33G f THE NATURE AND CAUSES OE

and profit, therefore, would be the same, and consequentlythe common interest of money; what can commonly be givenfor the use of money being necessarily regulated by what cancommonly be made by the use of it.

Any increase in the quantity of commodities annually cir-culated within the country, while that of the money whichcirculated them remained the same, would, on the contrary,produce many other important effects, besides that of raisingthe value of the money. The capital of the country, thoughit might nominally be the same, would really be augmented.It might continue to be expressed by the same quantity ofmoney, but it would command a greater quantity of labour.The quantity of productive labour which it could maintainand employ would be increased, and consequently the de-mand for that labour. Its wages would naturally rise with thedemand, and yet might appear to sink. They might be paidwith a smaller quantity of money, but that smaller quantitymight purchase a greater quantity of goods than a greaterhad done before. The profits of stock would be diminishedboth really and in appearance. The whole capital of thecountry being augmented, the competition between the dif-ferent capitals of which it was composed would naturally beaugmented along with fit. The owners of those particularcapitals would be obliged to content themselves with asmaller proportion of the produce of that labour which then-respective capitals employed. The interest of money, keepingpace always with the profits of stock, might, in this manner,be greatly diminished, though the value of money, or thequantity of goods which any particular sum could purchasewas greatly augmented.

In some countries the interest of money has been pro-hibited by law. But as something can everywhere be madeby the use of money, something ought everywhere to be paidfor the use of it. This regulation, instead of preventing, hasbeen found from experience to increase the evil of usury ;the debtor being obliged to pay not only for the use of themoney, but for the risk which his creditor runs by acceptinga compensation for that use. lie is obliged, if one may sayso, to insure his creditor from the penalties of usury.

In countries where interest is permitted, the law, in orderto prevent the extortion of usury, generally fixes the highestrate which can be taken without incurring a penalty. Thisrate ought always to be some what above the lowest market price,