and were directed to give farther orders to Hamburgh for the purchafe of gold; and were told that an application would immediately be made to the minister to order a frigate or armed floop to go to Hamburgh to take in fuch gold as might be bought, and alfo to defire that the reftriction on the captains of the packets, not to take any gold on board at Hamburgh for this country, might be taken off. The Governor and Deputy Governor waited on Mr. Pitt on this fubject; who promised to apply to the Admiralty for directions about fending out a frigate or armed floop; and that he would apply to the Poftmafter General to give the orders to the captains of the packets. The Governor preffed Mr. Pitt again on the fubject of the Treafury bills, and told him that he feared the court would not agree to pay the Treasury bills which fall due next week. Mr. Pitt faid he would fend 30,000l. to the Bank in part provifion thereof, but that he did not think he could raife the money to the full amount of the bills due. (No. 36.) Interview with the Chancellor of the Ex chequer, 24th of February, 1797. AT a Committee of the whole court held this day, it appeared that the lofs of cafh yesterday was above Í. and that about 1. were already drawn out this day, which gave fuch an alarm for the fafety of the house, that the Deputy Governor and Mr. Bofanquet were defired to wait on Mr. Pitt to mention to him thefe circumftances, and to ask him how far he thought the Bank might venture to go on paying cafh; and when he would think it neceffary to interfere before our cafh was fo reduced as might be detrimental to the immediate fervice of the state. Mr. Pitt faid, this was a matter of great importance, and that he must be prepared with fome refolution to bring forward in the council for a proclamation to stop the iffue of cafh from the Bank, and to give the fecurity of parliament to the notes of the Bank. In confequence of which he fhould think it might be proper to appoint a Secret Committee of the Houfe of Commons to look into the ftate of the Bank affairs; which they affured him the Bank were well prepared for, and would produce to fuch a committee. Mr. Pitt alfo obferved that he should have no objection to propofe to parliament, in cafe of a proclamation, to give parliamentary fecurity for Bank notes. The Governor and Deputy Governor this day waited on Mr. Pitt, to mention to him, that it would in the prefent circumstances be highly requifite that fome general meeting of the bankers and chief merchants of London fhould be held, in order to bring on fome refolution for the fupport of the public credit in this alarming crifis: and they took the liberty to recommend to Mr. Pitt to have a private meeting of fome of the chief bankers at his house to-morrow, at three o'clock, in which the plan for a more general meeting on Tuesday or Wednesday next might be laid; in the propri ety of which Mr. Pitt agreed, and faid he would fummon a previous meeting for to-morrow accordingly. This was communicated by the Governor to the Committee. Anfwer Anfver to (No. 4.) ON prefenting this paper, Mr. Pitt faid, it was not his fault that the account had not been diminished, for he had ordered, fome time fince, two warrants to be made out, amounting to above 600,000l. which were now completing, and would foon come down to us; fhewing, at the fame time, the preparatory parts thereof. The Governor then replied, that 600,000l. would not nearly reduce the amount to the agreed fum; that our calls had lately been fo great, with large drains of cash and bullion, as made us earneftly wish to leffen our cre dits as much as poffible; and then he wished Mr. Pitt would, without particular inconvenience to himfelf, name a day from whence the refolution of the court should take place. The Deputy Governor asked if Mr. Pitt could do this next Monday? (when the chairmen were to meet him on the national-stock bufinefs) He replied, he could not, that time, but he might probably he believed, be ready to do it by then inform us farther about it; and added his hope, that the Bank did not, for this year, mean to reftrict him from the credit of 500,0001. on Treafury bills. Anfwer to (No. 5.) MR. PITT acknowledged, That he had not, in his note of Wednefday laft, entered into any particu lars about the payment of the TreaBank affifted him with the two fury bills; but that he meant, if the millions and an half in question, on Exchequer bills, payable out of the growing produce of the confolidated fund, in the quarters for October next and the April following, he did mean to pay part of the Bank's advance on the Treasury bills out of that money; but he hoped that the whole of it would not be required, but that it fhould be provided for out of other funds. - The Governor then obferved to him, how frequent promifes had been given to reduce this advance to the limit of 500,000l. which had never yet been carried into effect; and begged leave to represent how defirous the Bank court was to have the payment of the Treafury acceptances otherwife arranged than at the Bank; which Mr. Pitt faid, fhould be taken up on a future occafion. The Governor faid, he could could not engage for any thing; but he knew how defirous the court always was to affift the government, though a provident care for their eftablishment muft precede all other objects. Mr. Pitt obferved on this, that the welfare of the Bank, we muft fuppofe, was an object of equal importance to him as to us. The Governor then added, that though he did not