An essay on the coyn and credit of England as they stand with respect to its trade by John Cary. Cary, John, d. 1720? 1696 Approx. 55 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 25 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2007-01 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A35196 Wing C729 ESTC R24728 08448344 ocm 08448344 41345 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A35196) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 41345) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 1249:7) An essay on the coyn and credit of England as they stand with respect to its trade by John Cary. Cary, John, d. 1720? [4], 40 p. Printed by Will. Bonny and sold by the Booksellers of London and Bristol, Bristol : 1696. Reproduction of original in the British Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. Gap elements of known extent have been transformed into placeholder characters or elements to simplify the filling in of gaps by user contributors. 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Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Coinage -- England. Credit -- England. Monetary policy -- England. 2006-06 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2006-06 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2006-07 Derek Lee Sampled and proofread 2006-07 Derek Lee Text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-09 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion AN ESSAY , ON THE Coyn and Credit OF ENGLAND : As they stand with Respect to its TRADE . By John Cary , Merchant In Bristol . BRISTOL : Printed by Will. Bonny , and Sold by the Booksellers of London and Bristol . October the 22d . 1696. To the Right Honourable , the LORDS Spiritual and Temporal , and to the Honourable the Commons of ENGLAND , in Parliament Assembled . May it please Your Honours , I Humbly present You with this little Tract , the Design whereof is to set forth how Useful and Advantageous a Well Setled redit would be to the Nation , which , nothing but a Sence of the Calamity we labour under for want of it hath made me Undertake ; 'T is a Subject I Confess deserves a better Pen , but seeing it hath lain so long Neglected , I have adventured to offer my Mite towards it ; If Your Honours agree it to be Necessary , I doubt not but it may be rendred Practicable ; The setling the Coyn of this Kingdom ( so happily effected in your last Sessions ) hath given fresh Occasions to our Money Mongers to imploy their Corrupt Wits in finding out new Ways to elude your good Intentions , who since they cannot get Thirty per Cent by ping our Old Money , have endeavoured to get Twenty per Cent by Hoarding up our New , Things equally prejudicial in themselves ; And so far have they already advanced in these their wicked Projects , as to make near so much Difference between our Money and our Trade ; Which Evil , if not speedily prevented , will daily Increase , and like a Leprosie over-spread this Nation , so that the very Sence of its being a Crime will wear off , and Time will make it familiar to those , who now seem to startle at it ; Dulcis Odor Lucri ex re Qualiabet . Nor can a Stop be put thereto so well , as by Establishing a Credit , large enough to answer all the Occasions of the Nation , both Publick and Private , without which , I humbly Conceive , other Means will prove Ineffectual ; I pray God , who is the Fountain of Wisdom , to direct you Councels to his Glory , and the Welfare of this Kingdom . Your Honours Most Obedient Servant , John Cary. AN ESSAY ON Coyn and Credit : AS the Wealth and Greatness of the Kingdom of England is supported by its Trade , so its Trade is carry'd on by its Credit ; this being as necessary to a Trading Nation , as Spirits are to the Circulation of the Blood in the Body natural , when those Springs ( as I may so call them ) Decay , and grow Weak , the Body languishes , the Blood Stagnates , and Symptoms of Death soon appear : Nor can a good Credit be more useful to any Nation then it is to this , where our Trade hath at all times very much exceeded our Cash ; I mean the Species of Mony hath not in any Measure answer'd the transferring of Properties ; and though herein no Man can be at a Certainty as to the quantum , yet such probable Conjectures Satisfaction that the Disproportion is very great . If we would make a Judgment of the Trade of England , it cannot better be done , then by considering what the annual Profits of that Trade may be supposed to amount unto , and this cannot better be computed , then by making a probable Conjecture of the Charge of its Expences , and this by such Steps , as may tend to make as naked a discovery thereof , as the nature of the thing will bear . Suppose then the Number of People in England to be Eight Millions , ( which is the lowest Computation I have ever met with ) and that each Person spends Eight Pounds Per Annum for his Support , in Provisions , Clothes , and other Charges of living , what any one pays short of this himself , is paid by another ; he that is sed at another Man's Table , or wears another Man's Cloaths , must remember that those necessaries are paid for , if not by himself , yet by his Benefactor ; add to this the Charge of supporting the Government , especially in this time of War , and the amount will not be less then Seventy Millions per Annum , though every Man lived but from Hand to Mouth ; add to this Thirty Millions per Annum for the Profits of Trade , which is but Twenty Pounds to each Family , supposing Six Persons to a Family ; this amounts to One Hundred Millions . Here it must be noted , that I comprehend all transferring of Properties under this general Notion of Trade ; the Landlord , the Tenant , the Manufacturer , the Shop-keeper , the Merchant , the Lawyer , all are Traders , so far as they live by getting from each other , and their Profits arise from the Waxing or Waning of our Trade . We are next to consider how the Profits of our Trade stand in Competition with Trade it self ; and I believe it will be allowed , that one with another , they do not amount to