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 COBBETT'S 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD: 
 
 Containing the History and Mystery of the Bank of England, 
 the Funds, the 'Debt, the Sinking Fund, the Bank 
 Stoppage, the lowering and the raising of the value of' 
 Paper-Money ; and shewing, that Taxation, Pauperism, 
 Poverty, Misery and Crimes have all increased, and ever 
 must increase, with a Funding System. 
 
 ]Vjo 1.]— COBBETT'S PAPER AGAINST GOLD.— [Price Two-Pence. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Baley, Qth February, 1817. 
 The time is now come, when every 
 man in this kingdom onglit to make 
 himself, if possible, well acquainted 
 with all matters belonging to the 
 Paper-Money System. It is that 
 System, which has mainly contri- 
 buted towards our present miseries ; 
 and, indeed, without that System those 
 miseries never could have existed in 
 any thing approaching towards their 
 present degree. In all countries, 
 where a Paper-Money, that is to say, 
 a paper which could not, at any mo- 
 ment, be converted into Gold and 
 Silver, has ever existed ; in all coun- 
 tries, where "this has been the case, 
 the consequence, first or last, has 
 always been great and general misery, 
 and, in most such cases, such misery 
 has been productive of that confusion 
 and bloodshed, which I most anxiously 
 hope will be prevented, in this in- 
 stance, by timely measures of a just 
 and conciliatory character and by the 
 good sense, patience and fortitude of 
 the people. 
 
 To he able clearly to trace our mi- 
 series to this grand cause, the Bank 
 and ike Paper-Money, it is necessary, 
 A 
 
 that we inquire into the origin o\ 
 money, how it acts upon the affairs o? 
 men, how prices depend upon its 
 quantity, and how money itself is 
 changed in its quantity and value. 
 Next it is necessary, that we come at 
 a clear idea of the origin of Paper- 
 Money and of its introduction into 
 this country. Next, we ought to see 
 the origin of the Bank and its Paper ; 
 to see how Loans have been made 
 and how and by what means a Debt 
 has been created. This compels us 
 to go back and trace minutely the 
 Bank and the Debt from their fatal 
 birth to the present time ; t® show 
 how they arose both together, and 
 how they have gone swelling moun- 
 tains high, side by side while taxes, 
 pauperism, misery and, crimes have 
 all gone on increasing in the sama 
 degree. We ought next to inquire, 
 whether it be possible to lessen the 
 Debt by that scheme, which has beea 
 called the Sinking Fund. Then wo 
 ought to enter into all the facts of that 
 curiaus event, called the Bank-Re- 
 striction, which was a Stoppage of 
 Cash-Payments at the Bank, in vio- 
 lation of the Bank Charter and of the 
 laws of debtor and creditor. Thin 
 transaction ought now to be clearbr 
 understood by every man in, England 
 
)fc H 
 
 Hi] 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 01 
 
 All the actors in the transaction ought 
 to be put forth in their true character ; 
 for it is to this transaction, that we 
 may trace more immediately all those 
 sudden ohanges in the currency, which 
 hare ruined the farmers, the trades- 
 men, the land-owners, and which 
 have reduced the journeymen and 
 labourers to such intolerable misery 
 as that which they now endure, and 
 which never was endured in England 
 at any former period. 
 
 To enable every man, and especially 
 the youth, of this country, to come at 
 a competent knowledge on all these 
 topics, was the original object of this 
 work, and is now the object of its re- 
 publication. It consists of a series 
 of Letters, addressed to the People 
 of Salisbury, in the year 1810 and 
 1811; because, at that time, those 
 people were suffering severely from 
 the failure of Country Banks. At 
 the same time, there was a proposition 
 before Parliament for making the 
 Bank pay in Gold and Silver at the 
 end of two years. This was proposed 
 by the Opposition ; but the Ministers 
 said, that, though the Bank was able 
 to pay, it would not be wise to make 
 it pay, till peace came. I contended, 
 that, for the Bank to pay in gold and 
 silver was impossible, without wiping 
 away a part of the Debt ; or, without 
 plunging the country into ruin and 
 misery. The Bank does not pay; 
 and, by only making one step towards 
 it, the whole nation, all but fund- 
 holders and tax-eaters, have already 
 been ruined. 
 
 In the writing of this work the 
 greatest pains were taken to make my 
 statements and my arguments, not 
 ©nly as clear and as strong, but also, 
 as familiar as possible, and, by these 
 means, to render a subject, which has 
 always been considered as intricate 
 and abstruse, so simple as to be under- 
 stood by every reader of common ca- 
 pacity ; and, in thi3 object, I hope I 
 Lave succeeded, because I have had 
 
 p» 
 
 the satisfaction to witness numerous 
 instances, where person*, who would 
 generally be denominated illiterate, 
 have, by the reading of this work, be- 
 come completely masters of the whole 
 subject. 
 
 The truth is, however, that the 
 pride of those, who call themselves 
 learned men, lead them to misjudge 
 greatly as to the capacity of those, 
 whom they call the illiterate, or «n- 
 learned. To arrange words into sen- 
 tences in a grammatical manner, to 
 arrive at correct results by the opera- 
 tions of figures, require a knowledge 
 of rules, which knowledge must be 
 acquired by art ; but the capacity of 
 receiving plain facts and of reasoning 
 upon those facts has its natural place 
 in every sound mind ; and, perhaps, 
 the mind the most likely speedily to 
 receive and deeply to imbibe a fair 
 impression is precisely that mind 
 which has never been pre-occupied by 
 the impressions of art or of school- 
 education. And, if there be men to 
 hold the doctrine, that the people in 
 general ought not to understand any 
 thing of these matters, such men can 
 proceed upon no principle other than 
 this, that popular ignorance is the best 
 security for public plunderers and 
 oppressors. 
 
 It will be seen, that the Letters, 
 composing the greater part of this 
 work, Mere written in, and dated from 
 the " State Prison, Newgate. 73 For 
 six years before the date of these Let- 
 ters, I had been endeavouring to 
 rouse my country to a sense or- its 
 danger from the Debt and Paper- 
 Money, and had often foretold, that 
 national ruin and misery would be 
 the result. But, it was while I was 
 shut up in Newgate, that I made my 
 greatest effort. Tlie cause of my im- 
 prisonment, and of the oth»r heavy 
 punishments inflicted on me, is pretty 
 well known; but, as this work is 
 chiefly intended for the use of school* 
 and of young persons in general, and, 
 
v ] INTRODUCTION. 
 
 as I hope it may be read many years 
 after its author will have closed his 
 eyes for ever, it is no more than jus- 
 tice to myself and to a family of chil- 
 dren, to whom their father's character 
 will always be as dear as their own 
 Hves, for me to make here, and to 
 send forth, inseparable from this 
 work, the following concise and un- 
 deniable record of facts, which record 
 was published immediately after the 
 expiration of my imprisonment, in the 
 month of July, 1812. 
 
 ENGLISH LIBERTY OF THE 
 PRESS, 
 
 4s illustrated in the Prosecution and 
 
 Punishment of 
 
 WILLIAM COBBETT. 
 
 In order that my countrymen and 
 that the world may not be deceived, 
 duped, and cheated upon this subject, 
 I, WILLIAM COBBETT, of Bot- 
 ley, in Hampshire, put upon record 
 the following facts ; to wit : That, on 
 the 24th of June, 1809, the following 
 article was published in a London 
 news-paper, called the Courier: — 
 " The Mutiny amongst the LOCAL 
 " MILITIA, which broke out at 
 " Ely, was fortunately suppressed on 
 " Wednesday, by the arrival of four 
 " squadrons of the GERMAN LE- 
 « GION CAVALRY from Bury, 
 " under the command of General 
 " Auckland. Five of the ringleaders 
 " Were tried by a Court-Martial, and 
 " sentenced to receive 500 lashes each, 
 " part of which punishment they re- 
 ** ceived on Wednesday, and a part 
 " was remitted. A stoppage for their 
 " knapsacks was the ground of the 
 " complaint that excited this mutinous 
 " spirit, which occasioned the men to 
 ** surround their officers, and demand 
 " what they deemed their * arrears. 
 " The first division of the German 
 " Legion halted yesterday at New- 
 " market on their return to Bury/' 
 
 [n 
 
 That, on the 1st July, 1809, I 
 
 published, in the Political Register, 
 an article censuring, in the strongest 
 terms, these proceedings ; that, for so 
 doing, the Attorney General prose- 
 cuted, as seditious libellers, and bj 
 Ex-OfScio Information, me, and also 
 my printer, my publisher, and one of 
 the principal retailers of the Political 
 Register ; that [ was brought to trial 
 on the 15th June, 1810, and was, by 
 a Special Jury, that is to say, by 12 
 men out of 48 appointed by the 
 Master of the Crown Office r found 
 guilty ; that, on the 20th of the same 
 month, I was compelled to give bail 
 for my appearance to receive judg- 
 ment ; and that, as I came up from 
 Botley (to which place I had returned 
 to my family and my farm on the 
 evening of the 15th), a Tipstaff went 
 down from London in order to seize 
 me, personally ; that, on the 9th of 
 July, 1810, I, together with my 
 printer, publisher, and the newsman, 
 were brought into the Court of King's 
 Bench to receive judgment ; that the 
 three former were sentenced to be 
 imprisoned for some months in the 
 King's Bench prison; that I was sen- 
 tenced to be imprisoned for two years 
 in Newgate, the great receptacle for 
 malefactors, and the front of which is 
 the scene of numerous hangings in 
 the course of every year; that the 
 part of the prison in which I was 
 sentenced to be confined is sometimes 
 inhabited by felons, that felons were 
 actually in it at the time I entered it ; 
 that one man was taken out of it to be 
 transported in about 48 hours after I 
 was put into the same yard with him ; 
 and that it is the place of confinement 
 for men guilty of unnatural crimes, of 
 whom there are four in it at this time*; 
 that, besides this imprisonment, I 
 was sentenced to pay a thousand 
 pounds TO THE KING, and to give 
 security for my good behaviour for 
 seven years, myself in the sum or 
 3,000 pounds, and two sureties in the 
 
*ii] 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 [ftt 
 
 sum of 1,000 pounds each; that the 
 whole of this sentence has been exe- 
 cuted upon me, that I have been im- 
 prisoned the two years, have paid the 
 thousand pounds TO THE KING, 
 and have given the bail, Timothy 
 Brown and Peter Walker, Esqrs. 
 being my sureties; that the At- 
 torney General was Sir Vicary 
 Gibbs, the Judge who sat at the 
 trial, Lord Ellenborough, the four 
 Judges who sat at passing sentence, 
 Ellenborough, Grose, Le Blanc, and 
 Bailey; and that the jurors were, 
 Thomas Rhodes of Hampstead Road, 
 John Davis of Southampton-place, 
 James Ellis of Tottenham Court Road, 
 John Richards of Bayswater, Tho- 
 mas Marsham of Baker Street, Ro- 
 bert Heatheote, of High Street, 
 Marylebone, John Maud, of York 
 Place, Marylebone ; George Baxter, 
 of Church Terrace, Pancras ; Tho- 
 mas Taylor, of Red Lion Square ; 
 "David Deane of St. John Street; 
 "William Palmer, of Upper Street, 
 Islington; Henry Favre, of Pall- 
 Mall ; and that the Prime Ministers 
 during the time were Spencer Perce- 
 val, until he was shot by John Bel- 
 lingham, and after that Robert B. 
 Jenkinson, Earl of Liverpool; that 
 the prosecution and sentence took 
 place in the reign of King George 
 the Third, and that, he having be- 
 come insane during my imprisonment, 
 the 1,000 pounds was paid to his 
 son, the Prince Regent, in his behalf; 
 that, during my imprisonment, I 
 wrote and published 364 Essays and 
 Letters upon political subjects ; that, 
 during the sa me time, I was visited 
 
 by persons from 197 cities and towns, 
 many of them as .i sort of deputies 
 from Societies or Clubs ; that, at the 
 expiration of my imprisonment, on 
 the 9th of July, 1812, a great dinner 
 was given in London for the purpose 
 of receiving me, at which dinner up- 
 wards of 600 persons were present, 
 and at which Sir Francis Burdett 
 presided; that dinners and other par- 
 ties w r ere held on the same occasion 
 in many other places in England; 
 that, on my way home, I was re- 
 ceived at Alton, the first town in 
 Hampshire, with the ringing of the 
 Church bells ; that a respectable com- 
 pany met me and gave me a dinner 
 at Winchester ; that I was drawn 
 from more than the distance of a 
 mile into Botley by the people ; that, 
 upon my arrival in the village, I 
 found all the people assembled to re- 
 ceive me ; that I concluded the day 
 by explaining to them the cause of 
 my imprisonment, and by giving them 
 clear notions respecting the flogging 
 of the Local Militia-men at Ely, and 
 respecting the employment of Ger- 
 man Troops; and, finally, which is 
 more than a compensation for my 
 losses and all my sufferings, I am in 
 perfect health and strength, and, 
 though I must, for the sake of six 
 children, feel the diminution that haa 
 been made in my property (thinking 
 it right in me to decline the offer of 
 a subscription), I have the consola- 
 tion to see growing up three sons, 
 upon whose hearts, I trust, all tneaa 
 facts will be engraven. 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 Botley, July 23, 181*. 
 
PAPER AGAINST 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Appointment of the Bullion Committee— Main points of the Report — Proposition for 
 the Bank to pay in two Years — To merit the appellation of a Thinking People, 
 we must shew that our Thinking produces KnowTedge — Go hack into the History of 
 Paper Money — Definition of Money — Increase of Paper — What is the cause of this 
 Increase? — Origin of the Bank of England — How it came to pass that so much Paper 
 Money got afloat — Increase of Bank Notes wanted to pay the increase of the interest 
 on the National Deht — Progress in issuing Bank Notes from 20 to 1 Pounds — Suspi- 
 cion awakened in 1797 which produced the Stoppage of Gold and Silver Payments at 
 the Bank of England. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 DURING the last session of par- 
 liament, a Committee, that is to say, 
 ten or twelve members, of the House 
 of Commons, were appointed to in- 
 quire into the cause of tlie high price 
 of Gold Bullion, that is, Gold not 
 coined; and to take into consideration 
 the state of the circulating medium, or 
 money, of this country. This Com- 
 mittee have made a Report, as they 
 call it; but, it is a great book, that 
 they have written, and have had print- 
 ed; a book much larger than tha 
 whole of the New Testament. Of 
 this Report I intend to enter into an 
 Examination ; and, as you have re- 
 cently felt, and are still feeling, some 
 of the effects of Paper- Money, I 
 think it may not be amiss, if, upon 
 this occasion, I address myself to you. 
 1 have introduced myself to you with- 
 out any ceremony; but, before we 
 part, we shall become well acquainted; 
 and, I make no doubt, that you will 
 understand the distinction between 
 Paper-Money and Gold-Money much 
 too well for it to be in th« power of 
 any one ever again to deceive you; 
 which understanding, will, in the 
 times now fast approaching, be of 
 great utility to all those amongst you, 
 who may have the means of laying up 
 money, however small the quantity 
 may be. 
 
 The Committee above-mentioned, 
 which, for brevity's sake, I call the 
 Bullion Committee, sent for several 
 persons, whom they examined as wit- 
 
 nesses, touching the matter in ques- 
 tion. There was Sir Francis Bar- 
 ing, for instance, the great loan- 
 maker, and Goldsmidt, the rich 
 Jew, whose name you so often see in 
 the news-papers, where he is stated 
 to give grand dinners to princes and 
 great men. The Evidence of these, 
 and other money-dealers and mer- 
 chants, the Bullion Committee have 
 had printed; and, upon this evidence, 
 as well as upon the Report itself, we 
 shall have to make some remarks. 
 
 The result of the Committee's in- 
 quiries is, in substance, this ; that the 
 high price of gold is occasioned by the 
 low value of the paper-momey ; that 
 the low value of the paper-money has 
 been occasioned (as, you know, the 
 low value of apples is) by the great 
 abundance of it; that the only way 
 to lower the price of the gold is to 
 raise the value of the paper-money , 
 and that the only way to raise the 
 value of the paper-money is to make 
 the quantity of it less than it now is. 
 Thus far, as you will clearly see, 
 t ■•ere was no conjuration required. 
 The fact is, that, not only do these 
 propositions contain well-known, and 
 almost self-evident truths ; but, these 
 truths have, during the last two or 
 three years, and especially during the 
 last year, been so frequently stated in 
 print, that it was next to Impossible 
 that any person in England, able to 
 read, should have been unacquainted 
 with them. But, having arrived at 
 the conclusion, that, in order to raist 
 
3] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 f4 
 
 tlie value of the paper-money, its 
 quantity must be lessened; having 
 come to this point, the rest of tiie 
 way was more difficult; for, the next 
 object was, to point out the means of 
 lessening the quantity of the paper- 
 money, and this is an object, which, 
 in my opinion will never be effected, 
 unless those means include the de- 
 struction of the whole mass. 
 
 Not so, however, think the Gentle- 
 men of the Bullion Committee. They 
 think, or, at least, they evidently wish 
 to make others think, that it is possi- 
 ble to lessen the quantity of the paper- 
 money, and to cause guineas to come 
 back again and to pass from hand to 
 hand as in former times ; they would 
 fain have us believe, that this can be 
 done without the total destruction of 
 the paper-money ; and, indeed, they 
 have actually recommended to tlie 
 House of Commons to pass a Law to 
 cause the Bank in Threadneedle 
 Street, London, commonly called the 
 Bank of England, to pm/ its notes in 
 real money, at the END OF TWO 
 YEARS from this time. Two years 
 is a pretty good lease for people to 
 Jiave of this sort. This Bank promises 
 to pay on demand. It does this upon 
 the face of every one of its notes ; 
 and, therefore, as a remedy for the 
 evil of want of gold, to propose, that 
 this Bank should begin to pay in two 
 years' time, is something, which I 
 tiiink, would not have been offered to 
 the public in any age but this, and, 
 even in this age, to any public except 
 the public in this country. The notes 
 ef the Bank of England bear, upon the 
 lace of them, a promise that the Ban- 
 kers, or Barik Company, who issue 
 the notes, will pay the notes upon 
 demand. Now, what do we mean 
 fcy paying a note? Certainly we do 
 not mean, the giving of one note for 
 another note. Yet, this is the sort of 
 payment, that people get at the Bank 
 •f England; and this sort of pay- 
 ment the Bullion Committee does not 
 propose even to begin to put an end 
 to in less than two years from this 
 |ime. 
 
 Qeatltmen ; we, the people of this 
 
 country, have been persuaded to be- 
 lieve many things. We have been 
 persuaded .to believe ourselves to be 
 " the most thinking people in Europe ;* 
 but to what purpose do men think, 
 unless they arrive at useful knowledge 
 by thinking? To what purpose do 
 men think, if they are, after all their 
 thinking, to be persuaded, that a Bank, 
 which has not paid its promissory 
 notes in gold for thirteen years and a 
 half, will be able to pay them in gold 
 at the end of fifteen years and a half 
 the quantity of the notes having gone 
 on regularly increasing ? If men are 
 to be persuaded to believe this, to 
 what purpose do they think? But, 
 before I proceed any further in my 
 remarks upon the B eport of the Bul- 
 lion Committee ; before I proceed to 
 lay before you the exposures now 
 made by the labours of this Com- 
 mittee ; the facts now become evident 
 through this channel; the confessions 
 now made by these members ©f the 
 House of Commons : before I pro- 
 ceed to lay these before you, and to 
 remark upon the remedies, proposed 
 by the Committee, it will be necessary 
 for me to go back into the history of 
 the paper-money ; because, without 
 doing this, I shall be talking to you of 
 things, of which you will have no clear 
 notion, and the reasonings, relating 
 to which, you will, of course, not at 
 all understand. It is a great misfor- 
 tune, that any portion of your time, 
 should be spent in reading or think- 
 ing abor.» matters of this kind ; but, 
 such is our present situation in this 
 country, that every man, who has a 
 family to preserve from want, ought 
 to endeavour to make himself ac- 
 quainted with tlie nature, and with the 
 probable consequences, of the paper- 
 money now afloat. 
 
 Money, is the representative, or the 
 token of property, or things of value. 
 The money, while used as money, is of 
 no other use ; and, therefore, a bit of 
 lead or of wood or of leather, would be 
 as good as gold or silver, to be used as 
 money. But, if these materials, whiel| 
 are every where found in such abund^ 
 ance, were to be used as money, thec^ 
 
Si 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 [« 
 
 would be so much money made that 
 there would be no end to it; and, be- 
 sides, the money made in one country 
 would, however there enforced by 
 law, have no value in any other coun- 
 try. For these reasons Gold and 
 Silver, which are amongst the most 
 scarce of things, have been, by all 
 the nations that we know any thing 
 of, used as money. 
 
 While the money of any country 
 consists of nothing but these scarce 
 metals; while it consists of nothing 
 but gold and silver, there is no fear 
 of its becoming too abundant ; but if 
 the money of a country be made of 
 lead, tut, wood, leather, or paper; and 
 if any one can make it, who may 
 choose to make it, there needs no ex- 
 traordinary wisdom to foresee, that 
 there will be a great abundance of 
 this sort of money, and that the gold 
 and silver money, being, in fact, no 
 longer of any use in such a state of 
 things, will go, either into the hoards 
 of the prudent, or into the bags of 
 those, who have the means of send- 
 ing or carrying them to those foreign 
 countries where they are wanted, and 
 where they will bring their value. 
 
 That a state of things like that here 
 spoken of, does now M exist in this 
 country, is notorious to all the world. 
 But while we are all acquainted with 
 the fact, and while many of us are 
 most sensibly feeling the effects, 
 scarcely a man amongst us takes the 
 trouble to inquire into the cause : yet, 
 unless the cause be ascertained, how 
 are we to apply, or to judge of a re- 
 medy? We see the country abound- 
 ing with paper-money; we see every 
 man's hand full of it ; we frequently 
 talk of it as a strange thing, and a 
 great evil; but never do we inquire 
 into the cause of it. 
 
 There are few of you who cannot 
 remember the time, when there was 
 scarcely ever seen a bank note among 
 Tradesmen and Farmers. I can re- 
 member, when this was the case ; and, 
 when the farmers in my country hard- 
 ly ever saw a bank note, except when 
 they sold their heps at Weyhill fair. 
 People, in those days, used to carry 
 
 little bags to put their money in, in- 
 stead of the paste-board or leather 
 cases that they now carry. If you 
 look back, and take a little time to 
 think, you will trace the gradual in- 
 crease of paper-money, and the like 
 decrease of gold and silver money. 
 At first there were no bank notes un- 
 der 20 pounds ; next they came to 15 
 pounds; next to 10 pounds: at the 
 beginning of the last war, they came 
 to 5 pounds ; and, before the end of 
 it, they came down to 2 and to 1 
 pounds. How long it will be before 
 they come down to parts of a pound, 
 it would, perhaps, be difficult to say ; 
 but in Kent, at least, there are country 
 notes in circulation to an amount so 
 low as that of seven shillings. It is 
 the cause of this that is interesting to 
 us ; the cause of this change in our 
 money, and, in the prices of goods of 
 all sorts and of labour. All of you 
 who are forty years of age can re- 
 member, when the price of the gallon 
 loaf used to be about ten pence or a 
 shilling, instead of two shillings and 
 sixpence or two shillings and ten 
 
 pence, 
 
 as it now is. These effects 
 
 strike you. You talk of them every 
 day; but the cause of them you sel- 
 dom, if ever, either talk or think of: 
 and it is to this cause that I am now 
 endeavouring to draw your attention. 
 You bave, during the last seven- 
 teen years, seen the quantity of paper 
 money rapidly increase ; or in other 
 words, you have, day after day, seen 
 less and less of gold and silver appear 
 in payments, and, of course more and 
 more of paper-money. But, it was 
 not till the year 1797, that the paper- 
 money began to increase so very fast. 
 It was then that the two and one 
 pound notes were first made by the 
 Bank of England. It was then, in 
 short, that paper-^money became com- 
 pletely predominant. But, you will 
 naturally ask me, " what was the 
 cause of that ?" The cause was tha 
 the Bank of England stopped pay- 
 ing its notes in gold and silver. What ! 
 stop paying its notes 1 Refuse to pay 
 its promissory notes? The Bank of 
 England, when its notes were present- 
 
7] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 » 
 
 fa 
 
 ed, refuse to pay them? Yes: and, 
 what is more, an Act of parliament 
 brought in by Pitt, was pr.ssed, to 
 protect the Bank of England against 
 the legal consequences of such refusal . 
 So that, the people, who held promis- 
 sory notes of the Bank, and who had, 
 perhaps, given gold or silver for them, 
 when they went to the Bank for pay- 
 ment, were told, that they could have no 
 gold or silver, but that they might h?.ve 
 other notes, more paper, if they pleas- 
 ed, in exchange for the paper they 
 beld in their hands and tendered fer 
 payment. From that time to this, the 
 Act of parliament, authorising the 
 Bank of England to refuse to pay its 
 notes in gold and silver, has been in 
 ibrce. At first it was passed for three 
 months; next till the parliament should 
 meet again ; then it was to last to the 
 end of the war\ then, when peace 
 came, it was continued just for a year, 
 till things should be settled ; then, as 
 things were not quite settled, it was 
 continued till parliament should meet 
 again; and, as this present war had 
 begun by that time, the act was made 
 to continue till six months after the 
 next peace. 
 
 The reasons given upon the differ^ 
 ent occasions, it will be very material 
 to notice ; for, it is this stoppage in 
 fhe payment of gold and silver at the 
 Bank of England upon which the 
 whole question turns. Every thing 
 bangs upon this ; and, when we come 
 to examine that part of the Report 
 which treats of the Bank's reviving 
 its payments in gold and silver, we 
 shall find it of great use to us to recur 
 to the reasons, the divers, the mani- 
 fold reasons that were given, at differ- 
 ent times, for suspending those pay- 
 ments. Since that suspension took 
 place, you have seen the gold and 
 silver disappear ; you have seen, the 
 paper has supplied the place of gold ; 
 paper-money makers have set up all 
 over the ki gdora; and might not this 
 well happen, when, to pay paper- 
 money nothing more than papers 
 money was required ? But, the rea- 
 sons given for this measure of suspen- 
 sion ; the reasons given for the pass- 
 
 ing of an Act of Parliament to pro- 
 tect the Bank of England against the 
 demands of its creditors are seldom 
 recurred to, though, as you will pre- 
 sently see, without recurring to those 
 reasons, and without ascertaining the 
 true cause of the passing of that Act 
 of Parliament, we cannot form so 
 good a judgment relative to the remedy 
 now proposed ; namely, that of the 
 Bank of England's reviving its pay- 
 ments in gold and silver. This is the 
 remedy, which the Bullion Com- 
 mittee propose ; and, you will say, a 
 very good remedy it is ; a very good 
 remedy indeed ; for people who have, 
 for so long a time, not paid their notes 
 in gold and silver, to begin to pay their 
 notes in gold and silver, is a very good 
 remedy; but, the thing to ascertain, is, 
 can the remedy be applied t This is 
 the question for us to discuss. It re- 
 quired nobody to tell us, t\\2X paying 
 in gold and silver would be an effect- 
 ual remedy for the evils arising from 
 not paying in gold and silver; but, it 
 required much more than I have yet 
 heard to convince me, that to pay 
 again in gold and silver ivas possible. 
 
 The chief object of our enquiries 
 being this; Whether it be possible, 
 ivithout a total destruction of all the 
 paper money, to restore gold and silver 
 to circulation amongst us ; this being 
 the chief object of our enquiries, we 
 should first ascertain how the gold and 
 silver was driven out of circulation, 
 and had its pjace supplied by a paper- 
 money ; for, unless we get at a clear 
 view of this, it will be next to impos- 
 sible for us to reason satisfactorily 
 upon the means of bringing gold and 
 silver back again into circulation. 
 
 Some people suppose, that paper 
 always made a part of the currency, 
 or common money, of England. They 
 seem to regard the Bank of England 
 as being as old as the Church of Eng- 
 land, at least, and some of them ap- 
 pear to have full as much veneration 
 for it. The truth is, however, that 
 the Bank of England is a mere human 
 institution, arising out of causes havw 
 ing nothing miraculous, or superna-* 
 tural, about thsni; and that both Uw 
 
0] 
 
 LETTER 
 
 [10 
 
 institution and the agents who carry 
 it on, arc as mortal as any other thing 
 and any other men, in this or in any 
 other country. The Hank, as it is 
 called, had its origin in the year 1694, 
 that is, a hundred and sixteen years 
 ago; and it arose thus: the then 
 King, William HI, who had come 
 from Holland, had begun a war 
 against Trance, and, wanting money 
 to carry it on, an act was passed 
 (which act was the 20th of the 5th 
 year of his reign) to invite people to 
 make voluntary advances to the go- 
 vernment of the sum of 1,500,000 
 pounds, and for securing the pay- 
 ment of the interest, and also for se- 
 curing the re-payment of the princi- 
 pal, taxes were laid upon beer, ale, 
 and other liquors. Upon condition 
 of 1,200,000/. of this money being 
 advanced, within a certain time, the 
 subscribers to the loan were to be in- 
 corporated ; and, as the money was 
 advanced in due time, the incorpora- 
 tion took place, and the lenders of 
 the money were formed into a trading 
 Company, called " The Governor 
 '• and Company of the Bank 
 "of England." Out of this, and 
 other sums borrowed by the govern- 
 ment in the way of mortgage upon 
 the taxes, there grew up a thing 
 called the Stocks, or the Funds (of 
 which we will speak hereafter); but 
 the Bank Company remained under 
 its primitive name, and as the debt of 
 the nation increased, this Company 
 increased in riches and in conse- 
 quence. 
 
 Thus, you see, and it is well wor- 
 thy of your attention, the Bank had 
 its rise in war and taxation. But, we 
 must reserve reflections of this sort 
 for other occasions, and go on with 
 our inquiries how gold and silver have 
 teen driven out of circulation in this 
 country, or, in other words, how it 
 came to pass that so much paper- 
 money got afloat. 
 
 The Act of Parliament, which I 
 have Just referred to, points out the 
 manner in which the Bank Company 
 thai] carry on their trade, ant) the ar- 
 
 ticles in which they shall trade, al- 
 lowing them, amongst other things, 
 to trade in gold, silver, bills of ex- 
 change, and other things, under cer- 
 tain restrictions ; but, as to what are 
 called bank notes, the Company was 
 not empowered to issue any such, in 
 any other way, or upon any other 
 footing, than merely as promissory 
 notes, for the amount of which, in 
 the coin of the country, they were 
 liable to be sued and arrested. Hav- 
 ing, however, a greater credit than 
 any other individuals, or company of 
 individuals, the Bank Company is- 
 sued notes to a greater amount ; and, 
 which was something new in England, 
 they were made payable, not to any 
 particular person, or his order, and 
 not at any particular time ; but to the 
 bearer, and on demand. These cha- 
 racteristics, which distinguished the 
 promissory notes of the Bank of 
 England from all other promissory 
 notes gave the people greater conf 
 dence in them ; and as the Bank 
 Company were always ready to pa) 
 the notes in Gold and Silver, when 
 presented for payment, the notes be- 
 came, in time, to be looked upon as 
 being as good as gold and silver. 
 Hence came our country sayings : — 
 " As good as the Bank ;" " As solid 
 " as the Bank ;" and the like. Yet, 
 the Bank was, as we have seen, 
 merely a company of mortal men, 
 formed into an association of traders; 
 and their notes nothing more than 
 written promises to pay the bearer so 
 much money in gold or silver. 
 
 We used to have other sayings 
 about the Bank, such as, " As rich as 
 " the Bank f M All the gold in the 
 " Bank? and such like, always con- 
 veying a notion, that the Bank was a 
 place, and a place, too, where there 
 were great heaps of money. As long 
 as the Company were ready and 
 willing to pay, and did actually pay, 
 their notes in gold and silver, "to all 
 those persons who wished to have 
 gold and silver, it is clear that these 
 opinions of the people, relative to the 
 Bank, were not altogether unfounded; 
 
11] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD 
 
 fl2 
 
 for, though no bit of paper, or of any 
 thing which lias no value in itself, 
 can ho, in fact, so good as a bit of 
 gold; still, if it will, at any moment, 
 whenever llic holder pleases, oriug 
 him gold or silver to the amount 
 written upon it, it is very nearly as 
 got d as gold and silver ; and, at the 
 lime of which we arc speaking, this 
 was the case with the promissory 
 notes of the Bank Company. But, it 
 must be evident, that though the Com- 
 pany were ready, at the time now re- 
 ferred to, to pay their notes in gold 
 and silver, they had never in their 
 iwoncv-ehests a sufficiency of gold and 
 silver, to pay off all their notes, if 
 they had been presented all at once. 
 This must be evident to every man; 
 because, if the Bank Company kept 
 locked up as much gold and silver as 
 their notes amounted to, they could 
 get nothing by issuing their notes, and 
 wight full as well have sent out their 
 gold and silver. A farmer, for in- 
 stance, who is generally using a hun- 
 dred pouii(ls"*or money to pay his 
 workmen, might lend the .hundred 
 pounds and get interest lor it, if 
 lie could persuade his workmen to 
 take promissory notes of his own 
 drawing, instead of money, and, if he 
 were sure, that these promissory notes 
 would not be brought in for payment; 
 hut, if this w as not the case, he would 
 be compelled to keep the hundred 
 pounds in his drawer ready to give to 
 those who did not like to keep his 
 promissory notes; and, in such case, 
 it is clear, that the money would be 
 of no use to him, and that he might 
 full as well have none of his notes out. 
 Just so with the Bank Company, 
 who, at no time, could have in hand 
 gold and silver enough to pay off all 
 their notes at once ; nor was this ne- 
 cessary as long as the people regarded 
 those notes as being equally good with 
 gold and silver. But, it is clear, that 
 this opinion of the goodness of the 
 Company's notes, or rather, the feel- 
 ing of confidence, or, still more pro- 
 perly perhaps, tlie absence of all sus- 
 picion, with respect to them, must, in 
 
 a great degree, icpend upon the quan- 
 tity of notes seen in circulation, coin- 
 pared with the quantity of gold and 
 silver seen in circulation. At first, 
 the quantity of notes was \cry smalt 
 indeed ; the increase of this quantity 
 was, for the first twenty years, very 
 slow; and, though it became mere 
 rapid in the next twenty years, the 
 quantity does not appear to have been 
 large till the war which took place in 
 1755, before which time the Bank 
 Company put out no notes under 20 
 pounds in amount. Then it was that 
 they began to put out 15 pound notes, 
 and afterwards, but during the same 
 war, 10 pound notes. During all this 
 time, loans, in every war, had been 
 made -by the government. That is to 
 say, the government had borrowed 
 money of individuals, in the same 
 way as above-mentioned, in the year 
 16'J)4. The money thus borrowed 
 was never payed off, but w as suffered 
 to remain at interest, and was, as it is 
 now, called the National Debt, 
 the interest upon which is annually 
 paid out of the taxes raised upon the 
 people. As this debt went on in- 
 creasing, the bank-notes went on in-r 
 creasing, as, indeed, it is evident they 
 must, seeing that the interest of the 
 Debt was, as it still is and must be, 
 jtaid in bank-notes. 
 
 It is not simply the quantity of 
 bank-notes that are put into circula- 
 tion, which will excite alarm as to 
 their solidity ; but, it is that quantity, 
 if it be great, compared with the (/nan- 
 fitjf of gold and silver, seen in eircu-*. 
 laiion. if, as tlie bank-notes in- 
 creased, the circulating gold aiad 
 silver had increased in the same 
 proportion; then, indeed, bank* 
 notes would still have retained their 
 usual credit ; people would still have 
 had the same confidence in them. 
 But, this could not he. From the na- 
 ture of things it could not be. The 
 cause of the increase of the bankr 
 notes, was, the increase of the interest 
 upon the National Debt; and, as it 
 grew oik of an operation occasioned 
 by poverty, it would Ji$v* hem 
 

 Mj 
 
 LETTER It 
 
 [14 
 
 strange indeed had it been accom- 
 panied with a circumstance, which 
 would have been an infallible indica- 
 tion of riches.* 
 
 Without, however, stopping here to 
 inquire into the cause of the coin's 
 not increasing with the increase of 
 paper, suffice it to say, that such was 
 the fact Year after year we saw 
 more of bank-notes and less of gold 
 and silver ; till, in time, such was the 
 quantity of bank-notes required to 
 meet the purposes of gold and silver 
 in the payment of the interest of the 
 still increasing Debt, and in the pay- 
 ment of the taxes, many other banks 
 were opened, and they also issued 
 their promissory notes. The Bank 
 Company's notes, which had never 
 before been made for less sums than 
 10 pounds, were, soon after the be- 
 ginning of Pitt's war, in 1793, is- 
 sued for Jive pounds, after which it 
 was not to be supposed, that people 
 could have the same opinion of bank- 
 notes that they formerly had. Every 
 part of the people, except the very 
 poorest of them, now, occasionally, 
 at least, possessed"bank-notes. Rents, 
 
 Y salaries, yearly wages, all sums above 
 
 S five pounds, were now paid in bank- 
 
 l notes ; and, the government itself was 
 now paid its taxes in this same sort of 
 
 ; currency. 
 
 In such a state ©f things it was 
 quite impossible that people should 
 not begin to perceive, that gold and 
 silver jwas better than bank-notes f 
 and that they should not be more de- 
 sirous of possessing the former than 
 the latter ; and, the moment this is 
 the case, the banking system must be- 
 gin to tremble ; for, as the notes are 
 
 ythkt are the Funds and Stocks and National Debt? — Necessity of clearly understanding 
 what these words mean — Meaning of them— Inquiry into the Origin of the Funds and 
 DebU-The English Revolution— Act of Parliament, 4th William III. Cap. 3, begins 
 the Funding and Debt System — First Loan to Government — Nature of Funds and 
 Stocks and National Debt— Explanation of how " Money is put in the Funds" — Illus- 
 tration in the case of Messrs. Muckworm and Company, and that of Farmer Green- 
 horn — The Funds shown to be mo place, nor any thing of a mystical uature. 
 
 payable to the bearer, and payable on 
 dmnand, it is very certain, that no 
 man, with such a preference in his 
 mind, will keep in his possession a 
 bank-note, unless we can suppose a 
 man so absurd as to keep a thing, of the 
 goodness of which he has a suspicion, 
 while, for merely opening his mouth 
 or stretching forth his hand, he can 
 exchange it for a thing of the same 
 nominal value, and of the goodness of 
 which it is impossible for him or 
 any one else to entertain any suspi- 
 cion. " Public Credit," as it has 
 been called, but, as it may more pro- 
 perly be called, " The credit of bank- 
 notes" has been emphatically de- 
 nominated, " Suspicion Asleep." 
 In the midst of events like those of 
 1793 and the years immediately suc- 
 ceeding ; in the midst of circum- 
 stances like those above-mentioned, 
 relating to the bank-notes, it was im- 
 possible that Suspicion should sleep 
 any longer. The putting forth of the 
 5 pound bank-notes appears to have 
 rouzed it, and, in the month of 
 February, 1797, it became broad 
 awake. The stoppage of payment on 
 the part of the Bank Company was 
 the immediate consequence ; but, a 
 particular account of that important 
 event, which totally changed the na- 
 ture of all our money transactions, 
 and which will, in the end, produce, 
 in all human probability, effects of 
 the most serious nature, must be the 
 subject of a future Letter. In the 
 mean while I am, 
 
 Your Friend, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Thursday, 
 20th August, 1810. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 HAVING in the foregoing letter, 
 Jakes a sketch of the History ©f ike 
 
 Bank of England, and of its Notes, 
 from their origin down to the time 
 when that &ank stopped paying its 
 
10! 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [16 
 
 notes in gold arid silver, the next thing 
 to do, in our regular course of pro- 
 ceeding, will be to inquire into, and 
 clearly ascertain, the cause of that 
 stoppage ; for it is very evident, that 
 without ascertaining this cause, we 
 shall not be able to come to any thing 
 like a decided opinion with regard to 
 eurmain question, namely, whether 
 
 THERE BE ANY PROBABILITY THAT 
 THIS BANK WILL BE ABLE TO RE- 
 TURN TO THEIR PAYMENTS IN 
 
 gold and silver, in which question 
 every man of us, from the highest ,to 
 the lowest, is so deeply interested. 
 
 But, it is necessary for us to stop a 
 little where we are, and not go on any 
 further with our inquiries into the 
 cause of the stoppage at the Bank of 
 England, until we have taken time to 
 look a little at the FUNDS and the 
 NATIONAL DEBT. These are 
 words which are frequently made use 
 of; but, like many other words, they 
 stand for things which are little un- 
 derstood, and the less, perhaps, be- 
 cause the words are so very commonly 
 used. As in the instance of Shrove 
 Tuesday or Shrovetide, words which 
 we all, from the oldest to the 
 youngest, make use of; hut as to 
 their meaning, we content ourselves 
 with supposing (or appearing to sup- 
 pose), that they contain a command- 
 ment for us to eat Fritters and Pan- 
 takes, and to murder poor unoffend- 
 ing cocks; v/hereas they mean, the 
 Tuesday, or the lime for going to con- 
 fess our sins to, and to get absolution 
 from the Priests ; to shrieve, being a 
 word equal in meaning to confess, and 
 shrove to confessed; and the use of 
 them in tire case here mentioned 
 having been handed down to us from 
 the days of our forefathers, when the 
 Catholic warship was the worship of 
 the country. 
 
 Monstrous, however, as is th© per- 
 version of the meaning of words, in 
 this instance, it is scarcely more so 
 than in the case of the Funds and the 
 National Debt; but, there is this 
 very important difference in the two 
 cases ; that, while, in the former, the 
 perversion is attended with no mis- 
 chief to eit&pr individuals, or to the 
 
 nation , in the latter, it is attended 
 with great mischief to both ; with the 
 ruin and misery of many a thousand 
 of widows and orphans, and with 
 woes unnumbered to the nation at 
 large. But, if a right understanding 
 of the meaning of these words be, in' 
 all cases where words are used, of 
 some consequence, it is of peculiar 
 consequence here, where, as may 
 have been gathered from the pre- 
 ceding letter, we shall mid the Funds, 
 the Stocks, and the National Debt, to 
 be so closely interwoven with the 
 Bank Notes, as to be quite inse- 
 parable therefrom in every possible 
 state or stage of their existence. 
 
 The word FUND means, a cpian- 
 tity of money put or collected together. 
 The word STOCK, as applied to such 
 matters, has the same meaning. Both 
 words may admit of meanings some- 
 what different from this ; but, this is 
 the meaning which plniii men com- 
 monly give to these words ; and it is, 
 too, the fair and sensible meaning of 
 them. Now, we shall presently see, 
 in what degree this meaning belongs 
 to what are commonly called the 
 Funds, or the Stocks, into the origin 
 and progress of which, we are now 
 going to inquire ; and, an inquiry it 
 is, worthy of the undivided attention 
 of every true Englishman ; every man 
 who wishes to see the country of his 
 forefathers preserved from ruin and 
 subjugation. 
 
 Soon after the English Revolu- 
 tion ; that is to say, soon after our 
 ancestors, who had too much spirit to 
 be dragooned out of their liberty and 
 their property, had driven away king 
 James the Second, and Lad brought 
 over the Prince of Orange, and made 
 him king in his stead, and had, at the 
 same time, taken measures for strip- 
 ping the family of Stuart of the crow n 
 for ever, and putting it upon the heads 
 of his present Majesty's family ; soon 
 after this Be volution, the existence 
 of Funds, Stocks, and a National 
 Debt began, under the auspices of 
 that same Prince of Orange, who 
 was then become our King William 
 III. and who appears to have lost 
 but very little tune in discovering th« 
 
17] 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 [18 
 
 effectual way of obtaining money 
 from the English, without resorting, 
 as the Stuarts had, to those means, 
 the use of whieh had, ever and anon, 
 excited commotions against them; 
 which had brought one of them to the 
 scaffold; and which, at last, after 
 driving another from the land, had 
 for ever stripped them of their crown. 
 The real motives for creating a 
 National Debt we shall, by-and-by, 
 perhaps, have occasion to notice ; but, 
 at present, our business is to get at a 
 clear notion of the way in which it 
 xv as created. 
 
 William the Third was hardly seat- 
 ed upon the throne before a war was 
 begun against France, and, in the 4th 
 year of his reign, being the year 1692, 
 an act of parliament was passed im- 
 posing " Certain Kates and Duties 
 " upon Beer, Ale and others Li- 
 " quors, for securing certain llecom- 
 " pences and Advantages in the said 
 " Act mentioned, to such Persons as 
 " shall voluntarily advance the sum 
 " of Ten Hundred Thousand Founds 
 " towards carrying on the War against 
 " France." This is the Title of the 
 Act, being Chapter 3rd of the 4th 
 year of William awd Mary. These are 
 the very words; and fatal words they 
 were to England. 
 
 In the body of this Act, it is enact- 
 ed, that the persons, who shall adyance 
 the million of pounds, shall, out of the 
 r&tes and duties imposed by the act, 
 receive a certain interest, or annual 
 payment, for the use of the money so 
 advanced. They were to have, and 
 they had, their money secured to 
 them by the way of annuity for life or 
 lives; and, they were to have certain 
 advantages in cases of survivorship; 
 and the annuities were to be redeem- 
 ed upon certain conditions and at 
 certain times. But, it will be quite 
 useless for us to load our subject with 
 a multitude of words, and to ring the 
 khanges upon all the quaint terms, 
 which, as appertaining to these mat- 
 tars, have, one would think, been 
 made use of for no other purpose 
 than that of confusingthe understand- 
 ings of plain wen, The light wherein 
 
 to view the transaction is this : The 
 Government was (no matter hew, or 
 from what cause) got into a war with 
 France ; and, for the alledged purpose 
 of pushing on this war with V viyour" 
 (it is odd enough that the very word 
 was made use of, just as it is now) 
 they borrowed a million of pounds of 
 individuals, and, at the same time, 
 imposed taxes upon the whole nation 
 for the purpose of paying the interest 
 of the money so borrowed; or, in 
 other words, the nation's taxes were 
 mortgaged to the lenders of this mil- 
 lion of pounds. 
 
 The lenders of the money, who, in 
 time, became to be called fund-holders, 
 or stock-holders, did, as the work of 
 lending and fund- making advanced, 
 make their loans in various ways, and 
 the bargains between them and the 
 government were of great variety in 
 their terms, and in the denominations 
 made use of; but, it was always the 
 same thing in effect : the government 
 borrowed the money of individuals • 
 it mort 'aged taxes for the payment 
 of the interest; ar.d those individuals 
 received for their money, promises, or 
 engagements, no matter in what shape, 
 which enabled them to demand annu- 
 ally, half-yearly, or quarterly, the 
 shave of interest due to each of them ; 
 and any single parcel of interest, so 
 received, is what is, in the queer lan- 
 guage of the funding trade, called a 
 "dividend " No matter, therefore, 
 what the thing is called; no matter 
 how many nick-names they choose to 
 give to the several branches of the 
 Debt. We daily see, in the news- 
 papers, what is called the " PRICE 
 OF STOCKS," as in the following 
 statement, which is in all the news- 
 papers of this day : 
 
 Bank Stock 257 5^ 
 
 3 per Cent. Red. 68$ 1 1 1 
 8 per Cent. Con. 6?} 8 7£ 
 
 4 per Cent. 85 4£ 5£ 4$ 
 5perC . Navy9&HJ J 
 Lorn- / jities 18-£ 
 Omkium 21 \ dsis. 
 Excheq. Bills 1 dis. 5 prera. 
 Bank Stock for open. 257J 
 Consols for— « — 68-J £ \ 
 
m 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [20 
 
 x These are names, which the dealers, 
 or jobbers, in Stocks give to the se- 
 veral classes of them. But, as I said 
 before, let us avoid confusing our heads 
 with this worse than Babylonish col- 
 lection of names, or sounds, and kerp 
 fully and clearly and constantly in our 
 sight, these plain facts : First, thut 
 the Funds, the Stocks, and the Natio- 
 nal Debt, all mean one and the same 
 thing; Secondly, that this Debt is 
 made up of the Principal money lent 
 to the Government at different times 
 since the beginning of the thing in 
 1692; Thirdly, that the Interest 
 upon this principal money is paid out 
 ©f the taxes; and, Fourthly, that 
 those persons who are entitled to re- 
 ceive this interest, are what we call 
 fund-holders, or stock holders, or, ac- 
 cording to the more common notion 
 and saying, have " money in the 
 funds." 
 
 Being here in the elementary, the 
 mere horn-book, part of our subject, 
 we cannot make the matter too clear 
 to our comprehension ; and, we ought, 
 by no means, to go a step further, till 
 we have inquired into the sense of this 
 saying about people's " having money 
 in the Funds;" from which any one, 
 who did not understand the thing, 
 would naturally conclude, that the 
 person who made use of the saying, 
 looked upon the Funds, as a place, 
 where a great quantity of gold and sil- 
 ver was kept locked up in safety. Nor, 
 would such conclusion be very errone- 
 ous ; for, generally speaking, the no- 
 tion of the people of this country is, 
 that the Funds or the Stocks (they are 
 made use of indiscriminately,) is a 
 PLACE, where money is kept. A 
 place, indeed, of a sort of mysterious 
 existence ; a sort of financial Ark ; a 
 place not, perhaps, to be touched, or 
 even seen; but, still the notion is, 
 that of a place, and a place, too, of 
 more than mortal security. 
 / Alas ! the Funds are no place at 
 afl! and, indeed, how should they, 
 seeing that they are in fact, one and 
 the same thing with the National 
 Debt? But, to remove, from the 
 
 mind of every creature, "all ooubt 
 upon this point ; to dissipate the mists, 
 in which we have so long been wan- 
 dering about, to the infinite amuse- 
 ment of those who invented these 
 terms, let us take a plain commoa- 
 sense view of one of th6se loaning 
 transactions. Let us suppose, then, 
 that the Government wants a loan, 
 that is, wants to borrow money, to the 
 amount of a million of pounds. * It 
 gives out its wishes to this effect, and, 
 after the usual ceremony upon such 
 occasions, the loan is made, that is, 
 the money k lent, by Messrs. Muck- 
 worm and Company. We shall see, 
 by-and-by, when we come to talk 
 more fully upon the subject of loans, 
 what sort of a way it is, in which 
 Muckworm pays in the money se lent, 
 and in what sort of money it is that 
 he pays. But, for the sake of simpli- 
 city in our illustration, we will sup- 
 pose him to pay in real good money, 
 and to pay the whole million himself 
 at once. Well: what does Muck- 
 worm get in return ? Why, his name 
 is written in a book ; against his name 
 is written that he is entitled to receive 
 interest for a million of money; whieh 
 book is kept at the Bank Company's 
 house, or shop, inThreadneedle Street, 
 London. And, thus it is that Muck- 
 worm "puts a million of money into 
 " the Funds." " Well," you will 
 say, " but what becomes of the money ?" 
 Why, the Government expends it, to 
 be sure : what should become of it ? 
 Very few people borrow money for 
 the purpose of locking it up in their 
 drawers or chests. "What? then,, 
 " the money all vanishes ; and nothing 
 " remains in lieu of it but the lender's 
 " name written in a book?" Even 
 so : and this, my good neighbours, is 
 the way, that " money is put into the 
 " Funds." 
 
 But, the most interesting part of 
 the transaction remains to be describ- 
 ed. Muckworm, who is as wise as 
 he is rich, takes special care not to 
 be a fund-holder himself; and, as is 
 always the case, he loses no time in 
 selling his stock, that is to say, his 
 
21J 
 
 LETTER II, 
 
 [22 
 
 right to receive the interest of the 
 trillion of pounds. These funds, or 
 stock, as we have seen, have no bodily 
 existence, either in the shape of mo- 
 ney or of bonds or of certificates or of 
 any thing else that can be seen or 
 touched. They have a being merely 
 in name. They mean, in fact, a right 
 to receive interest ; and, a man, who 
 is said to possess, or to have, a thou- 
 sand pounds' worth of stock, possesses, 
 in reality, nothing but the right of 
 receiving the interest of a thousand 
 pounds. When therefore, Muckworm 
 sells his million's worth of stock, he 
 sells the right of receiving the interest 
 upon the million of pounds which 
 he lent to the government. But, the 
 way iii which sales of this sort are 
 effected is by parcelling the stock out 
 to little purchasers, every one of whom 
 buys as much as he likes; he has his 
 name written in the book for so much, 
 instead of the name of Muckworm 
 and Company ; and, when Muckworm 
 has sold the whole, his name is cros- 
 sed out, and the names of the persons, 
 to whom he has sold, remain in the 
 book. 
 
 And, here it is that the thing comes 
 home to our very bosoms; for, our 
 neighbour, farmerGreenhorn, who has 
 all his life long been working like a 
 horse, in order to secure his children 
 from the perils of poverty, having first 
 bequeathed his farm to his son, sells 
 the rest of his property (amounting 
 to a couple of thousands of pounds), 
 and, with the real good money, tlie 
 fruit of his incessant toil and care, 
 purchases two thousand pounds worth 
 of Muckworm's Funds, or Stocks, and 
 leav es the said purchase to his daugh- 
 ter. And, why does he do say ? Tiie 
 reason is, that, as he believes, his 
 daughter will always receive the in- 
 terest of the two thousand pounds, 
 without any of the risk, or trouble, 
 belonging to the rents of house or 
 land. Thus neighbour Greenhorn is 
 said to have " put two thousand 
 " pounds in the funds;" and thus his 
 daughter (poor girl!) is said to " have 
 " her money in the funds ;" when the 
 
 plain fact is, that Muckworm's money 
 has been spent by the government , that 
 Muckworm has now the two thousand 
 pounds of poor Grizzle Greenhorn, 
 and that she, in return for it, has her 
 name written in a Book, at the Bank 
 Company's house in Threadneedle 
 street, London, in consequence of 
 which she is entitled to receive the 
 interest of the two thousand pounds; 
 which brings us back to the point 
 whence we started, and explains the 
 whole art and mystery of making loans 
 and funds and stocks and natJv/»«4 
 debts. 
 
 It will be very useful to show the 
 effect of this " putting money in the 
 " funds," with respect to the party, 
 who is said to put it in. I do not 
 know of any duty more pressing upon 
 me, than that of showing, in this plain 
 and practical Avay, what have been, 
 what are, and what must be, the con- 
 sequences to those, who thus dispose 
 of their property ; especially i( they 
 have no property of any other sort. 
 But, this will be found to belong to 
 another part of our subject; and, as 
 we have now seen what the Funds 
 and the Stocks really are; as we 
 have blown away the mist in which 
 we had so long been wandering; as 
 the financial Ark is now no more in 
 our sight than any veritable box made 
 of deal boards and nails ; as we are 
 now satisfied, that there is nothing 
 mystical in the words Funds and 
 Stocks, and that, so far from meaning 
 a place where a great quantity of 
 money is kept, they are not the name 
 of any place at all, nor of any thing 
 which has a corporeal existence, 
 and are the mere denominations, -or 
 names, of the several classes, or par- 
 cels, of Debt, which the government 
 owes to individuals : in short, as we 
 have now, let us hope, arrived at a 
 complete knowledge of the nature 
 and origin of the Funds and the 
 Stocks and the National Debt, which, 
 as was before said, are, in fact, all 
 one and the same thing, it is time 
 that we proceed to enquire into their 
 progress, and to see how th/it progress 
 
23] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 p4 
 
 is connected with the increase of the 
 Bank Notes and with the stoppage 
 ©f the payment of those notes in gold 
 and silver. To do justice, how- 
 ever, to this copious aad interesting 
 theme, especially when couple (i with 
 what it will be necessary to say as to 
 the schemes for arresting the pro- 
 
 gress of the Debt, will demand a se- 
 parate Letter. 
 
 In the mean while, 
 
 I am with perfect sincerity, 
 Your Friend, 
 
 Win. COBBETT. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Thursday, 
 6th Sep. 1810. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 Danger of excitinjj Popular Discontents against Country Paper-Money Makers— De- 
 scription of the National Debt — Progress of the Debt — The different Denomination! 
 of it of no Consequence — Cost ol the Anti-jacobin Wa> — Progress of the National Ex- 
 pences — Progress of the Revenue or Taxes — The Effect of Taxation — Taxes cause 
 Poverty and Misery in a Country — Not like Rents — Iftor^tse of Revenue no Proof of 
 National Prosperity — What are the Signs of National Profperity — Increase of the Poor 
 Kates in England — Cost of the Tax-Gatherers sufficient to support 92,51)0 Families. » 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 A LONDON print, which k what 
 is called a ministerial newspaper, and 
 which I, in the discharge of my duty 
 as a public writer, am compelled to 
 read,* but which, for the sake of your 
 morals, I hope none of you ever see, 
 has most harshly spoken of that part 
 ©f our paper money, which is issued 
 hy the Bankers, whose shops are in the 
 country. The writer of this print has 
 described that paper, namely, ti;o 
 country bank notes, as " destructive 
 " assignats;" and, in another of his 
 publications, he calls them " vile 
 " rags ;" and then again " dirty rags." 
 These hard words, besides that they 
 are unbecoming in sober discussion, 
 (pan do no good, and may do a great 
 deal of harm, if they have any effect 
 at all upon the minds of the people ; 
 and, therefore we will make a re- 
 mark or two upon their tendency, be- 
 fore we proceed with the topic men- 
 tioned at the close of the last letter. 
 
 Assignats was the name given to the 
 French revolutionary paper-money, 
 the distresses occasioned by which 
 are fresh in the recollection of most 
 people ; and, to give the same name 
 to our country bank-notes was, there- 
 fore, to proclaim, as far as this writer 
 was able to proclaim, that these notes 
 tting more than one half of all our cir- 
 exkting msdtwn, were as bad, if not 
 
 worse, than the paper money of 
 France, which produced so much in- 
 dividual misery to so many millions 
 of people. Not that this was betray 
 ing any secret to the world ; for, it is 
 beyond all comprehension foolish 
 to suppose, that all the world, particu- 
 larly our sharp-sighted enemy, are 
 not fully acquainted with our situa- 
 tion in this respect, more especially 
 now that tlie Bullion Report is abroad; 
 but. what I find fault of, is, that this 
 description of country-bank-notes, as 
 contradistinguished from the London 
 bank-notes, has a tendency to excite 
 popular hatred, and, in cases that 
 may happen, popular violence, against 
 that part of our paper-money makers, 
 called country bankers; than which 
 nothing can be much more unjust in 
 itself,' or be more likely to lead to 
 universal confusion, the experience 
 of the world having proved that com- 
 motion, when once on foot, is seldom 
 limited to the accomplishment of its 
 original object ; and, we may venture 
 to affirm, that nothing was ever better 
 calculated to render popular commo- 
 tion violent, and to push it beyond its 
 natural bounds, than the hatred and 
 revenge, which it would seem to bo 
 the object of the print above mention- 
 ed to excite in the minds of the 
 people. 
 The eotmtry papewaoney makew 
 
N o. 2 .]— COBBETFS PAPER AGAINST GOLD.— [Price Two-Pence. 
 
 25] 
 
 are not, as we shall soon see, any 
 more to blame then are the paper- 
 money makers in town. Paper-mo- 
 ney making is a trade, or calling, per- 
 fectly innocent in itself, and the 
 tradesmen may be very moral and even 
 very liberal men. Amongst them, as 
 amongst men of other trades, there 
 are, doubtless, sharpers and even 
 rogues, and, the trade itself may be 
 one that exposes men to the tempt- 
 ation of becoming roguish; but it does 
 not follow, that all the paper-money 
 makers, or, that the paper-money 
 makers in general, are men of dis- 
 honest views. It is therefore, not 
 only illiberal, but unjust in the ex- 
 treme, to condemn the whole of the 
 trade in a lump, to call their wares 
 " destructive assignats, vile rags, dirty 
 rags" and the like, whence it is, of 
 course, intended that it should be un- 
 derstood, that all the issuers of them 
 ought to be regarded as pests of so- 
 ciety and treated accordingly; when 
 the truth is, as we shall presently 
 see, the fault is not in individuals, but 
 in the system. 
 
 Having thus endeavoured to put 
 you upon your guard against the ten- 
 dency of this very unjust representa- 
 tion of our country bankers, and their 
 money, an endeavour, which, it appear- 
 ed to me, ought not to be delayed, we 
 will now proceed with our subject, and, 
 as was proposed, at the close of the 
 last Letter, inquire into the progress of 
 the Funds and Stocks; or, in more 
 proper terms, into the INCI1EASE 
 OF THE NATIONAL DEBT. 
 
 We have before seen what is the 
 nature of this debt : we have also seen 
 how it began: we shall, by-and-by 
 have to show the effects of it: but 
 what we have to do, at present, is to 
 inquire into, and ascertain, how it has 
 gone on increasing, and what is now 
 its amount. We shall next inquire 
 into the schemes for lessening the 
 Debt; and then we shall distinguish 
 what is called Redeemed from Un- 
 
 W. MOLIXKUX, Printer. Rream'« Buildings, 
 CJmacery Lane. 
 
 [20 
 redeemed debt; but, first of all, let 
 us leave all other views of it aside, 
 and confine our attention merely to 
 the sums borrowed. We have before 
 seen, that the money has been bor- 
 rowed in various w ays, or under va- 
 rious denominations. In some eases 
 the money borrowed was to yield the 
 lender 3 per centum, that is to say 
 
 3 pounds interest, yearly, for every 
 hundred pounds of principal. In 
 some cases the lender was to receive 
 
 4 per centum ; in some cases 5 per 
 centum; and in some cases more. 
 Hence come the denomination of 3 
 per cents and 4 per cents, and so 
 forth. But, to the people, who have 
 to pay the interest, these distinctions 
 are of no consequence at all, any more 
 than it would be to either of us, avIic- 
 ther our bakers' bills were made out 
 upon brown paper or upon white. We 
 shall see afterwards what we have to 
 pay yearly in the shape of interest, 
 which is the tiling that touches us 
 home; but, let us first see what the 
 principal is, and how it has gone on 
 increasing ; bearing in mind, that, as 
 was shown in the foregoing Letter, 
 page 17, the borrowing, and, of course, 
 the Debt, began in the year 1692, 
 in the reign of William the Third, 
 and that the loan made in that year 
 amounted to one millions of pounds. 
 When Queen Anne, 
 
 who succeeded Wil- 
 liam, came to the 
 
 throne, which was in 
 
 the year 1701, the 
 
 Debt was . . . £16,394,702 
 When George I. came 
 
 to the throne in 1714, 
 
 it was 54,145,363 
 
 When GeorgeII. came 
 
 to the throne, in 1727, 
 
 it was 52,092,235 
 
 When George III. 
 
 came to the throne, in 
 
 1760, it was . . 146,682^844 
 After the American 
 
 War, in 1784, it was 257,213,043 
 
 B 
 
27] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [28 
 
 At the latter end of 
 the last war; that 
 is to say, the first war 
 against the French Re- 
 volutionists, and which, 
 for the sake of having 
 a distinctive appella- 
 tion, we will call the 
 Anti-JacobinWar: 
 at the end of that war, 
 inl801,theDebtwas 579,931,447 
 At the PRESENT time; 
 or rather, in January 
 
 last: 811,898,082 
 
 That is to say, eight hundred and 
 eleven millions, eight hundred and 
 ninety eight thousand, and eighty two ; 
 #nd these mpounds, in English pounds, 
 too ! There are, in the accounts, 
 laid before the parliament (from which 
 the last mentioned sum is taken) some 
 shillings and pence and even FAR- 
 THINGS, in addition; but though 
 these accountants have been so nice, 
 we will not mind a few farthings. 
 Part of this Debt is what is called 
 funded and a part unfunded; part is 
 called Irish Debt, part Emperor of 
 Germany's Debt, and another part 
 the Prince Regent of Portugal's. But 
 interest upon the whole of it is payable 
 in England; and that is all that we 
 have to look after ; it being of no con- 
 sequence to us what the thing is call- 
 ed, so that we have to pay for it. So 
 that we are taxed to pay the interest 
 of it, what matters it to us what names 
 the several parts of it may go by? I 
 hope, that there is not, at this day, a 
 man among3t you, who is to be amus- 
 ed with empty sounds : I hope that 
 your minds are not now-a-days, after 
 all that you have seen, to be led 
 away from the object before them by 
 any repetition of mere names. So long 
 as we are t-axed to pay the interest 
 upon the Debt, that man must be ex- 
 ceedingly weak, who is to be made to 
 believe, that it is of any consequence 
 to any of us by what name that debt 
 is called.* 
 
 * There is, besides the above, the India 
 Debt; but of that we will speak another 
 
 t.irae. 
 
 Such, then, has been the progress 
 of the National Debt ; and, it is well 
 worthy of our attention, that it has in- 
 creased in an increasing proportion* 
 It is now nearly six times as great as 
 it was when the present king came to 
 the throne ; and, which ought to be 
 well attended to, more than two thirds 
 of the whole of the debt has been con- 
 tracted in carrying on, against the 
 French, that war, which, at its com- 
 mencement, was to succeed by means 
 of ruinint, the finances of France. 
 When the Antijacobin War be- 
 gan, in 1793, the Debt was, at 
 the utmost 257,213 > 043/. It is now 
 811,898,0&2/. Such has, thus far, 
 been the financial effect; such has 
 been the effect as to money-matters, of 
 the wars against the Jacobins. How 
 many times were we told, that it re- 
 quired but one more campaign; one 
 more; only one more vigorous cam- 
 paign, to put an end to the war ; to 
 destroy, to annihilate, for ever, the 
 resources of France. Alas! those 
 resources have not been destroyed. 
 They have increased in a fearful de- 
 gree; while we have accumulated 
 hundreds of millions of Debt in the 
 attempt. How many writers have 
 flattered us, from time to time, with 
 the hope, nay, the certainty, (if we 
 would but persevere) of triumphing 
 over the French by the means of our 
 riches! To how many of these de- 
 ceivers have we been so foolish as to 
 listen! It is this credulity, Avhicli 
 has led to the present state of things; 
 and, unless we shake it off at once, 
 and resolve to look our dangers in the 
 face, we shall, I greatly fear, expe- 
 rience that fate which our deceivers 
 told us would be experienced by our 
 enemy. Pitt, it is well known, 
 grew into favour with the nation in 
 consequence of his promises and his 
 plans to pay off the National Debt; 
 and, this same Pitt, who found that 
 Debt 257 millions, left it upwards of 
 600 millions, after having, for twenty 
 yonvs, had the full power of managing 
 all the resources of the nation ; after 
 having, for nearly the whole of that 
 time, had the support of three fourths, 
 
29] 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 [30 
 
 if not more, of the Members of the 
 House of Commons ; after having, of 
 course, adopted whatever measures 
 he thought proper, during the whole 
 of that time. He found the Debt two 
 hundred and fifty odd millions, and he 
 left it six hundred and fifty odd. This 
 was what was done for England by 
 that Pitt whose own private debts 
 the people had to pay, besides the ex- 
 pence of a monument to his memory ! 
 This is what every man in England 
 should bear constantly in mind. 
 
 Having now seen how the National 
 Debt has increased, let us next see 
 how the EXPENCES, of the Na- 
 tion have increased; and, then take a 
 look at the increase of the TAXES; 
 for in order to be able to form a cor- 
 rect opinion upon the main points, 
 touched upon by the Bullion Com- 
 mittee, we must have a full view, not 
 only of the Debt but of the Expences 
 and the Taxes of the nation. 
 When Queen An ne 
 
 came to the throne, 
 
 in 1701, the whole 
 
 Expences of the 
 
 year, including the 
 
 interest on the Na- 
 tional Debt a- 
 
 mounted to . £5,610,987 Peace 
 When George I. 
 
 came to the throne, 
 
 in 1714, and just 
 
 after Queen Anne 
 
 had been at war 
 
 eleven years . 6,633,581 Peace 
 When George II. 
 
 came to the throne, 
 
 in 1727, . . 5,441,248 Peace 
 When George III. 
 
 came to the throne 
 
 in 1760 . . 24,456,940 War 
 After the End of 
 
 the American 
 
 Wa Rand at the be- 
 ginning of Pitt's 
 
 Administration, in 
 
 1784 . . . 21,657,609 Peace 
 At thei latter End of 
 
 the last, or Anti- 
 
 JacobinWar,ri 
 
 1801, . . . 61 ? 278 ; 018 War 
 
 For the last year, that 
 
 is the year 1809, 
 
 £82,027,288, 5s, IJrf War. 
 
 Now, without any tiling more than 
 this, let me ask any of you, to whom 
 I address this Letter, whether you 
 think it possible for the thing to go on 
 in this way for any great length of 
 time ? If the subject did not present 
 so many considerations to make us 
 serious, it would be quite impossible 
 to refrain from laughing at the scru- 
 pulousness that could \mtfive shillings 
 and a penny three farthings at the 
 end of a sum of millions that it al- 
 most makes one's head swim but to 
 think of. Laughable, however, as we 
 may think it, those who have such 
 accounts made out, think it no laugh- 
 ing matter. It is, on the contrary, 
 looked upon by them, perhaps, as no 
 very unimportant part of the system. 
 
 Upon looking at the above progress 
 of the Expenditure, it is impossible 
 to avoid being struck with the increase, 
 during the present reign. The year 
 1760 was a time of war as well as 
 the present ; but, as we see, a year of 
 war then, cost only 24 millions ; 
 whereas a year of war now costs 82 
 millions. We see, too, that a year 
 of war now costs 20 millions more 
 than a year of war cost only ten 
 years ago. What, then, will be the 
 cost if tins war should continue many 
 years longer, and if, as appeal ances 
 threaten, the enemy should take such 
 measures, and adopt such a change 
 in his mode of hostility, as to add 
 greatly to the expensiveness of our 
 defence? This is a very material 
 consideration ; and, though it will 
 hereafter be taken up, still I could 
 not refrain from just touching upon 
 it in this place. Am I told, that our 
 money is depreciated or fallen off in 
 value ; and that the increase in 
 our Expences is more nominal than 
 real; that the increase is in name; 
 merely in the figures, and not in the 
 thing ; for that a pound is net worth 
 any thing like what a pound was 
 worth when the king came to the 
 throne ? Am I told th ; s ? If I am 
 
si] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [33 
 
 I say, that we are not yet come to the 
 proper place for discussing ; matters of 
 this sort; that we shall come to it 
 all in good time; but, that, in the 
 meanwhile, I may hope to hear no 
 more abuse of our doctrines, from 
 those, at least, who, in this way, 
 would reconcile our minds to the 
 enormous increase in the Nation's 
 yearly Expences. 
 
 Having now taken a view of the in- 
 crease of the Debt, and also of the 
 yearly Expences of the nation, let us 
 now see how the Revenue, or Income, 
 or, more properly speaking, ' the 
 TAN ES ; that is to say, the money 
 received from the people, in the 
 course of the year, by the several 
 sorts of Tax-gatherers; let us now 
 see how the amount of these has gone 
 on increasing. 
 When Queen Anne 
 
 came to the throne, hi 
 
 1701, the yearly a- 
 
 mountof the taxes was ,£4/212,358 
 When George 1. came 
 
 to the throne in 1714, 
 
 it was ----- 6,762,643 
 When George IT. 
 
 came to the throne in 
 
 1727, it was - - - 6,522,540 
 When George III. 
 
 came to the throne in 
 
 1760, it was - - - 8,741,632 
 After the American 
 
 war, in 1784, it was 13,300,921 
 At the close, of the Anti- 
 Jacobin war, in 3601. 
 
 it was - - - - - 36,728,971 
 For the last year, that is 
 
 1809, it was - - - 70,2 40,226 
 
 It is quite useless to oiler any 
 comments upon this. The figures 
 speak too plainly for themselves to 
 receive any assistance from words. 
 As to the correctness of these state- 
 ments, there may, perhaps, be found 
 some little inaccuracies in the copy- 
 ing of the figures, and hi adding some 
 of the sums together ; but, these must 
 be very immaterial; and, indeed, 
 none of the questions, which we have 
 to discuss, can possibly be affected by 
 any little error of this sort. I say 
 this in order to bar any cavil that 
 
 may, possibly, be attempted to ba 
 raised out of circumstances, such as t 
 have here mentioned. 
 
 Thus, then, we have pretty fairly 
 before us, a view of the increase of 
 the Debts, the Expences, and the 
 Taxes, of the nation; and a view it is 
 quite sufficient to impress with serious 
 thoughts every man, whose regard 
 for his country is not confined to 
 mere professions. There are persons, 
 I know, who laugh at this. They 
 may have reason to laugh; but tea 
 have not. The pretence is, that taxes 
 return again to those who pay them. 
 Return again ! In what manner da 
 they return ? Can any of you per- 
 ceive the taxes that you pay coming 
 back again to you ? All the inte- 
 rested persons who have written upon 
 taxation, have endeavoured to per- 
 suade the people, that, to load them 
 with taxes does them no harm at all, 
 though this is in direct opposition to 
 the language of every Speech that the 
 King makes to the Parliament during 
 every war ; for, in every such Speech, 
 he expresses his deep sorrow, that he 
 is compelled to lay new burdens upon 
 his people. 
 
 The writers here alluded to, the 
 greater part of whom live, or have a 
 design to live, upon the taxes, always 
 appear to consider the nation as being 
 rich and prosperous in a direct pro- 
 portion to the quantity of taxes, that is 
 raised upon it ; never seeming to take 
 into their views of riches and pros- 
 perity the case and comfort of the 
 people who pay those taxes. The no- 
 tion of these persons seems to be, 
 that, as there always will be mora 
 food raised and more goods made in 
 the country than is sufficient for those, 
 who own, and who till the soil, an i 
 who labour in other ways, that the 
 surplus, or super-abundance, ought to 
 fall to their share ; or, at least, that 
 it ought to be taken away in taxes, 
 which produce a luxurious way of 
 living, and luxury gives employment 
 to the people; that is to say, that it 
 sets them to work to earn their own 
 money back again. This is a might v 
 favour to be sure. 
 
03] 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 [84 
 
 The tendency of taxation is, to 
 create a class o? persons who do not 
 labour; to take from those who do 
 labour the produce of that labour, 
 and to give it to those who do not la- 
 bour. The produce taken away is, 
 in this case, totally destroyed; but, if 
 it Mere expended, or consumed, 
 Amongst those who labour, it would 
 produce something in its stead. There 
 would he more, or better cloth; more 
 or better houses ; and these would be 
 more generally distributed ; while 
 the growth of vice, which idleness 
 always engenders and fosters, would 
 be prevented. 
 
 If, by the gripe of taxation, every 
 grain of the surplus produce of a 
 country be taken from the lowest 
 class of those who labour; they will 
 hare the means of hare existence left. 
 Of course, their clothing and their 
 dwellings will become miserable, their 
 food bad, or in stinted quantity; that 
 surplus produce which should go to 
 the making of an addition to their 
 meal, and to the creating of things 
 for their use, will be annihilated by 
 those who do nothing but eat. .Sup- 
 pose, for instance, a community to 
 consist of a farmer, four cottagers, 
 a taylor, a shoemaker, a smith, a 
 carpenter, and a mason, and that 
 the land produces enough for them all 
 and no more. Suppose this little 
 community to be seized with a desire 
 to imitate their betters, and to keep a 
 sinecure placeman, giving him a tenth 
 of their produce which they ibrmerly 
 gave to their shoemaker. The con- 
 sequence would be, that poor Ciuspi n 
 would die, and they would go bare- 
 footed, with the consolation of reflect- 
 ing that they had brought themselves 
 into this state from the silly vanity of 
 keeping an idle man. But, suppose 
 the land to yield enough food for all 
 ten of them, and enough fur two more 
 besides. They have this, then, be- 
 sides what is absolutely necessary to 
 supply their wants. They can spare 
 one of their men from the held, and 
 have besides, food enough to keep 
 him in some other situation. Xow, 
 which is best, to make him a second 
 
 carpenter, who, in return for his food, 
 would give them additional and per- 
 manent convenience and comfort in 
 their dwellings ; or, to make him a 
 sinecure placeman or a singer, in 
 either of which places he would be 
 an annihilator of corn, at the saint* 
 time, that in case of emergency, he 
 would not be half so aide to defend 
 the community. Suppose two of the 
 cultivators became sinecure place- 
 men, then you kill the carpenter or 
 some one else, or what is more likely, 
 all the labouring part of the com- 
 munity, that is to say, ail but the 
 sinecure placemen, live more mi- 
 serably, in dress, in dwellings, and in 
 food. This reasoning applied to tens, 
 applies equally well to millions, the 
 causes and effects being, in the latter 
 case, only a little more difficult to 
 trace. 
 
 Such is the way in which taxes ope- 
 rate ; the distinction between which 
 operation and the operation of rents 
 being this, that in the latter case, you 
 receive something of which you ha\ 9 
 the particular enjoyment, for what y 
 ^ive ; and, in the former case you re 
 ceive nothing. It is by no means to 
 be understood, that there should be 
 no persons to live without what is ge- 
 nerally called labour. Physicians, 
 Parsons, Lawyers, and others of the 
 higher callings in life, do, in fact, la- 
 bour ; and it is right that there should 
 be persons of great estate, and with- 
 out any profession at all; but then, 
 you will find, that these persons do not 
 live upon the earnings of others : they 
 all of them give something in return 
 for what they receive. Those of the 
 learned profession give the use of 
 their talents and skill ; and the land- 
 lord gives the use of his land or his 
 houses. 
 
 Nor ought we to look upon all 
 Taxes as so much of the fruit of our 
 labour lost, or takeu away without 
 caiwe. Taxes are necessary in every 
 community ; and the man, whether ho 
 be statesman, soldier, or sailor, who 
 is in the service of the community, 
 gives his services in return lor that 
 portion of the taxes which he receives. - 
 
35] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [30 
 
 We arc not talking against taxes in 
 general; nor, indeed, will wc stop 
 here to inquire, whether our taxes, at 
 their present amount, be necessary ; 
 or, whether, by other counsels, they 
 might, in great part, at least, have been 
 avoided. These arc questions, which, 
 for the present, we will wholly pass 
 over, our object being to come at a 
 correct opinion with regard to the 
 effect of heavy taxation upon the 
 people who have to support it, re- 
 serving for another opportunity our 
 remarks and opinions as to the neces- 
 sity of such taxation in our particular 
 case. 
 
 By national prosperity the writers 
 above alluded to mean something very 
 different indeed from that which you 
 and I, who have no desire to live 
 upon the taxes, should call national 
 prosperity. They look upon it, or, 
 at least, they would have lis look 
 upon it as being demonstrated in the 
 increase of the number of chariots and 
 of fine-dressed people in and about 
 the purlieus of the court; whereas, 
 reflection will not fail to teach us, that 
 this is a demonstration of the increase 
 of the taxes, and nothing more. Na- 
 tional prosperity shews itself in very 
 different ways : in the plentiful meal, 
 tup comfortable dwelling, the decent 
 furniture and dress, the healthy and 
 happy countenances, and the good mo- 
 rals of the labouring classes ofthepeople. 
 These are the ways in which national 
 prosperity shows itself; and, what- 
 ever is not attended with these signs, 
 is not national prosperity. Need I 
 ask you, then, if heav}^ taxation be 
 calculated to produce these effects ? 
 Have our labourers a plentiful meal 
 of food fit for man ? Do they taste 
 meat once in a day? Are they de- 
 cently clothed ? Have they the means 
 of obtaining firing? Are they and 
 their children healthy and happy ? I 
 put these questions. to you, Gentlemen, 
 who have the means of knowing the 
 facts, and who must, I am afraid, 
 answer them all in the negative. 
 
 But, why need we here leave any 
 tiling to conjecture, when we have the 
 undeniable proof before us, in the 
 
 accounts, laid before Parliament, of 
 the amount of the Poor" Rates, at two 
 different periods, and, of course, at 
 two different stages in our taxation ; 
 namely, in the year 1784, and in the 
 year 1803? At the former period, 
 the taxes of the year, as we have seen 
 above, amounted to £.13,300,921; 
 and then the Poor Hates amounted 
 to £.2/105,623. At the latter period, 
 the taxes of the year (as will be seen 
 from the Official Statement in Regis- 
 ter, Vol. IV. page 1471) amounted 
 to £41,931,747 ; and the Poor Rates 
 had then risen to £5,246,506. What 
 must they, then, amount to at this day, 
 when the year's taxes amount to up- 
 wards of 70 millions of pounds ? 
 
 Here, then, we have a pretty good 
 proof, that taxation and pauperism go 
 hand in hand. We have seen what 
 was produced by the Antijacobi>: 
 War. The taxes continued nearly 
 the same from 1784 to 1793, the 
 year in which Pitt began that war ; 
 so that, by the Antijacumn War 
 alone the poor rates were augmented, 
 in nominal p^iount, from £.2,105,623 
 to £.5,246,506; at which wc shall 
 not be surprized, if we apply to this 
 case the principle above illustrated in 
 the supposed community of ten men, 
 where it is shown, that, by taking the 
 produce of labour from the proprie- 
 tors of it, and giving it to those, who 
 do not labour and who do not give the 
 proprietors of such produce any thing 
 in return, poverty, or, at least, a km 
 degree of ease and enjoyment, must be 
 the consequence. 
 
 The poor-rat's alone are now equal 
 in amount to the whole of the national 
 expenditure, including the interest of 
 the Debt, when the late king came to 
 the throne; and, the charges of ma- 
 naging the taxes'; that is to say, the 
 wages, salaries, or allowances, to the 
 Tax-Gatherers of various descriptions ; 
 the bare charge which we pay on 
 this account amounts to xevy little 
 short of as much as tke whole of the 
 taxes amounted to when King William 
 was crowned. 
 
 This charge; that is to say, what 
 we pay to the Tax-gatherers, in one 
 
87] 
 
 LETTER IV 
 
 [38 
 
 shape or another, is stated in the 
 account laid before Parliament for 
 the last year, at £.2,880,201, a sum 
 equal to a year's wages of 92,500 
 labourers at twelve shillings a week, 
 which may, I suppose, be looked upon 
 as the average wages of labourers, 
 take all the kingdom through. Is 
 this no evil? Are we to be persuad- 
 ed, that, to take tike means of support- 
 ing 92,500 families, consisting, upon 
 the usual computation (5 to -a family), 
 of 461,000 souls; that to take away 
 the means of supporting all these, 
 and giving those means to support 
 others, whose business it is to tax the 
 rest, instead of adding to the stock of 
 the community by their labour; are 
 we to be persuaded that this is no evil ; 
 and that, too, though we see the poor 
 rates grown from 2 millions to 5 
 millions in the space of 10 years ? Are 
 we to be persuaded to believe this ? 
 Verily, if we are, it is a great shame 
 for us to pretend to laugh at the Ma- 
 honiedaos. 
 
 Having now taken a view of the 
 
 jjrogress of the National Debt together 
 with that of the National Expences 
 and Taxes; and having (by stepping 
 a little aside for a moment) seen some- 
 thing of their effect upon Natioual 
 prosperity, we will, in the next Let- 
 ter, agreeably to the intention before 
 expressed, inquire into the schemes 
 for arresting this fearful progress ; or, 
 as they are generally denominated, 
 plans for paying off, or reducing, the 
 National Debt; a subject of very 
 great importance, because, as we must 
 now be satisfied, the bank notes have 
 increased with the Debt, and, of 
 course, the reducing of the Debt 
 would, if it were accomplished, tend 
 to the reduction of the quantity of 
 bank-notes, by the excess of which it 
 is, as the Bullion Committee have de- 
 clared, that the gold coin has been 
 driven from circulation. 
 I am, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful Friend, 
 Wm. COBBETT. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Tuesday, 
 Ufa Sept. 1810. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Schemes for paying off the National Debt — Former Sinking Funds — Origin of PitF: 
 Grand Sinking Fund — Changes made hy Pitt's sway in the state of this Country — Grand 
 Sinking Fund Act — Purposes of it — The Commissioners and their manner of proceed- 
 ing — How they would buy up Grizzle Greenhorn's share of the Debl— What Redemp- 
 tion means — Commissioners step into Grizzle's shoes — We still are taxed for the Interest 
 — Evils of the Grand Sinking Fund — What would be really redeeming — American 
 mode of Redeeming — Statement of the Increase of the Interest on the teebt — Clause 
 in Pitt's Grand Sinking Fund Act for ceasing to pay Interest, in 1808, upon Stock 
 bought up. 
 
 Gentlemen, • 
 
 OUR next business is to inform 
 ourselves correctly with respect to 
 the Schemes, which, at different times, 
 have been on foot for PAYING OFF 
 THE NATIONAL DEBT, and 
 about which paying off" we have, ail 
 our lives long, heard so much. 
 
 We have seen how the Debt has 
 gone on increasing from its first exist- 
 ence to the jpresent day; we have 
 seen how the Expences of the nation 
 and the Taxes of the nation have gone 
 ©n increasing with the debt ; we have 
 also seen that the increase of the 
 
 Bank-Notes has kept pace with the 
 rest, till those notes have, at hist, 
 driven the gold coin out of circulation. 
 This last, is the evil, for which the 
 Bullion Committee have endeavoured 
 to find out a remedy, and such a 
 remedy they appear to think that they 
 have found, in an Act of Parliament, 
 which they propose to be passed for 
 causing the Bank Company to pay 
 their promissory notes in gold and 
 silver in two years' time. One of 
 our principal objects, in this discus- 
 sion, is, to enable ourselves to form t 
 correct opinion as to the practicabiiiil 
 
39] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [40 
 
 of this remedy, even at the end of 
 two years; and, as we have, from 
 what has already been shown, good 
 reason to believe, that the quantity of 
 ^ynk notes, the excess of which has 
 Iriven the goid out of circulation, 
 cannot be lessened unless the Debt 
 be also diminished, it is necessary 
 for us to ascertain what has been 
 done or attempted, and what is likely 
 to be done, in the way of causing 
 such diminution. 
 
 From very early stages of the Debt; 
 indeed, almost from the rery begin- 
 ning of it, there were measures pro- 
 posed for paying it off, the idea of 
 an everlasting Debt, and an eve*r- 
 lasting mortgage upon the nation's 
 means, being at first, something too 
 frightful for our upright and sensible 
 ancestors to bear. Propositions, and 
 even provisions, were at different 
 times accordingly made for paying off 
 parts of the Debt, and some compara- 
 tively small sums were, in the early 
 stages of the progress, actually paid 
 off; the Debt became less, and less 
 interest was, of course, paid upon it. 
 Still, however, as new wars came on, 
 new sums were borrowed; and, as 
 lending money to the government was 
 found to be a profitable trade ; as so 
 inany persons of influence found their 
 advantage in the loaning transactions, 
 the money was always easily enough 
 raised. But, yet there continued to 
 be a talk of paying off' the Debt; and, 
 in time, a part of the yearly taxes were 
 set aside for that purpose, which part 
 of the taxes so set aside was called a 
 SINKING-FUND. 
 
 These being words, which, as be- 
 longing to our present subject, are of 
 vast importance, it is necessary for 
 us to have a clear notion of their 
 meaning. The word fund, as was 
 before observed in Letter II. page 
 20, means a quantity of money jyut 
 together for any purpose; and, in the 
 instance before us, the word Sinking 
 appears to have been prefixed to the 
 word Fund in order to characterize, 
 or describe, the particular purpose, 
 or use, of the taxes so set apart; 
 namely, the purpose of sinking, or 
 
 reducing, or diminishing, or lessening, 
 the Debt. So that the Sinking Fund, 
 of which we have all heard so much, 
 and of which most of us have known 
 so little, means, in other words, in 
 words better to be understood, a 
 Lessening Fund ; and whether the 
 thing has, in its operation, hitherto, 
 answered to its name, we shall by- 
 and-by see, if, indeed, we have not 
 6een enough to satisfy us upon this 
 point in the increasing of the Debt, as 
 exhibited in the foregoing Letter. 
 
 The amount of taxes thus set apart, 
 or, to use the words with which we 
 must now grow familiar, the Sinking 
 Funds, which were, time after time, 
 established, were in many cases, 
 applied to other purposes than that 
 for which they were destined, or 
 intended. Indeed, they seem, for 
 many years, to have been very little 
 better than purses made up at one 
 time and spent again at another, with- 
 out answering any rational purpose 
 at all; and, accordingly, the nation 
 does not appear to have paid any 
 great attention to them, or to have 
 considered them as of any conse- 
 quence, until the year 1786, when 
 the present GRAND SINKING 
 FUND was established by Pitt, who, 
 but a little while before, had been 
 made Prime Minister, and whose sys- 
 tem has continued to this day. 
 
 Gentlemen, we are now entering 
 upon a part of our subject, which 
 not only demands an uncommon por- 
 tion of your attention, but, into the 
 discussion of which you will, I hope, 
 carry such a spirit of impartiality as 
 shall subdue all the prejudices of 
 party and dissipate all the mists of 
 ignorance which have therefrom ari- 
 sen. It is, even yet, impossible to 
 mention the name of Pitt, without 
 exciting feelings that struggle hard 
 against reason, and that, in some 
 minds, overcome it. During his ad- 
 ministration, the nation was divided 
 into two parties, so hostile to each 
 other, that both were easily made 
 subservient to his views; and, it is, 
 with every man who really loves his 
 country, matter of deep regret, that 
 
41] 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 [42 
 
 the same, or nearly the same, divi- 
 sions continue to the present day. 
 
 It is not for me, who, at one time, 
 really looked upon Pitt as the great- 
 est minister that England ever saw, 
 to reproach others, who may still be 
 as ignorant of the truth, as 1 was then, 
 for their attachment to his memory, 
 for their high opinion of the schemes 
 of his inventing, and for their blind 
 adoration of those schemes; but when 
 they have, as I have, taken a fair 
 and full view of all his measures ; 
 when they have compared his deeds 
 with his professions, his performances 
 with his promises; when they have 
 seen, that he added threefold to our 
 Taxes and our Expenditure, and 
 that, notwithstanding this, the power 
 and the territory of France were ex- 
 tended in proportion to the sacrifices 
 he called upon us to make for what 
 he called resisting her ; when they 
 see, that the standard of national 
 misery, the poor-rates, rose, during 
 his sw r ay, in almost a triple degree ; 
 when they see, that the war at the 
 outset of which he relied, in no small 
 degree, for success upon the destruc- 
 tion of French assignats, did, at the 
 end of four years, cause the stoppage 
 of gold and silver payments at the 
 Bank of England, and that its prolon- 
 gation has led to a state of things, in 
 which a public print devoted to the 
 government, has described the largest 
 class of English bank-notes as " de- 
 structive ass, : gnats ;" when they see 
 this, and when they see, that, the 
 National Debt, which he himself 
 called <; the best ally of France ;" 
 when they see, that that JJebt, which 
 he found at 200 millions and odd, he 
 left at 600 millions and odd, while 
 France, during his wars against her, 
 had exchanged her assignats for gold, 
 and had extended her territory and 
 her sway to a degree which made 
 that nation, whose power our fore- 
 fathers despised, an object of conti- 
 nual dread to England; when the 
 former partisans of Pitt see this, as 
 they must, aye, and feel it too, will 
 they stiil persist in asserting the wis- 
 dom of his plans ; and, above all, 
 
 will they, when they see the Debt 
 tripling in amount under his hand*, 
 still persist in asserting the efficacy of 
 his SinJiing Fund, and, upon that bare 
 assertion, reject all inquir} r into either 
 the nature or the effect of that cele- 
 brated scheme ? 
 
 Let us hope, that, in a country 
 boasting of the thoughtfulness of its 
 people, there can be but \ery few 
 persons so besotted as this; and, 
 indeed, it is due to the country to say, 
 that there do not. appear to be any 
 such left, excepting amongst those 
 who live upon the taxes, and whose 
 perverseness arises not from their 
 want of information. But, be this as 
 it may, I am satisfied that you, my 
 Friends and Neighbours, who, like 
 me, have no interests separate from 
 those of our country, will not, what- 
 ever may have been your prejudices 
 heretofore, wilfully shut your eyes 
 against the truth; and that you will 
 accompany me in this inquiry with 
 that great attention, which, as I be- 
 fore observed, the subject demands. 
 
 Pitt's Sinking Fund was begun in 
 the year 1786, by an Act of Parlia- 
 ment (being Chapter XXXI of the 
 26th year of the reign of George 
 III.) entitled — " An Act for testing 
 " certain sums in Commissioners, at 
 " the end cf every Quarter of a Year, 
 " to be hy them applied to the Reduc- 
 " tionof the National Debt" In virtue 
 of this Act a certain part of the taxes 
 was, in each year, to be paid to cer- 
 tain persons named in the Act, as 
 Commissioners for managing the con- , 
 cern ; and, these taxes, together with 
 the accumulations upon them, have 
 been, as formerly, called a Sinking 
 Fund. 
 
 It is no matter what was tK 
 amount of the sum, or sums, of 
 money, thus to be set apart out of the 
 taxes, and to introduce particulars of 
 that sort would only embarrass our 
 view. Suffice it to know, that certain 
 sums of money, being a part of the 
 taxes, were set apart, and that, with 
 this money, together with its growing 
 interest, the Commissioners, appoint- 
 ed by the Sinking Fund Act, were, 
 
.43] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [44 
 
 at stated periods, and with certain 
 limitations in their powers, to redeem 
 the Debt as fast as they could, the 
 word redeem having now come into 
 fashion instead of the word pay off'. 
 It is of no consequence what were 
 the periods, what were th® days of 
 the week or the times of the moon, 
 v.k'cii this work of redemption was to 
 he performed. The effect is what we 
 have to look after; but, in order to 
 have a clear view of even that, we 
 must see the manner of doing the 
 tiling, the manner of redeeming or 
 paying off the Debt; for, without 
 that, we shall be continually exposed 
 to he bewildered and deceived ; and, 
 indeed, we shall be quite unable to 
 to, m any thing like a clear notion of 
 what the Sinking Fund really is. 
 
 The Commissioners, with the 
 money thus put under their care and 
 management, were to purchase up 
 stock from individuals, which stock 
 would then become the property of 
 the nation. But, stay. We must 
 go gently on here, or we lose our- 
 selves in a moment. We must, in- 
 deed, not proceed a step further, till 
 we have gone back to Letter II, 
 at pages 18, 19, and have taken 
 another look, and refreshened our me- 
 mories as to .what STOCK means. 
 Having done so, and read on to the 
 (^nd of the first paragraph in page 19, 
 we may proceed by repeating, that 
 the Commissioners were to go to 
 work with the mo/iey lodged in their 
 hauls, out of the taxes, and purchase 
 up Stock. We have seen, in the 
 pages just referred to, how Stock is 
 made; we have seen how Muck- 
 worm lent his money to the govern- 
 ment ; we have seen how he got his 
 name written in a book in return for 
 his money ; we have seen that Stock 
 is nothing that can -be seen, heard, 
 smelled, or touched; we have seen 
 that it signifies the right of receiving 
 interest upon money lent to the go- 
 vernment, which money has been 
 Jong ago expended; we have seen 
 tho operation by which Muckworm 
 became possessed of stock : and, 
 lastly, we have seen our neighbour, 
 
 Farmer Greenhorn, purchase 
 two thousand pounds worth of Muck- 
 worm's stock, which the former be- 
 queathed to his poor daughter 
 Grizzle. 
 
 Now, then, observe, the whole of 
 the Stock, of which the National 
 Debt is made up, is exactly the same 
 sort of thing as, this two thousand 
 pounds worth of Stock, belonging to 
 Grizzle Greenhorn. There is a 
 book, hi which a list of the names of 
 all those persons is . written, who 
 have, like Grizzle, a right to draw 
 interest from the government out of 
 the taxes ; against each name in this 
 list is placed the amount of the sum 
 ibr which the person has a right to 
 draw interest. Some have a right to 
 draw interest for more and some for 
 less. And these sums make up what 
 is called the National Debt. Of 
 course, the Sinking Fund Commis- 
 sioners, in order to pay olf the Na- 
 tional Debt, or any part of it, must 
 purchase up Stock from individuals ; 
 or, in other w ords, pay them off their 
 share of the Debt. If, for instance, 
 Grizzle Greenhorn has a mind to 
 have her two thousand pounds to lay 
 out upon land, or do any thing else 
 with, she sells her stock, and, if it so 
 happen, she may sell it to the Com- 
 missioners ; and thus, as they pay 
 her for it with the nation's money, it 
 is said, that, by this transaction, they 
 have redeemed (by which I should 
 mean paid off) two thousand pounds 
 of the National Debt. Grizzle, who 
 was the creditor, has got her money 
 again ; she has no longer any right 
 to draAv interest for it ; and of course, 
 you would think, that these two thou- 
 sand pounds worth of debt were paid 
 off, and that the nation, that we the 
 people, had no longer any interest to 
 pay upon it; you would naturally 
 think, that we were no longer taxed 
 to pay the interest upon this part of 
 the Debt. 
 
 Greatly, however, would vou be 
 deceived ; cruelly deceived, if you 
 did think so; for, notwithstanding 
 the Commissioners have redeemed 
 these two thousand pounds, we have 
 
45] 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 [45 
 
 still to pay the interest of them every 
 year; we are still taxed for the money 
 wherewith to pay this interest, just in 
 the same way as if the two thousand 
 pounds worth of Debt had not been 
 redeemed at all, but still belonged to 
 Grizzle Greenhorn! This is an odd 
 way of redeeming ; an odd way of 
 paying off; do you not think it is, 
 .Neighbours ? We have before seen, 
 that the National Debt is a mortgage 
 upon the taxes. It is constantly 
 called so in conversation, and in 
 writings upon the sabject. But, 
 should not either of you, who hap- 
 pened to have a mortgage upon your 
 land or house, think it strange if, 
 after you had redeemed a part of the 
 mortgage, you had still to pay in- 
 terest upon the part redeemed as 
 Mell as upon the part unredeemed? 
 TO REDEEM, a& applied to money 
 engagements, means to discharge, to 
 set free by payment. This is the 
 meaning of the word redeem, as ap- 
 plied to such matters. It sometimes 
 means i® rescue or, to ransom, from 
 captivity, from forfeiture, or from 
 peril of any sort, by paying a price. 
 .But, in every sense, in which this 
 word is used, it always implies the 
 setting free of the object on which it 
 operates ; and, when applied to a 
 mortgage, a bond, a note of hand, or 
 a Debt of any sort, it implies the 
 paying of it off. How, then, can the 
 two thousand pounds worth of Debt, 
 purchased from Grizzle Greenhorn, 
 by our Sinking Fund Commissioners, 
 be said to be redeemed py us, if we 
 are still taxed to pay the interest 
 upon it, and, of course, i^ it be not dis- 
 charged, and not set free ? 
 
 Nothing, at first sight appears 
 more plausible, nothing more rea- 
 sonable, nothing more clear, than 
 the mode above described, of re- 
 deeming the Debt by purchasing from 
 the several individuals, who, like 
 Grizzle Greenhorn, own the Stock 
 or the Debt, their respective si 
 thereof. Ami, the operation is as 
 simp ib . For, 
 
 tin S c^jniss loners, 
 
 having, for instance, received two 
 
 thousand pounds from the Tax- 
 gath rers, in virtue of the Sinking 
 Fund Act, go and purchase Grizzle's 
 stock ; they give her the two thou- 
 sand pounds ; her right to draw in- 
 terest from us ceases ; her share of 
 the Stock or Debt is redeemed or 
 paid oh"; and her name is crossed out 
 of the Booh. Ah ; but, alas ! the 
 names of our Sinking Fund Commis- 
 sioners are written in the Book in- 
 stead of hers ! Aye ; we have to 
 pay the interest of the two thousand 
 pounds to them instead of to her ; and 
 our taxes on account of this which is 
 called the redeemed part of the Debt, 
 are just as great as they were before 
 this curious work of redemption be- 
 gan. ■ 
 
 " Well then," you will say, " what 
 " does this thing mean; and what 
 " can it have been intended for V 
 Why, to speak candidly of the mat- 
 ter, though the thing was an inven- 
 tion of Pitt, under whose sway so 
 much mischief came upon this nation, 
 I believe, that the thing was well 
 meant. I believe that it was in- 
 tended to free the nation from its 
 Debt. But, I am satisfied, that it 
 has been productive of no small part 
 of the evils, which England and 
 which Europe have experienced 
 since its invention; for, by giving 
 people renewed confidence in the so- 
 lidity of the Funds or Stocks, it ren- 
 dered government borrowing more 
 easy; and, of tourse, it took from 
 the Minister that check to the making 
 of wars and the paying of foreign 
 armies, for thf, want of which check 
 the Expences and Taxes and' Debt of 
 the country have been so fearfully 
 augmented, to say nothing, at present, 
 about the dreadful changes which 
 those wars have made in our affairs 
 both at home and abroad. 
 
 To produce such effects was, how- 
 ever, certainly nbt the intention of 
 the scheme. The intention was, that 
 the Sinking Fu>.d Commissioners 
 should, with the money put into their 
 Is out of the taxes, purchase up 
 Stock, ®r parts of the Debt, belong- 
 ing to individuals ; that the parts, s© 
 
47] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [48 
 
 purchased' up, should not cease to 
 exist ; that they should be written in 
 the Great Book under the name of 
 the Commissioners; that the Com- 
 missiouors should receive the interest 
 'ipon them, instead of its being re- 
 ceived by individuals as before ; that 
 this interest, as fast as it came into 
 the hands of the Commissioners, 
 should, like the money paid to them 
 annually out of the taxes, be laid out 
 in purchasing up more Stock from 
 individuals ; and that the thing should 
 go on thus, till the last of the Stock, 
 or Debt, got into the hands of Com- 
 missioners ; when, of course, the go- 
 vernment might burn the Great Book, 
 and the National Debt would be 
 paid off. 
 
 This scheme was very pretty upon 
 paper ; it made a fine figure in the 
 newspapers and pamphlets of the 
 day ; and looked quite solemn when 
 embodied into an Act of Parliament. 
 There was, to be sure, when people 
 looked into the matter more closely, 
 something rather whimsical in the 
 idea of a nation's paying interest to 
 itself: something very whimsical in 
 a nation's GETTING MONEY by 
 paying itself interest upon its oicn 
 Stock. Many persons thought so, 
 at the time, and some said so ; but 
 the formidable tables of figures made 
 out by court calculators, and the 
 flowery and bold speeches of Pitt, 
 soon put all such persons out of coun- 
 tenance, and reduced them to silence ; 
 or exposed them to the charge of fac- 
 tion and disaffection and disloyalty. 
 The country, infatuated with its 
 " Heaven-born Minister," became 
 deaf to the dictates of common sense; 
 and, with as much fondness as the 
 mother hangs over her smiling babe, 
 it cherished and fostered the fatal 
 delusion. 
 
 • A* the execution of the Sinking- 
 Fund .Act proceeded, more and more 
 of the Stock, or parts of the Debt, 
 became of course entered in the Great 
 Book in the names of the Commis- 
 sioners. Hence arose a new deno- 
 mination in our national money ac- 
 counts; namely, the redeemed debt; 
 
 that is, the parts oi the debt, as afore- 
 said purchased up by the Commis- 
 sioners, was now called the " redeem-* 
 " ed debt ;" a phrase which contains 
 a contradiction in itself. But, still 
 it was unavoidable ; for, it was not 
 paid off; it was bought up, but we 
 had still, and have still, to pay interest 
 upon it ; and, therefore, it could not 
 be said to be paid off; for, it would 
 be folly too gross to pretend that we 
 had paid off a debt or a mortgage, for 
 which we were still paying interest. 
 If, indeed, the parts of the debt, which 
 were purchased up by the Commis- 
 sioners, had been, at once, done away, 
 and we had ceased to pav interest 
 upon them, then those parts would 
 have been really redeemed. If, for 
 instance, Grizzle Greenhorn's two 
 thousand pounds worth of Stock had 
 been crossed out of the Great Book, 
 and had not been inserted in it again 
 under any other name, that two thou^ 
 sand pounds worth of the debt would 
 have been redeemed in reality. This 
 is the May in which the Sinking Fund 
 of the American States operates. They 
 raise yearly a certain sum in taxes; 
 with that Mim they purchase up part 
 of their debt; and then that part of 
 the debt ceases to exist in any shape 
 whatever. The next year they raise 
 a like sum in taxes, and again puiv 
 chase up parcels of the debt. And, 
 thus they proceed, having every suc- 
 ceeding year, less and less interest to 
 pay upon their debt. This is real re- 
 demption : this is real paying off. 
 But, the way in which we proceed 
 bears no resemblance to it; nor has 
 any thing in common with it, except 
 it be the name. 
 
 Let us, before we proceed any fur- 
 ther, take a view of the increase of the 
 interest that we have to pay upon the 
 debt. We have seen in Letter III. 
 page 25, how the debt itself has gone 
 on increasing. But, we have not yet 
 taken a look at the increase of the 
 INTEREST; though this is ve*> 
 material, and, indeed, it is the only 
 thing, belonging to the debt, worthy 
 of our attention. The statement of 
 the amount of the debt itself is of no 
 
49] 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 [50 
 
 practical use, except as it serves to 
 illustrate, to render more clear, the 
 part of the subject upon which Ave 
 now are. For us we have seen, the 
 Debt is nothing more than a right 
 possessed by certain persons, called 
 Stock-Holders, to draw interest from 
 the nation ; . or, in other words, to take 
 annually, or quarterly, part of the 
 taxes raised upon the people at large. 
 Let us, therefore, take a look at the 
 progress of this interest. 
 W ben Qu e e n Anne 
 
 came to the throne, in 
 
 1701, the annual in- 
 terest on the National 
 
 Debt was . . . £1,310,942 
 When George I. came 
 
 to the throne, in 1714 3,351,358 
 When Geo r g e II . came 
 
 to the throne, in 1727 2,217,551 
 When George III; 
 
 came to the throne, in 
 
 1760 4,840,821 
 
 After the American 
 
 War, in 1784, and 
 
 just before the mak 
 
 ing of Pitt's Sinking 
 
 0,669,435 
 
 Fund ..... 
 At the latter end of the 
 
 Anti-JacobinWar, 
 
 in 1801 .... 21,778,018 
 For the l a st Y e ar, that 
 
 is 1809 ..... 32,870,608 
 
 There are included in this sum 
 u charges for management ;" and, as 
 We have before seen, there is some of 
 the Debt (small portions) called the 
 loans, or debts, of the Emperor of 
 Germany, and of the Prince Regent 
 of Portugal, which, it is possible, they 
 may repay us; but, this is, as it is 
 called in the account laid before Par- 
 liament, during the last session, the 
 " Total charge on account of Debt, 
 " payable in Great Britain." And, 
 let me ask any sensible man, what 
 consequence it can be to us, what the 
 Debt is called; what consequence by 
 what name the different sorts of it may 
 go, so that the interest upon it still goes 
 on increasing, and so that we have to 
 pay the whole of that interest out of 
 the taxes? 
 , When Pitt's Sinking Fund was 
 
 established, there was a time fixe.l, 
 when the interest should begin to be 
 diminished. I mean, a time was fixed, 
 when the people should no longer 
 pay taxes to defray the interest upon 
 the Stock, or parts of the Debt, which 
 should after that time be purchased up 
 by the Commissioners. The time so 
 fixed was 1808, two years ago. The 
 year was not named in the Act; but, 
 it was known to a certainty; because 
 this ceasing to pay interest was to be- 
 gin, when the interest upon the Stock, 
 or parts of the Debt, bought up, to^ 
 gether with the sums paid to th« 
 Commissioners out of the taxes, should 
 amount to a certain sum (four millions 
 annually); and, as the sums to be 
 paid to them were fixed, it was a 
 mere question of arithmetic when the 
 paying of interest would cease, agree- 
 ably to the terms of the Act; as ex- 
 pressed in the XXth clause, as fol- 
 lows : " And be it further enacted by 
 ** the authority aforesaid, that wheu- 
 "_ever the whole sum annually receiv- 
 " able by the said Commissioners, in- 
 " eluding as well the quarterly sunt 
 " of two hundred and fifty thousand 
 " pounds herein before directed to be 
 " issued from the exchequer, as the 
 " several Annuities and Dividends of 
 " Stock to be placed to the Account 
 " of the said Commissioners in the 
 '* Books of the Governor and Com- 
 " pany of the Bank of England, by 
 " virtue of this Act, shall amount in 
 " the whole to four Millions an- 
 " NUALLY, the Dividends due on such 
 " Part of the Principal or Capital 
 " Stock as shall thence-forth he paid 
 " off by the said Commissioners, and 
 " the Monies payable on such An- 
 u nuities for Lives or Years as may 
 M afterwards cease and determine, 
 " SHALL NO LONGER BE 
 "ISSUED- AT THE RECEIPT 
 " OF HIS MAJESTY'S EXCHE- 
 '< QUER, but shall be CONS! D E R- 
 " ED AS REDEEMED by Par, 
 " liament, and shall remain to be dis- 
 " posed of as Parliament shall direct," 
 In what way it might have been sup- 
 posed, that Parliament, in its wis- 
 dom, would dispose of these parcels of 
 
511 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD 
 
 [52 
 
 redeemed debt, I shall not, for my 
 part presume to hazard a conjecture; 
 but, as was before observed, it was 
 easy, (the sums being given) to ascer- 
 tain the time, when the provision in 
 this clause would begin to operate; 
 and, that time was, the year 1808. > 
 There was another Act, passed 
 seven years later, (1792), allotting 
 more of the taxes to the same pur- 
 pose (Chapter 52 of the 32nd year of 
 tlnis king's reign) ; and still the same 5 
 provision was made ; nainely, that, 
 when the produce of the Sinking Fund' 
 should amount to 4 millions annually, 
 all the Stock, or parts of the Debt, 
 that should be purchased up by 
 the Commissioners after that time, 
 SHOULD NO LONGER HAVE 
 INTEREST PAID UPON IT 
 OUT OF THE TAXES; but that 
 thtst pans ofihe JJebtsnouid (mark the 
 Tr»rd«.) " be considered AS RE- 
 " DEEMED." And so they would. 
 They really, in that case would have 
 been redeemed ; but the word re- 
 deemed is now applied, even hi the 
 Accounts laid before Parliament, to 
 
 those parts of the Debt, bought up by 
 the Commissioners, the dividend, or 
 interest, on which parts, IS STILL 
 ISSUED' AT THE EXCHE- 
 QUER; that is to say, is still paid 
 out of the taxes ! And all this goes 
 on amongst " the thinking" people of 
 England! 
 
 But, what was done, in the Ions: 
 expected year 1808? What was done, 
 when the year of promise came ? This 
 is the most interesting part of this 
 most curious history ; kit, as to bring 
 to a close the whole of the discussion, 
 relating to the Sinking Fund, would 
 extend this letter to double its present 
 length, I think it better to make the 
 remaining part of it the subject of 
 another Letter, beseeching you, in 
 the meanwhile, to maKe up, by your 
 patience 'in the perusal, far whatever 
 want of clearness may be discovered 
 in the writer. 
 
 I remain, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 Wui. COBBETT. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Thursday, 
 September 14, 1810. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 " I wdulil inculcate one truth with peculiar earnestness ; namely, that a Revolution is not the n«» 
 *• cessary consequence of a National Bankruptcy. —Pursuits of Literature. 
 
 Digression respecting the nse of Bank-Notes as a Political Support to the Government — 
 Mr. Addington's Notion of convincing Ruonaparte by the means of a Tax — Answer of 
 the Mpniteut — Advice given to Mr. Aldington in t ! e Register in 1803 — Passage quoted 
 from a Government News paper describing Bank Notes as necessary to the Existence 
 of the Government — Same Doctrine promulgated by Mr. Paine in his Rights of Man- 
 How different i- this from what the World has been told — Effect of it to encourage the 
 Enemy — Resume the subject of the Sinking Fund — No Interest taken off in 1808 — ■ 
 Acldineton'- Act of 1802 — George Rose quoted to prove that it was clearly held forth 
 to the Nation that Taxes would be repealed in consequence of the Sinking Fund — 
 P.S. Sir John Sinclair's Pamphlet 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 BEFORE we resume the discus- 
 sion, relating to Pitfs Grand Sinking 
 Fund, which want of room obliged 
 us to break off, at the close of the last 
 letter, I think it may be useful to 
 submit to you here an observation or 
 
 two, calculated to obviate any un- 
 founded apprehensions that might 
 otherwise be excited by the appa- 
 rently inevitable fate of the paper- 
 money ; and this I deem the more 
 necessary, as publications are daily- 
 appearing, from the pens of ignorant 
 
53] 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 [54 
 
 or interested persons, the evident ten- 
 dency, and, indeed, object, of which 
 is, to persuade the public, that the 
 existence of the government; that the 
 existence of law and order ; that the 
 safety to persons and property ; nay, 
 that the continuance of the very 
 breath in our nostrils, depend upon 
 the credit of the Bank Notes. 
 
 The author, from whose writings I 
 have taken my motto to this present 
 Number of my work, was, you see, 
 of a * r ery different opinion; and, I 
 have quoted his sentiment upon the 
 subject, because his work is well 
 known to be of what is called the 
 Anti-Jacobin kind, that is to say, 
 a work the tendency of which is to 
 prevent men like you from having 
 any thing to say or to do, any more 
 than your horses, in the affairs of 
 government. This writer, who, how- 
 ever, might mean well, and who is 
 certainly a very clever man, so far 
 from supposing that the existence 
 of the government depended upon 
 the credit of bank-notes, is, you 
 see, fixed in his opinion, and an 
 opinion that he wishes " to in- 
 " culcate with peculiar earnestness," 
 that a revolution, thereby mean- 
 ing a change in the form of govern- 
 ment, is not the necessary conse- 
 quence, even of a National Bank- 
 ruptcy ; that is to say, not only a 
 total discredit of all the paper-money 
 and especially the Bank of England 
 Notes, but also an utter inability to 
 pay, in any way whatever, the in- 
 terest upon the National Debt, or 
 any part of it. 
 
 This is my opinion also, as it al- 
 ways has been since I turned my at- 
 tention to the subject. At the begin- 
 ning of the present war, Mr. Ad- 
 din gton, who was then the Prime 
 Minister, told the House of Com- 
 mons, that one of his principal objects 
 in laying on the Property Tax and 
 other war taxes, was, " to convince 
 " Buonaparte, that it was hopeless for 
 " him to contend with our Jinances" 
 To which the Moniteur, or French 
 govenmtent-newspaper,replied : "Pay 
 " your bank noics in gold and silver, 
 
 " and then wo will believe you, with- 
 " out your going to war."* 
 
 Whether the Minister made good 
 his promise; whether he has con- 
 vinced Buonaparte, that, it was " hope- 
 " kss for him to contend with our 
 " Jinances" you, Gentlemen, are as 
 likely to be able to judge as any body 
 that I know. I, for my part, blamed 
 the Minister for holding out such a 
 motive for his taxing measures. I 
 said to him: The true way of con- 
 vincing your enemy, that this war 
 upon your finances will be useless, is 
 to state explicitly to the world, that 
 you are not at all afraid of the con- 
 sequences of what is called a national 
 bankruptcy; for, while you endea- 
 vour to make people believe, that 
 such an event cannot possibly happen, 
 they will certainly think that yon re- 
 gard it, if it should happen, as irre- 
 trievable ruin and destruction; and, 
 therefore, as you never can quite over- 
 come their apprehensions, the best 
 w r ay is to be silent upon the subject, 
 or, to set the terrific bug-bear at de- 
 fiance. To Buonaparte's exultation 
 at our approaching bankruptcy the 
 answer is' always ready : France has 
 been el bankrupt; Fiance has not 
 paid her paper-money in specie ; yet 
 France is not the weaker for that; 
 France is, in spite of her ruined 
 finances, in spite of the long pam- 
 phlets of Sir Francis DTvernois and 
 Mr. Rose^ in spite of the longer 
 speeches of Lord Mornington, Lord 
 Auckland and Mr. Pitt, in spite of 
 the innumerable columns of figures 
 which these noblemen and gentlemen 
 have drawn up in battle array against 
 her; in spite of all this, France is yet 
 powerful, yea, much more ppwciful 
 than she was before she experienced 
 what is called a national bankruptcy. 
 What ground, therefore, have the 
 French to rejoice at our finances 
 being about to undergo a similar ope- 
 ration? 
 
