am
THE
Bank of England,
And their Prefent
Method of Paying,
Defended from the
A S PERSIONS
Caft on them in a late Book,
ENTITULED,
A Review of the Vniverfal Re-
medy for all Difeafes incident to
Coin. With Application to our pre-
fent Circu/njiances. In a Letter to
Mr. Locke.
LONDON,
Printed for Thomas Speed, at the
Three Crowns , near the Royal
Lxchange, InCornhil, 1697.
Price Three Pcnce^
(3)
THE
BANK of England^
AND THEIR
Method of Paying Defended,<^f.
SIR,
The Defence of the Bank of
England, and their Prefent
Method of Payment, will, I
fear, feem at prefent fo great a
Paradox to the generality of people,
that one might very well take a fair
Excufe from thence to fave ones felf
the labour : But my fentiments of
their Management being direAly coa-
trary to thofe of the Town, which
I find colleded with a great deal of
Prejudice againft them by the Author
A a of
(4)
of the Book which I receiv'd from
you; I (hall make the Icfs difficulty,
in anfwcr to your defire, to fend you
my thoughts of their Complaints and
his Performance, with Refpe(3: to the
Bank, without" farther Apology,
The Defign of tne Author feems,
in ffiort, / for I ipuft ask his pardon
if I forbear to tranfcribe the length of
his Expreffions) to prefcribe a Remedy
for the prefent obftrudion, and inter-
tupted Currency of our Coin., In or-
der to which, he fets himfelf 'to prove,
Tlbat there is nm in the Kingdom Good
Money fufficient^ and more than fuffici'
tnt to anfwer oiir ExpenceSy Commercey
Markets; and, in finey to make us all
eajie in all our occafions. And here ve-
ry much offers itfclf to be difputed,
even upon his own Computation : But
for quietnefs fake, and that we may
proceed , I (hall at prefent fuppofe
with our Author that this is true.
Well, how comes it then that we
we in this Lamentable Condition, this
Woful Plight, that is the occafion of
fuch Tragical Exclamation ? Why
thcfc
( s)
from thefe 'are the Reafons, fays our Au-
•llty, thor , Firjl^ the Dilatory Payment of fc—4
yon Notes hy Gulrlfmiths, find ethers 5 and ■%
i ind at lafc, for ihc greater refped:, of Bank
Notes. This he infinuates only as yer,
the violent and great Charge is referv'd
feems, till after. Seconflyy The hoarding of the
iJldoj Weighty Money and Guinea's , in eX'
glliol fetlation that they void he raiid the next
emedf Parliament. Thirdly The honrding of
intii' Money dejignedly to keep up, and to take
laot- advantage of its fcarcity. Fourthly and
ptov^ jaftly, Having difcharg'd the lail: Re-
) G«(i iids of Veneration, which it fecms he
jifi- had been fome time troubled with for
wiew, the Bank of England, he lay s it once
!iad more upon them , and indeed the
:rev(' endeavour to caft and fix the Blame
puted, upon them chiefly,after all his wandring
; Bill and fmooth Pretences, feems to be the
I may great End, and main Defign of his long
ippofe Letter.
Thefe being the Caufes which our
at ffeAuthor has laid down for the Reafons
1^ thiiof the Prefent Scarcity of Money, I
lonofihall go on to give you my Remarks
Whyon them as briefly as polhble.
thefe The
tb
dai
lyiiii Ijjiiwi miT
V CO
The flow Payment of Notes by
^ •« Gcldfmiths and others, mud needs be
9 ^confed to be a great hindrance to the
free Currency of Money : But that it
ought to be attributed wholly or gene-
rally to their ill Management and dlf-
honed Praidiccs, as our Author would
mod charitably perlwadc us, I can by
no means confent to; and dial! take
occafion to fpeak farther to, when I
confider the Reafons for the flow Pay-
mcnt at the Bank of England.
