356 Tradesman and Merchant — Commercial Population 



and bought. The rates paid varied with the distance from England, 

 being highest in the West Indies, the Plantations, and the Western 

 world in general, medium in the Levant, and lowest in Holland.^ 

 Various reasons may be assigned for the higher pay at the farther 

 points, such as (a) the risk due both to the longer course by sea and 

 to the smaller degree of protection afforded by the home government; 

 (b) the less desirable habitation in the outskirts of civilization, and (c) 

 the smaller volimie of regular dependable traffic from which commis- 

 sion was to be drawn. 



The constant residence of the factors abroad rendered it compara- 

 tively easy for them to escape the consequence of their frauds. Dis- 

 tance and the weakness of international law made them more or less 

 irresponsible. The most difficult and, at the same time, important 

 thing in the employ of factors was the consideration of their honor and 

 integrity; and various de\-ices were effected for their control abroad, 

 de\aces such as the bonds or "caution" into which they entered; the 

 organization of the government of a factory abroad whereby their 

 business was supervised by the governor and board; the prescribed 

 systems of accounting and reporting; the rigid qualifications required 

 of those elected to the position of factor, etc. 



But despite all efforts at preventing misconduct and frauds they 

 were prevalent. Some of the more common may be specified. One 

 was effected by marriage to foreign women. This act made them 

 foreign subjects and two evils resulted; they pretended bankruptc\'- 

 and the goods in their hands were fraudulently paid over to confed- 

 erates from whom later they were received again; and also upon their 

 death all goods in their hands were seized by the foreign women, as 

 in Turkey, where there was no way of making a written will.^ For 

 these reasons the merchants and companies wanted only unmarried 



1 The following schedules illustrate this point; the first column is taken from 

 Hatton, Mer. I\Iag., 1712, 207; the second from Postlethwayt, Diet., 1774, s. v. 

 Factorage: 



1712 Rates 1774 Rales 

 Places per cent Per cent 



Barbadoes, West Indies 5 8 



Levant 3 



Italy, 2H 



France, Spain, Portugal, etc 2 2 



Hamburg, etc 2 



Holland, etc IJ^ VA 



- Davidson, ?>9\. 



3 North, Lives, II, 452. 



