Postscript to the Discourse
by William Douglass (1740)

Douglass was involved in a continuing debate with an anonymous advocate of paper money, who we now believe to have been Hugh Vans (a.k.a. Vance). Shortly after Douglass's Discourse appeared, Vans wrote a pamphlet attempting to refute it. Douglass then wrote the Postscript to answer Vans's pamphlet. The Postscript was originally published in June of 1740, and has since been reprinted in Andrew MacFarland Davis's Colonial Currency Reprints, Volume IV, pp. 45-64. Since the Postscript is a continuation of the Discourse, a reader should begin with the Discourse.

POSTSCRIPT,

To a Discourse concerning

the Currencies of the British

Plantations in America.

IN the Discourse, I enumerated and endeavoured to answer in so plain, clear and easy a Manner, all the Arguments and Suggestions, then current amongst the Populace in Favour of Paper Money; that nothing but the raising a Mist of Obscurity, together with bold Assertions in Place of Argument, could affect it; accordingly there soon followed a Pamphlet called An Enquiry, &c, in Favour of Paper Currencies, consisting of a new Kind or Set of Arguments in Abstracto (as the School's Term is) without any Regard to Matter of Fact, but supported with Mobbish Hints, such as, "The Author of the Discourse shakes his Rod over us, by threatning us with Parliamentary Enquiries -- His numerous and gross Reflections upon the civil Administration. --- What he says is to distress the Province, &c." This Piece is swelled to a considerable Bulk, by some idle Digressions; giving an imperfect Account of the Banks of Venice and Amsterdam, of Baron Gorts Munt tokyns in Sweden, of Mr. Law's projected Land Bank, and his pernicious unsuccessful Paper Money-Scheme in France; together with some Scraps from Mr. Lock and others concerning Money, Banks, and the like.

To write satisfactorily to competent Judges, and to enlighten, but not to amuse the Vulgar with empty Words, is my present Design; lest his bare but bold Affirmations in Favour of Paper Money might have some Influence in carrying on the Delusion in weak Minds; Weak Minds in all Ages after being well advis'd, do in Time come to the Truth and Right of Affairs: It is therefore the Duty of good Men, according to their Capacity candidly and with Fortitude, to inform those, who are not conversant in such Matters, but are blindly led away by evil Men; political Constitutions have at Times been subject to Maladies which require and do admit of a Cure.

Before I proceed, to prevent Misrepresentations and Prejudices, I must observe, that by the Vulgar and Populace, I always mean the unthinking Part of Mankind, who are not capable of consulting their own Interest; the Mobility who do not reason for themselves; but are tossed about with every Wind of designing ill Men. The Word Vulgar is injuriously applied to the honest Tradesmen, Artificers, and common Labourers, who are the Support of the Common Wealth: Amongst them are found great Souls, who at Times, in several Countries have excelled as Prime Ministers and other Officers of State.

This Postcript, tho' a short, just, and serious Abstract of his Book and Scheme, I am afraid will seem to any Person who has not perus'd his Book, to be a Piece of Banter or ludicrous Representation; because the Enquiry itself, appears to be not properly an accidental temporary Aberation of Mind, called a Delirium; but the Produce of a certain native Anomaly of Mind called by an English cant Expression WRONG-HEAD. The Enquiry being Anonimous, allows any Freedom consistent with Truth, without the Imputation of designed Reflections against the Author.

The Author must excuse me, if for the Sake of Propriety of Expression, I class his Positions or Arguments by the Name of Paradoxes. He may also allow me, with Regard to his perplexed, diffused, tedious, and trifling Manner of expressing things; to utter them more concisely and distinctly, but without deviating from his Sense.

