THE ANATOMY OF Exchange-Alley, &c.

THE General Cry againſt Stock-Jobbing has been ſuch, and People have been ſo long, and ſo juſtly Complaining of it as a publick Nuſance; and which is ſtill worſe, have complained ſo long without a Remedy, that the Jobbers, harden'd in Crime, are at laſt come to exceed all [2] bounds, and now, if ever, ſleeping Juſtice will awake, and take ſome Notice of them, and if it ſhould not now, yet the diligem Creatures are ſo ſteddy to themſelves, that they will ſome time or other, make it abſolute⯑ly neceſſary to the Government to demoliſh them.

I know they upon all Occaſions laugh at the Suggeſtion, and have the Pride to think it im⯑practicable to reſtrain them; and one of the top of the Function the other Day, when I caſually told him, That if they went on, they wou'd make it abſolutely neceſſary to the Le⯑giſlature, to ſuppreſs them, return'd, That he believ'd it was as abſolutely neceſſary for 'em to do it now, as ever it could be; But how will they do it? 'Tis impoſſible, ſaid he, but if the Government takes Credit, their Funds ſhould come to Market; and while there is a Market we will buy and ſell; there is no effectual way in the World, ſays he, to ſuppreſs us but this, viz. That the Government ſhould firſt pay all the publick Debts, redeem all the Funds, and diſſolve all the Charters, viz. Bank, South-Sea, and Eaſt-India, and buy nothing upon Truſt, and then, indeed, ſays he, they need not hang the Stock-Jobbers, for they will be apt to hang them ſelves.

[3] I muſt confeſs, I in part agree that this is an effectual way, but I am far from thinking it the only way to deal with a Confederati⯑on of Uſurers, who having ſold the whole Nation to Uſury, keep the Purſe-Strings of Poor and Rich in their Hands, which they open and ſhut as they pleaſe.

But before I come to the needful ways for reſtraining thoſe People, I think 'twill be of ſome Service to expoſe their Practices to common view, that the People may ſee a little what kind of Dealers they are.

And firſt, they have this peculiar to 'em, and in which they out-do all the particular pieces of publick Knavery that ever I met with in the World, viz. That they have nothing to ſay for it themſelves; they have, indeed a particular Stock of hard Ware, as the Braziers call it, in their Faces, to bear them out in it; but if you talk to them of their Occupation, there is not a Man but will own, 'tis a compleat Syſtem of Knavery; that 'tis a Trade founded in Fraud, born of Deceit, and nouriſhed by Trick, Cheat, Wheedle, Forgeries, Falſhoods, and all ſorts of Deluſions; Coining falſe News, this way good, that way bad; whiſpering imaginary [4] Terrors, Frights, Hopes, Expectations, and then preying upon the Weakneſs of thoſe, whoſe Imaginations they have wrought upon, whom they have either elevated or depreſs'd. If they meet with a Cull, a young Dealer that has Money to lay out, they catch him at the Door, whiſper to him, Sir, here is a great piece of News, it is not yet publick, it is worth a Thouſand Guineas but to mention it: I am heartily glad I met you, but it muſt be as ſe⯑cret as the black ſide of your Soul, for they know nothing of it yet in the Coffee-Houſe, if they ſhould, Stock would riſe 10 per Cent. in a moment, and I warrant you South-Sea will be 130 in a Week's Time, after it is known. Well, ſays the weak Creature, prethee dear Tom what is it? Why really Sir I will let you into the Secret, upon your Honour to keep it till you hear it from other Hands; why 'tis this, The Pretender is certainly taken and is carried Priſoner to the Caſtle of Millan, there they have him faſt; I aſſure you, the Government had an Expreſs of it from my Lord St----s within this Hour. Are you ſure of it, ſays the Fiſh, who jumps eagerly into the Net? Sure of it! why if you will take your Coach and go up to the Secre⯑taries-Office, you may be ſatisfied of it your ſelf, and be down again in Two Hours, and in [5] the mean time I will be doing ſomething, tho' it is but little, till you return.

Away goes the Gudgeon with his Head full of Wildfire, and a Squib in his Brain, and co⯑ming to the Place, meets a Croney at the Door, who ignorantly confirms the Report, and ſo ſets fire to the Mine; for indeed the Cheat came too far to be baulkt at home: So that without giving himſelf Time to conſider, he hurries back full of the Deluſions, dreaming of nothing but of getting a Hundred Thouſand Pounds, or purchaſe Two; and even this Mo⯑ney was to be gotten only upon the Views of his being before-hand with other People.

In this Elevation, he meets his Broker, who throws more Fire-works into the Mine, and blows him up to ſo fierce an Inflamation, that he employs him inſtantly to take Guineas to accept Stock of any Kind, and almoſt at any Price; for the News being now publick, the Artiſt made their Price upon him. In a Word, having accepted them for Fifty Thou⯑ſand Pounds more than he is able to pay, the Jobber has got an Eſtate, the Broker 2 or 300 Guineas, and the Eſquire remains at Lei⯑ſure to ſell his Coach and Horſes, his fine Seat and rich Furniture, to make good the Defici⯑ency [6] of his Bear-Skins, and at laſt, when all will not go through it, he muſt give them a Bruſh for the reſt.

There are who tell us, that the Exchange-Alley Improvements made upon the News of the Pretender's being taken, were part of the Plot, that the late Earl of Mar having concerted the Voyage of Voghera, and how and in what Manner the Report of the Pretender's being there ſhould ſpread, who it ſhould amuſe, and how at one Blow it ſhould ſpread Eaſt to Vi⯑enna, and North-Weſt to Paris, and ſo on; for⯑got not to contrive it, as at once ſhould ſerve Political Ends in Italy and at Vienna: So on the other hand, it ſhould not fail to ſerve a private View in Exchange-Alley, and at the ſame time that he deceiv'd ſome of the Whiggs who he ow'd a large Grudge to for ſhrew'd Turns at Preſton and Dumblain, he might alſo raiſe a Tax upon them towards the incident Charges of his wandring Circumſtances.

I do not averr this Story to be true, but the Concert is ſo exact, and the Nature of it ſo agreeable to the Stock-jobbing Art, nay and to the Artiſts alſo, whoſe Correſpondents are very punctual, eſpecially ſince it is ſaid, that Mr. T—s chief Agent was formerly my [7] Lord M—r's Broker; that I wont affirm it may be true; but this I will venture to ſay of it, That if we are often ſerv'd thus, the Pre⯑tender may very eaſily raiſe a Hundred Thou⯑ſand Pounds a Year in Exchange-Alley, for the carrying on an Invaſion, and lay the Tax wholly upon his Enemies the Whigs, which, by the way, I leave them to conſider of.

