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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31146	A letter to a friend concerning usury wherein are mentioned all the arguments formerly written for and against the abatement of interest / collected out of four tracts on that subject, one by Sir Thomas Culpeper, Senior, in 1621, another by Sir Thomas Culpeper, Junior, in 1668, the third by Sir Josiah Child in 1668, and the fourth by Mr. Thomas Manley in 1669, by R.C.	R. C.	1690 (1690)	Wing C106; ESTC R35829	9,394	33

A LETTER TO A FRIEND CONCERNING USURY Wherein are mentioned all the Arguments formerly written for and against the Abatement of Interest Collected out of Four Tracts on that Subject One by Sir Thomas Culpeper Senior in 1621. Another by Sir Thomas Culpeper Junior in 1668. The Third by Sir Josiah Child in 1668. And the Fourth by Mr. Thomas Manley in 1669. By R. C. LONDON Printed in the Year 1690. SIR I Return you many Thanks for your Information by which after some time spent in search I found out all those Pamphlets about Interest which you discours'd of and in return of your Kindness I have sent you in short the Contents of a Tract against Vsury written by Sir Thomas Culpeper in the Year 1621. and presented to the Parliament in the 21st of King James the First with a Preface to a Discourse about Usury written by Sir Thomas Culpeper his Son in the Year 1668. And also some Arguments from brief Observations concerning Trade written in the same Year by Sir Josiah Child as is supposed with all the Objections against the reducing of Interest out of a Pamphlet ititled Interest of Six per Cent. c. written by Thomas Manley Gent. in the Year 1669. Being an Answer to the former Pamphlets by the reading of which you will be enabled to be a Judge of the Controversie Sir The Arguments in a Tract against Vsury Printed in the Year 1621. which was presented to the High Court of Parliament for the reducing of Interest from Ten per Cent. to Eight are these I. A high Interest decays Trade The advantage from Interest is greater than the Profit from Trade which makes the Rich Merchants give over and put out their Stock to Interest and the lesser Merchants break II. Interest being at Ten per Cent. and in Holland at Six our Neighbour Merchants under-sell us they can afford their Wares cheaper III. Interest being lower in Holland than in England their Contributions to War Works of Piety and all Charges of the State are cheaper unto them than unto us IV. Interest being so high prevents the Building of Shipping which is the Strength and Safety of our Island most Merchant-Ships being built in Holland V. The high Rate of Usury makes Land sell so cheap being not worth more than Fourteen or Fifteen Years Purchase Whereas in Holland where Interest is at Six it is worth above Five and Twenty So that a low Interest raiseth the Price of the Land Where Money is dear Land is cheap The Objections against bringing down of Interest which he takes notice of are these 1st That Money will be suddenly called in so all Borrowers will be greatly prejudiced To which he answers That it is not provable that the Lenders will call in their Money when they cannot make greater Interest any where else besides their Security upon Land is made better 2d Objection That as Money will be hard to be borrowed so Trade and Commerce hindred and the Kings Occasions for Money will not be supplied To this he answers That there will be fewer Borrowers for the Value of the Land being raised the Debts upon it will be sooner discharged and there being less occasion for Money to be lent upon Land it will the more easily be borrowed by the King's Majesty Traders or others especially by the King when he always gives more than Legal Interest 3d. There is much Money of Foreigners which when Interest is abated will be called for or carried out of the Land and so make Money scarce To this he answers That the Money of Foreigners is not brought into the Land by ready Coin or Bullion but by Goods or Bills of Exchange and when it is paid must be returned by Goods or Bills of Exchange and there will not be the less Money in the Land These are the Chief Heads of this Pamphlet which was printed Threescore and Ten Years since Sir The next is a Discourse written by Sir Thomas Culpeper his Son which because the Arguments are much the same I shall not trouble you with them but I have transcribed the Preface verbatim by which you may perceive the Sense of the Writer The Preface to a Book Intitled A Discourse shewing the many Advantages which will accrue to this Kingdom by the abatement of Usury IT is now about Forty five years since viz. 21 Jacobi That my deceased Father being a Member of the Parliament for that year first attempted the bringing down of Interest from Ten to Eight in the Hundred and Published a Discourse thereupon Wherein his endeavours assisted by many Patriots of that time so well succeeded that a Law was then made for that Purpose It passed with all the Opposition imaginable and nothing was left un-objected or un-answered which the Will of Man could devise for it was an untroden Path and must be hewn out by dint of Reason in regard none of those Arguments wherewith Experience hath since happily furnished us in great Plenty could then be produced At the passing of it he hath often told me That a Member of that Parliament of as great Authority and Esteem as any then sitting and a Principal Opposer spake to this Effect That though he could not protest yet he desired it might be remembred That he had foreseen and foretold the Inconveniencies that would ensue To which it was by my Father replyed That he desired it might likewise be remembred That he had Prophesied the many happy Effects of it viz. To the King in the improvement of his Customs To the Landlord in the advancement of his Rents and price of his Inheritance To the Merchant in quickness of his Trade and benefit of his Returns To the Borrower in the ease of his Condition c. And Issue was joyned concerning his Majesties Customs of Exportation as a Measure of all the rest Not many years after they met again and my Father pleasantly asked him whether he had lately been at the Custom-house which he as readily apprehending most ingeniously yielded the Cause Soon after this there was a long Vacancy of Parliaments till the year 1640. At which time my Father being strengthned with success and further incited by Intelligence from Holland that they had there newly abated their Interest set forth another Treatise to evince the necessity of reducing Money from Eight to Six the Ground-work whereof was That till we brought Interest to the same Rate with the Dutch our design was lame and our Grand Competitors would still have the start of us The Business was ready for the Mint and would cortainly have passed but that it was intercepted by unnatural Discord Hitherto the necessity of it did not so visibly appear it was as yet but convenience for the Dutch had then their hands full of their War with Spain which though prosperous enough was some Curb to their growth in Commerce Germany was so harassed and embroiled that it could neither Trade nor Till France so exhausted that it bought of us

