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Praxis Chymiatrica or Practical Chymistry Written in Latin by John Hartman And Basilica Chymica or Royal Chymistry Written in Latin by Oswald Crollius Both faithfully translated into English in Folio This will be published in Michaelmas Term next The Jesuites Morals faithfully extracted from their own Books which are Printed by the permission and approbation of the Superiors of their Society Written by a Sorbon Doctor In Folio This Book will be published in Hilary Term next FINIS * The name of a Faction Peages is a word that signifies the right of levying such summes upon Merchants in such and such places or passages
it is agreed that there be chosen in the Name of all the Confederates some Plenipotentiaries and that these Plenipotentiaries do assign the day and place of the Assembly of the States of each Province and that they send to them in due time the Grievances and Heads of matters they are to treat about Yet if there be such points as require secrecy that then they reserve to declare them in the Assembly General of the States that all the Provinces being thus advertiz'd do send their Deputies with their instructions and powers necessary to the place of the Assembly General that the preference be given by the plurality of Votes except in important affairs that if some Provinces do neglect to send their Deputies that those that shall meet do nevertheless debate and deliberate and decree as if all had been there but if the things to be debated will endure a delay then the Provinces that have not sent their Deputies shall be call'd upon two or three times and those that have not convenience of sending their Deputies let them send their advice by writing 16. If the States of the particular Provinces have any knowledge of those things that deserve to be examin'd and pass'd in the Council of the States General let them give notice to the Plenipotentiaries who shall assign and call together the Assembly of the Confederates 17. If there should be any difficulty about the interpretation of these Articles or any doubt arise let the sence of the major part of the Confederates be taken for the true meaning of all 18. If it be found necessary to abolish or change any Laws already made or make any new ones let it be done by the Votes and consent of all 19. Let all observe and solemnly swear to keep inviolably these Laws that if any thing be done either directly or indirectly contrary to them let it be ipso facto void and let it be lawfull for the other Provinces to seise and take the Cities Possessions and Goods of those that shall infringe them and persist so to do In short if in these Constitutions there be any thing against the Right of any particular Province now constituting it shall not be sufficient to make a general renunciation to it except it be preceded by a particular renunciation of each of the Confederates These are the Laws that have been the foundation and basis of this Commonwealth and are still exactly observed in all points except in the 11th Article concerning Religion which was alter'd by the States General in the Year 1583. And since by the Union of Utrect it is free to amplifie change and shorten any of the said Articles when the safety of the Provinces should require it the States ordain'd that no Religion should be henceforth receiv'd but that which is publickly taught in the United Provinces which is the Reformed but that if any Members Provinces or Papish Towns would enter into this alliance that then they should enjoy the liberty of their Religion in subscribing to the rest of the Articles CHAP. II. The rank and dependencies of the United Provinces towards one another HAving made a slight draught of the Commonwealth of these Uâ—ited Provinces we must now consider what are these Provinces thus united and to that end it is observable that all those Towns that do depend on the administration and Government of the States do send their Deputies to the Hague and do share in the Government but that those Cities and Towns that have been added and subjected by the force of Armes are as conquer'd Nations used to be with the Romans 'T is true that those Towns that by the happy success of the States Armes have been with great cost and time conquer'd in Brabant have often solicited their admission and reception into the Body of the Commonwealth but because they have stood the State in so much blood and treasure and that they are incapable of assisting and being a help against the Enemy by reason of their long sufferings and also because it is fit that they alone who first conspir'd to this alliance should enjoy it they have not yet obtain'd their request But to know whether those Towns of Brabant to the number of eight viz. Bolduc Breda Berguenopsooun Mastrect Grave Steenbergue Heindove and Helmont do deserve the priviledge that the Countrey of Drent now enjoys viz. of having particular Treasurers not accomptable to the States General is a point which deserves a greater discussion than is here to be expected However within these few years the said Towns have a Court of Judicature which does Soveraignly and without Appeal judge and decide all controversies arising in those parts This Court sits at the Hague and is made up of seven Counsellors one Secretary one Attorney of the Exchequer and one Attorney General The Towns likewise conquer'd in Flanders have a Court of Judicature at Middlebourg determining all causes Soveraignly The Countrey of Drent has many great Priviledges as the power to choose a Governor to