s. it is a Composition And suppose your Master's Debtor for the Cloth did owe him l. 100 if your Master took any Sum under l. 100 and did discharge him it was a Composition Yo. What is a Composition generally made at Mr. From 5 s. to 15 s. is lookt upon to be a good Composition and in giving for every 20 s. 5 s c. per l. the Man is discharged and hath a Release in full and is in Law as well discharged as if he paid the entire Debt of l. 100. Yo. Pray what is meant by a General Release is not a Recept sufficient enough Mr. No in such cases General Releases are given on both sides because all matters are then ended betwixt Man and Man Yo. Pray let me know what is meant by a General Release and what it is Mr. A General Release is as follows which must be signed sealed and delivered before two Witnesses at least Yo. What mean you by Signing Sealing c Mr. Signing is when the Man writes his Name to it and Sealing is when he puts his Seal to it with Wax or Wafer and Delivering is when he takes that Writing up in his right hand and takes off the Seal and says these words This I deliver as my Act and Deed to the use of the Parties within mentioned Yo. What then must these two Men do that sit by for Witnesses Mr. They must see this done and then set their Hands as Witnesses unto it Yo. Pray let me see one of them done Mr. It is thus KNow all Men by these presents that I J. J. of London Merchant have remised released and for ever quit claim and by these presents do for me my Heirs Executors and Administrators remit release and for ever quite claim unto J. M. Citizen and Draper his Heirs Executors and Administrators all and all manner of Actions Suits Bills Bonds Writings Obligatory Debts Dues Duties Accompts Sum and Sums of Mony Judgments Executions Extents Quarrels Controversies Trespasses Dammages and Demands whatsoever both in Law and Equity or otherwise however which against the said J. M. I ever had now have or which I my Heirs Executors and Administrators shall or may have claim challenge or demand for or by reason of any Matter Cause or Thing from the beginning of the World unto the day of the date of these Presents In Witness whereof I have hereunto put my Hand and Seal this first day of June in the 29th Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King Charles the Second of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. and the Year of our Lord God 1677. J. J. ☉ Sealed and delivered in presence of J. D. E. F. ☞ Here note It is very convenient to write underneath where your Witnesses live for many Causes have been lost because the Surviver could never find out who were the Witnesses or where any of them lived Yo. For the second when he pays part in Mony and part in Security how is this done Mr. It is done in this manner The Debtor absents and offers to give you 10 s. in the pound in Mony and 10 s. upon Security Yo. I know what the Mony means but I do not know what you mean by Security pray let me know that Mr. Security is to be understood two ways either Personal or Real if Personal then another Man is bound with the Party that is the Debtor to pay the Mony at a certain day if the Debtor do not If it be Real then it is the making over some Land Lease House or Goods by a Deed for that purpose Yo. Well Suppose this Man for this l. 100 give me 10 s. per pound in ready Mony and 5 s. upon Personal Security Mr. J. A. is bound for it and 5 s. in the Mortgage of some Land or Houses c. What must I then do how must it be ended Pray Sir let me see an Example of it Mr. The Man owes l. 100. For the Mony you receive 10 s. in the pound is l. 50. For the Bond you make it thus KNow all Men by these Presents That we J. A. and A. B. Citizens and Salters do owe and are bound unto J. J. Citizen and Joyner the full sum of fifty pounds of lawful Mony of England to be paid to the said J. J. his certain Attorney Executors Administrators or Assigns To which payment well and truly to be made we bind our selves our Heirs Executors and Administrators firmly by these Presents Dated the 20 July in the 29th Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King Charles the Second Anno 1677. THe Condition of this Obligation is such That if the above-bounden J. A. and A. B. their Heirs Executors Administrators or Assigns or either of them do well and truly pay or cause to be paid unto the within-named J. J. his Heirs Executors Administrators or Assigns the just and full sum of five and twenty pounds of lawful Mony of England at or upon the 20th of July next ensuing the Date hereof at the now dwelling House of the said J. J. situate in Cornhil London then this Obligation to be void or else to remain in full force and virtue Sealed and delivered in presence of J. A. + A. B. ☉ J. P. P. C. Thus much for the Mony and the Security But for the next the Mortgage c. the best way is to get an experienced Scrivener to make those things sufficient for every Man in his Trade You may be much wronged if you should build on your own Judgment for that matter And you have received The Mony l. 50 0 0 The Bond l. 25 0 0 The Mortgage l. 25 0 0  l. 100 0 0 You discharge the Debtor that is if he pays you the full of your Debt The same is done if you agree to take less than the Debt for the whole Debt in this manner Yo. But what must I do when I come to take Part at