This principle is a key to all the mystery of the raising and sinking of the numerary value of the French coin in former times, before public credit was established among them.
Now let us apply this reasoning to the present case.
Since in all changes upon the coin we find (of late) the interest of creditors constantly attended to in Great Britain, is it not very natural for people to reason upon the supposition that there is no injustice in raising the standard; and is it not natural to suppose that government will act upon the same principles in their future regulations of the standard, as upon the last occasion in 1695? Every one, therefore, whose fortune is made, finds it his interest to have the standard brought back to what it was formerly; and he does not perceive the injury such a regulation would do to his debtors. On the other hand, the merchants see plainly that if this standard should be restored upon an imaginary principle of justice, the prices of commodities will not fall as they ought to do, and as foreign trade requires they should; they are therefore against raising the standard, because it will be a prejudice to trade, a clog upon exportation, and therefore a loss to themselves.
This, I think, very naturally accounts for the difference of opinion among the people of England, upon a matter of very general concern, and nothing is so easy as to reconcile all those interests by doing justice to every one, and injustice to none.
Application of principles to the change lately made by the Dutch with respect to their coin.
As an illustration of this subject, I shall cite a recent example of a change made in the circulation of Dutch ducats, executed by that wise nation, seemingly in direct opposition to the principles here laid down, and exactly consistent with those we are endeavouring to explode.
The States General lately called down all the light ducats, and ordered them to go by weight, as bullion, without making any allowance to such as might suffer by it.
This regulation, and a new coinage of ducats, had the immediate effect of raising the value of that species of current money; consequently, it may be said, that debtors by that regulation have been proportionally hurt, by an act of one of the wisest governments in Europe, if our principles are admitted to be just. But before this conclusion can be drawn, circumstances must be examined.
Ducats in Holland are the price, not the measure of value, having no fixed legal denomination. The current silver coin is what the state, and all the mercantile interest attend to: and in proportion as this current silver coin or bank species is become light, the agio upon that currency has risen. The agio then, in combination with every currency, furnishes an invariable measure for value, as well as the bank money of Amsterdam; and to that every one attends who regards his interest.
The state, therefore, by this arbitrary measure, or sudden revolution on the ducats, did not hurt any debtor; because debtors never were obliged to give ducats in payment.