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<DATE>2014-01-29</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140011.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A86362">
<STC T="W">H204</STC>
<STC T="C">R230063</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99895895</BIBNO>
<VID>153449</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1">
<P>THE <HI>PREVENTION</HI> of <HI>POVERTY;</HI> OR, NEW PROPOSALS HUMBLY OFFERED, FOR ENRICHING the NATION ADVANCING His Maje&s;ties REVENUE, AND Great Advantage both of the City of <HI>LONDON</HI> and COUNTRY, By Encrea&s;e of Trade from our own Manufactures, &s;et|ting all Poor People at Work, preventing unnece&s;&s;ary Law-Suits, re&s;training the In&s;olencies of Bayliffs, Ex|tortions of Goalers, promoting the Relief of di&s;tre&s;&s;ed Pri&s;oners, and &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of Beggars, Vagrants, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<Q LANG="lat">Saepe etiam e&s;t olitor verba opportuna locutus.</Q>
<Q>In all labour there is profit, but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury. <BIBL>Prov. 14.23.</BIBL></Q>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>H. H.</HI> in the Year 1677.</P>
</DIV1>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="2">
<PB N="3" REF="2">
<HEAD>THE PREVENTION of POVERTY, OR, NEW PROPOSALS Humbly offered for enriching the Nation, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></HEAD>
<P>'TIS a good Maxime, <HI>No Man ought to be wi&s;er than the Law;</HI> yet 'tis hop'd what tends to publique advantage, may with mode&s;ty, and due <HI>&s;ubmi&s;&s;ion</HI> to Authority, be offered to <HI>con&s;ideration,</HI> e&s;pecially in &s;uch Parti|culars not yet <HI>determined</HI> by Law, but additionally adapted to pre&s;ent Emergencies.</P>
<P N="1">1. The fir&s;t <HI>Riches</HI> of a Nation is the <HI>Multitude of its Inhabitants;</HI> The next Care, is by good <HI>Educati|on,</HI> and &s;trict Laws, to keep and enure them all to <HI>Labour, Frugality,</HI> and <HI>Indu&s;try;</HI>&mdash;I will not un|dertake, becau&s;e I fear 'tis but charming a deaf Ad|der, to per&s;wade &s;ome City Shop-keepers and ordina|ry Trade&s;men out of their fancy, <HI>That the more there are of their way of dealing</HI> (Caeteris paribus) <HI>the wor&s;e it is for them:</HI> But let them but look into the Sub|urbs
<PB N="4" REF="3">(if they never were in <HI>Holland</HI>) and examine whether it be not true, That where there are a Mul|titude of People, there the Con&s;umption is augment|ed, and every one makes bu&s;ine&s;s for his Neighbour; where there is be&s;t choice, flock mo&s;t Buyers. Since Wars, Pe&s;tilence, and e&s;pecially Plantations abroad, have much drain'd away our People, I &s;ubmit it whe|ther the prudence of the pre&s;ent, or after Ages, may not think an Act of Endenization convenient for encouragement of foreign Artificers, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> to coha|bit among&s;t us. This I am pretty confident, it will at pre&s;ent not be unnece&s;&s;ary to &s;uppre&s;s the numerous Swarms of Beggars and Vagrants which in all parts abound, to the va&s;t &s;candal, detriment, and danger of the Nation, notwith&s;tanding the whol&s;ome Sta|tutes heretofore made; to acutate and enliven which with execution, a competent reward for every Per|&s;on that &s;hall apprehend &s;uch &s;turdy Vagrant, and bring him, or her, to the Officer of the Pari&s;h, where taken, may perhaps not be unu&s;eful.</P>
<P N="2">2. When in any Nation Commodities are Imported to a greater value than what are Exported, Impove|ri&s;hment &s;eems unavoidable, for then our ready Money mu&s;t go out to even the Ballance; whence it appears a Kingdom may be in as much danger by a great Trade ill managed, as by too little; it &s;eems therefore propo&s;able that &s;pecial care be taken to im|prove Commodities of our own growth and Manu|facture, and re&s;train the bringing in of &s;uperfluities and unnece&s;&s;aries.</P>
