The Greatness and
Riches of the United Provinces, and States of Venice, consider’d, with the
little Tract of Ground that belongs to either of their Territories,
sufficiently Demonstrate the great Advantage and Profit that Trade brings to a
Nation.
And since the Old
Ammunition and Artillery of the Grecians and Romans are grown out of Use; such
as Stones, Bows, Arrows, and battering Rams, with other Wooden Engines, which
were in all Places easily procured or made: And the Invention of Gunpowder hath
introduced another sort of Ammunition and Artillery, whose Materials are made
of Minerals, that are not to be found in all Countries; such as Iron, Brass,
Lead, Saltpetre, and Brimstone; and therefore where they are wanting, must be
procured by Traffick. Trade is now become as necessary to Preserve Governments,
as it is useful to make them Rich.
And notwithstanding the
great Influence, that Trade now hath in the Support and Welfare of States and
Kingdoms, yet there is nothing more unknown, or that Men differ more in their
Sentiments, than about the True Causes that raise and promote Trade.
Livy, and those Antient
Writers, whose elevated Genius set them upon the Inquiries into the Causes of
the Rise and Fall of governments, have been very exact in describing the
several Forms of Military Discipline, but take no Notice of Trade; and
Machiavel a Modern Writer, and the best, though he lived in a Government, where
the Family of Medicis had advanced themselves to the Soveraignty by their
riches, acquired by Merchandizing, doth not mention Trade, as any way
interested in the Affairs of State; for until Trade became necessary to provide
Weapons of War, it was always thought Prejudicial to the Growth of Empire, as
too much softening the people by Ease and Luxury, which made their Bodies Unfit
to Endure the Labour andHardships of War. And therefore the Romans, who made War,
(the only Way to Raise & Enlarge their Dominion) did in the almost Infancy
of their State, Conquer that Rich and Trading City of Carthage, though Defended
by Hanibal their General , one of the greatest Captains in the World: so that,
since Trade was not in those days useful to provide Magazines for Wars, an
Account of it is not to be expected from those writers. The Merchant, and other
Traders who should understand the true Interest of Trade, do either not
understand it, or else, lest it might hinder their private Gain, will not
Discover it. Mr. Munn a Merchant, in his Treatise of Trade, doth better set
forth the Rule to make an Accomplished Merchant, than how it may be most
Profitable to the Nation; and those Arguments every day met with from the Traders,
seem byassed with Private Interest, and run contrary to one another, as their
Interest are opposite.
The Turkey-Merchants
Argue against the East-India-Company, the Woollen-Draper against the Mercers,
and the Upholster against the Cain-Chair-Maker; some think there are too many
Traders, and Complain against the Number of Builders; others against the Number
of Ale- Houses; some use Arguments for the Sole making of particular
Commodities, others Plead for the Sole Trading to particular Countries: So that,
if these Gentlemens Reasons might prevail in getting those Laws they so much
solicite, (which all of them Affirm , would be for the Advance of Trade, and
Publick Good of the Nation) there would be but a few Trades left for the next
Generation of men to be Employ’din, a much fewer sorts of Goods to make, and
not a Corner of the World to Trade to, unless they purchase a License from
them.
And how fair and
convincing soever their Premises may appear for the Inlarging and Advancement
of Trade, the Conclusions of their Arguments, which are for Limiting and
Confining of it to Number, Persons and Places, are directly opposite to the
Inlarging of it.
The Reasons why many
Men have not a true Idea of Trade, is, Because they Apply their Thoughts to
particular Parts of Trade, wherein they are chiefly concerned in Interest; and
having found out the best Rules and Laws for forming that particular Part, they
govern their Thoughts by the same NOTIONS in forming the Great BODY of Trade,
and not Reflecting on the different Rules of Proportions betwixt the Body and
Parts, have a very disagreeable Conception; and like those, who having learnt
to Draw well an Eye, Ear, Hand, and other Parts of the Body, (being Unskilful
in the Laws of Symmetry) when they joyn them together, make a very Deformed
Body.
Therefore, whoever will
make a true Representation of Trade, must Draw a rough Sketch of the Body and
Parts together, Which though it will not entertain with so much Pleasure as a
well-finish’t Piece, yet the Agreeableness of the Parts may be as well discern’d,
and thereby such Measures taken, as may best suit the Shape of the Body.
Of Trade and the Stock,
or Wares of Trade
Of the Quantity and
Quality of Wares
Of the Value and Price
of Wares
Of Money, Credit, and
Interest
Of the Use and Benefit
of Trade
Of the Chief Causes
that promote Trade
Of the Chief Causes of
the Decay of Trade, and the Fall Of the Rents of Land.
Trade is the Making,
and Selling of one sort of Goods for another; The making is called Handy-Craft
Trade, and the maker an Artificer; The Selling is called Merchandizing, and the
Seller a Merchant: The Artificer is called by several Names from the sort of
goods he makes. As a Clothier, Silk-weaver, Shoo-maker, or Hatter, etc. from
Making of Cloth, Silk, Shooes, or Hats; and the Merchant is distinguished by
the Names of the Countrey he deals to, and is called, Dutch, French, Spanish or
Turkey Merchant.
The chief End or
Business of Trade, is to make a profitable Bargain: In making of a Bargain
there are these things to be considered; The Wares to be Sold, the Quantity and
Quality of those Wares, the Value or Price of them, the Money or Credit, by
which the Wares are bought, the Interest that relates to the time of performing
the Bargain.
The Stock and Wares of
all Trades are the Animals, Vegitables, and Minerals of the whole Universe,
whatsoever the Land or Sea produceth. These Wares may be divided into Natural
and Artificial; Natural Wares are those which are sold as Nature Produceth
them; As Flesh, Fish, and Fruits, etc. Articifial Wares are those which by Art
are Changed into another Form than Nature gave them; As Cloth, Calicoes, and
wrought Silks, etc. which are made of Wool, Flax, Cotten, and Raw Silks.
Both these Sorts of
Wares are called the Staple Commoditys of those Countreys where they chiefly
abound, or are made. There are Different Climates of the Heavens, some very
Hot, some very Cold, other Temperate; these Different Climates produce
Different Animals, Vegitables, & Minerals. The Staples of the hot Country
are Spices; the Staples of the Cold, Furrs; but the more Temperate Climates
produce much the same sorts of Commoditys; but by difference of the Quality or
Conveniency of place where they abound, the become the Staple of each Country,
whre they are either best or easier acquired or exchanged: Thus, Herrings, and
other Fish are the Staples of Holland; the Dutch living amongst the Water, are
most naturally inclined to Fishing: English Wool being the best in the World,
is the Staple of England, for the same reason. Oyles of Italy, Fruits of Spain,
Wine of France, with several other sorts of Commoditys, are the Staples of
their several Countrys.
Staple Commodities may
be divided into Native or Forreign; the Native Staple is what Each Country doth
Naturally and best produce; Forreign Staple, any Forreign Commodity, which a
Country acquires by the sole Trade to a Forreign Place, or sole possession of a
particular Art; as Spices are the Staple of Holland; and the making of Glass
and Paper, were the Staple of Venice.
From the Stock, or
Wares of Trade, these Three Things are Observable:
1. The Native Staple of
each Country is the Riches of the Country, and is perpetual, and never to be
consumed; Beasts of the Earth, Fowls of the Air, and Fishes of the Sea,
Naturally Increase: There is Every Year a New Spring and Autumn, which
produceth a New Stock of Plants and Fruits. And the Minerals of the Earth are
Unexhaustable; and if the Natural Stock be Infinite, the Artificial Stock that
is made of the Natural, must be Infinite, as Woollen and Linnen Cloth,
Calicoes, and wrought Silk, which are made of Flax, Wool, Cotton, and Raw
Silks. This sheweth a Mistake of Mr Munn, in his Discourse of Trade, who
commends Parsimony, Frugality, and Sumptuary Laws, as the means to make a
Nation Rich; and uses an Argument, from a Simile, supposing a Man to have 1000
l. per annum, and 2000 l. in a Chest, and spends Yearly 1500 l. per annum, he
will in four Years time Waste his 2000 l. This is true, of a Person, but not of
a Nation; because his Estate is finite, but the Stock of a Nation Infinite, and
can never be consumed; For what is Infinite, can neither receive Addition by
Parsimony, nor suffer Diminution, by Prodigality.
