THE Subject of Encouraging and Increasing of our Eng­lish Seamen, is of greater Consequence than abundance of Mankind doth readily apprehend; and we being an Island, cannot be safe or happy in Peace or War with­out them; which makes me admire what sensless Stuff the Brains of those are, or what hardened metal their Hearts are, that have so greatly Ruined and Oppressed many of them and their Fa­milies; and I have admired and lamented with Tears, to un­derstand their Ruin: And if God himself commanded the Jews so strictly, That if they saw their Enemie's Ox or Ass fall down un­der their Burden, they should help them up; Then God forbid I should have my Heart harder than a Jew, that when I see not my Enemie's Asses, but my most gracious Soveraign King William's, and my dear Country's Seamen, many dead under their burdens, and others in Ditches of misery, if I should not endeavour to help them up, I should be worse than a Jew. And I consider­ing, and seeing their miseries thrown on them, and endeavour­ing some Years to help them out, until I did almost fall in my self, I cried out for help to their Master and Dame, who im­mediately sent a large supply of Mony to their Managers and Drivers, to assist them and help them up; and at first they had help. But the poor Cattle being kept travelling so long, until they fell sick by Droves; and when they that drove them saw they were sick, and could be drove no farther, either let them die with the Load on their backs, but if others let them out to [Page 12]Pasture, then there was an Order, That if they could not be well, to come into the same Drove in 28 Days, they must then run the hazard to lose all the Hay and Corn due to them and their Young; altho it may be many of them died within a few Days after they were in Pasture; or it may be the Drove, they belonged to, was gone 300 miles before they were well; and it may be they went into the next Drove of their Masters they met with, if they lived, and were well; or it may be they continu­ed sick, and were sent into some Stable for Cure, and there did continue long after their Drivers had ruined the Rest of their Fother: And I considering what a Scarcity of others to bear the Burdens, and so Extraordinary Charge to buy more, that I thought it better to keep them there was, and prevent that ha­zard and Charge, especially considering besides, That it was a sign of mens being wicked, whose tender mercies were cruel; And also, that the young ones they bought, did many times die before they were a Year used to the Pack-Saddle.

And to conclude, I dreamed, That without there were ho­nest, faithful Managers, Drivers and Hostlers, the poor Cattle would be ruined at last.

But I had need to beg pardon for telling so much of my Dream: I will forbear the rest; for perhaps it would be an hour longer, and they that understand the interpretation, find it all true.

But now for the Seamen's Encouragement to serve his Majesty, I will propose some few things, always provided, That if I pro­pose such and such honest ways and means, it may not be misun­derstood: As for Example, if I say, that there must be good Commanders, and honest Pursers, or they will be miserable at last, and run away indeed, many of them. This must not be understood as if I were so uncharitable as to reflect on all in those Places; for we have some Worthy Admirals and Com­manders, whose Names I honour, and who will neither abuse the Seamen themselves, neither suffer their Officers to abuse them; and for every honest Purser I love them.

But my Head being so like a Land-Flood, over-flowing with the last Stormy Times of Misery and Knavery, that some of it will overflow the Banks before I can get any Materials ready to secure the Country from a further inundation.

And now I will begin to propose some Materials that I do suppose will be useful, in order for security for time to come; and that which is useful may be made use of now or hereafter, as Times mend: How long they have been bad, God knows. But I remember, many Years past, it was said, Bad Men made Bad Times: how it is now, must be left to the Learned to Judge. And it was said, Bad Times caused Good Laws; God send the Seamen some Token of the Truth of that before they are all ru­ined.

And now as to the first Consideration of the Seamen's Relief, it is to be considered of the Admiralty and Navy-Board: if they be the most Excellent Men in England for Loyalty to his present Majesty, and Care of his Men of War and Merchant-Ships, and to preserve the Seamen's Lives and Pay, that will, it may be, be half a Cure. But if ever there should be in England, for time to come, an Admiralty and Navy-board that should be one part false and Treacherous, and the other soft, and easy, and foolish, to be led into ignorance and madness, it might perhaps lie in their power to put in several Cowardly, Sorry, Damming Of­ficers, that would Ruin and Drive away Thousands of Seamen, and never fight One Enemy; and if there were abundance of good Commanders and Officers that loved the Seamen, and would fight their Enemies, and protect their Friends, they might be tied up as so many Cats, some in one Room, and some in another; and the Mice might play up and down in all the rest of the Rooms, and also devour half the Victuals and Cloaths in some Rooms, and be never hurt hardly; Or indeed, in plain English, there might be Ships of War have Orders to lie in the Downs, and their Enemie's Ships might come within TwoLeagues of them, and it may be snatch away a Merchant-man, and be gone: And if the others say, Their Orders is to lie there, and they must not break their Orders; that may serve; or if there should be a Spuadron ordered to lie before Dunkirk, to keep their Ships from coming out, and the French did start out, and ours had no Orders to follow them, then it may be they might take some more Russia Ships; I think they took Four Russia Ships last time, the next day, as near as I can remember; And I deal plainly, because I write not either for Profit, Praise, or Preferment; and so would do as a Lawyer or Physician, that giveth Law or Phy­sick [Page 14]to a Friend freely, giveth the best Advice and Help they can possible, to have done the sooner, and perfect the Cure ef­fectually.

And now having said, it may be, too much to the first, I con­clude, only observing, by the way, how it is possible we Citi­zens of London may be served when we put our Children to Nurse; We may pay the best prices in the World to the Nur­ses, and if they be not honest, the Children may be starved at last, if we do not go, or send to see how they are used; and if there be good Milk provided for them, it may fall out, that the Nurse, or her Children, or Servant, yea the very Mongril Dog of the House may devour it three quarters up, with as much greediness as ever a Ticket-Buyer bought a Seaman's Pay, Seven Pound Ten Shillings for Forty Shillings, and as much honesty as ever a poor Seaman was made Run basely and shamefully out of his Pay at the Office, or at Pay-day.

2. Therefore if the Seamen should, or would be ever encou­raged, we should look back to the Justice, Policy and Honesty of our Fore-fathers, who used to pay their Seamen their Mony on Shore; and the Commanders, and Seamen, and Ships, used to be agreed together to fight and Ruin, and destroy their Ene­mies at Sea; and God blessed their honest Courage, and their honest Pay; and every Seaman's Life then lost at Sea, was as a Poysonous Arrow to their Enemies: They kill'd their Enemies, and destroy'd their Fleets and Seamen; and they that lived came in and were paid; and those that died, had their money, paid their Friends, and Bounty-money sometimes also; and this did business.

And there is these Two Things to be considered of, which of them shewed most Courage, most Policy, most Profit or most Loss, our English Fleet neglecting or refusing to fall upon the French Fleet, when God from Heaven turned the Wind fair for our Fleet to fall on the French, when they were in Fresh-Water-Bay, on our own Coast; When, in all likelihood, God that gave us the Wind to fall on them, would have given us the Victory, and then we might have Ruined their Fleet on our own Coast, if we had fought as our English Ships used to do when I was a Boy, and it may be not lost 4 Ships, neither Two Thousand Seamen in the Fight, because God seemed to turn the Wind for our Fleet [Page 15]to fight, as he did for our gracious King William to Land at first, and Crowned his Industry and Courage: And whether if our most Gracious and Valiant King William had been afraid to have fallen on his Enemies at the Boyn, because of danger to have saved some hundred Men's Lives, then he might not have lost the Victory, and had forty Thousand Men's Lives dwindled away by Sickness and Skambling Fights in Ireland since, and it may be, the War continued there until this day, as it doth at Sea; but blessed be God, who gave him Courage and Victory, and to every Man he lost there, he Ruined ten Enemies, and Ruined their whole Cause in the Conclusion in that Nation; and had our Fleet done so, what Mercy had England enjoyed, to have seen the French Fleet Ruined.

But now as to our Ships and Men, and the two Questions be­fore, Whether it was greater Profit to the Nation and Seamen to save their Ships and Men, as aforesaid, and of loosing four Ships, than in Fighting our Enemies Yard-Arm, and Yard-Arm, with all our Fleet, after the old English way of Fighting, as old Blake, and old Dean, and old Albemarle used to do, if their Ene­mies were twice their Number. But now instead of that, we saved our Ships and Men then, and lost twenty times four Ships since, and twenty times two thousand Seamen since, and great part of them destroyed not their Enemies by the Bargain; and which is best or worst I leave to those who have more Skill than I to Judge. But in short, if the Seamen of England be ever truly incouraged and preserved for time to come, they must be paid on Shore, and it must be so contrived as near as possible, that every Man may be paid off once in a Year, or tw [...] at far­thest, and have then a little security against the Press, that they may Recruit their Healths, and then they will be incouraged to come into the Service again, and their Friends glad to send them; and without that, I am afraid other incouragements will be but like a few Oats shewed a Horse to tempt him to come and take up a Pack, who remembers the last time he could never get it off before he fell sick, and was thrown in the Hedg: And lastly, although he saw a great part of his Companions Dyed un­der [Page 16]their Burdens, none would be so merciful to them as to give them a Fortnight's Rest in several Years. This may seem a foolish Comparison, but Children and Fools are said to tell truth. and so much to that, if there be no certain time when Seamen shall be discharged, I fear there will be no certainty of their coming in for time to come freely: And so much to that.

3ly, If His Majesty, and the two most Honourable Houses would advance all able Seamen's Pay four or five Shillings the Month, this might be the way to incourage the Seamen of England to serve more chearfully and freely.

4thly, All ordinary Seamen's Pay, but two Shillings the Month, that they might all strive to be Able Seamen.

