> france was now fully committed to a policy of inflation; and, if there had been any question of this before, all doubts were removed now by various acts very significant as showing the exceeding difficulty of stopping a nation once in the full tide of a depreciating currency. the national assembly had from the first shown an amazing liberality to all sorts of enterprises, wise or foolish, which were urged "for the good of the people." as a result of these and other largesses the old cry of the "lack of a circulating medium" broke forth again; and especially loud were the clamors for more small bills. the cheaper currency had largely driven out the dearer; paper had caused small silver and copper money mainly to disappear; all sorts of notes of hand, circulating under the name of "confidence bills," flooded francesixty-three kinds in paris alone. this unguaranteed currency caused endless confusion and fraud. different districts of france began to issue their own assignats in small denominations, and this action stirred the national assembly to evade the solemn pledge that the circulation should not go above twelve hundred millions and that all assignats returned to the treasury for lands should immediately be burned. 24 within a short time there had been received into the treasury for lands one hundred and sixty million livres in paper. by the terms of the previous acts this amount of paper ought to have been retired. instead of this, under the plea of necessity, the greater part of it was reissued in the form of small notes.
Canada