A Proposal For Raising a Million on a Fund of Interest, By Setling one Hundred Thousand Pounds Yearly

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A PROPOSAL for Raising Two Millions on part of the Security must be used for Raising, as aforesaid, One Million: And yet the People in General, who are either to Advance (or be Paid with) this Money, will have the same Yearly Profit and Interest by it, and as much Security and Satisfaction (when well understood) as the other Proposal affords.

The way of doing it thus:

I. LEt One Hundred and Forty Thousand Pounds yearly, that is, the Nine Pence a Barrel Excise (agreed on all Hands to be one Hundred and Forty Thousand Pounds yearly) be settled for ever to pay the Interest of Two Millions and Three Hundred Thousand Pounds, at 6 per Cent. yearly, but redeemable by Parliament on repaying the Principal at any time after the War, supposing it cleared from the present Incumbrance, which may be paid off, as herein after express'd.

II. Let Officers on purpose, either in or of the Exchequer, or some other place as fit near the Exchange, be appointed to give out Bills with a running Interest on them of 6 per Cent. to whoever will take them for such Money as the King is to pay to any Man on any Account whatsoever, and at the same time and place, in Books to be purposely kept. Let Credit be given to the Person receiving such Bills for the Money for which those Bills were then given.

Let such Credit be made easie Assignable.

Let it be Enacted, That the King for his Custom, Excise, or for any other part of his Revenue, shall accept of such Bills and Credit in Payment, which will be no Inconvenience at all to the Crown, because on every occasion (as they were at first) they may be again paid out.

And let it be also Enacted, That Interest at 6 per Cent, shall be Yearly, Half-yearly, or Quarterly paid to whoever has the Possession of the Bills and Credit so given out for this Money.

And thus the whole Two Millions and Three Hundred Thousand Pounds may be disposed by the Crown, as occasion shall require; and when Merchants and others come to see (which they'll presently do) such a safe Credit and Ease, as this way of paying and receiving Money will give them in every Case, answering Ready Money it self, with this further Advantage, That whereas Money kept by them for any occasion (which sometimes happens many Months together) brings them no Profit, Money thus Put out is always Ready Money for every occasion, and yet brings them in 6 per Cent. Interest till the very Hour they use it: And for these Reasons, and the Reasons that follow, both Userers, Merchants and others will quickly be so fond of having thus Money in Bank, that in a very short time (as in Holland it is) 'twill come to be One or Two per Cent. better than Ready Money it self: And as aforesaid, the whole Two Millions (and the odd Money going to clear the Anticipation of what is owing now on the Nine Pence) will be ready Money to the King, and cost the Nation less by near 4 per Cent than 'twill by the other Proposal, and <3> be Honourable and Safe for the King and Kingdom, and to all that shall be in it concerned: And if instead of 6 per Cent. as proposed, it shall be thought reasonable, and be Enacted by Parliament, That a Currant Interest of 7 per Cent. yearly shall be Quarterly paid, for what Money soever there shall Credit be given in the Books to be kept for this Bank, in such case the Credit of this Bank will answer just as much Ready Money, as the Fund to be settled will at 6 or 7 per Cent. pay the Interest of, and to shew this will certainly do.

It cannot be denied, but that the King may at first Pay it all out as ready Money to whoever his Majesty has occasion to pay any Money to, who would be much more glad to take it than Tallies, to be struck upon any Tax or Revenue, not presently to come in, whatsoever: For when any Tallies are struck (if not on a Land Tax) they are Five per Cent. immediately worse than ready Money, because there is no way certain whereby the Person that has them can come to his Money, without hiring some Body to pay it him, at least till the Tally grows due, and must stay longer if the Money by that time be not come in to pay it; whereas the Man that takes this sort of Payment has not only as good Security, and as good Interest for his Money (as the Man that takes the Tally has) but also a way certain of turning it into Money by finding a way how to pay it as such to the King, which for a very small matter at any time may be easily found.

Now the great Objection to this is, A Supposition that the King will be paid his Revenue all in this Credit, and what shall he do with it in Case it should happen to be so?

