made to any of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace they shall immediately grant Warrants to the Constable c. to search for the said Persons and Goods who shall be aided and assisted by the Train'd-Bands if need be without any Charge to the Creditors to search for and discover the said Persons and Goods and whoever were aiding in the carrying in the said Goods or whoever knowingly receiv'd either the Goods or the Person shou'd be also guilty of Felony For as the Indigent Debtor is a branch of the Commonwealth which deserves its Care so the wilful Bankrupt is one of the worst sort of Thieves And it seems a little unequal that a poor Fellow who for mere Want steals from his Neighbour some Trifle shall be sent out of the Kingdom and sometimes out of the World while a sort of people who defye Justice and violently resist the Law shall be suffer'd to carry mens Estates away before their faces and no Officers to be found who dare execute the Law upon them Any man wou'd be concern'd to hear with what Scandal and Reproach Foreigners do speak of the Impotence of our Constitution in this Point That in a Civiliz'd Government as ours is the strangest Contempt of Authority is shown that can be instanc'd in the world I may be a little the warmer on this Head on account that I have been a larger Sufferer by such means than ordinary But I appeal to all the world as to the Equity of the Case What the difference is between having my House broken up in the Night to be robb'd and a man coming in good Credit and with a Proffer of Ready Money in the middle of the Day and buying 500 l. of Goods and carry them directly from my Warehouse into the Mint and the next day laugh at me and bid me defiance yet this I have seen done I think 't is the justest thing in the world that the last shou'd be esteem'd the greater Thief and deserves most to be hang'd I have seen a Creditor come with his Wife and Children and beg of the Debtor only to let him have part of his own Goods again which he had bought knowing and designing to break I have seen him with Tears and Intreaties petition for his own or but some of it and be taunted and swore at and denied by a sawcy insolent Bankrupt That the poor man has been wholly ruin'd by the Cheat. 'T is by the Villany of such many an Honest man is undone Families starv'd and sent a begging and yet no Punishment prescrib'd by our Laws for it By the aforesaid Commission of Enquiry all this might be most effectually prevented an Honest Indigent Tradesman preserv'd Knavery derected and punish'd Mints Friars and Privilege-Places suppress'd and without doubt a great number of Insolencies avoided and prevented of which many more Particulars might be insisted upon but I think these may be sufficient to lead any body into the Thought and for the Method I leave it to the wise Heads of the Nation who know better than I how to state the Law to the Circumstances of the Crime Of ACADEMIES WE have in England fewer of these than in any part of the World at least where Learning is in so much esteem But to make amends the two great Seminaries we have are without comparison the Greatest I won't say the Best in the World and tho' much might be said here concerning Universities in general and Foreign Academies in particular I content my self with noting that part in which we seem defective The French who justly value themselves upon erecting the most Celebrated Academy of Europe owe the Lustre of it very much to the great Encouragement the Kings of France have given to it And one of the Members making a Speech at his Entrance tells you That 't is not the least of the Glories of their Invincible Monarch to have engross'd all the Learning of the World in that Sublime Body The peculiar Study of the Academy of Paris has been to Refine and Correct their own Language which they have done to that happy degree that we see it now spoken in all the Courts of Christendom as the Language allow'd to be most universal I had the Honour once to be a Member of a small Society who seem'd to offer at this Noble Design in England But the Greatness of the Work and the Modesty of the Gentlemen concern'd prevail'd with them to desist an Enterprize which appear'd too great for Private Hands to undertake We want indeed a Richlieu to commence such a Work For I am persuaded were there such a Genius in our Kingdom to lead the way there wou'd not want Capacities who cou'd carry on the Work to a Glory equal to all that has gone before them The English Tongue is a Subject not at all less worthy the Labour of such a Society than the French and capable of a much greater Perfection The Learned among the French will own That the Comprehensiveness of Expression is a Glory in which the English Tongue not only Equals but Excels its Neighbours Rapin St. Evremont and the most Eminent French Authors have acknowledg'd it And my Lord Roscommon who is allow'd to be a good Judge of English because he wrote it as exactly as any ever did expresses what I mean in these Lines For who did ever in French Authors see The Comprehensive English Energy