Time and that with Security and Part without Security Mr. Suppose the Debtor owes l. 100 and he pays l. 50 at 1 Year at Security Make a Bond for it as the last was and for the other l. 50 make a Bond for him only to Seal and Sign because it is without Security Yo. How must that Bond be made Mr. Just as the former was made only as that had two Men bound this has but one and is as follows KNow all Men by these Presents That I A. B. Citizen and Joyner do owe and am indebted unto J. J. Citizen and Salter the just and full sum of one hundred pounds to be paid to the said J. J. his certain Attorny Executors Administrators or Assigns To the which payment well and truly to be made I bind me my Heirs Executors and Administrators firmly by these Presents In witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal Dated in London 20 July in the 29th Year of the Reign of our Soveraign Lord King Charles the
from the Man that employs you Yo. What mean you by Power Is not his Letter enough and his Order to do it Mr. No that is not sufficient you must have a Procuration so called in all Forreign Parts and by us in England a Letter of Attorney that impowers you to sue his Debtor cast him in Prison and release him c. Yo. Pray let me see what one of these Letters of Attorney is and how you do make them Mr. A Letter of Attorney is made several ways Sometimes to sue one single Man and sometimes to sue many or to receive Mony of some freight Ships make Contracts c. But usually it is made general and then thus A Copy of a Letter of Attorney from A. B. to B. C. KNow all Men by these Presents that I A. B. of London Merchant have named and constituted and by these Presents do name ordain appoint and make my trusty Friend B. C. of Bristol Merchant my true and lawful Attorney for me and in my Name and to my use to demand sue for recover and receive of R. J. of Bristol Merchant the sum of _____ to me due and owing by and from the said R. J. giving and hereby granting unto my said Attorney my full Power and Authority to use and exercise all such Acts Things and Devices in the Law as shall be necessary for recovery of the said Debt and Acquittances or other Discharges in my Name to make and give and generally to do and execute in the Premises as fully as I my self might or could do being personally present ratifying confirming and allowing all and whatsoever my said Attorney shall lawfully do or cause to be done therein by these Presents In witness whereof I have hereunto set my Hand and Seal in Dover this 4th of June 1677. in the 29th Year of the Reign of our Soveraign Lord King Charles the Second of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. Sealed and delivered in the presence of R. D. F. M. per A. B. ☉ Yo. What then is the nature of this Letter of Attorney Mr. It is to give the same Power to a Man in London to act and do as if the Man at Bristol came up himself Yo. I am very well satisfied with what you are pleased to say and I think I understand the meaning of it at present Pray let me know now what is meant by that Expression which I have often heard used and that is Manufacture Mr. Manufacture is when a Man inventeth the making a Commodity that was never made or used before in the place where he lives and when no body maketh it but himself it is called his Manufacture as suppose you would make Buckrams a Commodity that was never made in England before and that none is made but by you it is called your Manufacture or the Manufacture of Buckrams And so of any other each Nation having its peculiar sorts of Goods which it doth make as England for the Manufacture of Cloth Serges Bays Stuffs Says c. Scotland for Linen Cloth France for Lockrams Dowlas Silks c. Yo. What then is that they call Monopolies Mr. That is when a number of Men or one Man endeavours to get all that is to be gotten of one Commodity into his own hands and when he hath it to raise it to what price he pleaseth or when several Men will join to buy and sell at what price they please and so by this means the Trade they drive is brought to nothing for others For they grind the Poor on both sides they give what they please for a Commodity and because none can buy it but them they will give you less or else keep your Commodity to spoil And when the Poor come to buy they must give what they please or they shall have none And this having been found in thousands of Instances destructive to some Nations hath been by many wise and prudent Laws forbidden in ours Yo. What is meant by Allotting of Goods Mr. This is a thing very necessary to be understood and the meaning of it is this Five or six Men buy a whole Ships loading of Raisins of the Sun of a Merchant because one Man is not capable of buying so great a quantity and when they have bought them they divide the thousand Barrels suppose into six Lots or Parts and make so many Mens Names on six pieces of Paper and the first Comer-by puts the Note of each Man's Name upon each Lot or Division and by this means the Goods are equally divided without partiality one Man hath not a better Lot than another and there is no cause of discontent but all are very well satisfied Others instead of putting pieces of Paper on each Lot cannot write or read and one gives his Knife another his Tobacco-Box another a Shilling another any thing he knows