some considerations on lowering of interest and the raising the value of money_locke

8/12/2019 Some Considerations on Lowering of Interest and the Raising the Value of Money_Locke

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Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering ofInterest and the Raising the Value of Moneyby John Locke, !" #

Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of

Interest and the Raising the Value of MoneyIn a letter sent to a Member of $arliament, !"London$rinted for %wnsham and John Churchill, at the &lack Swan in$ater'(oster'Row,

Sir,)hese (otions, concerning Coinage, ha*ing for the main, as youknow, been +ut into riting abo*e )wel*e Months since- as thoseother concerning Interest, a great deal abo*e to many .ears/ I+ut them now again into your 0ands with a Liberty 1since you willha*e it so2 to communicate them further, as you +lease# If, u+ona Re*iew, you continue your fa*ourable 3+inion of them, andnothing less than $ublishing will satisfie you, I must desire youto remember, )hat you must be answerable to the orld for theStile- which is such as a man writes carelesly to his 4riend,when he seeks )ruth, not 3rnament- and studies only to be right,and to be understood# I ha*e since you saw them last .ear, metwith some new 3b5ections in $rint, which I ha*e endea*oured toremo*e- and +articularly, I ha*e taken into Consideration a$rinted Sheet, entituled, Remarks u+on a $a+er gi*en in to theLords, 6c# &ecause one may naturally su++ose, )hat he that was somuch a $atron of that Cause would omit nothing that could be saidin fa*our of it# )o this I must here add, )hat I am 5ust now toldfrom 0olland, )hat the States, finding themsel*es abused byCoining a *ast quatity of their base 7Schillings8 Money, made oftheir own 9ucatoons, and other finer Sil*er, melted down- ha*e+ut a sto+ to the Minting of any but fine Sil*er Coin, till theyshould settle their Mint u+on a new 4oot# I know the sincere Lo*e and Concern you ha*e for yourCountry, +uts you constantly u+on casting about on all hands forany means to ser*e it- and will not suffer you to o*erlook anything you concei*e may be of any the least use, though offer:dyou from the meanest Ca+acities/ .ou could not else ha*e +ut meu+on looking out my old $a+ers concerning the reducing ofInterest to ; +er Cent# which ha*e so long lain by forgotten,<+on this new Sur*ey of them I find not my thought now to differfrom those I ha*e near )wenty years since/ )hey ha*e to me stillthe %++earance of )ruth- nor should I otherwise *enture thme somuch as to your sight# If my (otions are wrong, my Intention, Iam sure, is right/ %nd whate*er I ha*e failed in, I shall atleast let you see with what 3bedience I am, Sir,(o*# =,

!" # .our most humble Ser*ant#

SIR,I 0%V> so little Concern in $aying or Recei*ing of Interest, thatwere I in no more 9anger to be misled by Inability and Ignorance,than I am to be biassed by Interest and Inclination, I might ho+eto gi*e you a *ery +erfect and clear %ccount of the Consequencesof a Law, to reduce Interest to 4our +er Cent# &ut since you are



+leased to ask my 3+inion, I shall endea*our fairly to state thisMatter of <se with the best of my Skill# )he first thing to be consider:d, is, hether the $rice ofthe 0ire of Money can be regulated by Law# %nd to that I think,generally s+eaking, one may say, :tis manifest it cannot# 4orsince it:s im+ossible, to make a Law that shall hinder a Man from

gi*ing away his Money or >state to whom he +leases, it will beim+ossible, by any Contri*ance of Law, to hinder Men, skill:d inthe $ower they ha*e o*er their own ?oods, and the ways ofCon*eying them to others, to +urchase Money to be Lent them atwhat Rate soe*er their 3ccasions shall make it necessary for themto ha*e it# 4or it is to be Remembred, )hat no Man borrows Money,or +ays <se, out of mere $leasure/ :)is the want of Money dri*esMen to that )rouble and Charge of &orrowing/ %nd +ro+ortionablyto this ant, so will e*ery one ha*e it, whate*er $rice it costhim# herein the Skilful, I say, will always so manage it, as toa*oid the $rohibition of your Law, and kee+ out of its $enalty,do what you can# hat then will be the una*oidable Consequencesof such a Law@ # It will make the 9ifficulty of &orrowing and Lending muchgreater- whereby )rade 1the 4oundation of Riches2 will beobstructed# A# It will be a $re5udice to none but those who most need%ssistance and 0el+, I mean idows and 3r+hans, and othersuninstructed in the %rts and Managements of more skilful Men-whose >states lying in Money, they will be sure, es+ecially3r+hans, to ha*e no more $rofit of their Money, than whatInterest the Law barely allows# B# It will mightily encrease the %d*antage of &ankers andScri*eners, and other such e +ert &rokers/ ho skilled in the%rts of+utting out Money according to the true and natural Value,which the +resent State of )rade, Money and 9ebts, shall alwaysraise Interest to, they will infallibly get, what the true Valueof Interest shall be, abo*e the Legal# 4or Men finding theCon*enience of Lodging their Money in 0ands, where they can besure of it at short arning, the Ignorant and LaDy will beforwardest to +ut it into these Mens hands, who are knownwillingly to recei*e it, and where they can readily ha*e thewhole, or a +art, u+on any sudden 3ccasion, that may call for it# ;# I fear I may reckon it as one of the +robable Consequencesof such a Law, )hat it is likely to cause great $er5ury in the(ation- a Crime, than which nothing is more carefully to be+re*ented by Lawmakers, not only by $enalties, that shall attenda++arent and +ro*ed $er5ury- but by a*oiding and lessening, asmuch as may be, the )em+tations to it# 4or where those arestrong, 1as they are where Men shall Swear for their own%d*antage2 there the fear of $enalties to follow will ha*e littleRestraint- es+ecially if the Crime be hard to be +ro*ed# %llwhich I su++ose will ha++en in this Case, where ways will befound out to recei*e Money u+on other $retences than for <se, toe*ade the Rule and Rigour of the Law/ %nd there will be secret)rusts and Collusions amongst Men, that though they may besus+ected, can ne*er be +ro*ed without their own Confession# Iha*e heard *ery sober and obser*ing $ersons com+lain of the9anger Mens Li*es and $ro+erties are in, by the frequency andfashionableness of $er5ury amongst us# 4aith and )ruth,es+ecially in all 3ccasions of attesting it u+on the solemn%++eal to 0ea*en by an 3ath, is the great &ond of Society/ )hisit becomes the isdom of Magistrates carefully to su++ort, andrender as sacred and awful in the Minds of the $eo+le as theycan# &ut if e*er 4requency of 3aths shall make them be looked on



as 4ormalities of Law, or the Custom of straining of )ruth 1whichMens Swearing in their own Cases is a+t to lead them to2 has oncedi+t Men in $er5ury, and the ?uilt with the )em+tation has s+readit self *ery wide, and made it almost fashionable in some Cases,it will be im+ossible for the Society 1these &onds beingdissol*ed2 to subsist/ %ll must break in $ieces, and run to

Confusion# )hat Swearing in their own Case is a+t, by degrees tolead Men into as little Regard of such 3aths, as they ha*e oftheir ordinary )alk, I think there is reason to sus+ect, fromwhat has been obser*ed in something of that kind, Masters of#Shi+s are a sort of Men generally Industrious and Sober, and Isu++ose may be thought, for their (umber and Rank, to be equally0onest to any other sort of Men/ %nd yet, by the 9iscourse I ha*ehad with Merchants in other Countries, I find, )hat they think inthose $arts, they take a great Liberty in their Custom'house3aths, to that degree, that I remember I was once told, in a)rading )own beyond Sea, of a Master of a Vessel, there esteemeda sober and fair Man, who yet could not hold saying, ?od forbidthat a Custom'house 3ath should be a Sin# I say not this, to makeany Reflection u+on a sort of Men, that I think as uncorru+t asany other- and who, I am sure, ought in >ngland to be cherishedand esteem:d as the most industrious and most beneficial of anyof its Sub5ects# &ut I could not forbear to gi*e this here as anInstance, how dangerous a )em+tation it is, to bring Mencustomarily to Swear, where they may ha*e any Concernment oftheir own# %nd it will always be worthy the Care andConsideration of Law'makers, to kee+ u+ the 3+inion of an 3ath0igh and Sacred, as it ought to be, in the Minds of the $eo+le-which can ne*er be done, where frequency of 3aths, biassed byInterest, has establisht a neglect of them- and 4ashion 1which itseldom fails to do2 has gi*en Countenance to what $rofit rewards# &ut that Law cannot kee+ Men from taking more <se than youset 1the want of Money being that alone which regulates its$rice2 will +erha+s a++ear, if we consider how hard it is to seta $rice u+on ine or Silks, or other unnecessary Commodities- buthow im+ossible it is to set a Rate u+on Victuals in a time of4amine# 4or Money being an uni*ersal Commodity, and as necessaryto )rade, as 4ood is to Life, e*ery body must ha*e it, at whatRate they can get it- and una*oidably +ay dear when it is scarce,and 9ebts, no less than )rade, ha*e made &orrowing in 4ashion#)he &ankers are a clear Instance of this/ 4or some .ears since,the Scarcity of Money ha*ing made it in >ngland worth really morethan Si +er Cent# most of those that had not the Skill to let itfor more than Si +er Cent# and secure themsel*es from the$enalty of the Law, +ut it in the &ankers 0ands, where it wasready at their Call, when they had an 3++ortunity of greaterIm+ro*ement# So that the Rate you set, +rofits not the Lenders,and *ery few of the &orrowers, who are fain to +ay the $rice forMoney, that Commodity would bear, were it left free- and the ?ainis only to the &anker# %nd should you lessen the <se to 4our $erCent# the Merchant, or )radesman, that &orrows, would not ha*e itone 5ot chea+er, than he has now- but +robably these two illeffects would follow# 4irst, )hat he would +ay dearer- andSecondly, )hat there would be less Money left in the Country todri*e the )rade# 4or the &ankers +aying at most but 4our +erCent# and recei*ing from Si to )en $er Cent# or more, at thatlow Rate could be content to ha*e more Money lye dead by them,than now when it is higher/ &y which means there would be lessMoney stirring in )rade, and a greater Scarcity- which wouldraise it u+on the &orrower by this Mono+oly# %nd what a +art ofour )reasure their skill and management, 5oined with others



laDiness or want of skill, is a+t to draw into their 0ands, is tobe known by those *ast Sums of Money, they were found to owe atthe shutting u+ of the > chequer# %nd though it be *ery true, yetit is almost beyond &elief, )hat one +ri*ate ?oldsmith of Londonshould ha*e Credit u+on his single Security, 1being usuallynothing but a (ote under one of his Ser*ants 0ands2 for abo*e

>le*en hundred thousand $ounds at once# )he same Reasons, Isu++ose, will still kee+ on the same )rade/ %nd when you ha*etaken it down by Law to that Rate, no body will think of ha*ingmore than 4our +er Cent# of the &anker, though those who ha*eneed of Money, to em+loy it in )rade, will not then, any morethan now, get it under 4i*e or Si , or as some +ay, Se*en or>ight# %nd if they had then, when the Law +ermitted Men to makemore $rofit of their Money, so large a $ro+ortion of the Cash ofthe (ation in their 0ands, who can think, but that by this Law itshould be more dri*en into Lombard'street now@ there being manynow who lend them at 4our or 4i*e $er Cent# who will not Lend toothers at Si # It would therefore +erha+s, bring down the Rate ofMoney to the &orrower, and certainly distribute it better to the%d*antage of )rade in the Country, if the legal <se were ke+t+retty near to the natural- 1by natural <se, I mean that Rate ofMoney which the +resent Scarcity of it makes it naturally at,u+on an equal 9istribution of it2 for then Men being Licensed bythe Law to take near the full natural <se, will not be forward tocarry it to London, to +ut it into the &ankers 0ands- but willLend it to their (eighbours in the Country, where it iscon*enient for )rade it should be# &ut if you lessen the Rate of<se, the Lender, whose Interest it is to kee+ u+ the Rate ofMoney, will rather lend it to the &anker, at the legal Interest,than to the )radesman or ?entleman, who when the Law is broken,shall be sure to +ay the full natural Interest, or more- becauseof the ingrossing by the &anker, as well as the Risque intransgressing the Law# hereas were the natural <se su++ose Se*en+er Cent# and the legal Si - 4irst, the 3wner would not *enturethe $enalty of the Law for the gaining one in Se*en, that beingthe utmost his Money would yield/ (or would the &anker *enture to&orrow, where his ?ains would be but 3ne $er Cent# nor theMoney:d Man lend him, what he could make better $rofit of legallyat 0ome# %ll the 9anger lies in this, )hat your )rade shouldsuffer if your being behind'hand has made the natural <se sohigh, that your )radesman cannot li*e u+on his Labour, but thatyour Rich (eighbours will so undersell you, that the Return youmake will not amount to +ay the <se and afford a Li*elihood#)here is no way to reco*er from this, but by a general 4rugalityand Industry- or by being Masters of the )rade of some Commodity,which the orld must ha*e from you at your Rate, because itcannot be other where su++lied# (ow I think the (atural Interest of Money is raised two ways/4irst, hen the Money of a Country is but little in +ro+ortion tothe 9ebts of the Inhabitants one amongst another# 4or su++ose )enthousand +ounds were sufficient to manage the )rade of &ermudas,and that the )en first $lanters carried o*er )wenty thousand+ound, which they Lent to the se*eral )radesmen and Inhabitantsof the Country, who li*ing abo*e their ?ains had s+ent )enthousand +ound of this Money, and it were gone out of the Island#:)is e*ident, that should all the Creditors at once call in theirMoney, there would be a great scarcity of Money, when thatem+loyed in )rade must be taken out of the )radesmens 0ands to+ay 9ebts- or else the 9ebtors want Money, and be e +osed totheir Creditors, and so Interest will be high# &ut this seldomha++ening, that all, or the greatest +art of the Creditors do at



once call for their Money, unless it be in some great and general9anger, is less and seldomer felt, than the following, unlesswhere the 9ebts of the $eo+le are grown to a greater +ro+ortion,for that constantly causing more &orrowers, than there can beLenders, will make Money scarce, and consequently Interest high#Secondly, )hat which constancy raises the (atural Interest of

Money, is, when Money is little in +ro+ortion to the )rade of aCountry# 4or in )rade e*ery &ody calls for Money according as hewants it, and this dis+ro+ortion is always felt# 4or if>nglishmen owed in all but 3ne Million, and there were a Millionof Money in >ngland, the Money would be well enough +ro+ortionedto the 9ebts/ &ut if )wo Millions were necessary to carry on the)rade, there would be a Million wanting, and the +rice of Moneywould be raised, as it is of any other Commodity in a Market,where the MerchandiDe will not ser*e half the Customers, andthere are two &uyers for one Seller# :)is in *ain therefore to go about effectually to reduce the+rice of Interest by a Law- and you may as rationally ho+e to seta fi t Rate u+on the 0ire of 0ouses, or Shi+s, as of Money# 0ethat wants a Vessel, rather than lose his Market, will not stickto ha*e it at the Market Rate, and find ways to do it, withsecurity to the 3wner, though the Rate were limited by a Law/ %ndhe that wants Money, rather than lose his Voyage, or his )rade,will +ay the (atural Interest for it- and submit to such ways ofCon*eyance, as shall kee+ the Lender out of the reach of the Law#So that your %ct, at best, will ser*e only to increase the %rtsof Lending, but not at all lessen the Charge of the &orrower/ 0e:tis likely shall with more trouble, and going farther about, +ayalso the more for his Money- unless you intend to break in onlyu+on Mortgages and Contracts already made, and 1which is not tobe su++osed2 by a Law, +ostfactum, *oid &argains lawfully made,and gi*e to Richard what is $eters 9ue, for no other Reason, butbecause one was &orrower, and the other Lender# &ut su++osing the Law reach:d the intention of the $romotersof it- and that this %ct be so contri*ed, that it forced the(atural +rice of Money, and hindred its being by any &ody Lent ata higher <se, than 4our $ound $er Cent# which is +lain it cannot#Let us in the ne t +lace see, what will be the Consequences ofit# # It will be a loss to idows, 3r+hans, and all those whoha*e their >state in Money, one third of their >states/ whichwill be a *ery hard case u+on a great number of $eo+le, and it iswarily to be consider:d by the isdom of the (ation, whether theywill thus at one blow, fine and im+o*erish a great and innocent+art of the $eo+le, who ha*ing their >states in Money, ha*e asmuch Right to make as much of their Money, as it is worth, 1formore they cannot2 as the Landlord has to let his Land for as muchas it will yield# )o 4ine Men one )hird of their >states, withoutany Crime or 3ffence committed, seems *ery hard# A# %s it will be a considerable Loss and In5ury to the mony:dMan, so it will be no %d*antage at all to the Eingdom# 4or so)rade be not Cram+:d, and the > +ortation of our (ati*eCommodities and Manufactures not hindred, it will be no matter tothe Eingdom, who amongst our sel*es ?ets or Loses/ only commonCharity teaches, that those should be most taken care ofby theLaw, who are least ca+able of taking care for themsel*es# B# It will be a ?ain to the &orrowing Merchant, 4or if he&orrow at 4our +er Cent# and his Returns be )wel*e +er Cent# hewill ha*e >ight $er Cent# and the Lender 4our/ hereas now theydi*ide the +rofit equally at Si $er Cent# &ut this neither ?etsnor Loses the Eingdom in your )rade, su++osing the Merchant and



Lender to be both >nglishmen/ only it will as I ha*e said,transfer a third +art of the Mony:d Mans >state, who has nothingelse to li*e on, into the Merchants $ocket- and that without anyMerit in the one, or )ransgression in the other# $ri*ate mensinterests ought not thus to be neglected, nor sacrificed to anything but the manifest ad*antage of the $ublick# &ut in this case

it will be quite the contrary# )his loss to the mony:d Men willbe a +re5udice to )rade/ Since it will discourage Lending at sucha dis+ro+ortion of $rofit, to Risque- as we shall see more by andby, when we come to consider of what consequence it is toencourage Lending, that so none of the Money of the (ation maylie dead, and thereby +re5udice )rade# ;# It will hinder )rade# 4or there being a certain +ro+orionof Money necessary for dri*ing such a +ro+orion of )rade, so muchMoney of this as lies still, lessens so much of the )rade# (ow itcannot be rationally e +ected, but that where the Venture isgreat, and the ?ains small, 1as it is in Lending in >ngland u+onlow Interest2 many will choose rather to hoard u+ their Money,than *enture it abroad on such )erms# )his will be a loss to theEingdom, and such a loss, as here in >ngland ought chiefly to belooked after/ 4or we ha*ing no Mines, nor any other way ofgetting, or kee+ing of Riches amongst us but by )rade, so much ofour )rade as is lost, so much of our Riches must necessarily gowith it- and the o*er'ballancing of )rade between us and our(eighbours, must ine*itably carry away our Money, and quicklylea*e us $oor, and e +osed# ?old and Sil*er though they ser*e forfew yet they command all the con*eniencies of life- and thereforein a +lenty of them consists Riches# >*ery one knows that Mines alone furnish these/ &ut withal:tis obser*able that most Counties stored with them by (ature are+oor# )he digging and refining of these Metals taking u+ theLabour, and wasting the (umber of the $eo+le# 4or which reasonthe wise $olicy of the Chineses will not suffer the Mines theyha*e to be wrought# (or indeed, things rightly considered, do?old and Sil*er drawn out of the Mine equally >nrich, with whatis got by )rade# 0e that would make the lighter Scale+re+onderate to the o++osite, will not so soon do it, by addingencrease of new eight to the em+rier, as if he took out of thehea*ier what he adds to the lighter, for then half so much willdo it# Riches do not consist in ha*ing more ?old and Sil*er, butin ha*ing more in +ro+ortion, than the rest of the orld, or thanour (eighbours, whereby we are enabled to +rocure to our sel*es agreater $lenty of the Con*eniencies of Life than comes within thereach of (eighbouring kingdoms and States, who, sharing the ?oldand Sil*er of the orld in a less +ro+ortion, want the means of$lenty and $ower, and so are $oorer# (or would they be one 5otthe Richer, if by the disco*ery of new Mines the quantity of ?oldand Sil*er in the orld becoming wice as much as it is, theirshares of them should be doubled# &y ?old and Sil*er in the orldI must be understood to mean, not what lies hid in the >arth- butwhat is already out of the Mine in the 0ands and $ossessions ofMen# )his, if well considered, would be no small encouragement to)rade, which is a surer and shorter way to Riches than any other,where it is managed with Skill and Industry# In a Country not furnished with Mines there are but two waysof growing Rich, either Conquest, or Commerce# &y the first theRomans made themsel*es Masters of the Riches of the orld- but Ithink that in our +resent circumstances, no &ody is *ain enoughto entertain a )hought of our rea+ing the $rofits of the orldwith our Swords, and making the S+oil and )ribute of Vanquished(ations, the 4und for the su++ly of the Charges of the



?o*ernment, with an o*er+lus for the wants, and equally cra*ingLu ury, and fashionable Vanity of the $eo+le# Commerce therefore is the only way left to us, either forRiches or Subsistence, for this the ad*antages of our Situation,as well as the Industry and Inclination of our $eo+le, bold andskilful at Sea, do (aturally fit us/ &y this the (ation of

>ngland has been hitherto Su++orted, and )rade left almost to itself, and assisted only by the (atural %d*antagesabo*e'mentioned, brought us in $lenty and Riches, and always setthis kingdom in a rank equal, if not su+erior to any of its(eighbours/ %nd would no doubt without any difficulty ha*econtinued it so, if the more enlarged, and better understoodInterest of )rade, since the Im+ro*ement of (a*igation, had notraised us many Ri*als- and the amaDing $oliticks of some lateReigns, let in other Com+etitors with us for the Sea, who will besure to seiDe to themsel*es whate*er +arts of )rade ourismanagement, or want of Money, shall let sli+ out of our 0ands/%nd when it is once lost, :will be too late to ho+e, by amistim:d Care, easily to retrie*e it again# 4or the Currents ofrade, like those of aters, ake themsel*es Channels, out of whichthey are afterwards as hard to be di*erted, as Ri*ers that ha*eworn themsel*es dee+ within their &anks# )rade then is necessary to the +roducing of Riches, and Moneynecessary to the carrying on of )rade# )his is +rinci+ally to belooked after and taken Care of# 4or if this be neglected, weshall in *ain, by Contri*ances amongst our sel*es, and shufflingthe little Money we ha*e from one anothers 0ands, endea*our to+re*ent our ants/ 9ecay of )rade will quickly waste all theRemainder- and then the Landed'Man, who thinks +erha+s by thefall of Interest to raise the Value of his Land, will findhimself cruelly mistaken, when the Money being gone, 1as it willbe if our )rade be not ke+t u+2 he can get neither 4armer toRent, nor $urchaser to &uy his Land# hatsoe*er therefore hindersthe Lending of Money, in5ures )rade/ %nd so the reducing ofMoney, to 4our +er Cent# which will discourage Men from Lending,will be a Loss to the Eingdom, in sto++ing so much ofthe CurrentofMoney, which turns the heels of)rade# &ut all this u+on aSu++osition, that the Lender and &orrower are both >nglish Men# If the Lender be a 4oreigner, by lessening Interest from Sito 4our you get to the Eingdom one third +art ofthe Interest we+ay .early to 4oreigners/ hich let any one if he +lease thinkconsiderable# &ut then u+on lessening Interest to 4our +er Cent#it is likely one of these things will ha++en# )hat either youfall the $rice of your (ati*e Commodities- 3r lessen your )rade-3r else +re*ent not the high <se as you intended# 4or at the timeof lessening your Interest, you want Money for your )rade, or youdo not# If you do not, there is no need to +re*ent &orrowing at ahigh Rate of your (eighbours# 4or no Country borrows of its(eighbours but where there is need of Money for )rade/ (o bodywill borrow more of a 4oreigner to let it lye still# %nd if youdo want Money, (ecessity will still make you borrow where youcan, and at the Rates your (ecessity, not your Laws, shall set/or else, if there be scarcity of Money, it must hinder theMerchant:s &uying and > +ortation, and the %rtisan:s Manufacture#(ow the kingdom gets or loses by this 1for no question theMerchant by low Interest gets all the while2 only +ro+ortionably1allowing the Consum+tion of 4oreign Commodities to be still thesame2 as the +aying of <se to 4oreigners carries away more orless of our Money, than want of Money and sto++ing our )radekee+s us from bringing in, by hindring our ?ains, which can beonly estimated by those, who know how much Money we borrow of



4oreigners, and at what Rate- and too, what $rofit in )rade wemake of that Money# &orrowing of 4oreigners u+on Interest it:s true carries awaysome of our ?ain/ &ut yet u+on > amination it will be found, thatour growing Rich or $oor de+ends not at all +on our borrowingu+on Interest or not- but only which is greater or less, our

Im+ortation or > +ortation of consumable Commodities# 4orsu++osing )wo Millions of Money will dri*e the )rade of >ngland,and that we ha*e Money enough of our own to do it- if we consumeof our own $roduct and Manufacture, and what we $urchase by it of4oreign Commodities, one Million, but of the other Millionconsume nothing, but make a return of )en +er Cent# +er %n# wemust then e*ery .ear be 3ne hundred thousand +ounds Richer, andour Stock be so much encreast/ &ut if we Im+ort more consumableCommodities than we > +ort, our Money must go out to +ay forthem, and we grow +oorer# Su++ose therefore ill 0usbandry hathbrought us to one Million Stock, and we borrow the other Million1as we must, or lose half our )rade2 at Si +er Cent# If weconsume one moyety, and make still )en +er Cent# +er %n# Returnof the other Million, the Eingdom gets 4orty thousand +ounds +er%n# though it +ay Si ty thousand +ound +er %n# <se# So that ifthe Merchant:s Return be more than his <se, 1which :tis certainit is, or else he will not )rade2 and all that is so )raded foron borrowed Money be but the o*er'ballance of our > +ortation toour Im+ortation, the kingdom gets by this &orrowing so much asthe Merchant:s ?ain is abo*e his <se# &ut if we borrow only forour own > +ences, we grow doubly +oor, by +aying Money for theCommodity we consume, and <se for that Money- though the Merchantgets all this while, by making Returns greater than his <se# %ndtherefore &orrowing of 4oreigners in it self makes not theEingdom rich or +oor- for it may do either/ &ut s+ending morethan our 4ruits or Manufactures will +ay for, brings in $o*erty,and $o*erty &orrowing# 4or Money, as necessary to )rade, may be doubly considered#4irst, as in his 0ands that +ays the Labourer and Landholder,1for here its motion terminates, and through whose 0ands soe*erit +asses between these, he is but a &roker2 and if this Man wantMoney, 1as for > am+le, the Clothier2 the Manufacture is notmade- and so the )rade sto+s, and is lost# 3r Secondly, Money maybe considered as in the 0ands of the Consumer, under which (ame Ihere reckon the Merchant who buys the Commodity when made, to> +ort/ %nd if he want Money, the *alue of the Commodity whenmade is lessened, and so the Eingdom loses in the $rice# Iftherefore <se be lessened, and you cannot tye 4oreigners to your)erms, then the ill effects fall only u+on your Landholders and%rtisans/ If 4oreigners can be forc:d by your Law to Lend youMoney only at your own Rate, or not Lend at all, is it not morelikely they will rather take it home, and think it safer in theirown Country at 4our +er Cent# than abroad in a decaying# Country@(or can their o*er'+lus of Money bring them to Lend to you, onyour )erms/ 4or when your Merchants want of Money shall ha*e sunkthe +rice of your Market, a 9utchman will find it more gains tobuy your Commodity himself, than Lend his Money at 4our +er Cent#to an >nglish Merchant to )rade with# (or will the %ct of(a*igation hinder their coming, by making them come em+ty, sincee*en already there are those who think, that many, who go for>nglish Merchants, are but 9utch 4actors, and )rade for others intheir own (ames# )he Eingdom therefore will lose by this loweringof Interest, if it makes 4oreigners withdraw any of their Money,as well as if it hinders any of your $eo+le from Lending theirs,where )rade has need of it#



