exchange For a Farmer that carries a Bushel â— Wheat to Market and a Labourer thâ—â— carries Half a Crown shall find that the Money of one as well as Corn of the other shall at some times purchase him more or less Leather or Salt according as they are in greater Plenty and Scarcity one to another So that in Exchange of coin'd Silver for any other Commodity which is buying and selling the same measure governs the Proportion you receive as if you exchang'd Lead or Wheat or any other Commodity which is nothing else but their Quantity in Proportion to their vent If then change of Use makes not your Silver more in Spâ—ciâ— or your Wheat or other Commodities less it will not have any Influence at all to make it exchange for less of Wheat or any other Commodity than it will have on lead to make it exchange for less Wheat or any other Commodity Money therefore in buying and selling being perfectly in the same Condition with other Commodities and subject to all the same Laws of Value let us next see how it comes to be of the same Nature with Land by yielding a certain yearly Income which we call Use or Interest For Land produces naturally something new and profitable and of Value to Mankind but Money is a barren thing and produces nothing but by Compact transfers that Profit that was the Reward of one man's Labour into another man's Pocket That which occasions this is the unequal Distribution of Money which Inequality has the same effect too upon Land that it has upon Money For my having more Money in my hand than I can or am dispos'd to use in buying and selling makes me able to lend and another's want of so much Money as he could employ in Trade makes him willing to borrow But why then and for what Consideration doth he pay Use For the same Reason and upon as good Consideration as the Tenant pays Rent for your Land For as the unequal Distribution of Land you having more than you can or will manure and another less brings you a Tenant for your Land and the same unequal Distribution of Money I having more than I can or will employ and another less brings me a Tenant for my Money So my Money is apt in Trade by the Industry of the Borrower to produce more than 6 per Cent. to the Borrower as well aâ— your Land by the Labour of the Tenant is apt to produce more Fruits than his Rent comes to and therefore deserves to be paid for as well as Land by an yearly Rent For though the Usurer's Money would bring in no yearly profit if he did not lend it suppoâ—ing he employ it not himself and so his Six per Cent. may seem to be the Fruit of another Mans Labour yet he shares not near so much of the profit of anothers Mans Labour as he that lets Land to a Tenant for without the Tenants Industry supposing as before the owner would not manage it himself his Land would yield him little or no Profit so that the Rent he receives is a greater Portion of the Fruit of his Tenants Labour than the Use is at 6 per Cent for generally he that Borrows 1000 l. at Six per Cent. and so pays 60 l. per Aâ—num Use gets more above his Use in one year by his Industry than he that Rents a Farm of 60 l. per Annum gets in two above his Rent though his Labour be harder It being evident therefore that he that has skill in Traffick but has not Money enough to Exercise it has not only reason to Borrow Money to drive his Trade and get a livelyhood but as much Reason to pay Use for that Money as he that not having Land of his own yet has Skill in Husbandry has not only reason to Rent Land but to pay Money for the Use of it It follows that Borrowing Money upon Use is not only by the necessity of Affairs and the Constitution of humane Societyâ— unavoidable to some Men but that also to receive Profit for the Loan of Money is as equitable and lawful as receiving Rent for Land and more tolerable to the Borrower notwithstanding the Opinion of some over-scrupulous Men. This being so one would expect that the rate of Interest should be the Measure of the value of Land in number of years Purchase for which the Fee is Sold For 100 l. per Annum being equal to 100 l. per Annum and so to perpetuity and 100 l. per Annum being the Productâ— of 1000 l. when Interest is at 10 per Cent. of 1250 l. when Interest is at 8 per Cent. of 1666 l. or thereabouts when Interest is at 6 per Cent. of 2000 l. when Money is at 5 per Cent. of 2500 l. when Money is at 4 per Cent. One would conclude I say that Land should Sell in proportion to Use according to these following Rates viz. When Money is at 10 per Cent. for 10 years purchase When Money is at 8 per Cent. for 12 1 â— years purchase When Money is at 6 per Cent. for 16 â— â— years purchase When Money is at 5 per Cent. for 20 years purchase When Money is at 4 per Cent. for 25 years purchase But Experience tells us that neither in Queen Elizabeth nor King Iames the First Reigns when Interest was at Ten per Cent. was Land Sold for Ten or when it was at Eighth per Cent for 12 ½ years purchase or any thing near the low rate that high Use requir'd if it were true that the rate of Interest govern'd the price of Land any more than Land now yields 25 years purchase because a great part of the Monied Men will now lett their Money upon good Security at Four per Cent. Thus we see in fact how little this Rule has held at home and he that will look into Holland will find that the Purchase of Land was not raised there when their Interest fell This is certain and past doubt that the legal Interest can never regulate the price of Land since it is plain that the price of Land has never changed with it in the several Changes have been made in the rate of Interest by Law nor now that the rate of Interest is by Law the same through all England is the price of Land every where the same it being in some parts constantly sold for 4 or 5 years Purchase more than in others Whether you or I can tell the Reason of this it matters not to the Question in hand but it being really so this is plain Demonstration against those who pretend to advance and regulate the price of Land by a Law concerning the Interest of Money But yet I will give you some of my Guesses why the price of Land is not regulated as at first sight it seems it should be by the Interest of Money Why it is not regulated by the legal Use is manifest because the rate of
usually dearest those Years they are worst But if it happen to be a Species of Commodity whose defects may be supplyed by some other the making of it worse does lessen its Price because it hinders its Vent for if Rye should any Year prove generally smutty or grown no question it would yield less Money than otherwise because the deficiency of that might be in some measure made up by Wheat and other Grain but if it be a sort of Commodity whose use no other known thing can supply 't is not its being better or worse but its quantity and vent is that alone which regulates and determines its value To apply this now to Money as capable of different Rates of Interest considering Money in its proper use as a Commodity passing in exchange from one to another all that is done by Interest is but adding to Money by agreement or publick Authority which Naturally it hath not viz. a faculty of increasing every year Six per Cent now if publick Authority sink Use to Four per Cent. 't is certain it diminishes this good quality in Money 1 â— but yet this making the Money of England not one Farthing more than it was it alters not the Measures upon which all changeable Commodities increase or sink their price and so makes not Money Exchange for less of any Commodity than it would without this alteration of its Interest but rather if lessening Use to Four per Cent. does at all alter the quantity of Money and makes it less it makes Money as it has the Nature of a Commodity dearer i. e. a less quantity of Money will Exchange for a greater quantity of another Commodity than it would before This perhaps will appear a little plainer by these following particulars 1. That the Intrinsick Natural worth of any Thing consists in this that it is apt to be serviceable to the Necessities or Conveniencies of human Life and it is Naturally more worth as the Necessity or Conveniency it supplies is greater but yet 2. That there is no such Intrinsick Natural settled value in any Thing as to make any assigned quantity of it constantly worth any assigned quantity of another 3. The value of any assigned quantities of two or more Commodities are pro hic nunc equal when they will Exchange one for another As supposing one Bushel of Wheat two Bushels of Barley 30 l. of Lead and one Ounce of Silver will now in the Market be taken one for another they are then of equal worth and our Coin being that which Englishmen reckon by An Englishman would say that now one Bushel of Wheat two Bushels of Barley 30 l. of Lead one Ounce of Silver were equally worth Five Shillings 4. The altering of this value two things in respect of one another or any one standing common Measure is not the altering of any Intrinsick value or quality in the Commodity for musty and smutty Corn will Sell dearer at one time than the clean and sweet at another but the alteration of some proportion the Commodity bears to something else 5. This proportion in all Commodities whereof Money is one is the proportion of their quantity to the Vent which Vent is nothing else but the passing of Commodities from one owner to another in Exchange and is then called quicker when a greater quantity of any species of Commodity is taken off from the Owners of it in an equal space of time 6. This Vent is regulated i. e. made quicker or slower as greater or less quantities of any Saleable Commodity are removed out of the way and course of Trade separated from publick Commerce and no longer lie within the reach of Exchange For though any Commodity should shift Hands never so fast and be Exchanged from one Man to another yet if they were not thereby exempted from Trade and Sale and did not cease to be any longer Traffick this would not at all make or quicken their Vent but this seldom or never happening makes very little or no alteration And thus the Vent is altered three ways 1. By Consumption when the Commodity in its Use is destroy'd as Meat Drink and Cloths c. all that is so consumed is quite gone out of the Trade of the World 2. Exportation and all that is so carried away is gone out of the Trade of England and concerns Englishmen no more in the price of their Commodities among themselves than if it were out of the World 3. Buying and laying up for a Mans private Use. For what is by any of these ways shut out of the Market and no longer moveable by the Hand of Commerce makes no longer any part of Merchantable Ware and so in respect of Trade and the quantity of any Commodity is not more considerable than if it were not in being All these three terminating at last in Consumption of all Commodities excepting only Jewels and Plate and some few others which wear out but insensibly may properly enough pass under that Name Ingrossing too has some influence on the present Vent but this inclosing some considerable part of any Commodity for if the Ingrossing be of all the Commodity and it be of general Use the price is at the will of the Ingrosser out of the free common of Trade only for some time and afterwards returning again to Sale makes not usually so sensible and general an alteration in the Vent as the others do but yet influences the price and the Vent more according as it extends its self to a larger portion of the Commodity and Hoards it up longer 7. Most other portable Commodities excepting Jewels Plate c. decaying quickly in their Use but Money being less consumed or increased i. e. by slower Degrees removed from or brought into the free Commerce of any Country than the greatest part of other Merchandize and so the proportion between its quantity and Vent altering slower than in most other Commodities it is commonly look'd on as a standing measure to judge of the value of all Things especially being adapted to it by its Weight and Denomination in Coinage 8. Money whilst the same quantity of it is passing up and down the Kingdom in Trade is really a standing measure of the falling and rising value of other Things in Reference to one another and the alteration of price is truely in them only But if you increase or lessen the quantity of Money current in Traffick in any place then the alteration of value is in the Money and if at the same time Wheat keep its proportion of Vent to quantity Money to speak truly alters its worth and Wheat does not though it Sell for a greater or less price than it did before for Money being look'd upon as the standing measure of other Commodities Men consider and speak of it still as if it were a standing measure though when it has varied its quantity 't is plain it is not 9. But the value or price of all Commodities amongst which Money
