17664 Essays ; 
but it was, in my opinion, the fault of the govern- 
ment, not of the people. 
Q. Was it not talked of in the other provinces, 
as a proper measure, to apply to Parliament to com- 
pel them? 
A. I have heard such discourse; but, as it was 
well known that the people were not to blame, no 
such application was ever made, nor any step taken 
towards it. 
(* Was it not proposed at a public meeting? 
A. Not that I know of. 
Q. Do you remember the abolishing of the paper 
currency in New England, by act of assembly? 
A. I do remember its being abolished in the Mas- 
sachusetts Bay. 
Q. Was not Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson 
principally concerned in that transaction? 
A. TI have heard so. 
Q. Wasit not at that time a very unpopular law? 
A. I believe it might, though I can say little 
about it, as I lived at a distance from that province. 
Q. Was not the scarcity of gold and silver an ar- 
gument used against abolishing the paper? 
A. 1 suppose it was.r 
Q. What is the present opinion there of that law? 
Is it as unpopular as it was at first? 
A. 1 think it is not. 
Q. Have not instructions from hence been some- 
times sent over to governors, highly oppressive and 
unpolitical ? 
* See ““ Remarks and Facts Relative to the American Paper Money,” 
in Spark’s Works of Franklin, vol. ii., p. 340. 
3) 95