tead of steam, and thus render railway transit
possible in arid deserts; and while the electric telegraph not only
connects us with the continent of Europe, but is about to cross the
Atlantic. With all these powers at command, men will not long be
confined to the narrow boundaries in which they are at present
congregated; and in comparison with future improvements in every
branch of industry, the present time may come to be regarded as one
when they were bunglers in industrial art, and mere scratchers of the
soil instead of cultivators.

And not the least important among the elements of national prosperity,
will be found an abundance of the circulating medium. ''Tis certain,'
says Hume, 'that since the discovery of the mines in America, industry
has increased in all the nations of Europe, except in the possessors
of those mines; and this may justly be ascribed, amongst other
reasons, to the increase of gold and silver. Accordingly, we find that
in every kingdom into which money begins to flow in greater abundance
than formerly, everything takes a new face--labour and industry gain
life; the merchant becomes more enterprising; the manufacturer more
diligent and skilful; and even the farmer follows his plough with
greater alacrity and attention.'

The exception of Spain alone is a curious example and warning to
nations, as shewing how the best gifts may be abused and converted
into a curse instead of a blessing; for, believing the possession of
gold and silver to be the only true wealth, they attempted to
accumulate these metals by preventing the exportation of them by
absurd restrictions; and this policy, added to her bigotry and
persecution, has left Spain to this day an example of the results of
restriction, powerless and poor, a haunt of the robber and the
smuggler.

An abundance of the circulating medium will always be found to be an
important element in national prosperity; and so great has been the
conviction of this fact, that a whole school of political economists
have advocated a paper-currency, in order to escape from the danger of
restriction. 'Give us,' say they, 'paper-money, the basis of which
shall be, not this scarce, restrictive gold, but the real wealth of
the country in commodities of every kind.' It was Sir Robert Peel who
explained the danger of these views, by shewing that paper-notes
issued against commodities would tend to increase the fluctuations of
the prices of those commodities. By the ac