Anfwer by the Earl of Egremont.

A

ning these appearances with the step
which the court of Spain had a little
time before taken towards his majesty,
in avowing its confent, (though that
avowal had been followed by apolo
gies) to the memorial prefented the
23d of July, by the Sieur de Buffy, mi-
nifter plenipotentiary to the Most
Chriftian King, to the king's fecreta-
ry of state; and his majefty having,
afterwards, received intelligence,
fcarce admitting a doubt, of troops
marching, and of military preparati-
ons making in all the ports of Spain,
judged that his dignity, as well as his B
prudence, required him to order his
ambaffador at the court of Madrid, by
a difpatch dated the 28th of October, to
demand, in terms, the most measured
however, and the moft amicable, a
communication of the treaty recently
concluded between the courts of Ma-

drid and Verfailles, or at leaft of the ar-
ticles which might relate to the inter-
efts of Great Britain; and, in order to
avoid every thing which could be tho't
to imply the leaft flight of the dignity
or even the delicacy of his Catholick
Majefty, the Earl of Briftol was autho-
rifed to content himself with affuran-
ces, in cafe the Catholick King offered
to give any, that the faid engage-
ments did not contain any thing that
was contrary to the friendship which
fubfifted between the two crowns, or
that was prejudicial to the interefts of
Great Britain, fuppofing that any dif-
ficulty was made of fhewing the treaty.
The king could not give a lefs equi-
vocal proof of his dedendance on the
good faith of the Catholick King,
than in fhewing him an unbounded
confidence, in fo important an affair,
and which fo effentially interefted his
own dignity, the good of his king-
doms, and the happiness of his people.

How great, then, was the king's furprize, when, inftead of receiving the juft fatisfaction which he had a right to expect, he learnt from his amballador that, having addreffed himself to the minister of Spain for that pur pofe, he could only draw from him a refufal to give a fatisfactory answer to his majesty's juft requifitions, which he had accompanied with terms that breathed nothing but haughtiness, animofity, and menace; and which feemed to ftrongly to verify the fufpi. cions of the unainicable difpofition of the court of Spain, that nothing lefs than his majefty's moderation, and his refolution taken to make all the efforts poffible to avoid the misfortunes

15

infeparable from a rupture, could determine him to make a last trial; by giving orders to his ambaffador to addrefs himself to the minifter of Spain to defire him to inform him of the intentions of the court of Madrid towards that of Great Britain in this conjuncture, if they had taken engagements, or formed the defign to join the king's enemies in the prefent war, or to depart, in any manner, from the neutrality they had hitherto obferved; and to make that minifter fenfible, that, if they perfifted in refufing all fatisfaction on demands fo juft, fo neceffary, and fo interefting, the king could not but confider fuch a refufal as the most authentic avowal, that Spain had taken her part, and that there only remained for his majesty to take the measures which his royal prudence fhould dictate for the hoCnour and dignity of his crown, and for the profperity and protection of his people and to re-call his ambaf

D

E

F

fador.

Unhappily for the public tranquillity, for the intereft of the two nations, and for the good of mankind, this last ftep was as fruitlefs as the preceding ones; the Spanish minifter keeping no further measures, anfwered dryly, "That it was in that very moment "that the war was declared, and the "king's dignity attacked, and that "the E. of Bristol might retire how, "and when he should think proper."

