SOLON SECUNDUS: OR, SOME DEFECTS IN THE English Laws; With their Proper REMEDIES.  
By a hearty Lover of his Country.  
LONDON, Printed for the Author: And are to be Sold by John Whitlock, near Stationers-Hall, 1695.   

The Epistle Dedicatory.  
To all hearty Lovers of their Country, zealous Assertors and Pursuers of the known and certain Interests thereof; and, in a Word, without any more Distinction, To all True English Men.  
Gentlemen,  
'TIS to You I recommend this small Treatise, of plain, easy, and profitable Politics; 'tis to You alone I dedicate it, and it was for your Sake, and the Service of my dear and entirely-beloved Country, I have engaged my Pen, and appear in Public at this time, when we have something else to do, than to write or publish Books: News is now the only Theme, and by its Noise drowns all other Talk; the French the Spaniards, the Savoyards, the Dutch, the English, France, Flanders, Catalonia, Italy, and the Rhine, employ all our Tongues, and almost our very Thoughts too. The Sea and the Land-Services give full Employments to, and Entertainment for our Noddles; the Coffeehouses are crammed, the Exchange crowded, all the cry is News, the Streets echo nothing else; the Town is diverted, and so is the Country too! After this manner, the Bath, Astrop, Tunbridge, and Epsom, all filled with Inquirers of this kind. Quelle Novelle? is now the Salutation. The Ladies are in too, they attend the News with impatience, the Post is too slow, and the Wind too calm, and too contrary, to hinder the Packet-Boats return, and to detain them so long on that side. Nay, the Fair Sex are become most exquisite Geographers, and can give an Account where Cales and Catalonia are, where Cazal and Pignerol, as well as most Men; they can hardly attend the mutation of their Modes; and, as a Witty one among them said, when asked why the Fashion continued so long, and with so little alteration? Truly the French, the usual Fashion-Mongers of Europe, were now otherways employed. The strong Stream, and chief Current being now wholly bend upon News, what hopes can a new Author have of being handled or read? Oh, there's time and leisure enough for that, in the intervals of News and Business; besides, now the Summer is past, and the Autumn and short Days with long Night's approach; the Town will suddenly fill, the Men of Business will haste hither, Soldiers, Statesmen, Scholars, Merchants, all come here, this is the Rendezvous, the Winter-Quarters; then the Word will be, What new Books have been lately printed? The Answer returned, but few, Trading is dead, Paper and Printing dear, and Money very scarce, and bad into the Bargain, sad Times indeed! But, pray when were we without Complaints and Murmur? And, tho' they may generally have Reason now, I hope they had the less then, in those glorious Days of Peace and Plenty; but there always was, and ever will be Repiners, none Rich or Great enough, not content with their State and Condition, always uneasy, never satisfied or long pleased. But here, lo here's a Piece of Politics, not drawn from Cabinet or Copy of the great Richelieu, or greater Mazerine, no nor from the Florentine Secretary: Here are no Politics laid to increase, but to conserve Empire; not to make new Conquests, but to secure old Ones; not to invade and destroy our Neighbours Dominions, but to permit them peacefully to enjoy them; not to subvert, but to preserve a Kingdom; not to depopulate, but to well-people an Island; happy in itself, the happiest in the World, surrounded with Salt-Water, environed with floating Bulwarks, invincible in the Courage of the Men, and renowned for the Beauty of the Women; but, above all, famed for the Mildness and Lenity of its Government; no Absolute and Arbitrary Treatments here; all bounded by Laws, Prerogative, and Privilege, have their Limits, their ne plus ultra: Noble and sweet Constitutions, no Wooden Shoes, no Dragoons, no Galleys, no Stat pro Ratione voluntas, no sic Volo, sic Jubeo, but the King Commands with Sweetness and Gentleness, and Rules by Law; and the Subjects Obey with Cheerfulness, Duty, and Affection. And, tho' we are not for changing all, yet we are for mending some of our Laws, which will apparently tend to the Public Good; and for that very Reason will freely admit of some Alteration, and preserve our People, much exhausted by Wars, and other Means.  
Gentlemen,  
As I told You at the beginning of my Dedication, so I now confirm to You, 'tis to You alone I writ, no Jacks, no Haters of their Native Country, no Lovers of Lewis the Fourteenth, with his Mahometan League; but to the Lovers of WILLIAM the Third, who Wish, Talk and Fight for the Prosperity of Old England; You merit my Services, my Pains are Your due; indeed You deserve my best Endeavours, You shall have more, You bear a true Love to your own Country, You are an Honour to it; and the poor, sneaking, whining Jacks a Shame, Scandal, and Discredit to it: They are Vipers, Monsters, unnatural Births; they enfeeble, but You strengthen the Hands of the Government, to carry on the sharpest, bloodiest, and most expensive War that ever Britain was engaged in; or, after this, I hope, ever will be: You bravely stand by your King and Country; some with your Swords in your Hands; others with your Purses, full, drawn, and wide open, to defend our Native Land, our Darling Religion, and our Civil Rights: Alas! our Liberty is above Price, beyond Value. And, as for those silly and contemptible Wretches, that whine and bawl, and seem to long for French Government, or King James', which would be much at one, for he copied exactly after the Versalian Original; he set up too soon for Omnipotent, he had not served seven Years, his Apprenticeship, to his Master King Lewis; besides, he run too fast, was soon out of Breath, he was too hasty, too fleet to hold long, and his Horse was resty. Alas! the People of England are not Beasts of Burden, Asses to be rid upon; let the Romish Priests find out their Men of Patience and Phlegm in other Countries, with easy flat Backs, and tame servile Tempers; they were mistaken in their Men, the English are too mettlesome to be Slaves, they have not been used to Servitude, and cannot endure it, they'll kick and wince, and fling their Rider, as they did their late King: Nothing but Quo Warrantoes and Mandamus'; the King will have it, I'll make ye know I am your King; as he told the Fellows of a certain College; tho', as it fell out, they did not know him very long: 'Tis dangerous to violate and break in upon Establishments, it has ever been fatal to the Aggressors: Charles II. of England, that begun that Work, had like to have been unhorsed, the Times were violent, and had like to have broke out into Civil (as they call them, tho' I think they are Rude) Commotions: Lucan the Pharsalian Poet calls them Plusquam Civilia Bella; and, I think, he is in the Right.  
