Page images
PDF
EPUB

periods it is certainly more eafy to find artifts of proper talents and abilities, fufficient in number to occupy the refpective departments in one mint than in many.

OFFENCES RELATING TO COIN. By the ftatute 25th Edw. III." If a man counterfeit the king's money; and if a man "bring falfe money into the realm counterfeit to the money of "England, knowing the nicney to be falfe, to merchandize and "make payment withal, or if the king's own minters alter the "ftandard or alloy established by law, it is treafon." But gold and filver money only are held to be within the ftatute. These were the original laws; but they not being found fufficient to reftrain the evil practices of coiners and falfe moneyers, other statutes have been fince made for that purpose. By statute 5 Eliz. c. 11. clipping, washing, rounding, or filing, for wicked gain's fake, any of the money of this realm, or other money, fuffered to be current here, fhall be adjudged high treafon; and by ftatute 18 Eliz. c. 1. the fame fpecies of offence is described in other more general words; viz. impairing, diminishing, falfifying, fcaling, and lightening; and made liable to the fame penalties. By ftatute 8 and 9 William III. c. 26. made perpetual by 7 Ann, c. 25. whoever, without proper authority, fhall knowingly make or mend, or affift in fo doing, or fhall buy, fell, conceal, hide, or knowingly have in his poffeffion, any implements of coinage fpecified in the act, or other tools or inftruments proper only for the coinage of money; or shall convey the fame out of the king's mint; he, together with his counfellors, procurers, aiders, and abettors, fhall be guilty of high treafon: which is by much the feverest branch of the coinage law. The ftatute goes on farther, and enacts, that to mark any coin on the edges with letters, or otherwife, in imitation of thofe ufed in the mint; or to colour, gild, or cafe over any coin refembling the current coin, or even round blanks of base metal; fhall be conftrued high treafon. But all profecutions on this act are to be commenced within three months after the commiflion of the offence: except thofe for making or mending any coining tool or inftrument, or for marking money round the edges; which are directed to be commenced within fix months after the offence is committed. And, laftly, by statute 15 and 16 Geo. II. c. 28. if any perfon colours or alters any fhilling or fixpence, either lawful or counterfeit, to make them refpectively refemble a guinea or half guinea; or any half-penny or farthing, to make them refpectively refemble a fhilling or fixpence; this is alfo high treafon: but the offender fhall be pardoned, in cafe (being out of prifon) he discovers and convicts two other offenders of the fame kind. In other acts of par

liament,

liament, offences of inferior enormity are noticed. By ftatute 27 Edw. I. c. 3. none fhall bring pollards and crockards, which were foreign coins of bafe metal, into the realm, on pain of forfeiture of life and goods. By 9 Edw. III. ft. 2. no fterling money fhall be melted down, upon pain of forfeiture thereof. By ftatute 17 Edw. III. none thall be fo hardy to bring falfe and ill money into the realm, on pain of forfeiture of life and member by the perfons importing, and the fearchers permitting fuch importation. By 3 Hen. V. ft. 1. to make, coin, buy, or bring into the realm any gally half-pence, fufkins, or dotkins, in order to utter them, is felony; and knowingly to receive or pay either them, or blanks, is forfeiture of an hundred fhillings. By 14 Eliz. c. 3. fuch as forge any foreign coin, although it be not made current here by proclamation, fhall (with their aiders and abettors) be guilty of mifprifon of treafon. By 13 and 14 Chas. II. c. 31. the offence of melting down any current filver money fhall be punished with forfeiture of the fame, and aifo the double value: and the offender, if a freeman of any town, fhall be disfranchised, if not, fhall fuffer fix months imprisonment. By 6 and 7 William III. c. 17. if any perfon buys or fells, or knowingly has in his cuftody, any clippings or filings of the coin, he fhall forfeit the fame and 5ool.; one moiety to the king, and the other to the informer; and be branded in the cheek with the letter R. By 8 and 9 William III. c. 26. if any perfon fhall blanch, or whiten, copper for fale, (which makes it refemble filver,) or buy or fell, or offer to fale any malleable compofition, which fhall be heavier than filver, and look, touch, and wear like gold, but be beneath the standard; or if any person fhall receive or pay at a lefs rate than it imports to be of (which demonftrates a consciousness of its bafenefs, and a fraudulent design) any counterfeit or diminished milled money of this kingdom, not being cut in pieces; an operation which is exprefsly directed to be performed when any fuch money fhall be produced in evidence, and which any perfon, to whom any gold or filver money is tendered, is empowered by ftatutes 9 and 10 William III. c. 21. 13 Geo. III. c. 71. and 14 Geo. III. c. 70. to perform at his own hazard, and the officers of the exchequer, and receiver general of the taxes are particularly required to perform all fuch persons shall be guilty of felony; and may be profecuted for the fame at any time within three months after the offence committed. But thefe precautions not being found fufficient to prevent the uttering of falfe or diminished money, which was only a misdemeanor at common law, it is enacted by 15 and 16 Geo. II. c. 28. that if any perfon fhall utter or tender in payment any counterfeit coin, knowing it fo to be, he shall for the first offence be imprifoned fix nonths, ard find

