A Serious ADVICE TO THE African and Indian Company.  
IT is proposed that the Directors may be pleased to Call not only the General Council, but as many of the Partners of the Company as can be had now in time of Parliament; In Order to consult the common Concerns of the Company, where the True Interest of the Company may be Calmly and Seriously considered, without Passion or By-ends; And if by them, it be found expedient, the following Proposals may be debated, agreed unto, or rejected, and that others may be added, or put in their place.  
1 more. That a Dutiful and Earnest Address may be made to the King and Parliament, Representing the Injuries done us by England, in order to such Redress as the Nature of the thing will bear, and for preventing of future Injuries.  
2 do. That since hitherto we have received much Loss, and little Gain, if any, by our being united under one Sovereign with England; And that the Opposition which occurs in the Interest of two distinct Kingdoms under one Sovereign, are not only Embarassing, but oft times hurtful, especially to the weakest; That therefore the Union of the two Kingdoms, either entirely, or at least as to mutual Trade amongst themselves, may be now seriously intended, and speedily prosecuted, as hitherto it hath been only pretended, and Treated rather in Jest than Earnest, by which, great Evils that threaten Britain, may be prevented: Or if this be impracticable, or on any Account rejected. The King and Parliament would be humbly Supplicated to Explicat our mutual Interests, so that we may be not be used by our Neighbours of England, during our Nominal Union with them, as Slaves in time of War, nor as Aliens in time of Peace: Of both which, hitherto we have had many sensible Experiments.  
3 tio. Since it was thought that we might Legally Possess a part of the Isthmus of Ameria, where the King of Spain pretended Right? Though he had Garrisons and Possessions nearly Adjacent; On this Ground, that he was not in actual Possession of the very Place; That now we may Address His Majesty, as King of England, to allow us the like Privilege and Faculty in the Isles and Continent of America, nearly Adjacent to the English Plantations, where we may have better Neighbourhood, and may claim more favour than from the Spaniard.  
4 to. That the Privileges, granted to Our Company, having been Rendered ineffectual hitherto, by what Occured, That therefore now, we may Supplicat the King and Parliament, for a further Prorogation of the time of our Privileges; And likewise, in consideration of our very great loss, And that this Project of Ours tended more to the National advantage, than to any private Gain. Viz The settling of a Colony in America, in order to Vent our Native Products, by a Canal of Our own, and for bringing to us needful things from Abroad, in return of our own Goods, and not by the waist of Our Stocks; And what is for a Common Good▪ should be sustained for a Common Stock, That therefore, the King and Nation may Contribute to the Resturation of Our Company; For which end it is humbly proposed.  
It is proposed, that since Wine imported in so great quantity as is usual, is so far from being of necessary use, That it may rather be esteemed seperfluous, and yet a Prohibition of its import absolutely is not acceptable to the People: That his Majesty may dispense with a 4th part of the Custom and excise of Wines, Imported be the common Stock of the African Company.  
This proposition will be the more acceptable to the Nation, If the Wines so savoured be restricted, only to the Wines Imported for the returns of their Exported Fish allenarly; And whereof sufficient prooff is made, that they are returned on the Company's Account, and by the product of their Exported Fish.  
Or if additional custom of a 4th part more than is paid presently for Wines, be added on all Wines not Imported be the Company on the return foresaid.  
It's owned, that this will give the Company the whole benefit of the importing of Wine, which is no hurtful concession, since a prohibition of 3 parts of 4 of the Wine that is Imported will not only be Legal, but perhaps most fit; Yet since the generality of People are so defireous of its Import: And that its consumpt is not by the poor, but by those who have Money to spare; The Importation of it may be the less grievous, That the profit thereof should go to support this Company, who whose designs and Trade will be so beneficial to the Nation; And by this, other Merchants will be thereby induced to Employ their Stocks on the other things which are necessary for the Nation, whereby the Nation may be better furnished in all these Materials, such as Timber, Iron. Salt for Fishing. Copper, Flax, Hemp, Soap. Ashes, materials for Sugar, etc. By which Manufactories will certainly be increased: Idle hands Employed, and the poor sustained: Whereas now Merchants Employ their Stocks upon Wines, and neglects the Materials of other Manufactories. So that the Privilege of Importing of Wines, being only in the African Company's hands will both be some Advantage to the Company, and a General Good to the Nation.  
And if the same Privilege were granted to the Company on Tobacco, would be on the same Grounds desirable, and this would encourage the Company to bestow a great part of their Stock upon Fishery. And since the Design and Result of the African and Indian Trade will be without doubt to the Nation in General; And consequently to every Individual person in it, and that in Justice a common Good should have a general Concurrence and Support; And that the generality of the Nation, especially the Great Men and Burrows, have professed a great and Extraordinar Zeal for the Concerns of this Company; And that private Persons have now Expendit on their private Stocks above 200000 lib. Sterling on this design, albeit the profit was indeed the result of the Nation, and is not now to be reattempted without a considerable support from the Nation, Therefore,  
That three months' Cess yearly, for 3 or 4 years, may be imposed in savours of this Company, with this provision, That at least a third part thereof be employed on Fishings on the Scottish Seas, whereby the Money so employed will indeed come to the common National profit, and almost to every Person in it; In so much that if this Quota of Money were put in the hands of good Managers, it is positively asserted, that it could not be so advantageously Employed even for the particular Persons of the Nation who contribute this Cess, as it may be for promoving a Fisheries, and an Indian Trade in this Companies Hands, as the Sequel of this Paper will show.  
