The Dutch Interest Rates

6 minutes • 1108 words

The education of all children, even the poor.

They teach them writing and arithmetic and merchants accounts.

the well understanding and practice of which, does strangely infuse into most that are the owners of that quality, of either sex, not only an ability for commerce of all kinds, but a strong aptitude, love, and delight in it;

The women are as knowing therein as the men, it does encourage their husbands to hold on their trades to their dying days, knowing the capacity of their wives to get in their estates, and carry on their trades after their deaths:

Whereas if a merchant in England arrive at any considerable estate, he commonly withdraws his estate from trade, before he comes near the conﬁnes of old age; reckoning that if God should call him out of the world, while the main of his estate is engaged abroad in trade, he must lose one third of it, through the unexperience and unaptness of his wife to such aﬀairs; and so it usually falls out.

Arithmetic, like other parts of the mathematics, improves the rational faculties and inclines those that are expert in it to thriftiness and good husbandry. It prevents husbands and wives from running out of their estates, when they always remember what their expences amount to, and how soon by that course their ruin must overtake them.

The lowness of their customs, and the height of their excise, which is certainly the most equal and indiﬀerent tax in the world, and least prejudicial to any people, as might be made appear, were it the subject of this discourse.
The careful providing for, and employment of their poor, which it is easy to demonstrate can never be done in England comparatively to what it is with them, while it is left to the care of every parish to look after their own only.
Their use of banks, which are of so immense advantage to them, that some not without good grounds have estimated the proﬁt of them to the public, to amount to at least one million of pounds sterling per annum.
Their toleration of diﬀerent opinions in matters of religion: by reason of which many industrious people of other countries, that dissent from the established government of their churches, resort to them with their families and estates, and after a few years co-habitation with them, become of the same common interest.
Their law-merchant, by which all controversies between merchants and tradesmen are decided in three or four days time, and that not at the fortieth part, I might say in many cases not the hundredth part, of the charge they are with us.
The law that is in use among them for transferring of bills for debt from one man to another: this is of extraordinary advantage to them in their commerce; by means of which, they can turn their stocks twice or thrice in trade, for once that we can in England; because having sold our foreign goods here, we cannot buy again to advantage, till we are possest of our money; which perhaps, we shall be six, nine, or 12 months in recovering: and if what we sell be considerable, it is a good man’s work all the year to be following vintners and shopkeepers for money, whereas, were the law for transferring bills in practice with us, we could presently after sale of our goods, dispose of our bills, and close up our accounts, to do which, the advantage, ease, and accommodations it would be to trade, is so great, that none but merchants who have lived where that custom is in use, can value to its due proportion.
Their keeping up public registers of all lands and houses, sold or mortgaged, whereby many chargeable law-suits are prevented, and the securities of lands and houses rendred, such as we commonly call, real securities.
The lowness of interest of money.

In peacetime, it exceeds not 3% per annum. During this war with England, 4 not above 4% at most.

But the last is not so much as taken notice of by the most ingenious, to be any cause of the great increase of the riches and commerce of that people.

I shall focus on it.

The proﬁt that people have received, and any other may receive, by reducing the interest of money to a very low rate.

I think this is the main cause of the riches of the Dutch. If English interest rates were reduced to the same rate as the Dutch, it would in a short time render us as rich and considerable in trade as they now are.

Consequently, we will be of greater damage to them, and advantage to us.

To illustrate this, let us look at the state and condition of this kingdom, as to trade and riches, before any law on the interest of money.

In the beginning, the trade in England was inconsiderable. The merchants very mean and few.

Within 10 years, interest was brought down to 8%. There were more merchants worth 1,000 pounds or more on the exchange.

For about 20 years, interest has been at 6% despite our long civil wars, and the death of trade.

There are more men on the exchange now worth 10,000 pounds estates, than 1,000 pounds.

And if this be doubted, let us ask the aged, whether ﬁve hundred pounds portion with a daughter sixty years ago, were not esteemed a larger portion than two thousand pounds now: and whether gentlewomen in those days would not esteem themselves well cloathed in a serge gown, which a chamber-maid now will be ashamed to be seen in whether our citizens and middle sort of gentry now are not more rich in cloaths, plate, jewels, and houshold goods, &c. than the best sort of knights and gentry were in those days.

And whether our best sort of knights and gentry now do not exceed by much in those things the nobility of England sixty years past: many of whom then would not go to the price of a whole satten doublet; the embroiderer being yet living, who has assured me he has made many hundreds of them for the nobility with canvas backs.

Which way ever we take our measures, to me it seems evident, that since our ﬁrst abatement of interest, the riches and splendor of this kingdom is increased to above four, I might say above six, times so much as it was.

We have now almost 100 coaches for one we had formerly, we with ease can pay a greater tax now in one year, than our fore-fathers could in 20.