A proposition was made in 1737, by the same gentleman, to reduce the interest on the national debt from four to three per cent. Nothing could be more just than this, as the public might either receive their principal in full, or one per cent. less interest. The House was at first disposed to entertain the proposal with the fairness it merited; but the moneyed men rose in a body, and Sir Robert Walpole, fearing to disoblige them, fearing to lose those votes on which he had hitherto relied, and envying also the popularity Sir John might acquire, determined to crush the scheme. He interested the king and queen; he employed his ministerial power; he intimidated some, he bribed others, he puzzled and persuaded more; until, his purpose being effected, the bill—than which nothing could be more reasonable—was rejected. The popular feeling attributed this opposition to the royal family, who possessed great funded property; but to popular feeling, unless it rose to a storm, as with the Excise Bill, Sir Robert Walpole was very indifferent. In the same year, an inquiry being instituted into the books of the Bank of England, it was calculated that ten millions were held by foreigners in the English funds; a remarkable proportion of the amount at which the national debt then stood. In the reign of George II. a new mode of raising loans was adopted. Instead of varying the interest according to the state of the money-market, the rate was fixed from three to five per cent., and the subscribers remunerated by an additional amount of stock. It was the first public announcement that the debt was perpetual; and has made the present principal two fifths more than the sum originally advanced. In the earlier history of borrowing, the government named its own terms; and as this generally afforded a profit, the loan was soon filled. If, however, the ministerial proposals were not sufficiently liberal, the executive altered the terms to the real value of money; and it is by no means an uninstructive fact, that it was found in 1748, after a close calculation, that for thirty previous years land had produced a higher interest than the funds. Although an act had been passed by which it was declared illegal for one individual to have more than twenty lottery-tickets allowed him, it soon became notorious that the rule was flagrantly and frequently violated. Manasseh Lopez, whose dealings on the Stock Exchange entitled him to be termed a leader, had bribed the commissioners to permit an indirect violation of the law, by accepting a long list of feigned names as candidates for tickets. He was prosecuted by the Attorney-General, and sued in the Court of King’s Bench. A fine of one thousand pounds was awarded as punishment; but as he had made more than fifty times the amount, it might be regarded as a very successful speculation.