time of making such contract, be actually possessed in his own right, or in the name of trustees, shall be void: and every person on whose behalf, and with whose consent any contract shall be made to sell stock, whereof such person shall not be actually possessed in his own name or in the name of trustees, shall forfeit five hundred pounds, one moiety to his Majesty, and the other moiety to them who shall sue for the same; every broker, or agent, who shall negociate any such contract, and shall know that the person, on whose behalf such contract shall be made, is not possessed of stock, shall forfeit one hundred pounds, one moiety to his Majesty, and the other moiety to them who shall sue for the same.

and

c. 8. s. 9.

Every person receiving brokerage in the buying and disposing of stocks, shall 7 Geo. 2. keep a broker's book, in which he shall enter all contracts, with the names of the principal parties; and such broker, who shall not keep such book, or shall wilfully omit to enter any such contracts, shall forfeit fifty pounds, one moiety to his Majesty, and the other moiety to them who shall sue for the same.

Nothing in this act shall extend to any contracts for the purchase or sale of stock, to Sect. 10. be made with the privity of the Accountant General of the Court of Chancery, in pursuance of any decree or order of the said court.

Nothing in this act shall hinder any person from lending money on stock, so as no sect. 11. premium be paid more than legal interest.

The above act was made perpetual by 10 Geo. 2. c. 8.

It was hardly possible to frame an act, better calculated to suppress the pernicious. practice of stock-jobbing; yet it is shamefully violated, and that daily, with impunity, justifying the remark made by foreigners, "That we have the best laws of any nation in the world, and the worst executed." However, the merchant and the monied man may learn one useful lesson from attending to the regulations concerning brokers, and the statute against stock-jobbing, which is, that he can have no remedy whatever for any fraud or collusion, unless he employs a licensed broker. And that he may know which are licensed, he need not have recourse to a sight of the silver medal, a list of the admitted brokers being annually printed by order of the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen, which is hung up in one of the walks of the Royal Exchange, and in Guildhall, and at most of the reputable coffee-houses near the Exchange.

OF THE PAR OF MONIES.

MOST of what has hitherto been written concerning the par of coin is obscure and confused: the greatest part of the authors who have published any thing about it give

the
par of monies no longer current; however it is a thing not over difficult, as it only
consists in making the comparison between the intrinsic value of the gold and silver
coins of each country, and the price they pass current at; it is therefore necessary that
the exact weight and standard of such monies be first known. The celebrated Sir Isaac
Newton published a tract of the standard of foreign coins, which was printed at the
end of Mr. Arbuthnot's work; but so many alterations have since been made in the
monies of France, Spain, and some other countries, that it is necessary to examine the
last arrets that have been published about them to clear up this particular. As for ex-
ample: the King of Spain, by a royal decree, raised the pistole from thirty-two to
thirty-six rials of plate, and by a subsequent decree, it was ordained that the dollar
should be current in his dominions at 94 rials instead of eight, which they passed at
before, and these have since been raised to ten, and the pistole to forty rials: which ob
servation might be extended to several other species, but this would be both tedious

and useless; we shall therefore give such examples only as will sufficiently and clearly demonstrate the method by which all others may be found out.

The Par of Gold Coin between London and Amsterdam.

Of 14 mark of gold of the standard of 22 carats are made in England 444 guineas, as Sir Isaac Newton demonstrated to the Lords of the Treasury on the 21st of September, 1717; each guinea being then current at 21 shillings and sixpence sterling, but since it has been lowered to 21 shillings. At present 1000 new Holland ducats weigh 14 marks, 1 ounce and 11 engels; each mark is of the standard of 23 carats and a little more than 7 grains, from whence it follows, that there is as much pure gold in 1000 ducats as in 451 guineas. Commonly in the payments that are made among the citizens, a ducat passes in Holland for 5 guilders and 5 stivers current money, and according to this proportion, an English guinea, or 21 shillings sterling, is worth 11 guilders and 12 stivers current money, of Holland; or 9480 shillings sterling are equal in value to 5250 guilders; or one pound sterling to about 36s. 11d. de gros current money; or if the agio be reckoned at 4 per cent. it will be found very near 35s. 3d. de gros bank money.

The Par between London and Amsterdam of Silver Money.

According to the afore-mentioned report made by the said Sir Isaac Newton, in the year 1717, 11 ounces of pure silver, and of an ounce of alloy made 62 shillings sterling; in Holland 200 pieces of 3 guilders weigh 25 marks, 5 ounces 113 engels, and are of the standard of 11 penny-weights; or in 1052 shillings sterling there is as much fine silver as there is in the said 200 pieces of 3 guilders, and the value of 20 shillings sterling in 1717 was near to 38 sch. current money of Holland.