again and this is put upon the top of each Lot and by this the Lot is known But this latter is for a lower sort of Mechanicks Merchants do not use it Yo. What is meant then Sir by another thing I have heard them call Lots and that is such as are sold by the East-India Company I have heard them say they would go buy a Lot of Goods Mr. Here by a Lot of Goods is meant another thing for so many Goods are divided into so many Parts or Lots and notice is given of what is in each Lot and when the price is set there is an advance put upon it Suppose one Lot is 50 Bags of Pepper and they are put at 10 d. per lb to advance ⅛ d. per lb each bidding One Man he bids 10 d. ¼ another 10 d. ½ another 11 d. more or less during which time of bidding a small piece of Wax Candle is burning and he that bids most when the Candle goes out he is to have the Pepper and this is called selling Goods by the Candle Yo. As soon as they have bought Goods so do they come and take them away Mr. No as soon as they have bought them then they do seal and deliver a Bond for them before the next Lot of Goods hath a Candle put up Yo. What is the Contents of that Bond Mr. The Contents of it are as followeth KNow all Men by these Presents That I _____ on the Date hereof do confess and acknowledg to have bought of _____ at a publick Sale at the Candle Lot No. _____ containing as by the printed Tickets appear _____ to be accepted and taken at the price aforesaid in the like quality and condition as now they are in and shall arise good or bad without exception and without any abatement for or in respect of any fault or defect whatsoever And I the said _____ for my self my Executors and Assigns do Covenant promise and agree to and with the said _____ his Executors or Assigns by these Presents that I the said _____ my Executors Administrators or Assigns shall and will well and truly pay or cause to be paid unto the said _____ his Executors Administrators or Assigns the full and entire Sunime of lawful Mony of
for any of these Mens Accompts James Ascue c. Samuel Beek  Will. Crouch  Sam. Davis  Jos. Edmunds  John French  Take the Surname and look under what Letter it is and the first is James Ascue say Ascue James under the Letter A and set Folio 1 Beek Samuel Beek under the Letter B Folio 2 and so for the following names Now when you have occasion to look out Samuel Davis his Accompt see Davis Sam. under the D. and you will find it to be Fol. 4. and so of the rest Yo. What is the meaning of pricking a pair of Books over Mr. By the pricking of a pair of Books is meant one Man's taking the Journal and calling that over against the Waste-Book that is read Article by Article by another Man and when they have done with that then to have one Man take the Journal and another Man the Ledger and repost every Parcel as if you were really posting it anew again and against each mark make a prick Yo. Pray let me see an Example of that that I may know how to do it Mr. You may suppose this Article of the 26th of May of James Webster to be the thing in question When you have posted the Debit the figures will stand thus .17 19 and when you have examined both Debit and Credit it will stand thus .17 .19 If you should have occasion to prick your Boooks twice before you find out the fault then will they stand thus ..17 ..19 or thus .17 .19 which you like best Yo. What is meant by the ballancing of a pair of Books Mr. By the ballancing of a pair of Books is meant taking a sheet of Paper and setting the Ballance of each Accompt under one another the Debit altogether and the Credit in like manner altogether and if both sides do equally ballance with one another then are the Books right but if they do not then the Books are wrong and you must prick them over until you find out the Error Yo. Having thus explained the meaning of the several Books unto me I desire you would now answer me two or three Questions which I find I am ignorant of Mr. What are they Yo. The first is Charter-Parties which I find mentioned by you but know not what you mean when you speak of them Mr. Charter-Party is the same thing to a Merchant as a Lease is betwixt Landlord and Tenant herein are all things necessary contained that belong to an Agreement betwixt a Merchant or Merchants in freighting of a Ship and the Master or Master and Owners sometimes of the said Ship Yo. For my further light into this Business I desire you Sir to let me know what it is and let me as you have done here in like cases see some form of a Charter-Party Mr. That you may do in the following form which is a Charter-Party word for word The Copy of a Charter-Party of Affreightment THis CHARTER-PARTY of Affreightment indented made the _____ of the Month of _____ Anno Domini _____ and in the _____ of the Reign of our Soveraign Lord Charles the Second by the Grace of God King of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. Between _____ Master under God of the good Ship or Vessel called the _____ of the Burthen of _____ Tuns or thereabouts now riding at Anchor in the River of Thames of the one part And _____ of London Merchants of the other part Witnesseth That the said Master hath granted and letten the said Ship to Freight unto the said Merchants And that they the said Merchants have accordingly hired Her for the Voyage and upon the Terms