2. The Native Staple of
Each Contry, is the Foundation of it’s Forreign Trade: And no Nation have any
Forreign Commodities, but what are at firs brought in by the Exchange of the
Native; for at the beginning of Forreign Trade, a Nation hath nothing else to
Exchange; The Silver & Gold from Spain; the Silks from Turkey, Oyls from
Italy, wine from France, and all other Forreign Goods are brought into England,
by the Exchange of the English Cloth, or some other Staple of England.
3. That Forreign
Staples are uncertain Wealth: Some Countries by the Sole Trade to another
Country, or by the Sole Possession of some Arts, gain a Staple of Forreign
Commodities, which may be as profitable as the Native, so long as they enjoy
the Sole possession of that Trade or Art. But that is uncertain; for other
Nations find out the way of Trading to the same place: the Artists for
Advantage, Travel into other Countries, and the Arts are discover’d. Thus
Portugal had the Sole Trade of India; afterwards the Venetians got a great
Share of the Trade, and now the Dutch and English, have a greater share than
both: The Arts of making several sorts of Silks, were chiefly confined to
Genoa, & Naples; afterward Travelled into France, since into England and
Holland, and are now Practised there in as great perfection as they were in
Italy; So have other Arts wander’d, as the making of Looking-Glasses from
Venice into England, the making of Paper from Venice into France and Holland.
The Quantity of all
Wares are known by Weight or Measure. The Reason of Gravity is not understood,
neither is it Material to this Purpose; Whether is proceeds from the Elastisity
of Air, or Weight of the utmost Spheer, or from what other Causes, its
sufficient, that the ways of Trying the Weights of Bodies are perfectly
discover’d by the Ballance. There are Two Sorts of Weights in Common Use, the
Troy, and Averdupois.
The First are used to
Weigh Goods of most Value, as Gold, Silver and Silk, etc. The Latter for
Coarser, and more Bulky Goods, as Lead, Iron, etc.
There are Two Sorts of
Measures, the one for Fluid Bodies, a the Bushel, Gallon and Quart, for
Measuring Corn, Wine and Oyl; the other for the Measuring the Dimensions of
Solid Bodies, as a Yard, Ell, etc. to Measure Cloth, Silk, etc.
The Weights and
Measures of all Countries differs, but that is no Prejudice to Trade; they are
all made certain by the Custom or Laws of the Place,and the Trader knows the
Weight or Measure in Use, in the Place he Deals to. It is the Care of the
government, to prevent and punish the Fraud of False Weights and Measures, and
in most Trading-Cities, there are Publick Weigh-Houses, and Measures: The Fraud
of the Ballance, which is from the unequal Length of the end of the Beam, is
least perceivable; and therefore in Weighing Goods of Value, they usually Weigh
them in both Scales.
The Qualities of Wares
are known by their Colour, sound, Smell, Taste, Make, or Shape.
The Difference in the
Qualities of Wares are very difficultly distinguished; those Organs that are
the proper Judges of those Differencies, do very much disagree; some Men have
clearer Eyes, some more distinguishing Ears, and other nicer Noses and Tastes;
and every Man ahving a good Opinion of his own Faculties, it is hard to find a
Judge to determine which is best: Besides, those Qualites that belong to
Artificial Wares,such as depend upon the Mixture, Make or Shape of them, are
more difficultly discover’d: Those Wares, whose Quality are produced by the
just Mixture of different Bodies, such as Knives and Razors, whose sharpness
arise from the Good Temperament and Mixture of the Steel & Iron, are not to
be found out, but by the Use of them: And so doth the Mixture, and well making
of Hats, Cloth, and many other things.
Because the Difference
in the Qualities of Wares, ae so difficultly understood, it is that the Trader
serves an Apprendiceship to learn them; and the Knowledge of them is called the
Mystery of Trade; and in common Dealing, the Buyer is forced to rely on the
Skill and Honesty of the Seller, to deliver Wares with such Qualities as he
affirms them to have: It is the Sellers Interest, from the Expectation of
further Dealing, not to deceive; because his Shop, the Place of Dealing, is
known: Therefore, those Persons that buy of Pedlars, and Wandering People, run
Great Hazard of being Cheated.
Those Wares, whose
Chief Qualities consist in Shape, such as all Wearing Apparel, do not so much
depend uon the Honesty of the Seller; for tho’ the Trader or Maker, is the
Inventor of the Shape, yet it is the Fancy and Approbation of the Buyer, that
brings it into Use, and makes it pass for a Fashion.
The Value of all Wares
arise from their Use; Things of no Use, have no Value, as the English Phrase
is, They are good for nothing.
The Use of Things, are
to supply the Wants and Necessities of Man: There are Two General Wants that
Mankind is born with; the Wants of the Body,a nd the Wants of the Mind; To
supply these two Necessities, all things under the Sun become useful, and
therefore have a Value.
Wares, useful to supply
the Wants of the Body, are all things necessary to support Life, such are in
Common Estimation; all those Goods which are useful to supply the Three General
Necessities of Man, Food, Clothes and Lodging; But if strictly Examined,
nothing is absolutely necessary to support Life, but Food; for a great Part of
Mankind go Naked, and lye in Huts and Caves; so that there are but few things
that are absolutely necessary to supply the Wants of the Body.
Wares, that have their
Value from supplying the Wants of the Mind, are all such things that can
satisfie Desire; Desire implys Want: It is the Appetite of the Soul, and is as
natural to the Soul, as Hunger to the Body.
The Wants of the Mind
are infinite, Man naturally Aspires, and as his Mind is elevated, his Senses
grow more refined, and more capable of Delight; his Desires are inlarged, and
his Wants increase with his Wishes, which is for every thing that is rare, can
gratifie his Senses, adorn his Body, and promote the Ease, Pleasure, and Pomp
of Life.
Amongst the great
Variety of things to satisfie the Wants of the Mind, those that adorn Mans
Body, and advance the Pomp of Life, have the most general Use, and in all Ages,
and amongst all sorts of Mankind, have been of Value.
The first Effects that
the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge wrought upon the Parents of Mankind, was to
make them cloath themselves, and it has made the most Visible Distinction of
the Race, from the rest of the Creation: It is that by which his Posterity may
write Man, for no Creatures adorn the Body but Man: Beside, the decking of the
Body, doth not onely distinguish Man from Beast, but is the Mark of Difference
and Superiority betwixt Man and Man.
There was never any
part of Mankind so wild and barbarous, but they had Difference and Degree of
Men amongst them, and invented some things to shew that Distinction.
Those that Cloathed
with Skins, wore the Skins of those Beasts that are most difficultly taken;
thus Hercules wore a Lyons Skin; and the Ermins and Sable, are still Badges of
Honour. The Degree of Quality amongst the Affricans, is known by the waste
Cloth, and amongst those that go naked, by adorning their Bodies with Colours,
most rare amongst them, as the Red was the Colour most in Esteem amongst the
Ancient Britains.
And the most Ancient
and best of Histories, the Bible, shews, That amongst the Civilized People of
the World, Ear-Rings, Bracelets, Hoods and Vails, with Changeable Suits of
Apparel, were then worn: And the same Ornaments for the Body are still, and
ever since have been Worn, only differing in Shapes and Fashions, according to
the Custom of the Country.
The Shapes of Habits
are much in use, to denote the Qualities of several men; but things rare and
difficult to be obtained, are General Badges of Honour: From this Use, Pearls,
Diamonds, and Precious Stones, have their Value: Things Rare are proper Ensigns
of Honour, because it is Honourable to acquire Things Difficult.
The Price of Wares is
the present Value; And ariseth by Computing the occasions or use for them, with
the Quantity to serve that Occasion; for the Value of things depending on the
use of them, the Over-pluss of Those Wares, which are more than can be used,
become worth nothing; So that Plenty, in respect of the occasion, makes things
cheap; and Scarcity, dear.
