THE WEALTH OF NATIONS.

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the barbarous laws of Europe (lid not enforce the perform-ance of their contracts, and which, during the course of thetwo last centuries, have been adopted into the laws of all Eu-ropean nations, have given such extraordinary privileges tobills of exchange, that money is move readily advanced uponthem, than upon any other species of obligation;, especiallywhen they are made payable within so short a period as twoor three months after their date. If, when the bill becomesdue, the acceptor does not pay it as soon as it is presented,he becomes from that moment a bankrupt. The bill is pro-tested, and returns upon the drawer, who, if he does not im-mediately pay it, becomes likewise a bankrupt. If, before itcame to the person who presents it to the acceptor for pay-ment, it had passed through the hands of several other per-sons, who had successively advanced to one another the con-tents of it either in money or goods, and who to express thateach of them had in his turn received those contents, had allof them in their order indorsed, that is, written their namesupon the back of the bill; each indorser becomes in his turnliable to the owner of the bill for those contents, and, if hefails to pay, he becomes too from that moment a bankrupt.Though the drawer, acceptor, and indorsers of the billshould, all of them, be persons of doubtful credit; yet stillthe shortness of the date gives some security to the owner ofthe bill. Though all of them may be very likely to becomebankrupts; it is a chance if they all become so in so short atime. The house is crazy, says a weary traveller to himself,and will not stand very long; but it is a chance if it falls to-night, and I will venture, therefore, to sleep in it to-night.

The trader A in Edinburgh , we shall suppose, draws a billupon 13 in London , payable two months after date. Inreality 13 in London owes nothing to A in Edinburgh ; buthe agrees to accept of A’s bill, upon condition that before theterm of payment he shall re-draw upon A in Edinburgh forthe same sum, together witli the interest and a commission,another bill, payable likewise two months after date. 13, ac-cordingly, before the expiration of the first two months,redraws this.bill upon A in Edinburgh ; who again, beforethe expiration of the second two months, draws a second billupon 13 in London , payable likewise two months after date;and before the expiration of the third two months, 13 in Lon-don redraws upon A in Edinburgh another bill, payable alsotwo months after date. This practice has sometimes gone