5thly, That all Apprentises might be incouraged when they are Honest, and Punished when they are not; that is, their Ma­sters to have twelve Shillings the Month, and they themselves the remainder; that is, if they are such as deserve but Eighteen Shillings the Month, to have Four Shillings themselves to buy them Cloaths; if Men, to be Paid Nine Shillings; and if an Able Seaman, to be Paid the Remainder of the Pay, as Able Seamen are; and this I Propose. because I have known several Apprentises shifting, and running to and fro from Ships, have Beggered their Masters and Dames, and the King loseth their Service at last, it may be, as their Masters and Dames do their Pay. But if they had Encouragement themselves, it may be they would stay in their Ships; and if they did not, to be liable to serve their Time over again, or pay for it; and also by this means it would be certain who should have their Pay; and that hath not been this War; Sometimes the Prentices shall have all, and the Masters none; and sometimes their Masters all, and the Prentices may starve for Bread or Cloaths, their Masters, it may be, some of them, taking little care where they shall be pro­vided for when sick and almost naked.

6. See all Seamen to be encouraged to be able Seamen, and Midship-men and Officers, as they are capable of; and not let any Captain's Boys receive Midship-men's Pay for their Masters, and the Brave, Couragious, Loyal Seamen, that served indeed for Midship-men to be paid but as Able, or to be split their Pay, one Midship-man's Pay between Two Men; and this would in­courage all Seamen that have Brains and Art, to strive for Pre­ferment, [Page 17]and not have Lieutenants put over them, that never saw a Gun fired in anger, it may be, this War.

7. As few Seamen as possible to be turn'd from Ship to Ship; and if they are, to have Tickets given them for their former Ships, and these to be as Land-marks for their Pay, and not to be made Run afterwards; but sent up to the Office for their Wives, or Friends, or Parents to receive their mony; and these turn'd over Tickets to be Registred, and paid in course, and that with­in three months at farthest, after the turning over; and none to buy any of them at above 3 s at most, in the Pound Profit, on Pain of Forfeiture of thrice the value to the party grieved or oppressed; and if those who have extorted before, of the Sea­men, out of their Tickets, above 4 s or at most, 5 s in the Pound Profit, might Pay to the Party grieved and oppressed 2s back for every shilling more profit; and that would not be so great a punishment as some may imagine; For if they extorted 10 s profit, and five being for time past winked at, the other five paid back double, is but 10 s So that the poor extorted ru­ined Seaman, would have but 20 s at last for 20 s And if any say, there was no Law against these Extortioning Villains for time past: To that I answer, I do suppose, unless the Extorti­oners are worse than Heathens, there is the Law of Nature and of Christ, to do as they would be done unto.

And Secondly. unless those Extortioners are worse than Turks, I have been often informed, that the Turks will severely correct a Jew if he takes more than a moderate profit of a Christian; they will beat the Jew severely. And I do suppose that such dreadful cursed wretched Extortioners, as have bought some Sea­mens Pay at near a quarter of the value, were never heard of a­mong Turks or Indians, or the most Savage and Barbarous Nati­ons in the World; And those very Seamen who are so Ruined, to lose their Health and Lives in the defence of that very Na­tion where these Extortioners must live, or be Slaves themselves, and lose all at last.

And I consider, That if David would not drink of the Wa­ter of Bethlehem, when the Three Mighty Men had ventured their Lives to fetch it, but said, God forbid: is it not their Blood? Then how can these Nations expect to thrive, that put by the poor miserable Seamens Widows from their Pay; that was earn­ed [Page 18]not only with the peril of their Husband's Lives, but even fell sick, and actually die on shore by reason thereof; or whether it be not very like injustice, or unmercifulness, and Cruelty, to cause so great multitudes to be deprived of their Pay, who have not been one Day or Month hardly out of the Service for several Years, as by the Ship's Books will appear, except by sick­ness or death, that can be proved; and if those, who have help­ed to throw more misery on them, be the only men that are in this Nation to Relieve them; the Lord, for Chrift's sake, pre­serve all Landmen from falling into such Distress; for if Christ should say to these Nations in Judgment, The same measure you mete, shall be measured to you again, it would be sad; but what he will do is known only to himself; and what his good will and pleasure is to stir me up to write this, he only knoweth.

And 8thly, Therefore there ought to be care taken what Seamen must do for time to come, if they are set sick on shore, and the Ships go away before they are well to secure their Pay; for I would appeal to all mankind, that hath Grace or Reason, yea, or Common Sence, whether it can be thought, that when there is several sick Men in Ships, and they set on Shoar, some in one Port, and some in another; Whether the Ships must wait until they are well, and how the same Men can get to their own Ships again when they are gone? And if they continue sick or die, or go on board of other Ships, or be sent to the Hospitals, and Run out of their Pay; whether this be not Injustice, Cruelty, Opression, Discouragement to the King's Service, and that whereby no Man in England can be safe to Serve his King and Country for time to come; nor no Man safe to trust a Seaman, or Seaman's Wife and Family, one Groat that is in the King's Service on those terms, since the Stoutest Man and Honestest Man in England, by keeping long on Board, may fall Sick and Die, or continue Sick, and that a Year or two, and if not go on Board, or be Prest on board another Ship, and so loose his Pay: I do protest in the presence of the Lord, be­fore whom I Write this, I fear if there be none in these Nations to be found to consider these dreadful Cases, but suffer Cruelty and injustice to be smugled up, that God will Chastise these Nations, until they Learn what it is to Ruin Men and Fami­lies in their Lives or Pay, thousands and ten thousands, as by [Page 19]the King's Pay-books and Muster-books will appear; and they I appeal to; they are such a Register the Nation never saw in the Sea Affairs, and the blame must lie somewhere; and I sup­pose some hardened Hearts will say the Running them out of their Pay, is right enough; but it may be they will not con­sider that their turning from Ship to Ship, until Sickness or Death came, was the Cause of a great part, and I hope they will not be so Case-hardened as to say they were served well enough to be Run out of their Lives, so many ten thousands; also I remember the English Nation, in some former times, was mighty industrious to find out, and Punish the Instruments that Ruined the King's Liege-People in their Lives and Estates; and had we had but the tenth part of Landmen's Poor Families Stripped of all they had in the World, as there hath been Sea­men stripped of their Pay, it would have made a dreadful out­cry in England: And indeed if our Poor in England had been forc'd to be turned from Master to Master, without a Penny of Mony for some Years, as many Seamen have from Ship to Ship, and their miserable Wives and Children Live on Credit, or Starve; and if at last they should, under the burden of all by discouragements, fall sick, and be Run out of their Mony, they had worked for several Years, as many have been out of their Pay in several Ships; it would look dreadfully bad. And some well-meaning men would have nothing said of it to acquaint the Government, for fear our Enemies should know it; as if the French, who hath taken so many hundred Ships from us, and near twenty thousand Men Captive, this War, and hath so many Spies, and Treacherous Villains here, and doth, to outward appearance, know a great deal better where to meet our India Ships, and Berbado's Ships, in several places to take them Home to France, than ours did to send Convoys to take them Home to England; and yet some seeming Honest Men are afraid the French, that take our Ships and Men, should know our Case, and in short, I fear he knows it a great deal more exactly than some do, or will do in England, for I do think some in Eng­land seem to do, like what is said of the Woodcocks, to hide their Heads in a Bush, and think none can see them; and so if they let the King, Country and Seamen be all Cheated, it will continue to be all smuggled up; but my Pen runs thirteen [Page 20]to the Dozen, and yet the knavery of the Bakers is such, that if care be not taken, I am afraid some of our Seamens Families will be ready to starve: but to that, I should propose a Remedy, that Seamen may not be Cheated of their Health, Lives and Pay altogether.

First, if as many as is possible, might be Paid off every year, and that, it may be, would save most of their Lives, most of their Healths, and all their Pay besides, and we might have Ships enough for a Winter Squadron besides; and if any did fall Sick, then if the Ship goeth away and leaves him set on shoar, then if he cannot come on Board to set him in the Ships Book dis-sick at such a place and time, and the Man, if well to go on Board another Man of War, and to have the Captain of the Man of War send up a Certificate to the Office, That such a man that was in such a Ship, is now in his Ship, and this to be Entered in the other Ships Book in the Office to save the Poor Seamens Pay; and if the other Ships Book be not there, to have a Register Book to enter it in the mean time; and if the Man continues Sick or Dies, the Surgeon of the place, he is sent to, to be Bound to give a Certificate of his Case to save his Pay, since it must needs seem to me to be a barbarous thing towards any, for time past, to be turn'd from Ship to Ship, for several Years; until they fall sick and die, and then be Run out of their Pay; and it may be their poor Ruined Wives, who hardly have seen their Husbands this War, it may be they must come 100 or 200 Miles, to shew cause why they must have any mony, and why their Husbands went not on Board their own Ships again; and it may be the Ships Journal, if looked into at the Office, would shew the Ship went away in 24 hours: And if God will bring every work to Judgment, I doubt our Ships Books and Ships Journals will be sad Witnesses against the Cruelty of some in those Offices, to Run poor Wretches out of their Pay, that the men are, as the Sentence is against those that are to be hanged, Dead, Dead, Dead. And therefore if I find not any Remedy against Ruining the Fatherless and the Widow, I will not expect any great Security of our Ships and Merchandise.

And so much to that: God is a Jealous God: If we Ruin the Poor of Thirty Thousand Pounds the Year, by some sort of Tools, and God suffers the Nation to lose so many Hundred [Page 21]Thousand Pounds in Riches, and the King his Custom, by the Ignorance, Carelessness, and Treachery of others; if our own Folly be not too hard for us, I fear the Judgments of God will: and therefore I advise some way for these Nations to break off their sins by Repentance, and their Iniquities, by shewing mercy to the Poor: and Mercy and Justice both, will teach ways to secure Ruined Seamens Pay, when wounded, or dead, or in the Hospitals.