My Tenderness to my Countrymen has brought forth this little Piece; 'tis the Genuine Issue of a plain, honest, and innocent Noddle: I have often with Compassion and Humanity beheld Numbers of likely, able, and comely Men and Women ride up Holborn-Hill alive in Carts, who never came that way gain alive; I have pitied them from my very Heart, and wished it in my Power to mitigate their Doom, to change their rigid Fate; to spare their Lives, and punish their Carcases by Confinement and Labour; which would most effectually reduce them: I am not for that violent Quack-Physick, which Cures all Diseases: Catch is a cruel hardhearted Doctor, kills all his Patients, and, like other Physicians, by Law forsooth. If it should be alleged, That the Conservators of our Liberty are too tender of it, to take it away from us by such Methods as these; it may be answered, That what they do, we do, and consent to it by them who represent us, and who sit there by our Breath; I mean in St. Stephen's Chapel, for 'twas our Votes sent them thither, we are the Electors; and tho' they are not obliged, as the States-Deputies in Holland, to go home, and consult with their Principals, being vested with an unlimited Power, yet so much in Reason and Justice we may expect from them, to receive an humble Proposal from their Fellow-Subjects, and to consider upon the vast Advantages that will accrue to the Kingdom, by putting this very Thing into Practice; ever reflecting how easy 'tis to destroy, but how impossible 'tis to retrieve Life. The Romans, whom all the World will allow to have been a gallant, victorious, and wise People, were always very tender of their Citizens and Subjects, ever preserving their Lives with due regard; well knowing, that in them consisted the Glory and Safety of their mighty Commonwealth. We need not be ashamed to take Pattern by them, 'tis from their Prudent Practices I have collected some of my Notions, which I have enforced with the best Arguments I am Master of; and, which I am sure will go down with all sensible Men, and for the rest I don't value at the Price of a Prune; I writ not to, or for them, away with their profane Hands, and empty Heads; I'll not take Pains to make them Wiser; 'tis cleansing the Augean Stable; I'll send for old Hercules to undertake them, I am not Phlegmatic enough for that Service; besides, 'tis too difficult a Province for me to undertake, and therefore I shall desist.  
And now to wind up my Bottoms, I shall detain You no longer from looking into the Book itself, where, I question not but You will meet with an ample and entire Satisfaction, and join with me, in your good Wishes, and use your best Endeavours to have these Matters brought about. We have a King that will Concur in any thing for the Good of the Nation; and so great a Lover He is of the Honest, Loyal English, that He desires not the Death of one of them, no not of those ingrateful Plotters and Conspirators against His Person, and Government; to whom He has showed a Clemency never sufficiently to be praised, being beyond all Example.   

SOLON SECUNDUS, etc.  
THAT the Greatness of a Prince consists in the number of Subjects, and not in the extent of Territory, is a State-Maxim agreed to by all mankind; and that to pursue the certain, constant, and true Interest of the State, is another as universally believed, though not at all time reduced into practice; which is often occasioned by the weakness of the Prince or his Ministers; I mean their incapacity, or want of qualifications to Govern.  
That the Court-Party and Country-Party are silly and unhappy Distinctions, tending to the begetting Jealousies and mutual Distrust, are wholly inconsistent with the Good of Commonwealth; whose Interest is the same with the Kings, and so is his with hers, inseparably, indivisible, and aught to be immutable: And that when Princes take any other Measures, or pursue any other Interests than those of their own Kingdoms, which are plain and apparent; they are often embroiled, sometimes banished, or put to death. Such fatal Ends usually attend imprudent Statesmen, and their Masters, who pretend to set up a different Interest from that of their People; which no Body can deny. That the Church, Presbyterian, Independent, Popish, Jacobite, Irish, French, Spanish, Scotch, Dutch, or any other Faction, are of pernicious Consequence to the State: That there be no Whig and Tory, no Fool and Knave, no Parties, nor Factions at all in the Court, Country, or City, nor in Councils Ordinary or Extraordinary, Privy or Parliamentary: but a happy Harmony, calm Concord, and universal Tendency, in all Persons, to the true Interest of the Community, it being the whole, and every Individual's apparent Honour and Advantage, to contribute all they and he can to the Advancement of the Peace, Wealth, and Glory of the Republic; without the least touch or tincture of any mean Care, or sordid Application to that of the Re-private. No Self-Interest should have admittance here, no particular Benefit aimed at, but so far as they are interwoven with that of the Body Politic. Great Complaint has always been made of want of  Men, of Honour, Honesty, and Integrity: It has been urged, that most Men are much inclined and strongly addicted to the heaping up of Wealth, and making their own Families (as the heaping up of Wealth, and making their own Families (as they call it) without due Regard to, or Respect for the Public Good; which must be confessed: However, we can't fail of having, even among us, some Men of noble and enlarged Minds, who will one Day step into Posts of Power, Profit and Honour, and show the World the quite contrary Practices, and raise the Glory and Interest of their Native Country, beyond what it ever was, especially so great a Step having been made, and so good a Foundation laid in our happy Revolution and Settlement; and seeing that we have so good and gracious a King, that, if we are not wanting to ourselves, will contribute all in his Power to make this Kingdom, and indeed all his Dominions, the most thriving and most flourishing Part of the World, in retrieving our Military Honour, Naval Strength and Reputation; preserving, increasing, and re-establishing our Foreign Commerce, and chastising the Insolence of all those that dare invade our Trade in any Part of the Globe; nay, the very Dutch themselves, (tho' his Countrymen) if they should be so hardy to attempt it, as they have with good Success, and to their great Advantage formerly done, when we had less vigilant and less active Princes on the Throne. These are the best and truest Politics, far exceeding and excelling those so famed of France; the Violent prosecution of which has brought that once rich, glorious and flourishing Kingdom, to its present mean and deplorable State; I may say, almost ruinous Condition: And such fatal Effects must and will always attend such foolish and impolitic Practices; bring shame and Co●●●sion to Prince, Damage and Destruction to the Commonwealth.  
