IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1^ PM 150 2.2 •^1^ iS. 1.25 ||U ^ ^ — 6" — ». V] i %\^' ^%> > /: %' j> > :^ ^ ■^r -<^ Photographic Sciences Corporation s. s ^^ V 4 9) .V (meaning "CON- TINUED "). or the symbol V (meaning "END '), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaltra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole ^^signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". lire Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, ^^lanches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. by errata led to Bnt jne pelure, apon d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 "%■ \ ' THE <->; CHIMERA= O R, T H E FRENCH WAY O F Paying National Dcbts^ Laid open. BEING An Impartial Ac-^ountoF • the Proceedings in FRANCE^ for Raifing a Paper Credit, and Settling the Mississipi Stock. 1 i !' L N D O Ni Ptintcd for T. Warner^ at the BUchBoy ia Pater'l>]ofter'Rovpj 1 720. ( Price One Shilling. ) »■ I (- II as the per tati the wh in pre («) A N Impartial Acccoupt^ e^^* (yW^^^ T was many Years ago fince ?g T 2 the French Court regretted 1^ ^ S very much the hight of the ^J)SX9 publick Credit in England^ they look'd upon it as the Great, and perhaps the only Advantage that Eng- tind had over them hi the War, Name- ly, That by the EitabUfliM Reputa- tation of the Publick Funds here, and the Authority of Parliamentary Credit, whatever Sum of Money was Voted in EngUnA , tho' the Funds did not produe« it in many Years, and tho' the A Loans (=> ) Loans were prodigiouilp Great, yet the Pnblkk could command the Money in a fcADays, perhaps in a few Hours ^ Five and twenty Hundred Thoufand Pound Sterling, an ImmenfeSum told out into French Livres, has been Sub- fcrib'd to the Engraftment of the Bank in a few Hours : Lotteries of a Million have been filfd before the Lottery it felf could be pafsM in Parliament, and before it could be Imagined poflible to Crowd •kito the 0/fice, the Tickets have been all Subfcrib'd, and the Mony all immediately paid in. This was as much the Terror of our Neighbours, as it was the Honour and Advantage of £»(>/4;j(^; and Foreigners have been heard to fay, That there was no getting the better of England by Bat- tle, No,tho' Vidory was always on their fide That while wc had thus an inex- hauftible Storehouse of Money, no fu- periority in the Field, could be a Match tor ths fuperiority of Trv^afure ; for Money being the Bafis of the War, in the Modern way of carrying fuch things on in the World, it had long fince been a received Maxim in the Cafe of War, That die longeit Furfe, not the longeft Sword, would be fure to Conquer at hft: (?) our and aft : As in two Mens Boxing, nor al- ways he that had the ftrongeft Arm, but he that had the longeft Breath, would be furc to have the better of his Enemy. It was in vain that the late King of Fra/jccy tho' he had an Abfolute Com- mand of the Greateft, and at tivll the Wcalthiett Nation in the World, tryed all the Methods, all th.e Arts that hu- man Wit could Invent to raife a Fund of Credit in his Kingdom, and could never bring it to pafs; the whole Council of France could never diftate to him the Method how it fliould be done : This Coy Miftrefs, callM Credit, could never be woo'd . the more he pur- fued her, or the faither he follow 'd her, the f after flie fled from him ; and he had the continual Mortification to fee his National Credit fall, even by the fame Methods which made our Nation- al Credit rile; and. as our Credit herji grew daily, and at laft encreafed tofuch a hight, that from paying Twelve and Fourteen per CentAov Money, and ftrug- gling with infinite Difficulties to get it brought in, we came to reducing the In- tereft from Six per Cent.xo Five perCe^jt^^ and now to have the publick Command 2 Oi (4 ) of what Money they pIcasM at Four fer Cent, and have it broui2,Iit in falUtr than they could take it^ or had any occalioii for it. It is not pofliblc to fet down here, the Schemes, Frojeth, and inHnitc Arts and fecret Pra£lifes which the King of France ufed to command Credit ; all which weredifappointed and blown up, by the frequent Exigences of the Pub- lick Affairs, forcing him to violate the Faith and Honour of his Edids, Decla- ring fuch or fuch a Fund of Interelt to be Sacred and Unalterable, and not to be ftop'd upon any account whatever ; and the next Year, or perhaps fooner, breaking thro* all thofe Sacred Edifts, fuppreffiug the Payment, and leaving the Lenders to Starve : Whereas in E'rtglmd one Parliament always Voted the making good the Deficiencies of another; and no mifapplication of Money could be made, but every Fund was kept6acied to its particular fpecial iV^ppropriation ; So that no Man what- ever having lent his Money to the Go- vernment on the Credit of a Parliamen- tary Fund, has been Defrauded of his Property. >V J^. Thu! (5 ) ur fer r than calloii here, ifinitc ; King it ; all vn up, ePub- ite the Deck- relt to not to tever ; fooner, Edi£ls, eaving L'as in Voted cies of ion of ^ Fund fpecial what- hc Go- iamen- of his Thu! Thus the Arbitrary Government of the King of Fratrce the Property of every Man being intncly at his Difpofe, deftroyVl the very Rcafon and Nature of PubHck Credit; and the Limited Power of Great-Brit aitis Crown, the Strings of the Purle being in the hands of the Parliament, whole Appropria- tions, if I may be allow'd to Ipeak fo plain even our Kings thcmlelves durlt not break in upon, has been the Rea- fon and Foundation of fuch an im- menic, boundlefs Credit, that nothing can hurt or deltroy, unlcfs the Parlia- ment lliould Invert their way of adl- ing, and take into their hand^ the fame Abfolute Power vshich it is their buli- nefs to Relhain, and Wound and In- jure themiclvts, that is to fay, thcPeo- pie whom they Reprefent. But Fate and the Fortune of France has now turn'd the Tables upon us, and we fee the fame Arbitrary Power that in the late Reign m trance plungM them into an infuperable DebCj and into an ir- recoverable ftateof Dehciency and Dif- count, 1 fay, the fame Arbitrary Power has raisM an inconceivable Species of meer Air and Shadow, realizing Fan- cies and Imaginations, Vilions and Ap- paritions, !1 I? ' II CO parltions, and making the mecr fpecu«» lations of Things, ad all the Parts, and perform all the Offices o{ the Tilings themfclves. and thus in a mo- ment their Debts arc all vanifh'd, the Subftancc is anfwerM by the Shadow ; and the People of Fratice are made the Inftruments of putting the Cheat upon themfelvcs, the Name of the thing is made an Equivalent to the Thing it. fe!f, tranfpofing the Debts from the Kingtothemfelves,and being contented to l3ifcharge the Pubiick, owe the Money to one another. As this is the mecr Confequencc of a boundlcfs Power in the King by which he is made able to put eviwy Scheme , however impra&icablc in other places, in a Courle of Oppei ation there ; fo that very Lmiitation of Power, which is in other Cafes our Glory and Advantage, is the Reafon why, let our Credit be what it will, our Debts remain, and muft be wafted or diminifhed off, by the flow fire of Parliamentary Proceedings, and by no other way. And thus for once in the World, Tyranny has the whip hand of Liberty; for nothing can be done in England like this. 01 /, ( 7 ) this, even the Parliament it felf is K- mited, and there are its redeemable and unredeemable Funds- the lalt ot which are a Burthen, nothing but the Num- ber Ninety Nine ( Years ) can put an end to ; But in France they have an un- bounded hbcrty to aft as they plcafc. Lee no Man miflake me here, as if I were bewailing the Incumbrances of National Trivileges , and fuggefting that it was Pity we ftiouid be a Nation of Liberty with fuch a Burthen of Debt ; on the oth^.r hand, let us be, fay I, a free Nation deep in Debt, ra- ther than a Nation of Slaves Owing nothing ; and indeed even in this the Condition of France znA England i\2ini^ in a pofture much to our Advantage when compared together , namely France^ a Kingdom immcnfely Rich as a Government, wretchedly Poor as a People ; England^ a Government Em- barrafs'd in Debt, Exhaiifted of Funds, and not able (eatily) to get out of Debt ; But as a People immenfely Rich, Rich in the particular and private Wealths of the Subjefts ; Poor, that is to fay, Encumbred in Debt, fpeak- ing of the publick ftate of Things as a Government , and yet with all this, , whille , (8) while the publickCredit remsiinSjWe cart never be faid to be