FRANKLIN, Benjamin (1706-1790). AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED ('B. FRANKLIN') TO LORD KAMES ('My dear Friend'), London 1 January, 1769, expressing pleasure at receiving news, 'I am glad to find you are turning your Thoughts to political Subjects and particularly to those of Money, Taxes, Manufactures and Commerce. The World is yet much in the dark on these important Points; and many mischievous Mistakes are continually made in the Management of them. Most of our Acts of Parliament for regulating them, are in my Opinion, little better than political Blunders ...'. He hopes that Kames' sagacity will be able to throw new light on these subjects and regrets that his own letter of 1767 outlining the problems between Britain and the Colonies relating to taxation never received Kames' comments as it was lost in the mail. He then goes on to discuss the Currency Act of 1764, forbidding all issue of paper money for use in the Colonies and the paper he wrote against it Remarks and Facts Relative to the American Paper Money printed in the Pennsylvania Chronicle in May 1767. A copy will be enclosed with the letter. Since he wrote this paper he has somewhat changed his mind, thinking that 'a Scarcity of Money will work with our other present Motives for lessening out fond Extravagance in the Use of the of the Superfluous Manufactures of this Country (which unkindly grudges us the Enjoyment of common Rights) and will tend to lead us naturally into Industry and Frugality, I am grown more indifferent about the Repeal of the Act'. Franklin once more offers solutions to the problems of smoke from adjacent flues, that enter the rooms of Kames' house in Edinburgh. He advises on regulating the vents and the supply of air. He offers to send him 'a Collection of my Philosophical Papers lately publish'd, in which you will find something more relating to the Motions of Air in Chimneys'. He refers to the fourth edition of his Experiments and Observations on Electricity, (1769), which on pp.284-318 deals with these problems. In a postscript dated 16 January, he regrets the delay in mailing his letter, but he had to retrieve the only copy of his report on American Paper Currency, and therefore had to detain the letter. He also asks for the article to be returned to him. Subscribed 'With unalterable esteem, I remain, my dear Friend, Affectionately yours', 4 pages, folio (312 x 205mm), (blank margins reinforced; wear and fading at folds and slight discolouration on first page, verso and second sheet in good condition). This letter is in reply to a letter from Kames evidently discussing economic topics, which is now lost. Franklin writes 'It is always a great Pleasure to hear from you, and would be much greater to be with you, to converse with you on the Subjects you mention, or any other'. There is no record that Kames actually published any essays on these subjects, but he was held in the highest regard in Scotland, both as a lawyer and as a philosopher. In his letter Franklin relates the whole history of the controversy about American paper money, which began in 1764, after Virginia had issued great sums of paper money for the payment of troops. This ultimately affected the tobacco growers, who because of depreciation of the currency, lost on their bills of exchange. This caused Parliament to pass an act prohibiting the issue of any money, other than coin, in the Colonies. At the end of his letter, Franklin writes 'to commence a Conversation with you on your new Subject, I have thrown some of my present Sentiments into the consise Form of Aphorisms to be examine'd between us ... I send them enclosed'. This presumably refers to his paper 'Positions to be Examined', outlining Franklin's theory of value where in correspondence with Lord Kames he refined his ideas of the relation between labour, agriculture, manufacturing and commerce. The article was published in De Re Rustica; or the Repository for Select Papers on Agriculture, Arts and Manufactures, vol.I (1769) pp 350-52 Published in The Papers of Benjamin Franklin, ed. L.W.Labaree, vol.16 pp.1-4.