Page:Inquiry into the Principles and Policy of the Government of the United States.djvu/357

Rh A circulating medium, measured out to a nation by corporations, or even by the commercial interest, will certainly; enrich and strengthen the measuring interest, hut is there a single circumstance tending towards publick happiness or virtue, in this effect? The acute bishop Tillotson has said, "If the appearance of any thing he good for any thing, the reality must be better." The appearance of virtue may be useful to the guilty; but it is less useful than virtue itself, and is frequently a snare to others. The appearance of money may be used to transfer property, like the appearance of virtue; and to an interest which monopolizes this appearance, it may be, according to Lord Sheffield, more beneficial in a pecuniary view, than the reality; but to a nation, the money itself, or a national currency, will, in conformity to Tillotson's maxim, be better than credit or an appearance of money.

The design and nature of money or currency, confirms, the superiority of coin to credit. Money is not intended to create wealth, or the objects of commerce: nor is it able to do either. Its office is to represent and exchange them. Such being the limited power of specie, paper, its shadow, cannot do more. Specie can transfer wealth from one country to another. If the United States could at pleasure create specie, they might, by a prudent use of such a monopoly, enrich themselves considerably at the expense of the world. It is not the office of paper currency to transfer wealth from one nation to another, because of its locality; but to transfer wealth from man to man, or from a nation to a corporation. Its design is to enable individuals to imitate nations, in the science of overreaching. So long as it represents wealth, corporations, able to create it, can more effectually draw wealth from the rest of a nation, by its means, than one nation could from others, by a power to create specie; because it can transfer land from man t6 man, whereas specie can only transfer moveable wealth from nation to nation. Paper money or credit, within the sphere of its currency, is more able to transfer property, than specie.