THE distress and perplexity attend­ing the Trade of the Province in general, but more especially this Town, in which is carried on so much Business, is now become the common talk of all People: and if something be not done to supply the Place with a Medium to pass from man to man in the way of Com­merce, in a little time the Trade will be all a Bartar, or exchanging one Commodity for another, and it is easy to foresee the vast In­conveniencies and Mischiefs such a Trade will be attended with. Men will live by preying upon one another; like the Fish in the Sea, the greater will devour the less; the whole Trade will get into a few Hands in a short time, and the middling sort of People who are the chief Support of any Place, will soon come (many of 'em) to Poverty, and instead of Supporting Church and State, will become a burden to both. It will appear very plain to any who will but look back a few Years, that our Province Bills issued out by the Government from time to time, have been very servicable to the Trade, & have kept it alive, & saved many Families from Ruine; whilst others by their Industry, & by the help of that Medium (how contemptuously soever they may now talk of it) have arrived to very [Page 3] considerable Estates, such as never were known in this Country before it was projected. But now His Excellency the GOVERNOUR is forbid to Emit any more Bills except for the bare Support of the Government from year to year, and that to be drawn in again in a very short time by a Tax, that it can be little or no Service to the Trade; and there being no prospect of our having a Silver Medium to pass among us, and it being impossible for the People to subsist without some sort of Money, if it were only to purchase the Ne­cessaries of Life from day to day; surely it is high time for us to contrive something to answer the Ends of Money: Several ways have been proposed to bring in Silver, but all Attempts that way have proved fruitless, and thro' the diversity of Opinions in men, none of those Schemes have yet been put in practice: All Men seem to be agreed in the main Point; that something ought to be done speedily, but the way how, is the grand Question before us.

Well then, if this be the Case, none surely will blame any Man, who endeavours to save his Country from the Ruine which threatens it; for be his Performance never so weak, Charity obliges [...]s to cast a vail on the Im­perfections of others, and to put the most favourable Constructions on their Actions. I am not insensible that what I am about to propose, will meet with Opposition from, and perhaps be Ridiculed by some, who [Page 4] are out of Trade, and so don't feel the want of Money so much as others: But Mer­chants & Traders who are daily complain­ing of the Difficulties they meet with to carry on their Affairs, are the Men, who I hope and expect will countenance & en­courage this Projection, if they think the thing practicable; if not, I shall never think the worse of any man for differing from me in opinion, provided he who disapproves hereof, do but project something else to ans­wer the End proposed. I confess, I think we do not act like rational Creatures, to lye down & dye, when the means is in our own hands to save our selves and our Posterity from Ruine. And therefore I have adven­tured to make the following Proposal, and leave it to the Consideration of my Friends and Neighbours, being firmly perswaded, that all Essays made to bring in Silver suffi­cient to answer the Ends of a Medium of Exchange, will prove ineffectual; and that we shall never have Silver pass again in Pay­ments, until by going more into Manufactures among our selves, we come to live more In­dependant of others; and that must be the Work of succeeding Generations. I would then propose as followeth, Viz.

1. That a Number of Merchants & Tra­ders, enter into Copartnership for the Issuing out Bills or Notes to circulate in lieu of Mo­ney as a Medium of Exchange, & oblige them­selves to give the same Credit to the said Bills [Page 5] or Notes, as they now do to the Bills Issued out by the Government.

2. In order to gain the said Notes Credit with others, what if the Partners concerned should oblige themselves not to deal with or buy of any (no more than was absolutely necessary) who will not accept the said Bills or Notes in Payment on equal terms with the Province Bills? This will doubtless gain the Bills a Universal Credit, and make 'em as Current as the Province Bills in a very short time: For if but One Hundred Men of Trade, and any considerable Business in this Town, should engage in such a manner, it is impossi­ble for any Man in the Place to carry on his Affairs without being concerned with some of those Partners.

3. That the Medium so issued out be im­proved at Interest and no otherways. This hath been formerly objected against a pri­vate Bank, that the Bankers will monopolize particular Commodities, and so hurt their Neighbours in their Trade; tho' I confess I never could see any weight in that Argument: but by this Article I think that Objection is answered.

4. That no Money or Bills be let out by the Bank but on a sufficient Security. Now nothing can be safer than a Land Security: The Earth endures for ever: all other things are more uncertain, more liable to casualties and accidents: And indeed had we Gold and Silver among us, which we have not, [Page 6] there would be more danger of their falling in value, than there is of our Lands falling in value: But had we Gold & Silver, there would not be occasion for a Land Bank, or any other at present; but it is the want of such a Medium, obliges us to this Method; and no doubt whoever are the Directors and Managers, will take care the Lands which are put in for Securities are not over-valued.