above Ten per Cent. By this Scheme , the Trade of England must be at least a Thousand Millions per Annum ; The Money of England hath generally been supposed to be about Seven , some have thought Ten , which , at the highest Account , stands in Competition no more then Ten doth to a Thousand ; this hath made Credit always so necessary our Trade , that without it the other must have stood still . But the usefulness thereof hath never so much appeared , as now it doth . Here it will not be amiss to consider the Original design of Mony , how it came at first to be introduced into Trade , and the Reason there was for mending our Silver Money , and falling of Guineys . Our Fore-fathers , whilst they kept themselves only to the use of things necessary for the Support of Life , were content with what they could either provide for themselves , or purchase from their Neighbours with such things wherewith they abounded , and the others wanted ; but as Pride and Luxury grew into the World , so Mens desires became more boundless , and their Fancies prompted them to seek after things from a greater distance , either to please their Palates , or to set forth their Grandure ; This brought in the Trade of Buying and Selling , whence arose a sort of People maintain'd by Traffick , who soon put an end to the Trade of Barter . And indeed it must needs be so , since 't was impossible for them to fit every Man's occasions , in such proportions as he required , and at the same time to receive their Payments in the Commodities wherewith he did abound , because these would not answer their ends in carrying on their Traffick , therefore something must be made the Standard of Trade , which might be of equal value in all Places , and a measure to the worth of other Commodities , the Excellency whereof was not to arise so much from any intrinsick value in its self , as from the usefulness of it to answer that end . Silver was at last agreed on by a common consent , whose worth arose from its Fineness and Weight ; not that this was esteemed the richest of all Mettles , Gold standing in a very great Disproportion with it , even as to its Weight , but that being more scarse , could not supply all the occasions of Trade , nor indeed could it be divided into so small parts as Silver might ; On the other Side , Lead , Iron , Tin , Copper , &c. being more common , would have been too bulky to be made the Standards of Trade ; nor could Diamonds , or other precious Stones answer the end , for besides the abuse which might be put on the World by their Counterfeits , their value arises only from Fancy , and from such Rules that a common Eye cannot easily distinguish ; Silver being thus settled , became by its Weight and Fineness a Standard to the value both of these and all other Commodities , which were purchased by a quantity set out , and measur'd by the Scale ; and this continued in the former Ages of the World , till the vast increase of Commerce and Traffick made the several Princes , who found their Advantages by Trade , endeavour to render it more easie to their Subjects ; This was done by forming Silver into lesser parts , and by their Stamp giving a Warrantie both to the Fineness and weight of each Piece , which they guarded with Laws , equally Sanguinary with those which secured their Crowns . The first was called the Standard , which is a mixture of some Allay with the finest Silver ; and though it might be wished , that all Trading Nations had agreed upon the same , yet since they have not , the Coyn of each Nation stands in Competition , according to the true Weight and Fineness of the Silver in their Money , without any respect to the Denomination ; which , were it not for other Accidents that attend it , would be the Par and Measure of all Exchanges . The Standard , or Sterling Silver of this Kingdom , is Eleven Ounces Two Penny Weight Troy of the Finest Silver , mixt with Eighteen Penny weight of Fine Copper , and according to this Proportion should all our Coyn and Standard Plate be mixt , which Composition makes it more fit , both for the Stamp , and also for Utensils , being else too soft to be wrought up of its self , and if more allayed , would become too Brittle , and wear like Brass , as our Workmen generally agree . But whatever might be the cause that perswaded our Kings to settle this Allay , it hath continued to be the Standard of England ever since the Reign of King Richard the First , being first contrived , and brought hither by the Easterlings , a Trading People living in the Eastern Parts of Germany , who dealt with us for our Product . Many good Laws have been since made to keep it from being vitiated , which were they as well put in Execution , the deceits used by the Workers of that Commodity , to the increase of their Private Estates , by abusing the ignorant Buyers , might soon be put to an end . Next , to the finess , the weight of our Money was to be secured , and that to be done in such Parts , that one Piece should answer another . Thus the English Crown , as it comes out of the Mint , weighs Nineteen Penny weight and Eight Grains ; the Half Crown , is just one half of that Weight ; the Shilling one Fifth ; and the Six Pence one Tenth ; so that these pieces receive their values from their Weights , not from their Names , though some unthinking People have supposed otherwise ; which Error hath been the ground of many Disputes , and given Opportunitys to cunning Knaves of abusing our Coyn , both by adulterating the Standard , and lessening its Weight , and others finding Advantage by this Confusion , have devised Arguments to maintain their false Propositions ; such as these ; that it hath made Trade to circulate ; That it past currantly from Man to Man ; That it hinder'd our Money from being carry'd abroad ; and such like ; never considering that the Kingdom of England may Trade till it becomes Bankrupt ; that it is not Buying and Selling amongst our Selves which makes this Nation Rich , or able to support its Self , but the Trade we drive with Forreign Nations ; particular Men may get , whilst the Nation in general