By Current Coin, I mean not that which is Current by Law, but by Custom; that which People are forc’d to take for want of better, to the great Grievance of the Subject, Dishonour of the Kingdom, and Obstruction of Trade.

For every Man now is destitute of a sufficient Pledge and Security for his Personal Estate, unless he will take Personal Security, or find out a Mortgage, or rely upon a Bank.

Personal Security is now less than ever, the publick Banks have so drain’d or so engag’d at least the Traders in Money.

Mortgages are very hard to be found, for small Summs, and much harder for great ones, since the establishment of the new Banks.

And as for a sole reliance on the Credit of the new Banks I leave that for other Heads to discuss; I am of the Opinion it was never intended that they should be the only Security for Personal Estates, and that People should carry in their Money to ’em out of necessity, and not choice.

And how dishonourable it is to the King and Kingdom that our Money should be so suddenly debased to such a shameful Degree, foreign States will soon determine:

Now that it doth not become so by publick Authority but by Connivence of the Sovereignty, or Necessities of the Nation, is not stating the thing at all less Dishonourably.

For Connivence at a Fault discovers either an Ignorance of it, or Inability to correct it, or design in making use of it.

’Tis plain enough the Government is not Ignorant of it.

His Majesty in His Speech to both Houses of Parliament, shews He hath no design in making use of it, because He recommends the redressing of it to their Consideration, and therefore the not redressing it, can be only imputable to the Weakness and Poverty of the State:

And what Inferences, not only the French, but all other Politicians may draw from thence are very obvious.

The finest Clothes that our Soldiers can put on, in the Field, would not at all dazzle the Eyes of the Confederate Princes, nor strike any despondencies into the Minds of our Enemies, if they shall all come to know that the whole Power of England is at this time held up by the imaginary Value of Birmingham half Crowns and Shillings.

It will hearten our Enemies, and discourage our Friends, very much, when they shall come to know that the Nummary Wealth of England is almost vanish’d, the Silver Coin gone, and the Royal Mint at a stand.

No Body will believe that we can long subsist at this rate; and indeed ’tis impossible we should, for if ’tis now much harder to redress than it was a year ago, and that means cannot be yet found out to do it, what Hopes shall we have of ever doing it ’till the War is ended? and what Hopes shall we have of bringing our Enemies to Terms, whilst they are sensible of our great Poverty.

The only way, sure, to bring the French King to Reason, will be by shewing him we are Able to continue the War as long as he can possibly be Willing, which he can never believe, so long as he sees our Money, by which he judges our Wealth to be imaginary only, and not real Silver.

Besides all this, we are in apparent Danger hereby of being more effectually and suddenly ruin’d by our Friends.

For if this Sessions of Parliament should break up without regulating the Coin, what Consequences may possibly ensue?

It is not impossible that Foreigners in all parts of Christendom should immediately set themselves to counterfeit our base Money.

There are beyond Seas as good Chymists, and Black-Smiths as at London, or Birmingham, and ’tis not impossible that they should secretly Import as much base Money, resembling that which goes current among us, and which hath not the intrinsic Value of One Shilling in Three, as if they please may not only buy up and Export Two or Three Millions Worth of our Staple Commodities, affording ’em Cheaper abroad than we can at home; but as much Worth of our imported Commodities, even Gold it self, if they like that Trade better.

Such an Importation of Money would I fear, be of worse Consequence than all our Exportation of Silver and Gold can prove.

If what cost our Merchants a Shilling, they should sell for a Groat, or if they shall buy of us an Ounce of Gold for Three or Four Ounces of Silver, or supposing ’em to buy it at 6 s. 6 d. per Ounce, they shall buy an Ounce for as much Counterfeit Money as shall not have 7 Peny-Weight of true Bullion in it, this would give our Balance of Trade, such a Terrible Swing, as no true Hearted English-Man would be willing to see.

This is a Danger which the easiness and small Charge of counterfeiting old Clipp’d Money threatens very much, unless it be speedily cry’d down.

And in the mean time, let us consider the Condition of the other Coin among us, not counterfeited, but Clipp’d, fil’d, or otherwise diminish’d.

’Tis plainly demonstrable by the Receipts of Money in His Majesty’s Exchequer, that one half of the Silver is already Clipp’d away, and there is no Security why half what remains wo’nt be taken off too.

The Laws are severe enough made, and put in Execution, and yet New-Gate is perhaps now as full of Clippers as it was Three or Four Years ago.

Nothing but a Sense of Religion doth restrain Men from profitable Sins, and the Ordinary of New-Gate can inform us, how little the Guilt of Clipping affects the Criminal’s Conscience.

Nor will preaching do much Good, upon those that never come to Church.

Clipping is the gainfulest Sin that ever was invented, and sits the easiest upon the Sinner’s Mind, and ’tis never to be remedied but by making it impracticable, which Mill’d Money only (and no other to be current) can do.

And what a perpetual Discontent and Confusion must it end in, if People shall come at last to proffer a Groat for a Shilling?

This must increase still vastly the Value of Guineas; this must raise the Price of all Commodities, this must make it impossible to expect any Money at all, either for the King’s Use, or Balance of Trade; and this will not only force us to recall our Troops from Flanders, and by a natural Consequence let in the War upon us, but it would put a sudden and universal stop to all Foreign Trade.

And what fatal Consequences may it have in the mean time at home let us consider.

It may very well be suppos’d that a Dragooner may proffer to a Corn-Chandler 2 s. for a Bushel of Oats, and that the Corn-Chandler seeing that there is not Three Peny wt. or 9 Peny worth of Silver in both the Shillings, should not like the Bargain, what’s now to be done?

Should There be a Law with Penalty for refusing clipp’d Coin, as there is for crack’d Six-pences, this would encourage Clippers to leave nothing remaining in a Shilling but the Figure XII.

Should the Law prohibit the passing of all Silver clipp’d within the Ring, than two Thirds of the present Money of England would be immediately cry’d down: Then the Loss of clipp’d as well as counterfeit Money would be very hard upon the Proprietors, and we should have two Thirds less Money for carrying on our Trade:

And now we have two Thirds less than we should have, and if that two Thirds, which is cry’d down at the Owner’s Loss, should be carry’d to the Mint, and new coin’d, it would scarce yield a twelfth Part of what we should then want.

If the Law should put down all Silver Money but of such a Weight, then certainly all Money above that Weight would be clipp’d down to it, and every Man must carry a pair of Scales in his Pocket, and we are still subject to the Consequence of the former Paragraph, as that former Paragraph would be to the first Conclusion of this, viz. That all Money would be soon clipp’d down to the publick Standard.

Let the matter be canvas’d never so much, it must at last come to this Conclusion.

We cannot subsist either in War or Peace if the Coin of England be not speedily regulated.