and underhanded manner are generated. The odium which attaches itself to a positively pernicious regulation, weakens the respect which would otherwise be felt for those which are acknowledged to be advantageous; and that spirit of frankness, openness, and sincerity, which, wherever it predominates, is so highly valuable, is cramped in its development, or altogether supplanted by duplicity, extortion, and cunning.

Fortunately, we are not left to infer from general principles, however well established, the many advantages that would result from the repeal of the laws limiting the rate of interest. Holland, for instance, furnishes a practical and striking proof of the correctness of the theory we have been endeavoring to establish. It is an undeniable fact, that the rate of interest has been for a long period lower in that country than in any other part of Europe; and yet Holland is the only country in which, for any length of time, usury laws have been entirely unknown, where capitalists are allowed to demand, and borrowers to pay any rate of interest. Notwithstanding all the violent commotions in her government, and the extraordinary derangements of her finances in the course of the last forty years, the rate of interest in that country has continued comparatively uniform. During the whole. of that period, individuals who could offer unexceptionable security have been able to borrow at from three to five and a half per cent; nor has the average rate of interest charged on capital, advanced on hazardous security, ever exceeded six or seven per cent.

In France the usury laws were abolished at the revolution; and it is distinctly stated that the abolition was not attended by any rise of interest. According to the code Napoleon, only six per cent interest is allowed to be taken in commercial affairs, and five per cent, when money is advanced on the security of real property. The Bank of France never discounts at a higher rate of interest than six per cent, but sometimes at a lower rate.

In Hamburgh the rate of interest is quite unrestricted. The rate, con. sequently, varies according to circumstances. Occasionally it has been at seven, eight, and even ten per cent; and in 1799, a period of great dis tress and insecurity, it was as high as fourteen per cent. Generally, however, the rate of discount on good bills does not exceed four or five per

cent.

In Russia the legal rate of interest is six per cent. But as Russia is a country where there are very great facilities for the advantageous employ. ment of capital, the market rate of interest is invariably higher than the statute rate, and the law is as constantly as it is easily evaded.

At Trieste, and throughout the Austrian dominions in general, the usual rate of interest is fixed by law at six per cent; but capital can seldom be obtained for less than eight or ten per cent.

At Leghorn the ordinary rate of interest is per cent per month, or six per cent per annum; but there is no law to prevent the taking of a higher

rate.

In Spain the ordinary rate of interest is six per cent; but no law exists against taking a higher rate, and it seldom falls below five, or rises above seven per cent.

In each of the states in the Union, except New York and Michigan, where it is seven per cent, and Louisiana, where it is ten per cent., the legal interest is fixed at six per cent; but the market fluctuates from five to twenty per cent.

In 1554, a statute was passed in England, authorizing lenders to charge

ten per cent interest. In 1624 the legal rate was reduced to eight per cent; and in the reign of Queen Anne it was further reduced to five per cent, at which it remained unaltered until the last year, when parliament re-enacted a law virtually repealing the usury laws on all money transac tions other than on loans secured by real estate, and the exception is doubt. less made as a compromise with the lingering prejudices yet existing in respect to usury.

A writer in the North American Review, for July, 1834, holds the fol. lowing language in relation to the usury laws :

"The statutes of 1825 and 1826, which together are the existing law of the land, [Massachusetts,] on the subject of usurious contracts, limit the rate of interest to six per cent per annum. They provide that no contract shall be made void by reason of stipulating for a higher rate. They provide that, if in any action on a contract for the payment of money, it shall appear by the pleadings and on application of the defendant, that illegal interest has been directly or indirectly taken or reserved, the defendant shall recover full costs, and the plaintiff forfeit three times the whole amount of interest taken or reserved, and shall have judgment and execution for the balance only.

"So also the borrower on such usurious contract may, in law or chancery, recover back three-fold the amount of the interest by him so paid. By these statutes the parties are allowed to be witnesses in their own behalf.

"If any citizen of Massachusetts wishes to make his fortune, according to law, let him go into State street and borrow money at 18 per cent, a rate at which $90,000 has been recently borrowed in one sum; let him take say $20,000 for ten years. The interest on this sum will be $3,600 per annum. In ten years it will amount to $36,000. At the expiration of that time let him sue the lender, and he will recover back, under the law, $108,000, from which he may pay the original debt and retire to his otium cum dignitate with a clever property of $88,000, lawyers' fees always excepted.

"Such is the dazzling bribe held out to the dishonest by our wise and conscientious legislature. It rivals in merit the tooth-drawing edict of King John."*

ART. VI.-MERCANTILE BIOGRAPHY.-JOHN HANCOCK.