There is no fixt Price
or Value of any thing for the Wares of Trades; The Animals and Vegetables of
the Earth, depend on the Influence of Heaven, which sometimes causes Murrains,
Dearth, Famine, and sometimes Years of great Plenty; therefore, the Value of
things must accordingly Alter. Besides, the Use of most things being to supply
the Wants of the Mind, and not the Necessitys of the Body; and those Wants,
most of them proceeding from imagination, the Mind Changeth; the things grow
out of Use, and so lose their Value.
There are two ways by
which the value of things are a little guessed at; by the Price of the
Merchant, and the Price of the Artificer: The Price that the Merchant sets upon
his Wares, is by reckoning Prime Cost, Charges and Interest.
The Price of the
Artificer, is by reckoning the Cost of the Materials,with the time of working
them; The Price of Time is according to the Value of the Art, and the Skill of
the Artist. Some Artificiers Reckon Twelve, others Fifteen, and some Twenty,
and Thirty Shillings per Week.
Interest is the Rule
that the Merchant Trades by; And Time, the Artificer, By which they cast up
Profit, and Loss; for if the Price of their Wares, so alter either by Plenty,
or by Change of the Use, that they do not pay the Merchant Interest, nor the
Artificer for his Time, they both reckon they lose by their Trade.
But the Market is the
best Judge of Value; for by the Concourse of Buyers and Sellers, the Quantity
of Wares, and the Occasion for them are Best known: Things are just worth so
much, as they can be sold for, according to the Old Rule, Valet Quantum Vendi
potest.
Mony is a Value made by
a Law; and the Difference of its Value is known by the Stamp,and Size of the
Piece. One Use of Mony is, It is the Measure of Value, by which the Value of
all other things are reckoned; as when the Value of any thing is expressed, its
said, It’s worth so many shillings, or so many Pounds: Another Use of Mony is;
It is a Change or Pawn for the Value of all other Things: For this Reason, the
Value of Mony must be made certain by Law, or else it could not be made a
certain Measure, nor an Exchange for the Value of all things.
It is not absolutely
necessary, Mony should be made of Gold or Silver; for having its sole Value
from the Law, it is not Material upon what Metal the Stamp be set. Mony hath
the same Value, and performs the same Uses, if it be made of Brass, Copper,
Tin, or any thing else. The Brass Mony of Spain, the Copper Mony of Sweeden,
and Tin Farthings of England, have the same Value in Exchange, according to the
Rate they are set at and perform the same Uses, to Cast up the Value of things,
as the Gold and Silver Mony does; Six Pence in Farthings will buy the same
thing as Six Pence in Silver; and the Value of a thing is well understood by
saying, It is worth Eight Farthings, as that it is worth Two Pence: Gold and
Silver, as well as Brass, Copper and Tin Mony, change their Value in those
Countries, where the Law has no force, and yield no more than the Price of the
Metal that bears the Stamp: Therefore, all Foreign Coins go by Weight, and are
of no certain Value, but rise and fall with the Price of the metal. Pieces of
Eight, yield sometimes 4 sh. 6 d. 4 sh. 7 d. and 4 sh 8 d. as the Value of
Silver is higher or lower: And so doth Dollars, and all Forreign Coin, change
their Value; and were it not for the Law that fixeth the Value, an English
Crown Piece would now yield five Shillings and Two Pence, for so much is the
Value of it, if it were melted, or in a Foreign Country. But the chief
Advantage of making Silver and Gold, being Metals of great Value, those who
design Profit by Counterfeiting the Coin, must Counterfeit the Metals, as well
as the Stamp, which is more difficult than the Stamp. There’s another Benefit
to the Merchant, by such Mony; for Gold and Silver being Commodities for other
Uses, than to make Mony; to make Plate, Gold & Silver Lace, Silks, etc. And
Coins of little bulk, in respect of their Value, the Merchant transmits such
Mony from Place to Place, in Specie, according as he finds his advantage, by
the Rise of Bulloin; though this may be a Conveniency to the Merchant, it often
proves a Prejudice to the State, by making Mony scarce: Therefore, there are
Laws in most Countries, that Prohibit the Transportation of Mony, yet it cannot
be prevented; for in Spain, though it be Capital, yet in Two Months after the Gallions
are come home, there is scarce any Silver Mony to be seen in the Country.
Some Men have so great
an Esteem for Gold and Silver, that they believe that they have an intrinsick
Value in themselves, and cast up the value of every thing by them: The Reason
of the Mistake, is, Because Mony being made of Gold and Silver, they do not
distinguish betwixt Mony, and Gold and Silver. Mony hath a certain Value,
because of the Law; but the Value of Gold and Silver are uncertain, and varies
their Price, as much as Copper, Lead, or other Metals: And in the Places where
they are dug, considering the smalness of their Veins, with the Charges of
getting them, they do not yield much more Profit than other Minerals, nor pay
the Miners better Wages for digging them.
And were it not for the
Waste, made of Gold and Silver, by Plate, Lace, Silks, and Guilding, and the
Custom of the Eastern Princes, to lay them up and bury them, that Half which is
dug in the West, is buried in the East. The great quantities dug out of the Earth,
since the Discovery of the West Indies, would have so much lessened the Value,
that by this time, they would not have much exceeded the Value of Tin, or
Copper: Therefore, How greatly would those Gentlemen be disappointed, that are
searching after the Philosopher’s Stone, if they should at last happen to find
it? For, if they should make but so great a Quantity of Gold and Silver, as
they, and their Predecessors have spent in search after it, it would so alter,
and bring down the Price of those Metals, that it might be a Question, whether
they would get so much Over-plus by it, as would pay for the Metal they change
into Gold and Silver. It is only the Scarcity that keeps up the Value, and not
any Intrinsick Vertue or Quality in the Metals; For if the Vertue were to be
considered, the Affrican that gives Gold for Knives, and Things made of Iron
being a much more Useful metal, than either Gold or Silver. To Conclude this
Objection, Nothing in it self hath a certain Value; One thing is as much worth
as another: And it is time, and place, that give a difference to the Value of
all things.
Credit is a Value
raised by Opinion, it buys Goods as Mony doe’s; and in all Trading Citys, there’s
more Wares sold upon Credit, then for present Mony.
There are Two Sorts of
Credit; the one, is Grounded upon the Ability of the Buyer; the other, upon the
Honesty: The first is called a Good man,which implys an Able Man; he generally
buys upon short Time; to pay in a Month, which is accounted as ready Mony, and
the Price is made accordingly. The other is accounted and Honest Man; He may be
poor; he Generally buys for three and Six Months or longer so as to pay the
Merchant by the Return of his own Goods; and therefore, the Seller relys more
upon the Honesty of the Buyer, than his Ability: Most of the Retail Traders buy
upon this Sort of Credit, and are usually Trusted for more than double they are
worth.
In Citys of great
Trade, there are publick Banks of Credit, as at Amsterdam and Venice: They are
of great Advantage to Trade, for they make Payments easie, by preventing the
Continual Trouble of telling over Mony, and cause a great Dispatch in Business:
Publick Banks are of so great a Concern in Trade, that the Merchants of London,
for want of such a Bank, have been forced to Carry their Cash to Goldsmiths,
and have thereby Raised such a Credit upon Goldsmiths Notes, that they pass in
Payments from one to another like Notes upon the Bank; And although by this way
of Credit, there hath been very Vast Sums of Mony lost, not less then too
Millions within five and Twenty Years, yet the Dispatch and Ease in Trade is so
great by such Notes, that the Credit is still in some Measure kept up.
Therefore, it is much
to be wondered at, that since the City of London is the Largest, Richest, and
Chiefest City in the World, for Trade; Since there is so much Ease, Dispatch,
and Safety in a Publick Bank; and since such vast Losses has Happened for want
of it; That the Merchant and Traders of London have not long before this time
Addressed themselves, to the Government, for the Establishing of a Publick
Bank.
The Common Objection,
that a Publick Bank cannot be safe in a Monarchy, is not worth the Answering;
As if Princes were not Governed by the same Rules of Policy, as States are, To
do all things for the Well-fair of the Subjects, wherein their own Interest is
concerned.
