SIR GEORGE LEWISsaid, he wished to inquire of the Chancellor of the Exchequer if any funding of Exchequer bills had recently taken place; and, if so, to what extent, and by what authority?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, there had been some funding of Exchequer bills, he believed to the amount of £7,600,000, by the authority of the Commissioners of Savings Banks. This course had been rendered necessary by the financial operations of the war. Several Votes had been taken in the shape of Exchequer bills, but the number in existence was such that it was not thought desirable at that moment to place more of them in the market. The same operation had been frequently resorted to by the Treasury, even under circumstances of less perplexity than the present, and of course it made not the slightest difference in the liabilities of the country.
SIR GEORGE LEWISsaid, he did not know if he had caught the right hon. Gentleman's words correctly—that certain Exchequer bills authorized to meet votes of credit had not been issued. What he wanted to know was, whether the Exchequer bills which had been lately funded were in the hands of the Commissioners of Savings Banks, or whether they had been previously issued by the Government?
§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUERsaid, the right hon. Gentleman had misunderstood him, if he supposed he had said that these bills had not been issued. Of course they had been issued. What he had meant to convey was, that from the large amount of those securities in the 187 market, they were not in the position which those whose duty it was to administer the financial affairs of the country could desire.