^ *i"i»« IVHCi IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^O >% y w >' C?x .-' w 1= C'. .0 ^ «-> ^^< J'. fA I 1 I ;'5 t i.O ;^|Z8 ||,||2.5 - IM 2.2 lilM m 2jo 11 A l.f 1.25 1 1.4 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAi:-J STREET WEBSTER, N.Y, 14;.o0 (716) 872-4503 wsatamm ^.1 *: CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / institut canadien de microreproductions historiques nm WaJM Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiqutis The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Featuras of this -^opy which may be bibliopraphically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6X6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cot e>{emplairG qui sont peut-3tre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuveni oxiger une modification dans la m6thod3 normale de filmage sont indiquSs ci-dessous. □ Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur D Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur □ Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag^e □ Pf»,ges damaged/ Pages endommsg^es D Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaur^e et/ou pelliculde D Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaur^es et/ou pellicul6es irrj Cover title missing/ l/S^I Le titre de couverture manque D Pages discoloured, stained oir foxed/ Pages d^color^et;, tschet^es ou piqu^es □ Coloured maps/ Cartes g^ographiques en couleur D Pages detached/ Page.*! d6tach6es D Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or biack)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) D Showthrough/ Transparence n Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur D Quality of print varies/ Quality in^gale de rimprepsion D Bound with other material/ Reli6 Hvec d'autres documents n Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplementaire D D Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reiiure serree jieut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int^rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certniiies pages blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration appararssent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces (.tages n'ont pas 6t6 film^es. D Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensu/e the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'erraia, une pelure, etc., ont 6t§ filmSes d nouveau de facon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. D Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl6menta!res; This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. i 1 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X I^E^^^ri 7 i 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X ails du difier jne lage The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Library of Congress Photoduplication Service The images appearing here are the best quality posrJble considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. L'etramplaire film6 fut reproduit grSce ^ la g6ndro8it6 de: Library of Congress Photoduplication Service Les images suivantes ont M6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et du la nettetd de I'exemplaire film6, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illusirated impres sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and endi.-ig on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ► (meaning "CON- TlfJUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, pintes, charts, etc., may be filmod at different reduction ratios. Those too large to bo entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrims illustrate the method: Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprim6e sont film6s en commenparit par !e premier plat et en terminant soit par la derniere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, sfllon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commengant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une teite empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparattra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbcle — »- signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent etre fllmds it oes taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supSrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut ^n bai>, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cossaire. Les diagrammas suiv.'^nts lllustrent la mdthode. rata o )elure, 3 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 w '^i»>i i J^_^. J^-- f "''* 'H .' '' _^.' V;' ' -\ .•t : ■ '.- .^. V ". ::i 9 ' 4 ■/ [ t- * '^ 1 ... -.r.- i'^' ..;) ^ (f .'"! -- •.■.',,.,■• t< t« • . p a t ?;'--"^- .. )i _, .