<P N="3">3. Hence 'tis con&s;iderable, whether the va&s;t quanti|ty of Linen Cloth now purcha&s;ed abroad might not
<PB N="5" REF="3">be &s;pared, and a &s;ufficient &s;upply rai&s;ed at home, by encouraging the growth of Hemp, and Flax, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> which will not only rai&s;e the Rents of our Lands, but al&s;o continually &s;et at work thou&s;ands of idle hands (e&s;pecially of Women and Children, our greate&s;t burthen;) To which I know not why we may not add, The &s;paring (at lea&s;t in a great degree) of <HI>French</HI> Wine, by promoting Sider (altogether as plea&s;ant, and po&s;&s;ibly more whol&s;ome and agreeable to <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Bodies) in its &s;tead.</P>
<P N="4">4. To keep our Money from cro&s;&s;ing the Sea, I acknowledge there are excellent Laws provided, how well ob&s;erved I &s;hall not &s;ay, only add, That 'tis the opinion of many &s;ober and ob&s;erving Men, that the end will &s;carce ever be attained, unle&s;s it be made Mens <HI>Intere&s;t</HI> as well as <HI>Duty,</HI> not to Export it; To which purpo&s;e an Expedient was offered about two years &s;ince in Print, by <HI>R. Haynes</HI> of <HI>Sullington</HI> in <HI>Su&s;&s;ex:</HI> Printed for Major <HI>Brooks</HI> in <HI>Cornhill,</HI> lately de|cea&s;ed; To which I refer the inqui&s;itive.</P>
<P N="5">5. If &s;carcity of Money be objected as the grand hindrance of Trade among&s;t us, and cannot be &s;up|pl'yd by &s;uch Expedient, there want not means other|wi&s;e to rai&s;e credit that may an&s;wer that End: To this purpo&s;e the late <HI>Lumbard</HI> at <HI>Devon&s;hire-hou&s;e</HI> was Erected, and in pur&s;uance thereof, only alter|ing the Ve&s;ting of it in the Chamber of <HI>London,</HI> from private hands Propo&s;als have &s;ince been made.</P>
<P><Q>That the Chamber of <HI>London</HI> Erect an Office, with convenient Ware-hou&s;es and Storage for Goods of all &s;orts, furni&s;ht with Officers as well re&s;pon&s;ible in regard of E&s;tate, as skilful in valuing
<PB N="6" REF="4">and keeping &s;uch Commodities, and the Accounts thereof. Upon the bringing in of Goods into which Office, Bills of Credit may be advanc'd to two Thirds, three Fourths, or upwards, according to their Na|ture; And the &s;ame being apprais'd, mark'd, and a Bill of Sale Regi&s;tred for the Offices &s;ecurity; the Goods are entred Debtor, the Deliverer Creditor, who may have a Bill of Credit payable at &s;even Months, more or le&s;s, as the Goods are more or le&s;s peri&s;hable, allowing Three <HI>per Cent.</HI> which Credit he may (as his occa&s;ions require) write off to any that he is, or &s;hall be indebted unto; and has liberty at his plea&s;ure, to &s;ee and &s;ell &s;uch Goods; which being done, before removal, he &s;atisfies the Office: or if not redeem'd in the limited time, they are &s;old by Inch of Candle, and the over-plus re|turn'd, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Nor need I &s;pend time to &s;hew how the&s;e Bills of Credit may be transferr'd from one to another, and &s;erve to all intents, as well as Money, in con&s;iderable Commerce among&s;t us, none ha|ving rea&s;on to refu&s;e or di&s;tru&s;t &s;uch Security, &s;ince 'tis built upon a real <HI>Found</HI> depo&s;ited in &s;afe hands, as afore&s;aid.</Q></P>
<P>Many other le&s;&s;er Offices of the &s;ame nature might be &s;et up in every City, to furni&s;h the Poor with Cre|dit (or Money in &s;ome ca&s;es) on their Wares or Goods, whereby their ruine by uncon&s;cionable Bro|kers, Tally-men, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> would be prevented.</P>