But now that I may make good the Charge (viz.) that the whole Art and Myſtery is a meer Original Syſtem of Cheat and Deluſion; I muſt let you ſee too, that this Part of the Comedy may be very well call'd, A Bite for the Biter; for which I muſt go back to the Broker and his Gudgeon. The Money'd Gen⯑tleman finding himſelf let into the Secret in⯑deed , and that he was bitten to the Tune of 30000 l. worſe than nothing. After he had unhappily paid as far as his ready Money wou'd go, of which Piece of Honeſty they ſay he has heartily repented, and is in Hopes all that come after him will forgive him for the ſake of what follow'd, ſtopt ſhort, as he might well, you'll ſay, when his Money was all gone, and be⯑thinks himſelf, What am la doing! I have paid away all this Money like a Fool, I was drawn in like an Aſs, by the eager Deſire of Biting my Neighbours to a vaſt Sum, and I [8] have been Fool enough in that, but I have been ten Thouſand times a worſe Fool, to pay a Groat of the Money, eſpecially ſince I knew I could not pay it all: Beſides, who but I would have forgot the Nature of the Thing I was dealing in, and of the People I was dealing with; why, is it not all a meer Body of Knavery? Is not the whole Doctrine of Stock-Jobbing a Science of Fraud? And are not all the Dealers, meer Original Thieves and Pick-Pockets? Nay, do they not own it themſelves? Have not I heard T. W. B. O. and J. S. a thouſand times ſay they know their Employment was a Branch of Highway Robbing, and only differ'd in two things, Firſt in Degree, (viz.) that it was ten Thouſand times worſe, more remorſeleſs, more void of Humanity, done without Neceſ⯑ſity, and committed upon Fathers, Brothers, Widows, Orphans, and intimate Friends; in all which Caſes, Highwaymen, generally touch'd with Remorſe, and affected with Prin⯑ciples of Humanity and Generoſity, ſtopt ſhort and chooſe to prey upon Strangers only. Se⯑condly in Danger, (viz.) that theſe rob ſecure⯑ly ; the other, with the utmoſt Riſque that the Highwaymen run, at the Hazard of their Lives, being ſure to be hang'd firſt or laſt, whereas theſe rob only at the Hazard of their Reputation which is generally loſt before they [9] begin, and of their Souls, which Trifle is not worth the mentioning. Have not I, I ſay, heard my Broker Mr. ........ ſay all this, and much more? And have not I alſo heard him ſay,

This Experiment indeed may teach Under⯑ſtanding to every honeſt Man that falls into the Clutches of theſe mercileſs Men, call'd Stock-Jobbers; and I give the World this No⯑tice , that in ſhort, not one of their Exchange-Alley Bargains, need be otherwiſe than thus complied with; and let theſe Buyers of Bear⯑skins remember it; not a Man of them dare go to Common-Law to recover the Conditions; nor is any Man oblig'd, further then he thinks himſelf oblig'd in Principle, to make good one of his Bargains with them; how far Prin⯑ciple will carry any Man to be juſt to a com⯑mon Cheat, that has drawn him into a Snare, I do not indeed know; but I cannot ſuppoſe 'twill go a very great Length, where there is ſo clear, ſo plain, and ſo legal a Door to get out at.

[12] It muſt be confeſs'd, that if the projected Story of the taking the Pretender was acted in Concert between Rome and Exchange-Alley, between my Lord Marr, and a certain Broker as Fame reports, either the Broker is the De⯑vil of a Jacobite, or my Lord the Devil of a Broker; it muſt be acknowledg'd 'twas a far fetch'd Trick, and anſwer'd the End in Ex⯑change moſt admirably.

Nor can all the World tell us any other End that it could anſwer, for as to the Pretences of deluding the Imperialiſts on Shore, or the Britiſh Men of War at Sea, and ſo the better to facilitate the Eſcape of the Pretender to Spain, I undertake to prove, that this is ab⯑ſurd and ridiculous, for the Pretender was Embark'd at Netunna, and gone away to Sea thirteen Days at leaſt, before this Whim of People taken at Voghera was talk'd of.

As to the Amuſements among the Courtsa [...] Vienna, Paris and London, they amounted to nothing at all, anſwer'd no End, neither prompted any Deſign on one hand, or hindred any Thing on the other: In a Word, we may challenge the World, to tell us any one Turn that was ſerv'd by it, or End anſwer'd by it▪ but this in Exchange-Alley.

[13] Nor was this ſo inconſiderable a Deſign, as not to be worth while to form ſuch a Juggle, tho' a great way off; and as far off as it is, if we may believe the Report of thoſe who re⯑member the Machines and Contrivances of that Original of Stock-Jobbing, Sir J--- C---- There are thoſe who tell us, Letters have been order'd, by private Management, to be writ⯑ten from the Eaſt-Indies, with an Account of the Loſs of Ships which have been arriv'd there, and the Arrival of Ships loſt; of War which the Great Mogul, when they have been in perfect Tranquility, and of Peace with the Great Mogul, when he was come down againſt the Factory of Bengale with One Hun⯑dred Thouſand Men, juſt as it was, thought proper to calculate thoſe Rumours for the Raiſing and Falling of the Stock, and when it was for his Purpoſe to but cheap, or ſell dear.

It would be endleſs to give an Account of the Subtiltics of that Capital Che....t, when he had a Deſign to Bite the whole Exchange: As he was the leading Hand to the Market, ſo he kept it in his Power to ſet the Price to all the Dealers. The Subject then was clrie fly the Eaſt-India Stock, tho' there were other Stocks [14] on foot too, tho' ſince ſunk to nothing; ſuch as the Hudſon's-Bay Company, the Linnen Ma⯑nufacture Stock, Paper Stock, Salt-Petre Stock and others, all at this Day worſe than nothing, tho' ſome of them then Jobb'd up to 350 per Cent. as the two firſt in particular.

But the Eaſt-India Stock was the main Point, every Man's Eye, when he came to Market, was upon the Broker's, who acted for Sir J— Does Sir J— Sell or Buy? If Sir J— had a Mind to buy, the firſt thing he did was to Commiſſion his Brokers to look ſower, ſhake their Heads, ſuggeſt bad News from India; and at the Bottom it follow'd, I have Com⯑miſſion from Sir J— to ſell out whatever I can, and perhaps they would actually ſell Ten, perhaps Twenty Thouſand Pound; immediate⯑ly the Exchange (for they were not then come to the Alley) was full of Sellers; no Body would buy a Shilling, till perhaps the Stock would fall Six, Seven, Eight, Ten per Cent. ſometimes more; then the Cunning Jobber had another Sett of Men employ'd on purpoſe to buy, but with Privacy and Caution, all the Stock they could lay their Hands on, 'till by ſelling Ten Thouſand Pound, at 4 or 5 per Cent. loſt, he would buy a Hundred Thouſand Pound Stock, at 10 or 12 per Cent. under Price; [15] and in a few Weeks by juſt the contrary Me⯑thod , ſet them all a buying, and then ſell them their own Stock again at ten or twelve per Cent. Profit.

Theſe honeſt Methods laid the Foundation, we will not ſay of a fine great Stone Houſe, on a certain Forreſt, but it certainly laid the Foundation of an Opulent Family, and iniu⯑tiated the Crowd of Jobbers on that dexterity in tricking and cheating one another, which to this Day they are the greateſt Proficients, that this part of the World ever ſaw.

To come a little nearer home, We had ano⯑ther Gentleman, who, from a ſmall Beginning, came to leave, as they ſay who ſpeak of the leaſt, 250000l. behind him, and yet did not die an old Man neither. This Knight, to avoid as much as poſſible, Reflections upon the Aſhes of the Dead, added to the former Craft, that of bringing ſudden News into Exchange-Alley, cal⯑culated to the Wagers he had to lay, or to any he had to hedge off, and by this gain'd immenſe Sums of Money (where he living I ſhould give it an harder Name.) Why ſhould it be thought ſo ſtrange, that my Lord Marr and his Broker ſhould trump up a Story from Italy, ſend a Sett of Poſt-Chaiſes with Gentlemen in Diſ⯑guiſe, [16] out of the way of all Road, to be taken up in the Milaneſe, and ſent to the Caſtle, and then ſent word to a Great Man in England, who is a BELIEVER, that it was the Preten⯑der , and all this to raiſe the Price of Stocks, and put it upon the Whiggs. I ſay, Why ſhould this be more ſtrange than that Sir H— F—ſe, in the late King William's Reign, was able to maintain ſuch a conſtant Intelligence in Holland, Flanders, Germany, Ireland, &c. that he ſeveral times brought the King Ac⯑counts of Battles fought, Victories won, Towns taken, &c. before the ſwifteſt Expreſſes of the King's own Servants and Generals could ar⯑rive ; and had once a Diamond Ring of 500l. given him by the King for his early News.

