Part 2

THE sixth, and indeed the Foundation of all the rest, is, the establishing a substantial Credit, large enough to answer all the Occasions of the Nation, both public and private, which is the Wheel whereon all the rest must turn, and whereby, not only the Trade of the Kingdom, but also the Occasions of the Government may be supplied, and the public Debts gradually sunk, by a good Management; and This, I humbly Conceive, cannot be settled any other way, but on a parliamentary Foundation, any Thing less will be too narrow.

IN the Year 1696, I made some Essay towards such a Credit, which I then presented to both Houses of Parliament, and have now incerted it in the Appendix, pag. 174. But the Bank of England having about that time furnished his Majesty with a considerable Sum of Money, then very much wanted, for the present payment of the Army, which the Ministry could not otherwise have raised, tho’ they approved of the Projection, were unwilling to disoblige at that Juncture, by setting up any thing like theirs, and so that Matter slept then, as it had ever done, if I had not observed that the famous Mr. Laws had drawn a Scheme from it, for the Service of France, as near as the Constitution of that Kingdom will admit; not that I think it can be lasting, the Foundation being laid on Sand; Yet it hath served the present Occasion, to pay off the Debts of that Nation, by an incredible Stock-job, which must in all probability, end in Confusion and Discontent.

NOTHING can support a National Credit, but a steady Government, where the arbitrary Will of a Prince cannot withdraw, or lessen the Security at his Pleasure; and had such a one been then establish’d here, in all probability, we bad been several Millions less in Debt, and not felt that heavy load of Taxes, which hath opprest our Lands, and injur’d our Trade; nor do I think those Debts can be discharged by any other way, private Men now carrying off those Profits, which should sink them by degrees.

THE Advantages of a National Bank, and the good Effects it will have, in this Free Government, towards the Lessening our national Incumbrances, will plainly appear, when it is considered, that one hundred Pounds borrowed, will circulate two, besides it self, and thereby reduce the Interest, to one third Part of what is paid to the Lender; but if it circulates three, then to a Quarter, and it may be, to much less, according as a Bank hath Credit, and is found Useful.

BY this Rule, if the Public pays Four per Cent. for Interest, it may by Circulation be reduced to one, and there is no doubt, but that a Well-constituted Bank, will be soon fill’d with Money at that Rate; the great Ground of Buying and Selling Stock being, the vast Sums of Money which lie dead on Mens Hands, who hope thereby to make some Profit, but would be glad to dispose of it, on a substantial Security, at a moderate Interest; besides the Advantage it will be to Widows and Orphans, whose Money would be safely lodged, and bring them in a certain Income, for their Maintenance; and here will be no room left for Stock-jobbing, which hath now got such a Footing, even into our public Affairs, that the Parliament doth not give a Land-Tax or a Lottery, where the Subscriptions to it are not Ingrost, by those who have not Money, in order to make an Advantage, by selling them to such as have, besides the vast Charge in the management of Lotteries.

AND as to Trade, the Bank of England hath been very serviceable to this great Metropolis, by making a little Money serve the Uses of a great deal, but the Benefit thereof hath extended no farther; and why other Cities, and indeed the whole Kingdom, should not have the same Advantage, (which it will, if a National Bank be established, and Chambers settled where desired) I cannot conceive.

AND here I must refer to the Appendix, for the better Illustrating the Benefit thereof, and the manner of its Institution, as then intended, which must now admit of several Alterations.

IF such a Bank were settled, the Charge of managing it would be very little, and the Kingdom might grow richer some Millions every Year, and the Government have an Addition to its Security, by drawing the Cash of other Nations hither, whose Interest would thereby become interwoven with ours; and our Manufactures would be encouraged by a Flux of Money, which is the Life of Trade; and this, with the easiness of our Government, would bring the monied Men of Europe to settle here, which would be an Addition to our Wealth; the Trader might hence be supplied, with such Sums of Money as he shall want, and for so long time only, as he shall have Occasion to use it; whereby the Fishery, and other good Undertakings, may be encouraged, and our Wool be certainly kept at Home; and the Gentlemen of England may be hence furnished with Money at the common Interest, and be permitted to make their Payments by such Parts, as they can best spare it; the want of which is now such a Clog upon their Estates, that it destroys many good Families; who, when they are once got into the Usurers Books, can find no way to get out, till they have paid the whole Debt at once, so that their Estates are devoured, by Procuration and Continuation.

