If greater acquisitions; or the poor without being necessitated to acquire what must supply their real wants. the rich curtail their desires, or wishes, their riches serve, in proportion to their not using them, no more than ore in an unworked mine. If the poor man, by one day's labor can supply his real wants for two days, and sits idle the half of his time, he may be considered in such an idle time, as a monk or a cripple with regard to the community. If a thirst for acquisition move the rich man, he industriously employs all his riches. If the scarcity of provisions compel the poor man to work his whole time, he assuredly, by his industry, must make more manufactures than only working half of it. Hence we conclude, that gain is the first mover, and industry, and the desire of supplying our wants, the intermediate movers, of all intercourse or trade. We however must observe, that a government truly wise should always, as far as the general good allows, be as solicitous to procure plenty of provisions, whereby both man and beast may be kept in good health and strength, as to encourage industry. For industry cannot be sufficiently sustained without the strength arising from plenty of provisions. The common people do not work for pleasure generally, but from necessity.* Cheapness of provisions makes them more idle; less work is then done; it is then more in demand proportionally; and of course the price rises. Dearness of provisions obliges the * These maxims, and many others in this tract, are to be considered as applicable to European society, particularly to England, where industry is not applied to the profit of the individual who labors; but where one or a few individuals, with large capitals, make a monopoly of the industry of thousands. These thousands, barely subsisted by labor, and, from the scantiness of their reward or wages, never able to reserve a surplus to accumulate for their children or for old age, are ever dependent on their employers; and where labor is the only occupation, and bare existence the only hope, there idleness is an enjoyment. — W. T. F. manufacturer to work more days and more hours; thus more work is done than equals the usual demand; of course it becomes cheaper, and the manufactures in consequence. 27. As to plenty of money being a benefit to trade and manufactures, we apprehend every one conversant therein must know that the coin, by which we generally understand money, of every respective state, is by no means the mover of the intercourse or tradings of the world in general. Gold and silver in bullion, or in an uncoined mass, are rather more so; being, in point of value, a merchandise less liable to variation than any other. It is true that coin may be liable, in the fluctuation of trade, to be made a merchandise of; but as, by constant use, the pieces of coin become lighter than their original weight, they thereby are less fit for merchandise. We therefore may say, that coins, in general, can no otherwise be useful, than as the common measure between man and man, as serving to barter against, or exchange for, all kinds of commodities. Certain it is, that coins cannot be ranked amongst those things which are only of real use. Let us therefore suppose pieces of coin to be counters, and, to simplify thematter still more, suppose every manufacturer to have of these counters any sum whatever; will it follow, that any sort of manufacture shall be industriously attended to, or more work done than when no more counters than just enough to barter for the real wants of meat, drink, and clothes, &c., can be procured by labor? Surely no. It must be the desire of supplying our wants, which excites industry as above hinted; that alone sets that trade going, and only can procure plenty of manufactures. 28. It is, nevertheless, the duty of government to stamp coins or counters of different sorts and denominations, so that time, of all things the most precious, be not wasted in settling the respective exchangings amongst mankind. Nevertheless the plenty or scarcity of those coins cannot entirely depend on any government, but on the general circulation and fluctuation of trade, which may make them a merchandise without the least detriment; as it must be allowed, that the precious metals gold and silver, of which such coins are principally composed, are no other than merchandise acquired from countries where there are mines, by those countries which have none, in exchange for the produce of their land or of their manufactures. Silver Coin and its Scarcity. 29. That the welfare of any state depends on its keeping all its gold and silver, either in bullion or in coin, must be founded on a very narrow principle indeed. All republics we know of, wisely think otherwise. Spain, the grand source of silver, has of late years, very justly, allowed the free exportation of it, paying a duty, as in Great Britain lead and tin do; nor, prior to this permission, could their penal laws in Spain hinder its being exported; for it was a commodity, which that kingdom was under a necessity of giving as an equivalent, for what was furnished to them by other countries. Could Spain and Portugal have succeeded in executing their foolish laws of "hedging in the cuckoo," as Locke calls it, and have kept at home all their gold and silver, those metals would, by this time, have been of little more value than so much lead or iron. Their plenty would have lessened their value. We see the folly of these edicts; but are not our own prohibitory and restrictive laws, that are professedly made with intention to bring a balance in our favor from our trade with foreign nations to be paid in money, and laws to prevent the necessity of exporting that money, which, if they could be thoroughly executed, would make money as plenty and of as little value; I say, are not such laws akin to those Spanish edicts, follies of the same family? 30. In Great Britain, the silver coin bearing a disproportion to gold more than in neighbouring states, of about five in the hundred, must, by that disproportion, become merchandise, as well for exportation, as for the manufactures at home in which silver is employed, more than if it remained in the mass uncoined. This might be remedied without injuring the public, or touching the present standard, which never should be done, only by enacting that sixty-five shillings should be cut out of one pound weight of standard silver, instead of sixty-two, which are the number now ordained by law. We must however remark, that whenever, by any extraordinary demand for silver, a pound weight, bought even for sixty-five shillings, can be sent abroad to advantage, or melted down for manufactures, no prohibitory laws will hinder its exportation or melting, and still becoming a merchandise. Other Coins and Paper Money. 31.. Coiners have pointed out, though at the risk of the gallows, a measure which we think would be advisable in some degree for government to adopt. They coin and circulate shillings of such weight as to gain ten to fourteen in the hundred, and upwards; as out of a pound of standard silver they cut sixty-eight or seventyone shillings. That these light shillings or counters are useful, though the public be so greatly imposed on, is evident. It must be presumed, that every thing is put in practice by government to detect and stop this manifest roguery. If so, can it on the one hand be supposed the public purse should bear the burden of this fraud? Yet, on the other hand, having no supply of legal shillings or counters, the utility of the illegal ones forces them, as it were, on the public. The power of the legislature to correct the erroneous proportion of five in the hundred, as above mentioned, is indubitable; but whether every private person possessed of these counters, or the public purse, should be obliged to bear the loss on a re-coinage, seems a difficult point to determine; as it may be alleged, that every private person has it in his power to accept or refuse any coin under the weight, as by law enacted, for each denomination. If the former, he does it to his own wrong, and must take the consequences. The individual, on the other hand, has to allege the almost total want of lawful counters; together with the impossibility or neglect of hindering those of an inferior weight from being suffered to be current. It may be submitted, that, as the use of coin is for public utility, any loss which rises in the coin either by wearing, or even by filing and sweating, ought to be made good by calling in the coin after a certain number of from the time of coinage, and receiving the money years called in at the charge of the public. We are well aware what latitude such a resolution might give to the coiners of shillings, the filers, and the sweaters of gold; but, taking proper measures beforehand, this evil might, we think, in a great degree be prevented. 32. In the beginning of his present Majesty's reign, quarter-guineas were wisely ordered to be coined; whereby the want of silver coin was in some degree supplied, which would still be more so, were thirds and two-thirds of guineas to be coined. We cannot conceive why this is not done, except that these denominations are not specified in his Majesty's indenture |