adam smith, autograph (2 Ergebnisse)

Quarto, 18.6 x 22.5cm, leaf edges gilt, 1 page in ink, preserved in a green cloth slip case. UnpublishedDavid Ricardo replies to a correspondent who had written to him about the practice of country bankers in relation to small bank notes. Ricardo writes that his correspondent's suggestions come too late, as the small note bill had been passed by the Commons but that he would pass them on to a member of the Lords who is interested in this subject. Ricardo states that no one is obliged to take notes from country banks if they object to the conditions of issue and that in this case this would lead to them being driven out of circulation and being substituted for coin.In Ricardo's Plan for a National Bank [written in 1823 and published in 1824 after his death] in his 14th regulation he supported the idea that �1 notes should be "issued and shall be given to any one requiring them in exchange for notes of a larger amount, if the person prefer such notes to coin. This regulation to continue in force only for one year, as far as regards London, but to be a permanent one in all the country districts". London 10 July 1822SirThe small note bill has passed theHouse of Commons & therefore your suggestion comestoo late. I agree with you that there is agreat objection to the present practice of CountryBankers, of which practice I was not aware tillI received your letter. It may indeed be urged in their favor that no one is obliged to take their notes if they do not like the conditions on which theyare issued, and I suppose that if any real inconveniencewas experienced the practical effect would be of substi-tuting coin. I will show your letter to one of theLords who takes interest in these subjects.yr.obed. serv. David RicardoFrom recent research by Professor Christophe Depoortere of the University of Paris he believes this letter was addressed to Thomas Joplin [1790?-1847], an English timber merchant and banker. Professor Depoortere writes "If I am right, this means you are in possession of the only known letter of Ricardo to Joplin."1) Historical evidencesRicardo starts his letter by "Sir" and finishes by "yr.obed. serv.". Those formal introduction and ending are quite cold and rather unusual in Ricardo's correspondence. Indeed, when he his acquainted with his correspondent, Ricardo usually starts by "Dear Sir", "My dear Sir" or "My dear Malthus, My dear Trower" There is actually only two correspondents in volume IX of Ricardo's Works which start by "Sir" only: the first one is to Foster, Peter le Neve (letter 489), the second one to John Wheatley (letter 457). In both cases, Ricardo was not well acquainted with his correspondent.The researches I have made on the relationship between Ricardo and Joplin lead me to think that Ricardo and Joplin got acquainted with each other in 1822 but not earlier and your letter could be Ricardo's answer to the first (or one of the first) letter addressed to him by Joplin.In February 1822, Joplin published a pamphlet: An Essay on the General Principles and Present Practice of Banking in England and Scotland, with Observations upon the Justice and Policy of an Immediate Alteration in the Character of the Bank of England, and the Measures to be pursued in order to effect it calling upon the inhabitants of Newcastle upon Tyne to form a Join Stock Bank (Joplin 1832:1). This pamphlet made a great impression in Newcastle, but though Joplin's efforts, it founded no support in Parliament (Joplin 1823:v). Then, he undertook to write his Outlines of a System of Political Economy written with a view to prove to Government and the Country that the Cause of the present agricultural Distress is entirely artificial; and to suggest a Plan for the Management of the Currency that he projected to publish before the next session of Parliament (Joplin 1823 xvi). This book seems to have been published during the first quarter of 1823 (O'Brien 1993:38, n5 says in early march 1823). Then, wrote Joplin, he "applied, [] to the late Mr. Ricardo with whom I had previously become acquainted, and proposed to him, as a question peculiarly to his own, to bring the plan forward in Parliament [] My plan merely gave a more practical turn to his views on the subject. He had not, however it appeared, lost sight of it for a moment: for after his death [on 11 September 1823], which took place in less than six or eight months, a pamphlet was published by his friends, written by him in the mean time, entitled A Plan for a national Bank "(Joplin 1832:179). Joplin then condensed the propositions of his book in the form of a petition that was presented on 2 June 1823 to the House of Commons (O'Brien1993:15). However, "with the exception, therefore, of a speech from him [Mr. Curwen who undertook to present the petition and made a speech upon it] which was neither heard nor reported, and two or three words from Mr. Ricardo, it met the general fate of petitions" (Joplin 1832:190).Joplin probably got acquainted with Ricardo in May or June 1822 (Ricardo left for his tour on the continent on 12 July 1822). Indeed, "during the dependance of the question [the renewal of the bank Charter (30 May 1822)], the author [Joplin] was in London for a couple of months" and he seems that he was looking for some support in parliament. He had "an interview with Huskisson on the Bank subject" and he wrote him a letter entitled: A few consecutive Propositions in Political Economy, which are capable of Proofs (1823:xvi) to which Huskisson answered on 6th July 1822. It is possible that he also met Ricardo during his stay in London and that he wrote to him at the same period for Ricardo's answer to an "unidentified correspondent" is dated 10 July 1822.2) Analytical evidences (remains to be written)ReferencesJoplin, Thomas (1822). An Essay on the General Principles and Present Practice of Banking in England and Scotland, with Observations upon the Justice and Policy of an Immediate Alteration in the Character of the Bank of Englan.

4to. 1� pp. on bifolium with address on verso. To the 1st Earl of Shelburne, regarding the health of his son Thomas, at the time Smith's student and lodger: "My Lord / It gives me as much pleasure to write to your Lordship today as it gave me pain to write to you by last post. The Doctors Predictions have upon this occasion been literally and exactly fulfilled. Mr. Fitzmaurice had the night before last a very slight attack of his fever which he was relieved from by a gentle sweat; and last night he had a bleeding at the nose which Dr. Black regards as a perfect crisis. He has since been entirely free from all feverish ailments or symptoms [.]". Written in ink in a neat cursive hand, approximately 23 lines to the page, with a few corrections in the text, addressed on the verso of the second sheet, annotated: "Mr. Smith concerning my son Thomas's health". Sometime folded for posting, some light soiling along the folds. - Adam Smith was appointed professor of logic, and then of moral philosophy at Glasgow in 1751 and 1752 respectively. As a professor, Smith took students into his house, offering both supervision in studies and board and lodging. Of these students, the names of only two have come down to us: Henry Herbert, later Lord Porchester, and Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice. In 1758 Gilbert Elliot, later Lord Minto, recommended Glasgow University rather than Oxford for the education of the younger son of the 1st Earl of Shelburne (the maternal grandson of the economist William Petty). Petty-Fitzmaurice (1742-93) had earlier been educated at Eton. For two years from 1759, Thomas Petty-Fitzmaurice lived with Adam Smith. After Glasgow he went to St Mary's Hall, Oxford, in 1761, was called to the English Bar in 1768 and became a Member of Parliament in 1762. In 1779 he set up as a linen merchant and established a bleaching factory at Llewenny in Wales, as his Irish estates were unproductive. He was reported to have lived on "the most intimate terms with Johnson, Hawkesworth and Garrick". The total number of recorded letters written by Adam Smith is surprisingly small - about 200, of which at least 24 are only known from published sources, which leaves about 176 letters surviving, virtually all in public collections. There are only 11 surviving letters of Adam Smith's predating his correspondence with Lord Shelburne. - Provenance: Bowood, home of the Earls of Shelburne. - Mossner, Correspondence of Adam Smith, no. 46 (full transcription included; deletions by Smith are not recorded).