Rotation is the change of officers required by the laws at certain epochs, and in a certain order:  thus, in Virginia, our justices of the peace are made sheriffs one after the other, each remaining in office two years, and then yielding it to his next brother in order of seniority.  This is the just and classical meaning of the word.  But in America we have extended it (for want of a proper word) to all cases of officers who must be necessarily changed at a fixed epoch, though the successor be not pointed out in any particular order, but comes in by free election.  By the term rotation in office, then, we mean an obligation on the holder of that office to go out at a certain period.  In our first Confederation, the principle of rotation was established in the office of President of Congress, who could serve but one year in three, and in that of a member of Congress, who could serve but three years in six.

I believe all the countries in Europe determine their standard of money, in gold as well as silver.  Thus, the laws of England direct that a pound Troy of gold, of twenty-two carats fine, shall be cut into forty-four and a half guineas, each of which shall be worth twenty-one and a half shillings, that is, into 956 3/4 shillings.  This establishes the shilling at 5.518 grains of pure gold.  They direct that a pound of silver, consisting of 11 1/10 ounces of pure silver, and 9/10 of an ounce alloy, shall be cut into sixty-two shillings.  This establishes the shilling at 85.93 grains of pure silver, and, consequently, the proportion of gold to silver as 85.93 to 5.518, or as 15.57 to 1.  If this be the true proportion between the value of gold and silver at the general market of Europe, then the value of the shilling, depending on two standards, is the same, whether a payment be made in gold or in silver.  But if the proportion at the general market of Europe be as fifteen to one, then the Englishman who owes a pound weight of gold at Amsterdam, if he sends the pound of gold to pay it, sends 1043.72 shillings; if he sends fifteen pounds of silver, he sends only 1030.5 shillings; if he pays half in gold and half in silver, he pays only 1037.11 shillings.  And this medium between the two standards of gold and silver, we must consider as furnishing the true medium value of the shilling.  If the parliament should now order the pound of gold (of one-twelfth alloy as before) to be cut into a thousand shillings instead of nine hundred and fifty-six and three fourths, leaving the silver as it is, the medium or true value of the shilling would suffer a change of half the difference; and in the case before stated, to pay a debt of a pound weight of gold, at Amsterdam, if he sent the pound weight of gold, he would send 1090.9 shillings; if he sent fifteen pounds of silver, he would send 1030.5 shillings; if half in gold and half in silver, he would send 1060.7 shillings; which shows, that this parliamentary operation would reduce the value of the shilling in the proportion of 1060.7 to 1037.11.