N 4

find fureties for his good behaviour for fix months more: for the fecond offence, fhall be imprifoned two years, and find fureties for two years longer: and, for the third offence, fhall be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. Also if a perfon knowingly tenders in payment any counterfeit money, and at the fame time has more in his cuftody; or fhall, within ten days after, knowingly tender other falfe money, he fhall be deemed a common utterer of counterfeit money, and shall for the first offence be imprisoned one year, and find fureties for his good behaviour for two years longer; and for the fecond, be guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. By the fame ftatute it is also enacted, that if any perfon counterfeits the copper coin, he fhall fuffer two years imprifonment, and find fureties for two years more. By ftatute 11 Geo. III. c. 40. perfons counterfeiting copper half-pence or farthings, with their abettors; or buying, felling, receiving, or putting off any counterfeit copper money (not being cut in pieces or melted down) at a lefs value than it imports to be of; fhall be guilty of fingle felony. And by a temporary ftatute, (14 Geo. III. c. 42.) if any quantity of money, exceeding the fum of five pounds, being or purporting to be the filver coin of this realm, but below the standard of the mint in weight or fineness, fhall be imported into Great Britain or Ireland, the fame fhall be forfeited in equal moieties to the crown and profecutor.

PAPER CURRENCY. On this most important and truly delicate fubject, the confiderations to be prefented to the reader are extracted entirely from the Earl of Liverpool's Treatife on the Coins of the Realm, the order of the paragraphs being only a little varied, and the forms omitted which are appropriately ufed by his lordfhip in an addrefs to the fovereign.

"The state of the paper currency of this country, in its "manner and extent taken together, is without example in the "hiftory of mankind. The trade or profeffion of banking "has been exercifed in all countries and in all ages: it exifted "in the republics of Greece, and in ancient Rome: there "were in all thefe ftates men who received money as a de

In

pofit, repaid it upon the drafts of thofe who had entrusted "them with it, and derived their profits from having this "money in their cuftody; but it does not appear that they ever iffued notes, fuch as are now called paper currency. "the middle ages the traffic of money was exercised solely by "the Jews; for Chriftian men, as they were then called, from "a mistaken principle of religion, would not engage in it: but "the Jews, who interpreted the law of Mofes in a different "fenfe from the Chriftians, thought that they might lawfully 66 carry it on with strangers; and to them every man was a "ftranger

"ftranger who was not a Jew. The wealth of thefe Jews, "and the extortions and cruelties to which they were expofed "on this account, contrary to the principles of humanity and "justice, are well known to every one, When commerce was "first revived in the republics of Italy, banking companies and

private bankers appeared in numbers, and carried on trade in "money, and particularly bills of exchange, to a very great ex"tent. The origin and history of the banks of Venice and "Genoa need not be here inferted; the wealth of thefe "banks was very great; and many of the principal families in "Italy derive their origin and ample fortunes from perfons who "once exercifed the trade of banking. I cannot however dif"cover from hiftory, that either the Jews before-mentioned, "or the banking companies eftablished in Italy, or any of the private bankers, ever iffued what is now called paper cur"rency, that is to fay, bills, or notes, payable or convertible in "to cash on demand by the perfon who iffued the fame, at the "will of the holder. It is certain at least that they did not "iffue it in fo great a degree, as to drive the coins out of the "country; for it is afferted by hiftorians of undoubted credit, "that Italy at that time had drawn to itself almost the whole of "the gold of Europe. After the example of what had been "thus practifed in Italy, banking companies were gradually

