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It must be observed, however, that whatever may be the supposed

annual importation of gold and silver, there must be a certain

period at which the annual consumption of those metals will be

equal to that annual importation. Their consumption must increase

as their mass increases, or rather in a much greater proportion.

As their mass increases, their value diminishes. They are more

used, and less cared for, and their consumption consequently

increases in a greater proportion than their mass. After a

certain period, therefore, the annual consumption of those metals

must, in this manner, become equal to their annual importation,

provided that importation is not continually increasing; which,

in the present times, is not supposed to be the case.