Further Considerations [9]
and Carriage. 9. That the only way to bring Treasure into England, is the wellordering our Trade. 10. That the only way to bring Silver and Gold to the Mint, for the increase of our Stock of Money and Treasure, which shall stay here, is an over-balance of our whole Trade. All other ways to increase our Money and Riches, are but Projects that will fail us. These things premised, I shall now proceed to shew wherein I differ from Mr. Lowndes, and upon what grounds I do so. Mr. Lowndes proposes, that our Money should be raised (as it is called) one fifth: that is, That all our present denominations of Money, as Penny, Shilling, Half-crown, Crown, &c. should each have One fifth less Silver in it, or be answered with Coin of One fifth less value. How he proposes to have it done I shall consider hereafter. I shall at present only examine the Reasons he gives for it. His first reason, p. 68. he gives us in these words, The value of the Silver in the Coin ought to be raised to the foot of Six Shillings three Pence in every Crown; because the price of Standard Silver in Bullion is risen to Six Shillings five pence an Ounce. This reason seems to me to labour under several great mistakes, as 1. That Standard Silver can rise in respect of it self. 2. That Standard Bullion is now, or ever was worth, or sold to the Traders in it for 6s. 5d. the Ounce, oflawful Money of England. For if that matter of fact holds not to be so, that an Ounce of Sterling Bullion is worth 6s. 5d. of our mill'd weighty Money, this reason ceases; And our weighty Crown pieces ought not to be raised to 6s. 3d; because our light clip'd Money will not purchase an Ounce of Standard Bullion, under the rate of 6s. 5d. of that light Money. And let me add here, nor for that rate neither. If therefore the Author means here, that an Ounce of Standard Silver is risen to 6s. 5d. of our clip'd Money, I grant it him, and higher too. But then that has nothing to do with the raising our Lawful Coin, which remains unclip'd; unless he will say too, that Standard Bullion is so risen, as to be worth, and actually to sell for 6s. 5d. the Ounce of our weighty mill'd Money. This I not only deny, but farther add, that it is impossible to be so. For six shillings and five pence of mill'd Money, weighs an Ounce and a quarter near. Can it therefore be possible, that one Ounce of any Commodity, should be worth an Ounce and quarter of the self-same Commodity, and of exactly the same goodness? For so is Standard Silver to Standard Silver. Indeed one has a mark upon it, which the other has not: But it is a mark that makes it rather more, than less valuable: Or if the mark, by hindring its Exportation, makes it less valuable for that purpose, the Melting-pot can easily take it off. The complaint made of melting down our weighty Money, answers this reason evidently. For can it be suppos'd, that a Goldsmith will give one Ounce and a quarter of Coin'd Silver, for one Ounce of Bullion; when by putting it into his Melting-pot, he can for less than a Penny charge make it Bullion? (For 'tis always to be remembred, what I think is made clear, that the value of Silver, considered as it is Money, and the measure of Commerce, is nothing but its quantity.) And thus a mill'd Shilling, which has double the weight of Silver in it to a current Shilling, whereofhalfthe Silver is clip'd away, has double the value. And to shew that this is so, I will undertake, that any Merchant, who has Bullion to sell, shall sell it for a great deal less number of Shillings in tale, to any one, who will contract to pay him in mill'd Money, than if he be paid in the current clip'd Money. Those who say Bullion is Risen, I desire to tell me; What they mean by Risen? Any Commodity, I think, is properly said to be Risen, when the same quantity will exchange for a greater quantity of another thing; but more particularly of that thing which is the measure of Commerce in the Country. And thus Corn is said to be Risen amongst the English in Virginia, when a Bushel of it will sell, or exchange for