Imatges de pàgina
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tomers. Does not the customer depend upon the manufac. turer of a commodity, without which the customer cannot live? Were a carpenter destitute of a plane, or a faw, how could he fubfift? All these terms, therefore, we think are convertible.

In the fourteenth chapter of this fecond book, this writer fhews that trade and industry are not effential to fecurity and happiness; and by making an analysis of Lycurgus's plan of government, he proves that its perfection was entirely owing to the fimplicity of the inftitution. We have more than once,

in the courfe of this Review, difapproved of all the fyftem. of Spartan government, no part of which, we think, is applicable to focial life. They were a nation of brutes, and appear the more fo, the more we are converfant with their history..

The next chapter of this work treats of the application of general principles to particular modifications of trade. The author enquires into the difference between those branches of foreign, trade which make nations depend on each other neces farily, and thofe where the dependence is only contingent. The subsequent part of his lucubrations upon trade are really interefting to this nation; but even his recapitulations, though inftructive, are too copious to be abridged.

The third book, which treats of money, contains fuch variety of matter, that the author found advantage in dividing it into two parts. In the firft, the principles are deduced and ap→ plied principally to the domeftic circumftances of Great Britain, in the year.1760, when this book was written. In the fecond, the interests of foreign trade, and the state of coin in the two great commercial nations with whom we are in corre, fpondence, are taken in. As this part of our author's work does not admit of any analysis on account of its intricacy, we fhall present our readers with a general view of it from the in troduction.

In an inquiry like this, where, at almost every ftep, we find it branching out into new relations, which lead to different chains of confequences, it is of use to have recourse to every expedient for connecting the whole together.

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For this purpose, an introductory chapter at the beginning of a new fubject seems neceffary.

The reader will have obferved that the laft chapters of the preceding book (those I mean which treat of the vibration of the balance of wealth and of circulation) have been writ with a view to introduce the fubject of money.

* I thought it better to anticipate fome principles by con necting them directly with thofe of trade, than to introduce this part of my subject as a new treatise.

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• The affiftance our memory receives from such a diftribution must compensate the inconvenience of a few repetitions.

I have, in the last chapters of the fecond book here referred to, had occafion to mention, and flightly to point out fome effential differences between coin and paper money. ́ I have fhewn the great ufefulness of the latter in fupporting circulation.

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Although, in giving the definition of paper money in the twenty-fixth chapter of the fecond book, I mentioned credit as being a term fynonimous with it; yet this was done only for the fake of fimplifying our ideas: one of the best expedients for cafting light upon an intricate fubject. It is now requifite to point out the difference between them.

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• Symbolical or paper money is but a fpecies of credit: it is no more than the measure by which credit is reckoned. Credit is the bafis of all contracts between men: few can be fo fimultaneous as not to leave fome performance, or prestation, as the civilians call it, on one fide or other, at least for a fhort time, in fufpence. He therefore who fulfils his part, gives credit to the party who only promifes to fulfil, and according to the variety of contracts, the nature of the preftations, or performances, therein ftipulated, and the fecurity given for fulfilling what is not performed, credit affumes different forms, and communicates to us different ideas. Paper credit or fymbolical money, on the other hand, is more fimple. It is an obligation to pay the intrinsic value of certain denominations of money contained in the paper. Here then lies the difference between a payment made in intrinsic value, and another made in paper. He who pays in intrinfic value, puts the perfon to whom he pays in the real poffeffion of what he owed; and this done, there is no more place for credit. He who pays in paper puts his creditor only in poffeffion of another perfon's obligation to make that value good to him: here credit is neceffary even after the payment is made.

• Some intrinfic value or other, therefore, must be found out to form the bafis of paper money for without that it is impoffible to fix any determinate ftandard-worth for the denomi nations contained in the paper.

I have found no branch of my fubject fo difficult to reduce to principles, as the doctrine of money: this difficulty, however, has not deterred me from undertaking it. It is of great confequence to a statesman to understand it thoroughly; and it is of the laft importance to trade and credit, that the money of a nation be kept stable and invariable.

To circumfcribe combinations as much as the nature of this fubject will admit, I have in the first part adhered to a deduction

duction of general principles, taking by way of illuftration, as I go along, the prefent ftate of the British currency.

In the fecond part, I fhall examine the effects of turning coin into a manufacture, by fuperadding the price of fabrication to its value; and point out the confequences of this additional combination upon exchange, and the interest of trading nations.'

In the course of this difquifition upon coin (a fubject to which this author has paid a very extraordinary attention) he confiders the great difference between the present fituation of Great Britain, and what it was at, or foon after, the time of the Revolution. He thinks that the scheme of Mr. Lowndes, which was fo folidly refuted by Mr. Locke in the year 1695, was eli. gible in 1760, and confequently is fo now; and perhaps the reader may be pleased to see this writer's general notions upon the fubject.

I. That there was then no poffibility of determining what the current value of a pound fterling was. It varied every month, and was daily declining. At prefent it is nearly of the fame ftandard as it has been for many years.