Poor : But of that in another Place, and on another Occa- fion. It remains now, that we look into this flagrant Delufion of paying a Na- tions Debts, as it is Pradifing upon the Ignorant People in France : Never in my Opinion, was any Number of Peo. pie fo hook'd in to put a fliam upon themfelves, and then ci!l it paying oft' the King's Debts, or the publick Debts; for, as above, 'tis no more and no lefs, than a parcel of Fools Difcharging the King of his Debts, and Owing it to one another. And this is another Rea- fon of this piece of Magic in France^ for the very Want ot Credit in Francey has been the Reafon of their obtaining the Credit of paying their Debts. This Paradox fliall be unriddled im- mediately thus: Had not the Publick Credit bee*T bad, had not the State Bills, that is to fay, the publick Credic run at Sixty to Sixty three />erO»^.Dif- count, the People would never havs brought themfelves to part with them for the Bonds, or Shares in a New Company ; a Brat of State^ which has its Life in the King's Breath, and muil die (9) die whenever that Breath pleaies to determifje it, that live by the favour of the Kirtjg, arid Gonfcquently always lives at his Mercy ; juft thus, turn the Tables again, I fay, juft thus ftands the Cafe in EngUnd Reverft^ the goounefs of the Publick Credit in EngUndy is the reafonwhy We fhall never be out of Debt ; for where is the Man that ha* ing lent his Money to the Publick on the Credit of Parliamentary Security, will upon a whim^Difchargethat Fund, and take i precarious Company of Private Men for the Money. The Funds are our Security, and we are fatisfyed fully in the fafety of thofe Funds, becaufe made Sacred by the Authority of Parliament ; this is our advantage who are private Men, and have our Eftates there ; but this is a blow to the very poflibility of paying the publick Debts, becaufe no Man is out of Love with his Security, and be- caufe no better Security can be propofed by any Man. From thefe Premifes, I come down tp the very Extraordinary Mr. Laws^ a Man, who being firft acquainted with the folid Immovable ftate of Cred't in EngUnd^ and feeing the fluduacing H mau* 1 A i,' it n .!i h I sil ' .! r ( •<» ) manner of things in France, plainly favr alfo, how eafie it^ats topufh thofe things there, which he could not fo much as think of in England^ without ^pprehenfions of bejng puU'd in pieces by the Rabble. The firft thing Mr. Lam did, who wifely concluded, that a foundation of Credit muftbe laid before any fufficient Projeft could be founded upon it, I fay, the firft thing Mr. Laws did, was to Contemplate the Railing a Royal Bank in Frmce^ this he EfFcfted by the Con- currence of the King, whofe SanSion there, as the Parliament would be here, was abfolutely neceffary for fuch a Work. Now let theSchemes Engrafted fincc, or then deiign'd to be Engrafted upon the foot of this beginning be what they will, whether Knavilh or Sincere, as I will not take upon me here to De- termine ; yet I fay, let it be one way or other, 'tis Evident Mr. Laivs made a Right Judgmenc, and that nothing could be projected for the publick Service, of any kind, without an EftablifhM Credit to Center fome where. As I haVw faid already, it was im- poflible this (hould be grafted upon the C II ) Govemment, the Endeavours to bring it to pafs before, having been rcndred a- bortivebythefrequentExigenciesofthat Government, forcing them to break in upon themfelves, mortgage Faith and Honour, Royal Edifts, and Royal Pro- mifes, the ftrongeft Engagements that could at th^t time be made; by which means the few Men that bad any Money,, were made Cautious, and were growri too Wife to put it into hapds which they could not depend upon tor the Dc mand of it again, whenit fhouid be wanted.* It remainM then to refolve, that Credit could now, be only raifed upon the forming Societies of Private Men, who were Mailers of CaOi, and able to Support the Credit they took . witln whom it might be fafe to venrure the Depofite of Money, aad who by an Exaft Currency of payments, migiit in Confequencc, and by Degrees, obrain the name or Title of a lafe Fund, and become the Center of proper Credit for the whole Kingdom ; a thing at that time greatly wanted, for the advantage of Trade in Franee^ as well as for the Purpofe defignM by Mr. Laws, This al- moft by the nature of the thing, would be called a Bank^and would be nnnaged > ^ B 2 by i.. %' (.O by the firft Adventutcrs in their own right, and independent of the King or of any Branch of the Government; fo- that except by meer Plunder, even all one as by Rifling the City of Parts^ the King could neverlay his hand upon any thing which was put into their keeping. This was a well lay'd defign, had there been no more intefi^eci than was pretended. For upon the Credit and Capital Stock of fhe firft Subfcribers, there was immediately a Clear prbfpefl: of a Currant Running Ca(b,Eftablilh'd upon juft Foundations, and SwiBcient to anfwerall the bufinefsof France ; I mean fuch bufinefs as was tit for the tnanagmentof afiank. When this Scheme was fliew'd totjie Regent, he was too penetratmg not tp fee immediately,that it was too Beneficial a thing not to be Encouraged, as well for the Credit of the Nation iaQeneral, as for the ufe of theGovernqient ia Particular; and therefore received it with open Arms, and affured MN L^^^s of his Favour and Proteftion: But this was not all, for every day giving new lights into the thing it felf, and new profpdfls anifing ^vcry day,tiie Regent who ii ■f own ingor U; lb m all Parts^ upoti their , had n was t and ibers, ofpeft )Uih'd Bcient yici ; I )r the to the not tp icticiat i well jneral, r'ed it . Laws It this ; new I new egent who ( '3 ) who begun even then to fee that there was nothing which might not be hoped for from fuch a Defign, as well for the Service of the Government as the Ad- vantage of Commerce in General, and of Private Perfons intereited in it in Par- ^ticular; for really a Face of publick Credit was a new thing intrancey and had fo long been Pefir'd, and fo often Endeavoured without Succefs, that it look'd like a Dream, and that Man that pretended to undertake it, was like an Angel come from Heaven to bring them good Tidings. From this time forward Mr. Laws^ as he well deferv'd, was re- ceived with great Dlftinftion, and ad- mitted to fuch Privacies as became ne- ceffary by the Importance of his Un- dertaking; and as they found hisfirft Schema Fruitful of great Improvement, he was Encouraged to apply his thoughts EfFeSually to thofe Improve- mentSjthatfomething might be brought to pafs for the publick good, and Efpe* cialjy to reftore Credit to fr4;^c6',a thing the whole Kingdom, butefpecially as a Government, had fuffered many Year for the want of. In profecution of this Confidence, the Bank was Eftabliihed, the Patents ' or or Charter,as we would call it here,\yerc Expjedited for its Foundation; the King begins the Subfcription , the Duke Regent follows,and innumerable others; they are Impower'd to take in a Hun- dred Millions Original Stock, and to give put Bills for Currant Calh payable at Demand,and to the Bearer^ juft after, th^ipapner ip England; and from that time to thjs tl)ey have aded jufl: as ours dp here^ are managed by a Court qf I)ireftors,for thejGoverning daily,every incident that may happen^ and having preferv'd theii? Credit in payrpents In- violably, it i$ fio£^3|ie to concjeve what Stocks of Mof^^y they have brought into their Hands, and to what moc* ftruous degree pf Credit they are al- ready arrived* , Their bufinefs is juft ^s it is with our Bank hef-e; they receive and Pay vaft Sums of Mon^y for the King, ana their Bills pafs in the Roy^l Treafury at Ready Money 5 they have built a New Bureau or Oftice, and it was a prodigy not often feen in Paris^ to fee about Three hundred Carriages Loaden with Silver and Gold,carried under theGuard of a jparty of Dragoons, through the Streets to the New Houfe, wh^re they J made hey ade C >5 ) malae a large S'^auli?, ^hich they call the ChdrUrmbouje^ for the keeping it fafe, and prefer ving with it their Writings^ Pledges, drc. They lend Money upbn JeweL% Plate, and things of real Value, not Periihable by keeping; and upon Mort* gage of Lands at three per Cent. In tereft ; they Difcount Bills, and take in Money, IfTuing Bills of Credit payable at De- mand ; acid it is inconcie vable the flighty Encreafe of bufineft they have uport their hands in fo little time, and the