The merchants map of commerce wherein the universal manner and matter relating to trade and merchandize are fully treated of, the standard and current coins of most princes and republicks observ'd, the real and imaginary coins of accounts and exchanges express'd, the natural products and artificial commodities and manufactures for transportation declar'd, the weights and measures of all eminent cities and towns of traffick in the universe, collected one into another, and all reduc'd to the meridian of commerce practis'd in the famous city of London / by Lewis Roberts, merchant.

CHAP. XII. The Ʋndervaluing of our Mony which is deli∣vered or received by Bills of Exchange here or beyond the Seas, cannot decrease our Treasure. (Book 12)

THE Merchants Exchange by Bills, is a Means and Practice whereby they that have Mony in one Country, may deli∣ver the same to receive that again in another Country, at certain Times and Rates a∣greed upon, whereby the Lender and the Borrower are accommodated without tran∣sporting of Treasure from State to State.

These Exchanges thus made between Man and Man, are not contracted at the equal value of the Monies, according to their respective Weights and Fineness: First, be∣cause he that delivereth his Mony, doth re∣spect the Venture of the Debt, and the time of Forbearance; but that which causeth an under or over-valuing of Monies by Ex∣change, is the Plenty or Scarcity thereof in those Places where the Exchanges are made. For Example, when here is plenty of Mony to be delivered for Amsterdam, then shall our Mony be under-valued in Exchange, because they who take up the Mony, seeing it so plentifully thrust upon them, do thereby make advantage to themselves, in taking the same at an undervalue.

And contrarywise, when here is Scarcity of Mony to be delivered for Amsterdam, the Deliverer will make the same Advantage, by over-valuing our Mony which he delivereth. * 1.1And thus we see, that as Plenty or Scarcity of Mony in a Common-wealth doth make all Good, things Dear or Cheap; so in the Course of Exchange it hath ever a contrary Working; wherefore in the next Place, it is fit to set down the true Causes of this Effect.

As Plenty or Scarcity of Mony do make the Price of the Exchange high or low, so the Over or Under-ballance of our Trade doth effectually cause the Plenty or Scarcity of Mony: And here we must understand, that the Ballance of our Trade is either General or Particular. The General is, when all our yearly Traffick is jointly valued, as I have formerly shewed; the Particular is when our Trade to Italy, France, Turky, Spain, and other Countries are severally considered; and by this latter Course we shall perfectly find out the Places where our Mony is under or over-valued in Exchange: For although our general Exportations of Wares may be yearly more in value than that which is Im∣ported, whereby the difference is made good to us in so much Treasure; nevertheless, the Particular Trades do work diversly: For per∣adventure the Low-Countries may bring us more in value than we sell them, which if it be so, then do the Low-Country Merchants not only carry away our Treasure to ballance the Accompt between us, but also by this means Mony being plentiful here to be deli∣vered by Exchange; * 1.2it is therefore under∣valued by the Takers as I have before de∣clared; and contrary wise, if we carry more Wares to Spain, and other Places, than we consume of theirs, then do we bring away their Treasure, and likewise in the Mer∣chant's Exchange we over-value our own Mony.

Yet still there are some who will seem to make this Plain by Demonstration, that the Under-valuing of our Mony by Exchange, doth carry it out of the Kingdom: For say they, we see daily great store of our English Coins carried over, which pass current in the Low-Countries, and there is great ad∣vantage

to carry them thither, to save the Loss which the Low-Country-men have in the Exchange; for if one Hundred Pounds sterling delivered here, is so much under∣valued, that Ninety Pounds of the same Sterling Mony, carried over in Specie, shall be sufficient to make repayment and full Satisfaction of the said hundred Pounds at Amsterdam: Is it not then (say they) the Undervaluing of our Mony which causeth it to be carried out of the Realm?