It is True, in a
Government wholly Dispotical, whose Support is altogether in it’s Millitary
Forces; where Trade hath no Concern in the Affaires of the State; Brings no
Revenue, There might be a Jealousy, that such a Bank might tempt a Prince to
Seize it; when by doing it, he doth not Prejudice the Affairs of his
Government: But in England, where the Government is not Dispotical; but the
People Free; and have as great a Share in the soveraign Legislative Power, as
the Subjects of any States have, or ever had; where the Customs makes great
Figures, in the Kings Exchequer; where Ships are the Bullworks of the Kingdom;
and where the Flourish of Trade is as much the Interest of the King as of the
People, There can be no such Cause of Fear: For, What Objections can any Man
make, that his Mony in the Bank, may not be as well secured by a Law, as his
Property is? Or; Why he should be more afraid of Losing his Mony, than his Land
or Goods?
Interest is the Rent of
Stock, and is the same as the Rent of Land: The First, is the Rent of the
Wrought or Artificial Stock; the latter, of the Unwrought or Natural Stock.
Interest is commonly
reckoned for Mony; because the Mony borrowed at Interest, is to be repayed in
Mony; but this is a mistake; For the Interest is paid for Stock: for the Mony
borrowed, is laid out to buy Goods, or pay for them before bought: No Man takes
up Mony at Interest, to lay it by him, and lose the Interest of it.
One use of Interest: It
is the Rule by which the Trader makes up the Account of Profit and Loss; The
Merchant expects by Dealing, to get more then Interest by his Goods; because of
bad Debts, and other Hazards which he runs; and therefore, reckons all he gets
above Interest, is Gain; all under, Loss; but if no more than Interest, neither
Profit, nor Loss.
Another use of
Interest, is, It is the measure of the Value of the Rent of Land; it sets the
Price in Buying and Selling of Land: For, by adding three Years Interest more
than is in the Principle, Makes the usual Value of the Land of the Country; The
difference of three Year is allowed; Because Land is more certain than Mony or
Stock. Thus in Holland, where Mony is at three per cent by reckoning how many
times three is in a Hundred Pounds, which is Thirty Three; and Adding three
Years more; makes Thirty Six Years Purchase; the Value of the Land in Holland:
And by the same Rule, interest being at six per cent in England, Land is worth
but Twenty Years Purchase; and in Ireland, but Thirteen; Interest being there
at Ten per cent: so that, according to the Rate of Interest, is that Value of
the Land in the Country.
Therefore, Interest in
all Countrys is setled by a Law, to make it certain; or else it could not be a
Rule for the Merchant to make up his Account, nor the Gentleman, to Sell his
Land by.
The Use of Trade is to
make, and provide things Necessary: Or useful for the Support, Defence, Ease,
Pleasure, and Pomp of Life: Thus the Brewers, Bakers, Butchers, Poulterers,
Cocks, with the Apothecaries, Surgeons, and their Dependencies provide Food,
and Medicine for the support of Life: the Cutlers, Gun-smiths, Powder- makers,
with their Company of Traders, make things for Defence; The Shoo-makers
Sadlers, Couch, and Chair-makers, with abundance more for the Ease of Life: The
Perfumers, Fidlers, Painters, and Booksellers, and all those Trades that make
things to gratifie the Sense, or delight the Mind, promote Pleasure: But those
Trades that are imploy’d to express the Pomp of Life, are Infinite; for,
besides those that adorn Mans Body, as the Glover, Hosier, Hatter, Semstriss,
Taylor, and many more, with those that make the Materials to Deck it; as
Clothier, Silk-Weaver, Lace-Maker, Ribbon-Weaver, with their Assistance of
Drapers, Mercers, and Milliners, and a Thousand more: Those Trades that make
the Equipage for Servants, Trappings for Horses; and those that Build, Furnish,
and Adorn Houses, are innumerable.
Thus Busie Man is
imployed, and it is for his own Benefit; For by Trade, the Natural Stock of the
Country is improved, the Wool and Flax, are made into Cloth; the Skins, into
Leather; and the Wood, Lead, Iron and Tin, wrought into Thousand useful Things:
The Over-plus of these Wares not useful, are transported by the Merchants and
Exchanged for the Wines, Oyls, Spices, and every Thing that is good of Forreign
Countries: The Trader hath One Share for his Pains, and the Land-Lord the Other
for his Rent: So, that by Trade, the Inhabitants in general, are not only well
Fed, Clothed and Lodged; but the Richer sort are Furnished with all things to
promote the Ease, Pleasure & Pomp of Life: Whereas, in the same Country,
where there’s no Trade, the Land-Lords would have but Coarse Diet, Coarser Clothes,
and worse Lodgings; and nothing for the Rent of their Lands, but the Homage and
Attendance of their Poor Bare-footed Tenants, for they have nothing else to
give.
Trade Raiseth the Rent
of the Land, for by the Use of several sorts of Improvements, the Land Yieldeth
a greater natural Stock; by which, the Land-lord’s Share is the greater: And it
is the same thing, whether his Share be paid in Mony, or Goods; for the Mony
must be laid out to Buy such Good’s: Mony is an Immaginary Value made by a Law,
for the Conveniency of Exchange: It is the Natural Stock that is the Real
Value, and Rent of the Land.
Another Benefit of
Trade, is, That, it doth not only bring Plenty, but hath occasioned Peace: For
the Northern Nations, as they increased, were forced from the Necessities of
their Climates, to Remove; and used to Destroy, and Conquer the Inhabitants of
the Warmer Climates to make Room for themselves; thence was a Proverb, Omne
Malum ab Aquilone: But those Northern People being settled in Trade, the Land by
their Industry, is made more Fertile; and by the Exchange of the Nations Stock,
for Wines and Spices, of Hotter Climates, those Countries become most
Habitable; and the Inhabitants having Warmer Food, Clothes, and Lodgings, are
better able to endure the Extreamitys of their Cold Seasons: This seems to be
the Reason, that for these Seven or Eight Hundred years last past, there has
been no such Invasions from the Northern part of the World, as used to destroy
the Inhabitants of the Warmer Countries: Besides, Trade allows a better Price
for labourers, than is paid for Fighting: So it is become more the Interest of
Mankind to live at home in Peace, than to seek their fortunes abroad by Wars.
These are the Benefits
of Trade, as they Relate to Mankind; those that Relate to Government, are many.
Trade Increaseth the
Revenue of the Government, by providing an Imploy for the People: For every Man
that Works, pay by those things which he Eats and Wears, something to the
Government. Thus the Excise and Custom’s are Raised, and the more every Man
Earns, the more he Consumes, and the King’s Revenue is the more Increased.
This shews the way of
Determining those Controversies, about which sort of Goods are most beneficial
to the Government, by their Making, or Importing: The sole difference is from
the Number of hands imploy’d in making them; Hence the Importation of Raw Silk,
is more Profitable to the Government than Gold, or Silver; Because there are
more Hands imployd in the Throwing, and Weaving of the First; than there can be
in working the Latter.
Another Benefit of
Trade is, It is Useful for the Defence of the Government; It provides the
Magazines of Warr. The Guns, Powder, and Bullets, are all made of Minerals, and
are wrought by Traders; Besides, those Minerals are not to be had in all
Countries; The great stock of Saltpeter is brought from the East Indies, and
therefore must be Imported by the Merchant, for the Exchange of the Natives
Stock.
The last Benefit is,
That Trade may be Assistant to the Inlarging of Empire; and if an Universal
Empire, or Dominion of very Large Extent, can again be raised in the World, It
seems more probable to be done by the Help of Trade; By the Increase of Ships
at Sea, than by Arms at land: This is too large a Subject to be here Treated
of; but the French King’s seeming Attempt to Raise Empire in Europe, being that
Common Theam of Mens Discourse, has caused some short Reflections, which will
appear by Comparing the Difficulty of the one, with the Probability of the
other.
The Difficulties of
Raising a Dominion of very Large Extent; especially in Europe, are Many.
First, Europe is grown
more Populous than formerly, and there are more Fortified Towns and Cities,
than were in the time of the Roman Empire, which was the last extended Dominion;
and therefore, not easily Subjected to the Power of any one Prince.
Whether Europe be grown
more Populous, Solely by the Natural Increase of Mankind; There being more Born
than Dye, which first Peopled the World?
Or, Whether, since the
Inhabitants of Europe being Addicted to Trade, the ground is made more Fertile,
and yields greater plenty of Food; which hath prevented famine, that formerly
destroy’d great numbers of Mankind: So that no great Famines, has been taken
Notice of by Historians, these Last Three Hundred Years?
