COMMITTEE. (Hansard, 31 July 1860)

§ THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER,

in moving that the House should go into Committee on this Bill, said it was not intended to go forward with any part of the main substance of the Bill, but simply to retain a provision in favour of which there seemed to he a unanimous feeling in the House. He referred to the 4th Clause, which would somewhat enlarge the power of the Commissioners to make purchases and hold investments for the Savings Banks and Friendly Societies. At present they were entirely limited to purchases in the National Debt account; but there were certain stocks and securi- 424 ties which were under the absolute guarantee of Parliament, just as much as was the National Debt of the country, and which at the same time, though they could not be uniformly held in any very large amounts, were more profitable investments than the securities that constituted the National Debt. The purpose of the 4th Clause, as he proposed to amend it, would be to give the Commissioners an uniform power of holding and dealing with all stocks under Parliamentary guarantee, and all stocks and securities, under whatever name, that constituted the National Debt. At present the Commissioners had power to hold terminable annuities, but they had no power to sell them, it was not supposed there would be much occasion for selling terminable annuities on a great scale; but there ought to be an uniformity of power with regard to all these securities, and accordingly this was provided for in the clause.