immenfe Sums of Money they have by them in Specie. Mr. Laws having thus fucccfsfully finifhed this great Affair, was at Leafure to enquire wnat further Projetls might be founded upon thisof a Royal Bank : He was too knowing not to have in his Head the General Idea of all thofe things which have happened imce, tho* not perhaps of the Succeis they have met with, which I cannot but believe have Exceeded his own ExpeQatioa : But he that knew that nothing could be done without a Fund of Credit firft Efl:abU(hed,knew aifo that fuch a Fund of Credit being once throughly £(la- blifhed,nothing could mifcarry that was founded II; 1^ > iC«^) founded upon ic^ for as half theProj^£ls incite World /ail, and br^come abortive for want of read y Money and Credit, ' fb when once aProjedl: is backed ah4 fupported with a flulh of ReadyMoney, they muft be iveak Mannagers indeed^ if they mifcarry ; for being well backed, the Execution is in a fnanner fecured. The firft thing of Moment he went upon^ was the planting a Co]lony in the Wefi'indies^ c)v in North* AmericA\ not that Mr. L^n^j did not know that the Planting the Louifiama ^ or the Country on the River Mi/fijippiy would not pro- duce any great £fFe£ls, at leaft in his time ; for the Settling a CoUony, how- ever profperqusin its beginingisa Work 01 time, and mufl; take up not nian^ Years only, but ages of Years ; and that the utmoft he could have before him in fuch an Undertaking, was to die in the Fajth of its fuccefs, and to have the Satisfaction . of having his Name very much talked of when he was Dead. But Mr. Ldws^iikQ a Man of juft Reach and Penetration, knew that two things would be abfolutely necejQTary to his Defign, I. To have the King approve andiimbarkinhisderigns, and, 2. To make mv^ («7) tnake his Scheme Popular, to have fomething in View that fliould lool: Capital ; have a view and profpeft of Succefs, beyond, not only what he could manage, but even beyond what he ever intended in the Propofal. Having ftarted the Projed of Mifftf fipfi, he branchM it out in a Different manner from all Projefts; for he did uot defcend from the iW/^/>^ I Scheme as the General, to the fubfeguent things as the Particulars ; but he afcended front the Mi/fi/jippi Scheme as a Particular, to a Wefi'India Company as the General ; and a General it v/as, fruitful of many Particulars, every one in themfelves, capable of as great things, and perhaps greater than the Planting the Colonies cf MiOtjJippi was in it felt. When the Company was thus for- med, his next work was to propofe the Foundation on which they were to be Eftablilh'd, and this was a Subfcription of Stock ; and here he fhewed his firft Mafterly Stroke^ and that he had Con- certed all the ftepsand mealuresof his Management from the beginning : The Publick Credit in France was ftill low, nor did the Rifing Credit of the Royal Banh add any thing to it, but rather € di* ; ' i I r ' I I 1. 4 il il :• ■■■^: }'.-... >. ( «8) diminiCi'd, it and Istthe World fee that private Credit in France might revive, but {iublick Credit could not : The State Bills, and Credits, \nnuities on the Town-houfe, Loans, ^d all the publick Papers which the Government had Drawn the People in to part with their Money to purchafe, were at this time exceeding low, namely from 57, to 63 fir Cent, loft, and like to be more; it was the eafieft thing in the World to Eftablifli a Fund for any New Under- taking that was but tollerably promifing, where the Stibfcribers could be allow'd to fubfcribe thcfe Dying Credits at a Par, and put that into Stock at 100 Li V res, which Coft the Purchafer but 37 to 40 Livres/'^r Cent, And this thing alone ftll'd his Subfcription, which at fir ft confifted of 100 Millions, and was very quickly full. The firft Bite Mr. Laws may be faid to put upon the Country was, to give out by way of premioy Ten Thouland Piftoles, or thereabouts, at the Rate of — per CentAov the Refufing of the Miffif fippi^ovPVeJl'Ineiia Stock, now fubl<:rib'd and full, at looLivreseach Aftionfor a Years time : This was what wecall, T/f^ tf4jing of the Bear-skfn ; and was a dear Beai*- Bear- (hall Tl bant( Mad, I his and he c( anotl the And ly, nd \inde Taler Move this [ vance Stock addin he pi make Rife Care have hefei after H( Eftal kept ( ■?) Bear-skin Co thofe that fold it^ as w« Ihall hear prefently. This was the time they begun to banter Mr. Laws : Some faid he was Mad, and knew not what to do with his Money ; others Laugh'd at him, and faid, He was not in England^ where he could hedge one way to day, and another way to morrow ; could give in the morniag, and take in the afternoon ; And thus they took the Money greedi- ly, not Confidering what might be hid under the managemeatof a Man whofc Talent they had not yet tryed. I purpoftly pafs pv^r here the many Movements which Mr, Laws made ia this part, to fecure to himfelf the Ad- vance he (hould get by the Rife of his Stock ; for he who had the Power of adding Credit to his Frojed; whenever he pleased, had nothing to do but to make fure of the ProHts of the firft Rife to himfelfj and therefore he took Care to give out his whole Sum, as I have heard, of loooo Piftoles, before he fet his other Wheels at work, .^.nd after this let us fee how he went on . He had now a Bank of Currant Cafh EftablifhM on one hand j this he has kept frpe and unconcerned in all Adven- C 1 tures » t m ( 20 ) tures or Proje£ls,as what might one way or other fhake their Credit; but he kept them perfeftly unincumbred, always able toanfwer all Demands upon them, and to refift every fhock that might be made upon them, by the force of their ready Money in fpecie. none of which he would fuffer to be Diminifhed, ex- cept by Loans on fufficient Securities, And I fhall give prefently an Account how this method was their real Securi- ty, and how they had been overthrown at once, by the Chicannry of their and his Enemies if this Courfe had not been taken; of which by and by. He had on the other hand a Sub- fcription of Ad venturers, as they might truly be call'd . and as the nature of the thing indeed Imported, whofe Stock did not coil them much, being bought as above, with what Coft them not a- bpve, ^y to 40 per Cent, and even was not indeed very Currant at that Price neither : Thefe therefore were fit to run any reafonable rifque, to embark in any probable Undertaking \ to advance the Credit of that Undertaking; and, if poflible, to raife their Imagmary Stock, for it was no more at firlt, to a Real Stock of looLivres in Value, for loo ' Livres m\ (5.) A I way ;kept .ways them, ;htbe their A^hich 3, eK- irities, :count lecuri- irown ir and )t been yvresSubfcription; and the way how 16 do this, therefore was the next pro- per bufinefs of theCompany toConfider. The firft thing to be Enquired was, to find out fomething to do, fomething to Trade in, for as to Planting in Mtffiffipft^ tho' that was to be kept going on, as the Denominating Buiinefs of the whole; yet it was plain, that Mr. Lmws neverDefign'd a Hundred Millions of Livresfhould be EmployM in People, ing a Wilderncfs; He therefore turns back to the King, from whom he Re- ceived the Life of the whole, and by whofe Authority and Bufinefs all the Wheels were to be let to Work. The Publick was a large Field, were one Man has no Credit, and another great Credit; 'tis eafy to fee who of the two fhould be the gainer by the other : He that has no Credit can do no- thing without Money, he that has Credit wants no Money tho' he has none. A Government funk into Debt, and her Securities bought f^t 6o fer Cent, Difcount, gives Room for vaft Advan- tages^ where the Party has Money to work with; in a Word the Bufinefs >vas to buy Low, and then bring up the V' ■ 1 ■ ('. ! H ■) '! ( -22 ) the Price of what'was bought ; namel^ to buy at 60 per Cent, coft, and thert fell at a P a r, as wc now fee is fincc done. The King, I fay, was their firft Mer- chant they had to deal with, and thefd were tl^e Groods he had to Tell, (viz.) State Bills of Several Kinds, Annuities, Interefts on T.oans, Rents of the Town- Houfe,and the like; and here I muft ob- ferve, that the performing this Wonder I'amnow tofpeak of,(i//^.)of Reftoring the publick Credit, fo as to bring a Sum fo monftroufly great as Fifteen Hundred Millions, and uink fo very low as from 60 to 6^ per Cent. Difcount, to be Sale- able at a Par; nay to 10, 20, and jo per Cent, advance, for that they would have been at, but Mr. Laws himfelf Checkt it \ I fay the Entertaining a thought that fuch a Scheme waspra3:i- cable, and laying a Scheme to do it, was as great a Teftimony of Mr. Laivs^^ Genius and Capacity, as the Performance has been of his good Fortune. It was aSea,fofull of dangerous Shoals, and Rocks^ fo fubjed to ludden Storms and Hurricanes, in a Word, fo threat- ning of cert^iin Shipwreck ; that no Pilot but this alone, would ever have ven-p a$ n and our ( Env] beft! had by a faid thers Owel i»s*> C 2? ; already obfervy Jnn ' 1''' "' ' ''^^c Credit, (^,/^.3 ij alway, haK^I^^''^'^ inftancenfX^"°!S"^rS'-another Mr. L.