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<DATE>2009-06-17</DATE>
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<NAME>Lauren Proux</NAME>
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<HEAD>BRIEF OBSERVATIONS UPON THE <HI>Pre&s;ent Di&s;tre&s;&s;es of the Publick.</HI> With &s;ome ACCOUNT of the Cau&s;es thereof, <HI>Viz.</HI> THE Corruptions in the Government.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Humbly Pre&s;ented to the Con&s;ideration of the Lords and Commons in Parliament A&s;&s;embled.</HEAD>
<BYLINE>By <HI>ROBERT CROSFEILD.</HI></BYLINE>
<P><HI>First,</HI> I Shall ob&s;erve to your Honours, the Prodigious and Immence &s;umms of Mony that have been Expended this War in about &s;even years, which I Conceive is more than has been Rais'd in many Ages pa&s;t, even down to the <HI>Norman</HI> Conque&s;t, all which, together with the Ill Management, has brought the Nation to &s;uch di&s;tre&s;s, by the great Decay and Ruine of Trade, and Univer&s;al Poverty of the middle &s;ort of people, That the poor are grown to &s;uch va&s;t Numbers, and do daily increa&s;e to &s;uch a degree, That if a &s;peedy &s;top be not put to our Grievances, they will in a manner ere long be ready to eat the re&s;t of the people up alive; And further, it is &s;ad to con&s;ider how a certain Cabal of Men, have made a prey of the publick all this War, for 'tis Demon&s;trable that a Moyety of what has been Expended this Reign, (had it been Committed to the Management of wi&s;e and faithful Men) might with Gods ble&s;&s;ing have given Laws to <HI>Europe,</HI> and long before this time, have brought our Enemies to a la&s;ting, honourable and well Grounded Peace. Whereas tho&s;e that have hitherto been Intru&s;ted, have Acted as if they were not willing to Con|quer our Enemies too &s;oon, but rather de&s;ired to turn the War into a Trade, and to &s;quee&s;e out even the very Marrow of the People to Inrich them&s;elves; for to our &s;hame be it &s;poken, the Enemy at this day &s;eems to be almo&s;t upon an equal Bal|lance with us, and the War as likely to Continue as ever.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> That whereas during this great Action, and the rai&s;ing &s;uch va&s;t &s;umms of Mony, there ought to have been the greate&s;t Care and Strictne&s;s Immaginable to have examin'd Accounts and Puni&s;h'd all Tardy Officers, the direct Contra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">y has
<PB N="2" REF="2">been practic'd, hardly any Accounts having been Regularly or &s;trictly Examin'd, Numerous, great and Notorious Frauds, and other Crimes pa&s;s'd over in &s;ilence, and tho&s;e that according to Oath and Duty, have di&s;cover'd and laid open any Mi&s;carri|ages in the Government, have been &s;hamefully oppre&s;s'd, Per&s;ecuted and Ruin'd, for the Incouragement of Offenders, and the Terrour of all hone&s;t Men, to avoid all Acts of Duty for the future. For,</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly,</HI> The pre&s;ent <HI>Navy-Board,</HI> has been publickly accus'd of horrible practi|es in wa&s;ting the publick Trea&s;ure: 1. By fraudulent Contracts. 2. By Countenan|cing, Incouraging, and Advocating va&s;t Embezelments of the<NOTE N="*" PLACE="foot">Among&s;t the various Naval Frauds, I &s;hall give the following In&s;tance. A certain worthy Citizen of <HI>London,</HI> di&s;cover'd a parcel of Hemp, going under the Name of Rakings or Flyings, which was &s;old as &s;uch by the Navy-board for <HI>16</HI> Tun, <HI>12</HI> Hundred weight, at thirty Shillings <HI>per</HI> Tun, amounting to <HI>24</HI> <ABBR>l.</ABBR> <HI>18</HI> <ABBR>s.