By this exactly concerted Intelligence, he then knew how to turn the Wagers (a ſort of Jobbing then in Mode, and which grew ſo in⯑famous that they were at length oblig'd to ſup⯑preſs it by Act of Parliament) which way he pleaſed; and by which he got an immenſe Sum of Money. How often did the Gentleman run down true News as if it had been falſe, and run up falſe News as if it had been true, by the Force of his Foreign Intelligeneers, how often coin Reports of great Actions to ſerve a Turn; it is too late a Trick to be forgot, by many that were hit by it to the Bone.

[17] In a word, they putting falſe News upon us is nothing but an old Trade reviv'd, tho' it muſt be confeſs'd, this of the Pretender has been a Maſter-Piece, and the worthy Projector who has the Credit of it, muſt paſs for a dex⯑trous Manager as any the Univerſity of Ex⯑change-Alley, has bred up for 30 Years paſt.

It had alſo one Particular in it, for which it was very remarkable; Sham Reports, Falſe News, Foreign Letters, &c. are Things that have been often trumpt upon us, as above, and the Town have been not long ago cheated to a good round Sum that Way: But then they have been ſoon detected, the Morning News has been ſet to rights in the Afternoon, or the Evening's Heat has cool'd by Morning: But this Trick had a fatal Duration, for it held us near a Fortnight in a firm Perſwaſion of the Thing; and even then it continued, but ſuſ⯑pected only for ſome time longer, and was yet longer before it was fully detected, and even at laſt it was hardly conquered till the Jacobites laugh us out of it, and the Pretender was look'd for nearer Home.

The Aſſurance with which it was carry'd about, the ſeveral Places from whence it was [18] written, made it ſo effectually be ſwallow'd down, that really People ſaw no room to que⯑ſtion the Truth of it for a great while. 'Twas written from Rome, from Leghorn, from Ge⯑noa, from Turin, and from Paris: Nay, 'twas even believ'd at Court, and almoſt every where elſe.

Exquiſite Fraud! who could have believed this had been born in Exchange-Alley, ſent over to Rome, agreed to there and executed in ſuch a Manner as to cheat not the Town only, but all Europe.

The Authority that every one found at⯑temded the Report, ſupported it ſo that it poſ⯑ſeſs'd us all, even thoſe whoſe Concern for the Fact extorted Tears from them were not un⯑deceiv 'd. Thus the Huckſters had Time to play their Game, and they made Hay while the Sun ſhone; for if we may believe Com⯑mon Fame, Bargains, Contracts and Agree⯑ments for Stocks, Bear-Skins included, a⯑mounted in that time to ſome Hundred Thou⯑ſands of Pounds, nay, ſome ſay to Two Mil⯑lions and better, moſt of which was to the Loſs of the Believing Party.

[19] But what Tricking, what Fraud, what lay⯑ing Plots as deep as Hell, and as far as the ends of the Earth is here? What Cheating of Fathers, and Mothers, and Brothers, gulling Widows, Orphans, couzening the moſt Wary, and plundering the Unwary? And how much meaner Roberies than theſe bring the Friend⯑leſs even to the Gallows every Seſſions?

But I muſt not ſtop here, the Story of the Pretender is over, that Trump is play'd, and the artful Gameſter's wanting a new Trick, after having play'd ſo many already, that one would think Invention was at an end, yet they have found it out, and we are juſt led into the Secret.

Hitherto Craft and Knavery appears to be their Method, but we ſhall trace them now a little further, and like true Haſſars that plunder not the Enemy only, but their own Army, as the Opportunity preſents; ſo theſe Men are now come to prey upon the Govern⯑ment it ſelf.

Let us look into the late Lotteries, had not a piercing Eye detected the Rognery, and not the fall of other things taken off the Edge of the [20] Peoples Fancy for venturing, theſe Artiſts had brought up the Tickets to 16s. a-piece ad⯑vance , even before the Act was paſs'd. That this could not be but by ſecuring the Poſſeſſi⯑on of all the Tickets in their own hands, ex⯑cept ſuch ſelect Tickets as were not to come to Market. I ſay, that this could not be but by Connivance, and this every one knows; and that this Connivance again could not be but by ſome higher People than thoſe that were nam'd to it; this alſo every one may know, who they were is none of my Buſineſs to en⯑quire , tho' 'tis eaſy to gueſs. 'Tis very hard when our Stateſmen come into a Confederacy to bite the People, and when Dukes turn Stock-Jobbers : Yet that this was done is moſt cer⯑tain , and what was this but making a Proper⯑ty of the Power that might be in their Hands, the better to bite the People: For if the Par⯑liament appointed 500,000l. in Tickets to be given out at a certain Rate that was low and reaſonable, was it not to encourage the People on whom the reſt of the National Burthen lies? And if by the Craft and Knavery of Jobbers the People are made to pay 600,000l. for them, which is much about the Caſe, pray why not pay the Hundred Thouſand Pounds to the Publick, either to pay off a Hundred Thou⯑ſand Pounds of Debt, or to make the Burthen [21] of the current Year a Hundred Thouſand Pounds lighter, of which I am ſure there is need enough.

It has been indeed our Happineſs, that a worthy Member being inform'd of this abo⯑minable Cheat, detected it, and laid it before the Houſe; upon which a Vote was paſt to make void all Bargains made for Tickets be⯑fore the Act was paſt; ſo the Biters were Bit⯑ten; and a certain Sir George ----- was oblig'd to refund; but the Roguery of the Deſign was never a Jot the leſs for that.

But the fatal Influences of this growing Evil does not end here, and I muſt trace Stock-jobbing now to its new acquir'd Capaci⯑ty of intermeddling with the Publick, aſſiſt⯑ing Rebellion, encouraging Invaſion; and if I do not bring the Stock-jobbers, even the Whigs among them, to be guilty of Treaſon againſt their King and Country, and that of the worſt Kind too, then I do nothing.

Had the Stock-jobbers been all Jacobites by Profeſſion, or had the Employment led them, by the Neceſſity of their Buſineſs to put King and Nation, and particularly their own, to Bar⯑gain and Sale; and had the ſelling of News [...]een their Property, and they had an Act of [22] Parliament, or Patent, to entitle them to the ſole Privilege of impoſing what falſe Things they pleaſed on the People, I ſhould have had much the leſs Reaſon to have complain'd of their Roguery, and have rather turn'd my ſelf to the reſt of them People, who are the Subject they work upon, and only have ſtood at Exchange-Alley End, and cried out, Gentle⯑men , have a care of your Pockets.

Again, had it been a private Club, or Su⯑ciety of Men, acting one among another, had the Cheats, the Frauds, and the Tricks they daily make uſe of, in which the Engliſh Rogue was a Fool to them, been practis'd upon them⯑ſelves only; and like Gameſters at a publick Board, they had only play'd with thoſe that came there to play with them; in this Caſe alſo I ſhould have held my Tongue, and only put them in mind of an old Song; every Stanza of which chim'd in with Tantararand, Rogues all, Rogues all.

But when we find this Trade become a Po⯑litical Vice, a publick Crime, and that as it is now carried on, it appears dangerous to the Publick, that whenever any Wickedneſs is it Hand, any Miſchief by the worſt of the Na⯑tions Enemies upon the Wheel, the Stock [23] Jobbers are naturally made aſſiſtant to it, that they become Abettors of Treaſon, aſſiſtant to Rebellion and Invaſion, then it is certainly time to ſpeak, for the very Employment be⯑comes a Crime, and we are oblig'd to expoſe a Sort of Men, who are more dangerous than a whole Nation of Enemies Abroad, an Evil more formidable then the Peſtilence, and in their Practiſe more fatal to the Publick than an Invaſion of Spaniards.

It is ſaid by ſome, that the principal Lea⯑ders in the Jobbing Trade at that Time, and at whom moſt part of the Satyr in this Work ought to be pointed, are Whigs, Members of Parliament, and Friends to the Government; and that the refore I had beſt have a Care of what I ſay of them.

