294

JEWELLERS.

CHAP. XXVI.

great portion of gold is consumed in the manu-facture. Let any one look at the trinkets andthe personal ornaments of himself and his family,and he will see what an immense disproportionexists between the stamped and the unstampedgold. The quantity used is certainly not over-stated in the first part of this answer.”

It will thus appear that the result at which wehave arrived is about one hundred thousandounces less than what is estimated by this in-telligent manufacturer to be annually consumedby the jewellers alone, with which branch of theapplication of it he is most intimately acquainted.

We come now to the consumption of silver inthe several manufactures of this country. In thoseof gold, from the value of the metal and the highduty which is imposed upon it, a very small pro-portion of that which is used is liable to be chargedwith the duty; but on silver it would appear pro-bable that the quantity which does pay the duty isnearly equal to that which is not chargeable with it.In articles purporting to be gold there is commonlyso much of the inferior metals combined that itcannot legally be considered as gold, and the duty,which is seventeen shillings per ounce, cannot be en-forced; but on silver, as the duty is but one shillingand sixpence the ounce, and what is purchased isexpected to be of standard purity, almost everyarticle heavier than five pennyweights is carried tothe assay officers to be stamped and to pay the