The weighty Bullion of one Sterling Line Drawn to French Wire wou'd through whole Pages shine And if our Neighbours will yield us as their greatest Critick has done the Preference for Sublimity and Nobleness of Stile we will willingly quit all Pretensions to their Insignificant Gaiety 'T is great pity that a Subject so Noble shou'd not have some as Noble to attempt it And for a Method what greater can be set before us than the Academy of Paris Which to give the French their due stands foremost among all the Great Attempts in the Learned Part of the World The present King of England of whom we have seen the whole World writing Panegyricks and Encomiums and whom his Enemies when their Interest does not silence them are apt to say more of than our selves as in the War he has given surprizing Instances of a Greatness of Spirit more than common so in Peace I dare say with Submission he shall never have an Opportunity to illustrate his Memory more than by such a Foundation By which he shall have Opportunity to darken the Glory of the French King in Peace as he has by his daring Attempts in the War Nothing but Pride loves to be flatter'd and that only as 't is a Vice which blinds us to our own Imperfections I think Princes as particularly unhappy in having their Good Actions magnify'd as their Evil Actions cover'd But King William who has already won Praise by the Steps of dangerous Virtue seems reserv'd for some Actions which are above the Touch of Flattery whose Praise is in themselves And
Commission of Assessment shou'd be granted to Twelve Men such as His Majesty shou'd be well satisfied of who shou'd go through the whole Kingdom Three in a Body and shou'd make a new Assessment of Personal Estates not to meddle with Land To these Assessors shou'd all the Old Rates Parish-Books Poor-Rates and Highway-Rates also be delivered and upon due Enquiry to be made into the Manner of Living and reputed Wealth of the People the Stock or Personal Estate of every man shou'd be assess'd without Connivance and he who is reputed to be worth a Thousand Pound shou'd be tax'd at a Thousand Pound and so on And he who was an over-grown Rich Tradesman of Twenty or Thirty thousand Pounds Estate shou'd be tax'd so and Plain English and Plain Dealing be practis'd indifferently throughout the Kingdom Tradesmen and Landed men shou'd have Neighbours Fare as we call it and a Rich Man shou'd not be pass'd by when a Poor Man pays We read of the Inhabitants of Constantinople that they suffer'd their City to be lost for want of contributing in time for its Defence and pleaded Poverty to their Generous Emperor when he went from House to House to persuade them and yet when the Turks took it the Prodigious Immense Wealth they found in it made 'em wonder at the sordid Temper of the Citizens England with due Exceptions to the Parliament and the Freedom wherewith they have given to the Publick Charge is much like Constantinople we are involv'd in a Dangerous a Chargeable but withal a most Iust and Necessary War and the Richest and Money'd Men in the Kingdom plead Poverty and the French or King James or the Devil may come for them if they can but conceal their Estates from the Publick Notice and get the Assessors to tax them at an Under-Rate These are the men this Commission wou'd discover and here they shou'd find men tax'd at 500 l. Stock who are worth 20000 l. Here they shou'd find a certain Rich Man near Hackney rated to day in the Tax-Book at 1000 l. Stock and to morrow offering 27000 l. for an Estate Here they shou'd find Sir J C perhaps tax'd to the King at 5000 l. stock perhaps not so much whose Cash no man can guess at And multitudes of Instances I cou'd give by name without wrong to the Gentlemen And not to run on in Particulars I affirm That in the Land-Tax Ten certain Gentlemen in London put together did not pay for half so much Personal Estate call'd Stock as the poorest of them is reputed really to possess I do not enquire at whose door this Fraud must lye 't is none of my business I wish they wou'd search into it whose Power can punish it But this with Submission I presume to say The King is thereby defrauded and horribly abus'd the true Intent and Meaning of Acts of Parliament evaded the Nation involv'd in Debt by fatal Deficiencies and Interests Fellow-Subjects abus'd and new Inventions for Taxes occasion'd The last Chapter in this Book is a Proposal about entring all the Seamen in England into the King's Pay a Subject which deserves to be enlarg'd into a Book it self and I have a little Volume of Calculations and Particulars by me on that Head but I thought them too long to publish In short I am persuaded was that Method propos'd to those Gentlemen to whom such things belong the greatest Sum of Money might be rais'd by it with the least Injury to those who pay it that ever was or will be during the War Projectors they say are generally to be taken with allowance of one half at least they always have their mouths full of Millions and talk big of their own Proposals and therefore I have not expos'd the vast Sums my Calculations