236 TRINIDAD. 



in a position to know its liabilities, assumes a heavy responsibility, 

 either in himself proposing or sanctioning measures which must 

 increase, or even prevent the decrease, of such liabilities. The 

 day of reckoning must, of course, come ; arid with that knowledge 

 let us not lose sight of Jamaica, Antigua, and St. Vincent. 



The amount of specie in circulation is taken in the blue book 

 of 1853 at 40,000, and that of bank-notes, at 50,000. 

 Sterling money was rendered the standard coin in the year 

 1845, previous to which period the Spanish or Mexican medium 

 had prevailed : this consisted of the dollar the subdivisions 

 of which were the quarter- dollar, the two-bit, bit, half-bit, 

 and quarter-bit, or stampee pieces. There was also a local coin 

 the cut-dollar, or nine-bit piece a certain quantity of silver, 

 supposed to be equal to one bit, being cut out of the centre of the 

 Spanish dollar. This was evidently a spurious one as regards 

 intrinsic value. There has been also in circulation for several 

 years a colonial coin, viz., the quarter-dollar, the one-eighth of a 

 dollar, or five-stampee piece, and the one-sixteenth of a dollar, or 

 the two-stampee and-a-half piece. The gold coin long continued 

 to be purely Spanish or Hispano- American, viz., the doubloon or 

 sixteen-dollar piece, the moida, or eight dollars, with the four 

 and two dollar pieces. 



At present, there is a variety of coins to be found in the 

 colony Gold besides the English, the Spanish (few), Peru- 

 vian, and other Hispano- American doubloons, the two and four 

 dollar pieces, and the United States coin. Silver besides the 

 English, the Spanish and Mexican dollars, the half and quarter 

 dollar, and two-bit pieces, and a very large ingredient of the 

 French twenty-five centimes pieces, circulating here as half-bit or 

 five cents, though their real value is only four cents. If it were not, 

 however, for that small coin, retail transactions would be rather 

 difficult. As a consequence of this promiscuous circulation, frauds 

 have been often attempted, and more than once practised on the 

 inhabitants, the victims being the lower and ignorant classes. 



BANKING. It would be superfluous to enter into details as to 

 the disastrous consequences to individuals of the failure of the 

 West India Bank : all suffered alike, the field labourers and the 

 merchants ; and very fortunate were the holders of the five-dollar 

 notes, who managed to dispose of them at three or even two and 

 a half dollars to persons who were indebted to the bank. On the 



