124 NOMOLOGY. 



land which pays no rent. As the demand increases, and new land 

 is cultivated, the increased cost of produce therefrom, causes a rise 

 of the rent on lands previously cultivated. Capital loaned to indi- 

 viduals, sometimes commands a high rate of interest, including a 

 premium paid for the risk of its loss. It is generally first applied to 

 produce such objects as are in permanent demand ; and more cau- 

 tiously to objects of fluctuating value ; especially if in such cases it 

 would be transferred with difficulty. 



As countries advance in wealth and technical skill, the value of rent 

 generally increases ; while that of interest and wages comparatively 

 declines. Wages must vary, not only with the amount of labor, and 

 the demand for it, but with its nature, as being more or less produc- 

 tive, pleasant, or honorable. It is clear that the physician, who cures 

 the farmer's illness ; the clergyman, who labors for his eternal wel- 

 fare ; the lawyer, who pleads his cause ; the judge, who sustains his 

 rights ; and the soldier, who defends them ; should all share in his 

 earnings, as well as his landlord and merchant ; each in proportion 

 to his services, as custom and agreement may decide : nor should the 

 government interfere, unless appealed to by some aggrieved party. 

 Usury laws, or those restricting the rate of interest, are of doubtful 

 policy, and, we think, should apply only in cases where no special 

 agreement was made between the parties. No government has a 

 right to take, by taxation or otherwise, any more for itself, than is 

 necessary for its adequate support, and for its legitimate objects. 

 Among these, we would include such public improvements as cannot 

 be effected by individual efforts ; or by corporations duly restricted 

 in their powers and profits, and under reasonable legislative control. 



3. Exchanges of Wealth, including its transportation to places 

 where it is wanted, may increase its actual value, though not its quan- 

 tity. The exchangeable value of any commodity depends not only 

 on its intrinsic value, including durability, but on the supply and de- 

 mand for it, in comparison with other articles. The natural price, 

 or real value, is the actual cost of producing and transporting it ; but 

 the market price, or nominal value, depends also upon the relative 

 value of money. When the relative value of money varies, the mar- 

 ket prices of all other articles, so far as they are affected thereby, rise 

 or fall alike, unless it be that articles of luxury fluctuate the most. 



Money, is that commodity which is most frequently exchanged for 

 every other ; that is, the medium of exchanges. Gold and silver, 

 from their durability, rarity, and convenience, have become the stand- 

 ard money of the world. They are coined, to save the necessity of 

 frequently weighing and assaying them ; the government stamp at- 

 testing their quantity and purity ; and hence slightly increasing their 

 value. Bank notes derive their value from their convertibility into 

 coin ; and hence they are at par, only so long as they are payable in 

 specie, on demand, at the counter of the bank which owes them ; 

 otherwise they are depreciated, however solvent the bank may eventu- 

 ally be found. The value of money fluctuates with its quantity. 

 Were half the money in the world to be annihilated, the remainder 

 would be nearly doubled in value ; and the nominal prices of all other 

 commodities would rise in nearly the same proportion. It will be 