In a )reatise writ on +ur+ose for the bringing down ofInterest, I find this %rgument of 4oreigners calling away theirMoney to the +re5udice of our )rade, thus %nswer:d, )hat theMoney of 4oreigners is not brought into the Land by ready Coin or&ullion, but by ?oods or &ills of > change- and when it is +aidmust be returned by ?oods or &ills of > change- and there will

not be the less Money in the Land# I could not but wonder to seea Man, who undertook to write of Money and Interest, talk sodirectly besides the matter in the business of )rade# 4oreignersMoney, he says, is not brought into the Land by ready Coin or&ullion, but by ?oods, or &ills of > change# 0ow then do we comeby &ullion or Money@ 4or ?old grows not, that I know, in ourCountry, and Sil*er so little, that 3ne hundred thousandth +artof the Sil*er we ha*e now in >ngland, was not drawn out of anyMines in this Island# If he means that the Monied Man in 0olland,who +uts out his Money at Interest here, did not send it o*er in&ullion or S+ecie hither/ )hat may be true or false- but eitherway hel+s not that %uthors +ur+ose# 4or if he +aid his Money to aMerchant his (eighbour, and took his &ills for it here in>ngland, he did the same thing as if he had sent o*er that Money,since he does but make that Merchant lea*e in >ngland the Moneywhich he has 9ue to him there, and otherwise would carry away#(o, says our %uthor, he cannot carry it away,for, says he, whenit is +aid it must be returned by ?oods, 3r &ills of > change# Itmust not be +aid and e +orted in ready Money, so says our Lawindeed, but that is a Law to hedge in the Cookoe, and ser*es tono +ur+ose# 4or if we > +ort not ?oods, for which our Merchantsha*e Money due to them in 0olland, 0ow can it be +aid by &ills of> change@ %nd for ?oods, 3ne hundred +ounds worth of ?oods can nowhere +ay )wo hundred +ounds in Money# )his being that which Ifind many Men decei*e themsel*es with in )rade, it may be worthwhile to make it a little +lainer# Let us su++ose >ngland $eo+led as it is now# and its oollenManufacture in the same State and $erfection, that it is at+resent- and that we, ha*ing no Money at all, trade with this our

oollen Manufacture for the *alue of )wo hundred thousand +ounds.early to S+ain, where there actually is a Million in Money/4urther let us su++ose that we bring back from S+ain .early in3yl, ine, and 4ruit, to the *alue of 3ne hundred thousand+ounds, and continue to do this )en .ears together/ :)is +lain weha*e had for our two Millions *alue in oollen Manufacturecarried thither, one Million returned in ine, 3yl, and 4ruit/&ut what is become of t:other Million@ ill the Merchants becontent to lose it@ )hat you may be sure they would not, nor ha*e)raded on, if they had not e*ery .ear Returns made answeringtheir > +ortation# 0ow then were the 7 Returns made@ In Money itis e*ident# 4or the S+aniards ha*ing in such a )rade, no 9ebts,nor the +ossibility of any 9ebts in >ngland, cannot +ay one4arthing of that other Million by &ills of > change/ %nd ha*ingno Commodities that we will take off abo*e the *alue of 3nehundred thousand +ounds $er %nnum, they cannot +ay us inCommodities# 4rom whence it necessarily follows, that the 0undredthousand +ounds +er %nn# wherein we o*er'ballance them in )rade,must be +aid us in Money- and so at the )en years end, theirMillion of Money, 1though their Law make it 9eath to e +ort it2will be all brought into >ngland- as in truth, by thiso*er'ballance of )rade, the greatest +art of our Money hath beenbrought into >ngland out of S+ain# Let us su++ose our sel*es now +ossessed of this Million ofMoney- and > +orting .early out of >ngland, to the se*eral +artsof the orld, consumable Commodities to the *alue of a Million,



but Im+orting .early in Commodities, which we consume amongst usto the *alue of >le*en hundred thousand +ounds# If such a )radeas this be managed amongst us, and continue )en .ears, it ise*ident, that our Million of Money will at the end of the )en.ears be ine*itably all gone from us to them, by the same waythat it came to us- that is, by their o*erballance of )rade# 4or

we Im+orting e*ery .ear 3ne hundred thousand +ounds worth ofCommodities more than we > +ort, and there being no 4oreignersthat will gi*e us 3ne hundred thousand +ounds e*ery year fornothing, it is una*oidable, that 3ne hundred thousand $ounds ofour Money must go out e*ery .ear to +ay for that o*er'+lus, whichour Commodities do not +ay for# :)is ridiculous to say, that&ills of > change shall +ay our 9ebts abroad/ )hat cannot be,till Scri+s of $a+er can be made current Coin# )he >nglishMerchant, who has no Money owing him abroad, cannot e +ect toha*e his &ills +aid there# 3r if he has Credit enough with aCorres+ondent, to ha*e his &ills answered/ )his +ays none of the9ebt of >ngland, but only changes the Creditor# %nd if u+on thegeneral ballance of )rade, >nglish Merchants owe to 4oreigners3ne hundred thousand +ounds, or a Million, if Commodities do not,our Money must go out to +ay it, or else our Credit be lost, andour )rade sto+, and be lost too# % kingdom grows Rich, or $oor 5ust as a 4armer doth, and nootherwise# Let us su++ose the whole Isle of $ortland one 4arm-and that the 3wner, besides what ser*es his 4amily, carries toMarket to eymouth and 9orchester, 6c# Cattle, Corn, &utter,Cheese, ooll, or Cloth, Lead and )in, all Commodities +roducedand wrought within his 4arm of $ortland, to the *alue of a)housand $oundsyearly- and for this, brings whome in Salt,

ine, 3yl, S+ice, Linnen and Silks, to the *alue of (ine hundred$ounds, and the remaining 0undred $ounds in Money# :)is e*identhe grows e*ery year a hundred $ounds Richer, and so at the endoften years will ha*e clearly got a )housand $ounds# If the 3wnerbe a better 0usband, and contenting himself with his (ati*eCommodities, buy less ine, S+ice, and Silk, at Market, and sobring home 4i*e hundred $ounds in Money yearly, instead of a)housand $ounds, at the end of ten years he will ha*e 4i*ethousand +ounds by him, and be so much Richer# 0e 9ies, and hisSon succeeds, a fashionable young ?entleman, that cannot 9inewithout Cham+ane and &urgundy, nor Slee+ but in a 9amask &ed-whose ife must s+read a long )rain of &rocard, and his Childrenbe always in the newest 4rench cut and Stuff# 0e being come tothe >state, kee+s on a *ery busie 4amily# the Markets are weeklyfrequented, and the Commodities of his 4arm carried out, andSold, as formerly, but the Returns are made something different-the fashionable way of >ating, 9rinking, 4urniture and Clothingfor himself and 4amily, requires more Sugar and S+ice, ine and4ruit, Silk and Ribons, than in his 4athers time- so that insteadof (ine hundred $ounds +er %nnum, he now brings home ofconsumable Commodities, to the *alue of >le*en hundred $oundsyearly# hat comes of this@ 0e li*es in S+lendor, :tis true, butthis una*oidably carries away the Money his 4ather got, and he ise*ery year an 0undred $ounds $oorer# )o his > +ences, beyond hisIncome, add 9ebauchery, Idleness, and Fuarrels amongst hisSer*ants, whereby his Manufactures are disturbed, and his&usiness neglected, and a general 9isorder and Confusion throughhis whole 4amily and 4arm/ )his will tumble him down the 0ill thefaster, and the Stock, which the Industry, 4rugality, and good3rder of his 4ather had laid u+, will be quickly brought to anend, and he fast in $rison# % 4arm and a kingdom in this res+ectdiffer no more than as greater and less# e may )rade, and be



busie, and grow $oor by it, unless we regulate our > +ences- Ifto this we are Idle, (egligent, 9ishonest, Malitious, and disturbthe Sober and Industrious in their &usiness, let it be u+on what+retence it will, we shall Ruine the faster# So that whate*er this %uthor, or any one else may say, Moneyis brought into >ngland by nothing but s+ending here less of

4oreign Commodities, than what we carry to Market can +ay for-(or can 9ebts we owe to 4oreigners be +aid by &ills of > change,till our Commodities > +orted, and Sold beyond Sea, ha*e +roducedMoney or 9ebts due there, to some of our Merchants# 4or nothingwill +ay 9ebts but Money or Moneys worth, which three or fourLines writ in $a+er cannot be# If such &ills ha*e an intrinsick*alue, and can ser*e instead of Money, why do we not send them toMarket instead of our Cloth, Lead and )in, and at an easier rate+urchase the Commodities we want@ %ll that a &ill of > change cando, is to direct to whom Money due, or taken u+ u+on Credit in a4oreign Country, shall be +aid/ %nd if we trace it, we shallfind, that what is owing already became so, for Commodities, orMoney, carried from hence/ %nd if it be taken u+ u+on Credit, itmust 1let the 9ebt be shifted from one Creditor to another asoften as you will2 at last be +aid by Money or ?oods, carriedfrom hence, or else the Merchant here must turn &ankru+t# e ha*e seen how Riches and Money are got, ke+t, or lost, inany Country- and that is by consuming less of 4oreign Commoditiesthan what, by Commodities or Labour is +aid for# )his is in theordinary course of things/ &ut where great %rmies and %lliancesare to be maintained abroad by Su++lies sent out of any Country,there often, by a shorter and more sensible way, the )reasure isdiminished# &ut this since the holy ar, or at least since theIm+ro*ement of (a*igation and )rade, seldom ha++ening to >ngland,whose $rinces ha*e found the enlarging their $ower by Sea, andthe securing our (a*igation and )rade, more the Interest of thisEingdom than ars or Conquests on the Continent, > +ences in %rmsbeyond Sea ha*e had little Influence on our Riches or $o*erty#)he ne t thing to be considered, is, how Money is necessary to)rade# )he (ecessity of a certain $ro+ortion of Money to )rade, 1Iconcei*e2 lyes in this, )hat Money in its Circulation dri*ing these*eral heels of )rade, whilst it kee+s in that Channel 1forsome of it will una*oidably be dreined into standing $ools2 isall shared between the Landholder, whose Land affords theMaterials- )he Labourer, who works thenm- )he &roker, 1i#e#2Merchant and Sho+kee+er, who distributes them to those, that wantthem- %nd the Consumer, who s+ends them# (ow Money is necessaryto all these sorts of Men, as ser*ing both for Counters and for$ledges, and so carryingwith it e*en Reckoning, and Security,that he, that recei*es it, shall ha*e the same Value for itagain, of other things that he wants, whene*er he +leases# )heone of these it does by its Stam+ and 9enomination- the other byits intrinsick Value, which is its Fuantity# 4or Mankind, ha*ing consented to +ut an imaginary Value u+on?old and Sil*er by reason of their 9urableness, Scarcity, and notbeing *ery liable to be Counterfeited, ha*e made them by generalconsent the common $ledges, whereby Men are assured, in > changefor them to recei*e equally *aluable things to those they +artedwith for any quantity of these Metals# &y which means it comes to+ass, that the intrinsick Value regarded in these Metals made thecommon &arter, is nothing but the quantity which Men gi*e orrecei*e of them# 4or they ha*ing as Money no other Value, but as$ledges to +rocure, what one wants or desires- and they +rocuringwhat we want or desire, only by their quantity, :tis e*ident,



that the intrinsick Value of Sil*er and ?old used in Commerce isnothing but their quantity# )he (ecessity therefore of a $ro+ortion of Money to )rade,de+ends on Money not as Counters, for the Reckoning may be ke+t,or transferred by riting- but on Money as a $ledge, which

riting cannot su++ly the +lace of/ Since the &ill, &ond, or

other (ote of 9ebt, I recei*e from one Man will not be acce+tedas Security by another, he not knowing that the &ill or &ond istrue or legal, or that the Man bound to me is honest orres+onsible- and so is not *aluable enough to become a current$ledge, nor can by +ublick %uthority be well made so, as in theCase of %ssigning of &ills# &ecause a Law cannot gi*e to &illsthat intrinsick Value, which the uni*ersal Consent of Mankind hasanne ed to Sil*er and ?old# %nd hence 4oreigners can ne*er bebrought to take your &ills, or ritings for any +art of $ayment,though +erha+s they might +ass as *aluable Considerations amongyour own $eo+le, did not this *ery much hinder it, *iD# )hat theyare liable to una*oidable 9oubt, 9is+ute, and Counterfeiting, andrequire other $roofs to assure us that they are true and goodSecurity, than our >yes or a )ouchstone# %nd at best this Course,if +racticable, will not hinder us from being $oor- but may besus+ected to hel+ to make us so, by kee+ing us from feeling our$o*erty, which in 9istress will be sure to find us with greaterdisad*antage# )hough it be certain it is better than letting any+art of our )rade fall for want of current $ledges- and bettertoo than borrowing Money of our (eighbours u+on <se, if this wayof %ssigning &ills can be made so easie, safe and uni*ersal athome, as to hinder it# )o return to the business in hand, and shew the necessity ofa $ro+ortion of Money to )rade# >*ery Man must ha*e at least somuch Money, or so timely Recruits, as may in hand, or in a shortdistance of time, satisfie his Creditor who su++lies him with thenecessaries of Life, or of his )rade# 4or no body has any longerthese necessary Su++lies, than he has Money, or Credit, which isnothing else but an %ssurance of Money in some short time# Sothat it is requisite to )rade that there should be so much Money,as to kee+ u+ the Landholders, Labourers and &rokers Credit/ %ndtherefore ready Money must be constantly e chang:d for ares andLabour, or follow within a short time after# )his shews the necessity of some $ro+ortion of Money to)rade/ &ut what $ro+ortion that is, is hard to determine- becauseit de+ends not barely on the quantity of Money, but the quicknessof its Circulation# )he *ery same Shilling may at one time +ay)wenty Men in )wenty days, at another, rest in the same 0ands 3nehundred days together# )his makes it im+ossible e actly to>stimate the quantity of Money needful in )rade/ &ut to make some+robable guess, we are to consider, how much Money it isnecessary to su++ose must rest constantly in each Man:s 0ands, asrequisite to the carrying on of )rade# 4irst therefore the Labourers, li*ing generally but from handto mouth, and indeed, considered as Labourers in order to )rade,may well enough carry on their +art, if they ha*e but Moneyenough to buy Victuals, Cloaths, and )ools/ %ll which may *erywell be +ro*ided, without any great Sum of Money lying still intheir 0ands# )he Labourers therefore, being usually +aid once a

eek, 1if the times of $ayment be seldomer, there must be moreMoney for the carrying on this +art of )rade2 we may su++osethere is constantly amongst them, one with another, or those whoare to +ay them, always one eeks ages in ready Money# 4or itcannot be thought, that all, or most of the Labourers +ay awayall their ages constancy, as soon as they recei*e it, and li*e



u+on )rust till ne t $ay 9ay# )his the 4armer and )radesman couldnot well bear, were it e*ery Labourer:s Case, and e*ery one to betrusted/ %nd therefore they must of necessity kee+ some Money intheir 0ands, to go to Market for Victuals, and to other )radesmenas +oor as themsel*es, for )ools- and lay u+ Money too to buyCloaths, or +ay for those they bought u+on Credit# hich Money

thus necessarily resting in their 0ands, we cannot imagine to be,one with another, much less than a eeks ages, that must be intheir $ockets, or ready in the 4armer:s 0ands# 4or he who em+loysa Labourer at a Shilling +er 9ay, and +ays him on Saturday(ights, cannot be su++osed constancy to recei*e that siShillings 5ust the same Saturday/ It must ordinarily be in his0ands one time with another, if not a whole eek, yet se*eral9ays before# )his was the ordinary Course, whil:st we had Money running inthe se*eral Channels of Commerce/ &ut that now *ery much failing,and the 4armer not ha*ing Money to +ay the Labourer, su++lies himwith Corn, which in this great $lenty the Labourer will ha*e athis own Rate, or else not take it of fhis 0ands for ages# %nd asfor the orkmen, who are em+loyed in our Manufactures, es+eciallythe oollen one, these the Clothier, not ha*ing ready Money to+ay, furnishes with the necessaries of Life, and so trucksCommodities for ork, which, such as they are, good or bad, the

orkman must take at his Master:s Rate, or sit still and star*e/hil:st by this means, this new sort of Ingrossers or

4orestallers, ha*ing the feeding and su++lying this numerous &odyof orkmen out of their arehouses, 1for they ha*e now MagaDinesof all sorts of ares2 set the $rice u+on the +oor Landholder# Sothat the Markets now being destroyed, and the 4armer not finding*ent there for his &utter, Cheese, &acon, and Corn, 6c# for whichhe was wont to bring home ready Money, must sell it to theseIngrossers, on their own )erms of )ime and Rate- and allow it totheir own 9ay'Labourers under the true Market'+rice# hat kind ofInfluence this is like to ha*e u+on Land, and how this way Rentsare like to be +aid at Fuarter'day, is easie to a++rehend/ %nd:tis no wonder to hear e*ery day of 4armers breaking, and runningaway# 4or if they cannot recei*e Money for their ?oods at Market,:will be im+ossible for them, to +ay their Landlord:s Rent# Ifany one doubt whether this be so, I desire him to enquire, howmany 4armers in the est are broke and gone since Michaelmasslast# ant of Money being to this degree, works both ways u+onthe Landholder# 4or first, the ingrossing 4orestaller lets notthe Money come to Market- but su++lying the orkman, who isem+loyed by him in Manufacture, with (ecessaries, im+oses his$rice, and 4orbearance on the 4armer, who cannot sell to theothers# %nd the Labourer,who is em+loyed by the Landholder in0usbandry, im+oses also his Rate on him, for the Commodities hetakes# 4or there being a want of 9ay Labourers in the Country,they must be humoured, or else they will neither work for you,nor take your Commodities for their Labour# Secondly, as for the Landholder, since his )enants cannotCoin their Rent 5ust at quarter'day, but must gather it u+ bydegrees, and lodge it with them till $ay'day- or borrow it ofthose, who ha*e it lying by them, or do gather it u+ by degrees,which is the same thing, and must be necessarily so much Moneyfor some time lying still# 4or all, that is +aid in great Sums,must somewhere be gathered u+ by the Retail Incomes of a )rade,or else lie still too in great Sums, which is the same sto+ ofMoney, or a greater# %dd to this, )hat to +ay the Creditor, thatlent him his Rent, he must gather u+ Money by degrees, as theSale of his Commodities shall bring it in, and so makes a greater



sto+, and greater want of Money/ Since the borowed Money that+aid the Landholder the AGth of March, must be su++osed to lyestill some time in the Creditor:s hand, before he lent it the)enant- and the Money, that +ays the Creditor three Months after,must lye still some time in the )enant:s# (or does the Landlord+ay away his Rent usually, as soon as he recei*es it, but by

degrees, as his occasions call for it# %ll this consider:d wecannot but su++ose, that between the Landlord and )enant theremust necessarily be at least a quarter of the .early Re*enue ofthe Land constantly in their hands# Indeed considering, that most+art of the Rents of >ngland are +aid at our Lady'day andMichaelmas, and that the same Money, which +ays me my Rent frommy )enant the AGth of March, or thereabouts, cannot +ay my ne t(eighbour his Rent from his )enant at the same time, much lessone more remote in another Country, it might seem requisite tosu++ose half the yearly Re*enue of the Land to be necessarilyem+loyed in +aying of Rent# 4or to say that some )enants breakand +ay not their Rent at all, and others +ay not till two,three, four, fi*e, si , 6c# Months after quarter'day, and so theRent is not all +aid at one time, is no more than to say, )hatthere is Money wanting to the )rade# 4or if the )enant fail theLandlord, he must fail his Creditor, and he his, and so on, tillsomebody break, and so )rade decay for want of Money# &ut since aconsiderable +art of the Land of >ngland is in the 3wners 0ands,who neither +ay nor recei*e great Sums for it at a certain 9ay-and because too, 1which is the chief Reason2 we are not toconsider here how much Money is in any one man:s, or any one sortof mens hands at one time- for that at other times may bedistributed into other hands, and ser*e other +arts of )rade- buthow much Money is necessary to be in each man:s hands all the.ear round, taking one time with another, 1i#e#2 ha*ing )hreehundred +ounds in his 0and one month, is to be reckoned as 3nehundred +ound in his 0and three months, 1and so +ro+ortionably2 Ithink we may well su++ose a quarter of the .early Re*enue to beconstancy in the Landlords or )enants 0ands# 0ere, by the by, we may obser*e, )hat it were better for)rade, and consequently for e*erybody, 1for more Money would bestirring, and less would do the business2 if Rents were +aid byshorter inter*als than si months# 4or su++osing I let a 4arm at4ifty two +ounds +er %n# if my Rent be +aid half .early, there isrequired )wenty si +ounds to be em+loyed in the $ayment ofit inone entire Sum, 1if it be +aid well, and if it be not +aid well,for want of so much Money to be s+ared to that +ur+ose, there isso much want of Money, and )rade is still endamag:d by it2 agreat +art whereof must necessarily lie still before it come outof my )enants Chest to my 0ands/ If it be +aid once a quarter)hirteen +ound alone will do it, and less Money is laid u+ forit, and sto+:d a less while in its course/ &ut should it be +aide*ery eek, one single wenty Shillings will +ay the Rent of 4iftytwo +ounds +er %nnum, whence would follow this double benefit#4irst, )hat a great deal less Money would ser*e for the )rade ofa Country# %nd Secondly, )hat less of the Money would lie still,the contrary whereof must needs ha++en, where growing 9ebts areto be +aid at larger distances, and in greater Sums# )hirdly, %s for the &rokers, since they too must lay u+ theMoney coming in by Retail, either to go to Market, and buy ares,or to +ay at the day a++ointed, which is often si Months, forthose ares which they ha*e already, we cannot su++ose them toha*e less by them, one with another, than 3ne twentieth +art oftheir yearly Returns# hether the Money be their own, or they beIndebted so much or more, it matters not, if it be necessary they



should ha*e constancy by them, com+aring one time with another,at least 3ne twentieth +art of their yearly Return# Indeed in some great )owns, where the &ankers are ready athand to buy &ills, or any other way to lend Money, for short timeat great Interest, there +erha+s the Merchant is not forced tokee+ so much Money by him, as in other +laces, where they ha*e

not such a Su++ly/ &ut if you consider, what Money to do thismust necessarily be constantly lodged in the &ankers 0ands thecase will be much the same# )o these Sums, if you add, what +art of the Money of aCountry Scholars of all sorts, omen, ?amesters, and great Mensmenial Ser*ants, and all such that do not contribute at all to)rade, either as Landholders, Labourers, or &rokers, willuna*oidably ha*e constantly in their 0ands, it cannot well bethought, that less than 3ne 4iftieth +art of the Labourers ages,3ne 4ourth +art of the Landholders yearly Re*enue, and one)wentieth +art of the &rokers yearly Returns in ready Money, willbe enough to dri*e the )rade of any Country# %t least, to +ut itbeyond e ce+tion low enough, it cannot be imagin:d that less thanone moiety of this, i#e# less than 3ne hundredth +art of theLabourers yearly ages, 3ne >ighth +art of the Landholders yearlyRe*enue, and 3ne 4ortieth +art of the &rokers yearly Returns, inready Money, can be enough to mo*e the se*eral heels of )rade,and kee+ u+ Commerce in that Life and )hri*ing +osture it shouldbe- and how much the ready Cash of any Country is short# of this+ro+ortion, so much must the )rade be im+air:d and hindred forwant of Money# &ut howe*er these measures may be mistaken, this is e*ident,that the multi+lying of &rokers hinders the )rade of any Country,by making the Circuit, which the Money goes, larger, and in thatCircuit more sto+s, so that the Returns must necessarily beslower and scantier, to the +re5udice of )rade/ &esides that,they >at u+ too great a share of the ?ains of )rade, by thatmeans Star*ing the Labourer, and im+o*erishing the Landholder,whose Interest is chiefly to be taken care of, it being a settledunmo*eable Concernment in the Commonwealth# If this be so, it is +ast question, that all >ncouragementshould be gi*en to %rtificers- and things so order:d, as much asmight be, that those who make, should also Vend and Retail outtheir own Commodities, and they be hindred as much as +ossiblefrom +assing here at home, through di*ers 0ands to the last&uyer# LaDy and <nworking Sho+kee+ers in this being worse than?amesters, that they do not only kee+ so much of the Money of aCountry constantly in their 0ands, but also make the +ublick +aythem for their kee+ing of it# )hough ?aming too, u+on the accountof )rade 1as well as other Reasons2 may well deser*e to berestrain:d/ Since ?amesters, in order to their $lay, kee+ greatSums of Money by them, which there lies 9ead# 4or though?amesters Money shift Masters oftener than any, and is tumbled u+and down with e*ery cast of a 9ie, yet as to the +ublick it lies+erfectly still, and no more of it comes into )rade, than theys+end in >ating or earing# 0ere too we may obser*e, how much Manufacture deser*es to beincourag:d/ Since that +art of )rade, though the mostconsiderable, is dri*en with the least Money, es+ecially if the

orkmanshi+ be more worth than the Materials# 4or to the )radethat is dri*en by Labour, and 0andicrafts Men, 3ne two andfiftieth +art of the yearly Money +aid them will be sufficient/&ut to a )rade of Commodities of our bare (ati*e growth, muchgreater +ro+ortion of Money is requir:d# $erha+s it will be wondred, why ha*ing gi*en some estimate



1how wide I know not2 of the Money necessary in the 0ands of theLandholder, Labourer, and &roker, to carry on )rade, I ha*e saidnothing of the Consumer, whom I had mentioned before# )o this I%nswer, )here are so few Consumers, who are not either Labourers,&rokers, or Landholders, that they make a *ery inconsiderable+art in the account# 4or those who immediately de+end on the

Landholder, as his Children and Ser*ants, come in under thattitle, being maintain:d by the Rent of his Lands- and so of therest# &y what has been said, we may see what In5ury the Lowering ofInterest is like to do us by hindering )rade, when it shalleither make the 4oreigner call home his Money, or your own $eo+lebackward to Lend, the Reward not being 5udged +ro+ortionable tothe risque# )here is another seeming Consequence, of the reducing ofMoney to a low $rice, which at first sight has such an a++earanceof truth in it, that I ha*e known it im+ose u+on *ery able Men,and I guess it has no small Influence, at this time, in the+romoting this alteration, and that is, )hat the lowering ofInterest will raise the *alue of all other )hings in +ro+ortion#4or Money being the Counter'ballance to all other )hings+urchasable by it, and lying, as it were, in the o++osite Scaleof Commerce, it looks like a natural Consequence, that as much asyou take off from the *alue of Money, so much you add to the+rice of other )hings, which are e chang:d for it- the raising ofthe +rice of any thing being no more but the addition to its*alue in res+ect of Money, or, which is all one, lessening the*alue of Money# 4or > am+le/ Should the *alue of ?old be broughtdown to that of Sil*er, 3ne hundred ?uineas would +urchase littlemore Corn, ool, or Land, than 3ne hundred shillings, and so theValue of Money being brought lower, say they, the +rice of other)hings will rise- and the falling of Interest from Si +ound to4our +ound +er Cent# is taking away so much of the +rice ofMoney, and so consequently the lessening its *alue# )he mistake of this +lausible way of Reasoning will be easilydisco*ered, when we consider that the measure of the *alue ofMoney, in +ro+ortion to any thing +urchasable by it, is thequantity of the ready Money we ha*e, in Com+arison with thequantity of that thing and its Vent- or which amounts to the samething, )he +rice of any Commodity rises or falls, by the+ro+ortion of the number of &uyers and Sellers- )his rule holds<ni*ersally in all )hings that are to be bought and Sold, bateingnow and then an e tra*agant $hancy of some +articular $erson,which ne*er amounts to so considerable a +art of )rade as to makeany thing in the account worthy to be thought an > ce+rion tothis Rule# )he Vent of any )hing de+ends u+on its (ecessity or<sefulness, as Con*enience, or 3+inion guided by $hancy orfashion shall determine# )he Vent of any Commodity comes to be increased or decreasedas a greater +art of the Running Cash of the (ation is designedto be laid out by se*eral $eo+le at the same time rather in that,than another, as we see in the change of 4ashions# I shall begin first with the (ecessaries or Con*eniencies ofLife, and the Consumable Commodities subser*ient thereunto- andshew, )hat the Value ofMoney in res+ect of those de+ends only onthe $lenty or Scarcity of Money in +ro+ortion to the $lenty andScarcity of those things, and not on what Interest shall by(ecessity, Law, or Contract be at that time laid on the borrowingof Money/ and then afterwards I shall shew that the same holds inLand#



