: : ARTES 1837 SCIENTIA VERITAS LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN E-PLURIBUS UNUM TUEBGR SI QUAERIS PENINSULAM AMOENAM CIRCUMSPICE THIS BOOK FORMS PART OF THE ORIGINAL LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN BOUGHT IN EUROPE 1838 TO 1839 BY ASA GRAY ་་་་ } + مديد 77 1231 THE " POLITICA L AND COMMERCIAL WORKS Of that celebrated Writer CHARLES D'AVENANT, LL. D. Relating to the TRADE and REVENUE of ENGLAND, The PLANTATION TRADE, The EAST-INDIA TRADE, And AFRICAN TRADE. Collected and reviſed by Sir CHARLES WHITWORTH, Member of Parliament. To which is annexed a copious INDEX. IN FIVE VOLUME S. VOLUME I. LONDON: Printed for R. HORSFIELD in Ludgate Street, T. BECKET and P. A. DE HONDT, and T. CADELL in the Strand, and T. EVANS in King Street, Covent Garden. M DCC LXXI. ΤΟ THE RIGHT HONOURABLE W IL L S, EARL OF HILLSBOROUGH, &c. &c. ONE OF HIS MAJESTY's PRINCIPAL SECRETARIES OF STATE, AND ONE OF THE LORDS OF HIS MAJESTY' MOST HONOURABLE PRIVY COUNCIL, THIS EDITION OF THE COMMERCIAL AND POLITICAL WORKS OF CHARLES D'AVENANT, LL. D. NOW FIRST COLLECTED, ARE MOST IIUMBLY INSCRIBED. CONTENT S AN OF THE FIRST VOLUME. ESSAY upon WAYS and MEANS An ESSAY on the EAST INDIA TRADE DISCOURSES on the PUBLIC REVENUES, and on the TRADE of ENGLAND, in two Parts, Difcourfe PART I. I. Of the Ufe of Political Arithmetic, in all Confiderations about the Revenues and Trade II. On Credit, and the Means and Methods by which it may be reſtored Page I 83 127 150 III. On the Management of the King's Revenues 168 IV. Whether to farm the Revenues, may not, in this Juncture, be moft for the Public Service V. On the Public Debts and Engagements To which is added, A Difcourfe upon improving the Revenue of the State of Athens 207 232 303 Difcourfe PART II. I. That Foreign Trade is beneficial to England 345- II. On the Protection and Care of Trade. A 2 394 PRE- PREFACE TO THIS NEW EDITION. TH HE political and commercial works of Dr. CHARLES DAVENANT are fo very ſcarce and valuable, and being printed at different periods, from the year 1695 to 1712, are in ſo many detached pieces that to publiſh an entire and uniform collection of them must be a very defirable work. The ſubjects treated of are fuch as every nobleman and gentleman ought to be well acquainted with, viz. The Trade and Reve- nue of England, the Plantation Trade, the Eaft-India Trade, and the African Trade. The times in which he chiefly wrote were foon after that happy æra of our Engliſh conftitu- tion by the acceffion of King William and Queen Mary; therefore his difcourfes may be properly called the foundation of our po- litical eſtabliſhment, as feveral public regula- tions have taken place from the hints thrown out by the above Author, an account of whofe life and writings, extracted from the Biographia Brittannica, is as follows: A 3 " Charles vi PREFACE. "Charles Davenant, eldeſt ſon of Sir Wil- "liam Davenant, was born in 1656, and "received his firft education at the grammar- "ſchool of Chiam, in Surry, under the "care of Mr. George Aldrich of Cambridge. "He gave very early proofs of an active and fprightly genius; and though he had the 66 great misfortune to loſe his father when "fcarce twelve years of age, yet care was "taken to fend him to Oxford to complete "his ftudies, where he became a Fellow "Commoner of Baliol College in Midfum- "mer term 1671, but left that Univerfity "without taking a degree. The first proofs "of his genius was a dramatic performance, "intituled Circe, a tragedy, acted at the "Duke of York's theatre in 1677 with ap- "plaufe; and the Author not more than "nineteen. He had a confiderable ſhare of "the theatre in right of his father, which "perhaps firft excited him to turn his at- "tention to the ftage. The flowing road of "poetry did not long detain him; he ap- plying to the ftudy of the civil law, in "which he had the degree of Doctor con- "ferred on him by the Univerſity of Cam- bridge. He was elected one of the repre- "ſentatives of the borough of St. Ives in "Cornwall, in the firft Parliament of James "II. and near the fame time was joined with the mafter of the Revels, as infpector *of plays, to preſerve the decorum of the I Cl ftage. PREFACE, vii se σε "ftage. He was alſo appointed a Commiſ- "fioner of Excife, and continued in that employment for near fix years, with great honour to himſelf, and advantage to the public. His thorough acquaintance with "the laws and conftitution of the kingdom, joined to his great ſkill in figures, and his the EAST-INDIA TRADE. 105 genius and inclination; fo it can never be wife, to endeavour the introducing into a country, either the growth of any commodity, or any manufac- ture, for which, nor the foil, nor the general bent of the people is proper: and as forced fruits (thgh they may look fair to the eye) are not- withitanding taſteleſs and unwholeſome; ſo a trade fo forced in this manner, brings no natural profit, but is prejudicial to the public. We have fuch advantages by fituation, and in feveral commodities and materials, natural, and almoft peculiar to us, that if the improvement of them were fufficiently looked after, and encou- raged by the ſtate, we might increaſe in wealth, greatness and power, peradventure beyond all na- tions in Europe. It is our fault, if we do not enjoy the woollen manufacture without any rivalſhip; but undoubt- edly it might be very much advanced, if work- houſes were fet up, if the laws did provide, and the magistracy in the execution did take care, to fet the poor to work. Such an increaſe of hands would likewife pro- duce more tin and lead, and enable us to afford leather cheaper and it is a large exportation, and being able to underfell all others in foreign mar- kets, that brings national profit. More hands would quicken induſtry, and im- prove wafte ground, which would enable us to carry out corn at a cheap rate. And generally fpeaking, all laws reftraining idlenefs, and that will invite people hither, muft better the manufactures, and make them more gainful to the nation. There is no trade fo advantageous, eſpecially to an iſland, as that of buying goods in one country, to fell them in another; and it is the original and chief 106 An ESSAY on chief article of the great wealth in Holland. There is gain by the freight; it occafions conſumption of our home product; it breeds feamen, increaſes fhipping, and improves navigation: and any home manufacture that hinders this kind of traffic, or that indeed interferes with it, is pernicious, and ought in wiſdom, and by all rules of policy, to be difcouraged by the public. This kind of com- merce England was formerly in a large poffeffion of, and it may be retrieved, and in the beſt of times was capable of great improvement. Our plantations (if we take care to preſerve them from foreign infults and invaſions) as they increaſe in people, will confume more of our home ma- nufactures than we have hands to make: they produce commodities indiſpenſably neceſſary to this part of the world, and not to be produced elſewhere, and, with induſtry and conduct, may be made an inexhauftible mine of treaſure to their mother kingdom. If there be fuch a multitude of hands that want work in England, the herring fifhery would em- ploy many thouſands of men, and one million of money; and, the advantages our fituation gives us for it confidered, we might at leaſt come in for a fhare, with the Dutch, in that trade, which brings them ſo immenſe a profit. Some of the foregoing materials are peculiar gifts and bleffings to this foil; our inclinations to the fea fit us, as well as the Dutch, for the traf- fic of carrying goods from one country to ano- ther (the moſt certain gain a nation can make) our ports are fafer and fitter than theirs for this pur- poſe. Our plantation trade, to carry it on to its height, would require a greater ſtock than we are maſters of at prefent, and would confume more of our manufactures, and home product, than we I can the EAST-INDIA TRADE. 107 ĉan make and furniſh at reaſonable rates. As to the fiſhery, if we are not intirely in poffeffion of it, and if other nations have been fuffered to make ſuch a profit upon our coaft, it has proceeded from want of induſtry in the English people, and through the negligence of former governments. In the forementioned particulars, an unforced and a natural improvement may be made in our wealth and fubftance, and it is here the legislative power may, to good effect, interpofe with its care and wiſdom. Moft countries have a certain number of their people, who addict themſelves to trade and ma- nufactures, and moſt nations have limited ftock to be employed in thoſe uſes, which they cannot well exceed; and it is the prudence of a ftate to fee that this induftry, and ftock, be not diverted from things profitable to the whole, and turned upon objects unprofitable, and perhaps dangerous to the public. The ftock England formerly had running in trade and manufactures was very confiderable, and I am forry, upon a careful inquiry, to find it fo much decreaſed: what remains, and more than can be gathered in many years of peace, will be fufficiently employed in that buſineſs, where the nation is a certain and known gainer; and there- fore ſhould not be diverted upon uncertain objects, and turned upon new inventions, in which it can- not be determined, in many years, whether we get or lofe, and how the balance ftands; and of this nature and kind are the filk and linen manufac- tures in England. Silk is a manufacture of a foreign extract, and not the genuine product of this country; it em- ploys indeed the poor, but is not compofed from a material of our own growth. Whatever encou- ragement 108 An ESSAY on ragement it meets with, it cannot thrive with us, being not calculated for our meridian: it is fit only for frugal nations, where parfimony renders craft and workmanſhip not dear, upon which fcore the French, Italians and Dutch will always be able to underfell us in that commodity, and hin- der any fuccefs we can propofe. And as an ex- ample of this, did not the Hollanders, lately, bring hither French luftring, under their feal, which they could afford fo cheap, as to underfell the projec- tors of it here, though they were at the charge of freight and cuftom ? The ftock and induſtry laid out on the filk ma- nufacture, would be more ufefully employed in fuch as are made from materials of our own growth. If the luxury of wearing filk could be quite aboliſhed, fuch a reformation would undoubtedly be beneficial to the kingdom; but fince this is not eaſily to be compaffed, a wife ftate muft con- fider which way the folly of their people can be fupplied at the cheapeſt rate, for frugality of this nature as certainly enriches the whole, as it does any private perfon. There are brought from India two forts of filks. The one is of fuch a fort as is not made in En- gland, and confequently only hinders the impor- tation of the like kind, at a dearer rate, from Hol- land, Italy, France, Turkey, and other places. The other is of the like fort with thofe made here, notwithſtanding which, it muſt certainly be prejudicial to the intereft of England, to forbid their importation from India, unleſs thofe, and all other kinds of filk applicable to the fame ufes, could be prohibited to be brought from foreign countries fince by fuch prohibition (unless the vanity the EAST-INDIA TRADE. 109 } vanity itſelf can be cured) we only enrich the neighbouring nations at our expence. The Eaft-India goods, fince they were in ufe, have apparently lowered the price of lks from France, Spain, and Italy, at least 25 per cent. and if their importation fhould be prohibited, will it not follow naturally that the European countries will again advance upon us? And the French, Italians and Dutch, who upon feveral accounts are able to underwork us, will undoubtedly fall to making and fending hither fuch commodities, as may ftand in the room here of Indian goods, and, at the low rates they can af- ford them, they will quickly ruin our filk manu- factures and when the fabric is deftroyed, and the ſtock and hands employed in it are diverted to other uſes, they may put what fine they pleafe upon our vanity. The Dutch have fuch a filk manufacture in their country, that, by computation, there is im- ported hither, from thence, more of that commo- dity, one year with another, than we bring from India. Moſt of the velvets ufed here come from thence, and are purchaſed by us at a dearer price than could be afforded from India, or made here at home, if we were fkilled in the workmanship. And notwithſtanding the Dutch have fo confi- derable a filk manufacture of their own, inſtead of prohibiting, they encourage the importation of all Eaft-India filks; well knowing, that it is the intereſt of every nation, to go to their own, or foreign markets, with goods as cheap as they can, thereby to beat out all others. And that the cheapnefs of any commodity will force a way into thofe countries where it is prohibited, if any of the like fort and kind is indulged and permitted to be worn there; nothing being able to render the 1 110 An ESSAY on 1 the prohibition of goods intirely effectual in any nation, but a capacity in the inhabitants of fuch a country to afford them at cheaper rates, which can hardly be the cafe of England. As to the linen manufacture, it is no more the genuine offspring of this kingdom than that of filk. It is true, that fome of the materials for it may be had from our own foil, but not enough to fup- ply our whole confumption, and we can never pretend to make the finer fort. And if the now intended prohibition ſhould fo operate, as utterly to lofe us the Eaft-India trade (which peradventure may be the cafe) the Dutch may put what rate they pleaſe upon their callicoes; and the Dutch and French, and other nations, will impofe any price upon their fine linens, (which our callicoes for fome years have kept down) fo that our neceffary confumption in this commodity will ſtand us in above 40 per cent. more than it does at prefent. This manufacture is proper only for countries where they can have flax and hemp cheap, and where the common people work at very eaſy rates. But though with forcing nature, and by art and industry, we could bring it to greater perfec- tion, yet upon other accounts it is perhaps not adviſable, nor for the nation's intereft, to pro- mote it. ift, Our foil, and the labour of the people, may be employed about materials more advanta- geous, and wherein we cannot be underfold by other countries. 2dly, The growth of this manufacture would obftruct trade, and other bufinefs more important to the nation: for, 1. Our noble ſtaple of wool is undoubtedly ca- pable of a great improvement, to which the in- creaſe the EAST-INDIA TRADE: III creaſe of wages (that muft happen upon an in- creaſe in the linen manufacture) will be a confider- able hindrance. And one cannot riſe but to the prejudice of the other, becauſe we really want people and hands to carry on both to their full perfection. And, 2. It is more the general intereft of England to export woollen manufacture in exchange abroad for linen, than to make it here at home; which trade has been fet afoot, and profpered very much, to the great benefit of this kingdom, fince the prohibition of French goods during this war. But if we provide ourſelves at home with linen fufficient for our confumption, and do not want that which is brought from Silefia, Saxony, Bo- hemia and Poland, this trade muſt ceafe; for thefe northern countries have neither money nor other commodities; and if we deal with them, we muſt be contented, in a manner, to barter our clothes for their linen; and it is obvious enough to any con- fidering man, that by fuch a traffic we are not lofers in the balance. In proceſs of time, when England fhall come to be more peopled; and when a long peace fhall have increaſed our wealth and ſtock, perhaps we may be able not only to carry on our old manu- factures to their full height, but to embrace new ones, fuch as are that of filk and linen; but as our cafe ftands, it feems fufficient to let them take their own natural courfe, and not to drive them on; for too many forts of bufineffes may be as well hurtful to the public, as they are often to private perfons. If the nation finds a general profit from them, their own weight will bear them on; but in the mean while, it cannot be adviſable, in their fa- vour, to exerciſe any extraordinary act of power; and 112 An ESSAY ot t and for their fake, by prohibitions, to diftrefs, embroil, and diſturb any fettled trade, by which, beyond all contradiction, the nation, before the war, was fo great a gainer. My lord, after much thought upon this fub- ject, I am come to thefe conclufions within my- felf, which I fubmit to your better judgment. ift, That our filk and linen manufactures ob- ftru&t trades more important and more profitable. 2dly, That though a prohibition of Eaft-India goods may advance their preſent intereft, who are engaged in the filk and linen manufactures here, yet that it will bring no future advantage to the kingdom. 3dly, That luxury is fo deeply rooted in this nation, that ſhould this prohibition pafs, it will only carry us to European markets, where we fhall pay perhaps 50 per cent. dearer, may be, for the fame, or for vanities of the like nature. So that Upon the whole matter, my lord, I am humbly of opinion, that the importation of wrought filks, bengals, ftained callicoes, &c. does not fo interfere with our filk and linen manu- factures, as to hurt the public, and bring damage to the collective body of England. And thirdly, as to the effect fuch a prohibition will have upon the Eaft-India trade in general. N all argumentations it is requifite to fettle and agree upon principles; for which reaſon, in the beginning of this difcourfe, I did endeavour to prove, that, in general, the Eat-India trade was profitable to this kingdom. And I dwelt the longer upon that head, becaufe fome people are quite of a contrary opinion, and believe it hurtful to England. 1 ་ And the EAST-INDIA TRADE. 113 And I am fatisfied that many (without doors) promote the bill in queftion, in hopes thereby utterly to deftroy the traffic. And truly, my lord, it feems plain to me, that the intended prohibitions must prove, though not a fudden, yet a certain deftruction to it. And that it is a lopping from this trade the branches, and taking away fome of the bark, and part of the root; the trunk indeed is left, but fo maimed and injured, that it can never ſpread and flouriſh. If it can be made appear, this prohibition is no- ways to be rendered effectual; and if it can be fhown, that the faid prohibitions will utterly dif able the preſent Eaft-India company, or any other to be hereafter erected, from fupporting and car- rying on the trade, to the advantage of England, your lordship will certainly think the bill, now afoot, of dangerous confequence, and notfit to re- ceive a fanction in the houſe of peers. No prohibitions of a foreign or domeſtic com- modity can have any effect without fumptuary laws, ftrictly penned and rigorously put in exe- cution. For the importation of French wines and linen has been forbidden under high penalties during this war, yet the confumption of thofe fort of com- modities is not much leffened, and they are brought in upon us from other countries, at much à deater rate. For thefe three years lat paft, French wines have been conveyed hither by the way of Spain and Portugal, and the French filks and linens have been all along fecretly brought and fmuggled upon our own coaft. Perhaps, if fevere fumptuary laws had impofed a high duty or penalty upon the confumers of French wines, filks, and linen, the prohibition might have had its defigned effect; but how fuch VOL. I. I laws 114 An ESSAY on A 1 # laws could have been made practicable, I fhall not pretend to determine. In the fame manner, if a fevere mulet, or a high duty, can be laid on fuch as fhall wear or uſe any India or Perfia wrought filks, bengals, &c. and if this were fuperadded to the prohibition, peradventure it might be rendered effectual. But, otherwife, notwithſtanding the prohibition of wearing fuch goods, and the penalties upon the retailers that fhall vend them, their confumption will be little leffened in this kingdom, for they will be brought in upon us from other countries, Scotland and Holland more efpecially. However, though fuch a method is peradven- ture the only way of keeping down this luxury, I am very far, my lord, from thinking it ad- vifable. For the laws of all countries must be fuited to the bent and inclinations of the people; and (which I am loth to fay) there is fometimes a ne- ceffity they ſhould be a little accommodated to their depraved manners and corruptions. The people of England, who have been long accuſtomed to mild laws and a loofe adminiftra- tion, can never endure that feverity, which is needful to make fuch a prohibition have effect: nor can they fuffer high duties, or penalties to be impofed upon their pleaſures, or bear a ftrict in- quifition into their furniture and apparel. - There is no country without a multitude of fumptuary laws, but hardly a place can be in- ſtanced where they are obferved, or produce any public good. They were fomewhat regarded in the infancy of the Roman commonwealth, before riches and pomp had banished virtue and obe- dience but their chiefeft ftrength was always de- rived from the fanctity and veneration in which was the EAST-INDIA TRADE. 115 was held the office of cenfor. And in England they will be immediately contemned and derided; and any magiftrate muft become the public fcorn, that ſhould think to put them in execution. And yet without ftrict fumptuary laws, well ob- ferved, the wiſdom of the parliament will find it- ſelf eluded, when it endeavours to banish foreign vanities and luxury, in favour of our own product and manufactures. For in all probability, the confequence of fuch a prohibition will be, that goods of the fame kind, or goods applicable to the like uſe, inſtead of thoſe imported from India, will be brought hither from abroad; and the confumption will not be lefs, but at a much dearer rate. It may indeed fomewhat better our manufactures, but will more advance thoſe of France, Italy and Holland, who can afford to work cheaper: and, in all appear- ance, will thereby prove fuch a drain of this king- dom's treaſure, as may bring utter deftruction upon us. But the principal queftion is, whether, under fuch prohibitions, any body of men can find their account in carrying on this trade? To make this traffic an addition of ftrength, as well as riches to the kingdom, encouragement ſhould be given to fend thither large and ftrong ſhips, which will be expenfive to the undertakers. Their buſineſs in India cannot be managed with- out frequent gifts and prefents to the rajas and governors, according to the practice in all the eaftern countries. Forts and caſtles, with good garrifons, are there indifpenfably neceffary for the prefervation of the pepper-trade, and indeed needful upon many other accounts, as magazines for naval provifion, and as ſtorehouſes, in which to lay goods, bought I 2 in 115 An ESSAY ont in the country, at proper feafons: befides, they are a fafety to our people from any infults of the natives, and a refuge upon any diforder, revo- lution, or other emergency in the Mogul's ftate and empire. A trade limited and circumfcribed in the man- ner propoſed, cannot well undergo thefe ex- pences, which notwithstanding are neceffary for its prefervation. prime coft viz. for + I have before divided the 400,000l. fent into India, into two parts, foreign exportation, and the other for home confumption. I 2 The returns of 200,000l. in time of 1. peace, may probably yield abroad The returns of 200,000 l. in time of 800,000 peace, might probably yield at home 800,000 Total 1,600,000 But we must take notice, that the 1,200,000 l. profit, fuppofed in time of peace to arife from this trade, did not, all of it, accrue to the ad- venturers in the company, but was national, and divided among many thouſands of the people. The merchants, who, at the companies fales, bought goods for exportation, had their fhare, and the retailers here had their proportion in the gain, which this traffic, in the whole, might be computed to produce. And particularly for their ſhare in the 600,000l. ſuppoſed to be gained by our own confumption, in time of peace, by this traffic: there came in, the king for his cuftoms; owners of ſhips; fuch as got by victualing them; feamen for wages; and laftly, factors and fervants, both abroad and at home. The the EAST-INDIA TRADE. 117 The gain made abftractedly by the company, has never been invidious: for if their whole ftock be computed from their beginning, to this day, it will be found, by their dividends, that they have not, 1 year with another, divided 20 per cent. which, confidering the length and hazard of their voyages, is not a profit to be envied. But fince this war, the company have without doubt been great lofers, and nothing but the in- vincible courage, which has been always obferved in English merchants, could have hindered the trade from being entirely loſt. Notwithſtanding all the companies late loffes at fea, and their former ill-conduct in India, they have not loft footing there, but have hitherto preferved the trade, indeed, at their own expence. However, if any thing fhould be done that will interrupt any great part of their commerce, they muſt apparently give it over, or fink under the burthen; for the charge and expence abroad muſt be full as much to fupport a little, as a more extended traffic. If this trade be fo reftrained, by pro- hibitions, as that there can be fent to India, not above per ann. The national profit from thence arifing cannot reaſonably exceed The companies charge and expence, to fupport and carry on their affairs abroad, may be modeftly com- puted at per ann. Which fum will be a great weight upon per ann. But will fall lightly upon per ann. 1. 200,000 600,000 100,000 600,000 1,200,000 According to the beſt and moſt impartial ac- counts I can receive, the bill in agitation muft 13 lofe 118 An ESSAY on 1 lofe England 2 the trade to India in general, all the traffic to the Coaft and Bay of Bengal, and the bufinefs to Surat. And, particularly, as to the Coaſt and Bay, the company did ufually fend thither yearly 5 or 6 fhips, of between 6 and 700 tons each: the th part of which returns freighted with faltpetre; one other 5th part with fine muflins, floretta yarn, and raw filks; the other 3 parts, with goods by the bill prohibited: the confequence of which must be, that the trade to the Coaft and Bay, will prove fo inconfiderable, that it muſt be aban- doned, and England reduced to buy all its falt- petre from the Scots, Danes, or Hollanders. I 2 I take our home confumption, which is of the returns of the prime coft fent to India, to be the main foundation upon which the trade ſtands, efpecially in a time of war. It is that alone can bear the incident charges at home and expences abroad, neceffary for the fup- port of ſo large a traffic; and it is that only can enable any company to endure loffes at fea, by ftorm, or a foreign enemy. What encouragement can there be to go on with fo vaft a bufinefs, if our merchants must fingly depend upon the markets abroad? one country, to advance their own manufactures, may prohibit our goods, the Hollanders will buy them up at their own rates, when their uſe is forbidden here, and they will be a drug, and blown up, all over Europe, There is great difference between a merchant's having a choice, or a neceflity to fell his ware. In one cafe he may in fome meaſure make his own price, in the other he must take what is offered, To ſpeak generally, the Eaft-India trade is profitable to the adventurers in time of peace; but the EAST-INDIA TRADE. 119 but rarely fo in feafons of war and trouble. In time of peace, they enrich their country by a foreign vent and exportation of their goods; and in time of war, the home confumption chiefly enables them to fupport and carry on their traffic. Your lordſhip may fee all along in this dif courſe, that it is my opinion, they do not inter- fere with fuch manufactures as it is the intereft of England to promote and encourage: but though the prohibited Eaft-India goods did greatly prejudice our own product and manufac- ture, yet I do not think a prohibition of them at all adviſable during the war, for theſe reaſons : ift, Our condition is fo weak, that we cannot ftruggle with any the bad events, with which a new council may be attended. 2dly, If to their loffes at fea, their misfor- tunes in India, on the fcore of Every's piracy, and their want of money, arifing from the gene- ral want of ſpecies in the nation,, a prohibition of the confumption of fo many of their goods be likewife added; it is to be apprehended, that upon fuch a difcouragement, the traders to thofe parts will by degrees withdraw from thence their effects and ftock, and quite abandon the whole traffic. 3dly, If this fhould happen, and that either. through fullennefs, or becauſe the prohibition does really bring infuperable difficulties, our merchants ſhould actually quit the trade; the Dutch, our rivals in all other traffic, will cer- tainly feize the derelict. And fuch an addition to their riches and power at fea, can by no means be confiftent with the welfare and fafety of this nation. My lord, in this diſcourſe (which proves much longer than I intended) I have endeavoured to fhew 1 4 720 An ESSAY on ¿ A thew your lordship, ft, That this trade is bene ficial to the kingdom. 2dly, That it is not pre- judicial to the general woollen manufacture of England. 3dly, That it does not fo interfere with our filk and linen manufactures, as to hurt the public. 4thly, That the intended prohibitions. may probably occafion an utter lofs of the whole traffic. No alteration in fo confiderable a branch of our foreign commerce fhould be attempted, un- lefs the whole matter had been for many months confidered maturely, by a council of trade, com- pofed of the ableft men in the kingdom; and I will venture to affirm, that no found judgment can be made in things of this nature, without contemplating the univerfal pofture and buſineſs of the nation: and when fo important delibera- tions are afoot, the number of the people fhould be examined, their annual confumption, both of home and foreign materials, fhould be well ftated, the ready-money, and other ftock of the kingdom, fhould be enquired into; the fum of money, and hands employed in every diftinct trade, fhould be duly contemplated; and upon fuch a general infpection and view of the whole, we might be ripe to deliberate on any fingle point. Any falfe meaſures and rafh counfels in affairs fo important, are hardly capable of a future remedy. The Hollanders have in their poffeffion all the fpice iflands, which they have ftrongly fortified and by this means they lay a kind of excife upon thofe neceffary commodities which all Europe is forced to pay. By the feizing of Bantam, they have got almoft 3 parts in 4 of the pepper trade. Brought the EAST-INDIA TRADE. 121 + T'uns. Brought into Europe fince the lofs of Bantam, and before the prefent war (communibus annis) of pepper, about Of which imported by the French and Danes, about By the Engliſh, about By the Dutch, about 5000 500 900 3600 Total 5000 The Hollanders, at this time, are very pow- erful in India; they have many good forts and Caſtles well provided, and large colonies of men; and they can, upon any occafion, call together there 40 ftrong frigates; fo that if it agreed with the prefent circumftances of their affairs in Eu- rope, or with the nature of the alliance they are engaged in, it is undoubtedly in their power, to engrofs this rich traffic wholly to themſelves, and to expel us for ever from thofe countries. Perhaps they may not think it a fafe advice, to attempt doing this by force, but we fhall have no reaſon to complain, if they take in hand, what we give oyer and abandon. But fuppofe they fhould drive us from thence by force of arms, or that we fhould quit the trade to them through negligence and folly, it will be worth while to confider, what addition of wealth and ſtrength an entire monopoly of Eaſt- India goods may prove to that commonwealth. And, my lord, if I am not much deceived in political arithmetic, it would bring yearly a much greater maſs of treaſure to the united provinces, than is brought into Europe from the mines of Peru and Mexico. This fide of the world is fo fond of thofe vani- ties, that if they could be had but at one market, fuch 122 An ESSAY on fuch a market might, by their means, draw from the reft of Europe continually per ann. at least 6 millions. To prove this affertion will take up more time than confiſts with the brevity intended in this difcourfe; I fhall therefore only give one inftance, and that is of pepper, by which fome judgment may be made of all the other commodities. Pepper 5000 tuns at 2 d. per lb. as 1. it may coft the Dutch in India, amounts to Add to this 3 d. per lb. for freight into Holland, then it cofts 5 d. per lb. which amounts to Ditto 5000 tuns fold in Holland at 12 d. per lb. the profit being 7 d. per lb. will amount to s. d. 74,666 13 4 186,666 13 4 261,333 68 But this commodity is grown fo neceffary, and has fo obtained, and is of fuch general ufe, that it may be fold in Holland at 6 s. per lb. which is leſs than any of the other fpices, as cheap in India as pepper. Then 5000 tuns fold in Holland at 6 s. per lb. the profit being 5 s. 7 d. perlb. will amount to 1. s. d. 2,498,836 13 4 If from the fingle article of pepper, ſuch a fum as 2,498,836 7. may be raifed, it will not be difficult to conceive, that by raifing the price. of other fpices, wrought filks, callicoes, raw filks, faltpetre and other Indian goods, the Hol- landers, by an entire monopoly of this trade, may drain the rest of Europe every year of at leaft 6 millions. Confidering their naval force, and their com- petition with us in trade, fuch an addition of wealth muft make them a very formidable people. And though they may not peradventure turn their ftrength to hurt the traffic or peace of Eng- 8 land, the EAST-INDIA TRADE, 123 land, yet it is no very remote fear to apprehend, that notwithſtanding all their riches, they may at laſt become a prey to France. And if the French, with the Dutch ſhipping in their right, and as their lords, fhould once become maſters of this rich trade, fuch an ac- ceffion to that wife, well peopled, and large em- pire, muſt prove our ruin. And I muft here take notice, that (as I am in- formed) all the faltpetre, produced in this fide of the world, is not fufficient to take fuch a place of ftrength as Dunkirk. If the fact be fo, as war is made now, muft not whatever country can obtain the fole trade to India, and the monopoly of that commodity, give laws to the reſt of Europe? The principal care, my lord, incumbent upon perfons in your ſtation, is very cautiouſly to weigh new counſels, to which you are adapted by nature and practice. Wife men will never engage in rafh advices; from whence, if they fucceed not, there is no good retreat; and empirics of ftate only will be tampering at every turn, with the body politic, and venturing upon bold and unfafe remedies. That the common people want work, that there is a general deadnefs of trade, and that our home manufactures are in an ill condition, muſt certainly be granted; but thefe mifchiefs proceed not from the importation of Eat-India goods, and may be plainly affigned to other caufes. UPON the whole matter, my lord, I am of opinion, (with fubmiffion to better judgments) that the intended prohibitions of Ealt-India and Perfia wrought filks, &c. will be deftructive to the trade in general, and hazard its being utterly loft to the kingdom. DISCOURSES ! ON THE PUBLIC REVENUES, AND ON THE TRADE OF ENGLAND. IN TWO PART S. Viz. I. Of the uſe of Political Arithmetic, in all confide- rations about the revenues and trade. II. On Credit, and the means and methods by which it may be reſtored. III. On the management of the King's Revenues. IV. Whether to farm the Revenues, may not, in this juncture, be moft for the Public Service. V. On the Public Debts and Engagements. By the AUTHOR of The ESSAY on WAYS and MEANS. PART I To which is added, A Diſcourſe upon improving the Revenue of the State of Athens. Written originally in Greek, by Xenophon; and now made English from the original, with fome hiftorical notes; by another hand. f : ! 1 DISCOURSES PUBLIC ΟΝ ΤΗ Ε REVENUES, AND ON TRAD E. PART I. DISCOURSE I. Of the ufe of Political Arithmetic, in all confiderations about the revenues and trade. E that advances a new matter, is bound to HE Heat the boundation fhew the foundation he builds upon, whereby the public may better judge, whether he be right or wrong in his fuperftructure. And defigning, in theſe difcourfes, to argue upon the revenues and trade of England, in a way not commonly practifed, and by what is now called Political Arithmetic, it is thought reaſonable to begin with ſaying fomething of that art, which the writer of thefe papers must acknowledge to guide and govern him, in very many of his con- clufions. By 128 Of the USE of " ļ 1 By Political Arithmetic, we mean the art of reaſoning by figures, upon things relating to government. The art itſelf is undoubtedly very ancient; but the application of it to the par ticular ob- jects of revenue and trade, is what Sir William Petty firſt began, who, as yet, has been followed by very few he firft gave it that name, and brought it into rules and method: and his excel- lent wit would have carried it very far, if he had lived to this time; for his fkilful hand did all along want right materials to work upon, with which he might have been furniſhed, by the va- riety of new taxes that have been lately levied in this kingdom. The foundation of this art is to be laid in fome competent knowledge of the numbers of the peo- ple and in all his inquiries, he took for guides. the customs, excife, and hearth-money, and the accounts of thoſe revenues were not fully ftated, and their produce was not known, at leaft to him, when his books were written. He endeavoured to compute the number of the people from the trade and confumption of the nation, into which the exciſe and cuftoms were to give him an inſight, and where the hearth-money might afford him yet better lights. He was to guefs at our ftrength and wealth, by the general ftock employed in trade; and he might fee a little into the quantity of money in the nation, by the turnings it made into the exchequer, in the payments of cuftoms and excife; the number of houfes in England fhewed him the number of families, from whence he was to gather how many inhabitants the king- dom might contain. But his chief fchemes were calculated before the true produce of theſe 3 branches was fully known; + POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. 129 known; for as to the excife, till the beginning of Mr. Vincent's farm, which was ann. 16-4, the farmers, in their feveral contracts, had never been obliged to give in a real ftate of their ac- counts, and a true produce of their reſpective counties. And as to the hearth-money, its grofs produce was likewiſe kept private till Mr. Trant's farm (which began ann. 1679) who was obliged by his contract to give it in. And we have yet never been able to meet with any true account of what the cuſtoms produced, till from the year 1671. So that the very grounds upon which he built his calculations, being probably wrong, he muft, in many inftances, be miſtaken in his fuperftruc- ture; and the true produce of thefe branches being concealed from him, and indeed from every body elſe but the parties concerned, in all likelihood he overreckoned them in his mind, and was thereby brought to overrate the inha- bitants of England, and to underrate the num- bers, and the ſtrength and wealth of other coun- tries and this error in a fundamental, has led him into many others, and has miſled fuch as have followed him in thefe matters. It is true, Sir William Petty had very much ftudied the bills of mortality, and the accounts of the births and burials, not only of this king- dom, but of other nations, which did certainly help him to very uſeful lights. But, through the whole courſe of his writings it may be plainly feen, by any obferving man, that he was to advance a propofition, not quite right in itſelf, but very grateful to thofe who governed. The growth of the French king, and chiefly of his naval power, was a very unpleaſant object VOL. I. K for 130 Of the USE of } for the parliament and the people of England to contemplate; and no doubt it did difquiet the mind of king Charles II. But this prince, de- fighting to be foothed in his eaſe and pleaſures, and to have no anxious thoughts, was very glad to fee one of Sir William Petty's repute for cal- culations of this nature, affirm, * That France exceeded England very little in point of territory; that we came near them as to the numbers of men; and that our numbers were as effectual in point of ftrength; that the people of England had, head for head, thrice as much foreign trade, as the prople of France; that France was under a natural and perpetual impediment of being powerful at fea; and, that the French had not above 15,000 feamen to manage their trade, out of which, not above 10,000 could be fpared for a fleet of war. Every good Engliſhman does undoubtedly wiſh all this had been true; but we have lately had mani- feft proofs, that this great genius was miftaken in all theſe affertions; for which reafon we have ground to ſuſpect, he rather made his court, than fpoke his mind. The king was well pleafed to be lulled afleep by a flattering council, which fuggefted, that the power of France was not fo formidable, and could never be prejudicial to this kingdom; for it excufed his breach of the triple alliance, and all the other meafures which have fince proved fo pernicious to the intereft of England. But if fuch as meddled with computations at that time, had truly compared the ftrength of both kingdoms, and if the minifters themſelves had duly weighed the encreafing wealth, trade, Sir Will. Petty's Polit. Arithmetic, p. 74, 75, & feq. naval POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. 13ì naval force, and growing greatnefs of that nation, it might perhaps have awakened both the king and parliament, from that lethargy which has fince proved ſo fatal and expenſive to us. The abilities of any minifter have always con- fifted chiefly in this computing faculty; nor can the affairs of war or peace be well managed without reaſoning by figures upon things. As for example, fuppofe a nation entering into a war, that may have a good event if they can hold it out longer than the enemy; and a bad one if they ſhall be obliged to give back firft: in fuch a cafe, does not a wife ftatefman, even in the beginning of the bufinefs, compute and compare the power and riches of the adverſe party, with the wealth of his own country; and all in order fo to huſband its ftrength, that it may continue to the very last? does he not fum up the revenues of the enemy, and at the ſame time, reckon what may be gathered at home? and does not all this help him to govern wifely his prince's affairs, and to give his mafter wholeſome and fafe counfels? does it not often happen that a nation, which without any prejudice may ſpend 3 millions a year for a long ſpace of time, may be ruined by the expence of 20 millions in 3 or 4 years? for that body which can bear frequent, but moderate bleedings, muft die, if too great a quantity of blood be drawn from it at once. Great ftatefmen therefore have always taken care, not only to know the exact pofture of their own country, but likewife to understand perfectly the power or weakness of other people with whom they have wars or alliances; and the judgment formed from thence, is political arithmetic. It was by this computing faculty, that Fabius. Maximus found out the way to break the ftrength K 2 of 132 Of the USE of of Hannibal, and reftore the affairs of Rome. Fabius confidered, that the forces of his enemy were not of a repairing nature; that their fup- plies were to come from a factious, and a diſtant country; that Hannibal was a wary captain, full of ſtratagems, and not to be furprized himſelf; that his voluntary troops, compofed of different nations, were invincible in a battle, and to be wafted and wearied out only by a long war, which might confume their numbers. On the contrary, that the Romans were at home, and had recruits ready at hand, he therefore quite changed the manner of the war; and thus, by rightly com- puting and comparing the Roman and Cartha- ginian ftrength, he prevailed more by not fight- ing, than many confuls and dictators had done with their courage, not fo wifely governed and directed. If it could be clearly ſtated what the real wealth and ſtock of a kingdom is, and if it can be known. by what degrees it grows rich in time of peace, and by what ſteps it becomes poor at other feaſons, fome opinion might be formed, and judgment made, how long, and upon what foot, a war might be carried on with fafety to the public. In the fame manner, if the condition of the enemies affairs can be rightly underſtood, fome guefs may be made how long they can probably hold out; fuppofing fortune to incline neither way, and to diſtribute her favours (as fhe ufually does among nations ftrong and wife alike) with equal hands. And if a country (engaged in a league with other nations) can be truly apprifed of the ftrength and riches of their allies, they may know, whether any of their confederates are not justly to be called upon, and preffed for a larger quota, and to POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. 133 to affift with more vigour in the common bufi- nefs. For theſe reaſons, able ftatefmen in all ages, have been at a great expence in embaffies, or fpies in foreign courts, to get intelligence of the poſture of affairs in thofe countries with which they are at war, or with whom they hold alliance. He that would furniſh himſelf with ſuch ſkill in foreign affairs, as may make himſelf uſeful at home, muſt begin with an enquiry into the con- dition of his own country; in which, if he can attain to a competent knowledge, he will more eafily find out the pofture and ftate of other places. He must know the laws, conſtitution, humour and manners of his own country, with the num- ber of its inhabitants, and its annual expence and income from land, with its product from trade, manufactures, and the other buſineſs of the king- dom; and mankind in the mafs being much alike every where, from a true knowledge of his own country, he may be able to form an idea, which fhall prove right enough, concerning any other, not very diftant, people. As for example, when the number of inha- bitants in England is known, by confidering the extent of the French territory, their way of living, and their foil, and by comparing both places, and by other circumſtances, a near gueſs may be made how many people France may pro- bably contain. In the fame manner, he that knows the income of England from trade, by contemplating the fru- gality and induſtry of the Dutch, their feveral forts of commerce, the places to which they deal, and their quantity of fhipping, fhall be able to find out what annual profit arifes to the Holland- ers, from their foreign traffic. К 3. And 134 Of the USE of And he who knows what taxes and impofitions. one country can pay, by confidering the different humours of the people, their ſtock and wealth, their territory, their foil and trade, fhall be able, by compariſon, to form a good conjecture, what revenues can be raiſed in another nation; and confequently he may make a near guefs how long either kingdom can carry on a war. In the art of decyphering, it is faid where 3 or 4 words, perhaps letters, can be found out, the whole cypher may be difcovered; in a great mea- fure the fame holds in the computations we are treating of: and very probable conjectures may be formed, where any certain footing can be found to fix our reafonings upon. • No commonwealth or monarchy did ever ar- rive at a very great power, but by methods to be comprehended by the underftandings of men; and we read of no great empire ruined, but the feeds of its deftruction may have been obferved long before, in the courfe of its hiftory; there being a certain degree of wiſdom, induſtry, vir- tue and courage, requifite to advance a ftate; and fuch a meafure of folly and ill conduct ne- ceffary to pull it down. In the fame manner, the ways are evident by which a country grows rich, and the decays in the wealth and ſubſtance of a nation may be likewife forefeen early, by fuch as bend their ſtudy to matters of this nature; for where the caufes are apparent, we may judge eafily of the effect. A people who keep their expence at home, or who protect their trade, will not be much wafted by a war. A foreign war muft needs drain a kingdom of its treafure. This treaſure being the common ftock, if it be diminiſhed, muft certainly diminish the trade and bufinefs of that nation; and by how much the } trade POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. 135 and buſineſs of a country is leffened, and by how much its treaſure is exported, by fo much that country is grown poorer: indeed, to compute the exact degrees in all, this, is difficult; but in fo dark a point, conjectures that come fomewhat near the truth may be of fervice to any ſtateſ man. It is true, that fpeculations in the cloſet, which have not been enlightened and affifted by practice and experience, will be very uncertain guides to him who defires to know the ftate and condition of his country; a ftateſman therefore, who would compute with any effect, conducive to the public good, muft confult variety of men, and men of different talents; and, in any ſcheme he is to form, above all things he muft avoid projectors, is to his flatterers or admirers, or thoſe who depend upon him. For the projectors are always too full of their own thoughts and bufinefs to judge rightly of it. His flatterers will always affent; his admirers will be too much biaffed by his opinions; and from his dependants he can never have that contradiction, by which truth must be fifted out. A great ftateſman, by confulting all fort of men, and by contemplating the univerfal pofture of the nation, its power, ftrength, trade, wealth and revenues, in any counfel he is to offer, by fumming up the difficulties on either fide, and by computing upon the whole, ſhall be able to form a found judgment, and to give a right advice: and this is what we mean by Political Arithmetic. He that has fuch a computing head, will fel- dom enter into ill meafures; he will not put the wars of his prince upon a wrong foot; he will not engage him in weak alliances; he will not propofe ill digeſted ſchemes and funds for reve- K 4 nues 136 Of the USE of nues that ſhall not anfwer. In any new counſel, he will weigh the event before-hand, and confider how far it may diſturb his maſter's affairs, or af- fect the nation's credit. Happy are thofe king- doms which abound in ftatefmen fo qualified; but miferable is that country, where the men of bufinefs do not reckon right; and where, in mat- ters very important, and on which the whole wel- fare of a people depends, they are allowed to fay they are miſtaken. This computing faculty may not only be uſe- ful to ſtateſmen in the general and higher affairs, but it will likewife help them in the more fubor- dinate and minifterial parts of government. It ſhall not only contribute to their well-guiding and conducting the nation's whole ftrength and wealth, trufted to their care; but if they rightly know how to reafon upon things by figures, they fhall commit very few errors in relation to their prince's revenues, or to the trade of the kingdom but this point fhall anon be more fully handled. There are few places which afford better helps for computation than England does at prefent. The excife is a meafure by which we may judge, not only of what the people confume, but, in fome fort, it lets us into a knowledge how their numbers encreaſe or diminiſh. The cuſtoms are the very pulſe of a nation, from which its health, or decays, may be obferved. The hearth-money has given us a view, certain enough, of the num- ber of families, which is the very ground-work in fuch fpeculations; and theſe 3 revenues muſt be the better guide to computers, becauſe the ac- counts of them are fairly kept and ftated, and becauſe the refpective branches have been under fo exact a management, that perhaps their utmoſt produce is known and understood. The ļ 137 POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. f The ft poll-tax, 1 Gul. & Mar. was paid with great alacrity and affection to the govern- ment, and very few avoided payment: fo that from thoſe books we may not only fee the num- bers, but divide the people into fuch proper claffes and ranks, as may in a manner fhew the wealth and fubftance of the whole kingdom; for from thofe books, and the other polls afterwards afoot, may be collected and obferved, the diffe- rent ranks, degrees, titles and qualifications; and from thence may be diftinguifhed the number of the folvent and infolvent perfons; the perfons receiving alms, and their children under 16 years; the perfons not paying to church and poor, and their children under 16 years; children under 16 of day-labourers; children under 16 of fervants in huſbandry; children under 16 of fuch as have 4 chil- dren, or more, and are not worth 50%. The diſtinctions made by theſe acts, and the produce in money of the whole poll, allowing for omiffions, are a very great light into the different claffes of the people. The aid of 1 & 2 s. per pound, 1 Gul. & Mar. which was more carefully collected than any that has been fince granted, has given us a great infight into the rent of land and houſes in Eng- land. But as to the numbers of the people, that mat- ter is made yet clearer by the prefent duty on marriages, births and burials; and though the returns are very faulty and imperfect, Mr. Gre- gory King, by his general knowledge in political arithmetic, has fo corrected thefe returns, as from thence to form a more diftinct and regular fcheme of the inhabitants in England, than peradventure was ever made concerning the people of any other country. There is nothing of this kind efcapes the com- prehenfion and induftry of that gentleman, w 138 Of the USE of is much a better jewel to be in the cabinet of a ſtateſman, than thoſe wretched projectors and contrivers of deficient funds, who are always buzzing about the minifters. And the writer of thefe papers is defirous to take this occafion of owning himſelf obliged to that wonderful genius, and mafter in the art of computing, for many lights and informations. The wealth of all nations arifes from the la- bour and induftry of the people; a right know- ledge therefore of their numbers, is neceffary to thoſe who will judge of a country's power and ftrength. And upon this account, undoubtedly, the Ro- mans did ſo often make the Cenfus, that a judg- ment might from thence be formed how able the commonwealth was to defend itſelf, or to invade others. And the fin David committed in numbering Ifrael might be probably this, that it looked like a 2d proof of rejecting theocracy, to be governed by mortal aids and human wisdom. For without doubt, it must very much help any ruler to underſtand fully that ftrength which he is to guide and direct; fince he may thereby know how many are fit for war, what hands fup- port the commonwealth by their labour and in- duftry, and what fort of men are idle and uſe- lefs in it. And this is fo far from being a matter of meer fpeculation as fome think, that very many con- clufions may be drawn from thence, ufeful and reducable to practice. For if the numbers of the people can be truly ftated, if they can be divided into proper ranks and claffes, if it can be diftinguifhed who are rich, who are cafy, who can barely fubfift, and who, by reaſon of POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. 139 Nư poverty, can contribute little in any tax or aid to the public: if all this can be thoroughly under- ftood in the laying any excife or new impofition, a very near computation may be made what ſuch a duty fhould produce to the government, fup- pofing it to be duly collected, and under a good management. In the fame manner, in a poll-tax, when the different ranks and qualifications of men are divi- ded and ſtated; when there is a right diftinction made, between the number of folvent and infol- vent perfons; when it is known how many pay not to church and poor, how many receive alms, and how many are meer vagrants; a very near guefs may be made what a poll-tax ought to yield, ftill fuppofing it to be well and carefully levied. And the uſe which a government may draw from this knowledge, is (that fince fuch a branch ought in reaſon to produce fuch a fum) to have a watchful eye over it, taking care it may be ma- naged by the ableft hands, and to the beſt advan- tage; and this does not only hold in revenues that are given for a term of time, but likewife in funds that are granted for a year; for if it be known what a poll-tax fhould yield, if well col- lected, it may lead the government to devife and promote clauſes, methods and penalties, which may aſcertain the collection; fince nothing can be fo prejudicial to the public credit, as that taxes fhould not anfwer what they are given for by parliament. The number of the people leads us to know, what the yearly income may be from land, and what from mines, houfes and homefteads, rivers, lakes, meers, ponds; and what from trade, la- bour, induſtry, arts and fciences; for where a nation 5 140 Of the USE of nation contains fo many acres of arable land, fo many of pafture and meadow, fuch a quantity of woods and coppices, forefts, parks and commons, heaths, moors, mountains, roads, ways, and bar- ren and wafte land; and where the different va- lue of all this is computed, by proper mediums, it is rational to conclude, that fuch a part of the people's expence is maintained from land, &c. and fuch a part from mines, houſes, &c. and that fuch a part is maintained from trade, labour, &c. And the poor exceeding fo much the rich in numbers, the common people are the proper medium by which we may judge of this expence. ' There is a certain fum requifite to every one for food, raiment, and other neceffaries; as for example, between 7 and 8 pounds per ann. but fome expending lefs, and fome more, it may not be improper to compute, that the mafs of man- kind in England expend, one with another, near 87. per ann. from whence it may be con- cluded, that an annual income of fo many mil- lions is needful for the nourishment of fuch and fuch a number of people. And if land with its product will not reach this fum, it is rational to infer, that the reft muft arife from trade, arts, and manufactures. And further, when a nation contains fuch a number of people fkilled in hufbandry and the improvement of land; when they have fuch an extent of territory; and when their acres are, one with another, of fuch a value, it may be from thence concluded, that the land of this country will produce fuch and fuch a fum. So much of the product of the earth will nou- riſh ſuch a number of the people; and a foil, fa and to improved, will yield fuch a product; and fo 4 if POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. 141 if this be above what the people confume, it fol- lows, that there muſt be ſuch and fuch a quan- tity of goods for exportation. Such a number of men fkilled in maritime af- fairs, verſed in traffic, with variety of ports, dealing to many countries, with fuch and fuch a native product to export, and fuch an acquired flock to turn and wind, muſt gain fo and fo by trade. And if land and trade do not reach the ex- pence in queftion, it follows, that the reit muſt arife from arts, manufactures, and the other bufi- nefs of a people. But if land and its product, with what is done at home, is fufficient to nourish fuch a number of inhabitants, and that they are befides able to ex- port many commodities and manufactures, and that their ftock is fuch, as to deal in many goods with foreign people; we may infer, that there is a fuperlucration of wealth accruing to fuch a country by their traffic. Therefore, a right diftinction to be made be- tween what part of the people's expence arifes from land, &c. and what from trade; and what from arts, labour, &c. must be a good guide to princes and ſtates, in laying any kind of taxes or impofitions. Expence muſt arife from income; and ſuppoſe the general in- come of a nation from land, trade, arts, &c. fhould be 1. Suppoſe of this, } 14,000,00 1 44,000,000. • land to be Trade, 10,000,000 } 44,000,000. And arts, labour &c. 20,000,000 1 And 142 Of the USE of And where this is the cafe, can it be reafon- able in taxing the people, to lay almoft the whole weight upon the 24 millions, and to let the other 20 millions, in a manner, efcape? and yet this muft happen in countries where the whole burthen is generally put upon land and trade. So that fuch a political arithmetic as could dif- tinguiſh in all the different parts which compoſe a nation's wealth, muſt be very uſeful and of public fervice. The Hollanders, during this war, have paid towards the ſupport of the government, above the third penny of their national income; and yet (though the ſtate be thereby grown indebted) it is apparent that the people have every year en- creaſed in riches, which muft chiefly proceed from the equality they obferve in laying their taxes; for equal taxes put all people upon an equal foot of trade, and upon an equal foot of living. The war, with the ordinary expences of the government, has not coft France, for fome time, lefs than 16 millions per ann. which is very near the 5th penny of their general income; and yet the methods used in that kingdom for raiſing money have been fo well contrived, that neither their fleets nor armies have ftood ftill for want of a due fupply. But the power exercifed in that kingdom, could never have availed to raife fuch a fum, if their minifters had not had the ſkill to lay the burthen with equality upon the people. The 8th penny, raiſed upon the annual income or expence of England, would have maintained the war a great while, on the foot of 5 millions a year, if the burthen had been put upon all de- grees of men alike, with geometrical proportion; for, POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. 143 for, in all probability, an equal land-tax, and moderate duties upon the whole confumption, would have produced fuch a fum; and if this could have been compaffed, the landed men had undoubtedly been in a better condition than they are at preſent, and we had avoided the vaft debt, which, notwithſtanding the peace, muſt needs be a weight upon the king's affairs. This computing faculty confifts in comparing the ftrength of nations, and in confidering their number, power, policies, wealth, trade, fhip- ping, naval force, land armies, and alliances. But there is in this art a fphere for lower capa- cities to move in, who can prefume no further than to find out and prepare materials, to be made uſe of by abler hands, and who think it praiſe enough to them, if they can make tools. for fkilful artifts to work withal; and of this rank is the writer of thefe papers. If general computations had been more ftudied and improved, thofe errors relating to the reve- nues must probably have been avoided, which have fo entangled the king's affairs, and delayed the peace fo long. If fome of the men of bufinefs had confulted political arithmetic, the parliament had not been troubled every feffions to make good fo many de- ficient funds, fuch as were the new or additional cuſtoms, the quarterly polls, the duty on parch- ment and paper, the duty on marriages, births, and burials, on glafs ware, tobacco-pipes, &c. the new duty on windows, leather, with other funds, which have loaded England with a heavy debt. Nor would ſkilful computers have been fo mif- taken in the mixed aid lately granted on land, and by I 144 Of the USE of by fubfidy, which is like to fall fhort about d of the fum for which it was to be a fund. And, to fhew what a near guefs may be made in any revenue that is to arife from the whole people, the writer of thefe papers (who is yet but a fcholar in political arithmetic) did, as is well known, on the 24th of Dec. 1696, make a computation of the intended fubfidy, Which the projectors of it had va- lued at And which the writer of thefe papers 7. 2,105,000 786,000 computed at no more than And if what the common people call the capi- tation, with all its branches, produces within 100,000l. of this fum, in a tax confifting of fo many particulars, it muſt be granted, that there is fomething in the art by which he was guided in his computation. Moft undoubtedly, a right ſkill in this art would be of great ufe in all confiderations re- lating to the king's revenue; for though the number of the people could not be certainly fixed, and though the confumption of any commodity could not be truly known; yet he, who goes by fome rule, (though not capable of a mathematical proof) fhall feldomer err, than he who gropes en- tirely in the dark, and only follows the fug- geftions of his fancy. The projectors of moft new funds have hi- therto been generally mistaken 2 parts in 3: that art is therefore to be praifed, the rules of which, if rightly followed, will fhew within 4th or 4th, what any branch of revenue fhall produce. In all computations the number of people is the ground-work; however, that knowledge will be but an uncertain guide, without other helps and directions. For in reckoning what any branch may POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. 