contribute to the publick necessities as other Provinces do and it has also an ambulatory Court of Justice which goes from Town to Town to hear causes and decree upon them without Appeal besides it has the liberty of naming Commissaries for the Treasury but it has not yet the priviledge of sending Deputies call'd Pensionaries to the States General because they did not at first come into the League and Alliance made between the other Provinces and also because since that time there has been no occasion of making any Articles with any of their Towns except Couverde which is disputed too there being in this Countrey scarce any place which has juâ— Civitatis except the little Town of Meppâ—l which would sooner attain its desire of taking share in the Government if by the consent of Drent it were united to some of the neighbouring Provinces To Drent is ordinarily joyn'd the Mannor or Demean of Rhun which is an antient Lordship of the House of Munster But Gueldres Holland Zeeland Utrect Friezland Overyssel and Groningue with Omlund are of the first alliance and have for Armes a Lion holding in his paw seven Arrows the symbole of their Union and the States General do use it as their publick Seal This order which we have set down though it were so at first was nevertheless disputed between Friezland and Uâ—rect they both pretending to the precedency but besides that Utrect is in possession it has two strong reasons The first is that formerly all Friezland was subject to the Bishop of Utrect as for the Spiritual Jurisdiction â—ly That a 〈…〉 Utrect had declar'd for the Union when divers Towns of Friezland were yet in suspence CHAP. III. What was the Form of the General Assemblies till the time of the Earl of Leicester FRom the first time that the Deputies met to make and ordain Laws about the setling and firm establishing of the Commonwealth it was agreed by the 17th Article of the Union of
to be understood of Privateers CHAP. XIX Of the particular Government of the Towns in Holland VVE have seen hitherto what is the Government of the whole Body of the United Provinces now we may descend to the particular Towns The Towns are govern'd by a Bailif a Senate or Councill by Bourgmasters or Consuls and by Aldermen There is but one Bailif in each Town who to say true has no power of himself to pronounce judgement but in criminal Causes he is as it were an Attourney-Generall and manages accusations against offenders in the name of the States This is done before the Aldermen who have power to examine the heads of the accusation and to pronounce sentence The Bailifs have no Sallary and all the profit of their places rises from the Fines that are lay'd upon the guilty The Senate and the greatest is that which is call'd Den breeden raâ—dâ— or De Vroedschap in most Towns as at Leyden it is compos'd of about fourty persons according to the number of the richest Citizens more or less The ancient Laws admit none to be of this Senate but such as are of the richer sort This Assembly seldome meets but upon the occasion of choosing new Magistrates as also when the States of the Province are to meet then the heads of the Deliberations are examin'd in this Senate before-hand They do also controle and correct their Bourgmasters and Aldermen if in the Assembly of the States they chance to go beyond their Commission And to the end they may do it without fear it has been ordain'd by our wise Ancestours that the charge of Senatour should be perpetuall that so they may not fear to be persecuted for what they shall do in the defence of the publick liberty The Bourgmasters and Aldermen are chosen from amongst these Senatours by the plurality of voices In some places there are four Bourgmasters and in some there are but two Their Office is to determine all that concerns the good order of the Town as also to inform themselves of all the fallings out of the Citizens and bring them either by themselves or others to an agreement which if they cannot compass then their duty is to cite them before the Aldermen They meet in a common Chamber and give audience to all Inhabitants without distinction In some places there are seven Aldermen in others nine They are the Judges of the Town who meet three or four set times a week and determine all civill Causes between the Inhabitants and judge all crimes propos'd by the Bailif For the first cognizance of the Cause belongs to the Judge of the place where he that is cited dwells Except they be priviledged Causes the Towns judge of no greater summe than five pounds and the Bourghs of thirty shillings though in very great Cities they may judge as far as thirty pound The appeal is first to the Court of the Province and then to the great Councill where there is a double number of Judges they that are cast are fin'd for having appeal'd without reason In the Court of the Province the Fine is three pound ten shillings in the great Councill of six pound and when the Process is re-viewed if the sentence be confirm'd the Fine is of twenty pound As for criminall Causes the Judges are absolute and there is no appeal from them neither in the Villages nor in the Towns except the Bailif require that the criminall should undergo a severer punishment and then the accused has liberty to defend himself There are two sort of Laws in Holland the first sort is the Customes Priviledges and Constitutions of the Countrey and former Princes and of the States The second is the Roman Law call'd the Civill Law Moreover that the course of justice be not retarded nor the Judges time taken up in petty