In the Ming dynasty about A.D. 1,600 when the Board of Revenue was desirous to return to the use of paper money, the Governor of one of the provinces stated in a memorial what appeared to him to be the ten advantages of paper money. The first was that it could be manufactured at the capital of each province for use in that province, The second was that it could circulate widely, The third was that it could be carried with ease, being light. The fourth was that it could be readily kept in concealment. he fifth was that it was not liable to division like silver into different grades of purity. The sixth was that it did not need weighing, as was the case with silver, whenever it was used in a commercial transaction, The seventh advantage was that silversmiths could not clip it for their own nefarious profit. The eighth was that it was not exposed to the peering gaze of the thief's rapacity. The ninth was that if paper took the place of copper, and copper ceased to be used for making cash, there would be a saving in the cost of this metal to the government, or the copper saved could be used in manufac turing arms for the troops. The tenth advantage would be that if paper were
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.