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Monday 11 December 1665

Lay long with great pleasure talking. So I left him and to London to the 'Change, and after discoursed with several people about business; met Mr. Gawden at the Pope's Head, where he brought Mr. Lewes and T. Willson to discourse about the Victualling business, and the alterations of the pursers' trade, for something must be done to secure the King a little better, and yet that they may have wherewith to live. After dinner I took him aside, and perfected to my great joy my business with him, wherein he deals most nobly in giving me his hand for the 4,000l., and would take my note but for 3500l.. This is a great blessing, and God make me thankfull truly for it. With him till it was darke putting in writing our discourse about victualling, and so parted, and I to Viner's, and there evened all accounts, and took up my notes setting all straight between us to this day. The like to Colvill, and paying several bills due from me on the Tangier account. Then late met Cocke and Temple at the Pope's Head, and there had good discourse with Temple, who tells me that of the 80,000l. advanced already by the East India Company, they have had 5000l. out of their hands. He discoursed largely of the quantity of money coyned, and what may be thought the real sum of money in the kingdom. He told me, too, as an instance of the thrift used in the King's business, that the tools and the interest of the money- using to the King for the money he borrowed while the new invention of the mill money was perfected, cost him 35,000l., and in mirthe tells me that the new fashion money is good for nothing but to help the Prince if he can secretly get copper plates shut up in silver it shall never be discovered, at least not in his age. Thence Cocke and I by water, he home and I home, and there sat with Mr. Hill and my wife supping, talking and singing till midnight, and then to bed. [That I may remember it the more particularly, I thought fit to insert this additional memorandum of Temple's discourse this night with me, which I took in writing from his mouth. Before the Harp and Crosse money was cried down, he and his fellow goldsmiths did make some particular trials what proportion that money bore to the old King's money, and they found that generally it come to, one with another, about 25l. in every 100l.. Of this money there was, upon the calling of it in, 650,000l. at least brought into the Tower; and from thence he computes that the whole money of England must be full 6,250,000l.. But for all this believes that there is above 30,000,000l.; he supposing that about the King's coming in (when he begun to observe the quantity of the new money) people begun to be fearfull of this money's being cried down, and so picked it out and set it a-going as fast as they could, to be rid of it; and he thinks 30,000,000l. the rather, because if there were but 16,250,000l. the King having 2,000,000l. every year, would have the whole money of the kingdom in his hands in eight years. He tells me about 350,000l. sterling was coined out of the French money, the proceeds of Dunkirke; so that, with what was coined of the Crosse money, there is new coined about 1,000,000l. besides the gold, which is guessed at 500,000l.. He tells me, that, though the King did deposit the French money in pawn all the while for the 350,000l. he was forced to borrow thereupon till the tools could be made for the new Minting in the present form, yet the interest he paid for that time came to 35,000l., Viner having to his knowledge 10,000l. for the use of 100,000l. of it.] --(The passage between brackets is from a piece of paper inserted in this place.)