1000000031

M O N

Ihe)' muO Le pulled down; .nd m·.r..

h.nt.

dare nor fue·

rer

l h~m

riJ~. r~r

rt:.lr of abufe, even ahhough

th~

per·

{célioo of ;l;n iofant

1\l:\l1ufa~ure

fl11Juld h.quire

ir.

The

1,11

inrerdl is Ihar

lhe b.,nk

England , whieh

nUl1 f.lly

",un

rq~u la te

that

e\'cry

Olher.

H all

Ihis

grcat

cump.lOy

follo wt'o tlle

cX~ n1ple

of other

~:1nks,

and

dbt"hll,(o

oJnk

money of an imari<tl>Jc:

OJnd.rJ

, as lhe

mearur~

of all lhei r deblS anJ credlts,

they \IIould

Dut

h:lve

be~n

Ii:able

any inconvenience up–

on a "ariat'on of lhe

rland.lrd .

The bank o(

Engl.nd

w.s

projeéled abour Ihe yoar

16Y4. al a time when the current money of the .o2tion

\\'tlS

in ther.rciudl difurdc:: r, and govcrnmcnt in rhe great–

dl di(h dS', both ror moriey ami

la r

credi

Comm~rce

was thc::n

a l

ver.y

lo\V t"bb; and thl! onl, . or

leaH the

man profi.tablc trade of Olny, was ' jobbing in coi n,

~nd

curyin~

back wards and forwa rds the

pr~cioul

hletals from

H olland ro

En~land.

M erchln" profi' cd al(o

~rel"y

(rom the

dfc:c.'ts

which the uttt"f diford¿r of the cOln pro·

dtlce~.

uron the

pr ie~ .()r

mc:rch Jndizc.

fu .:h

jund .urc:. the rcfolution \\las taken to make

Dew coinage

aod lIpon the profpeét of thlS,

eompótny_

was found, who, for ao exclufive chal ter to hold a bank

for

years, wd lingly lene the

gov~rnmc:nl

upv.·íuds of a

million Oerling ar

pa unl.

(in lighl moncy we rllppo(e)

",'irh • prorpeél of being repaid bOlh iO!ereC! and

c.pi

hc:a\'y, T his was not al!:

pan

o F tre money Jent

was ro be .pplied (or Ihe <O. blin,menr o( Ihe bank.; and

lefs lha n

4000

pounds ayear was

~Jlowed

to lhe eom·

pany, above Ihe (ull interen, for defraying Ihe charge of

management.

Under fueh cireum'hnces the inHoduftion of bank

mooey was 'very ftlperfluous, al'd would have been very

impolitic. That invention is calculated . gainCl the n ifing

of th e fiand ard; but here ,he b_nk profi,ed o( rhar rife

in its quality of creditor for tbe money lent, and tcok

care oot

commence debtor by circuladng their paper,

unril Ihe effeél o( rhe new regulation look 'Place in

1695 ;

Iha[ is, .fte, Ihe general «coinage of

.11

'Iho c1ippped

lilver.

From that time till now, lhe 'b;mk of Enr,land has

been Ihe

b.dis

of .he natioo's credit, and with great rea ..

(on has been con/hntly undt r the mofi intimate protec·

tion of every mioiHer.

The value of th e pound ClerJing, as

~'e

have (cen, has

been

declining~ver (jnc~

Ihe year

160 1 ,

the fiandard

he ..

ing hxed la filver during

_11

,hat ce",u ry. while Ihe gold

w¡s conftantly r¡fing. No fooncf. had the proportíon

u.·

kcn anol her turn, and filver begun lO rife, than the

go~

Ternmenl of E ngland Ih , ew Ihe

Oand.rJ

vinually upon

Ihe golo

by regu laling the v;¡lue of the guineas at the

(xac.'l

proponion of Ihe nlark et.

the:fe ope rations,

however, the bank has confiantly bcc:n "a gaioer (i n ¡ts

fJtl ality of debtor) upon

al!

che pap('r in circul;¡tion; and

rhere(ure h.. lo{\ nolhing by nor having efi.bliO,eJ a bank·

mor.ey.

T l.c

inrereO o( Ihi, gre.. eOO1pany bring eOabliOlCd

upoo lhe principies we ha\'e entle;¡\,oured

explain,

very cviclcnt, Ih at the gove rnment of Enelano never

wíll

uke ally tlep in lhe rcform;¡tion of Ihe coin "h1(:h in

its

conrequenee, c.n pr ove hun(ul lO Ihe bank. Sueh a {\ep

Vol. . 1I1. N°. 6o.