145 may yield, confideration must be had of the prefent abilities and condition of the kingdom; of the current caſh, and even of the difpofition of the people to pay the duty. The nature of the com- modity likewife to be charged muſt be confidered, whether it be the proper object of a duty, and not easily concealed and conveyed away, and whether its collection is to be afcertained by high or eaſy penalties; and whether it is to be come at by a few or by many officers; and the law itſelf, which is to give the duty, muft principally be weighed; for if it is to be flackly penned, the branch will anſwer accordingly: by an univerfai contemplation of thefe matters, and by making every where proportionable allowance, in all the foregoing, and fome other inftances, a judgment may be formed, what fum the government may reaſonably expect from any new revenue. And in computing any new duty, the number of the people will be an uncertain guide to thofe who do not diftinguish rightly between the rich and the poor of a country: for in moft compu- tations, men are led into error, by reckoning and concluding from what is in view, and juſt before them. But they who will make a true eſtimate in things of this nature, muft confider the mafs of the people together, and not meafure the riches of the whole, by that plenty and pomp which they fee among a few. He who will pretend to compute, muft draw his conclufions from many premifes; he must not argue from fingle inftances, but from a thorough view of many particulars; and that body of political aritmetic, which is to frame fchemes reduceable to practice, must be compofed of a great variety of members, He who will arrive at this art, muft look into all the public revenues; he muſt underſtand VOL. I. L fome- 146 Of the USE of fomething of their management; he must not be a ftranger to the product and manufactures of every county and place; he must know what goods we export, and what foreign commodities are im- ported to us; and only from this general view, he muft frame any fcheme that may be uſeful to the public. A contemplation of one object, ſhall give him light into things perhaps quite of a different nature: for as in common arithmetic, one operation proves another; fo in this art, va- riety of fpeculations are helpful and confirming to each other. Nor is the faculty of computing lefs ufeful in matters relating to trade, than in what concerns the public revenues. The councils of a country are always inquifitive after truth; but to hide it from them, and to per- plex things which have relation to trade, is the intereft of ſo many, that, in the greateſt delibera- tions, wife men are often miſled by ſuch as, in all their actings, confult more their private profit than the common welfare. There is hardly a fociety of merchants, that would not have it thought the whole profperity of the kingdom depends upon their fingle traffic. So that at any time, when they come to be confulted, their anſwers are dark and partial; and when they deliberate themſelves in affemblies, it is generally with a bias, and a fecret eye to their own advantage. There is hardly a commerce, but the dealers in it will affirm, we lofe by all the reft: and yet it is evident, that in time of peace, the kingdom gets by trade in general. A true account of the balance of trade would fer all this right, and fhew what traffics are hurtful, and what are beneficial to the nation; but probably this balance is no way to be found out, but by political arithmetic. And POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. 147 And perhaps this art alone can fhew the links and chains by which one bufinefs hangs upon another, and the dependence which all our va- rious dealings have each upon the other. In the ft appearance thofe traffics feem hurt- ful which export money; but when we come to reafon upon things by figures, we find that ſuch trades are beneficial, when they bring in one way more bullion, than they carry out another. We may ſeem to lofe by the balance in one place, but perhaps that trade may be the cauſe of another twice as profitable. So that to object againſt the motion of one wheel, without know- ing and feeing how the whole engine moves, is to no manner of purpoſe. He that would therefore compute with any good effect, in matters relating to trade, muſt contemplate the wealth, ftock, product, con- fumption, fhipping, exportations and importa- tions of his country; and at the fame time, he muft confider the ftate and condition of other places. In this art, the most difficult point is to find good materials, and to have a footing, probably fure, to fix our reafonings upon; for where our premiſes can be certain, our conclufions thall be almoſt undeniable: and in order to this, the houſe of lords did, in 1695, lay a moſt excellent foundation, which we hope fome able head and good genius will fo improve, as by this aid to find out that balance of trade which has been fo often talked of. Their lordships have directed the commif fioners of the cuſtoms, to draw out an account of all the exportations from London, and the outports, to every diftin&t country; and alfo of all the importations to London, and the out- L 2 ports, 148 Of the USE of 1 觜 ​ports, from every diftinct country, for the years 1694, 1695, 1696, and fo downwards. Every commodity is under a feparate head, and the drawbacks upon re-exportation are taken no- tice of, and the value is fet down, where the duty on goods is ad valorem. And the whole is put into a very good method, by the ſkilful hands of Mr. Culliford. But it would be a further light into the balance of trade, if their lordships would be pleafed like- wife, to order that books may be made up in the fame method, for the years 1672, 1673, and 1674, at which time we were neuters in the war, ' and in poffeffion of that beneficial trade, of buy- ing goods in one place, to fell in another country; and when we were indeed the carriers of the world; and that the fame account fhould be drawn up for the years 1686, 1687, and 1688, when our foreign buſineſs was at its height, and when the kingdom's ftock did chiefly run in that channel. By confidering the general pofture of our traffic at thofe 3 different feafons of time, and by contemplating the various changes in our exports and imports in thofe different junctures; a judg- ment may be formed, from political arithmetic, how the balance of trade formerly ftood, and how it is like to ftand hereafter, with the feveral countries to which England deals. In the following difcourfes on the revenues and trade, the Author muft own himfelf very much guided by the little fkill he has attained to in this way of arguing upon things by figures, in which he is a mean proficient. But his ends will be fully anfwered, if the defects in his performance. can ftir up fome others to undertake the fame work with better talents. The POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. 149 The matters to be treated of, are intricate and difficult, requiring the fight of many accounts, which the Author cannot come at; (to whom the commiffioners of exciſe have refuſed any infpec- tion into their books) fo that, fwimming againſt the tide, he is more willing, than able, to ferve the public. There is joined to theſe tracts, a difcourfe of Xenophon's, about the revenues of the ftate of Athens, done from the Greek original by another hand. It was tranflated at the requeft of the writer of thefe papers, who was defirous to fhew the pub- lic, how ancient the true notions were, con- cerning revenues and trade. And he is willing that whatever he advances in the following ob- fervations, fhould be examined and tried by this ftandard. The original is highly esteemed by all the learned world, and the reader will find Xenophon has fuffered nothing in this verſion. It was made English by a young gentleman, whofe learning and ripe parts promiſe greater matters hereafter; fince, in this firft effay, he has fhewn himſelf fo great a mafter, both in his own, and the Greek language. And it is hoped this example will incite other perfons in his poft, of his age, rank and fortunc, to ſtudy the buſineſs of trade, and the revenues of their country. Now the king's valour and conduct have con- cluded this tedious war, it may be feaſonable to propofe methods of advancing and fecuring the kingdom's traffic; for that high wifdom, which has made him fo great a mafter in all military (kill, will lead him to encourage the arts of peace. L 3 DIS- } DISCOURSES ΟΝ ΤΗΕ PUBLIC REVENUES, AND ON TRAD E. DISCOURSE II. Concerning Credit, and the means and methods by which it may be restored. B EFORE we begin more particularly to treat of revenues and trade, it may not be unfeaſonable to look into the poſture of Credit, on which both revenues and trade fo much depend. Peace has indeed put it in a much better con- dition than it was; but it is not yet ſo reſtored, as to help us, as it did formerly, in the whole buſineſs of the nation. Bank bills are at the par, and the notes pafs very well of fuch goldſmiths as have always made current The MEANS and METHODS, &c. 151 current payments; the diſcount upon tallies is moderated; the bank stock rifes, as do the actions in moſt companies: all which are figns that this huge engine, which for fome time has ftood ftill, begins to be in motion. But perhaps it has not yet recovered the acti- vity it had heretofore, when, by its means, rent and taxes were paid; and when the bulk of trade, here at home, was carried on almoſt with- out the fpecies of money. Of all beings that have exiſtence only in the minds of men, nothing is more fantaſtical and nice than Credit; it is never to be forced; it hangs upon opinion; it depends upon our paf- fions of hope and fear; it comes many times un- fought for, and often goes away without reafon; and when once loft, is hardly to be quite re- covered. It very much reſembles, and, in many in- ftances, is near a kin to that fame and reputation which men obtain by wiſdom in governing ſtate affairs, or by valour and conduct in the field. An able ſtateſman, and a great captain, may, by fome ill accident, flip, or misfortune, be in dif- grace, and loſe the prefent vogue and opinion; yet this, in time, will be regained, where there is fhining worth, and a real ſtock of merit. In he fame manner, Credit, though it may be for a while obfcured, and labour under fome diffi- culties, yet it may, in fome meaſure, recover, where there is a fafe and good foundation at the bottom. We give over trufting the public, or private perfons, then only, when we perceive fraud or evil faith in their proceedings, or when we judge their affairs to be defperate: but when the inter- L 4 ruption ༣ 152 The MEANS and METHODS 1 ruption in common payments is occafioned only by fome accidents in the ftate; when both the government, and particular perfons, take the ut- moſt care to difengage themfelves; and when it can be made appear, there is a fund fufficient to to fatisfy all pretenfions, men's minds will be- come quiet and appeafed; mutual convenience will lead them into a defire of helping one another. They will find, that no trading nation ever did fubfift, and carry on its buſineſs by real ſtock; that truft and confidence in each other, are as neceffary to link and hold a people together, as obedience, love, friendſhip, or the intercourſe of ſpeech. And when experience has taught each man how weak he is, depending on- ly upon himſelf, he will be willing to help others, and call upon the affiftance of his neighbours, which of courſe, by degrees, muft fet credit again afloat. If the paft debts, and thofe which muſt be ftill contracted, appear not too great to be waded through; if, in every part of the con- titution, there fhall be plainly feen a defire and true endeavour to keep the public faith inviolate; and lastly, if the funds, hereafter to be given, are fubftantial, and fuch as will anfwer what they are given for, the credit lately erected, and which ftill feems at a ftand, will not only revive, but may be fo enlarged, as both now and here- after to give the government, and the trading part of England, effectual help. But on the contrary, if the nation's debt is fuffered to fwell beyond all compaſs; if men ſee that private property is not at all made the common care; if they find fuch funds granted, as fhall hardly pay the intereft, and leave the principal upon years of restoring CREDIT. 153 years to come, they will hardly ſhake off their pre- fent fullennefs, but draw their effects, as foon as pof- fible, out of public hands, into their own pof- feffion. And if by letting this arrear fwell too high, it ſhould appear that the ftate is only intent upon the prefent, and careleſs of the future, it will beget in the thoughts of men fuch a jealoufy, as may produce very bad effects. The reſtoring therefore of credit, and the giving it a new and fresh exiftence will abfolutely depend upon the meaſures that fhall be taken in the prefent juncture. The debts England has contracted are not fo great, and the farther engagements which must be entered into, will not be fuch, but that we may get out of them with care and conduct. They who lend upon parliamentary funds, have for their fecurity the quick and dead ſtock of the kingdom; the land with its product; the arts, induſtry, labour and manufactures of this country; all which, fome way or other, become affected with the debt. It is true, that it may not perhaps confiſt with the public good, to create by law, a large inte- reft and eſtate to one part of the people, upon the goods and fubftance of the other; but nations that have had a war too big to be managed by any income to be raiſed within the year, could not avoid proceeding in this manner, and muſt be contented, for a while, to pay taxes to one another; which may be done without great mif- chief to the fubjects, provided a due moderation be obferved; for in this matter there is a cer- tain point, beyond which there is no paffing in any wifdom. It will not be difficult to emerge out of thefe debts; but if we are frighted with our own affairs, 154 The MEANS and METHODS affairs, we can never mend them, and muſt fink under their weight; therefore the good or bad augury of this whole bufinefs, may be taken from the manner in which it fhall be entertained this prefent feffions of parliament. Credit is probably to be reftored, if both parts of the conftitution, legiſlative and minifterial, bend their utmost care and ftudy to fet it forward. To create in the people a willingneſs of dealing hereafter with the government, all deficiences which will happen in the late funds, fhould be readily made good, and paſt debts muſt be put into a certain method of payment. And to make thefe credits pafs currently from hand to hand, and become in the nature of a quick ſtock in the nation, wherewith the people may tranſact their bargains, they muſt be fecured upon folid and ſubſtantial funds. In the fame manner for debts hereafter to be contracted, fuch tallies as fhall be propofed to go in payment of the fleet, ordinance, civil lift, or for ftores, or for repayment of money to be actually lent, fhould be placed upon fuch funds as will every year clear off the intereft, and a certain proportion of the principal. If fuch funds can be found out, and fet on foot, the tallies ftruck thereupon will be as fo much new ftock in the kingdom; and becauſe they carry intereft with them, may per- haps in time be more eſteemed than money itſelf: and if tallies can obtain their former eſteem and value, paper credit will revive of courſe. Moft of the funds of late granted, have been but nominal, ferving as heads only upon which the people might record their debts; many of them cleared off nothing of the principal, and fome not all the growing intereft; however, the exchequer had obtained fuch repute, and tallies ftruck of restoring CREDIT. 155 1 ftruck upon theſe funds were diſcounted by the bank at fuch eafy terms, that for a time, they paffed as well as thoſe which had a better founda- tion. But they loaded the kingdom with a great arrear, and would be of very little worth, but as they are fupported by the nation's faith that has engaged to make them good, and lately joined them to better funds; notwithſtanding which, they hold not the fame value as tallies ftruck on the land-tax, cuftoms or exciſe. Such funds as have been lately granted, for the future will hardly pafs; for where there are but few lenders, and many borrowers, men will be very difficult and choice in their fecurities. If therefore it is expected the ftate fhould bor- row actual caſh, fuch revenues must be given as will annually leffen the debt, and quite clear it off in fome moderate compaſs of time; and tallies ftruck on funds of this nature, may find acceptance with the people, be efteemed to have intrinfic value, fupply the want of fpecies, paſs currently from hand to hand, and become as it were a new ſtock in the nation; and fuch tallies would give better currency to thofe, that, by rea- fon of their remotenefs, are in leſs eſteem, and lie at preſent as dead wealth; all which, would be the true and natural courfe of bringing out the gold and filver. They who ſtand poffeffed of the ready-money, have in all times, and in all countries, given the law, and held the reft of the people in their power, infomuch that the Romans were more than once conftrained to refcue themfelves by force, from the fraud and oppreffion of monied men and ufurers. And it is now to be apprehended, that they who ftand poffeffed of the ready cafh, when they diſcover 155 The MEANS and METHODS diſcover the neceffities of other people, will, in all likelihood, prompted by their avarice, make a uſe of it very deftructive to their fellow-fub- jects, and to the king's affairs, if not prevented by the care and wiſdom of the ſtate. To make them quit their hold, and forego the pre- fent advantage they have over the reft; there feems no expedient fo good, as to fet up fomething in the room of money, which, by annexed profits, may make it in common eftimation, of equal, if not fuperior value, to money itſelf; which tallies will in time be thought of, when they are put upon a ſubſtantial fund. Neither exorbitant premiums, nor high intereft, bring credit; which is only begot by certain and punctual payments. However, it is of fuch pernicious confequence to any nation for the money not to circulate, that the diſeaſe cannot be cured at too high a price; for the prefent therefore, and to invite the gold and filver abroad, and to give fuch a reputation to tallies, as that they may be enabled to beat down the value of money, perhaps it may be neceffary to allow in parliamentary fecu- It is rities fomething more than 6 l. per cent. true this may be thought to load the kingdom with ufury, yet peradventure it is better doing fo, than to let the fpecies ftagnate. But what- ever it fhall be thought convenient to allow, now peace has given a better confiftency to things, tallies will be more valued for the goodneſs of their fund, than for the intereft they carry. The kingdom's debt has not been ſo much en- creaſed by intereft-money, as by high premiums, which, during this war may be, could not be avoided but for the future it will undoubtedly be for the king and kingdom's profit, by fevere penalties, of restoring CREDIT. 157 ་ penalties, to prohibit gratuities upon any loan, other than what are allowed by parliament. This thrift, ftrictly obferved, may bring difficulties at first, but in the confequence will augment public credit. Peace has fo much mended the condition of affairs, that it will not be hard to borrow money, and at moderate intereft to fupply the neceffary occafions of the government. Peace muſt naturally beget fuch a truſt and re- liance on the ſtate, as will bring loans into "the exchequer; but there may be fomething farther requifite to carry on trade, and to make this na- tion flouriſh. On the 23d of Sept. 1697, on feveral parliamentary funds there were tallies ftruck (and which then re- mained unpaid) for On the hereditary and tem- porary excife, and poft- office, for 1. s. d. 8,882,544 15 1 700,000 The malt tickets amounted to 1,270,000 Annuities are Lottery tickets are about Bank ſtock is 1,300,000 1,000,000 1,200,000 Total 14,352,544 15 1/2/3 To give motion to this immenfe fum, which depends on the public faith, and fo to order things, that thefe tallies and fecurities may re- cover their former value, is the true way of reftoring credit. But admit that this were brought about, yet for a time there must be an interruption in all buſineſs; rents cannot be well paid, nor can the king's 158 The MEANS and METHODS 1 1 king's aids be well collected, nor can the other revenues flouriſh, nor will trade and the manu- factures proceed cheerfully, till the blood, now gathered all about the heart, can obtain its for- mer and natural courfe into every vein, and through every channel of the kingdom. How foon this diſtribution of the vital nouriſhment can be made, into all the parts and members of the commonwealth, is not eafy to determine; but it cannot be done with fuch ſpeed as men vulgarly imagine. In former times the wealth of England was far more equally difperfed than it has been of late, and the reſpective counties of the kingdom had a larger proportion of it; the gentry lived at their feats, the country towns were populous, feveral of the outports had their fhare of trade; but by degrees, in the fpace of about 40 years, the number of inhabitants, the riches, and traf- fic of the nation, have centered in this great city. However, it could never be faid till now, that London was at one time owner and miſtreſs of almoſt the whole ſpecies of filver; and yet, it is to be feared, this is our cafe at prefent. There was brought in to 14th Aug. 1697, to be new coined, in tale, about There might be ftanding out of light money that time, in tale, about La 8,400,000 600,000 In all 9,000,000 Of which there was brought into the country mints, of light money, in tale, about 300,000 And of restoring CREDIT. 159 And of broad money to the country mints, in tale, about Of the 600,000 . probably ſtanding out, ſuppoſed ſhould be in the country, viz. Coined, and to be coined, then, on account of the reſpective counties of England, not above 1. 1,500,000 200,000 2,000,000 For well nigh all the money that has been brought out of the country, into the exchequer, to be new minted, has come in upon the land- tax, excife, or other branches of the revenue; and very little of it was the peculiar fubftance of private perſons in any country. The reft of the clipt money was brought in upon loans, by the bankers, merchants, and monied men of this city, and the parts near adjacent; and upon nice enquiry it will be found, that the country had but a very ſmall intereft in thoſe fums of new coin, which from time to time have iffued out of the exchequer. There was coined, and ready, to be coined, from the 31ft Dec. 1691, to the 14th Aug. 1697, in filver, about The light money now ftanding out, when coined, may probably reach In all 7. 6,119,400 540,000 6,659,400 Of this fum, in all likelihood ths did belong to perfons in and about this city, who have debts and tallies upon the public; and though a con- fiderable fum may be difperfed about the country fince the coining, yet there is no reaſon to fear, that there is ftill remaining in London ds of 7 the $ 160 The MEANS and METHODS 1 the filver fpecies, whereas d is more than its ufual and former proportion. How, and by what degrees, this will ſpread itſelf abroad is very uncertain, but to make it circulate about the kingdom, and reach even the remoteſt countries, does much import the govern- ment. The natural courfe for the diftant countries to get the fpecies among them, is by their manufac- tures, and fale of their commodities; but thoſe may peradventure be fo flow, as not well to con- fift with payment of rent, land-taxes, and other duties. Now the peace is concluded, the call from abroad for all our commodities, which has hi- therto held up their price, perhaps may ceafe; and if this ſhould happen (as there is reafon to think it will) things of our own growth muft im- mediately fink in value, unleſs money can be made to circulate in the country; for gold and filver being the meaſure of trade, all things are dear or cheap as that fort of wealth is wanted or abound- ing. And in all countries of the world where money is rare and fcarce, the product of the earth is cheap; as for inftance, in Scotland, Ire- land, the Northern Kingdoms, Germany, and moft parts of Afia and America. Now, if the product of the land fhould fink in its value, it muft naturally enfue, that the rents of England, and price of land, will fall in the fame proportion. For the great ftock that was fubfifting in credit, and the great fum of mo- ney that circulated about the kingdom, did chiefly fix fo high a price upon land and all its produce; and if peace fhould diminiſh this price, (as perhaps it will) land and its rents will hardly recover their former value, till money can be made to circulate, and till credit is revived. And of restoring CREDIT. 161 % And if there fhould be a want of fpecies, and of credit, the taxes cannot anfwer, and there muſt be a decreaſe in all the king's revenues; for as to all duties and impofitions, both upon home and foreign commodities, they arife from the turning and winding of the nation's general ftock with this ſtock are bought and fold thoſe feveral commodities upon which are laid the duties of cuſtoms and excife; and if this ftock is actually fo diminiſhed, as that there fhould be lefs trade, lefs manufactures, and lefs confumption of commodities paying duty, it muſt follow, that the king's revenues will decreaſe in proportion. We have taken notice of theſe things, only to fhew how much it imports all forts of men, as well thoſe who handle the king's buſineſs, as landlords, tenants, merchants, gentlemen, and the common people, to contribute their utmoſt towards reviving credit, and with all their power to promote a circulation of money in the king- dom. It is true, the peace of itſelf will in fome meaſure bring this about; but calling in the whole filver fpe- cies, has made fo great an alteration in all matters which relate to the public revenues and to trade, that in all likelihood, things will not fall readily and very foon into their wonted channel. It is now apparent, that, on the 4th of May 1696, there was current in 7. the kingdom, of the clipt money, about 5,600,000 Befides what was hoarded, there might be current at that time, about 4 millions of guineas; which, going at 30 s. each, created a ſpecies, which, in tale, amounted to 6,000,000 Carry over 11,600,000 VOL. I. M The 瘟 ​162 The MEANS and METHODS Brought over, The fecurities upon land have been always eſteemed at 20 millions, and the eaſe of finding money at that time, by transferring mort- gages, made this a quick ſtock in the kingdom, of about Tallies, bank bills, bank notes, lot- tery tickets, goldfmiths notes and paper credit of the like kind, which was transferrable, did pro- duce, in all probability, a quick ſtock, amounting to at leaft In all I1,600,000 7. 20,000,000 15,000,000 46,600,000 This was the fabric the confent of men or their neceffities had erected here; and perhaps the building might have ſtood for a while, if, as is alledged, the clamours of the common peo- ple had not preffed fo preſſed ſo very hard upon the minifters, to venture its pulling down. Though credit, through the fcarcity of money, has been in an ill poſture, yet it will be abfurd to affirm, that it was ever quite extinguifhed; for no people could have ſubſiſted a fingle week without it; it is the principal mover in all bufi- nefs, and if there fhould be a total ftagnation in this nerval juice, a dead palfy would forth- with feize the body-politic. The moſt that can be faid is, that there is a greater difference now than formerly, between ready money and fecurities of any kind, becauſe there is a ſcarcity of one, and too great an abun- dance of the other. The ebbs and flows of credit, as they hurt fome, fo they are beneficial to others; and while we of restoring CREDIT. 163 we borrow at home, intereft, or reward for for- bearance, is not greatly prejudicial to the collec- tive body of the people; and there is no monar- chy, and perhaps, hardly any republic, but fome time or other has been found tardy in relation to the payment of their debts; yet, where the ſtate of things is at bottom efteemed fafe, credit re- vives and is recovered. The difficulty credit meets with, does perhaps very much proceed from this, that moft minifters forget the paft, and are only intent upon the future; former debts being not fo much thought on, as how they may contract new ones. If fome of the time was ſpent in looking after old funds, that is, employed in procuring fresh fupplies, governments would not be in fuch diftrefs for money. The vaft arrear that preffes fo hard on England, in all likelihood could never have fwelled fo high, if every branch of the revenues granted by the parliament had been improved and managed to the beſt advantage; but this point ſhall be more fully handled in the next diſcourſe. A big debt, ſlowly paid in, does moft certainly obftruct future borrowing; but if the refpective branches had anfwered better, not only the grow- ing intereft had been cleared off, but the prin- cipal fum owing had yearly leffened, which must have been a more pleaſing object for paſt and pre- fent dealers with the exchequer to contemplate, than a debt of fo many millions. The huge engine of credit, by which public and private affairs have been fo commodiouſly tranfacted, and which now feems off the wheels, in all probability is not to be put in order by patching here and there; and can never have true motion, till the legislative power interpofe in fetting all the fprings right, and in mending the whole M 2 What- 1 164 The MEANS and METHODS Whatever diminution our ftock may have fuffered, and whatever decreaſe has happened to our annual income, this nation may be ftill com- puted to have remaining in it an intrinfic worth or value of 600 millions in land and ſtock of all kinds; moſt of which, fome way or other, being made liable to public debts, it will, upon exami- nation, be judged a fufficient fecurity to fuch as have dealings with the government. And fince there is no reaſon to apprehend in- folvency in the ftate, the reviving of credit will only depend upon thoſe meaſures which the pub- lic fhall take to difengage itſelf. It is not probably to be reftored by any pro- ject or contrivance that will enable the govern- ment to borrow a fum to fupply the next occa- fion; but, in all likelihood, the true way to make it flourish, is, by wife arts of government, to give a value and reputation to the 14 millions already depending on the public faith. If the tallies already ftruck, and fecurities of the like nature can any ways be made to regain their former repute with the people, they will bring to light the money; when that circulates, it will give life to 20 millions, the leaft that is out on land fecurity; fo that this ftock may come again to be in motion, and that will beft enable us to fupply the king, and carry on our trade. Until this ftock be put in motion, merchants will not have the means to proceed with their foreign traffic. And unleſs tallies, &c. recover their former value, there will be no encourage- ment to trade abroad, when the gain is fo much greater by dealing with the exchequer at home. But as to the relation which credit has to trade, that point is more fully handled in the 6th difcourfe. The of restoring CREDIT. 165 6 The reſtoring of credit will principally depend upon fuch counfels as fhall render the condition of things firm and ſtable, to which, a found peace and wholeſome laws, that fhall for ever fecure the people's rights and liberty, will much contribute. For trade, from whence riches come, (the foundation of credit) cannot thrive where wars are apprehended, and where freedom is under any kind of danger. The king's valour and conduct have given us peace; and we have reafon to affure ourſelves of all the reft from his wifdom and the fatherly affection he fhews to his people, The love this country bears to his perfon and government, are a better fecurity to him, than thoſe numerous armies his neighbours are obliged to entertain about them in times of the pro- foundeft quiet; which military force is the true reaſon that, in an exigency, they find fo little cre- dit among their fubjects. Governments are not only trufted from a good opinion conceived of their ftability and ftrength, but also for the wifdom that is fhewn in the con- duct of their whole affairs. Upon which fcore, it may very much help credit, to fee the immoralities and irreligion of the age cor- rected; for it is natural and reaſonable in the peo- ple to believe that God will blefs them with fuc- cefs and profperity, who reverence his power, and obferve his revealed will and religion, with devo- tion in themſelves, and without any fpirit of per- fecution, or defire of oppreffing the confciences of others. In the fame manner, fteady councils, vigilance in the minifters, and thrift and economy in the ſtate, induce private perfons to truft the public with their money. M 3 And 166 The MEANS and METHODS And they are thereunto very much encouraged, when they fee the feveral branches of the reve- nues, upon which they depend for their fecu- rities, managed with the utmost care, and im- proved to the beſt advantage. And the people will be invited to have a good opinion of tallies already ftruck, and to make freſh loans, when they fee fuch Ways and Means of raising money propofed and cloſed with, as will anſwer effectually, and not load the kingdom from year to year with fo great an arrear, as may make the lenders apprehend that at laft their debts fhall become defperate. And the customs and new impofitions being fecurity for fo many millions, it muſt certainly be a great fatisfaction to fuch as deal with the ex- chequer, to fee that no wrong meaſures be taken that may unhinge and difturb the beneficial traf- fics of the nation; and to find both the legislative and minifterial power of the kingdom apply itſelf ftrenuously to the care and protection of trade. Credit depending fo much upon the meaſures that ſhall be taken in relation to the revenues and trade and fince it is of fuch importance to the king and his people that credit ſhould be restored, the writer of theſe papers is refolved to affift with his poor endeavours in fo good a work, and to offer to the public the following obfervations, which are the refult of not a little ftudy, and (in the revenues) of fome experience. His chief aim is to give hints for better judg ments to work upon; and to fhew that gentle- men, by reading and application, may arrive at fuch a knowledge in all theſe matters, as not to be impofed upon by merchants and other in- tereſted perfons, to give into counfels deftru&ive their country. to I He of restoring CREDIT. 167 He defigns in the following difcourfes (with all poffible fubmiffion to better underſtandings) to Thew which may be the best way of managing the king's revenues; and what Ways and Means there are of getting out of debt, and ſupplying the government in this prefent juncture. He further propofes to fhew, that, contrary to the notions of fome people, trade is beneficial to England; and what meaſures, as he thinks, may beſt contribute to give it due protection. Laftly, He means more particularly to treat of the Eaſt India trade, as being the traffic moit attacked, and in greatett danger of being loft, through the contrivances of fome who fecretly are enemies to trade in general. The author would not have entered fo deeply into the ftate and condition of things, as his fubject obliges him to do, but that he is fatisfied the fervice of his prince and country require, that in this feafon, truth fhould be modeftly, but plainly ſpoken; nothing being fo pernicious as flattering remedies, which may fkin the fore over for the prefent, but leave it to rancle and feſter within. Befides, he is fully convinced the cou- rage of an English parliament is able to face any danger, and that its wisdom is fufficient to ex- tricate the government from any difficulties which may feem to invade it. Having fome thoughts of leaving this king- dom, he believed himſelf bound to communicate thefe few remarks; which, though they may not prove beneficial, yet he hopes they will be judged well intended to the public by him, whofe prin- cipal view in all he does and thinks, fhall be the fervice of his king and country. DIS- M 4 DISCOURSES PUBLIC ON THE REVENUE S, AND ON TRAD E. DISCOURSE III. On the Management of the King's Revenues. Tthe HERE is nothing can more conduce to the welfare and profperity of the govern- ment, than that the revenues fhould be in fuch order as to put the public debts in a method of being cleared. Spain is a fufficient inftance what a weight old debts are upon any country, and how they render preſent adminiftration difficult and impo- tent; the chief branches of that kingdom's reve- nue are employed in payment of intereft for money borrowed an hundred years ago, and that nouriſhment, which fhould fupport the body poli- tic, On the MANAGEMENT, &c. 169 tic, being diverted another way, it becomes weak and unable to refift accidents; and when a people fo involved, come to be engaged in a foreign war, it is quickly evident to their enemies, that they are not much to be feared for their power, and to their friends, that they are not to be depended on for any help. Theſe large anticipations, which began in 1588, and were continued on from year to year without any meaſures thought on to leffen the debt, have more contributed to fink the Spaniſh monarchy, than all their other bad counfels put together. It may be the intereft of the great ones in the nation, to have the prince's affairs embroiled and entangled. Stewards thrive not under lords and great men, unleſs they are encumbered and run out; it is often the fame thing with minifters, in relation to a kingdom; the prince's revenue is always an ample field for fuch as handle his bufi- nefs, to range in; however, it yields much a bet- ter crop when the public neceffities are very preffing. But it concerns the whole people that fuch a frugality fhould be introduced in the ftate, as that government may be carried on with mode- rate and eafy taxes; and yet this oeconomy, which muſt ſupport a nation, is hardly to be obferved where the debts are fo immenfe as to fright the beft men from the miniftry, and to make the others careleſs and defperate. And this has been all along the cafe of Spain, whoſe crown revenue is near as large as that of France, but fo clogged and anticipated, that upon any emergency, for want of money, they can neither find fleets nor armies for the kingdom's defence; and this reflection has probably fright- ened the honefteft and ableft men from under- taking 1 70. On the MANAGEMENT taking the adminiftration of their affairs; from whence has followed that negligence, diftraction and weakneſs, which is fo remarkable in all their counfels. When a prince is fo ftreightened that he can- not maintain his officers of ftate in their due port and dignity, they are liable to be corrupted from abroad; when he cannot pay his troops, the fol- diers muſt fubfift by free quarter, and by op- preffing the people; when there is not where- withal to maintain the civil lift, that is, to give competent falaries to fuch as are concerned in the adminiftring of juftice, or handling the public revenues; juftice will be fold, and the revenues will be fraudulently and looſely managed. But the miniſters in Spain may like all this very well; they may get more for betraying their mafter, than by giving faithful counfels; their military men may be better pleafed with licence and rapine, than with regular pay; and their men of buſineſs in general, may love to fee a looſe and careleſs adminiſtration, in which the revenue, the laws, and all other parts of government are neglected; for their greatest harveſt is where the king is moft deceived, and the largeſt fums are given to get the law wrefted, to have injuftice done, to procure undue preference, and to ob- tain exorbitant grants. But the people of Spain had quite another in- tereft; and they would not be in the languiſhing pofturethey are in at prefent, if, from the beginning, they had taken fuch meaſures as would effectually have relieved the crown from thofe debts and difficulties which now feem to countenance the mifgovernment in their affairs, or at leaſt make it very difficult to be avoided. And to fuch who weigh the matter well, it will appear full as important to the ſubjects of a country, of the KING's REVENUES. 171 1 country, as to the prince himſelf, that his reve- nue ſhould be put into a good condition. This long war has brought a great debt upon England; and in the 5th diſcourſe we ſhall en- deavour to prove, that all different ranks of men are concerned, as well in honour as in intereft, that meaſures ſhould be taken to difengage the public, in order to avoid the calamities Spain is under, and as what will prove the moft likely way to preſerve this kingdom againſt the power of France; fince when thefe incumbrances are cleared, the king will be in a much better pof- ture to ſecure trade, to defend himſelf in caſe of a future war, to ſupport his allies, and to protect his people. The debts of a country are to be paid off, either by well managing and improving the pre- ſent revenues, or by laying new duties and im- pofitions; the firft way without doubt is the moſt juſt and reaſonable; but it will be hardly fuf- ficient to anſwer all the wants which prefs upon the government. That encreaſe which quiet times and good con- duct may bring to ſeveral branches, will leffen the grofs debt apace, but probably not fupply fuch a fum as may be wanting. But fince there are no Ways and Means of fup- plying the ſtate ſo good and eaſy, as a right ma- nagement of the revenues already granted; in this diſcourſe we fhall endeavour to fhew what im- provements may be expected from thofe feveral branches which are now the principal funds of credit. And in the 5th tract, we fhall examine what commodities may be the proper object of a new duty or impofition; and what methods of rai- fing money for the future (in cafe it be wanted) will 172 On the MANAGEMENT 7 will in all likelihood be leaft burthenfome to the kingdom. The principal branches which are a fecurity for thoſe loans which have been made to the govern- ment, are the old and new cuftoms, and new im- pofitions, the old and additional excife, the duty on malt, on windows, on parchment and paper, on falt, on marriages, births and burials, on glaſs ware, tobacco-pipes, &c. and the duty on leather. Theſe impofitions are funds upon which a very great fum has been raiſed, that yet remains un- paid; and if methods can be found out to make theſe revenues anfwer better, by fo far as they can. be improved, by fo far new taxes (always irkfome to the people) may be avoided. If by a good management in theſe duties the debt will be cleared in 7 years, that otherwife may be 10 years a paying, the nation will be fo much the fooner difengaged, which is a con- fideration that ought to weigh extremely in the prefent juncture; for, in cafe of any future war, we fhall be able to move with much more active ſtrength, when this burthen is off our ſhoulders. A clear revenue will very much contribute to the reſtoring that economy which muft preferve and ſupport a government, either in war or peace; it is therefore hoped that a bare offer to thew methods how theſe feveral branches may be improved, will be taken in good part; efpecially fince the writer has no other aim in theſe, or any other of his obfervations, than the kingdom's ſervice. For having intentions of leaving England, he is willing to communicate the few lights he has gathered by fome years experience, eſpecially in the duties of excife; he has no thoughts of fup- planting of the KING's REVENUES. 173 planting any perfons; but one of the fines they muſt pay, who are in employment, is to have their conduct cenfured by the ſtanders by; and they who mean no reflection on any bodies of men, and only in a national concern to hunt after truth, fhould be encouraged, if they can make any material objection to the fubordinate management in the feveral branches of the king's revenue. Many funds have fo little anſwered the expec- tation of the parliament, that it may be worth enquiry, how it comes to pafs they have pro- duced no more? and whether they are deficient in their own nature, or for want of looking after? The decreaſe in the cuftoms may proceed from the interruptions trade has met with during the war; but we cannot be of opinion, that the war can fo much have affected the other duties, and particularly that of the excife on beer and ale, which we fhall firft examine. The fingle excife on beer and ale, with the additional duties on brandy and ſtrong waters, produced, year ending 24th of June, 1689, grofs The fingle excife on beer and ale, with the additional duties on brandy, and the new impo- fition on low wines, produced, year ending 24th of June, 1696, grofs 1. 5. ம் d. 842,005 4 94 533,580 13 33 The duty fallen 308,424 11 5/1/2/ It 174 On the MANAGEMENT It is true, French brandies have been prohibited, and the law has made fome alteration in the charges on the people; upon which articles al- lowance is to be made, but whether or no they can amount to fuch a decreaſe, fhall be by and by examined. And in the encloſed ſcheme of the produce of this revenue, for 7 years before the war, and 7 years fince, the produce fhall be fet down only of the ale and beer. Produce of the KING's 632 3 03/ REVENUES. 175 Produce of the Single Duty on Beer and Ale. Year ending Country 24 June, Beer and Ale. London Beer and Ale. Single Duty Totals. Year end- ing 24 Country Beer and Ale. London Beer and Ale Single Duty Totals. June, 1. 5. d.l 1. 5. d. 1. 5. d. 1. 5. d. 1. S. d. 7. 5. d. Under a farm, 1683407999 11 6135723 8 11 543723 1684 440378 10 92137541 12 42 577920 3 24 O เก mit 1690 479536 11 6 154286 3 o 633822 14 63 Old Management, 1685 +76450 17 I 1686 491835 90 1687 523908 0 4 146004 10 143481 19 11 619932 17 0 141502 13 54 33338 7669912 10 11 2 54+ New Management, Z 1691 411678 18 9 1692 370594 13 11144860 14 4 143090 11 9554769 10 62 42 515455 8 3 1693 353050 14 8135391 19 10 488442 14 71 1694 346611 9 6 128650 8 0 475261 17 6 1688 526570 6 12 1689540633 5 6 147816 14 153842 17 о 0 674387 0 14 1695 353669 18 3 119591 3 0 473261 1 3/1/20 0 1694476 2 61 169638011 10 32018 12 41512160 176 On the MANAGEMENT } The accounts of the excife for the year ending 24th of June 1697, are not yet perfectly made up; but, from a near eftimate, we have reafon to think it is fallen that year very confiderably. From the faid fcheme it may be obferved, that in the former management, for the whole 6 years it was in commiffion, every year was bet- ter than the other; which gradual encreaſe was an argument that it was natural, not violent; a work not of chance, force, or power, but rather the effect of induſtry and conduct. The Ways and Methods by which this branch was gradually fo improved, fhall be here ſet down briefly; and if thofe Methods are judged rea- ſonably contrived, well formed, and fuch as might promife fuccefs, it will naturally lead men to confider how far the change of thofe Methods, in the fucceeding managements, may have been hurtful to his majefty's revenue. When the excife was put from a farm into a commiffion, the commiffioners at their firſt coming in did not make any material change of officers, deferring that till they had better know- ledge of thofe under them, and till they were more mafters of their bufinefs; and by degrees, and with great caution, they weeded out fuch un- qualified, corrupt, or negligent officers, as had been partially brought in during the former ma- nagement; which was fupine enough towards the latter end. And whereas the methods of keeping the ſtock books and way of charging the people, were different almoſt in every collection, they ſet- tled one uniform method through the whole kingdom; taking that form for a pattern, which had been made ufe of with moſt fuccefs in the beſt managed collections; which were, York- ſhire, Wales, and the 4 northern counties. To 1 ללי of the KING's REVENUES. To fee which method put in execution, and to fee fuch other directions performed as the com- miffioners ſhould afterwards give, they appointed 4 general riders, and 8 general fuperviſors. But as a check above all, (and which was indeed the life of their whole affair) the commif- fioners themſelves made frequent circuits round the kingdom, viewing every particular officer in his refpective divifion; without which, the inferior officers would have run into floth, and the fupe- rior into corruption. And in theſe circuits, they could obferve who were remifs, who diligent, who deferved advance- ment; who wanted removing; and here they fuited each man's diſtrict to his capacity; and if their officers were corrupt, here they got true infor- mation of their proceedings. But theſe commiffioners had done little good abroad with their infpection, if the officers had not been fenfible that they were overlooked by perfons ſkilful in the matter, and able to hit a fault; for that commiffioner who rides abroad not fully poffeffed of his buſineſs, fhall be hourly impoſed upon by the inferior officers, and leave things in a worfe order than he found them. They rarely made any addition of officers to encreafe the king's charge, but upon their own view in theſe circuits; and upon a full conviction, that fuch encreaſe of expence would turn to the king's account. They took care to employ reſponſible men for their collectors, by which means their accounts have been made up with very little fupers upon any officer. In 6 years time they had got together 1200 gaugers, active and fkilful; and fuch a fet of men, as perhaps no prince had ever a better em- ployed in his revenue. VOL. I. N And 178 On the MANAGEMENT 1 And as to the commiffion itſelf, it was firſt compoſed of perfons, who, all of them, fome way or other, had been before converfant in the excife, and who agreed very well together; for in the 6 years of that management, not one thing was ever put to the vote among them. They were generally perfons not above their employments; and who had no other bufinefs but the king's to follow; and they had a large falary, which put them beyond corruption. Their management was impartial; no man was turned out only to let in another, but upon ſtrong proof, and the report of a commiffioner, or general officer upon the fpot; fo that he who was fkilful and diligent, looked upon himſelf as in for life; for which reafon they were ferved heartily and with affection. Their management was uncorrupt; no place was fold, or fuffered to be fold under them; by which they could pick and chooſe the beſt, and were entirely maſters of their inferior officers. They were ſteady and conftant in their pro- ceedings, not giving out general orders one week, and contradicting them the next. They did not vex the people any where with unreaſonable fines; and knowing the revenue in fome meaſure to be precarious, they were not fevere in London in exacting arrears, for fear that if they ſhould bring any diftrefs and trouble upon the London brewery, it would occafion the making ill drink, and drive the people to brew themſelves, which would deſtroy the duty. Theſe commiffioners did believe, that their fkill, fidelity, and diligence, would always re- commend them to any government, and keep them in their employments; they therefore quit- ted their private bufinefs and profeffions, to devote of the KING'S REVENUES. 179 devote themſelves wholly to the king's fervice, managing his revenue with the fame care, affec- tion, and frugality, as the father of a family would uſe in the ordering his own affairs; which occafioned my Lord Rochefter (no incompetent judge in thoſe matters) at his leaving the treaſury, to take particular notice to the late king, how well that branch had been conducted. How fuccessfully this management was, ap- pears by the encreaſe that was made in the duty. Laſt year of the former manage- ment, ending 24th June 1689, the Country and London ex- cife on beer and ale only, produced Last year of the farm, ending 24th June 1683, the Coun- try and London excife on beer and ale only, produced Encreaſed by the managers per? ann. 1. s. d. 694,476 2 614 543,723 0 5 150,753 2 01/ But, after all, the fuccefs with which this management was attended, is chiefly to be at- tributed to the wifdom and fteady conduct of thoſe noble perſons, who, while they governed at the head of the treafury, in their feveral turns, did more at Whitehall towards keeping this branch in order, than was done in Broadſtreet. When the principal officers and commiffioners of every revenue were in a manner of their choofing, and under their direction, they took care that the king ſhould be well and diligently ferved, and the public tafted the benefit of that great power which was trufted with them. They had notice № 2 how th 180 On the MANAGEMENT how each perfon attended, or underſtood his buſineſs; they called every month to know what commiffioners were abroad ſurveying in the country; they looked into all tranſfactions weekly, and took an exact account every quarter, how the duty proceeded; and, in ſhort, the ſtrict eye which the treaſury kept over the commiffioners, rendered them watchful over their inferior officers; all which together made the revenue flouriſh. If the ſeveral branches that fhall be here men- tioned had anſwered better, the nation had owed much leſs than it does at prefent, which would have been a great eaſe to the king's affairs; but perhaps, during the war, the public revenues were hardly capable of another fort of conduct. For it has been obferved in other countries, where war has introduced factions and diviſion, that no man is continued long enough in his em- ployment to gain experience in it. He, who begins to know a little, muſt preſently make room for fomebody more uſeful in other mat- ters, or to gratify a fide. And how can the.re- ſpective branches be well managed, when the principal offices thereunto relating are, may be, 3 or 4 times in a few years, made a prey to the victorious party? In divided nations, the moſt fkilful treaſury that ever was, will find itſelf en- tangled, and its care in the prince's affairs difap- pointed; for, at ſuch a ſeaſon, bold and turbulent fpirits will obtrude their unſkilful heads into the fubordinate ftations, where they will be an infuf- ferable weight upon the wifeft meaſures of thofe who fit at helm. To cure this dangerous diftemper of faction and parties, fhould be the joint care of good men, whofe defigns and councils fhould all have the of the KING's REVENUES. 181 the fame end, that is, their prince's proſperity ´and country's welfare. As faction is the effect of that loofe govern- ment which is unavoidable in a time of war and trouble; fo, while faction is fuffered to continue, it is a perpetual bar to better adminiſtration; for it emboldens the bad, and terrifies the good. It is a lunatic, whom the phyſician cannot approach. without danger to himſelf. Some ſtatemen therefore, when it rages high, withdraw from affairs, and will not minifter the phyfic of their councils till the fit is over, and till time or chance have fettered and bound up the patient; but though this caution of theirs be good for them- felves, it is hurtful to the public. They ought rather at ſuch a ſeaſon to interpofe with their found advice, prudence, and wiſdom, and there- by endeavour to cure a corrupt and frantic people. Where factions reign, the prince is in greateſt danger, for he ſuffers moft by thofe errors, which of both fides will be continually committed, when each fide is always defirous to put the other in the wrong. Thefe divifions incumber a king in all his functions and offices of the ftate, and bring delays in all his bufinefs. Minifters that fuffer them to grow, and who give them counte- nance, intend not his fervice, but their own greatnefs, which being not built upon merit, and confequently precarious, they would fortify with outward helps, and by the ftrength of parties; the heads of which, in truth, fhare between them that regal power, of which both fides pretend to be fo careful. A prince engaged in foreign wars, frequently abfent, and preffed by the neceffity of his af- fairs, fuffers now and then fome proceedings, N 3 which 182 On the MANAGEMENT 2 which his noble heart defpifes and abhors, and which his wifdom will undoubtedly correct in quiet times. His high wiſdom will fee that they narrow his intereft, who endeavour to confine his bounty and favours to any one party, and that to keep his goodneſs, as much as in them lies, limited to one place and ftation, is yet… a more pernicious counfel. But to return to our prefent matter; as the former commiffioners every year advanced the excife, fo under the late managers it has every year decreaſed, except in 1696, in which year there was an advance of 38,899 l. Is. 82 d. but when their accounts come to be made up exactly for 1697, it will appear they have again loft ground more than ever. If in the new commiffions that have been made fince 1688, for the management of this revenue, ſuch perſons have been employed, as were gene- rally never bred to the bufinefs, and whofe for- tunes were above it, and who have never well agreed one with the other. If every new commiffion has made fudden and material alterations, both in the methods for- merly practifed, and by changing the officers; if they have unhinged the former method approved of by long experience, and put the gaugers upon a new way of keeping their ftock-books, and charging the people. If they have left above 1200 officers in the country for fome years to themſelves, without any inspection; if they are not enough mafters of their buſineſs to make thefe circuits effec- tually, and to look into the proceedings of their under officers. If, inſtead of courting the juſtices of peace, and reconciling them to the revenue by a wrong 7 affec- of the KING's REVENUES. 183 ì affectation of popularity, they have in a manner in- vited them to find fault with their officers, and to fide with the victuallers againſt the revenue. If they have encreaſed the king's charge with- out fufficient reaſon, not upon their own view, but merely at the fuggeftion of thofe under them. If they have employed fuch men for collectors, as in a ſhort time did run away with 25,000 1. of the King's money. If they have turned out upon flight grounds, the major part of the 1200 able and experienced officers that were left them by the former mana- gers, and if the reft think they hold their em- ployments but precariouſly. t If they are unconftant and unfteady in their proceedings, and vary their orders very often; and if the greateſt part of their time is wholly taken up in placing and difplacing officers. If they have vèxed the brewers with frivolous. informations, and unreaſonable fines; and if, by feverely exacting arrears, they have fo diftreffed the London brewers that they cannot afford to make good drink, and ſo have driven the people to brew for themſelves. If fome among them, who have knowledge and 'experience in this revenue, have been (as is alledged) all along overvoted, and driven into wrong meaſures by a majority. And if many of the commiffioners have fuch a multiplicity, either of public or private bufi- nefs, that they cannot attend the king's fervice in this poft fo much as would be required in a vigo- rous management. If all theſe allegations without doors are true, (which we are far from averring) and if, as is faid abroad, in the progrefs of 7 years fo great a change has been made from the former method of governing that duty, and in fo many material inſtances, N 4 - 134 On the MANAGEMENT I inftances, we need look no further for the reafons of a great part of that decay which is felt in the revenue of excife. • . Laſt year of the former manage- ment, ending 24th June 1689, the Country and Lon- don excife on beer and ale only, produced fingle duty Under the prefent management, year ending 24th June 1696, the Country and London ex- ciſe on beer and ale only, pro- duced fingle duty The fingle duty fallen under the 1. s. d. 694,476 2 61 512,160 3 0 30吋 ​prefent management, per ann. 182,315 19 6 But if, as we have reafon to believe, it fell again, year ending 24th June 1697, in the fingle duty, about Then the fingle duty was fallen, under the preſent manage- ment, year ending 24th June 1697, about per ann. And if, as the accounts will fhew, it yielded, 1697, not above Out of which, deduct for manage- '; ment 73,747 0 0 256,062 ọ ọ 438,413 o o 100,000 o o And there remains to the king 338,413 0 0 According to which account, his prefent ma- jefty does not touch fo great a fum from this re- venue, as king Charles II. received from it, 17 years ars ago, when it was out in farm. For of the KING'S REVENUES. 185 For, from Mr. Dafhwood's farm, ; which began ann. 1680, king Charles II. received from thofe duties (exclufive of imported liquors and brandy, and clear of 7. s. d. १० all charges in the management) 448,826 9 o His prefent majefty did receive, as before, in 1697 The excife on beer and ale only, produces therefore now lefs to the crown than it did 17 years ago, when under a farm, by per ann. 338,413 0 0 110,413 9 0 The reaſons which are commonly given for this great decreaſe, are the alteration of the mea- fure by act of parliament; the 10th allowance by act of parliament for taking in the worts; the additional duties; the decay of trade occafioned by the war, and the quartering of foldiers. Some of the prefent commiffioners, in a pre- fentment delivered to the treaſury, March 29 1690, did value The alteration of the meafure, at And the 10th allowance for charg- ing in worts, at Total, 1. s. d. 29,675 12 52,655 17 81 2 82,331 9 10 But fuch as are acquainted with this revenue know, that neither of thefe heads could poffibly make fo confiderable an alteration in the amount of the vouchers; fo that their computation muſt needs be wrong, for this change made by the law muft have had its principal operation all at once; 186 On the MANAGEMENT and in the 1st year of the prefent manage ment, by which time this law had wrought its chief effect, the duty fell but 60,653 l. 7 s. 11½d. So that the remaining decreafe muſt proceed from decay of trade, the additional duties, quar- tering foldiers; with other reaſons that fhall be taken notice of by and by, or from fome change that has been made in the management. The revenue is apparently fallen near 4d, and yet it is hardly to be imagined that our trade, foreign and domeftic, both are funkd; on the contrary, our domeftic bufinefs and our expor- tations, which is the trade whereon the excife de- pends chiefly, have been near as great all along fince, as before the war. It cannot be faid our manufactures are leffened d; it is plain our peo- ple are not diminiſhed d; not d part of the perfons take to brewing themfelves, who were wont to be furnished from the common brewer. Nor can it appear to any one's obfervation, that there is d lefs of excifable drink confumed than formerly; and yet, well nigh all this' muſt happen to make that the revenue fhould be near 3d di- miniſhed. If the decreaſe did truly proceed from the aforefaid cauſes, London in fome proportion would be thereby affected; and yet by the fore- going account it may be feen, that London häs all along fallen but little, and indeed no more than what the additional duties might really oc- cafion. The duty in London, by a medium of 7 years, has decreaſed 17,001 l. per ann. The duty in the Country, by a medium of years, has decreaſed 155,592 l. per ann. 7 Why fhould the fall in London be butth part of the general decreaſe'; and yet the duty of London be about 4th part of the whole excife? To of the KING's REVENUES. 187 To-fet this matter in a true light, will perhaps fhew how this revenue comes to be fo much de- creafed. The former commiffioners could do very little to the advancing the excife of London, which, becauſe it had been conftantly under the eye of the farmers, they found it fettled in a very good method. They could in 6 years raife London but about 18,000 l. per ann. which was no more than what might naturally arife from the growth of that city in ſuch a time. But they found ample room for their induſtry in the Country, which had been always flackly managed by the farmers, and where the officers had been left to themſelves without any fupe- rior inſpection; and it was there (as may be feen in the foregoing fcheme) that they made their moft confiderable improvements, In the fame manner the former managers left London to the fucceeding commiffioners, fettled in a good method, and fupplied with able offi- cers; which method had not been changed, nor were the officers altered till 1695. London did therefore hold up till then, and the additional duties had very little influence there. But the great fall in the duty has happened in the feveral counties of England, which perhaps have not been fo much under the eye of the pre- fent commiffioners, where the officers have not been fo much infpected as formerly; and where, it is faid, the moſt ſkilful officers have been turned out, and where it is reported that the old methods have been all unravelled. A And in London, in 1695, at which time it is faid the old methods were likewife broken into, and inferior officers brought into play, utterly unknowing in the brewery, the excife of this city $88 On the MANAGEMENT city fell at one clap 9059 l. 5s. od. It is true, the next year it mounted again; but it is thought by courſes fo unnatural, as are not like to hold. Theſe confiderations incline fuch as are conver- fant in the excife, to think that the great decreaſe in this branch may rather proceed from quitting the old fcheme, rules, and methods of manage- ment, than from the additional duties, altera- tions by the law, quartering of foldiers, or any decay of trade, or want of confumption. If this decreaſe had happened from caufes af- fecting the kingdom in general, the fall of the duty between London and the Country muſt have held fome proportion; the great inequality therefore muft fuggeft to us, that probably it may proceed from fome defect in management. It is true, the alte- rations in the meaſure, and the ioth allowance given by act of parliament, light upon the Coun- try; but this again feem to be balanced by other advantages; for the great exportations England- has had during this war, have given a good price to all commodities of our own growth; upon which ſcore, rents have been all along well paid. Until last year, in the Country, manufactures pro- ceeded brifkly; wages have been very high, and generally fpeaking, tenants, and the whole middle rank of men were much at their eaſe, (peradven- ture we may lay in great plenty for the 7 first years of the war) all which fhould naturally tend to a larger conſumption of excifable commodities among the common people. The decays in trade, which the war may have occafioned, have been moft fenfibly felt in London, which depends upon foreign traf- fic, profeffions, and handicrafts, which cannot flourish in a time of war; fo that if the decay of trade had been fuch as to affect the excife in a very great degree, the proportion would have held } ! 189 of the KING'S REVENUES. • held more in London, where trading has been dulleft. But before we look into the abatement theſe alterations may have occafioned, it will not be unſeaſonable to examine one point, whether the revenue was managed to the utmoſt advantage, and at its height, in 1688? And, with fubmiffion to better judgments, we are inclined to think it was yet capable of greater improvement, but for the intervening accidents of war, the new duties, and interruption of trade. + To clear this, we muſt take notice that the improvements made in the 6 years of the former management, did not all arife from the conduct of the managers, but in part from the natural encreaſe of wealth, and numbers of people in the kingdom; and computing by political arith- metic how that proceeded, and how the ftock of wealth, and numbers of people annually aug- mented, there feems reafon to proportion the 1. encreaſe made in thoſe 6 years thus : 150,753 th part of the revenue for the encreaſe of peo- ple, or And aboutth part of the revenue for encreaſe of wealth, or Which together is 8000 l. per ann. or And the artificial encreaſe thereof by management, 17,000l. per ann. one 7. 9,000 39,000 48,000 for 6 years. year upon another, or 102,000 for 6 years. And 190. On the MANAGEMENT And the natural and ar- tificial improvements to- gether, 25,000 1. per ann. and fo the im- provement of, in round numbers, 1. 