The History of American Economy(5)

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The History of American Economy(5)
转载自《英语学习》


　　Currencies of the Colonies

　　北美殖民地的货币在当今世人的眼中，美元大钞地位尊贵，可谓最炙手可热的货币，殊不知其出身之卑微。殖民地初期，物物交换与记账交易司空见惯，尤其在朋友、熟人之间。但一般性的商业活动仍需某种正规的交换媒介。因此，建立并保持一种适宜的货币渐渐成为当时的一个紧迫问题。

　　One of the earliest forms of money, borrowed from the Indians, was wampum, black and white polished beads made from clam shells. Wampum circulated as legal tender(注1) for private debts in Massachusetts until 1661 and was used as money in New York as late as 1701. In Maryland and Virginia, tobacco was initially the principal medium of exchange, while other colonies designated as "country pay" (acceptable for taxes) such items as hides, furs, tallow, cows, corn, wheat, beans, pork, fish, brandy, whisky, and musket balls. Hurried public officials were often swindledsintosreceiving a poor quality of "country pay."

　　Clearly, one of the major problems in using commodity money(注2), besides inconvenience, spoilage, and storage difficulties, was quality control because it was in an individual's self-interest to make payments whenever possible with low-quality goods. One of the earliest domestically(注3) initiated regulations, the Maryland Tobacco Inspection Act of 1747, addressed this issue. The Act was mainly designed to increase the value of tobacco exports from Maryland. This move toward quality control ultimately did raise the value of Maryland's tobacco exports, but it also set firm standards of quality control for tobacco money. In fact, because paper certificates called inspection notes were given on inspected tobacco, the circulation of money became easier. A Maryland planter in 1753 reported on "the Advantage ofshavingsTobacco Notes in my pocket, as giving me credit for the quantity mentioned in them wherever I went, and that I was thereby at large to dispose of them when, to whom, andswheresI pleased; whereas, before this Act, my credit could not be expected to go beyond my own Neighborhood, or at farthest,swheresI might be known.(注4)”

　　Despite the problems, commodity money was extensively used in the colonies in the seventeenth century. By the early eighteenth century, however, both specie(注5) (gold or silver) and paper currency were common in the major seaboard cities, and by the end of the colonial period, commodities—particularly furs—were accepted only in communities along the western frontier(注6).

　　Because of the sizable colonial trades with many overseas areas, the gold and silver coins of all the important commercial countries of Europe and their dependencies(注7) in the Western Hemisphere were freely exchanged throughout the eastern seaboard. More important than English coins, which could not be legally exported from Britain to the colonies(注8), were the sliver coins of the Spanish mint. These were struck in Mexico City and Lima and introducedsintosthe colonial economy via vigorous trading with the Spanish colonies. Spanish dollars were so common in the colonies that the coin was eventually adopted as the monetary unit of the United States.

　　Although Massachusetts first attempted to mint coins of low bullion(注9) content as early as 1652, the colonies eventually turned to paper to increase their meager and undependable(注10) money supply. The promissory notes(注11) of well-known individuals and bills of exchange(注12) drawn on English merchants readily exchanged hands for several months. In addition, treasures of the various colonies began to issue promissory notes in advance of tax collection and issue written orders to town officers requiring the payments of obligations from local stores; like other negotiable instruments, these pieces of paper were exchanged on endorsement(注13) as money.

　　In 1690, Massachusetts issued the first bills of credit to pay soldiers. During the next 65 years, at least eight other colonies followed this example to meet financial emergencies, especially payments of war-related efforts. Bills of credit were issued with the proviso(注14) that they were to be redeemed in specie at some future date; in the meantime, they were accepted for taxes by the issuing colony. Such redemption provisions, although restricted, facilitated the free circulation of these bills as money. In some states—notably Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and South Carolina—the bills were commonly overissued, thereby depreciating their value relative to specie. The same difficulty was encountered with the paper of the publicly owned "banks" established by colonial governments(注15). These institutions, unlike anything we call a bank today, issued "loan bills" to individuals, usually based on the security of land or houses. Borrowers used the bills to meet their obligations and were usually required to repay the debt, with interest, in annual installments.

　　Occasionally, despite public issues of paper, private remedies were still undertaken, as exemplified by one merchant's April 1761 announcement in the Maryland Gazette:“As I daily suffer much inconvenience in my Business for Want of(注16) small Change, which indeed is a universal Complaint of almost everybody in any Sort of Business, I intend... to print ... a parcel of small notes, from three pence to two shillings(注17) and six pence each, to pass current at the same rate as the Money under the Inspecting Law, and to be exchanged by me...for good Spanish Dollars at seven shillings and six pence each dollar.”




美国经济发展纵览(5)
　　第安人的贝壳串珠，一种蚌壳磨成的黑白珠子。贝壳串珠在马萨诸塞作为用来清偿私人债务的法定货币一直流通到1661年，并在纽约作为货币使用直到1701年。在马里兰和弗吉尼亚，烟草为最初主要的交换媒介，其他殖民地则把兽皮、皮毛、油脂、母牛、玉米、小麦、豆类、猪肉、鱼、白兰地、威士忌以及子弹等物品指定为“乡村货币”(交税时使用)。忙乱的政府官员们经常被蒙骗而接收劣质的“乡村货币”。

　　显然，除了不方便、易腐化以及储存困难外，使用实物货币的一个主要问题在于质量把关，因为人们为了自身利益尽可能地用低劣的物品进行支付。最早在殖民地出台的法规之一《马里兰烟草检验法》(1747)即旨在解决这一问题。该法令主要是为了增加马里兰出口烟草的价值。这一质量控制举措最终的确使马里兰烟草出口的价值提高了，还为充当货币的烟草制定了严格的质量标准。事实上，对受验烟草签发被称为检验单的纸制票据，使货币流通变得更容易了。1753年，一位马里兰州的种植者报告说：“口袋里揣着烟草检验单的好处是，不管到哪里它都能保证我的烟草信誉，这样我就可以随时随地把一定数量的烟草轻松脱手给任何人；而在这个法令出现以前，我的信誉只被周围的人所了解，最远也只能到可能有人知道我的地方。”

　　尽管有这么多问题，实物货币在十七世纪的殖民地地区却还是广泛使用。而到了十八世纪初，金银铸币和纸币均在沿海大城市普遍使用。到殖民地时期结束时，实物货币，尤其是皮毛，只在沿西部边疆地区被接受。

　　由于殖民地与许多海外地区的大量贸易，所有欧洲重要商业国以及他们在西半球领地的金银铸币在北美东海岸可自由交换。由于法律不允许英国货币从英国流向殖民地，相比之下，西班牙的银币更加重要。这些银币在墨西哥城及利马铸造，再通过与西班牙殖民地兴旺的贸易活动进入美洲殖民地经济。西班牙币在殖民地被普遍使用，因此这种硬币最后成为美国货币单位。

　　虽然早在1652年马萨诸塞率先铸造低含金量的硬币，但殖民地最后转而印制纸币以补充短缺且不可靠的货币供给。著名人士的期票与签发给英国商人的汇票几个月内就能顺利转手。此外，各个殖民地的财政部门开始在收税前签发期票，同时向城镇官员下达书面命令要求当地店铺履行付款义务；如其他可转让的单据一样，这些票据经背书后可作为货币进行交换。

　　1690年，马萨诸塞发行第一批取款凭单向士兵支付酬劳。在此后的65年中，至少有另外八个州效仿此举以应付财政紧张状况，尤其是有关战争的支付。发行取款凭单的附带条件是凭单会在将来某日以货币赎回；同时签发凭单的殖民地可将这些凭单当作税款接受。虽然有条件限制，但这种赎单方式有助于单据像货币一样自由流通。在罗德岛、马萨诸塞、康涅狄格和南卡罗来纳等州，这种单据通常过量发行，使其相对于硬币有所贬值。由殖民地政府建立的公共“银行”的票据也遇到了同样的问题。不同于我们今天所说的银行，这些机构通常以土地和房屋做抵押向个人发行贷款凭据。借款者用此类票据支付债务并且通常要以逐年分摊并支付利息的方式偿还贷款。

　　除了政府发行的票据外，间或也有个人发明的清偿方式。正如一位商人1761年4月在《马里兰报》的声明中所说：“我每天因缺少零钱而给生意带来不便，这对于几乎做任何生意的人都是个问题。所以我打算自己印制一批小额钞票，面值为3便士、2先令和6便士，与符合检验法律的货币一样流通，并可在我这里按每西币7先令6便士兑换成西班牙币。”


注释1.法定货币，还债法币。法律规定在所有公私债务的支付中必须接受的货币，并由国家以法律形式规定在国内强制流通。

2.商品货币，实物货币，是最原始的货币形式。

3.虽然北美十三个殖民地在联合成为美利坚和众国之前都受英国管制，但相互独立各自为政，可颁布自己的法律。

4.殖民地时期北美大陆的英语仍然保留正统的英国英语，即Queen's English的特征，文中的关键词语首字母大写，以示强调。

5.硬币、铸币。

6.美国的边疆随着殖民拓居活动的扩展而不断向西推进。而最初的13个殖民地所在的狭长地带的边疆即靠近阿巴拉契亚山脉的地区。

7.属地，属国。

8.在重商主义的支配下，英国大力提倡通过出口增加黄金、白银流入。殖民地的贸易赤字使得金银币流向海外，造成殖民地金银币不足。

9.金块，黄金。

10.指殖民地黄金铸造的硬币供应得不到保证。

11.期票，借据。指由债务人向债权人承诺，在确定日期内无条件支付一定金额的可转让票据。

12.汇票，商业汇票。由收款人对付款人开出的一种票据，经付款人在票据上签署承兑，承诺汇票到期即付款给持票人。

13. Endorsement = indorsement背书，指收款人在可能转让票据的背面签字或书写文句，也指将票据权转让给被背书人的做法。背书人为endorser,承受背书票据的人为endorsee。

14. proviso:限制性条款，附带条件。

15.美国在殖民地时期没有银行，因而各殖民地创造并使用私人货币，如借据和汇票。

16. for want of:因为缺少……。

17. shilling:先令，美国早期的货币单位。1镑=20先令，1先令=12便士，已于1971年2月14日废止使用。

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