Short Observations on a Printed Paper, Intituled, For encouraging the Coining Silver Money in England, and after for keeping it here
SHORT
Observations
ON A Printed
PAPER,
Intituled,
For encouraging the Coining Silver Money in England, and after for keeping it here.
London, Printed for A. and J. Churchill, at the Black Swan in Pater-Noster-Row. 1695.
THE Author says, Silver yielding the propos'd 2 d. or 3 d. more by the Ounce, than it will do by being Coin'd into Money, there will be none Coin'd into Money; and matter of Fact shews there is none.
'Twould be hard to know what he means, when he says, Silver yields 2 d. or 3d. more by the Ounce, than it will do by being Coin'd into Money: But that he tells us in plain words at the bottom of the Leaf, that an Ounce of Silver uncoin'd, is of 2 d. more value, than after it is Coin'd it will be which I take the liberty to say, is so far from being true, that I affirm it is impossible to be so. For which I shall only give this short reason, viz. Because the Stamp neither does nor can take away any of the intrinsic value of the Silver and therefore an Ounce of Coin'd standard Silver, must necessarily be of equal value to an Ounce of uncoin'd standard Silver. For example; suppose a Goldsmith has a round Plate of standard Silver just of the shape, size and weight of a Coin'd Crown-piece, which, for brevity's sake, we will suppose to be an Ounce this Ounce of standard Silver is certainly of equal value to any other Ounce of unwrought standard Silver in his shop; away he goes with his round piece of Silver to the Tower, and has there the Stamp set upon it; when he brings this numerical piece back again to his shop Coin'd, can any one imagine that it is now 2 d. less worth than it was when he carried it out smooth a quarter of an hour before, or that it is not still of equal value to any other Ounce of unwrought standard Silver in his shop? He that can say 'tis 2 d. less worth than it was before it had the King's Image and Inscription on it, may as well say, that 60 grains of Silver brought from the Tower, are worth but 58 grains of Silver in Lombard-street.
But the Author very warily limits this ill effect of Coinage only to England; why it is so in England, and not every where, would deserve a reason.
But let us grant it to be true, as our Author affirms, that Coined Silver in England is worse, or of less value than uncoin'd, the natural Consequence from this, if it be true, is, that it is very unfit that the Mint should be employ'd in England, where it debases the Silver ; for if the Stamp lessens the value of our Silver this year, it will also do so the next, and so on to the end of the world, it always working the same way. Nor will the altering the Denomination, as is propos'd, at all help it.
But yet he thinks he has some proof for his Proposition, because it is matter of Fact that there is no Money Coin'd at the Mint. This is the great Grievance, and is one indeed, but for a different reason from what seems to inspire that Paper.
The matter in short is this; England sending more consumable Commodities to Spain, than it receives from thence. The Merchants who manage that Trade, bring back the overplus in Bullion, which at their return they sell as a Commodity. The Chapmen that give highest for this, are, as in all Cases of Buying and Selling, those who can make most profit by it, and those are the Returners of our Money by Exchange into those Countries where our Debts any way contracted make a need of it; for they getting 6, 8, 10, &c. per Cent. according to the want and demand of Money from England there, and according to the risque of the Sea, buy up this Bullion as soon as it comes in, to send it to their Correspondents in those Parts, to make good their Credit for the Bills they have drawn on them, and so can give more for it than the Mint rate, i. e. more than an equal weight of Mill'd Money, for an equal weight of standard Bullion, they being able to make more profit of it by Returns.
Suppose the balance of our Trade with Holland were in all other Commodities equal, but that in the last East-India Sale we bought of them of East-India Commodities to the value of a Million to be paid in a month; within a month a Million must be return'd into Holland, this presently raises the Exchange, and the Traders in Exchange sell their Bills at high rates; but the balance of Trade being (as is suppos'd in the case) equal in all other Commodities, this Million can no way be repaid to their Correspondents on whom those Bills were drawn, but by sending them Money or Bullion to reimburse them.