Coin paying the Coinage the particular Owners pay nothing for it So that 100 Ounces of Silver Coined comes to the Owner at the same Rate as 100 Ounces of the Standard Silver in Bullion For delivering into the Mint his Silver in Bars he has the same quantity of Silver deliver'd out to him again in Coin without any Charges to him Whereby if at any time he has occasion for Bullion 't is the same thing to melt down our miâ—'d Money as to buy Bullion from abroad or take it in Exchange for other Commodities Thus our Mint to the only advantage of our Officers but at the publick cost Laâ—â—urs in Vain as will be found But yet this makes you not have one jot less Money in England than you would have otherwise but only makes you Coin that which otherwise would not have been Coin'd nor perhaps been brought hither and being not brought hither by an over-ballance of your Exportation cannot stay when it is here It is not any sort of Coinage does or can keep your Money here That wholly and only depends upon the Ballance of your Trade And had all the Money in King Charles the II. and King Iames the II. time been Minted according to this new proposal this raised Money would have been gone as well as the other and the remainder been no more nor no less than it is now though I doubt not but the Mint would have Coined as much of it as it has of our present milâ—'d Money The short is this An over-ballance of Trade with Spain brings you in Bullion cheap Coinage when it is here carries it into the Mint and Money is made of it but if your Exportation will not Ballance your Importation in the other parts of your Trade away must your Silver go again whether Monied or not Monied For where Goods do not Silver must pay for the Commodities you spend That this is so will appear by the Books of the Mint where may be seen how much mill'd Money has been Coin'd in the two last Reigns And in a Paper I have now in my Hands supposed written by a Man not wholly ignorant in the Mint 't is confessed That whereas 1 â— of the Current Payments were some time since of milâ—'d Money there is not now 1 â—â— Gone then it is But let not any one mistake and think it gone because in our present Coinage an Ounce wanting â—8 Grains is denominated a Crownâ— Or that as is now proposed an 〈…〉 about 40 Grains being 〈…〉 denominated a 〈…〉 it or will if our Money be 〈…〉 for the future fix it here Coin what quantity of Silver you please in one peice bigger or less and give it the Denomination of a Crown when your Money is to go to pay your Foreign Debts or else it will not go out at all your heavy Money i. e. that which is weight according to its Denomination by the Standard of the Mint will be that which will be melted down or carried away in Coin by the Exporter whether the pieces of each Species be by the Law greater or less For whilst Coinage is wholâ—y paid for by a Tax whatever your size of Money be he that has need of Bullion to send beyond Sea or of Silver to make Plate need but take mill'd Money and melt it down and he has it as cheap as if it were in pieces of Eight or other Silver coming from abroad the Stamp which so well secures the weight and fineness of the mill'd Money costing nothing at all To this perhaps will be said that if this be the effect of milled Money that it is so apt to be melted down it were better to return to the old way of Coining by the Hammer To which I Answer by no means For 1. That way of Coinage less secures you from having a great part of your Money melted down For in that way there being a greater inequality in the weight of the pieces some being too heavy and some too light those who know how to make their advantage of it cull out the heavy pieces melt them down and make a benefit of the over-weight 2. Coinage by the Hammer exposes you much more to the danger of false Coin Because the Tools are easily made and concealed and the work carried on with fewer Hands and less noise than a Mill whereby false Coiners are less liable to discovery 3. The pieces not being so round even and fairly Stamp'd nor marked on the Edges are expos'd to Clipping which mill'd Money is not Mill'd-money is therefore certainly best for the Publique But whatever be the cause of melting down our Mill'd-money I do not see how raising our Money as they call it will at all hinder its being melted down For if our Crown-pieces should be Coin'd 1 20 lighter Why should that hinder them from being melted down more than now The intrinsique value of the Silver is not alter'd as we have shewn already therefore that temptation to melt them down remains the same as before But they are lighter by 1 20. That cannot hinder them from being melted down For Half Crowns are lighter by half and yet that preserves them not But they are of less weight under the same denomination and therefore they will not be melted down That is true if any of these present Crowns that are 1 â—0 heavier are current for Crowns at the same time For then they will no more melt down the new light Crowns than they will the old clipp'd ones which are more worth in Coin and Tale than in weight and Bullion But it cannot be suppos'd that Men will part with their old and heavier Money at the same rate that the lighter new Coin goes at and pay away their old Crowns for 5 s. in Tale when at the Mint they will yield them 5 s. 3 d. And then if an old Mill'd Crown goes for 5 s. 3 d. and a new Mill'd Crown being so much lighter go for a Crown What I pray will be the odds of melting down the one or the other The one has 1 20 less Silver in it and goes for 1 20 less and so being weight they are melted down upon equal terms If it be a convenience to melt one it will be as much a convenience to melt the other just as it is the same convenience to melt Miâ—l'd Half Crowns as Mill'd Crowns the one having with half the quantity of Silver half the value When the Money is all brought to the new rate i. e. to be â— 20 lighter and Commodities raised as they will proportionably What shall hinder the melting down of your Money then more than now I would fain know If it be coin'd then as it is now Gâ—â—tis a Crown piece let it be of what weight soever will be as it is now just worth it s own weight in Bullion of the same fineness For the Coinage which is the manufactury about it and makes all the difference â—â—â—â—ing nothing what can
make the difference of value And therefore whoever wants Bullion will as cheaply melt down these new Crowns as buy Bullion with them The raising of your Money cannot then the Act for free Coinage standing hinder its being meltted down Nor in the next place much less can it as is pretended hinder the exportation of our Bullion Any denomination or stamp we shall give to Silver here will neither give Silver a higher value in England nor make it less prized abroad So much Silver will always be worth as we have already shew'd so much Silver given in exchange one for another Nor will it when in your Mint a less quantity of it is raised to a higher denomination as when 19 20 of an Ounce has now the denomination of a Crown which formerly belong'd only to the whole 20 be one jot raised in respect of any other Commodity You have rais'd the denomination of your stamped Silver 1 20 or which is all one 5 per Cent. And Men will presently raise their Commodities 5 per Cent. So that if yesterday 20 Crowns would exchange for 20 Bushels of Wheat or 20 yards of a certain sort of Cloth if you will to day coin current Crowns 1 20 lighter and make them the Standard you will find 20 Crowns will exchange for but 19 Bushels of Wheat or 19 yards of that Cloth which will be just as much Silver for a Bushel as yesterday So that Silver being of no more real value by your changing your denomination and giving it a less quantity this will no more bring in or keep your Bullion here than if you had done nothing If this were otherwise you would be beholden as some People foolishly imagin to the Clippers for keeping in your Money For if keeping the old denomination to a less quantity of Silver be raising your Money as in effect it is all that is or can be done in it by this project of making your Coin lighter the Clippers have sufficiently done that and if their Trade go on a little while longer at the rate it has of late and your Miâ—l'd-money be melted down and carried away and no more coin'd your Money will without the charge of new Coinage be by that sort of Artificers raised above 5 per Cent when all your current Money shall be Clipp'd and made above 1 â—0 lighter than the Standard preserving still its former denomination It will possibly be here objected to me That we see 100 l. of clipt Money above 5 per Cent lighter than the Standard will buy as much Corn Cloth or Wine as 100 l. in mill'd Monâ—y which is 1 20 heavier whereby it is evident that my Rule fails That it is not the quantity of Silver that gives the Value to Money but its Stamp and Denomination To which I answer That Men make their Estimate and Contracts according to the Standard upon Supposition they shall receive good and lawful Money which is that of full Weight and so in effect they do whil'st they receive the current Money of the Country For since 100 l. of clipt Money will pay a Debt of 100 l. as well as the weightiest mill'd Money and a new Crown out of the Mint will pay for no more Flesh Fruit or Cloth than Five clipt Shillings 't is evident that they are equivalent as to the Purchase of any thing here at home whil'st no body scruples to take Five clipt Shillings in exchange for a weighty mill'd Crown But this will be quite otherwise as soon as you change your Coin andâ— to raise it as you call it make your Money 1 â—0 lighter in the Mint for then no body will any more give an old Crown of the former Standard for one of the new than he will now give you 5 s. and 3 d. for a Crown for so much then his old Crown will yield him at the Mint Clipt and unclipt Money will always buy an equal quantity of any thing else as long as they will without scrupâ—e change one for another And this makes that the foreign Merchant that comes to fell his Goods to you always counts upon the Value of your Money by the Silver that is in it and estimates the quantity of Silver by the Standard of your Mint though perhaps by reason of clipt Money any sum that is ordinarily received is much lighter than the Standard and so has less Silver in it than what is in a like Sum new coin'd in the Mint But whilst clipt and weighty will equally change one for another it is all one to him whether he receive his Money in clipt Money or no so it be but current For if he buy other Commodities here with his Money whatever Sum he contracts for clipt as well as weighty Money equally pays for it If he would carry away the Price of his Commodity in ready Cash 't is easily chang'd into weighty Money and then he has not only the Sum in tale that he contracted for but the quantity of Silver he expected for his Commodities according to the Standard of our Mint If the quantity of your clipt Money be once grown so great that the foreign Merchant cannot if he has a mind to it easily get Weighty Money for it but having sold his Merchandise and received Clip'd Money finds a difficulty to procure what is weight for it he will in selling his Goods either contract to be paid in wâ—ighty Money or else raiseâ— the Price of his Commodities according to the diminish'd quantities of Silver in your Current Coin In Holland Ducatoons being the best Money of the Country as well as the largest Coin Men in Payments received and paid those indifferently with the other Money of the Country till of late the coining of other Species of Money of baser Alloy and in greater quantities having made the Ducatoons either by melting down or Exportation scarcer than formerly it became difficult to change the baser Money into Ducatoons and since that no body will pay a Debt in Ducatoons unless he be allowed ½ per Cent more than they were Coin'd for To understand this we must take notice That Guilders is the denomination that in Holland they usually compute by and make their Contracts in A Ducatoon formerly passed at three Guilders and three Stuyvers or 63 Stuyvers There were then some Years since began to be Coin'd another Piece which was call'd a Three Guilders Piece and was order'd to pass for Three Guilders or Sixty Stuyvers But 21 Three Guilders Pieces which were to pass for 63 Guilders not having so much Silver in them as 20 Ducatoons which passed for the same Summ of 63 Guilders the Ducatoonâ— were either melted down in their Mints for the making of these 〈…〉 or yet baser Money with Profit or were carried away by Foreign Merchants who when they carried back the Product of their Sale in Money would be sure to receive their Payment of the number of Guilders they contracted for in Ducatoons or change the Money
