8] 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1816. 



powers, respecting the propor- 

 tion and nature of the force to 

 form llie army of occiii)ation of 

 France. 



Mr. Grenfell on Feb. ISth, rose 

 in pursuance of the notice he liad 

 given of a motion respecting cei- 

 tain transactions between the pub- 

 lic and the Bank of England. In 

 his introductory discussion^ he di- 

 vided the subject into two branches 

 of the pubhc service; the first, 

 as the Bank acted the part of 

 bankers of the ])ublic by receiving 

 tlie deposits of its moneys ; the 

 second as charging commission 

 for the management of the public 

 debt. With these, as a matter 

 incidentally connected, he took 

 into consideration the immense 

 jirofits made by the Bank, from 

 the restriction of their payments 

 in cash, since which period their 

 notes in circulation had advanced 

 from the sum of 11 or 12 mil- 

 lions, to an average of IJ or 58 

 millions. In reasoning on this 

 circumstance, he lield, that from 

 the time of passing tlie restric- 

 tion act, the public acquired an 

 equitable claim to |)articipation 

 with the Bank, in the profits 

 which that act had created. The 

 subsequent train c>f the hon. mem- 

 ber's ai'gumentcition was founded 

 upon a statement of facts which 

 cannot be given in an abridged 

 form. Their general tenor was 

 to afford a proof, that the Bank, 

 as depositaries of the public mo- 

 ney, had much understated their 

 prolits, and that tliey had over- 

 charged the rate of commission 

 upon wliich they transacted the 

 public business. In conclusion 

 he submitted the following mo- 

 tion : " That a .select committee 

 he appointed to incjuire into the 



engagements now subsisting be- 

 tween the public and the Bank of 

 England, and to consider the ad- 

 vantages derived by the Bank 

 from its transactions with the 

 j)ublic, with a view to the adop- 

 tion of such future arrangements 

 as may be consistent with those 

 principles of equity and good 

 faith, which ought to prevail in 

 all transactions between the pub- 

 lic and the Bank of England, and 

 to report their oj)inions thereon 

 to the House." 



The motion was opposed by the 

 ministers as unnecessary and dan- 

 gerous to the public credit ; and 

 some members interested in the 

 Bank represented the mover's 

 statements as extiggerated, and in 

 part unfounded. On the other 

 hand it was supported by some 

 mendjers of o[)position, as likely 

 to lead to valualde results. On 

 the division there appeared for 

 the motion 44 ; against it 81 : 

 majority in rejection, 37. 



The House of Lords having 

 been summoned for Feb. 14th, 

 Lord Grenville rose to submit a 

 motion relative to the peace esta- 

 blishment of the army. He began 

 with referring to two jjcriods, in 

 which precisely similar motions 

 had been made ; the years 1742 

 and 175G; and lie then adduced 

 particular reasons for the motion 

 which he now proposed to make. 

 Their lordships, he said, were 

 now to consider, whether, after 

 a struggle of 2.5 years, maintained 

 at such vast expense, they were 

 to obtain the blessings of a real 

 peace, or their situation was to 

 be exactly the reverse : whether 

 they weie still to be charged with 

 an immense military establish- 

 ment ; to be called upon to take 



their 



