CHAP. XII.
How the Payment of a wrong Balance affects Circulation.
That I may communicate my ideas with the greater precision, I must here enter into a short detail of some principles, and then reason on a supposition.
It has been said, that the consequence of credit and paper-money, secured on solid property, was to augment the mass of the circulating equivalent, in proportion to the uses found for it.
These uses may be comprehended under two general heads. The first, payment of what one owes; the second, buying what one has occasion for: the one and the other may be called by the general term of ready-money demands.
Whoever has a ready-money demand upon him, and property at the same time, ought to be furnished with money by banks which lend upon mortgage.
Now the state of trade, manufactures, modes of living, and the customary expence of the inhabitants, when taken all together, regulate and determine what we may call the mass of ready-money demands, that is, of alienation. To operate this multiplicity of payments, a certain proportion of money is necessary. This proportion again may increase or diminish according to circumstances; although the quantity of alienation should continue the same.
To make this evident, let us suppose the accounts of a whole city kept by one man; alienation will go on without any payment at all, until accounts are cleared; and then nothing will be paid, but general balances upon the whole. This however is only by the bye. The point in hand is to agree, that a certain sum of money is necessary for carrying on domestic alienation; that is, for satisfying ready-money demands: let us call this quantity (A).
Next, in most countries in Europe, (I may say all) it is customary to circulate coin, which, for many uses, is found fitter than paper, (no matter for what reason); custom has established it, and with custom even statesmen must comply.
The paper-money is generally made payable in coin; from custom also. Now, according to the manners of the country, more or less coin is required for domestic circulation. Let it be observed, that hitherto we have not attended to foreign circulation, of which presently: and I say, that the manners of a country may make more or less coin necessary, for circulating the same quantity of paper; merchants, for instance, circulate much paper and little coin; gamesters much coin, and little paper: one example is sufficient.
Let this quantity of coin, necessary for circulating the paper-money, be called (B), and let the paper be called (C); consequently (A) will be equal to the sum of (B) and (C). Again, we have said, that all balances owing by nation to nation, are paid either in coin, in the metals, or in bills; and that bank paper can be of no use in such payments. Let the quantity of the metals, coin, or bills, going out or coming into the country for payment of such balance, be called (D).