The Silver Coinage was getting into a dreadfully worn condition (by the way, ours is nothing to boast of), and it had been settled that a new coinage of shillings and sixpences, to the extent of £2,500,000 should be minted; but, "as the period for the issue of the new coin approached, the fears of the retail dealers became general, lest the plain English shillings and sixpences should be confounded with the French ones, and the whole refused. It was at Hull, early in September, where the tradespeople first refused to receive at their normal value, all plain shillings, or, in other words, all not appearing to be clearly of our own legal currency. In the Metropolis, it was at Billingsgate market, on the 20th of September, where plain shillings and sixpences were first indiscriminately refused; from thence, the refusal of them spread through the Borough, and, in the evening, became general throughout the Metropolis. A great stagnation, in all retail trades suddenly, and naturally, ensued, and the lower orders were disposed to commit disturbances in almost every market. This embarrassing and dangerous state of things being made known to the Lord Mayor, his lordship took immediate measures to preserve the peace of the City, not by means of force, but by promptly communicating to the public, from the Mansion House, a notice, of which the following is a Copy: "SILVER COIN.--_Take Notice._--The Bank of England do not refuse any shillings or sixpences on account of their being plain, provided they are English. "By order of the Lord Mayor, "FRANCIS HOBLER. "_Saturday Morning_, Sept. 21, 1816. "In consequence of the above notice, people assembled in crowds to take their silver to the Bank, for which they received Bank of England Notes and tokens." This somewhat palliated the small panic, but it was more allayed by another proclamation from "Wood, Mayor," that the Secretary of State for the Home Department gave notice, that "all shillings and sixpences that can be considered as of the Established Standard in fineness, will be exchanged for new silver coin when it is issued;" and a further notice, "that all kind of shillings, now, or lately in circulation, are taken at the Bank of England, with the exception of French, or base metal; they therefore recommend to all shopkeepers, dealers, and others, in order to prevent any breach of the peace, to take such silver above named, as usual," perfectly tranquilized the public mind. We shall, next year, hear more about the new Coinage, which was being coined at the rate of nearly 300,000 coins per diem. CHAPTER VI. Smuggling -- "Resurrection Men" -- More riots -- Orator Hunt -- Meetings at Spa Fields -- Riots arising therefrom -- Execution of one of the rioters -- The King's health.