Some Considerations of the Lowering of Interest [13]
Twentieth part of the Brokers yearly Returns in ready Money, will be enough to drive the Trade of any Country. At least, to put it beyond exception low enough, it cannot be imagin'd that less than one moiety of this, i.e. less than One hundredth part of the Labourers yearly Wages, One Eighth part of the Landholders yearly Revenue, and One Fortieth part of the Brokers yearly Returns, in ready Money, can be enough to move the several Wheels of Trade, and keep up Commerce in that Life and Thriving posture it should be; and how much the ready Cash of any Country is short. of this proportion, so much must the Trade be impair'd and hindred for want of Money. But however these measures may be mistaken, this is evident, that the multiplying of Brokers hinders the Trade of any Country, by making the Circuit, which the Money goes, larger, and in that Circuit more stops, so that the Returns must necessarily be slower and scantier, to the prejudice of Trade: Besides that, they Eat up too great a share of the Gains of Trade, by that means Starving the Labourer, and impoverishing the Landholder, whose Interest is chiefly to be taken care of, it being a settled unmoveable Concernment in the Commonwealth. If this be so, it is past question, that all Encouragement should be given to Artificers; and things so order'd, as much as might be, that those who make, should also Vend and Retail out their own Commodities, and they be hindred as much as possible from passing here at home, through divers Hands to the last Buyer. Lazy and Unworking Shopkeepers in this being worse than Gamesters, that they do not only keep so much of the Money of a Country constantly in their Hands, but also make the publick pay them for their keeping of it. Though Gaming too, upon the account of Trade (as well as other Reasons) may well deserve to be restrain'd: Since Gamesters, in order to their Play, keep great Sums of Money by them, which there lies Dead. For though Gamesters Money shift Masters oftener than any, and is tumbled up and down with every cast of a Die, yet as to the publick it lies perfectly still, and no more of it comes into Trade, than they spend in Eating or Wearing. Here too we may observe, how much Manufacture deserves to be incourag'd: Since that part of Trade, though the most considerable, is driven with the least Money, especially if the Workmanship be more worth than the Materials. For to the Trade that is driven by Labour, and Handicrafts Men, One two and fiftieth part of the yearly Money paid them will be sufficient: But to a Trade of Commodities of our bare Native growth, much greater proportion of Money is requir'd. Perhaps it will be wondred, why having given some estimate (how wide I know not) of the Money necessary in the Hands of the Landholder, Labourer, and Broker, to carry on Trade, I have said nothing of the Consumer, whom I had mentioned before. To this I Answer, There are so few Consumers, who are not either Labourers, Brokers, or Landholders, that they make a very inconsiderable part in the account. For those who immediately depend on the Landholder, as his Children and Servants, come in under that title, being maintain'd by the Rent of his Lands; and so of the rest. By what has been said, we may see what Injury the Lowering of Interest is like to do us by hindering Trade, when it shall either make the Foreigner call home his Money, or your own People backward to Lend, the Reward not being judged proportionable to the risque. There is another seeming Consequence, of the reducing of Money to a low Price, which at first sight has such an appearance of truth in it, that I have known it impose upon very able Men, and I guess it has no small Influence, at this time, in the promoting this alteration, and that is, That the lowering of Interest will raise the value of all other Things in proportion. For Money being the Counter-ballance to all other Things purchasable by it, and lying, as it were, in the opposite Scale of Commerce, it looks like a natural Consequence, that as much as you take off from the value