CHAP. XXVI.

DECLINING QUANTITY.

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had been brought to Europe from those countriesthan had been conveyed to them. It has before,in the twenty-fifth chapter of this inquiry, beenattempted to be shown that the durability of goldin coin is in the proportion of four to one greaterthan that of silver. It has, too, been shown thatthe recently increased produce of the mines ofRussia has consisted chiefly of gold. These cir-cumstances, on which our limits do not admit ofenlargement, might be shown to be sufficient toaccount for the equable rate of value which hasbeen preserved between the two metals during along period.

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