Nevada County picayune., 1891-07-30
WAS RUIN FOR FRANCE.
John Laws Plan for Creating a vol umc of Currency--A Bit of
 Louisiana History.

GRoE>BEECK. Tex, July 3.-A re- cent plan propos osed for creating q volume of currency sufficient for the commercial necessities of the coun- try has been compared to the scheme of John Law. The Gibbs plan IS very similar to one proposed by Law to the Scottish parliament in l705, but it was not this plan adopted when the Royal bank, of which he was made dirrctor-ge general was char tered The plan outlined by Law and presented to the Scottish parlia- ment was that commissioners, created by an act of parliament, and remain ing under their control, should be empowered to issue notes, either Tn the way of loan at ordinary interests upon landed security, provided the debt should not exceed half, or at the most tvO-thirds of the value of l
 the lands, or upon land pledges, re- dccmabe within a certain period, to the full value of the land or lastly, upon irrcdcemable notes to the amount of the price agreed upon. This scheme, which seems to have met with considerable favor, was finally rejected by parliament on the ground that ito establish any kind of paper credit so as to oblige it to pass was an improper expedient for the nation" In lS27 and 1883 a plan very similar to John Laws was introduced in Louisiana under the titles of "the Citizens bank" and ''The Consolidated associations of the planters of Louisiana," and the historian of Louisiana says 1t pro- duced the same disastrous effects that were anticipated by the Scotch in 119j. Law was not discouraged by the rejection of his scheme in Scotland, but he went over to Flu rope submitting his work entitled, "Money and Trade Considered, with a Proposal for Supplying the Nations with Money" He imparted his scheme to Victor Amadeus, king of Sardinia, who replied: "I am not rich enough to afford being ruined. France is the proper field where your speculative genius ought to east it's seeds and where you will reach haryests. l am sure your schemes will be to the taste of my ncighbors. To them, therefore, would advise you to repair. Upor this hint he acted. In l1l6 the duke of Orleans, the regent of France found the government burdeneo with an immense debt, bequeatheC by the military glory of Louis XIV, Taxation was scarcely sufficient tc pay the interest of the enormous debt and the regent lent q willing oar to John Law. First he opened I private bank with capital oi 6 .OO0 900 livres." This was so sue. cessful that Laws popularity as 8 iinsncer paved the way for the cstab' lishment of the Royal bank in l1lS, of which he was made director gen. cral, as before stated. The capital of the company was 100, 0,OOO,0 ,0O0 of livres and to induce persons to take the stock it was proposed to accept the "blllets d etat" or state bonds at par Tn payment when they were appreciated so or 70 per cent. The company became the creditor of the state for 100 ,OOO, ,O0O livres, on which per cent interest was to he paid. There was most extraordinary grant of powers, rights and privileges to the Mississippi company, which was now consolidated with the Roy al bank, and John Law was director general of both.
 Without enumerating all of these powers it may be said that the linan- ces of France were under the almost exclusive control of these united corporations as well as It's foreign trade, and Louisiana was turned over over to the company "on condition of It, taking the customary oath of faith. In consequence of this many important concessions by the government to the company it's shares rose from 300 to 1000, to 5000 and to 10, 900 livres The desire to be- come a stockholder in this company the historian says, was fevered into frenzy. There were reporters in those days of the Mulhatton type, who gave the most glowing accounts of the wealth of Louisiana, and who declared that the sediment of the