The New-Jersey gazette — Burlington [N.J.], 1779-04-07 00:00:00, page 1

[No. lII.]
Mr. Collins,
IN my lift essay I endeavoured to show the chief
meritorious cause of our present calamities,
I now purpose an attempt to investigate the
immediate efficient causes of them. Here I
beg to be indulged with that liberty and free
dom of difquitition which every freeborn
American has a right to enjoy.
2. The second or efficient cause then of our pre
sent distresses, I do not believe so much to be the war
carried on against us by a relentless and savage enemy,
which we have fought with unparalleled success, and
broke their main force ; but htim&tfpnceive it to be
bad principles and praaice in m#ffof our citizens,
and misrule in our civil superiors order to make
this assertion evident, I must premise one or two ob
servations. I observe then,
1, That ^^ 'circulating medium for commerce and
trade; isfaceffar, %r the ease and convenience of civil
f)ciet,.'*ns mcty^ is called money. Mankind
almost generally na^ fixed upon gold and filter as
f^ch, because it is fcfrce and rare, and- has something
brilliant in its appearance. Because there is not a
fufficiency of this to answer every pffifoofe in com
merce and trade, (and if there was it would lose its
value, and the end intended thereby)' to make up
this inconvenience, bonds, bills, notes, &c. have
been invented and used. Now alLthefe are ,iot real
property, nor absolutely neceffar,fo our subsistence,
individually nor in society ; for nbne of that can either
feed or clothe us. And as every individual in society
cannot raise what is necessary, the bartering of the
produce of one's .labour for that of another, is be
eofne expedient ; but as society and this -kind of
commerce e'n^reafed, bartering became inconvenient,
and so was tfemedium of money introduced, in
. order to remedy that inconvenience. Fence is evig
dent that money i%by common donfent, a.kind of
bill or note. ^For example, one perfi^h has more of
one commodity than he needs, he gets money for it,
yhich intitles to get other property which suits him,
. to an equal amount of what he fold. Hence also is
evident, that it makes no material difference whether
money is of gold, silver, iron or paper, provided it
will answer the purposes of trade and commerce.
That of the Spartans was iron. Among us it has
raoftly been paper for a long time past, and has
answered all the necessary purposes which gold and
silver does in other nations.
2. I observe also, that it is absolutely necessary for
the security of the community, that this circulating
medium should have a certain determinate value
stamped upon it, and that secured to the possessors
by some fanftion, in order to answer the purposes
thereby intended. For if the nominal value of money
is the half less to-day than it was a few weeks or
months ago, and probably will fink one half more
in a few to come, it is as evidently destructive to
trade and commerce, and so to civil society, as the
other is beneficial. This nominal value mud be erti
mated, not by its bulk, for the fame bulk or weight
of gold will purchase much more real property than
that of silver; nor by what is inscribed on the bill,
for if the bill asserts that the bearer fhall'be int tied
to receive Eight Dollars, and he cannot get one for it,
nor the amount of one in real property, then the true
value of that bill is not one Spanish milled dollar. I
confefs it is difficult exactly to make out the value
of this nominal property. A more particular dis
cussion of this fubje& would lead me farther than I
am at present disposed to go. I muff however here
observe, that I cannot agree with such as make land
er boufes the only true barometer by which we Jbould
measure the value of our money. Let such only con
fider that these are mortgaged for the finking of the
whole sum, and are immoveable property, and not
such matter of trade. Are these fold, it mull be
under these incumbrances, and the apprehension of
the future appreciation of the money or depreciation
of the lands, which is the fame; and that is the rea
son land fells at present so much under its true value,
compared with other things. As the money is only
nominal property, I apprehend its real value is belt
measured by its own fpecific difference, comparing
it with what it would purchase before depreciated,
and in all probability will, when reduced to its for
mer standard : It is certainly worth less the present
difference, from whatever causes this may arise.
3. I observe that all money depreciates or appre
ciates in proportion to the quantities to be exchanged,
so if gold and silver exceeds the bounds of a necessary
medium. This was the case in Solomon's time. Or
if real property becomes scarce, and there is not a
fufficiency to answer the circulating medium. There
are instances of scarcity that has depreciated gold and
NEW-JERSEY GAZETTE.
