Politicians and economists, pondering the problems caused by unfettered speculation, face an old dilemma. As Alexander Baring, head of the family lately brought down by Nick Leeson, remarked in 1825, any attempt to check speculation might be counterproductive: “the remedy would be worse than the disease, if, in putting a stop to this evil, they (the authorities) put a stop to the spirit of enterprise.”

According to the text,

Item 2 - Alexander Baring alerted to the risks which attempts to curb speculation might pose;