fall of the country. Thus the seaman, as yet inexperienced on the deep, when the gale increases, and the billows roar, figures to himself "the wreck of nature, and the "crush of worlds." He is at the moment unable to reflect that the elementary warfare is, perhaps, confined to the latitude in which he toils, that its effects are beneficial to millions of his fellow creatures; that by purifying the atmosphere it expels pestilence and plague, and conveys a salubrious influence through regions which should otherwise be scenes of desolation.It is, I presume, generally admitted, that the greater part of the years 1802-3, were uncommonly unfavourable to commercial men; the dread of invasion, the new channels through which commerce had to force its way, and a multitude of other causes combined in damping commercial enterprise. A general want of confidence was the result; and the consequences were contemplated by many with serious apprehension. During this period, I admit, that the issue of paper by the Bank of England increased; but, I affirm, that the issue of paper, whether in the shape of bills or notes, decreased throughout the kingdom at large in a tenfold ratio; and, farther, that this decrease of the latter, naturally and necessarily (as shall be by and by explained) occasioned the increase of the former. For example, Sir; had you had access to the books of any or all of the Scotch Banks, you would have found that they had less paper (perhaps by one half) in circulation last year, than they have had for many years past; and, I dare contend, that with the single exception of the Bank of England, the same fact would be found true in every Bank where paper is circulated throughout the British Empire.-In one borough, Sir, in this northern district there are two agents for two of the Edinburgh Banks. They have frequently discounted bills to the extent of £10,000 per week; but for the greater part of last year, their discounts were limited by the express commands of their constituents to £500 per week. The consequence was an almost total stagnation of our little trade. A bank note had become a rara avis in terris; and we were literally in numerous instances driven to the necessity of bartering our commodities, because of the want of a circulating medium. Some of our half-thinkers on these subjects, might naturally exclaim? What! Not have notes enough. Is it not the interest of a banker to circulate his paper? And when multitudes call upon him to do so, are not his profits increased in that ratio? But, Sir, these wise men should do the bankers the

justice to allow that they are the best judges of their own interest. Circulating their paper when that circulation is steady, is no doubt, their profit; but when a general want of confidence renders the circulation otherwise, it becomes necessary for them to restrict it; nay, it becomes impracticable for them to do the contrary; and this for various reasons.— -1st. Common sense will dictate the propriety of restricting discounts, when the stagnation of commerce destroys the basis on which credit rests; or, in other words, destroys property. I do not know, Sir, how Mr. Abraham Newland, and your London bankers do business, but I have never yet known a banker to be one of those polite accommodating gentlemen who would at once give their notes to men, of whose pecuniary abilities they were doubtful; for what is the nature of the transac tion into which a banker enters, when he discounts a merchants bill for three months? He, in fact, becomes guarantee to the public for that merchant during that period, and to the extent of the sum discounted; or, la other words, his fortune must to this extent be at the mercy of the holder of his notes, until the merchant whom he has accomino. dated returns the value.--2dly, Bankers are of all others the most severe checks upon each others operations. A bank agent who is employed in circulating the notes of any banking company, is ex officio, an agent of hostility to every other Bank. If he does not accept of the notes of other bankers in part of the payment which he receives, he injures their credit with the public; and this immediately compresses or destroys the cir culation of their paper. If he does accept of their notes, it is his business, his direct trade, to pick up as many of them as he possibly can; he consequently, asks his friends to assist him in doing so, so as to cir culate his own in lieu; and thus, in every possible manner collects the notes of his op ponents, and pours them back upon them, selves, so that if they have been incautions they must necessarily be distressed if not ruined. The general practice, indeed, is that the country agents of the different bankers, if situated near each other, exchange notes weekly; (e. g) if A. has picked up 10,000 of B.'s notes, and B. has only 5,000 of A.'s, B. must in lieu of the other 5,000 give A. a draft on his constituents, or more commonly on London payable at sight; and if the latter, B.'s correspondents in London must possess assets to enable them to bonour this draft. Thus from the course of exchange B.'s constituents instead of being gainers, may, at times, be exposed to a po

