The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1876-05-18

dunn, growing out of the circumstance
that the latter wanted to make his en-
tire payment in bread TO the former at
once; while Diggs, who did not relish
the idea of living on stale and possibly
mouldy bread for an indefinite length
of time, wanted pay for his grain, from
the baker, at the rate of one fresh loaf
per day. As for poor Twist, he had be-
come by this time SO humble through
hunger that he had not the heart to
object to the proposition to take cart
load of bread at once in exchange for
his coat, although his house was so
small he would have to store part of his
pay Eon the roof. where it would
be certain to be eaten by others
than his own family" There W, 8 an
other incident which happened about
this time which made much talk
among the island community. ga
man who had nothing to sell but his
labor had been employed to load ves-
sci with coal--a vein of which had
been discovered; and after working
faithfully all day, had received in pay
for his services ton of coal. But as
it was meat, drink and lodging, and
not coal (although the latter was great
ly needed for rsome purpose,) which the
laborer wanted there was nothing for
the laborer to dosbut to attempt to ex-
change his coal, and that, too, as soon
as possible, in order to satisfy immedi-
ate necessities. Being too poor to
hire horse and cart, he therefore bor-
rowed, a wheeldarrow, and, filling it
with coal, went search of persons who
had surplus of meat, drink, and lodg-
ings to dispose Of But all of them
happened to have all the coal they
wanted; and morning found the labor
er still trundling through the streets, his
most useful commodity unexchanged,
and ready to sink with hunger and ex-
posure. A like experience befell also
the journeyman butcher, blacksmith,
carpenter, and dry goods clerk, who re-
ceived for their days labor respective
ly n sheepskin, dozen borseshoes, a
piece of pine timber, and two yards of
red flannel. All were in no condition,
though bodily exhausted, to resume
work on the next day; and all also
clearly saw that their condition would
not have been much improved if each
had received an entire payment IN
either meat, drink, or lodgings, in place
of coal, skin, lumber, horseshoes, or
cloth.
This trouble led to the adoption Of
some single commodity which all should
agree to take in exchange for their
products or services. A great step in
advance was thus taken. The tailor
was no longer obliged to go without
clothes. Every man gave has services
for the commodity agreed upon, be-
cause that every other man desirous OF
exchange would do the same. The
general name given to such commodl-
ties or articles as are accepted IN ex-
change is monev. This has greatly
| varied in different countries and at diff
ferent times. Among the North Amer
ican Indians, wampam and beaver skins
were used as money. The natives of
West Africa employ certain little shells
| for the same purpose ssIn Abyssinia the
common money of to-day is salt. In
Chinese Tartary it is cubts of pressed
tea. Until recently on the west coast of
Mexico, small cakes of soap were used
as money. In ancient pastorials ma
tions, money consisted in cattle and
sheep, as it does at this day among the
Zulus of South Africa. Hence money
is prior to legislation. Nor has any
article been adopted as money, which
did not possess by reason of some val
liable qualities, natural purchasing
power. In the absence of all laws de-
fning money, the adoption of any arti-
Gle that requires no effort for its pro-
duction. would enable the shrewd and
unscrupulous to take from the rest OF
the community products representing
value, or the expenditure of time and
labor, without giving any equivalent
in return. If, for example, dried leaves
or pieces of paper bearing arbitrary
stamps, were accepted. as money, the
result would have been TO enable some.
body to obtain something for nothing,
or to permit those who did not work to
rob those who did.
The effect of such an arrangement in
producing an inflated currency is illus
trated by the example of Crusoe's is
landers as follows: cat the outset
they agreed to use cowries-a pretty
shell picked up on the beech, and
which the women all desired to have
and use as an ornament. These shells
were not, however, plentiful; and, in
fact, it was found it required about as
much time and labor for man to col
lect hundred of them as it did to
grow bushel of wheat. Consequently
wheat regularly exchanged for cowries
Gas money! at the rate of one hundred
cowries for one bushel, while the far
mer with two thousand cowries could
readily buy pillow, which was consid-
cred equivalent in value to twenty bush.
els. By-and-by. some idle fellows that
were in She habit of sailing, made a
long excursion, and for the first time,
visited a little island on the remote hor-
izon. When they landed, they found,
: to their surprise, that instead of cowries
being very scarce on the beach, they
were very abundant. They winked at
one another, and said little; but each
man proceeded to gather all the cow
ries he could, and returning to the