 Such were my sentiments and my 
 reasoning upon this subject, seven 
 
 * Register, Voi. III. page 948. June, 1S0S 
 
5fl 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [56 
 
 years ago; a time, when to pronounce 
 the word depreciation, as applied to 
 hank-notes, was sure to expose a man 
 to charges very little short of treason, 
 which charges were made by those very 
 persons, who have now declared the 
 greater half of our bank-notes to be 
 " destmctive assignats," and who have 
 called them " vile and dirty rags." 
 My opinion was, and it still is, that 
 the total destruction of the paper- 
 money would not cause any change 
 injurious to this kingdom; and, in- 
 deed, I should have a most hearty 
 contempt for the constitution and for 
 the whole form and composition of our 
 government, if I thought that their 
 existence depended upon the credit 
 of bank-notes. There are however, 
 those who think just the reverse; and 
 these are, too, writers, who appear 
 to be entirely devoted to the govern- 
 ment : one of whom goes so far as to 
 say, that the government has no other 
 trust- worthy support than that which 
 it derives from the bank-notes. " The 
 " human mind," says he, " is sen- 
 " si hie only of the present good, or 
 " evil* and has too little thought to 
 " anticipate consequences, and if it 
 " was not for the immediate personal 
 " interest of a very large and informed 
 " part of the community in the Nation- 
 " al Debt, Patronage and Paper Cur- 
 " rency, GOVERNMENT COULD 
 " HAVE NO EXISTENCE,staud- 
 " ing insulated on the pure basis of 
 '" duty, and remote national and res- 
 " pective good. The conduct of Swe- 
 " den, America, Ireland, and the 
 " Jacobins of England, in their par- 
 " tiality for France, exemplify a want 
 " of sense to execute the maxims of 
 " Efigurus: The paper currency 
 u of Bank Notes (there should be no 
 " Country Bank) offers to Govern- 
 u ment a most indestructible support, 
 " because IT MAKES THE DAI- 
 " LY BREAD OF EVERY 1N- 
 " DIVIDUAL DEPEND SUB- 
 STANTIALLY ON THE 
 "SAFETY OF GOVERN- 
 " MENT, whereas money, which 
 " may be hoarded, separates the in- 
 ** dividual from the public safety. In 
 
 " the present revolutionary state of 
 the world, I think our paper cur- 
 rency a most miraculous mean oy 
 salvation, and the man who would 
 " propose the payment of Bank Notes 
 " in specie at any period, to separate 
 " individual properly from public 
 " safety, might as well propose the 
 " burning of the Nary to protect the 
 " commerce of the zvorld."* 
 
 Gentlemen, do you remember the 
 writings of P ai n e f Do you remem- 
 ber the Rights of Man for the wri- 
 ting of which the author was prose- 
 cuted by the then Attorney General 
 who is now the Lord Cuancellor? 
 Do you remember the Rights of 3Ian t 
 the author of which was prosecuted, 
 and, being absent, was outlawed; the 
 publishers of which were prosecuted 
 all over (he kingdom ; the circulating 
 of which was forbidden by Procla- 
 mation; and, to counteract the princi- 
 ples of winch Associations were 
 formed of the rich and the powerful? 
 Well, it was in this very work, that 
 the doctrine here laid down by this 
 government writer, was first, started; 
 Paine said, that the existence of the. 
 government depended upon the existence 
 of the bank-notes ; and that, the ques- 
 tion was not, how long the British go- 
 vernment would stand ; but, how long 
 the Funding System would last. 
 Paine's mode of reasoning was, if I 
 am correct in my recollection, as near- 
 ly as possible, like that of tliis govern- 
 ment writer. He laid it down as an 
 admitted fact, that the people (owing 
 to causes that he stated) must be 
 wholly indifferent about the fate of 
 the government ; but, that, a3 so many 
 of them were, either by holding 
 Stocks or Bank-notes, interested in the 
 fate of the government, they would, 
 while the Stocks and Bank-notes last- 
 ed, continue to support the govern- 
 ment, whatever might be their feel- 
 ings towards it. But, that, when, 
 from whatever cause, the Funding 
 System should fail, not a soul would 
 be found to lift a finger, or, even to 
 
 1810. 
 
 Morning Post news-paper: 14lh Sept. 
 
 ©nterrti at Stationers' $alL 
 
 -Printed by W. Molineux, 5, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane; Published by Wm, 
 ^obbett, Jun. No. 3, Catherine Street, Strand : and Retailed at No. 19*. Strand. 
 
:N ' 3.]— COBBETT'S PAPER, AGAINST MOLD. - [Price Two-Pence. 
 
 07] 
 
 express a wisn in favour of the exist- 
 ence of the government. 
 
 Just the aatrie, or rather more, is 
 now said by this government writer ; 
 a writer, one halt' of whose pages are 
 iilled with invectives against those 
 whom he calls the friends of the Em- 
 peror Of France. But, how is it pos- 
 sible for any fliifig to be written more 
 agreeable to the Emperor Napoleon 
 than what this writer has put forth? 
 Until now the world has been told 
 that we entertained a real love for 
 our government ; that we were at- 
 tached to our constitution because it 
 afforded such line protection to our 
 persons and our property ; that we 
 loved the constitution, because it in- 
 sured to us the enjoyment of liberty, 
 and defended us against every spe- 
 cies of oppression ; that we had 
 made numerous sacrifices, and that we 
 were ready to make as many more, 
 nay, even " to spend our last shilling 
 and shed the last drop of our blood," 
 for the sake of these liberties and in 
 defence of a king, whom we so dearly 
 loved, and in gratitude for the bles- 
 siugs enjoyed during whose reign, we 
 held a Jubilee. Until NOW, this is 
 what the world has been told. But 
 NOW it is told, by this loyalty-pro- 
 fessing writer, that the only motive 
 whence we support the government 
 at all, is, to preserve the value of the 
 Bank-notes that we hold ; that, if it 
 was not for the immediate personal 
 interest of So many people in the Na- 
 tional Debt, and for patronage and 
 paper currency, the Government could 
 have no existence; that we support 
 the government because without its 
 existence, the bank-notes would fall, 
 and because, by the number of hank- 
 notes, we are thus made to depend 
 upon the safety of Government for 
 our daily bread ; and that, therefore, 
 the man who would propose the pay- 
 ment of bank-notes in gold and silver 
 at any period, might as well propose 
 the burning of the Navy, or, in other 
 words, the giving up of the country to 
 France. 
 
 What, Gentlemen ! are we never, 
 then, to see gold and silver again? 
 
 Every Minister; every Member of 
 Parliament ; every one of those, who 
 endeavoured to palliate the measure 
 of protecting the Bank Company 
 from paying their notes in Gold and 
 Silver; every one of them " la- 
 " merited the necessity," as they called 
 it, of the* measure. But, NOW, be- 
 hold, we are told that it was a good 
 thing ; and not only a good thing, but 
 that the government could not exist 
 without it! Gentlemen, we call our- 
 selves a " thinking people;" but, be- 
 lieve me, that this is what would not 
 have been said to any other civilized 
 people upon earth. 
 
 We might here easily show how 
 encouraging a prospect doctrines of 
 this sort hold out to our enemy, and 
 how strong an inducement to use all 
 those means, whether in the way of 
 attack or of menace, which are likely 
 to destroy the credit of the paper- 
 money, that being, if these doctrines 
 be sound, the sure and certain way 
 of destroying our government. But, 
 another opportunity will oiler for ob- 
 servations upon these matters; and, 
 it is now time that we return to our 
 inquiry into the SINKING FUND. 
 
 In the last Letter, page 50, hav- 
 ing stated the provisions, made in 
 the Acts of 17«U and 1792, for the 
 nation's ceasing to pay interest upon 
 the Stock that should he redeemed, 
 or bought up by the Commissioners, 
 after the year 1808; or, in other 
 words, the nation's ceasing to pay 
 taxes on account of the Stock, or put 
 of the Debt, which should be bought 
 up after that time : having stated 
 these provisions, we were proeee !;,' , 
 to inquire — What was done in the long- 
 expected year, 1808 ? What was 
 done when the year of promise Comet 
 
 Why, my Neighbours, nothing at 
 all was done: just nothing at all m 
 the way provided for. The nation 
 ceased to pay no dividends of interest; 
 and, of course, this work of redemp- 
 tion caused none of its taxes to be 
 taken off. " Well/' say you, «* but is 
 " it possible, that, after such a solemn 
 " proceeding; after the express and 
 " positive declaration in two Acts of 
 
59] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [60 
 
 " Parliament, that the dividends of 
 " interest should cease to be paid in 
 " 1808 ; is it possible that, after 
 " that, all the dividends did continue 
 " to be paid,^'ws* the same as if those 
 " Acts had never been passed?' O, 
 yes ! It is not only possible to be so, 
 but it is so. All the dividends have 
 continued to be paid ; and are paid to 
 this day. The above-mentioned pro- 
 visions, in the Acts of 1784), and 
 1792 were repealed. The Parlia- 
 ment undid what it had before done. 
 It did away the provisions, which it 
 had made in 1786 and 1792. It 
 passed another Act, which said that 
 those provisions should not be carried 
 into effect ; or, in other words, that 
 which was law before was no longer 
 law. 
 
 This new Act was passed in the 
 month of June, 1802, Addington, 
 the successor and the friend of Pitt, 
 being then Minister. This Act 
 (which is Chapter 71 of the 42d year 
 of the reign of George III.) is en- 
 titled — " An Act to amend and 
 " BENDER MORE EEFEC- 
 " TUAL two Acts passed in the 
 (i twenty-sixth and thirty -second 
 " years of the reign of his present 
 " Majesty, for the reduction of the 
 " National Debt." This Act, which 
 was to render those two Acts more i 
 effectual, sets out by stating, that the t 
 said two Acts had been by experience ■ 
 fraud " to be attended with most be- 
 '* neficial consequences to the public 
 '* credit of the country ;" and having 
 made that declaration', it sets to work, 
 and repeals the two provisions above- 
 mentioned; and, of course, when the 
 Near 1808 came, when the year of 
 expectation arrived, no dividends 
 ceased to be paid, and interest upon 
 the whole of the Debt was stiil paid, 
 and is still paid to this day. 
 
 Gentlemen, it is hardly to be be- 
 lieved, that any men, who, like Pitt 
 and his associates and supporters, 
 had invented and caused to be passed, 
 the two first mentioned Acts, could 
 propose the last mentioned Act, that 
 is to say, the Act of 1802. Not 
 only, however, did tl-ey propose it, 
 
 but the Anti-jacobin writers 
 laughed in our faces and called us 
 fools, if not levellers and jacobins, if 
 we ventured to express any doubt at 
 all' of the wisdom and justice of any 
 of these successive measures ; and, 
 these writers stoutly denied, that it 
 ever was intended to take off' any of 
 the taxes in 1808; and, of course, 
 they maintained, that we, who felt 
 disappointment, in this respect, were 
 fools for our pains, and, indeed, they 
 expressed themselves thus, that we 
 " were " tiature's fools ," and not the 
 fools of the M inister. 
 
 Never, surely, were any portion of 
 mankind treated with such barefaced 
 contempt as the people of England 
 were, at the time referred to, by the 
 venal writers of newspapers, pamph- 
 lets, magazines, and review's, who, 
 seeing the people terrified out of their 
 senses, by alternate alarms within 
 and without, seemed to think that he 
 was the best man, who could show 
 the greatest degne of scorn for their 
 understanding and character. Had 
 not this been their persuasion, would 
 they have dared to tell us, that none 
 but fools ever expected the Sinking 
 Fund to produce a repeal of Taxes, 
 whew it must still remain in the me- 
 mory of c\cry man, who was then at 
 all conversant in political matters, 
 that the repeal of taxes ; the lessening 
 of the taxes; the making of their bur- 
 thens less, was the promise held forth 
 to the people by the supporters of 
 Pitt; nay, when it is notorious, that 
 Pitt owed the establishment of his 
 tremendous power to the opinion 
 which tlits people entertained, that he 
 had discovered, and would put in 
 practice, the means of reducing the 
 load of their Taxes? This, as the 
 great end of his schemes, was so nmch 
 talked of; it js so well known, that 
 this was so distinctly stated in the 
 speeches in parliament, and so many 
 times repeated, that I am almost 
 ashamed to trouble you with any 
 proof of the fact; yet, considering 
 that the point is of great importance, 
 f will put the matter beyoncl all dis- 
 pute by a reference to a work on the 
 
61] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 P?J 
 
 increase of the Resources of the king- 
 dom, published in 1709, under the 
 name of George Rose, who Whs then 
 a Secretary of the Treasury, and w ho is 
 now Treasurer of the Navy and a Prh y 
 Counsellor, and who, in the execution 
 of the work about to be cited, was, 
 doubtless, assisted by Pitt himself. 
 Indeed, this must hare been the case; 
 or, at least, it must be believed, that 
 nothing, upon such a subject, and 
 under the name ot his oilicial Secre- 
 tary, would be published without 
 Pitt's previous approbation. In 
 this work, which is entitled, " A 
 '< Brief Examination into the ln- 
 " crease of the Revenue Commerce, 
 " and Manufactures of Great Britain, 
 " from 1792 to 1799;" in this work 
 the hopeful effects of the Sinking 
 Funds of 1786 and 1792 are pointed 
 out, and the writer says: — " By the 
 " operation of these sinking funds, 
 " without any further intervention of 
 " Parliament, the one existing before 
 " the war, will attain its maximum 
 "(4,000,000/. a year) most pro- 
 " bably, in 1808, in no case later 
 w than February 1811. As the di- 
 " vidends due on such parts of the 
 " old debt as shall be paid off after 
 " the sinking fund shall have attained 
 u its maximum, and the annuities 
 ;< which shall afterwards fall in, will 
 *' be at the disposal of Parliament, 
 " the period of REPEALING 
 " TAXES annually, to an amount 
 " equal thereto, cannot be delayed 
 " more than nine, ten, or eleven years." 
 Need I ask you, Gentlemen, 
 whether you have heard of any re- 
 pealing of taxes ? Whether you have 
 felt your load of taxation lightened? 
 Whether you pay less taxes, than you 
 paid when this placeman wrote his 
 book in 1799 ? No : These ques- 
 tions I need not put to you ; nor need 
 I ask you what are your feelings 
 'towards those, who fed you with 
 hopes of a diminution of your bur- 
 dens ; nor need I, perhaps, say one 
 more word upon the subject of 
 the Sinking Fund, not to have seen 
 through which by this time would 
 argue a much greater want of discern- 
 
 m 
 
 ment than I am disposed to attri- 
 bute to any part of my country- 
 men, and especially to you, whose 
 discerning faculties have, as to mat- 
 ters of this sort, been, of late, pretty 
 well sharpened by experience. Ne- 
 vertheless, with the hope of leaving 
 no possibility of bewildering an.) 
 body in future, with regard to the 
 nature or effect of the Sinking Fund, 
 I shall add some additional remarks; 
 but, as these remarks will open to 
 us quite new views of (he matter, and 
 will extend to some length, I shall 
 postpone them to my next; and Ire- 
 main, in the mean while, 
 
 Your faithful Friend, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 State Prison, Ncivgnle, Monday, 
 September 17, 1810. 
 
 P. S. A pamphlet, entitled, " Ob- 
 " servations on the Report of 
 " the Bullion Committee," has 
 just been published by Sir John 
 Sinclair, who is, it seems, a mem- 
 ber of Parliament, and who is said 
 to have been recently made a Privy 
 Counsellor. So much of such gross 
 ignorance, in so short a compass, I 
 do not recollect to have met with in 
 the course of my reading, except, 
 perhaps, in the Morning Post news- 
 paper, or in the British Critic Re- 
 view. Such a publication would be 
 wholly unworthy of serious notice, 
 were it not pretty evidently the ve- 
 hicle of the sentiments and views of 
 others. For this reason, some of 
 its prominent absurdities will be no- 
 ticed, w r hen I come to that part of 
 my subject, to which they more par- 
 ticularly belong. In the mean time, 
 in order to furnish the means of 
 judging of this writer's depth of un- 
 derstanding, take the following spe- 
 cimen from a former work of his, 
 and compare his theory with the 
 practice now before our eyes. " The 
 " Public Debts of a nation, not 
 " only attract riches from abroad, 
 " with a species of magnetic in- 
 " fluence, but they also retain menvy 
 " at home, which otherwise would be 
 " exported, and which, if sent to 
 u other countries, might pcssibly be 
 
63j 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 [04 
 
 u attended with pernicious conse- 
 •' quences to the State, whose wealth 
 " was carried out of it. If France, 
 " for example, maintained its wars 
 " by borrowing money, and England 
 " raised all its within the year, 
 " the necessary consequence Mould 
 " be tliat all the loose and unem- 
 *' ployed money r of England, would 
 " naturally be transmitted to France, 
 " where it would he placed out to ad- 
 " vantage." This is quite sufficient. 
 The next time that Sir John thinks 
 
 of writing upon matters of this sort, 
 he will do well to go, previously, and 
 take a lesson of Mrs. Dk Yonc;k. 
 She will be able *o tell him for a cer- 
 tainty, whether National Debts have 
 a tendency to keep money at home, to 
 prevent it from briny exported, and to 
 bring money from abroad. She wilt 
 also be able to give him a lesson upon 
 depreciation, hi a way, which, per- 
 haps, Mill make the thing com pre - 
 hensible even to him. 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 It in not altogether rrnprobablr. that, when t he nation becomes heartily sick of its Dehls, anil is cruelly ep- 
 •' pressed by them, some (Urine projector ma) arise witli riswnury schemes f»r their (JixtharRe ; and. ai 
 *' pnblic credit will be^in, by that tune, to be a little fi nil. the leaat touch will destroy it, and in this manner 
 " it will die ly'thr Doctor. IJut, it is more pri.b. Me, that the brea«li of national faith will be the neccssaiy 
 " effect of wars, deftats, misfortune*, and public calamities, or even, perhaps, of victori«s and couauests." — 
 HUME on Public Credit. 
 
 Saying that a Man writes from a Prison is not a satisfactory "Refutation of liis Arguments 
 — Proceed with the subject of the Sinking Fund — A Hedged grounds oi Addington's Act 
 in 1502 — The Time when it was to begin to yield us Relief, to wit 15 Yeais — Mr. 
 Brand's Answer to an Argument of mine — He denies that Interest is paid upon the 
 Redeemed Sto< k — Acts of Parliament and Public Accounts say the contrary— Exami- 
 nation of the Example stated by Mr. Brand — Great Error in regarding things as alike 
 which are essentially dissimilar in their Properties— Consequence of this Error shown 
 in the supposed case of Thrifty — Grand Fallacy in supposing that what we pay to sup- 
 port the Sinking Fund, would otherwise be of no use to ns — Conclusion of liie subject 
 of the Sinking Fund — P. S. Mr. Randall Jackson** Speech at the Bank Company's 
 House, in Threadneedle Street. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 IT was naturally to be expected, 
 that those venal men, who for want 
 of industry to " labour with their 
 " hands the thing that is good , v and 
 from a desire to live upon the labour 
 of others, have chosen the occupation 
 of writing, instead of obeying the 
 voice of nature, which bade use the 
 brush and not the pen, to blacken 
 shoes and not paper; it was naturally 
 to be expected tliat those venal men, 
 who gain their livelihood by serving 
 the corrupt and by deceiving the weak, 
 and the number of whom, in this 
 Town, is unfortunately, but too great; 
 it was naturally to be expected that 
 this description of men w«uld feel 
 al ;rmed at the progress of these Let- 
 
 ters, which, by making honest and 
 usefbl truths so familiar to the minds 
 of the people, threatened literary ve- 
 nality with destruction. Accordingly 
 these instruments of Corruption have 
 shewn their anger and resentment 
 against me ; but, the only answer they 
 have o Herod to me is this ; " that I 
 " discharge my gun from a stone-but' 
 " tery ;" meaning that I write from a 
 prison; therein giving the public a 
 specimen of their ivit as well as of 
 their manliness. This is always the 
 way; it is the constant practice of 
 those, who, wuile they are, from what- 
 ever motive, impelled to oppose a wri- 
 ter, \\ ant cither the materials or the 
 ability to shew that he is wrong; 
 and, Gentlemen, you may lay it down 
 
 m 
 
65] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [66 
 
 as a maxim, that when any publication 
 is answered by abuse, and especially 
 percental abuse, the author of such 
 publication is right, or, at least, that 
 his abusers want the ability to shew 
 that he is wrong. Facts and reason- 
 ing, it erroneous, always admit of 
 refutation : hut, if correct, no one can 
 refute them ; and, if erroneous, to re- 
 fute may still require some ability; 
 whereas, to abuse the person from 
 whom the} have proceeded, is within 
 the power of every one, a gift not 
 denied to any creature capable of 
 uttering articulate sounds or of making 
 murks upon paper. The great cause, 
 however, of abuse in sueh cases, i< 
 the weight of the truths, against which 
 such abuse is opposed : for it is here 
 as in common verbal disputes, he who 
 has the truth clearly on his side, is 
 always seen to be in good temper, 
 while his opponent scarcely ever fails 
 to discover impatience and anger, 
 and, in but too many cases, to give 
 way to personal invective and false 
 accusation; and, be you well assured, 
 Gentlemen, that even the venal men, 
 above-described, answer me by say- 
 ing that I write from a prison, only 
 because they have no other answer to 
 give. 
 
 Leaving them in the full possession 
 and unenvied enjoyment of all the 
 advantage and of all the honour which 
 such a mode of answering can give, 
 let us proceed with our inquirv into 
 the effects of the SINKING li ND, 
 just casting our eye back first, and 
 refreshing our memory as to the fore- 
 gone facts ; namely, that the Sinking- 
 Fund Acts of Pitt, which provided 
 for the cutting oft" some part of the 
 interest upon the Debt in 1808 ; that 
 these provisions, which led the poor 
 nation to hope for a taking off of part 
 of its taxes in 1808; that these pro- 
 visions* which, as we have seen, were 
 held forth to the believing people of 
 England, in the pamphlet of George 
 Rose, as the sure and undoubted 
 pledge tor the taking off of taxes 
 in 1808, or thereabouts; that these 
 provisions, in order to begin to taste 
 the henefit of which, the people were 
 
 to pay a million a year of additional 
 taxes for twenty two years; that these 
 provisions; \es, we must bear ia 
 mind, that these provisions, after the 
 people had gone on .homing l'or sixteen 
 years out of the twenty two : that 
 these provisions, were, by ADDING- 
 TON's Act of 1802, repealed, done 
 away, made of no more effect than if 
 they never had been enacted by the 
 Parliament. 
 
 " Well," you will say, " but upon 
 " what ground was this measure 
 "adopted? What end was it pro- 
 " posed to answer V Oh ! why it 
 was to pay off the Debt, new as well 
 as old; for, by this tune, the Debt 
 contracted since the existence of the 
 Sinking Fund, was become greater 
 than the one contracted before. It 
 was to pay oil' the Debt, new as weU 
 as old, sooner than they would have 
 been paid oil", if this new Act had not 
 been passed. And it was said, in 
 support of the measure, that it would 
 be bettor for vs (good God, what a 
 " thinking" people we are !) not to 
 have any of our taxes taken off in 
 1808; but to go on paying interest 
 upon the whole of tlui Debt, as before, 
 till our Sinking-Fund Commissioners 
 had bought up the whole of the Stock, 
 and that, then (Oh, then !) then, my 
 boys, huzza! for, then we should bo 
 completely out of Debt. 
 
 11 Thinking people 1 ', of England, 
 when do you think that that then was 
 to arrive? When do you think that 
 it was supposed that our Commissio- 
 ners would have bought up the Whole 
 of the Stock existing when the new 
 Act was passed ? When do you think 
 that the (lay, the happy day, the new 
 day of promise was to come ? When 
 do yen think we were, according to 
 this Act for rendering the Sinking 
 Fund "M011E EFFECTUAL," 
 when, aye when do you think, that 
 we were, according to this improved 
 plan, to begin to feel the effects of it, 
 in the lessening of our taxes ? How 
 many years do \ou think we were to 
 wait; how man\ years to keep paying 
 additional taxes tor the purpose of 
 pa\ ing off the Debt, before we began, 
 
67] 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 [68 
 
 to taste of any redemption of Taxes m 
 consequence of it? Only FORTY 
 FIVE ! Forty Five years only had 
 we to wait; and now we have only 
 THIRTY NINE to waft, and to 
 pay taxes all the time, over and above 
 the interest upon the Debt; only thirty 
 nine years before we shall cease to 
 pay interest upon the whole of the 
 Debt existing in 1802; about five 
 eighths of the Debt, now existing. 
 We have been waiting ever since the 
 year 1786; we have been waiting for 
 twenty four years ; we have been 
 paying taxes all that time, over and 
 above the interest of the Debt; we 
 have, for twenty ibur years, been 
 paying taxes for the purpose of pay- 
 ing oif the Debt; and, now, at the 
 end of these twenty four years, those 
 of us who are alive have the consola- 
 tion to reflect, that we have only 
 thirty nine years more to wait and to 
 pay these Sinking Fund taxes, before 
 we shall begin to taste the fruit of all 
 this patience and all these sacrifices, 
 and that, at the blessed time here 
 mentioned, some of our taxes will be 
 
 taken off, unless another 
 
 Act should be passed, between this 
 time and that, for rendering the 
 last made Act " MORE EFFEC- 
 " TUAL." 
 
 Gentlemen, need I say more? Cer- 
 tainly it is not necessary ; but, there 
 are still some views to take of this 
 matter, which having taken, we may 
 defy all the world to puzzle us upon 
 this subject again. 
 
 We have seen, that we still pay 
 interest upon the ivholc of the Debt ; 
 we have seen, in Letter IV. p. 69, 
 that, since the Sinking Fund teas es- 
 tablished, the interest we pay lias 
 increased from nine millions and up- 
 wards to thirty-two millions and up- 
 wards ; and, we humbly think, at 
 least I do, that so loni;; as I am com- 
 pelled to pay interest for a Debt, it is 
 no matter to whom, or under what 
 name, 1 pay it. This is an obvious 
 truth. There is something so con- 
 summately ridiculous in the idea of a 
 nation's yetting money by paying in- 
 • arest to itself upon its own stock, that 
 
 the mind of every rational man natu- 
 rally rejects it. It is, really some- 
 thing little short of madness to sup- 
 pose, that a nation can increase its 
 ivealth ; increase its means of paying 
 others ; that it can do thh by paying 
 interest to itself. When time is taken 
 to reflect, no rational man will attempt 
 to maintain a proposition so shock- 
 ingly absurd. 1 put the thing in this 
 way in an Article, published by me in 
 1804,* and 1 requested the late 
 Rev. John Brand, who had writ- 
 ten a great deal upon the subject, to 
 look at the Article, and to tell me 
 what sort of answer he could find t© 
 this part of it. He did so, and the 
 following was his answer : 
 
 " I have looked at your observa- 
 " tions on the Sinking Fund ; and the 
 " following is my answer to your 
 " great argument; namely, " that the 
 " " Debt said to be redeemed is an 
 " " imaginary discharge, because IN- 
 *' " TEREST thereon continues to be 
 
 " " paid." If the interest does 
 
 " continue to be paid, the conclusion 
 " is just; and this is the fundamental 
 " principle of much of what you have 
 
 " said. It is, reduced, therefore, 
 
 " to a question of fact, and I should 
 M say the interest does not continue to 
 l( be paid. The same tax continues 
 "to be levied, it is paid also away, 
 " hut it is paid for another purpose; 
 " it is yearly applied to the paying oiX 
 " more principal ; no part of it is 
 " applied to the payment of interest. 
 
 " Take an example in a private 
 
 " concern, A has on his estate a 
 " mortgage of £.70,000 at 3 per cent. 
 " which lie has the liberty to pay off 
 " as he pleases. He determines to 
 " diminish his expenditure by £.1,000 
 " a year, at the end of the year he 
 " pays the interest £.2,100, and part 
 " of the principal £.1,000, his pay- 
 " ment that year is £.3,100, and this 
 ft sum he continues to pay annually 
 "till the debt is annihilated; it is 
 " now reduced to £.60,000; at the 
 " end of the second year there will 
 " be due for interest*£.2,070, being 
 
 • Register, Vol. V. page 501 
 
69] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [70 
 
 u 30 less than the year before ; when, 
 " therefore, the second payment of 
 ° £.3,100 is made, it will consist of 
 " two parts, £.1,030 for principal, 
 
 w and £.2,070 for interest. The 
 
 " interest of the 1,000 paid off the 
 " first year does not continue to be 
 " paid in the second, and the £.30 
 " interest of the part of* the capital 
 w redeemed or paid off is now applied 
 
 m to tli'i payment of more capita/. 
 
 * Such mortgager at the end of the 
 " year lias actually paid off £.1,000, 
 •" of year two £.2,030, and of year 
 •" three £.3;060 18*. And that he 
 " continues to pay annually the same 
 " sum on account of debt, that is, on 
 " account of principal and interest 
 "jointly, does not in the least affect 
 " this conclusion. 
 
 Now, in the first place, you see, 
 Mr. Brand takes up "a new posi- 
 tion" as most combatants do, when 
 they are afraid to meet their antago- 
 nist. He is obliged to say, that we 
 DO NOT cantihuc to pay interest 
 upon the part of the Debt, which is 
 bought up, or, as it is called, redeem- 
 ed. Aye! but, what say the Acts of 
 Parliament? They say, that interest 
 is continued to be paid thereon : they 
 say, that, when any Stock, or parts of 
 the Debt, are bought up, or redeem- 
 ed, by the Commissioners, " the di- 
 M vidends thereon shall be received by 
 •' the said Commissioners,'' or by the 
 Bank on their account. And, what 
 is the language of the Accounts, laid 
 before Pailiament . ? Why, hi the 
 account of ; the nation's Expenditure 
 of last year, there is the following item : 
 " INTEREST on Debt of Great Bri- 
 " tain REDEEMED, £.4,443,519." 
 So that, either the Acts of Parliament 
 and the Public Accounts make use 
 of misnomers, or, J was right hi cal- 
 ling it interest. Besides, how com- 
 pletely does this denial of Mr. Brand 
 dissipate all our fine dreams about 
 the gains of the Sinking Fund ? Is it 
 not the commonly received notion.. 
 that we gain money by this fund I 
 Are we not continually told, by the 
 ve;ial writers of the day, about what 
 the Fund yields* Were we not told 
 
 by them, less than six weeks ago, that 
 this Fund had produced such and 
 such sums ? And, what is meant by a 
 Fund's yielding and producing, if you 
 cast the notion of interest aside? In 
 what other way is it to yield? In 
 what other way can it produce an, 
 addition to its amount? Yet, on the 
 other hand, it is impossible to adhere 
 to this notion of interest, without 
 falling into the gross absurdity, before 
 mentioned, of supposing that the na- 
 tion can get money; that it can in- 
 crease its means of jiaying others, by 
 paying interest to itself by becoming 
 the lender of money to itself, by be- 
 coming its own creditor; an absurdity, 
 which, as we have seen, Mr. Brand 
 oared not risk his reputation in at- 
 tempting to support. 
 
 We now come to Mr. Brand's 
 " example in a private concern." 
 A nd. here, Gentlemen, suffer me once 
 more, and in a more pressing manner 
 than before, to solicit your attention ; 
 because we have now before us the 
 ground work of all the sad delusion, 
 which has so long existed and which 
 does still exist, upon this subject. 
 
 It is a natural propensity of the 
 mind of man to assimilate things, 
 which he wishes to understand, with 
 things which he does understand. 
 Hence the application of the terms 
 mortgage, redemption, and others, to 
 the Debt of the Nation. But, in this 
 work of assimilation, or bringing thing* 
 to a resemblance for the. purposes of 
 illustration, we ought to take the 
 greatest care, not to make use of 
 violence, not to regard as alike, tilings 
 which are essentially different in their 
 properties; for, if we do this, error 
 mutt be the result, and I think, yen 
 will find, that this has been done by 
 all those, who have reasoned like Mr. 
 Brand; that is to say, the whole of 
 those writers and speakers, who 
 have held forth the Sinking Fund 
 as likely to produce relief to the 
 country. 
 
 We know, we daily see, that pri- 
 vate persons pay off encumbrances upon 
 their estates; and, we know very well 
 and very ianiiliar.lv, how last the mo- 
 
71] 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 [72 
 
 ney of private persons increases by 
 being permitted to lie at compound 
 interest. This very common portion 
 o,f knowledge appears to have been 
 quite enough for our Financiers, who 
 had, therefore, nothing to do but to 
 look into interest tables, where they 
 would not fail to find, that, a million 
 a year set apart, in 1786, would, at 
 compound interest, pay off the then 
 existing Debt, in the space of sixty- 
 years irom that time. They ask no 
 more. This quite satisfies them. 
 They have no doubts upon the sub- 
 ject; and, accordingly, they set apart 
 the million a year; that is to say, 
 they make a law for applying, as we 
 have seen, a million a year of taxes, 
 raised upon the nation, to the paying 
 of the nation's Debts. But, where is 
 the real similarity between this pro- 
 ceeding and the proceeding of the 
 individual as supposed by Mr. Brand, 
 Mr. M' Arthur, Mr. Pitt and others; 
 for they have all made use of the same 
 sort of illustration ? Where is the st- 
 milariiy in the cases ? 
 
 Mr. Brand's individual, to -whom, 
 for the sake of clearness, we will give 
 the name of Thrifty, diminishes hk 
 expenditure, by a thousand a year; 
 that is, he, instead of spending it upon 
 beer, wine, bread, beef, and servants, 
 pays it annually to Goldhair, who 
 has the mortgage upon his estate. 
 Now, this you will clearly see, is to 
 be a thousand a year SAVED by 
 Thrifty; and, besides this, he re- 
 solves to pay to Goldhair (who has 
 the mortgage on the estate, mind) as 
 much more every year as will make 
 each payment equal to what he for- 
 merly paid on account of the interest 
 of the whole debt. This is an odd 
 sort of way to do the thing, but it is 
 Thrifty's humour, and there can 
 be no doubt, that, in time, he will, 
 thus, pay off his mortgage. But again, 
 I ask, what similarity there is in 
 the case of Thrifty and the case of 
 a Nation ? 
 
 Thrifty, we are told, " deter- 
 " mines to diminish his expenditure." 
 Can a Nation do this? Thrifty 
 
 knows to a certainty what his income 
 and what his expenditure will be ; the 
 former is fixed, and over the latter he 
 has complete controul. Is this the 
 case with a Nation ? Prudent 
 Thrifty does not, and indeed, the 
 supposition will not let him contract 
 a debt with Silverlocks, while he 
 is clearing off with Goldhair. Is 
 this the case with A Nation ? But 
 suppose, for argument's sake, that, as 
 to all these, there is a perfect simila- 
 rity; still is there a point of dissimila- 
 rity, which nothing can remove. 
 Thrifty, we are told, SAVES a 
 thousand pounds a year. How does 
 the saving arise ? Why, he has less 
 beer, wine, bread, beef, and servants 
 than he had before. His saving, then, 
 is made from the brewer, the Mine- 
 merchant, the baker, the butcher, ami 
 the footmen ; or, rather, it is made from 
 the public ; it is made from the nation ; 
 it is made from a third party. But 
 where is the Nation to find a third 
 party from whom to make its saving ? 
 
 But, what we are now going to 
 view is the GRAND FALLACY. 
 In this case of THRIFTY it is suppos- 
 ed, that he makes retrenchments from 
 7!selcss expences; that " he determines 
 n to diminish his expences by a tiiou- 
 " sand a year," and that, what he 
 WASTED before, what HE GOT 
 NOTHING BY THE USE Ol< 
 BEFORE, he now applies to the 
 paying off of his mortgage. This is 
 very rational, and very efficient it 
 would be ; but, is this the case with A 
 Nation ? Would the money, which 
 is collected from the people in taxes, 
 for the purpose of supporting the 
 Sinking Fund, be wasted, if not col- 
 lected from them? Would it be 
 squandered away by the several indi- 
 viduals who pay it, in the same man- 
 ner that Thrifty's thousand a year 
 is supposed to have been wasted, 
 before he began the work of redemp- 
 tion ? Would it, in short, be of no 
 advantage to them, if it were not 
 taken away to be given to the Sinking 
 Fund ? Oh, yes ! And it would pro- 
 duce a compound interest, too, in the 
 
73] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [74 
 
 hands of individuals, as well as in the 
 hands of the Sinking Fund Commis- 
 sioners. What has the nation gained, 
 then, hy paying millions to Commis- 
 sioners, instead of keeping those mil- 
 lions in their own hands? SINCE 
 THE YEAR 1766, T HE NATION 
 HAS PAID UPWARDS OF 160 
 MILLIONS INTO THE HANDS 
 OF THE SINKING-FUND COM- 
 MISSIONERS; that is to say, so 
 much money has heen collected from 
 the people in taxes for the purpose of 
 redeeming Debt; and, if this sum 
 had been left in the people's hands, 
 would it have been of no use to them ? 
 Would it not, at any rate, have helped 
 to prevent the Debt ; mite that time, 
 from being AUGMENTED IN 
 THE SUM OF 600 MILLIONS. 
 
 Let us give the thing one more- 
 turn, and then, it is, I think hard, if 
 we may not safely quit it for ever. 
 
 Thrifty is supposed to take his 
 thousand a year out of what he be- 
 fore wasted; out of his superfluities. 
 But, does our Sinking Fund money; 
 do tbe taxes that we pay towards the 
 Sinking Fund, come out of our su- 
 perfluities? And, why suppose that 
 Thrifty wasted any money before ? 
 Why suppose that he had any money 
 to waste? Is Thrifty's being in 
 debt, and having his estate encum- 
 bered; are these reasons sufficient for 
 concluding, that he had it in his 
 power to " determine to diminish his 
 rt expencesT' Are they not rather 
 reasons sufficient for concluding, that 
 lie was in circumstances of distress ? 
 Yes; and if, when we have come to 
 that rational conclusion, we suppose 
 him persuaded to believe, that he will 
 get out of debt by borrowing from 
 Silverlocks all the money that he 
 pays off with Goldhaik, and load- 
 ing his estate with a new mortgage, 
 with the addition of the cost of bonds 
 and fees, then we shall have before 
 our eves " an example in a private 
 " concern," pretty well calculated to 
 illustrate the celebrated scheme, 
 which we have now been discussing, 
 and of which I now flatter myself 
 
 that a single word more need never 
 be uttered to any man of only com- 
 mon sense. 
 
 I am, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faith i : nl Friend, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 State Prise;-, //aqfatfg, Thursday, 
 
 2o*/* Sept: in io. 
 P. S.— Friday, 21st Sept. — I 
 have just seen, in the Public Prints, 
 a report of a Speech, said to have 
 been delivered yesterday at the Bank 
 Company's House, in Threadneedle- 
 street, by Mr. Band all Jackson. 
 I shall not, as I said before, sutler 
 any publications of the day to inter- 
 rupt the course of my discussion. Iji 
 my next Letter, which will open 
 the way to that memorable transac- 
 tion, the Stoppage of Gold and Silver 
 payments at the Bank of England, I 
 shall, in all likelihood, have occasion 
 to notice Mr. Jackson's Speech, not 
 so much on its own account! as be- 
 cause it appears to have beeiu highly 
 applauded by the people at the head 
 of the Bank Company, for whom, 
 perhaps, Mr. Jackson, who, it seems 
 is a lawyer, made it in the way of 
 his profession. One word, however, 
 I must beg leave to add upon the part 
 of this Gentleman's speech, in which, 
 as the reporter says, he alluded to 
 me, as one who had exulted at the ap- 
 pearance of the Bullion Report, he- 
 cause that Beport. coming from such 
 high authority, had put the Stamp of 
 correctness on my bpinioiis'i Nofer 
 0*1 d I say this ; never did I think tins. 
 Never did I look upon the Bullion 
 Committee as a high authority ; and, 
 meanly indeed should 1 think of my- 
 self, if I thought any thing, that they 
 could say or do, capable of adding 
 the smallest weight to mv opinions. 
 No : what I exulted at was, that my 
 principles and doctrines, as to paper- 
 money, had, at last, produced practi- 
 cal effect, a proof of which was con- 
 tained in the Bullion Report; and 
 that, it was now more likely than be- 
 fore, that such measures would, in 
 time be adopted, as would be likely 
 to secure the ountry from the na- 
 
75) 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 [76 
 
 tsral consequences of that over- 
 whelming CORRUPTION, and that 
 
 want of love tor the real Constitution, 
 which I regarded as the fruit of the 
 Paper-money System, and which, ; 
 years ago, I proved, as I think, to | 
 have proceeded, in great part, from ! 
 that poisonous and all-degrading root. ; 
 This was the cause of my exultation. ! 
 I looked upon the Bullion Report as 
 tending to this great ohject; and, as 
 1 prefer the accomplishment of this 
 object, as I look upon the happiness 
 and honour, of my country as of 
 fir greater value to me than any ©the* 
 worldly possession, I said, and I still 
 say, that the Bullion Report has 
 
 given me more pleasure than I should 
 derive from being made the owner of 
 the whole of Hampshire. As for 
 any idea of a party nature, I shall, I 
 am sure, he beliDvod when I say, that, 
 I did not cr.ro one straw to what 
 party the Committee belonged. If I 
 had a wish as to party it certainly 
 would be, that no change of ministry 
 should take place ; for, (without pre- 
 judice to the OUTS, who, I think, 
 would do the tiling full as well with a 
 little more time) I am quite satisfied 
 that the present men will do it as 
 neatly and as quickly as any rea- 
 sonable man can expect. 
 
 LETTER VIE 
 
 'REAL MONEY can hardly ever multiply too much in any country; because it wii] always, as IT in- 
 •« censes, be the certain sign of the z//rreas° of TRADE, of which it is tin? measure, and consequently 
 " of the soumlii'vs ami vigour of the whole body. But this PAPER MONEY may, and does increase, 
 " without anv Hicve.se of Trade; nay often when Trade greatly declines. FOR IT IS NOT THE MEA- 
 " SURE OF THE TRADE OF ITS NATION. BUT OF THE NECESSITY OF ITS GOVERNMENT ; 
 •' and it is absurd, end mint be ruinous, that the same cause which naturally exhausts the wcallli of a Na- 
 tion should likewise he the only productive cause of money."— -UURKE. 
 
 Review of the Ground over which we have passed in the foregoing Letters — Opening the 
 Way into the History of the Bank's Stoppage in 1797 — Vague Notion about the In- 
 crea<e of Bank-Notes being a Sign of an Increase of Trade and Wealth and Pros- 
 pcrity — This Notion examined — Mr. Randle Jackson's Speech inveighing against those 
 who li?.ve recommended that he and his Partners shall be compelled to Pay their Pro- 
 missory Notes in two Years — His Notion that an Increase of Bank Notes naturally 
 arises fn.tn an Increase of Trade — Abuse heaped upon those who wish the Bank to pay 
 i's Notes — Such Persons called Riflers and accused of wishing to destroy the Credit of 
 Old Kngland — An Increase of Promissory Notes is a Proof of an Increase of Debt — 
 Five Ways in which Bank : Notes get out into circulation — Absurdity of supposing that 
 ijm Increase of I'romises-to-pay are a Sign of an Increase of the Means of Paying— 
 N B, \n Account of the Distresses arising from the Failure of the Banks at Salisbury 
 •luil'tsbury. 
 
 ♦JkNTLKMKN, 
 
 IX the foregoing Letter, we elosed 
 ( ,ion rotative to the Sinking 
 fundi and that brought us to a 
 point, to a sort of stage, or resting 
 place, on our way, from which point 
 it will be advantageous for us to take 
 a brief review or the ground over 
 m Inch m e have passed ; for, when the 
 design of* the writer is to serve the 
 cause of truth, and especially when 
 
 the truths he wishes to make ap- 
 parent, have been industriously en- 
 veloped in darkness; in such a case, 
 every other quality in Wilting ought 
 to 3'iekl to that of clearness. 
 
 It was stated, at the out-set of our 
 inquiries, that the Chief Object of 
 them Mas, to ascertain, or, at least, 
 to enable ourselves to form a decided 
 opinion, " Whether it be possible, 
 " without a total destruction of all 
 
77] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 " the paper-money, to restore Gold 
 *' and Silver to circulation amongst 
 " us." In pursuit of this object, it 
 became necessary for us to make 
 some preliminary inquiries as to the 
 cause of the Gold and Silver having 
 gone out of circulation. 
 
 The cause, the immediate cause, 
 that is to say the cause which came 
 close before the effect, was the in- 
 crease of the paper-money. This 
 cause was evident to every one ; but, 
 then, it became us to inquire what 
 had been the cause of that increase; 
 otherwise our inquiries would have 
 been as useless as would be those of 
 a farmer, who, upon finding a score 
 of his sheep dead, should content 
 himself with ascertaining that they 
 bad been killed with a knife, without 
 making any inquiry as to the person 
 by whom the destructive instrument 
 had been used. Common sense, 
 therefore, dictated to us to inquire 
 into the cause, or causes, of the in- 
 crease of the paper-money; and, in 
 order to come at a clear understand- 
 ing with respect to these causes, we 
 were obliged to go back to the inaus- 
 picious origin of the paper-money 
 system, that fatal system, whence 
 arose the National Debt, that Debt 
 which even Pitt himself, the great 
 abettor of the system, called " the 
 " best ally of France." 
 
 .During tin's retrospect, we have 
 seen, that the Bank of England is 
 merely a Company of traders, whose 
 charter arose out of a loan which they 
 made to the Government, and that, 
 at its institution, it. never entered into 
 tbc mind of man, that these traders 
 were ever to be protected by law 
 from paying, in the king's coin, their 
 promissory notes, as they have been 
 from February 1797 to the present 
 day. We have seen, in proceeding 
 to inquire into the cause of this non- 
 payment or stoppage, on the part of 
 the Bank, in 1797, that the Bank- 
 notes have gone on increasing in quan- 
 tity, and that these notes, of which, 
 for more than half a century, there 
 were none under 20 pounds/appear- 
 
 [78 
 
 ed, in the war of 1755, in the shape 
 of 15 pounds and 10 pounds; and, 
 during Pitt's war against the French 
 revolution, which war he carried on, 
 in part at least, for the avowed pur- 
 pose of destroying the finances of 
 France, we have seen that they ap- 
 peared in the shape, first, of 5 pounds, 
 and, at last, in the shape of 2 pounds 
 and 1 pound. We have, in order the 
 better to understand the history of the 
 Bank Stoppage m 1797, and the 
 better to estimate its consequences, 
 taken a view of the Funds and Stochs 
 and National Debt; we have seen 
 how they arose; we have described 
 their nature ; we have traced them 
 in their dreadful progress; we have 
 seen how the National Debt has gone 
 on increasing, from the reign of Wil- 
 liam the Third to the present day; 
 we have seen how exactly the in- 
 crease of rha National Expenditure 
 and the Taxes and the Poor Rates 
 have kept pace with the increase of 
 the Debt; and, m the three last 
 Letters, we have seen an ample de- 
 velopement, a clear exposure, of the 
 schemes for "redeeming," or " pay- 
 " $*P °ff" tuat Debt, and we have 
 seen, that during the operation of 
 those schemes of redemption, the 
 Debt has gone on increasing, and, 
 that the interest we pay upon the 
 Debt, lias, since the Grand Scheme 
 of Pitt has been in force, been aug- 
 mented from 9 millions a year to 32 
 millions a year. 
 
 This is what avc have seen and 
 what we have done. And having 
 now, to use the sportsman's language, 
 made good our ground, we may be- 
 gin to move forwards towards the in- 
 teresting history, of the stoppage of 
 gold and silver payments at the Bank 
 of England, in 1797. 
 
 Our first step, in opening the way 
 into this history, must be to obtain a 
 clear notion with regard to the man- 
 ner, in which bank notes are issued, 
 or" put out into circulation among the 
 people; or, rather, with regard to 
 the immediate causes of putting then} 
 put, For unless vc have a clear un- 
 
79] 
 
 LETTER Ml 
 
 [80 
 
 derstanding upon this point, we shall 
 have hut a confused idea of the more 
 distant causes, of their increase. 
 
 There, is, apparently, a vague, or 
 indistinct, notion, floating in tlie minds 
 of some men, that the increase of the 
 hank notes is an indication, or sign, 
 of an increase of Trade, of Wealth, 
 and of Prosperity, which, as you 
 must have perceived, are, by such 
 persons, always jumbled and con- 
 founded together, for want of proper 
 attention to the facts and principles, 
 which we have stated and laid down 
 in Letter III, from page 23 to page 
 37. But, we must not suffer our- 
 selves to fali into this confusion; and, 
 indeed, does not common sense reject 
 the notion, that an increase of pro- 
 wissoi-y notes, which necessarily ar- 
 mies the waul, of the means of the 
 person, issuing them, to pay in specie; 
 does not common sense, *h>es not the 
 plain understanding of every plain 
 man, reject, with scorn, the notion, 
 that such an increase is a sign of in- 
 creasing wealth and prosperity in the 
 person, or body, or community, by 
 whom the issue is made? Why does 
 our neighbour NBKDY give a note of 
 hand in payment of his rent or of his 
 taylor's bill ? Why, because lie has 
 not the money in bis pocket or his 
 drawer. And, are we to be made to 
 believe, that the circumstance of his 
 not having money to pay what lie 
 owes is a proof of his wealth, and pros- 
 perity? We have been persuaded to 
 believe many things ; But, I think, 
 that, at this day, we shall not be per- 
 suaded to believe this. At the time 
 of the numerous bankruptcies, in 171)3, 
 just after Pitt's war broke out, Pitt 
 asserted, that they were a sign of 
 national prosperity, and was almost 
 huzzaed for the assertion; but, we have 
 had time now to experience, time to 
 feel, the worth of Pitt's assertions, 
 predictions, plans, and measures; and, 
 with the benefit of this lesson, we 
 shall not, now, be so easily persuad- 
 ed, that banhritjttcy is a sjgri of pros- 
 perity ; though, it must, I think, be 
 allowed, that it is full as true a sign of 
 prosperity as that which has now been 
 
 discovered in the increase of promis- 
 sory notes, which increase is, and must 
 be, always an infallible sign of a 
 want, in a greater or a less degree, of 
 the means to make payment™ money. 
 As to the increase of Trade, that, 
 indeed, will demand, as we shall here- 
 after more fully see, a certain in- 
 crease of circulating medium, or 
 money, as must be evident to every 
 man, who reflects, but for one moment, 
 upon the subject; because, where 
 there are ten purchases of a pound 
 each to he made (supposing them to 
 he made in the same space of time) 
 twice as much money will be wanted 
 as where there are only live purchases 
 of a pound each to be made. But, 
 the increase of trade, that is to say, 
 the increase of purchases and sale's, 
 or, in other words, the increase of 
 MONEY'S WORTH things, though 
 it is a very solid reason lor the in- 
 crease of money, is no reason at all for 
 the increase of promissory notes, and 
 especially of promissory notes which 
 will not briny money 'in exchange for 
 them. The man, Avho is in a great 
 way of trade, gives more promissory 
 notes than a man in a small way ; 
 but, he has proportionate means, and, 
 at any rate, does not give notes with- 
 out possessing the value of them in 
 goods, or property of some kind, in 
 money's-worth things ; and t>f course 
 his notes are convertible into money ; 
 but, is this the case with the notes of 
 the Bank ? Is this the case with the 
 notes of any of our Banks ? Such a 
 man stands in need of no law to pro- 
 tect him against the demands of the 
 holder of his notes; but there is a 
 law to protect the Bank of England 
 against the demand of any holder of 
 its notes, who may wish to have gui- 
 neas in exchange for those notes. 
 And, can the increase of such notes 
 be regarded as a sign of the increase 
 of trade ? 
 
 Yet this is a favourite fallacy with 
 those, who either do not understand 
 the matter, or who, vhile they do un- 
 derstand it, wish to deceive the v orld, 
 and the people of this country in par- 
 ticular. This same fallacy was put 
 
81] 
 
 PAPi'R AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 im 
 
 forth with great assurance, at the 
 House of the Bank in Tforeadneedie- 
 
 Street, London, no longer ago than 
 last Friday, by the Gentlemen, a Mr. 
 Randall Jackson, mentioned in 
 the Postscript to the last Letter, page 
 73, in a speech, the whole of which 
 (together with the. speeches of the 
 Governor or the Bank and of a 
 Mr. Payn, a Country Banker), as 
 reported in the Morning Chronicle, 
 of Saturday last, will he found in the 
 A 1*1* kn i) ix, A, and which I beg 
 leave to recommend to your attentive 
 perusal. 
 
 Mr. Jackson, who is, it would 
 seem, a proprietor of Bank Stock ; 
 that is to say, one of the Bank Com- 
 pany; that, is to say, one of the per- 
 sons in whose name the Bank-notes 
 are issued ; that is to say, one of the 
 persons, who put forth the promissory 
 notes of the Bank ; that is to say, otie 
 of the persons who derive a profit, 
 who get rich, from the putting out of 
 those notes; Mr. Jackson most 
 loudly inveighs against the Bullion 
 Committee, and, indeed, pretty round- 
 ly abuses them ; pretty roundly abuses 
 a Committee of the House of Com- 
 mons, for having recommended to 
 the House to pass a law to oblige him 
 and his partners to pay their notes 
 agreeably to promise; and, this he 
 does, you will observe, at the very 
 time that he is railing against the re- 
 volutionists of France, for their level- 
 liny principles, and insinuating, that 
 there are such levellers now at work 
 in England ; all which may be very 
 natural in Mr. Jackson; for, who 
 that is protected by law from the 
 payment of his promissory notes, 
 would wish that law to be repealed, 
 and its place supplied by a law to 
 compel him to pay ? It may be very 
 natural for a gentlemen, so situated, 
 to abuse the Committee ; but, it would 
 be very fooludi in the people ; very 
 foolish in the holders of his notes; 
 very foolish in his creditors, to join 
 in such abuse. Upon this part of his 
 speech, however, we shall lind a more 
 suitable place for extending our re- 
 marks, and also for noticing what he 
 
 said about the vast increase of Coun- 
 try Banks, without seaming to per- 
 ceive, that that increase has been 
 owing solely to the law which pro- 
 tected, and still protects, the Bank of 
 England against the Gold and Silver 
 demands of its creditors. Upon these 
 parts of his speech, and upon his as- 
 sertions respecting a debt said to he 
 due to tl>e Bank from the public ; 
 upon his statement of the causes of 
 the Bank stoppage ; upon the wonder- 
 ful unanimity of all the speakers at 
 this Meeting of the partners of the 
 Bank Company, in declaring, that 
 there would he'NO GOOD in their 
 petying of their promissory notes in 
 Gold and Silver; upon all these to- 
 pics, and upon some others, brought 
 forward at the Bank Company's 
 Meeting, we shall find, hereafter, a 
 more suitable opportunity for making 
 and applying our remarks, which, in- 
 deed, belong to other parts of our 
 subject, and, therefore, we will, at 
 present, contine ourselves to the onlj 
 topic, inUoduoed into these speeches, 
 which belong to the part of our sub- 
 ject now immediately before us ; 
 namely, the notion, that i/ie increase 
 of bank-notes naturally arises from aa 
 increase of trade. 
 
 Since, however, I have digressed 
 so far, I take tlis liberty to continue 
 on a little further for the purpose of 
 noticing a paragraph, in a newspaper 
 of this rery morning (Monday, 24th 
 Sept.), which imitates Mr. Jackson 
 in abusing those, who are desirous of 
 seeing the Bank Company once more 
 pay their promissory notes in Gold 
 and Silver. " We are happy," says 
 this writer, " to find, that the opinion 
 •• we have more than once expressed 
 " upon this subject is sanctioned by 
 44 the first authorities in the Country, 
 M and that the mischievous idea of 
 ** throwing open the Bank immediate* 
 " ly io be rifled by the engrossers and 
 " exporters of guineas , is universally , 
 " reprobated. Sir John Sinclair has 
 " taken up the pen upon the subject, 
 •* and most ably does he treat it. 
 " Neither the authority of the Com* 
 " rnittee, nor the clamours of those 
 
€3] 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 T84 
 
 " who wish to destroy the public credit 
 " of Old England have been sufli- 
 " cient to intimidate that highly in- 
 ." formed and much respected Gentle- 
 '* men from coming forward to vindi- 
 " eate trvth and dispel a most muchia- 
 '* vons delusion" What Gentlemen! 
 is a recommendation to pass a law to 
 oblige the Bank Company to begin to 
 pay its promissory notes in gold and 
 silver, at the end of two years ; is this 
 to be called " throwing open' the 
 Bank to be " rifled .'"' Are you and 
 all of us, who hold bank notes, to be 
 denominated " riflers" or robbers, be- 
 cause we may wish to be paid the 
 amount of those notes in gold and 
 silver? Is a desire to see the Bank 
 pay its promissory notes upon de- 
 mand, agreeably to tbe words written 
 in them, and to see the king's coin once 
 more come back into circulation 
 amongst us; is this desire to be at- 
 tributed to a " wish to destroy the 
 " public credit of old England?" 
 Gentlemen, this language shews two 
 things : first, that those who use it 
 entertain a most hearty contempt for 
 the people of England; and, second, 
 that their cause is so very bad, that 
 they dare not even attempt to offer in 
 support of it any thing bearing the i 
 shape of an argument. 
 
 Leaving the Bank Company to the 
 
 • support of these railers, let us now, 
 with the calmness and candour which 
 belong to the cause of truth, return to 
 our inquiry, whether the increase of 
 the bank notes has arisen, from an in- 
 crease of trade, and, if not, what has 
 been the real cause, or causes, of that 
 increase of bank notes which has dri- 
 ven the gold and silver out of circula- 
 tion. 
 
 We have seen, that a real increase 
 of trade means, an increase in pur- ! 
 
 • chases and sales, or, in other words, 
 an increase in commodities, or tb 
 
 j which are really worth money. Con- 
 sequently an increase of trade will 
 naturally demand an increase of mo- 
 ney; but, what it demands is an in- 
 crease of real money, seeing that the 
 . increase of the trade itself is no otlier 
 than an increase of money's worth 
 
 things ; and, that the increase of its 
 demand will not be for paper, or for 
 notes not convertible into money. 
 Precisely the contrary ; and, in pri- 
 vate concerns, we every day see, that 
 it is the falling off of a man's real 
 trade, it is the lessening of his quan- 
 tity of money's worth things, that in- 
 duces him to have recourse to the 
 issue of paper, paper which he can- 
 not turn into money. Ih a word, it 
 is DEBT that makes a man give pro- 
 missory notes. An increase of trade 
 always implying an increase of mo- 
 ney's worth things, brings, of itself, 
 an increase of real money, unless that 
 money be by some unnatural cause 
 withheld from circulation. It is just 
 the same with a nation, whose in- 
 crease of money's worth things will 
 bring to it an exactly proportionate 
 increase of real money, if that money 
 be not kept back, or driven out again, 
 by some unnatural cause; but, DEBT, 
 and the attendants upon debt, lead to 
 the issuing of bank notes, or, to 
 paper of some sort or other, or, to n 
 something, no matter what it be, 
 which has not a real value in itself. 
 Real inonev is the representative of 
 AW NETS WORTH THINGS. 
 promissory notes are the represen- 
 tathws of DEBT; and, this we shall 
 clearly .^ee, as we proceed in examin- 
 ing into the way, or rather, the divers 
 ways, in which bank notes get out 
 into circulation amongst the people. 
 
 The bank notes have in them noth- 
 ing of a mystical nature. They are the 
 joint work of paper-maker, an engra- 
 ver, a printer, and the person who 
 puts his name, in writing, at the bot- 
 tom of them. Being thus brought to 
 perfection, they are delivered at the 
 Bank Company's House, or Shop, 
 first, to any persons, to whom the 
 Company may owe money, for work 
 done to their buildings, or to others 
 for keeping their books, or for paper, 
 or for printing, or, in sliort, for any 
 services performed for them. A se- 
 cond way, in which the notes get 
 out, is through what is called discount- 
 ing ; that is to say, loans of bank 
 notes made to private persons, for 
 
84 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [86 
 
 which the borrower leaves in posses* 
 sioij of {lie Company a note of hand 
 or bill of exchange, that is to say, an 
 engagement to pay back again as 
 much as he receives together with 
 inters! for the time, or, rather, the 
 interest i* deducted when the loan is 
 made. A third way, in which the 
 notes get out, is through the advances, 
 or loans, which the Bank makes to the 
 Government, by way of anticipation 
 upon the taxes, before they come in. 
 A FOURTH way is through the pay- 
 ment of the interest of Exchequer 
 Kills, or Navy Bills, which are a sort 
 of promissory notes, given by the go- 
 vernment, and upon which the Bank 
 j-onietimes pays the interest, and, at 
 other times, discounts them, or pur- 
 chases them of the holders at the 
 current price; but, in every case, a 
 fresh parcel of bank notes, get, through 
 the means of these bills, into circula- 
 tion. A fifth way, in which the 
 notes get out, is through the payment 
 of the dividends or the interest, of the 
 Stock, or National Debt, which divi- 
 dends are paid quarterly; and, as we 
 have before seep, the amount is three 
 times as great as it was at the begin- 
 ning of Pttt's war against the Jaco- 
 bins of France, which we have called 
 the Anti-Jacobin war. 
 
 Now, without enumerating any 
 more of the ways, in which bank- 
 notes get into circulation, is it not as 
 clear as the Sun at noon-day, that 
 they are always the representatives of 
 OKBT? Js it not a fact that no one 
 can deny, that the increase of them 
 proceeds from the increase of Debt, 
 and not from the increase of trade? 
 Away, then, with the nonsense of 
 those dreamers, who would persuade 
 us that an issue of promissory notes 
 proceeds from an increase of money s 
 worth things ! Away, with the idle 
 talk about an increase of things of real 
 value calling for an increase of paper 
 promises! Away, away, with the 
 confused, the childish notion, that an 
 i no case of the means of paying pro- 
 duce: an increase of promises to pay! 
 As well ml Jit tell you, that 
 
 the i. f t!i e paper of the 'Salis- 
 
 bury* and Shaftesbury banks ai 
 from the increase of the 'means of 
 
 * The scenes at Salisbury, on account 
 of the failure of the Banks at that city and 
 at Shaftesbury, have been truly distressing. 
 At Salisbury in particular, wh< re the great- 
 est part of the sufferers live, the poor people 
 were, in many cases, without victuals or 
 drink for some time, and many persons, irt 
 a respectable way of life, were for many 
 days together, obliged to sit down to dine 
 upon little more than bread, no meat being 
 to be purchased with the only sort of money 
 (if a debased paper ought, for a moment, to 
 go by that name) which was, generally 
 speaking, in possession of the people. Many 
 persons, in the lower ranks of Hie, who had 
 gathered together a few pounds, the fruit 
 of long labour and anxious care, of frugality, 
 af.d of forbearance from enjoyment ; the 
 fruit, in short, of an exercise of all the 
 domestic virtues, a»d destined to be the 
 provision, as the saying i% " against a rainy 
 day," that is, to be the source of comfort in 
 sickness or in old age; many persons of this 
 description, the heart ache of one of whom 
 ought to give us more pain than to see fifty 
 thousand Public Robbers swinging from so 
 many gibbets; many persons of this descrip- 
 tion; many of these very best of the people, 
 saw their little all vanish in a moment, and 
 themselves reduced to the same state with 
 the improvident, the careless, the lazy, the 
 spendthrift, the drunkard, and the glutton, 
 looking back upon a life of labour and of 
 care, and looking forward to the misery and 
 disgrace of a workhouse ! To describe the 
 scene, when the Meetings of Creditors took 
 place, at Salisbury, wotdd be impossible. 
 The Council Chamber of the city (for no 
 oth<T place, except the Cathedral, woidd 
 have contained a twentieth part of them), 
 was surrounded with such multitudes, and 
 so eager were they, in pressing forward, 
 that some were in danger of their lives ; 
 and the constables, from necessity, pet haps, 
 laid their staves about the heads of many of 
 those who came to demand their due, 
 particularly, as I urn informed, on the 7th of 
 this month. What a scene was this! Here, 
 Pitt, if he had still been alive, might have 
 Seen a specimen of the fruits of his system 
 The holders of the notes, were, I under- 
 stand, each of them compelled to he at the 
 expence of an affidavit, and Obliged also, to 
 attend in person, or by an attorney, at the 
 Meeting of Creditors, and also for the re- 
 ceipt of the dividends whenever any shall 
 take place. It is easy, therefore, to nm- 
 ceive what portion qf payment will ever fall ti> 
 the lot of hundreds of poor men and women, 
 living at a <$»«mee from Sal* 
 scattered ahjout in country pbiees, where a 
 nevvs-pnjnT is hardly ever seen. One of the 
 banks was eafjed the ftrfisftury and 8!t 
 <6uryktt)ik, an 
 
87] 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 [88 
 
 paying their debts, an insertion, which, 
 with the present scenes before your 
 eyes, might be a little more impu- 
 dent, but not a whit more contrary to 
 
 one place, and part at the other. Those 
 notes, which were dated at the latter place, 
 were to be proved at meetings to be held 
 there; so that, many of the poor fellows, 
 who had brought their notes to Salisbury, 
 were told, that they ynust curry them to 
 Shaftesbury, a place at twenty miles distance/ 
 The holder of each note, was, 1 understand, 
 compelled, in order to have a claim to any 
 dividend, to swear that he had given the full 
 value of the note ; so that, am man could not 
 demand payment of the note of any other man ; 
 and, people could not tiell the notes for any 
 thing below their nominal value. It is evident, 
 that, under circumstances like these, a great 
 portion of the poor people who hold any of 
 these notes, will lose the whole amount of 
 them. I have two men, for instance, who 
 had the misfortune to be of this number, 
 James Gullingham and William Hurckett, 
 the former of whom had a five pound note, 
 and the latter a one pound note, both issued 
 under the name of Bowles, Ogden, and 
 Wyndhaiu, and both which notes I have 
 now lying upon the table before me. These 
 mm are at twenty-right miles distance from 
 Salisbury ; to present the notes at the Meet- 
 ing would have required three days absence 
 from home in the midst of harvest, besides 
 their expences at Salisbury and upon the 
 road, which, without tue expenee of the 
 affidavit, would have amounted to more 
 than the one pound note of Hurckett, to 
 say nothing about the expences attending 
 the receipt of the dividends. Indeed, upon 
 
 truth than the assertion above noticed, 
 and, I trust, completely refuted. 
 
 I am, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Monday, 
 tUtk September, J 810. 
 
 the circumstances being related to me, I 
 was quite satisfied that any attempt of poor 
 Gullingham to recover his debt from Messrs. 
 Bowles, Ogden, and Wyndham, even sup- 
 posing them to'pay 20 shillings in the pound, 
 would be a losing concern, and that the best 
 way was for me to take the debt off their 
 hands. I intend to send the pretty little 
 bits of paper down to them, with a request, 
 that they will paste them upon two little 
 boards, and hang themup in their cottages, 
 not only by way of ornament, but as a 
 lesson to their neighbours and their chil- 
 dren. I dare say, that there are many con- 
 siderate masters who will act in like man- 
 ner ; but, it must be manifest to every one, 
 that hundreds of poor families will suffer, 
 and very severely suffer, from this one 
 failure. What, then, must be the conse- 
 quence, if these failures should become general; 
 and, does it not become every one, who* 
 wishes to see the peace and independence 
 of the country preserved, to use his utmost 
 endeavours to convince the public of the 
 necessity of measures to restore to circula- 
 tion the gold and silver coin, and thereby to 
 prevent, if possible, those dreadful convul- 
 sions, in which the issue of a paper curren- 
 cy, not convertible into specie, have but too 
 frequently, not to say, invariably, ended? 
 
 CntereU at Stationers' (feall* 
 
 Printed by W. Mohneux, 5, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane; Published by Wm. 
 Cosbbtt, Jan. No. 3, Catherine Street, Strand: and Retailed at No. 192, btrand. 
 
NMJ-COBBETTS PAPER AGAINST GOLD.—[Pricc Two-Pence. 
 
 89] 
 
 [90 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 That provisions and labonf should become dear by the increase of trade and money. \$. in many respects 
 " an inconvenience ; but hii inconvenience that is unavoidable, and the effect or that puulic wealth aim 
 " prosperity winch arc the end of all cur wishes. It is compensated by llie advantages wtiich we reap from 
 " die possession ot those PH.liC10l.7S METALS, and the weight ulactt. tkey give, Uie nation in ail foreign 
 " wars and negotiation* ; but there appears no reason for increasing th*t inconvenience by a counterfeit 
 '• money, which foreigner* will not accept of in any payment, and which any great disorder iu the slate 
 " will rcduca to nulJUng.'' Hume. 
 
 further Observations respecting the fallacious Notion that Paper Money is the Con- 
 sequence of an increase of Trade and of National Prosperity— Sir John Sinclair's Idea 
 about Roads and Canals — Exemplification in the Instances of France and the American 
 States— Destruction of the Paj.er Money in both those "Countries, the dawn of 
 National Prosperity — Our own history shows the Influence of a National Debt rn 
 producing Bank Notes — Our Bank was the Offspring of the Debt— 'J he Bank was 
 necessary in order to pay the Interest of the Debt — Boldness of Mr. Jackson and 
 Sir John Sinclair in asserting that Paper Money is necessary to Trade, aud is a Mine 
 of National Prosperity— What woidd Hume have said if he had been told that 
 Scotland would produce a Man to assert what Sir John Sinclair has asserted ? — The 
 " lo here !" and the "'* lo theke !" — The real cause of the increase of the Bank 
 Notes — That Increase shown to have kept pace with the Increase of the Debt — 
 Conclusion of this part of our subject. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 In the foregoing Letter we opened 
 the way towards the history of the 
 Stoppage of Gold and Silver, or, 
 Real-money payments, at the Bank of 
 England, in the year 1797, by show- 
 ing the divers ways, in which bank- 
 notes get out into circulation, or, in 
 other words, the divers motives for 
 making those notes; and by clearly 
 showing also, in reasoning upon ge- 
 neral principles, that it is Debt and 
 not Wealth, that generates promissory 
 notes, of whatever sort they may be, 
 or by whomsoever issued. So fond, 
 however, have we been upon this sub- 
 ject, and such great pains, for so long 
 a time, have been taken to make us 
 believe, that the increase of the paper- 
 currency proceeds from an increase 
 of Trade, or of something favourable 
 to us, that I should not be perfectly 
 
 W. MOLINEUX, Printer, Bream's Building! 
 CLa&teiy Lane, 
 
 satisfied with myself, were I to hasten 
 forward, without first submitting to 
 you all the observations that have 
 occurred to me upoh this part of our 
 subject. 
 
 When those, who, from whatever 
 motive, have written in favour of the 
 Paper System, have had to account 
 for the vast increase in the quantity 
 of the bank-notes, they have always 
 had recourse to our " increasing 
 " trade" and " wealth" and " pros 
 '* per it y" and " improvement ;" and 
 they have, like Sir John Sinclair, 
 bid us look at the increase of turnpike 
 roads and canals and harbours ana 
 new inclosures. Now, this reference 
 to roads, canals,harbours, and enclo- 
 sures is singularly unhappy ; for, the 
 Emperor Napoleon, in his annual 
 speeches, to his Corps Legislatif, or 
 Parliament, tells them of new roads 
 
 D 
 
91] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [92 
 
 and canals, compared to which onrs 
 arc not worth naming, while we know 
 pretty well that he has, during this 
 war even, made a harbour and an 
 arsenal and a fleet too, where theft 
 was before no semblance of maritime 
 means, to get at which fleet, or, rather, 
 to attempt to get at it, has cost us all 
 the lives and all the millions of taxes 
 expended in the Walcheren Expedi- 
 tion ; and, while we see, that, as to t 
 agricultural improvements, France is 
 able to let us have bread. Therefore, 
 as this is the case in France, and as 
 these same writers assure us, that the 
 people of France are in a state of 
 extreme misery, methinks that new 
 canals and roads and harbours and 
 agricultural improvements should not, 
 by these writers, at any rate be cited 
 as proofs of National prosperity. 
 
 But, what have these exertions of 
 genius and industry ; these efforts of 
 the bodily or mental faculties of a 
 people ; what have these to do with 
 paper-mvney? There is no paper- 
 money in Fiance. Yet the French 
 make roads and canals and harbours 
 and agricultural improvements. There 
 is no paper-money, by which we al- 
 ways mean, paper not convertible into 
 gold or silver at tfie will of the holder; 
 there is no paper of this kind in the 
 American States ; yet, it is pretty 
 notorious, that there are improve- 
 ments going on in those States, some 
 of which are truly astonishing, and one 
 instance in particular, I cannot help 
 giving you, just as I found it publish- 
 ed in the London news-papers of the 
 lltli of last month * Having seen 
 
 • It is now a little more than five years, 
 since a number of German families, styling 
 themselves "the. Harmony SociETY;"w<nt 
 to the United States, with the view of form- 
 ing a distinct settlement. They soon planted 
 themselves in the wilderness of Bltlcr 
 County, in the north-western corner of 
 Fensylvania. The following account of 
 the origin and progress of their settlement 
 is copied from the Mirror, a paper publish- 
 ed in the neighbourhood of this frugal, in- 
 dustrious and thriving people.— The Asso- 
 
 and admired this wonderful, and, 
 perhaps, unparalleled, instance of 
 prosperity and happiness proceeding 
 from the united exertions of genius 
 and industry ; and, being at the same 
 time, aware, that something approach- 
 i*g towards it must necessarily be 
 going on in other parts of the coun- 
 try, you have only to know, that there 
 is no such 'thing as a paper-money in 
 any part of that country; for, then your 
 conclusion must be, that a paper-mo- 
 ney is not necessary to create, or to 
 aid the operations of, genius and in- 
 dustry ; and, history, at once to in- 
 form and console you, a fiords you 
 these further facts, that both in France 
 and America, there has been a paper- 
 money ; that, in both countries, that 
 money has met with its total destruc- 
 tion; and that, since such destruc- 
 tion, botli countries have flourished 
 much more than they did while that 
 money was in existence. 
 
 What have the partizans of the 
 Paper System to offer in answer to 
 this ? Will any one of them venture 
 to look these facts in the face ? I do 
 not believe they will. They will, I 
 should suppose, rather choose to con- 
 fine themselves to a dull re-assertion 
 of their former assertions, inters 
 spersed, may be, with a seasoning of 
 abuse upon those, by whom their igno- 
 rance, or insincerity, is detected and 
 exposed. But, without resorting to 
 „the instances furnished in foreign 
 countries, have we not, in the history 
 of our own finances, quite a sufficient 
 proof, that paper-money, or, indeed, 
 bank-notes of any sort, are not the re- 
 
 lation of Harmony had its origin in Ger- 
 many upwards of 20 years ago ; and feeling 
 themselves much oppressed on account of 
 their religion, they concluded to seek a 
 country where they could exercise their re- 
 ligion without hindrance or oppression. — 
 They chose the United States of America. 
 In the year 1804, in December, about 20 
 families arrived in Zelinople, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of which, Mr. George Kapp, 
 with some others, bought about 4,700 acre» 
 of land, and during that fall built nine log- 
 
93] 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 [94 
 
 preventatives of any thing but Debt ? 
 In every country, of which we have 
 any knowledge, a Government-Debt 
 has been accompanied with bank-notes, 
 or payments in paper, of some sort or 
 other, no matter under what name. 
 The Debt, in England, did, as we 
 have seen (Letter II, p. 17), begin in 
 the year 1(39:2 ; and there appeared, 
 at first, no intention to pay either the 
 interest or the pi incipal in any thing 
 but the usual gold and silver-coin of 
 the country. People lent their guineas 
 and crown pieces, and there was not 
 the smallest notion of their being re- 
 paid in any thing but guineas and 
 cro \vn pieces. But, it was soon 
 found, that to pay the interest of its 
 
 houses. — In the year 1805, in the spring, 
 the Society consisted of about 50 families : 
 they laid out the town of Harmony on their 
 own land, and in thikt spring built twelve 
 log-houses 94 feet by 18, built a large barn, 
 cleared 25 acres round the town, and 151 
 acres for corn, and 50 acres for potatoes ; a 
 grist-mill was built this year, the rare 
 3-8tl»s of a mile long, and 15 acres cleared 
 for meadow, the otlter ground sowed with 
 wheat and rye ; in the tall and winter, 30 
 houses more were built. — In the year 1806 
 an inn was built two stories high, 4 L 2 by 32 
 feet, and some other houses ; 300 acres 
 cleared for corn, 58 acres for meadow ; an 
 oil-mill was built, and a tannery, a blue 
 dyer's shop, and a frame barn 100 feet long. 
 In the year 1807, 36'0 acres were cleared 
 for grain and a meadow, a brick store- 
 house built, a saw-mill and beer-brewery 
 erected, and four acres of vines planted : 
 in this year the Society sold 500 bushels of 
 grain, and 3,000 gallons of whiskey manu- 
 factured by themselves of their own pro- 
 duce. — In the year 1808, a considerable 
 quantity of ground cleared, a meeting- 
 house built of brick, 70 feet long and 55 
 feet wide, another brick-house built, some 
 other buildings and stables for cattle pot- 
 -ash, soap-boKer and candle-drawer shop* 
 erected, a frame barn of 80 feet long built. 
 Of the produce of this year was sold 2,000 
 bushels of grain ; and 1,400 bushels were 
 distilled.— In the year 1809, a fulling-mill 
 was built, which does a great deal of busi- 
 ness for the country, also a hemp-mill, an 
 oil-mill, a grist-mill, a brick-warehouse 46 
 feet by 36, and another brick-building ©f 
 the same dimensions, one of which has a 
 cellar completely arched uud*r the whole, 
 
 Debt, the government needed some- 
 thing other than gold and silver; 
 which, indeed, any one might have 
 Jbreseen, because the Debt itself ne- 
 cessarily arose from the want of gold 
 and silver within the reach of the go- 
 vernment. It was, therefore, supreme 
 folly to suppose, that the government, 
 who had borrowed people's guineas 
 from want, would long have guineas 
 enough to carry on wars and to pay 
 those people too. Accordingly, in 
 only two years after the Debt began, 
 the Bank was established; the Bank 
 made notes; these notes, as far as 
 they went, supplied the place of real 
 money; and, very soon, by giving all 
 possible countenance and support to 
 
 for the purpose of a wine-cellar. A con- 
 siderable quantity of land cleared this year. 
 The produce of this year was 6,000 bushels 
 ef Indian corn, 4,500 bushels of wheat, 
 5,000 buthels of oats, 10,000 bushels of po- 
 tatoes, 4,000lbs. of hemp and flax, 100 
 bushels of barley brewed into beer, and 50 
 gallons of sweet oil, made from the white 
 poppy. Of the produce of this year w ill be 
 sold, 3,000 bushels of corn, 1,000 bushels of 
 potatoes, 1,000 bushels of wheat ; 1,200 
 bushels of rye will be distilled. — In the 
 year 1#10 will be erected a barn 90 feet 
 long, a school-house 50 feet by 44 wide, a 
 grist-mill with three pair of stones, one of 
 which will be burrs, and some small brick- 
 houses for families. — The society now con- 
 sists of 780 persons, comprising 140families, » 
 they have now 1,600 acres of land cleared, 
 203 acres whereof are in meadow, and 
 possess at present 6,000 acres of land. — 
 There are different tradesmen members of 
 of this society, who work for the country as 
 well as the society, to wit: Twelve shoe- 
 makers, fix taylors, twelve weavers, three 
 wheel-w rights, five coopers, six blacksmiths, 
 two tiail-simths, three rope-makers, three* 
 blue dyers, ten carpenters, four cabinet- 
 makers, two sadlers, two waggon-makers, 
 twelve masons, two potters, one soap-boiler, 
 a doctor and apothecary, but neither jmrsca 
 nor Utwyer t and in a short time a hatter and 
 a tin-plate worker are expected. — During 
 the last year the shoemakers alone worked 
 for the country to the amount of U2 dollars 
 anl 8 cents, the coopers to the amount of 
 207 dollars, the sadlers to the amount of 
 739 dollars 54 cents, the tannery 675 dol- 
 lars, the blacksmiths 100 dollars, 
 
 D2 
 
95] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [90 
 
 the Bank, the government got great 
 part of the interest of its Debt paid in 
 bank notes. Thus Mere the bank- 
 notes, from the very outset, as, in- 
 deed, all promissory notes must be, 
 the representatives of Debt, and not 
 of wealthy of prosperity, or of trade ; 
 and, if this was the case, at a time 
 when these notes were convertible into 
 gold and silver, shall we now look 
 upon them in a better light ? 
 
 In spite, however, of the voice of 
 history and of reason, and even in 
 spite of common sense, there are (as 
 in the instances of Mr. Randall 
 Jackson and Sir John Sinclair) 
 men to be found, so ignorant or so 
 hardy as to hold up bank-notes, pro- 
 missory not-es, and promissory notes, 
 too, not convertible into real money : 
 there are men to be found to hold up 
 this paper-money, which, as we have 
 clearly shewn, is always issued in 
 consequence of Debt, in consequence 
 of a want of real money, and which 
 paper-money is, as Burke (See the 
 Motto to Letter YI J, page 76) well 
 describes it, " not the measure of the 
 " trade of its nation, but of the ncces- 
 " sities of its government :" there are 
 men to be found, who, like Mr. Jack- 
 son, insist that an increase of paper- 
 money is cailcd for by an increase of 
 trade ; and, who, like the bolder 
 Baronet, scruple not to assert, that 
 ' • the abundance of circulation" (speak- 
 ing of bank-notes not convertible into 
 gold and silver) " is the great source 
 " of our opulence and strength, and a 
 " 5lIN "E of national prosperity ;" yea, 
 who have the boldness to call pro- 
 missory notes, which are issued only 
 because the issuers are not able to 
 pay in money, a mine of national 
 prosperity; and, who are hardy 
 enough to make this assertion at the 
 very moment when they themselves 
 are declaring, that it would be ruinous 
 to attempt to force the issuers of such 
 notes to pay them in money when 
 presented. 
 
 Hume, a3 will be seen from that 
 passage of his Essay on Money, from 
 wLteh I have taken my motto, ob- 
 
 serves, that there is an inconvenience 
 in the increase of real money, which, 
 as was shown in the last Letter, is 
 naturally produced by an increase of 
 trade ; and he calls bank-notes 
 (though, observe, convertible into gold 
 and silver, as they were in his time), 
 counterfeit money. What, then, 
 would he have said of our present 
 bank-notes ; what would he have said 
 of bank-notes not convertible into 
 gold and silver ; and what would he 
 have said, if he had been told, that 
 Scotland would produce a man, who 
 would tell the people of Great Britain, 
 and in print too, that such bank-notes 
 are a mine of National Prosperity ? 
 
 We have now, I think, said quite 
 enough to convince any riian, whose 
 faculties enable him to distinguish 
 falsehood from truth, that the notion 
 of an increase of trade demanding an 
 increase of paper-money is one of tho 
 most gross delusions, that either igno- 
 rance or an intention to deceive ever 
 attempted to practise upon mankind. 
 We have, in short, clearly shown, 
 tli at the increase of bank-notes, and 
 of promissory notes of every descrip- 
 tion, are produced by Debt, are the 
 offspring and representatives of Debt, 
 and that real money, and real money 
 only, is the representative of property, 
 or wealth, or things of real value, and, 
 of course, that an increase of trade, 
 which is only another term for an in- 
 crease of money's-worth things, de- 
 mands, and if there be no unnatural 
 cause to prevent it, will, of itself, 
 bring into circulation an increase of 
 real money. 
 
 To acknowledge this truth would, 
 however, have been so manifestly in- 
 jurious to the Paper Money System, 
 that it is not surprizing, that the par- 
 tizans of that system (which is but 
 another name for those who have pro- 
 fited, and do still profit, from it) 
 should have taken uncommon pains 
 to avoid the acknowledgment, and 
 even to maintain, with their utmost 
 ability, any opinion of a contrary 
 tendency. Hence all the absurdities, 
 that we find in the various speeches 
 
97] 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 [98 
 
 and pamphlets, uttered and written 
 upon tiie subject, and in which the 
 increase of the bank-notes, and now 
 of the paper-money, have been, at 
 different times, attributed to almost 
 every cause but the real one. At one 
 time it was the enterprize in com- 
 merce ; at another, the enterprize in 
 roads and canals; at another, the 
 " pressure of the war," which was, as 
 a distant cause, true ; at another, it 
 was a ** temporary alarm ;" at 
 another, it was speculations abroad; 
 at another it was the " influx of 
 ** wealth ;" at another, it was Jaco- 
 binism; and now, there are three 
 causes, an increase of trade, the em- 
 barrassment to trade occasioned by 
 Napoleon's commercial warfare 
 against us, and the, exportation of gold! 
 These lastanentioned causes, which 
 any one may hear from, perhaps, the 
 three first persons whom he meets in 
 Threadneedle Street, do, to be sure, 
 most admirably accord with each 
 other ! But, it is the lot of falsehood 
 to contradict itself. 
 
 In the meanwhile, however, very 
 great is the mischief which arises from 
 this misguiding of ,the public mind. 
 The people, while amused with this 
 " Lo here ! and Lo there /" see not 
 that which they ought to see ; » they 
 see not the real cause of the increase 
 of the papcivmonev, the real cause of 
 the gold and silver having gone out of 
 circulation ; and, of course, they use 
 no endeavours, they express no wish 
 to see adopted any measures, calcu- 
 lated to remove that cause, and to re- 
 lieve their country from this, the most 
 formidable of all the dangers with 
 which it is threatened. 
 
 That this real cause is no other, 
 than the increase of the Debt con- 
 tracted by the government, cannot, I 
 think, be doubted by any one, who 
 has gone patiently through the fore- 
 going Letters, and who must have 
 seen, that, 'as the Debt increased, the 
 bank-notes became of greater amount 
 in the whole, and of sums smaller and 
 smaller, till, at last, they came down 
 to a single pound. At first, and for 
 
 half a century, there were no bank- 
 notes for a sum less than twenty 
 pounds. When the Debt got to about 
 70 millions, there were fifteen pound- 
 notes made ; before it reached 150 
 millions, there were ten pound-note* 
 made ; before it reached 300 millions, 
 there were Jive pound-notes made ; 
 and before it had reached 500 mil- 
 lions, there were two pound-notes and 
 one pound-notes made. Since it 
 reached 500 millions, there have 
 been, in some parts of the country, 
 notes made to 'represent silver-coins, 
 and the Silver Tokens, issued from 
 the Bank of England, the intrinsic 
 value of which is less than the nomi- 
 nal, have been circulated over the 
 country, while the gold-coin, of every 
 value, has almost wholly disappeared, 
 is notoriously exported, and while 
 English guineas, not one of which is 
 seen by hardly any man in England, 
 in the course of a month, make part 
 of the common current coin on the 
 continent of Europe, in the American. 
 States, and more especially in Fiance ; 
 aye, in that very country, which Pitt 
 and his associates told us, over and 
 over again, was in " the very gulph of 
 " bankruptcy ;" and which we were, 
 year after year, induced to believe 
 would be totally ruined by the fall of 
 that paper-money, the place of which 
 has been, in a great part, supplied 
 by our guineas ! 
 
 Thus, then, we have seen, hoth 
 from reason and experience, that it is 
 Debt which produces bank-notes, and 
 paper-promises of every sort; and, 
 having seen the manner in which 
 these paper-promises get out amongst 
 us, and how their increase has kept 
 pace with the increase of our Debt, 
 we shall, in the next Letter, proceed 
 to trace this increase to that grand 
 and memorable effect, the Stoppage 
 of Gold and Silver-payments at the 
 Bank of England, in, 1707. 
 I am, Gentlemen. 
 Your sincere Friend, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 State Prison, Ncwsrute. Thursday, 
 27th Se.pt. \%10. 
 
99] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 [ieo 
 
 The consternation was general through the whole kingdom. Thousands of families were utterly ruined, and 
 " reduced from opulence to beggary. Despair seemed to have seized upon the country, in which so many 
 " suicides were nevei before heardof." HISTORY OF THESOUTH SEA BUBBLE. 
 
 This Letter a Digression from the regular Line of the Discussion-— Deatli of Abraham 
 Goldsmith the great Jew Money-Dealer— Effect of it described, as to the Funds—He 
 and Sir Francis Baring called the Pillars of the City-— The Corporation of London 
 thought nothjng of— Perilous State of the Country, if such be the Pillars of its Credit— 
 Goldsmidt's Character— His Charities — His princely Entertainments— His Transactions 
 with Sir John Peter at the Exchequer Bill Office — The Motive for the Act of Self- 
 Murder— A Hint at the Reasons why this Jew has been so praised ; and why benevolent 
 Jew Characters have been introduced into some of our modern Stage Plays— The Cause 
 of Goldsmidt's committing the Act — History of the Loan-Transaction— What Omnium 
 and Discount is— Progress of the Fall of the Price of Stocks — News-paper Puffs to 
 keep them up — What must be the State of the Country if such trifling Causes produce 
 Discredit—" Capital, Credit, and Confidence'' — What Security have we that Things 
 will not become worse? — The Effect upon the Miuds of our Enemies — Can it be sup- 
 posed that People will purchase Stock, or hold Stock if the Fabric be so frail ?— May 
 not Napoleon cause a Combination against the Funds ? — Of the Remedy or Expedient 
 talked of — The Loan-Makers have no Claim to Compensation for any Loss they may 
 sustain — The famous and immortal Loyalty Loan in the Days of Pitt— This Case diffe- 
 rent from that of the present Loan-Makers — Conclusion of the Digression. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 THE death of Abraham 'Gold- 
 SMIDT, the rich Jew, mentioned in 
 Letter I, page 2, and who is said to 
 have shot himself on Friday last, the 
 28th of September ; this death is, in 
 the history and progress of the Paper- 
 Money System, an incident of some 
 importance, and at this time, worthy 
 of our particular attention; because 
 the circumstances connected with it 
 afford, perhaps, a more striking and 
 satisfactory illustration, than any 
 other that can be imagined, of the 
 loan-making transactions. In inquiries, 
 which are of an intricate nature, it 
 is always advantageous to be able to 
 combine practice with principle; and, 
 we shall, I think, find in the circum- 
 tances just alluded to, such a deve- 
 lopement, such a practical exemplifi- 
 cation, of some of the principles which 
 we have laid down, as could scarcely 
 have been derived from any other 
 source. The present Letter will, in- 
 deed, turn us a little aside from the 
 direct line of our pursuit, and may 
 be considered as a Digression; but, 
 it will not tend to confuse us, and the 
 
 matter of it will be found of great use 
 to us during the rest of our inquiry. 
 
 The news-papers, and particularly 
 those which praise the government 
 unceasingly, have stated, that, when 
 the intelligence of this man's death 
 reached the city of London (he 
 having shot himself at his house, or 
 rather palace at the village of Morben 
 in Surrey) all Mas confusion and 
 consternation. They tell us, that 
 " The Stock Exchange, Capel-court, 
 " and even the Royal Exchange, were 
 " crowded, all persons eagerly making 
 " inquiries about this event, and for- 
 11 getting almost every thing else. — 
 " Little or no business was done. We 
 " question whether peace or tear sud- 
 " denly made ever created such a 
 " bustle*" Wc are told, that " Wends 
 " would be inadequate to express the 
 " surprize, the alarm and the dismay 
 " that were visible.!" We are further 
 told, that the moment the intelligence 
 reached the City of London, " the 
 " Funds felt the effect, and three 
 
 Courier Newspaper, $>8th Sept. t Ibid. 
 
101] 
 
 LETTER IX, 
 
 [102 
 
 " per cent. Stock fell from 66x to 
 " 631 f" that is t© say, hundreds of 
 millions of this sort of property in- 
 stantly lost in value about 3 pounds in 
 every hundred. We &re told, in ano- 
 ther place, that " the Ministers sent 
 " off a Messenger, with the melan- 
 " lancholy tidings, to the King and 
 " to the Prince of Wales.f 
 
 I And all this for the death of a Jew 
 merchant? The king and the heir 
 apparent to be informed of it by a 
 royal Messenger! And, is it really 
 true, that this man's having shot him- 
 self made the citizens of Londrm 
 forget almost every thing else ? Is it 
 really true, that such an event, put 
 business- nearly at a stand? Is it 
 really true, that it produced an effect 
 equal to peace or ivar suddenly made ? 
 And is it true ; is there truth in the 
 ' shameful fact, that a Jew Merchant's 
 shooting himself produced alarm and 
 dismay in the capital of England, 
 which is also called, and not very im- 
 properly, perhaps, the emporium of 
 the world ? , 
 
 If all this be true, it is high time 
 that we become acquainted with the 
 reasons why such a person was thought 
 of so much consequence ; and that we 
 consider m ell the tendency of a sys- 
 tem, that could make his life, or his 
 death, an object of national import- 
 ance. One of the public prints pre- 
 sents us with the following disconso- 
 late reflection : " The mutability of 
 " human affairs has been strongly 
 " evinced during the lastfew weeks. — 
 " Sir Francis Baring and Mr. A. 
 " Goldsmidt, who were considered 
 " as the PILLARS OF THE CITY, 
 u are both dead within that time. 
 " The effects their deaths have had 
 " on the funds of the country will 
 " best bespeak the support t/wy gave 
 " them while they lived.J" 
 
 The Pillars of the City of London ! 
 The Corporation of that famous City, 
 the Mayor, Aldermen, Sheriffs, Com- 
 mon Counsellors, and the Liverymen ; 
 all these ; the whole of this admirably 
 constituted body, to whiqh, upon so 
 many occasions, the people of the 
 kingdom have been indebted for the 
 preservation of their liberties; the 
 whole of this body sinks out of sight, 
 and all the Companies of industrious 
 and ingenious Tradesmen along with 
 it; they all become nothing, at the 
 mention of the names of a couple of 
 dealers in funds and paper-money! 
 With eyes very different indeed do * I 
 view the parties ; and, though 1 desire 
 not the death of either, and am as 
 sorry as you, my neighbours, to hear 
 of the untimely death of any man, 
 I have not the smallest hesitation in 
 saying, that J look upon the life of 
 Sir Francis Baring, or that of 
 Goldsmidt, as being of no more, if 
 so much, value to England, as that of 
 any o:e of your apprentices, or 
 plough-boys ; and, I have no doubt, 
 that, before we arrive at the clove of 
 this Series of Letters, you will see 
 £ood reason for believing, that my 
 opinion is founded in a just estimate 
 of the nature and tendency of the 
 professions of these several parties. 
 
 But, are these writers aware of the 
 import of their words, when they tell 
 us, that the two persons above-men- 
 tioned were the Pillars of the City 
 that they gave support to the funds of; 
 the country; and that their deaths 
 have occasioned those Funds to Jail? 
 Are these writers aware of the ten- 
 dency of such declarations ? Do they 
 consider what it is that they are say- 
 ing ; what it is they are proclaiming 
 to the people and to the world ? If 
 they do, and if they 
 
 . expect to be be- 
 What ! Keved, their intention must he to de- 
 stroy all confidence in the Funds and 
 Stocks : for what man in his sen.se:' 
 * Times Newspaper, 29th Sept. can po sibly confide in that whi 
 
 t Colriek Newspaper, 28th Sept. | leans for support upon tbe ifc o. 
 
 % TiM£s Newspaper, 29th Sept 
 
 dividuals, and of individuals, too, who, 
 
103] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD 
 
 [104 
 
 from the perils of tlicir very calling, 
 are liable to be driven to commit 
 acts of suicide? In some cases, we 
 are compelled to leave our property 
 dependent upon the lives of indivi- 
 duals; but; no man with his intel- 
 lects perfect ever does this from 
 choice, and, if these writers should 
 make the public in general believe, 
 or, if the public from any other cause 
 should believe, that the Funds stand 
 in need of the support of individuals, 
 it is a pretty clear case, that the 
 price of them must fall very low, be- 
 fore many people will be inclined to 
 dispose of their solid property in 
 order to purchase Stock. They must 
 come down to almost nothing, and 
 the purchase must be a sort of gam- 
 bling; for no man will lay out his 
 money in Slock, as men hitherto have 
 done, if it should become matter of 
 general belief, that the Funds are in 
 any degree dependent upon the Jiies, 
 and, of course, upon the will of indi- 
 viduals. 
 
 We will now see (for it is v^rv 
 curious) what has been said as to the 
 cause of Goldsmidt's putting an 
 end to his life ; and, that will let ns 
 into matter essentially belonging to 
 our subject. But, before we pro- 
 ceed any further, I think myself 
 called upon to make a few remarks 
 upon what has, in some of our news- 
 papers, been said about the character 
 of this man ; for, though I have no 
 desire to say any harm of him, or to 
 cause people t» believe harm of him, 
 I think it wrong ; I think it very un- 
 just towards my- readers ; I think it 
 an act of treason to the morals of my 
 country, to stand by, with pen in hand, 
 and to see spread abroad amongst ihe 
 people such unqualified praises of a 
 man, who has terminated his exig- 
 ence by suicide, and especially 
 when I do not believe those praises 
 to be founded in truth. 
 
 We aro told of his acts of charity ; 
 hi * subscriptions to charitable under- 
 tnkipfjs: iris name, we are {old, was 
 
 always seen foremost upon such oc- 
 casions. But, why tell us of this 
 again, if every individual act has 
 been carefully printed and published 
 before. There are cases, in which u 
 man's acts of charity may get out to 
 the world in spite of him ; but, he is 
 very unlucky when his name is printed 
 upon every trifling occasion, which 
 has been the case with this man's 
 charities. Besides, what has he given, 
 put it all together ? Not, perhaps, the 
 odd shillings and pence upon the 
 the enormous sums that he has gained 
 by his dealings with -the government; 
 and, -is any man so blind as not to 
 perceive, that motives very different 
 indeed from those of charity might 
 dictate his gifts ? A man, acquiring 
 such immense wealth, must see,, that 
 something was necessary to keep the 
 public from grudging ; and, though I 
 do not take upon me to say, that 
 Goldsmidt's donations proceeded 
 from this motiVe, I cannot help think- 
 ing that they frequently did, when I 
 recollect how many paragraphs, stat- 
 ing the nature and amount of his 
 charities, I have, at different times, 
 read in the newspapers. 
 
 "Who build* a Clmrrh to Ood, and not to fame, 
 " Will ne'er inscribe the marble ■with his name." 
 
 One of his eulogists says : " he had 
 " done so many kind and generous 
 " actions— his benevolence was so 
 " enlarged — his public and private 
 " character was so princely, em brae- 
 " ing men of all persuasions— he was 
 " so unostentatious in his habits, and 
 " so mild and cheerful in his man- 
 " ners ; — in short, a man more truly 
 " amiable in all the relations of life 
 " never existed. lie was incessantly 
 " employed in acts of friendship ; and 
 " though like every man of extensive 
 " dealings, he had to encounter the 
 " bitterness of opposition and envy, 
 " we never heard even from his most 
 " active rivals, any other than the 
 ." most favourable testimony to his 
 " virtues. He died in the 53rd year 
 " of his -j^e, — We understand that 
 
105] 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 [106 
 
 " that which preyed most acutely on 
 " his feeling, and wrung from him 
 " many an agonizing exclamation, 
 " was the manner in which he had 
 " been treated by some persons who 
 " had been under the greatest obliga- 
 " tions to him. He had, for years, 
 " been a man the most looked up to 
 tx in the monied market — his com- 
 " mand of money had been immense 
 " — his credit unbounded. This was a 
 '*. proud situation ; but elevated as he 
 " was, it inspired him with nothing 
 * ' like hauteur or insolence — he was still 
 " the same affable man, increasing in 
 " kindness, if possible, with his in- 
 "■ creasing wealth*." The much greater 
 part of this has not, I am satis- 
 lied, a particle of truth in it. Never 
 was any thing more ostentatious than 
 the acts of benevolence, as they are 
 called, of this man, who, as I ob- 
 served years ago, merely tossed back 
 to the miserable part of us, in the 
 shape of alms, the fractions of the 
 pence, upon the immense sums of 
 money that he got by his traffic in 
 loans and bills and funds. The pub- 
 lic, if it has any memory all, must re- 
 member the accounts that were given 
 of his entertainments, at which even 
 princes were present; and at which, 
 probably, as much was consumed in 
 an evening as would have maintained 
 the whole village of Morden for a 
 year. Of these entertainments the 
 most pompous accounts were pub- 
 lished in all the newspapers of the 
 day ; and, from the manner of the 
 publication, there can be but little 
 doubt of its having been paid for. 
 As to his having shewn his hospiia- 
 tality to men of all persuasions, that 
 is precisely what a man does, who is 
 more intent upon securing the favour 
 of men in poioer, than upon cultivat- 
 ing real friendship ; and, indeed, I 
 ,/iave, for my part, very little doubt, 
 that the cost of the entertainments of 
 GoldsaIIdt was always put down 
 amongst the necessary out-goings of 
 his trade. 
 
 • Morning Post Newspaper, Oct. 1. 
 
 Thus far, however, what I have 
 stated may be called matter of opinion. 
 What I am now going to state is 
 matter of fact, and of fact, too, that 
 the people of England should have 
 been made fully acquainted with long 
 ago. I allude to this man's trans- 
 action with Sir Jo«n Peter in the 
 funding of Exchequer Bills, and which 
 transaction is related in a Report made 
 by a Committee of the House of 
 Commons, which was ordered to be 
 printed on the 14th of May last, and 
 which will be found at page 193 of 
 the Appendix to Vol. XVII of the 
 Parliamentary Debates. And here. 
 Gentlemen, we shall have a view of 
 something of no small interest to us 
 as belonging to the Inquiries, in which 
 we are engaged. 
 
 In Letter VII, at page 85, men- 
 tion was made of Exchequer Bills; 
 and they were described as one sort 
 of the promissory notes, issued by the 
 government in payment of persons, 
 to whom they owe money. They are 
 like other promissory notes, with this 
 difference, that they l)ear an inter es* 
 of so much upon each hundred pounds 
 every day, the rate of Avhich interest 
 varies according to circumstances. 
 In short, an Exchequer Bill, w r hich 
 derives its name from the place 
 whence it issues, is like a bank-nole, 
 not convertible into money at the will 
 of the holder, except that the hank- 
 note does not bear interest, and the 
 Exchequer Bill does. You will c 
 perceive, that these Exchequer Bills, 
 while out, form a part of the National 
 Debt. They belong to what is called 
 Unfunded Debt ; and, they are some- 
 times paid off and taken up, as a pri- 
 vate person pays off and takes up his 
 notes of hand. But, sometimes, the 
 government, like the private per- 
 son, finds it inconvenient to pay off 
 these bills ; and, in such cases, rt, 
 funds them; that is to say, it makes 
 an advantageous offer to the holders 
 of them to exchange them for Sfoch ; and 
 when this is done, the amount of such 
 Exchequer Bills is, of course, added tn 
 thegrcat mass of+ltc permanent National 
 
107] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [108 
 
 Debt ; which, as you will perceive, is 
 a way of borrowing money that occa- 
 sions much less talk and noise than 
 would he occasioned hy a new loan. 
 The loan, this year was for 14 millions ; 
 hut, then, there were Exchequer 
 Bills funded to the amount of eight 
 iniilioast, so that the addition to the 
 permanent or funded Debt, has, in 
 fact, in this one year, been 22 mil- 
 lions. 
 
 I have just said, that when the 
 government finds it inconvenient to 
 pay off and take up Exchequer Bills, 
 it makes an advantageous olFer to the 
 holders of them, by which these 
 holders are induced to give them up, 
 and to take Funds or Stock, in lieu 
 of them. The Bills are brought by 
 the holders to a certain place, called 
 the Exchequer Bill Office, where 
 they are received, and where the 
 voucher is given which procure the 
 holder stock in exchange for them. 
 Upon these occasions, there is gene- 
 rally a great struggle of the Bill- 
 holders to yet first into the office ; be- 
 cause when the quantity of Bills to 
 be funded have been presented and 
 received, all the rest must, for the 
 present, at any rate, still remain with 
 the holders ; and, as there is an ad- 
 vantage in getting them funded, it is 
 evident enough, that there must al- 
 ways be an anxious rivalship in pur- 
 suit of that object. 
 
 Upon an 'occasion of this sort, in 
 the month of March last, Abraham 
 (jOJLDSMIDT attended, amongst others, 
 v'iia new of getting into the Ex- 
 chequer Bill office; and, being una- 
 ble to get in at the common door, so 
 early as some others, he went to a 
 passage leading to another part of the 
 ofliccjwherehemetSiR John Peter. 
 one of the Paymasters, or persons 
 who conduct the business of the office. 
 " To this person, he delivered his 
 " pocket-book, containing Exchequer 
 " Bills to the amount of 350,000 
 44 pounds, and then went away. Sir 
 "John Peter carried in the book 
 '• and the bills; and, in consequence 
 
 " of this, Goldsmidt's bills wer* 
 " funded ; while the bills of other 
 " persons, who had attended from 
 " the earliest hour, and had got in 
 " amongst the very first, and whose 
 " bills were actually received, had 
 " their bills returned without being 
 " funded." It appears also, from the 
 Beport, that, upon a previous day, 
 this Goldsmidt, with *a few ethers, 
 had found out and used the means of 
 getting into the Office before the door 
 was opened to the public. The Com- 
 mittee state, that the same Paymaster, 
 " Sir John Peter, according to. an 
 " arrangement previously made, did, 
 " on the first day of funding, before 
 " the doors were open to the public, 
 " take into the office with him, Mr. 
 " Goldsmidt, Mr. Sutton, and 
 u Mr. Gillman, ns appears from 
 " the evidence of Mr. Gillman and 
 " Mr. Sutton. The other Paymaster 
 " in attendance, Mr. Planta, says 
 " that he found those gentlemen in 
 " the Board Room upon his arrival 
 " at the office ; that he knew it to be 
 " a great impropriety ; that he ex- 
 " pressed indignation at the proceed- 
 " big, and ordered the doars to be 
 " immediately thrown open to the 
 " public. The names, however, of 
 " the gentlemen so introduced stand 
 " amongst the very first on the books 
 " of that day" The Committee re- 
 probate these proceedings, as partial, 
 unjust, and foul; and recommend 
 means for preventing the like in 
 future. 
 
 Now, Gentlemen, this is quite 
 enough to enable you to judge of the 
 real character of Goldsmidt, whe 
 is so extolled by our courtly news- 
 writers, who have, doubtless, their 
 reasons for what they do ; you will, 
 from these facts alone, facts which 
 cannot be denied* be able to judge^ 
 whether this man is deserving of the 
 character, which, with so much in- 
 dustry, is given him; whether he was 
 that kind, benevolent, disinterested, 
 generous, and noble-minded man, 
 which he has been represented to be ; 
 
109] 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 [110 
 
 or, whether with all his outward show 
 of liberality and generosity, he was, 
 as to his essential practices, still a 
 money-loving, a money-amassing Jew, 
 and nothing more ; and if any addi- 
 tional proof of this were wanting, 
 what need we but the simple fact of 
 his having killed himself, because he 
 was losing a part of his immense 
 wealth ; a truly * Jew-like motive 
 for the commission of an act — 
 at which human nature shudders? 
 Gentlemen, how much more to be 
 respected and to be pitied are hun- 
 dreds and thousands of your indus- 
 trious and honest neighbours, who 
 had their all snatched from thorn in a 
 ' moment, and who, after a life of la- 
 bour and of abstinence, saw them- 
 selves deprived of the means of buy- 
 ing a dinner ; and that, too, observe, 
 without any fault of theirs, without 
 any greed}' speculation, any desire on 
 their part to gain by over-reaching 
 their neighbours, or to possess any 
 thing which was not the fair fruit of 
 their labour ? What value are we to 
 set upon the princely feasts of a man, 
 who could creep in at a back door to 
 get the preference in funding Exche- 
 quer Bills? What value are we to 
 sei< upon friendship , sucit as lie would, 
 doubtless, entertain for such men as 
 Sir John Peter ? And, as to his 
 charities; as to what he used to give 
 to the miserable part of our country- 
 men, under the name of charities, it 
 is very probable, that the whole of 
 what he bestowed in this way in the 
 course of his life, did not amount to 
 half so much as the sum that he 
 gained in consequence of his proceed- 
 ing above-noticed with Sir John 
 Peter. 
 
 Gentlemen, the reasons why he 
 has been so much praised by many 
 of our news-writers would amuse 
 you; and it would also entertain you 
 to learn the real cause of the fine 
 benevolent Jewish characters, which 
 are to be found in some of our 
 modern plays, if indeed, a feeling of 
 ihame for your country did not over- 
 
 power your propensity to laugh at 
 at these offerings of literary venality 
 at the shrine of Mammon. But, 
 having now bestowed quite as much 
 time as it merited in remarks upon 
 the character of the departed Jew, 
 but which remarks were demanded by 
 truth, we will now proceed to those 
 matters, connected with his death, 
 which are of much greater conse- 
 quence to us, and a clear understand- 
 ing of which will be found to be 
 greatly useful in the course of the. 
 remainder of our Inquiries. Indeed, 
 these matters not only rejate to our 
 subject, but they are strongly illus- 
 trative of some of the most important 
 parts of it. 
 
 The cause of Goldsmidt's com- 
 mitting the act of self-murder is stated 
 as follows : *< The cause of this rash 
 " act it is not difficult to assign:— 
 " Mr. Goklsmidt was a joint con- 
 " tractor for the late loan of 14 mil- 
 " lions with the house of Sir Francis 
 " Baring, and taking'the largest pro- 
 " bable range that he had dealt 
 " amongst his friends one half of the 
 " sum allotted to him, the io^s sus- 
 " tained by the jemainder, at the rate 
 " of 05/. per thousand, which was 
 " the price of Thursday, was more 
 " than any individual fortune could 
 "be expected to sustain. Ever since 
 " the decline of Omnium from par, 
 " Mr. Goldsmidt's spirits were pro- 
 " gressively drooping; but when it 
 " reached 5 and per cent, discount. 
 " without the probability of recover- 
 " ing, the unfortunate gentleman ap* 
 " peared evidently restless in his dis- 
 " position, and disordered in his 
 " mind ; and, as we have reason to 
 " believe, not finding that cheerful 
 " assistance amongst his monied 
 " friends which he had experienced 
 " in happier times, he was unable to 
 " bear up against the pressure of his 
 " misfortunes ; and hence was driven 
 " to terminate a life which till then 
 " had never been chequered by mis- 
 " fortune. The moment intelligence 
 " of the distressing event reached the 
 
Ill] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 fU2 
 
 * c the/city, which was about the period 
 " of the opening of the StocK Ex- 
 " change, the Funds suddenly I'elt 
 >' the effects, and the Three per Cent. 
 " Stock fell in a few minutes from 
 " 6QI to 6S4: Omnivm- declined 
 ** from about (y\ to 10} discount, and 
 *' then remained steady at that price 
 " for some time.''.* What to do with 
 all these cant words one hardly 
 knows; but, taking along with us 
 what we have before seen, we shall 
 be able, with a little explanation, to 
 understand them. 
 
 In Letter II, page 18, and onwards, 
 we saw something of the manner, in 
 which Loans are made to the govern^ 
 nient ; but, we must here speak of 
 the transaction a little more in parti- 
 culars. The Loan-Maker bargains 
 with the Minister to lend so many 
 millions of money, upon condition of 
 receiving so much Stock means., 
 and we have seen what Stock remains. 
 But, this Stock (aa; will be seen in 
 Letter II, page 18,) is of several 
 sorts: 4 per cents., 3 per cents.,' and 
 so on. And the Loan-Maker gene- 
 rally agrees to take some of each sort. 
 As soon as the Loan is made, he 
 begins to sell his Stock, as we have 
 seen, in page 20, to such people as our 
 good neighbour, Farmer Green- 
 horn ; but, when he sells it, all the 
 torts of it are put together \ and hence 
 it is calied Omnium, that being a 
 Latin word, meaning the whole 
 
 TOGETHER, or ALL TOGETHER. 
 
 "When the Omnium will sell for more 
 than has been given for it, it is said 
 to be at a premium; and when it will 
 not sell for so much as has been given 
 for it it is said to be at a discount, 
 that word meaning, to count back, or 
 to refund; so that, in these transac- 
 sions, to sell at a premium means to 
 gain by the sale, And to sell at a dis- 
 count means to lose by the sale; pre- 
 mium means gain, and discount means 
 loss. 
 
 * Timks Newspaper, Sept. 29 
 
 Applying this to what we have 
 before seen, respecting the cause of 
 the death of Goldsmidt, it will be 
 perceived, that he was losing 6 per 
 cent, or 6 pounds in the hundred, 
 upon his part of so immense a tran- 
 saction as that of a Loan of 14 
 millions. It js said, you will observe, 
 that he and the Barings took the 
 Loan between them; and it is sup- 
 posed, that a great part of his share 
 remained unsold, at the time when 
 the fall in the price took place. His 
 loss, if the price did not mend, would, 
 of course, be immense; and, it ap- 
 pears, that the thought of such a loss 
 was more than his mind could bear • 
 which latter is by no means wonderful, 
 seeing that his soul was set upon 
 gain ; that all his views and notions 
 of happiness centered in wealth. 
 The lover, whose passion is too strong 
 for his reason, destroys himself, be- 
 cause the object of that passion is 
 dearer to him than life. Goldsmidt 
 destroys himself, because wealth is 
 dearer to him than life. And yet, 
 we are to be told, of the princely mu- 
 nificence of this man! Never was 
 there a nation so much insulted as this! 
 
 In most cases there is a considera- 
 ble gain made by Loan-Makers, 
 who have, indeed, in many cases, 
 become so rich by these transactions 
 as to be enabled to surpass in ex- 
 pences the gentry and the nobility of 
 the kingdom, which, as we shall by-r 
 and-by see, is one of the great evils 
 of the National Debt, How it has 
 happened, that so great a loss has 
 hitherto been experienced upon the 
 present Loan, it would be very difiw 
 cult, perhaps, for any one to tell. It 
 has been asserted, in the public 
 prints, that there Mas a combination 
 against the Loan-Makers ; but, this is 
 perfect nonsense ; for, all Stocks fell 
 at the same time; and, what a line 
 state must that tiling, called public 
 credit, be in, if any combination of 
 individuals can injure it? 
 
