I {COMMONS} Distress per passed through the fiery furnace of afflic-| sum, to the lawyers and Parliament for tion from a severe domestic bereavement. procuring the Bill; and a still larger sum to 580 Sir, I have heard during the present de- the contractor, who deals it out again to bate, a variety of opinions given as to the the labourer, or for the purchase of matecause of the mercantile distress, and the rials for the line. So there is only that monetary difficulties under which we have portion of it goes out of the country, and been and still are suffering; also almost as becomes lost as it were to the country, many remedies proposed as there are hon. Gentlemen who have spoken on the sub- er over what he would otherwise which is paid as extra wages to the labourject; and perhaps, Sir, before I sit down, For instance, supposing that there are. may add another to that number. The 250,000" navvies" employed at 20s. procure. right hon. Gentleman the Member for week, these men, had they not been so Coventry attributed much of the distress employed, would have had to live. Supto the transition state through which we pose their wages would have been 12s. were passing, from protection to free trade, per week, then, Sir, the difference would aggravated by railways and the Currency be about five millions; and presuming Bill of 1844. The hon. Member for Staf- they spent half their extra wages in food ford attributed it entirely to the Currency which had to be imported, that would make Bill of 1844; whilst my hon. Friend the two and a half millions as a drain on the Mover of the Address laid nearly all the country: the rest circulates through our blame on railway expenditure. The right commercial system in like manner as the hon. Baronet the Chancellor of the Exche- blood does through the human body, reviquer, though he did not go quite so far, vifying the whole. But, Sir, there is one yet he attributed much of our monetary important feature connected with railways, difficulties to the same cause; other hon. and which, I believe, no hon. Gentleman Gentlemen had blamed free trade exclu- has yet alluded to, and that is the large sively for all our disasters. Sir, I differ from sums sent from this country to be invested all these opinions, and will shortly give in foreign railways. my reasons. I shall first take the negative amount, but this I do know, the sum is side of the question, and state to the House considerable, and has far more influence I know not the what I believe are not the causes of this on our money matters than all the English distress. The right hon. Baronet the railways put together; and it is a subject Chancellor of the Exchequer enumerates for grave consideration, if we suspend in the last seven years some 110,000,000l. railways in this country, whether we shall which have been expended in railways, not drive our capitalists abroad, to inleaving some 130,000,000l. to be raised vest in foreign railways; which will be the next three years. Sir, I do not attempt to justify Parliament in granting so country. Sir, some hon. Members have a real subtraction of capital from the many railways in three years. hon. Members who passed these Bills have Bill of 1844. I am not going to defend I think attributed our distress to the Monetary incurred a deep responsibility in granting that measure. powers to make lines in some five years, cently formed. I always said, in good which ought to have extended over at least times and times of prosperity it was an My opinion of it is not retwenty years-and in turning a deaf ear inoperative or useless measure; and that to the able reports and judicious advice of in times of difficulty it would not work; the Board of Trade. But, Sir, what I wish that it would prove too stringent in its nato show is this-that railways are not the ture, and would produce ruin and destrucchief cause, but a mere rivulet in compa- tion if fully acted upon. rison with the mighty stream of commer- not attempt to prove; the fact is too visicial embarrassment which has well nigh ble to us all, and the integrity of that Sir, this I need overwhelmed us. I wish also to show, Sir, measure cannot now be maintained. I am that railways do not impoverish the country not going to censure the Government for -they do not take gold out of the country their letter of October 25th, only that I -they do not force the exchanges against think they delayed it too long; had they us, nor do they make "floating capital interfered a month earlier, much mischief fixed," nationally speaking, though they and ruin would have been prevented; but may individually. For instance, suppose I do blame them for fixing the minimum I sink 50,000l. in constructing railways, rate of interest at 8 one portion of that goes for land; another flicted a severe blow on the for iron; another, and by no means a small terests of the country. per cent. mercantile inPrevious to this It has in dreadful screw which inflicts so much ruin | quire. What has become of the immense and disorder on the trading community. importation of grain, 10,000,000 quarters, Sir, before I sit down, I shall, with the from January to November 10 this year? permission of the House, allude to a sub- Where are the stocks? Why, Sir, in Liverject personal to myself as a corn merchant pool, where the imports of flour have and an importer of grain. When I had been 2,400,000 barrels for the year ending not the honour of a seat in this House, I September 30, it is calculated not more well remember the charges brought against than 200,000 barrels are left, and this inthe importers of grain. A noble Lord cludes sour and above one-half that which designated them as "gambling specula- is unfit for human food. Sir, I do not tors, regrators, and forestallers. Sir, I wish to be a prognosticator of evil; but I stand here to deny these charges, and to would warn the House against that tone of state to the House and the country there confidence assumed by the right hon. Bais not in the kingdom a more honourable ronet the Chancellor of the Exchequer, of class of merchants than the corn merchants, returning prosperity. I tell the House it and those engaged in importing foreign is probable a further import of corn, to the grain. Sir, if any justification of their extent of probably some eight millions of proceedings were necessary, we have the value, will be required to carry us on to fact of the noble Lord at the head of Her another harvest. And, Sir, I ask the Majesty's Government coming down to right hon. Baronet what position we are this House in January last, asking for a in to meet this drain-no surplus of gold, suspension of the corn and navigation laws, of stocks of goods, or securities-foreign to encourage the importation of grain; and balances all withdrawn. I fear, therefore, again in July, repeating that application, Sir, we must look forward yet to great and stating to this House it was necessary difficulties; perhaps during the next year for the wants of the country to encourage as great or even greater than we have althe bringing in of every bushel of grain ready passed through. I have, Sir, enthat could be procured. I think, Sir, these deavoured to prove that our commercial facts, to say nothing of the daily publica- distress is not owing to railways, to the tion in the leading newspapers