Draft of MINT00287 (Mint 19/2/602-3)
Proposals for encreasing the Coyn of this Kingdom
The use of Gold & Silver in Cloaths Coaches & Houshold Furniture was forbid in France last March. If such a law here should be thought too general it might suffice to forbid ye use of gold & silver in laces & fringes & the guilding upon leather wood stone plaister & \any/ other \or any other/ materials in {illeg} then \except/ standard silver or silver finer then standard, except \&/ such pieces of work \or any material/ as cost not above a piece for guilding.
All persons going to sea are allowed without any restraint to carry on board what plate they please for their own use; by wch means or money being run down into plate may be freely exported to the Indies & luxury is encouraged in the Royal Navy, it growing into fashion {illeg}|fo||r| ye Officers to have great quantities of plate on board. The working Goldsmiths have been busy in making small vessels & Vtensils ever since the recoynage{.} Their material is the hammered money wch still flows out of ye country & is bought up by them & ye Refiners, & tis suspected that a considerable part of their work has been expor bought for exportat|ed|ion. |There wants a law to remedy these mischiefs.|
In France the laws for a long time have forbidden certain Vessels & Vtensils to be made of gold &|or| silver & others to be made of those metals of above certain weights. Particularly all Vessels of gold for ye use of the Table are forbid & other Vessels of gold must not exceed an ounce in weight. Also Ballisters Cabinets, Tables, Bur{illeg}|ea|us, Looking-glasses, Andirons Grates, Ornaments of the fire or of Chimneys, Candlesticks wth branches &c are forbidden to be made of silver. Basins of silver must not exceed ye weight of 12 marks, Platters not 8, Trencher plates not 24 marks ye douzen, &c.
The like limitations \here for manufactured gold & silver {illeg}|w|ould encrease or money/ for China earthen ware would save ye nations much\encrease/ money & so would a prohibition of importing Iapan \Cabinets &o{illeg}|the|r laquered/ wooden ware from Iapan & China or any other parts of ye Indies
The increase of coyn is principally hindred by the East India Company's buying up all forreign\the imported/ Bullion of silver & some \of/ good for\& sending it to/ ye Indies without being obliged to export a proportionable quantity of English Commodities. The old Company are obliged by Patent to export 100000li ꝑ an in commodities but this Obligation is expiring & perhaps was never well observed & the Cargo in Gold & Silver is unlimited in proportion to the of\in/ goods. If the Co{illeg}|m|panies were obliged to export at least \one third part or rather/ half as much in commodities as in gold & silver it would conduce very much to ye exportation of or own manufacture & nation growth & product & che the exportation of gold & silver & thereby being down the high price of Bullion wch occasions the melting down of or money.
Such a law might put the East India Merchants to some difficulties for a while but in a short time |w|b|o|ut|l||d| force their trade into some new\better/ channels |[|more to ye nations advantage (tho perhaps less the\to/ the Merchants|]| then those it \now/ runs in at present.\in/ For Merchants would soon find out new ways of vending their goods in China & other places.\+/
† whereby their trade would become much more profitable to the nation. And tho it might not be so profitable to ye Merchant as at present yet it would be more creditable & secure. For the vast exportation of silver to the Indies ha{illeg}|t|h brought ye Company into such an ill repute as may end in their ruin if it be not remedied
I would therefore propose that in lading any East India ship no Gold or Silver should be put on board till she had her lading of English\other/ Commodities & then on a day to be appointed by the Commrs of the Customes, twice as much gold & silver in value might be put on board as the Bill of lading in \those other/ Commodities amounted unto. And if any ship wanted of her lading in Gold & Silver the defect or remainder might be carried on board the next ship \or ships/ of the same Merchant or Company sailing to the Indies, provided it be done within months after ye lading of the former ship. But no ship should exceed her just lading in Gold & Silver except in making up the defect of a former ship.
The importing of stained Callicoes is prohibited in France & in England & the staining of them is prohibited in France but not yet in England.