amount to but I venture to say I could procure a Farm on such a Proposal as this at Three Millions per Ann. and give very good Security for Payment such an Opinion I have of the Value of such a Method and when that is done the Nation wou'd get Three more by paying it which is very strange but might easily be made out In the Chapter of Academies I have ventur'd to reprove the Vicious Custom of Swearing I shall make no Apology for the Fact for no man ought to be asham'd of exposing what all men ought to be asham'd of practising But methinks I stand corrected by my own Laws a little in forcing the Reader to repeat some of the worst of our Vulgar Imprecations in reading my Thoughts against it To which however I have this to reply First I did not find it easy to express what I mean without putting down the very Words at least not so as to be very Intelligible Secondly Why should Words repeated only to expose the Vice taint the Reader more than a Sermon preach'd against Lewdness should the Assembly for of necessity it leads the Hearer to the Thoughts of the Fact but the Morality of every Action lies in the End and if the Reader by ill use renders himself guilty of the Fact in Reading which I design'd to expose by Writing the Fault is his not mine I have endeavour'd every where in this Book to be as Concise as possible except where Calculations oblig'd me to be particular and having avoided Impertinence in the Book I wou'd avoid it too in the Preface and therefore shall break off with subscribing my self SIR Your most Obliged Humble Servant D. F. Introduction NEcessity which is allow'd to be the Mother of Invention has so violently agitated the Wits of men this time that it seems not at all improper by way of distinction to call it The Projecting Age. For tho' in times of War and Publick Confusions the like Humour of Invention has seem'd to stir yet without being partial to the present it is I think no Injury to say the past Ages have never come up to the degree of Projecting and Inventing as it refers to Matters of Negoce and Methods of Civil Polity which we see this Age arriv'd to Nor is it a hard matter to assign probable Causes of the Perfection in this Modern Art I am not of their melancholy Opinion who ascribe it to the general Poverty of the Nation since I believe 't is easy to prove the Nation it self taking it as one General Stock is not at all diminish'd or impoverish'd by this Long this Chargeable War but on the contrary was never Richer since it was inhabited Nor am I absolutely of the Opinion that we are so happy as to be Wiser in this Age than our Forefathers tho' at the same time I must own some parts of Knowledge in Science as well as Art has received Improvements in this Age altogether conceal'd from the former The Art of War which I take to be the highest Perfection of Human Knowledge is a sufficient Proof of what I say especially in conducting Armies and in offensive Engines witness the new ways of Mines Fougades Entrenchments
have not Lent one Farthing in that manner Our Banks are indeed nothing but so many Goldsmiths Shops where the Credit being high and the Directors as high People lodge their Money and They the Directors I mean make their advantage of it if you lay it at Demand they allow you nothing if at Time 3 per Cent. and so wou'd any Goldsmith in Lombardstreet have done before but the very Banks themselves are so aukward in Lending so strict so tedious so inquisitive and withal so publick in their taking Securities that Men who are any thing tender won't go to them and so the easiness of Borrowing Money so much design'd is defeated for here is a private Interest to be made tho' it be a publick one and in short 't is only a great Trade carri'd on for the private Gain of a few concern'd in the Original Stock and tho' we are to hope for great things because they have promis'd them yet they are all Future that we know of And yet all this while a Bank might be very beneficial to this Kingdom and This might be so if either their own Ingenuity or Publick Authority would oblige them to take the Publick Good into equal Concern with their Private Interest To explain what I mean Banks being establish'd by Publick Authority ought also as all Publick things are to be under Limitations and Restrictions from that Authority and those Limitations being regulated with a proper regard to the Ease of Trade in General and the Improvement of the Stock in Particular would make a Bank a Useful Profitable Thing indeed First A Bank ought to be of a Magnitude proportion'd to the Trade of the Countrey it is in which this Bank is so far from that 't is no more to the Whole than the least Goldsmith's Cash in Lombardstreet is to the Bank From whence it comes to pass that already more Banks are contriving and I question not but Banks in London will e're long be as frequent as Lotteries The Consequence of which in all Probability will be the diminishing their Reputation or a Civil War with one another 'T is true the Bank of England has a Capital Stock but yet was that Stock wholly clear of the Publick