be glad, doubtless, to learn, that there is no rule or practice of war, which prevents them from having the post of honour in the field; and that, the example of the "brave defen

ders" of France, to whom they are compared, is clearly and pointedly in favour of their leading the van. The truth is, that, in the two memorable instances of repulsed invasion in France, to wit, at Jemappe and at Landau, line after line, of the raw and inegular troops, were sent forward, and were ent to pieces, before the French regular army came into action. The enemy, though he constantly defeated the undisciplined bodies, in time grew fatigued even with his success; for, being resolved not to spare lives, as all men who will succeed in such an undertaking must be resolved, the French generals gave him not a moment's rest, but sent on line after line, and, at last, came up with the troops, on whom they could depend. Just the contrary is the plan marked out for our defence: our regular army is to be first exposed; next the militia; next the volunteers, and then the levy in masse. Good heavens! if, armed with a musket, we are to fly to a pike; if beaten again, we are to fly to a pitchfork, if beaten again, we are to fly to a broom stick? Those whom God means to destroy, he first makes foolish! Is there a man not totally blinded by folly or by fear, who believes, that the enemy, coming on, flushed with victory over our regular army, would be stopped by the volunteer corps? Is there a human being, is there one sane man or woman in the kingdom, who believes this? If there is not, it follows, of course, that the volunteers, to be of any use at all in battle, must be pushed forward, in order to bear the first onset, to fatigue the enemy, to enfeeble his arm, to blunt his sword 'ere it reach the breast of the regular army, that army which must decide the fate of the country. The question, therefore (and a very serious and important question), is, whether the volunteer corps will, or can, be employed in the manner here pointed out, especially as they are not to be placed under martial law, till the enemy appears in force upon the coast? Will there be time for calling them out, in Middlesex for instance, and marching them down soon enough to place them in front of the battle? Will it be the work of a few hours to take them, at any time, out of the hands of their committees, and to subject them to the lashing sentences of a court-martial? Will their officers be ready to pass such sentences, and will those sentences always be duly and pron.ptly en forced? Will they implicitly obey the orders of the generals commanding the army? Will they advance, line after line, to almost cer

tain death, while the regular army and militia are held back as a last resort? If all these questions can, with truth, be answered in the affirmative, then the volunteers of England may be, with propriety, compared to the volunteers of France, and a rational hope of our security may be grounded upon the success of the latter.

BANK RESTRICTION BILL.-The mo tion, which has been made, in Parliament, for the coutinuation of the restriction on the payment in specie by the Bank of England, naturally leads one back to what took place upon the bringing forward of a similar proposition last year.. In no subject can the people be more deeply interested. Next after the military means of the country, the pecuniary are to be considered, and particularly that branch of those means, which includes the banking system.-Every bank note contains a promise from the drawer to the bearer, that the drawer will, upon sight, pay to the bearer the sum mentioned on the said note; and that this payment is to be. made in gold or silver is clearly understood, otherwise the promise, would, in fact, be no promise at all. This being the case, the bank restriction acts produce and sanction a continual breach of promise, on the part of the bank towards the holders of its notes, or, in other words its creditors. Nor do those acts stop here. They make bank notes a legal tender, so far, at least, as to prevent arrests; and, thus, they render every creditor of the bank a sort of privi leged person. To give, to the effect of such acts, the name of restriction, as applied to the demands or the rights of the note holders and their creditors, would be proper enough; but, as applied to the payments of the bark, it is an instance of most cruel and insulting irony towards the public. There are, ne• vertheless, persons, who not only defend the annual repetition of this measure, but who insist on its being a good, instead of an evil, and who accuse of factiousness, and even of disaffection to the state, all those who profess to be of a different opinion. The. man who, by such means, is deterred from freely nttering his sentiments, must, indeed, be extremely pusillanimous; yet, it may not be amiss for him to be armed with the acknowledgments, made last year, by the minister, who has now proposed the act of continuation:" it is" said he "with "the utmost reluctance that I submit this proposition to the House, but the rea

sons which suggested it were too strong, "and the necessity too urgent to be resisted. "That necessity will, I hope, soon disap "pear; and, notwithstanding the opinions

