of allowing a free press in India. He said, he remembered a series of essays, very ingeniously written, for the purpose of proving how small a number of natives might massacre all the European inhabitants in Bengal, which was dispersed all over the capital, Cal

cutta.

Sir Thomas Turton spoke in a strain of severe sarcasm on the principles of our government in India. He fully agreed that so delightful a plant, as the liberty of the press, could never flourish in the sterile soil of despotism. "Why (said he) should you give Indians the advantage of knowledge?" You would only thereby be giving them the means of detecting your own injustice. You have ransacked their country, you have despoiled its people, you have murdered their princes; and, of course, for your own protection, you must keep them deluded, deceived, and ignorant, You might as well tell me of the liberty of the press in Morocco and Algiers, as under your government in India. According to the right honourable gentleman, the people of India are considered as nothing. If such is your principle, to keep them ignorant is as much your policy, as to keep them enslaved has been your crime.

Mr. Wallace opposed the motion, saying, that the liberty of the press was for the preservation of freedom, and that there was no liberty in India to preserve; and he seemed to think that the licence of the press required checking even at home.

Mr. C. Grant observed, that we did not carry despotism to India, but found it there; and he thought

the subject under discussion highly dangerous.

Mr. Lockhart made some remarks unfavourable to the extension of the liberty of the press.

Mr. Whitbread observed, upon Mr. Wallace's opinion, that the licence of the press had made rapid strides, that in reality the rapid strides which he had witnessed for many years past were in a retrograde direction. He answered some of the remarks which had been made in disparagement of the liberty of printing; but at the same time asserted that the opposition to his honourable friend's motion on the ground that he was the advocate of a free press in India, went upon a mistake, for that his arguments had no such object. He thought that his honourable friend had made out a sufficient case for the production of the papers moved for, and should therefore support the motion.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer objected to the production of the papers, because granting them would convey an idea that there was something wrong in the conduct of the persons concerned, and in his opinion no case had been adduced to warrant such a supposition.

Sir J. Newport could not concur in the opinions advanced, that the servants of the company were bound to abide by all the regulations of the company, or else return to England. The company might make regulations highly unjust and oppressive; and it was the duty of that House to take care that they did not.

Lord A. Hamilton thought it unnecessary, after the able manner in which his motion had been sup

ported, to trespass further on the time of the House. If, as an honourable gentleman had said, India must at all events be governed as it now is, there was an end of his motion, and all of a similar nature. He remembered, how

arguments held by those who sat on the treasury bench; and he thought if that country must be governed as it now is, the public had much better not have it at all.

CARCELY any subject occupied more of the attention of the House of Commons, during this session, than the consideration of the report of the committee, appointed in the preceding session, to examine the state of the bullion and currency of the kingdom. Mr. Horner, on May 6th, in a committee of the whole house, introduced the subject in an elaborate, and very intelligent speech. He began with stating the arrangement he proposed to adopt in discussing the highly important topics before them; which was, to divide the resolutions passed by the committee into two series; of which, the first set went to the causes of the high price of bullion; the second, to the effect and remedy. The general tenor of his speech was to shew that the paper currency of the country had undergone an actual depreciation, and that the only remedy was, to provide for the resumption of cash payments at the bank as speedily as possible.

He was replied to by Mr. Rose, who undertook to maintain three points;-that the bank paper was not depreciated-that it was not in the power of the bank materially to affect the circulation-and that not a guinea more would be seen, even were the bank restriction taken off to-morrow.

The debate thus commenced was protracted by daily adjournments till the 9th, and was conducted by many of the ablest speakers on both sides of the house. To give any adequate idea of the arguments employed would require the compass of a pamphlet: in general terms it may be observed, that principle was opposed to principle, and fact to fact; and that the very opposite lights, in which the subject was viewed by men of great ability and information, seemed to prove that the theory of this important part of political economy is yet crude and undetermined. When the question was at length put upon the first resolution moved by Mr. Horner, it was rejected by 151 votes against 75. This division decided the fate of all the other resolutions, except the last, the purport of which was to oblige the bank to re-commence its cash payments at the expiration of two years from the present time, instead of six months from the ratification of a definitive peace, as it now stood. A second division took place upon this resolution, which was negatived by 180 against 45.

