第78章 MONEY OR SIMPLE CIRCULATION(59)

As for the paper money，so soon as it has served the first purpose of supplying the demand of him who borrowed it ...it will return upon the debtor in it，and become realised；...Let the specie of a country，therefore，be augmented or diminished in ever so great a proportion，commodities will still rise and fall according to the principles of demand and competition，and these will constantly depend upon the inclinations of those who have property or any kind of equivalent whatsoever to give，but never upon the quantity of coin they are possessed of....Let it"(i.e.，the quantity of specie in a country)"be diminished ever so low，while there is real property of any denomination in the country，and a competition to consume in those who possess it，prices will be high，by the means of barter，symbolical money，mutual prestations，and a thousand other inventions....Is it not plain，that if this country has a communication with other nations，there must be a proportion between the prices of many kinds of merchandise，there and elsewhere，and that the sudden augmentation or diminution cf the specie，supposing it could of itself operate the effects of raising or sinking prices，would be restrained in its operation by foreign competition？"(Op.cit.，Vol.I，pp.400-01.)"The circulation of every country ...must ever be in proportion to the industry of the inhabitants，producing the commodities which come to market....If the coin of a country，therefore，falls below the proportion of the produce of industry offered to sale ...inventions，such as symbolical money，will be fallen upon to provide an equivalent for it.But if the specie be found above the proportion of the industry，it will have no effect in raising prices，nor will it enter into circulation：it will be hoarded up in treasures....Whatever be the quantity of money in any nation，in correspondence with the rest of the world，there never can remain，in circulation，but a quantity nearly proportional to the consumption of the rich，and to the labour and industry of the poor inhabitants"and this proportion is not determined "by the quantity of money actually in the country"(op.cit.，p.407)."All nations will endeavour to throw their ready money，not necessary for their own circulation，into that country where the interest of money is high with respect to their own"(op.cit.，Vol.II，p.5)."The richest nation in Europe may be the poorest in circulating specie"(op.cit.，Vol.II，p.

6).[Note in author's copy：]See polemic against Steuart in Arthur Young's work.

[6.]Steuart，op.cit，Vol.II，p.370.Louis Blanc transforms the "money of the society"，which simply means internal，national money，into socialist money，which means nothing at all，and quite consistently turns John Law into a socialist.(See the first volume of his History of the French Revolution.)[7.]Maclaren，op.cit.，p.43seq.A German writer (Gustav Julius)，who died prematurely，was induced by patriotism to oppose the old Büsch as an authority to the Ricardian school.The honourable Büsch has translated Steuart's brilliant English into the Low-German dialect of Hamburg and distorted the original whenever it was possible.

[8.]This is inaccurate.On the contrary，in some passages the law is correctly expressed by Smith.[Note in author's copy.]

[9.]The distinction between "currency"and "money"，i.e.，between means of circulation and money，does not therefore occur in the Wealth of Nations .