OF MERICAN CURRENCY WITH CHAPTERS ON THE ENGLISH BANK RESTRICTION AND AUSTRIAN PAPER MONEY BY WILLIAM G. SUMNER Professor of Political & Social Science TO WHICH IS APPENDED "THE BULLION REPORT" NEW YORK 1874 HG 501 58 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Maclauchlan, PREFACE. N the autumn of 1873 I published in the "Fi IN nancier," four or five short sketches of those portions of history which are most instructive in regard to doctrines of currency. The plan was to leave the historical facts to tell their own story without comment. It succeeded so far that many persons who do not believe that financial laws vary with the period, the climate, or the continent, read them with interest, and drew the inferences of which it seemed to be important that we should all be convinced. I was asked to re-publish the sketches in permanent form. In acceding to this request, however, I desired to present these chapters of history more completely, and I determined also to incorporate with this project another plan which I had formed, viz., to edit the Bullion Report. Two of the articles referred to treated of the paper money in the American |