150,000 in the 6 years. And by the courſe of improving the faid reve- nue during thofe 6 years, if peace had continued to the year 1696, the duties would probably have received a further encreafe of 13,000l. per ann. In all for 7 years, more 91,000 7. thus: ift, By encreaſe of people and wealth, per ann. 2dly, By good 1. L 8000 or 56,000 for 7 years. management, 5000 or 35,000 for 7 years. On both accounts per ann. 13,000 or 91,000 in the 7 years. Note, That the firft article of encreaſe by wealth and people would have fwelled higher every year, as riches and numbers had augmented, and the article from management muft have been lefs; fo that in 7 years it muſt have come to the utmoſt perfection it was capable of as to manage- ment. This branch from beer and ale only, year ending 24th June 1689, pro- duced And, if it had met with no interrup- tion, it might have produced, year ending 24th June 1696, more 1. 694,476 1 91,000 Total 785,476 So of the KING's REVENUES. 191 So that when we come to ftate this revenue truly (and as we fhall do impartially) confidera- tion must be had as well of the Lucrum Ceffans, as the Damnum Emergens; for intending to give allowances upon feveral different heads, it is ne- ceffary to diftinguish between what was formerly its natural, and what was its artificial encreaſe by management; and the reader may thereby judge whether the allowances intended to be made are in a due proportion. We have allowed that out of the improve- ments the former commiffioners made, which by a medium of 6 years was about 25,000l. per ann. near d, or 8000 l. per ann. did arife from the encreaſe of people and wealth in the nation; and we lay down that the other 17,000l. per ann. was recovered to the king out of fome deficiency in the former conduct; and whoever has at all confidered the number of the people, or the natural progrefs of trade, will own, that this com- putation is impartial, well weighed, and not made at random. And it then follows, that if a great fum has been got every year by ſkill and conduct, that a great fum may be likewife loft in the fame branch, for want of management. Upon mature confideration therefore, and after a ftrict compariſon between the pofture of affairs, trade, and confumption of the 6 before, and the 7 years fince the war, we have formed the follow- ing ſcheme, with a due regard to all the feveral circumſtances, which from year to year may have prejudiced this revenue, and leffened its yearly produce; and it feems evident that fome allowance ought to be given upon 8 heads. ift, On account of the alteration by act of parliament, from 36 gallons to the barrel on beer, 192 On the MANAGEMENT beer, and 32 gallons on ale, to 34 gallons in common, which does make a change; but he who reflects upon thofe counties that did brew beer, and had always allowance, will find that the computation made by the commiffioners March 29th 1690, was extravagant. 2dly, On account of the 10th allowance given by parliament, for charging in the worts. But thoſe who are converfant in the practical part of exciſe, and who have confidered the manner of charging the people, and the different ridings of gaugers, and where it was poffible to charge the worts hot (for in that cafe only, the allowance is given) do know very well that the duty is not thereby much injured. 3dly, On account of a practice, now getting ground, of brewing drink of an extraordinary ſtrength, in order to avoid the duty. 4thly, On account of the additional duties, which have been fo high as to force many of the poorer victuallers and retailers to lay down, though this is the lefs hurtful, becauſe moſt of their cuf- tomers go to the richer fort. 5thly, On account of private brewing, to which many are brought by the high price and prefent badness of the commodity. 6thly, On account of quartering of foldiers; though where the army is not over numerous, and where the troops are regularly paid, and when care is taken to clear the quarters (as has been practical till the laft year) foldiers rather pro- mote than hurt the excife. 7thly, On account of the decay of trade, decreaſe of wealth, and lofs of people, from year to year, which the war may have occafioned. Sthly, On account of the high price of malt and hops, which have been of late dearer fome- times of the KING'S REVENUES. 193 times, than they were in the former manage- ment. In the following ſcheme we have taken notice of more heads than are commonly alledged in their defence, who have had the conduct of this revenue. How far it has really been affected upon the foregoing accounts and reafons, we ſhall endeavour to compute. If we are miſtaken, there are enough concerned to fet us right; and having no aim in theſe enquiries, but to hunt after truth, we ſhall be glad of better informa- tion. And theſe remarks are here offered to the pub- lic, becauſe peradventure they may give hints, and ftir up abler heads, and better computers to look a little further into the management of this important branch. 1 1 J 3 1 VOL. I. O A SCHEME, 194 On the MANAGEMENT 1690. A SCHEME, fhewing in what Proportion the Eight fore-mentioned Heads may every Year have affected the Revenues of Excife. Totals. The alteration of meaſure The tenth allowance 20,000 10,000 II,COO 1691. 1692. 21,000 21,000 7693. 1694. 20,000 19,000 1695. 1696. 18,000 17,000 136,000 12,000 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 71,000 The additional duties, 8,000 9,000 30,000 27,000 26,000 26,000 26,000* 152,000 The drink brewed of extraordinary ſtrength, 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 28,000 The private brewing, 3,000 5,000 7,000 9,000 11,000 13,000 16,000 64,000 The quartering of foldiers, 3,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000 8,000 36,000 The decrease of trade, wealth, and people, 3,000 5,000 8,000 11,000 14,000 17,000 20,000 78,000 The high price of malt and hops, 5,000 15,000 7,000 5,000 5,000 37,000 Total of the allowances, 48,000 107,000 602,000 The revenue actually received, in round numbers, The allowances and revenue together, Revenue anſwered, An. 1689, Revenue, and allowances together, fince 1689, There appears then to be loft, over and above all reaſonable allowances, _ 56,000 90,000 102,000 98,000 101,000 634,000 555,000 515.000 488,000 475,000 473,000 512,000 3,652,000 682,000 611,000 605,000 590,000 573,000 574,000 619,000 4,254,000 694,000 694,000 694,000 694,000 694,000 694,000 694,000 4,858,000 682,000 611,000 605,000 590,000 573,000 574,000 619,000 4,254,000 83,000 89,000 104,000 121,000 120,000 75,000 604,000 12,000 From 1691, inclufive, to 1696, inclufive, the duties upon ftrong drink 3 were doubled within 3 pence, and 3 pence more than doubled upon fmall beer; fo that the lofs would come double to the king, thus But deduct out of each year's lofs, one 25th part for the 3 pence it wants of being doubled in the ftrong, which is fufficient, there being an overplus of 3 pence in the ſmall, And the neat lofs feems to be 166,000 178,000 208,000 242,000 240,000 150,000 1,184,000 6,640 7,120 8,320 9,680 9,600 6,000 47,360 159,360 170,880 199,680 232,320 230,400 144,000 1,136,640 of the KING's REVENUES. 195 This fcheme is formed from a general view of the poſture of affairs for the whole 7 years, and upon a mature confideration of all things that might probably affect the confumption of beer and ale in the nation, and the revenue thereby arifing; and till we can fee better reaſons to the contrary, we cannot help being of opinion, that by chang- ing the former methods and courfe of manage- ment, there has been loft to the king, from 1690 to 1696, the ſum of 1,136,640%. And when the accounts for the year, ending 24th June 1697, come to be made up, it will be ſeen that this branch in the fingle and double duty is again fallen at least 57,500l. and that it did not produce above Whereas it ought to produce about 914,000 1. 1,232,000l. So that there feems loft to the king in this re- venue about per ann. 318,000 l. And we are more inclined to be of opinion, that it ought to yield about 1,200,oco l. a year, becauſe this branch of our confumption has borne fuch a duty as to yield, year ending 24th June 1692, groſs total 1,394,008. 10 s. o d. And there is one confideration not to be omit- ted, and it is, that during this war, not near the quantity of wine as formerly, and very little brandy, has been imported, which fhould tend to the greater expence of beer and ale; but the ſtrongeſt reafon of all, that the excife fhould not have decreaſed by fuch large breaks almoſt every year, is the high price that well near all things of our own product have borne all along, which muft have created a plenty among the middle rank of men, who are the great confumers of excifable commodities. It will undoubtedly be alledged that the for- mer commiffioners ftretched the law, and took 0 2 more 196 On the MANAGEMENT more than the king's due; but this is pofitively denied, and it may be more truly affirmed, that however ftrict and careful this management then was, yet that a great deal eſcaped payment, which was unavoidable in a revenue fo widely difperfed, and to be collected upon fo many people. And the juftices of peace can beft determine whether the clamours of the brewers, victuallers and re- tailers, are not more now than formerly. It is evident, that in theſe two laſt years there have been treble the number of complaints, in- formations, controverfies, law-fuits and appeals, concerning this duty, than did happen in the whole 6 years of the former management. It is certainly better for a prince to loſe fome- thing in his revenue, than that his officers fhould be oppreffive and vexatious to the people; but the management of that branch can be hardly right, where the clamours are more, and the produce lefs than formerly. And a ftrict, though legal collection of any duty, perhaps would not be adviſable; and per- adventure a looſe and eaſy adminiſtration in theſe matters, would be good, if what is loft in one branch, were not to be made up by new, and con- fequently more burthenfome taxes. The duties on malt, leather, and falt, [now un- der a feparate commiffion] being under the fame commiffion; we ſhall proceed to enquire what produce the government may reaſonably expect from thofe revenues. In the following computations, we would not be underſtood to deliver any determinate opinion what number of inhabitants the kingdom may contain. But our hypothefis runs thus: fuppofing the people of England to be fo and fo, 6 pence upon the of the KING'S REVENUES. 197 the bufhel of malt, ought to produce fuch and fuch a fum. *We have formerly reckoned that a duty of 6 d. per bufhel on malt, would produce 1. 1,050,000 But we here retract that computation, where we followed fir William Petty's calculation of the people, which, upon better enquiry, is found not well grounded; and where, following him, we allowed too much for the confumption of every head. We had not then before us ſo nice an enquiry into the ſeveral ranks and claffes of men, as we have fince procured from a gentleman once named in theſe difcourfes. By confidering their different conſumption, and diſtinguiſhing between the poor and rich; by contemplating the arable land, and what of it is employed for barley; and by computing, upon the whole, we are in- clined to think, that 6 d. per bufhel on malt may produce (fuppofing the people to be no more than 5,500,000) per ann. about 650,000 l. We are inclined to think, that the annual produce from the barley land of England, may amount to 34,000,000 buſh. * Effay on Ways and Means, p. 37. ་ 03 1 Of 198 On the MANAGEMENT Of which malt- ed for ale and beer, about Malted and made into fpi- 23,000,000 ,၀၀၀,ဝဝ rits, and for 1,000,000 other uſes, a- 34,000,000 buſh. bout Unmalted for bread corn, feed corn, 10,000,000 feeding poul- try, &c. about 24 millions of bushels of bar- ley, may well produce of malt, about So that in the computation what a duty of 6 d. upon the bufhel of malt may yield, we muſt allow fomething above 4. bufhels and to the head. Thus to 2 26,000,000 buſh. 5,500,000 perf. 26,000,000 buſh. 1. 650,000 duty. If the people are above the forementioned number, the duty ought in all reafon to produce more than the faid fum; if they are fewer, it will not yield fo much; but we reckon our- felves now fo fure in the numbers of the peo- ple, that if this impofition does not reach full to 650,000 l. it muft proceed rather from fome defect in the management, than any deficiency in the fund. If the inferior officers of the exciſe are corrupt, or uníkilful, and if the general management is out of order, it will have an influence in the new branches of malt, falt, and leather; which duties are under the direction and government of the fame commiffion. We + of the KING'S REVENUES. 199 We are unwilling to prejudge their conduct in a new matter; but if from the paft, a guefs may be made of the future, by what hitherto appears, the duty on malt is not like to anſwer the expec- tations of the parliament. The ftock of malt is about d of the whole year's produce, or about 4 months confumption for the whole people. According to this poſition, which feems pretty right, if the duty on malɛ will 4. produce 550,000 The ftock charged ought to have an- fwered 216,666 And it has anſwered but about 150,000 Which multiplied by 3, is but 450,000 It ſhould produce 650,000 It promiſes from the ftock, to produce but 450,000 There may then be loft in the manage- ment of this duty, per ann. 200,000 As to the impofition on falt, there feems rea- fon to think that the duty does not anſwer the uſe and confumption of the commodity; and when we contemplate the general need of this material in feveral trades and works, and that the common people live more upon falted meats than the richer fort, we are inclined to think, that 2 pecks per head may be well allowed to the mafs of mankind in this nation together. 1 0.4 So 200 On the MANAGEMENT, So that the former) duty upon falt, home made and foreign, ſhould have yielded to his majefty, by a medium of 3 years, about 137,5000 per ann. Thus to But by a medium of 3 years, it has yield- ed per annum, no more than So that there feems loft in this duty per ann. about 5,500,000 perfons, 2 pecks per head per ann, 137,500 l. duty. 99,425 l. 38,075 %. As to the duty on leather, it ſeems reaſonable to think, that, to carry on the trades depending upon it commodiouſly, the people fhould have by them in ſtock 4th part of the whole confump- tion. And if this poſition be true, The parliament gave this duty for per ann. The ftock therefore fhould have pro- 7. s. d. 179,859 6 8 7. s. d. duced 44,964 16 8 The ftock has pro- duced only 14,030 o'o оо So there feems loft in the ſtock of leather, 30,934 16 8 The duty was given to raiſe the fum of $39,578 l. in 3 years; and if 15%. per cent. be not fo high an impofition, as to hurt the manu- } 1 facture, of the KING's REVENUES. 201 facture, perhaps it may reach what it was com- puted at; but if we are to judge of the future management, by what the ftock has yielded, there are reaſons to apprehend, that in this branch, there will be likewife loft per ann. about 30,000l. So that if fuch a negligence or corruption, be crept among the inferior officers of the excife, as to loſe in the 4 branches of beer and ale, malt, falt and leather, the fums here taken notice of, and which there is reaſon to think the govern- ment might expect from the confumption in this nation of the materials charged, there is then loft in the whole, under this management, In the excife on beer and ale In the malt In the falt In the leather 1. 318,000 200,000 38,075 30,000 Total lofs 586,075 We have endeavoured to compute the produce of malt, falt, and leather, becauſe theſe 3 branches are under the fame managers; and the revenues arifing from thence, being a fecurity to the people for very large fums, we thought it for the fervice of the public to fhew what theſe duties may probably yield when they come to be underſtood, and when they fhall be improved to the utmoſt advantage. And being informed, that to collect theſe 3 revenues there have been created lately a great number of new officers, we cannot help faying, that 170 perfons added to the prefent officers em- ployed in the cuſtoms, and exciſe, may very well look after and collect all the excifes or new impo- fitions, that can poffibly be laid in this kingdom; and 202 On the MANAGEMENT and this the writer of thefe papers can the better affirm, having himſelf vifited very near every collection and diftrict, and being in fome meaſure acquainted with the riding, and diſtinct buſineſs of every gauger in England. Multiplicity of officers is chargeable to the king, vexatious to the common people, and mi- nifters occafion of jealouſy to the country gen- tlemen; whereas a competent encouragement to thoſe already employed in the old revenues, with a fmall addition of hands, will enable the preſent officers to collect any new duties the parliament has given, or fhall think fit to grant. According to the following ſcheme, To 170 new officers at 50 l. per ann. falary, each To 40 excife collectors, at 297. per ann. additional falary, each To 40 fuperviſors and general officers, at 15. per ann. additional falary, each To the 1200 excife gaugers, at 10 l. per ann. additional falary, each Incidents Total charge 7. 8,500 800 600 12,000 4,000 25,900 And at this expence, and by fuch an addition only of officers, (with fubmiffion to better judg- ments) we think may be collected the duties on malt, falt, leather, or any other new impofitions. which the parliament may hereafter think fit to lay on the conſumption of our home commo- dities. But then it is to be underſtood, that the men muſt be well chofen, young, and active; that they must be cloſely followed by able general officers of the KING'S REVENUES. 203 officers, and that they must be under an induf trious, regular, ſkilful, and ſteady management. It is difficult to compute by Political Arith- metic, what the duty on parchment and paper fhould produce; we can only fay this, that in France there is fuch an impofition; and though many acts and inftruments are charged higher here than there, yet our tax yields in no propor- tion what it produces there; which leads us to conclude, that this branch of the public revenue is capable of being improved. This duty by a medium, has hitherto yielded, per ann. about And perhaps it may be brought to yield per ann. 1. 45,000 60,000 As to the duties on marriages, births, and burials, in this branch the numbers of the peo- ple are fo fure a guide in computing what it Thould produce, that its true amount may very eafily be ſtated. The numbers of the people being fuppofed, by the returns made, it may be ſeen in what pro- portion mankind marry, are born, or die; and what proportion batchelors and widowers hold with the reft of the people. By examining theſe books it may be likewiſe ſeen, what proportion per cent. of the people is to be allowed for frauds, omiffions, and infolvency. It may be there alſo ſeen, what proportion per cent. is to be allowed for perfons receiving alms, in the ar- ticles of births, marriages, batchelors, and widow- ers: from thofe books it may be likewife judged, what proportion perfons charged for quality, bear with the reft. But theſe returns will give little light to fuch as do not examine and compare 7 them 204 On the MANAGEMENT them with the returns and amount in money, of the firſt fingle, and the following quarterly polls. By confidering all theſe points, and computing by Political Arithmetic, it may be laid down, that this branch of the Public Revenue, if it were under a good management, without any oppref- fion to the ſubject, might produce per ann. about 80,000l. And it has hitherto yielded per ann. about 54,000 l. As to the duty on windows, the hearth-books have made this revenue capable of a near com- putation. And fince (if the king were there- unto impowered by law) it might be collected by the excife officers, this branch is to be made a very good fund, whereas at prefent it yields very little. There are in England, about Which if all paid, would pro- bably yield 1,300,000 houſes. 204,000 l. duty. 7. But the act has made exemptions for fuch as receive alms, and fuch as do not pay to church and poor; and al- lowance is to be made for omiffions, frauds and defaulters; upon which articles there is probably to be de- ducted 85,000 But if the revenue was well collected, there is reaſon to expect from the liable and folvent houſes 119,000 In the method it is now gathered, it is not like to produce per ann. above 30,000 As to the duties on glafs ware, earthen ware, and tobacco-pipes, by confidering what part of the people's general confumption may be, in theſe of the KING's REVENUES. 205 theſe commodities; and by confidering they are in great uſe among the inferior rank of men, and periſhable; we think there is reafon to conclude, that if the whole revenue could be come at, it would produce a good fum; but allowing that in new revenues, th part will eſcape the moſt ſkil- ful management, yet we think it ought to yield per ann. 30,000 l. Whereas, according to what it anfwers at pre- fent, it is not like to produce above 10,000 l. If our computations in the foregoing branches hold right, there is an improvement to be made annually. 1. 318,000 Exciſe on beer and ale, ¡ Duty on malt, 200,000 Duty on falt, 38,075 Duty upon leather, 30,000 Duties on parchment and paper, 15,000 Duties on marriages, births, and burials, 26,000 Duty on windows, 89,000 tobacco-pipes, 20,000 736,075 Duties on glaſs ware, earthen ware, and Total yearly, In theſe ſchemes which we here offer to the public, we are very far from pretending to re- flect upon the conduct of fuch as have the honour to ferve the King in his Revenues; they perhaps may be able to fhew convincing reafons, how it comes to pass that theſe feveral branches have produced no more; which reafons, the writer of theſe papers would be glad to learn, that from thence he may correct his methods and manner of computing. Political Arithmetic may peradventure be an uncertain guide in all thefe matters; and he fhall defire 206 On the MANAGEMENT, &c. defire to follow her no more, if fhe leads him into error. But if his computations ſhould happen to be right, 700,000l. annual income is a fum not to be flighted in a country where it is fo very diffi- cult to find out Ways and Means of raifing money. Theſe points have been here handled, not with a defign of finding fault, or to arrogate any fuperior ſkill; and only with an intention to awaken and ftir up that induftry and diligence in others, which the author did ever fhew, when he was employed in affairs relating to the King's Revenue. If the duties already granted (not including what expires upon malt and leather, &c.) can be fo improved as to reach the forementioned fum, the grofs debt of England in 10 years will be thereby leffened about 5,060,750 1. Among private men, looking after their own fortune is the most irreproachable way of gather- ing riches. The fame thing holds in the bufi- nels of a whole kingdom. Improving the prefent revenues muſt needs be an honefter, and more eafy way of fupplying the prince, than fhewing how the people may be burthened with new taxes and impofitions. And defigning in the next difcourfes, to treat of the Ways and Means by which the govern- ment may get out of its prefent incumbrances, we thought it feafonable to lay this foundation, that a great part of the nation's debts may be fatisfied by a good management of the exifting duties and revenues already granted. "", DIS- DISCOURSES ON THE PUBLIC REVENUE S, AND ON TRA D E. DISCOURSE IV. Whether to farm the Revenues, may not, in this juncture, be most for the Public Service. N the foregoing Tract, we have ftated the prefent produce of fome revenues and duties already granted; and we have endeavoured to compute what improvements each branch may be capable of; we ſhall now proceed to fhew, that one of the moſt effectual ways of raifing money to clear the king's and kingdom's debts, will probably be, to put theſe feveral revenues under another method and form of management. It is not at all impoffible to compute very nearly, what any new impofition may amount to, if it can be fo laid, as that it fhall be duly paid, and anſwered by the whole people. But it is a very hard matter in contriving a new tax, fo to pen 208 Whether to farm the Revenues, 1 pen the act, as it fhall obviate all frauds, and reach the whole duty to be given. When a new revenue is granted, and made a fund of credit by the parliament, it is meant it fhould produce the fum for which it was given. But they who are concerned in the payment, will be never wanting to find arts, by which they may fave themſelves, though they deceive the public. The feveral branches that have been heretofore given to ſupport the government, did, all of them, in the beginning, yield little; and the very laws by which they were to be collected, were at firſt de- fective, and mended by future acts of parliament, by which their collection was rendered more cer- tain. In new impofitions it will be difficult at firft to put the collection into any tolerable order and method. The officers will be raw and ignorant, and the people will have learnt how to avoid pay- ment, long before the collectors fhall come to un- derſtand how they may reach the duty. It is not eafy at first, to plant the under officers in conve- nient ftations and diftricts. And the principal perfons whom the king intrufts to manage and govern fuch a branch, will themſelves, in the beginning, be puzzled, and in a wood, whatever ſkill and dexterity they may pretend to. Revenues which arife from the whole people, are not preſently known and underftood. For fome years the poft-office hardly bore its own ex- pence. But the poft-money being put into farm, and one farm advancing upon another, this branch came to be fo improved, as to yield afterwards, under a management, grofs produce, by a me- dium of 3 years, per ann. about 90,440 l. 15 s. od. The hearth-money yielded not above 100,000 l. per ann. till the king was impowered by law to collect it by his own officers. It may not be for the Public Service? 209 It was afterwards, ann. 1674, let in an abſo- lute farm of 5 years, for the rent of 151,000l. per ann. It was afterwards ann. 1679 let for 5 years, at a rent certain of 162,000 l. per ann. But in this laſt leaſe, the farmers were to ac- count for the furplus, and out of the furplus they were to have 26,000l. per ann. for the ex- pence of management. And this branch was from time to time fo improved under theſe farms, as to yield afterwards in a manage- ment, by a medium of 3 years, neat produce, about 240,000l. per ann. The cuſtoms likewife were not well underſtood at first, but being from time to time let to farm, and one farm advancing upon another, this reve- nue came at laft to be fo improved, as to yield when under a management, by a medium of 16 years, neat produce 558,5647. per ann. The excife on beer and ale was fo little known in the beginning, that it was let to the country gentlemen. From 1662 to 1665, at the rent of 275,952 % per ann. From 1665 to 1668, at the rent of 315,242 1. per ann. From 1668 to 1671, at the rent of 340,000l. per ann. From 1671 to 1674, (with an additional 9 pence) at the rent of VOL. I. 421,700 l. per ann. P It 210 Whether to farm the Revenues It is true, the country gentlemen, by the act of parliament, were to have the refufal of the firſt farm that was let, and they found intereft to re- new their leafes; and there might be reafons of ſtate, at that time, for letting good bargains. But from 1674, to 1677, it was let with this additional 9 pence at the rent of 550,000l. per ann. Which was an advance in rent of 128,300l. per ann. This was an abfolute farm, but that which fol- lowed was partly farm, and partly a manage- ment. The farmers were to give the king, while the additional duty continued, a rent cer- tain of 560,000l. per ann. And when thoſe duties expired, a rent certain of 446,000 per ann; they were to be accountable to the king for the overplus; out of which overplus, if any happened, They were to have for their own care, For falaries of inferior officers, For bad debts, 10,000l. per ann. 56,000 l. per ann. 5,000l. per ann. They were likewife to have 12 d. per l. for the overplus they ſhould make 'above their certain rent; and the excife (with fome variation in the feveral leaſes) continued for 6 years under this latter form of management. From 1674 the duty began to be underſtood, artiſts were bred up, and the kingdom was laid out into fuch diſtricts, as the gaugers might con- veniently furvey; and during this term of 6 years, the foundation was laid of that improve- ment, 1 211 may not be for the Public Service? ment, which was afterwards made from time to time, in this revenue. During this term, not only inferior officers grew fkilful in this branch, but perfons of a better rank became acquainted with it, out of which, king Charles II. choſe a ſet of men to manage the duty. This branch likewiſe (one farm advancing upon another) was fo improved as to yield after- wards in a management, fingle duty and neat pro- duce, by a medium of 3 years, 644,8541. per ann. Theſe 4 branches, viz. poft-money, hearth- duty, cuſtoms, and excife, having received their firſt improvements and advance under farms, there may ariſe a queftion, which is moſt profita- ble to the public, that the revenues fhould be let in farm to the higheſt bidder; or, that the king fhould manage them by commiffioners, and offi- cers of his own appointing? There are very plaufible reaſons to be given either way; againſt farms, that the great for- tunes which private men make out of the king- dom's treaſure, have always furniſhed matter of envy and diſcontent to the people; that if a fcarcity of corn, a war, or any public calamity happens, the farmers come upon the king for defalcations, which, in fuch cafes, are generally granted, and do ever exceed the real lofs: ſo that if it proves a good pennyworth, the king is to be bound; and if bad, it is not to bind the far- mers. That at the clofe of the firft farm of the cuſtoms, by reafon of the war, plague, and fire, the then farmers had an abatement of 351,476 1. 18 s. 10 d. That if king Charles II. had cloſed with the propoſal made to him in 1683, concern- ing a farm of the excife (which all the council, except P 2 212 Whether to farm the Revenues except the lords of the treafury, thought very ad- vantageous) he had loft in his revenue, in the 3 whole years, by this leafe, 177,028 l. 6 s. 3 d. That the people pay the duty more willingly, when it is come entirely to the king, than when private perſons are concerned in the profit. That magiftrates in the country are leſs active in mat- ters relating to the revenue, when it is farmed That farmers may difcontent the common people, by exactions and ſeverity. out. It is alledged, that all thefe inconveniencies are avoided in a management; that managers for the king did actually make great improvements in the grofs produce of the 4 branches, which have been here inftanced. That it may be prefumed men of integrity and ſkill will act with as much induftry and vigour for the king as for themſelves. That it is therefore better the whole amount of any re- venue fhould come into the public treaſury, than be diverted from thence, to enrich particular fa- milies. Such as are for farming the revenues, ſay, that the certainty of a yearly rent, and the conveni- ency of its coming in monthly, or quarterly (ac- cording to the agreement) is of great confe- quence, and may be relied upon in any meaſures a government is to take, in relation to the pay- ment of a fleet or the civil lift. That men are naturally more vigilant for themſelves, than for any other. That private intereft will make the undertakers active and induſtrious, and agree well together. That it fhuts out partiality in the pla- cing and diſplacing under-officers, which is faid, in fome commiffions, to have been very preju- dicial to the king's affairs. That men are not fo apt to mifmanage when it is at their own expence, as when they do it at another's coft; that all per- fons may not be for the Public Service? 213 fons are willing, and believe themſelves able to manage the King's Revenues, but that a man ex- amines a little better his own abilities and under- ſtanding, when he thinks to undertake a farm. The opinions of people are very much divided in theſe 2 points, Which is beft for the crown, a farm or a management? but here (as in moft other things) truth feems to lie in the middle way. By diſtinguiſhing rightly between old and new duties, and branches that have been ill or well conducted, and between thofe where the decreaſe is accidental, and thoſe where it proceeds only from want of ſkill and care; by diftinguishing between revenues, where the amount is known and underſtood, and where it is quite in the dark, or at leaſt uncertain; by diftinguiſhing between limited and abfolute farms; by confidering all theſe circumſtances, perhaps it will appear which courſe may be moſt adviſable. Where a duty goes on encreafing every year, as the poſt-money has done, it can hardly be rea- fonable to let it out to farm, though with profpect of fome advantage; becauſe there may be the ſame proſpect in the method it is under at preſent, and the whole encreaſe is accruing to the public. And by the way, it is obfervable that the poſt- money is the only branch that has improved every year fince 1688. It yielded, year ending 25 March 1697, grofs produce, 1. s. d. 90,504 10 6 It yielded, year ending 25th March 1688, grofs produce, 76,317 18 10 Encreaſed, 14,186 11 8 P 3 This 214 Whether to farm the Revenues સ } J This encreaſe is very remarkable, confidering that the French letters have been all along want- ing, and that war affecting trade, fhould in con- fequence have injured this revenue. That it has thriven better than other branches, feems to pro- ceed from this, that it has been for fome time managed by 2 gentlemen, who live well together, working jointly in the king's fervice, and who made no change in the methods heretofore well eſtabliſhed; and who have been always friendly and eaſy to thoſe under them, upon which account they are well and faithfully ferved by their infe- rior officers. And though the cuſtoms are fallen near d, peradventure it may not be proper to farm them out; becauſe a ſufficient reafon can be affigned for the decreaſe, there being fo great a difpro- portion in this revenue between peace and war, a free trade and what has been interrupted, quiet and unquiet times. But in the branches which do not fo much de- pend on foreign accidents, and in duties on mate- rials, of which the confumption is near alike at all ſeaſons; there, if the fall be extravagant, and fuch as can be juſtified by no apparent reafon, it may perhaps be adviſable to try an experiment, Whether or no induſtry, fpurred on by intereft, cannot put things in a better poſture? When a duty produces lefs than it did 17 years ago; and when neither the people, nor their con- fumption of the materials charged, are much diminiſhed, it must be concluded, that the officers have not the fame ſkill as formerly, how to ſurvey the duty. In fuch a cafe therefore, it may be not amifs to try the very methods by which it was im- proved at firſt. Upon which account, in all probability, it may be advantageous to the government, and greatly for may not be for the Public Service? 215 i for the king's profit to farm out the excife on beer, ale, ftrong waters, &c. which, perhaps, is the only courfe remaining to recover this revenue. Its produce is fo well known and ſtated, that the minifters cannot be uncertain what to afk; and the men of bufinefs underſtand the duty well enough to know, what they can afford to give; fo that probably a bargain may be made, both equal to the king, and to fuch as fhall propofe to farm the branch. In the exciſe, the under officers, fuch as gaugers, are the wheels upon which the whole engine moves; and if they are out of order, and if through parti- ality and favour both collectors, fupervifors and gau- gers, are crept into the bufinefs utterly unknowing in it, the revenue muſt be thereby ſo prejudiced, and put into fuch confufion, as to fet it right again, and reftore it to the former produce, must be the work of time, and of fo great labour and care, as hardly any perfons will undertake the matter, without having fome .fhare in the profit which ſhall be made by improving and advancing the duty. Farmers, whofe fortunes fhall be at ftake for the payment of a large annual rent, will be active and induftrious themſelves; they will make fre- quent infpection into the behaviour of their offi- cers in the country, and they will have no regard to private recommendations of perfons not qua- lified; and hardly wrangle whole days about my friend and thy friend (which in moft managed revenues is a high article to the king's prejudice); but being concerned in intereft, without doubt they will endeavour to be ferved by the beft and ableft under-officers. As to the objection made againſt farming reve- nues, that it enriches private men with the public treaſure; P 4 216 Whether to farm the Revenues treaſure; it is anſwered, If the duties are let out bur for a fhort term of time, and not in an abſo- lu e farm. The king, by law, can farm the excife only for 3 years; a term beyond which, perhaps, no leafe of any confiderable branch fhould be extended; and under that time, it can be worth no people's while to undertake the matter, nor can any invi- dious fortunes be raiſed by fo fhort a leaſe. Especially if the farm be not abfolute; by which we mean, letting out the whole produce of any branch at a rent certain. Such bargains may indeed be very diſadvan- tageous to the crown, let the undertakers offer terms in appearance never fo high. Therefore in farming revenues, the fafeft courſe ſeems to be, firft to oblige the undertakers to a good certain rent; to agree with them at a fixed fum for expence of management, then to give them fome moderate encouragement out of the profits which they fhall make above their rent, by way of poundage; and the entire overplus (their allowance deducted) to be accounted for to the king. In old revenues it is eafy to determine what cer- tain rent may be reaſonably afked; nor can it be hard to judge what encouragement or poundage fuch perfons may deſerve, as are able to retrieve a finking duty. But it is probable the propofers, if any offer themfelves, will expect a competent gain, becauſe they muft lie at ſtake to anſwer the yearly produce of the branch to his majeſty; and becauſe they muſt advance a great fum, as a fecu- rity for their undertaking. In fuch a mixed courfe of governing any reve- nue, partly by farm, and partly management, the government will have a fixed rent to depend upon 1 may not be for the Public Service ? 217 i upon, which is ever convenient to the king's affairs. And fuppofe private induſtry ſhould im- prove the duty very much, the largest proportion of the profit will be accruing to the public. And if the revenue be confiderably advanced by private induſtry, incited with the hopes of gain; if an old duty that was finking, be thus retrieved; or, if fuch undertakers can put any new branch into good method and order, the king at the end of the leafe, as fhall feem beſt to his wiſdom, can either farm it on, or manage it by officers of his own appointing. For the foregoing reafons, in all likelihood, the quickest and fureft way of paying the vaft debts which lie upon the nation, would be to give the king power by law, to farm out any branch of his revenue. But here will arife a queftion, Whether ſuch a courſe would not be a breaking into credit? As for example, the additional duties on beer and ale, &c. are funds for the bank, lottery, and annuities; and to give undertakers poundage out of the general produce, over and above the rent certain, may leffen their fecurity. But this admits of an eafy anfwer; becaufe, in the excife, no offer will be made by reaſonable men to aſcertain a leſs fum for rent, than what the fecurity amounts to in thofe 3 inftances. And as to the duty on falt, marriages, births and burials, on windows, on parchment and paper, on glaſs ware, and tobacco-pipes, fuch as have tallies upon thoſe funds, underſtand that they are fubject to deductions for charge of manage- ment. And though probably in a farm there would go more to the undertakers, than what this charge amounts to now; yet their fecurity will be en- larged { 218 Whether to farm the Revenues larged, by fo much as the rent to be given, fhall exceed the preſent produce of thoſe revenues. So that if the king were impowered by law to farm out all the old and new duties, there would be no breaking into credit, if provifion be made in the fame act, by appropriating claufes, to make the rent arifing from every branch, fubject to the fame fecurities it was before. Some of the forementioned duties with fome others, are now confolidated into one general fund, to make good deficiencies; and if they fhould be farmed out, it would give tallies a more certain value, if all the rents fo arifing were appropriated to this fund of credit, and di- rected into the exchequer by a two monthly pay- ment. As for example, fuppofe the king were im- powered to farm the duty on marriages, births and burials, and that the rent agreed upon were 60,000l. per ann. with fuch a poundage to the undertakers out of the overplus, and the reft go into the exchequer. The contract may be made in the following manner: the farmers may be obliged to advance the firft two monthly pay- ment, viz. 10,000 l. as a fecurity for performance of covenants; and afterwards to pay in 10,000 l. every 2 months, to the end of their leafe, and their leaſe to determine upon nonpayment, and their own poundage or profit to be de- ducted only at the end of every year out of the overplus. And undoubtedly, this way, the duty on marriages, &c. would be efteemed a better fund than it is at prefent. What has been faid of this branch, will pro- portionably hold in moft others; and in cafe the government ſhould enter into meaſures of farming the revenues, the want of money and low ebb of credit may perhaps occafion, that hardly any un- dertakers may not be for the Public Service? 219 dertakers will be able to advance above 4th part of the produce, as a fecurity for making good their covenants. The branches which in probability may be moſt improved by the industry of private under- takers, are, the excife, the duties on falt, mar- riages, &c, on windows, on parchment and paper, on glafs ware, earthen ware, and tobacco-pipes. The value of the excife is fully underſtood; and there has been now 2 years experience in the other duties, which may be fome guide both to thoſe who ſhall offer terms, and to fuch as are to let the farm. It is not pretended that the computations laid down in the foregoing diſcourſe, are fuch as may be abfolutely depended upon, either for the let- ter or bidder; the computer goes no farther than to offer to public confideration, that the con- fumption of the refpective commodities charged, is fuch, as in reafon to anſwer fuch and fuch a duty. As for example, the arable land of Eng- land may be about 9 millions of acres, of which there is reaſon to think that fuch a quantity is every year ploughed for barley, as may produce 34 millions of bufhels neat for confumption, befides the feed corn: 34 millions of bushels of barley, will produce 36 millions of bufhels of malt; and from hence we may conclude, that the duty of malt fhould yield 650,000 l. per ann. Upon which account, in farming, the letter and bidder will contemplate first, the preſent produce; and then conſider in what time, and by what number of hands, improvements are likely to be made by ſkill and induftry: from a due weighing thefe matters, and fome other circum- ftances, the parties concerned of either fide, will take their meaſures; but both fides will be in- clined to think, that the fall in old revenues is not 220 Whether to farm the Revenues not preſently retrieved, and that new branches cannot immediately be put into a good method of collection; fo that a large certain rent will hardly be offered in any propoſal, nor is it adviſable to infift upon it, if (according to our ſcheme) the king be to have the entire overplus, poundage deducted. Nothing but divine wiſdom can at firſt create perfect order; but in all human affairs, it muſt be the work of time, and the refult of much labour and great application. However, the excife probably may very foon be put into a good method, becauſe the gaugers and under-officers, most of them are in being, by whoſe ſkill and experience the branch was firſt improved; fo that a fet of very able men might venture, without hurting themſelves, to farm the revenues, exclufive of imported liquors, and aſcertain to the king much a larger fum than what it produces now; but then they will have in their eye, how far the rent may be affected by the new impoſition on malt, which muſt hurt the ex- cife; yet confidering that the price of malt is am- bulatory, and that the impofition is paid by a different hand, we think that in the event it will not much prejudice the duty of exciſe. If at any time it ſhall be thought convenient to put the excife into this way of management, it will by no means be adviſable to farm out the duties on brandy and other imported liquors, becauſe the farmers, near the end of their term, may import great quantities of that commodity, as they have formerly done; and fo hurt the king in his revenue for the following years. It will not perhaps be unfeafonable in this place to examine, whether or no it may be for the public good, to take the excife on beer and ale quite may not be for the Public Service? 221 quite off, and in its ftead to put a duty upon malt ? 1 2 By putting it upon malt, the collection will be more eafy, certain, and leſs expenſive, little of the duty will be loft, the number of officers will fuffice, as are now employed in the excife; and confequently it will be lefs charge by 50,000 l. per ann. And yet, notwithſtanding all this, there are very ſtrong reaſons againſt it, which reſpect both the king's profit, and the intereft of his people. The excife, fingle and double, on beer and ale only, yield- ed, year ending 24th June 1695, grofs produce, Malt at 6 d. per buſhel, may be brought to yield, about Total about, 1. s. d. 1,006,658 14 94 650,000 per ann. 1,656,000 per ann. To raiſe fuch a fum, there muſt be laid upon this fingle commodity of malt above 16 d. per bufhel, which is above 10 s. 8 d. on the quarter. And if lefs be laid, the government probably will be a lofer by exchanging the duties. ༧ But an impofition amounting to the common value of the commodity is fo exorbitant, as not to be introduced without ruin to the manufacture in- tended to be charged. • It is true there feems now to lie upon a quarter of malt, conſumed in public houſes, 15 s. 114 d. duty, thus: In the common way of working, efpecially in the counties adjacent to London, where the malt yields well, they brew a fort of ale or mild drink, which heretofore was worth between 175. and 222 Whether to farm the Revenues and 18 s. per barrel; and of this drink they gene- rally draw from a quarter of malt about 2 barrels, one firkin of ſtrong, and one barrel of fmall; ſo, For the new impofition on malt per quarter, For the 2 barrels, one firkin ftrong, duty For the one barrel of fmall, duty There feems then to be paid from a quarter of malt, excife and new duty S. d. 4 ΙΟ 8-5 I 3 8/1/1/ 15 114 In the remoter countries indeed, in fome parts by cuftom, and in other places becauſe the malt yields ill, they draw from a quarter but one bar- rel, and fometimes lefs; but the price and mea- fure is accordingly. Now it may be faid, that this branch of our confumption will be eafed, by reducing it from 15 s. 11 d. to 10 s. 8 d. and by laying the ..whole duty upon malt. But this will appear no argument to fuch as look into the bottom of the matter; for the 15 s. 114 d. which feems to be upon malt, does not all lie upon that commodity, as is vulgarly thought. For a great many different perfons contribute to the payment of this duty, before it comes into the exchequer. Firft, the landlord becauſe of the excife, is forced to let his barley land at a lower rate; and upon the fame fcore, the tenant muft fell his barley at a lefs price; then the maltfter bears his fhare, for becauſe of the duty, he muſt abate fomething in the price of his malt, or keep it: In a proportion it likewife affects the hop merchant, the cooper, the collier, and all trades that have relation to the commodity. The re- tailers 3 may not be for the Public Service? 223 1 tailers and brewers bear likewiſe a great fhare, whofe gains of neceffity will be lefs, becaufe of the impofition; and laftly, it comes heaviest of all upon the confumers. Yet it lies with lefs weight upon individuals, becauſe ſuch a variety of perfons help to bear the burthen; and the force of the ftream is not fo great, for its having taken fo long and fuch a crooked circuit. But if the duty be put upon the maltfter or first manufacturer, he cannot have theſe aids ; the brewers may be helped by altering their lengths; and the victuallers and retailers can make themſelves fome amends for the tax, by leffening their meaſures, or by raifing their price, in degrees not felt nor minded; but the maltfter can- not take this courſe, he cannot fo eafily fave him- ſelf upon the buyer and confumer; it will be difficult for him to raiſe the price of a dear com- modity a full d at once; fo that he muſt bear the greateſt part of the burthen himſelf, or throw it upon the farmer, by giving leſs for bar- ley, which brings the tax directly upon the land of England. As the duty now lies, the whole people contri- bute towards it, as traders or confumers; but if it be removed, and put upon the maltfter, it will bear almoſt with its whole weight upon the barley land; upon which fcore there may be reaſons to conclude that the prefent duties of 15 s. 114 d. which ſeem to lie upon this branch of our con- fumption, are lefs burthenfome (all things con- fidered) than 10 s. 8 d. would be, if laid upon the first manufacturer; fo that this exchange can- be hardly adviſable, There may again ariſe a queſtion, Whether it will be for the public good to exchange the double and 124 Whether to farm the Revenues and fingle excife for a duty on malt, when the prefent duty expires? The fingle and double excife amount to about A Duty of 10 d. per bufhel on malt, may produce about 1. 1,000,000 1,000,000 By the duty on the liquid, there lies upon s. d. the quarter of malt, If the duty be laid upon the dry malt, there will be on the quarter, but II 11 68 Yet, for the foregoing reaſons, the barley land is lefs affected by the 115. 114 d. paid in the excife. than it would be by 6 s. 8 d. laid on the firſt ma- nufacturer, by a direct duty on malt; befides, fuch an impofition would require fo great a ſtock to pay the duty, that the trade could be hardly carried on under it, without a confiderable pre- judice to the landed men. All excifes fhould be laid as remotely from land as poffible; it is true they yield leſs when ſo put, becauſe the firft maker is beſt come at; but when the laſt manufacturer or vender is charged, they lie with moſt equality upon the whole body of the people, and come not upon land in fo direct a manner. This digreffion, perhaps, will not be judged un- ſeaſonable, becauſe many perfons have given into this project, mifled by men who think they can compute, becauſe they know how to put figures together. But to return to our preſent ſubject: if the king were impowered by law to farm out all the new duties that have been granted during this war, and if his revenues were left to be cultivated and improved by private induſtry, his may not be for the Public Service? 225 his majeſty would peradventure find better re- ceipts in his exchequer, than he has lately met with. The common objections lying in the way of fuch a ſcheme, are, that the farmers may rack the people; or, that by taking only the full due, they may difaffect the kingdom. As to illegal exactions, there is little caufe to apprehend exceffes of that nature, when we have frequent parliaments to redreſs grievances. And there can be no reafon, in juſtice or equity, why the people fhould not acquiefce in the payment of whatever is the king's due by law. The parliament would never lay the duty itſelf, if they thought it fuch a burthen as could not be borne by the traders, in the commodities they in- tend to charge. But let its weight be what it will, the retailers find ways to ſhift it from their fhoulders, and to lay it upon the confumer. If the duty were funk in the price of the com- modity (which fometimes has happened) the tax would indeed lie more upon the traders and re- tailers. But of late years, quite the contrary has been always practifed, for where the law puts one penny duty, the trader, or retailer, in his price, adds another for himfelf; fo that the confump- tioner is in a manner double taxed, in many new impofitions. And in the inftances of foap and candles, the price upon thoſe goods was raifed equal to a tax, which was only talked of. And in the stock of leather, though the king did not receive 5 l. per cent. as it was managed, for what was really confumed in the nation, the VOL. I. Q con- 226 Whether to farm the Revenues { fumptioner found the price advanced upon him full 15. per cent. and the fame holds in glaſs ware, earthen ware, and tobacco pipes, which are all advanced proportionably in price; and yet yield but a ſmall revenue to the public. So that when a duty is granted, and not duly levied for want of ſkill in the fubordinate officers, it is making the gentlemen, and better fort, pay a tax to the traders and retailers. But in an older revenue, as for example the excife on beer and ale, which is better underſtood, nd yet ill collected, there it is dividing the tax between the brewers and inferior officers. When a revenue yields not what may be rea- fonably expected from the confumption of the materials charged, the king is defrauded, either by the retailers, or his own officers, and com- monly the caſe ſtands thus: In new revenues, he is wronged by the people, and in old ones, by his proper fervants; but in old or in new branches, where fuch as are intrufted in the management either do not know, or do not mind the buſineſs, he will be wronged both by the inferior officers and by the people. Revenues are given to fupport the government, and not to enrich fuch a fort of men; it muſt be therefore most for the public good, to put the reſpective branches into a method by which theſe frauds may be avoided, and by which the king's legal due may be recovered. Nor will difcreet farmers of any revenue, for their own fakes, rack or oppreſs the dealers, fince it is fleaing thofe fheep which would otherwife yield them a good fleece every year; and the multiplicity of retailers, being an advantage to all fort of excifes, they will take care, by too feverely exacting the duty, not to put the people out of a capacity to carry on their trades. Men may not be for the Public Service? 227 Men of dexterity and underſtanding (and others will hardly venture upon fuch an undertaking) muſt know, that moderation is always requifite; that clamours are to be avoided; and that the juftices of peace in the country, are a conftant check upon their conduct. On the contrary, fuch as manage directly by commiffion may think themſelves a little more independent; and wanting the true art to govern a matter well, and finding the revenue finking under them, they may endeavour by extortion, or hard ufage of the people, to ſupply what they are deficient in ſkill and diligence. As princes truly wife never rule tyrannically, knowing that milder courſes are more fafe and profitable; fo, in bufinefs of an inferior nature, men of any fort of wiſdom will underſtand that oppreffion and violence can never have a good conclufion; upon which account the farmers of any branch, for their own intereft, will not at- tempt to extort upon the people. The natural produce of moft duties hitherto granted, would amount to a very great fum (though perhaps not reach what they are given for;) fo that, without exaction or illegal courſes, moſt of the revenues well conducted, might yield largely to the king, and bring fome moderate profit to the undertakers. In things of indifpenfable or neceffary ufe, where a high duty may prejudice the manufacture and hurt the nation, to moderate the impoſt by law may be requifite; which perhaps is the cafe in the new impofitions on paper, glafs ware, and leather; and, if it be fo judged, the wifdom of the parliament will be ready to give the fubject cafe. But when the duties are light, or fuch as may be borne, and on things of luxury, it cannot be Q2 thought ….. 228 Whether to farm the Revenues thought a hardſhip on the people, to take fuck meaſures as may bring to the king all his legal due. On the contrary, it is the intereſt of trade in general, as well domeftic as foreign, that the re- venues fhould not be managed in an ignorant or careleſs manner. It is true, traders and retailers would be glad of an univerfal negligence in the officers that are to infpect them; but that feldom happens, for fome will be watchful, while others are remifs; and this puts the dealers upon an un- equal foot of trade. He that by his own craft, or by connivance of the officer, can ſteal the duty, has a great advantage over his neighbour, who pays to the utmoſt. So that a corrupt, fupine, or a puzzled, unfteady management, may be good for here and there a dealer, but is always hurtful to the bulk of trade. But fuppofe fuch an univerfal want of care in the collection of the king's duties, as that all the traders and retailers fhould find their account in it, which is moſt eligible, to pleaſe them, or to ſupply the public neceffities? is the body of the whole people, or are the brewers, victualers, maltfters, tanners, &c. to be first regarded? Muſt not the deficiencies in thofe funds which affect them, be made good by the whole king- dom? And if one impofition is fo ill collected as not to anſwer, does it not of neceffity produce another? > If the duties already granted upon fome mate- rials, are well looked after, the nation's debts, in ſome moderate time, may be fo cleared, as that new taxes will not perhaps be wanting; but if theſe impofitions are negligently gathered, the debt muſt fwell fo high, as to render the charging our whole confumption almoſt unavoidable, and. ik may not be for the Public Service? 229 ! is eafy to judge whether a particular or a general excife is most likely to difaffect the kingdom. The people are not much diſturbed at taxes which the common neceffities require, and where the payments are not to be made in dry money, out of the courfe of trade. They likewiſe abhor multiplicity of officers, and a variety of new duties; which they will always think a greater weight, than levying upon them, in the ftricteft manner, thoſe impofitions with which they have been fome time acquainted. The ftrength of a government does not lie in the brewers, maltfters, victualers, and tanners, &c. but in the body of the people who ſubſiſt by labour; and in the middle rank of men who fubfift from arts and manufactures; and in the gentry of the nation, who have all along fup- ported the war. Such as get by the public, as traders and retailers do, have ſubjected themſelves to public burthens; and when they pay no more than what the law requires, they are not injured. What they pay less than their due muſt be ſupplied by Ways and Means more grievous to the whole, or it will fall upon land, which indeed lies at ſtake to make good all deficiencies. : From all the foregoing reafons, perhaps it will appear, that a loofe adminiftration in the king's revenues, is but a falfe way to popularity; and that to have them well and carefully admi- niſtered, may peradventure diſpleaſe a few, but muft relieve and fatisfy the landed intereft and general body of the kingdom. And it is upon thefe grounds and principles, that in the excife, and in the new duties laid upon our home confumption, fuch a form of management has been here recommended to public confideration, as, in a competent time, Q3 may 230 Whether to farm the Revenues may fo improve the refpective branches, as to make them clear the vaft debt England is en- gaged in. To bring this about, in all likelihood, the moſt certain way will be, to put theſe re- venues under a mixed management; in which the adventurers muft affure a certain rent, and have a fhare, and the king his proportion, in the improvements. And when the juftices of peace and country gentlemen come to reflect, that if the excife, and the impofitions lately granted, do not anfwer well, the government cannot be fupported, and the nation's debts cannot be paid, without land-taxes and freſh exciſes, that muſt affect land; when they duly confider this matter, there is no room to doubt, but that the magiftrates through the whole kingdom will be as active and ready to affift the farmers in bringing in any revenue, as they ever were, or can be, to help fuch officers as manage more directly for the king. The laft objection againſt this ſcheme, is the defalcations farmers may expect; it is true, national calamities may happen, fuch as a plague, or famine, which would render it highly rea- fonable to give undertakers of this kind fome allowance; but then theſe are the only accidents which can very much affect revenues arifing from our home confumption; and if the accounts are truly ſtated, and the produce fairly fhewn, it can be no prejudice to the king, to allow the fame fum to farmers, as he muft otherwife have loft upon fuch a difafter. That which made defal- cations formerly of ill confequence was, that the farmers had never been ſtrictly enough bound to bring in the yearly grofs produce of the refpec- tive branches; where provifion is made for their doing fo, and where there can be no juggle in that 1 may not be for the Public Service? 231 1 that matter, the article of defalcations is not to be apprehended; and if (according to to our ſcheme) the rent certain be moderate, farmers will be willing to ſubmit themſelves, in all extra- ordinary accidents, to the goodneſs and mercy of the king. The courſe which has been here mentioned, of managing the excife and new duties and im- pofitions, would not peradventure be adviſable, if any other probable way, and lefs burthenfome to the people, could be propofed, to pay the debt which preffes fo hard upon the kingdom. DIS- Q 4 J DISCOURSES PUBLIC ON THE REVENUES, AND ON TRADE. T DISCOURSE V. On the Public Debts and Engagements. O underſtand rightly the debts and incum brances that lie on the kingdom, and upon the crown revenue; and in order to confider what means there are to pay them off, it may be neceſ fary to examine, and ftate, what duties and impo- fitions the people of England paid before the war, and what they pay at prefent. For by contemplating the former revenues, fome judgment may be formed what fum it is able to yield every year, without hurting trade, land, and the manufactures. And by confidering the prefent aids, and duties paid to the public, to difcharge debts already con- tracted, it may be ſeen in what compafs of time thofe engagements may be cleared off; and what further On the PUBLIC DEBTS, &c. 233 further fum can be raiſed upon the people, to fup- port the government, and for the kingdom's de- fence. According to a computation delivered 1. in to parliament, the ordinary reve- nue of the crown, with the new im- pofitions upon wine, &c. duty on tobacco, &c. duty on French linen, &c. did produce, clear of all charges in the collection, anno 1688, about 2,001,855 The charge of managing theſe branches was about So that the people paid to the govern- ment about per ann. 280,000 2,281,855 That this fum, paid annually, was not fo felt by the nation as to hurt trade, land, or the ma- nufactures, will appear plainly to fuch as confider the wealth and flourishing condition of England before the war. In 1695, (which year we chufe becauſe the accounts were perfect) the hearth- money being taken off, and exclud- ing the 394,907 1. new impofitions; and feveral branches being impaired, the ſaid revenues, clear of all charges in the collection, produced about The charge of managing thefe branches might be then about So that the people paid to the govern- ment, anno 1695, about 7. 811,949 250,000 1,061,949 This was probably the poſture of affairs in 1695, in relation to the old revenue of the crown; but the 234 On the PUBLIC DEBTS the unavoidable neceffities of the war, to preferve the nation, and to procure a good peace, have in- troduced ſeveral new impofitions, of which fome expire fhortly, but the reft continue for a long term of time. But reckoning what goes off in lefs than 3 years, viz. malt, double tonnage, leather, and the new duties on paper, &c. it will be found, that we ſhall not pay annually quite fo much as the government received before the war; which point fhall by and by be made out. As to the new impofitions, The 3 additional 9 pences produced, 1. anno 1695, New cuſtoms or additional cuftoms pro- duced, anno 1695, 435,950 44,847 Continued acts and joint ſtocks produced, anno 1695, 394,907 Duty on marriages, &c. produced, anno 1695, 54,310 Duty on ftampt paper produced, anno 1695, 44,800 Duty from hackney coaches 2,800 Total 977,614 There was then likewife a duty upon falt, which being charged lately with a new impofition, it fhall be brought into the next articles; and fince the year 1695, for the neceffary ſupport of the war, there have been new duties laid, On malt, which we have com- puted at 650,000l. per ann. but till it comes to a per- fect management, it will not yield above 7. i 600,000 per ann. The 1 and ENGAGEMENTS. 235 1. Brought over, 600,000 per ann. The double tonnage, which if it anſwers the ſingle of 1695, clear of all charges, may 370,909 per ann. per yield Duty on falt at 12 d. 12 d. bufhel, has yielded 105,000l. at 20d. per buſhel, it may therefore yield New duty on windows was given for 140,000l. per an- num; but, in the prefent form of management, it will not yield above Leather, by eſtimate, may yield about New duty on paper was given for 125,000/ to be raiſed in 2 years, but it will not yield above 175,000 per ann 50,000 per ann. 100,000 per ann. 10,000 per ann. Duty on glaſs-ware, &c. does not yield above 10,000 per ann. Total 1,315,909 per ann. There are befides fome other funds, which, be- cauſe they produce but little, are here omitted. So that the people pay on ac- count of the old revenue, grofs produce 1,061,949 On account of the duties ex- ifting in 1695 977,614 Lately laid 1,315,909 On account of the duties Carry over, total 3,355,472 per ann. But 236 On the PUBLIC DEBTS Brought over, But deduct for what expires in 1. 3,355,472 leſs than 3 years on Malt, Double tonnage, Leather, 600,000? 370,909 100,000 1. per ann. viz. 1,080,909 New duties on paper&c. 10,000 j And the people, when thefe duties expire, which will be before the year 1700, will pay but They paid grofs produce before the war They will pay, when the duties on malt, &c. goes off, but So that when the aforefaid duties are expired, the people the people will be charged leſs than they were before the war, annually Malt, double tonnage, leather, and new duties on paper, &c. not in- cluded, the remaining funds, as was faid before, amount to per ann. Out of which, deduct for manage- ment, about And there remains, 2,274,563 1. 2,281,855 2,274,563 1. 7,292 2,274,563 250,000 2,024,563 This laft total is our annual payment to the government for fome time, and the improve- ment of theſe duties, is the matter our men of bufinefs have to work upon, to disengage the nation. It and ENGAGEMENTS. 