of the Currency Bill, or to free trade. All, no alarming accounts of want and famine in doubt, have aggravated our difficulties; but prospective, were a sufficient justification the one great cause which has led to our for the exertions made by the corn im- difficulties is the deficiency of the harvests porters to bring it to our shores from all of 1845 and 1846, particularly as regards parts of the world. Sir, these large im- the potato crop in Ireland. ports, together with the fine weather, did bring prices down in the months of July and August, from 110s. per quarter for wheat to 55s.; from 50s. per barrel for flour to 25s., and even less. Sir, was this no boon to the country? Was this no relief to our labouring population? Sir, the corn importers deserve rather the thanks of Parliament and the country than their censure. They entered into those speculations at the suggestion of the Government, yet, no doubt, with a view to their own profit, as all mercantile business is based on profit. The speculation failed. It proved their ruin, but was the salvation of the country. Sir, I am prepared to prove that had it not been for the favourable weather in the three months preceding and during harvest, prices would still have advanced, and that we should not have imported enough for our wants, and the corn merchants would not have been ruined. As it is, Sir, not one bushel of grain or one barrel of flour have been imported more than the wants of the country re SIR W. CLAY concurred in the feeling which he thought was general in the House, to assent to the Motion of the right hon. Gentleman, although he could have wished that the instruction to the Commitee had been somewhat less large. Assuming, therefore, that the good sense of the Members of the Committee, if not the instruction itself, would induce them to limit their inquiries within a manageable compass, he was satisfied that great good was likely to result from the appointment of the Committee. There could be no doubt that, in the important subject to which their inquiries would be mainly directed, great diversity of opinion might exist; and it would be satisfactory, therefore, to the House and to the country, that the facts and reasonings of the question that would be submitted to the Committee should be fairly elucidated; and that if there should be any fresh measures, those measures should be grounded on the experience of the last twelve months, and the judgment of those best competent to turn that expe periods. He implored, however, individual Members of that House not to encourage by unguarded language hopes and expectations on the part of the public which could never be fulfilled. To do so, would have a tendency to induce a belief among the mercantile and manufacturing classes that it was in the power of the House to add to the available capital of the country, whilst it was only by the exercise of in In conclusion, he had only to say, it was impossible to avoid thinking that the monetary system of the country must be unsound in some essential particulars, when it permitted the continued existence of houses which for years had not been in a solvent condition. more adverse; and to remedy that state of affairs, the Bank would have resorted to more stringent measures, or, if not, we should have had to witness a suspension of cash payments. It was only on such occasions that the interference of Government could be justifiable. But there could be no doubt that this measure of the responsible Minister of the Crown did, in point of fact, raise the question whether the Act of 1844 could be permitted to remain industry and care that it could be obtained. its present state. He remembered that at the time of the passing of the Act, it was a question whether the power possessed by the Government should have been vested by the Queen in Council. He could only hope, that if in the Committee it were necessary to adopt any such proposition, that the Act would be rigidly and firmly MR. MASTERMAN said, it was not maintained. The events of the last three his intention to occupy time by entering years tested the value of the measure; into the various details which might be and he was satisfied that in that measure given of the existence of commercial disa large proportion of those most competent tress. Many reasons might be stated, to judge concurred. He utterly denied which in some measure had contributed to that the Act of 1844 was restrictive of the that distress; but as it would be the duty currency of the country. Under that Act of the Committee to take that subject into the currency was made to expand to its ut- consideration, the proper time for discusmost extent. All that was done was to sing it would be when the Committee had prevent an unhealthy and fictitious expan-made their report. He should not, indeed, sion. It was perfectly idle to think of ex- have risen, if he had not noticed with concluding the consideration of the contract siderable regret the remarks which had with the Bank of England from any dis- fallen from the hon. Baronet the Member cussion upon the working of the Act of for the Tower Hamlets, who had so under1844; and he would remind the House of rated the act of the Government in their the vast powers wielded by that establish- letter of the 25th of October, that he was ment. The Bank of England was, first, anxious to bear his testimony to the credit the Bank of the State; next, it had the the Government deserved for interfering at exclusive issue of notes in the metropolis, that moment to prevent the fatal calamiand within a radius of sixty miles. The ties which must otherwise have occurred. Bank of England issued more than one- He believed the country never was in a half of the entire paper currency of the more painful position than it was precountry. In its private province its capi- viously to that letter. It was his duty, tal for banking purposes was between along with some other Gentlemen, to have thirty and forty millions. With these an interview with the noble Lord at the facts before the House, it was idle to head of the Government, and they recomthink of stopping discussion upon the con-mended strongly-he hoped properly tootract of the Bank with the public, espe- to the consideration of the Government the cially as the results of its working for the situation of the Bank. There was an aplast twelve months, showed that some in- préhension that no money was to be found terference was necessary. He was of there, yet that the panic existed without a opinion that much of that period of diffi- real cause. There was plenty of money culty was attributable to the mismanage-out from the Bank, and the noble Lord at ment of the resources of the Bank of Eng- the head of the Government put this quesland. He gave the Directors full credit tion "Have you not a large amount of for the best intentions; but they had made notes out in circulation?" His answer considerable mistakes in their management; was, that there was a large amount of notes and in his opinion, first between January out, but they were not in useful circulaand April, and next between August and tion; that the panic was such, that notes October, they had highly aggravated, if were locked up in all directions, not availnot wholly produced the pressure of those able to those who required them. He as - |