The Rationale of Central Banking and the Free Banking Alternative
By Vera C. Smith
Vera Smith’s
The Rationale of Central Banking invites us to reassess our monetary institutions and give reform proposals due consideration. The decades since it first appeared in 1936 have restored its themes to relevance. Government-dominated monetary systems have continued to perform poorly. Other experience, as well as the work of James Buchanan and the Public Choice School, has heightened skepticism about government generally. People are now willing to discuss what Vera Smith set out to examine: “the relative merits of a centralized monopolistic banking system and a system of competitive banks all possessing equal rights to trade” (p. 3)…. [From the Preface, by Leland B. Yeager]
First Pub. Date
1936
Publisher
Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, Inc. Liberty Press
Pub. Date
1990
Copyright
The text of this edition is under copyright.
Bibliography
Andréadès, A.
History of the Bank of England. Translated by Christabel Meredith. London: P. S. King, 1909.
Aretz, Peter.
Die Entwicklung der Diskontpolitik der Bank von England, 1780–1850; eine kritische Studie aus dem Notenbank-und Papiergeldwesen. Berlin: C. Heymann, 1916.
Aubry, Maurice.
Les Banques d’Emission et d’Escompte. Paris: Guillaumin, 1864.
Bagehot, Walter.
Lombard Street. London: Henry S. King, 1873.
Beckhart, Benjamin Haggott. The
Discount Policy of the Federal Reserve System. New York: Henry Holt, 1924.
Burgess, W. Randolph. The
Reserve Banks and the Money Market. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1927.
Cairnes, John E.
An Examination into the Principles of Currency Involved in the Bank Charter Act of 1844. Dublin: Hodges and Smith, 1854.
Canada. Royal Commission on Banking and Currency in Canada.
Report of the Royal Commission on Banking and Currency in Canada. Ottawa: J. O. Patenaude, 1933.
Carey, Henry C.
The Credit System in France, Great Britain, and the United States. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, & Blanchard, 1838.
Cernuschi, Henri.
Contre le Billet de Banque. Paris: Guillaumin, 1866. Cernuschi, Henri.
Mécanique de l’Echange. Paris: A. Lacroix, 1865.
Chevalier, Michel.
Lettres sur l’Amerique du Nord. Paris: Gosselin, 1837.
Cieszkowski, Auguste.
Du Crédit et de la Circulation. Paris: Treuttel et Wurtz, 1839.
Coq, Paul. La
Circulation en Banque ou l’Impasse du Monopole. Paris: Guillaumin, 1865.
Coquelin, Charles.
Le Crédit et les Banques, 3rd ed. Paris: Guillaumin, 1876 (Preface and annotation by Jean-Gustave Courcelle-Seneuil.)
Coullet, Paul Jacques.
Etudes sur La Circulation Monétaire, la Banque et le Crédit. Paris: Furne, 1865.
Courcelle-Seneuil, Jean-Gustave.
La Banque Libre. Paris: Guillaumin,1867.
Courcelle-Seneuil, Jean-Gustave.
Traité Thêorique et Pratique des 0pérations de Banque. Paris: Guillaumin, 1853.
Courtois fils, Alphonse.
Histoire des Banques en France. Paris: Guillaumin, 1875.
Däbritz, Walther.
Gründung und Anfänge der Disconto-Gesellschafi Berlin. Ein Beitrag zur Bank-und Wirtschaflsgeschichte Deutschlands in den Jahren 1850 bis 1875. Munich and Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1931.
Die Entwicklung der deutschen Volkswirtschaftslehre im neunzehnten Jahrhundert. Gustav Schmoller zur siebenzigsten Wiederkehr seines Geburtstages, 24. Juni 1908, in Verehrung dargebracht von S. P. Altmann, W. J. Ashley, C. Ballod,
et al. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1908.
The Dublin University Magazine, 1840.
Dunbar, Charles Franklin.
Economic Essays. Edited by O. M. W. Sprague. London: Macmillan, 1904.
Dunbar, Charles Franklin.
The Theory and History of Banking, 5th ed. Revised by Oliver M. W. Sprague. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1929.
Du Puynode, Gustave.
De la monnaie du crédit et de l’Impôt. Paris: Guillaumin, 1853.
Duran, Etienne.
