CHAP. XXVI. 



ASIA. 319 



and they must of necessity have transmitted much 

 of the precious metals to make their purchases of 

 Asiatic commodities. 



Under a review of all the circumstances, it may 

 be a fair assumption to calculate that the portion 

 of the precious metals exported to India and 

 China by the Cape of Good Hope, which is not 

 included in the account in the Appendix, No. 14, 

 amounted to one-third of what is shown by that 

 account, or about five hundred thousand pounds 

 sterling annually during the twenty years. This 

 will make the whole supply furnished to Asia in 

 that direction amount to forty millions, or at the 

 average rate of two millions yearly. This is 

 about half the sum which Humboldt had estimated 

 for the supplies of the same countries, when he 

 wrote his work on Mexico, now almost thirty 

 years ago. 



Humboldt calculated that silver to nearly the 

 amount of four million dollars passed annually 

 from Europe to China, through the Russian pro- 

 vinces on the Caspian Sea, and by the way of 

 Kiachta and Tobolsk in Siberia. It is likely that 

 so industrious an author would make due ex- 

 amination before he published such a statement ; 

 but though it may have been correct then, yet 

 thirty years have made a great alteration, and the 

 balance of trade is become so much in favour of 

 Europe, as will be seen in the Appendix, No. 15, 

 that instead of Russia having any necessity to 



