66 1 us ing. For, observe, the country cash payments as there were in Bankers have no protecting law, 1817; let us have no Bills run till all the one pounders of the big through the Houses at full gallop, Bank are absorbed or drawn in. to prevent present payment of penIf I have a one-pound country nies in order to secure the ultimate note I can make the jockey that payment of pounds! Let us have issues it give me a Threadneedle-none of these old tricks; let all street note for it, or, which is a be fair and honest and in earnest, great deal better, give me twenty and I will go and clap the old shillings in silver or in gold. If Bank Directors upon the back, at he give me the metal, I am safe; the risk of being indicted for an if he give me the big Bank's note, assault. "Well done!" will I I send it to London and turn it say, ye good and trusty old ́ into gold. Nay, the thing does" blades: ye have, indeed, done not stop here; for, as soon as the "us monstrous mischief; but now Act is passed I can get gold for a ye are in the right track to ten-pound note or for a note to "make reparation. Give any amount. I have, for instance," Gold, and we will soon have a fifty pound note. I go to the Reform." And having said Bank and demand payment in this I will give them each two or gold. They refuse me. But they three pats upon the back. They cannot refuse, when the Act is may hold a council, whether they passed, to give me one-pounders will mulct me or imprison me for in exchange for my fifty-pound the assault; but they will not havenote; and then I'demand gold for the power to cause me to be my one-pounders; and if they hanged! give it me; and if they continue to do this to me and to every body else for any length of time, such as six months or so, I will say that they are clever fellows; and will forgive them for all my share of the injury they have done. ་ ་ ་་ L But, Sir, the worst of it is that there is nothing certain here; that the act does not compel the Bank to pay; that it is a droll sort of act, leaving the Bank to pay or not to pay as it pleases. It may pay to some and not pay to others; and I am very much afraid, that we shall hear a great deal about paying, and see very "House" let us have no such little of it. If this be the case, it is manifest that there will be no cute if they would, and that they paying at all; and that forged one-pounders will be as frequent as they are now; and will keep circulating to the great benefit of the farmers, forming, as they do at present, no inconsiderable por Bank! should have the assistance of the What pretty scenes are What a system is this! these! The truth is, that the Bank ought to make good all losses by forgery; seeing that to take their tion of that" standard of value," | paper is compulsory on every Crewhich has grown out of PITT's "solid system of finance." ditor, if the Debtor choose tó insist on it. If a man buy a horse of another, the bargain being made, the seller must have the notes or nothing. He has no remedy; he has no means of enforcing payment in coin. He is not connoisseur enough to know whether the notes be forged or not; but still he must take them; for, upon tendering them, the buyer can take away the horse. As to the buyer writing his name upon the notes, he is not compelled to do that. He cannot be compelled to do it; and, therefore, the seller has no security, unless the Bank be to take in every note bearing its name. I go to a shop, The price is a However, some Gold will get out. It is hardly possible that the thing will end entirely in talk; and, whatever portion of it does get out, will soon find its way into safe and tenacious hands. It is not long since Mr. GIBSON of the Strand, in a petition to that House, to endeavour to bring which into contempt is to be punished with banishment, stated, that he had, in the course of his business, taken twenty forged nɔtes in the week. Four people were brought before Mr. ALDERMAN HEYGATE a few days ago, on a charge of having uttered forged notes; two of them were women, each charged by a shop-pound. I lay down the pound keeper with the crime just men- and take up my hat. The purtioned. The Bank agent ap-chase is made. The tender is peared, and said that the Bank made, and I bring away my hat, had considered the cases; and in spite of the hatter. He asks had determined not to prosecute! me to write my name upon the Here is a pretty parcelling out of note. I refuse. He seizes hold punishments! He told the com- of me. I indict him for an asplainants that they might proses sault, which to a certainty I would and buy a hat. do. Upon my refusing to write me my name. People in this distressed state of things, are so eager to sell, that they will take almost any thing. But, when the forgeries are calculated to form a sixth part of the one-pound notes, it is worth any man's while to give something for security. Threepence in the pound would probably be enough at first; and this is what I would do, were I in a retail shop, and could obtain se my name upon the note, he asks I will not tell him; and he cannot help himself. I tell him my name, or he happens to know me, and he writes my name down upon the note. He finds the note to be a forgery. He brings it to me. I tell him to keep the note and do the best he can with it; and this to a certainty is what I would do in every such case; except Icurity upon such terms. Nay, I knew the man and looked upon would give sixpence; and that his word as being as good as his would do the business. I should oath, he has no remedy. He at any rate be clear of all partican swear that he took it