Some Considerations of the Lowering of Interest [4]
and the other Lender. But supposing the Law reach'd the intention of the Promoters of it; and that this Act be so contrived, that it forced the Natural price of Money, and hindred its being by any Body Lent at a higher Use, than Four Pound Per Cent. which is plain it cannot. Let us in the next place see, what will be the Consequences of it. 1. It will be a loss to Widows, Orphans, and all those who have their Estate in Money, one third of their Estates: which will be a very hard case upon a great number of People, and it is warily to be consider'd by the Wisdom of the Nation, whether they will thus at one blow, fine and impoverish a great and innocent part of the People, who having their Estates in Money, have as much Right to make as much of their Money, as it is worth, (for more they cannot) as the Landlord has to let his Land for as much as it will yield. To Fine Men one Third of their Estates, without any Crime or Offence committed, seems very hard. 2. As it will be a considerable Loss and Injury to the mony'd Man, so it will be no Advantage at all to the Kingdom. For so Trade be not Cramp'd, and the Exportation of our Native Commodities and Manufactures not hindred, it will be no matter to the Kingdom, who amongst our selves Gets or Loses: only common Charity teaches, that those should be most taken care ofby the Law, who are least capable of taking care for themselves. 3. It will be a Gain to the Borrowing Merchant, For if he Borrow at Four per Cent. and his Returns be Twelve per Cent. he will have Eight Per Cent. and the Lender Four: Whereas now they divide the profit equally at Six Per Cent. But this neither Gets nor Loses the Kingdom in your Trade, supposing the Merchant and Lender to be both Englishmen: only it will as I have said, transfer a third part of the Mony'd Mans Estate, who has nothing else to live on, into the Merchants Pocket; and that without any Merit in the one, or Transgression in the other. Private mens interests ought not thus to be neglected, nor sacrificed to any thing but the manifest advantage of the Publick. But in this case it will be quite the contrary. This loss to the mony'd Men will be a prejudice to Trade: Since it will discourage Lending at such a disproportion of Profit, to Risque; as we shall see more by and by, when we come to consider of what consequence it is to encourage Lending, that so none of the Money of the Nation may lie dead, and thereby prejudice Trade. 4. It will hinder Trade. For there being a certain proporion of Money necessary for driving such a proporion of Trade, so much Money of this as lies still, lessens so much of the Trade. Now it cannot be rationally expected, but that where the Venture is great, and the Gains small, (as it is in Lending in England upon low Interest) many will choose rather to hoard up their Money, than venture it abroad on such Terms. This will be a loss to the Kingdom, and such a loss, as here in England ought chiefly to be looked after: For we having no Mines, nor any other way of getting, or keeping of Riches amongst us but by Trade, so much of our Trade as is lost, so much of our Riches must necessarily go with it; and the over-ballancing of Trade between us and our Neighbours, must inevitably carry away our Money, and quickly leave us Poor, and exposed. Gold and Silver though they serve for few yet they command all the conveniencies of life; and therefore in a plenty of them consists Riches. Every one knows that Mines alone furnish these: But withal 'tis observable that most Counties stored with them by Nature are poor. The digging and refining of these Metals taking up the Labour, and wasting the Number of the People. For which reason the wise Policy of the Chineses will not suffer the Mines they have to be wrought. Nor indeed, things rightly considered, do Gold and Silver drawn out of the Mine equally Enrich, with what is got by Trade. He that would make the lighter Scale preponderate to the opposite, will not so soon do it, by adding encrease of new Weight to the emprier, as if he took out of the heavier what