<P N="6">6. 'Tis &s;ad to con&s;ider, what vexations Poor Peo|ple in the Suburbs of this City undergo, by means of unju&s;t and trivial Arre&s;ts; how many hundreds are thereby yearly ruined, and their Families brought
<PB N="7" REF="4">to Pari&s;h maintenance; which within the Franchi&s;e of <HI>London</HI> is avoided, by that excellent Court e&s;tabli&s;ht by King <HI>James P. M.</HI> de&s;ervedly call'd <HI>The Court of Con&s;cience;</HI> Judicatures of which kind might be as ea&s;ily Erected in the Suburbs, where they are more nece&s;&s;ary, by rea&s;on of greater Confluence there, of People mean and indigent.</P>
<P N="7">7. The whole Bu&s;ine&s;s of Arre&s;ts and Impri&s;on|ment for Debt (at lea&s;t by <HI>Capias</HI> before Judgment) de&s;erves Con&s;ideration, if not Regulation; This is certain, <HI>From the beginning it was not &s;o;</HI> Nor &s;hall I di&s;pute what our Ance&s;tors did to make <HI>Tru&s;ting Fools</HI> wi&s;e, or <HI>Ticking Knaves</HI> hone&s;t; However the pre&s;ent Cour&s;e &s;eems a little Incongruous.</P>
<P N="1">1. In <HI>Nature,</HI> con&s;equently in Law: Nothing be|ing di&s;trainable but what can &s;atisfie, which mu&s;t be an E&s;tate either in Land or Goods; for the Body is neither &s;aleable, nor eatable.</P>
<P N="2">2. In <HI>Di&s;cretion.</HI> The Creditor hereby di&s;abling the Debtor, renders his Debt more de&s;perate.</P>
<P N="3">3. In <HI>Rea&s;on</HI> of State. Depriving the Soveraign of his Subjects, who&s;e Bodies thus immured might otherwi&s;e be &s;erviceable in Peace or War.</P>
<P N="4">4. In <HI>Ju&s;tice</HI> and Con&s;cience. That a Man &s;hould be debarr'd of his Liberty (the greate&s;t Enjoyment temporal) on a &s;ugge&s;tion, before it be judicially prov'd that he is either Debtor or Tre&s;pa&s;&s;er; Expe|rience witne&s;&s;ing, that hardly one Arre&s;t in ten, but is either wholly cau&s;ele&s;s, for Spleen, Revenge, or &s;ome Incon&s;iderable Trifle.</P>
<P N="5">5. In <HI>Commerce.</HI> Spend-thrifts are allur'd to Rook|ings, and the tru&s;ting Dealer is but &s;moothered in
<PB N="8" REF="5">his own Feathers; For to pack off his Wares at any rate, he readily Books the loo&s;e Gallant beyond the reach of his Pur&s;e; and if his Fortune fall &s;hort, cur&s;es his confidence; and to <HI>eke</HI> out his revenge, takes forth a <HI>Capias</HI> for his Carca&s;s, which proves but throwing good Money after bad; for where one crawls out, twenty are &s;wallow'd up, or devoured by exce&s;&s;ive Fees, and debaucheries commonly incident to Goals.</P>
<P>In a word, If it be true (what not a few judicious and inqui&s;itive Men affirm) That there is more mo|ney &s;pent in <HI>England,</HI> in le&s;s than &s;even years &s;pace, among&s;t Bayliffs, Goalers, and <HI>Suits</HI> of Law, as would pay all the Debts in the Nation; If we may find a|bove <HI>fifty thou&s;and</HI> Per&s;ons con&s;tantly in Pri&s;on up|on Civil Actions, be&s;ides &s;hort Interlopers, and &s;uch as Death delivereth from the Imprudence (not to &s;ay Cruelty) of their Adver&s;aries; what recompence can the Kingdom have for its being depriv'd of &s;o many members? what confu&s;ion and mi&s;ery is there among&s;t &s;o many wretched Per&s;ons and their Fami|lies? How can our Country be without &s;tore of <HI>Beggars,</HI> Rogues, and Vagrants, till &s;o va&s;t an Incon|venience find a Remedy? And will it not be <HI>Pity</HI> (or rather &s;hame) if in one of the mo&s;t ingenious Nations in the World for Knowledge, Vertue, and Religion, the <HI>Expedient</HI> &s;hould be yet to <HI>&s;eek;</HI> or if found, not put in <HI>practi&s;e.</HI></P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="5">
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