I. The principal and fundamental Paradox. Bills without any other Fund or Period than common Consent, and no other Standard than a variable Market Price, are the only valuable Bills: all Bills promising Silver at a certain Price and Period, ought to be prohibited. Because (says he) as they promise nothing, they cannot be negociated by proper Premiums and Discounts; and do thus prevent usurious Practices, Suits in Law, and other Inconveniencies -- If they depreciate, they cannot properly be said to have suffered a Discount, because a Discount signifies something fixed from which the Discount is made. Having no other Fund but common Consent, if this is gradually and at length finally withdrawn (nothing is more precarious than the incertum Vulgus) the suffering Possessors can lay the Blame no where but upon their own Folly, in giving Consent: They are remediless in Law, and according to the Nature of the Scheme are fairly dealt with, and ought to take Care not to deal in such perishable Commodities in Time to come.

How is it possible to imagine that this perishable Consent, should be better than Silver, an adequate Depositum which abides for ever? Is it not plain that such Bills promising nothing but Waste Paper, if left free to their Course in the Market, their Market Price would be accordingly?

By common Consent, he means the Vox Populi, because, he frequently mentions Government and common Consent, as distinct Things. If common Consent were to take Place, all the Effects in the Province would be equally divided amongst the People, because we are all born equal: After some Time the Idle and Extravagant becoming empty handed, while the Frugal and Industrious become rich, common Consent would divide again. Our depreciating Paper Currency by taking from Time to Time, Part of the Estates of the Creditors in Favour of the Debtor has the same Tendency: Is this to encourage Industry? Who would labour in Produce and Manufacture to be thus stript of his Earnings? Suppose a Company of Men who have little or nothing to loose, valuing themselves upon their Numbers (which is our Author's common consent) should proceed in a Scheme of Bills without any other good Foundation; at first they pass them amongst themselves and Friends, and in Course will be made a tender to others under Penalty of the Forfeiture of Goods and Merchandize for which they are offer'd, the supreme Lex of the Mob being Rapine: That is, the inevitable Consequence will be Riots and Mutiny, without any Regard to the general Rules of Commerce or particular Acts of Government.

II. All Standards of Currencies are pernicious; Currencies like Commodities ought to have their free Course in the Market, not to be limited by Funds or Periods which are Imperfections. He excludes our Bills of the new Tenor from his Currencies because they promise something, viz. Silver at a definite Period. He instances, 1st. Barbados Bills of A. 1702, which because redeemable at a certain Time, suffered a proper Discount, whereas if there had been no Period there could have been no Discount, or rather, he should have said, no Acceptance or Currency at any Rate. 2d. Maryland Bills, immediately upon their Emission suffered a large Discount, because they promised Sterling value after a long Period: If they had promised nothing, or if any Thing, never to be paid; a Discount would not have been fixed, and they would have proved a good Currency, which they are not, tho' a Tender in Law.

III. Silver is not the best Measure, nor the best Instrument in Commerce. All the Trading World at present, and Time out of Mind, have used a Silver Medium. The Patriarch Abraham purchased a Field with Silver, which he calls the Merchant's Currency. 2. Silver in a Course of Years changes its Value more than most Commodities. In England since K Edward the sixth Time a Silver Shilling hath lost but two Gr. of its Value. Since we begun to manufacture Bills, which have undergone vast Alterations, Silver Currency in the trading World has suffered no Alteration. 3. The Imperfection of Silver is the true Cause of the Introduction of Banks. He should have added and for the same Reason, of Merchants keeping Cash Books; whereas the universal fixed and durable Value of Silver is the Foundation of all Banks. 4. An Impression upon Paper is better than an Impression upon Silver. Whereas the first is a most tender Matter and of no intrinsick Value; the other is a durable intrinsically adequately valuable Metal. 5. The Fluctuation of Silver as a Commodity, as in London from 5 s. 3 d. to 5 s 6d per Oz. is the same as our Bills depreciating many Hundreds per Cent. 6. Whether we had made Paper Money or not, all Contracts and Debts would have depreciated after the same Rate, That is, 3 Oz. of Silver contracted would have at present weighted only 1 Oz Such Paradoxes do admit of no Comment. 7 One Years small Payment of Impost in Silver did rise Silver from 27 to 31 s per Oz. Why did not the preceeding and subsequent Years of Silver Impost Money, raise Silver after the same Rate? Why did Silver rather fall than rise in Price from A. 1734 to 1738, notwithstanding the large Silver Payments upon Account of calling in the Merchants Notes? 8. Bills promising Silver at a certain Value & Period; their present Value is much less, than the Value of our Province Bills He seems as much prejudiced against Matters of Fact, as against a Silver Currency. We all know that last Christmas, Merchant's Notes payable after 4 Years in Silver, were negociated at 25 per Cent. better than Province Bills.

