It has been the fate of most men who have left their name upon the pages of political history to have their conduct scrutinised with a degree of ethical fineness which happily is denied those whose records have not risen above the commonplace. Such a standard of criticism has been invariably applied in instances where origin of birth would hardly justify anticipations of pre-eminent greatness—and especially where the circumstances that have fostered its rise lie outside the beaten track, and possess the inviting charm of novelty. Reputation acquired in the steady, patient pursuit of a purpose is not more likely to reach the level of permanent fame, than one of which spasmodic progress forms the outstanding element. Where brilliance of meteoric splendour appears in any sphere of life, but chiefly in the region of national politics, a curiosity which otherwise would be escaped is aroused by reason of its suddenness, and attempts are made to discover unworthy motives behind each act. While these attempts can only have a problematic value in absence of any true disclosure of motive, judgment is not infrequently passed with an air of authority that seems to exclude refutation. Nor is it an uncommon occurrence for contemporary opinion, prejudiced and perhaps unjust, to distort the estimates of subsequent writers. Exemplification of this is in some degree to be found in the case of John Law of Lauriston, the founder of the Mississippi Scheme, whose chequered and questionable career before his elevation to a position of national importance in the government of France, furnished excellent material for a sinister interpretation of his intentions by his detractors.

By birth, Law belonged to a family which held a position of considerable social rank and influence in the Scottish capital. He was born at Edinburgh, on the 21st of April, 1671, and his father, William Law, described in the records of his time as a goldsmith carrying on business in the capital, followed a profession more nearly allied to that of banking as now understood. Some conflict appears to have existed as to his lineage, but on the authority of Walter Scott, Writer to the Signet, father of Sir Walter Scott, who acted for some time as agent for the family, it may be taken that Law was the grandson of James Law of Brunton, in Fife, by Margaret, daughter of Sir John Preston, Bart. of Prestonhall, and great-great-grandson of James Law, Archbishop of Glasgow from 1615 to 1632. The claim of his mother, Jane Campbell, to relationship with the ducal house of Argyll may have been somewhat remote, but is not at all improbable.

With a view no doubt to educating his son to a career which the fortunes of the family were sufficient to enable him to follow, and perhaps because he early perceived evidences of uncommon capacity, William Law embraced every opportunity which the educational facilities of the time afforded. In order to put him beyond the possible prejudicial influences of the city, he sent young Law at an early age to Eaglesham, where he was placed under the care of the Rev. James Hamilton, whose son subsequently married his eldest sister. There he received his early education in a school established by the Rev. Michael Rob, the first Presbyterian minister ordained after the liberty.

Unfortunately for the future of his promising son, William Law died in 1684, and to his mother’s care, but probably less restraining influence, young Law was now entirely entrusted. In the year preceding his death, however, William Law had acquired territorial dignity by the purchase of the estates of Lauriston and Randleston, situated along the Firth of Forth a few miles west of Edinburgh, the right to which was taken in life-rent for himself and his wife, and in fee to John Law, their eldest son.

Law’s mother, although no more than an ordinary degree of womanly grace and force of character can be attributed to her, possessed what was of equal, if not of greater, value at such a juncture as this, when the loss of the head of a family may mean so much—a capacity to direct with prudence, tact, and business capacity the affairs of her estate. The family was large; of eleven children nine survived, and the burden imposed upon her resources by the education and maintenance of so many, without entailing at least outward change of appearance, is eloquent testimony to her cautious and careful management. Upon Law himself she bestowed the greatest concern, continuing his education upon the lines directed by his father, and in particular giving him every encouragement towards the study of mathematics, in which his youthful mind took the deepest delight. At an age when the majority of children have merely mastered the preliminary stages of a branch of knowledge presenting so many difficulties—and seldom indeed caring or willing to go beyond its threshold—Law was able to find the most genial occupation in solving the most complicated problems in geometry, and in comprehending the subtleties of algebraic formulÆ. At a time also when political economy as a science was undeveloped, and when the dominating principle of finance consisted of meeting daily exigencies by daily expedients, Law devoted a considerable portion of his time to inquiring into the basis of national and private credit, the laws governing the currency of money, the problems of taxation, and generally all the intricacies of economic phenomena that presented themselves to his observation. The theories which he formulated as scientific explanations of these phenomena indicate a philosophic grasp of mind, although they may now appear crude and untenable, and bear the marks of his proneness to hasty conclusion. They soon, however, procured for him distinction as an economist of novel ideas, and formed the foundation for the development of the various schemes by which he afterwards acquired a European reputation.

Added to his undoubted intellectual abilities, Law possessed an engaging manner, a generous disposition, and a handsome personal appearance. By his fastidiousness in dress, he gained a degree of notoriety amongst his fellows, and was known amongst the ladies of his acquaintance by the appellation of Beau Law, whilst the gentlemen of the city conferred upon him the nickname of Jessamy John.

