The advocate., 1892-02-17

perity of Venice under her credit
system. We might likewise refer to
the condition Of the English people
during the period Of suspension Of
specie payment and when paper
money was poured out in abundance
through the Bank Of England and
flowed freely through all the chan
nels of trade. We will also refer to
France under the administration Of
John Law and the Capital can take
up this subject and read rs a lecture
ont of it if it chooses. And do not
let us forget our own experience be-
fore the period of contraction which
has brought SO many disasters upon
us.
But aside from these we will intro
duce some examples from ancient
history.
Alexander Del Mar, than whom
there is no better authority, has this
to say of Sparta in his History OF
Money in Ancient Countries" page
1853:
The difficulty of obtaining sufficient and regu-
lar supplies Of the metals for coinage, or else the
desire to emancipate his country from the tram
mels Of o metallic basis Of valuation, induced
Lycurgus, about the ninth century B. G., to insert
clauseln that constitution, GOhoSe establish
nsent marked the rise and pinn1C OF social prog
ress In Sparta, providing for system Of numer.
lcal money, the concrete symbols Of which con-
sisted of a limited and specified number Of iron
discs. These while red hot, were dipped In
vinegar, to render them unmalleable and useless
for any other purpose than money.
Again beginning on page 359 we
find the following:
During the progressive eras Of the nations Of
antiquity 1t seems to have been observed that
the exchange Of commodities and services by
means Of "lntrinslc" coins was merely an In
direct barter, and that no greater advantage
was gained by 1t over direct barter than the con-
Venien"e Of subdlVlding the thugs exchanged;
IDhiIst the highest Junction Of DOney-that Of
rendering each exchange an equitable One-wa'
not fulfilled by such coins at all. Their total
number was not amenable to control It was
subject to increase Or dlmlnutiOn from success
In war and mining discoveries, from the Oper-
atiOI Of commerce, the requirements Of the a'ts
the designs of cOunlerfelters and even the Ca
price OF fashion. And the use OF such coins for
measuring value had resulted in fluctuations so
sudden and enormous as to antagOnize the In
terests of classes, and endanger the security OF
the state
The earliest efforts to overcome these defects
are traceable backward almost to the first en-
plOyment OF money In the Orient. The earliest
effort made In the western world was, so far as
we know, in Laconia or sparta. From the iron
numerary Of that country doubtless sprsng those
Of the various Greek states and colonies, as well
as those OF Carthage and Rome; and from this
frequent and common use Of numerary systems
resulted that general conception of mOnty
throughout the ancient world, which Is embOd-
led In It's classical names Of ROmismG and ntIner-
atG.
POlyblus attributes the abandonment OF the
numerary system Of Sparta to the lust offOreign
conquest, And this seems to have also been
the cause of its rellDqulshment in Carthage and
Rome. All of these nations grew richer and
more powerful In after times; but they never
were more progressive than during the period
when these systems were In vogue. Wealth was
more fairly divided; the opportunities Of life
were more evenly distributed; each citizen was
filed with ardor for the welfare Of the state;
the various orders Of society were bound tOgeth-
er by common interests and aspirations; there
was no fear of the future, no hatred Of classes,
no social discomfort, no civil cOmmOtlOn.
With the subsequent decline Of these grand
states. and The systems Of money which had