My firſt Anſwer is, So I will. I will have a Care of them, and in the next Place let them have a Care of me; for if I ſhould ſpeak the whole Truth of ſome of them, they might be Whigs; but I dare ſay, they would be neither P.......men, or Friends to the Government very long, and it is very hard his Majeſty ſhould not be told what kind of Friends to him ſuch Men are.

[24] Beſides, I deny the Fact; theſe Men Friends to the Government! Jeſu Maria! The Govern⯑ment may be friendly to them in a manner they do not deſerve; but as to their being Friends to the Government, that is no more poſſible than the Cardinal Alberoni, or the Chevalier de St. George are Friends to the Go⯑vernment; and therefore without reflecting upon Perſons, naming Names, or the like; there will be no need of Names, the Dreſs will de⯑ſcribe them, I lay down this new faſhion'd Pro⯑poſition, or Poſtulatum, take it which way you pleaſe, that I will make it out by the Con⯑ſequences of what I am going to ſay.

• 1. That Stock-jobbing, as it is now practi⯑ſed, and as is generally underſtood by the Word Stock-jobbing, is neither leſs or more than High-Treaſon in its very Nature, and in its Conſequences.
• 2. That the Stock-jobbers, who are guilty of the Practices I am going to detect, are even⯑tually Traytors to King George, and to his Government, Family and Intereſt, and to their Country, and deſerve to be uſed at leaſt as Confederates with Traytors, when ever there are any alarms of Invaſions, Rebellions, [25] or any ſecret Practices againſt the Govern⯑ment , of what Kind ſoever.

This is a black Charge, and boldly laid, and ought therefore to be effectually made out, which ſhall be the Work of a few Pages in the following Sheets.

First, I lay down this as a Rule, which I appeal to the Laws of Reaſon to ſupport, that all thoſe People, who at a Time of publick Danger, whether of treaſonable Invaſion from Abroad, or trayterous Attempts to raiſe In⯑ſurrections at Home, ſhall willingly and wittingly abett, aſſiſt, or encourage the Traytors, Invading or Rebelling, are equally guilty of Treaſon.

Secondly, All thoſe who ſhall endeavour to weaken, diſappoint and diſable the Govern⯑ment in their Preparations, or diſcourage the People in their aſſiſting the Government to oppoſe the Rebels or Invadors, are guilty of Treaſon.

All that can be alledg'd in Contradiction to this, and perhaps that could not be made our neither, is, That they are not Traytors within the Letter of the Law; to which I anſwer [26] if they were, I ſhould not Satyrize them, but Impeach them. But if it appears that they are as effectually deſtructive to the Peace and Safety of the Government, and of the King's Perſon and Family, as if they were in open War with his Power, I do the ſame Thing, and fully anſwer the End propoſed.

As there are many Thieves beſides Houſe-Breakers , Highway-Men, Lifters and Pick⯑pockets , ſo there are many Traytors, beſides Rebels and Invaders, and perhaps of a much worſe Kind; for as in a Diſpute between a certain Lord, and a Woman of Pleaſure in the Town, about the different Virtue of the Sexes, the Lady inſiſted that the Men were Agreſſors in the Vice, and that in plain Eng⯑liſh, if there were no Whore-Maſters, there would be no Whores: So, in a Word, if there were no Parties at Home, no Diſaffection, no Traytors among our ſelves, there would be no Invaſions from Abroad.

Now I will ſuppoſe for the Purpoſe only, that the People I am ſpeaking of were not diſ⯑affected to the Government; I mean, not origi⯑nally , and intentionally pointing their Deſign at the Government; nay, that they are hearty Whigs, call them as we pleaſe; yet if it ap⯑pear [27] they are hearty Knaves too, will do any thing for Money, and are, by the Neceſſity of their Buſineſs oblig'd, or by the vehement Purſuit of their Intereſt, that is to ſay, of their Profits, puſh'd upon Things as effectu⯑ally ruinous and deſtructive to the Govern⯑ment , as the very buying Arms and Amuni⯑tion by a profeſt Jacobite, in order to Rebel⯑lion could be, are they not Traytors even in ſpite of Principle, in ſpite of the Name of Whig; nay, in ſpite of a thouſand meritori⯑ous things that might otherwiſe be ſaid of them, or done by them?

A Gun-Smith makes ten Thouſand Firelocks in the Minories, the honeſt Man may be a Whig, he deſigns to ſell them to the Govern⯑ment to lay up in the Tower, or to kill Spa⯑niards, or any of the reſt of the King's Ene⯑mies ; a Merchant comes and buys ſome of them, and ſays they are for the Weſt-Indies, or to ſell into France: But upon Enquiry it ap⯑pears they are bought for Rebellion; the un⯑de ſigning Gun-Smith comes into Trouble of courſe, and it will be very hard for him to prove the Negative (viz.) That when he has furniſh'd the Rebels with Arms, he had no Share in the Rebellion.

[28] To bring this home to the Caſe in view, who were the Men, who in the late Hurry of an expected Invaſion, ſunk the Price of Stocks 14 to 15 per Cent? Who were the Men that made a run upon the Bank of England, and puſht at them with ſome particular Pique too, if poſ⯑ſible, to have run them down, and brought 'em to a Stop of Payment? And what was the Conſequences of theſe Things? Will they tell us that running upon the Bank, and lowering the Stocks, was no Treaſon? We know, that litterally ſpeaking, thoſe things are no Trea⯑ſon: But is there not a plain conſtructive Treaſon in the Conſequences of it? Is not a wilful running down the publick Cre⯑dit , at a Time when the Nation is threaten'd with an Invaſion from Abroad, and Rebel⯑lion at Home? Is not this adding to the Ter⯑or of the People? Is not this diſabling the Government, diſcouraging the King's Friends, and a viſible Encouragement of the King's Enemies? Is not all that is taken from the Credit of the Publick, on ſuch an Occaſion, added to the Credit of the Invaſion? Does not every thing that weakens the Government, ſtrengthen its Enemies? And is not every Step that is taken in Prejudice of the King's Intereſt a Step taken in Aid of the deſign'd Rebel⯑lion? The kindeſt thing that can be ſaid of a [29] certain Triumvirate of Jobbers, whoſe Hands have been deepeſt in this Part of the Work, and who indeed had more Obligations upon them than any other Men in the Town, to have aſſiſted the Publick Intereſt, and advan⯑ced the Credit of the Nation is, that they did not think what they did, and that this Excuſe may not ſerve them another Time, I may ſoon furniſh them with an Anatomy of ſome of the Conduct of that little Body of Number Three, that when they ſee their Miſtakes with the Eyes that other Men ſee them, they may at their Leiſure give a better Turn to the Mea⯑ſures of Unbounded Avarice.

And now that I may not be ſaid to ſpeak without a Precedent, I humbly refer to thoſe money'd Gentlemen to a Caſe recent in Me⯑mory , and even in their own, which tho' in⯑deed they may think fit to have forgotten for a time, they will all call to mind when they hear of it again; and this was the Caſe of two Goldſmiths (Knights alſo, and one of them Member of Parliament too) in Fleet⯑ſtreet, who puſh'd at the Bank of England at the Time that the Pretender's Invaſion from France was in its Preparation: One of them, it was ſaid, had gather'd a quantity of Bank-Bills to the value of near 100,000 l. and the [30] other, a great Sum, tho' not ſo many, and it was ſaid, reſolv'd to demand them all at once.

Let the Gentlement I point at look back to the printed Papers that Year, let them en⯑quire what Conſtruction was put upon it; let them enquire how the Government reſented it, how my Lord Treaſurer Godolphin look'd upon it as a Mine form'd to blow up the Queen's Affairs, and how, in a Word, all the Friends of the Government took it to be ſuch a Step in favour of the Pretender, as was im⯑poſſible to conſiſt with Duty to the Queen.

