sion'd very likely thrô his Indisposition To which I have to add that among the other Acts now sent to be present'd to your Lordships there is a private one pass'd for the Sale of some wild lands of an inconsiderable value belonging to two Minors, upon which I would observe to your Lordships that I suddenly gave my Consent to this Act which I was press'd to do upon my first perusal of it, when I was in the Chair; and as it was for providing for the Education of the two Minors, just enter'd in College and the lands were but of small value, I did not give the Matter so thorough a Consideration as I have done since, upon which I much doubt whether a subordinate Government has power to make an Act of so extraordinary a nature; & therefore thought it was proper to point out to your Lordships my own Doubts upon it, thô this particular Case is but of a trifling value. I am wth the highest Respect My Lords, Your most Humble, and Rt Honble Lords Commissrs of Trade &ca. Endorsed: Massachusets W. SHIRLEY. Letter from Mr Shirley, Govr of the Massachusets Bay, to the Board, dated at Boston the 30th Janry 174 Recd March 14th 1743 Read Apl 12th 1743 WILLIAM SHIRLEY TO THE LORDS OF MY LORDS, TRADE1 Boston, March 19th, 1742. In a former letter to your Lordships I observ'd upon the provision made for preventing Creditors from suffering in 1 1 P. R. O., C. O. 5, 883. See letters of Jan. 24 and 30 preceding. their Estates upon the depreciating of the Bills of Credit, by the late Province Law entitled an Act to ascertain the Value of Money and of the Bills of publick Credit of this Province &ca which Act I understand has been laid before your Lordships for his Majy's Royal Approbation. By this Law it is enacted that the Genl. Assembly shall once in every six months determine the Rates that the said Bills then commonly pass at in proportion to Silver and Bills of Exchange payable in London, and that in want thereof it shall be determin'd by the Committee of his Majy's Council appointed by the Act for that purpose, and, in case of their failure, that then the Justices of the Superior Court of Judicature in their several Terms in the County of Suffolk annually shall appoint five able and sufficient men upon their Oaths to do it; which Valuations of the Bills are from time to time to be certify'd into the Secretary's Office, and thence issued out to the Justices of his Majy's Courts in every County within the Province, who are required to proceed by them as their Rule in making up Judgments for all Debts and Dues to be contracted after the last Day of March 1742, (Specialties and express Contracts excepted,) and in case it shall appear by those Valuations that the Bills are depreciated since the Debt was contracted then the Judges are bound to make up Judgment for the true value of the Debt in Silver, or in want thereof for the nominal value of the Debt in Province Bills with an Addition of so much more in those Bills as will make the Creditor amends for the depreciating of 'em since the time of the Debts being contracted. So that to carry this Law into Execution your Lordships perceive it became necessary either for the General Court, or the Committee of his Majty's Council, or the Justices of the Superior Court of Judicature to ascertain the Value of the Bills of Credit, from time to time, in order to furnish the several Courts of Judicature with a Rule to proceed by in making up their Judgments for the true value of the Debt, without which Rule the Ends proposed by the Act would be frustrated, and the Law be of no effect. As I at first met with great Difficulty in getting the As sembly to pass this Act, so I have found no less in getting it carried into Execution; For the House of Representatives having obtain'd the Emission of £30,000 in Bills of Credit for the Supply of the Treasury in 1741, which was their sole Inducement for passing the abovemention'd Act (I having made their passing it the Terms of my consenting to that Emission) soon grew dis-inclined to its being put in Execution, as it was a new thing in the Province and quite unpopular, and so utterly neglected to determine the Rates of the Bills pursuant to the directions of the Act, and the Committee of his Majy's Council being as listless in the Affair for the same Reason have also hitherto neglected to do it; and the Judges of the Superior Court of Judicature, who are dependent upon the General Court for their Salaries, which are voted 'em annually and occasion their being too much byass'd by Popularity, likewise omitted doing it till this present Term, when I sent 'em a Letter reminding 'em of their Duty in this matter, and peremptorily insisting upon their constantly doing it ex officio for the future. Thus I have at last influenc'd 'em to carry this Law into Execution; and Creditors will now be secure by virtue of it, of recovering from their Debtors within this Province the true value of their Debts contracted since the first Day of March 1742, and of all future Debts after any