And to the effect it may be Managed aright, it is proposed, that a General Council of the Company may be called presently, and three of every State, And some of the King's Officers may join with the said Council, for establishing the Government thereof, in such Methods, and such Hands, as shall be by them judged most expedient, and that the Directors of the said Company thereafter shall be obliged to give Account of their Proceed from time to time, that so the Nation may see how their Money is employed.  
And to demonstrat, how much Benefit this may bring to the Nation in general, and that therefore the Nation should not grudge to encourage and sustain a Company, which hath already ventured so far for a National Concern, and will Undoubtedly continue so to do, if sustained. I shall take an Example from one Branch, viz: Fishery.  
The Proposer and two or three other of his Friends, did in the latter end of August last, provide for making twelve Last of Herrings at Dumbar, and ordered for every Last two Barrel of French Salt, at six pound per Boll, and three Bolls of Scots Salt at two pound per Boll, and Cask and Hoops, which unmade, did cost about nine pound per Last, which is all the Expense that was bestowed on a Last, I mean, of Foreign Commodity, in all amounting to 27 pound per Boll: For the Fish, the Cowpers, Wedges, the Servants Hire and Meat, and carrying them from Dumbar to Leith, was all bestowed on Scotsmen; So was the payments made to the Fishers, the Fisher's Boats, Nets, and Provisions were all Scots, and so was the price of the three Bolls of Scots Salt, viz: six pound; And consequently all the Expense on Foreign Goods for the Last, extended only to 21 pound. This Last was sold at Leith for ten pound the Barrel, inde per Last 120 pound, and at the same time the Bush Herring was sold at 15 pound the Barrel, which will extend to 180 pound Scots the Last, and yet in Bush fishing, there is no money expended on Foreign Commodity; But the said 21 pound per Last, is salted in the foresaid manner. By which it plainly appears, that we did give out but 21 pound of money upon our Last; Yet if this Last had been fold to a Foreigner, at Leith etc. at the foresaid price of ten pound the Barrel, Scotland had gotten 99 pound from the Foreigner, which was pulled out of the Sea: And albeit perhaps we who thus employ our money on this Fishing, made no exuberant profit, yet the whole 99 pound accresced to the Stock of Scotland, which in a 1000 Last so made, Scotland would have acquired of Additional Stock 99000 pound, in less than four months' time, and if 10000 Last were so taken, there would acc●ess to the Stock of Scotland thereby 990000 pound; And since the Herring taken by Bush Fishing, are acquired at little more Expense on Foreign Goods, and yet are considerably more valuable than the Dumbar Herring, 500 Bushes at 30 Last per Bush▪ and Loadning but twice in a year; inde 30000 last; Which sold at 14 lib per Barrel, and deduceing from that the price of the Foreign Salt and Timber of the Cask; There will at least remain 12 lib. per Barrel free which in 30000 Last cannot amount to less, than Three Million, or 3000000 pound Scots, of Addition to the Stock of Scotland; in less than 6 months' time: But if the Bushes, should Load thrice in a Season (as in all probability they may, because of the nearness and convenientness, of the Harbours both in the North and West Seas; Then the Gain accrueing to Scotland. would be four Million and Five Hundred Thousand pound Scots; And the same Fishers, Servants. and Boats, may be Employed the other half Year, on White-Fishing; Which all, who understand Fisheries, says, is more valuable, than the Herring; And it that also, or the half thereof, were Yearly acquired to Scotland; How soon would it raise this Nation, from its present poverty; and banish all Beggary, by Employing all hands, that could Work, and acquire and India at our Doors. And the Practicableness hereof, is made out, from an undoubted Experiment be our Neighbouring Nation, the Dutch. who have risen by this Trade: from the Power Staten to be indeed, an Hogen Mogen Staten: And beginning with five Bushes, in Enckhatiusen, They have increased to above 1500 Bushes, consumed in Europe; And Europe will consume four times as much if they had them.  