so traded for on borrowed Money be but the ovâ—â—ballance of our Exportation to our Importation the Kingdom gets by this Borrowing so much as whatsoever the Merchant's Gain is above his Use. But if we borrow only for our own Expences we grow doubly poor by paying Money for the Commodity we consume and Use for that Money though the Merchant gets all this while by making Returns greater than his Use. And therefore Borrowing of Foreigners in it self makes not the Kingdom rich or poor for it may do either but spending more than our Fruits or Manufactures will pay for brings in Poverty and Poverty Borrowing For Money as necessary to Trade may be doubly considered first as in his hands that pays the Labourer and Land-holder for here its motion terminates and through whose hands soever it passes between these he is but a Broker and if this man want Money as for Example the Clothier the Manufacture is not made and so the Trade stops and is lost Or secondly Money may be considered as in the hands of the Consumer under which Name I here reckon the Merchant who buys the Commodity when made to export and if he want Money the value of the Commodity when made is lessened and so the Kingdom loses in the Price If therefore Use he lessenedâ— and you cannot tye Foreigners to your Terms then the ill effects fall only upon your own Landholders and Artisans If Foreigners can be forc'd by your Law to Lend you Money only at your own Rate or not Lend at all is it not more likely they will rather take it home and think it safer in their own Country at Four per Câ—nt than abroad Nor can their over-plus of Money bring them to Lend to you on your Terms for when your Merchants want of Money shall have sunk the price of your Market a Dutchman will find it more gains to buy your Commodity himself than Lend his Money at Four per Cent. to an English Merchant to Trade with Nor will the Act of Navigation hinder their coming by making them come empty since even al-already there are those who think that many who go for English Merchants are but Dutch Factors and Trade for others in their own Names The Kingdom therefore will lose by it if it makes Foreigners withdraw any of their Money as well as if it hinders any of your People from Lending theirs where Trade has need of it In a Treatise writ on purpose for the bringing down of Interest I find this Argument of Foreigners calling away their Money to the prejudice of our Trade thus Answer'd That the Money of Foreigners is not brought into the Land by read 〈◊〉 Bullion but by Goods or Bills of Exchange and when it is paid must be returned by Goods or Bills of Exchange and there will not be the less Money in the Land I could not but wonder to see a Man who undertook to write of Money and Interest talk so directly besides the matter in the business of Trade Foreigners Money he says is not brought into the Land by ready Coin or Bullion but by Goods or Bills of Exchange How then do we come by Pullion or Money For Gold grows not that I know in our Country and Silver so little that One Hundred Thousandth part of the Silver we have now in England was not drawn out of any Mines in this Island If he means that the Monied Man in Holland who puts out his Money at Interest here did not send it over in Pullion or Specie hither that may be true or false but either way helps not that Authors purpose For if he paid his Money to a Merchant his Neighbour and took his Pills for it here in England he did the same thing as if he had sent over that Money since he does but make that Merchant 〈◊〉 in England the Money which â—e has Due to him there and otherwise would carry away 〈◊〉 says our Author 〈…〉 I must not be paid and exported in ready Money so says our Law indeed but that is a Law to hedge in the Cookoe and serves to no purpose For if we Export not Goods for which our Merchants have Money due to them in Holland How can it be paid by Bills of Exchange And for Gâ—ods 100 l. worth of Goods can no where pay 200 l. in Money this being that which I find many Men deceive themselves with in Trade It may be worth while to make it a little plainer Let us suppose England Peopled as it is now and its Woollen Manufacture in the same State and Perfection that it is at present and that we having no Money at all trade with this our Woollen Manufacture for the value of 200000 l. yearly to Spain where there actually is a Million in Money Let us suppose that we bring back from Spain yearly in Oyl Wine and Fruit to the value of 100000 l. and continue to do this Ten years together 't is plain we have had for our two Millions value in Woollen Manufacture carried thither one Million return'd in Wine Oyl and Fruit but what is become of â— other Million Will the Merchants be content to lose it That you may be sure they would not nor have Traded on if they had not every year Returns made answering their Exportation How then were the Returns made In Money it is evident For the Spaniards having in such a Trade no Debts nor the possibility of any Debts in England cannot pay one Farthing of that other Million by Bills of Exchange And having no Commodities that we will take off above the value of 100000 l. per Annum they cannot pay us in Commodities From whence it necessarily follows that the 100000 l. per Annum wherein we over-ballance them in Trade must be paid us in Money and so at the Ten years end their Million of Money though their Law make it Death to Export it will be all brought into Englâ—nd as in truth by this over-ballance of Trade the greatest part of our Money hath been brought into England out of Spain Let us suppose our selves now possessed of this Million of Money and Exporting yearly out of England to the several parts of the Worldâ— consumable Commodities to the value of a Million but Importing yearly in Commodities which we consume amongst us to the value of 1100000 l. If such a Tâ—â—de as this be managed amongst us and continue Ten yâ—â—â—s it is evident that our Million of Money will at the end of the Ten years be inevitably all gone from us to them by the same way that it came to us that is by their over-ballance of Trade For we Importing every year 100000 l. worth of Commodities more than we Export and there being no Foreigners that will give us 100000 l. every year for nothing it is unavoidable that 100000 l. of our Money must go out every year to pay for that over-plus which our Commodities do not pay for and 't is ridiculous
to say that Bills of Exchange shall pay our Debts abroad that cannot be till scrips of Paper can be made current Coin The Engâ—ish Merchant who has no Money owing him abroad cannot expect to have his Bills paid there or if he has Credit enough with a Correspondent to have his Bills answer'd this pays none of the Debt of England but only changes the Creditor And if upon the general ballance of Trade English Merchants owe to Foreigners 100000 l. or 1000000 if Commodities do not our Money must go out to pay or else our Credit be lost and our Trade stop and be lost too A Kingdom grows Rich or Poor just as a Farmer doth and no otherwise Let us suppose the whole Isle of Portland one Farm and that the Owner besides what serves his Family carries to Market to Weymouth and Dorchester c. Cattle Corn Butter Cheese Wooll or Cloath Lead and Tin all Commodities produced and wrought within his Farm of Portland to the value of 1000 l. yearly and for this brings home in Salt Wine Oyl Spice Linnen and Silks to the value of 900 l. and the remaining 100 l. in Money 'T is evident he grows every year 100 l. Richer and so at the end of the ten years will have clearly got 1000 l. If the Owner be a better Husband and contenting himself with his Native Commodities buy less Wine Spice and Silk at Market and so bring home 500 l. in Money yearly instead of 100 l. at the end of ten years he will have 5000 l. by him and be so much Richer He Dies and his Son succeeds a fashionable young Gentleman that cannot Dine without Champane and Burgundy nor Sleep but in a Damask Bed whose Wife must spread a long train of Brocard and his Children be always in the newest French cut and Stuff He being come to the Estate keeps on a very busie Family the Markets are weekly frequented and the Commodities of his Farm carried out and Sold as formerly but the Returns are made something different the fashionable way of Eating Drinking and Clothing 〈◊〉 his Wife Children and Family requires more Sugar and Spice Wine and Fruit Silk and Ribons than in his Fathers time so that instead of 900 l. per Annum he now brings home of consumable Commodities to the value of 1100 l. yearly What comes of this He lives in Splendor 't is true but this unavoidably carries away the Money his Father got and he is every year 100 l. Poorer To his Expences beyond his Income add Debauchery Idleness and Quarrels amongst his Servants whereby his Manufactures are disturbed and his Business neglected and a general Disorder and Confusion through his whole Family and Farm This will tumble him down the Hill the faller and the Stock the Industry Frugality and good Order of his Father had laid upâ— will be quickly brought to an end and he fast in Prison A Farm and a Kingdom in this respect diâ—â—er no more than as greater and less We may Trade and be busie and grow Poor by it unless we regulate our Expenses If to this we are Idle Negligent Diâ—honest Malitious and disturb the Sober and Industrious in their Business let it be upon what pretence it will we shall Ruine the faster So that whatever this Author or any one else may say Money is brought into England by nothing but spending here less of Foreign Commodities than what we carry to Market can pay for Nor can Debts we owe to Foreigners be paid by Bills of Exchange till our Commodities Exported and Sold beyond Sea have produced Money or Debts due there to some of our Merchants for nothing will pay Debts but Money or Moneys worth which three or four Lines writ in Paper cannot be for if they have an intrinsick value and can serve instead of Money why do we not send them to Market instead of our Cloth Lead and Tin and at an easier rate purchase the Commodities we want All that a Bill of Exchange can do is to direct to whom Money due or taken up upon Credit in a Foreign Country shall be paid And if we trace it what is due already we shall find became so for Commodities or Money carried from hence and if it be taken up upon Credit it must â—et the Debt be shifâ—â—d from one Creditor to another as often as you will at last be paid by Money or Goods carried from hence or else the Merchant here must turn Bankrupt We have seen how Riches and Money are got kept or lost in any Country and that is by consuming less of Foreign Commodities than what by Commodities or Labour is paid for This is in the ordinary course of things But where great Armies and Alliances are to be maintain'd abroad by Supplies sent out of any Country there often by a shorter and more sensible way the Treasure is diminished But this since the holy War or at least since the Improvement of Navigation and Trade seldom happening to England whose Princes have found the enlarging their Power by Sea and the securing our Navigation and Trade more the Interest of this Kingdom than Wars or Conquests on the Continent Expences in Arms beyond Sea have had little Influence on our Riches or Poverty The next thing to be considered is how Money is necessary to Trade The Necessity of a certain Proportion of Money to trade I conceive lyes in this That Money in its Circulation driving the several Wheels of Trade whilst it keeps in that Channel for some of it will unavoidably be dreined into standing Pools is all shared between the Land-holder whose Land aâ—â—ords the Materials The Labourer who works them The Broker i. e. Merchant and Shop keeper who distributes them to those that want them And the Consumer who spends them Now Money is necessary to all these sorts of Men as serving both for Counters and for Pledges and so carrying with it even Reckoning and Security that he that receives it shall have the same Value for it again of other things that he wants whenever he pleases The one of these it does by its Stamp and Denomination the other by its intrinsick Value which is nothing else but its Durableness Scarcity and not being apt to be counterfeited Which intrinsick Value though it be not natural but is only in the Opinion of men consenting to it yet being universal has generally but not always for we see that in a Siege or Man of War Silver may not be of equal Value to Gunpowder and in a Famine Gold not be worth its Weight in Bran the same effect as if it were natural The Necessity therefore of a Proportion of Money to Trade depends on Money not as Counters for the Reckoning may be kept or transferred by Writing but on Money as a Pledge For since the Bill Bond or other Note of Debt I receive from one man will not be accepted as Security by another he not knowing that the Bill or Bond is true or
neither more or less Land Money or any sort of Commodity in England than there was before immediately by its change alters not at all the Value of Money in reference to Commodities because the measure of that is only the Quantity and Vent which are not immediately chang'd by the Change of Interest but only as the Change of Interest in Trade conduces to the bringing in or carrying out Money or Commodity and so in time varying their Proportion here in England from what it was before which is not in this place to be considered This is perfectly the Value of Money in respect of Consumable Commodities But the better to understand it in its full latitude in respect both of consumable Commodities and Land too we must consider First That the Value of Land consists in this That by its constant production of saleable Commodities it brings in a certain yearly Income Secondly the Value of Commodities consists in this That as portable and useful things they by their Exchange or Consumption supply the Necessaries or Conveniencies of Life Thirdly In Mâ—râ—y there is a double Value answering to both of these first as it is capable by its Interest to yield us such an yearly Income and in this it has the Nature of Land the Income of one being called Renâ— of the other Use only with this difference That the Land in its Soil being different as some fertile some barren and the Products of it very various both in their Sorts and Value too according as their Quantity and Vent varies but Moneyâ— constantly the same and by its Interest giving the same sort of Product through the whole Country is capable of having a sixed yearly Rate set upon it by the Magistrate but â—and is not But though in the Uniformity of its legal Worth 100 l. of lawful Money being all through England equal in its current Value to any other 100 l. of lawful Money because by vertue of the Law it will every where pass for as much Ware or Debt as any other hundred pounds is capable to have its yearly Hire valued better than Land yet in respect of the varying need and necessity of Money which changes with the encrease or decay of Money or Trade in a Country it is as little capable to have its yearly Hire fixed by Law as Land it self For were all the Land in Rumney-Marsh Acre for Acre equally good that is did constantly produce the same quantity of equally good Hay or Grass one as another the Rent of it