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<DATE>2009-09-16</DATE>
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<NAME>Pip Willcox</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>proofed text and revised markup</ITEM>
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="1">
<HEAD>THE Ea&s;t-India TRADE.</HEAD>
<P>BEing a Jewel not enough to be valued, Or to &s;ay the lea&s;t can be &s;aid of it, not fit to be thrown away, has many Se&s;&s;ions of Parliament much troubled the Hou&s;e, occa&s;ioned by two Intere&s;ts, both &s;triving to get the &s;ame Thing; the one be|ing the Intere&s;t of the Old Company, the other being the Intere&s;t of many other Rich Men, who very fain would be a New. This to|gether with &s;ome Clau&s;es in the Old Company's Charter, which &s;ay, there &s;hall Three Years Notice be given, before that Charter &s;hould determine, &s;o puzled the Cau&s;e, that the whole was referred to the King; but before any thing was done by His Maje&s;ty in't, Pro|vidence &s;o ordered the Matter, that the Old Company's Charter by Act of Parliament became Null and Void; and the Prudence of Their Maje&s;ties thereupon &s;o ordered the Matter, that in the New Charter given them, there is (among other things) Power re&s;er|ved till <HI>Michaelmas</HI> 1694. to even Determine that Charter.</P>
<P>So that this Matter &s;eems to come plainly before the Hou&s;e to Ad|vi&s;e in't as they &s;hall &s;ee be&s;t: And if the Hou&s;e does not now &s;o Order the Matter, that the&s;e Mighty great Riches to be hoped from <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">he <HI>Indies,</HI> &s;o &s;trove for by &s;ome, may be given to all, according <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> their re&s;pective Intere&s;ts they have in the Lands and other Rents of this Kingdom, the Generations to come in every Pari&s;h of <HI>Eng|land,</HI> when they &s;hall come to know the Advantage they might have had by being concerned in this Trade, and find them&s;elves excluded from it, will &s;ay at the lea&s;t, there was an Opportunity &s;lipt; whereas if the Matter be but &s;o ordered, as that the Benefit of that Trade may in General as afore&s;aid accrew unto all, all mu&s;t be certainly plea&s;ed with it: Be&s;ides which, at this time it may po&s;&s;ibly further Advantage the Publick, in ca&s;e they Re&s;olve to rai&s;e the Tax on Land by way of a Pound Rate, by making the Land-Owners the more willing to let their E&s;tates be Taxed to the true Value, that &s;o they may accordingly be concerned in this Trade, which in few Years will make them Amends, if &s;ettled in &s;ome Method, like what
<PB N="2" REF="2">is herein after propo&s;ed, which being Printed la&s;t Year, is at the de&s;ire of &s;ome (who then &s;eemed to be plea&s;ed with it) reprinted in the very &s;ame words, as follows. To pre&s;erve the <HI>East-India</HI> Trade, in &s;uch &s;ort as to make it National truly for the good of the Pub|lick, and &s;o that the Landed Men of the Kingdom, who are mo&s;t burdened with Taxes, and are the only Per&s;ons can and will &s;uffer in their Rents and E&s;tates, unle&s;s concerned &s;ome way in Intere&s;t by the now intended Increa&s;e of this Mighty <HI>Ea&s;t-India</HI> Trade may not be prejudiced, but rather much Advantaged thereby, and without pay|ing down any thing for it.</P>
<DIV2 TYPE="proposal">
<HEAD>It's Propo&s;ed,</HEAD>
<P>That this Trade &s;hould be &s;ettled by Parliament, &s;o as to be car|ried on by a Joynt-Stock Exclu&s;ive to others, and under &s;uch Regu|lations as &s;hall be expre&s;s'd in the Act.</P>
<P>That this Trade &s;hould be Managed by a Number of Per&s;ons (le&s;s than Fifteen enough) to be cho&s;en by Parliament, to whom they &s;hould be accountable, and that upon Oath, when required.</P>
<P>That that Number of Per&s;ons &s;hall (by a common Seal) be Em|powered to take up Money at Intere&s;t, not exceeding 1400000<ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> for carrying on of this Trade, at &s;uch time, and in &s;uch proportions as &s;hall by them be found needful for it.</P>
