But the South Sea Company, the greatest bubble of the lot, having prosecuted some of the rival bubble companies, and obtained a writ of _scire facias_ from the Queen’s Bench, all stocks fell suddenly; and the South Sea scheme itself collapsed in the general ruin which ensued. The price of its stock fell from 1000_l._ to 175_l._ in a few weeks. The delusion was at an end, and the English nation awaking from its dreams of boundless wealth to a sense of its degradation, a terrible commercial distress ensued. Parliament stepped in at last with a bill to remedy the mischief which had been done, and which it had itself encouraged. Proofs were given of the deep and fraudulent complicity of the then Chancellor of the Exchequer (Aislabie), as well as of several South Sea directors and other persons of the highest rank at court and in the city. In the sequel, four members of the House of Commons who were South Sea directors were expelled the House; Aislabie was sent to the Tower; Knight, the cashier of the Company, absconded, and the estates of the chief criminals were confiscated. But amid the numerous wildly speculative concerns then projected and launched, there were others which were sound and legitimate; among these may be mentioned the Royal Exchange Assurance Company, with a capital of 500,000_l._, and the London Assurance Company, with a subscription list of four times that amount. Each of these have maintained their position to this day, ranking high as marine and fire insurance associations. By their original charters they were empowered to insure ships and merchandise from the dangers and accidents of the sea, and were also authorised to lend money on bottomry bonds. Subsequently they obtained charters for insuring from loss by fire. From the first they have had no exclusive privileges, although they might well have demanded them, for, just before their formation, the losses of private underwriters had been so great that no fewer than one hundred and fifty of them had become insolvent in the previous five years.[204] FOOTNOTES: [175] There is a passage in Mr. Burke’s famous speech on Conciliation with America, March 22, 1775, where he states her growth in the life of one man, Lord Bathurst, which reads now almost like a prophecy. [176] The Ordinance is quoted in Macpherson, ii. p. 430. [177] Details of the Navigation Act of 1651 (confirmed in 1660) will be found in Macpherson, ii. pp. 442-444.