This is the true reason why the Bullion brought from Spain is not carried to the Mint to be Coin'd, but bought by Traders in Foreign Exchange, and exported by them to supply the overplus of our Expences there, which are not paid for by our Commodities. Nor will the propos'd raising of our Money, as 'tis call'd, whether we Coin our Money for the future , or , or lighter than now it is, bring one Ounce more to the Mint than now, whil'st our Affairs in this respect remain in the same posture. And challenge the Author to shew that it will, for saying is but saying; Bullion can never come to the Mint to be Coin'd, whil'st the over-balance of Trade and Foreign Expences are so great, that to satisfy them, not only the Bullion your Trade in some parts now yearly brings in, but also some of your formerly Coin'd Money is requisite, and must be sent out; but when a change in that brings in and lodges Bullion here, (for now it seems it only passes through England) the increase of Silver and Gold staying in England, will again bring it to the Mint to be Coin'd.
This makes it easily intelligible how it comes to pass, that when now at the Mint they can give but 5s. 2d. per Ounce for Silver, they can give 5s. 4d. the Ounce (in Lombard-street, which is what our Author means when he says, Silver now is worth but 5 s. 2 d. the Ounce at the Mint, and is worth 5s. 4d. elsewhere). The reason whereof is plain, viz. because the Mint giving weighty Money for Bullion, can give so much and no more for Silver than it is Coin'd at, which is 5 s. 2 d. the Ounce, the Publick paying all the odds that is between the coin'd and uncoin'd Silver which is the Manufacture of Coinage: But the Banker or Returner of Money having use of Silver beyond Sea, where he can make his profit of it by answering Bills of Exchange, which he sells dear, must either send our Money in specie, or melt down our Coin to transport, or else with it buy Bullion
The sending our Money in specie, or melting it down, has some hazard, and therefore if he could have Bullion for 5 s. 2 d. per Ounce, or a little dearer, 'tis like he would always rather chuse to exchange Coin for Bullion, with some little loss, rather than run the risque of melting it down, or Exportation.
But this would scarce make him pay 2 d. in the Crown, which is almost 3 per Cent. if there were not something more in it, than barely the risque of melting or Exportation; and that is the lightness of the greatest part of our Currant Coin. For Example: N. has given Bills for 30000 l. sterling in Flanders, and so has need of 10000 weight of Silver to be transported thither; he has 30000 l. sterling by him in ready money, whereof 5000 l. is weighty Mill'd Money, what shall hinder him then from throwing that into his Melting-Pot, and so reducing it to Bullion, to be transported? But what shall he do for the other 25000 l. which tho he has by him, is yet in clipp'd and light Money, that is at least 20 per Cent. lighter than the standard? If he transports or melts down this, there is so much clear loss to him; it is therefore more advantage to him to buy Bullion at 5 s. 4 d. the Ounce with that light Money, than to transport or melt it down; wherein tho the Seller of the Bullion has less weight in Silver than he parts with, yet he finds his Accompt as much as if he received it in weighty Coin, whil'st a clipp'd Crown-piece or Shilling passes as well in payment for any Commodity here in England as a Mill'd one. Thus our Mint is kept from Coining.
But this Paper, For encouraging the Coining, &c. would fain have the Mill at work, though there be no Grist to be had, unless you will grind over again what is ground already, and pay Toll for it a second time; a Proposition fit only for the Miller himself to make; for the meanest Housewife in the Country would laugh at it as soon as propos'd. However the Author pleases himself, and thinks he has a good Argument to make it pass, viz. because the Toll to be paid for it will not amount to 330000 l. as is said in a late Treatise about the raising the value of Money, (p. 170.) for, says he, that Writer is mistaken, in saying that 3 s. and 6 d. is allowed at the Mint for the Coinage of every pound Troy, where there is but 16d there allowed for the same, which 16d being above of 3 s. 6 d. it follows by his own Computation, that the new Coining our Money will cost the Nation above 110000 l. a small Sum in this our plenty of Riches, to be laid our for the purchasing these following Inconveniencies without any the least advantage.
1. A loss to the King of (if you Coin your Money 2 d. per Crown, if you Coin your Money 3 d. per Crown lighter) of all his standing Revenue.
