as it is at this day at Amsterdam and several other Common-wealths in Christendome If this do not satisfie your Lordships I have it at large to shew this mischief but I hope I shall not need to say more to this businesse to stopit My Lords I am none of the Councel or Committee for Trade and so it may be presumption in me to intermeddle to say any thing in this businesse but my Lords a Stander by may see more in the Game then the Gamesters I am no Lawyer yet I humblie say I know this point concerning the giving libertie to Merchants to transport money and what the damage may be to his Majestie to his Lords of the Councel and to the Kingdom in general as well as many others that are in Commission for the Regulating of Trade My Lords I have bin writing on this Argument above this moneth and shall be ready to present to his Majestie and his Privie Councel within this week a Paper that shall unfold the many mischiefs and dangers the Merchants would expose the King and the Kingdom into had they this Power in their hands the Merchants should they obtain this their desire and remove this Trust out of his Majestie and his Privy Councels Hands to be the only Iudges to give leave to Merchants to transport Gold and Silver would rob the King of one of his greatest Prerogatives and Flowers of the Crown which by twenty Acts of Parliament and Proclamations is only invested in the Kings Majestie and his Privy Conncel the granting the Merchants this Power will bring an hundred inconveniences and mischiefs to the King Nobility and Gentry as I have at large to shew your Lordships and the Privy Councel and if I do not satisfie his Majestie your Lordships and all his Privie Councel of this that I say to be true never let me have your Lordships good opinion that I am either an honest man or one that loves the Kings Safetie Honour and Greatnesse and the Honour of his Privy Councel And therefore my most Humble Suit is to your Lordship my Lord Chancellour that if this businesse be called on at the Councel of Trade and your Lordship be present there this day as I hear you intend to be purposely about this businesse that your Lordship would be pleased either to put off this businesse for to have it argued before the Kings Majestie or his Privie Councel at Whitehall sometime next week in the mean time I shall be ready to shew to your Lordship and the Privy Councel that it concerns his Majestie next to the Militia to continue and keep this great Trust in his Majesties Sacred hands and in the Power of his Privie Councel and no other person by the Law can or ought to have the Priviledge to give leave to transport Gold and Silver at their pleasure this being the soul of the Militia they that have the money and the Peoples purses have virtually the Command in all Common-wealths of the Government let who will have the Title the Bankers have the power and this priviledge is no where granted but in Commonwealths God defend England from the very name of a Commonwealth for the Tragedies which were lately acted by some Merchants in England When we had no King in this our Israel they have robbed the Kingdome of all the Gold and so now would work iniquity by a Law but by Gods Assistance I will diffect them and lay the danger open to his Majestie your Lordship and the Kings most Honourable Privie Councel and stand or fall by your righteous Judgement humbly praying for his Majesties Safety Honour and Service that no further proceeding in this great businesse be argued but before his Majestie and his most prudent Privie Councel within lesse then a week I shall be ready with my Reasons for what I say to shew your Lordship that so all the Lovers of the King might be satisfied of the Damage and Danger of removing this great Trust out of his Majesties and his Privy Councels Hands So I humbly rest Novemb. 27. 1660 Your Lordships Humble Servant THO. VIOLET For the Right Honourable the LORD CHANCELLOUR May it please your Lordship to give Order That no further proceedings in this business be but before His Majesty and his Privy Council at White-hall and if His Majesty and Privy Council give judgement against what I say to be true I will lose my life when they hear this business examiued WHereas the Merchants of London are endeavouring to get an Act of Parliament to have liberty to export Gold and Silver freely without the Kings Majesties and his most Honourable Privy Councils leave I humbly propound for His Majesties service and the safety and honour of his Majesty that these humble Proposals might be considered of before any further proceedings on that business be made That his Majesty and his honourable Privy Council be pleased to keep intire in their own hands the Licencing of all Gold and Silver after it is imported into this Kingdom to be exported or Coined as they shall see just cause for the safety of the Nation and safety and honour of his Majesty and the Lords of his Council and the safety and benefit of all his Majesties Subjects of what condition soever and being setled in the Crown so many hundred years by Acts of Parliament as I shall prove it this great and Sacred trust be no way altered especially at this Juncture of time this Kingdom being robbed of almost all its Gold and a great part of the Silver Coin for the private profit of particular persons to the weakning