The fame fhould be done every fubfequent year. 4. That, at no time, any part of this money should be made ufe of in the payment of the public debts, but that which had been first levied in taxes. It would not be proper, even to borrow from the flock, for this purpose, by anticipation. If these rules were obferved, credit would be given to fome perfons who needed and deferved it, to the amount of the whole fum. The bills current, would be dimir.ished in quantity every year, fo as not to load the circulation, which would have a tenfible effect upon the public opinion, and indeed, from the nature of the thing, would increase their value, or rather confirm it, from year to year. At the end of four NOTES. *The paying of the public creditors, is one of the most common and popular arguments for paperemiflions, but, to pay them with money not loaned, is not paying, but continuing the debt upon the itate, and only making it change hands. All fuch bills, fo paid, must be accounted for by the public. It is better, therefore, that, by the loans, men may be enabled eafily to pay their taxes; and then let the public creditors be paid by money demanded equally from the whole for that purpofe. +1 cannot help obferving here, that the titles of most of the acts, for emitting money, do, unawares, con fefs the juftice of all that has been faid above; they run thus, "An act for emitting thoufand pounds in bills of credit, and directing the manner of finking the fame." Does not this fhew, what fort of a circulating medium they are? Does it not admit, that they will do evil if they continue to circulate? When you coin gold and filver, do you provide for finking it ? teen or fifteen years, they would be wholly taken out of circulation, and that, not by any tax laid on for the purpose, but by the hire or use of the money itself, and after all, the principal fum would be ftill due to the ftate, in good money, which might bear intereft for ever. It would be an important addition to this fcheme, if no bills lefs than two dollars, or perhaps three, or five, fhould be emitted, as this would ftill keep filver at least, in circulation. On the above principles, all the good that can be produced by paper, would be effected, viz. facilitating commerce, and giving credit; and as little of the evil as poffible, because the quantity would be fixed and moderate at firft, and continually decreasing, so as, at laft, to vanish altogether; and then another emiffion of the fame kind might be made, if the utility of the first fhould recommend it. Perhaps it will be faid, that this money, not being a legal tender, would not answer the purpose of borrowers, by paying their debts, nor get at all into circulation. To this I anfwer, that it would not answer the purpose of those who want to pay their debts with half nothing, and cheat their creditors; nor do I with to fee any thing attempted that would produce that effect. But I affirm, that it would get better into circulation than by a tender-law, which creates general and juft fufpicion. Tender-laws, as has been already proved, may be made ufe of by deceitful perfons to do particular acts of injuftice, but are not fufficient to procure general circulation, nor to excite and reward induftry, without the opinion and approbation of the public. Such money, as I have defcribed, would excite no alarm; it might cafily be tried. It fhould in my opinion, certainly be tried, for all would know, that it would pay every tax to government, and even borrowers of large fums might make trial of it, without any rifk at all, becaufe, if it would not answer their end, they might, after a few months, repay it, and take up their mortgage. But I cannot help thinking, that the principles of it are fo jult, and the plan to certain, that all underftanding perfons would perceive and apProve it. I must bere take the occafion and the liberty of faying, that it were greatly to be wished that thofe who have in their hands the adminiftratien of affairs, in the feveral ftates of America, would take no measures, either on this, or any other fubject, bat what are founded upon juftice, fupported by reafon, and warranted to be fafe by the experience of former ages, and of other countries. The operation of political caufes is as uniform and certain as that of natural caufes. And any meafure, which in itfelf has a bad tendency, though its effects may not be inftantly difcernible, and their progrefs may be but flow, yet it will be infallible; and perhaps the danger will then only appear when a remedy is impoffible. This is the cafe, in fome degree, with all political measures, without exception; yet I am mistaken if it is not eminently fo, with respect to commercial dealings. Commerce is excited, dirested, and carried on by interest. But do not mistake this; it is not carried on by general univerfal intereft, nor even by well-informed national intereft, but by immediate, apparent, and fenfible perfonal intereft. I must also observe, that there is in mankind a sharp-tightedness up on this fubject that is quite aftonishing. All men are not philofophers; but they are generally good judges of their own profit in what is immediately before them, and will uniformly adhere to it. It is not uncommon to fee a man who appears to be almost as ftupid as a stone, and yet he fhall be as adroit and dextrous in making a bargain, or even more fo, than a man of the firil-rate underftanding, who, probably for that very reafon, is lefs attentive to trifling circumstances, and lefs under the government of mean and felfth views. As to currency, which has been our general fubje, if coins of any particular fpecies happen, as is fometimes the cafe, to pafs at a rate, ever fo little higher, in one country or corner of a country, than another, thither they will immediately direc their courfe; and if the matter is not attended to, nor the mistake rec tified, they will be all there in a very short time, and the place which, receives them, muft bear the lois. I will now fum up, in fingle propofitions, the fubitance of what has been afferted, and I hope fufficiently proved, in the preceding dif courfe. 1. It ought not to be imputed to accident or caprice, that gold, filver, and copper, formerly were, and the two firft continue to be, the medium of commerce; but to their inherent value, joined with other properties, that fit them for circulation. Therefore, all the fpeculations, formed upon a contrary fuppofition, are inconclufive and absurd. 2. Gold and filver are far from being in too fmall quantity, at prefent, for the purpofe of a circulating-medium, in the commercial nations. The last of them, viz. filver, feems rather to be in too great quantity, fo as to become inconvenient for tranfportation. 