The Hoarding of Guinea's and
"Weighty Money , in expectation of
their being rais'd the next Parliament,^
is undoubtedly another Obdacle to
the Circulation of the Coin: And
whoever does fo. It mud beacknow-
ledg'd that their Expectations are both
very unreafonablc, and extremely pre .
judicial to the Intcred of the Nation ;
lor which reafon I fliall freely turn
them over to be Difciplio'd for their ill J'
aim'd Obdinacy by our Author. ^
And pafs to the other fort of Hoard'
ers which he mentions: Such as hoard
to take Advantage of the Scarcity , *1
which
loll
rcii
%.
i
ins:
loci
If 7 ;
5 which they themfelves occafion s and
it]]e thefe are the men indeed for whom
no terms are too difgraceful. Had
our Author, inAead of the Bank, dif-
charg*d his Spleen againft thefe unna-
tural Mifers, he could fcarce have faid
too much againft them, at leaft I
illjljlhould never have interrupted his Dc-
,1,(1,1 clamation.
And thus at length we come to
confider the force of his Charge
J jgiagainft the Bank, and to examine the
jop jjuftice of thofe Imputations, which he
jj,(j,fo harlhly lays upon them j That the
flow Payment of their Bills, is the chief
. Kfeafon for the prefent Hardfliip of the
And here I lhall without fcruple
I p,(:onfels, that the ready Payment of
,JZ:hcir Bills would be a great help to the
pj,ree Pafl&gc of the Money. But this
. j^jjS not the Cafe : The Queftion is ,
Thcthcf they have Money 3 I mean
^^yijach as will give fatisfadion ? Will
yjhofe who [fo impatiently demand
ayment, be fatisfy'd to take it, in the
Ajjfme fort of Money, which their Bills
were
. (S)
\vere given for ? the greatefi: Part it is
well known having been taken inj
either in Clipt Money, or Gold at an
overvalue; J know this cannot but
be a very Offenfivc Qpt'dion to thefe
very hearty People; now that the
Coin is in fo much better condition:
but if they w ill be pkas'd to confider,
if they have not yet abfolutely re-
folv'd to be deaf even to Truth
Fea/ofj, if they tppear irt favour of
Bank. I lay, if they will yet rtflcdi.
calmly upon this Matter, they will
foon find, that it is to this very Al-
teration of the Coin, and not to a^y
Mifnjanagement of the Directors ,
that their prefent Slow Payment is
owing, and by Confequence that they
are as far from Difhonefty in their
prelent adting, as our Author is from,
Truth and good Manners, in his falfe
and groundlefs Afperfing of them^
However, let us trace this a little,
further, for the fake of fome People. •
It is well known, that juft before
the calling in of the old, adulterated,
diminiih'd Coin, the Bank had a very
great
pt
feoo
axnt
mit
lidej
ioicai
Ifch
k\ \
^4
(lati
iHrii
(?)
great number of Bills and Notes out
againft them, all which were readily
anfwer'd in the Coin, to which they
referr'd, the then currant Coin of the
Nation , and which before the Par-
liament began to take the Cure of
the Money into their Conhderation»
was as readily accepted by thofe whodc-
roanded Payment of them. Thus far then
theBank was honeft, as honeft as any
that made Payments in the Kingdom.
How came they then to alter their Me-
*^'1' thod.'How came they that were but juft
now fo honeft and fo punftual, to be
forc'd to hazard their Reputation ^
their mofl: advantageous Bottom 5 and
expofe themfelves to thefe heavy Cen^
fures? Why this our Author, out of
I® his profound Refpecil for fo Confidera-'
'I®! ble a Body, cannot attribute to any
thing but either their Mifmana^ewenty
or their Jmpotcncy ^ the effed of their
Mifmanagement ; which he has very
wifely noted to be the fame thing. And
upon this Chapter it is that our Author
treats them without Mercy, though
not without good Counfel, which h
B i(£
( lo )
is very full of: Firfl: gives them a
ftroke or two by way of Preparation,
then reads >hem a Lec^'ure of Morality,
with an 0 Tempera^ 0 Mores J Laces
them, haif Latin, half Englijh ; Lucri
honus efl Odor. O deteftable ! bids
them fell all they have, throw the Hdve
after, the Harchet , Plate, Tallies,
Bends, Lands, any thing, every thing ;
rather than fufFer this Dunning at their
Door *. and if: they will do this, then
all;;will be well. But if not, nay, if
they do but intreat, tho in a manner
never fo languijhing, for fome Forbear*
am e, Jo me little Pity, this brings him
upon them ten times more furious
than before O Vipers! iPork Gentle*
men, do as I bid you, or elfe you muft
expedl no favour. And thus having-
reduc'd them to the loweft cftate of
wretched Mortals, given them fomt
good advice, as |)ropcr to reftore
them as to cure the Tootlj-ach, he
leaves them to comfort themfelvcs,
with Ends of Philofophy, and Scraps
of Poetry.