9. It is a miserable thing, that when men are turn'd over, or dead, or sick, that their poor Wives cannot be informed whe­ther their poor Ruined Husbands are Run out of their Pay, with­out Petitioning; Which, if there be Twenty Thousand Turn­ings over in a Year, may make work for the Clerk of the Petiti­ons, and his Masters. If they all Petition at 12 d the Piece to him, it is a Thousand Pound the Year, and 6d to his Boy, is five hundred Pound the Year: And will not this be brave Times for him? But I remember, in all Calamities, some dreadful Wret­ches get mony; in the time of the Plague of London, in the time of the Fire, and in the time of War, many are Raised from the Dunghill on the Ruines of others; but why poor Seamen themselves, or their poor Wives, should not have Liberty to get a Clerk to search the Book, to see if they are cheated of their Pay or no, before Pay-day, is sad. But I confess it is a good way to hide Knavery: For if mony be said to be paid the Party, and was not, and he appears himself, it is a timely notice to get an­other book to shew him, that it was only ordered to be paid him. But if he be dead, or gone, and never come himself, then it may stand paid the party until Dooms-day; and if he comes, it was a mistake: And besides this, having a sight of the Books, may be a great help to Extortioners and Ticket-buyers, if they get the Books searched privately, they may buy as they please; And whe­ther this be not turning the blind out of their way, seeing the Seamens Wives have most time nothing but the Books to know what is due; and if they be Run at Pay-day, it may be are forced to pe­tition, and stay for their mony another year; and this is misery to misery.

10. Therefore I think they ought, for time to come, to have no Seamen discharged without a Ticket, and no Officer keep his Ticket on pain of Felony; For in plain English, which is worst, [Page 22]a Pick-pocket stealing a Guinea or Two from a Gentleman, or a Captain of a Man of War to take a Seaman's Ticket from him of Ten Pound, and it may be the poor Seaman, nor his Wife and Family, hath not a Groat in the World to buy a bit of bread? Therefore if there be not Relief to poor Ruined Seamen, I will never more wonder we fool away, knock on the Head, betray and destroy so many Men of War and Mer­chant Ships. But,

11. And none to wait above One Payment for One Ticket also, for time to come; and not wait 3 years for 30 s at Two Payments of a Ticket, as hath been common this War: And whether this was not Misery to Misery? And to prevent that,

12. As few as possible to be turn'd from Ship to Ship; but when Ships come in, pay them off as they come in, some one time, and some another; and the Men have a Month's Liberty to come on shore; and gather health and strength, and spend their Mony; and when their Mony is gone, their Friends will quickly send them to Sea again, without pressing; and that would be good for King and Country: And if Men see they are not shifted from Ship to Ship, like Slaves, they will, when paid off on shore, as in other Ages, have Encouragement to come into the Service again, and bring their Children, Servants and Friends with them. But if they find they are deprived of their Liberty all their Days, when once they come, and of their Property, when sick and die, no marvel if they are glad to get away: And I would ask all Mankind, and would appeal to the King and Parliament what should be the Cause the King's Ser­vice now should be more a Prison than in other Ages? and why so Gracious a King's Service should be made such a Bug­bear now; and such Loss of Liberty, Property and Lives to the Seamen now more than in any Age of the World; and whether it be not an unmerciful, unjust, and an unreasonable Argument to pretend the Seamen cannot be admitted to come on shore to be paid now, as in other Ages, because they will Run away: Whereas, in the mean time, they are kept turn'd and tossed from Ship to Ship, until more die than would Man the Fleet; and in the mean time also, more Run away from the Service than would Man it all and half over again: And if they are Run out of their Pay wrongfully, it is shameful and cruel; and [Page 23]if Justly, their New Management has frightned more Seamen out of the Service, to the appearance of the Ship's Books, this Seven Years last, than hath Run away in this Nation, I do ve­rily suppose, this fifty years, if all the Old Books and New Books were searched. So that I say, Experience shews the Mi­sery of that Argument of paying them on board Ship, by the Loss of near Forty Thousand Lives, and sixty or seventy Thou­sand Men's Pay: Whereas, had their Lives been preserved, and their Pay encouraged on shore, in all likelihood Seamen would have been so increased, and thereby their Pay in Merchant Ships near half Iess: That considering the hazard of Lost Voyages in Merchant Ships, they would there have Thousands of them proved my Words good, that I used to say to them at first, That the King's Service was the best in England; No half Pay, no Dammage, no Lost Voyage; and if pinched of their Diet, the King pays the Pinch-gut-mony also honestly.

And thus I would by the way consider, that we cannot expect to be in safety for time to come, without we do by Humility, Justice and Mercy, engage God to stand by us, and give us Wis­dom, and his Blessing in the first place.

And 2dly, As to outward means, in a visible way, we cannot be safe and happy in times of Peace or War, without an hun­dred and fifty Thousand Seamen in England. My Reason is this, That tho now we have the Dutch united with us, and it may be save 20 or 30 Ships, and 10000 Men, the time may fall out we may stand alone; and 2dly, What hath been, may be; and the French and another Nation have Joyned against us; and then we need double the Strength and Number of Men we have now; and that to maintain a War and Merchant Trade both; and if we do not that we are Ruined for want of Trade; there­fore this I would say, Tho our Losses have been dreadful this War, and God knows, many of them blindfold, and scandalous and ignorant; yet it was a great mercy we traded; Our poor had been Ruined, if we had not Traded; all our Manufactory-workers would have been ready to perish, and commit, it may be, any mischief; for it hath been with the Nation as it may be, in some part, with my self; There are some that have by the Providence of God a Subsistence from me; I trade, and trust, and lose much; I pay them, blessed be God, they live by their [Page 24]Labour, and some might starve, if they had not that, or the Parishes must keep them; others, it may be, get Mony, more than I, under me, because I stand to all hazards, and they to none, but take my Mony. So it is in a Nation; if we had not Traded this War, we had been Ruined; and if we lose not more than we get clear Profit, we shall live at last; tho, by the way, the World may admire at us, that have near twice the Number of Men of War imploy'd that the Dutch have, and yet that they should have so many Millions of Riches come home from the Indies, and other parts, this year, and other years, and hardly lose any almost to speak of, except what they have lost in our Company; for where they take care of their own Con­cerns themselves, for the most part they go and come well. But in conclusion, I do suppose, besides their preservation of their Shipping, if I am not under a misapprehension, they save a Million of Mony a year more than we in their Ships of War, and Mens Wages, and it may be half a Million more in the very Wages of Seamen in their Merchants Service; and if they spend less by half, and lose less by Eight Parts in Ten, they will out­do us in Trade; and it is not our making a Noise, and keeping our Seamen on Board of Ship until they die, will save our Trade alive; but first the blessing of God; 2. The increase and En­couragement of our Seamen, and our preserving them alive; and having enough to supply the Merchant-men with Seamen cheap, and then having Men to order our Convoys, at least with as much common sense to preserve our Merchant Ships, and meet them as soon, and take them home to England, for time to come, as the French use to do; to meet them to take them home to France, that we may not be a Grief to our Friends, and a Joy to our Enemies, and a by-word to the World. I bless God I love my Native Country well, and our gracious King William well; and if I did not, I would not be so plain hearted. And as to what I said before, we must, for time to come, imploy at least half as many Seamen more in times of Peace, than ever we did; and to do it in time of Peace, if we would, when ever God in Mercy sends us peace; then mind the very Fishing Trade at our own Doors, as others do. I find it computed by one Sir John Burrows, Keeper of the Records in the Tower, and printed with Gerard Malines Lex Mercatoriae, which I have by me, That [Page 25]the Dutch do imploy in our Brittish Sea, which he saith is a conti­nual Harvest, and doth imploy 6400 Ships and Busses, and 120000 Men at Sea; whereby he saith, That Holland it self being but 28 Miles in length, and a few in breadth, imploys in all their Sea-Trade 10000 Sail of Shipping; and he saith, That Lubeck hath 700 Sail of Ships, Hamborough 600, Emden more, besides Free­men, and other Nations that Fish and Trade in our Seas: And he saith, That the very Customs of their Fishing Trade of Hol­land came to 500000 l the Year, including the Tenth Fish, and Cask paid for Waftage. And this, if thought of by England, when ever God shall send Peace, would be the way to imploy and increase our Seamen, and to have a sufficient Number always ready to serve the King and Country at 2 Months Warning; and not suffer our Seamen, in Peace, to rove all over the world for imployment to get bread, yea to go some Thousands into the West Indies a Buckaneering, for want of bread at home. This is by the way. It may be something of this may be minded some Years hence. And this I would leave as a Memorandum, That since France is grown so prodigious Great, if we double not our Diligence, they will endeavour to out-wit us in Peace or War: and it may be they may be to England as the Philistines were to Israel, when we fall deeply to sinning, they may be rai­sed up to scourge us; and the Lord prevent the Cause, and if it be his holy Will, enable us to bring them under.

11. And I would say, That all possible care ought to be taken, that those, who have the Command and Offices in the Ships of War, should be Men of true Courage in fight, and true Kindness to the Seamen at other times: And I would appeal to all our Brave Commanders, if the Seamen, with good usage, will not be led with a twined Thread, up to the Muzzels of their Ene­mies Guns, at any time, by Stout, good Natur'd Commanders: But hate to be abused like Dogs. And I am consulting my Me­mory, and do not remember any one Commander that was an Hectoring, and Swearing, Damning, Cruel Wretch to his Men, that ever had the Heart to fight an Enemy: And therefore it were in this Age well, if there were a Law made. Tha [...] no extra­ordinary Correction should be given to Seamen in Passion; but to have Three, or at least Two Officers advise in any Correction more than or­dinary.

12. That no Seaman be kept above 2 Years out, either in the Straits or West Indies before they come home, and be paid off; it having been often found, Ships staying long there, have had their Number of Men 6 times over, to the Seamen's Ruin. And I never heard of a Penny Profit to King and Country, by their Ruining of so many.

13. None be so turned over above once before his first mony be paid, and that to prevent the Ruin of their Pay and Fami­lies.

14. None to forfeit a Penny of the other Ship's Pay, after he is 3 Months in the Ship.

15. No Officer to detain a Seaman's Ticket on any pretence whatever, except his Covenant-Servant, on pain of Felony.

16. None to set a Q. or R. on any Seaman's Pay, but to shew Cause, and set his Name that did it, that Seamen may not be ru­med in Life, and Death and Pay and All, by they know not who, nor wherefore.

17. None to receive a Seaman's Pay without a true Power; and if Counterfeited, to have the Middle Joint of each Little Finger cut off, and be sold to the West-Indies for perpetual Servi­tude all their Days.

