§. 21. The parliament, therefore, may much more make bills current for the preservation of the nation, and carrying on the war, wherein the king has been engaged by their advice, which require far greater credit than all the banks together can give security for, &c. by supplying his majesty with a sufficiency of them, instead of other taxes, which there is not money to pay. Pag. 378. The objection against bills without a fund is answered, viz. §. 22. There can be no fund equivalent, but the whole nation: and that can be no way engaged, but by act of parliament, declaring such bills shall be and continue current, in all receipts and payments whatsoever, as monies in specie, whether to, or from the king, or the people of these nations amongst themselves, until the nation be in a better condition to pay them off, by laying moderate taxes on all estates, real and personal, which is a good general fund, and as much as any state or nation, until very lately this, have been exposed unto. Whereof two instances are given, viz. 1. Of the States of Holland. 2. Of the States of Venice. §. 23. Contains an enumeration of the advantages of bills beyond monies. §. 24. Answers the objections about the necessity of a fund. §. 25. Answers the objection about the hazard, that some future parliaments may see cause to make the bills of credit void, without paying them off. §. 26. Answers the objection, touching raising the price of silver and gold, by two instances: And, §. 27. Shews the unavoidable mischiefs thereof, viz: 1. In New England, In America. 2. In Pensylvania, Pag. 380. Answers the objections about counterfeiting the bills of credit proposed: and offers a specimen, evincing the utter impossibility of it, so as to deceive the publick, &c. Pag. 381. To the end of the treatise, further clears the vanity of that objection, by comparing and preferring these bills of credit, for uncounterfeitableness, above and beyond all other writings, bills of exchange, letters of credit and advice, obligations for monies, deeds and evidences of lands, which may be also counterfeited, as the parties signing, sealing, and witnessing thereunto, cannot deny them to be theirs: yea, our gold and silver coins, exchequer tallies, &c. yet we are not affrighted or taken off from our correspondences and businesses depending thereon. Why then in this case only; wherein, by stumbling at this threshold of the only door of our hopes, we expose ourselves and our posterities to our unavoidable and utter ruin? I say, the only, For, 1. propose the raising of whatsoever taxes, if there be not money in the nation to pay them. Or, 2. propose what funds you will, whether for principal or interest, for paying off bills of credit or otherwise, if there be not monies in the nation to pay them. Or, 3. propose what means you will for bringing in monies or bullion, if there be not an excess of our exports above our imports, our monies, as fast as they are coined, must and will be carried away. And, 4. without bills made equivalent, for supplying the uses of monies, we cannot carry on our manufactures or fishery, which, alone, can increase our wealth and power at sea, &c. Nevertheless if, notwithstanding all that has been said, it shall be judged needful to make a present settlement of a fund, or funds, for paying off such of the said bills, as shall be given forth upon this occasion, within some time limited; it is therefore humbly offered, that, in order thereunto, there may be a thrifty managing and improving of all casual revenues, incomes, profits, and advantages, that may arise, accrue, or be made, whether in England, or Ireland; to which his majesty is, or by inquisitions or other usual ways, means, or methods, may be intitled; some of which may be these following, viz. Secondly, the Fund. 1. One moiety, the whole in two equal parts to be divided, of all such lawful booty, seizures, and prizes, as shall, or may be hereafter taken in war, whether by land or sea. 2. All French and other prohibited goods, so seized, which may be by act of parliament allowed to be brought in, and sold here, or where else a market may be found for them. 3. All the undisposed lands, within the kingdoms of England and Ireland, forfeited, upon the account of the last defection, war, or rebellion, in, or about the year 1688, or since: and all other lands, tenements, and hereditaments, goods, and chattels, by felonies, murders, treasons, or otherwise escheated, or to be escheated, and accruing to his majesty, his heirs and successors, in right of his crown: and also all rents and profits of such estates, due since the respective convictions, out-lawries, or attainders of such persons. 4. All forests, chaces, and parks, within the said kingdoms, except such as his majesty shall reserve for his royal pastimes, and recreations, &c. 5. In defect, or falling short of these, whereby the said bills of credit, or any of them shall remain unsatisfied, for the space of years, from the end of this session, &c. that a yearly tax of pence in the pound of, and upon lands, tenements, rents, and hereditaments; as also of, and upon all annuities, offices, and salaries of above twenty pounds, per annum; and upon all goods, chattels, &c. may be passed this present session, by act of parliament: to commence from, and after the end of this present war, or expiration of the fore-mentioned term or space of years, which shall first happen: or sooner, if the parliament shall judge it needful, and that it may be done without hindrance to the carrying on the publick affairs and trade of these nations: and that the same may have continuance, and be in force, until the said bills shall be fully paid off, and no longer. 6. And for the better appropriating and securing these funds, and the rents, revenues, and profits thereof, to the ends and uses aforesaid: that, by the said act of parliament, it may be made highly criminal, in all and singular person and persons respectively, who shall be concerned, in the levying, raising, receiving, disposing, and paying the same, or any part thereof, to pay, or dispose, the monies that shall be by this act, or by any of these funds raised, to any other use, intent, or purpose whatsoever, than to, and for the paying off the said bills of credit. And that no warrant or order, shall be issued, or if issued, shall be obeyed by the commissioners, or other persons, that shall be intrusted with the charge and care hereof, to any other use or uses whatsoever. 