Whether by Dreining
Great Bogs, Lakes, and Fens, and Cutting down vast Woods, to make Room for the
Increase of Mankind, the Air is Grown more Healthy; So that Plagues, and other
Epidemical Diseases, are not so destructive as formerly? none so violent, as
Procopius and Wallsingham Report, where destroyed such Vast Numbers in Italy,
that there were not left Ten in a Thousand; and in other Parts of Europe, not
enough alive to Bury the Dead. Whereas, the Plague in (1665) the Greatest since
did not take away the Hundredth Person in England, Holland, and other
Countries, where it Raged?
Whether, since the
Invention of Guns and Gun-Powder, so many Men are not slain in the Wars as
formerly? Xerxes lost 160000 in one Battle against the Grecians; Alexander
destroyed 110000 of Darius’s Army; Marius slew 120000 of the Cimbri; and in
great Battles, seldome less than 100000 fell: but now 20000 Men are accounted
very great Slaughter.
Whether, since the
Northern People have fallen on Trade, such vast Numbers, are not destroyed by
Invasions?
Whether, by all these
Ways, or by which of them most, Europe is grown Populous, is not Material to
this Discourse: It is sufficient to shew, that the Matter of Fact is so, which
does appear by comparing the Antient Histories of Countries with the Modern?
In the Antient
Descriptions, the Countries are full of Vast Woods, wild Beasts; the
Inhabitants barbarous, and as wild, without Arts, and the Governments are like
Colonies, or Herds of People: But in the Modern, the Woods are cut down, and
the Lyons, Bears, and wild Beasts destroyed; no Flesh-Eaters are left to
inhabit with man, but those Dogs and Cats that he tames for his Use: Corn grows
where the Woods did, and with the Timber are built Cities, Towns and Villages;
the People are cloathed, and have all Arts among them; and those little
Colonies and Families, are increased into Great States and Kingdoms; and the
most undeniable Proof of the Increase of Mankind in England, is the
Doom-Day-Book, which was a Survey taken of all the Inhabitants of England, in
the Reign of William the Conquerour; by which it appears, that the People of
England are increased more than double since that time: But since the Mosaical
Hypothesis of the Increase of the World, is generally believed amongst the
Christians. And the late Lord Chief Justice Hales, in his Book of the
Origination of Mankind, hath endeavoured to satisfie all the rest of the World.
It would be misspending of time, to use any other Topick for the further Proof
thereof, than what naturally follows in this Discourse, which is from the
Different Success of Arms, in the Latter and Former Ages.
In the Infancy of the
World, Governments began with little Families and Colonies of Men; so that,
when ever any Government arrived to greater Heighth than the rest, either by
the great Wisdom or Courage of the Government, they afterwards grew a pace: it
was no Difficulty for Ninus, that was the oldest Government, and consequently,
the most Populous, to begin the Assyrian Empire; nor for his Successors to
continue and inlarge it: Such Vast Armies of Cyrus, Darius, Hystopis and
Xerxes, the least of their Forces amounting to above 500000, could not be
resisted, when the World was but thin Peopled.
These great Armies
might at first sight, seem to infer, That the World was more Populous than now;
because the Armies of the greatest Princes, seldom now exceed the Number of
Fifty or Sixty Thousand Men; But the Reason of those great Numbers, was, They
were not so well skilled in Military Arts, and shew that the World was in the
Infancy of its Knowledge, rather than Populous; for all that were able to bear
Arms, went to the Wars: And if that were now the Custom, there might be an Army
in England of above Three Million, allowing the Inhabitants to be Seven
Millions; and by the same Proportion, the King of France’s Country, (being four
times bigger) might raise Twelve Millions; such a Number was never heard of in
this World.
The next Difficulty
against the inlarging of Empire by Arms is, That since Printing, and the Use of
the Needle hath been discovered, Navigation is better known, and thence is a
Greater Commerce against Men, the Countries and Languages are more understood,
Knowledge more dispersed, and the Arts of War in all Places known; so that, Men
fight more upon equal Terms than formerly; and like two Skilful Fencers, fight
a long Time, before either gets Advantage.
The Assyrians &
Persians Conquered more by the Number of Souldiers than Discipline; the Grecians
and Romans, more by Discipline than Number; as the World grew older, it grew
wiser: Learning first flourished among the Grecians, afterwards among the
Romans; and as the Latter succeeded in Learning, so they did in Empire. But now
both Parties are Equally Disciplin’d and Arm’d; and the Successes of War are
not so great; victory is seldem gained without some Considerable Loss to the
Conquerour.
Another Difficulty to
the inlarging of Dominion by Arms, is, That the Goths overcoming the greatest
part of Europe, did by their Form of Government, so settle Liberty, and
Property of Land, that it is difficult for any Prince to Change that Form.
Whether the Goths were
Part of the Ten Tribes, as some are of Opinion, and to Countenance their
conjectures, have Compared the Languages of the Inhabitants, Wales, Finland and
Orchadis, and other Northern Parts (little frequented by Strangers, which might
alter their language) and find them to agree with the Hebrew in many Words and
Sound, all their Speech being Guttural. This is certain, their Form of
Government seems framed after the Examples of Moses’s Government in the Land of
Canaan, by dividing the Legislative Power, according to the Property of Land,
according to that Antient Maxim, That Dominion is founded upon Property of
Land. There Monarchy seems to be made by an easie Division of Land into Thirds,
by a Conquering Army, setting down in Peace; the General being King, has one
Third; the Colonels being the Lords, another Third; and the Captains, and other
Inferiour Officers being Gentlemen, another; the Common Souldiers are the
Farmers, and the Conquered are the Villains: The Legislative Power is divided
amongst them, according to their Share in the Land; it being necessary that
those that have Property of Land, should have Power to make Laws to Preserve
it.
There seems to be but
two settled Forms of government; the Turkish, and Gothick, or English Monarchy:
They are both founded upon Property in Land; in the First, the Property and
Legislative Power is solely in the Prince; In the Latter, they are in both the
Prince and People: The one is best fitted to raise Dominion by Armies; for the
Prince must be Absolute to give Command, according to the Various Fortunes of
Warr: The other is Best for Trade; for men most industrious, where they are
most free, and secure to injoy the Effects of their Labours.
All other Sorts of
Government, either Aristocracy, or Democracy, where the Supream Magistrate is
Elective, are Imperfect, Tumultuous, and Unsettled: For Man is Naturally Ambitious;
he inherits the same Ruleing Spirit that God gave to Adam, to Govern the
Creation with: And the oftener that the Throne is Empty, the oftener will
Contentions and Struggles Happen to get into it: Where deter digniori is the
Rule, Warr always Ensues for the Golden Prize. Such Governments will never be
without such Men as Marius and Scilla, to disturb them; nor without such a Man
as Caesar to Usurp them; notwithstanding all the Contrivance for their Defence
by those Polititians who seems fond of such Formes of Government.
The Gothick Government
being a well fixed Form, and the People so free under it, is great hindedrance
to the Enlarging of Dominion; for a People under a good Government do more
Vigorously Defend it: A free People have more to lose than Slaves, and their
Success is better Rewarded than by any Mercenary Pay, and therefore, make a
better Resistance: It was the Freedom of the Grecians and Romans that raised
their Courage, and had an equal Share in raising their Empires, with their Millitary
Discipline: The free City of Tyre put Alexander to more Trouble to Conquer,
than all the Citys of Asia.
The People of Asia,
living under a Dispotick Power, made little Resistance; Alexander subdued
Libia, Phoenicia, Pamphilia, without much Opposition in his Journey to meet
Darius; Egypt came under Subjection without Fighting, and so did many
Countries, being willing to Change the Persian Yoak: Besides, he Fought but two
Battles for the whole Persian Empire; and the Resistance of those slavish
People was so weak, that he did not lose 500 Grecians in either of the Battles,
tho’ Darius Number far exceeded his; the one being above 260000, and the other
not Forty; And there was as great Disproportion in the Slaughter; for at the
Battle in Cilicia he slew 110000, and that at Arbela 40000; whereas, the
Spartan, a Free People, about the same time, fought with Antipater his Vice-Roy
of Macedon; and in a Fight, where neither Army exceeded 60000, slew 1012 of the
Macedonians, which was more than Alexander lost in both his Battles: so great
is the difference of fighting against a Free, and a Slavish Effeminate People.