to Three or Four per Cent. the Nobility and Gentry may presently in stead of Fifty write One hundred The Merchants who bear the Burden of the Day by trading upon Interest will find their Yoke lighter The Mariners Shipwrights Porters Clothiers Packers and all sorts of Labouring People would be more constantly imploy'd and the Farmers would sell the Product of their Land at better Rates He concludes with answering of several Objections which are the same as are before recited Sir The next Recitals are out of a Book entituled Usury at Six per Cent. c. written by Mr. Thomas Manly in 1669. wherein he designs to answer the two Books before-recited one written by Sir Tho. Culpeper junior and the other by Sir Josiah Child which he does so confusedly and to so little Purpose that I cannot find any thing considerable to take notice of only in the Main his design is to excuse the Usurer and to lay the blame of the decay of Trade from the dearness of the Commodities which he saith doth arise from the high Prises of the Workmen and Labouror Wagges and the Merchants and Traders living too well spending too much of foreign Commodities and drinking too much Wine so that he would have the People to be starved and go in Thredbare Clothes and drink nothing but Water or Small Bear that they might be the better able to pay Interest But because the main Design of his Treatise is to prevent the abating of Interest that I might be impartial to both sides I have recited every one of his Arguments which he devides into Nine He begins The many Mischiefs that will ensue from the abating of Interest are these 1. It will draw the Treasure of the Nation into a few Hands than which nothing can be more pernicious occasion the hoarding of it up in the Misers Chest by which I perceive he thinks the Userers will lock up their Money rather than lend it at Three or Four per Cent. but the Usurers are wiser Men and have learnt the Proverb That it is better to have half a Loaf than no Bread neither is Three or Four per Cent. so contemptable a Gain to be so slighted for many Gentlemen are now contented to Lett out Money at Four per Cent And the East-India Company gives no more than Three per Cent. at this time 2. It will make Money scarce to be borrowed that 's answered before for the Lenders do now put out their Money at Three and Four per Cent. before such a Law is made therefore will not refuse it afterwards 3. It will expose both at present and in the future an infinite number of Widows Orphans and other impotent Persons to great want and extremity This Objection was before answered by Sir Thomas Culpeper 4. It will encourage our Gentry to run into debt by making most of them bolder in borrowing 5. It will oblige the Nobility and Gentry to provide greater Portions for their younger Children 6. It will introduce a thousand tricks amongst the rank Usurers Brokers and Scriveners 7. It will cause the Dutch to withdraw their Money from us 8. It only can retard the Building of London c. But this is no Objection now nor ever would have been if London had not been Built no more than the other are before-recited 9. And lastly It will expose the Gentry who shall be in debt at the passing such a Law to many and great inconveniencies The Reasons are that he thinks the Money will be called for and not lent again by others though the Security be inlarged by the lowring of Interest which raises the value of Land Sir These are his Arguments the Weight of them I 'll leave to you to judge all that I observe from the Four Pamphlets is this First That the Land of England when Sir Thomas Culpeper wrote his Discourse was at Fifteen and Sixteen years Purchase and I see now that it is worth generally Two or three and Twenty which does solely arise from the abating of Interest Second That Interest was at Six per cent in Holland but after it was reduced to Eight in England it was reduc'd to Four in Holland and now being at Six here 't is there at Three So that they have always kept the same advantage in Trade from our over Ballence by Interest well understanding the Profit they have from thence Third That the Dutch sent Money here in England in those days and the lowring of Interest did not cause them to call it home but it were better for this Nation if it would for then they would return their Effects in our Native Commodities and not keep their lean Kine to be made fat by Interest as Sir Josiah expresseth it For if Money had not been then reduc'd every 1000 l. from the Interest of 10 per cent would have been now a Million according to Old Mr. Audley's Observation that One hundred Pound put out at Ten per cent would make a Hundred thousand Pound in Seventy years so long it is since Interest was first lowered Therefore the Memory of Sir Thomas Culpeper ought to be in high Esteem with this Nation being the first by his sagacity that brought down Interest or else perhaps the whole Land of England by this time had been mortgaged if not sold to the Dutch Lastly Sir Thomas his Arguments for abating of Interest from Ten to Eight which were That it would raise the Price of Land and promote Trade c. are the same as are now used to reduce Interest from Six to Four and experience hath shewn their good Effects and therefore we have Reason to expect the like advantage the Objections were the same then as now and therefore can have no greater Force nor worser Effects Sir I have exceeded the Bounds of a Letter which I could not avoid to bring the chief Contents of Twelve Sheets into Two without being unjust to some of the Authors and rendring my Endeavour unacceptable giving you an imperfect Account which was the chiefest of my Care to avoid SIR I am your most Obedient Servant R. C. Lond. Oct. 20. 1690. FINIS