Let them enquire further, with what Diffi⯑culty Sir R— H— wip'd off the Impu⯑tation of being a Favourer of the Rebellion, and how often, in vain, he proteſted, he did it with no ſuch View, and how hard the Whiggs were to believe him. Sir F— C—d indeed carry'd it with a higher Hand, and afterwards pretended to refuſe the Bills of the Bank; but ſtill declar'd he did it as a Goldſmith, and as a piece of Juſtice to himſelf, in ſome Points in which the Bank had, as he alledg'd, us'd him ill. But in general, it was look'd upon as an open Affront to the Government, and an abetting and countenancing the Inva⯑ſion of the Pretender from Abroad, and the [31] Rebellion intended at Home: Nor was the Government, much leſs were the Authors of private Papers and Prints, wanting, in let⯑ting them know it; nay, if I am not miſin⯑form 'd, they were threatned with being trea⯑ted as Enemies to the Government, and if Things had gone on to Extremities, they had doubtleſs been mark'd out as Perſons the Go⯑vernment were to take care of.

Now I only ſpeak in plainer Words; It was ſaid then, that ſuch Men as endeavour'd to run down the Publick Credit, were Enemies to the Government. I know no Diſtinction in the Caſe, that ſhould require ſo much Tender⯑neſs; every Subject of King George, who is at the ſame time an Enemy to King George, is a Traytor, and every Overt-Act of that Enmity it being his Duty to his utmoſt to favour, aid and ſupport the Government, is an Overt Act of Treaſon, let it be gilded over with what fine Words the Perſons pleaſe, 'tis the ſame thing, if it is not literal Treaſon, and within reach of the Statute, yet the Crime is in it ſelf of the ſame Nature.

And let any one tell me, what is the Diffe⯑rence between two Dealers in Paper Credit in the time of a French Invaſion, and three [32] Dealers in Paper-Credit in the time of a Spa⯑niſh Invaſion, or what Sanctity in Birchin-Lane more than in Fleet-ſtreet, that one ſhould be a Protection for the ſame Practice that was reſented ſo juſtly in another.

Were thoſe Stock-jobbers ſincerely and hear⯑tily in the Intereſt of King George and his Government, as they pretend loudly, what Run could there be upon the Bank, what Ebb of Credit, what ſinking of Stock: The honeſt Whiggs who were Friends to the Government at that Time mention'd above, who not only knew their Duty, but how to make it ſeaſon⯑able and uſeful, acted after another Manner, when others run upon the Bank with all the Fury poſſible, they carry'd all the Money thi⯑ther they could gather up: Nay, I could name a Man in this City, who having but 500 in the World, carry'd it all into the Bank to ſup⯑port the Credit of the Publick; and the Story being told to her Majeſty by the late Lord Treaſurer Godolphin: The Senſe of ſuch Fi⯑delity ſo mov'd the Queen, that ſhe ſent him a Hundred Pounds as a Gift, a Royal Token of her accepting ſuch an Act of Loyalty; and cauſed my Lord to give him an Obligation from the Treaſury to repay him the whole 500l. if any Diſaſter to the Bank ſhould have made it doubtful.

[33] Where's the like Courage and Conduct to be found now? Is it in Being? Are the Gentle⯑men leſs able? Or is it that they have not the ſame Zeal for King George as that honeſt Citi⯑zen had for the Queen? Or do they doubt the King being as ſenſible of the Service? Or what is the matter that the Publick Credit had rather met with injurious Juggling and Jobbing upon it, than real Support, either from Exchange-Alley , Birchin Lane, or ſome other Places leſs noted.

Let thoſe Men reflect a little upon the Cir⯑cumſtances the Publick Credit muſt have been in by ſuch Management, if the Spaniſh Attempt had been made, and if theſe Eaſterly Proteſtant Winds had not chopt in, by which Providence has given the Government Time to put it ſelf into a Poſture of Defence, ſo as now not to be afraid of them; and if the Capital Stock of the Perſons intereſted in the Funds, is now ſunk a Million in the real Value of them as they ſtood before even at the Market, which is nothing but what the Matter of Fact will juſtify, to what Degree would the ſame Cur⯑rent , if it had gone on, have ſunk the Eſtates of all the Money'd Men in England?

[34] In what Manner would Money have been rais'd upon a new Credit for any immediate Exigencies that might have happened? And ſhould the Goverment have been ſupported, nay though the Parliament had granted Funds, while theſe Men had made all Credit ebb, per⯑haps , to 25 or 30 per Cent. Diſcount; and is not this then a Species of Treaſon and Re⯑bellion .

It was very remarkable, that in the Juncture of thoſe Things the Jacobites could not refrain taking notice how eaſie it was to ſet the Citi⯑zens a plundering the Bank, and even the Ex⯑chequer too; for had this gone on, the Funds which are in effect the Exchequer it ſelf, would have gone down Hill, Hand in Hand with the Bank; Credit would have borne equal Pace in one as well as in the other, and the Govern⯑ment would no more have been able to borrow than the Bank would have been able to pay.

It is ſcarce fit to enter into a Deſcription of all the miſchievous Conſequences which ne⯑ceſſary follow running down the Publick Credit, in caſe of ſuch Dangers as I have men⯑tion 'd above; if I ſhould fully deſcribe them, it would appear incredible. Every one will [35] allow that this Practice of the Jobbers, car⯑ry 'd on a little further, would indeed appear to be the worſt Kind of Treaſon.

But it is needful, after having ſaid thus much of the Crime, to ſay ſomething of the Place, and then a little of the Perſons too; The Center of the Jobbing is in the Kingdom of Exchange-Alley, and its Adjacencies; the Li⯑mits , are eaſily ſurrounded in about a Minute and a half (viz.) ſtepping out of Jonathan's into the Alley, you turn your Face full South, mo⯑ving on a few Paces, and then turning Due Eaſt, you advance to Garraway's; from thence going out at the other Door, you go on ſtill Eaſt into Birchin-Lane, and then halting a little at the Sword-Blade Bank to do much Miſchief in feweſt Words, you immediately face to the North, enter Cornhill, viſit two or three petty Provinces there in your way Weſt: And thus having Box'd your Compaſs, and ſail'd round the whole Stock-jobbing Globe, you turn into Jonathan's again; and ſo, as moſt of the great Follies of Life oblige as to do, you end juſt where you began.

But this is by way of Digreſſion; and even ſtill, before I come to the main Caſe, I am oblig'd to tell you; That though this is the [36] Sphere of the Jobbers Motion, the Orbe to which they are confin'd, and out of which they cannot well act in their Way; yet it does not follow, but that Men of Foreign Situa⯑tion (I mean Foreign as to them, I do not meak Foreign by Nation) and of different Figure are ſeen among them; nay, ſome whoſe Luſtre is ſaid to be too bright for the Hemiſphere of a Coffee-Houſe, have yet their Influence there, and act by Subſtitutes and Repreſentatives: But firſt I muſt ſpeak to Originals.

C—, a Man of Braſs ſufficient for much more Buſinets than he can be truſted wich, is [...] to manage for three blue Ribbonds, and for four or five Cath [...]epers, who tell more Money than their own: He fetches and car⯑ries with ſuch indefatigable Application, that he is ſaid never to ſail his Appointments to a Minute, however remote from one another: Where-ever he appears, he makes an Exchange-Alley in his Perſon, and a Court in his Audi⯑ence : He is himſelf a Jonathans-Coſſee-houſe in little; Tho' he be at a Cock-Pit, he reallizes Exchange-Alley in every Place; and yet he rather is directed than directs, and like a cer⯑tain great General, famed for more Fire than Flegm, is fitter to drive than to lead.