When twenty-one years of age, Law, with the feeling of independence due to the competency with which he had been provided by his father, desired to find a wider field for the proper display of his various accomplishments, and accordingly found his way to London, whence he made frequent visits to Tunbridge Wells, Bath, and other popular places of pleasure of the day. There he mixed with the highest social and political circles, to which his talents obtained him ready access, but in a society where gambling, hard drinking, and general dissipation were marks of distinction, Law’s popularity made serious inroads in a very short time upon his pecuniary position. An accumulation of debts necessitated a re-arrangement of the fee of Lauriston in order to provide for their payment. This he conveyed to his mother in consideration of her advancing the requisite sum, and whatever other money he required for immediate and legitimate purposes. The burden thus imposed upon the estate, however, was not to be allowed to remain. By severe economy his mother was able within a comparatively short period to remove it, and to secure the estate free of encumbrance in entailed succession to her family.

An event, however, shortly occurred, which almost resulted in an ignominious termination to Law’s career, but, as it happened, he succeeded in escaping its consequences although it necessitated his departure from the country. As an exponent of masculine fashions, he had a rival in one Edward Wilson, a younger son of a Leicestershire landlord. Their rivalry, as may be judged, did not conduce to friendly relations, and ill-concealed feelings of hatred existed between the two. This Wilson had been an ensign in Flanders, but having resigned his commission—from what cause it is not known, whether it was that his daintiness rebelled against the roughness of soldiery or that his courage was not equal to its dangers—he found his way to London, and there was a source of the greatest mystery to his friends and associates. Possessed of little or no patrimony, he yet maintained a magnificent establishment with an army of servants, and drove a coach and six. His lavish entertainments, and his social splendour, were the envy of the wealthiest. With unlimited credit, he nevertheless incurred no debts but were speedily paid, and on his death left no estate or evidence of the source of his abundant means.

With Wilson, Law had a serious difference, in which a Mrs. Lawrence, according to one account, and according to another Miss Elizabeth Villiers, afterwards Countess of Orkney, was concerned, and satisfaction could only be obtained by resorting to a duel. They met at midday on 9th April, in 1699, in Bloomsbury Square, and Wilson receiving a fatal wound, Law was arrested on a charge of having “of his malice aforethought and assault premeditated, made an assault upon Edward Wilson with a certain sword made of iron and steel of the value of five shillings, with which he inflicted one mortal wound of the breath of two inches, and of the depth of five inches, of which mortal wound the said Edward Wilson then and there instantly died.” Law was tried on the 18th, and two following days of the same month at the Old Bailey, before the King’s and Queen’s Commissioners, but notwithstanding the most skilful defence, was found guilty of murder, and condemned to be hanged.

His popularity with persons of rank now stood him in good stead at this critical juncture. The acquaintanceships he had assiduously cultivated during his brief stay in London were not without their value, and enabled him to draw upon their influence to serviceable purpose. The King’s mercy was invoked, and pardon was extended to the condemned man. His release, however, was not to bring him absolute freedom. An appeal was immediately made by Wilson’s brother to the Court of King’s Bench to have this apparently wrongful exercise of royal clemency cancelled. So general was the impression that justice had been flagrantly abused, that Law was again arrested and thrown into prison during the dependence of the appeal. Numerous technical objections were taken to the grounds of the charge, but all without success, and fortune seemed at last to have handed him over to the doom already pronounced against him. But expedients for escape had not been all exhausted. With the assistance of his friends he contrived, two days before his execution, to regain his liberty, and place his recapture beyond possibility. After overcoming his guard by the use of an opiate, and removing the irons with which he had been fettered by means of files surreptitiously conveyed to him, he climbed the high wall encircling the prison buildings, and, in the company of sympathetic associates, succeeded in reaching the Sussex coast, where a boat had been held in readiness to convey him over to France. The authorities made no serious effort to prevent his flight. Rather does it appear that, under the influence which formerly secured his pardon, they connived at his escape. Strength is given to this hypothesis by the misleading description of Law in the announcement offering a reward for the capture of the fugitive, which appeared in the London Gazette of 7th January, 1695, to the effect that “Captain John Lawe, a Scotchman, lately a prisoner in the King’s Bench for murther, aged 26, a very tall, black, lean, man, well shaped, above six foot high, large pock-holes in his face, big high nosed, speaks broad and loud, made his escape from the said prison. Whoever secures him, so as he may be delivered at the said prison, shall have fifty pounds paid immediately by the Marshall of the King’s Bench.”

Having arrived in safety upon French territory, Law made his way to that haven of refuge for all needy Scotsmen of birth and influence, the Court of St. Germains. Here he hoped to recover his lost position and fortunes by placing the services of his naturally great abilities at the disposal of a Court to whom they could not but be of some advantage if properly directed. His efforts to secure a place were unsuccessful, but it was probably at this time that he met the lady who was afterwards to be his wife, although for a time she lived with him as such while yet she was the wife of another. Lady Catherine Knollys, sister of the fourth Earl of Banbury, was the wife of a gentleman called Senor or Seignieur. Law’s attractions were probably too captivating to be resisted, with the result that she “liked him so well as to pack up her alls, leave her husband, and run away with him to Italy.”

