The numismatic chronicle and journal of the Royal ... - IndianCoins.org

VII.THE ELEMENTS OF PRIMAEVAL FINANCE.THE factors which gcrrerned the economics of earliestman were simple and forcible." The good old rule, the simple plan,That they should take who have the power,And they should keep who can." lThis rule would apply to the earliest form of governmentby self help, as opposed to that exercised withina community, however crude and elementary.The idea of common wants is at the basis of civilization,the true dawn of which is to be found in the pairingof human beings. The peaceful exchange of necessarycommodities between members of a community marksthe genesis of trade and commerce.For of a certainty, the peaceful exchange of goods,without the application of force, is the primary essentialof all commercial dealings.The earliest form of communitywas that of man andwife with their attendant offspring. Within the precinctsof the family, an ordered rule would be maintainedby the physically strongest member. Outsidethe realms of governed order, the primaeval law mustremain in force for ever.The family of one man would grow with time, and1Wordsworth, Bob Boy's Grave.VOL. XII., SERIES IV. I