83 O 18 10 ONON-ON-ON-ONHON 2 - ON 1 ON 46 96 1 ONION HONO ooooooooo ooo ooooOOO 500 0 1 4o ao no o OOOOOOOO 33456 7 90 4 Maravedis 1. 5. d. f. The nominal or common Pistole. 6 5 & 16 8 2 The Doublon of Gold. 10 2 I 8 I The Doublon de a Quatro of Gold. The Doublon de a Ocho of Gold. O O O O O O O O Reals S. d. 62 63 5760 64 5850 65 5940 65 6030 67 6120 68 6210 69 6300 70 6390 71 1234 78 81 82 oooo o o o o o o o o o oo ooo oo ooo oo oo o o o o oo oo oo ooo A TABLE of ENGLISH and PORTUGAL MONEY, reduced to SPANISH Computation. *N, B. Six and Thirties, or PORTUGAL Pieces, exchange in this country at great lofs: They will give at CORUNNA only 152, or at most 156 Reals; at MADRID something The par is 162 Reals more. LETTER XV. The STATE of AGRICULTURE. THE HE Soil of SPAIN is naturally dry, and is rendered still more fo, and brooks, and by the want of rain to refresh the earth at proper seasons. Of this a remarkable inftance happened about five years ago, when it had not rained in CASTILE for nineteen months together. THE general surface of the country, if you except the two CASTILES, is uneven, fcarped, and mountainous.-It has been doubted by the Abbe de * VERAY, and others, whether there ever were any mines of filver in SPAIN, because the Spaniards at prefent work none: but this prefumption has been ill founded. I am told, that it is a ftanding maxim of Spanish policy, not to work any of their mines in EUROPE, as long as thofe of AMERICA will fupply them. It is a certain fact, that there are many filver mines difperfed throughout SPAIN, and at GUADALCANAL in ANDALUSIA in particular.-Englishmen have gone over there, and have examined the very ore, and have found it fo promifing, that fome have been fanguine enough to offer to contract * But a modern writer has well confuted this opinion.-His words are, "La prudence Espagnole, qui ne fonge pas tant au prefent, qu'elle ni penfe auffi ál avenir, ne veut pas qu'on y touche, tandis que celles des Indes auront dequoi fournir, Je trouve que c'eft fagement fait à eux. for for the working of the mines. But fuppofe the moderns had not examined into this point, would not the teftimony of the ancients have been strong enough to prove it? POLYBIUS, STRABO, and LIvy, all affirm it. CATO impofed a tax upon the filver and iron mines, among the VERGISTANI: See LIVY, Lib. 34. NOTWITHSTANDING the inconvenience arifing from the dryness of the foil, and the want of rain, yet, if the inhabitants were industrious, and applied themselves with affiduity to the cultivation of their lands, a general abundance might prevail, which is far from being the cafe at prefent, for in many places there is often great scarcity of bread. THE genius of the people is doubtless naturally averse to toil and labour. Give a Spaniard but his cloak, hat, and sword, his wine and his bread, and he cares not how little he works. Another great obftruction to Agriculture is the immenfe number of lazy ecclefiaftics in these kingdoms, and the perpetual fucceffion of holidays allowed by the church, which deprive the state of one third of the labour, that it ought to receive from its fubjects. To these let me add, the thinnefs of its population; SPAIN in general, and GRANADA in particular, have never recovered that fatal blow of the expulfion of the Moors; the effects of which are felt ftill more, by the addition of civil and religious celibacy. When PHILIP, on one hand, banished to the amount of 800,000 induftrious infidels, from a principle of religion, he ought, on the other hand, from a principle of policy, to have fet open the gates of every nunnery and convent in his dominions. I have heard the number of thefe ufelefs, fequeftered males and females, thefe dead limbs of the body politic, computed at no less than 200,000; but I believe the calculation much exaggerated. BESIDES the bad confequences arifing from religious celibacy, their thin population is in part owing to the fterility of their females; and above all, to the vaft emigrations of their people to AMERICA. To |