 The progress of the fall in Ulfl 
 price of Stocks, and particularly of 
 
113] 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 [114 
 
 the Omnium, upon this occasion is 
 very curious ; and, it will be of great 
 use to us to take a look back into the 
 public prints, and see the attempts 
 there made to keep up the prices; 
 attempts which come very fairly under 
 the denomination of puffing. These 
 attempts are worthy of the greatest 
 attention ; for, trilling and even stupid 
 as they appear, and as they are in 
 themselves, they will, if I mistake not, 
 be hereafter referred to as being 
 amongst the most significant signs of 
 the times. 
 
 These attempts began with a para- 
 graph, inserted in all the daily news- 
 papers, stating the amount of the for- 
 tune of Sir Francis Baring's 
 family, who, it will be recollected, 
 were now become the part owners mi 
 the Omnium along with Goldsmidt. 
 The paragraph, of the 11th of Sep- 
 tember, was as follows: "Yesterday 
 " morning, at one o'clock, died at his 
 " house at Leigh, Sir Francis Earing, 
 ** bart. in his 74th year. He was 
 " physically exhausted, but his mind 
 " remained unsubdued by age or in- 
 " firmity to the last breath. His bed 
 " was surrounded by nine out of ten, 
 " the number of his sons and daugh- 
 " ters, all of whom he has lived to see 
 ** established in splendid independ- 
 " ence. Three of his sons carry on 
 " the great commercial house, and 
 " which, by his superior talents and 
 " integrity, he carried to so great a 
 " height of respect — and the other 
 " two sons are returned from India 
 " with fortunes. His live daughters 
 *' are all most happily married, and 
 " in addition to all this, it is supposed 
 f he has left freehold estates to the 
 " amount of half a million. Such has 
 " been the result of the honourable 
 *' life of jthis English Merchant." 
 
 On the 17th of September, the 
 following was published : " Stocks 
 " experienced this morning a con- 
 '.' siderable depression: Omnium was 
 " at 5i discount. The death of Sir 
 " Francis Baring is said to have been 
 " the chief cause of it" 
 
 On the 19th: "The sudden and 
 " rapid decline of the Stocks merits, 
 " it may be supposed, some notice. 
 " Consols, which begun yesterday at 
 " 66%, closed at 65^; and Omnium 
 " left ofF at 6\ discount. Various 
 " causes were assigned for this eifect 
 " (a descent upon Heligoland, a sub- 
 " sidy to Russia,) all equally hnpro- 
 " bable. We can do no more at pre- 
 " sent than state the fact, though we 
 " strongly suspect that we know the 
 " cause." 
 
 On the 20th: "Stocks were better 
 " this morning; and the attempts to 
 " continue the depression of the Funds 
 " are likely to be defeated, as they 
 " ought to be." 
 
 On the 22nd: "Yesterday being 
 " a holiday, no business was pub- 
 " licly transacted in the Funds, but 
 " several private bargains were made 
 " at an advanced price. Consols 
 " were done at 66k which is a material 
 " rise. There is reason to hope that 
 " a few days will dispel the alarm 
 " which was raised and propagated 
 " beyond what any just cause could 
 " warrant, by persons desirous offish- 
 " ing in troubled waters; by certain 
 " writers, eager to convert public con- 
 "fusion to the promotion of their poli- 
 " tical views, and by certain jobbers, 
 " anxious to make it* subservient to 
 " their pecuniary interests. The cr- 
 " roneous idea so industriously cir- 
 " ciliated by certain individuals that 
 " there is a depreciation of the Bank- 
 " currency, has undoubtedly con- 
 " tributed, in some degree with other 
 " circumstances of pressure, to pro- 
 " duce the late depression in the 
 " funds." 
 
 Now, it must be observed, that 
 these paragraphs were circular; that 
 is to say, they went through all the 
 daily news-papers, or, at least, nearly 
 all of them, and for aught I know, to 
 the contrary, through the weekly 
 news-papers too ; so that, there is not 
 the smallest doubt of the puffing hav- 
 ing been carried on at the instigation 
 ■ of some interested party. 
 
115] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [116 
 
 But, Gentlemen, what a state, I 
 ngain ask, must that tiling, called 
 Public Credit, be in, if it can be 
 affected in this way? First Sir 
 Francis Bering's death causes 
 the Funds to fall, and the fall in the 
 Funds causes the death of Gold- 
 smidt, and then the death of Gold- 
 smidt causes the Funds to fall lower 
 still-! What is all this talk about 
 combinations ; about attempts to con- 
 tinue the depression ; about an alarm, 
 beyond any just cause; about the 
 Funds being depressed by persons 
 desirous of fishing in troubled waters, 
 by certain writers eager for public 
 confusion; by certain .jobbers anxious 
 to promote their own interest ; by 
 certain individuals who have insidi- 
 ously circulated erroneous ideas about 
 the depreciation of Bank-notes? 
 What is all this talk? What does all 
 this mean ? Is it come to this at last, 
 that this Public Credit, 'which 
 was to defend us against all the war- 
 like operations of France ; is it come 
 to this, that this Public Credit, 
 this defence of the country, is to be 
 destroyed, or, at least, materially 
 affected, by the tricks of money-Job- 
 bers, the opinions (and the erroneous 
 opinions too) of political writers, or 
 by the death of a Jew ? If this be 
 the case, let those who have what they 
 call money in the Funds, let the Griz- 
 zle Greenhorns, look to them- 
 selves. 
 
 At the peace of Amiens, when we 
 reminded Pitt and his associates of 
 the promise they had made us never 
 to make peace without obtaining 
 " indemnity for the past and security 
 "for the future" and, when we proved 
 to them, that, while they acknow- 
 ledged that they had obtained no in- 
 demnity for the past, they had left us 
 more insecure than ever for the future. 
 When we pointed out to them, the con- 
 sequences of their war, which had put 
 into the hands of France so many 
 countries, and so much of maritime 
 means; and of their peace, Which 
 had left all these terrible means in 
 
 her hands : when we pointed out this 
 to them, what was their answer? 
 Why this : that, though France had 
 acquired a great extent of terri- 
 tory, her acquisitions in point of 
 strength did not surpass ours, which 
 consisted of an immense mass of Ca- 
 pital, Credit, and Confidence; 
 the changes upon which words were 
 rung over and over again, till the 
 speech became full as enlivening and 
 instructive as a peal of the three bells 
 of Botley Church. But, what be- 
 comes of these fine things, if the 
 scribbling of a news-paper writer, or 
 of a pamphleteer, or H' the sudden 
 death of a Jew, is capable of so ma- 
 terially affecting them? What, in 
 that case, becomes of that Capital, 
 Credit, and Confidence, which were 
 to counterbalance all the acquisitions 
 of France, and were to prove a never- 
 failing defence to England? True 
 said the adherents of Pitt, who 
 wished still to find something to say 
 by way of apology for his ruinous 
 ■measures; "true," said they, "France 
 " has made conquests; she has gained 
 " sea-ports; she has acquired and 
 " now quietly possessess, the means 
 " of rearing a navy ; but, look at the 
 " immense Capital of England ; 
 "look at her Credit; look at the 
 " Confidence which she possesses; 
 " look at these pillars of national 
 " strength.* It was not easy to sec, 
 however long one looked, that these 
 things were pillars of national strength; 
 but, if they were ; if they were the 
 pillars, upon which this nation \vas to 
 depend, what are we to think of our 
 situation, when we are told, as we are 
 in the above-cited publications, and, 
 indeed, as we are told every day, that 
 the Funds, which arc said to be the 
 barometer of national Credit, can 
 be, n&ykave been, and still are, lowered 
 in their value by such trifling things as 
 the erroneous opinion of a writer on 
 politics, or the death of a Merchant or 
 a Jew? If what we have been told 
 about the importance of Credit be 
 true; if it be our defence against 
 
117] 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 [118 
 
 the enemy, what must our situation 
 be, if what we are now told be true, 
 namely, that this Credit has been 
 shaken by such contemptible means ? 
 Pitt and his associates to id us, that 
 Capital, Credit, and Confi- 
 dence, which is using three words 
 instead of one, merely for the sake of 
 the sound; they told us that these 
 were the pillars of the nation ; and, 
 as we have seen above, our news- 
 papers now tell us, that Sir Fran- 
 cis Baring and Goldsmidt were 
 the pillars of our Credit; so that, 
 at last, we come to this comfortable 
 conclusion — that the defence and pre- 
 servation of the country depended 
 upon Sir Francis Baring and 
 Goldsmidt, one of whom has died 
 and the other shot himself within the 
 last three weeks! And this is the 
 effect, is it, of the Pitt system of 
 what is called Public Credit? 
 
 If what we are now told be true, 
 what security have we, that things 
 will stop where they are ? What rea- 
 son have we to conclude, or to sup- 
 pose, that the same causes will not 
 continue to operate, 'till the whole of 
 the Funds are annihilated ; that is to 
 say, until nobody will give any thing 
 at all for any sort of the Stock ? We 
 are told, that the fall, which has al- 
 ready taken, has, in part, been the 
 consequence of combinations of indi- 
 viduals, which must mean,"- combina- 
 tions not to purchase ; and, who is to 
 put an end to such combinations ? 
 Who is to prevent the force of them 
 from increasing! Then, again, we 
 are told, that the fall has partly 
 been produced by jobbers intent 
 upon their own interests ; and, 
 who, let me ask, is to alter the na- 
 ture of these jobbers; who can say, 
 Or even guess, when these interested 
 jobbers will be pleased to desist from 
 their selfish and mischievous prac- 
 tices? If the causes of the fall be 
 such as have been stated to the pub- 
 lic in the above-cited and other pub- 
 lications, who will pretend to say 
 
 when or where, the fall will stop ? 
 And, I should be very glad to hear 
 any reason, why, if those al (edged 
 causes be founded in truth, the Funds 
 should not continue to fall, till they 
 are not worth owning; till it is* not 
 worth Grizzle Greenhorn's while 
 to have her name written in the 
 Great Book. 
 
 We here see, that these boasted 
 friends of their country; these men 
 of such high-flying loyalty; these 
 writers who accuse of Jacobinism all 
 those who cannot believe, and who 
 will not say, that the Paper-money is 
 as good, if not better, than Gold ami 
 Silver ; we here see, that these boast- 
 ed friends of their country, who ap- 
 parently, would eat Buonaparte raw, 
 if they could get at him ; we bore see 
 these outrageously-loyal writers pro- 
 claiming to that same Buonaparte 
 what must delight him more than al- 
 most any thing that he could hear, 
 namely, that such is the stale of our 
 public credit, such the state of our 
 pecuniary resources, such the confi- 
 dence in our funds, such the confi- 
 dence in the security of our govern- 
 ment-bonds, that this confidence is 
 shaken by a combination of jobbers, 
 or the death of a Jew. How much 
 abuse has been, at various times, 
 heaped upon those, who have ex- 
 pressed their doubts as to the dura- 
 bility of the Paper-money system! 
 Nay, the Bullion Committee them- 
 selves have been very grossly abused 
 for their Report upon the subject; by 
 which Report, . their opponents say, 
 they have injured the credit of the 
 country. They are charged with 
 having injured the credit of this coun- 
 try, because they have recommended 
 that the Bank of England should pay. 
 its notes in Gol$ and Silver, What, 
 then, are those men doing, who now 
 assert, that a combination of indivi 
 duals ; that the tricks of interested job- 
 bers ; that the erroneous opinions of , 
 political writers: what are the men 
 doing, who assert, that these things 
 
119] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [120 
 
 arc capable of causing the* govern- 
 ment securities to full in value; and, 
 who scruple not to tell us, that the 
 men, who were the pillars of the 
 Public Funds, are dead? What are 
 these writers doing; and how will 
 they now be able to hold up their 
 heads and complain of the endea- 
 vours of others to destroy what they 
 call public credit, which, if it admit 
 of destruction by the means of the 
 pen, must assuredly fall for ever un- 
 der the pens of these writers ? 
 
 ; If what these writers say be true ; 
 if the stocks are to be lowered in 
 value by combinations of individuals, 
 by the errors of writers, by the re- 
 ports of committees, or by the death 
 of a Jew ; if this be true, can it be 
 thought, that people will long be dis- 
 posed to become proprietors^ of stock ? 
 Can it be thought, that they wijl, like 
 our neighbour Greenhorn, put their 
 money in the Funds ? Can it be ex- 
 pected, that fathers and mothers will 
 make provision for their children, or 
 their grand-children, by purchasing 
 stock, liable to be lowered in value 
 by such causes ? Nay, can it be ex- 
 pected, that any man in his so; 
 who is now the owner of stock, will 
 not dispose of it as soon as possible, 
 and at almost any rate ? For, is it 
 possible to regard as safe property ; 
 is it possible to regard as any pro- 
 perty at all, a thing the value of which 
 may be lowered ten per cent, in the 
 space of ten days, and, of cour&e, 
 which may be lowered to almost no- 
 thing ; is it possible to regard as any 
 •property at all, a thing the value of 
 which may be thus reduced by the 
 combinations of individuals, the trick- 
 ery of jobbers, the errors of political 
 writers, or the death of a Jew, or of 
 any other individual or number of 
 individuals ? Is it possible to regard 
 such a thing as property ? Common 
 
 sense says, no ; and yet the statement 
 of these causes, a statement, which, 
 if it have any effect at all, must tend 
 to the discredit, and, indeed, to the de- 
 struction, of the Funds; this state- 
 ment comes from the pens of those, 
 who cry out Jacobin against every 
 man, who ventures, in however mo- 
 dest a way, to express his doubts 
 of the solidity of the Funding Sys- 
 tem* 
 
 These writers, in their eagerness 10 
 abuse those, -to whom they impute the 
 fall of the Funds, seem to have over- 
 locked the conclusions that would na- 
 turally be drawn from their premises, 
 else they would have perceived what 
 a dangerous thing it was to declare 
 to our powerful and sharp-sighted 
 enemy that a combination of indivi- 
 duals was capable of shaking our 
 Funds. That enemy is, by these 
 same writers, represented as being 
 all-powerful by his intrigues in other 
 countries ; and, is it too much to sup- 
 pose, that it might be possible for 
 him to find the means of forming 
 combinations against the Funds in 
 England ? If combinations of indi- 
 viduals can pull down the. value of 
 our'Government securities, is it to be 
 believed, that our enemy will not be 
 disposed, and that he will not endea* 
 vour, to form such combinations ? 
 And, if we are asked, where he will 
 find individuals so base, have not 
 these writers pointed them out to 
 him ; or, at least, have they not told 
 him, hi terms that admit not of mis- 
 understanding, that there are such 
 individuals in England, in London, 
 and now actually at work ; and that 
 these individuals have caused the 
 Funds to fall, have caused the Go- 
 vernment securities to lose part of 
 their value ? Let these writers, there- 
 fore, confess that these statements of 
 L tueirs have proceeded from error ; or, 
 
 (Entereu at Stationers' $all* 
 London :— Printed by Wax. IUolineux, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane. 
 
N°- 51-COBBETT'S PAPER AGAINST GOLD.— [Price Two-Pence. 
 
 121] 
 
 at any rate, that they are untrue; or 
 let them for ever hold their tongue as 
 to complaints against those, who en- 
 tertain doubts of the solidity of the 
 paper-money system. 
 
 Here, Gentlemen, I should have 
 concluded this already-too-long Let- 
 ter ; but, an article, which I find in 
 the public prints of this morning 
 (Tuesday. 2nd October) induces me • 
 to add some observations upon the 
 subject of the remedy or expedient, 
 which has been more than hinted at. 
 The, article alluded to, is as follows : 
 " The state of the Funds was a little 
 '• improved yesterday ; and as no 
 " bad consequences beyond those of 
 '* the first shock had arisen from Mr. 
 " Goldsmidt's death, it is hoped that 
 •' things will soon be restored to their 
 "former level. The result of the 
 " conferences of the leading Loan- 
 " holder?, with the Chancellor of the 
 " Exchequer and the Lords of the Trea- 
 " sury, on Saturday, has not yet been 
 " made known. Mr. Goldsmidt's 
 " house continues to discharge, with.- 
 " out reserve or hesitation, all the de- 
 " mands made on it. The account 
 " at the Stock Exchange was not set- 
 " tied nor declared yesterday, in con- 
 " sequence of the attendance of Mr. 
 " Nathan Solomons, Mr. Goldsmidt's 
 " broker, at the funeral, which took 
 u place, according to the Jewish rites, 
 " about noon yesterday. His body 
 " was placed by the side of that of 
 " his brother Benjamin. Yesterday 
 " morning early Mr. Perceval came 
 1 to town from his house at Haling, 
 tc and soon after sent off letters to the 
 ° Governor and Deputy-Governor of 
 " the Bank, Mr. Wish, the Chairman 
 '* of the Commissioners of Excise, the 
 " Treasurer of the Ordnance, and a 
 
 [122 
 
 " number of other official Gentlemen ; 
 " they all attended Mr. Perceval, and 
 " he was with them during the v\ hole 
 " of the day." 
 
 These conferences will not, I trust, 
 as some persons appear to suppose, 
 lead to any application of the public 
 money, that is to say, of the taxes, to 
 the assisting, as it is called, of these 
 Loan-holders. Xhe Loan-holders, or 
 Loan-makers, have never been known 
 to return to the people any part of the 
 immense profits, which they, from 
 time to time, have made upon their 
 leaning transactions. We see, from 
 one of the above-quoted passages, that 
 Sir Francis BaRing has gained 
 enough to lay out half a million of 
 money in freehold estates. Great part 
 of this was, it is reasonable to suppose, 
 gained by the many loans to Govern- 
 ment, in which he has been at differ- 
 ent times concerned. Well, then, if 
 these profits** these immense gains, be 
 considered as fairly belonging to him, 
 or his heirs and successors ; and, if 
 we view the not less immense gains of 
 Goldsmidt in the same light; if the 
 gains be theirs, ought not the loss to 
 be theirs also ? Upon any other prin- 
 ciple, what a sort of bargain would 
 a government-loan be ? A bargain 
 where all the chance of gain wou d be 
 on one side, and all the chance of loss 
 on the other. If the loan-maker 
 gained, well ; hut, if he lost, the peo- 
 ple must make good his loss. Is this 
 the way that dealings take place be- 
 tween man and man ? Is there any 
 one of- you, Gentlemen, who woud 
 sell a load of wheat to a miller, leav- 
 ing him the chance of gaining by it, 
 and, if he happened to lose by it, 
 would give him back again the amount 
 of his loss ? Oh, no ! You would keep 
 
 W. Moliueux. P-iuttT. P cam's Buildingi 
 Chanter y Liue. 
 
123] 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 [124 
 
 the whole of the price of your wheat, 
 and leave the miller to console himself 
 in counting his gains upon other oc- 
 casions. 
 
 But, if contrary to my wish and 
 expectation, " relief" as it is called, 
 were to be given to those persons, in 
 what way could it be done? The 
 loan is made and ratified in virtue of 
 an Act of Parliament. There 
 can be no alteration made in the bar- 
 gain ; there can be no change in the 
 terms of payment; there can be no 
 abatement in the demands of the go- 
 vernment, without another Act of 
 Parliament, previously passed. — 
 Those who made the loan must pay 
 the 14 millions into the King's Exche- 
 quer, let what will be their loss upon 
 tbe transaction, unless indeed, the 
 whole of their property, real and per- 
 sonal, be insufficient for the purpose ; 
 and, in that case, the people have a 
 right to expect, that the government will 
 take care to hold back from the loan- 
 makers, or to recover from them, so 
 much of the new Stock as will not 
 leave the loan-makers a farthing in the 
 people's debt. 
 
 During Pitt's Anti-jacobin War, 
 which, as you will bear in mind, was 
 to succeed by producing the destruc- 
 tion of the paper-money in France ; 
 during that war, which was to dimin- 
 ish the power of France, and to re- 
 store the Bourbons by the means 
 of ruin to the French finances ; dur- 
 ing that famous war, which was to 
 plunge, and which, as Pitt told us, 
 4id plunge France ." into the very 
 '* gulph of Bankruptcy ;" during that 
 renowned war, there was what was 
 railed a "-LOYALTY LOAN.'' 
 People were invited in the name of 
 loyalty, to come forward and lend 
 their money to the government, for 
 the purpose of carrying on the Anti- 
 jacobin war with vigour ; and, at the 
 same time, no very unintelligible hints 
 were given, in some of the public 
 prints, that those who had it in their 
 power to lend, and did not lend, upon 
 *his occasion, were deficient in point 
 
 of loyalty, an imputation not very pleas- 
 ant at any time, and, at the time 
 to which we are referring, singularly 
 inconvenient. The Loyalty Loan 
 was accomplished; but, owing to some 
 cause or other, it did not prove to be 
 a profitable concern for the lenders ; 
 and, as in the case of the present 
 loan, as far as it has gone, the loan 
 fell to a discoimt, and a loss was sus- 
 tained upon it. Such loss, one might 
 have expected, Mould have been not 
 only contentedly, but gladly sustained, 
 as a sacrifice upon the altar of loyalty; 
 and this, it was said by Pitt, would 
 have been tht case, but that he and 
 his associates in the ministry, did not 
 think it wise to suffer loyalty so disin- 
 terested to experience any loss. An 
 act, therefore, was passed for making 
 good to the lenders whatever they 
 would otherwise have lost by their 
 ardent affection for their king and 
 country, and loyalty was thus pre- 
 vented from costing them any thing. 
 
 The case, however, of these loval 
 and devoted persons was somewhat 
 different from that of the makers of 
 the present loan. The Loyalty Loan 
 men had never gained any thing by 
 loan-making. They had not got their 
 half million's worths of freeholds and 
 their palace-like mansions. They had 
 made a bargain, and they ought, in 
 my opinion, to have been held to that 
 bargain ; because, if there had been 
 a gain instead of a loss, they would 
 have put that gain in their pocket, 
 and would, doubtless, have looked 
 upon it as doubly blessed, being the 
 profits, of trade and of loyalty too; 
 and further, because, they had put 
 their names down upon a list, which 
 was to hold them forth to the world 
 as men ready to make sacrifices for 
 their king and country, in contradis- 
 tinction to those, whose names were 
 not put upon the list. But, still, 
 though nothing, in my opinion, can 
 ever fully reconcile to principles of 
 justice, the compensating of these 
 people for their losses by that loan, 
 there is great difference between tb-"' 
 
125] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [126 
 
 case and the case of the present loan- 
 makers or holders, who have no claim 
 whatever to any compensation at all, 
 or to any relief, or to the adoption of 
 any measure, that shall cost the people 
 one single shilling. If they lose by 
 this loan, they have gained by other 
 loans. If they cannot pay without 
 the sale of their goods and chatties, 
 why should not their g«ods and chatties 
 he sold, as well as the goods and chat- 
 ties of those, who out of pure loyalty, 
 have set up papers for the purpose of 
 writing me down, and whose names I 
 have never once mentioned, on whose 
 papers I have never set my eyes, and 
 who have killed themselves in their 
 foolish attempts to wound me? Why 
 should not the loan-makers, if they 
 cannot make good their bargain, have 
 their goods and chatties, sold as well 
 as these loyalty writers ? I nm, how- 
 ever, reasoning here, against an un- 
 founded surmise; for, it appears from 
 the above quoted publications, that the 
 
 family of Baring is very rich and 
 in perfect credit, and that the concerns 
 of Goldsmidt are in a flourishing 
 way, seeing that his house is able to 
 meet all the demands upon it, of every 
 sort, without the least delay or hesi- 
 tation. This being the case, there 
 can be no need of any interference on 
 the part of the government , who will 
 doubtless see, that the bargain is ful- 
 filled agreeably to the terms. 
 
 I have now done with this acci- 
 dental occurrence, the notice of which, 
 so much at length, forms a Digression 
 from the regular line of our progress, 
 by which, as we shall see by-and-by, 
 will have afforded us practical know- 
 ledge, of great use in our future in- 
 
 quiries. 
 
 I am, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 \V M - COBBETT. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Tuesday, 
 2nd October, 1 810. 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 They" (the French It evolutionists) " foraet that, in England, not one shilling of Taper Money of any 
 " description is received but of choice; that tne whole has had its origin in cash, actually deposited ; and 
 " that it is convertible, at pleasure, in an instant, and without the smallest loss, into cash again. Our 
 " Paper is of value in commerce, because in law it is of none. It is powerful on Change, because in West- 
 " minster hall it is impotent. In payment, of a debt of twenty shillings, ft creditor may refuse alt the paper 
 " of the Bank of England. Nor is there among us a single public security, of any quality or nature whatso- 
 " ever, that is enforced by authority. In fact it miaht be easily shewn, that our paper wealth, instead of 
 " lessening the real coin, has a tendency to increase it; instead of being a substitute for money, it only 
 "facilitates its entry, its exit. And its circulation ; that it is the symbol of prosperity, and not the badge 
 •• of distress. Never was a scarcity of cash, and an exuberance of paper, a subject of complaint in this 
 
 ** nation." Burke. Reflections on the French Revolution. Written and published in 1790. 
 
 But, whatever momentary relief, or aid, the Minister and the Bank might expect from this low contrivance of 
 " Five Pound Notes, it will increase the inability of the Bank to pay the Higher Notes, and hasten 
 •• the destruction of all ; for, e\en the small taxes that used to be paid in money, will now be paid in those 
 H notes, and the Bank will soon find itself with scarcely any other money than what the hair powd«r- 
 •• guinea tax brings in.— "— Pai?i€s Decline and Fall of the English System of Finance. Written and pub- 
 lished in March, 17gfi. 
 
 When the situation of the Bank of England was under the consideration of the two Houses of Parliament, 
 " in the year 1797, it was my opinion, and that of many others, that the extent, to which, the Paper-Cur 
 " rency had been carried, was the first and principal, though not the sole cause, of the many difficulties 
 " to which that Corporate Body was then, and had, of late years, from time to time, been exposed, in 
 " supplying the cash, necessary for the commerce of the kingdom."— Charles Jenkinson, Earl of Literpool, 
 Letter to the Kin& , published in 11505. 
 
 Horrid Passage from the Morning Post News-Paper— Such are 1he Writers by whom 
 the Paper-Money System and its Patrons are supported— Such are the Answers that 
 are given to these Letters— Bank Paper asserted to be the only Sort of Currency cal- 
 culated to exert the Energies of an Island— Proceed in tracing the Increase of Debt 
 and Notes to that grand Effect, the Bank Stoppage— Table shewing the annual Increase 
 of the Debt and Interest from 1793 to 1797— Increase in the Number and Amount of 
 Payments at the Bank demanded small Notes— Hence came the Five Pound Notes— 
 Burke's Picture of the English Bank paper— Paiue's Prediction— Lord Liverpool the 
 Historian of Paine's Prophecy.* 
 
127] 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 [128 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 In returning to our subject, we 
 must bear in mind, that, in Letter VIII, 
 and in the foregoing Letter, we saw 
 clearly, that bank-notes, as well as all 
 other promissory notes, ought to be 
 considered as representatives of debt, 
 while real money ought to be consi- 
 dered as the representative oi property, 
 or things of real value. At the close 
 of Letter VIII, we saw how the in- 
 crease in the quantity of bank-notes 
 had kept pace with the increase of the 
 National Debt; and we proposed, 
 when we should resume the subject, 
 to trace this joint increase to that 
 grand and memorable effect, The 
 Stoppage of Gold and Silver 
 Payments at the Bank of Eng- 
 land in 1797. 
 
 But, before we enter upon this in- 
 teresting matter, will you give me leave 
 again to give you a specimen of the 
 way, in which my Letters are answered 
 by the venal writers in London ? To 
 do this will not be without its utility, 
 both now and hereafter. It will be 
 useful to shew you w hat sort of writers 
 those are, who are opposed to me; 
 and, though it may not be so useful 
 to posterity, it will, nevertheless, be of 
 some use, and will be very curious, 
 for our children to see what manner i 
 of men those were, who wrote in 
 favour of the Paper-money System. 
 The passage I am about to lay before 
 you was published in a news-paper, 
 printed for the -use of " The Fashiona- 
 " ble Worlds under the date of the 
 6th of this month, and its words are 
 these. il To the People of the United 
 " Kingdom. — The detestable charac- 
 ** ters exposed lately in the pillory, 
 " may be considered the real rcpre- 
 " sentatives of the Corsican Tyrant 
 " and his Ministers, who boast of the 
 " monstrous vice which excites such 
 " horrors in every British bosom, and 
 " who, fearful of your valour, are 
 " exerting every artifice to subvert 
 " your empire, betray your virtue, and 
 " extirpate your people. Cobbett, 
 " the oracle of the Jacobins, abuses 
 
 " the British Papers for speaking ill 
 " of such infamous monsters, whose 
 " detestable practices must annihilate 
 " every virtuous principle from the 
 " human breast ; and he tells the 
 " British People, in effect, that if 
 '" they are to be robbed by taxes and 
 " oppressed by power, it is of no con- 
 " sequence whether they are conquered 
 u by a French Vtre-street gang, or 
 " governed by a virtuous British So- 
 " vereign and hisrespectablc Ministers. 
 " Such is the profound reasoning of 
 «' an apostate low-minded scribe, who 
 " is impelled by a savage passion 
 "revenge, for Ministerial deserved 
 " contempt, and by foolish and base 
 " hopes of conciliation with the Cor- ■ 
 " sican Monster, who often rewards, 
 f but never has been known to forgive. 
 {' lie publishes weekly an infernal 
 " Register^ to excite mutiny in the 
 " ariuy and the fleet, to seduce the 
 11 loyalty of British subjects, to con- 
 " found the good sense of the yeomanry 
 ' by low cunning and artful sophis- 
 " try, and above all, to destroy Public 
 " credit and Bank Paper, as the best 
 " bond of individual and public secu- 
 " rity, and the only medium of cur- 
 " raicy to .suit and txtrt the energies 
 " of an insular and commerciul pevple. 
 " Such a man, whom reading and 
 " writing made a corporal, but whom 
 " sense and reason will never make a 
 " politician or an honest patriot, may 
 " be the proper trade of a Vcre-street 
 " gang of regal French ruffians, but 
 " his councils of liberty, economy, 
 J* and reform, must be regarded as the 
 " treacherous delusions of a French 
 " spy, when offered to a free, virtuous 
 " and happy nation."** . \ 
 
 Such, Gentlemen, is the language 
 of my opposers. Such is the sort of 
 men who dislike me. Such are the 
 answers that are given to my state- 
 ments and my reasoning upon a sober 
 and most important subject of political 
 economy. The abuse here heaped 
 
 I — 
 
 * Morning Post, Saturday, Oct. 6, 1810. 
 
120] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [ISO 
 
 upon a person, whom our Commander 
 in Portugal, in his public dispatches, 
 recognizes as an ." Emperor," and 
 who, in our courts of justice, has 
 been recognized as a " Sovereign of 
 " France/' to say nothing of our ne- 
 gociations and treaties with him ; the 
 abuse here heaped upon Napoleon, 
 who is not only called a monster, but 
 is distinctly charged with " boasting 
 M of the monstrous vice" for being 
 guilty of which several, infamous 
 wretches have lately stood in the pil- 
 lory in London, can, surely, not meet 
 with the approbation of any man upon 
 earth ; for, one would fain hope, that 
 there is not another man like this 
 writer. Yet is it a serious considera- 
 tion for the country, that such an 
 accusation should be thus boldly put 
 forth in our public news-papers, and in 
 a news-paper, too, which, from its uni- 
 form praises, of the men at present in 
 power, is called a ministerial news- 
 paper, and is, in general, looked 
 upon as a sort of half official prin-. 
 As far as concerns this particular 
 article, every man in England will be 
 ready to acquit the ministers; and, 
 indeed, every pnp will readily believe 
 that it must meet with their sincere 
 reprobation. But, this may not be 
 the opinion abroad ; and, I leave you 
 to guess what an impression such a 
 publication is calculated to give the 
 world of our national character. 
 
 There is one declaration here, about 
 the paper-money, that I wish you to 
 bear in mind ; namely that " bank- 
 " paper is the best bond of individual 
 " and public security, and the only 
 medium of currency to suit and 
 " c.irrt the energies of an insular and 
 " commercial people." So that, ac- 
 cording to this writer, the return of 
 gold and silver would be no good at 
 all, and Ave ought, indeed, to desire to 
 get rid of it, if we had any; though, 
 upon the trial of De Yon-ge (of which 
 we shall see more by-and-by), both 
 the Attorney General and the Judge 
 so decidedly declared the exportation 
 of the coin to be a most ?nisehicvons 
 
 practice; and though this writer him- 
 self, little more than two months ago, 
 congratulated his readers upon the 
 prospect of seeing bank-paper de- 
 stroyed, which paper he calied, in his 
 print of the 19th of July, " destrac- 
 " tive ass/gnats ," and afterwards, "pile 
 " dirty rags;" aye, that very paper, 
 which lie now asserts to be " the best 
 "bond of individual and public secu- 
 " rity, and the only medium of cur- 
 " rency to suit and exert the energies 
 " of an insular and commercial 
 " people."' 
 
 Let us now r leave our opponents ; 
 let us leave the paper-money system 
 and its patrons to receive all the sup- 
 port that writings like the above can 
 give, while we proceed in tracing the 
 increase of the National Debt and 
 that of tbe bank-notes to that grand 
 and memorable effect, the stoppage of 
 gold and silver-payments at the Bank 
 of England in 1797, from which time 
 our paper-money began, because it 
 w r as then that the bank-notes ceased 
 to be convertible into coin, and have 
 remained in that state to this day. 
 
 We have already seen, that, at the 
 beginning of Pitt's war with the Re- 
 publicans of France in 1793, our 
 National Debt amounted to about 250 
 millions, because it did not increase 
 during the peace preceding that war. 
 Its amount, at the close of the Ameri- 
 can war, was 257 millions (See Letter 
 III. page 26), and the annual interest 
 paid upon it was 9 millions and about 
 a half. The debt, and, of course, the 
 interest along with it, decreased a little 
 before the beginning of Pitt's war 
 against the Jacobins of France ; so 
 that, when that war was be^un, both 
 Debt and Interest were somewhat less 
 than at the conclusion of the American 
 war. We will, however, take them 
 at what they were at the last-mentioned 
 period; and, in order the more clearly 
 to shew the progress of the cause of 
 the great increase of bank-notes, and 
 finally, of the Stoppage of Gold and 
 Silver-payments at the Bank, we will 
 state the annual increase of the Debt 
 
131] 
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 [132 
 
 and Interest, from the beginning of 
 the war to the year 1797, when the 
 Stoppage took place, which statement 
 
 is not only very curious, but is of 
 singularly great importance. 
 
 Debt. Interest. 
 
 Before tht Anti-Jaeobin war began (in 1793), the „f. £. 
 
 amount was 237,213,043 9,669,435 
 
 In that same year was added 6,250,000 252,812 
 
 Amount at the end of 179.3 263,463,043 9,922,247 
 
 In the year 1794 was added 15,676,525 773,324 
 
 Amount at the end of 179'* t 279,139,567 10,695,571 
 
 In the year 1795 was added 25,609,897 1,227,415 
 
 Amount at the end of 1795 304,749,464 1 1,922,986 
 
 In the year 1796 wag added 41,303,699 1,850,373 
 
 Amount at the end of 1796 346,053,163 13,773,359 
 
 In the year 1797 was added 67,087,668 3,241,790 
 
 Amount at the end of 1797 413,140,831 17,015,149 
 
 Thus, then, we see, that the first 
 four years and a half of Pitt's Avar 
 with the Jacobins, or Republicans of 
 France, nearly doubled the Debt and 
 the Interest, or (winch is the same 
 thing to^the people), the annual charge 
 on account of Debt, which, together 
 with interest, includes management 
 and Sinking fund-allowance. Four 
 years and a half of the Anti-jacobin 
 war nearly doubled these; and, ac- 
 cording to the principles we have 
 before laid down, in Letters VII and 
 VIII, the bank-notes would necessa- 
 rily increase in the same proportion 
 as the Debt and Interest increased ; 
 because, every quarter of a year, the 
 dividends to be paid at the Bank, 
 became greater and greater. 
 
 Before the Anti-Jacobin war began, 
 the dividends of a yeflr, amounted, as 
 we see above, to 9,669,435/. To ob- 
 viate all pettifogging cavil here, let me 
 state, that this sum was not wholly 
 dividends, or interest; but consisted, 
 partly, of " charges for management,'' 
 paid to the Bank of England; and 
 also of charges on (t account of the 
 •* Sinking Fund? But, as was ob- 
 served before, this is of no consequence 
 to the people, who pay the taxes, out 
 ©f which the whole sum comes; and, 
 
 I only make the distinction to avoid a 
 cavilling charge of misrepresentation, 
 or error. When, therefore, we speak 
 of the amount of the Interest of the 
 National Debt, let it be understood, 
 that we include these charges; and 
 that, by the word Interest is meant 
 the annual charge on account of the 
 Debt. 
 
 To resume, then ; before the Anti- 
 Jacobin war began, the dividends, or 
 interest, of one year amounted, as we 
 have seen, to 9,669,435 pounds; and 
 before the nation got to the end of the 
 fifth year of that war, a year's di- 
 vidends, or interest, amounted to 
 17,015,149 pounds ; not much short 
 of double. The Bank, therefore, 
 having nearly twice as much to pay 
 yearly in interest of the Debt; having, 
 to speak in round numbers, 17 millions 
 to pay under this head, where it had 
 but 9 millions to pay before the be- 
 ginning of Pitt's Anti- Jacobin Avar ; 
 having twice as much to issue on this 
 great score as it had previous to the 
 war, was, of course, compelled to in- 
 crease the quantity of its paper-pro- 
 mises, or the quantity of its Gold and 
 Silver-coin ; because, as we have be- 
 fore seen (Letter VII. page 77), an 
 increase in the number and amount of 
 
lai] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [134 
 
 payments must necessarily demand an 
 increase of the money, or medium, in 
 which those payments are made; and, 
 why this increase, at the Bank of 
 England, would take place in paper- 
 promises, and not in Gold and Silver- 
 coin, we have seen in Letters VII and 
 VIII, where it was shewn that an 
 increase of Debt must produce an in- 
 crease of paper-promises, or notes, 
 when once a paper-system has begun. 
 That the experience of the times/of 
 which we are now speaking, perfectly 
 corresponded with the principles here 
 stated, we shall now see by adverting 
 a little to the manner, in which the 
 payments of interest at the Bank 
 were formerly made. 
 
 It has before been observed, that, 
 when the National Debt first began, 
 the whole of the Interest was paid in 
 Gold and Silver, there being then no 
 such thing as bank-notes, and no suck 
 thing as a Bank, in this country. It 
 has also been observed, that, very 
 shortly after the Debt came into exis- 
 tence, it produced its natural offspring, 
 a Bank, which issued its promissory 
 notes, and in which promissory notes 
 the interest of the Debt was, in part, 
 at least, paid. At first, it appears, 
 that the Bank paid an interest upon 
 its notes, or bills ; but, this wn soon 
 left off; and, from that time, the bank- 
 notes, or bills, became part of the 
 circulating medium of the country. 
 
 When the Stock owners, or Public 
 Creditors, as they are sometimes 
 called, went ta the Bank to receive 
 their di* klends, or interest, they might 
 ha*e either bank-notes, or Gold and 
 Silver, according to their choice. — 
 Some persons chose the coin, and 
 some the paper. But, as the Debt 
 increased, and, of course, the amount 
 of the dividends, or interest, it was 
 evident, from what has already been 
 said, that the Bank would possess a 
 less and less quantity of Gold and Sil- 
 ver in proportion to the quantity of 
 *ts paper. And, further, the pay- 
 ments of interest having, as we have 
 6een above, become nearly double in 
 
 amount to what they were in 1793, 
 previous to the Anti-Jacobin war, it is 
 natural to suppose, that there would 
 be double the number of Stock-hol- 
 ders, and, of course double the number 
 of payments to make. Therefore, as, 
 at every payment, the receiver had 
 his choice of paper or Gold and Sil- 
 ver-coin, there were double the num- 
 ber of chances against the Bank ; and, 
 at any rate, as there were, as yet, no 
 bank-notes of an amount less than 
 ten pounds, there must necessarily 
 be, upon every payment an issue of 
 Gold and Silver from the Bank, to 
 the amount of every demand, or part 
 of a demand, falling short of ten 
 pounds. 
 
 This the Bank could bear before 
 the Anti-Jacobin Mar ; but, when that 
 war had nearly doubled the Debt, the 
 Interest, and the number of the pay- 
 ments, on account of Interest ; when 
 this increase had taken place, the 
 Bank found it necessary, not only to 
 augment the general quantity of its 
 notes ; it found it necessary not only 
 to add to the total amount of its notes ; 
 that is to say, to put out a greater sum 
 in notes, than it had out before the 
 Anti-Jacobin war ; but, it also found 
 it necessary to put out some notes of 
 a lower amount than it already had, in 
 order to pay the parts of ten pounds, 
 which we have just mentioned. 
 
 Hence came the Five Pound 
 Notes. And, you will perceive, 
 Gentlemen, that causes precisely si- 
 milar had formerly produced the Fif- 
 teen Pound/Notes and the r J\sN 
 Pound Notes ; namely, an increase 
 of the National Debt, and, of course, 
 an increase of the dividends, or in- 
 terest ; these being always paid at the 
 Bank, after the establishment of th* 
 Bank Company. 
 
 Here let us stop for a little and 
 look back at the motto, or, rather 
 m ottos, to this Letter. 
 
 In the First, the passage from 
 Burke, we have a picture of English 
 Bank Paper previous to the war; 
 aye, to that very war, which that very 
 
135] 
 
 LETTER X, 
 
 [136 
 
 picture and others in the same publi- 
 cation greatly tended to produce, and 
 were, without, I believe, any bad mo- 
 tive, intended to produce. Look well 
 at that picture, Gentlemen. Look at 
 he triumphant contrast there exhi- 
 bited between the money of England 
 and that of France, which latter 
 country had then a papers-money. 
 And, when you have viewed that pic- 
 ture in all its parts ; when you have 
 rally examined the contrast ; then turn 
 your eyes to what is now exhibited to 
 The world: then see what English 
 Bank Paper now is, and what in this 
 regard is the state of France, where 
 all the paper-money has, long ago, 
 been destroyed, and where there is no 
 currency but that of Gold and Silver- 
 coin, part of which coin consists of 
 English Guineas, those guineas the ab- 
 sence of which all men of sense and 
 of public-spirit so sorely lament, and 
 the practicability of causing the re , 
 turn of which is, as you wiil bear in 
 mind, the chief object of our Inqui- 
 ries. 
 
 In the. Second motto, the passage 
 from Paine, (the mortal antagonist 
 of Burke as to every thing else) we 
 have an opinion as to the consequences 
 of the Bank having made 5 pound- 
 notes. ' We have a prediction as to 
 the. i /(ability which it will produce in 
 the Bank- to pay its higher notes. This 
 prediction wa3, it appears, written in 
 March 1796, and it was published in 
 England, in or about, the month of 
 June of that year ; which was, as we 
 shall see by-and-by, only about nine 
 months before the stoppage of gold 
 and siicer-payments at the Bank ac- 
 tually took place. 
 
 In the Third motto, the passage 
 from the late Lord Liverpool, we 
 have the opinion, not only of the 
 writer himself, who upon such a 
 
 matter, is no very mean authority, but, 
 as he asserts, of many others (doubt- 
 less, persons of distinction, as to rank, 
 at least); we have an opinion, thus 
 sanctioned, that the increase of the 
 paper-currency was the first and prin- 
 cipal cause of the Stoppage of Gold 
 and Silver-payments at the Bank ; 
 and which opinion perfectly cor- 
 responds with that of Paine, there 
 being this distinction in the merits of 
 fcSe two writers, that Lord Liverpool 
 only recorded what Paine had fore- 
 told: the former was the historian, 
 the latter the prophet; and, it is not a 
 little curious, that Lord Liverpool, a 
 clerk in whose office had written under 
 a feigned name, a sham life of Paine, 
 should become the recorder of the 
 truth of Paine's predictions, and that 
 too in " a Letter to the King" in 
 whose name the very work containing 
 the predictions had been prosecuted as 
 A LIBEL. 
 
 Here are three writers, all of whom 
 of great understanding and experience, 
 and the two former of abilities scarcely 
 ever surpassed in any age or country, 
 all opposed to each other as to every 
 other question ; each one hating the 
 other two, and each one hating the 
 other one : yet all agreeing as harmo- 
 niously as their bones would now 
 agree, if they happened to be tumbled 
 together ; all agreeing as to these prin- 
 ciples respecting paper-money. 
 
 Having now traced the increase of 
 the Debt down to the putting forth of 
 the 5 pound bank-notes, we will rest 
 here, and resume the subject in our 
 next. 
 
 I am, Gentlemen. 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 Stute Prison, Newgate, Monday 
 Bth OUcbcr, 1810. 
 
J 37] 
 
 PAPEB AGAINST GOLD, 
 
 [138 
 
 LETTER XL 
 
 " These five pound note* will circulate chiefly among little shopkeepers, butchers, bakers, market people, 
 " renters of .small houses, lodgers, &c. All the high departments of commerce, and the affluent staiioas ot' 
 "life were already overstocked, as Smith expresses it, with the bank notes, bo place remained open 
 " wherein to crowd an additional quantity of bank-notrs but among the. class of people I have jnst men- 
 " tioned, and, the means of doing this could be best effected by coining five pound-notes. Hut no new 
 " supplies of money can, as \v:is said before, now arrive at tie Bank, as all ilie taxes will be paid in 
 " paper. What, then, would be the consequence, were the Public Creditors to demand payment of their 
 " Dividends in Cash, cr demand Cash for the bank-notes in which the Dividends are paid ; a circumstance 
 " always liable to happen.'' — Pazne. Decline and Fall of tie English System ot Finance. Published in 
 " 1796. 
 
 " T should step here, but there is a subject of so great importance, and so nearly countered with the Coins 
 " of your Majesty's rtalin, that I should not discharge, my duty if I left it wholly Unnoticed ; I mean what 
 " is now called Paper currency ; which is carried to so great an extent, that it is beccene highly inconve- 
 " nie.Dt to your Majesty's subjects, and may prove, in \\% consequences, if no fftnedy is applied, dangerous 
 " to the credit of the kingdom. It is certain* that the smaller ItoteS of the Bank of England, and those 
 " issued by country-Bankers, have supplanted the Gold Coins, usurped their functions, and driven a great 
 " part of them out of circulatioM : in some parts of Great Britain, and especially in the. southern parts ot 
 Ireland, smell Notes have, been issued to supply the place of Siher Coivis. of which here is certatniy a 
 •' great deficiency. ''—Charles Jcnkinson, Earl of Liverpool, Letter to the King. Published iu 180.5. 
 
 Progress from Five to One pound Notes-— -Suspicion begun soon after the Five Pound 
 Motes — Paine's Prediction as to People going lo the Bank— Lord Liverpool's Opinion 
 agreeing with that of Mr. Paine — History of the Bank Stoppage of Gold and Silver 
 Payments — Enormous increase of the Debt in 1 797 — Other cause— Alarmists — Meet- 
 ing of Parliament in Oct. 170(1 — Alarm of Invasion— Arming Acts — Mr Fox's Opinion 
 of the Alarm — Exaggerated Representations of the Venal Print? — French Fleet ap- 
 pears off the Const of Ireland— Effect of the Alarm begins to be felt at the Bank of 
 England— Venal Prints change their Tone all of a sudden, ai.d accuse the Jacobins of 
 exciting Alarm— Run upon the Bank becomes serious — Increased by a Report of a 
 French Fleet with Troops on board, berng off Beachy Head— Followed immediately 
 by the landing of Tate and his Raggamuffins in Wales — Bank receives its finishing; 
 blow — Vain attempts to check the Run upon the Bank— Order of Council issued — 
 Disappointment of the Crowd at the Bank in Threadneedle Street. 
 
 Gentlemen 
 IN the foregoing Letter, we traced 
 tlie National Debt, and the Interest 
 thereon, in their progressive increase 
 from the year 1793 to 1797 inclusive, 
 in which. latter year we shall find that 
 the Stoppage of Gold and Silver-pay- 
 ments, at the Bank of England, took | 
 place. We have seen, that, in the j 
 course. of the aforementioned period, | 
 the amount of Debt and Interest was i 
 nearly doubled; we have seen that 
 the Bank of England, had, of course, 
 nearly double the sum to pay in 
 Dividends, or Interest; we have seen 
 Low this increase of payments at the 
 Bank of England produced a new fa- 
 mily of notes, so low in amount as 
 Five Pounds, there having been be- 
 fore the A nti- Jacobin War, no Bank 
 Notes under Ten Pounds; we shall 
 soon see how the same still growing 
 and ever-prolific cause brought forth, 
 
 at last, a still more numerous and 
 more diminutive litter; and, when we- 
 ll ave gone through the history of the 
 Two and One Pound Notes, we 
 shall want scarcely any thing further 
 to convince us, that, in such a state of 
 things, it was next to impossible for 
 Gold and Silver to remain in circula- 
 tion. 
 
 It was observed in Letter I, page 
 G, that when notes, so low in amount, 
 as Five Pounds came to be issued; 
 when rents, salaries, yearly wages, 
 and almost all the taxes came to be 
 paid in paper ; when this became the 
 case, and when, of course, every part 
 of the people, except the very poorest, 
 possessed occasionally, bank-notes, it 
 was impossible that men should not 
 .begin to think, that there was some 
 difference between Gold and Silver 
 and Bank-notes, and that they should 
 not become more desirous to possess 
 
139] 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 [140 
 
 the former than the latter. In other 
 ■words, it was impossible, that men 
 should not begin to have some suspi- 
 cion relative to the Bank-notes ; and, 
 it is very clear, that the moment such 
 suspicion arises, there is an end to 
 any paper-money, which is convert- 
 ible into Gold and Silver at the will 
 of the bearer, who will, of course, lose 
 not an instant in turning that of which 
 he has a suspicion (however slight) 
 into that of which it is impossible for 
 any one to have a suspicion. 
 
 Thus it happened in 1797, as 
 Paine, in his pamphlet, published 
 only the year before, had foretold, in 
 the words of the first of my mottos 
 to this Letter. He there told his 
 readers how the issuing of the Five 
 Pound Notes would operate; he 
 pointed out how this measure would 
 keep real money from the Bank ; and 
 he asked what must be the conse- 
 quence, if (as it might any day happen) 
 the people should go to the Bank and 
 demand cash for the notes. This did 
 happen the very next year ; and, as he 
 foretold in another part of his pam- 
 phlet, those who Avent to present their 
 notes first came best off. Lord Li- 
 verpool, ra the passage, which I 
 have selected for my second motto to 
 this Letter, had when he wrote, seen 
 the thing happen; he had seen the 
 fulfilment of what Mr. Paine had 
 foretold, and spoke, therefore, of the 
 " dangerous" consequences of an ex- 
 cessive issue of paper, with the fact 
 before his eyes. Experience, which, 
 says the proverb, " makes fools wise" 
 had taught his Lordship in 1805, 
 what he might have learnt from Mr. 
 Paine in 1796. Nevertheless, the 
 opinions of Lord Liverpool have some 
 weight, and are worthy of attention 
 with us in England; because, though 
 his talents and mind were of a cast 
 quite inferior to those of such men as 
 Hume and Paine and Burke, and 
 though there is nothing in what he has 
 said, which I had not said, in the Re- 
 gister, years before, still as being a 
 man of great experience in business, 
 as having during this whole reign 
 
 been a great favourite at court, and 
 especially as having, upon this occa- 
 sion, addressed himself directly to the 
 King, his opinions, though of no con- 
 sequence elsewhere, are worthy of 
 some notice in this country, and may 
 possibly, in some minds, tend to pro- 
 duce that conviction', which, in the 
 same minds, a stupid and incorrigible 
 prejudice would have prevented from 
 being produced by all the powers of 
 Hume or Paine. 
 
 But, we must now return to the 
 Bank, and see how it happened that 
 the people went to demand money in 
 payment of the notes in 1797. That 
 it did happen we all know ; but, there 
 are not a few of the people forming 
 the present population of the country, 
 who have forgotten, or, who have 
 never known, the true history of the 
 Stoppage of Gold and Silver payments 
 at the Bank of England ; yet, with- 
 out a knowledge of this history, and 
 a thorough knowledge of it 'too, we 
 cannot possibly pursue our inquiries 
 to a satisfactory result. 
 
 We haA e seen abundant arguments 
 to prove, that paper-money, that pro- 
 missory paper of every sort, is the off- 
 spring and representative of t Debt ; 
 that a National or Public Debt never 
 can fail to bring forth bank-notes, or 
 paper-promises of some sort or other ; 
 that, of course, as the Debt increases 
 and its Interest increases, there will 
 be, and must be, an increase of the 
 paper in which that interest is paid; 
 and in the last Letter, p. 131, we 
 saw, in the Table of Increase of the 
 Debt and Interest, from the beginning 
 of the A nti- Jacobin War to the year 
 1797, we here saw, in practice, the 
 cause of the making of the Five 
 Pound bank-notes. But, as we have 
 since seen, that measure was not suf- 
 ficient. We saw, at p. 13 4, that it 
 was o avoid paying in Gold and 
 Silver the sums, or part of sums, from 
 ten to five pounds, which must have 
 induced the Bank to make and put 
 out notes so low as five pounds. 
 If you look again at that Table, gen- 
 tlemen, vou will see how the increase 
 
141] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLt). 
 
 [142 
 
 went on; yon will sec, that it was 
 yrcater and greater every year. In 
 the year 1793, the addition of the 
 annual Interest Mas (speaking in 
 round numbers) only 250 thousand 
 pounds; but, in the year 1797, the 
 addition was, 3£ millions ; that is to 
 say, a tlnrd part of as much as the 
 whole amount of the Interest previous 
 to the Anti-Jacobin war. Thus did 
 this war of Pitt against the Repub- 
 licans of France cost, in only one 
 year, nearly as much, in addition to 
 Debt, as the cost of the whole of the 
 American War, the extravagant ex- 
 penditure of which had, till now, 
 been proverbial. 
 
 There were, however, other causes 
 at work, at the time of which we are 
 now speaking ; causes operating upon 
 the paper system from without; causes 
 which must be here fully stated ; for, 
 besides that a knowledge of them is 
 essential Jto our inquiry, it is demanded 
 by justice towards those who opposed 
 the ruinous measure of Pitt, and 
 who foretold their consequences; and 
 this demand is, in a peculiar manner, 
 addressed to ME, who, from being so 
 situated as to be unable to come at, 
 or even suspect, the truth, while many 
 circumstances conspired to make me 
 take for truth that which was false, 
 was not only one of the dupes of the 
 system but who, unintentionally, con- 
 tributed according to the degree of 
 my talents, towards the extension of 
 the circle of duplicity. 
 
 Credit is a thing wholly dependent 
 upon opinion. The word itself, in- 
 deed, has the same meaning as the 
 word belief. As long as men believe 
 in the riches of any individual, or any 
 company, so long he or they possess 
 all the advantages of riches. But, 
 when once suspicion is excited, no 
 matter from what cause, the credit is 
 shaken : and a very little matter over- 
 sets it So long as the belief is im- 
 plicit, the person, towards whom it 
 exists, goes on, not only w r ith all the 
 appearances, but with all the advan- 
 tages of wealth ; though, at the same 
 
 time, he be insolvent. But, if his 
 wealth be not solid; if he have merely 
 the appearance of wealth ; if he be 
 unable to pay so much as he owes, or 
 in other words, if he be insolvent, 
 which means neither more nor less 
 than unable to pay. When an indi- 
 vidual is in this situation, he is liable, 
 at any moment, to have his insolvency 
 exposed. Any accident, that excites 
 alarm in the minds of his creditors, 
 brings the whole upon him at once ; 
 and he who might otherwise have gone 
 on for years, is stopped in an instant. 
 Thus it will Jiappen to Companies 
 of Traders as well as to individuals ; 
 and thus it did happen to the Bank 
 Company, at the time we are speaking 
 of, and at which time an alarm of in- 
 vasion prevailed through the country. 
 From the very out-set of the war, 
 the inventors and supporters of it had 
 been, from time to time, propagating 
 alarms of various sorts, by the means 
 of which alarms, whether they them- 
 selves believed in them or not, they 
 Mere enabled to do things, which 
 never had before been either known 
 or heard of or dreamt of in England. 
 The mode of reasoning with the peo- 
 was this: You see, that, in FYance, 
 the revolution has deprived the people 
 of both property and life ; there are 
 those who wish to cause a revolution 
 in England : the measures taken, or 
 proposed, are absolutely necessary to 
 prevent the accomplishment of this 
 wish : therefore, you have your choice, 
 either to submit quietly to these mea- 
 sures, whatever portion of your liberty 
 or property they may hike away, or 
 let in upon you a revolution which 
 will take away all your property and 
 your lives into the bargain. There 
 was no room for hesitation; and thus 
 were the people determined, and with 
 this view of the matter did they pro- 
 ceed, until the time above referred to, 
 the ministers being, probably, full as 
 much alarmed as the people, and cer- 
 tainly not with less cause. 
 
 At times, however, especially after 
 the war had continued for three or 
 
1431 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 [144 
 
 four years, the effect cf alarm seemed 
 to grow very faint. Danger has heen 
 go t ften talked of, that at last, it Mas 
 grown familiar. In the )ear 1790, 
 however, things began to wear a se- 
 rious aspect. All the minister's pre- 
 dictions and promises had failed ; his 
 allies, to whom and for whose support 
 so many millions had been paid by the 
 people of this country, had all laid 
 down their arms or had gone over to 
 the side of France ; the assignats in 
 France had been annihilated without 
 producing any of the fatal conse- 
 quences which Pitt had so confi- 
 dently anticipated, and upon which, 
 indeed, be had relied for success ; and 
 a negociation for peace, opened at the 
 instance of England, had produced 
 nothing but a convincing proof of high 
 pretensions of the enemy, and of his 
 confidence in his cause and resources. 
 When the parliament met, there- 
 fore, in October 1796, the ministers 
 and their adherents seem to have been 
 full of real apprehension. They failed 
 not to renew the signal of alarm, in 
 which, indeed, they were kept in coun- 
 tenance by the enemy, who had openly 
 declared his attention of invading the 
 country. The subject was mentioned 
 in the King's speech, upon a part of 
 which a motion w as grounded on the 
 18th of October, for the bringing in 
 of bills for the raising men with all 
 possible speed, for the purpose of de- 
 fending the country against invasion. 
 In virtue of a resolution passed in 
 consequence of this motion, three acts 
 were passed w ith all possible rapidity, 
 the lirst for providing an avymenta- 
 t ion for the militia to be trained and 
 exercised in a particular manner ; the 
 second for raising a certain number of 
 men in the several counties of England 
 and Scotland (there were two Acts), 
 for the service of the regular Army 
 and the Navy ; and the third for rais- 
 ing a provisional force of cavalry to be 
 embodied, in case of necessity, for 
 the defence of these kingdoms ;* w Inch 
 acts were finally passed on the 11th of 
 
 *37George III. Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6. 
 
 November 1796. "When this measure 
 was under discussion, Mr. Fox, Mr. 
 Sheridan, and others opposed it 
 upon the ground of its not being ne- 
 cessary, and Mr. Fox, who called it 
 a requisition, after the French manner, 
 observed that, if it w as necessary to 
 our safety, it was the conduct of the 
 ministers and of the last parliament 
 who confided in them, wbicji had 
 brought us into that miserable situa- 
 tion, "a parliament," he said, "which 
 " had done more to destroy every 
 " thing that is dear to us, than in 
 " better days would have entered into 
 " the mind of any Englishman to 
 " attempt, or to conceive; a parliament 
 " by whom the pe ople had been drained 
 " so much, and from whom they had 
 " had so iittle benefit; a parliament 
 " that had diminished the dearest 
 " rights of the people so shamelessly 
 " and so wickedly ; a parliament w hose 
 " conduct it was that had given rise 
 " to this measure." Mr. Fox added, 
 that he did not believe that invasion 
 would render any such measure ne- 
 cessary; that the real resources of the 
 country consisted of the people's 
 attachment to the constitution, and 
 that, therefore, the proper measure to 
 be adopted would be to allow them to 
 possess the spirit of that constitution. 
 Tbe minister and his partisans con- 
 tended, how r ever, that there was real 
 cause for alarm ; and Pitt said, that 
 as to the constitution " it still pos- 
 " sessed that esteem and admiration 
 " of the people, which would induce 
 " them to defend it against the designs 
 " of domestic foes, and the attempts of 
 " their forkiyn allies ;" thus, according 
 to his usual practice, proceeding upon 
 the assumption, that there was a party 
 in the country in alliance, as to wishes, 
 at least, with the enemy. 
 
 While these measures were before 
 parliament, the venal part of the press 
 was by no means inactive. Repre- 
 sentations the most exaggerated were 
 made use of in speaking of the temper 
 and designs of the enemy, always 
 insinuating that the opponents of the 
 I Minister w ere ready to join the enemy 
 
UZ] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [U(i 
 
 or, at least, wished him success. The 
 French were exhibited as being quite 
 prepared; and a descent was held 
 forth as_something almost too horrible 
 to be thought of. This was useful for 
 the purpose of making tbe Arming 
 Acts go down ; but the alarmists did 
 not seem to be aware of its cutting 
 another way; and, least of all do they 
 appear to have imagined, that it would 
 set people to thinking of what effect 
 invasion might produce upon bank notes. 
 In the mean while, the negotiations 
 for peace were broken off by the month 
 of December, which gave rise to new 
 alarm. This was soon followed by 
 the appearance of a French naval 
 force, with troops on board, oil' the 
 coast of Ireland; and, though its 
 return back to France, without at- 
 tempting a descent, might, one would 
 think, have tended to quiet people's 
 fears, it was, on the contrary, made 
 the ground- work of a still more general 
 and more vociferous alarm. There 
 were now no bounds to the exagger- 
 ations of the venal prints. From the 
 Irst week in January, (1797) to the 
 Jiird week in February, the people 
 nere kept in a state of irritation hardly 
 to be conceived. Addresses to them, 
 in all shapes and sizes, were published, 
 calling upon them to arm and come 
 forth at once, not waiting for the slow 
 process of the Militia and Cavalry 
 Acts. " Already," were we told, 
 " the opposite coast was crowded with 
 " hostile arms; forests of bayonets 
 " glistened in the sun; despair and 
 " horror were coming in the rear." 
 It was next to impossible that this 
 should not make people think of what 
 was to become of them ; make them 
 reflect a little as to what they were to 
 do in case of invasion ; and it required 
 but very little reflection to convince 
 them, that money, at all times useful, 
 would, in such a case, be more useful 
 than ever. Whence by a very na- 
 tural and easy transition, they would 
 be led to contemplate the possibility 
 of real money being rather better than 
 paper. That's enough! There needs 
 
 no more i Away, in an instant, they 
 go to the Bank, where the written 
 promises tell them the bearer shall be 
 paid on demand. 
 
 This effect of the alarm, an effect 
 of which neither Pitt nor any of his 
 adherents seem ever to have had the 
 smallest suspicion, and, indeed, when 
 Mil. Fox cautioned them against it, 
 they effected to laugh at what he said; 
 this effect of the alarm, raised and 
 kept up by the minister and the 
 great Loaners and men of that de- 
 scription ;, this effect of the alarm 
 began, it appears, to be sensibly felt, 
 at the Bank of England, immediately 
 after the appearance of the French 
 fleet off the coast of Ireland; and, as 
 it afterwards appeared, from official 
 documents, the drain had become so 
 great by the end of the third we«k in 
 February, that the Directors saw the 
 impossibility of going on, unless some- 
 thing could be done to put a stop, or, 
 at least, greatly to check, the run upon 
 them for cash. The people were, in 
 short, now doing precisely what 
 Paine, . only about ten or eleven 
 months hefore, had advised them to 
 do, and the consequence was precisely 
 what he had predicted. . 
 
 It Mas now extremely curious to 
 hear the language of the venal news- 
 papers, who had, for months before, 
 been endeavouring to excite alarm, 
 and who abused Mr. Fox and his 
 party, (-ailed them Jacobins, and, 
 sometimes, traitors, because they said 
 that the alarm was false, and was 
 invented for bad purposes. These 
 very news-papers now took the other 
 side. They not, only themselves said, 
 that the alarm was groundless; but 
 they had the impudence, the unparal- 
 leled, the atrocious impudence, to 
 accuse the Jacobins, as they called 
 them, of having excited the alarm, for 
 the purpose of injuring public credit! 
 
 This change of tone was begun on 
 the 17th of February by those noto- 
 riously venal prints, those prints so 
 far famed above all others in the annals 
 of venalitv; — the "True Briton" 
 
147] 
 
 LETTER XL 
 
 [148 
 
 *nd the " Sun." The thing was be- 
 gun in " An Address to John Bull," 
 in which the " most thinking people," 
 who were still all in frying confusion 
 to get on with the levies of additional 
 militia, and parish-men for the army 
 and navy, and the provisional cavalry; 
 the " most thinking people," while all 
 hurry and bustle about, this, were told 
 by these shameless writers, who had 
 almost called the people traitors for 
 not making greater haste to arm ; the 
 people were, by these same writers, 
 now told, that alarm might be pushed 
 too far ; that, if so pushed, it might 
 do us an injury equal to invasion; that 
 every one must see, that the French 
 wished to ruin our credit ; that, of 
 course, to shew an eagerness to sell out 
 of the funds was to favour the designs 
 of the enemy ; that it was, besides, the 
 greatest nonsense in the world for 
 people to suppose that their property 
 was not safe in the Bank of England ; 
 that no apprehension need be felt, and 
 that the people who had money in the 
 funds, might safely rely upon the 
 wooden walls of Old England. 
 Though, observe, the whole country 
 was actually in movement, down to 
 the very beadles, in order to raise i 
 men for defence by land. 
 
 " The evidence of facts" was before 
 the people's eyes. The alarm was 
 not to be allayed by assertions like 
 these. And, though the venal prints 
 grew more and more positive in their 
 assurances, that there was now no 
 danger from invasion; though they 
 Con the 21st of February) assured the 
 people, that it was " an error to sup- 
 '* pose that the enemy was at our 
 " gates," and that " a panic might do 
 ** infinite mischief to public credit," 
 people still kept carrying their notes 
 softly to Threadneedle-street , they 
 kept on selling out of the Stocks : and, 
 a report, on the day last-mentioned, 
 of the appearance of a French fleet, 
 with Troops on board, ofF Beachy 
 Head*, immediately followed by the 
 
 * " Portsmouth, Feb. 20.— An account 
 / reached this place, this morning at halt* 
 
 famous landing of Tate and his 
 handful of raggamuffins in Wales,* 
 appears to have given confidence in 
 bank-paper the finishing blow. 
 
 A .11, as appears from the documents, 
 and as we shall by-and-by see, was 
 consternation in Threadneedle-street. 
 The diminution of the gold became 
 greater and greater every day. In 
 vain did the venal prints cry out 
 against alarm. They had cried " wolf" 
 till the people had believed them. 
 They bad called upon them to " stand 
 " forward in defence of the constitu- 
 " Hon" 'till they had convinced them 
 it was time for every man to think 
 a little about taking care of himself. 
 In vain did these venal writers now 
 call aloud against alarm ; in vain did 
 they say, (24th February) that the 
 Beacljy Head-report " arose from a 
 " mistake in the signals; that the re- 
 " sources of the country were uudi- 
 " minished; that it was degiading to 
 " suppose that we had not a sufficient 
 " force to annihilate the enemy ; that 
 " the panic was shameful, unmanly, 
 " ?neati, and dastardly ;" In vain did 
 they assert (24th February), that " in- 
 " vasion was more to be desired than 
 " dreaded ;" in vain did they exclaim : 
 " Let us, for God's sake, not give 
 " way to our fears so as to injure 
 " public credit." In vain did they 
 (25th February) aver, " that the alarm 
 w was groundless ; that they were sure 
 " no attack was meditated ; and that 
 " they were convinced it never would 
 " be." In vain did they again ex- 
 claim ; " for God's sake let not the 
 " gloomy despondency of a few men 
 " in the city give a fatal blow to pub- 
 " lie credit" 
 
 In vain were all these efforts : Sus- 
 picion, to use Paine's emphatical 
 expression, was no longer asleep* 
 It was broad awake, and to stay its 
 operations was impossible. To ex- 
 cite fears in the breasts of the people 
 was a task to which the venal prints 
 had been adequate; but to remove 
 
 past ten, A.M. of several French transports, 
 convoyed by armed vends, having ban teen 
 
149] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [150 
 
 those fears, or to impede the progress 
 of their effects upon the mind, was too 
 much for any human power to accom- 
 plish. The run upon the Bank conti- 
 nued to increase, until the day last 
 mentioned, Saturday, November the 
 25th of February 1797, a day which 
 will long be remembered, and which 
 will be amongst the most memorable 
 in the annals of England, as being the 
 last (hitherto at least) on which the 
 Bank of England was compelled, at 
 the will of the bearer, to pay its pro- 
 missory notes in gold and silver, 
 agreeably to the tenor of those notes ; 
 until the evening of that day the run 
 continued, but, on the next, though it 
 was Sunday, an Order was issued 
 from the Privy Council requiring 
 the Directors of the Bank toforbea? 
 issuing any cash in payment, until the 
 sense of Parliament could be taken 
 upon the subject, which memorable 
 instrument was in the following words*, 
 to which I must beg of you, Gentle- 
 men, to pay particular attention. 
 
 " off ficachy Head. The intelligence came 
 ** by the signal posts, and Admiral sir P. 
 " Parker immediately on receiving it, or- 
 " dered two ships of the line and rive fri- 
 u gates to slip their cables and proceed to 
 " sea. This squadron is now out of sight, 
 " and all the other ships are getting in rea- 
 '* diness.— The sensation that this made in 
 " the City may be easily conceived. It 
 "spread a very general alarm; bnt it was 
 " soon contradicted. Letters, written as 
 " the post was setting out, stated that the 
 " alarm had been occasioned by a mistaken 
 '* signal, and that instead of a fleet of 300 
 " French transports, it was no more than a 
 M signal that 3 privateers had been disco- 
 u vered off Beachy Head. — Such, however, 
 " is the consequences of the state of alarm 
 ** intu which Government has thrown the country 
 " by the cry of a threatened Invasion."— 
 " Morning Chronicle, 22 Feb. 1797. 
 
 * il On Saturday the public mind received 
 " the shock of a new alarm. An express ar- 
 " rived from Lord Milford, informing the 
 " King's Ministers that a body of French 
 "troops, amounting to abont l^OO, had 
 44 b^en landed at Fiskard out of the ships 
 " which we stated had approached tbe 
 a coast of Pembroke. Ministers took the 
 " earliest opportunity of announcing the 
 "fact to the Lord Mayor.'— Morning 
 '• Chkontce, 2(j * v bruarv, 1737. 
 
 We shall, by-and-by, see whence it 
 was that " Mr. Chancellor of the 
 " Exchequer" received his inform;:* 
 tion, and what sort of information it 
 was that he did receive ; but, for the 
 present, we will, in order to avoid 
 making this Letter too long, content 
 ourselves with seeing what the Bank 
 Company did in consequence of this 
 Order not to pay their creditors ; this 
 requisition not to pay their promissory 
 notes when presented; this Order to 
 forbear issuing cash in payment. 
 
 The rur had been very great oft 
 the Saturday, and people would 
 scarcely suspect, that the Sunday, 
 especially by such a godly ministry as 
 Pitt's was, would have been spent 
 in labour of any sort. It would, 
 however, naturally give people time 
 to think a little; it would allbrd'theui 
 leisure to reflect on the consequences 
 of being without a farthing of cash in 
 case of invasion. Accordii igly, on the 
 Monday morning, they app< jar to have 
 been quite prepared for furnishing 
 
 * At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, Feb. 
 
 26, 1797. 
 By the LORDS of his MAJESTY'S Most 
 Honourable PRIVY COUNCIL. 
 Present, 
 
 The Loud Chancellor TRosslyn) 
 
 Lord President 
 
 Puke of Portland 
 
 Marquis Cornwall" 
 
 Earl Spencer 
 
 Earl of Liverpool (Charles Jenkinson) 
 
 Lord Grenville 
 
 Mr. Chancellor of tin* Exchequer 
 
 Upon the representation of the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer, stating th nt from the result 
 of the information which he has received, and 
 of the enquiries which i t has been his duty 
 to make respecting the < jffect of the unusual 
 demand for specie, thath; ive been made upon 
 the metropolis, in cons cquence of ill-found- 
 ed or exaggerated alarms in different parts of 
 the country, it appca xs that unless some 
 measure is immediate ly taken, there may 
 be reason to apprehe; od a want of a suffi- 
 cient sup])ly of cash to r. mswer the exigencies of 
 the public service. It is t be unanimous opinion 
 of the Board, that it i i indispensibly neces- 
 s*ry,/or the public sen ice, that the Directors 
 of the Bank of Eng land should forbntr is- 
 suing any cash in payi ii-nt u»>**l the sense of 
 Pailiament oau be i3ik*.i on that subject, 
 i andtJ«u>opermea*" :**sadopU-d thereupon, 
 
151] 
 
 LETTER XT. 
 
 [Iu2 
 
 themselves with real money, if it was 
 to b« had at the Bank. Let us, how- 
 ever, as to this fact, take the words of 
 the renal writers themselves. " Yes- 
 *' terdav-mornins;," says the True 
 Briton of Tuesday, the 28th of Fe- 
 bruary, " a great run seemed to have 
 " been meditated upon the Bank, as 
 " A CROWD OF PEOPLE AS- 
 " SEMBLED THERE AS SOON 
 "AS THE DOORS OPENED. 
 "This design Mas HAPPILY de- 
 " feated by a Resolution of the Privy 
 ** Council, transmitted to the Bank I 
 " Directors on Sunday, and, in con- I 
 " sequence, they had Hand-bills ready ) 
 "for delivery, a copy of which, with j 
 " the Order of the Privy Council an- J 
 " nexed, dur readers will find, as an ' 
 " Advertisement in the front of our 
 " Paper."* 
 
 Such, Gentlemen, was the manner 
 in which the Stoppage of Gold and 
 Silver payments at the Bank of Eng- 
 land took place ; such was the manner 
 of that event, which produced the 
 evils, for which the Bullion Committee 
 have proposed a remedy. Upon the 
 Order of Council there is much to ob- 
 serve, before we proceed further ; but, 
 having laid before you a plain narra- 
 tive of the event, it will be best to re- 
 serve those observations, 'till my next, 
 and, in the meanwhile, 
 
 I remain, Gentlemen, 
 Your sincere friend, 
 
 Wm. COBBETT. 
 
 State Prison, Newsrate, Monday, 
 15tii October. 18 iO. 
 
 for maintaining the means of circulation, 
 and supporting the public and comma rial credit 
 of the kingdom at this important conjunc- 
 ture ; and itis ordered, that a copy of this 
 minute be transmitted to the Directors of 
 the Bank of England, and they are hereby 
 required, on the grounds of the exigency of 
 tiie case, to conform thereto until the. sense 
 of Parliament can be taken as aforesaid. 
 W. FAWKENER. 
 * " Bank of England, February 27,1797. 
 In consequence of an order of his Ma- 
 jesty's Privy Council notified to the Bank 
 last night, a Copy of which is hereunto an- 
 
 nexed — The Governor, Deputy Governor, 
 anil Directors of the Bank of England think 
 it their duty to inform the Proprietors of 
 Bank Stock, as well as the Public at large, 
 that the general concerns of the Bank are in the 
 most affluent and prosperous situation, and such 
 as to preclude every doubt as to the security of 
 its w«*e«.— The Directors mean to continue 
 their usual discounts for the accommoda- 
 tion of the Commercial Interest, paying the 
 amount tn Banknotes, and the Dividend War- 
 rants will be paid in the same manner. 
 
 Francis Martin, Secretary. 
 
 (Emerrti at §tartoner0' $aU» 
 
 London : Printed by Wm. Molingux, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lanaj, 
 
K°- 6 ]— COBBETT'S PAPER AGAINST GOLD.— [Price Two-Pence. 
 
 153] 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 x^ 
 
 " Every "ictim of injustice ami cruelty" (ipeaking of the French government) " bequeaths his revenge to hit 
 " connections, to his friends, and to his relatums; or (if all these should be involved in the same common 
 " fate with himself) every such execution raises detestation and abhorrence, even in the breast of ordinary 
 spectators, and unites the public opinion against a Government, which exists only by the daily practice 
 of robber 1/ and murder- From this disgusting scene, let us turn our eyes to our own situation. 1 HERE 
 " the contrast is striking in all its parts, HERE we sec nothing of the character and genius of arbitrary 
 ''finance; gone of the bold frauds of bankrupt power ; cone of the wild struggles and plunges of des. 
 " potism in distress ; no lopping off from tl.e capital of debt ; no suspension of interest ; no jobbery, under 
 ** the name of loan ; no raising the value ; no debasing the substance of the coin HERE we behold 
 "public credit of every description rising under all the disadvantage* of a general war ; an ample re- 
 " venue, flowing freely and copiously from Vie opulence of a contented people." — Lord Mornington 
 " (uow Marquis Wellesley)- Speech iu the House of Commons, 2lst January 1794. 
 
 " The interest of the national funded debt is paid at the Bank in the 3ame kind of paper in which the taxes are 
 " collected. When people find, as they will find, a reserveuness among each other in giving gold and silver 
 " for banknotes, or the least preference for the former ovtt the latter, they will go for payment to the 
 »' Bank, where they have a right to go. They will do this as a measure of prudence, each one for himself, 
 •' and the truth, or delusion of the funding system will be then proved." —Paine. Decliae and F^i of 
 the English Svstem of Finance. Published in 1796. ' 
 
 " The great object, however, is to open the Bank of England, and to enable it to carry on its pecuniary 
 " transactions to the extent which its resources will admit of, on the solid principle of giving either cash or 
 " paper at the option of the applicant. Until that is done, neither' public orprivate credit, nor agricul 
 " ture, nor commerce, nor mamifactories, nor the income of the nation, can go on prosperously."--! 
 Sir John Sinclair. ^Letter, published in 1797. 
 
 The Impression made upon the Country by the Stoppage of Gold and Silver Payment* 
 attheBauk — Ridiculous Situation of the Ministers in complaining of False Alarms — Ja« 
 cobins now accused of causing the Kun upon theBank — Foolishness of this Accusation- 
 Mr. Wilberforce answered by Mr. Fox — Now was the Time for Mr. Pitt's Adherent* 
 to* leave him — They had been warned by Mr. Fox and others — King's Speech and 
 Language of the Minister at the Opening of the Session during which the Stoppage 
 took place — If the Minister's Adherents had now quitted him it might have prevented 
 the present Dangers — Mr. Pitt's Humiliation in the House of Commons — Questions 
 put to him upon the subject of the Legal Tender, by Mr. Combe and Mr. Nicholls — 
 His Inability to determine on what Measures he should propose. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 HAVING, agreeably to the inten- 
 tion expressed, traced the increase of 
 :he Debt and of the Bank-Notes down 
 ;o that grand and memorable effect, 
 ;he stoppage of Gold and Silver-pay - 
 neuts at the Bank of England, our 
 lext object must naturally be to know 
 vhat impression that event produced 
 ipon the nation, and what measures 
 vere adopted in consequence of it ; in 
 >ther words, to continue the history of 
 he stoppage down to the time, when 
 he evil of paper-money produced the 
 brming of the Bullion Committee. 
 
 The impression made upon the na- 
 ion in general was such as might have 
 >een exoected, after all the flattering 
 
 r. MOLINFTTX, Printer, Breaus's Buildings, 
 Jk.twct-ry " 
 
 accounts which had been given of the* 
 national resources. The Order of 
 Council does, you will perceive, 
 ascribe the event to " ill-founded and 
 " exaggerated alarms, in different 
 " parts of the country." But, sup- 
 posing this to have been the chief, and 
 only cause, with what face could the 
 ministers complain of these alarms; 
 seeing that they themselves had done 
 frieir utmost to excite them? They 
 had not only proposed and carried 
 through the Arming Bills, but they 
 had been writing to the magistrates, in 
 every part of the kingdom, calling 
 upon them for internal preparations 
 (t while" (Morning Chronicle, 22nd 
 Februarv 1797) " Contractors had 
 
155] 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 [156 
 
 "; put every town into commotion by 
 " inquiries as to the number of Ovens, 
 " the quantity of grain, mid the State 
 " of the Provisions." IS ay, the 
 preamble of the Arming Acts itself 
 proclaimed, that the measures were 
 become necessary, " in order to pre- 
 " vent, or repel, any attempt, which 
 " the enemies of the country might 
 " make to effect a descent upon the 
 " kingdom." After all this it was, 
 that the Privy Council spoke, in a 
 sort of complaining tone, of " ill- 
 -founded and exaggerated alarms" ! 
 
 When the matter came before 
 Parliament, the Opposition did, cer- 
 tainly, not spare the Minister and his 
 adherents, who had the confidence to 
 hold the same tone as to the alarm ; 
 and whose opinion of the minds of the 
 people was such, that they scrupled 
 not to repeat the assertions of die 
 venal prints, and to ascribe the injury 
 (for they then acknowledged it to be 
 an injury) which Public Credit had 
 sustained to unfounded alarms, ex- 
 cited by the internal enemies of the 
 country, winch, in a contrary sense, 
 some members were malicious enough 
 to believe. General Walpole 
 (in the Debate of the 1st of March) 
 made an admirable exposure of them 
 in this way, to which no answer was 
 given, but that they were not always 
 to feel alarm, because they had once 
 felt it; though the fact was that they 
 were proclaiming alarm, with all their 
 might, 'till the Bank, as it after ward* 
 appeared, represented to them secretly, 
 thai the alarm, if continued, would 
 take away all their cash. Mr. SHE- 
 RIDAN, in adverting to the speech of 
 General Walpole, who had re- 
 marked upon Mr. Windham's not 
 having signed the Order of Council, 
 said, " that he believed it proceeded 
 " from the reflections it contained 
 " against the alarmists," and he 
 added, that " even amidst the wreck 
 " of public credit, it was impossible 
 " not to laugh at the juggling tricks 
 " and miserable shifts to which mi- 
 " nister9 had recourse." 
 
 The venal part of tfie press, now 
 that it was impossible any longer to 
 disguise the state of the credit of the 
 Bank, began a regular new attack 
 upon the Jacobins, whom it had be- 
 fore reviled for endeavouring to check 
 the alarm, and whom it now accused 
 of causing the alarm. The noto- 
 riously venal prints before-mentioned 
 (True Briton and Sun), which 
 bad, to the last moment, abused the 
 Jacobins for (as they said) propaga- 
 ting the false notion of the Bank not 
 having gold to answer their notes. 
 These prints, never equalled in vena- 
 lity, I believe, by any prints in the 
 world, the Morning Post only ex- 
 cepted, now abused those same un- 
 fortunate Jacobins for not acknowledg- 
 ing the necessity of the Order in 
 Council. They (3rd March 1797) 
 again accused the Jacobins of having 
 caused " a distrust of the Bank," and 
 of having formed a design to ruin the 
 credit of the country, in which " tbey 
 " hud so far succeeded, at least, as to 
 >" persuade the people, in some paris 
 " of the country, that gold was pre- 
 u fcrable to Bank notes." 
 
 Gendemen, pause here for a mo- 
 ment, and contemplate the foolishness 
 as well as the injustice of such obser- 
 vations as these. You will bear in 
 mind, that the Jacobins, as they were 
 called, were, by these same writers, 
 constantly represented as men with- 
 out learning, without sense, without 
 property, and, of course, without in- 
 fluence. How r , then, were they to have 
 the power of producing sueh an effect 
 upon the minds of the nation ; and, upon 
 the minds of those, too, who held the 
 bank-notes and who owned the Stock ? 
 The Jacobins, as these venal prints had 
 the impudence to call them, had not 
 been able to persuade the people te 
 check Mr. Pitt in his ruinous career 
 of war and expenditure ; they had not 
 been able to prevent any one of the 
 measures of that Minister; they had 
 not been able to persuade the people 
 to do any one thing that they wished 
 them to do. and, at the very time we 
 
157] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [158 
 
 are speaking of, they were out-voted, 
 in the parliament, four to one. Yet, 
 to these same Jacobins was now 
 ascribed that run upon the Bank, 
 which produced the Order in Coun- 
 cil ; which produced an order, issued 
 by the king's Privy Council, to encou- 
 rage a Company of Merchants to re- 
 fuse illegally, to pay their promissory 
 notes, when duly presented. The Ja- 
 cobins, as they were still called with a 
 degree of impudence not to be 
 adequately described ; the Jacobins, 
 who were represented as defeated and 
 put down, and as being held in ab- 
 horrence by the people, were, never- 
 theless, at the same moment, repre- 
 sented as having such power over the 
 mind of that same people, as to cause 
 them to make a run upon the Bank, 
 which was called " stabbing the coun- 
 " try in its vitals." Mr. Fox, in an- 
 swer to Mr. WlLBERl-ORCE, who 
 
 (March 1, 1797) attributed " much of 
 " the public calamity to the conduct 
 " of the Opposition, and to the con- 
 '• duct of those who had proceeded to 
 " lengths which the Opposition would 
 " not avow ; in answer to tins Mr. 
 Fox said : " this reminds me of a 
 " scene in Ben Johnson, where it ap- 
 " pears, that an Imposter had played 
 " his tricks very successfully for a 
 " long time upon his dupes, and, 
 " when he was detected, the dupes 
 " became very angry, not at the Im- 
 " postor, but at those who had de- 
 " tected him." 
 
 Now was the time for those, who 
 had been deluded into a support of 
 Mr. Pitt's measures, to make a 
 frank and manly acknowledgement of 
 their error, and to join Mr. Fox in 
 demanding a change of system. They 
 had, when war was first contemplated, 
 received the most solemn assurances, 
 that the resources for vigorous prepa- 
 ration (at first preparation only was 
 talked of) were ample, even from the 
 excess of the revenue ;* they had been, 
 
 * u Gentlemen of the House of Com- 
 mons. Itisagreat consolaiiuti to me to 
 
 when, after the war had begun and 
 had brought, at once, very disastrous 
 effects as to pecuniary matters, told 
 that those effects were completely re- 
 moved, and that the revenue was in a 
 favourable state ; f they had been told, 
 that the war could not be of long du- 
 ration; they had been told that the 
 situation of France, in every respect, 
 and especially in respect to her fi- 
 nances, was desperate beyond de- 
 scription; the French system had 
 been repeatedly described to them as 
 one that could not last above a few 
 months, having in itself the seeds of 
 inevitable destruction ; they had been 
 assured, that all the powers of Europe 
 would join us against France; they 
 had been told, that, if there were no 
 other cause of ruin to our enemy, that 
 enemy must be ruined by the loss of 
 all his colonies (which we had taken), 
 and by the annihilation of his naval 
 force, which seemed to have been 
 nearly completed by the fourth year 
 of the war; they had had, year after 
 year, exhibited to them such pictures 
 of the finances of France compared 
 with those of England, as to make 
 them believe that France must spee- 
 dily become bankrupt, while England 
 was (and partly in consequence of the 
 war) becoming, every day, more and 
 more rich, that her commerce was 
 daily increasing, and that her credit, 
 which was always firmly established, 
 was now built upon a rock ; they had, 
 even in the King's Speech, made at 
 the beginning of the session of which 
 
 " reflect, that you will find ample resource* 
 " for effectually defraying the expence of 
 " vigorous preparations, from the excess of 
 " the uctuul revenue beyond the ordinary ex- 
 
 ■' penditurc*' King s bPfcECH, 13th Dec 
 
 1795?. 
 
 f" I feel tooseusibly the repeated proofs 
 " which I have received cf the affection of 
 " inv subjects not to lament the necessity 
 "of any additional burthens. It is, how- 
 " ever, a great consolation to me, to observe 
 " the favourable state of the Kevenue, and 
 " the complete success of the measure which teas 
 '' last year adopted for removing the embarrass- 
 
 " ments affecting commercial ciedit." *•»*• 
 
 King's Speech, 10th Januarv 1794. 
 
 f2 
 
149] 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 [160 
 
 we are now speakiug, and during 
 which the stoppage took place, at the 
 beginning of that very session &n&y 
 had been told, in the King's Speech, 
 of the SOLIDITY of the pecuniary 
 resources of the country,* while the 
 Minister and his adherents echoed 
 back the assertion. Upon this last 
 occasion, which, Gentlemen, is wor- 
 thy of particular attention, the time 
 being only four months before the 
 Bank-stoppage actually took place ; 
 upon this occasion, Sir William 
 Lowther, who seconded the ad- 
 dress, and who is now a Lord, I be- 
 lieve, said " if we regarded our Ji- 
 '< nances, they were ABUNDANT 
 " in the EXTREME, and such as 
 " were adequate to any emergency 
 " of the country." Lord Morpeth, 
 son of the "fcarl of Carlisle, who 
 moved the address to the king in an- 
 swer to his speech, said '* As to 
 H our internal situation, we have 
 " witnessed it, for 90ine time past, 
 " with joy and exultation ; and have 
 " reason to congratulate his Majesty 
 " and the people at large, upon our 
 " auspicious prospects in that re- 
 " spect." And Mr. Pitt Imnself 
 said, " As to our resources, they fur- 
 " nish, indeed, in a moment like the 
 " present, a subject of peculiar arn- 
 " gratulation and well-grounded con- 
 
 "fidence. •• Our 
 
 " resources remain as yet, untouched, 
 " and we shall be able to bring them 
 " into action with a degree of concert 
 " and eifeet, worthy of the character 
 " of the British nation, and of the 
 * cause in which they will be em- 
 " ployed. These resources have in 
 "them, NOTHING HOLLOW 
 " OR DELUSIVE. They are the 
 
 * •' It is a. great satisfaction to me to ob- 
 " serve, that, notwithstanding the tempg- 
 u rary embarrassments, which have been 
 " experienced, the state of the commerce, 
 * manufacture*, and revenue of the country 
 " proves the real extent and SOLIDITY 
 "of our resources, and furnish you such 
 ° means as must be equal to any exertions 
 " which the present crisis may require." — 
 Kiwo's Speecu, 6th October 1796. 
 
 " result of an accumulated capital, of 
 " gradually increasing commerce, of 
 " ft IGH AND ESTABLISHED 
 " CREDIT; and they have been 
 " produced while we have been con- 
 " tending against a country, which 
 " exhibits, in every respect, the re- 
 " verse of this picture."* 
 
 Such, Gentlemen, was the lan- 
 guage of the Minister and his adhe- 
 rents at the beginning of that session, 
 during which, took place the memo- 
 rable event, recorded in the foregoing 
 Letter; and before you proceed any 
 further, I beg you to look well at it. 
 I beseech you to consider it well. If 
 you do so, you never will be deluded 
 again by any high-sounding asser- 
 tions, let them come from what quar- 
 ter they will. These, which I have 
 just quoted, are memorab'e words. 
 They are precious matter for history. 
 They go, a great way in enabling any 
 one to judge of the character of Mr. 
 Pitt, as a statesman, and especially 
 as a political ceconomist. Gentlemen, 
 there is no such thing as answering 
 me here. No one can contradict me. 
 What I have laid before you is indu- 
 bitably true; and, as such, I am 
 sure, it will have weight upon your 
 minds, whatever your prejudices here- 
 tofore may have been. 
 
 The adherents of Mr. Pitt had 
 been told all that we have now taken 
 a hasty review of; and, though they 
 ought never to have believed it, hav- 
 ing constantly been warned against 
 the delusion by Mr. Fox, Mr. She- 
 ridan, Mr. NxCHOLLs, Mr. Hob- 
 house, Mr. Grey, Mr. Tierney, 
 and others, but especially by the 
 three former ; though they ought not 
 to have believed, and would not, had 
 it not been for the blinding inlluence 
 of the fears excited in their minds, 
 have believed in those delusive asser- 
 tions and predictions ; still, if they 
 did believe in them, they were not 
 (if they looked upon the principle of 
 the war as being just and wise) to be 
 
 t See Parliamentary Debates, 6th Oct 
 
 me. 
 
161] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [162 
 
 blamed for supporting the minister; 
 but, when experience had undeceived 
 them ; when they saw the proof of 
 their error; when clearly established 
 facts told the in that they were in the 
 wrong course ; when they had before 
 their eyes, that which could not pos- 
 sibly leave a doubt in any man's 
 mind, that the system which they had 
 so long supported was ruinous to 
 .heir country; when they saw the 
 Bank of England stop payment of its 
 notes, and take shelter under an 
 Order oi the Privy Council, imme- 
 diately followed by an Act of Indem- 
 nification, that is to say, an act to 
 shelter the parties concerned from tJve 
 penalties of the law ; when the adhe- 
 rents of Mr. Pitt saw this ; when 
 they beheld these effects, this mighty 
 ruin, which that adherence had 
 brought upon their country; when 
 they beheld this, they ought to have 
 withdrawn their support ; and, if they 
 had done this, though I am very fur 
 from saying, that they could have re- 
 stored Gold and Silver-payments at 
 the Bank, and am siill less inclined 
 to say, tliat they would have put a 
 stop to the workings of the French 
 revolution, I am decidedly of opi- 
 nion, that there was yet time to give 
 such a turn to that revolution as to 
 render it less violent in itself, less se- 
 vere towards Europe in general, and 
 infinitely less dangerous to this coun- 
 try ; as we, in all likelihood, never 
 should have seen an Emperor in 
 France, and, of course, should not 
 have had to dread, and to guard 
 against, the effects of his ambition and 
 his power. It must, I think, be now 
 clear to all the world, that to Mr. 
 Pitt, supported by the great mer- 
 cantile and monied bodies, Buona- 
 parte owes his rise and his great- 
 ness; and, that, instead of being, as 
 Mr. Pitt once called him, " the 
 child and champion of Jacobinism? 
 he may be truly called the child if 
 Mr. Pitt and the Paper-System, that 
 system, the effects of which we shall, 
 every day, feel more and more; that 
 
 system, of me evils of which almost 
 every man seems now to be tho- 
 roughly convinced; that system, oi, 
 which to prevent, or, at least, retard 
 the still greater evils, the Bullion 
 Committee have proposed that re- 
 medy, into which we shall, by-and- 
 by, have to examine. 
 
 Mr. Pitt, who was in the House 
 of Commons, boldness personified; 
 who never seemed to feel as men in 
 general do upon being defeated in ar- 
 gument, or at being detected and ex- 
 posed as to points of fact; who al- 
 ways appeared to increase in boldness 
 in proportion as lie was worsted in the 
 contest, does, however, seem to have, 
 for a while at least, felt himself hum- 
 bled upon this occasion, and to have 
 been as the vulgar saying is, com- 
 pletely chop-fallen; and, after what 
 we have seen him (in the above-quoted 
 passages) assert, only four months be- 
 fore, well might he feel humbled; 
 well might he feel afraid to open his 
 moutli in the presence of those, who 
 had so often told him that such would 
 be the result of his system, and whom 
 he had, as often, reproached with the 
 want of love for their country ; and 
 even at whose opinions not only him- 
 self but his underlings had been ac- 
 customed to laugh. To come to the 
 House of Commons, that scene of his 
 long-enjoyed triumph; to come to 
 that bench, whence he had so long 
 been in the habit of dictating to all 
 around him, and of dealing out his 
 sarcasms upon all who dared question 
 his infallibility ; to come to the same 
 bench, and thence to deliver a Mes- 
 sage from the King, (27th February 
 1797) announcing the Stoppage of 
 Gold and Silver-payments at the Bank 
 of England; to do this, and to look 
 Mr. Fox in the face, seemed to be 
 too much even for Mr. Pitt; to come 
 down -to the House, and say, that »e- 
 cessity had compelled him to issue an 
 Order of the King's Council to forbid, 
 or to protect, the Bank of England 
 from paying the just demands of its 
 oi editors, was more than he was able 
 
163] 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 [164 
 
 to do without faultering, and it is, 
 perhaps, more than any other man 
 upon earth, under similar circum- 
 stances, would have heen able to do 
 at all. 
 
 His confidence seems, for once, to 
 have failed him ; and, what is upon 
 record as to the debate, clearly proves, 
 that he did not know what to do ; that 
 he literally was at his wit's end. 
 Having delivered the Message, and 
 laid a copy of the Order of Council 
 upon the table, he moved for the 
 Message to be taken into considera- 
 tion the next day ; and, at the same 
 time, gave notice of a motion for ap- 
 pointing a Committee to impure into 
 the concerns of the Bank, an inquiry, 
 he said, which " would greatly tend 
 " to confirm the solidity of the Bank 
 " capital." He also said, that he 
 meant to declare by law, that " notes 
 " instead of cash would be taken by 
 " the public in payment of the svms 
 " due to them by the Bank." Mr. 
 Alderman Combe asked him, whe- 
 ther he meant " that bank-notes 
 " were to be taken only by the re- 
 " ceivers of the revenue, or, that they 
 u were to become a legal tender in 
 " all money-transactions." He an- 
 swered, that, " in- the first instance, 
 •* he meant only to propose, that they 
 " should be taken on the part of the. 
 " public" leaving future measures to 
 be decided upon, after the Committee 
 should have made their report. Mr. 
 Combe asked him u whether it was 
 " his opinio?i, that this measure would 
 " be resorted to in the end." He an- 
 swered, that " he had no opinion 
 " upon the subject." Mr. Fox asked 
 him, " if he disclaimed the opinion." 
 He replied, that " he said nothing 
 " about it at all:' 
 
 Look at him, Gentlemen! See there 
 the man, who had the management of 
 the affairs of this country for twenty 
 years, and during -whose administra- 
 tion more persons were, I believe, 
 promoted to the peerage, than during 
 any century before. Look at him. 
 See him, who, only four months be- 
 
 fore, had boasted that our " resources 
 " were untouched" and that there 
 was " nothing hollow or delusive in 
 " our finances." Look at him now, 
 notable to say; nay, not able to give 
 an opinion, whether he shall propose 
 Bank-notes to be made a legal tender, 
 or not! Mr. Nicholls (of whose 
 great understanding upon this subject 
 we shall see^many proofs by-and-by) 
 " pressed him for an answer to the 
 " question which had been put to him, 
 " whether it was his intention that 
 " the notes of the Bank of England 
 " should be declared a legal tender 
 " from the Bank to the public credi- 
 " tor? If so, he was about to pro- 
 " claim an act of insolvency. And, 
 " considering it in this light, he re- 
 " probated his silence, as an instance 
 " of most atrocious arrogance. After 
 " animadverting, in the severest terms, 
 " on the confiding majorities in that 
 " House, who supported the Minis- 
 - ter in every measure, however wild, 
 " and sanctioned eveiy part of his 
 " conduct, however insolent, he con- 
 " eluded with repeating the question, 
 " whether or not bank-notes were to 
 " be declared a legal tender to the 
 " public creditor" After the treat- 
 ment which this gentlemen had fre- 
 quently received at the hands of Mr. 
 Pitt and his adherents, it could sur- 
 prize no body to see him give May, 
 upon this occasion, to a degree of 
 asperity, which, without taking these 
 circumstances into vie\r, might not 
 have been fully justified by the con- 
 duct of Mr. Pitt upon this particu- 
 lar occasion, who, in answer to Mr. 
 Nicholls, said, that he was " per- 
 " plexed by the observations and 
 " questions of the learned gentleman, 
 " who to an intricacy which it was 
 " impossible to unravel, added an 
 " exertion of voice much beyond 
 " what he was accustomed to, and an 
 " asperity of language which even 
 • exceeded that of the other honour- 
 " able geatle-gentleman (Mr. Sheri- 
 " dan). He hoped that he would 
 " not persist in thinking it atrocious 
 
165] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [1W 
 
 ** arrogance in him, if he did not at- 
 " tempt to answer what he conceived 
 ** it would be unpardonable arrogance 
 " in him to attempt to understand. 
 u When a man obtruded his opinion, 
 " with too much rashness or too 
 M much positiveness, then he might 
 " be accused of arrogance; but he 
 " did not perceive that the man who 
 11 altogether declined giving an opi- 
 " nion, could incur the imputation. 
 u But the learned gentleman seemed 
 " to be as ignorant of the forms of 
 " the House as of the common mode 
 
 * of business. He might have known 
 
 * that though it would be sometimes 
 M convenient to ask and to communi- 
 " eate information by question and 
 " answer, that, no discussion can re- 
 ** gularly take place, except when a 
 " motion was before the House" 
 
 This Mas a very poor evasion ; but, 
 m fact, he could give no answer to the 
 question, unless he had been ready to 
 make a full and fair acknowledgment 
 of his not knowing what to do. No- 
 thing could be plainer than the ques- 
 tion; nothing more distinct; nothing 
 more intelligible to any man, who un- 
 derstood the common meaning of the 
 frightful words, LEGAL TENDER. 
 But, how was an answer to be given? 
 
 Even ii the minister had made his 
 mind up to go that length. Even if 
 he had screwed his courage up to the 
 contemplation of such a measure, how 
 was he to tind face to propose it all 
 at once ? To propose such a measure 
 required time, even with such a man 
 as Mr. Pitt. It, at any rate, re- 
 quired time for him to look round 
 him in the House. It required time 
 for him to discover how his adherents 
 felt, and whether they were still to be 
 depended upon. It also required 
 time to break the matter to the public, 
 and to afford an opportunity for the 
 press, and for the ministers monied 
 friends out of doors to exert their in- 
 fluence. It not only required time 
 to see what could he done, but what 
 dared to be attempted. 
 
 To obtain this time the scheme at 
 a Committee of Inquiry was resorted 
 to, the result of whieh inquiry and an 
 account of the measures adopted, we 
 shall see in the next Letter. In the 
 meanwhile, I am, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Thursday,. 
 October 18, 1810. 
 
 LETTER XIIL 
 
 But it was urged that the Bank had temporary difficulties to encounter, and that it behoved them to adopt 
 'some mode of" granting relief to that important public body. The House of Commons, however, knew 
 " nor Inn., of this. No application was made to them by the Bank ; nor did it appear even that application 
 " had been made for the Oriler in Council ; on the contrary, it appeared that this facetious Council, instead 
 *« of examining the Directors of the Bank, acted entirely upon the authority of the Chancellor of the Ex- 
 " chequer. Nay, what added to his surprize was, that not one of the Bank Directors who had seats in 
 " that House, had ever come forward and expressed an opinion upon the subject. Some information 
 " was certainly necessary before the House, sanctioned so novel and dangerous a measure. They had 
 " heard of the. Bank a short time ago landing two millions to Government, and they had also heard of 
 " the dividends on Bunk Stock increasing Was it not material to be informed therefore how they had 
 '• come to stop paymeut at a time when their affairs seemed to be goinj oa so prosperously ?''— MR. 
 SHUKIDAN. Speech C»th Feb. 1807- 
 
 \lledged Ability of the Bank— Proceedings out of Doors for what is called Support of 
 Public Credit— Mansion House Meeting— Brook Watson -Quarter Sessions Resolu- 
 tions— -Privy Council Resolutions — Representations of the Venal Prints relative to 
 these Resolutions — Real Origin of the Mansion House Meeting — Directors prevail 
 upon Mr. Pitt to have a private Meeting of Bankers at his House — Plan of a public 
 Meeting there laid— Peep behind the Curtain — Meeting of the Bank Proprietors— 
 Declaration of the Governors, Mr. Bosanquet and Mr. Thornton — These Declaration! 
 compared with the private Minute of the Bank, expressing their Alarm for the Safety 
 of the House, and for calling upon Mr. Pitt to know wheu he would interfere 
 
167] 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 [168 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 \XI1EX we look at the boast, re- 
 ferred to in the words of my Motto, 
 and consider how many boasts of the 
 same sort the Minister had uttered, 
 and which he had continued in the 
 habit of uttering, down almost to the 
 hour of the Bauk Stoppage, we 
 cannot help wondering that he could 
 no longer endure his existence. 
 AVhat, then, w ill be the astonishment 
 of posterity, to hear him, in a few 
 months after that event, speak of it 
 and of the measures growing out of 
 it, as the happy means of safety to the 
 country ; and what will be their shame 
 to find, that he was still confided in 
 and supported ? 
 
 As we proceed with the history of 
 the measures of remedy which wcie 
 now adopted, we must not fail to pay 
 particular attention to the opinions and 
 doctrines, at this time expressed and 
 laid down by the Minister and his 
 adherents, especially by those of his 
 adherents, who had i more immedi- 
 ate interest in the concerns of the 
 Bank of England. We must take 
 care to bear in mind what they then 
 said as to the oriyin of the Order of 
 Council for the Stoppage of Gold and 
 Silver-payments at thr ]>ank ; what 
 they said as to the nature and neces- 
 sity of the measure ; what they said 
 as to the ability of the Bank to re- 
 sume its payments; and what 
 said as to the time of such resumption. 
 "What they then said, as to ail these 
 points, we must take care to bear in 
 mind ; because, we shall have to eoni- 
 pare it with what the same persons 
 have said since, and have to shew 
 how in this case, as well as in so 
 many others, the nation has been led 
 on, by degrees, to acquiesce in what, 
 if proposed to it all at once, m ould 
 have macje it shrink with affright, or 
 nred it with indignation. 
 
 Before the House of Commons 
 tnet, the day after the Message and 
 Order of Council had been laid be- 
 fore it, that is to say, on the 28th of 
 February 1797, the Anti-Jacobin 
 
 adherents of the Minister had been 
 hard at work out of doors. A meet- 
 ing had been called in the Mansion 
 House of the City of London con- 
 sisting of Merchants, Bankers, and 
 others, the Chairman being the Lord 
 Mayor, whose name was Brook 
 Watson, who then or very soon 
 afterwards filled the luci ative office of 
 Commissary General to the Army, 
 and who was, in a very few T years after 
 that, made a Baronet. The persona 
 assembled upon this occasion pro- 
 claimed their resolution not to refuse 
 bank-notes in pa\mem of any sums 
 due to them, and to use their utmost 
 endeavours to make at! their payments 
 in the same manner ; * which, as you 
 will perceive, Gentlemen, was neither 
 more nor less than resolving, that 
 they would do their utmost to keep 
 up their own credit and consequence, 
 and, in fact, to preserve themselves 
 from instant ruin. 
 
 Similar Resolutions were passed 
 in the country, where the Quarter 
 8 isions happening to be then taking 
 place, the Resolutions were sent forth 
 from the Bench, with, of course, some- 
 thing of a magisterial weight and 
 
 • MANSION-HOUSE, LONDON.— 
 February C7, 1797. — At»a meeting of Mer- 
 chants, Hankers. Arc. held here this dav, to 
 consider of the steps which it m.iv be pro- 
 per to take, to prevent Embarrassments to 
 Public Of dit, from the effects of any ill- 
 founded nr exaggerated Alarms, and to sup- 
 port it with the utmost exertions at the pre- 
 sent important conjuncture — The Loan 
 M \yor in the Chair ;— Rksoj.ved Invni- 
 MotrsLT,— That we, the Hndersigned, being 
 highly sensible how necessary the preser- 
 vation of Vublic Credit is at this time, do 
 most readily hereby declare, that we will 
 not refnse to receive I3ank Notes in pay- 
 ment of any sum of money to be paid to us ; 
 and we will use our utmost endeavours to 
 make all our payments in the same manner. 
 — Rkook ¥ 
 
 The resolution lies for signing at the fol- 
 lowinc places; London Tavern, Bbhopsgate- 
 Mrect; Crown and Anchor Tavern, Strand; 
 St. Albans Tavern, St. Alban's Street; 
 Three-Crown Coffee- House, in Three-Crown 
 Coint, Borough ; and at Lloyd'i Coffer* 
 house. 
 
PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [170 
 
 authority, as will be seen in the in- 
 stance of the magistrates of Surrej 
 who, with Lords Grantlcy and Onsloic 
 at their head, appear to have led the 
 av -ay.* The Pricy Council (pray read 
 their names all over) had ako a meet- 
 ing upon the subject, and it was 
 curious to see the Judges and great 
 pensioners, and even the Ministers 
 themselves, not excepting the Lord 
 High Treasurer, publishing their pro- 
 mises to receive and to pay bank-notes, 
 and, as far as depended on them 
 individually, to support the circulation 
 of those notes.t 
 
 These Meetings and their Resoluti- 
 ons furnished the venal prints with the 
 pretence for asserting, that the alarm 
 was at an end; that the people had 
 
 • SURREY'.— U the General Quarter 
 Session of the Peace of our Sovereign Lor<l 
 the Kins, holden at Saint Mary, Sewing- 
 ton, by adjournment, in and for the said 
 County, on Thursday, the 2nd day of 
 
 March 1797. We, vhose names are 
 
 hereunto subscribed, being desirous to con- 
 tribute, as far as we can, to the support of 
 the public and commercial credit of the 
 kingdom, at thU important crisis, do hereby 
 agree and bind ourselves to receive the 
 Notes of the Bank of England in all pay- 
 ments as Money, and to rapport, as far as 
 depends on us individually, their circulation 
 for the public benefit. 
 Grantley, Edward Lavton, 
 
 Onslow and Cranlev. John Morgan, 
 John Frederick, Peter Broadley, 
 
 "Joseph Shaw, M. Nolan, 
 
 Thomas Evance, George Shcplev, 
 
 Rd. Carpenter Smith, Thomas Harrow, 
 George Griffin Stone- Francis Lawson, 
 
 street, John Jos. ^hermer, 
 
 James Bulcock, Robert Forrest, 
 
 William Hill, John Pardon, 
 
 Robert Burnett, Edward Morris, 
 
 Gideon Founder, Vitruvius Lawes, 
 
 Benjamin Robertson, Samuel Marryatt, 
 Jonathan Stonard, W D. Best, 
 James Fielding, Arthur Onslow. 
 
 Ordered, That the Clerk of the Peace do 
 cause the above to be forthwith advertised 
 in the Morning Papers. — By the Court, 
 
 Lawson. 
 
 t At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, 
 the 28th of February 1797,— Present— The 
 Lords of His Majesty's most Honourable 
 Pnvy Council.— We, whose names are here- 
 
 had time to reflect, and that reflection 
 could not fail to convince them, that 
 there was no room for suspecting the 
 solidity of the Bank. The meetings 
 and resolutions (to which latter, in 
 London, :here were soon obtained 
 thousands of signatures) were repre- 
 sented as having been perfectly volun- 
 tary; that they were tL - spontaneous 
 effects of pure public-spirit, working in 
 the breasts of loyal and disinterested 
 men, and, of course, that those who did 
 not come forward to resolve,or to sign, 
 were dishyal-men. 
 
 Gentlemen, stop with me here for 
 a minute. Some of you may have 
 been induced, by these venal writers, 
 to think ill of all those of your neigh- 
 bours, who disapproved of Mr. Pitt 
 and his deeds; some of you may have 
 by the representations 
 of these writers, to hate your honest 
 bours, to stigmatize them as 
 Jacobins, and to suspect them, in fact, 
 of treasonable designs; some of yoa, 
 may, from this corrupt and deadly 
 
 unto subscribed, being drsirous to contri- 
 bute-, as far a.* we can, to the support of the 
 puUie and commercial credit of this King- 
 dom, at this important crisis, do hereby 
 agree and bind ourselves to receive the 
 Notes of the Bank of England in all pay- 
 ments as Money, and to support, as fur as 
 depends on us individually, their circu- 
 lation. 
 
 J. Cantuar*, Sydney, 
 
 Loughborough, C. Grenville, 
 Chatham, P. Onslow and Cranler, 
 
 Dorset, WaUingharo, 
 
 Leeds, Kenyun, 
 
 Montrose, Malmesbury, 
 
 Roxburgh, Auckland, 
 
 Portland, St. Helen's, 
 
 Townshend, Henrv Addington, 
 
 Cornwallis, W. PITT, 
 
 Bute, HENRY DUNDAS, 
 
 Pembroke, Cha. Townshend, 
 
 Westmorland, C F. Greville, V. C. 
 
 Chesterfield, J. C, VILLI ERS, 
 
 Sandwich, James Greville, 
 
 Drunimond Hay R. P. Arden, 
 Kinnoul, Wm. Wynne, 
 
 Macclesfield, THOMAS STEELE, 
 
 Spencer, A. Macdonald, 
 
 Liverpool, S. Douglas, 
 
 Mornington, W, Windham. 
 
 Gower Sutherland, 
 
171] 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 |172 
 
 source, have had your minds so 
 poisoned, and so perverted from their 
 natural bias, as to have contributed 
 towards those fatal divisions in the 
 nation, the effect of which, it is to be 
 feared, your children's children will 
 rue. Of such of you, therefore, as 
 answer to this description, let me beg 
 the earnest attention, while I develope 
 tiie true source of the above-mentioned 
 meetings and resolves, which, as you 
 have seen, were described, by the 
 venal writers, as being 'perfectly vo- 
 luntary, and flowing from pme public- 
 spirit. 
 
 You will bear in mind, that the 
 Order in Council was signed on 
 Sunday, the 26th of February, and 
 that it was laid before the House of 
 Commons on Monday the 27th, on 
 which last-mentioned day, the Man- 
 sion House Meeting, Mr. Brook 
 Watson in the Chair, took place. 
 The next, Tuesday the 28th, the 
 Minister, in opening the way for his 
 first motion about the law to sanction 
 the Order in Council, said, in allusion 
 to this muting : " With respect to the 
 <* first step to be considered, the state 
 4i of the Hank, that already has, in a 
 *'* great measure, been ascertained by 
 il the confidence of public opinion. Of 
 •' this public opinion, the most unequi- 
 u vocal and satisfactory proofs have 
 44 bey;i afforded, even within the short 
 " space that has elapsed since (he flit- 
 " nute of Council has been issued. It 
 " has been clearly evinced, that there 
 " is no doubt entertained with respect 
 ** to the solidity of the Bank to 
 u answer all the demands of its 
 u creditors." Thus lie appeared to 
 consider the resolution of the Meeting 
 of the Bankers and Merchants as ex- 
 pressive of the opinions and feelings 
 of the nation at large, and, of course, 
 as being a voluntary act, an act of 
 their mvn, an act not, by any means, 
 dictated by him, or by the Bank, nor 
 hatched or contrived by them. Thus 
 the thing appeared to the world; thus 
 it appeared to the " most thinking 
 " people in all Europe ;" this was its 
 
 outside look ; but, let us now take a 
 peep behind the curtain. 
 