1\1

O N

v/ou ld be contrary bo;h

juttiee and to common renfe.

Ol ..

;¡

rcgub\tion wlltch, (,y raifi ng the Hand,ud ,

wilJ prove hcncfi ci¡d tO lhe public credltur", t O

lhe-

pie.

judi-. o( Ihe b.,nk (\'.hieh.\'.'e may

c.JI

Ihe puh!.c e1,lnor)

,woulo be an oper';Hton upon

l ,IIc

cr~dlt,

ilke that of

perf\iO who is at great palos

fupppl t hl'

hou(e

props

upon aJl fiJe5:, and who

lhe flme time: I;lo\Vs

l1p lhe

lound:uion of

witb gun· pow.:icr.

W ,e m;'ly theredore conclude:, dut·

wi th

rcgard to the

bank

Engl~nu,

as \...

eJl as evcry olher

pnv~tc

b;'ltlker,'

the

note~

whlch are conflandy

p~y"ble

u?on dem;¡nn

mua

be maJe h;tble [O

ít

converfion

lhe ac111<1I v...lue of.

[he pound flerling al the time of the nt:w reguLHion.

That

che

bank wilJ gain hy this ,

vcry

cen ..in

bu(

[he circul.ltion of their octes is fo fWI(t lh "'t it \\'ould be

abftl rd to allo',v la the then poffdrors of lhem that

In~

de01nificarion which natur.lly Ihould be fh."d

. JI

thoCe througl'l whofe h.mds they hHe pd(fcd, in propor.

tion

the

d~barcment

of the liandard durin: Ihe time of

thc:ir rerpc\.C'tlve pol1cfli on .

Bdidc:s thefe eonlideration! , which are in common to

4111

(lat es,

lhe

governmen t of Grcat Rritain

has

one pe·

culiar tO i,felf.

T he

interen of Ihe bank, and lhac of'

lhe: credi tors, are diam.:tricAlJy orpofite: every

thn~

which raifes the llandard, huns lhe bank; every rhinn

which can fink it, huers

,he

creditors : Otod upon the

dghe

maoilgemc:nt of the ooe: and the other, dcpends Ihe

folt~

di ty of public credit . For thefe reafons, without the

mo'~

certain' proCreél of conduéting

r<;1litutiol"l of [he–

rlandard to rh e general advantage as well as approtJalion

of the natioo, no mintHer wiU probably ever

undertak~

fo dolngerous an operation.

(hall

now propore

010

expedient which may remol'C:

lean fome of lhe

inconvcni~nces

which wouJd refult

from fo extenfive an undertaking as that of regulating

the

reCpoélive intere(ls io Great tiritain by a pofitive Jaw.

upoo a change in the

vaJue.of

their money of ac:compL

Suppofe chen,

rhar.

before any

dnoge

is made in Ihe

coin, gOl'c:rnmcOl fl10uld enter into a tranfatlion wirh

the

public creditors ,' and afcertain a permanent value for lhe

pound nerhng for the future, fpeci hed in a

d~termio('li

proportion of 'the

fin~

metals in common bullion, \Vit!l.

out any regard to rnoney of accolllptJ or tO any coin

whatever.

T his pre lín,inary Oep being t;¡ken,

¡el

rhe ¡ntenoed al.

'reration of Ihe rlandard be proclail\1!d a cerr ain lime

be~

(ore ir is

commence .

L et Ihe

nalure

lhe cllotnge

be c1early txplaint'd, and Jet all fuch as are engagcd in

contraéis which are dlflolvable at will upon lhe

preft~rioos lllpulalcd, be acqulttcd

betw~c:n

lhe

p.trti,'s, or in.

nov31ed as they

fhd ll

tllink

prop~ r,

widl certdicarían ,

that. pollerior

a ccrtain day, the tllpl1lations forll1erly

enterco iotO O\.d l be lunulOg a.ccoruing tO Ihe deRomina·

(ions of lhe muncy of accompt in Ihe IICW (

ldnó.ud,

permAnt:nt COntr.ltls, whieh cannot

~l[

once be

fuliillt:d ao\.1di(Julvc:d , luch

le.d"cs, the p..rli ..

l1ll!nt Illay

e:ither prercribe the methocls and {..rras of con\'erfion ; or

a libcCl y

m ~ y

be Rivt n lO lhe parties tO annnl tloe con.

traa, upon tite dtblur's re fllfiog tO pClforn\..his agree..

mc:nt

;tt:C(Jrdin~

the

neu'

Ir.d.u'll.

Contrit{ts, on lhe

other band o nllr,ht

remiti~

ll.tblc, with rcfpeet to credi.

. t

3 X

lOro