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<DATE>2014-08-20</DATE>
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<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140626.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<STC T="C">R224250</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]64551608</BIBNO>
<VID>184727</VID>
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<DIV1 TYPE="proposal to Parliament">
<PB REF="1">
<HEAD>A Propo&s;al to the Parliament, Concerning the re&s;traint of the growing Mi&s;chief of Cheating:</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">By a Per&s;on that is a great &s;ufferer thereby, but yet more de&s;irous of the Publick Good, than of the Reparation of his Private Lo&s;&s;es, or Revenge of Injuries.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>My Lords and Gentlemen,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>YOur great Wi&s;dom mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily inform you, that Trade is the &s;trength of this Nation, and the Myne from whence the Trea&s;ure of this City &s;prings; and that Ju&s;tice and Hone&s;ty among men, is the <HI>Life</HI> of Trade, and <HI>&s;ecurity again&s;t Frauds</HI> the great encouragement thereunto: I do therefore humbly offer to your Con&s;ideration, whether the great abounding of Cheats among us be not an evident &s;igne of a defect of that &s;ecurity which is nece&s;&s;ary herein; and do not call upon you, who are the Repairers of our Brea|ches, to make the fence &s;tronger.</P>
<P>And Sirs, the great abounding of this &s;ort of men among us, and their many wicked practi&s;es to the ruine of thou&s;ands, and great di&s;couragement of Trade, is a thing &s;o notoriou&s;ly known, and the In&s;tances are &s;o numberle&s;s, that I &s;hall not divert your thoughts long from your bu&s;ine&s;s of a higher Nature and greater Con&s;equence, by rela|ting many &s;tories: only give me leave to mention Four, that in the &s;pace of one year (being a per&s;on of little bu|&s;ine&s;s, and a &s;mall trade) I my &s;elf have been concern'd in.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t, of three men that gave them&s;elves out as Security for Monies to &s;everal Scriveners in the City. One of them a man that had vi&s;ible to the world, between 5 and 600 <HI>l. per annum</HI> in good hou&s;es: A &s;econd drove a con|&s;iderable trade, and had Land both in Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion and Rever&s;ion: The third kept a great Brew-hou&s;e, and had &s;o good a Repute for hone&s;ty and E&s;tate among his Neighbours, that I have heard he was had in nomination for a Common-councel-man. The&s;e three took up, at the &s;ame time when I gave them Credit, 11 or 1200 <HI>l.</HI> upon their joynt Bonds; and are now all three broke, two of them cannot be heard of, the other takes &s;anctuary in the <HI>Temple:</HI> and a Statute of Bankrupt having been &s;ince executed upon them all three, it plainly appears that at the time they took up this 1200 <HI>l.</HI> (and would have had five times more if they could) they were 5000 <HI>l.</HI> wor&s;e than nought; whereby it is evident their taking up this money was perfect Robbery. The &s;econd, of one that having by pretences of ho|ne&s;ty and indu&s;try, married a Relation of a poor woman that u&s;ed my hou&s;e, made her an in&s;trument to my Wife to borrow money on a Mortgage of Land in the Country to put him in &s;tock to &s;et up his Trade, which in meer Charity (he being repre&s;ented for an indu&s;trious man) I lent him, whereas it appear'd afterward his writings were all forged, and I lo&s;t every peny of my money.</P>
<P>The third, of a Merchant that con&s;pired with a Trades-man that had broke before, that the &s;aid Trades-man &s;hould go buy &s;everal Commodities as a Country-Gentleman for friends in the Country, and have the Sellers unto this Mer|chant's hou&s;e to receive their money, pretending he had ordered money into the &s;aid Merchant's hands out of the Country to that purpo&s;e. When they came, they were had into the Merchant's Counting-hou&s;e, he &s;itting in great &s;tate: the Country-Gentleman de&s;ires him to pay the per&s;on he brought &s;o much money, for Commodities bought, out of what he received ye&s;terday for him out of the Country. The Merchant pretends a di&s;appointment by the Carriers falling &s;hort of money, and that he feared he would not pay it till next week: whereat the Gentleman fumes very much; de&s;ires the Merchant to depo&s;ite &s;o much money for &s;o &s;hort a time, and he &s;hould have money of him twice as long: which the Mer|chant (pretending great di&s;bur&s;ments at pre&s;ent) declines, but profers his Note at ten days, promi&s;ing withal, that if the Gentleman's money came to his hands next day, they &s;hould have it. The deluded Trades-men &s;eeing this Merchant live in a fair hou&s;e, and in a good port, venture to take his Note: but before the ten days be expired, my Merchant takes all his goods, and by night leaves his hou&s;e and his Creditors to &s;eek him and their money if they could tell where.</P>
<P>The fourth of a young man, whom I had known the whole time of his Apprenti&s;e&s;hip to be a diligent and labori|ous per&s;on, and in good Repute with his Ma&s;ter and all men: and afterwards I let him a conveniencie in my own hou&s;e for his work (which related to the Trade I drive) where he behaved him&s;elf &s;o well for two or three years, that he ob|tained the con&s;ent of an ingenious and vertuous young Gentlewoman of a good Family (who &s;ojourned with us) and of all her Relations, and marri'd her; and afterwards took a Shop and traded in a hopeful way, being (to all mens ap|prehen&s;ions) very indu&s;trious, and to his Wife mo&s;t loving; but being &s;ecretly wicked in heart (without any nece&s;&s;ity or provocation) he improves all this fair &s;how to get money to Intere&s;t of his own and Wives Relations, and money and goods of &s;everal other per&s;ons; and having gather'd all together, at a de&s;igned time &s;ends his Wife into the Country, promi&s;ing to come to her at a certain day; and gave out to all men, that he was going to her at the &s;ame day; but writes her word that extroardinary bu&s;ine&s;s falling out, he could not come to her until a week after; by which means &s;he thinking he had been at home, and his Family and Friends that he was with her, he had the opportunity of a whole weeks time to go with his Booty out of the reach of his Creditors, and cannot be heard of &s;ince.</P>
<P>The&s;e In&s;tances of &s;o many Cheats happening to &s;o incon&s;iderable a per&s;on, in &s;o &s;hort a time, may convince your Honours of the great abounding thereof in this City during your Conver&s;e, wherein (this giving occa&s;ion to the di|&s;cour&s;e) you will hear of &s;o many of the like nature, that they will even <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="MURP" EXTENT="1 letter">ire your patience; whereby I find many of my own acquaintance, and others that are men of Rea&s;on, &s;o far di&s;couraged, that they think leaving off all Trade, and living &s;paringly on what they have, for fear of being cheated of all.</P>
<P>Having thus repre&s;ented the State of this matter to your Honours, I do earne&s;tly be&s;eech your grave con&s;ideration, whether the Laws again&s;t this <HI>Villany,</HI> which are already E&s;tabli&s;hed among us, be not too milde for the Hainou&s;ne&s;s thereof; e&s;pecially being &s;o much exceeded in Severity by the Laws of other Nations about us: and if &s;o, I &s;hall pray to God to direct your hearts to the provi&s;ion of &s;uch &s;tricter Laws as may be effectual to redre&s;s this great Grievance. That for your fidelity to the tru&s;t repo&s;ed in you by tho&s;e you repre&s;ent, and for your wi&s;dome and indu&s;try in &s;erving your Generation in this and many other beneficial De&s;ignes, both we that are pre&s;ent, and the Generation to come, may (with &s;everence) ri&s;e up and call you Ble&s;&s;ed.</P>
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