APPENDIX.

401

all together, the consumption of gold must be now not far fromwhat it was in 1789, because if the number of watches andjewels is now inferior to what it was, they are also not soheavy as they were formerly.

At Neufchatel they only began to make watches at the endof the 17th century. In the year 1780 they exported 40,000watches, while they export now 130,000, and have morechance of a regular increase than we at Geneva.

Our gold is supplied partly by ingots, and partly by coinsof different countries. Silver is more generally taken fromcoin, I believe. Hardly any money is coined in Switzerland ,where foreign monies circulate widely. We have only a veryconsiderable quantity of low coin (inferior to the shilling)composed of mixed copper and silver. Comparing the popu-lation with that of England, I suppose we have about threetimes more of this little coin than in England. You areaware, I suppose, that a large quantity of Swiss watches andjewellery is smuggled into France , and they are there stampedand sold as French products, so that you can give no creditto the French official returns of the watches manufactured atBesanson or Paris .

No. 12, A.

Silver Watches at Birmingham .

Silver watch-cases assayed and marked at the BirminghamAssay Office (not charged with duty) from 26th March, 1798,to 14th April, 1831.

From 25th March, 1798,

to July, 1798

2,549

June, 1798

1799

10,305

1799

1800

11,094

1800

1801

13,617

1801

1802

16,363

1802

1803

20,617

1803

1804

23,254

1804

1805

30,199

1805

1806

41,408

1806

1807

42,128

VOL. II.

D D