2. A like loss of or in all Rents that are setled, for these have, during the term, the nature of Rent-seck: But 5 per Cent. loss in a man's Income he thinks so little, it will not be perceived.
3. Trouble to Merchants in their Trade. These Inconveniencies he is forced to allow. He might have said disorder to all People in their Trade, though he says it will be but a little trouble to Merchants, and without any real damage to Trade. The Author would have done well to have made out this and a great many other Assertions in that Paper; but saying is much easier, if that may pass for Proof.
Indeed he has, by a short way, answer'd the Book abovementioned, in the conclusion of his Paper, in these words: And he that so grosly mistakes in so materials Points of what he would assert, 'tis plain is not free from mistakes. It does not appear that he who published that Book, ever thought himself free from mistakes; but he that mistakes in two material Points, may be in the right in two others, and those will still need an Answer. But one of these material Points will, I think, by what is already said, appear not to be a mistake; and for any thing the Author of the Paper has said, or can say, it will always be true, that an Ounce of Silver Coin'd or not Coin'd, is, and eternally will be of equal value to any other Ounce of Silver. As to the other mistake, concerning the rate of Coinage, 'tis like he had his information from some disinteressed person whom he thought worthy of credit, and whether it be 3 s. 6 d. as he was told, or only 16d per pound Troy, as the Paper says, whether the Reader will believe the one or the other, or think it worth his more exact enquiry, this is certain, the Kingdom ought not to be at that or any other Charge where there is no advantage, as there will be none in this propos'd Coinage, but quite the contrary.
In his Answer to
Object. 1. He says from Edw. III. Silver has from time to time (as it grew in esteem) been by degrees raised in all Mints. If an Ounce of Silver now not exchanging or paying for what of an Ounce would have purchased in Edw. III's time, and so being ten time less worth now than it was then, be growing in esteem, this Author is in the right, else Silver has not since Edw. III's. Reign, from time to time grown in esteem. Be that as it will, he assigns a wrong Cause of raising of Silver, as he calls it in our Mint. For if growing thus in request, i. e. by lessening its value, had been the reason of altering our Money, this change of Coin, or raising the denomination of Silver in ours and other Mints, ought to have been greater by much since Henry VII's. time, than it was between that and Edw. III's. because the great change of the value of Silver has been made, by the plenty of it pour'd into this part of the World from the West-Indies, not discover'd till Henry VII's. Reign. So that I think I may say that the value of Silver from Edw. III. to Henry VII. changed not , but from Henry VII. till now it chang'd above , and yet Money having been raised in our Mint since Edw. III's. time, the far greater part of the raising of it was before Henry VII's. time, and a very small part of it since; so that the cause insinuated by our Author, 'tis evident, was not the cause of lessening our Coin so often, whatever was it: and 'tis possible there wanted not men of Projects in those days, who for private ends, by wrong Suggestions, and false Reasonings, cover'd with mysterious terms, led those into mistakes, who had not the time and will nicely to examine, tho a Crown piece three times as big as one of ours now might, for its size alone, deserve to be reformed.
To Object. 2. He says, The raising the Denomination of Money in Spain and Portugal, was making it go for more when Coin'd, than its true value.
This, I say, is impossible, and desire the Author to prove it. It did in Spain and Portugal, just what it will do here and everywhere, it made not the Silver Coin'd go for more than its value in all things to be bought, but just so much as the Denomination was raised, just so much less of Commodity had the Buyer in exchange for it: As it would be here, if you should Coin Six-pences into Shillings, if any one went to Market with this new Money, he would find that whereas he had a Bushel of Wheat last Week for Eight Shillings of the former Coin, he would have now but half a Bushel for Eight of the new Shillings, when the same Denomination had but half the quantity of Silver. Indeed those who were to receive Money upon former Contracts, would be defrauded of half their due, receiving in their full tale of any Denomination contracted for, but half the Silver they should have; the Cheat whereof they would find, when they went to Market with their new Money. For this I have above proved, that one Ounce of Silver is, and eternally will be equal in value to another Ounce of Silver; and all that can possibly put a difference between them, is only the different value of the workmanship bestow'd on one more than another, which in Coinage our Author tells us in this Paper is but 16d. per pound Troy. I demand therefore of our Author, to shew that any sort of Coinage, or, as he calls it, raising of Money, can raise the value of Coin'd Silver, or make it go for more than uncoin'd, bating the charge of Coinage, unless it be to those who being to receive Money upon former Contracts, will, by receiving the tale agreed for, receive less than they should of Silver, and so be defrauded of what they really contracted for.