The preservation, increase and welfare of his Majesty's (King William) Subjects, and consequently of his Greatness, Glory, and Renown; and of his Kingdoms true Interest, Riches, Honour and Safety, is the sole Aim and Intent of these following Sheets, which will evidently appear to all those that read them with Candour and Ingenuity, being without an sinister, evil, or private Design of the Author's; but rather of a great deal of Good, solid Good! Cheerfully and hearty recommended to the Public, for its Sake of Advantage alone.  
That the slow, deliberate and intelligible Reading of the established Laws of this Kingdom, Capital, Corporal and Pecuniary, (of which two last it is wished there were more, and those certain, stated and fixed, not lest to the Arbitrary; Breath of the Superior Judicatories, who are too often biased, and influenced by the Court-Royal) on the Sunday-Afternoons, in lieu of double Sermons (of which many are very dull and insipid) this, without Reflection or Churches of Conventicles, would do more Good than they; besides, one Sermon is enough in one Day, and more than the People will remember eight and forty Hours: I say, this Reading of the Laws in all the Collegiate and Parochial-Churches, would bring no dishonour to Religion, and they are very silly that fancy it, but would mightily tend to the Private and Pubick Good, as shall be clearly evidenced by and by. I don't see that the People have been, or are much the better for all the Preaching and Printing, that has been in Use for these many Years past, tho' 'tis their Fault and not the Clergies, who are Learned, and Laborious, and who are an Honour who our Nation, and vie with (and in my Opinion excel) all the Foreigners in the World in their Qualifications, of pure Doctrine and of holy Life, of indefatigable Application to the Ministry, in their Care of Souls, in their Charity, Good Works, and Pious Examples; tho' whether the People will be ever the better for all this, I shall not pronounce; but this I may and will affirm, and I hope without the least Offence, That there is at present very little likelihood of it. And, if they cannot do any Good with them in their Religion, why should not we try what can be done in mending their Morals? Which, if my Proposal be received, may be accomplished; and if by this they should own) become the better Christians; so that 'tis the Clergies Interest (which is a thing they love and pursue as much or more (with Respect be it spoke to their Order and Function) that other Folks) to engage their Power and Authority to have this established by Law.  
This cannot be denied by any, the most silly, stubborn, or wilful, but that the greatest part of the Nation, Noble, Gentle and Simple, Clergy and Laity, are in a great measure very ignorant of the Laws of this Land, which is a great deal of pity they should; for although it seems to be a peculiar and particular Province, a Profession and Employment of itself, yet all Laws being founded upon Reasons, (or at least such as was then, when they were enacted, thought so) and solely intended for the Good and Behoof of the People, why should they be unacquainted with their Virtue and Power? And so lose their Benefit and Advantage of them, by ignorantly falling within the Lash, and Teeth of them, to the hazard, and sometimes loss of their Lives and Estates, and to the ruin of their whole Families, who are undone, and reduced to Extremities through the Miscarriages of their infortunate Principals, tho' they did not in the least contribute to it themselves; which is really a Hardship and Severity. Now by the frequent reading and inculcating these Constitutions into their Heads, they would look before they leap, think before they act, and be very cautious in, and tender of violating the Establishments, for which they know they must pay so very dear. And seeing that great Numbers of People (too many I am sure!) being altogether ignorant of the Laws of their Native Country, tho' made by their Voice and Representatives, yet not one in five thousand ever reads a Capital Statute; I say, by this means they are often led or fall into Crimes that cost them their Lives: Now, 'tis for the Public Interest to prevent their death, and save as many as we can from that ugly way of dangling by the Neck; there need not be one in ten hanged of them that are: Is it not a shame and scandal to us as much as it is to them? Is it not a thousand Pities that so many handsome, jolly, lusty, brisk, young Fellows, in their very Bloom, should be tied up to that cursed Tree? No less pitied by the tenderhearted Ladies, in whose Service they had rather they should die, than lamented by most Men of Sense, as an irreparable Injury done to the Commonwealth: These poor in fortunate People, both Men and Women, might other ways expiate their Crimes, save their Lives, quit their former foul Practices, abandon their bad Company, and fall to Business, in some civil Employment at home or abroad, or in Military Affairs attend the King in his Wars, either by Sea or by Land, in the Defence of his Sacred Person, and their dear Country, and bravely sell their Lives at a Rate uncommon, and as their Countrymen (to their immortal Honour be it spoke!) usually do in their renowned Battles and Sieges; whose Hearts and truebred Courage are more brave than their Enemies, more firm and more solid, than the Walls of Stone or Earth they batter, or the Ships of Oak they bore. Oh whither will my Zoal for my own Country and Countrymen Old England, and those tied Lads the Englishmen, transport me! The Subject itself inspires me, and I can hardly give over; 'tis no Digression, yet, if I carry it too far, it will be.  
Public Executions will never heal these Breaches of Laws, or prevent the ill Consequences of them; the loss of Fortune in the Prosecutor, and of Life in the Criminal: And of this we may be convinced, by the fruitless, tho' frequent, nay, almost Monthly Repetitions, for the Sessions are often held in this City: This public Hanging does not deter the People; 'tis made a kind of Jest, a Game, a Rendezvous of Mob, Shouting and Hallowing, a sort of Holiday or Playday, at least an Idle-Day, (as the Fast-Days used to be) nay, and while the very Notion universally received among them continues in force, and operation, viz. That Hanging is nothing at all! only a wry Face, and a pissed pair of Breeches; nay, I myself have lately, attended on Ladies, curious to see the Execution, especially when some extraordinary Business happened, and a Man to die for killing his Wife, which the whole Sex look upon themselves concerned in, and deep, their All being wrapped up in their Life; we got as near the Gallows as we could, and heard and saw all that past; and when the Cart drew off, the Women in our Coach asked, And is this all? As much as to say, Hanging is nothing at all. Nay, I remember a Drawer, some Years since, at the Rose-Tavern in West-Smithfield, was hanged for murdering his Wife, tho' he saw a Fellow hanged for the same Crime but two Days before he did it. So little Impression it made upon him! So little Terror it had in itself; I rather believe it seemed a most easy Death to him, (as indeed it must be, for the Suffocation stifles and stupifies the Spirits, and cuts off the Communication between the Vital and Animal, and is much gentler, and less painful than Bed-death) else he would not have carried his Wife abroad the Sunday following the Friday on which the tother was tied up, and, almost in view of Tyburn, knocked his Wife on the Head with his Master's Walking-Cane: A scurvy way of treating Wives, when they walk abroad with their Husbands! 'Tis in every Body's Mouth, that Laws were made in terrorem; Pray how was he terrified? He was rather emboldened to the perpetration of that cruel, horrid and bloody Act, by the small Pain he thought was felt. But than you'll say, What will do? If laying down their Lives to atone their Crimes won't! Life being, in the general esteem, the most valuable thing in the World, yet by many it seems to be thought slight and worthless; A merry Life and a short, is a Tune of an old Date, yet every Day sung. So that sharper Deaths, and more Solemn, or loss of Liberty, by a long if not perpetual Imprisonment, might much more reform the English; for Life is not valued by them, so much as by other Nations; they are more lavish of theirs than any other People; tho' Liberty (which they prefer to Life) is in high esteem with them; they are more Choleric than some, and less Phlegmatic than others of our Neighbours, viz. French or Dutch; they (I mean the English) prise their Liberty at a high Rate; witness the Blood and Treasure they have lost and spent to preserve it. An English Man in Prison and Chains, resembles that noble Manlike Majestic Creature a Helion, Sovereign of Field and Forest, when newly taken and made close Prisoner. And certainly a deprivation of Liberty would be much more irksome and intolerable than Death itself, tho' attended with the usual Formalities.  
