690 



L A W. 



r,, John, system of finance in all its branches, connections, and 

 ^ """Y"**' consequences. A natural predilection for these pur- 

 suits, laid the foundation of all his future greatness, 

 and particularly of all the fame which he afterwards 

 acquired as a political speculator. 



Shortly after the death of his father, which happen- 

 ed in ICfeo, Mr. Law visited London. This step he 

 was induced to take, from motives similar to those 

 which stimulate most of our young adventurers, consi- 

 dering London as the theatre on which mental endow- 

 ments and external, graces may be displayed to most 

 advantage ; and borne up, no doubt, by a sense of his 

 own superiority in these respects, he naturally conceiv- 

 ed, that a residence in the capital of the British em- 

 pire, would not only favour his progress in the pursuits 

 to which he had the strongest attachment, but like- 

 wise gratify him, sooner or later, in all his hopes and 

 wishes. In London, Mr Law, ^remarkable as he al- 

 ways was for elegance of person, engaging convivial 

 powers, and an extreme propensity to deep play, soon 

 gained admission into the first circles of fashion. His 

 company was courted particularly by the fair sex ; and 

 his conversation was prized by every votary of the 

 beau monde. 



While thus at the very outset of his career, a cir- 

 cumstance happened which, at first view, was likely to 

 blast all his rising prospects. His fondness for affairs 

 of gallantry involved him in a quarrel with one Mr. 

 Wilson, a gentleman inferior only to himself in those 

 endowments which attract the notice and ensure the at- 

 tention of the gay. This quarrel, as commonly happens 

 in similar cases, ended in a mutual challenge to the 

 field. In the encounter Law came off victorious, ha- 

 ving left his antagonist dead upon the spot where they 

 fought. Having neglected to seek his safety by flight, 

 he was soon afterwards apprehended, and committed 

 to the King's Bench Prison. Thinking it unadvisable 

 to stand trial, he took the first opportunity of making 

 his escape. He went to the continent, and, during the 

 .period of his exile, betook himself to his favourite pur- 

 suits. In these, which during his residence in London 

 had been almost totally neglected, he soon made great- 

 er progress than ever. Indeed, it could not be other- 

 wise, since his mind was formed with that inquisitive 

 disposition which prompts to the pursuit of knowledge 

 on all hands, and which no difficulties can discourage. 

 The field of information also was now much enlarged. 

 While in Britain, his attention was confined exclusive- 

 ly to the state of things around him. Now, however, 

 his residence on the continent put it in his power to 

 view things on a larger scale. He examined the state 

 of manufactures and trade in the chief commercial 

 cities of Europe. He visited the principal banking 

 houses ; and the office of secretary to the British resi- 

 dent in Holland, which he held for some time, put it 

 in his power to gain an acquaintance with the opera- 

 tions of the mysterious bank of Amsterdam. It ap- 

 pears, however, that before the commencement of the 

 1 8th century, he returned to his native country, where, 

 in December 1700, he published at Edinburgh the 

 Introduction to his Proposals and Reasons for c in- 

 stituting a Council of Trade. His professed object in 

 this work was, to suggest measures whereby the com- 

 mercial interests of his country might be promoted. 

 The attempt was laudable, and, which is not always 

 the case, well-timed. A variety of unfortunate cir- 

 cumstances, and particularly the failure of the Da- 

 rien expedition, had reduced the trade and manufac- 

 tures of the country to a low ebb. In such a state 

 of things, it might have been expected that the ex- 



ertions, however feeble, of any public-spirited indivi- Law, Jota. 

 dual, in support of the interests of the country, would "" "Y"** 

 have met with general encouragement. This, however, 

 was not the case with the publication of Mr. Law. His 

 projects did not accord with the sentiments of the su- 

 preme judicature, and consequently met with no encou- 

 ragement from that quarter. The proposal, also, which 

 he made to Parliament in 1705, for the establishment 

 of a paper currency, was rejected by the house, from 

 an idea, that if carried into effect it would be prejudi- 

 cial to the landed interests of the country. This re- 

 peated disappointment in his plans, the object of which 

 was, at one and the same time, personal aggrandize- 

 ment and public good, naturally alienated his mind 

 from his native country. Accordingly he left Scotland 

 soon after, and was at" Genoa in 1708. For five or six 

 years after he rambled about the continent, observing 

 the manners of the 'different nations, and making hia 

 fortune by skill in games of hazard. It is said, that 

 when he settled at Paris in 1714, he was possessed of a , 



fortune, acquired in this way, of 1 1 0,000. 



Prior to this period, he had visited the capital of 

 France twice ; but his plans there met with as little en- 

 couragement as they did in England. The natural jea- 

 lousy of the Parisians, also, would no doubt be excited 

 by the circumstance of his being a foreigner. Through 

 the advice and under the patronage of his friend the 

 King of Sardinia, however, he visited Paris a third 

 time, in 1714. The death of Louis XIV. happened 

 soon after ; and he was patronised by the Duke of Or- 

 leans, regent during the minority of Louis XV. 



By Law's advice and direction, certain improvements 

 were made in the state of the finances, and measures 

 adopted for establishing upon a firmer basis the sinking 

 credit of the country. In connection with his brother 

 William, then settled at London, he set up a private 

 bank, under the firm of the " General Bank of Law & 

 Co.". So great was the public confidence placed in this 

 institution, and so uncommon the success of which it 

 was productive to the proprietors, that, about the close 

 of the year 171&, the Duke of Orleans resolved to take 

 it into his majesty's hands, as had at first been proposed. 

 This measure was strenuously opposed by the proprie- 

 tors; but all opposition to the will of the crown be- 

 ing vain, the " General Bank of Law & Co." was, on 

 the 4th December, 1718, incorporated by royal charter 

 into what was afterwards termed the " Royal Bank." 

 It was perhaps this circumstance which led to the more 

 speedy developement of that stupendous scheme, which 

 seems to have long occupied the mind of Law, general- 

 ly known by the name of the Missisippi System. 



The object of this scheme was to invest the whole of 

 the national trade, with certain revenues arising from 

 different sources, in the hands of one great company, 

 who might thus be enabled to extend their commercial 

 projects to an indefinite extent. By the suggestions of 

 Law, such a company actually was instituted, under 

 the name of the Company of the West. To this com. 

 pany was granted the whole province of Louisiana in 

 North America, a country watered throughout by the 

 Missisippi river; from which circumstance the scheme 

 was generally known afterwards by the name of the 

 Missisippi System. This vast project, which owed its 

 birth entirely to Law, who was in consequence appoint- 

 ed director-general of the company, soon became the 

 topic of general conversation. The minds of the low- 

 er orders were interested by the fair prospects which 

 it held forth ; while the novelty of the scheme at- 

 tracted the notice not only of France, but of all the 

 other European natione. Nothing was talked of ia Pa- 



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