The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1780-01-20 00:00:00, page 2

I am very fer.fible, that I am obliged to assume my pre
mises, as no certain data can be formed, yet I conceive I
am not much beside the mark ; for if we reason back from
effeds to causes, we Shall find, that on an average the
prices of faleables, are more than 50 for 1, and thence dis
cover the medium to be 50 times more than is wanted.
And I am the more convinced of the truth of this conjec
ture, fromthe late prices of goods; which have in some
measure become Stationary or fixed. For though the
quantity of money has been daily encreafing, yet the
quantity of goods, for some time past, crouded in upon
us, has in some measure counterballanced the quantity of
money ; whereby a kind of equilibrium hath been been
eftabl shed, and,trade hath fairly regulated itfelf. The
merchants endeavoured to advance the prices, but the mo
ney on hand was not fufficient to bear it ; and it is just
now, relatively, as Scarce as when it passed equal to hard
money. Should Congrefe continue Striking at the rate of
ten millionsa month, and ten millions present value of
goods' should be imported in each month, I think I might
venture to assert, that no further real depreciation could
take place. As to any mere capriciou s turns, they could
not be durable. The general equilibrium between the
quantity of goods, and the quantity of money would soon
be restored.
Then taking for granted, that the real depreciation is
fifty for one, the grand question arises, “ What is to be
done ?" Some cry, flop the press, and raise by taxes and
loans fufficient for the exigencies of government ; some
are for a Sudden appreciation to the rate of twenty for one ;
some for a foreign loan ; and others for calling in the
whole money, and re-issuing about one sixth part, which
fay they will be as valuable as the whole ; and the re
maining 5 6th to be funded, and carry an interest. These
several modes resemble the prescriptions of anxious friends,
standing round a sick bed—Some would bleed—feme phy
sic—one is for poultices, another for a bath of bitter herbs,
whilst poor dame nature is labouring incessantly to throw
off the disorder by her own efforts, and mould often suc
ceed, if not interrupted by the ignorance of quacks. That
the money has depreciated, we well know; and many
have fatally felt its effeds ; but those partial evils I pre
sume are pretty generally at an end. All old contrasts are
either fettled or the proffered payments absolutely rejed
ed; for he who can bear to lose 19/6 in the pound, will
not be ruined by the other fix pence. Let the debtor pay
it into the Treasury, and the Laws support him as long as
conscience will bear it. Present dealings are for ready mo
ney—not a moment's credit is allowed—the cash is paid,
or the bargain void.
" Stop the presses" —easily said—But how are the cur
rent expences to be supplied ?—“ Raise taxes" —Eve.
ry State on the Continent, is at it as hard as they can
drive, and law after law has been passed for supplying the
quotas called for by Congres. In November 1777, five
millions were required in January 1779, fifteen millions
and in orty-five millions. Yet I believe no one wili as
sert, that even one fourth part of the whole is paid into
the Treasury. In S pte^ber last, they tell us, no more
than 3 millions had been received. To expert that a
country can be brought to pay taxes, voluntarily, to fup
porphe whole demands of the year, in the midst of an ex
pensive war, is as absurd, as to suppose the rent of a house
will in one year pay for the building of it ; nothing but
an anticipation ofthe taxes can effed it. A youngcountry,
like America, can by no means be supposed to have such
an overplus of riches as to furnifh the sum wanted. In
England they have long been compelled to borrow, in
time of war, and the accumulating interest has nearly ru
ined the nation; they can mow fc.rce levy taxes fufficient
to pay the interest ; for during the whole interval of the
lift peace, they have not, I think, paid 4 millions into
the finking fund.
“ Borrow money then—at Home—of foreigners—any
where —rather than have frefh emissions." —What borrow
on interest, when you may have it without ! —Send your
recourses to foreign Courts when you may keep them at
home!—l would afc, what is the difference between Stri
king a million of Bills of 50 dollars each, and issuing
Loan Office Certificates for the fame amount in notes of
500 dollars each ? with refped to the quantity of paper,
there is none ; for Certificates are now as liable to circu
lation, as the money itfelf. We are not to conclude that
the Certificates will remain more dormant than the money
did. He who puts money into the Loan-Office, may be
presumed to have no immediate use for it; and that it was
innocently refling in his chest, without rushing into cir
culation to encreafe the sum current ; and when ever it be
comes .convenient to make a purchase he would either bring
out the cash or the Certificate. Therefore to pay an in
terest of 6 per cent for money received at the Loan Office,
is in my humble opinion to involve the country in a lasting
tax, purely for the benefit of monied men. A tax which
every man of small capital, artizin and labourer, must
annually contribute to raise, without the least benefit to
themselves. From the firft moment a Loan-Office was
projected, I concieved it an arr?r in politicks, and it has
brought on the country the great evil of a contrariety of
inttrefts.