IV. Every Country's, every Man's natural Pound is according to his Circumstances That is, if I borrow of a Man ten Times richer than my self a certain Sum of Money, and at the Period of Payment, let him have my natural Pound being only one Tenth of the real original Value which I borrowed, I have in Equity satisfied the Debt. As People's Circumstances differ as much as their Faces, What confusion would this occasion in Dealings! Do not the Courts of Judicature in all Nations make up Judgments against Debtors indifferently without Distinction of Circumstances. A Bankrupt, (he says) by Imprudence, Misfortunes or Villany without Distinction, who pays only 5 or 10 s in the Pound, pays his Pound and satisfies his Debt as honestly and laudably as he who pays 20 s in the Pound: A nominal Pound is as good as a real Pound: no Standard of Justice: Or as he elsewhere (deviating from himself) well observes, we deal as if we had no Yard nor Bushel; This is pleading the Cause of Bankruptcy, and exposes this Country much, by comparing our depreciating Paper Money, to a Bankrupt's Pound: What we do not return, he says, is so much forgiven us by the Merchants at home. But to carry on the Comparison; If a Bankrupt pays his Creditors only one Shilling for a Crown, ought this Bankrupt's one Shilling be made a Tender for a Crown in all Dealings?

V. Bills are a Commodity, and therefore do naturally rise and fall in the Market. If so, ours are a very bad Commodity, because always a falling in the Market Price. A Commodity in the general Acceptation and Letter of the Word, signifies what is materially useful, as a necessary or Conveniency of Life; take from Bills the Notion of Currency, they are only Waste Paper, as to their Matter; whereas Silver is equally valuable as a Commodity, or as a Currency. 2. Silver being a universally stable Commodity, and Bills only a local Commodity, makes no Difference. 3. Our (fluctuating or rather continually depreciating) Paper Bills are a Standard for Silver. That is, a Ship upon the Coast progressively under Sail, stands still, while the Fields and Trees fluctuate.

VI. Our Bills are emitted upon the best Plan the World ever did see; all the essential Parts of the Banks of Venice and Amsterdam, are to be found in our Province Bills of the Old Tenor. This Hint seems borrowed from a facetious Writer, who finds all the beauties of the best Greek and Latin Authors, in the History of Tom Thumb. The Credit, of those Banks, is the universal Consent or Acceptance of the whole trading World, an adequate Depositum in Silver, and Agioabove the current Price of Silver: Our Bills have only a small local Provincial Consent, no Depositum, many per. Its. worse than Silver, and continually depreciating or growing worse than themselves from Time to Time. Forgetting himself, in another Place, he says, our bad Circumstances are the Reason, why our Bills are not upon the same good Establishment as the Transfers of the Banks of Venice and Amsterdam; How then can they be essentially as good? He should have plainly expressed it thus; at present our Circumstances render us incapable of having a solid Bank of Credit.

For the great Benefits accruing to a Country from Paper Money, he unluckily instances South Carolina, where its bad Effects have been the most notorious, by occasioning the greatest Confusions, even Mutiny itself. The flourishing State of that Province, proceeds from its Soil and Climate, producing a good Staple, the best of Rice; and from a neighboring vast Indian Country, affording large Quantities of Deer-Skins: Their large Dealings are not transacted in Paper Money, but in Rice, and Bills of Exchange.

VII. The canceling of publick Bills, according to publick Faith, is a publick Fraud or iniquitous Administration; it is establishing of Iniquity by a Law, because as they promise no effective Payments, the Postponing of them is Justice and Righteousness. He hints at what he imagines a Sort of Magna Charta, granted A. 1712 by our Assembly to the People, whereby they virtually took upon themselves, to supply the Province with Bills to serve as Money, therefore if we do not postpone these Bills, the Legislature are guilty of a Breach of Magna Charta. Was there ever a Heresy from any Scriptural System, so enthusiastically imagined, and so ill founded.

