Thus, if I wish to remit a sum of money to any foreign country, it is needful for me to ascertain what is the difference of valuation at the present time between money of the denominations used and ordinarily obtainable here, and those in the country to which the remittance is to be made. This valuation I suppose you all understand is a merely arbitrary one, fixed at the will of the supreme power in any State, and varying according to circumstances and the ideas of the law makers. If, for instance, owing to the different amounts of alloy used in coining pieces of corresponding value in different countries, there is say 5 per cent. more precious metal in the coin of that country to which I wish to remit than in that of our own country, I must necessarily pay this difference in addition to the original sum, in order to render the account of my correspondent good according to the valuation in his country. If on the other hand the intrinsic value of our coin is 5 per cent. the greater, then one hundred dollars of our coin will pay one hundred and five dollars of the other. The proper term for this is _Exchange_, and if this name were universally adopted, there would be far less of confusion in the ideas associated with such transactions, in the minds of most persons. We will now turn to a consideration of the peculiar nature of Interest, or more properly Usury, and the reasons assigned for a limitation of its rate by law. Formerly, the amount received in payment for the loan of capital, was denominated Usury; that is to say, rent for its use and enjoyment. This is the correct term, for Interest is only the rent, or price paid for the enjoyment of an object of value. But this word has acquired an odious meaning, and is now understood to express an illegal and oppressive rate of interest only, the milder but less expressive term being substituted by common usage.