We shall here find the question infinitely more involved in combinations, than hitherto we have found it. We shall find the most sagacious people in the world, with regard to trade and money, struggling with all the inconveniencies of an ill regulated coinage, and an old worn out silver currency; carrying on their reckonings by the help of agio; weighing their specie; giving allowance for light weight; buying silver with silver, and gold with gold; as if it were impossible to bring the value of these metals to an equation; and loading commerce with an infinity of brokers, Jews, and cashiers, without the aid of which it is impossible in Holland either to pay or to receive considerable sums in material money.
It is very true that what must appear an inextricable perplexity to a stranger, is really none at all to the Dutch. Trade is there so well reduced to system, and every branch of it so completely furnished with hands to carry it forward, that the whole goes on mechanically, and though at a great additional expence to trade in general, yet at none to the merchant; because he regularly sums up all this extraordinary expence upon his dealings, before he superadds his own profit upon the operation. Were therefore all this unnecessary expence avoided, by a proper regulation of the coin, the consequence would be, to diminish the price of goods to strangers, as well as to the inhabitants, to leave the profits upon trade, relative to the merchants, exactly as before; and to increase, considerably, the trade of the republic, by enabling them to furnish all commodities to other nations cheaper than they can do, as matters stand; but were this plan put in execution, the consequence would also be, to take bread from all those who at present live by the disorder, which ought to be removed.
Of the regulations in the Dutch mint.
Regulations in the Dutch mint.
The unit of weight in the Dutch mint, is the marc Holland’s troes, or gold weight.
Their unit of weight is the marc Holland’s troes.
This weight is about 1½ per cent. lighter than 8 ounces English weight, without coming to the most scrupulous exactness.
This marc is divided into 8 ounces; every ounce into 20 engles; every engle into 32 aces or grains. The ounce therefore contains 640, and the marc 5120 aces. By this weight, bullion is bought, and the coin is delivered at the mint, or weighed in circulation, when weighing is necessary.
The remede of weight on silver.
The mint delivers the silver coin by the marc weight; but from the full weight, there is deducted as a remedy, one engles and one ace, or 33 aces: so the marc of the mint, by which they deliver the silver, contains 5087 aces, in place of 5120.