VIII. Paper Money borrowed is not running in Debt, Province Bills are only a Debt amongst our selves, and therefore improperly to be called a Debt. The publick Debts in England to the several Companies or Stocks there, are upon all Occasions called heavy Debts, and the Poor the Consumers are very sensible of the Load of the Funds, the grievous Taxes upon Coals, Candles, Soap, Leather, and some other Necessaries of Life: We murmur yearly because of our great Taxes or Rates, occasioned by this Paper Money Debt; every Emission of our Paper Money, is sensibly found to be contracting of Debt, when the Taxes or Mortgages on which they are founded come to be paid. 2. We grow daily richer by means of this Paper Money, we are three Times richer than we were at the introducing of these Bills. If this could be supposed true, while we daily pay less and less in the Pound, how should we avoid the Imputation of a fraudulent Bankruptcy; a Country or Town may look well to outward Appearance, and yet be in a Galloping Consumption, as the vulgar Phrase is. In London a Merchant or Tradesman making a more than usually splendid Appearance, is frequently a Fore-runner of Bankruptcy.

The Paper Money Advocates represent our £630,000 present Paper Currency, as a clear Medium of Trade, and say that it is not too much for New England, and is but a Trifle when reduced to a Sterling Value: whereas it is really an Incumbrance or Debt to be paid, and is already without additions, too heavy upon the good People of this Province, and will oblige them to sink Part of their trading Stock (instead of enlarging their Trade) to pay their large Taxes.

By Experience we find, that our Credit does not allow of so large a Debt, without depreciating; therefore all new Emissions being additional Debts, do sink the Credit of our Bills more and more. Our inordinate Desire of more, may be compared to Thirst in a Dropsy, which by endeavoring to satisfy with Drink, increases the Distemper. Cress it indulgens sibi dirus Hydrops.

IX. The Mother Country, Widows, and Orphans, have suffered for want of a sufficiency of Bills. That the Merchants of Great Britain have been the greatest Loosers by Discounts in their Returns of some Hundreds per Cent. is acknowledged by all Parties. Widows, Orphans, Societies incorporated or voluntary, who have a considerable Part of their Stock at Interest, have suffered very much. The College of Cambridge in New England, have sunk above £10,000 A charitable Scot's Society in Boston, (formed in Imitation of the Scot's charitable Corporation in London) have suffered very much; some of their Bonds are lately paid in, at the Rate of 29 s. per Oz. Silver, which were contracted when Silver was at 7 s. per Oz; this is 300 per Cent. loss of Principal: Ministers of religious Congregations, are not paid the real and true Value of their Stipends contracted for: In short, all Creditors who have dealt in Honesty and Simplicity of Heart, have been thus sharped upon. Our Author with an open Countenance, says, That the Rhode-Islanders outwitting of us, by their repeated large Emissions; is doing for their own Interest, what all wise People ought to do. -- The Paper Money Solicitors in Answer, say, That the reducing of Contracts to Specialties i.e. to Silver by Weight, is not forbid; therefore private Men must blame themselves, Orphans must blame their Guardians, and Widows their Advisers, for not making their Contracts in Silver value, and not in those Bills: This is giving up the Cause of a good Currency, and allowing that every prudent Man should have refused the Currency of those fallacious Bills; or that our Legislature, the common Guardian of us all, to prevent our being cheated by others, and our cheating of ourselves, ought to have established a Specialty, as has lately been done in the Carolinas with good Effect.