businesses there are chosen by the Aldermen a certain number of the richer sort of Citizens who are call'd Commissaries of small Causes These take cognizance of all Causes that are not above five pound as also of all Actions for reparation of Honour and of the Differences between Masters and Servants and such like An Alderman presides ordinarily in this Assembly and is ordinarily a good Civilian There is also in the Senate or Town-House and in the Colledge of the Bourgmasters one who is call'd a Syndiâ— or Pensioner who ought to be eloquent and learn'd as being the Speaker of the whole Town or Corporation in their most important affairs CHAP. XX. Of the Tributes and Imposts of how many sorts they are and of the manner of levying them in Holland SInce as Tacitus sayes there is no War without pay nor no pay without tributes and that that is the particular case of the United Provinces who have been long in War to which they have all contributed their share it is fit to consider of the wayes they use to levy them There are two sorts of Tributes the ordinary and the extraordinary The ordinary which being once granted are alwayes continued the extraordinary which are levied but for some certain time and are then left off There are three sorts of extraordinary Tributes viz. the Tribute by Head or Pole-money the Chimney-money and the Land Taxes The Pole-money is so levied that the State has twenty pence for every Head they that are extream poor are freed from this Tribute To my remembrance this was never practis'd but once and then too there was great murmuring and many refus'd to pay The Chimney-money is that Tribute which is paid for every Chimney or Hearth which is twenty pence and in this the Hollanders have imitated the Spaniards in the Kingdome of Naples The third Tribute call'd a Land Taxe may be properly call'd the two hundredth penny for out of two hundred pound a year for example is paid one pound to the States So out of four hundred two pounds or fourty shillings To this may be objected that it is a very hard thing if not impossible for the perfect knowledge of the true value of mens Estates to be had It is answer'd that the Magistrate does take his measure from the publick voice and the generall report that any man has to have such and such revenues And because in this there is room for a mistake the Law gives any man leave to complain of the greatness of his Taxe and if he will take his Oath he is not worth so much as the world values his Estate at his Taxe shall be moderated As for the ordinary Tributes the chief are these following 1. The Tribute from Salt call'd in Dutch Sonte geldt it is levied after this manner The Magistrate of the Town visits each Family and reckons every head of it then they guess at the quantity of Salt that they may reasonably be thought to spend in one year and thereupon they exact from them a summe of money proportionable to the quantity of Salt they are to have And in some Towns they set a price upon the
another way to work and employed the Portuguesses whose interest was very strong with most of the Indian peoples and Princes they endeavoured by all means to make the Dutch so odious to those Nations that they should abstain from all Trade and Commerce with them representing them as Pirates and Rebels to their King But the States Generall being inform'd of this hard measure given them by the Portuguesses gave order to all their Subjects to assault and take all Ships that should any wayes strive to oppose their navigation to the Indies Thus they struggled pretty well with this great obstacle But the Merchants themselves being divided into different Companies and not acting all unanimously did spoil one anothers Trade for either they would all come to one Port of the Indies and so enhance the price of the Natives Commodity and debase their own or commit some other errour which made most of their Ships return with much less profit than might have been otherwise expected The States considering these inconveniencies resolv'd to make up one certain Company of all the different Adventurers that would come in and to grant to them alone the priviledge of trading to the Indies under certain Conditions This Order of the States being publish'd many out of hopes of gain others out of love to their Countrey put in different summes which all together made up six hundred thousand pound the first stock upon which this Company has built its prodigious Encrease All those that had conributed were call'd Partners in Dutch Participanten because they had part in all the profit and loss of the Company But all those that had contributed more than six hundred pound were call'd head-Partners hooft-Participanten and out of these alone were and are to this day chosen the Curators or Directors of the Company with a very large power All these head-Partners together have the priviledge of naming out of their own number the Curators and then in some places the States of the Province in others the Magistrates of Towns are to choose them out of those that are nam'd The Curators are bound to give an account of all incomes and expences once a year to the head-Partners They manage all the business of the Company and are continued in their employment all their life-time or at least for one and twenty years They hold their Assemblies in the most convenient places of each Province and their Assemblies are call'd Chambers In each of these Chambers there are a set number of Curators at Amsterdam there are twenty in Zeeland twelve upon the Meuse fourteen and fourteen in West-Friezeland Besides these ordinary Assemblies there are setled in each Province some extraordinary ones upon occasion to which the Chambers send their Deputies and all the Chambers of that Province are bound to stand to the Deliberations of this that is made up of them all This Chamber is setled at Amsterdam for Holland and at Middlebourg for Zeeland This extraordinary Assembly consists of seventeen Deputies call'd de Vergaderinge van Seventien Each Chamber knows the number of Deputies that it must send to this Assembly some more and some less proportionably still to the first money that they put in This is the form of Government that this Company lives under within the States Territories and amongst all its Constitutions this is the principall that the Curators shall employ with all care and speed the summes that shall be furnish'd to them for the setting out of a strong Fleet well arm'd to drive the Portuguesses and Spaniards out of those Forts and strong places which they hold and in buying those Manufactures and Wares which we exchange with the Indians giving a yearly account of their receits and expences that out of the product something may still be layed aside whereby to confirm and advance the Companies Trade and Settlement in those parts that the rest shall be equally distributed to all the sharers to every one according to the proportion of the money first put in by them And this Distribution is commonly call'd Uytdeâ—linge This noble establishment thus begun fail'd not of a very happy success for now all interests being united as well as strengths the work was carried on unanimously and by the exchange of some things of small value with us as Looking-Glasses Feathers Chrystall and Glass Rings Bracelets Babies and other such bables made at Nurembergue in Germany the Company receiv'd from the silly Indians Silk Stuffs Pearls all sorts of aromatick Druggs of great value and things of that nature To this adde the taking of divers strong places and Forts from the Portuguesses and Spaniards who at first little dreamed of being invaded so far off by those whom they thought they did put so much to it at home By these means in six years time viz. from the year 1602. to the year 1608. the Company came to see their capitall summe of six hundred thousand pound encreas'd to almost three millions of English money besides all the gain that had been distributed among the partners And besides their Conquests are such and their Dominions so enlarged in the Indies that they have under their power or protection divers great Kingdomes and Countreys besides many others who have granted to them alone exclusively to the Spaniards and Portuguesses the liberty of Trade amongst them Things being brought to this flourishing condition it was thought fit to lay the foundation of a new Common-wealth and for this purpose they chose a Town which they call'd Batavia which is so well fortified and encompass'd with a strong Wall of Bricks that it was able these late years to hold out before all the Forces of the great Emperour of Java who besieged it with an Army of two hundred thousand men It was order'd that the Governour General of the Indies for the Company should here reside and keep a Royal Court where he enjoyes the same power that the Governour General does in Holland he keeps a greater equipage and marches with more state than some Kings of Europe that he may the more be respected by his own Subjects and the barbarous Nations round about At first this dignity was for life but because it seem'd dangerous to let so much power reside in one man so long it was resolv'd to follow the Spaniards custom and limit the time of their Government to three years In this Town are likewise establish'd two Soveraign Courts in one whereof fits the Governour with his Associates to treat of the publick affairs of the Society as Peace War Alliances Trade c. the other is a Court of Justice where causes are tryed between particular men Besides this there are in all Provinces and Islands depending upon the Company two Soveraign Magistrates one of which commands the Militia which is quarter'd in different places to be in a readiness to keep the Natives down and the other has the care of all that concerns Trade and to the end that they may not behave themselves dishonestly there are
adjoyn'd to them certain Officers call'd Censours who keep a Register of all Occurrences and give account of them every quarter to the Governour and his Council Out of these Registers the Council picks the condition and posture of the Companies affairs and having drawn it up sends it into Holland and the Curatours thereby know how to govern themselves in their supplyes At the same time there was some project made for the better multiplying of this Colony that so at last they might equal the Indians in number and not need to drain Europe every year for men To further this they built a publick house in which were maintain'd at the publick charge great numbers of young Maids brought from Holland and the Souldiers and Seamen had liberty to make their addresses and marry them But this did not succeed for it was found by experience that the children born of Dutch Parents in the Indies were not so lusty nor so long liv'd as those that were born of a Dutch Father and an Indian Mother The Trade to the Indies is driven with ready money or with Exchange the Japponeses take ready money all the Indians exchange their Commodities for ours which at first were of so small a value and theirs so rich that for every five pounds worth of ours we had a