237 It is to be apprehended, that the groſs demand, private men have upon the ftate, cannot amount to less than 17,500,000l. in this manner: Tallies ftruck on the foregoing funds, and which were unpaid the 23d of September 1697, for Tallies ftruck on the hereditary and temporary excife and poft-office, ditto, for 1. 8,882,544 700,000 9,582,544 There was, ditto, a further debt by the malt tickets of 1,270,000 By the annuities of 1,300,000 By the lottery tickets of 1,000,000 By the bank fund of 1,200,000 4,770,000 Beſides, a year's deficiencies in the new funds, fince the laſt deficiencies were made good, will probably amount to And it is to be feared that the ar- rears to the army, to the fleet, or- dinance and civil lift, with the whole winding up of our bottom, after this long war, amount to lefs than 1,500,000 will not 1,700,000 3,200,000 On tallies, 9,582,544 Malt tickets, &c. 4,770,000 The new debt, 3,200,000 So that the grofs debt of England, will be about $7,552,544 It 238 On the PUBLIC DEBTS It is not here pretended to ftate things ex- actly, but it ferves the purpoſe of the prefent argument as well, if we come fomewhat near the truth, fince we are only laying down probable grounds to form our reafonings upon. The deficiencies laft year, and the arrears which muſt come at the end of a war, are included in this account, becauſe, till they are put into a method of payment, it cannot be faid that the revenue is clear, or that the public faith is made good; we have computed them at 3,200,000l. but be they more or lefs, they are to be confidered in computations of this nature. • Some perfons may believe that not to be a debt, which is already fecured by a fund (as if a private man did not owe the money for which he has given a land fecurity) upon which account, they may wonder to fee us reckon the falt tallies, annuities, lottery tickets, and bank fund, among the debts of the kingdom; but there is reafon to think all may be justly called a debt, for which land or its product, and the trade, labour, and manufactures of the people, are any ways en- gaged. And though a great part of theſe 17,500,000 l. feems to lie quiet, as having funds and a fecurity fettled; yet we ſhall find this fum a heavy weight both upon land and on all our buſineſs, foreign and domeftic. It is therefore the duty of every good Engliſhman, to contrive and promote the Ways and Means by which it may be cleared as ſoon as poffible. This debt is fo great a burthen upon the for- mer revenue of the crown, that hardly any thing remains to fupport the government. Whatever can ariſe from trade is already charged to the height, and perhaps more than it can well bear. Many : > and ENGAGEMENTS. 239 · Many branches of our home confumption are fufficiently loaded with duties; fo that though it may be ſaid a great part of the debt is provided for, yet, without doubt, it makes future fupplies much more difficult than they would otherwife be. Upon which account, he that thinks to form any ſcheme of this nation's buſineſs, muſt begin with confidering paft engagements, and the funds already granted, and this will more naturally lead him to fee what can be done for the future; by confidering theſe debts, and the revenues fub- jected to their payment, he will find by what time they may probably be cleared off, and what over- plus from the exifting duties may be expected for the uſes of the public. However, notwithstanding the engagements which have been here mentioned; it is evident that the public of England is lefs encumbered than the public of France, or Holland, the debts and general rental or annual income of the reſpective nations confidered. There are reafons to think that the general rental or annual income of France, from land, trade and manufactures, amounted to, in time of peace, about 1. 84,000,000 fterling. This general income we deduce from that con- fumption, which fuch a number of people (as France contained before the war) muſt of necef- fity make, to ſuſtain life. The writer of theſe papers has feen a manuſcript written after the battle of Landen, giving an account of the crown revenue, and indeed of the whole con- dition of that kingdom. It ſeems done with great care 240 On the PUBLIC DEBTS care and folid judgment, both as to the accounts and other obfervations; and it appears plainly, that he who compofed it, is very converfant in the public bufinefs of his country. From his ac- count, and other memorials of the like kind which we have feen, we shall endeavour to col- lect a ftate of the French revenue; and we fup- pofe, That the tax called Les 1. fterl. per ann. Tailles, amounts to That the 5 great farms amount to That the cafual revenue a- mounts to That what they call Les Eaux & Foreſts, amount to That the tenths from the clergy, ordinary, and ex- 3,076,923 161 4,230,769 4 7% 307,692 6 2 153,846 3 1 traordinary, amount to 153,846 3 1 That the inland and foreign poſts amount to 230,769 4 7 That the free gifts amount to 769,230 15 5 That other duties, chiefly raiſed in the conquered countries, amount to 692,307 13 10 In all 9,615,384 12 4 Which fum came to the government, clear of all charges in the collection and management. 7. Note, That the taxes of that . fterl. per ann. kingdom, before this pre- fent reign, did not exceed 4,615,384 But and ENGAGEMENTS. 241 But of the 9,600,000 l. neat revenue, before the beginning of the laft war, there went out a great fum to pay intereft for debts contracted in former times, and in the former part of this reign. The ways for fome years made uſe of by that government to raiſe money, have been by erect- ing new employments; by augmentation of fala- ries in the ancient offices; and by affigning pen- fions upon the chamber of Paris; for all which, the party concerned, or the new purchafer, pays fo many years purchaſe to the king. And though this may be a ready means of railing money among a people fo defirous of being in office, yet it has loaded the crown-revenue and the kingdom with a long and heavy debt. For before 1688, the outgoings from the king's coffers upon this ſcore, are computed at per ann. From the crown-revenue of Deduct for theſe payments /. fterl. 4,000,000 9,615,384 4,000,000 And there did remain to the king in 1688, but per ann. 5,615,384 Which laſt fum feems to have been the yearly revenue that was to maintain the government of France about 1688, which the expences occafioned by this laſt war, have very much exceeded. For it is believed the expences of the king's houſehold, with the penfions and maintenance of the princes of the blood, amount to VOL. I. R 1. fterl. per ann. 1,538,461 10 9 That 242 On the PUBLIC DEBTS Brought over, That the fecret expences are That the ordinary and extraor- dinary charge of the land forces is That the expences for the navy are That to hold up and fupply fome foreign alliances, there has been expended 1. ſterl. per ann. 1,538,461 10 307,692 6 6 2 9/2 5,769,230 15 4/1/ 1,923,076 18 6 1,000,000 o o In all, 10,538,461 10 10 Towards this, as was faid be- 615,384 0 0 fore, the revenue might be about The expences therefore are more than the revenue 4,923,077 10 10 For which fum, either the government must have every year run in debt, or it muſt have been annually raiſed upon the people. The former revenue being And if this revenue had held up during the war, there had not been occafion to raiſe above And confidering the great number of officers employed in the col- lecting every branch, and the gains made by the partifans and farmers, we have reafon to think that the expence of managing theſe revenues is about. 7. fterl. per ann. 9,615,384 5,000,000 1,500,000 So that there was yearly levied upon the people of France during this war 16,100,000 Which and ENGAGEMENT S. 243 Which was near th 7. fterl. penny of But it may be pre- fumed, that the in- terruption of trade, and expulfion of the proteftants, have ſo impaired the ordi- nary crown-revenue, as to reduce it to 84,000,000 annual income. 8,500,000 per ann. So that, in all probability, the annual expences have been fupplied in the following manner: By new creation of employ- ments, encreaſing ſalaries of ancient offices, and by charging new payments and penfions upon the chamber of Paris, there may have been raiſed By augmenting the Aids, 7. fterl. 3,500,000 per ann. Tailles, and other impo- fitions, and by new duties, there may have been raifed 2,600,000 per ann. By the former revenue 8,500,000 per ann. To which add for expence of management 1,500,000 per ann. And it makes up the fum (which there are reaſons to think is levied upon the people of France) of Which is near the 5th pen- ny of ? 16,100,000 per ann. 84,000,000 annual inc. R 2 Which 244 On the PUBLIC DEBTS Which annual in- come by the war, lofs of trade, and 1. fterl. expulfion of the proteftants, was perhaps reduced in 1697, to 77,000,000 annual income. If all this fum has not been raiſed the ways we have mentioned, it has been levied by alienation of the crown-lands and crown-revenues, which is one and the fame thing, in our prefent argu- ment. Now ſuppoſe that peace and a milder ufage of the protestants ſhould mend the ordinary crown- revenue, yet it will be probably fome time before it can be made to reach above 9 millions fterling per ann. There being grounds to believe, that there has been levied in 9 years by a medium, 3,500,000 l. per ann. in all, 31,500,000l. by fale of offices, charges on the chamber of Paris, &c. And fup- poſe the purchaſers from the crown have paid for all theſe new grants about 17 years purchaſe, and they cannot well have yielded more: The 31,500,000 1. thus fold 1 for payment of falaries and 1. fterl. intereft, did then charge the revenue of the crown, with a new debt of As has been faid before, the debt formerly contracted upon the fame account, amounted to So that there is probably paid out of the crown-revenue 1,890,000 per ann. 4,000,000 per ann. upon theſe accounts, in all 5,890,000 per ann. 7 Peace and ENGAGEMENT S. 245 Peace may reftore the crown- revenue, to From which deduct for thefe for theſe fort of debts And there remains to the crown The neceffary expences of the court, army and fleet, in times of peace, do not amount to leſs than From whence deduct The expence greater than the income by 7. fterl. 9,000,000 per ann. 5,890,000 3,110,000 per ann. 6,000,000 per ann. 3,110,000 2,890,000 per ann. From whence muſt follow, that the govern- ment of France muſt either fupprefs a great num- ber of theſe new creations, or leffen their affign- ments, or lower that intereft which is paid on account of the rent-charges upon the chamber of Paris; or, if none of theſe meaſures are taken. (which would undoubtedly deſtroy public credit) the king muſt keep up moft of the new impo fitions that have been levied during this war. If there is paid on acount of new creations, new falaries and on funds, where the principal is funk, and on the rent-charges on the chamber of Paris, for in- tereſt, in all, The principal debt, fup- pofing it to be contracted by a medium of 17 year's 1. fterl. 5,890,000 per an. purchaſe, muſt amount to 100,103,000 R 3 Such 246 On the PUBLIC DEBTS 盲 ​I Such a debt as 100 millions fterling muſt of neceffity put the revenue of France in as bad a condition as that of Spain; and as wife and able as the French minifters are, they will find them- felves extremely puzzled to overcome this dif- ficulty. Without doubt, they have too much fkill to leave fuch a canker eating upon the body politic; by which, in a ſhort courſe of time, it muſt be ſo weakened, as to be utterly unable to refift any accident, either of civil difcord or foreign war. But whatever œconomy or fkill they fhall uſe, there feems reafon to conclude from the view given here of their affairs, that in lefs than II years and they cannot work off 50 millions, which is but their grofs debt; which likewife is not to be compaffed, but by continuing moſt of the prefent taxes. I 2 It is probable that peace will in a little time bring the annual income, or general rental of France, from 77 millions, to Notwithſtanding which, for II. years and, till theſe 50 millions are worked off, the people muft pay in taxes ordinary and extra- ordinary, if it is propoſed 7. 81,000,000 per ann. to get out of debt, about 13,500,000 per ann. Which is juft the 6th penny of their whole fubftance, whereas they paid but about the 9th penny before the war. If the French had continued the war at the yearly expence of 16 millions fterling, and levied ft and ENGAGEMENTS. 247 it within the year, the people muſt have paid to the government very near the 5th penny of the annual income of the kingdom; but as the caſe ftands, if it is intended part of the incumbrances upon the crown-revenue fhould be cleared for 11 years and, they muſt pay at leaſt the 6th penny; which perhaps is the beft fecurity this nation can poffibly have, that the preſent peace with France will be lafting. The writer of theſe papers did believe it might be for the public fervice, to give this brief ac- count of the prefent condition of the French revenue; and he was thereunto moved by the following reafons: 1. It may help credit, and make money cir- culate, and encourage our nation to proceed with vigour in their foreign traffic, to fee their neigh- bours fo encumbered with difficulties and debts, that they cannot very foon be in a condition to renew the war. 2. It will imprint in the minds of men yet a greater opinion of the wifdom and conduct of our king, who has been able to reduce fo power- ful a nation as France was, by his perfeverance and courage, to fuch a condition, 3. It will make the people more cheerfully bear thoſe taxes which may be wanting to clear the public of this kingdom, when they fee their money has been employed in procuring a good fettlement, and a peace which the neceffity of their neighbours is like to render lafting. As to the condition of Holland, intending to treat more largely of it when we come to fpeak. of trade in the Second Part, Difcourfe II. We ſhall only fay here, R 4 That 248 On the PUBLIC DEBTS 1 That there are reafons to think the annual income of Holland, from land, houſes, trade, and manufac- tures, is about That during this war, the Dutch have paid aboved of the annual in- come of their country every year to the public, or per ann. Thus the ordinary charge of the go- vernment is Intereſt at 4 per cent. > for 25 millions, The extraordinary charge of the war, at a medium, 7. 18,250,000 6,900,000 2,750,000 } 1,000,000 6,900,000 3,150,000 That in times of peace, they pay to the public about the 4th penny of the income of their country, or Of which the ordi- per ann. 4,750,000 7. า nary charge of the 2,750,000 government is Intereft for 25 millions 4,250,000 at 4 per cent. 1,000,000 Incident or difcretio- nary expences, 500,000 So that unleſs the ſtates continue their extraordinary taxes, they have a yearly furplus, applicable to the payment of debts, but of 500,000 However, the fcarcity of land, want of other fecurities, and lownefs of intereft in that country; will make the ftates of Holland eafy, as to the 25 millions, in which they ftand indebted to the fubjects of their dominion, By 1 and ENGAGEMENTS. 249 By thefe accounts, which are as truly ftated as perhaps is needful in computations of this nature, it appears that both the government and the peo- ple of France muſt feel the wounds of the war for a long ſpace of time, fuch immenfe debts being contracted, as entangle all the Public Revenues; and for many years muſt require to clear them off, new and heavy taxes. And as to the Hollanders, it appears likewife that their government is fo incumbered by engagements entered into heretofore and lately, that they can- not wade through them perhaps in a whole age; it is true they have this advantage, that though the public is become indebted by the war, yet the ſubjects and people have all the while en- creaſed in riches. To help the reader's memory, it fhall be fhewn in one fcheme, how it may probably ftand with England, France and Holland, as to annual in- come, annual revenues of the government, and public debts. Annual 250 On the PUBLIC DEBTS > England. France. Holland. 1. 7. Sterl. 1. Before the War, Annual Income, Since the War, 44,000,000 84,000,000 17,500,000 43,000,000 81,000,000 18,250,000 1. Expiring, 1,080,909 Revenues, Exifting, 1 2,274,563 $ both, 3,355,472 13,500,000 4,750,000 Where the Principal is funk, 3,500,000 Which are in Courſe of Debts, Payment, } 10,852,544 17,552,544 100,130,000 25,000,000 25,0 To be provided, 3,200,000 j and ENGAGEMENTS. 251 This ſcheme is formed from the beſt lights the writer can poffibly obtain concerning the affairs of France and Holland; and if it be but near the truth, it will be fome help to fuch as delight in theſe fort of calculations. In matters fo difficult, and fo neceffary to be known, as are the income and expence of a whole people, he that can make a guefs founded upon probable grounds, does go a great way in affifting thoſe, whofe proper bufinefs it is to en- quire after, and look into the wealth and ftrength of their own and their neighbour countries. And in the art of reafoning upon things by figures, it is fome praiſe at firſt to give only an imperfect and rough draught and model, which, upon more experience and better information, may be corrected. The writer of thefe papers believes himſelf near a certainty in the foundation whereon he builds his hypothefis, which is the number of the inhabitants in the 3 forementioned nations; and allowance being made for the different confump- tion of each people; and confideration being had of the foil, trade, product, extent of terri- tory, induſtry, frugality, or luxury; and weigh- ing the various circumftances of each country, he thinks it reaſonable to conclude, that to nou- riſh the maſs of mankind, as to their annual ex- pence in the way and form of living practiſed in each of the 3 countries, fuch an annual income is neceffary as is fet down in the foregoing fcheme. By annual income, we mean the whole that arifes in any country, from land and its product, from foreign trade and domeftic bufinefs, as arts, manufactures, &c. And by annual ex- pence, we underſtand what is of neceffity con- fumed 1 242 On the PUBLIC DEBTS fumed to clothe and feed the people, or what is requifite for their defence in time of war, or for their ornament in time of peace. And where the annual income exceeds the expence, there is a fuperlucration arifing, which may be called wealth or national ftock. The revenue of the government is a part of this annual income, as likewife a part of its ex- pence; and where it bears too large a proportion with the whole, as in France, the common people muſt be miferable and burthened with heavy taxes. That part indeed of the prince's revenue that nouriſhes his own perfon is very little; but in great monarchies, where numerous armies, large fleets, and pompous courts are maintained, there the expence fwells high, infomuch that to the maintenance of the governing part, viz. the prince, his officers of state, military power, &c. which are not in time of peace aboveth of the whole, there is required near the 9th penny of the annual income; and in fuch countries the governing part are rich, or at their eafe; but the other 25 parts, who are the body of the people, muſt be oppreffed with taxes, as may be obferved in the French dominions. And this holds more ftrongly where the public debts make the pay- ment of th part of the annual income neceffary, which, for fome time, is like to be the cafe of France. But, in countries where the revenue of the government bears but a ſmall proportion with the annual income, as in England, there the people are in plenty, and at their eafe. For in times of peace, when we paid to the public, } 1. 2,300,000 per ann. It and ENGAGEMENTS. 253 It was but little above th part of the then And in times of war, when we paid within the year, It was not quite th part of the then 1. 44,000,000 an. inc. 5,000,000 per ann. 43,000,000 ann. inc. So that England towards the fupport of the go- vernment paid little more in proportion to its annual income during the war, than France paid in times of peace. However it happens fometimes, that a country, in time of war, may pay above d; and, in time of peace, about the 4th penny of their an- nual income, to the fupport of the government, and yet the inhabitants ſhall all the while encreaſe in riches, which is the cafe of Holland. But this will not ſeem ftrange to fuch as confider the fituation of the place, and the manners of its people. A great part of their aids to the public are ne- ceffary to keep out the fea, and preferve their very being; and this proportion of his fubftance, from the beginning, no man there accounts upon as of his own, but willingly lays it afide for the ftate, as the penny best employed, becauſe it gives a value to all the reft. And as to the re- mainder of their taxes, they seem more eaſy in a commonwealth, becauſe the people at leaſt imagine they are well laid out; though perhaps the public money is as much imbezelled there as in other places. But let it be managed as it will, the inhabitants are always in expectation of taxes, and govern their domeftic affairs accordingly, fetting apart fuch a proportion of their fortune for the ufes of public 524. On the PUBLIC DEBTS 1 public, and fubfifting themſelves upon the reft. And when the wants of their government grow more preffing, almoſt every private perſon ſhort- ens his own expences. This economy, to which they have been ac- cuſtomed in the courfe of 100 years, will always make taxes eafy to them; and will be ever a reaſon that, fo long as they can preferve their trade free, they fhall not be impoverished by war, or by the expences that war muft occafion. And this thrift enables them to pay to the government in war, and in peace fo large a pro- portion of their annual income. The ſhort view we have here given of the affairs of England, France, and Holland, perhaps will not be unfeaſonable, becauſe it may happen to furniſh hints to fome abler heads, in order to form a ſcheme of the nation's buſineſs. As to Holland, the engagements that ftate lies under to its fubjects, moſt part of them are of an old date, and the reft lie quiet: but as to Eng- land and France, peradventure it may be laid down for a maxim, that either of the two nations. that can fooneſt clear off the incumbrances lying upon the public, that country will fooneft thrive in trade, and be in the beft condition to preſerve its empire and dominion; and that nation will fooneft taste the benefits of peace. Where the public is indebted, a large pro- portion of the revenues arifing from the annual in- come must iffue out to the fatisfaction of thoſe debts: from whence follows, that the land and labour of the people muft go to enrich the monied men and ufurers, and not to fupport the government, as it is the cafe of Spain; in wif dom, therefore, all methods fhould be uſed to get out of their hands as foon as poffible. A people A and ENGAGEMENTS. 252 A people is more or leſs eaſy, as the taxes and payments to the public are more or lefs; upon which fcore, it muſt needs be wiſdom in a ſtate, to haften the clearing off its debts; which being commonly attended with high intereft, will other- wife bring a heavy burthen upon poſterity. I If the public can be difengaged in a moderate compaſs of time, the people of England may come to pay, as heretofore, to the government, but about th part of their annual income; which would put the land intereſt, trade, and manufactures in a good pofture, and a flouriſhing condition. But here it may be objected, that they who have fecurities upon the public, may defire, as they do in Holland, to fink the principal, and chufe rather to receive a good annual intereſt ; and confequently that to make fuch hafte in clearing theſe debts, cannot be of fuch import- ance; it being all one to the whole body of the people, what is received or paid among one another. To which may be anſwered, that letting thefe debts continue fo long in Holland has been per- haps an error in their conftitution, though perad- venture almoſt unavoidable, becauſe of their fre- quent and expenſive wars. But our cafe and theirs is not at all the fame. They have but one principal intereſt, which is trade, to which they make all other things fubfervient, their land con- cern being very ſmall. And the million ufe- money, which they pay yearly for the 25 millions owing, is not fo much laid on land, or trade, as by exciſes upon their home confumption; fo that, as to what is paid out of their annual in- come, it is indifferent through what hands it paffes. But 256 On the PUBLIC DEBTS But in England it is quite otherwife, where the chief payments to the public do not arife from our home confumption, but from land and trade, or fuch excifes as affect land; and in our cafe, if we let a long debt continue, by finking the principal we pleaſure one part of the people at the expence of the other; that is to fay, we gratify the monied men and ufurers, who are the drones of the commonwealth, at the cost of the landed man, the farmer, and induſtrious mer- chant. It is true, finking the principal or long funds may give us prefent eafe; but they are a canker, that in proceſs of time will eat into the body politic. In all probability, for the foregoing reafons, it will be better thrift to exert ourſelves ftrongly in the beginning to pay off the principal debt, than to leave it a conftant burthen upon the land and trade of England. The lefs we pay out of our annual income, the more trade, land, and manufactures (which are the product of land) muft flouriſh; and this annual income, being the eftate of the whole body politic, which muft maintain the prince and his people, to fet it clear fhould be the endea- vour of all fuch as confider the common welfare. When this eſtate is freed from engagements, the body politic recovers new health and vigour; the prince is in a condition to protect his people, the product of land goes off quick, as not being clogged with duties and impofitions, and the merchant is encouraged to extend and enlarge his traffic; to whofe induftry high cuftoms are a perpetual bar. And if the public of this country can get fooner out of debt than France, (which we hope to make evident) that nation will never be able to over- and ENGAGEMENT S. 257 1 overtake us in trade, nor defire to renew a war that has entangled their affairs for fo many years. to come. He therefore that would propofe for the good of England, muft fo form his fcheme, that our bufineffes of this nature may be fooner put in order, than thofe of France can poffibly be; their prefent trade, wealth, crown-revenues, and the annual income of their kingdom confidered. We have laid down, that allowing the French to pay every year the 6th penny of the nation's whole rental, and making quarterly payments of principal and intereft, yet that it will be 11 years and before they can have cleared 50 millions, which is but a part of their debts. 2 And now we shall proceed to fhew, that our difficulties will be got over a great deal fooner, which can be no ill proſpect to fuch as with their country well. } We have ſtated the payments of Eng- land to the government, to be per ann. as they stood in 1695, about And the grofs debt to be, in round numbers, about But the malt tickets may be cleared by their own fund, and are 7. 3,355,472 17,500,000 1,270,000 And there is provifion made by the 3 additional 9 pences. For the million lottery, For the bank fund, For the annuities, And the tallies ftruck and poft office will be years by thoſe funds, 1,000,000 1,200,000 ܘ12300,00 1,300,000 on the excife cleared in 2 1. 3,500,00b : 700,000 In all, 5,470,000 VOL. I S Grofs 258 On the PUBLIC DEBTS Grofs debt, 1. 17,500,000 From whence deduct And the grofs debt will remain But for fome of it there are preſent funds granted, and others prolonged, which in a courfe of time will clear that bulk of tallies amounting to And the debt (which may be pro- perly called a deficiency) will then remain 5,470,000 12,030,000 8,882,544 3,147,456 And theſe everal articles added together, compoſe what we have called the grofs debt of England, viz. The malt tickets, Million lottery, an- 3,500,000 nuities, &c. Debt on the exciſe and poſt-money, s Tallies ftanding out, Deficiencies, 1. 1,270,000 1. 17,500,000 700,000 8,882,544 3,147,456) By which account it appears there are fecurities laid out for a great part of this incumbrance; but he who is to form a general fcheme, fhould confider by what time each fund will have wrought out the engagements that are upon it. The excife and poſt-money are the only branches of the crown-revenue which are not difpofed of for a long term of time, for they may be clear in about 2 years; but it would be very well if a way could be found out to diſen- gage thofe funds fooner, becauſe they were wont to be the immediate fubfiftance of the king's perion and family. The and ENGAGEMENTS. 259 1. The grofs debt in tallies is, 8,882,514 Out of this are to be 1. deducted the falt tal- lies, which have an- 1,837,827 other fort of fund, and are about As alfo tallies ftruck 2,602,527 on the leather act, 564,700 which are about As alfo tallies ftruck on the malt act, 200,000 ! which are Remains, 6,280,017 This laft total is what will lie upon that gene- ral fund eſtabliſhed laſt year, and which indeed takes up moſt of the branches of our confump- tion; it is true, nothing could be more juft and honourable, than what was done at that time, to make good the public faith; but till theſe reve- nues come to be clear, the Ways and Means of raifing money ſeem very difficult. The funds that are continued to the 1ft of Auguſt 1706, and made a fecurity for the 6,280,017%. as we take it, are as follows: New cuſtoms, about Continued acts and joint ftocks, about Marriages, births, &c. about 1. 44,847 394,907 54, 310 48,000 } Stampt paper, about Cuſtoms, about Duty on windows, about Duty on glafs ware, &c. about The 8 d. per bufhel on falt applied to this fund till 1699, for paying intereſt, Total per ann. $ 2 370,909 50,000 10,000 70,000 1,042,973 And 260 On the PUBLIC DEBTS Į ++ } And reckoning the 6,280,017 1. tallies, to be, one with another, at about 7 per cent. intereft, which peradventure is a right medium; and fup- pofe quarterly payments to be made of principal and intereft, the debt will be paid in lefs than 8 years, though the funds fhould produce no more than they did in 1695, which is 3 years and fooner than the revenue of France can be cleared, though intereft from the public be higher here than in that kingdom. 2 It is true, we have one circumftance worſe than either France or Holland; the revenues by which the government ſhould fubfift in times of peace, have been ſwallowed up by the expences of the war; the cuſtoms, one of the chief branches, being in a manner wholly anticipated for a long time; and the excife and poft-money being engaged for 2 years. But notwithſtanding this, we fhall en- deavour to prove, that England, in relation to public payments, will be ftill in much a better condition than either of thofe nations, when the parliament have granted to the king ſuch further aids or revenues as may maintain his dignity, and defend the kingdom; and when the 3,200,000 %. of deficiencies and arrears are put into a method of payment. It is not here pretended to ftate what fupplies may be neceffary to come in the room of thoſe branches, which the common fafety and ufes of the war have anticipated; nor what preſent fum may be needful to pay off that part of the defi- ciencies and arrears, which, to preferve public faith, ſhould be conſidered as foon as poffible; but, in arguments of this nature, it is requifite to lay down fome propofition upon which an hypothefis. may be founded. The deficiencies we have mentioned, as fhall be hown by and by, have ſo appropriated any fu- ture and ENGAGEMENTS. 261 ture aids, that unless they can be provided for, there will remain very little to carry on the expence of government for this prefent year. It is to be apprehended likewife, that fome of the arrears are of fuch a nature, as will require they ſhould be immediately confidered. The crown-revenue, as has been faid already, amounted to about 2 millions clear produce. Sup- poſe then, for argument fake, that for fupport of the government, and towards fatisfying part of the deficiencies and arrears, it ſhould be thought con- venient to raiſe within the year 2,000,000% There is already paid Our payments to the public in a year will be then 3,355,472 5,355,472 It may be here faid, that if we pay above 5 millions per ann. our condition is not bettered by the peace. But fuch as argue this way do not confider, that if the war had continued, for ex- ample, this year, befides the annual payment of 3,300,000l. from the funds now exifting, there muſt have been raiſed for the fleet and army 5,000,000l. in the whole 8,300,000l. that is to fay, there might have been levied within the year about 5 millions, and for the reft we must have run into a new debt. But fuppofing the neceffities of the public ſhould require that the prefent funds be made up 5,300,000l. yet, if the taxes are equally laid, fuch a fum may perhaps be raiſed, without hurting land or the trade of the kingdom. For it is to be prefumed that peace, in fome moderate time, will reftore our annual income to $ 3 1. 44,000,000 Out 262 On the PUBLIC DEBTS Out of which there will be paid not th part to the government, though there fhould be raiſed per ann. But in less than 3 years, the duties upon malt, leather, double ton- nage and paper, &c. expire, which abate 1 million yearly, and then there will be paid to the govern- ment And at the expiration of less than 8 years (by which time the grofs debt of England may be paid) the yearly expences of the government com- puted at 2 millions, and the charge of managing the revenues 250,000l. we ſhall pay to the pub- lic but about the twentieth part of our annual income, as we did be- fore the war, or per ann. at 1. 5,300,000 4,300,000 2,250,000 Whereas if the debt of France be as we have laid it down, and as is pofitively affirmed by fuch as pretend to be well informed of their con- dition; and if its annual income be no more than 81 millions, (which fum we have ftrong reaſons inducing us to believe it will not for fome time. exceed) that kingdom muft pay to the govern- ment the fixth penny for 11 years and, and above the ninth penny afterwards, if their yearly taxes amount, as formerly, to 9,600,ocol. The writer of thefe papers was once of opinion, that the war did every year more impair and pre- judice the condition of England, than that of France; but grounding his calculations upon facts, as they appear, if the facts prove otherwiſe, he does not think the art and rules by which he goes to be liable, on this account, to any cenfure. I By 1 and ENGAGEMENTS. 263 1 By confidering our own expence at home, it might fafely be judged, that the league with the Ottoman empire, the numerous armies, and great fleets of France, with the charge of the civil go- vernment, could not be maintained for a lefs yearly fum than 16 millions. 1 As we have been credibly informed, at the laſt calling the coin into the mint, their gold and filver ſpecies amounted to 22 millions ſterling. It is evident to any one that has ever meddled with computing, that the war could not confume above 50,000 of their people every year. It did not appear by any account from thence, that intereft there, for money lent the public, was at all exorbitant. It is true, part of their foreign trade was inter- rupted; but this was in fome meafure recom- penced, by the capture of rich fhips, both from England and Holland; and by the gains they made the laſt 5 years, in a pyratical war, managed with good fortune, and better conduct. It did not appear till very lately, but that the 16 millions expended annually was raiſed within the year, without charging any great debt upon future times. Our own affairs did not feem to have fo good a face. The ill poſture of the coin did look like a wound in the very vitals; it fet the exchange abroad much to our diſadvantage, and rendered both our foreign and domeftic traffic uncertain; our loffes at fea were every year confiderable, and what we loft was an addition of ftrength to the enemy. The African trade was in a manner in- tirely gone; that to the Eaft-Indies was in danger of lofing; our islands in the Weft-Indies, by plagues, earthquakes, and other calamities, were not in a good condition to defend themſelves; and S 4 the 264 On the PUBLIC DEBTS the lofs of Jamaica muſt probably have been fol lowed with the ruin of our intereft in America. Credit, after the money was recoined, was at fuch a low ebb, that 5 millions given by parlia- ment did not operate, in the fervice of the war, and to the uſes of the public, but as little more than 2 millions and ; and every year the war lafted, did viſibly engage the nation in a future debt of above 3 millions. I The coin was evidently fo defaced, as that to reftore it must reduce the filver to near a half in tale; and theſe confiderations might make the French affairs feem in a better pofture than thoſe of England. The best computer in the world could form no judgment what gold and filver might be remain- ing in this kingdom, there being no footing upon which any reaſonings could well be fixed; feveral perfons did guefs rightly enough at the current cafh, reckoning the filver about 5, and the gold about 4 millions; and there was ftrong reafon to believe, that on the 4th of May 1696, there could not be much a greater fum in tale left, though the contrary is now apparent; for intereft was fo high, and the advantages to be made of money were every way fo confiderable, that it might be well concluded the whole fpecies was invited out to cir- culate abroad. It is not difficult to make a reaſonable conclu- fion from facts paft and prefent, but no political arithmetic is accountable for the fancies, paffions, and humours of the people; nor could any man poffibly imagine there fhould be upwards of 3,400,000l. of broad hammered money hoarded in England and yet it is now apparent no profpect of gain could bring this fum out, until the law forced it into the mint. And it may be from thence and ENGAGEMENTS. 265 thence argued, that there was more milled money, guineas, and old gold, locked up in chefts, than was once believed; and that confequently the na- tion was richer, and lefs hurt by the war, than men commonly imagined; for it is now evident, and this experiment of reftoring the coin has ſhown, that the fears conceived by people con- cerning liberty, and innovations in religious mat- ters, had induced them, for above 30 years, to keep by them a referve of ready money hoarded, to anſwer any urgent occafion; and the fpecies cir- culating about feeming very little, did move fome perfons to apprehend it was gone out of the realm; and from thence to fear, that our affairs were in a more declining condition than thofe of France. The computers therefore, by political arithme- tic, might be well out in their calculations, when the matter was fo dark, and difficult to be ar- gued by any rules of art; for though it may be known what fum is neceffary to circulate a coun- try's trade, and ſuſtain its people, yet it is next to impoffible to gueſs what part of this fum, either private avarice, or public fear, may fo lock up, as to make it a dead treaſure in the nation. France was like a confumptive man, with a freſh and florid complexion; our distempers broke out into fores and blains, but we had a better health inwardly: their decays and our strength were both concealed, and time has now brought to light, that England has fome millions more of money than was believed; and that France is indebted many more millions than was imagined. If the 16 millions annually expended could have been raiſed within the year, their condition had been better than ours; becauſe, towards the latter end, our debt fwelled every year 3 millions; but they running in debt, by a medium of 9 years, 3 millions 266 On the PUBLIC DEBTS } I 2 millions and every year; and we, by a medium of 9 years, not quite 2 millions (our debt being but 17 millions and, and theirs new contracted, 31 millions and ) the war muft have impaired France more than England. I 2 Their annual income is not double to ours; and their debt, with what was contracted before the war, is above five times more than ours; the ex- pences of their government do much exceed that of England; we ſhall in all appearance fooner re- cover our trade than that kingdom poffibly can; add to this, that during the war they have had a fcarcity of corn, which almoſt amounted to a fa- mine; want of nourishment muſt have deſtroyed a great number of their people; they had little ex- portation of their home product; the perfecution of the proteftants must have forced away more in- habitants than was first thought; and all this muſt have fo impaired their annual income, that they could not raiſe the 16 millions within the year; by which the crown every year fo increaſed its debt, as that the war could not be carried on much longer with any fafety to their government. Corn in England has been but one year very ſcarce; we have had an acceffion of ftrangers to repair that conſumption of our people which the war might occafion. Though our taxes were heavy, our national ſtock was great, and not ex- haufted as was that of France, by former impofi- tions; they laboured under a former debt, cur crown-revenues was clear. The interruption war brought to the tillage, labour, and manufactures of other countries, produced a great call from abroad for our commodities, and did very much enlarge the exportations of our home product, and in fome meaſure hindered the carrying out of mo- ney, though we had an army to maintain in a fo- reign and ENGAGEMENTS. 267 reign country. As this foreign army drained the fpecies from us, fo the high price of naval ftores from the northern kingdoms, the alliance with the Porte, and other leagues, did without doubt ex- hauſt the money of France; upon all which con- fiderations it ſeems reaſonable to conclude, that the war has more hurt the French affairs than thofe of England. The debt of 100 millions fterling will be a weight upon their future bufinefs, and probably muft obftruct any defigns that may be formed to our prejudice, provided fuch meafures are taken here as that our public may be firſt cleared; but if thoſe engagements are fuffered to continue, which lie now indeed upon the annual income of this nation, as well as upon the crown-revenue, we ſhall be in the condition of Spain, unable, upon any emergency, to help ourſelves, or to af fift our friends. In all likelihood, if conduct be not wanting, we may firſt get out of the difficulties which feem to lie at preſent on both nations, but more hea- vily on theirs than ours; under fuch a debt they cannot renew the war; and with our debt we ſhall move but very impotently in it: upon which ac- count, to purſue thofe methods which, in a mode- rate compaſs of time, may clear the incumbrances that lie on the public, muſt be the beſt way to make the peace as lafting and fafe, as it appears to be honourable to England, and the whole con- federate intereft. Treaties and leagues may be formed with great wiſdom, but they depend upon accidents, the lives of princes, and often on the humours of their people: neceffity is not only the beft media- tor to bring peace about, but likewife the gua- rantee to be moft relied upon, that it fhall be well 268 On the PUBLIC DEBTS well obferved. The king's valour has ended the war, put a stop to the growth of France, and for a while fecured the liberties of Europe; and his conduct will go as far as poffible to make thefe benefits lafting to us; but it muſt partly depend on others to put our affairs in fuch a pofture, as that our neighbours may neither think it wife nor ſafe hereafter to renew the quarrel. We may expect future quiet and profperity, if our matters can be put into good order here at home, by honeft, grave and temperate councils; fuch as fhall have a due regard to the fafety of the government, and to the liberty and perpetual wel- fare of this nation. There is a degree of expence neceffary to pre- ferve the peace, and defend the kingdom; and there is a certain fum which may be raiſed in this juncture, and for fome time, without ruin to land, trade, and the manufactures; but peradventure this fum cannot be exceeded now, nor levied for a long term, without introducing here the fame face of poverty as is vifible in fome of our neigh- bour countries. } That which has enabled the Hollanders to pay the third penny of their annual income, and yet the people to grow rich in the mean time, is chiefly the equal manner ufed in taxing the fubjects of their dominion. He that would form a fcheme of this nation's bufinefs, fuch as may put England out of debt fooner than France, raiſe a competent fum to maintain the government, and to clear that part of our new debt which feems to require imme- diate payments, and at the fame time not deftroy the land-intereft, trade, and the manufactures; muft not think it can be done by the methods formerly practifed, when the fum to be levied is ✔ fo and ENGAGEMENTS. 269 ་ fo much beyond what was ever heard on among our anceſtors. He muft lay the foundation of his fcheme in as good a knowledge as he can obtain of the num- bers of the people, for all muft ariſe from their labour and induftry; upon which fcore he muſt contrive in his model to leave a competency be- hind, whereby labour may be carried on, and by which induſtry may be encouraged to proceed for- ward. If land continues too long under high taxes, it brings fuch poverty upon the gentry, as muſt hinder the poor being employed, hurt con- fumption of our home-product, and interrupt our foreign traffic; if trade be too much burthened with impofitions, fuch a ſtock will be requifite only to pay customs, as muft quite difhearten the induſtrious merchant; and excifes, too heavily laid upon any commodity, fall upon land, and prejudice thofe manufactures, by which the body of the people fubfifts. He therefore who would fteer fafely between thefe rocks, and propofe no- thing but what ſhall be confiftent with the com- mon welfare, must always have in his eye that trade will languish, till we come to pay but 4 mil- lions; and that we cannot truly flouriſh, till we come to pay to the government but about th part of our annual income, as we did before the war, and which may be again our condition, when the public is difengaged. In the mean while, he that would propofe a ſcheme for his country's good, fhould contrive to render theſe yearly payments (which perhaps for fome time will be unavoidable) as little burthen- fome as poffible, to land, trade, and the manu- factures, which are the three feet upon which this nation ftands. If 270 On the PUBLIC DEBTS If fupplies can be fo ordered, as to ſhake none of theſe three pillars, our annual income may for encreaſe, as that our payments will be leſs and lefs felt every year; but if fo much weight be laid upon any one of them, as to fink it down, our an- nual income muft decreaſe, and confequently theſe payments will be every year more and more a bur- then. It is true, land may be hurt, but cannot be deſtroyed by taxes; but trade and manufactures may be fo overloaded with duties, as in procefs of time to be in a manner loft. It is no hard matter to form a fcheme for raifing money, but the difficulty lies in propofing ſuch a one as may anſwer the neceffities of the govern- ment, and yet, at the fame time, give this nation fome taſte of the peace. Money is to be raiſed two ways, either by im- proving the revenues already granted, or by new funds, and farther charges upon the people. The firſt courſe, to make the moſt of the preſent revenues, will at firſt be unpleaſant, harſh in the exe- cution, and occafion clamours; however, in prac- tice, it will be attended with fewer inconveniencies than any way of taxing that, peradventure, can be propoſed. In the foregoing diſcourſe we have endeavoured to compute ſeveral branches of the revenue now - exifting; and if our calculations hold right, which are fubmitted to the public, there feems to be loft, as has been already mentioned, per ann. In the excife, fingle and double, about 1. 318,000 In the duty on ſalt, about 38,075 In the duty on marriages, &c. about 26,000 In the duty on windows, about 89,000 Carry over, 471,075 In and ENGAGEMENT S. 271 1. Brought over, 471,075 In the duty on glafs-ware, &c. about 20,000 In the duty on ſtampt paper, &c. about 15,000 Total 506,075 The accounts for the duty on glaſs-ware, &c. are not yet perfected; and the writer believes he has under-reckoned both the preſent produce and future improvement. In forming a ſcheme of this nation's preſent bu- finefs, confideration fhould be had how much, of what may be for fome time wanting to fupport the government and pay debts, is to be got every year, by better managing and improving theſe fe- veral branches. And the forementioned duties arifing from our home-conſumption, to levy from thence all that is legally due, will not be inconfiftent with the com- mon welfare. Taxes kept within a moderate compafs are not prejudicial to the public; and rather enliven in- duſtry, and hinder idleneſs from growing upon the common people. But where of neceffity this moderate compaſs muſt be exceeded, care fhould be taken to lay the duties in a way as convenient and eaſy as poffible. It is a matter of great admiration, how ſo ſmall an extent of territory as Holland ſhould be able to levy 6 millions yearly, as they have actually done during this war, and yet the country to en- creaſe in riches. Nothing could have brought this about but the wiſdom that ftar has always fhown, in fparing trade and taxing their home confumption Where 1 272 On the PUBLIC DEBTS Where high duties are laid upon importation, fo great a ſtock is requifite to carry on buſineſs, as that the merchant cannot manage fuch a large and extended traffic as muft enrich a country; for he muſt have always by him a dead fum to an- fwer the cuſtoms. Where the duties are laid on the conſumption, a very little ſtock will fuffice to tranfact public payments; and the burthen lies lightly upon a great number of retailers, which will lie heavily upon a few wholefale dealers; and all this is fo obvious to any common understanding, as not to need further proof. For theſe reaſons, he that would form a ſcheme fhould confider whether the payments now made to the government may not be fo contrived, as to be less prejudicial to the general trade of England than they ſeem at prefent. Of the 3,300,000l. annually raiſed in the kingdom, there is laid upon importation about 1,300,000l. And peradventure this will be fo great a weight upon the induſtry of our merchants, as may hin- der the peace from reftoring trade to its former condition; eſpecially in a country where the mul- titude of tallies and funds is like to keep intereft- money for a long time at a high rate. Upon which account it may be worth the con- fideration of fuch as ftudy the common good, whether it may not be advifable hereafter, when peace ſhall have given a better confiftency to things, to contrive fome way of eafing the cuf toms, and to give an equivalent, by laying duties that may be tantamount upon the commodities, when they come into the retailers hands; and fo to charge the confumption, instead of the impor- tation. The and ENGAGEMENTS. 273 : The chief objection to this is, that the duties will not be quite ſo certain, and more troubleſome in the collection; but thofe inconveniencies will be abundantly recompenced, by the infinite eaſe fuch a courſe of levying what muſt be paid, would give to the trade of England. If we do not fall into fome meaſures of this kind, we ſhall never be able to cope with our rivals in traffic, the Dutch; who, by wiſdom, and good order in their affairs, are in a way to overcome the natural advantages we have over them in foil, product, and fituation. Nor can trade flourish, till the gentlemen of the kingdom endeavour to make themſelves mafters of the general notions about it; and until they lay its concerns warmly to heart, reflecting how much their land-intereft depends upon it; which the next 7 years will more plainly demonftrate, than 5 times the fame number of years could ſhow before. If trade can be eafed, it will be the better able to bear the remaining burthen, which our necef- fities have placed upon it; and it may yield its pro- portion of the fum, that for fome time muſt pro- bably be raiſed out of the annual income of this country; and if trade profpers, the product of land will be the more enabled to pay the reſt. He therefore, who would form a general ſcheme, fhould confider how to make the 3,300,000l. al- ready arifing from feveral funds, bear more equally, and in confequence more lightly upon land and trade; and in all likelihood this is to be compaffed by not laying too heavy excifes upon any one com- modity, and by eafing the importation, and rather levying the duty upon the confumption. When the debts are put into a method of pay- ment, and when punctual payments have leffened VOL. I. intereft, T 274 On the PUBLIC DEBTS intereſt, premiums and diſcount, (which of courſe they muſt do) it will be more eaſy to come at thofe fupplies, that, from year to year, may be wanting to ſupport the government and defend the kingdom. Suppoſe then, that towards fatisfying deficien- cies, arrears, and this year's expence, the pub- lic neceffities fhould require a fund to be fettled, which may raiſe 3 millions; it is to be appre- hended, our prefent circumſtances confidered, not above 2 millions can be levied upon the body of the people, fo as to be anſwered within the year. So that the third million is probably not to be come at, but by fome credit upon the future; and the 2 millions in all likelihood are to be raiſed but thefe 4 ways. 1. Either by charging one or feveral commo- dities imported, or of our own growth for a term of time, with fuch a duty as may produce the fum wanted; to which way of raifing money, the people have lately given the name of remote funds. 1 2. Or by charging feveral commodities with fuch a duty as may raiſe the fum within the year. 3. Or by laying the chief fum upon land as formerly, by a monthly affeffment, or by a 4 s. aid. 4. Or by a mixt aid, laying part of the fum wanted on land, levying part by a poll, and the reft by new impofitions upon our product, and new duties upon foreign materials, either in their confumption at home, or at their importation. He that would form a fcheme of the nation's bufinefs, fhould maturely confider thefe 4 Ways and Means of raifing money, in order to fee how they may be conſiſtent with our preſent circum- ftances; how far each different method may 1 affect } and ENGAGEMENTS. 275 · affect the public, and which courfe will leaft pre- judice land, trade, and the manufactures. With remote funds it will be impoffible to avoid exorbitant premiums, high intereft, and large diſcount of tallies; which, for thefe 5 years, have been the bane of our affairs, and have plunged the public into moft of the preſent dif- ficulties: Nor in that courfe of fupplying the government can the debts be cleared in any moderate compaſs of time; which debts will be a terrible weight upon us, in cafe we ſhould come to be hereafter engaged in another long and ex- penfive war. To charge fo many branches of our confump- tion as may raiſe within the year 2 millions, will be impracticable; becauſe thofe materials that are moſt like to yield a good revenue, have already a load fufficient upon them; nor can duties of this nature be put into fuch order the first year for fo great a fum, as that a] government may depend upon them for ready money and fub- fiftence; and it is an immediate fubftantial fund that, in all appearance, will be moft wanting. To lay what has been hitherto charged, upon land, will put the gentry of England in a worfe condition now than they were during the war; for though the principal burthen has lain all along upon the landed men, it was fome relief that rents were well paid for most of the time the war lafted; but if there fhould not be the call. abroad for our produce after the peace as for- merly, it is to be feared the tenants will not be fo ready with their payments, as when they had a quicker market; and if this fhould happen, land probably will not be able to bear the 4 s. aid, or a high monthly affeffment. T 2 For 276 On the PUBLIC DEBTS } For theſe reaſons, to raiſe what may be want- ing by a mixed aid, feems moft practicable, and to be attended with the feweft ill confequences. If at this time 2 millions could be raiſed within the year, without touching upon land, undoubt- edly it were for the public good to liften to fuch a fcheme, and give the landed men, who are the ftrength of England, and beft fupport to the government, a little eafe; but he who thinks to make fuch a propofal, after he has puzzled him- felf and others a long while about it, will find he is miſtaken. It is true, he who bends his ſtudy to matters of this nature, and is defirous to affift with obfer- vations and hints for abler heads and better un- derſtandings to work upon, fhould fo direct his notions, as that they may tend at laft not only to the eaſe, but ſecurity of the landed intereſt. Land would be relieved in its taxes to little purpoſe, if, in their ſtead, revenues ſhould be fet up, which, in future times, may endanger the liberty of this country. He, therefore, who would form a fcheme for the good of England, fhould not fo much en- endeavour to avoid land-taxes, as thereby to run into revenues that will require, in their collection, fuch a number of officers, as may mafter the landed man in his own corporation. A fmall number of hands may collect whatever duties can be conveniently laid upon our home confumption; but from thence 2 millions cannot be raiſed all in one year, without a general exciſe; and fuch a revenue in this wide country cannot be gathered and fo afcertained, as the government may depend upon it for fubfiftence, but by a multitude of officers, peradventure dangerous to liberty. For and ENGAGEMENTS. 277 For theſe reaſons, in the preſent juncture fome aid from land feems unavoidable. But there will ariſe a queſtion, Which is moſt eligible under our prefent circumftances, a pound-rate, or a monthly affeffment? A pound-rate has the greatest appearance of equality; but, perhaps, upon a due confideration of the matter, it will be lefs equal upon the whole people than a monthly affeffiment. An equal pound-rate had been practicable, and would have produced a great fum in the begin- ning of the war, when money was plentiful, and when every county had its due proportion of it. But is there not reafon to apprehend, That changing the coin has drawn the fpecies from the diftant parts of the kingdom? And does it not feem plain, that the biood which fhould circulate in the veins, is now gathered all about the heart? Is it probable, that filver will get down into the north and weft fo foon, by a long time, as into the counties adjacent to London? It is evident to any one who underſtands the kingdom, that, even 30 years ago, money was fcarce in the northern and western counties, till long profperity, and an immenfe trade, had dif perfed it to the remoteſt places. And if it be now drained from thence, as there is ground to think it is, it cannot return thither, but in a courfe of time, by a vent of their commodities and manufactures; which, in all likelihood, will not proceed faft enough to put the north and weft, forthwith, upon an equal foot of taxes with the reft of England, whoſe quick and near markets muft fupply them im- mediately from London with a greater plenty of the fpecies. So that an equal pound-rate, which in the beginning of the war, and till the alteration of T 3 the 278 On the PUBLIC DEBTS the coin, was adviſable, and would have hindered us from running fo much in debt, does for a while feem not fo well to confift with the geo- metrical proportion which ſhould be always ob- ferved in taxing a nation; and in theſe matters, he who would form a fcheme for the public good, muſt change his meafures as circumftances alter. The pound-rate, 1 Gul. and Mar. at 3 s. per l. yielded 1. 1,566,27 The 4 s. per l. levied with the fame care, fhould have yielded 2,088,836 But the next pound-rate, which was 4 Gul. & Mar. yielded but 1,977,713 Difference, 111,123 And it has every year fince gradually decreaſed, and this last year perhaps as much as ever, though endeavours have been made to afcertain its col- lection by ftronger powers than had been granted before; which have only ferved to fhew, (what ſhould have been concealed) that the laws may become impotent. This decreaſe has not proceeded from any fall in rents; but to ſpeak plainly, the home coun- ties have every year more and more learnt of their neighbours, to favour themſelves in the levying of this tax. In the prefent fcarcity of money, if any lati- tude be left of avoiding payment, we muft ex- pect it will be taken by many people; and as the cafe ftands, there feems good reafon to believe, that the men of figure and intereft (who alone can bring about an equal pound-rate) will be willing, after 9 years, to give themfelves and others a little cafe. And it is to be feared the affeffors and ENGAGEMENTS. 279 } affeffors particularly will be more influenced by the power of their landlords, than by any oath the parliament can make to bind them to their duty. So that whoever duly confiders the prefent con- fumption, the pofture of trade, the condition of the manufactures, and the quantity of money now probably remaining in every diftinct county, (all which he muft do who would form a regular ſcheme) will be inclined to think that a monthly affeffment is more practicable for this year, will produce more in proportion, and anſwer with greater certainty into the exchequer, than a pound-rate. The former monthly affeff- ment upon all England, was 7. s. d. 137,641 18 2 Which produced in the year, 1,651,702 18 o Of this fum, Lon- 1. s. d. don, Mid- dlefex 175,969 12 0 and Weft- 1,651,702 18 o minſter, yielded Reft of } England 1,475,733 6 0 Whether a pound-rate, or an aſſeſſment, ſhall be beft liked of; perhaps it I will be thought convenient to eafe land of the burthen it bore during the war. 2 Half the former monthly affeff ment upon all England, will be And produce in the year T 4 1. s. d. 68,820 19 1 825,851 9 0 But 289 On the PUBLIC DEBTS But London, Middlefex and Weſtminſter being very much encreaſed in wealth and trade fince the affeffment was firft rated, it may be worth confidering, whether it would not be rea- fonable to keep to a pound-rate there, though it fhould be thought convenient to proceed by affeffment with the reft of England. If fo, the former affeffment on all England, exclufive of Lon- don, Middlefex and Weftmin- fter, would amount to And 2 s. in the . on London, Middleſex and Weſtminſter, would amount to By which method of taxing, an aid from land might produce 1. s. d. 737,866 13 a 153,570 0 0 891,436 13 0 Q Upon the whole matter, perhaps, it will appear to inquifitive and confidering men, that the diftant parts of England ftand in need at this time of being relieved by an affeffinent, which is more eaſy to them than a pound-rate; that thofe taxes the public neceffities occafion, can be beft borne by the home counties, who will fooneſt taſte the benefits arifing from peace and the trade of this great city; that moſt of the filver fpecies. being now centered in London and hereabouts, it can be no unequal dealing to rate thoſe parts. which, are beft able to bear it, in a higher propor- portion than other places. In the mixt aids formerly granted to our princes, there has been moft commonly fome charge upon the people by poll, which generally ſpeaking, is an unpleaſant, and not a popular way of raifing money; but where a great fum is wanting, and ENGAGEMENTS. 281 wanting, that muſt otherwiſe be laid upon trade, land, or its product, a poll cannot well be thought unreaſonable. It is a fort of tax that falls hardeſt upon the farmer and inferior rank of men; but though it has been often levied during this war, yet confidering what a price our native commodities have all along borne, and how high wages have lately been, the common people have no reaſon to complain of poll-money. The fubfidies granted laſt year were truly a poll, and the article which charged the heads was what produced the moft. An aid of the fame nature, excluding the ftock on land and in trade, and charging qualities higher, may be brought to produce in a year 500,000 l. It is true, this tax was unpopular; but there may be many arguments urged, why, in this exi- gency, it fhould be repeated once more, and rather made ufe of than any new way. It was given for 1,500,000 l. and has not yielded near that fum; it was the principal fund of the exchequer bills, which the public faith is engaged to diſcharge ſpeedily; there is a kind of equity they fhould be made good out of their firſt fund. Such a fum can be no way raiſed ſo certainly and foon, nor without creating a great number of officers; and fo much money is hardly to be levied but by excife, or duties that muſt fall directly upon land and trade. If there can be raiſed from land And by ſuch a kind of poll Here will be near the fum wanting, viz. 1. 890,000 500,000 I,390,000 Now he that is to form a general ſcheme, fhould confider what proportion of the remainder may be 282 On the PUBLIC DEBTS be levied by excifes or duties upon our home confumption. He ought to weigh with himſelf which is beft for the nation, that the fum propoſed to ariſe this way, fhould be levied in one, or more years. If it could be raiſed in one year, the public would be fooner out of debt; but perhaps it does not confift with carrying on of trade, and the other buſineſs of the kingdom, to raiſe the whole within the year. If the prefent payments, which are to continue for a long term of time, can be put into fuch an order as not to prejudice trade, land, and the manufactures; it will not be difficult to find funds for the 3,000,000 l. for this year's fupply of the government, and to fatisfy part of the debt on account of deficiencies and arrears. It is true, the debt arifing from deficiencies does in a manner intercept any aids that can be given this feffions; he therefore who would form a ſcheme, muft duly weigh that article. The 3 s. aid was given for 1,500,000 1. but confidering the tax itſelf has not well anſwered, that it was paid in money, by which there will be a loſs; and confidering the intereft, we may allow upon that article a deficiency. of The feveral fubfidies and duties called the capitation, were given likewife for 1,500,000l. but the intereft on the exchequer bills reckoned, there may l.. 350,000 be on that head another deficiency of 650,000 Carry over, 1,000,000 and ENGAGEMENTS. 283 Brought over, The fale of annuities, another fund for 280,000l. has produced nothing; and with intereft on that head, there is another deficiency of And it is very well if the 1 s. aid, and the double tonnage, and the malt, occafion not another deficiency of Total, 1. 