4S8 BUB 
cute fo vafi a fcheine. Such as, the making their fiivi- 
dci.d warrants at Chrirtmas, 1719, to carry intcreft till 
Cinilinias 1720. -Their taking, in four money fubfcrip- 
tions, for the lale of their, (jock which they propofed to 
gain by the fcheme : which large Aims were particularly 
intended to enable the company to pay off fitch of the 
redeemable debts as the refpe6tive creditors fliould clnife 
to take in principal money, inflead of fubfcribing tlie fame 
into that company ; and alfo for paying the above ftipu- 
lated Aim to the public for the privilege of this fcheme ; 
which Ami was deftined to be applied, in tlie fil'd: place, 
to pay off all Aich debts, not included in the company’s 
new capital, as carried five per cent, interell, and after¬ 
wards to pay off part of the company’s capital at five per 
cent. They were alfo empowered to make calls of money 
on their members, or to open books for Aibfcriptions, or 
to grant annuities redeemable ; or by fitch other methods 
for railing moneyas their general courts fhould direct; 
Aich as loans on contracts, bills, bonds, or obligations 
under their common-feal, or on the credit of their dock, 
which was'to be reduced to four per cent, redeemable at 
Midfumhier 1727: and the additional allowance for ma¬ 
nagement was to be in proportion to that allowed for t heir 
old capital. Not lefs than one million to be paid the 
company at any one time : but their trade and privileges 
were to continue for ever. 
The directors accordingly opened their fifft money fub- 
fcription on the 14th of April, 1720, for the fale of two 
iTu 11 tons of their (lock at 300 per cent, the market-price 
that day being 325 percent. Some of the directors feemed 
to diflike this method; yet the junto of managers judged 
it advifeable, in order to keep up the price of fiock. And 
fuch was the concourfe of perfons of diftimffion to that 
fubfeription, that it was increafed to 2,250,000k and there¬ 
upon it foon fold for double the price of the firft payment, 
which was 6 oh and the ftock rofe to 340 percent. Their 
next mafter-piece was, in a general court, where many of 
tlie higheft nobility attended, to vote a dividend of 10 per 
cent, in ftock for the Midfummer half-year, as well to 
the new fiibfcribers as to the old capital. This dividend 
was one great caufe of the enfuing calamities, by occafion- 
ing too high an opinion of the value of the fcheme. At 
the fame time it was refolved, to grant money loans on 
ftock, as far as 500,000k for four months, at five per cent, 
fecretly enlarged to 900,000k There were alfo at this 
time large premiums privately given by the agents of the 
managers for the refufal of ftock at very high prices. 
More money w r as- afterwards lent out both on ftock and 
on fubfcription-receipts. On the other hand, the direc¬ 
tors were conftantly folicited for more Aibfcriptions, loans, 
See. And to fo great a height was the frenzy got, that 
the bare refolution of the court of direJfors, on the 28th 
of April, to receive the irredeemable annuities into their 
ftock, influenced many of the proprietors of thofe annui¬ 
ties aiffually to depoftt their annuities at the South-Sea 
houfe, and implicitly to fubferibe the fame, before they 
knew what terms they were to have for them. On the 
30th of April, a fecond money fubfeription was taken for 
one million of ftock, at 4,00k percent, price; and this fub¬ 
feription was, in the fame manner, increafed to 1,500,000k 
By this daily rife of South-Sea ftock, the fame and cre¬ 
dit of the leading direttors and managers rofe in propor¬ 
tion. Addreffes were made to them from perfons of high 
rank; and, in teftimony of minifterial approbation, feve- 
ral of the diredfors had the hereditary honour of knight¬ 
hood conferred on them. Yet, very foon after, there 
happened fuch hidden fluctuations in their ftock, fome- 
tiines even in the fpace of a few hours, as might have gi¬ 
ven clear indications of its precarious value, notwithftand- 
ing the arts pradtifed to keep it conftantly riling. For, 
though on the 2d of June it got up to S90 per cent, yet, 
that vaft price bringing many fellers the day following, it 
fell before night to 640; and yet the fame evening rofe 
again to 770. On the 6th it was at 820, but by the 14th 
fell to 710. Many were obliged to fell out their ftock, to 
B L E. 
