Britannia languens: or, A discourse of trade shewing, that the present management of trade in England, is the true reason of the decay of our manufactures, and the late great fall of land-rents; and that the increase of trade, in the method it now stands in, must proportionably decay England. Wherein is particularly demonstrated, that the East-India Company, as now managed, has already near destroyed our trade in those parts, as well as that with Turky, and in short time must necessarily beggar the nation. Humbly offered to the consideration of this present Parliament.

SECT. XIII. (Book 13)

That a Considerable part of our late Treasure is exhausted: Application to our Publick and Private Revenues: Objections Answered, viz. The Plenty of Money to be let on Securities, Stores of Money in London, Stocks in Merchandize, the Over-weightiness of our Coin, &c.

AFter what hath been said, it may seem little requisite to enquire whether Mr. Fortrey Prophesied a-right, when he foretold the Exhausting of our Treasure.

If the Diffusive Body of the People be much Poorer than before, they have much less Trea∣sure than before; For Poverty is but the priva∣tion of Treasure. Now if the Question be whe∣ther the Nation be Poorer, it must be undenia∣ble from all those Badges of Poverty I have mentioned before, if any of those particular Men who find themselves at ease, are yet un∣willing to believe it, they may be further con∣vinced from the universal Cries of the People, (at least from the Land-holders, remaining Ma∣nufacturers, and their Dependants who make up the gross and stanch Body of the Nation) they remember when it was otherwise, when

there was a far greater plenty of Money in all our inferiour Cities, Corporations, and Villa∣ges; when our Farmers had their Rents before hand, and had Stocks for every Farm; when they and our Manufacturers got Estates, and when vast Taxes could be readily raised; and therefore are the most proper Judges of the odds, who feel the present Scarcity, and want of Money; they cannot conspire in a Falsity of this Nature, but in so general and near a Concern, The Voice of the People hath been taken to be like the Speech of God. Those that find their Stocks wasted, or much Contracted, their late Revenues sunk, their home-Com∣modities yield much less value, their labours in Manufactures turn to less Profit, or to none at all, the poor and their Maintenances vastly increased, the Nation involved in Debts, Mo∣ney very hard to be gotten or raised in the way of home-Trade, with other Common hardships, cannot be argued out of their Sen∣ses; Crede quod habes & habes, is no Logick in matters of Interest, but amongst Fools and Madmen; or let Men be never so good at per∣swading or believing, yet when their Estates and Stocks are thus sunk, they cannot answer the Publick Emergencies by Payment of as great Taxes as before.

I should not say more to prove our Natio∣nal Treasure is much diminished, (taking it

to be indisputable; and being sensible, that the over-labouring a Truth, may bring it in question) but having something to offer, by which (as it seems to me) some nearer Conje∣cture may be made of the Quantity of Mo∣ney thus exhausted, I shall present it to the Reader, desiring his Excuse, if he think it unnecessary.

So great was the Quantity of our late Harp and Cross Money, before the year (60) that according to the best Estimate I can make or meet with, it made about 10 or 15 per Cent. of our Common Money in tale in the Countrey, and more in London, which I do not take to be the meer Effect of our extraordinary Exports in Trade, for the years then last preceding, but partly of the Plate then lately Coined, and our Stocking Ireland; but more than either, from our far less yearly Imports of all kinds se∣veral years before 1660.

I must refer it to the Memory, or other In∣formation of the Reader, whether he can com∣ply with me in the aforesaid late quantity of our Harp and Cross Money; whatsoever it were, this Money being taken in to be recoined in the year (60) must, when recoined, produce the like Quantity of His Majestie's Coin; be∣sides which, according to the said Accompt in November (75) there had then been 2238997 l. more Coined since His Majestie's Restoration,

and since the said Accompt, there hath been yet more Coyned; which supposing to be but 600000 l. had the Money so Recoyned, and since Coyned with His now Majestie's Impressi∣on, continued in the Nation, and the new Mo∣ney under His Majestie's Impression, must have been much above Three Millions, I conceive near Four Millions; and then supposing we had Twelve Millions in the Nation, it would have been above 30 per Cent. of our currant Money in Tale; of more, were our whole Treasure less than Twelve Millions.

Whereas we see at this day, that the new Money of His now Majestie's Impression, does not amount to above 5 per Cent. of the currant Money in the Countrey, taking one Payment with another, (especially in such Counties as lye any thing remote from London) I think not so much.

