R I C 1 
■quickness at figures and calculation; 'his capability of 
getting through, without any apparent exertion, the immense 
transactions in which he was concerned.; his coolness and 
judgment, combined certainly with a peculiar series of public 
events, enabled him to leave all his contemporaries at the 
Stock Exchange far behind, and to raise himself infinitely 
higher not only in fortune, but in general character and 
estimation, than any man had ever done before in that place. 
It was not till Mr. Ricardo was somewhat advanced in 
life that he turned his attention to the subject of political 
economy. While on a visit at Bath, where he was staying 
for the benefit of Mrs. Ricardo’s health, he took up, and 
read, the work of Adam Smith. It pleased him; and it is 
probable that the subject from that time occupied, with the 
other objects of his curiosity, a share of his thoughts, 
though it was not till some years after that the fruits of these 
pieditations appeared. 
The immense transactions which he had with the Bank of 
England, in the course of business, tallying with the train of 
study on which he was then engaged, led Mr. Ricardo to re¬ 
flect upon the subject of the currency, to endeavour to ac¬ 
count for the difference which existed between the value of 
the coin and the Bank notes, and to ascertain from what 
cause the depreciation of the latter arose. This occupied 
much .of his attention al the time,. and it formed a frequent 
theme of conversation with those among his acquaintance 
who were inclined to enter upon it. He was induced to 
put his thoughts upon paper, without any view at the time 
to publication. 
The late Mr. Perry, proprietor of the Morning Chronicle, 
was one of the few friends to whom Mr. Ricardo showed 
his manuscript. Mr. Perry urged him to allow it to be 
published in the Morning Chronicle; to which, not without 
fome reluctance, < Mr. Ricardo consented; and it was in¬ 
serted in the shape of letters under the signature of R., the 
first of which appeared on the 6th day of September, 1810. 
These letters produced various answers; among the rest was 
one signed by A Friend to Bank Notes,” &c. whom Mr. 
Ricardo soon after found to be an intelligent friend of his 
own; and who, from being a warm opponent of the 
doctrines of Mr. Ricardo, was soon transformed into a com¬ 
plete convert to them. 
The interest which the subject excited was a motive with 
him for enlarging upon it, and publishing his views very 
shortly after, in the form of a pamphlet, entitled “ On the 
Depreciation of the Currency.” Many were the publications 
which thi£ elicited, some in defence of, and some in oppo¬ 
sition to if. To one by Mr. Bosanquet he replied, but not 
so much with a view to refute the arguments which that 
gentleman advanced, as to give still further and stronger 
support to opinions which he thought. of great practical 
utility. Some time after, the late Mr. Horner brought the 
question before Parliament, and obtained a committee to 
investigate the subject; the result of the inquiry was a 
confirmation of Mr. Ricardo’s doctrines. The famous 
Bullion Report coincided mainly with his pamphlet; and 
the facts elicited from the evidence collected by the Com¬ 
mittee afforded practical illustrations of the accuracy of his 
speculation. - 
By some, the credit of originating the bullion question 
is given to Mr. Hornerbut though much is due to him 
for his patient and persevering investigation of the subject, 
and the very able manner in which he drew up the report, 
yet to Mr. Ricardo the credit of developing the doctrine 
of money, in its present perfect state, is mainly to be 
ascribed. 
Among the other effects of this pamphlet, it is not sur¬ 
prising that it should have been the means of introducing 
Mr. Ricardo to a number of first-rate literary characters. 
His society was courted by many, and his talents were duly 
appreciated by all who knew him. About this time, too,. 
he became acquainted with Mr. Mill, the, distinguished 
author of “ The History of British Indiaan acquaintance 
which ultimately grew into a warm and sincere attachment. 
Mr Ricardo's next essay was on Rent; and the 'suggestions 
R D 0. 75 
of Mr. Malthus, who had previously written upon the sam« 
subject, were followed up by him so ably, and the true nature 
jof rent was so admirably expounded, that there was little 
further left for explanation. 
It is well known that Mr. Grenfell for some time had 
been engaged, as a member of Parliament, in the investi¬ 
gation of the. affairs of the Bank. Mr. Ricardo took great 
interest in his proceedings. As his reputaiion was now high 
as a writer on the subject of money, he was urged to lend 
his aid to the work, which was. so laudably begun. He 
expressed great reluctance, from that unfeigned distrust of 
himself with .which he was habitually impressed; at last he 
yielded to persuasion, and his. masterly exposition of the 
affairs of the- Bank, together with his proposal for an eco* 
nomical currency, was the result. The high ascendancy 
which the Bank directors had acquired over the. great mass 
of proprietors of Bank, stock, prevented those few who 
wished to have their transactions examined into from gaining 
their point. Many ineffectual attempts had been made*, 
the majority of proprietors still supported the wish,of,tba 
directors for secrecy y and they, shielding themselves behind 
that majority, withheld all account of their accumulated 
gains. Mr. Ricardo took a view of their various transac¬ 
tions; showed what their annual savings ought to have been; 
and, following up the examination to the time at which he 
wrote* clearly pointed out to what, under proper manage¬ 
ment, their accumulation would have amounted. 
In this pamphlet, Mf. Ricardo suggested his plan for 
an economical currency. If there was any suggestion which 
emanated from him, upon which he seemed to pride himself 
more than any other, it was certainly this; and his wish to 
see it brought into effect at the time, induced him to step 
out of his usual course. He addressed a letter to Mr. Perce¬ 
val, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, upon the subject ; 
but that gentleman expressed his dissent from Mr. Ricardo’s 
opinions, and on that account declined adopting his advice. 
Mr. Ricardo’s next undertaking was his work on the 
Principles of Political Economy and Taxation,-—a work 
abounding with as strong marks of deep thought, and mas¬ 
terly comprehension of a difficult subject,, as any that was 
ever' published. The train of arguments is derived from a 
few luminous principles, and one is so consequent upon 
another, that the work cannot be examined in detail: it must 
be taken as a whole, and as such, its conclusions are demon¬ 
strated with almost mathematical precision. Mr. Ricardo 
never courted notoriety: at first he shrunk from'it, not so much 
because he undervalued it, as from a distrust, which not even 
success removed, of his powers. When he became sensible 
that he was held in some estimation, he seemed satisfied with 
what he had obtained, and was unwilling to risk it by a 
dbsire to accomplish more. These considerations made him 
very reluctant, first to write, and afterwards to publish this 
work; and it was only by the successive urgings of some of 
his most confidential friends, but particularly through the 
influence of Mr. Mill, that he was at length prevailed upon to 
do so. The success which followed amply compensated 
him; and this book, upon a subject which had heretofore 
not been popular, in a very short time passed through three 
editions, and placed the author in the highest rank as a philo¬ 
sophical writer. 
Mr. Ricardo had now wholly retired from business, with 
an ample fortune, acquired without exciting any of those 
envious and unpleasant feelings which usually attend upon 
th ose who precede their competitors. \ No one who knew 
him ever talked of his possessions without, at the same time, 
acknowledging that he had earned them fairly, and was wor¬ 
thy of them. In the year 1819- he became member of 
parliament for Portarlington; and perhaps few men, in so’ 
short a time, ever attained such influence, and, without 
eloquence, commanded such attention as he did in the House 
of Commons. He never spoke upon any subjects, but with 
a view to communicate ideas which he deemed important; 
and then he always spoke to the point. • He was of no party, 
and at all times advocated such principles as he held to be 
sound and true, whether on the ministerial or the opposition 
side. 
