The Pennsylvania packet, or, The general advertiser — Lancaster, Pa.;Philadelphia, Pa., 1780-01-04 00:00:00, page 1

A PLAN for restoring the CREDIT of our
CONTINENTAL CURRENCY.
THE very alarming state of depreciation to which
our Continental Currency is reduced, impresses the
mind of every sincere friend of this country with the ut
most concern. It throws a damp on the natural ardor
and spirit of the people ; creates discontents ; is the source
of a variety of difficulties and distresses; and, unless the
evil be Speedily removed, the consequences mufl be dread
ful ! A matter of such vast importance to the whole comtnu
niy,certainly deserves the roost fer.ous and deliberate atten
tion of those to whom we look for redrefa, and in whose
hands only, I am convince!, the means of affording
it refide® I mean that great Council of our empire,
the Congress : Amidst the multiplicity of business of
great moment which must daily fall under the consideration
of that august Assembly, I fear the fubjeft our M>ney has
not been attended to, in proportion to the magnitudeof
Sts concern. It is natural for a perlon anxious for the well
fare of his country, altho' in a private Ration, to revolve
in his mind the means of promoting it; and jt may so hap
pen tnat leizure may enable him to suggest tome thoughts
worthy of public regard. ^oflurnced by the purest and
mod ardent love for my native land, I will venture to ex
hibit to the publiceye, a plan for restoring the credit of
our Paper Currency: I have not the vanity to imagine it
perfect, it is probably very far from being so ; yet, if the
design be good in the main, the finer traits and the mi
nuter subordinate parts, may be disposed in such a man
ner, and be so harmonized and proportioned, as to ren
der the piece just and beautiful. Before we can apply
a remedy, it it is necessary to know the disease: The
depreciation of cur money proceeds fr&m two causes ; the
one I will term natural, and the other artificial : The natu
ral cause is the exigence of a much greaterquantity than is
necessary for a circulating medium ; and this has, in a
great measure, produced the artificial cause. It is obvi
ous, then, that by reducin the quantity of cur money to
its proper proportion, we shall restore itscredit: For this
end such measures must be adopted as may produce an im
mediate effeß; because the gradual appreciation of the
money would be productive of many of the fame bad ccn
feqoences, as the progression of its depreciation, hence tax
es, if at all capable of promoting the desired effed, are
liable to objection by reason of the slowness of their opera
tion. I will therefore, with great submission to superior
judgment and abilities, propose the following plan for tne
speedy re eflabhfhment of the credit of cur Paper Cur
rency ; confident of nothing but the honesty of myinteni
•n therein.- Let usfuppofe 3 o millions of Dollars. with
the specie now in the country, a fufficient circulating medi
um for the Thirteen United States— I believe it is generally
admitted that this is about the sum neceffa y for that pur
pose: Lrtusfuppofe, also, thatthe whole of the paper money,
already emitted by Congress, amounts' to 180 millions of
dollars : It is then apparent that the sum of paper-money
in circulation is fix times greater than necessary; confe
qurntly it will be depreciated from that cause, at the rate
of fix to one. In order, therefore, to reGore its credit,
the super-abundant quantity of 150 miilitn^ should be taken
out of circulation. To do thii, 1 w mid propose that that'
sum should be funded; which would immediately make
the remaining 30 millions pass for an equal sum of gold or
silver. The several Proprietors of the 150 millions funded
should be creditors of government, and t. ey ftould annu
ally receive interest for the fame, in specie: but as the mo
ney thus funded had been reduced to one sixth part of the
value of money of the fame denomination in specie, by its
quantity, the interest to be paid, for it should be only one
sixth of what it would be for the fame sum in specie, that
is, the interest being payable in specie, instead of 6 per
cent, it should be one per cent, so that the interest to be
paid for it would amount annually to one million and an
half of dollars. From this, it is evident, our national
debt would, in fad, beonly 25 millions of dollars : In or
der to pay the interest of this debt, a foreign loan should
be obtained for that purpose. It has been obf^rved alrea
dy that one million and an half of dollars would difeharge
the interest of our debt the firft year. . The interest of
such a sum, obtained upon loan at 5 per cent, would a
mount to 75,000 dollars. Thus in the firfl year 1.425 000
dollars would be added to the circulating money before
in the country, and an addition of 1. 500 000 made to our
national debt. The interest of this last sum, and finally
the principal, would be paid to foreigners ; at w rich time
our circulating money, according to the following plan,
would be rendered less, by 300,000 dollars than at firft.
