THE Free-Holders Plea AGAINST STOCK-JOBBING Elections of PARLIAMENT Men.

OF all the Nations in the World, we may ſay, without Detracting from the Character of our Native Country, that England has, for ſome Ages paſt, been the moſt Diſtracted with Diviſions and Parties among themſelves.

Union, and Charity, the one relating to our Civil, the other to Religious Concerns, are Stangers in the Land; and whether we ſpeak of difference in Opinions, or differences in Intereſt, we muſt own that we are the moſt [2] Divided, Quarrelſome Nation under the Sun.

Poland is the only Nation of Europe which can pretend to Match us in this Ill-natur'd Qua⯑lity, and yet all things examin'd Poland cannot come near us.

'Twas a true Character given of us, by the Wiſeſt Princeſs that ever Govern'd us, Queen Eli⯑zabeth, that the Engliſh were harder to be Go⯑vern'd in time of Peace than War.

What Experience our preſent Governors have had of this Old Maxim in the ſhort Peace we have had, we leave to every Man's Obſerva⯑tion.

Not to enter into the Hiſtory of the Diviſions, and Civil Diſturbances in the Nations Peace, which is too freſh in our Memories; and cannot be review'd without ſenſible Regret by any Man, who Loves his Country, or has the leaſt regard to its Proſperity or Reputation.

Yet we cannot but expreſs our ſenſe of the Encreaſe, and more than ordinary progreſs of this wrangling Temper, on the preſent Affairs of the Publick; and with what Fatal ſucceſs it Invades us in the moſt Minute, and moſt tender Parts; with what ſubtilty it ſpreads its contagi⯑ous Qualities into the Vitals of the State, and [3] from thence deſcends into the leſs Noble Parts, the Trade of the Nation.

Religion and the State have felt the plague of Contention, eating out the very Entrails of the Nation, and with a ſort of alternate Motion, have equally come under its Malignant Effects, for almoſt Four entire Centuries of Years, and as if it was not enough to hurt us in thoſe two Eſſentials of our Peace, behold the Plague is broke out in our Trade, which is the third, and next the other two, the Supreme Article of the Kingdoms Proſperity.

Wherefore we the Yeomandry, and poor Free-holders of England, having, God knows, no Hand in the Differences, tho' we have a deep ſhare in the Damages, do take the freedom to make our juſt Remarks upon the Cauſes, which, as we ap⯑prehend, have conduc'd too much to the pre⯑ſent unhappy Diviſions of the Nation; and which, if ſome care be not taken to prevent it, may compleat the Ruin of us all.

The Wiſdom of late Parliaments have Eſta⯑bliſh'd two great Rivals in Trade, the Old, and the New Eaſt India Companies.

We do not pretend to Arraign the Juſtice of thoſe Wonderful and Unintelligible Aſſemblies, if they [4] were in being, we dare not, and, ſince they are not in being, 'tis not very Honourable, you'll ſay, to ſpeak ill of the Dead.

But thus far, we hope, without offence, we may be allow'd to give our Opinions in this par⯑ticular Affair, that tho' ſeparately and diſtinctly, every part of the proceedings of thoſe Parlia⯑ments, might be literally and poſitively Juſt, and Right, we mean as to the Eaſt India Compa⯑nies.

Yet when they are Conjunctively, and in the General put together, and reflected on, they ſeem to be clouded both as to the publick Intereſt; and as to the Honour of the proceedings, with dark Enigma's of State, and Inexplicable Para⯑doxes, too hard for us to underſtand, ſuch as theſe.

1. That during the Being of one Company, and before the Extent of their Charter, and Pri⯑vileges were Expir'd, we mean the 3 years al⯑low'd them for bringing Home their Effects, there ſhould be Erected a New Company, with power of immediate Trade.

Had the New Company not commenc'd their Trade, till the time of the Old was expir'd, or near it, there might have been a Succeſſion of Companies, not two Rival Com⯑panies in Being together.

[5] 2. That the manner of the Trading by the New Company ſhould be ſo Order'd, as that the Old Company by Subſcribing ſhou'd enable them⯑ſelves to Trade ſeparately, as a Company ſtill; and that with ſo Capital a Stock, as always to ſhare the Trade with the New Company; and ſo at the ſame time two contraries be upheld by the ſame Authority.

