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GEORGE MURRAY.-(Signé) ERNST | obedience to their commands of Thursday FREDERICK WALTASDORFF, O. LIETKEN, J. last: viz. H. KIRCHHORFF, Ratified by me PEIMANN. Copy of a Letter from the Lords Cominissioners of the Admiralty to the Viscount Castlereagh. Dated Admiralty Office, 30th January, 1808. My lord; Having in compliance with the desire expressed in your lordships letter of the 28th instant, called upon admiral lord Gambier, to report in writing the information which his lordship had given verbally to his majesty's ministers, with respect to the state of preparation and equipment in which the Danish Navy was found on the surrender of Copenhagen; we transmit to your lordship a copy of the Report we have revceived from the admiral on the subject. And we are &c. R. BICKER-cated by me to the generals and other TON, W. J. HOPE, JAS. BULLER.

To the Hon. W.W. Pole,&c. dated Admiralty Office, 28th Jan. 1808.

"Gloucester Place, Jan. 30, 1808. Sir; I take the earliest opportunity of acknowledging your letter of the 29th inst. transmitting authenticated copies of the Resolutions of the 28th inst. by which the house of commons have been pleased to vote their Thanks to the commander of the forces, to the general officers, and to the several officers of the army under his command, during the siege of Copenhagen, and to approve and acknowledge the regularity, discipline, valour, and exertions, of the non-commissioned officers and private men employed on that service; the house being further pleased to appoint, that these Resolutions shall be communi

officers who served in that army.—I have to request that you will have the goodness to state for me to the house, that it affords Sir; In answer to your letter of this day's me great gratification to have the honour date, I have to acquaint you, that upon of communicating these Resolutions retaking possession of the Arsenal at Copen-spectively, and without delay, to the sehagen, the Fleet was found in such a state, that it could be equipped and sent to sea in a very short time; most of the ships were in condition for service, their lower masts were in, the top-masts, yards, rigging, sails, guns, and stores of every description, were so arranged in the arsenal, and in compartments in the store-houses, that they could be put on board on the shortest notice; there was no one article wanting which was necessary for their equipment, and it is certain that the Fleet could have been completely ready for sea in three weeks, or a month at most, as in a shorter space of time 16 sail of the line, 14 frigates of different classes, 8 sloops, and 2 smaller vessels, were fitted ready to be navigated to England, by the seamen of the Fleet under my command, with the assistance of some troops. There cannot be a stronger proof of the good condition of the Danish ships, than their having been brought to England, through much tempestuous weather, without suffering in their hulks in the least degree. I am &c. GAMBIER.

veral general officers named in your letter, and to the other officers of the army lately under my command. Several of these distinguished officers, and many of the non-commissioned officers and private soldiers, have already received the thanks of parliament, or the notification of the recorded approval of their services on former occasions; and I am confident that all of them will feel as they ought to do, the high distinction now conferred upon them; and that they will do credit to their country and to themselves whereever they may be employed.-For my own part, sir, I find it impossible to express the sentiments which arise in my mind, on learning that any endeavours of mine, faithfully and conscientiously to discharge the duties of my profession as a British officer, entrusted with command on an important service, should have procured for me the Thanks of the house of commons.-Suffice it therefore to say, that I most gratefully receive this distinguished honour, with the most exalted respect for the house of parliament from whence' it flows, and the greatest humility in regard to my own desert.-I beg to offer my best acknowledgements to you, sir, for the per[VOTE OF THANKS-EXPEDITION TO CO- Sonal civilities with which you have been PENHAGEN.] The Speaker acquainted the pleased to accompany the transmission of house, that he had received from lieut. this signal mark of the approbation of the general the right hon. lord viscount Cath-house of Commons; and I have the hocart, the following Letter, in return to the nour to be, sir, your most obedient, &c. Thanks of this house, signified to him, in "CATHCART."

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Tuesday, February 2.

PAPERS

RELATING TO THE BANK OF ENGLAND.

No. I.-Copy of a Letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank.

[CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE BANK.]. Mr. Tierney, as the propriety of the late bargain between the Bank of England and the government, with a view to the public service, was to be discussed on Monday, thought it right to move that copies of ail Downing-street, Dec. 23, 1807. correspondence between the governor and Gentlemen;. The Paper, which I have deputy governor of the bank and the herewith the honour to transmit, contains chancellor of the exchequer, since the the Outlines of such an Arrangement as it 1st of May last, relative to the manage- appears to me, upon the most deliberate ment of the public debt, the applica- consideration of the Second Report from tion of unclaimed dividends, and loans the Committee on Public Expenditure, it from the bank to the public, be laid would be my duty to propose to the Bank before the house. The propriety of hav- of England. The principles referred to ing these written documents was sug-in this Paper, the facts stated, and the gested by the recollection of the failure of the memory of Mr. Pitt and the governor of the bank for the time, as to the particulars of a conversation relative to a matter of this nature, which had passed between them not a month before they were called to speak to it; a matter which afterwards turned out to be a very profitable speculation for the bank.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, the present case was very different from that alluded to by the right hon. gent.; there was no extension of the charter of the bank in this case; the advantage of the arrangement was all on the side of the pubLic. The arrangement arose from the suggestions of the Report of the Committee of Finance, submitted to the bank by his majesty's ministers, and acceded to with the usual liberality of that institution. In consenting to the motion, he acknowledged he saw no parliamentary ground for producing all the correspondence; many of the letters referred to conferences managed on the one part by himself, and on the other part by the governor and deputy governor. The substance of these conversations could not be stated.

Mr. Thornton said the negotiation had proceeded partly by means of letters, and partly by means of conferences managed on the part of the bank by the governor and deputy governor, the substance of which was reduced into a connected form, and submitted by the governor and deputy governor to the court of proprietors, then the whole was made the subject of an ultimate letter. He supposed the information contained in this letter would be sufficient, as it contained in a substantial and connected form, the essence of all that passed verbally in conference and in notes, referring to those conferences. The papers were then ordered; of which the following are copies:

proposals deduced from them, are, as you will perceive upon its perusal, in substance the same as those which I have stated, and endeavoured to impress upon you, in the several conferences with which you have already honoured me upon this very important subject. My object, in making this written communication, is, that you may be enabled to consider at your leisure, the expectations, which, in my present view of the case, it appears to me I am entitled to maintain, and bound to uphold on the part of the public; and the grounds on which these expectations rest. At the same time, it is my wish to have it dis tinctly understood at this early stage of the business, that, sanguine as the expectation of the public may be with respect to the advantages to be derived from a new arrangement with the Bank, and however satisfied his majesty's government may feel that, to the extent stated in my proposals, such expectations are not unreasonable in the present state of affairs; and, considering the present profits of the Bank, nothing can be more remote from the intentions of government than to press these expectations to the infringement of, any existing contract or engagement, or beyond what a fair interpretation of those engagements might appear to them to justify.-Your own discretion will point out to you to what extent you may feel it necessary, in the present stage of the discussion, to consult with other gentlemen in the Direction upon the subject of this Paper, and to impart its contents to them. It is only necessary for me to add, at present, that I shall at all times be ready to receive, with the utmost attention, any observations which you or they may have to offer on the subject, and that I shall abstain from requesting of you to submit any regular proposal to the Court of Directors, or to the Court of Proprietors at large,

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million. On the other hand, it is proposed, that in the event of the Unredeemed Debt being at any time reduced to 400,000,0001. the rate of allowance shall then be raised to 400l. per million: and at or below 300,000,000l. to 450l. its present rate, per million.-When it is considered that in the year 1786 it was proposed to reduce the Management upon a debt of 224 millions only, from 560 to 360 per million, and that it was actually reduced to 4501.; and that it is now proposed to apply this last rate of allowance to a debt of 300 millions instead of 224, it will hardly be contended that with reference to the principle only of the projected scale, the proposal contains any thing unfair towards the Bank, while it is evident that it in no

until I shall have received, and maturely considered, whatever remarks and suggestions may occur to you, or the gentlemen with whom you may advise, in consequence of the present communication. I have the honour to be, &c. S. PERCEVAL. No. II.-Copy of a Paper inclosed and referred to in the Letter from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the Bank; of the 23d Dec. 1807. The Proposals founded on the Enquiries and Report of the Committee of Public Expenditure, and which are now made to the Bank, may be classed under three heads: 1st. Unclaimed Dividends.-2d. Charges of Management of the Public Debt.-3d. Balances arising from Deposits of Public Money in the hands of the Bank. 1st. UNCLAIMED DIVIDENDS. As it ap-degree departs from the liberal principle pears by the Report of the Committee, that the Unclaimed Dividends amounted at that period of the year 1806 at which they were at the lowest, namely, on the 8th July, to 986,5737.; and that at the lowest period of some antecedent years they had not fallen below 900,000l, it is proposed to appropriate to the service of the ensuing year, under which similar provisions to those of the act of 1791, c. 33, the sum of 500,0001. in addition to that of 376,7391. advanced under that act; pro-sideration when the allowance was fixed vided the balance shall not be reduced below 100,000.; and this will be merely carrying into effect the principle which was acted upon in 1791. No reasonable objection seems likely to occur to this proposal, and it therefore appears unnecessary to go more at large into this part of the subject at present.

