England's Treasure by Foreign Trade [16]
the increase of our treasure. The Argument is plain, and needs no other reasons to strengthen it, except any man be so vain to think that restrictions would not cause the less wares to be exported. But if this likewise should be granted, yet to enjoyn the Merchant to bring in money for Victuals and Munition carried out, will not cause us to have one peny the more in the Kingdom at the years end; for whatsoever is forced in one way must out again another way: because onely so much will remain and abide withus as is gained and incorporated into the estate of the Kingdom by the overballance of the trade. This may be made plain by an example taken from an Englishman, who had occasion to buy and consume the wares of divers strangers for the value of six hundred pounds, and having wares of his own for the value of one thousand pounds, he sold them to the said strangers, and presently forced all the mony from them into his own power; yet upon cleering of the reckoning between them there remained onely four hundred pounds to the said Englishman for overballance of the wares bought and sold; so the rest which he had received was returned back from whence he forced it. And this shall suffice to shew that whatsoever courses we take to force money into the Kingdom, yet so much onely will remain with us as we shall gain by the ballance of our trade.
Chapter 12.
The undervaluing of our Money which is delivered or received by Bills of Exchange here or beyond the Seas, cannot decrease our treasure.
The Merchants Exchange by Bills is a means and practice whereby they that have money in on Countrey may deliver the same to receive it again in another Countrey at certain times and rates agreed upon, whreby the lender and the borrower are accommodated without trasporting of treasure from State to State. These Exchanges thus made between man and man, are not contracted at the equal value of the moneys, according to their respective weights and fineness: First, because he that deliverth his money doth respect the venture of the debt, and the time of forbearance; but that which causeth an under or overvaluing of moneys by Exchange, is the plenty or scarcity thereof in those places where the Exchanges are made. For example, when here is plenty of money to be delivered for Amsterdam, then shall our money be undervalued in Exchange, because they who take up the money, seeing it so plentifully thrust upon them, do thereby make advantage to themselves in taking the same at an undervalue. And contariwise, when here is scarcity of mony to be delivered for Amsterdam, the deliverer wil make the same advantage by overvaluing our money which he delivereth. And thus we see that as plenty or scarcity of mony in a Common-wealth doth make all things dear or good cheap: so in the course of exchanges it hath ever a contrary working; wherefore in the next place it is fit to set down the true causes of this effect. As plenty or scarcity of mony do make the price of the exchange high or low, so the over or under ballance of our trade doth effectually cause the plenty or scarcity of mony. And here we must understand, that the ballance of our trade is either General or Particular. The General is, when all our yearly traffique is jointly valued, as I have formerly shewed; the particular is when our trade to Italy, France, Turkey, Spain and other Countreys are severally considered: and by this latter course we shall perfectly find out the places where our mony is under or overvalued in Exchange: For although our general exportations of wares may be yearly more in value that that which is imported: whereby the difference is made good to us in so much treasure; nervertheless the particular trades do work diversly. For peradventure the Low Countreys may bring us more in value than we sell them, which if it be so, then do the Low Countrey Merchants not only carry away our treasure to ballance the accompt between us, but also by this means mony being plentiful here to be delivered by exchange, it is therefore undervalued by the takers, as I have before
Chapter 12.
The undervaluing of our Money which is delivered or received by Bills of Exchange here or beyond the Seas, cannot decrease our treasure.
The Merchants Exchange by Bills is a means and practice whereby they that have money in on Countrey may deliver the same to receive it again in another Countrey at certain times and rates agreed upon, whreby the lender and the borrower are accommodated without trasporting of treasure from State to State. These Exchanges thus made between man and man, are not contracted at the equal value of the moneys, according to their respective weights and fineness: First, because he that deliverth his money doth respect the venture of the debt, and the time of forbearance; but that which causeth an under or overvaluing of moneys by Exchange, is the plenty or scarcity thereof in those places where the Exchanges are made. For example, when here is plenty of money to be delivered for Amsterdam, then shall our money be undervalued in Exchange, because they who take up the money, seeing it so plentifully thrust upon them, do thereby make advantage to themselves in taking the same at an undervalue. And contariwise, when here is scarcity of mony to be delivered for Amsterdam, the deliverer wil make the same advantage by overvaluing our money which he delivereth. And thus we see that as plenty or scarcity of mony in a Common-wealth doth make all things dear or good cheap: so in the course of exchanges it hath ever a contrary working; wherefore in the next place it is fit to set down the true causes of this effect. As plenty or scarcity of mony do make the price of the exchange high or low, so the over or under ballance of our trade doth effectually cause the plenty or scarcity of mony. And here we must understand, that the ballance of our trade is either General or Particular. The General is, when all our yearly traffique is jointly valued, as I have formerly shewed; the particular is when our trade to Italy, France, Turkey, Spain and other Countreys are severally considered: and by this latter course we shall perfectly find out the places where our mony is under or overvalued in Exchange: For although our general exportations of wares may be yearly more in value that that which is imported: whereby the difference is made good to us in so much treasure; nervertheless the particular trades do work diversly. For peradventure the Low Countreys may bring us more in value than we sell them, which if it be so, then do the Low Countrey Merchants not only carry away our treasure to ballance the accompt between us, but also by this means mony being plentiful here to be delivered by exchange, it is therefore undervalued by the takers, as I have before