</ABBR> being Goods, as they pretended, that were u&s;ele&s;s for the King's Service. But on the contrary, this per&s;on prov'd that the &s;aid Goods were, <HI>Bona Fide,</HI> the Bands and Ribbs of Hemp, and that In&s;tead of the above &s;aid &s;mall quantity, there was found about <HI>240</HI> Tun, <HI>70 or 80</HI> Tuns of which was actually deliver|ed, which the afore&s;aid Citizen prov'd upon Oath to the Navy-Board, and offer'd <HI>15</HI> <ABBR>l.</ABBR> a Tun for the &s;ame, but to no purpo&s;e, for the matter was stifled. And thus a great quantity of &s;erviceable Hemp was Em|bezelled and pretended to be &s;old under the Notion of Rakings or Flyings for only <HI>24</HI> <ABBR>l.</ABBR> <HI>18</HI> <ABBR>s.</ABBR> and then &s;old to the King again for good Hemp (as it really was) for about <HI>3000</HI> <ABBR>l.</ABBR>
<P>And this I can prove when requir'd, and I offer it as an In&s;tance of the Method of tho&s;e Gentlemens Defrauding their King and Country under the Head of Embezelments, that none may wonder how they <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"> their E&s;tates.</P></NOTE> Kings &s;tores. 3 By driving a Mi&s;terious and Diabolical Trade in the poor Saylors Tickets, which are generally &s;old at 10 or 12 &s;hillings in the pound lo&s;s, to a Cur&s;ed crew of Extorti|oners, kept up and Incourag'd by the <HI>Navy-Board,</HI> who ought to &s;uppre&s;s them, al&s;o thou&s;ands of poor Creatures are Robb'd of their Right, by the horrid Cu&s;toms of putting Queries and Runs upon the Saylors Pay, the blood of who&s;e peri&s;hing fa|milies does now cry aloud for Vengeance again&s;t the Nation, their dreadful Mi&s;eries having been hitherto di&s;regarded, tho often laid open in Print, and offered to be pro|ved.</P>
<P>By all which Cur&s;ed Practices the Commi&s;&s;ioners of the <HI>Navy,</HI> have gotten va&s;t E&s;tates: &s;ome of them, that were Clerks, and not worth Two Hundred Pounds at the Revolution, have openly and publickly laid out about Twenty Thou|&s;and Pound in purcha&s;es, be&s;ides the va&s;t &s;umms of Money lying by them: Whereas admitting they have been Commi&s;&s;ioners of the <HI>Navy</HI> &s;even years, their Salary at 500 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> <HI>per Annum,</HI> is but 3500 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> And for &s;uch Men to make &s;uch purcha&s;es, be&s;ides the Charge of Maintaining their Families, keeping their Coaches, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> I conceive is one clear Demon&s;tration of the publicks being Cheated. But further, &s;ome of the&s;e Gentlemen have been accus'd, of being di&s;af|fected to the Government, holding Con&s;tant and Private Con&s;ults with the Kings known Enemies, &s;uch as pay double Taxes. All which crimes and many more too long to in&s;ert, have mo&s;t part been prov'd before the Admiralty, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And the re&s;t laid before them and offer'd to be prov'd, but have all been qua&s;h'd in a &s;trange and unaccountable manner, and the <HI>Navy-Board</HI> hath Contrary to Law, Ju&s;tice, and the Intere&s;t of the Nation, been protected, and kept in their Employments, to this day; whereby they and all the Numerous Train of their &s;ubordinate offenders, have been Incourag'd in their Crimes, to the great Ruin of the King and Kingdom.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly,</HI> The Lords of the Admiralty (under who&s;e Jurisdiction the <HI>Navy-Board</HI> is) have been publickly accus'd for Stifling, Concealing, and Incouraging their Crimes, and Di&s;couraging and Ruining tho&s;e that laid them open; part of which has al&s;o been prov'd again&s;t their Lord&s;hips, and the re&s;t offer'd to be prov'd; But all has been &s;trangely qua&s;h'd, and their Lord&s;hips remain in Commi&s;&s;ion at this day, as if no Evil had been laid to their Charge.</P>
