La pérdida del comercio portugués habría ocasionado, sin duda, un considerable embarazo a los comerciantes dedicados a él en aquel momento, quienes tal vez no habrían encontrado, durante uno o dos años, ningún otro método igualmente ventajoso de emplear sus capitales; y en esto habría consistido probablemente todo el inconveniente que Inglaterra podría haber sufrido por esta notable pieza de política comercial.
The great annual importation of gold and silver is neither for the purpose of plate nor of coin, but of foreign trade. A roundabout foreign trade of consumption can be carried on more advantageously by means of these metals than of almost any other goods. * As they are the universal instruments of commerce, they are more readily received in return for all commodities than any other goods; * and on account of their small bulk and great value, it costs less to transport them backward and forward from one place