en mejores condiciones de las que se conseguirían si los especuladores pudieran encontrarse con el ministro en el mercado monetario en pie de igualdad." Aplicando esta interpretación a nuestro propio país, inquiramos hasta qué punto esta política ha tenido éxito.
We have already seen, that no sooner had specie become a circulating medium with a settled value, than the use of it became worth paying for by those who had it not of their own.
The consequence was, that those who had it made the most of it, and the wealthy lender too often became extortionate, and took from his client more than the hire of the com- modity was really worth.
To prevent this, the Legislature interfered; but this legislative inter- ference, while it rarely reached the end at which it aimed, was baneful in its effects upon commerce, for ' Lord Mansfield says : " To protect men who act with their eyes open, ugainst themselves."