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CIIAP. XXVI.
By the statement of this gentleman it appearsthat the annual quantity of the two precious me-tals used in the trade of Geneva and the wholeof Switzerland may be taken at the value of aboutthree hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling,supposing the estimate to refer to gold and silverof the fineness of our standard. There is goodreason to believe that this is the case, because ithas been asserted by some persons well acquaintedwith the fact, that the greater portion of the goldis obtained by melting English sovereigns. Thisis said to be the most advantageous for the manu-facturers, because ours is almost the only goldcoin on which no charge is made for seniorage.
It would appear extraordinary, not to say sus-picious, that a country of such contracted popu-lation, and generally so poor as Switzerland , shoulduse so large a proportion of the precious metals;but it is to be recollected that the watchmakersand jewellers of Geneva are competitors, at thefairs of Leipsic, Frankfort on the Maine, Bruns-wick , and Frankfort on the Oder, with thosedealers in the same articles, who attend there fromParis, London, and Birmingham . The number ofwatches made in Neuchatel is to be accountedfor by the relation of that canton with the king-dom of Prussia, in consequence of which, theirfabrics are favoured and diffused through itsseveral provinces.
Though watches, jewellery, and plate to a large