and Conditions following That is to say The said Master doth covenant promise and grant for himself his Executors and Administrators to and with the said Merchants and either of them their and either of their Executors Administrators and Assigns by these Presents That the said Ship strong and staunch and well and sufficiently Victualled Tackled Manned and Apparalled with all things meet needful and necessary for the performance of the Voyage hereafter mentioned Shall by the first and next fair Wind and Weather which God shall send after the Date of these Presents depart from the Port of _____ with all such Goods and Merchandizes as the said Merchants or their Assigns shall in the mean time lade and put on board Her And therewith directly sail and apply unto _____ as Wind and Weather shall best serve for the said Ship to sail And being arrived as near to the said place of _____ He the said Master or Assigns shall and will within _____ working days next from and after such Her arrival to be accompted not only unlade and deliver the said Goods and Merchandizes put on board the said Ship at _____ aforesaid unto the said Merchants their Factors or Assigns or some or one of them in safety and well conditioned the Dangers of the Seas and Restraint of Princes and Rulers excepted But also shall and will receive relade and take on board the said Ship of and from the said Merchants their Factors or Assigns or some or one of them all such Goods and Merchandizes as they or any of them shall there please to lade and put on board Her to the said Ships full and compleat Lading that is to say as much as can conveniently be stowed in the whole Hold and between Decks afore the Main-mast room only reserved for the said Ships Provisions Tackle and Apparel And the said _____ working days being expired or the said Ship there sooner dispatched which first shall happen He the said Master or his Assigns shall and will with the then next opportunity of Wind and Weather from Her said unlading and relading Port of _____ aforesaid directly sail return and come back with the said Ship and Lading unto the Port of _____ And here within _____ working days next after the said Ship shall be entered in the Custom-House of this said _____ he the said Master or his Assigns shall and will unlade and deliver the said Goods and Merchandizes laden on board the said Ship at her unlading and relading _____ aforesaid unto the said Merchants their Executors Administrators or Assigns in safety and well conditioned the Dangers ' of the Seas and Restraint of Princes and Rulers excepted and so end the said intended Voyage And the said Merchants do covenant promise and grant for themselves and either of them their and either of their Executors and Administrators to and with the said Master his Executors Administrators and Assigns by these Presents That _____ Executors Administrators Factors or Assigns shall and will not only unlade and relade the said Ship at her unlading and relading Port of _____ aforesaid and dispatch and discharge the same at this _____ in manner and form as above exprest and within the respective dayes and times above mentioned But also shall and will in full of all Freight to be due payable or demandable for or during this present intended Voyage well and truly pay or cause to be paid unto the said Master his Executors Administrators or Assigns _____ the sum of _____ of lawful Mony of
for a small matter it may be 4 5 6 per Cent. the longest Voyage and if the Ship be lost he recovers his Mony of the Insurer and thus he is upon certain grounds for he that lends his Mony at Bottomree and Insures it generally if the Ship come home safe or is lost at Sea gains at least 22 or 23 per Cent. in 30 per Cent. And Men now-adays are so cunning that they will not only have part of the Ship mortgaged unto them but will have some Merchant or sufficient Man or other that shall be engaged for it and so have the Borrower's Bond as well as the Ship and his Body bound as well as the Voyage And this many that are necessitous rather than leave the Mony will run into but they seldom run out of it again and do spoil the true intent of lending Mony at Bottomree This way of taking up of Mony is likewise much used amongst Masters of Ships that by any bad Weather or other strait or immergency whatsoever do put into any Port in any Kingdom and there they repair their Ship c. and buy what is necessary for them and wanting Mony to do the same with they repair to some Merchant and he having the Ships Name and the Master's and of what Place she is and her Owners Names will advance this Mony at Bottomree and if the Ship comes safe to her intended Port the said Merchant hath his Mony if not and the Ship be lost he hath nothing nor can he recover any thing against the Master or Owners but only against the Ship Yo. But doth not this cause many Cheats and many Men to lose their Ship on purpose that they may not pay the Mony which they took up at Bottomree Mr. Yes and several Men have brought their Ships safe to the Rivers Mouth and there they have sunk them on purpose to avoid the paiment of the Monies they owed at Bottomree and have been detected and punished for it as it hath deserved Yo. Is there any thing else that I can learn that may be beneficial unto me belonging to this Bottomree