-..'5j-— . li d ■" ■■ ■- '■■ -i-:'- ,. e h ti '- "'■''■--!, 1] ^,; ^- ■ P w h - . ' ''::/.'■ -^- e K h tl ti ' tt ^ SI tl b< fr ■ re e^ ,^ m -">- Pf w w 0) lir - dc 8C . ' tr a # • :;j -? ■' i iiii rin wi ff» i nn >wiiiwii Y k,,o *\n:^:.r m FUND K^ COM^liCE OJRJU^OR, 'I'lV LENDING ON t^tEtiBST. ■^ «< BY WILLIAM BBOWNi ' ■■' *S^e sT>ove i« but another way of saying tlint interest of money can ncTer be paid by industry without oppression and loss. Can such a statement be true — one so diametrically opposed to our preconceived opinions, and to wliat we liave been accus- tomed td aclcnowledye as fundaraent«l truth in tlie science of political economy ' Has our education on the subject been all astray? Wl»at if it should be found that there is something in the old Bible laws against interest Of money wiilch we have liitlierto missed— some great economic truth which our intellects have failed to gra^'> — some safeguard which can never be broken down with impunii , thrown by divine wisdom around tiie inter- ests of labor 1 Was the Church, after all said and done, right ia her interpretation of these laws, and in the severe condemna- tion wliich for ages she la"i?hed agvnst usurers or lenders 1 Does _ there lie concealed, in cne divme prohibition^, gome great principle whicli goes to the very roots of our social economy, and Which intiraatelv concerns the well being and liappiness of our race ? . Altiiongh, from biblical and related points of view, the subject has, in past ages, been pretty fairly discussed, it must be acknowl- edged that from an industrial stand point, lending on interest has received but scant consideration even at the hands of those who have ^iven the best of their days to phllosopl-ical enqiiirles into the science of which it forms so importunt ft pnrt. In remote times it was, perhaps, natural that sucn should be the case. But in these days industrial science and art have become such marked and indispensable factors in human progress and civilization, that the claims of labor are now sending forth a voice loud enough to be heard above the din of the workshop, and which it will be far from prudent eitlier to silence or ignore. And thera is the more rear-on tuat the principles hitherto received should submit to a re- examination because we have, by degrees, drifted into a vast com- mercial system without much reference to the essential laws of political economy considered as an exact science, and certainly without much consideration for the interests of lal)or or of those who produce all our comforts and wealth. And, as I view it, much of our literature on these topics has diverged from trutli in that it has striven with an ingenuity and earnestness wliicli none can deny, not to conform modern commerce to tlie principles of the science, but to bend these principles, immort.il tiiough they be as truth itself, to tim wants of an Artificial system, to the interests of a class, or even as occasion required to the exigencies of tlie Ts ^\ VVvtlf^M/J ::/.^.i,-.'i-:A'h:J^iA^'f^--- -•■^^^s■•'^f^r^Vli■l^^lVB^lt^ril^-'^i^^l ii H> ii i\ m m\ ^ howr. In tlie language of an eminent economist, we have but looked on the things which are seen, forgetting that there are thingf unseen, divine principles and lawg, which will scourge ub as wi;h scor- pions if we deliberateijr and persistently refuse to listen to their voice or endcatour to thrnst them out of their lawful apliere. In one way or other, all economic truth will have to do with our race. It rests with ourselves whether it comes to us as an angel of mercy or as a raessekiger of wrath. I need hardly pause to point put the importance of an enquiry llkr this. To aH disinterested investigators in the field of political economy there cannot be anything more important presented for consideration than the branch of the subjecrt now before us. If lending money on interest be a blessing, to labor, then it is evident that the human race enjoys a blessing of no ordinary i lagnitude— if it be otherwise,, then we may well tremble in presence of what we have fostered into such amazing growth and power. I ad- dress myself, in these pages to the wise and thoughtful of the land, before whom the cry of suffering and defenceless industry can never be raised in vain. It is, therefore, with feelings of deep solemnity and earnestness that I bring under their notice, as 'veU as I can, some thoughts on a practice which daily affects, for v/eal or for woe, so many millions of our fellow-men. The subject is not, by any means, a difficult ona. Its kernel can be reached by any person of common understanding. It is