creditors, may give him back a small gratification for his discovering
his effects, and assisting to the recovery of them; and all this, which
amounts to very little, is upon his being, as I have said, entirely
honest, and having run through all possible examinations and purgations,
and that it is at the peril of his life if he prevaricates.

Are these encouragements to tradesmen to be negligent and careless of
the event of things? Will any man in his wits fail in his trade, break
his credit, and shut up his shop, for these prospects? Or will he
comfort himself in case he is forced to fail--I say, will he comfort
himself with these little benefits, and make the matter easy to himself
on that account? He must have a very mean spirit that can do this, and
must act upon very mean principles in life, who can fall with
satisfaction, on purpose to rise no higher than this; it is like a man
going to bed on purpose to rise naked, pleasing himself with the
thoughts that, though he shall have no clothes to put on, yet he shall
have the liberty to get out of bed and shift for himself.

On these accounts, and some others, too long to mention here, I think it
is out of doubt, that the easiness of the proceedings on commissions of
bankrupt can be no encouragement to any tradesman to break, or so much
as to entertain the thoughts of it, with less horror and aversion than
he would have done before this law was made.

But I must come now to speak of the tradesman in his real state of
mortification, and under the inevitable necessity of a blow upon his
affairs. He has had losses in his business, such as are too heavy for
his stock to support; he has, perhaps, launched out in trade beyond his
reach: either he has so many bad debts, that he cannot find by his books
he has enough left to pay his creditors, or his debts lie out of his