to Colvill, and paying several
bills due from me on the Tangier account. Then late met Cocke and Temple
at the Pope's Head, and there had good discourse with Temple, who tells
me that of the L80,000 advanced already by the East India Company, they
have had L5000 out of their hands. He discoursed largely of the quantity
of money coyned, and what may be thought the real sum of money in the
kingdom. He told me, too, as an instance of the thrift used in the
King's business, that the tools and the interest of the money-using to
the King for the money he borrowed while the new invention of the mill
money was perfected, cost him L35,000, and in mirthe tells me that the
new fashion money is good for nothing but to help the Prince if he
can secretly get copper plates shut up in silver it shall never be
discovered, at least not in his age. Thence Cocke and I by water,
he home and I home, and there sat with Mr. Hill and my wife supping,
talking and singing till midnight, and then to bed. [That I may remember
it the more particularly, I thought fit to insert this additional
memorandum of Temple's discourse this night with me, which I took in
writing from his mouth. Before the Harp and Crosse money was cried
down, he and his fellow goldsmiths did make some particular trials what
proportion that money bore to the old King's money, and they found that
generally it come to, one with another, about L25 in every L100. Of this
money there was, upon the calling of it in, L650,000 at least brought
into the Tower; and from thence he computes that the whole money of
England must be full L6,250,000. But for all this believes that there is
above L30,000,000; he supposing that about the King's coming in (when
he begun to observe the quantity of the new money) people begun to be
fearfull of this money's being cried down, and so picked it out and
set it a-going as fast as they could, to be rid of it; and he thinks
L30,000,000 the rather, because if there were but L16,250,000 the King
having L2,000,000 every year, would have the whole money of the kingdom
in his hands in eight years. He tells me about L350,000 sterling was
coined out of the French money, the proceeds of Dunkirke; so that,
with what was coined of the Crosse money, there is new coined about
L1,000,000 besides the gold, which is guessed at L500,000. He tells me,
that, though the King did deposit the French money in pawn all the while
for the L350,000 he was forced to borrow thereupon ti