)here is nothing more confirmed by daily > +erience, thanthat Men gi*e any $ortion of Money for whatsoe*er is absolutelynecessary, rather than go without it# %nd in such things, theScarcity of them alone makes their $rices# %s for > am+le# Let ussu++ose half an 3unce of Sil*er, or half a Crown now in >ngland,is worth a &ushel of heat/ &ut should there be ne t .ear a great

scarcity of heat in >ngland, and a +ro+ortionable want of allother 4ood, fi*e 3unces of Sil*er would +erha+s in > change+urchase but one &ushel of heat/ So that Money would be thennine )enths less worth in res+ect of 4ood, though at the same*alue it was before, in res+ect of other )hings, that ke+t theirformer +ro+ortion, in their quantity and Consum+tion# &y the like +ro+ortions of Increase and 9ecrease, does the*alue of )hings, more or less con*enient, rise and fall inres+ect of Money, only with this difference, that thingsabsolutely necessary for Life must be had at any Rate- but )hingscon*enient will be had only as they stand in +reference withother Con*eniencies/ %nd therefore in any one of theseCommodities, the *alue rises only as its quantity is less, and*ent greater, which de+ends u+on its being +referr:d to other)hings in its Consum+tion# 4or su++osing that at the same timethat there is a great scarcity of heat, and other ?rain, therewere a considerable quantity of 3ats, Men no question would gi*efar more for heat than 3ats, as being the healthier, +leasanter,and more con*enient 4ood/ &ut since 3ats would ser*e to su++lythat absolute necessity of sustaining Life, Men would not robthemsel*es of all other Con*eniencies of Life, by +aying alltheir Money for heat, when 3ats, that are chea+er, though withsome incon*enience, would su++ly that 9efect# It may then soha++en at the same time, that half an 3unce of Sil*er, that the.ear before would buy one &ushel of heat, will this .ear buy butone )enth of a &ushel/ 0alf an 3unce of Sil*er, that the .earbefore would ha*e bought three &ushels of 3ats, will this yearstill buy one &ushel/ %nd at the same time half an 3unce ofSil*er, that would the .ear before ha*e bought 4ifteen +ounds ofLead, will still buy the same quantity# So that at the same timeSil*er, in res+ect of heat, is nine )enths less worth than itwas, in res+ect of 3ats two )hirds less worth, and in res+ect ofLead, as much worth as before# )he fall therefore or rise of Interest, making immediately byits change neither more nor less Land, Money, or any sort ofCommodity in >ngland, than there was before, alters not at allthe Value of Money, in reference to Commodities# &ecause themeasure of that is only the Fuantity and Vent, which are notimmediately chang:d by the Change of Interest# So far as theChange of Interest conduces in )rade to the bringing in orcarrying out Money or Commodities, and so in time to the *aryingtheir $ro+ortions here in >ngland from what it was before, so farthe change of Interest as all other things that +romote or hinder)rade may alter the Value of Money in reference to Commodities#&ut that is not in this +lace to be considered# )his is +erfectly the Value of Money in res+ect of ConsumableCommodities# &ut the better to understand it in its fulllatitude, in res+ect both of consumable Commodities, and Landtoo, we must consider, 4irst, )hat the Value of Land consists inthis, )hat by its constant +roduction of saleable Commodities itbrings in a certain yearly Income# Secondly, the Value ofCommodities consists in this, )hat as +ortable and useful things,they by their > change or Consum+tion, su++ly the (ecessaries orCon*eniencies of Life# )hirdly, In Money there is a double Value,answering to both of these, first as it is ca+able by its



Interest to yield us such a yearly Income/ and in this it has the(ature of Land, 1the Income of one being called Rent, of theother <se2 only with this difference, )hat the Land in its Soilbeing different, as some fertile, some barren- and the $roductsof it *ery *arious, both in their Sorts, goodness and *ent, isnot ca+able of any fi ed estimate by its quantity/ &ut Money,

being constantly the same, and by its Interest gi*ing the samesort of $roduct through the whole Country, is ca+able of ha*ing afi ed yearly Rate set u+on it by the Magistrate- but Land is not#&ut though in the <niformity of its legal orth, 3ne hundred+ound of lawful Money being all through >ngland equal in itscurrent Value to any other 3ne hundred +ounds of lawful Money,1because by *ertue of the Law it will e*ery where +ass for asmuch are or 9ebt, as any other 0undred +ounds2 is ca+able toha*e its yearly 0ire *alued better than Land/ .et in res+ect ofthe *arying need, and necessity of Money, 1which changes with theincrease or decay of Money or )rade in a Country2 it is as littleca+able to ha*e its yearly 0ire fi ed by Law, as Land it self#4or were all the Land in Rumney'Marsh, %cre for %cre, equallygood, that is, did constantly +roduce the same quantity ofequally good 0ay or ?rass, one as another, the Rent of it, underthat Consideration of e*ery %cre being of an equal orth, wouldbe ca+able ofbeing regulated by Law- and one might as well >nact,)hat no %cre of Land in Rumney'Marsh shall be let for abo*e 4ortyShillings +er %n# as that no 0undred +ound, shall be let forabo*e 4our +ounds +er %n# &ut no body can think it fit 1since byreason of the equal Value of that Land it can2 that therefore theRent of the Land in Rumney'Marsh should be Regulated by Law# 4orsu++osing all the Land in Rumney'Marsh, or in >ngland, were allof so equal a orth, that any one %cre, com+ared at the sametime to any one other, were equally good in res+ect of its$roduct, yet the same %cre, com+ar:d with it self in differenttimes, would not in res+ect ofRent be of equal Value# %ndtherefore it would ha*e been an unreasonable thing, if in thetime of 0enry =# the Rent of Land in Rumney'Marsh had beensettled by a Law, according to the 5udg:d Value of it at thattime, and the same Law, limiting the Rent +erha+s to G s# +er%cre, ha*e continued still# )he %bsurdity and Im+racticablenessof this e*ery one sees at the first $ro+osal, and readilyconcludes within himself, that things must be left to find theirown $rice- and it is im+ossible in this their constant mutabilityfor 0uman 4oresight to set Rules and &ounds to theirconstantly'*arying $ro+ortion and <se, which will always regulatetheir Value# )hey who consider things beyond their (ames, will find, )hatMoney, as well as all other Commodities, is liable to the sameChanges and Inequalities/ (ay in this res+ect of the Variety ofits Value, brought in by time in the Succession of %ffairs, theRate of Money is less ca+able of being regulated by a Law in anyCountry than the Rent of Land# &ecause to the quick Changes, thatha++en in )rade, this too must be added, )hat Money may bebrought in, or carried out of the kingdom, which Land cannot- andso that be truly worth ! or H +er Cent# this .ear, which wouldyield but ; the last# A# Money has a Value, as it is ca+able by > change to +rocureus the (ecessaries or Con*eniencies of Life, and in this it hasthe (ature of a Commodity- only with this difference, )hat itser*es us commonly by its > change, ne*er almost by itsConsum+tion# &ut though the use Men make of Money be not in itsConsum+tion, yet it has not at all a more standing settled Valuein > change with any other thing, than any other Commodity has,



but a more known one, and better fitted by (ame, (umber, andeight, to enable us to reckon what the $ro+ortion of Scarcity

and Vent of one Commodity is to another# 4or su++osing, asbefore, that half an 3unce of Sil*er would last .ear e change forone &ushel of heat, or for G l# weight of Lead- if this .ear

heat be )en times scarcer, and Lead in the same quantity to its

Vent as it was, is it not e*ident that half an 3unce of Sil*erwill still e change for G l# of Lead, though it will e changebut for 3ne )enth of a &ushel of heat- and he that has use ofLead will as soon take G l# weight of Lead, as half an 3unce ofSil*er, for 3ne )enth of a &ushel of heat, and no more# So thatif you say, that Money now is (ine )enths less worth, than it wasthe former .ear, you must say so of Lead too, and all otherthings, that kee+ the same $ro+ortion to Money which they hadbefore# )he *ariation indeed is first and most taken notice ofin Money/ &ecause that is the uni*ersal measure by which $eo+lereckon, and used by e*ery body in the *aluing of all )hings# 4orcalling that half 3unce of Sil*er 0alf a Crown, they s+eak+ro+erly, and are readily understood when they say, 0alf a Crown,or two Shillings and si $ence, will now buy 3ne )enth of a&ushel of heat, but do not say, )hat G l# of Lead will now buy3ne )enth of a &ushel of heat, because it is not generally usedto this sort of Reckoning/ nor do they say Lead is less worththan it was, though in res+ect of heat Lead be (ine )enths worsethan it was, as well as Sil*er/ only by the )ale of Shillings weare better enabled to 5udge of it/ &ecause these are measureswhose Ideas by constant use are setled in e*ery >nglish Man:smind# )his I su++ose is the true Value of Money when it +asses fromone to another in &uying and Selling- where it runs the sameChanges of higher and lower, as any other Commodity doth/ 4or oneequal quantity whereof you shall recei*e in > change more, orless of another Commodity at one time, than you do at another#4or a 4armer that carries a &ushel of heat to Market, and aLabourer that carries 0alf a Crown, shall find that the Money ofone, as well as Corn of the other, shall at some times +urchasehim more or less Leather or Salt, according as they are ingreater $lenty and Scarcity one to another# So that in > changingCoin:d Sil*er for any other Commodity, 1which is buying andselling2 the same measure go*erns the $ro+ortion you recei*e, asif you e chang:d Lead, or heat, or any other Commodity# )hatwhich regulates the $rice, i#e# the quantity gi*en for Money1which is called buying and selling2 for an other Commodity,1which is called &artring2 is nothing else but their quantity in$ro+ortion to their *ent# If then lowering of <se makes not yourSil*er more in S+ecie, or your heat or other Commodities less,it will not ha*e any Influence at all to make it e change forless of heat, or any other Commodity, than it will ha*e on Lead,to make it e change for less heat, or any other Commodity# Money therefore in buying and selling being +erfectly in thesame Condition with other Commodities, and sub5ect to all thesame Laws of Value, let us ne t see how it comes to be ofthe same(ature with Land, by yielding a certain yearly Income, which wecall <se or Interest# 4or Land +roduces naturally something newand +rofitable, and of Value to Mankind- but Money is a barrenthing, and +roduces nothing, but by Com+act transfers that $rofitthat was the Reward of one Man:s Labour into another Man:s$ocket# )hat which occasions this, is the unequal 9istribution ofMoney- which Inequality has the same effect too u+on Land, thatit has u+on Money# 4or my ha*ing more Money in my 0and than Ican, or am dis+osed to use in buying and selling, makes me able



to lend/ %nd another:s want of so much Money as he could em+loyin )rade, makes him willing to borrow# &ut why then, and for whatConsideration doth he +ay <se@ 4or the same Reason, and u+on asgood Consideration, as the )enant +ays Rent for your Land# 4or asthe unequal 9istribution of Land, 1you ha*ing more than you canor will manure, and another less2 brings you a )enant for your

Land- and the same unequal 9istribution of Money, 1I ha*ing morethan I can or will em+loy, and another less2 brings me a )enantfor my Money/ So my Money is a+t in )rade, by the Industry of the&orrower, to +roduce more than Si +er Cent# to the &orrower, aswell as your Land, by the Labour of the )enant, is a+t to +roducemore 4ruits, than his Rent comes to- and therefore deser*es to be+aid for, as well as Land, by a .early Rent# 4or though the<surer:s Money would bring him in no .early +rofit, if he did notlend it, 1su++osing he em+loys it not himself2 and so his Si +erCent# may seem to be the 4ruit of another Man:s Labour, yet heshares not near so much of the +rofit of another Man:s Labour, ashe that lets Land to a )enant# 4or without the )enants Industry1su++osing as before, the owner would not manage it himself2 hisLand would yield him little or no $rofit# So that the Rent herecei*es is a greater $ortion of the 4ruit of his )enants Labour,than the <se is at Si +er Cent# 4or generally he that borrows3ne thousand +ounds at Si +er Cent# and so +ays Si ty +ounds +er%nnum <se, gets more abo*e his <se in one .ear, by his Industry,than he that Rents a 4arm of Si ty +ounds +er %nnum gets in two,abo*e his Rent, though his Labour be harder# It being e*ident therefore, that he that has skill in)raffick, but has not Money enough to > ercise it, has not onlyreason to borrow Money to dri*e his )rade, and get a li*elihood-but as much Reason to +ay <se for that Money- as he, who ha*ingskill in 0usbandry but no Land of his own to em+loy it in, hasnot only reason to Rent Land, but to +ay Money for the <se of it-It follows, that &orrowing Money u+on <se is not only by thenecessity of %ffairs, and the Constitution of 0umane Society,una*oidable to some Men, but that also to recei*e $rofit for theLoan of Money, is as equitable and lawful, as recei*ing Rent forLand, and more tolerable to the &orrower, notwithstanding the3+inion of some o*er'scru+ulous Men# )his being so, one would e +ect, that the rate of Interestshould be the Measure of the *alue of Land in number of .ears$urchase, for which the 4ee is sold/ 4or KK l# +er %nnum beingequal to KK l# +er %nnum, and so on to +eretuity- and KK l# +er%nnum being the $roduct of KKK l# when Interest is at K +er Cent# of AGK l# when Interest is at H +er Cent# of !!! l# or thereabouts, when Interest is at ! +er Cent# of AKKK l# when Money is at G +er Cent# of AGKK l# when Money is at ; +er Cent#3ne would conclude, I say, that Land should Sell in +ro+ortion to<se, according to these following Rates, *iD#

hen Money is at K +er Cent# for K years +urchase# H A A ! ! A B G AK ; AG

&ut > +erience tells us, that neither in queen >liDabeth, norking James the 4irst Reigns, when Interest was at )en +er Cent#was Land Sold for )en- or when it was at >ight +er Cent# forwel*e and an half years +urchase, or any thing near the low rate



that high <se required 1if it were true, that the rate ofInterest go*ern:d the +rice of Land2 any more than Land, nowyields )wenty 4i*e .ears $urchase, because a great +art of theMonied Men will now let their Money u+on good Security at 4our+er Cent# )hus we see in fact how little this Rule has held athome/ %nd he that will look into 0olland, will find, that the

$urchase of Land was not raised there, when their Interest fell#)his is certain, and +ast doubt, that the legal Interest canne*er regulate the +rice of Land, since it is +lain, that the+rice of Land has ne*er changed with it in the se*eral Changesha*e been made in the rate of Interest by Law/ (or now that therate of Interest is by Law the same through all >ngland, is the+rice of Land e*ery where the same, it being in some +artsconstancy sold for four or fi*e .ears $urchase more than inothers# hether you or I can tell the Reason of this, it mattersnot to the question in hand/ but it being really so, this is+lain 9emonstration against those, who +retend to ad*ance andregulate the +rice of Land by a Law, concerning the Interest ofMoney# &ut yet I will gi*e you some of my ?uesses, why the +rice ofLand is not regulated 1as at first sight it seems it should be2by the Interest of Money# hy it is not regulated by the legal<se is manifest, &ecause the rate of Money does not follow theStandard of the Law, but the +rice of the Market- and Men notobser*ing the legal and forced, but the (atural and CurrentInterest of Money, regulate their %ffairs by that# &ut why therate of Land does not follow the Current Interest of Moneyrequires a farther Consideration# %ll )hings that are &ought and Sold, raise and fall their+rice in +ro+ortion, as there are more &uyers or Sellers# herethere are a great many Sellers to a few &uyers, there use what%rt you will, the thing to be Sold will be chea+# 3n the otherside, turn the )ables, and raise u+ a great many &uyers for a fewSellers, and the same thing will immediately grow dear# )his Ruleholds in Land as well as all other Commodities, and is theReason, why in >ngland at the same time, that Land in some +lacesis at se*enteen or eighteen .ears $urchase, it is about others,where there are +rofitable Manufactures, at two or three andwenty .ears $urchase/ &ecause there 1Men thri*ing and gettingMoney by their Industry, and willing to lea*e their >states totheir Children in Land, as the surest, and most lasting$ro*ision, and not so liable to Casualties as Money in untradingor unskilful 0ands2 there are many &uyers ready always to$urchase, but few Sellers# 4or the Land thereabout being already+ossessed by that sort of Industrious and )hri*ing Men, they ha*eneither need, nor will, to Sell# In such +laces of Manufacture,the Riches of the one not arising from the squandring and wasteof another, 1as it doth in other +laces where Men li*e laDilyu+on the +roduct of the Land2 the Industry of the $eo+le bringingin increase of ealth from remote $arts, makes +lenty of Moneythere without the im+o*erishing of their (eighbours# %nd when thethri*ing )radesman has got more, than he can well em+loy in)rade, his ne t )houghts are to look out for a $urchase, but itmust be a $urchase in the (eighbourhood, where the >state may beunder his >ye, and within con*enient distance, that the Care and$leasure of his 4arm may not take him off from the >ngagements ofhis Calling, nor remo*e his Children too far from him, or the)rade he breeds them u+ in# )his seems to me the Reason, wh* in+laces, wherein thri*ing Manufactures ha*e erected themsel*es,Land has been obser*ed to Sell quicker, and for more .ears$urchase than in other +laces, as about 0allifa in the (orth,



)aunton and > eter in the est# )his is that then, which makes Land, as well as other )hingsdear- +lenty of &uyers, and but few Sellers/ %nd so by the Ruleof Contraries, +lenty of Sellers and few &uyers makes Land chea+# 0e that will 5ustly estimate the *alue of any thing, mustconsider its quantity in +ro+ortion to its *ent, for this alone

regulates the $rice# )he *alue of any thing, com+ar:d with itsself, or with a standing Measure, is greater, as its quantity isless in +ro+ortion to its *ent/ &ut in com+aring it, ore changing it with any other thing, the quantity and *ent of thatthing too must be allowed for in the com+utation of their Value#&ut because the desire of Money is constantly, almost e*ery wherethe same, its *ent *aries *ery little, but as its greaterscarcity enhanses its $rice, and increases the scramble, therebeing nothing else that does easily su++ly the want of it# )helessening its quantity, therefore, always increases its $rice,and makes an equal +ortion of it e change for a greater of anyother thing# )hus it comes to +ass, that there is no manner ofsettled +ro+ortion between the *alue of an 3unce of Sil*er, andany other Commodity/ 4or either *arying its quantity in thatCountry, or the Commodity changing its quantity in +ro+ortion toits *ent, their res+ecti*e *alues change, i#e# less of one willbarter for more of the other/ )hough in the ordinary way ofs+eaking, :tis only said, that the +rice of the Comnmodity, notof the Money is changed# 4or e am+le, half an 3unce of Sil*er in>ngland, will e change sometimes for a whole &ushel of heat,sometimes for half, sometimes but a quarter, and this it doesequally, whether by <se it be a+t to bring in to the 3wner Si inthe 0undred of its own eight +er %nnum, or nothing at all/ Itbeing only the change of the quantity of heat to its Vent,su++osing we ha*e still the same Summ of Money in the Eingdom- orelse the change of the quantity of our Money in the Eingdom,su++osing the quantity of heat, in res+ect to its Vent be thesame too, that makes the change in the $rice of heat# 4or if youalter the quantity or *ent on either side, you +resently alterthe $rice, but no other way in the orld# 4or it is not the &eing, %dding, Increasing or 9iminishing ofany good quality in any Commodity, that makes its $rice greateror less, but only as it makes its quantity or *ent greater ofless, in +ro+ortion one to another# )his will easily a++ear by)wo or )hree Instances# # )he &eing of any good, and useful quality in any thingneither increases its $rice, nor indeed makes it ha*e any $riceat all, but only as it lessens its quantity or increases its*ent, each of these in +ro+ortion to one another# hat moreuseful or necessary things are there to the &eing or ell'beingof Men, than %ir and ater, and yet these ha*e generally no $riceat all, nor yield any Money/ &ecause their quantity is immenslygreater than their *ent in most +laces of the orld# &ut, as soonas e*er ater 1for %ir still offers it self e*ery where, withoutrestraint or inclosure, and therefore is no where of any $rice2comes any where to be reduced into any +ro+ortion to itsconsum+tion, it begins +resently to ha*e a $rice, and issometimes sold dearer than ine# 0ence it is, that the best, andmost useful things are commonly the chea+est- because, thoughtheir Consum+tion be great, yet the &ounty of $ro*idence hasmade, their +roduction large, and suitable to it# A# (or does the %dding an e cellency to any Commodity, raiseits $rice, unless it increase its Consum+tion# 4or su++ose thereshould be taught a way 1which should be +ublished to theknowledge of e*ery one2 to make a Medicine of heat alone, that



should infallibly Cure the Stone/ :)is certain the disco*ery ofthis quality in that ?rain, would gi*e it an e cellency *eryconsiderable/ %nd yet this would not increase the $rice of it one4arthing in )wenty &ushels, because its quantity or *ent wouldnot hereby, to any sensible degree, be alter:d# B# (either does the Increasing of any good quality, in any

sort of things make it yield more# 4or though )easels be muchbetter this .ear, than they were last, they are not one 5otdearer, unless they be fewer too, or the consum+tion of themgreater# ;# (or does the lessening the good qualities of any sort ofCommodity lessen its $rice- which is e*ident in 0o+s, that areusually dearest those .ears they are worst# &ut if it ha++en tobe a S+ecies of Commodity, whose defects may be su++lyed by someother, the making of it worse does lessen its $rice- because ithinders its Vent# 4or if Rye should any .ear +ro*e generallysmutty or grown, no question it would yield less Money thanotherwise, because the deficiency of that might be, in somemeasure, made u+ by heat, and other ?rain# &ut if it be a sortof Commodity whose use no other known thing can su++ly, :tis notits being better or worse, but its quantity and *ent is thatalone which regulates, and determines its *alue# )o a++ly this now to Money, as ca+able of different Rates ofInterest# )o Money considered in its +ro+er use, as a Commodity+assing in e change from one to another, all that is done byInterest, is but the adding to it by agreement or +ublick%uthority, a faculty, which naturally it has not, of increasinge*ery .ear Si +er Cent# (ow if +ublick %uthority sink <se to4our +er Cent# :tis certain it diminishes this good quality inMoney one )hird# &ut yet this making the Money of >ngland not one4arthing more than it was, it alters not the Measures u+on whichall changeable Commodities increase or sink their +rice, and somakes not Money > change for less of any Commodity, than it wouldwithout this alteration of its Interest# If lessening <se to 4our+er Cent# should at all alter the quantity of Money, and make itless, it would make Money, as it has the (ature of a Commodity,dearer, i#e# a less quantity of Money would > change for agreater quantity of another Commodity, than it would before# )his+erha+s will a++ear a little +lainer by these following+articulars# # )hat the Intrinsick (atural worth of any )hing, consistsin its fitness to su++ly the (ecessities or ser*e theCon*eniencies of human Life- and the more necessary it is to our&eing, or the more it contributes to our ell'being the greateris its worth/ &ut yet, A# )hat there is no such Intrinsick (atural settled *alue inany )hing, as to make any assign:d quantity of it, constantlyworth any assigned quantity of another# B# )he Marketable *alue of any assign:d quantities of two ormore Commodities, are +ro hic 6 nunc, equal, when they will> change one for another# %s su++osing one &ushel of heat, two&ushels of &arley, )hirty +ound of Lead, and one 3unce of Sil*er,will now in the Market be taken one for another, they are then ofequal worth/ %nd our Coin being that which >nglishmen reckon by,an >nglishman would say, that now one &ushel of heat, two&ushels of &arley, thirty $ound of Lead, and one 3unce of Sil*er,were equally worth fi*e Shillings# ;# )he change of this Marketable *alue of any Commodity inres+ect of an other Commodity or in res+ect of a standing commonMeasure, is not the altering of any Intrinsick *alue or qualityin the Commodity- 1for musty and smutty Corn will Sell dearer at



one time than the clean and sweet at another2 but the alterationof some +ro+ortion, which that Commodity bears to something else# G# )his +ro+ortion in all Commodities, whereof Money is one,is the +ro+ortion of their quantity to the *ent# )he Vent isnothing else, but the +assing of Commodities from one owner toanother in > change- and is then call:d quicker, when a greater

quantity of any s+ecies of Commodity, is taken off from the3wners of it, in an equal s+ace of time# !# )his Vent is regulated, i#e# made quicker or slower, asgreater or less quantities of any Saleable Commodity are remo*:dout of the way, and course of )rade- se+arated from +ublickCommerce- and no longer lie within the reach of > change# 4orthough any Commodity should shift 0ands ne*er so fast, and be> changed from one Man to another- yet if they were not therebye em+ted from )rade and Sale, and did not cease to be any longer)raffick, this would not at all make, or quicken their Vent# &utthis seldom or ne*er ha++ening, makes *ery little or noalteration# =# )hings are remo*ed out of the Market or 0ands of Commerce,and so their Vent altered three ways- # &y Consum+tion, when theCommodity in its <se is destroy:d, as Meat, 9rink, and Cloths,6c# all that is so consumed is quite gone out of the )rade of the

orld# A# &y > +ortation- and all that is so carried away, isgone out of the )rade of >ngland, and concerns >nglishmen no morein the +rice of their Commodities among themsel*es for their ownuse, than if it were out of the orld# B# &y buying and laying u+for a Man:s +ri*ate <se# 4or what is by any of these ways shutout of the Market, and no longer mo*eable by the 0and ofCommerce, makes no longer any +art of Merchantable are, and soin res+ect of )rade, and the quantity of any Commodity, is notmore considerable than if it were not in being# %ll these threeterminating at last in Consum+tion of all Commodities, 1e ce+tingonly Jewels and $late, and some few others which wear out butinsensibly2 may +ro+erly enough +ass under that (ame# Ingrossingtoo has some influence on the +resent Vent/ &ut this inclosingsome considerable +art of any Commodity, 1for if the ingrossingbe of all the Commodity, and it be of general <se, the +rice isat the will of the Ingrosser2 out of the free common of )radeonly for some time, and afterwards returning again to Sale, makesnot usually so sensible and general an alteration in the Vent asthe others do/ &ut yet influences the +rice, and the Vent more,according as it e tends its self to a larger +ortion of theCommodity, and 0oards it u+ longer# H# Most other +ortable Commodities 1e ce+ting Jewels, $late,6c#2 decaying quickly in their <se, but Money being less consumedor increased, i#e# by slower 9egrees remo*ed from, or broughtinto the free Commerce of any Country, than the greatest +art ofother MerchandiDe- and so the +ro+ortion between its quantity andVent, altering slower than in most other Commodities, it iscommonly look:d on as a standing measure to 5udge of the *alue ofall )hings, es+ecially being ada+ted to it by its eight and9enomination in Coinage# "# Money, whilst the same quantity of it is +assing u+ anddown the Eingdom in )rade, is really a standing measure of thefalling and rising *alue of other )hings in Reference to oneanother/ and the alteration of +rice is truly in them only# &utif you increase or lessen the quantity of Money current in)raffick in any +lace, then the alteration of *alue is in theMoney/ %nd if at the same time heat kee+ its +ro+ortion of Ventto quantity, Money to s+eak truly alters its worth, and heatdoes not, though it Sell for a greater or less +rice than it did



before# 4or Money being look:d u+on as the standing measure ofother Commodities, Men consider and s+eak of it still, as if itwere a standing measure, though when it has *aried its quantity,:tis +lain it is not# K# &ut the *alue or +rice of all Commodities, amongst whichMoney +assing in )rade is truly one, consisting in +ro+ortion,

you alter this, as you do all other +ro+ortions, whether youincrease one, or lessen the other# # In all other Commodities, the 3wners when they designthem for )raffick, endea*our as much as they can to ha*e them*ented and gone, i#e# remo*ed out of the reach of Commerce, byConsum+tion, > +ortation, or laying u+/ &ut Money ne*er lyingu+on $eo+les 0ands, or wanting Vent, 1for any one may +art withit in > change when he +leases-2 the +ro*ident +ublick, and+ri*ate care, is to kee+ it from Venting or Consuming, i#e# from> +ortation which is its +ro+er Consum+tion- and from 0oarding u+by others, which is a sort of Ingrossing# 0ence it is that otherCommodities ha*e sometimes a quicker, sometimes a slower Vent/4or no body lays out his Money in them but according to the usehe has of them, and that has bounds# &ut e*ery body being readyto recei*e Money without bounds, and kee+ it by him, because itanswers all things/ )herefore the Vent of Money is alwayssufficient, or more than enough# )his being so, its quantityalone is enough to regulate and determine its *alue, withoutconsidering any $ro+ortion between its quantity and *ent, as inother Commodities# A# )herefore the lessening of <se, not bringing one $enny ofMoney more into the )rade or > change of any Country, but ratherdrawing it away from )rade, and so making it less, does not atall sink its Value, and make it buy less of any Commodity, butrather more# B# )hat which raises the natural Interest of Money, is thesame that raises the Rent of Land, 1i#e#2 its a+rness to bring in.early to him that manages it, a greater 3*er+lus of Income abo*ehis Rent, as a Reward to his Labour# )hat which causes this inLand is the greater quantity of its $roduct, in +ro+ortion to thesame Vent of that +articular 4ruit, or the same quantity of$roduct, in +ro+ortion to a greater Vent of that singleCommodity/ but that which causes increase of $rofit to the&orrower of Money, is the less quantity of Money, in +ro+ortionto )rade, or to the Vent of all Commodities, taken together,6*ice *ersa# ;# )he natural Value of Money, as it is a+t to yield such anyearly Income by Interest, de+ends on the whole quantity of thethen +assing Money of the kingdom, in +ro+ortion to the whole)rade of the Eingdom, 1i#e#2 the general Vent of all theCommodities# &ut the natural Value of Money, in e changing forany one Commodity, is the quantity of the )rading Money of theEingdom, design:d for that Commodity, in +ro+ortion to thatsingle Commodity and its Vent# 4or though any single Man:s(ecessity and ant either of Money, or any s+ecies of Commodity,being known, may make him +ay dearer for Money, or thatCommodity/ .et this is but a +articular Case, that does not atthe same time alter this constant and general Rule# G# )hat su++osing heat a standing Measure, that is, )hatthere is constantly the same quantity of it in +ro+ortion to itsVent, we shall find Money to run the same *ariety of Changes inits Value, as all other Commodities do# (ow that heat in >nglanddoes come nearest to a standing Measure, is e*ident, by com+aring

heat with other Commodities, Money, and the .early Income ofLand in 0en# =# time and now# 4or su++osing that +rimo 0en# =# (#



let KK %cres of Land to %# for ! d +er %n# +er %cre, Rack'rent-and to &# another KK %cres of Land, of the same Soil and yearlyworth with the former, for a &ushel of heat +er %cre, Rack'rent,1a &ushel of heat about that time being +robably sold for about! d#2 it was then an equal Rent# If therefore these Leases werefor .ears yet to come, :tis certain that he that +aid ! d# +er