And in order to fet in its true light the declaration, "That, if the respect "due to his Catholick Majefty had "been regarded, explanations might "have been had without any difficul"ty, and that the ministers of Spain "might have faid frankly, as Monf. " de Fuentes, by the king's express or"der, declares publickly, that the "faid treaty is only a convention be"tween the family of Bourbon; where"in there is nothing which has the "leaft relation to the prefent war; G" and that the guaranty which is there"in (pecified, is not to be understood "but of the domialous, which fhall "remain to France after the war," It is declared, that, very far from thinking of being wanting to the respect, acknowledged to be due to crowned heads, the inftructions given to the Earl of Bristol, have always been to make the requifitions, on the fubject of the engagements between the courts of Madrid and Verfailles, with all the decency, and all the attention poffible: And the demand of a categorical an

H

16

Declaration of War against Spain.

fwer was not made till after repeated,
and moft ftinging refufals to give the
leaft fatisfaction, and at the last extre-
mity: Therefore, if the court of Spain
ever had the design to give this fo ne-
ceffary fatisfaction, they had not the
leaft reafon that ought to have engaged
them to defer it to the moment, when A
it could no longer be of ufe. But, for-
tunately, the terms, in which the de-
claration is conceived, spare us the re-
gret of not having received it fooner;
for it appears at the first fight, that
the answer is not at all conformable to
the demand: We wanted to be inform-
ed, If the court of Spain intended to join
the French, our enemies, to make war on
Great Britain, or to depart from their
neutrality: Whereas the anfwer con-
cerns one treaty only, which is faid to
be of the 15th of Auguft, carefully a-
voiding to fay the leaft word that could
explain, in any manner, the intentions
of Spain towards Great Britain, or the
further engagements they may have
contracted in the present crifis.

B

C

After a deduction, as exact as faithful, of what has paffed between the two courts, it is left to the impartial publick to decide, which of the two D has always been inclined to peace, and which was determined on war.

As to the rest, the Earl of Egremont has the honour to acquaint his Excellency the Count de Fuentes, by the king's order, that the neceffary paffports for him fhall be expedited, and that they will not fail to procure all poffible facilities for his paffage to the port which he shall think moft convenient.

him

His Majefty's DECLARATION of WAR against the King of SPAIN. GEORGE, R.

THE conftant object of our atten

TH

fhewn by the Spaniards to our enemies
the French, during the courfe of the
present war, inconfiftent with their
neutrality: And most effential proofs
have been given of the friendship and
regard of the court of Great Britain
for the king of Spain and his family.
After a conduct fo friendly, and fo
full of good faith on our part, it'
was matter of great furprize to us,
to find a memorial delivered on the
23d day of July laft, by M. Buffy, mi-
nifter plenipotentiary of France, to
one of our principal fecretaries of
ftate, exprefly relating to the disputes
between us and the crown of Spain,
and declaring, that, if those objects
fhould bring on a war, the French
king would be obliged to take part
therein. Our surprise was encreased,
when, afterwards, this unprecedented
and offensive step, made by a power in
open war with us, was avowed by the
Spanish minifter to our ambassador at
Madrid, to have been taken with the
full approbation and confent of the K.
of Spain. But, as this avowal was ac-
companied with the most becoming a-
pologies on the part of the king of
Spain, and with affurances that fuch

memorial never would have been de-
livered, if it had been foreseen that
we should have looked upon it in an
offenfive light, and that the king of
Spain was at liberty, and ready, to ad-
juft all his differences with Great Bri-
tain, without the intervention, or
and foon after
E
knowledge of France;
we had the fatisfaction to be informed
by our ambassador at Madrid, that the
Spanish minifter, taking notice of the
reports industriously spread of an ap-
proaching rupture, had acquainted
him, that the king of Spain had, at no
F time, been more intent on cultivating
a good correfpondence with us; and
as the Spanish ambassador at our court
made repeated declarations to the fame
effect; we thought ourselves bound,
in juftice and in prudence, to forbear
coming to extremities. But the fame
tender concern for the welfare of our
fubjects, which prevented our accele
rating precipitately a war with Spain,
if it could poffibly be avoided, made
it neceffary for us to endeavour to
know with certainty what were the en-
gagements, and real intentions of the
court of Spain. Therefore, as we had
Hinformation that engagements had
been lately contracted between the
courts of Madrid and Versailles; and it
was foon after induftriously fpread
throughout all Europe by the minif-

tion fince our acceffion to the throne, has been, if poffible, to put an end to the calamities of war, and to fettle the publick tranquillity upon a folid and lafting foundation. To pre- G vent thofe calamities from being extended ftill farther, and because the most perfect harmony between Great Britain and Spain is, at all times, the mutual intereft of both nations; it has been our earnest defire to maintain the stricteft amity with the king of Spain, and to accommodate the difputes between us and that crown, in This obthe moft amicable manner. ject we have steadily purfued, notwithstanding the many partialities

ters

Declaration of War against Spain.