1,000,000 300,000 200,000 1,500,000 The exchequer bills, to the diſcharge of which the public faith is engaged, depend upon thefe funds: And the act provides, "That all bills which fhall or may be iffued out, as well for 1,500,000l. as 1,200,000l. which fhall not be cancelled by the produce of the faid funds or fup- plies, granted for the fervice of the war that year, by the 25th of March 1698, fhall be fatis- fied, taken, and cancelled, as well by the arrears of the faid funds, which fhall be then ftanding out, as by and out of the money which fhall arife by any aid which fhall be granted in the next feffion of parliament." And the malt act provides, "That if the produce of that duty is fo low, as not to yield before the 20th of April 1698, 800,000 1. the deficiency fhall be made good out of the firſt aid to be granted after that day." If any confiderable part of theſe deficiencies are removed over to remote funds, there is an end of all fort of credit. And if what ſhall be thought neceffary for the government, be fupplied by funds of that nature, the public will be eaten out with uſury. No man will adviſe a farther breach of credit, and all the kingdom would be glad to fee intereſt at 284 On the PUBLIC DEBTS at a lower rate, which can never be while remote funds conſtrain the government to borrow. It is eaſy to form a ſcheme which may put off the evil day for a while, by removing the preſent burthen, and laying it upon the years to come; but fuch meaſures can hardly be confiftent with the good of England. Many people in the beginning of this war did not care to levy money by excifes; and yet we are infenfibly fallen into them, having entered upon thoſe meaſures by degrees, which, if we had gone into early and all at once, the peace peradventure had been long ago concluded: We pay now in excifes, By the additional 9 pences for a long term of time, 1 7. per ann. 435,950 By the duty on falt, a perpe- tuity of 105,000 By the duty on ſtampt paper for near 10 years, 44,800 By a new duty on paper, 10,000 By a duty on malt for 3 years 600,000 By a duty on leather, 100,000 By a duty on glafs ware, &c. 10,000 Total, 1,305,750 per ann, A yearly addition of about 700,0col. to this fum, with what has all along been raiſed from land, would have fupplied the year's expence : for, in all likelihood, 4 millions anfwered within the year, would every way have gone as far as 5 millions, granted by credits upon diftant funds, fince more than 4th part of what has been yearly given, was confumed in difcount, high intereft, and exorbitant premiums. So that by raifing and ENGAGEMENTS. 285 raifing the 4 millions within the year, we ſhould have avoided that large debt, which now preſſes fo hard upon the nation. If our affairs had been put into this order, the government might be now fupported by the ordinary revenue of the crown, without any charge upon land, or any new impofitions and duties upon the people; and if this had been done, we ſhould pay at this time to the public but the 20th part of our annual income, as we did before the war. But as the caſe ſtands, fome further exciſes ſeem unavoidable; unleſs it be judged convenient rather to run more and more in debt, or to lay yet a greater burthen upon land and trade. And if it fhould be thought for the public good to go upon excifes, it would not be difficult to find commodities, which may be the proper objects of a revenue, that ſhall raiſe what may be wanting. But he who is to form a ſcheme of this kind, fhould take care fo to contrive his propofal, that the weight of fuch a duty may neither lie too hard upon one fort of people, nor prefs too much upon land intereft, or foreign traffic. Not to oppreſs particular trades, the duties fhould rather lie on 3 or 4, than on 1 or 2 materials. Not to hurt land nor trade, the impofitions fhould be divided, and partly laid on the con- fumption of our home, and partly on the con- fumption of commodities that are of foreign im- portation. Such duties will affect land and trade lefs, by how much farther they are laid from the first ven- der; and by how much nearer they are placed to the laſt buyer or confumptioner. For 286 On the PUBLIC DEBTS For which reaſon, fuch materials of our own growth, as it fhall be thought fit to lay a duty on, fhould be charged when they are in the laft vender's hands, or when they have had the laſt improvement or manufacture. In the fame manner, foreign materials, or manu- factures made from thence, are charged with lefs prejudice to trade, in the hands of the laft im- prover or retailer. For in all theſe inftances, lefs ftock is required for the payment of the duty; towards which, by this way of charging, more hands contribute; and the quickness of returns in buying and felling, make it leſs felt by the whole people : whereas it is an immediate and dead weight upon land and trade, when the charge is directly upon the firſt vender at home, or the firft im- porter from abroad. It is true, this way of charging renders the revenues more difficult in the collection; but he is not fit to go about a ſcheme of this nature, who cannot obviate that difficulty, and propofe materials both domeftic and foreign, where the duty may be come at eafily, and by a ſmall number of hands, with the affiftance of the pre- fent excife and cuftom-house officers. One of the objections againſt revenues laid upon our home confumption, is the fraud and exaction it gives a rife to among retailers, who, in theſe cafes, raiſe the value of their goods more than the duty comes to; but this is only in the beginning, when the revenue is new; for in a fmall compafs of time, all commodities what- foever find their juft and natural price, in which they ſettle at laſt. The writer of theſe papers did once think that the general fraud of retailers might be pre- vented I and ENGAGEMENTS. 287 W vented by a law of affize, as in Effay on Ways and Means, p. 66, but he here retracts that opinion, being convinced by a farther infight into theſe fort of matters, that affizes are im- practicable, and a bar to induſtry; however, with this diſtinction, that an affize, or limitation of the price of the commodity by the magiftrate, may be for public advantage, where the goodnefs of the commodity is in its nature uniform, fo that one cannot improve upon it, or give it a more real value, than another; of which kind are the bread and falt in common ufe. But where the matter is capable of melioration by ſkill, art and care, as fleſh, drink, and ſeveral other things, there perhaps it is moft for the public good that the price fhould be uncertain and free, as an en- couragement to fuch who by ſkill and induſtry are defirous to excel others. The Author of that Effay is not afhamed to acknowledge this error, or any other miſtake he fſhall be guilty of in theſe difcourfes, fince he handles matters very difficult, and a ſubject en- tirely new, where he can have but little help from books. His principal aim is to hunt after truth, and con- ſequently he weds no opinion in all theſe matters, that he is not willing to change upon better con- viction. To write of the income and expence of a whole people and the public revenues, is travel- ling in an undifcovered country; and if his draughts and maps are imperfect at firft, he fhall · mend them upon other lights, and further infor- mation and in the mean while he hopes theſe his endeavours will be taken in good part; and that his right intentions to the public fervice, fhall commute for his want of ſkill in the per- formance. : They 288 On the PUBLIC DEBTS ! They who treat of thefe affairs fubject them- felves to cenfure, anſwers, and a paper war, and muſt contract many enemies; but he ſhall flight all this, if he can give any the leaſt help or hint, to fuch as make the welfare and profperity of this nation their care and ftudy, and who are de- firous to render the peace laſting to England, and the king's government eafy to him, after all his toils and hazards abroad, by placing the public debts in a courſe of payment, and by putting his revenues in fome order. And they who are forming a fcheme to this purpoſe, will perhaps upon enquiry find, (if the neceffities of the ftate require 3 millions to be raiſed) that it may be done by a mixed aid, confifting of a charge upon land, a poll, and fome new duties upon our home confumption of commodities foreign and domeftic. But fuch as employ their thoughts upon thefe matters, fhould fo contrive their fcheme, if pof- fible, that the public may not be confumed with intereft and premiums, and that it may fully operate for what it fhall be granted. In this juncture nothing can be more advantage- ous to the kingdom, than to beat down the price of money and lower intereft; for till that can be done, taxes will be high, and trade of neceffity muft languiſh. While the ftate is compelled to give high inte- tereft, all contrivances and laws to leffen it, will in the event be found ineffectual. But the price of money will fall of courſe, if affairs can be fo ordered that the government ſhall be leſs conſtrained to borrow for the future. The bulk of the fum wanting, muſt undoubt- edly ariſe from land and a poll. And it will not be difficult to point out fome branches of our home Con- and ENGAGEMENTS. 289 confumption, that may bear fuch new duties as to yield about 410,000l. per ann. and if they are charged for 2 years, they will produce 820,000 l. There is a way likewiſe of raiſing 200,000l. within the year, and not by any excife. Nor will it be hard to propofe a way of raiſing a confiderable fum, with laying but a light pre- ſent tax upon the body of the people; and where fuch as are to lay down this money, may find their own account by ſupplying the government; and who peradventure will be contented with a remote fund, provided they may have a good fund fettled for the payment of their in- tereft. As for example, fuppofe fome focieties and bodies of men, for an eſtabliſhment and privi- leges to be granted, fhould conſent to bind themſelves to lay down a confiderable fum by 2 or 4 payments within a year, and be willing to take a fecurity for their money out of the general fund fettled laſt year for making good deficiencies, and their tallies to come after the whole debt that is already upon that fund. Suppoſe then, that to the feveral branches which compoſe that general fund, another branch were added which might produce wherewithal to pay intereft, and that the fum to be lent were thereunto annexed. J It has been fhewn, that the debt now upon it, even according to the prefent produce of the reſpective branches, will be cleared in lefs than 8 years. And if thofe revenues can be fo im- proved as to yield what may be justly expected from the confumption of the materials charged, fuch a general fund will not only be fufficient to clear the engagements already upon it, but like- VOL. I. U wife 290 On the PUBLIC DEBTS wife may be able to pay off this new fum to be lent, perhaps within the fame term of time. ' And for a good eſtabliſhment and privileges to be granted, it is probable that there are focieties of men, who, to give a greater certainty to their affairs, and to make them more confiftent, would be willing to fupply the government with a con- fiderable loan, and to ftay for their principal the whole 8 years; if, in the mean while, they are allowed a moderate intereft for their money. Suppoſe then, they ſhould be thus joined to the general fund, their principal to come after the whole preſent debt, a duty of 4 d. per buſhel on falt would produce 36,000l. per ann. which will be a fund to pay their intereft at 67. per cent. As to the 'debt by arrears at the winding up of our bottom after this long war, it has been here ftated at 1,700,000 l. and there is reafon to fear it exceeds that fum; but be it more or leſs, it is to be doubted part of it cannot be well poſt- poned, and of neceffity muft break into the 3,000,000l. which peradventure will be this year wanting; and for fuch the wiſdom of the ftate will make provifion. But it may be worth the confideration of fuch as would form a fcheme of this nation's bufinefs, whether it might not be adviſable to annex to the general fund eſtabliſhed laſt year for making good former deficiencies, fuch debts as will admit of a delay, but which in juſtice ought to have ſome fecurity. And this general fund, with the addition of fome new branch, by the firft of Auguſt 1706, would probably clear principal and intereft of our whole debts of this kind; efpecially con- fidering that peace, and a better conduct in the revenues, without doubt, will improve every par- ticular branch. 5 It and ENGAGEMENTS. 291 It is true, at firft fight, tallies coming after fo large a debt may feem very remote; but when peace fhall have given a conſiſtency to things, and a freſh reputation to the exchequer, fecu- rities upon the public, to which there is a rea- fonable intereft annexed, will not, in all likelihood, be leſs eſteemed for the diſtance of the fund, eſpecially if the fund is fubftantial, as this muſt be; and fuch a one, as from it the principal in a limited time may be expected. And theſe tallies would yet have a greater value, if one thing could be brought about; their funds are to continue ftill 9 years, which is a term of time liable to many changes and acci- dents; upon which account this general fund would be much more efteemed, if a law could be obtained, to make any voluntary mifapplication of this, or any other parliament fecurity, more criminal than it is at prefent; and if it were rendered capital, it would peradventure better con- fift with the king's profit, and with the liberties of England. If there can be raiſed from land, 7. 890,000 By a poll, 500,000 And from a duty not confifting in ex- cifes, 200,000 And by exciſes in 2 years, 820,000 By loans on remote funds from ſeveral focieties, for eftabliſhments and pri- vileges to be granted, 600,000 There will be raiſed for deficiencies, arrears, and the year's expence, 3,010,000 ..... U 2 According 292 On the PUBLIC DEBTS According to fuch a ſcheme there would not be raiſed upon the people within the year, above There is already paid 1. 2,000,000 } 3,300,000 So that we ſhould not exceed 5,300,000 ann. pay. Or not quite the 8th penny out of 44,000,000 ann. inc. For which reafon, it is perhaps better rather to lay fome exciſes for 2 years, than fo many as will raife the fame fum in one year; it being perad- venture not confiftent with the good of trade, and the other buſineſs of the nation, that our payments fhould exceed the 8th penny of our annual income. And upon the fame account, it may perhaps be adviſable to make fome agreement with particular focieties, becauſe a confiderable fum may be thereby raiſed, without charging the body of the people with a new impofition; nor will it be hard to find out fuch materials to charge, as that the duties may be collected by about 40 officers. If the aid from land be by a monthly affeff- ment, it will produce with certainty whatever it is given for. A poll, fomething in the nature of what was levied laft year, will anfwer quarterly. The 200,000l. here mentioned, will likewife arife quarterly. The 600,000 l. loans to be made upon confideration, will be as good as ready money; and the new duties arifing in 2 years, tallies ftruck upon them, will ferve to many uſes, as well as money itſelf. So that if millions could be levied this way, the govern- 3 ment would be out of the hands of the monied men and uſurers, which would prove very bene- ficial and ENGAGEMENTS. 293 ficial to the kingdom; for if the public is not compelled to borrow, the price of money muſt fall of courſe; and till intereft is fome way or other lowered, trade can never flouriſh. And here, perhaps, it may not be unfeaſonable to take notice, that it would be for the general good of trade, if the bank of England were reſtrained by law from allowing intereft for run- ning cafh; for the eaſe of having from thence 3 or 4 per cent. without trouble or hazard, muſt be a continual bar to induftry, and has lately occa- fioned fuch a ftagnation of the fpecies in their hands, as by no manner of means can be advi- fable to fuffer. And now in a few words to recapitulate our whole matter, we have endeavoured to fhew, that the public of this country may fooner emerge out of its difficulties, than either France or Holland. That according to the produce of the revenues in 1695, the debts may be paid off in about 8 years; that they may be cleared fooner, if the reſpective branches are improved to the utmoſt advantage; and that the nation which can firſt be difengaged, will fooneft tafte the benefits of trade and peace. As to the obſervations that relate to the raifing this year's fupply, peradventure they may ferve as little hints and helps to thoſe who are forming a good and regular fcheme of the nation's bufinefs. The writer of theſe papers has met with ex- treme difficulty and oppofition, in procuring the fight of the accounts relating to the revenue, which perhaps is not a fair way of proceeding with one who endeavours and bends his whole tudy to do the public fervice. The books of the principal offices have been in a manner fhut U 3 up 294 On the PUBLIC DEBTS : up againſt any enquiry he defired to make; and this has rendered his work more imperfect, than peradventure it would have otherwife been: However, he hopes not to have committed any material error in ftating the annual produce of the chief duties. This difcourfe was written in October laft, at which time it was impoffible to guess what the new impofitions on glafs ware, earthen ware, tobacco-pipes, paper, parchment and vellum might yield; but fince the firft fheets of this Tract were printed off, he has procured the fol lowing account: Glafs duty, from the 29th Sep- tember 1695, to the 17th Auguſt 1697, Pipes and earthen ware, from the 17th May 1696, to the 17th Auguſt 1697, Paper, parchment, and vellum, from the 1st May, to the 15th November 1697, 1. S. d. 24,953 07/ 20,389 8 10 9,114 2 62 And if the acts of parliament which grant thefe duties were revifed, and inforced with fome new clauſes for the better afcertaining their col- lection, they might be brought to yield per ann. about 55,000 1. 7. We have computed the deficiencies at 1,500,000 And the arrears at I,700,000 In all, 3,200,000 It was not pretended to be exact in this laft calculation; but it was neceffary to lay down fome and ENGAGEMENTS. 295 : fome ground upon which we might fix our rea- fonings, and draw thoſe conclufions we were to make from thence. However, in the articles of deficiencies we are come very near the truth, which is a great confirmation of the rules and art the writer goes by, and a proof that his com- putations are not made at random. He might indeed be guided by Political Arithmetic, to gueſs what the deficiencies might amount to; but the art of reaſoning upon things by figures, could not let him into the knowledge of that debt which arifes from arrears to the fleet and army; and he is now informed they are as fol- lows: The deficiencies are com- puted at The arrears to the land forces, guards and garriſons, The arrear of the extraordi- nary charge of the war, The arrears to the Irish forces, The arrears to the office of ordinance (over and above 178,104 7. 14 S. 10 d. which they have in defi- cient tallies) The arrears to the navy (over and above one million which the treaſurer has in his hands of deficient tal- lies) Deficiencies and arrears toge- 1. S. d. 1,493,000 o o 2,028,818 4 9 428,055 10 99,951 18 4 2 26,052 11 53 1,522,523 оо ther 5,598,401 4 7 // This U 4 296 On the PUBLIC DEBTS This is a very large new debt, but perhaps when it comes to be examined, it will appear that part of the arrears arife from the forementioned, or from fome of the prefent deficiencies. But we muft here again repeat, that if the feveral branches which compofe the Public Revenue had been managed and improved to the best advan- tage, a great fhare of this incumbrance had been avoided. When a ftate is in diforder, and plunged in debts and difficulties, it is a duty incumbent upon all men, at fuch a time, not to entertain defpair, but rather in that juncture to embrace the government more warmly than before, as the Romans did after their defeat at Cannæ; and when the commonwealth is afflicted, every one ought to lend a helping hand towards mending and reftoring her condition, and to employ all the faculties of his body and mind in her fervice. War does of neceffity introduce corruption of manners and loofe adminiftration, both which are attended with private poverty and public want. When a few years have in a great degree wafted what had been gathering by the care and wif- dom of many ages; when the Public Revenues are il conducted and reduced to little; when a country has loft fome of its richeſt traffics, and is in danger to loſe the reft; when the wants of a ftate cannot be fupplied by a willing people; when those who are trufted know not what to afk where every thing is granted, nor what to do when every thing is left to their difcretion; when molt councils have unfuccefsful events, and affairs in general proceed amifs; to occafion all this there must be fome latent difeafe or ulcer in the body politic, which is not to be thoroughly cured and ENGAGEMENT S. 297 cured by applying remedies to the fick part, but by mending the whole maſs of blood that is cor- rupted. The public can never have a firm exiſtence unleſs all the different ranks of men co-operate to its preſervation, not faintly, but with the ut- moſt ſpirit and vigour. For if among thoſe in high ſtations, there is not an affection which warmly embraces the honour and intereft of the commonwealth; and if the fame genius does not univerfally poffefs the inferior or- der of people, fuch fupine negligence and giddy adminiftration will creep into the ftate, as muſt be attended at laft with certain ruin. If it be the intereft of a great many to promote diſorder, the affairs of a country will proceed amifs, notwithſtanding all the endeavours of a wife and virtuous prince, and a good fenate: Therefore to mend things rightly, the whole people muſt be mended. To bring this about, in all likelihood, the beſt ways are by precepts and examples to inſpire as many as poffible with a true zeal and affection to their native country; to cultivate in the minds of the common people a due reverence to religion; to advance morality among the better fort; to give all men in general an honeft intereft; and to make virtue and merit the only road to greatneſs and preferment. It may perhaps be beneficial and ſafe in a ty- ranny to let all things loofe, and deprave the man- ners of the people; for the light is thereby extin- guifhed that would otherwife be troubleſome and too difcerning; but it is not fo with lawful go- vernments, where the prince and people compoſe one body; fince, if the inferior members are there infected, the diſeaſe will produce fuch unwhole- fome 298 On the PUBLIC DEBTS fome fumes and vapours, as may reach and hurt the head at laſt. After a country has been long afflicted with ca- lamities, occafioned by foreign or civil wars, the minds of the people will take different turns; fometimes to great piety, and, at other ſeaſons, to the height of vice: The Romans, after the Gauls had facked and burnt Rome, were preſently kindled with new devotion, they revived their an- cient juftice and difcipline, they reſtored thoſe old and almoft obfolete laws that were the chief ftrength of their conftitution, and they reaffumed their former virtue. But after the civil wars in the times of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, they were not at all bettered by their miſeries, (which is the worſt ſymptom of a depraved people) and rather plunged deeper into wickedneís. For when Vefpafian's party feized the city, there were in ſome ſtreets rapine and murders, and in others feafting and proftitution; fo that one and the fame town gave the view of a raging war and a riotous peace. Wife lawgivers and directors of a people may make advantage of a favourable crifis. As for ex- ample, when a long war is at an end, they may take that time to reform the vices of the age; for at fuch a ſeaſon, when poverty is grown upon them, men will probably be more willing to liften after virtue, and thofe methods by which their condition is to be reftored. Nothing prevails more with the multitude, nor operates better towards their amendment, than the example of the great ones; if fuch are feen to content themſelves with moderate power, wealth and honours, it teaches thofe below them to be temperate in their defires; by which means faction may be quite rooted out, which in moft foils is but } and ENGAGEMENT S. 299 but a weed that grows from the diſappointment of ambitious hopes; and where faction can be de- ſtroyed, government is rendered much more eaſy to the rulers, and, without doubt, leſs expenſive; for when that reigns, men expect to be highly courted, and largely paid for looking after their own fafety. Diſhoneſty has nothing in it fo very charming, but that mankind might be perfuaded to lay it quite afide, (at leaſt in relation to the public) if they could do their bufinefs in the world with other aids, and by any other way. For why, in the late reigns, did fo many Proteftants help on the defigns of Popery ?-Becauſe it was the only means of obtaining greatnefs and preferment. Why, in former times, were we betrayed by fome perfons?-Becauſe the court had made felling the people's rights a gainful traffic. But if men could have mounted up to wealth and honours by any other ſteps; if thoſe who were then at the helm had employed and rewarded fuch as they had ſeen zealous for the religion of their country, jealous of its liberties, and careful of its fafety; if gene- ral integrity had been taken notice of, and called into the offices of the ftate; by degrees the age would have mended of itſelf; vice and folly muſt have withdrawn and been out of countenance, and virtue and good fenfe might perhaps at laft have gotten the upper hand. Any body of men that have but one way to ho- nours and advancement, will take that courſe, though it be never fo much out of the road of ho- neſty; and if there is but one place where offices and dignities grow and are gathered, thither men will get, whatever it fhall coft them. Any faculty of the mind, whether for uſe or for pleaſure, which is in great vogue and eftima- tion, 300 On the PUBLIC DEBTS I tion, will be cultivated and improved; and men will bend their whole ftudy to excel in what they fee moſt pleaſing or moſt advantageous. It is the fame thing with vice and virtue, either of them thrive as they are encouraged or difcoun- tenanced. Bar but the gate to vice, and men will defire to enter and advance themfelves in the world by courage, prudence, temperance, integrity, zeal for the public, magnanimity, and true wiſdom. But if another mark be fet up, and all their aims directed thither, they will endeavour to rife and profper as others have done, by fraud, fervile compliance, treachery, artifice, bribery, tricks, and corrupted eloquence; and when a common- wealth is thus abandoned, even fome of thofe in good eſteem are contented to come in and take' their ſhare of the plunder, In a free country, it is the concern and intereſt of princes, that virtue fhould be restored to her juſt value and rightful dominion, and that vice fhould for ever be depofed, and efpecially baniſhed from the place in which are bred up their men of action and council. When men quit the paths of virtue, which lead to true wiſdom, they are preſently bewildered in errors; and till they get again into the right road, and obferve her dictates and directions, nothing is to be expected but mifery and confufion. When men leave honefty, wiſdom forfakes them, and mixes no longer in their councils; and the general immoralities of a people, embolden weak and ill perſons to thrust themſelves into the adminiſtra- tion of bufinefs, who, void of all fkill and art, caft the commonwealth upon rocks, where fhe is like to ſplit and perifh; and in fuch a country, unleſs there be an univerfal tendency in the whole to be guided by the principles of former honour, 1 its and ENGAGEMENTS. 301 its affairs muft impair daily, til at laft, in the courſe of a few years, it ſhall be quite loft and ut- terly extinguiſhed. In a free country, if a few of the moſt confpi- cuous perfons in it do but agree to lay to heart the honour and ſafety of the public, they will go very far towards its prefervation, or at leaft keep off the evil day for a while. For when fortune had undertaken to deſtroy the commonwealth of Rome, the fingle virtue of Cato held her long in play, and gave her a great deal of oppofition; much more than in a nation, where many yet remain un- tainted, may thoſe good patriots, if they will exert themſelves, preferve its conftitution againſt the at- tempts of defigning men; who are very far from having the wealth of Craffus, the fame of Pompey, or Cæfar's conduct; and who indeed reſemble the fubverters of the Roman liberty in nothing but the luxury and rage of Clodius. When things go amifs in a ftate, men are apt to blame the minifters; though fuch errors (the corruption of the people confidered) perhaps were not to be avoided. For a country may have been fo depraved in a long proceſs of time, that its affairs cannot fud- denly be capable of a good and found admini- ftration. P But if any corruptions are crept into the fubor- dinate parts of this government, they will be un- doubtedly corrected in times of peace and quiet. Efpecially, fince fuch as love their country, and would prevent its ruin, will be affifted in their en- deavours, by a prince difpofed by intereft and in- clination to promote its welfare. The king's vir- tues will reform the age; and his wifdom, at the head of the legiflative authority, can put the af- fairs of this nation upon fuch a foot, as may ex- tricate 302 On the PUBLIC DEBTS, &c. tricate the public out of all its debts and engage- ments. And fo far as to the publick revenues: In the fecond part, the writer of theſe papers will offer fomething concerning the trade of England. A DISCOURSE UPON IMPROVING the REVENUE OF THE STATE of ATHENS. Written originally in Greek, by XENOPHON. And made Engliſh from the Original, with fome Hiftorical Notes. By W. M. Efq; TO THE AUTHOR OF THE ESSAY UPON WAYS AND MEANS. SIR, A T length the war, which has been carried on for ſo many years, with fuch expence of blood and treafure to the nation, is at an end; and we have the fairest profpect imaginable of a lafting peace and a happy fettlement, under the government of a prince, who, after he has em- ployed his arms abroad with ſo much fuccefs for the defence of our liberties, will, we hope, turn all his councils to the finishing fo glorious a de- fign, and be as renowned to future ages for the peaceful arts of government, as for his military virtues: As his courage has made us fafe, fo his wiſdom, undoubtedly, will make us rich and hap- py, by the improvement of our navigation, and the increaſe of our trade; for it is to trade we owe the rife and progrefs of the Engliſh great- VOL. I. X nefs, ! (306) nefs, that has enabled us to fupport fo tedious a war againſt the moft formidable power which has been known in Europe for theſe many ages, and that alone can enable us to difcharge the vaft debts we have contracted by the war. Trade being of fuch mighty confequence to the intereft of the na- tion, will, we hope, meet with due encourage- ment and protection from our laws, and will be fettled under the ableft management and the wifeft regulation. Thefe branches of our com- merce, which have been impaired or loft by the piratic war, and the fatal interruption of our na- vigation, may be retrieved by the peace; and other trades, and particularly that with France, which the negligence, or the miftaken counfels of the laft reigns had fettled upon a foot ſo deſtructive to our intereft, may be eſtabliſhed to our advan-` tage in a new treaty of commerce. The great trade to the Eaft-Indies, with fome few regula- tions, might be eſtabliſhed upon a bottom more confiftent with the manufactures of England; but in all appearance, this is not to be compaffed, un- lefs fome public-fpirited man, with a maſterly ge- nius, be placed at the head of our affairs in India; and though we who are his friends, are loth to lofe him, it were to be wifhed, for the good of the kingdom, that the gentleman whom common fame, and the vice of the world, have pointed out as the ableft man for fuch a ftation, would employ his excellent judgment and talents that way, in the execution of fo ufeful a defign. The general intereft of a nation ought to be the care of particular men, the main bent of their ftudies, and the chief purfuit of their inquiries: Every man ought to fet his helping hand to fuch a work; and your own generous labours upon this זי ( 307 ) this fubject have fet an excellent pattern to the reft of the world. To this end I prefent you with a tranſlation of this difcourfe of Xenophon upon the ſubject of Revenue and Trade; and I fancy it will be no unwelcome entertainment to you, to find your own admirable obfervations upon thefe matters confirmed by the authority of one of the greateſt men that ever antiquity produced, and the only ancient author upon this fubject which is now extant. You will admire the force and foli- dity of his obfervations, the exactneſs of his calcu- lations, the juftnefs, and freedom of his thoughts, not confined to the narrow notions of parties and factions, and the vigour of his judgment and elo- quence at fo great an age. The general rules for the increaſe of riches and trade, are either directly advanced, or may be very naturally deduced from this difcourfe. That admirable maxim, "That the "true wealth and greatnefs of a nation confifts in "numbers of people well employed," is every where inculcated throughout the whole courfe of the treatiſe. And I believe Xenophon was the firſt author that ever argued by Political Arithmetic, or the art of reafoning upon things by figures, which has been improved by fome able heads of our own nation, and carried to the higheſt perfec- tion by your own fuccefsful enquiries. As for what relates to my tranflation, I have rather choſen to render the fenfe and meaning of the author, than his words or his manner: The purity, politeness, and the unaffected fimplicity of his ftile, are graces not to be copied by the barrennefs and barbarity of our modern lan- guages. I hope the tranflation is faithful and exact; if there are any miſtakes, I defire the candid reader X 2 to (308) to forgive them. I have added fome hiftorical notes at the end, to explain fome difficulties re- lating to the law and cuftoms of the Grecian people. I am, SIR, Your very affectionate friend, W. M. A DISCOURSE UPON IMPROVING the REVENUE OF THE STATE of ATHENS. Always held it for a certain maxim, that go- vernments reſembled their governors, and that the proſperity or declenfion, the vigour or decay of all ftates, was derived from the virtues and vices, the abilities or weakneſs of their rulers: but fince it is generally alleged in vindication of the Athenian miniſtry, that they underſtand the com- mon principles of juftice as well as the reft of mankind, but that they are compelled by the (1.) neceffities of the common people, to opprefs their (2.) confederate cities with unreafonable tributes and taxes; I have attempted to examine whether this apology is well grounded, and whether they are not capable, by the native riches and revenue of the ſtate of Athens, to maintain the whole body of our people, which is the jufteft and moſt ho- nourable provifion can be thought of; for I ima- gine, if fuch a defign could be compaffed, that X 3 the 310 A Difcourfe upon improving the wants of the people would be more effec- tually relieved, and the jealoufies and fufpicions of our neighbours would be quieted. Upon a general view of the whole matter, it appeared to me that the Athenian territory is capable of affording a mighty income and reve- nue, the truth of which affertion may be eafily evinced by a brief furvey of the ſtate and nature of the country. The fruits of the earth and native products of our foil, are a proof of the temperature of our climate and the mildnefs of our feafons; for we have plants which bear in great abundance in our country, which will never grow in others; and our fea, as well as land, abounds in all things neceffary for life or luxury; add to this, that all the bleffings which the gods have made peculiar to the different feafons of the year, begin earlier, and end later with us, than in any part of the world. Befides, the vaft plenty we enjoy of perishable goods, our foil affords us fome ftaple and perma- nent commodities, fuch as our noble quarries of marble, out of which are drawn the beſt mate- rials for the building and ornament of temples, and for the altars and ftatues of the gods, and which both the Greeks and barbarous nations fet a high value upon. And where the foil is too barren to receive the common improvements of huſbandry, it contains hidden treaſures, which will feed a much greater number of mouths than any arable lands can do; for the divine bounty has beſtowed upon us in- exhaustible mines of filver, an advantage which we enjoy above all our neighbouring cities by fea and land, who never yet could difcover one vein of filver ore in all their dominions. We the Revenue of the State of Athens. 311 柒 ​We have reaſon likewiſe to believe, that Athens is feated in the center of Greece, and the habi- table world; for all nations are incommoded with more intenfe degrees of heat or cold in propor- tion to their * diftance from us; and that we lie in the heart of Greece is evident, for all travellers that paſs by fea or land, from one extremity of Greece to the other, muft take Athens in their way. And though Attica is no iſland, yet we have the fame benefit of trading with all winds, for we are bounded on two fides by the fea, and by being joined to the continent we have the con- venience of driving on an inland traffic. Other cities lie expofed to the fury of barba- rous nations, but we are fo far from having fo ill a neighbourhood, that the ftates that border immediately upon us, lie at a remote diſtance from them. To all thofe advantages which confpire to the felicity and greatneſs of our ftate, and which we owe to the happy fituation, and the native wealth of our country, a mighty improvement might be made by the inftitution of public laws, in favour of ftrangers that eſtabliſh themſelves among us; for befides the general benefits derived to all cities from numbers of people, our ſtrangers would be fo far from living on the public, and receiving penfions from the ftate as our own citi- zens do, that they would maintain themſelves, and be the foundation of the nobleft branch of our revenue by the payment of the (3.) aliens duties. An effectual inducement to the fettlement of foreigners among us might be eſtabliſhed, by *He means north or fouth. X 4 taking 312 A Difcourfe upon improving taking off all thoſe public marks of diſhonour from them which are of no fervice nor advan- tage to the ſtate, and by excufing them from fer- ving among our heavy armed troops; for an ex- emption from the dangers of war, and from the neceffity of being abfent from their families and (4.) trades, would be a very powerful encourage- ment. It is likewiſe the intereft of the commonwealth, rather to fight our battles with our own troops, than to keep up in our armies a mixture of Lydi- ans, Phrygians and Syrians, and all kinds of bar- barous nations, out of whom the greateſt number of our aliens are compofed. Befides the advantage of avoiding the confufion fuch a mixture of troops produces, it would be more for our reputation abroad, to truft the for- tune of our ſtate to the courage and valour of our own citizens, than in the hands of foreigners. Befides all other proper encouragement to ftrangers, the privilege of being (5.) inrolled among our horſe, would more warmly unite them in our intereſts, and prove a folid foundation of ftrength and greatnefs to the ftate. It would be likewiſe a ſtrong inducement to greater numbers of confiderable ftrangers to plant among us, if we gave the (6.) wafte ground within our walls to be built on by fuch of them as deſerved and deſired it of the public. The inftitution of a new (7.) magiftracy, like the (8.) public guardians of our orphans, for the protection and fecurity of ftrangers, with rewards of honours and dignities to thofe who, by their care and induſtry, procured the moſt numerous fettlements of foreigners among us, would gain the affections of our aliens, and would have a very happy effect, in drawing a vaſt concourſe of exiles 1 the Revenue of the State of Athens. 313 * exiles and ſtrangers to live under the protection of our government, and augment our public revenue. That of all cities, Athens lies the faireft for inviting an extended commerce, is evident from the convenience of our ſtations and harbours, where fhips can ride fecure in all weather. And whereas in other trading cities, merchants are forced to barter one commodity for another, in regard their coin is not current abroad, we abound not only in manufactures and products of our own growth, fufficient to anfwer the demands. of all foreign traders, but in cafe they refuſed to export our goods in return for their own, they may trade with us to advantage, by receiving fil- ver in exchange for them, (9.) which tranſported to any other market, would pafs for more than they took it for at Athens. It would be a great encouragement to com- merce, if prizes and rewards were allotted to fuch (10.) judges of the court merchant, as made the quickeſt and jufteft determination of all cauſes relating to trade, that the merchant might not lose the benefit of his market by an atten- dance upon the courts of juſtice. It would be likewife for the honour and advan- tage of the public, to give the firſt rank (11.) and precedence in all public places to foreign feamen and merchants, and to invite to the pub- lic feafts of the city, fuch of them as by their ſhips or commodities do fervice to the ftate; for this diſtinction of honour, as well as the confide- ration of their own profit, would invite them to make quick returns from their voyages to fo friendly a government. * Exiles. Arónides. Men whofe cities have been deſtroyed. And 314 A Difcourfe upon improving And it is manifeft beyond all contradiction, that our trade and commerce would be extended, our exportations and importations encreaſed, and the ſtanding income and revenue of the ftate im- proved, in proportion to the number of foreign feamen and merchants of all kinds that eſtabliſh themſelves among us. To the improvement of thefe articles of our reve- nue, nothing more is required than a generous lenity and indulgence in our public laws, and an univerfal encouragement and protection to ftrangers. But the improvements that may be added by other methods to advance our ftanding income, will of neceffity require a fettlement of fome public (12.) fund. And I have good grounds to believe, that the people will make large contributions in favour of fuch a public undertaking, when I confider what fums they advanced, when we fent fuccours to the Arcadians under the command of Lyfiftra- tus, and likewife of (13.) Hegefilaus. How often have we fet our fquadrons of gal- lies by extraordinary fubfidies without any certain profpect of advantage to the ftate, but this we were all fure of, that no particular contributor would ever be repaid the whole, or any part of his money. But in the prefent cafe no man can poffefs a more honourable or advantageous revenue, than what he will receive in recompence for his con- tribution to this public fund; for a contributor of 10 Minæ, will receive a (14.) Triobolon a day from the ftate, which in a year's time amounts to near 20 per cent. which is a running income as high as the produce of (15.) Nautick intereft; and a contributor of 5 Minæ, will at the year's end receive more than (16.) d part of the capi- 3 tal i the Revenue of the State of Athens. 315 tal fum he advanced; as for the body of the people, if they pay in one Mina apiece, they will in a year's time very near (17.) double their principal money, and be paid in the city without any hazard or contingency upon the fecurity of the public faith, which is the moſt certain and moft lafting profit. I am of opinion likewife, that private ftrangers, and (18.) foreign cities, kings and governors, if they had the honour of being registered to pofte- rity in our public monuments and records, as benefactors to the ftate, would mutually vie in emulation who fhould contribute moft largely to the carrying on fo generous a defign. The neceffary funds being advanced, it would be for the honour and intereft of the ſtate, to build a greater number of public inns and houſes of entertainment in our ports, for the uſe of feamen, in the trading parts of the city for mer- chants, and in general for the reception of all ſtrangers whatſoever. And if we build fhops, warehouſes and ex- changes for common retailers, the rents of the houſes would be a great addition to our public revenues, and the magnificence of the buildings would be an ornament to the city. As the public builds gallies for war, fo it might likewiſe be for the advantage of the ſtate to make a new experiment, and build merchant fhips for trade, which might be farmed out, like the other branches of our revenue, upon good fecurity; for, if this defign was found practicable, it would prove a con- fiderable article in the encreaſe of our public income. Our filver mines alone, if rightly managed, be- fides all the other branches of our revenue, would be an ineftimable treafure to the public. But for the benefit of thoſe who are unfkilled in inquiries of this 316 A Difcourfe upon improving } this nature, I defign to premiſe fome general confide rations upon the true ftate and value of our filver mines, that the public, upon a right information, may proceed to the taking fuch meaſures and counfels as may improve them to the beſt advantage. No one ever pretended from tradition, or the earlieſt accounts of time, to determine when theſe mines firſt began to be wrought, which is a proof of their antiquity, and yet, as ancient as they are, the heaps of rubbiſh which have been dug out of them and lie above ground, bear no proportion with the vast quantities which ſtill remain below; nor does there appear any fenfible decay or dimi- nution in our mines; but as we dig on, we ftill dif- cover freſh veins of filver ore in all parts, and when we had moft labourers at work in the mines, we found that we had ftill bufinefs for more hands than were employed. Nor do I find that the adventurers in the mines retrench the number of their workmen, but pur- chaſe as many new flaves as they can get; for their gains are greater or lefs, in proportion to the number of hands they employ. And this is the only profeffion I know of where the undertakers are never envied, be their ftocks or profits never fo extraordinary, becauſe their gains never interfere with thoſe of their fellow traders. Every huſbandman knows how many yoke of oxen and fervants are neceffary to cultivate his farm, and if he employs more than he has occafion for, reckons himſelf fo much a lofer; but no dealer in the filver mines ever thought he had hands enough to ſet to work. For there is the difference between this and all other profeffions, that whereas in other callings, for inftance, braziers and blackſmiths, when their trades are overſtocked, are undone, becauſe the price T the Revenue of the State of Athens. 317 price of their commodities is lowered of courſe, by the multitude of fellers; and likewiſe a good year of corn, and a plentiful vintage for the fame reafon does hurt to the farmers, and forces them to quit their employments, and fet up public houſes, or turn merchants and bankers. But here the cafe is quite otherwiſe, for the more ore is found, and the more filver is wrought and made, the more adventurers come in, and the more hands are employed in our mines. A mafter of a family indeed, when he is well provided with furniture and houſehold goods, buys no more, but no man was ever fo overſtocked with filver as not to defire a further encreaſe; if there are any who have more than their occafions require, they hoard up the reft with as much pleaſure as if they actually made uſe of it. And when a nation is in a flouriſhing condition, no one is at a lofs how to employ his money; the men lay it out in fine armour, in horſes, and in magnificent houſes and buildings; women lay it out in great equipage, coftly habits, and rich clothes. And in accidents of war, when our lands lie fal- low and uncultivated, or in a public dearth and ſcarcity, what reſerve have we left to apply to but filver, to purchaſe neceffaries for our fubfiftance, or hire auxiliaries for our defence? If it is objected, that gold is as ufeful as filver, I will not diſpute it; but this I am fure of, that plenty of gold always lowered its value, and ad- vanced the price of filver. I have infifted the longer upon theſe general reflections, to encourage adventurers of all kinds to employ as many hands as poffible in ſo advan- tageous a trade, from theſe plain confiderations, that the mines can never be (19.) exhauſted, nor can filver ever lofe its value. That 318 A Difcourfe upon improving That the public has known this long before, is evident from our laws, which allow foreigners to work our mines upon the (20.) fame terms and conditions our own citizens enjoy. But to draw this difcourfe more immediately to the ſubject of my preſent confideration, which is the maintenance of our citizens, I will begin to propoſe thoſe Ways and Means by which the filver mines may be improved to the higheſt benefit and advantage to the public. Nor do I fet up for the vanity of being admired for an author of new difcoveries; for that part of my following difcourfe which relates to the examples of the prefent age, lies obvious to all the world; as for what is paft, is matter of fact, and every man might inform himſelf that would be at the pains of enquiring. It is very ftrange, that after fo many precedents of private citizens of Athens, who have made their fortunes by the mines, the public fhould never think of following their example; for we who have made enquiry into this matter, have heard that Nicias the fon of Niceratus had a thouſand flaves employed in the mines, whom he let out to Sofias the Thracian, upon condition to receive an Obolus a day, clear of all charges for every head, and that the fame compliment of workmen fhould be always kept on foot. In like manner Hipponicus had 600 flaves let out at the ſame rate, which yielded him a revenue of a Mina a day, and Philemonides 300, which brought him in a Mina a day, and many others made the fame advantage, in proportion to the number of the flaves they poffeffed. But what need we to appeal to precedents of an elder, date, when at this day we have fo many inftances of the fame nature before our eyes? In the Revenue of the State of Athens. 319 تا In the propoſals which I offer, there is only one thing new, namely, that as private men have a conſtant revenue coming in from the flaves whom they let out to work in the mines, ſo the public, in imitation of their example, fhould purchaſe as many flaves to be employed in the fame manner, as will treble the number of their own citizens. Let any reaſonable man take this whole propo- fal to pieces, and examine every diſtinct head apart, and then judge whether the deſign is fea- fible or not. It is plain, the ftate can bear the charge of the price of the flaves better than pri- vate men. And nothing can be eaſier, than for the fenate to make proclamation for all that have flaves to fell, to bring them in, and then buy them up for the public ufe. And when they are bought, what ſhould hinder any one from hiring them of the ſtate, upon the fame terms they hire them from private men? for we fee that our revenues are farmed by par- ticular men, and the repair and the building of our public ftructures and temples (21.) are let out to private undertakers. And that the public may be no lofer by the de- ſertion of flaves or other accidents, the adven- turers in the mines, like the farmers of our reve- nue, ſhould be obliged to give good fecurity to fave the ſtate harmleſs; though at the fame time the commonwealth may be much more eafily cheated by the farmers of their revenue, than by the hirers of their flaves. For how is it poflible to difcover the frauds that are committed in the management of the public money? there being no viſible diſtinction between public and private money; the fame materials and ſtamp being common to both. But when our flaves are burnt with the public mark of the 320 A Difcourfe upon improving the ſtate, with ſevere penalties to be inflicted upon all that buy or fell them; what danger is there of their being ſtole? Thus much of my propofal as relates to the buying and preferving our flaves, appears practicable beyond all contradiction. If any one queftions whether, after we have purchaſed a great number of workmen, there will be adventurers enough to hire them of the public, let him confider that the undertakers who have a good ſtock of flaves will hire more of the ftate; for the mines are fo great, that they will require a vast number of hands to work them; and many of the workmen that are grown old and unſerviceable, and many others, Athenians and ſtrangers, whofe bodies are not vigorous enough for labour, yet would be willing to get their living by eafier callings, would turn adven- turers in the mines, and hire our flaves; fo that there is little danger of wanting employment for our workmen. 1200 flaves, when bought, will probably in 5 or 6 years time produce a revenue fufficient to purchaſe as many more as will make the num- ber 6000. This number at the rate of an Obo- lus a day a head, clear of all charges, will afford a yearly revenue of (22.) 60 talents. And if but 20 of theſe talents are laid out in the purchaſe of more flaves, the city may employ the overplus as they think convenient; and when the number of flaves is encreafed to 10,000, it will produce a ſtanding revenue to the public of 100 talents a year. To demonitrate that the mines would take up a greater proportion of flaves to work them, I appeal to the authority of all thefe living wit- neffes who remember what numbers of workmen were employed in them before the taking of (23.) Decelea the Revenue of the State of Athens. 321 Decelea by the Lacedemonians. And our filver mines that have been wrought for ſo many ages, with fuch numbers of hands, and continue ftill fo far from being drained or exhaufted, that we can diſcover no vifible difference in their prefent ftate from the accounts our anceſtors have deli- vered down to us, are undeniable proofs of my affertion. And their prefent condition is a good argument that there never can be more hands at work in the mines than there is employment for; for we dig on ftill without finding any bottom or end of our mines, or decay of the filver ore. And at this day we may open new mines as well as in former ages, and no one can determine whether the new mines may not prove more rich than the old ones. If any one demands why our miners are not fo forward in purſuit of new diſcoveries as formerly: I answer, it is not long fince that the mines have begun to be wrought afreſh, and the preſent ad- venturers are not rich enough to run the rifque of fuch an undertaking. For if they diſcover a rich mine, their fortunes are made; but if they fail, they lofe all the charges they have been at: and this confideration chiefly has difcouraged the adventurers from try- ing fo dangerous an experiment. But in order to remedy this difficulty, I have fome (24.) propofals to offer to the public. There are 10 tribes at Athens, and to each of theſe I would have the government affign an equal pro- portion of their public flaves, to be employed in fearch of new mines, and the gains to be equally divided in common among all the fharers in the 10 tribes; for if the mines were once fettled upon this eſtabliſhment, and the whole under- VOL. I. taking Y 322 A Difcourfe upon improving I taking carried on by a national ſtock, the adven- turers would run little hazard; and if but one of the 10 tribes fucceeded in the attempt, the whole community would be gainers; and if 2, 3, 4, or the tribes had the fame good fortune, the profits would be proportionably greater; for it is a wild fuppofition, and againſt the experience of all ages, to imagine that not one in 10 ſhould fucceed in fuch an undertaking. Companies of private adventurers may carry on the fame trade in a joint ftock,. nor is there any danger that they and the national company will interfere one with another; but as confederates are ſtrengthened by their mutual affiſtance to each other, fo the more adventurers of all kinds are employed in the mines, fo much larger will the gains and advantages be to all. Thus have I briefly propofed fome confide- rations to the public, for eſtabliſhing the manage- ment of the national revenue upon fuch an inſtitution as ſhall make effectual provifion for the whole body of our people. Nor let any man be difcouraged from the con- fiderations of the vaft expence, which will be neceffary for the perfecting fo great a work; for there is no neceffity that either the whole defign muſt be finiſhed at once, or the public will re- ceive no advantage from it; quite contrary, every step we advance in our way, the ftate will gain ground; and by the gradual progrefs we make in our public buildings, in the rigging out our trading veffels, or in the purchaſe of our flaves, the commonwealth will be an immediate gainer. And it is certainly more for the advantage of the public to parcel out the defign, and finish it by degrees; for when many houſes are building at once, they coft more, and are worfe built: in like the Revenue of the State of Athens. 323 like manner, if we purchaſe our compliment of flaves all at once, we must pay more for them, and buy worſe into the bargain. But if we proceed gradually according to our abilities, we ſhall ſtill have the fame advantage of continuing any right methods we pitched upon in the beginning, and fhall be at liberty to correct the overfights and miſtakes we made at our firft fet- ting out. And if we perfect fome parts of our undertaking, and delay the execution of the reſt, the revenue arifing from part of our defign, which is finiſhed, will be fufficient to anſwer the whole expence of the remainder. But if we refolve to execute the whole project at once, the whole charge of the enterprize muſt be raiſed at once likewife. And then the great difficulty which will be ob jected to this whole fcheme is, that in cafe the public purchaſe fo great a number of ſlaves, the mines may happen to be overſtocked; but there can be no grounds for fuch an apprehenfion, if we take care every year to employ no more than there is actually occafion for. Thus I think the eafieft methods of finiſhing this defign are the beſt and moſt effectual. It may be objected, that the immenfe charges of this war have exhaufted our treaſure in fuch a manner, that it will be impoffible for the public to raiſe any new fubfidies, much lefs to advance the neceffary funds for fuch an undertaking. But this difficulty may be easily removed, for let the ſtate employ no more money in the adminiftration of the government the next year after we have a peace, than the annual income of the public produced during the war, and whatever additional improvements of our revenue are made by the peace, from the encouragement of ftrangers and mer- chants Y 2 324 A Difcourse upon improving chants, from the encreaſe of our exportations and importations, occafioned by the refort of more people, and from a greater vent of commodities in our ports and markets; let all that be appro- priated to this particular fervice, in order to advance the national revenue. If any one imagines that a war will ruin our whole undertaking, let him but confider that the execution of this defign will enable us to meet a foreign invafion, with fo many advantages on our fide, that a war in fuch a juncture will be lefs formidable to us, than to our enemies them- felves. For what advantage can better enable us to carry on a vigorous and fuccefsful war, than numbers of men? and by fuch an addition to the ſtock of our people, as might be made by due care and encouragement; what levies might be raiſed? what mighty fleets and armies ſet out, to diſappoint all the defigns of our enemies? And I have reaſon to believe, that it is poffible to work our mines in the conjuncture of a foreign war, for they are covered on the fouth fea by a ftrong citadel in Anaphlyftus, and on the north fea by another in Thoricus, and thefe 2 for- treffes lie at a diſtance of but 60 furlongs from one another. And if a 3d fort was built upon the top of a high mountain in the middle of the 2 former, the 3 works would meet together, and our filver mines would be incloſed in a circle, and guarded on all fides, and the workmen, at the first notice of an invafion, might retire to a place of fecurity. But if we are invaded with more numerous armies, our enemies may make themſelves mafters of our corn, wine, and cattle that lie without the works; but if they poffefs themſelves of 1 100 the Revenue of the State of Athens. 325 of our filver mines, what can they find to carry off more than a heap of ftones and rubbiſh? But how is it poffible for our enemies to make an inroad upon our mines? for the city Me- gara, which lies neareft, is above 500 furlongs from them; and Thebes, which is nearer than any but Megara, is more than 600 furlongs diſtant from them. If they advance to our mines in a ſmall body from this fide, they must leave Athens behind them, and run the hazard of being cut off by our horfe, and flying parties; for it is a wild notion to imagine that they will invade us with their whole force, and unguard their own country, and leave it expofed to our inroads; for, in fuch a cafe, Athens would be nearer to their cities than their own army. But ſuppoſe they marched up to our mines with a numerous army, how could they fubfift for want of provifions? if they foraged in fmall parties, they would be in danger of having their conveys intercepted; if they foraged with their whole armies, they must act upon the defenfive, and we ſhould be the aggreffors. The revenue arifing from our flaves would not only make a confiderable article in the charge of maintaining our citizens, but by the vaſt concourfe of people from all parts, the cuftoms of the fairs and markets at the mines, and the rent of our public buildings and melting houfes, and many other heads, would produce a mighty income to the ftate. The ftate upon fuch an eſtabliſhment would. be peopled with a prodigious number of inha- bitants, and the value of lands at the mine would be as high as thoſe that lie near Athens. A puifuit of fuch meaſures and counfels would Y 3 not 326 A Difcourfe upon improving not only enrich the city, but introduce a habit of obedience in the people; reform their difci- pline, and revive the courage of the nation. For if upon this improvement of our revenue, a larger allowance was eſtabliſhed for the main- tenance of our youth, they would be trained up to the art of war in our (25.) public academies with more exactnefs, and perform their military exerciſes with a more regular difcipline, than the racers in the (26.) torch-courfe are taught to ob- ferve. And our troops in garrifon, and the ſtanding guards of our coafts, would do their duty in their feveral pofts with more cheerfulneſs, if any effectual provifion was fettled for their fubfiftance. If it be made appear, that the revenue of Athens can never be improved or advanced to the full height without a peace, it may deferve the public enquiry, whether the eltabiithment of a (27.) council of peace would not be for the bene- fit and advantage of the ftate. For the inftitution of fuch a magiftracy would invite more numerous fettlements of foreigners to make Athens the place of their abode. For it is an abfurd fuppofition to imagine that peace will weaken our ftrength, and ruin our authority and reputation abroad; for of all go- vernments, thofe are happieft who have con- tinued longeft without war; and of all common- wealths, Athens lies faireft for flourishing and encreafing by the arts of peace. For Athens, in time of peace, is the great theatre to which all mankind have occafion to refort: To begin with merchants and command- ers of fhips, where can the traders in wine, oil, corn, or cattle have a quicker vent, or a better market for their commodities than at Athens? Where the Revenue of the State of Athens. 327 Where can monied men make a better improvement of their wealth; and where is there greater en- couragement for thoſe who live by arts of in- vention and ingenuity? Where is there better employment for artificers and mechanic trades? Where can the fophifts, philofophers, poets, and the lovers of the liberal arts refort to a more renowned ſchool of learning and humanity? Where is there a nobler fcene to gratify the curiofity of all ftrangers that are de- lighted with divine rights and inftitutions, and the celebrations of religious games and feſtivals ? And where can merchants of all kinds whatſoever, find a better market to make quick returns of their money than Athens. If my oppoſers acknowledge all this to be true, but ftill imagine that we can never recover the dominion of Greece but by a war, I defire them to look back to the Perfian invafion, and examine whether it was by force of arms, or our good offices to the Greeks, that we were placed at the head of the (28.) naval confederacy, and the common treafury of Greece. And when by a tyrannical exerciſe of our power we loſt our jurifdiction, by an alteration of our meaſures, and a milder adminiſtration, (29.) we were reſtored to our ancient authority by the joint conſent of all the iſlands. Did not the Thebans, in acknowledgment of our generous affiftance to their ſtate, place us at the head of the common (30.) alliance? and our rivals the Lacedemonians, for the fame confide- ration, quitted their old pretenfions, and fuffered us to give laws to the (31.) laft treaty, and diſpoſe of the fupreme command of Greece at our own diſcretion. And at this juncture, in the general confufion of Greece, we have the moſt favourable opportunity Y 4 of 328 A Difcourfe upon improving } of recovering our ancient dominion without dif- ficulty, hazard, or expence, that ever any nation had, for if we fet up to be the common media- tors of Greece, and interpofed our authority to unite all the divided interefts abroad, and recon- cile all the factions at home; and if by folemn embaffies to all the neighbouring ftates, we declared for the liberty of (32.) Delphi, all Greece would fupport us at the head of fo glo- rious a caufe, and unite in a general confe- deracy againſt the common enemies, (33.) who endeavoured to make themſelves mafters of Delphi, when the Phocians were reduced to ex- tremity. 1 And if we afterwards warmly intereſted our- felves to eſtabliſh a general peace by fea and land; all Greece, next to the fecurity of their own governments, would defire the prefervation of Athens. If any man can have fo wild a notion as to imagine, that war will contribute more to the en- creaſe of the riches of the ftate than peace, I know no better way to decide the controverfy, than by appealing to the experience of former ages, and producing precedents to the contrary out of our own ſtory. For upon enquiry he may find, that the vaft treaſure we had amaffed in peace, was all con- fumed in our former wars; and, to quote in- ftances of a freſher date, in the prefent war, all the branches of our income have been deficient, and what money came in upon the public funds, has been all applied to the preffing occafions of the tate; but fince the feas have been open, and our trade free, every article of our income is advanced, and the government is at liberty to en- ploy it as they think convenient. Not the Revenue of the State of Athens. 