of the Nation and the destruction of Trade this Royal trust being one of the prime flowers of the Crown and the very soul of the Militia and it a right inherent onely in the King and his Privy Council and there onely deposited for many hundreds of Years whereby the King only by the Law can give leave and licence to transport Gold and Silver after it is imported into the Kingdom and that if you ever suffer this Roial trust to be managed by the Merchant and suffer all persons by Act of Parliament to be free to transport Gold or Silver either in Coin or Bullion after it is imported and landed in England You take away one of the principal Prerogatives and flowers of the Crown destroying his Majesties Mint in the Tower of London and lay a sad foundation to give some factious Merchants of this Kingdom a ground to make new disturbances and leave the Nation weak and naked of all Gold and Silver The granting the Merchants this power they desire will bring a thousand mischiefs both on the King and Kingdom which God defend In all ages till these Phanatick daies the Gold and Silver after it was landed in the Kingdom was held the Blood and Sinews of War and Peace the Militia and strength of the Kingdom I shall humbly present unto you these following Reasons for keeping this power intire
in Gold and Silver to be guided by the covetous desire of some Merchants many of them care not two pence for the safety of the Common-wealth so they and their private Families grow rich I humbly say it is a presumptuous motion of some hot headed Merchants that would by crafty and sly pretences rob your Majestie of that which is next to the Militia of the Kingdom nay it is the very soul of the Militia Gold and Silver get to be Master of that any man may get Shipping Armes Money and any thing to make a disturbance in the Kingdom We lately see upon what slie pretences the Sword was wrung out of your Majesties Royal Fathers Hands he that cast his eye upon any of the Flowers of your Majesties Imperial Crown with intent to take them out either by fraud or force let them fall as Corah Dathan and Abiram and let their end be like Achitophels who seek to rob your Royal Majestie of this your just Prerogative And this I here humbly say I will with my life maintain before your Majestie and your Privy Councel and the Parliament or Committee of Trade And these following Statutes Lawes and Proclamations are my Protection and Warrant for what I humbly say 1. A Proclamation against giving for Gold more then it is currant 21. July 17. Jacob. 2. A Proclamation against melting and culling heavy English Money 18. May. 9. Jacob. 3. A Proclamation against buying and selling Gold and Silver at higher Prises then the Mint 14. May. 1. Jacob. 4. A Proclamation against Transporting of Gold 23. May 1. Jacob 5. A Proclamation against Profit for Gold and Silver And melting English Money And to prevent the abuses and wast in making Gold and Silver Threed and Laces 4. Feb. 3. Caroli 6. A Proclamation against Transporting Gold and Silver and melting down the Currant Silver Coins of the Nation for Plate or Gold or Silver Threed 15. May. 3. Carolus May it please your Majestie to observe with what care the wisdom of former Parliaments intrusted the Kings of England and their Privy Councel to keep carefull watch that the Gold and Silver once imported into this Nation should be converted into Coin for the Strength and Honour of the Kingdom that those that did Transport Gold and Silver without the King's Licence were Felons And in the Tryall in the Star Chamber 12. Caroli Primi which I followed by Order of his late Majestie of blessed memory The Atturney-General Banks and the King's Councel read many Presidents wherein the Transporters of Gold and Silver had judgment and suffered execution of death as Felons Your Majestie will finde transporting Gold or Silver without the Kings licence to be Felony and by several Acts of Parliament 17 Edw. the 4. and the 4 Henry cap. 13. And I humbly conceive the Kingdom is in as great scarcity of Gold and Silver now as it was then for almost all the Gold and Silver is transported without the Kings licence by the disturbance of the late War and now some Merchants are grown so presumptuous that they would have an Act of Parliament to make it to be at the will of the Merchants to transport what Gold or Silver freely they please without licence from the King it were better for the Kingdom that these that go about to take this prerogative from the King were blind rather then the rest of the Kingdom should ever see that day these Merchants should have their will Stat. 9. Edw. the 3. against the transporting of Gold or Silver without the Kings licence or the melting down the currant silver coin by Goldsmiths or others into plate Stat. 2. Hen. 4. cap. 4. No person ought to presume to transport Gold or Silver either in coin or bulion upon pain of forfeiture of as much as they might which I take to be lives and estates 2 Henry 6. cap. 6. Upon a grievous complaint made in Parliament That great sums of gold and silver was transported without the Kings licence out of this Kingdom it was ordered and enacted That no gold or silver should be transported out of the Realm and because it is supposed the gold and silver is transported by Merchant aliens it is ordered That the Mercheant