«.., the CoZv ''^ J^^"'"" «f things, but' iS'TworWr" ^'l*'^ as noDefign however S fn'S ?,'; and adapted for the ,,? /" " ^^'f* our Country, 1L be wSl'tE^ ' °^ Envy conttandy oppofinffiff^"'!^* beftDefigns- fo it Sac k^ '"^"^ -«> the had a FofmVble ,«a^^^^^^^ i'^" ^'^^ by a fttofMerchanS^^^^^^^ faid they were t^m.^e ^ /" ' ^°roe Dwelling ■mLri! oT^ Merchants ^ nii'rfw, aad others, that they m ( 24 ) they were French ; be that as it willj poflibly they might be fome of all the three forts, for it could not be done by a few : The Sum they appeared with^ being no lefs than Twenty five Millions. The Plot in a few Words was to mufter up a large Number of Bills, to be Demanded altogether , and if poffible to give a Blow to the Credit; in a Word, and to Exprefs it in ourTerms, to make ai Run upon the Bank. The Particulars of the Story are related thus. M\ „J*8 mm .,. c • d c i c c (3' ) Credit to near looprCent^ iipbn the Value. tiut as we are immediately to fee things more prodigious than this, let us Difcharge our felves of this Particular firft, that we may clear things as they go ; The Arret for Granting to the Company the Coinage, as above, will fully deicribe the Circumftances of their Contraft, and the View of Ad- vantages they had by it ; and there- fore I cannot go on, till I have given it at large, as follows : ^uly\6. 1719. Extra^ of the Regifters of the Coumil of State. TH E King having by his Let- * ters Patents of the Month of jiugujt, 1 717, eftablifhed a Trading Company under the Name of the IVeJi Company, and by his Edift in May laft reunited to the faid Com- pany the Trade of the Eafi-hidia^ (^him^ &c. his Majefty fees with Sa- tisfaSion, that that Comipany takes the belt Meafures for fecuring the Succefs of its Eftablifhment ; that they fend a great Number of Inhabi- * tant c c ( ( c c i ( c <30 tants to the Country of Louifuud^ winch was granted them ; that many private Perfons make Settlements in that Colony, and fend thither Huf- bandmen. I illers, and other Handi- craft-men, to manure and improve the Land, low Corn, plant Tobacco, breed Silk- worms, and do whatever IS necefTary to improve that Country. Furthermore, his Majefty being in- formed that the India Company is at great Charges for tranfporting the faid Inhabitants, and furnifhing the Colony with Meal and other Neceffa- ries till the Land afford a fufficient Quantity of Provifion for their Sub- fiftance : That the faid Company fends thither all forts of Goods and Merchandize to render the Life of the Inh'^bitants more comfortable, and that for preventmg Abufes too frequent in Colonies, they have taken Care to fettle the Price thereof ac a moderate Rate by a general Tariff, which they have fent thither to be affixed in their Store-houfes and Ma- gazines ; that they have ordered the Biafters or Pieces of Hight to be re- ceived by their Officers on the foot of five Livres^ and the other Silver Bul- ^ lion tic ti( ce to kr G( i i i « t ' Cc ' ic En g'v Co to Sui Int am Frd Oec any ' ielt • fai lany s in auf LtidU rove acco, :ever itry. r in- ly is gthe ; the ceffa- icient Sub. ipany ^ and C41 ) tion in Proportion, which Dlfpofi- tions have appeared fo wife and ne- ceffary, that his Majefty has refolved to favour the Execution thereof, and knowing that the exchanging of Goods not being fufficient to carry on Commerce to its full Extent, and that ic is necelTkry in the beginning of Eftablifhments of this Nature, to give thern all poffible Prote£tion and Countenance, his Majefty has refolv'd to fupply the faid Company with a Sum of Bank Bills, to enable the Inhabitants of Louifuna, to Trade amongft themfelves, and bring into trince the Fruits of their Labour^ Oeconomy and Induftry , without any Rilque or Charge: And hisMa- jelty being willing to indemnify the faid Company, for the Price of the Pieces of Eight in the Loutftana^ and fcr the Expences they are at for the Eftablilhmenc and Support of that Colony, he has thought fit to order all the Pieces of Eight and other Bui* lion that fhall be imported by the faid Company from the Loutfianay to be received at his Mints ac their full Value. Therefore his Majefty being in the Council, with the Advice of E ' Monr '€■ t ' i i h S\ ( 44 ) i \ faid Pieces of Eight and other Bullion ^ were [hipped off in the Country of * LouifiAttAy and belong to the faid * Company. Done in the Council of State, "July i6. 1719, Signed Fleuriau. jhjlraci of the Regifiers oj the Cour^cil af i>tate. [ '^ i ^ H E King having ordered in \ ' Council his Edift in May.^ '^ 1718. whereby r|ew Species of Gold * and Silver are ordered to be made, * to be laid before him, and his Ma- ? jefty being informed, that befides the * good effeds the Coyning thereof has * producM, other confiderable Advanr * tages may be expeftcd from the parr * ticular Attention to be given to its f Continuation. Among the feveral ' Propofals that have been made to * him on this Matter, none has appear- < ed moreAdvantagious than the Fro- * pofition of the Directors of the Udia, < Company, vho^ offer to pay to his < Majeily Fifty Millions of Livres in * Specie, in Fifteen equal fucceffive I Payments from Month to Moath, ' the (45 ) Bullion [itry of le faid incil of )unctl af lered in in Ma}<, of Gold le made, [lis Ma- fides the reof has Advanr the par- n to its feveral nade to appear- the Fro- :he Inttia, ly to his jvres in icceflive Monxh, ' the i the firft beginning on the firft of * October next, and the laft the firft of ^ December^ ij 20. upon Condition that * the faid Company fhall enjoy for * Nine years together, to hcgin from * the firft of Augajl next, tlie Benefit * and Advantage arifing from the old * Species and Bullion that fhall be * brought to the King's xMints to be * coyn'd into new Species. His Majefty * is fo much the more inclined to ac- * cept the Propofals of the faid Com- * pany, becaufe they may better and * more and conveniently than private * Men import Species and Bullion * out of Foreign Countries, and that * confequently they may get a greater * Advantage thereby than his Majefty ^ could get if the Coinage of the new ^ Species was continued upon his own * Account ; and furthermore confider* * ing that the Profit that will arife out * of the fame will be divided between ' great numbers of his Majefty's Sub- * jefts, concerned in the faid Compa- * ny, and that a Supply fo certain and * ready will enable his Majefty to pay ^ the Arrears of Penfions and other * Expences, His Majefty, with the * Advice of Monfieur the Duke of Or- I ( C40 leans f Regent, has ordained, and or- dains as follows : ^ This Arreft contains foDr Articles, which are to this effeft : f • His Ma- jefty accepts the offer made by the India Company of the Sum of Fifty Millions of Livres, to be paid in Fifteen fucceffive Months, to begin from the firft of OStoher next, at the rate of J, JJJ, jn Livres, 6 Pence, 8 Deniers per Month, and orders that the fame be brought to his Royal Treafury, and that the Receipt given by the Keeper thereof be a fufficient Difcharge to the faid Company, with- out being accountable to the Cham- ber of Accounts, a, Befides the faid Sum of Fifty Millions, the Company is to be at all the charges of the Coinage, Remittance, &c. fuch as the King does aft ually pay* j. Up- on thefe Conditions, the King grants to the faid Company all the Profits and Advantages that fliall accrue from the Coining into new Species of Gold and Silver in his Mints, the old Species of Frame^ the Species of Fo- «eign Countries, and Bullion that fhall be imported, what Sum foever they may amount to, on the foot * and ( 47 ) )r- es, la- :he fty in gin the ice, hat 3yal iven ;ient ith- [atn- faid * and manner regulated by theEdift of * A%, 17 1 8, for Nine Years together, * to begin from the firft of Augufi next. * 4. His Majefty declares, that during * the faid Nine Years, he will not make * any Augmentation in the Price of the * Species, nor lefTen the Standard of ' his Coin upon any Pretence whatfo- ' ever, and that in cafe of any Diminu- ' tion, he will lower the JJullion and ' old Species proportionably. Done in * the Council of State, ^uly%%. 