 For a while, no official documents 
 were laid before Parliament, relating 
 to the Stoppage. This was avoided 
 by one means or other. But, it could 
 not be for ever avoided ; and, at last, 
 some of the papers were laid before 
 the House of Commons; but, by the 
 time that these got printed, the public 
 was lulled again, and the papers passed 
 with little or no notice. Amongst 
 these papers, was a minute of the 
 Bank -Directors, respecting an 
 " Interview with the Chancellor of 
 " the Exchequer (Mr. Pitt) on the 
 "24tb of February 1797;" which, 
 you will observe, was on the Friday 
 before, the Bank having issued Gold 
 on Saturday for the last time. On 
 the Thursday, the run upon the Bank 
 had been very hard ; and, the mea- 
 sure of Stoppage of cash-payments 
 Seems to have then been looked upon 
 as settled. With this measure in their 
 eye, the Bank Directors and Mr. Pitt 
 did what we shall see recorded in the 
 following minute of the Bank Di- 
 rectors 1 proceedings, under the date 
 just mentioned, of the 24th of Febru- 
 ary 1797. " The Governor and 
 " Deputy Governor this day waited 
 " on Mr. Pitt, to mention to him, 
 " that it would, in the present cir- 
 " cumstances, be highly requisite, that 
 " some general meeting of the bankers 
 " and chief merchants of London 
 " should be held, in order to bring 
 '* on some resolution for the support 
 " of the public credit in this alarming 
 " crisis ; and they took the liberty to 
 " recommend to Mr. Pitt, to have a 
 " private meeting of some of the chief 
 " bankers at his house to morrow, at 
 " three o'clock, in which the j)fan for 
 " a more general meeting on Tuesday 
 " or Wednesday next might be laid ; 
 " in the propriety of which Mr. Pitt 
 " agreed, and said he would summon 
 " a previous meeting for to-morrow 
 " accordingly. This was communi- 
 " cated by the Governor to the 
 " Committee." 
 
PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 Thus, Gentlemen, were " the most 
 *' thinking people in Europe'' treated. 
 Here you see the origin ; here you 
 see the real cause, of the public 
 spirited meeting at the Mansion 
 House ; here you see how those pure 
 aud disinterested persons were put in 
 motion. Von have, heretofore, seen 
 the show; hut, you have now seen, as 
 to this part of it, ihe funnels, pullies, 
 pegs and wires; and the only mis- 
 fortune is, that yea see them a little 
 too late ; though, I trust that the ex- 
 position may vet do some good, and 
 at any rate, it must, 1. should think, 
 make you a little less credulous in 
 future, a little less inclined to believe 
 every word that comes forth under 
 appearances like those above de- 
 scribed, ' 
 
 While Meeting? were going on in 
 such a jovial way, in all other 
 quarters, it would have been strange 
 indeed if tiic Bank itself had not had 
 its meeting. This took place on 
 Thursday, 2nd of March. The Order 
 of Council had been issued on the 
 Sunday, 26'th of February ; it had 
 been laid before the House of Com- 
 mons on the ,27th ; on the same day 
 the Meeting had taken place at the 
 Mansion- House; on the 28tL (as we 
 shall presently see) the conduct of the 
 Bank began to be discussed in parlia- 
 ment, and it had been asserted there, 
 that the Order of Council was the 
 sole work of the government, and not 
 of the Bank ; the manifest intention 
 of which was to cause it to be be- 
 lieved, that the 'government forced the 
 Bank not to pay its creditors agreeably 
 to its promissory notes ; and, that the 
 Bank neither wanted nor wished any 
 such measure on its own account. 
 Declarations to this amount had been 
 made in parliament; but, it appears, 
 that a repetition of them at a Bank 
 Meeting was thought necessary ; and 
 accordingly a meeting took place ; or, 
 to use their own language, " A 
 " Court of Proprietors was 
 " held" on the day just-mentioned, 
 namely, the 2nd of March. 
 
 At this meeting at the Bank, where 
 one might have expected to see the 
 Directors and Proprietors clothed in 
 sack-cloth aud ashes, the first thing 
 done \\;is, the passing of a vote of 
 THANKS to the Directors for hav- 
 ing acted agreeably to the Order of 
 Council, that is to say, for having 
 availed themselves of this Order to 
 refuse payment of their promissory 
 notes, to refuse payment of their just 
 debts legally demanded. They had 
 been guilty of a violation, of the law, 
 j and for that violation they were 
 than/ted by their constituents, the 
 stock Proprietors, who in fact, were 
 the Debtors of the holders of Bank- 
 notes ! Having, with an unanimous 
 voice dispatched this part of tbe busi- 
 ness of the day, the Governor of 
 the Bank took, it appears from the 
 report of the proceedings, the oppor- 
 tunity of publicly declaring (in a way 
 that might get into print) that the 
 Bank Directors had made no appli- 
 cation to the government for an order 
 for the stoppage of Cash-payments at 
 the Bank. Mr. Bosanquet, who 
 it seems, was a Director, declared, 
 that the measure " was not adopted 
 "at the instance of those concerned in 
 " the direction of the Bank;' and Mr. 
 Thornton, also a Director, said, 
 " that he wished it to be understood 
 " explicitly, that the Order hi Coun- 
 " cil was not issued at the instance of 
 " the Bank Directors" Mr. Bosan- 
 quet called the stoppage " a great 
 " state measure ■.;" a measure dictated 
 by " national policy." He said it was 
 " meant to operate only for a short 
 " time;" and that "he earnestly hoped" 
 (how different from the language of 
 Mr. Handle Jackson and the present 
 governor of the Bank) ; yes, he 
 EARNESTLY HOPED, "that the 
 " Bank, which was quite able, would 
 " soon be PERMITTED to pay its 
 " notes in cash, in the same manner 
 " that it had formerly done."* 
 
 * The following is the Report, taken en- 
 tire, from the Morning Chronicle of the 3d 
 of March, 1707. 
 
175J 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 [176 
 
 When, Gentlemen, you have read 
 through tbe report of the Bank Pro- 
 ceedings of the day here referred too, 
 and I beseech you to read every word 
 of it, you will, doubtless, be astonished 
 at the hardihood of men, who could, 
 under such circumstances, hold such 
 language. What ! thank the Directors 
 for not paving their promissory notes ! 
 
 " Yesterday a Court of Proprietors was 
 held at the Bank,— The Governor of the 
 Bank, after the Order in Council, of the 
 the 26th of February, was read, stated, that 
 the Court of Directors had thought it their 
 duty to acquiesce in the Order, and hoped 
 they had acted in conformity to the opinion 
 and wishes of the Proprietors of Bank 
 Stock.— M«. Hauman moved, "that it is 
 the opinion of this Conrt, that the thanks 
 of the Proprietors of Bank Stock are due to 
 the Court of Directors for their acquiescence 
 in the Order in Council, and for their speedy 
 communication thereof to this Court." The 
 motion was put and carried unanimously. — 
 Mn. Alt.erdyce asked, whether the applica- 
 tion hid been made from the Bank to Govern- 
 ment , for the Order in Council, to prohibit 
 them from issuing specie? — The Governor 
 of the Bank replied, that no such application 
 had been made by the Court of Directors, but 
 that the Bank having experienced an unex- 
 ampled drain of specie for some time past, 
 that Court had thought it their duty to ac- 
 quaint the Minister of the Country with the 
 circumstance, that he might take what 
 measures he might deem necessary, and at 
 tht same time remove all responsibility, for 
 such measures from the Direction. He 
 shaded, that a Secret Committee of the 
 House of Commons had been appointed to 
 enqnhe into the state of the Bank accounts, 
 and that the Court of Directors were fully 
 ptrsuudfd that the result of that enquiry would 
 be a report of the perfect solidity of the Corpora- 
 thin. — Mr. Sansoih wished to be Informed 
 whelhe r there was any precedent for the 
 House of Commons appointing a Committee 
 1o enquire' into the aliairs of the Bank ? In 
 his opinion, if a Committee was to be ap- 
 pointed it ought. to be a Committee chosen 
 from the Proprietary : but after the assur- 
 ance which they had from the Directors of 
 the solidity of the Bank capital, he saw no 
 necessity for any enquiry at all. — A Pro- 
 prietor stated, Jhat there was a precedent 
 ior the measure on the Journals of the 
 House of Commons, in iG.Ob". — Mr. Man- 
 ning said, he had examined into the pro- 
 ceedings of the House of Commons, in ]fS96, 
 and found that there was not the smallest 
 resemMancc between that and tbe present 
 measure. At that time the Bank had been 
 
 Thank them for this ! The Proprietors 
 of Bank Stock, M r ho were the persons 
 composing the Meeting upon this oc- 
 casion, were the persons who owed 
 the amount of the Bank-notes ; they 
 were the debtors of the note-holders ; 
 the Directors were their agents. So 
 that, here we see a parcel of people, 
 who had issued great quantities of 
 
 established for only two years, their Notet 
 were at a discount all over the Kingdom, 
 and the Silver-coinage was called in, cir- 
 cumstances which were totally ditferent 
 from the present.— Mr. Bosanquet begged 
 leave to trouble the Court with a very few 
 words. He said that the Order in Council 
 was to be considered entirely as a great state- 
 ?neasure, which was not adopted at the in- 
 stance of those concerned in the direction of the 
 Bank The Court of Directors, in the pre- 
 sent state of public affairs, had considered 
 it to be their duty to keep the Minister of 
 the Country informed respecting the situa- 
 tion of the Bank. For some time past there 
 had boen an an unexampled ruin for specie 
 upon the Bank, and this they communicated 
 to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Uaving him 
 to adopt ivhat measures he might think proper. 
 The consequence was. the Ordt r in Coun- 
 cil, of the 16th of February, was issued. 
 It would have been absurd in the Directors 
 of the Bank to have resisted this Order, 
 because the Minister must have been sup- 
 posed to be in possession of a great deal of 
 information to which they had no access, and 
 to be in the knowledge of circumstances of 
 which they were not aware : besides, that 
 there was no knowing what might have 
 been the consequences had the unusual 
 drain for cash, which they had experienced, 
 been continued for any length of time.— 
 They complied, therefore, with the Order of 
 his Majesty's Council, understanding it to 
 have been dictated by national policy, and 
 meant to operate only for a short time. He 
 had no hesitation in saying that the affairs 
 of the Bank were in a state of the greatest 
 affluence of j»'osp*>rity, that they had even a 
 considerable surplus, and that he earnestly 
 hoped they would soon uk per MITT KB to 
 pay their Notes in cash in the same manner as 
 they had formerly done.— Mr. Thornton 
 wished it to be understood explicitly, that 
 the Order in Council was not issued at the 
 instance of the Bank Directors ; that their ac- 
 counts were not tendered to the House of 
 Commons for examination, and that they 
 neither asked nor wished for the partnership 
 and guarantee of Government. — There being 
 no other business before the Court, they ad- 
 journed to yesterday fortnight, when the 
 dividends become due. 
 
177] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [178 
 
 promissory notes, assemble together, 
 and thank, aye, and publicly thank, 
 their agents lor having refused, ille- 
 gally refused, payment of those notes ! 
 Gentlemen, our venal prints maj 
 talk as they please ; they may re- 
 fer us to what instances they choose; 
 but any thing equal to this, any such 
 instance of cool assurance, 1 defy 
 them to produce from the history of 
 the world, or, even from the works of 
 imagination. 
 
 But, as yet, we have not seen these 
 proceedings in their true colours. We 
 Lave seen them in colours pretty 
 strong ; but we have not seen them as 
 they will appear when we have taken 
 another look at the Bank-documents, 
 which were afterwards laid before 
 parliament, and which, as was before 
 observed, never got out fairly to the 
 knowledge of the people. YVe have 
 seen these Bank Directors making 
 public declarations, that they had no 
 hand at all in the Stoppage ; that they 
 did not apply for the Order in Council ; 
 that it was a measure of the govern- 
 ment ; that it was a state-measure ; 
 and that tliev earnestly hoped soon to 
 be PERMITTED to resume their 
 payments in cash. This is what 
 they told the public on the 2nd of 
 of March. And, it was not only at 
 the Bank-meeting that this declara- 
 tion was made. It was repeatedly 
 made in the House of Commons ; but, 
 we will, at present, confine ourselves 
 to what was said by the Bank Direc- 
 tors themselves. 
 
 Such, then, were their declarations 
 on the 2nd of March. Now, then, 
 let us see what they had been at in 
 secret wkh the Minister, during the 
 nine days before. On the 21st of 
 Fe binary, they, observing, with great 
 uneasiness, the large and constant de- 
 crease in their cash, held a particular 
 consultation on the subject, and per- 
 ceiving that their cash was reduced to 
 a certain sum, of Which certain sum, 
 be it observed, they do not slate the 
 amount, they came to a resolution to 
 go to Mr. Pitt, and tell him " how 
 
 " their cash was circumstanced," they 
 did so, and Mr. Pitt observed to 
 them (and you will laugh heartily at 
 the observation) " that the alarm of 
 " invasion was noio become much 
 " more general than he could think 
 " necessary," they then pressed Mr. 
 " Pitt to make some declaration in 
 ■ parliament, upon this subject, " in 
 " order to ease the public mind." — 
 This is a pretty specimen enough of 
 the intercourse that existed between 
 these parties, and will serve to ex- 
 plain ihe reason for many of the 
 speeches that we have at different 
 times heard.* Mr. Pitt, however, 
 
 * Resolution of the Court of Directors, and 
 Deputation's Interview uith the Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer, 21st February 1797. 
 The Committee observing with great nn~ 
 easiness?, the large and constant decrease. 
 in the cash, held a particular consultation 
 on that subject this day ; and on examina- 
 tion into the state of the cash since the begin- 
 ning of this year, they found that in the 
 course of the month of January there had 
 been a decrease of I. and since the 
 
 beginning of this month a farther loss of 
 
 I. and that the cash was now re- 
 duced to between I. and about 
 
 /. value, in bullion and foreign 
 coin, about the value of I. in silver- 
 
 bullion. Perceiving also, by the constant 
 calls of the bankers from all parts of the 
 town for cash, that there must be some extra- 
 ordinary reasons for this drain, arising, pro- 
 bably, from the alarms of an expected in- 
 vasion ; the Committee, after maturely con- 
 sidering the matter, resolved to send a 
 notice to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 
 of the situation of matters at the Bank : and 
 to explain exactly to him how the cash it cir- 
 cumsta?iced, that he may, if possible and 
 and proper, strike out some means of alle- 
 viating ihe public alarms, and stopping this 
 apparent disposition in people's minds for 
 having a large deposit of cash in their 
 houses. The Governor, Deputy Governor, 
 with Mr. Dared and Mr. Bosanquet, were 
 deputed to wait upon Mr. Pitt ; who went 
 to him; and after describing to him the 
 anxiety of mind which all the Directors 
 were under on this subject, they explained 
 to Mr. Pitt the exact particulars above- 
 mentioned. Mr. Pitt seemed aware that 
 this unusual drain of cash from the Bank 
 must arise from the alarm of an invasion, 
 which he observed was now become much 
 more general than he could think necessary. He 
 said, that by all bis informations he'could 
 
179] 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 [180 
 
 did, it seeing press them, in his turn, 
 " to endeavour to obtain a swpply of 
 " gold from abroad," and the Gover- 
 nor told him they would do what they 
 could in that way. 
 
 On the 22nd of February they had 
 another interview with Mr. Pitt, 
 and they gave Goldsmidt and 
 Eliason orders for the purchase of 
 (/old at Hamburgh. But we no 
 where find any account of the success 
 of this order, which was, besides, ren- 
 dered useless by the Order of Coun- 
 cil, which rendered Gokl unneces- 
 sary.* 
 
 On the 24th of February they had 
 another interview with Mr. Pitt; 
 and what they say as to this inter- 
 view we must pay particular attention 
 to. At a Committee consisting of the 
 whole Court, it appealed that the 
 cash was going away faster than ever 
 
 not learn of any hostile preparations of con- 
 sequence making in Fiance to invade this 
 country, except the fleet which was re- 
 fitting at Brest, after being driven off from 
 the coast of Ireland ; but that he could not 
 answer that no partial attack on this country 
 would he made by suim a mad and desperate 
 enemy as we had to deal with. The depu- 
 tation pressed on Mr. Pitt to declare some- 
 thing of this kind in Parliament, in order to 
 ease the publicmind. Mr. Pitt alr»o mentioned, 
 that he hoped the Committee would, in the 
 piesent situation of matters, think it neces- 
 sary to endeavour at obtaining h supply of gold 
 Jrom foreign covnlr'u \ which the Governor 
 told him they were considering about, and 
 thould do ichut theij could therein. 
 
 * Interriew with the Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer, 22nd of I'ebiuary 1797. — Mesers. 
 Goldsmidt and Eliason attended the Com- 
 mittee this day, and were directed to give 
 farther orders to Hamburgh for the purchase 
 of gold ; and were told that an application 
 would immediately be made to the minister 
 to order a frigate or armed sloop to go to 
 Hamburgh to take in such gold as might be 
 bought, and also to do«ire that the restric- 
 tion on the captains of the packets, not to 
 take any gold on board at Hamburgh for 
 this country, might betaken off. The Gover- 
 nor and Deputy Governor waited on Mr. 
 Pitt on this subject, who promised to apply 
 to the Admiralty for directions about send- 
 ing out a frigate or armed sloop ; and that 
 he would apply to the Postmaster General 
 to give the orders to the captains of the 
 packets. 
 
 " which gave such an alarm for the 
 SAFETY OF THE HOUSE* (mark 
 the words) that no time was lost in 
 sending a deputation to Mr. Pitt, to 
 ask him how far they might venture 
 to go on paying cash, and u when 
 " HE would think it necessary to 
 " TNTERIEIM;.'' Mr. Pitt told 
 them, that this was an affair of such 
 importance, that he must be prepared 
 with some resolution to bring forward 
 in the Council: f 
 
 t Interview with the Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer, 24th of February 1797. — At a Com- 
 mittee of the whole Court held this day, it 
 appeared that the loss of cash yesterday was 
 above .'.and that about 
 
 were already drawn out this dux, which gare 
 tuch an alarm far THE SAFETY OF THE 
 HOUSE, that the Deputy Governor and 
 Mr. Bosnnquet were desired to wait on Mr. 
 Pitt to mention to him these circumstances, 
 and to ask him how far he thought the Bank 
 might venture to go on paying cash, and 
 when he would think it necessary TO IN- 
 TERFERE before our cash was so reduced 
 as might be detrimental to the immediate 
 service of the State. Mr. Pitt said, this was 
 a matter of great importance, and that he 
 must be prepared with some resolutions to 
 bring forward in the Council, for a Procla- 
 mation to stop the issue of cash from the 
 Bank, and to give the security of parliament 
 to the notes of the Bank. In consequence 
 of which he should think it might be proper 
 to appoint a Secret Committee of the Home 
 of Commons, to look into the state of the 
 Bank-affairs; which they assured him the 
 Bank were well prepared for, and would 
 produce to such a Committee. Mr. Pitt 
 also observed that he should have no objec- 
 tion to propose to Parliament, in case of a 
 Proclamation, to give parliamentary security 
 for Bank-notes. The Governor and Deputy 
 Governor this day waited on Mr. Pitt, to 
 mention to him, that it would in the present 
 circumstances be highly requisite that some 
 general meeting of the bunkers and chief mer- 
 chantt of London should be held in order to 
 bring on Sftne resolution for the support of the 
 public credit ta this alarming crisis ; and 
 they took the liberty to recommend to Mr. 
 Pitt, to hare a private meeting of some of the 
 chief baukcis at his house to-morrow, at three 
 o'clock, in which the plan for a more gene- 
 ral meeting on Tuesday or Wednesday 
 next might be laid, in the propriety of 
 which Mr. Pitt agreed, and said he would 
 summon a previous meeting for to-moirew ac- 
 cordingly. This was communicated by the 
 Governor to the Committee. 
 
181] 
 
 TAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [182 
 
 Thus, you see, Gentlemen, the Stop- 
 page-measure clearly originated in the 
 representation of the Bank Directors ; 
 and, which is very well worthy of 
 your marked attention, Mr. Bosan- 
 quet was one of the persons depu- 
 ted to wait upon Mr. Pitt on this 
 last mentioned occasion. The 
 shuffle of saying, that the Bank 
 Directors were afraid that the drain 
 might injure the " public service" is 
 too paltry, in any view of the matter, 
 to have any weight; for, whose claim 
 upon the Bank could be so good as 
 that of the holders of the Promissory 
 notes? And who were " the public" 
 but the holders of these notes ? But, 
 as if it had been resolved to leave no 
 room even for this miserable attempt 
 at excuse, the Minute of the Direc- 
 tors of the 24lh of February ex- 
 pressly says, that it was " alarm for 
 
 " the safety of the HOUSE'' that 
 sent the deputation to ask for the in- 
 terference of Mr. Pitt; alarm for the 
 safety of the HOUSE, and not. any 
 motive at all connected with the public 
 service or the public good. 
 
 Having now pulled aside the cur- 
 tain ; having laid tho whole thing bare 
 to your view; having placed the ap- 
 plication to Parliament in its true 
 light; I shall, in my next, lay before 
 you an account of the measures, 
 which the Parliament adopted, and 
 which have, under one pretence or 
 another, been cpntinued in force t« 
 this day. 
 
 In the meanwhile, I remain, 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful Friend, 
 
 Wm. COBBETT. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate , ThiwtJay, 
 October 15th 1810. 
 
 LETTER XIV, 
 
 The qup*tioi» for the pcnplp to ask, and the only question, is this: whether the quantity of Bank >Jotes, 
 '• payable on demand, which the Bank ha» iisued, be greater than the Bank tau pay of! in Gold and 
 " Silver." Paine. 
 
 The Measures adopted by Parliament, in consequence of the Bank Stoppage— Names of 
 the Bank Directors in 1797. — King's Message— Mr. Pitt's Motion for a Secret Com- 
 mittee— Mr. Fox and other Members wished for an Inquiry into the Cause of the 
 Stoppage — Mr. Pitt's Motion carried by a great Majority— List of the Minority — 
 Necessity of a Parliamentary Reform— Manner of appointing the Secret Committee — 
 Names of the Committee— Restricted Powers of the Committee-Reports from the 
 Committee — Not a Word said about the Quantity of Gold and Silver in the Bank — 
 Mr. Paine's Assertion about the Inability of the Bank to pay in Gold and Silver— No 
 Attempt made to disprove this Assertion— Mr. Pitt's, Sir John Mitford's, and Lord 
 Hawkesbury's Assertions- -Mr. Grey not satisfied with the Evidence produced before 
 the Committee— Mr. Sheridan's Answer to Lord Hawkesbury. 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 I HAVE now to beg your atten- 
 tion to a very important part of our 
 subject; namely, the measures, which, 
 by way of remedy, were adopted by 
 the Parliament, in consequence of 
 the run upon the Bank and the Stop 
 page of Gold and Silver payments 
 there. 
 
 The Letter immediately preceding 
 this put you in possession of a thorough 
 knowledge of the way, in which the 
 Bank Directors and the Minister had 
 gone to work, in order to prepare the 
 way for the Parliamentary Measures 
 which were to follow. You were 
 there placed behind the curtain ; you 
 saw all the actors in their natural 
 
183] 
 
 tETTER XIV. 
 
 Liai 
 
 persons; * all tlie paints, patches, 
 cloaks and visors ; all the trap-doors, 
 pullies, pegs and wires. You not 
 only saw the Resolving and Subscrib- 
 ing show acted, but you saw it got up ; 
 you saw the Showman and all his 
 people busy in making their prepara- 
 tions; and, after that, you were let in 
 to the rehearsal. 
 
 In Letter XII, at page 155, you 
 have seen how the matter was first 
 brought before the Parliament, on 
 Monday the 27th of February 1797, 
 in the form of a Message from the 
 King ; t and, you have seen, that the 
 Minister, the hitherto-bragging Minis- 
 ter, being upon that occasion pressed 
 
 * Truth and Justice demand, that, as far 
 as possible, the NAMES of all the persons 
 who took an active part, upon this memo- 
 rable occasion, should be recorded. Par- 
 liament may yet revise the measures of that 
 day ; and, then, the names of all the parties, 
 immediately concerned, ought to be known, 
 
 and must be known. From this opiniou it 
 
 is, that I insert here the names of the per- 
 sons who were the Directors of the Bank 
 of England, at the time when the Stoppage 
 took place, and amongst them we find our 
 friend, Brook Watson, who was, as we 
 have seen, in the Chair at the Mansion- 
 House Meeting. 
 
 Thomas Raikes, — Governor. 
 
 Samuel Thornton, Uqmty Goxtrnoi , 
 
 T. Boddingtou. Job Mathew. 
 
 S. Bosanquct. SirR. Neave. 
 
 Alex. Champion. Joseph Nutt. 
 
 Edward Darcll. John Pearse. 
 
 Thomas Dea. George Peters. 
 
 George Dorrien. Charles Pole. 
 
 N. Bogle French, John Puget. 
 Daniel Giles. James Reed. 
 
 Jeremiah Harman. P. I. Thellusson. 
 Thomas Lewis. Godfrey Thornton. 
 
 Beeston Long. Brook U r atson. 
 
 William Manning. John Whitmore. 
 
 t GEORGE It. 
 
 His Majesty thinks it proper to communi 
 cate to the House of Commons, without 
 delay, the measure adopted to obviate the 
 effects which might be occasioned by the 
 unusual demand of specie lately made from 
 different parts of the country and the me- 
 tropolis.— The peculiar nature and exigency 
 of the case appeared to require, in the first 
 instance, the measure contained in the, 
 
 by Mr. Combr and others for an 
 answer to the question as to what he 
 meant to do, had no answer to gi/e. 
 
 On the 27th Pitt gave notice of a 
 motion, to be made next day, for the 
 appointment of a Committee to inquire 
 into the ability of the Bank to pay the 
 demands upon it; and also to inquire 
 and make report as to the necessity of 
 continuing of the measure adopted by 
 the Council, that is to say, continuing 
 the refusal of money-payments at the 
 Bank.i 
 
 We shall have to speak more fully 
 about tliis Committee by-and-by; but 
 wc must stop here a moment, and 
 take a brief sketch of the debate that 
 ensued upon Pitt's motion. Mr. 
 Fox and those who were with him 
 said, that they had no objection to 
 the appointment of a Committee, pro- 
 vided it was appointed fairly; but, 
 they insisted, that it would discover a 
 shameful disregard of their duty, ii' 
 the House moved an inch further 
 without inquiring into the causes 
 which produced that alledged neces- 
 sity, upon which the Order of Coun- 
 cil, sanctioning a violation of the law, 
 was founded. Thev said, here is the 
 
 Order of Council which his Majesty has 
 directed to be laid before the House. In 
 recommending this important subject to the 
 immediate and serious attention of the 
 House of Commons, his Majesty relies with 
 the utmost confidence on the experienced 
 wisdom and firmness of his Parliament for 
 taking such measures as may be best calcu- 
 lated to meet any temporary pressure, and 
 to call forth, in the most effectual manner, 
 the extensive resources of his kingdoms.'in 
 support of their public and commercial 
 credit, and in defence of their dearest in- 
 terests. G. R. 
 X " That a SECRET COMMITTEE, be 
 " appointed to ascertain the total amount 
 " of the out-standiug demands on the Bank 
 " of England, and likewise of the funds 
 '•' for discharging the same; and that they 
 " do also report their opinion of the neces- 
 " aity of providing for the confirmation and 
 " amtinutnee of the measures, taken in pursu- 
 " ancc of the minute of Council on the 26th 
 " instant." 
 
 dEntereU at Stationers' $ah\ 
 
 Printed by Wm. MoLWRUX, 5, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane; Published by Wm. 
 CuuuiiTT, Jun. No. 8, Catherine Street, Strand : and Retailed at 192, Strand. 
 
N°- 7.]-COBBETT , S PAPER AGAINST GOLD.— [Price Two-Pence. 
 
 185] 
 
 minister calling upon you still to con- 
 fide in him, in him, under whom the 
 Bank has been compelled to stop pay- 
 ing its notes. Ought you not to in- 
 quire, first of all, into his measures? 
 Ought you not to inquire into the 
 causes, of the fatal and disgraceful ne- 
 cessity of this Stoppage? Here is a 
 minister, who has had a majority of 
 your votes for years ; he has had your 
 unlimited and* blind confidence; he 
 had the absolute command of all the 
 resources of the nation ; he has done 
 what he pleased for years past; he 
 lias within these very few weeks, told 
 you himself, and advised the King to 
 tell you, in the most solemn manner, 
 that your pecuniary affairs were in 
 the most flourishing state, and rested 
 upon the most solid foundation ; and 
 this same man now comes and tells 
 you, that necessity, that urgency, that 
 something had compelled him to issue 
 an Order to sanction the Stoppage of 
 Cash payments at the Bank, and to 
 oblige the public creditor, contrary to 
 law, to receive his dividends in paper 
 instead of the Gold and Silver coin, 
 which the law gave him a right to 
 demand. 
 
 This, said Mr. Fox and his friends, 
 is what this Minister now tells you ; 
 and, will you not, before you proceed 
 to inquire into the propriety of con- 
 tinuing the Stoppage, inquire into the 
 eause of the imperious necessity, 
 which is said to have produced it? 
 Will you attempt an expedient will 
 you attempt a remedy, without in- 
 quiring into the cause of the evil? 
 Will you do that, which, even now, 
 after all that you have seen and felt, 
 shall prove to the world that your 
 
 W. MOLINEUX. Printer, Bream'* Buildings, 
 Chaaoeiy Lute, 
 
 [186 
 
 confidence is as blind as ever? " Have 
 " any three months, in the course of 
 " this war," said Mr. Fox, " past 
 " without the minister's prot&cing 
 " some new expedient? and hare not 
 " all his expedients proved err one 
 " ous ? Year alter year he has been 
 u amusing us with predictions with 
 " respect to France, which was now 
 " on the verge and now in the gulf of 
 " bankruptcy; the assignats and the 
 " niandats could not possibly continue, 
 u he said; which was veiy true, hut 
 '.' while he was thus amusing us, he 
 " led us to the vcjy same verge, aye, 
 " into the very .same gulf/' Mr. 
 II on no use said, " that the assur* 
 " ances of the minister would never 
 " beat down this plain dictate of 
 " common sense, that hy his conduct 
 " the Bank had been obliged to com- 
 " nut an act of insolvency, by re- 
 " fusing specie for its paper/ and, 
 " therefore he wished for a full in- 
 " quiry into his conduct." Mr. 
 Sheridan, in a most admirable 
 speech, laid the whole matter open, 
 completely exposed the motive of the 
 proposed committee, and moved to 
 Mr. Pitt's motion an amendment, in 
 the following words, ** That the Com- 
 " mittee should inquire into the causes 
 " which produced the Order in Coun- 
 " cil." 
 
 In spite, however, of these speeches ; 
 in spite of all the arguments made 
 use of on this side, and none of which 
 met with even an attempt at an 
 answer from any one but Mr. 
 Pitt himself; in spite of all this, the 
 House decided, by a majority of 244 
 to 88, against Mr. Sheridan's 
 amendment, that is to say, againr in- 
 
 G 
 
187] 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 [188 
 
 quiring into the cause of the alledged 
 necessity which induced the Privy 
 Council to issue an order, sanctioning 
 a refusal, on the part of the Bank, to 
 pay their promissory notes in Gold 
 and Silver. The men, who voted 
 upon this occasion, should he known. 
 We have only the names of the Mi- 
 nority recorded. Those you v. ill keep 
 in mind, Gentlemen, and, before we 
 have finished the subject, we shall 
 come at the names of the Majority ; 
 or, at least, we can get the names of 
 all the members besides the minority* 
 Mr. Fox renewed the subject, on the 
 [st of March, by a motion for the 
 appointment of a separate Committee 
 * to inquire into the causes, which 
 " produced the Order in Council of 
 " the 2Gth of February," for the 
 Stoppage of cash payments at the 
 Bank; and he was left in a similar 
 Minority. 
 
 Here it is, Gentlemen, that you see 
 the real cause of all the calamities 
 that have fallen upon our country, 
 and of all the dangers that now 
 threaten it, and these are dangers that 
 
 will not be frowned out of counte- 
 nance, that will not be made to hide 
 their head, at the sound of the voice 
 of men in power; dangers that are 
 not to be talked or voted away. You 
 have seen these dangers creep on 
 upon us by slow degrees, but you 
 have seen their pace to be steady. 
 They have never stopped. They keep 
 gathering about us; and he is a very 
 foolish man, who expects any remedy, 
 'till the great cause of the evil be re- 
 moved; that is to say, until there shall 
 take place a radical Reform of the 
 Commons' House of Parliament, 
 agreeably to the principles of the 
 English Constitution, which Reform, 
 to use the words of the Kent Petition, 
 is now more than ever necessary to 
 the safety of both the people and the 
 throne. 
 
 The motions for a full inquiry beinsj 
 rejected, the minister proceeded in 
 his work of getting a SECRET COM- 
 MITTEE, who were to inquire into 
 the affairs of the. Bank, and to report 
 their opinion relative to the necessity 
 of continuing, by Act of Parliament 
 
 List of the Minority, on Mr. Sheridan's Amendment, on the 28th of 
 
 February 1797. 
 
 Lloyd, J. M. 
 MiHvr, Sir W. 
 
 Nicholls, J. 
 
 Aitbiev, Sir J. 
 Baker," J. 
 Bampf'ylde, J. C. 
 Barclay, G. 
 Bastard, J. P. 
 Btauclerk, C. 
 Biddulph, R. 
 Baker, YV\ 
 Bunburv, Sir C. 
 Bird, W. W. 
 Burdett, Sir F. 
 Bouverie, Hon. E 
 Brogden, J. 
 Burch, J. K. 
 Byng, J. 
 Clarke, E. 
 Coke, F. 
 Combe, IL G. 
 Courtcnay, J. 
 Crewe, J. 
 Curwen, J. C. 
 Copley, Sir L. 
 
 Dolbeu, Sir W. 
 Dash wood, Sir II. W . 
 Denison, W. J. , 
 Diuulas, C. 
 Fhzpa trick, Genera! 
 Fletcher, sir 11. 
 Fdkcs, Sir R. 
 Fox, Right Hon. C. J. 
 Galway, Viscount 
 Greene, J, 
 Hare, J. 
 Harrison, J. 
 Hobhouse, B. 
 Hussey, W. 
 Jefferys, N. 
 Jervoise, C. J. 
 Keene, W, 
 Kemp, T. 
 knight, R. P. 1 
 Liingston, J. 
 Langston, W. G. 
 Lcikon, Sir W. 
 
 North, D. 
 Norfbey, \V. 
 Pieese, II. 
 Palk, L. 
 Phillips, J. G. 
 Plumer, Wi 
 Pollen, G. A. 
 Porter, G. 
 Pulteney, Sir W. 
 Rawdon, Hon, J. 
 Rawdon, Hon. G. 
 Ridley, Sir M. 
 Richardson, J. 
 Rcbson, R. B. 
 Rusiell, Lord J. 
 Russell, Lord W 
 St. John, St. A 
 Scudamore, J. 
 Sheridan, R. B. 
 
 Shum, G. C. 
 Shiickburgh, Sir G. 
 Sinclair, Sir J. 
 Smith, W. 
 Spencer, Lord R. 
 Slanlev, Lord, 
 Sturt, C. 
 
 Tarleton, General 
 Tavlor, C. W. 
 Tyfwhirt, T. 
 Town send, Lord J 
 Tufton, Hon. H. 
 Vane, Sir F. 
 Vyner, R. 
 Walwyn, J. 
 Walpole, Colonel 
 Western, C. C. 
 Wi Skins, W. 
 Wilmington, Sir F; 
 Wycombe, Earl of 
 
 TELLERS. 
 
 Onarles Grey anil Samuel Whitbread. 
 
189] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [ISO 
 
 the refusal of coin at the Bank. And 
 now, Gentlemen, 1 beg yon to ob- 
 serve well the manner of appointing 
 this Committee. It was to consist of 
 fifteen members; every member of 
 the House, who was present, might 
 put fifteen names into a box ; and, 
 when all the names were taken out, 
 the fifteen persons whose names ap- 
 peared oftenest upon the tickets put 
 in, were the Committee. Of course 
 that s'ide which had a majority of 
 tickets to put in would choose the 
 members of the Committee. The 
 custom, indeed, is, upon such occa- 
 sions, to make out a List and send it 
 round amongst the members, and of 
 course, all those, who are on the side 
 of the Minister, will take the Minis- 
 terial List; so that, in faot, whoever 
 lias a majority in the House, chooses 
 tliie Committee. Upon the particular 
 occasion before us, Mr. Sheridan, 
 before the Report of who were, the 
 Committee was made to the House, 
 read the names of them out loud in the 
 House; and, when the report came to 
 be made, it appeared, that his List 
 teas perfectly correct* Indeed, lie 
 had got hold of one of the Ministerial 
 Lists, and of course, he could not be 
 in error in this respect. 
 
 But, even a Committee, thus form- 
 ed ; a Secret Committee chosen by the 
 Minister's own party ; even this Com- 
 mittae were, Mr. Pitt said (See 
 Debates, 28th February) " by no 
 ." means called upon to push their in- 
 •• quiries, into circumstances, the dis- 
 •' closure of which would be attended 
 " with temporary injury to the credit 
 " of the country, and with permanent 
 " embarrassment to the operations of 
 
 * IMt of the Secret Committee.— William 
 Hussetj ; William Plumer ; Thomas Powys ; 
 Thomas Gren\ille; William Wilberforce; 
 John Blackburne ; Thomas Berney Brawp- 
 ston ; Charles Bracjge : Sir John Mitford 
 (Solicitor General); William Wilberforce 
 B-ird j John Fane j Isaac Hawkins Browne ; 
 
 " the Bank." Mr. Pitt said, that 
 his principal object in appointing such 
 a Committee was to have it ascer- 
 tained, that the affairs of the Bank 
 were in a prosperous state ; that the 
 Bank had abundant means to answer 
 all the demands upon it; and that, 
 therefore, the holders of Bank Notes 
 ought to look upon them as being 
 equally good with gold and silver. 
 Now, the way, and the only way, to 
 produce this so-much-wished-for con- 
 viction was, one would have thought, 
 to let the Committee ascertain that 
 the (piani'rfy of Gold and Silver Jn the. 
 Bank was sufficient for paying off the 
 Notes; or, at any rate, was in a due 
 proportion to the Notes. But, so far 
 from this being done, the Committee 
 did not make any inquiries at all re- 
 lative to the quantity of Gold and 
 Silver in the Bank. They merely in- 
 quired into the state of the books at 
 the Bank, setting their Bank-notes on 
 one side and their Stock on the other 
 side. The Bank said : We owe the 
 holders the amount of our Notes, but 
 the Government owes us still more ; 
 and not a word was said about Gold 
 and Silver, though one would have 
 thought, that this was the great, and 
 indeed, the only thing to make inquiry 
 about; especially as Mr. Paine, in 
 his pamphlet, published the year be- 
 fore, had made statements, whence 
 he had drawn a conclusion, that the 
 Bank, if put to the test, " had not 
 " money to pay half a crown in the 
 " pound." 
 
 This was a charge, which, one 
 would have thtnght, it would be the 
 grand object of the Minister and the 
 Bank to do away. But, no such thing 
 
 Sir John Scott (Attorney General) ; Jobr 
 William Anderson. 
 
 The three first had, as will be seen by a 
 refereuce to the List, voted with Mr. Fox 
 for a full inqinrv ; but all the rest belonged 
 to the party of Mr. Pitt. 
 
1911 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 [192 
 
 was even attempted, and the two 
 Keports of the Committee,* did ac- 
 accordingly not at all tend to the re- 
 storation of that sort of confidence, 
 which would have enabled the Bank 
 to open its doors to the applicants for 
 Guineas. It was in vain that Mr. 
 Pitt told the House, that the reports 
 of the Secret Committee were highly 
 consoling ; that the affairs of the Bank 
 were in a most prosperous state ; that 
 persons most conversant (alluding to 
 the Mansion House Resolvers) be- 
 lieved in the solidity of its means; 
 that the public had nothing to do with 
 the internal economy of the Bank; 
 that it was sufficient for the public to 
 
 * First Report, March 5, 1797.— The 
 Committee appointed to examine and state 
 the total amount of out-standing demands 
 on the Bank of England, and likewise of 
 the Funds for discharging the same ; and to 
 report the result thereof to the House, 
 together with their opinion <*n the necessity 
 ♦>f providing for the confirmation and con- 
 tinuance, for a time to be limited, of mea- 
 sures taken in pursuance of the minute of 
 Council on the 26th of February last; and 
 who are empowered to report their pro- 
 ceedings from time to time to the House ; 
 tare, pursuant to the order of the House, 
 proceeded to examine into the several 
 matters referred to their consideration, and 
 have unanimously agreed upon the following 
 Heport, viz. — Your Committee have ex- 
 amined the total amount of outstanding de- 
 mands on the Bank of England, and like- 
 wise of the Funds for discharging the same ; 
 and think it their duty, without loss of time, 
 to state those total amounts, and to report 
 the result thereof to the House. — Your 
 Committee find, upon such examination, 
 that the total amount of out-standing de- 
 mands on the Bank, on the 25th of February 
 last {t» which day the accounts could be 
 completely made up) was ,£.13,770,390; 
 and that the total amount of the Funds for 
 discharging those demands (net including 
 the permanent debt due from Government 
 of „£. 11,686,800, which bears an interest of 
 three per cent.) was on the same 25th day 
 uf February last ^'.17,597,280 ; and that the 
 result is, that there was, on the 25th day of 
 February last, a surplus of effects belonging 
 t» the Bank beyond the amount of their 
 debts, amounting" to the sum of .^.3,886,890 
 exclusive ef th« above-mentioned permanent 
 
 know, that the corporation was a rich 
 corporation ; that the solidity of the 
 Bank was asserted in the report of 
 the Secret Committee then on the 
 table ; that that report left no doubt 
 upon the subject ; that it was an im- 
 portant consolation, that there were 
 funds amply sufficient for the ultimate 
 security of those who could not have 
 their demands satisfied for a time; 
 and that as to what was due from the 
 Government to the Bank, it rested 
 upon the best possible security, be- 
 cause it rested upon the aggregate 
 powers of the country. (See Debates 
 9th March 1797). In vain did Lord 
 Hawkesbury, in answer to Mr. Fox, 
 
 debt of £. 11,686,800 due from Government. 
 And your Committee farther represent, that 
 since the 25th of February last considerable 
 issues have been made by the Bank in bank- 
 notes, both upon Government securities and 
 in discounting bills, the particulars of which 
 could not immediately be made up ; but as 
 those issues appear to your Committee to 
 have been made upon corresponding secu- 
 rities, taken with the usual care and atten- 
 tion, the actual balance in favour of the 
 Bank did not appear to your Committee to 
 have been thereby diminished. 
 
 Second Hepout, Tuesday, 7th March. — 
 Mr. Brampston brought up the following 
 Report : 
 
 The Committee appointed to examine and 
 state the total amount of outstanding ti«- 
 mands on the Bank of England, and like 
 wise of the Funds for discharging the same ; 
 and to report the result thereof to the 
 House, together with their opinion on the 
 necessity of providing for the confirmation 
 and continuance, for a time to be limited, 
 of measures taken in pursuance of th* 
 Minute of Council on the 26th of February 
 last; and who were empowered to report 
 their proceedings from time to time to the 
 House ; have farther examined into the 
 several matters referred to their considera- 
 tion; and have agreed to report to the 
 House ; — That, in their opinion, it is neces- 
 sary to provide for the confirmation and conti> 
 nuance, for a time to be limited, of the measures 
 taken in pursuance qf the Order of Council <ra 
 tlic 96th of February last ; submitting to the 
 wisdom of parliament to determine for what 
 limited time it may be necessary that tho»« 
 Erasures should be continued. 
 
193] 
 
 PAPER AGAIN ST GOLD. 
 
 [194 
 
 deny that the term Bankruptcy ap- 
 plied to the situation of the Bank or 
 the Government, lie said, what was 
 very true, that the embarrassments of 
 the Bank were imputed to the scar- 
 city or want of specie. But, in vain 
 did he question the truth of this pro- 
 position; in vain did he saj r that a 
 scarcity of guineas might rise from 
 an increase of trade, and not from the 
 the excess of paper; (Debate 9th 
 March 1797) in vain did Sir John 
 Mitford, then Solicitor General (same 
 Debate) say that no man, however 
 rich, would be able to stand a run; 
 that it was unfair to call the stoppage 
 a Bankruptcy ; that the Bank was 
 solvent, although at this time unable 
 to pay in cash; that the refusal to pay 
 in cash could not be called a fraud, 
 because the public knew that such an 
 event plight happen; that the stoppage 
 at the Bank was like that which 
 might be enforced by the doorkeepers 
 of a theatre, upon a false alarm of 
 fire, in order to prevent the people 
 from rushing out all at once, to their 
 destruction or injury; that if nothing 
 had been done to put a stop to the 
 run upon the Bank, the Bank must 
 have been total' v ruined ; that there 
 were other public creditors besides 
 the Stock-holders, the army and the 
 navy ; that they were as much public 
 creditors as the holders of Bank-notes 
 could be, and that they required 
 payment in cash more so than any 
 other description of men in this 
 country. 
 
 In vain was all this said. Mr. 
 Grey (now Earl Grey), said that 
 the evidence brought before the Com- 
 mittee had not satisfied him ; and 
 the satisfaction to the public was evi- 
 dently not greater ; for, if it had been 
 satisfactory, or if the report of the 
 Secret Committee had been satis- 
 factory, there could have been no oc- 
 casion whatever for continuing the 
 power of the Rank to refuse payment 
 in specie. This was told them by 
 Mr. Fox and Mr. Sheridan, who 
 asked : if the Bank be in so pros- 
 
 perous a situation as you say it is, why 
 do you wish to pass a law to protect 
 them against the demands ot the 
 holders of their notes ? If the Bank 
 be so rich as you say it is, what need 
 has it of your assistance ? You tell 
 us, said Mr. Sheridan (alluding to 
 the speech of Lord Hawkesbury) that 
 paper " is not only a cleaner, neater, 
 " and more portable medium to re- 
 " present property ; but that it is the 
 * very essence of wealth itself, and 
 " that, the flourishing state of our 
 " commerce is the cause of this in- 
 " ability to produce specie to answer 
 "demands upon the Bank of Eng- 
 " land." See Debate of 9th March, 
 where these Observations are followed 
 up by an inimitable instance of what 
 is called by logicians the reductio ad 
 absurdum. You tell us, said he, that 
 the public are of your opinion, and that 
 they reject our opinion; you tell us 
 that the public are satisfied with the 
 report of the Committee ; j'ou tell us 
 that the public like Bank notes as well 
 as guineas. But, with these assertions, 
 upon your lips, you pass a laic to pro- 
 tect the Bank against the demands of 
 that public ; you pass a law to compel 
 th at public to receive paper at the Bank, 
 instead of that gold, which you say 
 they like no better than that paper. 
 
 The truth h y Gentlemen, the 
 public, generally speaking, knew 
 nothing at all about the transactions 
 between the Government and the 
 Bank ; they knew nothing at all about 
 the trade or the property of the Bank ; 
 they knew that they held promissory 
 notes issued by the Bank, payable to 
 the bearer on demand, and they 
 looked upon these notes as being 
 equally valuable with gold, because, 
 until now, they could, at any time, 
 carry them to the Bank, and receive 
 gold in exchange for them. Nothing, 
 therefore, could have the smallest 
 tendency to convince them of the so- 
 lidity of the Bunk, unless it, at the 
 same time, tended to convince them, 
 that there was (/old in the Hank, suf- 
 ficient to answer the demands of 
 
195] 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 [190 
 
 those, who presented notes for pay- 
 ment, or who chose to demand gold 
 in payment of their dividends, or in- 
 terest upon their Stock. And, not a 
 particle, of conviction, in this way, 
 were the reports of the Secret Com- 
 mittee calculated to produce. 
 
 Mr. Sheridan (see Debate 28th 
 February 1797) said that he was 
 " convinced that if the Bank was not 
 " able to resume its payments imme- 
 f * diately, he foresaw it never would 
 " be able afterwards to defray iU 
 " outstanding engagements in cash." 
 And the reason he gave was that the 
 suspension of cash payments would 
 produce the issue of a greater quan- 
 tity of paper. This reason was so 
 manifest, that it was impossible 
 that the truth of it should not 
 be felt, though owing to the pre- 
 judices of the times, there were 
 few persons amongst the Merchants 
 and Bankers, by whom it would be 
 acknowledged. The same was said, 
 
 by Mr. Nicholls and Mr. Hob- 
 house, in whose speeches, together 
 with those of Mr. Fox and Mr. She- 
 ridan, will be found predictions of 
 all the consequences, which have 
 already flowed, and which are likely to 
 flow from the stoppage of gold and 
 silver payments at the Bank. 
 
 We have now seen enough of the 
 measures which were adopted as fore- 
 runner* of the Aets of Parliament 
 relating; to the Bauk Stoppage ; and, 
 hi my next Letter, I shall, I flatter 
 myself, be able to present you with a 
 complete, though avevy concise,view of 
 those Acts, with which every man in 
 this country ought to be thoroughly 
 acquainted. In the mean while, I 
 remain, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 W»- CQBBEJT. 
 
 State Prison, Ncivscute, Thursday^ 
 November 1st, 1810. 
 
 LETTER XV, 
 
 ♦« When the sitnation of the Bank of England was linger the consideration of the two Houses of Parliament 
 •• in the year 1707, it was my o\ iniou aud that of many others, that the utent t<> which --haper c?/r- 
 " rency had been carried, wa\ the first and principal, tlioui.li not the sole cause of the many difficulties, 
 •• to which that corporate body was then, and had of hue .years from ti«*6 'o time, been exposed, in supply. 
 " ibg the Cash occasionally necessary for the commerce or the Kingdom ; for the Bank of England bcinn a* 
 " the head of all circulation, aid the great repository of unemployed cash, it necessarily happens, that 
 k * whenever a sudden increased supply of Coin becomes indispensable in consequence of private failures 
 *' or ce.i.tral discredit. t>y which Notes of the before mnetioned description are driven out of circulation, 
 " the Bank of England can alone furrihh the Coins which are rei/uirtd to make vp this deficiency, 
 " and this corporate body is thereby rendered responsible, not only for the value of its aun notes, which 
 *' it may have issued, but, in a certain depiee. for such as may be issued by every private Hanker in the 
 
 " Kingdom, let the substance, credit, 01 discretion k t such a Banker be what it may." LATE EARL 
 
 OP LIVERPOOL. Letter to the Kin?. Published in 1805- 
 
 " The Quantity of Cash in the Bank can never, on the evidence of these circumstances, be so much as two 
 " millions; most probably not more than one million; and on this slender t-"ig hangs the whole funding 
 " system of four hundred millions, besides mmy millions B*ak Rotes. The sum in the Bank, if Mr. 
 " Chalmers be correct, is npt sufficient (u pay one fourth of only one. year's interest of the national debt, 
 " were the creditors to demand payment in Cash, or to demand Cash for the Bank Notes in which tl. 
 
 " interest is paid. A circumstance always liable to happen," PAINE. Declineand Fall of the English 
 
 " ^yitem of Finance. Publithcdin.1795. 
 
 A more minute View of the Affairs of the Bank necessary—State of the Case between 
 the Bank and the People— The Property of the Bank— The Statement of Debts and 
 Credits in the Keporfof the Secret Committee —The Bank renders its own Account — 
 The more detailed Statement published by Mr. Allerdyce— The Property of the Bank 
 is in Paper and not in Specie— Amount of the Bank Notes compared with the Cash — 
 The p;reat Question was, what Cash and Bullion there was in the Bank — Mr. Paine's 
 Opinion founded upon the Estimate of Mr. Eden and Mr. Chalmers— Error in sup- 
 posing that the Minister took Specie out the Bank to s*>nd it abroad— Mr. Pitt's An- 
 swer to Mr. Hobhonse and Mr. Hussey— Mr. Pitt's Argument verifying the Opinion of 
 §lr. Paine—The whoje become a System of Paper. 
 
wry 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [198 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 IN the foregoing Jitter (at pages 
 191 and 192), we have seen the Re- 
 ports of the Secret Committee of the 
 House of ^Commons, relative, first, 
 to the state of the Bank's Ailairs ; 
 and,, second, relative to the conti- 
 nuance of refusal of refusal of Cash 
 Payments at the Bank, We 
 next take a view of the Acts, p 
 by the Parliament, upon this me- 
 morable occasion; not, however, 'till 
 we have looked a little more minutely 
 into the state of the Bank's Affairs. 
 
 It was before observed, that the 
 Committee, that even a Secret Com- 
 mittee, and that Committee; appointed, 
 too, in the manner that we have seen 
 (at page 189); that even a Committee 
 like this were not permitted (to use 
 the phrase of Pitt) to " push their in- 
 " quiries info circumstances, the dis- 
 " closure of which would be attended 
 " with injury to public credit." Ac- 
 cordingly, not a word do this Com- 
 mittee say about the quantity &f Gold 
 and Silver in the Bank, though the 
 great, and, indeed, the only cause of 
 the Stoppage, and of the whole of 
 these proceedings, was, the alarm 
 felt by the Directors at the daily de- 
 crease in their Gold and Silver. The 
 question, and the only question of any 
 importance to the peple, that, is to say, 
 to the holders of the Bank Notes, 
 v. as : '« Is there a quantity "of real 
 " money in the Bank sufficient to pay 
 *' us the amount of our notes, when 
 '* we may choose to present them for 
 " payment. * This was the question, 
 to which the people wanted an an- 
 swer; but with nothing relating to 
 this question, were the Committee to 
 meddle. This question was, with as- 
 surance unparalleled, said to belong 
 wholly to the " private economy of 
 u the Bank, with which the public 
 " had nothing at all to do" 
 
 Surely nothing ever was heard so 
 impudent, as this. The holders of the 
 Bank Notes, the creditors of the 
 Bank Company, the creditors* of this 
 Company of Merchants, carry their 
 notes and demand payment; the 
 Company of Merchants apply to the 
 
 Minister, and lie obtains from the 
 Pi ivy Council an Order to authorize 
 the Company to refuse to pay the just 
 and lawful demands of their creditors, 
 and then the Minister, when he comes 
 to the Parliament for an Act to sanc- 
 tion and to continue this refusal, tells 
 the House of Commons, that even a 
 Secret Committee of them, though 
 chosen as we have seen, are not to 
 push their inquiries into circum- 
 stances, the disclosure of which might 
 injure the credit of the Bank; and 
 yet he has the face to say,' at the 
 same time, that the report of this 
 Committee cannot fail to satisfy the 
 country of the ability of the Bank to 
 pay all its outstanding demands. 
 
 Gentlemen, we will now look a 
 little more minutely into that report. 
 It states, that the Government ouvs 
 the Bank Company £.11,086,800, 
 which bears an interest of three per 
 cent ; that is to say, that the Bank 
 Company, like our neighbour Griz- 
 zle Greenhorn, is a Stockholder 
 and has its name writtten in the 
 GREAT BOOK ; which Great 
 Book, you will bear in mind, is kept 
 at the Bank itself, and the interest 
 upon the said stock is paid by the 
 Bank Company to the Bank Com- 
 pany and in bank-notes made at the 
 order of the Bank Company! This 
 was all very fine, to be sure ; but, it 
 certainly did not go one inch towards 
 convincing the holder of a bank-note, 
 that the Bank was able to pay him in 
 Gold or Silver. The Committee next 
 state the means and the Debts of the 
 Bank as follows : 
 Total amount of the Funds 
 of the Bank (exclu- 
 sive of debt due to it 
 from the Government of 
 £.11,686,8000) on the 
 25th of Feb. 1797 £.17,597,280 
 Total amount of outstand- 
 ing demands upon the 
 Bank on the 25th of 
 February 1797 13,770,390 
 
 Surplus in favour of the 
 
 Bank 3,826,890 
 
WJ] 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 [200 
 
 This was all very iine again ; but 
 what was it to the public? What 
 was it to the holders of the bank 
 notes, who wanted Gold for them? 
 Besides, whence came the evidence 
 of the truth of this ? The proofs of a 
 trader's solvency is not, I believe, 
 generally left to himself. The Bank 
 Company had stopped payment, and, 
 when an inquiry was taking place into 
 the state of its affairs, and especially 
 with regard to its ability to pay, how 
 comes it that the inquirers were con- 
 tent with its own statement and its 
 own story ? This is not the way that 
 inquiries are made into the affairs of 
 other traders, when they stop pay- 
 ment. Mr. GREY, as we have seen 
 before (See Debate of 9th March 
 1797), said that, though one of the 
 Secret Committee the evidence had 
 not satisfied him; and, indeed, what 
 was this report more or less than the 
 Bank's presentation of the state of its 
 own affairs? 
 
 But, supposing the statement to be 
 correct, still what was there to satisfy 
 the people of the country ; Avhat to 
 
 satisfy the holders of the notes, that 
 the Bank was able to pay those notet, 
 that is to say, to give gold and silver 
 for them. For, as to payment in any 
 other way, it is nonsense to talk of 
 it. What was there, in this Report, 
 then, to cause it to be believed, that 
 the Bank was able to pay its notes ? 
 Here is very big talk ; high-sounding 
 words, and more high-sounding fi- 
 gures ; but, if we put them to the 
 scrutiny we find nothing at all in 
 them : we find not the smallest cir- 
 cumstance to induce any holder of a 
 bank note to suppose, that the Bank 
 is, or ever will be, able to pa}' that 
 note oft', agreeably to the promise, 
 expressed upon the face of it. 
 
 The statement, however, from 
 which it appears, the Secret Com- 
 mittee made up their Report, was 
 more in detail. This statement was 
 afterwards given to the public by Mr. 
 Ali.erdy/ce, a member of the then 
 Parliament, and a person who con- 
 stantly voted with the Minister. The 
 statement thus given was as follows : 
 
 STATE OF THE FINANCES OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND, 
 
 FEB, 25 1797. 
 
 Particulars of Debt Account. 
 
 Drawing Account ,£.2,389,600 
 
 Exchequer Bills 1,676,000 
 
 Unpaid Dividends 983,730 
 
 Do. in Bank Stock 45,1.50 
 
 Bo. in India annuities 10,210 
 
 Sundries unclaimed 1,330 
 
 Due from Cash on the loan of 
 
 1797 17,060 
 
 Unpaid Irish dividend 1,460 
 
 Do. on Imperial loan 5,600 
 
 5,130,140 
 Bank notes in circulation 8,640,250 
 
 Balance 
 
 13,770,390 
 3,826,890 
 
 17,597,280 
 
 Particulars of Credit Account. 
 Bills and Notes discounted — \. ,»-»~ A 
 
 Cash and Bullion J 4 > tr6 >°80 
 
 Exchequer Bills 8,228,000 
 
 Lands and Tenements 65,000 
 
 Money lent to India Company .... 700,000 
 
 Stamps 1,510 
 
 Navy and Victualling Bills 15,890 
 
 American Debentures 54,150 
 
 Petty Ca3h in House 5,320 
 
 Sundry articles 24,150 
 
 5 per Cent, annuities 795,800 
 
 5 per Cents 1797 1,000,000 
 
 Treasury bills paid for the Go- 
 vernment 1,512,270 
 
 Loan to Government 376,000 
 
 Bills discounted unpaid 88,120 
 
 Treasury and Exchequer fees .... 740 
 
 Interest due on different Loans 
 advanced to Government 554,250 
 
 17,597,280 
 
201] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [202 
 
 Now, what is all tliis ? Why, it is, 
 with the exception of three of the 
 items, a mere account of paper be- 
 tween tiie Government and the Bank, 
 and in which t\w people, who held 
 the bank notes, could have no interest 
 whatever. The Bank held Exche- 
 quer Bills, and Navy and Victualling 
 Bills, and had lent money (that is to 
 say bank notes) to the East India 
 Company and had live per cent, stock 
 and Treasury Bills and had interest 
 due upon loans ; all which might be 
 very well for the Bank, but what was 
 it to a man, who held a hank note and 
 who could not get payment lor it when 
 he presented it to the Bank I These 
 fine articles of credit were very good 
 for the Bank Company ; but what 
 good were they to 'Squire Gull, 
 who, being alarmed at the prospect 
 of a Jacobin invasion, wished, in 
 spite of his loyalty, to turn his bank 
 notes into guineas? What use were 
 they to our neighbour GRIZZLE 
 Greenhorn, v\ho now wished, of 
 course, to put by a few guineas, and 
 who, of course, wished to receive her 
 dividends in gold, to prevent her from 
 doing which by law this very report 
 was a preliminary step? What con- 
 solation w r as Grizzle to draw from 
 this account of debts due from the 
 Government to the Bank, especially 
 when it was clear, that if the Govern- 
 ment ever paid the Bank, it must 
 pay it in bank notes, seeing that in 
 bank notes the taxes were now 
 paid? 
 
 The three items to which the people 
 would look, were those expressing on 
 one side, the amount of the bank notes 
 in circulation ; and, on the other, the 
 amount of the cash, or coin, and bul- 
 lion in the Bank Company's House, 
 commonly called the Bank. Accord- 
 ing to the above statement these were 
 on the 25th of February 1797, as 
 follows : 
 
 Amount of Bank Notes in circu- 
 lation ,i'.8,6lo,2oO 
 
 Bills and Notes discounted, Cash 
 
 and Bullion 4,176,080 
 
 Petty Cash in the House A.S^O 
 
 l.iSMOi* 
 
 Differ 
 
 4.4.MH .K) 
 
 But, who is to say how much the 
 Bills and Notes discounted amounted 
 to? Who is to answer, that they 
 did not make one half; who is to say, 
 that they did not make nine tenths of 
 the sum" of £4,176.080 ? Why Mas 
 the amount of the cask and bullicn 
 huddled up in one sum along with the 
 amount of Bills and Notes discount- 
 ed ! Why were things so different i" 
 their nature confounded together? If 
 Grizzle Greenhorn wanted her 
 bank notes paved at the Bank, she 
 would not take discounted bills in pay- 
 ment. What the nation wanted to 
 see, was, how much the Bank had of 
 that sort of tinny, in which bank notes 
 could be payed ; how much it had of 
 that sort oi' tiling, the value of which 
 no invasion or revolution would de- 
 stroy : how much it had of that sort 
 of thing, in which it had promised to 
 pay upon demand the bearers of its 
 notes ; how much, in short, it had of 
 MONEY, and not of bills and I notes 
 discounted, with which the people ha/. 1 
 nothing at all to do, there being no 
 man of common sense, who could, 
 care a straw about how much of its 
 paper the Bank gave to others for 
 their paper, so that he got guineas for 
 his bank notes ; and, if he could not 
 get this, what consolation was it to 
 him to know, that the Bank had lent 
 but little of its paper to the mer- 
 chants ? 
 
 As to the exact, quantity of cash 
 and bullion in the Bank, when the 
 Stoppage took place, Mr. AlXER- 
 DYCE gives a table, shewing the 
 amount at stated periods, for several 
 years, according to which Table, the 
 total amount of the cash and bullion 
 in the Bank, at the time of the Stop- 
 
203] 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 204 
 
 page, was £.1,272,000. Aye, ONE 
 MILLION, TWO HUNDRED 
 AND SEVENTY -TWO THOU- 
 SAND POUNDS. He comes at 
 this sum thus. The Bank of England 
 have Numbers, to denote their quan- 
 tity of cash and bullion. When they 
 submitted their accounts to Parli- 
 ament, in 1797, it ( was thought ne- 
 cessary to keep the amount of the 
 cash and bullion a secret from Par- 
 liament and the public. They, there- 
 fore, only gave the Numbers lor dis- 
 tinct periods in several years, in or- 
 der to shew the proportionate increase 
 or diminution of the cash and bullion. 
 From these Numbers, however, a dis- 
 covery was, it is said, made, and the 
 sum above-named, ascertained ! 
 the amount of the cash and bullion in 
 the Bank at the time of the Stoppage. 
 But, upon this, I wish to place no 
 reliance; nor do I care, whether the 
 statement above given, of cash and 
 bullion and discounted bills be cor- 
 rect, or not. These are things of in- 
 ferior consequence compared with the 
 great and well-known facts ; namely, 
 that no proof was produced, "or at- 
 tempted to be produced, that the 
 Bank Company had gold or silver, or 
 both together, sufficient to pay its 
 promissory notes; and that no ac- 
 count was rendered to the Parliament 
 of the amount of the cash and bullion 
 in the Bank- 
 Mr. Paine had, only the year be- 
 fore, said, in the words of my motto, 
 that the quantity of ca<h in the Bank 
 could never, on the evidence of cir- 
 cumstances, be so much as two mil- 
 lions, and most probably, not more 
 than one million; that, on this slen- 
 der twig, always liable to be broken, 
 hung the whole funding system of four 
 hundred millions, besides many mil- 
 lions in bank notes ;. that the sum in 
 the Bank was not sufficient to pay 
 one fourth of only one year's interest 
 of the National Debt, were the cre- 
 ditors to demand payment in cash, or 
 to demand cash for the bank notes in 
 
 which the interest is paid: a circum- 
 stance always liable to happen. Mr. 
 Paine founded this opinion upon a 
 statement of Mr. Eden (now Lord 
 Auckland) and Mr. Chalmers, 
 Clerk to the Board of Trade, who 
 had given an account, or, rather an 
 estimate, of the gold coin circulating 
 in tfte kingdom; and, it is truly sur- 
 ■ how near Mr. 
 Paine was to the exact truth as to 
 this point, though at the time when 
 amphlet was published, its cal-. 
 dilations and predictions were treated 
 with scorn, and the work itself was 
 ascribed to a malicious desire to cause 
 the ruin of England ; just as if it 
 were in the power of Paine, or of 
 any one else, to injure the credit of a 
 nation; or, as if an.v thing but th« 
 want, the real want of the gold and 
 bullion could shake, the faith of the 
 public in such an establishment as 
 that of the Bank. Paine might have 
 written 'till this time without persuad- 
 ing any one that a guinea was a thing 
 not to be relied upon. He never 
 Mould have written people out of their 
 belief in the goodness of guineas. 
 And, ;f the Bank had stood a run 
 for only one week, he might have, 
 written his pen to the stump, but 
 would not have shaken the people's 
 confidence. Credit that has a solid 
 foundation need fear no assaults. 
 
 At the time, when this subject was 
 under discussion in the House of 
 Commons, the Minister was charged, 
 by the Opposition, with having taken 
 the Monty from the Batik and sent it 
 abroad in subsidies. This was cer- 
 tainly a a cry great error, or, it was 
 made use of for the purpose of annoy- 
 ing the Minister at the ex pence of 
 truth. I am, however, disposed to 
 attribute it to error ; for, it was urged 
 in such a manner, and by such per- 
 sons, as to obviate all suspicion of its 
 being a mere party weapon. Mr. 
 HoBiiOESE (Debate 28th February 
 1797), saul, that he suspected that 
 the money had been buried in Ger- 
 
[205 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD* 
 
 [206 
 
 many, and not by the people of Eng- 
 land, in dread of invasion. And Mr. 
 Hussey said, that the Minister 
 " had laid his rapacious hands upon 
 " the sums destined for .the payment 
 *' of the public creditor. He knew 
 u that the public creditors had been 
 44 refused their just demands. He 
 " had witnessed the truth of this woe- 
 " ful circumstance himself. He had 
 " been told by a person who had ap- 
 44 plied for payment, that, in payment 
 " of a sum of twenty-three pounds, 
 44 three pounds in cash had been of- 
 44 fered, and the rest only in notes. 
 44 Such a melancholy day as this for 
 " England he had hoped never to live 
 " to see. Let the Chancellor of the 
 " Exchequer pay the ten millions 
 " Government owed the Bank, auji 
 44 then it would he able tofulfd all its 
 44 engagements. It was not that the 
 " Bank was' unable to satisfy its cre- 
 " ditors, but it was the continued de- 
 " wand of money to feed the vxptnets 
 " of this ruinous and disastrous war, 
 44 which rendered it unjust to those 
 " who depended opon its credit." 
 
 Mr. Pitt, who seemed to have 
 avoided this point wit!; all his care, 
 and, who, as I once lieard Mr. Wind- 
 ham describe him, Was so dextrous 
 in the selection and use of words as 
 to he able u to speak a king's speech 
 *' oil-hand," could not remain longer 
 silent under this attack. He hud been 
 told nearly the same by Mr. She- 
 ridan ; but he seemed to be willing 
 to t«ke the chance of tint being- 
 ascribed to party motives. When, 
 'however, lie, lieard the same, seriously 
 urged by Mr. Hussey, arid saw that 
 the notion was making its way amongst 
 the public, and of course, that 
 the whole of the calamity would be 
 ascribed to him and his Anti-Jncobin 
 \var, he could no longer refrain from 
 declaring what was the nature of the 
 property of the Bank, and to avow, 
 that the whole of its transactions with 
 Government, or nearly so, were trans- 
 actions of paper, a fact of which the 
 
 country had, till that moment, been 
 in complete ignorance. 
 
 He said that Mr. Hussey was 
 wholly in error to suppose that the 
 Bank made advances to the Govern- 
 ment in specie ; he said, that the ad- 
 vances were made in notes, and paid 
 in the same manner ; that, if the Go- 
 vernment were to raise money and 
 pay the Bank, the Bank would not 
 thereby be supplied with an additional 
 guinea in cash ; that the taxes were 
 not paid in specie; that loans were 
 advanced without any expectation of 
 re-payment in specie ; that the Bank 
 never had it in contemplation that, 
 every quarterly dividend was to be 
 paid in cash ; that the receipt of the 
 revenue was in paper, and that the 
 whole of Mr. Hussey's observations 
 were intirely founded in mistake. 
 
 Mr. Sheridan, in answer to this," 
 said, that the deficiency, or inability 
 at tiie Bank arose not merely from 
 the positive want of cash, but from 
 the disproportion between the quan- 
 tity of ca:di and the quantity of 
 paper; and, of course, that, if their 
 lent paper was returned to them, they 
 would find themselves at liberty to 
 issue more of their specie. This would 
 have been true in a state of things 
 where the difference between the 
 quantity of specie and the quantity of 
 paper ; but, in the present 
 
 care, it was too great for confidence 
 to be restored, and, of course, for the 
 Bank to return to its payments in 
 cash. Mr. Pitt's answer was com- 
 plete. It was the plain truth, which 
 he was obliged to bring out, in order 
 to divide the blame with the Bank. 
 He was told to borrow and to pay the 
 Bank what he owed them. What 
 good will that do, said he, when my 
 ]oan will consist of Bank notes, and 
 I must pay the Bank in those notes? 
 He Mas told to raise the sum in taxes 
 and so pay the Bank. What good 
 will that do, said he, when my taxes 
 will consist of Bank notes, and I must 
 pay the Bank in those notes. The 
 
207] 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 [208 
 
 answer was complete towards his ad- 
 versaries in debate, and not less com- 
 plete as a demolisher of his own repu- 
 tation as a Minister of Finance. He 
 now said precisely what Mr. Paine 
 had said the year before; he now 
 confirmed, with Ms own lips, what 
 Paine had been so abused for saying.* 
 He appears clearly to have perceived 
 his dilemma; but, to extricate him 
 from it was beyond the power even of 
 his dexterity. He was obliged to ac- 
 knowledge, that the whole was become 
 a system of paper, or, that he had j 
 taken the gold from the Bank, and, of 
 the two evils he chose that, which 
 
 would expose him to tho least share of 
 public odium. 
 
 This view of the State of the Bank's 
 Affairs has led me further than I ex- 
 pected ; but it was quite necessary as 
 an introduction to that of the Acts of 
 Parliament, which will be the subject 
 of my next. 
 
 1 am, in the meanwhile, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 Wm. COBBETT, 
 
 Slate Prison, Newgate, Monday, 
 November bth, 1810. 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 " It is admitted that a paper medium, under the form of bank notes or Government securities, is circulated 
 " i:i France, England, and most otlier coin nurcial couutries; but nobody is compelled bjr law to receive 
 " the pnyment at *ny dubt in such Utunayi hence it is, that the p*per,of those, countries bears no 
 '* rce nblutice to ours, except in name. Kvery nun receives a bank note or refuses it at pleasure. 
 "• When he receives it, he knows that on the next hour he may have it changed for gold or silver, as the 
 •' Bank is obliged to mukt- such payments on demand. For thi« reason, bank-notes being portable, are 
 •' frequently preferred to coiu of ttie weighty metals," SYLVIUS, on the American paper-money, I737 
 
 Introduction of the Bank Restriction Act into the House of Commons — The Origin of 
 t this Measure— The Bill moved for by Mr. Pitt— Suspension of the Two Acts 
 Prohibiting Small Promissory Notts — The Title and Preambles of those Acts — The 
 Principles of those Acts — Title and Preamble of the Bank Restriction Act — View of 
 the Provisions of that Act— The Legal Tender — The Meaning and Application of the 
 Word Restriction. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 We have now to take a view of the 
 Acts of Parliament, passed in conse- 
 quence of the Stoppage of cash pay- 
 ments at the Bank of England ; then 
 to see what was, at the passing of 
 
 * I speak here of those writings merely 
 of Mr. Pajne, which relate to Finance, 
 without wishing to convey any commenda- 
 tion of some of his other writings, the sub- 
 jects of which, are in no-wise, connected 
 with this subject. In the principles of finance 
 he was deeply skilled; and, to his very great 
 and rare talents as a writer, he added an tin- 
 common degree of experience in the concerns 
 of paper-money, the rise and fall of which 
 he had witnessed in the American States and 
 in France. Truth is truth, come from whom 
 it may; and there is no greater folly than 
 that of rejecting it, that of shutting one's 
 eyes and ears against it, merely because it 
 proceeds from persons, of whose conduct, in 
 other respects, one may disapprove. The 
 
 these Acts, said by the advocates of 
 them, respecting their duration; ani 
 this will enable us to form a pretty 
 correct Judgement as to the statesman- 
 like wisdom of those advocates, and 
 also as to the probability of the Act* 
 
 writings of Lord Bacon are held, and justly 
 held, in great estimation ; though he was, as. 
 our elegant and virtuous poet describes him, 
 " the meanest of mankind." The late Lord 
 Liverpool, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Fox, Mr. Sheridan, 
 Mr. Nicholls, Mr. Hobhouse and others, and 
 as we shall see by-and-by, a Committee ot 
 the House of Commons, have since acknow- 
 ledged the truth of the principles of Mr 
 Paine's work. Events have proved the trutt 
 ot them, and, to point out the fact, is nt< 
 more than an act of justice, due to his talent*, 
 and an act the more particularly due at m> 
 hands, I having been one of his most violet 1 
 assailants. Any man may fall into error, but 
 a fool or a knave will seldom acknowledge it 
 
 
200] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [210 
 
 ever tains; hereafter removed, except 
 by a total annihilation of the paper- 
 money. 
 
 Until tho time at which the Bank 
 Stoppage took place; until tho 2Gth 
 day of February 1797, the Notes of 
 the Bank Company were considered 
 as good as real money, because, if the 
 holder chose it, he could, at any mo- 
 ment, demand and receive real mo- 
 ney in exchange tor them. But, when 
 the Bank, in the manner that we have 
 seen, refused payment upon demand, 
 die nature of the notes wkS wholly 
 changed. They were no longer equal 
 in value to real money; and nothing 
 but a species of compulsion would, of 
 course, induce the people to receive 
 them in payment of any debt thereto- 
 fore contracted. 
 
 Nov/, then, came the pinch. Now 
 come forth the fact, that it was beyond 
 all the powers of hypocrisy, trick, 
 and confusing verbosity any longer to 
 disguise: forth came the fact, that 
 Bank Notes were to be, in reality, 
 forced upon the people ; that the man, 
 who had a debt due to him, must take 
 them in payment, or if lie refused 
 them, be unable to arrest his creditor: 
 forth came the fact, aye, forth it came, 
 after all the railing against French 
 assignnts ; forth came the fact, that no 
 man who held a Bank note; that 1*0 
 man wko held a note of that Com- 
 pany of Traders, payable on demand, 
 eould compel them to pay him, except 
 in other such notes. Forth came this 
 fact, and yet those who had brought 
 the finances of the country into such 
 a state, were still kept in power; to 
 their management were the nation's 
 affairs still left: to their promises did 
 the credulous and affrighted people 
 still listen ; and of then- measures has 
 the nation ever since been feeling, 
 and will, it is to be feared, long feel, 
 the consequences. 
 
 The Order of the Privy Council 
 (.See it in Letter XI, page 149) re- 
 quired the Bank Company to stop 
 paying their notes in money. The 
 words are " to forbear issuing any 
 
 ee cash in payment." I be3eech you, 
 Gentlemen, to consider well the na- 
 ture of this transaction. Look back 
 at the origin of the Bank. Consider 
 it, as it really was, a mere Company 
 of Traders. Then view the holders 
 of the Notes, who were so many legal 
 creditors, so many persons having a 
 just and legal claim to be paid upon 
 demand. See all these creditors at once 
 deprived of their legal rights of pay- 
 ment by an Order of the Privy Coun- 
 cil, of which the Minister himself was 
 a member. Sec here a Company of 
 Traders, having promissory notes out 
 to the amount of many millions, re- 
 quired by the Privy Council " to 
 "forbear" to pay on' the said notes; 
 and above all things, observe, and 
 NEVER FORGET , that this order, 
 or request, was made in consequence, 
 as we have seen from the oihcial do- 
 cuments, of representations made by 
 this Company of Traders themselves, 
 who, as is stated in those documents 
 (Letter XIII, page 172), made such 
 representations in consequence of the 
 drain upon their cash aud of the alarm 
 they therefore felt for the safety of 
 their House. 
 
 This was a fmc spectacle to be- 
 hold : it was a line thing to be held 
 forth to the world by a Minister, 
 whose boasting about his financial 
 resources and about his support of 
 public credit had been incessant from 
 the day he first vaulted into the saddles 
 of power. If this could be done m ith 
 regard to one Company of Traders, 
 why not with regard to any other 
 Company of Traders, or any other 
 single Trader, in the kingdom? If 
 the Privy Council, avowedly upon 
 the representation of the Minister, 
 were to protect this Company of 
 Traders against the lawful demands 
 of their creditors ; what reason was 
 there that other Traders, that other 
 Debtors, should not be protected in 
 the same way, if they should " feel 
 " alarm for the safety of their House ? M 
 We must never lose sight of this fact, 
 that the Order in Couneil.arose from 
 
 university j 
 
211] 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 [212 
 
 a representation of the Minister; that 
 representation arose from one made to 
 the Minuter by the Bank Company ; 
 and this latter representation arose 
 (See Letter XIII, f>. 179) from the 
 drain of cash at the Bank, and from 
 the alarm which the .Bank Company 
 felt for the safety of their House. 
 This should be constantly kept in 
 view. We should never, for one mo- 
 ment, lose sight of the fact, that the 
 whole of this measure of protection to 
 the Bank had its origin, in represen- 
 tations made by the Bank Company' 
 itself. And, if we keep this fact 
 steadily in view, we shall be in no 
 danger at coming at a proper con- 
 clusion. 
 
 Thus far then, we have seen the 
 transaction going no further than the 
 Privy Council. We have seen it 
 originate with the Bank Company, the 
 demands of whose lawful creditors 
 iiad given them alarm. We have 
 seen the Uank Company calling upon 
 the Minister to know when he would 
 interfere. And, wc have seen the 
 Minister, after saying, on the 24th, 
 that he would prepare a resolution of 
 Council, go to the Council, on t! e 
 26th, and obtained the Resolution and 
 Order that we have seen. Thus the 
 Privy Council became a party to the 
 transaction ; and we are now about 
 to see how the Parliament put the 
 finishing stroke to it by giving to the 
 Order of Council the sanction of law ; 
 we are now about to take a view of 
 the Legislative Acts, by which, to use 
 the expression of the late Lord Liver- 
 pool, paper-credit was exchanged for 
 paper currency, by which barik-notcs 
 were moulded into paper-money. 
 
 In Letter XII, page 164, we have 
 seen how the minister first introduced 
 te the House of Commons the project 
 of passing a law to sanction the Order 
 in Council ; that is to say, to sanction 
 the refusal of the Bank Company to 
 pay their promissory notes. We have 
 seen, that, upon being asked by Mr. 
 Alderman Combe, whether he 
 meant to make tke bank-notes a legal 
 
 tender, he knew not what to answer ; 
 that he twisted aud writhed in great 
 apparent embarrassment of mind : but, 
 that he knew not w hat to answer. We 
 have also seen, that, before the House 
 met the next day (28th of February 
 1797) the meeting at the Mansion- 
 Ilouse had taken place, having been, 
 as we have seen, previously contrived, 
 in private, with the Minister. We 
 have seen an account of the other 
 Meetings through the country; and 
 we have seen, in Letter XI V T , the 
 manner of forming the Secret Com- 
 mittee, from whom came Reports 
 (Letter XIV, p. 189), declaring the 
 affairs of the Bank to be in a most 
 flourishing way, and that the Com- 
 pany were possessed of a great surplus 
 of means. 
 
 Thus prepared, and perceiving, by 
 this time, that his adherents were re- 
 solved to sta d by him (See Letter 
 XIV, p. 194) the Minister, on the 
 9th of March, 1797, moved for leave 
 to '* bring in a bill to confirm and 
 " continue the Order hi Council of 
 " the 26th of February, for a time to 
 " be limited." This - was the first 
 motion towards making of the law for 
 authorising the Bank to refuse to pay 
 its creditors their just demands ; that 
 law, which has filled the kingdom 
 with banks and with paper-money, 
 uid which, as we shall by-and-by see, 
 lias produced no small share of our 
 present dangers and distress. But, 
 before we proceed any further in the 
 history of this Act, which, you will 
 bear in mind, is the Act, which the 
 Bullion Committee have proposed to 
 repeal in two years from this time; 
 before we proceed any further in the 
 history of this Act, we must shortly 
 notice two other Acts, which were 
 passed before it, and which, though 
 of inferior importance, were the first- 
 born of the Bank Stoppage. 
 
 The refusal of the Bank Company 
 to pay their notes was, as every one 
 must naturally suppose, productive of 
 the consequence of driving all the 
 uold coin out of circulation ; for, 
 
213] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD, 
 
 [214 
 
 under sUch circumstances, the mo- 
 ment a gttijaea or a half guinea got 
 into the hands of a person able to keep 
 it, and not an ideot, it would remain 
 very quiet in the eliest of that person; 
 and, as the smallest notes then in cir- 
 culation, were notes for Jive pounds, 
 the difficulty in making payments 
 would necessarily be very great. The 
 distress, arising from this cause, was 
 so great, that on the 1st of March, it 
 was resolved by the House of Com- 
 mons to bring in a bill to legalize the 
 issuing of small notes by private per- 
 sons i and, on the same day a bill was 
 read a second time for enabling the 
 Bank of England to issue notes under 
 Jive pounds. 
 
 The reason for passing these Acts 
 was this : there were in existence two 
 Acts of Parliament, which prohibited 
 the negotiating of promissory notes 
 and other paper of an amount under 
 Jive pound?. These Acts are, upon 
 this occasion worthy of our particular 
 attention; because they were passed 
 upon the principle, th;t small paper 
 promises were innirioiis to the com- 
 munity. The first of these Acts was 
 passed in the year 1775, and, as will 
 be seen from the Title and Preamble, 
 which I beg of you to road,* small 
 
 * Fifteenth Geo. III. Chap. LI. — An 
 Act to restrain the negoeiation of promis- 
 sory notes and inland bills of exchmiige 
 Tinder a limited sum, wiUiia that part of 
 GreatBritain crJled England. — Whereas va- 
 rious nates, bills of exchange, and draughts 
 for money, for very small sums, havo for 
 some time past, been circulated or negoc'inte i\ 
 in lieu of cash, within that part of Great Bri- 
 tain called Emdand ; to the great prejudice of 
 trade and public credit : §c. Ifcu Be it, there- 
 fore, enacted by the Kings most excellent 
 Majesty, by, and with the advice and con- 
 sent of the Lords Spiritual au*d Temporal, 
 and Commons, in this present Parliament 
 assembled, and by the authority of the 
 same. That all promissory or other notes, 
 bills of exchange, or drafts, or undertakings, 
 iu writing, being negociable or transferable 
 for the payment of any sum or stuns of 
 money, less tlian the sum of twenty shillings in 
 the whole, which shall be made or issued at 
 any time from and after the twenty-fourth 
 day of June, one thousand seven hundred 
 and seventy-five, shall be, and the same are 
 hereby declared to be, absolutely void and 
 
 paper currency was, at that time, de- 
 clared by la w to be of " great preju- 
 M dice to trade and public credit" 
 There were in 1775, as we have al- 
 ready seen, no bank-notes for sums 
 less titan ten pounds, and, it was 
 then supposed, that smaller notes 
 would be an injury. In two years 
 after the above Act was passed the 
 effect of it having been found good, 
 another Act was passed carrying the 
 prohibition to any sum under Jive 
 pounds. And, Gentlemen, I beg you 
 to pay particular attention to the lan- 
 guage of these Acts. The first says, 
 that the circulation of notes for very 
 small sums, iu lieu of cash, is to the 
 great prejudice of trade and public 
 credit; and, after the Parliament have 
 had two years' experience of the ef- 
 fects of this Act, fliey pass another, 
 in which, after declaring that the ef- 
 fects of the former , Act have been 
 " very salutary ," they extend the pro- 
 visions of it from the sum of twenty 
 shillings to the sum of Jive pounds.f 
 Tims, then, small paper currency 
 was proved to have been an evil; it 
 was proved, by experience, to have 
 been injurious to trade and to public 
 credit; and, therefore, while there 
 were no bai:k notes for sums less tlian 
 
 of no effect, any law, statute, usage, or 
 custom to the contrary, therefore in any 
 wise i jotwi tfos t an ding. 
 
 t Seventeenth, Geo. III. Cap. XXX.— 
 An Act for further restraining the negocia- 
 tion of promissory notes, and inland bills, of 
 exchange, under a limited sum, within that 
 part of Great Britain called England. — 
 Whereas by a certain Act of Parliament 
 pawed in the fifteenth year of the reign of 
 his present Majesty (intituled an Act to 
 restrain the negoeiation of promissory 
 notes and inland bills of exchange under a 
 limited sum, within that part of GreatBritain 
 called England, all negociable promissory 
 or other notes, bills of exchange, or draughts, 
 or undertakings in writing, for any sum of 
 money less- than the sum of twenty shillings in 
 the whole, &c. Sec. and whereas the said Act 
 hath been attended with very salutary effects, 
 and in case the provisions therein contained 
 were extended to a further sum, tfte good pur- 
 pnsc of the said Act would be further advanced. 
 Be it, therefore, enacted, &c. And the 
 Act extends the prohibition to any sum 
 under fire pounds. 
 
211] 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 [212 
 
 a representation of the Minister; that 
 representation arose from one made to 
 the Minister by the Bank Company ; 
 and this latter representation arose 
 (See Letter XIII, f>. 179) from the 
 drain of cash at the Bank, and from 
 the alarm which the Bank Company 
 felt for the safety of their House. 
 Tiiis should be constantly kept In 
 \ie\v. We should never, for one mo- 
 ment, lose sight of the fact, that the 
 whole of this measure of protection to 
 the Bank had its origin in represen- 
 tations made by the Bank Company' 
 itself. And, if we keep this fact 
 steadily in view, we shall be in no 
 danger at coming at a proper con- 
 clusion. 
 
 Thus far then, we have seen the 
 transaction going no further than the 
 Privy Council. We have seen it 
 originate with the Bank Company, the 
 demands of whose lawful creditors 
 had given them alarm. We have 
 seen the "Bank Company calling upon 
 the Minister to know when he would 
 interfere. And, wc have seen the 
 Minister, after saying, on the 24th, 
 that he would prepare a resolution of 
 Council, go to the Council, on t! e 
 26th, and obtained the Resolution and 
 Order that we have seen. Thus the 
 Privy Council became a party to the 
 transaction ; and we are now about 
 to see how the Parliament put the 
 finishing stroke to it by giving to the 
 Order of Council the sanction of law; 
 we are now about to take a view of 
 the Legislative Acts, by which, to use 
 the expression of the late Lord Liver- 
 pool, paper-credit was exchanged for 
 paper currency, by which bank-notes 
 were moulded into paper-money. 
 
 In Letter XII, page 164, we have 
 seen how the minister first introduced 
 te the House of Commons the project 
 of passing a laic to sanction the Order 
 in Council ; that is to say, to sanction 
 the refusal of the Bank Company to 
 pay their promissory note?;. We have 
 seen, that, upon being asked by Mr. 
 Alderman Combe, whether he 
 meant to make tke bank-notes a legal 
 
 tender, he knew not what to answer ; 
 that he twisted and writhed in great 
 apparent embarrassment of mind : but, 
 tii <t he knew not what to answer. We 
 have also seen, that, before the House 
 met the next day (28th of February 
 1797) the meeting at the Mansion- 
 House had taken place, having been, 
 as we have seen, previously contrived, 
 in private, with the Minister. We 
 have seen an account of the other 
 Meetings through the country; and 
 we have seen, in Letter XIV, the 
 manner of forming the Secret Com- 
 mittee, from whom came Keports 
 (Letter XIV, p. 189), declaring the 
 affairs of the Bank to be in a most 
 flourishing way, and that the Com- 
 pany were possessed of a great surplus 
 of means. 
 
 Thus prepared, and perceiving, by 
 this time, that his adherents were re- 
 solved to sta d by him (See Letter 
 XIV, p. 194) the Minister, on the 
 9th of March, 1797, moved for leave 
 to " bring in a bill to confirm and 
 " continue the Order in Council of 
 " the So'th of February, for a time to 
 " be limited." This - was the first 
 motion towards making of the law for 
 authorising the Bank to refuse to pay 
 its creditors their just demands ; that 
 law, which has filled the kingdom 
 with banks and with paper-money, 
 and which, as we shall by-and-by see, 
 lias produced no small share of our 
 present dangers and distress. But, 
 before we proceed any further in the 
 history of this Act, which, you will 
 bear in mind, is the Act, which the 
 Bullion Committee have proposed to 
 repeal in two years from this time; 
 before we proceed any further in the 
 history of this Act, we must shortly 
 notice two other Acts, which were 
 passed before it, and which, though 
 of inferior importance, were the first- 
 born of the Bank Stoppage. 
 
 The refusal of the Bank Company 
 to pay their notes was, as every one 
 must naturally suppose, productive of 
 the consequence of driving all the 
 ^old coin out of circulation ; for, 
 
213] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD, 
 
 [214 
 
 under tfuch circumstances, the mo- 
 ment tfgaifiea or a half guinea got 
 into the hands of a person able to keep 
 it, and not an ideot, it won id remain 
 very quiet in the chest of that person; 
 and, as the smallest notes then in cir- 
 culation, were notes for five pounds, 
 the difficult)' in making payments 
 would necessarily be very great. The 
 distress, arising from this cause, was 
 so great, that on the 1st of March, it 
 was resolved by the House of Com- 
 mons to bring in a bill to legalize the 
 issuing of small notes by private per- 
 sons ;"and, on the same day a bill was 
 read a second time for enabling the 
 Bank of England to issue notes under 
 Jive pounds. 
 
 The reason for passing these Acts 
 was this : there were in existence two 
 Acts of Parliament, which prohibited 
 the negotiating of promissory notes 
 and other paper of an amount under 
 five pounds. These Acts are, upon 
 this occasion worthy of our particular 
 attention; because they were passed 
 upon the principle, that small papzr 
 promises were inhirious to the com- 
 munity. The first oF these Acta was 
 passed in the year 1775, and, as will 
 be seen from the Title and Preamble, 
 which I bes of vou to road,* small 
 
 * Fifteenth Geo. III. Chap. LI.— An 
 ' Act to restrain the negotiation of promis- 
 sory notes and inland bills of exchange 
 under a limited stun, within that part or' 
 GreatBritain called England. — Whereas va- 
 rious nates, bills of exchange, and draughts 
 for money, for very small sums, have for 
 some time past, been circulated or negotiated 
 in lieu of cash, within that part of Great Bri- 
 tain called England ; to the great prejudice of 
 trade and public credit : fyc. be Be it, there- 
 fore, enacted by the King's most excellent 
 Majesty, by, and with the advice and con- 
 sent of the Lords Spiritual add Temporal, 
 and Commons, in this present Parliament 
 assembled, and by the authority of the 
 same. That all promissory or other notes, 
 bills of exchange, or drafts, or undertakings, 
 in writing, being negociable or transferable 
 for the payment of any sum or sums of 
 money, less tlian the sum of twenty shillings in 
 the whole, which shall be made or issued at 
 any time from and after the twenty-fourth 
 day of June, one thousand seven hundred 
 and seventy-five, shall be, and the same are 
 hereby declared to be, absolutely void and 
 
 paper currency was, at that time, de- 
 ck, red by law to he of " great preju- 
 *■' dice to trade and public credit " 
 There were in 1775, as we have al- 
 ready seen, no bank-notes for sums 
 less titan ten pounds, and, it was 
 then supposed, that smaller riotes 
 would be an injury. In two years 
 after the above Act was passed the 
 effect of it having been found good, 
 another Act was passed carrying the 
 prohibition to any sum under Jive 
 pounds. And, Gentlemen, I beg you 
 to pay particular attention to the lan- 
 guage of tiiese Acts. The iirst says, 
 that the circulation of notes for very 
 small sums, in lieu of cash, is to the 
 great prejudice of trade and public 
 credit; and, after the Parliament have 
 had two years' experience of the ef- 
 fects of this Act, ftjey pass another, 
 in which, after declaring that the ef- 
 fects of the former , Act have been 
 " very salutary," they extend the pro- 
 visions of it from the sum of twenty 
 ngs to the sum of Jive pounds.f 
 Tims, then, small paper currency 
 was proved to have been an evil; it 
 was proved, by experience, to have 
 been injurious to trade and to public 
 credit; and, therefore, while there 
 were no bank notes for sums less tlian 
 
 of no effect, any law, statute, usage, or 
 custom to the contrary, therefore in any 
 wise notwithstanding. 
 
 fS ij, Geo. III. Cap. XXX. — 
 
 An Act for further restraining the negocia- 
 tion of promissory notes, and inland bills, of 
 exchange, und«r a limited sum, within that 
 part of Great Britain called England.— 
 Whereas by a certain Act of Parliament 
 passed in the fifteenth year of the reign of 
 his present Majesty (intituled an Act to 
 restrain the negotiation of promissory 
 notes and inland bills of exchange under a 
 limited sum, within that part of Great Britain 
 called England, all negociable promissory 
 or other notes, bills of exchange, or draughts, 
 or undertakings in writing, for any sum of 
 money less- than the sum of twenty shillings in 
 the whole, &c. &c. and whereas the said Act 
 hath been a! tended with very salutary effects, 
 and in ease the provisions therein contained 
 were extended to a further sum, tftt good pi»> 
 p>\s< oftha said Act would be further advanced. 
 Be it, therefore, enacted, &e. And the 
 Act extends the prohibition to any sum 
 under jftve pounds. 
 
215] 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 [21G 
 
 fe?i pounds, the law forbade that there 
 should be any other circulating or we- 
 gociable notes, under five pounds. 
 
 Thus, as to paper-currency, stood 
 the law in 1797, when the Bank 
 Stoppage took place; and as we have 
 already seen, in the former part of 
 this Letter, the country was, in con- 
 sequence of the Stoppage, thrown into 
 the greatest distress for the want of' 
 something to represent small sums. , 
 The manufacturers, and, indeed, ' 
 all. the journeymen and labourers, 
 throughout the kingdom, could not be 
 paid in the usual manner. The coin 
 had disappeared, as it naturally would 
 the moment a hank-note would not 
 fetch its amount in guineas at the 
 Bank ; ana 1 , the guineas and half 
 guineas having gone out of sight, 
 which they did instantly, there were 
 no means of paying small sums. 
 Therefore, the very first tiling to he 
 done, was to provide something to 
 supply the place o\' the guineas and 
 b;df-guineas, and, indeed, the whole 
 of the coin, except the hammered-out 
 shillings and sixpences, such as we 
 now see current. 
 
 For this purpose, it was necessary 
 to pass an Act to repeal, or, at least, 
 to stipend, the two Acts* of which 
 we have just taken a view, and, ac- 
 cordingly a suspension Act Was passed 
 on the 10th of March 1707, the title 
 and preamble of which Act are here 
 inserted as worthy of attention, and 
 as matter for future remark.* This 
 
 Act, by which the suspension was to 
 be continued only till the first day of 
 the then ensuing month of May; that 
 is to say, for forty days only, was, as 
 we shall by -and- by see, afterwards 
 extended in its duration, and has con- 
 tinued in force till this day. 
 
 But, this was nothing without 
 giving a power of making small notes 
 to the Bank of England. The Bank 3 
 had dividends to pay ; and, of course, 
 all the sums, or parts of sums, under 
 /ice pounds (there being, as yet, no 
 notes under that sum) they were still 
 compelled to pay in crash, which was 
 what they did not like, and, in fact, 
 what they Mere not, perhaps, able to 
 do. It was, therefore, necessary, 
 above all things, to give them a power 
 of making small notes. There was a 
 doubt whether the two Acts of the 
 15th and 17th of George the Third, 
 above-mentioned, applied to bank 
 notes; and, it was thought by some 
 persons, that they did not so apply; 
 but, an Act of Parliament, the great 
 cure for all doubts and difficulties, 
 was passed to remove this doubt; and 
 such was the haste in doing this, that 
 the Act was passed on the 3rd of 
 March, though the bill was brought in 
 only on the *28th of February. This 
 Act authorized the Bank to issue : 
 notes for sums under five pounds; and, 
 accordingly, two and one pound notes 
 were immediately issued. f 
 
 Now, Gentlemen, I beg you to 
 stop here for a moment, and take 
 
 , 
 
 * tmtrrV Seventh Geo. HI, Chap. XXXI t. j 
 
 — — Au Act to suspend for a limited time, J 
 the operation of two Acts of the fifteenth and { 
 seventeenth years of the reign of his present j 
 Majesty for restraining the negotiation of 
 promissory note-?, arid inland bilta of ex- 
 change, under a limited sum, within that 
 part of Great. Britain called England.—— 
 Whereas an Act of Parliament was past in 
 the fifteenth year of the reign of his present 
 Majesty, intituled an Act to restrain the 
 negociation of promissory notes, and inland 
 bills of exchange, under a limited sum, 
 wit Inn that part' of Great Britain called 
 England : And whereas another Act was 
 
 passed in the seventeenth year of the reign 
 of bis ptesenf Majesty, intituled, an Act for 
 further restraining the negociation of pro- 
 missory notes, and inland bills of exchange 
 under a limited sum, within that part of 
 Great .Britain called England; and whereas 
 IT IS EXPEDIENT that the said Acts 
 should he susj>cndcd for a certain time, so far as 
 the same may relate to any notes, draughts, 
 or undertakings made payable on demand : 
 &c. &c. S:c. The Act then suspends those 
 laws until the first day of May 1797. 
 
 tTiiiKTY-SnAr.NTuGeo.II I. Chap. XXVIII. 
 An Act to remove doubts respecting Pro, 
 
 CnmcD at $tarionew' tyaih 
 
 Printed by W. Moliveux, 5, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane; Published by W. CoBBETT, 
 Jnn. No. 8, Catherine Street, Strand: and Retailed at No. 192, Strand. 
 
N° 8 -COBBETT'S PAPER AGAINST GOLD.— [Price Two- Pence 
 
 217] 
 
 another look at the language of these 
 Acts of parliament, these solemn de- 
 clarations of the Legislature. In the 
 year 1775, they say, that the circu- 
 lation of small notes, in lieu of cash, 
 is of " great prejudice to trade and 
 " public credit." In 1777, they de- 
 clare, upon the evidence of two years 
 of experience, that their having lessen- 
 ed the quantity of small notes had 
 produced " very salutary effects." And 
 in 1797, under the ministry of Pitt, 
 whose debts the public have paid, and 
 for whom they arc to pay for a monu- 
 ment ; aye, under the ministry of this 
 man, the parliament were Drought to 
 declare, that to make small notes, that 
 to do just the contrary of what the above 
 two acts were intended to effect, was 
 '* expedi nt for the public service, and 
 ".for the convenience of commerce.'''' 
 In 1775 and 1777 it was enacted, 
 that small promissory notes, in lieu of 
 cash, were " a great prejudice to 
 " trade and public credit/' In 
 1797 it was enacted, that small pro- 
 missory notes, in lieu of cash, were 
 " expedient for the public service and 
 " for the convenience of commerce" 
 Gentlemen, when you have paid due 
 attention to this, you will hardly want 
 any thing more to enable yon to an- 
 swer those, who have yet the folly or 
 the impudence to attempt a defence of 
 the ministry of Pitt, who, as it has 
 be«n well observed, in reply to one 
 of his eulogists, found the country 
 gold, and left it paper. 
 
 But, the grand measure was yet to 
 some. There was, as yet, no law to 
 sanction the deed of refusing to pay 
 the bearers of the Bank's promissory 
 notes. This was a thing that the peo- 
 ple had yet to receive at the hands of 
 
 missory Notes of the Governor and Company 
 of the Bank of England, for payment of 
 sums of money undei five pounds. Where- 
 as it is expedient for tde public service, and for 
 the convenience of commercial circulation, that 
 the Governor and Company of the Bank of 
 England should issue Promissory notes, pay- 
 able to bearer, for sums of money under five 
 pounds; Sec. Sec. 
 
 W. Mellow*, Printtr, Breun't Buildings 
 Cfyaacer jr L*j»e. 
 
 those, who had plunged them into the 
 Anti-jacobin war, and who had fed 
 them with the hopes of beating France 
 through her finances. Yes, the people 
 of England, the " most thinking peo- 
 " pie," had yet to swallow this ; they 
 had yet to gulp this bolus from the 
 hands of those, who had buoyed them 
 up for so many years, by comparisons 
 of the flourishing state of the English 
 finances compared with those of 
 France, which last nation they still 
 believed to be, as Pitt told them, 
 " in the very gulph of bankruptcy. " 
 
 This measure was, as we have seen, 
 introduced into the House of Com- 
 mon-, in form, on the 9th of March, 
 1797, in a motion m~de by Pitt, for 
 leave to bring in a Bill for continuing, 
 for a limited time, what he called the 
 RESTRICTION (pray mark the 
 word) upon the Bank, relative to its 
 issue of specie. This Bill, after 
 undergoing the discussions, some of 
 which I shall have to notice more 
 particularly by-and-by, became iiLaw, 
 on the 3rd of May, 1797.* 
 
 * Thirty-Seventh Geo. III. Chap. XL V. 
 
 An Act for confirming and contmumi 1 
 
 for a limited time the -Restriction contained 
 in (he minute of council of the twenty-sixth 
 of February, one thousand seven bundled 
 and ninety-seven, on payments of cash 
 
 by the Bank.- Whereas, by minute of 
 
 Ins Majesty's Privy Council, made on the 
 twenty-sixth day of February, one thousand 
 seven hundred and ninety-seven, upon the 
 representation of the Chancellor of the Ex- 
 chequer, stating, that from the result of the 
 information which he had received, and the 
 inquiries which it had been his duty to make 
 respecting the effect of the unusual demands 
 for specie, that have been made upon the 
 metropolis, in consequence of ill-founded or 
 exaggerated alarms in different parts of the 
 country, it appeared, that unless some mea- 
 sure was immediately taken, there might be 
 reason to apprehend a want of sufficient sup* 
 ply of cash to answer the exigencies of the 
 public service; it was declared to be the 
 unanimous opinion of the board, that it was 
 indispensably necessary for the public service 
 that the directors of the Bank of England 
 should forbear issuing any cash in payment 
 until the sense of Parliament could be taken 
 on that subject, and the proper measures 
 adopted thereupon for maintaining the means 
 «f circulation, and supporting the public and 
 
 M 
 
2im 
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 [221 
 
 When you have read the Title and 
 Preamble of this Act, you will ac- 
 company me in a brief sket h of its 
 provisions, which you will find not 
 only curious and interesting, as an 
 object of public attention, but useful 
 also to each of you a3 individuals, 
 who will hence lenrn, how far you 
 are compelled to receive payment in 
 B snk-notes, and in what Fay your 
 previous contracts have been affected 
 by this Act 
 
 The Preamble of the Act having 
 repeated what was contained in the 
 Order of Council, and having declared 
 that to confirm and continue the re- 
 fusal to pay in Geld and Silver, 
 though such refusal was not narranli'd 
 bylaw; having acknowledged the »7/e- 
 gality of the things done, and declared 
 the necessity of continuing to do them ; 
 having made this beginning, the Act 
 next proceeds, Section I. to indem- 
 nify the Bank Directors, and all other 
 persons for having done these illegal 
 things; that is to say, to protect all 
 such persons against any appeal to the 
 laiv f that any suffering party might be 
 inclined to make. So that, whatever 
 loss or hindrance or injury any man 
 might have suffered from the non- 
 payment of the promissory notes of 
 the Bank-Company, such sufferer 
 was, by this Act, at once deprived of 
 all legal means of obtaining redress. 
 The Act next provides, in Section 
 II. that the Rank should be liable to 
 no prosecution (or the non-payment 
 of any of tlieir notes, that they might 
 be willing to exchange for other notes , 
 and, that in case the Bank were sued 
 by any one for the non-payment of 
 their notes, they might apply to the 
 Court to stop proceedings in suck 
 actions, who might stop tliem accord- 
 ingly, and without costs to the plaintiff 
 
 commercial crvdiit of tlie ki-ns«»m at t'nis im- 
 portant conjuncture ; and it was ordered, 
 that h copy of the said minute should he 
 ftansrukted to the directors of the Bank of 
 England* ;vnd they were hereby required, on 
 ihe "rounds of the exigency of the cue, t<> 
 
 in any action brought against the 
 Bank for non-payment of its notes, 
 unless the Court should think the ac- 
 tion necessary. Section III. Per- 
 mits the Bank to issue cash in pay- 
 ment of any sum under twenty thilling$ p 
 or where less than twenty shillings 
 should be a fractional part of a sum 
 to be paid by the Bank. This was 
 a very gracious permission! The 
 same Section allows them to issue 
 cash for the service of the Army, the 
 Navy, or the Ordnance, in pursuance 
 of an order of the Privy Council 
 Section IV. Specifies that tit 
 Bank, during the restriction or stoi 
 page, shall not advance to the Govern 
 merit any cash or notes exceeding in 
 amount 600,000 pounds. Section 
 V. Permits the Bank to repay cash 
 to those persons that may choose to 
 lodge cash in the Bank. But, the 
 Secfi »n permits the Bank to repay in 
 ca.sh only three fourths of the amount 
 of what shall be so lodged with them. 
 Sections VI. and VII. Permit 
 the Bank to advance the sum of 
 1*25,000 pounds to the Bankers of 
 London and Scotland. Section 
 VII I. Teats of payments between 
 private individuals, and it provides, 
 that all payments which have been 
 made, or which shall be made during 
 tin- cimiimiaiire of this Act, in Bank 
 oT England notes, shall be deemed 
 payments in rash, if accepted as such. 
 SECTION IX. Contains the great 
 alteration made in the law between 
 debtor and creditor. We have seen, 
 that by the 2nd Section, the Bank 
 notes v ere made to be quite equal to 
 cash in the ease of all demands, made 
 upon the Bank for payment of its 
 notes, which therefore, made the 
 notes of the Bank, as far as related to 
 debts due from the Bank, on account 
 
 whereas, in pursuance of the minute, the 
 <=:ui! governor and company of the Bank of 
 England, have, since the said twenty-sixth 
 day of February, one thousand' seven hundred 
 and ninety-seven, forborne to issue cash iy 
 jjayments, exempt for purposes for which the 
 
 cont.oru) thereto until the s<?me of Farlir- ( Sue of ca<*li was dcermtt unavcidable ; it is 
 *p«M>f cou!i' he taken as aforesaid : And accessary ilia* the HiHncti^n in the said 
 
22 L 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [222 
 
 of its note?, a legal tender, which 
 words mean siieh money or currency 
 as the law regards as good in the pay- 
 ment of debts. Guineas, for instance, 
 are a legal tender, because, the 
 tender or offering of them in payment 
 is sufficient to prevent any action or 
 proceeding at tow being entertained 
 against the person, who may have 
 offered them in payment, in quantity 
 equal to the amount of the debt. But, 
 Bank-notes were not made a legal 
 tender, and they are not now a legal 
 tender, between private individuals. 
 If a man owe me money, 1 can still 
 demand coin in payment ; and the 
 only difference is, that I cannot, if my 
 debtor tender me the amount of the 
 debt in Bank of England notes, cause 
 him to be arrested and held to sjtecial 
 hail, as I might have done, if this Act 
 had not been passed. This part of 
 the Act every one should read, and, 
 therefore, I have put the 9th Section 
 in a note*. Section X. Provides 
 
 minute, although not warruntid l,y Law, 
 should be cimjirmed, and should be continued 
 for a limited time, In the authority wtf Par- 
 liament : Be it therefore enacted, &c. Ac <S:e. 
 * Sj-ctio* IX.—- — \nd \n it further 
 enacted by the authority aforesaid, That 
 during' the continuance of the lestriction on 
 payments by the said governor and company 
 ill cash; imposed hy this Act, no person shall 
 he held to special hail upon any process 
 issuing out of any court, unless the affidavit 
 vkhich shall be made for that purpose accord- 
 ing to the provisions in the Act of the 
 twelfth year of the rei^n of his late Majesty 
 King George the First, for preventing fri- 
 volous and vexatious arrests, shall not only 
 contain the several matters required by the 
 said A'*t, but also that no offer has been 
 made to pay the sum of money in such 
 affidavit mentioned, and therein sworn to, 
 for the purpose of holding any person to spe- 
 cial bail, in notes of the said governor and 
 company, expressed to be payable on de- 
 mand (fractional parts of the sum of twenty 
 shillings only excepted ;) and if any process 
 shall be issued against any person, upon 
 which such person might have been held to 
 special bail before the parsing of this Awt, 
 and no affidavit shall be made as aforesaid, 
 that no such offer of payment in notes of the 
 governor and company had been made as 
 aforesaid, such person shall not be arrested 
 on such process, but proceedings shall be had 
 against inch person in the tame manner as if 
 
 that the collectors of the. public re- 
 venue shall accept payment in Wank. 
 of England notes. Section XI. 
 Permits the Hank to issue cash/ in 
 certain eases, upon giving five day^ 
 notice to the Speaker of t!i«> House of 
 Commons. Suctions Xlf. ami 
 ! XIII. Provide for the continuance 
 | of the Act to the 24th of June (a 
 duration of only Jiffy-two days), and 
 for the repealing or altering of it 
 during the then present session of 
 parliament. 
 
 This, Gentlemen, is what is called 
 the Bii&RESTlUCTION Act, a 
 very convenient phrase, calculated to 
 convey the notion, that the Bank is 
 able and witting to pay ; hut, that it 
 is not permitted to do it. 1 beg you 
 to hear along with you the meaning of 
 the word Restriction, which implies 
 an act done by one party to prevent 
 another party from doing what he 
 would do if not prevented. To restrict 
 is to limit, or confine. I am restricted, 
 
 no affidavit had hoen made for the purpose 
 of holding such persons to special bail, under 
 the provisions of the said Act of his said late 
 Majesty Kmg George the First ; and all pro- 
 visions in such Act, or in any other Act of 
 Parliament, for preventing frivolous and 
 vexatious arrests, shall be applied to the pro- 
 visions in this Act contained, so far as the 
 same are capable of being so applied : Pro- 
 vided always, that if affidavit shall be made 
 upon which any person or persons might have 
 been held to »j>ccial bail upon any such pro- 
 cess as aforesaid, before the passing of this 
 Act, and it shall be likewise sworn in such 
 affidavit, that such offer of payment has been 
 made as aforesaid, so that the person or per- 
 sons who might have been arrested and held 
 to special bail upon such process, if this Act 
 had not been made, cannot, by reason of 
 such offer and of the provisions in this act 
 contained, be so arrested and held to special 
 bail, it shall be lawful for the court out of 
 which such process shall issue, or for any 
 judge of such court, in a summary way, to 
 order the defendant or defendants in the 
 action in which such procets shall issue, and 
 who might have so held to special bail as 
 aforesaid, if this Act had not been made, to 
 cause notes of the said governor and com- 
 pany, expressed to be payable on demand t» 
 the amount of the sum of money for which 
 such person or persons might have been *» 
 held 4o speeial bail, if this Act had not brei 
 made, to b« deposited in such manner at 
 
223] 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 [224 
 
 for instance, from going out of New- 
 gate. I am here in a state of re- 
 striction. I should go home to my 
 farm and rny family, it* it were not for 
 this restriction ; and so " the most 
 thinking peop e of Europe" think, of 
 course, that the Bank Company would 
 pay their notes in Gold and Silver, if 
 they were not restricted in the same 
 manner. But, of this we shall see 
 
 more in the next Letter, when we 
 come to speak of the duration of this 
 restricting Act; and, in the mean 
 while, I remain, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 Slate Prison, Ncegate t Monday, 
 November 12, 1810. 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 " Yothing bat a lav, declaring bank-note* to be a Ictcd tender of payment, e&n rolUve Out Wtufcfcn and 
 "the trad ng part or the community frvn the h,»rd*rups to which t&.y are u»* liai»!o ; <nd >et. the 
 **i»medy rau^t, in the end, be worte tnan the evil."— — Mr. Hobhouse. Speech in the House of 
 " Commons, *7U» March, 17^7- 
 
 The Legal Tender— Gold is the only Legal Tender for any Sum above 25 Pounds — Act* 
 of the 14th and 39th of Geo. III.— Mr. Huskisson's Remark upon the Legal Tender— 
 The Kffects'oi* a Legal Tender in Paper — Illustrated by the Case of New Jersey- 
 Art against Legal Tender hi Paper, 4th Geo. III. chap. 34— Mr. Huskisson's Mis- 
 statement as to the Notions entertained respecting the Legal Tender at the passing of 
 the Act of 1797— Mr. Sheridan's Prediction when the Act was moved for — Sir F- 
 Baring proposes to make the Notes a Legal Tender— Mr. Pitt declines it for the 
 present— The Mansion House and other Meetings had, in some sort the effect of Law— 
 The Law as if now stands as to the Legal Tender of the Bank of England Notes- 
 Country Bankers may be compelled to pay their Notes in Gold. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 BEFORE we proceed in our inquiries 
 as to the DURATION of the Act, 
 which was the subject of the fore- 
 going Letter, and by which the Bank 
 of England was protected against the 
 cash demands of the holders of their 
 promissory notes ; before we proceed 
 in these inquiries, which wiil discover 
 matter not a little curious in itself, 
 and, very interesting as connected 
 with what is now going on ; before we 
 thus proceed, I must beg your atten- 
 
 luch Court or Judges shall direct, to answer 
 the demands -f the plaint iff'or plaintiff* in 
 •ueh action ; and if *uch deposit shall not he 
 made within the time limited by such order, 
 after such notice thereof a* shall thereby be 
 directed to be given, it shall be lawful, upon 
 
 tion to a few more words upon the 
 subject of the LEGAL TENDER. 
 
 The truth is, that gold and gold 
 only is a legal tender, in this king- 
 dom, for any sum above 25 pounds, 
 unless the silver be tendered in weight. 
 This was settled bv an Act, passed in 
 1774 (14 Geo. Ill; Chap. 42)> which 
 Act provided, that no tender in pay- 
 ment of money made in the Silver 
 Coin exceeding the sum of 25 pounds, 
 should be deemed a legal tender for 
 more than its value by weight, at the 
 
 affidavit duly made and filed, that such de* 
 posit has not been made according to ?uch 
 ordei r to arrest such defendant or defendants, 
 and hold him, her, or them to special bail, 
 in such' and the same manner a* if the said 
 Act had not been made — » 
 
225] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [226 
 
 rate of &s. 2ct for each ounce of 
 Silver. This Act continued in force 
 for two years, when it expired ; but 
 it was again revived in the year 1799, 
 and made perpetual. Thus, you see, 
 that even Silver coin was not, except 
 in small sums., a legal tender, and is 
 iK>t a legal tender to this day. 
 
