xii INTRODUCTION. 



writing which implies that the figures for 1 703 are ' chiefly 

 from the Postman! Another says, ' The newspapers of 

 this period seldom give the prices of stock ; the Daily 

 Courant only in 1704. The regular quotation of this 

 and other stocks by the papers begins in 1710, just 

 when the Godolphin Ministry was threatened. It is 

 curious that when the stock was depressed before so 

 seriously in 1 705-6, the notices of its price are so few. 

 In early days the dividends were paid very soon 

 a week or ten days after the books were shut. As 

 time goes on the process takes from a month to six 

 weeks/ Under the head of 1704 is written: 'The 

 Daily Courant gives prices from March 18. The 

 others are generally from the Postman and sometimes 

 the Postboy! The following table shows the sources 

 from which the quotations that I have added are 

 drawn. 



1766. | London Chronicle and Lloyd's Evening Post. 



1767. J Occasionally St. James's Chronicle. 



1768. Lloyd's Evening Journal and the London Chronicle. But the 



latter is often wanting, and the omissions are generally 

 supplied by the St. James's Chronicle, occasionally by the 

 Westminster Journal. 



1769. London Chronicle &!&& Lloyd' s Evening Journal. 



1770. Lloyd' s Evening Post and General Evening Post. The entries 



on Oct. 1 6, 25, 27, Nov. 3, 20, are from the Middlesex 

 Journal. 



1771. General Evening Post, and Gazetteer and New Daily Adver- 



tiser, but several quotations are from the Public General 

 Advertiser. 



1 772-80. General Evening Post and Public Advertiser. 



1781-5. Public Advertiser. 



1786-92. Public Advertiser ', supplemented by Morning Chronicle. 



1793- The information was extracted from many papers. The 

 Public Advertiser was in a transition stage, becoming the 

 Oracle early in 1794, and the Morning Chronicle, the series 

 of which is nearly complete, does not give prices of 