We fee a great depreciation has happened of near 50 for
~ and every man who at the firft paid 50001. into the
Loan Office, has in fad funk his flock to i@ol. and so io
propr rti®n to thedifferent dates at which they lent to the
public ; and many of these have been foreign lenders upon
the credit and honor of the Continent. Now ail these
people have an interest different from the people at large,
and must be continually wishing fora reiteration of the
value of the money; whilst the rest of the community who
have gradually borne a share of the loss by depreciation
from time to time, and have fettled and Squared all their
trafadions conformably (hereto, cannot have a with to fee
the money return to its original value. All they have to
desire is, taat the value may remain where it is, or in it
ft,ll declines, that they may bear no more than their pro
portion ofthe loss.
It may be diked what mode of fetflement is to be adopt
ed between government and the money lenders. Policy
would answer " emit as much frefh money as will pay off the
whole debt immediately." and justice would add, “ let
" fetch an addition be made, as will amply reimburce the
'< lenders, estimating the value of money at the time cf
“ fubferibing." Perhaps some medium between the two,
might be proper ; for as people at large have born their
share of the depreciation, these fubferibers could not expert
to Set down whole. I don't pretend to determine, what
such medium should be. I only contend for the immedi-
ate dissolution of the Loan Office ; for why should the
Community be burfhened with an addition of taxes, mere
ly to pay an' interest to monied men, for lending paper
to government; when that very paper could be as well
made without any other expence than striking it ; and the
larger these bills the better; if a thousand dollars each,
it might help to retard the circulation,and lessen the charge
es printing and fignin. It is to be abler ,ed, thatthe whole
of my reasoning on thisfvbjeH, turns upon the assertion,
that Loan Office Certificates are money to,all intents and
purposes, and operate in proportion to their quantity, e
qual to a like sum of Continental bills—if lam wrong my
conclusions fall to the ground.
Loans on interest in England, are absolutely necessary;
.becaufereal gold is paid into the treasury by the fubferi
bers, but could their government manufaaure that gold,
as cheap as we can manufacture paper, will any man sup
pose they would prefer taking it up on intere ft ? surely no;
the habit we had long been accustomed to, of using paper
money, rendered it familiar to us ; and no one was alarm
ed with the consequences of an encreafing quantity, yet
it is a debt to all intents and purposes; but being due to
ourfe'ves, the evil is not so great as if Foreigners were our
creditors. The experiment might prove dangerous to
Great Britain, should she attempt to carry on a war with
paper moneys otherwise she might pledge her ftnd& for re
deeming it and save the interest, but her complicated trade
and connection with foreigners would thereby be invol
ved in great perplexity. It will be said, that much of the
circulating medium of Great Britain is already paper : I
grant it with this difference, that itis not legal tender,
and a man can at any moment convert it into actual hard
cash. But I have rather wandered from the point : I on
ly mean to prove, that it ishighly injurious to America
in the present state of things, to have a Loan Office.
As to foreign Loans with a view to serve the Currency,
every argument used against Loansamoogft ourselves, ap
plies with equal force against them, with this important
addition, that the interest would be an aCtual drain of the
wealth of our country. In the former instance it would
only drain people of moderate and small fortunes for the
benefit of the rich; but in the latter both rich and poor
would loose for ever the interest so paid. How far Fo
reign Loans may be requisite to Supply the Continent
with such Foreign necessaries, as we have not the means
of paying for at present, is a confederation which does not
come within the present quefiion.
I Shall here insert the table of depreciation the greater
part of which 1 had from a trader, whose business requi
red his accounts to be kept in hard madey, and agrees
with accounts kept by some others with whom I have
compared. And yet I am aware it cannot correspond with
all, who may have kept such accounts, because the rates
of exchange, between different persons, have often car
ried on the fame day ; I only mean to demonfirate the ge
neral gradual depreciation ; and the table here produced,
will come near enough to the truth, for the use I propose
making of it in my next letter.