 But, though the Bank of England 
 notes were not by the Restriction, or 
 Stoppage Act, made a legal tender, to 
 all intents and purposes, they were 
 made so to a cei ta n extent ; for, by 
 the tender of them in lieu of money, 
 any debtor could escape arrest and 
 also escape the giving of special bail; 
 ami, as to the Bank of England, the 
 Act not oniy protected it against the 
 demands of its creditors ; that is, 
 against the holders of its notes, but by 
 the same Act, the Bank was to pay to 
 the public, any thing due from the 
 former to the latter, in its notes, and 
 not to be compellable to pay in gold 
 or Silver. This was going some way, 
 at least, in making bank-notes a legal 
 tender, and this seems to have been 
 overlooked by Mr, Huskisson, (ai 
 Gentleman of whom we shall have 
 much to say by-and-by,) who in speak- 
 ing of the change created by the Act 
 of 1797, in our money system, ob- 
 serves, that that Act did not repeal any 
 of the former regulations relating to 
 the cot n, and that it did not alter the 
 Act of the 39 h of the King. " It 
 '* did not," says he, " alter in any 
 * respect the existing state of the law, 
 V either as to the weight or the fine- 
 ** ness of the eo^d coin ; or the Act oi 
 " the 39th of the King." I have 
 quoted this Gentleman's own words, 
 because I am not quite sure that I 
 clearly understand them. Mr. Hus- 
 kisson is a member of parliament, 
 and a pensioner, and such people are 
 apt to talk in a style that common men 
 cannot comprehend. Whether he 
 means, here, that the weight and the 
 " eness of the Act of the 39th of the 
 
 ing remained unaltered ; or, that 
 existing state of tlie law as to the 
 
 A''t of the 39th of the King remained 
 unaltered; or, that the Act of the 
 39th of the King did itself remain 
 unaltered; which of these may be his 
 meaning, I cannot positively say ; but, 
 of this 1 am sure, that, in all the three 
 suppositions it was quite unnecessary 
 to express such meaning, seeing that 
 t;e Act, which he so positively and 
 carefully assures us was not altered 
 by the Act of 1797, was not in exist- 
 ence at the time, and was not passed 
 till two years afterwards. 
 
 The mischievousiiess of forcing 
 paper-money upon a people are very 
 well known. It has been most 
 severely felt in all the countries where 
 it has been resorted to, and it has 
 never failed, sooner or later, to anni- 
 hilate the whole of the paper, attempt- 
 ed so to be forced upon the people. 
 T is was the case in all the States of 
 North America, every one of which 
 has, first or last, had a public debt, a 
 puper-moiiey, a Ityal tender in paper t 
 and a state bankruptcy. The last of 
 the States, I believe, that clung to a 
 legal tender in paper, was New Jer- 
 sey ; and, the consequence was, that, 
 even in the year 1792, when I first 
 went to the United States, that part of 
 the Union w as still suffering from the 
 disreputation brought on it by the 
 legal tinder, which, before it was put 
 an end to, had not only produced a 
 total stagnation of trade, and had 
 brought ruin upon thousands of 
 people, but it had begun to drive the 
 people out of the State; and, had it 
 not been put an end to, the State would 
 long ago, h&vebeenwholly depopulated. 
 
 But we need not go abroad for any 
 thing to convince us of the settled 
 opinions of. statesmen and politicians 
 as to the effects of a legal tender in 
 paper. We have only to look into 
 our own Statute-Book, where we 
 shall find the thing sufficiently repro- 
 bated, as in the Act passed in the 
 year 1763, which declares such a 
 tender to be discouraging and prejxi' 
 dioial to trade and commerce, and the 
 
227] 
 
 ETTER XV II. 
 
 (.22* 
 
 eause ot confusion in dealings and a 
 lessening of credit, in the Provinces 
 whers it was in use; and, having de- 
 clared this; having laid down these 
 as principles, the Act goes on to 
 forbid the issuing of any more such 
 paper; it makes void all Acts of 
 Assembly thereafter passed to estab- 
 lish or keep up such tender; and it 
 intlicts a fine of 1,000 pounds (with 
 immediate dismission, and future inca- 
 pacity to fdl any public office or place 
 of trust) on any Governor, who shall 
 give his assent to such Act of Legal 
 Tender.* 
 
 Mr. Hcskisson, who was one of 
 the Bullion Committee, of the labours 
 of which we shall soon see a good 
 deal; Mr. Huskisson, who enjoys a 
 largo pension, paid* out of the taxes 
 raised upon the people, and m ho, 
 therefore, ought to understand some- 
 thing of such matters; this Mr. Hus- 
 kisson (of whom I shall have to tell 
 you a great deal before we have done) 
 has just published a pamphlet, under 
 the title of, " The Question concern- 
 *' ing the Depreciation of our Cur- 
 K rene.v stated and examined f to the 
 doing of which he was, it would seem, 
 like Rosa Matilda, reluctantly forced 
 by the pressing partiality of friends. 
 This Mr. Huskisson, in his pamphlet, 
 which is, apparent])', intended to justify 
 his conduct as a member of the 
 Bullion Committee, has said, that " if 
 " it had been proposed, at once to 
 " make bank-notes a legal tender a nd, 
 " in direct terms, to enact, that every 
 *' man should thenceforward he obliged 
 
 • Fourth Ypak, Geo. TIT. Chap. 31. An 
 Act to prevent Paper Hills of Credit, here- 
 after to be issued in any of his Majesty's 
 Colonies or Plantations, in America, from 
 being declared to be a legal tender in Pay- 
 ments of Money : and to prevent the legal 
 tender of such bills as are now subsisting 
 from being prolonged beyond the periods 
 limited for calling in and sinking the same. 
 
 Whereas great qnanlirhs of Paper 
 
 Bills of Credit have been created and issued 
 in his Majesty's Colonies or Plantations in 
 America, by virtue of Act», Orders, Reso-, 
 
 " to receive them as equivalent to the 
 " gold coin of the realm, such a pro- 
 " position would have excited universal 
 " alarm, and would have forcibly 
 " drawn the attention of the lcgisla- 
 '• ture and the public to the nature of 
 " our circulation and to the consc- 
 " sequences of such an innovation. 
 " But, certainly, nothing of the sort 
 " teas \n the contemplation of an$ 
 " man when first the suspension-act 
 " was passed.*' But, is this true, Mr. 
 Huskisson? Your memory fails you, 
 I hope; for, not only was it in the 
 contemplation of many persons; but 
 several persons said, that, tn effect, 
 the bank-notes would become a legal 
 tender, and that, they would, of course, 
 depreciate. 
 
 Gentlemen, it is at all times right, 
 that the truth should be known, re- 
 specting the conduct and the cha- 
 racters of men in any-wise entrusted 
 with the management of the publi« 
 affairs; and, at this time, and espe^ 
 cially as relating to this most im 
 portant subject it is right that no pari 
 of the truth should be hidden. With 
 this conviction in my mind, I shall be 
 rather minute in my references to what 
 was said at the time when the Act of 
 17.07, which protected the Bank 
 against the demands of the note- 
 holders, was under discussion. 
 
 The bill, as was stated in my last 
 was moved for by Mr. Pitt on thr 
 9th of March ; and during the debati 
 of that very day, Mr. Fox contended, 
 that, if the bill passed, the property 
 of the Stock-holder must, at once, b« 
 
 lutions or Votes of Assembly, making and 
 declaring such Bills of Credit to be legal 
 Tender in payments of Money. And wherea 
 such Bills of Credit have greatly depreciatai 
 in their value, by means whereof Debts hat* 
 been discharged with a muck less Value than if«#* 
 contracted for, to the great discouragement and 
 prejudice of the Trade and Commerce of hit 
 Majesty's Subjects, by occasioning Confusion 
 in Dealings, and lessening Credit in the said 
 
 Colonies or Plantations : The Act then 
 
 proceeds as above described. 
 
2m 
 
 PAP UK AGAINST COLD. 
 
 (230 
 
 depreciut.d in value ; and, Mr. SHE- 
 RIDAN >aid, that " be believed W* 
 •• should not long ,ix> able, after the 
 * inundation of paper to which tluV 
 " system gave birth, to stop them 
 " tram making bank-notes a legal 
 " tender, and then adieu to the ap- 
 ** peartn e »t specie at the Bank, 
 " and >o n alter wards to the real 
 ** value 01 the Bank noie. r When 
 the bill was under discussion on the 
 27th of Marcky Mr. PlTT having 
 sa;d, that the clause, respecting the 
 bar to arrests i6t debt, did not go 
 the length oi' making Bank Notes a 
 legal tender, nor to take away the 
 power of the creditor to pursue the 
 debtor in the usual course of taw, in 
 order to obtain payment in cash. Sir 
 Francis Baring said, thai he saw 
 no means of avoiding the evil to be 
 apprehended by bankers and mer- 
 chants but that of making B ink Notes 
 a legal tender; and Mr. Dent Mas 
 for making Back Notes a legal tender 
 during the suspension of cash pay- 
 ments. Now, what did Mr. Pitt 
 say, in answer to this suggestion from 
 his friends? He said, that " as to 
 " making Bank N otes a legal tender , 
 " he thought, that, if it teas possible, to 
 " meet the present, difficulty without it, 
 " it ought to be met without it; that, 
 " upon a subject of so much difficulty 
 " and uncertainty , no man could speak 
 " with confidence; but, that as long 
 " as the circulation rested upon paper 
 " taken by consent, he thought it 
 " would not be adciseablc to have it 
 " taken ly compulsion." 
 
 Upon this ground, the Act was 
 passed; and, it is very clear, that one 
 of the objects of the short duration 
 of the fist Act, which was passed 
 for only 51 days, was, to see whether 
 people were inclined to have recourse 
 to the law to compel payments in cash 
 for debts due from private individuals 
 to other private individuals. Every 
 means, as we have seen, had been 
 taken to prevent this. A planned 
 Meeting of Bankers and Merchants 
 
 had been held at the Mansion House 
 ia London, and its resolutions for 
 taking and circulating Bank Note* 
 had been issued under the sanction 
 of the then Loud Mayor. Similar 
 resolutions had been issued from the 
 several benches of Justices at the 
 quarter sessions, in all the counties; 
 and, indeed, as these resolutions were 
 signed by the Clerks of the Peace, 
 and had about them all the air of act3 
 of authority, the effect upon the far- 
 mers and tradesmen in general was 
 nearly the same as that of an Act of 
 Parliament, making Bank Notes a 
 legal tender. If these means had 
 failed, however, there can, I think, 
 be very little doubt, that the measure 
 of making Bank Notes a legal tender 
 would have been adopted; for, the, 
 only reason wlrch Pitt offers, as we, 
 see above, for not doing it at once, is, 
 that the people seemed, at present, 
 to be disposed to take the Bank Notes 
 as cash without compulsion; and, he 
 very clearly meant, that, if the people 
 refused to consider them as cash, 
 compulsion must and would be re- 
 sorted to. 
 
 And yet, after all this, and with 
 these facts recorded in the Parlia- 
 mentary Proceedings of the time, Mr. 
 Huskisson, w ho was actually in office 
 under Pitt or Dun das when the 
 measure was discussed; with all this 
 before his eyes, this Gentleman tells 
 the public, that neither the making 
 Bank Notes a legal tender nor any 
 thing of the sort was in the contem- 
 plation oj any man at the time when 
 the Act for the suspension of cash 
 payments was passed; and that anv 
 proposition of the kind would have 
 excited universal alarm, and would 
 have forcibly drawn the attention »f 
 the legislature and the public to the 
 possible consequences of such an in- 
 novation ! 
 
 Here, Gentlemen, we have an in 
 stance either of the incorrectness, 1 
 might say, the ignorance, or the in- 
 sincerity, of Mr. Huskisson, who, to 
 
^1] 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 [232 
 
 say the truth, is not without his 
 temptations, as we shall by-and-by 
 see, to draw a veil over the origin 
 and the conduct of the originators of 
 the measure of protecting the Bank 
 against the demands of the note- 
 holders; to do which it was absolutely 
 necessary either to make Bank Notes 
 a legal tender, or to do something that 
 should answer the same purpose. To 
 make them a legal tender by law, at 
 once, would, indeed, have been a 
 thing so shameful as not to be endured, 
 in the face of the principles laid down 
 by the Parliament, in the Act of the 
 4th year of Geo. III. above quoted. 
 To pass a law making English Bank 
 Notes a legal tender, putting English 
 Bank Notes upon a level with the co- 
 lonial paper mentioned in that Act; 
 to make Bank Notes the degraded 
 thing there described, was what could 
 not be thought of, until all tbe mcai:s 
 of avoiding it had been tried; but, it 
 is, nevertheless, very clear, that if the 
 circulating; if the promulgating (with 
 all the appearance of official autho- 
 rity) of the resolutions from the Man- 
 sion House and from the benches of 
 county Justices; it is very clear, that 
 if these had failed in giving currency 
 to the Bank Notes, these notes would 
 have been made a legal tender in all 
 eases, and to all intents and purposes 
 whatever. They are a legal tender 
 from the Bank itself. They are a legal 
 tender to the Stock-holder in pay- 
 ment of his dividends. No man can 
 sue the Bank Company on account of 
 their refusing to give him gold for any 
 of th"ir promissory notes of which he 
 may be the holder; nor can any Stock- 
 holder sue the Bank Company on ac- 
 count of a refusal to pay him the 
 amount of his dividends in cash. 
 
 Tiiey are certainly not a legal tender 
 between man and man, any farther 
 than as far as relates to the barring ©f 
 an arrest and of the necessity of 
 special bail. You cannot arrest, or 
 demand special bail from the debtor, 
 who tenders you the amount of your 
 debt in Bank of England notes; but 
 
 you may sue him in the other way. 
 The tender of Bank Notes secures 
 the debtor from arrest and from being 
 obliged to give special bail, in the 
 first instance; but, it does not protect 
 him against hem* finally compelled to 
 pay in cash. If, for instance, Grizzle 
 Greenhorn owes either of you a 
 hundred pounds; or, which is better 
 illustration, perhaps if you have in 
 your hands a hundred and five pounds 
 in amount of the notes of Messrs. 
 Paperkite & Co. Country Bankers, 
 and you have a mind to have gold for 
 those notes, looking forward to a time 
 when you may want them, and having 
 a greater attachment to the king's 
 picture than to the arms and crests of 
 Paperkite & Co. In such a case, you 
 go to Paperkite with, his notes, and 
 demand payment of them. He tenders 
 you, as a matter of course, Bank o{ 
 England notes to the amount of those 
 of his own which you present for pay- 
 ment; but. you, in pursuance of your 
 design to be possessed of a hundred 
 of the King's pictures, demand gold, 
 and stick to that demand. If he 
 cannot, or will not, pay you in gold, 
 you cannot arrest him or compel him 
 to put in special bail, but, you can 
 bring the ordinary action of debt 
 against him, the decision of which is 
 sure to be in your favour with the usual 
 costs, and, while the action is going 
 on, he is obliged to deposit the Bank 
 of England notes in court, as the 
 ground of being protected in the mean- 
 while against arrest and against the 
 demand of special bail; and, if he 
 does not make this deposit, you can 
 even arrest him, as in any other case 
 of refusal or ^inability to pay. 
 
 Thus, Gentlemen, stands the law, 
 with regard to the legality of a tender 
 of Bank of England notes. The Tax- 
 gatherer cannot refuse them in pay- 
 ment of taxes; the Stockholder cannot 
 refuse them in payment of his divi- 
 dends; and the note-holder cannot 
 demand coin for them of the Bank 
 Company or of any body else, of 
 whom he has once received them in 
 
283] 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 payment; but, any private individual 
 may refuse them in payment of money 
 due to him from any body but the 
 Bank Company; and, may proceed to 
 recover payment in real money, in the 
 way above described. 
 
 Thinking it desirable to keep this 
 subject of the Legal Tender distinct 
 from that of the Duration of the Act 
 of 1797, and having necessarily a 
 <rood deal to say upon the latter sub- 
 
 [284 
 
 ject, and much interesting matter to 
 develope, I shall not enter thereon till 
 my next Letter; and, in the mean 
 while, I remain, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Monday, 
 November 91th, 1810. 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 He hwped eentlrmen would direct their most serious attention to the subject. The bill was of the utmost 
 " importance ; if a pape* currency were once established, how could it be (jot rid of? If gold and silver 
 " were once driven out of circulation, how were Iney tu be recovered ? The sure consequences of a p.iper 
 V currency would be a debt su eHormou*. that it would never be removed. The old debts and the new would 
 *• vanish to:'f thcr, and the funded property would sink with them. A revolution in property might produce 
 44 a revolution in Government, and all those semes of blood which had disgraced Franc*.'— MR. 
 «• JJ1C110LLS. Debate, i7th March 1797. On the Bank Kestrection Bill. 
 
 Duration of the Bank Stoppage or Restriction Act— Recapitulation of the Dates of the 
 principal Occurences leading to the Act — Apparent Reluctance with which the Bank 
 Company submitted to the Restriction — They now discover that they have no Objec- 
 tion to be restrained — Mr. Huskisson says that the Duration could not have been 
 foreseen— The probable Reason of this— Mr. Huskisson's Places and Pensions — Such 
 a Person ought to have foreseen these Consequences of the Act — Others did fersee 
 them. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 WE now come to that subject which 
 naturally connects the proceedings and 
 measures of 1797, with the Report 
 of the Bullion Committee, namely, 
 the DURATION of the Act of 1797, 
 that Act, which was made for the 
 purpose of protecting the Bank Com- 
 pany against the legal demands of the 
 holders of its promissory notes, and 
 which Act, as you will not fail to 
 dear in mind, arose out of an alarm 
 felt by the Bank Company for the 
 safety of their House. It is very 
 material to keep constantly in view 
 the progress which ended in the pass- 
 ing of this Act, which, as you will 
 have already perceived, did, in fact, 
 decide the fate of the paper-money in 
 England ; and, therefore, I will here 
 again place before you a recapitulation 
 of the dates of the principal occur- 
 rences. 
 
 February 21st, 1797,' the Di- 
 rectors of the Bank, " observed 
 " with great uneasiness the large 
 " and constant decrease in their 
 " cash/' a deputation of them 
 went to the Minister (Pitt) to 
 make him acquainted therewith ; 
 and, as they attributed the run 
 to the alarm of invasion, they 
 begged of the Minister to say 
 something in Parliament, '* in 
 " order to ease the public mind 
 " upon that score." 
 
 February 24th. At a meeting of 
 the Directors, it appeared that 
 the " loss of cash jesterday was 
 " above £ and that about 
 
 " £ * were already drawn 
 
 * There were no sums inserted. Th« 
 statement of i um« was left in blank as it if 
 here. 
 
8S6j 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 [2m 
 
 " out this day, which gave suck \ 
 " an alarm, for the safety of the \ 
 " House" that a deputation was | 
 sent to Mr. Pitt, to ask him when j 
 he would think it necessary to in- \ 
 terfere. At this meeting with | 
 the Minister it was agreed, that a I 
 resolution should be by him pre- | 
 pared to bring before the Coun- 
 cil for stepping payments in cash ; I 
 also that a general meeting oi 
 Bankers and Merchants should 
 be contrived in order to pass re- 
 solutions to support public credit ; 
 and the Minister, at the recom- 
 mendation of the Deputation, 
 agreed to get a private meeting 
 of the chief bankers at ids house 
 the next day, in order them to 
 lay the plan for a general meet- 
 ing. 
 
 February 26. The Order of Coun- 
 cil was issued, stating, that the Mi- 
 nister had given the Council such 
 information relating to a run upon 
 the Bank, as induced the Council 
 to require, and they therefore did 
 require, the B ank Company to for- 
 bear issuing any cash inpayments, 
 until the sense of Parliament 
 should be taken upon the subject. 
 
 February 27th. An immense 
 crowd of people assembled early 
 in the morning at the doors of 
 the Bank and in Tiireadneedle- 
 street, in order to get gold for the 
 notes they held ; but, instead of 
 gold they received a notification, 
 that they might have bank-notes 
 lent to them in discounts, and 
 that the dividends, or in teres is 
 upon stock, would be paid in the 
 seme manner. Whereupon they 
 retired, shaking their long ears, 
 and consoling themselves with 
 the hope, that they would get 
 gold in a week or two. 
 
 On he very same day (27th Feb.) the 
 general Meeting of Bankers and 
 Merchants, which had been pro- 
 posed to the Minister by the Bank 
 Directors, was held at the Man- 
 
 sion House in London; that is to 
 say, th<s State ! louse of Laid 
 Mayor (Brook Watson) the Chief 
 Magistrate of the City, who v. a* 
 Chairman of the Meeting, and 
 who signed the Resolutions, to 
 which, therefore, the air of au- 
 thority was given. 
 
 February 28th. The Privy Conn- 
 eii, including all the Ministers, of 
 course, had a Meeting, and sign- 
 ed an agreement to take and give 
 bank-notes in the same way as 
 the Bankers and Merchant* who 
 had signed their resolutions. 
 
 March 2nd. Tile Magistrates met 
 at the Quarter Session* for the 
 County of .Surrey, signed an 
 agreement of the same sort, which 
 was promulgated " by Order of 
 the Court" and was signed, like 
 any other magisterial act, by the 
 Clerk of the Peace. The like 
 was done in all the other couut 
 ties. 
 
 March 3rd. At a meeting of the 
 Bank Company, consisting of the 
 Bank Proprietors in general, was 
 passed an unanimous tote of 
 thanks to the Directors for having 
 obeyod the order in Council and 
 for tiaving refused to pay in cash. 
 From this Meeting it was pro- 
 mulgated, that no application had 
 been made by the Bank Direc- 
 tors for the Order to withhold 
 cash; that the measure was not 
 adopted at the instance of those 
 concerned in the direction of the 
 Bank; that they complied with 
 the order, understanding it to have 
 been dictated by national policy ; 
 s:nd meant to operate only for a 
 short time; that their affairs were 
 in a state of the greatest affluence, 
 and that they earnestly hoped 
 they would soon be PER- 
 MITTED to pa^ their notes in 
 cash in the same manner as they 
 had formerly done. 
 
 March 9th. The Ministers moved 
 in the House of Commons, for 
 
237] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [23S 
 
 leave to bring in a Bill to sanc- 
 tion what had been done by the 
 Privy Council and by the Bank 
 , Directors ; to protect both against 
 any legal proceedings for having 
 done an unlawful act ; and to au- 
 thorize the Bank Company to 
 CONTINUE to refu.e to "pay 
 their notes in cash, for a certain 
 time to be named. 
 May 3rd. This Bill became a law ; 
 and by it the Bank Company 
 were authorized to refuse to pay 
 their promissory notes in cash, 
 until the 24th of June in that 
 same year ; that is to say for fifty 
 two days. 
 Such, Gentleman, was the progress 
 which ended in the passing of the 
 Cash Stopping Act, which is gene- 
 rally called the Bank Restriction 
 Act, and which, to those, from whom 
 the above facts have been kept hidden, 
 would, from this name as well as from 
 the language of the Act itself, appear 
 to have been made without any ap- 
 plication for such a measure on the 
 part of the Bank Company, and even 
 against the wishes of that Company, 
 who would, from outward appearances, 
 be looked upon as being compelled 
 against their will, to refuse cash-pay- 
 ments of their promissory notes, and 
 to yield to this compulsion without 
 remonstrating, merely from their sense 
 of loyalty and public spirit. 
 
 These outward appearances, how- 
 ever, have nearly lost their effect; 
 and, it certainly would be something 
 verj wonderful indeed if they had not, 
 seeing that the advocates of the Bank 
 now complain, not of the " restric- 
 tion? but of the Bullion Committee, 
 w ho have proposed to remove the re- 
 striction at the end of two years ! Oh ! 
 this is delightful. This is, perhaps, 
 the finest instance of putting profes- 
 sions to the test that ever was heard of 
 in the world. Here are the Bank 
 Company restrained; they are restrain- 
 ed from paying their promissory notes 
 in the current coin of the kingdom; 
 there i§, which seem* ~*rv hard, a 
 
 law to prevent them from paying in 
 gold; they would seem to have been 
 so eager to do it., that it was absolutely 
 necessary to pass a law to hold in 
 their hands. Well. You have, say 
 the Bullion Committee, endured this 
 restraint for thirteen long years, which 
 is long enough in all conscience, and 
 therefore we will remove this restraint ; 
 we will permit you to pay in gold. 
 This kind proposition, however, in- 
 stead of calling forth expressions oi' 
 joy and gratitude, throws the advo- 
 cates of the Bank Company into 
 the utmost consternation ami dis- 
 may, and they abuse the Bullion 
 Committee as men who have aimed a 
 blow at the very vitals of public credit. 
 Alas! what, then, the Bank Company 
 w r ere not so uneasy as we thought un- 
 der this restraint? They did not com- 
 plain and moan, in secret, as we sup- 
 pose they did at being restrained from 
 paying their promissory notes? Nay, 
 by all that is wonderful, it would seem 
 that they like to be restrained? 
 
 To return from this digression, into 
 which I was drawn by this strange 
 perversity of taste in the Bank Com- 
 pany, let us now, after having refresh- 
 ed our memories as to the pogress 
 which led to the passing of the Cash 
 Stopping, or Bank Restriction Act, 
 see by what means, and vpon what 
 grounds, it has been continued in force 
 from tho 3rd of May, 1 797, to this 
 day; and, here, Gentlemen, you will 
 find the most curious and most 
 valuable part of this most curious and 
 most valuable history. 
 
 One of the objects which we ought 
 to have in view, is, to ascertain, and 
 not only to ascertain, but to put safely 
 upon record , so that they may be turn- 
 ed to at any moment, the names of as 
 many as possible of those, who had a 
 hand, who really aided and abetted, 
 the measure of what is called tho 
 Bank Restriction, that is to say, the 
 Act to bear the Bank Company harm- 
 less in refusing payment of its promis- 
 sory notes. The Bullion Committer 
 has described the consequence* of thai 
 
239} 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 |246 
 
 measure; they have plainly told us 
 what mischiefs have arisen from it ; 
 they have told us how very injuriously 
 it Las operated towards creditors oi 
 all descriptions, but they have been 
 wholly silent as to the parties by 
 whom the fatal measure was promoted 
 •and brought about, as well as to the 
 parties by whom it was opposed ; and, 
 they, have also been quite silent us to 
 the grounds, upon which the Act au- 
 thorizing the refusal of cash has, from 
 time to time, been continued from 
 May 3rd, 1797, to the present day. 
 Nay, Mr. Huskisson, one of the 
 members of the Bullion Committee, i 
 who, not content with the share he 
 took in the labours ol the Committee, 
 lias, as we saw in Letter XVII, pub- 
 lished a pamphlet upon the subject, 
 has not only avoided to say who it was 
 that was the cause of the Act, but 
 would seem to wish his readers to be- 
 lieve, that those who caused that Act 
 to be passed could have no idea of its 
 being continued so long, and, the in- 
 ference he leaves to be drawn is, that, 
 Those Persons have not been the 
 cause of such continuance. 
 
 To explain satisfactorily the pro- 
 bable reason why Mr. Huskisson 
 endeavours to give this turn to the 
 thing, it might, perhaps, be sufficient 
 to tell you, that he himself *b as been 
 steadily on the side of the minister at 
 the time when the first Act was pass- 
 ed, in 1797, and also at every renewal 
 of that Act. This might suffice in ex- 
 planation of this part of Mr. Huskis- 
 son's conduct ; but, I must not omit 
 this opportunity of introducing this 
 gentleman to you in form. lie is one 
 of the men, whom you help to pay ; 
 and, it is possible, that you will have 
 to pay him as long as he lives. There- 
 fore, you have a perfect right to know 
 tcAo and what he is ; what he has done, 
 and what he is likely to do, for the 
 people of England. 
 
 Mr. William Huskisson, the 
 author of the pamphlet mentioned in 
 my last, owes what he has got not to 
 any family connection, but solely to 
 
 his own per- -.en a! exertions, having, in 
 his early days, been, according to 
 some, an Apothecary, and, according 
 to others, a Bunker. He did r*ot 
 waste, the precious duys of his youth 
 at schools and colleges, learning Latin 
 and laziness. Like you and I, Gen- 
 tlemen, he owes nothing to pedagogues 
 or to ^pedigiee; and though he does 
 not belong to that class of men wliom 
 Paine calls the Nobles of Future 
 yet, were Nature to give titles, she 
 would certainly dubb Mr. Huskisson 
 a Knigkt. This gentleman was in 
 France -at the breaking out of the 
 Anti Jacobin war; that is to say 
 the war which begun in 1793, and 
 which, as we have seen,, produced 
 such effects upon the bank-note sys- 
 tem. He appears, from a French 
 pamphlet which I have in my posses- 
 sion, to have been a very ardent friend 
 of the French revolution, at the out- 
 set, and, a speech of his, delivered in 
 a club at Paris, upon funds and tythes, 
 'it would do your hearts good to hear. 
 From Paris, however, Mr. Huskisson 
 returned to England in 171)3, having 
 come away upon the recall of our am- 
 bassador, Lord Grower, now Marquis 
 of Stafford, to whom, it is said, he 
 had been useful at Paris and who is 
 said, in return to have recommended 
 him to the notice of those two worthy 
 associates in power, and never to-be- 
 forgotten ministers, Pitt and Dun- 
 das. They found him useful ; and, 
 though his out-set was low, he found 
 himself, at the end of less than seven 
 years, an Under Secretary of State in 
 the Colonial Department, and a Mem- 
 ber of Parliament. In the winter of 
 1801, when I*!tt and Dun das went 
 out of office, Mr. Huskisso s followed 
 them, but not without taking care to 
 cast a look behind him ; and by the advice 
 of Mr Addington, the successor of 
 Mr. Pitt, our author had conferred 
 on him a pension, for life, to be paid 
 out of the taxes raised on the people, 
 to the amount of 1,200 a year; and 
 afterwards, a pension, to be paid from 
 the same source, was settled upon his 
 
241 1 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 F24S 
 
 wife, Mrs. Eu2A. Emily Huskts- 
 son, to the amount of 615 pounds a 
 year for her life, to commence at her 
 husband's death. What a nice com- 
 fortable way this is, Gentlemen, to 
 make provision for one's wife and fa- 
 mily! Mr. Husktsson's pension 
 was to be suspended whenever he 
 should be in posi-es.sion of an office of 
 the annual value of 2,000 a year, or 
 upwards, and, when he quitted such 
 office, he was again to receive the pen- 
 sion. So that he made sure of 1,200/. 
 a year for life, and of 015 pounds a 
 year for the life of his wife, W she 
 should out-live him. This shewed not 
 only a ?ery provident but a very affec- 
 tionate disposition. But, our author 
 did not stop here ; for he obtained the 
 Agentship of the Island of Ceylon, ac- 
 knowledged by himself to be worth 
 700 pounds a year, and this he still 
 held along with the office of Secretary 
 of the Treasury which he got in J 804, 
 and which at 4,000 pounds a year 
 salary, he held, with an interval of 
 about fifteen months, 'till about Octo- 
 ber, 1809. So that, while in office lie 
 got 4,700 pounds a year ; and while 
 out of office, 1,990 pounds a year, 
 1,200 pounds of which he has for life, 
 with a provision of 6*15 pounds a year 
 for the life of his wife, if she should 
 out-live him. 
 
 Such, Gentlemen, is the history of 
 the pub ic life of the author of the 
 pamphlet, of which I am about to 
 speak. He is now one of the Mem- 
 bers of Parliament for Harwich ; he 
 was one of the members of the 
 BULLION COMMITTEE, and his 
 pamphlet, the title of which was men- 
 tioned in my last Letter, has been 
 published for the purpo.-e of explain- 
 ing some parts and defending other 
 parts of the famous and immortal 
 Report of that Committee. 
 
 But as perfection is not to be ex 
 pected in any thing human, this Re- 
 port omits to say any thing about the 
 grounds of the continuance, or dura- 
 tion of the Cash Siojtping, or Bank- 
 restricting Act; and Mr, Hvskisson 
 
 seerns to think it incumbent upon 
 him to say some little matter upon 
 that, subject. He put himself in a 
 ticklish predicament, when he took up 
 his pen upon such a subject ; for, we 
 have seen, that he was in office : we 
 have seen that he was in the receipt 
 of the public money from the year 
 1793 to the time when he became a 
 member of the Bullion Committee; 
 we have seen, that, from 1801 to the 
 end nearly of 1809 (with the excep- 
 tion of about fifteen months) he was a 
 Secretary of the Treasury, and it is 
 perfectly notorious, that he was what 
 was called the Minister Pitt's right- 
 hand man ; that he had, in fact, the 
 chief actual management of the pecu- 
 niary affairs of the Exchequer and 
 Treasury ;. that he was so closely in- 
 timate with Mr. PiTT r that he was 
 one of the few persons with him when 
 he died ; and that he was one of th* 
 witnesses of his will and one of his 
 creditors. 
 
 A person thus situated ought to 
 have had some knowledge of the finan- 
 cial affairs of the kingdom. A person 
 thus situated ought to have known 
 pretty well the nature and tendency 
 of a measure like the Cash-Stopping, 
 or Eank-restricting Act. A person, 
 to whom the people of England pay 
 4,700 pounds a year while he is in 
 office, and 1,900 a year when he is 
 out of office. A person, to whom, at 
 the very least, we are to pay, out of 
 the taxes, 1,200 pounds a year for 
 his life, with a contingent 615 pounds 
 a year for the life of his wife. Such a 
 person, Gentlemen, ought to have a 
 mind capable of extending its inqui- 
 ries and conclusions beyond the pre» 
 sent moment; and, in a case like that 
 of the Stopping or Restricting Act* 
 to be able to foresee the consequences 
 that will result. In short, the man> 
 be he who he may^ that receives from 
 the people such pay, ought, if his do* 
 paftment be that of the Treasury, to 
 t>e ashamed to plead ignorance as to 
 any principle or point connected with 
 the subject before us. 
 
243] 
 
 LETTER XVIlt 
 
 [244 
 
 Yet, what does Mr. IIuskisson 
 say as to the duration of the Stoppage, 
 or Restriction Act? He is in a 
 dilemma. To pass over the matter in 
 silence, will not do, because he is 
 compelled to speak of the injuries 
 arising from the long duration of the 
 Act; ant'.j to censure the passing of 
 the Act wiil not do, because it is so 
 well known that he was in cilice 
 when it was first passed, and also 
 when it was twice or three times re- 
 newed. In this difficulty, he has re- 
 course to a plea, which he does not 
 appear to conceive makes against ! 
 himself. lie wishes his reader to 
 gather from What is said, thai those 
 who uere the cause of the Act on ' (fi- 
 nally never could dream of its being 
 continued inforce so hurt. I [e say s, that 
 that Act was, when first passed, 
 *' considered and proposed, as an e\- 
 " pedient that should be of short du- 
 ** ration, the course of the proceed- 
 " ings of parliament abundantly indi- 
 •' cates; but, if, in the year 1797, it 
 " had been foreseen, that this tempo- 
 " rary expedient, would be attempted 
 " to be converted into a system for an 
 ** indefinite number of years, and that, 
 " under this system, in the year 1H10, 
 " ever}' creditor, public or private, 
 " subject or alien, to whom the law, 
 " as it then stood, and as it now 
 " stands, had secured the payment of 
 " a pound weight of standard gold for 
 " every £46 14s. 6d. of his just de- 
 " mand, would be obliged to accept, 
 94 in full satisfaction, about 10^ ounces, 
 •' or not more than seventeen shillings 
 ** in the pound; with a prospect of a 
 " still further reduction in every sub- 
 u sequent year: — it is impossible to 
 u conceive that the attention andfeel- 
 " ings of parliament would not have 
 *' been alive to all the individual in- 
 u justice, and ultimate public cala- 
 ** mi ties, incident to such a state of 
 " things ; and that they would not 
 H have provided for the termination of 
 44 the restriction, before it should have 
 " wrought so much mischief, and laid 
 
 " the foundation of so much confusion 
 " in all the dealings and transactions 
 " of the community." 
 
 Here are two questions : that of 
 the duration of the Act, and that of 
 depreciation of the Bank notes. The 
 latter will form the subject of a sub- 
 sequent littler. As to the former, 
 Mr. liibkissou Would evidently have 
 us believe, the continuation of the 
 Act for any length of time was not 
 foreseen, cither by him, or by any 
 body else. History, Truth, Jus- 
 tice; justice to the living and the 
 dead; but especially to the dead, de- 
 mand the proof of the contrary ; de- 
 mand that you, Gentlemen, and thatthc 
 whole of the people of England should 
 know, that it Pitt and his colleagues; 
 that, if those to whom we have paid 
 so many many thousands and hun- 
 dreds of pounds, in salaries, pensions, 
 allowances, and fees; that, if they did 
 not foresee the consequences of the 
 Act of May 3, 1797, there were others, 
 Who did foresee those consequences, 
 though, unfortunately for the country, 
 the parliament were deaf to their pre- 
 dictions, and still supported Mr. Pitt 
 and his system. 
 
 It is now more than thirteeH 
 years since this Act was passed, since 
 this deed was done ; since the blow, 
 under w Inch credit is now staggering, 
 was struck; but, it is not only neces- 
 sary to justice towards individuals but 
 to public safety to shew, who it was 
 that did that deed, and who it was 
 that had endeavoured to prevent the 
 measures which produced it and fore- 
 told its fatal consequences. It is now 
 the practice of the Pitt school, when 
 they speak of the Stoppage, or Re- 
 striction Act, to speak of it as of i 
 thing that nobody could help ; as mer 
 speak of a flood, or thunder-storm, a 
 any other calamity, in the causing of. 
 the preventing of which it is well 
 known that mankind can have nothing 
 to do. But, we must not, Gentleme*, 
 suffer them thus to get off. They havT 
 had the sway in the country for tb« 
 
245] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 (346 
 
 last ticcitty-iix years, fifteen months 
 excepted. They have followed their 
 own plans. TUoy have constantly in- 
 sistrd that theirs were the wisest 
 plans. They have made people feel 
 that it \\ as full as safe to leave their 
 plan? ur.attacked. Well. We have 
 now the result before us. PlTT lild 
 his admirer* and adherents have pos- 
 sessed the places and the powers of 
 the state for t:rcn(tf-six years ; and we 
 now see what ara the consequences. 
 Those who hke. the consequences; 
 those who think the pee. <'i)t state of 
 tilings a good out-, wiii of course, he 
 
 thankful that we have had such men 
 in power ; but, those, who, like Mr. 
 IJtsKissoN, are able to discover 
 some grounds for apprehension, must 
 excuse me, if I point out those to 
 whom we owe the danger ; or, if, in 
 the words of the old maxim, " I clap 
 " the saddle upon the right horse." 
 
 Tins task must, however, be re- 
 served for my next ; and in the mean 
 while, I remain, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 W*». i OBBETT, 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Thursday, 
 i\ovimbcr 20, ItilO. 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 the measure of uoii-piyinf.nt orfoinated «fith ih»- pjr.'piu boumt topay."- 
 !it<r. Ilomrof Comii.ons, "Nov. ?2, 1"07- 
 
 •Mr. Turntift Spee«h, in 
 
 The Reason for the Steppage, or Krstrietion, Act— 'Mr. Pitt and his Adherents re- 
 pre-.eut it as of short Duration — Mr. r'ox and other* foreteil that it will never be re- 
 pealed — The Datea of the several Renewals of the Act — Pretence for the first Renewal 
 — Resolution of the Hank Director.* — Keport of the Secret Committee — Pretence for 
 the second Renewal— Exposure of th ; s by Mr. Hebhotnte — viiserable Answer of the 
 Minister — Mr. Ticrney's Exposure of the whole Thing— The Measure traced to the 
 End of the last War* 
 
 Gpntlfmev, 
 
 THE task first to be performed , 
 agreeably to the conclusion of my last 
 letter, is, to point out to you, and I hot- 
 ter myself, to your children's chil- 
 dren, those persons, who bore a dis- 
 tinguished part in the discussions of 
 the Stoppage, or Restriction, Act; 
 and, especially to show you, that that 
 Act was not a thing that came like a 
 flood or like thunder, as Mr # Huskisson 
 appears to wish us to believe ; and 
 that its duration was a circumstance 
 which was not only foreseen but dis- 
 tinctly foretold by several of those 
 persons, who, by the party to which 
 Mr. Ilu>kissen belonged, were re-' 
 presented as the enemies of their 
 country. The Bill was, as we have 
 •een, brought into the House of Com- 
 mons on the 9th of March, and he- 
 game a law on the 3rd of May. Be- 
 tween these days there were several 
 debates upon the subject; and, you 
 
 will now see, whether, as Mr. Hus- 
 kisson would have the public believe, 
 there was nobody that could foresee 
 or dream of, this long continuation of 
 the non-payment of cash at the Hank. 
 Justice to the dead as well as to the 
 living, as was before observed, de- 
 mands that the truth of this fact 
 should be well known ; but, besides 
 that, the knowledge of the truth here 
 will be of great utility in the guiding 
 of our judgment for the future. J shall, 
 therefore, give the very words of the se- 
 veral speakers upon the subject, just as 
 they stand in the Reports of the 
 Parliamentary Debates of that time ; 
 and, that any one may, when ho 
 pleases, examine into the correctness 
 of my statements, I shall give the 
 date of the Debate from which [ mako 
 my quotations. 
 
 Mr. Pitt and his adherents held a 
 language of great confidence in the- 
 solvency, and even in the vwalth of 
 
247] 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 [248 
 
 the Bank Company. Yon have seen, 
 that the first Act of Stoppage, or, as 
 it is called, of Restriction, was to last 
 for only fifty-tivo days, which, of itself, 
 amounted to a^eclaration, that the 
 Bank would be able to resume their 
 payments in a short time ; and, during 
 the debates upon the bill, in its seve- 
 ral stages, every thing was said, that 
 could be thought of by the Minister 
 and his adherents, to cause the public 
 to believe, that the suspension of cash- 
 payments would be very short indeed. 
 In the debate of the 23rd of March, 
 Mr. WiLBERFORCEsaid, that, "Gen- 
 rt tlemen did not consider how much 
 " of this distress arose from the very 
 " nature of our commercial dealings. 
 " The credit we gave was one year, 
 *' eighteen months, or two years, 
 " while we paid at six months ; so that 
 u in the progressive increase of trade 
 " it was some time before the balance 
 " flowed in. The bad effects were 
 " passed, the good were yet to come." 
 On the 24th of March, Mr. Pitt said, 
 that, " as to the exact period, he could 
 " make no positive conjecture : for he 
 " felt it difficult to say, whether 
 " one month, or two, or three, would 
 " be better. But when he reflected, 
 " that it must require some time for 
 " money to circulate back from the 
 " country to the Bank, and also to be 
 " refunded from abroad , and from all 
 " the other sources, from which its 
 " wealth may be derived, he could 
 u . not entertain a firm hope that the 
 " restoration of the Bank could be 
 44 other than gradual, he would, there- 
 " fore, limit the operation of the pre- 
 " sent clause to the 24th of June 
 " 1797." On the 29th of March, 
 Mr. Lubbock said, that " if no par- 
 ticular day was fixed, and th Bank 
 u began to pay specie without such 
 " notice, all would go on gradually 
 " and smoothly ; that he was con- 
 
 " vinced, with a very little assistance, 
 " that the Bank might go on as usual 
 " mmediately, and discount freely * 
 " if £3,000,000 were added to their 
 " capital, it would enable the Bank to 
 " discount to a much larger amount, 
 " which would more than accommo- 
 " date the commercial world ; and he 
 " would venture to be d — d, if such a 
 " sum would not be subscribed in 
 " twenty-four hours ; this would put 
 " all to rights." On the3lst of March 
 Mr. Pitt said, " Leave the Bank and 
 " them to exercise a discretion con- 
 " cerning it, which, at all events, 
 " could do no injury, and might, more 
 " than probably would, lead to the at- 
 " tainment of that which the right ho- 
 " nourable gentleman himself seemed 
 " so anxious for, namely, the restora- 
 " Hon of cash payments at the Bank." 
 And, again, on the same day he said*; 
 " Probably then the cash in the Bank 
 " on the 25th of February was no 
 " yet diminished — then if more 
 " cash came in, it would gradually 
 " enable the Bank to open again and 
 " resume its operations by those slow 
 "and successive steps which would 
 " make a resumption *afe." — On the 
 same day, Mr. Samuel' Thornton 
 one of the Bank Directors, said, in 
 speaking of the clause, which invite* 
 people to carry gold to deposit in the 
 Bank, that, " on the whole he con- 
 " sidered it as a most important mea- 
 " sure, and that it would enable the 
 " Bank to resume its usual gene- 
 " ral payments long antecedent to the 
 " period fixed for its recovery." Thus, 
 all of them spoke either of a gradual or 
 a speedy return to cash-payments ; and 
 this last gentleman, a most firm ad 
 herent of the Minister, and a Bank 
 Director expressed his opinion, that 
 the Bank would be able to pay ever 
 before the expiration of the fifty-two 
 days, for which the Act was made. 
 
 ©ntereti at Stationers 
 
 Printed by W. Molineux, 5, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane? Published by W. CobbeTT, 
 Jun. No. 8, Catherine Street, Strand ; and Retailed at No. 192, Strand. 
 
 
No^O-COBBETTS PAPER AGAINST GOLD.— [Price Twopence. 
 
 249] 
 
 \ Now, Gentlemen, hear the other 
 ride. You hare heard the Minister 
 Pitt and his adherents. Now hear 
 Mr. Fox and those who stood with 
 him. But, above all things mark the 
 words of Mr. Fox. Look at his pre- 
 dictions ; and, I need not point out to 
 you, how exactly they have been ac- 
 complished thus far, and how mani- 
 fest it is that the rest are in the way 
 of speedy accomplishment. Mr. Fox 
 is no more ; but his words will never 
 die. The evils he foretold, and that 
 he laboured to prevent, have all come 
 upon us, or now menace us with 
 horrid aspect. 
 
 In the debate of the 7th of March, 
 Mr. Hobhouse said : " But we are 
 " told that this bill is to exist for a 
 " short time only. Has the right 
 " honourable Chancellor of the Ex- 
 " chequer considered what is likely 
 *' to take place when this bill shall ex- 
 " pire ? Will not the holders of Bank 
 " of England notes, the very moment 
 " that the suspension of payment in 
 " specie is at an end, rush in large 
 ** bodies to the Bank and demand 
 u specie ? Having been once deluded, 
 f* will they ever expose themselves to 
 " the risque of being deluded a second 
 u time ; having once lost the opportu- 
 " nity of converting their notes into 
 " specie by a sudden and unexpected 
 " Order of Council, will they ever 
 " voluntarily become holders of such 
 " notes again? The least wound 
 " given to public credit is not easily 
 " healed ; public confidence once lost, 
 " is not easily recovered." What 
 Mr. Nicholls said, in the debate of 
 the 22nd of March, we have seen in 
 the Motto to Letter XVIII. In the 
 same debate Mr. Fox said that, " He 
 
 T250 
 
 " knew not what the duration of the 
 " bill was intended to be, whether for 
 " three werks or for three or six 
 " months ; but this he knew, that the 
 " longer tue duration, the greater our 
 " difficulty 'would be ; and he must 
 " be a sanguine man indeed, if he 
 " thought the country would not bo 
 ' ruined in its credit, if this bill con- 
 " tinued for six or eight months. — 
 " There were some persons who con- 
 " fessed that this evil could not be 
 " removed during the war : he agreed 
 " with them ; but he doubted whether 
 " it could be lemoved EVEN IN 
 " PEACE, unless that desirable event 
 " should take place very soon. Every 
 " hour that it was delayed diminished 
 " our chance of removing the cala- 
 " mity. If we had not peace in the 
 " spring of 1797, what should we say 
 " in the autumn ? This was a question 
 " which did not depend on the taking 
 '• of a, town or a fortress. An enume- 
 " ration of many successes in that re- 
 " spect would be of no avail. This 
 " was a time in which we should not 
 " conceal any thing from the public. 
 " A new loan of several millions was 
 " speedily wanted, which certainly 
 " would not tend to improve the situa- 
 " tion of paper credit. He could not 
 " bring himself to state the circum- 
 " stances of this country without the 
 " most painful anxiety. The House 
 " ought to consider that this country 
 " was now on the brink of a dreadful 
 " precipice, and that one false step 
 " might throw it into a gulph out of 
 " which it never could rise." In the 
 same debate, in answer to a remark 
 of Mr. Pitt "that an increase of 
 11 Bank notes would hasten the period 
 '* of cash payments" Mr. Fox said, 
 
 W, MOLINiUX, Prioter, Bream'* Bulldiugt 
 Cbantciy Luae. 
 
251] 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 (262 
 
 that " to say that paper differed from 
 ' the nature of every thing else, and^ 
 " that it was valuable in proportion as" 
 " it was plentiful, and not as it was 
 " rare ; and that the abundance of 
 " paper would incline people not to 
 " hoard guineas, but would induce 
 " them to carry them to the Bank, 
 " were propositions so inconsistent 
 " with sound reasoning, that he was 
 " ashamed of calling up principles so 
 " merely elementary, and which were 
 " as clear as the simplest proposi- 
 " tions of mathematics." In the same 
 debate, Mr. Sheridan said, that 
 " There would be no end to the bill, 
 ** should it be carried into effect. He 
 " would repeat, therefore, what he 
 " had said before, that it would be 
 " better to suspend the proceeding 
 " altogether, than to hazard the evils 
 " which its enactment, without the 
 " prospect of a limitation, would pro- 
 
 * duce.' , In the same debate, Sir 
 William Pulteney said: "Does 
 " any man, in his senses, imagine, 
 " that if this stoppage of payment in 
 " specie is to be of long duration, 
 " that the merchant will not advance 
 " the price v of his foreign articles T— - 
 " This appears to me to be a great 
 " evil ; and I have no idea of assenting 
 " to any bill of this kind, unless the 
 " duration be fixed, and irrevocably 
 " limited to a short period." In the 
 debate of the 24th of March, the 
 same gentleman, Sir William Pul- 
 teney, said, that " he was of opinion 
 " that the longer the period was, the 
 
 * heavier would our difficulties grow. 
 " It was useless to say, that cash 
 " might flow back from the country 
 ** and from abroad; for, while we 
 " were waiting for that reflux of 
 w specie, our destruction must ensue; 
 " it was impossible to restore the 
 
 * Bank by the balance of trade to 
 
 * which the right honourable gentle- 
 " man, Mr. Pitt, alluded. The 
 u theory was false, and nothing solid 
 " could l)e expected from it. Three 
 " weeks iiod already been given to 
 
 " the Bank, and, he was willing to 
 " grant it one month more ; if, then, 
 " it could not pay, we must look for 
 " some other remedy: for that now 
 " proposed would be found of no 
 " avail. We should be only compelled 
 " to prolong the restriction from one 
 " period to another, till our paper met 
 " the fate of the French assignats. ,i 
 
 Such, Gentlemen, were the opinions 
 expressed, upon this part of the sub- 
 ject, when the cash-stopping bill was 
 first before the House of Commons. 
 You see, then, that, while Mr. Pitt 
 and his adherents were full of confi- 
 dence of the Bank being able to return 
 to its payments in cash ; while they 
 saw no danger at all from this mea- 
 sure ; while they thought that the in- 
 vitation contained in tiie Act for peo- 
 ple to bring money into the Bank 
 Shop would again fill the Shop with 
 real treasure ; while they, and espe- 
 cially Mr. Wilberforce, described 
 the Stoppage of cash-payments rather 
 as a sk n of prosperity and riches than 
 the contrary ; while they did not, as 
 Mr. Huskisson says, dream of the 
 Act being continued for a length of 
 time; while their opinions, or, at 
 least, their declarations, were of this 
 sort, the declarations on the other 
 side of the House, the declarations of 
 those whom this " most thinking'* 
 nation would jwt believe, the declara- 
 tions of those whom this " most think- 
 " ing" nation were persuaded to loot 
 upon as its enemies and as the friends 
 of France, were just the contrary. 
 Mr. Fox and his party not only fore- 
 saw, but they foretold, what has since 
 come to pass. They said, that, if the 
 Act was once passed, it must go on; 
 and they gave reaso?is, for their opinion ; 
 reasons that were not attempted to be 
 overset by other reasons, and that 
 were opposed by nothing but abuse or 
 foul insinuation. 
 
 Having, now, as far as relates to 
 this point, done justice to the parties 
 who took a part in the debates upon 
 the occasion referred to; having 
 
253] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [254 
 
 shewn that Mr. Huskisson has not 
 fairly represented the matter ; having 
 shewn that Mr. Pitt and his adhe- 
 rents either meant to deceive the na- 
 tion as to the ability and willingness 
 of the Bank to return to payments in 
 cash, or were themselves ignorant of 
 the natural consequences of the mea- 
 sure, and that they had either less sin- 
 cerity or less knowledge than their op- 
 ponents ; having placed this import- 
 ant part of the subject beyond the 
 power of future misrepresentation, we 
 will now r trace this famous Act of 
 Parliament through its several renew- 
 als, from its first passing to the pre- 
 sent day. In the whole, there have 
 been Six Acts passed; the original 
 Act, of which the several clauses are 
 mentioned in Letter XVI, page 214, 
 and Five Acts of Renewal. There 
 are, in some of these Jive, trifling de- 
 viations from the original Act ; but, 
 these are very unimportant. The 
 great provisions about stopping cash- 
 payments, about protecting the Bank 
 Company against the demands of their 
 creditors, and about the protection 
 from arrests in individual cases, are 
 all preserved, are now in full force, 
 and, therefore, the alterations of no 
 material consequence. 
 
 We have seen the title and preamble 
 of the Act before, at page 215, and it 
 will be best, before I offer you any 
 observations upon the reasons, which at 
 the different renewals, were stated in 
 unification of the measure, to furnish 
 you with the dates of the six Acts, that 
 you may, if your affairs should require 
 it, and opportunity enable you to do 
 it, refer to these Acts yourselves. 
 
 The First was passed in the 37th 
 year of the reign of George III, and 
 is, of the Statutes of that year, Chap- 
 ter 45. The date, according to the 
 common way of dating, is 1797, and 
 on the 23d of May. To continue in 
 force to the 24th of June 1797 ; that 
 is to say, for only fifty-two days. 
 
 The Second : 37 year George 
 II, Chapter 91. That is, in 1797 ; 
 
 d tlie'day when the Act passed was 
 
 the 22nd of June ; to continue in 
 force 'till one month after the com- 
 mencement of the then next Session of 
 Parliament ! Mark this. See what a 
 leap was taken. But you will see a 
 greater presently. 
 
 Th e Th i R D : 38th year George III, 
 Chapter L. That is, 1797; and the 
 day when the Act was passed was the 
 30th of November ; to continue in 
 force Hill one month after the conclu- 
 sion of the then war by a definitive 
 treaty of peace ! Bravo ! See how 
 it gains stre gth as it goes. " Give 
 " thein an inch, and they'll take an 
 " ell," says the old proverb. But, 
 we have not yet seen the boldest leap. 
 This Act, timid, was to protect the 
 Bank 'till the end of the war; and 
 the reasons for that we shall see by- 
 a nd- by. 
 
 The Fourth (Peace was now 
 come, observe) : 42nd year George 
 III, Chapter 42. That is, 1802 ; and 
 the Act was passed on the 30th of 
 April ; to continue in force (though 
 peace was made) till the 1st of March, 
 1803. We shall by-and-by, see the 
 reasons that were given for this. — 
 These reasons are the interesting matter. 
 
 The Fifth (Peace still continu- 
 ing) : 43rd year George III, Chapter 
 18. That is, 1803; and the Act was 
 passed on the 28th of February ; to 
 continue in force till six weeks after 
 the commencement of the then next 
 Session of Parliament. This was the 
 second renewal after the end of the 
 war. The second renewal during 
 peace. 
 
 The Sixth (War was now begun 
 again) : 44th year George III, Chap- 
 ter . That is, 1803 ; and the Act 
 was passed on the 15th of December ; 
 to continue in force till six MONTHS 
 after a conclusion of a difinitive treaty 
 of peace! 
 
 This last, Gentlemen, is the Act 
 which is now in force. This is the 
 Act, which now protects the Bank 
 Company against the demands of the 
 holders of their promissory notes. — 
 This is the Act, which the Bullion 
 / 2 
 
255J 
 
 LETTER XIX. 
 
 [266 
 
 Committee recommended to be re- 
 pealed in such a way that the Bank 
 Company shall be compelled to pay 
 again in cash in two years from this 
 time. You will now be so good as to 
 recall to your minds, that the main 
 question for us to determine is, whe- 
 ther, if such a law were passed, it is 
 likely that it could be executed : in 
 other words ; whether it be likely that 
 the Bank Company will ever again be 
 able to pay their notes in money. This 
 is the main question for our determi- 
 nation, because upon that question 
 hangs the whole paper system ; and, 
 in order the better to enable ourselves 
 to determine that question, and also 
 to complete the history of the Bank 
 Company and the Bank Stoppage, or 
 Restriction, as they call it, we must 
 now take a view of the REASONS, 
 which, at the several renewals of the 
 Stoppage, or Restriction Act, were 
 urged in justification of the measure. 
 
 The First Act was, as we have 
 seen, proposed to the Parliament by 
 the Minister, and defended by him 
 and his adherents upon the ground of 
 necessity. The drain of cash was said 
 to have been sudden and unusual, 
 arising from false alarms of invasion. 
 The emergence was said to be tempo- 
 rary. The stoppage was acknowledged 
 to be a great evil; but, it was main- 
 tained, that it was absolutely neces- 
 sary, as the only means of avoiding a 
 greater evil. It was, particularly by 
 the then Attorney-General (now Lord 
 Eldon), and by the then Solicitor- 
 General (now Lord Redesdale), urged, 
 that the measure was necessary to the 
 safety of the public creditor, or Stock- 
 holder ; because, if the run upon the 
 Bank had not been checked by force 
 of law, the Bank would have been 
 totally ruined, and, of course, that the 
 Stock-holder would have lost his all. 
 
 But (and I beg you to mark it well) 
 when the Second Act came under 
 discussion, in June 1797, the Minister 
 and his adherents began to hold a 
 different sort of language, and to 
 speak of the Act, not as the less of 
 
 two evils, but rather ag a measure 
 adopted from choice and not from ne- 
 cessity. This Act, which was the first 
 act of renewal, had for its forerunner, 
 a correspondence between the minister 
 and the Bank Directors. His letter 
 to them was dated on the twelfth of 
 June, and their answer on the 13th. 
 These letters having been prepared, 
 he, the minister himself, moved, in 
 the House of Commons, on the 15th 
 of June, that the said letters should be 
 laid before the House, which wa* 
 done. And, what do you think, Gen- 
 tlemen, that these letters contained f 
 Why, the minister's letter told the 
 Bank Directors, that he did not think 
 that it was expedient, that they should 
 begin again to pay in cash, at the 
 time specified in the first Act of Par- 
 liament ; and they, very submissively, 
 acquiesced in the minister's opinion! 
 Now, pray do not laugh, Gentlemen; 
 for, you will find in the end, it is no 
 laughing matter. 
 
 These two Letters, and nothing in 
 the world besides, were made the 
 ground of a legislative proceeding; 
 made the ground, and the sole ground 
 for continuing, for five months longer, 
 an Act of Parliament, which protected 
 the Bank Compary against the de- 
 mands of their numerous creditors, 
 the holders of their notes. In the 
 course of his speech, the Minister, the 
 " heaven-born Minister," said, " that 
 " he had the satisfaction to say, that 
 " there was in the affairs of the Bank, 
 " with regard to the means of pay 
 "'ment in cash, an improvement that 
 " was highly consoling, and that the 
 " apprehension of their not recovering 
 " then- ability to pay in the accustomed 
 " manner had been greatly cxagge- 
 " rated, when the subject first came 
 " before the House." He said, in 
 another part of his speech that " he 
 " was still anxious to come to the ter- 
 " mination of the restriction ; and, al- 
 <i though that could not be on the da/ 
 " appointed, yet it was a satisfaction 
 " to the public to find, that the inoon- 
 " venietwt of the measure wai muchj 
 
257] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [268 
 
 " less than had been foretold ; and that, 
 *' indeed, the consequence of the mea- 
 " sure had been the reverse of what 
 " had been predicted by its oppo- 
 " nents/' 
 
 Without more ado the bill was 
 brought in, and was passed, as we have 
 seen, in seven days afterwards, with- 
 out any further debate about the mat- 
 ter. Four fifths of the House of Com- 
 mons were still at the back of the Mi- 
 nister ; he appears to have lost not a 
 single Fote in consequence of the state 
 to which it was now manifest he had 
 brought the affairs of the nation ; there 
 were still the same majorities for him 
 in the House, and there was still the 
 same shouting for him at Lloyd's ; the 
 majority of the nation, partly from 
 folly, partly from fear, partly from the 
 influence of the paper system, were 
 still as loud in his praises as ever, and 
 Mr. Fox, apparently wearied with ex- 
 ertions which afforded no hope of suc- 
 cess, left the people to feel the effects 
 of their infatuation. 
 
 But, when the Third Act came to 
 be passed, in November 1797, a little 
 more preparation was necessary ; and 
 it was also necessary to find out new 
 reasons, a quite new doctrine, hi justi- 
 fication of it; or, to acknowledge, at 
 once that the Bank was unable to 
 pay. The refusal to pay their notes 
 in cash had now lasted for nine 
 months; the alarm of invasion was 
 over ; and, it appeared difficult to con- 
 ceive any reason whatever for the con- 
 tinuation of the Stoppage, or Restric- 
 tion Act, other than that of the inabi- 
 lity of the Bank Company to pay their 
 notes in money. Other reasons were, 
 however, found out; but, by way of 
 preparation another SEC RET COM- 
 MITTEE was now appointed in the 
 House of Commons, which Committee 
 were, as we shall see, the vehicle 
 through which the new doctrines first 
 made their way into that House, 
 
 This Committee, by the hands of 
 Mr, Charles Bragge (now Bragge 
 Bathurst, and Member for Bristol), 
 
 made their Report to the House on 
 the 17th of November 1797; and, I 
 will venture to say, that a more cu- 
 rious document never was produced 
 in the world. Every syllable of it is 
 worthy of your attention ; and I beg 
 of you to go carefully through it before 
 you proceed any further. The Report 
 was, in part, grounded upon a Copy 
 of a Resolution oj the Bank Directors ; 
 which had been passed some time be- 
 fore, and which was laid before this 
 Committee of Secrecy. I shall insert 
 this Resolution first; and I must 
 again beseech you to read every word 
 of both documents with attention; 
 for, you may be well assured, that tile 
 whole world never saw such docu- 
 ments before.* t 
 
 * Resolution of the Court •/ Directors of 
 
 the Bunk. 
 At a Court of Directors, at the Bank, ou 
 Thursday the 26th October 1797. 
 
 Rksolved.— That it is the opinion of thi» 
 Court, That the Governor and Company oif 
 the Bank of England are enabled to issue 
 specie, in any manner that may be deemed 
 necessary for the accommodation of the 
 public ; and the Court have no hesitation to 
 declare, that the affairs of the Bank are in 
 such a state, that it can with safety resume its 
 accustomedfunctions, if the political circumstan- 
 ces of the country do not render it inexpedient r 
 but the Directors deeming it foreign to their 
 province to judge of these points, wish to sub- 
 mit to the wisdom of Parliament, whether as 
 it has been ONCE JUDG12D PROPER 
 TO LAY A RESTRICTION on the pay- 
 ments of the Bank in cash, it may, or may 
 not, be prudent to continue the same. 
 The Committee of Secrecy, appointed to enquire 
 whether it may be expedient further to con- 
 tinue the Restriction, contained in two Acts, 
 made in the last Session of Parliament, re- 
 specting- payments in Cash by the Bank ; have 
 enquired accordingly, and agreed upon the fol- 
 lowing Report; viz. 
 
 Your Committee have, in the first place, 
 examined the total amount of out-standing 
 demands on the Bank of England, and of 
 the funds for discharging the same ; and 
 find, from the examination of the Governor 
 and Deputy Governor of the Bank, and the 
 documents produced by them, that the total 
 amount of out-standing demands on the 
 Bank was, on the lith day of this instant 
 November, 17,5^8,910/.; and that the total 
 amount of the funds for discharging the 
 same (without including the permanent debt 
 
259] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [260 
 
 This Report, this matchless, this 
 immortal Report, having been laid 
 before the House, having been 
 submitted " to the Wisdom of Par- 
 " liament," the" heaven-bom Minister" 
 rose to move, at once, without any 
 time for printing the Report, to bring 
 in a bill to extend the duration of the 
 Act of Stoppage, or Restriction, as it 
 is called. He said, that he would, 
 however, move for the printing of the 
 Report, " in order that all the Mem- 
 '" bers might have the satisfaction of 
 " informing themselves, in detail, of 
 " statements so very pleasing and im- 
 
 due from Government, of 1 1,686,800/, which 
 hears an interest of three per cent.) was, 
 on the same day, 21,418,460/.; leaving a 
 balance of surplus in favour of the Bank 
 (exclusive of the above mentioned debt 
 from Government) of 3,839,550. 
 
 Your Committee next proceeded to ex- 
 amine the principal articles of which the 
 above mentioned sum of 21,418,460/., being 
 the credit side of account, is made up, with 
 a view of ascertaining how far the Bank 
 might be enabled to resume its accustomed 
 payments in cash, in case the restriction at 
 present subsisting should be removed : and 
 your Committee find, that, the advances to 
 Government have, on the one hand, been so 
 much reduced, since the 25th of February 
 last, as to amount, on the said 11th day of 
 this instant November, to no more than the 
 sum of 4,258,140/. while, on the other hand, 
 the cash and bullion in the Bank have increased 
 to an amount more than five times the value of 
 that at which they stood on the same 25/ h of 
 February last, and much above that at which 
 they have stood at any time since the begin- 
 ning of September 1795.— Your Committee 
 farther find, that the course of exchange 
 with Hamburgh is, at present, unusually fa- 
 vourable to this country, and that, from the si- 
 tuation of our trade, there is good reason to 
 imagine it will so continue, unless political 
 circumstances should occur to affect it. — 
 Your Committee next proceeded to examine 
 Jie Governor and Deputy Governor of the 
 Bank, as to their opinion of the inconvenience 
 which may have arisen from the restriction 
 imposed on the Bank from making pay- 
 ment in cash, and of the expediency of conti- 
 nuing such restriction : and your Committee 
 find, that they are not aware of any such in- 
 convenience, and that they are supported 
 in that idea, by knowing that the bankers 
 and traders of London who 'had a right 
 by the Act of Parliamenjt to demand 
 
 portant ; those gentlemen, he said, 
 who had now heard the report read, 
 would think with him that after the 
 full examination the subject had un- 
 dergone in the Committee ; after 
 the clear and decided opinion that 
 Committee had pronounced upon 
 it ; and after the distinct statement 
 not only of them but of the Bank 
 Directors; it would be unnecessary 
 to detain the business merely on 
 account of the printing ; and that i* 
 would be proper to proceed without 
 delay to the object of that Report ; 
 and move for leave to bring in a bill 
 
 three-fourths of any deposit in cash which 
 they had made in the Bank, of 500/ or up- 
 wards, have only claimed about one sixteenth; 
 and your Committee find, that the Court of 
 Directors of the Bank did, on the 26th of 
 October, 1797, come' to a resolution, a copy 
 of which is subjoined to this Report. — Your 
 Committee having farther examined the 
 Governor and Deputy Governor, as to what 
 may be meant by the political circumstances 
 mentioned in that resolution, find, that they 
 understand by them, the state of hostility in 
 which the nation isstill involved , and particular- 
 ly such apprehensions as may be entertained 
 of invasion, either in Ireland or this country, 
 together with the possibility there may be 
 of advances being to be made from this 
 country to Ireland ; and that from those 
 circumstances so expluined, and from the 
 nature of the war, and the avowed purpose 
 of the enemy to attack this country by means 
 of its public credit, and to distress it in 
 its financial operations, they are led to think 
 that it will be expedient to continue the re- 
 striction now subsisting, with the reserve 
 for partial issues of cash, at the discretion 
 of the Bank, of the nature of that contained 
 in the present Acts; and that it may be so 
 continued, without injury to the credit of the 
 Bank, without an advantage to the nation.— 
 Your Committee, therefore, having taken 
 into consideration, the general situation of 
 the country, are of opinion, that notwith- 
 standing the affairs of the Bank, both with 
 respect to the general balance of its ac- 
 counts, and its capacity of making payments 
 in specie are in such a state that it might with 
 safety resume its accustomed functions, UN D ER 
 A DIFFERENT STATE OF PUBLIC 
 AFFAIRS , yet, that it will be expedient to 
 continue the restriction now subsisting on 
 such payments, for such time, and under 
 such limitations, as to the wisdom of Par- 
 liament may seem fit. 
 
261] 
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 [202 
 
 " for that purpose.* He further said, 
 that it was necessary to continue the 
 restriction during the war to defeat 
 the object of the enemy, which was to 
 destroy our credit ; that the further 
 continuation of the restriction could 
 not reasonably produce any alarm or 
 apprehension, since they had now in- 
 disputable evidence before them, that, 
 so far from the gloomy predictions of 
 the opponents of the measure having 
 been verified, the national credit had 
 rapidly risen to the high condition of 
 prosperity which had just been exhi- 
 bited. At the end of this harangue, 
 he moved for leave to bring in a bill 
 for continuing the Stoppage of cash- 
 payments, at the Bank, till a month 
 after the conclusion of a definitive 
 treaty of peace ; which, by the Re- 
 presentatives of " the most thinking 
 people in the world," was agreed to 
 without a single dissenting voice ! 
 
 When, however, the subject came 
 to be discussed again on the 22nd of 
 November, the thing was not suffered 
 to pass off in silence. Mr. Hobhouse 
 observed upon the new doctrine which 
 was now brought forward in defence 
 of the measure : " He reminded the 
 *' House, that he had said on a former 
 " occasion that this would be the case ; 
 and now tiie Minister was making 
 " good his predictions, alledging as a 
 W reason for so doing, that the nature 
 **■■ of the contest in which we are en- 
 " gaged demanded it, though this was 
 f'* no part of the grounds for the former 
 W restriction, and though in comparing 
 " the war now with its nature at that 
 " time, it did not appear there was 
 (i any material difference. Why the 
 " nature of the war, then, made a 
 *' restriction of six months only ne- 
 " cessary, and its nature now made a 
 " restriction during the contest neces- 
 " sary, he could not discover ; to him 
 " it appeared absurd and irreconcile- 
 " able to common sense and sound 
 " policy." What answer was given 
 to this by the Minister ? What answer 
 could he give ? He had, in fact, noth- 
 ing to say. He repeated all tke 
 
 former assertions about the riches of 
 the Bank, though those assertions 
 evidently made against him ; and, as 
 to the main argument, what did he do, 
 but rely solely upon the opinion of the 
 Secret Committee, a Committee, who 
 had, in fact, been chosen by his own 
 adherents. He said : " As tc the 
 " plan of continuing the restriction 
 " for the whole term of the war, the 
 " reasons for it being stated distinctly 
 ' in the Report of the Committee, it 
 " was unnecessary for him to say a 
 " word more upon the subject ; it 
 " would be found there distinctly set 
 " out that the Bank was in a state 
 " which in ordinary times would 
 " enable it to resume its cash pay- 
 " mcnts and operations on the accus- 
 " tomed scale. But that the avowal 
 " of the enemy to attack us through our 
 "finances, and to ruin our public 
 " credit, was the motive (he presumed 
 " a sufficiently cogent motive) to make 
 " an additional term of restriction; 
 " and when it was remembered that 
 " no injury nor even inconvenience, 
 " had been sustained by the restric- 
 " tion hitherto, the House could not 
 " but think it a sufficient encourage- 
 " mentto adopt that now called for." 
 In a subsequent stage of the bill, tho 
 next day, he said : " We were con- 
 " tending with an enemy whose object 
 " was to attack the credit of the 
 " country, and to embarrass its finan- 
 " cial operations. It was necessary 
 " to meet these attacks in a manner 
 " that would defeat the object of the 
 " enemy. The House should take 
 " every measure to ward off the 
 " danger, and the present was, in his 
 " opinion, the best that could possibly 
 " be adopted. Mr. Hussey having 
 pressed him closely upon this point, 
 he further said, that, " It was ne- 
 " cessary to hold out to the "enemy , that 
 " the country was prepared to meet all 
 " its efforts of desperation ; but it did 
 " not follow that the restriction would 
 " be continued during the whole of the 
 " the war. While, however, it was 
 " pursued in its present shape , he cer- 
 
2G3] 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 '264 
 
 " tainly considered the restriction as 
 " absolutely necessary." 
 
 These miserable reasons ; these 
 most pitiful pretences, Mr, Tierney 
 exposed, in his speech of the 22d of 
 November, in a manner so complete, 
 that one is shocked at the thought of 
 the House afterwards suffering the 
 measure to proceed ; one cannot heip 
 wondering, that the Minister was able 
 to sit and hear him ; and, it is impos- 
 sible to feel any compassion for the 
 people who still supported and ex- 
 tolled him ; and who richly merit all 
 that could, or can, befall them from 
 that cause, they having supported him 
 with their eyes open, and against the 
 clearly and loudly expressed dictates 
 of reason and truth. Mr. Tierney 
 said : " that the enemy would aim a 
 " blow at our credit and finances, all 
 '.* would agree, for all modern wars 
 " have been without exception car- 
 " ried on upon that principle. Mo- 
 " dern wars are made upon resources 
 " rather than blood ; but was this the 
 " way to prevent the enemy from siic- 
 " ceeding?— most whimsical expedient! 
 " — In order to leave to the enemy no 
 *' credit to attack, they destroy credit 
 " themselves. But at last they speak 
 " plainly, at last it comes out it will 
 ?*■ distress the financial operations of 
 '* the country ; and then they delibe- 
 V rately weigh and find that it will be 
 " expedient to continue the restric- 
 " tion with the reserve of partial is- 
 " sues of ca=h at the discretion of the 
 " Bank, and that it may be so conti- 
 " nued with advantage to the nation, 
 u and without injury to the credit of 
 " the Bank. This was the result of 
 " the examination of the Governor 
 " and Deputy Governor of the Bank 
 4t of England. This was their advice. 
 " This precious plan, which first ori- 
 " ginated in the diabolical, but fer- 
 " tile mind of that monster Rober- 
 " spierre." 
 
 Mr.TiERNEY, in this speech, which 
 was one of the best made upon the 
 occasion, and to which I do not pre- 
 tend to do full justice, then shoved 
 
 how clear it was, that the Bank Com- 
 pany and the Minister went hand in 
 hand through the whoie of the trans- 
 action ; that their operations were in- 
 tended to screen one another ; that the 
 Bank Company called upon the Mi- 
 nister for protection; and the Minister 
 made that the pretext for his propo- 
 sitions to Parliament. He observed 
 that the principal reason for continu- 
 ing to protect the Bank from paying: 
 their notes, came from the Bank Di- 
 rectors themselves, who even before 
 the meeting of Parliament had coino 
 to a resolution, that they were able to 
 pay if tlte political circumstances of 
 the country did not render it inexptr 
 dient, but that the stoppage of pay- 
 ments in cash having been ONCE 
 judged proper, they submitted to the 
 wisdom of Parliament, whether it 
 would not be proper to continue the 
 same. " Thus," said Mr. Tierney, 
 " the measure of nonpayment origin- 
 ated with the persons bound iopay;" 
 and who, from the language of the 
 Act, the world would believe were 
 restrained against their will from pay- 
 ing. 
 
 From the Report of the Secret 
 Committee, you will have perceived, 
 that the Bank Company of Traders, 
 were the chief source of the Com- 
 mittee's information ; for the Commit- 
 tee say, that, having asked them what 
 they meant by those " political cir- 
 " cumstances of the country,'' men- 
 tioned in their Resolution, the Bank 
 people told them, that they alluded to 
 the vmr in which the country was en- 
 gaged ? Upon this ; aye upon this 
 ground, suggested by the Bank Com- 
 pany themselves, did the Committee 
 report, that it would not be safe for 
 that Company to pay its notes during 
 the war ; and upon the same ground 
 did the House of Commons come to 
 a like determinatinr.. 
 
 Gentlemen, were not these facts 
 fresh in our memories ; were they not 
 capable of proof by living witnesses ; 
 nay, were they not proved by the ex- 
 istence of the Act of Parliament, of 
 
265] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [26'G 
 
 which we are speaking, would they, 
 could they be believed ? Could they 
 be believed to have taken place in any 
 nation upon earth ; and, especially 
 amongst a people, calling themselves 
 " the most thinking people in the 
 world r 
 
 Thus have we traced down this Act 
 of Stoppage, or Restriction, as it is 
 called, to the end of the last war. We 
 have seen that its continuation was at 
 last justified upon the ground of its 
 being dangerous for the Bank to re- 
 turn to money payments DURING 
 
 THE WAR. And now we have to 
 see what reasons were given for con- 
 tinuing the restriction, or refusal to 
 pay, AFTER THE WAR WAS 
 OVER. Rut, this, by no means the 
 least interesting part of the subject, 
 must be reserved for another Letter. 
 lu the mean while, I remain, 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 Wm. cobrett. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Thurtday, 
 December 4th 1810. 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 " The Knglish are a sober, THfNKTNG people, and are more intelligent and more solid tlian *ny propk 
 " I ever had the fortuue to see."— LORD STORMONT'S SPEECH in the House of Lords, 1st Feb. 1792. 
 
 The War being now over, Mr. Pitt's Reasons ceased of course— -The Peace brings no 
 golden Payments at the Bank — Mr. Addington becomes Minister—- Gives Notice of an 
 Intention to continue the Act of 1797 — Mr. Robson calls for Papers, which are refused 
 — He compares Bank-Notes to Assignats, and is himself called to Order — Mr.Adding- 
 ton's Reasons for renewing the Act in April 1802 — His Reasons for another Continu- 
 ation of the Bill in February 1801 — Mr. Tierney calls for Inquiry — the Act renewed 
 agaiu, in Dec. 1803, till six Months after Peace. 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 IN Letter XIX, page 246, we 
 traced the Bank Stoppage or Re- 
 striction Act, down to the end of the 
 last war, in the year 1802. We saw it 
 introduced under pretence of the ab- 
 solute necessity of a temporary purpose ; 
 we saw it passed, at first, for only 
 fifty-two days; and with every expec- 
 tation held forth, that it would be re- 
 pealed before the expiration even of 
 that time; we then saw, that it not 
 only lived for the fifty-two days, 
 but, at the expiration of that time, 
 was prolonged for^ve months; and, 
 when the end of that five months 
 came, we saw it prolonged for the 
 duration of the war, upon the ground, 
 that the enemy had openly avowed 
 his determination to effect the de- 
 struction of our public credit, and that, 
 therefore, it was necessary to keep 
 
 upon the defensive. This was " the 
 precise ground stated by the Minis- 
 ter himself. The enemy had avow- 
 ed his determination to destroy our 
 credit, and therefore the Bank was to 
 he protected from paying its promisso- 
 ry notes, agreeably to the conditions 
 on which these notes had been received 
 in payment. The enemy had avowed 
 his determination to blast the credit of 
 England, and, therefore, the Bank of 
 England was to stop payment with 
 impunity, as long as the war should last. 
 Such were the reasons, such the doc- 
 trine, to which was at last driven the 
 " Grand financier," Mr. Pitt, who 
 had begun his career by bespeaking a 
 column to his memory, on which the 
 words " Public Credit" should be 
 inscribed ; such was now the doctrine 
 of the " heaven-born minister ;" " the 
 " Pilot that weathered the storm;* "the 
 
267] 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 [208 
 
 " great statesman now no more." He 
 weathered the storm so ably, that, at 
 the end of only four years of his war 
 against the Kepublicans of France, 
 during which four years he had, per- 
 haps, forty times foretold that France 
 would sink beneath the weight of 
 bankruptcy, he himself comes into that 
 same House of Commons where his 
 promises to ruin France had been so 
 often heard, and there he calls upon 
 the members to protect the Bank of 
 England in non-payment of its notes ; 
 he calls upon them for a law to com- 
 pel the Public Creditor to take his 
 dividends in a paper not convertible 
 into gold ; and, his reason for this is, 
 that the French, that those same 
 French, that the bankrupt French, 
 that the beggared French threatened 
 to make war upon our finances! Aye, 
 he, the boaster, who had made so 
 many, so many scores, of triumphant 
 comparisons between the situation of 
 England and France ; who had so 
 many scores, I might say hundreds 
 of times (for he frequently did it se- 
 veral times in one speech), represent- 
 ed England as so highly blessed in 
 wealth and credit, while France was 
 sunk into the lowest abyss of poverty 
 and threatened with all the evils at- 
 tendant upon a debased paper-money ; 
 lie, this very same man; the identical 
 ft heaven-born minister," now asked 
 for a law to protect the Bank against 
 the demands of the holders of its 
 notes, and to compel the Public Cre- 
 ditor to receive his dividends in that 
 same sort of notes or not at all; and, 
 all this he did, because those same 
 poor, mined, beggared, and beaten 
 French, had avowed their intention of 
 Platting war upon our finances. 
 
 But, at any rate, this reason held 
 good only during the tear. The 
 V heaven-horn man," as we have seen 
 in the last Letter, expressly stated, 
 that the measure was a mere war mea- 
 sure, intended to meet the hostility of 
 the enemy; " to meet his efforts oi 
 " desperation." But, it did not follow, 
 he said, that the non-payment of cash 
 
 would continue during the whole of 
 the war ; but merely while the enemy 
 pursued the war in its then " present 
 shape." So that, at all events, it was 
 believed, or, it was intended to make 
 this " most thinking people in tlw 
 world" believe that the measure would 
 last only for the war at longest, and 
 that when peace returned, they would 
 once more get guineas for their notes, 
 and that those of them who had divi- 
 dends to receive, would receive them 
 in gold if they chose, as they formerly 
 used to do; and, this was one of the 
 reasons why the nation so anxiously 
 wished for peace. 
 
 Well, in 1802, Peace came! But, 
 alas ! it brought no guineas in pay- 
 ments at the Bank. It brought with 
 it no golden payments to the Stock- 
 holder, or Public Creditor, as some 
 people call him. Peace brought no 
 repeal of the Bank Stoppage, or F» d 
 striction Act. On the contrary, it 
 did, as we have seen at page 254, 
 bring an extension of the duration of 
 that Act from the 30th of April, 
 1802, to the first of March, 1803. 
 And thus it was that the promise was 
 kept. Thus it was that " the most 
 " thinking people in the world" saw 
 their " heaven-born Minister's" doc- 
 trines verified. 
 
 But, what was now the pretence for 
 continuing this Act? The war was 
 over. The shoutings and the bon- 
 firings and the bell-ringings for peace 
 had taken place. Mr. Addington, 
 Ihe prime minister, and Lord 
 Hawkeseury, the negociator, had 
 been praised in all manner of ways 
 for the " blessings of peace." What, 
 then, could be the pretence for con- 
 tinuing the Stoppage Act ? You shall 
 hear, Gentlemen; for it is impossible 
 to do justice to the reason except in 
 the words of the Minister himself and 
 of those who supported him. 
 
 You must remember, Gentlemen 
 
 that just before the peace was begun 
 
 to be negociated, the " heaven-bom 
 
 J and some others went out of office, 
 
 I and that Mr, Henry Addington, 
 
269] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [270 
 
 now Lord Viscount Sidmouth, 
 succeeded him, as prime minister. 
 To his lot, therefore, it fell to propose 
 the continuation of the Stoppage Act, 
 in peace.; but, you should bear in 
 njind, that this was, in fact, no change 
 of ministry ; it was merely a change 
 of a very few of the men in power. 
 All those who had voted for Pitt, 
 continued to vote for his saccessor, as 
 did also Mr. Pitt himself. So that 
 the continuation of the Stoppage Act 
 is not to be ascribed, in anywise, to 
 this change of men, the people still in 
 power being the same people who 
 supported all the measures of the 
 minister, Pitt, and who, indeed, 
 brought him back into power again 
 in the year 1804. 
 
 It was on the 9th of April 1802, 
 that the continuation was proposed by 
 Mr. Addington ; but, notice of his 
 intention having been before given, 
 Mr. Robson, on the 2nd of April, 
 moved for certain papers, shewing 
 the nature of the affairs of the Rank, 
 which was opposed by the Minister, 
 Addington, who, without more 
 ado, moved the previous question upon 
 it. Whereupon Mr. Robson said, 
 that this was using him and those who 
 thought with him very ill. Notice 
 had been given, he said, by the mi- 
 nister, of his intention to bring in a 
 bill to continue the Act, which pro- 
 tected the Bank from paying in gold 
 and silver, and, he wished to know 
 how the affairs of the Bank stood, 
 that he might be able judge whether 
 he ought to consent to such a mea- 
 sure or not. M He maintained that 
 */ all Europe was contemplating the 
 " payments of specie by the Bank, as 
 " the criterion of the credit of the 
 " Country. If the Bank continued 
 " to issue paper, country banks would 
 fi do the same without controul ; they 
 f would issue their notes without 
 f< mercy. It was, in his opinion, 
 < THE COMMENCEMENT OF 
 * A COURSE OF ASSIGNATS. 
 
 (Qrder I order ! and question ! was 
 
 " called from every part of the 
 '< House/) 
 
 The question being put, it was 
 carried against Mr. Robson, without 
 a division. He was not allowed to 
 have the papers he wanted. It was 
 unnecessary, he was told; and, when 
 he ventured to compare bank notes 
 to assignats, he was called to order. 
 He was called to order for speaking 
 irreverently of those notes, those pro- 
 missory notes, which were by law 
 rendered not payable agreeably to 
 promise, and which law it was now 
 proposed to continue. 
 
 Now we come to the Minister, Ad- 
 dington's reasons for continuing this 
 Act after the end of the war ; and to 
 those reasons we must pay particular 
 attention. He prefaced his proposi- 
 tion, as his predecessor always used 
 to do, by very high language about 
 the ability of the Bank to pay in coin. 
 He said, in the debate of the 9th of 
 April, " I have the satisfaction of 
 ". being convinced, that the measure 
 " cannot furnish a pretence to the 
 " most timid man in the House, to 
 " suppose the Bank does not possess 
 " within itself the most ample means 
 " of satisfying the full extent of the 
 " demands which may be made upon, 
 " it, by the payment of its notes in 
 " specie." In the debate of the 21st 
 of April , he said, that " on the soli- 
 " dity of the Bank, he was entitled to 
 " say and assume, there was now no 
 " question, either in that House or 
 " elsewhere. On the DISPOSE 
 " TION of the Bank to make pay- 
 " ments in specie, he was also en- 
 " titled to assume, nay he awed it to 
 " the Bank to ASSERT, they had 
 " manifested a readiness to do so. It 
 " was, however, thought necessary to 
 " continue this restriction for a 
 u while." Having said this, he said, 
 that it was, of course, quite unneces- 
 sary to enter into any inquiry as to 
 the state of the Bank's affairs; and, 
 accordingly, it only remained for him 
 to state the grounds^ upon which he 
 
271] 
 
 LETTJER XX 
 
 [272 
 
 proposes tiie continuation of the mea- 
 sure. But, Gentlemen, pray bear in 
 mind, that this Minister gave the 
 country to understand, that the Bank 
 Company had, even at that time, 
 " manifested a readiness to make pay- 
 " meats in specie" and this was now 
 nearly nine years ago. Yet, Mr. 
 Handle Jackson now bestows 
 something very much like abuse upon 
 the Bullion Committee, because they 
 recommend to the House to make 
 the Bank Company begin to pay in 
 specie in two years -from this time. 
 What should make the Bank Com- 
 pany angry with the Committee, if it 
 was true, that they wished to pay in 
 money so long as eight years and nine 
 months ago ? 
 
 The grounds which the Minister, 
 Addington, stated for the con- 
 tinuation were as follows. In the 
 debate of the 9th of April, he said : 
 " The grounds on which I shall rest 
 " the proposition I have to make to 
 " the House are notorious ; and it 
 u will he for the sober and dispas- 
 " sitmate reflection of the House, 
 " whether the measure I shall submit 
 " does not necessarily result from 
 tl facts and circumstances too well 
 " known even to require a particular 
 " statement of them. It cannot be 
 " necessary for me to inform the 
 " House, that the rate of exchange 
 " beeween this country and foreign 
 " parts is disadvantageous to our- 
 
 " selves It cannot be neces- 
 
 " sary for me to prove, that while 
 " the rate of exchange is disadvan- 
 " taycous to us, an augmentation of 
 *' the circulating cash would create a 
 " trade highly injurious to the in- 
 *'■ terest and commerce of this country. 
 *' It is well known, that for several 
 " months past there has been a trade 
 " carrying on in purchasing guineas 
 u with a view to the exportation of 
 
 •' them. In addition to these 
 
 " reasons, the House will reflect upon 
 •' the inconvenience which would un- 
 " avoidably result from letting loose 
 '* such a proportion of the coin of the 
 
 " country as would be circulated by 
 " taking off the restriction. I am not 
 " aware of any inconvenience that 
 " can jDossibly arise from continuing 
 " it. We have had the satisfaction, 
 " arising from the experience of three 
 " or four years of difficulty ? We have 
 " had experience, that during such 
 " period, the credit of the Bank has 
 " undergone no diminution whatever. 
 " Bank notes have maintained their 
 " reputation, and have been e^ cry 
 " where received cheerfully and rea^ 
 " dily. ..... Some Gentlemen are 
 
 " desirous that the Bank should pay 
 " in cash for notes of small denomi-r 
 " nation; but till there is a full and 
 " abundant supply of cash by open- 
 " ing the Bank entirely, it is ex* 
 " tremely convenient to afford circu*- 
 " lation to £.1 and £.2 notes. By 
 '* the payment of them in specie, a 
 " general anxiety would be intro- 
 " duced of obtaining cash at the Bank. 
 " Notes of £.1,000 and £.500 would 
 " be changed for notes of £.1 and £.% 
 " in order that they might be immedi- 
 (t ately changed again for cash. If 
 " a restraint was to be imposed with 
 " respect to the number of notes of 
 " small denomination, they would be 
 " driven out of circulation altogether; 
 " and there would be no small notes 
 '< but those issued by Bankers." 
 
 There, Gentlemen, you have now 
 before you the reasons why this Act 
 was continued after the war. The 
 Minister, Mr. Pitt, told the nation, 
 that it was necessary during the war, 
 in order to prevent the enemy from 
 executing his vow of destroying our 
 credit; and the Minister, Adding- 
 ton, told the nation, that it was ne^ 
 cessary after the ivar was over, be- 
 cause the»rate of exchange was against 
 us, because people were exporting 
 guineas when they could lay hold of 
 them, because to repeal the Act would 
 let coin loose, because the experience 
 of years had shewn that the stoppage 
 of cash payments had done no harm 
 to the eredit of the Bank whose notes 
 were every where received cheerfully 
 
[273 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 L274 
 
 and readily, and finally, because (pray 
 mark !) if a part of the notes were to 
 be paid in specie, that would give rise 
 to a general anxiety to obtain cash at 
 the Bank, and that people would 
 change large notes into small ones, in 
 order immediately to change these lat- 
 ter for cash. 
 
 So, then, ilr. Addington, the 
 people did, even in your time, like 
 gold better than the notes ? Though 
 you could not perceive, not you, 
 any inconvenience from the eonit- 
 nuation of the Act; though you had 
 seen with satisfaction the experi- 
 ence of the years of suspension ; 
 though the credit of the Bank had 
 undergone no diminution whatever;" 
 though the Bank notes had main- 
 tained their reputation and had been 
 every where received cheerfully and 
 readily : yet, notwithstanding all this, 
 you object to make the small notes 
 payable in gold, lest the holders of 
 them should run to the Bank and get 
 cash for them; lest this taste for the 
 sweets of gold should excite a general 
 anxiety of obtaining cash at the Bank; 
 and lest large notes should be changed 
 into small ones for the purpose of 
 a;;ain changing these latter into cash. 
 But, why was this to be feared ? The 
 Bank Directors were surely, the best 
 judges of this ; and, you say, not only 
 that they are able to pay ; but that 
 they have manifested a readiness to 
 pay their notes in specie. Now, this 
 being the case, what danger was there 
 of a run upon the Bank ; And, if I 
 there bad been a run, what danger 
 was there in that ; seeing that there 
 were means amply sufficient to meet 
 such run ? 
 
 Mr. Robson, whom we have seen 
 called to order for speaking so irre- 
 verently of Bank notes, opposed the 
 bill in its subsequent stages : he point- 
 ed out the advantages which the Bank 
 derived from the Act; he foretold 
 what the Bullion Committee have 
 now declared to have come to pass ; 
 in short he did all that it was in his 
 power to do to prevent the continu- 
 
 ation of a measure, which a Com- 
 mittee of that same House of Com- 
 mons have now declared to have pro- 
 duced such fearful consequences; and 
 this Mr. Robson, did while Mr. 
 Huskisson, who now tells us that 
 no one foresaw the evil, net only suf- 
 fered the measure to pass in si- 
 lence, but was one of the majority of 
 the Minister by whom the measure 
 was proposed and put in execution. 
 
 AT ell, but, after all, the Act wag 
 to last only ten months ; only till tiie 
 first of March 1803; it was only, as 
 the Minister's brother, Mr. Milky 
 Addington, called it, "& temporary 
 provision, 'till the effects of the peace 
 should have begun to operate." Only 
 this. Nothing more. Vet did they, 
 when the 1st of March, 1803, came, 
 renew the Aet again. Again did they 
 pass a law to protect the ablc-and- 
 willing-to-pay Bank against the de- 
 mands of the noteholders ! Again 
 did they pass an Act, to continue in 
 force till six weeks after the com- 
 mencement of the then next session 
 of Parliament, the measure for pre- 
 venting payments in cash, though 
 peace had been made a whole near, 
 and though they said, that the Bank 
 was able and ready to pay. 
 
 Let us see, then, Gentlemen, what 
 were the reasons given v.oii\ "The 
 " most thinking people in the world," 
 were, as we have seen, told the last 
 time, that the Act of renewal was 
 " a temporary provision, 'till the ef- 
 " fects of peace should have begun to 
 operate ;" and, as peace had now 
 lasted a whole year, what reason, 
 what pretence, what excuse, what 
 apology was now to be found ? This 
 is what we ought to keep our eye 
 upon. We know well, that they re- 
 newed the Act; but, in order to be 
 able to judge of what will be done in fu- 
 ture, we must take care to keep in view 
 the reasons, which, at the different re- 
 newals, were given for the measure. 
 
 When he came to propose the se- 
 cond renewal after the war was over, 
 it must be confessed, that Mr. Ad- 
 
275] 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 [276 
 
 DINGTON did appear to perceive the 
 light in which he stood. He did 
 appear sensible of his situation ; and, 
 doubtless, this was amongst the things, 
 for which, as it was asserted by a 
 pamphleteer soon afterwards, Mr.PjTT 
 was under obligations to his successor. 
 It was on the 7th of February, 1803, 
 that he moved for leave to bring in 
 this bill. He began by saying " that 
 " it was with the utmost reluctance 
 *' that he submitted the proposition to 
 " the House, but the reasons which 
 " suggested it were too strong, and 
 " and the necessity too urgent, to be 
 •' resisted ; that necessity, however, 
 " he hoped, would soon disappear ; 
 "and, he anxiously and impatiently 
 " looked forward to the day, which 
 '*■ he trusted was not far removed, 
 " when the Bank would be at liberty 
 " to resume its payments in specie." 
 The grounds for proposing this mea- 
 sure he stated to be, that the course 
 of exchange was still against this 
 country, and, as the House " last 
 V year, considered that a sufficient ar- 
 " gument for the measure, he would 
 " appeal to the candour and good 
 '• sense of the House whether it would 
 ** be expedient to allow the restric- 
 " tion to cease." He also said, " that a 
 " sudden issue of cash from the Bank 
 1 would produce a run upon the coun- 
 *' try banks, and a consequent run 
 "upon the Bank of England, which 
 " might be productive of most serious 
 " consequences." He further observ- 
 ed " that the exchange being against 
 " us had arisen from the circumstance 
 " of scarcity of coin, which, of late 
 " years had caused so much Bul- 
 " lion to be sent out of the country, 
 " and that it was obvious, that we 
 " should wait the operations of a flou- 
 " rishing commerce to bring back 
 *t some proportion of this vast amount 
 41 of Bullion, before we attempted to 
 " permit the Bank to issue specie." 
 
 The whole world never, in my opi- 
 nion> heard any thing like this before. 
 Were it not upon record, in a man- 
 ner not to be disputed, it would not, 
 
 it could not, be believed. Mr. Tier- 
 ney, and Mr. Fox, spoke against the 
 motion, and particularly wished for 
 an inquiry previous to the passing of 
 such a bill. Mr. Tierney said " ac- 
 " cording to the report of the Coin- 
 " mittee of 1797, the proportion of 
 " cash and Bullion in the Bank 
 " amounted to ONE MILLION, 
 " when the Order of Council was 
 " issued ; and some short time after- 
 " wards this sum was increased to 
 " SIX MILLIONS. Was it not 
 " now a fit object of inquiry ; What 
 " had become of their six millions ? if 
 " it was forthcoming to meet any ex- 
 " igeney ? and if it was, why should 
 " the Bank hesitate to resume their 
 " operation ? They could not be 
 " afraid of a run upon them, for who 
 " could now think of any material 
 " advantage from hoarding gold?" 
 Nevertheless, the bill passed ; and 
 thus was the Bank protected against 
 demands upon them for cash, until 
 six weeks after the commencement 
 of the then next Session of Parlia- 
 ment, which Session began in No- 
 vember 1803.* 
 
 After what we have now seen, we 
 can hardly expect to hear of any 
 more reasons. It would, I think, have 
 been utterly impossible to invent any 
 pretext that Mr. Addington would 
 have made use of; but, most fortu- 
 nately for him, before Parliament met, 
 and of course, before the Act ex- 
 pired, WAR had begun again. That 
 was quite enough; and, without any 
 scruple, hesitation, or ceremony, the 
 Minister brought in a bill to prolong the 
 Stoppage, or Restriction, till the war 
 should be over, and until six months- 
 after a definitive treaty of peace should 
 be concluded. He said, that "though 
 " doubts had been entertained as to 
 
 * The whole of this debate is very im- 
 portant, and also a subsequent one of the 
 11th of February, 1803. They will be 
 found at full length, and very accurately 
 given, in the Political Rbgmtbb, Vol. 
 III. pages 1243 aud 1347 > 
 
277] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [278 
 
 u the propriety of the measure, during 
 " a period of peace. Under the im- 
 « pression, therefore, that no doubts 
 " existed on the subject, he should 
 " take it for granted that no objection 
 " would be made, in the present in- 
 " stance, to a renewal of the measure. 
 " It was satisfactory to know that the 
 " credit of the Bank had remained 
 " firm and unshaken, during the past 
 " experience of the measure, and that 
 " its sufficiency to make good its en- 
 u gagements, both was, and is, unaf- 
 "fected by even the slightest sus- 
 " picion.' r * 
 
 This was all. There Mas very little 
 more said about the matter. All the 
 anxiety that he expressed upon the 
 former occasion, for the happy day of 
 cash-payments to come, was now for- 
 gotten ; or he had got an entirely new 
 view of the matter. There were some 
 very interesting debates upon the sub- 
 ject, in the House of Lords, in which 
 Lord King and Lord Grenville 
 took a part, and in which they shew- 
 ed, that they were duly impressed 
 with the dangerous consequences of 
 continuing this Act in force;! but, 
 what they said was of no avail. The 
 Act was passed ; it is, as you we 1 
 know, Gentlemen, in force to this 
 day; and, the proposition of the 
 Bullion Committee is, that it shall be 
 in force, to its present extent, at least, 
 only two years longe • 
 
 When we take a review of the 
 reasons for the passing of this Act, 
 at the several times at which it has 
 been passed; when we see how those 
 reasons have varied; when we see 
 how many times the expectation of a 
 return to cash -payments has been dis- 
 
 * See Parliamentary Debates, Vol. 1, 
 pWe 52. Where the reader will rind Mr. 
 Addington'8 grave ideas respecting hoard' 
 ing money. 
 
 t See Parliamentary Debates, Vol. I, 
 page 1S2 to 156. And page 304 to 319. 
 These two debates are of great importance. 
 There is scarcely any thing to be found in 
 the Bullion* Report, as touching the main 
 points, which will not be found to have been 
 fluid, upon this occasion, by one or the other 
 of these two Noblemen>, 
 
 appointed; but, especially when we 
 look well into the part which thd 
 Bank Company themselves have borne 
 in these transactions; when we look 
 at what passed between the Minister 
 and the Bank Company previous to 
 the Stoppage ; when we look behind 
 the curtain and see the plan laid for 
 a private Meeting of the principal 
 Bankers to settle upon the scheme for 
 a general meeting; when we after- 
 wards hear the Minister, in Parlia- 
 ment, talking of that Meeting as of a 
 thing in which he had had nothing to 
 do, and citing it as a. mark of the public 
 conjidence in the Bank Paper ; when 
 we take this view, Gentlemen, it is 
 not, I think, possible, that any of us 
 can ever again be deceived by pro* 
 fessions, promises, and outward appear- 
 ance, as far, at least, as relates to the 
 subject of Bank notes. 
 
 I have now gone through the whole 
 history of the Stoppage of money- 
 payments at the Bank of England, 
 which history, though it has, Gentle- 
 men, taken up a good deal of time, 
 will, I trust, be found well worth both 
 our time and our labour. Without a 
 knowledge of this history, it is im- 
 possible for any one to form so correct 
 an opinion, as to Wio, future, as he will 
 be able to do with this history fairly 
 imprinted on his mind. In this his- 
 tory he has before him the experience 
 of thirteen years; and, from what has 
 been, he Mill easily form his opinion 
 as to what, under the operation of 
 similar circumstances, is likely to be. 
 We have, by toiling through this his- 
 tory, furnished ourselves with all the 
 knowledge (of any real use here) 
 possessed by the members of the 
 Bullion Committee; and, perhaps, a 
 little more; so that, we shall now 
 enter into an examination of their 
 production without any dread of diffi- 
 culty in the progress, or of error in 
 the conclusion. 
 
 I am, Gentlemen., 
 
 Your faithful Friend, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Monday, 
 Wth December, 1810. 
 
[279 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 [280 
 
 LETTER XX i; 
 
 Appointment of the Bullion Committee— Names of the Members— Quantity of Bank- 
 notes, compared with the Qnantity of Ktal Money — Amount of Bank of England 
 Notes in 1797, and at this Time — Number of Country Banks — Probable Amount of 
 their Notes — Amount of Real Money it) the Bank of England — Probable Amount of 
 Real Money in the Hands of the Country Bankers. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 WE have now arrived at a point 
 whence we can see to the end of our 
 discussion. We have seen how the 
 Bank and the Stocks and the Bank 
 Notes arose; we have seen that they 
 all grew up with the National Debt 
 and the Taxes; we have seen, that, 
 at last, the Bank Notes became so 
 large in amount that they could no 
 longer be paid in money at the Bank 
 Shop in Threadneedle Street; we 
 have seen the means that have, in the 
 several stages, been resorted to, in 
 order to protect the Bank Company 
 against the demands of its creditors, 
 the holders of its notes ; and we have 
 had a pretty fair view of the conduct 
 of all the parties concerned in these 
 transactions. With the EVIL and 
 with the causes of the Evil Ave are 
 now well acquainted : it only remains 
 for us to obtain as good information 
 with respect to a REMEDY. 
 
 To discover and point out a Re- 
 medy were the objects of the BUL- 
 LION COMMITTEE, of whom I 
 must speak here a little more fully 
 than I hitherto have done. This 
 Committee, consisting of the members, 
 whose names you will find below,* 
 
 was, as I stated in Letter I, appointed 
 by the House of Commons, during 
 the last Session of Parliament, " to 
 " inquire into the cause of the high 
 " price of Gold Bullion, and to take 
 " into consideration the state of the 
 " circulating medium, &c. &c. and to 
 " report the same to the House." 
 Tliey did so; and their Report was, 
 by the House of Commons, ordered 
 to be printed on the 8th of June last. 
 
 This Report, after shewing that the 
 Bank Notes have depreciated; after 
 giving very clear proofs of this fact, 
 and also of the fact that the deprecia- 
 tion must continue to increase, unlegs 
 put a stop to by some means or other ; 
 after this, the Report recommends, as 
 a remedy, that the Bank Company 
 shall be, by law, compelled to pay 
 their notes in cash, as formerly, in 
 two years from this time; and, there- 
 fore, the only great object which re- 
 mains for our consideration, is, whe- 
 ther this proposed remedy be practica- 
 ble, or, whether it be one that cannot 
 be put in practice. 
 
 In order to arrive at a correct con- 
 clusion as to this great question, upon 
 which, as you must already have per- 
 ceived, the very existence, not only of 
 
 Mr. Parr.ell Mr. Perceval 
 
 Mr. Brand Mr. Long 
 
 Mr. George Johnstone Mr. Thompson 
 Mr- Dickenson Mr. Manning. 
 
 Mr. Mapens 
 
 • Mr. Horner Mr. Davies Gidd; 
 
 Mr. Henry Thornton Mr. Ahercrombie 
 
 Mr, Sharp Mr. Baring 
 
 Mr. Huskissor. Mr. Foster 
 
 Mr. Tieruey Mr. Sheridan 
 
 Mr. Grenfell Lord Temple j 
 
 (Entereti at Stationer*' £;an\ 
 
 Printed by W. Molineux, 5, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane; Published by W. CoBBBTO 
 
 Jan. No. 8, Catherine Street Strand: and Retailed ai No. 192, Strao4. 
 
N° 10-COBBETTS PAPER AGAINST GOLD.—. Price Two-Pence 
 
 281] 
 
 the paper-money system, but also of 
 the Stocks or Funds, entirely depends, 
 we must, 1st. take a view of the 
 quantity of paper-money now afloat, 
 compared with the quantity oi real 
 money and bullion in the hands oi 
 the Bank Company and in those of 
 the Country Bankers; 2d, we must 
 inquire into the rate of the deprecia- 
 tion of the paper- money ; 3rd, we must 
 inquire mto the means which the Bank 
 Company wo idii Lace of obtaining real 
 money, wherewith to redeem, or pay 
 oh', their notes, or any considerable 
 part of them, and, ii we shall find, 
 that for them to do this would be 
 impossible, our conclusion must be, 
 that the Bank Company cannot re- 
 turn to their payments in gold and 
 silver. 
 
 The discussion of these matters I ! 
 shall divide into three Letters, in this 
 in st of which I shall take a view of 
 the quantity of paper-money now 
 afloat, compared with the quantity of 
 real money m die hands of the Bank 
 Company and in those of the Country 
 Bankers. 
 
 The amount of Bank of England 
 notes in circulation before the Stop- 
 page of payments in Gold and Silver, 
 •jii the} ear 1797, was, as the Com- 
 mittee state, between 10 and 1 1 mil- 
 lions of pounds. But, as it was na- 
 lural to expect, when the Bank Com- 
 pany was protected by Act of Parlia- 
 ment against the demands ol their 
 creditors, they immediately began to 
 increase the quantity of their notes; 
 and, let me ask, what lover of gai$n 
 would not do the same ? Where shall 
 we find a private person of that de- 
 scription, who would not increase the 
 issues of his promissory notes as long 
 as any one would take them, if there 
 were an Act of Parliament to protect 
 him against the demands of the hold- 
 ers of those promissory notes? 
 
 That the consequence, which was 
 
 rally to be expected, did take 
 
 place, was very well known, and had 
 
 been clearly «hewn in the Register, 
 
 W, Mlicoeux, Printer, Brsam*s Buildings, 
 Chancery Lnue. 
 
 L 
 
 [282 
 and much commented upon therein, 
 long before, several years before, the 
 Bullion Committee existed, the readers 
 of the Register need not be told. 
 But, the Bullion Committee have ve- 
 rified the facts and opinions given, hi 
 this respect, in the I v they 
 
 have published to the world, through 
 the channel of the House of Com- 
 mons, that, what, had been before 
 published in the Register, relating to 
 this matter, was sound and true. 
 
 They state, with regard to the 
 amount of the Bank of England notes, 
 that, previous to the Stoppage of 
 cash payments, in 1797, and the con- 
 sequent Act of protection to the 
 Bank, tile amount of these notes 
 " was between TEN and ELEVEN 
 " millions, hardly ever falling below 
 " NINE, and not often exceeding 
 " ELEVEN;" and that in May 1810, 
 the amount was upwards of TWENTY 
 ONE millions. 
 
 Gentlemen, you have so recently 
 felt the effects of a paper-money, not 
 convertible into gold and silver, look 
 at this. You see, that the amount of 
 the Bank of England notes has been 
 doubled in the course of 13 years, even 
 according to the account given hi by 
 the Bank Company themselves. It is 
 not my intention to insinuate, that 
 this account is not a true one ; but, it 
 is right that we should know, that this 
 statement has been made by the Bullion 
 Committee from an account made out 
 and presented to the Committee by 
 the Bank Company themselves ; and 
 that, therefore, we may rest perfectlv 
 satisfied, that the amount of the in- 
 crease in their notes has not been 
 stated too high. 
 
 But, as yet, we have seen onlv on* 
 limb, and, perhaps the least fruitful o, 
 this paper-money tree. The other 
 the Country Banks, has been, accord- 
 ing to ail appearance, much, more 
 prolific. It appears from the Report, 
 that, before the Stoppage, or Restrict- 
 ion law was passed, there were TWO 
 HUNDRED Aftp THIRTY 
 
288] 
 
 LETTER XXI. 
 
 [284 
 
 Country Banks, and that, in April 
 
 last, they had increased to SEVEN 
 
 'HUNDRED AND TWENTY 
 
 ONE ; which is an increase more 
 than threefold as to the number of 
 Banks, and, if we allow, as it is 
 reasonable to do, that the notes of the 
 old banks also increased in quantity, 
 the addition in the whole amount must 
 have been prodigious. No wonder 
 that gold, and crown-pieces, disappear- 
 ed ; for how were they to be expected 
 to remain in circulation along with 
 such masses of paper ? 
 
 As to the amount of the Country 
 Notes at either of the periods before- 
 mentioned, or, at any period at all, 
 the Bullion Committee say, that they 
 are unable to ascertain it with any 
 degree of precision ; but, from certain 
 returns obtained by them from the 
 stamp office, they shew, that, after 
 making all allowances, and taking the 
 matter in the most favourable point of 
 view, there was, during the year 1809, 
 in the 5 and 10 pound notes alone, an 
 INCREASE to the amount of more 
 than THREE MILLIONS; and, 
 from the other notes which appear Xp 
 have been stamped in that year, there 
 could not be an increase of less than 
 TWO MILLIONS more in the 
 Country notes for other sums. In 
 that same year there Mas an increase 
 of a MILLION AND A HALF 
 in the amount of the Bank of England 
 notes ; so that, in the year 1809, the 
 total amount of the increase of the 
 Notes of all sorts could not be less 
 than six mil/ions and a half. And 
 yet " the most thinking people'' seem 
 to be quite astonished, that they no 
 longer see any guineas ; that guineas 
 are bought up and sent abroad ; and 
 that people in trade purchase, at a 
 premium, with Bank Notes, the 
 things called shillings and sixpences, 
 from the keepers of the Turnpike 
 Gates. 
 
 The amount of the Country notes, 
 though it has not been ascertained by 
 the Bullion Committee, and though 
 they were unaWe to ascertain it, may 
 
 be computed with a tolerable degree of 
 accuracy, seeing that they have as- 
 certained and stated, that there waft, 
 in the 5 and 10 pound notes alone, 
 an increase to the amount of three 
 millions of pounds in the year 1809, 
 and in the whole of the Bank of 
 England notes to the amount of a 
 million and a half ; for, unless o.ny 
 one can see, which I cannot, any 
 reason for a greater proportionate 
 increase in the Country Bunk paper 
 than in the London Bank paper, the 
 question is nothing more than a very 
 plain one in the Rule of Three (if one 
 ought, in such a ease, to be permitted 
 to use the Golden Rule,) and which 
 question would thus present itself; if 
 1,500,000, of increase require a total 
 amount of issues ctf 21,249,980, what 
 total amount of issues will be required 
 by an increase of 3,095,840. The 
 Answer will be 43,000,000 and up- 
 wards.And if we make our computation 
 upon the increase of 5,000,000, we 
 shall find the whole amount of Country 
 Bank notes, in 1809, to have been 
 70,000,000 and upwards, which, 
 there being 721 Country Banks, is 
 less than 100,000 for each ; and, it is 
 well known, that many of them have 
 half a million of notes out. Your 
 great Bank, at Salisbury, had, I 
 believe, notes out to the amount of 
 600,000 pounds. 
 
 Now, I am not aware of any thing 
 that can be said against this mode of 
 computation. I am, for my own part, 
 fully persuaded that it is fair, and, 
 that the result of it is not very far 
 from the truth. But, in order to leave 
 no room for cavil, let us suppose the 
 amount of the Country notes to be 
 only one half what it is here computed 
 at. Even in that case there must he 
 now in circulation paper promises to 
 the amount of 50 millions of pounds 
 and upwards. 
 
 This, then, is the sum against which 
 we have to set the coin and bullion, 
 the gold and silver in the hands 
 of the London Bank Company, and 
 in those vf the Country Banker*. 
 
PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 What is the exact amount of this no 
 one can tell, but every one must sup- 
 pose, that comparatively, it is very 
 small indeed ; for if this had not been 
 the case with regard to the Bank 
 Company, even in 1797, why did 
 they not state the amount of their 
 real money ? Why were they so shy 
 upon that score ? And, indeed, if their 
 stock of real money had not been very 
 good indeed, why did they apply to 
 the Minister to know when he would 
 interfere ? If they could have stood a 
 run of a week, they would have need- 
 ed no Act of Parliament to protect 
 them against the demands of the note- 
 holders. But this they could not 
 stand ; and there needs no other proof 
 of the smallness of the quantity of 
 their cash. 
 
 In Letter XV, page 202, we have 
 seen, that the whole amount of their 
 Cash -drill, Bullion and Bills discounted 
 was only 4,176,080 pounds, on the 
 25th of February, 1797. As was 
 there asked, who is. to say how much 
 of this consisted of Bilk discounted? 
 If more than one half had consisted 
 ! of cash and bullion they would not 
 have been jumbled together with Bills 
 discounted. Indeed, the cash, at that 
 | time, in possession of the Bank Com- 
 pany, was computed at 1,272,000 
 pounds, and, in a speech of Mr. 
 Tierney, quoted in Letter XX, page 
 270, it is stated at 1,000,000 of 
 pounds. There is no certainty in 
 this, to be sure ; but, Gentlemen, we 
 are quite certain of one thing, and 
 that is, that when men, whether single, 
 or in companies, have plenty of pe- 
 cuniary means, they never are very 
 cautious to disguise the fact. 
 