1719. It was fome Weeks that the Credit of the Company fed upon this Under- taking, and Mr. L^it?/, who prudently gave everything time to Work, iet it run on fome time, upon this view only, till the People began to talk a little du- bious about it ; That it was true, the Company would get Money by the Coinage, but it muft be in a length of time ; and that this was not fo confider- able, that the Stock fhould mount up to fuch a hight upon that Advantage only. When rhefe things began to be tlie fubjed of Difccurfe, Mr. Lavos began to think cf playing another Mine; for I am to fuppofe all along this Gentleman to have !.!' (48) !J li-i have built his whole fabrick in his tnia- gination at once, ami to have DigefteJ every part even from the beginning in his Thoughts, but refolved to bring every thing about by juft degrees, and^ to give every thing that he ftarted into the World its full fcope, to extend it felf to the utmoft. On, a fuc^den then, for all his Mo- tions v/ere like Mines, fprung from beneath , not the leaft Notice being given of any thing till it burft out like a fudden Fire, I fay, on a fudden he Declares at his Levee, which now be- gan to be as Great as that of a Publick Minifter, That the Kiiig had United th^Eafi-hdin Company to that of Mifi fiffippi or the Wejl^hdia, and immedi- ately after, that is to fay, the next morning aft Arret of the King's Coun- cil appeared, by which the two Com- panies were United, and the Stock of the Eaft'IndiA Company Ingrafted into the other Company, as by the Arr^t it* felf is bcft explained, and which has i 1 it feveral Claufes infinitely to the Ad* vantage of the Company, in Trade as well as vn Credit, tho' even in this Con* jun£lion^ and all the Advantages of a Commerce to the Esft^Mies encreafed as as I and fom coul fick imm as ir go 01 Arret judge )oy, a ?t up'c 4**rec (f49) as they might be ah;^ ♦^ were (n thlmfelves hn. '""^'^^ «* and could pSdce „o^S7h- ^'^T' fome Years to come ^ ^ '^1°^^ ^^"^ could notbean.riT? ^"^ therefore fick worth, on whltr °^/« I^rin- as immediately apnearS r , 9^'^"' go oq gradually, affii )3^ '« "« Arret it felf, that w. . '"^° ^^^^ )udge of what ft isTheT ''^^ ^«"er ioy. and what they oueh??;^^"^ ^"- ^t upon that partic^uSVo^nt ""tI^ Arret is as follows : ^'^'-°""'^- The , »f otate. 'U'^^the\^'P'''r^"^^''^"'"acIe- h5Saor°JFVS'"r^'^"""'by r Name of the Aid r'^" Company in the King was 1^^^^ ^^^^' if r make void ?L Lcifr r^^"'^''^ ^"^ • the General Farms t=.^' "/"'"^ "^ F ^v».^A f 'f^"^'"* made in favour of r ^jimart Umbert for (Jx Year? ,.,»!• . f begun oh the firft 'f n^^'/' ^'''^h Knd of which thfiri?f:f;.i7'«- Pire on the firft oioM '" ^'^- tofubftiture "he fallS "^"r ^"^ cne laid Company in the . t room' , i. hi (50) of the faid Lambert^ under the Name of fuch Perfon as they Ihall think fit, under the Security of the Com- pany for the remaining five Years of the Lcafe aforefaid : And to grant to the faid Company four other Years, which will make a Leafe of Nine Years, to begin from the firft of O^io^ her next, and end on the firft of O^o- her lyiS, with Power to the faid Company to continue or vacate the Leafes made by the faid Lambert, as they fliall think fit, the faid Com- pany will give over and above what was given by the faid Lambert^ three Millions five hundred thoufand Livr«s for evei;y Year during the faid Term of Nme Years, infomuch that inftead of Forty eight Millions five hundred thoufand Lrvres, the faid Lambert paid every Year for the faid General Farms, the faid Company will pay Yearly Fifty two Millions, and befides will perform all the Claufes and Con- ditions contain'd in the Leafe granted to the faid Lambert : That the betterl to flicw to his Majefty the defire of the faid Indit Company, to contri-[ buce by their Credit to the Eafe otl ihc State, they offer to lend to the ' KinH ' i ' r ' C ' b • B ( ( ( ( a T R fti E> ' th ' Shi • Bil Sur reac whi upo Th pan hun * jeft po Tw for 'ofR ' the ' Ann ' terel 'be (51 ) Name think ; Com- [^ears of rrant to r Years, Df Nine of 000' of 000- the faid cate the mbert, as id Com- 3ve what erty three LndLivr«s "aid Term \ at inftead 5 hundred Lambert id General will pay nd befides . and Con- ,fe granted the better' ie defire oil to contri- he Bale ot lend to the ' King King Twelve hundred Millions ofLiv- res at the Yearly Intereft of three per Ce99t. to be employed towards the reim- burfing and redeeming the perpetual Rents or Annuities, and other Debts afligned on the Aids and Gabells, the Tallies, the General Receipts of the Revenues, theComptrollingor Regi- ftring of Afts paffed by Notaries and Exploits, and on the Revenues of the PoftOmce, together with the Reimburfements of the Rents or Shares on the Farms, the State-Bills, Bills of the Common Cafh, and the Sums advanced for the OiBces al- ready fuppreffed or to be fupprefled, which are not, or Ihall not be afligned upon any one Fund in particular;^ That in order to enable the faid Com- pany to advance the faid Twelve hundred Millions of Livres, his Ma- jefty is defired to authorize and im- power the faid Company to borrow Twelve hundred Millions of Livres, for which they will deliver out Shares of Rents to the Bearer, to be paid by the faid Company, or Contrafts of Annuities or Rents at the yearly In- tereft of three fcr Cent, which ihall be advanced to them, and paid by F 2 the (5= ) the Cafliier of the Company, to bo- gin from the firft of January nexti, following the Order of the Numbers of the Shares and the Date of the Contrafts. That after the Company had furnifhed the Twelve Hundred Millions aforefaid , Commiffioners appointed by his Majefty for that purpofe, fhall make and deliver to the faid Company, one or more Con- trails of perpetual Rent at! three per Cent, fer Annun't ^ for the Sum of Twelve Hundred Millions of Livres aforefaid, which Rents fhall be ai- figned on the General Farms, to be- gin from the firft ofjanuarjij 1720. That tiierefore the faid Company fliall refervc, and keep in their own Hands the Annual Sum of Thirty Six Mil- lions of Livres for the Payment of the faid Rents or Annuities, du- ring the Term of the Nine Years of their Leafe, and after the Expiration thereof the Farmers of the General Farms, fliall be oblig'd, in cafe the Company does not renew and conti* nue their Leafe, to pay to the faid I;idia Company, the faid Thirty Six Millions of Livres every Year by Monthly Fayments, at the Rate of * Three (5? ) -..^- to bo- / next, jmbers of the impany undred flioners )r that liver to ire Con- hree per^ Sum of F Livres I be af- s, to be- ;, 1720. any Ihall n Hands Six Mil- 'ayment ies, du- ^ears of cpi ration General cafe the id conti- the faid iirty Six tear by Rate o( ' Three i < i i ft c c 6 i C ( t « c i Three Millions />^r Month: And laft- ly his Majefty is defired to be pleafed to grant the Continuation for Fifty Years of all the Privileges that have been granted to the faid Company, and of thofe granted to the feveral Companies that have been reunited to it. Whereupon the King in his Council, with the Advice of Monfieur the Duke of Orleans^ Regent, has accepted and accepts the Offers of the India, Company to his Majefty, &c, and in Confideration thereof has or- dained and ordains^ &c. The Arreft contains feven Articles, whereby all the Demands of the Company are granted , and their Privileges are continued for Fifty Years, which are to end on the firH of Ja^iaary 1770, upon Condition that the Company {hall fully pay all the Debts of the old Company, both in France and the Indies^ &€. It is not to be exprefs^d with what furprife , and even aftonifhment the World look'd on at thefe fteps of Mr. Larvs^ his Fame for an Enterprizing Man was now Eftablifh'd, and thole who had before run pretty much upon fk his I (54) m II his Crdit, and talk'd to his prejudice among the common People, began to fay now he was V»e habile homme^ and that he was capable of great things ; fcr the noife of this new Eafi-lndin Company fpread like a Clap of Thun- der far and wide, and People began to fee a new world of Profit attending it, the Eajlhdia Trade being carried on in Great-Britain and in Holland to fuch a magnitude and to fo much advantage, as we all know it to be