peated. The bank of England did not pay for the much greater imprudence of the Scotch banks. If it issued too much paper the excess returned, and gold was demanded in exchange for it; and this would have equally occurred if the Scotch banks had been guilty of no imprudence. But the imprudence of the Scotch banks could not have caused more than this excess to be returned to the bank of England. Let us suppose the excess to be two millions, and that the Scotch banks want one million in gold. This they cannot procure from the bank until they first get possession of one million of its notes. This sum is then returned to the bank in exchange for its notes, and there remains only one million of excess to be returned to it by the public. Even if the public first returned two millions, and afterwards the Scotch banks drew out one million, the effect would be the same. The circulation would be deficient by one million. Gold would flow in to that amount to supply the deficiency, and this gold would be paid into the bank in the payments daily made by its debtors. This principle is a most important one. By diminishing its issues, the bank can always obtain a supply of gold without any other expense, and except in case of a panic, or some extraordinary emergency, it ought never attempt to procure it in any other manner. Whatever they pay for gold, adds so much to their issues, and thus increases the demand for it. The last instance of the bank of England taking extraordinary measures to procure a supply of gold, was in the panic of 1826, when the directors applied to Mr. Rothschild, and through his instrumentality they obtained a supply of several millions in the course of a very short time. Report, 1832; W. Ward, Q. 2068. The bank paid about £100,000 more than it would have paid for it at the mint price.Q. 2071. It is evident that the bank lost £100,000 by that transaction, since they were obliged to give out the gold at the mint price; but the step was a necessary one; the run was caused by a panic; their coffers were nearly empty; time was of the utmost importance; and they could not wait for the effect of a reduction of their issues in procuring for them a supply of gold. OUR PORTRAIT GALLERY. NO. IV. THE EARL of roden. On the other page our readers have a striking likeness of this distinguished Peer, and truly noble advocate of Protestantism. We feel a pride in commencing a new year, and a new Volume of our Journal, with the honoured name of Lord Roden. His portrait occupies, indeed, a distinguished place upon the wall of our Gallery-not because of his rank or wealth-but because of his virtues-because, in evil times, he has remained steady to the principles of truth; because he has devoted his rank, his talents, and his influence to the service of the cause which is dear to our hearts, the cause of pure Christianity in these lands. We feel, we confess, some difficulty in attempting the sketch which must accompany this portrait. Flattery is not our province; and our anxious wish is to avoid even its imputation. We can scarcely divest our minds of sentiments of warm attachment to the subject of our present sketch, so as to describe him with that judicial impartiality to which, upon all occasions, it is our effort to attain. Few men of any rank or any age have so completely gained on the affections of the better portion of Irishmen as Lord Roden; and this he owes, not so much to his fearless and unwavering advocacy of their principles, as to the solid and sterling worth of his private character. No political services, however distinguished-no political partizanship, however complete, can permanently supply the want of private virtue, so as to sustain the individual in the good opinion of the middling classes of society. In times of excitement many things will be overlooked in the advocate of principles on which men feel strongly. A popularity, however, which requires such indulgence will pass away with the excitement that created it; or must, in any case, survive only with the mob. Genuine popularity, to be permanent, must be based on private worth; and Lord Roden has retained his hold upon the affections of his country, just because he is as estimable in private as he is consistent in public life; because even the breath of calumny has never yet dared to insinuate that his private actions are inconsistent with his public declarations of attachment to religion; because we can trace in the gentleman, as well as in the senator, the true elements that should make up the noblest of all characters-that of the Christian patriot. Robert Jocelyn, Earl of Roden, was born in the year 1788. Like many other of the noble families of these countries, he traces his titles to the profession of the law. The first peer of the family was Lord Chancellor of Ireland, in 1743, having been created a baron under the title of Baron Newport of Newport, in the county of Tipperary. To this were subsequently added the higher dignities of Viscount and Earl. Lord Roden was educated at Harrow, where he was the school-fellow of Sir Robert Peel and Lord Byron. With the subject of our sketch, Lord Byron himself tells us he had frequent pugilistic encounters, and it is said that he was the only antagonist with whom the future poet got the worst of the encounter. Those who have remarked the athletic frame of the noble earl, will have no difficulty in believing this part of the story. As Viscount Jocelyn, he represented the county of Louth, in the imperial parliament, for upwards of eleven years. As a member of the lower house, he advocated the same political principles by supporting which he has been so distinguished in the upper. In 1820 he succeeded to the Irish titles of his family. In the following year, at the coronation of George IV. in whose household he held a high office, that monarch revived in his favour the extinct English barony of Clanbrassil, which had belonged to his maternal ancestors. Lord Roden very early distinguished himself among the nobility by his zeal in the cause of religion. With his brother-in-law, Lord Powerscourt, he may be said to have identified himself with those who were then known by the name of the evangelical party; we dislike those watchwords in the church, but we have no other term to express what we mean. He was an active supporter of the different religious societies, not unfrequently presiding and speaking at their public meetings in the Rotunda. He also became the President of the Sunday School Society for Ireland. As a politician, his conduct has been perfectly consistent with his religious professions he has emphatically advocated Protestantism and the Protestant Church-supporting principles and not party. Upon one occasion, indeed, he has been charged by the enemies of his principles, with compromising them. During Sir Robert Peel's short administration he had been charged with acquiescing in the support of the Irish system of education-his friends know how earnest were his remonstrances on the subject, and that when the ministry resigned, he was actually preparing to bring the entire question before the House of Lords. At this period he was offered by the ministers the high office of Lord Steward of his Majesty's household, which he declined accepting. The charge of compromise, as regards Lord Roden, was utterly without foundation. He has several times taken the leading part in animating and exciting the spirit of the Protestants of Ireland-he was the principal mover of the aggregate meetings of August 1834, and January 1837, and, we believe, we may add, of the great Downshire meeting of October 1834-in 1831, he accepted the office of President of the Irish Protestant Conservative Society-in 1834, he enrolled himself with the great mass of the Protestant yeomanry of Ireland in the Orange Association. It is impossible to describe the effect which this bold and manly act produced. From that moment he was regarded with almost affectionate veneration by the Protestant people. It may be added, to the credit of the Noble Lord, that he took no part in the dissolution of that institution in 1886. His Lordship was chairman of the Grand Lodge at which that step was determined on his influence was not exerted or his opinion expressed either way, and those who were present will not soon or easily forget the emotion with which, on the question being carried in the affirmative, he, for the last time, closed the proceedings of the lodge. In his place in the House of Peers, Lord Roden has taken every opportunity of bringing the case of his Protestant brethren in Ireland before the notice of that august assembly, and his appeals on their behalf have been always marked by a deep earnestness that could leave on the mind of the audience at least no VOL. XVI. C |