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the tyrants, however, that the closing of the jury-box cannot prevent people from sowing bank-notes; and, unless this can be prevented, all other efforts are vain.

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We shall hear a great bragging about the revival of the revenue. be sure it will be greater in proportion to the quantity of paper-money afloat! It will, of course, augment with the rise of prices. Yet, will the Boroughmongers gather hope from this revival! I am anxious, however, to see the "most gracious speech" of the Boroughmongers. It must, one would think, let something of their intentions out; and, it may possibly let out enough to make me see what course it will be proper for me to steer. The destruction of their usurped power is the great object of all my thoughts, words, and acts. This is my object; and as to the means, the most effectual are the best.

I beg you to be assured, that I feel no regret at your offering your project to the gentlemen; because, while I am sure that it cannot do them any good, I think it may add a little to the interest at the close of the drama. Projects, however, will now become so numerous, that, if you be not uncommonly lucky, yours never will go into effect, for which I should really be sorry; for the paying-off of debts, the lowering of taxes, and the making of money plenty by a clipping of the coins of the kingdom, is a project of so much genuine comic merit, that not to play it off would be a ground of serious accusation against the taste of the nation and of the age. Wishing your piece, therefore, a speedy exhibition and a kind reception, I remain, Sir,

Your most obedient

And most humble servant,

WM. COBBETT.

TO LORD VISCOUNT FOLKESTONE,

ON THE PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT, DURING THE SESSION OF 1819, RELATIVE TO THE PAPER-MONEY.

My LORD,

(Political Register, September, 1819)

LETTER I.

North Hampstead, Long Island, July 11th, 1819.

On this very day of July, last year, I wrote a letter to Mr. Tierney, on the subject of the paper-money. Since the date of that letter many and wide strides have been taken towards the final overthrow of that monster, which has made the finest country in the world the most miserable. New measures have been resorted to; and, it will not, I imagine, be long, before the futility of those measures, as far as their object goes, will be apparent to all the world. During the interval, let us see a little into what has been done, during the last session.

I am perfectly convinced, that the colossus of tyranny and fraud will

come speedily down. It is, in my mind, only a question of time. Down it must come. Nothing can support it long. Let us, then, in the meanwhile, prepare ourselves for the fall; and, as far as I am able to work in the way of preparation, I cannot, perhaps, do better than to comment on the Parliamentary proceedings of last winter and spring.

I address myself to your Lordship, upon this occasion, not because you have, in the part you have taken, as to this matter, shown either judgment or public spirit; but, because, the doctrines contained in that petition of mine, which you refused to present to the last, or, the dungeon-Parliament, are now, for the greater part, put forward, as their own, by those by whom that petition has been called “trash.”

Before I proceed to remark on the proceedings in Parliament, I shall briefly take a view of the causes, which appear to me to have produced these proceedings; for, unless we look a little into these, we shall not so clearly see the objects, which the operators have had in view.

From the moment the Borough-bank (for that is its right name) stopped payment, it was evident, to all men of sense, that it never could pay again. But, first, let us see, why I call it the Borough-bank. The revolution of 1688 was a revolution in behalf of the Aristocracy, who had had a part of the property of the Church and all the property of the poor divided amongst them. The second revolution, the seven-years'Parliament revolution, was one having the same end in view. The third revolution, that of dungeon-laws, under Pitt's authority, was of the same stamp. The bank-paper, the funds, the whole of that accursed thing, was invented and extended for the support of these several revolutions for the support, in short, of the usurpations of the Boroughmongers; and, therefore, I call it, and will always call it, the Borough-bank. Again, what do we now see? Do we not see, that the Bank has been lending money to what is called "the Government?" Do we not see, that the Bank cannot pay, because the Government, that is to say, the agents of the Boroughmongers, have got its money, as it is called? The Boroughmongers have, then, in fact, issued the paper themselves. To all intents and purposes, then, this is the " Borough-bank."

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It was (to return to my subject) clearly seen by every man, not nearly an idiot, that the Borough-bank, having once stopped, never could resume its payments in the usual way; because, as the company, or pretended company, did not trade in merchandise, and had nothing of real value to increase in value; it was impossible for it to add to its means of paying. This was, however, plainly proved beforehand by our famous countryman Paine. He, who foresaw all, said, in 1796, that the Bank was insolvent; he said, that whenever the people should press for payment, the insolvency would become apparent. This happened, in less than a year from the date of the prediction. This was not a naked prophecy. It was accompanied with ample reasons. It was shown why it should be so. And, in the course of the argument, all was developed, that any man of sense needs to know upon the subject. Read that essay, my Lord; read PAINE'S "Decline and Fall of the British System of Finance ;" and then blush at the use of the words, "lower orders;" blush to think that this man, born in humble life, knew more than all the "higher orders" put together. Yet, while such a fellow as pensioned JOHNSON, "that slave of state," stands in colossal marble in St. Paul's, PAINE lies in a little hole under the grass and weeds of an obscure farm in America. There, however, he shall not lie, unnoticed, much