 Is it probable then, that the quan- 
 tity of cash in the hands of the 
 London Bank Company has increased 
 since 1797 ? Is it likely that, if they 
 had but about a millim before they 
 were protected against the demands 
 of the note-holders, they have in- 
 creased the quantity since ? Will <l the 
 "most thinking" people believe this ? 
 If they will there is certainly uo 
 
 doubt but they are prepared, for the . 
 verification of the old proverb about 
 believing that the "moon is made of 
 " green cheese." 
 
 And, as to the Country Banks, 
 to suppose that, they contain any thing 
 worthy of notice, in gold or bullion, 
 would be too absurd to be treated se- 
 riously. The moon-raking adventure, 
 which has been ascribed to a Wiltshire- 
 man, was thus applied by DeaN" 
 Swift at the memorable time of the 
 South-Sea Bubble, when so many 
 thousands and tens of thousands of 
 families were ruined by jobbers and 
 dealers in Funds and Stocks ; 
 
 § 
 One night a fool into a brook 
 
 Thus from a hillock looking dawn, 
 The Golden stars tor guineas took, 
 
 And Silver Cynthia for a croivn. 
 
 The point he could no longer doubt, 
 He ran, he leap'd into the flood, 
 
 There sprawl'd a while, and scarce got out, 
 All cover'd o'er with slime and mud. 
 
 But, Gentlemen, foolish as our poor 
 countryman was, in this case, he was 
 not half so worthy of ridicule as we 
 should be, if we, with all the inform- 
 ation we now possess, or have, at least, 
 had the means of possessing, were still 
 to believe, that Country Bankers have, 
 or ever will have, gold or silver sufficient 
 to pay off' a thousandth part of the notes 
 that they have issued. 
 
 After takii g this view of the matter; 
 after comparing the amount of the 
 Bank notes with the amount of the 
 Cash and Bullion, in the hands of 
 those by whom the notes have been 
 issued, ought we to wonder, that those 
 persons and all their friends, deprecate 
 the notion of paying again in cash ? 
 You have seen, Gentlemen, in the 
 course of these Letters, that the Bank 
 Company have been represented, upon 
 several occasions, as being perfectly 
 ready to pay again in cash, and that 
 they have, upon all occasions, been 
 represented as able to pay again in 
 cash. You have, all along, heard the 
 Stoppage spoken of as a temporary 
 
287] 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 [288 
 
 measure ; as a measure to last only 
 for a time ; the pretences were lame, 
 to be sure, but still there were pre- 
 tences. Now, all this is thrown 
 aside, and they say, in plain terms, 
 that not to pay in cash is a very good 
 permanent system. 
 
 With such a mass of paper and so 
 little coin and bullion, it was not to be 
 expected that the paper would not de- 
 
 preciate or fall in value : but, as I 
 wish to make this depreciation the 
 subject of a separate Letter, I shall 
 here conclude by subscribing myself 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Monday, 
 December 17 th, 1810. 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 *' Ifgal Tenders have been th« came of the ov«rthrow of every finaucial system into which they have been 
 " introduced.'' — Eaay lis ;Vnatncan Paper-money- 
 
 The Question of Legal Tender in Bank of England Notes — Two Letters received from 
 Correspondents as to the true Constitution and Practice of the Act of 17,97— How far 
 the Bank of England Notes are a Legal Tender— They are so far as relates to Debts 
 due from the Bank of England including the Dividends — Not so with regard to Debts 
 and Contracts between man and man— Any holder of a Country Bank Note may com- 
 pel the Payment of it in the Coin of the Kingdom— This proved by the Decision in the 
 Case of Grigby asrainst Oakes — The Opinions of the four Judges in that Case — The 
 Justice of this Decision— The Reason why People have not hitherto compelled the 
 Country Bankers to pay their Notes in Coin. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 THE proposed subject of this 
 Letter, was, an inquiry into the rate 
 of the depreciation of paper-money ; 
 but, two letters, which I have received, 
 in the last si\ days, the one from 
 Glasgow, and the other from the 
 neighbourhood of Exeter, induce me 
 to devote this present Letter to the 
 answering of them, they being upon 
 the very important subject of the 
 legal tender. 
 
 The writer of the iirst letter ex- 
 presses his doubts as to the correctness 
 of my exposition of the Rank Stop- 
 page, or Restriction Act, (See Letter 
 XVI, page 219,) and his wishes th*t 
 I would give him my opinion again, 
 after having taken time to revise what 
 I before said upon this part of the 
 subject. My correspondent near 
 Exeter, who tells me that he is a 
 farmer, thanks me for the useful in- 
 
 formation that he is so good as' to say 
 he has received from this series of 
 Letters, and begs me, in a very earnest 
 manner, to tell him, whether 1 am 
 quite sure, that I was correct, when I 
 said, that any holder of country bank- 
 notes might compel the payment of 
 them in gold and silver. Both these 
 gentlemen have put their names to 
 their letters ; but, as the same doubts 
 and uncertainties may have occurred 
 to others of my reader?, I shall give 
 my answer in this public manner, and, 
 after having so dvno, there will, I 
 trust, remain no doubt or uncertainty 
 at all. - 
 
 I stated to you, Griitlemen, in 
 Letter XVf, that, as far as related 
 debts due from the Bank of Englai 
 the notes ' f that Bank were, by 
 Act of 1797, called the Bank Stc 
 page, or Restriction Act, made a let, 
 tender; that is to say, that the credit 
 
m>] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [290 
 
 was compelled to take those notes in 
 payment, or to go without any pay 
 ment at all. If, for instance, any one 
 of you has a Bank of England note 
 of ten pounds, and carry it to Thread- 
 needle Street for payment, the Bank 
 Company may compel you to take 
 other of their notes in payment, or 
 they ma} r , if you refuse such notes 
 in payment, refuse you payment in 
 any thing else. 
 
 It is the same with regard to the 
 payment of the dividends, that is to 
 say, the interest of the Stocks or 
 Funds. If, for instance, our neigh- 
 bour, Grizzle Greenhorn, when 
 she goes to receive her half-year's in- 
 terest upon her Stock, which, you 
 know, is paid her by the Bank Com- 
 pany, were to say : " pay me in good 
 " gold and silver," would, or might, 
 receive for answer, an assertion, that 
 the law, the Act of 1797, protected 
 the Bank Company against such an 
 unreasonable demand. In a word, 
 the Bank Company might refuse, ab- 
 solutely refuse to pay her her interest 
 in any thing but their own promissory 
 notes ; and, then, if she tendered them 
 those promissory notes for payment, 
 they might refuse to pay them in any 
 thing but other of their own notes; 
 that is to say, they would be ready to 
 give her jresh promises to pay in lieu 
 of the promises to pay which they 
 had given her before ; but, she could 
 not compel them to give her one 
 shilling's worth of gold or silver, 
 except there might be due to her, in 
 the way of interest, any fractional 
 part of a pound. 
 
 Thus far, then, the Bank Com- 
 y's notes are a legal tender. And, 
 in the affairs between man and man, 
 if such notes be once accepted and 
 received in payment of any debt what- 
 ever, they are, after such acceptance 
 and receipt, to be considered as a 
 legal payment in that case. If, for 
 instance, I owe my neighbour a hun- 
 dred pounds, and tender him Bank of 
 England notes in payment, and he 
 
 receive them in payment to the amount 
 of the sum due "to him, he is paid., I 
 am acquitted of my debt ; he cannot 
 afterwards sue me for the debt, upon 
 the ground, that I have not paid him 
 money, as he might do in the case of 
 other promissory notes, if there were 
 no particular agreement to bar him. 
 
 But, here the legal tender of Bank 
 of England notes stops. They are not 
 yet t in any other case, put upon a 
 footing with money. As to all tho 
 transactions between man and man, 
 except in the above circumstances, 
 which can occur only where the Bank 
 of England itself is a party, no person 
 ir, obliged to take Bank of England 
 notes in payment of any debt, or legal 
 demand. And this is a thing well 
 worthy of the attention of all those, 
 who have it in contemplation to enter 
 into contracts which are to have afu-^ 
 ture operation; for, if the value of 
 gold and silver, compared with that 
 of Bank notes, should continue to in- 
 crease, those who now make contracts 
 for payments to be made some years 
 hence, should beat it constantly in 
 mind, that the party to whom they 
 will have to make such payment, will, 
 at all times, have it in his power to 
 insist upon gold coin in payment. 
 
 If this be the law, without any other 
 exceptions than those above named, 
 it follows, of course, that I can have 
 not the least hesitation in telling my 
 Devonshire correspondent, that I am 
 quite sure, that any holder of a Country 
 Bank note has it, at all times, in his 
 power to compel the payment of it in 
 gold or silver coin from the King's 
 mint, and of full tveight and due fine- 
 ness. I know, that a different notion 
 has prevailed; and, I have heard it 
 said, or seen it stated in print, that 
 this compulsion cannot be effected; 
 because, it has been said, if you were 
 to bring your action of debt against 
 Paperkite and Co. they would pay 
 the amount into Court in Bank of 
 England notes ; and that, upoi? proof 
 of their having done this being- p»- 
 
291] 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 [292 
 
 duced, the Court would stop the pro- 
 ceedings, or at least, throw all the 
 costs thereafter incurred upon you. 
 
 This would, indeed, make the Bank 
 of England notes a legal tender in fact, 
 (hough not in law ; or, in other words, 
 it would make an Act of Parliament 
 a mere delusion, a shuffle, a cheat, a 
 base premeditated fraud. But, this is 
 all a mistake ; it is not founded in 
 fact ; the Courts Mould attempt to do 
 no such thing ; for, if one could in any 
 case, suppose the inclination to exist 
 in the mind of a Judge, he would not 
 do it, nor think of it, in the face of 
 what has already been done. 
 
 The question has been decided, and 
 that, too, with all possible solemnity, 
 as will appear from the case which I 
 am now about to lay before you, and 
 the perusal ol which will remove all 
 doubts whatever upon the subject. — 
 There appears to have been no doubt 
 about the letter of the law, in the mind 
 of either of my correspondents ; but 
 they both doubt of its interpretation 
 in the Courts ; and the last-mentioned 
 gentleman says, that, though upon the 
 face of the Act, there is nothing to 
 warrant the supposition, that a holder 
 of a Country Bank note could not 
 compel the payment of it in gold and 
 silver, yet he thinks, that such holder 
 would, by the judicial construction of 
 the Act, be defeated in any attempt 
 to compel such payment; and, he 
 seems to think, that this is pretty 
 clearly demonstrated in the fact (as he 
 supposes it to be), that no one has ever 
 Jtet attempted to compel Country 
 Bankers to pay their notes in gold 
 and silver. 
 
 He will, doubtless, be surprised to 
 find, that the attempt has not only 
 been made, but that it fully succeeded, 
 in the year 1801, four years after the 
 Bank Stoppage, or Restriction Act 
 was passed, a Mr. Grigby, in the 
 county of Suffolk, went to the Bank 
 Shop* of Messrs. Oakes and Co. of 
 St. Edmunds Bury, and in presenting 
 them one of their own Five Guinea 
 notes for payment, demanded money. 
 
 The Bankers tendered him a Jive 
 pound Bank of England note, and 
 Jive shillings, which he refused to re- 
 ceive, saying, that the five pound 
 Bank of England note was not money, 
 and that he would not take it. The 
 Bankers told him, that if he wanted 
 specie for his accommodation, they 
 would let him have it. He declined 
 to receive it in that way ; he said that 
 he stood in no need of it as an accom- 
 modation ; that he demanded it as a 
 right ; and that, unless they paid him 
 in the coin of the kingdom, he would 
 bring an action of debt against them. 
 Upon this ground they refused him 
 payment incoin,whcreuponhc brought 
 his action and obtained a verdict in 
 his favour at the Assizes ; but the 
 question of law was, upon the motion 
 of the Defendant's counsel, reserved 
 for decision by the Judges ; and the 
 following is the Report of the Case, 
 as argued before, and determined by 
 the four Judges, of the Court of 
 Common Pleas, on the 19th of 
 November 1801. 
 
 Grigby against Oakes and Ano- 
 ther — " This was an action on a pro- 
 " missory note ; the Defendants as to 
 " all but five guineas pleaded nan 
 " assumpserunt, and as to the remain- 
 " ing five guineas they pleaded a 
 " tender. The cause came on to be 
 " tried at the Summer Assizes for 
 " Suffolk, before Mr. Baron Hotham, 
 " when a verdict was found for the 
 " Plaintiff, with one shilling damages, 
 " subject to the opinion of the Court 
 M upon the following case. The De- 
 " fendants are Bankers at Bury St. 
 " Edmunds, and issued the note in 
 " question for five guineas, payable on 
 " demand to the bearer. On the 31st 
 " of January last, the Plaintiff carried 
 " several notes to the shop of the De- 
 " fendant, and demanded payment. 
 " He first presented other notes, to 
 " the amount of 50 guineas, for which 
 " he received payment, partly in 
 " Bank of England notes and partly 
 ". in cash, the cash being ten pounds, 
 " and being the proportion of mo'iey 
 
593] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [294 
 
 ** they usually pay. lie then pre- 
 " Rented the note in question, for 
 " which the Defendants tendered 
 44 in payment a ine pound Bank of 
 44 England note and five shillings in 
 44 in silver. This the Plaintiff refused 
 44 on the ground that the tender was 
 " partly in a Bank of England note, 
 " objecting to such note, and insisted 
 *' on being paid wholly in money. 
 44 The Plaintiff did not at the time 
 " say he wanted money for his own 
 44 particular accommodation, but stated 
 " that he came on purpose to have cash 
 " for the note, or to bring an action 
 '* if payment in money was refused. 
 
 <4 The question for the opinion of 
 11 the Court was, Whether under the 
 44 circumstances before stated, the 
 " Plaintiff was entitled to recover ? 
 
 44 Serjeant Shepherd, for the De- 
 * 4 fendants, urged, that though un- 
 * questionably previous to the passing 
 " of the 37 Geo. 3, c. 45, commonly 
 44 called the Bank Act, a bank-note 
 44 would not have been a legal tender, 
 " yet that, since the passing of the 
 *■ above Act such notes must be con- 
 ** sidered as cash, for that the neces- 
 1 sary consequence of the above Act 
 •• being to absorb a vast proportion of 
 *' the actual cash of the country, the 
 ° Legislature must have intended to 
 " give a new character to Bank notes 
 " by way of substitute ; that they had 
 *• specifically declared them to be a 
 " good tender so as to prevent an 
 ** arrest, and yet if the same spirit 
 M which actuated the present Plaintiff 
 *' in the commencement of this action 
 " was to continue to influence Ins con- 
 " duct, and that of others also, a De- 
 " fendant, though exempted from arrest 
 M might ultimately be taken in execu- 
 44 tion, though ready to pay in Bank 
 44 notes, since he might possibly be 
 " unable to satisfy the judgment ob- 
 «* tained against him altogether in 
 " money : because even if a sale of his 
 «' goods took place, the Sheriff might 
 44 not be able to avoid receiving a large 
 44 proportion of bank-notes from the 
 " purchasers ; that, indeed, in some 
 
 44 respects, bank-notes were privileged 
 " by the 37 Geo. 3, c. 45, beyond 
 M cash, inasmuch as a tender of them 
 " in satisfaction of a debt operated to 
 u discharge a party from arrest, which 
 44 was not the case with a tender of 
 " money, which must be pleaded in 
 " bar ; and that no contrary inference 
 •* could be drawn from the 8th sec- 
 ** tion of the Act, which declared pay- 
 " ments in bank-notes to be equiva- 
 44 lent to payments in cash, if made 
 *• and accepted as such, because that 
 44 must have been the case before the 
 " passing of the Act, and therefore 
 44 that clause must be deemed nuga- 
 " tory. 
 
 " Serjeant Sellon, on the other 
 " side, was stopped by the Court. 
 
 u Lord Alvanley, (Chief Jiis- 
 " tice). — The question for the Court 
 " to decide is a mere question of law, 
 " arising, as it has been contended, 
 " out of the provisions of the 37 Geo. 
 " 3, c. 45. In fact we are called up- 
 " on to say whether it follows as a ne T 
 " cessary consequence from that Act, 
 " that a tender in bank-notes is equi- 
 " ralent to a tender in money ? It 
 " may be very true that individuals 
 " may be occasionally subjected to 
 " great inconveniences from the ope- 
 " ration of that Act; but are we there- 
 "■ fore to say that the Legislature has 
 " enacted that which the provisions of 
 " the Act do not warrant ? If we were 
 " at liberty to refer to our own pri- 
 " vate knowledge of the language that 
 " was held in Parliament while this 
 " Act was pending, no doubt could be 
 " entertained upon the subject. We 
 " know that it was very much can- 
 " vassed at that time, Whether or not 
 " the Legislature ought to go the length 
 " of declaring bank-notes a good legal 
 " tender? If, therefore, it had been 
 44 intended by the Legislature so to 
 44 make them, that intention would 
 44 have been expressed in such clear 
 44 terms that no question could have 
 4 ' arisen upon the subject. Indeed, 
 44 it is expressly provided, in the 2nd 
 44 section of the Act; that if the Gover- 
 
295] 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 [ZUG 
 
 *' nor and Company of the Bank of 
 " England shall be sued on any of 
 " their notes, or for any sum of mo- 
 " ney, payment of which in their notes 
 " the party suing refuses to accept, 
 " they may apply to the Court in 
 " which such proceedings are insti- 
 " tuted, to stay proceedings during 
 *' such time as they, are restricted 
 " from paying in cash. But with re- 
 " ■ s pect to individuals it was not intend- 
 " ed to prevent any creditor, who 
 iC should be so disposed, frow capti- 
 " ously demanding a payment in mo- 
 ■■:, tiiough such a creditor is de- 
 " miyed of the benefit of arresting his 
 " debtor. Thank God, few such cre- 
 " ditors as the present Plaintiff have 
 " been found since the passing of the 
 " act ! But yet, whatever ineonveni- 
 " ences may arise, and to whatever 
 " length they may go, Parliament and 
 u not this Court must be applied to for 
 " a remedy. Inconvenience arising 
 *' from the operation of an act of Pai - 
 " liament, can be no ground of argn- 
 " ment in a Court of Law ; and even if 
 " it were, still I should entertain no 
 *' doubt, that it was the intention of 
 " the Legislature to make bank-notes 
 " a legal payment only in certain cases 
 " by them expressed, and that in all 
 " other cases they should remain upon 
 " the same footing upon which they 
 " stood before the act, except as to 
 " the exemption from arrest, which 
 " they afford to the party tendering 
 " them in payment. The 8th section 
 •' of the act, which has been treated 
 " as nugatory in the argumtnt, how- 
 " ever it may enact nothing new, still 
 " appears to me pregnant with the in- 
 *' tentionaof Parliament, and to speak 
 " loudly the resolution not to alter the 
 " character of bank-notes, but in those 
 " eases which are specially provided 
 " for. Without however referring to 
 '* any of those specific clauses, and ar- 
 " guing from them as to the intent of 
 " the Legislature, I should be clearly 
 " of opinion, that the present Plaintiff 
 '• is entitled to our judgment in his fa- 
 ff vour, 
 
 "Judge IiE4Ttl. I am of the 
 " same opinion. The question tor us 
 " to decide is, whether a tender in 
 " bank-notes is a good legal tender 1 
 " Now the 37 Geo. 3, c. 45. appears 
 * ' to me to negative that question ; for 
 " the several provisions ot the act 
 " making them a good and legal tender 
 " in certain excepted cases, excludes 
 " the idea of their being so generally 
 " in cases not provided for by the act. 
 " It has been argued, however that 
 " the operation of the act will in many 
 " cases be very injurious, unless we 
 " determine it to be a necessary infer- 
 '• encc from the act that bank-notes 
 " were intended by the Legislature 
 ", to be put upon the same footing as 
 " cash. But whatever inconvenien- 
 " ccs may arise, the Courts of Law 
 " cannot apply a remedy. I think, 
 " indeed, the Legislature acted wisely: 
 " having the recent example of France 
 " before their eyes, to avoid making 
 " bank-notes a legal tender; for in 
 " France we know that legislative pro- 
 " visions of that kind in favour of 
 " paper currency only tended to de- 
 M predate the paper it was designed 
 " to protect, and were ultimately re^ 
 " pealed, as injurious in their nature. 
 " Judge Rooke. I am of the 
 " same opinion. 
 
 " Judge Chambre. This case ap- 
 " pears to me almost too plain for 
 " argument. It has been thought 
 " that the Courts went a great way 
 " in holding a tender in bank-notes to 
 " be a good tender, if not objected to 
 " at the time. Certainly that was an 
 " innovation; though perhaps a bene* 
 " facial one. But the act upon which 
 " the present question arises affords 
 " nothing but arguments against the 
 " inference attempted to be drawn 
 "by it. Surely the observation that 
 " in some respects the Legislature 
 " have put bank-notes on a more fa- 
 " vourable footing than cash, leads to 
 " a conclusion directly contrary to 
 " that which it was intended to sup- 
 " port. If the Legislature have n« 
 " gone far enough, it is for thei 
 
297] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [298 
 
 " not for ns, to remedy the defect. 
 " Indeed, by making bank-notes a 
 «* good tender in certain cases, speci- 
 " ficalty provided for, they appear to 
 " me to have negatived the construe- 
 ** tion we are now desired to put upon 
 M the act." 
 
 It will hardly be doubted, that I 
 have copied this report with great 
 care. I. have, indeed, given every 
 word of it; but, for the satisfaction of 
 my correspondents, to whom I am 
 really obliged for their inquiries, I will 
 add, that the report is taken from a 
 well known law-book, entitled, " Bo- 
 u sanquet's and Puller's Reports of 
 " Cases argued and determined in the 
 " Court of Common Pleas and Ex- 
 
 " chequer Chamber and in the House 
 
 i 
 
 no 
 H 
 
 of Lords, from Michaelmas Term, 
 " in the 40th year of the reign of 
 George III. (1799) to Michaelmas 
 Term, in the 42nd Year of the same 
 reign (1801,) both inclusive." 
 After reading this report, there can- 
 not remain, in the mind of any man, 
 e smallest doubt upon this subject. 
 Iere is the fact, in practice as well as 
 in theory, clearly established, that 
 any holder of a Country bank-note, 
 payable to bearer on demand, or the 
 holder of any such note, except of the 
 Bank of England, may, at any time, 
 when he pleases, demand payment of 
 such note in the gold and silver coin 
 ssued from the King's mint, that coin 
 eing of legal weight, and fineness. 
 And, if such payment be refused, 
 upon demand, the holder of such note 
 may immediately proceed to sue for 
 such payment, which, if the party 
 sued has the means, he must finally 
 pay in coin, together with full costs of 
 suit.* 
 
 And, indeed, if this was not the law, 
 
 •The shilling damages, mentioned in the 
 first part, of th< above Report, is merely the 
 nominal damages, which it is the custom to 
 lay, in rases where the object, as in this 
 case, is to ascertain the question of right. 
 But, the Plaintiff had his costs of suit in this 
 case, as every other plaintiff" must have, 
 who bi intrs an action in a similar way, and 
 on similar grounds. 
 
 the Bank of England notes would be 
 a legal tender to all intents and pur- 
 poses ; for, the issuers of these notes 
 being protected by law against the 
 holders of them, the holder of a Coun- 
 try Bank note would have no claim 
 upon the Country Banker, or upon 
 any body else, for coin. The man 
 who chooses to take a Bank of Eng- 
 land note, does it knowing that he can- 
 not force any one to pay him its no- 
 minal amount in coin ; and, therefore 
 if he choose to take it, he has no rea- 
 son to complain. Persons, who buy 
 Stock, know that they are to be paid 
 their interest in Bank of England 
 notes; and, therefore, they have no 
 reason to complain. But, if either of 
 yen sell your corn or your wool, and 
 take a Country Bank note for it, that 
 is to say, the promissory note of your 
 neighbour, you expect to have the real 
 worth of your corn, or your wool; 
 and, of course, you expect to be paid 
 by your neighbour in the real money 
 of the kingdom, which money, as I 
 have now shewn you» you have a legal, 
 as well as a moral, right to demand. 
 
 Lest any one should raise a doubt 
 upon the circumstance of Mr. Gkig- 
 by's demand having been founded up- 
 on a note given for guineas instead of 
 pounds, I beg you to observe, that this 
 circumstance was not even alluded to 
 by either of the Judges, or by the 
 Counsel who argued against Mr. 
 G rigby. You will perceive, besides, 
 that the Judges speak generally of all 
 debts, except those only due from the 
 Bank of England itself. The decision 
 is founded upon the broad principle, 
 that Bank of England notes may be 
 refused in all cases, except only those 
 wherein the Bank of England itself 
 is the debtor, including the dividends 
 upon the National Debt, and there the 
 Bank is regarded as the debtor to the 
 Stock-holder. 
 
 It is also worthy of your observa- 
 tion, that, though the Chief Justice 
 i seemed to think, that it might becomfe 
 i necessary to make the Bank of Eng- 
 ! land notes a legal tender in all cases 
 
.2991 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 [300 
 
 another of the Judges expressed him- 
 self as decidedly oS opinion, that such 
 a ine-irure would be both unjust and 
 impolitic; and, indeed, that it would 
 be, in part, at least, to imitate the mea- 
 sures of Robespiktce, who compelled 
 the people of France to take paper- 
 money upon pain of death. 
 
 li it should be ar-kod, why other 
 H?r.*on» h-ive not done as Mr. Grigby 
 did, the answer is, that the people of 
 this country, generally speaking, have 
 really thought, that, by the Act of 
 1797, the Bank of England notes 
 were made, to all intents and pur- 
 poses, a legal tender, and, of course, 
 that, if a man refused to take them in 
 payment, he had not the means of 
 forcing the debtor to pay him in any 
 oth >r sort of thing. Nor is this ge- 
 nerally prevailing error to be much 
 wondered at, seeing what were the 
 meajts made use of at the time of the 
 Bank Stoppage. When you reflect 
 upon the famous meeting and resolu- 
 tions at the Mansion- House in Lon- 
 don, the secret history of which I have 
 given you. When you reflect upon 
 the effect of these Resolutions, 
 issued under the signature of the Lord 
 
 Mayor; followed, as they immedi- 
 ately were by Resolutions, of a simi- 
 lar purport, from the Privy Coun- 
 cil, and from the Justices assembled 
 in Quarter Sessions, m the several 
 counties. When you reflect on the 
 official manner, and the authoritative 
 air of ail these promulgations, you 
 will cease to wonder, that the Resolu- 
 tions to take and pay the paper of the 
 Bank of England were, by the mass 
 of the people, regarded as having the 
 force of law 
 
 Now, however, you know the true 
 value of those Resolutions ; you know 
 what is, and what is not, the law, re- 
 lating to this important matter, in 
 which every man of you is so deeply 
 interested, and on your judgment and 
 discretion with respect to which may 
 depend the permanent welfare of your- 
 selves and your families, to assist in 
 the advancement of which welfare has 
 always been, and always will be ; a 
 principal object of the labours of 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 Wm. COBBETT, 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Monday f 
 December 24th, i810. 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 «'lt i»in the last twenty years of the Funding Sjstem, that all the great shocks begin to operate."— Paint. 
 
 Event* since the Date of the foregoing Letter— Bank Notice about the Dollar— Various 
 Reports of the Effect of that Measure Proposals in Parliament respecting the Bullion 
 Keport. 
 
 liENTLEMEN, 
 
 In reviving my correspondence with 
 you, it will be necessary for me to re- 
 vert for a moment to the point, at 
 which I broke off, which was at 
 Letter XXII, in which, as you will 
 recollect, it was shewn, for the satis- 
 faction of two correspondents in the 
 
 country, that any man, having country 
 bank-notes in his possession, had (and 
 he still has, of course) the power of 
 compelling the drawer of such notes 
 to pan him in gold or silver , the lawful 
 coin of the realm. 
 
 But, that Letter was a digression 
 from the main track of our subject, 
 
 
PAPER AGAINST GOLD 
 
 [302 
 
 which, at the close of Letter XXI, 
 
 was leading us into the great question 
 as to the depreciation, that is to say, 
 fall, of the Bank, of England notes; 
 a question, which has caused more 
 discussion than any other that has 
 been agitated for many years past, 
 and which, I think, we may now iook 
 upon as completely decided, seeing 
 that , while the dispute was going on, 
 the Bank Company themselves have 
 done «u act which can, in the mind 
 of no man out of a mad-house, leave 
 the smallest doubt upon the subject. 
 
 ser 
 
 Nevertheless, as I 
 
 that this 
 tes of letters should contain the 
 whole of what I have thought, and 
 still think, relating to this interesting 
 matter; L shall treat of the question 
 here spoken of, after I have recorded 
 the events, which have taken place 
 siaca I last addressed you: and which 
 events are important to a degree, that 
 few persons, comparatively speaking, 
 appear to imagine. 
 
 When, on the 24th of December, 
 wrote my last Letter to you, I did 
 xpect, that the winter would not pass 
 over our heads without some striking 
 change as to the circulating currency 
 o£ the country. It appeared to me, 
 as 1 had, upon former occasions, told 
 my readers, quite impossible, that 
 things could go on much longer with- 
 out events that would strike tiic im- 
 pudent partizans of the paper system 
 dumb, The guinea had, for some 
 time, been a marketable commodity; 
 and under such circumstanees, the 
 paper will not continue much longer 
 without being openly at a discount in 
 all transactions. The coin of every 
 denomination grew daily more and 
 more scarce ; till at last, change for a 
 pound note was with difficulty ob- 
 tained ; and, as these difficulties in- 
 creased, people, of course, felt an 
 increased inclination to hoard the 
 coin. 
 
 As a remedy for this evil, the Bank 
 Company issued a Notice, raising the 
 Doiiar (which was in circulation at the 
 rate of 5s.) to 5s. 6d. and it was after- 
 
 wards found, that this Notice had been 
 issued w r ith the advice and approba- 
 tion of the Privy Council, or, at 
 least, of a Committee of the Privy 
 Council, appointed to watch over the 
 allairs of Coin.* This Notice, which 
 was first published on the 18th of 
 March, not only failed to produce the 
 intended effect: hut, it produced an 
 effect precisely the opposite of that, 
 which was intended by the Privy 
 Counsellors and the Bank Directors. 
 The few r Dollars that were in circula- 
 lation immediately disappeared, and 
 the distress for change became so 
 great, that people were obliged to 
 take ten shillings worth or 15 shil- 
 lings worth of halfpence in changing 
 a pound note, which halfpence were, 
 for the most part, mere raps, not 
 worth a tenth part of their nominal 
 value. 
 
 Many of the shop-keepers in Lon- 
 don, in order to procure the means of 
 carrying on their business, notified, by 
 bills put in their windows, that 
 they would receive the Dollar (the 
 real value of which, is less than 4s. (yd.) 
 at 5*. 9d. and some of them notified, 
 that they would receive it at 6s. 
 The same continues to be done now; 
 and, that man must be blind indeed, 
 who does not perceive, that two prices 
 have to a certain extent, already taken 
 place. 
 
 The inconvenience arising from the 
 want of money under a pound note 
 was felt very severely by the Bankers, 
 whose customers drawing upon them 
 for any sums that they might happen 
 to want, frequently, of course, drew 
 for parts of a pound. These the 
 Bankers were unable to supply ; and, 
 on the 9th of April, a circular para- 
 graph appeared in the London news- 
 papers, exhorting people to draw r for 
 whole pounds. On the same day it • 
 was stated, that, in the shops, markets, 
 
 * The Notice, and the Minute of the«e 
 Privy Counsellors will be found in the 
 Awendix (C). 
 
303] 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 [304 
 
 and public offices, people gave written 
 acknowledgments for the parts of a 
 pound, and left them thus unpaid. 
 On the 11th of April, Mr. Man- 
 ning, the Deputy Governor of the 
 Bank, and who is also a Member of 
 Parliament, informed the House, 
 that the Bank were about to issue a 
 large quantity of Dollars ; and he ob- 
 served, that those persons who were 
 hoarding them, in the expectation that 
 they would rise in price, would be 
 
 disappointed. Some day.-; before 
 
 this (on ihe 4th of April) the Bank 
 thought it necessary to publish an ad- 
 vertisement, that the report of great 
 quantities of their notes having been 
 forged, and that the plates from which 
 the said notes had been taken, had 
 been stolen, was wholly false ; and, it 
 seems, that this report was spread 
 very widely through the country ; the 
 object being to excite suspicion of the 
 Bank of England notes, and thereby 
 to insure a preference for the Country 
 
 bank-notes. On the 19th of April, 
 
 it was stated in the public prints, that 
 a person had a promissory note disho- 
 noured because he could not produce 
 to the person, who had to receive the 
 
 payment, the change of 18s. 3c/. 
 
 On the 23rd of April a prisoner, con- 
 lined for debt in the Marshalsea 
 Prison, obtained his release, because 
 his creditor in paying him his main- 
 tenance money, gave him a piece of 
 
 foreign coin instead of a sixpence. 
 
 On the same day, it was stated in the 
 public prints, that at some of the 
 public offices, change was not only 
 refused, but that certain of the Clerks 
 in those offices, were dealers in the 
 article, and supplied the bankers with 
 silver at 3 per cent. — —On the same 
 day, 23rd of April, Jamf.s Ktng, a 
 Guard to a coach, was taken before 
 the Lord Mayor, upon a charge of 
 having bought guineas, and Avas held 
 
 to bail. On the 20th of April, 
 
 there was a paragraph, published in 
 all the London daily prints, stating, 
 that the Chinese had just discovered 
 that gold and silver were too abundant 
 
 with them, and, it Mas added, that 
 they were going to send great quali- 
 ties of it hither, fome of which might 
 be speedily expected. In the pub- 
 lic prints of the 27th, 29th and 30th 
 of April, it was stated, that ten thous- 
 and pounds in gold had been seized 
 on board of a ship, about to carry it 
 abroad. Many statements of this sort 
 had appeared before, but this one was 
 
 worthy of particular attention. ■ 
 
 Also that a riot, attended with acts of 
 violence and killing, had taken place 
 at Sampford, in consequence of the- 
 scarcity of change. — A circular 
 paragraph appeared at this time repro- 
 bating the practice of hoarding, and 
 hinting that it would be proper to 
 
 punish it as a crime. At the same 
 
 time another circular paragraph ap- 
 peared advising people not to hoard 
 the change, for that a new silver 
 coinage was just coming out that would 
 
 sink the value of the present coin. 
 
 At the same time Mock hank-notes 
 were Circulated from the King's 
 Bench and Fleet Prisons, by the 
 means of which some unwary pe rsons 
 were cheated. An account of gold 
 lawfully exported during one week 
 was published at this time, from 
 which it was manifest, that the gold 
 and silver were going to France and 
 her dominions as fast as possible. 
 It was now announced that the Bank 
 had issued more Dollars, and that 
 £.300 worth had been sent to each of 
 the Banking Houses in London. 
 
 Such, Gentlemen, were the symptoms 
 of the effect of raising the nominal 
 value of the dollar ; and on the 8th of 
 May, it was elated in the public prints, 
 that another seizure of guineas had 
 been made on board a ship sent into 
 Dover. The words of the statement 
 
 were these : if JFour thousand and 
 
 "fifty wore guineas have been found 
 " on board the ship sent into Dover 
 " last week, it is supposed she will 
 " be pulled fa pieces, as her very iron 
 
 " ballast is holtened to receive gold. 
 
 " She is called 1he New Union of 
 
 " London." They may pull her to 
 
'305 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [306 
 
 pieces and burn her; they may do 
 what they like with her ; but, Gentle- 
 men, as long as this paper-money ex- 
 ists in England, he gold and silver 
 will continue to go out of it in some 
 way or other. The Government may 
 be ingeuipu^ and we know it is able 
 o employ great numbers of artful 
 men ; but, aii their art put together ; 
 tand all the powers of the government, 
 not excepting the power of life and 
 death, will never make gold and silver 
 circulate at par with a depreciated 
 paper. 
 
 i have thus filled up the history of 
 the time since I last addressed you. 
 That time is hardly jive months, and 
 . what events are here ! What a 
 change is here, in so short a space of 
 tipe ! And, can you be made to be- 
 lieve, that the thing will stop where it 
 is? Is it possible that you can be 
 persuaded to believe, that the Bank 
 Notes will now, or will ever, revive ? 
 The grand effort now, with all those 
 who wish to deceive the people, and 
 to profit from Xheir credulity, is to per- 
 suade them, that it is not the Bank 
 Note that bus fallen; but, the geld 
 and silver that have risen. This seems 
 to be the last trick hi the budget ; but, 
 what I have to say upon this head I 
 must reserve till I come to my intend- 
 ed Letter upon the subject of depre- 
 ciation. 
 
 In the mean while we must see 
 what has been passing in Parliament, 
 relating to this matter ; so that, before 
 we proceed upon the remainder of 
 our inquiries, we may have the whole 
 history of the paper-money before us, 
 down to the very day when we shall 
 come to our conclusion. In the fore- 
 going Letters, there will be found, I 
 am convinced, the most complete his- 
 tory of our Paper Money that has 
 ever yet appeared in print/ We have 
 there traced it from its very outset to 
 the day when the people of Salisbury 
 became, all in a moment, destitute of 
 the means of getting a dinner. In this 
 Letter its history lias been brought 
 : to lad Sut'irdaa; a/id all tbut 
 
 we have now to do h to give, in as few 
 words as possible, the history of the 
 BULLION DEBATE, winch, per- 
 haps, would be unnecessary for our 
 present purposes ; but, this is a sub- 
 ject every fact belonging to which 
 ought to be so recorded as to be capa- 
 ble of being hereafter referred to ; and 
 ought, if possible, to be made known 
 in every part of the world. 
 
 The Report of the Bullion Com- 
 mittee, which was printed last year, 
 was laid before the House of Com- 
 mons but a short time previous to its 
 rising. It w r as ordered to be printed 
 on the 8th of June, and I must say, 
 that it gives me great pleasure to re- 
 flect, that it issued from the press on, 
 the very day that 2 was sent to jail f I 
 shall always remember this with satis- 
 faction. It will be a source of de- 
 light to me us long as I have breath 
 in my body ; aye, and it will be borne 
 in mind, too, long after the bank-notes 
 and ail, yea all, that thereon depend,- 
 shall have come to their true level; 
 their proper state. 
 
 The time being so short, the House 
 could not take the Report into con- 
 sideration, during the last Session; 
 therefore, this part of the business 
 was to be performed during this 
 Session. The Chairman of the Com- 
 mittee, Mr. Francis Horner, was 
 to propose some measure to be adopt- 
 ed in consequence of the Report ; but, 
 b# being a lawyer and a placeman at 
 the same time; having to go the 
 Western circuit and to manage the 
 Nabob of Arcot's Debts, he, of 
 course, could hardly find time for this 
 Bullion affair. After many appoint- 
 ments and disappointments, however, 
 he, at last, brought the matter for- 
 ward on Monday last, the 6th instant, 
 when a Debate ensued, which lasted 
 during four successive nights ; it being 
 the custom in this Assembly to carry 
 on the greater part of their works 
 after it is dark. 
 
 Previous, however, to this Debate 
 Mr. Horner had laid »p«n the table 
 of the House a string °t' P*W»P©si- 
 
307J 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 [308 
 
 TJONS, expressive of his opinions as i 
 to the state of the coin and paper- . 
 money of the country, and also as to 
 the remedy to be applied. In a few i 
 days after these had been before the j 
 house, Mr. Nicholas Vansittart, j 
 who took the other side of the ques- , 
 tion, laid before the House a set of 
 opposing Propositions; which he 
 soon afterwards followed by a set of 
 Propositions being the former set 
 amended ; and these were follow- 
 ed by another paper from Mr. 
 Horner, containing Propositions in 
 the form of amendments upon his bro- 
 ther lawyer's Proposition*, both of 
 the gentlemen being " learned 
 friends." 
 
 The way being thus prepared, all- 
 the preliminary steps having been | 
 taken, the discussion was entered ! 
 upon on the day before-mentioned, at 
 the end of one year, two ?no/iths, and 
 fourteen days from the time that the 
 Committee commenced its labours. 
 I have began inserting this Debate, 
 and I shall insert all the principal 
 speeches before I have done ; and I 
 do it, because I wish to afford all my 
 readers, and you, Gentlemen, in par- 
 ticular, an opportunity of perusing, 
 at your leisure, what these persons 
 have said upon this important subject; 
 and, besides, my wish is to place 
 these speeches where they may be, 
 at all times, conveniently referred to, 
 seeing that my conviction is, that 
 
 events are now hastening on apace; 
 events that will set all low cunning, 
 all chicanery, all trick, at defiance; 
 and that, of course, will put the opi- 
 nions, contained in these speeches, to 
 the test. My conviction is, that the 
 time is not far distant, when it will 
 be impossible to deceive the people 
 of England; when truth will reign; 
 and, at that time, it will be of 
 great advantage for us to know 
 what have been the opinions of men 
 who have taken a part in these dis- 
 cussions, and to what point, whether 
 good or evil, their endeavours have 
 tended*. 
 
 What we have to discuss is the 
 question of depreciation, or fall, in 
 the value of the Bank Notes; and, 
 after that, the remedy proposed by 
 Mr. Horner and those who side with 
 him. I shall, I trust, go to work in a 
 way very different indeed from that 
 of these gentlemen; and, when I have 
 written my opinion, there the matter 
 will rest, and the truth of our several 
 opinions will be tried by Time, which 
 tries all things. 
 I remain, 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 WX COBBETT. 
 
 State Prison, Neugate, Friday, 
 May, \0th, 1811. 
 
 Appendix D. 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Sauce for the Goose rs sauce for the Gander ''—Old Prottrb. 
 
 Injury to Commerce by Buonaparte.— He is said to have caused the Gold to leave 
 England— The Fault is with our Government— Our Appeals to the French People 
 absurd— Forged Bank Notes sent into Kent from France— Forged Assignats-De- 
 cision in the Court of King's Bench 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 VVE have now to discuss the ques- 
 tion of Depreciation. We have now 
 
 to inquire, whether the Bank of Eng- 
 land Notes have, or have not, depre- 
 ciated ; that is t<F say, fallen in value. 
 
309] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [310 
 
 After what we have seen in the former 
 Letters, and particularly in that im- 
 mediately preceding, it is, indeed, 
 nearly useless to put this question to 
 any man of sense, and much more so 
 to make it a subject of serious dis- 
 cussion. Nevertheless, it will be 
 right so to do; seeing that these Let- 
 ters are intended to treat of every 
 part of this great subject, and to put 
 upon record all the material facts and 
 arguments appertaining to it. 
 
 In the House of Commons, during 
 the Debate on the Bullion Report 
 and on the Resolutions thereon pro- 
 posed, by Mr. Francis Horner on 
 the one side, and Mr. Nicholas 
 Vansittart on the other, it was 
 contended, by those who were for Mr. 
 Vansittart, that is to say, by the 
 Ministry, and their adherents; by 
 this part of the House it was con- 
 tended, that the Bank paper had not 
 depreciated, or fallen in value; and, 
 being asked, how they then account- 
 ed for the fact, that a guinea was 
 worth 26*. or 27s. they answered, 
 that it was very true, that Gold and 
 Silver had risen; but, that the Bank 
 paper had not fallen. 
 
 They were then asked, how, since 
 they would insist upon it that it was a 
 rise of Gold and Silver, it had come 
 to pass at this time above all others. 
 Allowing, tor argument's sake, that it 
 was a rite in the value of the guinea, 
 they were asked how the value of the 
 guinea came to rise. Their answer 
 to this was, that it was owing chiefly 
 to the injury done to our commerce by 
 the extraordinary, the cruel, the sa- 
 vage measures of the inexorable tyrant 
 Buonaparte, whom they designated by 
 every appellation characteristic of a 
 despot, and even a fiend, 
 
 Gentlemen, we will stop here and 
 make a few observations upon these 
 charges against the Emperor of 
 France ; for, it would be very foolish 
 ib us, who call ourselves " the most 
 ** thinking people in the world," to 
 suffer ourselves to be amused with I 
 charge* against Napoleon, when we J 
 
 should be considering of the real 
 cause of the mischief that is now 
 I come upon us, and of the greater mis- 
 chief that is still coming, and will 
 come with most dreadful effect, unless 
 we take timely measures for prevent- 
 ing that effect; this would be selling 
 ourselves to laughter indeed, making 
 ourselves an object for the contempt 
 of Europe, not excepting the Dutch 
 and those other nations, whom, with 
 empty insolence, our hireling writers 
 ana others affect to pity: 
 
 We call upon the Bank for Gold 
 and Silver in payment of their pro- 
 missory notes. They have no Gold 
 or Silver to give us; or, at least, none 
 do they give. They are protected by 
 law against our demands. Some per- 
 sons propose to remove this impedi- 
 ment to our demands. The men in 
 power and a great majority of the 
 House of Commons say, no ; and, 
 they, in objecting to the proposition, 
 say, that the Bank have not the gold 
 and silver; that they cannot get it; 
 and, that it is, therefore, impossible la 
 make them pay. This is a sorry an- 
 swer enough ; but, when we complain, 
 we nre told, that the fault is not with 
 the Government or with the Bank, 
 and that it is wholly with Buonaparte, 
 by the means of whose laws, edicts, 
 and workings of one sort or another, 
 the Gold and Silver have been drawn 
 out of England. 
 
 What should we think, Gentlemen, 
 what should we " thinking people'* 
 think of a General, who was to write 
 home word, that he had been beaten 
 and routed and lost half his army; 
 but, that the fault was none of his 
 and that it was wholly the fault of 
 the enemy's General, w r ho had adopt- 
 ed against him a series of extraordi- 
 nary, cruel, and savage measures? 
 What should we thinking people sav 
 to such a general? What would Mr. 
 QuiN, the editor of the Traveller 
 news-paper, in his sublime orations, 
 in the Common Council, say to ?uch 
 a general ? Would he vote him thanks 
 and a sword ? I do not sav that he 
 
311} 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 [312 
 
 would not; but, I think, that you 
 ■will agree with me, that such a ge- 
 neral would, amongst most men, meet 
 with but a cold reception; and, that he 
 would be told, t-iut it was the bmim&s 
 of the enemy to beat him, to rout him, 
 to break him up, to ruin him;. and 
 that it was his business to prevent the 
 enemy from so doing, aud a 1 so to 
 beat and bpeak up and ruin the 
 enemy. 
 
 Just such, must, if we have a grain 
 of sense left, be our answer to the 
 ministers and their adherents, when 
 they blame Buonaparte for having de- 
 prived us of our Gold and Silver. |t 
 was their business to prevent him from 
 doing us this mischief. It was their 
 business to protect the country against 
 the fatal ejects of the enemy's mea- 
 sures; and, if they found themselves 
 wnequai to the task, they should have 
 said so; ano\, I warrant them, there 
 would not have been wanting others 
 to take the labour off their hands. 
 These ministers and their predeces- 
 sors, for the last twenty years, have 
 had the complete command of all the 
 means, ail the resources, of this king- 
 dom, of every sort. They 'have car- 
 ried all the measures that they pro- 
 posed. They have found out the way 
 of putting down all opposition, or, at 
 least, of rendering all opposition quite 
 inefficient; and, therefore, to them, 
 and to them alone, the nation is to 
 look for responsibility for whatever 
 mischiefs exist, or are likely to exist. 
 If, indeed, all be well ; if there be 
 nothing to complain of; if the nation 
 be in no danger; if there be no evil; 
 then, they have nothing to be blamed 
 for ; but, if there be any thing in our 
 situation, the existence of which we 
 have cause to lament, to whom are 
 we to look lor responsibility but to 
 them f 
 
 But, to take another view of the 
 matter, what, let me ask, has Napo- 
 
 leon done against cur commerce and 
 our currency, for which he will not 
 easily find a justification in our ex- 
 j ample ? Have we neglected an v means 
 in our power to injure the commerce 
 and the fiuauees or Trance? Did not 
 Pitt, from the very outset of the war 
 | against the French Jacobins and 
 | Levellers, call it a war of fi nance f 
 I And, were not all our efforts bent 
 down towards the beating of Vi'um e 
 through her finances? This is i 
 riouslv the fact ; and, as to her com- 
 merce, it must be well known to f \ 
 one, that we i i: k< d a war with the 
 American States for the purpose oi 
 intercepting provisions in their way to 
 the people of France, when they 
 were menaced with famine. Was 
 this fair aud honourable warfare? J 
 shall be told that it was,, I will not 
 discuss the pr-int. But, if it was so, 
 what reason have we to complain now, 
 when France prevents us, not. from 
 receiving corn from her dominions; 
 but, merely from sending our products 
 to those dominions. This is the ut- 
 most that IVapoleon does,- or that he 
 can do; and, I put it, then, to any 
 reasonable man, whether we have 
 real cause of complaint. We may ho 
 sorry for what JNTapolecn is doing ; 
 and we must be sorry for the indivi- 
 duals who sutler from his measures , 
 but, can we complain of him for not 
 receiving our goods now, when we 
 recollect, that we would not suffer 
 the people of Trance to receive Jiour 
 from America when we thought them 
 in the midst of famine, and when we 
 further recollect, that we openly 
 avowed the wish and the endeavour 
 to prevent their receiving Jesuit's 
 Bark, a drug so necessary, in many 
 cases, to the preservation of life? 
 This was fair in us, I shall be told. 
 Very well. That I am not question- 
 ing ; but, if this was fair; if a state 
 of war tolerated this, liave ice, I ask 
 
 CnterctJ a* Stationer*' fydXL 
 London :— Printed by Wm. Moi.inrux, Bream'* Buildings, Chancery Lane. 
 
 
N°]l.]— COBBETTS PAPER AGAINST GOLD.— [Price Two- Pence. 
 
 313] 
 
 again, any reason to complain of 
 him, any reason to call him tyrant 
 (as George Rose did) because he 
 will not now permit any part of his 
 people to receive goods which are 
 our produce or our property ? 
 
 Oh, no! We must expect that the 
 people of France have the same sort 
 of feelings that we have; and, Gen- 
 tlemen, mark it well y I pray you, we 
 intercepted the flour on its way to 
 France long before Napoleon's name 
 was kiiown to us. We, or at least, 
 our venal writers, now affect a vast 
 deal of compassion for the people of 
 France. These writers appear to la- 
 ment that the French people are sub- 
 jected to so terrible a despotism. 
 But, either the people of France hear 
 what our writers say, or they do not : 
 if they do not hear it, then it cannot 
 possibly produce any effect upon 
 them;' and, it they do hear it, they 
 cannot fail to call to mind, that we 
 have been at war against them through 
 all their forms of government ; and, 
 that while they were under a repub- 
 lican form, or name, our hostility 
 was much more decided and bitter 
 than at this moment; for, we then de- 
 clared war against the principles of 
 their constitution ; we declared that 
 no relations of peace were to be main- 
 tained with them; and, now that they 
 are under a monarchy (for that means 
 a government by the will of one per- 
 son), we affect to feel a great deal of 
 .pity for them; we sigh to see them free; 
 and call upon them, as loudly as our 
 venal writers can, to rise against their 
 tyrant. Had we begun war with 
 them only when their revolution had 
 worked itself into a monarchy, then, 
 indeed, our appeals to them against 
 their ruler might have been of some 
 avail ; but, how is it possible for them 
 to believe, that we are now desirous 
 ©f seeing them free, when they r*»- 
 
 W. MOUNEUX, Printer, Brttlb'f Building*, 
 Chancery Lass. 
 
 [314 
 
 1 collect our conduct at the outset of 
 the war ; and for many years, during 
 its continuance ? All our appeals, 
 I therefore, from Napoleon to the peo- 
 ple of France are absurd ; and only 
 bespeak the desperateness of our si- 
 tuation. 
 
 To return more closely to our sub- 
 ject; it appears from the report of the 
 Bullion Debate, that Lord Castle- 
 reagh said, that the tyrant of the 
 Continent had, thus far, been de- 
 feated in all his attempts against us ; 
 that he at first attempted invasion , 
 that he next endeavoured to excite 
 rebellion, that he then assailed our 
 commerce; and, that having failed in 
 all these, he was now endeavouring to 
 ruin our currency. 
 
 Now, how far this statement was 
 true, I shall not pretend to say ; and, 
 indeed, except as to the last point, 
 it is beside my purpose to make any 
 remark upon what is reported to have 
 been said by this Lord. That that part of 
 the statement is true, there can, how- 
 ever, be little doubt ; for, it has been 
 stated in the public prints, that there 
 have been great quantities of forged 
 Notes, purporting to be Notes of the 
 Bank of England, sent into this coun- 
 try from France and Holland. Thig 
 interesting fact has been very care- 
 fully kept out of the London daily pa- 
 pers; but the country papers have 
 been less cautious, owing, I suppose, 
 to their being at too great a distance 
 from good advice and powerful argu- 
 ments. The following article, which 
 I take from the Oxford Mercury 
 of the 4th instant, will be quite sof 
 ficient to explain the nature of what 
 is going on in Kent. " We are sorry 
 " to learn that a vast number of 
 " forged notes, purporting to be thtto© 
 " of the Bank of England, are in ci*» 
 " culation, particularly on this coast, 
 " to an alarming extent; we h*Y« 
 
3151 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [316 
 
 " heard to the amount of 200,000/. 
 " having been recently imported into 
 this county from France and Hol- 
 " land, where it is said they are ma- 
 " nufactured ! We know not to what 
 " extent the evil may extend. Several 
 " 5/. 10/. and even 201. of those notes 
 " have already been detected; and 
 " numerous 1/. of the same description 
 " are in circulation ; indeed, at Foik- 
 " stone, and some other places, the 
 " notes of the- Bank of England are 
 " almost generally refused in pay^ 
 " merit from this circnm stance; and 
 " we hope some steps will be imme- 
 " diately adopted to put a stop to 
 '* them. Two 5/. were recently passed 
 " through the Dover Union Bank; 
 " and a 20/. note was remitted to 
 '* town by a respectable tradesman 
 " in Dover, a few days since, which 
 " proved to be a forgery. We should 
 " recommend every person to keep 
 " the number of the notes which pass 
 " through their hands, or have them 
 " previously indorsed by the person 
 " who passes them; we look upon 
 " this to be a very necessary precau- 
 " tion, as it is a matter of the most 
 " serious consequence to tradespeople 
 " in general ; for if the Bank of Eng- 
 n land notes can be so readily imi- 
 " tated, how easy must it be to forge 
 " the Provincial Notes of this and 
 " other counties." 
 
 This is a war of ji nance with a ven- 
 geance ! But, even this I am not 
 disposed to call an unfair and dis- 
 honourable species of warfare. I am 
 not disposed to call this a cheating, 
 swindling, base and cowardly mode of 
 attacking a nation: indeed, I should 
 not dare to call it so, if I were dis- 
 posed to it, seeing that we did the 
 same towards the French when they 
 had a paper-money. It is well known 
 to us, but, it ought also to be known 
 to our children (some of whom will, 
 I dare say, read these Letters); that, 
 in the year 1791, the French people 
 made a revolution in their govern- 
 ment; that they cho«e representatives 
 to frame a new constitution for them ; 
 
 that they changed their absolute 
 monarchy, or despotism, into a li- 
 mited monarchy; that tlicv declared 
 freedom to be their birthright ; that the 
 nobility, not pleased with the change, 
 left the country ; that the princes of 
 the blood did the same ; that the fu- 
 gitives met with protection and en- 
 couragement from foreign Govern- 
 ments ; that these Governments after- 
 wards made war against the French ; 
 that England joined in that war; that, 
 sometime after tin's war began, the 
 French put their Kino; and Queen to 
 death, and declared their country a 
 republic; that the French had, at 
 that time, a paper-money, called As- 
 signats ; that upon this paper-money, 
 it was thought, depended the fate of 
 the French revolution ; that, from the 
 Speeches in the English Parliament, 
 it will clearly appear, that the Govern- 
 ment of England looked upon the da- 
 base rnent of those Assignats as the 
 sure means of subverting the new or- 
 der of things in France. All this 
 should be known to our children as 
 well as to ourselves ; and, when they 
 have a thorough knowledge of these 
 facts, they should be told, that false 
 Assignats, that forged Assignats, that 
 counterfeit French paper-money ; that 
 these things were fabricated in Eng- 
 land in quantities immense. They 
 were intended, of course, to be sent 
 into France, there to undermine the 
 French finances, and to produce the 
 overthrow of the Republican govern- 
 ment. The former of these objects 
 they did effect ; or at least, assisted to 
 effect; and, they, in all probability, 
 contributed towards thor.e causes, 
 which iinally led to the re-erection of 
 the absolute monarchy in the person 
 of Napoleon. 
 
 I was always, after hearing of these 
 forged Assignats, very desirous of see- 
 ing one of them ; and, some time ago, 
 a gentleman gave me nine or ten, 
 which, with many others, were given 
 to him at the time that the fabrication 
 was going on. lie gave me an As- 
 signat for 90 Livres, one for 50 
 
317] 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 [316 
 
 Livres, one for 10 Livres, and seve- 
 ral tor 5 Livres. We cannot have 
 
 this fact too strongly imprinted upon 
 our minds, and cannot make the im- 
 pression too strong upon those of our 
 children. It is a great point, not 
 only in the history of paper-money, 
 
 &-f$*»aA3SUiNATDF, 5"CKEE LE 1 NOV. 1 79 I . D**!?*-*? 
 
 but also in the political history of the 
 world. I will, therefore, give here, 
 as nearly as I can, a copy of one of 
 these forged Asslgnah, but not of ?.o 
 large a size as the original, from which 
 I take it. 
 
 DOM J IN ES NJTIONAUX. 
 ASSIGNAT de CINQ livres 
 
 payable au Porteur par la Caisse de l'Extraordinaire 
 
 59 ~D 
 
 Cinq Liv. 
 
 Corset 
 
 (5.) 
 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 t 
 i 
 
 $<H§4»«H|4>-K|*-*|4» CINQ LIVRES. -t^fr-Kl^^**^** 
 
 The translation of this, is : " As- 
 " signat of 5 Livres, created 1 Nov. 
 
 " 1791. National domains. 
 
 " Assignat of Five Livres, payable to 
 " the bearer by the Extraordinary 
 « Chest." And the word "Corset" 
 was the name of the Cashier, I sup- 
 pose, who signed the Assignats in 
 France. 
 
 Su h were the means, which we 
 made use of towards the French na- 
 tion; and, therefore, I trust, we shall 
 not now heir of any complaints against 
 them for their endeavouring to send 
 us an ample supply of Bank notes. 
 " Sauce for the goose is sauce for the 
 gander," all the world over. 
 
 But, was this ; do I know that this 
 was, the work of Government ? That 
 it was actually done by the order of 
 " the great statesman now no more," 
 and paid for out of the people's taxes. 
 It was not a trifling sum that these As- 
 signats cost in the forging. They 
 were wrought with great care in 
 France. There was a very inge- 
 niously contrived dry stamp upon 
 them. The engraving was of most 
 exquisite workmanship. To have ef- 
 fected the imitation the most ingeni- 
 
 ous artists in England must have used 
 their talents. But, how do I know, 
 that this forging work was carried on 
 under the authority of the Govern- 
 ment ? Suppose it was not ? What 
 do we, the nation, get by that in the 
 argument? If it was not the Govern- 
 ment who ordered the thing to be 
 done, it was the people of England 
 who did it themselves; and, there- 
 fore, they have, in that case, stiil 
 less reason, if possib'e, to complain 
 of the French for sending over forged 
 Bank Notes to England at Ibis time. 
 
 Whether, however, it was, or was 
 not the act of the English Minister 
 and Government, you, Gentlemen, 
 shall now have a fair opportunity of 
 judging for yourselves. I could here 
 relate to you what I have heard many 
 persons say upon this subject ; I 
 could state to you names and trans- 
 actions upon what I deem, and upon 
 what you would, I dare say, deem 
 very good authority ; but, as to mat- 
 ters of this sort, I always love to deal 
 in undeniable evidence ; proof posi- 
 tive ; facts that leave no room for 
 shuffle. So I shall do here. 
 
 It happened, some time after thia 
 I. 2 
 
319] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [320 
 
 forging work had been going on, that 
 there was a law-suit between two of 
 the parties engaged in it. Law-suits 
 are apt to lead to exposures. So it 
 happened now, as you will see by the 
 following Report, which I copy, word 
 for word, from the Law- Books, which 
 are dailv cited as authorities in all our 
 
 courts of justice. " STRONGP- 
 
 TH'ARM against LUKYN.— 
 Case on a Promissory Note. — The 
 Note was drawn by the Defendant, 
 payable to one Caslon, and by Cas- 
 lon indorsed to the Plaintiff. — The 
 Plaintiff proved the Defendant's hand- 
 writing and the indorsement by Cas- 
 lon.— ERSKINE, for the Defen- 
 dant, stated his defence to be, that 
 Lukyn was a Stationer, and the Plain- 
 tiff an Engraver; and that theNote upon 
 which the Action was brought was 
 given to Caslon, for the purpose of 
 paying the Plaintiff for the engrav- 
 ing of Copper plates upon which 
 FRENCH ASSIGNATS were to 
 be FORGED ; and contended, that 
 as the consideration of the Note was 
 fraud, that it contaminated the whole 
 transaction, and rendered the Note 
 not recoverable by law. — Caslon, the 
 indorser, was called as the witness. 
 He proved that Lukyn, the Defen- 
 dant, having it in contemplation to 
 strike off impressions of a consider- 
 able quantity of Assignats, to be issued 
 abroad, had applied to him for the pur- 
 pose of recommending an engraver for 
 the purpose of engraving the necessary 
 plates ; and that Lukyn represented to 
 him that they were for the Duke of 
 York's army. He said that he applied 
 to Strong'ith'arm, the Plaintiff, who 
 at first declined the business totally ; 
 but that, being assured by the witness 
 that it was sanctioned by Government, 
 and was for the use of the Duke of 
 York's army, he then consented, 
 The witness further denied that it 
 was ever communicated to the Plain- 
 tiff that they were to be circulated for 
 any other purpose than as he had re- 
 presented.— LORD KEN YON said, 
 that if the present transaction was 
 
 grounded on a fraud, or contrary to 
 the laws of nations, or of good faith, 
 he should have held the Notes to be 
 void ; but that it did not appear that 
 there was any fraud in the case, or 
 any violation of positive law. Whe- 
 ther the issuing of these Assignats, for 
 the purpose of distressing the enemy, 
 was lawful in carrying on the war ? 
 he was not prepared to say ; or whe- 
 ther it came within the rule an dolus 
 an virtus quis in hoste requisit? But 
 let that be as it might, it did not apply 
 to the present case. It was not in 
 evidence, that the Plaintiff was a 
 party in any fraud, or that it was ever 
 communicated to him that the Assig- 
 nats were to be used for any improper 
 purpose : on the contrary, he sup- 
 posed that they were circulated by 
 the authority of the higher powers of 
 this country; and, therefore, did not 
 question the propriety or legality of 
 the measure. — His Lordship declared 
 his opinion, therefore to be, that the 
 consideration was not impeached, and 
 that the Plaintiff was entitled to reco- 
 ver. — The jury found a verdict for the 
 Plaintiff*. — Ming ay and Markyat 
 for the Plaintiff. — Erskine and Law 
 
 for the Defendant.* Having read 
 
 this document, Gentlemen, you will 
 want nothing from me to enable you 
 to decide who it was that caused the 
 Assignats to be forged; nor will you 
 want any one to assist you in forming 
 a correct opinion as to the conduct of 
 either the Plaintiff, the Defendant, 
 or the Judge. The thing is before 
 you ; and it speaks for itself much too 
 plainly to be misunderstood. 
 
 Well, now, after this ; with this be- 
 fore our eyes ; knowing that the world 
 is weil acquainted with this fact, is 
 it not a little too impudent m as to 
 pretend to find fault with th« French 
 for supplying our coast with Bank 
 Notes ? I do not know any thing tha 
 is more disgusting than this species of 
 injustice, which proceeds from self- 
 
 • See Espinassc's Reports: Mich. Term, 
 36 Geo. III. 17j?o. 
 
 
321] 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 [322 
 
 conceit. It is the worst kind of inso- 
 lence, and whoever has paid attention 
 to . its etfects, must have perceived, 
 that it never fails to excite contempt 
 m men of sense. What, I should be 
 glad to know, is there in us that we 
 should be justified in forging French 
 paper-money any more than the 
 French should be justified in forging 
 English paper-money? Upon what 
 ground is it that we claim the exclusive 
 right of forging the paper-money of 
 our neighbours ? 
 
 After what we have seen above, 
 you will, I am persuaded, agree with 
 me, that it is childish in the extreme, 
 to say^ the least of it, for us to com- 
 plain of the Emperor of France for 
 having, as Lord Castlereagh said, 
 set about a scheme for the ruin of our 
 currency. And, it is equally childish 
 in us to suppose, that he will not noiv, 
 when we have proclaimed the effects, 
 persevere in his hostility to our com- 
 merce. He is now told, by a majori- 
 ty in the House of Commons, that it 
 is his system, which has produced all 
 our pecuniary distress. We now say 
 that it is he who has filled the Gazette 
 with the names of Bankrupts ; which 
 has made one of the two " pillars of 
 "the Stock Exchange" blow his brains 
 out ; Which has raised tiie paper price 
 
 of the Dollar ten per centum at a slap • 
 and which now makes the fund-holder 
 tremble. He is now told this by our 
 Minister of finance ; aye, and by the 
 vote of a majority, and a very great 
 majority too, of the Honourable House, 
 upon whose Journals it now stands 
 declared and recorded, that the com- 
 mercial system of Napoleon has pro- 
 duced the very effects that he in- 
 tended, and that he vowed, it should 
 produce. And, yet, there are men 
 amongst us to call Napoleon a mad- 
 man ! 
 
 I have taken up too much of your 
 time to enter now upon the subject of 
 Depreciation, which, therefore, I must 
 postpone till my next, begging you, 
 with reference to the above related 
 facts, always to bear in mind, that, at 
 the outset of our war against the Jaco^ 
 bins of France, we had plenty of gold 
 and the French had nothing but 
 paper, and that now the French have 
 plenty of gold and we have nothing 
 but paper. 
 
 I am, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 Wm. COBBETT. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Friday, 
 \7thMay, 1811, 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 Nothing is more certain than dexth, and nothing more uncertain than the time of dyinc,; yet, wc can 
 " always fix a period beyond which man cannot live, and within some moment of which he will die. We 
 «• are enabled to do this, not by any spirit of prophecy, but by observation of what has happened in all 
 " cases of human e r animal existence. If, then, any other subject, such, for instance, as a system of finance, 
 " exhibits, in its progress, a series of symptoms indicating decay, its final dissolution is cei tain, and. 
 " from tlmse symptoms we may calculate the period of that dissolution."— —Faine. Decline and Fall 
 of the British System of Finance, published in 17p6. 
 
 The Subject of Depreciation discussed—Lord Stanhope's Bill— Lord King's Noticfc 
 
 to his Tenants. 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 f- THE foregoing Letter we began | and, indeed, how unjust it was in our 
 with proposing to discuss the question | Government to complain of thfl endea- 
 of depreciation, but were stopped by | vours said to be used by the French 
 the desire of shewing how childish, | for destroying our paper-money, see- 
 
323] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [324 
 
 ing the endeavours which were used 
 here to destroy the Assignats in 
 France. We will now resume the 
 subject of depreciation, and see whe- 
 ther the paper money of England be, 
 or be not, actually depreciated ; and, 
 if we find that it is, we will inquire 
 whether it can be restored to its former 
 value by any of the means, called re- 
 medies, that have been pointed out by 
 any of those who are our rulers, or 
 lawgivers. 
 
 To depreciate means to lower in va- 
 lue ; and the word depreciation is 
 used to signify that state, in which 
 any thing is, when it is lowered, or has 
 fallen, trom its former value. Hence 
 the term depreciation, as applied to 
 Bank N otes ; and, when we thus ap- 
 ply it, accompanied with the affirma- 
 tive of the proposition, we say, that 
 Bank Notes have fallen in value, 
 and, of course, that any given sum in 
 such notes is not worth so much as it 
 formerly was. 
 
 Much puzzling has, upon this sub- 
 ject, arisen from a very natural cause : 
 namely, that the note always retains its 
 nominal value ; that is to say, always 
 goes by the same name ; a pound note 
 still is called a pound note, whether it 
 be worth as much as it formerly was, 
 or not. But, to this point we shall 
 come more fully bye-and-bye, after 
 we have spoken of the way in which 
 a depreciation of money, or the lower- 
 ing of the value of money, takes 
 place. 
 
 Money, of whatever sort, is, like 
 every thing else, lowered in its value 
 in proportion as it becomes abundant 
 or plenty. As I said upon a former 
 occasion, when apples are plenty ap- 
 ples are cheap ; and cheap means low 
 in price. The use of money is to 
 serve men as a sign of the amount of 
 the value of things that pass from man 
 to man in the way of purchase and 
 sale. It is plenty, or scarce, in pro- 
 portion as its quantity is great or small 
 compared with the quantity of things 
 purchased and sold in the community ; 
 and, whenever it becomes, from any 
 
 cause, plenty, it depreciates, or sinks 
 in value. Suppose, for instance, that 
 there is a community of ten men, who 
 make amongst them 100 purchases in 
 a year, each purchase amounting to 1 
 pound. The community, in that case, 
 would possess, we will suppose, 10 
 pounds; and no more, because, the 
 same money might, and naturally 
 would, go backwards and forwards, 
 and because, except under peculiar 
 circumstances, men do not hoard. 
 Now, suppose, that the money in pos- 
 session of this community is doubled 
 in quantity, Avithout any other altera- 
 tion taking place, the quantity of goods 
 and chattels and the quantity oi things, 
 including services, purchased, and the 
 number of purchases all continuing 
 the same. Suppose this ; and, we 
 are here speaking of money of any 
 sort. No matter what sort. Suppose 
 it to be gold, and that its quantity is 
 thus doubled. The consequence 
 would be, of course, that at each of 
 the hundred purchases, double the sum 
 woidd be given that was given before ; 
 because, if this were not the case, part 
 of the money must be kept idle, which, 
 upon a general scale, can never be, 
 there being no motive for it. Sup- 
 pose that one of the hundred pur- 
 chases was that of a horse. The pur- 
 chase, which was made with 1 pound 
 before the doubling of the quantity of 
 money, would require 2 pounds after 
 that doubling took place; and soon 
 through the whole; and, in such a 
 state of things people would say, that 
 prices had risen, that commodities 
 had doubled in price, that every thing 
 was twice as dear as it used to be. 
 But, the fact would be, that money 
 was become plenty, and, like every 
 thing else, cheap in proportion to its 
 abundance. It would be, that money 
 had fallen or had been depreciated, 
 and not that things had risen ; the loaf, 
 for instance, having a real value in its 
 utility in supporting man, and the mo- 
 ney having only an imaginary value. 
 Prices in England have been rising, 
 as it is commonly called, for hundred* 
 
325] 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 [826 
 
 of years; things have been getting 
 dearer and dearer. The cause of which, 
 until the Bank note system began, 
 was the increase of gold and silver in 
 Europe, in consequence of the disco* 
 very of South America and the subse- 
 quent working of the mines. But the 
 increase of the quantity of gold and 
 silver was slow. " Nature," as Paine 
 observes, ** gives those materials out 
 " with a sparing hand ;" they came, 
 as they still come, in regular annual 
 quantities from the mines ; and that 
 portion of them which found its way 
 to this country was obtained by the 
 sale of things of real value, being the 
 product of our soil or of our labour. 
 Therefore, the quantity of money in- 
 creased very slowly ; it did increase, 
 and prices gradually rose, but the inh- 
 ere ase and the rise were so slow as 
 not to be strikingly perceptible. 
 During the average life of man the rise 
 in prices was so small as hardly to 
 attract an v thing like general attention. 
 Curious men observed it, and some of 
 them recorded the progress of prices ; 
 but, as there was no sensible differ- 
 ence in prices in the average life of 
 man, the rise never became an object 
 of general interest, as long as gold and 
 silver were the only currency of the 
 country. 
 
 But, when the funding system 
 began, and paper became, in many 
 cases., a substitute for gold and silver; 
 when the increase of the quantity of 
 money in the country was no longer 
 dependent upon the mines ; when the 
 check which nature had provided was 
 removed ; then money, or its substi- 
 tute, paper, increased at a rate much 
 greater than before, and prices took a 
 proportionate rise, as they naturally 
 would. The nature of the Funding 
 System has been fully explained be- 
 fore ; we have also seen how it would 
 naturally cause the paper-money to go 
 on increasing. We have seen, that 
 the Government, as soon as it began to 
 make loans, was compelled to estab- 
 lish a Bank, or a something, in order 
 to r t t the means of paying the intero&t 
 
 I upon the loans. The amount of the 
 loans would naturally go on increas- 
 ing in order to meet the rise in prices, 
 and thus the increase of the paper 
 would continue causing rise after rise 
 in the prices, and the rise in the prices 
 would continue causing addition upon 
 addition to the quantity of the paper. 
 This was the natural progress, and it 
 was that which actually took place. 
 
 Still, however, the paper passed in 
 company with the gold and silver. 
 Money was more plenty ; it was of 
 less value ; and, of course, any given 
 quantity of it would purchase less 
 bread, for instance, than formerly ; 
 but, still there was no difference in 
 the quality of the two sorts of money; 
 metal and paper both not only passed 
 at the sums that they had usually 
 passed at; but people liked the one 
 just as w ell as the other; and, it was 
 a matter of perfect indifference to any 
 man, whether he took a hundred 
 guineas in gold, or one hundred and 
 five pounds in paper. And, the rea- 
 son of this indifference was, that the 
 holder of a bank-note could, at any 
 moment, go to the Bank, and there 
 demand and receive payment in gui- 
 neas. This was the reason why the 
 paper passed in society with the gold. 
 But, it was impossible that this society 
 should long continue after the paper 
 increased to a very great amount, and 
 especially after the notes became so 
 low in nominal value as 5 pounds ; for, 
 then, it was evident, that all the taxes 
 would be paid in paper; that the 
 Government would receive nothing but 
 paper; that the Bank could get no- 
 thing but paper from the Government; 
 that whatever gold went out of the 
 Bank would never return to it ; and, 
 of course, that the Bank w ould, in a 
 short time, be unable to pay its notes 
 in gold, if called on for that purpose 
 to any great extent. 
 
 A call of this sort was made upon it 
 in J 797; and, as we have seen, and 
 now feel, the Bank was unable to pay* 
 Its creditors, that is to say, the hold- 
 ers of its notes, demanded theif 
 
327] 
 
 PAPfcR AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [32$ 
 
 money ; the Bank fisw to the minister ' Government began to prosecute the 
 Pilt for protection ; the minister, by [ actors, and commenced, I believe, in 
 an Order of Council, authorized the j the well known case of De Yonge, 
 Bank to refuse to pay its creditors; I who, under laws passed about two 
 the Bank did refuse ; the Parliament 
 passed an Act to shelter the Minister 
 and the Bank Diroctors and all who 
 had been guilty of this violation of law, 
 and, at the same time enacted, that, 
 for the future, the Bank should not 
 be compellable to pay its notes in gold 
 or silver. After this memorable 
 transaction, the full and true history 
 of which I have recorded in the fore- 
 going Letters; after this, the whole 
 concern assumed a new face and in- 
 deed a new nature. The holder of a 
 bank-note could no longer go and de- 
 mand payment of it in guineas ; it was 
 impossible, therefore, that he should 
 look upon 105/. in notes as quite equal 
 in value to 100 guineas. .Still, how- 
 ever, in consequence of the Meetings 
 and Combinations of the rich, and of 
 the enormous influence of the Govern- 
 ment, to which may be added the 
 dread in every man of being marked 
 out a* a Jacobin and Leveller; in 
 consequence of ail these, and of the 
 necessity of having something to serve 
 as money, the notes continued to 
 circulate; and, as the alarm subsided, 
 the guinea returned and circulated in 
 company with them; but, not with 
 that cordiality that it used to do. It 
 became much less frequent in its ap- 
 pearance in company with the notes ; 
 it held itself aloof; seemed to demand 
 a preference ; but not appearing to like 
 to assume this superiority over an old 
 and familiar associate, and yet unwill- 
 ing to pass for so much less than its 
 worth, it soon began to keep away 
 altogether, retiring to thecbests of the 
 hoarders, or going upon its travels 
 into foreign parts, until such time as 
 it found itself duly estimated in Eng- 
 land, which would naturally be when 
 people began to make openly a dis- 
 tinction between paper and coin. 
 
 That time arrived about two years 
 ago ; but, no sooner was the distinction 
 thus made, and acted upon, than the 
 
 hundred years before such things as 
 bank notes were ever heard of, was 
 convicted, about a year ago, of the 
 crime of exchanging guineas for more 
 than their nominal value in bank notes.* 
 De Yonge moved for an arrest of 
 judgment; the case has been since 
 argued before the judges, and tkeir 
 decision thereon has recently been 
 promulgated, Other persons have 
 been prosecuted in the same way and 
 upon the same ground, the effect of 
 which naturally has been to deter 
 people from openly purchasing and 
 selling guineas, and also from tender- 
 ing them generally in pay ment for more 
 than their nominal value in paper. 
 But, it is very notorious that the dis- 
 tinction is, nevertheless, made, and 
 that, in payments, men do take gold 
 at its worth in comparison with the 
 paper. Two prices are not yet openly 
 and generally made; but, they exist 
 partially, and the extent of them is 
 daily increasing. 
 
 To this point, then, we are now 
 arrived, and here we see proof, not of 
 a depreciation of money of all sorts, 
 arising merely from that general plenty 
 of money spoken of above ; but arising . 
 from the abundance, or plenty, of 
 paper, that is to say, the great quantity 
 of the paper compared with that of the 
 coin. Hence we say, that they bank 
 notes have depreciated, or fallen in 
 value ; and, that there should be found 
 any human being to assert the contrary, 
 or to believe, or affect to believe, the 
 contrary, is something that, were not 
 the fact before our eyes, no man could 
 think possible ; but, we live in times 
 when wonder no longer seems to form 
 a feeling of the mind. 
 
 This state of things it was easy te 
 r oresee ; but, the nation has been der 
 
 * The report of this Trial, together with 
 observations thereon, will be Ibuud in the 
 appendix, (B.) 
 
[329 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 [330 
 
 luded by the specious argument of the 
 equal powers of gold and paper in 
 purchases. " Go to market," we have 
 been told, " and see whether the 
 41 pound note and a shilling will not 
 " bring you as much meat or cloth as 
 " a guinea." This was conclusive 
 with unreflecting minds, and it quiet- 
 ed, or assisted to quiet, all tho«e, who, 
 though they were capable of discern- 
 ing, dared not look the fearful truth in 
 the face. I looked it in the face rather 
 more than eight years ago, and strenu- 
 ously laboured to prepare my country- 
 men for what has now come, and what 
 is now coming to pass. Upon one 
 occasion, this standing delusive argu- 
 ment was made use of in answer to 
 me : whereupon I made the following 
 
 remarks : " The objection of my 
 
 " other correspondent has more plau- 
 " dbility. These are his words : " I 
 u " think the argument, that Bank 
 " " paper is depreciated, drawn from 
 *' " the difference between the sterling 
 " " and the current value of a dollar, 
 " " if it prove any thing, proves too 
 " " much. That guineas are depre- 
 a " ciated you will hardly insist, yet 
 " " I would sturdily maintain, from 
 " " your premises, that they are, since 
 ■i " a guinea will not purchase so 
 " " many dollars as it formerly 
 *)** would."— Yes, but I do insist 
 " though, that guineas are depreciated: 
 '* not in their intrinsic value, but in 
 " their value as currency, that is to say, 
 " in their power of purchasing com- 
 " modities in this country. When 
 '* there is a depreciating paper in any 
 " country, the current coin of that 
 " country depreciates in its powers 
 " along with the paper, because it has 
 " a fixed nominal value, and it can 
 " pass currently for no more than an 
 " equal nominal value in paper, until 
 " the paper is at an open discount. 
 ** The metal is degraded by the society 
 " of the paper ; but, there comes a 
 ** time when it will bear this degrada- 
 *' tion no longer ; it then rises above 
 " its nominal value, or, in other words, 
 " the p^per is at a discounts 
 
 This was published so long ago at 
 the 14th April, 1804. " There comes 
 a time /" Aye, and that time is now 
 come. But, let me not be guilty of 
 robbery, and especially of the Dead, 
 and more especially of one whose 
 writings, and upon this very subject 
 too, as well as other subjects, I for- 
 merly, through ignorauce condemned. 
 I allude to the writings of Paine, the 
 abused, the reprobated, the anathe- 
 matized, Tom Paine. In his work 
 from which I have taken the per- 
 spicuous and impressive passage that 
 serves me as a motto to this Letter, and 
 the equal of which has seldom dropped, 
 from the pen of any man ; in that 
 work, Paine thus exposes the de-. 
 lusive argument of Avhich I have just 
 been speaking; " It is said in Eng- 
 " land, that the value of paper keeps 
 " equal pace with the value of gold 
 " and silver. But the case is not 
 " rightly stated : for, the fact is, that 
 " the paper has pulled down the value 
 " of gold and silver to its own leveL 
 " Gold and silver will not purchase. 
 " so much of any purchasable article 
 " at tins day (March, 1796) as they 
 "would have purchased if no paper 
 " had appeared, nor so much as they 
 " will in any country of Europe, 
 " where there is no paper. How 
 " long this hanging together of paper 
 " and money will continue makes a 
 " new case ; because it daily exposes 
 " the system to sudden death, inde- 
 " pendant of the natural death it 
 " would otherwise suffer ." Here he 
 lays down the principle; and, if, 
 instead of reviling his writings, the 
 Government of England had lent a 
 patient ear to him, and taken a lesson 
 from his superior understanding and 
 experience, how different would have 
 been our situation at this day ! He 
 proceeds thus : " 1 have just mention- 
 " ed that paper in England has pulled 
 " down the value of gold and silver to 
 " level with itself; and that this pull- 
 " ing down of gold and silver 
 " money has created the appearance 
 " of paper money keeping uf. The 
 
331j 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD 
 
 [332 
 
 * same thing, and the same mistake, 
 *' took place in America and in France, 
 H and continued for a considerable 
 *' time after the commencement of 
 M their system of paper ; and the 
 " actual depreciation of money was 
 
 * hidden under that mistake. It was 
 " said in America, at that time, that 
 *' every thing was becoming dear ; 
 14 hut gold and silver could ttien buy 
 *' those articles no cheaper than paper 
 *' could ; and therefore it was not 
 ** called depreciation. The idea of 
 •' deamcss established itself for the 
 •" idea of depreciation. The same 
 ** was the case in France. Though 
 *' every thing rose in price soon after 
 ** assignats appeared, yet those dear 
 " articles could be purchased no 
 •* cheaper with gold and silver, than 
 
 * with paper, and it was only said that 
 ** things were dear. The same is still 
 " the language in England. They 
 " call it dearness. But they will soon 
 *' find that it is an actual depreciation, 
 ** and that this depreciation is the 
 
 * effect of the funding system ; which 
 •' by crowding such a continualty- 
 *' increasing mass of paper into cir- 
 ** crrlation, carries down the value of 
 " gold and silver with it. But gold 
 ft and silver will, in the long-run, 
 "revolt against depreciation, and 
 •' sc])arate from the value of paper ; 
 " for the progress of all such systems 
 " appears to be, that the paper will 
 
 v •* take the command in the beginning, 
 . ** and gold and silver in the end." 
 How well is this expressed, and 
 bow clearly the truth of it is now ve- 
 rified! Yes : we talk about dearness ; 
 we tnlk of high prices; we talk of 
 things rising in value; but, the fact is, 
 that the change has been in the money 
 and not in the articles bought and 
 sold ; the articles remain the same in 
 value, but the money, from its abund- 
 ance, has fallen in value. This has 
 tHl of late been imperceptible to the 
 muss of the people, who -were com* 
 vinced of the non-depreciation by the 
 argument built on the circumstance of 
 the guinea and the paper being upon 
 
 an equal footing at market. They 
 did not perceive, that the paper had 
 pulled down the gold and silver along 
 with it ; they did not perceive that the 
 coin was sliding by degrees out of the 
 society of the paper; they did not 
 perceive that, in time, the coin would 
 disappear altogether; they did not 
 perceive that an open contest would, 
 at last, take place between the guineas 
 and the paper, and that, if the law 
 came to the assistance of the paper, 
 the coin would quit the country. 
 Now, however, they do perceive 
 this ; the facts have* all now been 
 established in a wa} r that seems, at 
 last, to have produced conviction even 
 in the minds of this "most thinking 
 people ;" but, there is reason to fear, 
 that this conviction will have come too 
 late. How happy would it have been 
 for this nation, if the opinions of Mr. 
 Paine, touching this subject, had 
 produced, at the time, their wished-for 
 effect! No man in England dared to 
 publish his work. Any man who 
 had published or sold it would have 
 been punished as a seditious libeller. 
 Yet, in my opinion, does that work ; 
 that little work, in the space of twenty- 
 five pages, convey more useful know- 
 ledge upon this subject, and discover 
 infinitely greater depth of thought 
 and general powers of mind, than are 
 to be found in all the pamphlets of the 
 three-score and tivo financiers, who, 
 in this country, have, since I came 
 into this jail, favoured the world with 
 their opinions upon the state of our 
 money system. The writings of these 
 people would make twenty-five thick 
 octavo volumes ; and in all of them 
 there is not so much power of mind 
 discovered as in Paine's twenty-five 
 pages. Yet, no man would dare to 
 publish this little work in England. 
 By accident I possess a copy that I 
 brought from America, but which I 
 never read till after my return to 
 England. In 1803, when there was 
 much apprehension of invasion, and 
 when great complaints were made of 
 the scarcity of change, I began to read 
 
333] 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 [334 
 
 some books upon the subject; and, 
 after reading several without coming 
 to any thing iike a clear notion of the 
 real state of our currency, I took up 
 the little essay of Paine. Here I 
 saw to the bottom at once. Here 
 was no bubble, no mud to obstruct 
 my view : the stream was clear and 
 strong : I saw the whole matter in its 
 true light, and neither pamphleteers 
 nor speech-makers were, after that, 
 able to raise even a momentary puzzle 
 in my mind. Paine not only told 
 me what would come to pass, but 
 shewed me, gave me convincing rea- 
 sons, why it must come to pass; and 
 he convinced me also, that it was 
 my duty to endeavour to open the 
 eyes of my countrymen to the truths 
 which I myself had learnt from him; 
 because his reasouing taught me, that, 
 the longer those truths remained 
 hidden from their view, the more fatal 
 must be the consequences. The oc- 
 casion of this work of Paine is 
 worthy of notice. One of the motives 
 of writing it was, as he says, at the 
 close, to retaliate upon Pitt, who, 
 in speaking of the French Republic, 
 had said, that she was " on the verge, 
 nay, even in thegulph of Bankruptcy." 
 Paine said, that England Mould soon 
 be in a worse situation than France 
 as to her finances; and, in less than 
 twelve months after he wrote his 
 work, the Bank became unable to 
 pay its notes in cash. 
 
 To return to the subject of depre- 
 ciation, the fact has now been estab- 
 lished in all sorts of ways. Gold 
 coin has been, and is, sold at a pre- 
 mium ; a guinea will sell for 27 shil- 
 lings, and the other coius of the realm 
 in the same proportion ; many per- 
 sons in London have written upon 
 their shop windows notifications that 
 they will take the coin at a higher 
 than the nominal value ; in numerous 
 cases a distinction is made in prices 
 paid in coin and prices paid in paper. 
 If these are not proofs of an actual 
 depression of the paper, what, I should 
 be glad to know, will ever be ad- 
 
 mitted as proof of that fact ? Indeed, 
 there is no longer any- doubt remain- 
 ing upon the subject; and, therefore 
 we will now proceed to take a view 
 of the REMEDIES that have been 
 proposed by our Rulers and Law- 
 givers, who, if they had followed the 
 advice given in Paine's Second Part 
 of the " Rights of Man," instead 
 of prosecuting the author, would not, 
 I am convinced, have had to lament 
 the present state of our finances. 
 
 As to REMEDIES, Gentlemen, 
 I, in the first of this series of Letters, 
 stated to you, that the Bullion Com- 
 mittee had recommended to th* 
 House of Commons to pass a law to 
 compel the Bank to pay their notes 
 m gold and silver at the end of two 
 years. This same proposition has 
 been since made in the House ; but 
 the House have resolved, that no such 
 measure is necessary. Those who op* 
 posed the proposition said, that the 
 Bank had not the gold, and could not 
 get it, and that, therefore, they could 
 not pay in gold. This was a very 
 sufficient reason ; and, I must confess, 
 that I was and am, as far as this 
 I goes, exactly or the opinion of these 
 gentlemen. For, to what end pass 
 j such a law, if the gold was not to be 
 I had ? There were several sensible 
 j men belonging to the Bullion Com- 
 I mittee, and the gentleman who brought 
 j the measure forward in the House, is 
 , looked upon as a person of good un- 
 derstanding. It, therefore, appeared 
 astonishing to me, that they should 
 propose such a measure, seeing that 
 I have never been able to discover 
 any way whatever, by which gold 
 could possibly return to the Bank and 
 remain there in quantity sufficient to 
 enable that Company to pay their 
 notes in gold upon demand. To re- 
 sume payments in gold would, indeed, 
 be a complete remedy; but, to do this, 
 in my opinion, and, for many years 
 past, has been, utterly impossible. 
 By what means are the Bank Com- 
 pany to get the gold ? We are told, 
 that there is gold enough if the Bank 
 
335] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [336 
 
 Company will but purchase it f" 
 What are they to give for it? Why 
 their paper, to be sure ; and, as it 
 would require 27 shillings in their pa- 
 per to purchase a guinea, this would 
 be a most charming way of obtaining 
 the means of paying off' the paper with 
 guineas. Let us take an instance. 
 Suppose the Bank Company, by way 
 of preparing for ca^h payments, to be 
 purchasing all the guineas they can 
 find, and, in such case, they would, 
 of course, apply to our old friend, 
 Mrs. Dk Yonge, to whom, by the 
 by, I here present my congratulations 
 on the late decision of the judges in 
 favour of her husband ; the Bank 
 Company would, I say, naturally ap- 
 ply to this good Lady, who, it being 
 now decided that the old biting law 
 does not forbid the buying and selling 
 of bank notes and guineas, would 
 drive with them as good a bargain as 
 she could. Suppose them to buy 
 100 guineas of her at the present 
 price, 27 shillings each, they would, 
 of course, give her for them 135 
 pounds in their notes. And, thus 
 they must go on with other people.- 
 Having, at last got a good lot of 
 guineas together, tliey begin paying 
 their notes in guineas. It is pretty 
 evident that the vast increase of pa- 
 per occasioned by the purchase of 
 the piineas would have caused a new 
 and great depreciation of the paper, 
 and that, therefore, the moment the 
 Bank was open to demands in coin, 
 people would crowd to it iri all di- 
 rections. I can fancy the eager 
 crowd now before me, pressing 
 £n from every quarter and cor- 
 ner; and, amongst the very forer 
 most and most eager, I think I see 
 our friend Mrs. Dk Yonge. "What 
 1 i\o you do here, Madam," I think I 
 near a dejected Director say, " what 
 *' do you do here, you who sold us 
 *' guineas but the other day V <« Aye, 
 " Sir," says the lady, " and for these 
 " v?ry guineas I am come again, and 
 "mean to take them away tooith 
 
 " 105 pounds of the 135 that you 
 
 " gave me for them." 
 
 Need I say any more upon this 
 subject? Is it not something mon- 
 strous to suppose, that it would be 
 possible for the Bank Company to 
 buy gold in quantity sufficient to be 
 able to pay their notes in it? " Well," 
 say others, " but the Bank may lessen 
 " the quantity of its paper by narrow- 
 " ing its discounts.'* To be sure they 
 " might ; and the only consequence of 
 " that would be, that the taxes would 
 " not be paid, and, of course, that 
 " the soldiers, the judges, and all 
 other persons paid by the public 
 would have to go without pay. The 
 discounts make a part of the system ; 
 ind, if it be put a stop to, that is nei- 
 ther more nor less than one of the 
 ways of totally destroying the system. 
 To lessen the quantity of the paper is, 
 therefore, impossible without pro- 
 ducing ruin amongst all persons in 
 trade, and without disabling the coun- 
 try to pay the taxes, at their present 
 nominal amount. 
 
 But, suppose all other difficulties 
 were got over, did these gentlemen of 
 the Bullion Committee ever reflect 
 upon the consequences of raising the 
 value of money to what it was before 
 the Bank Stoppage ? Sir Francis 
 Burdett, in his speech, during the 
 Bullion Debate, told them of these 
 consequences. He observed, and 
 very justly, that, if money were, by 
 any means, to be restored to the value 
 it bore in the year 1796, the interest 
 of the national Debt never could be 
 paid by the people ; that interest, he 
 observed, was now 35,000,000/. a 
 year; and, if the value of money was 
 brought back to the standard of 1796, 
 this interest would instantly swell to 
 43,000,000/ of money at the pre- 
 sent value. All the grants, pensions, 
 fixed emoluments, pay of soldiers, 
 judges, chancellors, clerks, commis- 
 sioners, and the rest would be raised, 
 in point of *real amount, in the same 
 proportion ; so that, it would be ut- 
 
 
337] 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 [338 
 
 terly impossible for taxes to such an 
 amount to be raised. And, if it were 
 possible, it would be frequently un- 
 just ; for, observe, all the money 
 (making nearly one half of the na- 
 tional Debt) that has been borrowed 
 since the Bank Company stopped 
 paying in gold and s;iver; all the 
 money borrowed since that time ; all 
 the loans made in the name of the pub- 
 lic since that time ; all the money lent 
 to the public, as it is called, has been 
 lent in depreciated paper ; and, that 
 which has been so lent this year has, 
 if guineas are at 27 shillings, been 
 lent in paper 27 shillings of which are 
 worth no more than a guinea. And, 
 are the people to be called upon to 
 pay interest upon this money in a cur- 
 rency of which 21 shillings are worth 
 a guinea ? This would be so abomin- 
 ably unjust, that I wonder now any man 
 like Mr. Horner ever came to think 
 of it. He expressly stated, that the 
 paper was now worth only 15s. Wd. 
 in the pound; of course he must have 
 known, that this was the sort of 
 thing of which the loans, for some 
 years past, consisted ; and yet, he 
 would have had a law passed, the 
 effect of which would have been to 
 make the people pay interest for this 
 money at the rate of twenty shillings 
 in the pound. This is what never could 
 have been submitted to : not because 
 the people would have resisted; that 
 is not what I mean ; but, it is what 
 could not have been carried into ef- 
 fect, and for the same reason that 
 the man could not have two skins 
 from the carcass of the same cat. If 
 the quantity of the Bank paper were 
 diminished, its value would rise ; and, 
 if its value rose, the value of the 
 interest upon the National Debt, 
 would rise also ; therefore to enable 
 the people to continue to pay the in- 
 terest upon the Debt, the amount of 
 the interest must be lessened, and 
 what would that be but a partial 
 sponge. So that, turn and twist the 
 thing, whatever way you will, you still 
 
 find it the same ; you still find, that the 
 system must go on in all its parts, or 
 be put a stop to abgcther. 
 
 In mopt other cases, when men 
 talk of a remedy, they advert to the 
 cause of the evil. If I find that my 
 health is injured by drinking brandy, 
 the first thing I ought to do, in order 
 to recover my health, would naturally 
 be to leave off drinking- brandy: 
 What a fool, vhat worse than ideot, 
 must that man be, who, feeling the 
 fire burn his shins, still retains his 
 seat. Yet, in this important national 
 concern, never do you find any of 
 our writers or legislators dwelling 
 upon the cause of the evil, of which 
 they appear so anxious to get rid. 
 They tell us, indeed, that the depre- 
 ciation of the paper is occasioned by 
 its excessive quantity ; but here they 
 stop ; they nsver go back to the cause 
 of that excessive quantity of paper; 
 or, if they do, they only speak of the 
 interests of the Bank Company. If 
 they did go back to the real cause, 
 they would find it in the increase of 
 the national Debt, to pay the interest 
 of which, commonly called dividends, 
 has required, has rendered absolutely 
 necessary, the present quantity of pa- 
 per. Indeed, one engenders the other. 
 .Every loan occasions a fresh batch of 
 paper to pay the interest upon it; 
 that fresh batch of paper causes a 
 new depreciation and a new demand 
 for paper again to make up in the quan* 
 tity what has been lost in the quality, 
 So that to talk of lessening the quan- 
 tity of the paper, while the national 
 Debt remains undiminished, does re- 
 ally seem to me something too absurd 
 to be attributed to any man of sense. 
 "What, then, must it be to talk of les- 
 sening the quantity of paper, while 
 the national Debt is increasing at an 
 enormous rate, and, while it is noto- 
 rious that that Debt has been nearly 
 doubled in amount during the last 
 fourteen years ; aye, while it is noto- 
 rious, that,, during the last fourteen 
 years, that Debt has increased as 
 
33D1 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 f340 
 
 much as the whole' amount of it was 
 before; or in other words, that, since 
 1796 as much money has been bor- 
 rowed by the Government as was bor- 
 rowed in the whole hundred years 
 preceding ? What must it be, then, 
 to talk of lessening the quantity of the 
 paper, while the national Debt, which 
 was, and is, the cause of the paper, 
 keeps on in this manner increasing? 
 One really would think that such a 
 proposition could have originated only 
 in Bedlam. In 1798, the next year 
 after the stoppage, tke amount of 
 Bank of England Notes in circu- 
 lation was, 13,334,742/. ; and the 
 amount of the interest upon the na- 
 tional Debt, in that vear, wls, 
 17,750,402. In 1809, the amount 
 of the Bank of England Notes in cir- 
 culation was, 21,249,980/. ; and the 
 amount of the interest upon the national 
 Debt in that year was, $0,093,4477. 
 (exclusive of Irish loans,) Now let 
 this be tried by the {tale of Three, 
 and you will see with what exactness 
 the amount of the Bank Notes keeps 
 pace with the amount of the interest 
 upon the national Debt, commonly 
 called the Dividends, which many 
 poor creatures in the country look 
 upon, or, rather, used to look upon, 
 as something of a nature almost di- 
 vine. Let us put this down a little 
 more distinctly. 
 
 In 1 798, the Dividends amount- 
 ed to £ .17,750,402 
 
 The Bank Notes out 
 in circulation 13,334,752 
 
 In 1809, the Dividends amount- 
 ed to 30,093,447 
 
 The Bank Notes in cir- 
 culation 21,249,980 
 
 Here we have the real cause visibly 
 before us. What folly, what mad- 
 ness, is it, then, to talk of lessening 
 the amount of the notes while we 
 are continually augmenting the amount 
 of the Dividends, which are the cause 
 of the notes? Here we have before 
 our eyes proof that the Dividends 
 (by the use of wliich word I mean to 
 
 include all the annual charges upon 
 the Debt) and the Bank JS'otes have 
 gone on increasing for the last ten 
 years, and I had before shewn that 
 they had done eo theretofore-; and, 
 with this fact before our eyes, we, the 
 people of this " most thinking nation," 
 hear some of our legislators propose 
 to lessen the amount of the paper, 
 while not a man of them seems to 
 dream of lessening the amount of the 
 Debt. We hear them propose to 
 narrow the stream, while they say 
 not a word about narrowing the spring 
 whence it flows. They have seen, or 
 you, at least, have seen, Gentlemen, 
 that the bank-paper arose out of the 
 national Debt ; you have seen that 
 the Bank was created in a short time 
 after the Debt began ; you have seen 
 the increase of the paper keep an 
 exact pace with the increase of the 
 Debt; and, is it not, then, to war 
 against facts, against a century of ex- 
 perience, against the nature of things, 
 to propose to narrow the issues of the 
 paper without previously narrowing 
 the bounds of the Debt and its Divi- 
 dends? If the authors of this propo- 
 sition had read the work of Paine, 
 they would never have offered such a 
 proposition. Read this work they 
 may, but they have not duly consider- 
 ed its arguments, or they have shut 
 their eyes against the clear conviction 
 that it is calculated to produce. He 
 pointed out in his Second Part of the 
 Rights of Man, the means of saving 
 England in the way of finance. That 
 work was written in 1791. So early 
 as that he foresaw and foretold what 
 we have now before our eyes, and 
 what we have daily to expect. He 
 there pointed out the sure and certain 
 means of effectually putdng a stop to 
 further increase of the Debt, of in- 
 suring a real diminution of it, and, 
 at the same time of doing ample 
 justice to the fund-holders. For -this 
 pamphlet he was prosecuted, and 
 having gone out of the country, he 
 was outlawed. A Royal Proclamation 
 was issued principally for the purpose 
 
311] 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 [342 
 
 of suppressing his work, scores of 
 pamphlets having been written in an- 
 swer to him in vain. He was burnt 
 in effigy in most parts of this his na- 
 tive country; and his works were sup- 
 pressed by the arm of the law. Well, 
 our Government had its way ; it fol- 
 lowed its own counsel and rejected 
 that of Paine; he was overcome by 
 it, and driven from the country; those 
 who endeavoured to cause his prin- 
 ciples to have effect were punished or 
 silenced, or both: and, what is the 
 result ? That result is now before us, 
 and fast approaching us; and, in a 
 short time, in all human probability, 
 events will enable us to form a per- 
 fect correct decision upon the respec- 
 tive merits and demerits ot the then 
 conflicting parties. 
 
 Now, Gentlemen, if you have at- 
 tentively read the Letters, of which 
 I now address to you the XXVth, 
 you will have no doubt at all, that the 
 cause of the influx of paper and of 
 the consequent depreciation of all 
 money first, and then of the paper 
 itself alone as compared to the money ; 
 you will have no doubt that the real 
 cause of all this, is, the increase of 
 the national Debt; and, yet, in all 
 the parliamentary debates upon the 
 subject, you have heard of scarcely 
 any man who ventured to mention 
 this cause. It was a thing too tender 
 to touch. It was what we call a 
 sore place ; and, the old proverb about 
 the galled horse applied too aptly. 
 If the depreciation had been traced to 
 the national Debt, as Mr. Horne 
 Tooxe once traced it while he was in 
 Parliament ; for, he then foresaw and 
 foretold what was now come to pass, 
 and told the House, that, if they con- 
 tinued the then expenditure, the fund- 
 holder would not get, in a few years, 
 a quartern loaf for the Dividend upon 
 a hundred pounds of stock; if the de- 
 preciation had thus been traced back 
 to its real efficient cause, it would 
 have awakened reflections of an un- 
 pleasant tendency; it would have set 
 men to consider what was the cause 
 
 of the increase of the Debt ; to loot 
 back and inquire whither the money 
 was gone; for what purpose it had 
 been borrowed ; who were the persons 
 that had profited, from that borrowing; 
 who, in short, it was that had swallow- 
 ed all that money the interest of 
 which the nation was paying, and had 
 so long been paying. These reflec- 
 tions it was not the desire of either 
 party to awaken ; but, they belong to 
 the subject, they naturally present 
 themselves to every one who looks 
 only a little beneath the surface, and 
 I venture to say, that, in the end, they 
 will become familiar to every man in 
 the kingdom. If this real cause of 
 the evil had been acknowledged, it 
 would have saved a great deal of time; 
 for, then, men would not have amused 
 themselves with talking about such 
 REMEDIES as that of Mr. 
 Horner; and all the talk about the 
 narrowing of discounts and the pur- 
 chasing of gold and the improving of 
 the exchange would have been heard 
 like tho twice told tale of an ideot. The 
 short and the only question would 
 have been this: can we, by any means, 
 diminish the amount of the Dividends? 
 And, if that question had bees* an- 
 swered in the negative, there was no 
 course, for those who wished to sup- 
 port the Pitt system, to pursue but 
 that of letting things take their own 
 course, and aid the paper with their 
 wishes. 
 
 So much for the REMEDY of the 
 Bullion Committee; but, our attention 
 is now r called to another, founded on 
 more imperious circumstances. I 
 allude to the proposition of Earl 
 Stanhope, which was, on the 27th 
 of June, brought forward in the shape 
 of a Bill, and which is, in that shape, 
 now actually before the House of 
 Lords, where it has undergone a 
 second reading. Compared with this 
 proposition, all that has been said and 
 done before is mere child's play. Thit 
 Bill brings the matter home to the 
 public mind; it shews the most cre- 
 dulous that even those, on ttiiose 
 
343] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 f344 
 
 stoulnesss they rested their faith, 
 tagin to quiver. It cries, a truce with 
 ail pretensions. It puts the sense and 
 the sincerity of every disputant to the 
 test. The minister told us, that he 
 wished the debate on the Bullion 
 Report to come on, that the matter 
 might be set at rest. Set at rest! 
 Mercy on us! Set at rest! And so 
 said Old George Rose too. But, 
 what did they mean by setting the 
 matter at rest ? Ts it possible, that they 
 could imagine, that this matter was to 
 be set at rest; that this great question 
 of paper-money ; that this subject in 
 which every human creature in the 
 country is so deeply interested ; is it 
 possible that they thought this matter 
 would be completely set at rest by a 
 vote for their majority? No, no! 
 This is one of the things that that 
 House cannot do. They can do a 
 great deal ; they ean do more than I 
 dare to trus myself to describe; but, 
 they cannot set this matter at rest, 
 nor have they, and all the branches of 
 the Government united, the power to 
 stay the progress of the paper-money 
 only for one single hour. The Mi- 
 nister and his people have now seen 
 what rest they insured for the sub- 
 ject! I always said, that the " first 
 " man of landed property who openly 
 " made a distinction between paper 
 " and gold, would put the whole 
 H system to its trumps, and compel 
 " the Bank notes lo sue for the 
 " power of the Government for their 
 " protection." This has now been ve- 
 rified, and the remainder of my pre- 
 diction, which I need not here repeat, 
 is not far from its accomplishment. 
 
 The grounds of Lord Stanhope's 
 proposition were stated by himself 
 very explicitly, in moving, the 2nd in- 
 tant, the second reading of his Bill. 
 He said, that he had long thought 
 upon the subject and had long enter- 
 tained the opinion, that some legisla- 
 
 1 tive measure was necessary to pre- 
 serve the bank note system from 
 total ruin ; that a notice recently 
 given by Lord King to his tenants, 
 signifying that he would no longer re- 
 ceive his rents but in geld or in a 
 quantity of paper equivalent in powers 
 of purchase to gold,* had convinced 
 him that there was no time to be lost, 
 and that the measure in contemplation 
 ought to be adopted before the Parlia- 
 ment rose. He said that the Minis- 
 ters having declared, that their only 
 objection to the measure arose from an 
 opinion, that they thought no measure 
 of the kind necessary, being persuaded 
 that nobodv would be found to follow 
 
 * " By Lease, dated 1802, you have con- 
 " tracted to pay the annual rent of £47 hs. 
 " in good and lawful money of Great Bri- 
 u tain. In consequence or the late great 
 " depreciation of paper money, I can no 
 " longer accept any Bank notes, at their 
 " nominal value, in payment or satisfaction 
 " of an old contract. I must therefore de- 
 u sire you to provide for the payment of 
 " your rent in the legal gold coin ef the 
 " realm. At the same time^ having no 
 " other object than to secure payment of 
 " the real intrinsic value of. the sum sti- 
 " pulated by agreement, and being desirous 
 " to avoid giving you any unnecessary 
 u trouble, I shall be willing to receive pay- 
 if ment in either of the manners following 
 a according to your option. — 1st, By pay- 
 «' ment in Guineas ;— 2nd, If Guineas cau- 
 " not be procured, by a payment in Por- 
 " tugal Gold coin, equal in weight to the 
 " numbers of Guineas requisite to discharge 
 " the rent; — 3rd, By a payment in Bank- 
 " paper of a sum sufficient to purchase < at 
 " the present market price) the weight of 
 " standard Gold requisite to discharge the 
 « ren t. — The alteration of the value of the 
 " Paper-money is estimated in this manner, 
 "the price of Gold in 18W2, the year of 
 " your agreement, was £.4 an ounce. The 
 " present market price is £A 14*. arising 
 " from the diminished value of Paper ; in 
 " that proportion an addition of <£A7 10*. 
 " per cent, in Paper-money will be required 
 " as the equivalent, for the payment of 
 " rent in paper.* 
 
 €riterrt> at Stationery $alL 
 
 Lohdon :— Printed by Wk. Molikkux, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane. 
 
~\ 
 
 N°\12.1— COBHETTS PAPER AGAINST GOLD.— [Price Tivo-Pene* 
 
 345] 
 
 the example of Lord King, it was 
 only necessary for him to shew them 
 that there were others to follow that 
 example, in order to convince the mi- 
 nisters, that the Bill was entitled to 
 their support. Having made these 
 preliminary obscrvat ons, he said, that 
 he had a bundle of instances of this 
 sort, and he only wished that a great 
 many other persons would declare 
 their intentions at once, and then the 
 House would proceed to prevent the 
 evil. He then produced a number of 
 letters, from which he read extracts. 
 One person wrote, that his landlord 
 had said, " what one landlord can do, 
 " all can do, and if Lord King suc- 
 " deed, I will do the same." An- 
 other letter related a recent transac- 
 tion in Hampshire, whepe a man 
 bought an estate for 400/. and paid 
 downlOO/. of the mone y,and afterwards 
 laid out several hundreds of pounds 
 upon the premises, and when the time 
 of payment came, the seller insisted 
 upon having payment in guineas, 
 which the buyer could not obtain, the 
 seller, however, would have it, or 
 have his "land back again, and the 
 only consolation left to the buyer was 
 an intimation from a friend of the 
 seller that he could inform him where 
 he might obtain the guineas at 27 shil- 
 lings each. Another letter stated that 
 a Lady, who was a Land-owner, had 
 insisted upon her rent in gold, and 
 that the tenant apprehended a seizure 
 of his goods, and was ready to verify 
 the facts if called on. Another in- 
 formed him, on the part of an Attor- 
 ney, that the practice was become 
 very common to sell guineas and then 
 pay debts with the paper. 
 
 These were the grounds, stated by 
 Lord Stanhope, of the measure that 
 he proposed ; and, upon his stating 
 these grounds, the Ministers, who 
 had, at the first reading, said that they 
 did not see any necessity for the mea- 
 
 W. MOLINEUX. Painter. Bream'* Buildings, 
 vhanceiy Lan* 
 
 [346 
 
 sure, or any measure of the kind, 
 allowed that there was such necessity, 
 and supported the second reading ac- 
 cording! v. 
 
 Now, Gentlemen, before I offer 
 you any observations upon this mea- 
 sure itself, or upon the conduct of 
 Lord King, whose notice to his 
 tenants seems to have given rise to it, 
 it may not be amiss for me to say, 
 that, from all that has ever come to 
 my knowledge, there is not a more 
 disinterested man, or a truer friend to 
 freedom and to his country, breath- 
 ing, than Lord Stanhope, whom I 
 trace through the parliamentary pro- 
 ceedings of the last twenty years, 
 always standing nobly forward in the 
 cause of justice, liberty, and humanity, 
 and. but too often standing forward 
 alone. His protest against the Anti- 
 Jacobin war, which began in 1793, 
 and which has finally led to our pre- 
 sent calamities, will live when we 
 shall all be in our graves. He there 
 pointed out all, yea all, that has now 
 come to pass. That protest, every 
 sentence of which is full of wisdom 
 and of just sentiment, has these re- 
 markable words : " Because war 
 " with France is, at present, most im- 
 " politic, extremely dangerous to our 
 " allies the Dutch, hazardous with 
 " respect to the internal peace and 
 " external power of this country, and 
 " is likely to be highly injurious to 
 
 " our commerce The war may, 
 
 " therefore, prove to be a war 
 " against our commerce and manufac- 
 " tures, against the proprietors of the 
 "funds, against our paper-currency, 
 " and against every desciiption of 
 " property in this country? How 
 completely has all this been verified I 
 Lord Stanhope was abused: he 
 was called a jacobin and a leveller, and 
 now the nation is tasting the bitter 
 fruit of the sprrit that dictated that 
 abuse. Every where was he to be 
 
34* 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 [348 
 
 found, in those horrible days, where 
 liberty was assailed. Not an act, 
 which he deemed injurious to the 
 rights of Englishmen, escaped his 
 strenuous opposition. In short, were 
 I called upon to name the peer, whom 
 I thought to have acted the best an<! 
 truest part in those times, and for the 
 whole course of the last twenty awfui 
 y*ars, I should certainly name this 
 very nobleman. 
 . You will, therefore, Gentlemen, 
 believe that, if I dissent from the 
 measure which he has now proposed, 
 that dissent proceeds from my con- 
 viction, that the measure itself is not cal- 
 culated to produce tbatgood,which I am 
 certain its author wishes it to produce. 
 ! The detail of the Bill I will not 
 attempt to discuss. Its principles are 
 what have struck me, and these I 
 gather from its chief provisions, which 
 are, that, in future, the gold coins 
 shall not be tendered or taken for 
 more than their nominal value, and 
 that the bank paper shall not be ten- 
 dered or taken for less than its nomi- 
 nal value. This is Lord Stan- 
 hope's REMEDY ; and this he ap- 
 pears to think will prevent the possi- 
 bility of a further depreciation of the 
 paper. We have seen the cause and 
 the progress of that depreciation; we 
 have seen how the paper pulled doun 
 the coin 'along with it, 'till the coin 
 could no longer endure the society ; 
 we have seen the time and the manner 
 of their separation ; but, Lord Stan- 
 mope appears to think, that, by the 
 means of this Bill, he shall.be able not 
 oily to restore that harmony which 
 formerly existed between them ; 
 but that he shall be able to chain 
 them together for ever after; to 
 bind them as it were in the bonds 
 of marriage, and to render the ties 
 indissoluble. If he do this, he will 
 do what never was done before in the 
 world ; he will destroy all the settled 
 maxims of political ceconomy as far 
 as they relate to finance; his achieve- 
 ment will be a triumph not only over 
 the opinions and experience of maji- 
 
 kind, but over the very nature of man, 
 which incessantly impels him to seek 
 his own interest, and, at the very least, 
 to use all the means in his power to 
 provide for his own preservation. 
 