What effect such a raising of their Money had in one Particular, I will tell our Author. In Portugal they count their Money by Reys, a very small, or rather imaginary Coin, just as if we here should count all our Sums by Farthings. It pleased the Government, possibly, being told that it would raise the value of their Money to raise in Denomination the several species, and make them go for a greater (let us suppose double the) number of Reys than formerly. What was the Consequence? It not only confounded the Property of the Subject, and disturbed Affairs to no purpose; but Treaties of Commerce having setled the Rates of the Customs, as so many Reys on the several Commodities, the King immediately lost in value half his Customs. The same that in proportion will happen in the setled Revenue of the Crown here upon the proposed change.
For tho' our Author in these words, Whereas all now desir'd by this Act is, to keep Silver when Coin'd of the same value it was before, would insinuate, that this raising the Denomination, or lessening our Coin, as is propos'd, will do no such thing; yet 'tis demonstration, that when our Coin is lessen'd 3 d. in 5 s. the King will receive 5 per Cent. less in value in his Customs, Excise, and all his setled Revenue, and so proportionably, as the quantity of Silver in every species of our Coin shall be made less than now it is Coin'd in those of the same Denomination.
But whatever our Author means by making Money go for more when Coin'd than its true value, or by keeping Silver when Coin'd of the same value it was before; This is evident, that raising their Money thus by Coining it with less Silver in it than it had before, had not the effect in Portugal and Spain, which our Author proposes from it here: For it has not brought one Penny more to the Mint there, nor kept their Money or Silver from Exportation since, tho' forfeiture and death be the Penalties join'd in aid to this trick of raising to keep it in.
But our Author tells us in Answer to Object. 4. This will scarce ever at all be perceived. If of 100 Guinea's a man has in his Pocket, 5 should be picked out so as he should not perceive it, the fraud and the loss would not be one jot the less; and tho' he perceived it not when or how it was done, yet he will find it in his Accompts, and the going so much back in his Estate at the end of the year.
To the 3d Objection he says, The raising your Coin (it may be) may raise the price of Bullion here in England. An Ounce of Silver will always be equal in value to an Ounce of Silver everywhere, bating the workmanship. I say it is impossible to be otherwise, and require our Author to shew it possible in England, or any where, or else hereafter to spare his may be's. To avoid Fallacies, I desire to be understood, when I use the word Silver alone, to mean nothing but Silver, and do lay aside the consideration of baser Metals that may be mixed with it: For I do not say that an Ounce of standard Silver that has almost of Copper in it, is of equal value with an Ounce of fine Silver that has no alloy at all, but that any two Ounces of equally alloid Silver, will always be of equal value; the Silver being the measure of Commerce, 'tis the quantity of Silver that is in every piece he receives, and not the Denomination of it which the Merchant looks after, and values it by.
But this raising of the Denomination our Author would have pass, because 'twill be better for the Possessors of Bullion, as he says Answ. 3. But who are they who now in England are possess'd of so much Bullion? Or what private men are there in England of that consideration, that for their advantage all our Money should be new Coin'd, and of a less weight, with so great a charge to the Nation, and loss to His Majesties Revenue?
He farther adds, Answ. 3. It doth not thence inevitably follow, it will raise the price of Bullion beyond Sea.
It will as inevitably follow, as that 19 Ounces of Silver will never be equal in weight or worth to 20 Ounces of Silver: So much as you lessen your Coin, so much more must you pay in tale as will make up the quantity of Silver the Merchant expects for his Commodity, under what Denomination soever he receives it.