enable them to make their fecond payment on the fit ft 
money fubfeription ; and fome began to have their eves 
opened by the perpetual fiudluations of the market. Thefe 
confiderations obliged tlie managers to lend out great fums 
of money on Sonth-Sea ftock at 400 per cent, which loans 
anfv.ered a double purpofe ; firft, by locking up fo much 
ftock as was fo pawned ; and, fecondly, by (Applying the. 
borrowers with the means of buying more. So that, tho’ 
tlie price of tlie ftock was fomewhat under 800 per cent, 
the junto ventured to take a fluid money fubfeription, 
for the pnrehafe of ftock at iooo per cent, in ten different 
payments of iool. each, for five millions of fiock; crowds 
of people attending at the South-Sea houfe, loudly callino- 
for a new fubfeription, and even naming the price of ioco 
per cent, and, in a few days, their firft payment of iool. 
rofe to 400k Of the five millions now paid in for the firft 
payment,the managers lent out in one day three millions, 
for (Applying the ftock-market with xafiu A few days 
after file Midfummer Hunting of their books, the price of 
their ftock for the opening ivas at 1000 per cent, and up¬ 
wards, including the 10 per cent. Midfummer dividend. 
While South-Sea ftock was thus in its meridian glory', 
the frenzy in part affected the other two great companies, 
by railing them greatly above their juft value, viz. Eaft- 
India ftock to 445 per cent, and bank ftock to 260 per 
cent. This rife was partly occafioned by the fellers out 
of South-Sea ftock, and alfo out of the inferior bubbles* 
(as they were juftly termed,) or numerous lefler ftocks, at 
very high prices, who thought their money fafer in being 
inverted in the two great companies’ ftocks. “ The ad¬ 
vanced prices of all which ftocks, of every kind, were at 
tills time, (fays Mr. Anderfon,in his Origin of Commerce,) 
viz. about Midfummer 1720, computed to amount to a- 
bout five hundred millions (terling, or about five times as 
much as the current cafli of all Europe. And if the yearly 
rents of all the lands and houfes in Great Britain did not 
then exceed fourteen millions, and that the utmoft value 
thereof (houfes and lands together) did not exceed fixteen 
years put-chafe on an average, or 224,000,000k then here 
was above double the value of the fee-ftmple of all the 
immoveable property of the nation in this chimerical traf¬ 
fic; whilft the real and fubftantial traffic of many of the 
dealers therein was for many months in a great meafure 
fufpended.” But of all tlie raffi proceedings of the ma¬ 
nagers, during the execution of their fcheme, nothing 
proved more quickly fatal than their obtaining from go¬ 
vernment, on the 18th of Auguft, a fire facias again!? a 
great number of projects for raifing money, afterwards 
called bubbles, which, at this time, were become very nu¬ 
merous, and had greatly advanced in their prices, even 
after an aft of parliament had palfed for fuppreffing them, 
intitled, “ An aft for better fecuring certain powers and 
privileges intended to be granted by two charters for affu- 
rance of (hips and merchandize at fea ; and for lending 
money upon bottomree; and for reftraining feveral extra¬ 
vagant and unwarrantable practices therein mentioned, as 
well as of a royal proclamation for enforcing the laws 
againft them fo that Exchange-alley was daily crowded 
from morning to night (as well as the coffee-houfes) with 
dealers in thofe bubbles; many of which, having ohfolete 
and forfeited charters, under that pretext, firft, took large 
money-fublcriptions for carrying on what they had no 
right to do ; fecondly, others grafted new and additional 
projects on thefe obfolete charters, originally granted for 
very different purpofes; and a third fpecies of bubbles, 
and the mod numerous, did not even pretend to any fuch 
obfolete charters, or other authority whatever. It is ve¬ 
ry true that the traffic in thefe greatly promoted luxury, 
idlenefs, and extravagance, in the middling and lower 
claffes of the people, by diverting them from induftry and 
frugality. But the great miftake of the South-Sea mana? 
gers concerning thofe bubbles was their belief that they 
obftruiffed the rife of South-Sea ftock ; whereas, on tlie 
contrary, it was quickly found, that the trade in them 
was affifting in keeping up the grice of South-Sea ftock 4 