 After having said this I shall natu- 
 rally be supposed to be convinced, that 
 the Bill would be utterly inefficient 
 for the purposes it contemplates. In- 
 deed, such is my decided opinion, 
 and the reasons for that opinion, I 
 will now proceed to submit to you. 
 A guinea is not to pass for more than 
 21s. There must be some penalty to 
 prevent the passing of it for more. 
 Lord Stanhope will propose nothing 
 cruel; but, for arguments' sake, let the 
 penalty be death. What, then f Why 
 need any one risk any penalty, as far 
 as ready money transaction goes? 
 One of you go to market with a pig 
 for sale. " What do you ask for that 
 " pig, farmer?" Answer: " Twenty 
 " seven shillings" " 111 give you a 
 " guinea." " You shall have him." 
 Where is the possibility, then, of en- 
 forcing such a law? The parties, in 
 any case, have only to settle, before 
 they deal, in what sort of currency 
 payment shall be made, and then they 
 will, of course, make the price accord- 
 ingly. As to debts, indeed, whether 
 book debts, or debts arising from con- 
 tract, in the payment of them, the 
 gold and notes must, if this Bill pass. 
 be taken at their nominal value ; tha' 
 is to say, the paper must; for, as t<. 
 gold, who will be fool enough t(. 
 tender gold in payment at its nojnina: 
 amount, when it is notorious that i; 
 will fetch a premium of six shil ings 
 upon the guinea? If the Bill become 
 a law, therefore, any tenant who has 
 rent to pay, and who has guineas in 
 his purse, will first go and purchase 
 paper-money with his guineas, and 
 with the paper-money, he will go and 
 pay his rent. This rent, for instance, 
 is 105/. a year, and he has a hundred 
 guineas in his chest. But, he will not 
 be fool enough to carry these to his 
 landlord. He will go and buy 105 
 pounds worth of paper-money witir 
 
349) 
 
 r APfclt against G*bLD. 
 
 [M 
 
 seventy eight of his guineas; and will 
 then go and pay his rent, and will 
 return home with 28 of his guineas 
 still in his pocket. So ..hat, as far as 
 the bill will have effect,, it appears to 
 me that it will bear almost exclusively 
 upon landlords. 
 
 I shall be told, perhaps, th<t, 
 though guineas may now be bought 
 and sold, in consequence of the de- 
 cision of the judges, which, in the 
 case of De YoNGk, has been pro- 
 mulgated since I began this Letter,"' 
 yet, we are not to suppose, that th; 
 present Bill will not provide against 
 suck traffic by making it penal to be 
 concerned in it. Bui, as I have 
 shewn above, men may go on with all 
 ready money transactions, and with 
 perfect safety, make a distinction be- 
 tween paper and coin, which amounts 
 to the same thing as buying and Setlihg 
 the coin or the paper. It will require 
 but very little ingenuity to discover 
 the means of so managing the matter 
 that the landlord shall never see a 
 shilling's worth of coin from the 
 hands of the tenant. 
 
 But, suppose that the coin should 
 
 itot be permitted to be bought and 
 
 >old ; does any one believe, that any 
 
 law will prevent a private traffic in 
 
 * The following is the Report of this 
 • fcision, as given by the Chief Judge, 
 ^oi'd Ellenborongh, in the Court of King's 
 
 Jench, on the 3rd instant. " The King 
 
 against de Yonge.— Lord Ellen borough 
 " communicated the Judgment of the Court 
 " in this case, which along with another 
 " case, the King v. Wright, coming from 
 " the Assizes for the County of Bucking- 
 u ham, had been reserved for he opinion 
 " of < the 12 Judges, on a point of law. 
 " Both causes had been fully and ably 
 •f argued before the Judges in the Court of 
 " Exchequer Chamber, and the argument 
 "had occupied a number of days. The 
 u question arising in the present case was, 
 <{ the Defendant having been convicted of 
 " purchasing 52 Guineas at the rate, in 
 *J Bank Notes, of 225. 6<t. per Guinea, 
 " whether, in so doing, he had been guilty 
 ** of an offence punishable under the Act of 
 «.' tbe 5th and 6th of Edward VI. which 
 " prohibited the exchanging of coined gold 
 " for coined silver, or for gold and silver, 
 "fue party giving or receiving more in 
 
 the article? Ami, if that c<*ul<J k»-- 
 done, is any one mad enough to sup- 
 pose, that the gdinea will stiU Circu- 
 late at par with the paper? Pass 
 this Biili or an; Bill, feat shall pre- 
 vent men from passing the guinea ' 
 for nice than its nominal worth, and 
 the consequence will be, that a gtfiiJem 
 will never axjahi be seen in circMatMBfi 
 Those who have them wi 1 keep them 
 in their chests, waiting an occasion : fo» t 
 export them, or more patiently /• 
 ihg till circumstances have prddrjfcki 
 the repeal of the law which lias dtfveri" 
 the guinea! into the hoard. ThecaikWP 
 that we see no guineas now in comfo&rt 
 circulation, is, as I said before* that- 
 they cannot obtain their fair value. " 
 They would have been openly s*cfl& ; 
 long enough ago, had there not been 
 an opihidn, that the traffic was punisha- ' 
 ble by law. Now that obstacle is 
 removed; but, in all likelihood, ano- 
 ther will be erected by the present 
 Bill. In that case the guineas will 
 all either be hoarded or sent out 
 of the country, and paper must and 
 will be made to supply their place.- 
 The Dollars, the new things of three' 
 shillings and eighteen pence, uotv 
 coming out from the Bank, will algo 
 be hoarded, and to notes for shillings 
 
 44 value than the same was current for at 
 " the time? AH the Judges, except three 
 '* were present at the whole of these argu 
 " merits, and at the last of them the whol 
 " of the Judges were present. The Com 
 " had no opportunity of knowing what wa- 
 " the opinion of the absent Judges on tha 
 " part of the case at the argument on whic! 
 " they were not present, but they had n< 
 " reason to presume that they dissente ' 
 " from the opinion of the other Judges wh 
 " were, present, all of whom concurred h 
 *' opinion that the Defendant in this cas< 
 ", was not liable under the Act of the 5th 
 " and 6th of Edward VI. The Judgment. 
 " therefore, fell to be arrested; and the 
 " Judgment teas arrested accordingly." Thus, 
 then, this oase is decided as I always said it 
 must be, unless* all semblance of law wa« 
 banished from the land. Many peopU 
 thought and said, that the conviction would 
 be confirmed , but, I never thought so foi 
 a moment. Oh, no ! The Judges knew a 
 great deal better than to do that ! 
 
a&lj 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOUb. 
 
 [302 
 
 and sixpences, we must come, I am 
 convinced, in the course of the year, 
 if this Bill pass ; so, that the Bill, 
 while it will be wholly inefficient for 
 the purpose of arresting the progress 
 of depreciation, will be efficient enough 
 in producing a contrary effect. 
 
 The Bill does not, the author of it 
 says, make bank notes a legal tender. 
 It does not do it in words, but it ap- 
 pears to me to endeavour to do it in 
 effect; and that being once done, all 
 £ne usual consequences of a legal ten- 
 rfcrmust follow. It was easy to see 
 that the system would come to this 
 pitch; there is nothing in the state 
 to which we are come, that ought 
 io surprize any one; what has" hap- 
 pened was to be expected, and was, 
 indeed, long ago foretold; but, what 
 might reasonably surprize one, is, 
 to hear this measure represented 
 by the ministers as necessary to the 
 protection of the fund-holder ; Can 
 they be serious ! Is it possible, that 
 they can be serious when they say 
 this? If they are, nothing that they 
 say or do can ever be a subject of 
 Wonder. Men, who are capable of 
 believing that the Bill of Lord Stan- 
 hope will operate as a protection to 
 
 the fund-holder, are capable 
 
 » . . but, really, I want words 
 
 to answer iny purpose. Imagination 
 can frame nothing that such men are 
 not capable of in the way of belief. 
 That the paper would, at last, become 
 a legal tender, or forced circulation, 
 it was easy to see. I did, indeed, for 
 my own part, expect this state of the 
 paper to bejapparent long ago. The 
 faith of this " most thinking people" I 
 knew to be almost passing conception ; 
 but, still I did not think it adequate to 
 the supporting of this paper-money 
 for 14 years after the issuers had 
 ceased to^ay in cash and after they 
 were protected by law against the de- 
 mands of their creditors. It was, 
 however, certain, that the thing must 
 come to this point at last ; it was cer- 
 tain, that, if the national Debt and 
 the taxes continued to increase, the 
 time must eorae when landlords would 
 
 see that they must either starve, or 
 demand their rents in coin; and, 
 whenever this time came, it was, as I 
 have many times said, impossible to 
 keep up the paper only for six months 
 without making that paper a legal ten- 
 der, which might eke out its existence, 
 perhaps for a year or two, but which, 
 in the end, must ensure its total de- 
 struction. I have several times been 
 asked, what reason there was why 
 landlords should not demand their 
 rents in gold and silver ; or in bank 
 notes to the amount of the gold and sil- 
 ver ; and, my answer has always been, 
 that there was no reason at all against 
 it now, but that there soon would be ; 
 for that the moment such demand was 
 made, Bank notes would, be made a 
 legal tender. This was natural, and, 
 therefore, the ministers are now doing 
 just what I always expected they would 
 do, whenever any land-holder did what 
 Lord King has now done; but, to hear 
 them speak of it as a measure calcu- 
 lated to afford protection to the fund- 
 holder is what I never could have ex- 
 pected. They will see what sort of 
 protection it will give him; and he will 
 feel it ! What wiil be his fate I shall 
 not pretend to say; hut, I hope, there 
 is justice enough yet in the country, 
 real justice enough to prevent him 
 from perishing, while there exist the 
 means of such prevention. I trust, 
 that his claims will meet with serious 
 and patient consideration ; that the 
 question of what is due to him and 
 to whom he ought to look J or payment 
 will be settled upon sound principles 
 of equity. I am for giving real pro- 
 tection to the fund-holder; but, to 
 hear the Ministers say, that he is to 
 meet with protection from a measure 
 such as that now before Parliament, a 
 measure that must inevitably accele- 
 rate the depreciation of the paper, is, 
 surely, sufficient to fill onewith surprize 
 and dismay, if, at this day, and after 
 all that we have seen, any thing ought 
 to produce such an effect in our minds. 
 On the 2nd of July, a protest was 
 entered, in the House of Lords, 
 against toRD Stanhope's Bill, which 
 
853] 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 t&54 
 
 protest I here insert. " Dissentient, 
 
 • — Because We thrnk it the duty of 
 
 * this House to mark in the first in- 
 " stance with the most decided repio- 
 •' bation, a Bill, which in our judg- 
 14 ment manifestly leads to the intrp- 
 " duction of laws, imposing upon the 
 ** country the compulsory circulation 
 44 of a Paper Currency; a measure 
 " fraught with injustice, destructive 
 " of ail confidence in the legal secu- 
 44 ritv of contracts, and, as invariable 
 " experience has shewn, necessarily 
 * productive of the most fatal cala- 
 " ities : 
 
 Grenville, Lansdowne, 
 
 Essex, Cowper, 
 
 + Jersey, King, 
 
 Grey, Lauderdale. 
 
 44 Tor the reason assigned on the 
 " other side, and because the repeal 
 '• of the law for suspending Bank 
 " Payments in Cash is in my judg- 
 
 Imeut the only measure which, can 
 cure the inconveniences already felt, 
 and avert the yet greater calamities 
 which are impending from the pre- 
 " sent state of the circulation of the 
 *' country. Vassall HOLLAND." 
 In the* protest of the eight peers I 
 heartily concur ; but I do not agree 
 Avith Lord Holland in his addition 
 to it, if his lordship means to say, that 
 it is possible to resume cash payments at 
 the Bank. To pay the notes in gold 
 upon demand, agreeably to tiie pro- 
 mise upon the face of the notes, is 
 certainly the only cure for the incon- 
 veniences already felt and the calami- 
 ties now impending; but that it is ut- 
 terly impossible to adopt this cure is, 
 to my mind, not less certain. His 
 Lordship proceeds upon the notion of 
 Mr. Horner and the Bullion Com- 
 mittee, namely, that the cause of the 
 depreciation consists in an excessive 
 issue of paper y which is very true, if 
 you compare the quantity of the paper 
 with that of the gold, or of the real 
 transactions of purchase and sale, be- 
 tween man and man ; but, which is 
 not true, if you compare the quantity 
 of paper with the amount of the Divi- 
 
 dends payable on the National Debt ; 
 and, I would beg leave to put, with 
 sincere respect, this question to Lorj> 
 Holland: " If cash payments were 
 " restored, and money, as must be 
 " the ease, were restored to its for- j 
 " mer value, where does your Lord- 
 " ship think would be found the means y 
 " of paying the Dividends f" 
 
 It is impossible! The thing never ' 
 can go back; no, not an inch; nay, 
 and it must keep advancing. This 
 very measure, by hastening the de* 
 preciation, will cause a new addition 
 and still larger than former additions^, 
 to the National Debt, and of course : 
 to the Dividends. Those additional 
 Dividends must be paid in an addi- 
 tional quantity of bank notes; and 
 thus the system must go on, as Pains 
 foretold, with an accelerated velocity, 
 until il can go on no longer. Having; 
 this opinion so firmly fixed in my 
 mind, I was quite surprised to see 
 the Marquis of Lansdowne endea- 
 vour to mend the Bill of Lord Stan- 
 hope by the introduction of a clause 
 for prohibiting the Bank Company 
 from augmenting the quantity of their 
 paper after the passing of the BUL 
 This shews, that his Lordship has, 
 what J deem to be, and which, J 
 think, I have proved to be, a most 
 erroneous view of tho real cause of 
 the depreciation. If he thought with 
 me, that the cause is in the increase 
 of the National Debt and of the Divi- 
 dends, he would have proposed no 
 such amendment as this. 
 
 As to the conduct of Lord Kino 
 nothing could be more fair or more - 
 laudable. He wished to take no ad>- 
 vantages of his tenants; he only 
 wanted a fulfilment of his contract 
 with them ; and, as the spirit of the 
 contract was more favourable to them 
 than the letter, he abandoned tho 
 letter, and only required them to 
 hold to the spirit. To hear him, 
 therefore, charged with oppression, 
 
 and by ! But, it is as well lo 
 
 keep ourselves cool. Let others chafe 
 and foam. And, if the Honse_ <rf 
 
355] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [356 
 
 Lords do choose thus to determine 
 why, all that I can say about the 
 Jaatter, is, that they are the best 
 judges whether they stand in need of 
 then* rents, and, if they do not, I 
 really do not sec much harm in their 
 giving them to their tenants; and, 
 this act will be the more generous as 
 they are about to do it by a law, so 
 that the tenants will keep the rents 
 without having to give the landlords 
 even thanks in return. That such 
 w#l be amongst the effects of theBill, 
 if it pass,, there can be no doubt ; 
 and, as far as it operates in this way, 
 a most popular Bill it will be. It 
 will act as a distributor of wealth ; of 
 money, lands and tenements ; for, to 
 suppose, that, in many cases, the 
 ten/ants will not soon become the pro- 
 prietors, is to discover but very little 
 thought on the subject, and that, I 
 am sure, would be a shame in a body 
 of Hereditary Legislators in the 
 ** most thinking nation in the world." 
 What a change this will make ! Hap- 
 py is the man who is ^tenant! Much 
 belter off is he than the man who tills 
 his own land ; because the former has 
 given nothing at all for his, whereas 
 the latter has paid, at sdme time or 
 Gther, purchase money for what he 
 possesses. The letting of long Icacss 
 .is out of fashion ; but, in general, the 
 lands of great proprietors are held 
 upon lease, and these leases are not, 
 upon an average, for less than seven 
 ye<p.rs at the lowest. Some of these 
 leases are nearly expired, of course, 
 but, others will naturallv be but just 
 commenced. So that, the average 
 time, for which the land is now let, I 
 shall take at three years and a half. 
 All the Duke of Bedford's estates, 
 for instance, are let, then, for three 
 years and a half yet to come. Now, 
 if the paper depreciate three or four 
 times as fast as it has hitherto done, 
 .the tenants of the Duke of Bedford 
 will have a brave time of i»t for these 
 three years and a half. But, if the 
 Bill, which is now before Parliament, 
 should send down the paper to the state 
 
 of the Fre ch assignats in 1794, what 
 will, in that case, be the situation of 
 the Duke of Bedford? There aro 
 many landlords, who cannot hold out 
 for (three years and a half, and who, 
 therefore, must sell, in whole or in 
 part; but, there will, indeed, be this 
 convenience, that they will every 
 where find a purchaser ready at hand 
 in their tenant, and one, too, who will 
 not only know the real value of the 
 property, but who will have the money 
 ready to pay for it. This is nothing 
 in tfye way of a joke. I am in earnest ; 
 it is what I am convinced will take 
 place, if the Bill of Lord Stanhope 
 pass into a law ; but, as I said before, 
 if the Lords like it, nobody else can 
 possibly have a right to interfere. 
 They may, surely, do what they please 
 with their own property. All that I 
 wish to stipulate for is, that we Jaco- 
 bins and Levellers shall never be ac- 
 cused of this act of distributing the 
 lands and houses of the rich amongst 
 those who are not rich ; that we shall 
 not be accused of this great act of putt- 
 ing down and raising up. Hume re- 
 marked that the funding system, in the 
 space of 500 years, would cause the 
 posterity of those now in the coaches, 
 and of those upon the boxes, to change 
 places ; but, if this Bill of Lord 
 Stanhope pass, this change will be a 
 thing of much quicker operation. 
 
 I shall be told, that Lord King's ex- 
 ample would have operated even more 
 quickly than this measure in destroy- 
 ing the paper. Granted. It would 
 there is no doubt, have produced, in a 
 very short time, that which must have 
 totally destroyed the paper system, root 
 and branch, namely, TWO PRICES, 
 against which, openly and generally 
 adopted, no paper-money ever did, or 
 ever can, stand for any length of time. 
 That that example would have been 
 generally, nay universally, followed, 
 there can be no doubt at all, for, no 
 man voluntarily gives away his rents, 
 or, rather, lets another withhold them 
 from him. Some persons would have 
 been a little shy at first; but, when 
 

 357] 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 [3SS 
 
 they found that others did it, they 
 would have got over their shyness, 
 ami the demand would have been uni- 
 versally made. Thus, then, the TWO 
 PRICES would have been estab- 
 lished ; and the gold and silver, find- 
 ing that they could pass current for 
 their real worth, would have come 
 forth from their hiding places, some, 
 while the rest would have hastened 
 back from abroad. " Surely !" say 
 you : "why then, are the Government 
 " alarmed at the effect of Lord 
 " Kings example, if it would bring 
 '* back gold and silver into circula- 
 " tion ?" Oh ! there is good reason 
 for their alarm ; for, observe, THE 
 TAXES WOULD CONTINUE 
 TO BE PAID IN PAPER! When 
 the tax-gatherer came to the door 
 of one of you, for instance, you 
 would, if you had only gold or silver in 
 
 the house, beg him to call the next 
 morning, or to sit down a bit, while 
 you, with your gold, would go and 
 purchase paper-money sufficient to 
 pay him th amount of his demand! 
 There needs no more to convince you 
 that the Government has good reason 
 for alarm at the prospect of seeing 
 Lord King's example followed, as it 
 assuredly would be, if there were no 
 law to prevent it. In short, that ex- 
 ample would annihilate the paper 
 system in a year. 
 
 The next Letter will close the se- 
 ries. In the mean while, 
 I remain, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your friend, : 
 W M . COBBETT. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Friday, 
 5th July, 1831. 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 It is not that tin- money winch the Public Creditor receive*, as interest for his capital, is l«ss than it us«d 
 - to he ; it is that the quantity of goodi he receives (or his money is less; and lie •will be still receiving 
 less and less, while vourta.ves will he rising in«.ie *rui more. If the next Administration"(Addins>ton w*» 
 " just at tins time rominsi Into power in place of Pitt) 4 ' mean to go on like the last, it would be a good 
 •* tiling for the country if no tnun would lend them a groat. Let them take three fourths of a man's 
 " i l.teresc, or property, from him, una 1 take off the tuxes, ai.d the people would be doubly gaii.ers If yon 
 " reduce the National Deli, we may I«upfl and sing at home and bid defiance to all the woill , if you do 
 " not reduce it, the consequence will be, that, instead of paying the National Creditor J20 quartern loaves 
 " tor a vfr.i's intei.'M of his ,£.100 \«-:i will toon, till you only pav him <i or 3 qv.artem loaves. Depend 
 
 '• upon "it that it will Ire the fate, of the National Creditor." Mr. JJome Tookei Speech, in the House of 
 
 " Commons, Qua March, lUul. 
 
 Mr. Home Tookc and the Ke formers— Effect of Lord King's Example—Two Prices- 
 How these would affttrt the Government, the Generals, the Judges, the Sinecure Place- 
 men and Pensioner*— Lord Mornington's Speech in 1794— Progress of the Assignatsin 
 Franc*-— Mr. Perceval's Speech in the House of Commons, 9th July, 181 1 . 
 
 GENTLEMEN, 
 
 LOOK at the motto ! Look at the 
 motto ; and, especially, if any of you 
 should unfortunately be fovd-holders ; 
 in that case, let me beseech you, to 
 look at the motto. They are the 
 words of a very wise man. They 
 were spoken, you see, rather more 
 than ten years ago. The speaker 
 was laughed at by some, and railed 
 ai by ethers; but, I imagine, thai, at 
 
 this time, those, who then laughed, 
 are more disposed to cry, though I 
 by no means suppose, that the railers 
 have ceased, or ever will cease their 
 railing, as long as they have tongues 
 or pens wherewith to rail, The 
 House of Commons passed an Act 
 which, for the future excluded Mr. 
 Tooke, soon after he made this speech. 
 They did so upon the ground of his 
 being <t Clergyman in Holy Orders. 
 
859] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [mo 
 
 No matter : tliey got rid of him for 
 the future ; but, they have not got rid 
 vf the event that he foretold. Oh, no ! 
 that is coming upon them in ?pite of 
 &]i their triumphs over Mr. Tooke 
 and Mr. Paine and Messrs. Mum, 
 Palmer, Margarot, Gerald, 
 wlnterbottom , gilbert wake- 
 FIELD, and many others. The Govern- 
 ment beat all these reformers ; they 
 not only put them down; they not 
 only ruined the greater part of them ; 
 but they succeeded in making the na- 
 tion believe that such ruin was just. 
 Well ! The Government and the na- 
 tion will now, of course, not. pretend, 
 that the •present events have sprung 
 from the Jacobins and Reformers. 
 Mr. Tookg told them to reduce the 
 National Debt. They rejected his 
 advise. They despised his warning. 
 The kept him, for the future, out of 
 Parliament. Well. Let them, then, 
 pot blame him for what has since 
 happened, and what is now coming 
 ~to pass. 
 
 I beg you, Gentlemen, to reflect 
 well on these observations; for, such 
 reflection will be very useful in pre- 
 venting you from being deceived in 
 future, and will enable you, when the 
 utmost of the evil comes, to ascertain 
 who are the men who have been THE 
 AUTHORS OF THE EVIL, and 
 to whom, accordinglv, vou ought to 
 look for a just RESPONSIBILITY. 
 But, upon this vital part of the subject 
 I have some hints to offer to you 
 hereafter: at present I must return, 
 for a while, to the point where I 
 broke off in my last Letter, namely, 
 the reason for the alarm of the Govern- 
 ment at the prospect of seeing Lord 
 King's example followed. 
 
 I spoke of the TWO PRICES 
 before ; but, let me say a few more 
 words upon that very interesting part 
 of our subject. Tivo Prices have 
 always proved the death of paper 
 money. In this case it would have 
 been the same, and, in the end, i{ will 
 still be the same ; for, the Bill of 
 Lord Stanhope can do no mere than 
 
 retard the event of six or nine months , 
 and mind, I tell you this with as much 
 confidence as I would venture to 
 foretel the arrival of Christmas day. 
 I do not say, that the event will come 
 in six or nine months ; but I say, 
 that this Bill will not keep it off for a 
 greater length of time than that. If 
 TWO PRICES were generally 
 made, we should see the gold and 
 silver back into circulation immediate- 
 ly ; hut, none of it could get to the 
 Bank, because no man would pay his 
 TAXES in gold and silver. Con- 
 sequently the fund-liolder and the 
 Government would be paid in paper 
 while gold and silver would be circu- 
 lating amongst all the rest of the com- 
 munity. As soon as there are two 
 prices, the paper must depreciate at 
 an enormous rate; and, as the Go- l 
 vernment would have to pay its con- 
 tractors and others whose pay was 
 not fixed, in this depreciated paper, 
 it must have a greater quantity of that 
 paper, and it must come from the * 
 Bank. It is so easy to see how this { 
 must work ; how rapidly it must go 
 on ; how soon it must render the 
 paper worth little more than its 
 weight in rags ; all this is so easy to 
 see, that I will not suppose any one 
 of you so very dull as not to perceive 
 it. 
 
 The Government, with nothing but 
 paper at its command, would soon 
 begin to feel somewhat like a person 
 who has taken a powerful emetic. The 
 big round drops of sweat would stand 
 upon its forehead; its knees would 
 knock together ; it would look pale a* 
 a ghost ; an universal feebleness 
 would seize it. That is to say, all 
 this would take place, if the Govern- 
 ment persevered in the Pitt system, 
 and that it would do so, who can 
 doubt after what we have seen teing 
 the last twenty years. If the, TWO 
 PRICES were openly made, and 
 became general, as they, in all pro- 
 bability, would, in the course of six 
 or eight months, the paper would fall 
 so low as that 5, fir, perhaps, 10 
 
361] 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 [3G2 
 
 shillings would be required to purchase 
 a quartern loaf. How, then, would 
 the Government, who would get 
 nothing but. paper, make shift to pay 
 its way; The Generals and Judgo. 
 and other., having a fixed pay, would, 
 indeed, still b^ paid as they were 
 before, and, of course, the Govern- 
 ment would lose nothing by taking 
 paper as far as this description of 
 expence went; for, you will observe, 
 that I hold it to be impossible, that 
 the parties I have just mentioned, 
 namely, the Generals, the Judges, the 
 Tax-Commissioners, and the like ; I 
 hold it to be impossible, that these 
 men should not all of them be ex- 
 cessively happy to take the paper- 
 money, though at a hundred for one, 
 seeing that the greater the degree of 
 depreciation, the finer the opportunity 
 for them to give proofs of their de- 
 votion to public credit But, though 
 my Lords the Judges and Lord Arden 
 and Lord Buckinghamshire and Lord 
 Liverpool and Lord Bathurst and the 
 Marquis of Buckingham and Lord 
 Camden and Old George Rose and 
 Mr. Canning and my neighbour the 
 Apothecary General and Lord Ken- 
 yon and Lady Louisa Paget, and, 
 indeed, the hundreds of those who 
 have fixed sums paid them by the 
 Government out of money raised upon 
 the people, whether in the shape of 
 salary, sinecure or pension; though 
 all these persons would, I dare say, 
 from motives of public spirit, cheer- 
 fully continue to take the paper till a 
 pound of it would not purchase a 
 pinch of snuff; still, there would be 
 some things and some services that 
 must be paid for in money, or they 
 would not be obtained. Beef and 
 Pork and Biscuit could not be bought 
 without real money These are com- 
 modities that do not move without an 
 equivalent. Whether the soldiers would 
 be paid, under such circumstances, 
 in paper so much reduced in value, 
 I shall not pretend to say, and will 
 leave the point to be settled by those 
 who have lately said so much about 
 
 this useful and numerous class of 
 active citizens. But, one tiling is 
 certain : that THEY must be paid in 
 a kind of money that will purchase 
 eatables. They have bargained to 
 receive a certain sum per day ; and, 
 if the same should not purchase half 
 so much beer or beef as it does now, 
 the bargain will riot be so good ad one 
 as it is now ; though, observe, I ani 
 not supposing, that there would not 
 be found public spirit enough amongst 
 the soldiers to make them take the 
 paper in preference to gold. At any 
 rate, ^his is a matter which belongs 
 exclusively' to those who have the 
 management of our affairs, and who 
 are paid very well for such manage- 
 ment. 
 
 It would be useless to extend our 
 remarks here. It is as clear as day- 
 light, that, whenever TWO PRICES 
 shall be generally established, the 
 death of the paper is at hand, 
 and. indeed, ttie death of the 
 funding system ; because, owing to 
 the rapidity of the depreciation, 
 the fund-holders, our poor friend 
 Grizzle Greenhorn and all the 
 rest of them, would soon be in the 
 situation described by Mr. Hornk 
 Tooke, in the passage taken for my 
 motto ; that is to say, a hundred 
 pounds of their stock would yield 
 them a couple or three quartern loaves 
 in the year; and, it is within the 
 compass of possibility, that many per- 
 sons, who are now enabled to ride in 
 their coaches by incomes derived from 
 the funds, may end their days as 
 paupers or beggars. In short, it is 
 quite impossible for any man of com- 
 mon sense not to perceive 4 , that the 
 establishment of TWO PR! CMS 
 would put an end, in a short time, 
 not only to the property of the fund- 
 holders, but to the sinecures and pep- 
 sions, and also to great numbers of 
 ether emoluments derived from th>' 
 public revenue. Put an end to all fc 
 a time at least, and subjecting then 
 to an after revision. 
 
 If we are of opinion, that this ejferi 
 
363] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [364 
 
 would have been produced by the ex- 
 ample of Lord King being followed, 
 there is, I think, little room for won- 
 der, that the ministers were alarmed 
 at the prospect. I know it will be 
 said, and with perfect truth, that, in 
 time, the same effect will be produced 
 by Lord Stanhope's Bill; but, sup- 
 posing it to be produced full as soon 
 by the Bill, it does not follow, that 
 the ministers perceive that. On the 
 contrary, it would seem, that they 
 do not perceive it at all; and, it is 
 evident, that they have a sort of vague 
 notion, that the Bill will stay the de- 
 preciation. 1 am convinced, that it 
 will not*, I am convinced, that it wil 
 hasten the depreciation, and though 
 not quite so fast as the example of 
 Lord King would, still that, in the 
 end, the effect will be the same. But* 
 the ministers could, in the one case, 
 see the elfect : in the other they ap- 
 pear not to have seen it ; and, this is 
 quite sufficient to account for their 
 giving their support to the Bill. 
 
 I said before, Gentlemen, that this 
 Bill was the first of a series of mea- 
 sures, the object of which would be 
 to keep up the paper by the force of 
 law. This seems to be the opinion of 
 ati those who have opposed it in the 
 House of Peers : that it is merely a 
 step in the old beaten path of keep- 
 ■:;» by the arm of power a depre- 
 ciated paper-currency. This course 
 has been before pursued, in other 
 countries, and it has, in every part 
 of the world, led to the same end; the 
 total destruction of the paper. Each 
 of* the Colonies, now moulded into 
 an united nation in America, had its 
 debtj its pa}>cr-fiwii!\?/, its legal ien- 
 fjurs, and its public bankruptcy, be- 
 fore their separation from England, 
 and even before the revolutionary 
 quarrel began. But, it was in France, 
 where the thing was performed upon 
 a grand scale ; and, by taking a view 
 somewhat more close than we have 
 hitherto done, of the progrr ss'of the 
 measures in France we shall be able 
 
 more correctly to judge of the ten- 
 dency of what is now going on here. 
 
 There are divers histories of what 
 was done in France, relative te the 
 assignats ; but I choose to take for my 
 authority one of the present Ministers, 
 the Marquis Wellesley, when he was 
 Lord Mornington , made a speech in 
 the House of Commons, which was af- 
 terwards published in a pamphlet, oi 
 rather book, in which he gave an ac- 
 count of all the pranks played with 
 the assignats in France, up to the 
 time of his making the speech, which 
 was on the 21st of January, 1794, just 
 three years and a month before the 
 then ministry, whom he supported, 
 issued an Order in Council to protect 
 the Bank of England against the de- 
 mands of cash for their notes. 
 
 In this memorable speech, mani- 
 festly drawn up for the purpose of 
 exciting horror in the people of Eng- 
 land at the wickedness of the French 
 Rulers relative to the assignats, and 
 also to make the people believe, that 
 the state of the assignats must prove 
 the overthrow of France ; in this me- 
 morable speech, not only facts are 
 stated, but principles and maxims of 
 finance are laid <lown. We wilt take 
 a cursory view of them all ; for time, 
 which tries every thing, has now 
 brought us into a state to judge cor- 
 rectly of those facts, principles, and 
 maxims. 
 
 Lord Wellesley told the House of 
 Commons, that the rulers of France 
 were very wicked, but that they were 
 not less foolish than wicked ; that 
 their ignorance was, at least, equal to 
 their villainy, though the latter was 
 surprisingly great. He said, that " Ube 
 " French Revolutionary Govern- 
 " ment, in order to supply an 
 " extravagant expenditure, had re- 
 " course, at first, to increasing the 
 * viass of paper-money ; and, that they 
 'J declared, that they had no other 
 " means of sustaining the pressure of 
 M the war, than by the creation of an 
 " additional quantity of atsignats" 
 
1 300] 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 [SCO 
 
 There is, then, nothing original in the 
 declarations of Lord Liverpool and 
 Perceval and Rose. Nothing new in 
 their recent assertions, that.it was the 
 paper-money that enabled them to 
 provide for the defence of the king- 
 dom, to make such great exertions 
 against the " enemy of the human 
 " race," to gain such victories in Spain 
 and Portugal, and to add such glories 
 to the English name ! This was all very 
 fine and full of comfort; but, as you 
 now see, Gentleme :, there was nothing 
 new in it. The same tiling had been 
 said before by the revolutionary ru- 
 lers of France ; the same thing had 
 been said by Danton and Robes- 
 pierre and their associates in praise 
 of the revolutionary money of France. 
 
 The ministers have frequently de- 
 nied that the coin of the country is, 
 or ought to be the standard of value. 
 Rose and Lord Westmoreland and 
 several others of them have denied, 
 that the Bank notes ought to be look- 
 ed upon as depreciated, merely be- 
 cause they would not go for the same 
 quantity of gold as formerly ; and the 
 hireling writers have taken infinite 
 pains to decry and run down the gold 
 and silver coin. One of them calls 
 guineas an incumbrance ; another says 
 that gold and silver are merely arti- 
 cles of traffic, and that the Bank notes 
 are the only money fitting the coun- 
 try ; another has said, that, were it 
 not for the National Debt, the pa- 
 tronage, and the paper-money, the 
 Government could have no existence, 
 and that the Bank notes offer to 
 the government a most indestruc- 
 tible support, because they make the 
 daily bread of every individual depend 
 upon the Government ; and, another 
 has. said, that Bank paper is the best 
 bond of individual and public secu- 
 rity, and the only medium of currency 
 to suit and exert the energies of an 
 insular and commercial people ! 
 
 What a similarity between this 
 language and the language of the 
 Rulers of France in favour of their 
 assignats! They called them, as j tradesmen to look about them, and 
 
 Lord Wellesley said in his speech, 
 revolutionary money; their Chancellor 
 oi the Exchequer said that it was a 
 jappy thing ior the people to have 
 Republican assignats instead of 
 pieces of metal bearing the effigy of 
 tyrants ; that the whole nation defrphed 
 the corrupting metals, and that he 
 would soon find a way of driving 
 back the vile dung into the bowels of 
 the earth. In another part of his 
 speech, Lord Wellesley te:ls us, that 
 people were imprisoned and punished 
 for their contempt of assignats. 
 
 Nevertheless, the people of France 
 had, it seems, still an unnatural 
 hankering after go d and silver in 
 preference to a^i^nats; and, thev 
 did in fact, make TWO PRICES; the 
 consequence of which was an enor- 
 mous rise in the price ot all the ne- 
 cessaries of life, the proprietors of 
 which were reviled as enemies of the 
 country, and, as such, many hun- 
 dreds of them were put to death. 
 This, however, was not sufficient to 
 put a stop to the rise of prices, and, 
 indeed, did not check it at all. Then 
 came the law of MAXIMUM (as it 
 will in England if the present course 
 be pursued), fixing the highest price 
 at which any of the necessaries of 
 life should be sold, and at which men 
 should work and render services. 
 This terrible law, Lord Wellesley 
 tells us, had nearly starved the whole 
 nation; for the formers would not 
 bring their produce to market, and 
 tradesmen kept their goods locked up. 
 Then, he tells us, that these persons 
 were pursued as monopolists; and 
 thus, said Lord Wellesley, " every 
 11 farmer whose barns and granaries 
 " are not empty; every merchant and 
 " tradesman whose warehouse or shop 
 " is not entirely unprovided vuth 
 " goods, must be subject to the charge 
 "of monopoly. This crime is punish- 
 ed differently, according to the ohr- 
 " baity of the case; but, most fre- 
 " quently the punishment is death:' 
 i So that it is time for farmers and 
 
307] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [3(58 
 
 especially the farmers; who, if they 
 do not already *fee the danger of thrir 
 landlord's property being withheld 
 from him, will, perhaps, be more 
 clear-sighted when their own natural 
 fate is pointed out. They hear Lord 
 King accused of black malignity; 
 
 This very Bill now under discussion, 
 will impose a penalty, whether of 
 imprisonment or not I do not yet 
 know, upon any person, who takes, 
 or gives, or offers, bank notes, under 
 par. The prohibition was made in 
 the Lords, and the Minister has said, 
 
 they hear him charged with selfish- , that he means to add the penalty! 
 
 ness ; they hear him classed along with 
 pedlars and Jews. This was, as 
 Lord Wellesley tells us, precisely the 
 language which Danton and Robes- 
 pierre and their underling* made use 
 of towards the people of property in 
 France, who had a " contempt for 
 assignats." They were accused of 
 incivism ; they were called egotists, 
 and were, in almost the very words 
 in which Lord King is now arraign- 
 ed by the Courier, told that they 
 " committed a robberv against the 
 " RIGHTS OF SOCIETY!;; And, 
 this is what the people of England 
 are told, observe, after eighteen years 
 of war, after eighteen years of blood 
 and taxation, in order, as they were 
 promised, to preserve their country 
 from what they saw going on in France ! 
 " But, our paper is at par," say 
 some of the Pittites still; " Our 
 " paper is not depreciated" So they 
 said in France. Yes, said Lord 
 Wellesley, " the French minister 
 •' of Finance has boasted, that his 
 " assignats are at par ; but, the laws 
 " which have been passed for punish- 
 •' ing with long imprisonment any 
 " person who takes, gives, or offers 
 " assignats under par, sufficiently ac- 
 " count for this circumstance." Good 
 God! It would really seem, that 
 every saying is to come home to us ! 
 that upon our devoted heads are to 
 be visited all that was felt, and, which 
 is more, perhaps, all that was, by 
 our rulers, said to be felt by the 
 people of France: aye, it really 
 would seem, that all, that all, to the 
 very letter, is now to come home to 
 the people of England, who were led 
 to build their hopes of success and of 
 safety upon the ruin of the people, or 
 at least, the Government of France ! 
 
 Let us now look, then, at the con- 
 trast which Lord Wellesley drew, 
 upon that memorable occasion, be- 
 tween the situation of England and 
 that of France. " From this djs- 
 '•' gusting scene," said he, " let us 
 " turn our eyes to our own situation. 
 " If ere the contrast is striking in all 
 " its parts. » Here Ave see nothing of 
 " the character and genius ox ARBI- 
 TRARY FINANCE; none of 
 " the bold frauds of bankrupt power : 
 " none of the wild struggles and 
 " plunges of despotism in distress; 
 " no lopping off from the capital of 
 " the debt; no suspension of interest ; 
 u rto robbery under the name of loan, 
 " NO RAISING THE VALUE, 
 "no DEBASING THE SUB- 
 " STANCE of THE COIN. Here 
 " we behold, public credit, of every 
 " description, rising under all the 
 " disadvantages of a general war; 
 " an ample revenue, flowing freely 
 " and copiously from the opulence of 
 " a contented people," 
 
 Gentlemen, read this with atten- 
 tion ; and, when you have so done, 
 draw yourselves the contrast which 
 the situation of England now presents 
 with that of France ! It is a fact [per- 
 fectly notorious, that there is no such 
 thing as paper money in France; it 
 is also notorious, that not only does 
 France abound in gold coin, but that 
 the coin of this country, the guineas 
 of England, are now gone and are 
 daily going to France; aye, to that 
 same country, which was to be ruined 
 and overcome and subdued by the 
 failure of its finance ! This speech of 
 Lord Wellesley, and all the nume- 
 rous other speeches of the same 
 description, were intended for the 
 purpose of gaining the people's coa» 
 
8C9] 
 
 LETTER XXVI. 
 
 [37$ 
 
 currcnce to the prosecution of the 
 Antijucobin war, which war, by 
 adding five hundred millions sterling 
 to our Debt, lias produced the fruit 
 of vvhich we are now about to taste. 
 Year after year the same means 
 were made use of for the same pur- 
 pose, aiy' with similar success. At 
 the openmg of the Session of Parlia- 
 ment, in October, 1796, Pitt him- 
 self told the Honourable House, that, 
 in his conscience, he believed, that, 
 with finances* so dilapidated, the 
 French Mould not be able to stand 
 vat another campaign /" " This DE- 
 " PRECIATION of the Assignats," 
 said he, " is so severely felt, that it 
 " has been repeatedly admitted, that 
 " means must be found to employ 
 •"resources less wasteful. This prin- 
 " ciple has been recognized by every 
 *'* financier or statesman. Even at 
 " the period when the depreciation 
 w was only one half, it was declared, 
 " that unless some immediate remedy 
 " was applied, they would be unable 
 " to maintain their armies. Months 
 * have since elapsed > and no substi- 
 ** tnte has been employed. Resources 
 " thus strained to their utmost pitch, 
 " and incapable of any renovation, 
 " must hare in themselves the seeds 
 " of dicaify and the cause of inevi- 
 " tabic dissolution." 
 
 This, Gentlemen, was Pitt's rea- 
 son ing as applied to France. Little 
 did that presumptuous and shallow 
 man dream, that, in less than four 
 months from that very day, he was 
 doomed to come into that same House 
 of Common.*, and from the same 
 spot where he the» stood, announce 
 that the Bank of England was no 
 longer able to pay its notes in the 
 coin of the realm, and that he had 
 been guilty of a violation of the law 
 in issuing an Order of Council to 
 guarantee the Bank Company against 
 the consequences of refusing to py 
 ihe debts due to their creditors! But, 
 us if this were not enough; he must, 
 in Cue speech jusrf referred \& t comment 
 
 upon certain metallic money then, it 
 was said, about to be issued in Prance 
 " Metallic pieces," said he,' are, it 
 " seems, to be put in circulation; hut 
 " it is not said, whether these are 
 " to be of the DENOMINATED 
 " VALUE: if not so, thev are onlv 
 " METALLIC ASSIGN ATS !"-! 
 Yet this same minister, who has 
 been impudently called " the great 
 H Sta'esman now no more," had, in 
 a short time afterwards, to propose to 
 this same House of Commons, to 
 sanction the issuing of Dollars at 4s. 
 and 9d. the real value of which was 
 4s. A\d. ; he lived long enough to 
 propose to the same House of Com- 
 mons, to give its sanction to an issue 
 of dollars at 5.s\ ; if he bad lived till 
 now, (I always regret that he did 
 not !) he wouid have seen the Dollar 
 at 5s. 6d. And, what he would have 
 seen it at, if he had lived till a few 
 years hence, I must leave Time', the 
 frier of all" tilings, the rewaider of 
 all good deeds, and the acenger of 
 all injuries, to say. 
 
 You will now be able to judge how 
 far our situation, in respect to paper- 
 money, resembles that of France lit the 
 time when the revolutionary rulers of 
 that country were endeavouring to 
 keep up the Assignats by the arm of 
 the law, by the terrors of the jail and 
 the guillotine. Mr. Perceval says 
 that there is no resemblance whatever 
 between the bank notes and the assig- 
 nats. I shall shew you, that Mr. 
 Perceval is deceived ; that he does 
 not understand this matter ; and that, 
 if he had read the works of Paine, at 
 the time when his colleague Lord 
 Eldon (then Attorney General) wr?s 
 prosecuting the author, he would not 
 hare hazarded anv such assertion. 
 
 But, we must now take a look, at 
 Ih* whole of this speech of Mr. Per- 
 ceval. I mean his speech in the 
 fiOUse of Commons, on Tuesday last, 
 the 9th instant, upon the first reading 
 of Lord Stanhope's Bill in the House 
 of CcjBtftkms; Thte speech will lea 
 
371] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [372 
 
 memorable one. The child yet un- 
 born ay ill have cause to think of this 
 speech, and of the series of measures, 
 of which, a* appears to me, it is the ne- 
 cessary forerunner. 
 
 Mr. Perceval (1 have the report of 
 his speech ak given in the Courier) 
 began by staling his reasons for having 
 come round to tne support of Lord 
 Stanhope's Bill alter having, at first, 
 disapproved of it. He says, that he, 
 at firsl , thought it unnecessary, because 
 he did not think, that any body would 
 follow the example of Lord King ; but, 
 that finding that it was likely, that 
 the example would be followed, he 
 then thought it necessary to support 
 the Bill. Thus, then, at any rate, it 
 has been one individual who has 
 caused this Bill; the Bill is made for 
 the purpose of preventing that indi- 
 vidual and others from obtaining in 
 payment of vent what the law now 
 authorize* them to demand; it is a 
 Bill, in fact, which, against the will of 
 one of the parties at least, alters con- 
 tracts made years ago. Yes, says 
 Mr. Perceval, it does so ; but, the 
 same teas done in 1797! That. is the 
 answer. Became the thing was done 
 by Pitt, he may do it! He said, that, 
 until now, this preference for coin 
 before paper had been shewn by none 
 but Pedlars, Jews, and Smugglers; 
 and, in speaking, afterwards, about 
 the possibility of the Bill being ineffi- 
 cient, and a legal tender being, neces- 
 sary, he said that '* he did, however, 
 " hope, that the ODiUM attaching to 
 " the conduct which gave rise to 
 "this Bill, WOULD PREVENT 
 " OTHERS FROM EOLLOW- 
 « ING THE EXAMPLE.'' These 
 are memorable words, especially con- 
 sidering from whom they came. — 
 Aye, aye! I know well what workings 
 of mind there must have been before 
 they were uttered. I would not have 
 such workings in my mind for ten 
 times the worth of the reversion of 
 Lord Arden's sinecure. Oh ! a time 
 is coming, when all these things will 
 be seen and felt as they ought to be. 
 
 But, let us return to this memor- 
 
 abl 3 expression . " the ODIXJ M !" — 
 A man, then, is it seems, to incur 
 odium if he demand his due; his 
 due in equity as well as in law ! Gen^ 
 tieinen, you are, for the most part, 
 tenants ; but, take care how you suffer 
 your;- elves to be led to wish for any 
 advantage from this Bill, which will 
 most assuredly operate, in the end, to 
 your injury, and perhaps, to your 
 utter ruin. Let me explain to you, a 
 little more fully than I ha\e hitherto 
 done, the nature of Lord King's de- 
 mand upon his tenants. He let a farm, 
 for im-1 mee, in 1802, to John Stiles 
 for £.100 a year, in good and lawful 
 money of the realm. He has until 
 now, continued to take the t'.lOO .\ 
 year in bank notes ; but now he finds, . 
 that those notes are so far from being 
 good and lawful money of the realm, 
 that they have sunk in value 20 per 
 centum, and that, instead of £.100 he 
 would, in eJfect, get only £.80. If, 
 however, the thing was likely to stop 
 where it is, he might possibly go on 
 receiving paper to the end of the pre- 
 sent leases, when he would take care 
 to raise his rent of course ; but, the 
 thing is not likely to stop ; it goes 
 regularly on ; geld is purchased up; a ■ 
 guinea sells for 27*. 6d. And is it 
 not, then, time for Lord King to be- 
 gin to protect himself against this de- 
 preciation? John Stiles, you see, 
 sutlers no hardship in this, because he 
 raises the price of his corn and cattle 
 to meet the effects of the deprecia- 
 tion. Suppose, for instance, that the 
 paper has depreciated 20 per centum, 
 or five pounds in every twenty, since 
 1802; and suppose, that wheat 1s,qow 
 25 pounds a load ; consequently, it 
 will require only four loads of wheat 
 to pay £.100 now, but it must have 
 required five loads to pay £.100 
 in 1802. But, is it not just and 
 fair, that John Stiles should 
 give Lord King as much wheat for 
 his rent in 1811 as he contracted 
 to give him in 1802? If he does 
 not do this, and if the paper go 
 on depreciating, may it not come 
 to pass, that John Stiles wi'J 
 
873] 
 
 LETTER X£VI. 
 
 [374 
 
 not give Lord King more than a 
 bushel of ic heat in a yearl Aye, 
 may it; and a great deal sooner too 
 than many persons seem to ima- 
 gine. And, because Lord King wishes 
 to avoid this ruin is he to be lumped 
 along with jews, pedlars, and smug- 
 glers, and are we to be told of the 
 odium attaching to his conduct? — 
 However, upon this head, I shall al- 
 ways say, lor my part, that the 
 Lords are the best judges of whether 
 they or their tenants are likely to 
 make the best use of the rents ; and, 
 if they like to give the rents to the 
 tenants, I know of no one who has 
 any right, to find fault with them. — 
 They and the other great laud-owners 
 appear to have abundant confidence in 
 Mr. Perceval, in the Bank, and in the 
 East India Company ; and the Clergy 
 appear to have equal confidence in 
 them. Weil, then; I really see no 
 good reason that we, the people in 
 general, have to, find fault with what 
 is going on. The matter seems, I 
 tjnnk, to lie wholly between the land- 
 owners and this little sharp gentle- 
 man and his colleagues ; and to them 
 I will leave it, being <-uite satisfied, 
 that the former are now about enjoy- 
 ing the just reward of their conduct 
 for the last twenty-six years. 
 
 Mr. Perceval said, that those who 
 supported the Bank Restriction Act 
 in 1797, were inconsistent in not sup- 
 porting this Bill ; and he tallced a 
 great deal about the inconsistency of 
 tho.se who proposed, the other day, to 
 continue the Restriction for two years 
 longer. With these matters, Gentle- 
 r-en, WE have nothing to do. The 
 at&ir is ail tkeir oicn. THEY made 
 the war that produced the loans that 
 pi od need the paper that produced the 
 run that produced the stoppage of cash 
 payments that produced the deprecia- 
 tion that produced the sale of gvinvas 
 and the hoarding and exportation of 
 them. . THEHtVoikthe whole of it 
 i^, and which stt of them w ere first 
 at it, or which last, is of no arorc- 
 qu euce to us. They have it all QinQiir 
 
 therm They chose the grounds of 
 war, and the time for beginning; tiny 
 put down all those who opposed them ; 
 they have been, for 2ii years, the 
 rulers of the country and the masters 
 of all its resources. One set, there- 
 fore, is, and ought fo be, just the same 
 as the other in the eyes of the people. 
 Let them settle the matter of prece- 
 dence between them; let them bait 
 one another as long as they please ; 
 but let. not us be, by such baiting, 
 amused and drawn away from the 
 great points at h'sue. 
 
 The "object of the Bill? Mr. Per- 
 ceval said, " was to prevent the e&ia!)- 
 " lishment of TWO PRICES which 
 " must be the case if Lord King's 
 " ample were generally folio wed.'' — 
 Now, you will be so good as to bear 
 in mind, Gentlemen, that this is, Mr. 
 Perceval says, the object of the Bill; 
 and, I beg you also to bear in mind, 
 that I say, that in this object the Bill 
 loiilfail. Here we are, then, I and 
 the Minister, foot to foot hi oppo- 
 sition. I sav his scheme will no* 
 prevent the TWO PRICES. I saj 
 it will not: he says that such is its 
 'object : we shall see who is right. 
 He ought to be ; for, I am sure, he is 
 paid money enough for thinking for 
 this most thinking people m the Morld. 
 He did, however, confess, that it was 
 possible, that this Bill might not be 
 efficient; and, what was then to be . 
 done? Why, the banknotes, he said 
 must in that case, be made a legal 
 tender! Bravo! Come: to't again! 
 Once more, and then comes the 
 maximum! I always said, that it 
 would be thus. I always said, that 
 the moment any one put the paper- 
 nioiK-v io the test, the paper-money 
 would he made a legal tender. This 
 Bin it was (but I do not believe it now 
 is) believed would have the same 
 effect ; but> if it fail of that effect, then 
 .the legal tender is, it seems, to come. 
 
 Mr. Perceval says, that this ma) 
 h "come necessary. For tt/.af, Mr 
 Peicevjil ? What may it fcecome n& 
 
 *>»-"•' !lr? Ne-ecssav^ to do what 
 
357] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD 
 
 thou Minister of Finance? Why, 
 vou will sav, I suppose, to prevent 
 TWO PRICES, and to PROTECT 
 THE FUND HOLDER. And, dost 
 thou really think ; dost thou, a disciple 
 of the great statesman now no more, 
 think, in good earnest, that a legal 
 tender \&w would prevent two prices and 
 protect the fundholder? Forgive me, 
 but, it is impossible for me to refrain 
 from laughing at the idea. You will 
 , my, I suppose, that it is " no laugh- 
 " ing matter.* Cry then, if you like, 
 but I will not; nor will any one be- 
 longing to me. But, how is the legal 
 tender to prevent TWO PRICES 
 being made? An Act of Parliament, 
 making the bank-notes a legal tender, 
 would cause debts to be paid in paper ; 
 but, it could not make the butcher or 
 the baker give their meat or bread for 
 bank-notes. They would and they 
 must and they Will have two prices"; 
 a. money price and a paper price ; and 
 this will become general in spite of 
 every thing that can be done to oppose 
 it. What protection, then, will the 
 fundholder, or " public creditor" as 
 he is called, derive from measures 
 like these ? Mr. Perceval supposes a 
 case (of which I will say more by- 
 and-bve) in which the fundholder of 
 £.6*,000 capital rents a house of 
 £.300 a year, and says that it would 
 be extremely hard, if this man, who 
 is obliged to receive his £.300 a year 
 from the Government in paper , were 
 to be left exposed to the compulsion 
 of paying his £.300 a year rent in 
 gold. Where is the hardship, if bank- 
 notes are as good as gold? Where is 
 the hardship, if the notes have not de- 
 preciated? And these assertions are 
 daily and hourly made. But, to re- 
 turn to the baker and butcher, for 
 these are the lads that it will be 
 most difficult to manage; what will 
 
 L S78 
 
 this fundholder do with them ? How 
 will Mr. Perceval protect him against 
 them? Why, to be sure, he will, ami 
 indeed, consistently, he must, have re- 
 course to maximum. And, it may 
 not be amiss here to explain to you 
 /aimers and tradesmen what a maxi- 
 mum means; for, you will find it a 
 matter, in. which ym are very deeply 
 interested. 
 
 They had a maximum in France, 
 in the times of depreciated paper- 
 money. The rulers of that day, find- 
 ing the assignats depreciate very fost, 
 passed a law to put a stop to the de- 
 preciation, which only made them de- 
 preciate the faster; and, as the as- 
 signats were bought and sold, as our 
 bank paper now is, they passed ano- 
 ther law to prevent the ?;oid from 
 passing for more than its nominal . 
 worth and to prevent the paper to pass 
 for less than its nominal worth. This 
 object, though attempted to be ac- 
 complished by the means of very 
 severe penalties, was not aYcomplish- 
 ed. There was still a money price. 
 and a paper price; for, when a man 
 went to market, he pulled out his 
 paper, or his coin; and, the article 
 was high or low priced accordingly. 
 If the thing to be bought was a 
 quarter of mutton, for instance, a 
 crown piece in silver might be the 
 price ; but, if the payment was to be 
 made with paper, then the price might 
 be ten pounds or fifty pounds, perhaps. 
 The next thing, therefere, was to pro- 
 hibit the use of coin altogether. But, 
 this did not answer the purpose. The 
 assignats still kept depreciating, and 
 the rate of depreciation kept on in- 
 creasing, till, at last, it required a 
 hundred pounds to purchase a pair of 
 common shoes; and, this was not at 
 all wonder ftil ; for, when once a paper 
 money is got into an acknowledged 
 
 (Entered at Stationer*' $al!« 
 Printed by W. Moliheux, S, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane; Published by W. Cobbett, 
 Juo. Nt>. 8, Catherine Street, Strand: and Retailed at No. 192, Strand. 
 
N°13.]— COBBETT'S PAPER AGAINST GOLD. r [Price Two-Pence. 
 
 377] 
 
 and notorious depreciation, it always 
 goes on with accelerated velocity. 
 Well, what was now to be done? 
 If it took a hundred pounds to pur- 
 chase a pair of common shoes, what 
 was the use of collecting taxes in such 
 money ? And what was to become of 
 those whose incomes, founded on 
 former contracts, were paid them in 
 ; such money ? What was the Govern- 
 ment to do ? Why, to fix a price upon 
 all the necessaries of life, and to 
 compel people to sell their goods at 
 those prices. This was done, and all 
 farmers, bakers, butchers, and others, 
 were compelled to sell their commodi- 
 ties at the same price, in assignats, as 
 they used to sell them at in money, 
 
 »fore any assignats were made. The 
 nsequence of this was, that those 
 10 had corn or meat or other neces- 
 saries, did not bring them to market; 
 the shopkeepers shut up their shops, 
 or hid their goods; To counteract 
 tliis, a law was passed to punish mono- 
 polists, and every Clan, who kept niore 
 corn, meat; or necessaries of any sort, 
 in his house, than was absolutely ne- 
 cessary for the use of his own family, 
 became a monopolist, and, in many 
 es, such persons were punished 
 
 th death ! This was the last of that 
 series of measures, which was adopted 
 in France during the reign of terror 
 and blood. The guillotine was conti- 
 nually at work to enforce this last 
 measure. The market place in every 
 considerable town reeked with human 
 Aood. Hundreds of thousands of inno- 
 :ent country people and shop-keepers 
 perished upon the scaffold and in 
 prison in consequence of the laws 
 made for the" purpose of sustaining a 
 depreciated paper-money in France ; 
 jind, wherever a similar project is 
 attempted to be forced into execution, 
 similar consequences will follow. 
 
 At last, however, the people of 
 France, unable to endure so hellish a 
 
 W. .MuLIM-'UX, Printer, Bream's Buildings, 
 s Ctiiiucery Lane 
 
 (.378 
 system any longer, put an end to it 
 and to its authors. The paper-money 
 was totally annihilated, and, in 
 a short time, gold and silver came 
 back into circulation. But, in the 
 mean while, what protection did any 
 of these measures give to the man of 
 fixed income, who might be compared 
 to our fund-hoider ? How did he get 
 any protection from any of these 
 measures? Yet, he got full as much 
 as the fund-holder in England will get 
 from this measure of Mr. Perceval, 
 who, though he may, in part, ruin the 
 land-owner, will not, thereby, do the 
 fund-holder the smallest good. The 
 rent of the fund-holder's house is the 
 least article of his yearly expences. 
 His servants, his upholsterer, his 
 butcher, his bake*, his haberdasher, 
 his draper, his jrewer, his wine- 
 merchant, &ci &c. will all be paid in 
 gold, or in paper upon the principle of 
 TWO PRICES. There is, there- 
 fore, no means of pro ecting the fund- 
 holder against these gentlemen, except 
 the maximum. It is useless to talk 
 about it, and for people to attempt, ta 
 buoy themselves up with a sort of 
 vague notion of the impossibility that 
 an English ministry should ever do 
 what was done by Bobespierre. 1 
 hope they never will, indeed; but, 
 this I am sure of, that, without doing 
 what was done by Robespierre, they 
 cannot make the fund-holder's income 
 equal in value to gold and silver. 
 This is what Mr. Perceval wishes to 
 do; this is what he calls protecting 
 the fund-holder, and this would be 
 protecting him; but this, I tell him, 
 he cannot do, nor can ail the powers 
 on earth do it. To stop where we are 
 is witlnn the scope of possibility. By 
 an immediate stop to the increase of 
 the National Debt and the Dividends ; 
 by an immediate stop to all Loans and 
 issues of Exchequer Bills ; by an im- 
 mediate reduction of the Taxes; by 
 
370] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [38a 
 
 such mean?; immediately adopted, we 
 might stop where we are ; but, to 
 restore is impossible. To make the 
 dividends worth their nominal amount 
 m gold and silver is no more possible 
 than itis to bring back verier day. 
 
 When 1 closed my last Letter, I 
 thought that, in this, I should have 
 been able to cpriclude the discussion; 
 but, the debate in the House of Com- 
 mons has created new matter, and, as 
 
 I wish to see the event of the Bill 
 now before that House, before I take 
 my leave of the subject, 1 must defer 
 the conclusion till next week. 
 
 I remain, Gentlemen, 
 Your Friend, 
 
 W»- COBBETT 
 
 i 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Friday, 
 V2lkJuly, 1811. 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 ''Imaiotaiu, that all Europe is contemplating the payhient in specie at the Bank as the criterion of »be 
 " Credit of the couutry. If the Bank •-ontinuc. to issue paper icitlwitt controuL, the Country banks will 
 " do the samo. '] he.y will pour out their notes upon us without mercy ; and we are now BEGINNING 
 
 " A COURSE OF ASSIGN ATS Loud cries of Order! Order: Question, Question. Que.itiun, from 
 
 " every part q/' the IIouse.- ,, -~—Mr. ROBSON's Speech, in the Honourable House, 2nd April, ltt02. 
 
 '• By these WISF, and provident measures (the measures relating to the Bank Stoppage) all the apprehensions 
 *■ that were entertained are vanished: the credit of the Bank is as high, hotli at home and abroad, as it 
 * ever was; and, not the slightest inconvenience ponible is. or has been, experienced from ,its not paying 
 " in e%»h."OLD GEORGE K.OSE. — -Brief Examination of the finances, publiihed first ia 17yy, and 
 republished in 1800. 
 
 Mr Robson's Proposition — George Rose's " Blessed Comforts'' — The Nature and Extent 
 of these Comforts— Great Use of ascertaining them — Necessity of discovering %wno 
 has got the Money that has been borrowed on Account of the Public— -Case of 
 De Yonge. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 BEFORE I resume the thread of 
 our discussion, which was rather ab- 
 ruptly broken off at the elose of my 
 last Letter, give me leave to beg your 
 attention to the two passages, which I 
 have, upon this ' occasion, taken as 
 Motto*. 
 
 You see, tliat Mr. Robson was 
 called to Order; that he was run 
 down by all parts of the Honourable 
 House; that be was hootetl out of 
 countenance, and, you may see in the 
 history of that days proceedings, that 
 he was obliged to sitdoum and to hold 
 kU tongue. And yet, what did he 
 say? What was the jolhj he was 
 guilty of? Why, foretelling precisely 
 what has now come to pass. And, I 
 beg you to observe, that he recom- 
 mended upon the occasion here re- 
 
 ferred to a controul as to the quantity 
 of paper to be issued by the Bank, a 
 measure now recommended by the 
 whole of one party in the Honourable 
 House and by part of the other parly '; 
 and, though I am not one of Those 
 who think that it would have been 
 possible to save ths paper by the 
 means of any such controul; still, 
 the proposition is now put forward as 
 the only one that can restore the 
 paper to its former value. Yet did 
 the members of the Honourable 
 House hoot Mr. Robson down; they 
 coughed and laughed and hallooed 
 him off his legs. Ah! but those 
 times were very different from the 
 present. The enemies of the truth 
 were then strong. They had not as 
 yet seen the guinea at a premium, 
 and the bank-uote at a discount. 
 
[381 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 [382 
 
 -ti 
 
 ; 
 
 Faith ! They have a great deal more 
 to see yet : what they have to see they 
 can scarcely guess at. Much good 
 may it do them. They hooted down 
 Mr. Rohson ; they had their own way ; 
 and, therefore, let them not complain 
 when the days of their humiliation 
 si i all arrive. 
 
 The second motto calls to our minds 
 the means that were, and that, all 
 aloiig, have been made use of to de- 
 ceive the people as to the li nances in 
 general, and especially as to the state 
 of the paper-money, ill which work 
 tins George Rose has borne a prin- 
 cipal part. He was, for many years, 
 Secretary to the Treasury under 
 "Pitt, by whose authority this pub- 
 licationwas made inthe name of Rose. 
 In short, he has been a great actor 
 in the drama, which is now drawing 
 to a close ; and lie is one of the men, 
 of whose past conduct it will, here- 
 after, be necessary, absolutely, ne- 
 cessary, to give the history. u JS'ot 
 " the slightest inconvenience?' No, 
 not to George Rose, perhaps; but, 
 could the rest of tbe nation say so ? 
 oukl they say so, out of whose 
 taxes George Rose was getting about 
 ten thousand pounds a year? But, 
 lere is another passage in this same 
 ublicatiOn of George Rose, to 
 hich I must beg leave to solicit your i 
 attention, of wl:'?,h it is well worthy. 
 
 There is a time for all things," 
 and now is the time for reminding 
 he people pf England of the means 
 >y which they have been deluded. It 
 was in vain to endeavour to open 
 -their eyes before ; but, now, per- 
 haps, they may be induced to make 
 use of their senses. The following is 
 a specimen of the means employed to 
 elude them, at once to wheedle and to 
 scare them into a quiet surrender of 
 their money. I beg you to read it 
 with attention ; and yon will, I hope, 
 be ashamed at having been -deceived 
 by lies and hypocrisy so glaring. "As 
 " the amount of the debt, which will 
 "be incurred in this and every sub- 
 " sequent year of the war, will be so 
 
 | " reduced by the application of the 
 
 I " money coming in from the tax on in- 
 
 j " come (after ten millions shall have 
 
 j " been raised for the service of each 
 
 " current year), as that the perma- 
 
 " nent debt, which will be left as an 
 
 " addition to the antecedent one,. 
 
 " will not exceed the annual amount 
 
 " of the whole produce of the sink- 
 
 "ing fund. This is .A TRUTH 
 
 " so important, that it cannot be too 
 
 " often or in too many shapes exhi- 
 
 " bited for the satisfaction of our 
 
 " country, for the conviction of our 
 
 " enemies, and for the information of 
 
 " Europe. If France has built hopes 
 
 " (founded ori ignorant or visionary 
 
 " calculations), on the expected over- 
 
 " throw of our financial system, and 
 
 " has trusted to the failure of 
 
 " our resources, she may now per- 
 
 " ceive what means, after so many 
 
 " years of this arduous struggle, Great 
 
 " Britain still possesses for maintain- 
 
 " ing it. It would be a slander to the 
 
 " sense and virtue of the' people, to 
 
 " suppose an abatement of that spirit 
 
 li uhich has enabled Government to 
 
 " call forth those resources. Tim 
 
 " prosperous state of the empire 
 
 " which affords the power, furnishes 
 
 " all the motive, for continuing the 
 
 " contest; a contest, the support of 
 
 " which to a successful issue is to se- 
 
 u cure us in the enjoyment of every 
 
 " national advantage, and to protect 
 
 " us from the infliction of every na- 
 
 " tional calamity. The imperious and 
 
 " awful necessity of the present crisis 
 
 ci unavoidably subjects us to heavy 
 
 " burdens. It has been said that 
 
 " they ought to be considered as a 
 
 ** SALVAGE for the remaining part 
 
 " of our property. In the consider- 
 
 " ation of property, to which it was 
 
 " applied, the figure is sufficiently 
 
 " striking; but, in other respects, the 
 
 ** metaphor, though just, is inadc- 
 
 " qnate. What Tariff shall settle the 
 
 " difference between national hide- 
 
 " pendence and inexorable tyranny ? 
 
 " between personal liberty and requU 
 
 " sitions, prisons, and murder ? be- 
 
 N2 
 
383] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 {38J 
 
 " tween the BLESSED COM- 
 " FORTS OF RELIGION, and 
 
 " the gloom v despair of Atheism ?*' 
 
 Well said, Old George Rose! 
 This, was the soft of . language, by 
 which the nation was let! on in (he 
 former war. The cant does, indeed, 
 no longer take. It has not the powers 
 that it possessed ten years ago ; but, 
 still there is cant in the nation, and 
 we ought to bo constantly upon our 
 guard against it. " Between the hies- 
 " sed comforts of religion, and the 
 " gloomy despair of Atheism /" Why 
 this, Gentlemen.' What had the 
 blessed comforts of religion to do 
 with, the matter? How, if any of 
 you had had the spirit to put the 
 question to him ; how were the blessed 
 comforts of religion to be taken from 
 you by the French Republicans ? 
 How were those blessed comforts to 
 be secured to you by a bloody Avar 
 against those Republicans? In short, 
 what had religion or atheism to do 
 with the matter? What an impudent 
 thing to tell you, that, if you did not 
 part freely with your money, you 
 would be plunged into the gloomy 
 despair of Atheism ! . What an impu- 
 dent thing Mas this ! But, let us see 
 what George Rose really meant, 
 when he was talking about the blessed 
 comforts of relit/ion ami the salvage 
 upon your property. He says " sal- 
 " vage upon O U K property ;" but, we 
 shall soon see what sort of salvage he 
 paid. You were to pay salvage, but 
 he did not tell you to whom. He did 
 not tell the " thinking people," that 
 he himself was one of. the great re- 
 ceivers and pocketers of the said sal- 
 vage. Yet, at the time when he 
 wrote he and his sons were, and they 
 now are, m the receipt annually of 
 public money to the following amount : 
 
 Ou> George Rose, as 
 Treasurer of the Navy . '. . • £. 4,324 
 
 Old George "Host.:, as 
 Clerk of the Parliaments, 
 which is a sinecure, and is 
 for his life, and is granted 
 also for the life ofliis eldest 
 son You N G G Ey J l , 0,278 
 
 Old George Ruse/— 
 Keeper of / Records in the 
 Exchequer, another sinecure 
 place 400 
 
 William Stewart Uosf, 
 second son of s Old George 
 Rose, as Clerk of the Ex- 
 chequer Pleas, winch is also 
 a sinecure place 2,1 !>? 
 
 '£. 10,13!: 
 
 £uch was the sum which " the 
 " blessed comforts of religion"' yielded 
 to this man : no wonder, then, that 
 he felt an uncommon decree of hor- 
 ror at the thought of seeing those 
 blessings supplanted by the " gloomy 
 " despair of atheism," which of course 
 being interpreted, meant the loss of 
 this ten thousand pounds a year ! So 
 you, the people «f England, yea, 
 " this most thinking people of JEji- 
 " rope," as Lord Stormont (who, 
 by-the-by, had a fat sinecure) called 
 them, were to pay George Rose and 
 his sons ten thousand pounds a year 
 in part of the means of preserving 
 themselves from the gloomy despair 
 of atheism ! But, observe, Gentle : 
 men, Old George Rose has been 
 for nearly thirty years in the receipt 
 of large sums annually of the people's 
 money. His salary as Secretary of, 
 the Treasury he had before he was 
 Treasurer of the Navy, and that was 
 4,000/. a year. It is sixteen years, 
 at least, since he got the grant of the 
 office of Clerk of the Parliaments, at 
 8,278/ a year, which is just so much 
 money for doing nothing at all, the 
 office being what is called a sinecure. 
 How long he has possessed the 400/. 
 a year as keeper of the Exchequer 
 Records 1 do not know ; but, 1 be- 
 lieve, twenty years if not more. So 
 that, I think, we shall not be far 
 from the mark, if we suppose him to 
 have possessed the whole for twenty 
 years past. What other emoluments 
 he may have had, how much more 
 of the public money he may have re- 
 ceived, 1 do not know. His son 
 
385] 
 
 LEYTEll XXVII. 
 
 [366 
 
 George is, T believe, to have. a 
 large pension for life for his trip to 
 America ; where he did not remain a 
 year, I believe, altogether. But these 
 will he mutters for another day's reck- 
 oning. For the present let us see 
 w hut the above sum amounts to in the 
 course of twenty years. The princi- 
 pal money is 202,780/. In words, 
 two hundred and two thousand, seven 
 hundred and eighty •pounds ; and if, 
 we add the interest, the amount is 
 about 323.000?. in words, THREE 
 H UN D tt V/J AN D T WENT Y 
 T J I RE L: T 1 10 D SAN D PO U NDS, 
 nearly two thirds of which has been 
 received for sinecure places, that is to 
 say, for doing nothing. 
 
 Here are " blessed comforts of re- 
 ligion r The thinking people, " the 
 most thinking people in the world" 
 were desired to believe, that un- 
 less they paid this and other such 
 sums, they would lose all the " bles- 
 " sed comforts of religion," and would 
 be plunged into the gloomy despair of 
 atheism; that, in short, if they did 
 not continue to pay these sums of 
 money, they Mould all go to hell as 
 sure as they were born. Oh, " most 
 '* thinking people f 
 
 But, Gentlemen, now let us apply 
 what has here been seen to the sub- 
 ject before- us. I observed to you, 
 before, and, indeed, proved to you, 
 the measure of Lord King was ren- 
 dered necessary by the difference be- 
 tween the value of paper and that, of 
 coin, that that difference has arisen 
 from the depreciation of the paper, 
 that that depreciation Las arisen from 
 the abundance of the paper compared 
 with the quantity of gold in circulation, 
 that that abundance has arisen from 
 the stoppage of the payments of cash 
 at the Bank, that that stoppage arose 
 from the vast increase in ike amount 
 of the National Debt and the Divi- 
 dends : all this I -have before proved 
 to you, and in a manner, I trust, that 
 yon clearly understand ; but, there is 
 still one stage further to go hack, and 
 that is, to the CAUSE of the increase 
 
 of the National Debt! Mark well ; what 
 1 say here, Gentlemen. Mark this 
 well; lor this is now, or, at least, it very 
 soon must be, the great, and indeed, 
 the only object; connected with the pti- 
 per s} stem, worthy of our attention. 
 
 In the common concerns of life, in 
 the affairs of individuals, where inte- 
 rest induces men to do the best they 
 can for the prosperity of the concern, 
 we always find, that, in the case of 
 embarrassment, arising from debt, the 
 cause of such debt is looked well into 
 by those who wish to retrieve the af- 
 fairs of the concern ; and, if they find, 
 that the debt has been incurred by 
 this or by that species of extrava- 
 gance, they set to work to put a stop 
 to such "extravagance, and, in cases 
 calling for it, they inquire who it is 
 that has derived gain from the crea- 
 tion of the Debt. And, why should 
 ice do this ? Why should not we, in 
 our present state, inquire who have, 
 if any persons have gainet] by this in- 
 crease of debt; or, in other words, 
 whether there be any persons who 
 have been receiving, for the last 
 twenty or thirty years (we may stop 
 there,) large sums of money out of the 
 loans, which loans have added to the 
 Debt? Why, in shor', should not 
 we look with this sort of eye into our 
 affairs'? The nation, this " most 
 thinking nation," seems here again 
 to be deluded. The public were get- 
 ting into motion : it was impossible to 
 keep them perfectly quiet any longer : 
 but, it was easy to throw them off 
 upon a wrong scent; and, for this 
 purpose, the halloo against Lord 
 King was set v.p. But, ''steady 1 
 men of England ! " jSbtitf* men of 
 England ! Thinking, " most' thinking 
 " people'" of England ! Do not, thus, 
 to the last, expose yourselves to the 
 ridicule and contempt of the world ! 
 Let me Beseech you not to he dupes 
 and gulls to the last moment ! 
 
 What, considering lis as rational 
 men; considering us as intellectual 
 beings; considering us as creatures 
 having souls in our bodies/ consider- 
 
3S? 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [388 
 
 ing us as something superior to 
 the beasts that perish: considering 
 ourselves in this light, what, I ask, 
 have we to do with the manner in 
 which Lord King, one of the land- 
 owners, wishes to settle with his 
 tenants for their rent ? Let him, in 
 the name of common sense ? manage 
 his affairs in any way that he likes 
 best; and let us -endeavour to retrieve 
 our affairs. With this laudable deter- 
 mination in our minds, and being con- 
 vinced that all our embarrassments 
 ?rise from oar Debts, let us lookback 
 into our books for the last twenty 
 or thirty years, and see how we 
 have got rid of our money. We have 
 always bad a, largo income, and yet 
 our Agent, for the. time being, lias 
 been borrowing money for vs, This 
 may possibly have been .necessary ; 
 but, at least, let us not act the part of j 
 less men in common life, who, in 
 in spite of circumstances enough to 
 awaken suspicion in credulity itself, 
 stiii confide in a plundering sharper. 
 Let us look into our books ; let us look 
 back into .our old accounts, and see 
 what our Agents, in succession, have 
 done with our money. Our income 
 they have expended, they have made 
 prodigious loans in our name, and have 
 charged us with interest upon them : 
 let us see, then, to whom and for what 
 they have paid away all this m< 
 for; if we should find, that they have 
 taken any part of the money to them- 
 selves or given it away, that opens to 
 us a most interesting /view of the 
 matter. » 
 
 Well, then, in looking over tbe ac- 
 count books of the nation for the last 
 twenty or>liirty years, I find several 
 large sums paid to Old George 
 Rose and his sons, and I find, too, 
 that the far greater part of it has been 
 paid them for sineenre offices, that is 
 to say noihhuj-lo-do-O ffic.es. I put 
 these sums together, 1 calculate the 
 'interest upon them, and I find them, 
 ogethcrwith the interest, amount to 
 €.323.000 or thereabouts. So ! say 
 t, here I have, then, discovered the 
 
 cause, in part, of this embarrassment 
 in our affairs. If this money had not 
 been given to the Roses, the nation 
 would not, of course, have been so 
 much in Debt, the Dividends npon the 
 interest of the Debt would not have 
 been so large, the Bank Company 
 need not have made so much paper to 
 pay the Dividends with, the run upon 
 the Bank would not have taken place 
 so soon, the stoppage of cash payments 
 would not have been called for at so 
 early a period, the depreciation would 
 not have come on so fast, the gold 
 would have been longer in arriving at 
 a premium, and Lord King would 
 not as yet, af least, have given the no- 
 tice, which has led to the Bill now be- 
 fore parliament. 
 
 I shall be asked, perhaps, what sig- 
 nifies £.323,000 when the whole of 
 the Debt amounts to £.800,000,000. 
 My answer is that millions are com- 
 posed pf ones ; and that no sums are 
 so large as those which grow out of 
 many small ones. But is this a small 
 sum? Look at it J // is a 2,500th 
 part of the whole of the National 
 Debt. Think of that! I may have 
 had an error in my estimate ; the 
 Roses may not. have had this income 
 i'or so long a time ; and I may have 
 committed an error in computing the 
 amount of the interest ; but, if I am 
 right, as I think I am, and under the 
 mark instead of over the mark, then 
 have these persons, this one family, 
 and, indeed, one member of it chiefly, 
 received, from the nation, in principal 
 and interest, a 2,500th part of the 
 whole of the National Debt at this 
 daj in existence, 
 
 Here we are upon the TRUE 
 SCENT, Gentlemen; and I am quite 
 satisfied, that all the hallooing and 
 hooting and doubling and luring in the 
 world will never, in the end, prevent 
 us • from having success in the chace. 
 A 2,500th part of the wfiole Debt 
 mind ; but, of the Debt created within 
 the last twenty or thirty years, it will 
 make about 1,800th part. So that, 
 if my calculations be correct, George 
 
389] 
 
 LETTER XXVI t 
 
 131)0 
 
 
 Rose and his Sou (without including 
 the value of the reversionary grant or 
 
 of the Envoys pension) have, during 
 the last twenty or thirty years, re- 
 ceded, in principal and interest, a sum 
 of money from the people equal to a 
 ijBQOth part of all that portion of the 
 National Debt, which has been created 
 during the last thirty ycarsl 
 
 When sinecures and pensions have 
 been talked of, you have ohserved 
 certain persons *et up an ail'ected 
 horse laugh, as if the amount was a 
 mere trifle, a thing to laugh at ; but, 
 you see, Gentlemen, that these are 
 not trifles ; that they are tilings worth 
 looking into ; and there are few per- 
 sons, I believe, who have ever had to 
 do with embarrassed pecuniary affairs, 
 who will not think with me', that the 
 sooner we look into these things the 
 
 etter. Eor, if we were, for instance, 
 find out, in searching the Nation's 
 old accounts, 1,800 persons, each of 
 whom has received of the public mo- 
 ney, in the last thirty years, a sum in 
 amount equal to that received by 
 
 tEorge Rose, then the thing is 
 made clear at once. There is no more t 
 difficulty. We, at once, see tiie cause 
 of the increase of the national Debt ; 
 or, at. least, we see the means that 
 might have been employed to prevent 
 the stoppage of the Bank cash pay- 
 ments, and the consequent depreeia- 
 tion of the paper-money. 
 
 I shall be told, may be, try some 
 
 >ersons, that I forget the services 
 which George Rose has rendered 
 to the country. That is a point, upon 
 which men may differ in opinion ; but, 
 \}ien, that claim has been satisfied by 
 
 he Salaries as Secretary of the Trea- 
 sury and Treasurer of the Navy ; so 
 that) at any rate, there are more than 
 six tenths of the whole sum to be kept 
 to the sinecure amount; and, as I said 
 before, there may have been many and 
 large emoluments of which I have,, 
 and can have, no knowledge. There 
 is, indeed, the other claim, mentioned 
 in the early part of this letter, name- 
 ly, the preserving to us, the " most 
 
 '* 'thinking people in the world," the 
 " BLESSED COMFORTS f reli- 
 " gion;" and really I must confess, 
 that, against those who thought that 
 paving taxes and creating national 
 Debts were necessary to prevent them 
 from being made Atheists by French 
 Republicans, this cjaim is good. Those 
 who could be made believe that must 
 be of so stupid and so base a nature 
 as to make them wholly unworthy the 
 attention of him, whose object is 
 happy and free ; because such people 
 must have been fashioned by nature to 
 be slaves. What a degrading idea! 
 Pay money to prevent myself from 
 being made an Atheist ! Pay taxes ; 
 sulTer in silence my estate to be taken 
 from me by piece-meal, and sit quiet 
 while I am told, that this is necessary 
 in order that the French mav not take 
 from me « the BLESSED COM- 
 " FORTS of religion!" ^Talk of cre- 
 dulity, indeed ! Talk of the pilgrims 
 who used to go and make their offer- 
 ings at the shrine of Thomas a Becket ! 
 Talk of the Priest-craft and gullibility 
 of three centuries back ! I defy any 
 man to produce me, from the annals 
 of superstition, from <uny of the re- 
 cords of human credulity or human 
 cowardice, any thing which to the cha- 
 racter of man is so degrading as 
 this is. 
 
 Yet, this wags the sort of language 
 made use of by the partizans of Pitt, 
 during the whole course of the Anti- 
 jacobin war. There were many tricks 
 played oil; but the grand, the master 
 trick, the never failing fraud, was the 
 alarm at the danger of seeing athetism 
 introduced instead of the Christian 
 Religion ; the " gloomy despair of 
 " Atheism," says George Rose, 
 instead of " the BLESSED COM- 
 " FORTS of religion !" What would 
 I give to have seen George just at 
 the moment of his finishing that sen- 
 tence ! I should like to have watehed 
 his looks, and, if possible, to have 
 heard his soliloquy! "BLESSED 
 "COMFORTS of religion !» He 
 seems totally to diave forgotten the 
 
391 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 r302 
 
 ten thousand pound a year ; but, I 
 trust, that the time is not far distant, 
 when that and all other matters of the 
 kind will be well and scrupulously at- 
 tended to. 
 
 Upon a future occasion,Gentlemen, 
 I intend entering more at large into 
 an inquiry as to what has become of 
 the money borrowed during the last 
 twenty or thirty years; but, this I 
 must defer till another opportunity. 
 Ib my next I intend closing this series 
 of letters, when I shall have seen the 
 discussions upon the Bill, now before 
 the Parliament, brought to an end. 
 That will be a natural point for me 
 and you, Gentlemen, to rest at, until 
 some/thing new and important shall 
 arise, and that that will soon be the 
 case I am pretty certain. In the 
 mean while I beg leave to subjoin a 
 a few remarks on the case of De 
 Yonge, together with a Letter from 
 himself to Lord Viscount Folke- 
 stone, and remain, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 W*. COBBETT. 
 
 State Prison, iVcu -gate, Thursday, 
 iWi July y 1811. 
 
 THE Case of De Yonge, the 
 Jew, who, in the month of August, 
 last year, was tried for selling Gui- 
 neas for more thau their nominal value 
 in Bank Notes, has proved what J 
 then said it would be, " one of the 
 •' most important that had taken place 
 
 '* for many years." 1 said, and 
 
 published, at the time, my opinion, 
 that, notwithstanding the prosecution 
 had been ordered and carried on by 
 i the Attorney General (Gibbs), and 
 though the man had been found guilty 
 by a Special Jury and in coincidence 
 with the direction of the Judge (tllen- 
 borough ;) notwithstanding all this, I 
 gave it as my decided opinion, and 
 maintained that opinion by argument, 
 that the Jew had been guilty of no 
 crime in the eye of the law of Eng- 
 land. The case, as we have before 
 seen, has since been argued before the 
 Twelve Judges, and they have pro- 
 
 nounced, that' what the man was 
 
 charged with w as not a ciHfhe. 
 
 It is a long time since this mail's pro- 
 secution began. Notice will be fund 
 of it in the Register a year and a 
 half ago. It was manifest, that the 
 poor man must have greatly suffered 
 in purse as well as in mind ; and, 
 when the Judges had declared him 
 guilty of wo crime, Lord Folkeston E, 
 who had before interested himself 
 greatly in the man's fate, and had 
 given notice, that if the case was not 
 speedily decided upon by the Judges, 
 he would bring it before Parliament ; 
 when the Judges had decided, his 
 lordship complained, in the House of 
 Commons, that the poor man bad sui- 
 fered greatly, and ought to have com- 
 pensation made him. The Attorney 
 General answered, that every man 
 was liable to the same sort of incon- 
 venience and injnry. To be sure, 
 said his lordship, every man is liable 
 to have a false accusation preferred 
 against him ; every man is liable to 
 be prosecuted without stfffifcieii* 
 grounds ; but, this was a singula; case : 
 the prosecution was ordered by the 
 King's own Attvnwy General; and ; 
 what is more, the crime, as it was 
 called, was, by the government Soli- 
 citor, procured to be committed; so 
 that the man was prevailed upon by 
 the prosecutors to commit what the) 
 deemed a great crime ; they tempted 
 him to commit the crime; they, in 
 met, made the crime, ' or the supposed 
 crime, that they 1 intended to prosecute, 
 and that they actually did prosecute. 
 This is by no means a common case; 
 it is by no means one of those vexa- 
 tious and groundless prosecutions to 
 which any man is liable from the ma- 
 lice or mistake of others. This was 
 a prosecution by the law officers of ihe 
 Crown, and by the Attorney General 
 in particular ; and, all the sufferings 
 of De Yonge have arisen from the 
 Attorney General's not knowing the law 
 upon this point. It is no crime, to 
 be sure, to be ignorant of the law upon 
 any point; nor is it to be ^supposed 
 
393] 
 
 LETTER XXVII. 
 
 [394 
 
 that Attorney Generals are conjurors 
 any more than other men ; but, when 
 they seek to get the grounds of a pro- 
 secution ; when they get a man to com- 
 mit a crime (or when those under 
 them do it), they may have an oppor- 
 tunity of prosecuting it ; when this is 
 the case, there can be no doubt, 1 
 think, that they ought to know the law 
 before they proceed. And, I am 
 quite sure, that, in all such cases, 
 where there is an acquittal at last, the 
 suffering party ought to be indemnified; 
 for his sufferings and losses. For, if 
 this be not so, what man is safe from 
 utter ruin ? Who may not be ruined ? 
 What De Yonge has suffered we shall 
 now see, in a Letter, which lie has 
 had the gratitude to address to Lord 
 Folkestone, and which, as being a 
 very clear and modest statement of 
 his case, and as a document connected 
 with the great subject of which we 
 are treating, I here insert. — 
 
 " My Lord; I should be wanting 
 " in gratitude were I to omit, return - 
 " ing you my most sincere thanks for 
 your disinterested endeavours on 
 my behalf, and I assure your Lord- 
 ship I do not feel the less grateful 
 because they were unsuccessful. — 
 Your Lordship will perhaps ex- 
 cuse me if I mention a few circum- 
 stances in my case of which I think 
 I am justified in complaining, and 
 particularly as Mr. Attorney Gene- 
 ral asserted that I had suffered no 
 material hardships. — In the first 
 place, I did not seek the barter or 
 " exchange which formed the subject 
 " of the accusation against me, the 
 " plan was laid by the Mint Solicitors 
 " to tempt me to the bargain, and 
 " then to prosecute me. — Pursuant to 
 " this arrangement, a foreigner was 
 " employed, who came to my house 
 " as the interpreter to another man, in 
 " his company ; they stated, that they 
 " were recommended to me to make 
 " the purchase, and, after urging me 
 " to deal with them, officers came into 
 " my house, seized me and my money, 
 
 " and, at a late hour in the evening, 
 " 1 was huriied from my family to a 
 '* loathsome prison, (the Poultry 
 * Counter) and there kept three days 
 ' and three nights in custody without 
 ' bail being admitted, At length, on 
 ' the final examination, I was dis- 
 ' charged on giving bail to a large 
 1 amount, which I had some difficulty 
 1 in procuring ; and had I not been 
 [ able to obtain them, I must have 
 remained in custody 18 months, the 
 period this question has been pend- 
 ing. Lastly, the expence and anxiety 
 I have sustained has been enormous, 
 some through the solicitors for the 
 prosecution, for, a fier going through 
 all the nesessary forms of law to 
 bring the first Indictment against 
 me to issue, and, indeed, when it 
 stood for trial, the prosecutors moved 
 to quash it and prefer another, be- 
 cause they had misi ecited the pro- 
 clamation. — A second Indictment 
 Mas accordingly found, and this also 
 1 proceeded in, until it was coming 
 on for trial, at the Old Bailey, when, 
 to my great mortification and as- 
 tonishment, it was removed by the 
 prosecutors into the Court of King's 
 Bench, by which means, 1 had, as 
 it were, my defence again to com- 
 mence. — Being in very moderate 
 circumstances, and having a family 
 to support, I have necessarily sus- 
 tained many deprivations in conse- 
 quence of the great law expences 
 incurred in defending myself against 
 this accusation, and, I fear, it will 
 be a considerable time before I can 
 recover myself from the injuries I 
 have sustained. — I will not further 
 trouble your Lordship, but con- 
 clude with observing, that I hum- 
 bly conceive the Law Officers of the 
 great public bodies and of Govern- 
 ment, having, as they must, the best 
 means of information on legal points, 
 ought to be somewhat more circum- 
 spect and accurate in their expound- 
 ing acts of parliament, before they 
 distress and bear down an humble* 
 
395] 
 
 " individual and expend the public 
 " money, by liar raising and ground- 
 " less prosecutions. — I am, my Lord, 
 u with the greatest respect, your most 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. [396 
 
 and very humble Sej* 
 
 obedient 
 vant, 
 
 James De Young." 
 
 107, Houndsdi'ch, 17 tli July, 1S11 
 
 tETTER XXVIII. 
 
 looked upon tbe Bullion Report as likely to lead to what would be likely to secure the country from the 
 natural dSu^equeoces of that o-frwhslmitig corruption, which [ regarded as the. fruit of the paper 
 system ; a.id, -i5 I h«vp the accomplishment of this great object deeply M. heart; as I look upon the h;»p. 
 piness and honour of my country as of f<ir greater value to me trwit any other woildly possession, I 
 said, and I stiil say, that the bullion Report has given me more pleasure than I should derive from 
 being made the owner of the whole of Hampshire. As> to any idea of a party nature, 1 shall, I am sure, 
 be believed, when I sav, that I <\.d v.»\. care one straw to what party the Committee belonged, If [ had 
 a wis:i as to psrty, It Certainly would be, that «o chanac of i;i?nistr>t should taktjilacc; for, without 
 prejudice to the OTTS, who, I think, would do the tlnn> full as will with a little more time, I arn 
 <;uite satisfied, that the present people, will do it as ntutly and as quickly, as any luasouable nr»au can 
 expect." POLITICAL REGISTER, Vpl. XVII I. p. 427, Sept. 25nd, 1810. 
 
 Progress of Lord Stanhope's Bill — Effects of its Provisions — Mr. Brougham's Resolutions 
 — The Justice of Lord King's Claim insisted on — Illustrated by the Grants to the King 
 and the Additions to the Pay of the Judges. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 THE Bill is past! And, be yon 
 assured, that the die is cast! When 
 I wrote, the passage, which I have 
 UJten for my motto to this letter, I 
 did expeqt to sec what I hinted at in 
 the close ot' that passage ; but, I must 
 confess, that I did not expect the pro- 
 gress to have been quite so rapid as it, 
 been. Tor the future my calcula- 
 tions will he more likely to keep pace 
 with events. 
 
 Well, the Bill of Lord Stanhope is 
 now become <f fatfC VVe will, there- 
 fore, take a short view of the rise and 
 progress of rt; and, when v,e have so 
 done, we will examine its provisions, 
 and endeavour to point out its conse- 
 imences. 
 
 The Bill was brought into the House 
 of Lords and read a first time on the 
 27fh of June, when no division took 
 place, and when an intimation was 
 zivon by the ministers, that they 
 should oppose it. On the seeond of 
 July, it. was rtud a seeond time, and, 
 being now supported by the ministers, 
 the question for the second reading 
 was carried, 36 for it, 12 against it. 
 On the 8th of July, it was read a 
 
 third time and passed, 43 for it and 
 16 against it, In the Honourable 
 House, it was read a first time on the 
 9th of July, and, upon a division on 
 the question, there appeared 64 for it 
 and 19 against it. On the 15th of 
 July it was read a second time, 133 
 for it, and 35 against it. On the 17ih 
 of July it went through a committee 
 of the House, an.), on the 19th of July, 
 it was read a third time and passed 
 with the amendments, relating to the 
 penalties. Oil the 22nd of July, the 
 amendments introduced by the Com- 
 mons were agreed to by the Lords. 
 On tin; 24th of July it received the 
 Royal Assent by Commission; and 
 thus it is become A LAW ; thus a 
 new penal law has been added to the 
 almost endless number already in ex- 
 istence. Many hundreds of the peo- 
 ple of this country ha\ e been banished, 
 or put to death, for imitating the pro- 
 missory notes of the Bank Company; 
 and now the people are liable to be 
 punished for passing them for what 
 they mag deem their worthy though 
 they be their own property. 
 
 The provisions of the Bill are not 
 numerous : it is a pithy affair The 
 
 
LETTER XXVIIL 
 
 [398 
 
 first, part relates to the passing of coin 
 and paper, and the second to the re- 
 covery of rents. It will be best to 
 insert the words. Those of the first 
 part are as follows : " Be it enacted, 
 " that from and after the passing of 
 '* this Act, no person shall receive or 
 v ' pay for any gold coin lawfully cur- 
 " rent within the realm, any more in 
 " value, benefit, or advantage, than 
 " the true lawful value of such coin, 
 " whether such value, benefit, profit 
 " or advantage be paid, made, or taken 
 " in lawful money, or in any uote or 
 "• notes, bill or bills of the Governor 
 " and Company of the Bank of Eng- 
 " land, or in any silver token or 
 " tokens issued by the said Governor 
 " and Company, or by any or all of 
 " the said means wholly or partly, or 
 " by any device, shift, or contrivance 
 " whatsoever. And be it further^n- 
 " acted, by the authority aforesaid, 
 " that no person shall by any device, 
 " shift, or contrivance, whatsoever, 
 " receive or pay any note or notes, 
 " bill or bills of the Governor and 
 " Company of the Bank of England, 
 " as of less value in money, except 
 " lawful discount, than the sum ex- 
 " pressed therein, to be thereby made 
 | " so payable." Thus it stood as 
 it went from the Lords. There 
 ! were, I believe, some trifling verbal 
 \ alterations made in the Honourable 
 House, who also added the penalty, 
 I and made it a misdemeanour to dis- 
 j obey this part of the law ; of course, 
 offenders against it may be punished 
 i by Jine and imprisonment, or, as I am, 
 by both, at the discretion, perhaps, 
 of the Judges ; but, of this I am 
 not sure, not having, as yet, seen the 
 Act in its finished state. 
 
 Thus, then, the Bank Company, 
 after having applied to the Govern- 
 ment to issue an Order fn Council, 
 after having subsequently applied for 
 acts of Parliament, to screen them 
 against the consequences of refusing 
 to pay their promissory notes in coin, 
 now sec a law passed making it cri- 
 
 minal, for any one to get rid of any of 
 those notes that he may happen to 
 possess for their real worth in coin ! 
 
 Tin's law does what the laws al- 
 ready in existence could not do in the 
 case of De Yonge; or, at least, it 
 attempts to do it. It forbids and 
 punishes the selling of gold coin for 
 more than its nominal worth in Bank 
 Notes, which was precisely what 1)e 
 Yonge did. But, do you believe, 
 Gentlemen, that this will put a stop 
 to the traffick? I should think, that 
 nobody could believe this; and, if 
 any one were inclined to believe it, 
 he need only consider the little effect 
 produced by the conviction of De 
 Yonge to convince him of the con- 
 trary. That gentleman was found 
 guilty of the crime of selling guineas 
 at Twenty two shillings and sixpence 
 each, and, while he lay under that 
 conviction, the price of the guinea 
 rose to Twenty six or Twenty seven 
 shitting*. This is a pretty good proof 
 that the price of the guinea is not to 
 be kept down by penal law r s. But, 
 if the law should put an end to all 
 purchases of gold coin in Banh of 
 England notes, it cannot have any 
 such effect with regard to Country 
 Bank Notes. Suppose, for instance, 
 that one of yen had a fancy for a 
 hundred guineas to lay snugly aside, 
 and I had them to dispose of; the 
 price would be 135/., but, say we, 
 the bargain must not take place in 
 notes of the Governor and Company 
 in Threadneedle Street, for so says 
 Lord Stanhope's law? But the law 
 docs not say, that such bargains shall 
 not be made in Country Bank notes ; - 
 and therefore, you give me 135/. hi 
 the notes of Paperkite and Co. which 
 notes will, in all probability, answer my 
 purpose full as well as the London notes, 
 or better if I want to pay them away 
 in the country ; and, if they should 
 not answer my purpose quite so well, 
 what have 1 to do but go to the 
 country bankei and get them changed 
 for Bank of England notes ? I keep 
 
199] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [400 
 
 the country bank notes if I please, and 
 if I. please I change them. This is 
 one v ay, then, and ^a most effectual 
 \v;iy too, of rendering the Bill of no 
 use as to its main apparent object, 
 
 But, how many are the ways, in 
 which such a law may, must, and will 
 he evaded? It is a law intended to 
 make people part with their property 
 for less than it is worth in the one 
 case, and to make them obtain for it 
 more than it is worth in the other 
 case. The old adage of '* a thing is 
 " worth what it will briny* is, by this 
 law, to be totally destroyed after 
 having lived in the world ever since 
 purchase, or even barter, was known 
 amongst men. According to this law, 
 a. thing, in one case will he worth 
 wore than it is to he suffered to bring, 
 and, in the other ease, a thing will 
 jiot bring so mveh as it is to be as- 
 sorted to he worth, it is a law, in 
 phort, to compel men to dispose of 
 certain articles of their property (if 
 they dispose of them at all) at a price 
 fixed on by the Government; and is 
 bach a law as never was heard of be- 
 fore, except in France, during the 
 times of Robespierre and Danton and 
 Marat. It is, as Mr. BROUGHAM 
 has called it, in ins Resolutions, a law 
 of maximum- a> to gold coin; but, it 
 is a law, which cannot be generally 
 enforced, and which can have only a 
 porary and partial elfect, if any 
 at all, in cheeking the traffic in coin 
 ist paper; and to whatever ex- 
 tent it is efficient; it will be efficient 
 in dining all the coin out of the king- 
 |!ofn. excepting such portion as peo- 
 ple are enabled t<> hwirti\ for, if I 
 have a guinea, or any thing else, that 
 is worth V shillings, and if there be 
 a law which prevents me front gel 
 at present* in England moro than 21 
 shiiliogs for i;. I shall certainly hOnrd 
 it 'till I cangetibe worth of it, if i 
 hav, on safe inearth of sending it 
 abroad. "Where is the man who will 
 not do t'ais } I am sure, that there is 
 /]<(. a man WHOiigst vou who would 
 
 not do it. Yes, I am sure, that 
 
 there is not one single fanner in aH 
 
 I'nghnid, who will not hoard a guinea 
 
 rather than exchange it for a bank 
 
 note of twenty one shillings. So that, 
 
 as I have observed to you before, 
 
 as has been xery well expressed 
 
 j in Mr. Brougham's Resolutions, 
 
 I this law will, as far as it shall be, 
 
 j efficient, drive the little remains of 
 
 ! gold coin into hoards or out of the 
 
 country, and, by preventing a free 
 
 I and open and unrestrained competi- 
 
 i Hon between the coin and the paper, 
 
 will, as far as it has effect, prevent 
 
 the operation of the only cure for the 
 
 evil of a depreciated paper money.* 
 
 * It was on tlie 19th oi July, that Mr. 
 Broigham proposed his Resolutions ' U 
 the House of Commons. They were ?><• 
 pulivtd: and, gentlemen, I beseech you to 
 compare them with such resolutions as were 
 agreed to by that House. These Resolutions 
 are well worthy of attention, containing a^ 
 they do what will become a memorable 
 protest against the law, which is now the 
 subject of discussion, and which will be a 
 subject of observation with our children, 
 if any trace of it shall remain beyond our 
 own times. 
 
 I. That hy the Law and Constitution of 
 these Realms, it is the undoubted ri^ht of 
 every man 1o sell, or otherwise dispose of 
 his property for whatever he deems to be 
 its value, or whatever consideration he 
 rhttses to accept. And that every man 
 possessed of a Bank Note, or other secu- 
 rity tor the payment of money, has an un- 
 doubted ri^ht to give it away tor nothing, 
 or in exchange Tor whatever sum of money 
 
 | he pleases-, or if he cannot obtain what he 
 demands, to retain possession of it. 
 
 II. That any statute, having for its oh- 
 ! ji ct to restrain 'this ii»ht,would be contra r\ 
 
 i to the principles of the British Constitution, 
 and a flagrant yioh>n'on of the most sacred 
 Rights of Property, and the ancient and 
 inalienable Liberties of the people. 
 
 III. That any staime, having tor its oh 
 ject to picv.-iiMhc Bank, or other Paper 
 Ciiiioncv of the Country horn hcinj> ex- 
 changed pgannst the lawful money of _nV 
 Kealm below a certain rate, vrould, if it 
 
 I could he carried into effect, cause the 
 j lawful money of the realm to disappear, 
 sand would, "in proportion to its efiieaey, 
 
 preclude the application of the most ap- 
 j propriate rcrricdhs for the present den 
 
 incut in the circulation of the country. 
 
401] 
 
 LETTER XXVIIL 
 
 [40* 
 
 I have before observed, that, in all 
 
 ready-money transactions, this law 
 mast be nugatory, and I have given 
 an instance of a farmer bavin"- a pig 
 to sell at market. It will, of course, 
 be the same in all other bargains for 
 ready-money ; and, even in cases of 
 credit, amongst friends and neigh- 
 bours, the same will take place. Some 
 roguery may be, in this respect, cre- 
 ated by the law, bat the law will 
 never compel men to give the guinea 
 an* receive the note at their nominal 
 value, one compared with the other. 
 Tn that place, where, of. all others, 
 one might expect to see the disposi- 
 sitions of men concur with this law; 
 [ mean, the Stock Exchange, a dis- 
 tinction between coin and paper is 
 already made ; for Stock has fre- 
 
 V. That the free exchange of the lawful 
 ey of the realm with the paper cur- 
 
 ey on such terms as the holders of eueh 
 may think proper to settle among them- 
 selves, is not only the undoubted right of 
 the subject, but affords the best means of 
 restoring the circulation of the country to 
 its sound and natural state, by establishing 
 two prices for all commodities, w whensoever 
 the one currency is from any canst* depre- 
 ciated below the other. 
 
 V. That no law whatsoever can alter the 
 real value of the paper currency in rela- 
 tion to the lawful money of the realm, nor 
 alter the real value of either kind of cur- 
 rency, in relation to all oth«>r commodities ; 
 and that any attempt to fix the rates at 
 which paper and coin shall pass current, 
 must, in proportion to its success, interfere 
 with the just and legal execution of all con- 
 tracts already existing, without the possi- 
 bility of affecting the terms upon which 
 contracts shall be made in time to come. 
 
 VI. That it is the bounden duty of the 
 Commons House of Parliament, as the 
 guardians of the rights of the people, to 
 discounteuance and resist a scheme which 
 has for its immediate objects the establish- 
 ment of a maximum in the money-trade of 
 the realm, and the dissolution ot ihe obliga- 
 tions already contracted by numerous 
 classes of the community, but which has 
 for its groundwork principles leading to an 
 universal law of maximum, and the infrac- 
 tion of every existing contract for the pay- 
 ment, of money ; and that a Bill touching 
 the gold coin which has lately been brought 
 from the Lords, has all the said objects, 
 und proceed* upon ihe said principles. 
 
 quently been bought with guineas at 
 j\ price much lower than the rate of 
 the day, which rate is regulated upon 
 tiie supposition that paper-money is 
 to be the medium. And, who is to 
 prevent this, without a general law ot 
 maximum; that is to say, a law put- 
 ting a price upon all commodit 
 whatever, and punishing men for sell- 
 ing them for more than the price so 
 fixed? This present law, therefore, 
 is nothing of itself. It is nothing un- 
 accompanied with a maximum of 
 prices. Those who have begun in 
 this path, must keep on, and go the 
 whole length, or they do notlung at 
 all, except drive coin out of the coun- 
 try or into the hoards, and, perhaps, , 
 in many cases, cause a breach of con- 
 tracts between man and man. To & 
 maximum they must come at last, or 
 what is dona will be of no effect at 
 all. 
 
 The other provision of the Bill* re- 
 lates to distress for rent, and is as fol- 
 lows : " And be it enacted; by 
 " the authority aforesaid, that in case ' 
 " any person shall proceed by dii- 
 " tress to recover from any tenant 
 V or other person liable to such dis- 
 " tress, any rent or sum of money 
 " due from such tenant or other per- 
 " son, it shall be lawful for such te- 
 " nant or other person, in every 
 " such case, to tender notes of ihe 
 " Governor and Company of the 
 " Bank of England, expressed to 
 " be payable on demand, to the 
 " amount and in discbarge of such 
 " rent or sum so due to the person 
 " on whose behalf such distress is 
 " made, or to the officer or person 
 " making such distress on his behalf; 
 " and in case such tender shall be ac- 
 " cepted, or in case such tender shall 
 " be made and refused, the goods 
 " taken in such distress shall be forth- 
 " with returned to the 'party distressed 
 " upon, unless the party distraining 
 " and refusing to accept such tender 
 " shall insist that a greater sum is 
 i ' due than the sum so tendered, and 
 
403] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [404 
 
 u in such ease tlic parties shall pro- 
 " ceed as usual in such cases ; but if 
 u it shall appear that no more was 
 " due than the sum so tendered then 
 " the party who tendered such sum 
 " " shall be entitled to the costs of all 
 " subsequent proceedings : Provided 
 " always, that the person to whom 
 " such rent or sum of money is due 
 " shall have and be entitled to all such 
 " other remedies for the recovery 
 " thereof, exclusive of distress, as such 
 " person had or was entitled to at the 
 " time of making suck distress, if 
 "such person shall not think proper 
 ** to accept such tender so made as 
 " aforesaid: Provided also, that no- 
 " thing herein contained shall affect 
 " the right of any tenant, or other 
 '* such person as aforesaid, haviug 
 " such right to replevy the goods 
 9 taken in distress, in case, without 
 " making such tender as aforesaid, he 
 
 " slAll so think fit." Now, what 
 
 does this part of the Bill effect? It 
 has frequently been said, that the 
 tenantry ought to be protected, and 
 Lord Stanhope has all along said, 
 that his object was to protect the te- 
 nant. What, then, has this Bill done 
 for the tenant? If the thing leased 
 be a farm, or lands of any sort, dis- 
 tress is not the mode that the land- 
 lord would pursue. He has other 
 remedies, and those much more ef- 
 ficient than that of distress. So that, 
 in fact, this law allbrds no protection 
 at all to the tenant. 
 
 But, though this law will do the 
 tenant no good, it may, and, in *ome 
 cases, will, do him a great deal of 
 harm, especially as the minister 
 has avowed his intention of making 
 the bank notes a legal tender if this 
 law should prove insufficient for the 
 object in view.- (Tadert such cir- 
 cumstances, no man in his senses, will 
 let a new lease, or renew an old 
 one; for, though a corn-rent might 
 possibly serve to guard him against 
 the total loss of his estate, still he will 
 be afraid, and he will think it the 
 safest way to let no lease at all. Te- 
 
 nants for term of years will, therefore, 
 become tenants at will, and will have 
 their rents raised upon them every 
 year agreeably to the depreciation of 
 money and the rise in prices; and, 
 another consequence will be, that 
 landlords will, whenever it is practi- 
 cable, take the lands into their own 
 possession and use, seeing that even 
 a yearly letting may, in the times that 
 may arise, become dangerous ; for, if 
 a law be passed to-day in consequence 
 of a single landlord's demanding his 
 rent according to law, what have not 
 landlords to fear? The safest course, 
 therefore, that they can pursue is to 
 keep, as far -as they are able, their 
 farms in their own hands ; and this, 
 to a very great extent, they certainly 
 will do. So that this law, as far as it 
 is efficient, will produce a virtual vio- 
 lation of contracts and a discourage- 
 ment to agriculture. 
 
 During the discussions upon this 
 measure, several hints were thrown 
 out as to the courts of law setting their 
 faces against those who should de- 
 mand payment in gold. Sir Samuel 
 Uomilly observed upon what Mr. 
 Manning said about the law being too 
 strong for the landlords, that it alarm- 
 ed him to hear such language; and 
 that he thought it dangerous in the 
 extreme to expose men to such an 
 uncertainty as to the real meaning of 
 the Jaw. But Mr. Fuller and Lord 
 ! Stanhope, as appears from the re- 
 j ports of the newspapers, came to the 
 point at once. The former is report- 
 ed to have said, in the debate of the 
 I 9>h of July, that " he wonderecL to 
 " hear any doubt of the solvency 
 11 of Government; and Government 
 " surely had ships and stores, and 
 " plenty of valuables besides. He 
 " (Mr. Fuller) did not understand the 
 " objects of the persons who had 
 " brought forward the question, but 
 " he was convinced they were.some- 
 '• thing sinister. (A laugh.) As to 
 " Bank notes, if any landlord was 
 a offered payment in them, and he 
 " wanted gold, he (Mr. Fuller) did 
 
405] 
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 [40G 
 
 " not know what might be clone ; but 
 '* of this be was sure, that THE 
 " WHOLE TENANTRY OF 
 " THE COUNTRY WOULD 
 " MEET AND TOSS HIM IN 
 " A BLANKET, (laughing.)" And 
 the latter is reported to have said, 
 in the House of Lords, on the 22nd 
 of July, that, " his Noble Friend 
 " (Earl of Lauderdale) had called the 
 " Bill a legislative HINT ; but it 
 *' was a pretty broad hint, too. He 
 " did not know whether his Noble 
 " Friend had been educated at any 
 " of the Universities : but he believed 
 " not at Oxford. There was a story 
 " there about a broad hint, which they 
 '* called " John Keale's broad kbit." 
 " There was a man that John Keale 
 " did not like ; John gave him a hint 
 " that he did not like his company : 
 " but he would not go away. "What 
 " " did vou do, then," says one to 
 " John T " Do," says John Keale, 
 h "why, I kicked him down stairs. 
 " " That was a pretty broad hint ! ! V 
 u (laughing.) So he, (Earl Stan- 
 " hope) had given Lord King a hint; 
 11 and if he followed up this business, 
 " why, when next Session came, he 
 " would give him a BROAD hint ! I 
 " (a laugh.)" Quite a wit, I declare : ! 
 " Quite a sea-wit, Mr. Benjamin !" j 
 Well, you know, Gentlemen, that I 
 there is a time for all thing;, and, oi I 
 course, a time for laughing. But, it 
 is well worthy qf remark, that this 
 war (for it is the same, that began in 
 1793) was waged in the " PRE- 
 " SEIWATION OF' LIBERTY 
 " AND PROPERTY AGAINST 
 -REPUBLICANS AND LE- 
 " VELLERS," that was the title of 
 the Association at the Crown and 
 Anchor. This is well worthy of re- 
 mark ; now is the time to make such 
 remark. This war has now been 
 going on eighteen years ; this war for 
 the support of order and law and pro- 
 perty, and now, behold, Me hear, in 
 the two Houses of Parliament, the 
 supporters of this system, talk of toss- 
 ing a landlord in a blanket and hick-> 
 
 ing him down stairs, if he should per- 
 sist in demanding payment of his 
 rents agreeably to the. contract in his 
 leases ! 
 
 Gentlemen, if you have read the 
 reports of the debates in Parliament, 
 upon this subject, you must have ob- 
 served, that the people in the ministry 
 have very loudly disapproved of the 
 conduct of Lord King for demand- 
 ing of his tenants payment in gold, or 
 in notes in sufficient amount to make 
 up for the depreciation of money. 
 Now, observe; they have brought for- 
 ward, several times, propositions for 
 large grants to the King and to others, 
 on account of the rise in prices, 
 winch, as I have already explained 
 to you is only another name for the 
 depreciation of money. I beg you to 
 mark well what I am now going to 
 state to you; because it will give you 
 a clear insight into this whole matter. 
 
 In 1802, eight years ago, a large 
 sum of money, no less a sum than 
 990,053/. (why not have made it a 
 round million ?) was granted by Par- 
 liament " to the King to discharge 
 " the arrears and debts due upon the 
 " CIVIL LIST on the 5th of Ja- 
 " nuary, 1802." The Civil List, Gen- 
 tlemen, is the King's establishment of 
 servants and oilicers of d liferent sorts, 
 and, in short, of all his expences. 
 The King had a permanent allowance, 
 fixed by Act of Parliament, cf 
 800,000/. a year for these purposes; 
 but, in 1802 (the time we are now 
 speaking of) the Civil List had got 
 into debt; and the then Minister, 
 Addington, taking advantage of the 
 national satisfaction at the Peace of 
 Amiens, proposed a grant of the 
 above sum, for the purpose of paying 
 off this debt. Mr. Fox and others 
 opposed the grant; but it was sup- 
 ported by Pitt, George Rose and 
 the majority, and upon a division 
 here were 22(5 for it and only 51 
 against it. And, let it be borne in 
 mind, that the grant was justified by 
 Pitt on this ground : that it did not 
 make an increase to the Civil List 
 
4& ] 
 
 PAP EH AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [408 
 
 equal in proportion " to the increase of 
 " the price of commodities, and to 
 " THE DEPRECIATION OF 
 " MONEYS" So Jie said; so they 
 all said; and the assertion was sanc- 
 tioned by a vote of tlie House grant- 
 ing 990,053/. to the King. Now, 
 then, if the King was to have a grant 
 like this on account of the past depre- 
 ciation of money, why should Lord 
 King be reviled, why should he he 
 tossed in a blanket, or kicked down 
 stairs, for demanding payment in such 
 a way as to give him some securi- 
 for future depreciation of money, 
 especially when we consider, that he 
 only demanded the fulfilment of a 
 bargain, while the grant to the King 
 v, as over and above the fulfilment of a 
 bargain made with him by the public ? 
 
