LXVI.
London, 25 May, 1818.
My dear Sir,
I have again to regret that I shall not have you as an inmate of my house on your next visit to London.... I hope, however, that you will be our daily visitors, or as often as engagements will permit. I trust that those on our part will be exhausted before you come, for at no period have I led so dissipated a life as during this season. The King of Clubs will meet on the 6th. Let me know whether Mrs. Malthus and you will favour us with your company on the 8th, as we should be glad to ask a few friends to meet you on that day.
The general opinion here is that Parliament will be dissolved immediately after the prorogation[185], but as the election in that case will interfere with the Circuit I cannot believe that ministers will choose so inconvenient a time.
To-morrow evening there is to be a long debate in the House of Lords on the Bank Restriction Bill[186], on which occasion Lord Grenville means to speak. Lord King mentioned to me his idea of proposing that the Bank should be forbid making any dividend on their stock while the price of gold was above the mint price. I have no doubt that practically such a measure would operate a reduction of the currency and its rise to par; but, if the bank directors were obstinate, it might be attended with the most serious consequences to widows, orphans, and others, who might depend on the bank dividends only for their support.
My walks with Mill continue almost daily. I hope you will sometimes honour us with your company when in London. We could make a very tolerable reformer of you in six walks, if your prejudices be not too strongly fixed. Indeed I should expect to find that our differences were not very great, as, if you are favourable to reform at all and that I believe you are, we should agree on all the important principles. Sir James Mackintosh has been reading Bentham, and was just beginning to give me his opinion of the book[187] when we were interrupted. I hope I shall find another opportunity of hearing his sentiments, which I am very eager to do. In a conversation which I yesterday had with Sharp he told me what he conceived Sir James' sentiments on reform to be[188]. If he is correct, I do not think that Sir James and I should be so much opposed to each other as he now thinks....
Very truly yours,
David Ricardo.