A brief exposition of the principles of Banking, was all that the writer originally intended to give. In the first draft of the work, the historical sketch was part of a chapter. It has been extended to its present length, from a belief that a tolerably full account of incidents in the History of American Banking would be acceptable to the reader. If additional illustrations of the nature of the system were wanted, they might be derived from its history in Great' Britain. These, our limits will not permit us to introduce. We have, however, room for a sketch of _the changes of opinion that have taken place in that country, in regard to paper money. Mr. Joplin, in his History of the' Currency Question, after collating different passages in the treatise on The Wealth of Nations, gives the following as a summary of the views of Adam Smith.