engage for the court, if Mr. Pitt could promife that two millions of the fum, now afked for, fhould be applied to extinguifh fo much of the advance on the Treafury bills, he believed it might be acceded to. Mr. Pitt replied, that he could not anfwer for fo large a part being paid immediately; but that he would, on this information, draw up a new letter to the court, to be confidered next Thurfday; and he wished to fee the two Governors at twelve o'clock on Tuesday next, to submit to them the plan of his letter: and the Governor and Deputy promifed to wait on him at that time accordingly. Anfwers to (No. 7.) AFTER Mr. Pitt had read this paper, with great attention, twice, he began by expreffing his fatisfaction and approbation of the meafure of communicating fuch matters to him; faying, That he would moft certainly frame his arrangements in a manner that might enable him to remove our fears, and prevent unpleasant confequences; and that he would endeavour to do this in fuch a manner as fhould produce no alarm; ftrongly recommending to the court of Directors to ufe every pofble precaution to prevent alfo. that The Governor then faid, That he hoped Mr. Pitt did not conceive it to be the intention of the court to refufe the advance of the land and malt, 1796; but only that it was their wish to protract it for fome time. Mr. Pitt faid he understood it fo, and fhould avoid applying for it until it might be more fuitable to the Bank. He alfo faid, he fhould certainly reimburfe a million of the Treasury bills, and repay the 1,100,000l. as foon as the accounts were made up; and, if it was neceffary, the 1,400,000l. remaining should be reimbursed. The Governor mentioned to him the drain of cash to Ireland, the calls for the Weft India armament, and the probability of foon perceiving thofe that may be occafioned by the claimants of the neutral fhips being reimbursed: in all which he seemed to concur. Then. the Governor ftated to him, that the price of gold being fo much above the value of our guineas, muft neceffarily imprefs his mind with the unavoidable confequences. The Chancellor of the Exchequer viewed this in a most serious light. The Governor then mentioned the probability of the claims of the American fhips taken in the Weft Indies foon coming to a hearing, and which, he faid, from report, would amount to near four milli ons. Mr. Pitt agreed that appeals were foon to be made, but he did not think the amount would come up to fuch a fum. The Governor then refumed the fubject of the Treafury bills; and hoped that, after would fo arrange matters as to prethe meeting of parliament, Mr. Pitt vent their continuing to be paid by the the Bank in the manner lately adopted. His reply was, that this object would foon ceafe; their amount feemed to have impreffed his mind with a defign to difcontinue the fervice that occafioned them; the troops were about to return home. He candidly acknowledged, that the expence of our troops on the Continent had been enormous; and intimated, that the bent and operation of the war, as long as it did ftill continue, would be naval, and in the Weft Indies. The Governor then made his acknowledgements to Mr. Pitt for the indulgence of fo much time as he had given to him and the Deputy Governor. The Chancellor of the Exchequer faid he was going out of town to-morrow, for a week, and at his return would be glad to fee the Governor again, if any thing material should occur. ftead a republican form of government. The Committee reft this opinion, in a great measure, on a letter written by Theobald Wolfe Tone, a very active member of that fociety, to his friends in Belfaft; in which there appears a number of expreflions which feem to indicate that Mr. Tone considered the British connection as the bane of Irish profperity. Another ground of the opinion of this Committee is, the declaration published by the Society of United Irishmen in Dublin, in the year 1791, when Mr. Rowan and Dr. Drenan were Chairman and Secretary, in which the prominent principle is, that none but the peoples can speak the will of the people. The Committee then proceed to the papers. They ftate the manner in which thefe papers had been seized in the house of a John Alexander, at Belfaft, by Captain Barber and Mr. Fox; they recite in what rooms and in what company they had been found, and infer that they were the ed Irifhmen. By one it appears papers of two committees of Unitthat the fociety is organized in a very perfect manner; the lowest conftituent part is the Baronial Committee, or the committee of the members who live in one barony. When this committee becomes numerous, it is split into two committees. When a certain number of these committees are formed in a county, they elect a County Committee; when a certain number of county committees are formed, they elect a Provincial Committee; and again, when two or more of these committees are created, they elect members who form the highest member of the fociety, a National Committee.They are, among other things, impowered K 146 of men and money. diture for affifting prifoners and In fome of the minutes are to be found the names or the initials of perfons reported to be bad, or unfound and dangerous members; exhortations are frequent to avoid communicating on the affairs of the fociety with perfons who had not taken the teft; and in one cafe it is faid, that the old pafs-word of the body was obliged to be changed, in confequence of fome negligence of this kind: it is ftrongly inculcated on the. |