d the price
of commodities had risen enormously. Whether these results had in their
turn promoted the expansion of foreign commerce and internal industry
was vigorously disputed by two rival schools of economists. The one
thing certain was the increasing scarcity of specie, and the serious
loss incurred in its provision for the service of the army in the
Peninsula. Francis Horner, then rising to eminence, obtained the
appointment of what became known as the "bullion committee" to inquire
into the anomalous conditions thus created, and took a leading part in
the preparation of its celebrated report, published on September 20. The
committee arrived at the conclusion that the high price of gold was
mainly due to excess in the paper-currency, and not, as alleged, to a
drain of gold for the continental war. They attributed that excess to
"the want of a sufficient check and control in the issues of paper from
the Bank of England, and originally to the suspension of cash-payments,
which removed the natural and true control". While allowing that paper
could not be rendered suddenly convertible into specie without
dislocating the entire business of the country, they recommended that an
early provision should be made by parliament for terminating the
suspension of cash-payments at the end of two years. These conclusions
were combated by Castlereagh and Vansittart, who afterwards, in 1811,
succeeded in carrying several counter-resolutions, of which the general
effect was to explain the admitted rise in the price of gold, for the
most part by the exclusion of British trade from the continent, and the
consequent export of the precious metals in lieu of British
manufactures. The last resolution, while it recognised the wisdom of
restoring cash-payments as soon as it could safely be done, affirmed it
to be "highly inexpedient and dangerous to fix a definite period for the
removal of the restriction on cash-payments prior to the conclusion of a
definitive treaty of peace". These counsels prevailed, and the
restriction was not actually removed until Peel's act was passed in
July, 1819.

The last domestic event in the inglorious annals of 1810 was the final
lapse of the king into mental derangement in the month of November. For
more than six years his sight had been failing, but he had suffered no
return of insanity since 1804. Now he lost both his sight and his
reason. This event, impending for some time, was precipitated by the
illnes