length of time, which will not barr 'em of an Action for that purpose, let the Bills of Credit of this Province be depreciated never so much between the time of the Debts being contracted and the time of their payment; Whereas before the passing of this Act, upon every such Depreciating of the Bills, the Merchants trading to this Province and every Creditor within it (who had not guarded against such Loss by express Contracts) lost part of the Value of their Debts; and some have lost even the full Value of their principal Money upon Debts of a long standing: But I hope the due Execution of this Act will effectually prevent these Mischiefs for the future; and it seems to be the only Remedy of 'em, which the present Circumstances of the Province will bear; For since the Depreciating of the Bills of Credit must re main incurable, whilst the Neighbouring Colonies of Rhode Island and Connecticutt are permitted to pour into this Province such Floods of their Bills of Credit, as they at present do; all that can be done in such case is to hinder the Depreciating of the Bills from producing those Mischievous Effects, which they used to do before. His Majesty's Instruction indeed limiting the Quantity of the Bills of Credit emitted in this Province, so as that not above £30,000 of 'em shall be current at the same time, was well calculated to prevent them from being depreciated; But when I inform your Lordships, that there is now a larger Sum in Bills of publick Credit of the Colonies of Connecticutt and Rhode Island (neither of which Colonies are under the same Restraint) current within this Province, as there are of the Province Bills, you will soon perceive how ineffectual the Royal Instruction is for obtaining the End proposed by it. And I may assure your Lordships from certain Experience, that nothing but a Restraint upon the Colony of Rhode Island limiting their Emissions of Bills of publick Credit, of equal force at least with that which his Majesty has lay'd upon this Province, will prevent the same Quantity of Rhode Island Bills from being current in the Province as now passes there; For Bills of publick Credit being the only Medium of Exchange in this Province, and so become necessary to the people for circulating the great Variety of Trade which is carried on within it, Paper Currency will pass among 'em almost in any shape. To demonstrate to your Lordships how insensible they are grown of the Difference between the Real and the Nominal Value of publick Bills I shall mention one Instance of it, which is, that about eighteen months ago the Rhode Island Bills emitted in 1740 of an equal Denomination with the first New Tenour Bills of this Province, currently pass'd among the people at 25 Cent more than those Province Bills did, thô the Province Bills were redeemable with Silver or Gold in sixteen months time, and the Rhode Island Bills were not redeemable till about sixteen years hence; so that if they had been also redeemable with Silver and Gold (which is not the case) yet they were by the Rules of common Discount above 40 Cent worse than the Province Bills; and this was owing to nothing but the Imposition of the Rhode Island Government, and the blind fondness of the people for paper Money, both which still continue in an extravagant degree and will do so till the Parliament of Great Britain shall make a general Regulation of the Bills of publick Credit, at least in the four Governments of New England; For I find all Attempts to procure an Act of Assembly for hindring the Bills of Credit emitted by other Colonies from passing in this Province will be vain from the Fate of a Bill which was last Session of the Assembly projected for that purpose and first read in Council, where I could scarcely prevail to get it committed; But in the House of Representatives it was unanimously negatived saving one Vote only; And could I have prevail'd to have got it pass'd into a Law, I scarcely think it could be carried into Execution; For the Trade of this Province is so link'd with the Colonies of Rhode Island and Connecticut that it is scarcely possible to keep their Bills from having a Currency here, especially as the Quantity of Bills of Credit allow'd by his Majesty to be emitted in the Province is not near sufficient to serve 'em as a Medium of their Trade. As it seems probable by our Advices from England that a Bill may be soon brought into Parliament for a general Regulation of the Paper Currency in the Plantations, I thought it might not be improper to lay before your Lordships, who, I suppose, will be chiefly consulted in this Affair, an Account of the State of the Paper Currency in the four Governments of New England; and this led me into the above mention'd particular Detail of it, and also into the inclosed Reasons 1 against an immediate total Suppression of the Bills of Credit. I am wth the Highest Respect My Lords, Your most Obedient, and most Humble Servant W. SHIRLEY. 1 These reasons are given in full on p. 106 following. |