Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 10.djvu/295

Rh might be easily brought to perfection by a society of nine or ten honest gentlemen of fortune, who wish well to their country, and would be content to be neither gainers nor losers, farther than the bare interest of their money. And Mr. Culla, as being the first starter of the scheme, might be considered and rewarded by such a society; whereof, although I am not a man of fortune, I should think it an honour and happiness to be one, even with borrowed money upon the best security I could give. And, first, I am confident, without any skill but by general reason, that the charge of coining copper would be very much less than 30 per cent. Secondly, I believe ten thousand pounds, in halfpence and farthings, would be sufficient for the whole kingdom, even under our great and most unnecessary distress for the want of silver; and that, without such a distress, half the sum would suffice. For, I compute and reason thus: the city of Dublin, by a gross computation, contains ten thousand families; and I am told by shopkeepers, "That, if silver were as plenty as usual, two shillings in copper would be sufficient, in the course of business, for each family." But, in consideration of the want of silver, I would allow five shillings to each family, which would amount to 2500l.; and, to help this, I would recommend a currency of all the genuine undefaced harp halfpence, which are left of lord Dartmouth's and Moor's patents under king Charles II; and the small Patrick and David for farthings. To the rest of the kingdom, I would assign the 7500l. remaining; reckoning Dublin to answer one fourth of the kingdom, as London is judged to answer (if I mistake not) one third