Page:The English Historical Review Volume 36.djvu/208

 each ship's stock consisted of silver sent from England. From 1720 to 1750 the silver on each ship seldom constituted less than 98 per cent, of her stock; but from the latter date English woollens began to find a wider market at 'dumping' prices; they were the means of 'laying down the dollar'.

The export from England of English silver coins was strictly prohibited. The silver sent was sometimes, but not often, in bars; almost invariably it was in minted coins. In the order of frequency they were: (1) Pillar dollars, ryals of eight, or pieces of eight, minted at the royal mint of Seville; current in the China trade for three centuries; 95 'touch' of the Chinese standard. (2) Mexico dollars, minted at the viceregal mint of Mexico; from 1855 the ordinary currency of the treaty ports of South China; 94 'touch'. (3) Duccatoons, minted by the mint of Venice; 96 'touch'. (4) French crowns, minted by the royal mints of France; 94 'touch' if bearing three crowns on reverse, otherwise 93 or 92 'touch'. (5) Rix-dollars, of 90 'touch'. I have not ascertained whether these were from Scandinavian or German mints. These were usually packed in chests containing each 4,000 coins, weighing net 290 lb. 8 oz. Troy = 3,488 oz. = 108,489 grammes. In 1729 new Seville dollars arrived at Canton of which the 'touch' had been lowered to that of the Mexico dollars—94. From some date between 1750 and 1760 both these dollars were rated at 92 'touch'; and in 1775 both mints issued dollars bearing the king's head in place of the arms of Spain. These 'head dollars' were rated at 90 'touch', and when paid by tale passed at $100 = Tls. 72.

Dollars never passed into Chinese hands by count, but always by weight in Chinese liang or taels, modified by the touch. These taels differed in weight at different ports. At Chusan there were two taels in ordinary use—the Tsaoping of 567.3 grains (36.76 grammes), and the Kiangping of 555.3 grains (35.98 grammes); but in which the supercargoes had to pay is not recorded. At Amoy the market tael was 570.0 grains (36.94 grammes). At Macao the market tael was 577.1 grains (37.40 grammes). At Canton the Szema tael is to-day 578.3 grains (37.48 grammes); in 1846 it was 578.0 grains (37.45 grammes); but in 1699 one supercargo in making payments found it to be 580.8 grains (37.64 grammes), and in 1724 another found it 581.95 grains (37.71 grammes); but consistently for a hundred years, 1730–1834, the fixed equivalence was 120.8 oz. Troy = 100 taels weight (the tael being thus 579.84 grains). This is the weight, but the value was further affected by the 'touch' of silver. This was either 'sycee', nominally 1,000 fine (being pure silver of the Chinese standard), or 'current' silver which varied with each tael; at Chusan the Tsaoping tael of value was 997 fine, and the Kiang-