Had the New Company been ſo Eſtabliſh'd, that at the Expiration of the Old, it ſhou'd have had a Commanding Superiority, by which no other Men cou'd have Traded, but under them, by Permiſſion at the ſame time, leaving all Men at liberty to come in and Trade with them, there had been then no Rivals in the Trade, which will, no queſtion, as they now ſtand, ſoon reduce the Trade to very low Terms.

3. That after this New Company was Eſta⯑bliſh'd, and the Mony paid in, to the Uſe of the Government, which ſome ſay was the thing which firſt mov'd the Conception of a New Company, and which, if the Old Company wou'd have procur'd, they had never been Broke nor the New one Born. That after this New Company was Erected, the Stock advanc'd, and the Mony to the Government pay'd they ſhou'd prohibit by Act of Parliament Two Thirds of their Trade, and ſo Starve the Child they had Begotten.

[6] If the Trade was ruinous to the Engliſh Manufactures, and the Intereſt of the Nation it ſhou'd have been foreſeen, before Gentlemen had payd their Mony, or elſe it ſhou'd not have been Examin'd afterwards.

4. That after all this they ſhou'd grant a New Charter to the Old Company, by Virtue of which they have both Power and Time to Trade, to the prejudice of the New, even to their Hearts Content.

We ſay nothing of thoſe particulars but thus, that really we do not underſtand the conſiſten⯑cy of them with themſelves, they ſtand to us as Arcana's of Policy, too high to be medled with.

Nor ſhou'd we trouble our Heads about them, but leave both Companies to confound one ano⯑ther, as we believe they will; but that we find ſo great a part of the Nation concern'd in their Quarrel, as gives us cauſe to Obſerve, that the Iſ⯑ſue of them ſeems to threaten the Nation with ſomething Fatal.

For the Power of theſe two Rivals is ſo great, and their Intereſt in the Kingdom ſo popular and High, that Matters of higher Moment than Trade ſeem to depend upon them, while all the proceedings of their Members, both in the City, and in the late Parliament, in both which [7] their Parties have been numerous, are, and have been guided according to their Intereſt in their reſpective Companies.

The Grand Work which the whole Na⯑tion is now Intent upon, is chuſing their Re⯑preſentatives in Parliament, Chuſing Men to Meet, and adviſe with the King about the moſt Important Affairs of the Kingdom.

And while all Men ought to be fixing their Eyes upon ſuch Men as are beſt Qualified to Sit in that Place of Honour, and to Examine who are fitteſt to be Intruſted with the Religion and Peace of England, and perhaps of all Europe.

Here we are plagu'd with the Impertinence of two Eaſt India Companies, as if the Intereſt of either Company were to be Nam'd in the Day with the Pro⯑teſtant Religion and the publick Peace, or as if they, who are fit to be Repreſentatives of the People in the great Matters of Peace and War, Leagues, and Alli⯑ances of Neighbours, Succeſſion of Crowns, and Protection of the Proteſtant Religion, ſhould not be capable of deciding the petty Contro⯑verſy in Trade between two Rivial Companies.

The Grand Queſtion ask'd now, when your Vote is requir'd for a Parliament Man, is not as it ought to be, Is he a Man of Senſe, of Religion, of Ho⯑neſty and Eſtate?

[8] But, What Company is he for, the New, or the Old?

If Mr. A. M. ſet up as a Candidate in a Neigh⯑bouring Borough, Who ſet him up? 'Tis known he is no Inhabitant there, nor ever was, has no Free-hold, or Copy-hold, or Leaſe-hold Eſtate there, nor is not known there, and of him⯑ſelf poſſibly was not acquainted with 20 People there.

But enquire what Company he is for; and then ſee if all the reſt of that Company were not found running over the Water, to make their Intereſt with their Friends for his Election.