looses by the Trade it drives . It is a certain and undeniable Maxim , that what is the true Interest of England , is the Interest of every particular English Man ; for though private Men may seem to get by the ruine of the Publick , this lasts but for an Age , and their Posteritys will have cause to lament the ill Consequences a Trade so driven will produce . No doubt the badness of our Money was the cause of a great Circulation in our Home Trade , but this arose from other Reasons then are commonly considered , and the Consequence being the advance of Guinneys , caused our Product and Manufactures to be sold to Foreigners at undervalues , who would have been enabled thereby in a short time to have carryed on the Trade of Europe on better Terms then we could . Which things being duly considered by our Legislative Power , 't was thought fit the last Sessions to call in all the debased . Money then Currant , and to reduce our Coyn by Degrees to the old Standard and Weight , this gave fresh occasions for Clamours , and the People were again furnish'd by the Money Jobbers , with new Arguments against the Government . Trade 't is true , was hereby put to a stop , and this could not be helpt , nothing else could be expected when ever our Money should have come to be mended , the most clamorous thought it necessary to be done , only desired that it might be deferred some time longer , or at least ( to express it in their own Terms ) that the Money might be raised , and that the Crown might pass for Six Shillings ; this they did suppose would cause more Silver to be brought into England , and less to be carry'd out , because it would be worth more in England , then in any other part of Christendom ; they argued in all Companies , that the Trade of England was apparently slackened since the Small Money was made unpassable , and Guineys reduc'd from Thirty Shillings to Two and Twenty ; whereas they did not consider , that this was Non causa Pro causa , 't was the Fear and constant Expectation of the calling in and mending our Silver Money , and as a Consequence thereof the falling of Guineys , which made every Man willing to shift off the loss , and to discharge himself of his Money , as fast as he receiv'd it , by turning it into some Commodities which he might part with at less loss to himself , then he supposed the Money would be if he kept it by him , so that had the Parliament gratified these Mens desires , it would not have had the Consequence they expected , because the Standard being once fixt , that uncertainty had ceased , I speak thus , because I am obliged to Answer such Arguments in the Language of the Proposer . For my own Part , I am of Opinion , and I believe most unbyassed Men will agree with me , that Silver cannot be raised or fallen in the Sense these Men would have it ; the true value of Silver consisting in its Weight and Fineness , cannot properly be said to rise or fall , or to be worth more in one place then in another ; if Silver rises , it must be either with respect to its Self , or to something else ; the former is absurd , an Ounce of fine Silver cannot be worth more then an Ounce of the same Fineness in any part of the World , nor will the Stamp make an Alteration , especially in England , where Silver in Bullion and in Coyn must be alike , the Coynage here costing nothing ; and as to the latter , its Rise and Fall with respect to other things , this can never be limited by Law , because the Buyer must pay for the Commodities he wants , suitable to his Necessity , and their Scarcity ; thus one Day a thing is worth an Ounce of Silver , which at another time is not worth half so much . Besides , I would ask these People , whether they think that a Crown or Five Shilling piece as now Coyned , can be worth any where , either at Home or Abroad , Six single Shillings of the same Coyn , or to speak plainer , Six pieces of Silver , each one Fifth part of an Ounce of the same Standard and Fineness ? if they think it can be so at home , they may soon ruine themselves by the Experiment ; and if it cannot here , why should it be so Abroad ? Does any Man suppose that the Dutch or other Forreign Nations will make such a Change ? if they will , 't is our Interest to send our Coyn to them , and this will be the way to augment , and not to lessen the quantity of our Silver . But all this is a jest , for no Nation esteems Silver but for its Weight and Fineness ; and though the Money of some Countreys may not agree with ours of the same Denomination in either , yet the Exchange sets that right . Thus the French Crown ( called there Six Shillings , or three Livres ) hath not usually been worth in Exchange above Fifty Six of our Pence ; now should any Man be so imprudent to bring it thence , and expect to pass it here for Six Shillings , because 't is called so there , he would soon see , that neither our Goldsmiths nor Traders would take notice of the Denomination ; on the other side , should any one carry the English Crown to France , because 't is there worth above Three of their Livres , vulgarly Six Shillings , he would find no more Advantage , either in Buying of Goods , or remitting it home again , then he might have made by Exchange When our Coyn was Corrupt and Base , all Exchange rose upon us , but now it is return'd to its ancient Standard , Exchange returns to its old Course ; not that the Standard of our Money is always the exact Rule of our Exchange , the Ballance of our Trade often causes it to alter , either to our Advantage , or to our Loss , besides the Charge of Management ; But this is little in Comparison with the other ; a familiar instance we have in the Case of Ireland , where , whilst our Coyn was Base , Seventy Pounds was worth one Hundred Pounds here , which was in some measure proportionable with the value of Pieces of Eight , ( which they took in Ireland by weight ) to our Clipt Money , and also to our Guinneys at Thirty Shillings per piece ; and how far this carried the Trade of England into that Kingdom , the Traders to the West-Indies have been too sensible ; but since the Error of our Coyn