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THE NATURE AND CAUSES OK

occasional demands. They might still be able to give the*utmost assistance which banks and bankers can, with pro-priety, give to traders of every kind.

To restrain private people, it maybe said, from receiving-in payment the promissory notes of a banker, for any sumwhether great or small, when they themselves are willing toreceive them; or, to restrain a banker from issuing suchnotes, when all his neighbours are willing to accept of them,is a manifest violation of that natural liberty which it is theproper business of law, not to infringe, but to support. Suchregulations may, no doubt, be considered as in some respecta violation of natural liberty. But those exertions of thenatural liberty of a few individuals, which might endangerthe security of the whole society, are, and ought to be, re-strained by the laws of all governments; of the most free,as well as of the most despotical. The obligation of building-party walls, in order to prevent the communication of fire,is a violation of natural liberty, exactly of the same kindwith the regulations of the banking trade which are hereproposed.

A paper money consisting in bank notes issued by peopleof undoubted credit, payable upon demand without anycondition, and in fact always readily paid as soon as pre-sented, is, in every respect, equal in value to gold and silvermoney ; since gold and silver money can at any time be hadfor it. Whatever is either bought or sold for such paper,must necessarily be bought or sold as cheap as it could havebeen for gold and silver.

The increase of paper money, it has been , said, by aug-menting the quantity, and consequently diminishing thevalue of the whole currency, necessarily augments the moneyprice of commodities. But as the quantity of gold andsilver, which is taken from the currency, is always equal tothe quantity of paper which is added to it, paper money doesnot necessarily increase the quantity of the whole currency.From the beginning of the last century to the present time,provisions never were cheaper in Scotland than in 1759,though, from the circulation of ten and five shilling banknotes, there was then more paper money in the country thanat present. The proportion between the price of provisionsin Scotland and that in England, is the same now as beforethe great multiplication of banking companies in Scotland .Corn is, upon most occasions, fully as cheap in England as