%cre, would +ay now GK s# +er %n# and he that +aid a &ushel ofheat +er %cre, would +ay about AG l# +er %n# which would be nearabout the yearly Value of the Land, were it to be let now# )hereason whereof is this, )hat there being ten times as much Sil*ernow in the orld, 1the 9isco*ery of the est'Indies ha*ing madethe $lenty2 as there was then, it is (ine )enths less worth nowthan it was at that timethat is, it will e change for (ine)enths less of any Commodity now, which bears the same +ro+ortionto its Vent as it did AKK years since- which, of all otherCommodities, heat is likeliest to do# 4or in >ngland, and this+art of the orld, heat being the constant and most general4ood, not altering with the 4ashion, nor growing by chance- butas the 4armers sow more or less of it, which they endea*our to+ro+ortion, as near as can be guessed, to the Consum+tion,abstracting the 3*er'+lus of the +recedent .ear in their$ro*ision for the ne t- and *ice *ersa, it must needs fall out,that it kee+s the nearest $ro+ortion to its Consum+tion, 1whichis more studied and designed in this than other Commodittes2 ofany thing, if you take it for = or AK .ears together/ )ho:+erha+s the $lenty or Scarcity of one .ear, caused by the%ccidents of the Season, may *ery much *ary it from theimmnediately +recedent, or following# heat therefore, in this+art of the orld, 1and that ?rain which is the constant general4ood of any other Country2 is the fittest Measure to 5udge of thealtered Value of things in any long tract of )ime/ %nd therefore

heat here, Rice in )urkey, 6c# is the fittest thing to reser*e aRent in, which is designed to be constantly the same for allfuture %ges# &ut Money is the best Measure ofthe alter:d Value ofthings in a few .ears/ &ecause its Vent is the same, and itsquantity alters slowly# &ut heat, or any other ?rain, cannotser*e instead of Money/ &ecause of its &ulkiness and too quickChange of its quantity# 4or had I a &ond, to +ay me KK &ushelsof heat ne t .ear, it might be three 4ourths Loss or ?ain to me-too great an Inequality and <ncertainty to be *entured in )rade,&esides the different ?oodness of se*eral $arcels of heat in thesame .ear# !# )hat su++osing any Island se+arate from the Commerce ofthe rest of Mankind, if ?old and Sil*er, or whate*er else, 1so itbe lasting2 be their Money, if they ha*e but a certain quantityof it, and can get no more, that will be a steady standingMeasure of the Value of all other things# =# )hat if in any Country they use for Money any lastingMaterial, whereof there is not any more to be got, and so cannotbe increas:d- or being of no other use, the rest of the orlddoes not *alue it, and so it is not like to be diminished- thisalso would be a steady standing Measure of the Value of otherCommodities# H# )hat in a Country where they had such a standing Measure,any quantity of that Money 1if it were but so much that e*erybody might ha*e some2 would ser*e to dri*e any +ro+ortion of)rade, whether more or less, there being Counters enough toreckon by, and the *alue of the $ledges being still sufficient,as constantly encreasing with the $lenty of the Commodity# &utthese three last, being built on Su++ositions that are not liketo be found in the $ractice of Mankind, since (a*igation and



Commerce ha*e brought all +arts acquainted with one another, andintroduced the use of ?old and Sil*er Money into all )rading+arts of the orld- they ser*e rather to gi*e us some light intothe nature of Money, than to teach here a new Measure of)raffick# )hough it be certain, that that +art of the orld,which bred most of our ?old and Sil*er, used least of it in

e change, and used it not for Money at all# "# )hat therefore in any Country that hath Commerce with therest of the orld, it is almost im+ossible now to be without theuse of Sil*er Coin- and ha*ing Money of that, and %ccounts ke+tin such Money, it is im+ossible to ha*e any standing, unalterablemeasure of the *alue of things# 4or whil:st the Mines su++ly toMankind more than wastes and consumes in its use, the quantity ofit will daily grow greater in res+ect of other Commodities, andits *alue less# AK# )hat in a Country that hath o+en Commerce with the restof the orld, and uses Money made of the same Materials withtheir# (eighbours, any quantity of that Money will not ser*e todri*e any quantity of )rade- but there must be a certain+ro+ortion between their Money and )rade# )he reason whereof isthis, because to kee+ your )rade going without loss, yourCommodities amongst you, must kee+ an equal, or, at least, nearthe $rice of the same S+ecies of Commodities in the (eighbourCountries/ hich they cannot do, if your Money be far less thanin other Countries- for then, either your Commodities must besold *ery chea+, or a great +art of your )rade must stand still-there not being Money enough in the Country to +ay for them 1intheir shifting of hands2 at that high +rice, which the $lenty,and consequently low Value of Money makes them at in anotherCountry# 4or the Value of Money in general is the quantity of allthe Money in the orld, in +ro+ortion to all the )rade/ &ut the*alue of Money in any one Country, is the +resent quantity of theCurrent Money in that Country, in +ro+ortion to the +resent)rade# Su++osing then, that we had now in >ngland but half asmuch Money, as we had se*en .ears ago, and yet had still as muchyearly $roduct of Commodities, as many 0ands to work them, and asmany &rokers to dis+erse them, as before- and that the rest ofthe orld we )rade with, had as much Money, as they had before,1for :tis likely they should ha*e more by our Moiety sharedamongst them2 :tis certain, that either half our Rents should notbe +aid, half our Commodities not *ented, and half our Labourersnot im+loyed, and so half the )rade be clearly lost- or else,that e*ery one of these must recei*e but half the Money, fortheir Commodities and Labour, they did before, and but half somuch as our (eighbours do recei*e for the same Labour and thesame natural $roduct, at the same time# Such a state of $o*ertyas this, though it will make no scarcity of our (ati*eCommodities amongst us, yet it will ha*e these ill consequences# # It will make our (ati*e Commodities *ent *ery chea+# A# It will make all 4oreign Commodities *ery dear, both whichwill kee+ us $oor# 4or the Merchant making Sil*er and ?old hisMeasure, and considering what the 4oreign Commodity costs him1i#e# how many 3unces of Sil*er2 in the Country where Money ismore $lenty, i#e# Chea+er- and considering too, how many 3uncesof Sil*er it will yield him in another Country, will not +artwith it here, but for the same quantity of Sil*er, or as much asthat Sil*er will buy here of our Commodity, which will be a greatdeal more than in another +lace# So that in all our e change of(ati*e for 4oreign Commodities, we shall +ay double the Valuethat any other Country does, where Money is in greater $lenty#)his indeed will make a dearness, and, in time, a scarcity of



4oreign Commodities- which is not the worst incon*eniency that itbrings u+on us, su++osing them not absolutely necessary# &ut, B# It endangers the drawing away our $eo+le, both0andicrafts, Mariners, and Soldiers, who are a+t to go wheretheir $ay is best, which will always be where there is greatest+lenty of Money- and in time of ar, must needs bring great

distress# A # <+on this Measure too it is, )hat the *ariation ofe change of Money, between se*eral Countries, does somewhatde+end# 4or it is certain, that one 3unce of Sil*er is always ofequal *alue to another 3unce of Sil*er considered in itsIntrinsick worth, or in reference to the uni*ersal )rade of the

orld/ &ut :tis not of the same *alue at the same time, inse*eral +arts of the orld, but is of most worth in that Countrywhere there is the least Money, in +ro+ortion to its )rade/ %ndtherefore Men may afford to gi*e AK 3unces of Sil*er in one+lace, to recei*e H or " 3unces of Sil*er in another# &ut thisis not all/ )o this then, 1to find out the alteration of thee change2 the o*er'ballance of the )rade must be taken intoconsideration# )hese two together regulate the e change in allthe Commerce of the orld, and in both the higher rate ofe change de+ends u+on one and the same thing, *iD# the greater+lenty of Money in one Country, than in the other- 3nly with thisdifference, that where the o*er'ballance of )rade raises thee change abo*e the $ar, there it is the +lenty of Money, which+ri*ate Merchants ha*e in one Country, which they desire toremo*e into another/ &ut where the Riches of the Country raisesthe e change abo*e the $ar, there it is the +lenty of the Moneyin the whole Country# In one the Merchant has more Money 1or9ebts, which is all one2 in a 4oreign Country than his )radethere will em+loy, and so is willing to allow u+on e change tohim abroad, that shall +ay him ready Money at home, , A, B, 6c#+er Cent# more or less, +ro+ortionably as his or his Countrymens+lenty of ready Money abroad, the danger of lea*ing it there, orthe difficulty of bringing it home in S+ecie, and his +resentneed of Money at home is greater or less/ In the other, the wholeCountry has more Money, than can well be im+loy:d in the )radethereof, or at least, the +ro+ortion of the Money to the )rade isgreater than in the (eighbouring Country, where the e change isbelow the $ar# 4or, su++osing the ballance of )rade to be equal between>ngland and 0olland, but that there is in 0olland a greater+lenty of Money, than in >ngland, 1which will a++ear by thelowness of the (atural <se in 0olland, and the heighth of the(atural <se in >ngland- and also by the dearness of 4ood andLabour in general in 0olland, and the chea+ness of it in>ngland#2 If (# has )en thousand +ounds in 0olland, which thegreater %d*antage he could make of it in >ngland, either by <se,or $urchase, tem+ts him to transfer into >ngland, :tis +robablehe will gi*e as much to a Merchant in 0olland to +ay him )enthousand +ounds in >ngland, as the ensurance at that time between0olland and >ngland is worth# If this ha++en to be in a Country,where the > +ortation of &ullion is $rohibited, he must +ay themore/ &ecause his Venture, ifhe carry it in S+ecie, will begreater# %nd, u+on this ground, +erha+s, the $rohibiting the> +ortation of Money out of >ngland, under $enalties, may be ofsome use, by making the rate of the e change greater to thoseCountries, which Im+ort u+on us more, than they > +ort inCommodities- and so retain some +art of the Money which theiro*er'ballance of )rade would carry away from us, though afterall, if we are o*er'ballanc:d in )rade it must go#



&ut, since the 0olland Merchant cannot recei*e (:s )enthousand +ounds in Money in 0olland, and +ay him )en thousand+ounds in >ngland, unless his o*er'ballance of )rade make>nglish'Men indebted to him )en thousand +ounds in Money, whichhe is not like to take in Commodities# I think the o*er'ballanceof )rade is that which chiefly raises the e change in any

Country, and that +lenty of Money in any Country does it only forso much of the Money as is transfer:d either to be let out to<se, or to be s+ent there# %nd though Lending to 4oreigners, u+on<se, doth not at all alter the ballance of )rade between thoseCountries, yet it does alter the e change between those Countriesfor so much as is lent u+on <se, by not calling away the Money,that should follow the o*er'ballance of )rade, but letting itrest there, as if it were accounted for- all one as if theballance of )rade were for so much altered# &ut this being notmuch in com+arison of the general )raffick between two (ations,or at least *arying slower, the Merchant too regulating thee change, and not the <surer# I su++ose it is the +resentballance of )rade, on which the e change immediately and chieflyde+ends, unless some accident shall make a great deal of Money beremitted at the same time, from one +lace to another, which willfor that time raise the e change all one as an o*er'ballance of)rade- and indeed, when e amin:d is generally *ery littledifferent from it# )o be able to estimate the $ar with the rise and fall of thee change, it is necessary to know the intrinsick *alue, i#e# howmuch Sil*er is in the Coins of the two Countries, by which youreckon and charge the &ill of > change# Sir, If I ha*e been led a little too far from one thing toanother, in the consideration of Money, I beg your $ardon, ho+ingthat these $articulars will afford some light to our +resentSub5ect# )o return to the $rice of Land, :)is e*ident by what has beenabo*e'said, )hat the .ears $urchase of Land do not increase withthe fall of Interest, and the abating that good quality in Moneyof yielding .early Si +er Cent# to 4our, does not +resently sosink its Value, in res+ect of Land, that 3ne )hird more isrequired in e change/ 4alling of Interest from Si to 4our, willnot raise Land from )wenty to )hirty years $urchase# )he risingand falling of the $rice of Land, as of other things, de+endsmuch on the quantity of Land, set to Sale, com+ar:d with thequantity of Money design:d for that )raffick, or which amounts tothe same thing, u+on the number of &uyers and Sellers# 4or wherethere are many Sellers and few $urchasers, though Interest belessened, Land will be chea+, as I ha*e already shew:d# %t least,this is certain, )hat making a Law to reduce Interest, will notraise the $rice of Lands/ It will only, by dri*ing it more intothe &ankers 0ands, lea*e the Country barer of Money, whereby, ifthe +rice of Land about London, should be accidentally raised,that of remoter Counties would thereby ha*e fewer $urchasers, andat lower Rates# )his being so, that the low rate of Land de+ends much on thegreat number of Sellers in +ro+ortion to $urchasers, the ne tthing to be inquir:d into, is, hat makes +lenty of Sellers@ andto that the %nswer is ob*ious, general ill 0usbandry, and theconsequence of it, 9ebts# If a neglect of ?o*ernment andReligion, ill > am+les, and de+ra*ed >ducation, ha*e introduc:d9ebauc:hery# and %rt or Chance has made it fashionable for Men toli*e beyond their >states, 9ebts will increase and multi+ly, anddraw with them a necessity on Men, first of Incumbring, and thenSelling their >states# )his is generally the cause why Men +art



with their Land/ %nd I think there is scarce one of an hundred,that thinks of Selling his $atrimony, till Mortgages ha*e +rettywell >at into the 4reehold- and the weight of growing 9ebts forcea Man, whether he will or no, out of his $ossessions# hen almostis there e*er a clear and unincumbred >state set to Sale@ :)isseldom a thri*ing Man turns his Land into Money to make the

greater ad*antage/ )he > am+les of it are so rare, that they arescarce of any Consideration in the number of Sellers# )his I think may be the Reason, why in Fueen >liDabeth:s days1when Sobriety, 4rugality, and Industry, brought in dailyIncrease, to the growing ealth of the Eingdom2 Land ke+t u+ its$rice, and Sold for more .ears $urchase, than corres+onded to theInterest of Money, then busily im+loy:d in a thri*ing )rade,which made the natural Interest much higher than it is now, aswell as the $arliament then set it higher by Law# 3n the contrary side, what makes scarcity of $urchasers@ # )he same Reason, Ill 0usbandry# hen the )radesman li*esu+ to the heighth of his Income, and the *anity of > +enceseither drains the Merchants Coffers, or kee+s them fromo*er'flowing, he seldom thinks of $urchasing# &uying of Land isthe result of a full and satiated ?ain/ %nd Men in )rade seldomthink of laying out their Money u+on Land, till their $rofit hasbrought them in more, than their )rade can well em+loy- and theiridle &ags cumbring their Counting 0ouses, +ut them u+on em+tyingthem on a $urchase# A# %nother thing that makes a scarcity of &uyers of Land, aredoubtful and ill )itles/ here these are frequent and fatal, onecan no more e +ect, that Men, who ha*e Money, should be forwardto $urchase, than Shi+s richly laden to *enture themsel*esamongst Rocks and Fuicksands# :)is no wonder such Seas should notbe much frequented, where the > am+les, and remains of daily

recks, shew the folly, and haDard of the Venture, in the numberof those who ha*e Miscarried# B# % general decay of)rade discourages Men from $urchasing/4or this threatens an <ni*ersal $o*erty, which is sure to fallfirst and hea*iest u+on Land# )he Merchant who furnishes theim+ro*ident Landholder, will not fail to ha*e Money for his areswith ?ain, whether the Eingdom get by his )rade or no- and hewill kee+ his Money rather em+loyed in )rade, which brings him in+rofit, 1for the Merchant may get by a )rade that makes thekingdom $oor2 than lay it out in Land, whose Rents he seessinking, and foresees by the course of )rade, is likely tocontinue on to do so/ hen a (ation is running to decay and ruin,the Merchant, and Monied Man, do what you can, will be sure tostar*e last/ 3bser*e it where you will, the decays that comeu+on, and bring to Ruin any Country, do constantly first fallu+on the Land/ %nd though the Country ?entleman, 1who usuallysecurely relies u+on so much a .ear as was gi*en in at hisMarriage Settlement, and thinks his Land an unmo*eable 4und forsuch an Income2 be not *ery forward to think so/ .et thisne*ertheless is an undoubted truth, that he is more concern:d in)rade, and ought to take a greater care, that it be well manag:d,and +reser*:d, than e*en the Merchant himself# 4or he willcertainly find, when a decay of )rade has carried away one +artof our Money out of the kingdom, and the other is ke+t in theMerchant and )radesman:s 0ands, that no Laws he can make, nor anylittle %rts of Shifting $ro+erty amongst our sel*es, will bringit back to him again- but his Rents will fall, and his Incomee*ery day lessen, till general Industry, and 4rugality 5oin:d toa well order:d )rade, shall restore to the kingdom the Riches and

ealth it had formerly#



)his by the way, if well consider:d might let us see, that)a es, howe*er contri*:d, and out of whose 0and soe*erimmediately taken, do in a Country, where their great 4und is inLand, for the most +art terminate u+on Land# hatsoe*er the$eo+le is chiefly maintained by, that the ?o*ernment su++orts itself on/ (ay, +erha+s it will be found, that those )a es which

seem least to affect Land, will most surely of all other, fallthe Rents# )his would deser*e to be well considered in theraising of )a es, lest the neglect of it bring u+on the Country?entleman an >*il which he will be sure quickly to feel, but notbe able *ery quickly to remedy# 4or Rents once fallen are noteasily raised again# % )a laid u+on Land seems hard to theLandholder, because it is so much Money going *isibly out of his$ocket/ %nd therefore as an ease to himself, the Landholder isalways forward to lay it u+on Commodities# &ut if he willthroughly consider it, and e amine the >ffects, he will find he&uys this seeming >ase at a *ery dear rate/ %nd though he +aysnot this )a immediately out ofhis own $urse, yet his $urse willfind it by a greater want of Money there at the end of the year,than that comes to, with the lessening of his Rents to boot-which is a settled and lasting e*il, that will stick u+on himbeyond the +resent $ayment# )o make this clear, let us su++ose in the +resent State of%ffairs in >ngland, that the Rents of >ngland are )wel*eMillions, and that the Charge and (ecessities of the ?o*ernmentrequires a su++ly of )hree Millions from the $arliament, which islaid on Land# 0ere is one fourth +art of his .early Income goesimmediately out of the Landlords and Landholders $ocket# )his isa &urthen *ery a+t to be felt# )he Country ?entleman, whoactually +ays the Money out of his $ocket, or finds it deductedout of his Rent at Fuarter'day for )a es, sees and *ery sensiblyobser*es what goes thus out of his >state# &ut though this be aFuarter of his yearly Income, and out of an >state of 4ourhundred +ounds a .ear, the +ublick )a now o+enly takes away 3nehundred/ .et this influences not at all the yearly Rent of theLand, which the Rack'renter, or under )enant +ays/ It being thesame thing to him, whether he +ays all his Rent to the Eing, orhis Landlord, or half, or a quarter, or none at all to the Eing-the Case is all one to him, what 0and recei*es his Rent, whendue/ So )rade (ourishes, and his Commodities go off well, he willbe able to +ay his Rent on# )his lessens not any more the Valueof his 4arm, than an high or a low chief Rent does +aid out of itto the Lord of the 4ee/ )he )enant:s &argain and $rofit is thesame, whether the Land be charg:d, or not charg:d with an %nnuity+ayable to another Man# e see this in College Leases, wherethough the College )enant +ays for it to the College some yearsfi*e times as much as he does others, u+on the *arying Rate ofCorn/ .et the <nder )enant feels not this %lteration in theleast, nor finds a Reason to ha*e his Rent abated, because agreater +art of it is di*erted from his Landlord# %ll this is butchanging the 0and, that recei*es the Rent, without any influenceat all u+on the yearly Value of the >state- which will not be letfor one $enny more or less to the Renter, howe*er, or amongstwhomsoe*er, the Rent he +ays, be di*ided# 4rom hence it ise*ident, )hat )a es laid on Land do not in the least make Rentsfall# &ut su++ose, to shift off the &urthen from the Land, someCountry ?entlemen should think fit to raise these three Millionsu+on Commodities, to let the Land go free# 4irst, it is to beconsider:d, )hat since the +ublick ants require three Millions,1for that we su+os:d for %rgument sake- let it be three Millions,



or one Million, that:s all one-2 and so much must go into theEing:s Coffers- or else the (ecessities of the ?o*ernment willnot be su++lied- )hat for raising these three Millions onCommodities, and bringing so much into the > chequer, there mustgo a great deal more than three Millions out of the Sub5ects$ockets# 4or a )a of that nature cannot be le*ied by 3fficers,

to watch e*ery little Ri*ulet of )rade, without a great Charge,es+ecially at first trial# &ut su++osing no more Charge inraising it, than of a Land )a , and that there are only threeMillions to be +aid, :tis e*ident that to do this out ofCommodities, they must to the Consumer be raised a quarter intheir $rice- so that e*ery thing, to him that uses it, must be aquarter dearer# Let us see now who at long run must +ay thisquarter, and where it will light# :)is +lain, the Merchant and&roker, neither will nor can- for if he +ays a quarter more forCommodities than he did, he will sell them at a $rice+ro+ortionably raised# )he +oor Labourer and 0andicraftsmancannot/ 4or he 5ust li*es from hand to mouth already, and all his4ood, Clothing and <tensils, costing a quarter more than they didbefore, either his ages must rise with the $rice of things, tomake him li*e- or else, not being able to maintain himself and4amily by his Labour, he comes to the $arish- and then the Landbears the &urthen a hea*ier way# If the Labourer:s ages berais:d in +ro+ortion to the encreas:d Rates of things, the4armer, who +ays a quarter more for ages, as well as all otherthings, whilst he sells his Corn and ool, either at the samerate, or lower, at the Market, 1since the )a laid u+on it makes$eo+le less forward to buy2 must either ha*e his Rent abated, orelse break and run away in his Landlord:s 9ebt/ %nd so the yearlyValue of the Land is brought down# %nd who then +ays the )a atthe .ears end, but the Landlord/ hen the )enant, not able toraise his Rent by his Commodities, either runs away in hisLandlord:s 9ebt, or cannot be continued in the 4arm withoutabatement of Rent@ 4or when the yearly charge in his 4arm isgreater by the increase of the Labourers ages, and yet his+roduct Sells chea+er by reason of the )a laid on hisCommodities- how will the 4armer be able to make u+ his Rent atFuarter'9ay@ 4or this may be worth our (otice, that any )a laidon 4oreign Commodities in >ngland, raises its +rice, and makesthe Im+orter get more for his Commodity# &ut on the contrary a)a laid on your (ati*e $roduct, and home'made Commodities,lessens their +rice, and makes them yield less to the firstSeller# )he Reason whereof is +lain# 4or the Merchant Im+orting noCommodity but what the necessity, or fashionable antonness ofyour $eo+le gi*es him Vent for, will not only +ro+ortion his?ain, to the Cost and Risque which he has been at before Landing-but will e +ect +rofit of his Money +aid here, for any )a laidon it- and take ad*antage from thence to raise his +rice abo*ewhat his )a comes to- and if he cannot do that, he will )rade nomore in that Commodity# 4or it being not the $roduct of his 4arm,he is not tied to bring it to Market, if he finds its +rice notanswer his > +ectation there, but turns himself to other ares,which he finds your Markets take off better# % Merchant willne*er continue to )rade in ares, which the change of 4ashion, or0umour, amongst your $eo+le, has made less *endible, though hemay be sometimes caught by a sudden alteration# &ut that seldomha++ens in the course of )rade, so as to influence the great bulkof it# 4or things of (ecessity must still be had, and things of4ashion will be had as long as Men ha*e Money or Credit, whate*erRates they cost, and the rather because they are dear# 4or it



being Vanity not <se that makes the > +ensi*e 4ashion of your$eo+le, the >mulation is, who shall ha*e the finest, that is, thedearest things, not the most con*enient or useful# 0ow manythings do we *alue or buy, because they come at dear rates fromJa+an and China, which if they were our own Manufacture or$roduct, common to be had, and for a little Money, would be

contemned and neglected@ 0a*e not se*eral of our own Commoditiesoffered to Sale at reasonable Rates been des+ised, and the *erysame eagerly bought and brag:d of, when sold for 4iench at adouble $rice@ .ou must not think therefore that the raising their$rice will lessen the Vent of 4ashionable 4oreign Commoditiesamongst you, as long as Men ha*e any way to +urchase them, butrather increase it# 4rench ine is become a Modish 9rink amongstus, and a Man is asham:d to >ntertain his 4riend, or almost to9ine himself ithout it# )he $rice is in the Memory of Man rais:dfrom ! d# to A s# and does this hinder the 9rinking of it@ (o,the quite contrary, a Man:s way of Li*ing is commended, becausehe will gi*e any Rate for it/ %nd a Man will gi*e any Rate ratherthan +ass for a +oor retch, or $enurious Curmudgeon, that is notable or knows not how to li*e well, nor use his 4riends ci*illy#4ashion is for the most +art nothing but the 3stentation ofRiches, and therefore the high +rice of what ser*es to that,rather increases than lessens its Vent# )he contest and glory isin the > +ence, not the <sefulness of it- and $eo+le are thenthought, and said to li*e well, when they can make a shew of rareand foreign things, and such as their (eighbours cannot go to the$rice of# )hus we see how 4oreign Commodities fall not in their $riceby )a es laid on them, because the Merchant is not necessitatedto bring to your Market any but 4ashionable Commodities, andthose go off the better for their high rate# &ut on the contraryyour Landholder being forced to bring his Commodities to Market,such as his Land and Industry affords them, common and knownthings, must sell them there at such +rice as he can get# )histhe buyer knows- and these home'bred Commodities being seldom,the 4a*ourites of your $eo+le, or any farther acce+table, than asgreat con*eniency recommends them to the Vulgar, or downrightnecessity to all, as soon as a )a is laid on them, e*ery onemakes as s+aring a use of them as he can, that he may sa*e hisMoney for other necessary, or creditable > +ences, whereby the+rice they yield the first Seller is mightily abated, and so theyearly *alue of the Land, which +roduces them, lessen:d too# If therefore the laying of )a es u+on Commodities does, as itis e*ident, affect the Land, that is out at Rack'rent, it is+lain it does equally affect all the other Land in >ngland too,and the ?ent# will, but the worst way, increase their ownCharges, that is by lessening the .early Value of their >states,if they ho+e to ease their Land, by charging Commodities# It isin *ain in a Country whose great 4und is Land, to ho+e to lay the+ublick charge of the ?o*ernment on any thing else- there at lastit will terminate# )he Merchant 1do what you can2 will not bearit, the Labourer cannot, and therefore the Landholder must/ %ndwhether he were best do it, by laying it directly, where it willat last settle, or by letting it come to him by the sinking ofhis Rents, which when they are once fallen e*ery one knows arenot easily raised again, let him consider# 0olland is brought as an instance of laying the Charge of the+ublique u+on )rade, and :tis +ossibly 1e ce+ting some few small4ree )owns2 the only +lace in the orld that could be brought tofa*our this way# &ut yet when e amin:d will be found to shew thequite contrary, and be a clear $roof, that lay the )a es how you



will, Land e*ery where, in +ro+ortion, bears the greater share ofthe burthen# )he +ublick Charge of the ?o*ernment, :tis said, is,in the <nited $ro*inces, laid on )rade# I grant it is, thegreatest +art of it- &ut is the Land > cus:d or >as:d by it@ &yno means, but on the contrary so loaded, that in many +laceshalf, in others a quarter, in others one eighth of the .early