And the Time would fail us, and the Paper too, to give you a Liſt of the Shop-keepers, Merchants, and Pedlers, and the Stock-Jobbers, who, with their Hir'd Liveries, in Coaches, and Six Horſes, who, God knows, never had Coach or Livery of their own, are come down into the Countreys, being detach'd from London, by either Company to get themſelves choſen Parliament-Men, by thoſe Boroughs, who are eaſie to be Impos'd upon, and who, like well-meaning Men, that know nothing of the Matter, Chooſe them up⯑on the Recommendation of the Pountry Gentle⯑men that have Intereſt in the Towns, which [9] Country Gentlemen are prevail'd upon to quit their own pretenſions, to advance theirs; but by what Arguments we cannot pretend to De⯑termine.

We have formerly been told that ſpending Mo⯑ny upon the Inhabitants of Towns, was a pernici⯑ous practice; and no doubt it was, and an Act of Parliament has been wiſely made to prevent it.

What any Man cou'd propoſe to himſelf by ſpending 2000 (nay, 11000 pound was ſpent at the Town of Winchelſea) to be choſen to Sit in a Houſe, where there is not one Farthing to be gotten honeſtly, was a Myſtery every one did not underſtand.

But here is a New way of getting Mony: For if a Country Gentleman has ſo much Intereſt in a Town, that he can be choſen a Member of Parliament, if he will decline it, here is a ſort of Folks they call Stock-Jobbers, help him to a 1000 G [...]s for his Intereſt.

This is Parliament-Jobbing, and a New Trade, which as we thought it the Duty of Engliſh Free-holders thus to Expoſe, we hope an Engliſh Parliament will think it their Duty to prevent.

[10] For as this Stock-Jobbing in its own Nature, is only a new Invented ſort of Deceptio Viſus, a Le⯑gerde-main in Trade; ſo mix'd with Trick and Cheat, that twou'd puzzle a good Logician to make it out by Syllogiſm: So nothing can be more Fatal in England to our preſent Conſtitution; and which in time may be ſo to our Liberty and Religion, than to have the Intereſts of Elections Jobb'd upon Exchange for Mony, and Transfer'd like Eaſt India Stock, to thoſe who bid moſt.

By this Method, the Country Gentlemen may ſit at Home; and only Correſponding with the Brokers at Jonathan's and Garraway's, as the Prizes Riſe or Fall, they may diſpoſe of their Intereſts in the Towns they can Govern, at as good a rate as they can.

The Citizens, or ſuch who have their ſeveral Companies and Intereſt to Serve, will Eaſe them⯑ſelves of the Expence of Travelling, with the fine borrow'd Equipages before mention'd; and only go to Market in Exchange Alley, and Buy an Election, as the Stock-Jobber and they ſhall agree, which Election ſhall be manag'd by the Country Gentleman, who is to have his Bargain, no Purchaſe, no Pay, and is to go thro' with it, or elſe he gets none of the Mony.

[11] Elections of Parliament-Men are in a hopeful way; and Parliaments themſelves, are in a hope⯑ful way by this conciſe Method of Practice, to come unde the abſolute Management of a few Hands, and no doubt things will go on accord⯑ingly.

Banks and Stocks may be lay'd up, and em⯑ploy'd in a ſhort time, for the purchaſing the Intereſt of Gentlemen, and our Gentry being willing to get a Penny in an Honeſt way, as we ſay, will but too often ſell their Intereſts and their Country too, eſpecially ſuch Gentlemen, whoſe Eſtates are reduc'd to an occaſion for it.

The truth of it is, 'tis a Paradox, a Riddle, that we Country-men cannot underſtand, nor ne⯑ver cou'd, what makes our Gentlemen ſo fond of being Parliament Men, we do not very well underſtand what the Buſineſs is at the Parlia⯑ment. Only we find we are ſwingingly Tax'd; and they tell us 'tis done by the Parliament; but we never underſtood they had any of the Mony themſelves, we always thought the Mony was for the King, tho' they had the Giving of it, then we ſee in the King's Proclamation for Calling a Parliament, that it was to Adviſe with them, about Affairs of the Higheſt Importance to the [12] Kingdom. Now we cannot ſee they can get any thing by coming together to be Advis'd with, and our Knights of the Shire tell us they get nothing by it. And here lies the Difficulty, we can never reconcile their ſpending ſo much Money to be Choſen, going up 200 Miles to Lon⯑don, and ſpending ſix Months ſometimes there in at⯑tending the Houſe, and all for nothing; we have often been thinking there muſt be ſomething elſe in the caſe, and we are afraid there is.