cipation, directly or indirectly, from me; but he must have in bringing unfortunate creatures somebody else to swear it, or else to the gallows, or tearing them we are every soul of us in jeo- from their families to send them pardy. Ought such a system as into perpetual slavery. I never this to exist? Ought the Bank touch the accursed paper that I to be suffered to break the pro- do not think of the temptation, mises upon the face of its notes; that I am, though against my to derive enormous advantages will, assisting to hold out to from that breach of promise; and those, who, but for the temptaought it, after this, to throw all tion, might live a life of innothe loss upon individuals that this cence. breach occasions ? If, indeed, we could turn the paper into Gold at pleasure, the Bank could not be justly called upon to make good a forgery; for, then the holder of the forged note might men and servants, who, I am be silenced at once by being told: afraid, still call themselves girls, you should not take our notes, if The probability is, however, that the greater part of the Gold (if any should be issued at last) will find its way into the hands of the farmers' wives, maiden wo you are not able to distinguish though they are turned of thirty. them from forgeries. These are the prudent part of the As to Friendly Societies and all contributions and funds of that sort; they are all foolishness to be sure; but, at any rate, the parties should see that they are kept in real money. And not find at last that they have a worthless rag in exchange for twenty silver shillings. There is a Mr. MONCK, that has lately talked a good deal about this paper system, and that has observed that one cause of the people being likely to prefer Gold to paper was “malevolence.” "There was a feeling (said he) arising, perhaps out of the distress of the time, which would induce many persons to demand Gold for the purpose of doing creation. Some old farmers that cannot write, and that do not know what the words discount and accommodation may mean, know exceedingly well that paper is not Gold; that paper will burn and that Gold will not; that a guinea or a shilling in a chest is still a guinea or a shilling, though all the Bankers in the County may break. These are persons, who, when they see some gold and silver about, will be very apt to make a sovereign exchange places with a one-pounder that they may have happened to lock up in their chest. Such persons say nothing" at all about having money; but they think a great deal about it." They will certainly endeavour to impound some of the Sovereigns" mischief. A great portion of that they may see upon the stray;" the people were at war with and, if any considerable quantity" the House of Commons; and should happen to get out, either" with many of them it was a now or at any future time, such maxim not to attack the Horse persons will begin, as PAINE calls" Guards but the Exchequer." it, to have a predilection for them; and they will soon fall upon the means of getting them into their hands. When they are at market, and are making their bargains, they will not say at Very good, Mr. Monck. That is my maxim; but not from malevolence; not for the purpose of doing mischief; but from motives of good will to men, and for the purpose of doing good. You, who have got into the House of Commons, find that body I dare say, the wisest and most pure in the world; and I shall not say that I differ with you in opinion. about your making bread, in pre ference to purchasing it ready the perniciousness, & even wastefulness, of using potatoes instead of bread. It is no crime yet, "to-morrow, But, that this may be of some use "faith it may," to prefer Gold to to you, I must say a word or two Paper; and in spite of all the hopes to the contrary, to paper will gold be preferred, let the made; and before I do this, I consequences to the system be must, even here, remind you of what it may, Here I put an end to this long letter, a copy of which I shall send, Sir, to your tutor, Dr. Coplestone, humbly hoping, that if he has nothing better to bestow in return than such pamphlets as he sent to you with his blessing, he will be pleased, in his charity, to keep both to himself; or, if he must send me one or the other, to send me the letter (as the Bishop of Chester sent his blessing to Mc. Innes) and to keep the former to bestow on other great young statesmen, that shall come forth from under his hands, to be our directors and preservers in these days of difficulty and distress. In the potatoe there is bulk, and, there is still more bulk in grass or hay for the same money. Bulk, therefore, is nothing it is the quantity of nutriment, that we are to look at; and I have proved, that there is as much nutriment in one pound of flour as in ten pounds of potatoes Flour, the very best (and the best is the cheapest) is not more now than 21d. a pound. Ten pounds of flour will make full thirteen pounds of bread; and the ten pounds of flour cost 25 For 25 pence. pence you may, perhaps, get two Winchester bushels of potatoes; and for the cost of a bushel of flour, you may fill half your house with potatoes; for it will give you eleven bushels and about two gallons, and will weigh 622 pounds, or thereabouts! The very car riage of this immense weight, if IN my last, I promised you, it is to be a couple of miles, is that I would tell you how to make worth half a crown at the very yeast, with very little expence, least farthing, even supposing not more than a farthing a batch. carts or waggons to be regularly I am, Sir, Your most obedient TO THE DISTRESSED STOCK- |