1777. Exchange. 1779. Exchange.
March ift 2 April 1. 12 1-2
April do. 14. 14
May 20 212 27. 16
June do. 31. 22
July 5. 3 May 1. 22
,Aug. Sept. ( d j
oa. Nov.s '
December 4 x 6 20
I d °° My 6. x 8
Feb. March 5 „
April 6 % :
May 5 August 20
J u , e 180 4 Sept. I. 20
J ul y 4 10 . 2 2
Aug. Sept. ? _ 16. 25
Odober ) 3 30. 28
Nov. Dec. 6 October 12. ,0
1779. Nov. 8 32
January 1. 7 15. 331-3
I§. 8 20. 40
20. 9 25. 40
Febr. 5. 10 30. 45
15. io Decern. 9. 45
March 1. 10 19. 4.2 1-2
25. 11 25. 40
31. 38
(For Letter 11. on Appreciation, fee the Fourth Page.)
L O N,D O N.
To the EDITOR of the GAZETTEE R.
Having keen favoured with the inclofed description of a
magnificent bed of state, richly embroidered with gold
and silk, the workof the unfortunate Mary Queen of
Scots, I transmit it for your entertaining paper. It was
sent in the year 1579, with some fine jewels, and an ele
gant vefi, to her son : But the letter which accompa
nied these curious particulars being addreffed'" To
our loving son, James Prince of Scotland," Monsieur
Neue, her Secretary, to whose care they had been en
trusted, and who was honoured with the Queen's com
mands on that occasion, was directed to leave the king
dom, without being allowed to fee the Prince, by or
der of the Regent, who then governed Scotland in his
name. As no age, perhaps, ever produced a more ad
mirable piece of workmanship, and as it gives a noble
idea of the sublimity of her foul, as well as of the deli
cacy of her wit and invention, in the several emblema
tical representations with which it was in all parts
adorned, a minute detail of so exquisite a /rarity may
prove acceptable to many of your fair readers.
I am, Sir, your conflaat reader,
W. R.
Ti H E firft is the loadflonq turning towards the Pole,
and her Majesty's name, Maria Sluarta, turned in
to an anagram in French. Sa vertu m'attire. "It is
virtue draws me to it." This has reference to a crucifix,
before which, arrayed in all the insignia of royalty, she
is humbled on her knees, with the Latin word, undique,
issuing from every part; intimating, that in all the parts
of her life she has a view to Christ, and his fuffi rings, as
the only direction of her life ; as the mariner's needle,
touched by the loadftone, is the direction to seamen in
their most difficult voyager. The second, a phoenix in
flames, with these words in French, En ma fin, gitrnon
commencement. " My death is the beginning of my
life." Alluding to her (offerings, whoal her life was in
volved in the flames of a civil war, and never expected to
live in peace till death should translate her to immortal
glory.—The third, an apple tree, growing in a thorn,
with this Latin infeription, Per vincula crefcit. " ft
grows and flourifhes amidst its fetters " Alluding t&
that fublimsnefs and serenity of mind which she enjoyed in
in her confinement. The fourth, a crescent, or halfmoon,
with this Latin sentence, Donee totum impleat orbem o
'' Till he appears in his full orb." Alluding to her fad
condition, which, though it was eclipsed fcr a little space,
yet, at the finifhing of the course of her frail life, her in
nocency would appear in its full splendor and glory, as
that of the moon after its periodical revolution. The fifth
a falamandtr crowned, in the midst of flames, with this,
Latin infeription, Nutrifco et extinguo. " I nourifhand
extinguifli." Alluding to her imprisonment being the cause
of a civil war which she endeavoured to extinguish, as
the salamander when thrown into the fire, extinguishes all
the live coals about her, yet being there, still nourished
and augmented the flames. The sixth, an arrow passing
throuf a three birds, with this Latin verse, Dederitne vi
am c ufve Deufve. " Whether was this dene cafuaily,
or by thediredion of God." Alluding to the malicious af
perficns of her enemies, which like so msny poif®ned ar
rows, were aimed at h^r through her husband and son.
