Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1893-10-05

! intrinsic t0tHe Hh1tCrer.
He asks me also. whether .the shells.
beads iron spikes and salt, were
/ anything more than mere commodi-
ties of barter among pagan tribes2.
That question also. ! fully answered
as he would have found if he had read
what | wrote and can understand the
English language ! stated distinctly,
that the shells sometimes called
/ 'AUampum, were not only real mon
I ey among the white inhabitants Of
Massachusetts. but they were also bv
law q legal tender UP To twelve pence.
which was a good deal Of money in
those days IRON spikes, as | stated
on the authority Of Adam Smith 5
/ Wealth of Nations, were used as cur
rency in Scotland. and ! might have
used the term money" instead Of
currency. See Enc. Brit, 9th Ed,
p. 723.
Is use as currency or money in Scot
land mere barter among pagan tribes2
And what does Mr.. Mills say Of the
use OF iron as money in Greece espe-
cially in SPARTA Was that mere bar
ter among pagan tribes2 And of the
fact, which / stated that down TO about
/ the time Of the first punc war. when
Rome was preparing for klr long
struggle with Carthage for the mas
terry Of the world, the Romans had
practically no other money than cop
per. and silver was then first intro
duced therep And what of the fact,
which J also stated. chat the early He
brew money was copper History
does not record the co.uing of money
/ by the Hebrews before She time of ABB
raham. nor oven then Abraham
weighed to Ephron the four hundred
shekels of silver, which he paid for the
field OF Machpelah ard these Ueiqhed
shekels Of silver }ye are told, were cur
| rent money with the merchant Gen.
XXIH, verses is To Il. Are all these
and the many other instances which /
| pointed out, of the use vi other arti-
Giles than gold and silver as money.
even in comparatively modern times.
long since the time OF Abraham,
instances Of mere barter among pa
gan tribes?r Mr. Mills insinuation
that the instances which pointed out,
are instances of mere barter, does not
rise even to the dignity Of bubble.
Mr.. Mills may perhaps remember,
! if he read it, that ! also stated thatto-
bacco, among other articles besides
gold and silver. had been used as
money Why did he not also ask if
/ that was not also a .mere commodity
of barter among pagan Tribes Is il
possible that hc had learned that ''tn-
! bacco was a legal tender among the
| English colonists of North America.
and that, .in Maryland tobacco was
formerly considered as money, in iu-
dicial proceedings, and, in actions Of
debt, tobacco and money counts We're
4 Joined Grain vs. Yates, , Harr. q g..
4 (M'd) $50 See Shirvan vs. Willis. 4
Har. & NJ. (M'd) 1873. IS Am K
Eng Enc. Of Law. 701. 2? Was that
use Of tobacco mere commodity Of
barter SEP
Again Mr. Mills asks me if the debt
paving power of nickel and copper
have not always been limitcd2 As to
nickel | have Insufficient information
to enable me to answer the question.
As to COZ per | answer most emphati-
cally in the negative. | have already
pointed out both in my former paper
and above. THAT the early Hebrew
coins were chiefly copper, and that
that metal formed the sole coinage in
Rome. long after size had become a
great military as well as a great com-
mercial power As sire had ,ubstan-
TALLY no other coinage, and 50 faras Is
known no other money than copper.
it is difficult to see how there could
have been any legal limitation upon
the debt paying power Of their only
money Besides, in Rome, even after
They did use silver as money. the cop
per CONS called "nsses' were the stan.
dard If yuue, and the value 81 the sill
yer coins was measured 10y thcm.
4 Wealth Of Nations, p. 161 And
(. Mommsea History Of Rome Is all-
thority for the statement, that before
copper was used tt efe as money. eat
tlcand sheep. the fixed legal ratioot la
sheep to one oN, were the le4al repre-
sentative, of value. or in other words,
q, he says, money And fines and
penalties for violations Of law were
assessed and paid III cattle and heep.
This continued until the wear 81 Rome
32i about $50 before Christie And
Whom about that time, fine, ceased e
he assessed in cattle and sheep bui
81