[Vol. ll.]
WEDNESDAY, April 7, 1779.
silver as much as our currency is at this time. —It is
universally acknowledged that our paper currency
is much depreciated, at a medium to twenty for one
at the least. The causes are reduced by a Gentleman
in the Pennsylvania Packet of February 16, to three
heads. I. A scarcity of many articles. 2. A mono
poly of many articles. 3. A want of confidence in the
credit of the money. —He supposes the depreciation
which naturally flows from the superabundant quan
tity of our money to be four so one. Add the scar
city of articles, which operates in the fame way as a
surplus of money to the former, and then it is pro
bably five or fix for one, —Now it appears evident that
all what our money has depreciated below that, has
arisen from the bad principles and practice of many
of our citizens. „.
It appears to me undeniable, that the depreciation
sos our paper currency (our only medium for trade)
•-is-the sole efficient cayfe of pur present calamities.
And, according to the canra or maxim caufa cause
est caufa caufatis, the au.')rs of this depreciation
are toe authors of our calamities.—Before I proceed
to offer my thoughts on the remedies for this evil, I
will endeavour to difeover the authors of this depre
ciation in their refpeeive advances, in order that
their, .country may the better know how to trust
and treat them in future; and then briefly hint the
natural tendency of this cause to produce all the
evils we groan under.
Among thefe' depreciators are to be ranked such
as from a suspicion of the credit of the money they
were obliged to take, offered much more of it for
real value than it tfas \Vorth; that they might have
this property fttured, let the scale turn either way.
Sucliplainly shewed that their principle was to secure
their'intereft at the risk of the community. Others
knew that this money was the hnews of our war, and
therefore flopped at ng prices, but made such mon
strous offers for articles of file, as Tas often Shocked
•fen the venders, This th^ did .with a view en
tiwy'to deltixfyQoth the'yalu^ ^nckrfdit of.it. We
need not ask from what prince's such fuicidcs raid
abandoned traitors to their country acted. Next
^ere many of the gentlemen' merchants, who begun
under the non-importation agreement, according to
which they were bound not to take advantage of the
scarcity of foreign produce, by railing their profits of
sale on them. These, in order to clude the vigilance
of the several committees, have been known to make
the fame property pass through a circle of tales, each
receiving the usual profit without ever moving it ;
others moving it at conliderable expence, on pre
tended sale, to a distant merchant, and directly back
to the owner. All this with express view to raise the
price. To this has succeeded the general monopoly
and extortion to an unheard of degree. Let such
men their actions interpret their principles. King
Solomon pronounced their doom— be that witb-hoid
eth corn, the people Jhall curse him. The prices of
foreign produce having by these means risen to
monstrous height, the farmer and mechanick were 6f
course led to raise the price of their labours in feif
defence. Tories among them were loath to part
with their real property for Continental money, and
a few others acted from a principle of extortion.
But for the molt part those prices have thus risen
from foreftallers and commiflaries offering higher
prices than ever the farmer would have thought to
ask. Thus I venture to assert that the farmers and
meclianicks have atted the molt upright, sincere and
persevering part in this contest, of any class of our
citizens; and I aver that the fafety of our liberty
and political happiness, under God, chiefly depends
upon them.—Among all the harpies which have prey
ed upon our vitals, none have been worse than
Quarter-makers, Commissaries, and the whole host
of their deputies. They having their certain per
cent, for all the public money passing through their,
hands, it became their private interest to enhance
the prices of their relpedive purchases. And this
card they seem to have played to their advantage and
the Publick's ruin, without cqntroul. I hope the
time is not far distant that their injured country will
make the guilty among them meet with their juit
deserts.—By these several steps the prices of things
have risen, or our money is got so unnaturally depre
ciated ; and from thence appears which fort of men
our citizens have to conlider as the principal authors
of it.
