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A66552 A letter to a countrey-gentleman, setting forth the cause of the decay and ruin of trade to which is annexed a list of the names of some gentlemen who were members of the last Parliament, and now are (or lately were) in publick employments. G. W. 1698 (1698) Wing W29; ESTC R22872 10,036 26

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A LETTER TO A Countrey-Gentleman Setting forth the CAUSE OF THE Decay and Ruin of Trade To which is annexed A LIST of the NAMES of some Gentlemen who were Members of the Last Parliament and now are or lately were in Publick Employments LONDON Printed and are to be sold by the Booksellers of London and VVestminster 1698. A LETTER TO A Countrey-Gentleman c. SIR YOurs I Receiv'd bearing Date the 3d of the last Month by which I find you seem to be much afflicted to see the Trade of the Nation Ruin'd and your Native Countrey brought into so great Calamity as now it is and desire me to give you some account if possible How and by what means all these Evils have been brought upon the whole Kingdom which I shall endeavour to do in as brief a manner as I can and in order to it shall relate to you some publick Transactions in relation to the Late War and then leave you and all Rational Men to Judge who it is has been the Grand Instruments of bringing all these Evils upon us For the Scituation of our Countrey and the Constitution of our Government we have always been esteem'd the Happiest Nation in Europe And no People in the Universe ever enjoyed a longer series of Peace and Plenty than we have done Yet during the time of the Late War we have seen the Trade of the Nation some Ages araising almost totally ruin'd and a general Poverty and Distress brought upon the whole Kingdom and that in the Reign even of the best of Princes Trade has ever been the Universal Mistriss of Mankind Courted and Carrest by all Civilized Nations many Bloody Wars having been carryed on by those that have been Rivals for her favour for she never fails to bestow unvaluable Blessings upon her admirers being always attended with Riches Honour Power and all other Earthly Blessings Those Nations that obtained her favour and have not had the Wisdom and Prudence to retain her we see have grown Weak and Depiseable and Laine exposed a Prey to other Nations which appears to be the present Case of Spain Our Forefathers enjoyed a large share of her favour which they carefully handed down to us but we like unthrifty and undutiful Children have been so far from following their Footsteps that we have been as appears by our Actions great Enemies to Trade and used all manner of Violence to make her fly the Nation wherein she had long Cohabited with us and seem'd unwilling to depart till our continual Acts of Violence were such as they grew insupportable So that she has now taken her flight into the Neighbouring Nations Viz. Holland and Ireland by whom she is highly Carrest and not like to return in haste and unless she do return we can expect no other than to be a Miserable People Land it self having a dependance upon Trade and Rises or Falls as that ebbs or flows But before we can expect that it 's necessary to be known what way and means it was we took to make her desert us Unless we do so we can never expect her Return for she is Coy and Nice and will not bear the least Affront but cleave to those who treat her best The first ill usage Trade appears to have met withal from us was at the breaking out of the Late War Ever since all manner of Persons Things or Matters that have had relation to or were interessed in Trade have been evil treated by those whose immediate Duty it was to have encouraged and protected them It 's well known our Ships under God are our greatest Security and the Glory of our Isle and the Saylors our Mirmidons whom we ought to cherish as the Apple of our Eye yet all the time of the Late War they were most barbarously treated even as if they had not been of the Race of Mankind but a sort of Vermine fit to be rooted out for what by their evil treatment on board Ship and frequent turning over without Pay the unjust pricking them Run and being harrast with the uncertainty of Payments many thousands of these poor Wretches and their Families have been destroy'd and great Numbers constrain'd to leave their Native Countrey and betake themselves to Foreign Service or which is worse turn Pyrates This evil treatment of the poor Saylors tho in it self highly Wicked seems to have been one of the Least of the Crimes committed in the Government tending to the destruction of Trade for it appears there was Articles brought into the House of Peers the Highest Court of Judicature in the Nation against the Lords of the Admiralty the Commissioners of the Navy and the Commissioners for the Sick and Wounded Seamen by one Mr. Crosfield in the year 1694. Upon which their Lordships Examin'd divers Witnesses at the Bar of the House and were very Zealous in the Matter but it seems the Articles were drawn out of the House by the Commissioners for stating the Publick Accounts who never proceeded therein though their Lordships issued out two successive Orders for them so to do but for your better satisfaction and that Posterity may see the Wickedness of the Age I here give you a true Copy of those Articles and which are as followeth Ar. 1. That the present Commissioners for Sick and Wounded Seamen and Exchanging Prisoners at War depending on the Admiralty not regarding Instructions or the Good of the Government have committed gross Ennormities as Holding or Conniving at an unlawful Correspondence with the French and Wronging both the