aliens shall find security in the Chancery that they shall not transport the gold or silver monies out of the Kingdom upon pain of forfeiture of the sum or value and if any do contrary and that duly proved his pledges shall pay the forfeiture though the Merchant stranger be gone beyond the Seas If this Law had been put in execution this last twenty years the Kingdom had had millions of gold and silver which it is now robbed of and the offenders are now grown so impudent to hope to get an Act of Parliament to rob the kingdom of all the gold and silver as the greedy Merchant shall find and see his opportunity to send away what gold and silver they please without the Kings majesty or his privy Councils licence for the future 18 Edw. the 4. No person to carry gold or silver or jewels out of the kingdom upon pain of Felony 1 Henry the 8. cap. 13. An Act made that whosoever shall carry any gold or silver out of the Realm without the Kings licence shall forfeit double the value The 5th and 6th of Edward the 6th cap. 16. An Act touching the exchange of gold or silver that whosoever gave more for gold or silver then it is or shall be declared by the Kings Proclamation shall suffer imprisonment for the space of a year and make fine at the Kings pleasure the one moity to his Majesty and the other moity to the Partie that shall seize the same or will sue for it by the Bill of information were the Gold-smiths of London sued on this Statute it would ruine most of them Had not the Act of Oblivion pardoned them but that gives them no licence or protection now at this day to act as they do to sell gold for 21 and 22 shillings for a Twenty shilling peice Till this be remedied and the rule for the price of gold set by your Majestie the Mint will never coin gold to any considerable quantity If this desire of the Merchants should go on the Kingdom of England which in all Kings raigns abounded with gold and silver and famous for their pound sterlings the true guide and measure of our monies will be put to use the Rooking tricks of the Bankers of Amsterdam and other Commonwealths Feed the people with a paper credit and the Merchants have all the peoples money I beseech your Majesty to consider of this monstrous design and proposals of the Merchants should by your Majesty be granted which God defend in whose hands your Majesty disposeth the Militia of the kingdom even truly your Majesty would surrender the Militia of the kingdom into the Merchants power To send away all the treasure of the kingdom by which means they will so fetter and impoverish the
this Kingdome God hath delivered your Majestie from the Sword-man the Club man and hath restored your Majestie to the Glory and Greatnesse of your Royal Father and your Predecessors with the Hearts of all your good Subjects and a large increase of the Revenues of your Crown to the joy of all your Majesties good Subjects This Glory troubles some Mungrels of LONDON that dare not bark but are at this day cunning fauning Spaniels that would by fauning cozen your Majestie of this Great atd Royal Prerogative which had they it in seaven years they may lay such a Foundation that the Child unborn may rue it I have read of a little Fish that sticking to a Ships side shall stop a great Ship under sail The Merchants of a Kingdom or Common-wealth that are Bankers and have libertie to transport Gold and Silver at their pleasure rule the Commonwealth both for War or Peace and have virtually the sovereign power being Masters of all the peoples monie These Bankers can hang a Pad-lock on the Commonwealths Sword when they please God defend your Majestie and your Lords from suffering them to do so in your Kingdom of England for all the reasons before and after following The Merchants of London have transported all the Gold and most of the Silver out of England principally by the confederation and assistance of the Goldsmiths in Lumbardstreet who are just in the nature of the Bankers at Amsterdam and the Goldsmiths is your Merchants Jaccall as the Jac-call is to the Lion they hunt for the Lions prey The Goldsmiths lay up Gold and Silver for the Merchants to transport some Goldsmiths in Lumbardstreet keeping at this day many great Merchants of London cashes and some Noble mens cash by this credit of several mens monies the Goldsmiths in Lumbardstreet are in the nature of Bankers and have a great stock of Treasure by them alwayes of Gold forraign coines and Silver And as these and the Merchants please to truck and and chaffer set the price of the currant Gold of your Kingdom at above the price currant by Proclamation of your Royal Father and above the price of your Mint to the destruction of your Majesties Mint and against your Crown and Dignities your Majesties Mint is tied to a certain rule both for the weight and fineness of the Standard of your Majesties Gold and Silver and cannot by the Law exceed now here is the mischief The Goldsmiths they go between the Mint and the Merchants that transports Gold and Silver and out-bids the Mint 1. d. and sometimes 2. d. and more the Ounce in Silver and five shillings the Ounce in Gold at this day and so catch up all the Gold and Silver to transport being Factors and Purveyors to the Merchants that transports Gold and Silver And by this confederation between the Merchants and Goldsmiths