under that Consideration of every Acre being of an equal Worth would be capable of being regulated by Law and one might as well Enact That no Acre of Land in Rumney-Marsh shall be let for above 40 s. per An. as that no 100 l. shall be let for above 4 l. per An. But no body can think it fit since by reason of the equal Value of that Land it can that therefore the Rent of the Land in Rumney-Marsh should be Regulated by Law For supposing all the Land in Rumney-Marsh or in England were all of so equal a Worth that any one Acre compar'd at the same time to any one other were equally good in respect of its Product yet the same Acre compar'd with it self in different times would not in respect of Rent be of equal Value And therefore it would have been an unreasonable thing if in the time of Henry â— the Rent of Land in Rumney-Marsh had been settled by a Law according to the judg'd Value of it at that time and the same Law limiting the Rent perhaps to 5 s. per Acre have continued still The Absurdity and Impracticableness of this every one sees at the first Proposal and readily concludes within himself That things must be left to find their own Priceâ— and it is impossible in this their constanâ— mutability for human Foresight to seâ— Rules and Bounds to thâ— constantly-varying Proportion and Use which will alwayâ— regulate their Value They who consider things beyond their Names will find That Money as well as all other Commodities is liable to the same Changes and Inequalities Nay in this respect of the Variety of its Value brought in by time in the Succession of Affairs the Rate of Money is less capable of being regulated by a Law in any Country than the Rent of Land because of the quick Changes that happen in Trade this too must be added That Money may be brought in or carried out of the Kingdom which Land cannot and so that be truly worth 6 or 8 per Cent. this year which would yield but 4 the last 2. Money has a Value as it is capable by Exchange to procure us the Necessaries or Conveniencies of Life and in this it has the Nature of a Commodity only with this difference That it serves us commonly by its Exchange never almost by its Consumption but has not at all a more standing settled Value in Exchange with any other thing than any other Commodity has but a more known one and better sixed by Name Number and Weight to enable us to reckon what the Proportion of Scarcity and Vent of one Commodity is to another For supposing as before that half an Ounce of Silver would last year exchange for one Bushel of Wheat or for 15 l. weight of Lead if this year Wheat be 10 times scarcer and Lead in the same quantity to its Vent as it was is it not evident that half an Ounce of Silver will still exchange for 15 l. of Lead though it will exchange but for One Tenth of a Bushel of Wheat and he that has use of Lead will as soon take 15 l. weight of Lead as â— Ounce of Silver for One Tenth of a Bushel of Wheat and no more so that if you say that Money now is 9 10 less worth than it was the former year you must say so of Lead too and all other things that keep the same Proportion to Money they were in before only this Variation is first observed in Money because it is the measure by which People reckon For calling that half Ounce of Silver Half a Crown they are understood better when they say Half a Crown or two Shillingâ— and six pence will now but 1 10 of a Bushel of Wheat but do not say that 15 l. of Lead will now but 1 10 of a Busheâ— of Wheat because it is not generally used to this sort of Reckoning nor do theâ— say Lead is less worth than it was though in respect of Wheat Lead be 〈…〉 worse than it was as well as Silver only by the Tale of Shillings we are better enabled to judge of it This I suppose is the true Value of Mâ—â—ney when it passes from one to anotheâ— in buying and selling where it runs the same Changes of higher and lower as anâ— other Commodity doth for one equâ—â— quantity whereof you shall receive more or less of another Commodity at onâ— time than you do at another in
passing in Trade is truly one consisting in proportion you alter this as you do all other proportions whether you increase one or lessen the other In all other Commodities the Owners when they design them for Traffick endeavour as much as they can to have them vented and gone i. e. removed out of the reach of Commerce and Exchange by Consumption Exportation or laying up which Vent is sometimes slower and sometimes quicker But Money never lying upon Peoples Hands or wanting Vent for any one may part with it in Exchange when he pleases the endeavour of the Publick and almost every Body is to keep it from Venting or Consuming i. e. Exportation or Hoarding up which is its proper Consumption The Vent of Money therefore being always sufficient or more than enough its quantity alone is enough to regulate and determine its value without considering any Proportion between its quantity and vent as in other Commodities 10. Therefore lessening of Use not bringing one Penny of Money more into the Trade or Exchange of any Country but rather drawing it away from Trade and so making it less does not at all sink its Value and make it buy less of any Commodity but rather more 11. That which raises the natural Interest of Money is the same that raises the Rent of Land i. e. its aptness to bring in yearly to him that manages it a greater Overplus of Income above his Rent as a Reward to his Labour That which causes this in Land is the greater quantity of its Product in Proportion to the same Vent of that particular Fruit or the same quantity of Product in proportion to a greater Vent of that single Commodity but that which causes encrease of Profit to the Borrower of Money is the less quantity of Money in proportion to Trade or to the Vent of all Commodities taken together vice versa 12. The natural Value of Money as it is apt to yield such an yearly Income by Interest depends on the whole quantity of the then passing Money of the Kingdom in proportion to the whole Trade of the Kingdom i. e. the general Vent of all the Commodities But the natural Value of Money in exchanging for any one Commodity is the quantity of the Trading Money of the Kingdom designed for that Commodity in proportion to that single Commodity and its Vent For though any single man's Necessity and Want either of Money or any species of Commodity being known may make him pay dearer for Money or that Commodity yet this is but a particular Case that does not at the same time alter this constant and general Rule 13. That supposing Wheat a standing Measure that is That there is constantly the same quantity of it in proportion to its Vent we shall find Money to run the same Variety of Changes in its Value as all other Commodities do Now that Wheat in England does come nearest to a standing Measure is evident by comparing Wheat with other Commodities Money and the yearly Income of Land in Hen. 7. time and now For supposing 1 Hen. 7. N. let 100 Acres of Land to A. for 6 d. per An. per Acre Rack-rentâ— and to B. another 100 Acres of Land oâ— the same Soil and yearly worth with the former for a Bushel of Wheat per Acreâ— Rack-rent a Bushel of Wheat about that time being probably sold for about 6 d. it was then an equal Rent If therefore these Leases were for years yet to come 't is certain that he that paid 6 d. per Acre would pay now 50 s. per An. and he that paid a Bushel of Wheat per Acre would pay about 25 l. per An. which would be neâ—r about the yearly Value of the Landâ— were it to be let now The reason where of is this That there being ten times aâ— much Silver now in the World the Discovery of the Wâ—st-Indiâ—s having made the Plenty as there was then it is 9 1â— less worth now than it was at that time that is it will exchange for 9 1â— less of any Commodity now which bears the same Proportion to its Vent as it did 200 years since which of all other Commoditiesâ— Wheat is likeliest to do For in England and this part of the World Wheat being thâ— constant and most general Food not altering with the Fashion not growing by chance but as the Farmers sow more or less of it which they endeavour to proportion as near as can be guessed to the Consumption abstracting the Over-plus of the precedent year in their Provision for the next and vice versâ it must needs fall out that it keeps the nearest Proportion to its Consumption which is more studied and designed in this than other Commodities of any thing if you take it for 7 or 20 years together though perhaps the Plenty or Scarcity of one year caused by the Accidents of the Season may very much vary it from the immediately precedent or the following Wheat therefore in this part of the World and that Grain which is the constant general Food of any other Country is the fittest Measure to judge of the alter'd Value of things in any long tract of Time And therefore Wheat here Rice in Turkey c. is the fittest thing to reserve a Rent in which is designed to be constantly the same for all future Ages But Money is the best Measure of the alter'd Value of things in a few years because its Vent is the same and its quantity alters slowly But Wheat or any other Grain cannot serve instead of Moneyâ— because of its Bulkiness and too quick Change of its quantity For had I a Bond to pay me 100 Bushels of Wheat next year it might be ¾ Loss or Gain to me too great an Inequality and Uncertainty to be ventur'd in Trade besides the different Goodness of several Parcels of Wheat in the same year 14. That supposing any Island separate from the Commerce of the rest of Mankind if Gold and Silver or whatever else so it be lasting be their Money if they have but a certain quantity of it and can get no more that will be a steady standing Measure of the Value of all other things 15. That if in any Country they use for Money any lasting Material whereof there is not any more to be got and so cannot be encreas'd or being of no other use the rest of the World does not value it and so it is not like to be diminished this also would be a steady standing Measure of the Value of other Commodities 16. That in a Country where they had such a standing Measure any quantity of that Money if it were but so much that every body might have some would serve to drive any proportion of Trade whether more or less there being Counters enough to reckon by and the Value of the Pledges being still sufficient as constantly encreasing with the Plenty of the Commodity But these three last being built on Suppositions that are
dearness of Food and Labour in general in Holland and the cheapness of it in England If N. has 10000 l. in Holland which the greater advantage he could make of it in England either by Use or Purchase tempts him to transfer into England 't is probable he will give as much to a Merchant in Holland to pay him 10000 l. in England as the ensurance of that time between Holland and England is worth which if it be in a Country where the Exportation of Bullion is Prohibited he must pay the more because his Venture if he carry it in Specie will be greater and upon this ground perhaps the Prohibiting the Exportation of Money out of England under Penalties may be of some use by making the rate of the exchange greater upon those Countries who Import upon us more than they Export in Commodities and so retain some part of the Money which their over-ballance of Trade would carry away from us though after all if we are over-ballanc'd in Trade it must go But since the Holland Merchant cannot receive N 's 10000 l. in Money in Holland and pay him 10000 l. in England unless his over-ballance of Trade make English-Men indebted to him 10000 l. in Money which he is not like to take in Commodity I think the over-ballance of Trade is that which chiefly raises the exchange in any Country and that plenty of Money in any Country does it only for so much of the Money as is transfer'd either to be let out to Use or to be spent there and though lending to Foreigners upon Use doth not at all alter the ballance of Trade between those Countries yet it does alter the exchange between those Countries for so much as is lent upon Use by not calling away the Money that should follow the over-ballance of Trade but letting it rest there as if it were accounted for all one as if the ballance of Trade were for so much altered But this being not much in comparison of the generâ—â— Traffick between two Nations or at leaâ—â— varying slower the Merchant too regulating the exchange and not the Usurer I suppose it is the present ballance of Trade on which the exchange immediâ—ately and chiefly depends unless some accident shall make a great deal of Money be remitted at the same time from one place to another which will for the timeraise the exchange all one as an oveâ—-ballance of Trade and indeed when examin'd is generally very little different from itâ— To be able to estimate the Par with the rise and fall of the exchange it is necessary to know the intrinsick value iâ— how much Silver is in the Coins of thâ— two Countries by which you reckon and charge the Bill of Exchange Sir If I have been led a little too fâ—â— from one thing to another in the consideratâ—â—on of Money I beg your Pardon hâ— puâ—â—â— that these Particulars will afford some ligâ—â— to our present subject To return to the Price of Land by which has been abovesaid it is evident That the Years purchase of Land do not increase with the fall of Interest and the abating that good quality in Money of yielding yearly Six pâ—r Cenâ— to Four does not presently so sink its Value in respect of Land that 1 â— part more is requir'd in exchange that is That falling of Interest from Six to Four will