Encore la Question des Banques. Paris: Guillaumin, 1865.
The Economist.
Enquête sur les principes et les faits généraux qui régissent la circulation monétaire et fiduciaire, 1865–66. 6 vol. Paris: Imprimerie Impériale, 1867.
Fanno, Mar.
Le banche e il mercato monetario. Rome: Athenaeum, 1912.
Feavearyear, A. E.
The Pound Sterling: A History of English Money. London: Oxford University Press, 1931.
Fraser’s Magazine, 1868.
Fullarton, John.
On the Regulation of Currencies, 2nd ed. London: John Murray, 1845.
Gallatin, Albert.
Considerations on the Currency and Banking System of the United States. Philadelphia: Carey & Lea, 1831.
Gallatin, Albert.
Suggestions on the Banks and Currency of the Several United States. New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1841.
Gerstner, Franz Anton Ritter von.
Berichte aus den Vereinigten Staaten von Nordamerika, über Eisenbahnen, Dampfschiffahrten, Banken und andere öffentliche Unternehmungen. Leipzig, 1839.
Geyer, Philipp. Banken und Krisen. Leipzig: T. O. Weigel, 1865.
Geyer, Philipp.
Theorie und Praxis des Zettelbankwesens nebst einer Charakteristik der engl., französ. und preuss. Bank.
Munich: Fleischmann’s Buchhandlung, 1867
.
Goschen
, [George J.], Viscount
. Essays and Addresses on Economic Questions (1865–93). London: E. Arnold, 1905.
Goschen, [George J.], Viscount.
The Theory of the Foreign Exchanges. London: E. Wilson, 1861.
Great Britain. Committee on Finance and Industry
. Minutes of Evidence. London: H. M. Stationery Office, 1931.
Great Britain. Committee on Finance and Industry
. Report. London: H. M. Stationery Office, 1931.
Great Britain. House of Commons. Select Committee on Bank Acts.
Report from the Select Committee on Bank Acts. London: [House of Commons] 1857.
Gregory, T. E., ed.
Select Statutes, Documents and Reports Relating to British Banking 1832–1928. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1929.
Guthrie, George.
Bank Monopoly the Cause of Commercial Crises. Edinburgh: W. Blackwood and Sons, 1864.
Hake, A. Egmont, and O. E. Wesslau.
Free Trade in Capital. London: Remington, 1890.
Handwörterbuch des Bankwesens. Herausgegeben von Melchior Palyi and Paul Quittner. Berlin: J. Springer, 1933.
Hankey
, Thomson
. PrinciplesofBanking, 2nd ed. London: E. Wilson, 1873.
Hawtrey, R. G.
The Art of Central Banking. London: Longmans, Green, 1932.
Hawtrey
, R. G.
Monetary Reconstruction, 2nd ed. London: Longmans, Green, 1926.
Helander, Sven.
Theorie und Politik der Zentralnotenbanken in ihrer Entwicklung. Jena: G. Fischer, 1916.
[Higgs, Henry, ed.]
Political Economy Club, vol. 6. London: Macmillan, 1921.
Hildreth, Richard.
The History of Banks: To Which Is Added a Demonstration of the Advantages and Necessity of Free Competition in the Business of Banking. Boston: Hilliard, Gray, 1837.
Horn, J. Edouard. La
Liberté des Banques. Paris: Guillaumin, 1866.
Hübner, Otto.
DieBanken. Leipzig: Hübner, 1853, 1854.
Joplin, Thomas.
An Essay on the General Principles and Present Practice of Banking in England and Scotland. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Edward Walker, 1822.
Le Journal des Economistes.
Juglar, Clément.
Du Change et de la Liberté d’Emission. Paris: Guillaumin, 1868.
Juglar, Clément.
Des Crises Commerciales et de leur Retour Périodique en France, en Angleterre et aux Etats Unis. Paris: Guillaumin, 1862.
Kemmerer, Edwin Walter.
The A B C of the Federal Reserve System, 9th ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1932.
Knies
, Carl
. Geld und Kredit. Berlin: Weidmann’sche Buchhandlung, 1873, 1876, 1879.
Landauer, Carl. “Bankfreiheit?”
Der deutsche Volkswirt. Zeitschrift für Politik und Wirtschaft, no. 49 (Sept. 7, 1928): 1670–73.
