Further Considerations [34]
Money may be the sooner obtained for the service of the Nation. These I agree with him, are very good and necessary Ends; but they are both to be attain'd, I conceive, much sooner by making clip'd Money go for its weight, than by the Method Mr. Lowndes proposes. For this immediately puts an end to Clipping, and obviates all further Damage thereby. Next, it immediately brings out all the hoarded weighty Money, and so that advantage will be sooner obtain'd for the service of the Nation, than it can any other way besides. Next it preserves the use of clip'd Money for the Service of the Nation in the interum, till it can be Re-coin'd all at the Tower. His Second Proposition is, That the loss, Or the greatest part ofit, ought to be born by the Publick, and not by particulars, who being very numerous will be prejudiced against a Reformation for the publick benefit, if it be to be effected at the cost of particular Men. A Tax given to make good the defect of Silver in clip'd Money, will be paid by particulars; and so the loss will be born by particular men: And whether these particulars be not more numerous, or at least a greater number of innocent men of them more sensibly burden'd that way, than if it takes its chance in the hands of those men, who have profited by the having it in their hand, will be worth considering. And I wish it were well weigh'd, which of the two ways the greater number of men would be most dangerously prejudic'd against this Reformation. But as Mr. Lowndes orders the matter, every Body will I fear, be prejudic'd against this Reformation, when (as he divides it p. 133, 134.) the Owners will bear near one half of the loss in the price of his clip'd Money, and every body else his part of the remainder in a Tax levied on them for it. I wish a remedy could be found without any Bodies loss. Most of those ways I have heard proposed to make Reparation to every particular man for the clip'd Money shall be found in his hands, do so delay the remedy, if not entail Clipping upon us, that I fear such a care of particulars indangers the whole. And if that suffer, it will go but ill with particulars. I am not for hindring those who have clip'd Money from any recompence which can be provided and made them. The question here, is not whether the honest Country Man shall bear the loss of his clip'd Money without any more ado, or pay a Tax to recompence himself. That which I humbly conceive the Nation is most concern'd in, is, that Clipping should be finally stop'd, and that the Money which remains should go according to its true Value, for the carrying on of Commerce, and the present supply of Peoples Exigences, till that part of it which is defac'd, can by the Mint be brought to its legal and due Form. And therefore I think it will be the rational desire of all particulars, that the shortest and surest way, not interfering with Law or Equity, should be taken to put an effectual end to an Evil, which every moment it continues works powerfully toward a general ruin. His Fourth Proposition, that no room must be left for Jealousie. I acknowledge to be a good one, if there can be a way found to attain it. I cannot but wonder to find these words p. 124. That no Person whatsoever shall hereafter be oblig'd to accept in legal Payments any Money whatsoever, that is already clip'd or may hereafter be clip'd or diminish'd; and that no Person shall tender or receive any such Money in Payment, under some small Penalty to be made easily recoverable, &c. As if any man now were obliged to receive clip'd Money in legal Payment, and there were not already a Law with severe Penalties against those who tendered clip'd Money in Payment? 'Tis a doubt to me, whether the Warden, Master-worker, &c. of the Mint at the Tower, could find Fit and Skilful Persons enough to set nine other Mints at work in other parts of England in a quarter of a Year, as Mr. Lowndes proposes p. 127. Besides, Mr. Lowndes tells us p. 96. that the Engines which put the Letters upon the Edges of the larger Silver Pieces, and mark the Edges of