done. All this while the on looking World regarded in their Calculations nothing but the Profits of Trade, and the Ad- vantages the Company might make by great Returns, having a Capital Stock, and a good Oeconomy in their Affairs, keeping their eyes upon the Number of Ships to be fent annually to the £/«/. Indies^ the Extent of their Colonies and Plantations in the Lotafiana and on theBanks;oftheik//jj^//'/>/. what Rents in time fhall accrue to the Stock, and what Annual Incoms the Company would receive, whereby they would be enabled to make Dividends propot- tion'd to 250 per Cent, upon their Sub- fcriptions as they were then advanced, not imagining what was yet behind. m But ( 55 ) But Mr. Laws J whofe Views lay another way, regarded all thefe things, only as they tended to raife a Fund of Credit at home, which was from the beginning the Point he aim'd at, lea- ving all other things to work their own way; not but the remoteft Profpefts concurred to anfwer the fame End, and a Complication of Advantages however remote, ferv'd to bring about the great Point, vtz. The making the Credit of the whole to rife beyond ima- gination, and fufBcient to anfwer all the great Things he had ftill in View. The Stock was now rifen to an ex- ceffive hight^ from 325 to 350 per Cent, and now was the Time for Mr. Lam to let the world fee what a Fund of Credit is able to do, and to make good the undoubted Maxim, That a Fund of Credit , is a Fund of Money ^ and able to make it felf equal to all the Money in the World f for now was the time to ftrike the blow, that Couf d^EcUty which ftiould forprize and afto- nifh the World, and which will for ever be fpoken of as an Aftion, that the World never heard of the like be- fore. lut 4 Nor WWWiWW awMi i W Jii ( 5« ) *1 iSTor did Mr. Laws 5i ing it out all at once, but fufter'd it to be difcoursM of gradually , That the vCompany was about to take tipon them the manage- ment of the King's Revenue ; in a few days after, for Mr. Laws never fufFerM the Town to be Mafter of his Mea- fures before they were ripe, but it had not been long fpokenof that the Com- pany would take upon them the ma- nagement of the Revenue, When at once, juft as before, an Arr^ft was pub- lifhed, DifTolving the Leafes of the General Farmers of the Revennue, tho' their Leafes had five Years to run, and veiling the whi&le CoUedion in the new Eaji'lndsa Company. As an Inducement to this, the Com- pany undertake to encreafe the pay- ment to the King, no iefs than four Millions a Year, a Sam too' Confidera- ble not to be Vallued : But at the end of this comes a Claufe, which none but fuch a Man as Mr. Laws could have ventur'd upon, a thmg Polierity will look back upon as a Romance, and which no Hiitory can give any thing like it, namely, the paying the King's' Debts, that is to fay, the Company to take upon th|m at once the Diicharging V alt ( 57 ) 1^11 the King's Debts upon whatfoever Doubtfpl Funds, upon whatever pre- carious Circumftances they ftoodjvvhat- ever Difcounrs they were at, all are to be transferred at once from the Royal Treafury, where they would never have been able to Difcharge them, to thcTreafuiy of the Company where they are to Be paid at Demand. , Two things make this Undertaking ^ Prodigy of Management, the like of which was never heard of before : 1. The King's Debts amounted to about Fifteen Hundred Mil- lions. 2. The Company had not any Fund of Money, or the Value of Money to pay them with. 6ut before I go on, I muft go back to theArrefts or Proclamations, Di« refting the Execution of this unparal- lei'd Contraft, which bymiftakeis al-^ ^•eady placed Page 49. but flionld have come in here. Here is fuch a blow ftruck, as the World never heard of before ; and in this ^very ftroke we may behold the i^ower of Credit, .and what ifbmertfe, Q Sru£tttres :i (58) Stru£lures ma) be buiU^ and Mr. Ldwi has \ built upon thi^ Angle foundation, by which he has reftor'd a Govern- ment overwhelmed with Debt and which was turn'd Bankrupt to the Peo- ple, and has delivered a Nation op- prefs*d with Taxes, in fuch a manner, and in fo fhort a time, that Pofteritv will never believe the relation ^ but will all look like a Fable or Romance in their Eyes. The Arret or Aft of the King's Coun- cil above mentionM , for the fettling this Point, tells us exprefly what the Company are to do, and ejtprefTes the Sum which they arc to lend the King for the doing it, {viz.) That they Ihould lend the King Twelve Hundred Millions of Livres at j fer Cent, and afterwards they added three Millions more, for the paying off all the piib- lick Debts, and ftriftly ties them down to fo punftual a Difcharge of thofe Debts, and of all the Sallaries of the Officers, &c. that it (hall Be wholly id the choice of the Perfons who are to bt paid, whether they Will accept of the Company's Bonds, or have their Rea- dy Mooey paid them. But the Arrets do not at all meddle with thd Method by by an fup rea givi lucl will one Cor that the I leav N leaft for f; vernj once Com] vanta as th the 1 3 Gove had V Iiad I ( viz. ons pe ket, t at lea Divide their S I '4' ^' * ition, iVcrn- : and cPco- n op- anner, fterity ut will ncc in >CoUri- fettling hat the ;ffes the le King at they undred nt. and ilVions [he pub- down f thofe of the holly in re tobt of the it Rea- Arrets Method by I I i'i :| -.1 ( 59 ) by which theCorpp^ny fliall raife fuch an Infinite oiafs of Money to pay, but fuppofcs f he Money fliall all be aclually ready in Cafli, in Specie to pay, only gives tlie Company Power to Borrow luch a Sum, that is to fay, if any orie will l(?nd it; for they do not oblige any one to Lend, much lefs to accept the Company's Security for the Debt ; for that would but have been exchanging the Government for the Company, and leaving the Debt ftill in being. Nor on the jther hand was here the leaft (^onfidcrition to the Company for fo great an Advantage to the Go- vernment, as that of clearing them at once of all the publick Debts ; had the Company refervM but the fmall ad- vantage of One/>^r Centt on thelntereft as they were empowered to Borrow, the 1200 Millions at 3 per Cent, had the Government paid ^ per Cent, which had been juft i per Cent. Gain, there had been then fome vifible Profit, ( viz. ) there had been Twelve Milli- ons per Annum in the Company's Poc- ket, to have enabled them, or help'd at leart, to make fome proportioned Dividends to the monftrous advance of their Stock. G 2 But ii i i i ii mii i . i M i fff^ («o) If^ ill But thejwhole Scene may be one con- tinued Prodigy, they feek no Advan- tage , they Demand no more than ThvQQ per Cent, and propofeto Borrow; if they want it, at Three per Cent, afting in every part of it upon the foundation of Publick Service, with- out Gain to themf?Jves. But neithrr is this all, for we fhall prefently fee them not only take no Surplus of Intereft, no Gain of Intereft more than ,they pay ; But we fhall fee the Credit rifing to an immenfe hight, and the Company growing Powerful by t'^2 Affillance of the Government, and the management of Mr. Laws their Direftor: I fay, we Ihall fee the fol- lowing Myfteries, or, indeed, Mira- cles, wrought in the compafs of a few Weeks, Things £.s incredible as the greateft Impoffibility in Nature could be thought to be; things which now they are done, they are as a Dream even to thofe tha,t fee them ; even the People who have the Money in their hands, and who has receiv'd their an- tient Debts, fo long given over, fo ef- fcdually defpai r'd of, they look amaz'd, and Coafider again and again, whether they arc awake or alleep, they handle it, («« ) le con- \dvari- 5 that! orrow; r Cent, on the with- \!Q (hall ake no Intereft [hall fee e hight, erfui by int, and vs their the fol- , Mira- >f a few as the e could ich now Dream ;ven the in their heir an- r, fo ef- amaz'd, whether \] handle it. itj weigh it, and roll it about, as if they would try whether it is really Gold or Air; whether there is no Magic, no Necromancy in it or not; and I am told of one to whom the Government owM Ten Thoufand Crowns, which he would have been glad to have fold for Two Thoufand five Hundred, be- ing an Arrear for Secret Service only, that caufed an Iron Cheft to be bought, and put the Money into it, then drove Ports into the Ground in his Cellar, ind chained the Iron Cheft down to the Stakes, then chainM it alfo to the "Wall, and Barricadoed the Doors and Window of the Cellar with Iron, and all for fear, not of Thieves ro Steal the Money, but for fear the Money, Cheft and all {hould fly away into the Air ; For he faid he could never believe it was Money- But to return to the Par- ticulars, which I fay have been done by this Company, fubfequent to this new Arret of paying the publicfc Debts: We have feen them fmce tnat do ftrange things indeed ! I. We have feen thiem bring the People to refufe payment, or de- cline payment of what they would Pi'' i M I ^ t, ( 61 ) WQuld before have givea h^lf the Debt to be fecurM of. 2* The State Bills that were befori^ little better than waft Paper, made worth 10 per Cent, and 20 per Cent, above Par. J. We have feen them Gain Thir- teen Hundred and Fifty Millions of Money in lefs than a Mouths time by felling the Air, and put' ting a real Value upon an ima- ginary value. 