The Connecticut courant, and the weekly intelligencer — Hartford [Conn.], 1780-11-28 00:00:00, page 1

FUBSDA Y, Novimbzr2B, 1780. THE , NUMBER %
CONNECTICUT COURANT,
AMBTM^
WEEKLY I N'T ELLI GENC ER.
A Fifth ESSAY on FREE TRADE and
FINANCE.
[Continued from our laft.\ v
HERE I beg leave to call the rea
ders attention to the a& of Congress
of the 18th instant, refpeding ouf finan
ces, that we may on the best examination,
judge bow far that importart ad, if du'y
executed, will reduce our finances into
such method, and give them such establish
ment as the public fafety requires. 'Tis
necessary that the nature, design, and use
of that a^ liquid be thoroughly difcufred,
because the efforts for its execution will
probably take their tone from the degree
of conviction which generally prevails of
its utility. I don't pretend to be adequate
to such a difcoffion, and shall only beg
leave to make a few remarks on it ; and
this I am induced to do at this time, be
cause the ad is but lately published, and
the public have not had time to make up
their minds on it, and I conceive many
people misapprehend the real design and
true conttru&ion of it.
I. I take it that the design of the act is
not to be a fUbftitute for taxes ; our pub
lic credit or finances want the fame sup
port and supplies from our real fubd^nce,
our material wealth, as they did before™
the ad. If the new bills are no better fup
perted than the old ones were, they will
depreciate as faft, become as useless and
more ruinous than thoie, as these involve
us in a vast debt of interest, which those
did not. The past error of our finances
is clearly seen, and the deluge of mifehiefs
rgfulting from it is severely felt, and the
design of the ad is not to continue but
prevent those mifehiefs in future, not to
repeat our former error, but to mend it.
2. The ad contains in it a declaration
or fixture of t^e prelent value or exchange
of the public bills, making them redeem
able at ft,rtf for ore, or sixpence in the
pound; and this on the highest reason,
grou ? ded on such rigid fads, such real
change cf circumstances, as render the ful
filment of the promises contained in those
bills impracticable, injurious to the pub
lic absurd, and useless, as I think I have
fully proved in my Fourth EffT ; and all
clamour and exclamation on this fubjed
is as idle and void cf reason and sentiment,
as a clamour against any other promise,
which however properly made at firft, is
become, by a change of circamßances, ei
ther impossible or highly improper to be
performed, of which we have daily in-
Rances in every part of huma ^ experience.
We are to confider the depreciation of our
currency as a public calamity, like a blast,
a deluge, a drought, or ravages of an ene
my, which affed every man as he happens
to hand in their way and become thoir ob-
HARTFORD: Primtxb by HUDSON amp GOODWIN, mrar the Griat-Bridci;
jed ; in all these cases the mifehief must
lie where it lights ; it is doubdefs so di
reded by divine providence, that each in
dividual receives that degree of corredi
on from it, which is suited to his own
particular case. In point of remedy it is
vain to enquire whether this calamty arose
from the public necessity, or from the fault
of any individuals or boards cf our policy ;
for could .we fed and punish the faulty
delinquents, their heads or gibbets might
hang up in terrors as monuments of cau
tion to future financers, but can avail no
thing to the easement of the calamity ;
our duty at present, and all we can do is,
to corred the mifehief in time, and pre
vent it in future.
3, It is objeded to this ad, that it dou
bles the quantity of circulating bills, be,
cause it issues two dollars out, for one that
is brought in, and to millions of the new
bills are equal to 400 millions of the old
ones, at the exchange of forty for one,
prescribed in the ad it elf ; and this may
be brought to cl^fh with a former refla
tion, that the quantity of bills fmid not
be increased beyond 200 millions, will
tend to a depreciation, and render the
fixing the medium more doubtful, if not
impossible. But I beg lerive to observe
here, that few laws would be salutary or
even tolerable if they were executed up to
the height of their letter, and I conceive
that a prudent execution of this ad, will
obviate all the ill effeds arising from the
above objections. Ido not conceive it to
be the design of Congress that any part of
the new bills shall Issue at all, if it shall be
found that that can't be done at their full
value, Without any depreciation, or that
they shall iffne any fader, or Io any larger
amount than can be done without any de
preciation ; for I can by no means admit
the supposition, that the new bills are to
be issued in a depreciated state, because
that very depreciation defeats their use,
renders them infuffieient for the procure
ment offupplies, and involves us over a
gain in the miseries of a fluctuating cur
re cy, whilst we are at the fame time load
ed with a vast debt of hard money to pay
the interest of them. I never doubted
the integrity of Congress, and therefore
can't attribute to them such absurdity of
design, even though the letter of their a&
might admit such a ruinous and absurd
conftru&iom. They reserve, in their ad,
four tenths of the new bills for their own
disposal, which they will doubtless issue
in a manner fafe and ufeful to the Rates';
whilst the other fix tenths are left to the
d'fcretion of the states, who have every
inducement to a prudent issue of them, as
each state wdl Hand bound to redeem both
printypal and interest of all they shall issue.
And lam further told, that t'e Cong^ef
have it in contemplation to appo n # a Fi
nancier General,' of known gravity, jud %?
meat, and ceccnomy, to niperire d tnis
great department, who can either let out
or withhold the issues in fuc' manner as
to give the bills all the efte&a r d use the r
nature w 11 admit, w thoutiver'uad ng ^
public credit, or. increasing the quantity
so far as to lessen their demand, and by
that means lose the wlijle be efi by ~rafp
ing at too much. This error is E fa'al
and recent, and the apprehensions of the
people wound up to such a pitch ofa arm,
that I much doubt if had the pr poled
quantity of th^ new bills can be issued
without a fenfib'e depreciation ; but + ex
perience will best shew tnis, and prudence
at the time must d date the practicable de
gree which may be ventured on ; and 'tis
my opinion, that no p.ffib e he ght of
public necessity canfoßify exceeding such
degree, because that excels is a sure way
to defeat the uses cf the currency, and cf
course to increase the public necessities,
let them be ever so high, before. The ex
change is a fare barometer of the public
credit, as it is of the trade, and wT al
ways serve as a fafe m niter and gu*de to
our cou oils of revenue. It is the vai r eft
of all vantes to imagine that a publ c bill
is worth a dollar when it will not bring i + ,
or that it is worth any more than it w:11
bring. If it shall be found on trial that
any larger Rim than I have supposed, or
that the whole ten milion; can be iffued^
without depreciation, the public may fafe?
ly receive the benefit cf the whole ; and
the addition cf the interest, wh ch will be
received by every i dividual that holds
the bills will compensate for the increase
of his taxes to pay it. This matter can't
be computed on with any exadnefs, with-'
out knowing the whole amount of the cur
rent cash cf the thirteen Rates, which I
foe not yet seen any where afeertained.
I have heretofore on a few data made a
fort of loose rough computation of it, to
be about twelve million of hard dollars ;
but 1 have of late been colle&ing docu
ments for a more exact calculation, and on
a nearer vew am induced to believe the
amount will rather fall short of that sum,
and perhaps very considerably ; and I
think farther it is very manifeft that we
must have a promiscuous circulation of
both hard money and paper, in order to
keep the exchange of them equal ; But
this by the bye.
4, It may be further objected to this
a&, that we can have no fecuritv, that
some necessity or other will net be urged
next year to make a farther addition to
the emissions of circulating bills, till they
will depreciated But in anf^er to this,