Nor did ever any thing explain this Riddle ſo much, as the ſtruggling of theſe two Companies to make Members of Parliament; for the mean⯑ing to us ſeems thus:

That they ſuppoſe which Company ſo ever gets moſt Friends in the Houſe, will be moſt likely to be farther Eſtabliſh'd, to the Ruin of the other, and therefore they make ſuch a ſtir to get Friends there.

Whence firſt it muſt be ſuppos'd that the Mat⯑ter ſhall not ſtand or fall by true Merrit, and that Company be ſuppreſt that deſerves it; for if ſo, it might be probable they wou'd both be ſup⯑preſt; for we apprehend they are both deſtru⯑ctive to our Engliſh Trade in general and Manu⯑factures in particular.

[13] But 2. It muſt be ſuppos'd that Friendſhip, and Number of Voices only will decide the Con⯑troverſy.

And in order to this the Stock-Jobbers, who care not a Farthing which Side gets the better, but makes a Prey of them both, have ſet up this new Trade of Jobbing for Elections: And that the way of their proceeding may be a little plai⯑ner underſtood, We deſire you to read the Co⯑py of a Letter come down laſt Poſt, to a wor⯑thy Gentleman in our Country, from a Friend of his plying in or near Exchange-Ally, concerning this Matter.

Now tho' the worthy Gentleman to whom this Propoſal was made, rejected it with Diſ⯑dain, yet the Attempt is made very plain in the caſe.

And we are inform'd, that the Number of Members come down into the Counties, on ſuch accounts, are incredible.

Wherefore we think it very needful to pub⯑liſh our Reſentments at ſuch a practice, and to proteſt againſt it in this our Honeſt Plea, as an indirect, wicked and pernicious Practice, and which may be of very ill conſequence to the Na⯑tion, on theſe following Accounts,

1. A hundred, or an hundred and fifty ſuch Members in the Houſe, wou'd make a Dead [15] Weight, as it us'd to be call'd, to carry any Vote they are For, or Againſt, either in the Negative or Affirmative, as they ſhall agree, and if ſo, it will be almoſt in their Power to diſpoſe of our Eſtates, Perſons, Liberties and Religion, as they think fit.

2. If it be true, as is very rational to ſuppoſe, that they who will Buy will Sell; or if it be true, which ſeems ſtill more rational, that they who have Bought muſt Sell, muſt make a Penny of it, or elſe they loſe their Purchaſe, and ſome their Fortunes, which they expected to raiſe by theſe mercenary Elections; then the Influence ſuch a Number of Members, gotten into the Houſe by the method We are ſpeaking of, will be ca⯑pable of ſelling our Trade, our Religion, our Peace, our Effects, our King, our Crown, and every thing that is Valluable, or Dear to the Nation.

If Stock-jobbing of Elections be the firſt ſtep, in all probability Stock-jobbing of Votes will be be the ſecond; for he that will give a Thou⯑ſand pounds, or more, only for a power to Vote, expects to get ſomething by Voting, or gives away his Money for nothing.

[16] What ſhall we ſay then, if a League of Con⯑federacy ſhou'd be made between our Parlia⯑ment-Sollicitors, and our Stock-jobbing-brokers, two ſort of People equally mercenary and de⯑ceitful.

We deſire to know, whether 'twould not be more fatal to England than the Union of France and Spain, which all Europe ſeems to be ſo much diſturb'd at.

In vain do We the Free-Holders of England ſtrive to Chuſe Men of all the Six Characters, mention'd by a late Author, in order to have a Parliament every way Quallified for the Impor⯑tant Affairs, his Majeſty has mentioned in his Proclamation.

In vain ſhall thoſe Gentlemen We choſe ſit, and Vote in the Houſe, if ſuch a Generation as We hear of are let into the Houſe, by the help of their Money at the Boroughs and Towns, for the Citizens and Burgeſſes out-run the Knigths in Number above Three for One.

We think 'tis no ſmall Misfortune to the Eng⯑liſh Conſtitution, that ſo great a Number of Members Choſen by the Corporations of England, and, according to our weak Opinions, it ſeems not equal, That all the Free-holders of a County [17] ſhou'd be repreſented only by two Men, and the Towns in the ſame County be repreſented by above Forty, as it is in Cornwall, and near the like in other Counties.