[37] S— has twice the Head, but not half the Buſineſs as C— is ſaid to have, yet he gets more Money for himſelf, and C— gets more for other Folks. S— is as cunning as C— is bold, and the Reſerve of one with the Openneſs of the other, makes a com⯑pleat Exchange-Alley Man. C— jumps at every thing, and as he got the ſtart of the World at his Beginning, by venturing more than he was worth, ſo he deals now with all Men as if they ventured more than they are worth. Originally he was a BITE, which, in Modern Language, is a Sharper, or, being fully interpreted, may ſignify the head Claſs of the Fraternity call'd Pick pockets.

T—, a Gameſter of the ſame Board, acts in Concert with C— and S—, and makes together a true Triumverate of modern Thieving; He inherits the Face of C—, with the Crafr of S—, but ſeems to take State upon him, and acts the reſerv'd Part more than either; yet even this too is all Gri⯑mace , for where e'er he can be ſure to kill, he an't fawn like an Iriſh-Man.

They are all Three of yeſterday in their Characters, yet they are old in the Cr [...]e, [38] (viz.) of reſolving to be rich at the Price of every Man they can bubble: Their firſt Blow was aimed at the BANK, but there they were out-witted; and the Great Lord-Treaſurer Godolphin, in the late Reign, gave them their juſt Characters from that Action. The Defeat they met with there, ſticks ſo cloſe to them, that they reſerve the Meaſures of their Re⯑venge , nor to cool, no not till the Charter of the Bank ſhall expire.

However, their Wings being clipt by the Clauſe then obtain'd in an Act of Parliament, (viz.) That no Society, Corporation, &c. ſhould iſſue out Bills of Credit as a Bank, but the Bank of England only; they were obliged ever ſince to turn Stock-Jobbers, or if we may ſpeak properly of them, they are the Stock-Jobbers Maſters; for they have ſo many Bear-Skins pawn'd to them at a time, ſo much Stock depoſited with them upon Bottomree, as it might be call'd; that indeed they may he call'd the City Pawn-Brokers: And I have been cold, that they have had fifty Stock-Job⯑bers and Brokers bound Hand and Foot, and laid in Heaps at their Doors at a time.

The next Trick they try'd, and which was in⯑deed the Maſter-piece of their Knavery, was th [...] [39] getting an Aſſignment of the Forfeited Eſtates in Ireland into their Hands: Indeed they began the World upon this Proſpect, and expected to have had the whole Kingdom of Ireland mort⯑gaged to them: But here too they were diſap⯑pointed , and had they not found a Man that had as much Money as themſelves, and more Honeſty, that Bargain of the Forfeited Eſtates had been the laſt they had made in the World.

The Endeavours they uſe to cheat that Gentleman, after he had deliver'd them from a Blow that would have blown them up (is another black Part of their Story that remains to be told for the Illuſtration of their Chara⯑cters at another time:) But in the Interm 'tis enough to ſay, that he who deliver [...]d them as Fools, knew how to deliver himſelf from them as Knaves; and ſo they were dropt out of the Iriſh Bargain to their great Mortifica⯑tion .

Now they ſtand ready, as Occaſion offers, and Profit preſents, to Stock-jobb the Nation, [...]ouzen the Parliament, ruffle the Bank, run up and run down Stocks, and put the Dice upon the whole Town.

[40] They had another Flap with a Fox-Tail, to the Scandal of their Politicks in the late Vote about the Tickets of the Lottery which I mentioned above; what Market they will make of it is well enough known: But the Plot was never the leſs Cunning, and 'tis certain the Knavery is not the leſs viſible for the Miſcarriage. I come next to their more modern Management.

Whenever they call in their Money the Stock-Jobbers muſt ſell; the Bear-skin Men muſt commute, and pay Difference money; then down come the Stocks, tumbling Two or Three per Cent. then the Tools muſt ſell, and then Maſters buy; the next Week they take in Stocks again, then the Jobbers buy, and the Managers ſell. Thus the Jobbers bite their Friends, and theſe Men bite the Jobbers, qui Sarpat Sharpabitur, Exchange-Alley Latin; they that are let into the Secret will underſtand it.

The Truth is, it has been foretold by cun⯑ning Men, who often ſee what can't be hid▪ that theſe Men, by a Maſs of Money which they command of other Peoples, as well as their own, will, in Time, ruin the Jobbing Trade. But 'twill be only like a general Vi⯑ſitation, where all Diſtempers are ſwallow'd [41] up in the Plague, like a common Calamity, that makes Enemies turn Friends, and drowns leſſer Grievances in the general Deluge. For if the Repriſal Trade ſhould adjourn from Exchange-Alley to Birchin-Lane, it may ſeem to be like the baniſhing Uſury from the City of Rome, which transferr'd it to a Jew at Genoa, a Monk at Naples, and a Banker at Venice, who, it was ſaid, had no leſs than ſeven and twenty Principalities in Italy mortgag'd to them at a Time, beſides two Kingdoms, ſeven Dutchies, and the Jewels of the Crown of France.

Having thus given the blazing Characters of three Capital Sharpers of Great-Britain, Knaves of leſſer Magnitude can have no room to ſhine; the Alley throngs with Jews, Jobbers and Brokers, their Names are need⯑le ſs, their Characters dirty as their Employ⯑ment , and the beſt thing that I can yet find out to ſay of them, is, that there hap⯑pens to be two honeſt. Men among them, Heavens preſerve their Integrity; for the Place is a Snare, the Employment it ſelf fatal to Principle, and hitherto the ſame Obſervation which I think was very aptly made upon the Mint, will juſtly turn upon them, (viz.) That many an honeſt Man [42] has gone in to them, but cannot ſay that I ever knew One come an honeſt Man out from them.

But to leave them a little, and turn our Eyes another way; Is it not ſurprizing to find new Faces among theſe ſcandalous People, and Perſons even too big for our Reproof. Is it poſſible that Stars of another Latitude ſhould appear in our Hemiſphere? Had it been Sims or Bowcher, or Gameſters of the Draw⯑ing-Room or Maſquerades, there had been little to be ſaid; or had the Groom-Porter's been tranſpos'd to Garraway's and Jonathan's, it had been nothing new; true Gameſters being always ready to turn their Hand to any Play. But to ſee Stateſmen turn Dealers, and Men of Honour ſtoop to the Chicanry of Jobbing; to ſee Men at the Orfices in the Morning, at the P— Houſe about Noon, at the Cabinet at Night, and at Exchange-Alley in the proper Intervals, What new Phoenomina are theſe? What fatal Things may theſe ſhining Planets (like the late Great Light) fore-tell to the State, and to the Pub⯑lick; for when Stateſmen turn Jobbers, the State may be Jobb'd.

[43] It may be true, that a Treaſurer or Caſh⯑keeper may be truſted with more Money than he is worth, and many times it is ſo; and if the Man be honeſt, there may be no harm in it: But when a Treaſurer plays for more Mo⯑ney than he is worth, they that truſt him run a Riſque of their Money, becauſe, tho' he may be an honeſt Man he may be undone. I ſpeak of private, not publick Treaſurers.

Indeed it requires ſome Apology to ſay ſuch a One may be an honeſt Man; it would be hard to call him an honeſt Man who plays away any Man's Money that is not his own, or more than he is able to pay again out of his own. But if it be diſhoneſt to play it away, that is, loſe it at Play, 'tis equally diſhoneſt to play with it, whether it be loſt or no, becauſe in ſuch a Caſe, he that plays for more than he can pay, his Maſter runs the Hazard more than himſelf; nay, his Maſter runs an unequal Hazard, for if the Money be loſt, 'tis the Maſters, if there is Gain, 'tis the Servants.

Stock-Jobbing is Play; a Box and Dice may be leſs dangerous, the Nature of them are alike, a Hazard; and if they venture at either what is not their own, the Knavery [44] is the ſame. It is not neceſſary, any more than it is ſafe, to mention the Perſons I may think of in this Remark; they who are the Men will eaſily underſtand me.

