INCREASE OF COIN AND CHAP. xxi. 



their wealth not as measured by money, but in 

 corn; in cattle; in the improved condition of the 

 soil ; in the number, condition, and furniture of 

 their houses ; in their implements of industry and 

 domestic utensils ; in their fuel and clothing ; in 

 the stocks of goods in stack-yards, barns, shops, 

 and warehouses ; in their carriages for business or 

 pleasure ; in their ships and boats ; and, in short, 

 in all the various descriptions of real wealth 

 we may fairly conclude that the five million five 

 hundred thousand individuals in 1700 enjoyed at 

 least double the amount of material wealth that 

 was possessed by the three million eight hundred 

 thousand in 1600. If that conclusion be admitted, 

 it must follow, that as the new commodities would 

 for the most part not be consumed by those who 

 produced them, but must have been exchanged 

 for money, more than double the quantity of silver 

 and gold in the form of coin must have been re- 

 quired for easy circulation, and to keep their 

 money prices from falling. 



This view has been more minutely directed to 

 England than can be necessary with respect to the 

 other European commonwealths. Some few of those 

 countries advanced both in wealth and population 

 at a more rapid pace than England. It was the 

 case with Holland; with the Netherlands, then 

 comprehending the part now known as French 

 Flanders ; with the plains of Lombardy ; and 

 perhaps with that which now makes a part of 