If the comparison be made by ducatons, or by Holland rix-dales, instead of 3 guilder pieces, it will be found very near the same value; for if it be true, as I am informed, that 200 ducatons weigh 26 marks 3 ounces 15 engels, and their standard is 11+ pennyweight; and if 200 rix-dales weigh 22 marks 64 ounces of the standard of 10 pennyweight; when the 3 guilder pieces are fixed at 60 stivers, the intrinsic value of the ducaton will be 63 stivers 3 deniers, and the rix-dale 50 stivers and almost 2 deniers.

The Par between France and Holland for the Gold Coin.

A mark of gold money, worth at present in France 720 livres, is exactly 30 louidors, and the standard 21 carats 7 or 7 grains; we will take the medium, when, at 21 carats 74 grains, each louidor ought to weigh 54 engels; those coined in the year 1731 weigh 5 engels and 10 axen, which we may deem the true weight. In 1000 Holland ducats there is then as much pure gold as in 466 louidors. If the ducat is counted at 5 guilders 5 stivers current money, a louidor, or 24 livres French, is worth of Dutch money 11 guilders 5 stivers, and the 3 livre crown almost 56 de gros current money; or 64 French livres were, in 1731, of an equal value with 30 Dutch current guilders, and 16 French crowns of 6 livres are at a par with 15 three guilder pieces; or 30 ducats of Holland are worth 14 louidors. The proportions I here give are sufficiently exact; for if 1000 current guilders are reduced into French money, there will be found by the said proportions only of a louidor, or of a French livre, less than by the intrinsic value; of a French livre are of a guilder.

If the agio of per cent. upon the bank money be taken, the value of 3 French livres will be a small matter less than 537 de gros bank money.

The weight of 1000 louidors of the sun is 33 marks, 1 ounce of the standard of 21

carats, 7 grains, "Koophandel van Amsterdam, 2de Deel," p. 111. ed. A. 1727, by which it is seen that they are near of equal value with the new louidor.

The Par between France and Holland of the Silver Money.

The King of France, by an arret of the 25th of May, 1726, fixed the mark of silver money at 49 livres 16 stivers, and since that time, I believe no alteration has been made, the standard is almost 11 pennyweights, and that of the ancient crown of 9 to the mark was of 10 pennyweights and 22 grains, Traité des Changes Etrangers, par Mr. Dernis, Paris 1726. At present in France there are 6 livre crowns of 8 to the mark, and it is said that the standard is 11 pennyweights. In making the calculation it will be found, that in 200 three guilder pieces there is as much pure silver as in 213, French crowns of 6 livres, or each of these crowns is worth pretty near 564 stivers current money of Holland; this is very near the same value which we have found in the gold.

9 3

The silver pieces of 24 sols, coined in France 1726 and 1727, only weigh 3 engels, and the value in Dutch money is 101 current stivers.

Almost all authors who have treated of a par, have taken for a foundation that the ancient crown of 3 livres or of 9 in a mark, by the arret of the 16th of September, 1666, Mr. Dernis, pag. 4. was worth 100d. de gros of Holland, or that the mark of 11 pennyweights French money was worth 22 guilders 10 stivers; but at present by the pieces of 3 guilders the value of the said mark is found to be 23 guilders 7 stivers, or that of a crown of 3 livres 1033d. de gros current money; upon which footing the calculation may be made in the present time; for it should be stated by the rule of three inverted; if, when the mark of money is fixed at 27 livres, the par is 1033d. de gros, how much will the par be if the mark is worth 493. But it is easier to make the calcu lation by the crowns, because it is found at present that there are 16 crowns, of 3 livres in a mark; so it is said if 163 crowns are worth 23 guilders and 7 stivers current Dutch money, how much shall one crown be worth; and it will be found as aforesaid, a little more than 564d. de gros. In the beginning of the year 1726 the par was at 674d. de gros; it may be seen then, that it is very easy to find the par, whether the King of France rises or falls the price of the coin. In case that it changes not only the weight but the standard, the direct rule of three ought to be stated by saying, The ancient standard is to the par that is found, as the new standard is to the par sought for.

The Par between Lisbon and Amsterdam for the Gold Coin.