longer. He belongs to England. His fame is the property of England; and, if no other people will show, that they value that fame, the people of England will. Yes, my Lord, amongst the pleasures that I promise myself, is that of seeing the name of Paine honoured in every part of England, where base corruption caused him, while alive, to be burnt in effigy. Never will England be what it ought to be, until the marble of Pitt's monument is converted into a monument to the memory of Paine. The causes which produced the measures of the last winter and spring, were these. The paper-system had produced great calamities, including in that system, the taxes and the fluctuations in the value of money. But, still the wretched tyrants appear not to have been alarmed. They could not see the cause of these calamities; and they met and met and met again, and resolved and resolved and resolved, that the calamities arose from a "sudden transition from war to peace ;" and that the increase of paupers arose out of a redundant population, accompanied with some radical defect in the poor-laws themselves. But, the real causes were stated and developed by me in so many different shapes, and my opinions went on, so long, receiving the stamp of correctness from events, that, at last, the eyes of many began to open. And, then, when the practicability of puffing-out the system came to strengthen all the fears that had been before excited, the Boroughmongers took a real alarm. When the gagging and dungeon bills had passed, they had no idea of any danger from the paper-system. They, with the vulgarminded Castlereagh at their command, and employed as their mouthpiece, ascribed all the discontents of the people to the seductions employed by demagogues. This prime agent of their will had the audacity to say, that the discontents were engendered by the arts of "men of desperate fortunes, who had the presumption to think themselves qualified for high offices." The reptile could discover no motive beyond that of a love of money and of power in men, who demonstrated the causes of the nation's sufferings, and called for a remedy. This reptile, who now hardly dares show his nose of brass, then talked so boldly and so glibly about the ignorance of the demagogues, and CANNING and the base ELLIOT regretted that the people had been taught to read even the Bible; because, by the same means, they had been taught to read the "Weekly Venom;" that very Weekly Venom," which was demonstrating the real causes of the nation's distresses, and was urging the people to call for that, which was the only remedy.

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At this time a total ignorance prevailed, amongst the Borough crew, of their danger on the side of the paper-money. They did not see, and had no idea of, the situation, in which they were really placed. They had borne every thing down before them so long, that they could not believe it possible, that anything could arise, that they should not be able to subdue by the bayonet. I always told them, that the bayonet would avail them nought against the paper-money. None of their threats ever made me despair; because I saw, that we had an infallible.ally in the When SIDMOUTH gaped and spewed out his spite against "cheap publications," and when JENKINSON pouted out his lips and said they were "resolved to pursue the stern path of duty;" then I laughed at them, well assured, that the day was not distant, when they must change their tone.

We have now before us what they have said in the way of retractation, and that is the part of the discussion, that I shall first observe upon. The

Houses have come to unanimous votes. Bless us! Then all must be right, to be sure! That which two such bodies vote unanimously must be law and gospel too! But, let us hear a little of the confessions of past errors; and, as these have taken place upon this subject, let us hope, that the amiable precedent will be applied to other subjects, especially to that of Parliamentary Reform. Do not start, my Lord! After eating their words so greedily as the Boroughmongers have upon this occasion, it is not too much to hope, that they will soon begin to chew them a little upon the grand subject of Reform.

RYDER began the business in the Lords. He said little. He was indisposed; and well he might; for he had been one of them, who, in 1817, had cried up the paper-system as the cause of the salvation of the country. Next came JENKINSON, and he talked as gravely about the notorious depreciation of bank-notes as if he had never asserted the contrary. In the years 1810 and 1811, he scouted the idea of depreciation; and now he expressly says, that bank-notes were then depreciated thirty per cent. He fairly swallows all; and, as Lord Lauderdale truly observes, they now propose to give the lie, by Act of Parliament, to all their former doctrines. But, there is one passage in the speech of JENKINSON, which I must notice particularly, on account of the flagrant theft he has committed.

