Page:A Tour Through the Batavian Republic.djvu/159

This page has been validated.
THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC.
147

exchange with London will be still more unfavourable to that city, for then in every commercial sense the bank must be accounted insolvent, and its paper of no more value than French assignats. One cause which tends to depreciate the notes of the bank of England on the continent is, the great quantities of forged ones which are circulated in the north of Germany, the Netherlands, Brabant, and Holland, and the immense losses which the merchants have thereby sustained. These notes are principally of the denomination of five or ten pounds, and skilfully executed. The engraving of the forged notes is said to be neater than that of the real ones, and the ink of a brighter black. But on the whole the imperfections of the genuine notes are well imitated. I could gain no information where these forgeries are supposed to be fabricated, and I will not hazard any conjectures of my own. The jews are charged with ushering them into circulation, but this accusation, like many other calumnies which have been