You see plainly all our Hanging has not been able to clear our Roads from Highwaymen, or our Paths from Foot-Pads, those bloody and, barbarous Villains, universally dreaded and detested. What frequent, what continual, nay, almost daily, Robberies of both those kinds have we? And this without any Redress, notwithstanding the great Care and Application of our August Senate in reinforcing our Laws, and giving great Rewards to the Brave and the Hardy that shall seize upon these nimble Vermin, these Banditti, these Bog-Trotters, these Wills with a Wisp, that ride over Hedges and Ditches, in uncommon, unbeaten and untrodden Ways.  
Transportation won't do the business, though that's a great deal better than Hanging, for the Commonwealth suffers by their death; that is, 'tis a loss to the Public: So that Pecuniary and Corporal Punishments would soon cure these Evils, and remedy these Disorders: Working will do more than Whipping; and that at the Cart's tail, with a Dog-whip, through the Streets, is barbarous and Beastlike, and no where practised but in England: At Amsterdam they whip them upon a Scaffold, and with Birchen-Rods; it is sharp but short, and then away to the Rasp-House. I warrant ye you'll precisely cry out, I arraign the Laws of the Land, than which there are (say you, and a great many more that know no better) no wholesomer Laws in the World, being adapted to the Humour and Genius of the Nation. I find no Fault with our Establishments, they are Good in the main; however, they would be better, if mended a little; I hope they are not, like the Medean and Persian, eternal, immutable; there may be Times and Seasons, Occasions and Mutations, which may make it absolutely necessary to abolish some, and enact others. We in England have been, and are in the Wrong in some things, our Civil Conduct has some Flaws; which is visible by the Statutes of every Session; for none but the Laws of God and Nature are constant, certain, and unchangeable. While we are in this World we shall see Reason for the redressing some Things which will be always amiss, and out of order: There must be some Reformation, (I don't mean in Religion, for that's well enough, if we can be quiet,) and the Dangers and Difficulties that attend such a Change, may be thought by some soft and weak Heads, to be vastly Great and Insuperable, tho' we shall evince the contrary, and make it clear even to Demonstration, that our Constitutions may be improved and altered to the vast and apparent Benefit of the whole Nation: Each Member of the Community will be for it, as having a share in the Safety and Welfare of it, and will be careful to prevent the Evil, and zealous to procure and promote the Good of the Body Politic, (I am sure if he is a Politic Body he will.) And what if we have been, and are still in the wrong? Is it reasonable we should be always so? I remember at a Debate in the House of Lords, the late Duke of Buckingham, was of the late Earl of Shaftsbury's Sentiments that Day, but he changed his Mind the next, and voted against the Earl; upon which he being a little nettled, charged the Duke with Levity; who answered him very smartly, and said, That if he was a Fool yesterday, he would not be so all the Days of his Life.  
I am indeed utterly and absolutely against Transportation of Felons, (tho' it was thought Mercy by our Law) for two principal Reasons, and I hope they won't be contemned by you. First, It answers not the Aim and Intent of the Law; that is, it has not the good Effect designed by it; for they often return sooner than they should, and fall to their old Trade of Rogueing; and if they do stay abroad, they are seldomer made better, but often worse, their very Travelling thither corrupts them, for most of the Seamen with which they converse in their Voyage, are as very Thiefs as themselves; and, when they arrive at the Plantations, they are sharpened in all manner of Villainies; and learn to cheat, and overreach one another; which they think no Crime, and make no Conscience of, as I don't know how they should, for they have not any. The very Quakers themselves, who go voluntarily thither, and who, while here, are pretty exact and fair in their Dealing, when they come to America, prove the verriest Knaves, and the sharpest Rogues in the World. I have seriously asked a Friend (as those sly Hypocritical Rascals call one another in their Cant) what is the reason of that Change? Who slearing and whining answered me, Truly the Air altered 'em. When in reality their Principles are naught, and being frequently pinched by Necessity, and meeting with Losses and Disappointments in their Voiaging thither, they are made (Jew like) the more Mercurial, and indeed are become a sort of cunning Traders and may vie with the subtle Genoese, who once had the Fame of being the Closest and most Politic Negotiators in this Part (at least) of the World. The Second Argument is, We are already too much exhausted by our Colonies, which may be one Day as fatal to us as it has been to the Spaniards, and would have been ere now, but that our Women are more chaste and prolific than theirs; but than what hinders us again, Marriage is universally decried, run down and exploded; what was once counted an honourable State, gins now to be thought otherwise; and they are reckoned Fools and Coxcombs, and fit for nothing but to be made Cuckolds, that do venture into the Noose; and common Whoring is become much more Modish; which is very pernicious to the State, and hinders the great increase of People; for those wand'ring Strumpets are as dark and barren as the Grave▪ besides, the vast Number of gay and gallant Youth destroyed in their Attacks, more than the Town and Castle of Namur cost us, or Fort-Knock added to the List. I shall mention nothing of the Court (nor Church, for I am sure it was not theirs, the Duke was in the bottom of that blessed Business) Persecution, towards the latter end of Charles the Second Reign, which helped to drain us; it filled the American Colonies, but emptied the English Kingdom; which, tho' an Island, is more worth to us than that whole Continent, as vast as it is. If these Reasons against Transportation won't satisfy, I could soon muster an Army of them. I must confess the present Practice is much more commendable, the sending them to the Army in Flanders, where they do their Country some Service, at least receive the Shot which might kill better Men. If this War holds, and for aught I see 'tis pretty likely, it will oblige us to be more careful and tender of our People's Lives, than for many Years past we have been.  