If there is a name upon the page of American history, which should be cherished by our merchants with a warmer love and a deeper veneration than any other, it is that of JOHN HANCOCK. His memory should be their pride, for he was one of them; and among the many distinguished men of his time, the annals of our country boast of none more noble or patriotic.

King John, whose grasping disposition and prodigal habits are so finely delineated in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, on one occasion demanded of a single Jew in Bristol the sum of 10,000 marks, which was more than equal to a sixth part of the revenue of all England. When the Jew refused to pay that sum, John ordered one of his teeth to be drawn daily until he should comply. The Jew endured the tearing out of seven, and then paid the unjust demand."

It will be our aim in this notice to give, in a condensed form, a few of the most striking periods of his life, that his disinterested character may serve as a model for our imitation.

John Hancock was born in 1737, at Quincy, near Boston, in the then province of Massachusetts Bay. His father was a clergyman-learned, eloquent, and influential-beloved by all who knew him, and admired and reverenced for his noble liberality in patronising and sustaining the literary institutions of his native land. He died during the infancy of his son, who was then placed under the care and protection of his paternal uncle; an individual who, from an humble condition of fortune, became the most eminent merchant in New England, and was for many years a member of the provincial council. He bestowed the utmost attention upon the education of his nephew, who was graduated at Harvard college, in 1754, and immediately entered the counting-house of his uncle. There he remained until 1760, when he visited England; and soon after his return his kinsman and patron died, leaving him, at the age of twenty-seven, with a larger fortune than was possessed by any other individual in the province. The appearance of Mr. Hancock was extremely prepossessing. His person was handsome, his countenance expressive and highly intellectual, and his manners were naturally graceful. His mind had been richly cultivated, and was endowed with sentiments of a lofty and refined character. He was passionately fond of society, and intimately versed in the elegant accomplishments of his time. Possessed of so many natural advantages, combined with superior acquirements, and a generous liberality where pecuniary interests were concerned, he soon became exceedingly popular; and when to all his other qualities we add that of eloquence, which he possessed to an unusual degree, it is not surprising that in a community where the elements of society were still unsettled, and where popular talent was ever rewarded by popular favor, he should be early called upon to encounter the turbulent storms and tread the thorny path of a public life. Associating with men of education, station, and wealth, and removed by his large fortune far above the common wants of life, courted by the rich and powerful, and taught by the prevailing spirit of the age to regard the king as the great source of power and legitimate fountain of the people's rights, we should be led to expect from him more of loyalty to the former, than of patriotism to the latter. But his character and feelings were not of the ordinary mould. His was a noble nature, which amalgamated with and poured forth its sympathies with every grade of men. His love of liberty was enthusiastic and ardent, and he expressed it in language bold, convincing, and eloquent. "That he soon became a favorite with the people, it is hardly necessary to state, and as a distinguished mark of their esteem and confidence, after having for some time occupied the municipal office of selectman of Boston, he was elected, in 1766, with James Otis, Samuel Adams, and Thomas Cushing, a representative to the general assembly of the province. Here, side by side with Adams, he stood up the unwavering friend and champion of the people, battling monarchical power when its exercise clashed with popular rights, and fearlessly opposing official tyranny and executive usurpations. His readiness and power in debate, and the captivating influence of his manners, combined with an independence of action which even his enemies admired, soon placed him at the head of a most powerful and influential party.

The first act of importance which served to arouse the revolutionary

spirit among the people, was the imposition of heavy duties upon the importation of foreign goods, and this tyrannical and oppressive measure was resisted by Hancock from its inception, and, aided by his influence and address, associations were formed for prohibiting the importation of British goods into the colony. The boldness and energy with which he opposed the will of the governor and his royal master, marked him for proscription; and when, a short time after his election, he was chosen speaker of the assembly, the governor's sanction was refused, and his seat bestowed upon another. In 1767 he was chosen to the executive council, where the same opposition and official rejection awaited him. In proportion as he became an object of royal hatred, the affection evinced towards him by the people continued to increase. By many he was almost idolized, and all reposed in him the most unlimited confidence. His weight and influence with the popular party soon rendered him formidable to the British crown, and his corruption to its interests was resolved upon by Lord North, then prime minister of England. This wily noble saw the powerful elements that were forming in the colonies against the usurpations of their mother-land, and resolved to hush them into silence by conciliating their most prominent author, and thus binding him to royalty.