18. No Officer to detain a Seaman's Certificate, or Sick-Tic­ket, on any pretence whatever.

19. No Officer to keep Men open on the Books a Voyage af­ter they are gone, neither to make out Tickets for them, or to enter Men in the Ship's Books, that never saw the Ship in their Lives. And to prevent this and the other, and the Cheating the King; and Loss of Ships, and Ruin of Seamen for time to come, there might be,

20. One man in 20 that can write and Cast Accompt, to be as Seamen extra, to keep a Journal sign'd by them all, of the daily motion of the Ship, in what place, what Wind, and what Friends or Enemies met with, or run away from; and also to take an Exact Account of all the Ship's Victuals and Stores coming on Beard, to see that it is the full Quantity, and that no Embellish­ment might be in the Stores, nor no Victuals short, since the King allows enough of all these things, if men shuffle it not away; and also to see the men mustered every week all the Voyage on board, to prevent their being entred that never come on board; nei­ther [Page 27]they kept open that Run away: And that also the Seamen extra might be Learning to carry a Ship to Sea in any part of the World, and consulted with in case of Danger, that Ships might not be knockt on the head, or fool'd away, for time to come, so madly as in some times past; and these men to have six shillings the Month more than Able Seamen; and to be preferr'd, if de­serving.

21. In regard that the Boatswains, Gunners and Carpenters are Places of great Care and Trust, and some Expences in the getting in, and taking care of, and accounting for their Stores, and their Wages being, it may be, under-valued, in respect of those who have double Pay, if his Majesty, and the Honourable Houses, would advance their Pay half as much more as they have now, and this would be the way to encourage them to be honest, faithful and cheery in the Service; and they that are not honest, to be punished: if they are found to steal the King's Store, then they and the Parties who are the Receivers, which are as bad as the Thieves, to be every man that is found guilty, marked on the Little Fingers, and transported for Servants to the West-Indies, all their Days, as those that would infect others if they staid here: And to find out all Theft, if there were this Encourage­ment, That whatever Seamen 2 or 3 could prove the same, to have their discharge from the Ship, on the Conviction of the Offender, and Tickets for their own mony, to be paid present­ly at the Pay-Office, and a Protection for One Year from the Press, except they can be preferr'd in the time to some place, into some other Ship. And this would be the way to have almost all the Thieves in the Fleet, and in the Yards discovered, and without Charge or Loss to the King. But if men who discover Cheat­ing be abused, brow-beaten and back-beaten, and confin'd to en­dure it all their days, no marvel if there is seldom any Thievery found out, if never so much committed.

22. No Pursers, or Captains Clerks, or any Officers, to give a List of Names to others, to forge Powers, or to deliver out Tickets to any, but publickly; and to those who have Powers, that are Lawful to take the same; and none to sell or receive a­ny Seaman's Pay or Ticket, except their own Indenture-Serv­ants, on Pain of Felony, as being worse than Highway-men.

23. There to be a Committee to hear the Complaints of [...]hose who have been oppressed, cheated, or ruined in their Pay; and to hear all Complaints freely, and to restore Justice to the op­pressed, as those who would not have the hand of God go out against our Navigation any more, to the suffering either our own Folly or the Enemies Subtilty to ruin us.

24. That whenever Ships are put up for Re-calls at Broad­street, for Pay, there be a certain time appointed for each Ship, and publick notice given at least 6 days before-hand, for all par­ties to appear, that have Mony due, that they may not lose their Pay, or come at such uncertainties for small sums, that the trou­ble and charge, and loss of time, is worth more than the Mony receiv'd.

25. That there may be also an appointment of some of the Commissioners, that state the publick Accounts, to hear and re­ceive all Informations, wherein the King and Nation have been cheated, and liberty to grant a safe Conduct to any one to come and appear before them, to make a full and free discovery, and to let them depart home without molestation again; and if their Information be worthy of a Pardon, that it might be interceed­ed for; if not, that they might be left open to the Law, as be­fore: And that, if any one, that hath been guilty of Cheating, and forging of Powers, can discover two others as bad as them­selves, so as they may be convicted, then the first to be pardon­ed, and the other two punished: And if the other two can ei­ther of them discover two more, that is four as bad as themselves, the two to be excused, and the four corrected, unless any of them could double their Information, as aforesaid; and this would be one way, perhaps, to find out how the King, and the Nation, and the Seamen may be modestly Judged to be cheated of 100 or 150000 l a year this War.

And now I having proposed this, it may be I shall meet with some Enemies that will envy me ten times worse than the Thieves envied him that wrote the Book that is called, The English Rogue; and yet if they were so wise, as to keep their own Counsel, none would know I meant them; for indeed, I bless God I aim not against persons, but Villany; and if I meet with any that is offended at me for discovering the Method of the Navy-Cheats, I shall think it is some body that is galled and scabbed; and that [Page 29]I touched them, tho I did not see them, and therefore they kick and bite, as some Horses will do. And so much to that. I would advise them to keep their own Counsel, that others may not laugh at them; and if they laugh themselves, and are pleased, the World will be ready to judge they are glad if I can hunt out the Scabby Sheep out of their Flock. But I would propose con­cerning those many thousands that are taken captive into France, if it were in English Ships.

26. That they that are taken may have their several miseries considered of, how they are used in France; and if their suffer­ings be so great, that they are ready to perish there for want, it would be well if some Relief were ordered them, that they might not die, and perish there, or be forced to enter into the French Service for Liberty, Bread and Cloaths, and therefore to be sent for away, also so soon as possible they can conveniently.

27. When come to Plimouth, or any Sea-Port Town in Eng­land, to have at least a penny a mile allowed every Seaman for Travelling Charges to London, if in Men of War, and to where their Friends live, if in Merchant Ships, that they may not be forc'd to beg or starve for near 200 miles, and at last be forc'd a­way into other Ships, without one penny of mony to buy them Clothes for to shift them: And it may be considered, if it be not a barbarous thing to meet men as far as Kingston, coming home out of France, with nothing but their Lousie Old Cloaths the French give them, and when they have begged 150 miles, to carry them away, lay them in the Hold in Press-Ketches, with­out Bedding, or any thing to lie under or over them; and it may be the poor Wretches sickly and weak, some of them: And this is now at this time one Fruit of our keeping Seamen on board, and paying them there, that they should not Run away, until there is so many dead and gone, that there is dreadful Tearing ann Halling in City and Country, and the very Watermen out of the Tiltboats, that they are afraid to work on their Trades, some of them now, while our great Ships are so many laid up: And by the way, this pressing, when Men were paid lately, frigh­ted away some Hundreds or Thousands of Seamen: Whereas if they had but had liberty to have spent their mony freely in one month, they would have been glad to have gone again. I have heard a Friend of mine declare solemnly, He had above 20 Lodg­ers[Page 30]that belonged to his House, went away to their own Coun­tries, not daring to come up to London to spend their money here, or return it home to their Friends; and if so many be seared away in one house, how many in all the houses that keep Lodgers in City and Suburbs? Therefore men must be taken care of for time to come, to have their Lives preserved, and their persons encoura­ged; or if not, I fear it will produce greater Loss and Damage than is yet foreseen; And all mankind that knows the Sea-Af­fairs; knows that 2 or 3 Years keeping on board of Ship, common­ly 3 fourths of the men die: whereas if they had liberty, and fresh provisions, and Land-Air, one month often recruits them a­gain.

28. Therefore the Seamen to be encouraged, and preserved, and paid off at London, as formerly, and the City would not be Ruined by the War. And if it be objected, The Seamen would then go in Merchant-Ships, many of them. To that I do answer, if their Lives were preserved, they would increase as fast or faster in Men of War than in Merchant-Ships: and if there were plen­ty, Wages would fall in Merchant-Ships. And had our Fleet increased Seamen, as it was expected, the Wages would have been so low in Merchant-Ships, and what with Lost Voyages, Seamen would have strived to have gone into the King's Ships, if they had been paid off in every Ship, and had Liberty. But when they have no hopes of Release, but Death, or the End of the War, and cannot have opportunity to fight to end the War, this is a me­lancholy Case: many of them have complained they wanted to fight it out for to end the War. And,

29. This paying the Seamen off on Shore yearly, that is, one half one Year, and another half another Year, would many times save the King near as much charge in small Ships Victuals and Wages, while as our Ship is in the Dock, as the charge of mending the Ship comes to. And indeed this War hath been, it may be, such a Disappointment to Seamen, as the World ne­ver knew, some Commanders having had so much Love and Re­putation, and Care, as to have Men to Man a Ship; and it may be in some months after, either the men turn'd great part into other Ships, or the Commanders removed into other Ships; so that if a Thousand Seamen would be freely willing to serve un­der such brave Commanders, as I know some, they are not sure, [Page 31]but in a month they may exchange their Drivers. And by the way, I would observe, That tho the Double-Pay Officers have had Pay suitable to buy Two Canes to beat the poor Seamen, in­stead of one; whereas before, they sometimes did tie a Rope­yarn at the end of their Cleft Sticks, but now may buy new; but the poor Seamen had not 1 s the month more all this War, to buy one course Coat or Wastcoat to keep off a blow. Which brings me to another Paragraph, that is,

30. That the poor Seamen may have their 40 s a piece for Cloaths, used to be allowed them if the Ship was lost; and this they had before they beat the French; and before that, they en­joyed some Comforts now and then. But to go on,

31. No Seamen to be forced to go out of a Man of War in­to a Merchant-Ship, altho the Captain should have several pounds for the same. But if Necessity requires the Lending of a Sea­man or Two to a Merchant, the Seaman may have all the Pay in the Merchant-Ship, and the Captain and Purser to have the Be­nefit of his Victuals only in the Man of War, that the King and the Seamen be not both cheated at one time. And,

32. The Seaman to have a Certificate to come again in a cer­tain time, and to be kept from the Press until then.

33. No Seaman to be made wait above ten days at the Navy-Office, to petition for to have a Q or R. taken off. But if when­ever paid-off, as formerly, and incouraged, there would be an end almost to that dreadful wretched Ruining and Destruction to themselves and Families, of losing their mony, for those Let­ters being set on by any wrongfully; and therefore would serve the King cheerfully.