hath been Corrected , that very Exchange is so much varied , that One Hundred Pounds here is worth One Hundred and Fifteen Pounds there . And since I have mentioned Guinneys , I cannot let them pass without some Observations ; how eager was the contest for keeping them up to that exorbitant value ? and how unwillingly did the Money Changers , and those whom they had deceived , yield to the Alteration ? whereas it was well known that the reason why Guineys were so high was the badness of our Coyn ; Gold doth not receive a value from the Stamp , but whether in the Mass , or in the Coyn , its Weight and Fineness are to be regarded ; the Standard of both in England is the same , being Twenty Two Caracts of finest Gold , One Caract finest Silver , and one Caract finest Copper ; the Guinuea is Five Penny Weight and Eight Grains , which at the price of Four Pounds per Ounce ( when Money was at its full Standard and Weight ) came to One and Twenty Shillings and Four Pence , but when our Coyn was so Corrupted , that Thirty Shillings contained no more Silver then Twenty One Shillings and Four Pence formerly did , 't was necessary Guineys should rise , to put them on an equal Basis with Silver ; on the other side , when the Currant Coyn of the Kingdom came to be rectifyed , and One and Twenty Shillings and Four Pence contained the same quantity of Silver it formerly did , Guinneys must as necessarily fall , because their value did not arise from their Denomination , but from a proportionable standing of their Weight in Competition with the Weight of Silver ; and by the way , it is to be observed , That Guinneys at Twenty two Shillings ( as now allowed to pass by Act of Parliament ) are worth Eight Pence per piece , or Three per Cent , more then Standard Gold in the Mass will yield at Four Pounds per Ounce . Here I would ask this Question , suppose a Guiney were adulterated , and mixt with one Sixth part Copper , or being of perfect Standard , were diminished one sixth part in its Weight , whether such a Guinney would ever have yielded so much Silver as another of its full weight and Fineness ? if not , why then should a good Guinney be sold for less then its value in Silver , for the sake of the Stamp on our debased Money ? or now our Silver Money is rectifyed , why should it not stand in the same Competition with Gold , as formerly it did ? if it be answered , that Gold is dearer in Forreign Parts then it is here ; I desire to know whether Gold stands in a greater Competition there with Silver as to its weight and Fineness ? I believe upon a strict Enquiry 't will be sound quite contrary . I know it is objected , that Guineys pass for Twenty Six Shillings in Ireland , and that this advance on them there ( being about Eighteen per Cent ) will cause our Guineys to be carryed thither ; let those Gentlemen consider , that Exchange between London and Ireland is at Fifteen per Cent in our Favour , besides Insurance by Sea , and risque of Carriage by Land , which cannot be reckoned less then Six per Cent more , and they will then find on making up the Accompt , that they were better leave their Guineys in London , and take Bills for their Money payable in Ireland . One thing more I would observe to these Gentelmen in their own Dialect , that as our Coyn grew bad , so Standard Silver rose in its Price , those who had it demanding Six Shillings and Six Pence to Seven Shillings per Ounce of the then currant Coyn of the Kingdom , the Reason of which is Plain from what hath been said before . But to return to the Arguments brought against settling the Standard of our Money as now 't is happily done ; if Silver say they had been advanced to Six Shillings per Ounce , this would have made it more plenty amongst us , because that would have caused more to have been brought in , and less to have been carryed out . Here I must beg leave to dissent from their Opinion , and on the contrary to offer it as mine , that if our Money had been advanced , less Silver had been brought into England , and more according to that Proportion carryed out . As to the first , we must consider that Silver is not a Commodity of the growth of this Land , nor of the Plantations belonging to it , but of a Neighbouring Nation , from whom we purchase it for our Product and Manufacturers , and according to the price we make of them Abroad , so much more Silver do we bring home for them ; now seeing Silver could not be advanced to Six Shillings per Ounce otherwise then by standing so in Competition with all Commodities both in Buying and Selling , the Consequence of such an Advance had been this , that our Manufactures would have been sold for so much less Silver in Forreign Markets , as the Price of Silver was advanced at Home ; thus the piece of Bays , which formerly yielded Twenty Ounces of Silver , being Five Pounds whilst Silver stood at Five Shillings per Ounce , would then have been Sold for Sixteen Ounces and two Thirds , which , at Six Shillings per Ounce , is the same Sum â–ª and the Exporter would have gained as much by his Trade , because that quantity of Silver would have stood in the same Competition with any Commodities he was to purchase here for a New Adventure , as Twenty Ounces formerly did ; but on the other side , not one Ounce less would have been carryed Abroad then now there is , which must have been so much the greater Grievance to the Nation , as our Imports thereof had been lessened ; here we are to Consider , what it is that causes the exporting , of our Silver , and upon a due Consideration we shall find , that as nothing but the Ballance of our Trade brings it in , so nothing but the Ballance of our Trade with particular places carryes it out , neither of them proceeding from the choice of the Merchant , who desires rather to Trade in any other Merchandize , Silver neither answering Freights nor Insurances ; and therefore it is that our Merchants bring home from Spain , all the Wines , Fruit , Wooll , Iron , Cochineal , they can get , and whatever else is fit to Load their Ships , before they meddle with Money ; But the Ballance of our Trade