Sufficiencies of Bills, properly speaking, are the Sums which the trading Credit of a Paper Money Country can bear; the more that these Sums are exceeded, the more they become a negative Sufficiency (as Mathematicians say of positive Quantities in a continued Progression to certain Limits, after which they become more and more negative) and their Credit depreciates, and the Creditors or Acceptors of such Bills suffer more and more. This negative Sufficiency multiplied, is what our Author proposes for our Relief, and for the introducing of Silver again; but as Bills by their increasing Quantity superseded and drove away Silver, Silver can never be again thus introduced, unless at length, Bills by their Quantity and bad Bottom, become as Wast-Paper; then Silver must take Place.

X. The Legislature to make Laws to bring the Ballance of Trade in our Favour. This is as unnatural and impracticable as the Legislature making a Medium of Trade; both which can only be effected by Trade itself. Ballance of Trade when against a Country, is answer'd by exporting the current Cash, equal to what the Exports in Merchandize fell short of the Imports; our Paper Currency is not exportable to pay a foreign Debt, and therefore will answer no Ballance of Trade. 2. Our Bills have depreciated, in Proportion to the Ballance of Trade increasing against us. In S. Carolina where the Ballance of Trade is much in their Favour, many of the Inhabitants having large Sums of Money lodged in England; their Paper Money notwithstanding is much more depreciated than ours, because of their greater Paper Money Emissions and Breach of publick Faith.

XI. Contracts reduced to Writing, but not the Silver contracted for, is the Money or Medium. He might perhaps have the Hint of this from the Analogy of many Spendthrifts among us, who after being long dunn'd for a Book Debt; if the Creditor accepts of their Notes or Bonds, they become as easy as if they had paid the Money. Medium of Trade in its proper Sense, signifies some intermediate adequately valuable Commodity, such as is Silver. Some Colonies of peculiar Produce, allow of a local (therefore imperfect) Medium; as Sugar, Tobacco, Rice, in some of our Colonies are Tenders.

XII. Every landed Man, even to the mortgaging of his last Acre, has a Right to make Money. He should have added, and finally has a Right to the Alms-House. Thus these projected Banks give the Idle and Extravagant Opportunities of borrowing or involving of themselves, that is these Banks tend to the Ruin of the Province; we allow that in Prudence a landed Man may sell off some Part, the better to improve the Remainder.

XIII. The projected Bank or Scheme, commonly called J ---- C ----- and others, is built upon the best and only good Foundation we have: the Subscribers are Men of Judgment, Integrity, and Estates. Notes of a dubious, some say desperate Credit, not receivable in Taxes, no legal Tender, bearing no Interest to the Possessor, obligatory only for Goods at a precarious Price, and not actionable till after 20 Years. Shop Notes which our Author (happening accidentally to be in the right) deservedly tho' inconsistently with himself, so much exclaims against, are much preferable to such Bills, because payable upon Sight, and in Case the Shopkeeper uses the Bearer very ill, are immediately returnable to the Merchant. Such Bills being ill founded will soon stop in Circulation, the Possessor in Time must have a Law Suit with the Signers, who perhaps prove insolvent: But if they may be supposed solvent, the Signers for their own Redress, must sue a numerous Tribe of perhaps generally insolvent Subscribers, and occasion a Convulsion in the Government. To give a Hint, of such Notes satisfying of Contracts payable in Province Bills, is the Height of ---

A Depositum of Silver, Land Security, Government Security, are proper collateral or additional Securities; but we know of no Bank without an adequate Depositum of Silver, if they negociate on Transfers; or Silver sufficient to answer all their Cash Notes upon Demand, if they deal in Cash Notes. It is impracticable to circulate Produce and Manufacture, being perishable unweildy, uncertain, fallacious Matters. The Land Bank projected in England in K. William's Reign, tho' established by an Act of Parliament, like a Mushroom, soon came to nothing. The only proper Land Banks, are our County Registers, where Lands are regularly transferred daily.