The moral obliquity of the incident lends colour to the unsparing attacks of his enemies, and certainly cannot be extenuated even according to the loose standards of his day. The gravity of the offence he could not be ignorant of, notwithstanding his youth. His finer susceptibilities, however, had been impaired by the contagion of vice, which led him to embark upon risks, especially of gallantry, from mere impulsiveness, and regardless of consequence. What little credit can be extended to Law in connection with this affair, he derives from having remained faithful to her to the last, while the death of her husband, shortly after, relieved him of possible embarrassment during his subsequent visits and residence in Paris.

Unsuccessful in his appeal to the Court at St. Germains to secure official employment, he resumed his old career of gambling, and made the principal cities of the Continent the field of his operations for the next three or four years. His movements at this time are somewhat difficult to trace. No authentic record of his peregrinations have come down to us. It is tolerably clear, however, that he resided for short periods at Genoa, Rome, Venice and Amsterdam, and may also have visited Florence and Naples. Gambling in his case was no mere means of satisfying an uncontrollable passion. He did not conduct it promiscuously. He based his speculations upon a system which he had developed for his own guidance after the most careful study of the laws of chance. Although success did not invariably attend his play, the balance of probability was so frequently in his favour that he was not only able to maintain his position as a gentleman of worth, but to amass a considerable fortune in an incredibly short period of time. No doubt the cool, calculating Scotsman, apart from any merit his system of play may have possessed, was more likely to rise from the tables with success than those with whom he would choose to gamble. Not only would his confidence and boldness irritate and excite his opponents, but the reputation his skill had acquired for him would be in itself a disturbing element to their minds, and render them unequal to his superior play.

Notwithstanding his propensities in this direction, Law also devoted his abilities and his keen powers of observation to another and more creditable study. The subject of banking, the mysteries of credit, and all the intricacies of financial problems appealed to his strongly mathematical mind, and of the advantages afforded him, whilst on the Continent, for an intimate acquaintance with the various systems of his time he was not slow to avail himself. At this period there were several banking companies in Europe, and of these the banks of Venice, Genoa, and Amsterdam were the chief. The first two owe their origin to the financial difficulties of the Venetian and Genoese Republics, and had been in existence since 1157 and 1407 respectively. The Bank of Amsterdam, on the other hand, was of more modern growth, having been established in 1609 in order to minimise the confusion continually arising from the unsteady value of the currency by placing the coinage upon a fixed and more permanent basis. Law, accordingly, utilised his stay in these three cities to gaining an insight into their methods of business. At Venice, we are told, he constantly went to the Rialto at Change time, and no merchant upon commission was more punctual. He observed the course of exchange all the world over; the manner of discounting bills at the bank; the vast usefulness of paper credit; how gladly people parted with their money for paper, and how the profits accrued from this paper to the proprietors. At Amsterdam, where he was employed as secretary to the British Resident in Holland, “he made himself acquainted on the spot with the famous bank of that city; with its capital, its produce, its resources; with the demands individuals had upon it; with its variations, its interests; with the mode of lowering or raising its stock, in order to withdraw the capital, that it might be distributed and circulated; with the order that bank observed in its accounts and in its offices; and even with its expenditures and its form of administration.”

The varied information which Law in this way acquired during his residence on the Continent, and especially in the great banking centres, he did not store as a mere mass of bare interesting facts. Whether the investigations he assiduously pursued were the outcome of a design to develop a new system of banking, or proceeded merely from the attraction of the subject, is matter of doubt. But it is clear that he abstracted certain principles of finance from the data he had gathered, and that these principles were heterodox according to the opinions of his contemporaries. Our judgment upon Law must be largely determined by our impression as to whether these principles were logically deduced explanations of the financial phenomena he observed, or whether they were the fanciful ideas of his own imagination for the justification of which he sifted his phenomena. It is extremely difficult to arrive at any definite conclusion. His own published writings give no guiding clue, and the records of his time confuse, rather than enlighten, by their contradictory and varied explanations of his schemes. It is probable that the principles upon which they were founded possessed an element of both possibilities. His observations on the one hand would seem to indicate to his mind some underlying law; and on the other hand his mind, impressed with the beauty and simplicity of some vast ambitious scheme of finance, would readily discover support in its favour from the deductions he had made. At no time did Law attempt to build up a system of financial philosophy, but he must be given due praise for laying down propositions bearing upon the subject of credit and of the use of paper money which have stood the test of time and received recognition from political economists of our own day. He must also be raised to a higher level than a mere financial schemer. His proposals were more than plausible. They had an element of practicability, in which he demonstrated his own belief by his readiness to put them to test under private direction before they were launched with sovereign authority and under public control. Convinced so thoroughly as he was with the soundness of his theories, and with the possibilities they opened up, if adopted, of infusing new life and new energy into the commercial world of his day, he regarded himself as a man with an important mission.

His own country seemed to offer a suitable field for his financial ability, and we find him back in Edinburgh in the closing year of the seventeenth century, the legislative independence of Scotland affording him all necessary safety against arrest for the murder of which he had been guilty five years previously.