Another Malady in the State wants Redress, and that is, the Mob Rampant, who commit strange Insolences and Outrages; gutting of Houses (as they call it,) I suppose they'll come to gutting of People one of these Days. This, if not suppressed in time, may be dangerous to the Government, and bring about some new Revolution. Massinello, the famed Neapolitan Fisherman began after that manner; besides, they will be emboldened by their Impunity to attempt greater Things, when their Stream is turned another way, which is not very difficult to be done, a little Coin, sprinkled among them, will soon put them into a ferment, and where and when it will stop no Body knows; if these Extravagances are passed over, or permitted, they'll suspect their Betters want Power, or are afraid to correct and humble them; which may engage them in new Commotions, and endanger fresh Convulsions, which have sometimes fatal and pernicious Tendencies.  
There have been more poor Rogues and Whores hanged for stealing Silver Tankards out of Victualling-Houses of this City, than all the Plate in them is worth; that is, their Lives are of more value. Now, for Remedy of this Evil, I propose a Scheme thus. Suppose a Tankard, which is about five Pound Sterling value, be whipped up, and the Person taken, instead of committing him to Newgate, I would have him sent to a Workhouse, and there to remain till he should, by his Labour, pay the Prosecutor the full Sum of five Pounds and Charges, besides his own Lodging and Diet in the Prison, and, when all that was paid, he should have his Liberty; but than you'll say, he'll to his old Profession; let him if he please, he shall be punished, when caught, after the same manner, which will make his Heart ache, and tyre him quite out, and break him of those Tricks soon: Liberty is not so contemptible as Life: And then, if he would not work, he need not be beaten to be brought to it, for 'tis but making a Vault with a Pump in it, and so let Water run into it, and put the Gentleman there, and let him stand till it comes up to his Mouth, when he must either pump or be drowned; and if he can do that Work he may do other; besides, there is a more profitable Work than beating Hemp, to Rasp Dying-Woods, at which they can earn more: This way no Body would be a loser, the Victualler would have his Plate again, the Thief his Liberty, and the King his Subject; which he must for ever lose if he be hanged, and so must the Man his Tankard; which is a Severity in our Law, and is also a feeble or weak side in it, and occasions the stifling of many Prosecutions, which would otherwise go on; but People are often helped to their Goods again by the Thief-takers, as they call the Marshal's Men; but in reality they are the sharers, for they come in for a snack with them; which to permit, is a shame and scandal to a Government; besides, this I am ready to mention, shows a Defect in our Constitution; I am robbed, and tho' I have irrecoverably lost my Goods, yet I am obliged to Prosecute, which gives me great Trouble, and puts me to Expense, for which I am much the worse, but never a whit the better.  
Highway Men, Foot-Pads, House-Breakers, Shop-Lifters, Cutpurses, Pick-Pockets, Cheats, Sharpers, Hat, Sword, Handkerchief, Horse, Cow, Sheep or Hog-Stealers, with the numerous Gang of Filchers and lesser Vermin, of all sorts and sizes, would sooner be deterred from the Practice of any of these or other Rogueries and Villainies, by Imprisonment and Bodily Labour, either for a certain term of time, in proportion to the greatness of smallness of their Crime, the Profits of which to the Commonwealth, or to work out the Theft as before, and to be honestly paid to the Sufferer: This last, rather than t'other, for then no Prosecutions could or would be suppressed, but all, even the most minute Robberies and Cheats would come before the Magistrate; I say, this would more effectually extirpate and root out all the Crimes, Misdemeanours and Miscarriages in a State, than Whipping, Burning, Transporting, or Hanging, which is the last stroke, and which is, by much, the worst of them all.  
And now, for Example, I will first instance in a Highway Robber: Suppose one taken, tried and convicted of taking twenty Pounds from one Man, and thirty Pounds from another; he should be sentenced to Imprisonment, and painful bodily Labour, till Money should arise by his Sweat to pay the whole Fifty Pounds, which might be easily done in three or four Years, or less time, and he maintained, lodged, dieted, and clothed; for he may earn eighteen Pence per Diem: This long Confinement, and hard Service, would balk his Stomach, and spoil his Appetite to the old way of Padding, the very Gang and Knot would be broke and dispersed: This to an English Man, so fond of Liberty, would be more formidable than that ignominious Death, to which they are now only obnoxious; it would put them upon some Consideration how to get a Livelihood by some fair and honest Method; they would to the Army Volunteers, or to the Navy Reformades, or get some Civil Employment, or Secular Business, to prevent their falling into these terrible Punishments: Thus would our Roads be soon cleared of all these troublesome Vermin, and the whole Nation left to pursue their Business, or their Pleasure, with Satisfaction and Safety of Mind, Person, and Pocket, without the least dread of dropping into these unlawful Ambuscades; besides, what Satisfaction is it to me to prosecute any of these sort of Law-Breakers, when I have lost my Money, which I am sure never to recover again, but spend more, and have a great deal of trouble into the Bargain, (of which very few People are fond;) nay, sometimes the remaining Gang threaten to revenge the death of their Associate on the Person of the Prosecutor; which, if it be not always performed, yet it leaves an impression of Fear upon a Man which makes him uneasy in his Business. 'Tis evident, beyond Contradiction, that all the Methods hitherto proposed and reduced into Laws, have not been able to suppress this sort of Cattle, so injurious to the Community; the utter exstinction of whom should be our principal Care and Endeavour; there being more likelihood of their increase than decay, especially when they have a prospect of being reinforced by a Disbanding of our present numerous Army, which must be, upon a Peace, which will come at one time or another, and will be general, and so consequently no more Work for the Sword, at least, for some Years to come; which will put the Private Soldiers to engage in Foot-Padding, and the Officers to the Roads, it being a rarity to hear of a Son of Mars with full Pockets; I assure you they are seldom Usurers, or put their Money out to Interest, they are for a merry Life and a short one; live without thought of the Morrow, according to our Saviour's Command, they let the Morrow take Care for itself; tho' I believe not from a Principle of Christianity, but of Carelessness rather: This Fate usually attends them, as it does Whores and Witches, if they chance to escape Lead and Iron, and live to behold, which many of 'em do, they are sure of Poverty and Pain.  