embraced in a few truths which any ordinary intellect may easily grasp. I am far from saying that there is not now the appearance of complex problems in connection with the great science oi political economy ; but this I say, that we have ourselves made (lics3 problems complex and obscure by burying them beneatli a mass of rubbish. Form anything into dogma, it has been well re- marked, and it wiU be clung to witlv.the utmost pertinacity. The remark, though applied to the field of theology, may be referred with fully As much truth to the domain of political economy, Roes it not seem that in all processes of mental investigation the trouble is in getting our minds into a condition to receive truth ? _ In this investigation, the nature and work of money prominently claim our attention. I have th? conviction that we will all be the better for learning something more than we now know of the com- mon article, money. The question has been llsked over and over again, "What is ntoney f Well, what is it 1 Perhaps something new can «till be said in leply. It is in our hands every day, and is as familiar to us as the clothes we wear, and yet tliereare some subtle things connected with it which we must not pass by — subtle, not because there is anything very abstruse in the things themscives, but simply because they are so apt to slip past our notice. Money, it is perceived and acknowledged, is, the most com- plete labor saving instrument known. Practically it brings tlio most distant products of industry to an immediate market. Fluent as water, it soon reaches the utmost verge of civilization, and wherever products are offered for sale there will money soon be found to buy. It carries a large amount of the world's sweat and toil wrapped up in tlie smallest compass. It is, therefore, one of tha most beneficent gifts of our Creator, indispensable to the progress and elevation of the race. In its work it is at once gentle as au J> 1^ r-'-tfMiMiun-^liiiriiiM M we have but ere are thingt B as wi;hseor- Isten to their III aphere. In do with our I at an angel >f an enquiry Id of political presented for efore us. If it is evident lagnitude— if ence of wliat ower. I ad- {htfiil of the iless industry ilirgs of Jeep lotice, as 'vp/1 ' affects, for Its kernel nding. It is :t may easily e appearance t science o^ rselves mado n beneatli a been well re- laclty. Tl'fi Y be referred lal economy, 'stigation the fceive truth? ' prominently ill all be the of the com- ain, What is I ^till be said liar to us as gs connected mse there is niply because 9 I^OBt COII^i- it brings the •ket. Fluent lizatiun, and >ney soon be 'a sweat and ■e, one of tli3 the progress gentle as au infant, mighty ai a ('iant. Its mission ia ever to build up and consolidate, never to destroy. It jostles nobody, for if it is not needed in this marlcet or that market, it quietly departs. It can no more rise above its level to ruin or injure the ham'-iwork of nr.an than tiie sea can overflow its bounds. As regards human labor, its will is imperious, for, being distributed throug!iout tho world in the shajie of the concentrated force of the labor of many generations, and making its mighty presence f^lt as a moat potent factor in the regulation of value, it restrains on the one hand the aolllHhncsa which would soon demoralize every market, and secures on the other that the poor toiler shall receive the full reward of his industry. Unlike paper. It settles every transaction on the spti, and does not, at (lie c.Ypeusc of labor, repeat the transaction in, it may be. half a dozen forms till finally settled in some so-called money centre thousands of miles away. Unlike paper, its mission is to spread the produuta of industry aa well as industry itself, speedily over all the earth, not to huddle men up in crowds where they almost destroy each other iu the struggle for life. 'lUiough not claiming, any more than othej products o? labor, to be a mieasure of value, it yet secures, through its universal distribution and employment, qnd when not interfered .vith by a false currency, that the only true measure of the value of labor shall be labor itself, and that in every exchange we make, the prbduct of our industry must of necessity submit to the infal^ lible arithnieti'j involved in millions of exchanges besides. Without money, commerce would soon be turned into oliaos, and civilization itself would speedily depart from the earth. In a word, money, in tuking the place of barter, solves at a stroke a problem which, with«t out it« presence, could never be solved by all the ingenuity of man." Afoney is a product of labor. It