 But, did the demands for the King 
 stop here? Very far from it; for, in 
 the year 1804 (only two years after- 
 wards), Pitt, who was then come 
 back into power, called for another 
 grant for a similar purpose, to no less 
 an amount than 591,842/. 3s. 10±d. 
 How scrupulously exact the Gentle- 
 man was ! To a halfpenny, you see ! 
 Oh, wondrous financier! This grant 
 also was made, and without any divi- 
 sion of the House, though it was-stre- 
 nuously opposed by Sir Francis 
 Burdktt, upon the ground of its 
 being a departure from a bargain with 
 the public, and of the practice of 
 making such grants being calculated 
 to render the Royal Family absolutely 
 dependent upon the Minister of the 
 day. This grant also was justified 
 upon the ground that money had de- 
 preciated and the prices of all commo- 
 dities increased. This grant was ac- 
 companied with a permanent addition 
 to the Civil List of 60,000/. a year; 
 and, indeed, the annual sum, wow paid 
 by the people on that account is 
 
 958,000/. exclusive of 295,968/. Is. 
 
 ${d. in allowances and pensions to the 
 Royal Family, besides the amount of 
 sinecure places and military offices 
 that some members of the Family 
 enjoy ; the propriety or impropriety 
 of none of which I am discussing, 
 but it is necessary to state them in 
 order to enable you to judge of the 
 fairness of the attacks upon Lord 
 King, who only wanted a bare ful- 
 filment of contract with regard to his 
 own private estate ; who only wanted 
 to save himself from ruin from the 
 future depreciation of money, and 
 who gave up to his tenants all they 
 had gained from him by the past. 
 
 Now, Gentlemen, I beg you to ob- 
 serve, that this second grant to the 
 King; this grant of £591,842 was to 
 pay off what he had lost in two yean 
 by the depreciation of money; and, 
 you will also observe, and mark it 
 well, that these are two out of the 
 nine years that have elapsed since Lord 
 King let the Estate respecting the rent 
 of which you have seen his notice, to 
 his tenant. The King, in 1802, had 
 a fixed allowance of £.800,000 a year 
 out of the public money ; and at the ' 
 end of only two years, his advisers find 
 him to require a grant of £.591,842 
 on account, of the depreciation 'of 
 money ; that is to say, £,295,921 in 
 each of the two years. More than 
 30 per cent, per annum! And, is 
 Lord King, after having silently suf- 
 fered under the gradual depreciation 
 for nine years, to be attacked in this 
 manner; is he to be lumped along 
 with Jews and Pedlars and Smug- 
 glers; is he to have a hint that he will 
 be kicked down stairs or tossed in a 
 blanket, because he now, when he sees 
 the guinea selling at 25, or 26, or 27*. 
 is resolved to have a fulfilment oi 
 his bargain, and not to be wholly 
 
 ©nmrtJ at g-tatfonew' $aH* 
 
 Printed by W. Moliveux, 5, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane; Published by W. Cobuet 
 Jub. No. 8, Catherine Street, Strand: and Retailed-at No. 192, Strand. 
 
N°- 140-.COBBETTS PAPER AGAINST GOLD.— [Price Two-Pence. 
 
 
 [409 
 
 ruined by this depreciation of \ 
 
 money ? 
 
 But, Gentlemen, this principle of 
 augmenting allowances out of the 
 public treasure, on account of the 
 depreciation of money, has not been 
 confined to the King and his family. 
 ft lias been acted upon in almost all 
 the departments under the Govern- 
 ment, the army and navy excepted, 
 where, as far as relates to the Com- 
 missioned Officers especially, little 
 augmentation lias taken place. I will, 
 however, here confine myself to one 
 particular class of persons, namely, 
 THE JUDGES, and I do it the 
 rather because it has been hinted 
 pretty broadly, that the Courts of Law 
 would set their faces against the efforts 
 of those, who might attempt to enforce 
 payment in gold. 
 
 Be it known to you, then, Gentle- 
 men, that the Judges' pay has had two 
 lifts since the Bank stopped its pay- 
 ments in gold and silver. The first 
 was, in the year 1799, two years only 
 after the passing of our famous Bank 
 Restriction Act. The two Chief 
 Judges, whose incomes were very 
 large, underwent no augmentation by 
 Act of Parliament; but, the pay of 
 all the rest was augmented by the 
 Act, Chapter 110, of the 39th year 
 of the King's reign; and, no trifling 
 augmentation did their pay receive, it 
 being upon an average nearly, if not 
 quite, half the whole amount of their 
 former pay. The Chief Baron of the 
 Exchequer had £.1,000 a year added 
 to his former £.3,000 a year; and all 
 the nine Puisne Judges had £.1,000 
 each added to their former pay, which 
 was, in some cases a little more and in 
 some cases a little less than £.2,000 a 
 year before. And, besides this, the 
 Act enabled the King, that is to say, 
 his advisers, to make a permanent 
 
 yf. MoHofttax. Printer, Bream's Buildings, 
 Chancer j Lane.l 
 
 [410 
 
 provision for any judge that might be- 
 come superannuated, and it fixed on 
 great pensions for them in this case, 
 which pensions can, in consequence 
 of that Act, be granted without any 
 particular consent of the Parliament, 
 which was not the case before. Mr. 
 Tierney opposed this measure in a 
 very able manner. He said, that the 
 House of Commons would thus lose 
 all check and controul as to such re- 
 munerations ; and that the influence of 
 the Crown would be thus greatly and 
 most fearfully enlarged. The mea- 
 sure was, however, adopted; and thus 
 the Judges, in Scotland as well as in 
 England, received an ample compensa- 
 tion for the depreciation of money, up 
 to the year 1797. 
 
 Having gone on with this pay for 
 ten years, it appears to have been 
 thought time to give them another lift , 
 and, accordingly an Act for this pur- 
 pose Mas passed in the year 1809, of 
 winch the people seem to have taken 
 not the least notice. It seems to have 
 escaped every body's attention; but, 
 indeed, the Acts now passed are so 
 numerous, that it is next to impossible 
 for any single man to be able to pay 
 attention to them all, or to a quarter 
 part of them. This Act, which is 
 Chapter 127 of the 49th year of the 
 King's reign, makes an addition of 
 £.1,000 a year, to the pay of the 
 Chief Baron of the Exchequer; also 
 an addition of £.1,000 a year, to each 
 of the nine Puisne Judges; and it 
 gives an additional £.400 a year to 
 each of the Welsh Judges. Thus, at 
 the end of twelve years from the time 
 when the Bank stopped paying in 
 gold, the pay of the English Judges 
 was nearly doubled; and, shall my 
 Lord King be represented as a pedlar, 
 a jew, and a smuggler, because, at the 
 end of nine years of depreciation of 
 
4U1 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [412 
 
 money, he wishes to put a stop to the 
 ruinous progress ? And shall he be 
 threatened with the hostility of these 
 same Judges, in case he should attempt 
 to enforce his legal claim? Shall he 
 be told about being fought off in the 
 Courts, and about the law being too 
 strong for him? 
 
 At the time when these Acts were 
 passed for augmenting the pay of the 
 Judges, one of the arguments was, 
 that such augmentation was necessary 
 to support the DIGNITY of the 
 office of Judge. Now, in what way 
 was an increase of pay to produce such 
 an effect ? Certainly in no other way 
 than that of enabling the Judge to 
 augment his expences of living j for, 
 as to his authority, as to his powers, 
 as to his station, the money would 
 make no alteration at all in them. 
 This being the case, there appears to 
 have been no good reason for aug- 
 menting the Judges' pay any more 
 than the pay of the officers of the 
 Navy, or of any other persons in the 
 public employ. Mr. Tierney used, 
 at the time when the first augmenta- 
 tion was proposed, an argument very 
 applicable to our present purpose : 
 " If," said he, " an augmentation ot 
 " income be necessary to support the 
 " station of the Judge, has the country 
 " no interest in enabling the officers 
 *' of the Army and Navy, of the 
 " Ministers of the Church, or the 
 " Magistrates, to maintain their station 
 " of society ? If the circumstances 01 
 " a Judge, who has £.2,000 a year, 
 " require that he should have an ad- 
 m ditional £.1,000 we know very well 
 " what must be the situation of a 
 " private Gentleman with an income 
 * of £.2,000 a year." 
 
 This argument applies precisely to 
 Lord King. The answer to Mr. 
 Tierney was, that the private Gentle- 
 man, if his estate was in land, would, 
 of course, raise his rents in order to 
 make kis income keep pace with the 
 depreciation of money. But the 
 reply to this is, that, U his estate was 
 
 let upon lease, as Lord King's is, he 
 could not raise his rents, till the ex- 
 piration of that lease ; and if he let a 
 farm upon a fourteen years' lease in 
 the year 1798, he has been receiving 
 money at the rate of that time, during 
 the last thirteen years, whereas the 
 pay of the Judges has been doubled in 
 the space of twelve of those years. 
 This is, in fact, the situation of Lord 
 King. Either, thefore, it was not ne- 
 cessary, and it was not just to augment 
 the pay of the Judges in any degree ; 
 or, it is extremely unjust that Lord 
 King should be prevented from aug- 
 menting his income. Indeed he has 
 had, till now, all the legal means of 
 making his income keep pace with the 
 depreciation of money, by demanding 
 his rents in gold; that is to say, 
 agreeably to the terms of the contract, 
 in good and lawful money of the 
 realm. 
 
 This legal, this equitable, this fair, 
 this honest, this indubitable claim, he 
 was preparing to inforce, when my 
 Lord 8tanhope steps forward with the 
 proposition of a law avowedly intend- 
 ed to prevent him from so doing ; to 
 throw impediments in his way; to 
 interfere in the management of his 
 estates ; to take from him part of the 
 legal means which he before possessed 
 of preserviug his property ; and, for 
 having signified his intention to use 
 those means, he is held forth as 9. jew, 
 a pedlar, and a smuggler. I have 
 observed, that Mr. Sheridan has 
 taken part upon this occasion with 
 those who have censured Lord King. 
 And this is the more remarkable as 
 he has seldom taken part in any dis- 
 cussion whatever. Is Mr. Sheridan 
 aware of the consequences to which 
 this may lead ? It is hardly necessary 
 to tell him, that the day may not be 
 tar distant, when the CIVIL LIST 
 will have to be settled anew ; and, I 
 should be glad to know whether, in 
 that settlement, it is likely to be the 
 wish of the parties concerned, that 
 the sum should be fixed as if it were 
 
413] 
 
 LETTER XXVIII. 
 
 {414 
 
 to be paid in gold. Whether, in short, 
 the amount of the Civil List would be 
 fixed for the future, at its present 
 amount. But, if that were not to be 
 the case, how could a larger amount 
 be proposed or supported by those 
 who have now railed at the conduct oi 
 Lord King? 
 
 Endless are the difficulties, into 
 which those have plunged themselves, 
 who have reprobated the conduct of 
 this nobleman as unjust, or who have 
 represented it as unwise. Such 
 persons will hardly muster up the 
 resolution to make a frank acknow- 
 ledgement of their error ; and yet, if 
 they do not do this, with what face 
 can they propose, or support, or 
 sanction, either expressly or tacitly, 
 any measure which shall have for its 
 object, the preservation of the Crown, 
 the Royal Family, the Army, the 
 Navy, the Courts of Justice, or any 
 department of the state, against the 
 effects of the depreciation of money? 
 The measure of Lord King fell far 
 short of the justice due to himself, for, 
 though the money had depreciated 
 considerably at the date of his oldest 
 leases, still, it has gone on depreciating 
 further from that time to this. He, 
 therefore, would have been fairly 
 entitled to payment in Gold, and 
 nothing else, for the remainder of 
 those old leases. But, pursuing a 
 moderate and liberal course, he re- 
 strained his demands far within their 
 legal bounds. With a considerateness 
 that does him great honour, lie suffer- 
 ed his tenants quietly to retain what 
 they had gained during the past, and 
 only required of them a due fulfilment 
 of contraot for the future, which was 
 not less necessary to the welfare o. 
 his tenants, than it was to his own 
 protection; because without such a 
 measure, it was impossible they ever 
 could obtain a renewal of their leases. 
 
 Much, during the discussions upon 
 this famous Bill has been said about 
 patriotism : and Lord King has been 
 charged with a want of that quality, 
 because he mftde the demand, of which 
 
 so much has been said. But, if Lord 
 King, in barely demanding the fulfil- 
 ment of a contract in order to protect 
 himself against the effects of the de- 
 preciation of money ; if Lord King, 
 in barely appealing to the law already 
 in existence for his protection against 
 this ruinous effect of paper money; if, 
 for this, Lord King is to be accused 
 of a want of patriotism, and is to be 
 lumped with Jews, Pedlars, and 
 Smugglers, what will be the inference 
 with regard to the King and Royal 
 Family, and my Lords the Judges, to 
 protect whom against the effects of 
 depreciation laws have been passed, 
 laws proposed by the minister of the 
 day and sanctioned by the majority. 
 Lord King comes for no law to 
 protect him; he asks for no law 
 against his tenants ; he only wants his 
 due according to the existing law ; 
 and yet, he is, and by the very people, 
 too, who approved of the above-men- 
 tioned large grants to the King and 
 the Judges, accused of a want of •pa- 
 triotism ! 
 
 The venal prints have not failed to 
 join in the accusations against Lord 
 King, whom the Courier, on the 
 5th instant, charges with motives of 
 " base lucre," as the Attorney 
 General did me, and with precisely 
 the same degree of justice. The 
 article here referred to in the Cou- 
 rier concludes with some observa- 
 tions as to the duty of patriotism, 
 in this case; and says, that, " On an 
 " occasion in which ALL SUFFER, 
 " the man who first abandons the 
 " general cause for his own persoiW 
 " interests, must needs make a very 
 " sorry figure before the world, just 
 " like the coward who is the first to 
 "fly in battle, while victory is doutfuL 
 " But if this man were an high officer, 
 " a Legislator, an hereditary Coun- 
 " sellor of his Sovereign, whose 
 " peculiar duty it is to set an example 
 " of bravery, of fortitude, of contempt 
 " for personal consequences in the 
 " general cause, with what feelings 
 " oould we view lus conduct? Now, 
 O 2 
 
415] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD 
 
 [416 
 
 it is to be ooserved here, that all this 
 talk about the public cause is most 
 shocking nonsense, and what no man 
 in the world besides one of these hire- 
 lings would be found to put upon 
 paper. But, if to demand merely the 
 fulfilment of contracts in order to 
 preserve his fortune against the effects 
 of depreciation of money, if this be to 
 '* abandon the general cause for his 
 " own personal interests," if this be to 
 resemble '* a coward who is the first to 
 *' fice in battle" how will this venal 
 man speak of the King and Royal 
 Family and the Judges? The King 
 has, since the year 1799, had two 
 great grants in augmentation of the 
 sum allowed him, the Junior Branch- 
 es of the Royal Family have had 
 one additional grant (in 1806) and the 
 Judges have, as we have above seen, 
 had their pay doubled actually doubled, 
 since that time. And yet this venal 
 man accuses Lord King of " BASE 
 " LUCRE" because he is endeavour- 
 ing to get what is his due ; because he 
 is endeavouring to get his own ; be- 
 cause he is trying to protect himself 
 against that ruin which he foresees 
 will come upon him, if he does not 
 now begin to obtain the lulfilment of 
 his contracts. 
 
 " On an occasion," says this venal 
 man, in " which ALL suffer." No : 
 not all. The King has not suffered 
 from the depreciation, nor have the 
 Judges, whose pay has been, as we 
 have seen, actually doubled since the 
 stoppage of cash payments took place, 
 and who, of course, Mould be now as 
 well off as they were before that time, 
 if the pound bank note were worthy 
 only ten shillings, and Mr. Horner 
 tells us it is yet worth about sixteen 
 shillings. " A LL"do not sutler, then. 
 The Judges, so far from suffering 
 have gained very greatly ; and yet, 
 no one has ever charged them with 
 motives of "BASE LUCRE." The 
 Judges of England alone have re- 
 ceived, since tba year 1799, in virtue 
 of the two Arts abrne-mentioned, no 
 less a sum than £.120,000, that is, 
 
 one hundred and twenty thousand 
 pounds of principal money, more than 
 they would have received had not 
 these two grants been made to them ; 
 and if we include the interest, as in 
 all such calculations we must, they 
 have received, since 1799, over and 
 above their former pay, about £.145, 
 000. And, yet, my Lord King is, by 
 this venal scribe, accused of niotfves 
 of "BASE LUCRE," because he 
 wishes to prevent the whole of his 
 income from being sunk in the depre- 
 ciation of money. The Judges have 
 actually put in their pockets this large 
 sum ot money; they have actually 
 touched it, since the year 1799, and, 
 of course, the National Debt is so 
 much the greater on that account ; 
 the interest upon that Debt is so much 
 the greater on that account; the 
 quantity of bank notes to pay the 
 Dividends are so much the greater 
 on that account ; and, of course, these 
 two Acts of Parliament, have tended, 
 in some degree, to hasten the depre- 
 ciation, and to produce the very efFect 
 which now threatens to ruin Lord 
 King, and to find out a remedy for 
 which puzzles so many men who 
 think themselves wise. Lord King's 
 measure does not tend to add to the 
 national Debt; it tends to produce 
 no addition to the Dividends or the 
 bank paper; it is a mere measure ot 
 management of his private affairs, 
 which does not trench upon the public 
 good in any way whatever; and yet, 
 he is lumped along with Jews, Pedlars, 
 and Smugglers, and is accused of a 
 want of patriotism ! 
 
 This writer tells us, that it was the 
 duty of such a man as Lord King to 
 set an example of " contempt of per- 
 " sonal consequences" meaning, of 
 course, pecuniary consequences. But, 
 was it more his duty than it was the 
 duty of the King, the Royal Family, 
 and the Judges ? He says that Lord 
 King ought to have done it, as being 
 an hereditary counsellor of the crown. 
 If Lord King had had much to do 
 in counselling the Crown, the present 
 
417] 
 
 LETTER XXVIII 
 
 (418 
 
 subject would, perliaps, never have 
 been discussed; but, be that as it 
 may, was it more his duty to set an 
 example of contempt of pecuniary 
 consequences than it was of the King ? 
 Was it more his duty than it was the 
 duty of the Judges ? Was no example 
 of this sort to be expected from them, 
 while it was to be expected from 
 him ? And. I beg you to observe the 
 wide difference between the case of 
 the Judges and that of Lord King. 
 No new law is made to favour the 
 interests of the latter ; but a new law 
 is made, and afterwards another new 
 law, to favour the interests of the 
 former. Lord King does not attempt 
 to obtain any real addition to his 
 original rents; but there is granted 
 to the Judges a very large real 
 addition to their original pay. The 
 Courier calls upon Lord King to 
 suffer quietly for the good of his 
 country. His suffering would not do 
 the country any good, but a great 
 deal of harm. But, upon the sup- 
 position that it would do the country 
 good, what does the same man say 
 about the augmentation of the pay of 
 the Judges ? When the augmentation 
 to the pay of these persons was under 
 discussion, Mr, Perceval (who was 
 then a barrister) argued, that the 
 Judges ought to have quite enough to 
 maintain them in all their state without 
 touching their private fortunes ; and, 
 observe, this he said at the very time, 
 m that very year, 1799, when Old 
 George Rose, who was then one of 
 the Secretaries of the Treasury at 
 £.4,000 a year, and who had another 
 good £.4,000 a year in sinecure places, 
 was preaching up to " the piost think- 
 " ing people of all Europe," his 
 doctrine of sacrifices and salvage, a 
 specimen of which I gave you in my 
 last Letter. " The imperious and 
 " awful necessity of the present 
 " crisis," said George, unavoidably 
 " subjects L T S to heavy burdens. It 
 " has been said, that they ought to be 
 ♦'considered a* a SALVAGE for 
 
 " the remaining part of OUR pro- 
 V perty. The metaphor though just 
 " is inadequate ; for what Tariff shall 
 " settle the difference between the 
 "BLESSED COMFORTS OF 
 U RELIGION and the GLOOMY 
 "DESPAIR OF ATHEISM." 
 George talks qf " US " and of" OUR" 
 property ; but HE was gaining all 
 the While ; aye, and he got his great 
 sinecure place, with reversion to his 
 eldest son, while " imperious and 
 " awful necessity," was calling upon 
 the nation for sacrifices. George's 
 doctrine of SALVAGE was for the 
 use of others, and not at all for his 
 own use ; nor did this doctrine of 
 SALVAGE apply to the Judges, 
 who, we have seen, received an ad- 
 dition to their pay out of the public 
 money, during the tim-js of this " im~ 
 " perious and awful necessity ;" during 
 the time that George Rose was calling 
 upon the people, for the love of God, 
 not to spare their money. " Oh ! * 
 said George, " it would be a slander 
 " to the sense and virtue of the people 
 " to suppose an abatement in that 
 " spirit which has enabled the Govern- 
 " ment to call forth those resources."' 
 And, at this very time, he was receiv- 
 ing upwards of £.8,000 a year out of 
 the taxes raised upon that same people, 
 and Mr. Tierney, who opposed the 
 augmentation to the pay of the Judges, 
 was told, that they ought to be enabled 
 to maintain all their dignity and state, 
 that is to say, to live and keep 
 their families, witlvout touching their 
 private fortunes, And, yet, Lord 
 King is to be lumped with Jew s, PedV 
 lars, and Smuggler? ; he is to have a 
 hint about tpssing in blankets and 
 kicking down stairs ; and, what is still 
 more serious, he is to see a law passed 
 avowedly to counteract his measures 
 with regard to the management of his 
 own estate ; he is to be accused 
 of motives of base lucre; he is to be 
 held forth as an enemy to his country ; 
 and all this because he wishes to 
 obtain what is legally aud equitably 
 
419] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [420 
 
 bis due ; what is his due as fairly as 
 the produce of their fields is the due 
 of his tenants. 
 
 I have now, Gentlemen, to apolo- 
 gize to you for having taken up so 
 mueh of your time in illustrating what 
 was so clear itself. The additional 
 grants to the Civil List, .and the aug- 
 mentation of the pay of the Judges, 
 did not properly belong to our sub- 
 ject; but, when my Lord King was 
 reviled and when a law was avowedly 
 levelled at him, because he sought, 
 in 1811, to protect himself and family 
 against the ruinous effects of depre- 
 ciation, justice demanded of me, if I 
 wrote at all upon the subject, to shew 
 what has been done in behalf of the 
 
 j King and the Judges in 1799, 1802, 
 1 1804, and 1809, and especially as 
 these measures in behalf of the King 
 and the Judges were approved of and 
 supported by some of those who 
 now reprobate the conduct of Lord 
 King. 
 
 In my next Letter, which will be 
 the last of the series, I shall have to 
 offer you some observations of a more 
 general nature, and in the mean while, 
 I remain, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your friend, 
 
 Wm. Cobbett. 
 
 State Prison, "Newgate y Fridaij y 
 it6th,July, 1811. 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 " The true way of convincing your enemy, that his war upon your finanre»'\vill be useless, is, to state cxpli- 
 " cidy to the world, that you are not at all afraid of theconsequencesof a national bankruptcy: for, while 
 " you endeavour to make people believe, that such an event cannot possibly happen, they will certainly 
 * think, that you regard it, if it should happen, as irretrievable ruin and destruction; and, theretore, as 
 " you B«v«r can quite overcome their apprrlienMons, the best way is to be sdtnt upon the subject, or to 
 " .set the terrific bugbear at defiance."— Political liegister, IQth June, :803. 
 
 What is to be the end of all this ?— Paper-Money is not the cause of Sunshine and Showers 
 — We may exist witheut Paper-Money — England did very well before Paptr-Money 
 was heaid of— What is to become of the Fundholders ? — The Sale ef the Royal Plate 
 and of the Church Property in Austria— Let what will happen in England the Jacobins 
 and Levellers will not merit any Share of the Blame — Conclusion. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 WHAT, then, is to be the end of all 
 this ? What are to be the ultimate ef- 
 fects produced upon the nation by this 
 depreciation of the paper-money ? — 
 The Pittite party tell us, that there 
 is not gold to be had; that the Bank 
 cstflflot pay in gold ; and that the mat- 
 ter must be left to better times and to 
 better fortune. The other party tell 
 r«i, that, if they had the power of 
 adopting what measures they pleased, 
 they would cause the Bank to pay 
 again in gold ; that thy would restore 
 the paper to its former estimation ; 
 and, in short, retrieve the whole sys- 
 tem. I have, I think, shewn you very 
 
 >pay 
 that, 
 
 clearly, that to cause the Bank to 
 again in gold is impossible ; and 
 let what will happen, let what will 
 take place as to commerce, or as to 
 war, the Bank Paper will never re- 
 gain any part of what it has lost, as 
 long as the national debt shall exist ; 
 or, rather, as long as the dividends 
 shall be paid upon the interest of that 
 debt. 
 
 Now, if I have shewn this to your 
 satisfaction, the question, and the only 
 question, that remains to be discussed, 
 is, what would i»e the CONSE- 
 QUENCES of a cessation in the 
 payment of the dividends ; that is to 
 say, the total destruction of the Na- 
 
421] 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 T422 
 
 tional Debt ; the total breaking up of 
 the Funds and the Bank Note system. 
 This is the only question that now 
 remains to be discussed ; but a very 
 important question it is, and one 
 which, I hope, will receive your pa- 
 tient attention. 
 
 To hear the greater part of people 
 talk upon this subject, one would ima- 
 gine, that the Bank Notes were the 
 meat, drink, and clothing of the in- 
 habitants of this island ; and, indeed, 
 that they gave us sun-shine and show- 
 ers and every tiling necessary to our 
 existence. One would really sup- 
 pose, that the general creed was, that 
 the Bank Directors were the Gods 
 of the country, that they were our 
 Sustainers if not actually our Makers, 
 that from them we derived the breath 
 in our nostrils, that in and through 
 them we lived, moved, and had our 
 being. No wonder, then, that there 
 should be an apprehension and even a 
 horror inspired by the idea of a total 
 destruction of the paper-money; no 
 wonder, that, when I began, about 
 eight years and a half ago, to write 
 against the Funding System, I should 
 have been regarded as guilty of blas- 
 phemy, and should have been accused 
 thereof by that devout man, Mr. 
 Sheridan; no wonder that some 
 men's knees should knock together 
 and their teeth chatter in their head 
 upon being told, that the day is, pro- 
 bably, not far distant, when a guinea, 
 a real golden guinea, will buy a 
 hundred pounds' worth of three per 
 cents, 
 
 But, Gentlemen, is there any 
 ground for these apprehensions ? Are 
 such apprehensions to be entertained 
 by rational men I No : the corn and 
 the grass and the trees will grow 
 without paper-money ; the Banks may 
 all break in a day, and the sun will 
 rise the next day, and the lambs will 
 gambol and the birds will sing atid 
 the carters and country girls will 
 grin at each other, and all will go 
 en just as if nothing had happened. 
 
 " Yes," says some besotted Pittite, 
 " we do not suppose, that the de- 
 ** struction of the paper-system would 
 " put out the light of the sun, prevent 
 " vegetation, or disable men and wo- 
 " men to propagate their species : we 
 t4 are not fools enough to suppose 
 " that." Pi ay, then, what are you 
 fools enough to suppose ? What are 
 you fools enough to be afraid of? 
 For, if the destruction of the paper 
 produces, and is calculated to produce, 
 none of these effects, how can it be a 
 thiug to excite any very general ap- 
 prehension ? Who would it hurt ? 
 " Oh! it would crsate universal up- 
 " roar and confusion: it would de- 
 " stroy all property ; it would intro- 
 " duce anarchy and bloodshed, and 
 " annihilate regular government, so- 
 " cial order, and our holy religion" 
 Thsse are the words that John 
 Bowles, the Dutch Commissioner, 
 used to make use of. This is the de- 
 clamatory cant, by the means of which 
 the people of this country have been 
 deceived and deluded along from one 
 stage of ruin to another, till, at last, 
 they have arrived at what they now 
 taste of. If, when Johnny Bowles, 
 or any of his tribe, had been writing 
 in this way, a plain tradesman, who 
 gets his living by fair dealing and w r ho 
 has no desire to share in the plunder 
 of the pufcl'c, had gone to the writer, 
 and, taking him fast by the button, had 
 said to him: "Come, cornel tell 
 " me, in definite terms, what you 
 " mean, and shew me how I should 
 " be a loser by this thing that you ap 
 " pear so much to dread. None of 
 " your rant ; none of your horrifying 
 " descriptions ; but come, John, tell 
 ** me LiOW I should be made worse 
 " of in this world, and HOW I 
 " should be more exposed to go to 
 " Hell, if that which you appear to 
 ■ ( dread were actually to take place:'* 
 if any such man had so addressed 
 this Treasury scribe, the scribe would 
 have been puzzled much more than he 
 was by his per cents, about the Dutch 
 Commission. 
 
423] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 L424 
 
 Why, Gentlemen, should the total 
 destruction of the paper-money pro- 
 duce any of these effects ? Why 
 should it destroy all property; why 
 produce bloodshed ; why destroy our 
 holy religion? I have before told you, 
 that the paper-money was unknown in 
 England, till within about 107 years. 
 England did very well before that 
 lime. The people of England were 
 brave and free, happy at home and 
 dreaded abroad, long before paper- 
 money was heard of. Why, then, 
 should they now believe, that, without 
 paper-money, they would be reduced 
 to a state of barbarism and slavery? 
 The Church, as is now established, 
 existed long before paper-money was 
 thought of, and so did all those laws, 
 which we yet boast of as the great 
 bulwark of our freedom; and, what 
 is more, I defy any man to shew me 
 one single law, in favour of the liber- 
 ties of the people, which has been 
 passed since the establishment of the 
 Paper-Money System, while nume- 
 rous laws have been passed hostile to 
 those liberties. Before the existence 
 of the National Debt and the Bank, 
 the House of Commons used fre- 
 quently to refuse to grant the money 
 called for by the Crown ; since they 
 have existed, no grant of the kind has 
 ever been refused by that House. 
 Before the Paper System existed, 
 there was no standing army in Eng- 
 land ; Before the Paper System ex- 
 isted, there were not more than two 
 hundred thousand paupers in England 
 and Wales: there are now twelve 
 hundred thousand. 
 
 Why, then, should we alarm our- 
 selves at what appears to indicate the 
 appoaching destruction of this System? 
 " Oh, but," says the Minister (Per- 
 eeval), w without the Paper System 
 " we ©ould not have had the victories 
 " recently won in Spain and Portu- 
 " gal :'' to which he might have 
 added the achievements at Quiberon, 
 at Dunkirk, at the Heldcr t at Ferrol, 
 at Buenos Ayres, in Hanover, in Leon 
 aad Gallicia, at Corunna, at Walche, 
 
 ren, &c. &c. The list might be 
 swelled out to three times this length j 
 but this is long enough. If what the 
 Minister calls the " recent victories" 
 are the fruit of the Paper System, so 
 are all the achievements to which I 
 have here called your recollection. 
 Indeed they were so ; for, the wars 
 themselves proceeded from the same 
 source. The American War grew out 
 of the Paper System ; and so did the 
 Antijacobin war, which began in 1793, 
 and which has finally produced the 
 state of things winch we now have 
 before us. So that, as to the use of 
 the Paper System in this way, there 
 can, I think, be very little doubt. 
 
 "Well, but, after all," some one 
 will say, " what is to become of the 
 " Fund-holder? How is he to get 
 " re-paid?" My answer to this is, 
 that, it does not appear to be a matter 
 in which the people, I mean the mass 
 of the nation, have much to do or to 
 say. For, what is the Fund-holder or 
 Stock-holder? Why, he is a man, 
 who, choosing a large rather than a 
 small interest for his money, has lent 
 it to some persons in power, under an 
 agreement, that he shall be paid in- 
 terest upon it out of the taxes raised 
 upon the people. A man, who lends 
 money, knows, of course, or, at least, 
 he ought to know, the sufficiency of 
 the borrower; or, if he does not 
 know that, he, of course, takes the 
 risk into his calculation; and he can 
 have no right to complain if the 
 chances should happen to turn up 
 against him. Upon this principle Sir 
 John Mitford (now Lord Redes- 
 dale) went in defending the first Bank 
 Restriction Bill, when, in answer to 
 those who contended, that it would be 
 a breach of faith to compel the Fund- 
 holder to take payment in paper, he 
 said, that the Fund-holder, when he lent 
 his money, knew that a case like this 
 might happen, and that, therefore, he 
 had no reason to complain. Till J. 
 read this, I thought that I was the 
 only one who had held the doctrine, 
 so that my satisfaction at seeing my 
 
425] 
 
 LETTER XXIX. 
 
 im 
 
 opinions corroborated by such high 
 legal authority was somewhat diminish- 
 ed by the reflection, that I had lost 
 what I had ieemed my undivided 
 claim to originality. 
 
 I do not, however, see any reason 
 why the Fuhdholde'rs, or, at least, that 
 part of them, who have been com- 
 pelled to suffer their property to be 
 thus ves'ed, should not, in any case, 
 have a just compensation. And how? 
 Whence is this compensation to come ? 
 In Austria, our old and faithful and 
 august ally, the Emperor, is acting 
 the part of a very honest man. The 
 paper-jnoney in Austria has fallen to 
 a fourteenth part of its nominal value, 
 in spite of several Edicts prohibiting 
 tfye passing of it for leas than its 
 nominal value. A hundred florins 
 in silver were worth fourteen hundred 
 and fifty three Jlorins in paper when 
 the last advices came away; and, per- 
 haps ; one florin in silver, is, by this 
 time, worth fifty florins in paper. 
 Qf course the Government creditors, 
 or Austrian Fund holders, must be 
 ruined, unless something be done to 
 obtain a compensation for them. The 
 Emperor, therefore, like an honest 
 man, has, as the newspapers tell us, 
 sent all his plate, all his gold and sil- 
 ver, in whatever shape, to the mint to 
 b,e melted down and turned into coin 
 for the payment of the people who 
 have lent him and his Government 
 their money. And, besides this, the 
 Clergy, animated b}^ a zeal for their 
 sovereign truly worthy of example, 
 have given up their estates to be sold 
 for the same honest purpose , which, 
 doubtless, they have been the more 
 disposed to do, when they reflected, 
 that the debts of the Government 
 were incurred in carrying on a Mar for 
 " regular government, social order, and 
 " their holy religion," and in the pro- 
 ducing and prolonging of which- war 
 they themselves had so great a hand, 
 as well as in persecuting all those 
 who were opposed to the system. 
 Accordingly, we see accounts in the 
 public prints of the SALES OF v 
 
 CHURCH LANDS going on in 
 Austria. They are sajd to sell re- 
 markably well;* and, it is stated, 
 that, these sales, together with the 
 meltings of the Royal Plate, will 
 yield enough to satisfy' all the Govern- 
 ment Creditors; or, at least, to afford 
 them the means of living beyond the 
 reach of misery. 
 
 But, methinks, I see start forth a 
 Courtier on one side of me and a 
 Parson on the other, and, with claws 
 distended ready to lay hold of my 
 cheek, exclaim : " What, cold blooded 
 " wretch! are these, then, your means 
 " of compensation for the English 
 "Fund-holder? Softly! Softly! Give 
 me time to speak. Do not tear my 
 eyes out before you hear what I have 
 to say. Stop a little, and I will tell 
 you what I mean. 
 
 Now, why should you be in such a 
 rage with me? If I were to propose 
 that the same should be done here as 
 is now doing in Austria, what would 
 there be, in my proposition, injurious 
 to either the station or charaeter of 
 the king or the clergy? Am I to sup- 
 pose, that the Crown depends upon 
 the possession of a parcel of plate by 
 the King and Royal Family; that a 
 throne, the seat of kingly power, is 
 supported by a waggon load, perhaps, 
 of gold and silver dishes and plates 
 and spoons and knives and forks and 
 salvers and candlesticks and sauce- 
 boats and tea-pots and cream-jugs? 
 Good Heavens ! What a vile opinion 
 
 * Vienna, July 6 — u A second sale of 
 ecclesiastical estates will soon take place. 
 On the 2 d will be sold, the estate of 
 lleixendorf j and on the 24th, those of St. 
 George and Baumgarten. As there are 
 many competitors, the sumR produced by 
 these sales have greatly surpassed what the 
 lands were estimated at. The. body of 
 merchants in this city published, some 
 days since, a memoir in their defence, 
 against the charges objected to them, of 
 having contributed, to the depreciation of 
 the paper motey. The memoir has been 
 transmitted to the Minister of Finance, 
 and presented to bis Majesty the Em- 
 peror.'* 
 
427! 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [428 
 
 must they have of the throne, who 
 look upon such things as tending to its 
 support ! And then, as to the Church, 
 what could her sons wish for more 
 earnestly than an opportunity of giving 
 us a proof of their disregard of tilings 
 temporal? Besides, there would be, 
 in this case, a striking proof of the 
 truth of the good maxim, that "Justice, 
 " though slow, is sure ;" for, it is well 
 known, that the Paper System, which 
 would thus draw upon the Church, 
 was the invention of A BISHOP of 
 that same Church! 
 
 But, the Courtiers and the Clergy 
 may be tranquil; for I do not think it 
 at ail likely that such measures will 
 become necessary in England, though 
 {key have been adopted at Vienna, 
 and, as would seem, with such sin- 
 gular success. I am of opinion, that 
 there would be found ample means, 
 elsewhere, for a due compensation to 
 those Fundholders, who had been 
 compelled to vest their property in that 
 way. In short, 1 am quite satisfied, 
 that we have nothing at all to fear 
 from the destruction of the paper- 
 system if that should take place; and, 
 as the friends of the system assert, 
 thai, we have nothing to fear from its 
 continuing to exist, we are, I thiuk, 
 tolerably safe. The RUIN of America 
 •<md France were foretold because 
 their paper-money was falling; but, 
 the prophecy proved false. They 
 both victorious, both became 
 prosperous; and, what is odd enough, 
 both have since become receptacles 
 *>f flic coin that is gone from Eng- 
 land; aye, from that country, who 
 hoped to triumph over them by the 
 means of that same coin ! How many 
 tunes did Pitt predict the time when 
 France would be what he called ex- 
 hausted, and how was he hallooed on 
 liV his numerous understrappers ot 
 all sorts, verbally as well as in print! 
 she been ruined? Has she lost 
 fn population or in power? Is she 
 exhausted? Has she become feeblel 
 We are still struggling with her; and 
 do we find her grow weaker and 
 weaker 2 
 
 Well, this doctrine of RUIN from 
 a depreciated paper-money is a false 
 doctrine. It was engendered in a 
 shallow brain, and brought forth by 
 arrogant emptiness. But, suppose it 
 to be sound ■*& applied to us ; suppose, 
 for argument's sake, that the destruc- 
 tion of the paper system should take 
 place, and should prove the utter ruin 
 of the country; or, suppose, at any 
 rate, that it should send all the Fund- 
 holders into beggary, should cause all 
 the Church and Collegiate property 
 to be sold as in Austria, should send 
 the Royal Plate to the Mint, should 
 annihilate all the remaining feudal 
 rights and tenures; and, in short, 
 should produce a species ot revolu~ 
 tion. I say, that it need do none of 
 this : I say, that not one of these is a 
 necessary consequence of the over- 
 throw of the paper system; but, for 
 argument's sake, suppose the contrary, 
 and suppose that such overthrow were 
 to take place; WHO, in that case, 
 would be to blame \ 
 
 This is a question that every man 
 ought, as soon as may be, to answer 
 in his own mind; for, if any of these 
 consequences were to come upon us, 
 it would be of the greatest utility to 
 be able to say, at once, who it was 
 that had been the real authors of the 
 calamity. Certainly* then, the jRe- 
 formcrs, commonly called Jacobins 
 and Levellers, have had nothing to do 
 with the matter. They have had no 
 power. They have been carefully 
 shut out from all authority. They 
 have filled no offices of any sort 
 They have been held forth as a soyt of 
 enemy in the bosom of the country. 
 There is no creature who has had 
 power, of any sort, no matter what, 
 who has not employed that power 
 upon them. Tbey have been either 
 killed, banished, ruined, or, at the 
 least, beaten down and kept down, 
 Well, then, they will not come in for 
 any of the blame, if things should turn 
 out wrong at last. They have had no 
 hand in declaring war against the 
 regieides of France; they have had 
 no hand in forming leagues, in voting 
 
429] 
 
 LETTEK XX!X. 
 
 [430 
 
 subsidies, in sending out expeditions ; 
 they have had no hand in inakina 
 loans ot grants; and, therefore, tiiey 
 will, rarely, not come in fo. titty share 
 of the blame which shall attach to the 
 consequences. They have been re- 
 presented as an ignorant and factious 
 herd, " a low, degraded creio f while 
 those who have thus described them 
 have had all the powers and the re- 
 sources of the country at their com- 
 mand; and, therefore, let what will 
 happen, the Reformers will have to 
 bear no portion of the blame. The 
 full-blooded Anti-Jacobins; the mem- 
 bers o! the Pitt Club; all the numer- 
 ous herd of the enemies to Reform 
 may be fairly called upon for a share 
 of responsibility ; but, to the Re- 
 formers who have bad no power, and 
 who have been hardly able to exist in 
 peace, no man can reasonably look. 
 
 I shall now, Gentlemen, after 
 nearly a twelvemonth's correspond- 
 ence, take my leave of you, and 
 with the conviction, that I have 
 done much towards giving you a clear 
 ▼iew of the subject, of which I have 
 been treating. I had long enter- 
 tained the design to make the subject 
 familiar; to put my countrymen in 
 general beyond the reach of decep- 
 tion on this score; to enable them 
 to avoid being cheated, if they chose 
 to avoid it; and a sufficiency of time 
 for the purpose being furnished me, 
 it would have been greatly blameable 
 in me, if I had neglected to avail My- 
 self of it: I have not been guilty of 
 this neglect; I have, with great care 
 and research, brought together what 
 appears to me to be the whole, or 
 
 very nearly the whole, of the useful 
 in formation relating to the paper 
 system; I have laboured most zea- 
 lously and anxiously for the accom- 
 plishment of the great ob;ect in 
 view; and it more than repays me 
 for every thing to hear, to see, to 
 know, that / have not laboured in 
 vain. 
 
 In the course of these Letters, I 
 have clearly expressed my opinions 
 as to the fate of the paper-money; 
 those opinions are in direct oppo- 
 sition to many of those persons, in 
 parliament as well as out of parlia- 
 ment, who have delivered their sen- 
 timents upon the subject: TIME, 
 the trier of all things, must now de- 
 cide between us ; and, if I am 
 wrong, I have, at least, taken ef- 
 fectual means to make my error as 
 conspicuous and as notorious as pos- 
 sible. One thing, above all others, 
 however, I am desirous of leaving 
 strongly impressed upon your minds, 
 and that is, that it is my decided 
 opinion, that, let what will be the 
 late of the paper-money, that fate, 
 however destructive, does not neces- 
 sarily include any, even the smallest, 
 danger to the independence of Eng- 
 land, or to the safety of the throne, 
 or to the liberties or the happiness of 
 the people. 
 
 I remain, 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your friend 
 and obedient Servant, 
 
 Wm. cobbbtt. 
 
 State Prison, Newgate, Friday,, 
 2d August , 181 1. 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 The Bullion Committee's two years twice expired. — The Peace of 1814 saw the Bank 
 Protection Bill renewed— All the pretexts were vanished.— Ominous opinions.— New 
 issue joined between the Author on tin one part and the Paper partizans on the other. 
 
 Gentlemen, 1 four years, and after the wonderful 
 
 IN renewing my correspondence events of the years 1814 and 1815, 
 
 \yitb you, after a lapse of more than | it may be necessary for me to remind 
 
4&L] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [432 
 
 you of the state, in which we left the 
 question of Paper against Gold, in 
 the summer of 1811, when I re- 
 mained at issue with the Bullion 
 Committee and also with the par- 
 tisans of Paper-Money, appealing to 
 TIME, the trier of all things, to de- 
 cide between us. Four years is a 
 considerable space of time ; and, we 
 shall see now, on which side TIME, 
 thus far, has decided. 
 
 The Bullion Committee proposed 
 to the House of Commons to compel 
 the Bank to pay in gold and silver 
 at the end of two years from 1810. 
 The Ministry opposed this proposi- 
 tion; and assertbd, that, ivJam peace 
 reiwned, specie would return, and 
 the payment of it at the Bank would 
 take place, as a matter of course, 
 because the law, which protected the 
 Bank against demands of payment in 
 cash, would, of itself, expire at the 
 end of six months after peace should 
 fee made. This Act was passed in 
 December, 1803. See page 254. 
 
 Now, in opposition to these two 
 assertions, I was satisfied, that I 
 proved it to be impossible for the 
 Kank to pay in real money, in war 
 or in peace, as long as the dividends 
 ^n the Debt continued to be paid. 
 Well, Gentlemen, what has since 
 been done? Has the Bank yet paid 
 iii Gold and Silver, though four years 
 tostead of two have passed over our 
 Beads? You know well that it has 
 mot. 
 
 Bat, observe, peace was made in 
 May, 1814. And what did the 
 Ministry thea do? Did they suffer 
 the Act to expire, " as a matter of 
 CrtBftef" Did they make good their 
 assertion, that Gold and Silver should 
 come back with peace? They as- 
 sured us, that it was the power of 
 Napoleon which had robbed us of 
 our gold and silver; and that, in 
 order to get them back again, we 
 must go on fighting and paying, till 
 that power should be diminished. It 
 was not only diminished in 1814; 
 feut it was destroyed. Napoleon was 
 
 dethroned and banished, and the 
 long-sighed-for event, the restoration 
 of the Capets, took place. A Con- 
 gress met at Vienna ; all was so ar- 
 ranged, that peace in Europe pro- 
 mised to last for our lives, and peace 
 with America had taken place too. 
 Now, then, was the time to suffer the 
 Bank Act to die that natural death, 
 of which the minister had so boldly 
 talked in 1810. But, instead of this, 
 what did the Ministry do? Why, 
 they renewed the Act for another 
 year! And, you will please to ob- 
 serve, that, though this renewal did 
 not actually become a law till after 
 the return of Napoleon from Elba, 
 it was distinctly stated by the Minis- 
 try, before that time, that the renewal 
 would be proposed to the Parliament; 
 and, Ministers in England seldom 
 propose, as you know very well, any 
 measure, which the Houses refuse to 
 adopt. 
 
 Therefore there is no shadow of 
 excuse for the renewal of the Act, 
 except, that the Bank cannot, in 
 peace any more than in war, pay in 
 Gold and Silver, This is a very 
 good reason for renewing the Act 
 but this is completely fulfilling my 
 pre-diction; completely proving, and 
 that by Act of Parliament too, 
 the soundness of my former reason- 
 ing. 
 
 The Parliament and, indeed, the 
 country, v*ere, as t° this question, 
 divided into two parties: one said, 
 that the Bank would be able to pay 
 in specie in two years'' the other 
 said, that the Bank was always able 
 to pay, but that it would not be pru<- 
 dent to sutler the Bank to pay, till 
 peace came. I gave it as my opinion, 
 that peace would not enable the Bank 
 to pay ; or, at any rate, that her 
 Ladyship would not pay in Gold and 
 Silver when peace should come. 
 Thus far, then, time has proved me 
 to have been right. 
 
 We must now wait for TIME 
 again; but, happily, we shall not 
 fyave to wait long. Prace is now 
 
433] 
 
 LETTER XXX. 
 
 [4?4 
 
 again come ; and come in a way, too, 
 that seems to defy even chance to 
 interrupt its duration. Not only is 
 Napoleon down, but he is in our 
 hands; he is banished to a rock, of 
 which we have the sole command 
 and possession; he is as completely 
 in the power of our Government as 
 i( they had him in the Tower ot 
 London. Therefore, this great ob- 
 stacle to Gold and Silver payments 
 is swept away. The Capets, or the 
 Bourbons, as they call themselves, 
 are restored. Spain has regained 
 that beloved Ferdinand, in whose 
 cause we were so zealous, and he 
 has restored the Inquisition and the 
 Jesuits. The Pope, to the great joy 
 of loyal protestants, is again in the 
 Chair of Saint Peter; has again re- 
 sumed his Keys and his Shepherd's 
 crook. In short, our Government, 
 so far from dreading any enemy, is 
 in strict alliance with every sovereign 
 in Europe. 
 
 Now, then, are come the halcyon 
 days. Now John Bull is to sit down 
 in peace under his own vine and his 
 own fig-tree with no one to make him 
 afraid. Now there will be ; there can 
 be, no need of armies or navies. 
 Now, then, my good neighbours, we 
 shall, surely, see Gold and Silver re- 
 turn. Which of you will bet any 
 thing on the affirmative of this pro- 
 position? My opinion is, that we 
 shall not see it return; that we 
 not see the Bank pay in Gold and 
 Silver; that we shall not hear the 
 Minister say, that the Old Lady is 
 ready with her csah. In short, my 
 opinion is, that another and another 
 Act of Parliament, will convince even 
 the most stupid and credulous, that, 
 as long as the dividends on the Na 
 tional Debt are paid, so long will they 
 be paid in Bank Notes, so long will 
 the law to protect theBank against de- 
 mands in real money remain in full 
 force : for, the man that needs more 
 than two more Acts of Parliament to 
 produce this conviction in his mind 
 muat be an idiot. 
 
 Let us wait, then, with patience for 
 two years more ; but, let us keep cur 
 eye steadily fixed on the movements 
 of the Ministry and the Bank. Lf t 
 us listen quietly to all they say, with- 
 out seeming to take any notice of 
 what they are about. If they do pa/ 
 in cash at the end of two years, ani 
 still continue to pay the dividends, or 
 the interest of the Debt, I wi'l 
 frankly acknowledge, that I ought to 
 pass for an ignorant pretender all the 
 remainder of my lifo. If they do not 
 pay in cash at the end of two years 
 more, then, what they ought to pais 
 for I shall leave my readers to de- 
 cide. 
 
 As to giving them a longer tether, 
 that is wliolly out of the question. 
 Twelve years is the average length, it 
 is said, of the life of man. 1 have 
 already given them four. I will al- 
 low them two more ; but, as the grey 
 hairs begin to thicken, very fas! upon 
 my head, as my sons and daughters 
 begin to walk faster than their father 
 and mother, I certainly shall not 
 lengthen the tether; but, at the end 
 of two years from this first day of the 
 month of September, 1815, I shall, 
 if I still hold a pen, and the Old Lady 
 does not pay the dividends in cash, 
 assume it as a notoriously admitted 
 fact, that she never will and never can. 
 
 Before I conclude this letter, how- 
 ever, I will just notice the strange 
 doctrines which are beginning to be 
 held. We hear people saying, and in 
 print too, that Paper Monet/ is a bet* 
 ter thing than gold and silver coin. 
 That it is more commodious; that it can- 
 not be sent out of the country (which 
 last is very true) ; that it is so much 
 clear gain to the nation ; that the na- 
 tion would be ruined, if it were to uss 
 gold and silver coin instead of paper- 
 money. These are ugly notions. They 
 seem to be thrown out to feel the 
 pulse of John Bnll. They do not 
 come forth officially ; but they come 
 from sources that render them rather 
 more than suspicious. The friends of 
 Government ; that is to say, those 
 
435 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [43G 
 
 who, in somc'wa} or other, gain by 
 the taxes* promulgate them ; and 
 hence we may pretty safely conclude, 
 that they are not very disagreeable to 
 the Government itself. There is one 
 person connected with the Old Lady, 
 who has put forth such doctrines. 
 Very natural, you will say. Yes, but 
 it is not so very natural that we should 
 adopt them into our political creed. 
 These doctrines do not argue much in 
 favour of our expectations of gold and 
 silver payments. Tliey put one in 
 mind of Goldsmith's friend's high eu- 
 logium on liver and bacon just when he 
 was about to announce to his guest 
 the absence of a promised venison 
 pasty. 
 
 Wi*h these hints ; with these mo- 
 tives to watchfulness, let us now lay 
 aside the subject of Paper against 
 Gold, and proceed to inquire what 
 good this nation has derived irom the 
 late wars, in which we are said to 
 have acquired gioiy tiiat eaiis for 
 thanksgivings and monuments. Thi> 
 inquiry shall be the subject of future 
 letters. 
 
 I am, 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 W M « COBBETT. 
 
 Botley, 
 September ist, 1815. 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 What is tlie conution of Great Britain, compared to what it would have been, if the 
 wars against the French had not taken place. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 THE war, which began in 1793, is 
 now over. The troops are not all 
 come home, the ships are not all paid 
 off, the account is not wound up; but, 
 the war is over. Social Order is re- 
 stored ; the French are again under 
 the power of the Bourbons ; the Re- 
 volution is at an end ; no change has 
 been effected in England; our Bo- 
 roughs, and our Church Nobility and 
 all have been preserved ; our Govern- 
 ment tell us, that we have covered 
 ourselves with glory. And now let 
 us see what we have gained by this 
 long war; what we, the people ox 
 England, Ireland, and Scotland, who 
 pay taxes for the support of the people 
 in office, the army, the navy/ the sine- 
 cure placemen, the pensioners, and the 
 royal family, have gained by this war. 
 
 But, here I shall be met at the 
 •threshold by Old George Rose, who 
 will say : that is not " a fair wayof 
 
 putting the question." George, who 
 is a person of such well-known 
 merit, that he has sinecure places 
 worth about 4,000/. a year, the greater 
 part of which descends in reversion to 
 his eldest son. George, who is very 
 long-sighted, and can perceive con- 
 clusions which are greatly at a dis- 
 tance fr»m the premises, will meet 
 me at the very out-set, and cry 
 " hold ! hold ! it is not of what 
 " the poor fellows have gained that 
 " you ought to talk to them. You 
 " ought to ask them how muck more 
 " they would have lost than they have 
 * lost, had it not been for the war, 
 " now happily terminated amidst such 
 " a blaze of glory." 
 
 George sees what I am going at. 
 He knows, if you do not, what a pic- 
 ture I am going to draw, and how 
 clearly I shall trace our Debts, Taxes, 
 Paupers, and manifold miseries, now- 
 only beginning to be seriously felt, to 
 
437] 
 
 the war; and, therefore, he would 
 make you believe (as he has endea- 
 voured to do in print long ago), that 
 it mould have been still worse lor } r ou, 
 ft" the war had uot taken place. 
 
 Gentlemen, I will leave even 
 George Rose nothing to complain of. 
 1 will take (he question in his own 
 w r ay; and I shall, for argument's sake, 
 voluntarily make admissions in his 
 favour, for which he (though that is 
 saying a great deal) would not have 
 the conscience to ask. 
 
 It is impossible to say, or even to 
 form any thing like a correct estimate 
 of, what would have been the con- 
 sequences, in England, of remaining 
 at peace- in 1793, instead of going to 
 war against the French people. But, 
 it is easy to name some things, which 
 would not have taken place, even if 
 peace had been preserved. For in- 
 stance, the earth of England would 
 still have retained its former qualities ; 
 the sun, the moon, the stars, the 
 rains, the frosts, the snows, would 
 not have been obstructed by peace. 
 The animals, of all sorts, would have 
 continued breeding. Young people 
 would have continued to grow up and 
 see their parents buried. We should, 
 in short, have the same air to 
 breathe, and the same kinds of food 
 and drink, and the same kinds of 
 clothes to wear 
 
 There are some of the most reso- 
 lute Antijacobins, who will assert the 
 contrary of the greater part of all this. 
 They will insist, that all nature would 
 have suffered ; and that England would 
 have become a wild waste, inhabited 
 by savage men and savage beasts. 
 This, however, wewid not believe. We 
 must confine our admissions, great as 
 they are to be, far within this compass. 
 I will admit, then, that, if the 
 People of France had been suffered 
 to remain at peace, that, as far as the 
 circumstances of the two nations were, 
 previous to the French revolution, 
 alike, so far the People of England 
 would have fojlowed their example. 
 The Jacobins, as the friends of Re- 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 {43S 
 
 form, were called, were very active. 
 The success of the People of Fi ance, 
 m overturning a most horrid despot- 
 ism, had produced great pleasure in 
 England amongst the mass of the 
 people; and, I have no doubt, thst, 
 had our Government continued at 
 peace with France ; that hid it not 
 adopted any of its hostile measures 
 in 1792; that, if it had continued the 
 former relationships of pcaee, com- 
 merce, and intercDurse with Fiance, 
 some vein) great changes would have 
 taken place in England. 
 
 What, then, according to the above 
 supposition, would those changes have 
 been ? We are told of the burning of 
 country houses, of the demolition of 
 gentlemen's property, of the pillaging 1 
 of Aristocrats, of the massacres and 
 guillotinings of the French. But, first 
 let it be observed, that, ali these, 
 which took place a iter July 1792, are 
 fairly to be ascribed to the ivar, that war 
 which the Bourbons and Aristucrats, 
 and the Prussians and Austrians 
 made npon the French, in order to 
 compel them to return to a submis- 
 sion to that despotism, which they had 
 overturned. Previous to this time, 
 though there were* many acts of un- 
 justifiable violence on the part of 
 some of the people, there were none 
 of those bloody scenes, which took 
 place after the invasion of France by 
 the Aristocrats and the Prussians, 
 with the Duke of Brunswick at their 
 head, in 1792, when the king was 
 alive, and was enjoying as much 
 power, as many very wise men think 
 a king ought to enjoy. It was, there- 
 fore, not till war was begun against 
 the French People, that those bloody 
 scenes ensued, which are, by the 
 Aristocrats, ascribed to the revolu- 
 hUion, when they ought to be, and 
 are by all just men, ascribed to -the war 
 waged against the French People. 
 
 In seeking, therefore, to ascertain 
 what changes would have taken place 
 in England, we must always bear in 
 mind how far the French had gone, 
 previotis to their being attacked by the 
 
489] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [440 
 
 Emigrants of the Allies; and, previous 
 to our hostile measures against them, 
 indicating intentions of war. Because, 
 all tiie changes which the French j 
 made after that, we have a right to 
 suppose they would not have made 
 had it not been for the war; that very 
 war, of which we were the main sup- , 
 porters, and which has only now 
 come to a close after twenty-two years 
 duration. 
 
 What, then, were the changes, 
 which the French (whose example, 
 observe, it was said we should follow) 
 made previous to the war? But, be- 
 fore I come to state these, I must 
 notice, that the situation of England, 
 at the commencement of the French 
 revolution, was very different from 
 that of France. The sufferings of the 
 latter had been so much greater, that 
 it is not reasonable to suppose, that 
 the people here would have gone such 
 lengths, in the w r ay of resentment, as 
 the people of France went. This 
 leads us to call to our recollection 
 what the sufferings of the people of 
 France really were. 
 
 It is notorious, that, for ages, pre- 
 vious to the French revolution, we, in 
 this country, constantly described the 
 French as slaves; our histories, our 
 moral essays, our political writings, 
 our poems, our plays, all describe 
 them as slaves, and as cowards for 
 submitttng to such a government as 
 then existed. Now, indeed, our con- 
 ductors of news-papers, with a de- 
 gree of impudence absolutely without 
 parallel, abuse the French people for 
 having destroyed the PATERNAL 
 
 sway of the Bourbons ! Let us now 
 
 see, then, what was the nature of that 
 H paternal sway ;" and, when we have 
 taken a full view of it, and of its ef- 
 fects, we shall be able to judge, whe- 
 ther it be probable, that the people 
 
 of France will listen to those who are 
 endeavouring to bring them back to 
 blessings of that " paternal sway." — 
 But, how are we to get at a true ac- 
 count of the nature and effects o\ the 
 Bourbon government? We must re- 
 sort to some authority: to somebody's 
 word, whose word is to be relied on. 
 — The authority, to which I am about 
 to refer, is that of Mr. Arthur 
 Young, who is, and who has been, 
 for many years past, Secretary to the 
 Board of Agriculture, with a salary, 
 paid by the public, of 500/. a y ear. — 
 Mr. Young is, in the first place, a 
 man of great talents; and, perhaps, 
 it is impossible to find out a person so 
 fit to be referred to as Mr., Young. 
 His studies had been of that kind, 
 which peculiarly fitted him for an in- 
 quiry of this description ; and, he was 
 in France at precisely the time for 
 making it. He made, during the vears 
 1787, 1788, and 1789, an agricultu- 
 ral and politico-oeconomical survey of 
 the kingdom of France. He was 
 there when the revolution began ; fap 
 was there during its progress until the 
 new constitution was formed. He was 
 not only living in great intimacy with 
 many of the most respectable leaders 
 in that work ; but, he himself, cross- 
 ing the kingdom in all directions, 
 made himself minutely acquainted, 
 by the means of personal inquiry and 
 the evidence of his senses, of exesy 
 particular, relating to the nature and 
 effects of those " ancient Ordinances 
 " and Customs," of which the parti- 
 zans of the war now boast.— During 
 his travels, he gives an account of 
 these, by citing numerous instances, 
 of the abominable tyranny, under 
 which the people groaned ; and, at 
 the close of his work, he publishes 
 reflections on the Revolution, begin- 
 ning with a summary description of 
 
 &nterrt> at Stationers' E;au\ 
 
 Printed by W. Mouneux, 5, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane; Published by W. Cowjctt, 
 Jun, No. 8, Catherine Street, Strand: and Retailed at No. 192, Strand. 
 
N° l5.]-COBBETT'S PAPER AGAINST GOLD.— [Price Two- Pence 
 
 
 441] 
 
 the state of the people under the 
 Bourbon government, and, to the 
 evidences of his own observation, add- 
 ing, as he proceeds, the complaints con- 
 tained in the Cahiers, tiiat is to say, 
 the lists of complaints, made to the 
 National Assembly by the most re- 
 spectable people of the different pro- 
 vinces, to which Cahiers, he refers in 
 the notes. — This part of Mr. Young's 
 work, I am now about to insert. I 
 beg you to go through it with atten- 
 tion. You will see iiow every part 
 of it applies to the subject on which 
 we are, and also to the present crisis. 
 
 ON THE. REVOLUTION OF FRANCE. 
 
 " The gross infamy which attended 
 letters de cachet and the Bastile, 
 during the whole reign of Louis 
 XV. made them esteemed in Eng- 
 land, by people not well informed, as 
 the most prominent features of the 
 despotism of France. They were 
 eertainly carried to an" excess hardly 
 credible; to the length of being sold, 
 with blanks, to be filled up with 
 names at the pleasure of the pur- 
 chaser; who was thus able, in the 
 gratification of private revenge, to 
 tear a man from the bosom of his 
 family, and bury him in a dungeon, 
 where he would exist forgotten, and 
 die unknown!* — But such excesses 
 
 * An anecdote, which I have from an au- 
 thority .to be depended on, will explain the 
 profligacy of Government, in respect to these 
 arbitrary imprisonments. Lord Albemarle, 
 when ambassador in France, about the year 
 1753, negotiating the fixing of the limits of 
 the American colonies, which, three years 
 after, produced the war, calling one day 
 on the minister for foreign affairs, was intro- 
 duced, for a few minutes, into his cabinet, 
 while he finished a short conversation in the 
 apartment in which he usual!* received 
 those who conferred with him. As his 
 lordship walked backwards and forwards, 
 
 W. MOLIXEUX, Printer, Bream's Buildings, 
 Chancery Laue. 
 
 [442 
 
 could not be common in any country ; 
 and they were reduced almost n> 
 nothing, from the accession of the 
 present King. The great mass of the 
 people, by which I mean the lower 
 and middle ranks, could suffer very 
 little from such engines, and, as few 
 of them are objects of jealousy, had 
 there been nothing else to complain 
 of, it is not probable they would 
 ever have been brought to take 
 arms. The abuses attending the 
 levy of taxes were heavy and uni- 
 versal. The kingdom was parcelled 
 into generalities, with an intendant 
 at the head of each the whole 
 power of the crown was delegated 
 for every thing except the military 
 authority; but particularly for all 
 affairs of finance. The generalities 
 were subdivided into elections, at the 
 head of which was a suh-dclcgvf, 
 appointed by the iiltendatffc The 
 rolls of the tdille, cabitation, ving 
 Hemes, and other taxes, were dis 
 tributed among districts, parishes, 
 ,and individuals, at the ph 
 the intendant, who could exempt, 
 change, add, or diminish, at pleasure. 
 Such an enormous power, constantly 
 acting, and from which no man was 
 free, must, in the nature of thi 
 degenerate in many cises into abso- 
 lute tyranny. It must be obvious, 
 that the friends, acquaintances, and 
 dependants of the intendant, and of 
 
 in a very small room (a French cabinet is 
 never a very large one), he could not help 
 seeing a paper lying on the table, written 
 in a large legible hand, and containing a 
 list of the prisoners in the Bastile, in which 
 the first name was Gordon. When the 
 minister entered, Lord Albemarle apolo- 
 gized for his involuntarily remarking the 
 paper.; the other replied, that it was 
 not of the least consequence, for they made 
 no secret of the names. Lord A. then 
 said, that he had seen the name of Gordon 
 first in the list, and he begged to kno 
 in all probability the person of this name 
 
4431 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [444 
 
 all his sub-delegues, and the friends ot 
 these friends, to a long chain of de- 
 pendance, might be favoured in tax- 
 ation at the expense of their mise- 
 rable neighbours; and that noble- 
 men, in favour at court, to whose 
 protection the intendant himself 
 would naturally look up, could find 
 little difficulty in throwing much o* 
 the weight of their taxes on others, 
 without a similar support. Instances, 
 and even gross ones, have been re- 
 ported to me in many parts of the 
 kingdom, that made me shudder at 
 the oppression to which numbers 
 must have been condemned, by the 
 undue favours granted to such crook- 
 ed influence. But, without recurring 
 to such cases, what must have been 
 the state of the poor people paying 
 heavy taxes, from which the nobility 
 and clergy were exempted ? A cruel 
 aggravation of their misery, to see 
 those who could best afford to pay, 
 exempted, because able!— The in- 
 rolments for the militia, which the 
 cahiers call an injustice without ex- j 
 ample f, were another dreadful 
 scourge on the peasantry; and, as 
 married men were exempted from it, 
 occasioned in some degree that mis- 
 chievous population, which brought 
 beings into the world, in order for 
 little else than to be starved. The 
 corvees, or police of the roads, were 
 annually the ruin of many hundreds 
 of farmers ; more than 300 were 
 reduced to beggary in filling up one 
 
 was a British subject, on what account he 
 had Ween put into theBastile. The minister 
 told him, that he knew nothing of the mat- 
 ter, but would make the proper enquiries. 
 The next time he sawvLord Albemarle, he 
 informed him, that, on inquiring into the 
 case of Gordon, he could find no person 
 who could give him the least information ; 
 on which he had had Gordon himself inter- 
 rogated, who solemnly affirmed, that he 
 had not the smallest knowledge, or even 
 suspicion, of the cause of bis imprisonment, 
 but that he had been confined thirty years; 
 however, added the minister, I ordered him 
 to be immediately released, aud he is now 
 at large. Such a case wants no comment. 
 t Nob. Brieij, p. 6, &c. Sec. 
 
 vale in Lorraine : all ^these oppres- 
 sions fell on the tins etat only ; the 
 nobility and clergy having been 
 equally exempted from tallies, militia, 
 and corvees. The penal code of 
 finance makes one shudder at the 
 horrors of punishment inadequate to 
 the crime \. A few features will 
 sufficiently characterize the old go- 
 vernment. 
 
 1. Smugglers of salt, armed and 
 assembled to the number of five, in 
 Provence, a fine of 500 liv. and nine 
 years rj allies; — in all the rest of the 
 kingdom, death. 
 
 2. Smugglers armed, assembled, 
 but in number under five, a fine of 
 300 liv. and three years gallies. Se- 
 cond offence, death. 
 
 3. Smugglers, without arms, but 
 with horses, carts, or boats; a fine of 
 300 liv. if not paid, three years gal- 
 lies. Second offence, 400 liv. and 
 nine years gallies. — In Dauphine, se- 
 cond offence, gallies for life. In 
 Provence, five years gallies. 
 
 4. Smugglers, who carry the salt 
 on their backs, and without arms, a 
 tine of 200 liv. and, if not paid, are 
 flogged and branded. Second of- 
 fence, a fine of 300 liv. and six years 
 gallies. 
 
 5. Women, married and single, 
 smugglers, first offence, a fine of 100 
 liv. Second, 300 liv. Third', fiog- 
 aed, and banished the kingdom for life. 
 
 * It is calculated by a writer (Recherches 
 et Cojisid. par 31. le Baron de Cormert, torn, 
 ii. p. 137,) very well informed on every sub- 
 ject of finance, that, upon an average, there 
 were annually taken up and sent to prison 
 or the gallies ; Men, 2,310. Women, 896. 
 Children, 201. Total, 3,437; 300 of these 
 to the gallies (torn. i. p. 112). The salt con- 
 fiscated from these miserables amounted to 
 12,633 quintals, which, at the mean price of 
 
 8 liv. are 101,064 liv. 
 
 2,77ilb. of salted flesh,at 10*. 1,386 
 
 1,086 horses, at 50 liv 54,300 
 
 52 carts, at 1 50 liv 7,800 
 
 Fines 53,20T 
 
 Seized iu houses 10r,53O 
 
 323,287 
 
 
445] 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 [446 
 
 wc 
 
 
 Husbands responsible both in fine and 
 body. 
 
 6. Children smugglers, the same as 
 women. — Fathers and mothers respon- 
 
 ible; and for defect of payment, 
 gged. 
 
 7. Nobles, if smugglers, deprived 
 of their nobility ; and their houses rased 
 to the ground, 
 
 8. Any persons in employments, 
 (I suppose employed in the salt-works 
 or the revenue), if smugglers, death. 
 And such as assist in the theft of salt 
 in the transport, hanged. 
 
 9. Soldiers smuggling, with arms, 
 arc hanged ; without arms, y allies for 
 life. 
 
 10. Buying smuggled salt to resell 
 it, the same punishment as for smug- 
 gling. 
 
 11. Persons in the salt employ- 
 ments, empowered, if two, or one with 
 two witnesses, to enter and examine 
 houses, even of the privileged order. 
 
 12. All families, and persons liable 
 to the taille, in the provinces of the 
 Grandes Gabelles inrolled, and their 
 consumption of salt for the pot and 
 saliere (that is, the daily consumption, 
 exclusive of salting meat, &c. &c0 
 estimated at 71b. a head per annum, 
 which quantity they are forced to buy, 
 whether they want it or not, under the 
 pain of various fines, according to the 
 case. 
 
 The Capitaineries were a dreadful 
 scourge on all the occupiers of land. 
 By this term, is to be understood the 
 paramountship of certain districts, 
 granted by the king, to princes of the 
 blood, by which they were put in pos- 
 session of the property of all game, 
 even on lands not belonging to them ; 
 and, what is very singular, on manors 
 granted long before to individuals ; so 
 that the erecting of a district into a 
 capitainerie, w as an annihilation o» 
 all manerial rights to game within it. 
 This was a trilling business, in com- 
 parison of other circumstances • for, 
 in speaking of the preservation of the 
 game in these capitaineries, it must 
 bo observed, that by game must be 
 
 understood whole droves of wild 
 boars, and herds of deer, not confined 
 by any wall or pale, but wanderings 
 at pleasure, over the whole country, 
 to the destruction of the crops; and 
 to the peopling of the gallies by the 
 wretched peasants, who presumed to 
 kill them, in order to save that food 
 which was to support their helpless 
 children. The game in the capitain- 
 erie of Montceau, in four parishes 
 only, did mischief to the amount of 
 1S4,263 liv. per annum.' No won- 
 der then that we should find the 
 people asking ' Nous demandons a 
 
 * grand cris la destruction des cqpi- 
 
 * taineries 6f celle de toute sorte de gi- 
 ' bier'.f And what are we to think of 
 demanding, as a favour, the permis- 
 sion — ' De Nettoycr ses grains, de 
 
 * faucher les jnrs artificiels, et d'en- 
 ' lever ses chaumes sans tgard pour la 
 ' perdrix ou tout autre gibier.^ Now, 
 an English reader will scarcely under- 
 stand it without being told, that there 
 were numerous edicts for preserving 
 the game, which prohibited weeding 
 and hoeing, lest the young partridges 
 should be disturbed ; steeping seed, 
 lest it should injure the game ; ma- 
 nuring with night-soil, lest the ilavoui 
 of the partridges should be injured 
 by feeding on the corn so produced ; 
 mowing hay, &c. before a certain 
 time, so late as to spoil many crops ; 
 and taking away the stubble, which 
 would deprive the birds of shelter. 
 The tyranny exercised in these capi- 
 taineries, which extended over 400 
 leagues of country, was so great, that 
 many cahiers demanded the utter sup- 
 
 * Cahier du tiers (tat de Weaux, p. 49. 
 
 t De Mcntes and 3Ievlun, p. 40. — Also, 
 Noh. 8? Tier Eiat de Peronne, p. 42.— De 
 Trois ordres de Montfort, p. 28. — That is : 
 " We most earnestly pray for the suppres- 
 " sion of the Capitaineries, and that of all 
 " the j?ame jaws." 
 
 t De Mantes and Meulan, p. 35.— That is 
 to say, " the favour to weed their corn, to 
 " mow their upland grass, and to take off 
 " their stubble, without consulting the con- 
 " venience of the partridges, or any other 
 " sort of game." 
 
 P 2 
 
4471 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [448 
 
 pression of them * Such were the 
 exertions of arbitrary power which 
 the' lower orders felt directly from 
 the royal authority; but, heavy as 
 they were, it is a question whether 
 the others,suiIered circuitously through 
 the nobility and the clergy, were not 
 yet more oppressive? Nothing can 
 exceed the complaints made in the 
 cahiers under, this head. They speak 
 of the dispensation of justice in the 
 manerial courts, as comprising every 
 species of despotism : the districts in- 
 determinate —appeals endless — irre- 
 concileable to liberty and prosperity 
 — -arid irrevocably proscribed in the 
 opinion of the publicf — augmenting 
 litigations — favouring every species of 
 chicane — ruining the parties — not only 
 by enormous expenses on the most 
 petty objects, but by a dreadful loss 
 of time. The judges commonly igno- 
 rant pretenders, who hold their courts 
 in cabarets, and are absolutely depen- 
 dant on the seigneurs. J Nothing can 
 exceed the force of expression used 
 in painting the oppressions of the 
 seigneurs, in consequence of their 
 feudal powers. They are " vexations 
 qui soiit le plus grand fiian des peu- 
 pl-es.% — Esclavage ajjttgeant.\\ — Ce re- 
 gime desastreuse.^ That the 
 
 feodaliU be for ever abolished. The 
 countryman is tyrannically enslaved 
 by it. Fixed and heavy rents ; vexa- 
 tious processes to secure them; ap- 
 preciated unjustly to augment them : 
 rents, solidaires, and revenchables ; 
 rente, chtantes, Vindlecantes; jvmages. 
 Fines at every change of the proper- 
 
 * Clerge de Pr&vins §■ Montereau, p. 35. — 
 Clerge* de Paris, p. 2b. — Clerge de Mantes fy 
 Bleulan, p. 15, 40'. Clerge 1 de Laon. p. 11. — 
 Nob. de Nemouis, p. 17.— Nob. de Paris, p. 22. 
 —Nob. d: Arras, p. 29. 
 
 t Rennes, art. 12. I Ncvernois,' art. 43. 
 
 <$ Tiers Etat dc Venues, p. 24. — That is 
 c< . Vexations which are the greatest scourge 
 " of the people.' 
 
 |i T. Etat Clermont Ferrand, p. b c l. — That 
 is: u Cruel Shivery." 
 
 f Tiers Etat. Auxnrc, art 6.— That is: 
 " This ruinous system of governing." 
 
 < v, in the direct as well as collateral 
 line; feudal redemption (retraite); 
 fines on sale, to the eighth and even 
 the sixth penny; redemptions (ra- 
 chats) injurious in their origin, and 
 still more so in their extension : bana- 
 lite of the mill,* of the oven, and of 
 the wine and cyder-press ; eorvefe by 
 custom; corvets by usage of the fief; 
 corvee" s established by unjust decrees ; 
 corvets arbitrary, and even phantas- 
 tical ; servitudes; prestations, extra- 
 vagant and burthensome; collections 
 by assessment incollectable ; aveux, 
 minus, impunissemens ; litigations ru- 
 inous and without end : the rod of 
 of seigneural finance for ever shaken 
 over our heads ; vexation, ruin, out- 
 rage, violence, and destructive ser- 
 vitude, under which the peasants, 
 almost on a level with Polish slaves, 
 can never but be miserable, vile, and 
 oppressed.! They demand also, that 
 the use of hand-mills be free ; and 
 hope that posterity, if possible, may 
 be ignorant that feudal tyranny in 
 Bretagne, armed with the judicial 
 power, has not blushed even in these 
 times at breaking hand-mills, and at 
 selling annually to the miserable, the 
 faculty of bruising between two stones 
 a measure of buck- wheat or barley.]: 
 The very terms of these complaints 
 are unknown in England, and un- 
 translatable ; they have probably 
 arisen long since the feudal system 
 ceased in (his kingdom. What 
 these tortures of the peasantry in 
 Bretagne, which they call ehevanchts, 
 quintaines, soules, saut dc poison, 
 
 * By this horrible law, the people are 
 bound to grind their corn at the mill of the 
 seigneur only ; to press their grapes at his 
 press only ; and to hake their bread in his 
 oven ; by which means the bread is often 
 spoiled, and more especially wine, since in 
 Champagne those grapes which, pressed 
 immediately, would make white wine, by 
 waiting for the press, which often happens, 
 make red wine only. 
 
 f Tiers Etat Rennes, p. 159. 
 
 % Rennes, p. 5?. 
 
440! 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 (416 
 
 baiscr de tfiari&as ; chansons; trans- 
 porte cVccvf stir vn charette ; silence 
 des grenouilles ; corvee a mistricorde ; 
 milods] hide; couponage; earth 
 bar aye ; fouaye ; marechaussec ; ban 
 vin ; ban d'aout ; tronsscs ; gciinagc ; 
 civerage ; taillabilitic ; vinytain; ster- 
 lage ; bordelagc ; rninage ; ban de 
 veuiianges ; druit aVaccapte ?* In pass- 
 ing through many of the French 
 provinces, I was struck with the va- 
 rious and heavy complaints of the 
 farmers and little proprietors, of the 
 feudal grievances, with the weight of 
 which their industry was burthened ; 
 but I could not then conceive the 
 multiplicity of the shackles which 
 kept them poor and depressed. I 
 understood it better afterwards, from 
 the conversation and complaints of 
 some grand seigneurs, as the revo- 
 lution advanced ; and I then learned, 
 that the principal rental of many 
 estates consisted in services and 
 feudal tenures ; by the baneful in- 
 fluence of which, the industry of the 
 people was almost exterminated. In 
 regard to the oppressions of the 
 clerg}^, as to tithes, I must do that 
 body a justice, to which a claim can- 
 not be laid in England. Though the 
 ecclesiastical tenth was levied in 
 France more severely than usual in 
 Italy, yet was it never exacted with 
 such horrid greediness as is at pre- 
 sent the disgrace of England. When 
 taken in kind, no such thing was 
 known in any part of France, where 
 I made inquiries, as a tenth : it was 
 always a twelfth, or a thirteenth, or 
 even a twentieth of the produce. .And 
 in no part of the kingdom did a new 
 article of culture pay any thing ; thus 
 turnips, cabbages, clover, chicoree, 
 potatoes, clc. &c. paid nothing. In 
 
 * This is a curious article : when the 
 lady of the seigneur lies in, the people arc 
 ■obliged to beat Ike waters in marshy districts, 
 to keep the frogs silent, that she may not 
 be disturbed ; this duty, a very op- 
 pressive one, is commuted intfc a pecuniary 
 fine. 
 
 t Resume dfs cahkrs } torn, iii, p. 316, 317. 
 
 many parts, meadows were exempt. 
 Silk-worms nothing. Olives in some 
 places paid — in more they did hot. 
 Cows nothing. 1/ambs from the 12th 
 to the 21st. Wool nothing. — 
 mildness, in the levy of this odious 
 tax, is absolutely unknown in Eng- 
 land. But mild as it was, the bur- 
 den to people groaning under so many 
 other oppressions, united to render 
 their situation so bad that no change 
 could be for the worse. But these 
 were not all the evils with which the 
 people struggled. The administration 
 of justice was partial, venal, infamous. 
 I have, in conversation with many 
 very sensible men, in different parts 
 of the kingdom, met with something 
 of content with their government, in 
 all other respects than this ; but upon 
 the question o/ expecting justice to be 
 really and fairly administered, every 
 one confessed there was no such thing 
 to be looked for. The conduct of the 
 parliaments was profligate and atro- 
 cious. Upon almost every cause that 
 came before them, interest was openly 
 made with the judges : and woe be- 
 tided the man who, with a cause to 
 support, had no means of conciliating 
 favour, either by the beauty of a 
 handsome wife, or by other methods. 
 It has been said, by many writers, 
 that property was as secure under the 
 old government of France as it is in 
 England; and the assertion might pos- 
 sibly be true, as far as any violence 
 from the King, his ministers, or the 
 great was concerned ; but for all that 
 mass of property, which comes in 
 every country to be litigated in courts 
 of justice, there was not even the 
 shadow of security, unless the parties 
 were totally and equally unknown, 
 and totally and equally honest ; t in 
 every other case, he who had the 
 best interest with the judges, was 
 sure to be the winner. To reflecting 
 minds, the cruelty and abominable 
 ding .such courts are 
 . There was also 
 a circumstance in the constitution of 
 
451] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 452 
 
 these parliaments, but little known in 
 England, and which under such a 
 government as that of France, must 
 be considered as very singular. They 
 had the power, and were in the con- 
 stant practice of issuing decrees, with- 
 out the consent of the crown, and 
 which had the force of laws through 
 the whole of their jurisdiction; and 
 of all other laws, these were sure to 
 be the best obeyed; for as all infringe- 
 ments of them were brought before 
 sovereign courts, composed of the 
 same persons who had enacted these 
 laws (a horrible system of tyranny !) 
 they were certain of being punished 
 -with the last severity. It must ap- 
 pear strange, in a government so de- 
 spotic in some respects as that of 
 France, to see the parliaments in every 
 part of the kingdom making laws 
 without the King's consent, and even 
 in defiance of his authority. The 
 English whom I met in France in 
 1789, were surprised to see some Oi j 
 athese bodies issuing arrets against the j 
 export of corn out of the provinces : 
 subject to their jurisdiction, into the 
 neighbouring provinces, at the same 
 time that the King, through the organ 
 of so popular a minister as Mons. 
 Necker, was decreeing an absolutely 
 free transport of corn throughout the 
 kingdom, and even at the requisition 
 of the National Assembly itself. But 
 this was nothing new; it was their 
 common practice. The parliament 
 of Rouen passed an arret against 
 killing of calves : it was a prosperous 
 one, and opposed by administration ; 
 but it had its full force ; and had a 
 butcher dared to offend against it, he 
 would have found, by the rigour of 
 his punishment, who was his master. 
 Inoculation was favoured by the court 
 in Louis XV.'s time ; but the parlia- 
 ment of Paris passed an arret against 
 it, much more effective in prohibiting, 
 than the favour of the court in en- 
 couraging that practice. Instances 
 are innumerable, and I may remark, 
 that the bigotry, ignorance, false prin- 
 ciples, and tyranny of these bodies 
 
 were generally conspicuous; and that 
 the Court (taxation excepted), never 
 had a dispute with a Parliament, but 
 the Parliament was sure to be wrong. 
 Their Constitution, in respect to the 
 administration of justice, was so truly 
 rotten, that the members sat as judges, 
 even in causes of private property, in 
 which they were themselves the par- 
 ties, and have, in this capacity, been 
 guilty of oppressions and cruelties, 
 which the crown has rarely dared 
 to attempt, 
 
 It is impossible to justify the ex- 
 cesses of the people on their taking up 
 arms; they were certainly guilty of 
 cruelties; it is idle to deny the facts, 
 for they have been proved too clearly 
 to admit of a doubt. But is it really 
 the people to whom we are to impute 
 the whole? — Or to their oppressors, 
 who had kept them so long In a state 
 of bondage? He whe chooses to be 
 served by slaves, and by ill-treated 
 slaves, must know that he holds both 
 his property and life by a tenure far 
 different from those who prefer the 
 service of well treated freemen; and 
 he who dines to the music of groaning 
 sufferers, must not, in the moment of 
 insurrection, complain that his daugh- 
 ters aie ravished, and then destroyed; 
 and that his sons' throats are cut. 
 When such evils happen, they surely 
 are more imputable to the tyranny of 
 the master, than to the cruelty of the 
 servant. The analogy holds with the 
 French peasants — the murder of a 
 seigneur, or a chateau in flames, is re- 
 corded in every news-paper; the rank 
 of the person who suffers, attracts 
 notice; but where do we find the 
 register of that seigneur's oppressions 
 of his peasantry, and his exactions of 
 feudal services, from those whose 
 children were dying around them for 
 want of bread? Where do we find 
 the minutes that assigned these starv- 
 ing wretches to some vile petty-fogger 
 to be fleeced by impositions, and a 
 mockery of justice, in the seigneural 
 courts ? Who gives us the awards of 
 the intend ant and Ki a sub-dekguis, 
 
 I 
 
453] 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 [454 
 
 which took off the taxes of a man of 
 fashion, and laid them with accumu- 
 lated weight, on the poor, who were 
 so unfortunate as to be his neighbours? 
 Who has dwelt sufficiently upon ex- 
 plaining all the ramifications of despo- 
 tism, legal, aristocratic, and eccle- 
 siastical, pervading the whole mass o« 
 the people; reaching, like a circulating 
 fluid, the most distant capillary tubes 
 of poverty and wretchedness? In 
 these cases, the sufferers are too 
 ignoble to be known; and the mass 
 too indiscriminate to be pitied, liut 
 should a philosopher- feel and reason 
 thus ? Should he mistake the cause 
 for the effect ? and giving all iiis pity 
 to the few, feel no compassion for the 
 many, because they sutler in his eyes 
 not individually, but by millions.'' 
 The excesses of the people cannot, I 
 repeat, be justified; it would un- 
 doubtedly have done them credit, both 
 as men and Christians, if they had 
 possessed their new acquired power 
 with moderation. But let it be re- 
 membered, that the populace in no 
 country ever-use power with modera- 
 tion; excess is inherent in their 
 aggregate constitution; and as every 
 Government in the world knows, that 
 violence infallibly attends power in 
 such hands, it is doubly bound in 
 common sense, and for common safety, 
 so to conduct itself, that the people 
 may not find an interest in public 
 confusions. They will always suffer 
 much and long, before they are- effec- 
 tually roused ; nothing, therefore, can 
 kindle the flame, but such oppressions 
 of some classes or order in the society, 
 as give able men the opportunity oi 
 seconding the general mass ; discon- 
 tent will soon diffuse itself around; 
 and if the Government take not 
 warning in time, it is alone answera- 
 ble for all the burnings, and plunder- 
 ings, and devastation, and blood that 
 follow. The true judgment to be 
 formed of the French revolution, 
 must surely be gained, from an atten- 
 tive consideration of the evils of ihe 
 old Government • when these are 
 
 well understood— and when the ex- 
 tent and universality of the oppression 
 under which the people groaned — ■ 
 oppression which bore upon them 
 from every quarter, it will scarcely 
 be attempted to be urged, that a re- 
 volution was not absolutely necessary 
 to the welfare of the kingdom. Not 
 one opposing voice* can, with reason, 
 be raised against this assertion: abuses 
 ought certainly to be corrected, and 
 corrected effectually : this could not 
 be done without the establishment of 
 a new form of government ; whether 
 the form that has been adopted were 
 the best, is another question absolutely 
 distinct. i>ut that the above-men- 
 tioned detail of enormities practised 
 on the people required some great 
 change, is sufficiently apparent." 
 
 Thus we have the causes of those 
 violences, which the people of France 
 committed at the beginning of the re- 
 volution. Mr. Young has fairly stated 
 them. They were produced by those 
 
 * Many opposing voices havebeen raised; 
 but so little to their credit, th!ft I leave the 
 passage as it was written long ago. The 
 abuses that are rooted in all the old Govern- 
 ments of Europe, give such numbers of 
 men a direct interest in supporting, cherish- 
 ing, and defending abuses, that no wonder 
 advocates for tyranny, of every species, are 
 found in every country, and almost in every 
 company. What a mass of people, in every 
 part of England, are some way or other in- 
 terested in the present representation of the 
 people, tithes, charters, corporations, mono- 
 polies, and taxation! and not merely to the 
 things themselves, but to all the abuses 
 attending them; and how many are there, 
 who derive their profit, or their considera- 
 tion in life, not merely from such institu- 
 tion*, but from the evils they engender! 
 The great mass of the people, however, is 
 free from sueh influence, and will be en- 
 lightened by degrees; assuredly they will 
 find out, in every country in Europe, that 
 by combinations, on the principles ot liberty 
 and property, aimed equally against regal, 
 aristocratical, and mobbish tyranny, they 
 will be able to resist suoee»sfnlly, that va- 
 riety of combination, which, on principles 
 of plunder and despotism, is every whert 
 at work to enslave ihem. 
 
455] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [456 
 
 Nobles, Priests, and that Bourbon 
 faimly, to seat whom in their power 
 again we have saddled ourselves with 
 an eve/lasting Debt. 
 
 Now, unless we are ready to admit, 
 that we are worse than the French 
 naturally ; that we are a more foolish, 
 or a more wicked, or more sanguinary- 
 race, it can never be. supposed, that 
 we should have gone so far as the 
 Freneh went previous to the war of 
 1792 ; because we certainly had not, 
 at that time, such oppressions to com- 
 plain of and avenge. Indeed, all that 
 the people of England complained of 
 was, that they were not represented 
 in Parliament; and this had been 
 complained of by Pitt in terms more 
 strong than by any other man that 
 ever lived. He had gone so far as to 
 say, that, without a reform in the Par- 
 liament, it was impossible, that any 
 Minister, in England, should be a 
 Minister and an honest man. This 
 grievance had long been complained 
 of by the whole nation, those who 
 were interested in the abuse excepted, 
 and even these seemed to object more 
 to the time and the manner of the 
 proposed reform than to the thing 
 itself. 
 
 At the breaking out of the French 
 Revolution the people of England 
 . at first, astonished: but, they 
 soon began to perceive, that this event 
 would compel the conceding of that 
 reform in the J?arli • hicji they 
 
 had so long petitioned for in vain. 
 Those in power saw it too. All 
 munieation was, by war, etrt off be- 
 tween the two countries; reform did 
 not take place; our system of govern- 
 ment was ' new-steeled, instead of 
 being softened; and by divers laws, 
 still in existence, the liberties of the 
 people were abridged, instead of 
 being enlarged. 
 
 But, do I suppose., that the people 
 would have stopped at the end of a 
 Reform in the Commons House of 
 Parliament? Frankly to speak, I do 
 not believe they would. I think it 
 would have been wise for them to stop 
 
 there, but I do not think they would. 
 The Established Church would have 
 been abolished. There was, and there 
 is, nobody who approves of tythes. 
 We even now hear the land-occupiers, 
 and even the land-holders, including 
 many of the nobility, respecting tythes 
 as one of the causes of our inability 
 to sell corn so cheap as the Freneh ; 
 and, thus, after all, and even while 
 we are paying armies to put down the 
 French revolutionists, inculcating the 
 wisdom of following their example in 
 this very material point. So that, if 
 to this dislike of tythes amongst the 
 Church people themselves, amongst 
 those whose relations, sons, fathers, 
 brothers, own the tythes, what might 
 not have been expected from the dis- 
 senters? From all those numerous 
 sects, who look upon the Established 
 Church, not only as a heavy burden 
 to them, but as a great injury to 
 religion itself? What mercy could 
 she, as to her property, reasonably 
 expect from these millions, whom she 
 had so long kept in a state of depres- 
 sion, and whose teachers she had so 
 long filled with envy. 
 
 The Nobility would have stood but 
 little better chance. The nation was 
 too full of knowledge ; there were too 
 many men of wealth and talent, not 
 belonging to the Noblesse ; there 
 were too many opulent merchants and 
 manufacturers and others, to have 
 suffered the Nobility to remain. The 
 Orders of Nobility would therefore, 
 have been, in all likelihood, abolished. 
 There is no doubt, that, either by a 
 reformed Parliament, or in conse- 
 quence of popular menaces, the whole 
 of the Sinecure Placemen, and nearly 
 whole of the Pensioners tnd 
 Grantees would have been dismissed 
 without a penny of compensation; 
 and there is as little doubt that the 
 Game-laws would have been wholly 
 swept away. 
 
 I will allow, too, that the powers 
 and expenses of the King and his 
 family would have been greatly 
 abridged ; that they would have been 
 
457] 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 [458 
 
 reduced to be merely the Chief 
 Magistrates of the country; that tiiey 
 would no longer have enjoyed Droits 
 of Admiralty ; and that all magnifi- 
 cence and show must have been laid 
 aside. Whether this would have been 
 wise or not is another question. Such 
 was the temper of the time, that, I 
 think, had it not been for the war, it 
 would inevitably have taken place. 
 
 But, when I have made these ad- 
 missions, I am sure, that even George 
 Rose cannot ask me to allow, that the 
 people of England would have gone 
 further ; that they would have pro- 
 ceeded, as the French did, to the 
 burning of Noblemen's houses, to the 
 pillaging of their farms, the murder of 
 themselves and their families, to the 
 personal ill-treatment and robbery of 
 the houses of the Clergy. To allow 
 this would be to allow, that the people 
 would have done that without provo- 
 cation, which 1 the people of France 
 did with provocation ; and this would 
 be to allow, that the people of England 
 are, by nature, a great deal less just 
 and humane than the people of 
 France. 
 
 I say ivithout provocation, because, 
 though the people of England had to 
 complain of the want of being duly 
 represented in Parliament, and though 
 they did complain of the law of ty thes 
 and some other grievances., all their 
 complaints, in 1792, put together, did 
 not amount to almost any one of the 
 hundreds of oppressions; under which 
 the French people had groaned for 
 centuries. The Clergy, in England, 
 if they had great possessions, owed 
 their preferment, in most cases, to 
 patronage solely; if many of them 
 were fox-hunters, or men of fashion, 
 they were yet, generally speaking, 
 very little inclined to oppression of 
 any sort, and were as mild in their 
 manners, and as kind and as liberal, 
 in all respects, as any other gentlemen 
 in the country. They were at the 
 head of no intolerant Church. They 
 had never murdered people for the 
 love of Christ. If people went to 
 
 hear them, it was well ; If not, it was 
 also well. Never was there in the 
 whole world so inoffensive a Church. 
 
 The Nobility, with few exceptions, 
 had long been in the habit of mixing 
 indiscriminately amongst the opulent 
 of all descriptions. In the chace, on 
 the turf, at the gaming table, at the 
 Bible Societies, at agricultural meetings, 
 in Societies, and Clubs and Parties 
 of all sorts, they had had the good 
 sense to mix with the nation at large. 
 They were, in general, the best and 
 kindest landlords and masters, as they 
 are still. And, which was more than 
 all the rest in their favour, they joined 
 to their affability and liberality their 
 fair share of learning and talent. 
 
 In short, there was nothing in these 
 two orders of men to call forth the 
 hatred or vengeance of the people. 
 Yet, such was their alarm at the 
 abolishing of the Church and of ty thes 
 in France, that they instantly acted 
 as if they had been of the same de- 
 scription as the persecuting Priests 
 and petty lay Tyrants of that country, 
 who were also called Clergy and 
 Nobility, but who no more resembled 
 ours than the poison-tree resembles 
 the vine. 
 
 What have been the consequences 
 of this their decision, as to the freedom 
 and happiness of France, the Continent 
 of Europe, and of England; and what 
 will, in all human probability, be tho 
 final consequences of it, to our Church 
 and Nobility themselves, who, by this 
 time, must begin to be frightened at 
 their own success, is a subject into 
 which I will not now enter. We all 
 know, that there is an English army 
 in France ; that Hanoverian and other 
 German armies, subsidized by r. 
 there also; that the Bourbons are 
 again upon the throne of that country ; 
 and that the Roman Cotholics, stimu- 
 lated by their Priests, are again, as 
 during the reigns of former Bourbons, 
 cutting the throats, mangling and 
 burning the bodies of Protestants. 
 And, it is for us now to inquire, " how 
 " much more WE should have tosh 
 
459] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [460 
 
 " than we have lost, if the war had 
 " not taken place." 
 
 Our losses are these : 1st, all that 
 part of our incomes, or fruit of our 
 labour, which have been taken away 
 during the war for the purpose of 
 carrying it on. 2nd. All that part of 
 our property, which has been taken 
 and actually sold, or is now for sale, 
 by the Government, under what is 
 called the redemption of the Land 
 Tax. 3rd. All that part of our pro- 
 perty, or fruit of our labour, which is 
 required to pay the interest of about 
 eight hundred millions of Debt, occa- 
 sioned solely by the war, and which 
 will be required for ever. 4th. All 
 that part of our property and the fruit 
 of our labour which is required to 
 maintain that increased standing army 
 and those innumerable pensioners and 
 and half-pay officers, naval and mili- 
 tary, who have been created by the 
 war. 5th. The permanent supply of 
 Manufactures to the United States 
 of America, which are now able to 
 manufacture for themselves, and this 
 solely in consequence of the war, be- 
 cause the Orders in Council, Impress- 
 ments from American ships, Non- 
 importations, Embargoes, and finally 
 war with America, were all produced 
 by our war against the French. 6'th. 
 That atate of comparatively light tax- 
 ation, and ease and plenty, and cheap- 
 ness, ^hich left our rich people no 
 reason to wish to migrate to foreign 
 countries, which enabled our farmers 
 to sell their, produce as cheap a3 the 
 French, and which enabled our ma- 
 nufacturers to undersell all the world. 
 These, as no one can deny, are our 
 losses by the war. By peace, I allow, 
 that our Nobility might have lost their 
 titles, our Clergy their tythes, our 
 Sinecure placemen and Pensioners 
 their incomes from those sources, 
 our King and Royal Family much of 
 Iheir power and splendour ; and thai 
 vre should have lost the Borough 
 System I am quite certain. Whether 
 what we might thus have lost by peace 
 would have been greater than what 
 
 we have lost by war, 1 must now leave 
 for you to decide. 
 
 " Aye," some one may say, " but 
 " you have forgotten our gains by the 
 " war. You have forgotten the im- 
 " meuse mass of glory <" I really do 
 not see, that of military or naval glory 
 we have gained a single particle by 
 this war. Nay, I think we have lost. 
 
 The war in Spain and Portugal 
 exhibited a mere branch of the army 
 in France lighting nearly the whole of 
 our military means, aided by'immense 
 fleets, and aided by the chief part of 
 the people of those two countries. 
 That . war continued many years. 
 There were Spanish armies and Por- 
 tuguese armies to assist us. The two 
 Governments were on our side. We 
 had fleets in every harbour. The 
 French were in an enemy's country. 
 And they were not driven out, at last, 
 'till all the rest of Europe were pouring 
 their armies into France on the East 
 and on the North. 
 
 We were victorious at the battle of 
 Waterloo; but we had with us an 
 immense army of Hanoverians, Bel- 
 gians, and Prussians, and, what is 
 more, we were fighting, as all the 
 people of France thought, for the King 
 of France. We have now an army in 
 France ; but, it is there by the aid of 
 allies and troops subsidized by us, 
 amounting to one million and eleven 
 thousand men. In short, our army is 
 in France with the armies of all'the 
 rest of Europe at their back, and with 
 France divided in itself besides. Is 
 this the harvest of glory, of which we 
 have heard so much talk ? And is it 
 this glory which is to compensate us 
 for all our sufferings and all our losses? 
 When English Kings sailed from 
 Southampton with bands of English 
 followers, landed in France, fought 
 battles there, defeated the Kings of 
 France, and finally caused the King 
 of England to be crowned at Paris, 
 and to reign as King of France by his 
 Vice-Roys for several years, that was, 
 indeed, military glory ; but, in this 
 war, the very title of King of France, 
 
401] 
 
 LETTER XXXI. 
 
 [462 
 
 which served to perpetuate the re- 
 collection of that glory, lias been given 
 up, and that too, observe, as a pre- 
 parative for peace, with Napoleon, 
 who, it was clearly foreseen, would not 
 have acknowledged the title, though 
 the Bourbons had always acknow- 
 ledged it. And, is it, then, for us, 
 Englishmen, whose ancestors really 
 conquered France, as the French had 
 before really and more effectually 
 conquered England, to brag about the 
 glory of getting to Paris along with a 
 million of German troops ? And that, 
 too, after we have so recently seen the 
 French, unaided by any other nation, 
 sally forth, and really conquer every 
 state on the continent of Europe, 
 llussia only excepted, and that ex- 
 cepted only because France was then 
 co-operating with the German allies. 
 But, have the English army given 
 no proofs of their determined bravery, 
 during these long wars ? Oh ! yes, a 
 great many. They have acted like 
 very gallant men. Their officers, of 
 all ranks, have discovered great ta- 
 lents, and wonderful zeal. But is 
 this any thing new ? When were the 
 people of these Islands not. brave? 
 When were they not true to their co- 
 lours 1 Did it need the battles in 
 Egypt, in Naples, or in Spain, to 
 acquire a character for valour, for 
 those whose ancestors had conquered 
 Canada ; and who, before that, had 
 fought under Marlborough? Whence 
 comes the notion, and what can be its 
 motive, that valour is something new 
 in the English, Scots, and Irish cha- 
 racter ? Besides, to say nothing about 
 our many reverses in Europe, and 
 especially that of the Helder, are we 
 to be made forget what has passed in 
 America ? And if there has been a 
 balance of accounts on the side of Ca- 
 nada, can we quite overlook the fa- 
 mous battle of New Orleans? In 
 that battle there were engaged from 
 ten to twelve thousand British troops, 
 sent from France, under General 
 Pakknham, who had been so much 
 extolled for his exploits in the Pen- 
 
 insula of Europe. This army was fur- 
 nished with all the means of destruc- 
 tion. A great fleet, with its seamen 
 and marines aided it in all its opera- 
 tions. The American General Jack- 
 son, a lawyer by profession (who had 
 never before, I believe, seen a single 
 regiment in the character of an 
 enemy), with the inhabitants of New 
 Orleans aided by the militia of Ten- 
 nese and Kentucky, had assigned to 
 him the task of defending the city 
 against the army of regulars, and, as 
 they were called, of invincibles. With 
 his untutored bands, even whose offi- 
 cers were not in uniform, he, with 
 inferior numbers, attacked the British 
 army twice, in the night-time, before 
 they were ready for the main attack 
 on him. On the 8th of January, 1 815, 
 they advanced to that attack, with 
 rockets, bombs, an immense train of 
 artillery, and with all the apparatus 
 for storming, the soldiers and sailors 
 having been previously stimulated, 
 and steeled against relaxation, by as- 
 surances the most gratifying to their 
 tastes and wishes. They finally ar- 
 rived at the point of onset : the fag- 
 gots, which they carried to make 
 them a road over the works, were 
 just tossing into a ditch : in idea the 
 city with ail its spoils were in their 
 possession. At that moment the brave 
 and prudent enemy, with as much 
 coolness as if he had been aiming at 
 harmless birds, opened his fire upon 
 them, and swept them down like grass 
 before the scythe of the mower. He 
 sallied in pursuit, marching over blood 
 and brains and mangled carcasses, 
 and finally, to use the words of his 
 countrymen, " drove the survivors to 
 "their ships, and bad them carry to 
 " England the proof of the fact, that 
 " the soil of freedom was not to be 
 " invaded with impunity ." There 
 were more than half as many British 
 soldiers and sailors killed and wound- 
 ed in this battle as in the battle of 
 Waterloo. And, is this battle to pass 
 for nothing ? Is this to form no item 
 in the account of glory ? Is there no 
 
46*3] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [4C4 
 
 deduction to be made here from the 
 gain of glory by the war. 
 
 As to our Navy, when was it not 
 victorious over all its enemies ? When 
 did it not, since the days of the Stu- 
 arts, drive the navies of the French, 
 Dutch, and Spaniards from the ocean? 
 "When was it not thought disgraceful 
 for an English ship to yield to a force 
 considerably superior to her own ? 
 When was it thought glorious for an 
 English squadron to take a single 
 frigate? When was it known that 
 English ships yielded, one after ano- 
 ther, in every part of the ocean, to 
 ships of the same class and force ? 
 When was it dreamt of, that whole 
 
 squadrons of English ships of war 
 would be beaten and captured by 
 squadrons of inferior force? Never, 
 till the late tear against America ; 
 which war, we must always bear in 
 mind, grew out of, and formed a part 
 of, the war against the French. 
 
 Thus, then, stands the account of 
 glory. How that of National Pros- 
 perity stands, we thall see in another 
 Letter. 
 
 & lam, 
 
 Your faithful Friend, 
 
 Wm. COBBETT. 
 
 Bothy, 
 3d September, 1815. 
 
 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 The Costs of the War in the Articles of Funds, Debt, Expenses, Taxes, and Paupers.— 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 HAVING now seen, in the ag- 
 gregate, what we have gained in the 
 way of Glory as well as in the way of 
 civil and religious liberty, and what 
 we have lost in the way of Prosperity, 
 it will be necessary, as to the latter, 
 to enter into some details; because, 
 with regard to the debt, the taxes, 
 the funds, the trade, population, and 
 pauperism of our country, we are able 
 to refer to documents which the Go- 
 vernment itself own to be correct. 
 
 An inquiry of this sort is pecu- 
 liarly necessary in a case like the pre- 
 sent, because it is notorious, that the 
 war was begun under the pretext of its 
 being necessary to the preservation of 
 our property, which, we were told, 
 would all be taken away from us 
 (though it was not said very particu- 
 larly by whom) unless we made war 
 upon the French nation. In talking 
 of glory, too, we must bear in mind, 
 that our glory is, in great part, a pur- 
 
 chased article. We are not like the 
 French and the Americans, who fight 
 their battles themselves, and who re- 
 semble those tradesmen who carry on 
 their business themselves, having no 
 journeymen under them. England is 
 like a master tradesman, who, though 
 he now and then puts his hand to the 
 mallet, does, in fact, carry on his 
 trade by means of journeymen. Du- 
 ring the first war against the Ameri- 
 cans, we had Brunswickers, Hans- 
 pachers, Hessians, Dramstadters, and 
 other troops in our pay, as to much 
 per man per month, and so much per 
 life, if killed or lost while in our service. 
 During the war against the French, we 
 have had in our employ and pay, 
 Russians, Prussians, Dutchmen, Au- 
 trians, Neapolitans, Papal troops, Si- 
 cilians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Swit- 
 zers, Savoyards, Hessians, Hans- 
 pachers,Brunswickers,Danes,Swedes, 
 French Royalists, Hanoverians, 
 Blacks, and I do not know how 
 
405J 
 
 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 [4G6 
 
 many other nations. Our glory, 
 therefore is much more an affair of 
 money than of arms. Indeed this idea 
 was very well illustrated at the Win- 
 chester meeting against the renewal 
 of the Income Tax* by a country gen- 
 tleman (who, by the by, is paper- 
 maker to the Bank of England) who 
 plainly stated in his speech, that those 
 who had paid the taxes to carry on 
 the war ought to share in the honours, 
 then recently conferred on the new 
 Knights of the Bath. He was very 
 right, for it was owing to those ( 
 and those taxes only, that the victo- 
 ries fry the hands of Spaniards, Por- 
 tuguese, Swedes, Hessians, Prus- 
 sians, Hanoverians, &c. were gained. 
 When a prize is awarded to a farmer 
 for rearing the best ox, for instance, 
 it is very' well known that the ox lias 
 been reared, not by him, but by his 
 labourers, who are supported by his 
 money, and who are put in move- 
 ment at his instigation ; but, as, 
 according to the rule of the law, that 
 he who does a thing by another does 
 the thing itself, so the farmer receives 
 the reward, and the labourers receive 
 their wages. 
 
 Upon this principle it is, doubt- 
 less, that our newspapers claim for 
 us the whole of the glory of the re- 
 cent successes, and of ail that is now 
 doing against the French people. But, 
 upon the same principle, the greater 
 part of the glory falls fairly to the 
 share of the taxes, and that admi- 
 rable money machine, the Bank, in 
 Tnreadneeale-street. It was that ve- 
 nerable Old Lady, who brought the 
 Russians and Prussians, and A 
 ans and Hanoverians »into the il- Id, 
 who inspired them with patriotic and 
 loyal feelings, and who filled their 
 hearts with valour. And, if her La- 
 dyship's merit does not find a dis- 
 tinguished place upon the great V/a- 
 ierloo Column, there is no justice left 
 amongst men. 
 
 It i on all hands, that the 
 
 war h a great, deal of in< 
 
 and the country is now beginning to 
 
 feel the effect of that 'cost ; but, thq 
 amount of the whole cost has never 
 been, as far as I know of, clearly 
 stated at one time. The divers items 
 have been stated at different times, 
 and in different shapes; but the 
 whole has never been brought into 
 one concise view. This is what I 
 shall now attempt, beginning wkh 
 the state, or value of the FUNDS. 
 
 We will take*3 per cents, as the 
 standard of the whole. During the 
 peace, which ended in 1798, the 
 average, price of the 3 per cents, for 
 years, had been ,%\ The average 
 peace-price is now 58, and that, too, 
 in paper-money. So that, in fact, 
 every person, who held funded pro- 
 perty in 1792, and who, or whose- 
 heirs or successors, still hold that 
 same property, have actually lost 
 one half of it by depreciation in value, 
 and 1.0 per cent, in addition out of 
 that half, which is now stopped out 
 of the dividends in the shape of Pro- 
 perty Tax. — This is the cost of the 
 war with regard to the. Funds. 
 
 The DEBT, which is commonly 
 called the National Debt, or the 
 Public Debt, demanded, in 1792, 
 .nine, millions to pav the interest of it. 
 It now demand:; £4&;723,14# to pay 
 the interest of this debt; and, there- 
 fore, the property and labour of the 
 nation are mortgaged for 34 millions 
 a year more than they stood mort- 
 gaged for before the war.— Tin's is 
 o'st of the \var in the article of 
 debt. 
 
 As to EXPENSES, which are to 
 be expenses of peace, exclusive of 
 the debt, they are not precisely 
 known ; but the Minister has told 
 us, that they will amount, Civil List 
 and all, to about 22 millions a year. 
 Before the war, they amounted to six 
 millions a year. This, therefore, is 
 the co^t of the war in the article of 
 permanent Peace Expenses. 
 
 The TAX i:S of 1792 amounted 
 to 15 millions a year. They must 
 now, in peace, amount to 02 millions 
 ir. That thev must be sev 
 
467] 
 
 PAPER AGAINST GOLD. 
 
 [4m 
 
 felt is certain. From every class of 
 persons complaints against them have 
 come. They now are so heavy, 
 that the direct taxes alone upon a 
 farm exceed in amount all that it 
 takes to pay and feed all those who 
 labour on that farm. — The conse- 
 quence is, that ruin is spreading 
 around in every direction. — You are 
 now driving your sheep to sell them 
 to us in the richer soils. Only two 
 years ago, you would not condescend 
 to look at us, if we had not 300 
 pounds in our pocket to give you for 
 100 ewes. You now pull oil' your 
 hats to us if we have got 125 pounds, 
 to give you for the same number. 
 But we have not mere to give ; our 
 taxes remain the same, or are aug- 
 mented, and yours remain the same, 
 though your ewes are fallen (taking 
 all the sorts together) from fiOs. to 
 25s. Bear in mind, however, that 
 this is the fair and honest price of 
 the icar, for which ninety-nine hun- 
 dredths of you were advocates. Tins 
 is the fair and honest price of that 
 glory, on the acquirement of which 
 you made bonfires, and roasted sheep 
 and oxen. You may now roast all 
 your sheep and oxen; for we have 
 no money to give you for them. The 
 tax-gatherer takes away all that our 
 corn amounts to, except what goes to 
 ]i.eep our labourers a ;d our poor. 
 
 The POPULATION of the 
 kingdom, to have kept pace with 
 the Taxes, ought now to have b§en 
 51 millions, and excluding those per- 
 sons, brought thither by the war, and 
 who are now gone away, it is not 
 10 millions. Nay, so great has 
 been, and is, the emigration, that 
 U a census of the actual residents 
 were now taken, there is every rea- 
 son to believe, that it is of lower 
 amount than in 1792. 
 
 The PAUPER part of the popu- 
 lation have increased in the propor- 
 tion of from one to 18 to one to 7. 
 This is a fact, which I have proved 
 in detail twenty times ; and, 1 have 
 never been answered bv anv one, 
 
 mIjo did not make the increase 
 higher. 
 
 The NAVIGATION, COM* 
 M ERCE, and MANUFACTURES, 
 
 as they are represented in the Official 
 accounts, have increased, in the pro- 
 portion of nearly one half. Bat, these 
 accounts relate to a state of tear, and 
 a war of so singular a character as to 
 hove been, for the time, advantageous 
 to ail these. In peace, it seems im- 
 possible that they can maintain their 
 present ground. But, admit that they 
 do, here is an increase of these to 
 the amount of a half, while the 
 increase of evils has been to the 
 amount of rather more than four* 
 
 fifths. 
 
 Such, my friends and neigbours, 
 has been, to us, the consequences of 
 our harvest of Glory! Such has 
 been, to us, the consequences of hav- 
 ing succeeded in restoring the IJour- 
 bons to the throne of France, and of 
 throwing the French people back in 
 their pursuit of freedom. It is now 
 hoped, by some persons, that the re- 
 storation of the Pope, the Inquisition, 
 the Jesuits, and the Bourbons, will 
 so far brutalize the people of the Con- 
 tinent of Europe, that we shall have no 
 rivals in the arts of peace ; and that, 
 thus, we shah be left to enjoy a mo- 
 nopoly of Navigation, Commerce, snd 
 Manufacturers ; and be, thereby, en- 
 abled to pay the interest on our Debt 
 and to meet the enormous annual ex- 
 penses of our Government. With- 
 out stopping to comment on the 
 morality and humanity of this hope, 
 entertained in a country, abounding 
 in Bible Societies, I venture to give it 
 as my decided opinion, that the hope 
 is fallacious. Russia, Denmark, Swe- 
 den, Holland, Austria, Spain, the 
 Italian States, and even the Bour- 
 bons, will all push forward for their 
 share of the benefits of the arts of 
 peace. While our purse is open to 
 them all, they will he subservient to 
 us ; hut that cannot be for ever. 
 It cannot be for many months longer. 
 And, mark nry words, that, as soon 
 
469J 
 
 LETTER XXXII. 
 
 [470 
 
 as we cease to pay, so soon shall we 
 cease to have friends so very complai- 
 sant as our friends now are. 
 
 Tims, Gentlemen, I close this long 
 sories of Letters; too long, I am 
 afraid, for your patience ; but, I am 
 of opinion/ that occasions will fre- 
 quently arise, when a recurrence to 
 their contents an ill be of service to 
 
 most persons, who pay attention to 
 the politics and political economy of 
 our country. 
 
 I am your faithful friend, 
 And most obedient Servant, 
 
 Wm. cobbett. 
 
 Botley, 
 I2tk September, IBiS. , 
 
 
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