Our wise Senate is at all Times, and upon all Occasions, very Tender of the Lives of their Fellow-Subjects, and are willing to receive and debate upon all Proposals that bend that way; and who knows but this may fall into some of their Hands? Partake of Life and Vigour by that means, and suddenly sprout out into a happy Law; they are Men studious of the Public Good; indeed they are the only Public and Noble-spirited People among us, they are always for the Advancement of the Wealth, Greatness, Honour and Interest of Old England; and we had been long since sunk into an Abyss of Ruin, and irrecoverably lost, if our Patriots had not appeared Stout and Courageous, and in time rescued us from the Impendent Dangers. The poor Women, who used to be hanged up for a slight Matter, and were excluded the Benefit of Clergy, have it now without reading; which is a commendable Consideration: And tho' this Method has not, had any extraordinary Effect; that is, it has not prevented Thefts, Robberies, Cheats, and such like Actions, yet it has saved the Lives of abundance of poor infortunate Creatures, and given them fair warning to have a care of a Halter; yet if this Sizing in the Hand were converted to a Temporary Confinement, and hard Corporal Labour, it would, without doubt, have a better Effect. The Dutch are so very Cautious in taking away the Life of the meanest of their Subjects, that they must have very clear and home Proof, owned and confirmed by the Party's Confession, else they won't put them to death; I saw a little light-timbered Wench, who was in their Rasp-House, committed upon Suspicion of Murdering her Mistress; and although there were all the concurring Circumstances in the World, yet she denying of it absolutely, after she had been three times tortured, in which most of her Bones were dislocated, she was damned to thirty Years Imprisonment; and, I assure you, no idle People live in those Places. And, tho' I am for no Dutch-Government, but a Monarchy rather than a Commonwealth; and tho', I think, we have little need to Copy after them, yet 'tis not dishonourable to Correct our Constitutions, or to learn from a Neighbour, Wisdom being to be obtained wherever we can find it. Bodily Punishment, I mean Stripes, have seldom the good Effect intended, because 'tis forgot almost as soon as over, for to be sure, when all the Pain is past, the Punishment is no longer remembered; but loss of Liberty will make a deep Impression, will make a hole in their Hearts, and give them a great deal of Melancholy.  
There are more Men and Women hanged here (I mean in London) in a Year, than in Amsterdam, (which, tho' not so large in extent, yet 'tis very full of People, and has rather more for its bigness than our Metropolis) and all the Seven United Provinces; not to mention what are executed in all the other Parts of England, which, if reduced to Number, would not be found inconsiderable. Now there are as great Rogues in Holland, and in other Foreign Parts, as in England, but they punish them after another manner. The Romans had Pecuniary Punishments in great use among them; and how slight and trivial this may seem to some unthinking People, yet, as I take it, the Pocket is one of the most sensible Places about a Man. Fines, when not Extravagant, and Arbitrary, but (as I said before) established, and known, would be paid, rather than to lie in durance. Nay, the Dutch Commonwealth is in great measure founded upon the same Bottom and Foot as the Roman: The Civil Law is in Vogue with them, and indeed with the greatest Part of Europe, England excepted, where 'tis run down, and our Common Law advanced above it; t'other is cramped and snubed, and whipped up into a Corner, and impeded mightily in its Progress and Practice.  
'Tis a horrid Custom we have here in England, of Arresting, and whipping one another away to Prison, even when 'tis known they are Insolvent; every Body knows Prisons pay no Debts, yet have no Mercy, no Compassion, no, nor Consideration upon the Losses sustained by the poor infortunate Debtor, who being in a Way, and in Business, may retrieve his Misfortunes, and honestly pay every Man his due; but, if he be confined, all means are then taken away of improving or recovering a Fortune, and usually tends to the utter Ruin of his Person, Estate, and Family; all which might be preserved if other Methods were used; besides, there are more Debts lost by these cruel, foolish, and barbarous Customs, than any other way; more Men undone by this means, than by all other Accidents whatever; and 'tis from the Melancholic Prospect of a Prison; to avoid which, and extreme Poverty (the usual Company in those Places) puts Men upon flying into Alsatia and the Mint, many time before they are driven to it by absolute Necessity; where they defraud all their Creditors, and live upon their Money, and at last starve, pine away, and die.  
In time past Witches and Wizards used to increase the Dead-List, their Executions were numerous and very common, but have declined ever since the People in general, the Judges and Juries in particular grew wiser; the youthful (which if any have, are the likeliest to understand and use Charms, Inchatments and Spells) and the aged went together; the Ignorance and Malice of that Age spared neither, made no distinction of Sex, but were afraid of being smutted with the Black-Art; although there be no such thing, most weak and idle People being scared with Names and Notions, the common People, even to this Day, call Astronomers, Astrologers, Chiromancers, and Physiognomists, all Conjurers, and Cunning Men; when, alas, there's not one Drachm of Conjuration in the Matter; no Body wonders that the Mobile Vulgus should be thus tainted and affected; but 'tis a little odd, to find Multitudes of both Sexes, of good Education and Conversation, of the same Opinion still, and to think, nay, and sometimes to call him an Atheist, that will not believe the Existence of Witches, Conjurers, Necromancers, and such like Stuff; Subjects fit for a Romance, and would go down very well in those Windmill Days, those Times of Chivalry and Knight-Errantry, which were the drowsiest, dullest, and most insipid Stories in the World, unhappy in being instilled into People's Heads while young, which renders it difficult to exterminate them, if in their Years of Maturity, Discretion I can't call it, for some, nay, many never arrive at that. The Wizard and Witch-finders had formerly a mighty Trade of it; it was some Interest surely they had, as well as the Command, Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live in the Land, that made them so diligent and zealous in their Discoveries; I have been told of a Parson, that, of late Years, seldom failed of providing half a Dozen of Witches or Wizards to welcome the Judges, and employ the Court, till his Tricks were discovered, and he (as he deserved) exposed with shame to the Public Hatred. 'Tis unhappy to have an ill Tongue, much Mischief is done thereby, which often returns upon themselves. Some fancy the Clergy keep up the Opinion of Witches, to amuse the People, and to retain them in the Dark, the better to put of their bad Wares: Some say 'tis their Interest to do thus: But be it so or not, I shall not enter into the Controversy at this time, but I am very glad we have not so many of that sort of poor Witches as formerly; or, at least, that we don't hang them up so fast as we used to do, and make Witches where we found none, which destroyed abundance of People; which was very detrimental to the Commonwealth, who suffered very much in the loss of the young, tho' not of the old Men and Women, especially of the last, who are then very little regarded, by being thought useless and unprofitable, tho' the Men are not, who, if they had Employment, might have Issue even in the last Stage of their Lives, especially if the youthful slew not so fast from their cold Embraces, too near an approach to, and resemblance of Death; the thought of whom, chills the warmest Blood, and baulks, for a short season, the choicest Pleasures of the most Gay and Airy.  
