A. D. 1672. 563 



&c. What is faid on this fubjed, it is hoped, may fufHce for a general 

 hiftory of private banking in London, even down to our days. 



Although the Greenland, or more properly the Spitzbergen, whale 

 fifhing had been early pradifed by the Englifh, yet it had been laid 

 afide towards the later end of the reign of King James I, though confefT- 

 edly beneficial for the employment of great numbers of (hips and fea- ■ 

 men, and the confumption of much of our provifions, &c. and fince 

 our leaving it off, we were obliged to pay large fums to the Dutch, 

 and to the Hanfe towns, for the oil and whale-fins which we had need 

 of. Therefor an adl of parliament pafTed, [25 Car. II, c. 7] for en- 

 couraging the Greenland and Eaftland trades ; and for the better fecur- 

 ing the plantation trade ; in fubftance, viz. 



I) That, whereas Englifh harpooners could not now be got, the ad of 

 navigation was hereby fo far difpenfed with, for ten years to come, pro- 

 vided the fhip be Engl ifli -built, and the mafi;er and half the crew be 

 Englifh, the other half inight be foreigners in the faid fifhery. This, it 

 is true, produced fome private attempts for reviving that fifhery, which, 

 however, in feven years after, fell to nothing again, although neither the 

 oil nor the whale-bone were to pay any duty ; but our plantation fhip- 

 ping fhould pay 6/" for every ton of oil, and L2 : 10 for every ton of 

 whale-fins, imported in their own fhipping ; and half fo m^ich if import- 

 ed in Englifh fhipping. If oil be imported in foreign fhipping, the ton 

 of oil fliall pay L9, and the ton of fins L18. In the firft feflion of the 

 2d year of William and Mary, [c. 4] anno 1690, this ad: for the whale 

 fifhing at Greenland was continued for four years longer ; but not fo 

 much as a fingle fliip was fitted out in confequence thereof. 



II) Ships trading from England to our plantations, and returning 

 back laden with fugars, tobacco, ginger, indigo, logwood, fuftick, cot- 

 ton, cocoa nuts, &c. and not giving bond to land them in England, 

 were to pay fundry duties, needlefs here to be fpecified. 



III) For the encouragement of the Eaftland trade, it is hereby enad- 

 ed, that all perfons, natives or foreigners, may, from the iftof May 

 1673, have free liberty to trade into Sweden, Denmark, and Norway ; 

 any thing in the Eaftland company's charter to the contrary notwith- 

 ftanding. 



IV) Whoever (if anEnglifhman) fliall henceforth defire to be admit- 

 ted into the feliowfhip of the faid Eaftland company, fliall pay 40/", and 

 no more. 



Thefe two claufes proved a mortal blow to the Eaftland company 5 

 for hereby all the north fide of the Baltic fea was laid open to all, and 

 the freedom for trading to the fouth fide of it, was open to all for 40/.' 

 Sir Jofiah Child was of opinion, that the Eaftland company, by exclud- 

 ing others (not free of their company) from the trade, had cna1:)led the 

 Dutch to fupply all parts within the Baltic with moft of the mercliaii- 

 * 4 B 2 



