young’s TRAVELS IN FRANCE.

624

Modena. —In an age in which the fovereigns of Europe are incumbered, and fotneof them, ruined by debts, a contrary conduct' deferves confiderable attention. MheDuke of Modena, for ten years paft, has practifed a very wife ceconomy : he is fup-pofed, on good authority, to. have faved about a million of zecchim, (475,0001.) and hecontinues to fave in the fame proportion. This is a very fingular circumltance, and theedeft of it is obfervable; for I was allured at Modena , that this treafure was muchgreater than the whole circulating currency of the Dutchy ; and they fpoke of it as avery mifchievous thing, to withdraw from circulation and ufe , fo confiderable a fum, oc-cafioning prices generally to rife, and every thing to be dear. By repeated inquiries, Ifound this dearnefs was nothing more than what is found in the States around, whichhave all experienced, more or lefs, a confiderable rife of prices in ten years. But howcould withdrawing money from circulation raife prices ? It ought on the contrary, in acountry that has no paper-money, to lower them. That this effect did not follow, wemay eafily conclude from thefe complaints. But the very perfons who complained ofthis treafure could not affert that money was more wanted in the Dutchy than before itwas begun to be faved. They even gave a proof to the contrary, by affirming the rateof intereft to be at prefent 4I per cent. only. Upon the whole, the effedt is evidentlyharmlefs ; and it is a moll curious fact in politics, that a government can graduallydraw from circulation a fum that in ten years exceeded the current coin of the State,without caufmg an apparent deficiency in the currency, or any inconveniency whatever.Conclufions of infinite importance are to be drawn from fuch a fa£t; it feems to prove,that the general modern policy of contracting public debts, is abfurd and ruinous in theextreme ; as faving in the time of peace is clearly without any of thofe incovenienceswhich were once fuppofed to attend it; and by means of forming a treafure, a nationdoubles her nominal wealth, that fort of wealth which is real or imaginary, accordingto the ufe that is made of it. The reputation, preventing attacks, is perhaps the greateflof all. How contrary to the funding fyflem, which carries in its nature, fuch a proba-bility of prefent weaknefs, and fuch a certainty of future ruin i

Parma. —The river from Parma to the Po has been furveyed, and might be madenavigable for about 25,000k flerling ; but to the honour of the government which hasbeen diffufed through fo many countries by the Iioufe of Bourbon, no fuch- underta-king can here be thought of. Don Philip’s hidory, it is to be hoped, will be written byfome pen that can teach mankind, from fuch an inftance, of what (tuff men are foine-times made, whom birth elevates to power. The prefent Duke fpends too muchmoney upon monks, to have any to fpare for navigations.

Piedmont. —The Houle of Savoy has, for fome centuries, poffeffed the reputation ofgoverning their dominions with fingular ability ; and of making fo dexterous .a ufe ofevents, as to have been continually aggrandizing their territory. The late King wasamong the wifeft princes of his family, and (hewed his talents for government in the prac-tice of an enlightened and (leady ceconomy : it deferves no flight attention among theprinces of Europe , in the prefent ferment of men’s minds, whether there be any othercriterion of a wife government. The late King of Sardinia faved 12,000,000 livres ;paid off a great debt ; repaired all his fortreffes ; adorned his palaces ; and built one ofthe mod fplendid theatres in Europe ; all by the force of ceconomy. The contrad ofthe prefent reign is driking ; His prefent Majeily found himfelf in poffeffion of the trea-fure of his predeceffor. He fold the property of the jefuits, to the amount of20,000,000 livres ; he has raffed 7 or 8,coo,000 livres by the creation of paper-money ;thus, without noticing the portions of the Oueen and the Princefs of Piedmont, he hasreceived 40,000,000 livres extraordinary (2,000,cool, derling) : all of which has been

7 lavifhed,