An Essay on Circulation and Credit, in Four Parts: And a Letter on the Jealousy of Commerce.

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1774. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... offer, the less we find. England was never in this situation in the last, or the preceding war. An interest of half per cent, more or less, made all the difference. Credit, that is the power of finding funds, however exorbitant, to support the expence of the campaign, never wavered a moment, neither in the year 1744, nor in the last war. (§.) The Bank, on the other hand, had formerly the precaution to give little premiums to moneyed men, who, upon pressing occasions, undertook to furnish specie to be circulated by the Bank in other quarters. The Bank then was always sure of finding funds to pay the bills which poured in upon it; and, even supposing the Bank to have gone to the bottom, which.is impossible, (9.) C a it (8.) It Is true that the faith of parliament to the public creditor has never yet been violated in the minutest instance, and that government has borrowed sums that exceeded the most sanguine ideas of the resources of the nation. But it is not so true that the credit of the nation has never been shaken, nor that an interest of half per cent, more or less made all the difference. We have seen our funds at forty per cent, discount. The necessities .of government in this country, as Well as every other, have obliged the minister to submit to whatever conditions the moneyed men thought proper to impose. When these conditions were the molt favorable to government, the douceurs amounted to as much as the increase of interest. If in fact the resources of England have never been exhausted, it may yet be prudent to remember that, at the end of the session, 1765, above two years after the last peace, Mr. Grenville was obliged to leave an unfunded debt of four millions; a considerable part of which was a charge upon the sinking fund.-~ Translatir...