II. The revenues of Sweden are chiefly drawn from the-
1 rents of the crown-demefnes; part o f the great tythes; a
po ll-ta x *; duties upon exports and imports; upon mines and
forges; upon diftilled fpirits; dedu&ions from falaries, pen-
iions, and places; tax upon chimnies; and the monopoly of
falt-petre.
The net revenues in 17 7 a, before the revolution, amounted
to ,£908,434; and by a few fubfequent regulations i agreed
to by the diet, convened upon the change o f government,
have been raifed to about ¿1,000,000. 'T h i s receipt, however,
muft not be confidered as equivalent to the annual expenditure
; for the greateft part o f the military forces, and
a fmall portion o f the naval eftablifhment, which in other
governments exhauft fo large ailiare o f the publick fupplies,
are maintained with no charge to the crown. At the diet
of 1778, the ftates voted the king a free gift o f .£175,000
upon the birth o f the hereditary prince.
No country perhaps has ever, in a greater degree than
Sweden, experienced fuch fevere diftrefles from a want of
gold and filver fpecie, from a fcarcity even o f copper rno- ■
ney \, and its enormous bulk, and from the fluctuating value
o f the bank notes, which at one period formed almoft the
* A b o u t r.i. g d .e a c h perfon. T h e poll- in copp er m on e y , and w h ich , ir ie f f e i i , ciou-
t a x is pa id b y ev e ry perfon, male and fe- bles th e re c e ip t o f thofe pa rticular impofts.
male, b etween th e ages o f 15 and 63 ; e x - j O n a c count o f th e advantages attend-
cep tin g th e nobles and th eir dome fticks 'j m g the ex p o r ta tion o f the copp er money,
foldiers and government fa ilo r s ; and ev ery th e mtrrniick v alue o f w h ich was fuperior
married co u p le among th e low e r clafs o f to its n omina l, and th e imcpenfe number
fa rm ers o f a certa in d e fc riptiou, h a v in g fou r b an k -n otes , th ere was fca rc e ly anv thing
ch ildren , o f w h ich the you n g eft is under bu t p a p e r -cu r ren cy . A t ^>ne period eve»
e igh t y e a r s o f a g e . p riv a te fhop-keepers .iflued' fro .ill printed
.j. S u ch as a lig n in g to th e crown th e notes, fome fo low as 1 d. id / w 3^. value,
monopoly fo r th e diiHllation o f fpirituou s which, they gave in ex chan g e for the bankr-
liquors ; and c&ulipg certa in taxes to be paid notes,
in h lv e r fp e c ie , w h ich w ere b efore difcharged
only
only currency; Tbefe evils, noticed by many travellers * chap-
who have written upon Sweden, and which threatened a to-^-vJ-/
tal bankruptcy, are now entirely removed by the king, to
whom the ftates o f 17 7 a configned the difficult province o f
reforming the currency. His majefty having obtained in
Holland a loan o f f 750,000, called in atonfiderable part o f
the bank-notes, and introduced fuch a plentiful fupply o f
fllver coin, remarkable for its purity and convenience, that
in the courfeof my progrefs through Sweden, I found not
the leaft difficulty of procuring, even in the diftant provinces
and fmalleft towns, filver money in exchange for gold or
bank-notes. The king has alfo, in a great meafure, abo-
liihed the numerous arid complicated modes o f pecuniary
computation, which varied in different places, and under different
circumftancee ; and has enjoined one fimple fpecies o f
reckoning to be general throughout the kingdom, and to be
indifcriminately ufed on all occafions i .
* T h e reader w ill e a flly conceive th e p r e . a ll’ s T o u r , p , 96»
Cent improvement! o f the coin b y the f o l . t T h e y comp uted, on different occafions,
lowing p a liage in M r . W r a x a ll's T o u r , and in different parts o f th e k in gd om , b y
which he made in 1774., only five ye ars b e - ton s o f g o ld , filver d o lla r s, copp er d o lla r s,
. fore I v ifited Sweden. “ W h a te v e r <juan- rbtd ollars, plote s, dive rs, run ftics, o r ochres,
“ t ity o f precious metals th e y have in the fome w h e re o f were im a g in a ry , w hile the in -
“ metropolis o f this k in gd om , I have not trinfick wo rth o f others were d if .r en t from
“ y e t feen one b it , however fm all, eith e r o f th e ir rea l. A ton o f g o ld m 100,000 filver
11 gold or filver, in ray lo n g jo u rn e y from d o lla r s , o r 500,000 copper d o lla r s , filv er
“ Helfimboyg to this p la c e 1 n or h a ve th e y , money b e in g o f ' triple value to copp er m o .
“ I am w ell allured , an y fuch commodities n e y ; a risd o lln r 3 : ; j . j a p lo te = is, SJ. ;
“ in the pro v in ce s. In lieu o f thefe tw o filver d o l l a r s 101/, j a copp er dollar — 3+sf. ;
“ articles, g en e rally trfed amongft us, th e y — 10 Hivers and j runftics i a ftiver ~ 1
“ have two oth er articles which fu p p ly th eir fa r th in g and J . ~ 3 runftics o r cop p e r
“ place, namely, cop p e r and paper. T lt e i r tehrcs. T h e new mode o f comp utation In.
“ bank-notes are as low as one (hilling and tradu ced b y his majefty, is b y r a t io ! ja r s ,
“ flxpence j and th e y have them o f a ll fkelins, and runftics. A r ix d o lla r — ; j . .
“ values, rifin g g rad u a lly from that fnra. I t contains 48 (kelins, and a ikelln t a runftics.
“ is often not a litt le d ive rtin g , when I ten- T h is mode has been adopted by g o v e rn .
“ dered them one o f f ifty copp er dollars, men t, and w ill, in-procefa o f time, become
which is adequate to 1 as, id, to fee them g en e ral t th ou gh the people are from lo n g
‘ bring both th eir hands fu ll o f copp er h ab it fa atta ched to th e ir antient com p li.
(| SPins 1 n or can th e y convert It into c u r - cated manner o f re c k o n in g , that th e y w ill
rent money b y any oth e r m e an s." W r a x . n o t readily renounce it.