ia (fug in its original form front the mihe, and then and there receives the stamp of human labor. It is assayed and coined at the mint, and there receives a further 8t imp of labor. As a product of labor it is a commodity to be ex< changed, an article of merchandise to be bartered in every respect, Hke other articles of merchandise. All exohanKe ia the transfer from hand to hand of value for value, labor for Tabor j and tliore*i) fore we And that there is at least one indispensable requisite in moneyi! and that is labor. Money must have lubor value embodied in it, for all exchange is but the exchange of hiunan labor. When I sell you a hat, a chair, a plough, a coat, a piece of money, what I sell is not; the material, or the chemical properties, or the. natural uses or quali-i itics, but the human labor, that arid nothing more. If I cut down Ho tree iu the forest and fashion it into a canoe and sell you the 8aniev> although the ordinary u§e of language h\ bargain-making may serve to conceal the truth, yet I have in reality sold you nothing, and you have paid for nothing but my labor spent on the canoe. The wood with all its propertiee passes aa a gratuitous gift to you alon^i with my labor. Money, then, is an article of merchandise or barter, r because it embraces labor— it is money, because it possesses those well known qualities which constitute it what is familiarly known us a medium or iuatrument of exchange. It could not be money if it did not own labor, for that which exchanges nothing can never be aa instrument of exchange. Any counterfeit or bit of paper may transfer poods, but W9 want something more — we want them paid for. [j . Money ia also a coffl})/«or, and it will be faithful to us in the next ox- clinntire in retumine to us the same labor in some other form. If not (lorrupted, or destroyed, or banished out of cirnulntion by the universal presence of a paiier ourrenny, the precious metals wouli'. f>re»ervo their value unimpaired for very lenKthened periods, so ciij^tliened that no injury could ever be done to commerce or industry by chiinftes which would neftessarily be slowly and grad- ually accomplitilied ; and they would absorb additional supplies with- in their vast volume in such a way that no one's rights or labor could ever be sacriflced or even jeopardized. Though money is a commodity in which prices are reckoned, it is by no means one by which values are universally or exclusively measured, having no more power in that respect than corn or cotton or iron. It is a most admirable ready-reckoner, but can never be what is popularly understood l)y a measure of viilue. We cannot but admire the wis- dom which has provided, for all time, a product of labor which is at the same time a universal article of barter, distributed.throughout the whole world, with a permanent value stamped as it were upon it as it leaves the mint, a value which only (lecays with the slow and gradual process of wear and tear. If our labor, and the reward* of our labor, are to be at all secured to us, the precious metals, in the shape of money, and in the form of a completed product ot labor, are an absolute necessity This is the work of money, of that money which is, in itself, an embodiment of human labor, not of tliat fiction which now passes current with the commercial world. I am aware that language must be most carefully used, and terms exactly stated, by those who would expound the principles of economic science. The utmost precision is requisite. Loose ex- jwesslons will never do here. If we are a moment off our guard we ehall be caught tripping, and will very soon be told of it. I can hardly expect to escape where so many strong men have been cHSt down wounded and slain. Therefore I think it necessary to eay that though value is always practically a relative quantity, in this paper I use the term — as I do that of a medium of exchange — in its conventional sense ; that is to say, I find it convenient to speak of it as residing in a commodity by itself as the fruit of labor. Of course value can only really be eliminated in the act of exchange. Money is also a gratuitous instrument of exchange. It performs all its vast service to our race absolutely free of ctiarge. Nobody ever paid a single cent for all that it has done for us. The use of money as an instrument of exchange — and I now use the term in its popular sense— can never be paid for. When you exchange your dollar for a cap, the labor containe''. in the money is balanced by the labor contained in the cap. You never think of demanding something extra to compensate you for the use of the dollar. If the dollar is your own it contains so much labor — if it be a borrowed dollar it contains no more. Borrowed or not borrowed, if you take some- thing from the oap-maker on the ground of paying for the use of money, you inflict an injury on labor. This is the so-called interest of money, and it never can be paid without oppression to labor.