NOR is it hereby intended to put a Force upon any Man; ’twill be the Interest of the Lender to put his Money into this Bank, where he hath so certain a Security, and of the Bank to take it in; and on the other Side, it will be the Interest of the Bank to furnish Money on the Terms here mentioned, and of the Borrower to receive it; and this single thing, will in time bring so great a Profit to the Public as will very much sink the Debts of the Nation, whilst a Common Advantage is Interwoven with it.

NEITHER will this break in on the Priviledges granted to the Bank of England, by Act of Parliament; for though they are allowed to lend Money to the Government, on the Terms therein mentioned, yet the Government hath not bound up it self, from borrowing of any Others, and making their Payments in such a manner, as shall be thought most Advantagious to the Nation.

IF any Objections (not grounded on private Interest) shall be made to what I have here offered, I believe a satisfactory Answer may be given to them, if this Honourable House shall think what I have Written, worthy their Consideration.

ALL I shall further add, is, that it can scarce be Matter of Doubt, but that most Men will part with their Securities on private Funds, and rely on the General Credit of the Nation, though at a lower Interest, whereby those Funds will by degrees, become a part of the general Security, which with what new Taxes shall be given, will be so useful in Circulation, that it will be next to Impossible, for the most malicious Projectors, to lessen the Credit of such a Bank, or to make a Run upon it; and those Taxes that are heaviest on the Poor, and most Injurious to our Manufactures, may be taken off: And there will be this farther Advantage, that the several Offices, who are entrusted to buy for the Use of the Public, according to such Sums of Money, as shall from time to time be Appropriated by the Parliament, will be enabled to Purchase all things on the lowest Terms, when their Bills on this Bank, shall be as punctually discharged, at the time when they become due, as if they were Bills of Exchange, and in the mean time pass from Man to Man in Payment, which will be an Addition to the Cash of the Nation, whereby a great deal will be saved in what they lay out; and Men of Industry, but of small Stocks, will be enabled to deal with the Government, which now they cannot do; and will Endeavour who shall supply it on the best Terms, when by such Payments, they shall be Furnished, to go to Market again; and the Debts of the Nation will be so Incorporated therewith, that it will be every Man’s Interest to support its Credit; and the Eye of a Parliament, which hath Power to make Examples of Offenders, who through Fraud or Malice, shall offer Violence thereto, will be sufficient to deter any from such Evil Practices.

I am,

With all dutiful Respect,

Your Honours,

Most Obedient

Servant.

John Cary.

ADVERTISEMENT.

THE following Sheets are the Work of a Gentleman, a very considerable Merchant at Bristol, whose extensive Knowledge of, and Judgment in Trade, induced some Gentlemen who were well acquainted with his Capacity, to desire him to give them his Opinion on Trade in general, and ours in particular; he did, without any Design of being an Author, or the least Intention of printing it; but having shewn his Papers to those Gentlemen, they desired he would publish them, which he at last consented to, and had a small Number printed in Bristol, at his own Expence.

The Book having met with its deserved success, he re-printed it, with some considerable Additions; but that Edition having been sold of, and himself dying soon after, it was with much Difficulty I obtained that Copy from which this is printed, nor should I as yet have thought of getting it re-printed, but,

The many Prizes taken by our Ships of War, as well as Privateers, since the Commencement of the War with France, being a sufficient Proof of the Increase of her Trade, and the Decay of ours, I imagined any Work that might tend to the promoting our Trade, would meet with due Encouragement; and I am apt to believe no Book on the Subject deserves it more than this.

There is annexed to it, the Act of Parliament made in the 7th and 8th of King William, in favour of the City of Bristol, for regulating their Poor; and by way of Appendix, the Proceedings of the Magistrates in consequence of that Act, worthy of Imitation.

Our Streets being daily infested by swarms of Beggars, perhaps the Publishing these Proceedings may furnish some Hints to those Gentlemen, who are daily seeking after a Method of preventing the many Robberies, Cruelties, and Outrages committed in our Streets every Night of late, and no doubt but many of those who are Beggars in the Day-time, are the very People who do so much Mischief at Night; could they therefore be brought under proper Regulations, it would undoubtedly in some Measure be a Remedy to that Evil, and at the same time encrease the Riches of these Kingdoms, by keeping so many idle Persons of both Sexes employed.

I shall not trouble the Reader any further concerning this Work, whose Merit will I hope speak for itself.

DISCOURSE

TRADE, &c.

IN Order to discover, whether a Nation gets or loses by its Trade, ’tis necessary first to enquire into the Principles whereon it is built; for Trade hath its Principles, as other Sciences have, and as difficult to be understood; but when they are, ’tis easy to discover whether a Nation gets or loses by its Management, and without this, we are not capable of making any true Judgment, it being possible for the Public to grow Poor, whilst private Persons encrease their Fortunes.