288

STATE NOTES-STERLING.

found in Tate's Counting House Guide, and in Seyd's Bullion and Foreign Exchanges, both of which works may be consulted with great advantage by those who wish for a thorough knowledge of the subject.

State Notes. Notes issued by any State or Government containing a promise to pay to the bearer on demand a certain amount of metallic money. These notes, if the promise to pay is always kept, are as acceptable to most people as money. In Russia, Austria, Italy, and some other European States, they are at a discount. In some others, as Turkey, the discount is very heavy, and the paper is not worth more than one-tenth its nominal value. (See Caimes, Paper Currency, &c.)

Sterling. The earliest documents speak of a sterling as another name for the English silver penny, which for many years was the unit of monetary value in this country. In a Charter of Henry III. we read :

In centum marcis bonorum novorum et legalium sterlingorum tredecim solid, et 4 sterling: pro quâlibet marcâ computetis." (In one hundred marks; for every mark you shall reckon thirteen shillings and pence of good new and lawful sterlings.)

4

The shilling at this time was not a coin, but a number of coins equal to twelve silver pennies.

In a Statute of Edward I. :

"Denarius Anglice qui vocatur Sterlingus." (A penny which we in English call a Sterling.) Here sterling is evidently used as an alternative name for the denarius or penny.

In a Statute of David II., King of Scotland, the word was used as synonymous with money in general.

“Moneta nostra, videlicet sterlingi non deferatur extra regnum." (Our money, namely, sterlings, shall not be carried out of the kingdom.) Again, in one of the old chronicles we read:

:

"In this yere (1351) William Edginton made the kyng to make a new coyne-destroying alle the elde sterlynges which were of gretter weight!

In all these quotations, it is evident from the context that the word sterling was used as the name of a coin, and not in reference to the quality or purity of the coinage. As to the origin of the name many conjectures have been offered. Walter de Pinchbeck, a monk of Bury, in the time of Edward I., says :-

"Sed moneta Angliæ fertur dicta fuisse a nominibus opificum, ut Floreni a nominibus Florentiorum, ita Sterlingi a nominibus Esterlingorum nomina sua contraxerant, qui hujus modi monetam in Angliæ primitus componebant." (But the coinage of England is said to have derived its name from the name of the craftsmen, as Florens from the Florentines, so Sterlings from the Easterlings, who were the first to fabricate this kind of money in England.)

This, however, reads like one of those "shots," of which the old monkish chroniclers were so fond. It is, nevertheless, almost the only ground for the prevalent opinion as to the origin of the name.

By sterling" is now meant English money, as distinct as from that of all other nations. The word is often used metaphorically, to indicate purity, or superiority of any kind, as "sterling silver" and " sterling character."

Stiver. (a.) The 20th part of the Dutch guilder, value ld.

(b.) The 6th part of the Cape of Good Hope schilling, value of a penny, English.

Stock. Anglo-Saxon, stoc; Belgian, stock; and provincial German, stuke, the trunk of a tree, whence the diminutive, sticca, and English, stick, a branch of a tree, a small piece of wood. (See Tally.)

This homely English word found its way into the higher regions of finance, through a practice which prevailed in the Court of Exchequer for many centuries. It was the custom when money was borrowed for State purposes to record the transaction by means of notches on a stick (commonly hazel), and then to split the stick through the notches. The lender took one half as a proof of his claim against the Exchequer, and it was called his Stock. The Exchequer kept the other half which was called the CounterStock, and which answered the same purpose as was served in after-times by the "counterfoil." Hence it appears that the term Stock was originally applied to the material sign and proof of money lent. But as the thing signified was of greater importance to both parties than the sign, it was at length transferred to the money itself, or rather to the right to claim it. In this way Stock came to be understood as money lent to the Government, and eventually to any public body whatever, and the different funds subscribed from time to time came to be called "The Stocks." In modern finance, the term is applied to an imaginary sum of money, almost invariably £100, on which interest is paid at a given rate in perpetuity. Hence, a person who buys Stock, simply buys a right to receive the said interest; and this right he may sell again, but the principal sum is altogether imaginary, and cannot be claimed. Consols, Railway Stocks, and Stocks in Commercial Companies are examples. In the first of these, any amount of Stock can be purchased and held that does not involve fractions of a penny. In Railway Stocks the limit more commonly stands at one shilling or one pound, and any amount of Stock in quantities, not involving fractions of a shilling or pound, may be obtained. In this respect, Stock differs from Bonds, Debentures, Shares, and Obligations, which are invariably for round sums, as £10, £20, £50, £100, and so on; nevertheless, the term Stocks is currently used in a loose way, to signify Bonds, Shares, and Financial Securities of any kind whatsoever.

