Englishman who owes a pound weight of gold
at Amsterdam, if he sends the pound of gold to pay it, sends 1043.72
shillings; if he sends fifteen pounds of silver, he sends only 1030.5
shillings; if he pays half in gold and half in silver, he pays only
1037.11 shillings. And this medium between the two standards of gold
and silver, we must consider as furnishing the true medium value of
the shilling. If the parliament should now order the pound of gold (of
one-twelfth alloy as before) to be cut into a thousand shillings instead
of nine hundred and fifty-six and three fourths, leaving the silver as
it is, the medium or true value of the shilling would suffer a change of
half the difference; and in the case before stated, to pay a debt of a
pound weight of gold, at Amsterdam, if he sent the pound weight of gold,
he would send 1090.9 shillings; if he sent fifteen pounds of silver,
he would send 1030.5 shillings; if half in gold and half in silver,
he would send 1060.7 shillings; which shows, that this parliamentary
operation would reduce the value of the shilling in the proportion of
1060.7 to 1037.11.

Now this is exactly the effect of the late change in the quantity of
gold contained in your louis. Your _marc d'argent fin_ is cut into 53.45
livres (fifty-three livres and nine sous), the _marc de l'or fin_
was cut, heretofore, by law, into 784.6 livres (seven hundred and
eighty-four livres and twelve sous); gold was to silver, then, as 14.63
to 1. And if this was different from the proportion at the markets of
Europe, the true value of your livre stood half way between the two
standards. By the ordinance of October the 30th, 1785, the marc of pure
gold has been cut into 828.6 livres. If your standard had been in gold
alone, this would have reduced the value of the livre, in the proportion
of 828.6 to 784.6. But as you had a standard of silver as well as gold,
the true standard is the medium between the two; consequently, the value
of the livre is reduced only one half the difference, that is, as 806.6
to 784.6, which is very nearly three per cent. Commerce, however, has
made a difference of four per cent., the average value of the pound
sterling, formerly twenty-four livres, being now twenty-five livres.
Perhaps some other circumstance has occasioned an addition of one per
cent, to the change of your standard.

I fear I have tired you by these details. I did not mean to be so
lengthy when I began. I beg you to consider them