filver, in proportion to the little gold remaining among us, is altogether as unneceffary, as it is inconvenient. A person of distinction affured me very lately, that, in difcourfing with the [f] lord lieutenant before his last return to England, his excellency faid, He had preffed the matter often, in proper time and place, and to proper perfons; and could not fee any difficulty of the leaft moment, that could prevent us from being made easy upon this article.

Whoever carries to England twenty-seven English fillings, and brings back one moidore of full weight, is a gainer of nine-pence Irish: in a guinea, the advantage is threepence; and two-pence in a piftole. The BANKERS, who are generally mafters of all our gold and filver, with this advantage, have fent over as much of the latter, as came into their hands. The value of one thousand moidores in filver would thus amount, in clear profit, to 37%. 105. The Shopkeepers, and other traders, who go to London to buy goods, followed the fame practice; by which we have been driven into this infupportable diftrefs.

To a common thinker it fhould feem, that nothing would be more easy than for the government to redrefs this evil, at any time they fhall pleafe. When the value of guineas were lowered in England from 21 s. and 6 d. to only 21 s. the confequences to this king

[F] The Lord Carteret.

dom

dom were obvious, and manifeft to us all : and a fober man may be allowed at least to wonder, although he dare not complain, why a new regulation of coin among us was not then made; much more, why it hath never been fince. It would furely require no very profound skill in Algebra to reduce the difference of nine-pence in thirty fhillings, or threepence in a guinea to lefs than a farthing; and fo fmall a fraction could be no temptation either to bankers to hazard their filver at fea, or tradefmen to load themselves with it in their journies to England. In my humble opinion, it would be no unfeasonable condefcenfion, if the government would graciously please to fignify to the poor loyal Proteftant fubjects of Ireland, either that this miferable want of filver is not poffible to be remedied in any degree by the niceft fkill in arithmetick; or elfe, that it doth not ftand with the good pleasure of England to fuffer any filver at all among us. In the former cafe, it would be madness to expect impoffibilities; and in the other, we must fubmit: for lives and fortunes are always at the mercy of the CONQUEROR.

The question hath been often put in printed papers, by the DRAPIER and others, or, perhaps, by the fame WRITER under different ftyles, why this kingdom fhould not be permitted to have a mint of its own for the coinage of gold, filver, and copper; which is a power exercised by many bishops, and every petty prince, in Germany? But this question

C

hath

hath never been answered; nor the least application, that I have heard of, made to the crown from hence for the grant of a publick mint; although it ftands upon record, that feveral cities and corporations here had the liberty of coining filver. I can fee no reafons, why we alone of all nations are thus reftrained, but fuch as I dare not mention: only thus far I may venture, that Ireland is the firft imperial kingdom fince Nimrod, which ever wanted power to coin their own money.

I know very well, that in England it is lawful for any fubject to petition either the prince or the parliament, provided it be done in a dutiful and regular manner: but what is lawful for a fubject of Ireland, I profess I cannot determine: nor will undertake, that the printer fhall not be profecuted in a court of juftice for publishing my wishes, that a poor fhopkeeper might be able to change a guinea or a moidore when a cuftomer comes for a crown's worth of goods. I have known lefs crimes punished with the utmost severity, under the title of difaffection. And I cannot but approve the wifdom of the ancients, who, after Aftrea had fled from the earth, at least took care to provide three upright Men's ears among us are judges for bell. indeed grown fo nice, that whoever happens to think out of fashion, in what relates to the welfare of this kingdom, dare not fo much as complain of the tooth ach, left our

weak

weak and busy dabblers in politicks should be ready to fwear against him for difaffection.

There was a method practifed by Sir Ambrofe Crawley, the great dealer in iron-works, which I wonder the gentlemen of our country, under this great exigence, have not thought fit to imitate. In the feveral towns and villages where he dealt, and many miles round, he gave notes instead of money (from two-pence to twenty fhillings) which paffed current in all fhops and markets, as well as in houfes, where meat or drink was fold. I fee no reason, why the like practice may not be introduced among us with fome degree of fuccefs; or at least may not serve as a poor expedient in this our blefed age of paper; which, as it dischargeth all our greatest payments, may be equally useful in the fmaller, and may just keep us alive, until an English act of parliament fall forbid it.

I have been told, that, among fome of our poorest American colonies upon the continent, the people enjoy the liberty of cutting the little money among them into halves and quarters for the conveniencies of small traffick. How happy fhould we be, in comparifon of our prefent condition, if the like privilege were granted to us of employing the fheers, for want of a mint, upon our foreign gold by clipping it into half-crowns, and billings, and even lower denominations; for the beggars must be content to live upon fcraps! and it would be our felicity, that C, 2 thefe

these scraps could never be exported to other countries, while any thing better was left.

If neither of thefe projects will avail, I fee nothing left us but to truck and barter our goods like the wild Indians with each other, or with our too powerful neighbours; only with this disadvantage on our fide, that the Indians enjoy the product of their own land; whereas the better half of ours is fent away, without fo much as a recompence in bugles or glafs in return.

It must needs be a very comfortable circumftance in the present juncture, that fome thoufand families are gone, are going, or preparing to go, from hence, and fettle themfelves in America: the poorer fort for want of work; the farmers, whose beneficial bargains are now become a rack-rent too hard to be borne, and those who have any ready money, or can purchase any by the fale of their goods or leafes, because they find their fortunes hourly decaying, that their goods will bear no price, and that few or none have any money to buy the very neceffaries of life, are hattening to follow their departed neighbours. It is true, corn among us carries a very high price; it is for the fame reason, that rats, and cats, and dead horfes have been often bought for gold in a town befieged.

but

There is a perfon of quality in my neighbourhood, who, twenty years ago, when he was just come to age, being unexperienced and of a generous temper, let his lands, even as times went then, at a low rate to able

tenants;