TO THE HONNORABLE THE COMMONS OF THE REALME OF ENGLAND Assembled in PARLIAMENT EXPLANATION Concerning certaine expedients by vvhich the State of England may reape notable advantage BALTAZAR GERBIER KNIGHT M. DC XLVI TO THE HONNORABLE The Commons of the Realme of ENGLAND assembled in PARLIAMENT EXPLANATION Concerning certaine expedients by vvhich the State of England may reape notable advantages HUMBLY SHEVVETH THAT the State may get a present Stocke of TVVO HVNDRED THOVSAND POVNDS and a yearly constant revenevv of THREE HVNDRED THOVSAND POVNDS and procure to the people notable advantages and suerty in Estate Vocation Trafic and Credit by the speedy erecting of a PROTOCOLL Office BENCHES OF LOANE BENCHE OF PAYMENT and public SAILE OFFICES c. At the example of others vvhere they have beene erected vvith generall applause THE first vvhich is the Protocoll Office vvas first thought on in the first yeare of the raigne of King Henry the IV. of France first put in practise in Picardie and Vermandois vvhere unconsionnable persons had accustomed themselves to conceale Morgages Transactions Douaries and other Acts vvhich by all Purchassers vvere deceived in their Bargaines many good famillies and peaceable persons put to great vexations long and chargeable processes vvhich did often prove the undoing of honourable and honest Famillies VViddovvs and Orphans besides other mischievous accidents The Generall States of the united Provinces did at that good example establish the said Office in their Iuridictions and did erect the same in the most sure regular compleat method as the time than did permit did since by the continuance of able States men reduce the same in the best and readiest forme as could be thought on and so sure for all true Proprietaries and Purchassers as it proved an impossibility for any unconssionable persons to use any deceat in their Morgages Transactions Douaries Saile or Gifts as they vvere vvont to do by concealing as aforesaid their deeds and by passing them in severall places and by unknovvn persons Nor vvas it since possible for parties to be overtaken by any error nor by shortnesse of time for that the truth of all proprietaries rights and Estates in possessions of Lands and Houses vvas Knovvn at an instant vvithout their cost yet vvith their consent othervvayes not for that no persons are permitted to vievv the Records but vvith a ticket subscribed by the Proprietary vvhich he gives to the party that is minded to purchasse or to put forth his money on a Morgage only to vievv the records vvhen he is fully agreed on Conditions vvith the said party THE Purchasser as said being himselfe the discoverer of the State of the case vvith ease and safety freeth himselfe of all disputes quarels and processes VVhich discovery is vvith the least discredit possible to proprietaries vvhen it vvas othervvayes by the recours had to common Roules besides that all Acts vvere but confusedly as in a Cahos put into the said Common Roules vvhich is to serve only as for a Iournall The Records of this PROTOCOLL Office vvhich is a particular Record are in number ansvverable to the Parishes in the City and Tovvn vvherein the Office is erected THE Records are great Books of the largest paper consisting of 300 leafes and no more to shune confusion every leafe bearing in cheefe the name of the Proprietary of Lands and Houses in such order as the Houses stand in the City or Tovvn THE leafe bearing the right vallidity vvorth of the pocession and any Morgages thereon Dovvaries Gifts or any act soever THE Enroulment is immediatly after the signing and sealing of deeds and after the entring of such acts in the Common Roules IF any Propietary Heire or Purchasser obmits the enroullements of his Succession Gift Saile Transport Morgage or any other his right is voyde and forfaited to the State THIS publicke security is a bate to all Purchassers and to all persons desirous to put forth a stock of mony and to secure them against all frauds and incombrances THE Records are kept in a secure place from fier and others accidents THEIR Keepers are payed by yearly Stipends proportionnable to the number of Books in their managing THE Record Keepers are under the generall Diteory of an eminent Officer of the State AT the first erection of the said PROTOCOLL Office all men vvere bound to proceed to the enroulement of Acts vvithin the first six vveeks thereof VVhich braught in a present great Stock of mony proceeding from the rights of Enroulments THE Keepers of the Records are accountable of the rights received for the Enroulments of Acts to their generall Director THE said rights for all Records of Deeds Successions in Dessendent Assendent or Colaterall Line Gifts Saile Morgage or any condition soever are payed by both parties THE General Director is accountable to the State of the rights received for the said enroullements THE rights are in Holland tvvo and halfe per cent IT is humbly conceived that as the said Office of particular PROTOCOL or Record vvould prove of as great benefit to the Subjects of the State of England as it doth to the Subjects of other States