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(jone ~ the aHe might have done; that ji lO rayo it h,u
rcduced thcln w\heirdue proporl1on wich thc: ilghtd t gpld .
Thc d ,ford er, thcr..:fure, ot th", Enghfh COlO has ren–
ocre,1 thl! fl.tnd.crd o( ;¡ pounu*Ikrling 'luitc: uncc:nain.
'To (ay th~\ it ic; 171 8.7 grd ins of fin...: 'ilver, is quite
ideal. \Vho arc 11l fueh pf')unJs? T o (ay lhat Il is
J 13 6rains oCrur~ gold, mA y ¡llo nOI be Hue ; becaufe
lhe ..e are: many cUfrencies \Vorfe than lhe new guineas.
\\.'hOll th~n 15 lhe confequeuce of :¡JI !hlS d,forder?
' Vhi'lt cfle:él has it upon lhe , current value of a pound
fl(!rltn~? AnJ which Wi4y can lh: val u:.: of tha, be deter ..
mineJ ?
The oper;nions of tr:lde bring 10 an equation,
notw,t!.Handin'g the grearel. ¡rrc~ulantics poffiole, and
ro'in f(!él a pound Clerling has acqUlred a delermln,lte va–
Juc OVd all lhe world by lhe mean! of foreien cxchange.
This IS a kind of iJeal f~J le for mearuring the Brilifh
coin, although 11 has n:lt all lhe propcn ies of l!l,¡l dcfcnbed
aboye.
Exeh.nge eonfide.. the pocnd Clerling as a va)ne de·
tcrmined ilccorJing ro lhe combinalion of rhe value:s of
all the: ddr~rent currencic:s, in proportíon as raymenu
are mOlde iD lhe one or rhe otller ; and as deblors gene·
rally take c.are to' p"y in lhe worft Cpecies ,hey can, i~
'confequendy follows, that the value ot the pound lle:r11ng
rhould ¡all to that of the 10weCl eurreney.
Were lhere a fu fficient q uantiry of Vlorn gold and (jI·
..er to aequit all bilis of exehange. the pouod flerlJOg
.\Vould come down 10 rhe value of them i · bU l if the ne\V
gold be alfo necdf"y for thal purpof•• the value of it
mul! be ¡roportlonaUy greater.
AU thefe eombioation. are liquidated aod eompenf..ed
'xith one another, by lhe operauonaof lrade and ex.change:
lod the pound flerl i"g. whieh is fo dlÍferent in itfelf. be–
comes thereby, in lhe eyes of commerce, a determinate
unir, Cubjea however lO variations. from wh.ich tI never
CID be exempted . •
Excbaoge, therefore, ¡, one of the bdl: mearures (or
yaluing a pound Cl:erJing, prefeot curreDey. H ere oecurs
• quellion :
D oe. the great q uaotiry of paper money in
und to diminilh the value of the pound (terling ?
We anfwer in lhe negatíve, P l1ptr "Jonry is juft as
tood as gold or Glvl:r money, aod O? better . The va·
riuioD o( (he Handard, WI! have already f¡id , mua in·
fl uence the interells of debtors and crtditors proponíon–
ally e:.,ery where. F rom chis it follows, thal all augm~D·
tarion of the value of [he money unit in the fpecie mull
hurt lhe debtors in the papel money ; and all dimiomions,
00 rhe orher hand, mua lIurt lhe creditors in the p2pei mo·
ney as wcll as e1'ery where clfe. l 'he payments, (here·
fore, made io p:tpcr money. never can oonrribute to lhe
regulatioo of the nand.r" of the pound nerli ng ; it is Ihe
fpecie recei\"ed in liquidarioD of that pit pc:r money which
,Iooe cancontflbute to m31k lhe valueof rhe Britiíh unir;
becaurc:ir j. affixcd to nothing e1r~.
From 1his we mj1Y draw a pri ncipie, 11 That io coun·
trie. whae lhe money unit is entirely affixcd to the coin,
the allual value or it is nOl according ro the lecal fiandard
of Ih \t coin, but accordlng tO lhe meao proportion of the
¡Dual worth of thofe currencies in which debu are paid.
