The effect of those provisions, suppressed in the title and preamble of the bill, if they become law, will be to prohibit the industry of individuals such as the late Mr. Wood (without his parsimony)—and the accumulation of capital by them, and by every subject of the realm, individually, or as members of any copartnery in the trade of a bank of issue, except such as were engaged in that trade on the 6th day of May last,-in order to give a monopoly of that trade to the persons who on that day happened to be engaged therein, their executors, administrators, and assigns, and to give a more stringent monopoly of that trade to the corporation of the Bank of England.

Such proposed abridgment of the liberty of the subject, and proposed establishment of monopolies in the trade of banking, not only in the metropolis, but in every great city and town, and in every district of the United Kingdom, are at least novelties in legislation and a proposal for the establishment of monopolies on a scale more extensive than has been heard of, since monopolies were rife under grants obtained in former times by favorites, or by purchase, under the then despotic and much-abused power of the Crown, and enforced by the court of Star-Chamber.

The avowed ultimate object of the Bill is to establish one bank of issue of paper-money for the whole United Kingdom-whereby the power of tampering with the whole circulating medium of the realm would be given to some body of individuals—perhaps under the control of the Govern

ment-which might ignorantly, weakly, or wickedly use such power to the grievous injury of the public as during the stoppage of payment of the Bank for the quarter of a century, viz. from 1797 till 1822-and perhaps not without danger to the very life of the state.

That object or end, though avowed, is, however, happily, unattainable at one stroke, which would necessarily annihilate all the banks of issue, except one within the realm; although the bill be brought in as a step towards such a revolution, by the interdiction thereby of the establishment of new banks of issue; and in the hope and expectation that those existing will die away--and the monopoly of the issue of paper-money, for the whole realm, be limited and confined to the peers, members of parliament, foreigners, widows, spinsters, and others aforesaid, who are 2,500 in number, and are to possess collectively a capital of 14 millions, and are to be, in certain supposed circumstances, under the control of her Majesty in Council, i. e. the prime minister for the time being among whose qualifications for office hereafter, besides those of statesman and politician, it will be requisite that he be an accomplished banker.

But as the Bill proposes to secure the existing banks of issue, not only to the present members or proprietors of them, but to their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns-the effect of that provision, if it become law, will be to establish the existing banks as monopolies in every city, town, and district of the United Kingdom, and so to

defeat the avowed object of the Bill, viz. that of giving a monster-monopoly of all the paper-money of the realm to the corporation of the Bank.

There is another omission in the title and preamble, left to be gathered from the body of the bill-viz., that, among other its intents and purposes, it is to provide a market for all gold bullion to be imported into the United Kingdom; which, by the 4th section of the bill, it is made compulsory on the Bank of England to purchase at the rate of £3. 17s. 9d., per ounce, standard gold-the mint price of such gold being £3. 17s. 10 d.

But why the bank should be constrained to buy all the gold-bullion imported into the United Kingdom, it is impossible for any common understanding to comprehend-any more than why that corporation should be compelled to buy all the platina, mercury, or other not indigenous metal imported into the United Kingdom.

To constrain the bank, as a bullion merchant or dealer in bullion, to become purchaser of all the bullion which may be imported into the United Kingdom at the pleasure of the importer; and to give forth its paper-money, payable to bearer in coin on demand in payment for such bullion-is to impose on the Bank a trade quite alien to the trade of a banker ; for it is no part of the trade of a banker to be a dealer in bullion, i. e., uncoined gold and silver— any more than it is part of the trade of a banker, to be a dealer in uncoined copper, in tin, in iron, or in any other metal or mineral.

Were a banker to invest funds of his bank in

the purchase of bullion, he could only lock it up in a vault, where it would lie dead and unproductive to him. No banker, therefore, thinks, or ever thought of such an investment of his funds.

No importer of gold bullion will take it to the mint to be coined at £3. 17s. 10d., if he can command £3. 17s. 9d. per ounce for it, by law, from the Bank of England-the difference of three halfpence per ounce being equivalent to interest at 4 per cent. on £3. 17s. 9d. for 10 days only-while the mint requires possession of bullion much longer than 10 days, before it gives it back in coin.

In the numbers three, seven, and nine, there is said to be some peculiar efficacy or virtue. But what efficacy or virtue there is in the number fourteen, which, by caprice or fancy, is selected and inserted in the bill as the amount of paper-money to be made and issued upon security, by one to another division of the Bank,—is not disclosed.

The bill affects to separate the trade of the Bank into two distinct departments, conducting two different trades, namely, one a trade in the issue of paper-money; and the other, the general trade of a banker; but the bill does, in fact, or in effect, no such thing; and moreover confounds, inextricably, the trade of the Bank as dealers in bullion (which is a trade authorised by its charter), with its legitimate trade as a bank.

In the body of the bill, the two departments, into which it affects to divide the trade of the bank, are called the "Issue department" and the "Banking department"-while in schedule A to the

bill, the name of the "Issue department" is changed to "Circulation department."

But as the issue of bank-notes to the public must all be made by the "Banking department,” and the whole circulation, seemingly, be managed by that department—the name of "Circulation department," appropriated to that branch of the bank which is merely to issue notes to the other department of the bank,* seems to be most unhappily chosen; for what is called the "Banking department" must have the whole management of the issues of notes to the public for the profit of the Bank, and seemingly of the "circulation" of those notes; and is therefore more a department of issue, than the department specially so called, which is seemingly not a department of "circulation" at all-though so called in schedule A to the bill.

The circulating medium is composed of a mixture of coin and paper-money-the paper-money being payable in coin at the pleasure of the holder; but the bill speaks of coin and bullion as if coin and bullion were identical-whereas bullion is so little available to make payment of paper-money in coin on demand, that it may be left out of consideration in any other view, than as an ultimate security for paper-money issued.

* The liability of the "Issue department," or "Circulation department,"-by whichsoever of those two names it is ultimately to be designated, (it will be convenient that it should have but one name)—to issue paper-money to all comers who shall tender bullion as £3. 17s. 9d. per ounce, is purposely here omitted for the sake of simplicity of statement-as that monstrous provision of the Bill does not affect the statement in the text.