CHAP. XXVI.
321
The trade with the Levant, by which thirtyyears ago, according to Humboldt , gold and silverto the amount of four million dollars were annu-ally transferred from Europe to Asia , has been sochanged that it is a matter of doubt on which sidethe balance of payments is to be considered. Thevalue of the silk, of the opium, and of the otherdrugs, which are furnished by Asia , as far as thetrade of Constantinople and of Smyrna extends, ismore than equalled by the value of the goods sentto those markets from Europe . This has espe-cially been the case since the vast extension of thevarious kinds of English cotton goods has in somemeasure supplanted the use of Indian articles ofthat description in the Turkish dominions.
We therefore see no necessity for consideringthe whole trade of Asia , taken collectively, to haveabsorbed more of the stock of the precious metalswhich Europe had collected from the mines ofAmerica , and from those within her own limits,than to the amount of two millions sterling an-nually, within the twenty years we have been re-viewing.
We have estimated the stock of the coin inexistence at the end of the year 1809 to have beenthree hundred and eighty million pounds j andthe additions made to it between that period andthe end of the year 1829, at the rate of five mil-lion one hundred and eighty-six thousand eighthundred pounds annually, would make it one hun-
VOL. II.
Y