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The phrase "an old stocking," which is popularly supposed to mean old hose," or covering for the foot, is said to have originated in the practice of laying by a private stock of money against emergencies, which process was called "stocking;" whence, a sum that had been made up of small savings spread over a great length of time would be called "an old stocking." Mr. Bagehot. in one of

U

290

STOPPED-SUCRÈ.

his "Essays on Finance," uses the phrase freely, and in such a manner as to give countenance to this view.

Stopped. Payment Stopped. It often happens that bank-notes, cheques, bonds, and other instruments are lost or stolen, and with a view to recover them it is customary to go to the bank or other office through which it must or is likely to be passed, and request that a "stop" may be put upon such note, cheque, &c. It must not, however, be inferred that a bank has the power to refuse payment of a note or cheque to Bearer when presented. All that a bank can do lawfully is to tell the person presenting it that it has been lost or stolen. If the person thus presenting it has come by it honestly and in the ordinary way of business, it is to his interest that the matter should be inquired into, and he is hardly likely to refuse time for such inquiry. If he should refuse, that act alone would be prima facie evidence that he had some reason best known to himself for stifling inquiry. For the honour of the bank, or of the drawer of the cheque, he might under these circumstances receive payment of the note or cheque, but it is most probable that he would not have left the office long, or proceeded many steps before he found himself in the hands of a detective, and accused of having stolen or lost property in his possession, and for which he would be called upon to give an account in a court of law. Hence, whenever the honest holder of any instrument finds that a "stop" is put upon it, his wisest course is to acquiesce in the arrangement and afford every facility in his power for the clearing up of the matter, and not to stand too pertinaciously on his abstract rights. At the same time, it will be admitted that those rights are in some cases of a most substantial kind. For example, a bank note, a cheque to bearer, a bill endorsed in blank, and many foreign bonds all go by simple delivery, and possession proves property in them in all cases. Nor would this right be invalidated by acquiescing in the "stop," and so giving time for inquiry. It does not, however, follow that either of these instruments need be detained because a "stop" has been put upon it. All that is meant technically by a stop" is the taking note of some name, number or description of an instrument, so that when it comes into the possession of the proper officer or clerk, attention shall be drawn to it, and steps taken to trace the finder, thief, or other offending party.

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Strikes. A strike is a combination among workmen with a view to exact a certain rate of wages by a refusal to work unless their terms are complied with. Strikes, like street brawls between individuals, or wars between nations, always entail much loss and suffering to both contending parties, and until both nations and individuals are sufficiently enlightened to see the advantages of conciliation over revenge, revenge will continue to be, as it always has been, the rough and ready instrument by which the aggrieved party seeks to enforce his claims.

Sucre. The hard dollar of Ecuador, equal in weight and fineness to the French silver 5-franc piece.

SUM PAYABLE-SYCEE.

291

Sum Payable. The sum payable on a bill, cheque, draft, or promissory note, is the sum written at full length on the body of it. The sum written in figures on the margin is placed there for convenience, and if through error or inadvertence it differs from the sum stated on the body, the instrument is good for the sum written at length. Supply and Demand. French equivalent, l'offre et la demande. 'Supply" is from the Latin, suppleo, to fill up, to supply. "Demand," from the French, demander, to ask, to ask for.