which have gone abroad, I anxiously and

66

impatiently look forward to the day, which "I trust is not far removed, when the bank will be at liberty to resume its pay"ments in specie." In another stage of the bill, he said: "the storm, which has agitated the commercial and political "world, has not as yet subsided, but, I "trust, it will be soon laid in peace, and "that the favourable moment is not far “distant, when more auspicious prospects "will be opened." In a still more að vanced stage, he said: "I look forward to "the commencement of the next session of "Parliament for the gratification of the "wishes of the House to take off the re*striction." + Who will now say, that Mr. Addington is either short-sighted or insincere? It was on the eleventh of February, only twenty-five days previous to the war-message, that he made this last declaration of his hopes. The former declarations were made on the seventh of the same month; so that only twenty nine days before the message was sent by the King to the Parliament, calling upon the nation to arm for war, his minister was telling that same Parliament, that he trusted, the "storm "which had so long agitated the commer"cial and political world, would soon be laid in peace! And yet he has the conscience to blame people for insisting, that he was either a dupe or a deceiver, and his partizans have the assurance to say, that any man who ever expected the peace to be durable. was" nature's fool, and not Mr.

Addington's! "But, to return to the subject more immediately before us: it will be remembered, that Mr. Tierney wished for an inquiry, previous to the renewal of the act; so did Mr. Fox and Mr. Banks. In the House of Lords, there was much discussion upon the subject, some excellent remarks from Lords Moira and King, the latter of whom has since offered his opinions, more at large and more accurately, in the shape of a pamphlet. The bill did, however, pass, without any division, in either house; but, with a very general hope, that it never would be again renewed. That hope has now proved to have been not less falacious than any other of the hopes, which the people have been weak enough to build upon the promises and estimates of this shallow and vapouring minister.There are, as was before observed, many persons, who believe, or affect to believe, that the restriction, for which the proposed law will provide, can have no unfavourable effect in the community; nay, some of

66

them, having observed, that a pound note buys as much bread as twenty silver shillings, and feeling that the latter are more weighty and incommodious, in the pocket, thau the former is, bave no scruple to tell you, in the words of an advertisement which, some time ago, one frequently met with in the newspapers, that "guineas are an encumbrance." These gentlemen are not very deeply read in the science of poli tical economy, or they would most assuredly have discovered, that though twenty shil lings in paper do, hitherto, generally, bay as inuch biead as twenty shillings in silver; twenty shillings in silver will not now buy nearly so much brend as twenty shillings in silver used to buy, before any restriction was imposed upon the bank; they would have discovered, that this rise in the prices, which is another name for depreciation in the value of currency, and which always increases with the increase of currency, has, since the restriction was first imposed, increased much faster than at any former period of our history; and, they would further have discovered, that this joint de preciation of gold and silver as well as notes; cannot surpass a certain boundary, with out creating a rivalship between the metals and the paper, which rivalship must end in the paper's sinking to a discount, always the forerunner, more or less distant, of its total extinction, and, consequently, of the ruin, or, at least, material injury, of all those who are so unfortunate as to possess it to any considerable amount. These discoveries, though not made by the persons alluded to, much less by the public at large, do, nevertheless, exist, and produce their effect on the minds of the mass of the people, who without saying, and without knowing, why, are at this moment, and have been for some months past; hoarding all the gold and silver, which they can, by any means, collect, and which their necessities do not compel them to part with. This fact was stated, in the House of Commons, on the 30th instant, and was accompanied with remarks, which serve most happily to illustrate the tendency of the restriction acts. Mr. Jekyll wished, he said, to direct the attention of the House, to the lamentable

state, to which the country was reduced for want of circulating specie." The shame "ful practice," said he, "of hoarding up "cash has been carried.to such an excessive

pitch, that it is with great difficulty that "specie can be procured for the common purposes of life. I am sorry to observe the prevalence of this ungenerous feeling, at a "crisis which calls for every possible exertion"and, I am assured, from the respectable