[ocr errors]

eftablished in many of the principal cities of Europe, parti"cularly at Hamburgh, Nuremberg, and Amfterdam: many "of thefe corporate banks iffued paper currency for the pay"ment of foreign, and fometimes inland, bills of exchange: "but this privilege was always exercised under certain regula❝tions and restrictions, fanctioned by the governments of these "places, for the fecurity of the individuals who trusted them,

and for the prefervation of public credit. It is fingular, that "it was found neceffary to require, that the notes of these "banks fhould be accepted and employed exclufively in certain

payments: but the privilege thus given never included any "payments for which a fingle piece of coin, or, as I believe, any small number of them, was fufficient, fo as to interfere "with the retail trade of the country. The reafons for eftablishing this paper currency have been fully explained, in a "former part of this letter; and I have never heard that pri

vate bankers iffued paper currency in any European country, "to the extent in which it is now practifed in, the British "dominions: if it has prevailed any where to excefs, it has "been in the United Provinces of America. The practice

of iffuing paper currency within his majefty's dominions "first began in Scotland: it was natural that this device fhould "originate in a country where there was a great want of coins

and capital: the evils it produced were felt fo early as the

" year

[ocr errors]

year 1765, when a wife law was paffed by the legislature, "to reftrain and regulate it within that part of the united "kingdom. This law did not extend to England, for the evil "at that time had not been felt here: the English however "foon followed the example of their northern brethren; and " in the year 1775, the mischiefs arifing from the issue of small "paper notes were fo feverely felt, that a law was paffed for "regulating and reftraining it; but it was afterwards found "that this law did not remedy the evil, and a fecond law, ftill "more restrictive, was paffed in 1777. It was neceffary how"ever for a temporary purpose, to enact a fhort suspension of "thefe laws, in confequence of the difficulties, to which pub"lic credit was expofed, in the year 1797. At the same time, "the bank of England was difcharged by the legislature from the obligation of paying in cafh: but, contrary to expecta"tion, thefe fufpenfions have been continued to the prefent day; and from that period the bank of England have ifflued "notes for fmaller fums, and to a greater extent, than they "ever did before; and the number of private bankers spread "over every part of the country, during that interval, has been. "more than doubled *.”

"This currency," his lordship obferves, "is carried to fo great "an extent, that it is become highly inconvenient to his majes "ty's fubjects, and may prove in its confequences, if no "remedy is applied, dangerous to the credit of the kingdom. "It is certain, that the fmaller notes of the bank of England, "and thofe iflued by country bankers, have fupplanted the gold "coins, ufurped their functions, and driven a great part of "them out of circulation: in fome parts of Great Britain, and "efpecially in the fouthern parts of Ireland, fmall notes have "been ifiued to fupply the place of filver coins, of which there "is certainly a great deficiency. If this practice is fuffered to "continue, as at prefent, without any limitation, there can be "neither ufe nor advantage in converting bullion of either of "the precious metals into coins, except fo far as it may ferve "for the convenience of the people in their most private con"cerns; that is, no greater quantity than many of the writers, "who have of late fpeculated on this fubject, will allow to

continue in currency: the bullion, of which thefe coins are "made, had better be exported in its natural state, like any "other unmanufactured commodity, for the use of which the "trade of the country has no occafion. The coins of this realm,

*It is flated in the summary of the report of the secret committee of the House of Lords in 1797, that the number of country bankers, which had, in 1792, amcunted to 280, had, in 1797, been reduced to 230. It appears by the list of country bankers now publied, that they amount to 517.

<< when

« PreviousContinue »