contrary to the Lawes and Proclamations of the Kingdom they have cheated and robbed the Kingdom and your Majesties Mint in the Tower of London and for these last fifteen Years have destroyed and made desolate the same Your Majesties Mint in all times by the Law should have the preheminence and first served Your Majesties Mint at this day is neglected your Majesties Lawes despised and your Majestie and the Kingdom of England Lords Gentry Commons cheated and robbed of all your Gold and almost all your Silver to the weakning and impoverishing of the Kingdom This wickednesse is done onely for the inriching of a few particular Persons Goldsmiths and Merchants to the destruction of the whole Kingdom and if not timely prevented to the ruine and destruction and decay of Trade This was done when we had no KING in Israel God forbid your Majestie now should suffer it If your Majestie by your justice do not make some of these Offendors an example and timely prevent it by the grave advice of your most Honourable Lords of the Councel for the time to come to prevent these abuses by a Law or renewing the old Laws by your Majesties Proclamation making it losse of Estate for any Goldsmiths to sell any Merchants Gold or Silver to transport or to convert Gold or Silver into any other use then Plate and Gold and Silver Wyer the Offendor for ever after to lose his Freedom And that no Merchant or Goldsmith shall give for Gold or Silver more then it shall be declared for by Proclamation upon pain of forfeiture And that all Goldsmiths that are Exchangers of Forreign Bullion shall enter into securitie with the Officers of your Majesties Mint to your Majesties use to Coin the same and to convert it to no other use That no Merchant obtain a Licence from your Majestie to transport Gold or Silver nor the East India Company other or more then they themselves cause upon their own proper accompt to be truly imported according to their Charter and that all Warrants for transporting Gold or Silver be Registred and the Goldsmiths to be tyed to Coin all the Gold and Silver they shall hereafter buy such Goldsmiths that will not to be debarred the liberty to have power to exchange Forreign Gold and Silver this being a Prerogative of the Crown and never granted the Company of the Goldsmiths as I can prove by the Law that the Warden of your Majesties Mint is your Majesties Exchanger and he may Licence any whom he please to buy Forreign Bullion provided they put in securitie to Coin it in the Tower and convert it to no other use but to coin upon the pain of forfeiture of his Bonds to your Majestie May it please Your Majesty my most humble prayer to Your Majesty and Privy Councel is that at this juncture of time the late Lord Cottingtons Rules Observations may be made use of for bringing of Gold and Silver into the Kingdom that State-man about the year 1630. made a most advantageous Contract with the King of Spaine for the bringing in Silver from Spaine in English bottoms and Landing the Silver at Dover one third part to be Coyned in Your Majestyes Royal Fathers Mint in the Tower of London and the other two parts by Your Majestyes Royal Father and his Privy Councels Licence to be transported at the will of the Importer this Commission was granted under the Great Seal of Your Majestyes Royal Father by the advice of his Privy Councel and above ten millions of Silver Coyned upon that Contract from the year 1630. to 1643. This Silver hath bin almost all transported away for the private profit of the Merchant and little currant Silver Coyne left in the Kingdom but light and eliped and Counterset mony in abundance All the Gold sent away to the destruction of the Kingdom for the private profit of the Merchants If Your Majesty please to inquire of Your Officers of the Mint they can certifie this is the truth And what a dangerous Project this was of some men to goe about to steal so Royal a Flower out of the Crown such pilferers are Enemies
that Company above sixty hundred thousand pounds in Silver and Gold sent to the East Indies were their Books of Entries examined and their Books of Account to their several Factories in India what they have sent yearly to every particular factory and some Auditors appointed to make the inspection upon Oath I humbly say there would be found many hundred thousand pounds transported both of English Gold and Silver more then ever they had licence from the King to send to the great weakning damage and decay of this Nation they being a Company that heretofore used to bribe out all their abuses by one course or other Had not your Majesty by your Royal pardon pardoned them they should before this time have found the East India Company charged by me in the Exchequer with many hundred thousand pounds of English Gold and Silver and of half Crowns and foreign Gold and Silver transported against the Laws and Statutes of the Kingdome let them have got off as well as they could May it please your Majesty That company pretends a debt your Royal Father should owe them for Silks and Pepper delivered unto one Burlemack a Merchant about the Year 1630. upon your Royal Fathers account had not your Majestie in your great mercy pardoned this very Company of Merchants in your gracious and free Pardon 1660. I could have chalked out the way to have peppered the East