not raise Land from Twenty to Thirty years purchase The raising and falling of the Price of Land as of other things depends much on the quantity of Land set to Sale compar'd with the quantity of Money design'd for that Traffick or which amounts to the same thing upon the number of Buyers and Sellers for where there are many Sellers and few Purchasers though Interest be lessened Land will be cheap as I have already shew'd At least this is certain That making a Law to reduce Interest will not raise the Price of Lands It will only by driving it more into the Bankers hands leave the Country barer of Money whereby if the Price of Land about London should be accidently raised that of remoter Countries would thereby have fewer Purchasers and at lower Rates This being so that the low rate of Land depends much on the great number of Sellers in proportion to Purchasers the next thing to be inquir'd into is What makes plenty of Sellers and to that the Answer is obvious general ill Husbandry and the consequence of it Debts If a neglect of Government and Religion ill Examples and depraved Education have introduced Debauchery and Art or Chance has made it fashionable for Men to live beyond their Estates Debts will increase and multiply and draw with them a necessity on Men first of Incumbring and then Selling their Estates This is generally the cause why Men part with their Land And I think there is scarce one of an hundred that thinks of Selling his Patrimony till Mortgages have pretty well Eat into the Freehold and the weight of growing Debts force a Man whether he will or no out of his Possessions When almost is there ever a clear and unincumbred Estate set to Sale 'T is seldom a thriving Man turns his Land into Money to make the greater advantage The Examples of it are so rare that they are scarce of any Consideration in the number of Sellers This I think may be the Reason why in Queen Elizabeth's days when Sobriety Frugality and Industry brought in daiâ—y Increase to the growing Wealth of the Kingdom â—and kept up its price and Sold for more years Purchase than corresponded to the Interest of Money then busily imployâ—d in a thriving Trade which made the natural Interest much higher than it is now as well as the Parliament then set it higher by Law On the contrary side what makes scarcity of Purchasers 1. The same Reason Ill Husbandry When the Tradesman lives up to the height of his Income and the vanity of Expences either drains the Merchants Coffers or keeps them from over-flowing he seldom thinks of Purchasing Buying of Land is the result of a full and satiated Gain and Men in Trade seldom think of laying out their Money upon Land till their profit has brought them in more than their Trade can well employ and their idle Bags cumbring their counting Houses put them upon emptying them on a purchase 2. Another Thing that makes a scarcity of Buyers of Land are doubtful and ill Titles where these are frequent and fatal one can no more expect that Men who have Money should be forward to Purchase than Ships richly laden to venture themselves amongst Rocâ—s and Quicksands 'T is no wonder such Seas should not be much frequented where the Examples and remains of daily Wrecks shew the â—olly and hazard of the venture in the number of those who have Miscarried 3. A general decay of Trade discourages Men from Purchasingâ— for this threatens an Universal Poverty which is sure to fall first and heaviest upon Land The Merchant who furnishes the
LICENSED Novemb. 27. 1691. Ia. Fraser Some Considerations OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE Lowering of Interest AND Raising the Value OF MONEY In a Letter to a Member of Parliament LONDON Printed for Awnsham and Iohn Churchill at the Black-Swan in Pater-Noster-Row 1692. SIR THese Notions concerning Coinage having for the main as you know been put into Writing above Twelve Months since as those other concerning Interest a great deal above so many years I put them now again into your hands with a Liberty since you will have it so to communicate them farther as you please If upon a Review you continue your favourable Opinion of them and nothing less than Publishing will satisfie you I must desire to remember That you must be answerable to the World for the Stile which is such as a Man writes carelesly to his Friend when he seeks Truth not Ornament and studies only to be in the right and to be understood I have since you saw them last year met with some new Objections in Print which I have endeavoured to remove and particularly I have taken into Consideration a Printed Sheet entituled Remarks upon a Paper given in to the Lords c. Because one may naturally suppose That he that was so much a Patron of that Cause would omit nothing that could be said in favour of it To this I must here add That I am just now told from Holland That the States finding themselves abused by coining a vast quantity of their base Schillings Money made of their own Ducatoons and other finer Silver melted down have put a stop to the Minting of any but fine Silver Coin till they should settle their Mint upon a new Foot I know the sincere Love and Concern you have for your Country puts you constantly upon casting about on all hands for any means to serve it and will not suffer you to overlook any thing you conceive may be of any the least use though from the meanest Capacities You could not else have put me upon looking out my old Papers concerning the reducing of Interest to 4 per Cent which have so long lain by forgotten Upon this new Survey of them I find not my Thoughts now to differ from those I had near Twenty Years since They have to me still the Appearance of Truth nor should I otherwise venture them so much as to your sight If my Notions are wrong my Intention I am sure is right And whatever I have failed in I shall at least let you see with what Obedience I am Sir Your most humble Servant Nov. 7. 1691. ERRATA PAge 3. l. 2. read Natural p. 9. l. 27. r. Masters p. 12. l. 13. r. Natural price p. 26. l. 16. r. of 1000 l. l. ult r. Clothing his p. 48. l. 25. r. Money being p. 50. l. 19. r. to their p. 52. l. 18. r. be 9 10 p. 64. l. 13. r. a quality which p. 80. l. 14. r. Natural l. 16. r. Natural p. 82. l. 27. r. what has p. 91. l. ult r. cheaper p. 94. l. 27. r. Landholder p. 95. l. 6. r. all as â— 20. r. the yearly p. 121. l. 6. r. Mortgagee p. 122. l. 23 r. and pay p. 123. l. 27. r. other Conjurers p. 127. l. 11. r. Virgula p. 129. l. 3. r. this present Year 1690. p. 137. l. ult dele more than is the Standard of our other Money p. â—38 l. 11. r. these Species p. 140. l. 18. r. from it is p. 141. l. 8. r. Debts and in l. 9. r. Rents for ever p. 147. l. 18. r. Owner p. 153. l. ult r. it to a p. 156. l. 29. r. raise the p. 168. l. 10. r. Rate as readily as any other Coin l. 28. r. place bringing p. 169. l. 8. r. because they p. 173. l. 7. r. by the Ounce p. 174. l. 25. râ—ise elsewhere â— p. 182. l. 2. â— lighter than p. 183. l. 12. r. own Coin p. 186. l. 23. â— before-hand with those to whom Debts are owing SIR I Have so little Concern in paying or receiving of Interest that were I in no more Danger to be misled by Inability and Ignorance than I am to be biassed by Interest and Inclination I might hope to give you a very perfect and clear Account of the Consequences of a Law to reduce Interest to Four per Cent. But since you are pleased to ask my Opinion I shall endeavour fairly to state this Matter of Use with the best of my Skill The first thing to be consider'd is Whether the Price of the Hire of Money can be regulated by Law And to that I think generally speaking one may say 't is manifest it cannot For since it is impossible to make a Law that shall hinder a Man from giving away his Money or Estate to whom he pleases it will be impossible by any Contrivance of Law to hinder Men skill'd in the Power they have over their own Goods and the ways of Conveying them to others to purchase Money to be lent them at what Rate soever their Occasions shall make it necessary for them to have it For it is to be Remembred That no Man borrows Money or pays Use out of mere Pleasure 't is the want of Money drives Men to that Trouble and Charge of Borrowing And proportionably to this Want so will every one have it whatever Price it cost him Wherein the Skilful I say will always so manage it as to avoid the Prohibition of your Law and keep out of its Penalty do what you can What then will be the unavoidable Consequences of such a Law 1. It will make the Difficulty of Borrowing and Lending much greater whereby Trade the Foundation of Riches will be obstructed 2. It will be a Prejudice to none but those who most need Assistance and Help I mean Widows and Orphans and others uninstructed in the Arts and Managements of more skilful Men whose Estates lying in Money they will be sure especially Orphans to have no more Profit of their Money than what Inâ—â—râ—st the Law barely allows 3. It will mightily encrease the Advantage of Bankers and â—eâ—â—veners and other such expert Brokers who skillâ—d in the Arts of putting out Money according to the true and Natâ—â—nal Value which the present State of Trade Money and Debts shall always raise Interest to they will infallibly get what the true Value of Interest shall be above the Legal For Men finding the Convenience of lodging their Money in Hands where they can be sure of it at short Warning the Ignorant and Lazy will be forwardest to put it into these Mens hands who are known willingly to receive it and where they can readily have the whole or a part upon any sudden Occasion that may call for it 4. I fear I may reckon it as one of the probable Consequences of such a Law That it is likely to cause great Perjury in the Nation a Crime than which nothing is more carefully to be prevented by Law-makers not only by
Neighbours in the Country where it is convenient for Trade it should be But if you lessen the Rate of Use the Lender whose Interest it is to keep up the Rate of Money will rather lend it to the Banker at the legal Interest than to the Tradesman or Gentleman who when the Law is broken shall be sure to pay the full natural Interest or more because of the ingrossing by the Banker as well as the Risque in transgressing the Law Whereas were the natural Use suppose Seven per Cent. and the legal Six first the Owner would not venture the Penalty of the Law for the gaining 1 â— part that being the utmost his Money would yeild Nor would the Banker venture to borrow where his Gains would be but One per Cent. nor the money'd man lend him what he could make better Profit of legally at home All the Danger lies in this That if your being behind hand has made the Natural Use so high that your Tradesman cannot live upon his Labour but that your rich Neighbours will so undersell you that the Return you make will not amount to pay the Use and afford a Livelihood there is no way to recover from this but by a general Frugality and Industry or being Masters of the Trade of some Commodity which the World must have from you at your Rate and cannot be other where supplied Now I think the Natural Interest of Money is raised two ways First When the Money of a Country is but little in proportition to the Debts of the Inhabitants one amongst another For suppose 10000 l. were sufficient to manage the Trade of Bermudas and that the Ten first Planters carried over 20000 l. which they Lent to the several Tradesmen and Inhabitants of the Country who living above their Gains had spent 10000 l. of this Money and it werâ— gone out of the Island 'T is evident that should all the Creditors at once call in their Money there would be a great scarcity of Money when that employ'd in Trade must be taken out of the Tradesmens Hands to pay Debts or else the Debtors want Money and be exposed to their Creditors 〈…〉 interest will be high But this sel 〈…〉 ing that all or the greatest 〈…〉 Creditors do at once call for 〈…〉 unless it be in some great and 〈…〉 is less and seldomer seit 〈…〉 unless where the Debts 〈…〉 own to a greater pro 〈…〉 causing more 〈…〉 leadeâ—s will 〈…〉 high Secondly That which con 〈…〉 raises the 〈…〉 of Money is when 〈…〉 to the Trade of a Country for in Trade every Body calls for Money according as he wants it and this disproportion is always felt For if Englishmen owed in all but One Million and there were a Million of Money in England the Money would be well enough proportionable to the Debts yet if Two Millions were necessary to carry on the Trade there would be a Million wanting and the price of Money would be raised as it is of any other Commodity in a Market where the Merchandize will not serve half the Customers and there are two Buyers for one Seller 'T is in vain therefore to go about effectually to reduce the price of Interest by a Law and you may as rationally hope to set a fixt Rate upon the Hire of Houses or Ships as of Money He that wants a Vessel rather than lose his Market will not stick to have it at the Market Rate and find ways to do it with security to the Owner though the Rate were limited by a Law and he that wants Money rather than lose his Voyage or his Trade will pay the Natural Interest for it and submit to such ways of Conveyance as shall keep the Lender out of the reach of the Law So that your Act at â—est will serve only to increase the Arts of Lending but not at all lessen the Charge of the Borrower He 't is likely shall with more trouble and going farther about pay also the more for his Money unless you intend to break in only upon Mortgages and Contracts already made and which is not to be supposed by a Law post factum void Bargains lawfully made and give to Richard what is Peters Due