Again in ſome of theſe Corporations, where the right of Voting is in the Mayor and Jurats; in ſome the Mayor, Aldermen, and Common Councel; in others the Mayor, Aldermen, and Capital Burgeſſes; in others the Bayliff and Ju⯑rats, and the like, the right of Voting is reduc'd to ſo few, and thoſe ſo Mean and Mercenary, that they are eaſily prevail'd with, to chuſe ſuch as they know not, but are recommended by o⯑thers.

And, which is worſe, ſome Towns whoſe Charters remain, tho' the Towns themſelves ſeem to be Dead, are ſo mean and contemptible, that no⯑thing remains of them but a Deſpicable Village, with the Ruins of what they have been.

We think it wou'd be but reaſonable, that the Charters and Priviledges of Towns, ſhou'd die with the Towns; and that whereas when they were Popolous and Rich, they were Repreſented in Parliament, becauſe they were ſo; when they are Depopulated and Deſolate, there can be no need of any Perſon to repreſent them, what can [18] the Members, who have ſerv'd for the Town of Winchelſea anſwer, if they were ask'd, who they Repreſent, they muſt Anſwer they Repreſent the Ruins and Vaults, the remain of a good Old Town, now lying in Heaps; as for the Inhabitants, they are not to be Nam'd among the Liſt of the moſt deſpicable Endſhips, or Vil⯑lage in the County.

Branber in Suſſex, Old Sarum, Stockbridge, Gat⯑ton, Quinburro, and multitudes of Towns the like, who ſend up Gentlemen to repreſent Beg⯑gars, and have had more Mony ſpent at ſome of their Elections, than all the Land in the Pariſhes wou'd be worth, if Sold at a Hundred Years Purchaſe.

While on the other Hand, a great many good Towns in England, being of more modern Riſe in the World, are not permitted to chuſe at all, and the City of London it ſelf, tho' ſome ſay it bears a proportion to Six parts of the Kingdom, ſends but Four Members of it ſelf; and but Eight in the whole Circumference.

This Inequality, we humbly conceive opens the Door to the fraudulent practices, which have all along been made uſe of in Elections, Buying of Voices, giving Freedoms in Corporations, to People Living out of Corporations, on purpoſe [19] to make Votes, debauching the Electors, make⯑ing whole Towns Drunk, and Feaſting them to Exceſs for a Month, ſometimes two, or more, in order to engage their Voices.

Theſe things were ſo Notorious, and withal ſo Ruinous to the Gentry themſelves, of whom ſeveral Men of plentiful Eſtates have been miſe⯑rably Beggar'd and undone, that the Parliament wiſely took notice of it, and have prohibited the practice.

But as if the Devil ow'd the Nation a Grudge, and was rummaging his Invention to find it out; here is a new project found out, to ſucceed the other, which is Ten Fold more the Child of Hell than that.

Elections were obtain'd by thoſe Clandeſtine Vicious ways, only to ſit in the Houſe in Ge⯑neral; but here the deſign ſeems to be form'd before-hand, what they wou'd be choſen for, and the meaſures concerted, nay we have heard that it may be known already, and Wagers have been layd in, or near Exchange Alley, which Company has moſt Friends in the enſuing Par⯑liament, and how many of the Members of each Company ſtand faireſt to be choſen.

Thoſe Gentlemen who have Intelligence, ſuit⯑able [20] to ſuch nice Calculations, are equally ca⯑pable of Jobbing the whole Nation; and as is already noted, having gotten the way of Buying and Selling, that is jobbing Elections, will ſoon influence ſuch Perſons to Act, as the Mony they are able to bid ſhall direct.

'Twou'd be but a melancholly Thought, to reflect that the matter of our Succeſſion, ſhou'd come to be debated before a Parliament, that had a Governing number of ſuch Members, who cou'd imagine but that the ſettlement of our Crown wou'd attend the higheſt bidder, and our fu⯑ture Liberty, Religion, and all that's dear to us, be Mortgag'd to the Bribes of Forreigners.

