1899.] The Clerical Tithe Bill [139
After regretting his painful duty to increase instead of to diminish taxation, and defending his recent policy in reducing the Sinking Fund rather than increase taxation, Sir M. Hicks-Beach diverged to the subject of the gold reserve held in this country to meet commercial claims. The increase in the world's production of gold from 24,000,000*. in 1890 to 60,000,000Z. in 1898 had been most remarkable, but he did not know that it bound us to keep a great unproductive hoard of gold ready at a moment's notice. It might be that a larger stock was necessary, but if so it should not be kept either by the Government, which was only a banker as trustee for the Savings Banks, or by the Bank of England, but by the general body of financial institutions. They should act in combination, which was of the very essence of the matter. It was a very expensive thing to hold gold in masses, and the cost should be borne by the general banking interest. Unfortu- nately the Chancellor of the Exchequer could not pursue this point further, and show how the banking interest might be mduced to adopt a course which would greatly diminish their profits. The danger of the situation arose from the fact that the volume of business, not only in this country, but throughout the world, with which this country was financially and com- mercially bound up, had enormously increased of recent years without any similar increase of the reserve either of the Bank of England or of the general body of bankers. The latter practically relied upon the former to find cash in return for securities in any moment of pressure, regardless of the fact that the aggregate liabilities of half a dozen of the leading banks alone exceeded the cash reserve of the Bank of England.
The last month of the session as usual saw the abandon- ment of several bills which at its outset were looked upon as all-important or even as pressing reforms. Ministers had, however, counted on a forbearance on the part of the Opposition which was not to have been anticipated in the case of the Clerical Tithe Bill and other measures. The opposition to this bill was, however, slightly paralysed by the results of the recent elections. The " Protestant " party had shown a very distinct intention of making political capital out of " the crisis in the Church," and had threatened to make their power felt in every possible constituency. As the clergy of the party would derive benefits by the proposed legislation, it was not expedient to push opposition too far, except in the interests of the Nonconformists. It was therefore left to the spokesmen of the latter to make amendments, which would receive more or less support on their own side of the House according as each restriction of the scope of the bill seemed tactically advantageous. On going into com- mittee (July 10) Mr. Lloyd George (Carnarvon District) in the first place desired to limit the relief granted by the bill to owners of commuted tithe rent charge below the value of 200/. a year. This and similar amendments to the clause were mainly intended to bring out some supposed inconsistency in the Government's