C

D

17

union between the two branches of the houfe of Bourbon; have now begun a new war; and portend the most dangerous confequences to all Europe. Therefore, we have thought fit to declare, and do hereby declare war againit the faid King of Spain, and we will, in purfuance of fuch declaration, vigoroully profecute the faid war, wherein the honour of our crown, the welfare of our fubjects, and the profperity of this nation, which we are determined at all times, with our utmoft power to preserve and support, are so greatly concerned.

Some Account of a Book, entitled, Every Man his own Broker; or, a Guide to Exchange Alley: By T. Morti

mer.

HE author of this most useful and

ters of France, that the purport of thofe engagements was hoftile to Great Britain, and that Spain was on the point of entering into the war; we directed our ambassador to desire, in the moft friendly terms, a communication of the treaties lately concluded be- A tween France and Spain or of such articles thereof as immediately related to the intereft of Great Britain, if any fuch there were; or, at least, an affurance that there were none incompatible with the friendship fubfifting between us and the crown of Spain. Our B aftonishment and concern was great, when we learnt, that, fo far from giving fatisfaction upon fo reasonable an application, the Spanish minifter had declined anfwering; with reafonings ⚫ and infinuations of a very hoftile tendency: And as, at the fame time, we bad intelligence, that great armaments were making in Spain, by fea & land, We thought it abfolutely neceffary to try, once more, if a rupture could be avoided: We therefore directed our ambaffador to ask,in a firm, but friendly manner, whether the court of Madrid intended to join the French,our enemies, to act hoftilely against Great Britain, or to depart from its neutrality; and, if he found the Spanish minifter avoided to give a clear answer, to infinuate in the molt decent manner, that the refufing, or avoiding to answer a question fo reafonable, could only arife from the King of Spain's having already engaged, or refolved to take part against us, and must be looked upon as an avowal of fuch hoftile intention, and equivalent to a declaration of war; & that he had orders immediately to leave the court of Madrid. The peremptory refufal by the court of Spain to give the leaft fatisfaction, with regard to any of those reasonable demands on our part, and the folemn declaration at the fame time made by the Spanish miniker, that they confidered the war as then actually declared, proved to a demonftration, that their refolution to act offenfively, was fo abfolute and irrevocably taken, that it could not be any longer diffembled, or denied. The K. of Spain therefore, having been induced, without any provocation on our part, to confider the war as already commenced against us, which has in effect been declared at Madrid; we H truft, that by the bleffing of Almightyexpofed the iniquity of stock jobbing,

God on the juftice of our caufe, and by the affiftance of our loving fubjects, we shall be able to defeat the ambitious defigns, which have formed this (Gent, Mag. Jan. 1762.)

E

The unentertaining work, is a perfect matter of his fubject, having loft a genteel fortune by being the dupe of stock jobbers, against whofe arts he has endeavoured to fecure others; a concern of a publick nature first drew him into the Alley, and he entered Jonathan's coffee-house in the year 1756 merely to fave the expence of frequent commiffions, which he found,in a short time, had rifen to a confiderable amount. Some of the children of him, who goes about feeking whom he may devour, foon marked him for their prey They infinuated, how easy it was to grow fuddenly rich, and mentioned as examples, many who had been turned adrift in the Alley as soon as of age, with small fums from 5 guineas to 50l. and, who foon acquired, not the conveniences only, but the elegancies of life he fufpected no fraud, and therefore took the advice that was given him; he was frequently frighted out of his property by men, who feemed to give him the moft difinterested advice; but who, under pretence of inftructing unexperienced youth, defigned only to bring his little stock to market, to contribute toGwards the fall in the price, which it was their intereft to bring about. A fucceffion of anuual loffes at length opened his eyes, he discovered the secrets of Change Alley, but, at the fame time, faw that he was undone.