sitive loss by the circulation of their paper.Hence also it follows, that one Bank must of necessity be in some measure restrained and regulated by the operations of another; hence the improbability, or rather the impossibility of their embarking in any improper specula tions, and hence in a great measure the important fact, that very few bankers indeed, in comparison with other classes of the com. munity become insolvent, or if they do, the loss to the public can seldom be considerable. -3dly, The public at large have a salutary jealousy of the pecuniary abilities of bankers; and this jealousy invariably restricts the circulation of their paper during a time of commercial distress. The same want of confidence in the public which leads bankers on the one hand to limit their discounts, has also on the other hand its effects on the public mind, and leads individuals to refuse the paper of all banks, those of onequivocal responsibility excepted.--Suppose, that I am pressed for money, I wri only apply for the bank notes which I can circulate with facility, or of which I cannot doubt my creditor's acceptance. Indeed, Sir, to speak of a banker who does not enjoy the confidence of the public, is almost to express a solecism in language. Such a man is doomed to toil perpetually at the stone of Sisyphus. Nor is it in his power seriously to injure the community; and for this obvious reason, they will not permit him to do so, they will not take his notes. -These, Sir, are some of the reasons which lead me to believe that the circulation of paper in the British Empire, never can produce the evils which some of your correspondents seem to apprehend. Nay, on the contrary, that the amazing facility which it affords to commercial operations has tended to advance, and will continue to promote our wealth and our prosperity, so as to enable our happy Isle still to hit up its head in the ocean as one of the wonders of the world. Presuming to borrow as in some degree applicable, the beautiful idea by which you yourself illustrate another subject in your No. of the 8th Cur. p. 874. I remark, that as there is in the natural world just horses enough to eat "the hay, and hay enough to maintain the "horses," so in the commercial world, there will be bills and bonds and bank-notes, while commerce flourishes, and public confidence prevails; and that in proportion as the former are improperly hunted down, the latter will totter and moulder into ruin.I have said above that the decrease of a paper currency throughout the kingdom, necessarily increased the circulation of that of the Bank of England, and I have also binted what may

as a

render this abundantly obvious.-The same causes which occasioned a pressure upon the private banks, may scarcely lead the to apply for aid to the great Nucleus of national wealth. Happily for this country, tower of strength it was enabled to stand firm. It held forth its protection, and it has done so with success; so that now our difficulties are vanishing, and matters go back to their usual channel; and, I expect soon to hear that the discount of the Bank of Egland shall be grá fully reduced, and that recourse upon it shall be inversely as the restoration of the commercial capital and confidence of the country. Here however, some may remark, that the last paragraph is a tacit admission that had not the Bank of England been under parliamentary restriction, the bubble would have burst ere now, and our paper currency would have shewn itself in all its deformity. 1 do admit, Sir, that in the case in question, the interference of parliament was highly expedient; and, I feel perfectly confident that when it ceases to be so, it will no longer exist. Is not the foster-ing care of pariment necessary for the support of our commerce? Are not the bounties granted by parliament for the inportation of some commodities and drawbacks on the exports of others? is it proper that parliament shou d interfere in preventing the exp rt of our raw materials, should punish the man who would decoy our artizans; should guard even against the export of our coins, should condemn as a traitor the man who counterfeits it: nay, in many instances, stretch forth its arm to protect the interests of the people again t their own infatuation and folly; and, can it be improper at a time of great alarm, that parliament should interfere to preserve our great National Bank from the effects of the timidity of some, and the hoarding avarice of others, so as to maintain its action in the commercial system, in a re semblance to that of the heart, which in the human frame repels the blood into its various minute ramifications, and preserves its life, its health, and its vigour. But, suppose, for a moment, that the treasure of the Eank of England (call it 18 millions sterling) had been left by parliament at the mercy of the public, at the juncture when we expected to measure swords with our enemies on British soil, at the time when all our gold and silver seemed to have fled again to the bowels of the earth; do you real y conceive, that a sum which would be little more than a guinea to each inhabitant of this kingdom, could have much ameliorated ours tuation; or, as of all diseases, panic is among the most infectious, would it not have disappeared with

