnesses, have had 

 the salutary effect of improving 

 the administration of those insti- 

 tutions and inculcating the im- 

 portance of rather bestowing 

 their funds in merely educating 

 a larger number, than in giving 

 both instruction and other assist- 

 ance to a more confined number 

 of children. As the management 

 of those excellent establishments 

 is necessarily placed beyond the 

 control of the legislature, it is 

 only by the effects of such candid 

 discussions that improvements 

 in them can be effected. 



Since the inquiries of your 

 Committee have been extended 

 to the whole island, they have 

 had reason to conclude, that the 



nieai-'S 



