Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1876-03-10


appealing 10 common aenee. Within four
years a succession oi DEGREES changed the
relative value Of the lfvre not less than iifty
times, that, from disgust at huctuation,
paper ut fixed rate might be preferred
All taxes were TO be collected n paper ut
last, paper was made the legal tender In all
payments. To win the little gold and sill
yer that was boarded by the humber clas-
scs, small bills, M low even as Of teu livrca
were put in circulation. The purchase Of
the bank by the government met less oppo-
sition, when q second scheme was devised
for absorbing its issues. Two kinds OF ia.
per--bills payable on demand and certifi.
Gates OF stock-were put abroad together I;
and the stlpendous projSet eds formed Of pdy-
ing Of the public debt in bank bdls, to absorb
which new shares in the Mississippi COM
pany, under its title of Company Of the In
dies, we're constantly created aud offered
for sale. The extravRgance Of hope was
nourished by the successive surrender 70
that corporation OF additional monopolies,
the trade in Africans, the trade on the
| Indian seas, the sale Of tobacco, the profits
Of the royal mint, the profits Of farming
the whole revenue Of France-till prom
Use Of dividend Of forty per cent, from a
company which had the custody OF all the
revenues and the benefit Of all the COM
| merce OF France, obtained relief and the
shares which might be issued after PAT
ment OF q first installment of five hundred
livrcs, rose in price n thousand per cent.
Avnrice became frenzy its fury seized
every member of the royal family, men OF
letters, prelatcs, women. Early in the
morning the exchange opened with beat Of
dram and sound Of bell and closed ut night
on Nvidity that could not slumber. To
doubt the wealth Of Louisiana provoked
anger; New Orleans was famous mt Paris
as beautiful city, almost before the cane
| brakes began to be cut down. The hvpoc-
rasy Of manners, which, in the old age Of
Louis XIV, made religion become fashion
| rcvolted to libertinism, and licentious
pleasure became the parent of an equal IL.
cantiniis -..t-:i3.-. Tl,us the rrOent ms
chasing directly of the company a share
for FIVE hundred livres was able to sell it
at n great advance, perhaps for FIVE thors-
and. The public creditor paid, virtually,
ten livres of public debt for one livrc Of
stock and instead OF holding government
securities, became n rtockholdcr in an un
tried company. In this manner, in the
| course OF sixteen months, more than two
| millions OF bills were emitted, and the re-
gents mother could write that call the
kings debts were paid" The extravagan-
| ces Of stock iObbing were increased by the
latent distrust alike of the shares and of
| the bills; men purchased stock because
they feared the end Of the paper system,
and because, with the bills, they could pur-
chase nothing else. The fraud grew to be
apparent; the parliament protested that
| private persons were, by the system, de-
| frnuded of three-fifths OF their income To
stihe doubt, Law, who had made himself n
| Catholic, was appointed ptroller-gener-
| al, and the new minister of finance per-
fected the triumph OF paper by decree that
no person or corporation should keep on
| hand more than five hundred livres Of spe-
Gle; the rest must be exchanged for paper
| and all payments, except for sums under
one hundred livres, must be paid in pa per,
| Terror and dread of informers brought, with.
in three weeks, forty -four millions into the
bank. In March, a decree of council fixed
| the value of the stock at nine thousand liy.
res for five hundred and forbade certain
corporations to invest money in anything
else all circulation of gold and silver, ex
cept for change, was prohibited, and pay.
ments must be made in paper, except in
sums under ten livres. He who should
have attempted to convert a bill into spe-
Gle, would have exposed his specie to for
feiture and himself to fines. Confidence
disappeared and in Nay bankruptcy wal
avowed by decree which reduced the val
ue of the bank notes by moiety. Wher
men are greatly in the wrong, and especial
ly when they have embarked their fortunes
in their errors, they wilfully resist light. S,
it had been with the French people: the,
remained faithful to their delusion til
France was impoverished, public and pri
vate credit subverted, the income Of cap
italists annihilated, and labor left withou
mployuent-while, in the midst of tn,
universal wretchedness of the middlins
class, few wary spectators glorieul in th
unjust acquisition and enjoyment of i'm
mense wealth.
Such was the issue OF Laws celebrated
system, which left to the world a lesson tn
world was slow to learn-tlIat the enlarge
ment OF the circulation quickens industr,
so long as the enlargement continues, TO
prices then rise and every kind OF labor !
remunerated. 1t must meet with checI
and he followed by n reaction; that, whel
the reaction begins, the high, remuneratin
prices decline, labor fails to find an equiv
alent and each evil opposite to the previ
ous advantages ensues; that, therefore, ev
cry artifcsal expansion of the currency, ey
cry expansion resting on credit alone, is
source of confusion and ultimate loss to tn
community, and brings benefits to none bu
those who are skillful in foreseeing an,
prUiiting by the fluctuations. The chan
cellor dAgnesseau, who was driven fror
Office because he could show no favor to tn
system, was, after a short period of retire
ment, restored to greater honnrs than be
fore and lives in the memory of the worl
as a tolerant and incorruptibIe statesman
while those who yielded to the reckles
vanity md promises of Law, bave beer
rescued from infamy only by Oblivion.
The downfall OF Law abruptly curtaile
the expenditures for Louisiana. But
colony was already planted, destined t
survive all dangers, even though in Franc
Louisiana was involved in disgrace. In
stead of the splendid visions of opulence
the disenclianted public wonld now sec on
ly unwhOle1ome marshes, which were til
tombs of emigrLnts its name was a nam
of disgust and terror
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