Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 3.djvu/504

 488 COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION OF considerable accuracy. When the Chinese assume gold dust as money, they estimate the Bungkal, or two Spanish dollars weight, viz. 833 grains troy, as worth sixteen Spanish dollars. The gold of Sam- bas, which contains, in 100 parts, nine of dross, and l6.32parts of alloy, is, at this rate, to silver as 9j is to 1, instead of being, as in Europe, as 15 is to 1. In the open market on the spot, the results of several trials give the relative values from 12 to 1, to 13 to 1. One striking circumstance con- nected with the gold mines of the Archipelago will not fail at once to strike the reader, viz. that ores of silver are not found along with them as in other parts of the world distinguished for mines of the precious metals. Silver cannot be said not to exist undoubtedly, for it has been already pointed out as always existing in combination with gold ; and it is even highly probable that ores of this me- tal will, in the progress of discovery, be found in the primitive rocks of the great islands, especially of Sumatra ; but, with a view to production, its non-existence may strictly enough be predicated. It follows from this remarkable circumstance, that, if the produce of the gold mines of the Archipela- go augment in the proportion they have done of late years, without any proportionate increase in the production of silver, the additional quantity of the former metal poured into circulation must soon depreciate its value, and destroy the present rela-