Money Answers All Things [1]
point out and discover. For I observed, that Rise was not intirely owing to the Seasons, which will always influence the Price of Necessaries; but rather, and indeed chiefly, to the Want of Cultivating and Tilling a great deal more Land, to make the Plenty greater: And as the Rise of any Thing implies some Degree of Scarcity, so this suggests that too few of the People are imploy'd in Cultivation of Land, and the Affairs thereof, and consequently too many in all Trades, Manufactures, and Professions; whence these being thus overstock'd with Numbers, must needs be depressed and embarrassed; as they certainly are, in Reference to the great End of the them, which is solely Profit; whilst the other wants the Surplusage of Hands to increase the Plenty, and keep down the Price of Necessaries from rising as they did at that Time. In Consequence of these general Observations, I have since made many Reflections, which I hope may be useful; and therefore have endeavour'd to write some of them down, that it may clearly appear where the Fault lies, and how it may be remedied; and I trust I have sufficiently done this in the following Essay. And as I find, Considerations on the Use, Necessity, Increase, and Diminution of Money amongst the People, will best explain this momentous Affair; I shall lay down and illustrate some Principles relating to Money, which I think deserve to be regarded as Maxims. I. Money (i.e. Gold and Silver) being, by the Consent of all Nations, become Counters for adjusting the Value of all things else, and balancing all Accounts between Man and Man; and the Means by which Commodities of all Kinds are procured and transferred from one to another; is hence become the sole Medium of Trade. II. Money (by which understand always Gold and Silver) can be brought into a Nation, that hath not Mines, by this Means only: viz. by such Nation's exporting more Goods in Value than they import: For, in proportion, as the Value of the Exports exceeds the Value of the Imports, Money, which must balance the Account, increaseth faster or slower; and, contrariwise, where the Imports-exceed the Value of the Exports, the Cash of such Nation must proportionably diminish. And this is called, and doth constitute, the general Balance of the Trade of all Nations, that have not Mines. III. Money will be most plentiful, where the Mines are: I mean by this, just the same as if I should say the Quantity of Coals will be greater at Newcastle than at any Place that is supplied only with Coals from thence: And consequently I mean that Gold and Silver will as certainly be less valuable where the Mines are, than at any other Place which is supplied with those Metals by them; as Coals are, and will be less valuable at Newcastle, than at any other Place that is supplied with Coals only from thence. Whence it follows, IV. That the Prices of the Produce or Manufactures of every Nation will be higher or lower, according as the Quantity of Cash circulating in such Nation is greater or less, in Proportion to the Number of People inhabiting such Nation. To illustrate this, let it be supposed that we have ten Millions of Cash, and as many People in England; it's evident they have twice as much Money amongst them, in Proportion to their Number, as they wou'd have if their Number were doubled, and the Quantity of Cash remain'd just the same. And therefore, I think, they could give but half the Price for Things in general in this Case, that they could do when they were but half the Number, with the same Quantity of Money circulating and divided amongst them. Wherefore, if the People increase, and the Cash doth not increase in like Proportion, the Prices of Things must fall; for all the People must have Necessaries, to procure which they must all have Money: This will divide the same Quantity of Cash into more Parts, that is, lessen the Parts; and then it's evident they can't pay so much for their Necessaries, as when the same Cash divided into fewer Parts, makes the Parts greater. The Prices of all Things in this Kingdom, some