King and Subject in their Accompts with other great Miscarriages All which has been about a Year since laid in Writing before the Secretary of State by one Mr. Baston and by the King's Command examin'd before the Lords of the Admiralty c. And it will appear that the said Commission has been very injurious to the poor Sailors in particular and very detrimental to the Government in general Ar. 2. That the Lords of the Admiralty and Commissioners of the Navy have acted contrary to the Publick Good by countenancing supporting and preferring Criminals and on the contrary persecuting the Discoverers and turning just Men out of their Offices Ar. 3. That their Lordships have had great Discoveries laid before them of Embezlements and other great Frauds committed in the King 's Yards attended with Forgery and Perjury Ar. 4. That it is manifest some of the Commissioners of the Navy have in that Office advanced themselves from Salaries of 30l per Annum to vast Estates having passed great Frauds and totally discouraged the Discovery of embezled Stores to the great waste of the Publick Treasure Ar. 5. That it has been a long Practice in the Navy to make out False Tickets and Powers suspending and delaying the poor Saylors in their Just Payments to the general Discouragement of them and Starving their Families The Commissioners of the Post-Office appear to have as much contributed towards the Ruin of their Countrey as any persons living
East-Low Corn. Jo. Thurbarne Esq Kings Serj. at Law Sand Kent The Right Hon. J. Vernon Esq Principal Secretary of State Penryn Cornwall Sir Jo. Williamson Keeper of the Records of State Rochester Kent Sir W. Wogan one of the Kings Serj. at Law Haverford-West Wales Rich. Wooll●ston Esq Receiver Gen. for the County of Hertford Whit-Church Southam The Honourable Good Wharton Esq Lord of the Admiralty Cocker-mouth Cumber Edm. Webb Esq Gent. Usher to the Prince of Denmark Crickl●de Wilts c. * The Dutch having grown Rich by the Late War and improved themselves 8 Millions they are a wise People and among themselves strict observers of Justice never suffering any to grow great out of the Ruins of the Publick as Sir William Temple well observes in his Memoirs and which is the true cause of the flourishing condition of their State * For the first five years of the War it appears we were seldom free from an Embargo upon Shipping few or no Ships were allowad to sail till they got Protections and Permits to the great Charge of the Merchants and damage to Trade in general as Little Care was taken to protect our Shipping not any one person having been so much as appointed to examine Sea-Commanders Journals all the time of the Late War but they were left to their own Genius to act and do as they pleas'd and thus by the Lords of the Admiralty's and Commissioners of the Navys Wise Conduct and Prudent Management of Affairs we Lost above 100 Ships of War with many Hundreds of Merchantmen to the great Honour of the Nation * Indeed these Gentlemen have since been very Instrumental in causing a Late Act to be made the better to prevent the bringing in Foreign Bone-Lace as likewise have been the Lords of the Admiralty and Commissioners of the Navy in procuring an Act to prevent the Embezlement and stealing his Majesty's Naval-Stores and therein they have done wisely When the Steed's stol'n to shut the Stable-door * Sad it is to consider how all Complaints af Abuses done in the Government have been stifled for want of a Committee of Grievances according to our ancient Laws and Customs to be sitting during the Session of Parliament to hear the Grievances of the People which is plain was not done all the time of the late War † The Publick Treasure in all Ages and Nations has ever been accounted as Sacred as the King's Person and those that have been found to purloyn waste or mispend the same have been severely chastized and if it must be acknowledged as every man will do who is not a profest Atheist we are oblig'd by the Dictates of Nature and that Holy Religion we profess to do all such Acts as tend to the good and benefit of Mankind in General What ground of Fear then can any man have that Lays open Publick Crimes in order to their being Examin'd in a Judicial manner and if the Law which Favours and countenances the Act shall not be able to protect him Little Reason can any man have to flatter himself of being secure the Publick Peace and Tranquility not being Long to be maintain'd by any other means than a due Administration of Justice * Vide Englands Calamities discover'd sold by Fox in Westminster-Hall c. * Those Gentlemen that have been in Publick Employments have had great opportunity to Execute their Malice against them that Detected or Publickly laid open their Crimes and have not been wanting to use all Arts and Means whereby to bring them to Ruin by which means several Honest Ingenuous Gentlemen have died through grief and many oteers through grief and want and who may all truly be said to have died Martyrs for their Countrey * Whatever Englishman duly considers how Great and Glorious the Actions of His Majesty have been and to what hazard he expos'd his Royal Person for our sakes and the great things he has done for us cannot but be mov'd with Grief and Anger to see how unfaithfull in his absence he has been serv'd and his People opprest * It 's hoped the Citizens of London and Westminster who correspond with all parts of the Kingdom will be so Just to themselves their King and Country as forthwith to send this and other things of the like Nature to the several Corporations for it will be as they make their Choice we may conclude we shall be either happy or miserable