Concern of the Government it is not above a Fifth Part of what would be necessary to manage the whole Business of the Town which it ought tho' not to do at least to be Able to do And I suppose I may venture to say Above one half of the Stock of the present Bank is taken up in the Affairs of the Exchequer I suppose no body will take this Discourse for an Invective against the Bank of England I believe it is a very Good Fund a very Useful one and a very Profitable one It has been Useful to the Government and it is Profitable to the Proprietors and the establishing it at such a Juncture when our Enemies were making great boasts of our Poverty and Want of Money was a particular Glory to our Nation and the City in particular That when the Paris Gazette inform'd the World That the Parliament had indeed given the King Grants for raising Money in Funds to be paid in remote Years but Money was so scarce that no Anticipations could be procured That just then besides Three Millions paid into the Exchequer that Spring on other Taxes by way of Advance there was an Overplus-Stock to be found of 1200000 Pounds sterling or to make it speak French of above Fifteen Millions which was all paid Voluntarily into the Exchequer in less than Besides this I believe the present Bank of England has been very useful to the Exchequer and to supply the King with Remittances for the Payment of the Army in Flanders which has also by the way been very profitable to it self But still this Bank is not of that Bulk that the Business done here requires nor is it able with all the Stock it has to procure the great propos'd Benefit the low'ring the Interest of Money Whereas all Foreign Banks absolutely govern the Interest both at Amsterdam Genoa and other places And this Defect I conceive the Multiplicity of Banks cannot supply unless a perfect Understanding could be secur'd between them To remedy this Defect several Methods might be propos'd Some I shall take the Freedom to hint at First That the present Bank increase their Stock to at least Five Millions sterling to be settled as they are already with some small Limitations to make the Methods more beneficial Five Millions sterling is an immense Sum to which add the Credit of their Cash which would supply them with all the Overplus-Money in the Town and probably might amount to half as much more and then the Credit of Running-Bills which by circulating would no question be an Equivalent to the other half So that in Stock Credit and Bank-bills the Balance of their Cash would be always Ten Millions sterling A Sum that every body who can talk of does not understand But then to find Business for all this Stock which though it be a strange thing to think of is nevertheless easy when it comes to be examin'd And first for the Business This Bank shou'd enlarge the Number of their Directors as they do of their Stock and should then estabish several Sub-Committees compos'd of their own Members who shou'd have the directing of several Offices relating to the distinct sorts of Business they referr'd to to be over-rul'd and govern'd by the Governor and Directors in a Body but to have a Conclusive Power as to Contracts Of these there should be One Office for Loan of Money for Customs of Goods which by a plain Method might be so order'd that the Merchant might with ease pay the highest Customs down and so by allowing the Bank 4 per Cent. Advance be first sure to secure the 10 l. per Cent. which the King allows for Prompt Payment at the Custom-house and be also freed from the troublesome work of finding Bonds-Men and Securities for the Money which has expos'd many a Man to the Tyranny of Extents either for himself or his Friend to his utter Ruin who under a more moderate Prosecution had been able to pay all his Debts and by this Method has been torn to pieces and disabled from making any tolerable Proposal to his Creditors This is a Scene of Large Business and would in proportion employ a Large Cash And 't is the easiest thing in the world to make the Bank the Paymaster of all the Large Customs and yet the Merchant have so honourable a Possession of his Goods as may be neither any Diminution to his Reputation or any Hindrance to their Sale As for Example Suppose I have 100 Hogsheads of Tobacco to Import whose Customs by several Duties comes to 1000 l. and want Cash to clear them I go with my Bill of Loading to the Bank who appoint their Officer to Enter the Goods and pay the Duties which Goods so entred by the
