A letter from an English merchant at Amsterdam, to his friend at London, concerning the trade and coin of England P. D. 1695 Approx. 19 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 7 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2007-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A37398 Wing D77 ESTC R17693 11740701 ocm 11740701 48488 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A37398) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 48488) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 487:19) A letter from an English merchant at Amsterdam, to his friend at London, concerning the trade and coin of England P. D. D'Aranda, Paul, 1624?-1669. [2], 10 p. [s.n.], London : printed in the year 1695. Signed: P.D. Attributed doubtfully to Paul Daranda. Reproduction of original in Library of Congress. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Currency question -- England. 2006-09 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2006-09 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2006-10 Celeste Ng Sampled and proofread 2006-10 Celeste Ng Text and markup reviewed and edited 2007-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A LETTER FROM AN English Merchant AT AMSTERDAM , TO HIS FRIEND AT LONDON , CONCERNING THE Trade and Coin of ENGLAND . LONDON : Printed in the YEAR 1695. A LETTER FROM An English Merchant at Amsterdam , to his Friend at London . SIR , I Writ you sometime since my Opinion concerning the rise of Gold and Guinea's in England , the Occasions of it , the Consequences attending it , and the Means whereby it might be remedied ; which if not done , I told you my fears what it would in time produce , and which you have since seen actually come to pass . And truly , though in a manner a stranger to my Native Country , yet cannot but have an Affection for it , and be much concerned at the difficulty it Labours under in a great measure from the Ill Conduct of its Policy in respect to your Coin , and the little Skill your People have , in respect to Gold or Silver , and the Balance of Trade . Whereon I willingly give you my further Thoughts , as far as my time will allow me for your own Information : And if you agree with me , and can make use of them for the benefit of the Publick , I shall be hearty glad ; and though I have been a sharer in the Spoil , yet not a little affected with the Calamity . The occasion of the Advance of Gold and Guinea's , I observed to you , was from the badness of your Silver Coin , that is currant amongst you , and from whence that Mischief had its rise , that as I hear , a Hundred Pounds in Silver weighs now generally but 14l . to 18l . instead of 32l . which it ought to weigh ; and this you have suffered insensibly to steal upon you , growing every day , and from one Year to another , Clipping it by degrees three or four times over , till at last it 's come to this , that it can hardly be clipt any longer ; and this Evil was carried on in City and Country by ill Men , and encouraged by some Goldsmiths , Refiners , and others ; as in a like case your Stock-Jobbers did , by deceiving the People with Tricks and Artifices in your several imaginary Stocks so called , of Paper , Linnen , Copper , Diving , Dipping , Salt-Petre , &c. which , according to a common Notion amongst you , every thing is as much worth as it will sell for ; and so those things were bought and sold some ten times ( some more , some less ) as much as they were worth ; some were perfect Air and Fancy , and many Families ruined by these Projects : And so a clipt Shilling or Half Crown , where is the hurt , it will go ? This brought upon you the rise of Gold and Guinea's , and occasioned our sending you such great Quantities . But could your People be guilty of a greater weakness , than to take them from us ? Hamburgh , Spain , Scotland , Ireland , and all other Neighbouring Parts of Europe , at an advanced Price , to cheat your selves by an imaginary Value that you set upon them , whereby you brought your selves into Debt to us ; for it 's the same thing I think , whether you buy Gold of us , or any other Commodity , it brings you into Debt to us , and your other Neighbours , which , supposing you wise Men , you must think to pay us again . No Man can complain of Gold or Silver being brought into a Country , if it be the Returns of your Commodities , and that it comes to you at no more than it's worth , it 's a sign of Riches and Increase , and of an over-balance of Trade in favour of that Kingdom or Country . But did you enquire how you came by our Gold , that it was not we , or your other Neighbours owed it you ; no , you bought it at too dear a Rate , making good the Old Proverb , A Man may buy Gold too dear : Not considering how you should pay for it , which must be either in Silver Commodities , or by sending our Gold back at 4l . an Ounce , which you took from us at 5l . to 5l . 6s . for we shall not take it at more , and so you will lose backward and forward ; and pray consider if you had not better been without it . To pay us again Silver you have none , for you have carried on that Cheat too far to make 50 or 60l . pass for 100l . We have had the Clippings off of it ; but how did we take them ? Not as you did our Gold , did Silver advance with us , as Gold has with you ; nor did your Commodities immediately advance in any proportion to the rise of Gold. Commodities , I think , we have pretty well drained you of ; and I have heard that some of your Unthinking , Ignorant People have thought it a great Advantage , and talk big of the rise of your Wool , Minerals , Manufactures , Skins , &c. I must confess it 's a good Effect of a bad Cause ; but it has no Foundation if you examine it , nor have your People any reason to rejoyce at it , without it be in making them dear to your selves , and cheap to your Neighbours . Matter of Fact will prove this : You have no more Money from us for your Perpetuanoes , Cloaths , Lead , &c. than you use to have , but less ; I appeal to your own Accounts , are they not sold cheaper here , and in Spain , Italy , Germany , Flanders , &c. than they use to be ? We can buy more , and Cloath our selves cheaper with your Cloath than you can do . But above all , and which is worst of all , we can send them to the East-Indies , Turkey , Italy , Spain , and all the World over , cheaper than you can ; whereby you must lose your Trade and Navigation , and become a poor People , if you think no better of it . As for Example , If our East-India Company want 1000 Cloaths to send to India , or our Turkey Merchants to Turkey ; they buy , and you buy , at suppose 10l . a Cloth , ours cost us but about 75 to 80 Guilders , yours 10l . for so I must call it , though I must confess it 's not above 6l . of good Money ; the Question is , Which of us can sell cheapest abroad , and upon the Returns , will be the best Gainers , he that has laid out 75 Guilders , or he that has laid out 10l . And whether we cannot afford to sell our Returns cheaper , either from India or Turkey , and work up our Silk into Manufactures , and send them out again to any Part of the World , cheaper by almost 25 per Cent. than you can ? If this be true , you must lose all your Trade . The same Reason holds in your Silver sent to the East-Indies , we can send an Ounce , which stands us in 5s . 2d . for Silver is not more worth here , and you must go with Pieces of Eight at 7s . or Bars at 6s . 4d . Which goes cheapest to Market ? And which can sell cheapest at their return ? The same thing is true in your East-Country Trade , for your Stores , in your Trade with us and all the World besides . Ask any of your People that have been lately here , if they can buy any more for a Guinea now you call it 30s . than you could when you called it 21s . 6d . The Dutch are wiser , and it will , it must be so with you in a little time . Besides , as to your Manufactures , you ought to consider and take heed that you be not exhausted of all you have , and want Wool to set your People at Work , and Employ your Poor . I think it 's evident you have almost cut the English Merchant , and English Shipping out of all Trade ; for a Dutchman , a Spaniard , Portuguez , or Italian , makes his Advantage at first : Lays out less Money , runs the Risque of less ; as thus , if they remit their Money , suppose the Italian 1000 Dollars from Livorn , he has 300l . at 6s . per Dollar ; his Exchange is made , and he has 300l . for what he would have had formerly but 230l . he runs the Risque of no more than he did before . You have your Exchange to make , more Money to lay out , a greater Sum to run the Risque of , or to Ensure upon . So the Spaniard gets 5s . 8d . for his Piece of Eight , the Portuguez 7s . 6d . for his Milrea , and we give you but 27s . for your Pound , and have all of us these Advantages upon you , and you must wait the uncertainty of the Exchange for your Returns , and of Markets , either at home or abroad , for your Sales ; but to place it where there is no Exchange , we have all certainly 20 to 25 per Cent. Advantage upon you . All which considered , if you will continue your Trade , Employ your People and Shipping , and subsist under an Expensive ( though Necessary ) War , you must call in your Money , new Coin it of its Ancient Weight and Allay ; abate , as much as in you lyes , the Consumption of Foreign Commodities , especially those of Luxury and Prodigality ; be thrifty in all your Expences , and above all , greater care must be taken of your Trade , to prevent those Losses which you have sustained , and is in a great measure the cause of all your Miseries . I am informed that the main Objections against the Calling in , and new Coining your Money , are reduced to these four . ( 1. ) How you shall make good the Loss to the People . That they will lose 8s . 6d . by a Guiney , and perhaps 30 to 40 l. or 50 l. in a Hundred . ( 2. ) That during the War it 's not convenient to be done , it must be in a time of Peace . ( 3. ) That if it be brought to its due Weight and Fineness , it will be all carried out , and you will want the Species of Money . ( 4. ) That it passes , and serves all necessary Occasions of Life , buys Bread , Drink , Meat , pays House-Rent , &c. For the First , it would not become me to Advise the making or not making good the Loss to the People , nor the Method of doing it , that will be duly considered by your Parliament , who now suddenly are to meet ; and God Almighty prosper their Consultations . For the Second , it s not being to be done during the War : I think the War is an Argument for doing it . I do not see how you can carry on the War unless it be done ; I could be glad to have the Reasons sent me that those Men give , who make this difficulty , the delay of it , to any considering Man , must make the Sore worse , and the Contagion spread : I would hope that it 's not so bad as we fancy , and that great Quantities of large Money are hoarded up by those that can keep it , which is laid by now upon the fear of an Alteration ; and if nothing be done in it , Necessity may force that abroad , and so come to be clipt , and thereby make the Loss greater . You have seen , and are convinced , that had it been done in 1694. your Money was not then so bad as it is now , and it 's dangerous to let a thing run too long without Repair . Perhaps , and so much the better , that it 's only the very worst of your Money that passes now one to another : But I hear that it 's with difficulty that that is paid , and that one third of it is Iron , or counterfeited . Can you think that by that time the War is at an end , which God knows when it will , but that much more of your Silver Money will be Clipt , and perhaps , your quantity of Iron and Counterfeit Money doubled upon you , so that what would make good the Loss now , may be double or treble then . Besides , if it be not done