APRIL — sept. 1859.] Ancient and Modern times. 115 



additional sums despatched by way of Marseilles. Nor, judging 

 merely from the figures before us, does the drain present any 

 signs of slackening ; for, while the exports in the first quarter of 

 1857 were £4,025,713, or at the rate of £16,102,852 per annum, 

 those in the second quarter reached £4,740,100, or at the rate of 

 £18,960,400 per annum. Last year the magnitude of the ship- 

 ments of silver eastwards excited general remark, yet in the first 

 six months of 1856, the total was not more than £5,100,633, 

 being £3,665,180 less than in the corresponding period of the 

 present year. In the corresponding six months of 1855, the ag- 

 gregate amount was only £2,514,806. The increase is especially 

 conspicuous in the remittances to China, which in the months 

 now ended, has absorbed £2,726,786, against only £937,288 in 

 the corresponding period of last year. These figures refer to 

 China Proper. The other regions of the East have this year taken 

 £6,039,027, against £4,163,345 at the same date last year. Fi- 

 nally, in order to give the clearest possible idea of the rapidity of 

 the general movement, we will summarise the aggregate figures 

 for the last seven years, viz. : — The total remittances from Eng- 

 land to the East were : 



In the whole of 1851 £1,818,380 



1852 , 3,551,977 



1853 5,590,867 



1854 4,306,302 



1855 7,358,161 



1856 12,118,985 



In the first six months of 1857, £8,765,813, or at the rate for 

 the year of 17,531,626. 



" The first question that naturally suggests itself when figures 

 of this magnitude are adduced is, whence are such enormous 

 quantities of silver derived ? The answer is readily supplied. Great 

 Britain, we know, does not supply them out of her stock of silver, 

 for enormous though the amount of silver coinage doubtless is, 

 each piece of British silver money is merely a token, and worth, 

 at the current price of silver considerably less than the sum which 

 it professes to represent. But a different system prevails on the 

 Continent, whence, accordingly the Eastern demand for silver is 