Lasker, Leopold.
Bankfreiheit oder nicht? Mit besonderer Rücksicht a- Preussen und Deutschland. Berlin: J. Springer Verlag, 1871.
Laughlin, J. Laurence, ed
. Banking Reform. Chicago: National Citizens’ League, 1912.
Laveleye, Emile de.
Le Marché Monétaire et ses Crises depuis Cinquante Ans. Paris: Guillaumin, 1865.
Liesse, André.
Evolution of Credit and Banks in France from the Founding of the Bank of France to the Present Time. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.
Lotz, Walther.
Geschichte und Kritik des deutschen Bankgesetzes vom 14. März 1875. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1888.
Loyd, Samuel Jones [Lord Overstone].
Thacts and Other Publications on Metallic and Paper Currency. Edited by J. R. McCulloch. London: n p., 1857. (Contains material originally published 1837–57.)
Macleod, Henry Dunning.
The Theory and Practice of Banking. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1855.
Marqfoy, Gustave.
LaBanque de France dans ses Rapports avec le Crédit et la Circulation. Paris: Guillaumin, 1862.
[McCulloch, J. R.]
Historical Sketch of the Bank of England. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1831.
McCulloch, J. R.
A Treatise on Metallic and Paper Money and Banks. Edinburgh: A. & C. Black, 1858.
Meulen, Henry.
Free Banking. London: Macmillan, 1934.
Michaelis, Otto.
Volkswirthschaftliche Schriften. vol. 1: Eisenbahnfragen. Handelskrisis von 1857. vol. 2: Von der Börse. Über Staatsanleihen. Theoretisches. Bankfragen. Berlin: Herbig, 1873.
Mill, John Stuart.
Principles of Political Economy. London: J. W. Parker, 1848.
Miller, Harry E.
Banking Theories in the United States Before 1860. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1927.
Mills, Richard Horner.
The Principles of Currency and Banking, 2nd ed. London: Groombridge and Sons, 1857.
Mises, Ludwig von.
Geldwertstabilisierung und Konjunkturpolitik. Jena: G. Fischer, 1928.
Mitchell, Wesley Clair.
A History of the Greenbacks, with Special Reference to the Economic Consequences of Their Issue: 1862–65
. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1903.
Nasse, Erwin.
Die preussische Bank und die Ausdehnung ihres Geschäftskreises in Deutschland. Bonn: A. Marcus, 1866.
National Monetary Commission, Publications, 1910–12
Aldrich, Nelson W.
An Address by Senator Nelson W Aldrich Before the Economic Club of New York, November 29, 1909, on the Work of the National Monetary Commission. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.
Davis, Andrew McFarland.
The Origins of the National Banking System. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.
Dewey, Davis R.
State Banking Before the Civil War. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.
Kinley, David.
The Independent Treasury of the United States and Its Relations to the Banks of the Country. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.
Sprague, O. M. W.,
History of Crises Under the National Banking System. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.
Warburg, Paul M.
The Discount System in Europe. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.
U.S. National Monetary Commission.
Interviews on the Banking and Currency Systems of Canada. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.
U.S. National Monetary Commission.
Interviews on the Banking and Currency Systems of England, Scotland, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1910.
Neisser, Hans. “Notenbankfreiheit?”
Weltwirtschafiliches Archiv 32 (1930 II): 446–61.
Norman, George Warde.
Remarks upon Some Prevalent Errors with Respect to Currency and Banking. London: Pelham Richardson, 1838.
Palmer, J. Horsley.
The Causes and Consequences of the Pressure upon the Money-Market. London: Pelham Richardson, 1837.
Parnell, Henry.
Observations on Paper Money, Banking and Over-trading. London: James Ridgway, 1827.
Parnell, Henry. A
Plain Statement of the Power of the Bank of England and the Use It Has Made of It. London: James Ridgway, 1832.
Patterson, R. H.
The Economy of Capital. Edinburgh: W. Blackwood and Sons, 1865.
Pereire, Isaac.
La Banque de France et l’Organisation du Crédit en France. Paris: P. Dupont, 1864.
Phillips, Chester Arthur.
Bank Credit. New York: Macmillan, 1920.
Phillips, Edmund.
A Plea for the Reform of the British Currency and Bank of England Charter. London: Whittaker, 1861.