2d. CHARGES OF MANAGEMENT OF THE PUBLIC DEBT.-Referring upon this part of the subject, on the one hand, to the facts stated in the Report, and on the other to the provisions of the act of 1791, c. 33. and of 1800, c. 28, without feeling it necessary in this stage of the business, and in this proposal, to advert in detail to the one or to discuss the other, it is conceived that the following scale and plan of allowance for the Management of the Public Debt, would lead to an arrangement under all circumstances liberal towards the Bank, and equitable towards the public.-Taking the Debt Unredeemed, as it stood on the 5th of January last, at upwards of 550,000,000l. it is proposed to reduce the Charge of Management upon it from 4501. to 3401. per million; and that all additions made to the debt above 550,000,000l. shall be managed at the rate of 3004. per

upon which government was at that time disposed to act. It must also be recollected that in the year 1786, when the reduction in the Management took place from 560l. to 450l. per million, the country was in profound peace, with every prospect of its long continuance, and with a Sinking Fund established for the gradual extinction of the then debt, consequently that the prospect of the yearly diminution of the debt was probably taken into con

at 450l. ; and though we have no records upon the subject, it appears not unlikely that it was the prospect of this diminution which induced the minister to allow 450l. per million, instead of 3601, which had been computed to be fully sufficient upon a debt of that magnitude, and strongly recommended by the Commissioners for Auditing the Public Accounts, upon whose report of the 18th February 1786, the reduction appears to have been proposed. In point of fact, a considerable reduction, in the allowance for Management must have taken place between 1786 and 1793, since which last period the pressure of war upon the country has increased the debt in a proportion exceeding that of five to two, without any diminution being effected in the rate of Management. To this it is hardly necessary to add, that if a decreasing debt of 224 millions in 1786 could bear a reduction of 110l. per million, it can scarcely be considered a hardship if a further reduction to the same amount is made in 1808, upon a debt of 550 millions, still annually increasing in amount with the protracted difficulties of the country; especially as the reduction is accompanied with a security to the Bank

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against the contingent, but it is to be fear- April next, advance for the service of the ed, distant prospect of its reduction below year 1808, and without interest, a sum certain stated amounts. To this view of equal to one half of the average amount of the subject must be added the sum of the public balances which shall then ap8051. 158. 10d. per million, for receiving pear to have been deposited in the Bank the subscriptions to the Loan, a source of in the course of the year terminating upon considerable annual advantage in time of that day; subject, however, to the folwar, and always in proportion to the an-lowing understanding and conditions:nual increase of debt by such Loan; by which increase the more permanent allowande for Management is also so much augmented. Upon the supposition of the above scale being adopted, no alteration is proposed to be made in the above allowance.

3dly. BALANCES ARISING FROM DEPOSITS OF PUBLIC MONEY IN THE HANDS OF THE BANK.-The facts as to the amount of these Balances, as stated in the Report of the Committee, can admit of no difference of opinion; and it appears not impossible that the Bank may, upon further consideration, be induced to concur in the inferences drawn from those facts with respect to the profit arising from such balances, unless, whilst it is candidly admitted on the part of the Bank, "That the amount of Public Balances deposited at the Bank, is always followed by a corresponding issue of its Paper; and that the Bank derives an interest or profit from every issue of such Paper." The Bank should at the same time, be prepared to shew that gratuitous deposit of Public Balances, or, in other words, Bank Notes withdrawn from circulation and returned the Bank, without, at the same time, withdrawing from thence the security, or terminating the interest upon which they were originally issued; and which notes so withdrawn, are replaced in the circulation by a corresponding issue of new notes upon new securities bearing new interests, do not afford profit in an exact proportion to the combined amount of these new issues, and of the rate of interest on these new securities. The following plan, therefore, of a direct and proportionate participation in those profits so derived, is proposed as more simple; and likely, from its not interfering with the established course of business either at the Bank or at the Exchequer, to be more satisfactory than the other arrangement, which will be hereafter detailed, as the alternative to which recourse might be had for rendering the profit of those balances available to the public, in case this proposal should not be preferred by the Bank. The Proposal is, that the Bank should, on or after the 5th

