Page:The Economic Journal Volume 1.djvu/296

 274 THE ECONOMIC JOURNAL On the '23rd October, 1716, Lord Boringbroke concludes a letter to Swift: 'If you write to me, direct  Monsieur Charlot, chez Monsieur Cantill(m, banquiet, Rue de l'Arbre Sec.' This letter was enclosed in another to Swift from Charles Ford, Esq., Paris, October 28, 1716. He too says: 'If you will do me the favour'to write to me, direct to be left with Mr. Cantilion, banker in Paris. ' We now come to the puzzling story of the Benedictine Lottery, as gathered from the records of the Council of Finance during the Regency. Louis XIV. had granted to the Princess of England (probably Louisa, sister of the Old Pretender) a lottery in favour of the Irish nuns of the Royal Abbey of the Benedic- tines, transferred from Dublin to Ypres. Richard Cantilion, banker at Paris, was Receiver-General of the lottery, which was opened in January, 1708, and was to be of the amount of 600,000 livres in tickets of twenty sols apiece, to be drawn at Paris when complete. Cantilion sent books of tickets throughout ]France and into some other countries; but the lottery met with relatively small success. After more than seven years it appears to have been necessary to put pressure upon Cantilion to proceed to the draw, as we find him appealing to the Council on the 23rd May, 1715, to be allowed to deduct his expenses, and a certain further sum on account of the debasement of the coinage. 5,073 livres 10 sols were deducted on these grounds from the 21,248 livres, the proceeds of tickets sold. On the 1st September, 1716, an ,4rrPt orders a draw forthwith, 'so that the parties interested may have no ground for complaining any longer of their lot,' which might be taken for a pleasantry if the crabbed formality of the document did not raise it above suspicion of humour. Cantil- Ion had urged that eleven of his forty-five books of tickets could not be recovered from the persons to whom they had been sent. The ,4rrt excludes the holders of these tickets from participation in the lottery, but affirms Cantillon's responsibility to repay such holders the cost price of their tickets. The draw took place on the 7tl November for eighty-nine prizes amounting to 16,174 livres 10 sols. But the winners were doomed to still further delay and to some disappointment. An Arr;t dated Paris, 20th August, 1717, recites that the king 'pour faire cesser les plaintes des intresss' had ordered a draw, and continues, ' His Majesty being informed that Mr. Cantilion is deceased the 5th of the present month of August without haviag rendered account of the payment which he should have made of the said stun of 16,174  ,qwift's Works, Sir W. ScotUs edition, 1824, x;q. 9.62, 2t].