"authority of a principal banking-house,

that, if the practice be not put a stop to, "bankers will, in a short time, not be able "to procure specie for the fractional parts " of change. I have seen too, in a news

paper of the morning, some resolutions "of a respectable corporation, calculated "to meet the evil, and recommending the acceptance of dollars at a certain rate, "and of French crowns and half crowns, in "change." To which Mr. Addington replied, that "the evil complained of, but

too certainly existed, and he assured the hon. gent. that it had been under the "consideration of the Privy Council, He "admitted that the hon. gentleman had "commented justly on the baseness of such a "practice, at such a crisis."--As to the point of "baseness," that might be left to be adjusted by Mr, Addington and the "ge"nerous public," whom, about a year ago, he boasted that he had the honour to serve; but, while the people are thus censured for hoarding,, it may, one would think, be permitted to ask, why the bank, which is declared by this same minister to be "per"fectly able to pay in specie," which has "not created notes to a penny in amount "beyond its capital," and as to the credit of which there is " not the slightest suspi"cion;" while such reprobation is bestowed on the hoardings of the people, it may surely be permitted to ask, why this bank is not only applauded for hoarding, but is encouraged to hoard, and protected in it by law? The other point, the "putring a stop" to hoarding, is much more serious, or, at least, it will become so, if any attempt be made to carry it into execution; for nothing short of Robespierrean measures could possibly. afford a chance of success; and let it be remembered, that even Robespierre failed. So that, if the trade of banking cannot be carried on without fractional dealings, the parties must toss up for the fractions, or the bank must een make them some shilling and sixpenny notes. An endeavour has been made, at and in the neighbourhood of Portsmouth, to put a stop to the buying of bank notes at a reduced price; the persons concerned in such traffic were informed, through the newspapers, that their names would be published, and that they themselves would be prosecuted and severely punished. The consequence of this threat has been the increase of the traffic, insomuch that it is stated, that bank notes are exchanged against gold and silver at a discount of five, and sometimes seven and a half, per sentum. And who can help this?

Portsmouth, See the Resolutions, p. 782.

Are

people to be accused of" baseness" because they have no confidence in Mr. Addington? It is for a Statesman to look into the causes of such a circumstance. If he cannot remove them, it is expected of him to take timely and effectual precautions against their consequences, and not to have recourse to unavailing reproaches and lamentations. The Minister stated to the Parliament, that it was "satisfactory to "know, that the credit of the nank had "remained firm and unshaken, during the past experience of this measure" [of restriction]" and that its sufficiency to make good its engagements both was, and is, "unaffected by even the slightest suspicion." But in less than six minutes afterwards, up he starts, and acknowledges, that "the "evil complained of," that is to say, the evil of hoarding up the specie, even to the shillings and sixpences, "but too certainly "exists." Now, in the first place, if it were true, that, as to the solidity of the the bank, not the slightest suspicion had arisen, why should people hoard specie, which, in such case, if in their senses, they could not possibly regard as any better than notes? And, if we suppose all these hoarders to be insane, their insanity may, indeed, be an evil," but, their hoarding cannot, if, according to his assertion, it has nei ther manifested, nor excited the slightest "suspicion," relative to the sufficiency of the bank. Such are the inconsistencies and contradictions, into which men are led, when their statements are not founded in truth.— The present scarcity of hard money arises, in great part, from the disposition to hoard, which, whether an evil or a good, whether a work of "baseness," or of prudence, is certainly very prevalent through the country; this disposition to hoard grows out of those apprehensions which people entertain of the consequences of the war,particularly invasion; and these apprehensions are but another name for a want of reliance, either in the means of the country, or the wisdom of the government. If, therefore, the apprehensions should, by any means be removed, the hoarded specie will come forth again. But, besides this temporary cause of the scarcity of specie, there are two others, which have a permanent operation, to wit, the increase of taxes and the restriction on the bank, the former never fails to produce an increase of paper, that increase a depreciation in the value of the currency, and that depreciation a decrease in the quality of the specie, which, as fast as it can possibly work itself into a right channel, always hastens to the highest market; the latter is continually wearing away the confidence of the public,

