So that, in a word, the man has died immensely rich; that is to say, worth between twenty and thirty thousand pounds; only that having been a long stander in trade, and having a large stock, he drove a very great business, perhaps to the tune of sixty to seventy thousand pounds a year; and so that, of all the thirty thousand pounds owing, there may be very little of it delivered above four to six months; and the debtors being many of them considerable merchants, and good paymasters, there is no difficulty in getting in money enough to clear all his own debts; and the widow and children being left well, are not in such haste for the rest, but that it comes in time enough to make them easy; and at length it all comes in, or with but little loss.

As it is thus in great things, it is the same in proportion with small; so that, in all the trade of England, you may reckon two-thirds of it carried on upon credit; in which reckoning I suppose I speak much within compass; for in some trades there are four parts of five carried on so, and in some more.

All these things serve to show the infinite value which credit is of to the tradesman, as well as to trade itself. Credit is the choicest jewel the trademan is trusted with; it is better than money many ways; if a man has 10,000l. in money, he may certainly trade for 10,000l. and if he has no credit, he cannot trade for a shilling more.

But to come close to the case of the young beginner and trader; if credit be so nice and necessary a thing, what are the methods a young tradesman is to take to gain a good share of credit in his beginning, and to preserve and maintain it when it is gained?

Every tradesman's credit is supposed to be good at first; he that begins without credit, is an unhappy wretch of a tradesman indeed, and may be said to

be broke even before he sets up; for what can a man do, who by any misfortune in his conduct during his apprenticeship, or by some ill character upon him so early, begins with a blast upon his credit? my advice to such a young man would be, not to set up at all; or if he did, to stay for some time, till by some better behaviour, either as a journeyman, or as an assistant in some other man's shop or warehouse, he has recovered himself; or else to go and set up in some other place or town remote from that where he has been bred; for he must have a great assurance that can flatter himself to set up, and believe he shall easily recover a lost reputation.

But take a young tradesman as setting up with the ordinary stock, and who has done nothing to hurt his character, and to give people a suspicion of him; what is such a one to do?

The answer is short; two things principally raise credit in trade; and these are,

1. INDUSTRY: 2. HONESTY.

I have dwelt upon the first; the last I have but few words to say to, because that head requires no comment, no explanations or enlargements; nothing can support credit, be it public or private, but honesty a punctual dealing, a general probity in every transaction; he that once breaks through his honesty, violates his credit; once denominate a man a knave, and you need not forbid any man to trust him.

It is not the quality of the person will give credit to his dealing; a private shopkeeper shall borrow money much easier than a prince, if he has the reputation of an honest man; not the crown itself can give credit to the head that wears it, if once he that

wears it comes but to mortgage his honour in the matter of payment.

Who would have lent king Charles II. 50%. on the credit of his own word or bond, after the shutting up the Exchequer? the royal word was made a jest of, and the character of the king was esteemed a fluttering trifle, which no man would venture his money upon.

In king William's time the case was much the same at first; though the king had not broken his credit then with any man, yet how did they break their faith with the whole world, by the deficiency of the funds, the giving high and ruinous interest to men almost as greedy as vultures, the causing the government to pay great and extravagant rates for what they bought, and great premiums for what they borrowed! these were the injuries to the public for want of credit; nor was it in the power of the whole nation to remedy it till the parliament recovered it. And how was it done? only by the same method a private person must do the same, viz., by doing justly, and fairly, and honestly, by everybody.

Thus credit began to revive, and to enlarge itself again; and usury, which had, as it were, eaten up mankind in business, declined, and so things came to their right way again.

The case is the same with a tradesman; if he shuffles in payment, bargains at one time, and pays at another, breaks his word and his honour in the road of his business, he is gone; no man will take his bills, nor trust him; for nothing but probity will support credit; just, fair, and honourable dealings give credit; and nothing but the same just, fair, and honourable dealings will preserve it.

CHAP. XXVIII.

Of the tradesman's punctual paying his bills and promissory notes, and the credit he gains by it. Of protesting bills. Error of the country manufacturer in overloading the factor. A tradesman ought not to suffer himself to be overdrawn. What punctualities are required in bills of exchange and promissory notes. Of the three days of grace. The nature of foreign bills of exchange, and the niceties to be observed in them. Advantages to a tradesman who pays his bills well. Forms of bills drawn on several occasions.

As credit is maintained by just and honest dealing, so that just dealing depends very much upon the tradesman's punctual payment of money in the several demands that may be made upon him. The ordinary demands of money upon a tradesman are,—

1. Promises of money for goods bought at time. 2. Bills drawn upon him; which, generally speaking, are from the country.

3. Bills of exchange, and promissory notes under his hand, which are passed oftentimes upon buying his goods, bought also at time; as in the first head.

4. Bonds, or other securities, bearing interest, given chiefly for money borrowed.

I. As to the first article, promises of money for goods bought at time; this indeed is the loosest article in a tradesman's payments; for, in this case, not one man in twenty keeps to his time; and so easy are tradesmen to one another, that, in general, it is not much expected; but he that pays tolerably

well, and without dunning, is deemed a good man, and shall be trusted anywhere, and keeps up a character in his business; and is as lofty and touchy, if his credit be called in question, as if he paid all ready money; and shall often buy his goods as cheap upon the credit of his ordinary pay, as another man shall that brings his money in his hand.

And indeed it is reasonable it should be so; for the ready money man comes and buys a parcel here and a parcel there, and comes but seldom; but the other comes as often as he wants goods, buys considerably, and, it may be said, pays currently too.

But though credit is maintained in this case, upon the easiest terms of any other, yet even here the tradesman must have a great care to keep it up; or he may get the character of being what (in the language of trade) is called long-winded, putting off continually, till he will bear dunning; then his credit fails; his dealer, who trusted him perhaps a 1000l. thick before, and esteemed him as good as ready money, now grows sick of him, cares not whether he deals with him or no, and at last refuses to trust him any longer; and then his credit is quite sunk and gone.

II. As to the second article, of bills drawn upon him from the country; it is but a little while ago since those bills were the loosest things in trade; for as they could not be protested, so men could not always sue for them, but rather return them to the person from whom they received them.

But the late law made for noting and protesting inland bills, alters the case very much; bills now accepted, are protested in form; and if not punctually paid, are either returned immediately, or the person on whom they are drawn is liable to be sued at law; either of which is a blow to the credit of the acceptor.