The whole of oOr national debt, due at home, should be
paid off in fifteen years ; by difeharging annually ten mil
lions of dollars, at the aforefaid rate of fix to one, by di
vidends to the Proprietors, in proportion to the sums they
had severally deposited in the funds. This wouil amount,
annually, to 1,666,666 dollars, nearly, each equal to 4/6
sterling; which, joined to the 75,000 dollars for the pay
ment of the interest of the foreign loan before mentioned,
would make 1,741,666 dollars. The Treasurer of every
State in the union should be impowered to receive the mo-
For the PENNSYLVANIA PACKET.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1-80
THE
S),^MR^&"^
or $ The
GENERAL ^^^^ ADVERTISER
[ Published every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. ]
ney to be funded, for the inhabitants of his refpedive
State ; whereby the quantity belonging to each particular
State would oe ascertained: In that proportion each
State should raise its quota of the said 1,741,666 dollars,
for the firft year. In order that the whole sum of 150
millionsof dollars fliould be funded, I would propofc, ~,r
the greater convenience of the people, that in every county
in each State a person be appointed to receive the money ;
and that one and the fame week should be fixed on,
throughout the Thirteen States, for that purpose; that
the whole of the present emissions should be called in ;
and that every person on paying his moi y into the funds,
should immediately receive, in exchange therefor, one
sixth part of the sum so paid in, in money of a new emis
sion to be struck on purpose. He should have credit with
government for the remaining fire sixths for which he would
be intitled to interest, to be paid from that date, annual
ly, at the rate of one per cent, in specie or an equivalent
thereto, in the principle before mentioned. Toe ex
changing the Paper Money in circulation for such new e
missions, would effectually destroy all the counterfeits
then in being; and the utmost caution fliould be ufei for
preventing them in future. But as it would prove ex
tremely d ffi.ult, if not impracticable, to afeertain what
proportion of the thirty millions of dollars, of the new e
missions, (which fliould be so exchanged for the one hund
red and eighty millions of those now circulating ) each
State and its several counties would haveto receive of the
said thirty millions ; and thatthe people should meet with
no delay in getting their money exch mged, by the quan
tity feat to any of the States or counties proving ineffici
ent to exchange all the money within such States or coun
ties; let there be printed, of the new emission, at least
three times the sum that would be actually wanted, that
is ninety millions of dollars: Then let that sum be divid
ed into thirteen parts, a- nearly proportioned to the sums
necessary for the several States, as calculations would enable
them to difeover them ; and each State might afterwards
subdivide its quata for its feveial counties, in such man
ner as it might choose : So that if the sum necessary for
any of the States did not exceed three times that fix r d on
by such calculations, as in all probability it would not, no
difficul y or delay would arise in making the exchange.
T e new money should be sent to the Treasurer of every
8 ate, unsigned and unnumbered,and be by him difiribut
ed among the several County Receivers, in such manner as
he fliould be directed : Two persons of fair charader and
influence, in each county, fliould be nominated by the
Sate to sign and number the bills, to such amount as the
County-Receiver fliould require; that no more might be
signed than wanted. No sum less than one hundred and
twenty dollars fliould be received from any one person;
and when all the money fliould be exchanged, for doing
which, one week might be fufficient, the County. Recei
vers should deposit the money by them received, and also
the surplus of the new money, if any remained in their
hands, with the State-Treasurer. Every proprietor in the
fuads should, on lodging his money therein, receive a
certificate, whereby the United Spates acknowledge to owe
him such a sum, payable in fifteen years, in as many equal
payments, to be made annually, with interest at the expira
tion of the year, of one per cent, as before mentioned.
It has already been observed, that this interest would be
paid the firft year, by the one million and a half of dol
lars, obtained on loan from foreigners. At the end of the
second year, when , our domeflic debt would be reduced
one fifteenth, by the paying off ten millions, the interest
of that year should be discharged by taxes, levied for
that purpose; and then the interest of the foreign loan,
(amounting to 75 000 dollars, and payable out of the
States) also to be levied by taxes, being deduced from
the 1,666,666 dollars, which was added to the circulating
money of the fecund year, in the manner before noticed,
would encreafe it 1,591,666 dollars. In the third year,
and the two succeeding ones, the one million and an half,
borrowed from foreigners, might be discharged at three e
qual payments, and an annual tax of half a million of
dollars be impofed/for those three years, to rlife those sums.
