A curious and concije Defcription of Book III. 
1014 
Without doubt many a one will fay, that the Scene 
is laid at a prodigious Diftance, that there are a Multi- 
tude* of Obftacles lie in the Way, and that it would be 
a wild Wafte of Wealth to undertake any of thefe 
enormous Schemes, which are out of the Reach of any 
but whimficai People’s Obfervations. As to the Diftance, 
I proteft I cant tell what to fay. It is moft certain, 
that I can’t bring Corea nearer, but where it is there 
Providence placed it 5 and if it had been placed any 
where elfe, it would have been fo much the worfe, for 
all the Ends that I have propofed, and I imift even 
have had Recourfe to any other Country that ftood in 
its Room. But then if a North-eaft Paifage fliould be 
difcovered, though it would not bring Corea nearer, or 
Ihorten the Diftance a Yard, yet we fliould get fooner 
there by very near two thirds of the Time. Well 
then, there is fomething in Alleviation of the Diftance, 
and as to the Difficulty why that is not much greater 
than muff; be got over to get at a Pound of Hyfon 
Tea, and not' fo great as is adually got over, before 
Europeans can make themfelves Mailers of a Japan Tea- 
board. Whence I infer, that any Body who ever drank 
Tea upon fuch a Tea-board muft allow that the Thing 
may be done. 
King Philip the Ild, who was a very wife Man, fra- 
med far more extenfive Projedts, and durft think of 
encountring Difficulties, to which all that I have men- 
tioned are but Mole-hills, He conceived an Idea at 
leaft of univerfal Monarchy m Europe, and a Monarchy 
as univerfal on the Ocean. He knew all the polTible 
Paffages to the Indies, and refolved to be Mafter of 
them all ; with a View to this he adlually attempted to 
fix a Settlement, and build a City on the miferabld 
Coaft of the Streights of Magellan, where one of our 
Men of War’s Boats, Crew could not fubfift during 
their PalTagej and it fell out with Refped to his Colony, 
as might be expedled, that is, fuch as did not drown 
or hang themfelves were fairly ftarved. He had it like- 
wife in his Head to put it out of every Body’s Power to 
look either for North-eaft, or North-weft Paffages, by re- 
ducing the Englifh and Dutch, the only Nations that 
had thought of fuch a Thing. Nay to fuch a Degree 
did he carry this kind of Imperial Madnefs, that he 
was even for locking up the Baltick, and with that View 
adtually took Meafures for making himfelf Mafter of 
the Sound. 
Thefe were prodigious and impra6licable Projedls, 
and yet they enter’d into a very wife Man’s Pate ; they 
were purfued with the utmoft Vigour, and with the 
Affiftance of as much Power as Europe ever faw, and 
yet they mifcarried. But all this happened by affigning 
to their Accom.plifliment the Life of a fingle Man. 
Had contented himfelf with framing his Plan, 
executing any one Part of it, and by cultivating the 
Arts of Peace, raffed the Power of his Subjeds to a 
Deoree proportionate to the next Branch of his Scheme, 
what he left unaccomplffhed, might have been perform- 
ed by his Pofterity, fuppofing them to have made no . 
more Hafte than good Speed in compleating this ftu- 
pendious Fabrick, which like the Tower of Babel, be- 
ino- confecrated to the Ufe of Slavery, the divine Juf- 
tice of Providence tumbled to the Ground. Thus the 
Reader fees, that there are great Projeds pradicable, 
and greater Projeds impradicable ; that wife and pow- 
erful Kings may be miftaken and defeated, and that an 
Adventurer, like Columbus, without a Freehold as big as 
his Hat, or Half a Crown in his Pocket, may bring 
his Defire to bear, even when that Defire was fo feem- 
ingly improbable, as to look for a new World. But 
after all, the Difficulty in this Cafe is not fo great as 
to exceed the Power even of the Eaji-India Company ; 
they can do much more than I have propofed, that they 
will do it, though I am bold enough in prophecying, I 
Ihall not venture to foretel. 