for no other Reason but because one was Borrower and the other Lender But supposing the Law reach'd the intention of the Promoters of it and that this Act be so contrived that it forced the National price of Money and hindred its being by any Body Lent at a higher Use than 4 l. per. Cent. which is plain it cannot Let us in the next place see what will be the Consequences of it 1. It will be a loss to Widows Orphans and all those who have their Estate in Money one third of their Estates which will be a very hard case upon a great number of People and it is warily to be consider'd by the Wisdom of the Nation whether they will thus at one blow fine and impoverish a great and innocent paâ—t of the People who having their Estatâ—â— in Money have as much Right to make aâ— much of their Money as it is worth for more they cannot as the Landlord haâ— to let his â—and for as much as it will yield and to â—ine Men one Third of their Estates without any Crime or Offence committed seems very hard 2. As it will be a considerable Loss and Injury to them so it will be no Advantage at all to the Kingdom for so Trade be not Cramp'd and the Exportation of our Native Commodities and Manufactures not hindred it will be no matter to the Kingdom who amongst our selves Gets or Loses only common Charity teaches those should be most taken care of by the Law who are least capable of taking care for themselves 3. It will be a Gain to the Borrowing Merchant for if he Borrow at Four per Cent and his Returns be Twelve per Cent. he will have Eight per Cent. and the Lender Four whereas now they divide the profit equally at Six per Cent. But this neither Gets nor Loses the Kingdom in your Trade supposing the Merchant and Lender to be both Englishmen only it will as I have said transfer a third part of the Monied Mans Estate who has nothing else to live on into the Merchants Pocket and that without any Merit in the one or Trangression in the other and that to the prejudice of Trade Since it will discourage Lending at such a disproportion of Profit to Risque as we shall see more by and by when we come to consider of what consequence it is to encourage Lending that so none of the Money of the Nation may lie dead and thereby prejudice Trade 4. It will hinder Trade for there being a certain proportion of Money necessary for driving such a proportion of Trade so much Money of this as lies still lessens so much of the Trade Now it cannot be rationally expected but that where the Venture is great and the Gains small as
not like to be found in the Practice of Mankind since Navigation and Commerce have brought all parts acquainted with one another and introduced the use of Gold and Silver Money into all Trading parts of the World they serve rather to give us some light into the nature of Money than to teach here a new Measure of Traffick though it be certain That that part of the World which bred most of our Gold and Silver used least of it in exchange and used it not for Money 17. That therefore in any Country that hath Commerce with the rest of the World it is almost impossible now to be without the use of Silver Coin and having Money of that and Accounts kept in such Money it is impossible to have any standing unalterable measure of the value of things for whil'st the Mines supply to Mankind more than wastes and consumes in its use the quantity of it will daily grow greater in respect of other Commodities and its value less 18. That in a Country that hath open Commerce with the rest of the World and uses Money made of the same Materials with their Neighbours any quantity of that Money will not serve to drive any quantity of Trade but that there must be a certain proportion between Money and Trade The reason whereof is this because to keep your Trade going without loss your Comodities amongst you must keep an equal or at least near the Price of the same Species of Commodities in the Neighbour Countries which they cannot do if your Money be far less than in other Countries for then either your Commodities must be sold very cheap or a great part of your Trade must stand still there not being Money enough in the Country to pay for them in their shifting of hands at that high price which the Plenty and consequently low Value of Money makes them at in another Country for the value of Money in general is the quantity of all the Money in the World in proportion to all the Trade but the value of Money in any one Country is the present quantity of the Current Money in that Country in proportion to the present Trade Supposing then that we had now in England but half as much Money as we had Seven years ago and yet had still as much yearly Product of Commodities as many hands to Work them and as many Brokers to disperse thâ—m as before and that the rest of the World we Trade with had as much Money as they had before for 't is likely they should have more by our Moiety shared amongst them 't is certain that either half our Rents should not be paid half our Commodities not vented and half our Labourers not imployed and so half the Trade be clearly lost or else that every one of these must receive but half the Money for their Commodities and Labour they did before and but half so much as our Neighbours do receive for the same Labour and same natural Product at the same time which though it will make no scarcity of our Native Commodities amongst us yet it will have these ill consequences 1. It will make our Native Commodities vent very cheap 2. It will make all Foreign Commodities very dear both which will keep us Poor For the Merchant making Silver and Gold his measure and considering what the Foreign Commodity costs him i. e. how many Ounces of Silver in the Country where Money is more Plenty i. e. Cheaper and considering too how many Ounces of Silver it will yield him in another Country will not part with it here but for the same quantity of Silver or as much as that Silver will buy here of our Commodity which will be a great deal more than in another place so that in all our exchange of Native for Foreign Commodities we pay double the Value that any other Country does where Money is in greater plenty This indeed will make a dearness and in time a scarcity of Foreign Commodities which is not the worst inconveniency that it brings upon us supposing them not absolutely necessary but 3. It endangers the drawing away our People both Handicrafts Mariners and Soldiers who are apt to go where their Pay is best which will always be where there is greatest plenty of Money and in time of War must needs bring great distress 19. Upon this measure too it is That the variation of exchange of Money between several Countries does somewhat depend for it is certain that one Ounce of Silver is always of equal value to another Ounce of Silver considered in its Intrinsick worth or in reference to the universal Trade of the World but 't is not of the same value at the same time in several parts of the World but is of most worth in that Country where there is the least Money in proportion to its Trade and therefore Men may afford to give 20 Ounces of Silver in one place to receive 18 or 19 Ounces of Silver in another But this is not all to this then to find out the alteration of the exchange the over-ballance of the Trade must be taken into consideration and these two together regulate the exchange in all the Commerce of the World and in both the increase of the exchange i. e. receiving a greater quantity of Silver for that is the measure let the Coin or the denomination be what it will in one Country for a less quantity of Silver paid in another Country depends upon one and the same thing viz. the greater Plenty of Money in one Country than in the other only with this difference that where the over-ballance of Trade raises the exchange above the Par there it is the plenty of Money which private Merchants have in one Country which they desire to remove into another But where the Riches of the Country raises the exchange above the Par there it is the plenty of the Money in the whole Country In one the Merchant has more Money or Debts which is all one in a Foreign Country than his Trade there will imploy and so is willing to allow upon exchange to him abroad that shall pay him ready Money at home 1 2 3 c. per Cent. more or less proportionably as his or his Countrymens plenty of ready Money abroad the danger of leaving it there or the difficulty of bringing it home in Specie and his present need of Money at home is greater or lesi In the other the whole Country has more Money than can well be imploy'd in the Trade thereof or at least the proportion of the Money to the Trade is greater than in the Neighbouring Country where the exchange is below the Par. For supposing the ballance of Trade to be equal between England and Holland but that there be in Holland a greater plenty of Money than in England which will appear by the lowness of the National Use in Holland and the heighth of the National Use in England and also by the
quarters of England and into a greater number of Hands according to the Exigences of Trade If Money were to be hired as Land is or to be had as Corn or Wooll from the Owner himself and known good security be given for it it might then probably be had at the Market which is the true Rate and would be a constant gauge of your Trade and Wealth But when a kind of Monopoly by consent has put this general Commodity into a few hands it may need Regulation though what the stated Rate of Interest should be in the constant change of Affairs and â—lux of Money is hard to determine Possibly it may be allowed as a reasonable Proposal that it should be within such Bounds 〈…〉 quite Lâ—t up the Merchants and Tradesmans profit and discourage their Industry nor on the other hand so low as should hinder Men from Risquing their Money in other Mens Hands and so rather chuse to keep it out of Trade than venture it upon so small profit When it is too high it so hinders the Merchants gain that he will not Borrow when too low it so hinders the Monied Mans profit that he will not Lend and both these ways it is a hindrance to Trade But this being perhaps too general and loose a Rule let me add that if one would consider Money and Land alone in relation one to another perhaps it is now at Six per Cent. in as good a proportion as is possible Six per Cent. being a little higher than Land at Twenty years Purchase which is the Rate pretty near that Land has generally carried in England it never being much over nor under For supposing 100 l. in Money and Land of 5 l. per Annum be of equal value which is Land at Twenty years purchase 'T is necessary for the making their value truly equal that they should produce an equal Income which the 100 l. at 5 l. per Cent. Interest is not likely to do 1. Because of the many and sometimes long intervals of Barrenness which happen to Money more than Land Money at Use when return'd into the Hands of the Owner usually lies dead there till he gets a new Tenant for it and can put it out again and all this time it produces nothing But this happens not to Land the growing product whereof turns to account to the owner even when it is in his Hands or is allow'd for by the Tenant antecedently to his entring upon the Farm For though a Man who Borrows Money at Midsummer never begins to pay his Interest from our Lady-Day or one moment backwards yet he who Rents a Farm at Midsummer may have as much reason to begin his Rent from our Lady-Day as if he had then entred upon it Besides the dead intervals of ceasing Profit which happen to Money more than Land there is another Reason why the Profit and Income of Money let out should be a little higher than that of Land and that is because Money out at Interest â—â—â—s a greater Risque than Land does The â—oâ—â—ower may break and run away with the Money and then not only the 〈◊〉 due but all the future Profit with the Principal is lost forever But in Land a Man can lose but the Rent due for which usually too the Stock upon the Land is sufficient security and if a Tenant run away in Arrear of some Rent the Land remains that cannot be carried away or lost Should a Man Purchase good Land in Middlesex of 5 l. per Annum at Twenty years Purchase and other Land in Rumney-Marsh or elsewhere of the same yearly value but so situated that it were in danger to be swallowed of the Sea and be utterly lost it would not be unreasonable he should expect to have it under twenty years Purchase suppose 16 ½ This is to bring it to just the case of Land at twenty years Purchase and Money at Six per Cent. where the uncertainty of securing ones Money may well be allowed that advantage of greater Profit and therefore perhaps the legal Interest now in England at Six per Cent is as reasonable and convenient a Rate as can well be set by a standing Rule especially if we consider that the Law requires not a Man to pay Six per Cent but ties up the Lender from taking more so that if ever it falls of it self the Monied man is sure to find it and his Interest will be brought down to it High Interest is thought by some a Prejudice to Trade but if we will look back we shall find that England never throve so well nor was there ever brought into England so great an increase of Wealth since as in Queen Elizabeth's and King Iames I. and King Charles I. time when Money was at 10 and 8 per Cent. I will not say high Interest was the Cause of it for I rather think that our thriving Trade was the Cause of high Interest every one craving Money to employ in a profitable Commerce But this I think I may reasonably infer from it That lowering of Interest is not a sure way to improve either our Trade or Wealth To this I hear some say That the Dutch Skilful in all Arts of promoting Trade to out do us in this as well as all other Advancements of it have observed this Rule That when we fell Interest in England from 10 to 8. they presently sunk Interest in Holland to 4 per Cent. and again when we lower'd it to 6 they fell it to 3 per Cent. thereby to keep the Advantage which the lowness of Interest gives to Trade From whence these men readily conclude That the falling of Interest will aâ—â—ance Trade in England To which I answer 1. That this looks like an Argument rather made for the present Occasion to mislead those who are credâ—lous enough to swallow it than arising from 〈◊〉 Reason and matter of Fact For if lowering Interest were so advantageous to Trade why did the Dutch so constantly take their measures only by us and not as well by some other of their Neighbours with whom they have as great or greater Commerce than with us This is enough at first sight to make one suspect this to be Dust only rais'd to throw in Peoples eyes and a Suggestion made to serve a Purpose For 2. It will not be found true That when we abated Interest here in England to 8. the Dutch sunk it in Holland to 4 per Cent. by Law or that there was any Law made in Holland to limit the Rate of Interest to 3 per Cent. when we reduced it in England to 6. It is true Iohn De Witt when he managed the Affairs of Holland setting himself to lessen the publick Debt and having actually paid some and getting Money in a readiness to pay others sent notice to all the Creditors That those who would not take 4 per Cent. should come and receive their Money The Creditors finding him in earnest and knowing not how