r^e certificates or bank notes should be made payable to
the bearer : But to prevent the evil that would ensue
from theft notes, passing equally current with specie, a
Transfer Office thould be opened in each State, and no
transfer of a note be allowed as good, uni fs the person to
wtom it was made should produce at the Transfer-Office
the note, together with an assignment on a separate paper
made in writing, in the presence of two witnesses. The as
signment fliould be lodged in the Transfer -Office, and the
Assignee, on receiving a certificate of foch transfer hav
ing been made, should pay one per cent. Persons re
ceiving such notes from Executors aod Administrators,
into whose hands they had come as patt of the goods and
chatties of which the deflator or intestate died possessed,
fliould, before any transfer could be made of the fame, ex
hibit info the Treasury Office, Certificates from such Ex
eruters or Administrators, attested on oath befere a Ma
fderate, to that eh;(t : And in this case tae transfers
fliould be made gritis. Besides the other advantages to be
derived from thef- difficulties in transferring the notet,
CQunterfeits would easily be detefled,—Throughout the
whole of this plan, my objef thas been to endear
vour, according to the best ot my abilities, the promoti in
®f the public welfare in as equitable a manner
as possible. If, by its means, a certain and permanent
value could be reflored to our money, all that nu
merous train of public and private calamities which have
been occasioned by its continued depreciation, would quick
ly vanish; and thebenefits, resulting from a mutual con
fidence of the people and the rulers in each other,
be established in tueir place. In addition to the money to
be raised by taxes and other methods for the exigencies of
government, large sums might, if necessary, be obtained
by Loan among ourselves. Thus, at the opening of the eo
fuing campaign, we should be enabled to bring into the
field a great and formidable army; either to prpfecute
the war with vigor, fliould it continue, or to procure
the more readily an honourable and advantageous peace.
ARISTIDES.
December 2d, 1779.
4H+++++++++++4+{ Q§4„
t , Philadelphia, January
THE Subfcribcr's BREWER Y, at the
corner of Fourth and Race firsts, is carried on
as usual, for the season, where his former customers
and others may be tupplied with BEER of the fiift
quality, for exportation or home Corfu prion.
FRANCIS WADE.
THE MEMBERS of the LIBRARY
COMPANY of Philadelphia ate earmftly
requested to appear personally er by proxy at the Libra
ry Apartments in Carpenters H;II, on Thursday, the
6th day of January, at Three o'clock in the afternoon,
to co filer of the propriety of sassing a Law to enable
the Di e&vrs to raise the yearly payments of the Mem
bers; it being found on experience impossible to support
the incidental expenecs of the Library on the present
eftablifhmenr. By order of the Board,
Dec. 14. ANDREW ROBESON, Sec.
A LIBRARIAN is wanted. Any person in
clining to serve ui y apply to one oi the Dirt&ois.
To be SOL D by Public Auction,
At the Cofce-houfe, on Wednesday the fifth of January,
?t Five o'clock in ths evening,
TW O frame Tenements in Walnut-street, near
4 Fourth-street; one frame ditto in Second-street,
near Snippen-ftreet; one Lot of Ground on Higner's
Lane, to the westward of Paffyunk Road; a Lea fe of
four years to come of ri^hteen acres of Meadow in K ng
feffing; a Paint-Mill,' &c. Due attendance will be
given by
WILLIAM BROWN, Auctioneer.
WANTE D,
AP ERSON who writes a good h^nd, and is other
wise qualified to examine accounts. Such a per
son may meet with employ, and a genteel fabry, by
leaving his name and place of abode with the Printer,
so that the employer may have an opportunity to treat
with him.
WANTED Immediately,
/ \FEW PERSONS who will undertake the care
41 of Sweeping Chimneys. Any one who will under
take the fame, may hear of encouragement by applying
to WILLIAM YOUNG, Superintendant, in
Lomhard-ftreet, between Third and Fouith-ftreets, Phi
ladelphia.
CA M E to the plantation of the fubferiber,
on Nether P evidence, Chester county, about the
latter end of October last, a bright loan MAR E,
three years old last spring, about thirteen and a half
h^hds high. The owner is defir^d to come, prove his
property, pay charges and take her away.
THOMAS VERNON.
One Hundred and Thirty Dollars Reward.
STOLE N,
A few days past, out of a Gentleman's house,
A LARGE SILVER TABLE-SPOO N,
" mad in England ; it has the Tower stamp bn it,
and on the end of the handle is engraved a Aiming cd
tle, the coat of arms of the owner. All fuver-fmiths
and others, to whom the fame may be offered for sale,
are requeued to lecu:e it. One Hundred Dollars
will be given as a reward for ti e discovery or the thief,
and Thirty Dollars for the spoon.
December 27, 1779.