Answer, The King may still Pay it out to others (on any occasion) as he did at the first; but'tisa great mistake to think that that supposed inconvenience can in any great measure happen in this Case For note,

As Usurers, when they have well placed out their Money at good Interest in the Hands of Persons that can pay it them again in a short time after 'tis called for, they will never call for it, but upon mighty Occasions; so here when the Money for which Credit is given in the Books of this Bank shall come to belong to Rich Men, (which in a very short time it will do) they seeing they have as good a Security, and as good Interest as the Government gives, besides a certain way how to come in to their Money at any time upon Urgent Occasion, they will chuse rather to have Money owing them this way than upon any other Security whatsoever, and will not part with such Credit in the said Bank to any of their Neighbours, without having something more given them than Principal and Interest for so doing, and this will be the Case of this Bank, the Credit of which, as aforesaid, will answer full as much ready Money as the Fund to be given will at Six or Seven per Cent. Pay Interest for, and Three Hundred Thousand Pounds of this Credit will doubtless be chearfully taken as payment by those who are to be paid in Four Years out of the Nine Pence, and so the Nine Pence will be clear to be presently setled (if the King and Parliament shall so please) for this Fund.

Now, as aforesaid, it must be agreed on all hands, That if the King will receive this Credit in Payment for his Revenue, 'twill answer all other ends whatsoever. And

The Objection (and only one more that seems to have weight) against the King's being obliged to receive back in payment of any <4> of his Revenues, this Credit so before by him paid out, raised by some much concerned in great Money Affairs, is this, say they, The King's Revenue is greatly Anticipated, and is (as it comes in) to be paid presently out in specie to those it is Due, who have already Tallies for it: And suppose the Revenue which is to pay them is paid to the King in this Credit; and that those to whom 'tis to be paid, will expect to be paid in hard Money, and will not be content with this Credit, what must be done in that Case?

Note, this is a Supposition only, and it may as well be supposed (for Reasons aforesaid) that by the time those Debts grow due, this Credit will, even in the Opinion of those to whom 'twill be due, come to be esteemed so much better than ready Money, that 'twill be chosen before it, and then the aforesaid Objection will be quite out of Doors; but supposing those to whom such Debts, as aforesaid, are due already by Tallies, should say, they would not (when their Debt becomes due) be content to be paid in this Credit; it cannot be supposed but that those very Men (unless out of their Wits, or in Crosness to strive to ruin this Bank) who have those Tallies, and must stay for payment till such Tallies are due, will be glad if (instead of such Tallies) they may be presently paid in this Credit; since the Objection they themselves make of the King's Revenue being Anticipated will be this way took off; and if so, they that instead of Tallies shall have this sort of Credit, will have a much easier way of coming in to their Money than when they only had remote Tallies for it; and the King being Capacitated presently to pay off those Anticipations by this sort of Credit, may without inconvenience do it, being instead thereof enabled to receive his Revenue so cleared, as it shall come in by it, or to engage it for ready Money to others again, if he wants it before it comes in, and if the worst comes to the worst that some of those that have Tallies will not take this Credit now, and resolve to refuse it, (as aforesaid out of Crosness) when their Tallies grow due, 'tis much unlikely there should be many such; and for those that are, the Lords of the Treasury may easily contrive to pay them in Money, having such Bills by them to turn into Money, or use to pay others for any other Occasions, who if this Credit were not in being, must be paid in Money, and who instead of Money will always be glad of such pay as this Credit will be.

And if (after all has been said) the Wisdom of Parliament shall fear in the least the thus Present Supplying the Wants of the Publick with Two Millions of Money at Six per Cent. as aforesaid, (it being taken for granted, that the Charge of the War (when ended) must be paid by the Nation) it may be Enacted, (if the King and Parliament please) that at the end of Seven Years a Tax of Two Shillings in the Pound for Two Years, or of Four Shillings in the Pound for one Year shall be laid upon Land to pay off the Principal, and so free the Kingdom from paying the Interest of it by the Nine Pence till that time secured, which done, and all Persons in such Credit concerned being thereby assured of a time certain when they may (if they will) see their Money in specie again, there will be no room left to doubt but that this sort of Credit will most certainly do, and answer Two Millions, if so setled by Parliament as above in this Paper Proposed.

January 29th. 1693.