Some Frivolously Object, that the Dutch take so many, and Cure them so well, that there will be neither Room nor Esteem for Our Fishery; To which I Answer, That there is Mercat in Europe and afric for twice as many as both Holland and We can take, For Meat and Drink never wanted Merchants. 2dly, I offer these Considerations to your Serious Thoughts; The Hollanders, who have bad Harbours, and dear Provisions, and lie from the Herring Fishing above 600 Miles, and the Schoal of Herring Sweaming from Zeatland to the Mouth of the Firth of Forth, are never 10 Leagues from some convenient Scots Harbour, so that in a modest Computation We may Unload twice or thrice for their once, If not four times: By which advantage alone, We are able to Undersell them, with Gain enough to Out selves; But to this advantage, add the numbers of Our Idle People, which are had for small hire, the Cheapness of Our Mear and Drink, the shortness of time that our Loadning is a making, for what they must Employ on every Loadning of Theirs. We may perform in less time by a third, And so by these advantages, We may Sell cheaper than they can. And yet a greater than all these, We having the opportunity to use the same Hands, Men and Ships, in Whit● Fishing for the other half of the Year, and the White Fisheries lying also convenient near our Ports, will give Us advantages in Fishing, above what the Hollanders can have; So that if there be more Fish taken, than there be Mercat for, the loss must fall upon the Hollanders, and not upon Us. And for the Imaginary advantage they have, for Cureing their Fish better than we do, Experience has Refuted that, For our last Fishery Company did Cure the Fish better than the Hollanders did, in the opinion of all Europe, and got better Price for their Fish; And indeed the opportunity we have for performing a great part of that Work on Land, doth help us much to Cure them better, than the Hollanders can.  
I crave leave to Entreat Our Company, earnestly to consider this Proposition, for Employing some considerable Stock on Fishery, for albeit it do not bring an Exuberant Gain at every time, yet the Gain will be considerable frequent and constant, and ten per Cent or less, three or four times in the Year, (which the Herring and White Fishing betwixt them may afford) is a great Gain; And mean while though the Company Gain not above Eight per Cent, Eighty per Cent will be added to the Stock of SCOTLAND: And by this means, the Company will Requited to the Nation Tenfold, what the Nation will confer upon them; And that not for a Year two or three, but for this and succeeding Generations. And the constant Gain arising from this, may in so far (prove a constant Fond, for sustaining an America Colony, in some Tenible Place, and suitable to Our Power and Stock: And Pray, consider and Compare this with fixing a Colony on the Expense of Our Capital Stock, with out a Future Fond to support them, or Probability of present Entertainment for them.  
Since the whole project of this African Company, did proport a greater view of a General National good, than the advantage of particular Persons concerned therein; And that the Company hath already, both Ventured and lost, no less than 33 months' Cess of the whole Nation, given out of a few private Purses; And it being apparent, that this Company if they prosecute the designs of Fisheries, and SCOTS Manufactories, which will Improve the Nationall Stock, in manner abovementioned: And that by the product of their Labours, Care, and Direction, the Nation may be evidently enabled, and enriched, and the Company enabled also thereby, to establish an American Colony, and manage an AFRICAN and INDIAN Trade: That for Capacitating this Company; To prosecute so great a good for the Nation, and to repair in some measure their great Loss, on the National design; And to evidence, that the Representative of the Nation, are desireous to Support a common Good, and to evince, that these Patriots who are Justly incensed by our Nationall and Companies Loss, show that their Zeal is on so generous an Account, and not for Humour or private designs. Here they have an opportunity to demonstrat it.  
It would appear that none can justly reclaim, at this National Contribution; since it is evident, that this private Company hath already, and will yet bestow fare more than the gift from the Nation will amount to; And yet the Nation in general will gain three to one, for what the whole Company will gain, as appears in the Compute of the Fisheries, where the Nation gains Ten to one, with the Company; And I boldly say were the whole three months' Cess yearly, given by the Nation Employed on the Fisheries alone, the Company who Manages it on that Trade, would scarce have so much gain as should be reasonably allowed on the Supervisors of such a Stock; And the whole rest of the gain, which will be above 80. per cent, being expendit in, and on the Nation; Can not be so equally distribute for the good, and use of the Nation, and every province thereof, were it in their own hands, as it will be, by putting it for this end, and in this method, in the hands of the Company, for all of it will be Employed on working People, and in an Universal extent; And so it will be some favour to the Company, a great increase of the National Stock, and a great Charity to the Poor: And an certain method for increase of Shipping and Seamen, and in short it will Undoubtedly put the Nation into that course, by which it must rise to Riches and Strength, if ever it rise. And this Favour craved, being of so Universal benefit, should indeed be rather pressed upon the Company, then begged by them?  
These few Overtures and Considerations I hope shall receive many Additions from others, with which no Body shall be more ready to concur in with Candour and Zeal, than I shall be, or to give my Reasons, if I differ in opinion, As I am well pleased, that others do by me, in what I have proposed for it is neither thanks nor applause, but the true good both of our Nation and Company I aim at, It's true I shall be very sorry to find useless Overturs offered, which may Embarass, or hurtful ones, which may imped the Effects, which I believe both the King and Parliament, intent for us; nor do I think that a greater prejudice can be done to the Nation and Company in our present Circumstances, then are such Insinuations, which either ought not, nor cannot be granted.