it first Because Money failing and falling short people have not so much Money as formerly to lay out and so less Money is brought to Market by which the price of things must necessarily fall The Labourer feels it next For when the Landholder's Rent falls he must either bate the Labourer's Wages or not imploy or not pay him which either way makes him feel the want of Money The Merchant feels it last For though he sell less and at a lower rate he buys also our Native Commodities which he Exports at a lower rate too and will be sure to leave our Native Commodities unbought upon the hands of the Farmer or Manufacturer rather than Export them to a Market which will not afford him Returns with profit If one Third of the Money imploy'd 〈◊〉 Trade were locked up or gone out of England must not the Land-holders necessarily receive â…“ less for their Goods and consequently their Rents fall A less quantity of Money by â…“ being to be distributed amongst an equal number of Receivers Indeed People not perceiving the Money to be gone are apt to be jealous one of anotherâ— and each suspecting anothers inequality of Gain to rob him of his share every one will be imploying his skill and power the best he can to retrieve it again and to bring Money into his Pocket in the same plenty as formerlyâ— But this is but scrambling amongst 〈◊〉 selves and helps no more against 〈◊〉 want than the pulling off a short Cover let will amongst Children that lye togeâ—ther preserve them all from the Colâ—â— Some will starve unless the Father of thâ—â—amily provide better and enlarge 〈◊〉 scanty Garments This pulling and conâ—â—â— is usually between the Landed Man arâ— the Merchant For the Labourer's share bâ—â—ing seldom more than a bare subsistencâ— never allows that body of Men time 〈◊〉 opportunity to raise their Thoughts aboâ—â— that or 〈◊〉 with the Richer 〈◊〉 theirsâ— as one common Interest unleâ—â— when some common and great Distreâ—â— uniting them in one universal Fermeâ— makes them forget Respect and embâ—â—dens them to carve to their Wants 〈◊〉 armed force And then sometimes the break in upon the Rich and sweep â— like a deluge But this rarely happens 〈◊〉 in the mal-administration of neglected mis-manag'd Government The usual struggle and contest as I said before in the decays of Wealth and Riches is between the Landed Man and the Merchant with whom I may here joyn the Money'd Man The Landed Man finds himself aggrieved by the falling of his Rents and the streightning of his Fortune and thinking the Merchant whom he sees flourish and thrive eats up his Profit and builds up a Fortune upon his Ruines he therefore endeavours by Laws to keep up the value of Lands which he suspects lessened by the others excess of Profit But all in vain The cause is mistaken and the remedy too 'T is not the Merchants nor Monâ—y'd Man's Gains that makes Land fall but the loss of the Kingdom in our decay of Trade which the Land always first feels If the Landed Gentleman will have and by his example make it fashionable to have more Claret Spiâ—â— Silk and other Foreign consumable Wares than our Exportation of Commodities does exchange for Money must unavoidably follow to ballance the Account and pay the Debt And therefore I fear that another Proposal I hear talked of to hinder the Exportation of Mâ—ney and Bullion will shew more our need of care to keep our Money from going from us than a way and method how to preserve it here 'T is death in Spain to export Money And yet they who furnish all the World with Gold and Silver have least of it amongst themselves Trade fetches it away from that lazy and indigent People notwithstanding all their artificial and forced contrivances to keep it there It follows Trade against the rigour of their Laws and their want of Foreign Commodities makes it openly be carried out at Noon-day Nature has bestow'd Mines on several parts of the World But their Riches are only for the industrious and frugal Whomever else they visit 't is with the diligent and sober only they stay And if the Vertue and provident way of living of our Ancestors content with our native conveniences of Life without the costly itch after the Materials of Pride and Luxury from abroad were brought in fashion and countenance again amongst us this alone would do more to keep increase our Wealth and inrich our Land than all our Paper helps about Interest Money Bulliâ—n c. which however eagerly we may catch at will not I fear without better Husbandry keep us from sinking whatever contrivances we may have recourse to 'T is with a Kingdom as with a Family Spending less than our own Commodities will pay for is the sure and only way for the Nation to grow Rich. And when that begins once seriously to be consider'd and our faces and steps are in earnest turn'd that way we may hope to have our Rents rise and the publick Stock thrive again Till then we in vain I fear endeavour with noise and weapons of Law to drive the Wolf from our own to one anothers doors The breed ought to be extirpated out of the Island For Want brought in by ill management and nursed up by expensive Vanity will make the Nation Poor and spare no body If Three Millions were necessary for the carrying on the Trade of England whereof One Million were for the Land-holder to maintain him another were for the payment of the Labourer and Handicraftsman and the Third were the share of the Brokers coming to them for their care and pains in distributing If One Million of this Money were gone out of the Kingdom must not there be â…“ part less to be shared amongst them for the product of their Land their Labour and their Distribution I do not say they will feel it at the same time But the Landholder having nothing but what the Product of his Land will yield and the Buyer according to the Plenty or Scarcity of Money he has always setting the Price upon what is offered to Sale The Land-holder must be content to take the Market-Rate for what he brings thither which always following the scarcity or plenty of Money if any part of our Money be gone he is sure first to find it in the price of his Commodities For the Broker and Merchant though he Sell cheaper yet he Buys cheaper too and he will be sure to get by his Returns or let alone a Commodity which will not produce him Gains and whatsoever is so let alone and left upon hands always turns to the Land-holders loss Supposing that of our Woollen Manufacture Foreign Markets took off one half and the other half were consumed amongst our selves if a sensible part as â…“ of our Money were gone and so Men had equally â…“ less than they had for 't is certain it must be tantamount and what I 'scape of â…“ less another
be laid on high or low Interest 4. Interest being so high prevents the building of Shipping which is the strength and safety of our Island mâ—st Merchant Ships being built in Holland Answ. Though this Argument be now gone such Ships being prohibited by a Law I will help the Author to one as good The Duâ—ch buy our Rape-seed make it into Oil bring it back to us and sell it with advantage This may be as well said to be from high Interest here and low there But the Truth is the Industry and Frugality of that People makes them content to work cheaper and sell at less profit than their Neighbours and so get the Trade from them 5. The high Râ—te of Usury makes Land sell so cheap being nâ—t worth more than 14 or 15 years Purchaâ—â— whereas in Holland where Interest is at 6 it is worth above 25. So that a low Interest raises the Price of Land Where Money is dear Land is cheap Ans. This Argument plainly confesses That there is something else regulates the Price of Land besides the Rate of Interest else when Money was at 10 per Cent here Land should have been at 10 years Purchase whereas he confesses it then to have been at 14 or 15. One may suppose to favour his Hypothesis he was not forward to speak the most of it And Interest as he says being at 6 per Cent in Holland Land there should have sold by that Rule for 16 â— â— years Purchase whereas he says it was worth about 25. And Mr. Manly says p. 33. That 〈◊〉 in France being at 7 per Cent Noble 〈…〉 4 and 35 years Purchase and 〈◊〉 Land for 25. So that the true 〈…〉 from hence is not what our 〈…〉 That 't is not the legal 〈…〉 something else that governs the 〈◊〉 of Land I grant his Position That 〈…〉 But it must be so by the natural not legal Interest For where Money will be lent on good Security at 4 or 5 per Cent 't is a Demonstration that there is more than will be ventured on ordinary Credit in Trade And when this Plenty becomes general 't is a sign there is more Money than can be employed in Trade which cannot but put many upon seeking Purchases to lay it out in Land and so raise the Price of Land by making more Buyers than Sellers 6. 'T is not probable Lenders will call in their Money when they cannot make greater Interest any where Besides their Security upon Lâ—nd will be better Answ. Some unskilful and timorous men will call in their Money others put it into the Banker's hands But the Bankers and Skilful will keep it up and not lend it but at the natural Vse as we have shewn But how Securities will beâ—ne eâ—dâ—d by lowering of Interest is I confess beyond my Comprehension Of Raising our Coin BEing now upon the Consideration of Interest and Money give me leave to say one Word more on this occasion which may not be wholly unseasonable at this time I hear a Talk up and down of raising our Money as a means to retain our Wealth and keep our Money from being carried away I wish those that use the Phrase of raising our Money had some clear Notion annex'd to it and that then they would examine Whether that being true it would at all serve to those Ends for which it is propos'd The raising of Mâ—nâ—y then signifies one of these two things either raising the Value of our Money or raising the Denomination of our Coin The raising of the Value of Money or any thing else is nothing but the making a less quantity of it exchange for any othâ—r thing than would have been taken for it before v. g. If 5 s. will exchange for or as we call it buy a Bushel of Wheat if you can make 4 s. buy another Bushel of the same Wheat it is plain the Value of your Money is raised in respect of Wheat â…• But thus nothing can raise or fall the value of your Money but the proportion of its Plenty or Scarcity in proportion to the Plenty Scarcity or Vent of any other Commodity with which you compare it or for which you would exchange it And thus Silver which makes the Inâ—â—ntick Value of Money compar'd with it self under any Stamp or Denomination of the same or different Countries cannot be raised For an Ounce of Silver whether in Pâ—neâ— Gâ—oâ—â—â— â— or Crâ—wn Pieces Stivers or Duâ—â—tâ—â—ns or in Bullion is and always eternally will be of equal Value to any other Ounce of Siâ—ver under what Stamp or Denomination soever unless it can be shewn that any Stamp can add any new and better 〈…〉 parcâ—l of Silver which 〈…〉 of Silver 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therefore 〈…〉 of equal Value to Silver 〈…〉 Coin com 〈◊〉 with 〈…〉 less or equal 〈…〉 or equal Silve◠〈◊〉 And 〈…〉 can by no 〈…〉 your Money 〈…〉 of the World 〈…〉 being aâ—oyâ—d 〈…〉 so much Silver alloy'd or mixed with baser Metals Because besides the Weight of the Silver those who have need of fine i. e. unmixed Silver as Gilders Wyre-drawers c. must according to their need besides an equal Weight of Silver mixed with other Metals give an Overplus to reward the Refiner's Skill and Pains And in this Case fine Silver and alloy'd or mixed Silver are considered as two distinct Commodities But no Money being coin'd of pure fine Silver this concerns not the Value of Money at all wherein an equal quantity of Silver is always the same Value with an equal quantity of Silver let the Stamp or Denomination be what it will All then that can be done in this great mystery of Raising Money is only to alter 〈…〉 and call that a Crown now which before by the Law was but a part of a Crown For Example Supposing according to the Standard of our Law 5 â— or a Crown were to weigh an Ounce as it does now wanting 18 Grains whereof ◠½ were Copper and 11 12 Silver for there abouts it is 't is plain here 't is the quantity of Silver gives the Value to it For let another Piece be coined of the same Weight wherein half the Silver is taken out and Copper or other Alloy put into the place every one knows it will be worth but half as much For the Value of the Alloy is so inconsiderable as not to be reckon'd This Crown now must be raisedâ— and from henceforth our Crown Pieces coined 1 20 lighter than an Ounce which is nothing but changing the Denomination calling that a Crown now which yesterday was but a part viz. 19 20 of a Crown whereby you have only raised 19 parts to the Denomination formerly given to 20. For I think no body can be so senseless as to imagine that 19 Grains or Ounces of Silver can be raised to the Value of 20 or that 19 Gr. or Ounces of Silver shall at the same time exchange for or buy as much Corn Oyl or Wine as 20 which is to raise