—The seventh, Mercury charming Argus, with his hun
dred eyes,exprefled by his caduceus, two flutes, and a
peacock, with this Latin sentence, Eloquia tot lumina
claufit. “ Eloquence has blinded all these." Alluding
to Queen Elizabeth's blinding all the eyes of 'Europe,
with her seeming pretences of justice, in detaining her
prif^ner. The eighth, two women upon the Wheel of
Fortune, the one holding a lance, the other a cornucopia,
with these words iu Lutin, " Fortune Comites." “ The
comitants of fortune." Alluding to Queen Elizabeth and
herfelf, and their different fortunes; the one invol
ved in war, the other flourishing in plenty and peace,
u. —The ninth, a pyramid, overgrown with ivy, with
these Latin words, te ftahte virebo. " I shall flourish as
long as thou hand ft." Alluding to her ftedfaftnefs and
innocency, which, like the ivy upon the rock, Should re
main in its verdure and beauty as long as she lived.—The
tenth, a Ship with her mast broken, and fallen into the sea,
with these words in Latin, munquam nifi reftam. <: Ne
ver but when firaight." Alluding to her f ft and up
right dealings in the tempestuous courfeof her life, which
had supported her as a Straight and broken mast do's Ship
in a tempest at sea. The eleventh, a big lion, and a young
whelp on its fide, withthefe Latin words, anum quidem,
fed leonem. " One indeed, but it is a lion." Alluding
to the case of her and her son, whose power and ftreogth,
if joined in one, would be like that of a lion against their
enemies.—The twelfth, a lion taken in a net, and hares
wantonly passing over him, with these Latin words, et le
pores devindo infultant leoni. " Hares insult over a fet
tered lion." Alluding to the base and insulting behaviour
of her fubjefts, when they knew that her imprisonment
secured them from that just puuiftiment they deserved, and
which they no more durst do if She was at liberty, than a
hare durfl insult a lion.—The thirteenth, a bed of camo
mile, in a garden, with these Latin words, frudus calcata
dat amplos. " The more it is trod upon the more it
grows." Alluding to the daily conviction theworld recei
ved of her innocence, from the aspersions of her enemies.
The fourteenth, a palm tree, with these Latin words,
ponderibus virtus inoata refiftit. "By its innate virtue
it refills its burthen." Alluding to her chirftian fortitude
in supporting the heavy burther of her imprisonment, as
the palm-tree is said to raise the more it is depressed.—
The fifteenth, a bird in a cage, and a hawk flying above,
with these words in Italian, il nial me preme, et me foa
vente deggio. " A present evil oppufes me, but it frees
me from a worse." Alluding to her imprisonment, and
the designs of her enemies upon her life.—The sixteenth a
triangle, with a fun in the middle of a circle, with these
Litin words, Trino non convenit orbis. " A globe a
grees not with a triangle." Alluding to the globe of the
earth, represented by the circle and the fun, and the three
different pretensions of the Queem, her son, and Elizabeth,
had for the government of the three kingdoms of Scot
land, England and Ireland, represented by the triangle.
—The seventeenth, a porcupine amongst sea rocks, with
these Latin words, ne volutetur. " Left she fliould be
tossed about." Alluding to her close imprisonment.—•
The eighteenth, a portcullis, with these Latin words, alte
ra fecuritas. “ A double security." Alluding to her e
nemies having both her and her son in their power.—The
nineteenth, the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, with
these Latin words, fortitudo ejus Rhodum tenuit. " By
her power he kept Rhodes." Alluding to the Duke of Sa
voy's Impreffa, who attributed his keeping the island of
Rhodes to the affi fiance of the blessed Virgin by whose in
tercession she hoped to be Secure against the attempts of
her enemies.—The twentieth, flourifhes of arms, as hel
mets, lances, croflets, pikes, mufquets, cannon and other
warlike in firuments, with this Latin sentence, dabit De
us hisquoque finem. " God, in due time, will put an
end tothofe." Alluding to the civil wars in Scotland.—
The twenty-firft a tree planted in a church-yard, envi
roned with dead bones, with these Latin words, pietas
revocubit ab orco. " Piety brings back from the grave."
Alluding to the dead, from whose intercession she expe&-
ed assistance, as a tree planted in a church-yard is nou
rished and supported by the dead corpses that environ it.
The twenty-second, eclipses of the fun and moon, with
this Latin sentence, ipfa tibi lunem quod invidet auferet.
" She takes away the light that she envies ia another."
Alluding to Queen Elizabeth's defaming her reputation,
because she thought it eclipsed her own.—The twenty
third, Brennus's balance, a (word cast in to weigh gold,
with this Latin sentence, quid nifi viflis dolor? " What
is there but sorrow to the conquered ?" Alluding to the
caufeof her imprisonment for nothing, and considering it
either to proceed from the fucce s of her rebellious fubjeas
aims, represented by the (word, or from the
pensions given them by Qyeca Elizabeth, repre
sented by the gold, either wa. alike to her—
The twenty-fourth, a vine, watered with wine, which,
instead of making it spring and grow, causes it to fade,
with these Latin words, Mea fie mini profunt. " This
is the good I reap from my own." Alluding to her main
tenance in prison, which, although it was from her reve-