38] ANNUx^L REGISTER, 1816. 



CHAPTER IIT. 



Bank Loan hill. -Bill for renewing the Bank Restrictions of Payment.— 

 Complaint on employing the Military on Court Days. 



T has been mentioned that Mr. 

 Grenfell offered to the House 

 of Commons a motion for the ap- 

 pointment of a select committee 

 for Inquiring into the engage- 

 ments subsisting between the 

 ]jublic and the Bank of England 

 for the purpose of adoj)ting a new 

 arrangement^ which was rejected. 

 The hon. gentleman, on March 

 14th, after a preliminary address 

 to the House, in which he declar- 

 ed himself satisfied that without 

 any thing like an infraction of the 

 pubUc faith towards the Bank, 

 they ought, particularly at this 

 time of distress, to look to it as a 

 resource for many millions which 

 were now productive to them, not 

 by Avay of loan, but as a matter of 

 right • and being also convinced 

 that the public ought to demand 

 a considerable reduction of the 

 sum charged for the management 

 of the national debt ; moved eight 

 several resolutions. Of these, the 

 seven first were merely affirmation 

 of certain accounts relative to tlie 

 Eanic : the eighth bound the 

 House forthwith to take into con- 

 sideration the advantages derived 

 by the Bank fj'om the manage- 

 ment of the national debt, and 

 from the balances remaining in 

 their hands, witli a view to a new 

 arrangement. 



The first resolution being put, 

 the Chancellor of tlie Exchequer ob- 

 served that these points might be 



brought under the consideration 

 of the House when the Bank Loan 

 bill was before a committee of the 

 whole House ; and in consequence 

 he moved, as an amendment, 

 " That the other orders of the day 

 be now read." 



After some debate, this motion 

 was agreed to ; when the House 

 ha\ ing resolved itself into a com- 

 mittee on the Bank Loan bill, the 

 Chancellor of the Exchequer pro- 

 posed to fill up the blank in the 

 second clause, relative to the in- 

 terest on the loan, by the ^vords 

 " four per cent." Mr. Grenfell 

 then moved, as an amendment, 

 the substitution of ■' free of all in- 

 terest." This motion being given 

 up, Mr. Bankes proposed filling up 

 the blank with three per cent, 

 wl'.ich was negatived without a 

 division. 31r. Grenfell then pro- 

 posed his resolutions, for the \niY- 

 pose of putting them upon the 

 Joiunals of the House, upon each 

 of which, excepting the last, which 

 was withdrawn, the previous 

 question was carried. 



Mr. Mellish then mo\ed a num- 

 ber of resolutions, consisting of 

 statements of accounts relative to 

 the concerns between the Bank 

 and the public, on whicli the pre- 

 vious qxiestion was put and car- 

 ried. 



On March 29th, the order of 

 the day being for the third read- 

 ing of the bill, empowering the 



Bank 