to be a Design in hand by some Persons in Town and is indeed no Thought of my own Ensuring of Life I cannot admire I shall say nothing to it but that in Italy where Stabbing and Poysoning is so much in Vogue something may be said for it and on contingent Annuities and yet I never knew the thing much approv'd of on any account Of FRIENDLY-SOCIETIES ANother Branch of Ensurance is by Contribution or to borrow the Term from that before-mention'd Friendly-Societies which is in short a Number of People entring into a Mutual Compact to Help one another in case any Disaster or Distress fall upon them If Mankind cou'd agree as these might be Regulated all things which have Casualty in them might be Secur'd But one thing is Particularly requir'd in this way of Assurances None can be admitted but such whose Circumstances are at least in some degree alike and so Mankind must be sorted into Classes and as their Contingences differ every different Sort may be a Society upon even Terms for the Circumstances of People as to Life differ extremely by the Age and Constitution of their Bodies and difference of Employment as he that lives on shore against him that goes to Sea or a Young Man against an Old Man or a Shopkeeper against a Soldier are unequal I don't pretend to determine the Controverted Point of Predestination the Foreknowledge and Decrees of Providence perhaps if a Man be Decreed to be Kill'd in the Trenches the same Foreknowledge Order'd him to List himself a Soldier that it might come to pass and the like of a Seaman but this I am sure speaking of Second Causes a Seaman or a Soldier is subject to more contingent hazards than other Men and therefore are not upon equal Terms to form such a Society nor is an Annuity on the Life of such a Man worth so much as it is upon other Men therefore if a Society shou'd agree together to Pay the Executor of every Member so much after the Decease of the said Member the Seamens Executors wou'd most certainly have an Advantage and receive more than they Pay So that 't is necessary to sort the World into Parcels Seamen with Seamen Soldiers with Soldiers and the like Nor is this a new thing the Friendly Society must not pretend to assume to themselves the Contrivance of the Method or think us guilty of borrowing from them when we draw this into other Branches for I know nothing is taken from them but the bare word Friendly-Society which they cannot pretend to be any considerable piece of Invention neither I can refer them to the very individual Practice in other things which claims prescription beyond the begining of the last Age and that is in our Marshes and Fens in Essex Kent and the Isle of Ely where great Quantities of Land being with much Pains and a vast Charge recovered out of the Seas and Rivers and maintain'd with Banks which they call Walls the Owners of those Lands agree to Contribute to the keeping up those Walls and keeping out the Sea which is all one with a Friendly-Society and if I have a Piece of Land in any Level or Marsh tho' it bounds no where on the Sea or River yet I pay my Proportion to the Maintenance of the said Wall or Bank and if at any time the Sea breaks in the Damage is not laid upon the Man in whose Land the Breach happened unless it was by his neglect but it lies on the whole Land and is called a Level-Lot Again I have known it practised in Troops of Horse especially when it was so order'd that the Troopers Mounted themselves where every private Trooper has agreed to Pay perhaps 2 d. per diem out of his Pay into a Publick Stock which Stock was employed to Remount any of the Troop who by Accident shou'd lose his Horse Again The Sailors Contribution to the Chest at Chatham is another Friendly-Society and more might be nam'd To argue against the Lawfulness of this wou'd be to cry down common Equity as well as Charity for as 't is kind that my Neighbour shou'd Relieve me if I fall into Distress or Decay so 't is but Equal he shou'd do so if I agreed to have done the same for him and if God Almighty has Commanded us to Relieve and Help one another in Distress sure it must be commendable to bind our selves by Agreement to Obey that Command nay it seems to be a Project that we are led to by the Divine Rule and has such a Latitude in it that for ought I know as I said all the Disasters in the World might be prevented by it and Mankind be secur'd from all the Miseries Indigences and Distresses that happen in the World In which I crave leave to be a little Particular First General Peace might be secur'd all over the World by it if all the Powers agreed to suppress him that Usurp'd or Encroach'd upon his Neighbour All the Contingences of Life might be fenc'd against by this Method as Fire is already as Thieves Floods by Land Storms by Sea Losses of all Sorts and Death it self in a manner by making it up to the Survivor I shall begin with the Seamen for as their Lives are subject to more hazards than others they seem to come first in view Of Seamen Sailors are Les Enfans Perdue the Forlorn hope of the World they are Fellows that bid Defiance to Terror and maintain a constant War with the Elements who by the Magick of their Art Trade in the very confines of Death and are always posted within shot as I may say of the Grave 'T is true their familiarity with Danger makes them despise it for which I hope no body will say they are the wiser and Custom has so harden'd them that we find them the worst of Men tho' always in view of their last Moment I have observ'd one great Error in the Custom of England relating to these sort of People and which this way of Friendly-Society wou'd be a Remedy for If a Seaman who Enters himself or is Press'd into the