The Clothier thus buying his Spanish Wooll, Oil and Labour at 5 per Cent. more in Denomination, sells his Woollen Manufacture proportionably dearer to the English Merchant, who exporting it to Spain, where their Money is not changed, sells it at the usual Market rate, and so brings home the same quantity of Bullion for it which he was wont, which therefore he must sell to you at the same raised value your Money is at: And what then is gain'd by all this? The Denomination is only chang'd to the prejudice of the Publick, but as to all the great matters of your Trade, the same quantity of Silver is paid for Commodities as before, and they sold in their several Foreign Markets for the same quantity of Silver. But whatever happens in the rate of Foreign Bullion, the raising of the Denomination of our Money, will bring none of it to our Mint to be Coin'd; That depends on the Balance of our Trade, and not on lessening our Coin under the same Denomination: For whether the Pieces we call Crowns be Coin'd 16, 24, or 100 Grains lighter, it will be all one as the value of Bullion, or the bringing more or less of it into England, or to our Mint.
What he says in his Answer to Object. 4. besides what we have already taken notice of, is partly against his Bill, and partly mistake.
1. He says, It may be some (as it now) Gain to those that will venture to melt down the milled and heavy Money now Coin'd. That men do venture to me{lt} down the mill'd and heavy Money, is evident, from the small part of mill'd Money is now to be found of that great quantity of it that has been Coin'd; and a farther evidence is this, that mill'd Money will now yield 4 or 5 more per Cent. than the other, which must to melt down, and use as Bullion, and not as Money, in ordinary payments. The reason whereof is, the shameful and horrible debasing (or as our Author would have it raising) our unmilled Money by Clipping.
For the odds betwixt Mill'd and unmill'd Money being now, modestly speaking, above 20 per Cent: and Bullion, for Reasons elsewhere given, being not to be had, Refiners, and such who have need of Silver, find it the cheapest way to buy Mill'd Money for Clipp'd, at 4, 5, or more per Cent. loss.
I ask therefore this Gentleman, What shall become of all our present mill'd and heavy Money, upon the passing of his Act? To which his Paper almost confesses what I will venture to answer for him, viz. That as soon as such a Law is passed, the mill'd and heavy Money will all be melted down; for it being 5 per Cent. heavier, i. e. more worth than what to be Coin'd in the Mint, no body will carry it thither to receive 5 per Cent. less for it, but sell it to such as will give 4 or 4 per Cent. more for it, and at that rate melt it down with advantage: For Lombard-street is too quick-sighted to give 60 Ounces of Silver for 57 Ounces of Silver, when bare throwing it into the melting Pot, will make it change for its equal weight; so that by this Law 5 per Cent. Gain on all our Mill'd Money, will be given to be shared between the Possessor and Melter of our Mill'd Money, out of the honest Creditor and Landlord's Pocket, who had the guaranty of the Law, that under such a tale of pieces of such a Denomination as he let his Land for, he should have to such a value, i. e. such a weight in Silver. Now I ask whether it be not a direct and unanswerable Reason against this Bill, that he confesses that it will be a Gain to those who will melt down the Mill'd and heavy Money with so much loss to the Publick and not, as he says, with very small loss to those that shall be paid in the new, unless he calls 5 per Cent. very small loss, for just so much is it to receive but 57 Grains or Ounces of Silver for 60, which is the proportion in making your Crown 3 d. lighter. This is certain, no body will pay away Mill'd or weighty Money for Debts or Commodities, when it will yield him 4 or 5 per Cent. more; so that which is now left of weighty Money being scatter'd up and down the Kingdom into private hands, which cannot tell how to melt it down, will be kept up and lost to our Trade. And as to your Clipp'd and light Money, will you make a new Act for Coinage, without taking any care for that? The making a new standard for your Money, cannot do less than make all Money which is lighter than that standard unpassable, and thus the Mill'd and heavy Money not coming into payment, and the light and Clipp'd not being lawful Money, according to the new standard, there must needs be a sudden stop of Trade, and, 'tis to be fear'd, a general confusion of Affairs, though our Author says, it will not any ways interrupt Trade.