5. That for the ease & safety of Trade, and to prevent Counterfeits, People may keep their Cash at the Bank, & may have Cre­dit in the Books, for what they leave there, and so may draw Notes on the Bank for whatever is due to them, payable on demand, to whomsoever they are Indebted. And cer­tainly nothing can be so short; easy, and safe, as this way of Negotiating Payments by the Bank; & this makes all the World fond of them: (for 1.) If a man hath Stock in the Bank, he may Sell and Transfer his Stock to his Creditor, and buy again of o­thers who want to Sell, whenever he is mind­ed to be concerned; for this will soon be­come as common as to Buy and Sell any Merchandize. (2.) If a man receive a Note of hand from his Debtor, payable in two or three Months, if his present occasions call for the Money, it is but going to the Bank and Indorsing his Note, and they will let him have the Money, allowing the Discount, and when it becomes due, they will send the Note to the Drawer and receive it; if he [Page 7] refuse to pay it, it is carried to the Indorser, and he pays it; what a mighty advantage and conveniency is here. The Drawer hath paid his Debt to his Creditor, the present oc­casions of him who received the Note is ans­wered; the Bank gains the Interest of the Mo­ney, & is safe, having both the Drawer and Indorser of the Note for Security, it shortens Credit, makes every body easy, and who that hath such a Note, would not allow the Interest of the Money to have the improve­ment thereof; and thus it will be with res­pect to foreign Bills; as soon as a man hath got his Bill accepted, if he wants the Money, he will go & leave it Indorst with the Bank, and take his Money, allowing the Discount, and he may have his Money to answer his present occasions. (3.) It will be a means to shorten Credit, which is a burthen the Trade at present groans under, & which will ever attend a Truck Trade: Men are kept out of their Money unreasonably; the pre­tence in the mouths of every body being, there is no Money stirring, and by this pre­tence they weary out their Creditors, and even oblige them to draw Notes on them to their great disadvantage; and this puts it in the power, and I wish their Debtors do not too often make use of such opportunities to opress their Neighbours in their payments; but this Method of a Bank will take away that pretence, and it will soon appear who trade with their own, and who with the E­states [Page 8] of others. (4.) By a mans keeping his Cash at the Bank, he saves the Risque of Fire and Thieves, and yet it is as ready to answer his occasions, as if it were in his own house; this is a common Custom in London, if a man be going a Journey into the Country but for a fortnight, he will carry his Cash to the Bank, and take a Receipt for it, accounting it safer than in his own House, & a [...] [...]eady to answer his occasions. (5.) If a man be bound a Voyage to Sea, and have Money he don't improve with him, he can't leave it no where so safe as in the Bank, he may at his Return receive it at a days warn­ing, or if he send an Order for it from abroad, at will be always ready on demand; where­as if he leave it in the hands of private per­sons, he may meet with many lets and hin­drances in his way to obtain it, either by the death of the person he left it with, or by their having met with Misfortunes, and being thereby rendred uncapable to pay.

6. That what losses may happen by ill people counterfeiting the Bills or Notes, shall be made good to the sufferers out of the Profits; this will make the Bank Bills preferr'd before the Province Bills, for all men seek to improve their Estates in such ways, which they apprehend least Risque, & the Risque men run of receiving Counterfeits I am of opinion, hath been a means of sink­ing the value of our Province Bills: This is a common complaint among even Mer­chants, [Page 9] who are most conversant amongst them, that they know not but great part of them may be Counterfeits, & therefore are desirous to be rid of them again, as soon as they can conveniently, least there should happen a loss on them; but if there be any inconveniencies attending our Province Bills in this respect, how great is it with respect to the Bills of other Provinces; our own Bills are signed by Gentlemen well known to us, and our Neighbours to whom we can instantly apply our selves, on the least suspicion of any Bill to know whether they signed it or no; but if we receive Counterfeits of the Bills of the other Provinces, the Signers live so Remote, that we can't come at them, & this makes our own Bills preferr'd by us before theirs, and were there a sufficiency of our own to carry on the Trade, I question whether men would receive the others in payment; but the necessity of the times is such, that men are glad to catch at any thing that hath but the name of Money, if it will but pass away again, and so answer their present occasions in buying, or to pay their Debts; but here the Bank obliging themselves to make good the Counterfeits, the Recei­vers of the Bills will be easy, because safe on that head, and this will certainly make the Bank Bills esteemed and valued above the Province Bills. I believe all men will joyn with me in this, That if a Bank of [Page 10] One hunded Thousand Pounds be made in this way, the Province is so much the rich­er for it: whereas all Bills issued out by the Government are a Debt due from 'em, and must terminate sooner or later: and therefore the Province is not one far­thing the richer for them; indeed the Profits arising by such a Bank will come to the Founders of the Bank, and such others as in time may come to be concerned there­in; yet I say the Province is the Richer, because there is so much the more Money in it, and the Province not Indebted any thing for it, neither is any private man hurt who borrows of the Bank, any more than he is by borrowing Money of any private person, since the Bank Bills answer his oc­casions in all respects as much as the other; and as to the Bankers, if any begrutch 'em the profit, it must proceed from Envy, for no man is hurt by it, Trade is eased, every man served, and the Province in general, as well as private men served, and gain by it.