But
(«t)
But after all this, if oup Aogry Au-
la thor will yet hearken, if a uord or
)n, two may yet lay hold of him'j Is be
ty, really in datneft in this matter, of has
ces he only chofe it as a fit fubje(3: to ex-
icri erxife his Talent on > Had his ^pre-
ids tended Refped: for the Bank, or but
he feme Members of it been -real, , he
es, might fure have found out fome way
Kg; to have determined this concera feme-
leir thihg more in their favour. I fay, I
ben cannot imagine but he might have
j,'il foitrid fonie appearance of Heafon in a
met Cafe ib -plain, to have help'd them
y, with on this occa/ion. /
hi For' my part, this I am confident
•ioiB of, that if he had made but any En-
quiry, if he had ask'd any but their
niift Miftaken, or their Malicious Eoemies,
viiig the Reafon of this faukerittg, as he
ed terms it, in their ^Payments, they
fcjn muft needs have referr a it to the Re-
lore gulatioh of the Coyn, and the Me-
{u thod whicl^iias been-taken to ^ make
ves/ good its penciency.
DP
B ^ Whca
53! •
(lO !
When a flop was put to the i fe
Currencv of the old Monef,
and thofe who had accepted it
but juft before, refufed to take
it anv longer 3 what could the
Bank do on this Occafion ?
They had no other way but to
ftand ftill till the Bufinels was
determin'd, and when all other
ways of difpofing of the Mo-
ney they had by them, except
to vaft lofs, was /hut up , but
that of throwing it into [^the
Exchequer^ I cannot for my life
imagin how they could have
excus'd themfelves, if they had
not, with the whole Kingdom,
made u/e of the Opportunity.
From which it evidently ap-
pears, that it was Neceflity and
the
( '3 )
the the publick Good, and not any
ley, private advantage that oblig'd
i it them to throw their Money by
ie way of Loan into the Kings
the hands.
in ; But let us follow this yet a
tto little further, for the fake of
was our Author, who feems as if he
:lier wink'd hard on purpofe to mi-
ftake in this matter. The fmall
cept AJoney being thus forcd into
but the Exchequer, what could be
^tbe expected of the Bank, till they'
■ji were fupply'd from thence a-
m gain, they could not make Brick
hai without Straw, to pay new
lonii Money while they had it not
MF. was impoflible; from whence
ap. too it eafilv follows, that when
aii they fnould have it, they were
obljg d
Afi
fttai
C H )
obliged both in Wifdom and
Judicc to order their Payments
according to their Receipts of
it, which is by Parcels and by
Time, fo that every one might
have a little 5 that is, in plain is A
terms, to adl as they do, (ince Ss*' a
they can do no better. Had our
Author confide r'd this, as I am 'lol
fure he ought to have done, he
might eafily have feen, that it
is the Hardfhip of the Time and
the unavoidable confequence of the
reinfiating of the Coin that occa-
fions this Difficulty, and not a- te,
ny ill Defign of the Bank or A
the Goldimiths, as was faid ;
I am fure his not confidering of
it gives too great an occafion to
quefiion either his Underftand-
ing or his Sincerity. And
\
id C «5
ts And now. Sir, if you have
)f yet any doubt of the partiality,
ly to fay no worfe of this Writer,
k I defire you would look over
in the Apology , which he fays
:e they are fo ready to make tor
iir themfelves on this occafion, p.
m f2. of his Book, and obferve
he how difingenuoufly he paffeth
It it over without an anfwer, in-
rd ftead of which he only dired:s
'k them, asiif their Fortunes were
:a- at his di4>ofal, to fell all they
a-have, that fo they might in-
ot creafe the publick hardlhip with
1: their particular Ruin.