Mr. Nothing as I know but if you have occasion ever to take up Mony at Bottomree your self do it at as cheap a Rate as you can and if you lend out Mony be sure to have to do as near as you can with honest Men for many times there is a great cheat under it as to the Voyages themselves Yo. Pray Sir how can that be I cannot in any manner imagin that to be so Mr. Suppose you lend l. 100 unto A. B. the Master of a Ship and he lives at Bristol and goes from Bristol to Cadiz you that lend the Mony live at London the Master goes from Bristol and instead of 1 Voyage makes 2 or 3 Voyages It doth very often happen so if you have not Friends in the same Town that give you notice of his Arrival And thus you run two or three Risques for one and sometimes come to make a real loss when as in truth your Risque was run a great while before But herein you are in the fault as much as the Master that cheats you for you are to look out and enquire and not to tarry for his sending you word which is just as if you should wait until your Debtor sends you word your Bond is due Yo. Having now spoken in this Matter of letting out Mony at Bottomree I pray Sir let me know what the meaning of Assurance is for your tell me I may Ensure for 4 5 or 6 per Cent. Outwards and Inwards Mr. Assurance is when a Man is in any manner of fear of the Ship his Goods are in or the danger of the Voyage or of Pirats c. He then is willing to give another Man a certain sum of Mony to put himself in your place and if any danger arises to pay you for the same Goods the value that you have Assured It is a thing hath been long in custom and use amongst Traders and was established by a Law under Claudius Caesar before the birth of our Saviour Christ it hath been much practised in all Trading Nations and is a cause of great increase of Trade because that hazard is born by four or five with mutual consent which otherwise must fall upon one Person Yo. Pray let me know the nature of it and how I am to behave my self in it Mr. Suppose your Master ships l. 100 of Goods for Cadiz and he is unwilling to run so great a hazard himself He goes to the Assurance-Office and there he acquaints the Clerk he hath a mind to ensure l. 50 60 c. upon such a Ship for so much Goods he hath on Board The Clerk presently speaks to other Men that are Merchants that make it their Trade to Ensure and they agree upon a price so much in the hundred and that is called Primo and in the consideration of this Primo the Man that is your Insurer runs all the hazards that can be imagined until these Goods arrive safe at Cadiz Yo. What have I to shew for this when I have paid my Mony Mr. You have a Policy of Insurance and that is signed by the Man you agree withal or by 2 3 or 4 if you deal with so many Men to underwrite for you several Sums And this Policy of Insurance ought to be copied in the Office of Assurance that is in a Book kept there for that purpose and for which you pay a certain Sum unto the Clerk or Clerks sitting at that time Yo. What mean you by this Policy of Assurance which you do speak of What kind of thing is it Mr. It is a sheet of large Paper written but now of late days they print them that doth express the Name of the Person that causeth himself to be ensured and that names the place he ensures for the Ship the Masters Name the Sum of Mony the Dangers you are ensured from and how long that lasteth with the Name of the Party that Insures or underwrites this Policy for you Yo. Pray let me see a true Copy of one of these Policies of Assurance or else I shall never comprehend it aright I have l. 200 to be ensured for Cadiz upon the Will and Thomas James Long Mr. the Ship is yet in the River Mr. You shall see the way of doing that immediately The Copy of a Policy of Assurance In the name of God Amen as well in his own Name as for and in the Name and Names of all and every other Person and Persons to whom the same doth may or shall appertain in part or in all doth make Assurance and causeth himself and them and every of them to be insured lost or not lost _____ upon any kind of Goods and Merchandize whatsoever loaden or to be loaden aboard the good Ship called the _____ Burthen _____ Tuns or thereabouts whereof is Master under God for this present Voyage _____ or whosoever
and declared according to the true meaning of these Presents he the said J. J. shall and will at or before the _____ become bound unto us the said Creditors respectively by one Obligation in due form of Law to be made including all and every the Payments in such sort as is above limited at some convenient Place or Places _____ by every of us the said Creditors to be nominated and appointed and the penalty of every Obligation to be double the whole Sum included in the Condition of the same to be delivered to us and every of us our Executors or Assigns at or before the _____ next ensuing the Date hereof Know ye therefore that we the said Creditors whose names are hereunder written and every of us for his own part and for his Executors Administrators and Assigns for the consideration above specified and expressed do by these Presents willingly Consent Covenant Promise and Agree to and with the said J. J. his Executors Administrators and Assigns by these Presents that we the said Creditors and every of us our Executors Administrators