And here I cannot but observe how tho't­less and Indolent we are about our Trade, on the flourishing whereof our worldly happiness so much depends: How have our Neighbours at Rhode-Island, a small Government, a handful of people, if com­pared with us, eat us out of it. It is but a few years since they were supplied from hence with almost every thing, but we by burthening Trade with heavy Duties, drove [Page 11] it away to them & other places; they wisely saw it, and cherisht their Trade, by making every thing easy to the Importer, and continue so to do, and now supply us with many things they used to buy of us; nay, to our shame be it spoken, we are sup­ply'd by them with great, if not the great­est part of the Medium of Exchange now passing among us; and they now talk of Emitting a large Sum more, whilst we sit idle and unconcern'd, every man's tho'ts being taken up, how he shall advance his own private Interest, none seeking the com­mon good of the Community; were we not both dependant Governments, Subjects to one and the same Prince, they would soon become the Head, and we the Tail, & as they find us Money, would give us Laws also. Surely no man can think but the Me­thod here proposed, will be much safer & better for us than their Bills, or the Bills of any of the other Governments: That the Rhode-Island Bills should be accepted by us in payment seems strange, when we know that many of 'em are counterfeits, and that no Bills but our own will answer for Spe­cialties, or in any publick payments; but the necessity of the Times is such, that for want of a sufficient Medium of our own to buy with, theirs are become as currant as ours, & will buy any thing on equal terms with our Province Bills; would any people but we, suffer our selves to be thus used; [Page 12] what can be more dishonourable to us, and how easy is it for us to put a stop to this E­vil; it is but for us to unite among our selves, and refuse to take their Bills, the business is done at once, & the Bank here proposed may supply its place. And now I am upon this head, let me mention another Evil we are fal­ling into, which will in the end prove more pernicious to us than any thing that hath ye [...] befallen us; those People now let out their Money at Interest to our Pe [...]ple of this Pro­ince, & pay 'em in the Bills of their Province, & take their Bonds to pay again in the Bills of our Province, & an exorbitant Interest also, and avoid as much as may be the re­ceiving their own Bills in payment for the Goods they sell us, chusing as any wise men wou'd, to lay up our Province Bills: Who can be so blind as not to see their drift in this matter; they know that nothing but our Province Bills, will answer for the Bonds and Mortgages made to the Government, nor indeed for those made to private persons, if the Mortgagee will insist on it; & I presume no body thinks there are near enough of our Province Bills abroad to discharge those Bonds and Mortgages: Well then, our only Remedy is, we must go to Rhode Island, & give those people what advance they are pleased to ask, for our Province Bills to an­swer those Occasions. But suppose the Rhode-Islanders should come into a private Bank, as they begin to talk they will, if their Go­verment [Page 13] do not supply 'em in a publick way, & suppose that their Bills should gain a currency a­mong us, as they doubtless will in a very little time; for mens necessities will bring 'em to take 'em; what then will be the consequence, in a few years great part of this Government will be Mortgaged to them; which puts me in mind of what I have heard some of 'em say in a way of derision, if you'l find us good Security, you shall not want Money; may I not then very properly say, we are selling our selves to Rhode-Island, and shall see our Error, and repent when it is too late to remedy it; it's certain that we by gi­ving a currency to their Bills, have made them Rich in a few Years. But some will answer me, that if we refuse their Bills, they will do the same by our's. To that I answer, Did we stand in the same need of them that they do of us, there would be some weight in that Objection; but the Case is quite otherwise: What would they do with all their Molosses, Sugar, Logwood, & other Goods they purchase abroad, if it were not for our Market. How many Thousands of Pounds in Money do they carry from hence to Rhode-Island every year for these Commodities; do they not order their Ships abroad, to come direct to this Port, for want of a Market for them in their own Government: and yet we tamely suffer 'em to make Bills, & supply the Trading Men therewith, and they pay 'em into the Treasury, as I am in­formed, Ten per Cent. for Ten Years, that sa­tisfies both for Principal & Interest. With this Money they fitted out at least Thirty Sail of Ves­sels for Martineco, Surranam, Jamaica, & our Le­ward Islands, bring their Molosses, Sugar, & other Goods from those Places direct hither. Here they fell them for ready Money, & carry it away to Rhode-Island; this keeps their Trade going to [Page 14] the best advantage, while for want of that Mo­ney our Trade languishes, & labours under the greatest difficulties; whereas if we had not given their Bills a Currency, but had made a private Bank among our selves, the advantages they have reapt by the Trade abovementioned, would have fallen mostly into our own Hands. Thus for want of a good harmony & agreement among our selves, we have given the Bread out of our own mouths and enrich'd them; who now dispise us for so do­ing. And indeed, all indefferent Men will con­demn us for our ill Conduct in suffering our selves to be thus bubbled by them. I am well inform­ed, that they are now designing to Emit One Hun­dred Thousand Pounds more, with which they de­sign to go upon the Cod & Whale Fishery, and upon Manufacturing their own Wool; & those who will improve it in these ways, it is proposed shall have the Money, giving Security in Lands for what they receive, to pay it into their Treasury in Twenty Years, viz. Five per Cent. per Annum in Siver at 15 s. per Ounce, and that is to satisfy for the Principal & Interest; if this will not awaken us out of the Lethargy we seem to be fallen in­to, & make us bestir our selves, surely nothing will.