7. And that the way and manner, time and place, order and course of paying thereof, as also the persons to be employed and used herein, be settled by act of this present parliament, so as the said bills may be satisfied, and paid accordingly, without fees, &c. All which, notwithstanding, Is humbly submitted, By the Proposer. Quod omnes tractat ab omnibus tractari debet. THE HONOUR OF THE GOUT: OR, A RATIONAL DISCOURSE, Demonstrating, that the Gout is one of the greatest Blessings which can befal mortal Man; that all Gentlemen, who are weary of it, are their own Enemies; that those Practitioners, who offer at the Cure, are the vainest and most mischievous Cheats in Nature. By Way of Letter to an eminent Citizen, wrote in the Heat of a violent Paroxysm, and now published for the common Good. By Philander Misaurus. Duodecimo, containing sixtyseven Pages; printed at London, in 1699. THE PUBLISHER TO THE READER. This piece, which I present to you, as appears from many passages in it, was wrote towards the beginning of the reign of King William; whether or no the author be living, I cannot satisfy you; but this I will engage: greater profit, and more agreeable entertainment, were never purchased of a bookseller cheaper. ADVERTISEMENT. The author is of opinion, that some epistles dedicatory would do best, standing after the pamphlet; therefore, good reader, pass on, and expect mine in its proper place. SIR, I you a greater observance, more profound respects, and hearty thanks, for favours to which I had not merit to pretend, than I am able to express, should I make words and phrase my study; but I am not like to do that at present; for you have used me so of late, that you tempt me to think you are going to put as much despight in one scale, as ever you put obligation into the other. Why! Sir, I am informed, that your worship, not having a right sense of things, nor the fear of God before your eyes, should, to the disgrace of your own virtue, give your tongue the liberty, in an open coffee house, to speak ill of the gout. Of the gout, Sir! which if you look on as a disease, you ought to welcome, as the most useful and necessary thing that could have happened to you; but, if you consider it as becomes you, then, with me, you must reverence it as a power divine, On whose sacred internodial altars I, Each spring and fall, at least, will sacrifice Would you yourself, Sir, patiently endure the honour of our great master, our rightful and lawful king, to be contemptuously reflected on by ever a recreant piece of consciencious priestcraft that infests the town? Then, why should not I be concerned for the honour of my great master, the gout? Who claims not, it is true, the power, he exercises over me, by any hereditary pretence, but from an origin altogether as sacred and indisputable, viz. some voluntary acts and deeds of my own. Yet you could say, that, when the Almighty God had, out of rude chaos, built this goodly frame of nature, which we see, and formed his noble creature, man; he indulged the devil to create some one thing, and his damned envy gave being to the gout. Now I am confident, Sir, and have great authorities for it, that, if the devil ever created thing, it was the doctor, of whom, since you have made so much use, I know not, but it may be rationally inferred, that you have dealt with the devil. The gout, Sir, whether you know it, or no, was postnate to the creation, and younger, something, than the fall of man; who having incurred the sentence of death, the friendly any Alluding to Bishop Burnet's unbecoming insinuation against King William the Third. gout was sent in mercy, down from heaven, to lengthen wasting life. By my consent, you should never have the gout, who have no more consideration in you, than to blaspheme it. I always took your worship for a person the most accomplished our city has ever bred. I imagined, that you thoroughly understood most things; but it could never enter into my head, that you should fall into so profane an error, as to think, into so rash a practice, as to speak ill of the gout. But, because my soul has been full of humble deference to your worship, I will be at some pains to recover you to your right mind, and a due veneration of that friendly dæmon, the gout. For, though you may value yourself, and reckon, that no girding satyrist can take up the old proverb against you, and say, that you are afraid of your friends, when there is none near you; yet, what is worse, they may reproach you with this disgraceful truth, you are afraid of friend, when he kisses your very feet. your best Now, upon this subject, having no need to use the inveigling arts of oratory, I shall not with tropes and metaphors, with flourishes and amusements of insinuating words, seek to divert your mind, and cheat your judgment; but, to make my work the shorter, and do it effectually, press you with plain demonstration. Your error, Sir, was this: that the devil created the gout. I prove he did not. You know, Sir, that the man of sin, the son of perdition, best known by the name of Antichrist, is the Pope. You must not doubt of this; for, till the days of that excellent prelate, Archbishop Laud, the whole stream of Protestant interpreters gave it so. A learned chaplain of his has put that character upon the Grand Seignior; and a famous annotator has taught our church to split antichrist into Simon Magus and his Gnostick followers. I must confess, I have a sort of respect to these authorities; but the body of modern Dissenters, and the general agreement of interpreters, Whig and Tory, in the age before, weighs them down. Take in, then, the lay-mobility of the nation, who should know something, but are confident of nothing more, than that Antichrist is the Pope; and your worship will agree with me, that that is the plain truth of the matter. By the way, I will observe one thing, which will not trouble my demonstration, but let your worship see, how ready I am to allow you, in your speculation, all that can reasonably be desired. A celebrated author notes, that the ancients described Antichrist by the phrase of parórox TỸ Zarava, the first-born of the devil. Supposing now, that the devil created something, as you contend, you see, it could not be the gout; at least, not if you will be judged by the fathers; but rather Antichrist, or the Pope. I desire your worship to consider next, that you shall not read, in Platina, Onuphrius, or any later Antichristian biographer, that ever fetid toe of Pope was visited with the beneficial gout. But, had so great a blessing been created by the devil, as you fondly imagine, the devil had, for certain, bestowed it on his first-born, the Pope: nay, and then too, instead of the filthy scrutiny, through the porphyry chair, for old and wasted |