329 Not that I would adviſe the commonwealth to fit down tamely by their injuries in cafe of a foreign invafion; but this I am fure of, that we fhould be better enabled to revenge the affront, if we are not the aggreffors; for our enemies will never be able to form a confederacy to fupport them in an unjuſt war. Upon the whole matter, if nothing in this propofal appears impoffible or difficult, and if a purſuit of thefe counfels and refolutions will gain the affections of Greece, and eftabliſh our fecurity at home, and encreaſe our reputation abroad; if the common people will abound in all things neceffary for life, and the rich be eafed of their taxes to the wars; if in this univerfal plenty our temples will be rebuilt, and our religious fefti- yals and folemnities celebrated with more mag- nificence; if our walls, docks, and arfenals will be repaired, and our priefts, fenate, magiftrates and cavalry, reſtored to their ancient rights and privileges, is it not fit that all engines fhould be fet at work to promote fo glorious an undertaking, that in our days we may fee our country efta- bliſhed upon a folid foundation of fecurity and happiness? And if the public, upon due confideration, thinks fit to execute thefe orders and inftitutions, I would adviſe them to fend embaffadors to Delphi and Dodona to confult the Gods, whether fuch a reformation of our government would not turn to the advantage of the preſent age, and the benefit of all pofterity. And if theſe refolutions are ratified by the divine approbation, to confult the oracle once more, to the protection of what Gods we ſhould recommend the fuccefs of this enterprize, and then to propitiate thofe Gods we are directed to apply 330 A Difcourfe upon improving, &c. apply to, in order to engage their affiftance. And after this folemn invocation to enter boldly upon the execution of this defign; for it is but reaſon that all undertakings fhould be attended with more favourable fuccefs, that are begun and carried on under the immediate care and protection of the divine providence. A NOTE S UPON THE TRANSLATION. A Table of the Attic Coins reduced to the Value of English Money. HE Obolus was equal to 1 d. 1 q. TH The Triobolus was 3 Oboli, and made 3 d. 39. The Drachma was 6 Oboli, and made 7 d. 2 q. The Mina was 100 Drachmas, and made 3 l. 2s. 6d. The common Attic talent confifted of 60 Minæ, which amounts in our money to 187 10s. Theſe are the common Attic coins, which are moſt frequently mentioned by their writers, and which I have reduced to our English money, to make way for the eaſier underſtanding of this diſcourſe. Note (1.) Διὰ δὲ τὴν τῇ πλήθες πενίαν. The ftate of Athens was at a great charge in maintaining the com- mon people. They were allowed 3 Oboli a man for every cauſe they judged; and this penſion was called the Τριώβολον δικάσικον. Lucian. in his accufato. And fome days many thouſands re- ceived this penfion. The 332 A Difcourfe upon improving The spino was an allowance of 2 Oboli apiece, to pay for the fight of public fhews. Liba, in argu. Olyn. primæ. The Ἐκκλησιάς κου was an Obolus apiece, paid them every time they affembled. Juli. Poll. l. 6. c. 9. And this penfion was afterwards encreafed to 3 Oboli. Befides all maimed and diſabled citi- zens had a penfion of 2 Oboli a day. Harpocra. in verbo αδύνατοι. Note (2.) Xenophon fays only περὶ τας πόλεις, but the word cuμpaxidas is plainly underſtood, as appears from the fequel of this difcourfe, and Xeno- phon's treatife of the Government of Athens. This tax upon the confederates was at firft but 46a talents, but it was afterwards advanced to 1300. Plytar. in vițâ Ariftidis. This tribute was fo burthenfome, that it provoked the confederates to frequent revolts, Note (3.) METOínov, aliens duties. Μετοίκιον, This was an annual tribute paid by the aliens, of 12 Drachmas for every man, and 6 for every woman. Harpocra. in verbo μετίοκιον. The number of the aliens amounted generally to 10,000. Originally at Athens there was no diftinction between ſtrangers and natives, for all foreigners were naturalized promifcuouſly. Thucyd. l. i. c. 2. Thus all the Platæans were naturalized at once. Thucyd.l. 3. c. 55• And this cuftom was the foundation of their future greatneſs. But as the city grew more populous, they grew more fparing of this favour. Scholi. Thucyd. 1. 1. c. 2. and this privilege was given to fuch only as had deferved it by fome ex- traordinary fervice to the ftate. Demoft. Oratio contra Neeram. Note (4.) một Trades. Τέχνων, not τέκνων. The Bafil edition reads the Revenue of the State of Athens. 333 窿 ​reads it right; for most part of the mechanic and handicraft trades were carried on by the aliens at Athens. Xenoph. de polit. Athen. Note (5.) T ITTI. Xenophon explains this paffage in his Hipparchichus, where he adviſes the ftate to inrol aliens among their horfe. Befides the dignity of the horſe ſervice, there was a confiderable pay in peace and war allowed them. Ulpianus in Timo- crateam. Xenoph. in Hippar. Note (6.) Waste ground. Vide Thucyd. 1. 2. c. 17. Note (7.) Μετακοφύλακες. Every alien by the laws of Athens, was obliged to chooſe a private patron among the citizens. Harpocration in verbo posáτns, but here Xenophon propofes public patrons for the whole body of the aliens. Note (8.) 'Oppavopúλanes. Vide Demoft. contra Macartatum. Note (9.) Πανταχε πλειον το αρχαίο Λαμβάνεσιν. The mean- ing of Xenophon is, that the Athenian money was more valuable abroad than the coin of any other nation, becauſe it was finer, and conſe- quently was worth more than its own weight of any other filver that had more alloy in it. For it is impoffible that an ounce of Athenian filver ſhould be worth more in fpecie, than an ounce of other filver of the fame fineneſs. Senfus morel- que repugnant, atque ipfa utilitas. Note (10.) Τῇ ἐμπορία ἀρχῆ. This court of judicature was probably the fame with the vaulodíxai, mentioned by Suidas and Hefychius, in verbo vavlodínas. Note (11.) Προεδρίαις τιμᾶσθαι. This was a right of prece- dence in the theatres, fenate, affemblies of the people, 334 A Difcourfe upon improving people, and in all public places whatſoever. Schol. iriftoph. in Equ. This cuftom was practifed by the Spartans, who gave this privilege to the De- celeans. Herodotus, lib. 9. c. 72. 'Apopun, a fund. Αφορμή, αφορμή. Note (12.) Harpoc. Hefychius, in verbo Note (13.) Hegefilaus commanded the Athenian troops fent to the affiftance of the Mantinæans at the battle of Mantinæa; which is a proof that this dif courſe was writ after that battle. Diog. Laer. in Xenoph. Diodorus Siculus by miſtake calls him Hegelochus. Note (14) 1000 TpConov. Salmafius de modo ufurarum, thinks that this was the τριώβολον δικάσικον which the peo ple received for judging cauſes. But Xenophon's computation plainly confutes this opinion: He fays, that a contributor of 10 Minæ, or Drachmas, at the rate of a Triobolus, or half a Drachma a day, will in a year's time receive almoſt the fifth part of the principal money he advanced. Which is very true, for reckoning (as Xenophon always does in this diſcourſe) 360 days to the year, the payment of a Triobolus a day will amount to 180 drachmæ, which is near the fifth part of 1000 Drachmæ. But the payment of the rpibohov dixá- 50 could never amount to this fum, becauſe the holidays, by the confeffion of Salmafius, took up 2 months in the year, and on thefe days the peo- ple never heard caufes, fo that 30 Drachmas muft be deducted from 180, which reduces the fum to 150, which is little more than the feventh part of 1000. So that Salmafius is miſtaken, or Xeno- phon was a very loofe calculator. The true meaning of the paffage I take to be this: Xenophon, in the following part of this difcourfe, in order to make provifion the Revenue of the State of Athens. 335 provifion for the citizens, makes a propofal to the ſtate to buy as many flaves as would treble the number of their own citizens, which flaves were to be let out at the rate of an Obolus a day to the adventurers in the mines, which brought in a re- venue of three Oboli a day to every citizen, be- cauſe the flaves were thrice as many as the citizens among whom this revenue was to be divided. And this I take to be the Triobolus mentioned by Xe- nophon, which every citizen was to receive in re- compence for his contribution. Note (15.) Nautic-intereſt was the higheft intereft, and is here oppoſed to land-intereft, which was confi- derably lefs. For in the former the creditor run a greater hazard; for if the merchant who bor- rowed the money, and employed it in trade, loft his fhip, the creditor loft his money, and had no right to demand it of the merchant; a trade fome- what like our bottomry. This intereft generally amounted to 20 per cent. or the fifth part of the principal per annum. It is true, it often varied, and was higher or lower according to the plenty and ſcarcity of money, or the danger and diſtance of the voyage. But the general medium may be ſafely eſtabliſhed at 20 per cent. There are feve- ral contracts of money lent upon Nautic-intereft, extant in the orations of Demofth. contra Lacrit. pro Phormi. contra Pant. contra Phormi. ท Note (16.) Πλεῖον ἢ ἐπίτριτον. More than id part of the principal money: For a Triobolus a day in a year makes 180 Drachmæ, which is above d part of 5 Minæ or 500 Drachmæ. The róx iπirpil was the higheſt Nautic-intereft, and came to above 33 per cent. There is an inftance which comes very near this computation, in the oration of Demofthenes contra Phormi. 3. Note 336 A Difcourfe upon improving + Note (17.) Almost double their principal. For 180 Drachmæ is almoſt double one Minæ, or 100 Drachmæ. Note (18.) Foreign cities, &c. Foreign ftates often con- tributed to the public buildings of the Greeks. The Rhodians, when their Coloffus was over- turned by an earthquake, received contributions from all the neighbouring ftates, in order to re- ftore it. Polybius, lib. 5. And there are many infcriptions of fuch public benefactors extant in Gruterus, and elſewhere. Note (19.) That the mines can never be exhausted. It is plain from Paufanias that theſe mines were not worked in his time. Pauf. Attic. But this does not deſtroy the affertion of Xenophon; for the plundering the temple of Delphi brought out 2 millions of our money, which lay dead before; and the conqueft of Perfia by the Macedonians, brought fuch a vaſt quantity of filver into Greece, and confequently made labour fo dear, that the filver found in the mines would, in all probability, ſcarce countervail the expences of the working them. Or it might proceed from the fubjection of Athens to a foreign power, or from other ac- cidents, and not from any decay of the mines. Note (20.) The 'Exì lcoreḥsía. Upon the fame terms, &c. ftate was the proprietor of the filver mines, and ſtrangers or Athenians that worked in them, were obliged to pay the fame tribute of the 24th part of the filver found to the public. αγράφει μετάλλε δίκῃ. Note (21.) Suidas in It was the cuſtom of the Greeks to let out the The repair of our temple, &c. Midraι ispá. αι building the Revenue of the State of Athens. 337 building and repair of their temples to private un- dertakers, Athenæus l. 6. Herod. l. 5. c. 62. where he makes uſe of the fame word, vnov MiJvra; that is, "they hired the building of the temple upon fuch terms. And the Latins uſed the word conducunt in the fame fenfe. Conducunt fori- cas, i. e. repurgandas. Juvenal. Sat. 3. "" Note (22.) Revenue of 60 Talents. This computation proves that Xenophon reckoned but 360 days to the year; for 6000 Oboli, multiplied by 360, make 2,160,000 Oboli; which fum, divided by 600, (for 600 Oboli make a Mina) makes 3600 Minæ, which, divided by 60, (for 60 Minæ make a Talent) reduces the whole fum to 60 Talents. And the following computation of 100 Talents a year, produced by 10,000 Oboli a day, anfwers exactly to the former. Note (23.) The taking of Decelea, &c. Decelea was taken and fortified by the Lacedemonians in the 19th year of the Peloponnefian war, and lying in the heart of Attica, it gave opportunity to 20,000 Athenian flaves to defert to the enemy. Thucyd. 1. 7. c. 27. Note (24.) Xenophon in his former propofal would have 10,000 flaves let out at a certain rate to the ad- venturers in the mines, but in this ſecond propo- fal he adviſes the ftate itſelf to adventure in fearch of diſcoveries of new mines, which work was to be carried on by another fet of flaves, and not by the former 10,000. Note (25.) There were at Athens, and in other parts of Greece, military academies or gymnafia, where the young men exerciſed. Theophraftus de Blan- VOL. I. Z ditiâ 338 A Difcourfe upon improving 1 1 ditia Ariftoph. & Schol. in Equil. Xenoph. in 1, 2, 3. & 6 lib. de rebus Græc. Ἐν ταῖς λαμπάσι. 'Ev Taïs raμráci. Note (26.) Torch-course. There was a feſtival at Athens, on which a certain number of men ran with lighted torches in their hands. Pauf. Attic. To this ceremony Lucretius makes that fine allufion in his 2d book, Et quafi curfores vitali lampada tradunt. 'Eipnropúλanes. Ειρηνοφύλακες. Note (27.) Council of peace. This new magistracy which Xenophon propoſes to be infti- tuted for the prefervation of the public peace, was to be, in all probability, like the pnvodixaı or Fœciales of the Romans, who were inſtituted by Numa for the fame confiderations. Dion. Hali- carn. lib. 2. Ἑλληνοταμίας. Note (28.) Exλnvoraμías. After the Perfian invafion, the Athenians had the command of the confederate fleet, and were made treaſurers of the money con- tributed by the Greeks to the carrying on the war againſt Perfia. Thucydides, lib. 1. Note (29.) The Athenians recovered the command of the Greek iſlands (which they loft in the Pelopon- nefian war) in the 4th year of the 100th Olymp. Diod. Sicul. lib. 15. Note (30.) This alliance between the Thebans and Athe- nians was made in the 2d year of the 96th Olympiad. Diod. Siculus. lib. 14. Xenophon, lib. 3. de rebus Græc. Note (31.) This league between the Spartans and Atheni- ans, was made in the 4th year of the 102d Olympiad, not long after the battle of Leuctra. Diod. Sic. l. 15. Xenoph. 1. 7. de rebus Græc. Note he Revenue of the State of Athens. 339 1 Note (32.) For the liberty of Delphi. The Greeks made it a part of their religion, to preferve the liberty of Delphi. Thus the Lacedemonians. entered into a war to reſtore the oracle to the Delphians. Thucyd. lib. 1. c. 112. And the firſt article of their leagues often began with a mutual engagement on both parts, to protect the liberty of Delphi. Thucyd. l. 4. c. 118. l. 5. c. 18. Befides their religion, they had reafons of ftate for this proceeding: For if Delphi were fubject to a foreign power, the prieſtefs might be forced to utter whatever oracles the conqueror pleaſed to impoſe; nor could the refolutions and fentences of the Amphictyons, who often fat at Delphi, be free and unbiaffed, as long as Delphi was under a foreign dominion. Note (33.) If we knew who thefe enemies were that de- figned to feize upon Delphi, it would be no difficult matter to determine exactly the time when this difcourfe was written. Jafon, the tyrant of Theffaly, had formed formed a defign upon Delphi, but his death prevented the execution of it. Diod. Sic. Xenoph. Hift. Græc. Ælian. Frag. But this paffage cannot be underſtood to mean this attempt, for Jafon was affaffinated in the 3d year of the 102d Olymp. fome years before the battle of Mantinæa, and this diſcourſe, as I have proved in a former note, was written after that battle. I think that this paffage (taking the word ExλETóvTwy in a neutral fenfe as I have ren- dered it, and for which there are a thoufand authorities) ought to be underſtood of a defign the Thebans had formed upon Delphi. The ſtory in ſhort is this: The Thebans being en- gaged in a war with the Phocians, upon fome Z 2 difpute 318 A Diſcourſe upon improving diſpute about a frontier, formed a defign upon the temple of Delphi. Demoft. de Falsá Lega- tione, Ulpianus. And the Phocians at the fame time being condemned by the Amphictyons to pay a great fine for plowing up fome confecrated land, the Greeks prepared to execute the fentence by force of arms. The Phocians being unable to refift ſuch an approaching ſtorm, were reduced to great extremities, and compelled, for their own preſervation, to feize upon the treaſures of Del- phi: This gave beginning to the holy war, and all Greece engaged in the quarrel. The Athe- nians affifted the Phocians, but Xenophon adviſes them to break off that alliance, and declare for the liberty of Delphi, and under that plaufible pretence, to unite all Greece againſt the Thebans, who were equally criminal with the Phocians, (as Demofthenes obferves) for having formed the firſt deſign upon the Temple. This counſel he recommends to the Athenians, as the beft method to recover the dominion of Greece. I know it will be objected, that Laërtius places the death of Xenophon in the first year of the 105th Olym- piad, and the Phocian war breaking out fome years after, it will be impoffible to explain this paffage in my fenfe. To this I anfwer, that this account of Laërtius is certainly falfe; for Xeno- phon, in his Greek hiftory, mentions the death of Alexander the tyrant of Pheræ, which hap- pened, as Diodorus obferves, in the 4th year of the 105th Olymp. fo that Xenophon muſt be a prophet, or be alive at that time, 3 years after his fuppofed death. Xenophon likewife, in the con- clufion of his Greek hiftory, affirms, that after the battle of Mantinæa, Greece was in a greater diſorder and confufion than ever, But we read of no confiderable commotion in Greece, till the breaking 3 女 ​the Revenue of the State of Athens. 341 breaking out of the Holy War, in the 1ft year of the 106th Olymp. which engaged all Greece in an inteftine divifion. To confirm this account of Laërtius, it may be urged, that Xenophon living 90 years, accor- ding to Lucian in Macrob. and being preſent at the battle of Delium, which was fought in the first year of the 89th Olympiad, about 67 years before the Holy War, it is highly improbable that he was living at the time of the Holy War. It is true, Laërtius fays that Socrates faved Xeno- phon's life at that battle; but Athenæus 1. 5. fays that Socrates was not at the battle; and it is probable that the other part of the ftory of Xeno- phon's being there, may be equally fabulous, efpe- cially if what Athenæus (according to Cafau- bon's correction) fays be true, that Xenophon was but a boy at the banquet of Callias, which was 3 years afterwards. Befides, he is called a young man in his expedition into Afia; but at this rate he muſt have been 50 years old at that time, an age at which a man cannot properly be called young. But granting that he was prefent at the battle of Delium, if we allow him to be 18 years old, the age, if I miſtake not, that the Athenians uſually made their firft campaign, he would be but 81 years old on the first year of the 105th Olympiad, and confequently might write of the Holy War, which broke out 4 years afterwards. Nor does Lucian precifely limit his age to 90 years only, but fays he lived above 90 years. Xenophon in this difcourfe fays, that the Athenians had been engaged in a war by fea and land; that the war by fea was at an end, but the war by land ftill continued. This exactly agrees with the Bellum Sociale, or the war of the Athenians againft their revolted iſlands, which was carried on by fea, and begun in the 3d 2 3 year 1 342 A Difcourfe upon improving, &c. year of the 105th Olympiad, and ended in the 2d year of the 106th Olympiad, 2 years after the breaking out of the Holy War, which the Athe- nians were then engaged in. By this account, Xenophon writ this difcourfe about the 3d year of the 106th Olympiad, a year after the conclufion of the peace with the iflands. If the account of Xenophon's death in Laër- tius be true, I cannot believe this work to be genuine; for I believe it almoſt impoffible to ex- plain this paffage in any other fenfe. But the authority of all the writers who afcribe this dif courſe to Xenophon, and the conformity of the ſtyle with the reſt of his works, and that charac- ter of piety which runs through the whole piece, which is fo peculiar to the works of Xenophon, and that particular maxim at the conclufion of this treatife," of undertaking every thing under the favour and protection of the Gods," which he inculcates in all his works, and particularly at the end of his inάpxx, are undeniable proofs that this difcourfe is genuine, DISCOURSES ON THE PUBLIC REVENUES, AND ON THE TRADE OF ENGLAND. Which more immediately treat of the FOREIGN TRAFFIC OF THIS KINGDOM. Viz. I. That Foreign Trade is beneficial to England. II. On the Protection and Care of Trade. III. On the Plantation Trade. IV. On the Eaft-India Trade. PART II. By the AUTHOR Of The ESSAY on WAYS and MEANS. Z A 1698 * DISCOURSES ΟΝ ΤΗΕ PUBLIC REVENUE S, AND ON TRA AD E. PART II. DISCOURSE I. That Foreign Trade is beneficial to England. IT T may ſeem very ftrange, that after the trial of 100 years, there fhould ſtill remain a doubt among ſome people, whether or no an ex- tended trade enriches this nation. * A confide- rable perſon has affirmed in print, that ever fince the year 1666, we have been lofers by our Foreign Traffic; and many in their debates and counfels feem to have no other view and aim, than to promote the immediate intereſt of land; *Mr. Pollexfen: England and Eaft-India inconfiftent in their manufactures. believing I 346 That FOREIGN TRADE believing that our own native product is both fufficient for our fupport at home, and to defend us againſt our enemies abroad. Ift, They imagine (and therein are undoubtedly in the right) that our own foil plentifully fupplies us with the common wants of life, fuch as food and raiment. And 2dly, They think, that (over and above what we confume at home) our fishery, and the exportation of our woollen manufacture, tin, lead, leather, &c. may fetch us from abroad fuch goods as are of abfolute ufe; and, upon theſe grounds, they are always warm in the concerns of land, but feem more carelefs and indifferent in what relates to trade, than perhaps is conſiſtent with the welfare and ſafety of this kingdom. Whether or no we are able to fubfift by our own native ftrength, without other aid, will appear plainly when fome matters fhall come to be con- fidered. As ift, It muſt be duly examined what is the real value of the fish we cure, either at home or in other places, for foreign confumption, and what our woollen manufactures, tin, lead, leather, &c. may really yield us, in the markets abroad. Of theſe commodities, whatever we export yearly, is a certain wealth to the kingdom, and is indeed the foundation of all our commerce. But then, at the fame time, it must be con- fidered what foreign goods are of indifpenfable ufe; as the neceffaries for building and rigging of ſhips, Spaniſh wool, which is uſed to the working up of our fine drapery, raw filk, drugs, and materials for dying, faltpetre, falt for our fifh- ery, with many other commodities, without which feveral of our manufactures cannot be carried on. Befides is beneficial to ENGLAND. 347 Befides thefe, our luxury, and depraved man- ners, have introduced among us the ufe of many things fetched from abroad, as wine, oil, fruits, fpices, divers wrought filks, drugs for phyfic, perfumes, fine linens, jewels, &c. And to reftrain the people by fumptuary laws, in all thefe matters, muſt be the work of time, and will prove very difficult. It is not hard to fhew what is the annual income of England, from land, trade, and all fort of bufinefs; and what is the annual expence of the whole people both in war and in peace; and how much the national ftock encreaſes in time of peace, and impairs and grows lefs in time of war. Nor is it impoffible to compute what may be, the general amount of our exportations, nor to fet down in diſtinct articles, what is the yearly amount of both our neceffary and luxurious importations. But all this may be a difcovery, and an open- ing of the kingdom's ftate and condition, that peradventure is not adviſable. We ſhall therefore prefume no farther, than to affirm generally, (and upon very good grounds) that for thefe laſt 100 years, what we have brought in for real ufe, or mere luxury, with what has been needful for our expences in time of war, did, in the whole, in the balance of the account, very much exceed what we have car- ried out of our own native product. So that we could never have accumulated the mafs of wealth, which fhall by and by be fhewn was once in this nation, unless we had been en- riched by fome other dealings befides the exchange and barter of our own commodities, for the pro- duct of foreign countries: On the contrary, in- ftead of growing rich, our national ſtock muſt for Į 348 That FOREIGN TRADE for a long time have every year been impaired, notwithſtanding all the appearance we made of trafficking in the world, if we had depended purely upon our own exports, and if our expence, both in war and in peace, had not been main- tained and fupported by other helps, and by thoſe outward aids which fhall hereafter be mentioned. It is true, a rich foil may not only nouriſh its own people, but with the overplus enable them to taſte a little foreign luxury; but they muſt be then very moderate in all their appetites. Ancient frugality muſt be reftored; rents must be paid in kind, and the gentry muft live at their own feats. But admit fuch a reformation in the manners. of the kingdom could be brought about, it would hardly have the fame effect as the piety of Numa and the Romans had during his reign; for their neighbours, in fome years, would not diſturb with wars and invafions, a people, whom they faw fo innocently and well diſpoſed. We fhall hardly be permitted to live in the way our anceſtors did, though inclined to it. The power of our neighbours, both by land and by fea, is grown fo formidable, that perhaps we muſt be for fome time upon our guard, with fleets too big to be maintained merely by the natural produce and income of our country. We must therefore have recourfe to thofe artificial helps which induftry and a well governed trade may minifter. If we could fo contrive it, as never to have a foreign war, we might content ourſelves with lefs Foreign Traffic, which not only brings in the money that must pay the men, but breeds up the very men that muſt defend us. Mankind fubfifted by their labour, and from what the earth produced, till their corruptions had is beneficial to ENGLAND. 349 had brought in fraud, avarice, and force; but when the ſtrong began to invade the weaker, and when ſtrength was to be maintained by policy, they built cities, difciplined men, and erected dominions; and when great numbers were thus confined to a narrower ſpace, their neceffities could not be all anfwered, by what was near them, and at hand; ſo that they were compelled to feek for remoter helps, and this gave rife to what we call Trade, which, at firft, was only permu- tation of commodities. But the growing luxuries of men did foon make commerce too unwieldy to be managed that way: By degrees therefore, and in a long procefs of time, general conſent has eſtabliſhed gold and filver to be the meaſure of trade: And from a long ſeries of time, it is derived down to us, that fuch labour, fuch ſervice in war, fuch induſtry, fuch ſkill, fuch things of pleaſure, and fuch things of uſe, ſhould be worth ſuch a weight of thoſe metals. It is true, in forming very great empires, the concerns of trade ſeem not to have been much regarded: As force began them, fo force main- tained them on; and what wealth they had, came from the ſpoil of conquered nations: War, and its difcipline, was the chief object of their thoughts, as knowing that riches always follow power, and that iron brings to it the gold and filver of other places. Trade was firſt entertained, cultivated, and put into regular methods, by little ſtates that were furrounded by neighbours, in ftrength much ſuperior to them; fo the original traders we read of, were the Phoenicians, Athenians, Sicilians, and Rhodians; and the helps it yielded, did fup- port thoſe commonwealths for a long time, againſt very potent enemies. But 1 350 That FOREIGN TRADE + 1 : But theſe ſmall ſtates (with others which might be named) became in the end the prey of fome great monarchy, and the fuccefs, perhaps, of one battle fwept away what had been gathering by the induſtry of many ages. So that the gold and filver, which trade had forced out of the earth, as being its beft received and trueft meaſure, was moſt of it at laft lodged in the larger em- pires, and with the ſtrongeſt nations. Thus what the Phoenicians had collected, became a fpoil to the Affyrians, and the Affyrian wealth went after- wards to the Perfians. And before we proceed further in this difcourfe, peradventure it may be no unprofitable digreffion, briefly to give what account is to be gathered from hiftory, and that has occurred to our obfer- vation, concerning the progrefs of gold and fil- ver in the world; for trade and money are in their natures fo mixt one with another, that they cannot be well confidered apart; and they are like blood and ferum, which, though different juices, yet run through the veins mingled toge- ther. In our prefent queftion therefore, it may not be improper to trace the ſteps which theſe important metals have made round about, and to examine where they are now probably centered. The fpecies of gold and filver ſeems anciently to have moſt abounded among the eaſtern people, and particularly in Perfia, from whence it was brought into Greece, to bribe and corrupt the little ſtates of that country, but came thither in greater quantities upon Alexander's conquest of the Perfian empire; and upon fubduing Afric, Afia, and Greece, it was introduced among the Romans. By the donatives to foldiers, and the military ftipends, by the tributes, by computing the wealth of Craffus and others, and by fums given for is beneficial to ENGLAND. 351 for houſes, jewels, ftatues, and pictures, it ap- pears that gold and filver did very much abound in the Roman empire: But this fort of treaſure was foon carried away and difperfed into other parts, when the northern people had plundered Italy; and it grew very fcarce for fome ages in all the weſtern nations, but became more plen- tiful again, by the mines now in poffeffion of the Spaniards. We in Britain had fome tafte of this luxury, as carly as the Phoenicians traded with us. The buſineſs of men to Rome, with the in- duſtry and fertile foil of Italy, brought it back thither very foon. About the 14th century it abounded very much in the Low Countries. Hen. 7. by holding the balance of Europe, and by being courted by all his neighbours, brought into this kingdom an immenfe treaſure, which his fon, Hen. 8. (as appears by our records) diſperſed again abroad by his foreign wars, and the intereſt he took in thofe difputes that were between Francis 1. and the Houfe of Auſtria. Philip 2. as faft as the fpecies came from the Indies, fent it into France to maintain the league; from whence the plenty of money among the French may be first dated. About that time, England and Holland began their Foreign Traffic, which 2 countries (on this fide the world) have ever fince, till lately, been the principal center of gold and filver. But fince that time, theſe metals have taken an- other courfe; part of the French money has gone to the northern kingdoms for naval ftores, and a very large fum has been fent to the Porte, to fupply the Turks, which has journied yet farther, and is carried to remoter nations by the Afiatick troops. As 352 That FOREIGN TRADE > As to our coin, part of it is likewife gone to Denmark and Sweden for naval ftores; and fome has been exported for the uſes of trade; and no fmall proportion has been fent abroad to pay the army, which treaſure is partly diſperſed about in Germany. But as to Holland, there feems ſtrong reaſons to believe, that though the ftate may be fome- what impoverished, yet that the body of the peo- ple is richer now than before the war; fo that the United Provinces have at leaſt preſerved their former wealth, and perhaps encreaſed it. It is evident enough to any one who has con- fidered of fuch matters, that the money formerly in theſe parts of the world, is now very widely diſperſed about; and when it will come back to its former channel, is not eafy to determine. The riches we had here in England, was the flow refult of long industry and wiſdom, and is un- doubtedly to be regained by the fame methods and means that firft brought it hither. To fay we are not impaired by this long war, is a flattery that no honeſt man fhould be guilty of; but the efficient cauſes of our former wealth remain ftill, which are the fituation of this country, and the genius of its people adapted to trade; fo that a few years peace, if we fall into right meaſures, will very probably reftore our con- dition. This kingdom, but for feveral outlets it has had of its wealth, muſt have been exceeding rich, having fuffered no great revolution for above 600 years, and having been rarely diſturbed by the invafion of foreign enemies. Our kings have often made very coſtly expe- ditions, fometimes only for fame, but more fre- quently for reafons of ftate, to keep the balance even is beneficial to ENGLAND. 333 even between other princes; and though we were thereby brought very low, yet the ftrong conftitution of this government did bear it out, for there was radical moisture left, and the vitals were not tainted; and no wife empire values the expence of treafure, when the dignity, or fafety of the public is concerned; for as war confumes wealth, fo peace reftores it; and when the ex- pences occafioned by war, bring with them honour and ſecurity to the whole, it is always duly confidered by a free people. It is neceffary that countries who have a rich foil, and a flouriſhing and large trade, fhould be now and then engaged in foreign wars, to awaken in them their martial temper, and that they may not quite forget military difcipline; for if they are grown foft and luxurious by a long peace, their wealth will invite over to them invaders from abroad, and their being effeminate will make the conqueft eaſy. And though the late tedious war has much afflicted England, yet it may prove a very wholeſome, though fevere remedy, for thoſe dif- eaſes which were coming upon the body politic; and perhaps a few years more of luxurious inac- tivity might have rendered us no difficult prey to our powerful neighbours; and upon this con- fideration we ſhould more patiently bear the inter- ruptions war did bring to trade, from whence our wealth ariſes. It is moſt apparent that this kingdom, by a long continued peace, had gathered a prodigious heap of riches, and peradventure we fhall make it evident, that its fubftance, and ftock of all kinds, went on encreaſing every year till lately, and by the help of Foreign Trade. But becauſe a certain perfon, once a dealer to Portugal, now in an eminent poft, and the only VOL. I. A a oracle 354 That FOREIGN TRADE oracle of fome people in theſe mattters, has de- livered quite contrary opinions to what are here laid down, having afferted in print, " * That gold and filver is the only or moft ufeful treaſure of a nation; and that we have not encreaſed in riches, fince anno 1666, but have annually de- creafed very much by trade; and that money was more plentiful in 1656 than fince;" it will be requifite to examine into theſe notions, which he maintains dogmatically, without fupporting them with any arguments; and we ſhall endeavour to fhew, that theſe affertions of his are ill-founded, contrary to plain matter of fact, and repugnant to good fenfe and reaſon. Our trade, to all outward to all outward appearance, has much augmented fince the years he fpeaks of; but if we are lofers by it, it is high time to give it over, or, at leaft, that it fhould be leffened. Gold and filver are indeed the meaſure of trade, but the fpring and original of it in all nations, is the natural or artificial product of the country; that is to fay, what their land, or what their labour and induftry produces. And this is ſo true, that a nation may be fup- pofed, by fome accident, quite without the fpecies of money, and yet, if the people are numerous, induſtrious, verfed in traffic, fkilled in ſea affairs, and if they have good ports, and a foil fertile in variety of commodities, fuch a people will have trade and gather wealth, and they fhall quickly get among them a plenty of gold and filver; fo that the real and effective riches of a country is its native product. * Mr. Pollexfen: England and Eaft-India inconfiftent in their manufactures, p. 6. No is beneficial to ENGLAND. 365 No region can be thought purely to produce. trade by money, but where money is the native commodity of the place, therefore, generally fpeaking, trade may be faid to procure money, and not money to procure trade. And confidering the various neceffities of man- kind, at different feafons of time, in different countries, occafioned by war, plagues, famine, inundations, drowth, and other accidents, which, by altering the expence or need, may change the price of feveral commodities; trade may be rather faid to govern money, than money to govern trade. The want or plenty of any conmodity does. give the rule to its price, between country and country, and not only things of neceffity, but thofe of luxury, are fubject to thefe variations, which money, the fervant of trade, is forced to follow. Gold and filver are fo far from being (as this author fays) "the only things that deferve the name of treaſure, or the riches of a nation," that in truth, money is at bottom no more than the counters with which men, in their dealings, have been accuſtomed to reckon; for, fuppofe the Hollanders fhould lend to fome foreign ftate, upon jewels, or the pledge of cautionary towns, 3ds of all their fpecies, would they ceafe upon ſo doing, to be a wealthy people? mot certainly not, and fuch fecurity put into their hands, will be real and true riches. When a country begins to thrive by trade, it muft not be imagined that the encreafe and profit is preſently converted into coin or bullion; and a great ready cash is not the only fign of a thriving people, but their growing wealthy is to be difcerned by other fymptoms. A a 2 We 356 That FOREIGN TRADE We fhall therefore endeavour to define what may properly be termed the riches of a nation, and to fhew what are the probable figns that a country is no lofer, and that its condition is not impaired by Foreign Traffic. If it can be made appear that England, before the war, had within it the matter of which wealth may be truly faid to confift; and if we had then all the viſible marks of being richer and richer every year, it is hoped the authority of this gen- tleman, whofe chief experience has been gained by being a factor at Liſbon, will not mislead people to think that trade has been ſo deſtructive to us. As handicrafts- men when they firft thrive in the world, furniſh themſelves with all inftruments that are neceffary for their refpective callings; fo whole nations, whom trade begins to enrich, en- creaſe in their ftock of fhipping, which are the working tools of a trading people. When private men fee others fucceed by mer- chandize, it encourages them to venture their fubflance the fame way; and as the ftock em- ployed in trade augments, they fall to building a greater number of fhips, till they come at laſt to have a numerous fleet for the coaft of every country. But the trueft fign that Foreign Traffic has conveyed fpirits and nourishment into each vein. of the body politic, is, when trading nations are able to fit out and maintain a great naval ftrength, for their defence and fecurity. When a royal fleet can be readily manned, it is a fign that feamen encreaſe, and that they do not perish in long voyages. And when the ex- pence in foreign materials, that are requifite for a big navy, can be borne without any fhew of is beneficial to ENGLAND. 357 of weakneſs or decay, and when fuch an out- going of wealth is not felt, it is an evident mark that there are fecret fprings by which the expence is fed, and that there is treaſure brought in, to anfwer what is carried out. Numerous merchant fleets and powerful navies are not only figns of a thriving people, but are themselves real and effectual wealth, and, per- haps, more uſeful than any other kind of riches. Befides the forementioned ftrength, countries that profper, encreaſe in buildings; and for the adornment of thefe edifices, are able to let a great ftock lie dead in iron, lead, brafs and copper. Thriving nations have likewife great ftores lying by of their own manufactures, and of foreign commodities, and vaſt quantities of plate in private families. And as their riches encreaſe, they launch out into various expences, fome for ufe, and others for pleaſure; they erect magazines for military and naval ftores, and build fortreffes; and relating to pleafure, they adorn their houfes with coftly furniture, ftatues and pictures, and their perfons with rich apparel and jewels. What we have here enumerated, are not only the figns of a profperous people, but may be ac- counted national ftock, and as well efteemed riches as our own coined money, foreign coin, or imported bullion. But a country may have all the outward marks of wealth, which have been here defcribed, and yet its condition be bad and unfound at bottom. A nation may have great fleets and armies, and the appearance of a great Foreign Traffic, by large importations and exportations; the build- ings may be magnificent; private perſons may A a 3 accumulate 1 358 That FOREIGN TRADE accumulate much wealth, and the way of living of very many may appear fumptuous, and yet poverty may be all the while fecretly creeping upon fuch a country. But then the bad fymptoms are eaſily diſcerned, and the marks are very evident, of a bankrupt nation, and of a whole people collectively con- fidered, growing poor, by living above its con- dition, which has often happened. For in fuch a nation, the fubjects, without force and extreme difficulty, will not pay the taxes that muft maintain their fleets and armies: fome great buildings may be erected, but many private ones will fall to decay. A few will gather to themfelves great fortunes, but the number of fuch as impair and grow poorer, will be far more confiderable; and there will be here and there marks of fplendor among the better fort, but there fhall be an univerfal face of poverty upon the common people. Where a nation is impoverished by bad government, by an ill-managed trade, or by any other circumftance, the intereft of money will be dear, and the purchaſe of lands cheap; the price of labour and provifions will be low; rents will every where fall, lands will lie untilled, and farm houfes will go to ruin; the yearly marriages and births will leffen, and the burials encreaſe. The stock of live cattle muft apparently diminiſh; and laftly, the inhabitants will by degrees, and in fome meaſure, withdraw themſelves from fuch a declining country. Having thus defcribed the marks of a decay- ing people, it is left for impartial judgments to determine, whether this was at all the ftate of England before the war? If, as this Author firms, "fince the year 1666, we have annually decreaſed is beneficial to ENGLAND. 359 decreaſed very much by trade," would not our decays have been difcerned in fome of thefe par- ticulars? But perhaps it fhall be made appear, that we are now, at this very day, richer than we were in the year he has fixed for the æra of our declen- fion; and when we come more clofely to confider and define what is the real treaſure of a country, peradventure it will be evident that the intrinfic value of England was not fo great at his period of time, as it is at prefent, notwithſtanding the late war, which was the biggest and most expen- five that was ever known in Europe. It is notorious to any one who will look over ancient deeds, and examine old accounts, that before England became a trading nation, the general price of land was 12 years purchaſe; and it is as plain, that the legal intereſt for money was 10 per cent. About the year 1666, the value of land in the beſt counties, was from 18 to 20 years; and in the worst, from 14 to 16 years purchaſe; and the legal intereft was then 6 per cent. and there was a greater plenty of money, than of fecu- rities; all which will appear to any one that en- quires into thefe matters. This confiderable rife in the value of land, and fall in intereft, did, without doubt, proceed from a greater quantity of money got fome way or other into the kingdom; fince, in all rifing nations in the world, the price of land is high, and intereſt is low. This great improvement in our affairs from about 1600 to 1666, could be wrought no other way than by the progrefs we yearly made in Foreign Traffic. Nothing but a growing trade could have ena- bled us to pay the taxes and aids granted to A a 4 king 350 That FOREIGN TRADE 1 king James, and king Charles I. who received fums never known among our anceſtors; and could any thing elfe have furniſhed us with abi- lities to pay for fome years, during the common- wealth, a monthly affeffiment amounting to per ann. 1,651,702 %. If, for a long term of years, we had continued to pay 4 times as much as formerly to the fup- port of the government; and if, at the fame in- ftant, the general wealth and income of the nation had not increaſed proportionably, muft not the common people have been totally drained, and must not their condition, poverty, and way of living, have been juft the fame as it is in thofe countries, where the fubjects are burthened above their ſtrength, and quite exhauſted by taxes? But all the while, notwithstanding the great payments to the public, and a long civil war, there was a general face of plenty upon all Eng- land, all the different ranks of men were at their cafe, the common people were well fed and clothed, and the farm-houfes were in good re- pair, which is the trueft fign of wealth increaſing in a kingdom. This was the pofture of affairs about the year 1666, and our Author, perhaps, will join iffue with us here, and agree that trade did enrich England till that time. We muſt therefore exa- mine how things have ftood fince, in order to fee what weight may be fafely given to his new af fertions. If from 1666, till the breaking out of this war with France, the value of land did fall; if the in- tereft for money did advance; if great quantities of land went untilled; if our ftock of ſhipping had been leffened; if there was apparently lefs fpecies of money; if the plate of the kingdom was dimi- is beneficial to ENGLAND. 36x 1 Q diminiſhed; if we decreaſed in numbers of people; if the middle and inferior rank of men were re- duced to live hardly; and if the farm-houfes went every where to ruin, he had fome grounds to think our condition was impaired from that time, and to pronounce, as he has done, that fince then, "we have annually decreaſed very much by "trade." But quite the contrary of all this is manifeftly true: For fince 1666, the price of land, in the beſt counties, was come from 20 to 26 and 27 years purchaſe; and in thoſe parts, where formerly it was fold for 14 years purchaſe, it yielded 17 or 18: And as to money upon land fecurity, there was much more lent out from that time at 4 and 41, than at 5 or 6 per cent. From that year there were apparently more im- provements made in land, than had been known in 50 years before, by inclofing, manuring, taking in of wafte ground, and meliorating what was poor or barren; and yet great improvements had been made in the crown lands during the civil war. It is true, that from 1666, and perhaps up- wards, the rents of particular farms may have fallen in many parts of the kingdom; but, be- cauſe this matter has mifled many people to think that the condition of England did therefore grow worſe, it will need a little explanation. Rents may fall in fome places and counties, and yet the land of the nation in grofs improve all the while: As for example, when parks are difparked, and forefts and commons are taken in and in- clofed; when fen-lands are drained, and when many parts are meliorated by induſtry and manu- ring, it must certainly depreciate that ground which had been improved to the full before, or was capable of no farther improvement. But though 362 That FOREIGN TRADE though the rental of private men does thereby fink, yet the general rental of the kingdom, by fuch improvements, at the fame time rifes: And that fall, which has happened in the rent of fome farms and eftates, can have proceeded from no- thing but the forementioned, or the like reaſons. From the beſt obſervation we have been able to make, by.comparing the ancient fubfidies with the prefent aids and taxes on land, it does not ap- pear, that the general rental of England for land, houſes, mines, &c. (before we became confider- able in trade, viz. about the year 1600) did ex- ceed per ann. 6 millions. Which general rental we take now to be about per ann. So that the land of England, &c. at the rental of 6 millions, and at 12 years purchaſe, was anno 1600 worth The land of England, &c, at the rental of 14 millions, and at 18 years purchaſe, one with ano- ther, was anno 1688 worth. 1. 14,000,000 72,000,000 252,000,000 And this rife in the general rental did make the body of the kingdom ftronger, more powerful, and abler to wage war in 1688 than it was in 16co, though the rents of private men might fink all the while in fome part or other. This fall in private rents from 1666 to 1688 is more vifible, becauſe in our own memory, and therefore more complained of: But the rife in the kingdom's general rental was greater, in propor- tion, during that time, than in the preceding years, becauſe the improvements upon land were greater and more univerfal, between thoſe two periods, than } is beneficial to ENGLAND. 363 than at any time before; upon which account we were every way richer and more potent in 1688 than in 1660, though fome private rents did vi- fibly impair. As to our ſtock in fhipping, old and experi- enced merchants do all agree, that we had in 1688 near double the tonnage of trading fhips to what we had anno 1666. But as to the naval ftrength for war, we have in our hands an au- thentic account of that, and ſuch a one as may be relied upon, and it ſtood thus: Navy royal, December 1688, amounted to Navy royal, May 1660, amounted to Navy increaſed Tons. 101,032 62,594 38,438 As to the ſpecies of money, there feem good reaſons to believe that our quantity of coin in- creaſed all along, as our trade augmented. There were coined during the reign of queen Elizabeth, in filver, 1. s. d. 4,632,932 321 But then we are to confider, that ſhe recoined almoſt all the filver ſpecies of the kingdom, which had been de- baſed in the three preceding reigns, and that the ſtandard was varied in her time, which caufed a new fabrication, and the fame bullion was coined over and over again; fo that we can hardly preſume there were co- exifting of her ftamp, at any one time, in filver, above 1. 2,500,000 And 364 That FOREIGN TRADE 1 And fuppofing, which we think pro- bable, that the gold of former princes, 1. and of her ſtamp, might amount to 1,500,000 Then about the year 1600, when we began to make a figure in trade, the fpecies of money of this kingdom was probably in filver 2,500,000 In gold, 1,500,000 In all, 4,000,000 There were coined in the reign of king James I. in filver, And we have grounds to think in gold about 1,700,000 800,000 In all, 2,500,000 So that allowing 1,000,000l. for what was loft or melted down in thoſe two reigns, there might be in the begin- ning of king Charles I.'s reign, in gold and ſilver, about There were coined in the reign of king Charles I. of filver money, And, as we have reaſon to believe, in gold, about So that if all the gold and filver coined in thoſe three reigns had remained, there would have been in England, 5,500,000 8,776,544 1,723,456 of coined money, in 1660, about 16,000,000 But we have been informed, that from king James I.'s time, and during the reign of king Charles I. down to the year 1640, there was coined in the Tower, by contract, and for the ac- 9 count 1 is beneficial to ENGLAND. 365 count of the Spaniards, and which was quite car- ried away, a very great fum. And this is computed at 1,000,000 1. And in thoſe times they fabricated a great deal of fmall coin, as halfpence, pence, twopences, &c. which was fubject to be loft. During the civil war great fums might be buried, and never re- covered; time defaced a good deal; the ham- mered money was very irregular, which was a temptation to melt down the heavieft. As trade augmented, the want of bullion increaſed, and made the fale of bullion more a traffic than formerly: The uſe of plate, jewels, gilding, and lace, grew upon the nation; upon all which accounts there is reaſon to think, that very much of the foremen- tioned fum had been diminiſhed in the courfe of fo many years. Melted down, or otherways loft, On account of the Spaniards, 1. 2,000,000 1,000,000 3,000,000 So that there were not, in all likeli- hood, co-exifting of the coin of theſe 3 reigns, in gold and filver, in 1660, about And reckon for Oliver's and the Par- liament coin, gold and filver, 13,000,000 1,000,000 In all, 14,000,000 There were coined in the reigns of Car. II. and Jac. II. from 25th March 1660 to 25th March 1688, in gold, about 6,500,000 Carry over, 20,500,000 During 366 That FOREIGN TRADE 1. Brought over, 20,500,000 1 During that time, in filver, about So that if all this money had remained, there would have been in the king- dom, anno 1688, in gold and fil- ver, about 4,200,000 24,700,000 But out of this fum feveral abatements muſt be made, for Car. II. recoined moft of Oliver's and the Parliament money. 1. For which abate about 1,000,000 Any overplus in weight, did occafion the gui- neas to be melted down, and the fame bullion was coined over and over again, ſo that we never had effectually that fum in gold, which appears in tale at the Tower. 1. This, with what had been exported before 1688, may be a reaſon to abate, on the article of gold, about 1,500,000 The luxury of plate, jewels, gilding, and lace, having augmented all that while, and our trade increaſing at the fame time, and bullion frequently rifing in the market price, and the Turky, Eaſt- India, Norway, and Baltick traffics, exporting bullion (befides other accidents of money being loft by water and at land) we may well believe the forementioned great fum was very much reduced. And there is ground to think, that from 1660 to 1688, the hammered money and old gold, by melting and otherways, was leffened 1. 1,700,000 And by the proportion which the milled bore with the hammered money in common payments, there is reaſon to think that ſpecies had been di- > mini- } is beneficial to ENGLAND. 367 diminiſhed by melting, and otherways, from 1660 to 1688, near 1. For which an abatement must be made of So that the account will run thus: If all that was coined had remained, 2. 2,000,000 there might have been in England 24,700,000 Deduct for Oliver's and the Parlia- ment coin 1,000,Coɔ On the article of guineas 1,500,000 On the article of old gold and ham- mered money diminiſhed 1,700,000 On the article of milled money dimi niſhed 2,000,000 In all, 6,00,000 འ Which deducted from the foremen- tioned 24,700,000l. and there re- mains 18,500,000 And, in all probability, this was the fum which long peace and a flouriſhing trade had brought into this kingdom. A paper printed in November 1675, and pub- liſhed upon a debate then before the parliament, ſtates the gold and filver coined from 18th Octo- ber 1599 to November 1675, to have been 21,851,8767. 14s. 7 d. 1 But we have fomething more than this paper or bare conjecture for our computation, which the recoining of the money has, in a manner, made apparent. As we are informed, the clipt and light fpecies. brought in to be recoined, both into the Tower and country mints, amounted to, in tale, though not in weight, For 368 That FOREIGN TRADE For London, in tale, about For the country mints, in tale, about London and country mints, broad hammered money, to Auguft 14th, 1697, in tale, There might be probably yet ftanding out at that time, of light and broad money, in tale, about 1. 4,700,000 300,000 5,000,000 3,400,000 600,000 In all, 9,000,000 2 So that of the 18 millions and we had com- puted, here are 9 viſible in the filver fpecies; and either thofe gentlemen must be much mistaken, who reckon we have ftill as much money as ever, or there must have been in the kingdom a great fum of gold and milled coin in 1688. For what have we elfe to rely on at prefent? For the filver coin, London and coun- try mints, fince the 31st of Decem- ber 1691, to the 14th of Auguft 1697, amounted to but The money coined from plate, in the Tower and country mints, to the 14th of Auguſt 1697, amounted to about The old money ftanding out the 14th of Auguſt 1697, when recoined, may probably reach The gold coined fince the 31ft of De- cember 1691, to the 14th of Auguſt 1697, amounted to 1. 5,995,400 312,000 540,000 1,161,716 Carried forward, 8,009,116 is beneficial to ENGLAND. 369 ! 1. Brought forward, 8,009,116 The filver and gold remaining to be coined the 14th of Auguft 1697, will produce 126,892 In all, 8,136,008 Therefore, to make our preſent fpecies reach near to that of former times, there muft, at the Revolution, have been remaining in the kingdom, which muſt ſtill remain here, a great fum in the milled money of the preceding reigns, as alfo in old gold and in guineas. That before the war we had 9 millions in old filver coin, is beyond all difpute, and it is to be fufpected the high price of bullion Did lately melt down and export 7. 1,000,000 So that we had probably in guineas 5,000,000 In milled money 2,200,000 In old gold 1,300,000 9,000,000 Add to this for old filver money Total, 18,500,000 And we hope this computation will in fome meaſure hold right, or elſe it will be difficult to make out that there is remaining in the kingdom a fum fufficient to carry on our foreign and do- meſtic traffic. The confideration of this account makes us wonder what the forementioned author means in his tract of ["England and Eaft-India trade in- "confiftent;"] when he lays down, "That ex- portation of bullion is fo very deftructive to a "nation;" and when he would infinuate, "That VOL. I. B b ' 66 1656 370 That FOREIGN TRADE "1656 was the year in which we moft abounded "in money," when the contrary is ſo apparent; for the more bullion we have carried out, the more we have brought in, or in 1688 we could never have had fuch a treaſure in the fpecies of money, befides other wealth. As to plate, it may be fafely affirmed that there was more wrought for ufe in families from 1666 to 1688, than had been fabricated in 200 years before. As to inhabitants, fuch as are verfed in politi- cal arithmetic have fufficient grounds to believe, that the people of England were about 300,000 more in 1688 than they were even in 1665, not- withſtanding the laft great plague. As to the common people, there is no country in the world where the inferior rank of men were better clothed and fed, and more at their eaſe, than in this kingdom, nor confequently where they propagate fafter. As to buildings, during that time not only many ftately edifices, both public and private, have been erected, but farm-houſes have been kept up; and befides, from the books of hearth- money, and for other reaſons, it appears, that of fmaller tenements, from 1666 to 1688, there have been about 70,coo new foundations laid, of which the country has not wanted its proportion. We not only had no bad fymptoms of a country declining through an ill managed, or an over- trade, but our luxuries, and our own confumption confidered, perhaps it will appear that no people in the world had gained fo much by foreign traffic. That our bufinefs abroad increaſed is plain enough, for anno 1666 the farm of the cuftoms went at no more than 390,000l. but afterwards, from is beneficial to ENGLAND. 371 ! from Michaelmas 1671 to Michaelmas 1688, viz. 17 years, the cuſtoms yielded net to the crown 9,447,799. which at a medium was per ann. 555,752 l. This was a fufficient proof that our trade aug- mented; however that the nation in general was a gainer by trade, muſt be collected from other cir- cumftances. But fuch as duly confider the late war, which was fupported for 9 years, will hardly think that our dealings abroad had any ways impaired the condition of this kingdom. In all appearance a foreign war and a land army were by no means the bufinefs and intereſt of this country; for when Ed. III. and Hen. V. car- ried our armies abroad, the records of thoſe times make it fufficiently evident, to what degree this nation was impoverished by conquering, and how much we were undone by our victories. For neither induſtry at home (which meliorates the native product of the foil) nor trade abroad (which brings in new wealth) could in appear- ance breed blood faft enough to anfwer a con- tinual opening of the veins; infomuch that we may inftance many nations who have been ex- haufted and beggared by profperous fallies for fame, or to enlarge their dominions, while other places, invaded, or rent afunder by civil broils, have in the mean time increaſed in power and riches, becauſe their treaſure was not exported. Beſides the ordinary expences of the war, our dead loffes at fea, in 9 years time, have amounted to a greater fum than is fit here to mention. Moreover, to look a little backwards, between 1666 and 1688, we have had wars expenſive enough to us, reckoned at between 8 or 9 mil- lions: And from about that time we had, be- Bb 2 fides, 372 That FOREIGN TRADE fides, two confiderable ftops to the progrefs cf our growing wealth, which were the great plague, that ſwept away vaft numbers of our people, which, at the common valuation of mankind, might be worth 9 millions more; and the fire of London, in which of our own product and ma- nufactures, and of foreign commodities, there was confumed to an immenſe value, the whole lofs not much inferior to either of the former fums. Notwithſtanding all which, it is feen we have been able to maintain a war abroad, with a fleet at the yearly charge of 2,500,cool. and a land army, at the yearly charge of above 2,500,000 1. of which a great part, for fome time, has been ſpent in other countries. We have been already able (the ordinary reve- nue of the crown not included) to give, in taxes, upwards of 39 millions, of which about 25 mil- lions have been actually levied, 14 millions are in a way of payment, and the reft remains a debt to be provided for. All theſe things being maturely weighed and confidered, can there be any ground to think, that from anno 1666 England did every year im- pair by trade? On the contrary, does there not feem good reaſon rather to believe, that this king- dom had accumulated more wealth of all kinds, than any other part of Europe? Our own exports are capable of computation; and it is not at all difficult to compute what our own manufactures and product may have yielded for thefe 30 years laft paft in the markets abroad; but when we deduct for our own confumption of foreign goods, the overplus will nothing near reach to make up thofe prodigious fums which fince that time have been expended in the rebuilding of London, the carrying on of our former wars, and which is beneficial to ENGLAND. 373 which neceffity has exported, or which our miſ- fortunes have loft at fea, during the late war with France. A nation that in the ſpace of 30 years has been able to bear all this, and to refift fo many bad accidents, and perhaps fome ill conduct, (of which fuffering the coin to be fo defaced was not the leaſt) muſt have undoubtedly, within it, a great ſpring of ſtrength; and we may ſafely affirm, that trade has not been deftructive to fuch a country as this author would fuggeft. The wealth of a whole people is a great mat- ter to confider, but this huge body is compofed of ſmall parts, and is in its nature finite, and not fo big; but, in time, it may be compaffed, and embraced by human induſtry and underſtanding; eſpecially when there is fuch a footing to fix our reaſonings upon, as is the certain knowledge of the numbers of the people, which it is hoped fome abler head will hereafter fo improve, as to make all points, relating to the ftrength and power of England, much clearer than they feem at pre- fent. The writer of the Effay on the Eaft-India Trade has theſe words (page 93 of this Edition): “ I "have many cogent reafons, inducing me to "believe, that from about ann. 1656 to ann. 1688, "this nation has every year gradually increafed in "riches; by what degrees is needlefs here to in- "fert, but upon mature confideration, I may fafely ftate, that about ann. 1688 the increaſe, or addition to the wealth and general ftock of England, arifing from foreign trade and home "manufactures, was at leaft 2 millions yearly." 66 ss 6C • This paragraph our anfwerer very much quar- rels at, arguing from thence, "That 64 millions "must then have been gained, and that either the B b 3 C6 64 374 That FOREIGN TRADE " 66 64 millions hath been ſpent fince 1688, or elfe was never gotten. دو But, if there was not wanting in his writings fomething befides monofyllables, he could never have made, from thofe words, fuch an inference and fuch conclufions. The Effay never pretended that the ftock of this kingdom did annually increaſe 2 millions from 1656, but that its condition, from that time, went on improving every year, by degrees, till at laft the annual addition to the wealth of England did, about 1688, reach the fum of 2 millions and, to any unbiaffed reader, this will plainly ap- pear the ſenſe of the forementioned paragraph. The computations fet down in that Effay have a better foundation than our merchant can com- prehend, or have any idea about, whofe limited underſtanding and narrow mind feems never to have had any other object but his own private dealings from port to port. And the writer of that Effay may prefume far- ther to affert, that long ago we must have been impotent for the war, and that the nation could not stand fo ftrongly and uprightly as it does at prefent, after ſo many convulfions, but that it has been all the while, and is ftill, fupported by fuch a ftock formerly gathered, and not as yet ex- hauſted. And we fhall here humbly deliver our opinion concerning the ſtock of England, how it formerly ftood, and how it has fince proceeded: And if what we offer does not pleafe others, it may at leaft put them in mind of fhewing the public a more reaſonable and better fcheme. By the rules of that political arithmetic, which is our guide in all theſe matters, it does feem, That is beneficial to ENGLAND. 375 That the ſtock of England was anno 1600 about That in 30 years it near doubled, and anno 1630 was about That in 30 years it doubled, and anno 1660 was about That from 1660 to 1688, it above half doubled, and was 1688 about 7. 