There is another Thing that I apprehend may be 
called in 'Queftion, and that is the Strefs I lay upon the 
.Expeditions made by the Northen Nations to the Edft- 
Jndies. What does this Fool mean, will fome great 
Politician fay, by being in fuch a Panick about the 
• the Swedes and Danes fending now and then a Ship to 
China ? Will ereding an EaJl-lndia Company eftablifti 
a Maritime Power ? Truly I can’t lay that, but 
this I will fay, and can prove, that no Nation ever 
carried on a Trade to the Eafi-Indies, but became 
a maritime Power. I have written half a Folio Vo- 
lume to evince this, and I defy all the Men in the 
World to fhew the contrary. Within the Compafs of 
thefe laft five hundred Years, did not the Venetians and 
Genoefe become maritime Powers by the Eajl-India Com- 
merce, though they carried it on at feebnd Hand. What 
made Portugal a maritime Power, but the Eaji-India 
Trade ? What made Spain a maritime Power, but the 
Defire of the Eaji-India Trade, which threw the TVeJi- 
Indies in her Way ? it is true, fhe ftood ftill to pick 
them up, but then ftie went on, as the Philippines will 
bear me Witnefs ? What mad? us ? What made the 
Dutch maritime Powers i This very Trade. And when 
have all maritime Powers declined .? When they loft 
their Tvdde. to the Eaji- Indies. Judge then Reader for 
yourfelf, whether my Conjedtures be rafh or vain, or 
whether I have not too good Grounds to fulpeft, that 
thofe who have overcome greater Difficulties, than in 
Refped to Navigation was oppofed to other Nations, 
will in a fhortTime become maritime Powers a'lfo. 
I may be miftaken, and fliould be glad to be mifta- 
ken ; I fay no more, and I wifli I had never had O’c- 
cafion to fay fo much. Yet even this affords a Juftifi- 
cation of my Scheme ♦, for if I point out the Difeafe 
I have likewife preferibed a Remedy. If there be any 
Maxim in Politicks, certain it is this, that if a mari- 
time Power does not increafe, it muft quickly decline. 
We are every Day complaining that our old Branches 
of Trade fail, that one turns to no Account, that in ano- 
ther we are fupplanted, that a third is quite wore our. 
What Medicine then fo natural, and at the fame Time 
fo eafy as to 'ftrike out new Branches ? We have Strength 
and Power enough to do that, but whether we have 
Force fufiicient to abet fuch an Attempt as that of King 
Philipps, I mean to reftrain all the reft of the World 
from Trading, I fuppofe, I need not fay ; but if we 
really had, that very Force would fink and crumble to 
Pieces in the Attempt. This Remedy then or none 
muft cure us j it is the Tar- Water of the State, and if 
it will not help us, we may die according to the regu- 
lar Practice, as other maritime Powers have done be- 
fore us. 
Thefe are melancholy Confiderations, but however 
they may lead to a merry Purpofe. There is a Time 
for every Thing, and we muft be fometimes grave as 
well as gay j and if heretofore we had no Rival but the 
Dutch, we muft not now flatter ourfelves that we have 
no other Rival, when every Dutch Mail that bring us 
Papers and Letters from the North, Ihow the contrary. 
I might fay fomewhat of the Prujian Pretences, but I 
don’t care to talk of Lovers in Leading Strings, or 
pretend to think of ftrangling a hopeful Babe in its Cra- 
dle, for fear when he grows up he fliould prove our 
Rival too. Yet it may not be amifs to obferve, that 
there is a ftrange Spirit gone Abroad, and that while 
every Body is looking after Trade, it becomes us who 
fubfift by it, to look about it too. This indeed is a 
very obvious Remark, but the more obvious it is, the 
more neceffary ; if none but a blind Man could mils 
feeing it, what muft he be who miffes the right Ufe of 
it } The Queftion is'cafily anfwered, and it is the An- 
fwer that I will recommend to the ferious Confidera- 
tion of our Superiors. 
One Obfervation more and I have done ; fome Ob- 
je< 5 lion may be made as to the Seafon in which I made 
this Propofal ; we are engaged in a dangerous, doubtful 
and deftrudlive War, this therefore cannot be thought 
fit Time for thinking of new Schemes, or for aiming 
at Difcoverics. But alas, I am forry this is fo eafily 
anfwered 5 we have already loft a great deal of Time, 
and it is our own Fault that we did not think of 
thefe Things fooner, that we fliould not chufe fuch a Time 
as this I will readily agree ; but it is not left to our 
Choice, the Situation of Things has made ir neceffary, 
and as Neceffity, in Facft, has no Law, fo Neceffity in 
Argument will admit of no Anfwer. 
It 
