brought to the Mint within a limited time. The premium was not to exceed 2 1⁄2d. per oz., and the time limited was from the 17th April to the 1st December 1709.
Such a measure has been already noticed in the history of France; it was indeed a design frequently employed there under the title of Surachat, and it always proved as futile as the Government of Anne found it to be. As the drain continued, representations were made by the officers of the Mint to the Treasury, and in 1717 the House of Commons requested these representations to be laid before it (December 20th). On the same and following day a remarkable speech was made by a member, Mr. Aislabie, who took notice of the great scarcity of the silver species, and proposed the remedy of lowering the gold species. On the second day he was seconded by Mr. Caswall, who suggested that the overvaluation of gold in the current coins of Great Britain had caused the export of great quantities of silver species, "and to that purpose [i.e. the purpose of his argument] laid open a clandestine trade, which of late years had been carried on by the Dutch, Hamburgers and other foreigners, in concert with the Jews and other traders here, which consisted in exporting silver coins and importing gold in lieu thereof; which being coined into guineas at the Tower, near 15 pence was got by every guinea, Page 229 which amounted to about 5 per cent.; and as these returns might be made five or six times in a year