Law, John. Rare letter signed, 6 March 1720....

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Law, John. Rare letter signed, 6 March 1720. Rare letter signed ("Law"), 3 pages (8 x 11.75 in.; 203 x 298 mm.), front and back on two conjoined leaves, in French, Paris, 6 March 1720, written to a gentleman. Toning on edges with some show-through. Pioneering Scottish economist John Law writes concerning the increase in orders in the price of gold and silver coins and metal... Law writes in full: I am sending you copies of the decision of the council held the 5th of this month, of which I informed you in my letter yesterday, concerning the increase in orders in the price of gold and silver coins and metal, and the rebate of four pence [sous] per pound [livre] it grants to those who pay the duties subject to those four pence per pound in banknotes. And His Majesty is also willing to offer ten percent to those of his subjects who will pay in banknotes what they owe in per capita levy, poll tax, and other taxes that are not subject to the four pence per pound. But since this decision contains several additional important provisions concerning payments that can only be made or offered legally for sums of one hundred livres and above in banknotes, I feel I should add to my previous letter the comment that H[is] R[oyal] H[ighness] wants you to insure that all these provisions are strictly observed in a timely manner, as it is his intention that those who disobey them shall be dealt with harshly. The same attention should be paid to the decision of last February 27 which sets the sums that each individual or community can keep, and which forbids any person from making payments of one hundred livres and above in anything but banknotes. I will be carefully keeping H.R.H. informed on a regular basis of any opinions you pass on to me on this subject. Do not doubt his extreme gratitude for the diligence and care you will exert to insure the success of these different arrangements, whose sole object is to increase circulation and the advantages of trade...Law Law first achieved notice for his project to establish a state bank to issue paper money on the security of land, a scheme rejected by the Scottish parliament on 27 July 1705. By late May 1716, having won over the French regent (Philippe II, Duke of Orleans) with his plans to revive France's moribund economy, Law and several colleagues were granted a charter for a general bank. Buoyed by its rapid success and the associated industrial expansion, Law soon turned to the organization of a French firm to rival Britain's East India Company, simultaneously hatching a plan to develop French holdings in America. In August 1717, his Company of the West was accorded rights to the Louisiana Territory, including lands drained by the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri Rivers. Incensed at the financial privileges granted to a foreigner, Law's "System" soon faced opposition from parliament, but by December 1718 the conflict was resolved with the conversion of the General Bank into the Royal Bank, with notes guaranteed by the King. By June, Law's enterprise, now renamed the Company of the Indies, had absorbed its competitors for France's non-European trade, and in August assumed most of the national debt, becoming France's leading creditor. On 5 January 1720, Law was appointed comptroller-general of finances and on 23 February the Company of the Indies merged with the Royal Bank. However, the intense speculation fostered by Law's high shareholder dividends continued to deplete the bank's available specie, leading to panic when the bank note was devalued to one-half on 21 May. On the 27th, the very day the decree was withdrawn, the now-disgraced Law was relieved of his position, and within a few months had left the country. Accompanied with: A printed copy of the above-mentioned decision and a letter dated 1719 from one Vaslin to a Mrs. Lambert in Orleans concerning the investment of funds, recommending her purchase of land in Mississippi, and lauding the profits of Laws' enterprise.