But some men are of Opinion that we in this Province shall refuse accepting those Bills, & so their Project will sink, as indeed it certainly will if we refuse to accept them in Payments: But I can't see any reason why we should refuse those Bills any more than what they have now out, they will be as good as what they have now pas­sing, and that day they make their new Emission, they will certainly be received by us, as freely as the others; the necessities of the times will even force men to take 'em; and I can see no way to prevent it but by making a Bank among ourselves. But it is the opinion of many that this will be op­pos'd [Page 15] by some among us who have Bonds & Mort­gages, which must be redeemed they will say with our Province Bills, or in Silver at Seventeen penny weight for six shillings, and they see that it will be impossible to get our Bills, to answer those Occasions, & consequently that their Neigh­bours Estates will fall into their hands for much less than the value of them. But will any man who calls himself a Christian be so cruel & un­just to take that advantage, & allowing that there are some such People who would take such an advantage of their Neighbours, which I would charitably suppose, very few would; can it be ima­gined that the Government will suffer such an ill use to be made of what was designed by them for a common good, in making those Bills, and letting 'em out to the people in order to save them from Ruine; No, such men, (if any such there be) will most certainly be disappointed in their Ex­pectations, & the Government will contrive some way to prevent such a piece of Oppression.

Most certainly if something be not done, and that without delay, many People will be Ruined, for those who have their Estates Mortgaged are ga­thering up the Bills of this Province to Redeem them, and indeed the time is so near expired in which they are to pay their Money into the Trea­sury, that it highly concerns 'em to prepare for it. And as I hinted before the Rhode-Islanders are hoarding 'em up, in order to make a Prey of us. These things in a little time will leave us few or none of our own Province Bills abroad. Surely then these Considerations should unite us, & make us joyn heart & hand in bringing forward this, or contriving something else which may extricate us out of our Difficulties.

I cannot conclude without saying this word, if something be not done, what will become of [Page 16] the Rising Generation? how is it possible that they entring upon the Stage of Action, unexpe­rienced should carry on a truck Trade, unless they have very large Stocks to begin with, which very few have, (for what have the best men in the place to boast of that was left 'em by their Fathers: Their Estates were small to what their Children have attained to, and every man of any considerable Interest among us, his Estate hath been got by himself or Father since the Paper Medium was projected;) and again, every Young man hath not a head turned to manage a truck Trade; It requires a plodding head, application, diligence, and industry, & great caution & circumspection, that they are not over-reacht by the Crafty; he that hath his Money or Bills to buy with, hath a far better chance by going & trying the Market every where; whereas he that deals but in a few Com­modities, is obliged to buy of them, & them only, who want the Commodities he deals in; and in such a case the Seller always hath the advantage of the man who comes to buy of him, and it is very much in his power to set the price of his Chap-mans Goods as well as his own; surely this Consideration ought to have its weight with us, for we are but Stewards for our Children, & must in a little time go off the Stage, & it is our duty as far as we are able, to leave things so circumstan­ced, that they may be able to improve what by the blessing of Heaven we leave them.

If what I have offered may be of Service, or if others are led into more just & proper tho'ts, I shall be very glad, for I would not be tho't fond of my own notions, but am very desirous to see something put on foot, which may give us a pros­pect of things coming to Rights again in the days of our Children, for I see little prospect of it in our days.