dl Oh, but fays he again, if
;o they had call'd in their per
I- cent* upon the fir ft fenfe of
d their Diftrefe, thatiwould have
fav'd
. ^ ^ . i.
fav'd their Credit and kept theni j |
in Reputation. But can he be-
lieve himfelfi when he rcflecSts
once more upon this Propolal ? '
Can he think the calling in of
480000 Pounds in Bills onlf
from one part of them, would
have fatisfv'd the other that f:
demanded to;be paid in Mo- ?
ney 5 the bare Propofal of this
Chimera is Anfwer enoiign to
it, without giving it any further ^
confideration. ®
Page 5^. But let them calif
in the 40 fer cent, now fays our
Author, retaining the 20 per ®
cent, which they have borrow'd
upon courtefie. And what then >
Why then, fays he, having gU
ven fuch a Pledge to the world ^
of
( 17 )
of their Integrity, every Body
,g. will return to them, and throw
their Money into their Hands
again, as thev. did at the be-
ginning 5' and here indeed the
Author has at laff lound the
true way to oblige his friends
the Members of the Bank, and
to bind them to him for ever.
But fuppolc if the Bank Ihould
do this, yet People ihq^ld not
bring their Money fo faft to
them as he promifes, bur not-
Wiihdanding this great Pledge,
fiiould rather chufe to keep it
' themfelves to anfwer their more
prelling, oecafions. - l fay vehac
would our Author fay to this,
• what Recompence could he
make tbefe Friends of his, after
C they
( i8 )
they had fo ftraitncd themfelves
fo no purpofe to oblige others.
Why it may be, good man,
he would hold up his Hands,
exclaim upon their Ingratitude,
and then fend em to the very
Beads for more humane Exam-
pies.
Page 5 8 he fets them to caft
up their accounts, and to con-
fider their affairs, as if they had
been hitherto as unthinking and
as wild as Epicurus his Atoms 5
and then if they cannot pay rea-
dy money to allow intereft for
Forbearancej in which our Au-
thor difcovers himfelf extream-
ly ignorant in the Bufinefs he
pretends to , for had he taken
never
(),
never (b little pains he might
foon have learn'd, that whoe-
ver has Notes to the value of
loo Pounds , may when he
pleafeth exchange themfoir In'
tereft Bills 5 but 1 perceive he is
rcfolv'd -to order this matterac-
cording to his own fancy, the
it fets him never fo much befide
the Cujhicn.
But his moft endearing kind-
nefs for the Bank, as well as the
great expedient for the refto-
ration of the Money comes at
laft, all his other laid afidc, and
that is the total decrying of
the Bank, and that they (hall
pay nothing at all but Intcreft 5
and this he thinks would la
C 2 . , us
( 20 )
US ^}1 upon our Legs again. But
hoY^ in the name of Goodnefs jjj'
can this be, does their pa.ying
fome i-Boney, make greater fear-
city than if they paid none, will
they who think it fo hard to re-
ceive but a little now, be in-
deed better fat\sfy'd to receive
none at all. impotent Db
rebfor! i
But, favs he, if their Bills or
Notes, which is the fame with
him, had no currency, then it
muft be Money 5 but what can
he mean bv their having no
currency. However, they are
orderd (till, thofe that own
them, will have the propriety,
and by Goplequencc a right to
;the
C 21 )
But the dirpofal of them ^ under
nels v'hac form fdcver they are con-
ing fider'J. For my part, except
car- they could pav more money,
will I don't krow how they can
ire- better than they do at
hn- prefent, and I think it need
eive not be fulpcdftd , but that
Di' thc^^ will pay more as foon
as the\' are able, lead: of
all that they deiigncdly keep
br up a fcarcity which they them-
Willi felvcs are fuch great fuf-
.nit ferersbr; In the mean time
can they mud; have patience, the
no. bell Remedy for us all, till
M Time , the further confiJera^
M tion of the Varliament-i and
the Succefs of the Publick
to Affairs, bring this great Con-
he * cern
( 2«-)
cern to an ifTue, which that it
may be honorable and happy, is
the hearty dcfire of
SIR,
Tour Servant,
T. H.
fINIS,
it ,
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