that it vvould be of particular use to the State for a porportionnable equallity in the Assessements of SVBSIDIES and FIFTHIENS THAT the rights of Enroulments though the State should put them but at one per cent payed betvveen the tvvo parties vvould produce a vaste stock of money to the State and a perpetuall constant revenevv by reason of the often change of Proprietaries and enroullements of Acts at least often change of Proprietaries of Houses and the continuall acts for Morgages VVhich present stock and yearly revenevv as it vvould accrevv from those that are able so vvith the more applause that as aforesaid Proprietaries and Purchassers are secured in their rights and Purchasses and are thereby freed of all such cost and incombrances as they othervvayes are subject unto IT is likevvise humbly conceived that the State can augment that stock and yearely revenevv to a large proportion by erecting throughout the Kingdome for the great benefit of the Subject BENCHES OF LOANE PVBLIC SAILE OFFICES and A BENCH OF PAYMENT VVhich is demonstrated first by BENCHES OF LOANE as follovveth Viz. THE erecting of BENCHES OF LOANE begun some tvvo hundred yeares and above in the Kingdom of Naples and throughout all Itally and at their example vvere established in other parts of most trafic to serve for releefe of all Negosiants Tradsmen and all needy persons of vvhat quality and condition soever And to free them and all vvell gouverned States of the most pernicious practice of Ievvish Benches of Loane aftervvards disguised by the name of Lombards vvhich prouved to be as Cancors in any Common-vvealâ—h for that they did extort of the needy by a redoublement of Interest upon interest first three score above in the hundred for the bare Loane and over and above intollerable fees for enroulment and releasement of goods vvhich
in conclusion raised to such a hight as that Proprietaries did find themselves at last deprived of their maine stock besides that for the most part for vvant of timly releassement they lost their goods on pretence of forfaiture and no such thing in practise as in the BENCHES OF LOANE to restore to the Ovvners of the goods any surplus made of the goods vvhen sold IT being likevvise found that those Ievvish-Lombards did export all the vvealth they had gotten during the many yeares they had practised their unconssionnable and most pernicious Vsury IT mouved good and vvise Stats-men to forbid the practise of Lombards and to banish the Lombard-keepers for ever Yet that the publick might be supplied they settled in their place such BENCHES OF LOANE as could stand vvith Conscience and could bee maintained by the undertakers Allovved them to take the ordinary use according to Statute and for satisfying the Charges as for House Rent Store-Roomes Stipends of Officiers and all necessaries belonging to the said Benches THIS Establishement being found most Iust and Fit vvas recommended to the perpetuall Survey and Protection of tvvo eminent persons of Church and State and hath continued so ever since vvithout any interruption nor any fault found in the Administration Like Benches of LOANE have been establisht throughout all the Land of Liege and the Iuridictions of the Prince Elector of Collen in Lorraine Brabant Flandres Arthois Haynault and throughout all the Iuridictions of the generall States of the Vnited Provinces KING HENRY the IV of France and his Son King Louys the XIII on Remonstrances of horridde abuses committed in that Kingdome by Ievvish Brokers and Lombards have often denounced their pleasure by Proclamations for the utter abolishing of that pernicious practice and instead of it to have BENCHES OF LOANE establisht Yet could not their Iust and Pious intention take effect though their Edicts have beene enacted in the Parliament of Paris and the Chamber of Edict so povverfull the Leagues and Combinations of Broakers hath hetherto prouved against that course only the establishment of a BENCH OF LOANE hath overcome in favour of all Marchants of VVines and Fish vvhereby the ovvners receive ready mony from the said Benches of Loane and so are at an instant dispatcht and provided vvith mony to further their affaires VVhich hath been the maine scope in all States by the erecting of BENCHES OF LOANE producing in all parts the readiest and the most easiest releefe to all needy persons So the generall strengtning and increase of trading and a maine remeddy to prevent the suddaine breaking of many good and honnest Marchants vvhich hath beene found of forceable experience in the Iuridiction of the generall States of the Vnited Provinces vvhere there is not a City nor Tovvne but is provided vvith a BENCH OF LOANE So are all Market-Tovvnes and Sea Ports of traffic vvhere all Marchants and Tradsmen are on a suddaine releeued vvith money on all such commodities as they are desirous to have ready money upon or such commodities as for a time vvill not vvell yeld their price vvhen by the not putting them off they vvould remaine unprovided of such monyes as they need to satisfie Creditors and Bils of exchange vvhich are dravven on them and vvhich