QUERY XXI.

The weights, measures and the currency of the hard money? Some details relating to exchange with Europe?

Our weights and measures are the same which are fixed by acts of parliament in England. How it has happened that in this as well as the other American States the nominal value of coin was made to differ from what it was in the country we had left, and to differ among ourselves too, I am not able to say with certainty. I find that in 1631 our house of burgesses desired of the privy council in England, a coin debased to twenty-five per cent.; that in 1645 they forbid dealing by barter for tobacco, and established the Spanish piece of eight at six shillings, as the standard of their currency; that in 1655 they changed it to five shillings sterling. In 1680 they sent an address to the king, in consequence of which, by proclamation in 1683, he fixed the value of French crowns, rix dollars, and pieces of eight, at six shillings, and the coin of New England at one shilling. That in 1710, 1714, 1727, and 1762, other regulations were made, which will be better presented to the eye stated in the form of a table as follows:

1710.1714.1797.1762.
Guineas....26s.
British gold coin not milled, gold coin of Spain and France, chequins, Arabian gold, moidores of Portugal....5s. dwt.
Coined gold of the empire....5s. dwt.....4s.3d. dwt.
English milled silver money, in proportion to the crown, at....5s.10d.6s.3d.
Pieces of eight of Mexico,Seville & Pillar, ducatoons of Flanders, French ecus, or silver Louis, crusados of Portugal3¾d. dwt.....4d.dwt.
Peru pieces, cross dollars, and old rix dollars of the empire3½d. dwt.....3¾d. dwt.
Old British silver not milled....3¾d. dwt.

The first symptom of the depreciation of our present paper money, was that of silver dollars selling at six shillings, which had before been worth but five shilling and ninepence. The assembly thereupon raised them by law to six shillings. As the dollar is now likely to become the money-unit of America, as it passes at this rate in some of our sister States, and as it facilitates their computation in pounds and shillings, &c., converso, this seems to be more convenient than its former denomination. But as this particular coin now stands higher than any other in the proportion of one hundred and thirty-three and a half to one hundred and twenty-five, or sixteen to fifteen, it will be necessary to raise the others in proportion.

QUERY XXII.

The public Income and expenses?

The nominal amount of these varying constantly and rapidly, with the constant and rapid depreciation of our paper money, it becomes impracticable to say what they are. We find ourselves cheated in every essay by the depreciation intervening between the declaration of the tax and its actual receipt. It will therefore be more satisfactory to consider what our income may be when we shall find means of collecting what our people may spare. I should estimate the whole taxable property of this State at an hundred millions of dollars, or thirty millions of pounds, our money. One per cent. on this, compared with anything we ever yet paid, would be deemed a very heavy tax. Yet I think that those who manage well, and use reasonable economy, could pay one and a half per cent., and maintain their household comfortably in the meantime, without aliening any part of their principal, and that the people would submit to this willingly for the purpose of supporting their present contest. We may say, then, that we could raise, from one million to one million and a half of dollars annually, that is from three hundred to four hundred and fifty thousand pounds, Virginia money.

Of our expenses it is equally difficult to give an exact state, and for the same reason. They are mostly stated in paper money, which varying continually, the legislature endeavors at every session, by new corrections, to adapt the nominal sums to the value it is wished they would bear. I will state them, therefore, in real coin, at the point at which they endeavor to keep them:

Dollars.
The annual expenses of the general assembly are about20,000
The governor3,333⅓
The council of state10,666⅔
Their clerks1,166⅔
Eleven judges11,000
The clerk of the chancery666⅔
The attorney general1,000
Three auditors and a solicitor5,333⅓
Their clerks2,000
The treasurer2,000
His clerks2,000
The keeper of the public jail1,000
The public printer1,666⅔
Clerks of the inferior courts43,333⅓
Public levy; this is chiefly for the expenses of criminal justice40,000
County levy, for bridges, court-houses, prisons, &c.40,000
Members of Congress7,000
Quota of the federal civil list, supposed one-sixth of about $78,00013,000
Expenses of collecting, six per cent. on the above12,310
The clergy receive only voluntary contributions;suppose them on an average one-eighth of a dollar a tythe on 200,000 tythes25,000
Contingencies, to make round numbers not far from truth7,523⅓
$250,000