F

In this little treatife, he has explained the nature of the public funds,

directed every man to tranfact his bunefs relating to the Funds himself, exhibited a short method of finding the value of any odd quantity of stock, the

price

1

28

Every Man his own Broker.

price per cent. being known; given advice concerning drafts on hankers; explained the method of raifing fupplies, of fubfcribing, and of buying fubfcription receipts; fhewn the dif ference between fubfcription paid' in upon, in full, and paid in upon only to the time of fale; given a clear account of the nature of India bonds, navy bills, and life annuities, and the manner of felling them, with directions how to avoid the loffes that frequently happen, by the deftruction of bank notes and public fecurities; he has alfo added, fome account of banking, and of the finking fund, with a table, fhewing the intrinfic value of the feveral public funds, and the proportion they bear to each other.

A

1

a hundred pounds in any of there ftocks or funds, only becomes a creditor to the government, for that proportion of a fum which was long fince borrowed and fpent, and is intitled to receive intereft for it at a certain rate till he is paid off.

A fraudulent and illicit trade called flock jobbing, is continually carrying on in thefe ftocks, the brief history of which, is this:

Free liberty having been always given to all foreigners to buy and fell Bock,many foreigners, particularly the Dutch, have a very large interest in it; but if it were always neceffary to make the transfer at the public office, at the time of making the contract, it would be impoffible for perfons abroad to improve advantageous opportunities of buying and felling, because the remittance could not always be made in time, nor could proper letters of attorney be executed; it was, therefore, reafonable to permit ftock to be bought and fold for time, that is, to permit a contract to be made for any quantity of stock, to be transferred at a certain future time, and, at a certain price, whether the price of stock at that future time should be more or less than the price ftipulated.

The word Stock, properly fignifies a certain quantity of merchandize, or money, which is made the foundation C of trade or commerce. Joint stock is the aggregate of money, or merchandize, contributed by different perfons to be employed in trade or commerce for their joint benefit, in proportion to their respective contributions.

When a fmall number of perfons,in a private capacity, form fuch a joint ftock, they are called a co-partnership; when a large number obtain a charter to carry on any trade exclusively, and jointly contribute to that trade, they are called a company.

Thus we have the South Sea and East India companies; and, any proprietor of a certain fum in the common stock of these companies, may transfer it to another perfon for a valuable confideration, which is either more or lefs than the fum originally contributed, according to the profit produced by the trade.

D

F

The government of England, instead
of laying a tax which would raise, in
the current year, the fum wanted for
that year, has for a long time borrowed
the fum that was wanted, and laid a
tax only to pay interest for it, till the
debt fhould be difcharged. The per-
fons, of whom this fum is originally G
borrowed, have a right of transferring
their proportion of the debt to others,
and the value of every hundred pound
of this debt, will be worth either lefs
or more than an hundred pounds as
the interest of money is more or less
han that at which it was contracted.

Thus, fhares in the public debt, are
perpetually bought and fold at diffe-
rent prices, and the publick debt is by
atrange perverfion of language,called
stocks and funds; though he that buys

This practice of buying and felling fock for time, is the foundation of ftock jobbing, and all its evils.