*alue does not come into the owners $ocket/ %nd if I ha*e notbeen misinformed, the Land in some +laces will not +ay the )a es/So that we may say, that the Charge of the ?o*ernment came notu+on Commodities till the Land could not bear it# )he burthenuna*oidably settles u+on the Land first, and when it has +ressedit so, that it can yield no more, )rade must be brought in in aidto hel+ to su++ort the ?o*ernment rather than let all sink/ &utthe first stress is always u+on Land, and as far as that willreach, it is una*oidably carried, lay your )a es how you will#:)is known what a share of the +ublick charges of the ?o*ernmentis su++orted by the )rade of %msterdam alone, as I remember thatone )own +ays )hirty'si in the 0undred of all the +ublick )a esraised in the <nited $ro*inces# &ut are the Lands of ?uelderlandeas:d by it@ Let any one see in that Country of Land more than)rade, what they make clear of their Re*enues, and whether theCountry ?entlemen there grow rich on their Land, whilst theMerchant ha*ing the )a es laid on his Commerce is im+o*erish:d@3n the contrary ?uelderland is so low and out of Cash, that%msterdam has been fain for many .ears to lay down the )a es forthem, which is, in effect, to +ay the )a es of ?uelderland too# Struggle and contri*e as you will, lay your )a es as you+lease, the )raders will shift it off from their own ?ain- theMerchants will bear the least +art of it, and grow +oor last# In0olland it self, where )rade is so loaded, who, I +ray, growsrichest, the Land'holder or the )rader@ hich of them is +inch:d,and wants Money most@ % Country may thri*e, the Country ?entlemangrow rich, and his Rents encrease 1for so it has been here2whilst the Land is )a ed/ &ut I challenge any one to shew me aCountry, wherein there is any considerable +ublick Charge raised,where the Land does not most sensibly feel it, and in +ro+ortionbear much the greater +art of it# e must not therefore im+ute the falling of the Rents, or ofthe +rice of Land, to high Interest- (or, if ill 0usbandry haswasted our Riches, ho+e by such kind of Laws to raise them totheir former *alue# I humbly concei*e we shall in *ain endea*ourit by the fall of Interest/ )he number of &uyers must beincreased, and Sellers lessen:d, which must be done by otherways, than regulating of Interest, or else the Landed'man willneither find Cha+men for his Land, nor for the Corn that grows onit, at the rate he desires# &ut could an %ct of $arliament, bring down Interest to 4our+er Cent# and the lowering of that immediately raise the$urchasers 4ine from AK to AG .ears $urchase- yet it may bedoubted, whether this be fit to be made into a Law, because itwould be of no ad*antage to the Eingdom# 4or what +rofit would itbe to the (ation to make a Law, that he who sells Land shouldinstead of 4our ha*e 4i*e hundred +ounds of the $urchaser@ )hisindeed a little alters the distribution of the Money, we ha*eamongst us >nglishmen here at home, but neither hel+s to continuewhat we ha*e, nor brings in more from abroad/ hich being theonly concernment of the Eingdom, in reference to its ealth, isa+t to be su++osed by us without doors to be the only care of a$arliament# 4or it matters not, so it be here amongst us, whetherthe Money be in )homas or Richards 0ands, +ro*ided it be soorder:d, that, whoe*er has it, may be encouraged to let it go



into the current of )rade, for the im+ro*ement of the generalstock, and wealth of the (ation# %s this increase of the 4ine in the +urchase of Land is notan ad*antage to the kingdom, so neither is it to the Landholder,who is the +erson, that bearing the greatest +art of the burthensof the Eingdom, ought, I think, to ha*e the greatest care taken

of him, and en5oy as many $ri*ileges, and as much ealth, as thefa*our of the Law can 1with regard to the $ublick'weal2 conferu+on him# &ut +ray consider/ )he raising the $rice of Land inSale by increasing the number of .ears $urchase to be +aid forit, gi*es the ad*antage not to the Landholder, but to him thatceases to be so# 0e that has no longer the Land has the moreMoney, and he who has the Land is the +oorer# )he true ad*antageof the Landholder is, that his Corn, 4lesh, and ool, sellbetter, and yield a greater +rice- this indeed is a +rofit, thatbenefits the owner of the Land, and goes along with it/ It isthis alone raises the Rent, and makes the $ossessor richer/ andthis can only be done by increasing our ealth, and drawing moreMoney into >ngland, which the falling of Interest, and thereby1if it could effect it2 raising the $urchase of Land is so farfrom doing, that it does *isibly and directly one way hinder ourincrease of ealth, that is, by hindring 4oreigners to come here,and buy Land, and settle amongst us# hereby we ha*e this doubleloss- 4irst we lose their $ersons, increase of $eo+le being theincrease both of Strength and Riches# Secondly we lose so muchMoney# 4or tho: whate*er an >nglishman gi*es to another for Land,though raised to 4orty .ears $urchase, be not one 4arthingad*antage to the kingdom- yet whate*er a 4oreigner, who +urchasesLand here, gi*es for it, is so much e*ery 4arthing clear gain tothe (ation/ 4or that Money comes clear in, without carrying outany thing for it, and is e*ery 4arthing of it as +erfect ?ain tothe (ation as if it dro+:d down from the Clouds# &ut farther, if consideration be to be had only of Sellers ofLand, the lowering of Interest to 4our +er Cent# will not be intheir fa*our, unless, by it, you can raise Land to )hirty .ears$urchase, which is not at all likely/ %nd I think no &ody byfalling of Interest to 4our +er Cent# ho+es to get Cha+men fortheir Land at that Rate# hatsoe*er they ha*e less, if Law canregulate Interest, they lose of their *alue of Land, Money beingthus abased# So that the Landed man will scarce find his accountneither by this Law, when it comes to trial# %nd at last, Iimagine, this will be the result of all such %ttem+ts, that> +erience will shew, that the +rice of )hings will not beregulated by Laws, though the endea*ours after it will be sure to+re5udice and incon*enience )rade, and +ut your %ffairs out of3rder# If this be so, that Interest cannot be regulated by Law, orthat if it could, yet the reducing of it to 4our +er Cent# woulddo more harm than good/ hat then should there 1will you say2 beno Law at all to regulate Interest@ I say not so# 4or, # It is necessary that there should be a stated Rate ofInterest, that in 9ebts and 4orbearances, where Contract has notsetled it between the $arties, the Law might gi*e a Rule, andCourts of Judicature might know what 9amages to allow# )his may,and therefore should, be Regulated# A# )hat in the +resent current of running Cash, which nowtakes its course almost all to London, and is Ingrossed by a *eryfew 0ands in Com+arison, young Men, and those in ant, might nottoo easily be e +osed to > tortion and 3++ression- and thede trous and combining Money Jobbers not ha*e too great andunbounded a $ower, to $rey u+on the Ignorance or (ecessity of



&orrowers# )here would not be much danger of this, if Money weremore equally distributed into the se*eral quarters of >ngland,and into a greater number of 0ands, according to the > igences of)rade# If Money were to be hired, as Land is- or to be had as Corn,or ool, from the 3wner himself- and known good security be gi*en

for it, it might then +robably be had at the Market 1which is thetrue2 Rate, and that rate of Interest would be a constant gaugeof your )rade and ealth# &ut when a kind of Mono+oly, byconsent, has +ut this general Commodity into a few 0ands, it mayneed Regulation, though what the stated Rate of Interest shouldbe in the constant change of %ffairs, and flu of Money, is hardto determine# $ossibly it may be allowed as a reasonable$ro+osal, that it should be within such &ounds, as should not onthe one side quite >at u+ the Merchants, and )radesman:s $rofit,and discourage their Industry- nor on the other hand so low, asshould hinder Men from Risquing their Money in other Mens 0ands,and so rather chuse to kee+ it out of )rade, than *enture it u+onso small +rofit# hen it is too high, it so hinders the Merchantsgain, that he will not &orrow- when too low, it so hinders theMonied Man:s +rofit, that he will not Lend- and both these waysit is a hinderance to )rade# &ut this being +erha+s too general, and loose a Rule, let meadd, that if one would consider Money and Land alone, in relationone to another, +erha+s it is now at Si +er Cent# in as good a+ro+ortion as is +ossible, Si +er Cent# being a little higherthan Land, at )wenty .ears $urchase, which is the Rate +rettynear, that Land has generally carried in >ngland, it ne*er beingmuch o*er nor under# 4or su++osing KK l# in Money, and Land of Gl# +er %nnum, be of equal *alue, which is Land at )wenty .ears$urchase/ :)is necessary for the making their *alue truly equal,that they should +roduce an equal Income, which the KK l# at Gl# +er Cent# Interest is not likely to do# # &ecause of the many, and sometimes long inter*als of&arrenness, which ha++en to Money, more than Land# Money at <se,when return:d into the 0ands of the 3wner, usually lies deadthere, till he gets a new )enant for it, and can +ut it outagain- and all this time it +roduces nothing# &ut this ha++ensnot to Land, the growing +roduct whereof turns to account to the3wner, e*en when it is in his 0ands, or is allow:d for by the)enant, antecedently to his entring u+on the 4arm# 4or though aMan that &orrows Money at Midsummer, ne*er begins to +ay hisInterest from our Lady'9ay, or one moment backwards, yet he whoRents a 4arm at Midsummer, may ha*e as much reason to begin hisRent from our Lady'9ay, as if he had then entred u+on it# A# &esides the dead inter*als of ceasing $rofit, which ha++ento Money more than Land, there is another Reason, why the $rofitand Income of Money let out, should be a little higher than thatof Land- and that is, because Money out at Interest runs agreater Risque, than Land does# )he &orrower may break, and runaway with the Money, and then not only the Interest due, but allthe future $rofit, with the $rinci+al, is lost for e*er# &ut inLand a Man can lose but the Rent due, for which usually too theStock u+on the Land is sufficient security/ %nd if a )enant runaway in %rrear of some Rent, the Land remains, that cannot becarried away, or lost# Should a Man $urchase good Land inMiddlese of G l# +er %nnum, at )wenty .ears $urchase, and otherLand in Rumney'Marsh, or elsewhere of the same .early *alue, butso situated, that it were in danger to be swallowed of the Sea,and be utterly lost, it would not be unreasonable, that he shoulde +ect to ha*e it under )wenty .ears $urchase- su++ose Si teen



and an half# )his is to bring it to 5ust the case of Land at)wenty .ears $urchase, and Money at Si +er Cent# where theuncertainty of securing ones Money may well be allowed thatad*antage of greater $rofit- and therefore +erha+s the legalInterest now in >ngland at Si +er Cent# is as reasonable andcon*enient a Rate as can well be set by a standing Rule,

es+ecially if we consider that the Law requires not a Man to +aySi +er Cent# but ties u+ the Lender from taking more# So that ife*er it falls of it self, the Monied'man is sure to find it, andhis Interest will be brought down to it# 0igh Interest is thought by some a $re5udice to )rade/ &ut ifwe look back, we shall find, that >ngland ne*er thro*e so well,nor was there e*er brought into >ngland so great an increase of

ealth since, as in Fueen >liDabeth:s and Eing James I# and EingCharles I# time, when Money was at )en and >ight +er Cent# I willnot say high Interest was the cause of it# 4or I rather thinkthat our thri*ing )rade was the Cause ofhigh Interest, e*ery onecra*ing Money to em+loy in a +rofitable Commerce# &ut this Ithink I may reasonably infer from it, )hat lowering of Interestis not a sure way to im+ro*e either our )rade or ealth# )o this I hear some say, )hat the 9utch, Skilful in all %rtsof +romoting )rade, to out'do us in this, as well as all other%d*ancements of it, ha*e obser*ed this Rule, *iD, )hat when wefell Interest in >ngland from )en to >ight, they +resently sunkInterest in 0olland to 4our +er Cent# and again, when we lower:dit to Si they fell it to )hree +er Cent# thereby to kee+ the%d*antage which the lowness of Interest gi*es to )rade# 4romwhence these Men readily conclude, )hat the falling of Interestwill ad*ance )rade in >ngland# )o which I answer, # )hat this looks like an %rgument, rather made for the+resent 3ccasion, to mislead those who are credulous enough toswallow it, than arising from true Reason, and matter of 4act#4or if lowering of Interest were so ad*antageous to )rade, whydid the 9utch so constancy take their measures only by us, andnot as well by some other of their (eighbours, with whom theyha*e as great or greater Commerce than with us@ )his is enough atfirst sight to make one sus+ect this, to be 9ust only raised, tothrow in $eo+les eyes, and a Suggestion made to ser*e a $ur+ose#4or, A# It will not be found true, )hat when we abated Interesthere in >ngland to >ight, the 9utch sunk it in 0olland to 4our+er Cent# by Law- or that there was any Law made in 0olland tolimit the Rate of Interest to )hree +er Cent# when we reduced itin >ngland to Si # It is true, John de itt, when he managed the%ffairs of 0olland, setting himself to lessen the +ublick 9ebt,and ha*ing actually +aid some, and getting Money in a readinessto $ay others, sent notice to all the Creditors, )hat those whowould not take 4our +er Cent# should come and recei*e theirMoney# )he Creditors finding him in earnest, and knowing not howother ise to em+loy their Money, acce+ted his )erms, and changedtheir 3bligations into 4our +er Cent# whereas before they were at4i*e, and so 1the great Loans of the Country being to the State2it might be said in this sense, )hat the Rate of Interest wasreduced lower at that time/ &ut that it was done by a Law,forbidding to take higher Interest than 4our +er Cent# that Ideny, and require any one to shew# Indeed u+on good Security onemight lately ha*e borrowed Money in 0olland at )hree, and )hreeand an half +er Cent# but not by *ertue of any Law, but thenatural Rate of Interest# %nd I a++eal to the Men learned in theLaw of 0olland, whether last .ear 1and I doubt not but it is sostill2 a Man might not lawfully lend his Money for what Interest



he could get, and whether in the Courts he should not reco*er theInterest he contracted for, if it were )en +er Cent# So that ifMoney be to be borrowed by honest and res+onsible Men, at )hree,or )hree and an half +er Cent# it is not by the force of Statutesand >dicts- but by the natural Course of things, which willalways bring Interest u+on good Security low, where there is a

great deal ofMoney to be lent, and little good Security, in+ro+ortion, to be had# 0olland is a Country where the Land makesa *ery little +art of the Stock of the Country# )rade is theirgreat 4und- and their >states lie generally in Money/ So thatall, who are not )raders, generally s+eaking, are Lenders/ 3fwhich there are so many whose Income de+ends u+on Interest, thatif the States were not mightily in 9ebt, but +aid e*ery one their$rinci+al, instead of the 4our +er Cent# <se, which they gi*e,there would be so much more Money than could be used, or would be*entured in )rade, that Money there would be at )wo +er Cent# orunder, unless they found a way to +ut it out in 4oreignCountries# Interest, I grant these Men, is low in 0olland/ &ut it is sonot as an effect of Law, or the +olitick Contri*ance of the?o*ernment, to +romote )rade- but as the Consequence of great$lenty of ready Money, when their Interest first fell# I say whenit first fell/ 4or being once brought low, and the $ublick ha*ingborrowed a great +art of +ri*ate Mens Money, and continuing in9ebt, it must continue so though the $lenty of Money, which firstbrought Interest low, were *ery much decay:d, and a great +art oftheir ealth were really gone# 4or the 9ebt of the Stateaffording to the Creditors a constant .early Income, that islook:d on as a safe Re*enue, and accounted as *aluable as if itwere in Land- and accordingly they buy it one of another- andwhether there be any Money in the +ublick Coffers or no, he, whohas to the *alue of )en thousand +ounds owing him from theStates, may sell it e*ery day in the eek, and ha*e ready Moneyfor it# )his Credit is so great an ad*antage to +ri*ate Men, whoknow not else what to do with their Stocks, that were the Statesnow in a condition to begin to +ay their 9ebts, the Creditors,rather than take their Money out to lie dead by them, would letit stay in, at lower Interest, as they did some .ears since, whenthey were call:d on to come and recei*e their Money# )his is thestate of Interest in 0olland/ )heir +lenty of Money, and +ayingtheir +ublique 9ebts, some time since lowered their Interest# &utit was not done by the command and limitation of a Law, nor inconsequence of our reducing it here by Law to Si +er Cent# 4or Ideny, that there is any Law there yet, to forbid lending of Moneyfor abo*e )hree, or Si , or )en +er Cent# hate*er some heresuggest, e*ery one there may hire out his Money as freely as hedoes any thing else, for what rate he can get- and the &argainbeing made, the Law will inforce the &orrower to +ay it# I grant low Interest, where all Men consent to it, is anad*antage to )rade, if Merchants will regulate their ?ainsaccordingly, and Men be +erswaded to lend to them/ &ut can it bee +ected, when the $ublique gi*es Se*en, or >ight, or )en +erCent# that +ri*ate Men, whose Security is certainly no better,shall ha*e it for 4our@ %nd can there be any thing stranger, thanthat the same Men who look on, and therefore allow high <se as anencouragement to lending to the Chequer, should think low <seshould bring Money into )rade@ )he States of 0olland some few.ears since, +aid but 4our +er Cent# for the Money they owed/Ifyou +ro+ose them for an e am+le, and Interest be to beregulated by a Law, try whether you can do so here, and bring Mento lend it to the $ublique at that Rate# )his would be a benefit



to the kingdom, and abate a great +art of our +ublique Charge# Ifyou cannot do that, confess, that :tis not the Law in 0olland hasbrought the Interest there so low, but something else, and thatwhich will make the States, or any body else +ay dearer now, ifeither their Credit be less, or Money there scarcer# %n infallible sign of your decay of ealth is the falling of

Rents, and the raising of them would be worth the (ations Care/4or in that, and not in the falling of Interest lies the truead*antage of the Landedman, and with him of the $ublick# It maybe therefore not besides our +resent business, to enquire intothe cause of the falling of Rents in >ngland# # >ither the Land is grown &arrener, and so the $roduct isless, and consequently the Money to be recei*ed for that $roductis less# 4or it is e*ident that he whose Land was wont to +roduce

KK &ushels of heat communibus annis, if by long )illage, andbad 0usbandry it will now +roduce but GK &ushels, the Rent willbe abated half# &ut this cannot be su++os:d general# A# 3r the Rent of that Land is lessen:d# # &ecause the useof the Commodity ceases/ %s the Rents must fall in Virginia, weretaking of )obacco forbid in >ngland# A# 3r because something elsesu++lies the room of that $roduct/ %s the rate of Co+is'landswill fall u+on the disco*ery ofCoal Mines# B# 3r, because theMarkets are su++lied with the same Commodity, chea+er fromanother +lace# %s the breeding Countries of >ngland must needsfall their Rents, by the im+ortation of Irish Cattle# ;# 3r,because a )a laid on your (ati*e Commodities, makes what the4armer sells, chea+er- and Labour, and what he buys dearer# B# 3r, the Money in the Country is less# 4or the e igenciesand uses of Money not lessening with its quantity, and it beingin the same +ro+ortion to be im+loy:d and distributed still inall the +arts of its circulation, so much as its quantity islessen:d, so much must the share of e*ery one, that has a rightto this Money, be the less- whether he be Landholder, for his?oods- or Labourer, for his 0ire- or Merchant, for his &rokage#)hough the Landholder usually finds it first# &ecause Moneyfailing, and falling short, $eo+le ha*e not so much Money asformerly to lay out, and so less Money is brought to Market, bywhich the +rice of things must necessarily fall# )he Labourerfeels it ne t# 4or when the Landholder:s Rent falls, he musteither bate the Labourer:s ages, or not im+loy, or not +ay him-which either way makes him feel the want of Money# )he Merchantfeels it last# 4or though he sell less, and at a lower rate, hebuys also our (ati*e Commodities, which he > +orts, at a lowerrate too/ and will be sure to lea*e our (ati*e Commoditiesunbought, u+on the 0ands of the 4armer, or Manufacturer, ratherthan > +ort them to a Market, which will not afford him Returnswith $rofit# If one )hird of the Money im+loyed in )rade were lock:d u+,or gone out of >ngland, must not the Landholders necessarilyrecei*e one )hird less for their ?oods, and consequently Rentsfall- % less quantity of Money by one )hird being to bedistributed amongst an equal number of Recei*ers@ lndeed, $eo+lenot +ercei*ing the Money to be gone, are a+t to be 5ealous one ofanother- and each sus+ecting anothers inequality of ?ain to robhim of his share, e*ery one will be im+loying his skill, and+ower, the best he can, to retrie*e it again, and to bring Moneyinto his $ocket in the same +lenty as formerly# &ut this is butscrambling amongst our sel*es, and hel+s no more against ourwant, than the +ulling of a short Co*erlet will, amongstChildren, that lye together, +reser*e them all from the Cold#Some will star*e, unless the 4ather of the 4amily +ro*ide better,



and enlarge the scanty Co*ering# )his +ulling and contest isusually between the Landed'man and the Merchant# 4or theLabourer:s share, being seldom more than a bare subsistence,ne*er allows that body of Men time or o++ortunity to raise their)houghts abo*e that, or struggle with the Richer for theirs, 1asone common Interest,2 unless when some common and great 9istress,

uniting them in one uni*ersal 4erment, makes them forget Res+ect,and emboldens them to car*e to their ants with armed force/ %ndthen sometimes they break in u+on the Rich, and swee+ all like adeluge# &ut this rarely ha++ens but in the mal'administration ofneglected or mis'manag:d ?o*ernment# )he usual struggle and contest, as I said before, in thedecays of ealth and Riches, is between the Landed Man and theMerchant, with whom I may here 5oin the Monied Man# )he LandedMan finds himself aggrie*ed, by the falling of his Rents, and thestreightning of his 4ortune- whilst the Monied Man kee+s u+ his?ain, and the Merchant thri*es and grows rich by )rade# )hese hethinks steal his Income into their $ockets, build their 4ortunesu+on his Ruin, and Ingross more of the Riches of the (ation thancomes to their share# 0e therefore endea*ours, by Laws, to kee+u+ the *alue of Lands, which he sus+ects lessened by the otherse cess of $rofit/ &ut all in *ain# )he cause is mistaken, and theremedy too# :)is not the Merchants nor Monied Man:s ?ains thatmakes Land fall/ &ut the want of Money and lessening of our)reasure wasted by e tra*agant > +ences, and a mis'manag:d )rade,which the Land always first feels# If the Landed ?entleman willha*e, and by his e am+le make it fashionable to ha*e, moreClaret, S+ice, Silk, and other 4oreign Consumable ares, than our> +ortation of Commodities does e change for# Money mustuna*oidably follow to ballance the %ccount, and +ay the 9ebt# %ndtherefore I fear that another $ro+osal, I hear talked of, tohinder the > +ortation of Money and &ullion, will shew more ourneed of care to kee+ our Money from going from us, than a way andmethod, how to +reser*e it here# :)is 9eath in S+ain to e +ort Money# %nd yet they, whofurnish all the orld with ?old and Sil*er, ha*e least of itamongst themsel*es# )rade fetches it away from that laDy andindigent $eo+le, notwithstanding all their artificial and forcedcontri*ances to kee+ it there# It follows )rade against therigour of their Laws- and their want of 4oreign Commodities makesit o+enly be carried out at (oon'9ay# (ature has bestowed Mineson se*eral +arts of the orld/ &ut their Riches are only for theIndustrious and 4rugal# home*er else they *isit, :tis with the9iligent and Sober only they stay# %nd ifthe Vertue, and+ro*ident way of Li*ing of our %ncestors 1content with our (ati*econ*eniences of Life, without the costly Itch after the Materialsof $ride and Lu ury from abroad2 were brought in fashion andcountenance again amongst us- this alone would do more to kee+,and increase our ealth, and inrich our Land, than all our $a+erhel+s about Interest, Money, &ullion, 6c# which howe*er eagerlywe may catch at, will not, I fear, without better 0usbandry, kee+us from sinking, whate*er contri*ances we may ha*e recourse to#:)is with a Eingdom, as with a 4amily# S+ending less than ourown# Commodities will +ay for, is the sure and only way for the(ation to grow Rich# %nd when that begins once seriously to beconsider:d, and our faces and ste+s are in earnest turn:d thatway, we may ho+e to ha*e our Rents rise, and the +ublick Stockthri*e again# )ill then, we in *ain, I fear, endea*our withnoise, and wea+ons of Law, to dri*e the olf from our own, to oneanothers 9oors/ )he &reed ought to be e tir+ated out of theIsland# 4or ant, brought in by ill management, and nursed u+ by



e +ensi*e Vanity, will make the (ation $oor, and s+are no body# If )hree Millions were necessary for the carrying on the)rade of >ngland, whereof 3ne Million were for the Landholder, tomaintain him- and another were for the +ayment of the Labourerand 0andicraftsman- and the )hird were the share of the &rokers,coming to them for their care and +ains in distributing- If 3ne

Million of this Money were gone out of the Eingdom, must notthere be 3ne )hird less to be shared amongst them for the +roductof their Land, their Labour and their 9istribution@ I do not saythey will feel it at the same time# &ut the Landholder ha*ingnothing, but what the $roduct of his Land will yield- and the&uyer according to the $lenty or Scarcity of Money he has, alwayssetting the $rice u+on what is offered to Sale- )he Landholdermust be content to take the Market'Rate, for what he bringsthither, which always following the scarcity or +lenty of Money,if any +art of our Money be gone, he is sure first to find it inthe +rice of his Commodities# 4or the &roker and Merchant, thoughhe Sell chea+er, yet he &uys chea+er too/ %nd he will be sure toget by his Returns, or let alone a Commodity, which will not+roduce him ?ain/ %nd whatsoe*er is so let alone, and left u+onhands, always turns to the Landholders loss# Su++osing that of our oollen Manufacture, 4oreign Marketstook off one half, and the other half were consumed amongst oursel*es/ If a sensible +art, 1as 3ne )hird2 of our Coin were gone,and so Men had equally 3ne )hird less Money than they had 1for,:tis certain, it must be tantamount, and what I :sca+e of 3ne)hird less, another must make u+2 it would follow, )hat theywould ha*e less to lay out in Cloaths, as well as other things,and so would either wear them longer, or +ay less for them# If aClothier finds a want of Vent, he must either Sell chea+er or notat all/ If he Sells chea+er, he must also +ay less, both for ooland Labour/ %nd if the Labourer hath less ages, he must also +ayless for Corn, &utter, Cheese, 4lesh, or else forbear some ofthese quite# In all which cases, the $rice of ool, Corn, 4lesh,and the other $roducts of Land are brought down, and the Landbears the greatest +art of the loss# 4or where'e*er theConsum+tion or Vent of any Commodity is sto+t, there the Sto+continues on till it comes to the Landholder# %nd where'e*er the$rice of any Commodity begins to fall, how many 0ands soe*erthere be between that and the Landholder, they all take re+risalsone u+on another, till at last it comes to the Landholder- andthere the abatement of $rice, of any ofhis Commodities, lessenshis Income, and is a clear loss# )he 3wner of Land, which+roduces the Commodity, and the last &uyer, who consumes it, arethe two e treams in Commerce# %nd though the falling of any sortof Commodity in the Landholder:s 0and, does not +ro*e so to thelast consumer, the %rts of inter*ening &rokers and Ingrosserskee+ing u+ the $rice to their own ad*antage/ .et whene*er want ofMoney, or want of desire in the consumer, make the $rice low,that immediately reaches the first $roducer/ (o body betweenha*ing any Interest to kee+ it u+# (ow, as to the two first causes of falling of Rents, fallingof Interest has no Influence at all# In the latter, it has agreat +art/ &ecause it makes the Money of >ngland less, by makingboth >nglish'Men and 4oreigners withdraw or with'hold theirMoney# 4or that which is not let loose into )rade, is all onewhil:st 0oarded u+, as if it were not in &eing# I ha*e heard it brought for a reason, why Interest should bereduced to 4our +er Cent# )hat thereby the Landholder, who bearsthe burthen of the $ublick Charge, may be, in some degree easedby falling of Interest#