now , your Guineys must rise , if you will keep them ; so that the Loss may come to be 18 s. 6 d. on a Guiney , instead of 8 s. 6 d. A Man need be no Prophet to tell this , they are better worth 40 s. than 100 l. in common Tale 50. then you will Repent , as surely you now do , that it was not done last Year , or seven Years ago : And consider how much better it had been for you , that your Bank , Companies , Goldsmiths , Refiners , and Jews , had Exported your Coin instead of those Millions of Ounces of Clipt Silver , for that was robbed from the Publick , which now cry to have it made good to them ; and if still delayed , your Growth and Manufactures must daily rise , to the Prejudice of the English , and Benefit of Foreigners : And your Exchanges by consequence must render not only your own Goods and Product , but all Foreign that you Import , excessively dear to you . To the Third , That if it be brought to its due weight and Fineness , it will be all carried out . It 's a certain Truth , so it will , so it must ; if you owe , you must pay , there is no Remedy : But you would not part with your Money . The Trade of a Nation is the same as between single Persons , and holds equally true . Two Merchants agree for Commodities , or two Farmers agree , one sows Wheat , the other Barley ; and they are to Truck , so many Bushels of Barley against so many of Wheat ; the Barley is cut and delivered , the Crop of Wheat fails ; now , must not the want be made good in Money , if he has it , or be trusted , or the Man must break ? This is the Nature of Trade in and with all Nations , and of England at this time , who is in the condition of the Man with his Crop of Wheat . You abate nothing of your Expence , you have an Army and Fleet abroad to maintain ; your Losses by Sea , especially from the East and West Indies , the most Profitable of your Trades , have been Great . Your Crop has failed , but still you would keep your Money , but you cannot ; you owe , and you must pay . We take your Woollen , Goods , and Minerals , &c. and we must have the remaining Balance in Money , and if you have no Silver , our Gold must come back , though you should carry on the Cheat further upon your selves , and raise your Guinea to 35 , nay , 40 s. You must by care of Trade get us into your Debt , and then you will have our Money . You have an Instance with Ireland very plain , 100 l. in England used to be worth 110 l. to 115 l. in Ireland ; now they write me thence , that they give but 80 to 83 in Ireland for 100 l. in England . They sent you all their Guineys , and though they raised them upon themselves from 23 s. to 26 s. which they needed not have done , they must and will have their Gold again , and they are now going back . You may send them Guineys at 30 s. which they taking at 26 s. is better than to lose 24 per Cent. by the Exchange . The other Objection , of your Clipt Money serving and buying all the Necessary Occasions of Life , as Bread , Beer , Meat , &c. has little in it , ( for that is not altogether true , your Corn is the dearer ) unless the Expence was all that you had need of ; you see that all things else , both Exported and Imported , are regulated in some measure by the Value of your Money , and it has its Influence , and will daily have more and more upon your Provisions . It 's reported here , that you are upon a Project of lessening the Weight of your Money , by making it 20 per Cent. or any thing , what you will , less in Weight , than you formerly coined it , and to stamp 4 s. and call it , and make it pass for 5 s. Surely this Fallacy can never pass upon English-men , that have seen and known the folly of such Devices in Spain and Portugal : And some say , it will bring you in Silver ; it may do so , and abundance more , if you will call 2 s. 6 d. 5 s. and make it pass so ; and you shall have Silver as you have had Gold , but remember who will get by it . You must pay us for it , not in Name , we shall not take 2 s. 6 d. for 5s . but it will please us to see you bubled , and that you will sell us any thing upon that foot . We shall buy all you have with your imaginary 5s . and furnish the rest of the World with them ; for if your Goods , Growth , Product and Manufactures , and Lands do not immediately advance in proportion , we shall have a fine time to buy Goods and Land in England ; and we shall buy your Shipping too , for I cannot see any further occasion you can have of it . Is your Landed-man asleep , and thinks nothing is the matter that Lands in England could not be purchased , 10 l. a Year , at 20 Years Purchase , under 2100 Guilders , and that now we can buy 10 l. a Year for 1600 Guilders ; that is , some few Years since 200 l. in England would have cost us 2100 Guilders , and now we have it for 1600. So that your Lands are not risen , but fallen Five Years Purchase , and you seem not aware of it . And does not the Country Gentleman find that he has not so much for his 100 l. as he used to have , of Sugar , Linnen , Wine , Apparel , &c. Nor can he spend so much as he used to do . On which I could say much more ; but I doubt I have been too Prolix . You will Pardon my indigested Thoughts in Love and Zeal to my Native Country , and in Answer to your Desires , Who am , SIR , Your Most Humble Servant , P. D. Amsterdam , Nov. 29. N. S. 95. P. S. The Consequences of lessening the weight of your Coin , with respect to your selves , or amongst one another , must stare every Man in the Face ; that you must lose so much of your Rents , Debts , value of your Lands , unless your Tenants take new Leases , and the Landlord advance his Rent so much , and all Contracts be made void , and Debts be paid in old Money . But I have rather confined my Thoughts to what relates to you and us , and your other Neighbours , that what is owing to you abroad , must be remitted to you , payable in Old Money , as you have it now from Spain , or I fancy you will come by the Loss . FINIS .