they received into Ducatoons whereby they carried home more Silver than if they had taken thei Payment in Three Guilder Piâ—ces or any other Species Thus Ducatoons became scarce So that now he that will be paid in Ducatoons must allow ½ per Cent for them And therefore the Merchants when they Sell any thing now either make their Bargain to be paid in Ducatoons or if they contract for Guilders in general which will be sure to be paid them in the baser Money of the Country they raise the Price of their Commodities accordingly By this example in a Neighbour Country we may see how our new mill'd Money goes away When Foreign Trade Imports more than our Commodities will pay for 't is certain we must contract Debts beyond Sea and those must be paid with Money when either we cannot furnish or they will not take our Goods to discharge them To have Money beyond Sea to pay our Debts when our Commodities do not raise it there is no other way but to send it thither And since a weighty Crown costs no more here than a light one and our Coin beyond Sea is valued no otherwise than according to the quantity of Silver it has in it Whether we send it in Specie or whether we melt it down here to send it in Bullion which is the safest way as being not Prohibited the weightiest is sure to go But when so great a quantity of your Money is Clip'd or so great a part of your weighty Money is carried away that the Foreign Merchant or his Factor here cannot have his Price paid in weighty Money or such as will easily be changed into it then every one will see when Men will no longer take Five Clip'd Shillings for a Mill'd or weighty Crown that it is the quantity of Silver that buys Commodities and pays Debts and not the Stamp and Denomination which is put upon it And then too it will be seen what a Robbery is committed on the Publick by Clipping Every Grain diminished from the just weight of our Money is so much loss to the Nation which will one time or other be sensibly felt and which if it be not taken care of and speedily stop'd will in that enormous course it is now in quickly I fear break out into open ill effects and at one blow deprive us of a great part perhaps near ¼ of our Money For that will be really the case when the increase of Clip'd Money makes it hard to get weighty and Men begin to put a difference of value between that which is weighty and light Money and will not Sell their Commodities but for Money that is Weight and will accordingly make their Bargains Let the Country Gentleman when it comes to that pass consider what the decay of his Estate will be when receiving his Rent in the Tale of Clip'd Shillingsâ— according to his Bargain he cannot get them to pass at Market for more than their Weight And he that Sells him Salt or Silk will Bargain for 5 s. such a quantity if he pays him in fair weighty Coin but in Clip'd Money he will not take under 5 s. 3 d. Here you see you have your Money without this new trick of Coinage raised 5 per Cent. but whether to any advantage of the Kingdom I leave every one to judge Hitherto we have only consider'd the râ—isiâ—g of Silver Câ—in and that has been only by Coining it with lesâ— Silver in it under the same Denomination There is another way yet of raising Money which has something more of reality though as little good as the former in it which now that we are upon the Chapter of Raising of Money it may not be amiss to mention And that is when either of the two richer Metals which Money is usually made of is by Law raised above its natural value in respect of the other Gold and Silver have in almost all Ages and parts of the World where Money was used generally been thought the fittest Materials to make it of But there being a great disproportion in the Plenty of these Metals in the World one has always been valued much higher than the other so that one Ounce of Gold has exchanged for several Ounces of Silver As at present our Guinea passing for 21 s. 6 d. in Silver Gold is now about 15 ½ times more worth than Silver there being about 15 ½ times more Silver in 21 s. 6 d. than there is Gold in a Guinea This being now the Market Rate of Gold to Silver if by an established Law the Rate of Guinea's should be set higher as to 22 s. and 6 d. they would be raised indeed but to the loss of the Kingdom For by this Law Gold being raised 5 per Cent above its natural true value Foreigners would find it worth while to send their Gold hither and so fetch away your Silver at 5 per Cent profit and so much loss to you For when so much Gold as would purchase but 100 Ounces of Silver any where else will in England purchase the Merchant 105 Ounces what shall hinder him from bringing his Gold to so good a Market And eiâ—her Selling it at the Mint where it will yield so much or having it Coin'd into Guinea's either go with them to Market with that advantage of 5 per Cent in the very sort of his Money or change them into Silver and carry that away with him On the other side if by a Law you would raise your Silver Money and make 4 Crowns or 20 s. in Silver equal to a Guinea at which rate I suppose it was first Coin'd so that by your Law a Guinea should pass but for 20 s. the same inconvenience would follow For then strangers would bring in Silver and carry away your Gold which was to be had here at a lower rate than any where else If you say that this inconvenience is not to be fear'd for that as soon as people found that Gold began to grow scarce or that it was more worth than the Law set upon it they would not then part with it at the Statute-rate as we see the broad pieces that were Coin'd in K. Iames I. time for 20 s. no body will now part with under 23 s. or more according to the Market value This I grant is true and it does plainly confess the foolishness of making a Law which cannot produce the effect it is made for as indeed it will not when you would raise the price of Silver in respect of Gold above its natural Market value For then as we see in our Gold the price of it will raise its self But on the other side if you should by a Law set the value of Gold above its 〈◊〉 then peoplâ— would be bound to receive it at that high rate and so part with their Silver at an under value But supposing that having a mind to raise your Silver in reâ—pect of 〈◊〉 for when you would raise the value
losing Trade contract Debts with our Neighbours they will put a great Value on our Silver and more Money will be got by transporting Silver than any thing can be sent Which comes about thus Suppose that by an Over-ballance of their Trade whether by a Sale of Pepper Spices and other East-India Commodities it matters not we have received great quantities of Goods within these two or three Months from Hâ—lland and sent but little thither so that the Accounts ballanced between the Inhabitants of England and the United Provinces we of England were a Million in their Debt what would follow from hence This That these Dutch Creditors desiring to have what is due to them give Order to their Factors and Correspondents here to return it them For enquiring as we do what are the effects of an over-ballance of Trade we must not suppose they invest their Debts in Commodities and return their Effects that way A Million then being to be returned from England to Holland in Money every one seeks Bills of Exchange But Englishmen not having Debts in Holland to answer this Million or any the least part of it Bills are not to be got This presently makes the Exchange very high upon which the Bankers c. who have the command of great quantities of Money and Bullion send that away to Holland in Specie and so take Money here to pay it again there upon their Bills at such a rate of Exchange as gives them five ten fifteen c. per Cent. profit and thus sometimes a 5 s. piece of our mill'd Money may truely be said to be worth 5 s. 3 d. 4 d. 6 d. 9 d. in Holland And if this be the great value of Silver in this part of the World I easily grant it him But this great value is to be remedied not by the alteration of our Mint but by the Regulation and Ballance of our Trade For be your Coin what it will our Neighbours if they over-ballance us in Trade will not only have a great value for our Silver but get it too and there will be more to be got by Exporting Silver to them than by any other Thing can be sent Remarks The alteration of the Coins in Spain and Portugal are no way at all like this For there they alter'd in Denomination near half to deceive those they paid with paying those to whom they owed one Ounce of Silver but half an Ounce for it But in the alteration here designed to whoever an Ounce of Silver was owing an Ounce will be paid in this Money it being here only designed that an Ounce of Money should equal an Ounce of Silver in value at home as well as abroad which now it does not Answer In this Paragraph the Author Confesses the alteration of the Coin in Spain and Portugal was a cheat but the alteration here design'd he says is not But the Reason he gives for it is admirable viz. Because they there alter'd in Denomination near half and here the Denomination is alter'd but 5 per Cent for so in Truth it is whatever be designed As if 50 per Cent were a Cheat but 5 per Cent were not because perhaps less perceiveable For the two Things that are pretended to be done here by this new Coinage I fear will both fail viz. 1. That to whom 〈◊〉 an Ounce of Silver is owing an Ounce 〈◊〉 Silver shall be paid in this Money For when an Ounce of Silver is Coin'd as is proposed into 5 s. 5 d. which is to make our Money 5 per Cent. higher than it is now I that am to receive an 100 l. per Annum Fee Farm Rent shall I in this new Money receive 105 l. or barely 100 l. The first I think will not be said For if by Law you have made it 100 l. 't is certain the Tenant will pay me no more If you do not mean that 400 Crowns or 2000 Shillings of your new Coin shall be an 100 l. but there must be 5 per Cent in tale added to every 100 you are at the charge of new Coinage to no other purpose but to breed Confusion If I must receive 100 l by tale of this new Money for my Fee Farm Rent 't is demonstration that I lose five Ounces per Cent of the Silver was due to me This a little lower he Confesses in these Words That where a Man has a Rent-SEC that can never be more this may somewhat affect it but so very little that it will scarce ever at all be perceived This very little is 5 per Cent. And if a Man be cheated of that so he perceives it not it goes for nothing But this loss will not affect only such Rents as can never be more but all Payments whatsoever that are contracted for before this alteration of our Money 2. If it be true what he affirms That an Ounce of Money doth equal an Ounce of Silver in value abroad but not at home then this part of the Undertaking will also fail For I deny that the Stamp on our Money does any more debase it here at home than abroad or make the Silver in our Money not equal in value to the same weight of Silver every where The Author would have done well to have made it out and not left so great a Paradox only to the credit of a single Assertion Remarks And for what is said in this Bill to prevent Exportation relates only to the keeping in our Coin and Bullion and leaves all Foreign to be Exported still Answer What the Author means by our own and Foreign Bullion will need some Explication Remarks There is now no such thing as Payments made in weighty and mill'd Money Answer I believe there are very few in Town who do not very often receive a mill'd Crown for 5 s. and a mill'd half Crown for 2 s. 6 d. But he means I suppose in great and entire Sums of mill'd Money But I ask if all the clipp'd Money were call'd in whether then all the Payments would not be in weighty Money and that not being call'd in whether if it be lighter than your new mill'd Money the new mill'd Money will not be melted down as much as the old which I think the Author there confesses or else I understand him not Remark Nor will this any way interrupt Trade for Trade will find its own course the Denomination of Money in any Country no way concerning that Answ. The Denomination to a certain Weight of Money in all Countries concerns Trade and the alteration of that necessarily brings disturbance to it Remark For if so be it occasions the Coining more Money Answ. He talks as if it would be the occasion of Coining more Money Out of what Out of Money already Coin'd or out of Bullion For I would be glad to know where it is Remarks It may be some gain to those that will venture to melt down the Coin but very small loss if any to those that