232
ported by any direct evidence, and at variance with
the known course of his after-life. It is certain that
he was in the West Indies, but it is much more likely
that his pursuits there were commercial than either
clerical or piratical. In whatever capacity he may
have acquired his commercial and geographical
knowledge, he returned to Europe with a scheme of
trade which he was desirous of establishing under
the protection and patronage of some European
power. Paterson, himself a merchant, formed an
intimate connection with other merchants of London,
and with them concerted the establishment of the
Bank of England, which he originated and planned.
He was admitted one of the original directors, but
jealousies arose, and he voluntarily withdrew, by
selling out his qualification of  £2000 stock. Under
these circumstances, having already, before the re-
volution of 1688, become acquainted in Holland
with some of his countrymen, particularly with Flet-
cher of Saltoun, who had penetration enough to see
and to appreciate the simple splendour of his project
with regard to Darien, he accordingly came to Scot-
land along with Fletcher, who introduced him to
the various members of the Scottish administration.
The Earl of Stair, in particular, gave the project of
Mr. Paterson the support of his powerful eloquence.
The result of all this was, that an act was passed
by the Scottish parliament on the 26th of June,
1695, "constituting John Lord Belhaven, WILLIAM
PATERSON, Esq., and others in Scotland and in
London, a free incorporation, by the name of the
Company of Scotland trading to Africa and the In-
dies, providing that of the fund or capital half should
be allowed to Scotland." The company was invested
with full powers to hold parliaments and make laws,
and administer justice, &c., in any colonies they
might plant in Asia, Africa, and America. This
act was drawn up under the eye of Mr. Paterson,
and was certainly highly favourable for his purposes.
The Isthmus of Darien, where there was a large tract
of land bordering on both seas, the Indian and the
Atlantic, was the spot he had fixed upon for the
scene of his operations, and the advantages of which
he thus graphically pointed out: "The time and
expense of navigation to China, Japan, the Spice
Islands, and the far greater part of the East Indies,
will be lessened more than half, and the consump-
tion of European commodities and manufactures will
soon be more than doubled. Trade will increase
trade, and money will beget money, and the trading
world shall need no more want work for their hands,
but will rather want hands for their work. Thus
this door of the seas and key of the universe, with
anything of a reasonable management, will of course
enable its proprietors to give laws to both oceans,
without being liable to the fatigues, expenses, and
dangers, or contracting the guilt and blood, of Alex-
ander and Caesar. In all our empires that have been
anything universal, the conquerors have been obliged
to seek out and court their conquests from afar; but
the universal force and influence of this attractive
magnet is such as can much more effectually bring
empire home to the proprietors' doors. But from
what hath been said, you may easily perceive that
the nature of these discoveries are such as not to be
engrossed by any one nation or people with exclusion
to others; nor can it be thus attempted without evi-
dent hazard and ruin, as we may see in the case of
Spain and Portugal, who, by their prohibiting any
other people to trade, or so much as to go to or
dwell in the Indies, have not only lost that trade
they were not able to maintain, but have depopu-
lated and ruined their countries therewith, so that
the Indies have rather conquered Spain and Por-
tugal than they have conquered the Indies; for by
their permitting all to go out and none to come in,
they have not only lost the people which are gone
to the remote and luxuriant regions, but such as re-
main are become wholly unprofitable and good for
nothing. Thus, not unlike the case of the dog in
the fable, they have lost their own countries, and not
gotten the Indies. People and their industry are the
true riches of a prince or nation, and in respect to
them all other things are but imaginary. This was
well understood by the people of Rome, who, con-
trary to the maxims of Sparta and Spain, by general
naturalizations, liberty of conscience, and immuni-
ties of government, far more effectually and advan-
tageously conquered and kept the world than ever
they did or possibly could have done by the sword."
Seeing clearly his way, Mr. Paterson seems not to
have had the smallest suspicion but that others would
see it also, and "he makes no doubt but that the
affection we owe to our sister nation will incline the
company to be zealous in using all becoming en-
deavours for bringing our fellow-subjects to be jointly
concerned in this great, extensive, and advantageous
undertaking. That a proposal of this kind from the
company will be other than acceptable ought not to
be supposed, since by this means the consumption
and demand of English manufactures, and conse-
quently the employment of their people, will soon
be more than doubled. England will be hereby
enabled to become the long-desired seaport, and yet
its public revenues, instead of being diminished, will
thereby be greatly increased. By this their nation
will at once be eased of its laws of restraint and pro-
hibitions, which, instead of being encouragements,
always have, and still continue to be, the greatest
lets to its trade and happiness." These liberal views
seem to have made a greater impression on the public
mind than at that time could have been anticipated.
In the month of October, 1695, Lord Belhaven, Mr.
Robert Blackwood, and Mr. James Balfour went
on a deputation to London, accompanied by Mr.
Paterson, where the subscription-books were first
opened, and in the course of nine days £300,000
were subscribed; one-fourth of all subscriptions being
paid in cash. This promising state of things, how-
ever, was, by the jealousy of the English monopol-
ists, suddenly reversed. The East India Company
were the first to take the alarm, and they communi-
cated their terrors to the House of Commons. The
latter requested a conference with the lords on the
alarming circumstance, and a committee was ap-
pointed to inquire by what methods such an act had
been obtained, who were the promoters, and who
had become subscribers to the company. This was
followed by an address to the king from both houses
of parliament, stating, "That by reason of the supe-
rior advantages granted to the Scottish East India
Company, and the duties imposed upon the Indian
trade in England, a great part of the stock and ship-
ping of this nation would be carried thither, by which
means Scotland would be rendered a free port, and
Europe from thence supplied with the products of
the East much cheaper than through them, and thus
a great article in the balance of foreign commerce
would be lost to England, to the prejudice of the
national navigation and the royal revenue." The
address went on to state, "that when the Scots
should have established themselves in plantations in
America, the western branch of traffic would also be
lost. The privileges granted their company would
render their country the general storehouse for
tobacco, sugar, cotton, hides, and timber; the low
rates at which they would be enabled to carry on
their manufactures would render it impossible for