the rest of our coin? Thank God, Sir, things, now begin to wear a different aspect. Our guineas are again returning from their lurking holes; our miserly poltroons feel the loss of their 5 per cent interests, and send the contents of their money bags into circulation.- But I have sometimes heard it argued against paper currency, that the advance in the price of labour consequent (as it is said) on its extension, will raise the price of our manufactures so as to enable other nations to undersell us in foreign markets. If this is founded in truth, it furnishes a strong argument against that depreciation of our paper which is so much spoken of. But, Sir, on the supposition that the inhabitants of this country had in their power to increase the coins of our country, so as to substitute 20 shillings sterling for every 20 shilling note now in circulation; or, in other words, supposing that the astonishing opulence of this country consisted of gold and silver in guineas and shillings, instead of the paper which represents them; I ask, would not the effect on the price of labour be precisely the same? It would beyond a doubt. It is not to be denied, that the increase of wealth has some effect in lessening the quantum of any commodity which the component parts of that wealth usually procure, and the reason is more obvious than we are generally aware of. There are none of your country readers, who (like myself) are in moderate circumstances, that do not dread the residence of two or three of our modern nabobs in their neighbourhood. Why? Because an increase in the rate of wages, and in the price of every country commodity is the consequence. The possessor of immense wealth does not attach the same value to a guinea, that the man does who must earn it by hard labour. When the former hires servants or employs day labourers, he does not higgle about a few extra shillings, as the latter is constrained to do. But the menial will not serve, nor will the labourer work for less money to you or to me than they can procure from our opulent neighbour; and hence, perhaps, more than from any other cause the advance in the price of labour in Britain. But, Sir, this is necessary; the infallible attendant on increased opulence, and it is a question perfectly distinct from that which I am now arguing. I do not now inquire how far opulence is or is not morally or politically considered a blessing to a country; nor, do I ask, whether it was better for us that our generals and senators were cincinnate. What I now argue is, that effects precisely

the same would flow from increased opulence, and consequently, our relative situation with respect to foreign countries would be the same, whether this wealth consisted of gold and silver, or (as is the fact) partly of the paper that represents them.-But, I would further inquire, from what quarter it is that we have to apprehend the rivalship in ques tion. Is it from America, Mr. Cobbet? You have resided in that country! Say, does not the wages of a common day labourer there, equal that of the most ingenious me chanics in England. Is this rivalship apprehended from France, from Holland, from any one of the nations of the Continent? What! Is it necessary to explain to you, Sir. Is it necessary to adduce arguments to convince the least intelligent indi vidual in this hitherto highly favoured isle, that the preponderance of Britain in the scale of civilisation, of commerce, of wealth, and of power, depends by no means so much on the value of labour, on her insular situation, on her population, climate, or any similar cause, as on the enterprise, and on the virtues of her inhabitants; on the astonishing extent of her capital, and above all, on having that enterprise and this capital cherished and secured by her free government, and by her mild and equitable laws; laws that under a merciful Providence protect the Sovereign on his throne, while by their benignant influence the humble peasant eats the fruit of his own wine, and sits under his own figtree. It is true, Sir, that attempts have frequently been made to establish commerce on the conti nent of Europe with partial success. Under the reigns of Henry of Navarre, and Lewis the just, Rouen, and Poictiers, and Nismes, became famous for their manufactures. Under the guardianship of the House of Orange, Holland became a commercial and an opulent state. But, Sir, Lewis the XIVth was able by his own arbitrary fiat to revoke the edict of Nantz, and to banish commerce together with 800,000 of his best subjects, and Holland is now blessed with Gallic fraternity, nor does there ap pear a shadow of reason to apprehend, that in the presence of the great, the mighty, the puissant Napoleon, commerce will ever dare to raise her humble head. No, Sir, before the nations of Europe can prove the commercial fivals of Britain, they must learn to admire, and they must for ages study to imitate. May Heaven long preserve it. Our British Constitution.--I am, Sir, yours, &c. D. N.

