Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1817-09-26
RIcNMoNp. sEpTEMRER 90.
IJSIJRY.
tn tbp Filter of ne E,,,;

10 present to the public tuli view OF the sub
Jeet OF interest, or nsury. may find his labors
! abridged by the references which the following
! memoranda afford. TO give this aid, is my on
! ~ object.
| You will recOl'ect. that in one of the former
| publications on this subject, in the Enquirer,
\ Iacitus was quoted as authority for the fact,
| that tue law of the II tables had fixed interest
| M Rome at one per cent. per annum. h1ontes-
| qnieu, without questioning the rate ofinterest,
! suggests that it was fixed by law about centu-
| ~ afterwards. Gi6bon thinks that this sugges-
| ton on the part OF Montesauieu, against such
| hiEh authority, is rather prcsumptuous. Fer
| snsoo seems disposed to agree with Monies
quieu. This, l believe is the substance of
what was published on this point.
Now, IL IS very remarkable, that the French
! Encyclopedias whose learning it would be l.
die TO commend, differ from Tacitus and Mon
| tesquieu both. They agree, that the rate Of
| interest was fixed by the IL tables, but they
| yer that the rate was one per cent. per month,
which they (and the Roman laws also) call Cen.
| ttSs,H,a CSurd. Ii is still more remarkable that
| Ivy Gas transated) takes no notice of any reg
| u.ation ofinterest, promulgated by the Deem
| virs, but speaks of IL per cent established
| by law passed in the year OF Rome 500, to the
| great satisfaction of the Plebeians and of the
reduction of INTEREST," 10 per cent. in the year
iUo.-Perhaps, some embarrassment OH this
| subject has arisen from negligence in translat-
| ing The very technical terms used by the Ro-
mans 10 express the various rates of interest.
| ihey are TO be found in the Paniects I'd part
] or book -, sec. l, and III note (a) To the i6iiI
| sec. OF the 9th hook OF the Annals OF Taciius,
! [hurphy's translation. How these points
| ought TO be settled, ! shall not undertake 10
! enquire. never was fond Of these "apices'
OF law or history-But, though don't like
them, others NAYS
| l have before me, Posticfh,co,d' Dictionary
| 81 Commerce, published III Tie year 1855. The
| author was engaged in this work for more than
| 20 years, aud u, tne course of it necessarily
TOOK view OF the money * trade OF the world.
| He concludes several columns on The subject
| oil interest, with the following remarks -
! y From this short account of legal interest, il
VIII not be impropert to add, that there isIike-
wise natural interest of money, which may
be compared 10 the market price of other
! commodities; for money itselfmay be looked
= ON as a commodity, which, like others, rises
" and falls, as there is a demand for il and
6 therefore, when tho legal interest has been
" per cent. money enough might be had at or
" ~. On the contrary, since the legal interest
has been per cent. per cent. has been
| - given for the loan of money, not for a year,
-" but for rery te1c days. THIS seems to show,
. that no law can absolutely fx the interest of
=" money" Upon This statement, it would be
| idle to comment.
| 1t has hecn already remarked, l believe, in
| your paper, that Adam Smith is not entirely
| consistent with himself on the subject of inte-
rest. lie lnconsist ency of Steuart (POlit. E.
| economy, z, $50, &c. is still more gross and pal
| pable. lie says" Now If it be true as think
" II has been proved, that the operations of de-
~ maud aud competition, work irresistible ef-
| 'jeets, IN determining The rate of interest Ill
|
| " bout 10 make regulation, must keep these
| principles constantly III his eye" Now,
| say, how could statesman be more preposter-
| Dusty employed than in attempting to make Il
regulation as to the rate of interest, when that
rdie Is HreSisti6iy deter mined by causes not UNI
| der Ills control? Some writer in your paper
mas protested against the authority of great
| names. renew that protest, and concur in
| the idea, that i'll political science there is
authority whatever. In fact, there is no al,-
'hOrity but that of reason, justice and public
| good, except III questions OF law, exclusively
municipal.
The Crusades were carried on in the llth.
| i2th and 18th centuries. During that period,
interest, on The Continent at least, was, it may
be presumed, generally tolerated, since those
WHO were engaged III these piOus underi Gkings ;,
we're exempted from paying interest for The mo-
hey they had borrowed. (Reb Oh. 5. l, 287
The writer just quoted, says, (lb. 1O2, !" that
the Lonbards were not satisfied with that
moderate premium which they might have
CLAIMED, u their trade had been open, and duth0-
" Ttzed by idiC. They exacted a sum proper
tional to the danger s. iniamy ola discovery"
That liz the 18th Cent. interest was from 20
TO 80 per ct.-fhat in the 18th Cent. "a. ID.
l"li y Philip the 4th fixed the interest which
might be legally eXacted in the Fairs of
Champagne, TIE per ccnt.--and that as late
as the year 400, the interest OF money i'm
placenza was 40 per cent which the writer
observes is the more remarkable, as The com
- merce OF the Italian States was then very
considerable"
Robertson, who was a clergyman farther re-
marks, that the fathers OF the church preposte-
rousiy applied the prohibitions Of usury to the
payment of legal interest, and condemned il
as sin. (p. 402.)
am not sure, buf believe il TO be a fact,
that the first canon against taking interest was
occasioned by the scandalouS extOrtioDs of tie
clergy Inc Bishops themselves lent money at
compound interest. These Reverend Divines
were not satisfied with the IL per cent allow
ed, reluctantly allowed, by the imperial con-
sutnt'ons-Ihey grasPed at more, aud at so
much, that tue Nicean council, (Which was the
first general council of the Christian Clergy,
and was cOnvokcd in the year $50, by the en-.
peror Constantine, who was the tirst Chri stan
cnperor,l we're Obliged to make a regulation
10 prohlbIt the clergy from taking Interest,"
| { Zee 3Hd. Hist. Com. 1, IO9.--French Encyclo
tit. Contradiction, 3, 2Gl.)
In the year ll26, this prohibition as to the
clergy was renewed by an express decree of
dcOancIl held by The Pope's Lcgate at Westmiu-
sier IN England. By this decree, it was decIar-
ed, that snch OF the clergy as were nsnrers
and hunters after sordid gain, and for the pdb.
nc enlPieyments OF the lalty, ought to be de-
| graded. AHd. Hist. Com. IN
rms prohibition was finally extended 10 the
lalty also and was strictly enforced by the Ca
monists, who thereby became the judges of
| " almost all agreements between man and
=" man. SO that temporal Judge being some
" tunes ready to give sentence upon contract,
has been stopped by the ecclesiastc OF a pre-
.Thc learned and voluuipous history NJ po,os b ,t
Jeauts Cair9u Kouilia will serve TO place this sub
jet w clearer point OF view. These historians furnish
(vol 3, p. 1867 copy the laAs Of the twelve taes
rs iar as they could he collected from he ancient wTi
les, by whom they have been cited This collie elton
'sey say has been made With great care fhe 0rst Ia
OF the 80 table, is thus given Whoever shall take Tor
money tent, more than cent shah be condemned
10 pay the quadrupe ofbe sbln ientV rms as in The
| year ~ G. 500. In the year fRome sg6 the same
hsoIy VOL I'D states, that interest having been fr
"ng time arbitrary was reinisl mt sgatr In enc ,
cent tor ths fact Livy Is quoted. We have slresd.
seen WAT ivy tdys-One per cent uigit have lee,
commonly used and understood as meaning per cent
yer month. We couut by the year. The Romans cei.