302 THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF

to have 'advanced for this purpose, in one week, about1,600,000/.; a great part of it in bullion. I do not, how-ever, pretend to warrant either the greatness of the sum, orthe shortness of the time. Upon other occasions, this greatcompany has been reduced to the necessity of paying in six-pences.

It is not by augmenting the capital of the country, but byrendering a greater part of that capital active and produc-tive than would otherwise be so, that the most judicious ope-rations of banking can increase the industry of the country.That part of his capital which a dealer is obliged to keepby him unemployed, and in ready money for answering oc-casional demands, is so much dead stock, which, so long asit remains in this situation, produces nothing either to him orto his country. The judicious operations of banking enablehim to convert this dead stock into active and productive stock ;into materials to work upon, into tools to work with, and intoprovisions and subsistence to work for; into stock whichproduces something both to himself and to his country. Thegold and silver money which circulates in any country, andby means of which the produce of its land and labour is annu-ally circulated and distributed to the proper consumers, is,in the same manner as the ready money of the dealer, alldead stock. It is a very valuable part of the capital of thecountry, which produces nothing to the country. The judi-cious operations of banking, by substituting paper in theroom of a great part of this gold and silver, enable the coun-try to convert a great part of this dead stock into active andproductive stock; into stock which produces something tothe country. The gold and silver money which circulates inany country may very properly be compared to a highway,which, while it circulates and carries to market all the grassand corn of the country, produces itself not a single pile ofeither. The judicious operations of banking, by providing,if I may be allowed so violent a metaphor, a sort of waggon-way through the air, enable the country to convert, as itwere, a great part of its highways into good pastures and cornfields, and thereby to increase very considerably the annualproduce of its land and labour. The commerce and indus-try of the country, however, it must be acknowledged, thoughthey may be somewhat augmented, cannot be altogether sosecure, when they are thus, as it were, suspended upon theDeedalian wings of paper money, as when they travel about