'Tis true, that in London, where the Mint and Merchants are, there is some greater quan∣tity of new Money, and perhaps somewhat more of late than usually; because that by oc∣casion of the late Forreign Wars, we have had somewhat a better Vent for our English Cloths, and a greater Exportation of our Annual pro∣duce of Corn: But yet in London it does not make near 30 per Cent. taking one Payment with another; nor I conceive, more than equal the quantity of our late Harp and Cross Money.

Now if the Money in His now Majesties Im∣pression, be less in quantity than the Harp and Cross Money, it must follow, that notwith∣standing all the Money since Coyned, we have less Money in the Nation than we had in (59;) if our present new Coyn but equal the Harp and Cross Money, it follows, that we have now no more Money than in (59). And in ei∣ther Case, that as much of our new Coyn as amounts to the said whole 2238997 l. and all the other Money Coyned since November (75) is also Exported: For though we may still have some Coyn of each of the succeeding years since (59;) yet if all of it put together amounts to no more than the quantity of the Harp and Cross Money we had in (59,) our Stock of Treasure cannot be more than it was in (59:) if less, then our present Stock is less.

And if Millions of our new Money, Coyned since (59) be gone, as, I take it, 'tis evident they are; we may reasonably Collect that as much or more of our old Coyn, is also Exported (by the old Coyn, I mean such as was Coyned in the Reigns of King James and King Charles the First, and before) of which we had lately a mighty Store, almost all of it valuable and unclipped, especially the Gold, whereof we had an abundance commonly passing in home-Trade and Payments, there is no reason why these Coyns, being as valuable or more,

should not be as good a Commodity in Trade as the new.

And accordingly we may to our Comforts observe, that this late mighty Store of old Gold, is in a manner totally vanished, those few pieces which remain, being almost taken as Medals, never to be parted with.

If it be said that part of our old Gold is Coyned into Guinnies, this will not alter the Case, since our whole new Coyn is no more in proportion to the old, than before is noted.

So of our old Silver Coyn, there is very lit∣tle remaining, but what is much Clipped, or worn; and therefore not valuable for Expor∣tation. We have those yet alive who can re∣member what a flowing Treasure we had in all Parts of England, before we had any Harp and Cross Money, and are now sensible of the ge∣neral scarcity and Want of it.

This does let in a further Presumption, that our new Coyn is diminished to a much greater degree, than it appears to be: For, suppose we have now but a moiety of all the old Coyn we had in the year (59), 'Tis plain, that a moiety of the Harp and Cross Money (had it remained) would now hold the same propor∣tion to the old, as the whole did in (59), and so will a moiety of our new Coyned Money; and thus will it be in any lesser proportions.

If the new Coyn come to be less in propor∣tion to the old, than it was before, it is an in∣fallible evidence of the Diminution of our Trea∣sure, because the old Coyn could not increase; But if the new Coyn come to be more in pro∣portion to the old Coyn than before, this is no manner of Demonstration of the increase of Treasure, since the decrease of the old Coyn may produce this Odds.

Thus after the Consumption of our old Gold, we have more than Twenty Guinneys to one Broad Piece; but I think no body will press it as an Argument of more Gold in the Nation than we lately had; so having lost so great a part of our valuable old Silver Coyn, 'tis no Wonder if our new Silver Coyn seems so much as it doth, especially about London; perhaps it hath been a kind of Providence that we have had so much Clipt and worn Money; since otherwise we might have had as little old Silver, as we have old Gold; and might have been reduced to our present Store of new Silver Coyn, as we are to our Guinneys, which might have afforded a weighty Argument of the Increase of our Treasure.

Upon these Grounds, and upon the common Wants, Necessities, and Decays mentioned be∣fore, it may reasonably be concluded, That besides the loss of most of those Millions Coyned since His Majestie's Restauration,

we have lost many more Millions of the old Coyn in Silver and Gold; I shall leave the quantity to be computed by the indifferent Reader: Those who set out the said Accompt from the Mint, taking notice of the great con∣sumption of our Treasure by reason of its be∣ing Exported, did by the same Paper, then estimate it to be reduced to about four or five Millions, and by the Nature of that Ac∣compt, they seem no unfit Persons to make some competent Judgment of this Matter.

