136 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



could take them up. Moreover, the wages of labour 

 never, as we have seen, rise as soon as prices of commodi- 

 ties. In an advance of prices as rapid and furious as 

 that we are speaking of wages fell far behind, and the 

 labouring - classes found themselves continually poorer, in 

 spite of the large amount of silver which was paid them 

 weekly. Those heaviest loaded in the race — the men of large 

 families, and such as had the misfortune to be sick or tempo- 

 rarily disabled — were compelled to resort to charity. 

 Such was the condition of things under which vagabondage 

 and mendicancy rose to gigantic proportions, and in which 

 originated the pauper system of England. Mr. Jacob and 

 Professor Cairnes are agreed in attributing the poor-law of 

 Elizabeth to the wholesale destruction of accumulated for- 

 tunes and the rapid overmastering changes of productive 

 enterprise which followed the flood of new metal from the 

 Spanish- American mines." 



Eeturning to the remark that creditors, as such, lose, 

 this suggests that when gold is depreciating it is a bad 

 investment to lend out money at interest, since a real loss in 

 principal should be made good, and this would require an 

 increased interest. If lenders knew when this influence was 

 at work and generally acted on it interest would rise ; 

 the virtual loss of capital would thus be made good by the 

 addition of a suitable sinking fund, and the lending of money 

 would continue to compare favourably with other invest- 

 ments. But, as Walker remarks, the operations involved in 

 mental discount are amongst the most difficult which ordi- 

 nary men are called upon to perform, and in these most 

 persons fail entirely ; consequently we find that when gold 

 is depreciating interest falls, owing to the greater fund which 

 the increase of money provides for new enterprises and 

 the extension of existing branches of production. This in- 

 fluence has its full effect, whilst the other, which should 

 more than counteract it, is almost inoperative. Conse- 

 quently it would appear that money had better be invested in 

 real estate, or some equivalent form, which, while returning a 

 fair annual remuneration, would also increase in money value 

 in proportion at least to the general increase of prices. This, 

 of course, would only be a general rule ; in any particular 

 locality the removal of the sources of prosperity may take 

 away a great portion of the value in the real estate of the 

 neighbourhood. 



But as the creditor loses the debtor gains. The annual 

 charge becomes virtually smaller and smaller, as does the 

 principal to be paid. 



Now, the producing class are generally debtors, and as 

 such feel the relief that this affords. But the producer is also 



