decade of the eighteenth century contrive decently to hold office, he had shortly to resign. He never again took a prominent part in the affairs of the nation. The King himself was reviled for his support of the Company, of which he was the Governor; and when it became known that the influence of his favourites at Court had been bought by illegal gifts of stock by which they might profit and could not lose, the indignation was so deep that if the Pretender had, as Atterbury wished, landed again in England, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the Stuart dynasty might have been restored. The sources of information concerning the rise and fall of the South Sea Company are numerous. The principal authorities are the various Acts of Parliament relating to the Company, the Journals of the Houses of Parliament, the Reports of the Committee of Secrecy appointed by the House of Commons to investigate the proceedings of that corporation, the Political State of Great Britain,' Tindal's continuation of Rapin's' History of England,' the Parliamentary History of England,' contemporary pamphlets by Defoe and others, and Coxe's Memoirs of Sir Robert Walpole.' Interesting side-lights are to be found in the Wentworth and Suffolk Papers, the Journal to Stella,' the Diary of Mary Lady Cowper, the correspondence of Swift and Pope, and in the numerous volumes issued by the Historical MSS. Commission (especially the Bath, Buckinghamshire, Carlisle, Clements, Fortescue, Ketton, Onslow, Portland, and Stuart MSS.). Information may also be gleaned from Macpherson's 'Annals of Commerce,' Stanhope's 'History of England,' and Wright's Caricature History of the Georges.' Brief accounts will be found in the anonymous pamphlet (which is largely a reprint of passages from Macpherson's 'Annals of Commerce '), 'The South Sea Bubble and the numerous fraudulent projects to which it gave rise in 1720 historically detailed as a beacon to the unwary against modern schemes equally visionary and nefarious' (1825), and in Charles Mackay's 'Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions' (1841). The Bubble' playing-cards (a pack of which is preserved in the Print Department of the British Museum) must not be overlooked; while some idea of the trend of public feeling may be discerned in the contemporary prints, the best known of which was drawn by Hogarth. I am indebted to the Controller of His Majesty's Stationery Office for permission to make quotations from various volumes of the reports of the Historical Manuscripts Commission. LEWIS MELVILLE. CONTENTS I THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE SOUTH SEA COMPANY, The financial state of Great Britain in 1711-The national debts- The Earl of Oxford's Masterpiece '- Edward Harley-The South Sea Act, 1711-General approval of the scheme-The imagination of the public excited-The stock fully subscribed-The Royal Charter-The first Governors and Directors-Charles Lamb's description of the South Sea House-The first meeting of share-holders-The South Sea Whim' -Swift purchases stock-Defoe's Essay on the South Sea Trade '-He exposes the inherent weakness of the scheme-His pessimism justified by the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht-Dissatisfaction with the terms granted by Spain-Discontent of the stock- holders allayed by Lord Oxford-The Company regarded as fair game by those in high places-Queen Anne demands a share of the profits-The Company's indignant protest-The Queen reluctantly withdraws her demand-She administers a crushing rebuke to the corporation-The charges against Arthur Moore- Moore removed from the Board of Directors-The Governors and Directors in 1715-The Company's ships interfered with by Spain-The national credit in 1717 -Further proposals of the South Sea Company- The debate thereon in the House of Commons-A passage of arms between Stanhope and Walpole-The political morality of the day-The Company's proposal accepted-George I succeeds the Prince of Wales as Governor of the Company-The first annual ship sails -The second annual ship launched-War declared 1 CHAP. II THE SOUTH SEA COMPANY TAKES OVER THE The South Sea Company ambitious to become a PAGE 30 III THE 'BOOM' IN THE STOCK OF THE SOUTH SEA Fluctuations in the price of the stock of the South Second Subscription of the national debts-The rush IV THE BUBBLE' COMPANIES OF 1720 . Many unauthorised companies floated-All vastly over-capitalised-Nearly a hundred ‘bubbles' with a Insurance companies-Financial companies-Land and building companies-Fishing companies-Water, river, and harbour companies-Metal, mineral, and mining companies-Oil, salt, and sugar companies-Manufac- turing companies-Trading companies-Companies trading to America - Miscellaneous companies - Fraudulent promoters encouraged by the public-Royal Exchange Company and London Assurance Company secure Parliamentary sanction-Unauthorised com- panies forbidden by a new law-A Royal Proclamation The destruction of the bubbles -Disappearance of the Directors-The effect on 'Change Alley-The - V THE SLUMP IN THE STOCK OF THE SOUTH SEA COMPANY, AUGUST-SEPTEMBER, 1720 . The reasons for postponing the fourth money- subscription-Issue restricted to holders of capital |