To this Objection I will make a full and plain Answer, shewing, that it is not the Undervaluing of our Mony in Exchange, but the Over-ballancing of our Trade that carrieth away our Treasure. For suppose that our whole Trade with the Low-Coun∣tries, for Wares brought into this Realm, be performed only by the Dutch for the Value of Five hundred thousand Pounds yearly; and that all our Commodities transported into the said Low-Countries be performed only by the English for Four hundred thou∣sand Pounds yearly. Is it not then manifest, that the Dutch can Exchange only four hund∣red thousand Pounds with the English upon the Par pro Pari, or equal value of the re∣spective Standards? So the other Hundred thousand Pounds which is the Over-ballance of the Trade, they must of necessity carry that away in Mony. And the self-same Loss of Treasure must happen, if there were no Exchange at all permitted; for the Dutch carrying away our Mony for their Wares, and we bringing in their Forein Coins for their Commodities, there will be still one hundred thousand Pounds loss.

Now let us add another Example, ground∣ed upon the aforesaid proportion of Trade between us and the Low-Countries. The Dutch (as afore written) may Exchange with the English for 400000 Pounds and no more, upon the equal Value of the Monies, because the English have no further means to satisfie. But now, Suppose that in respect of the Plen∣ty of Mony, which in this Case will be here in the hands of the Dutch to deliver by Ex∣change, * 1.3our Mony (according to that which hath been already said) will be under-valued Ten per Cent. then is it manifest, that the Dutch must deliver Four hundred and forty thousand Pounds to have the Englishman's Four hund∣red thousand Pounds in the Low-Countries. so that there will then remain but 60000 Pounds for the Dutch to carry out of the Realm, to ballance the Accompt between them and us. Whereby we may plainly perceive that the Undervaluing of our Mony in Exchange, will not carry it out of the Kingdom, as some Men have supposed; but rather is a Means to make a less Quantity thereof to be Exported, than would be done at the Par pro Pari.

Further, Let us suppose that the English, Merchant carried out as much Wares in Va∣lue, as the Dutch Merchant bringeth in, whereby the Means is equal between them to make their returns by Exchange, without carrying away of any Mony to the Prejudice of either State. And yet notwithstanding, the Dutch Merchant for his occasions or ad∣vantage will forsake this Course of Exchange, and will venture to send part of his Returns in ready Mony.

To this the Answer is, that hereupon it must follow of Necessity, that the Dutch shall want just so much means in Exchange with the English, who therefore shall be forced to bring in the like Sum of Mony from beyond the Seas, as the Dutch carried out of this Realm; so that we may plainly per∣ceive, that the Monies which are carried from us within the Ballance of our Trade are not considerable, for they do return to us again; and we lose those Monies only which are made of the Over-ballance of our general Trade: That is to say, That which we spend more in value in Forein Wares, than we utter of our own Commodities. And the contrary of this, is the only means by which we get our Treasure. * 1.4In vain therefore hath Gerard Malines laboured so long, and in so many Printed Books, to make the World believe that the Under-valuing of our Mony in Ex∣change doth exhaust our Treasure, which is a meer Fallacy of the Cause, attributed that to a Secondary Means, whose effects are wrought by another Principal Efficient, and would also come to pass although the said Se∣condary Means were not at all. As vainly also hath he propounded a remedy by keep∣ing the Price of Exchange by Bills, at the Par pro Pari, by Publick Authority, which were a New-found Office without Example in any part of the World, being not only Fruitless, but also hurtful, as hath been suffi∣ciently proved in this Chapter, and therefore I will proceed to the next.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Plenty of Mony makes the Exchange cheap, and all other things dear.
• * 1.2

  What kinds of Plenty or Scarcity of Mony make the Exchange high or low.
• * 1.3

  The Ʋn∣dervalu∣ing of our Mony in Exchange is the Strangers Loss and our Gain.
• * 1.4

  • 1. The Canker of England's Common∣wealth.
  • 2. Free Trade.
  • 3. Lex Mercato∣ria.
  • 4. The Centre of Trade.