(_To what has been said in the Introduction respecting the _Letters of
Malachi Malagrowther_ it is only necessary to add that their immediate
cause was a Bill due to the very commercial crisis which indirectly
ruined Scott himself, and introduced in the spring of 1826 for
stopping the note circulation of private banks altogether, while
limiting that of the Bank of England to notes of £5 and upwards. The
scheme, which was to extend to the whole of Great Britain, was from
the first unpopular in Scotland, and Scott plunged into the fray. The
letters excited or coincided with such violent opposition throughout
the country that the Bill was limited to England only. As Scott was a
strong Tory, his friends in the Government, especially Lord Melville
and Croker (who was officially employed to answer 'Malachi'), were
rather sore at his action. He defended himself in some spirited
private letters, which will be found in Lockhart._)