Ultima Thule, Dec. 28, 1804

N. B. Since I wrote the above, I re

ceived your No. of the 15th current, in which I find a letter bearing the signature of Crito. The sapient writer appears to be preparing a mine wherewith to blow up the paper currency of the country. He, however, in the outset very shrewdly endcayours to save the lawyer's fees, by asking the opinion of counsel through the medium of the Political Register.-The ingenuity of his argument is striking. This sort of hocus pocus work, as he elegantly calls it, enables the man who yesterday stood behind our chair, to day to excel in magnificence the Howards, the Percys, and the Russels. (i. e.) Paper currency enables the man who was lately in poverty, in a little time to sit in his carriage, to build splendid houses, to purchase extensive demesnes, and to command all the luxuries of life. Ergo, paper currency ruins the country!! I could wish much for the sake of my poor native land, that Crito had condescended to instruct us in this conjuring

art.

ON CRIMINAL JUDICATURE. SIR,Montesquieu observes, that a political constitution may be free, and the subject not, and that the subject may be free, and not the constitution. Undoubtedly, the end of all governments ought to be the happiness of the people. The fundamental political laws are the means by which this end is to be accomplished. But as all human contrivances are in their own nature very imperfect, in every complicated political system, however skilfully constructed, and however well adapted it may be in appearance to secure the practical good of those for whose use it is designed, partial disorder and abuse must frequently be produced by the operation of accidental causes. In all those various depositaries of delegated authority to which responsibility is attached, there must exist a portion more or less of power, not subject to the plain and palpable check of fixed laws, but exercised according to the discretion of the individual by whom it is held; and on that account peculiarly liable to be abused, and prevented from its original design by the low and selfish passions of mankind. The control of responsibility can only be of use in extreme cases; it never can operate as an adequate corrective for all the various buses to which discretionary power is able.There are, however, certain dispositions in the human mind, which when properly laid hold of, may be formed to very powerful principles of action, and may be rendered instrumental in regulating

the most delicate parts of the political machine As a man is created for society, he is disposed by the better principles of his nature to conciliate the good-will of his fellow creatures, and to shun their enmity or contempt. Hence it is that, the influence of manners predominate so powerfully in the constitution of society, and from this source also, the general approbation or odium of mankind derives its peculiar power over those who are chosen to fill responsible stations, and who may be placed. beyond the control of positive laws. This species of restraint can only exist in its full force under a free constitution, and in an improved state of society. In Britain, not only the general spirit of the civil and political laws, but the peculiar manner of the people, and their high degree of improvement, tend to facilitate the developement of this principle of action, and to open a very wide field for its operation Accordingly, the influence of popular opinion, though it has no direct share in the consti tution, possesses considerable efficiency as an indirect control. It forms, in strict theory, no part of the mechanism, but it is. an admirable instrument for regulating its nicest motions, and for counteracting in some degree the effect of those radical imperfections, inherent in the materials of which the machine is constructed. this restraint even under the fostering influence of the British constitution, is far from being complete, and it only requires a considerable degree of shamelessenss and insensibility to the well merited reproaches of mankind, to outrage, even in Britain, the feelings of the people, and to execute measures generally odious. Perhaps in no one point is discretionary power more frequently abused than in the selection of men to fill situations of great trust and responsibility, not so much from an eye to service, ag to gratify despicable views of temporary interest, and as the qualities which form the moral and intellectual character, often appear under very dubious lights, a pretext never will be wanting in any case of this sort for keeping out of view the moving principle of action.- -The same author to whom I have already alluded, observes, that it is on the excellence of the criminal laws, that the liberty of the subject principally depends. But, however excellent the criminal laws of any country may be, a most important trust must still be left to those who are appointed to give them practical. effect. As fatal a blow, may indeed, be levelled at the liberty of the subject, by the choice of bad men to preside over the ads

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