England's Treasure by Foreign Trade [23]
wares here may be valued as the Exchange passed at that time from hence to Venice; Is not all this very common and easie business, unworthy to be put into the number of Admirable feats? To the tenth. Although a rich Prince hath great power, yet is there not power in every rich Prince to make the staple of Money run where he pleaseth: for the Staple of any thing is not where it may he pleaseth: for the Staple of any thing is not where it may be had, but where the thing doth most of all abound. Whereupon we commonly say, that the Spaniard, in regard of his great treasure in the West Indies, hath the Fountain or Staple of money, which he moveth and causeth to run into Italy, Germany, and the Low Countreys, or other places where his occasions doe require it, either for Peace or War. Neither is this effected by any singular Power of the Exchange, but by divers wayes and means fitting those places where the money is to be employed. For if the use thereof be upon the confines of France to maintain a War there, then may it be safely sent in specie on Carriages by Land; if in Italy, on Gallies by Sea; if in the Low Countreys, on Shipping by Sea also, but yet with more danger, in regard of his potent enemies in that passage. Wherefore in this occasion, although the Exchange is not absolutely necessary, yet as it very useful. And because the Spaniards want of Commodities from Germany and the Low Countreys is greater in value than the Spanish Wares which are carried into those parts, therefore the King of Spain cannot be furnished there from his own subjects with money by exchange, but is and hath been a long time enforc'd to carry a great part of his treasure in Gallies for Italy, where the Italians, and amongst them the Merchants of Genoua expecially, do take the same, and repay the value thereof in Flanders, whereunto they are enabled by their great trade with many rich commodities which they send continually out of Italy into those Countreys and the places thereabouts, from whence the Italians return no great value in wares, but deliver their money for the service of Spain, and receive the value by Exchange in Italy out of the Spanish Treasure, which is brought thither in Gallies, as is aforewritten. So that by this we plainly see, that it is not the power of Exchange that doth enforce treasure where the rich Prince will have it, but it is the money proceeding of wares in Forraigne trade that doth enforce the exchange, and rules the price thereof high or low, according to the plenty or scarcity of the said money; which in this discourse, upon all occasions, I think I have repeated neer as often as Malynes in his Books doth make the Exchange to be an essential part of trade, to be active, predominant, over-ruling the price of Wares and Moneys, life, spirit, and the worker of admirable feats. All which we have now briefly expounded; and let no man admire why he himself did not take this pains, for then he should not onely have taken away the great opinion which he laboured to maintain of the Exchange, but also by the true discovery of the right operation thereof, he should utterly have overthrown his par pro pari; which project (if it had prevailed) would have been a good business for the Dutch, and to the great hurt of this Common-wealth, as hath been sufficiently proved in the 12. chapter. Now therefore let the learned Lawyer fall cheerfully to his books again, for the Merchant cannot put him down, if he have no more skill than is in his Exchange. Are these such admirable feats, when they may be so easily know and done in the course of trade? Well then, if by this discovery we have eased the Lawyers minde, and taken off the edge of his admiration, let him now play his part, and take out a Writ of Errour against the Par pro Pari; for this project hath misinformed many, and put us to trouble to expound these Riddles. Nay, but stay awhile, can all this pass for current, to slight a business thus, which (the Author saith) hath been so seriously observed by that famous Council, and those worthy Merchants of Queen Elizabeth