Collected Political Writings of James Otis. Otis James

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СКАЧАТЬ a question. And before I attempt to answer it, I must be again indulged in expressing my surprize, that none of this danger should ever have reached, his Honor’s ears, ’till since the last sessions of the general assembly, considering that his Honor has for more than thirty years, professedly made money one of the subjects of his contemplation, considering also that his Honor, for many years made a great figure in the mercantile world, and is acquainted with some opulent, speculative, and inspecting, though no trading merchants, and gentry considering too that a great personage, said to be most intimately known to his Honor has been heard to discourse of the great advantages the jews might make here from exchange by reason of the present state of our currency; but above all considering that a man of war has been freighted with dollars, and a near relation of his Honors drew last summer, for five thousand pounds sterling and remitted dollars to secure their acceptance which dollars were bought with those very bills, or which amounts to the same thing, with the gold they were here sold for. “In order to judge what is proper to be done” his Honor refers us “to the time of the exchange of our late depreciating and detestable paper currency.”

      I am not for introducing a paper currency again, but it is certain the sudden exchange of it gave such a convulsion to our commerce that it never has, and it is much to be feared, that it never will recover itself; and it may be safely affirmed, that the benefits hitherto derived to this province by a silver and gold currency, if we add, the temporal and accidental advantages enumerated by his Honor, as parliamentary grants, supplies of the army and navy, during the war, &c. are altogether far short of an equivalent, to what we lost by that fatal shock. I never could compare this to any thing but a similar fondness of some otherwise very able physicians, for a newly discovered nostrum, which is consequently so violently administred to remove some present disorder, that the future health of the patient is risqued, and he is in fact left weak and languid all his days.

      That “trade once diverted, scarce ever returns to its former channel”; that “multitudes of people, constant employ and quick pay, whether they agree to take silver, paper or cockleshels are the riches of a country”; that “domestic improvements, and consequently the commodities raised and manufactured, are the surest measure of the wealth of a people” are observations ne’er the less true for being old.

      His Honor proceeds, “It was then the determination of the government, to have a perpetual invariable standard for the future.”

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      If the government so determined, they then undertook to fix, what strictly speaking is impossible to be fixed. For silver in the nature of human affairs, is variable, as well as gold, and must be so to the end of time; and no act of parliament can alter the nature of things. An ounce of silver is indeed at any one given time of the same value with another ounce of silver of the same fineness & stamp, and so is an ounce of pewter or lead; but every ounce of silver in the universe often varies in its real value. This sufficiently appears by the very facts his Honor has furnished us with, of its frequent rise and fall in England. Is it not a common observation, that all the silver in Europe has fell above half in its real value, since the discovery of the American mines? If by an invariable standard is meant, that the government intended to have a sterling standard, as to fineness that is, the same which now prevails in England, and makes the lawful silver money of G Britain, it is readily granted, this was their intent; and coined silver of sterling alloy, if any thing was intended to be established by the act of 1759 as lawful money of this province at 6s. 8d. per ounce. It is not of a farthing consequence, whether the ounce is called 5s. or 6s 8d. It was the silver of a certain fineness and stamp that was intended to be made lawful money. It is also granted that silver is the most proper for the computative money, or money of account, and if it were not so in itself, the long usage of commercial nations has made it so. But all this don’t exclude gold from being money, lawful money, true sterling money, and a legal tender, provided it be set at a proper rate, not left “to pass in that proportion to silver, as it bears in other parts of the world with which we have commerce.”

      This, with all due submission, seems to be leaving things at a strange loose for common people, in town and country; & they must be acquainted with the course of Exchange, thro the world, before they can judge how many Dollars to give for a Johannes. This with the unavoidable currency of Gold, where Silver is established, I suppose, occasioned the Act for ascertaining the rates of Gold; which is doubtless a good and wholesome Law, and was intended to make Gold a tender, at the rates therein specified. His Honor thinks there are or two three mistakes in this Act, it is possible there may be; however, if there are two hundred, all I shall say to them at present is, that when they are clearly pointed out, they ought to be amended, only it seems strange that there should be any mistakes in this Act, considering the great abilities of the gentleman, who at the time of making it, ruled our Councils, and was the Prime Conductor of all our public affairs: But as I hold all men to be in a degree fallible, Humanum est Errare,¹ I will not impute these Errors to a whimsical conscience, or any other wrong cause, but to the fate of all

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      human affairs. From the same source its probable may be derived an error more palpable than any yet mentioned.

      In the grand settlement of our so much boasted perpetual and invariable standard, coin’d Silver, and Silver Bullion, are together made lawful money, and the measure of commerce, which is not only making two measures, which may vary, but which in fact are, and ever will be, variant from each other.

      Gold has been, and may be coined, and have a price fixed, that is made money; but Bullion which is uncoined Silver, and Gold, never were nor can be the money of any country.

      “The coining of Silver, or making money of it, (says Mr. Locke) is the ascertaining its quantity by a Public Mark, the better to fit it for commerce.”

      “The precise weight & fineness by law appropriated to the pieces of each denomination, is called, The Standard.”

December 28, 1761

      [Continuation of the Piece began in our last.]

      IF we are to look no farther than the act of 1749 for a standard, we shall find there established, as the measure of commerce, silver bullion indefinitely, at the rate of 6s. 8d. and coined silver, (tho’ but one species of this) to wit, Spanish Mill’d Dollars at 6s.

      Now though it is very improbable that “an empty popular declaimer,” “one who is fond of harranguing the Mobb,” (the best appellations which, I hear some have dignified me with) should have any clear Ideas of the terms, Money, Standard, Sterling Standard or be able to reason distinctly about money in general, or the laws of this Province in particular; yet that the reader may, the following extracts are inserted. Those who are curious will consult the Authors at large, “Money is the Metal, be it Gold or Silver, that receives authority by the Prince’s impress, to be current; for as wax is not a seal without a print, so metal is not money without impression.” Co. Lit. 207. “The legitimation of money, and the giving it its denominated value, is justly reckoned inter Jura Majestatis,² and in England it is one special part of the King’s prerogative. Money is the common measure of all commerce, almost thro’ the world; it consists principally of three parts; 1. The material whereof it is made. 2. The denomination or intrinsick value. 3. The impression or stamp. I. The material in England is either pure Silver, or pure Gold, whereof possibly some money

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      anciently was made here in England or else Silver and Gold mixed with an alloy, which was usually, and is hitherto a small proportion of Copper. The standard of the money in England, that hath СКАЧАТЬ