, 1896-10-10
LOCKE ON FINANCE.


past and future contracts. IN con
tracts already made. il your species
(coins or species) be by law coined a
fifth part lighter. under the same de-
nomination., the creditor must take a
hundred such light schillings. or 90
such light crown pieces for f5, II the
law calls them so, but he loses one-ffth
in the intrinsic value of his debt. But,
in bargains to be made and things to be
purchased, money has. and always will
have, its value from the quantity OF sill
yer in it. and not from the stamp and
denomination"
Finally upon the great question OF the
morality OF raising the nominal value
of coin, this honest and Independent
thinker remarks: 1T will rob all cred
itors OF one-twentieth Tor 5 per cent?
of their debts, and all landlords one
twentieth of their quit-rents forever;
and in all other rents. as far as their
former contracts read, of five per cent
of their yearly income, and this without
any advantage to the debtor, or farmer.
For he. receiving no pounds ster-
ling for his land or commodities, in
this new lighter coin. than he should
have done of your old and weightier
money, gets nothing by it. II you say.
yes, he will receive more crowns, half
crowns and shilling pieces, for
he now sells for new money, than he
should have done. if the money of the
old standard had continued; you con-
TESS your money is not raised in value,
but in denomination; since what your
new pieces want in weight must now
be made up in number. This is
at first sight visible. that in all pay
ments to be received upon precedent
contracts, If your money be in effect
raised the receiver will lose 5 per cent"
Elsewhere he observes: "Mr.
Lowndes (who was the English Bryan
of 200 years ago, and who made the
same complaint Of the rising silver
shilling that Mr.. Bryan now makes of
the rising gold dollar) says that silver
in England is growing scarce and con-
sequently dearer. and so is of higher
price. This, If 1t were so. ought not to
annul any mans bargain nor make him
receive less in quantity than he lent.
He was to receive again the same sum
and the public authority was guaran-
teed that the same sum should have the
same quantity of silver under the same
denomination. And the reason is
plain why in justice he ought
to have the same quantity of silver
again. Notwithstanding any pretended
| rise of it's value. For if silver had
grown more plentiful and by onse-
quence (by our authors rule) cheaper,
his debtor would not have been COM
PEELED, by the public authority. to have
paid him, in consideration of its cheap
ness, a greater quantity OF silver than
they contracted for. Cocoanuts were
the money of a part Of America. when
we first came here. Suppose then you
had lent me last year 800. or Is score
cocoanuts. to be paid this year, would
you be satisfied and think yourself paid
your due, II l should tell you cocoanuts
were scarce this year, and that foul
score were of as much value this veal
as hundred last: and that therefore yor
were we'll and fully paid, If I restore tc
you only 240 for the 800 l borrowed
| Would you not think yourself defraud.
ed out of t%wo-thirds (one-ffth) Of your
right by such a payment? Nor would
it make any amends for this to justice
or reparation to you that the public
had latter your contract. which was
made for Is score) altered the denomi.
nation of a score and declared it to be
16 instead of 90"
Locke's reputation as a philosopher
is too great and has been too enduring
to be questioned. He lived and wrote
two centuries ago. At that time corpo-
rations, syndicates and trusts were un'
known. There Is no reference in his
writings to paper money. Silver wa
the standard Of valuation. He cannot
therefore. be accused of being in tn,
pay Of corporations. or upon the side o
monopoly in opposition to the people
or of being actuated by prejudice TO,
or against bank notes Or treasury notes
or Of being a blind worshipper OF tn
yellow metal. At that time the modern
system OF machinery as a substitute fol
hand labor had not begun to develop
SO that the labor question of today die
not affect his views. Neither was thers
then the great expansion of CONNER.
cial credits, which the inventive talen'
of the 18th century and the demands
OF business under the altered condition.
of life have created. 1t must therefor,
appear to every unprejudiced reader o
his works, that a man today. in the I'm
tied States, may hold the philosophi
and economic opinions which wer
maintained and defended with sucl
perspicuity and force by this apostl
of sound currency, without being justl,
open to the charge of prejudice of an,
sort, political or economical. Lock
said of himself: Il shall never know
ingly be on any but truths and m!
country's side; the former l shall al
ways gladly embrace and honor who