A. D. 1696. 681 



cent interefl, they foon rofe from a fmall difcount to be better than par. 

 Thefe have fnice been ifTucd yearly, and the bank of England has con- 

 flantly, for many years paft, been the contractors for their circulation, 

 at a certain premium ; for which end the bank takes annual fubfcrip- 

 tions for enabling them to circulate them. By all which means, the 

 public was aflifled to fupport the general trade of the nation, though 

 not without great difficulty, till the new money was ilTued from the 

 mint. 



Thus was this mofl: arduous affair of the recoinage brought to a hap- 

 py ilTue by the clofe of the year 1697 ; and the currency of all the old 

 hammered filver coins was abfolutely prohibited by adt of parliament. 

 [9 Gnl. Ill, c. 3.] This famous recoinage (which, one way or other, 

 was thought to have coft the public near three millions of money) was 

 performed at London, and in the cities of Exeter, Briftol, Chefler, York, 

 and Norwich. 



D'Avenant, in the firfl part of his Difcourfes on the public revenues 

 and trade of England, [/>. 50, ed. 1698] makes the clipped money 

 amount to nine millions : and he fays, there were four millions of guineas 

 current. According to his New dialogues, [F. ii, p, 75] there was at this 

 time recoined from the old hammered money L5,725,933. Now if 

 the old broad pieces, and jacobus's of gold, and the fine milled filver 

 money of King Charles II, and later, be well confidered, it feems pro- 

 bable that the whole cafli of England may have been about fixteen mil- 

 lions : which computation (including Scotland") comes pretty near what 

 is generally thought to be the prefent calh of Great Britain, (1760) ex- 

 clufive of a large quantity of foreign gold coins, at prefent, and for a 

 long time part, circulating in the kingdom. 



From the year 1673, when the former ftanding council of commerce 

 was dropped, till this time, difputes and regulations relating to com- 

 merce and colonies were ufually referred to committees of the privy- 

 council : but fuch occnfional committees, being a conftantly-varying fet 

 of members, and having, befides, no ftated appointments for their trouble 

 and attendance, it is no marvel that they aded but hojdy ^nd fupetfici- 

 ally. It was now therefor high time to eftablifli a regular and perman- 

 ent board for fuch important ends ; our foreign commerce and plan- 

 tations, as well as moft branches of our home trade, and of our numerous 

 manufadlures, being fo greatly increafed and improved. This new 

 board (befides Ibme of the minifters of ftate who only attend on extra- 

 ordinary occafions) confifts of a firfi lord commiflioner, who is ufually 

 a peer of the realm, and of feven other commiflioners, with a falary of 

 each Li 000 yearly *. 



* Iiillead of Mr Anderfon's account of the thentic extrafl of the names of the full commiflion- 

 nntuie of this new board, compof d from his own ers, and of the duty required of them, 

 knowlege, I have fubllituied the following au- < King William, by a commiffion dated the 15th 



Vol. II. 4 R 



