Vales. Paper values in the Argentine Republic similar to our I. O. U.s. Value. French, valoir, to be worth; Italian, valòre; Spanish, valer, avaliar ; all from the Latin, valere, to be well, to be in good health, to be worth, to avail, to be able. The old English form of the word was valour, as Sir T. More writes: "the valour of a peny;" or valure. "The same day ther was offered and given well to the valure of three thousand frâkes." Value is a quality vested in things in consequence of their being esteemed and desired. By" things." in the above definition, is to be understood (a) material things, as gold, silver, timber, houses, land, pictures, air, water, paper, documents, &c. (b.) Immaterial things, 3 friendship, opinion, beauty, skill, character, ease, security, duty, honour, &c. It must also be observed that the quality of value is "vested" in things; by which term attention is directed to the fact, that value is not a quality inherent in the things themselves, but is imparted to them by the action of some force from the outside. The force thus indicated is that of human esteem and desire. Some things, as gold, silver, land, and house property, have been esteemed and desired so long and so universally, that they are commonly thought of as possessing some inherent or intrinsic value. There are others so little esteemed or desired that they possess but little or no value, such as chalk. But if, in the progress of invention, some very extensive use should be found for carbonic acid, and lime, our chalkhills might become mines of wealth to the possessors, owing to the value set upon the chalk as a source of these products, arising from the desire of everybody to possess them. Economists make a distinction between things that have a value in use, and those which have a value in exchange. There are many things-some material, some immaterial-which are very valuable in use, but of little value in exchange; such as air, water, wild flowers, friendship, love, ease. These things, either on account of their abundance, or because they are not susceptible of measurement and transfer, have little value set upon them in the markets of the world, yet they are much esteemed and universally desired: in other words, they are highly valued for the sake of the enjoyment which the use of them affords. Shortly, it may be said that value in use depends mainly on the feelings of those who use the things so valued. Value in exchange, while largely dependent on these feelings, is also greatly affected by qualities in the things themselves; such as scarcity, difficulty of attainment, susceptibility of measurement and transfer, the labour and skill embodied in them. It has been said that "The value of a thing Is just as much as it will bring, which is a very fair definition of the term. Mr. McLeod says more precisely, "the value of any Economic Quantity is any other Economic Quantity for which it can be exchanged." Professor JEVONS, in his Theory of Political Economy, proposes to reject the term, and to substitute "Ratio of Exchange." Valuta. Russian paper money. Vellon. Real-Vellon. Reale de Vellon or Vellou. Latin, vellus, a lock of wool torn from a sheep: a sheepskin with the wool on it. Old English, fell, a skin still retained in the word fellmonger. German, Fell, a skin, or hide. Spanish, vellon, a fleece. The Latin, vellera, fleeces, was used in poetry to signify sheep, much in the same way as we use "head of cattle," to signify the cattle themselves. Vellon, in the Spanish language, appears to possess the same hazy sort of importance that " sterling" does in ours. The Reale de Vellon, the Ducado de Vellon, the Maravedi de Vellon, have taken rank among the most esteemed coins of Spain: and their names seem to point to a time when sheep and cattle, or their skins, formed the currency of the country. Venezolano. The unit of value and of acconnt in the United States of Venezuela, in conformity with the Monetary Law of May, 1871; and is represented both by gold and silver coins. The Gold Venezolano weighs 1613 grammes 900 fine. It is worth 5 francs, or £1982, or 3s. 11 d. sterling. Gold pieces of 20, 10, 5 and 1 venezolano are struck. The Silver Venezolano is identical in weight, fineness, and value with the French five-franc piece, and to this extent is conformity with the requirements of the Latin monetary convention. The Venezolano is also sometimes called the Bolivar: but as this latter name is also applied to two other coins, it is important to distinguish them, thus: : In the carefully constructed tables by M. Sudre, for the Annuaire par le Bureau des Longitudes, he gives Bolivar as the alternative name for the 20-venezolano piece, which is worth 100 francs. But in a report issued 21 July, 1881, the Venezuelan Consul, when quoting sums of money in Bolivares, makes a definite note-"The value of a Bolivar is equivalent to that of a franc," which is only one-fifth of the venezolano. Ventem. A Portuguese coin valued at 20 reis. Via. Under the article Foreign Bill, it is said that such bills are drawn in sets of two or three. Each one of the set is called a " Via," and is of equal validity with either of the others, until one is accepted. when all three are fastened together, and become one bill. Of course the drawee takes care, after accepting one via, not to accept another, but simply waits till the others come into his hands, as they are sure to do before they become payable or arrive at maturity. These vias differ from mere copies, which are often made when only one via has been drawn. Α copy, it is true, may be negotiated in VOUCHER-WAGES. 315 place of the original, but it derives its value from the original; whereas either via is on a par with the others, and when accepted, renders the others worthless. Voucher. From the Latin, vocare, to call; vocatio, a calling: Norman-French, voucher, to call, a calling. This word was formerly used in law to denote the calling upon a defendant to answer to a claim or charge about to be made against him. In this sense it continued to be used for some centuries, till it got mixed up in popular speech, when its original meaning was almost entirely lost sight of, and it came to signify almost the opposite of what it first expressed: that is to say, a voucher in its modern acceptation is a document, invoice, or other paper which answers to a call, or bears witness, or affords proof respecting some matter under examination. The transition from one meaning to the other was not violent. The voucher was a "calling" upon a defendant: or it might be a "calling" upon witnesses in favour of a defendant; or again it might be a "calling" for documents, title-deeds, accounts, warrants, contracts, or receipts, by way of proof. In commerce, it was papers of this latter kind that were called" for: and as more importance was attached to the papers than to the person