In a Word, I appeal to all the World, whether a Man that is intruſted with other Mens Money, (whether Publick or Private, is not the Queſtion) ought to be ſeen in Exchange-Alley. Would it not be a ſuffici⯑ent Objection to any Gentleman or Mer⯑chant, not to employ any Man to keep his Caſh, or look after his Eſtate, to ſay of him he plays, he is a Gameſter, or he is given to Gaming and Stock-Jobbing, which is ſtill worſe, gives the ſame, or a ſtronger Ground of Objection in the like Caſes.

Again, are there fewer Sharpers and Set⯑ters in Exchange-Alley than at the Groom-Porters? Is there leſs Cheating in Stock-Jobbing than at Play? Or rather is there not fifty times more? An un-enter'd Youth com⯑ing to deal in Exchange-Alley, is immediately ſurrounded with Bites, Setters, Pointers, and the worſt ſort of Cheats, juſt as a young Country Gentleman is with Bauds, Pimps, and Spungers, when he firſt comes to Town. It is ten Thouſand to one, when a forward [45] young Tradeſman ſteps out of his Shop into Exchange-Alley, I ſay 'tis ten Thouſand to one but he is undone, if you ſee him once but enter the fatal Door, never diſcount his Bills after⯑wards , never truſt him with Goods at ſix Months Pay any more.

If it be thus dangerous to the Mean, what is it to the Great? I ſee only this difference, that in the firſt the Danger is Private, in the latter Publick.

It has not been many Years ſince Electi⯑ons for Members of — came to Market in Exchange-Alley, as current as Lot⯑tery Tickets now, and at a Price like theſe, much above what any Parliament allow'd them to go at; While this was carry'd on, a great many honeſt Men exclaim'd againſt it, and expos'd it; nay, ſeveral Acts of Par⯑liament were propos'd for regulating Electi⯑ons , and preventing Bribery and Corruption: But all this would not do, and this indeed was one of the happy Conſequences of that otherwiſe neceſſary Act for Triennial Parlia⯑ments; and I firmly believe that it is owe⯑ing very much to the late ſuſpending that Act for a Time, that theſe Things are not come to Market again.

[46] It may eaſily be remember'd, that the firſt Occaſion of the Exchange-Alley Men engaging in the Caſe of Elections of Members, was in King William's Time, on the famous Diſputes which happen'd between the Old Eaſt-India Company and the New; which having held a great while, and having embarraſs'd not the City only, but the whole Nation, and even made it ſelf dangerous to the Publick Buſineſs, it was expected it ſhould be fully decided by the Houſe of Commons: To this End the Mem⯑bers of both Companies, with all the Trick, Artifice, Cunning and Corruption, that Mo⯑ney and Intereſt could arm them with, be⯑ſtirred themſelves to be choſen Members.

Brokers rid Night and Day from one End of the Kingdom to the other, to engage Gentle⯑men to bribe Corporations, to buy off Compe⯑titors, and to manage the Elections. You will ſee the State of Things at that Time, and the Danger this Stock jobbing Wickedneſs had brought the Publick to, if you pleaſe to read the following Exclamation of the honeſt Free⯑holders at that Time, which was preſented to the Publick by way of Complaint: The Thing was laid before the King firſt, and be⯑fore the Parliament afterwards; and it [47] was his Majeſty's Senſe of the Conſequence, that made him reſolve to bring the two Eaſt-India Companies to unite their Stocks, for in a word, the Stock-Jobbers embroil'd the whole Nation.

Poſtcript.

I ſaid above, that the Parliament put a Check to this Practice afterwards by ſeveral Acts; and the late Act for ſuſpending the Tri⯑ennial Bill has at preſent laid it a ſſep; but how far the Practice may revive when a new Election ſhall come on, who knows? Never was more Knaves or more Money in Exchange-Alley, and never more needy Gentlemen to aſſiſt the Purchaſers. How neceſſary 'tis to prevent them, let any one judge.

Beſides, what ſhall we ſay to the encroaching Nature of Immortal Avarice? Has not that eminent C—, of whom at large above Stock-jobb'd the very Publick it ſelf, as I may [55] ſay, and the very Houſe of Commons; for job⯑bing their Funds before they are laid; Stock-jobbing their Tickets before the Lottery was found, may in ſome Senſe be call'd Stock-job⯑bing the Houſe: If then they will even before the Members Faces, jobb their depending Acts, and that too before they are paſs'd; ſhall we doubt but they will Stock-jobb the Elections of another Parliament when this is gone Home?

It is evident, that at preſent, not being able to avoid preying upon their Country, they have been tampering Abroad; Foreign Alarms is the preſent Commodity at Market; Choice of Members may be the next; till in time, by Strength of Money, they may Stock-jobb Religion, Property, Conſtitution and Succeſ⯑ſion; for nothing can come amiſs to them, if they can but get Money by it; for if the ſame Avarice reigns among them that 'tis evident is their Guide now, they would with the ſame Facility jobb for the Nation, and without any Scruple, make a Transfer of King George and his Crown for a half per Cent. upon the Value, to whoever bids the Money.

There was a Book publiſh'd ſome Years ago, and when the Stock-jobbing People were thought [56] as willing, yet not quite ſo daring or ſo cun⯑ning as they are now; it was Entitled, The Villany of the Stock-jobbers. Indeed it ſet them out in their true Colours, and for ſome time gave them a little Shock; for the Truth was, they jobb'd King William and the Government at that Time at ſuch a Rate, that in ſpight of the Invincible Valour and Reſolution of the Soldiery, in ſpight of the moſt Glorious Prince and moſt Vigilant General the World had ever ſeen; yet the Enemy gain'd upon us every Year; the Funds were run down, the Credit jobb'd away in Exchange-Alley, the King and his Troops devoured by Mechanicks, and ſold to Uſury, Tallies lay bundled up like Bath Faggots in the Hands of Brokers and Stock-job⯑bers ; the Parliament gave Taxes, laid Funds, but the Loans were at the Mercy of thoſe Men; and they ſhew'd their Mercy indeed, by devour⯑ing the King and the Army, the Parliament, and indeed the whole Nation, bringing that Great Prince ſometimes to that Exigence, thro' unexpreſſible Extortions that were put upon him, that he has even gone into the Field without his Equipage, nay, even without his Army; the Regiments have been uncloathed when the King has been in the Field, and the willing brave Engliſh Spirits, eager to honour their Country, and follow ſuch a King, have march⯑ed [57] even to Battle, without either Stockings or Shoes, while his Servants have been every Day working in Exchange-Alley to get his own Mo⯑ney of the Stock-Jobbers, even after all the horrible Demands of Diſcount have been al⯑lowed ; and at laſt, ſcarce 50 per Cent. of the Money granted by Parliament has come into the Exchequer, and that late, too late for that Service, and by Driblets, till the King has been tir'd with the Delay, and been even ready to give up the Cauſe.

We have juſt now had a Teſt of their Cun⯑ning on the Subject of the Invaſion: Theſe were the Men that made the firſt Advantage of the News; immediately thoſe that were to put Stock upon any Man at a high Price, ten⯑der 'd it, the Accepters, forc'd by the Demand, call in their Money on every Hand, pay the Difference, the Price falls, a general Run upon the Bank follows, and Stock-jobbing began it.

Say this was no Deſign, yet if every Alarm of the Fooliſh or the Timerous, or the Falſe, is capable to ſet the Humour afloat by the Agency of Exchange-Alley, then Exchange-Alley is as dangerous to the Publick Safety, as a Magazine of Gun-powder is to a populous City.

[58] But if it be by Deſign, then, when-ever the Pretender is to be pawn'd upon us by any Fo⯑reign Power that can but talk of lending 5 or 6000 Men, our Publick Credit is at his Mer⯑cy , by the Agency of Exchange-Alley and the Brokers.