with Spain being so much in our Favour , that all the Product thereof cannot make it good , we are oblig'd to bring home the rest in Bullion ; on the other Side , there are some places that necessarily require Silver to be exported , but let no Man think that the Denomination of Money will give it the greater value in those Countreys , the Silver we send thither being valuable only by its Weight and Fineness ; As for our Trade with Holland , That often varies in its Ballance , some Years it may be for us , and other Years against us , as Accidents happen , though I am of Opinion it hath generally been in our Favour ; This is certain , that if we run in Debt more then we can pay by our Product and Manufactures , the rest must be paid in Silver , and the Receiver will take it at his own Price , whatever value we may put on it here ; 't is true , Exchange is a Medium where the Ballance is variable , and that likewise must rise upon us according to the Advance we make on our Money ; but where the Ballance is set against us , there Exchange cannot keep our Silver at home , because That also must be provided for by Shipping it out . And as the Ballance of Trade between us and Spain is in our Favour , and thereby furnishes us with Silver , so I am of Opinion , that the Ballance of the General Trade we drive in Europe is likewise in our Favour , otherwise 't would be impossible to keep that Silver at home which we bring from Spain , since we receive from abroad so great a supply of the Commodities we use , which would necessarily draw it away , were they not the purchase of our Product and Manufactures ; therefore it appears to me , that seeing our Silver increases , the Ballance of our General Trade increases likewise in our favour ; whoever will but consider the great Consumption of Plate in England , by its being wrought up into Utenfils for private Families , and the great quantities wherewith the Houses of our Nobility and Gentry do abound , even in those common Masly things , which our Fore-fathers made of Iron , Tin , Brass , and Wood , may rather wonder , how our Trade supplies so much Silver , then that it brings home no more ; hence comes our want of it for the Mint ; and till the People of England grow so wise , as to set the same delight on seeing an Hundred Ounces of Silver in their Houses in the Coyn of the Nation , as they now do in Plate wrought up , we shall be ever complaining for want of Money ; though were this done , and all the Plate of England Coyned up , I am still of Opinion , that there would not be sufficient to carry on our Trade without a Credit . 'T is our Manufastures and Product which furnish this Kingdom with Silver , and the more they yield Abroad , the greater is our Supply ; whence 't is plain , that the Trade we now drive by means of Jamaica to the Spanish West-Indies , is more profitable to us in the Sales of our Manufactures ; then when we sent them formerly to Cadiz ; in the One they yielded Twenty per Cent advance , in the other they sell for Cent per Cent , all paid in the same Specie . But let us duely consider what had been the Consequence of raising our Money at Home to Six Shilling the Crown , as these Men desired it ; for either our Goods would have rose suitably with it , or they would not ; if they had , the raising of our Money would have done us no Service , because it would have purchased no greater quantities of Commodities then before , only it had been accompanyed with this ill Consequence , that the Landlords of England , the Poor , the Vsurer , and all who depend on standing Salaries , would have had their Estates lessened a Sixth part at once , because their House-keeping and other Necessaries would have cost them a Sixth part more then they did before ; But if Rents , Wages , Interest , and Sallaries , must rise suitable to the Money , what fignifies its Advance ? On the other side , if Goods do not rise as our Money is made less , Forreign Nations will be supplyed with our Product and Manufactures for Five Sixths of their true value , whilst we grow poor by our General Trade , and yet the Expences of every Private Family be encreased , so far as they make use of Forreign Commodities . Money cannot be raised , it may be reduced into less Pieces , and this hath been a great Stumbling Block to many People , who have not well considered the Difference ; they tell us that a Penny in former days was the same with Three Pence now ; this must be granted , and yet it makes no difference , Twenty of those Pence made a Crown then , and so they do now , only for the Conveniency of our Trade , later Reigns have thought fit to Coyn Pieces of Silver one Third part of their Weight , and to call them by the same Denomination , and yet those pieces receive no value from their Name , but stand in an equal Proportion with the other , Sixty of them making a Crown ; in like manner , should the Crown be divided into Six Parts , whatever Name we might call them by , the true value of each would be but Ten Pence ; but this being already settled by Law , 't is to be hoped that the Parliament will not easily be prevailed with to alter it . The thing I chiefly aim at is still behind , viz. to consider how a Credit may be settled in this Nation , as good , or rather much better then what hath been lost ; That Trade cannot be driven without it , I have offered at in the beginning of this Treatise , and that it cannot be supplyed by advancing our Money , or any thing of that Nature , seems to me out of douht ; we are next to consider , what may be done ; all former Methods we see have failed , and indeed they never had a Foundation fit to support the Building raised on them ; our Bank , and Bankers had too much of self in them , to be the Support of a National Trade . Credit I take to be That , which makes a smaller Sum of Money pass as far as agreater , and serve all the ends of Trade as well , and to give Satisfaction to every one Concern'd , that he is safe in what he doth , for if the least Room is justly left for doubt , so far is the Credit weakened ; It must be such a Credit , as will answer