The French King need not keep great Armies on Foot, Build Ships, and Strengthen himſelf at Sea to Ruin us, if the great Affairs of the Kingdom concerted in Parliament ſhou'd come to be prepar'd, manag'd, and byaſs'd at Garra⯑way's and Jonathan's Coffee-houſe, and expos'd to Sale by a parcel of Stock-Jobbers.

And how ſhall it be otherwiſe, they that can make Members, will always Govern Members; Creation ſuppoſes a Right of diſpoſing, the Gentle⯑men who Buy are Oblig'd to ſtand in good Terms with the Broker, leaſt they ſhou'd find a better [21] Chapman, and leave him in the lurch the next Ele⯑ction, ſo that by the Nature of the thing, they are always ſubject to this Mercenary, Scandalous thing, call'd a Broker, and he keeps them under his Girdle, if he bids them Vote for, or againſt, they do it, the miſchiefs are endles and innumera⯑ble that may at tend it.

To all Men whoſe Eyes are to be open'd with Reaſon and Argument, it ſhou'd be enough to fill them with abhorrence, to think that the Scanda⯑lous Mechanick Upſtart Miſtery of Job-broke⯑ing ſhould grow upon the Nation; that ever the Engliſh Nation ſhou'd ſuffer themſelves to be Impos'd upon by the New invented ways of a few Needy Mercinaries, who can turn all Trade into a Lottery, and make the Exchange a Gaming Table: A thing, which like the Imaginary Coins of Foreign Nations, have no reality in them⯑ſelves; but are plac'd as things which ſtand to be Calculated, and Reduc'd into Value, a Trade made up of Sharp and Trick, and manag'd with Impudence and Banter.

That Six or Eight Men ſhall Combine toge⯑ther, and by pretended Buying or Selling among themſelves, raiſe or ſink the Stock of the E. India Company, to what extravagant pitch of Price [22] they will, ſo to wheedle others ſometimes to Buy, ſometimes to Sell, as their occaſions re⯑quire; and with ſo little regard to Intrinſick Value, or the circumſtances of the Company, that when the Company has a loſs, Stock ſhall Riſe; when a great Sale, or a Rich Ship arriv'd, it ſhall Fall: Sometimes run the Stock down to 35l. other times up to a 150l. and by this Me⯑thod Buy and Sell ſo much, that 'tis thought there are few of the Noted Stock-jobbers, but what have bought and ſold more Stock than both the Companies poſſeſs.

Thus let them Jobb, Trick, and Cheat one another; and let them be bubbl'd by them that know no better; but for God's ſake, Gentlemen, do not let the Important Affairs of the State come under their wicked clutches.

Don't let them prepare our Acts of Parlia⯑ment, and then Chuſe Members to Vote for them. If Fate and Popiſh Confederacies, and Union of Popiſh Powers abroad threaten us: Let us alone to ſtruggle with them, and have Fair Law, and Honourable Conditions for it; but to be Bought and Sold, to have our Elections of Members, and our Laws, Liberties and Eſtates Stock-jobb'd away, is intollerable.

[23] Some, and not a few, of our Stock-jobbing Brokers, are French Men, a little Correſpondence between the French Court, and Jonathan's Coffee-houſe, with a Currency of Louis D'ors, will make ſtrange alterations here, if this method of Buy⯑ing and Jobbing Elections ſhou'd go on.

The Parliament of England, is the Governing Council; their Breath is our Law, and on their Breath under the Direction of God's Providence, we all depend, the greateſt Nicety that is poſſi⯑ble ſhould be us'd in chuſing Men of untainted Principles, and unqueſtion'd Wiſdom, to com⯑poſe a Body ſo Eminent in their Power and In⯑fluence.

But to attempt to fill the Houſe with Mecha⯑nicks, Tradeſ-men, Stock-jobbers, and Men nei⯑ther of Senſe nor Honeſty, is tricking at the Root, and undermining the Nation's Felicity at once; and 'tis a wonder the impudence of this attempt has not made them Stink in the Noſtrils of the whole Nation.

How can the King be encourag'd to place that confidence in his People, which he men⯑tions in the late Proclamation, by which People, his Majeſty underſtands, the true Repreſentative Body Aſſembled in Parliament, if inſtead of a [24] true Repreſentative, the Houſe is fill'd with Elections Clandeſtinly procur'd by Tricks and Shams impos'd upon the People.