2. The latter part of this Section about raising the value of Land, I take the liberty to say is a mistake; which though a sufficient Reply to an Assertion without Proof, yet I shall not so far imitate this Author, as barely to say things: And therefore I shall add this Reason for what I say, viz. because nothing can truly raise the value, i. e. the Rent of Land, but the increase of your Money; but because raising the value of Land is a Phrase which, by its uncertain sense, may deceive others, we may reckon up these several meanings of it.
1. The value of Land is raised, when its intrinsick worth is increased, i. e. when it is fitted to bring forth a greater quantity of any valuable Product. And thus the value of Land is raised only by good Husbandry.
2. The value of Land is raised, when remaining of the same Fertility, it comes to yield more Rent, and thus its value is raised only by a greater plenty of Money and Treasure.
3. Or it may be raised in our Author's way, which is, by raising the Rent in tale of pieces, but not in the quantity of Silver received for it, which, in truth, is no raising of it at all, no more than it could be accounted the raising of a man's Rent, if he let his Land this year for 40 Sixpences, which last year he let for 20 s. Nor would it alter the Case, if he should call those 40 Sixpences 40 s. for having but half the Silver of 40 s. in them, they would be but of half the value, however their Denomination were changed.
In his Answer to the 5th Objection, there is this dangerous Insinuation, That Coin in any Country where it is Coin'd goes not by weight, i. e. has its value from the stamp and denomination, and not the quantity of Silver in it. Indeed in Contracts already made, if your species be by Law Coin'd a fifth part lighter, under the same denomination the Creditor must take 100 such light Shillings, or 20 such light Crown-pieces for 5 l. if the Law calls them so, but he loses in the intrinsick value of his Debt. But in Bargains to be made, and things to be purchased, Money has and will always have its value from the quantity of Silver in it, and not from the stamp and denomination, as has been already proved, and will some time or other be evidenced with a witness in the Clipp'd Money. And if it were not so, that the value of Money were not according to the quantity of Silver in it, i. e. that it goes by weight, I see no reason why Clipping should be so severely punished.
As to Foreigners he is forced to confess, that 'tis all one what our Money is, greater or less, who regard only the quantity of Silver they sell their Goods for, How then can the lessening our Money bring more plenty of Bullion into England, or to the Mint?
But he says, The Owners and Importers of Silver, will find a good Market at the Mint, &c. But always a better in Lombard-street, and not a Grain of it will come to the Mint, as long as by an under-balance of Trade, or other Foreign Expences, we contract Debts beyond Sea, which require the remitting of greater Sums thither than are imported in Bullion. If for above Forty Years after Silver was raised in the 43 of Eliz. from 5 s. to 5 s. 2 d. the Ounce, uncoin'd Silver was not worth above 4s. 10d. per Ounce; the cause was not that raising of Silver in the Mint, but an over-balance of Trade which bringing in an increase of Silver yearly, for which men having no occasion abroad, brought it to the Mint to be Coin'd, rather than let it lie dead by them in Bullion; and when ever that is the Case again in England, it will occasion Coining again, and not till then. No Money was in those days Exported, says he, no nor Bullion neither, say I; why should, or how could it, when our Exported Merchandize paid for all the Commodities we brought home, with an overplus of Silver and Gold, which staying here set the Mint on work. But the passing this Bill, will not hinder the Exportation of one Ounce either of Bullion or Money, which must go if you contract Debts beyond Sea; and how its having been once melted in England is another thing propos'd in this Bill, shall hinder its Exportation, is hard to conceive, when even Coining has not been able to do it, as is demonstrable, if it be examined, what vast Sums of Mill'd Money have been Coined in the two last Reigns, and how little of it is now left. Besides, if the Exportation of Bullion should be brought under any greater difficulty than of any other Commodity, it is to be considered whether the management of that Trade which is in skilful hands, will not thereupon be so ordered, as to divert it from coming to England for the future, and cause it to be sent from Spain, directly to those places where they know English Debts will make it turn to the best Accompt, to answer Bills of Exchange sent thither.
FINIS.
ADVERTISEMENT.
SOme Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest, and Raising the Money. In a Letter to a Member of Parliament Sold by Awnsham and John Churchill.
