Parliament votes in July 1714 "to offer a reward for such person or persons as shall discover the Longitude." (Ten thousand pounds for any method capable of determining a ship's longitude within one degree; fifteen thousand pounds within forty minutes, and twenty thousand pounds within half a degree).

The government announces that a quarter of profits of the South Sea Company will be reserved for the queen and a further seven and a half percent for a financial advisor.

Some members of company board refuse to accept the contract on these terms, and the government is obliged to reverse its decision.

Despite these setbacks, the company persists, having raised two hundred thousand pounds to finance the operations.

The company is heavily dependent on the goodwill of government, and when government changes, so too does the company board.

One of the directors who had been sponsored by Harley, Arthur Moore, had in 1714 attempted to send sixty tons of private goods on board the company ship.

He is dismissed as a director, but the result was the beginning of Harley's fall from favor with the company.

Harley is on July 27 replaced as Lord High treasurer as a result of disagreement that had broken out within the Tory faction in parliament.