<P><HI>Fifthly,</HI> The pre&s;ent Commi&s;&s;ioners for Sick and Wounded, have been likewi&s;e accus'd by Mr. <HI>Ba&s;ton,</HI> one of their Clerks (who laid down his Employment) of horrible Crimes, of holding an unlawful Corre&s;pondence with the <HI>French</HI> all this War, to the betraying the Kings Councils, and al&s;o u&s;ing the <HI>French</HI> Pri&s;oners here in &s;o barbarous a manner, by cheating them of their Allowance of Victuals, <HI>&amp;c.</HI>
<PB N="3" REF="2">that thou&s;ands of our Poor <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Captives in <HI>France</HI> lo&s;t their Lives, and Peri&s;h'd through the Cruelty of the <HI>French,</HI> only by way of Reprizal; al&s;o they were ac|cus'd of Cheating the King in their Accounts, and u&s;ing the Sick and Wounded Seamen barbarou&s;ly in the Ho&s;pital at <HI>Plymouth,</HI> with other great Mi&s;carriages; all which was twice fully prov'd again&s;t them, almo&s;t two years &s;ince, in a Juditial Manner, by his Maje&s;ties &s;pecial order: 1. Before the Lords of the Admiralty, and 2. Before the Lords of the Council, and two Reports made of the truth thereof; and al&s;o the aforemention'd Crimes, have been a third time prov'd again&s;t them, before the late Commi&s;&s;ioners for &s;tating the publick Accounts, where &s;ome of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">heir Witne&s;&s;es appear'd to be Notoriou&s;ly perjur'd: And la&s;tly the &s;aid Mr. <HI>Ba&s;ton,</HI> at the opening the pre&s;ent Se&s;&s;ion of Parliament, Printed and Publi&s;h'd, his ca&s;e, (Containing only matter of fact) being a full Account of the Crimes three times prov'd again&s;t the &s;aid Commi&s;&s;ioners, all which i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> qua&s;h'd, and Law, and Ju&s;tice, &s;topt from taking place, and the &s;aid Commi&s;&s;ioner. <HI>Viat Armis,</HI> Incourag'd, &s;up|ported, upheld, and kept in their Employments to this Day.</P>
<P>AND now it may be con&s;idered, If the afore&s;aid Crimes had ever been call'd to &s;incere and hearty Examination, and any of tho&s;e per&s;ons puni&s;h'd in earne&s;t, that were found to be Criminal, then all the Corruption and Fraud in the Government might have been &s;oon laid open: For the <HI>horrible Cabal of the Nations De&s;troyers,</HI> would have been divided, and they would have Impeach'd and Accus'd one ano|ther, when they &s;aw the Government was re&s;olv'd to proceed again&s;t them in Ear|ne&s;t.</P>
<P>But on the contrary, all imaginable Care has been taken to hu&s;h up, and &s;tifle all manner of Crimes, by di&s;couraging, per&s;ecuting and Ruining &s;uch per&s;ons as have, according to Oath, and Duty, endeavour'd to lay them open; and al&s;o the wor&s;t, and mo&s;t abominable Criminals, Traitors to God and their Country, have been en|couraged, protected, and preferr'd; All which pernicious Examples have tended not only to confirm Tardy Officers in their Wicked Practices, but al&s;o to debauch tho&s;e few Hone&s;t Gentlemen that were left in publick Employments: For it is in Effect giving Publick Notice, with divers Evidences of woful Examples, That the way to keep an Employment, and get an E&s;tate, is to break the Law, betray ones Coun|try, and act all manner of Wickedne&s;s. And that on the contrary, to practice Ho|ne&s;ty, neither to Cheat King or Country, nor &s;uffer others to do it, without di&s;cover|ing the &s;ame, and to di&s;charge ones Duty faithfully, in all the Branches thereof, is the certain way to be utterly Ruin'd, Begger'd, and De&s;troy'd.</P>
