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 restriction 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 50,000l. to the Bank in part provifion thereof, but that he did not think he could raise the money to the full amount of the bills due. far he thought the Bank might, venture to go on paying cafh; and when he would think it necesary to interfere before our cafh was fo reduced as might be detrimental to the immediate service 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 issue 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 fhould 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 to have a private meeting of fome⚫ liberty to recommend to Mr. Pitt 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 ety of which Mr. Pitt agreed, and next might be laid; in the propri faid he would fummon a previous meeting for to-morrow according ly. This was communicated by the Governor to the Committee. Anfwer to (No. 2.) The Chancellor of the Exchequer having read the paper, feemed fully convinced of the propriety of the reprefentation; and declared, that it fhould have been attended. to on his part before, but that, in the multiplicity of public affairs, it had been forgotten. He, however, faid, that it should be complied with out of hand, and that he would or der 1,200,000l. to be paid to the Bank, on that account, immediately. Anfwer 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 cafh and bullion, as made us earnestly wish to lessen our cre dits as much as poffible; and then he wished Mr. Pitt would, without particular inconvenience to himfeif, name a day from whence the refolution of the court should take place. The Deputy Governorafked 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 restrict him from the credit of 500,000l. on Treasury bills. Anfwer to (No. 5.) MR. PITT acknowledged, That he had not, in his note of Wednesday last, entered into any particu lars about the payment of the Treafury bills; but that he meant, if the Bank affifted him with the two millions and an half in queftion, the growing produce of the confoon Exchequer bills, payable out of lidated 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 should 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 reprefent how defirous the Bank court was to have the payment of the Treasury 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 aflift 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 promise that two millions of the funi, now afked for, thould be applied to extinguish 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 wifhed 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 promised to wait on him at that time accordingly. Anfavers to (No. 7.) AFTER Mr. Pitt had read this paper, with great attention, twice, he began by expreffing his fatisfaction and approbation of the measure 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 un pleafant confequences; and that he would endeavour to do this in fuch a manner as should produce no alarm; ftrongly recommending to 'the court of Directors to use poffible precaution to prevent that alfo. every 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 wifh to protract it for fome time. Mr. Pitt faid he underftood it fo, and fhould avoid applying for it until it might be more fuitable to the Bank. 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. He The Governor mentioned to him the drain of cafh 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 flips being reimbursed: in all which he feemed to concur. Then the Governor stated 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 millions. 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 subject of the Treafury bills; and hoped that, after the meeting of parliament, Mr. Pitt would fo arrange matters as to prevent 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 ftili 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 see the Governor again, if any thing material should occur. Summary of the Report of the Secret Pelham. THE ftead a republican form of government. The Committee reft this opinion, in a great meafure, on a letter written by Theobald Wolfe Tone, a very active member of that fociety, to his friends in Belfast; in which there appears a number of expreffions which feem to indicate that Mr. Tone considered the Britifh connection as the bane of Irish profperity. Another ground of the opinion of this Committee is, the declaration publifhed 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 people can speak the will of the people. The Committee then proceed to the papers. They ftate the manner in which thefe papers had been feized 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 papers of two committees of United Irifhmen. By one it appears that 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 thefe committees are formed in a county, they elect a County Committee; when a cer 'HE Committee began by ftating, that they confidered it to be a proper difcharge of their duty to examine into the principles and motives of the Society of United Irishmen at its firft formation: they affert, that in confequence of this examination they find that the So-tain number of county committees ciety, under the pretext of promoting a Parliamentary Reform, and what they called Emancipation of the Catholics, harboured a design to difunite this country from Great Britain, to overthrow the prefent conftitution, and establish in its VOL. XXXIX. are formed, they elect a Provincial Committee; and again, when two or more of thefe committees are created, they elect members who form the highest member of the fociety, a National Committee.They are, among other things, im K powered powered to raise money in certain proportions, and to diftribute it in certain ways; fuch as providing arms and ammunition; fupplying the members who fuffer for the caufe with neceffaries, and with the means of defence; providing for the families of thofe who may fall in any way for the common service; and they are enabled to regulate the election of military officers. There is a particular provifion which fixes the manner in which the tribunal fhall be chofen, who, when a revolution begins, fhall decide on the property, and even the lives of accufed individuals; and there is another provifion which declares what defcription of fufpected perfons fhall not be fuffered to enter the ranks when the conflict fhall begin. The other papers are minutes of the proceedings of the fub-committees of United Irifhmen, and reports on a variety of fubjects. They contain, in the first place, accurate returns of the numbers of men who have at different periods become members of the body; alfo returns of the fums fubfcribed by each refpective place, and the purposes for which the money has been expended. The returns of guns, bayonets, fwords, pikes, cannon, powder, ball-cartridges, and of bullets, are all reported with equal accuracy, and always accompany the returns of men and money. The fociety has risen to a number truly formidable not lefs at this moment than one hundred thoufand men. The amount of their arms appears to be very confiderable; and they reckon among their ordnance eight pieces of cannon and one mortar. In their money accounts are found accurate statements of their expen diture for affifting prifoners and purchafing arms; and in one return it is remarkable that the officer who remits it fays, "This money has been paid fomewhat before the ufual time, because it is expected our friends will foon arrive at Bantry," or words to that effect; and feveral inftances occur in the papers, of allufions to the expected arrival of thefe friends. In fome papers the committees earnestly exhort the people to temperance, to fobriety, and to peace, obferving that the wifh of government was to goad them into infurrection, by which the hopes of the people would be defeated, not only now, but perhaps for ever; and in one place occurs the remarkable advice to have nothing to do with the father or his fon." That the fociety exercife a judicial authority over their members appears alfo by these papers; for in more than one of them there is mention made of certain perfons who had been charged with offences having been tried and acquitted; and one inftance is found of the executive committee having been purged by another branch of the body for an abuse of their truft; three-fourths of them were removed, and men of acknowledged merit fubftituted in their room. 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 faciety with perfons who had not taken the test; and in one case it is faid, that the old pafs-word of the body was o bliged to be changed, in confequence of fome negligence of this kind; it is strongly inculcated on the |