The Story of the Invaſion from Spain, we hope, is now over: Indeed at the Worſt, I ſaw no ſuch Reaſon to be ſurprized to that Degree, as was the Caſe here. Let us look back and ſee what Injury to the Publick has the very Ru⯑mour been? What Damage to Credit! What Stop to Trade! What Interruption to our Gene⯑ral Commerce! beſides ſinking above a Million Sterling upon our Eſtates; and every Farthing of this is occaſion'd by the Stock-jobbers, and in the Conſequences of their Contrivances, and by no other Means; for as to the Deſign of an In⯑vaſion, or that they reſolv'd to come hither at all, tho' we have evident Proofs of that, becauſe ſome of them have been actually landed; yet we cannot yet reſolve the Queſtion poſitively, whether it was ever worth our being ſo much alarm'd as we have been in Exchange-Alley.

Even this Way it appears, that theſe Stock-Jobbers are dangerous to the Peace, ſince 'tis in their Power to ſet a Rate when-ever they pleaſe, not only upon private Eſtates, but [59] even upon the whole Nation, and in that Ca⯑pacity it is to be hoped, the Parliament, who have hitherto redreſs'd the Publick Grievances, will take care of theſe People in particular, and deliver the Publick from ſuch a Set of Men as are more fatal to them, than a Midnight Fire, more dangerous than an Enemy Embark'd, nay, I had almoſt ſaid, than an Enemy Landed.

For, in a word, theſe Men take upon them to put a Standard upon our Fears; and we are to ask them, when Intelligence comes from Abroad, whether any thing be to be ſlighted or apprehended; every publick Piece of News, every Menace of the Nation's Enemies is to re⯑ceive its Weight from them; and the Price of Stocks is the Rule by which we are to guide our Judgment in Publick Affairs, by which we are either to hope or to fear when any thing amiſs preſent it ſelf to our View.

Is this an Advantage fit to be put into the Hand of a Subject? Are the King's Affairs to go up and down as they pleaſe, and the Credit of his Majeſty's Councils riſe and fall as theſe Men ſhall pleaſe to value them? This would be making them Kings, and making the King Subject to the Caprice of their private Interſt, [60] his Affairs be liable to be rated in Exchange-Alley, and to be run down as they pleaſed; an Article, which as the Roman Pontiff, in the firſt Politicks of the Church, made all the Kings of the Earth become Penſioners to the Prieſts, ſo it would make all the Kings of Bri⯑tain Penſioners to Exchange-Alley.

It muſt be confeſs'd, it looks as if this were the preſent View in the Manner which Stock-Jobbing now goes on; and there are more Miſchiefs in it than perhaps we are aware of, the Extremes either way ſeem dangerous enough, for Example,

If one way the Stock-Jobbers manage the Publick, they ſcandalouſly ſubject the Govern⯑ment , the Miniſters of State, the Publick Credit, nay, even the Elections of Parliament to their Orders: So if a Government ſhould come abſolutely to get the Management of the Stock-Jobbers, it might be many Ways fatal to the Peoples Intereſt, and indeed put the Purſe-Strings of the Nation ſo much into the Hands of a Miniſtry, that if they did not at any time command the general Treaſure, and be able to raiſe what Money they pleas'd without a Parliament, they would be able to add what Value they pleaſed to the Funds given, raiſe [61] them when they pleas'd to draw Money in, and ſink them when they pleaſed to iſſue Mo⯑ney out: That in a word, the Rate of Stocks ſhould be ſettled every Day in the Exchequer; and tho' they might not be ſaid to ſtand no more in need of Parliaments, it would be moſt cer⯑tain , that they would not ſtand in ſo much need of Parliaments as they uſed to do, and as it is convenient for us they ſhould do.

I muſt run out a great Length in the Enume⯑ration of the Miſchief to the Liberty of Great-Britain, which might attend ſuch a Thing as this; and tho' at preſent it may be objected, that it is unreaſonable, and entirely needleſs, becauſe we are under a King that ſtands in need of no Artifices, and is too juſt to attempt any Encroachment on the Liberties of his People, and a Miniſtry, who we have reaſon to hope are above taking any ſuch mean Steps; yet if ever a Time ſhall come again, when eve⯑ry Politick Step ſhall be enquired after to bring Griſt to the Publick Mill, and every way that can be found practicable, ſhall be thought ju⯑ſtifiable; then let you Citizens of London have a care of a Bear-skin-Court, and a Stock-Job⯑bing Miniſtry, when Exchange-Alley ſhall be tranſpos'd to the Exchequer, and States-men ſhall make a Property of the Brokers.

[62] This is indeed a Thing remote, and as I ſay above, there is no Danger of its happening in this Reign, ſo it may never happen at all: But as I alſo ſay, without the leaſt Reflection upon our preſent Government, that ſuch a Time may come, and ſuch a Thing may happen; ſo I af⯑firm , the State of Things ought forthwith to be annihilated if poſſible, which is but in its Na⯑ture capable of being thus perverted, and we ought not to leave our Poſterity in a Condition to be devoured by ſuch Caterpillars, if it be in our Power to prevent it.

Why may not any collected Stock of Money, ſuch as that we have mention'd before, to be in the Management of the Birchin-Lane Company, be manag'd in the Hands of Courtiers, as well as of Citizens; Miniſters of State, as well as Inhabitants of Hackney; and to how many more unlucky Purpoſes may ſuch Men apply that Power? Theſe Men indeed proceed, with Trick and Cunning, to amaſs great Eſtates, and to enrich themſelves and their Families out of the Spoils of the People, their Neighbours, &c. and in this we think they cannot have too much of our juſt Satyr beſtow'd upon them; but if this Engine of Jobbing ſhould once come into the Hands of Miniſters of State; if a degenerated Government ſhould come to uſe it, as ſuch a [63] Government may be ſuppoſed to be able to do, what Miſchiefs may they not bring upon the Nation? And what may they not be able to do, if their Deſigns are but wicked enough to puſh them on?

It would be hard to ſay to what Length this Jobbing Trade might be extended, eſpecially whereby the Advantage of a punctual Manage⯑ment, the publick Credit has ſo far gain'd upon the People, as to bring the Rate of Funds and Stocks to exceed the Intrinſick Value, and to keep upon an Advance: What may not a Government, who has the Command of Mo⯑ney, do in the particular Art of Screwing up, or Screwing down the publick Intereſts and Securities?

'Tis a copious Subject, our Exchange-Alley Men underſtand it well enough; and if they were put to give their Opinions, and had Ho⯑neſty enough to ſpeak the Truth againſt their Intereſt, they would acknowledge their Trade is capable of ruining ten Nations, if it was carried on to the full Extent of it.

While theſe Sheets were at the Preſs, we had another little Teſt of their Knavery to the Publick; and it is not at all owing to them, that the Thing run no further; the contrary Winds [64] and Storms, &c. had diſappointed the King's Enemies, and the Spaniſh Fleet was driven back to Spain in a ſhatter'd and defeated Condition, as appears by the Publick Account of thoſe Things: But in the Interval of this News, came an Account on the other Hand, that ſome of the Party were arriv'd in Scotland, that they had beat it up, notwithſtanding all the Oppo⯑ſition of Nature, the Hindrances of Winds and Seas; immediately Stocks fell Two per Cent. nor did the good News of the Defeated return of the reſt animate theſe Men to keep up the Intereſt, by which it appears, that they are acted more by the bad Principle than by the good; that they chooſe rather to do Evil than to do Good: that they ſink faſter than they riſe, and are willinger to do Harm than Good to the Government.

From whence I infer, that the Government, looking upon them as they really are, rather Enemies than Friends to the General Intereſt, ſhould rather encline to root them out, than preſerve them. AMEN.