<P>That the Money &s;o taken up and employed in this Trade, &s;hall always be liable to pay Principal and Intere&s;t to the Lenders thereof as the &s;ame becomes due, and be required. And,</P>
<P>That there may be no fear of borrowing Money enough to thus carry on well this New intended <HI>Ea&s;t-India</HI> Trade, <HI>'tis farther Pro|po&s;ed,</HI></P>
<P>That there &s;hould be &s;ettled for ever, one &s;ingle Months <HI>Tax</HI> in a Year, after the rate of 70000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> <HI>per Men&s;em,</HI> as a Fund to a perpetual <HI>Interest</HI> at 5 <HI>per Cent.</HI> of 1400000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> but not to be rai&s;ed but when found needful by the Per&s;ons appointed to Manage the <HI>Trade.</HI></P>
<P>So that be&s;ides the Money employed in this Trade, and the Profit of it, out of which the <HI>Intere&s;t</HI> of the Money to be Borrowed for the carrying it on, may be ea&s;ily paid, here will be Land Security as a perpetual Fund for the <HI>Intere&s;t</HI> &s;ettled, &s;o that &s;hould the <HI>Stock</HI> fail, the Lenders will be &s;ecure, which will give the Company &s;uch a Credit, they can never want <HI>Money</HI> at the lowe&s;t <HI>Interest</HI> that any where it can be had. And,</P>
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<P>Thus the Profits fir&s;t ari&s;ing, may go to clear the <HI>Money</HI> fir&s;t Borrowed, and after that is paid, to the Owners of Land in Pro|portion to their E&s;tates as Rated to this &s;ingle Months Tax; and to make this effectual, the whole Stock and its Proceed mu&s;t for ever remain &s;o fixed to the Land it &s;elf, that it &s;hall be in the Power of no Man to &s;ell the one, without &s;elling the other at all, and it may be hence hoped, that after the fir&s;t five or &s;ix years (without paying one Penny) the Landed-men of the Nation may have the whole Bene|fit of this great <HI>Ea&s;t-India</HI> Trade. And,</P>
<P>When any Dividend (after the Money borrowed to carry on the <HI>Trade</HI> is repay'd &s;hall be made of the Profits, it ought never to be under 15 <HI>per Cent.</HI> which (upon a Stock of 1400000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> to be kept always intire) amounts to 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 letter">0000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> and that at the rate of 70000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> <HI>per Men&s;em</HI> will be a ju&s;t three Months Tax, which on &s;uch Dividend (to yearly be hoped for) &s;hould be paid to the Sheriff of the County, and by him be &s;ent to each Divi&s;ion or Hundred of his County, and thence to each Pari&s;h, where the owner of Land will receive as much Money as his Land would be a&s;&s;e&s;t at for a three Months Tax, after the rate of 70000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> <HI>per Men&s;em</HI> on every &s;uch Dividend made. And this way of deviding will be very ea&s;ie and &s;afe. And,</P>
<P>This would make it National truly, and a great Advantage to all, and Landed Men only being therein concerned, and &s;uch a Fund of Security &s;etled, the Stock might at any time be ea&s;ily enlarged (if found needful) for the Publick Advantage and Profit; &s;o that 'twould quickly out-do all Companies that ever &s;et up in <HI>England,</HI> be a ge|neral Good, and to be never complained of, which any other (on a Stock rai&s;ed by Sub&s;criptions) will very &s;oon be, and by e&s;pecially &s;uch who may after have Money, they would gladly put into't, ha|ving not at the fir&s;t Sub&s;cribed to it.</P>
<P>To this it may and will be objected and &s;aid,</P>
