登陆注册
4712300000063

第63章

Further explanations and enquiries as to the utility of a National Bank It is of little importance to examine why the Bank of Venice and that of Amsterdam keep their books in moneys of account different from current money, and why there is always an agio on converting these book credits into currency. It is not a point of any service for circulation. The Bank of England has not followed it in this. Its accounts, its notes and its payments are made and are kept in current coin, which seems to me more uniform and more natural and no less useful.

I have not been able to obtain exact information of the quantity of sums ordinarily brought to these Banks, nor the amount of their notes and accounts, loans, and sums kept as reserve. Some one who is better informed on these points will be better able to discuss them. As, however, I know fairly well that these sums are not so huge as commonly supposed I will not omit to give an idea of them.

If the bills and notes of the Bank of England which seems to me the most considerable, amount weekly on an average to 4,000,000 ounces of silver or about 1 million sterling, and if they are content to keep regularly in reserve a quarter or ?50,000 sterling or 1 million ounces of silver in coin, the utility of this Bank to circulation corresponds to an increase of the money of the State by 3 million ounces or ?50,000 sterling which is without doubt a very large sum and of very great utility for the circulation when it has need to be speeded up: for I have remarked elsewhere that there are cases where it is better for the welfare of the State to retard the circulation than to accelerate it. I have heard that the notes and bills of the Bank of England have risen in some cases to 2 millions sterling, but it seems to me this can only have been by extraordinary accident.

And I think the utility of this Bank corresponds in general only to about one tenth part of all the money in circulation in England.

If the explanations given to me in round figures in 1719 on the receipts of the Bank of Venice are correct it may be said of national banks generally that their utility never corresponds to the tenth part of the current money circulating in a State. This is approximately what I ascertained there.

The revenues of the State of Venice may amount annually to 4 million ounces of silver, which must be paid in Bank money, and the Collectors set up for that purpose who receive at Bergamo and in the most distant places taxes in money, are obliged to change them into bank money when they make payment of them to the Republic.

All payments at Venice for negociations, purchases and sales above a certain modest sum must by law be made in Bank money. All the retailers who have collected current money in their dealings are compelled to buy Bank money with it to make their payments for large amounts. And those who need for their expenses or for the detail of small circulation to get back current money have to sell their Bank money to obtain it.

It is found that the sellers and buyers of the Bank money are regularly equal when the total of all the credits or inscriptions on the books of the Bank do not exceed the value of 800,000 ounces of silver or thereabout.

Time and experience (according to my informant) have given this knowledge to the Venetians. When the Bank was first set up individuals brought their money to the Bank to have credit at the Bank of the same value. This money deposited at the Bank was later spent for the needs of the Republic and yet the Bank money preserved its original value because there were as many people who had need to buy it as those who had need to sell it. Finally the State being pressed for money gave to the War Contractors credits in Bank money instead of silver and doubled the amount of its credits.

Then the number of sellers of Bank money being much greater than the buyers Bank money began to be at a discount against silver and fell 20 per cent below. By this discredit the revenue of the Republic fell off one fifth and the only remedy found for this disorder was to pledge part of the State revenue to borrow Bank money at interest. By these borrowings of Bank money half of them were cancelled and then the sellers and buyers being about equal the Bank regained its original credit and the total of Bank money was brought back to 800,000 ounces of silver.

It is thus that it has been ascertained that the utility of the Bank of Venice as regards circulation corresponds to about 800,000 ounces of silver: and if it is supposed that all the current money in the States of that Republic amount to 8 million ounces of silver the utility of the Bank corresponds to one tenth of that silver.

A national Bank in the capital of a great Kingdom or State must, it seems, contribute less to the utility of circulation because of the distance of its provinces, than in a small State.

And when money circulates there in greater abundance than among its neighbours a national Bank does more harm than good. An abundance of fictitious and imaginary money causes the same disadvantages as an increase of real money in circulation, by raising the price of land and labour, or by making works and manufactures more expensive at the risk of subsequent loss. But this furtive abundance vanishes at the first gust of discreet and precipitates disorder.

Towards the middle of the reign of Louis XIV there was more money in circulation in France than in neighbouring countries, and the King's revenue was collected there without the help of a Bank, as easily and conveniently as it is collected today in England with the help of the Bank of England.