By an ordinance of Mons. the Count de Daun, it is seen, that the old louidor of France weighed at Milan 5 pennyweights and 12 grains, and the cruzado of Lisbon 8 pennyweights and 18 grains; 1000 of the said louidors weighed in Holland 21 marks 1 ounce and 15 engels, or each louidor 4 engels 114 azen; according to this proportion, the cruzado ought to weigh 6 engels 294 azen; if the standard is reckoned, with Sir Isaac Newton, at 21 carats 7 grains, as the ancient pistoles of Spain and France were, Koophandel van Amsterdam, 2de Deel, pag. 111 and 831, there will be found as much pure gold in 358 cruzados as in 1000 ducats of Holland; and putting the ducat at 5 guilders and 5 stivers, the value of a cruzado will be 14 guilders 13 stivers and 1 denier current money; and because the cruzado passes at Lisbon for 4800 reis, 400 reis are worth, 4844d. de gros current money, or a little more than 464d. de gros bank money, if the agio be taken at 5 per cent. or 47d. de gros, if the cruzado weigh 7 engels, as it is commonly reckoned. This may be done by a yet shorter method; for by the ducat it is found, that a mark of the said cruzados is worth in Holland 338 guilders 9 stivers; and

VOL. I.

4 L

it is said, if 160 engels are worth 338 guilders 9 stivers, how much shall 7 engels and 294 azen be worth? in a book printed at Amsterdam, 1630, intitled, "Sleutel des Koopmans," p. 318, it is said that the par is 63 d. de gros.

A new Method to avoid the great Fractions.

24320

In calculating the par, or in making the comparison between coins, great fractions frequently intervene. As for example: We have found in 210 English crowns of 5 shillings sterling, as much pure silver as in 213 French crowns of 6 livres, or 1 crown of 6 livres has as much fine silver as of an English one of 5 shillings, but the working of this with so great a fraction being very troublesome, it may be changed for a less fraction that shall be almost of the same value, which may be expressed as in the following problem :

27 28 2

Problem.

A great fraction being given to find another, whereof the denominator is less than a certain number given, so that the value of the fraction that has been found, is the nearest that can be to that given.

I change the fraction given into another whose numerator is unity, and I do the same with the fraction which is found in the denominator, and so on.

I neglect for a moment the fractions of fractions that are found at the end, and by that will be had all similar fractions, which are alternatively the one too big and the other too little, as may be seen in the subsequent example.

The fraction given being, it is demanded which is the fraction most like it whose

denominator is less than 100.

But as I think our author's solution of his problem is neither so correct nor clear as it should be, I have attempted to make it plainer and more exact, though before I proceed to the operation, it will be necessary to premise the following lemma.

To find a denominator to a given numerator, which shall make it the nearest fraction to a larger fraction before given, let the first given fraction be denoted by and the numerator to the new fraction be a, and its denominator x, then we have ==, therefore

Rule.

Multiply the numerator of the new fraction into the denominator of the large one, which then divide by the numerator of the great fraction, and you will have the denominator you sought for your new numerator: now in regard to the problem, first find the fraction whose numerator is unity, that shall be equal to 3, which by the foregoing lemma will be expressed if now you reject from the denominator, the fraction of fractions, there nominator must not exceed 4. operation, thus 1

2.

1

79

1

1×7722 24124

3

79

is the nearest (though too great) to when the deBut as the problem admits a higher one, we repeat the

1 where you only substitute for its value altered by the said

2.492
119

of any whose denominator does not exceed 50, to the given fraction; but the work may

is the fraction sought for if the work be again repeated, you will have a denominator which shall be 817.

N. B. It appears by inspection that the higher the denominator is, the nearer you approach to the truth, for there is less omitted in the denominator, so at last the work would converge into the given fraction.

Note also, that by the said lemma you may find a fraction of a given denominator, which shall be nearest equal to a higher given fraction; and as this is of a peculiar use in fractional works, I shall give the rule it may be performed by.

Multiply the new denominator into the numerator of the first given fraction, then divide by the great denominator, and rejecting the remainder as inconsiderable, your quotient shall be your new numerator. By this you may prove the foregoing work, for if you chuse a denominator 51, and would find a numerator to make it nearest to then gives 20, as before found.

51 x 3147

7793

Though Mr. Ricard has not explained the foregoing tables, I have judged it necessary to do it, that they may thereby be rendered useful.

In the first line, the 20 English crowns are not worth quite 57 guilders, therefore at that rate 1007. sterling must produce less than it would have done had the 100 shillings and 57 guilders been exactly equal, and for the same reason must make something more sterling money; and to calculate the deficiency of the guilders, first find what part of a guilder of a stiver is, which is easily discovered to be of, or, or, and then the stating will be,