‘720 
would be found wholly impracticable. In- 
deed, the restoration of peace, by open- 
ing new fields of commercial enterprise, 
would multiply instead of abridging the 
demands 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 inter- 
vene, two years should be given to the 
bank fer resnming its payments; but that 
even if the war should be prolonged, cash 
payments should be resuined by the end of 
that period. ch 
Your committee have not been indiffer-. 
ent to the consideration of the possible 
occurrence of political circumstances, which 
may be thought hereafter to furnish an 
argument in favour of some prolongation 
of the proposed period of resuming cash 
payments, or even in favour of a new law 
for their temporary restriction after the 
bank shali have opened. They are, how- 
ever, far from anticipating a necessity, 
even in any case, of returning to the pre- 
sent 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 committee 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 ona political state of 
things producing, 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 establishment to provide against. 
A return to the ordinary system of banking 
is, on the very ground of the late extrava~ 
gant fall of the exchanges and high price 
of gold, peculiarly requisite. That alone 
can effectually restore general confidence 
in the value of the circulating medium of 
the kingdom ; and the serious expectation 
of this event must enforce a preparatory 
Report from the Select Committee, &c. 
reduetion of the quantity of paper, and all 
other measures which accord with the true 
principles of banking. 
of the time when the bank will be con- 
strained to open, may also be expected to 
contribute to the improvement of the ex- 
changes ; whereas a postponement of this 
era, so indefinite as that of six months 
after the termination of the war, and espe- 
cially m the event of an exchange con- 
tinying to fall, (which more and more would 
ea ies be perceived to arise from an 
excess of paper, and a co'isequent depreci- 
ation of it) may lead, under an unfavour- 
able state of public affairs, to such a 
failure of confidence fand especially among 
foreigners) in the determination of parlia- 
mént to enforce a return to the professed 
standard of the measure of payments, as 
may serve to precipitate the further fall 
of the exchanges, and lead to consequences 
at once the most discreditable and disas- 
trous. 
Although the details of the best mode of 
returning to cash payments ought to be 
left to the discretion of the bank of Eng- 
Jand, as already stated, eertain provisions 
would benecessary, under the authority of 
parliament, both for the convenience of 
the bank itself, and for the security of the 
other banking establishments in this coun- 
try and in Ireland. 
Your committee conceive it may be con- 
venient for the bank to he permitted to 
issue notes under the value of 5/. for some 
little time aftey it had resumed payments 
in specie. 
It will be convenient also for the char- 
tered banks of Ireland and Scotland, and 
all the country banks, that they should not 
be compelled to pay in specie until some 
time after the resumption of payments in 
cash by the bank of England; but that 
they should continue for a short period 
upon their present footing, of being liable 
to pay their own notes on demand in bank 
of England paper. i 
The anticipation - 
eo 