1st. That for the object of this arrangement, the whole amount of Unclaimed Dividends should be considered as forming part of the balance in the hands of the Bank: 2d. That, from the half of this balance to be lent to the public, the following deductions should be made: 1st. The whole sum actually lent to the public on account of Unclaimed Dividends; and, 2dly, 1,200,000l. being the value in capital of the difference between the interest now paid for the 3,000,0001. advanced in 1800, and the interest at 5 per cent. on the same.-3dly, That an average of the balances in the hands of the Bank, in like manner, be taken on the 5th of April 1809; and, in case such average amount shall be less than it had been for the preceding year, the Bank shall be entitled to interest at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum, on the moiety of the difference between the balances of the two years: on the other hand, should it be greater, the Bank shall advance, without interest, one half of the excess for the service of the year 1809, and so on for future years during the war.-4thly, That this arrangement should continue upon the scale and principle now proposed, only during the war, and for one year after the conclusion of a peace; within which period it is conceived it would be just to the Bank as well as proper on the part of the public, to have this part of the plan again under consideration, and to modify it according to the change of circumstances which would follow from the restoration of peace. -At the same time the principle of the arrangement appears so equitable and unobjectionable, as connected with the present wise system of keeping public money of every description in the Bank, that the only modification which now occurs, as likely to be necessary on the return of peace, is, that, if the average amount of these balances should be then much diminished, the public ought to be contented with a less proportion of the advantage derived from them; and, perhaps, if one half appears reasonable upon so large a sum as 10 millions or upwards, two-fifths might be deemed an adequate proportion

in exchequer bills, belonging to the Bank, and bearing interest for their benefit, which may (should they think proper) be deposited by them under the present re

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upon a balance not more than 8, nor less than 6, and one-third upon a balance fluctuating between 6 and 4 millions; below which it is conceived there is no prospect of its being at any time reduced.-If, how-gulations, as soon as the other deposit ever, the Bank should not, upon reconsi- had amounted to the sum of 5,000,000l. deration, feel the truth and accuracy of the Out of this sum, or whatever sum short of conclusions drawn by the committee, re- it may have been so deposited by the specting the advantages derived from the proper officers of the exchequer, it is prouse of the public balances, and should posed to set aside, first, the quarterly continue of opinion that they are not pro- charge upon the Consolidated Fund for the ductive of profit to them, upon which sup- Civil List; such bills to be issuable under position, the Bank can have no objection the direction of the lords commissioners to a plan which would give to the public of the treasury, at such times as it may be the advantage of making use of those ba- necessary to dispose of them for the purlances without interest, instead of paying pose of paying the quarterly demands on interest for money to a similar amount; the Civil List; and to bear interest only it is then proposed, that, instead of the from the date of their actual issue. 2dly, growing receipt of the exchequer in bank The quarterly sum issuable to the commisnotes being daily withdrawn by the Bank, sioners for the reduction of the national or remaining deposited in the exchequer, debt, as well on account of the original it should be rendered available to the daily million and 200,000l. as on account of the wants of the public in the following man- Sinking Funds attached to the several ner ; namely, that the proper officers for loans since 1791, and of the dividends the issue of exchequer bills should, out of upon the debt redeemed up to that quarany bills in their hands granted by par- ter, the whole being a charge upon the liament for the public service, deposit daily Consolidated Fund; such exchequer bills in the tellers chest at the exchequer, a sum to be issued by the said commissioners in of the said bills equal to the sum in notes the course of the ensuing quarter, in such to be withdrawn, and according to the manner as to provide them with the means same form and usages (as nearly as cir- of making their daily purchases, and to cumstances will permit) as now prevail in bear interest from the date of their issue the daily deposits, made by the Bank, of only. 3dly. The surplus, if any, of the exchequer bills belonging to them, in order Consolidated Fund for the quarter applito enable them to withdraw the notes from cable to the service of the year, to be isthe chests of the tellers. The notes so sued, as wanted for the public service, in withdrawn to be applicable to the public like manner under the sanction of the service, whilst the exchequer bills depo- commissioners of the treasury. For the sited would be security to the tellers and conversion into cash of any part of the 5 to the public. Such exchequer bills, so millions of exchequer bills, which would deposited, would not, so long as they con- still remain unappropriated, it would be tinued in the tellers chests, bear interest, necessary to have recourse to the Bank; and this saving of interest upon these bills, but, considering that the amount of this is what would constitute the principal ad- remainder could in no case much exceed vantage to the public. It is intended that two millions, and that it would generally the deposit of exchequer bills by govern- be much less; that the total amount of ment should not, with respect to the re- exchequer bills to be issued by the treaceipt of the exchequer on account of the sury within the year cannot be increased; Consolidated Fund in any one quarter, and that the average amount outstanding amount to more than 5,000,000l. nor in- must be diminished by this arrangement, terfere with the existing practice of the there seems no possible reason to appreBank to deposit exchequer bills of their own hend that the granting of this accommo bearing interest for any sum which may be dation (independently of their general in the exchequer beyond that amount. disposition to accommodate the public Under the operation of this plan, the re-interest) can be attended with any inconceipt of the exchequer will, on the quar-venience to the Bank, or that it can ever ter day, consist of 5 millions of exchequer bills deposited by the proper officers of the exchequer, and bearing no interest, and the remainder either in bank notes or

lead to their being pressed to hold a greater amount of these securities than will suit their own interest. In point of fact, it must be obvious, that the only necessary ten

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