34. That those, who are discharged fair, by Reason of Sick­ness, and have Tickets signed by all the Officers for their Pay, may not be cheated of it, for the word of one hard hearted wret­che's pleasure, the Seamen's Ruin being too great already.

35. If Seamen are prest away when on Shore, the Captain that commands the Ship he is in, to be obliged to send a Certifi­cate to the Ticket-Office, to be Registred in the other Ship's book, or in a Register-Book, as in the Case before of Sickness, to secure the Seaman's Pay from being ruined, because he lost his Liberty.

36. That it may be considered there are 3 things Englishmen do value highly, that is, Liberty, Property and Life, and all these have the Seamen lost some share of this War, and the Histories of all these Nations cannot parallel; and therefore double Care ought to be taken of them for time to come, seeing it is to be fea­red there is some gone to enquire after the preserving of those things in other Nations already, as by the King's Books of Ships come home this Year, may be seen something.

37. Seamen pressed out of Merchant-Ships, to be under the penalty of half their Pay, to go on board of such a Man of War, at such a time, and then to have liberty to bring up the Merchant-Ship, and to take half their Pay, and sell their Ventures, and recruit themselves a few days, to recover their health, that they may not, after long Voyages, infect the men of War by sickness; and when they are gone on board, that man of War to have a Certificate sent up to the Office, That such a man is come on board such a Man of War; and then his other half of his Pay to be paid to his Attorney: And if he goeth not on board the Man of War, or if she be ordered away sooner, than on board another; then the other half of his Pay to be forfeit to the Ho­spital of Greenwich, if he goeth not in a Man of War. And by this means most of the Seamen might be in the King's Service once in 2 Years, and the others that have been there discharged, and paid off, would please the Seamen, increase them, save their Lives and Pay. And if so, there might be a Law made, to cause all Masters to register them that come home for the King's use, before they are paid, and all other Registers will be too short, there being, it may be, 40000 Seamen Batchelors, or such as can­not be found to be registred, but lodge 40 or 50 in a house; and if registred there, can be gone 100 miles next week. But good Pay, their Lives preserved, and good loving Commnaders, that will fight with their Enemies, and be as kind to the Seamen as Lambs, would set almost all to Rights again in a Year or Two, if they be not ruined at the new way of management in the Offices afterward.

38. And therefore they that are sent to the Hospitals, or con­tinue a Year or 2 sick, must not be cheated out of their pay, or have that barbarous word told to a perishing Wife, That her Husband should not have been sick; when if he had been sick two Years, and [Page 33]before quite well, crawled into a Man of War again, and there continued, might deserve, more especially if the Wife and Chil­dren have Relief of the Parishes, and the man still in the Service also.

And indeed I find our Poor's Book in the Suburbs, below the Tower, smell very strong of the Ruin of the Seamen's Families; our Taxes for the Poor being doubled: And it may be some that would grudg to give a poor ruined Seaman's Family 2 d to buy them bread, if they were ready to starve, may yet blame me for troubling my head with their Cases, and Ruins, and miseries: but however, my Conscience beareth me Witness, that I serve God and King William, and the good Old English. Interest, in what I do: And so long as I have sweet peace within, I cannot so much as fear any thing of trouble can hurt me; for, I bless God, I have learned in part, as a Christian, to be content with what God allotteth me; And I have also learn'd this Principle, That an honest man is not subject to injury; a man may kill him, but cannot hurt him. And now I speak of that, makes me think of some that threatned to sacrifice me last Year; and when the News was brought my dear Wife, she was frighted: But I bless God I feared it not: For as God carrieth me on, that I cannot let the Ruin, and Destructi­on, and Cruelty, and Injustice, that is exercised on our English Seamen, more than ever the World saw, to be hid from the King and Parliament; so by the Grace of God, he carrieth me above fear of any sufferings, so long as I have Truth on my side, and those Two Graces of my side, Justice and Mercy, that will bear me up. But if all the Reason and Understanding I have left, do not fail me, I have all the common Policy of my side that can be imagined. And now I speak to that, I will be plain hearted and declare my Opinion, That I do verily think, if there were no Policy on my side, that if the Seamen were oppressed and ruined, they and their Families, as multitudes have been, the Justice of God would awake against the Nation.

And 2. I do also verily judge if there were no provoking E­vil in their Ruin, they are ruined so madly, and dead, and run a­way so shamefully, that it would be the way to spoil our selves at last, if it proceeds much farther; for their Ruin doth increase the pretence of keeping them turn'd from Ship to Ship, or catch­ing them next day, or the same they are paid: And if there be [Page 34]not liberty of fresh Air and fresh Provisions, Experience shews the salt Seas and salt Victuals, in staying long in Ships, kills ten times more than the Sword: And God forbid, that the French should bave cause to rejoice, and say, as long as this War lasts, he need not fight to kill our men; for they die faster without his fighting. And in short, if this War had been a Game at Cards, I should have feared some Gamesters plaid booty; if it had been a Suit of Law, I should have verily Judged there were some took double Fees. But my wandring, roving Brains do rather think our Sea-Affairs look more like that Rude Play, call'd, Blind man's Buff; for we have had several scurvy hard blows, that we could not well tell who it was that did hit us: But however it is, my Wisdom is too small to unriddle the whole, altho I have Abun­dance of secret Notions that at present serve for my own instru­ction: And this that I write is something that bubbles over; And if any should go farther, and say, Whatever the Game was, some that were either to hold or decide some of the Stakes, have gotten great Estates, let as many Gamesters as will, be ruined. Now that I would leave to those, who have more skill to determine. I am almost ashamed of this rambling discourse, and will now say what comes next to hand; and that is, That we had need to secure our Walls; and if the Seamen are call'd our Walls, they had need to be repaired all that is possible; And if any say, Great part of them are new ones, and so should last well; To that I answer, it may fall out the newer they are, the more apt to fall; whereas those which are old and seasoned, if preserved any thing like, would do better: And to that I might say, Perhaps it is so in­deed; for in England we need never want men for the Sea; but Seamen are men seasoned to the Sea. And by the way I would observe, That our brave Seamen that have been 7 Years in the Service, they never had a penny Bounty-mony in the Spring; it is they that come in afterwards get Bounty-mony: And I have wondred, those that managed the Seamen did not think of some incouragement for those who stood all the time, as well as for those who come in the last week. It is an old saying in England, The Eye of the Master makes the Horse fat; And indeed, if our most gracious King William had been Rightly informed, to have seen the Case of his Loyal Seamen, they would have been in better plight. And this brings me to consider, That the Victualling of [Page 35]our English Navy, is the best in the World; that is allowed them, if they have what the King allows: And therefore,

39. It were well for the Seamen, if the Pursers were bound, and made to take all the Sea-stores on board of Ship, and nei­ther to receive any short at the Office at first, neither to sell any away before they come as far as my House, and that is not a mile from the Victualling-Office; and then Ships need not go to short­allowance often in 14 days after they are at Sea; and if that were prevented, it were well. But it may be they may plead, They can answer it, because if they are found out, they must pay for it: Now to that I would say, it is well for all the Nobility's, and Gentry's, and Yeomen's Horses in England, that they have not Pursers to feed them; that if their Masters allow them 10 or 20 Quarters of Oats for a Stable, the Grooms, that should feed them, take a third of them, and sell them, and drink away the mony between the Drivers and the Grooms; and reckon so many Pecks a day; and if the Horses are abroad at work, and come not in time, charge their Oats to the Master's Account, tho they are sold a­way, and they eat none in 2 or 3 days, or a week: And indeed, bad Drivers and bad Feeders is enough to spoil any Team of Horse in the World. I have heard among Countrymen, in Kent, some say, There is half in half difference in driving Cattle; some will beat them, and whip them, and knock them over the Pate, and swear and damn like Devils at the Cattle, and spoil them, that they will hardly drive at all, or it may be break their Tra­ces, and run away, and spoil the Team at last; whereas, if ano­ther, that knows how to manage them with care, and cheereth them up, clappeth them on the back with his hand, and chirups lovingly to them, they will draw like Lions. And in short, I will appeal to all the Yeomen in Kent, many of whom are my Relations, if ever they knew a Team of Horse get a Groat clear Gains for their Masters, at 7 Years End, whose Drivers and Hostlers had ruined them half, and near starved some of the rest, and cheated their Masters in the mean time of more a great deal than their Provender came to. But I had need intreat par­don for my rambling; but sometimes there may be Abundance of homely Truths spoken in Jest; and it may be too true to make a Jest of.

