Page:William Petty - Economic Writings (1899) vol 1.djvu/187

Rh the money already made by higher names: The reasons or pretences given for such raising are these, viz. That the raising of Money will bring it in, and the material thereof more plentifully; for trial whereof suppose one shilling were proclaimed to be worth two, what other effect could this have, then the raising of all Commodities unto a double price? Now if it were proclaimed, That Labourers Wages, &c. should not rise at all upon this raising of Money, then would this Act be as onely a Tax upon the said Labourers, as forcing them to lose half their wages, which would not be onely unjust but impossible, unless they could live with the said half, (which is not to be supposed) for then the Law that appoints such Wages were ill made, which should allow the Labourer but just wherewithall to live; for if you allow double, then he works but half so much as he could have done, and otherwise would; which is a loss to the Publick of the fruit of so much labour.

12. But suppose the Quart d' Esen of France commonly esteemed worth eighteen pence were raised to three shillings, then 'tis true, that all the Moneys of England would be indeed Quart d' Esens pieces; but as true, that all the English Money would be carried away, and that our Quart d' Esens would contain but half so much Bullion as our own Money did; so that raising of Money may indeed change the species, but with so much loss as the Forreign Pieces were raised unto, above their intrinsick value. |68|

13. But for remedy of this, suppose we raised the Quart d' Esen double, and prohibited the Exportation of our own money in Exchange thereof. I answer, that such a Prohibition is nugatory, and impossible to be executed; and if it were not, yet the raising of the said species would but make us sell the Commodities bought with raised Quart d' Escens, in effect but at half the usual rate, which unto them that want such commodities will as well yield the full; so that abating our prices, will as well allure strangers to buy extraordinary proportions of our Commodities, as raising their money will do: But neither that, nor abating the price will errata: