My thanks for your most acceptable present of the new American Prayer Book, and for your obliging Letter of the 30 May last, shall be more fully expressed (I hope) in another separate Letter. At present I am more anxious to communicate, as soon as possible, a mode of establishing a paper Currency, which will not be liable to depreciation, and yet, for internal Traffic and exchange will answer all the purposes of Current Coin. Lest I should lose the opportunity of sending by the first Ship, I packed up a manuscript Copy of my proposal on this head in a separate Cover addressed to you (but without any letter to explain the motives, and occasion of it) and I sent it away last night to go by the first Ship. The Scheme of a paper Currency was not the object of my intention and Study when I first began to draw up the regulations in which it is contained (vizt. Regulations for a new Settlement on the African Coast of poor Negroes, Indians, and others, now about to embark from hence) but I found it to be the necessary tho’ unexpected result of a combination of Systems, all of which I though indispensable for the welfare of a new Settlement wherein order and Right, was to be maintained as well as perfect liberty, and natural equality!

The general substance of the Plan, in short, is, that Free Labour in the cultivation of Land should be rendered creditable, by making the profession (at least) of it general to all males, rich as well as poor. This may be effected by appointing ordinary Labour to be the medium of Traffic, as well as the only object of Taxation. Let all males, above 18 Years of age in each Hundred Division of Householders, give a certain number of Indents for Days labour to a public Bank or Exchequer in the same Hundred to the amount of One Tenth of the working Days in a Year, for all parochial Rates, Poor &ca. and another Tenth for all public Exigencies of the state, vizt. in all 62 Days in the Year, or one fifth of the Working Days. These Indents must be duly apportioned for the convenience of Exchange; One Indent for 20 Days, one for 10, some for 5, some for single Days, and others for single Hours, and even for 10 Minutes labour; that they may answer all the purposes of Bills and Cash in circulation and they will not be liable to diminish in value because each piece of paper will have the credit of a known individual in his Hundred, competent to labour, as well as the credit of the public Bank for its support.

And therefore, instead of Pounds, Shillings, and pence, the due medium of Traffic and Exchange will be equally regular in portions of time. A Cow, a Horse, a Bushel of Corn, will each be worth a proportionate number of Days Labour; and a Fowl, a Fish, or other small Articles, will be worth so many Hours and Minutes Labour, according to their size and value. The Rich will of course redeem their own personal Labour, of the public Banks, by the production of their Lands, or other means; and the Tax may be rendered proport by requiring the Value of an increased Number of Days from Persons who can afford to redeem. The Merchants, Tradesmen, and useful Artificers will balance their Debt of personal Labour in the books of the Bank by the Indents for ordinary Labour, which they will obtain for wh they well, or for their more profitable labour as Artificers, Carpenters , Smiths &ca. so that mere Labourers or Husbandmen will be the only Tillers of the Land, tho’ Indents for Labour are given by all Ranks of people. The Public Banks alone, are to demand the labour of Individuals (giving them timely notice in their summ of the required attendance in order to avoid inconvenience, as much as my be, to the Labourers. And the public Labour of a Day is to be limited to 8 Hours that the Labourers may have some leisure Hours in the same day, to work on their own Lots of Land. By this means Labouring Men will obtain a comfortable subsistence for themselves and Families, and will besides be enabled to purchase any necessaries they may want, by giving to the Merchant or Tradesman for his Goods or to the Artificer for his work, Indents for as many Days labour as the goods, or workmanship, may be worth: which Indents the Merchants, Tradesmen, or Artificers, in their turn, will immediately realize by paying them into the public Bank to the Credit of their own Accompts; and will thereby, not only vacate the personal Labour, before due from themselves to the public, but will also obtain, according to the amount of their dealing, a balance of labour in their own favour, which they   either dispose of to planters for produce, or else may draw out as cash for circulation. Public Lands are also to be appointed, on which the public Labour is to be bestowed if not demanded of the Banks by Planters for their private lots at a reasonable rate of Interest or advantage to the publick: and One indent and the produce of the public Lots may be expected to amount at least to triple the value of the labour bestowed on the Land: which, with the value of Fines of Labour for neglects of duty, and for all immoralities &ca. will amount to a very great public Revenue. The same scheme, applyed to the population of England and Wales, produces near 40 Millions of Pounds Sterling, which is almost 3 times the effective produce of all our complicated Burthens and endless Taxes put together! I read the whole Plan carefully over to Dr. Price who assured me that I am not mistaken; for I had much suspected a mistake because the advantages appear’d far too great to be true; but the Dr. was of a different opinion, and did not doubt of the success of the Plan if duly executed; and explained to me the cause of such a prodigious accumulation of profit. For further particulars I must refer to the M.S. Regulations for the African Settlement, which, I hope, will safely reach your hands. How far Luxury and Pride, as in older States, may have already advanced in America, so as to render these regulations inadmissable there in the present state of affairs, I cannot judge; but I think it may at least be tryed in some of your new Settlements by way of experiment; though, indeed, I should not dispair of its success even in the older States, if the several Systems proposed therein were fiarly adopted. Frankpledge, the chief Pillar of the Scheme, I have long recommended to your States, without having the satisfaction of hearing that any, the least, attention has been paid to it: and yet I am confident that no State can be perfectly orderly and loyal, perfectly disciplined for mutual Defence, and perfectly free, at the same time, by any other means. A general agrarian Law another essential Branch of the Scheme for an efficient or sterling paper Currency) is also, of itself alone, a System that would be infinitely advantageous to America. And I would earnestly recommend that the several States should immediately buy up, at the present low price, all the Land they can possibly obtain either by money or credit; and that they should sell it again, for the future, in such small portions only as the buyers themselves may be able to cultivate. This measure together with some other limitations which I have recommended for the new African Settlement, would establish (I sincerely believe) the pecuniary credit of America; and private Individuals would be much better able to fulfil their Engagements. The present State of pecuniary Credit in America is deplorable it seems, even to a proverb! And I am sorry that I have a right to say so, for my family in particular are likely to be great sufferers by it, having very large Sums due from American Merchants of the first character and consequence in London, who cannot obtain sufficient Remittences from their correspondents in America; so that they are in arrear to a very alarming degree particularly to the House of my Sister (the Widow of my late dear Brother James Sharp) in the Ironmongery Branch, in which the   part of the fortune of the whole Family is invested! You see my Dear Sir, that I am really interested in promoting the pecuniary    of America; and it is, indeed, the first time that any public Scheme was ever blended with the least taint of private interest: but even this, I trust the benefit will not be at all peculiar to the private of myself and my family, but at the same time will be eminently   able both to the public and private Interest of all America, as well as highly beneficial to all Merchants and Manufacturers of Great Britain and Ireland who have any connections with the American Trade. I intend to print the Scheme, for a more general communication of it in America but lest any time should be lost I thought it right to send it, first of all to yourself in M.S. because I perceive that all the public    are filled with dismal accounts of the Disputes and Difficulties attending the American attempts to establish a paper Currency. I remain with great respect and esteem, Dear Sir Your much obliged humble Servant