^ f4 iii W iiii iH'reciou8 metals, letcd product ot f money, of tliat II labor, not of leruial world, ifully used, and I the principles site. Loose ex- Pf our guard we Id of it. I can I have been crtst lecessary to eay quantity, in this Bxchange — in its 'enient to speak ( fruit of labor, act of exchange, re. It performs liarge. Nobody us. The use of le the term in its a excliange youp balanced by tlie inding something If tlie dollar is rrowed dollar it you take sorae- ' for tlie use of io-called interest iression to labor.. The money cannot be made to go any fur Jier In the hands of the borrower than in those of the lender. It has the same valne in each case. There is nothing to come out at money as a recompense to you because you abstain from using it. Industry can only pay yoa when you work, not when you abstain from working. There is in- crease in labor, never in money. Aristotle was right after nil. Money, as he pointed out, is absolutely barren. In its grataitous use- it neter makeb a claim for this thing called " Interest." It repudi- ates the demand you make. It comes as a blessing and protection to labor — by setting np this false claim on its behalf you turn it into a curse ; for, with all the money or all the curroncy of a community lent out at interest, you lay a strain on labor which never relaxes for a single moment At all baJrrdg men must make gowl this inter- est, and society is thus continually driven at fever heat. In a gene- ral sense money facilitates exchange— in a special sense, or when ac- tually put to use, it but exchanges your labor for another person's labor; or, to put the matter in language absolutely and economically co'rrec-, it i» your labor exchanged for another man's labor. Why should you 'r and as interest, like everything else, must be taken out of labor, we have Oiily to sub- mit tliese two tilings, labor ami money, to a thorough and critical examination, to enable uf) to arrive at clear and definite conclusions on the subject. Money has been frequently, — may I not say generally ■? — said to be an expensive instrum-mt of exchange. I believe the very opposite is the case. As i\ commodity it is just worth the labor siwnt in its froduuiion. As a medium of exchange it costs not a single dollar, do not anticipate that anything will ever be found which, in everu retpect, will do tlie work so faithfully and well as money, a fact which would soimbe universally admitted if people would cease constantly promising to pay the article and let mdustry have the article itself. As to the supply of money, the right quantity is just what is produced from the mines, nothing less and nothing more. Every intelligent economist will understand me when I say tliat tliere is no absolute quantity of money requisite for the world's ex- changes. The labor value which is embodied in true money is the only safe ballast for the ship of commerce. Questions' as to Use or Utility will now, I doubt not, rise up in the mind of the reader. Objections from every quarter wil' uow in upon him, anil may give him immense trouble. Do we not rerit our houses ? Do we not hire our horses, our carriages, and oar «hips 1 Do we not rent our mills and factories and workshops, and even liiro our working meni Yes, we do all these, and much more in the same way. And they must all stand upon their own merits. Our thoughts will get into inextricable and hopeless conlusion unless, Jacob-like, we seize these questions one by one, and wrestle with tliem till tlie dawn comes. It is aside from the question under review for me to brunch out, in this paper, into these subjects, fascinating though the pursuit has been to me for tl.ese many years, I will only here lay down a few general and m.)St important principles which I have never found, to fail me in all my investigations, namely — that there is but one principle at work in the settlement of value, and that that principle runs through every exchange and every servic^f-that human labor can never, without loss, pay more than the labor em- booied in any article of merchandise or product of labor— that utilities are all absolutely gratuitous— that labor, in buying, cannot pay more than the real value of its products on the ground of pay- ment being withheld (as under the credit system) tor three, four, or six months— that products of labor are only virtually paid witli pro- . ducts of labor, or service for service — that money acquires no value from iU utiU|y—tU»t Tftlue* iu exchange have ao reference to W we to let otiiers of coume, you g that politi'tal It Inbor cannot t if interest of but lubor will nent, as I liare iw, letting forth sr that luch a interest is said « intercit, lilco ve Giily to iub- ({h and critical [)ite cuncluaions erally?