On May 13th, the house being in a committee on the same subject, Mr. Vansittart introduced his rival set of resolutions, supported by the ministry. The debates upon them,

which were in great measure a recapitulation of those on the topics of the preceding resolutions, continued by adjournment to the 15th; when, after various amendments had been moved and rejected, they all passed. The resolutions thus sanctioned may be regarded as matter of history; we therefore insert them at length. The rejected ones will be found under the head of State Papers.

Propositions respecting Money,

Bullion, and Exchanges.

1. That the right of establishing and regulating the legal money of this kingdom hath at all times been a royal prerogative, vested in the sovereigns thereof, who have from time to time exercised the same as they have seen fit, in changing such legal money, or altering and varying the value, and enforcing or restraining the circulation thereof, by proclamation, or in concurrence with the estates of the realm by act of parliament: and that such legal money cannot lawfully be defaced, melted down, or exported.

of the said company have hitherto been, and are at this time held to be equivalent to the legal coin of the realm, in all pecuniary transactions to which such coin is legally applicable.

IV. That at various periods, as well before as since the said restriction, the exchanges between Great Britain and several other countries have been unfavourable to Great Britain: and that during such periods the prices of gold and silver bullion, especially of such gold bullion as could be legally exported, have frequently risen above the mint price; and the coinage of money at the mint has been either wholly suspended, or greatly diminished in amount: and that such circumstances have usually occurred, when expensive naval and military operations have been carried on abroad, and in times of public danger or alarm, or when large importations of grain from foreign parts have taken place.

V. That such unfavourable exchanges, and rise in the price of bullion, occurred to a greater or less degree, during the wars carried on by King William the IIIrd, and Queen Anne; and also during part of the seven years war, and of the American war; and during the war and scarcity of grain in 1795 and 1796, when the difficulty increased to such a degree, that on the 25th of February, 1797, the Bank of England was restrained from making payments in cash by his majesty's order in council, con. firmed and continued to the present time by divers acts of parliament; and the exchanges became afterwards still more unfavoura ble, and the price of bullion higher,

during the scarcity which prevailed for two years previous to the peace of Amiens.

VI. That during the period of seventy-five years, ending with the 1st of January, 1796, and previous to the aforesaid restriction, whereof, with the exception of some small intervals, accounts are before the house, the price of standard gold in bars has been at or under the Mint price thirtyfour years and five months; and above the said Mint price thirtynine years and seven months; and that the price of foreign gold coin has been at or under 37. 18s. per ounce thirty-one years and two months, and above the said price forty-two years and ten months; and that during the same period of seventy-five years, the price of standard silver appears to have been at or under the Mint price, three years and two months only.

VII. That the unfavourable state of the exchanges and the high price of bullion, do not, in any of the instances above referred to, appear to have been produced by the restriction upon cash payments at the Bank of England, or by any excess in the issue of bank notes; inasmuch as all the said instances, except the last, occurred previously to any restriction on such cash payments; and because, so far as appears by such information as has been procured, the price of bullion has frequently been highest, and the exchanges most unfavourable, at periods when the issue of bank notes have been considerably diminished, and to have been afterwards restored to their ordinary rates, although those issues have been increased.

VIII. That during the latter

part and for some time after the close of the American war, during the years 1781, 1782, and 1783, the exchange with Hamburgh fell from 34.1 to 31.5, being about 8 per cent; and the price of foreign gold rose from 31. 17s. 6d. to 41. 2s. 3d. per ounce, and the price of dollars from 5s. 44d. per ounce, to 5s. 114d. and that the bank notes in circulation were reduced between March 1782, and December 1782, from 9,160,0007. to 5,995,0001. being a diminution of above one-third, and continued (with occasional variations) at such reduced rates until December 1784; and that the exchange with Hamburgh rose to 34.6, and the price of gold fell to 31. 17s. 6d. and dollars to 5s. 1d. per ounce before the 25th of February, 1787, the amount of bank notes being then increased to 8,688,000Z.

IX. That the amount of bank notes in February, 1787, was 8,688,000l. and in February, 1791, 11,699,000l.; and that during the same period, the sumof 10,704,000%. was coined in gold: and that the exchange with Hamburgh rose about 3 per cent.

X. That between the 25th of February, 1795, and the 25th of February, 1797, the amount of bank notes was reduced from 13,539,000l. to 8,640,000l.; during which time the exchange with Hamburgh fell from 36 to 35, being about 3 per cent; and the said amount was increased to 11,855,000l. exclusive of 1, 542,000l. in notes of 11. and 21. each, on the 1st of February, 1798, during which time the exchange rose to 38.2, being about 9 per cent.

XI. That the average price of