The ambition of Hancock, his fondness of elegant society, his polished manners, and his luxurious style of living, all combined to render him, in the opinion of the minister, peculiarly susceptible to the influence of a bribe, when proffered in the seductive form of station and power; and as one golden link in the chain which was to bind him to the pillars of the throne, by the orders of Lord North his nomination to the executive council was approved by the royal governor. The marked disapprobation which had been so long evinced towards Hancock by the minions of royalty, being thus suddenly withdrawn, and replaced by smiles of patronage and proffered honor, fears were excited on the part of his friends that his patriotism would swerve from its purity, and the envious and base-hearted assailed his noble name by poisonous insinuations that his devotion to the interests of the colonists had been sacrificed to the acquirement of kingly favor. But speedily and triumphantly did he vindicate his reputation from the dark suspicion which these assassin-like aspersions had cast upon its brightness. He indignantly refused to take his seat in the council chamber, and became still bolder in his denunciations against the measures of the British ministry. But that which forever placed him beyond the pale of royal pardon, was his connection with the popular demonstrations of indignation which immediately succeeded the "massacre of Boston," as it is called. The particulars of this massacre it is unnecessary to describe. They dwell in the memory of every American, who sees in them the germs of the revolution, and the first of a series of blood-stained acts which at length drove our forefathers to arms. The next day after the enactment of this fearful drama, a large meeting of the citizens was held, and Hancock was appointed, with some others, to wait upon the governor and request him to withdraw the British troops from Boston. Although the latter dared not openly refuse to order their removal, yet he endeavored to shield himself under the plea that his authority was not sufficient. But this did not avail him. A second com. mittee was immediately appointed, with Hancock as chairman, who again waited upon him, and fearlessly and peremptorily urged their immediate withdrawal from the town; and the governor, fearing some terrible outbreak of popular indignation if they remained, was compelled to order their

departure Hancock had still another duty to perform in connection with the mournful event we have mentioned. It was to deliver an oration in commemoration of the massacre. His style and manner upon this occasion were bold, dignified, and impressive. The murder of the unoffending citizens by the soldiery was pathetically described, and its barbarity severely execrated. The injudicious policy of the government of Great Britain towards her colonies was fearlessly exposed, and condemned in terms of the severest reprobation; and the character of the mercenary troops which had been so recently quartered in Boston was examined, and their cruelty and infamy commented upon in a manner that gave deep offence to the British officers, civil as well as military.

Denunciations against the colonial government so open and daring, as were expressed in this oration, were sure to bring down upon the head of their author the swift vengeance of the British authorities, but he feared it not. To him personal interests were slight, when compared with the good of a suffering people; and although well aware that his commercial affairs, then in the most flourishing condition, must suffer irreparable injury in the event of a collision between the haughty mother-land and her infant colonies, he preferred freedom and a ruined fortune, to luxury and political slavery. The path he pursued was plain, open, and independent, unawed by the frowns of a British king, or the threats of his minions in power. The executive of the royal will found in Hancock a candid, yet powerful enemy; and the people saw in him a firm, unflinching, and patriotic friend. His large fortune was ever open to their necessities and wants, and his readiness to expend it in improving the civil, political, and moral condition of those around him, and in protecting them from the tyranny of their rulers, soon rendered him formidable as an opposer of the crown.

We need not relate the noble career of "Hancock and Adams," which continued unsullied until the battle of Lexington. The history of those times is well known throughout the country. When the British troops marched into the village of Lexington, Hancock and Adams were there secreted; and as the house which formed their asylum was entered in front, by the soldiers, the hunted patriots escaped by the rear, and thus eluded the vigilance of their pursuers. From this time forth, we find them proscribed, tracked, outlawed, and rewards offered for their apprehension, until Hancock, the arch and dangerous rebel, as he was called, was at length appointed a delegate to the "Continental Congress ;" and in 1776, that body conferred upon him its highest honor. He was unanimously chosen their president. Being younger than most of his associates when the appointment was announced, he experienced that diffidence and embarrassment which are ever the accompaniments of genius; and it was not until Benjamin Harrison, a strong-nerved, noble-hearted member from Virginia, had borne him in his stout arms to the chair, that his wonted self-possession returned; and the rare, and almost unequalled dignity with which he had adorned other stations, became apparent.

When the Declaration of Independence first appeared, it was for some time circulated over the name of Hancock alone, as president of the congress; and the bold and striking characters which form his signature, were the first to proclaim the fact. The station which he occupied, surrounded as it was by innumerable difficulties, and responsibilities of the most arduous character, could not have been more honorably filled by any among the noble band over whom he presided. Even the few who were