who called for them, the name of voucher was in course of time completely transferred to the documents themselves. Another way of accounting for the application of the name voucher to the thing called for is, that it is a corruption of the correlative term vouchee. If this derivation could be substantiated by examples, it would be a very natural one; for all the defendants, witnesses, documents, &c., were denominated with strict accuracy vouchees (things called), and the corruption of vouchee into voucher, is not more gross than is found in scores of instances furnished by the hasty and uncritical language prevailing among men of business. W. Wager Policies, or Wagering Policies. Policies containing the phrase "interest, or no interest," intended to signify insurance of money when no property is on board the ship. A policy of this nature is a mere bet that a vessel will or will not arrive in port safe and sound within a given time; or that an individual named will or will not live till a certain age. These policies are not recognized in law. Wages. From French, gager; German, wagen: Dutch, waagen, all meaning to venture, to throw down as a pledge, to hazard. In agricultural communities, where the term was first used, the term, gage, wage, or venture, expresses very accurately the nature of the pledge between an employer and his labourers, Although he knew there would be no 316 WAGES FUND-WEALTH. return for what he paid to his labourers, until the in gathering of his harvest, the employer "ventured" and "pledged" himself to give certain compensation for work done week by week; and as attention was more constantly fixed on what was pledged than on the act of pledging, the name of gage, wage, was at length completely transferred to the payment made in fulfilment of the pledge. Wages (lural in form but singular in meaning) is payment given for the right to demand a certain amount of work, labour, or service from the recipient. This definition covers all kinds of recompense for work done under the direction of an employer, such as the pay of an officer, the stipend of a clergyman, the fees of a barrister, or the salary of a clerk. Wages Fund. A fund theoretically assumed to exist, and out of which wages are paid. Practically, also, such a fund is known to exist, from the fact that wages are actually paid out of it. It is made up of two principal items. (1) A portion of the produce of past labour; and (2) Credit based on the anticipation of the profits of future labour. But the absolute amount of the wages fund is never accurately known, and it is probably never the same for two days together. It fluctuates with the multifarious causes, separately and combined, which go to create a demand for labour or to limit its supply, such as the general state of trade, the weather, fashion, the spirit of enterprise, financial disorganization, accumulation of capital, &c. It is found a convenient term to use when discussing economic questions; but the thing itself is too shadowy and unstable to admit being employed in precise calculations, or to afford ground for inferences. Waiver. The discharge by the holder of a Bill, or note, of any one or more of the parties to it. This discharge may be given either before or after has become due, and without any consideration. Consideration.) It may be given by word of mouth, or in writing, but in the former case, it must necessarily be in the presence of witnesses, or it would have no binding force in law. Watering of Stock. A metaphorical expression signifying the addition of Stock to that already issued by a Company or State, without making any additional provision for the payment of interest on the same. When a Railway Company issues new Stock for the building of a branch railway, the revenues of the new branch are expected to provide the interest on the newlycreated stock. But if, instead of making a railway, the new stock were absorbed in paying debts or charges that ought to be disbursed out of the revenue, it is clear that interest has to be paid on a large additional amount of stock, while no provision is made to meet the increased charge. The stock in this latter case is said to be "watered." Wealth. Latin, valeo valere, to be well, to be worth something; vale, farewell French, valoir, to be worth, to have value. Saxon, waleth, rich; walan, happiness or prosperity; wela, well-being; welega or welga. rich. Danish, vel, well being. German, Wohl, weal, good, benefit, WILLIAM-WORSENESS. 317 well-being; das gemeine Wohl, the public weal. There are a great This word is used by writers in two very different senses. Under the name of Natural Wealth is often comprehended a fertile soil, mineral deposits, watercourses, and a healthy climate. But Political Wealth, or Wealth Proper, as understood in Economics, signifies something which has an exchangeable or purchasing power, anything that can be bought or sold; and derives its value from the labour and skill employed in finding, making, and protecting it, and from its power of exciting in the minds of human beings a desire to possess it. There are three distinct kinds of Quantities, enumerated by MacLeod under the term Wealth-viz., Money which may be taken as the type of all material objects as land, houses, furniture, clothing, timber, metals, &c.; Labour, the type of every kind of service, whether physical, intellectual, or moral, and would include skill, ability, integrity, dexterity, &c.; and Credit, the type of Rights of every kind, as Rights of Action, Right to the payment of a Debt, Right to a Reversion, the Right to Crops, Vintages, and Goods not at present in existence. These, as they may all be bought or sold, come under the denomination of Political Wealth. Many writers of eminence refuse to include such things as Credit and Rights in a definition of Wealth, and they advance very plau sible reasons for doing so. At the same time, it is rather difficult to understand why a Right should not be included in the definition of Wealth, seeing that a Right to a thousand pounds will exchange for a house as readily as a thousand sovereigns. Probably the objection arises from the defective nature of some Rights, and from the fact that they cannot be enforced. A Right to a thousand pounds payable at the Bank of England would be regarded as a very substantial bit of wealth, but a Right to the same amount against a man on the verge of bankruptcy would be a shadowy form of wealth indeed. William. A gold coin formerly used in Holland, and valued at 10 guilders. Its metallic value was about 16s. 2d. sterling. Winding Up. Wound Up. Winding Up is the legal process by which the affairs of a Joint Stock or an Insurance Company are adjusted, and the Company itself dissolved. For details see "The Companies' Act," of 1862 and 1867, and the “Insurance Companies Act," of 1870 and 1872. Worseness. (See Betterness.) |