all the occasions both of the Government , and also of the Trader ; It must be so setled , as to provide for those who are out of Trade , such as Widdows , Orphans , Gentlemen , and others , who living by Usury , care must be taken that their Money may never lye dead on their Hands , and that their Security be unquestionable ; by which means , though they lend cheaper , yet their Ptofit at the end of Seven Years will be greater , then it formerly was , when the rate of Interest was higher , but attended with Accidents ; It must be such a Credit , that the Trader may have Money on such reasonable Security as he is able to give , and for so long time as he shall have need to use it , and yet That Security be made strong enough to answer the Sum borrowed ; by which means our Products will be increased , our Manufactures incouraged , and our Fishery , with other Forreign Trades , managed on Terms equal with our Neighbours ; It must be such a Credit , that the Gentlemen of England may be furnish'd with Money at low Interest , and be permitted to make their Payments by such Parts as they can best spare it , the want of which is now a Clog on their Estates , and eats up very good Families , who when they are once gotten into the Usurers Books , can find no way out : such unhappy Gentlemen have too often their Houses filled with Scriveners and Sollicitors , who entertain them with the croaking Musick of Procuration and Continuation , till they have devoured their Estates ; It must be such a Credit as shall have an esteem in Forreign Parts , and make the Traders of Europe desire to house their Money here ; It must be so setled , that the Nations Debts may be as punctually paid as Forreign Bills , and all Men who trust the Government as well assured of their Money when due , as they are now from the most reputable Merchants ; then the King will buy cheap , when all who serve him are paid exactly , and the meanest Trades Men will not be afraid to deal with the Publick , when they are sure to be paid according to their Contracts , which now none but large Stocks can adventure to do , and therefore make their own Terms ; It must be so setled , that he who hath Money in one place of England may have it in any other Place where he shall want it , at an inconsiderable Charge , which cannot now be done , without locally altering the Species , and carrying the Money to the place where 't is wanted ; this will prevent many Robberies now committed ; It must be so setled , that as on the one side it may answer the ends of the Borrower , so on the other side it may likewise of the Lender . In a word , It must be a Credit set , led on an unquestionable Foundation , which may be wound up to a perpetual Circulation , like those Waters , which being first drawn up from the Sea , then shower'd down on the Earth , and strained through its porous Cranies , glide through the Rivers into the Sea again from whence they came , where they become the Subject Matter for future Exhalations . A Credit thus fix'd must needs be of great Advantage to this Kingdom , and should it cost an Hundred Thousand Pounds per Annum to carry it on , yet the Nation would gain many Millions by it , though if rightly setled , It will not only support its own Charge , but bring in a great advantage to the Publick ; such a Credit as This would make us the Envy of all our Neighbours , who though they might desire it , are not able by the Constitutions of their Governments to effect it . Nor are these all the Advantages the Nation will reap by a well setled Credit ; for besides , that out of the Profits thereof new Stocks might be provided for industrious Men , who , having been bred up in Trades beneficial to the Nation , and careful in those Imployments , have yet been forced to stoop under the Load of their Cross Fortunes ; which Wheels being again set at Work , will by their Circular Motion carry round many others , and by these Means in time reimburse their Benefactor ; much like unto well manured Lands , whose plentiful Crops do soon repay the Charge of Soiling laid out on them by their Proprietors , with Advantage , On the other side , Rewards might be raised for those , whose honest Heads have grown Gray in the Service of the Publick ; and herein we should imitate our Wise Neighbours , who do the same out of the antient Demesn of Holland , though in another way , whereby they give Incouragement to those who pass through the Imployments of their State , to serve it with Integrity , by an expectation to obtain this Honourable and Profitable Retreat in their Old Ages . I say besides these , many great things might be done for this Nation out of the Profits of this Bank ; as the Draining of Levels : Regaining Lands out of the Sea ; maintaining Lights for the Direction of Navigation ; providing Imployments for the Poor ; all which would more then pay the Expences laid out on them , and are Works too great for common Stocks , and fit only for Parliaments to undertake ; New Inventions might be rewarded , according as they were found useful to the Publick , which would be better then confining their use for Fourteen Years to the Inventor ; Committees or Councils of Trade might be erected ; and Courts Merchants settled for the more easie and quick deciding of Differences relating to Trade , which after great expences in Westminister-Hall , are now usually referred to the Determination of Those , who understand them better then the Lawyers can pretend to do ; Ships of War might likewise be built , fitted out , and separated for the Security of our Trade ; and all this out of those Profits , which formerly slid through private Channels into the Pockets of useless Men , who must be then forced to betake themselves to Imployments more Serviceable to the Publick ; in this we should out do our industrious Neighbours the Dutch , even in their own way . And since I have mentioned a Council of Trade , I cannot let it pass without some Reflections , ( though I have shewn the Advantages thereof , if well settled , in another Treatise ) we generally imploy Commissioners in the Management of