Sodomy is seldom talked of, and, I hope, not practised in our chaste Northern-Clime; 'tis abominable almost to name it, so we shall dwell no longer upon the Subject, but banish it to Italy, Turkey, and those Sunburnt Regions. This Crime fills not the Black-Warrant, and that which follows not much more.  
Rapes are rare, and seldom affect the Life of the prosecuted, because, for the most part, 'tis Trick and Management, design to get a small Spill out of the timorous and easy; besides, the Courts of Judicature are very tender on that side, it being by most Men thought difficult to execute, if the Party be obstinate; and, if not, 'tis no Rape; besides, the Sex are more melting and obliging than formerly, are easier won, and prevailed upon to receive the Attack, and seldom venture so far, or hold out so long to hazard a Storm.  
Bastards and their unhappy Parents come in too often for a share in this Mortal Bill of Fare; which might be easily prevented, by appointing an Hospital at the Public Charge, as in Foreign Parts, to receive the poor innocent Babes, and to make good Provision for them, who will soon pay the Expense of their Education, by their Services, being in Value far above the Charge, and of great Advantage to the Commonwealth; an Army of such would beat the whole World, especially, if it be true, That they are made with more Heat and Vigour, with more Life and Fire, and of better Metal than the lawful (as they call them, for distinction, tho' Nature knows no such difference) Issue. Besides, Monsieur, the present French King, takes mighty Care of that whole Race, and does 'em the Honour and the Grace to call them the Children of France, and sometimes the King's Children; By this Means they have no Murders, nor Executions of this kind; not Embryo's destroyed to save the Reputation of the Liquorish. Common Harlotry is (as I touched before) very injurious to the State; Bigamy, Polygamy, or Any Gamy is better than that; but we are so Nice and Puritanical in some things, and so Large and Latitudinarian in others, that such Doctrine must be damned to Eternal Shades. Oh! 'twon't go down with tender Consciences, tho' I am of Opinion they have neither tender nor tough; I am sure in other things they have not; but I am loath to make old Wounds bleed anew. And so much for that Paragraph, which is shortened to prevent Offence; so loath I am to disoblige any Party, that, as I told you in my Preface, I would have no Party at all, but all pure Love and Friendship.  
And for the Clippers, Coiners, Counterfeiters, False-Money Makers, Stampers, Melters, Exchangers of Broad for Narrow, of Good for Bad, Wholesale Men and retailers, with the whole Nest; nay, rather, Army of Rogues and Jades, that have spoiled almost all our Money, and rendered it uncurrent, difficult and very troublesome to lay out, or pay away, single or in Sums, that indeed 'tis so great an Unhappiness, and ill Accident in our State, and at this very Juncture, and Crisis, I mean the War, that even the Taxes themselves are not so Burdensome: And all this is occasioned by an universal Defect and Negligence, in permitting Cropped Money to pass at first, and in only hanging the Offender, when caught, and fairly convicted by Proof undeniable; which reached but few of that vast Corporation, who have not in the least been deterred from these foul and pernicious Practices against the State; nor is it to be expected they are ever to be scared and balked by Dangling, and tho' great Numbers of them (which as I hinted before weakens the Community) have of late Years danced that way, and been tied up from their Meat, and died in their Shoes, yet no abatement of their Villainies; for now although the greatest part of the old Coin (for the new is all vanished, has disappeared for a long time) is paired very close, for they have gone over and over again with it, they are fallen to stamp Money that resembles the old very well, but, alas! is not worth two Pence halfpenny the Shilling, of which they make great plenty, especially now, and ever since the Half-Crowns were impeded in their passing; nay, such is their Condescension, that they vouchsafe to make us new Six-pences, to assist us the easier in our Exchange; and for the old cracked Pieces which occasioned a Provision in an Act of Parliament, they are rounded very handsomely, and made so small that they are not of Twopences value. Now if these sort of Vermin, after a fair and legal Conviction, were doomed to One and twenty Years Imprisonment and hard Labour, they would be damnably put to it: One Example of this kind would terrify them more than the Hanging of a Hundred, which is forgot as soon as the Story is told, or read in the Public Account: This would be always fresh in their view, and strike 'em to the Heart: What? an eternal Prisoner! (for so 'twould happen to some, who would die there,) and a kind of Slave too! Oh good God say they, I'll have a Care of my Carcase, and my sweet Liberty: How miserable 'twill be to work daily? to live and die within the Grates: Those Iron-Barrs would frighten them more than they do, if they were to be longer in their sight: But they are in a Sessions now, about a Month, and sometimes come off, then with Joy they return to the old Game; I myself have been upon a Grand-Jury when there were Eight and twenty of these Varlets Indicted, and we found the Bills against Six and twenty; and of all these there was but one (as I was afterwards informed by the Judge) executed; besides, when 'tis their Destiny to die, they take it pretty patiently, they die hard, as 'tis now called; that is, Obstinate and Impenitent, and comfort themselves beforehand with the Thoughts of the termination of all their Griefs and Sorrows; and, besides, they have imbibed this Doctrine, That 'tis no Sin against Heaven, but only against Humane Laws, which they expiate by paying their Lives: Surely the Parsons donned take so much Pains with these People as they should.  