Before I dismiss this fubjeft I catmot avoid hinting
the influence that misrule in our civil superiors has
had upon this pernicious evil.—Before I proceed I
beg leave to declare, that what I am about to offer
does not proceed from any personal malice, envy or
grudge against any of my superiors, for which I have
not the least cause; nor from a difrefped to them. I
'THE
confeientioufly believe lawful civil power to be the
Minifler 0, God unto us for good, and such I truly
esteem those entrusted with the government .of this
new empire, since the glorious revolution. I how
ever esteem them fallible men, and a discovery of
their errors, lessons to them, and a spur to the commu
n''J to guard against the abuse of their power, and
urge them to a proper difebarge of their duty. —The
misrule Icniefly have in view, I humbly conceive to
consist in the following particulars.
I. As the origin of the depreciation is the surplus
of our money, it is evident government should have
emitted no more than what was necessary for a cir
culating medium. The prodigious surplus gave an
advantageous opportunity to monopolizers and fore
ftallers to get great quantities of it in their hands,
and use it to the viToft of purposes.1
2. The negled of due attention to the civil or ftaff
department of the army. Their pay to be so much
per cent, was a manifeft inducement to the railing of
prices, and wanton deftrudtion of whatever they
purchased, and a dilatory idleness in. all that fell
within that department. For whatever had a ten
dency to encreafe the demands upon the public trea
sury in this way, turned to their private emolument.
Add to this the opportunities they have for embez
zling the public money, in receiving immense quantities
of it, without being called to a.fettlement of their
accounts at certain proper periods. Suppose there
should be now seventy or eighty millions of our pub
lic money difourfed, which had as yet never been
properly accounted for, how difficult will it be to
inaxe a true settlement of such large, various and
intricate accounts ? beside the danger of losing mil
lions in the hands of villains.
3. A third error is the method fallen upon to pre
vent the necefiity of emitting more money for the
exigencies of the war, by funding or taking money
° Here the remedy was worse than the
dileafe ; because it is calculated to take in a great
quantity of depreciated money, and make the com
nmnity liable to render it good to the particular pro
piietors, besides A heavy load of yearly interest to be
paid. File consequence of which will be a pernicious
national debt, and it has not after all answered the
intended purpose. For though there was at that
time a surplus of money, its depreciation has kept
mucli moie than pace with it, and therefore there
was no more than a necessary medium for a kind of
trade then and as yet carried on. It is not the
quantity but the value which fettles the fufficiency
lor a medium. For if 30,000,000 of dollars fit their
former value was but fufficient, then at the present
depreciation we must have twenty times that sum to
make it equal to what is necessary. It is true that
putting it in bank was not taking it out of circulation,
th " h wa ^ ^.V™ ^^ of those who got it in
their hands, thought they could employ it more to
their emolument, in the kind of trade carried on,
than receding J ix per cent, on loan. If my view;
° T a ' ters are "'''' then ° ur government has
erred by doing what was wrong. I also humbly con
ceive they have erred and greatly promoted the de
preciation of our currency, by not doing what they
ought to have done. y
4. As soon as they had emitted money fufficient
, r f"r" 10 "' they °^ ht immediately to have
railed the sum necessary for carrying on the war by
tax. the public zeal and patriotism which at that
time so remarkably distinguished Americans, would
in , uce , them to pay those taxes more cheer*
^ully than they will now ; and the ardor that forced
heavy and just fines from tories for their refufal of
personal service in the militia, would have forced this
„ m ° Thus would new emissions have been
enectually prevented, and the money have a proper
circulation, it frugally and prudently applied. -
5. Government forefaw, as they easily could, that
our particular circumstances would give singular ad
vantages to monopolizers, foreftallers and extortioners,
and the train of evils they might bring upon the
community, as they have done. To prevent which
Congress recommended the passing regulation ads, the
only effectual means of preventing it. Some states
complied, others refufed. If Congress has exerted
all the powers they were possessed of to carry those
salutary refojves into execution, the refufing states
must take all the national calamities which have
thence eiilued to their charge. Congress ought to
have been convinced by that, that it was of a mort
dangerous tendency to lodge the power of making
war in the representative body of the United Stated
and still leave it in the lawful power of the minority,
to rum the whole while engaged in it, and to have
induced them to remedy that evil in the confederation.
6. The last error I Ihall mention is the mode Con-
~ [Numb. 70.]