<P>This is a matter of Trade, and be&s;t managed by Merchants who know one another, and &s;o are only able to chu&s;e fit Managers for it, who&s;e Intere&s;t in a Stock (to be rai&s;ed by Sub&s;criptions) will always oblige them to act the be&s;t they can for it; and Merchants being this way Excluded, where will you find able and hone&s;t Men to undertake it, that will mind and manage the Trade to the be&s;t ad|vantage, &s;o well as &s;uch Merchants would do that might have great Stocks them&s;elves in that Trade.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="answer">
<PB N="4" REF="3" MS="y">
<HEAD>An&s;wer,</HEAD>
<P><HI>Merchants</HI> are not &s;o Excluded, but that they may be cho&s;en for the <HI>Managers</HI> of it, and 'tis not to be doubted, but that the <HI>Parli|ament</HI> may choo&s;e as able and hone&s;t Men as Sub&s;cribers can, for a Committee to manage this Trade, and tho&s;e cho&s;en by <HI>Parliament,</HI> being made Accountable to it upon Oath, are likely to act as hone&s;t|ly at lea&s;t as a Committee cho&s;en by Sub&s;cribers will do for the gene|ral good of this Stock, to the be&s;t of their knowledge and skill, and 'tis fit they &s;hould have (be&s;ides a Sallery of two Cuinies Weekly) the &s;ame Encouragement &s;o to act for the good of the Stock, as if they them&s;elves had con&s;iderable Stocks in the Trade, all which may well thus be contrived.</P>
<P>Suppo&s;e the&s;e <HI>Managers</HI> are obliged to meet twice a Week certain, and oftner if needful to take care of this Stock, and that for &s;uch day of the two which they Per&s;onally appear, to have one Guiney paid them, in lieu of a Sallery of 100 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> yearly, but not to be paid, but only for the days they appear, which will make them more duly attend. And</P>
<P>That for every Dividend made (which 'tis hop'd may be yearly) of 15 <HI>per Cent.</HI> as afore&s;aid, that there &s;hould be paid two <HI>per Cent.</HI> for that Dividend, which as afore&s;aid &s;uppo&s;ing it to be 15 <HI>per Cent</HI> on a 1400000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> Stock, makes 210000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> and for &s;uch Dividend &s;up|po&s;ing 2 <HI>per Cent</HI> paid to the <HI>Managers,</HI> makes 4200 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> which if di|vided twixt fourteen <HI>Manygers,</HI> makes 300 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> each, and is equal ad|vantage to them, and will make them act full as well for the Common good, as if they had each 2000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> <HI>Stock</HI> in the Trade, and yet that advantage of 2 <HI>per Cent.</HI> for each Dividend (&s;uppo&s;ing 210000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR>  which is 15 <HI>per Cent.</HI> each year divided) together with a Sallery of 100 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> yearly for 14 <HI>Managers</HI> of it, amounts to but 2 <ABBR><HI>s.</HI></ABBR> in the 100 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> unle&s;s a Dividend made, and then but to yearly 5600 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR>  which is 8 <ABBR><HI>s.</HI></ABBR> in each 100 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> only on the whole Stock (&s;uppo&s;ed 1400000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR>) for taking this care of the Trade, which mo&s;t ea&s;ily will bear &s;uch a Charge.</P>
<P><HI>Other Objections no doubt may be made, and &s;o will by the Merchants, and &s;uch who&s;e Intere&s;t and Care is either to maintain the Old Company, or el&s;e by way of</HI> Sub&s;cription <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="OXF" EXTENT="1 word"> their own &s;akes to &s;et up a New, but tho&s;e and all other Objections may, 'tis hoped, be ea&s;ily An&s;wered when made, and Gentlemen are de&s;ired to take notice, that if this be not done now, it will be after this Se&s;&s;ions too late.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>December</HI> 29. 1693.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
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