204

Use of gold and silver, chap, xxiv.

in Argiielles that the goldsmiths and silversmithsin Spain amounted to four thousand two hundredpersons. Their operations must consequentlyhave drawn, for the purposes of ornaments andutensils, a large share of that gold and silverwhich came from America in the form of coin.

After the war of the succession, by which Spain had suffered severely, she appears gradually tohave declined in general wealth, and probably inthe application of the precious metals to purposesof luxury; for certainly there was little of luxuryto be seen in the houses of even the richer classesof inhabitants towards the close of the century.This may be seen by the report of a council ofstate held in June, 1794, when Spain was en-gaged in war with the French republic, and fromthe state of her finances was compelled to con-template some strong measures to obtain pecuniaryresources. An account, in what manner takendoes not appear, was laid before the council ofthe whole mass of gold and silver belonging tothe churches and other religious establishments,and to private individuals, stating it to amount toeleven million forty thousand pounds sterling 1 .A suggestion was made to these bodies to give upto the state what could be spared from the in-dispensable requisites for the sacred rites and fromthe necessary uses of private persons; but the

1 Argiielles de Hacienda, vol. i. p. 66, and vol. iv. p. 345.