3& 
faid for the time to be locked up from 
circulation, yet it mui be remembered, 
that_all fuch ftock gives room to and ne- 
ceffarily implies an iffue of the private 
banks paper, equol net only ta it but to 
fuch further amount as bankers.in general 
may in prudence fuffer their outhanding 
notes to exceed their ftock of fpec'e lying 
in their coffers. 
Other cauies might be affigned to fup- 
port the fuppoGtion of ther being too 
great an iffue of paper in Ireland; {uch as, 
the increafed facility of borrowing on dif 
count—the practice of long difcounts out 
of all eftablifhed mercantile a men-, 
tioned by Mr. Frank; but your mitteg 
deem it unneceilary 2 adguce them, ein 
clearly of opinion, that the high ‘exchange 
is in itfelf a fufficient p: s{umptive Proof 
of a depreciation of paper, and that this 
depreciation isin it/elf alio.a a fireng pre- 
fumtive proof of anover quantity ats paper 
being in. circulation. 
Your committee will therefore proceed 
to the fmalicr duberdinare matters wlach 
have affected the rates, and particularly 
promoted the frequent fluétuations of ex- 
change. 
The firt which attra@s their attention 
is the mode adopted for bringing to Ire- 
Jand the furplus of the money bomowedin 
England roe the Inith government, which 
is minutely detailed in the evidence of Mr, 
Puget and Mr. Crofton. 
Your committee do not mean to impute 
any blame tothe conduét of the Lrith 
trealury, on the contrary, the direétions 
given by the commilhoners thereof feem 
to have ariien froma juit anxiety for the 
public benefit ; but the nature and confti- 
tution of their efice appears to-be unfitted 
for executing the bufinels of exchange and 
brokerage ben: ficially, even.jf their proper 
duties allowed them leifure for the purpofe, 
and if the law, comn. only. called The ‘Re- 
{fponhibility AG, under which they are ap- 
pointed, aad the addrefs of the houfe of 
commons to his Majefty.on the.infirution 
of the bank, detailed in-Mr..Crotton’s ex- 
amingtion, prefcribed their undertaking Jt. 
Mr. Crofton fhews that they did not enter 
upon the management of the receipt of 
that money as an ebject ef finance; he 
tates their univerlal objeft to have been 
the regulating and dieadying the exchange, 
sather tham deriving any great profits to 
toe exchequer ; but their interference ep- 
pears to have rendered it unfleady, and 
to have created flugtuations, evento 4 per 
cent.—their drafts have -been fold on 
"Cha ange at advanced prices—their regu- 
Jajions as to the amoynt or minimum of 
Report of the Committee on the State of Ireland. [Augult 4 
each draft, left all perfons. wanting to res 
mit any fum uader £.1,000 at dirft, and - 
afterwards nader £.. 500, out of the rangé ». 
of bcing accommodated at the treafury, 
aod to-buy at advaveed prices from thofe 
who had got dratts there—their endeav- 
ours to prevent partiality or preference 
feem to have been ineffectual; it Is true, 
a book was ordered to be kept to take 
down the names of perfons applying, but 
the fums applicdtor weremot entered ;.and 
although. Mr. Crofton fays' fuch.a book 
could be preduced, your committee can- 
not avoidabfaving, that the paper retura- 
ed to their order does pot purport.to be a 
book or copy of 2 book, she entries in it 
begin only on September 6, 1803, and — 
end on November 14, 1803, all writtes” 
apparently atone time, and in.one hand. 
The number of days fight At wkich the 
drafts were drawn varied, from 3 to 28 
days; for which variations {ufficient mo-~ 
tives have not been laid before. youncome 
mittee, 
Mr. Roach gives his opinion, ‘¢ that the 
fy@em of the.treafury drawing on England 
has been prejudicial to the exchange ; and 
if any other mode could -be adopted, it. 
would have been better, he means draws _ 
ing by the treafury at all. The fyfiem 
has held out fome temptations to jobbing; 
numbers of people calling at the treafury 
for bills, while they drew, and retaining 
thofe bills to job with afterwards, when 
the treafury did not draw ; the exchange, 
generally, when the treafury fopt drawings 
rifes ina much greater proportion than 
it otherwife might; and that there has 
been much fluétuation in exchange firce 
the practice of the treafury | brave com- 
menced.”” ‘Fhis rife, which has gene iff 
a few days even up to 4 per cent. Is ef- 
fe&ted by thofe dealers in exchange whona 
Mr. Frank confiders as {peculators ‘* whe 
make large purchafes at the treafury when 
they are drawing, with a.view-to feil again 
at a confiderable advanced price on 
°Change ;°” whofe intervention is no way 
ufefal, aod who necefiarily create an artis 
ficial rate of exchange highly injurious. 
Mr, Puget’s obfervation is very firong, 
“‘that any attempt on the-part of the 
treafury to lower exchange, muft necefia-. 
rily preve.either difadyantageous or abor- 
tive, particularly the latter, as government. 
can only draw as their eccafions ——— 
and their funds in England will permit 5" 
and refpecting their power of preventing 
flu&tuations, his words are, “that when 
the amount of drafts dgawn by the trea. 
fur ys and the fhort periodsthey were drawa 
in, 19 egafidered, to any impartial com- 
mercial - 