Whatsoever our Coyned Treasure was when this Accompt was made, 'twas plainly much less then, than it would have been, had none been Exported; and though it must be admit∣ted, that our late Exportation of our Annual Corn, and what other advantages we had dur∣ing the late War, may have somewhat helped us, yet we have reason to think it farther dimi∣nished now, especially considering our losses at Sea by the Dutch, and others, before we dis-en∣gaged from the late War, and since by the French and Algiers Pirates, and the mony late∣ly and daily exported by Papists departed hence; to which may be added what we must now further export by the expiration of the Irish Acts, and the dear buying of these goods we imported from France, already added to the former Overballance of our Importations.

Then let the Reader judg what we are to

hope for in our private and publick Revenues, I shall only endeavour to put him into a me∣thod of conjecturing, leaving the compute to his greater ingenuity and leisure. Suppose we have now 5, 6, or 7 Millions of Treasure in the Nation; let him consider how much of this must constantly lye in the hands of Traders to attend the payment of Customs, and the buy∣ing up of our vast importations; how much always is, and must be actually collected in Tax∣es, and either lies in the Exchequer, or in the hands of Officers; and how much does, and always will lye dead in Banks and other pri∣vate hands; and then, how much will at the same time (I say at the same time) be employed in the home-Markets to buy of the annual Pro∣duce of Lands; perhaps it will not be half of the Whole: Then recollecting that we have 29568000 Acres of Land in England, what Rent can they yield, one with the other. Ad∣mitting this whole Treasure at the same time stirring in the home-Markets, our whole Land-Revenues could not be much; all the help we have is, that we have many great wasts, which yielding little or nothing, a great quan∣tity of this floating money is applicable to the rest; and yet to our sorrow we have found that our Rents are mightily sunk, which hav∣ing not abated so much or speedily as was re∣quisite, our Yeomanry are generally impove∣rish't.

Then for our publick Revenue, 'tis as plain, it must be confined to the stock of Treasure be it greater or less. We have many who seem to resent the narrowness of his Majestie's Revenue and Supplies, and are ready to expostulate why they should not be equal to the French King's; let them consider what may possibly be paid out of our Land Revenues thus contracted, and constantly charged with the maintenance of our numerous poor; and besides, that the English having by the constitutions of the Go∣vernment an undoubted liberty and property, are accustomed to live well, and their Repre∣sentatives, being a part of themselves, in whose disposition it lies to give supplies or not, will have regard to their own and the peoples abili∣ties: should they give extravagantly it would be like Diego's Will, and must induce many of those sad consequences mentioned before; what then if we should be involved in any long Fo∣reign War, or obliged to any great extraordina∣ry publick Charge in time of Peace, whilst we remain under a consumptive Trade? which I intimate once more to shew the necessity of im∣proving our Trade.

I shall now answer some common Obje∣ctions.

The most usual is, That there is now as much money to be let on good Securities in England, as there are Securities, or rather more; from

whence some infer that there is as much, or more money than ever in England.

To this I answer, That on the contrary, it only proves the scarcity of Securities, and therein the poverty of the Nation; for perso∣nal Security for money being in a manner lost; all the floating money to be let out at interest is thrust upon Land-Securities; which (were they all good) would take off much less mo∣ney than was let out at interest when both Land and Personal Securities stood: But, as the National Poverty hath subverted Personal Se∣curity, so hath it crept into the Land; for mens estates are already so entangled with Debts, that there is not one Land-Security in twenty that is good, as dear experience hath now taught us, Then, the Securities being grown so scarce and narrow, 'tis no wonder that there is now as much money to be let out as there are Securities, and more. Thus if a man had 1000 l. in the Isle of Shetland, he would there hardly find any Security for it; which at this rate of arguing would prove the Isle of Shetland richer than the Isle of Great Britain.

And upon this occasion I shall add, That there is no possible way for restoring the Se∣curities and Credits of England, but by restoring its Riches; no Register can do it, at least com∣parable to the other; we may Register our

common Poverty, but nothing will make an ill man value his credit, or able to satisfie for a Cheat, but his own private wealth; nothing can make a man who is honestly inclined to do a foul thing, but Poverty and Necessity.

Another Objection, partly answered before, is, That there is still as much money in and about London, as ever; from whence they would ar∣gue as much money in the Nation as before.

I cannot admit this fact; if I did, the conse∣quence is lame and frivolous; however, because there hath been such a pother made about the money in London, I shall give some further ac∣count of it.

