PEEL relinquished the Irish Secretaryship with an
undisguised sense of relief. He was not long to
enjoy his freedom, however. He went to Scotland
with a party of friends and enjoyed sport in the High-
lands in a fashion rare then, though common enough
since, and he projected a continental tour in the
winter. But no sooner did Parliament meet in 1819
than he found himself again immersed in public
duties. A committee was appointed by the House of
Commons to consider the question of the resumption
of cash payments, and Peel was nominated by the
Government to be a member of this committee. He
was not known at this time to have devoted any special
attention to financial questions, and it is possible that
his selection by the Government was due to the fact that
he had voted against the resumption of cash payments
proposed by Horner in 1811, and that his father was
well known to be one of those who regarded an in-
convertible paper currency as a mainstay of national
prosperity. But Peel was now to show that he possessed

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