VOL . IlL N°. 80. 2
Fronl lhis \Ve fce the rearun why th e bet '.'leen
E ngland and a ll otha tradlOg to\Vns in Europe has long
appeH l'd fo linl ;:t\·ourahle . P eople c~kulate rhe real par,
upon lhe [upl-'0lition that" pouod is worth 17 18.7
grains troy of fine fj!ver, whcn in faél the currency IS oor
pc.rhaps worth 1638, lhe: v.due ora new gUInea 10 filver,
at the market rroportlon of ~ tQ 14.5 i that i, la [.1)',
lhe cu rrency is but 95.3 . po- tenl 01 ¡he filver Clan.d.u."
of the 43d oí Elizab<lh. No wonckr theo ir lhe éX–
changc be thoueht unfayou rable.
Fl um lhe princi·plc we h• .,e j un laid down, we may
gather a confirmalion of what we advt:nced concerning
the eaufe of the adl'anced price of bullión in the Engltrh
market.
When people buy bullion with curreor money at a de·
terminate price, that opcrat1on. in conjuntbon with lhe
courfe of exchange, OUghl naturalJy tO muk the atlu<tl
vaJue of the pound fierllOg \\11th gr~at exatlnefs.
If therefore the price of lIandard bul !.on in the Englilh
mlfk:t. when DO denund is found for [he exp,)((31ion of
rhe mela!s, t~;u is to fay. whcn paper is round (Uf p~per
upon exchange, and \Vhe n mcrchantSverfed in rheCe mat4
lers judgc: exchitnge (l11ar is, remittaoces) ro be al par,
ir then, filvcr bullaon cannOl De bOl.1ghr at a Jower price
than 65 pence the ounee, it is evidenr that lhis buIlion
might be bought 'Nith 6, penee iD rhilling., of which 6,
might be coined out of the pound troy Englifh fl:andard
lilver ¡ lince 65 per ounee imphes 65 fhilllngs for lhe 12
ounces or pound troy_
ThlS pl.inly rhews how Clandard filver bullioo nlOuld
fell for 65 pence the ounce, iD a country wherO' Ihe
ounee of n .mdard filver in the coin is wortn. no more
than 62; and were the nurket price of bullion la Ilclnd
uniformly at 65 pencepl'rounce, thar ....ould lhew theva lue
of the pound lIerling 10 be tolerahly fixed . Al! the heavy
fiJver coin is oow carried off; becaufe it was intrinfically
worth : ore rhan the gold il patred foc ·n curreocy. Thc
lilver thererore which remaíns ís woro down 10 Ihe
market proportíon o( the metal" as has been faid; rbat
is' ro ·fay. 20 fhilliogs in (jI ver currency are worth 1J 3
grains o(fine gold, at theproportionof 1 to 14.5 betwecQ
gold and Iilvcr¡ N ow,
as 1 is to 14.5", ro is 11 3 to 1638.
ro the 20 fllill ings current weigh but t6 38 gnins fine
filve,; innead of 1718.7. which they ought to do a<cord–
ing to Ihe flancl..d.
Now Jet us fpeak o( rlandard lilver. lince we are cxa–
mining ho," far 'the Englirh eoia roun be woro by ufe.
The pound lroy contalns 5760 grains. T his, according
to the ftandard, is coincd iota 62 fhillings j conre<pieody.
el'''y n,illing ought to lVeigh 92.9 grains. or fu en
rhilltngs it i, imponible that'ever llandard bullion rhould
feH atabove 62 penceptr ounce. lf thererore fu ch bullían
fells ~r 6, prnet, the n,illtngs lVi,h IVhieh it i. bOllght mull
wcigh 00 OIore Iban 88.64 grains flaodard filv.r; IhJt
il. they IhuCl lofe 4 29 graios. and are reduced to ;rof a
pound troy.
But ir is oot necelTary bullion be bought with
íhillincs ; no Oipulation of priel' is ever molde farther,
thaA al fo many penee nerllng p~r ounce. D ncs 0 0 1 this
virtualJy determine the ,alue of [ueh cUlrcncy with re-
3 U t garJ