For the same Reasons,
That the world is grown more Populous, That the Arts of War are more known.
That the People of Europe live under a Free Government. It is as difficult to
keep a Country in Subjection, as to Conquer it. The People are too Numerous to
be kept in Obedience: To destroy the greatest Part, were too Bloody, and
Inhuman; To Burn the Towns, and Villages, and so force the People to remove, Is
to lose the greatest share in conquest; for the People are the Riches and the
Strength of the Country, And it is not much more Advantage to a Prince, to have
a Title to Lands, in Terra Incognita, As to Countries without People.
Besides, Countries and
Languages being more known; And Mankind more acquainted than formerly: The
Oppressed People remove into the next Country they can find Shelter in, and
become the Subjects of other Governments. By such Addition of Subjects, those
Governments growing stronger, are better able to Resist the Incroaches of
Empire: So that, every Conquest makes the next more difficult, from the
Assistance of those People before Conquered; To Transplant the Conquered into a
Remote Country, as formerly, Is not to be Practised; There is now no Room, the
World is so full of People.
To Conquer, and leave
them Free, only paying Tribute and Homage, Is the same as not to conquer them:
For there is no Reason to expect their Submission longer, than till they are
able to Resist; which will not be long before they make the same Opposition, if
they continue in the same Possession; and therefore, though the Romans in the
Infancy of their Government, did leave several Countries Free, as an Assistance
to other Conquest; yet, when they grew stronger, they turned all their Conquest
into Provinces, being the surest way to keep them from Revolting.
These are the
Difficulties of inlarging Dominion at Land, but are not Impediments to its Rise
at Sea: For those things that Obstruct the Growth of Empire at Land, do rather
Promote its Growth at Sea. That the World is more Populous, is no Prejudice,
there is Room enough upon the Sea; the many Fortified Towns may hinder the
March of an Army, but not the Sailing of Ships: The Arts of Navigation being
discover’d, hath added an Unlimited Compass to the Naval Power. There needs no
change of the Gothick Government; for that best Agrees with such an Empire.
The Ways of preserving
Conquests gain’d by Sea, are different from those at Land. By the one, the
Cities, Towns and Villages are burnt, to thin the People, that they may be the
easier Governed, and kept into Subjection; by the other, the Cities must be
inlarged, and New ones built: Instead of Banishing the People, they must be
continued, in their Possession, or invited to the Seat of Empire; by the one,
the Inhabitants are inslaved, by the other, they are made Free: The Seat of
such an Empire must be in an Island, that their Defence may be solely in
Shipping; the same way to defend their Dominion, as to inlarge it.
To conclude, there
needs no other Argument, That Empire may be raised sooner at Sea, than at Land;
than by observing the Growth of the United Provinces, within One Hundred Years
last past, who have Changed their Style, from Poor Distressed, into that of
High and Mighty States of the United Provinces: And Amsterdam, that was not
long since, a poor Fisher-Town, is now one of the Chief Cities in Europe; and
with the same compass of time, that the Spaniard & French have been
endeavouring to Raise an Universal Empire upon the Land; they have risen to
that Heighth, as to be an equal Match for either of them at Sea; and were their
Government fitted for a Dominion of large Extent, and their country separated
from their Troublesome Neighbour the Continent, which would Free them from that
Military Charge in defending themselves, they might, in a short time, Contend
for the Soveraignity of the Seats.
But England seems the
Properer Seat for such an Empire: It is an Island, therefore requires no
Military Force to defend it. Besides, Merchants and Souldiers never thrive in
the same Place; It hath many large Harbours fitting for a large Dominion: The
Inhabitants are naturally Couragious, as appears from the Effects of the
Climate, in the Game Cocks, and Mastiff Dogs, being no where else so stout: The
Monarchy is both fitted for Trade and Empire. And were there an Act for a
General Naturalization, that all Forreigners, purchasing Land in England, might
Enjoy the Freedom of Englishmen, It might within much less Compass of Time,
than any Government by Arms at Land, arrive to such a Dominion: For since, in
some Parts of Europe, Mankind is harrassed and disturbed with Wars; Since, some
Governours have incroached upon the Rights fo their Subjects, and inslaved
them; Since the People of England enjoy the Largest Freedoms, and Best
government in the World; and since by Navigation and Letters, there is a great
Commerce, and a General Acquaintance among Mankind, by which the Laws and
Liberties of all Nations are known; those that are oppressed and inslaved, may
probably Remove, and become the Subjects of England: And if the Subjects
increase, the Ships, Excise and Customs, which are the Strength and Revenue of
the Kingdom, will in Proportion increase, which may be so Great in a short Time,
not only to preserve its Antient Soveraignty over the Narrow Seas, but to
extent its Dominion over all the Great Ocean: an Empire, not less Glorious, and
of a much larger Extent, than either Alexander’s or Ceasar’s.
The Chief Causes that
Promote Trade, (not to mention good Government, Peace, and Scituation, with
other Advantages) are Industry in the Poor, and Liberality in the Rich:
Liberality, is the free Usage of all those things that are made by the Industry
of the Poor, for the Use of the Body and Mind; It Relates chiefly to Man’s
self, but doth not hinder him from being Liberal to others.
The Two Extreams to
this Vertue, are Prodigality and Covetousness: Prodigality is a vice that is
prejudicial to the Man, but not to Trade; It is living a pace, and spending
that in a Year, that should last all his Life: Covetousness is a Vice,
prejudicial both to Man and Trade; It starves the Man, and breaks the Trader;
and by the same way the Covetous Man thinks he grows rich, he grows poor; for
by not consuming the goods that are provided for Man’s Use, there ariseth a
dead Stock, called Plenty, and the Value of those goods fall, and the Covetous
Man’s Estates, whether in Land, or Mony, become less worth: And a Conspiracy of
the Rich Men to be Covetous, and not spend, would be as dangerous to a Trading
State, as a Forreign War; for though they themselves get nothing by their
Covetousness, nor grow the Richer, yet they would make the Nation poor, and the
government great Losers in the Customs and Excises that ariseth from Expence.
Liberality ought
chiefly to be Excercised in an equal Division of the Expence amongst those
things that relate to Food, Cloaths, and Lodging; according to the Portion, or
Station, that is allotted to every Man, with some allowance for the more
refined Pleasures of the Mind; with such Distributions, as may please both sect
of Philosophers, Platonist and Epicureans: The Belly must not be starved to
cloath the Back-Part.
Those Expences that
most Promote Trade, are in Cloaths and Lodging: In Adorning the Body and the
House, There are a Thousand Traders Imploy’d in providing Food. Belonging to
Cloaths, is Fashion; which is the shape or Form of Apparel.
In some places, it is
fixt and certain; as all over Asia, and in Spain; but in France, England, and
other places, the Dress alters; Fashion or the alteration of Dress, is a great
Promoter of Trade, because it occasions the Expence of Cloaths, before the Old
ones are worn out: It is the Spirit and Life of Trade; It makes a Circulation,
and gives a Value by Turns, to all sorts of Commodities; keeps the great Body
of Trade in Motion; it is an Invention to Dress a Man, as if he lived in a
perpetual Spring; he never sees the Autum of his Cloaths: The following of the
Fashion, Is a Respect paid to the Prince and his Court, by approving his Choice
in the shape of Dress. It lyes under an ill Name amongst many Grave and Sober
People, but without any Just Cause; for those that Exclaim against the Vanity
of the New Fashion, and at the same time, commend that Decency of the Old one,
forget that every Old Fashion was once New, and then the same Argument might
have been used against it. And if an Indian, or Stranger, that nvever saw any
person Cloathed before, were to be Judge of the Controversy, and were to
Determin upon seeing at the same time a well Drest-Courtier in the New Fashion,
and another in the Old, which is accounted Decent; and a third in the Robes of
an Officer, which by common Esteem, had a Reverence: It will be Two to One,
against any One of the Grave Fashions; for it’s only Use and Custom by which
Habits become Grave and Decent, and not any particular Conveniency in the
shape; for if Conveniency were the Rule of Commendation, Whether the Spanish
garb made strait to the Body, or the loose Habit of the Turks, were to be
Chosen? And therefore since all Habits are equally handsome, and hard to know
which is most Convenient: The Promoting of New Fashions, ought to be
Encouraged, because it provides a Livelihood for a great Part of Mankind.
