MONT DE PIETE (ante). This institution originated with Francisco di Viterbo, a Minorite friar, in the 15th c., in Padua. He preached publicly against usurers, particu larly the .Jews, who had the most of that business in Europe; and though opposed even by sonic of the church orders, notably the Franciscans, he succeeded in inducing the pope to issue a bull in his favor, when opposition died out. The monk's plan was that the rich should combine to assist the poor, by lending- them money without interest on pledges or pawns. The idea became popular, and the institution spread to Assisi, Mantua, Parma, Naples, and Rome, and soon these establishments gained a foothold in Germany, France, and Russia. They were known under different names: " Lombard houses," " mons pielatis," " mons de piete," " baneo di rovere," etc. In Rome, Gregory XIII. established a bank of deposit specially for widows and orphans, whose deposits were guaranteed by a lien on the goods of the bank. Sextus V. added to this permission to deposit aoods and articles of any value and of every description. Soon this hank reached a height ofwealth and power unexampled in the history of such institutions, and was frequently enabled to loan immense sums to states and sovereigns. In Turin the Jews held the money power, and 30 per cent was a common rate of interest among them. In 1519 a mont de piete was established there and the system of extortionate interest was broken up as a result. But this institution was unable to sustain itself, from the fact of charging no interest, and would have failed but that the compagnie de St. Paul came to its rescue with the suggestion of a charge of 2 per cent, on which basis it continued business with success. This establishment continued in existence until near the close of the 18th c., when it succumbed to the political convulsions of the period: it was, how ever, revived in 1822. The mont of Milan was formed by the union of 36 private estab lishments, and became one of the largest in Italy. It is now nearly 500 years old. In 1833 the capital of this establishment was 671,000 Austrian Byres. Among the earliest inonts in Italy was one at Cremona for lending corn at interest; it was called the mons f•umenti pietatis. The custom of charging interest, which has obtained among monts de piete ever since, was licensed in 1515, when the Lateran council in Rome decided that these banks could lawfully charge a sufficient percentage for the use of their money to cover their expenses. At Rome the charge was about 6i per cent per annum, but this charge has been greatly increased in most of the Italian cities. When Napoleon entered Italy in 1796 he robbed the mons de pike of many valuable treasures. The establishment of molds de piete in France began in the latter part of the 17th c., the first
one being at Marseilles in 1695. One appeared in Paris in 1726 in the reign of Louis XIII , but soon failed. In 1769 Turgot tried to re-establish it, but without success; and it was not until the period of Necker's financial administration that it became firmly fixed as a permanent institution. Five years lifter the establishment of this mont, there were more than 40,000 watches in its vaults. Next to the Paris mom, those of Lycns and Marseilles are rated most important. A mont de piete was established in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1688, and flourished in private hands until 1753, when it was purchased by the naval hospital for 6,000 rix bank dollars: about $3,000. The rate of interest through out. Scandinavia has been from 9 to 12 per cent. The first monte pio in Spain was opened at Madrid in 1703, and in 1773 an attempt was made to place it in the hands of the govern ment, but without success. The capital of the monies of Valencia, Malaga, and Galicia was at first derived from vacant benefices, termed espollos-y meanies. The two Russian were established in 1772—" to put an end to the devouring cupidity of the usurers, by offering prompt assistance to those who are so unfortunate as to be suddenly thrown into need." The income over expenses derived from these 'flouts has been devoted to the support of the foundling hospitals, always an object of fostering care on the part of the Russian government. The rate of interest was originally 6 per cent. was afterwards •doubled, and finally again reduced, this time to the legal rate. It has always been a Russian custom to deposit plate and other valuables with the mom for safe-keeping; and in 1813, when Napoleon marched on Moscow, the amount loans(' by the establishment in that city was more than five times the average sum. In 1817 the St. Petersburg mont lost by a defalcation more than $1,000,000. The mont de piete has never been successfully -established in Great Britain; one was opened in the city of Limerick, Ireland, in 1837, and was useful in ameliorating the condition of the poor while it lasted; but it did not become permanent, and the private pawnbroker has always occupied the field in the British Islands. There is no record of any institution of. the character of the mont de piete having been established in the United States. The distinction between this insti tution and the ordinary pawnbroker's shop should always be sharply drawn; the one is a beneficent institution, designed to accommodate the poor in the first instance, and, after payment of expenses, to devote any surplus to the sustenance of some charity or public work; the other is simply a business enterprise, conducted for private profit. See