othervvayes vvould constraine them to breake though they have their Store-Houses and Shops vvell stored The Husband-man is likevvise by the said Benches enabled to keepe his Plovvgh and to pay his Land-Lord vvhen othervvayes for vvant of saile of a full quantity of his graines on fit and ordinary market dayes he is often constreined to sell his Cattell and to let the plovving and mannuring of his Land cease vvhich to prevent as vvell as other inconveniencies incident to the inhabitants of great Cities Tovvns and Sea-Ports the Magistrats have been so carefull off as that they have taken to their particullar taske the Administration of divers of the said Benches as at Amsterdam Rotterdam Middelbourgh Flishing and at other Sea-Ports and put the Benches of the other Tovvnes and Market-Tovvns to men confided by the State to vvhich the said men are accountable for they take all such Benchâ—s in farme And as the State cannot be defrauded of its rights the Administration of the said Benches being as said put in the hands of honest able men so the State puts to profit in those BENCHES OF LOANE kept by the Magistrat all such Stock of money as the State thinkes fit to employ And thus as the State of England can on the true experience of the generall good vvhich the said establishment of BENCHES OF LOANE doth produce in other parts procure to the Subjects like advantages and enable them the more to contribute to the public occasions of the State strenckten trading in all parts of the Realme and invite all Forrainers to come to the Sea-Ports vvith their Marchandise since by the ready course of a BENCHE OF LOANE the said Forrainers may be soone dispatch and speedily provide themselves vvith such commodities as the Port and Countrey doth afford so the said State being disposed to put a Stock to the erecting establishing and administring of BENCHES OF LOANE in the mayne Cities and Ports of the Kingdome vvill make an incredible great gaine and in a most Iust and Laudable course And it is thus understood that the State vvill raise vvithout any presure of the Subject to a great and ample proportion that Stock vvhich vvill accrevv from the rights of a PROTOCOLL OFFICE vvhich is the first expedient before mentionned AND if the State should thincke fit to employ to the Keeping of BENCHES OF LOANE part of the Stock vvhich vvill accrevv from a BENCHE OF PAYMENT and likvvise of that of the rights of PVBLICK SAILLE OFFICES The State vvill find as it is humbly conceived great facility therein and that the making use of a Stock vvhich the BENCHE OF PAYMENT vvill produce is grounded on Equity and vvithout any presure at all to the Subject VVhich is demonstrated first concerning a BENCHE OF PAYMENT as follovveth Viz. A BENCHE OF PAYMENT is Kept by the Magistrats of Tovvns as so it is requisite for the publick security at the example of the BENCHES OF PAYMENT in Itally and in the Nederland Provinces under the State generall It 's the public Cash of all Negotiants vvho to free themselves of the continuall receite and payment of monyes vvhich takes so much of their time as proves too prejudiciall in their affaires Keepe in Banco as they call it a constant stock vvithout any charge or cost to them thereon to make their Assignations and to raise their Credit by a public fame of the considerable stock by them Kept therein Experience manifests that in the said Bench vvhich is the receptacle of a great Tresor remaines continually a vaste ussesse stock of monny of vvhich the Aministrators of the Bench do vvithout any difficulty put to gaine a great part and that they can
do it vvithout difficulty experience hath manifested the same divers times that though they put forth great part of that Stock vvhich layeth uslesse in the Cash-yet doth the said Cash remaine so vvell provided as that the Negotiants are readdily served vvhen they call for their monny This hath often been made apparent vvhen Negotiants had been mis-informed by ill grounded brutes raised by malicious and ignorant persons concerning the point of Trust in the Administrators of the Bench that they resolved to put it to a Triall by dravving at one time â—may thousands of pouns out of the Bench For instance that in Iully 1645 Negotiants did dravv in one day out of the Bench of Amsterdam foure hundred thousand pound sterlingh and that they vvere immediatly after as prompt to redouble their stock in the said Bench being confirmed that they might repose on its infalibility of vvhich they had no more cause to doubt than on the first day of its erection vvhich vvas at the example of other like Benches vvho never failled And so it is certain that a great gaine is made by putting as said to profitable use part of that great stock vvhich lyeth ussesse therein vvhich vvill as is humbly conceived prouve so vvith a BENCHE OF PAYMENT in London in case the present time prouves not absolutly contrary to its erection vvhich must have its fondation on a generall disposition in all Negotiants to a vigourous Trading and to embrace all vvhat may be advantagious unto them VVhich consideration though in season could not oblige