As brokers were generally employed to buy and fell for thefe foreigners, it became a custom for them, to contract with each other for certain fums of ftock, without naming their principals; and, at length, under pretence of buying and felling for foreigners, they bought and fold for themselves; or, rather made contracts between themfelves, for buying and felling stock, without having any stock to fell on one fide, or any money to buy it on the other; and, indeed, without the leaft defign, either to transfer or accept any part of the ftock which was made the foundation of their contract. In contracts for time, he who contracts to fell is called the bear, and he who contracts to buy the bull. The first, was probably called a bear, from the proverb applied to those who fell contingencies, that they fell the bear's fkin,

while the bear runs in the wood. The other was called a bull, probably, Honly by way of diftinction from the

bear.

When contracts for time are made between perfons who have neither stock nor money, they fettle the account be

tween

Every Man bis own Broker:

tween them when the time comes for. making the transfer, by paying the difference between the price of stock then, and this price ftipulated in their contract: Thus, if Bear John, contracts with Bull Thomas, to transfer to him gool. 3 per cent. annuities, at the end of 3 months, at 751. for each hundred, the price of that ftock, when the contract is made; and, if when the three months are expired, the price should be 280 l. the bear pays to the bull 251. but if the price fhould then be but 70%. the bull pays 254 to the bear.

This traffic manifeftly depends altogether upon the fluctuation of the price of stock, and thus it becomes the interest of thofe who carry it on to produce this fluctuation; it is the interest of the Bear, that stock should fall, and of the Bull that it fhould rife; the Bear, therefore, cannot poffibly thrive, but as his country fuffers, or is fuppofed to fuffer; and it is to the Bear, that we are obliged for the bad news that is frequently inferted in our news-papers, under the titles of private letters from the Hague, concerning bloody battles, flat bottomed boats, the junction of hostile powers, and an infinite variety of other articles of the same kind.

There are, however, stock jobbers of 2 higher rank than brokers, who fpread the evils of jobbing yet wider, and render them more important.

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19

large fum, which, when the intelligence is known to be groundlefs, will be confiderably increafed in its value.

Or, fuppofe a general of an army, or a commander in chief of a fleet, are jobbers, and fhould have a great account in the Alley depending, which requires a fall; their interest becomes imcompatible with their duty, and they are under the ftrongest temptation to do only as much as will prevent their being brought to account, inftead of gaining or improving a victory, B which would cause the stocks to rile, when their interest requires it to fall.

For the directions which will enable every man to act as his own broker, we muft refer to the book itself; and, if the reader, after having read it, should have any doubts, the author has promifed to obviate them, in an answer to C any letter poft paid, in which they fhall be ftated. He proposes, alfo, to read a course of lectures, in which the feveral branches of business in the funds will be explained, by way of experiment; for which purpofe, books, receipts, and all neceffaries as used at the offices, will be prepared ; and, as foon as a fufficient number of gentlemen are thoroughly acquainted with the manner of doing their business, he will attend them to the Bank, South Sea and India houfe, with the several acts of parliament, proper to enforce a ready compliance in the clerks to do their E duty.

D

It is common for perfons of great property in the stocks, to make contracts for time when an actual transfer is intended, and this produces many frauds, not eafily detected. Suppose a burgomaster of Amfterdam, has contracted to deliver ftock at a future time to a confiderable amount, at a F low price, upon fpeculation of fomething that has not happened; he writes over to his correfpondent, intimating fome event, which he knows will, if believed, produce a fall, and, at the same time, directs him to fell out immediately one or two thoufand pounds of his property in the ftocks; this is communicated at Change, and the stock is fold out as a teftimony of the truth of the information, and the fincerity of the informant: But the burgomaster, at the fame time, fends private orders to his broker to buy for him 50,000 l. when his lie has produced its effect, which will enable him to make good his contract without lofs, or, perhaps, with gain; or, by this artifice, if he has made no contract for time, he may produce a fudden fall and then buy a

G

Propofals for thefe lectures will be delivered in a fhort time,and fubfcriptions taken in at the publishers, S. Hooper, at Cafar's head in the Strand, it the author finds fufficient encourage

ment.