If the clearings at Lyons in one of its four fairs amount to 80 millions of livres, if they are begun and finished with a single million of ready money, they are doubtless of great convenience in saving the trouble of an infinity of transports of silver from one house to another. But with that exception it seems that with this same million of cash which began and ended these clearings it would be quite feasible to conduct in three months all the payments of 80 millions.

同类推荐
  • 陆清献公莅嘉遗迹

    陆清献公莅嘉遗迹

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 李铁君文钞

    李铁君文钞

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 诸家神品丹法

    诸家神品丹法

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 佛说四泥犁经

    佛说四泥犁经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 折疑论

    折疑论

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
热门推荐
  • Death by Water
  • 冲向宇宙

    冲向宇宙

    女主的话:在我一直认为我生活在一个和平美好的世界里,可是有一天一切发生了改变。新闻上报道的陨石坠落的大坑我要告诉你其实是异能者一个雷击劈的吗!恐怖分子袭击校园其实是异空间生物入侵吗!我只想说这个世界永远不是你看到的那样。
  • 三步让你赚到翻:亿万级服装代理商炼成秘诀

    三步让你赚到翻:亿万级服装代理商炼成秘诀

    《三步让你赚到翻:亿万级服装代理商炼成秘诀》作者用其多年的管理经验,以专业的视角看服装行业,用浅显的语言、真实的事例,为服装代理商指出了一条业绩翻倍的捷径。他告诉服装代理商,业绩翻倍的核心在于加强渠道、物流和团队等三大方面的管理,并针对这三个方面阐述了代理商如何开展渠道合作、如何打开下线市场、如何让爆款更爆、如何建设优质团队以及如何发挥制度作用等问题,为服装代理商解疑答惑,传授方法。
  • 大方广三戒经卷上

    大方广三戒经卷上

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 做事要会算计

    做事要会算计

    做事要会算计,不是让你在做事过程中为达目的而不择手段;不是让你为了摘取成功桂冠而暗中“放箭”;更不是让你为了出人头地而不惜货地里使“阴招”。所谓算计,是做事先下手为强的胆略;是行动前深谋远虑的眼光;是让“人情”更具杀伤力的手段;是借机会之力成就辉煌的气魄;是你走向成功的巧言妙语。《做事要会算计》一书,以改变做事莽撞、毛躁、缺新少变、思维僵硬这些普遍存在的做事方式为出发点,并紧密结合当今社会的现实,谈做事的技巧和道理,语言风趣幽默、浅显易懂;知识面广而可读性强,观念新颖而人情人理。不管是创业者还是成功者,不管是领导者还是普通职员,都可以从中得到有益的启迪。
  • 穿越蛮荒种田忙

    穿越蛮荒种田忙

    天将降大任于斯人也,必先让她穿越!顾卿言做梦都想不到,有朝一日,自己不仅穿越了,而且还穿越到了兽世!看着面前的这个奇异世界,顾卿言咬咬牙,算了,豁出去了!与生俱来的外貌优势,再加上系统送来的一臂之力。不曾想,这日子倒也能过得风生水起,悠哉悠哉啊。
  • 晋春秋

    晋春秋

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 魔法世界陷入危机1

    魔法世界陷入危机1

    地球损坏严重,第一代命定的魔法使牺牲自己的能量修复了它,被封印的暗影魔神,不死心对它破坏,在暗影魔神冲破封印之前,得找到下一任的命定的魔法使,加以封印。。。暗影女神的抢夺,让精灵置换散落异世界。精灵置换的散落,让暗影魔神更加嚣张。
  • 我是天才大明星

    我是天才大明星

    新书:万物便利店,已发布√,欢迎收看。系统:宿主,我这里有个任务,你需要…苏云:嗯?我给你三秒钟重新组织一下语言?系统:QAQ没啥事儿,您先忙。想加书友群的小伙伴,在这里:922687950
  • 精明女人会当家

    精明女人会当家

    《精明女人会当家》主要内容:朱德庸说:“女人天生灵敏。”在琐碎与俗常的家庭生活中,女人的“灵敏”更会发挥得恰到好处。它只需要女性将自身的温柔、内敛、善解人意、沉着、细腻、坚忍挖掘出来,只需女性在点点滴滴的日常生活中打磨和修炼自己,达到从内而外的提升,成为精明女人,成为聪明女人,营建幸福家庭。