— gnid to le very opposite bor spent in ite a single ilollnr. found which, ell lis money, a )ple would cease ustry have tlio quantity i» just nothiiiK mure, hen I say that the world's ex- le money is tho it, rise up in the ;er will flow in we not rent our and our «hips 1 IS, and even hire nore in tho same )urthou)i;hf«'viU less, Jacob-like, th them till the ' review for me lating though the 11 only here lay 9 which I have ■ly— that there is e, and that that ry servicerr-that n the labor em- t of labor — that 1 buying, cannot ; ground of pay- 3r three, four, or ly paid with pro- ney acquires no e tto reference to 11 1( 1 1 i^w ii iy \ Utilities at all, and but v«ry slight reference to desires or demand- that demand or intensity of desire is, m a rule, hold thoroughly in check in the grasp of labor, or by tf e consciousness wi;lch every man sustains of the value or amount of the labor he has spent on the article, the money, or the service he is about to part with— that demand and supply must ever revolve around this central l(l»,a of labor, going only occasionally a little way beyond, or fallhig a little short— that what is known by tho name of CapiUl is simply the tools or appliances of labor, its produce and its proiierty— that these tools or capital, dead inert matter, can never receive any reward from Industry separate from tho hands which wield them— that profit can never be divided between the laborer and his tools— that a full stAvement of exchange at anv moment is : I demand your supply and you supply my demr.nd ; I supply your demand and you douiaiid my «upplv--that exchange is complete only when equal amounts of human labor are thus transferred— and that the further we recede from this equity of exchange, the greater will be the infliction on labor. In relation to a paper currency, the most important facts are as follows : it is a general suspension of pavmeni— it trades on the capital of industry— it draws interest out of industry— and it causes the working men to become the lenders to the issuers of the paper. In relation to the wages system, the most important fact is— that the working men lose all profit on their work, for it is impossible they can ever got profits from the exchange of things they never own. And in relation to the credit system the moat important fact is— that credit when exercised, is simply getting into your possession the fruits of Industry without toil or payment on your part— not a very laudable thi'ig, one would think. Those principles in monetary and ecoiiomio ecieiict, which I have now embodied in a few short sentences, must prove suggestive to every thoughtful mind. Tliey cannot, I think, bo overthrown by anything whicn can be truthfully enunciated as to the tilings concerning which objections, as above, may arise in the mind of the reader. It is my conviction that in these sentences will yet be found, in part, what must form, when fully and philosophi- cally considered, the framework of a New Economy. There can be ho doubt that the -e is a wide spread notion in the public mind that commerce itself creates a fund for the payment of the interest of money. It is a floating idea without so much as the shadow of a scientiflc basis on which to rest. The enormous sums drawn out of labor in the shape of interest are thought to spring m some spontaneous manner out of the transactions of commerce. When the merchant touches the products of industry, it is thought that some unknown quantity separates itself, by a sort of talismanic influence- that there is some concealed movement which gives birth to a fund specially designed for the money lender. A very Bhadowy view, indeed, to take of the subject. We will just be as near tlie truth if we imagine that the productions of industry in every direction around us come into being simply at the wave o'f a magician's wand. One idea would be as reasonable as the other. Tlie simplicity which world rest satisfied With such a notion, I can only compare with the simplicity which accepts of poverty as the natural condition of ninety-nine out of every hundred of the world's population. The mind woich is content to rest in