things of much meaner Circumstances , and believe they cannot be well carryed on without them , who are supposed to understand what they undertake : whilst at the same time , the general Trade of the Nation ( which is the support of all ) lyes neglected , as if the Coggs which directed its Wheels did not require skill to keep them true ; Trade requires as much Policy as Matters of State , and can never be kept in a regular Motion by Accident ; when the frame of our Trade is out of Order , we know not where to begin to mend it , for want of a Sett of Experienced Builders , ready to receive Applications , and able to judge where the defect lies ; 't is not the twisting of Laws , and forcing them beyond , and sometimes contrary to their first Intentions , under pretence of advancing His Majesty's Customs , will answer that end ; nor worrying the Merchants with unnecessary and Groundless Suits , wherein the King's Name and Purse are often made use or to screen the Ignorance of Self Conceited Officers ; Honesty , Industry , and good Judgment , are three necessary Qualifications for such as are employed in the Publick Revenue ; if Reads vers'd in Trade were set at Work , the King's Customs might be advanced many Thousand Pounds per Annum , by such proper Methods , as would at the same time promote Trade , and enrich the Trader . 'T is certain , we cannot support our Trade long without a Substantial Credit , every Man running daily in Debt , and not knowing which way to get out of it ; the Species of Money will not answer the occasions we have to use it , by which means there is a difference already of Fifteen per Cent between Money and Credit , which must be paid , where Mens necessities do require the former , thus our Forreign Bills will become a Burthen on Trade , when the Premio of raising Money to pay them shall be so great , and consequently the Importer must advance it in his Sales , which will be a heavy Tax on the Nation ; both Gentlemen and Traders who are engaged in Bonds , must either make them a standing Charge on their Estates , or pay them off at Fifteen per Cent loss ; and this is not likely to grow better , but rather worse ; the Retailer will be the happiest Man , who hath the Conveniency of raising Money , wherewith he may purchase Bank Bills , and pay his Creditors with them , for which Opportunities will not be wanting in all places of England , when the Cloathiers shall be forced to receive them in payment from their Factors in London , under pretence that they had them for their Cloath , which , whether true or no , they will have a fair Opportunity to put upon them ; these Bills not answering the Clothiers Occasions , who must have Money to pay their Workmen , will be sold to Shop-keepers in the Country , who will return them thither again , to answer the Credits they have received there ; This will suddenly be our State , and the Trade of England Center in that great City , to the prejudice of all other Sea-Ports , unless some Care be taken to better our Credit ; for though our supply of Money may annually increase from the Mints , yet there will be People ready to catch it up , in order to make these Advantages ; and indeed every Man , to whose Hands Money shall come , will endeavour to do the same , so that to what a Condition the King's Affairs will in a short time be reduced , 't will not be difficult to Guess , when , besides former Cloggs , another addition of Fifteen per Cent shall be added to all the Money is taken up for the Occasions of the Nation . I am of Opinion that whatever Difficulties may seem to attend the settling of such a Credit , yet it may be done , and I humbly Conceive that Methods may be Proposed , such as may answer all the Ends Intended by it ; but then it must be done with an Eye designing only the general Good , Self must be clear shut out , and had we more publick Spirits , things which seem difficult would appear more easie ; Self Interest , as it Byasses our Judgments , so it perplexes our Designs ; a frank free Spirit for the common Good will go a great way in a generous undertaking , and the Publick is able to reward such honest Endeavours , which 't was better they did , then suffer the Treasure of the Nation to be eat up by Goldsmiths , and other Harpies , who prey upon our Vitals ; bv the one the generous undertaker is no Charge to the Publick , but increases its Treasure , whilst the other lessens it , and destroys our Trade into the Bargain . The Face of our Affairs seems to look lowring with respect to these three Things ; the meanness of our Credit ; the laugnishing of our Trade : and the ill management of Publick Offices in relation to both ; I do not mention this to amuse the Nation , but as deplorable as things seem to be , I doubt not a Remedy may be found out to rectisie all , if Men of quick and strong thoughts were set about it . I have already spoken to the first , our Credit ; The next is our Trade , which must be acknowledged to have laboured under the neglect of a tedious , bnt necessary War ; and this is not our Case alone , all Europe has felt the smart of it , and France hath had little Cause to boast ; I am apt to think it hath lighted more severely on that Nation then any other , it hath seized on the Vitals of her Trade , which it hath not done on ours ; Here let us Consider what are the Vitals of the Trade of France , and we shall find them to be , Wines , Brandy , Paper , Silks , Salt , and Linnens , in all which both our Selves , and other Nations , have made such a Progress , that the French , who live by them , will scarce ever recover the Blow they have Received ; On the other side , the Vitals of this Kingdom are , our Manufactures , our Fishery , and our Plantation Trade ; As to the first , it must be confest our Losses at Sea have been great , and lighted heavy on the Exporters , but still the Manufactury it felf hath not suffered , no other Nation hath beat us out of the making of them , nor hath had occasion to disuse them for want of a supply ; and if our Woollen Manufactures sink not in their Reputations Abroad , and Care be