But however, now to the Seamen of England; They are Re­ally as true to the Interest of King William, to the last, as any sort of men whatever; and many of those, who have stood in the King's Books as Run-aways, are either dead in his Service, and that is the last they can do for him; and others are still in his Service to this hour, tho Run out of their Pay in other Ships; And in short, it looks very miserable also, to be Run out of their Pay in other Ships, and cannot obtain leave once in 3 or 4 Years to come to shew Cause, or hear Reason why they should have their mony. I remember the Heathen Romans are said to take care not to condemn men without being heard speak for themselves, and also seeing their Accusers. Now if it be objected, that it cannot be expected all that are made Run should see their Accusers, yet for the 2d, they might have this priviledge Heathens allowed of, speaking for themselves: And therefore I think in the next place,

40. It is but Reason and Justice the Seamen that are made Run, should be protected 14 days, to petition to get off their R. S. But I am much afraid that it will be found Cruelty at last, to make men lose their Pay that are dead a-shore, or sick in the Hospitals, or not a month out of the King's Service these several Years, or discharged fair by Tickets signed by all the Officers. And this I would ask, Whether the King's Service be a perpetual bondage? That tho a man be Really sick, and have a Ticket given him to dis­charge him sick, signed by all the Officers, to clear him, and get his Pay, whether it be not Oppression and Cruelty in those that should pay the mony, to deprive these men of their mony, be­cause they, that they left their Powers with, do not know present­ly where the man is, or whether living or dead, or in what Ship; and it may be, it is some Years past since he was discharged, and whether this way of management be like to encourage the Seamen, or any that trust them, or the like? In plain English, Such managers would fright away the Seamen, and fright others from trusting them. And now I have said this, it may be some will think I write this for interest, and am concerned with such a Case. To that I an­swer, No; for I left off buying 3 Years past, and now write on­ly to serve God, and my King and Country; And if I were in another Country, and should hear these things, it may be I might be ashamed of those kind of Actions, and Abundance more, that [Page 37]I fear are against Law and Gospel; and Honesty and Policy, yea, and I fear against good Heathen Morality; and seems to be all Arbi­trary. But now I hope our Gracious King and Loyal Parliament have espoused the Seamen's Cause, they will, as an honest Gentle­man of the House of Commons said, endeavour to do them Right. And this short Prayer I will put up for the Seamen for time to come, That the King and Parliament would not leave them and their Families to the tender mercies of the wicked; for the Scri­pture that cannot lie, saith, That the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. And it may be some that have been a year a getting a Pe­tition for Justice Answered, may understand something of the meaning of that, when they come to beg nothing but their own that was due to them, by plain Justice, bare and thread-bare, and stark naked Justice and Honesty: Therefore if there be not some way to secure poor Seamen's Pay for time to come, it is past my skill to warrant our Sea-Port Towns will send their Men, Children or Servants into the Service so freely as before; and it may be they that have been so served, as aforesaid, if they are not dead, yet will not come without good words. And,

41. Therefore if I might humbly presume to give my thought, I would suppose it requisite not only to take all care imaginable to secure the Seamen's Lives, and Pay, and Health, but also to have the Act for their Encouragement read in every Ship once a quarter, and an Abstract of the Encouragement set up in the Sea-Port Towns of Eng­land; or at least the Heads of it put in the Gazette, that the Nation may see, for time to come, that they do not pay their many, and the Seamen ruined; but that the Seamen shall be encouraged, and also ho­nestly paid.

42. That they might be paid in London, that the City of Lon­don, that is always ready to assist his Majesty with money, may have some again from the Seamen; and not let those who ma­nage the Seamen, put the King to extraordinary charge to pay the Seamen several miles off, to the depriving the City of their Trade, and the spoiling of near half the Seamens Pay besides; For in short, in London the Seamen can buy all things at best hand, can send home their mony to their Families, to any part of Eng­land or Scotland; And if they but spend their mony here, or send it home to their Families, and injoy a months Liberty, and fresh Air, and fresh Victuals, the Sea will be the next thing they will [Page 38]be for; And Seamen will live and increase, as in other Ages of the World they used to do in times of War, altho Thousands were kill'd: And of the most fighting War the Seamen ever saw in England this 100 Years, it can only be said, the Sword or Guns kill'd Thousands. But this War, without fighting, hath been the Death of several Ten Thousands. And indeed this makes me think of their Complaints to me, some years past, that they could not Fight it out, as in former Ages: And indeed, in my mind, the Fighting like Men, and being Kill'd an Hundred in a Ship, is nothing; such a loss to themselves, their Families, the King, and the Nation, as being kept on Board of Ship, until three or four Hundred in a Ship Die before the Voyage is done, and sometimes a quarter of their Men Sick together; and how melancholly that must be, and at last be serv'd as the Mary's Men that brought home about forty of those Men they carried out, and Buried about six or seven Hundred Men, and these forty men not suffered to have a Penny of Money one Shore to Refresh themselves, and tell their Friends that some escaped a­live. I am afraid that some hard Hearted wretches makes as if our Seamen's Miseries were a Comedy, but God knows whether the next Age will not call it a Tragedy, seeing such dreadful Numbers of Lives have been lost; but however it be, His Majesty and the Parliament may now inquire of the Actors; how it is, and why it was so contriv'd, and the Charge of the whole seem so great, and shew no better; but my Wits run a Wool-ga­thering: instead of Writing a few Heads I make so great Bo­dies, they will require an Hour's time to undress by the Fire-side at Night before Bed-time, and the Discourse may seem te­dious: But if so, how tedious must that misery be, when it may be a few Lives Represent forty Thousand Miseries; and I would have put in a pretty deal of Discourse of Knavery also, as how, it may be, the King and Country may be Cheated shamefully: But if it be to be heard only at the Navy-Office or Admiralty-Office, as one great Cheat was, that I went about last Year, and Forger of Powers. And another that I went to the Commissioners that Stated the Publick Accounts this year, about; but they having not leisure, I suppose the partie's peace was made up another way. But I would have had the method of Cheating to be found out above, and prevented by Law for time [Page 39]to come, for the advantage of the King and the Country; for I suppose there hath been so many Informations of the King's be­ing cheated, and the Seamen cheated, that have been brought before the Admiralty and Navy-board, that they know the me­thod of Knavery ten times more than I; and it may be as car­rying Coals to Newcastle, to tell them. But I wonder they have not made an out-cry to the Parliament against all the cheating and Knavery they have been inform'd of; for if their Skill be only in the Running and Ruining of Seamen out of their Pay when they are sick or dead, I am sorry; and especially seeing I cannot find it weareth well, we have lost so much this Year, our Accounts will not come even, besides the loss of the Hope, the Brave Hope: O that England should lose their Hope at Sea to the French this Year. And now I think of the Hope, there was five Ships of the English, as I understand, and 2 went away, and 2 run away; and there was 5 Ships of the French, and they, like cunning Knaves, kept together, and so got away the Hope, tho she fought well. And now our brave Soveraign is burned, which is to be lamented, and for that she was so brave a Ship, and named the Soveraign; And as for the Vulgar Name, some call'd her the Sufferance; As to that Name, the Sufferance, if all the Seamen's Calamities be redressed, I suppose they will never see such a Suf­ferance again in haste. But I wish we may see a brave New Hope, and as good a Ship as the other, for our Gracious King to go on board of, and name her, The New Soveraign. And so much to that. But,

43. It might be considered of, that seeing we have lost near 100 Ships of War these last 7 Years, to a prodigious charge to the Nation; And many people admire what is done with all the Mony raised, never considering, that since we saved our Ships from being lost by fighting at first, we have lost and fool'd away near as many since as will cost Two Millions of Mony to build more, besides the Millions of Mony extraordinary to keep an heap of Ships always in pay, tho a great many of them seldom send word home what good they do abroad. And I have some­times thought it is possible to act like boys in the street, that meet before Processioning-Days, great heaps and numbers, as if they would drive the Town before them; and, poor Wretches, it may be, not one in 6 hath the heart to strike a stroke, only [Page 40]run about and dirt their clothes, and put their parents to charge. But this by the way.

As to our Ships lost; for time to come, it may be useful for the Commissioners that state the publick. Accounts, to have the case of our Ships lost, brought before them, that if any body be in fault, they may not be all excused. And indeed, so long as the Seamen are sent away in other Ships, and the Commanders are their own Accusers, and their Friends the Judges, they will do well enough. I have sometimes thought how mischievous a Fel­low No Body is grown since I was a Child; Then he used to be accused for stealing Apples, and eating up odd things, or drink­ing up the Wine or Strong Drink in a house; but now, if there be Ships murdered, or fool'd away, or betray'd to the Enemies, or Fleets miscarry, as bad as our Smirna Fleet, No Body is most times called to Account, and punished for the same: And when as the Seamen of England are ruined and destroyed, and dead, or frighted out of the Service of our Gracious King William, mul­titudes of them, and then still No Body must be blamed and sha­med for the same. And indeed, had not our most Gracious King William spoken for them, and the Loyal Parliament espoused their Cause, to relieve them, no body would perhaps have regarded their Ruin and Destruction so long until they and their Families might have been some of the most miserable ruined Creatures on the Face of the Earth, and no body would have gotten by their Ruin in this Nation; And yet it may be no body would have con­sidered that they had been some of them like the poor men that travelled from Jerusalem to Jerico, and fell among Thieves, who did not only rob them, and wound them, but did actually leave them half dead; And yet I suppose no body will be called to ac­count at last for all this Ruin and destruction of them and their Families, altho it may be the next Age will cry out shame of it, and say, the blame must lie somewhere: And it may be they will inquire then, who were those at the Admiralty, or Navy-board, or in any other places, that directed and managed our Sea-Af­fairs in those days wherein the Seamen of England were more ru­ined than ever the World saw, and more Men of War and Mer­chant Ships lost than ever the Sea groaned under, in so few Years of English Concerns; and if they understand the true History of this Age, they must know that our Gracious King William is [Page 41]the Justest and Mercifullest King in the World; but is con­cerned in the management of the whole Confederacy against that common plague of the Christian World, the French King; And is forced to be be abroad, beyond Sea every Summer, to manage the Army; And that it will be known that he left the manage­ment of the Sea-Affairs unto Englishmen, and that to such as are qualified by Law; and if there be any that wanteth any Quali­fications of Grace, or Reason, or Common Sense, or Common Honesty or Loyalty to him, it should be best known to them­selves; for I do not meddle with Names of Men; but the Ru­ines of the Seamen stick in my stomach, and I cannot digest it; for I am sick of it; and had I been a Merchant, it may be I should have been sick of our Ships and Merchandize also. But howe­ver, it may be observed, That whatever miseries or ruines come in the management of things, there is this to be considered of; The Managers of it must be men truly qualified; and that is something. But I wish, for time to come, there may be men qualified with Grace, and Wisdom, and Loyalty to the present Government, and that may have an intire Love to his Majesty, and the good old English Interest, that we may not be, any of the inhabitants of these Nations, forced to roar like Bears, or to mourn sore, like Doves. But I had forgot going on concerning particular incouragement for Seamen; as that they,

44. Might never have sowr Beveridge Wine forced on them in the Straits, that One Hogshead will mix with 12 Hogsheads of Water; as is sometimes done in the Streights, for the advan­tage of the Pursers, tho to the hazard of Seamens Health or Lives.

