The first result of this issue was apparently all that the most
sanguine could desire: the treasury was at once greatly relieved; a
portion of the public debt was paid; creditors were encouraged; credit
revived; ordinary expenses were met, and, a considerable part of this
paper money having thus been passed from the government into the hands
of the people, trade increased and all difficulties seemed to vanish.
The anxieties of Necker, the prophecies of Maury and Cazalès seemed
proven utterly futile. And, indeed, it is quite possible that, if the
national authorities had stopped with this issue, few of the financial
evils which afterwards arose would have been severely felt; the four
hundred millions of paper money then issued would have simply
discharged the function of a similar amount of specie. But soon there
came another result: times grew less easy; by the end of September,
within five months after the issue of the four hundred millions in
_assignats_, the government had spent them and was again in
distress.[12]

The old remedy immediately and naturally recurred to the minds of men.
Throughout the country began a cry for another issue of paper;
thoughtful men then began to recall what their fathers had told them
about the seductive path of paper-money issues in John Law's time, and
to remember the prophecies that they themselves had heard in the
debate on the first issue of _assignats_ less than six months before.

At that time the opponents of paper had prophesied that, once on the
downward path of inflation, the nation could not be restrained and
that more issues would follow. The supporters of the first issue had
asserted that this was a calumny; that the people were now in control
and that they could and would check these issues whenever they