With  this  very  simple  and  natural  arrangement,  an  abundance
of  coin  might  at  all  times  be  secured  for  the  retail  trade ;  be*
cause  it  would  never,  in  the  first  instance,  bo  sought  for  exporta-
tion. The  precious  metals,  freed  from  arbitrary  valuations  by
law,  would  in  all  large  transactions  fall  into  the  regular  chan-
nels of  trade,  and  become  subject  to  the  laws  of  supply  and
demand.  None  of  those  extraordinary  and  often  mysterious
movements  in  bullion  and  coin,  which  now  frequently  take
place,  could  occur ;  for  the  price  of  gold  and  silver  would  be
governed  constantly  by  the  exigencies  of  the  demand.  When
required  to  liquidate  a  balance  of  trade,  it  would  be  purchased
just  as  bills  of  exchange  are  for  the  same  purpose.  There  is  no
more  reason  why  he  who  must  remit  for  goods  purchased  in
foreign  countries  should  have  gold  or  silver  at  a  fixed  price,
than  that  he  should  have  flour  or  cotton,  if  he  finci  it  for  his
advantage  to  make  his  remittances  in  those  commodities.  Under
such  regulations,  no  country  could  drain  off  the  precious  metals


136  OBJECTION    CONSIDERED.
from  another,  by  any  device,  without  paying  the  price  caused  by
their  demand.