45. And that all Seamen might be incouraged to look out for their Enemies Ships, and that they that did spy them first, might be rewarded; And they that entred the Ships on board that are taken, might have incouragement, and not to be forced to deli­ver every little thing they get to their Lieutenants, or Officers; And also it were well if there were given an Account at the Prize-Office, of the Value of Mony that hath been paid to Sea­men this. War, to see if they have had any thing to speak of, or whether the Officers got all to themselves.

46. And that no Officer, on pressing, do take any Bribes in pressing, to exense the Able Seamen, and in the mean time take [Page 42]Boys, and infirm persons, or Landmen for the Service of his Ma­jesty; And that all Press-Katche's Accounts be examined for time to come, to see if they do not put the King to 30 or 40 l charge to press 2 or 3 men; And that no Katches bring Coals for the Officers, from Newcastle, instead of Seamen for the King.

47. That if Ships are in Harbour, the Purser to give the Sea­men their Allowance, as much as possible, in fresh provision, it being all on charge to his Majesty; and the way for Seamen to recover of the Scurvy, or other Sea-Distempers.

48. That when the Seamen have been fed in the Winter, and clothed in London, and they that have Families been supported a Year or 2 on Credit, they may not be extorted on at Chatham, or Deal, or Portsmouth, to run in debt 18 or 20 l a piece, as many have been in a fortnight, or 3 weeks time, to the Ruin of the Sea­men; but that none should trust them above Half a Crown in a week, except for Clothes, or where they lodge. And that in case at any of those Sea-Port Towns they do trust them above that sum, except in sickness; or if they lodge there 10 s the week, to prevent many thousands of Seamen running out of the Land; and that many must do, or hide when the War is over; For where there is a Seaman owes 30 l at one house, and 20 at ano­ther, and 10 at another, they must run away, and do usually do so; And I have known in former time, above half those who did madly trust them, to be broken also: Therefore that ex­travagant expence is the Ruin of the Seamen, and those who incourage them in it, and hath caused many Seamen to leave the Land, and go a Buckaneering in the West Indies; That is, to turn Pyrates, or Sea-Robbers. And now in time of War, the Parishes near London, are forced to relieve many Families of those who so basely spend their mony in the Sea-Port Towns; And his Majesty's Service is often [...]eglected thereby. Whereas those who are good Husbands, save mony, and send it up to their Friends or Families: And these honest Seamen are such as will he able to show their Faces any where, if they live until time of Peace. And now I come to speak of peace, I desire the Lord in mercy to send a good one, if we wait a Year longer or two be­fore it comes; and our Seamen will need help in Merchant-Ships. And indeed some of our Merchant-Ships, the Masters are shame­ [...]essly scandalously Villains, in going the way to cheat and op­press [Page 43]the Seamen: And these may be reputed among the cursed Ticket-buyers, and barbarous Villains that ruin the Seamen in Men of War; For many of the Masters in Merchant Ships stop what they please out of their pay, or do make them go to Law for their Wages, and keep them out oftentimes also 2 or 3 months, tho the poor Seamen are prest away; And one in par­ticular lately did sell his Seaman's Venture, and kept his pay, and the Seaman prest away; and the Master did promise me his mo­ny from day to day, until he cunningly, in the Night, carried his Ship to Gravesend, and got her cleer'd. But I heard of it in the morning, and sent away an Officer to the Ship, and got him ar­rested to make him honest; and got the mony from the scanda­lous Villain. But if Merchant Seamen were incouraged as fol­lows:

49. First, That there might be a Law made, That all Seamen might have as good and large allowance of all Provisions and Beer, as in his Majestie's Ships; and in case of falling short, on any occasion, to be paid short allowance mony also.

50. That none might pay any dammage, except for their own Neglect or Fault. And this would be the way for Masters and Owners to take care to send better Ships to Sea, and not oppress the Seamen for their Rotten Leaky Ships Fault.

51. No Seamen to have undue Correction, nor indeed no ex­traordinary Correction, without the Approbation of the Ma­ster, and 2 of the Officers, that so men might not be barbarous­ly killed in the Ships, as some have been, and others dreadfully abused.

52. That the Masters who stop 2 or 3 months pay a piece from the Seamen, when they pay them, unjustly, may be pu­nished as Villains, that do go the way to discourage, and bring a Curse on our English Navigation, if it lay in their power. Whereas those honest Masters, that Victual well, and pay well, are such as go the way to incourage our English Navigation, and to procure a blessing on the same; and these Masters I love; but I hate all sorts of Villany and Knavery wherever I meet with it in any: And do therefore expect to hear of some Knaves find Fault with this, as some Thieves and Cheats did when they heard I did discover to the Parliament how the King and Nation was cheated. But I wonder they should be such Fools to complain, [Page 44]seeing I named no body; And if they had laughed at it, no body had need to have known they had been guilty themselves: And so I wish them to be wiser next time; And tho there are Abun­dance of Cheats and Villains to Cheat the King and Country, I know their methods, and am ashamed that so brave and excel­lent a King, and so famous and fine a Country, and such Stout, Loyal, brave Seamen, the best in the Universal World, should be all cheated and abused, and that many times by those who drink it away, or whore it away, or game it away. Again, and if one Devil helps them to get it, there is so many Devils to help to spend it, that some of them will not be worth one Groat a Do­zen, in a Years time after the War is over, and nothing stirring but Honesty and Industry.

But 53. There ought to be some care taken that Masters of Ships might not abuse, and cheat, and beat, and starve their Sea­men beyond Sea; for that hath caused multitudes of Englishmen to run away in the Straits, and other Voyages, to the great discouragement of our brave English Seamen, who will do any­thing, if incouraged; but will be mad, and run away to serve any Nation, yea even the Turks themselves, if they are Abu­sed.

54. It is pity there is not more liberal incouragement for Sea­men to carry Ventures, and to be extraordinary well provided with provisions in their Voyages to the East Indies, since many Ships have in that Voyage, of those they carried out, buried 4 men to One of those which they did bring home: And that is bad, to lose all to a fifth part. And many men have in that Voy­age been supposed to die for want. And the Company suffer­eth by it in the danger of their Goods, if Ships miscarry. Where­as those Brave Worthy Commanders, who Victual extraordina­ry well, and take great care of their men, do come home well, and their men love them, and I love them also for their Hone­sty and love to the Seamen. But it is a shame that any Ship's Commanders should be so unnatural as to want water almost so soon as they come out of the Harbour: And if there were a Law made, That all Seamen in Merchant Ships should be paid the full for their short Allowance and Water-mony, as the King doth; And that would be the Way to incourage the Seamen to keep their Ships, and not run away to serve other Nations for want [Page 45]of better usage. And the Commanders of all Ships, for time to come, ought at least to be made to provide Water for their Ship's Company, and not neglect it, or fraught their Ships so full that they have no room for Water, that so the poor Seamen may not be whipt at the Geers for drinking the Water that is allow'd for the Hogs. This seems to be worse than the poor prodigal Son was served: And indeed I have observed, That the Interlopers Ships to India, that their men had liberty to car­ry good Ventures, have gone well, and their men come home as fat as Pigs almost; as if they had not only had enough of Water, but had eaten half the Hogs also. And indeed it is al­so,

55. Great pity that so many poor miserable people were for­ced to come and wait, and wait and come 20 times for their mo­ny after it is due, for 4 months pay, at the East India-House. The loss of time to many, and their labour, and waiting sometimes 3 or 4 hours in a day, is worth to some, I fear, if they reckon their Time, above half the mony. But this Age seems to play with misery. I meet with so many Objects of this Age's being hardned against the Groans of the poor, in some places, and Cries of the Poor, that truly I must needs fear that the most merciful God will arise to plead the Cause of the Poor, the Op­pressed, the Fatherless and the Widow, seeing many men seem to lose moral pity. And indeed I am afraid it is gone to look after moral honesty, many mens very Consciences seeming to be even as it is said of some Fire-Locks, Case-hardened: And as it is said, That a good man is merciful to his beast; so I will say, that even the tender mercies of many wicked men in this Age, are cruel. But certainly God did not send men into this World to be like Devils, to plague and afflict mankind. And therefore it were well and convenient;

56. That no Seamen in any Merchant Ship whatever, to be forced to wait above four Weeks after the Ship is in Harbour, for their Money, it being a very great oppression on the Sea­men, after a long and tedious Voyage, to have no Mony to buy any thing for themselves or Families in three Months time, and thereby Live on Credit, take up their Cloaths and Provi­sions, at what Prices any will set on them, to the great Loss of many Families.

57. But if there were a Law made for the Hearing of the Seamen's being abus'd or cheated of their Pay; and either the Masters of the Trinity-House, or some other men, to be as a Court of Conscience to hear the Seamen's Cause, without Charge, it would save the poor Seamen's being forc'd to go to Law for their Wages after any Voyage, or for mony to be paid in the time of any Voyage, it might save a multitude of Char­ges at Law, or loss to poor miserable Seamen, or their Families being often forc'd to give one half to get the other Recovered, after it is Earn'd.

58. Another method for the true management of our English Navigation, is to labour to have both the Commanders and Of­ficers and Seamen, to be brought to a moral Reformation, and also to a Religious Worship, and fear of the God of Heaven and Earth, and Sea, at whose Command are both Winds and Seas, and indeed if God be not sought unto, but instead there­of, dayly Blasphemed all other ways and means will be too short to Expect a real Blessing, and comfortable Incouragement, as we might wish; but that the Seamen will be so much oppres­ed, and the Ships Ruined and Spoiled, more and more, until there be some outward Reformation at least, if not a true and sound Reformation of Life and Manners. And if the general instructions printed and given to the Captains and Lieutenants of Ships by the Admiralty, were minded aright, it would mend many things, and therefore deserves to be inquired into, in draw­ing up the method of the Well-Government of our Ships and men; And the first Paragraph of it is, That God be duly worship­ped, and that twice a day, and all Profaneness, Drunkenness, Swearing and Cursing be discountenanced and punished; and the Commanders that allow it, turned out. And we should meet the Lord by Re­pentance both by Sea and Land; and cry to the Lord, that he would meet us with his mercy, that we may, by Righteousness, be an exalted Nation, and not for our sins be a ruined people: And therefore,

59. It were well if every Ship in England that carrieth but ten men were bound to carry that excellent Book of the Church of England's Doctrine, the Book of Homilies, to read 2 Homilies every Sunday. And it hath the 39 Articles bound up with it, that all Seafaring men might see the excellent Doctrine of the [Page 47]Old Church of England to be for sound Piety and Holiness: And that it may be said of the Prophaneness of this Age, That it is such a thing as the Fundamental Doctrine of the Church of Eng­land abhors: And as it was said of Old, of some that knew not Joseph, so it may be said of the great Wickedness of this Age, That it is from such as know not God, neither do they truly know, and believe, and practice that true fundamental Doctrine of the Church of England; And it were well if the Reverend Bishops would consult the great need there is of such Laws as may in some measure at least bring men to as near a Conformi­ty to the substantial, Fundamental Holiness, Sobriety, Charity, Justice, and all Christian, Fundamental Duties of Grace and Ho­liness that are contained in so holy a Doctrine.