)his %rgument will be +ut right, if you say it will ease the&orrower, and lay the loss on the Lender/ &ut it concerns not theLand in general, unless you will su++ose all Landholders in 9ebt#&ut I ho+e, we may yet think that Men in >ngland, who ha*e Land,ha*e Money too- and that Landed Men, as well as others, by their+ro*idence and good 0usbandry, accommodating their > +ences to

their Income, kee+ themsel*es from going backwards in the orld# )hat which is urged, as most deser*ing consideration andremedy in the case, is, )hat it is hard and unreasonable, thatone, who has Mortgaged half his Land, should yet +ay )a es forthe whole, whil:st the Mortgagee goes away with the clear +rofitof an high Interest# )o this I answer, # )hat if any Man has run himself in 9ebt, for the Ser*iceof his Country, :tis fit the $ublick should reimburse him, andset him free# )his is a care, that becomes the $ublick Justice-)hat Men, if they recei*e no Rewards, should, at least, be ke+tfrom Suffering, in ha*ing Ser*ed their Country# &ut I do notremember the $olity of any (ation, who altered theirConstitution, in fa*our of those, whose mismanagement had broughtthem behind'hand- +ossibly as thinking the $ublick littlebeholding to those, who had misem+loyed the Stock of theirCountry, in the e cess of their +ri*ate > +ences, and, by their> am+le, s+read a fashion that carries ruin with it# Mens +aying)a es of Mortgaged Lands, is a +unishment for ill'husbandry,which ought to be discouraged/ &ut it concerns *ery little the4rugal and the )hrifty# A# %nother thing to be said in re+ly to this, is, )hat it iswith ?entlemen in the Country, as with )radesmen in the City# Ifthey will own )itles to greater >states than really they ha*e, itis their own faults, and there is no way left to hel+ them from$aying for them# )he Remedy is in their own hands, to dischargethemsel*es when they +lease# %nd when they ha*e once Sold theirLand, and +aid their 9ebts, they will no longer +ay )a es, forwhat they own, without being really theirs# )here is another wayalso, whereby they may be relie*ed, as well as a great many otherincon*eniencies remedied- and that is by a Registry/ 4or ifMortgages were Registred, Land )a es might reach them, and orderthe Lender to +ay his +ro+ortion# I ha*e met with $atrons of 4our +er Cent# who 1amongst manyother fine things they tell us of2 affirm, )hat if Interest werereduced to 4our +er Cent# then some Men would borrow Money atthis low Rate, and +ay their 9ebts- 3thers would borrow more thanthey now do, and im+ro*e their Land- 3thers would borr3w more,and im+loy it in )rade and Manufacture# ?ilded words indeed, werethere any thing substantial in them )hese Men talk, as if theymeant to shew us, not only the isdom, but Riches of Solomon, andwould make ?old and Sil*er as common, as the Stones in theStreet/ &ut at last, I fear, :will be but it without Money- and,I wish it amount to that# :)is without question, )hat could theCountryman, and the )radesman take u+ Money chea+er, than nowthey do, e*ery Man would be forward to &orrow, and desire, thathe might ha*e other Mens Money to im+loy to his ad*antage# Iconfess, those who contend for 4our +er Cent# ha*e found out away, to set Mens Mouths a watering for Money at that Rate, and toincrease the number ofthe &orrowers in >ngland- if any body canimagine it would be an ad*antage to increase them# &ut to answerall their fine $ro5ects, I ha*e but this one short question toask them/ ill 4our +er Cent# increase the number of the Lenders@If it will not, as any Man at the *ery first hearing, willshrewdly sus+ect it will not, then all the +lenty of Money theseCon5urers bestow u+on us, for Imn+ro*ement of Land, $aying of



9ebts, and %d*ancement of )rade, is but like the ?old and Sil*er,which 3ld omen belie*e, other Con5urers bestow sometimes, bywhole La+fuls, on +oor credulous ?irls, which, when they bring tothe light, is found to be nothing but wither:d Lea*es- and the$ossessors of it are still as much in want of Money as e*er# Indeed I grant it would be well for >ngland, and I wish it

were so, that the +lenty of Money were so great amongst us, thate*ery Man could borrow as much as he could use in )rade, for 4our+er Cent# nay, that Men could borrow as much as they could im+loyfor Si +er Cent# &ut e*en at that Rate, the &orrowers alreadyare far more than the Lenders# hy else doth the Merchant u+onoccasion, +ay Si +er Cent# and often abo*e that rate for&rokage@ %nd why doth the Country ?entleman of 3ne thousand+ounds +er %nnum find it so difficult, with all the security hecan bring, to take u+ a )housand +ound@ %ll which +roceeds fromthe scarcity of Money, and bad Security- two Causes, which willnot be less +owerful to hinder &orrowing, after the lowering ofInterest/ and I do not see, how any one can imagine that reducing<se to 4our $er Cent# should abate their force- or how lesseningthe Reward of the Lender, without diminishing his Risque, shouldmake him more forward and ready to Lend# So that these Men,whilst they talk, that at 4our +er Cent# Men would take u+, andim+loy more Money to the $ublick ad*antage, do but +retend tomulti+ly the number of &orrowers among us, ofwhich it is certainwe ha*e too many already# hilst they thus set Men a longing forthe ?olden days of 4our +er Cent# methinks they use the +oorindigent 9ebtor, and needy )radesman, as I ha*e seen +ratlingJack'9aws do sometimes their young, who kawing and flutteringabout the (est, set all their young ones a ga+ing, but ha*ingnothing in their em+ty Mouths but (oise and %ir, lea*e them ashungry as before# :)is true these Men ha*e found out by a cunning +ro5ect, how,by the restraint of Law, to make the +rice of Money 3ne )hirdchea+er, and then they tell John a (okes, that he shall ha*e )enthousand +ounds of it to em+loy in Merchandise, or Cloathing- andJohn a Stiles shall ha*e )wenty thousand +ounds more to +ay his9ebts- and so distribute this Money as freely as 9ego did hisLegacies, which they are to ha*e, e*en where they can get it# &uttill these Men can instruct the forward &orrowers where theyshall be furnished, they ha*e +erha+s done something to increaseMens desire, but not made Money one 5ot easier to come by# %ndtill they do that, all this sweet gingling of Money in their9iscourses goes 5ust to the )une of, If all the orld were3atmeal# Methinks these <ndertakers, whil:st they ha*e +ut Men inho+es of &orrowing more +lentifully at easier Rates, for thesu++ly of their ants and )rades, had done better to ha*ebethought themsel*es of a way, how Men need not &orrow u+on <seat all/ 4or this would be much more ad*antageous, and altogetheras 4eisible# It is as easie to distribute )wenty +air of Shooesamongst )hirty Men, if they +ay nothing for them at all, as ifthey +aid ; s# a +air# )en of them 1notwithstanding the StatuteRate should be reduced from ! s# to ; s# a +air2 will benecessitated to sit still &arefoot, as much, as if they were to+ay nothing for Shooes at all# Just so it is in a Country, thatwants Money in +ro+ortion to )rade# It is as easie to contri*ehow e*ery Man shall be su++lied with what Money he needs 1i#e#can im+loy in im+ro*ements of Land, +aying his 9ebts, and Returnsof his )rade2 for nothing, as for 4our +er Cent# >ither we ha*ealready more Money than the 3wners will Lend, or we ha*e not# If+art of the Money which is now in >ngland, will not be Lent atthe rate Interest is at +resent at, will Men be more ready to



Lend, and &orrowers be furnished for all those bra*e $ur+osesmore +lentifully, when Money is brought to 4our +er Cent@ If$eo+le do already lend all the Money they ha*e, abo*e their ownoccasions, whence are those, who will borrow more at 4our +erCent# to be su++lied@ 3r is there such +lenty of Money, andscarcity of &orrowers, that there needs the reducing of Interest

to 4our +er Cent# to bring Men to take it@ %ll the imaginable ways of increasing Money in any Country,are these two/ >ither to dig it in Mines of our own, or get itfrom our (eighbours# )hat 4our +er Cent# is not of the nature ofthe 9eusing'rod, or Virgula 9i*ina, able to disco*er Mines of?old and Sil*er, I belie*e will easily be granted me# )he way ofgetting from 4oreigners, is either by force, borrowing, or trade#%nd whate*er ways besides these, Men may fansie, or +ro+ose, forincreasing of Money, 1e ce+t they intend to set u+ for the$hiloso+hers Stone2 would be much the same with a 9istractedMan:s de*ice that I knew, who, in the beginning of his 9istem+erfirst disco*er:d himself to be out of his its, by gettingtogether, and boiling a great number of ?roats, with a design, ashe said, to make them +lim, i#e# grow thicker# )hat 4our +erCent# will Raise %rmies, 9isci+line Soldiers, and make MenValiant, and fitter to conquer Countries, and inrich themsel*eswith the S+oils, I think was ne*er +retended# %nd that it willnot bring in more of our (eighbours Money u+on Loan, than we ha*eat +resent among us, is so *isible in its self, that it will notneed any $roof- the contenders for 4our +er Cent# looking u+on itas an undeniable )ruth, and making use of it as an %rgument toshew the ad*antage it will be to the (ation, by lessening the <se+aid to 4oreigners, who u+on falling of <se will take home theirMoney# %nd for the last way of increasing our# Money, by+romoting of )rade, how much lowering of Interest is the way tothat, I ha*e, I su++ose, shew:d you already#

0a*ing lately met with a little )ract, Intituled % Letter to a4riend concerning <sury# $rinted this +resent year !"K- whichgi*es in short, the %rguments of some )reatises $rinted manyyears since, for the lowereing of Interest- It may not be amiss,briefly to consider them#

# % 0igh Interest decays )rade# )he ad*antage from Interestis greater than the $rofit from )rade, which makes the richMerchants gi*e o*er, and +ut out their Stock to Interest, and thelesser Merchants &reak# %nsw# )his was $rinted in !A , when Interest was at K +erCent# %nd whether >ngland had e*er a more flourishing )rade, thanat that time, must be left to the 5udgment of those, who ha*econsider:d the growing Strength and Riches of this Eingdom inF#># and Eing J# the st Reigns# (ot that I im+ute it to highInterest, but to other Causes I ha*e mention:d, wherein <sury hadnothing to do# &ut if this be thought an %rgument now in !"K,when the legal Interest is ! +er Cent# I desire those, who thinkfit to make use of it, to name those rich Merchants, who ha*egi*en o*er and +ut out their Stocks to Interest# A# Interest being at K +er Cent# and in 0olland at !- our(eighbour Merchants undersel us# %nsw# )he legal Interest being here now at ! +er Cent# and in0olland not limited by Law, our (eighbour Merchants undersel us,because they li*e more frugally, and are content with less+rofit# B# Interest being lower in 0olland than in >ngland, theirContributions to ar, works of $iety, and all Charges ofthe



State, are chea+er to them than to us# %nsw# )his needs a little > +lication# Contributions greateror less, I understand/ but Contributions chea+er or dearer, Iconfess I do not# If they manage their ars and Charges chea+erthan we, the blame is not to be laid on high, or low Interest# ;# Interest being so high, +re*ents the building of Shi++ing,

which is the strength and safety of our Island, most MerchantShi+s being built in 0olland# %nsw# )hough this %rgument be now gone, such Shi+s being$rohibited by a Law, I will hel+ the %uthor to one as good# )he9utch buy our Ra+e'seed, make it into 3il, bring it back to us,and sell it with ad*antage# )his may be as well said to be fromhigh Interest here, and low there# &ut the )ruth is, the lndustryand 4rugality of that $eo+le, makes them content to work chea+er,and sell at less +rofit than their (eighbours, and so get the)rade from them# G# )he high Rate of <sury makes Land sell so chea+, being notworth more than ; or G .ears $urchase- whereas in 0olland,where Interest is at !, it is worth abo*e AG# So that a lowInterest raises the $rice of Land# here Money is dear Land ischea+# %nsw# )his %rgument +lainly confesses, )hat there issomething else regulates the $rice of Land, besides the Rate ofInterest# else when Money was at K $er Cent# here, Land shouldha*e been at K .ears $urchase, whereas he confesses it then toha*e been at ; or G# 3ne may su++ose, to fa*our his 0y+othesis,he was not forward to s+eak the most of it# %nd Interest, as hesays, being at ! $er Cent# in 0olland, Land there should ha*eSold by that Rule for Si teen and an half .ears $urchase, whereashe says it was worth abo*e )wenty fi*e# %nd Mr# Manly says, 1+#BB2 )hat Money in 4rance being at = +er Cent# (oble Land sellsforB; and BG .ears $urchase, and ordinary Land for AG# So that thetrue Conclusion from hence is, not what our %uthor makes, butthis- )hat :tis not the legal Interest, but something else, thatgo*erns the Rate of Land# I grant his $osition, )hat where Moneyis dear, Land is chea+, and *ice *ers # &ut it must be so by the�natural, not legal Interest# 4or where Money will be lent on goodSecurity at ; or G +er Cent# :tis a 9emonstration, that there ismore than will be *entured on ordinary Credit in )rade# %nd whenthis $lenty becomes general, :tis a sign, there is more Money,than can be >m+loyed in )rade- which cannot but +ut many u+onseeking $urchases, to lay it out in Land, and so raise the $riceof Land, by making more &uyers, than Sellers# !# :)is not +robable Lenders will call in their Money, whenthey cannot make greater Interest any where# &esides, theirSecurity u+on Land will be better# %nsw# Some unskilful and timorous Men will call in theirMoney- others +ut it into the &anker:s 0ands# &ut the &ankers andSkilful will kee+ it u+, and not lend it, but at the natural <se,as we ha*e shewn# &ut how Securities will be mended by loweringof Interest, is, I confess, beyond my Com+rehension#

3f Raising our Coin#

&>I(? now u+on the Consideration of Interest and Money, gi*eme lea*e to say one ord more on this occasion, which may not bewholly unseasonable at this time# I hear a )alk u+ and down ofraising our Money, as a means to retain our ealth, and kee+ ourMoney from being carried away# I wish those that use the $hraseof raising our Money, had some clear (otion anne ed to it- andthat then they would e amine, hether, that being true, it would



at all ser*e to those >nds, for which is +ro+os:d# )he raising of Money then signifies one of these two things-either raising the Value of our Money, or raising the9enomination of our Coin# )he raising of the Value of Money, or any thing else, isnothing, but the making a less quantity of it e change for any

other thing, than would ha*e been taken for it before# *#g# If Gs# will e change for, or, 1as we call it2 buy a &ushel of heat-if you can make ; s# buy another &ushel of the same heat, it is+lain the Value of your Money is raised, in res+ect of heat 3ne4ifth# &ut thus nothing can raise or fall the *alue of yourMoney, but the +ro+ortion of its $lenty, or Scarcity, in+ro+ortion to the $lenty, Scarcity, or Vent of any otherCommodity, with which you com+are it, or for which you woulde change it# %nd thus Sil*er, which makes the Intrinsick Value ofMoney, com+ar:d with it self, under any Stam+ or 9enomination ofthe same or different Countries, cannot be raised# 4or an 3unceof Sil*er, whether in $ence, ?roats, or Crown $ieces, Sti*ers or9ucatoons, or in &ullion, is and always eternally will be ofequal Value to any other 3unce of Sil*er, under what Stam+ or9enomination soe*er- unless it can be shewn that any Stam+ canadd any new and better qualities to one +arcel of Sil*er, whichanother +arcel of Sil*er wants# Sil*er therefore being always of equal Value to Sil*er, the*alue of Coin, com+ar:d with Coin, is greater, less, or equal,only as it has more, less or equal Sil*er in it/ %nd in thisres+ect, you can by no manner of way raise or fall your Money#Indeed most of the Sil*er of the orld, both in Money and Vesselsbeing alloy:d, 1i#e# mi ed with some baser Metals2 fine Sil*er1i#e# Sil*er se+arated from all %lloy2 is usually dearer than somuch Sil*er alloy:d, or mi ed with baser Metals# &ecause, besidesthe eight of the Sil*er, those who ha*e need of fine 1i#e#unmi :d2 Sil*er- as ?ilders, yre'drawers, 6c# must according totheir need, besides an equal eight of Sil*er mi ed with otherMetals, gi*e an 3*er+lus to reward the Refiner:s Skill and $ains#%nd in this Case, fine Sil*er, and alloy:d or mi ed Sil*er areconsidered as two distinct Commodities# &ut no Money being Coin:dof +ure fine Sil*er, this concerns not the Value of Money at all-wherein an equal quantity of Sil*er is always of the same Valuewith an equal quantity of Sil*er, let the Stam+, or 9enominationbe what it will# %ll then that can be done in this great mystery of RaisingMoney, is only to alter the 9enomination, and call that a Crownnow, which before by the Law was but a +art of a Crown# 4or> am+le/ Su++osing, according to the Standard of our Law, G s# ora Crown, were to weigh an 3unce, 1as it does now, wanting about

! ?rains2 whereof one twelfth were Co++er, and ele*en twelfthsSil*er, 1for there'abouts it is2 :tis +lain here :tis thequantity of Sil*er gi*es the Value to it# 4or let another $iecebe Coin:d of the same eight, wherein half the Sil*er is takenout, and Co++er or other %lloy +ut into the +lace, e*ery oneknows it will be worth but half as much# 4or the Value of the%lloy is so inconsiderable as not to be reckoned# )his Crown nowmust be rais:d, and from henceforth our Crown $ieces Coin:d one)wentieth lighter- which is nothing but changing the9enomination, calling that a Crown now, which yesterday was but a+art, *iD# (ineteen twentieths of a Crown- whereby you ha*e onlyraised " +arts to the 9enomination formerly gi*en to AK# 4or Ithink no body can be so senseless, as to imagine, that " ?rainsor 3unces of Sil*er can be raised to the Value of AK- or that "?rains or 3unces of Sil*er shall at the same time e change for,



or buy as much Corn, 3yl, or ine, as AK- which is to raise it tothe Value of AK# 4or if " 3unces of Sil*er can be worth AK3unces of Sil*er, or +ay for as much of any other Commodity, then

H, K, or 3unce may do the same# 4or if the abating 3neentieth of the quantity of the Sil*er of any Coin, does not

lessen its Value, the abating (ineteen twentieths of the quantity

of the Sil*er of any Coin, will not abate its Value# %nd so asingle )hree+ence, or a single $enny, being call:d a Crown, willbuy as much S+ice, or Silk, or any other Commodity, as aCrown'+iece, which contains AK or !K times as much Sil*er- whichis an %bsurdity so great, )hat I think no body will want >yes tosee, and Sense to disown# (ow, this raising your Money, or gi*ing a less quantity ofSil*er the Stam+ and 9enomination of a greater, may be done twoways# # &y raising one S+ecies of your Money# A# &y raising all your Sil*er Coin at once, +ro+ortionably-which is the thing I su++os:d, now +ro+os:d#

# )he raising of one S+ecies of your Coin, beyond itsintrinsick Value, is done by Coining any one S+ecies, 1which inaccount bears such a +ro+ortion to the other S+ecies of yourCoin2 with less Sil*er in it, than is required by that *alue itbears in your Money# 4or > am+le, % Crown with us goes for !K $ence, a Shillingfor A $ence, a )ester for ! $ence, and a ?roat for ; $ence/ %ndaccordingly, the +ro+ortion of Sil*er in each of them, ought tobe at !K# A# !# and ;# (ow, if in the Mint there should beCoin:d ?roats, or )esters, that being of the same %lloy with ourother Money, had but )wo thirds of the eight, that those S+eciesare Coin:d at now- or else, being of the same eight, were soalloy:d as to ha*e 3ne third of the Sil*er required by the+resent Standard chang:d into Co++er- and should thus, by Law, bemade Current- 1the rest of your Sil*er Money being ke+t to the+resent Standard in eight and 4ineness2 :tis +lain, thoseS+ecies would be raised 3ne third +art- that +assing for ! dwhich had but the Sil*er of ; d in it- and would be all one as ifa ?roat should by Law be made Current for ! d- and e*ery ! d in+ayment +ass for " d# )his is truly raising these S+ecies/ &ut isno more in effect, than if the Mint should Coin cli+:d Money# %ndhas, besides the Cheat that is +ut, by such base or light Money,on e*ery +articular Man, that recei*es it, that he wants 3nethird of that real *alue which the $ublick ought to secure him,in the Money, it obliges him to recei*e as Lawful and Current- Ithas, I say, this great and una*oidable incon*enience to the$ublick, )hat, besides the o++ortunities it gi*es to 9omestickCoiners to Cheat you with lawful Money, it +uts it into the 0andsof 4oreigners to fetch away your Money without any Commoditiesfor it# 4or if they find that )wo'$enny weight of Sil*er, markedwith a certain Im+ression, shall here in >ngland be equi*alent toB d weight mark:d with another Im+ression- they will not fail tostam+ $ieces of that 4ashion- and so Im+orting that base and lowCoin, will, here in >ngland, recei*e B d# for A d#, and quicklycarry away your Sil*er in e change for Co++er, or barely thecharge of Coynage# )his is una*oidable in all Countries where any one S+ecies oftheir Money is dis+ro+ortionate in its intrinsick Value, 1i#e# inits due +ro+ortion of Sil*er to the rest of the Money of thatCountry2 an incon*enience so certainly attending the allowance ofany base S+ecies of Money to be Current, that the Eing of 4rancecould not a*oid it, with all his watchfulness# 4or though, by



>dict, he made his ; Sols $ieces, 1whereof G were to +ass for a4rench Crown, though AK of them had not so much Sil*er in them,as was in a 4rench Crown $iece2 +ass in the Inland +arts of hiskingdom, G for a Crown in all $ayments- yet he durst not makethem Current in his Sea'+ort )owns, for fear, that should gi*e ano++ortunity to their Im+ortation# &ut yet this Caution ser*ed not

the turn# )hey were still Im+orted- and, by this means, a greatloss and damage brought u+on his Country# So that he was forcedto cry them down, and sink them to near their intrinsick Value#

hereby a great many +articular Men, who had quantities of thatS+ecies in their 0ands, lost a great +art of their >states- ande*ery one that had any, lost +ro+ortionably by it# If we had ?roats or Si '$ences Current by Law, amongst us,that wanted 3ne third of the Sil*er which they now ha*e by theStandard, to make them of equal Value to our other S+ecies ofMoney- who can imagine, that our (eigbours would not +resently+our in quantities of such Money u+on us, to the great loss and+re5udice of the kingdom@ )he quantity of Sil*er that is in each$iece or S+ecies of Coin, being that, which makes its real andintrinsick Value, the due +ro+ortions of Sil*er ought to be ke+tin each S+ecies, according to the res+ecti*e Rate set on each ofthem by Law# %nd when this is e*er *aried from, it is but a )rickto ser*e some +resent occasion- but is always with loss to theCountry where the )rick is +lay:d# A# )he other way of raising Money is by raising all yourSil*er Coin at once, the +ro+ortion of a Crown, a Shilling, and a$enny, in reference to one another, being still ke+t, 1*iD# )hata Shilling shall weigh 3ne fifth of a Crown $iece, and a $ennyweigh 3ne twelfth of a Shilling, in Standard Sil*er2 &ut out ofe*ery one of these, you abate 3ne twentieth of the Sil*er, theywere wont to ha*e in them# If all the S+ecies of Money, be, as :tis call:d raised bymaking each of them to ha*e 3ne twentieth less of Sil*er in themthan formerly- and so your whole Money be lighter than it was/)hese following will be some of the consequences of it#

# It will rob all Creditors of 3ne twentieth 1or G +erCent#2 of their 9ebts, and all Landlords 3ne wentieth of theirquit Rents for e*er- and in all other Rents as far as theirformer Contracts reach, of G +er Cent# of their yearly Income-and this without any ad*antage to the 9ebtor, or 4armer# 4or herecei*ing no more +ounds Sterling for his Land or Commodities, inthis new lighter Coin, than he should ha*e done of your old andweightier Money, gets nothing by it# If you say yes, he willrecei*e more Crown, 0alf'Crown, and Shilling $ieces, for what henow Sells for new Money, than he should ha*e done if the Money ofthe old Standard had continued- you confess your Money is notraised in Value, but in 9enomination- since what your new $ieceswant in eight, must now be made u+ in their number# &ut whichway soe*er this falls, :tis certain, the $ublick 1which most Menthink, ought to be the only reason of changing a settled Law, anddisturbing the common current course of things2 recei*es not theleast $rofit by it/ (ay, as we shall see by and by, it will be agreat Charge and Loss to the kingdom# &ut this, at first sight,is *isible- )hat in all $ayments to be recei*ed u+on +recedentContracts, if your Money be in effect raised, the Recei*er willlose G +er Cent# 4or Money ha*ing been Lent, and Leases and other&argains made, when Money was of the same eight and 4inenessthat it is now, u+on Confidence that under the same names of$ounds, Shillings and $ence, they should recei*e the same *alue,1i#e# the same qiantity of Sil*er2 by gi*ing the denomination now



to less quantities of Sil*er by 3ne twentieth, you take from themG +er Cent# of their due# hen Men go to Market to buy any other Commodities with theirnew, but lighter Money, they will find AK s# of their new Moneywill buy no more of any Commodity than " would before# 4or itnot being the denomination but the quantity of Sil*er, that gi*es

the *alue to any Coin, " ?rains or +arts of Sil*er, howe*erdenominated or marked, will no more be worth, or +ass for, or buyso much of any other Commodity as AK ?rains of Sil*er will, than