hundred pounds worth of theirs Some of these Nations have given to the Hollanders alone the priviledge of Trading with them for example they alone can buy Pepper and by consequence set what price they please upon that Commodity Every year in certain seasons the Fleets set sail for Holland and every year new Fleets go from Holland for the Indies The Merchandizes brought from India to Holland are publickly exposed to sale and the money produced distributed among the Sharers so for a hundred pound which a particular man shall have put into the common stock he shall have rarely twenty sometimes thirty and most commonly fourty pound profit so that the annual rent comes almost to half the Capital This distribution is made either in Money or Merchandize the truth is that heretofore they did seldom use to deliver out any Merchandize but of late some Nations of Europe having gone about to set up the same Trade to the Indies the Hollanders to discourage and break them at their first beginings did think fit to make a distribution of Merchandize Whereupon there coming abroad at once so much the price of all could not choose but fall and so make these Strangers not able to afford them at such easie rates 'T is true that this did the Company themselves much prejudice but still it was a less loss to them for the greatest mischief that can befall them is that other Nations find the way to the Indies There is besides this considerable advantage that all the Sharers do not only make a vast interest of their money but their Capital encreases every day as the Companies stock encreases So if he that has put in at first 400 pound will sell which they seldom do his right to another he will without difficulty get 1800 pound for it and it is to be hoped that at last the very annual distributions will be worth the Capital every year Some years ago the Company of the West-Indies was establish'd after the same model and a purpose to cross its settlement the King of Spain demanded a Truce of twelve years from the States one of the Articles of which was that the Hollanders should undertake no Navigation to the West-Indies he obtain'd it and all that while the design was crush'd but shortly after the Truce expir'd it was again set a foot with more eagerness The Capital of this Company was seven hundred thousand pound and the Curatours having set out a brave Fleet the Town of St. Sauveur otherwise call'd baia de todos los Santos was carried and taken from the Spaniards but shortly after it was unfortunately lost again In the mean time the booty made by taking and plundering the Spaniards and Portuguâ—ses Ships was so rich that the Sharers of the Company receiv'd five and twenty per Cent. at the first distribution A little after the Spaniards Silver Fleet valued at twelve hundred thousand pound having been taken the Sharers had half their Capital refunded to them but experience soon made appear that in this the Curatours were rather prodigal than liberal because that the Company having then no setled establishment in the West-Indies it had been better to have imployed that money towards a further confirmation of their affairs particularly having undertaken so smart a War against the Spaniards and Portugueses For this reason their Capital being exhausted by following misfortunes the Curatours were fain to exact a new Contribution from the Sharers viz. the moiety of what they had given at first which made up twelve hundred thousand pound to which were added four hundred thousand pound more and resolution was taken to pay interest of six per Cent. for all the money advanc'd to the Company Their Treasury thus recruited gave them courage to undertake a new Expedition upon the great Town of Fernambove after this they invaded some borders of Africa from whence having driven the Portugueses they got into possession of the Trade with the Africans who sell their young Negroes This is the sinew of the West-India Trade for they being of a strong robust constitution are able to endure those hardships in the Sugar Mills and Mines that no Indians or Europeans are able to undergo Though things have since succeeded pretty luckily yet have not the Curatours made any dividends amongst the Sharers not but that they have brought from thence twice or thrice every year vast quantities of rich Ladings which they have well sold but because they have alwayes been forced to maintain War till the Portugueses revolted from the Spaniards The Orders and Constitution of this Company are conformable to those of the East-Indies except that there are alwayes some Deputies from the States General that do preside in their extraordinary Assemblies and this because the States have contributed a great sum of money towards their first establishment The Soveraign command both by Land and Sea is in the hands of a Captain General that resides in Brazeel it is now Prince Maurice of Nassaw There are added to him as his Councel two or three of the Curatours of the Company there is also a Soveraign Court of Justice to hear and determine causes between particular men This Company has other designs and does not resolve to keep within the streight limits of Brazeel but endeavours to open a passage to those rich Mâ—nes of Silver which the Spaniards and Indians are at present in possession of this enterprize seems likely enough to succeed particularly since the Chilians an Indian Nation that inhabits the Sea-side is in War with the Spaniard and wants nothing but Armes and Discipline which the Hollanders will be easily induced to furnish them with it being