17,000,000 28,000,000 56,000,000 88,000,000 This ſcheme is calculated upon a general view and inſpection into the kingdom's ftate, and every article of it, may be made out and juftified by as plain demonſtration as any thing of this nature is capable of. The matters comprehended in it are the coined filver, coined gold, bullion, wrought plate, rings, &c. jewels, furniture, apparel, &c. ftock for trade, confumption, &c. and the live ſtock in cattle, &c. But it may be here aſked, how it came to paſs that this ſtock did not as well double the laft as the next preceding 30 years? the reafon of which we fhall endeavour to fhew, and the anſwer to this query will not only clear, but ſtrengthen our whole ſcheme, The first 60 years that England minded trade, it had introduced but little foreign luxury, and we were not interrupted in our courſe, either by ill accidents at home, or by wars abroad, which were the cauſes that we made fuch ſwift progreſ fion, and that our ſtock increaſed then ſo faſt. But there was a ftop put to our career, by the great plague in 1665; by the fire of London, which confumed a large part of the prefent ftock; by our wars abroad, and by our growing luxuries, Bb 4 which + 376 That FOREIGN TRADE : which drew to other ufes what formerly was left wholly to run in the channel of trade. And this we may reaſonably think was the cauſe that from 1660 to 1688, our national ſtock did not increaſe in the fame proportion as before. For without thefe interruptions, it would probably have amounted to, anno 1690, about Which would have been an annual increaſe of near 7. 112,000,000 2,000,000 However, when the kingdom had recovered thefe loffes and fhocks, which we have grounds to think it had perfectly done about 1680, (trade augmenting all the while, and becoming more ex- tenfive) its wealth grew fafter towards the latter end of this laſt æra of 30 years than before: So that there is more than probable room to conjec- ture, that about 1688 it came to reach the fore- mentioned annual increaſe of 2 millions. Our hypothefis (which we believe may be fup- ported by proofs very pregnant) is, that England, ever fince it had a large trade, would have doubled in its flock every 30 years, but for the interven- ing accidents of war, and other calamities to the public, for which, in the computation from 1660 to 1690, allowance is made. We have laid down that this ſtock was anno 1688 about 88 millions; and we fhall moreover preſume to advance, that no fum confiderably lefs could have maintained our expences for 9 years laft paft, without a far more vifible decay than is yet perceived among the people, And it is left for difcerning men to determine, whether barely our own product and manufactures could have enriched us with fuch a treaſure? if not is beneficial to ENGLAND. 377 1 not, it muſt have arifen from Foreign Traffic, or at leaſt, we cannot be decreaſed by trade. We ſhould be glad to know which other way the wealth that has maintained us fo many years could be gotten, unleſs poffibly it has accrued to England, by the means we are going to mention, which, perhaps, cannot properly be called a Foreign Traffic. A certain Iriſh author * has indeed fhewn us another fountain of our treaſure, having laid down in his Effays on Trade and Navigation (p. 15 and 16) that by an account he has feen, it appears that England, by a medium of 6 years, gained by Ireland 2 millions ſterling per ann. If this be true, we need trouble Political Arith- metic no further in the matter; but it is doubted this doctrine will not pass any where, except in fuch a college of merchants, as (pref. p. 6.) this whimſical writer would erect among his other fchemes. This national ſtock we fpeak of is every where diffuſed, confifting of many particulars, and what- ever is at prefent impaired in it, the war and our loffes have confumed. '' The 2 millions addition of wealth which we have mentioned, became annually converted into national ſtock, was the effect of a long peace and a flouriſhing trade, and was feen in the ex- tenſiveneſs of our traffic abroad, richness of our apparel and houſehold furniture, variety of new manufactures, and in the encreaſe of our cattle, buildings, ſhipping, plate, jewels, bullion and ready money, and in the vaſt ſtores we had by us of our own native goods, and of foreign commodities. And by how much we have now lefs of all theſe kinds of wealth, by fo much has the war impaired our condition. Sir Fran, Brerefter, Our 1 378 That FOREIGN TRADE Our ſtock in ftored goods, plate, jewels, money and merchant fhips, is apparently not fo great now, as it was in 1688; however, we have ftill fo good a profpect, and fuch a remainder of ftrength, as, if it be well managed, our affairs may be reſtored in fome moderate term of time. A good fymptom, for the prefent, of remain- ing health and vigour in the body politic, is, that we fee nothing abated in the price of our native commodities. And befides, without doubt, we have yet felt no fuch poverty, as has reduced us to let our buildings and farm-houfes go to ruin. As yet, there has been no where a viſible fall in the rents of land and houſes. It is true, the intereft of money is rifen, but that has plainly proceeded from the advantage men have found by dealing with the exchequer. It is to be feared our ſtock of fhipping for trade is lefs at prefent than before; however, our fleet and naval ſtrength is apparently more power- ful now than ever it was; and undoubtedly this war has bred us up more able feamen than for- merly we had. But the trueft fign of our vitals not being tainted, and that we are not wounded in any noble part, is, that our manufactures and all our home product, generally fpeaking, hold up to their former rates. For this is a direct evidence that we are not at all, or very little, diminiſhed in the numbers of our people; and it is a mark, that though we may have been interrupted in our importations, yet that we export rather more than in former times. If we decreafed in people to any degree, there would be lefs confumption, and confequently our home commodities would become cheaper; and if is beneficial to ENGLAND. 379 if there were not a great call abroad for our pro- duct and manufactures, they muft fink in valué here. Not only now, but during the whole war, they have fold well at home and abroad, which is a fign that we did not quite confume, and live altogether upon the capital, but that our annual produce and income did go a great way towards maintaining our foreign expences. But this must not mislead men miſlead men to think, becauſe our exportations have fupported us fo well in time of war, that we may live and grow rich, without much tradé abroad, merely by their help in time of peace; fince, perhaps, the courſe of this may quite alter. For as fome ferpents bear in their head a ftone which cures the venom of their biting, fo the miſchiefs arising from this long war, did, in a degree, produce their own remedy in relation to England. As it hindered our trade, and was expenfive to us, fo it interrupted the tillage, labour and manu- factures of other countries, and created there a neceffity of our commodities, to which must be attributed, in fome meaſure, the great call that has been during 9 years, for our corn, barrelled beef and pork, tallow, leather, cheeſe and but- ter, and coarfer fort of drapery; for which goods we muſt not expect there will be the fame oc- cafion, nor fo profitable a vent, in time of peace as in time of war. The returns of theſe commodities have helped to maintain our foreign expences, and have kept the radical moisture within the kingdom, which otherwiſe muſt have been quite exhaufted, by drawing out thofe fums that were neceffary to fubfift our troops in Flanders. This 380 That FOREIGN TRADE 1 ! This exportation occafioned by the wants which war only had brought upon our neighbours, has ſtood in the room of money, which elſe muſt have been exported; fo that comparing the pre- ſent ſpecies with what was in the kingdom in 1688, there ſeems to be ftill more money left than we could reaſonably hope to find after a war fo long and fo expenfive. By the ſtock that had been gathered in peace, and by the benefit of theſe more than ordinary, and in fome fort, accidental exportations, we have maintained ourſelves for 9 years; and now at the end of the buſineſs our condition is very far from deſperate. It were by no means difficult to give a very plain and almoft certain account how far the national ſtock and fubftance is impaired and lef- fened by the war; but we fhall avoid entering upon theſe particulars, and opening points, which are rather tender of being feen, than at all fright- ful to look upon; however, we fhall prefume fo far in theſe nice matters, as to affirm (notwith- ftanding all our calamities, loffes and expences, fince, or a little before the year 1666) that the riches of Fngland (all things confidered) are greater at this very day, than they were in that year; which could not poffibly be, if we had all the while decreafed by trade, as our Lifbon author has fuggefted. For whoever does enquire into, and confider of this fubject, will find, that in all things that com- pofe a people's wealth, (ftored commodities and ready money excepted) we are now actually richer than we then were; we have ftill more plate, jewels and furniture, than we had at that time; our ftock in fhipping is greater now than then; our ſtock in live cattle is from that time encreaſed alfo is beneficial to ENGLAND. 381 alfo in fome proportion; our improvements in building, and upon land, fince that time, are a dead, but valuable ſtock lying by us, of very many millions; and when all this is fet in the balance againſt what we may be deficient in the 2 articles of ſtored goods and money, every rea- fonable man will conclude, that one very much outweighs the other; and that though we may not have fuch a ſtock of ſtored goods and coin now as in 1666, yet that we are richer now than at that time in other things, which may be as well accounted wealth. It is a very hard thing to define what may be truly called the riches of a people. Our author in a manner confines it only to gold and filver; but with fubmiffion to better judgments, we think it has a fignification far more extenfive. We underſtand that to be wealth, which main- tains the prince and the general body of his peo- ple, in plenty, eaſe and fafety. We eſteem that to be treaſure, which for the ufe of man has been converted from gold and filver, into buildings and improvements of the country; as alfo other things convertible into thoſe metals, as the fruits of the earth, manu- factures, or foreign commodities and ftock of ſhipping. We hold to be riches, what tends to make a people fafe at home and confiderable abroad, as do fleets and naval ftores. We fhall yet go farther, and fay, that mari- time knowledge, improvement in all kind of arts, and advancing in military fkill; as alfo wifdom, power and alliances, are to be put into the ſcale when we weigh the ftrength and value of a nation. We can by no means agree with thofe prin- ciples our Liſbon friend would eſtabliſh, "That "jewels 382 That FOREIGN TRADE 1 " jewels, lead, tin, or iron, though durable, do not "deferve to be efteemed treaſure;" we think it more confonant to reafon, and more agreeable to the general opinion of mankind, that not only thofe commodities, but even perishable goods, may be held the riches of a nation, if they are convertible, though not converted into gold and filver; and this we believe does not only hold between man and man, as he talks of, but between one country and another. Induſtry, and ſkill to improve the advantages of foil and fituation, are more truly riches to a people, than even the poffeffion of gold and filver mines, of which Spain is fufficiently an in- ftance, whofe fubjects are poor, and government impotent, with all the wealth of the Weft-Indies. It is not the taking in a great deal of food, but it is good digeſtion and diſtribution that nouriſhes the body and keeps it healthy. The fame thing holds in the body politic; fo that gold and filver are often a furfeiting diet to a nation; and there may be as well too much as too little of this kind of treafure, if it be not turned to proper uſes. Where it flows fo faft in as to choke induſtry," or where it is fuffered to ftagnate, it does more hurt than good. The lazy temper (which is now grown invete- rate nature in the Spaniards) came undoubtedly upon them, with that affluence of money which was brought into their country in the reign of Philip II. prefuming upon which, they neglected arts, labour and manufactures; and the common people being the ftomach of the body politic, and that ftomach being thus weakened, and not performing its due functions, the food that had been plentifully thrown in, was not at all digeſted, C but is beneficial to ENGLAND. 383 but paffed through without giving any fpirits, ftrength or nouriſhment, to the members of the commonwealth. Infomuch that Spain is not at all the better for thoſe immenfe fums which have traverſed their country, but like hafty paſſengers, intending to fix their abode with a wifer people. Had the Spaniards added conduct and induſtry to their good fortune, peradventure they might have compaffed the univerfal monarchy they aimed at; for if they had employed any pro- portion of the vaft treaſure they brought yearly from the Indies in manufactures and uſeful arts at home or in trade abroad, undoubtedly they muſt have been the moſt powerful nation in the world. Trade and manufactures are the only mediums by which fuch a digeftion and diftribution of gold and filver can be made, as will be nutritive to the body politic. No fum that can be dug out of mines, bears any proportion with what may be made to rife from the whole labour of a trading and an in- duftrious people. A treaſure therefore accidentally flowing in, that interrupts and chokes this induftry, may be pre- judicial to the public. We may likewiſe add, that in Perfia and fome of the eaſtern nations (where it is believed there is more gold and filver than in any other part of the world) the common people are under the laſt degree of poverty, becauſe, through a wrong policy in their government, this treafure, which fhould circulate about, is fuffered to ſtagnate in the prince's coffers. Theſe metals then are fo far from being (as our author would have it)“ the only, or moft "ufeful 384 That FOREIGN TRADE "uſeful riches;" that fometimes they may be hurt- ful, and are never at all uſeful, but when in motion and miniftring to trade and the other buſineſs of a people. And wealth is fo far from taking wing by this life and activity, and going away, that nothing elſe can keep it in a country; for it flies the regions that pretend to fetter it by tricks and laws, and courts thofe places moſt which give it the greateſt liberty. The 2 chief ways of employing a flock of riches, fo as to make it beneficial to the public are, By ſetting hands to work, and advancing manu- factures, and improving whatever the earth pro- duces at home, in order to a fuperlucration of fomething from other countries for our own ufe. Or this ftock is made ufe of abroad, and fent out, either in our own product or in bullion, to exchange with the goods of other places for our confumption, or to be carried out again for the uſe of other countries. From what has been already faid, there ſeems reaſon to conclude that this kingdom cannot maintain itſelf in peace and in war by the bar- ter of its own product; we muft therefore place the hopes of our well and fafe being in the benefits we have, and may again receive, from our Foreign Traffic. What has relation to our manufactures and home product, ought juftly to be the care of the ftate, and ſhould receive all poffible encourage- ment, but this ought not fo entirely to take up our view, as to make us flight our concerns abroad. The poſture our neighbours are in, requires we ſhould extend our commerce to the utmoſt, in order to a continued breed of feamen, for the forming is beneficial to ENGLAND. 385 forming fuch a naval ſtrength, as is neceffary for our defence. Whatever buſineſs we quit and abandon, other countries will take up, and from our fpoils not only be richer, but much ſtronger. A great part of our domeſtic traffic depends upon our foreign commerce, and we muft fink in one, as the other decreaſes. The exportation of our own product is indeed the foundation of all our trade, but it is fubject to many accidents; other countries may fet up the manufactures which we excel in at prefent, and though not by the goodneſs, yet by a low price beat us down in the markets abroad; but fetting this fear afide, it is evidently true, that all along, as we have enlarged our Trade, both the confumption and exportation of our native pro- duct has augmented in proportion. We can enter into no new dealings with any people among whom we have not a vent for fome of our commodities; and if our manufactures are not more induftriously recommended, fpread and difperfed about, in the nations where we deal, it has proceeded from this, that very profperous countries feldom mind to improve things to their utmoſt extent. But we ſhall endeavour to fhew, that by the means of one Foreign Trade only, when it comes to be managed to its height and beft ad- vantage, England may annually export the value of 300,000l. in cloth, over and above what it carries out at prefent, which point, in another Difcourfe, fhall be more fully treated of. If the exportations of our native product had not gone hand in hand with our trade, and aug- mented as that did (or more truly fpeaking becauſe of trade) there could have been no vent VOL. I. Сс for 1 386 That FOREIGN TRADE for that prodigious encreafe, which certainly has arifen from the meliorating of lands for theſe laft 100 years. Trade all manner of ways occafions confump- tion, bringing a refort of ftrangers and an en- creaſe of people to all countries whatſoever where it flourishes and is encouraged. If what we have laid down all along in the feries of this Difcourfe be true, that our Foreign Traffic has added to our national ſtock, aug- mented our native ftrength, and put a higher value upon the land intereft of this kingdom, it fhould be the joint endeavour of all kind of ple to promote its welfare. peo- And the landed gentlemen fhould not be miſled by narrow-minded perfons who raife objections againit particulars, and make conclufions in fingle inftances, without having looked into the whole, and confidered how the general balance ftands. To enquire whether we get or lofe by this or that branch of trade, is an endless and uncertain fpeculation; the only queftion of importance, and which indeed fhould employ the thoughts of confidering men, is, in the main do we get, or lofe? A nation that by its whole dealing gets in the general balance, vifibly encreafes in ftrength and power, as the northern kingdoms have done fince the war, and as England and Holland did before it; and a country that by its dealings lofes at the foot of the account, does vifibly grow weak and decline, as Spain has done for thefe laft 60 years; and of this matter, fuch as have not been bred merchants are as competent judges as any trading perfon whatſoever; for it was to the deep judgments of the minifters of ftate, Richlieu and 6. Colbert, is beneficial to ENGLAND. 387 Colbert, and not to the merchants, that France owes the proſperity their trade was lately in, and it was their wiſdom, more than the induſtry of their merchants, that laid the foundation of it. In moſt preſent evils the worft is to be feen, but it is hard to forefee and provide for all the various events that may follow a new council. No good general engages himſelf ſo far as that a fair retreat fhall be impoffible; in the fame manner, wife ftatefmen never advance a counſel, that if it has bad fuccefs they cannot recover themſelves by an after game of prudence. Some errors in government may be committed which can eaſily be repaired, but others are fatal, and hardly find any relief in better conduct for the future. All this holds no where more truly than in meaſures concerning trade; all new fancies and advices pretending to limit or direct its courſe and channel, prove generally pernicious to it. One branch may feem prejudicial, but to lop it off may kill another, which, by fecret fibres, has relation to it. Laws, high duties, or prohibitions, may force the merchant to quit a traffic eſteemed hurt- ful; but if the want of this branch be found in the event to impoverish us, and to enrich thofe parts that have obtained it, by what induſtry is it afterwards to be recovered? And when by errors and falſe ſteps, trade has been once loft, did it ever return to any country? Long experience is more to be relied upon than any policy or human invention. What has been tried, and found a wholeſome diet for the body politic, fhould be kept to, and not lightly altered. This kingdom has profpered for 100 years, by every where extending its traffic as much as poffible; Cc 2 388 That FOREIGN TRADE poffible; and whether a contrary courfe would better our condition or no, is at leaſt uncertain. That fuch a trade hinders the conſumption of our own product; that we get by thefe traffics only; and that we loſe in the balance, by fuch and fuch a country, are matters eaſily ſaid, but more difficult to prove than is vulgarly imagined. For to determine pofitively in thefe points, fuch ſecret ſprings must be looked into, as, per- haps, quite lie out of human fight; and many times the workings of trade are as hidden, and unaccountable, as the operations of nature. One dealing may be thought hurtful, but the laying it afide may determine another which brings apparent profit. We bring from one place matters for luxury, but our ufe of them may bring them into fuch vogue, as to occafion our vending, in other parts, 3 times the quantity we confume ourſelves, by which the nation gains: We deal with one country to lofs, but this is the cauſe of, or lets us into, a trade with another region by which we get. We loft in the balance with France, but, perhaps, if we had not dealt with the French, the French could not have traded with Spain and Italy; and but for the traffic between France and Spain and Italy, peradventure we could not have en- joyed the commerce fo gainful to us with the Italians and the Spaniards. It is hard to trace all the circuits of trade, to find its hidden receffes, to difcover its original fprings and motions, and to fhew what mutual dependance all traffics have one upon the other : And yet, whoever will categorically pronounce, that we get or lofe by any bufinefs, muft know all this, and, befides, have a very deep infight into many other things. But is beneficial to ENGLAND. 389 But though the links and caufes of trade are often removed from human fight, its effects are always evident. He who looks into anatomy, will wonder how life can be at all carried on, when there are fo many pipes and conduits, of which any ftop- page is immediate death, and the reflection makes him melancholy. A diffection of the body politic is much of the fame nature, and not at all more cheerful work; and fuch as fearch into matters of govern- ment, will admire how a ftate fubfifts and thrives, when, in appearance, there are fo many things to hurt, and fo few to do it good. But if, upon the whole, a nation has thriven, and got ſtrength and power, though by what means is uncertain, it can hardly be advisable to change its courſe, and enter into new meaſures, no more than it would be wife for a man in found health to be always taking phyfic, becauſe fome empiric tells him he is out of order. It is often of pernicious confequence to en- deavour at being better than well, and not only private men, but bodies politic, will have very ill conftitutions, who are always tampering and try- ing experiments upon themſelves. Whether or no fome particular traffics pre- judice England, and put the balance againſt us, fhall be examined in another Difcourfe: Bot by what has been already faid, it is hoped we have fufficiently proved, that trade in general has done us no great hurt yet, whatever it may do here- after. The beſt courfe of making Foreign Commerce undoubtedly beneficial to a country, is to pro- mote and encourage frugality; for we are very far from adhering to the old notion, that luxury Cc 3 and 390 That FOREIGN TRADE and ſome excefs may be profitable. On the contrary, we are of opinion that thrift does pro- portionably enrich a whole people, as it betters the condition of a private man. But fometimes there are difeafes fo deeply fixed, that it is impoffible to root them out; and in fuch a cafe there is nothing left, but to keep the diftemper under, by natural and eaſy remedies. Many circumstances incline a people to more expences than are confiftent with the public wel- fare: Under a regal government they will be more pompous than in a commonwealth. Nations getting by merchandize, who hazard much, are defirous to enjoy fomething; and fertile foils. will induce men to be luxurious. The beſt ſkill in fuch a country, is to preferve things as well as may be, within the bounds of moderation, and to recommend decent thrift in apparel, furniture, equipage, and tables, by examples from the court, which are always moft prevailing. Kingdoms grown rich by traffic, will unavoid- ably enter into a plentiful way of living; but fo long as this is univerfal, when it is not ſplendid beggary, and that only among a few; when the inferior rank of men have their fhare of plenty as well as the better fort; when tillage, labour, and manufactures go on well in the mean while, when buildings and farm-houfes are ftill kept in repair, when people, lefs frugal than they fhould be, are, notwithſtanding, able to pay their taxes and aids to the government, and to provide for all things neceffary to their defence: In fuch a nation, fome excefs and luxury is rather the fign and effect of great prefent wealth, than the caufe and forerunner of future poverty. We in England are not tied to the fame ftrict rules of parfimony, as our rivals in trade, the Dutch. is beneficial to ENGLAND. 391 pro- Dutch. They muſt be always ready and vided with a good bank and fund againſt a land invafion. The ordinary charges of their govern- ment in time of peace, what for keeping cut the fea, payment of intereft-money for 25 millions, and other expences, amount per ann. to near 4 millions, which is a vaft fum for fo fmall a country; ſo that they are continually forced, in a manner, to pump for life, and nothing can fupport them but the ftricteft thrift and ceconomy imaginable, both in private and in public. But our cafe is far from being the fame; we are not ſo eaſily invaded; the expence of our government in time of peace, is much less than of theirs; we have a large and fertile country, and a great native product; fo that the whole public of this kingdom may grow rich, though the people confume confume more foreign commo- dities, and are more luxurious than in other nations. And, perhaps, it is not impoffible, but that our industry would be lefs active, if it were not awakened and incited by fome irregular appetites, which are more eafily found fault with than cured. A rich foil is apt to make a people lazy, and, peradventure, we fhould not be fo ftirring and inventive, but for our inclination to foreign vanities, which are the lefs to be apprehended, when it appears by many circumftances, that, inftead of growing poor, the nation did encreafe in riches. It is without doubt the honefteft and wifeft thing in the world, quite to cure luxury; but if it is grown too big for the laws made, or to be made, which often happens, and is, perhaps, our cafe; the next wifdom confifts in contriving to get fuch a foundation of wealth, as that the vain and Cc. 4 392 That FOREIGN TRADE and expenfive temper of a people may not be deſtructive to the public. ! He that frames his polity upon what mankind fhould be, will find himſelf almoft ever in the wrong: All regulations therefore must be made with fome regard to the preſent bent and incli- nation of the country. Where they have been long uſed to a loofe adminiftration, fumptuary laws, high duties and prohibitions, will have little effect towards the keeping out of foreign goods, especially fo long as the appetite to them remains among us; and fuch contrivances end only in making us fetch the fame commodities openly, or by ftealth, from the markets abroad, and at a higher price. To baniſh luxury quite, by a long feries of fteady government and wifdom, is certainly the moſt adviſable; but if the people is not to be reformed, and if this ſpendthrift humour is not to be cured, care must be taken to entail on the prodigal a vaft eftate, and to get for him fuch wealth as may weary out and baffle all his vani- ties. A large and extended trade brings this about, and has gained to England fuch riches as all our follies, riots, and ill conduct, have not yet been able to wafte; and our wealth may be perpe- tuated, and for ever entailed on this kingdom, if by falfe fteps, and through miſtaken meaſures, we do not neglect or abandon thofe fort of traffics which (as we ſhall endeavour to make appear) have been the moft gainful to us. We have fhewn fome very probable reaſons to believe, that, from the year 1600 to 1688, the general rental of England was near trebled, and the purchaſe of land half doubled: That the ſtock of the kingdom was multiplied above five- fold 1 is beneficial to ENGLAND. 393 fold, and particularly the fpecies of money above four-fold: And that we did improve in all kind of treaſure, not only from 1600 to 1666, but to the very time of the breaking out of the late ex- penfive war, contrary to their belief and affer- tions, who, having not in the leaſt weighed and confidered the whole, pronounce rafhly in impor- tant matters, and would propofe new meaſures, when the old ones have apparently been fo advan- tageous to the kingdom. In the following Difcourfes we ſhall do our beſt to fhew, what Foreign Trades bring with them the greateſt and moſt certain profit; and to make it appear, that it is the intereft of England to enlarge its traffic as much as poffible; that nothing but an extended trade can repair thoſe breaches which the war has made in our affairs; that our national ftock is yet large enough to carry on our commerce with vigour, that, in the courſe of a few years, our trade may recover its former profperity; that fome of thofe traffics which are vulgarly thought to hurt the kingdom, have all along encreaſed its wealth, that to ex- port bullion in the way of trade is not prejudicial to this nation. And theſe points we ſhall handle without either prejudice or partiality, and with no defign but to hunt after truth, and with the utmoſt of our abilities to ſerve the public. And whatever our fuccefs may be hereafter in examining and ſtating theſe difficult and per- plexed matters, it is hoped we have fufficiently inade out one propofition, That Foreign Trade is beneficial to England. • DISCOURSES ON THE PUBLIC REVENUE S, AND ON TRADE. PART II. A DISCOURSE II. On the Protection and Care of Trade. S private men are better trufted for being provident and watchful in their own bufi- nefs, fo it fares with the public of any country, in relation to its neighbours; and the more careful England fhall be of its foreign commerce, and the more vigorous we are in afferting its intereft, the more reputation and credit we fhall have abroad; for fuch as neglect themfelves, are feldom valued by other people. Our native riches, and apt fituation for commerce, and the flowing in of wealth up- on us, had brought in here that negligence, which ; On the PROTECTION, &c. 395 which long profperity does introduce in moſt places. But we are fo fore with the wounds of the late war, that, perhaps, we may now begin to look about us; for our prefent circumstances will hardly bear thoſe errors, which we might fafely enough commit in the more profperous condition of our affairs. If both the legiſlative authority and minift- erial power, do not interpofe with the utmoſt diligence and wisdom, we are in danger to lofe the moſt profitable and largeft fhare of all our foreign buſineſs. A great many traffics, very advantageous to England, have been loft by the fupine negligence of preceding times. As that to Ruffia, which the Dutch, and that to Greenland, which the Dutch, Hamburghers, and thofe of Dantzwic, have in a manner wholly engroffed. The Eaft- India trade for nutmegs, cloves and mace; that to China and Japan. Our dealings with the French were likewife rendered more difadvan- tageous from about 1684 and 1685, than they had formerly been, merely by our want of con- duct and courage, in fuffering their. commo- dities to enter here under low duties, and our goods to be in a manner prohibited their king- dom by high impofitions; fo that if the balance lay fo much against us, it was truly our own fault. We might inftance other traffics, which our folly and floth have fuffered to take another courſe and channel: Whether they are poffibly to be re- covered, is a great queftion, but to retrieve them muſt be the work of fome years; and for the prefent, it will fufficiently employ the public care to fecure what remains. The 396 On the PROTECTION and The forementioned advantages may, perad- venture, be regained by future prudence, but we muſt take heed of embracing too much at one time. For no remedies are fo dangerous as thoſe which pretend to cure all at once: And the diforders introduced heretofore by looſe adminiftra- tion, as they came in flowly, fo they are to be mended by degrees. It will be a great matter for the prefent, if we can recover the ground our Trade has loft during the late war. The act of navigation has been lately broken into very much, to the great decay of our ſtock of ſhipping and breed of feamen. Strangers feem to have beaten us, in a manner, out of our own ports; for it was obſerved in the port of London, That ann. 1695, there were of Engliſh- built shipping, but And ann. 1695, of foreign fhipping, Tons. 65,788 83,238 And, probably, if it were looked into, the fame obfervation might have been made the year before, and the 2 years after. By the unlucky conduct of our naval affairs, the Trade to and from this kingdom, was chiefly drove by princes and ftates in neutrality, fuch as Denmark and Sweden, to the Northward, Portu- gal and the ſtate of Genoa, who have hereby not only encreaſed in their fhipping, but in the know- ledge of our Trade; and unlefs care be taken to regain to England, in the very beginning of this peace, the ground we have thus loft, in all like- lihood, it will never be recovered. The breach of the navigation act, in our plan- tations, will have dangerous confequences, and the CARE of TRADE. 397 : the miſchief, if it obtain footing, may not be eafily cured. The bent and defign of that law was to make thoſe colonies as much dependant as pof- fible upon their mother country. Whereas, during this war, and the flack ad- miniſtration which war occafions, they have pre- fumed as it were to fet up for themſelves, and to load their effects on fhips belonging to foreigners, and to trade directly with other nations, fending thither their commodities, and receiving from thence manufactures and product not of our growth, to the great damage of this kingdom. So To wink at fuch proceedings has been lately the chief profit of corrupt governors, and if ſpeedy care be not taken, theſe abuſes will grow too inveterate or too big for correction. that, in proceſs of time, thefe colonies (if they fall into the practice of trading independently of England) may erect themſelves into independent commonwealths, or piratical focieties, which at laſt we ſhall not be able to mafter; by which means the plantations, which now are a main branch of our wealth, may become a ftrength to be turned againſt us. Theſe encroachments on the navigation act have principally been made during this war; and by how much theſe evils have obtained, by fo much we have loft ground in our bufinefs, both at home and abroad. The Norway and the Baltic Trades have been lately carried on in a more difadvantageous way than ever; they always drained us or money, but this, in fome meafure, was compenfated by their giving employment to near 100 fail of fhips, but now they do not employ 5 fhips; and for a great while, have exported between 3 and 40co. per ann. 4000 1. As i 398 On the PROTECTION and As to the Guinea Trade, this war has brought it to a very low ebb, the French having diſturbed our colonies, and deſtroyed our fortreffes and places of ftrength upon the coaft of Afric. The neglect in fettling the African Trade has forced the plantations for their fupport to deal with foreigners for negroes, and confequently to traffic with them in return for thofe negroes. Some of our Weft-India plantations have been likewife very much difpeopled lately by plagues and earthquakes; and in fome parts, during the late war, the natives are grown upon us; and, in other places, we have been haraffed and ruined by the French. Our Eaft-India Trade is alfo in a very bad con- dition; loffes abroad, and difcouragements at home, have very much diminiſhed the capital ftock. The late piratical attempts on the Mogul's fub- jects and allies in the Red Sea, have brought dif- ficulties upon the Company's affairs in India, not eafily to be overcome; and theſe piracies are partly the effect of that loofe adminiftration with which war is accompanied; for the fhips which have committed theſe depredations, have been chiefly fit- ted out from the Weft-India ports: If the governors there had kept a jealous eye over theſe freebooters and buccaneers; if they had narrowly watched their goings out and comings in; if, inſtead of ſharing in the fpoil, (which, perhaps, has been practifed) they had compelled fufpected perfons to give good fecurity for their behaviour, or laid an em- bargo on their fhips; and if they had been vigorous in feizing and profecuting thefe pirates at their return, (the contrary of which is but too notorious) fuch wicked actions and breaches of the laws of God and nations could never have been committed. It CARE of TRADE. 399 1 It appears fufficiently from the following ac- count, that in general, fince this war, our Trade is very much diminiſhed. Tonnage and Poundage, neat Produce. From Michaelmas 1687, to Michael- mas 1. S. d. (1688) 510,769 13 O 1689 416,517 12 8 1690245,951 4 73 1691 399,770 5 3 1692 | 484,222 16 8 1693 287,681 19 9 1694 407,584 17 101 (1695) 362,707 5 1 So that by a medium of 7 years, it appears the cuſtoms are leffened fince the war per ann. about 138,7071. 75. And this decreafe is in the tonnage and poundage only, befides the fall in the new impoſts or additional duties. This decreaſe could not have proceeded alone from a fall in the branches we have juft now mentioned, but must have been occafioned by a general decay of our Italian, Spanish, Turkey, and other Trades. Some people have been of opinion, that Trade and War could not go on together; but this is plainly a miſtake, for it is particularly obferved in the hiftories of Venice, how care in this impor- tant point, enabled that ftate to bear up, first against Maximilian the emperor; then againſt the French King: And this good order in their affairs, gave them power to ftruggle afterwards with a mighty league formed againſt them, and afforded them ftrength enough, a while after, to contend { 400 On the PROTECTION and • contend with the Ottoman empire many years in the reign of Selim. But, perhaps, no care nor wiſdom in the world could fully have protected our Trade during this laſt war with France. Upon any ill fuccefs, men are apt to blame thofe that govern; whereas no rulers can protect Trade any further than the neceffities of war will give them leave; for their chief object muſt always be the public fafety and the nation's honour. Never any league in its nature was more difficult to hold together, than that which England has been lately engaged in; trading countries were to be perfuaded to a long war, which they feldom care for; we were to fupport the Dutch, and the Dutch were to join with us, though rivals and jealous of one another in matters relating to traffic. The Houſe of Auftria was to league with Proteftants, in a manner againſt the Catholic intereft. Nothing could have produced order and form out of all thefe jarring elements, but the fupreme wiſdom of the king; his fame, and the opinion conceived of his conduct and military virtues, did reconcile all theſe diſcordant intereſts, till at last he has brought France to juft and honourable conditions of peace. But to maintain his figure in the alliance, and to bind together fo many princes and ſtates, who wanted not temptations to break and divide, he was compelled to maintain abroad a great land army, without which, Flanders must have been loft; and if that outwork had been once gained, Holland would have been quickly over-run, or muſt have confented to a feparate agreement; and if Holland had been reduced to thofe conditions, England must have been left to maintain itſelf by its proper forces. If CARE of TRADE. 401 If England and Holland had not exerted them- felves in a more than ordinary manner; and if the king's heroic ardour had not led him to feek out danger, to head his armies, and to give repeated proofs of his own and the Engliſh valour, this confederacy could never have held fo long together: For it is well known the princes of the Houſe of Auftria have not kept thofe pacts and ftipulations, they entered into at the beginning of it. The Spaniards, of 25,000 which they engaged to maintain in Flanders, have never had above 8000 effective men. And the Germans at no time have been upon the Rhine fo early, nor with fo numerous armies as they had promifed; fo that France muſt have overrun the Low Coun- tries, and diffolved the whole league, but for the German auxiliaries which England and Holland have all along paid; and but for the affiftance of the English troops, which alone have put a ftop to the progreſs of the French arms. In that juncture therefore, and with reſpect to future fafety, and a good fettlement at laft; and becauſe the war had been put upon that foot almoſt from the beginning, and that the league could perhaps be then held up upon no other terms, maintaining fo great a land force in Flanders was neceffary, and peradventure un- avoidable. Now, to have fo numerous a land army, and at the fame time to pay ſuch a fleet as would give Trade a full protection, was an expence which muft have brought us very low. Befides, to encreaſe our forces abroad, fo many troops were drawn from hence as left the king- dom at every turn unguarded; fo that we must have been liable to frequent infults upon our coaft and invaſions, if our whole naval ſtrength had VOL. I. D d not 402 On the PROTECTION and 1 not been kept together in one grofs, and in a body, which is inconfiftent with the Care of Trade. For to have preferved our Traffic against the attempts of France, it had been requifite to have divided the fleet into fmall fquadrons, which, as occafion required, might have watched the motions of the enemy, barred their ports, and been a guard to our merchantmen, both outward and homeward bound. And the French making a piratical war, being too weak to engage with us in a main body, their defigns upon our Trade were only to be oppoſed by fuch a divifion of our naval ftrength. The protection of commerce does principally confift, in allotting to each fleet fuch a compli- ment of feamen, as may be neceffary for failing the reſpective ſhips with fafety; and in allotting to each fleet fuch a ftrength of men of war for a guard, as its value and importance may require. But if this had been done, our coaft muft pro- bably have been left fo naked, that the French, before our difperfed and divided ftrength could have been gotten together, might have made a deſcent upon us, with fuch a number of troops, as could not have been refifted by the handful of men which all along has been left at home; fo that, while we were protecting trade, we might have loft the kingdom. And when our merchant fleets were taken, we blamed the management of the Admiralty; whereas, to argue the matter calmly, and without prejudice, neither our circumftances, nor our manner of making war, nor the nature of the alliance, could perhaps admit of better conduct. Thefe confiderations therefore make it a great question, 'Whether it be always beft to keep a war CARE of TRADE. 403 ! a war at a diſtance from us, unleſs it can be done by the armies, and chiefly at the expence of others. A long foreign war (without utter deſtruction to the nation that undertakes it) is hardly to be maintained but by making a ſtrong impreffion into the enemies country, and fo fubfifting the armies by the help of contributions, as Hannibal did in Italy, and the Romans in Greece, Afia and Afric, and as the French have lately done in their new conquefts. And if Trade cannot be protected in time of war, a trading nation must avoid being long en- gaged in fuch a bufinefs; but if Trade can be protected in ſuch a ſeaſon, (and of which there are fome inftances) a trading nation can beſt bear a war abroad, becauſe its imported wealth will, in fome degree, anfwer for what the war muſt carry out. But a people which cannot protect their Trade, had peradventure better fo order their matters, as to receive a war at home upon their frontiers, than to maintain it abroad; for though invafion may bring much ruin to the outward parts. yet they who are upon the defenfive, keep the expence within themfelves, and the blood retires inwards to cheer and fortify the heart; and thoſe diſeaſes which afflict the members are never fo dangerous as thoſe which affect the vitals, by carrying out the radical moisture. France, from the time of Charles IX. to the reign of Hen. IV. had a continual civil war in its bowels, and was often ravaged by armies from Spain and Germany; but this war export- ing no treafure, did not impoverish the kingdom; for, with the help of a little Trade, and by thoſe vaft fums Philip II. fent thither to maintain the Dd 2 league, A 404 On the PROTECTION and league, the French, when the peace of Vervins was concluded, were in a more flouriſhing con- dition than they had been for many ages. The defection of the Low Countries from Spain happened about the fame time; the Hol- landers had a long civil war in the heart of their country; but in this feaſon they began their Eaſt-India Trade, and fet afoot their other prin- cipal traffics, by the benefit of which, the invaded people grew rich, and the invaders became poor; for the ruin of the Spaniſh monarchy is dated from 3 unfortunate counfels; that is, from the great treaſure that was carried out to maintain the league in France; from the vaft fum that was expended for the invafion of England in 1588; and from their long foreign war to reduce the Netherlands. War in itſelf is not inconfiftent with the Care and Protection of Trade; but it may be put upon fuch a foot, and there may be fuch a form and manner of making war, as may render it almoſt impoffible fo to carry on Trade as to make it beneficial to a kingdom. A trading people can maintain a war when their ſtrength is fo difpofed, that their naval force may have no other care and buſineſs but to at- tend and guard their traffic; but this cannot be done with fafety, unleſs their land armies are kept at home to defend the country againſt invafions. And though fuch a foot of the war might not fuit with pait meaſures and the nature of this alliance, yet perhaps it may well enough confift with leagues to be made hereafter. As for example; fuppofe England were obliged, in a new treaty with the Dutch, to furnish for its quota 20,oco foot, in cafe of an invaſion from France upon Flanders or Holland. The CARE of TRADE. 405 The charge of 20,000 foot, is per ann. about 1. 500,000 This is an expence that cannot hurt the nation, and may be maintained by the fole help of Trade; and fuch a number of troops may be paid without any confiderable exportation of money in fpecie, which would then be left to turn in the uſes of our Foreign and Domeſtic Traffic. • But a great land army, maintained abroad, utterly drains the kingdom; and when we look back, it muſt aſtoniſh any one to confider how this nation has been able to bear fuch an expence, both at ſea and land. In 9 years the navy has coft us 9 years the land armies has In coft us Total, 6 s. d. 18,061,938 10 O 20,982,034 18 7/2/ 39,043,973 87을 ​One million leſs ſpent every year on a land army, and laid out upon a fleet, would encreaſe it full d, and render the navy fo powerful, that we might carry on a war at fea fingly by our own ſtrength. And hereafter, when the Hol- landers ſhall be eaſed in their quota of fhips, they may augment their forces at land, and very well defend themſelves and Flanders with a fmall addition of charge, and by 20,000 of our troops. And in caſe of a war hereafter, if the main of our expence run in this channel, we may fo encreaſe our navy, as that our Traffic may be protected; and fuch a force at fea may every where bring Dd 3 the } 406 On the PROTECTION and the fame diftrefs upon the French Trade, as their privateers have brought upon ours; with fuch a feet we may spoil their harbours, deftroy their ports, and perhaps break their naval ftrength. A war by fea will not be above our force, and, perhaps, by fuch an application of our power, we may be near as ufeful to any confederates; whereas, when we think of contending by land, the treaſure we must carry out, will make us be fooner exhauſted than our neighbours; and, in all confederacies, the burthen in the beginning, fhould (with geometrical proportion) be equally laid upon the whole; for if it bear too hard upon any fingle part, that part muft firſt tire and give qut before the reft; and it is by no means wife in any league to be the forlorn hope, and ex- pofed the first to ruin; for they who keep back and prudently referve their ftrength to the laft, are certain of the beft terms at the clofing of the bufinefs. Nothing drains a country fo much as a foreign war, where the troops muſt be paid abroad; it bears off the fpecies of money (the very life of Trade) and takes away thofe hands that would otherwiſe be encreafing the public wealth, and by the fword and difeafes confumes the people who are the most important riches of a ftate. But when we exert our chief ftrength in fetting forth a great fleet, and in being formidable at fea, (to which we are adapted by genius and fituation) and when we manage the war in that method, our money will be kept at home; for what is laid out this way, is rather a circulation, than a wafting of the kingdom's treaſure. The French have prevailed in a piratical war, becauſe we have been obliged to keep together in a main body; but at another ſeaſon we may watch CARE of TRADE. 407 watch and attend this divifion of their forces; for if one army varies its form of embattling, the other muſt do the like; and this not only holds in the ordering of a fight, but likewife in the very manner of making war. A good general, fupe- rior in ftrength, does not always keep his troops together in a grofs, and ſuffer the foe to waſte his country with continual parties: On the contrary, an able leader alters his meafures as he fees oc- cafion; and if he cannot come to engage in a main body, he tries, with divided ſtrength, and by ſkir- miſhing, to diſtreſs or oppofe the enemy. So, hereafter, when the war fhall be upon ano- ther foot, we may fafely divide our naval power as our neighbours do, and attend the motion of thoſe ſmaller fleets that from time to time may be ſent out to intercept our convoys. A trading country, contending in arms, is like a rich man at play with common gamefters, where it is always contrived, that he who has the moſt money ſhall be the greateſt lofer. But England will lofe leaft at the game it beft underſtands; and that is, to difpute its quarrels with ftrong and well appointed navies; with which not only we can offend our enemies, but preferve commerce, by which we are fupported. Negligence in the Protection of Trade is the worst part of ill adminiftration, becauſe it is de- priving ourſelves of ftrength, and adding it to thoſe who defire our ruin. However, in fome junctures, it is almoft im- poffible that its concerns fhould be duly looked after and regarded. ว But when the wifdom of the ftate provides, in leagues hereafter to be made, that our quota may confift in fhips, we fhall have no cares to divert us from minding our intereft at fea. D d 4 It 408 On the PROTECTION and It is a buſineſs we are mafters in, and we can bear the expences of it. But if we ſhould ever happen to have corrupt ftateſmen, a ftrong navy is by no means agreeable to fuch a miniftry: It is a matter the Houſe of Commons are well verfed in and uſed to; the charges of it are fully known and eaſily ſtated, where there is no inferting dark and deceitful articles. A fleet admits. of that œconomy which a vicious court abhors, and (contrary to what Crobylus anfwered upon this fubject) it is a manner of war, capable, in its na- ture, of a fixed and regular diet. The frugality, therefore, which it may introduce in the ſtate, is a barren field for fuch as mean to grow rich apace, whatever it ſhall coft the nation. But they who fit now at helm have no fuch thoughts about them; and undoubtedly they will provide that England fhall be never engaged in leagues and alliances, which may be inconfiftent with the Protection and Care of Foreign Traffic. In a peace we may recover the ground and ad- vantages we have loft of late; and quiet times, in fome degree, may reftore the condition of our af- fairs abroad; but our future fuccefs will very much depend upon the meaſures that fhall be taken, now the war is determined. In any counfels relating to our traffic, perhaps it will be neceffary to have two confiderations ever in our eye, and always before us; which are, ift, Though we deftroyed 17 capital hips at La Hogue, yet that, in fome fenfe, the naval ftrength of France is lately rather encreafed than diminiſhed. 2dly, Though the States of Holland may feem exhauſted by their long expences, yet that the body of the people is richer now than it was before the war. I There CARE of TRADE. 409 There need not many arguments to prove the firſt affertion, when we reflect that naval power does not ſo much confift in number of frigates as in able feamen; fhips may be built at home, or purchaſed abroad, and can be never wanting to thoſe who abound in money, but good and ſkil- ful failors muſt be bred up by action, and in a courfe of time; and there could not be a better ſchool for them than this piratical war, which for 5 years the French have carried on. The ſtrongeſt bodies, and boldeſt ſpirits only, will lift themſelves for fuch an enterprize; fo that their privateers were a conftant nurſery, and, without doubt, have bred them up a very great number of able feamen. As to the affertion concerning Holland, to make it out, it will be needful to give an account of that nation's annual expence and income; and this we are the better able to do, having feen a ſcheme to that purpoſe, drawn by a very ſkilful hand in all theſe matters, which, by inquiry from thoſe who underſtand the affairs of that country, we find liable to no material objection. It is calculated for the years from 1688 to 1695 inclufive. The State of Holland, anno 1688, ſtood thus: That Holland con- tains That the number of the people is 1 That the rents of land, houſes, and heredi- taments, was 7 8,000,000 of acres. 2,200,000 of inhabitants. 4,000,000l. ſterl, per ann. That 410 On the PROTECTION and } 4,000,000l. fterl. per ann. 13,750,000l. fterl. per ann. Brought over, That its trade and buſineſs was So that the general in- come of Holland was Whereof the taxes or public revenue were Confumption in diet, apparel, and inci- dent charges, over 17,750,000%. fterl. per ann. 4,750,000l. and above the taxes, 11,000,000%. Yearly increaſe in time of peace was 2,000,000%. Total, 17,750,000l. ſterl. As to the 4,750,000l. fterl. public revenue. The ordinary charge of ”. 1. fterl. 2,750,000 Intereft-money for 25 3,750,000 the government was millions, at 4 per 1,000,000 The incident or difcretionary ex- cent. pences, The yearly furplus applicable to the increaſe of ſhipping, and to naval and military ftores, or to lay up in money, 500,000 500,000 Total, 4,750,000 Suppofing . CARE of TRADE. 411 Suppofing then that the prefent war had, in 7 years, coft Holland 3,150,000l. per ann. or about They had ann. 1688, in fhips of war ex- traordinary, and in ftores and public mo- ney, at leaſt They have applied out of their ordinary re- venue, the difcretio- nary expences and furplus, 1 million per ann. They have raiſed ex- traordinary taxes, 1,500,000l. per ann. or 7, fterl. 7 5,000,000 7,000,000 10,500,000 J So that by this account, the ftate has wafted of its capital ftock in fhips, ftores, &c. or is run in debt, 1. fterl. 22,000,000 > 22,500,000 4,500,00Q But fuppofing that the government was de- creaſed that fum fince the beginning of the war, to the year 1695 incluſive, Yet confidering that by a more than ordinary frugality in diet, apparel, and other incident charges, relating to the confumption of things, which amounts to about 13 millions fterl. per ann. the people may well have faved th part, or half a million per ann. of their ordinary expences, in all for 7 years, And that by a more than ordinary in- duftry and application to trade, • 7. fterl. 3,500,000 during 1 412 On the PROTECTION and Brought over, during the war, and the great be- nefit they have made thereof by the high price of all foreign com- modities, eſpecially thoſe from In- dia, (occafioned by the lofs of ſo many Engliſh Eaft-India fhips, and the difficulties which the Engliſh Eaft-India company hath lain un- der of late years) they may well have advanced their profit by trade half a million per ann. more, in all for 7 years And that out of the 2 millions yearly increaſe in times of peace, the ad- ditional taxes this war having been but 1,500,000l. per ann. there re- mains an increaſe of half a million per ann. in all for 7 years, 1. fterl. 3,500,000 3,500,000 3,500,000 In all, 10,500,000 It follows, that though the govern- ment was decreaſed, as before, Yet that the people have increaſed So that Holland, in general, was richer ann. 1695, than in the beginning of the war, by Allowing then the prefent income of Holland to be half a million per 4,500,000 10,500,000 6,000,000 ann. more than in times of peace, 18,250,000 The ordinary charge of the govern- ment, 2,750,000 Intereft- CARE of TRADE. 413 Intereſt-money for 25 millions fterl. The extraordinary charge of the war at a medium Brought forward, 1. fterl. 2,750,000 1,000,000 3,150,000 The yearly confumption half a mil- lion leſs than in times of peace, 10,500,000 17,400,000 It follows, that there is yet an annual increaſe, in general, of That is to ſay, the public revenue has decreaſed annually about But the people have increaſed, com- munibus annis, So that, to carry this account on to the preſent year, if the Hollanders in 1695 were increaſed, And if they annually increaſe 850,000l. their ſtock muſt be now increaſed, fince the war, 850,000 650,000 1,500,000 6,000,000 7,700,000 This account has been examined in Holland by fuch as have reafon to understand the ftrength and weakness of that government; and they rather wonder how fo right a fcheme could be framed here, than make any confiderable objection to it. And it is here fubmitted to the public view; if it be wrong and faulty, there are enough in this kingdom able to give, in this matter, better lights; but if it hold good, it fhould awaken in us many ferious confiderations. We have taken notice of the increafe of fea- men in France, and the growth of their national ſtock in Holland; becauſe theſe two points, very probably, 414 On the PROTECTION and probably, will most influence in all things relating to our Trade hereafter. For as to France, fuch a number of feamen ás the late war has reared up in the French domi- nions, muft, in all likelihood, put that wife go- vernment upon endeavouring to make their Fo- reign Traffic more extenfive than it has formerly been, and they will be moved to it by two rea- fons; first to augment their naval ftrength, and then to inrich their kingdom. That which first makes a country think of Trade, is a natural inclination to the fea; (which iflanders always have) but art may do in fome what nature has done in others; and a nation, by cuſtom, may be brought to have a feafaring ha- bit, which perhaps is the prefent cafe of France; their piratical defigns, and the want of faltpetre, have made them more acquainted with the Eaft- India fhöres than formerly; their privateers and great fhips of war have vifited the coafts of Afric; they have been with a great fleet in the Spa- nish Weft-Indies, and they are no ftrangers to our iſlands and plantations there; the profits and ad- vantages they have gained in theſe voyages and by privateering, have brought a great many men to like and love the fea: So that trade, in pro- cefs of time, may come in that kingdom to be no longer the effect of force and art, but to ariſe from a genius in the people by much practice adapted to it. Their Newfoundland fishery has increaſed their feamen; and it is a certain maxim, that all ſtates are powerful at fea as they flourish in the fishing trade. Wherever a great number of men, either by inclination or cuftom, love the fea, that country will extend its commerce abroad; for all nations would CARE of TRADE. 415 Some places in- would enjoy it if they could. deed have neither ftock nor convenient ports, and others want hands to carry on the work; but where they have ftock, ports and hands, they cannot be long without the benefits of Foreign Traffic. Upon which ſcore we ought to apprehend now the peace is made, that the French will every where try to incroach upon us; that they will en- deavour to enlarge their Eaft-India trade, and put it upon a better foot; that they will ftrengthen thoſe plantations and colonies they have already in the Weft-Indies; and that they will give en- couragement to new diſcoveries. And Mr. Dampier, in his excellent journals, has given the world fufficient proof that the Spa- niards have left room enough for future induftry; and that all the countries yielding gold, and all the filver mines, are not in their poffeffion. Should the French fettle at the difemboguing of the river Mefchafipe, in the gulph of Mexico, they would not be long before they made them- felves maſters of that rich province, which would be an addition to their ſtrength very terrible to Europe. But this would more particularly con- cern England; for by the opportunity of that fet- tlement, by erecting forts along the feveral lakes between that river and Canada, they may inter- cept all the trade of our northern plantations. And though the French fhould invade and dif turb us no where beyond the line, (which is hardly poffible) yet fuch an increafe and addition to their naval power, as new plantations, and an extended trade must bring, will give England but an ill proſpect. As to Holland, if the national ftock of that ſtate be increaſed near 8 millions fince the war, as 416 On the PROTECTION and as there is reaſon to think it is, in regard that by the wiſdom of their conftitution they invite daily to them, and increaſe in number of inhabitants; that each private man leffens his way of living, and becomes more frugal when the commonwealth is under any difficulty and burthen; that in all their councils they have looked chiefly to the pro- tecting of their merchant fleets; that their care of traffic has preceded all thoughts of the war; and that almoſt their whole expence has been made at home: If their condition has improved, at the fame time that ours has wifibly impaired, it will be very dif- ficult for us to contend with them in trade, be- cauſe the ſtruggle was hard enough between us, when both nations were upon a much more equal foot than they are at prefent. Now the peace is concluded, they will enter the lifts with a ftrength unbroken; and we but with the remnant of our forces: It is true the ſtate is poor, but the people are rich; and, in common- wealths, poverty makes the government wife and frugal; whereas, too often, in monarchies, it ren- ders the public more defperate and thoughtleſs. Commonwealths emerge out of debts and difficul- ties, but monarchies (though it is not likely to be our cafe) plunge deeper in. Venice has paid off great debts and anticipations; but kingdoms, whofe wealth and fubftance have been impaired by falſe ſteps and bad management, inſtead of getting out, do generally proceed on to further ruin: And of this Spain is a ſufficient inſtance, whofe affairs decline every year more and more, becauſe the great ones, to whom the power is in- trufted, have an 'intereft that their loofe admini- ſtration ſhould be continued. But the wiſdom of our ftate will provide to pay off thofe debts the public is engaged in, which are a heavy CARE of TRADE: 417 a heavy burthen upon our domeftic and foreign traffic; for it is not likely that our manufactures can proceed very well, or that there will be any great bufinefs between England and diftant coun- tries, when 40 per cent. is to be got by dealing between the Exchange and the Exchequer. It is true, upon a peace, the diſcount of tallies will leffen, and intereft will be at an eafier rate; from whence muſt follow, that a greater fum will run in the channel of trade: But the national ſtock, which ſhould enable us to cope with our neigh- bours, is very much diminished. A large ftock forces trade, and a great trade quickens the ma- nufactures: On the contrary, want of ftock in a nation produces thrift only in a few of the wiſer fort; but among the generality, it is often at- tended by luxury and lazineſs, which always beget firſt private, and then public poverty. However, we have natural advantages over them in our fituation, ports, foil and product, which may yet enable us to contend with them, if we are not wanting to ourſelves in courage and conduct. The vent of our woollen manufactures will in fome meaſure preferve to us the Spanish, Portu- gal, Italian, and Turkey trades; and our red her- rings, pilchards, lead, and tin, all our own pro- duct, will help to keep up a commerce with thofe countries. And our tobacco, cotton, ginger, fugars, in- digo, with other commodities, if we take care to fecure our plantations, will create us buſineſs in all the ports of Europe. But ſtill we have reafon to apprehend, that they will endeavour to undermine us where they can; and that they will try, with their great ftock, to . VOL. I. underfell E e ! 418 On the PROTECTION and 1 underfell us, beat us out, and bear us down, in all the foreign markets. Their power is moſt formidable in the Eaft-In- dies; their councils looking always very far, they have ſpared no coft to obtain a fure footing in thofe countries, having erected there more than a hundred forts and places of ftrength. Ceylon, where all the cinnamon grows, is almoft fur- rounded with caftles; and to protect this land do- minion, if need requires, they can fit out 40 fri- gates: And by getting Bantam, they poffefs the ftreights of Scinda and Banca, by which, in a great meaſure, they may hinder all nations from any commerce with China or Japan. To bring theſe matters about, they have been at a vaſt expence, and much diminiſhed their pre- fent profit; but thereby have made it lafting, and laid a fure foundation for their future greatnefs, this trade being a fheet-anchor on which they can rely, in any ftorm that may happen to their go- vernment.. Whoever confiders ſeriouſly what a ftrength they have formed in thofe parts, and how they increaſe it daily, muſt needs be apprehenfive, that, fome time or other, they ſhould attempt to ingrofs the whole, and exclude England from that gainful traffic. It is true, as affairs now ftand, we have no rea- fon to fear fuch an enterprize; but the public of a country is to look forward many years, and to provide againſt dangers, though never fo remote; for intereſt and gain may hereafter divide nations, whom religion and mutual defence have united for the prefent. For the foregoing reafons, and many others that may be offered, it ftands us much upon to watch all their proceedings with a jealous and careful eye; ! CARE of TRADE. 