According to the new indenture for the coinage of 1670, a slight reduction in the standard of the gold took place, the pound of crown gold (22 carats fine) being to be minted at a tale of £44, 10s. The scarcity of money still continued, however, and the separate experience of Ireland only corroborated that of England. The general statement of the case as to the fate of the coined money since the Act of 18 Car II., which instituted free coinage, is thus put by Sir Dudley North, in his _Discourses upon Trade_: "I call to witness the vast sums that have been coined in England since the free coinage was set up. What is become of it all? Nobody believes it to be in the nation, and it cannot well be all transported, the penalties for so doing being so great. The case is plain--the melting-pot devours it all; and I know no intelligent man who doubts but the new money goes this way. Silver and gold, like other commodities, have their ebbings and flowings; upon the arrival of quantities from Spain, the Mint commonly gives the best price, i.e. coined silver for uncoined silver, weight for weight. Wherefore it is carried into the Tower and coined. Not long after there will come a demand for bullion to be exported again. If there is none, but all happens to be in coin, what then? Melt it down again; there's no loss in it, for the coining costs the coiners nothing. Thus the nation hath been abused and made to pay for the twisting of straw for asses to eat." By the time of the accession of William III. the scarcity of silver had become so great as to cause a petition from divers working goldsmiths in and about the City of London to the House of Commons (9th April 1690). It stated "that upon search at the Customs they found that since last October entries had been made of 286,102 oz. of silver in bullion, and 89,949 _dollars_ and _pieces of eight_ for exportation by divers private persons, and they doubted not but it would appear that not only the East India Company, but also divers Jews and merchants, had of late bought up great quantities of silver to carry out of the kingdom, and had given 1-1/2d. per oz. above the value, which had encouraged the melting down of much plate and milled monies; whereby for six months past, not only the petitioners in their trade, but the Mint itself had been stopped from coining." [Sidenote: ENGLAND: THE EXPORT IN 1690]