3. The people of every nation will get the quantity of thefe precious metals, that they are entitled to by their induftry, and no more. If by any accident, as plunder in war, or borrowing from other nations, or even finding it in mines, they get more, they will not be able to keep it. It will, in a fhort time, find its level. Laws against exporting the coin, will not prevent this. Laws of this kind, though they are ftill in force in fome nations, fupposed to be wife, yet are in themselves ridiculous. If you import more than you export, you must pay the balance, or give up the trade. 4. The quantity of gold and filver at any time in a nation, is no evidence of national wealth, unless you take into confideration the way in which it came there, and the probability of its continuing. 5. No paper of any kind is, properly fpeaking, money. It ought never to be made a legal tender. It ought not to be forced upon any body, because it cannot be forced upon every body. 6. Gold and filver, fairly acquired, and likely to continue, are real national, as well as perfonal wealth. If twice as much paper circulates with them, though in full credit, particular perfons may be rich by poffeffing it, but the nation in generál is not. 7. The cry of the fcarcity of money, is generally putting the effect for the caufe. No bufinefs can be done, fay fome, because money is fcarce. It may be faid with more truth, money is fcarce, because little bufinefs is done. Yet their influence, like that of many other caufes, and effects, is reciprocal. 8. The quantity of current money, of whatever kind, will have an effect in raifing the price of induftry, and bringing goods dearer to market, therefore the increase of the currency in any nation, by paper, which will not país among other nations, makes the first cost of every thing they do greater, and of confequence, the profit lefs. 9. It is, however, poffible, that paper obligations may fo far facilitate commerce, and extend credit, as, by the additional industry, that they excite, to overbalance the injury which they do in other refpects. Yet even the good itself may be overdone. Too much money may be emitted even upon loan; but to emit money any other way, than upon loan, is to do all evil, and no good. 10. The exceffive quantity of paper emitted by the different states of America, will probably be a lofs to the whole. They cannot, however, take advantage of one another in that way. That ftate which emits moft, will lofe moft, and vice versa. 11. I can fee no way in which it can do good but one, which is, to deter other nations from trusting us, and thereby leffen our importations; and I fincerely wish, that in that way, it may prove in fome degree a remedy for its own evils. 12. Those who refuse doubtful paper, and thereby disgrace it, or prevent its circulation, are not enemies but friends to their country. To draw to a conclufion, it is probable that thofe who perceive, which it will be eafy to do, that the author of this tract is not a merchant or trader by profeffion, will be ready to fay, what has this gentleman to do with fuch a fubject? Why should he write upon what he has no practical knowledge of, money and commerce? To thefe I answer, that I have written, not as a merchant, but as a fcholar. I profess to derive my opinions from the best civilians of this and the laft age, and from the hiftory of all ages, joined with a pretty confiderable experience and attention to the effects of political caufes, within the fphere of my own obfervation. It is not even too much to fay, that one of the mercantile profethion, unless his views were very enlarged indeed, is not fo proper to handle a general fubject of this kind, as fome others. His attention is ufually confined to the bufinefs, and to the branch of that bufinefs, in which he is employed. In that his difcernment will be clear; and he will find out, if poffible, where he can buy cheapest and fell deareft. But as to the theory of commerce, or the great objects of ber, 1680, in a small cabin, near the prefent corner of Walnut and Second-streets, in the city of Philadelphia. His parents came from a place called Beverly, in Maffachufets-bay. The banks of the Delaware, on which the city of Philadelphia now ftands, were inhabited, at the time of his birth, by Indians, and a few Swedes and Hollanders. He has often talked to his companions of picking whortle berries, and catching rabbits, on fpots now the most improved and populous of the city. He recollected the fecond time William Penn came to Pennsylvania, and ufed to point to the place where the cabin flood, in which he and his friends, that accompanied him, were accommodated, upon their arrival. At twelve years of age he went to Bofton, where he ferved his apprenticeship to a cabinet-maker. In the year 1745, he returned to Philadelphia, with his family, where he lived until the time of his death. He was four times married, and had eighteen children, all of whom were by his irft wife. At one time of his life, he far down, at his own table, with fourteen of his children. Not long before Vol. II. No. I. I his death, he heard of the birth of a grandchild, to one of his grandchildren, the fifthin fucceffion to himself. He retained all his faculties till the last year of his life. Even his memory, fo early and fo generally diminished by age, was but little impaired. He not only remembered the incidents of his childhood or youth, but the events of latter NOTE. * It is remarkable that the incidents of childhood and youth are feldom remembered or called forth until old age. I have fometimes been led, from this and other circumstances, to fufpect, that nothing is ever loft that is lodged in the memory, by a variety of caufes. How often do we find the tranfactions of early life, which we had reafon to fuppose were loft from the mind for ever, revived in our memories by certain accidental fights or founds, particularly by certain notes or airs in mufic? I have known a young man fpeak French fluently, when drunk, that could not put two sentences of that languge together, when fober. He had been taught perfectly, when a boy, but had forgotten it from difufe. The countefs of L-v-1 was nurfed by a Welsh woman, from whom the learn ed to fpeak her language, which fhe foon forgot, after the had acquired the French, which was her mother tongue. In the delirium of a fever many years afterwards, he was heard to mutter words which none of her family or attendants understood. An old Welfh woman came to fee her, who foon perceived that the founds which were fo unintelligible to the family, were the Welsh language. When the recovered, fhe could not recollect a fingle word of the language fhe had spoken in her sickness. I can conceive great advantages may |