taken to secure our own Wooll from being carryed out , and to get that of Ireland brought hither Unmanufactured , farther Improvements may yet be made to the advantage of the Nation ; but having spoken largely to this Subject in my Essay on Trade , I shall referr the Reader to it , where I have likewise shewed how the Wool of Ireland may be secured hither ; I shall only now offer it as my Opinion , that better Steps may be made towards keeping our own from being Exported then have yet been done ; I confess all the Laws I have yet seen about VVool seem to reach but half way , they depend too much on Force and Penalties , and too little on Policy ; we must begin deeper , and secure the VVool from the time of its growing , till 't is wrought up into Manufactures ; This may be done by practicable Methods , and nothing less then this can do it ; our Laws must be so framed , that it shall be the Interest of every one concerned in Wool to put them in Execution ; Provision must be made to supply the Growers in all Countreys with Money to serve their Occasions , and when they shall see it more their Advantage to sell their Wooll , to be wrought up at Home , then to be sent Abroad , no doubt they will do it . Men are not apt to desire the ruine of their Native Countrey , but when they think themselves neglected , are often provoked to take such Courses , as they would not otherwise do ; Those of Rumny Marsh complain of this , that having few Clothiers , their Wooll lyes on their Hands whilst other Counties have any to sell , by which Means their Rents are unpaid , whilst their Tenants have sometimes Three Years Wool on their Hands ; now say they , let us be sure of our Money once in a Year , we our Selves would take Care that none should be Exported , 't is not the Price but the Payment that prompts us to take these Courses , which , in our own Judgments , we think destructive to the Nation ; This might easily be done if our Credit were well setled , and Wool might be made a better Staple then now it is ; nor am I of Opinion that the beating down its Price is our Advantage , 't would bear a better Rate if we could keep it from being shipt out ; I belive this Malady might be soon Cured , were the thing well Considered . The next Vital in Trade is our Fishery wherein we have had greater advantages then the French ; the Ports of Spain have been open to us , which have been shut to them ; This might be improved very much to the Interest of England , were a good Credit settled ; many Hundred Thousand Pounds might then be raised from these Northern Seas , which would be all Profit to the Nation . Neither have we suffered in our Plantation Trade by this War so much as the French have done ; I do not say we have not suffered in our Navigation , but our Plantations are not lessened since the War began ; and our Losses by Sea have in some Measure been made good to us by our Neighbours the Dutch , and others , who have depended on us for their Products , to whom we have sold both our Sugars and Tobacco , at higher Prises then we could have done , if all our Ships had come home well ; These are our Golden Mines , and have helpt to support the Ballance of our Trade during the War , their Products being clear Profit to the Nation ; and might be yet more Serviceable , were Laws made which might effectually secure all their Product to be brought hither ; especially Tobacco , whereby we might as it were put a Tax on most parts of Europe , and make them pay towards the Support of our Government ; 'T is a mighty advantage to a Nation , when it produces a Commodity , so generally desired , and so universally used , as Tobacco is , which , Custome hath to some People made equally-necessary with Provisions , so that they can as well be without the one , as the other ; such a Trade as this , ought to be guarded with a great-deal of Care , and all our Laws should tend to make it easie ; where great Duties are laid , endeavours should be used to have them equally paid , else Men do not Trade alike , but the honest Importer will be under sold by him , that runs them ; I humbly Conceive , a Modell might be proposed to make this Commodity much more advantageous to the Kingdom , and to shut out Strangers from being concerned therein : ways may be found out to secure Tobacco from the time of its being cured in the Plantations , till the Duties were paid in England , and by such Practicable Methods , that none should go besides the Mill , or be Exported to Forreign Countries , till it had first paid a Toll here ; If this were done , we might set almost what Price we thought fit thereon to Forreign Parts ; such a Trade as this deserves all the Incouragement the Nation can give , both to the Planter , and also to the Importer , which cannot be done by any Laws I have yet seen , but new ones may be made , whereby the former might be incouraged to raise greater quantities , and the latter to fetch them Home , and the Government might receive a considerable Revenue thereon , both from the Retailer , and the Exporter , with very little Charge , were a National Credit well settled . Lastly ; The Publick Affairs cannot be expected to be Managed well till a good Credit is setled , and from hence do arise all our Miseries ; 'T is a Shame to see how Its Debts are Compounded , and those who trust It forced to make Provision accordingly by great Over-charges , whilst the Nation pays the whole , The rest being devoured by Agents , Tally-Buyers , Sollicitors , Goldsmiths , and others , who raise great Estates on the ruine of the Publick : besides the excessive Rates the KING is now forced to pay for Money , and the Chain of ill Consequences that attend the non payment to such as are imployed : Our Souldiers would fight more Couragiously , and our Sailers serve more willingly , were they paid more Punctually ; and I dare presume to say , that if a Credit had been well setled at the beginning of this War , it might have been carryed on with better Success , and we appeared more formidable to the French then we have done , for half the Charge it hath now cost the Nation . FINIS .