A. D. 1548. 103 



curity of the duties on the commerce of Spain and America. But 

 Philip being foon after greatly exhaufted by his Netherland wars, not 

 only fufpended the payment of any part of the principal, but even of 

 the interefl:, which produced much clamour and dillrels at Genoa, 

 where fo many families lived entirely on. the interefl of the money got- 

 ten in traffic by their anceftors *. King Philip's real or pretended ina- 

 bility to pay even the interefl of thofe vaft funis, made him at iirft be- 

 gin to cavil with the creditors, on account of pretended mifreckonings, 

 and to infifl that he had overpaid their interefl : He therefor obtained 

 the pope's approbation for deduding out of their principal debt fo 

 much as they had received more than what his holinefs and King Phi- 

 lip thought fit to call legal interefl. On their capital, however, thus 

 reduced, it is faid by fome (though it feems untruly) that the court of 

 Spain were ever after pundual in paying the interefl. By thofe vafl 

 loans the Genoefe are faid, in a great meafure, to have governed the 

 rate of iucerefl in otlier parts of Europe. Thus at firfl they had ten 

 per cent from thofe princes, afterwards it was reduced to feven per 

 cent, and fince lower ; and probably the fixing of ufury at ten per 

 cent by law in England in the year 1546, took its rife from the prac- 

 tice of Genoa j". 



1549. — King Edward VI grantedapenfionofLi 66: 13:4 to Sebaftian 

 Cabot, who mufl then have been an old man;}:, it being fifty-three years 

 fince his voyage with his father to the American coafts in the reign of 



* Many families are faid to live in the fame ' to be engaged in a foreign war, il is quickly 



manner now at Antwerp, the great commerce of ' evident to their enemies, that they are not much 



which has long ago declined : So comfortable are ' to be feared for their power ; and to their 



the efFeds even of a departed commerce to the ' friends, that they ave not to be depended 



fucceeding generations. ' on for help.' All which, we fear, may fuon 



f The following paragraph of Mr. Anderfon's become eminently the cafe much nearer home, 



being foreign to commercial hiilory, is inferted than it was at the time when that able author thus 



here, that hii, patriotic zeal may not be fup- folidly warned the government to beware ot anii- 



prefled : cipations, the whole national debt Icarcely amount- 



And here let us add a melancholy and moil in- ing in 1698 to ten milhons. And although we 



terelling remark (for the fcrious confideration of have not intended nor prefumed to dedicate any 



thofe to whom it more immediately relates in our part of our work to any miniller of ftale what- 



own days), which was made many years ago by ever, vet upon a review of this important remark 



the ingenious Dr. D'Avenant, in his dilcourles on of D'Avenant's, the author, with profound ix- 



the public revenues and trade of England, (in fpeft, and purely out of his warm zeal i^t the 



8vo, anno 1698.) ' That thofe large anticipations public welfare, moft liumbly prefumcs to dcijicate 



' of King Philip II, which were continued from and recommend to our prefeat patriot miniltry, 



' year to year, without any mcafui es thought on and to their fuccefTors in power, this fmgle para- 



* for leflening the debt, have more contributed to graph only, for tlieir moll ferious conlideration, 



♦ fink the Spanilh monarchy than all iheir other as they would have the glorious epithet of patriot 

 ' bad counfels put together. The chief bra^iches joined to their names to latelt pofterity, hunibly 

 ' of that kingdom's revenue being employed in praying that his honeft zeal may not be conllrued 



• payment of interell of money borrowed 100 as dictating to his fuperiors, which he is far from 

 ' years ago, the nourifliment which fhould fup- prt fuming to do. 



' port the body politic being diverted another ^ He was alive 26th May 1557, on which day 

 , ' way, it becomes weak and unable to refill ac he furrendered his penfion. [ Fadcra, V, xv, 

 ' cideats : And when a people fo involved come p. 42"-] M, 