60. And that every Ship that doth carry 120 men, or more, do carry an able, sober Minister, to instruct the Seamen in their Duty towards God, and to reprove the Vices of any one in the Ship; And by their Doctrine and Conversation, to shew to them that the fundamental Doctrine of the Church of England, is for the Real Service of God and Holiness, and against all sin; And that they that profess the Doctrine, and live in Wickedness, are false pretenders to so holy Doctrine.

61. And therefore that Excellent Act against Cursing and Swearing, if well executed, will be a good beginning, and a good help towards a moral Reformation. So if the great Debauche­ry of this Age could be suppressed, it would be a good help to­wards men's coming to consider of a future state, and to think, that whatever they are themselves at present, yet mankind was created to live to the Glory of God, and to honour him; and not to live like beasts, and worse than beasts. And the more ex­cellent the fundamental Doctrine of Christianity is in any Church or Nation, the greater the condemnation of those must be that do sin against the Light of the same, and will not regard to walk according unto it.

And now having said this, I will return again to another in­couragement I think there is great need of, altho the Seamen in all Merchant Ships, that go well and come well, in the Merchant's service, pay something towards the same; And that is,

62. That all Fleets of Merchant Ships should, as much as pos­sible, keep company, and stand by one the other, except much o­ver-powered; [Page 48]And for want of this there was 6 or 7 Ships ta­ken out of 12 in One Fleet, by 2 Privateers. Therefore those Ships that would not fight, the Commanders ought to be made publick Examples.

63. And those that fight stoutly, as brave Englishmen, to be incouraged and preferred.

64. And that those Seamen that lose their Lives or Limbs in Merchant ships, should be incouraged, and have Bounty-mony, as in his Majesties service they that are Wounded or Kill'd there have.

But now I would not be mistaken, to think that his Majesty should pay it; altho if a Merchant Ship be lost, it may fall out that his Majesty may lose 4000 l Custom: And were it so they did fight and save the Ship and Goods, if there were 20 kill'd, and 10 wounded, if his Majesty paid each of them, or their Fa­milies, 20 l it were 200 l and his Majesty would save 3600 l by the saving the Ship at last, and the Merchants, it may be, 30000 l by the bargain also: And therefore it would be of great use to the King and to the Merchants, and to the Nation in general, to save our Ships as much as possible, and ruin our E­nemies as much as possible, and encourage our Seamen and Ma­sters to fight, to save the Ships as much as possible. But I have often wondred that any Merchants should be so barbarous, or Masters so uncharitable, as not to give the Seamens Families one penny of Eucouragement, who laid down their Lives, and saved their Ships. And sometimes I have heard of some that have been forc'd to go to Law for their Wages after the Ship was saved▪ And as I remember, a Customer of mine was forced to pay the Chirurgeon 3 or 4 l to cure him of his Wounds. Now I did look on this as barbarous: And I do say, in this respect, the ser­vice of his Majesty is much better than the Merchant-men; And would be in many others also, if it were not for the Fault of Of­ficers, and Officers of divers sorts. But this by the way; for I think we should be the most happy people under the Face of Heaven, if it were not for the Sins, and Follies, and Bribery, and Knave­ry and Villany of the Age we live in; Whereby men are Ruin­ed, and plagued and Afflicted more than ever, in several Kinds, both in Men of War and Merchant Ships, and the King and Coun­try lose by the same at last, many Seamen serving, as is to be fear­ed, [Page 49]other Nations, by being so much discouraged in their own: But I leave that, and would to God that all would indeed leave it in good earnest, and set themselves to study to serve God and his Majesty, and the common good of all these Nations; and in order to it, I think this is one, to incourage all Seamen, as much as possible, to preserve our Shipping; and one way was, that, as I said, Whoever lost their Limbs or Lives in defending a Merchant Ship, should have Pensions, or Bounty-mony: And I suppose, that if there were a Law made, That every one should be so rewarded, every Seaman would be more willing to venture their Lives to save their Ships: and the very Seamen in Merchant Ships, that went well and came well, would pay 12 d out of every pound towards a Chest to be kept for that purpose at Greenwich Hospi­tal, as there is a Chest for the Cripples at Chatham: And there might be a Commissioner, or 2 or 3, appointed to manage it in time of War and Peace: And in time of War, they that are in Merchant Ships could afford to pay that cheerfully, because their Wages is near double; and in time of Peace it might be but 6d in the pound towards the Pensions; and a Clerk or 2 appointed at the said Hospital, to keep all accounts of every mans months pay in England, and to receive the mony, and to pay it out again to the Widow or Aged Parents of all that are kill'd in the defence of Merchant Ships, 20l and to all that lose a Limb, or the total use of a Limb, in the defence of a Merchant Ship, 6 l the year during their Lives; for their Relief; and this to be paid them constantly: And not to have any Ticket-buy­ers suffered to extort half of it from them: And if the said shil­ling in the pound paid by others, did amount to more, as it might, if gathered faithfully all over the Nation, then the rest to go to the Widows of poor Seamen, or to aged Seamen that were past their labour. And it is as great pity, but all industrious Sea­men should be incouraged in England, seeing I do not remember that ever in all my Life I heard of one Ship, either Merchant Man, or Man of War lost, because the Seamen would not fight; but so many because the Commanders would not fight, that I have been ofter grieved and ashamed to hear of it. And if there were a Law made to incourage the Seamen, I wish there were also another, That if the Commander [...] would not fight, they should lose, as aforesaid, 2 of their singers, and be sold for [Page 50]saves all their days; and if they did ever return, to be hanged, that so there may not be so many to disgrace this brave Island with Cowardise, which hath been, and in some measure is, at this day the Terror of their Enemies, the French Fleet; which were pretended to be such Monsters before; having run to their Har­bours with shame and disgrace, since they see we have an Admi­ral who with less than half our Ships did beat them before; and for that we have cause to bless God, and live to his Praise.

And now to say something to save his Majesty's mony, and the poor Seamens also, for time to come, I do suppose it will be needful for time to come, to make it Felony to commit these Transgressions, viz.

1. To enter 40 mens Names in a Ship's book, that never were in the Ship, nor in the World, and that is bigger; This to be Felony. And this is a Trick of the Devil's Masterpiece.

2. That no Purser, or Captain's Clerk, or any other, do give a List of 40 or 50 men at a time, that are dead, or run away; that so, tho the King hath been cheated of their Victuals, he may not be cheated of their Pay; and tho the Purser might af­ford their Pay cheap, yet I wondred when I heard One Purser gave as many Names as there was 3 or 400 l worth received for in a Ship, and the foolish Knave had but 8 or 10 l for all. Now this Purser, and they that did find Powers, ought to be transpor­ [...]ed on of this Nation, that the Climate may not be infected with their Villany.

3. That no man in the Office be suffered to change the Chri­stian Name of a Seaman in any Ships books, to cheat the man's Friends of his mony, if occasion be: This Exploit looks like the Art of Jugling, if it should be practised; therefore should, if discovered, be punished.

4. That none be suffered to keep men open upon the book a whole Voyage after they are run away, since this Trick, and those before-mentioned, and some Captains, as I here discover­ed to have many hundred pounds worth of Seamens Tickets, and some other Tricks I know may be plaid, if not prevented, may cost his Majesty it may be 80000 l the Year, and cheat the Seamen Twenty Thousand Pounds to make it up an Hundred Thousand Pounds the Year; and it being hard Times, as I find it is, a penny sav'd will be as good as a peuny got; And if others [Page 51]do study to raise so much, it is their Ingenuity; and if I do stu­dy how to save his Majesty and the Nation 100000l the year, it may be a service for the Nation, altho it may be no great inge­nuity in me for my self, because I am not like to get any profit to my self by it in this world: but I bless God who enableth me in some measure to be willing to serve his Majesty and these Nations; as cheerfully, and heartily, and faithfully, for Love, as any man alive can do for Mony; And if the Representing these last, or any other Knavery, should cause any to be offended at me, I should wonder at their folly and madness to betray them­selves, since I love and respect every honest loyal Commander and Officer in his Majesty's service, and every honest good Com­mander in Merchant-men; and they that are such will no doubt love me, and delight in me, as one that is willing that every man of their Professions and Offices should be an honour to the same, and to get praise to the whole Fraternity of them. But I expect that those who are sore, and scabbed, and gall'd, will, as we use to say, be ready, when their sore is touch'd, to winch and kick, altho I name no person; I wish their person well, and their Kna­very and Villany punished, and they made better. And I only represent the Knavery, and if they will be so foolish when they hear it, by their Anger to let others know they are the men, that is their fault; and a guilty conscience needs no accuser. And so I leave them to their serious considerations, to think if they have souls, how they that are Cheats and Villains here, must answer it hereafter.

And I wish all mankind well, and know no man alive but I would do a kindness to, if it lay in my way; and know not a­ny man alive but would do the same by me. And now being come to a conclusion of this, I give up this and my soul, spirit, body, and all my Family, and all my affairs, all into the hands of the Eternal Love and Mercy of our most gracious God and loving Father in Jesus Christ our only Saviour, for all time, and all E­ternity. Amen.