LAW. 



, John, ris but the Missisippi ; and nothing was sought after 

 V" with such avidity as shares in the India Company. The 

 reputation and the fame of Law extended far and wide. 

 'iouse was crowded from morning till night with 

 visitors from all quarters, most of whom were satisfied 

 with a look or a smile from the illustrious foreigner. 

 He was considered by all ranks as the saviour of the 

 kingdom ; and the same honour was conferred upon 

 him, as upon the king and regent themselves. Soon 

 after, he was declared comptroller-general of the finan- 

 ces, or, in other words, prime minister of state. Ho- 

 nours were heaped upon him from all quarters. He 

 was elected an honorary member of the Academy of 

 Sciences ; and the freedom of his native city was trans- 

 mitted to him in a gold box of the value of 300. 

 Thus was an obscure foreigner elevated at once to the 

 second rank of authority and power in the politest na- 

 tion of Europe. 



The system of which Law was the founder, conti- 

 nued to gain credit and influence for sometime. Its 

 immediate effect was the exaltation of the lower orders 

 in I 'JUTS. As there was daily a prodigious rise in the 

 price of shares in the Company, those who had purcha- 

 sed a share one day, found themselves possessed of a 

 fortune by selling it the next The distinctions be- 

 twixt master and servant was for a time abolished. 

 High and low, rich and poor, were banded together. 

 Paris was crowded with strangers from all quarters of Eu- 

 rope ; aad there was a prodigious influx of wealth into 

 the French empire. Thinking men soon perceived that 

 the necessary consequences of such a state of things 

 would be, the destruction of all government, the stag- 

 nation of trade, and the dissolution of morals. The 

 order of things in society is so wisely constituted, that 

 changes such as that which took place upon the esta- 

 blishment of the Miasisippi system, could not fail to 

 produce the moot baneful effects. The grand object, 

 too, which the original projector of the scheme had in 

 view, must have been frustrated at least for the present, 

 by the confusion and disorder of which it was the im- 

 mediate occasion. A scheme, such as that which we 

 are now contemplating, requires, in a pre-eminent de- 

 gree, caution and deliberation. Where these quali- 

 ties are wanting, a scheme may promise fair, and it 

 may be borne up for some time by popular favour. 

 The spring* of an organised body may be kept in mo- 

 tion by the mere energy of enthusiasm ; but it requires 

 not the spirit of prophecy to foresee, tliat a teoame, 

 which has nothing more than novelty and enthusiasm 

 to support it, will .peedil y be ruined. To the want, 

 then, of cautious inquiry and cool philosophic delibera- 

 tion, we may attribute the speedy downfall of the Mis- 

 sisippi system. The Company speculated to a most 

 enormous extent. The original proprietors forgot the 

 puinoss for which it was organised, and were intent 

 solely on the acquisition of wealth for themselves .nn! 

 their friend*. Hence in the midst of the general deli- 

 rium, there was observed a constant drain of specie 

 from the bank. So great was the desire manifested by 

 the members of the Company to have their shares con- 

 verted into gold and silver, that there was scarcely left 

 enough of these articles tor the purposes of ordinary 

 .Ution. From this and other causes, apprehensions 

 of danger to the national interest arose. Accordingly, 

 by certain edicts published from the crown, it was easy 

 to perceive, that the downfall of the Missisippi system, 

 and of Law's greatne**, was speedily to happen. In 

 promoting these events, personal pique ana envy, no 

 doubt, had a considerable share of influence. The great - 

 i of a foreigner gave umbrage to the Parisian 



try ; and their influence tended to alienate the minds of Law, 

 the nobles and of the king from Law. Accordingly on "^ 

 the 21st of May, 1720, a royal edict was published, ap- 

 pointing a gradual reduction in the value of the Com- 

 pany's shares, from 10,000 livres, at which they then 

 were, to 5000. A reduction of the same kind took 

 place upon the notes issued by the bank, which had 

 been prior to this time incorporated with the Missisip- 

 pi Company. These reductions were little different 

 from composition or banknipty ; and hence this edict 

 gave a death blow to the reputation of Law, and the 

 interests of the system. All public credit was lost. All 

 connected with the system, particularly the director 

 and his coadjutors, were stigmatised and calumniated. 

 Popular favour was in an instant turned into popular 

 rage. The career of enthusiasm was stopt in an instant, 

 while consternation and fury pervaded all ranks of peo- 

 ple. The Missisippi system was now completely at an 

 end. All that remained to be done was the payment 

 of its debts, and this, upon inquiry, was found to 

 be no easy matter. A commission was appointed for 

 the purpose ; while the ministers of state, and all who 

 possessed rank .and influence in Paris, did every thing 

 in their power to restore things to their usual channel. 



With respect to the propriety and design of the Mis- , 

 sisippi scheme, a variety of opinions have been enter- 

 tained. Some have thought, that the whole was a pro- 

 ject devised for the purposes of monopolising indi- 

 viduals, at the expence of the country. Others have 

 thought, that it involved in it treasonable intentions 

 against the state. Neither of these suppositions, how- 

 ever, is supported by any plausible arguments. We 

 have no right to impute evil motives, when the facts in 

 question may with equal ease be accounted for upon 

 the supposition of good ones. In all likelihood, those 

 originally connected with the Missisippi business were 

 actuated by the best intentions. Law's object seems to 

 have been, to revive the interests of commerce, and to 

 extend the trade of France beyond its former bounds. 

 It readily occurred to him, as it would have done to 

 any one in his situation, that the grand obstacle to com- 

 mercial speculation in F ranee, was the limited nature 

 of the exertions hitherto made. The means possessed 

 by individuals- were ineffectual to the production of any 

 great and lasting effects. It seemed necessary, there- 

 fore, that commercial speculation should become an ob- 

 ject of general interest. This appeared to be the most 

 effectual method by which the evil might be remedied. 

 There is reason to think, however, that, in running 

 from one extreme, Law and his coadjutors fell into an- 

 other. Instead of applying the remedy with care and 

 caution, they seem, to have overdone the matter. They 

 formed ideas too vast; and the plan to which these 

 ideas gave rise were too complicated and extensive. It 

 was desirable that a great trading company should be 

 established ; but there was a danger lest the machine, 

 from its size, should become incapable of being moved. 

 Mental energies are especially requisite in order to the 

 promotion ot some great object ; but there is reason to 

 think, that when a variety of principles, prepossessions, 

 and views, are associated together, the mental energies 

 of individuals may be lost in the general mass. En- 

 lightened schemes may be counteracted by the sugges- 

 tions of one parsimonious individual. The best concert- 

 ed plan may be frustrated by a want of co-operation. 

 Where an association is formed upon so broad a basis as 

 that of the Missisippi, great discrimination in the ad- 

 mission of members is requisite. Such discrimination 

 does not appear to have been exercised by the MissU 

 sippians to a sufficient extent. It was not inquired. 