I shall dismiss this Paper Money Agent, by observing, that his Memory sometimes gives him the slip, and inconsistently with himself he deviates into Truth. I shall mention a few Instances. Contracts ought to be paid in Silver, at the current Market-Price as when made, but not as it now is, if depreciated -- All other Commodities keep Pace with Silver, is it not the most natural Medium? -- When People were obliged to receive light Pieces of Eight in Currency, they advanced upon their Goods in their Contracts accordingly: This equally holds good with Respect to a depreciating Currency (our Bills) of any Kind --- Pag. 57. Upon a large Emission of Bills, Silver and other Returns must remarkably rise --- P. 27. By emitting and calling in of Bills, their Value may be fixed or diminished: This is our grand Argument against large and frequent Emissions, viz. the depreciating of our Currency. -- Thus unwarily he gives a full Answer to his own Book. --- further I must observe that in Recommendation of his Land Banks, he says, The Mother Country will sooner make Abatements in our Pay than take Lands.

I shall conclude with a Recapitulation of some general Remarks, concerning our Paper Money.

1. If Bills provincial or national, would answer all the Intentions of Money, no Country in the most chargable unsuccessful Wars, or in the greatest Bankruptcy as to Trade, would be distressed for want of Money. If Bills upon Land Security could answer the Intention of Money; the Emperor would not have given into that late inglorious Peace with the Turks for want of Money to support his Forces. The Spaniards might make themselves easy, tho' their Flota's, Galleons, Flotillas, Assogues, and Register Ships proceed no more A Manufacture from Copper Plates, Paper and Ink (a late Invention of the British Colonies in America) is a more compendious and infinitely less chargeable Method of Currency and Medium of Trade. A Sort of Philosophers Stone (a Term used by the Alchimists) or Art by which no Country (a Country always supposes Land) can be without a sufficient Quantity of Money: The Spanish Mines in America, an industrious Trade, are becoming mere Chimeras and Deceptions; If Land should be exhausted, there remains still a better Fund, viz. common Consent, without any other Bottom.

2. The Party for multiplying a depreciating Paper Currency are 1 The Idle and Extravagant who want to borrow Money at any bad Lay, tho' finally to their own Ruin 2 The fraudulent Debtors, that they may pay their Creditors in less Value than contracted for, and notwithstanding retain their Credit without being reckon'd Bankrupts; a mortgaged Estate can be redeem'd by a smaller dismembring, a Shopkeeper pays the Merchant at a great Discount. 3. Some Men of Substance and industrious, but of a natural improbity and Depravity of Mind, who by Experience have found, that the greater Confusion such Emissions occasion in Business, the greater Latitude is given for cheating: For Instance, in a depreciating Paper Money Country, the only Method (much practised by the Advocates for Paper Money) of growing rich, is by a Series of the greatest Acts of Injustice, viz. to owe to others more than is due to themselves, to procure long Credit, when due, to postpone Payments and bear dunning, and finally to let the Law which in this Province is tedious and not chargeable, take Place. 4 The weak and ignorant (here I include a large Number of good honest Men but misled) who imagine, or are taught, that the Legislature, can give every individual Person of the Government, what Money they may desire, without any other Bottom, but an Act of Assembly; and that the with-holding of it, is Step Father or Step-Mothers usage.

3. The Party against a depreciating Paper Money currency, are 1. The Industrious and Frugal, our considerable foreign Traders and rich Men; who because of their great Substance deposited in the Country, are obliged to have the Interest of the Country most at Heart: Thus in Great Britain (to compare great Things with small) the Peers by Reason of their great Estates in the Kingdom, are deem'd the natural and standing Council of the King and Country. The Industrious and Frugal have Reason to withstand the raising of Money upon Taxes by a Paper Credit, because by the other Party, who are the most numerous, they are loaded with almost the whole Burthen of the Assessments; the Assessors ought to consider, that the easing of the Extravagant in their Taxes, is so much Encouragement allowed them to carry on their Extravagancies; in other Countries Extravagancies and the Extravagant are much taxed. 2. The honest Creditors, who are for fixing the Value of their Contracts and Debts by a Standard: This is called by the Paper Money Party, endeavoring after unlawful Gain. 3. The fair Dealer, who desires neither to bubble nor be bubbled 4. The considerate thinking Man, who from Experience finds, that all Emissions, are contracting of Debts.

