, 1874-03-07
FREE TRADE IN MONEY.
Full Text Of the Lecture
by Charles Francis
Adams, Jr.
Tho Principles Of FREQ Trade Ap.
piled to the Present Con.
dition Of National
Finances.
Difference Between "Nerch0ndiso
Money" and "Consta-
bic Money" !
Plan for Reforming the Ma
tional Currency.
Tile Substitution Of 4 Redeomablc Greeuback
lor tle Present Legal-Tendor.
Plan for Reforming the Ma
tional Currency.
The Substitution Of 4 Redeomablc oreeubaek
for tho Present Iegal-rendor.
Then Free Banking.

Then Free Banking.
We lave obtained the MS. OF the lecture do
lyorcd by Mr.. Charles Francis Adams, Jr., ut
Doatop, on the 25th ult., and aro enabled to pre-
sent 1t for tho first time In full It is vastly on
tortaininE:
THE LECTURE.
Moro than 200 years ago, in tho days perhaps
Of the grcat-grcas-graudfather OF Adam Smith,
There sas upon tile throne Of England monarch
known in his tu,o as tho English Solomon, but
Of whose wisdom postority has not formed q
very: lofty opinion. AS with tho Presidents of
more recent timos. 1t was thon tho custom for
tho sovereign to impart to tho assembled ropro-
sentative wisdom of tho land ut tho commence
mont of ench Parliamentary scBBion Ills views
on tho curront topics Of tho day. On ono Of
thoso occaaions In tho year 1820,-tlat very ycar
In Which tho Nlnynowor accomplished her por-
tentoua voyago,-,lis British Solomon, known
as King James l., Of happy memory, was-
oven as our excellent President In now-sorely
perplo3ed by tho unsatisfactory condition of tho
finances Of hia realm. He, too, doubtless deop-
II pondcred tho mattor in tho recosseB Of Ills
oapneious mind, and at Inst delivered himself to
Ills licgcH as follows ITS strange that my
mint hath not gone this eight or nino years but
I think tho fault OF tho want Of money ia the
nnoven balancing Of trado." Two centuries aud
g half later, III tho year Of grace, 1373,-aftor
Adam Smith Ind beon In his grave eighty-three
years,--the President Of tho great and onlight-
cncd Republic, which tho voyage Of the May
fowor lad in part originated contomporaneously
with this sapient uttoranco, addressed himself to
tho same problem Of u deficiency of money.
HIS MINT HAD sTorrED
olovcn years before. III duo timo ho delivered
himself AZ follows: IA specie basis cannot be
reached and maintained until our exports, OK
elusive OF gold. pay for our IMPORTS interest duo
abroad, and other specie obligations, or SO near
" us TO leave nn approcablo accumulation Of tito
precious metals in tho country f.om the pro-
duots Of our m,nes," from a comparison of
thcso two passages, 1t would scem to bs fairly
inforablo that the sovereign Of $50 years since.
knew quite rs much Of tho subject about which
Ito undertook to speak ns tho rulor Of the presont
day, and Expressed himself .great dcal moro
torsoly md clearly. Tho President then wont on.
to recommend to Congress tho passage OF "such
legislation as would secure to us our proportion
OF tho carrying trado," &c.
ltow MUCH BETTER
they put these things two centuries agol Listen
to similar recommendation from tho grandson
OF tho British Solomon, ChnrloB H., to Ills as
semblcd Parliament: "I pray, contrivo any
good short bills which may improve the industry
of the nation,-and so. God bless your councis.''
As you read these extracts from public papers 30
long separated in time, 40 exactly similar in
thought, ono feels almost inclined to question
tile fact Of human progress to doubt whether,
after all, Adam Smith did not liye and ponder,
and writo in vain. The balance of trado and
~. L..
weariBome refrain Of statutes aud messages, since
messages and statutes began.
There was timo wien in America We thought
we had changoa all this; ontgrown it, as child
ontgrows its clothes. Though, indeed, these
mover wero the clothes Of American childhood.
Our infancy was not cosaeted by any such Gov
crument pap ns Is implied in tho word "protcc-
ton" Edmund Burke understood this, and
rightly attributed our robust youth to the fact
that our ancestors had been lett alone to work
out their own
SALVATION IN THEIR OWN Way.
In gorgeous language he portrayed to the British
Parliament the results OF this treatment, and
concluded ono Of tho immortal passages OF En-
glish eloauence with these words, which it spc-
cialy concerns us now to ponder we'll "When.
I contemplate these things, when know that
the colonios in general owe little or nothing to
faio @ Of og ad IT. that tnoy arc not squeezed
fito ta8 Aappy loEm by tho constralnts oi watch
anI anu suspicious government, bnt that. through
= p Wfso anu salutary neglect, o generous nnturo
nas peeh sn1erca 70 tako her own way TO pos1ec1
soa elon whou renoos Upon tnese eneets, W4oa
eEe M ~; now psoataDlo they nave been TO US, 1901
u ~ a, 5ne ptiae OF power sink and az presumption
~, tne wlaa1n OF lunan contflqances mels anu
w., dtu awaS Ml!nln no-my Tieor relcnts,-l par
aoa, h9lnata'ng 10 me splr!t of hbofty.; -
oos ~ ,,. saan tIoso Woras cane holp nsk1ng my
~, aaa ma. 1arke "eaia say II ne saw the grown
t,Ir;st, ~ als's.aamss oi thls peopie, then IN the
a1'ioo " + @ nos yos naraenea INTO inc oone OF
.,,''na now appylns themselves to the her.
NJ Socroins, can1 o IyinG .he eropa" by the ald
sarvo = Vac tit,ar7on ,,ara UNI iho G,cenback TO-
~ tIa .rora snn ,neia eyer 70 1ne Whole history
re,nnn',"rat strc n H. pa.nos We bosan DO 1t
,orornc5 tno ,c sne p1neltio tnet tue world was
Eo,. ,u,;a,' W. aucn thas that Government Waa
oc";t;as toaas tnat individuals and
e,,ts Va n'n "uio ~ u,do ,, ~ sonpesent as govern
to be- oft to cot nr IN ,ny nss and ought
rNnnNftNn