King's Service be by any Accident Wounded or Disabled to Recompence him for the Loss he receives a Pension during Life which the Sailors call Smart-Money and is proportioned to their Hurt as for the Loss of an Eye Arm Leg or Finger and the like and as 't is a very Honourable thing so 't is but reasonable That a Poor Man who Loses his Limbs which are his Estate in the Service of the Government and is thereby disabled from his Labour to get his Bread shou'd be provided for and not suffer'd to Beg or Starve for want of those Limbs he lost in the Service of his Country But if you come to the Seamen in the Merchants Service not the least Provision is made which has been the Loss of many a good Ship with many a Rich Cargo which wou'd otherwise have been Sav'd And the Sailors are in the Right
pay and make good all Losses Damages Avarages and Casualties whatsoever as fully as by the Custom of Assurances now is done without any Discounts Rebates or Delays whatsoever the said 4 l. per Cent. to be stated on the Voyage to the Barbadoes and enlarged or taken off in proportion to the Voyage by Rules and Laws to be Printed and publickly known Reserving only That then as reason good the said Office shall have Power to direct Ships of all sorts how and in what manner and how long they shall sail with or wait for Convoys and shall have Power with Limitations to lay Embargoes on Ships in order to compose Fleets for the benefit of Convoys These Rules formerly noted to extend to all Trading by Sea the Coasting and Home-Fishing Trade excepted and for them it should be order'd First For Coals the Colliers being provided with Men at 28 s. per Month and Convoys in sufficient number and proper Stations from Tinmouth-Bar to the River so as they need not go in Fleets but as Wind and Weather presents run all the way under the Protection of the Men of War who shou'd be continually cruising from Station to Station they would be able to perform their Voyage in as short time as formerly and at as cheap Pay and consequently cou'd afford to sell their Coals at 17 s. per Chaldron as well as formerly at 15 s. Wherefore there shou'd be paid into the Treasury appointed at Newcastle by Bond to be paid where they deliver 10 s. per Chaldron Newcastle Measure and the stated Price at London to be 27 s. per Chaldron in the Pool which is 30 s. at the Buyers House and is so far from being dear a time of War especially as it is cheaper than ever was known in a War and the Officers shou'd by Proclamation confine the Seller to that Price In consideration also of the Charge of Convoys the Ships bringing Coals shall all pay 1 l. per Cent. on the Value of the Ship to be agreed on at the Office and all Convoy-Money exacted by Commanders of Ships shall be relinquish'd and the Office to make good all Losses of Ships not Goods that shall be lost by Enemies only These Heads indeed are such as wou'd need some Explication if the Experiment were to be made and with submission wou'd reduce the Seamen to better Circumstances at least 't wou'd have them in readiness for any Publick Service much easier than by all the late methods of Encouragement by registring Seamen c. For by this Method all the Seamen in the Kingdom shou'd be the King 's hired Servants and receive their Wages from him whoever employ'd them and no man cou'd hire or employ them but from him The Merchant shou'd hire them of the King and pay the King for them nor wou'd there be a Seaman in England out of Employ which by the way wou'd prevent their seeking Service abroad If they were not actually at Sea they wou'd receive Half-Pay and might be employ'd in Works about the Yards Stores and Navy to keep all things in Repair If a Fleet or Squadron was to be fitted out they wou'd be mann'd in a Week's time for all the Seamen in England wou'd be ready Nor wou'd they be shye of the Service for it is not an Aversion to the King's Service nor 't is not that the Duty is harder in the Men of War than the Merchant-men nor 't is not fear of Danger which makes our Seamen lurk and hide and hang back in a time of War but 't is Wages is the matter 24 s. per Month in the King's Service and 40 to 50 s. per Month from the Merchant is the true cause and the Seaman is in the right of it too for who wou'd serve his King and Countrey and fight and be knock'd o' the head at 24 s. per Month that can have 50 s. without that hazard And till this be remedied in vain are all the Encouragements which can be given to Seamen for they tend but to make them Insolent and encourage their Extravagance Nor wou'd this Proceeding be any damage to the Seamen in general for 24 s. per Month Wages and to be kept in constant Service or Half-Pay when idle is really better to the Seamen than 45 s. per Month as they now take it considering how long they often lye idle on shore out of Pay For the extravagant Price of Seamens Wages tho' it has been an Intolerable Burthen to Trade has not visibly enrich'd the Sailors and they may as well be content with 24 s. per Month now as formerly On the other hand Trade wou'd be sensibly reviv'd by it the intolerable Price of Freights wou'd be reduced and the Publick wou'd reap an immense Benefit by the Payments mention'd in the Proposal as 1. 