419 eye; for we ſhall find it a difficult taſk, if we fhould be reduced to play an after-game, either of policy or force; fince thoſe wars prove feldom fuc- ceſsful, which are made to regain what might have been preſerved by ſkill and conduct. Commonwealths are rarely negligent; but even in thoſe conſtitutions, things would often go to wreck, if ſome ſingle perfon, in a particular man- ner, did not take the care of government upon him; and profperous ftates have all along had fuch a one among them, who, obliged to no more than others, has yet minded the whole, and di- rected with his fuperior wiſdom. Thus trade, with the noble buildings and ornaments of Athens, was owing to Pericles. The caution of Nicias preferved the Athenians, while his counfels were followed; and Phocion governed as much, and was no lefs mindful of the ftate, when a private man, than when he was chief magiftrate. Rome, likewife, was never without men of the fame tem- per and public fpirit; fuch as Cincinnatus, Ca- millus, Æmilius Paulus, Fabius Maximus, Cato Cenfor, and Cicero, whofe great abilities gave them fupreme power in a free country, and whoſe virtues made them at all times intend and mind the general intereft and concerns of the common- wealth: And where there is this fingle diligence and care in one, it makes all the reſt more active, and binds the whole together. And in monarchies, things have not fucceeded ill, where they have had fuch a mafter-genius in the miniftry. The prefent greatneſs of the French is chiefly derived from a a fucceffion of four very active and able men, in matters of ſtate, viz. Rich- lieu, Mazarin, Colbert, and Louvoy: But Rich- lieu was eminent above the reft; he neglected no part of government; raifing money was not his Ee 2 only 420 On the PROTECTION and 1 > only care; for we may plainly fee, he infpected into the lives and manners of the church, the dif cipline of the army, and the corruptions of the law, He fortified the frontier places of his coun- try; he provided military ftores; he put France into the way of having a naval ftrength; and at the fame time encouraged manufactures and pro- moted trade, as if his thoughts had been taken up with no other bufinefs. Such a genius would go a great way towards fecuring the trade of England againſt the power of France, and wealth of Holland: But an under- ſtanding ſo fublime is hardly to be found in any country; and, beſides, in a mixed government, an authority, though but to fuperintend the whole, will hardly be trufted to any fingle minifter; for though the general cares of empire are a fufficient burthen to princes, it is not liked they ſhould have a fervant and a friend to help them in minuter matters. We are jealous the prince fhould commit for much power to one man, as perhaps is neceffary to bring about any great thing; and ſuppoſe a very able ſtateſman ſhould riſe up in this country, and be brought into the management of affairs, with more than ordinary authority, he muft have very much ſkill and caution to fupport him againſt the envy of his fellow-minifters. For we have been long ufed to flack admini- ftration, and to have the fubordinate functions and offices of ſtate managed in a negligent and careleſs manner; and he that will endeavour to cure this, muft be thought forthwith the com- mon enemy, against whom all are to join; fo that as a genius very eminent, and fit for fo high a fta- tion, is rarely to be found; when he does appear, he will be hardly fuffered. And ་ CARE of TRADE. 42 [ And this kingdom has fome reaſon to be ap- prehenfive of ſeeing any perfon vefted with too much authority; for among us, thoſe who hitherto have had great power, have generally turned it against the people. We have feldom known a favourite, ftate fman, or chief minifter, confult, at one and the fame time, his maſter's greatneſs and the public good; they have commonly been driving at pernicious defigns, of fubverting liberty, deftroying parlia- ments, and making their princes abfolute and above the laws. But when there fhall be found a man jealous of the king's prerogative, and yet mindful of the peoples rights; who can have great power, with- out the infolence that attends it; who is vigilant for the ſtate, but careleſs for himself; who is fearful of doing ill, but bold in good actions; who values fame more than riches, and who can flight greatneſs, which he cannot preferve with his inte- grity and innocence; when fuch a ſtateſman ſhall appear upon the ftage of bufinefs, no favour or authority he poffeffes will be invidious. And fuch a minifter, ftout and active, would go very far in providing, that neither France nor Hol- land fhall encroach and grow upon us, in matters that have relation to our Foreign Traffic. The concerns of Trade are ſo perplexed, tedious and intricate, that no prince, let his abi- lities be never fo great, can have leiſure to attend them in his counfels; therefore, unleſs fome minifter will more immediately take upon him its Care and Protection, it does feem very much for the good of England in the prefent juncture, to commit this matter to fuch an inferior authority as may be accountable to the king in parliament, for any mal-adminiftration thereunto relating. Ee 3 The 422 On the PROTECTION and The Care of Traffic will chiefly conſiſt in well governing, encouraging and protecting the gene- ral Trade of the nation; for all which, no fingle part of the conftitution feems furnished with power fufficient; but the work muſt be per- formed by the concurrent affiitance of the whole legiſlative authority. To find out and eſtabliſh reaſonable, juft, and convenient rules for the governing of Trade, will be the point of the greatest difficulty; and if that could be compaffed, it might prove eafy enough to give it encouragement and protection. All things muft fucceed ill, where good govern- ment is not, and where men are left to take mea- fures only from their private intereft or appe- tite of gain. Nothing can be well governed that is not placed under the peculiar care of fome man, or body of men; and no perfons can rightly govern any matter, unleſs they are furniſhed from the laws with directive and coercive power. If the Trade of England, which is the com- mon concern of all, was made the particular buſineſs of fome one council of men expe- rienced and knowing therein; and if that coun- cil were armed with fufficient powers from the law, our Traffic might perhaps be managed more to the general intereft and welfare of the king- dom. To any one who has thought upon this fubject, it is apparent enough that the ftock and wealth of this country might have been very much im- proved and enlarged, if we would have added induftry and conduct to the advantages we hold from nature and by fituation. The Care of Trade does indeed belong to the executive power now in being, and is properly 6 the 1 CARE of TRADE. 423 the buſineſs of the eſtabliſhed miniftry: But if they have not from the laws authority fufficient to go through with fuch a work, or if their time is taken up in higher affairs, it may well become the wiſdom of a parliament to interpofe in the matter, and to make fome timely provifion that thoſe miſchiefs may be prevented, which a neglect of this nature muft certainly occafion to the people of England. The original of executive power ſprings from this, that the whole legiſlative power cannot be always affembled; and the nature requires of many authorities, that they fhould be acted by a fingle perfon. All executive power originally is in the king, who not being able to perform every function of ftate in his own perfon, commits part of his authority to other people, who reprefent him in his courts of juftice, in his armies, his fleets and revenues; and when the executive power is thus divided, if the public fervice yet require more help, it can be no breach into the conftitution, for the legiſlative authority to make yet a further divifion, and to commit new powers to new perfons, for the better government of the com- mon buſineſs. The erecting a new magiftracy upon urgent occafions has proved very fortunate to many nations, eſpecially where the people have a ſhare and intereft in the laws, and where the con- ſtitution has a mixture in it of popular govern- ment; for next to a profperous adminiftration, men like that matters fhould be adminiſtered according to their own fancy and direction; and many wife lawgivers, rulers and directors of kingdoms and commonwealths, have herein fol- lowed the bent and humour of the people, by which Ee 4 424 On the PROTECTION and which means, of two points, they gained one, either to have the affairs of ftate better managed, or to let the people fee they could not be better adminiſtered by officers of their own choice and appointment. Our commerce abroad is not to be recovered but by men of fkill and courage, who will make a fevere inquifition into the advantages other countries daily gain upon us; for which reaſon, in all appearance, hardly any perſons will have weight enough for fo important a matter, unleſs they derive their power from the whole legiſlative authority. For the well governing and protecting Trade, many things muft perhaps be done that may thwart the intereft of other nations; and this un- pleaſant office may be performed more gracefully by authority of parliament, than by any fingle part of the conftitution; for thoſe compliments. which are expected from princes, are not looked for from affemblies met to enact laws for their common fafety and benefit. Perfons appointed by parliament, can boldly reprefent, from time to time, what infractions are made in the treaties of commerce now fubfifting, or which we fhall make hereafter. Such a council can watch that matters relating to our Traffic be not neglected or betrayed by our minifters abroad; and that important points be not loft, for want of courage to affert the intereft of England in foreign courts. They may be impowered to correſpond with the king's minifters abroad, and from time to time to receive an account how the pofture of our Trade ſtands, and upon what foot we deal with the reſpective nations where they refide, what improvements may be therein made, what many- CARE of TRADE.. 425 manufactures they have among them, and what commodities they take from other countries, which might as well be furniſhed from England. A council of this kind may enquire, What Foreign Trades are near lofing, or now loft to this kingdom, and by what methods they are to be recovered? They may look into the general ftate and con- dition of our foreign commerce. First, how the balance ſtands, where we get, and where we loſe in our traffic with other nations: Then, where we make returns by our own product, or only in money or bullion. For if this can be known, ftated, and well underſtood, peradventure we might thereunto fit and adapt fumptuary laws, fuch as might pro- hibit at home the uſe of commodities from thoſe countries where we loſe in the balance, and where Trade is hurtful to us. Such a council can maturely weigh and repre- fent to the parliament, what amendment, alte- rations, and additions, may be neceffary in the act of navigation. But one of their moſt important cares would be to ſee that law, excellent in the main, better put in execution. Such a council might confider of the Trade betwixt England and Ireland, fo as to make Ire- land uſeful, lefs chargeable, and not dangerous to England. This council might likewife inſpect the Plan- tation Trade; in which colonies it is faid, fuch practices are afoot, (by the corruption of gover- nors there, and through our negligence at home) as will very much hurt England hereafter; and, in the mean time, embroil us with diftant coun- tries. A coun- 426 On the PROTECTION and A council of this nature may alfo look into the feveral manufactures of this kingdom, and fee what improvements may be therein made, and what foreign manufactures may be invited hither by good encouragement. They might contrive a fcheme for eſtabliſhing a court merchant, where controverfies in Trade might be determined fummarily, with lefs charge, and more expedition than the forms of common law admit. They might likewife propofe fome way of making bills transferable, which would fupply the want of fpecies and enlarge credit. And perhaps, it may be thought for the public fervice, to give fuch a council power to examine into, and correct the frauds committed in the goodness, weight, meaſure and fineness of our feveral manufactures and commodities; in which, a nation that is defective, does lofe its credit and reputation abroad, and confequently its Trade. They might likewife prepare for the parlia- ment, a regular and well-digefted fcheme for fet- ting the poor to work; and if thofe hands could be uſefully employed, it would eafe the landed men, advance manufactures, and, in procefs of time, very much enrich the kingdom. And peradventure fuch a council might pro- poſe a way to recover the Fishing Trade, for herrings upon our own coaft, and for ling and cod; which would be a greater wealth to Eng- land, than the mines of Petofi are to Spain. It has been all along a moft unaccountable neg- ligence in the people of England, that we have not made fome effectual endeavours to ſhare with our neighbours in that immenfe treaſure with which nature has enriched our coaft; and it is capable of but one excufe, that for thefe laft 100 years, wealth did flow in ſo faſt upon us, that we had no occafion to be more induſtrious. A Sir CARE of TRADE. 427 Sir Walter Raleigh has laid down, that the fiſhery turns to 10 millions per ann. profit to the Hollanders. We can by no means agree to that calculation; but that it is very gainful to their country, is apparent to any one who has en- quired into the nature of their Trade, and foun- dation of their wealth. Thefe great advantages are made on our coaft, where formerly they never fifhed without licence under the great feal of England, which, till the latter end of King James I's reign, they always procured; but now they are fo far from aſking leave, that they will not fuffer any Engliſh veffels to fish in quiet when they come among them. This beneficial Trade, which the Hollanders have often in their edicts called the golden mine of the commonwealth, we first by remiffneſs let them gain; and now they have in a manner en- groffed it to themſelves, becauſe it has never had encouragement from the government here, and becauſe that public fpirit has been wanting among us, by which any great work must be brought about; and, at length, men are come to be of an opinion, that it is not poffible for us to have any part with our neighbours in this gainful buſineſs. For it is alleged, the Hollanders build cheaper than we; that their wages are lower; that they live at less expence; that the intereft of money is higher here than there; that confequently they can afford the commodity at an eaſier rate; and that he who fells cheapeft, is fure to engrofs the market. Theſe are the objections commonly made to our proceeding upon this great undertaking, but we can by no means admit all theſe affertions to be quite true: On the contrary, we are credibly in- formed, that the company of the royal fishery. are 428 On the PROTECTION and are now building doggers and veffels in the Hum- ber and Trent, as cheap per tun, and perhaps cheaper than the Dutch, the goodneſs and dura- tion of the timber and other materials confidered: And as to wages, the Hollanders go all by way of adventure; and we are told, our feamen are willing and ready to proceed in the fame manner: And as to victualling, we victual our fishing veffels for Iſland as cheap, and perhaps cheaper than the Dutch, efpecially confidering the great quantity of brandy their feamen ufe; and for butter, &c. they generally have it from England. As to the remaining confideration of intereft- money, we ſhall handle that point by and by. But ſuppoſe we fhould fifh dearer than they by 5 or 6, or 10 per cent. yet perhaps we ſhall be able to prove, that, notwithſtanding fuch a dif- advantage, it is highly neceffary, that the fame fhould be attempted by England, and for the following reafons: The Dutch trade into the Sound, all the Eaft-country, Denmark, Ruffia, Sweden, and Germany, for near one million fter- ling every year in fifh; and we import from thoſe parts in naval ftores of all kind, and for building, about 400,000l. per ann. for moſt of which we fend out money in fpecie or by exchange, and the fhips go out in ballaſt. Now fhould we fend out fish, it would put the balance of Trade more equal between us and thoſe countries, becauſe we fhould then carry thither goods instead of money; and the fish cofting nothing but the catching, and having in itſelf a value befides the curing, it becomes the original commodity of a country, and encreaſes the exportation of that country. And fuppofe we ſhould fish fomething dearer than the Hol- landers, yet this would be almoft recompenced to the CARE of TRADE. 429 the body of the people collectively confidered, by the very freight which would be gotten by the fhips for our northward and Eaft Country Trade, which muft otherwiſe go out empty. And this would hold in relation to our Trade with France and other places, where our expor- tations bear no proportion, at leaſt in bulk, with our importations, which might be ſupplied by fiſh. A nation that vifibly lofes in the balance of Trade with any country, will find very little help by laying high duties at home, or by prohibi- tions, which moſt commonly fructify, one begetting another. And in all appearance the beft courfe in fuch a caſe, will be to endeavour to anſwer im- portations from abroad, by exportation of our own product. And there are good grounds to think, that the Fishing Trade, if it were pro- moted, encouraged, and well fettled, would fet England right with moft countries, where the balance is thought to lie againſt us. But if it fhould appear, that what cofts the Dutch 5s. we may have for 1s. and that we are not any ways obliged to fifh as they do, efpecially for herrings (which is the principal fiſhery) but in a quite different way, and at lefs expence; and if this be made out, moft certainly all good Engliſhmen ought to uſe their endeavours to fet fuch an undertaking forward. The Dutch having no fifhery on their own coaft, are forced to begin their great fishery every year above 200 leagues from home, and to do all at fea: They ſend out doggers or buffes, from 70 to 120 tons or upwards, with 14 or 15, or more men, with provifions for at leaſt 3 months; and thefe drive in the fea, and are forced to do all things aboard, as curing and packing their fish, mending 430 On the PROTECTION and mending, drying their nets, &c. So that coni- puting the expence of fitting out, the wear and tear, provifions and wages, every barrel of her- rings does coft them, as they fall from the net, at least 6s. per barrel. Now the herrings being not only on our own coaft, but in our havens, lakes, and bays, our men that fiſh, may lie in their own beds every 24 hours, and yet, in boats called 3 men and 5 men cobles, having perfons ready to take off their fiſh, to cure and pack, will catch as many herrings in a month, as a Dutch dogger of 100 tuns and 15 men fhall do, in 3 months lying at fea. And theſe perſons being employed on the coaft, by thofe that will take the fifh off their hands as they catch it, will deliver herrings at 12 d. and fometimes at 6d. per barrel; which low price of the prime commodity muft very foon, under a good encouragement, bring a fair proportion to England, of this gainful Trade. And this ad- vantage we may have in the prime coft, will anfwer any advantage our neighbours may have, in being able to manufacture or improve the com- modity cheaper than we in fome particulars, though we can afford the chief materials, falt and cafk, at as eaſy rates as they. So that there feems only wanting, (to bring ſo immenfe a wealth to England as the herring fifh- ery would produce) but to raiſe a competent ſtock to give the wheels motion at firft; that is, fuch a ftock as may fit out a fufficient number of vef- fels to catch the fish, and be likewife fufficient to furniſh means for thoſe to proceed in their work, who are to cure and pack it when it is caught. The commodity fufficiently abounds, if there were a ſtock by which we might give it improve- ment; for the writer of theſe papers is credibly informed, CARE of TRADE. 431 informed, that laſt year, in Scotland, they did dung their land with herrings, for want of cuf- tomers; and that they were fold in Wales for 6d. a maze, which is 600 herrings, and 800 of ſuch herrings will fill a barrel; and the fame, when well packed and cured, are fold by the Dutch for fometimes 40s. fometimes 30s. and feldom under 20 s. per barrel. It is a matter of admiration that we ſhould neglect a profit lying at our very doors, and that our neighbours fhould come and take it up at fo great a diſtance, and at fuch an expence; but this they are enabled to do by the lownefs of in- tereft, and by that national benefit of money being at 41. per cent. And undoubtedly we could not cope with them at any time in this Trade by 67. per cent. againſt 41. per cent. if we were upon the fame foot with them in all other circumftances relating to this matter; that is to fay, if we were to go and fiſh upon a coaft at 200 leagues diftance, with large veffels and numbers of men, and the fame pro- vifions as are neceffary to them; but our fituation has made this Traffic eafy to us, and laid it at our feet, if the public of this country will vouchſafe to take it up. Upon which account, our natural advantages confidered, he muſt be a very ill computer who does not conclude, that private perfons may pro- ceed upon this undertaking, without any fear of lofs in the end, provided they underftand how to manage their own affairs. For where there is fo great a disproportion in the prime colt of the commodity to be improved, as we have fhewn there is in the prefent cafe, it will anfwer any dif- ference that may be in the intereft of money between one country and another; fo that if we can 432 On the PROTECTION and can catch, cure, and pack herrings, upon the whole, by 3ds cheaper than our neighbours, it will more than anſwerd difference that may be between us and them on the price of money. There is a company of the royal fiſhery con- ſtituted by charter from King Charles II. who (as we are informed) are now attempting the work, and have taken large fubfcriptions, and are pro- ceeding to take more. They intend to make an experiment next feafon. They have perfons ex- pert in curing and packing the fish, and in the nature and uſe of falt. So great and ſo national an undertaking does without doubt deſerve all due encouragement. But whoever confiders the matter ſeriouſly, will perhaps be of opinion, that it can have but little fuccefs, unless the legiflative authority inter- pofe to direct, help and encourage, the whole affair. In all probability, fubfcriptions fufficient to carry on ſo great a work cannot be well-procured, unleſs a company have fome firm exiftence in the law, and a conftitution by authority of parlia- ment. And if fuch meafures were taken, in order to fecure this profitable Trade, perfons of the primeft note, greateſt intereſt, and largeft fub- ftance, would crowd in to fupport and coun- tenance the work, whofe authority and examples- would keep the fhares and actions from ſtock- jobbing, which is the bane of all mercantile focieties, diverting the heads of fuch as are therein concerned, from minding their Trade and Bufinefs, and turning their whole thoughts and time only upon arts and tricks. And, in all likelihood, a legal conftitution alone, will not be fufficient to put this affair in fuch CARE of TRADE. 433 + fuch a motion as may continue for a long term of time. It may be therefore worth the confidera- tion of fuch as ftudy the common welfare, whether it may not be adviſable for the public, by fome tax to add about 50 or 100,000l. to the voluntary fubfcriptions of private perfons. For it is to be apprehended, that, without fuch an encouragement, and as it were a foundation, private perſons may be loth to venture upon an experiment, which has hitherto ſo frighted all their anceſtors. The matter will be difficult and expenfive at firft, and perhaps above the ftrength of parti- cular men, let them be never fo well inclined, public fpirited, and defirous to compaſs a thing that may be a lafting benefit to their country, eſpecially confidering, that they will have to deal with competitors who will ufe their utmoſt efforts, and all manner of means to oppoſe, quaſh, and dishearten the undertaking in the beginning. Suppoſe then that the public ſhould contribute to fuch an undertaking And that private perfons fhould ſub- fcribe 1. 50,000 350,000 In all, 400,000 And admit that by ill conduct in the beginning, or by being underfold in the markets abroad, the capital ſtock ſhould leffen for 3 years, per ann. Yet if there be carried to the foreign markets for 3 years 200,000l. per ann. value in fish, it may be main- tained, that the collective body of the nation fhall gain in the 3 years Ff VOL. I. 50,000 400,000 For 434 On the PROTECTION and For the nation will get by freight, by employ ing the poor, and by exportation of the commo- dity manufactured and improved, though the un- dertakers fuffer; it being an undoubted maxim, that as a country may loſe where the merchant gets, fo it may get where the merchant lofes. However, there are apparent reafons to be given, why this defign fhould be profitable both to the nation and the adventurers in it. And if it can be compaffed and brought to perfection, it will employ the poor, encreaſe our feamen, ad- vance our exportations, bring in the fpecies of money, or hinder its going out, and raiſe the value of land. But fome people may be apprehenfive, that to fet up the herring fiſhery may interfere with the Hollanders, and embroil us with our neighbours; but fuch as have confidered of this matter, know very well that there is fifh enough upon the British coaft for both, and markets enough abroad to take off the goods of both nations. The joint endeavours of the governing part in each country may fo order it, that the people of both dominions may enjoy this rich gift of nature, with that mutual friendſhip and good underſtanding, as ought always to be preferved between nations, which now are almoft the only affertors of public liberty. And he muſt be a very bad Engliſhman, who would defire to exclude that induftrious common- wealth from a Trade which is fo principal a part of their fubfiftence. But perhaps it may be ad- viſable for this country to put in for a fhare of it, eſpecially ſince the liberal hand of nature, and the wants of other places, afford fufficient matter to employ the induſtry of both nations. A council of Trade may prepare and digeft a regular ſcheme of this whole bufinefs. But CARE of TRADE. 435 But a conſtitution of this nature will be always in danger to mifcarry, becauſe one fide is not agreed what they may reaſonably afk, and the other knows not what may be fafely granted; and it has ever been the humour of Engliſhmen to reject all things which they cannot carry juſt according to their prefent fancy; many good defigns for the public being loft by endeavouring to make the firft projection too perfect. In matters which relate to liberty, or the well governing of a people, a little freely granted and without ftruggle, is better than a great deal wreſted from the fovereign againſt his inclination; and things go on much more fmoothly, when a a king confents as well in his natural as politic capacity. Some may judge it popular to defire very large powers, and others may think to pleaſe by directly oppofing this bufinefs; yet, in all likeli- hood, every part of the conftitution has a great intereft, that fome kind of authority fhould be ſet up in this kingdom for the Care and Infpec- tion of Trade. But all ſeaſons are not capable of ſtrong delibe- rations and counſels; and fometimes it is thought more wiſdom to be jealous, than to mend any error or miſgovernment of affairs. Thoſe who truly aim at the common good are generally few in number; and though their party be now and then encreaſed by accidents, arifing from men's ambition and diſappointments in the ftate; yet, confidering how foon fuch friends are loft, their firſt heat and inclination is to be fol- lowed, and that courſe is to be purſued, in which moſt voices will concur. And if a council of Trade fhould be thought of, it is probable the majority will beft like it Ff2 fhould 436 On the PROTECTION and : ſhould be furnished with limited and moderate authorities. It is true, that Protection being founded in ſtrength and power in a time of war, they to whom the Care of Trade is committed, fhould have at their command, and in their dif pofal, fuch a proportion of frigates as may con- voy all the merchant fleets. They ought perhaps to have it in their power to fix ultimate days of failing for merchant fleets with their convoys; and peradventure it ſhould be in them to determine, from time to time, what compliment of men will be wanting for the feve- ral fhips and principal merchant fleets; what convoys will be needful, and by what time thoſe convoys ought to be ready; and in what ftations the cruiſing ſhips may be pofted to the beſt advan- tage, and for the greateft fecurity. However, without very much prudence, tem-- per, true zeal and right intentions for the public, both in the admiralty and in the council of Trade, and without more virtue than can be reafonably expected from an age fomething leaning towards corruption, fuch different jurifdictions may fo interfere and claſh, as to hurt the common buſineſs, bring confufion, and put commerce yet in a worſe poſture than it is at prefent. But the wiſdom of the parliament can un- doubtedly propoſe a ſcheme which may content the party who ſeem ſo jealous that the executive power fhould run into any new channel; they can fet up an authority by which the prerogative will not be intrenched upon, nor the rights and jurifdiction of the admiralty interfered with nor invaded; and whereby the old courſe of bufi- nefs, in the main will not be much altered, and which may fully anſwer all their ends, who defign " CARE of TRADE. 437 defign nothing in this matter but the good of Traffic and welfare of the nation. And in a peace the chief objections muſt be quite removed which are commonly made againſt fuch a conſtitution; and yet it will be full as ufe- ful now, as in a time of war. The claſhing of jurifdictions will be now out of doors, and it cannot minifter any juſt occafion of jealouſy to thoſe who govern, and may do the people good. The dictator's commiffion, the moſt abfolute and unlimited power of any in Rome (fometimes given to fettle a civil affair, and at other feaſons not granted in a dangerous juncture) contained no more, than in general, that "he fhould take care the commonwealth received no prejudice." And a bare direction from the parliament, by a law, to certain perfons, or to a committee of both houſes, to take care that the Trade of England receive no prejudice," might peradventure be fufficient. (6 In all probability, nothing but fome power, having exiſtence from the law, more independent, reverenced by the people, and reſpected by the minifters, can fet our Traffic right, and enable us to contend with our powerful neighbours. If we are not undermined abroad, we fhall do well enough at home; and though fome perſons may have a melancholy proſpect, upon a general inſpection into matters of this nature, we hope there is reaſon to entertain more cheerful thoughts, and not at all to deſpair of the public. It appears manifeftly, that there was coined in gold and filver, from the 31ft of December 1691, to the 14th of Auguſt 1697, Ff3 1. 7,157,116 There 1 438 On the PROTECTION and 7. 7,157,116 126,892 Brought over, There was remaining to be coined 14th Auguſt 1697, in gold and filver, about The old money ftanding out 14th Auguſt 1697, may probably reach to, when coined, 540,000 Coined from plate, to the 14th of Auguſt 1697, about 312,000 All the foregoing fums we prefume to be ftill in the kingdom, and, if fo, they amount to And the 3 millions of broad money that was lately brought in, making it appear that hoarding was more practifed in England than thought it had been, it makes us hope, (though gold feems fcarce now) that the guineas coined in the 2 preceding reigns, ftill re- main in the kingdom, for they are moſt likely to be hoarded; and, we 8,136,008 if fo, we may have of that fpecies 5,000,000 The fame reafon gives us ground to hope, that part of the milled mo- ney coined thofe 2 reigns may be ftill remaining; and, if fo, we may have of that fpecies The number of guineas coined fince 1691 have probably melted down much of the old gold of former reigns, and yet perhaps we may ftill have of that ſpecies, about 2,200,000 3 700,000 16,036,008 So CARE of TRADE. 439 So that, if the war, our loffes at fea, and Trade, have not carried off the guineas and milled money of the 2 preceding reigns, there may be ſtill remaining in the king- dom, about 1. 16,036,008 The reaſon that money has been fo much hoarded in this nation, though a trading coun- try, is probably, that ever fince the year 1679, we have been a divided people; factions have rent us afunder; we have been often in fear that liberty would be invaded; fometimes there was a perfecution of diffenters; popery preffed hard upon us; there was juft caufe to apprehend an innova- tion in religious matters; and, laftly, for a long while the ſtate of things was not thought ftable and fecure. Upon all theſe accounts, cautious men were willing to have by them a referve which might help them at need, in any emergency, or upon a change of government; and, in all likelihood, thefe confiderations locked up that great treaſure which was lately hoarded in this kingdom. And, perhaps, the doubts fome people did en- tertain concerning the event of affairs, and the iffue of a long war, may partly occafion that rarity of ſpecies which at prefent we complain of. But the peace will give a confiftency to things, render the government firm, and heal the divi- fions that are among us. The peace will probably fet matters that have relation to the ftate, upon a better foot than they have been for many years. There is now a per- fect liberty of confcience; we have upon the throne a prince from whom it is impoffible to Ff 4 apprehend 440 On the PROTECTION and apprehend any the leaft inclination to fubvert the laws or alter the conftitution. The fucceffion of the crown is fettled in a Proteftant line. The act to fecure frequent parliaments may put an end to the defigns of ambitious ftatefmen, who, for this laft age, have embroiled our princes with their people; which want in our conftitution before, was a perpetual caufe of difcord, and of civil war. And we have exerted fuch ftrength, and fhewn fo much courage and conftancy in hold- ing up this league, that our neighbours will hardly think it adviſable to give us freſh provocation and to renew the quarrel. Theſe confiderations, in all likelihood, will give men a better opinion than formerly they had concerning the condition of affairs in general; and they will conceive hopes, that at laft this government is become firm and ftable; and theſe fanguine and cheerful thoughts which they have reaſon to entertain, will naturally lead them not to hoard up that money which they may lend out, or employ in Trade to great advantage; Vand perhaps, if the concealed treaſure could be fet looſe, we may have as much fpecies for common ufes, as was current heretofore. Sir William Petty was of opinion, that to tranfact the common bufinefs of this nation, fo much coin was needful, as would pay half a year's rents of all the land, a quarter's rent of all the houſes, a week's expence of all the people, and a quarter value of all the exported comino- dities; this computation feems exceeding well- grounded, and to anfwer with fomething he has omitted to that fum, which might be current before the war. For from obfervation in theſe matters we have reafons inducing us to believe, That 1 CARE of TRADE. 441 That half a year's rents of all the land were That a quarter's rent of houfes and other hereditaments, was That a week's expence of all the people was about That a quarter value of exported commodities to foreign countries, and our own plantations, with the Coaſt-Trade, might be, before the war, about That an eighth part of the value of the manufactures omitted by Sir William Petty, might be Neceffary to carry on the nation's bufinefs, about So that if there were in the kingdom 1. 5,000,000 1,000,000 769,230 1,500,000 1,000,000 9,269,230 18,500,000 before the war There might be hoard- 1. ed of the old gold, about 1,000,000 Of the milled money 9,240,000 1,000,000 Of the guineas 2,000,000 Of the old broad money 5,240,000¸ And the buſineſs of rents, trade, and the market, might be tranf- acted with the remaining 9,260,000 And, confidering the pofture of credit at that time, and the currency of goldfmiths notes, it is not at all difficult to imagine, that the univerfal affairs of this nation were carried on with be- tween 9 and 10 millions of current coin. And, beyond all contradiction, we have a greater fum than 9 millions ftill in the kingdom, with 442 On the PROTECTION and with which Trade, and all the nation's other buſineſs may be tranfacted, if the remaining fpe- cies can be made to circulate; and more efpe- cially, when peace fhall have reſtored credit. And though the war has impaired the nation's ftock, infomuch that fo great a fum cannot be employed in Trade as formerly, yet if peace recover credit, there will not be wanting where- withal to carry on our Foreign and Domeftic Traffic. For both before and fince the war, the general Trade of this country has been more carried on by credit, than managed with the fpecies of money. And of late, when the coin grew fo corrupted, the gold and filver did, as it were, but minifter in the market, while all great dealings were tranſ- acted by tallies, bank bills and goldfmiths notes. Paper-credit did not only fupply the place of running cafh, but greatly multiplied the king- dom's ſtock. For tallies and bank bills did to many uſes ferve as well, and to fome, better than gold and filver; and this artificial wealth, which neceffity had introduced, did make us lefs feel the want of that real treaſure, the war and our loffes at fea had drawn out of the nation. That country which has a war to manage too big for its annual income, must do it by credit upon the future; and indeed, there is fome equity in this, for wars are intended for the pub- lic good, and public good does as well refpect time to come, as the preſent ſeaſon. By annual income in this cafe, we mean, what can be raiſed within the year by fome revenue or impofition, which England has not yet been able entirely to compaſs any feffion of parliament; we have therefore hitherto fupported our charge by ! CARE of TRADE. 443 by the aid of remote funds, which muſt hereafter become money. And in a country where the ſtate of the war has for a great while amounted yearly to 5 mil- lions, and where large fums have been every year carried out to pay the troops, it will follow in ſuch a nation, that a great part of their treaſure in money, muſt be turned into a debt upon after times. And where money falls fhort, plate, commo- dities, and ſtock of all kind, in the fame manner muft by degrees be converted into a credit upon years to come, And the monied men, in fuch a cafe, do but change the form and nature of their wealth; it was before either in cafh, or in ftock, or out upon mortgages, and is now trufted in fecurities upon the public. And when the money is carried out of the kingdom, it is not the fubftance of fuch parti- cular perfons, (for their wealth encreaſes all the while by the large intereſt the public is forced to give) but it is the riches of the whole people con- fidered in a body together that goes away. However, in a long and expenſive war, this is not to be avoid- ed, and is felt lefs, fo long as the public is only in- debted to the members of its jurifdiction; but be- comes burthenfome when the ftate contracts a big debt with other countries; for fuch debts are as an iſſue of blood, that by degrees will wafte and emaciate the body politic. Now admit that in 1688 there were in England 18,500,000l. and that our expences abroad have fomewhat leffened this fum, yet confidering that we have upwards of 14 millions in tallies, lot- tery tickets, bank ſtock, malt tickets and fecu- rities of the like nature (which went from hand to 444 On the PROTECTION and to hand, having their foundation in the public' faith, and which peace may restore to their former value) the common and current ftock of the kingdom may be faid to be larger at prefent than it was before the war. Yet it is not from hence to be argued, that the nation is richer now than before. But as a landed merchant who engages his eftate to raiſe money to carry on his Trade, may be faid to have a greater ſtock, but cannot be eſteemed the wealthier for it; fo nations entangled in a long war, are forced to mortgage their revenues; and the debts they fo contract, become a running ſtock among the people, and are indeed but a converfion of other fort of wealth into debts upon the public. Though money has hitherto been called the meaſure of Trade, yet mankind may agree to fet up any other thing in its room; and whatever it be, in the place where it univerſally takes, it may ſerve their turn as well as gold and filver. When paper-credit flouriſhed, tallies, bank bills, and goldfmiths notes performed all the offices of money; the great payments for land or rich goods were thereby readily made, the king's duties paid, and all kind of buſineſs eafily tranf- acted. The millions given every year in parliament were preſently raiſed, and the public fupplied, though the fund was never fo unfound or chi- merical; provifions were brought in for the navy without difficulty; the foldier had his ſubſiſtence, and the war was carried on by land and fea, with- out the fleet or army being in any great arrear. The landlord received his rent duly, the far- mer fold the product of his land at a high rate; wool, tin, lead and leather bore a great price; and, which was of great confequence, the manu- factures CARE of TRADE. 445 factures of the kingdom went on cheerfully; and, for fome time, there was a large exportation of all our native commodities. It is true, the price of gold and badneſs of the filver coin, did fomething influence in thefe mat- ters; but not fo much as was vulgarly imagined: For the immenfe fum that was out in tallies, bank bills, and other paper-credit, were in the nature of a new ſtock in the nation, and being ſo transferable, did help forward and quicken the under Trade, and all our manufactures. Whether or no this was a right condition of health is hard to determine; perhaps a body politic with this florid complexion, might yet have lurking in it apoplectic fymptoms; the preffing call that was for our commodities and manufactures, might be a falfe appetite, and peradventure we did export them at fome difad- vantage; but a country could not eaſily be un- done, that had a large vent for its native pro- duct. This debt which private perfons have got upon the ftate, plainly accrues not to them by any new acquifitions from abroad; it muft follow then, that ſuch ſtock as was formerly in money, plate, jewels, foreign commodities, home goods, &c. is gone away by degrees into other countries; partly to maintain the war, and partly to pay what we have been overbalanced in Trade, by reafon of our loffes at fea; and in its ftead we have here at home ftock of another kind, that is to ſay, credits upon the public. However, by this artificial help, and at leaſt appearing enlargement of our ftock, the king- dom's buſineſs may be fupported, and its Trade, tillage, labour and manufactures may be carried on, 446 On the PROTECTION and * on, when the peace fhall have reftored credit, and given theſe fecurities a more certain value. It was the judgment of Sir William Petty that we have in England materials for a bank, which would furniſh ſtock enough to drive the Trade of the whole commercial world. His meaning muſt be, that credit might be advanced to fuch a height, as that meerly by fictitious wealth we could manage five times more Traffic than what we then enjoyed. Without erecting fuch a national bank as he thought of, and fuch a one as there is in Holland, the conſent of men, or our neceffities, had fet up in this kingdom fomething like it; and that credit which the exchequer had once obtained, ſerved all the uſes of trade full as well as any formal and eſtabliſhed bank peradventure could have done. After a long enquiry into this matter, we have reaſons to think, that the fum out upon land fecu- rity has for fome years been about 20 millions; and that about th part of the land and other hereditaments of England is in mortgage. And as we faid before, tallies and fecurities of the like nature were about 14 millions; fo that there was a fum exifting only in credit, public or private, amounting to above 34 millions; and this for- merly was a quick ſtock in continual motion, and transferable from hand to hand; and by it pur- chafes of land were made, portions raiſed to marry children or fet up Trades, and fums pro- cured to answer any other neceffity; and thereby we were enabled to pay the king's duties, give * Sir William Petty his Quantulumcunque infcribed to the Marquis of Hallifax, written ann. 1682. ! new CARE of TRADE. 447 new taxes, and carry on our Foreign Trade and Domeſtic Buſineſs. This ſtock had formerly all the ufes and effects of the banks of Holland, Venice and Genoa, though at prefent part of it is no better than a dead treafure, which for a little time muft continue in a benumbed and motionlefs condi- tion. But there being a poffibility that we may have in the nation 16 millions; and it being almoſt certain that we cannot have lefs than 12 millions, even the laſt ſum, when it comes to circulate, will be fufficient to give life and activity to this huge body of credit, which at prefent feems in a lan- guiſhing poſture. Numbers of men, induſtry, advantageous fitua- tion, good ports, ſkill in maritime affairs, with a good annual income from the earth, are true and lafting riches to a country; but to put a value upon all this, and to put life and motion to the whole, there muſt be a quick ſtock running among the people; and always where that ſtock increaſes, the nation grows ftrong and powerful; and where it vifibly decays, that decay is generally attended with public ruin. Money and credit muſt mutually help one ano- ther; money is the foundation of credit; where there is none, there can be no credit; and where credit obtains, money will circulate the better.. The Care and Protection of Trade will there- fore very much confift in the meaſures that ſhall be taken to reſtore credit. As that revives it will bring out the gold and filver, which will be no longer hoarded when fomething is ſet up in their room, that in com- mon eftimation fhall be of greater value; and fo good tallies will in time be judged, becauſe they have 448 On the PROTECTION and 1 have intereſt annexed to them; whereas money in the cheft is but a barren treaſure. That general credit which is fo neceffary to fup- port the government, and carry on our matters here at home, muft take its rife, and have its fpring principally from two convictions, which time and the good conduct of the ſtate may bring upon fuch as are wont to deal with the Ex- chequer. Ift, That there is a real bottom of ftrength, wealth and ability in the public, to clear off, in a competent ſeaſon, the great debts which have been contracted. 2dly, That there is, and fhall be kept within the kingdom, a fufficient quantity of the fpecies to turn in Trade, in the payment of rents and taxes, and in the manufactures, and whereby to keep the wheels of the machine in motion. Peace in a great meaſure will bring all this about; and the good opinion men will thereupon conceive concerning the condition of things, muſt without doubt revive credit, and reſtore money to its former channel; for if the prefent ftagnation ſhould continue, and if it cannot be made to cir- culate in the veins, there muſt enfue fome very bad diftemper to the body politic. When this engine, which now feems fo diffi- cult to be ſtirred, is once put in motion, it will move afterwards of its own accord; and this new ſtock of above 14 millions, which we have lately erected to ourſelves in tallies, bank bills, and ſuch like fecurities, (joined with, and made active by our other wealth) may work very well in the ufes of Trade, and enable us to contend in Traffic with our two most dangerous rivals, France and Hol- land. Upon CARE of TRADE. 449 Upon the whole matter, there feem good rea- fons to believe, as much as the war has hurt us, that even the preſent ſtock of the kingdom, when put in order, and well conducted, may be fufficient to carry on a larger and more extended trade than England ever yet enjoyed; fo that we ſhall not want materials to work upon, if care and wiſdom be not wanting. It has been often obferved of this nation, that we have loft by treaties what we had gained by valour; and indeed it is very evident that we have been conftantly outwitted in the pacts and ſtipula- tions we have made with foreign ftates and princes, as well concerning intereft as dominion: They who could never face us in the field, have over- reached us in the cabinet, and all along we have ſeemed ſtronger in a battle than in council. It is perhaps no wonder that our honest and plain anceſtors fhould not have fufficient fkill to deal with the riper heads of warmer climates; but we may admire how it comes to pafs, that our neighbours the Hollanders, in all treaties, but chiefly fuch as refpect commerce, have been ever too able for us, whom our vices have made crafty enough in other matters. Their foil does not generally produce better un- derſtandings than that of England; learning flou- riſhes with us as much as among them; our people have ſharper wits; we are more cunning in a court than they; and yet, when we come to treat with them, they are always too fubtle for us. But the reaſon of this is apparent to ſuch as exa mine into the buſineſs; for, as Sir Jofiah Child has excellently well obferved, "They have in their "greateft councils of itate and war, trading mer- "chants that have lived abroad in moft parts of "the world, who have not only the theoretical VOL. I. G g "know- 450 On the PROTECTION and knowledge, but the practical experience of "trade, by whom laws and orders are contrived, "and peace with foreign princes projected, to "the great advantage of their Trade." And the concerns of commerce being made among them a matter of ftate, (as it fhould be in other nations) they commit the care of it to the ableft heads they have; by whofe affiftance and wiſdom they have all along got the better of us and other countries. In the reign of Jac. I. they obtained that the buſineſs of Amboyna fhould be flurred over; and fo they have fecured to themſelves a firm poffef- fion of the ſpice iſlands. The peace of Munſter was likewife very ad- vantageous to the Dutch in all matters that had relation to their traffic, but eſpecially in the plate trade from Cales. In the reign of Car. II. by delays and artifice, they got the taking of Bantam paffed over in filence; by which, in a manner, they have en- groffed to themſelves the rich commodity of pepper. It is likewife faid, when the book of rates was compiled, that the French knew how to place fomewhere a great fum very ſkilfully, by the help of which they procured, that the cuftoms and du- ties upon their product ſhould be light, and heavy upon that of Spain; though apparently we got by one country, and though we were thought to lofe by the other in the general balance. It will not perhaps be feaſonable to expect any redreſs as to paft injuries; and peradventure fome of our former errors are capable of little remedy for the prefent; but the wifdom of the ftate will undoubtedly provide, that England ſhall be bet- ter dealt with in future treaties. 7 The CARE of TRADE. 451 The martial temper of the king, his active fpi- rit, and the goodneſs of his troops, have held and bound that league together, of which he was the head and ruler. And the people of England, in zeal to the com- mon good, and to carry on the war with more vi- gour, have neglected their own peculiar intereft. It is well known our proper bufinefs had been to have infifted only upon our ftrength at fea; for a large fleet would have guarded and fecured our traffic, and would have kept that money within the kingdom, which has been ſent out to pay land armies in foreign countries. But, as in purſuing quite a contrary courſe, we more confulted the direct and immediate concerns and intereſt of others than our own; fo, in rea- fon and equity, this peace, which our money and arms have chiefly procured, fhould be as advan- tageous to this kingdom as it is convenient to the rest of Europe. And yet we ſhall reap but little profit from all our expence of blood and treafure, unlefs the traf- fic of England be thereby put upon a fafe and equal foot with all its neighbours. The Protection and Care of Trade will there- fore very much confift in the meaſures that fhall be taken in this prefent juncture, to fecure us againſt our neighbours, by a well contrived and firm treaty of commerce. Having done fo much in this war for the pre- fervation of the Low Countries, we have reaſon to expect better terms with the Hollanders, in re- lation to our Trade, than perhaps we are under in the treaties now in force and fubfifting. May we not reaſonably expect that the Dutch (by fome new article in the future alliance which probably muft follow this peace) fhould be obliged to let G g 2 the 1 452 On the PROTECTION and : ! the traffic to Japan and China be open to this kingdom, from which we are, in a manner, pre- cluded? At leaſt, England has fome cauſe to hope fuch an expence of treaſure as we have made, deferves that they ſhould be ftrictly tied in any future alli- ance, to give us no diſturbance of any kind in the Eaft-Indies; and not to trouble our factories, nor thofe forts which fecure to us the remaining part of the Pepper Trade. Nor can it be unreaſonable for this nation to in- fift, that they should be obliged, by fome new ar- ticle, to give us no hindrance in the attempts we may make of enlarging our dealings and buſineſs there, fo long as we do not trouble any of the fpice iſlands in their poffeffion. And perhaps it may be adviſable for this king- dom to infift, that they fhould agree and ftipu- late to give no protection, countenance, or en- couragement, to the Scotch Eaft-India company. And as concerning our Weft-India plantations and trade, we may justly infift upon fome points there, in a new treaty of commerce; but we fhall deal well enough with the Hollanders in thoſe parts, if we are not wanting to ourſelves; but if through corruption or negligence, we connive at their trafficking in our ports there, they will fup- plant us by degrees: For, as Sir Jofiah Child has obferved, "If they fhould be allowed the trade "of Menades or New York, it would not only be "to the intire lofs of that trade to England, but "greatly to the prejudice of the English Trade to Virginia, becauſe the Dutch, under pretence of trading to and from New York, carry great quantities of Virginia tobacco directly for Hol- t 66 66 "land." As CARE of TRADE, 453 As to a treaty of commerce with France, un- doubtedly the ſtate will provide, that the French may not incroach upon us, or invade any of our colonies and plantations abroad. And fuch a treaty of commerce as may fatisfy France, and be equal to the people of both na- tions, (depending now wholly upon the legislative authority, becauſe of the high impofitions laid upon French goods, by the acts of parliament which remain ftill in force, care will undoubtedly be taken to put the trade between us and the French upon a better foot, for England, than it ftood formerly. If heretofore we loft fo much in the balance with that country, the fault was in our own weak councils, and weaker adminiſtration: When they laid fuch a duty upon our cloth as amounted to a prohibition, ſhould not we have done the ſame by their wrought filks? As they clogged our manu- factures with high impofitions, had it not been wiſdom in us to take the fame meaſures with theirs? When by edicts, tarriffs, and examples of the court, they did either quite forbid, or dif- countenance the uſe of Eaſt-India goods that were of our importation, fhould not we have proceeded in the fame way, with the coftly and faſhionable vanities brought from France, which did not only impoverish this kingdom, but very much contri- bute to corrupt the manners of our people? If they think our Eaft-India commodities preju- dicial to their filk manufactures, we muft either en- courage the fowing of hemp and flax in Ireland, or fetch linen from thofe northern countries, who are content to deal with us upon more equal terms. And if they will continue to lay high impofitions upon our draperies, we muft lay yet higher duties upon their linens, wines, brandy, and falt. Gg3 If 454 On the PROTECTION and If the drapery of England may be fuffered to enter France, under a moderate duty; and if Eaft- India goods of our importation may have a free vent in that kingdom, we fhall preſume to affirm, this nation will lofe very little in the main by its traffic there. When therefore fuch a new treaty of commerce is eſtabliſhed, as fhall be binding and effectual, the legiſlative authority here have reafon to infift, that the high duties upon English cloth, &c. may be taken off by the government in France; that it may be free for us to import Eaft-India commodi ties into that kingdom; that it may be free for us to carry thither the Levant goods, there having been before the year 1678 great quantities of raw filk, galls, goats wool, cotton, yarn, &c ex- ported by us to the western parts of France, which were a very great help to our Turkey trade. And if it could be fo ordered, that our plantation goods, eſpecially fugars and tobacco, might be admitted there, upon moderate duties, it would greatly encourage our people to advance and cul- tivate that product. If any thing contributes to putting the balance even between us and that kingdom, it muſt be the additional impofitions laid upon French goods, 7 and 8 Gul. & Mar. for 21 years. Thefe duties were very prudently laid during the war, to be in force against a peace ſhould happen: After a peace it had not been reafonable to propofe fuch duties, which indeed amount almoft to a prohibition; but if the people of France think themfelves thereby aggrieved, the remedy is not difficult: If they will permit the importation of goods from Eng- land upon eaſier terms, the impofitions upon their commodities can be leffened here, which will be the true way of putting the two king- doms CARE of TRADE: 455 doms upon a more equal foot of trading with one another. The nation is beholden to that able man, and excellent patriot, Mr. Sacheverille, now deceaſed, for this prudent caution; he was the firſt author of this wholeſome counfel; he laid the founda- tions of it 4 and 5 Gul. & Mar, and as his abili- ties helped his country while he lived among us, fo we may now reap the fruits of his wifdom after his death. It is true other perfons would arrogate to themſelves this merit; but there are living wit- neffes enough who can testify, that the impofitions upon French goods were the effect of his ſkill and forefight. It is true, in fuch an abfolute government as France is, the duties and prohibitions hurtful to our intereft and trade, may be taken off by the ſtate, and we never the better; for the power and example of the court is fo prevailing there, as quite to diſcountenance the ufe and wearing of thoſe commodities, whofe importation may be per- mitted by the laws. But if the French are not bona fide, if they deal fraudulently, and uſe tricks, it will not be impracticable for the government here to help itſelf by future care and new mea- fures; that is, we must find out remedies, when they offer to elude the treaty; ftill keeping, if poffible, to this point, that the general balance of Trade may be equal between both kingdoms. But let treaties of commerce be made with ne- yer fo much ſkill, prudence and caution, they will hardly be truly obferved and kept inviolate, in the remoter dominions of thofe nations, whom they are intended to oblige and bind. And whatever agreements we enter into with France and Holland, we muft probably expect fome infractions will be therein made by their fub- jects 456 On the PROTECTION and jects, in diftant countries, and perhaps againſt the defire and command of either government. And injuries received beyond the line are very feldom redreffed in Europe. States are apprehen- five of coming to an open breach; and fuch rup- tures (though difhonourable, and of pernicious confequence for the injured fide to fuffer) are com- monly made up by long excuſes and ſhort embaf- fies, or by heavy bribes and light ſubmiſſions. The Protection and Care of Trade will there- fore very much confift in putting ourſelves upon fuch a foot as that, in our colonies, plantations, and factories abroad, we may more depend upon our own proper ftrength than on the alliances or treaties of commerce, to be made with any fo- reign ſtates and princes. A ſmall ſtrength will prevail much, that is made to bear right, and that can be well difpofed and ordered. But the naval power of England is fuch, and fo augmented by the late war, that we muſt be mightily deficient in conduct, if we ſuffer ourſelves to be encroached upon, or infulted in remoter countries. And the beſt ſecurity, in thoſe parts, againſt any future defigns or attempts from our neigh- bours, will probably be to have, both in the Eaft and Weft-Indies, a naval ftrength which fhall at leaft be equal to theirs. It ſeems much better, beyond the line, to be able to protect our own Trade, than to play an after-game, and be reduced to feek for relief in the European courts by expenfive embaffies. Courts are generally fo corrupted, that the aggreffors have come off cheaply in moſt of the infractions of peace that have been made for theſe laft hundred years, in diftant parts; upon which 6 ſcore CARE of TRADE. 457 fcore it is much more adviſable to be in a pofture to do, than to fuffer the injury. Competent fleets, difpofed in convenient fta- tions, may not only preferve our merchants from any wrong, but will likewife render England for- midable to thoſe barbarous nations, who under- ſtand little of Europe, and judge of all countries but as they ſee them ftrong and powerful upon their coaft. The Protection and Care of Trade will likewiſe confiſt in ſeeing, that even now after a peace, our colonies and plantations in America, and elfe- where, may be fufficiently guarded; and that, in all parts, we may be in a condition to repel force by force. In order to which, the fortreffes erected there ſhould be kept in good repair, furniſhed with competent garrifons, and well provided with arms, and all kind of warlike ammunition. And this will not only ferve to refift any fud- den invafion of the natives, of pirates, or from Europe; but, in cafe of any future breach with France, fuch a ftrength in the Indies may here- after put it in our power to give them a more fen- fible wound than any they are like to receive in Europe. For it is now manifeft to all difcerning men, that if in the beginning of the late war we had had fleets and land forces in the Indies ready to have fallen immediately upon their colonies, we might very probably have quite rooted them out; or at leaft we could fo have deftroyed their plantations, as that they ſhould not have recovered the blow in many years; and, the nurſery of their ſeamen ly- ing there, by this means we had interrupted, and perhaps for ever broken that naval ftrength of theirs which is fo formidable to all trading coun- tries. Several # 458 On the PROTECTION and Several things might be here added which res late to the proper meaſures of preferving the Plan- tation and Eat-India Trades, againſt the attempts and defigns of our neighbours, but we referve them for the following diſcourſes. Laftly, the Protection and Care of Trade is Thewn in general, by giving it favour and encou- ragement from the laws and government; there- fore, in wife countries, whatever neceffity preffes, they lay their taxes with all poſſible regard and tenderneſs to foreign traffic; they nurſe it up and handle it gently, and fuffer it to receive no da- mage nor diſturbance, at leaſt from among them- felves. And now, in a few words, to recapitulate our whole matter, we have endeavoured, in this Dif- courſe, to fhew that the nature of this laft war did not perhaps admit of fuch a Protection and Care of Trade as would have rendered it beneficial to the kingdom; but yet, that the ground we have loft is to be regained by a good conduct for the future; that France and Holland are like to be our most dangerous rivals; that the remaining wealth and ſtock of England is, notwithſtanding, fufficient to contend with thofe nations, when the circulation of money fhall have reftored credit; that a council of Trade, to be eſtabliſhed by au- thority of Parliament, may probably put our traf fic on a better foot; that treaties of commerce, well projected and fettled, will go a great way to- wards fecuring our nearer traffics; but that, per- adventure, in the more diftant parts, it may be the ſafeſt courfe to rely upon fuch a competent ftrength, well difpofed, as will be a certain guard to our foreign plantations and colonies. • And the Writer of this paper has more willingly undertaken to treat of all theſe matters, becaufe he CARE of TRADE. 459 “ he finds himſelf in a manner challenged to it, by the Author of a tract, intituled, England and "Eaft-India inconfiftent in their Manufactures," P. 58. If we have not agreed with that gentleman in his opinions, the public will beft determine be- tween us whoſe ſcheme is righteft for the general good of Trade. We have endeavoured to fet things in a true light, which we thought ſeaſonable in the preſent juncture, when theſe points may come to be de- bated and fettled, and when fomething will pro- bably be done for the future fecurity and welfare of this kingdom's Traffic. Moſt commonly fuch as palliate evils, and re- preſent the ſtate of things in a founder condition than truly they are, do thereby confult beft for themſelves, and better recommend their own bu- finefs and pretenfions in the world; but he who, to the utmoſt of his fkill and power, fpeaks the truth, where the good of his king and country are concerned, will be moft efteemed by perfons of virtue and wiſdom; and to the favour and pro- tection of fuch, theſe papers are committed. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME : 6092 8 1 1 { Hing : GENERAL MA UNIV. MAY 17 18 H 33 D'Avenant .D246 v.1 The political and commercial works of •T. Price Oky Atropper что 610 Chinch 4804 U. Propper 7332 W. 5980 B •R.Zn. Begge Econ. Dea 1231 9324 MA 434 JUL 1934 1 13955 NOV 1933 6+ :