and Assigns shall and will accept of the said J. J. his Executors Administrators and Assigns all and every of the said Debts and Sums of Mony by the said J. J. unto us and every of us owing and paying upon such Obligations Assurance and Assurances as aforesaid to be paid in such manner and sort and at such days and times as is above limited and required And further that we the said Creditors and every of us our and every of our Executors Administrators and Assigns respectively upon the delivery of the said Obligation to us and to every of us and every of our Executors Administrators and Assigns shall and will at the charge of the said J. B. his Executors Administrators and Assigns Seal Subscribe and in due form of Law deliver to the said J. B. our sufficient General Release to be rendred by him the said J. B. his Executors Administrators or Assigns to bear Date and Limitation before the day of the Date of this new Obligation to be made for the same Debt In witness whereof we have hereunto set our Hands and Seals Dated the _____ of _____ in the _____ Year of the Reign of our Soveraign Lord King Charles the Second of England Scotland France and Ireland Defender of the Faith c. and of our Lord God Anno Yo. Is this all that belongs to one that is concern'd with a Man that breaks Mr. Yes as you are concerned with any private Bargain you make with him or any for him but if you do prosecute him by Law then the case is altered and you must advise with your Lawyer for I cannot tell you what to do in that Matter Yo. But cannot you tell what belongs to Suing a Man or Arresting of him or filing an Outlawry against him or taking out of a Commission of Bankrupt against him Mr. No I have no skill in them in the least nor do they belong to a Merchant as a Merchant to know being rather the Business of a Soliciter a Merchant ought not to be in Law upon any account if he can avoid it Yo. But if a Man will not pay me what must I do with him or if I have any difference about Goods that are sold Mr. As much as you can avoid going to Law rather refer it to knowing Merchants who can best decide it Your Lawyers will magnifie the goodness of your Cause whilst they can find Mony coming but when they find the Client is poor Truly say they I think you had e'ne best refer it to some indifferent Persons Most judicious Merchants do as much as they can to avoid Law-Suits for it doth not agree with their Business in the least Yo. But what would you have me do with a Rascal that will not pay me Mr. If I might advise you I would consider well of what I were going about whether the Man were worth my charge and pains before I began with him for if he be poor then you make him poorer and that 's not the way to pay your Debt If he be Knavish a Prison will encrease that If he is Rich and goes to Prison he pays nothing but spends your Estate in a Prison and laughs at you The prudence of our Fore-fathers was what-ever they did to keep the Body out of a Prison and our Nation has always been very tender of the Liberty of all Persons that until the Reign of King Henry the Third there was no Law in force for the Imprisonment of the Body of any Man for Debt It is terrible to consider how many thousands of poor Families sink under the burden become a charge to the Nation and are forced to be idle Droans which if they were at liberty might not only provide for themselves and Families but set many thousands at work who are now altogether useless Yo. What must I then do with any that owe me Mony and will not pay Mr. This is a very difficult matter to answer any Remedy is better than a Prison And this we see in our Neighbours the Dutch who cast none into Prison and if the Creditor will have his Debtor there he must be at the charge to keep him which makes very few Prisoners But our cunning monied Men in England that are politick use another way and that is Suppose the Debtor owes them l. 100 they will lend him 30 or 40 l. more unto it and endeavour to hedg it in by getting it some way or other made sure to them as by taking a Mortgage or getting a Judgment or by small paiments c. But of these things your own Experience must be the best Judg for nothing else can do it so well as your own Judgment Still having regard to these old and good Maxims That a Prison pays no Debts That the first Offer is generally the best That when the first is refused it seldom rises higher Besides of ten Men that are put into Prison nine of them either die there or besot themselves so much that when they come out they are fit for nothing but Gaming or Drinking And if this be the way to pay Debts let any reasonable Man judg whereas if they were out and had a little respit they might be able to pay every Man in some time And as a clear demonstration of this you see those Men that run quite away and get into other Countries do live and get Estates Now what is the reason of this Not that they are more ingenious there than they would be here or that they can attain to know more there it cannot be For what Man can know more in a strange Nation than in a Nation where he hath always been bred and hath gain'd and paid for Experience It is not that but this If a poor Man is in Debt every body worries him from one place to another some Arrest him others frighten him others revile him and in short so soon