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<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
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<CHANGE>
<DATE>2013-02-08</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B130010.pdcc.</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
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<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B08543">
<STC T="W">B3869A</STC>
<STC T="C">R224295</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]64550982</BIBNO>
<VID>184380</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>To the Kings mo&s;t Excellent Maje&s;ty.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Dread Sovereign,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>HAving &s;een a Proclamation wherein your Maje&s;ty complains of the Injuries you receive in your Cu&s;toms, I could not withhold, but, as in duty bound, humbly pre&s;ent you with a few of tho&s;e malignant roots from whence they &s;pring, where|by Navigation and Trade are al&s;o much decayed, their lu&s;tre being much concerned in the well management of your Cu&s;toms: for tho&s;e whole&s;om Laws provided for the encrea&s;e of Navigation, and advance of Trade, are intru&s;ted in the &s;ame hands your Cu&s;toms are; &s;o that he that &s;hall be Ignorant, negligent, or corrupt in the one, cannot be under&s;tand|ing, faithful, and diligent in the other: Therefore it being of &s;o great concernment not only to your Maje&s;ties Receipt, but to the publique good, I humbly crave your Con&s;ideration in the premi&s;es following, wherein it will appear that the mo&s;t readie&s;t ways that can be invented for the ruine of your Cu&s;toms is now practi&s;ed.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, All Officers are left at liberty, without Bonds, Security, or Oath, given for the faithful Di&s;charge of that Tru&s;t impo&s;ed on them, which doth greatly encourage them to act their will and plea&s;ures towards your Revenues ruine, for their own benefit.</P>
<P>Secondly, As if this were not &s;ufficient to lead them to betray that Tru&s;t impo&s;ed on them, they are inforc'd by meer nece&s;&s;ity to fraudulent practices, their Salleries being reduced &s;o low, they cannot live upon it; &s;o that it is become a Proverb between the Merchant and Officer, <HI>Live, and let live:</HI> Which is, the Merchant and Officer to &s;hare your Maje&s;ties Revenue, &s;o far as they make it not publique to every eye.</P>
<P>Thirdly, To inforce them to make the quicker and greater &s;poil of your Maje&s;ties Receipt, their Places are made &s;o uncertain in the enjoyment of them, that let them be never &s;o able and faithful, a &s;landerous Accu&s;ation, laid by &s;uch as are either great, or in favor, outs them without audience, which inforces them to provide for the future, and, as the Proverb is, <HI>To make Hay while the Sun &s;hines.</HI></P>
<P>Fourthly, The number of &s;upernumerary Officers being great, and nece&s;&s;itated, will be &s;upplied by your Revenues ruine, which makes the &s;poil the greater.</P>
<P>Fifthly, Their be&s;towing Places by favor, without regard had to the per&s;ons, parts, and abilities fitting the place or no; by their care|le&s;ne&s;s herein great prejudice to your Receipt doth en&s;ue: For by the ignorance of one Officer there may be as much lo&s;s, as by the kna|very of another; your Cu&s;toms varying as the quality of Goods doth, and one commodity having various denominations, the one &s;ort &s;hall pay three or four times the duty of the other, and through the ignorance of an Officer, the be&s;t &s;hall pa&s;s under the wor&s;t deno|mination.</P>
<P>Sixthly, The cutting Ma&s;ters of Ships off in their Portage draweth an inconveniency upon your Tide&s;man: for formerly, upon the allowance all Ma&s;ters had for Portage, the Tide&s;man, who hath the whole charge of your Receipt aboard, and cannot &s;tir without prejudice to it, could aboard have commanded things nece&s;&s;ary and convenient, as his Diet, or the like; but now is inforc'd to comply with the Ma&s;ter, to do him &s;ome favor for what he receives.</P>
<P>The onely Per&s;ons that are by the&s;e practices di&s;couraged, and nece&s;&s;itated, are tho&s;e in whom the &s;ole Tru&s;t of the Income of your Revenue lieth; who are the two main props and pillars that keep up your Revenue, if faithful; if corrupt, lets it fall to the ground; which per&s;ons are onely two, your Land-Waiter, and Tide&s;man: For from the fir&s;t Entrance of any Ship or Ve&s;&s;el into any Port, until delivered, your whole Revenue, night and day, lieth under the Tide&s;mans charge; and what he doth faithfully pre&s;erve and keep, is to be delivered by your Land-Waiter, according to the true quantity and quality for which the Cu&s;tom is payd: If the Coa&s;t, which is mo&s;t &s;hamefully &s;leighted, were &s;ecured to conveigh your Receipt into the Ports, and your Tide&s;man and Land-Waiter but faithful and diligent, your Cu&s;toms would have a va&s;t improvement: but if nece&s;&s;ity and opportunity will make a Thief, it is impo&s;&s;ible your Officers can be hone&s;t, by what they are now, through di&s;couragements and nece&s;&s;ity, put upon.</P>
<P>NOw that your Maje&s;ty may have able, faithful, diligent Officers, which are the &s;upport of your Revenue; and that they may be &s;o pre&s;erved and kept, the&s;e following Propo&s;als I tender.</P>
<P>Let a Pardon fir&s;t be pa&s;t for all Offences hitherto committed; and the rea&s;on is, I be<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">ieve very few Officers, either in <HI>London,</HI> or the Out-Ports, but have, as I may &s;ay, &s;old them&s;elves to the Merchants: And if any Action hitherto they have done, the knowledge whereof will make them uncapable of their em|ployment, without a Pardon they mu&s;t be &s;laves for the future, not daring to be any other, for fear their former frauds and bribes be di&s;covered; therefore fir&s;t &s;et them free, and I doubt not but the&s;e following pre&s;erves them hone&s;t.</P>