II. The money-unit then had nothing to preferve it at any determinate value. The filver, to which it was affixed, was clipped three times in a year, while the gold fought its value as a commodity. At prefent the gold cannot vary: the guinea is fixed, and must pass for 21 fhillings, let the filver be ever fo light; and this gives a determinate value to the pound fterling.

III. In 1695, the whole disorder had been coming on with rapidity; at prefent it has advanced with imperceptible steps: confequently,

IV. At that time the number of permanent contracts which ftretched beyond the era of the debasement of the standard, were many; at present they are few.

'V. In 1695, a money'd intereft was hardly known. The rich had their money in their chefts; now they have it in their pocket-book.

VI. The difference between the currency and the legal, ftandard in 1695, was one half: at prefent it is one twen-tieth.

VII. The debts of the nation did not then exceed 12 millions now they exceed 140 *.

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VIII. Many fums then had been borrowed on affignments of certain branches of the excise, the amount of which was uncertain, and deficiencies (which in fuch cafes are unavoidable)

* In 1766.

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were not made good to the creditors. At prefent all is paid in determinate fums of pounds fterling..

IX. And lastly, the question was not understood. Locke and Lowndes felt, but did not fee diftinctly, wherein the difference of their fentiments confifted: and thofe who only feel never defcribe with perfpicuity.

It was then generally imagined that a pound could never be more than a pound; but at prefent people know how to reckon coin by grains, and fee clearly that 1718 is more than 1638.

For these reasons I apprehend, that a fcheme, fimilar to that propofed by Mr. Lowndes, may now be mentioned without offence; that the people of Great Britain are just now as good judges of what is for their intereft, as they were in 1695. And if the decifion of a former parliament is alledged in favour of the old ftandard, I answer, that fuch arguments are only good, when people are difpofed to pay a greater deference to the fentiments of their fathers than their own; which I am apt to believe is not the cafe at present.'

We shall not forget ourselves fo far as to decide upon the propriety of this writer's notions of a subject, to which authorfhip is very foreign. It is, however, doing him no more than justice to say, that he writes like a man entirely acquainted with his fubject, which is at prefent, perhaps, of more importance than any other to the public of Great Britain.

[To be continued in our next. ]

IV. The Ignorant Philofopher. With an Addrefs to the Public upon the Parricides imputed to the Families of Calas and Sirven. Tranflated from the French of M. De Voltaire. 8vo. Pr. 4s. Bladon.

WE

HETHER this is really the production of M. De Voltaire's pen, or whether the foreign bookfellers have chofen to afcribe this piece to him, in hopes of establishing its reputation, we will not pretend to determine: but if he be really innocent of the charge, as he frequently avers upon fimilar occafions, it must be acknowledged that the prefent writer has been very fuccessful in imitating his ftile and manner. There is, indeed, a great fimilitude, between this and fome of M.. De Voltaire's pieces, particularly his Candide; which every reader must be convinced of who compares Art. 26. with many paffages in that book.

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This writer fays, In my various peregrinations in fearch of inftruction, I met with fome difciples of Plato. Come along with me, faid one of them, you are in the best of worlds; we have far furpaffed our mafter. There were in his time only five poffible worlds, because there are but five regular bodies; but now there are an infinity of poflible univerfes; God has chofen the beft; come and you will be fatisfied with it. I humbly replied, The worlds which God might create, were either better, perfectly equal, or inferior. He could not chuse the worst. Those which were equal, fuppofing fuch to be, could have no preference; they were ever completely the fame; there could have been no choice amongst them; to fix upon one or the other was just the fame. It was therefore impoffible that he could avoid chufing the beft. But how could the others be poffible, when it is impoflible they can exift?

He made fome very curious diftinctions, inceflantly af furing me, without knowing what he faid, that this world is the best of all really poffible worlds. But being just then tortured with the ftone, which gave me moft infupportable pain, the citizens of the beft of worlds conducted me to the neigh bouring hospital. In the way, two of these perfectly happy inhabitants were carried off by two creatures of their own likenefs: they were loaded with irons, the one for debt, the other upon mere fufpicion. I know not whether I was conducted into one of the best poffible hofpitals; but I was crowded amongst two or three thoufand wretches like myself. Here were many defenders of their country, who informed me, that they had been trepanned and diffected alive; that they had arms and legs cut off; and that many thousands of their ge nerous fellow-countrymen had been maffacred in one of the thirty battles fought in the laft war, which is about the hundredth million war fince we have been acquainted with wars. One might also meet in this house about a thousand perfons of both fexes, who refembled hideous spectres, and who were rubbed with a certain metal, because they had followed the law of nature, and because nature had, I know not how, taken the precaution of poisoning in them the fource of life. I thanked my two conductors.

After a very fharp iron had been thruft into my bladder, and fome ftones were extracted from this quarry; when I was cured, and I had no farther complaints, than a few disagreeable pains for the reft of my days, I made my representations to my guides. I took the liberty of telling them there was fome good in this world, as the furgeons had extracted four flints from the center of my torn intrails; but that I would much rather that bladders had been lanthorns than quarries. I VOL. XXIII. June, 1767. spoke

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