CONSOLIDATED FUND PRODUCE BILL. (Hansard, 29 March 1819)

The Marquis of Lansdowne

said, that the bill should have his warmest support; for nothing could be more just and proper than its provisions, so far as they went. He must, however, call their lordships attention to the principle on which it was founded, and the very limited extent to which that principle was carried. The principle of the bill went to carry into effect, to a certain extent, a. measure which was but common justice towards the public, which had long been called for by the state of the finances, and which an individual of the other House (Mr. Grenfell) had, in a manner highly honourable to himself, made repeated endeavours to obtain for the country. He alluded to the efforts which had been made to procure for the public a participation in the advantages arising from the balances left in the possession of the Bank. Of that profit which the Bank ought to derive from its money transactions, in the fair course of trade, no man would wish it to be deprived; but, after the fair profit should be secured, it was but right that the public should share in the advantage arising from balances left in the Bank, and which of late years had frequently accumulated to a great amount. This bill, therefore, in this respect, was most just in principle, but at the same time extremely defective in its provisions, since it confined the application of the principle to one description of balances, namely, to balances on the growing produce of the consolidated fund, arising on money received at the receipt of the exchequer at the Bank. Why was not this principle carried to a greater extent? Why was it not applied to the balances of the customs and excise, of which at least 3,000,000l. might be made available each quarter in the same manner, and to which the public was no less fairly entitled than to that granted by the present bill? It had been boasted that the arrangement contemplated by this bill would produce a saving-of interest on balances to the amount of 6,000,000l.; whereas the fact was, that the average of these balances taken throughout the year did not exceed 4,000,000l. Besides the advantage, to whatever extent it might arise, could only be enjoyed by the public for a small part of the year; for it was provided, that the bills made out under the act of the 57th of the king, commonly called deficiency bills, should be discharged before this measure could operate. To this object the ba- 1175 lances on the growing produce of the consolidated fund must always, in the first instance, be applied. The sum required for the discharge of deficiency bills amounted, in the course of the last two years to not less than 3,300,000l. The balances lodged in the Bank being first applied to the discharge of the deficiency bills, what remained could be but a little while in its possession, before the 5th of July, the end of the present quarter: thus it was only during the last weeks of the quarter that the bill would have any beneficial effect of the kind which had been attributed to it. In the succeeding quarter, a fresh deficiency would arise, and the consequent necessity of first discharging the bills destined to meet it. The only advantage which the public could obtain by the measure must therefore be limited to the saving of interest on the casual and temporary employment of about 2,300,000l. after the deficiency bills were discharged, which on. an average throughout the year, would not be more than equal to 1,000,000l. He did not make these observations in a spirit of opposition to the bill, but to show that it possessed that limited character he had attributed to it; and to endeavour to impress on their lordships, the propriety of not confining their attention to this measure only. He hoped they would apply the same principle to balances of all descriptions.