a fortnight's advertisement in the nearest newspa

per.

6. That as soon as the capital is made up, and the deposit placed in government's hands, the interim directors fhall appoint a meeting of the proprietors, to chuse their directors, and settle the plan for carrying on their businefs to the best advantage. Lastly, As touching the deposite in government's hands, fhould such a run be made on any of these banks as the cash in bank is not sufficient to answer, it fhall be lawful for them to draw on the exchequer to the amount of one fourth part of their deposit money; and if this be not sufficient to answer the run made on them at the end of six weeks, they may draw another fourth part, and so on till the whole of the deposit money be drawn out; but in the mean time they fhall cease from ifsuing notes till the whole of the deposit money be paid into the exchequer again, with legal interest for the time it has been out; and if they be not able to do this in twelve months, reckoned from the time of their first draught, their charter fhall be forfeited, and the company dif solved.

And if at the same time there be a law made forbidding any promifsary notes to pafs in circulation under 51. sterling in value, the charter banks would in a great measure remove the temptation to private banking, as any person who had stock for that purpose, might be a proprietor in the charter bank most convenient for him; or if his stock was so large he might be a proprietor severals just as suited his businefs best, and as

209 the forbidding the circulation of premifsary notes under 51. value, would subject the whole of the private banker's circulation to the stamp tax, it would at least circumscribe their business so far as to prevent a few failures amongst them putting a stop to the trade of the nation again. The trading part of the nation wants a supply of real stock' to carry on their trade with, instead of the fictitious' stock furnished them by the private banks, which is now evanished all at once; and it is only the stockholders or public creditors that can furnish them with this; for amongst the landed men at an average, there are as many borrowers as lenders, and such of them as are in condition to lend, commonly prefer landed security to a merchant's bond; but the public creditors have the stock to lend, and certainly may do it greatly to their own advantage, for they certainly would make rather better than 5 per cent, for the stock that now only yields them four, and as to any rise in the stocks, it is more than probable, that the bank stocks would rise much faster than the four per cents. The greatest hazard is that they should rize too suddenly above the real value, like the South Sea, for which reason I propose forbidding the transferring them for a twelvemonth, by which time the real value may be better ascertained than it can be by any preceding calculation; and fhould only twenty millions of the four per cents be taken in that way, it would be a saving 200,000l. a year to government, in reducing the interest one per cent, on so much of the public debt, and I am persuaded the VOL. Xvii.

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imaginary stock furnished by the private banks, 2mounted to much more than that sum; then consider how much safer it would be for the nation to be trading on real than imaginary stock.

ON THE PROGRESS AND EXTENT

OF THE COTTON MANUFACTURES OF BRITAIN.

WITHOUT entering minutely into an investigation of all the arguments above, far lefs into a discussion of the practicability of the plan of the bank proposed, there seems to be no room for doubting, that the general principle afsumed by this writer, is well founded, viz. that our manufactures were pushed to an extra. vagant pitch in point of extént, and that owing to this circumstance alone, sooner or later, a stagnation in respect to sales must have been experienced, which could not fail to produce effects somewhat similar to those which have been lately experienced. And though certain circumstances might have tended to retard or to accelerate this catastrophe, yet in the train we were in, this was certainly unavoidable; and if so perhaps the sooner the check was experi enced, the lefs severely it will be felt in the end. The opinion here given, is grounded on the follow ing authentic document.

The select committee of the house of commons appointed to take into consideration the state of the export trade from great Britain to the East Indies,

upon the cotton manufactures of this country, in their report dated 4th Feb. 1793, state the following facts, with a view to exhibit a comparative view of the progrefs of the cotton manufacture in Britain, and the extent of sales of Indian piece goods.

This account comes no lower down than 1790, büt we all know that the cotton works were greatly extended in the years 1791 and 1792, so that by reasoning from analogy from what has gone before, we cannot compute that the quantity of cotton wool im

ported in 1792 could be under 40,000,000 libs, nor that the value of cotton goods manufactured from it could be lefs than 15,000,000 1. but if in the course of ten years, the value of this branch of manufacture rose from two to fifteen millions, and if our exertions to extend it farther and farther continued, it is easy to see, that a time must soon come, when that progrefsive extention must be stopped; especially when we advert that other nations were at the same time availing themselves of those very machines. which had given us that temporary advantage, and thus supplying themselves with this commodity. Yet so blind were many persons, that they believed, as it should seem, that this business never could be over-done, and from the amazing rapidity of its progrefs for some years past, they augured that its progrefs would be accelerated in time to come without end!!

accu

While this subject is under review, it may not prove unsatisfactory to the reader to see an rate account of the places from whence we obtained the raw materials for this extensive manufacture, which the above named committee have enabled us to do. These are as under:

An account of the quantity of wool cotton imported into Great Britain, between the 5th of January