<P>Fir&s;t, Let no Officer be emp<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">oyed in the Cu&s;toms, but what are bound in good Sums, with good Sureties, for the faithful Di&s;charge of their Duty; and he that &s;hall betray the tru&s;t on him impo&s;ed, to the prejudice of your Maje&s;ties Receipt, to forfeit his Bond, and lo&s;e his Place, never to be employed more; for the taking them in again, after once convicted, dot<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter"> but imbolden others to commit the like crimes.</P>
<P>Second<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">y, Let your Officers be allowed a &s;ufficient Sallery, if it be &s;omething extraordinary, more than a competency, your Maje&s;ty cannot better im|prove what you give, except the Merchant were &s;o hone&s;t he would freely pay his Cu&s;toms: But otherwi&s;e, if that it be advanced by your Officers faithful|ne&s;s and care, or &s;poiled by his negligence and corruption; to enco<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">rage them to the one, and prevent them in the other, is to allow them a &s;ufficient Sallery.</P>
<P>Thirdly, Let them have an a&s;&s;urance of the certain continuance of their Places, &s;o long as faithful; for the parting with under&s;tanding men, and taking in the ignorant, doth but &s;trengthen your Adver&s;aries, and weaken your Receipt: for none knows how better to deceive your Maje&s;ty, and help the Merchant, than tho&s;e that have &s;erved you.</P>
<P>Fourth<GAP DESC="illegible" EXTENT="1 letter">y, Let the number of Officers be le&s;&s;ened, who being nece&s;&s;itated, and not able to live, mu&s;t make the greater &s;poil: therefore let them be re|duced to as many as are needful; and the extraordinary charge your Maje&s;ty is put to with &s;upernumeraries will very much &s;upply the extraordinary charge of tho&s;e Officers nece&s;&s;ary.</P>
<P>Fifthly, That your Maje&s;ty may for the future have able Officers, let none be taken into your Cu&s;toms (I mean, below-&s;tairs) above a Tide&s;man; and in ca&s;e a Surveyors place be made voyd by death, or otherwi&s;e, let the elde&s;t Land-Waiter enjoy it; if a Land-Waiters place, the elde&s;t Tide&s;man: this fu|ture hopes of bettering their condition will be a &s;trong tye to keep them faithful; be&s;ides, by this means your Officers will be fitted with parts and abilities, not onely for the place they enjoy, but al&s;o to judge and in&s;truct tho&s;e beneath them; and it will the more deter them beneath from fraudulent practices, having them above them that have pa&s;t through their places, and under&s;tand their ways and opportunities.</P>
<P>Sixthly, Let Ma&s;ters of Ships have their former allowance for Portage, and the Mariners &s;omething, as your Maje&s;ty &s;hall think fit, according to the pro|portion of the Receipt of their Cargo; then &s;hall your Tide&s;man have no engagement lie upon him for tho&s;e things nece&s;&s;ary he receives, and the rugged Sailer will be more re&s;pective, and timerous in acting for the Merchant to your prejudice, for fear of lo&s;ing what is his own.</P>
<P>The&s;e things con&s;idered; Fir&s;t, A competent Livelihood; Secondly, An a&s;&s;urance of the certain continuance thereof; Thirdly, The future hopes of a bet|ter condition will undoubtedly make that man faithful, that hath either any &s;park of hone&s;ty, or common rea&s;on in him: But if there &s;hould be any &s;o fooli&s;h, as not to value the&s;e, which I think there is none but will; yet the forfeiture of his Bond, and the certain lo&s;s of his employment for ever, will undoubted|ly deter him from the breach of that Tru&s;t impo&s;ed on him.</P>
<P>Let but the&s;e Remedies be forthwith applied, and you will finde in this Vintage what a va&s;t improvement of your Cu&s;toms will be made hereby, and what a va&s;t &s;poil hath been made in your Revenue; to make which appear, this I propound, That there are many Ships gone for <HI>Burdeaux,</HI> and other places, for Wines this year, which came loaden home the la&s;t year; at their return let a &s;trict care be taken at the delivery of them, and by comparing la&s;t years Entries with this, it will be found, how &s;hamefully &s;hort they made out their Tunnage, be&s;ides the great quantities of Wine entred for Vinegar; Vinegar paying but 5. <HI>s. per</HI> Tun, and Wine 6. l. <HI>per</HI> Tun: To make this appear, if your Maje&s;ty think fit, I &s;hall u&s;e my weak endeavors, and give &s;atisfaction here|in: If then it &s;hall appear, that a va&s;t lo&s;s hath been in Goods of &s;uch bulk and danger in removing, what mu&s;t there be in fine Goods, and others, that are to be conveyed away with more ea&s;e and &s;afety.</P>
<P>I know not whether I am the fir&s;t in this Work, or no, but I judge I may, the number being &s;o few that under&s;tand it; and of tho&s;e that do, few but are benefited by the &s;poil of it, be&s;ides the di&s;couragements they &s;hall meet with that undertake it, their adver&s;aries being &s;o many and great; &s;o that, if not &s;up|ported by your Grace, it will &s;oon be &s;mothered, and the Author, or any other, for the future di&s;couraged. There are &s;everal other things practi&s;ed, which are very de&s;tructive to your Receipt, which at pre&s;ent, for fear I &s;hould be too prolix, I omit. Therefore I &s;hall add no further at pre&s;ent: But if the&s;e few lines, clad in a Ru&s;&s;et &s;tile, may finde acceptance with your Maje&s;ty, he &s;hall further enlarge him&s;elf, that is</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Your Maje&s;ties mo&s;t humble, faithful, and obedient Servant, <HI>RICHARD BOWER.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
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