The next Expence that
chiefly promotes Trade, is Building, which is natural to Mankind, being the
making of a Nest or Place for his Birth, it is the most proper and vible
Distinction of Riches, and Greatness; because the Expences are too Great for
Mean Persons to follow. It is a Pleasure fit to entertain Princes; for a
Magnificient Structure doth best represent the Majesty of the Person that lives
init, and is the most lasting and truest History of the Greatness of his
Person.
Building is the
chiefest Promoter of Trade; it Imploys a greater Number of Trades and People,
than Feeding or Cloathing: the Artificers that belong to building, such as
Bricklayers, Carpenters, Plaisterers, etc. imploy many Hands; Those that make
the Materials for Building, usch as Bricks, Lyme, Tyle, etc. imploy more; and
with those that Furnish the Houses, such as Upholsterers, Pewterers, etc. they
are almost Innumerable.
In Holland, where Trade
hath made the Inhabitants very Rich, It is the Care of the government, to
Incourage the Builder, and at the Charge of the State, the Grafts and Streets
are made. And at Amsterdam, they have three times, at great Expence, Thrown
down the walls of thier City, and Dreined the Boggs, to make Room for the
Builder: For Houses are the Places where the Artificers make their Goods, and
Merchants Sell them; and without New Houses, the Trades and Inhabitants could
not Increase.
Beside, There is
another great Advantage to Trade, by Enlarging of cities; the Two Beneficial
Expences of cloathing and Lodging, are Increased; Man being Naturally
Ambitious, the Living together, occasion Emulation, which is seen by Out-Vying
one another in Apparel, Equipage, and Furniture of the House; whereas, if a Man
lived Solitary alone, his chiefest Expence, would be Food. It is from this very
Custom; If the Gentry of France Living in Cities, with the Invention of
Fashion; that France, tho’ a Country no way fitted for Trade, has so great a
share of it: It is from Fashion in Cloaths, and Living in Cities, that the King
of France’s Revenues is so great, by which he is become troublesome to his
Neighbours, and will always be so, while he can preserve Peace within his own
Country; by which, those Fountains of riches, may run Interrupted into his
Exchequer.
The Two Chief Causes of
the Decay of Trade, are the many Prohibitions and high Interest.
The Prohibition of
Trade, is the Cause of its Decay; for all Forreign Wares are brought in by the
Exchange of the Native: So that the Prohibiting of any Foreign Commodity, doth
hinder the Making and Exportation of so much of the Native, as used to be Made
and Exchanged for it. The Artificiers and Merchants, that Dealt in such Goods,
lose their Trades; and the Profit that was gained by such Trades,and laid out
amongst other Traders, is Lost. The Native Stock for want of such Exportation,
Falls in Value, and the Rent of the Land must Fall with the Value of the Stock.
The common Argument for
the Prohibiting Foreign Commodities, is, That the Bringing in, and Consuming
such Forreign Wares, hinders the Making and Consuming the like sort of Goods of
our own Native Make and Growth; therefore Flanders-Lace, French-Hats, Gloves,
Silks, Westphalia-Bacon, etc. are Prohibited, because it is supposed, they
hinder the Consumption of English Lace, Gloves, Hats, Silk, Bacon, etc. But
this is mistaken Reason, and ariseth by not considering what it is that
Occasions Trade. It is not Necessity that causeth the Consumption, Nature may
be Satisfied with little; but it is the wants of the Mind, Fashion, and desire
of Novelties and things scarce, that causeth Trade. A Person may have
English-Lace, Gloves, or Silk, as much as he wants, and will Buy no more such;
and yet, lay out his Mony on a Point of Venice, Jessimine- Gloves, or
French-Silks; he may desire to Eat Westphalia-Bacon, when he will not English;
so that, the Prohibition of Forreign Wares, does not necessarily cause a
greater Consumption of the like sort of English.
Besides, There is the
same wants of the Mind in Foreigners, as in the English; they desire Novelties;
they Value English-cloth, Hats, and Gloves, and Foreign Goods, more than their
Native make; so that, tho’ the Wearing or Consuming of Forreign Things, might
lessen the consuming of the same sort in England; yet there may not be a lesser
Quantity made; and if the same Quantity be make, it will be a greater
Advantange to the Nation, if they Consumed in Foreign Countries, than at home;
because the Charge, and Imploy of the Freight, is Gained by it, which in bulky
Goods, may be a Fourth Part of the whole Value.
The particular Trades
that expect an Advantage by such Prohibition, are often mistaken; For if the
Use of most Commodities depending upon Fashion, which often alters; the Use of
those Goods cease. As to Instance, Suppose a Law to Prohibit Cane- Chairs,
(which are already in use amongst the Gentry, The Cane-Chairs being grown too
Cheap and Common) or else, they may lay aside the Use of all Chairs,
Introducing the Custom of Lying upon Carpets; the Ancient Roman Fashion; still
in Use amongst the Turks, Persians, and all the Eastern Princes.
Lastly, If the
Suppressing or Prohibiting of some sorts of Goods, should prove an Advantage to
the Trader, and Increase the Consumption of the same sort of our Native
Commodity: Yet it may prove a Loss to the Nation. for the Advantage to the
Nation from Trade, is, from the Customs, and from those Goods that Imploys most
Hands. So that, tho’ the Prohibition may Increase, as the Consumption of the
like sort of the Native; yet if it should Obstruct the Transporting of other
goods which were Exchanged for them, that Paid more custom, Freight, or
Imployed more Hands in making; the Nation will be a loser by the Prohibition:
As to Instance, If Tobacco or Woollen-Cloth were used to Exchange for
Westphaly-Bacon, The Nation loseth by the Prohibition, tho’ it should Increase
the Consumption of English-Bacon; because the First, Pays more Freight and
Custom; and the Latter, Imploys more Hands. By this Rule it appears, That the
Prohibiting of all unwrought Goods, such as raw Silk, Cotton, Flax, etc. and
all Bulky goods; such as Wines, Oyls, Fruits, etc. would be a Loss to the
Nation; because nothing can be sent in Exchange that Imploys fewer Hands than
the First, or Pays greater Freight than the Latter.
But all Trading
Countries Study their Advantage of Trade, and Know the difference of the Profit
by the Exchange of wrought Goods, for unwrought: And therefore, for any Nation
to make a Law to Prohibit all Foreign Goods, but such only as are most
Advantageous; Is to put other Nations upon making the same Laws; and the
Consequence will be to Ruine all Foreign Trade. For the Foundation of all
Forreign Trade, is, from the Exchange of the Native Commodities of each
Country, for one another.
To Conclude, If the
bringing in of Foreign Goods, should hinder the making and consuming of the
Native, which will very seldom happen; this disadvantage is not to be Remedied
by a Prohibition of those Goods; but by Laying so great Duties upon them, that
they may be always Dearer than those of our Country make: The Dearness will
hinder the common Consumption of them, and preserve them for the Use of the
Gentry, who may Esteem them, because they are Dear; and perhaps, might not
Consume more of the English Growth, were the other not Imported. By such
duties, the Revenue of the Crown, will be increased; and no Exceptions can be
taken by any Foreign Prince or Government; Since it is in the Liberty of every
Government, to lay what Duty or Imposition they please. Trade will continue
Open, and Free; and the Traders, Enjoy the Profit of their Trade: The Dead
Stock of the Nation, that is more than can be Used, will be carried off, which
will keep up the Price of the Native Stock, and the Rent of the Land.
The next cause of the
Decay of Trade in England, and the Fall of Rents, is, That Interest is higher
in England, than in Holland, and other places of great Trade: It is at Six per
cent in England and at Three in Holland; For all Merchants that Trade in the same
sort of Goods, to the same Ports, should Trade by the same Interest.