4. All Mankind exclaim against clipping of Coin, because it is a Fraud to tender Denominations of a lessned Value: making of a depreciating Paper Money Currency a Tender in Law, has the same effect. It is allowed by every Body, that the most glorious Action of K William's Reign, was the calling in of the clip'd Money, and ascertaining the Value of it by a mill'd Recoinage: The Progress our late Assemblies are making towards sinking of our precarious Bills of the Old Tenor, and reforming them into new Tenor Bills of a fixed Value, will have the same good Effect. A depreciating Paper Money, has a vastly worse Effect than clipping of Silver Coin, which never reached further than a Fraud of 25 or 30 per Cent, but the other has reached in New England to 450 per Cent, in S. Carolina to 700 per Cent, in N. Carolina to 900 per Cent. As the effectual Cure of the clipt Coin in most Nations of Europe, was reducing it to mill'd Money; or to Weight as in Barbados: So our Provincial Bills may be brought to a Sterling Price by fixing Exchange from Time to Time, as in the Carolina's.

5. The Paper Money Men (some anomolous excepted) generally allow, that Silver is a better Medium than Paper; but as it is impossible (so they express it) for Silver ever to be made current with us, they are for continuing and increasing the Paper Money Currency. Let us not despair, it is not impossible to give Silver again it's Currency; let us tread our Foot Steps back, and we shall naturally return to where we came from: That is, as the increasing Quantity of Paper Money drove away Silver, a gradual lessening of the same, will make Room for this better Currency; 1. As Bills grow scarce, the Merchants will be obliged to convert some Part of that Commodity Silver into Cash, as in other trading Countries; no Man can trade to Advantage without Cash. 2. The Scarcity of our Province Bills will effectually bring a Discount upon the Bills of the neighboring Colonies, because Premiums will be given in other Bills, for Bills of our own Province to pay Taxes; and no more Bills being emitted from time to time than sufficient for the present Charge of Government, our Bills may be brought to Proclamation or Sterling Value. 3. Bills growing scarce, our extravagant Way of Living, that is, our Imposts will lessen for some Time; we find at present the Homespun is more in Wear by the Country People, and Spinning is more practised, than at any Time since the Beginning of this Century. If this scarcity of Currency oblige us to go further into Shop Notes for small Dealings, and into Barter for large Transactions, it will be only for a Season (in Sweden from Baron Gortz's Munt tokyns, they went into Barter, and from thence back again unto their intrinsically good Currency) until the Inconveniencies thereof become still more sensible, and then the very good Husbands will retain Silver for Cash, whereby they can deal to better Advantage; and seek out for other Returns, to supply its Place as a Commodity. Bills are in their own Nature, only proper to be returned by Taxes into the Treasury, from which they issued; and perhaps in small Quantities may pass as Inland Notes, but are not fit for a Medium of foreign Trade.

ERRATA.

Page 4. line 29. For U'sos read Uso's.

p. 6. l. 26 after has, add, since.

p. 8. l. 15 for pass not, r. not pass. l. 26. f. there r. them.

p. 9. l. 5. after Instruction, add, limiting Sum and Period.

p. 10. l. 1. dele tho'; p. 7. f. remission, r. re emission.

p. 16. l. 23. for equivalent, r. confessing.

p. 17. l. 18. after 100, add and 150.

p. 18. l. 6. add but in drawing upon London 12 to 14 for 1 St.

p. 20. l. 1. for 100 r. 150; l. 2. for 900 r. 1100 to 1300; l. 6. after legal, add ready Money.

p. 21. l. 17. for Farmer, r. Husbandman.

p. 22. l. 2. f. Heads r. Hands.

p. 27. l. 23. after burnt, add yearly.

p. 29. l. 3 after enemy, add is perverted to the enslaving of the Subject.

p. 32. l. 3. r. 1737; l. 4. r. 26 to 27.

p. 33. l. 28. for unnatural r. natural.

p. 28, l. 22 f. Sop. r. Stop.

p. 43. l. 21. after 450,000, add upon sight.

p. 50. l. 35. r. aberration.

p. 54. l. 4. r. Staple.

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