such a belief is shrouded in a dark- ness which it is hopeless to expect any argument to penetrate. We must behove that the mfchant can only be paid fpr 1^8 personal f ' " ■ M i ■ 1 . ■y w ^iu. i i.j.'w. i t ^ nothing iiinr«. cauie it tHkot try one «lt«. Tra ii •tinol ra labor He will g«>t paid for hit labor anil •tinply mom rahialtte licr« than In China be- to brinfif It liore. I^hor Ih the oiio soiircn of ralue. Notliins acquires value nntil it \* bmnglit Into relation, near or remote, with human iHi-or. The rnon'hant when lin biivi a pro- duct of imliwtry, (imply takes the pliice of the proibicor. The next who buys it account* to him an if he were tiie producer. Whati ver the merchant Him legfitiniately added to the value of the pro bits of paiier. Monrv is (tn Hni^i-odiirtive enmmndity. Tldsi.t first Uluth nmy seem a Rtiirtlinj^ pr(jpoHition. It Is one of the simplest truths in the science. Simple though it be it has been terribly ili treuteil. I venture to suv that not one merchant In a thousand has ever Kiven it a moment • serious thouglit. It has been forRottcn or buried, oi put out of s\%\\t, else, surely, the present paper or no money system never couid have been exnlte<{ to the position it now hidds. So far as commerce or iu- dnstry can pay for anything money brings fortli, it is the most un- productive of all articles passing through our haods. It never laid a brick, nor turned a furrow, nor forged n oolt, nor fastened a rivet All the money of all the capitalists in the world never produced a ■ingle item for which any man could be called upon topay. It gener- ates no interest — it gives forth no increase. A mosl powerful agent In tlic general welfare of man, it yet never directly cre«t«s weflith. It is alile to drew men to the ends of the earth, but is powerless t» create a singlw product. Notwithstanding nil that is given forlli by it so freelv in tlie service of man, its silent influence is as volueles* am! priceless, economically considered, as the air or the ounllght. Money is tlie produce of labor — labor is never the produce of money. Buying is not produchig ; and as you can only u.sc money in buying, therefore money can never produce. Thus, it will be perceived, we are ever brought, as If by some occult influence, in contact with labor. It is the r'wt of tlie wliolo science. We may as well attempt to reason the sun out of tlie heavens au try to set labor aside. If we construct an economic sys- tem on any other foundation it will prove about as fatal to human progress, as if the sun were realiy out of the heavens. The so-called curse of labor is a blessing in disguise, roliticnl economy recog- nizes the force and permanence of a sentence as old as the race, " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." It wa» the divine will, in tills sentence, at once to lay the foundation on which the structure of humanity should be reared, and to promulgate on econo- mic law which would be ot)erative to the end oi time. I^et us forget that In w — put it out of sight — smother it up— substitute sometiiinf]; else, as money, in its place — or put labor just somewhat out of position —and we shall not fail to launclt a system or polity in which the divine order will be reversed — to rear a structure over whoseportaU may be written in words to be read by every passer-iby, " In th« •weat of another's face thou shalt eat thy bread. Is not this just ii i^y i a> i''< tm i!m \ ^m _ uf.m).i^pt^^^ w n rrr»" Irii Inbor and in In Cliiim be- e imo sourco of o relntiiiii, near III! biivi A pro- 3or. The next L'cr. Wliftti ver the pro, wliicli must Diit tliat und«r (lone, but that luctR anil nian- 80 whu inanipi^ lilufh niny seem ID in the science. [ venture to shv it a moment • [mt out of slight, uvor couitl have iommerce or in- 18 tlie moat un- it never laid Fastened a rivet tiir produced a ■pay. It KOtier- ptiworfiil aKciit ::re«t«« wenUli. is powerlexg to jiven forlli by is as valueless ir tlio ouniight. iduce of money, uney in buying, as if by some t of the whole sun out of tli« 1 economic sy»- [atal to human The so-called !conomy rccog- i« the race, " In iva» tlie divine on which the ulgate an ecoucK liCt UA forget tut« sometliing \,t out of position y in which the iT whoseportalt ler-iby, "In th« [s not this just the terrible mark wl.leh hnmanlty has HTcrywhetv now reoelrcd lip»n Its foreliead and in Its hand, and nowhere chiselled deeper than througbont Kngllsh tocielyt It is necesNiiry In this re»l«w, to consider In what sense money li a me. Hut even this ninKer, simple though It a()peani to be, reqnireK rbmo examination. I^bor is embodied in