4 s. per Month upon the Wages of all the Seamen employ'd by the Merchant which if we allow 200000 Seamen always in Employ as there cannot be less in all the Ships belonging to England is 40000 l. per Month. 2. 40 s. per Ton Freight upon all Goods imported 3. 4 per Cent. on the Value of all Goods exported or imported 4. 10 s. per Chaldron upon all the Coals shipp'd at Newcastle and 1 per Cent. on the Ships which carry them What these Four Articles wou'd pay to the Exchequer yearly 't wou'd be very difficult to calculate and I am too near the End of this Book to attempt it But I believe no Tax ever given since this War has come near it 'T is true out of this the Publick wou'd be to pay Half-Pay to the Seamen who shall be out of Employ and all the Losses and Damages on Goods and Ships which tho' it might be considerable wou'd be small compar'd to the Payment aforesaid for as the Premio of 4 per Cent. is but small so the Safety lies upon all men being bound to Insure For I believe any one will grant me this 't is not the smallness of a Premio Ruins the Ensurer but 't is the smallness of the Quantity he Insures and I am not at all asham'd to affirm That let but a Premio of 4 l. per Cent. be paid into one Man's hand for all Goods Imported and Exported and any Man may be the General Ensurer of the Kingdom and yet that Premio can never hurt the Merchant neither So that the vast Revenue this wou'd raise wou'd be felt no where neither Poor nor Rich wou'd Pay the more for Coals Foreign Goods wou'd be brought home cheaper and our own Goods carri'd to Market cheaper Owners wou'd get more by Ships Merchants by Goods and Losses by Sea wou'd be no Loss at all to any Body because Repaid by the Publick Stock Another unseen Advantage wou'd arise by it we shou'd be able to out-work all our Neighbours even the Dutch themselves by Sailing as cheap and carrying Goods as cheap in a time of War as in Peace an Advantage which has more in it than is easily thought of and wou'd have a noble influence upon all our Foreign Trade For what cou'd the Dutch do in Trade if we cou'd carry our Goods to Cadiz at 50 s. per Ton Freight and they give 8 or 10 l. and the like in other Places Whereby we cou'd be able to Sell cheaper or get more thau our Neighbours There are several considerable clauses might be added to this Proposal some of great advantage to the General Trade of the Kingdom some to particular Trades and more to the Publick but I avoid being too Particular in things which are but the Product of my own private Opinion If the Government shou'd ever proceed to the Experiment no question but much more than has been hinted at wou'd appear nor do I see any great difficulty in the Attempt or who wou'd be aggriev'd at it and there I leave it rather wishing than expecting to see it undertaken The Conclusion UPon a Review of the several Chapters of this Book I find that instead of being able to go further some things may have suffer'd for want of being fully express'd which if any person object against I only say I cannot now avoid it I have endeavour'd to keep to my Title and offer'd but at an Essay which any one is at liberty to go on with as they please for I can promise no Supplement As to Errors of Opinion tho' I am not yet convinc'd of any yet I no where pretend to Infallibility However I do not willingly assert any thing which I have not good Grounds for If I am mistaken let him that finds the Error inform the World better and never trouble himself to animadvert upon this since I assure him I shall not enter into any Pen and Ink Contest on the matter As to Objections which may lye against any of the Proposals made in this Book I have in some places mention'd such as occurr'd to my Thoughts I shall never assume that Arrogance to pretend no other or further Objections may be rais'd but I do really believe no such Objection can be rais'd as will overthrow any Scheme here laid down so as to render the thing impracticable Neither do I think but that all men will acknowledge most of the Proposals in this Book would be of as great and perhaps greater Advantage to the Publick than I have pretended to As for such who read Books only to find out the Author's faux Pas who will quarrel at the Meanness of Stile Errors of Pointing Dulness of Expression or the like I have but little to say to them I thought I had corrected it very carefully and yet some Mispointings and small Errors have slipt me which 't is too late to help As to Language I have been rather careful to make it speak English suitable to the Manner of the Story than to dress it up with Exactness of Stile chusing rather to have it Free and Familiar according to the Nature of Essays than to strain at a Perfection of Language which I rather wish for than pretend to be Master of FINIS ERRATA INtroduction Page 3. Line 7. for Elodgments read Lodgments Page 9. Line 19. put the Comma between probable and so Page 316. Line 10 for 896000 read 89600.