Page:Sir William Petty - A Study in English Economic Literature - 1894.djvu/66

437]. An open bankruptcy is to be preferred. It is a sign of a sinking state "which catcheth hold on such weeds as are accompanied with the dishonour of impressing a prince's effigies to justify adulterate commodities and the breach of public faith, such as is the calling a thing what it really is not" (82). Any coin is debased that has more alloy in it than serves to correct its too great natural softness and flexibility (76). Coin so treated is bad, because it is easily counterfeited. In the case of small coins there is a chance of a great loss if they are depressed in value. A depression of ten or twelve per cent, may equal in this way a depression of twenty-five per cent (77).

Raising money is dividing a pound troy of standard silver into more pieces than formerly, but retaining the same name, or else calling money already made by higher names (78). Supposing then one shilling be called worth two, what would happen? All commodities would be twice as dear. If it were proclaimed that laborers' wages should be the same, or not rise, it would act as a tax upon laborers (78). The only good excuse for raising money is to discourage hoarding.

He then proceeds to discuss a scheme to procure money from abroad by raising the value of foreign coinage in England as an encouragement for foreigners to purchase English goods. The result of the plan would be, that our good money would be drained away. "Raising of money may indeed change the species, but with so much loss as the foreign pieces were raised unto, above their intrinsick value" (79). Even if the export of money could be prohibited, it would be better to lower the price of our own goods. From the political point of view it