the money when it is dug from the mine, and that labor remains in it wborevor It goes. Tt Is thus as nnich an article of barter as any article pnrchased, and trnimfera your lalM>r as truly a* labor is transferred with that article. There can Im! no true barter nr exchange unless labor or labor value is trans- ferred by both parties. If I dig a niece of f;nld from the mine and barter it for a quarter of grain, tne libor of each party is really and equally exclianged. fn that act, the go;gh a universal suspension of payment. Money, In the act of exchange, Anot not transfer values in any way diftcrent from what is dona by wheat, flour, shoos, or clothing. Strictlr •peaking, i* is not becauMt: gold is a medium of exchange that it is an article uf barter, .'t mast be so, but it m'ist be something more. It must have, in lition to its labor vaVie, certain dellnite qualities in combinatio*., ae effect of wliich \» lmmclitical economy. That we caimot eat money, or make it into clothings will never alter ita relA'Joa to thes^ laws I need not remind the rca'ler how thoroughly and sfdidously the human mind has been educated iiUr the belief that money produces interest. And thus one of the most benefit "nt gifts i>f GckI has been ■ turned into the unhaiipy mother of innunif ruble ills. Sent to secure freiaaoia end protection to industry, and to facilitate all exchanges. It has, in tlie hands of lenders, become by far the most terrible in- strument of oppression which the vorld has ever seen. Ir ihe cease- less anxiety to produce this interest to the day, and to receive at all t' 8 the maximum ot production, I trace the principal cau.se of 1 corroding cares which aro everywhere exhibiting their disas- u as effect on society. Tlie money centage is the fictitious basis on which all sorts of calculations are founded, and in prosence of its insatiable claims even the most sacred things aie anything but safe. Now, if it be the case that money, true money, can never produce such a thing as interest, wliat shall we say of a paper currency, no money at all, and wiiich, in its most prominent and indiapensable fuatures, must ever be a general suspension of payments? 'Vhat are the effects of such a ourrency thus lent ? Whore is the intelltct •jcute enough to calculate the weiglit and intensity of the burden laid by such me^ins on defenceless »nd afflicte.''^'^ -x'-^. see how it is pos- i innn who took I mun who gave irely it needs no the mine for the ho sf>Ul the com fat'iiAjr gave his vill? You may b 19 tlie ultimate e tlie iiouso .'iid lu a preliminary be as truly said ir manufacturing} >tton tlmii he eau ds, l-e would ju8t ini »litiual economy. ?, will never alter md spdulously the t money produces B 0* God has been ■ s. Sent to secure ite all exchanges, I most terrible in- pen. Ir ihe cease- [l to receive at all rincipal cause of ting their disas- fictitious basis in presence of its ything but 8, must undergo complete reformation. In the apt and ex- pi viv j language of Scripture prophecy, this niodern Euphrates must be dried up, that the " way " of kingly wisdom may ))e prepared. Stiew me where this paper and lending prevail, and I will sh ^w you where misery, dpgraclation, and ignorance flourish, and wT ^re the painful, ever-threatening, and dangcrods extrem''i> of wealth and poverty stand side by side. If the reader will but take the two por- tentous facts above not3d thoroughly in land, he will not fail to perceive certain effects flowing from certain causes with tiie same inevitable precision as in any other department of science. He will be ible to solve many a dark riddle in human life, and will, like piyself, soon cease to wonder that the world is filled with such an amount of poverty, suffering, and crime. w ORKS ON THE LABOR AND MONEY QUI STIONS.— By William Rkown, 1. Thoughts on Paper Currency ai.d Lending on Interest; as affecting the prosperity of Labor, Conmierce and Manu- factures, i 40 pages, 75 cents. 2. A New Catechism on Political Ecopony ; fifth, thousand, 25 cts. 8 Nr_ i'und in Commerce or Labor for Lending on Interest. No. 3, will be fuT-nished to parties desiring it for circulation, at the rate of $2.50 per 100, postage paid to any part of the States or Canada, by addressing John Loveli, Montreal P.Q., and Rouses Point, N, Y. The " Thoughts," bound in cloth, can also be had from Sampson Low & Co., London, price Ss. Note.— Reviews, Newspapers, or any communications for Uie Author, wUl roach him if addresseu to the i-are of Mr. Ix)vell, Publislier, Montreal, o> to himself to Cote des Neiges Post oaoe, Uo»r Montreal. ■< #-^ft^' '• ■''• ' Pa^^^'fii"