India Company it had never been so peppered since it was a Company they are pardoned for what is past but they have no Priviledge for the time to come But if your Majesty command me to watch the East India Company that they for the future send no more gold or silver then they have licence for from your Majesty I shall faithfully do it and give a stop to these mischiefs they have formerly committed If your Majesty command I shall not fear the riches or greatness of the East India company or Merchants of London but I will tramel them and reduce them to the due obedience of your Majesties commands and the Law of the Kingdom For the longer this business is not looked after makes some Merchants think to get leave to weaken the Kingdom in general and incroach upon your Majesties sacred Prerogative to send what silver and gold they list away for the future without any Comptroller May it please your Majesty a Court in the nature of the Star chamber would Frost-bite these Gentlemen and make them pluck in their Horns and submit to your Maiesties Lawes which will be for the good of the Nation in general that these men may be curbed and not left to rob the Kingdom of all its Gold and Silver as some Merchants have taken the boldness to do when we had no King in this our Israel for this last seventeen years Never School-boyes plaid such tricks in the absence of their School-masters as some of the London-merchants have done When the books of the Common council of London copied out together with the East India Companies books be throughlie inspected your Maiestie and your honourable Privie Council will see incredible passages fit for Your maiestie to know such as is for Your maiesties honour and safetie for the future to prevent viz. I most humbly pray your Majestie and your honourable Privie Council to command true Copies of all the Acts of the Common Council of London from one thousand six hundred and thirty eight to one thousand six hundred and sixty and the true copies of the East Indies Companies books of Envoys sent to their Factors of all the Gold and Silver they sent yearly the ships name and by what Factor and to what Factors in India and Persia ever since one thousand six hundred and twentie to one thousand six hundred and sixty Not that I have the least thought that any of them should be punished for what is past by reason of your Majesties gracious pardon but that an Eye might be kept over them to keep them from committing the same or the like offences again against your Majestie your Crown and Dignity I humbly say I am so charitable to them that I had rather see them alwaies upright in all their actions then ever to hear that your Majestie should put your Royal self to that trouble to pardon them again when they have offended it is better I humbly say for the Merchants that your Majesty take all course to keep some Merchants from falling then to take them up after they are down if they be watched that they shall have no opportunitie to offend it saves the labour of punishing any of them Some Merchants I have heard say at the Council of Trade one thousand six hundred and fiftie that it is an old Heresie to hinder the transporting of gold and silver freelie and to retain it in the Kings hands he only to give a licence to transpor Sure I am it is a Phanatick opinion for the Merchants to labour to obtain it out of your Majesties and your privie Councils hands Some Merchants are great magnifiers of Commonwealths their Policies and Governments those that are for an Amsterdam model both in the Church and Kingdom but in our Kings sacred hands this great Trust in all Ages hath happilie continued and no Merchant never durst ask such a request to have it at their own dispose these Merchants covet more profit and gain then they do the Kings Majesties greatness and that makes them so busie to get this Royal flower out of the Crown May it please your Majesty your standard of Gold and Silver is fixed to all your Subjects of all your Nations the pound sterling is a fixed paiment and is the guide to all the Bankers in Christendom for till they return their Bills of Exchange for England no Banker or Merchant can tell certainly the true intrinsecal value they shall receive for a hundred pounds delivered in their Banks by Bills of Exchange to any place but onely England where these paiments are fixed and paied according to the pound sterling which is by shillings pence and half-pence without any fraud or bankmonie from the paiment of one hundred pound to the paiment of one hundred thousand pounds no man can be wronged of a penie but it will exactlie appear upon the casting up of the accompt Commonwealths and Bankers go upon Merchants subtilties that is not for the Honour and Dignitie of your Majestie to make your monie go high when you are to paie your Armies and Fleets and then presently to call it down in Kingdomes Kings are Sacred and cannot act such dirty tricks as Commonwealths do Englands Tragedy from one thousand six hundred fourtie three to one thousand six hundred and sixtie may serve as a warning to all good subjects how to turn Kingdomes into Commonwealths or to leave power of transporting Gold or Silver at the will and pleasure of the merchant Merchants are like fire and water Good Servants but bad Masters in their proper spheers good but