"This first question, however, which it was natural to ask respecting this doc trine, was, had such a system ever existed in any country since the foundation of the world? Iron, copper, and other materials had been employed as instru ments of commerce by different nations; but iron and copper had an intrinsic value, and might therefore easily serve as a measure of value in the barter and comparison of other commodities. But no system of circulation had ever existed, in which there was not some fixed standard by which the value of property might be determined. He would ask their Lordships also to reflect what must be the natural effects of any other principle of circulation. They all knew what disgraceful measures had been taken in past times, in this country as well as in the other countries of Europe, by debasing the currency to obtain some immediate profit to the Government. There was, however, this difference between that case and the one which he was now considering-that something of fixed value was still given in lieu of that which circulated before The effect of the new doctrine would be to say, that they would have no fixed standard, but would leave to a body of men, (most respectable he admitted, and who had exercised with signal moderation the great power entrusted to them), to the Bank of England, a discretionary authority to make money, which they denied to the Sovereign himself, who would exercise it under the control of Parliament. (Hear.)''

The attempt to disguise, here, the robbery committed on me, in my Letters to the Regent of last winter, is like that of scoundrels, who, when they have stolen a horse, cut off his tail and ears and knock out an eye. I beg leave, however, to except the parenthesis in favour of the Bank Directors; for, never have I, at any time of my life, called them, or thought them, a respectable body of men: on the contrary, I have always said, that they were most zealous instruments in the hands of a most detestable tyranny.

To be sure, it is a most degrading thing to king and people, that a band of fellows, at a big building in London, should have the power to make money, at their discretion; and that they should be able, whenever they pleased, to cause a violation of all contracts. But, I have been saying

this, every month for thirteen years; and, which I beg to be remembered, I proposed a remedy for this more than twelve years ago. And yet the shallow and impudent CASTLEREAGH reviled me as a man aiming at distinction, without having capacity to merit it. He shall never pass another session, this hole-digging statesman shall not, so quietly as be passed the last.

But, of all the retr acters, GRENVILLE seems to have been the most eager. His speech contains matter for plenty of fun, if the subject were not too serious for joke. A great part of what he said was, indeed, very true; but, not one single truth did he utter, connected with the doctrines of the subject, which I had not uttered before him, and for the uttering of which I had not been abused. Let us, however, put upon record a little of his stuff, and then hear what can be said upon it. Any thing said by this man is unworthy of remark, except as it may tend to show how impudent and wicked the Boroughmongers have been; and, at the same time, how ignorant. The beastly ignorance of the dungeonmaking crew, of the insolent pretenders to superiority of birth, of the audacious gang who call us all in a lump "the lower orders;" this beastly ignorance ought never, for one single moment, to be out of our sight. Now let us hear the dull and arrogant Grenville, who was a volunteer for the Dungeon-bill.

"Lord GRENVILLE.-The Noble Earl who had opened the debate, had explained the plan which he had proposed to their Lordships in so luminous and argumentative a speech, that there was very little occasion for him to add a single word upon the subject. But having considered this restriction as one of the greatest calamities under which this suffering country had laboured; having frequently had occasion to lament and deplore the part which he had himself taken, on its original proposition, in prolonging it for the term of the then existing war; having avowed his error in so doing, as became an honest man, at the commencement of the last war; and having prophesied but too truly all the distress and misery which would befal the nation in consequence of it, he could not help expressing his joy and satisfaction that the country was at last arrived at that period in which it could look forward with certainty to the repeal of this injudicious and unfortunate measure. He could not remain silent when a measure was proposed to their Lordships, which was almost positively certain of success, but must be allowed to add his voice, weak and humble as it was, to that of those who had spoken so ably and eloquently upon it. The noble Earl had said that the Bank had been of the greatest utility to the Government during the war, and had advanced many large sums to carry it on with vigour and energy he did not mean to deny this assertion; but he could not help observing, that it was his opinion that no permanent advantage had been derived from the connection between the Government and the Bank, sufficient to compensate the evils to which it had given birth. He need not tell their Lordships his opinion regarding the war which we had waged with France-that must be sufficiently well known to all of them; he need not repeat to them what he had often before stated, that he considered no sacrifice which could be made, too great to bring that war to a successful termination; but he must inform them, that even with those sentiments, he was of opinion that the restriction was an evil of such magnitude, that the sooner it was abolished the better it would be for the country. He did not believe that any men sincerely wishing the welfare of their country, could at any time resort to such a measure, without a sorrowful apprehension of the difficulties and dangers to national and individual interests which must necessarily result from it, and without a conviction that it was for the moment absolutely essential for a particular crisis. Certainly if the question were, whether any extraordinary exertion might at a particular moment avert an impending danger, to meet such a momentary crisis, it might be necessary to resort to a forced circulation; still such forced circulation should not be continued beyond the momentary necessity. For he held it to be a maxim, that there was no differ

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