I agree that there are considerable quantities of money always lodging in and about London, in some particular hands: But the reason is, be∣cause the King's Revenue is paid in, and issued out, in and about London. There is also the Mint, and there do our principal Merchants live, who Trade with so much exported money or bullion, and keep money dead for the Cu∣stoms. This is also the great Port for Forreign Importations; and the Country Retailers, who buy them there and vend them to the people, must send up their money to London: Upon which and the like occasions, 'tis thought near half the money in England is in London: The more is the pity; it were much better for the Nation that there were more home-Manufacture,

with Forreign Stores of re-exportable Goods, and a less proportion of our money; and the rather because it stagnates for a time in the hands of Merchants, Banquers, and Scriveners; and facilitates the culling, melting, and expor∣tation. This being the great Sluce of our Trea∣sure will necessarily draw it from all parts, as long as we have any in the Nation.

These Stores of money in London must ra∣ther evidence the poverty of the people, who being over ballanced by the money drawn out for Importations and Taxes, and therefore in∣capable of answering those payments by Bills or Returns to London; very much of our Tax∣es have been sent up in Carts and Waggons, and our Country Retailers continually send up mo∣ney in specie by the Carriers; which must drein away that which remains, in a little time: Nor do those Stores of money much spread, or benefit the general body of Traders, even in London; who were never so poor or broke so fast (tho never so fine) as now. It is impos∣sible that the occasions, vanities, or the remain∣ing stock of the Kingdom can ever support such a prodigious Increase of Retailers and Shop-keepers as are in and about London, being near 100000 in number, when in Amsterdam there are not 5000.

Nor is it to be objected, That I have not com∣puted our present Stores of Merchandize or For∣reign

Effects as part of the National wealth.

First, because the present question is about the actual fruit and produce of a National Trade in new Treasure; and not about the quanti∣ty of our Stores of Merchandize or Forreign Ef∣fects.

'Tis true, That if a Nation whose Trade is truly regulated, hath a great Store-house of For∣reign Goods, as in Holland, or great Forreign ef∣fects, 'tis very possible and likely that these may produce new Treasure; and if they do, then is the National gain in Treasure to be computed, and not before.

For on the other side 'tis impossible (even in a Nation that hath a due ballance of Trade) that such Stores and Effects may produce no Treasure; for the Forreign Stores being re-ex∣ported may be lost by the perils of the Sea, or Seisures of Princes or Pirates: we may remem∣ber the late seisures of the English, by the French Capers; the like casualties do attend Forreign Effects, for which we may also remember when our Effects were seized in Spain.

But Secondly, Supposing none of those Ca∣sualties, yet (as a National Trade may be ma∣naged) these stores and Effects shall produce no new Treasure to the Nation; as when these Forreign Goods and Stores are, and must be spent at home; and the Forreign Effects are continually by Bills of Exchange, applied to

pay for those Forreign Goods; so if the Mer∣chants are sometimes forced to Import and Coyn some Forreign Bullion yearly, but yet Export it, or the like quantity of Money or Bullion, the Nation gets nothing; and if more Treasure be Exported than is yearly Imported, the Nation loses; in which Case the stock so imployed in Trade doth prejudice the wealth of the Nation; since in the Whole it makes up a monstrous Engin for the Bulgeing out of its Treasure; and that this hath been the Case of our English Trade, is plain enough.

Nor can the Forreign Stock in such a Con∣sumptive Trade be of any great value, since as some Effects are gotten by our Merchants in one Forreign Countrey, so are debts contract∣ed in another, as long as our Merchants can have credit; and then perhaps our Forreign debts may be near the value of our Forreign Effects, and probably more; or however, cannot be thought equal to our former stock in Trade, when we were not over ballanced.

There are yet other objectors, who admit∣ting much of our Treasure Exported, will ex∣cuse our Trade, and assign the cause of it in the over weightiness of our Coyn, and the un∣dervaluing it in our Forreign Bills of Ex∣change, &c.

These are old inconsiderate fancies, sufficient∣ly refuted before, yet I should be more parti∣cular

in it, had not Mr. Mun in his Book of Trade taken the pains to clear this and the like obje∣ctions by evident reason and instances, in six several Chapters, beginning at pa. 62. proving withal, that nothing but the Overballance of Trade can exhaust the National Treasure; to which therefore I refer the Reader.