And now to conclude, for I think 'tis high time, I am not for those Sanguinary Laws, in use in Germany, Poland, Moscovy, and those colder Regions, where they hang a poor Rogue for stealing the value of a Halter, or a Goose, or such trivial and worthless thing; they are very sharp and severe in their Executions, which has not the wished Effect: Tho' this may seem more necessary in some of those Countries, which are often the Seats of War, and are always (even in Peaceful Times) crammed with Soldiers, an unruly and ungovernable fort of Gentlemen, and indeed, without a strict and tied Discipline, little better than a Mob; the Burghers or Citizens, nay, the Boors or Countrymen, could not enjoy their own, nor supply the Markets, or carry on their Trades; for the Martialists are Liquorish Forlks, and love good things, but don't care to Labour for them, 'tis something beneath the Style and Character they bear, being at their first Enlisting dubbed Gentlemen, which they retain to the last Moment of their Lives: An honourable Bait to catch the Credulous and the Weak!  
The French are hardhearted and cruel, very rigid in their Executions; for Murder, Robbery, or Theft, the Wheel, the Galleys, crop their Noses, and slice their Cheeks: Theirs is a Country of Soldiers too, and under some kind of Necessity of severe Discipline and exemplary Punishment; for, in the lowest reform in Peace, there is maintained and kept on foot Ninety thousand Men, for the Land-Service only: And this must be confessed, they are under the best Discipline in the World; they are mightily to be commended for it. The French, like the English, don't value common Hanging; I have seen a Valet dance upon the Scaffold, just before the Hempen Ribbon was put on, so little they value that hard course Neck-cloth, tho' 'tis tied so hard it chokes 'em; but, since that breaking their Bones by degrees, and then giving the fatal Blow, with a ponderous Piece, of Iron, Robberies and Murders are not so common and customary, they have been suppressed in this Reign; as has Tilting, which used to be upon every slight and trivial Occasion, out come Toledo, or Bilboa, almost without any Provocation.  
However, upon the whole Matter, I am clearly for the mild and gentle Laws and Government we live under, with exclusion to all other; nay, even I think it Severity and Cruelty to confiscate the Estate, tho' in Crimes of Laesae Majestatis, so to starve the Wife and Children, and ruin the whole Family of Innocents'; not so much as knowing, and, to be sure, not at all concerned in their infortunate Husband and Father's Follies and Miscarriages. Lenity and Clemency have preserved many a Prince; whereas the contrary has destroyed many a one, and involved their Kingdoms in Blood: Mercy is one of the chief Attributes of the Deity, and when Sovereigns are so, they imitate at least, if not come near to a God. 'Tis Natural and Humane to preserve rather than destroy; and therefore I shall end with this, That if my kind Tender of my Services to my Country were reduced into Practice, not One in Ten would be hanged that are; which would be much to our Honour, Advantage, and Interest.   

APPENDIX.  
TO this may be added, by way of Supplement, The great Shame, Scandal and Detriment that falls on the Commonwealth, by tolerating such vast Numbers of Beggars, Bees without Honey, tho' not without Sting; mere Drones, Vagabonds, lazy, loitering and idle People, that live upon the Alms of others, with the Assistance of Pilfering and Stealing; many of which Mendicants have and do arrive at prodigious Estates, hardly to be believed, but by fair Discoveries known to be certainly so; others Considerable, all competent Living and Maintenance; and this without one stroke of Work, or one drop of Sweat, wand'ring from Morning till Night, from Street to Street, laying out the whole City in proper Districts and Divisions; and what is really very marvellous, and yet most demonstratively true, of this huge and vast Army of Beggars here and throughout the whole Kingdom, Blind, Lame, pretenders to, and feigners of both, for the sake of their gainful Profession, and to cully in Charity, have an Art, by applying a certain Herb, to any sound Part of their Legs or Arms, in twenty four Hours, will draw so prodigiously, to make it look like an old Sore, tho' without any Pain: I say, of this great Army, not one dies with Hunger, or mere downright Want, no not in the hardest, difficultest, and most tedious Winters; they live well, and solace themselves at their return in the Evening, with good Victuals and strong Liquors: These Varlets and Vermin (for they are no better) might be put under a good Regulation, and made of vast Use and Advantage to the Public; the Profits of whose Labour, might be there lodged, to bear heavy Expenses, and attend on Emergencies; but all Endeavours will prove vain, and want Success, unless this Treatise should rouse up some Noble, Gallant and Public Spirit among us, (and to suppose that we want such, would be an Affront upon the whole Nation) abstracted from the Earthy and Drossy Part, I mean Self-Interest, the common Poison, and universal Bane of good and great Erterprises: However, there are rich Men enough who would listen to this Offer; because, if a Scheme like this were formed, it would turn to their Advantage, they would deposit a round Sum, to advance such an Honourable and Profitable Undertaking, which in few Years (it well managed) would produce great Gain to the Corporation, even beyond what some Traders get, and this without any Hazard, Risque, or Adventure; nay if none of this would go down, if these Vagrant Mendicants were but imprisoned for a limited time, and put to bolidy Labour, and thin Diet, as often as they are caught upon the March, they would be so sick of that kind of Treatment, and so very desirous of their Liberty again, that they would soon abandon that scandalous Life, and seek out some honest Method of Maintenance. And indeed the Prisons, of all kinds, throughout the whole Kingdom, aught to be regulated, their Fees and Profits established, no Extortion or hard Usage should be tolerated there, 'tis Misfortune enough to be locked up within those Walls, they need not have their Afflictions made more intolerable.  
These Vagabonds would soon fly to some of the vile Employments so necessary to a State, and so well known, they need not be named; all can't, tho' they would, be Rich; 'tis pleasant to Command, and as irksome to Obey: Ease and Idleness are more agreeable to Nature than Labour and Toil, 'tis much against the Grain and Humour to Work, and nothing but Necessity could oblige any to it.  
There need be no Beggary, or Poverty, (at least not extreme) throughout this noble and renowned British Isle; there are fewer (to our shame be it spoken) of these State-Maladies amongst our Neighbours than here: The former Gallican Persecution, and the present War, has produced some (few) Beggars in the United Provinces; before which not a Mendicant was to be seen; which was altogether due to the happy Conduct of their Civil Government.  
FINIS.