Page:Tales in Political Economy by Millicent Garrett Fawcett.djvu/67

 labour and trouble that they had cost a month before; he therefore had in reality to give twice as much for his bedstead as he had agreed to do when the bargain was struck. But besides the inconvenience arising from their frequent variations in value, the cocoa-nuts were extremely unsuited to be used as money in another respect. Suppose that a cocoa-nut represents the value of a shilling, and Mrs. Collins is going out to make purchases of her different neighbours. She wants several yards of plantain cloth, some books for her children, some reels of plantain thread, a strong wooden-box, a set of tea-cups and some mugs (I forgot to say that the Pleasant people had set up a very good pottery), and some pots and pans from the smith. Altogether her purchases come to the value of 5l. To pay this sum she would have to take with her 100 cocoa-nuts. Fancy a lady going out to pay her bills with a bag of 100 cocoa-nuts on her back! The bulk of cocoa-nuts in proportion to their value was so great that it formed the strongest possible objection to their use as the universal medium of exchange; but