" s# will +ass for AK s/ If any one thinks a Shilling or a Crownin name has its *alue from the denomination, and not from thequantity of Sil*er in it, let it be tried- and hereafter let a$enny be called a Shilling, or a Shilling be called a Crown# Ibelie*e no body would be content to recei*e his 9ebts or Rents insuch Money/ hich though the Law should raise thus, yet heforesees he should lose >le*en twelfths by the one, and by theother 4our fifths of the *alue he recei*ed- and would find hisnew Shilling, which had no more Sil*er in it than 3ne twelfth ofwhat a Shilling had before, would buy him of Corn, Cloth, or inebut 3ne welfth of what an old Shilling would# )his is as +lainlyso in the raising, as you call it, your Crown to G s# and B d# or1which is the same thing2 making your Crown 3ne twentieth lighterin Sil*er# )he only difference is, that in one the loss is sogreat, 1it being >le*en twelfths2 that e*ery body sees, andabhors it at first +ro+osal- but in the other 1it being but 3netwentieth, and co*ered with the deceitful name of raising ourMoney2 $eo+le do not so readily obser*e it# lf it be good toraise the Crown $iece this way 3ne twentieth this eek, I su++oseit will be as good and +rofitable to raise it as much again thene t eek# 4or there is no reason, why it will not be as good toraise it again another 3ne twentieth the ne t eek, and so on-wherein, if you +roceed but K eeks successi*ely, you will by(ew'.ears'9ay ne t ha*e e*ery 0alf'Crown raised to a Crown, tothe loss of one half of $eo+les 9ebts and Rents, and the Eing:sRe*enue, besides the Confusion of all your affairs/ %nd if you+lease to go on in this beneficial way of raising your Money, youmay by the same %rt bring a $enny'weight of Sil*er to be a Crown# Sil*er, i#e# the quantity of +ure Sil*er se+arable from the%lloy, makes the real *alue of Money# If it does not, Coin Co++erwith the same Stam+ and denomination, and see whether it will beof the same *alue# I sus+ect your Stam+ will make it of no moreworth, than the Co++er'Money of Ireland is, which is its weightin Co++er, and no more# )hat Money lost so much to Ireland, as it+assed for abo*e the rate of Co++er# &ut yet I think no bodysuffered so much by it as he, by whose %uthority it was madecurrent# If Sil*er gi*e the *alue, you will say what need is therethen of the charge of Coinage@ May not Men > change Sil*er by

eight, for other things- make their &argains, and kee+ their%ccounts in Sil*er by weight@ )his might be done, but it hasthese incon*eniencies# # )he weighing of Sil*er to e*ery one we had occasion to +ayit to, would be *ery troublesome, for e*ery one must carry aboutScales in his $ocket# A# Scales would not do the business# 4or, in the ne t +lace,e*ery one cannot distinguish between fine and mi :d Sil*er/ Sothat though he recei*ed the full weight, he was not sure herecei*ed the full weight of Sil*er- since there might be ami ture of some of the baser Metals, which he was not able todiscern# )hose who ha*e had the care, and go*ernment of $olitickSocieties, introduced Coinage, as a remedy to those two



incon*eniencies# )he Stam+ was a arranty of the +ublick, thatunder such a denomination they should recei*e a +iece of such aweight, and such a fineness- that is, they should recei*e so muchSil*er# %nd this is the reason why the counterfeiting the Stam+is made the highest Crime, and has the weight of )reason laidu+on it/ &ecause the Stam+ is the +ublick *oucher of the

intrinsick *alue# )he Royal %uthority gi*es the stam+- the Lawallows and confirms the denomination/ %nd both together gi*e, asit were, the +ublick faith, as a security, that Sums of Moneycontracted for under such denominations, shall be of such a*alue, that is, shall ha*e in them so much Sil*er# 4or :tisSil*er and not (ames that +ay 9ebts and +urchase Commodities# Iftherefore I ha*e contracted for )wenty Crowns, and the Law thenhas required, that each of those Crowns should ha*e an 3unce ofSil*er- :tis certain my &argain is not made good, I am defrauded1and whether the +ublick faith be not broken with me, I lea*e tobe considered2 if, +aying me )wenty Crowns, the Law allows themto be such as ha*e but (ineteen twentieths of the Sil*er, theyought to ha*e, and really had in them, when I made my Contract# A# It diminishes all the Eing:s Re*enue G +er Cent# 4orthough the same number of $ounds, Shillings, and $ence are +aidinto the > chequer as were wont, yet these (ames being gi*en toCoin that ha*e each of them 3ne twentieth less of Sil*er in them-and that being not a secret concealed from Strangers, no morethan from his own Sub5ects, they will sell the king no more$itch, )arr, or 0em+, for AK Shillings, after the raising yourMoney, than they would before for "/ or, to s+eak in theordinary +hrase, they will raise their Commodities G +er Cent# asyou ha*e rais:d your Money G +er Cent/ %nd :tis well if they sto+there# 4or usually in such changes, an out'cry being made of yourlessening your Coin, those who ha*e to deal with you, taking thead*antage of the allarm, to secure themsel*es from any loss byyour new )rick, raise their +rice e*en beyond the $ar of yourlessening your Coin# I hear of two incon*eniencies com+lained of, which :tis+ro+osed by this +ro5ect to Remedy# )he one is, )he melting down of our Coin/ )he other, )hecarrying away of our &ullion# )hese are both incon*eniencieswhich, I fear, we lie under/ &ut neither of them will be in theleast remo*ed or +re*ented by the +ro+osed alteration of ourMoney# # It is +ast doubt that our Money is welted down# )he Reasonwhereof is e*idently the chea+ness of Coinage# 4or a )a on ine+aying the Coinage, the +articular 3wners +ay nothing for it# Sothat KK 3unces of Sil*er Coin:d, comes to the 3wner at the sameRate, as KK 3unces of Standard Sil*er in &illion# 4or deli*eringinto the Mint his Sil*er in &ars, he has the same quantity ofSil*er deli*ered out to him again in Coin, without any Charges tohim# hereby, if at any time he has occasion for &ullion, :tisthe same thing to melt down our mill:d Money, as to buy &illionfrom abroad, or take it in > change for other Commodities# )husour Mint to the only ad*antage of our 3fficers, but at the+ublick cost, Labours in Vain, as will be found# &ut yet thismakes you not ha*e one 5ot less Money in >ngland, than you wouldha*e otherwise- but only makes you Coin that, which otherwisewould not ha*e been Coin:d, nor +erha+s been brought hither/ %ndbeing not brought hither by an o*er'ballance of your > +ortation,cannot stay when it is here# It is not any sort of Coinage, does,or can kee+ your Money here/ )hat wholly and only de+ends u+onthe &allance of your )rade# %nd had all the Money in king Charlesthe II# and Eing James the II# time, been Minted according to



this new +ro+osal, this rais:d Money would ha*e been gone as wellas the other, and the remainder been no more, nor no less than itis now# )hough I doubt not but the Mint would ha*e Coin:d as muchof it as it has of our +resent mill:d Money# )he short is this#%n o*er'ballance of )rade with S+ain brings you in &ullion- chea+Coinage, when it is here, carries it into the Mint, and Money is

made of it- but if your > +ortation will not &allance yourIm+ortation in the other +arts of your )rade, away must yourSil*er go again, whether Monied or not Monied# 4or where ?oods donot, Sil*er must +ay for the Commodities you s+end# )hat this is so will a++ear by the &ooks of the Mint, wheremay be seen how much mill:d Money has been Coin:d in the two lastReigns# %nd in a $a+er I ha*e now in my 0ands, 1su++osed writtenby a Man not wholly ignorant in the Mint2 :tis confessed, )hatwhereas 3ne third of the Current $ayments were some time since ofmill:d Money, there is not now 3ne twentieth# ?one then it is#&ut let not any one mistake and think it gone, because in our+resent Coinage, an 3unce wanting about ! ?rains is denominateda Crown/ 3r that 1as is now +ro+osed2 an 3unce wanting about ;K?rains, being Coin:d in one +iece, and denominated a Crown, wouldha*e sto+:d it, or will 1if our Money be so alter:d2 for thefuture fi it here# Coin what quantity of Sil*er you +lease, inone +iece, and gi*e it the denomination of a Crown- when yourMoney is to go, to +ay your 4oreign 9ebts, 1or else it will notgo out at all2 your hea*y Money, 1i#e# that which is weightaccording to its 9enomination, by the Standard of the Mint2 willbe that, which will be melted down, or carried away in Coin bythe > +orter, whether the +ieces of each S+ecies be by the Lawbigger or less# 4or whilst Coinage is wholly +aid for by a )a ,whate*er your siDe of Money be, he that has need of &ullion tosend beyond Sea, or of Sil*er to make $late, need but take mill:dMoney, and melt it down, and he has it as chea+, as if it were in+ieces of >ight, or other Sil*er coming from abroad- the Stam+,which so well secures the weight and fineness of the mill:dMoney, costing nothing at all# )o this +erha+s will be said, )hat if this be the effect ofmill:d Money, that it is so a+t to be melted down, it were betterto return to the old way of Coining by the 0ammer# )o which Ianswer by no means# 4or, # Coinage by the 0ammer less secures you from ha*ing a great+art of your Money melted down# 4or in that way there being agreater inequality in the weight of the $ieces, some being toohea*y, and some too light, those who know how to make theirad*antage of it, cull out the hea*y +ieces, melt them down, andmake a benefit of the o*er'weight# A# Coinage by the 0ammer e +oses you much more to the dangerof false Coin # &ecause the )ools are easily made and concealed,and the work carried on with fewer 0ands, and less noise than aMill- whereby false Coiners are less liable to disco*ery# B# )he +ieces not being so round, e*en, and fairly Stam+:d,nor Mark:d on the >dges, are e +os:d to Cli++ing, which mill:dMoney is not# Mill:d Money is therefore certainly best for the $ublique#&ut whate*er be the cause of melting down our Mill:d'money, I donot see how raising our Money 1as they call it2 will at allhinder its being melted down# 4or if our Crown'+ieces should beCoin:d 3ne twentieth, lighter# hy should that hinder them frombeing melted down more than now@ )he intrinsique *alue of theSil*er is not alter:d, as we ha*e shewn already/ )herefore thattem+tation to melt them down remains the same as before# &ut they are lighter by 3ne twentieth# )hat cannot hinder



them from being melted down# 4or 0alf Crowns are lighter by half,and yet that +reser*es them not# &ut they are of less weight, wnder the same denomination, andtherefore they will not be melted down# )hat is true, if any ofthese +resent Crowns that are 3ne twentieth hea*ier, are currentfor Crowns at the same time# 4or then they will no more melt down

the new light Crowns, than they will the old Cli+:d ones, whichare more worth in Coin, and )ale, than in eight and &ullion# &utit cannot be su++os:d that Men will +art with their old andhea*ier Money, at the same Rate that the lighter new Coin goesat- and +a* away their old Crowns for G s# in )ale, when at theMint they will yield them G s# B d# %nd then if an old Mill:dCrown goes for G s# B d# and a new Mill:d Crown 1being so muchlighter2 go for a Crown, hat I +ray will be the odds of meltingdown the one or the other@ )he one has 3ne twentieth less Sil*erin it, and goes for 3ne twentieth less- and so being weight, theyare melted down u+on equal terms# If it be a con*enience to meltone, it will, be as much a con*enience to melt the other/ Just asit is the same con*enience, to melt Mill:d 0alf Crowns as Mill:dCrowns- the one ha*ing with half the quantity of Sil*er, half the*alue# hen the Money is all brought to the new rate, i#e# to be3ne twentieth lighter, and Commodities raised as they will be+ro+ortionably, hat shall hinder the melting down of your Moneythen, more than now, I would fain know@ If it be Coin:d then asit is now ?ratis, a Crown'+iece, 1let it be of what weightsoe*er2 will be as it is now, 5ust worth its own weight in&ullion, of the same fineness# 4or the Coinage, which is themanufactury about it, and makes all the difference, costingnothing, what can make the difference of *alue@ %nd therefore,whoe*er wants &ullion, will as chea+ly melt down these newCrowns, as buy &ullion with them# )he raising of your Moneycannot then 1the %ct for free Coinage standing2 hinder its beingmelted down# (or, in the ne t +lace, much less can it, as it is +retended,hinder the > +ortation of our &ullion# %ny denomination or stam+we shall gi*e to Sil*er here, will neither gi*e Sil*er a higher*alue in >ngland, nor make it less +riDed abroad# So much Sil*erwill always be worth 1as we ha*e already shew:d2 so much Sil*ergi*en in e change one for another# (or will it, when in your Minta less quantity of it is raised to a higher denomination 1as when(ineteen twentieths of an 3unce has the denomination of a Crown,which formerly belong:d only to the whole AK2 be one 5ot rais:d,in res+ect of any other Commodity# .ou ha*e rais:d the denomination of your stam+:d Sil*er 3ne

entieth, or which is all one G +er Cent# %nd Men will +resentlyraise their Commodities G +er Cent# So that if yesterday AKCrowns would e change for AK &ushels of heat, or AK .ards of acertain sort of Cloth, if you will to day Coin current Crowns 3netwentieth lighter, and make them the Standard, you will find AKCrowns will e change for but " &ushels of heat, or " .ards ofthat Cloth, which will be 5ust as much Sil*er for a &ushel, asyesterday# So that Sil*er being of no more real *alue, by yourchanging your denomination, and gi*ing it to a less quantity-this will no more bring in, or kee+ your &ullion here, than ifyou had done nothing# If this were otherwise, you would bebeholden 1as some $eo+le foolishly imagine2 to the Cli++ers forkee+ing your Money# 4or if kee+ing the old denomination to a lessquantity of Sil*er, be raising your Money 1as in effect it is allthat is, or can be done in it by this +ro5ect of making your Coinlighter2 the Cli++ers ha*e sufficiently done that/ %nd if their)rade go on a little while longer, at the rate it has of late,



and your Mill:d'money be melted down and carried away, and nomore Coin:d- your Money will, without the charge of new Coinage,be, by that sort of %rtificers, raised abo*e G +er Cent# when allyour current Money shall be Cli++ed, and made abo*e 3ne wentiethlighter than the Standard, +reser*ing still its formerdenomination#

It will +ossibly be here ob5ected to me, )hat we see KK l#of Cli+:d Money, abo*e G +er Cent# lighter than the Standard,will buy as much Corn, Cloth, or ine, as KK l# in Mill:d'money,which is abo*e 3ne twentieth hea*ier/ hereby it is e*ident, thatmy Rule fails, and that it is not the quantity of Sil*er, thatgi*es the *alue to Money, but its Stam+ and 9enomination# )owhich I %nswer, )hat Men make their >stimate and Contractsaccording to the Standard, u+on Su++osition they shall recei*egood and lawful Money, which is that of full eight/ %nd so ineffect they do, whil:st they recei*e the current Money of theCountry# 4or since KK l# of Cli+:d Money will +ay a 9ebt of KKl# as well as the weightiest mill:d'money, and a new Crown out ofthe Mint will +ay for no more 4lesh, 4ruit, or Cloth, than fi*ecli+:d Shillings- :tis e*ident that they are equi*alent as to the$urchase of any thing here at home, whil:st no body scru+les totake 4i*e cli+:d Shillings in e change for a weighty Mill:dCrown# &ut this will be quite otherwise as soon as you changeyour Coin, and 1to raise it as you call it2 make your Money 3netwentieth lighter in the Mint- for then no body will any moregi*e an old Crown of the former Standard for one of the new, thanhe will now gi*e you G s# and B d# for a Crown/ for so much thenhis old Crown will yield him at the Mint# Cli+:d and uncli+:d Money will always buy an equal quantityof any thing else, as long as they will without scru+le changeone for another# %nd this makes, that the 4oreign Merchant, whocomes to sell his ?oods to you, always counts u+on the Value ofyour Money by the Sil*er that is in it, and estimates thequantity of Sil*er by the Standard of your Mint- though +erha+sby reason of cli+:d or worn Money amongst it, any sum that isordinarily recei*ed is much lighter than the Standard, and so hasless Sil*er in it than what is in a like Sum new Coin:d in theMint# &ut whilst cli+:d and weighty Money will equally change onefor another, it is all one to him whether he recei*e his Money incli+:d Money or no, so it be but current# 4or if he buy otherCommodities here with his Money, whate*er Sum he contracts for,cli+:d as well as weighty Money equally +ays for it# If he wouldcarry away the $rice of his Commodity in ready Cash, :tis easily#changed into weighty Money# %nd then he has not only the Sum intale, that he contracted for, but the quantity of Sil*er hee +ected for his Commodities, according to the Standard of ourMint# If the quantity of your cli+:d Money be once grown sogreat, that the 4oreign Merchant cannot 1if he has a mind to it2easily get eighty Money for it, but ha*ing sold his Merchandise,and recei*ed Cli+:d Money finds a difficulty to +rocure what isweight for it- he will, in selling his ?oods, either contract tobe +aid in weighty Money, or else raise the $rice of hisCommodities, according to the diminish:d quantity of Sil*er inyour Current Coin# In 0olland, 19ucatoons being the best Money of the Country,as well as the largest Coin2 Men in $ayments, recei*ed and +aidthose indifferently, with the other Money of the Country, till oflate the Coining of other S+ecies of Money, of baser %lloy, andin greater quantities, ha*ing made the 9ucatoons, either bymelting down, or > +ortation, scarcer than formerly, it becamedifficult to change the baser Money into 9ucatoons- and since



that, no body will +ay a 9ebt in 9ucatoons, unless he be allowed0alf +er Cent# or more, abo*e the *alue they were Coin:d for# )o understand this, we must take notice, )hat ?uilders is thedenomination, that in 0olland they usually com+ute by, and maketheir Contracts in# % 9ucatoon formerly +assed at )hree ?uilders,and )hree Stuy*ers, or Si ty'three Stuy*ers# )here were then

1some .ears since2 began to be Coin:d another $iece, which wascall:d a )hree ?uilders $iece, and was order:d to +ass for )hree?uilders or Si ty Stuy*ers# &ut A )hree ?uilders $ieces, whichwere to +ass for !B ?uilders, not ha*ing so much Sil*er in themas AK 9ucatoons, which +assed for the same Sum of !B ?uilders-the 9ucatoons were either melted down in their Mints, 1for themaking of these )hree ?uilder $ieces, or yet baser Money, with$rofit2 or were carried away by 4oreign Merchants- who when theycarried back the $roduct of their Sale in Money, would be sure torecei*e their $ayment of the number of ?uilders they contractedfor in 9ucatoons, or change the Money they recei*ed, into9ucatoons/ hereby they carried home more Sil*er, than if theyhad taken their $ayment in )hree ?uilder $ieces, or any otherS+ecies# )hus 9ucatoons became scarce# So that now he that willbe +aid in 9ucatoons must allow 0alf +er Cent# for them# %ndtherefore the Merchants, when they Sell any thing now, eithermake their &argain to be +aid in 9ucatoons, or if they contractfor ?uilders in general, 1which will be sure to be +aid them inthe baser Money of the Country,2 they raise the $rice of theirCommodities accordingly# &y this e am+le in a (eighbour Country we may see, how ournew Mill:d Money goes away# hen 4oreign )rade Im+orts more thanour Commodities will +ay for, :tis certain, we must contract9ebts beyond Sea, and those must be +aid with Money, when eitherwe cannot furnish, or they will not take our ?oods to dischargethem# )o ha*e Money beyond Sea to +ay our 9ebts, when ourCommodities do not raise it, there is no other way but to send itthither# %nd since a weighty Crown costs no more here than alight one- and our Coin beyond Sea, is *alued no otherwise thanaccording to the quantity of Sil*er it has in it, whether we sendit in S+ecie, or whether w*e melt it down here, to send it in&ullion 1which is the safest way as being not $rohibited2 theweightiest is sure to go# &ut when so great a quantity of yourMoney is Cli+:d, or so great a +art of your weighty Money iscarried away, that the 4oreign Merchant, or his 4actor herecannot ha*e his $rice +aid in weighty Money, or such as willeasily be changed into it, then e*ery one will see, 1when Menwill no longer take 4i*e cli+:d Shillings for a Mill:d or weightyCrown2 that it is the quantity of Sil*er that buys Commoditiesand $ays 9ebts, and not the Stam+ and 9enomination which is +utu+on it# %nd then too it will be seen, what a Robbery iscommitted on the $ublick by Cli++ing, >*ery ?rain diminished fromthe 5ust weight of our Money, is so much loss to the (ation-which will, one time or other, be sensibly felt/ %nd which, if itbe not taken care of, and s+eedily sto+t will, in that enormouscourse it is now in, quickly, I fear, break out into o+en illeffects- and at one blow, de+ri*e us of a great +art, 1+erha+s,near 3ne fourth2 of our Money# 4or that will be really the case,when the increase of Cli+:d Money makes it hard to get weighty-when Men begin to +ut a difference of *alue between that which isweighty, and light Money- and will not Sell their Commodities,but for Mony that is eight- and will make their &argainsaccordingly# Let the Country ?entleman, when it comes to that +ass,consider, what the decay of his >state will be, when recei*ing



his Rent in the )ale of Cli+:d Shillings, according to his&argain, he cannot get them to +ass at Market for more than their

eight# %nd he that Sells him Salt or Silk, will bargain for G s#such a quantity, if he +ays him in fair weighty Coin, but inCli+:d Money he will not take under G s# B d# 0ere you see youha*e your Money without this new trick of Coinage, raised G +er

Cent# &ut whether to any ad*antage of the Eingdom, I lea*e e*eryone to 5udge# 0itherto we ha*e only considered the raising of Sil*er Coin,and that has been only by Coining it with less Sil*er in it,under the same 9enomination# )here is another way yet of raisingMoney, which has something more of reality, though as little goodas the former in it# )his too, now that we are u+on the Cha+terof Raising of Money, it may not be unseasonable to o+en a little#)he raising I mean is, when either of the two richer Metals,1which Money is usually made of2 is by Law raised abo*e itsnatural *alue, in res+ect of the other# ?old and Sil*er, ha*e, inalmost all %ges, and +arts of the orld 1where Money was used2generally been thought the fittest Materials to make it of# &utthere being a great dis+ro+ortion in the $lenty of these Metalsin the orld, one has always been *alued much higher than theother- so that one 3unce of ?old has e changed for se*eral 3uncesof Sil*er/ %s at +resent, our ?uinea +assing for A s# ! d# inSil*er, ?old is now about 4ifteen and an half times more worththan Sil*erthere being about 4ifteen and an half times moreSil*er in A s# ! d# than there is ?old in a ?uinea# )his beingnow the Market Rate of ?old to Sil*er- if by an established Lawthe Rate of ?uinea:s should be set higher, 1as to AA s# ! d#2they would be raised indeed, but to the loss of the Eingdom# 4orby this Law ?old being rais:d G +er Cent# abo*e its natural true*alue, 4oreigners would find it worth while to send their ?oldhither, and so fetch away our Sil*er at G +er Cent# +rofit, andso much loss to us# 4or when so much ?old as would +urchase but

KK 3unces of Sil*er any where else, will in >ngland +urchase theMerchant KG 3unces, what shall hinder him from bringing his ?oldto so good a Market- %nd either Selling it at the Mint, where itwill yield so much, or ha*ing it Coin:d into ?uinea:s/ %nd then1going to Market with his ?uinea:s2 he may buy our Commodities atthe ad*antage of G +er Cent# in the *ery sort of his Money- orchange them into Sil*er, and carry that away with him@ 3n the other side, if by a Law you would raise your Sil*erMoney and make ; Crowns or AK s# in Sil*er, equal to a ?uinea, atwhich rate I su++ose it was first Coin:d- so that by your Law a?uinea should +ass but for AK s# the same incon*eniency wouldfollow# 4or then strangers would bring in Sil*er, and carry awayyour ?old, which was to be had here at a lower rate than anywhere else# If you say, that this incon*enience is not to be fear:d- forthat as soon as $eo+le found, that ?old began to grow scarce, orthat it was more worth than the Law set u+on it, they would notthen +art with it at the Statute'rate- as we see, the broad+ieces that were Coined in E# James I# time for AK s# no bodywill now +art with under AB s# or more, according to the Market*alue# )his I grant is true- and it does +lainly confess thefoolishness of making a Law, which cannot +roduce the effect, itis made for/ %s indeed it will not, when you would raise the+rice of Sil*er in res+ect of ?old, abo*e its natural Market*alue/ 4or then, as we see in our ?old, the +rice of it willraise it self# &ut on the other side, if you should by a Law setthe *alue of ?old abo*e its $ar, then $eo+le would be bound torecei*e it at that high rate, and so +art with their Sil*er at an



under *alue# &ut su++osing that ha*ing a mind to raise yourSil*er in res+ect of ?old, you make a Law to do it- what comes ofthat@ If your Law +re*ail, only this- that as much as you raiseSil*er, you debase ?old 1for they are in the condition of twothings +ut in o++osite Scales, as much as the one rises the otherfalls2 and then your ?old will be carried away, with so much

clear loss to the kingdom as you raise Sil*er and debase ?old byyour Law, below their natural *alue# If you raise ?old in+ro+ortion to Sil*er the same effect follows# I say, Raise Sil*er in res+ect of ?old- and ?old in+ro+ortion to Sil*er# 4or when you would raise the *alue ofMoney, +hansie what you will, :tis but in res+ect of somethingyou would change it for, and is done only when you can make aless quantity of the Metal, which your Money is made of, changefor a greater quantity of that thing which you would raise it to# )he effect indeed and ill consequence of raising either ofthese two Metals, in res+ect of the other is more easily obser*edand sooner found in raising ?old than Sil*er Coin/ &ecause youraccounts being ke+t, and your reckonings all made in $ounds,Shillings, and $ence, which are denominations of Sil*er Coins, ornumbers of them- if ?old be made current at a rate abo*e the freeand Market *alue of those two Metals, e*ery one will easily+ercei*e the incon*enience# &ut there being a Law for it, youcannot refuse the ?old in $ayment for so much# %nd all the Moneyor &ullion $eo+le will carry beyond Sea from you, will be inSil*er, and the Money or &ullion brought in, will be in ?old# %ndthe same 5ust will ha++en when your Sil*er is raised and ?olddebased in res+ect of one another, beyond their true and natural+ro+ortion/ 1(atural +ro+ortion or *alue I call that res+ecti*erate they find any where without the +rescri+tion of Law2 4orthen Sil*er will be that which is brought in, and ?old will becarried out- and that still with loss to the kingdom, answerableto the o*er'*alue, set by the Law# 3nly as soon as the mischiefis felt, +eo+le will 1do what you can2 raise their ?old to itsnatural *alue# 4or your accounts and bargains being made in thedenomination of Sil*er'money- if, when ?old is raised abo*e its+ro+ortion, by the Law, you cannot refuse it in $ayment 1as ifthe Law should make a ?uinea current at AA s# and ! d#2 you arebound to take it at that rate in $ayment# &ut if the Law shouldmake ?uineas current at AK s# he that has them is not bound to$ay them away at that rate, but may kee+ them ifhe +leases, orget more for them if he can/ .et from such a Law, one ofthesethree things will follow# >ither st, the Law forces them to goat AK s# and then being found +assing at that rate, 4oreignersmake their ad*antage of it/ 3r Adly, $eo+le kee+ them u+ and willnot +art with them at the legal rate, understanding them reallyto be worth more, and then all your ?old lies dead, and is of nomore use to )rade, than if it were all gone out of the kingdom/3r Bdly, It +asses for more than the Law allows, and then yourLaw signifies nothing, and had been better let alone# hich waye*er it succeeds it +ro*es either +re5udicial or ineffectual# Ifthe design ofyour Law take +lace, the kingdom loses by it/ If theincon*enience be felt and a*oided, your Law is eluded# Money is the measure of Commerce, and of the rate of e*erything, and therefore ought to be ke+t 1as all othermeasures2 assteady and in*ariable as may be# &ut this cannot be, if yourMoney be made of two Metals, whose +ro+ortion, and consequentlywhose +rice, constantly *aries in res+ect of one another# Sil*er,for many Reasons, is the fittest of all metals to be thismeasure, and therefore generally made use of for Money# &ut thenit is *ery unfit and incon*enient, that ?old, or any other Metal,



should be made current Legal Money, at a standing settled Rate#)his is to set a Rate u+on the *arying *alue of )hings by Law,which 5ustly cannot be done- and is, as I ha*e shewed, as far asit +re*ails, a constant damage and +re5udice to the Country,where it is +ractised# Su++ose 4ifteen to one be now the e act$ar beween ?old and Sil*er# hat Law can make it lasting- and

establish it so, that ne t .ear, or wenty .ears hence, this shallbe the 5ust *alue of ?old to Sil*er, and that one 3unce of ?oldshall be 5ust worth fifteen 3unces of Sil*er, neither more norless@ :)is +ossible, the >ast'India )rade swee+ing away greatSums of ?old, may make it scarcer in >uro+e# $erha+s the ?uinea)rade, and Mines of $eru, affording it in greater abundance, maymake it more +lentiful- and so its *alue in res+ect of Sil*er,come on the one side to be as si teen, or on the other asfourteen to one# %nd can any Law you shall make alter this+ro+ortion here, when it is so e*ery where else round about you@If your Law set it at fifteen, when it is at the free MarketRate, in the (eighbouring Countries, as si teen to one- ill theynot send hither their Sil*er to fetch away your ?old at 3nesi teen loss to you@ 3r if you will kee+ its Rate to Sil*er, asfifteen to one, when in 0olland, 4rance, and S+ain, its Market*alue is but fourteen- ill they not send hither their ?old, andfetch away your Sil*er at 3ne fifteen loss to you@ )his isuna*oidable, if you will make Money of both ?old and Sil*er atthe same time, and set Rates u+on them by Law in res+ect of oneanother# hat then@ 1 ill you be ready to say2 would you ha*e ?oldke+t out of >ngland@ 3r being here, would you ha*e it useless to)rade- and must there be no Money made of it@ I answer, Fuite thecontrary, :)is fit the kingdom should make use of the )reasure ithas# :)is necessary your ?old should be Coin:d, and ha*e theking:s Stam+ u+on it to secure Men, in recei*ing it, that thereis so much ?old in each +iece# &ut :tis not necessary that itshould ha*e a fi ed *alue set on it by +ublick %uthority/ :)isnot con*enient that it should in its *arying +ro+ortion ha*e asettled +rice# Let ?old as other Commodities, find its own Rate#%nd when, by the king:s Image and Inscri+tion, it carries with ita +ublick %ssurance of its weight and fineness- the ?old Money soCoin:d will ne*er fail to +ass, at the known Market Rate, asreadily, as any other S+ecies of your Money# )wenty ?uineas,though designed at first for AK l# go now as current for A l# Ks# as any other Money, and sometimes for more, as the Rate*aries# )he *alue or +rice of any thing, being only theres+ecti*e estimate it bears to some other, which it comes inCom+etition with, can only be known by the quantity of the one,which will e change for a certain quantity of the other# )herebeing no two things in (ature, whose +ro+ortion, and use does not*ary, :tis im+ossible to set a standing regular +rice betweenthem# )he growing +lenty or scarcity of either in the Market-1whereby I mean the ordinary +laces, where they are to be had in)raffick2 or the real <se, or changing fashion of the +lacebringing either of them more into demand than formerly, +resency*aries the res+ecti*e *alue of any two )hings# .ou will asfruiCesly endea*our to kee+ two different )hings steadily at thesame +rice one with another, as to kee+ two )hings in an%>quilibrium, where their *arying weights, de+end on differentCauses# $ut a +iece of S+unge in one Scale, and an e actcounter+oise of Sil*er in the other, you will be mightilymistaken if you imagine, that because they are to day equal, theyshall always remain so# )he weight of the S+unge *arying withe*ery change of moisture# in the %ir, the Sil*er in the o++osite



