LE "PAPER CREDIT" ET LES MULTIPLES MR HENRY THORNTON

This paper highlights Thornton's criticisms of Adam Smith along with his lender of last resort analysis'. It suggests that there are three Mr. Thorntons who appear in Paper Credit. The first is the concerned antideflationist of the first section of the book. The second is the worried anti-inflationist of the second section. The third was the practical banker who understood the new emerging financial architecture that had resulted in paper credit supplanting metallic money. It is conjectured that the existence of the usury laws, inter alia, may have prevented Thornton from fully investigating the possibility of Great Britain moving to a specieless system.