4. We have feen the King's Reve- nue augmented to Millions a year, by abating the Taxes co the People. y. We have feen the General Farms rais'd Four Millions a Year to the King , and yet twelve Millions a Year paid lefs by the People. 6. We have feen them Pay Fifteen Hundred Millions of Debt for theKing, without one Penny qf Money. 7. Laftly, We have feen a private Gentleman raife himfelf by the Dexterity of this Management, to be the greatcft Subjeft in the World j to hav9 all the Nobili- ty, («3 ) ty, the Princes, the Pliblick Minifters, and even the Go- vernment it felf at his beck, and ibove ^oo Coaches in a Morning at his Levee, himfelf Dehaving With all the Modefty and Hu- miUty imaginable ; not Elevated by his good Fortune, not Hur- ried or Difcompos'd by the application to fo much bufinefs, but Calm and Cool, always pre- fent to himfelf, anfwering brief- ly and pertinently to every new , Difcourfe, receiving Six or Se- ven Hundred Gentlemen in a Morning, difpatching every Bu- (inefs with a Readinefs inimi- jfnitable, perfectly Composed and ' Retir'd, and every Day produ- cing new Wonders in the great Affeir of the Publick which is upon his Hands. I return to the Stock, and the pro* ceeding of theCompany : As theAdvan- tagcs of Publick buflnefs thusflow'd in, the Credit of the Stock neceffarily Ad- vancM ; and we were fui prizM in Eftg-- Und to find that every Polt the Price ftarted up whole Hundreds in a Day, till 1 1 \\\ ■5 J I I? ^m\ M ("4) titl at length we faw the Stock up at Hooper Cent, tioo, and fince that td ao^o per Cent, Now was the Junflure of Mr. Laws to give the blow he had in View, the multitude of People who came every Hour to P arts y and run their Money into the Stock, made his Projed not Rational only but Natural, C viz. ) That they might enlarge the Capital Stock by Engrafting a farther Sub- Icription, and that the New Subfcribers might have Bncouragement to Sub- fcribc, they fhould be allowed to Subr fcribe at looo Livres each, Original Stock. Purfuant to this Re(bIution,an Arreft was publifhed, empowering the Com- pany to take new Subfcriptions upon the firft Foot of the Stock for 50 Mil- lions, the Subfcribers paying igogo Livres each ; and that I may explain it as I go, you are to underftand, that for the Ten Thoufand Livres, the Sub- fcribers has Credit in the Companies Books for one Action or Share, that i$ to fay, for One Hundred Livres Origi- nal Stock. This being the Cafe, it is cafie to Calculate what the Company's Gain by this It C«5) by this new Subfcription, but of that in its Place : In the mean, time it is to obferv'd, that fo eager were the People to throng in their Money into the Stock, that they were ready to tread one ano- ther to death to get to the Book?, and it was the greateft Favour in the world to be admitted ; fo that the Books were not only fiiPd up in about Six Hours, but if there had been room for Two Hundred MilUons, it would have been till'd upar '■he (ame time. No iooncr was the Subfcription de- Glared full, and no more hands to be taken, but thofe who could not get in their Money, falls to work wich thofe that had, and buy of them part of what they had fubfcribM, and this raisM the Price fo, that the new Stock rife immediately lOo per Cent, even the fame day that it was fubfcribM. As this had been closed with fo eager- ly, and with fo much ardour by the People, Mr. L.i)vs^ who knew very well how to make his Advantage of the Temper of the People, obtains a fe- cond Order for 50 Millions more, and in a Word had it iiUM with the fame cagernefs and forwardnefs as before, and after this a third of 50 Millions - H the ■ ii Mnmm it w mmrmm I" 1 i I a 66 ) the Arreft of thefe Subfcriptions are publick in our Papers, and will fhew fomething of the Proof of what I have affirm'd, of the forwardncfs of 5ub* fcribersj they are indeed too long to be Copied here, neither is it of great ufe to us to ilie the Form, which is only what is ufual in the Fublick Ads on like Occafions. It is now proper to Examine what Immenfe Gain accrues to the Company by thefe Subfcriptions, as alfo the Ori- ginal Stock as then Advanced : I begin with the Subfcriptions, which, as a- bove, were taken in at a looo Livres upon each loo Livres Original Stock, If then the Subfcription was for Fifty MillionsStock, at loo Livres each Sub- fcription, this advanced to a looo Li. vres, each Stock amounts to no lefs than 500 Millions of Livres ; fo that the Company receiving icoo Millions of Livres, for 50 Millions Original Stock, advance, and are clear Gainers by the Subfcription no lefs than 45^^o Millions of Livres, and this doubled by the fecond Subfcription of 50 Milli- ons make the Company's Gain amount to 900 Millions of Livres, and that to a third, it makes it 1350 Millions, Add («7) 3ns are 11 Ihew : I have of Sub* ig to be reat ufe is only s on like ne what ompany the Ori- I begin h, as a- o Livres Stock, for Fifty ach Sub- looo Li- no lefs fo that iMillions |Original Gainers lan 4^0 Idoubled lo Milli- I amount that to ns. Add Add to this, the firft Stock of the Company was much of it SubfcribM by the Government itfelf, by the King, by Mr, Laws as in the Company's Name, and being fold (ince at looo and Hooper Cent, has put, as I am credibly informed, ^bove 200 Millions into their Pockets ; befides what Mr. Laws is faid to have Gain'd for liis private Account. It will now be no longer a Wonder how, and with what Coin the Compa- ny fhould undertake to pay oif i^co Millions of Debt, or how they could begin to pay, as was the Cafe, Four Months before the appointed Time, for here is i J40 Millions Clearly gain'd, Tout d^une Coup^ at one blow, to go on upon the payment with whenever they pleas'd, befides what was to come; and no body then doubted but that Mr. Laws would fet up a thifti Subfcription ; but he found it convenient to ftop here for the prefent, and not only not to take a farther Subfcription, but to put that out of doubt, he obtained a pub- lick Arret declaring, that there fliould be no new Subfcriptions granted. But in this new Experiment Mr.L^jp^ found himfelf a little embarrafs'd, for H 2 there f ' I u si: ii ( 68 ) there being fuch a run for their New Subfcrip^'ions^ there were Confequcntly no Buyers, or fewer Buyers than be- fore for the Old Stopk, cvQiy one ha- ving, as we fay in EngUrjd^ a Penny for a new Shop; neither was this all, but as the new Subfcribcrs paid but ico Livres down upon their Subfcription, Uie reft being allowM to be paid in by equal payments in Nine Months, loo Livres per Month, it was with much pafe fubfcribM, bccaufe they paid, as above, but loo Livres for an AQion, whereas whoever bought an Old one, was obliged p pay lOoo Livres down, this carried away the Buyers from the old Stock ; but this likewife was not ail, for thofe who had a mind to fubfcribe to the New Stock, on purpofc to Sell out again, and Jobb them about, fold out the Old StQck, becaufe for two Old Attions, for \yhich when fold the Sel- ler receiv'd 2000 Livres, he might vvith that Money Subfcribe, or bqy Subfcriptions for 2c Shares or Actions in the New ; and jaying down the firil payment, get to f/^dnquAmpoixJireet^ the Exchange- A He) of l^aris^ and fel- ling them again at iico Livres each, put 2000 Livres in his Pocket, and be jail v^here he was. Tliefe (69 ) Thefe Things had their Influence upon the Old 6tock, and there being abundance wanted to Sell, and few to Buy, the Price fell at once, and indeed began to fall fo Confiderably , thit from 1250 it fell to 760, which was a threatning Article ; but Mi\ Laws gave a new Life to it all at once, for he per- ceiving ir, and knowing it would run too tail for