“It is well known that the price of gold in Holland is regulated by the exchange on London. If England sends more gold to the Continent than she receives from it, then the rate of exchange on London rises, and gold is obtainable only at an agio. On the contrary, if England receives from the Continent more gold than she exports, the exchange on London is low in Holland, and gold is plentiful. Peculiar circumstances may of course modify these general rules; for instance, it is possible that England may have payments to make in Holland greater than Holland has in England, while the case is the reverse between England and the other countries of Europe; then the state of exchange in those countries would naturally react upon ours. “It often happens that other circumstances occur seeming to contradict these principles. Thus in August last (1849), pieces of ten florins were in demand in Holland for foreign remittances, although the price of bar gold was only at 1¾ per cent. agio. Again, the influence of the state of exchange on the importation of gold may recently have been observed; not long ago, gold was exported from England to the United States at the very moment that gold was supposed to be arriving from America in great quantities.” I have repeated at full length these remarkable admissions, to prove that the Dutch government was not arming itself against a pressing or even nearly approaching danger, and that their precautions were not even taken with foresight. To theoretical errors were added practical faults; the Minister of Finance had not measured the importance of the operation with sufficient accuracy; he estimated the amount of gold coin in Holland at [38]96,500,000 florins; it proved to be [39]172,000,000 florins. The law was voted on September 17th, 1849, and the government received the full power they had demanded. A royal command appeared on June 9th, for the execution of the measure. The following are the principal articles: “1st. The pieces of ten and five florins shall cease to be in circulation as legal payment from Sunday, June 23rd, 1850, but they may continue to be employed in commerce: that is to say, that these coins may be accepted in payment at a conventional value. 2nd. These coins shall be received in payment by government, and by the collectors of the revenues of the kingdom, at their nominal value, till July 31st, 1850, inclusive.”