. Social England; a record of the progress of the people in religion, laws, learning, arts, industry, commerce, science, literature and manners, from the earliest times to the present day . )ur-]ioses. All lending at interest was regarded as usurious andwrong (p. 159). The Chancellor Morton urged Parliament torepress it on the express grotmd that it was a barien employ- INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE. 751 1509] luent of money, diverting wealth fioiii its nutiual use in other words, he took for granted that lending must be unpro-ductive. Accordingly an Act was passed in the third year ofHenry
. Social England; a record of the progress of the people in religion, laws, learning, arts, industry, commerce, science, literature and manners, from the earliest times to the present day . )ur-]ioses. All lending at interest was regarded as usurious andwrong (p. 159). The Chancellor Morton urged Parliament torepress it on the express grotmd that it was a barien employ- INDUSTRY AND COMMERCE. 751 1509] luent of money, diverting wealth fioiii its nutiual use in other words, he took for granted that lending must be unpro-ductive. Accordingly an Act was passed in the third year ofHenry VII., making all lending at interest criminal. Theusurious bargain was to be null and void. The lender was to beheavily fined, and further punished, for his souls good, underthe ecclesiastical laws. Mortons language, and that of this Act,make it clear that the modern practice of lending at interest forbusiness purposes was practically unknown. The usury aimedat was the lending at interest to spendthrifts or building up of industries by means of credit, which transfers. .•^lULLIXC l>F HKNKV VU the use of capital to the liaiuls that can use it most etticientl},was as yet scarcely thought of. Henrys care for trade extended to the currency. Unlike currency,many of his predecessors and sticcessors, ho never debased thecoinage. He was greedy and covetous, but he was too shrewdto suppose he could pcruuuiently enrich himself by tamperingwith the amount or standard of the metal. He introduced, how-ever, some important changes. Thus, he was the first to coinshillings and sovereigns. The word sirilliugs had hithertofrequently been used in accounts, but the fiist acttial shillingswere coined in (p. ()). They were called large ijruaift, andafterwards ttsfor», froui the kings head (teste) on one face ofthem. The gold sovereigns were at first called duablc rosenobles. In the next reign a perplexing variety both of gold andsilver coins were issued, partly, it i
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