who naturally and most justly conclude, that to the making of bank notes, beyond the power of payment, there is but one check, namely, the obligation to pay in specie, which obligation being done away by the restriction law, there is no legal security remaining.- As a temporary measure the restriction might be expedient; but, as a permanent measure, it must prove destructive to the credit of the bank; and, it cannot very fairly be regarded as other than permanent, when the minister introduces it by observing, that, "though doubts have been enterrain"ed as to its propriety, during a period of "peace, he has never heard its policy ques"tioned, during a period of war!". Amongst those who hope much and think little, a very common observation is, that the bank restriction act has been in force for these five or six years, yet bank notes pass as well as ever, and, therefore, will always continue so to pass. Not quite so well as ever, else the statements from Portsmouth, Bristol, Worcester, &c. &c. are false. But, leaving this fact out of the question, is it not an odd way of reasoning, to conclude, that, because the credit of the Bank has not been annihi

-

lated, it has not been impaired? Upon this principle it might be insisted, that a house is always as good as new to the moment of its falling down. This was the course pursued by the partizans of the peace of Amiens: perceiving the nation to remain independent for the space of six months after the conclusion of that compact, they exultingly exclaimed,

we are not yet swallowed up! "things go on just as usual, in spite of Mr. "Windham's melancholy forbodings. The "death-warrant, which he told us was sign"ed on the 1st of October, is not yet exe "cuted." Their exultation did not last long: they were soon brought to a sense of their danger; and, they now think it necessary to pray to God to prevent Buonaparté from

swallowing us up quick."- -As to the credence in Bank-notes, much of it arises from habit. The solidity of the Bank has long been proverbial; and, when an institution has obtained such a degree of celebrity, it is not easily shaken: long after it has begun actually to decay, it lives upon its reputation. Bat, there is a point beyond which this reputation will not preserve it; and towards that point, the Bank is rapidly urged by the restriction on its payments in specie.-The advocates of paper money, to the exclusion of gold and silver; those who hope and believe, that the system might go on without any help from the precious metals; these persons tell you, that, when there is nothing but paper, there will be no competition of currencies, and, of course, no hoarding or

discounting. This is very true indeed; and, another convenience will be, that the words promise to pay" may be left out of the notes: any other words, a stanza from Nancy Dawson or Chevy Chase, will do full as well. And, then, as to the signature and counter-signature, John a Nokes and Tom a Stiles will be just as good as those of any two real corporeal beings in the city. In short, the idea of a currency consisting entirely of promissory notes, is an intellectual monster, engendered by ignorance and fear, a gross ignorance of the most simple principles of political economy, and a base fear of the difficulties to which a failure of the Bank would give rise.-There is one argument more that has been advanced in support of the paper system, as connected with the war in which we are engaged. It is this, that, France and America got through their dangers by the help of paper money. To this the answer is precisely similar to that which has, in the preceding article, been given relative to the comparison made between the French and English volunteers: if we are prepared to see our paper come to the same end as that of France and America came to, then the example of those countries is a source of great consolation; but, if we are not, that example is quite sufficient to deter us from placing any hope on a currency, consisting entirely of paper.What, then? Are we to despair of the country? No: why should we? Cannot this great and really wealthy kingdom exist, cannot it preserve its honour and its power, without the aid of paper money? This question shall be discussed in a future sheet. In the mean time, it may not be amiss to observe, that what has been here advanced, will not be overset either by abuse or by misreprese tation. If the writer be deceived, if his facts are mistated, or his conclusions erroneous, no one will rejoice more sincerely than himself, at the triumph of whomsoever may take the trouble to refute him; and, if it be not worth while to attempt such refutation, his remarks are certainly too harmless to call for that virulent caluminy, which has heretofore been but too often exercised against him, on similar grounds.

CAPTURE OF BERBICE. This event, and others of the same sort, make but very little impression on the public mind. They are good; but every one feels, that they are not what we most want; that they are not what will relieve us from the ever-present dangers, arising out of the over-grown magnitude and influence of France. Nor is it forgotten, that while we have been receiving back, from the hands of the inhabitants, a