§ Mr. Grenfellrose to put a question to the chancellor of the exchequer, upon a point of the utmost importance to the public. He had received information that day, of the correctness of which he had no Reason to doubt, that the price of standard silver had advanced to 5s. 7½d. per ounce, or three halfpence above the price fixed by the Mint regulations. In the year before last, when those hew regulations were made, that price was four or five per cent above the price of the general market. His reason, therefore, for now putting a question to the right hon. gentleman was because, whenever the price of silver should be such as to afford a profit upon either melting or exporting the coin, it would begin to disappear. Should the price therefore remain at its present amount, the disappearance of the new silver currency might be calculated on, as the new gold coin had already disappeared; unless government were prepared with some means of counteracting that effect. What he wished now to know was, whether any measure was under consideration for the purpose of checking the evil already begun.
The Chancellor of the Exchequerthought it must be evident to the House that to a question so important as that of 131 the hon. gentleman it was impossible to return an answer without some time for consideration. He had heard of the rise in the price of silver mentioned by the hon. gentleman, although he had no knowledge of the fact; but he certainly had reason to believe that the present high price was not likely to continue.