the Proponant to passe in silence the use vvhich the State may make by the erecting of a BENCHE OF PAYMENT since it is likvvise fit to be annext to the aforesaid establishment tending to the maine releefe and advantage of the Subject and vvherein the interest of the State is likevvise concerned as it is humbly conceived to bee interessed in the erecting of a PVBLICK SAILLE OFFICE on the grounds and Methode follovving Viz. THE great abuses vvhich have been in public out-cryes and saile of goods in divers places sold by Officers in Combination vvith Brokers vvho devide the profits of goods sold at under rattes vvhen distresse constrained the Proprietaries to part from them at such price as those Officers and Brokers vvould put on the said goods provved such an intollerable grievance to the need vvhen their goods so sould the monny made thereof the charge deducted did but serve to satisfie their Creditors in part and the Sergeants vvhen not a bed left to the poore distressed to lay on That it mouved good States men to thinke on a course to free the needy from the said grievance and to remouve from the Parish corners the pittyfull and lamentable spectacle of goods sould by distresse The course they chouse vvas as follovving Viz. THEY made choise of trusty able men to make Masters of publick outcry Offices in every City and Tovvn and appointed fit Houses to serve for the publick saile of mouvables did order that the said Masters of saile Office should afford to all buyars 3 months-time for the payment of such sommes of monny for the mouvables baught at the said out-cry that the buyar might prouve a more liberall Chapman and that consequently the goods might bee sould at the best rate to the benefit of the Ovvner Ordered the said Master to advance to the party vvhole goods vvere sould all such sommes as they had yeelded in their said saile and that he should make it his vvork for a set consideration to get his rembourssement vvhich hath proved a great advantage and releefe to all needy persons and furtherance for the cleering and settling the Estates of all Mortuary houses Heyres and Executors The States Generall of the Nederland Provinces have on the said saile Office the tvventieth penny and do allovv to the Master of the Office the like proportion for vvhich the needy are releeved and become gainers since othervvays their goods vvould be sold for halfe their vallue by reason of the combination of Brokers and that except the terme of 3 months be allotted to the buyars of goods they are not mouved to offer freely for them Out of this said Office the State as aforesaid vvill increase its revenevv and by imploying likevvise part of vvhat it may render to the Stock for the BENCHES OF LOANE It vvill augment its revenevv to the proportion as aforesaid Considered first vvhat the PROTOCOLL Office vvill render throughout the vvhole Kingdome both in ready monny and yearely revenevv though the State should direct but one per cent to be received for the rights of enroulements vvhich should be but the halfe of the rights taken by the Generall States of the Vnited Provinces Secondly vvhat the use of monny put into the BENCHES OF LOANE throughout the vvhole Kingdome vvould come unto the use being no more than according unto Statute as before said Thirdly vvhat the tvventieth penny of all PVBLICK SAILLE OFFICES throughout the Kingdome vvould yeld Fourthtly vvhat the Stock vvhich should bee put to profit of that vvhich vvill lay uslesse in a BENCHE OF PAYMENT vvill produce VVhich as it is humbly conceived vvill not be said of the nature of Taxations lesse to prove pressures to the Subject since as before said they produce notable advantages as first Viz. THE PROTOCOLL Office secures all Proprietaries freeth them of charges of Processes Disputes Quarrels and Incombrances The BENCH OF LOANE releefes all needy persons vvhereof the most poorest are to a certaine some to be assisted Gratis strencktneth and increaseth Trade and extripated all intollerable Vsury The BENCHE OF PAYMENT accommodates all negotiants The PVBLIC SAILE Office releefes and fits all needy persons that are constrained to sell their goods On all vvhich the State vvill receive vvhen pleased to command all such further satisfaction as may be requisite besides the service dutifull attendance an application of those that are verst in the said Expedients Hâ—vv tâ— first stoâ— money acrevvs tâ— the Statâ— a Protoâ— Office Rights Enroulâ—â—ments CoÌ„cerniâ— Assessemâ— of Subsiâ— and Fiftâ— Hovv the revenevâ— the State vvould bâ— raised by Protocoâ— Office Reveneâ— acrevvinâ— from theâ— that are aâ— and the aâ—vantageâ— they recâ— tehreby 〈◊〉 time â— Benâ—â— of â—â—nevveâ—e â—â—blisht 〈◊〉 the â—â—nds â—â—eof Bench â—ane â—yed by â—emiâ— memâ— of the 〈◊〉 Bench oâ— Loane bâ— gun in France The suddain breaâ—â—ing of Mâ—â—chants pâ—â—â—vented The releâ—â— of Husbaâ—â—â—men Magistraâ— of Tovvâ— Administrators 〈◊〉 Benches 〈◊〉 Loane â—â—vv the â—â—te puts â—profit a 〈◊〉 of â—uney â—erall â—antages â— Bench 〈◊〉 Loane â—acerning â—ench of â—ment â—ncerning â—aile â—ice The bencâ— of the Prâ—â—positions â—