Robert Treat Paine Papers, Volume 4
I am at this place with Mr. Cushing & Col. Porter as Commissioners from Massa. to regulate the prices &c in obedience to the requisition of Congress, & really an embarrassed Jobb we have of it, & such anxious doubts, whether we are doing good or hurt, as reduces us to a state of distressing perplexity; we are sufficiently affected with the overwhelming expence of supporting our Army at the present unbounded prices of necessaries, & on the other hand we are very fearful whether our regulations will be obeyed, whether they will not throw the Community into discords Jealosies & Convulsions, & in fact whether they will not in the first Instance produce an artificial scarcity & finally end in a real one: such are the Apprehensions of the Convention on these matters, that I don't 11 know whether we should have agreed upon a regulation were it not that we considered the requisition of Congress as being peremptory, & part of an extensive plan, the defeating of which by the defection of any Convention, might be attended with disagreable circumstances; tho' at the same time I must observe we were not able to point out a more satisfactory method to relieve the evil so speedily as we desire. We are now Suffering the Evils wch. I prophesyed to Congress, when they first emitted their money, would come to pass, if taxation did not take place soon after the emission of it; but it was then thought, the people would not bear it, Goverments were not then settled, & the people thrô the States had not come to their feelings & due apprehensions of this matter, but I flatter myself, that tho' we have suffered & must suffer exceedingly by this neglect, yet that those sufferings will work their own cure by arrouzing the people to exert their faculties, & carry the system of Regulations into execution.
Feby. 1st. We have with great labour & Consultation finished our rates of Prices, in wch. you will observe we have deviated from the strict letter of the requisition & have excepted Woolen Goods & a number of other articles imported from Europe: I trust this exception will not be viewed in a disagreable light; the true grounds of our Conduct was this; We made a Calculation of the expences & charges of importing Goods from Europe, & from the best & most favourable estimate we found they could not be afforded here, under such a price as it would not answer our purpose to regulate them at; if we had sat them at a price below what they could be afforded at, there would either be manifest injustice in obliging the mercht. to be a looser, or it would amount to a prohibition, for no body would import with a sure prospect of Loss, or, what is most likely, the importers by joining their Efforts would break thrô the regulation; if we had sat them at such a price as not to operate as a prohibition, this evil would have hapned, that those Goods would not have been sold below that price, even tho' by the lowring of Insurance (wch. is the grand Article of Insurance charge that runs them up so high) & the unexpected lessning of other charges the mercht. might be disposed to lower the price: (it is said that goods are falling fast in Boston, partly from taking our states money, amounting to 430,000£ out of Circulation from the 1st. of Decr. last in compliance with the Report of the Springfeild Convention, & partly from large quantities of money being sent to Virginia & South Carolina to make remittance to France) upon all which it appeared to us, that by regulating their prices, we should either prohibit their importation, or cause them to be dearer when imported than they naturally would, if left to the 12 course of things: there are undoubtedly circumstances of charge attending the importing European Goods, which are different from the produce of our own Country; vizt. the prodiguous Insurance of 75 pr. ct. to cover which a man must pay a premium of three times the sum insur'd. I need not illustrate this to you; also the expence of freight, Portledge bill, victualling &c &c all six times as high as usual, & these are in their nature various & therefore no standard can be fixed for them, & as the grand object of Congress was to have these Goods cheaper than they now are, we were of opinion this was the readiest method; & we should have sent to Congress for further directions, but the distance & Season forbad, & after great consultation we thought it best to persue that method wch. would best answer the purpose of Congress. Requisitions of Congress, especially when they relate to the executing a System by all the States at the same time, are very sacred, & should not be departed from witht. obvious reasons, but I think this departure is of such a nature as will not affect the other two Conventions, & if they should have regulated the price of those Articles we have excepted, Congress can, if they think our Conduct judicious, recomend a relaxation of it.
If it be asked why we regulated W. India produce, seing there are the same charges on the Importation of it? the Answer is, that the bulk of them are brought in by capture, & there is no danger of a prohibition.
Thus we have a fine System of Regulation, the Essential part of which is the lessning the quantity of Currency, & the grand object now is to carry it into Execution, to help in this matter, the Convention have prefaced their doings with an Introductory Address, & by their Letter to Congress you will see what dependance they place upon the other States to carry the whole into Execution: tho' the Report of the Springfeild Convention has been so highly approved for the solidity of its principles, yet no state has fully comply’d but ours; Connecticut has not stopped the Currency of their States money, by means of which prices are higher here than with us: I hope Congress will consider these matters as objects of continual attention, for if this System fails, it were better we had not meddled with it: Regulation of prices is really a very unnatural measure, & nothing but Extremity can justify or execute it; the reducing the quantity of Currency is the grand Object & Remedy, to effect which every Engine must be set to work: the Requisition of Congress to raise five million, gave general satisfaction & the extra proportion upon N. England in consideration of a larger proportion of money being there is well accepted, but upon this subject I wish to observe, that money being designed for circulation is 13 not always to be found in the same place, & it is said that the Merchants with us begin to complain that they are put to it to make large payments, & really are offering & urging the sale of all kinds of Goods wch. have been hoarded up: if this be the Case a very close Eye should be kept on the progress of the money, & wheresoever it is found to accumulate, let suitable requisitions, upon the late plan of giving Credit, be sent after it: Money always comes easiest from those places where they have the most of it, I am really afraid that if this matter is not attended to, that the Currency of Virginia So. Carolina &c thrô their surplusage of money in the course of trade will be depreciated as much as it was this way; as we can but see clearly how this Evil hapned to us, we shall be unpardonable if we dont prevent its taking place in the other states; That great Engine Taxation must be studied & practiced, the essential part of which is the assessing the taxes in the most equitable mode. We have made a new tax Bill, by wch. every one is to pay in proportion to the amount of his whole estate Real & personal, this makes larger taxes sit higher & every one is willing to pay to his utmost provided it be no more than his proportion.
PS: my best respects to Messrs. Lovel & Dana, pray show this letter & to the members of Congress if you think proper