HC Deb 02 May 1826 vol 15 cc778-80
Lord Folkestone

presented a petition from James Cannell, of Teasburgh, in Norfolk; setting forth:— That the Petitioner having, in the month of February last, seen several of his poor neighbours suffer greatly from the breaking of banks, strongly advised others who held notes of banks not yet broken, to go to those banks and demand gold; that he found people afraid to do this, but that he having offered to do it for them, there were brought to do it several persons, notes of there Norwich Banks, in order that he might get the gold in exchange for the said notes; that on the 11th of February he went to the Bank of Joseph Gurney, Hudson Gurney, Richard H. Gurney, and Joseph John Gurney, the second two of whom are members of the House; that he then and there demanded payment of, notes of the said bank to the amount of 130l. that the said bankers, or their clerks, refused to pay him gold; that they tendered him Bank of England notes, that they told him he should have those notes or have nothing, and that therefore he returned the notes to the owners of them, to the great disappointment and grief of the said owners; that on the same 11th of February he went for a similar purpose to the Bank of Thompson, Barclay, and Ives, where he demanded payment of their notes to the amount of 8l. that the said bankers or clerks tendered him in payment Bank of England notes, and insisted that these were a legal tender; that they did, however, after much dispute, pay him in gold; that on the 18th of February, having at the very same bank demanded payment of 27l., the bankers or their clerks abused him grossly, and told him that if he persisted in the practice of demanding gold, they would set a mark upon him as a bad fellow; that at last they paid him in gold, but warned him not to do the like again; that on the 11th of February aforesaid he went to the Bank of Harvey and Hudson, that he there demanded payment of their notes to the amount of 3l. that the cashier or clerk tendered him Bank of England notes, telling him that they were a legal tender; that the petitioner demanded gold, which he finally got; that the clerk demanded his name, which he wrote down, and told the petitioner not to come again on a like errand, or he should be marked; that, however, the petitioner went again to the same bank, on the 18th of February, and demanded payment of its notes to the amount of 20l. that the clerk told him that he should not have gold; that he threatened the humble petitioner, and told him that if he did not go quietly away without the gold, that he would take him before sir Robert Harvey, as a justice of the peace; that the petitioner refused to go away without the gold; that the clerk took him before the said justice of the peace, who is also a partner in the Bank, and that sir Robert finally ordered the said clerk to pay the petitioner in gold; now, seeing that there is ample proof before the public, that in numerous instances Bank-notes have been issued to an immense amount by bankers who knew themselves to be insolvent at the time of the issue; seeing how many thousands of poor and frugal men have their little all snatched from them and their families by such means; seeing the audacious manner in which the law has been and daily is set at defiance, as above stated, by bankers and their clerks, seeing the numerous instances in which the bankers are justices of the peace, or fill other posts of authority and power; seeing that the labourers and small farmers, and tradesmen are overawed by the fear of the power and vengeance of such persons, and from that fear refrain from demanding gold, agreeably to the law, and are thus reduced to beggary; seeing these things, the petitioner, who has himself endured persecution and injury to a great extent, most humbly prays the House to pass a law to compel, by summary process, all bankers to pay in gold on demand; and he further prays that the House will pass a law to exclude all bankers, while they are such, from all posts of public trust and power, and especially from the office of justice of the peace, and from seats in the House, or that the House will be pleased to adopt, for the protection of the poorer part of his majesty's subjects, such other measures as the House shall in its wisdom and justice and mercy deem to be most meet.

Mr. Hudson Gurney

said, that this was the supplement to the petition of Mr. William Cobbett, giving the details of the transactions on which Mr. Cobbett had animadverted, and proving that the bankers had acted throughout in a manner in which they were perfectly justified.

Ordered to lie on the table.