Scale will sometimes Rise and sometimes 4all# )his is 5ust theState of Sil*er and ?old in regard of their mutual *alue# )heir+ro+ortion, or use, may, nay constancy does *ary, and with ittheir +rice# 4or being estimated one in Reference to the other,they are as it were +ut in o++osite Scales, and as the one risesthe other falls, and so on the contrary#

4arthings made of a baser Metal, may on this account toodeser*e your Consideration# 4or whatsoe*er Coin you make current,abo*e the Intrinsick *alue, will always be dammage to the$ublick, whoe*er get by it# &ut of this I shall not at +resententer into a more +articular >nquiry# 3nly this I willconfidently affirm, )hat it is the Interest ofe*ery Country, thatall the current Money of it should be of one and the same Metal-)hat the se*eral S+ecies should be all of the same %lloy, andnone of a baser mi ture/ %nd that the Standard once thus settled,should be In*iolably and Immutably ke+t to +er+etuity# 4orwhene*er that is alter:d, u+on what +retence soe*er, the $ublickwill lose by it# Since then it will neither bring us in more Money, &ullion,nor )rade- nor kee+ that we ha*e here- nor hinder our weightyMoney, of what 9enomination soe*er, from being melted, to what+ur+ose should the kingdom be at the charge of Coining all ourMoney a'new@ 4or I do not su++ose any &ody can +ro+ose, that weshould ha*e two sorts of Money at the same time, one hea*ier, andthe other lighter, as it comes from the Mint# )hat is *ery absurdto imagine# So that if all your old Money must be Coin:d o*eragain, it will indeed be some ad*antage, and that a *eryconsiderable one, to the 3fficers of the Mint# 4or they beingallow:d Si teen +ence half'+enny for the Coinage of e*ery $ound)roy, which is *ery near 4i*e and an half +er Cent# If our Moneybe Si Millions, and must be Coin:d all o*er again, it will costthe (ation to the Mint 3ne hundred thirty thousand +ounds# If thecli+:d Money must sca+e, because it is already as light as yournew Standard- do you not own that this design of new Coinage is5ust of the (ature of Cli++ing@ )his business of Money and Coinage is by some Men, andamongst them some *ery Ingenious $ersons, thought a greatMystery, and *ery hard to be understood# (ot that truly in itself it is so/ &ut because interessed $eo+le that treat of it,wra+ u+ the Secret they make ad*antage of in mystical, obscure,and unintelligible ways of )alking- hich Men, from a+reconcei*:d o+inion of the difficulty of the sub5ect, taking forSense, in a matter not easie to be +enetrated, but by the Men of%rt, let +ass for Current without > amination# hereas, wouldthey look into those 9iscourses, enquire what meaning their ordsha*e, they would find, for the most +art, either their $ositionsto be false- their 9eductions to be wrong- or 1which oftenha++ens2 their words to ha*e no distinct meaning at all# herenone of these be, there their +lain, true, honest Sense, would+ro*e *ery easie and intelligible, if e +ress:d in ordinary anddirect Language# )hat this is so, I shall shew, by e amining a $rinted Sheeton this Sub5ect, Intituled, Remarks on a $a+er gi*en in to theLords, 6c# Remarks# :)is certain, )hat what +lace soe*er will gi*e mostfor Sil*er by weight, it will thither be carried and Sold/ %nd ifof the Money which now +asses in >ngland, there can be G s# G d#the 3unce, gi*en for Standard Sil*er at the Mint- when but G s# ;d# ofthe *ery same Money can be gi*en elsewhere for it, it willbe certainly brought to the Mint- and when Coin:d, cannot beSold, 1ha*ing one $enny o*er'*alue set u+on it by the 3unce2 for



the same that other $late may be bought for, so will be leftunmelted- at least, :twill be the Interest of any > +orters, tobuy $late to send out, before Money- whereas now :tis hisInterest to buy Money to send out before $late# %nsw# )he %uthor would do well to make it intelligible, how,of the Money that now +asses in >ngland, at the Mint can be gi*en

G s# G d# the 3unce, for Standard Sil*er, when but G s# ; d# ofthe same Money can be gi*en elsewhere for it# (e t, 0ow it hasone $enny o*er'*alue set w+on it by the 3unce- So that, henCoin:d it cannot be Sold@ )his, to an ordinary Reader, looks *eryMysterious- and, I fear, is so, as either signifying nothing atall, or nothing that will hold# 4or- # I ask who is it at the Mint, that can gi*e G s# Gd# +er3unce, for Standard Sil*er, when no body else can gi*e abo*e G s#; d#@ Is it the king, or is it the Master orker, or any ofthe3fficers@ 4or to gi*e G s# G d# for what will yield but G s ; d#to any body else, is to gi*e 3ne si ty fifth +art more than it isworth# 4or so much e*ery thing is worth, as it will yield# %nd Ido not see how this can turn to account to the king, or be bornby any body else# A# I ask, 0ow a $enny o*er'*alue can be set u+on it by the3unce- so that it cannot be sold@ )his is so Mysterious that Ithink it near im+ossible# 4or an equal quantity of StandardSil*er will always be 5ust worth an equal quantity of StandardSil*er# %nd it is utterly im+ossible to make !; +arts of StandardSil*er equal to, or worth !G +arts of the same Standard Sil*er-which is meant by setting a $enny o*er'*alue u+on it by the3unce, if that has any meaning at all# Indeed, by the orkmanshi+of it, !; 3unces of Standard Sil*er may be made not only worth !G3unces, but =K or HK# &ut the Coinage, which is all the

orkmanshi+ here, being +aid for by a )a , I do not see how thatcan be reckon:d at all/ 3r if it be, it must raise e*ery G s# and; d# Coin:d, to abo*e G s# G d# If I carry !; 3unces of StandardSil*er in &ullion to the Mint, to be Coin:d- shall I not ha*e5ust !; 3unces back again for it in Coin@ %nd if so, Can these !;3unces of Coin:d Standard Sil*er, be +ossibly made worth !G3unces of the same Standard Sil*er uncoin:d- when they cost me nomore, and I can, for barely going to the Mint, ha*e !; 3unces ofStandard Sil*er in &ullion turned into Coin@ Chea+ness of Coinagein >ngland, where it costs nothing, will, indeed, make Money besooner brought to the Mint, than any where else/ because there Iha*e the con*enience of ha*ing it made into Money for nothing#&ut this will no more kee+ it in >ngland, than if it were +erfect&ullion# (or will it hinder it from being melted down- because itcost no more in Coin than in &ullion/ %nd this equally, whetheryour $ieces, of the same 9enomination, be lighter, hea*ier, or5ust as they were before# )his being e +lain:d, :will be easie tosee, whether the other things, said in the same $aragra+h, betrue or false- and +articularly, whether :twill be the Interestof e*ery > +orter, to buy $late to send out before Money# Remark# :)is only barely asserted, )hat if Sil*er be raisedat the Mint, )hat :twill rise elsewhere abo*e it- but can ne*erbe known till it be tried# %nsw# )he %uthor tells us in the last $aragra+h, )hat Sil*erthat is worth but G s# A d# +er 3unce at the Mint, is worth G s#; d# elsewhere# )his, how true, or what incon*enience it hath, Iwill not here e amine# &ut be the Incon*enience of it what itwill, this raising the Money he +ro+oses as a Remedy/ %nd tothose who say, u+on raising our Money Sil*er will rise too, hemakes this %nswer, )hat it can ne*er be known, whether it will 3rno, till it be tried# )o which I re+ly, )hat it may be known as



certainly, without )rial, as it can, )hat two $ieces of Sil*er,that weighed equally yesterday, will weigh equally again tomorrow in the same Scales# )here is Sil*er 1says our %uthor2 whereof an 3unce 1i#e# ;HK?rains2 will change for G s# ; d# 1i#e# ;"! ?rains2 of ourStandard Sil*er Coin:d# )o morrow you Coin your Money lighter- so

that then G s# ; d# will ha*e but ;=A ?rains of Coin:d StandardSil*er in it# Can it not then be known, without )rial, whetherthat 3unce of Sil*er, which to day will change for ;"! ?rains ofStandard Sil*er Coin:d, will change to morrow but for ;=A ?rainsof the same Standard Sil*er Coin:d@ 3r can any one imagine that;HK ?rains of the same Sil*er which to day are worth ;"! ?rainsof our Coin:d Sil*er, will to morrow be worth but ;=A ?rains ofthe same Sil*er, a little differently Coin:d@ 0e that can ha*e a9oubt about this till it be tried, may as well demand a )rial tobe made, to +ro*e, )hat the same thing is equi+onderant, orequi*alent to it self# 4or I think it is as clear, )hat ;=A?rains of Sil*er are equi+onderant to ;"! ?rains of Sil*er, asthat an 3unce of Sil*er, that is to day worth ;"! ?rains ofStandard Sil*er, should to morrow be worth but ;=A ?rains of thesame Standard Sil*er, all Circumstances remaining the same, butthe different eight of the $ieces stam+:d/ which is that our%uthor asserts, when he sa*s, )hat :tis only barely asserted, 6c#

hat has been said to this, may ser*e also for an %nswer to thene t $aragra+h# 3nly I desire it may be taken notice of, )hat the%uthor seems to insinuate that Sil*er goes not in >ngland, as in4oreign $arts, by eight/ hich is a *ery dangerous as well asfalse $osition- and which, if allowed, may let into our Mint whatCorru+tion and 9ebasing of our Money one +leases# Remark# )hat 3ur )rade hath heretofore furnished us with an3*er+lus, brought home in ?old and Sil*er, is true- &ut that webring home from any +lace more ?oods than we now > +ort to it, Ido not concei*e to be so# %nd more ?oods might be sent to those+arts- but by reason of the great *alue of Sil*er in this +art ofthe orld, more Money is to be got by > +orting Sil*er, than byany other thing that can be sent- and that is the reason ofit#%nd for its being melted down, and sent out, because it is sohea*y, is not by their $a+er denied# %nsw# )hat we bring home from any +lace more ?oods than wenow e +ort, 1)he %uthor tells us2 he doth not concei*e# ould he had told us a Reason for his Conceit# &ut since theMoney of any Country is not +resently to be changed, u+on any+ri*ate Man:s groundless Conceit, I su++ose this %rgument willnot be of much w*eight with many Men# I make bold to call it agroundless Conceit/ 4or if the %uthor +lease to remember thegreat Sums of Money are carried e*ery .ear to the >ast'Indies,for which we bring home consumable Commodities- 1though I mustown that it +ays us again with ad*antage#2 3r if he will e amine,how much only two Commodities, wholly consum:d here, cost usyearly in Money, 1I mean Canary ine and Currants2 more than we+ay for with ?oods > +orted to the Canaries and Nant- besides the3*er'ballance of )rade u+on us in se*eral other +laces, he willha*e little reason to say, he doth not concei*e we bring homefrom any +lace more ?oods than we now > +ort to it# %s to what he says concerning the melting down and > +ortingour Money, because it is hea*y# If by hea*y, he means, becauseour Crown'+ieces 1and the rest of our s+ecies of Money in+ro+ortion2 are AB or A; ?rains hea*ier than he would ha*e themCoin:d/ )his, whoe*er grants it, I deny u+on grounds, which Isu++ose, when e amined, will be found clear and e*ident# Indeed when your 9ebts beyond Sea, to answer the



3*er'ballance of 4oreign Im+ortations, call for your Money, :tiscertain the hea*y Money, which has the full Standard eight, willbe melted down and carried away/ because 4oreigners *alue notyour Stam+ or 9enomination, but your Sil*er# 0e would do well to tell us what he means by the great *alueof Sil*er in this +art of the orld# 4or he s+eaks of it as a

Cause, that draws away our Money more now than formerly- or elseit might as well ha*e been omitted as mentioned in this +lace/%nd if he mean, by this +art of the orld, >ngland- :tis scarceSense to say, )hat the great Value of Sil*er in >ngland shoulddraw Sil*er out of >ngland# If he means the (eighbouringCountries to >ngland, he should ha*e said it, and not doubtfullythis +art of the orld# &ut let him, by this +art of the orld,mean what he will, I dare say e*ery one will agree, )hat Sil*eris not more *alu:d in this, than any other +art of the orld- norin this %ge, more than in our ?randfathers 9ays# I am sorry if it be true, what he tells us, )hat more Moneyis to be got by > +ortation of Sil*er, than by any other thingthat can be sent# )his is an >*idence, that we bring home more?oods than we > +ort# 4or till that ha++ens, and has brought usin 9ebt beyond Sea, Sil*er will not be > +orted- but the 3*er+lusof $eo+les ?ain, being generally laid u+ in Sil*er, it will bebrought home in Sil*er- and so our $eo+le will *alue it as muchas any other, in this +art ofthe orld# )he )ruth of the Case in short is this# hene*er we, by alosing )rade, contract 9ebts with our (eighbours- they will +utagreat Value on our Sil*er, and more Money will be got bytrans+orting Sil*er than any thing can be sent/ hich comes aboutthus# Su++ose that by an 3*erballance of their )rade 1whether bya Sale of $e++er, S+ices, and other >ast'India Commodities, itmatters not2 we ha*e recei*ed great quantities of ?oods, withinthese two or three Months, from 0olland, and sent but littlethither- so that the accounts ballanced between the Inhabitantsof >ngland and the <nited $ro*inces, we of >ngland were a Millionin their 9ebt/ hat would follow from hence@ )his/ )hat these9utch Creditors, desiring to ha*e what is due to them, gi*e 3rderto their 4actors and Corres+ondents here, to return it to them#4or enquiring, as we do, what are the effects of an o*er'ballanceof )rade, we must not su++ose, they in*est their 9ebts inCommodities, and return their >ffects that way# % Million thenbeing to be returned from >ngland to 0olland in Money, e*ery oneseeks &ills of > change/ but >nglishmen not ha*ing 9ebts in0olland to answer this Million, or any the least +art of it,&ills are not to be got# )his +resently makes the > change *eryhigh- u+on which the &ankers, 6c# who ha*e the command of greatquantities of Money and &ullion, send that away to 0olland inS+ecie, and so take Money here to +ay it again there, u+on their&ills, at such a rate of > change, as gi*es them fi*e, ten,fifteen, 6c# +er Cent# +rofit/ %nd thus sometimes a G s# $iece ofour mill:d Money may truly be said to be worth G s# B d# ; d# !d# " din 0olland# %nd if this be the great *alue of Sil*er inthis +art of the orld, I easily grant it him# &ut this great*alue is to be remedied, not by the alteration of our Mint, butby the Regulation and &allance of our )rade# 4or be your Coinwhat it will, our (eighbours, if they o*er'ballance us in )rade,will not only ha*e a great *alue for our Sil*er, but get it too-and there will be more to be got by > +orting Sil*er to them,than by any other )hing can be sent# Remarks# )he alteration ofthe Coins in S+ain and $ortugal areno way at all like this# 4or there they alter:d in 9enominationnear half, to decei*e those they +aid, with +aying those to whom



they owed one 3unce of Sil*er, but half an 3unce for it# &ut inthe alteration here designed, to whoe*er an 3unce of Sil*er wasowing, an 3unce will be +aid in this Money- it being here onlydesigned, that an 3unce of Money should equal an 3unce of Sil*erin *alue, at home, as well as abroad, which now it does not# %nswer# In this $aragra+h the %uthor Confesses the alteration

of the Coin in S+ain and $oitugal was a cheat- but the alterationhere design:d, he says, is not/ &ut the Reason he gi*es for it isadmirable/ *iD# &ecause they there alter:d in 9enomination nearhalf, and here the 9enomination is alter:d but G +er Cent- for soin )ruth it is, whate*er be designed# %s if GK +er Cent# were aCheat, but G +er Cent# were not- because +erha+s less+ercei*eable# 4or the two )hings that are +retended to be donehere by this new Coinage, I fear will both fail, *iD# # )hat towhomsoe*er an 3unce of Sil*er is owing, an 3unce of Sil*er shallbe +aid in this Money# 4or when an 3unce of Sil*er is Coin:d, asis +ro+osed, into G s# G d# 1which is to make our Money G +erCent# lighter than it is now2 I that am to recei*e an KK l# +er%nnum, 4ee 4arm Rent- shall I in this new Money recei*e KG l# orbarely KK l#@ )he first I think will not be said# 4or if by Lawyou ha*e made it KK l# :tis certain the )enant will +ay me nomore# lf you do not mean that ;KK Crowns, or AKKK Shillings ofyour new Coin shall be an KK l# but there must be G +er Cent# intale, added to e*ery KK, you are at the charge of new Coinage tono other +ur+ose but to breed Confusion# If I must recei*e KK l#by tale, of this new Money for my 4ee 4arm Rent, :tisdemonstration that I lose fi*e 3unces +er Cent# of the Sil*er wasdue to me# )his a little lower he confesses in these ords, )hatwhere a Man has a Rent'S>C, that can ne*er be more, this maysomewhat affect it, but so *ery little, that it will scarce e*erat all be +ercei*ed# )his *ery little is G +er Cent# %nd if a Manbe cheated of that, so he +ercei*es it not, it goes for nothing#&ut this loss will not affect only such Rents, as can ne*er bemore, but all $ayments whatsoe*er, that are contracted for beforethis alteration of our Money# A# If it be true, what he affirms, )hat an 3unce of Moneydoth equal an 3unce of Sil*er in *alue abroad, but not at home-then this +art of the <ndertaking will also fail# 4or I deny thatthe Stam+ on our Money does any more debase it here at home thanabroad, or make the Sil*er in our Money not equal in *alue to thesame weight of Sil*er e*ery where# )he %uthor would ha*e donewell to ha*e made it out, and not left so great a $arado only tothe credit of a single %ssertion# Remarks# %nd for what is said in this &ill to +re*ent> +ortation, relates only to the kee+ing in our own Coin, and&ullion, and lea*es all 4oreign to be > +orted still# %wswer# hat the %uthor means by our own and 4oreign &ullion,will need some > +lication# Remarks# )here is now no such thing as $ayments made inweighty and Mill:d Money# %nswer# I belie*e there are *ery few in )own, who do not *eryoften recei*e a mill:d Crown for G s# and a mill:d half Crown forA s# ! d# &ut he means I su++ose in great and entire Sums ofmill:d Money# &ut I ask, if all the cli+:d Money were called in,whether then all the $ayments would not be in weighty Money-# andthat not being call:d in, whether if it be lighter than your newmill:d Money, the new mill:d Money will not be melted down asmuch as the old@ hich I think the %uthor there confesses, orelse I understand him not# Remark# (or will this any way interru+t )rade- for )rade willfind its own course- the 9enomination of Money in any Country no



way concerning that# %wswer# )he 9enomination to a certain eight of Money, in allCountries, concerns )rade- and the alteration of that necessarilybrings disturbance to it# Remark# 4or if so be it occasions the Coining more Money# %nswer# 0e talks as if it would be the occasion of Coining

more Money# 3ut of what@ 3ut of Money already Coin:d, or out of&ullion@ 4or I would be glad to know where it is# Remarks# It may be some gain to those that will *enture tomelt down the Coin, but *ery small loss 1if any2 to thosethatshall be +aid in the (ew/ :)is not to be denied, but thatwhere any Man has a Rent'S>C, that can ne*er be more, this maysomewhat affect it- but so *ery little, :twill scarce e*er at allbe +ercei*ed# %nswer# %s much as it will be gain to melt down their Coin,so much loss will it be to those who are +aid in the new# ViD# G$er Cent# which I su++ose, is more than the %uthor would bewilling to lose, unless he get by it another way# Rem# %nd if the alteration designed should ha*e the effect ofmaking our (ati*e Commodities any way dearer# %nsw# 0ere the %uthor confesses, that +ro+ortionably as yourMoney is raised, the $rice of other things will be raised too#&ut to make amends, he says, Rem# It does at the same time makethe Land which +roduces them, of more than so much more in *alue# %nsw# )his more than so much more in *alue, is more than our%uthor, or any body else for him, will e*er be able to make out# )he $rice of )hings will always be estimated by the quantityof Sil*er is gi*en in e change for them# %nd if you make yourMoney less in eight, it must be made u+ in )ale# )his is allthis great mystery of raising Money, and raising Land# 4or> am+le, )he Mannor of &lackacre would yesterday ha*e yielded 3nehundred thousand Crowns, which Crown'+ieces, let us su++osenumero rotundo, to weigh each of them an 3unce of StandardSil*er# )o day your new Coin comes in +lay, which is G $er Centlighter# )here:s your Money raised/ )he Land now at Sale yields3ne hundred and fi*e thousand Crowns, which is 5ust the same 3nehundred thousand 3unces of Standard Sil*er# )here:s the Landraised# %nd is not this an admirable In*ention, for which the$ublick ought to be at abo*e 3ne hundred thousand +ounds Chargefor new Coinage, and all your Commerce +ut in disorder@ %nd thento recommend this In*ention, you are told, as a great Secret,)hat, 0ad not Money, from time to time, been raised in its9enomination, Lands had not so risen too## which is to say, 0adnot your Money been made lighter, fewer $ieces of it would ha*ebought as much Land as a greater number does now# Rem# )he loss of $ayments there s+oken of, will, in no sort,be so great as if the $arties to whom these 9ebts are owing, werenow bound to recei*e them in the Money now $asses, and then tomelt the same down- so at this they will ha*e no cause tocom+lain# %nsw# % *ery good %rgument )he Cli++ers ha*e rob:d the$ublick of a good +art of their Money 1which Men will, some timeor other, find in the $ayments they recei*e2 and :tis desired theMint may ha*e a liberty to be before'hand with those to whom9ebts are owing# )hey are told they will ha*e no reason toCom+lain of it, who suffer this loss- because it is not so greatas the other# )he damage is already done to the $ublick, byCli++ing# here at last it will light, I cannot tell# &ut Men whorecei*e Cli+:d Money, not being forced to melt it down, do notyet recei*e any loss by it# hen Cli+:d Money will no longerchange for weighty, then those who ha*e Cli+:d Money in their



hands, will find the loss of it# Rem# :)will make the Customs better +aid, because there willbe more Money# %ns# )hat there will be more Money in )ale, :tis +ossible/)hat there will be more Money in eight and orth the %uthorought to shew# %nd then, whate*er becomes of the Customs, 1which

I do not hear are un+aid now2 the king will lose in the > ciseabo*e )hirty thousand +ounds +er %nnum# 4or in all )a es where somany $ounds, Shillings, or $ence are determined by the Law to be+aid, there the king will lose G $er Cent# )he %uthor here as inother +laces, gi*es a good reason for it# 4or, 0is Ma5esty beingto +ay away this Money by )ale, as he recei*ed it, it will be tohim no loss at all# %s if my recei*ing my Rents in full )ale, but in Money ofunder*alue G $er Cent# were not so much loss to me, because I wasto +ay it away again by )ale# )ry it at GK $er Cent# )he oddsonly is, )hat one being greater than the other, would make morenoise# &ut our %uthor:s great refuge in this is, )hat it will notbe +ercei*:d# Remark# If all 4oreign Commodities, were to be $urchased withthis new S+ecies of Money sent out- we agree, )hat with KK l# ofit there could not be so much Sil*er or other Commodities bought,as with KK l# in Crown $ieces as now Coined- because they wouldbe hea*ier- %nd all Coin in any Eingdom, but where :tis Coined,only goes by eight- andfor the same weight of Sil*er, the samee*ery where still will be bought- and so there will, with thesame quantity of ?oods# %nd if those ?oods should cost G +erCent# more here in >ngland than heretofore, and yield but thesame Money 1we mean by the 3unce abroad2 the same Money broughthome and Coin:d, will yield the Im+orter G +er Cent# more at theMint than it heretofore could do, and so no damage to the )raderat all# %nsw# 0ere )ruth forces from the %uthor a confession of )wo)hings, which demonstrate the *anity and uselesness of the$ro5ect# # )hat u+on this change of your Coin, 4oreign ?oods will berais:d# A# .our own ?oods will cost more G +er Cent# So that ?oods ofall kinds being thereu+on raised- wherein consists the raising ofyour Money, when an 3unce of Standard Sil*er, howe*er minc:d,stam+:d, or denominated, will buy no more Commodities than it didbefore@ )his confession also shews the 4alshood of that dangeroussu++osition, )hat Money, in the Eingdom where it is Coin:d, goesnot by weight, i#e# is not *alued by its eight# Rem# :)is true, )he 3wners of Sil*er will find a good Marketfor if, and no others will be damaged- but, on the contrary, themaking $lenty of Money will be an ad*antage to all# %nsw# I grant it true, )hat if your Money were really raised,G +er Cent# the 3wners of Sil*er would get so much by it, bybringing it to the Mint to be Coin:d# &ut since, as is confessed,Commodities will 1u+on this raising your Money2 be raised too G+er Cent# this alteration will be an ad*antage to no body but the3fficers of the Mint, and 0oarders of Money# Rem# hen Standard Sil*er was last raised at the Mint, 1whichit was, from G s# to G s# and A d# the 3unce, in the ;Bd# of>liD#2 and, for abo*e 4orty .ears after, Sil*er uncoin:d was notworth abo*e ; s# K d# the 3unce, which occasion :d much Coining-and of Money, none in those days was > +orted/ hereas Sil*er nowis worth but the *ery same G s# and A d# the 3unce still at theMint, and is worth G s# ; d# elsewhere# So that if this &ill nowwith the Lords does not ha++en to $ass, there can ne*er any



Sil*er be e*er more Coin:d at the Mint- and all the mill:d Moneywill in a *ery little time more be destroyed# %ns# )he reason of so much Money Coin:d in Fueen >liDabeth:s)ime, and afterwards, was not the lessening your Crown $iecesfrom ;HK to ;!A ?rains, and so +ro+ortionably all the rest ofyour Money, 1which is that the %uthor calls, raising Standard

Sil*er from G s# to G s# A d# the 3unce2 but from theo*er'ballance of your )rade, bringing then in $lenty of &ullion,and kee+ing it here# 0ow Standard Sil*er 1for if the %uthor s+eaks of otherSil*er, it is a fallacy2 should be worth its own eight inStandard Sil*er at the Mint, 1i#e# G s# A d# the 3unce2 and beworth more than its own eight in Standard Sil*er, 1i#e# G s# ;d# the 3unce2 in Lombard'street, is a $arado that no body, Ithink, will be able to com+rehend, till it be better > +lain:d#It is time to gi*e off Coining, if the *alue of Standard Sil*erbe lessened by itas really it is, if an 3unce of Coin:dStandard Sil*er will not e change for an 3unce of uncoin:dStandard Sil*er unless you add G or ! ?rains o*er+lus to it/

hich is what the %uthor would ha*e taken u+on his word, when hesays, Sil*er is worth 4i*e Shillings 4our $ence elsewhere# 4i*e Shillings 4our $ence of Money Coin:d at the Mint, the%uthor must allow to be at least ;"G ?rains# %n 3unce is but ;HK?rains# 0ow then an 3unce of uncoin:d Standard Sil*er can beworth 4i*e Shillings 4our $ence, 1i#e# 0ow ;HK ?rains of uncoin:dStandard Sil*er can be worth ;"G ?rains of the same StandardSil*er, Coin:d into Money2 is unintelligible- unless the Coinageof our Mint lessens the Value of Standard Sil*er#

SIR,

C3I( and Interest are )wo )hings of so great moment to the$ublick, and of so great concernment in )rade, that they ought,*ery accurately to be e amin:d into, and *ery nicely weigh:d,u+on any $ro+osal of an alteration to be made in them# I +retendnot to ha*e )reated of them here as thy deser*e# )hat must be thework of an abler 0and# I ha*e said something on these Sub5ects,because you requir:d it# %nd, I ho+e, the readiness of my3bedience will e cuse, to .ou, the 4aults I ha*e committed, andassure .ou that I am, SIR, .our most humble Ser*ant# John Lock#

some considerations on lowering of interest and the raising the value of money_locke

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