<P>And now certainly, no Con&s;idering Man can be much &s;urpriz'd at the breaking out of the pre&s;ent Damnable and Helli&s;h Plot, to A&s;&s;a&s;&s;inate His Maje&s;ty's Sacred Per&s;on, and &s;ubvert the Government: But rather admire the wonderful Providence of God, that his Maje&s;ty has &s;at &s;afe in his Throne &s;o long, in regard &s;o great a Number of his known Enemies have been Thru&s;t into, and hitherto Kept in his Ser|vice: And how our King or Country can be &s;afe with &s;o few real Friends, and &s;o ma|ny and powerful Enemies both at home and abroad, is beyond my apprehen&s;ion to Conceive; Nay, 'tis Demon&s;trably plain, that our Enemies at home, By their Su|perlative Covetou&s;ne&s;s, Fraud, Pride, Negligence, Ignorance, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Have done us much more mi&s;chief than all the power of <HI>France</HI> this War; for the Cabal of our Enemies at home are &s;o Strong, and their Power &s;o Great, That his Maje&s;ties Royal Per&s;on with the Laws, E&s;tates, and Liberties, of his loving Subjects, &s;eems to be Be|&s;ieg'd and Surrounded by them, and to call aloud for your Honours A&s;&s;i&s;tance to Di&s;per&s;e this <HI>Wretched Crew,</HI> before they grow too &s;trong for the Parliament it &s;elf, Or till our wickedne&s;s &s;preads it &s;elf &s;o far, that all come to be Offenders, and &s;o our Crimes grow too Bulky to be ever Examin'd into at all, and reduce us to &s;uch a wretched Condition, as to verify the Words of the Poet <HI>Lucan,</HI> who &s;ays: <HI>Where all offend the Crimes unpuni&s;hable,</HI> And then our utter and final Ruin mu&s;t unavoida|bly follow.</P>
<P>God grant there may not be Cau&s;e to Record of this Nation in Ages to come, That notwith&s;tanding the wonderful Revolution that God wrought for them, and Re&s;cued them from Popery and Slavery; and notwith&s;tanding the great advantage of a Wi&s;e, Good, Valiant, and true Prote&s;tant King to Reign over them, and al&s;o the
<PB N="4" REF="3" MS="y">Immen&s;e Riches they po&s;&s;e&s;s'd, and all the other Advantages of the Strength, Num|ber, Courage and Bravery, of their Forces, by Sea and Land, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> all which was more than &s;ufficient to have &s;oon lower'd their Enemies, and brought them into &s;ubjection. Yet were they, by their own &s;ordid Covetou&s;ne&s;s, and Wickedne&s;s within them&s;elves, &s;hamefully brought to Beggery, Ruin and Slavery. I &s;ay, God grant we may not give our own Po&s;terity, and other Nations, this Cau&s;e to Cur&s;e and Contemn us.</P>
<P>The above Grievances have been publickly complain'd of, and offered to be pro|ved, for the&s;e &s;everal Years pa&s;s'd, as al&s;o laid open in Print the la&s;t Se&s;&s;ion, and this Se&s;&s;ion of Parliament, by me and others, tho hitherto qua&s;h'd or over-rul'd: And I having this Se&s;&s;ion of Parliament Exhibited a Petition and Articles in the Hou&s;e of Peers (where it is now depending) Complaining of the afore&s;aid Corruptions and Grievances; and having humbly pray'd in my &s;aid Petition, That the Matters therein contain'd may be brought to a Legal Hearing, I do again make the &s;ame Humble Reque&s;t in the behalf of my Country; (which has been, and is &s;orely Op|pre&s;s'd by the afore&s;aid Evil Practices;) and &s;hall think it my Duty to per&s;i&s;t in the &s;ame, until I be Legally heard, or Commanded by the Government to Cea&s;e: being able fully to prove whatever I have &s;et forth.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Clerkenwel-Clo&s;e,</HI> <DATE><HI>March</HI> 17. 1695/6.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Robert Crosfeild.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
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