him to ftop it if it w\is not taken in time, applied an immediate Remedy to it which could not fail to anfwer his end, this was to publifh, and fix it up at the Door of th^ i3ank, and at other publick places of the City, That the Company would take in all the Old Shares that any Man was willing to part with, at poo LivvQsper bhare. This was another Teftimony of the Mafterly Genius of Mr. Laws; for as foon as ever t?]is publication was made the Old Stock mounted again, and Sold Currently for 1050 and lojo or there- about, no body coming, or but few to fell them. Thus he warded pflP the blow: But this was one Reafon why he durft not venture to form any additional Sub- fcriptions, and a good Reafon too : But from It; ■ -U 1 1 1 1 ( I i C 70 ) from this time forward, the Stock is Grown up to a Prodigy of 2050 per Cem» It is true it has lunk a little on the approach of the tim<; of Payii-^at for the firft Three Months, which i 10 be paid in the firft of January , viz. joo Livres fer Share, and this for want of Money has funk the Stock to about 1850 ; but Mr. Law^ that never wants a Remedy for thefe Difeafes, imme- diately calls a meeting of the Directors, and agrees to declare a Dividend of Pro- fits to amount to 6 fer Cent, upon the Stock, which tho' it be a Triflle on the prefent advancM Price, yet was really Confiderable in it felf, and amounts to a very great Sum, no lefs than Six Mil- lions and upwards : However 'tis agreed that the Company have really gain'd near 100 Millions Extraordinary, by felling her own Subfcriptions, and buy- ing and felling her own Stock ; fo that they may very eafily Divide 20 per Cent. on the ift Stock,which would have been I per Cent, upon the prefent Advance; but of this hereafter. This is a brief Account of the prodigious Rife and Greatnefs of the Eafi. India Stock, and of its prefent State and Condition. it iJ: k is I per e on I'ont t- to viz, »vant bout /ants nme* ilors, ' Pro- n the >nthe really nts to c Mil- greed ain'd . by buy. that Cent. been ince ; brief and and ( 71 y It remains to give fome account of itsprogrefs, and the fleps Mr. L^iv is taking to eftabhfli the Trade which it has in View; for tho' indeed the Tra- ding part has been the leaft of Mr.L^jv's defign, yet as it is the Denominating quallity of theCompaqy, and they are called the Miffiffifpt and Eafi'Indfa Com- pany, he puQies this part alfo. The Proceeding of the MiffiJJifpi jpart, is partly feen in the Arret of the Council, mifplaced by miftake,P4^.3i, and which ought to have been placed here : Wherein the Bank gives, or ra- ther lends the Company 15 Millions in Bank- Bills, for fmall Sums to be Cur- rent in the Colony of LouifanU or Miffiffif^i^ ^nd partly in the multitude of People which are every Day all for Planting fent thither. As for the Eaft-lndU Trade, we find them launching out into a Prodigious Trade that way, and fending out about Twenty Ships with Soldiers and vafl Cargoes,to make Settlements, and place Faftories in the EaJl'Indies, and all the Twenty Ships to come Home Lodcn with things proper for the Trade they are upon. Thefe ( 72 ) Thcfe are great things it muft bd conteit, but as I have fiicl, thefe are not the chief end in View ; Mr. Ldw^s aims are at Popularity, and keeping up the Imaginary part which is raifccl to fuch a degree, as the Profit of Ten Eaft' Indict Trades could not fupp'ort, and which never can be fupported with- out fomething that can bring in a Pro- fit equal to j or 4 per Cent per Annum y upon the 2OO0per Cent, which it Hands advanc'd. To bring this to pafs, we find he does every thing, and the Government in his bchalt does every thing that can recommend them to the People, and particularly adtsof Generous Charity, Publick Spirited Muneficence, taking off the heavy Taxes upon the ordinary NecelTaries of Life andConvenience, by which the Poor, who are more Senfiblc of thofe things, are touch'd, and en- gage to Blefs both the Perfon and the Jndertakmg, Innumerable Projects are in his Head for publick good, he has already caufed all the Turnpikes and Tole-bars at the 'Entrance into the Streets of Paris to be r ikeii down ; an innumerable number qi CoUeclors and Officers, that teiz'd the i m C< or or Fri frei live befi isn Kin ^s 1 Pah nor Jike^ mad B Con Peb kind Jiool H from brim the the and ( 73 ) • fhc Poor for Money upon every Trifle that enter the City ot Parisj are dit inifled, the People pay nothing for Coals or Wood, or Turitto burn, Hay or Oats, or Straw for Horfes, tlefn prFifh, Fferbs or Garden ftuft', and Fruits or Wine to Drink ; all things go free into Paris^ fo that the Families Uvea fifth part cheaper than they did before ; the very Duty on Fifh, which is now abolilhecj, brought in to the King two Millions a Tear; but novy as the Rents of the Towh-Houfe of Paris are Reimburfed, and they have no more Annuities to pay, they hp.ve likewife no taxes to Levy, and all is made free. BeGdes thefe things, which are th'e Confcquence of paying thp publick Pebts, hehasnew Projefts of fo many kinds, that it would require a large Book to give an account of therti. He has undertaken ai New Canal, from the River Lojer to the Seine^ to bring more Water into the latter, by the River Lojffg^ arid anfwerable to the Canal de Briare^ fo to bring Vefl'els of large Burthens down thofe Rivers, and bring Wine and brandy, and all ^Iky Goods quite from Nafits in Bre- It, ■ t 74 ) Uigft, and frqm the Sea,as well as fropi Ilie Inland Country about Orleans. ^ He has lay'd a Scheme toKeduce the River Seif^e to a narrower Channel be^ tween Paris and Rt?/*^, that fo the Chan- gel may be t)eepea*d and kept Cilear, y which nieans Ships of gooa l/urthen Ihall come up even to Paris it felf, and to Rpa/jf Ships of 400 Tuns Burthen Ihall comefteely up to t^^e Town Key. He has defign'd' to make Roan the Capital of 2\\ France^ for Commerce, jjayigatipn and Manufatlures, all his %a^rlnilA^ and Mi$$fi Trade Ihall be parried on there, and the Magazines, Warehoufesand places for Publick Sales, IbaU be fixtand built there; and^s the 0ty of Roan- itfelf is not fufficient for the Nu iber of People that will be dra^a together by thefe things, aod by the >^ooUen Maiiufaftures and Silk Manufa£tures, uhich he deiigns to fettle there, He has projeft^d, as Fame reports, a New City on theother fide the Setm oyer againll: R^an^ and a Stone Bridge of a moll Magnificenr Strudure, and which muft be prodi. gious Strong, the AVater there being very deep and Rapid. This ^^^' (75) This TraQt would be ftr too fliort to five a full Schema, even of this ope efign, a thing p^ fuch a Magnitude as no Private Mart ever undertoqk, or any Stock lef diau that of a Prince or of a Nation accompUIhed^ But all thefc things ieem to me to he rather acnufemeots to alarm the World, and make tiic Company Famous among Forrcigutics, than that ^hey are %o b^ really Execiiced^ And they have their end, for Fo- reigners are amufed, and all the World feems to be running to Pansy the pro- digious Sums Strangers lay out in the Stock, and tht Numbers tha''^ come co Negotiate thc^e, has fi\[^d*Paris With Money and with People, and Copfe- quently with Trade ; and they tell us there is nothing to be feen but New Coaches, New Equipages, New Live- ries, and buying New Furniture; in- numerable Families having been En- rich*d by this furprizing advance of Stock; in a word, they write jfrom thence, that there are 1200 New CofiChes let up in Paris^ aod half a MiUion of People come to the City more than was there before, fo that no Lodg- ings are to be had ; and they Build New Is Houfcs i:: (76) Houfes and Streets in every Place \Vhere they have Roorii. ^ When I begun this Work, it was iiot poffible to imagine, but I mieht have given fome accdunt of the Ebb, as I have of the Flood of this Phantofmoy fori can call it yet no more, its fate Without queftion miift come ere long, fince there is no Foundation equal to ihe Strufture that now ftands upon it. . But the time is not yet, the little de- treafe, or fall which happened a few days ago, is ilot of the kind of that which miift blow up the Machine; but it ftop'd as above, by the appearance of an approaching Dividend of Profits ; But this cannot fupport it long, it muft fall at latt, and all I can fay of it at pre- fentcaabe only this, that when it comes Qreat will be the full of it. FIN 1 S. \Vhere t was might ;Ebb, ts fate long, ual to >n it. tie de- a few >f that Gy but arance Profits ; tmuft at pre- comes III I