Further Objections

I intended this work for some honourable and ingenious friends of the present parliament. They thought that its principles were strange. I expect others to find it strange as well until they spend some time in thinking on them.

These principles have a foundation in nature.

Sir William Petty observed in his last discourse, concerning taxes, “res nolent male administrare:” nature must and will have its course, the matter in England is prepared for an abatement of interest, and it cannot long be obstructed.

After the next abatement, whoever lives 40 years longer, shall see a second abatement. We shall never stand on even ground in trade with the Dutch, till interest be the same with us as it is with them.

His majesty was graciously pleased at the opening of the last session of this parliament, to propose to the consideration of both houses, the ballancing of the trade of the nation; to effect which, in my opinion, the abatement of interest is the first and principal engine which ought to be set on work, which notwithstanding,

I should not have presumed to expose to public censure, on my own single opinion, if I had not had the concurrences of much better judgments than my own; having never seen any thing in print for it, though much against it, until the latter end of January last; at which time, a friend whom I had often discoursed with upon this subject, met with by accident a small tract to the same purpose, wrote near fifty years ago, which he gave me, and I have, for the public good, thought fit to annex it hereunto verbatim.

The author of the said tract, by its stile, seems to have been a country gentleman, and my education has mostly been that of a merchant, so I hope, that going together, they may in some measure, supply the defect of each other.

Another reason that induced me to the printing of them together, is, because what he wrote then, would be the consequence of the abatement of interest from  to  per cent. I have, I think, fully proved to the conviction of all men not wilfully blind, they have been the real effects of it, and that to a greater proportion than he did promise; every paragraph of which is written by me, and copies of it delivered to several worthy mem- bers of this parliament, many months before ever I saw or heard of this, or any thing else written or printed to the like purpose.

What I have aimed at in the whole, is the good of my native country, otherwise I had not busied my self about it; for I want not employment sufficient of my own, nor have reason to be out of love with that I have.

The several particulars in the beginning of this treatise, relating to trade, I have only hinted in general terms; hoping that some abler pen will hereafter be incited for the service of his king and country, to enlarge more particularly upon them.

My treatise has one objection.

Object 1. The lowness of interest of money in Holland, is not the effect of the laws. It comes only from their abundance of coin

In Holland, there is no law limiting the rate of usury.

I answer that Holland has no law to limit usury to the present rate it is now.

Many years since, there was a law that did limit it to  or  at most: and by consequence, there would be a renewing of that law to a lesser rate, were it necessary at this time; it having always been the policy of that people to keep down the interest of their money,  or  per cent. under the rate of what is usually paid in their neighbouring countries, which, being now naturally done, it is needless to use the artificial stratagem of a law to establish.A New Discourse  Answ. . Although they have no law expresly limiting interest at pres- ent, yet they have other laws which we cannot yet arrive to, and those do effect the same thing among them, and would do the like among us, if we could have them: one of which, is their ascertaining real securities by their public registers: for we see evidently, money is not so much want- ing in England as securities, which men account infallible; a remarkable instance of which is, the east-India company, who can and do take up what money they please, for  per cent. at any time. Another law is, their constitutions of Banks and Lumbards, whereby private persons that have but tolerable credit may be supplied at easy rates from the state.

A third, and very considerable one, is, their law for transferring bills of debt, mentioned in the beginning of this discourse.

A fourth, which is a custom, and in effect may be here to our purpose accounted as a law, is the extraordinary frugality used in all their public affirs, which in their greatest extremities have been such, as not to com- pel them to give above four per cent for the loan of money. Whereas it is said, his majesty in some cases of exigency, when the national supplies have not come in to answer the present emergencies of affairs, has been enforced to give above the usual rates to goldsmiths; and that encouraged them to take up great sums from private persons at the full rate of  per cent. whereas formerly they usually gave but  per cent.

Otherwise, in human probability money would have fallen of itself to  per cent. But again, to conclude, every nation does proceed according to the pe- culiar methods of their own in the transactions of their public affairs and law-making:

In Britain, it has always been the custom to reduce the rate of interest by a law, when nature had prepared the matter fit for such an alteration, as now I say it has.

By a law it was reduced from an unlimited rate, to ; and afterwards from  to ; and after that from  to . And through the blessing of almighty God, this kingdom has found, as I think I have fully proved, and every man’s experience will witness, prodigious success and advantage thereby. And I doubt not, through the like blessing of God almighty, but this generation will find the like great and good effects, by the reduction of it from  to , which is now at the birth. And that the next generation will yet see far greater advantages by bringing it from  to  per cent.