Interest is the Rule of
buying and Selling: And being higher in England, than in Holland; the English
Merchant Trades with a Disadvantage, because he cannot Sell the same sort of
Goods in the same Port, for the same Value as the Dutch Merchant. The Dutch
Merchant can Sell 100 l. worth of Goods, for 103 l. And the English Merchant
must Sell the same sort, for 106 l. to make the same Account of Principal and
Interest.
Besides, And the English
Merchant hath the same Disadvantage in the Return of the Goods he buys; for the
Dutch Merchant making his Return in the same sort of Goods, can under-Sell him.
By this Difference of
Interest, Holland is become to be the great Magazine, and Store-House of this
Part of Europe, for all sorts of Goods: For they may be laid up cheaper in
Holland, than in England.
It is impossible for
the Merchant when he has Bought his goods, To know what he shall sell them for:
The Value of them, depends upon the Difference betwixt the Occasion and the
Quantity; tho’ that be the Chiefest of the Merchants Care to observe, yet it
depends upon so many Circumstances, that it’s impossible to know it. Therefore
if the plenty of the goods,has brought down the Price; the Merchant layeth them
up, till the Quantity is consumed, and the Price riseth. But the English
Merchant, cannot lay up his, but with Disadvantage; for by that time, the Price
is risen so as to pay Charges and Interest at Six per cent the same Goods are
sent for from Holland, and bring down the Price: For they are laid up there, at
three per cent and can therefoer be sold cheaper.
For want of Considering
this, in England, many an English Merchant has been undone; for, though by
observing the Bill of Lading, he was able to make some Guess of the Stock that
was Imported here; and therefore, hath kept his Goods by him for a Rise: But
not knowing what Stock there was in Holland, hath not been able to sell his
Goods to Profit, the same Goods being brought from thence before the Price
riseth high enough to pay Ware-House-Room, and Interest.
So that, now the great
part of the English Trade is driven by a quick Return, every Day Buying and
Selling, according to a Bill of Rate every day Printed. By this Means, the
English Trade is narrowed and confined, and the King loseth the Revenue of
Importation, which he would have, if England were the Magazine of Europe; and
the Nation loseth the Profit, which would arise from the Hands imploy’d in
Freight and Shipping.
Interest being so high
in England, is the Cause of the Fall of Rents; for Trade being confined to a
Quick Return: And the Merchant being not able to lay up Foreign Goods, at the
same Interest as in Holland, he Exports less of the Native; and the Plenty of
the Native Stock Brings down the Rent of Land; for the rest of the Land that
produceth the Stock, must fall, as the Price of the Stock doth.
Whereas, if Interest
were at the same Rates as in Holland, at Three per cent it would make the Rent
more certain, and raise the Value of the Land.
This Difference of
Three per cent is so Considerable, that many Dutch Merchants Living in Holland,
having Sold their Goods in England; give order, to put out their Stock to
Interest in England; thinking That a better Advantage than they can make by
Trade.
It will raise the Rent
of some Estates, and preserve the Rent of others: For the Farmer must make up
his Account, as the Merchant doth; the Interest of the Stock, must be reckoned,
as well as the Rent of Land: Now if the Farmer hath 300 l. Stock, upon his
Farm, that is so easily Rented, that he lives well upon it; he may add 9 l. per
annum more to the rent, when the interest is at three per cent and make the
same Account of Profit from the Farm: As he doth now Interest , is at six per cent.
And those Farmers that are hard rented, having the same stock, will have 9 l.
per annum Advance in the Account, towards the Easing the Rent: Fro altho’ the
Farmer gets nothing more at the Years end, yet in making up of Account, towards
the Easing the Rent: For altho’ the Farmer gets nothing more at the Years end,
yet in making up of Account, there must 9 l. add to the Value of Land, and
taken from the Account of the Stock. If Interest were at Three per cent there
would always be a Magazine of Corn and Wooll in England,which would be agrat
Advantage to the Farmer, and make his Rent more certain; for there are Years of
Plenty, and Scarcity; and there are more Farmers undone by Years of great
Plenty, than Recover themselves in Years of Scarcity; for when the Price is
very low, the Crop doth not pay the Charge of Sowing, Farming, and Carrying to
Market; and when it is Dear, It doth not fall to all Mens fortune that were
losers by Plenty, to have a Crop: Now if Interest were at three per cent Corn
and Wooll in Years of great Plenty, would be Bought and Laid up to be Sold in
Years of Scarcity. The Buying in Years of Plenty, would keep the Price from
Falling too low; and the Selling in Years of Scarcity, would prevent it from
Rising too High; by this means, a moderate Price, being best upon Corn and
Wooll; the Farmers Stock and Rent of Land, would be more certain.
But now Holland being
the great Magazine of Corn, Man will Lay up any considerable Quantity in
England at Six per cent when he may always Buy as much as he wants, that was
Laid up at Three per cent and may bring it from thence, as soon, and as Cheap,
into any Parts of England, as if it were laid up here.
Thirdly, If Interest
were at Three per cent the Land of England, would be worth from Thirty six, to
Forty Years Purchase; for Interest, sets the Price in the Buying and Selling of
Land.
The bringing down of
Interest, will not alter the Value of other Wares; for the Value of all Wares,
arriveth from their Use; and the Dearness and Cheapness of them, from their
Plenty and Scarcity: Nor will it make Mony more Scarce. For if the Law allow no
more Interest, than Three per cent they that live upon it, must Lend at that
rate, or have no Interest; for they cannot put it forth any where else to
better Advantage. but if it be supposed, that it may make Mony scarce, and that
it may be a Prejudice to the Government, who want the Advance of the Mony; It
may be provided for, by a Clause, that all that Lend Mony to the King, shall
have 6 l. per cent; such Advantage would make all Men lend to the Government:
And the King will save two per cent by such a law.
The seeming Prejudice
from such a law, is, It will lessen the Revenue of those who live upon
Interest: But this will not be a General Prejudice; for many of those Persons
have Land as well as Mony, and will get as much by the Rise of one, as the fall
of the other. Besides, many of them, are Persons that live Thriftily, and much
within the Compass of their Estates; and therefore, will not want it, but in
Opinion. they have had a long Time, the Advantage of the Borrower; for the Land
yielding but 4 l. per cent and the Interest being at 6 l. per cent a new Debt
is every Year contracted of 2 l. per cent more than the Value of the Debt in Land
will pay, which hath Devoured many a good Farm; and eat up the Estates of many
of the Ancient Gentry of England.
Moses, that Wise
Law-Giver, who designed, that the Land divided amongst the Jews, should
continue in their Families; forbid the Jews to pay Interest, well knowing that
the Merchants of Tyre, who were to be their near Neighbours, would, by Lending
Mony at Interest, at last get their Lands: And that this seems to be the
Reason, is plain; For the Jews might take Interest of Strangers, but not pay;
for by taking Interest, they could not lose their Estates.
The Lawyers have
invented Intails, to preserve Estates in Families; and the bringing down of
Interest to three per cent will much help to continue it; because the Estates
being raised to double the Value, will require double the time, after the same
Proportion of Expence to Consume it in.
The raising the Value
of Land, at this Time, seems most necessary, when the Nation is Engages in such
a Chargeable War: For the Land is the Fund that must support and preserve the
Government; and the Taxes will be lesser and easier payd; for they will not be
so great: For 3 sh. in the Pound, is now 133 1/2 Part of every Mans Estate in
Land, reckoning at Twenty Years Purchase. But if the Value of the Land be doubled,
it will be the 226 Part of the Land,which may be much easier born.
Campinella, who Wrote
an 100 years since, upon considering of the great Tract of the Land of France;
says, That if ever it were United under one Prince, it would produce so great a
Revenue; it might give Law to all Europe.
The Effect of this
Calculation, Is since, seen by the Attempts of this present King of France: And
therefore, since England is an Island, and the Number of Acres cannot be
Increased; It seems absolutely necessary, That the Value of them, should be
raised to Defend the nation against such a Powerful Force: It will be some
Recompence to the Gentry, whose Lands must bear the Burthen of the War, to have
the Value of their Estates Raised; which is the Fund and Support of the
Government; Is a great Advantage to the whole Nation; and its the greater,
because it doth not Disturb, Lessen, nor Alter the Value of any Thing else.
FINIS.