Poschinger, Heinrich von.
Bankwesen und Bankpolitik in Preussen 3 vols. Berlin: J. Springer, 1878–79.
Price, Bonamy.
The Principles of Currency. Oxford: J. Parker, 1869.
Raguet, Condy.
A Treatise on Currency and Banking. Philadelphia: Grigg & Elliot, 1839.
Ramon, Gabriel.
Histoire de la Banque de France. Paris: Bernard Grasset, 1929.
Report from the Committee of Secrecy on the Bank of England Charter, 1831–32.
Reports by the Lords Committees Appointed a Secret Committee to enquire into the State of the Bank of England, with respect to the Expediency of the Resumption of Cash Payments. Parliamentary Papers 1819 (291), vol. III.
La Revue des Deux-Mondes.
Richards, R. D.
The Early History of Banking in England. London: P. S. King, 1929.
Scharling, William.
Bankpolitik. Jena: G. Fischer, 1900.
Spencer, Herbert.
Essays, Scientific, Political, and Speculative. New York: D. Appleton, 1891.
Sprague, O. M. W.
Banking Reform in the United States. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1911.
Sumner, William Graham,
et al. A History of Banking in All the Leading Nations. 4 vols. New York: The Journal of Commerce and Commercial Bulletin, 1896.
Tellkampf, J. L.
Essays on Law Reform, Commercial Policy, Banks, Penitentiaries, etc., in Great Britain and the United States of America. London: Williams & Norgate, 1859.
Tellkampf, Johann Ludwig.
Die Prinzipien des Geld-und Bankwesens. Berlin: Puttkammer & Mühlbrecht, 1867.
Tellkampf, Johann Ludwig.
Über die neuere Entwicklung des Bankwesens in Deutschland mit Hinweis auf dessen Vorbilder in England, Schottland, und Nordamerika und auf die französische Société générale de Crédit mobilier. 4th ed. Breslau: Morgenstern, 1857.
Tippetts, Charles S.
State Banks and the Federal Reserve System. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1929.
Tooke, Thomas. A
History of Prices [vol. 3]. London: Longman
et al., 1840.
U.S. Comptroller of the Currency.
Annual Reports. Washington: Government Printing Office.
U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking and Currency.
Banking and Currency. Hearings… on… a Bill to Provide for the Establishment of Federal Reserve Banks. 3 vols. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1913.
U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking and Currency.
Operation of the National and Federal Reserve Banking Systems. Hearings. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1931.
Vierteljahresschrift für Volkswirthschaft und Kulturgeschichte. Herausgegeben von Julius Faucher, Otto Michaelis,
et al., 1863 and 1865.
Wagner, Adolph.
Beiträge zur Lehre von den Banken. Leipzig: Voss, 1857.
Wagner, Adolph.
Die Geld-und Credittheorie der Peel’schen Bankacte. Vienna: Braumüller, 1862.
Wagner, Adolph.
System der deutschen Zettelbankgesetzgebung, unter Vergleichung mit der ausländischen. Zugleich ein Handbuch des Zettlebankwesens. Mit Rücksicht auf die Errichtung von Zettelbanken in Baden, sowie die Bankreform und das Staatspapiergeldwesen im norddeutschen Bunde. Freiburg i. Br.: Wagner’sche Buchhandlung, 1870.
Wagner, Adolph.
System der Zettelbankpolitik, mit besonderer Rücksicht auf das geltende Recht und auf deutsche Verhältnisse. 2. theilweise umgearbeitete und vervollständigte Ausgabe. Freiburg i. Br.: Wagner’sche Buchhandlung, 1873.
White, Horace.
Money and Banking Illustrated by American History, 5th ed. Boston: Ginn, 1914.
Willis, Henry Parker.
The Federal Reserve System: Legislation, Organization and Operation. New York: Ronald Press, 1923.
Willis, H. Parker, and John M. Chapman.
The Banking Situation: American Post-war Problems and Developments. New York: Columbia University Press, 1934.
Wilson, James.
Capital, Currency and Banking. London: The Economist, 1847.
Wolowski, Louis.
Les Banques d’Angleterre et les Banques d’Ecosse. Paris: Guillaumin, 1867.
Wolowski, Louis.
La Question des Banques. Paris: Guillaumin, 1864.