Page:History of England (Froude) Vol 4.djvu/541

1550.] of all our rich money for a base coin; and then shall follow a greater fall of the exchange, which is the father of all dearth of almost all things that man occupieth.

'If we in England should coin six years to come so much white money as we have done in six years past of the value that now goeth, the plentifulness of the money and the baseness thereof together should bring our commonwealth to that pass that, if you should give a poor man three shillings a day for his day's labour, yet you should scarce pay him such a hire as he might live thereof, which God defend should come to pass; and the private gain in coining silver is the cause of long continuance in coining still; which excess of gain in coining, and continuance of the same, shall bring to pass as is aforesaid, if speedy redress be not had in that behalf. And yet to new fine our base coin cannot be done without more charge than maybe borne of the King or the commons.

'Further, this said fall of the exchange within these four days hath caused, or will cause, cloth to be bought at 56l. the pack, which before would not have been bought for 52l. the pack; so that you may perceive that the exchange doth engender dear cloths, and dear cloths doth engender dear wool, and dear wool doth engender many sheep, and many sheep doth engender much pasture and dear, and much pasture is the decay of tillage, and out of the decay of tillage springeth the scarcity of corn and the people unwrought, and constraineth the dearth of all things. I have, for these six or eight years passed, perceived our commonwealth to