Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1861-10-11
&i1bmon6 Enquirer.
THURSDAY MORNING, OCT. 10, 1861
BY TYLER, WISE & ALLEGRO.

Io,,, y,a.r. r,a Wor.dare Iovvhed n"hAei'
Whose Notes wore Ten Per CONT he'
,or ,,,,n Specic.-Modcrn Fihahciers VI
the John Law Scii"oi.
As reference is frequently made to Jonn
Low IN newspaper articles, upon the subjects
If finance and commerce, a briefnot!ce OF him
and his banking operations may prove in'e'
resting to the public. We deem the present
a favorable time 10 recur to the remarkable
career Of the former proprietor of the State Of
Louisiana and Of a large portion Of France
and to deduce from that history an instructive
lesson for the benefit Of our countrymen, no"
so seriously threatened with the curse OF al
irredcemable paper currency. Every oHc VI
our readers who heard the Lao Lecture Oh
Professor Schelc De We're, in 1858, must nave
been struck with his graphic description Oh
the "immortal fiaancier'-a description drawn
from the records Of history, which may DC
stated nearly as follows:
John Law, the son OF EiSboro' Goldsmith
had for many years roamed about on the Con
tinent, living by high play, and studying inc
great principles Of trade, now as q clerk at Am,
sterdam, and now as the boon companion Of
French mobiles. Full Of schemes and plans
for financial reforms, he offered to the Regent
Of France, the Duke Of Orleans, the payment
of the national debt of the kingdom anu an
almost unlimited command Of money in return
for the permission to erect n bank. Inc oleF
was the more readily accepted, as France was
then on the verge of ruin. The brilliant, but
~ruinous reign Of Louis XIV. had exhausted
her resources and destroyed her credit. lhe
Court was without money. Law PROMISED an
abundance of means and a revival of trade by
the creation of paper money. Inc desired
permission was granted and the first bank OF
circulation established in Paris. Unfortunate
10 it's basis was unsafe, and its circulation ex.
tended vastly beyond the Legitimate limits
It became a gigantic gambling establishment,
under royal protection. For a time all went
we'll. Laws great skill and experience ena-
bled him to succeed in bold spcculations, and
SOON tho shares of the new bank rose from
twenty TO forty times their value. The Regent
GRANTED him, for a consideration, one great
privilege after another. Public credit was re-
stored, the army we'll clad and fed, and la;er-
mi ;pproycments carried on with energy, and
hone and confidence restored to the people.
Foremost among the gigantic schemes OF
Law, stood the plan OF colonizing Louisiana,
then known 10 the French only by a book
m,,dcstly entitled Antarctic France anc;cntly
called America"
It was represented as %aoounding in riches Of
every kind. Law bought the whole State, and
promised to settle it quickly. Ships were sent
out with emigrants of the mos. doubtful char
actcr. Cities were founded, mainly on paper
and magnificent plans ana glowing descrlp'
tons scattered broadcast over the land. Thus
the Mississippi Company, as it was called, was
forced into the great bank, now raised to the
power and dignity Of Il Royal Bank, and inc
100 great gambling institutions went hand in
hand.
\ little narrow lane in tho city Of Paris vas
the scene of this gigantic comedy. Here
princcs and beggars, Scamps and honest men,
crowded together from morn till night, and
made and lost fortunes in a few hours. The
lust Of gain, the thirst fu- gold rose to fc'
ver heat, and from fever hea: to perfect phren.
sy. Money fell into disrepute; coin was worth
ten per cent less than bank notes, and every
body sold every thing to bug shares that had
risen from 500 ~livres, then par value, to 5000
~livrcs. Law was idolizcd like the Princes OF
the Arabian Knights, ne had bu! to give an
order and a shower Of gold fell upon the happy
people. He was made q privy councillor and
controller Of the State finances, though at the
cost Of his Protestant faith, which ne ahjured.
All the people speculated and ganblcd with
perfect phrenzy. Colossal fortunes were made
in O few hours. a %Euachback grew rich 81
letting his broad shoulders as q desk, and beg
ca,s received notes Of 1000 liTres as an alms.
France revised and rerclled in her new prosper.
ity. Tho other States Of Europe looked with
envy on her rising greatness. She was victo-
rious in Spain, and triumphcd in her diploma
cy. Foreign gold flowed in streams to her
capital, 300, 900 strangers filled the city Of
Paris.
Suddenly, no one knew how, m!strust began
to enter some hearts. II became known that
one hundred millions Of coined money bad
been carried out Of France, and a panic en-
sued as sudden and rs fearful as the rise of the
Bank had been beyond precedent. The whole
farce Of a run upon the Bank was then played
to perfection. Some sold out at any price,
| others threw enormous SUMS away-sure o.
to-day, but uncertain Of Tomorrow. Utter
decentralization followed us the natural effect
Of the gambling Of a whole nation. When TIT
crisis came, and the Bank broke, thirty thou,
sand families found themselves ruined. Sui.
eide became contagious, and many lost theil
mind and their money together.
Law himself had 20 flee, aud took refug &c in
Venice. He had never enriched himself anc
lived and died in poverty, supported only by
high play at tho gaming table. Toltaire saw
the mother of Laws children die in misery il
Brussels, and the man who had once ofIe'ct
the Regent Of France a present of ono hundrc'
millions, who had owned immense es-
tates in Europe and the territory which com
prised no less than four Of the great States 0
| the late American Union, left his children /
few paintings and a diamond. But his lcgac,
to France was sad and disastrous.
The history OF john Law should be u mes
| instructive lesson TO US. 1t tells US Of TN
disastrous effects Of the first Of these grea'
bubbles, that have since become so lau'i!
iar TO our ears and to our pockets. It tell.
us that honesty and economy arc national !: