CHAP. xxvr.

JEWELLERS.

29S

This amount, considerable as it may appear,falls very far short of the communications ofopinion made by several intelligent persons con-nected with the various branches of the manu-facture of gold—that of one gentleman, onaccount of his extensive practical use of gold, ofhis habitual accuracy, and his general knowledge,is entitled to attention. A variety of querieswere proposed to him on the several branches ofthe gold trade with which he was conversant,among others the following, viz.—“ What quan-tity of gold is used by the jewellers in such smallportions as are not liable to the stamp duties?”The answer in writing was as follows :—

“ An amount which at first sight appears in-credible, certainly not less than from four hundredand fifty to four hundred and eighty thousandounces of standard gold, or, in pounds sterling, asum of about one million nine hundred thousandpounds sterling, but more probably two millionsthan less.

“ It would be inconvenient to give here theprocess by which that result is obtained, but thereare several ways by which it has been tried, andlittle doubt, if any, exists as to its correctness.

“ There are an innumerable number of articleswhich, from their delicate texture, cannot be as-sayed and stamped; and others are made of suchinferior gold as scarcely to deserve the name ofgold; and yet the quantity is so large that a very