How can the King depend upon his Parlia⯑ment, to carry him thro' any thing he ſhall un⯑dertake by their advice, if mercenary Men fill the Houſe, whoſe Suffrages ſhall be guided by the Bribes and private procurations of his, and the Nations Enemies?

How ſhall the Proteſtant Religion be Eſpous'd, and Defended, which wiſe Men ſay is in great Danger?

How ſhall Trade be Encourag'd, and Protec⯑ted, and the Niceties of it Dſputed and Defend⯑ed?

How ſhall Reformation of Manners, which is ſo much wanted, and which the King has ſo often Recommended, be promoted?

Are Stock-jobbers, Agents of Regiments, Tay⯑lors, and Eaſt India Companies, Qualifi'd for theſe Works; or will any ſort of Men, who Pur⯑chaſe Elections with Mony, to bring to paſs private Intereſts and Parties, Eſpouſe theſe Ge⯑neral Caſes on which the Welfare of the Nation depends.

[25] Tell a Stock-jobber of the Union of France and Spain; of the Muſcovites breaking the Peace; of the Difference between the Danes, and the Duke of Holſtein, Tell him of a good Barrier in Flan⯑ders againſt the French, or of Aſſiſting the Em⯑peror on the Rhine, (talk Goſpel to a Kettle Drum) 'tis all Excentrick and Foreign to him: But talk of the Great Mogul, and the Pirates of Madagaſ⯑car; of Fort St. George, and St. Helena, there you'll hit him, and he turns States-man pre⯑ſently.

It was a Famous Stock-Jobber; and one who is very likely to be a Parliament Man, who when ſome body was talking lately of the Election of the New Pope; and having heard the particulars very attentively, brought out this very grave Queſtion at the end ont. Well! ſays he, I am glad 'tis over, and don't you think that Stock will riſe upon't.

A Learned Queſtion upon the Caſe, truly; upon which, pray give us leave to ask ano⯑ther; [...] And is't not pity, [...] But ſuch a one ſhould Repreſent the City?

You Londoners may make them Sheriffs, Al⯑dermen, and Deputies, and Common-Councel [26] Men, and welcome; you know them, and they can hurt no body but themſelves.

But when you come to talk of Parliament Men, Gentlemen, pray conſider, 'tis the whole Nation lies at Stake, a Man may ſet his own Houſe on Fire, and welcome, provided it ſtands by it ſelf, and neither hurts nor endangers no bodies elſe, and the Law has nothing to ſay to him; but if it ſtands in a Town, or a City, he deſerves to be Hang'd, for he may burn out, and undo his Neighbours.

Nor are you chuſing Men to ſit in Parlia⯑ment, as Perſons to Act for you only whom they Repreſent; but they are Repreſentatives in a double capacity, ſeparately conſider'd, every Member Repreſents the People who chuſe him, and all together Repreſent the whole Nation. Their right to ſit is ſeparately Devolv'd; but their right in Act, is conjunctively Inherent, every Man Repreſents the whole, and Acts for the whole, tho' he is ſent but from part.

The Fate of Briſtol, or New Caſtle, may be deci⯑ded by a Member of London, or Canterbury, whoſe Vote on an equality of Voices carries it which way he pleaſes.

[27] Therefore London cannot ſay to Briſtol, or New-Caſtle, What have you to do with our Election? or they to London, What have you to do with ours; why one bad Member may ruin a City, a Town, or Family, a Perſon, or perhaps all to⯑gether; and if any Town, or City, or Burrough, or private Perſon, is pleas'd to give a Friendly Admonition or Caution to another, eſpecially if they ſeem to be proceeding againſt their own, or the Nation's Intereſt, they ought to accept the Hint, and reflect upon what they are doing with Honeſty, and reform it.

Upon this, we hope it ſhall be juſtified, that we have ventur'd to lay open the Villanous prac⯑tices of ſome People to corrupt and procure E⯑lections, in order to get Members into the en⯑ſuing Parliament, who ſhall ſerve a Turn, and a Party, without conſidering whether they are Men qualified for the other great Affairs, which are to be conſider'd there, and which His Maje⯑ſty has aſſur'd us, are of the higheſt Importance to the Kingdom.