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Supply and demand are correlative terms. Supply signifies the quantity of the various commodities brought into the market and offered for sale. Demand signifies the desire for those commodities on the part of persons who have something to offer in exchange. It should be observed that the word "demand" in commerce, contains two factors, both of which are essential, namely (1), the desire for a thing, and (2), the possession of something to give in exchange. For it is obvious that the mere desire for an article, however strong that desire might be, would not induce the owner of the article to part with it, unless an equivalent were given in return; and, on the other hand, if a man possessed ever so much wealth, that wealth would not create a demand for commodities of any kind for which he had no desire. The word "supply." in like manner, contains two factors; it means in economics, (1), the making of an article, and (2), the bringing into the market and offering it for sale.

Supra Protest. (See Protest.)

Suspense Account. A private account kept by a merchant or banker of sundry items which at the moment cannot be placed in the regular accounts. Owing to postal irregularities, deaths, oversights, and various causes, moneys have somtimes to be credited, and charges to be debited, but at the time, it is not clear to whom. Such items are temporarily placed in the Suspense Account, to be transferred as soon as the proper creditor or debtor is determined. Sweating. A fraudulent process practised on coins, by which their weight is reduced. It is effected by attrition or solution.

Sycee or Sysee. The English pronounciation of the word se-tze or se-sze, which primarily means "fine silk." The word is applied to silver, as in the phrase "sycee silver," either on account of the silky appearance presented by the rough blocks of Chinese silver when new and fresh from the refinery, or, as others say, because, when nearly pure, it can be drawn into threads as fine as silk. For pure or fine silver, the Chinese term is wän-yin. Sycee silver was first en at the Bank of England in 1849.

292

TAEL-TALENT.

T.

T. T. Telegraphic Transfer.

Tael. The unit of value, and the unit of weight in China.

The weight of the Tael is equal to 579-84 grains Troy (commonly taken as 580 grains), and is called Canton weight.

The unit of value, called the Tael, consists of 580 grains of Sycee silver (see Sycee), and is exchanged at the rate of 720 Taels for 1,000 Mexican Dollars. At this rate

The Tael, therefore, when of full weight is worth 5s. 113d. English, but allowing for abrasion and other irregularities is rarely worth more than 58. 10d.

The Tael is divided into 10 mace of 10 candareens each.

The Tael of Japan is divided into 10 Mas = 100 Candareens = 1000 Leni or cash.

It is giving place to the newly introduced decimal system. (See Yen and Sen.)

Taken in Stock. Bonds, Shares, Debentures, or other Securities taken in by a merchant or banker as security for a loan. The term is applied solely to stocks taken in for fortnightly or monthly loans on the Stock Exchange.

Falent. From the Greek, Taxavτov, a balance; plural, Taλavra, a pair of scales. Afterwards it came to signify anything weighed, and at length a definite weight. When used in reference to the precious metals, a talent of gold or of silver gradually assumed the character of a monetary unit, but was not at first represented by a coin; ingots or bars containing a talent's weight of gold or silver formed the primitive money of the Hebrews and ancient Greeks. There is no evidence of coined money among the Hebrews until after the return from Babylon, 530 B.C.; nor among the Greeks till the time of Pheidon, King of Argos and Egina, about 700 B.C.

The weight called a Talent, both among the Hebrews and the Greeks, underwent great changes from time to time, so that it is almost impossible to say what the metallic value of the talent was as measured in our money, unless we know all the circumstances of time and place under which it is mentioned. In general terms it may be said that the talent consisted of 60 mīnas, the mina appearing to have had more of the character of a monetary unit than the talent; but as there was a large or heavy mina, and a small mina in circulation at one and the same time, and as they are often used in such a way as to make it quite uncertain which is meant, great obscurity hangs over the whole subject. Nevertheless some two or three talents, which acquired greater celebrity than others, are pretty well known, The following values have been determined by Mr. Barclay, V. Head of the British Museum: