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<DATE>2014-08-27</DATE>
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<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140522.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A88028">
<STC T="W">L1661C</STC>
<STC T="C">R230706</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99896434</BIBNO>
<VID>154261</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>A Letter to a Gentleman, <HI>UPON</HI>
<LIST>
<ITEM>A Royal Fi&s;hery,</ITEM>
<ITEM>A Council of Trade, and</ITEM>
<ITEM>A National Fi&s;hery.</ITEM>
</LIST></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>In obedience to your Commands, I here &s;end you my Thoughts, of a <HI>Royal Fi&s;hery,</HI> and of a <HI>Council of Trade;</HI> and whither they are Projects fit for &s;o Great a People, as the People of <HI>England</HI> to build on, I leave you to judge.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t Sir, has been often try'd, and is ju&s;t, as if <HI>England</HI> &s;hould &s;et up a Royal Wooll Manufactory, and by virtue of a large Hou&s;e, many Sub&s;cripti|ons, and Officers to receive the Money, de&s;ign'd to make a world of Woollen-Cloth; what the Con&s;equence of &s;uch a Project will be, judge you: that is, Judge, whether the Publick Manufacture, will break the Private Manufactures, or the Private the Publick; and whether <HI>England</HI> can be Six-pence the better &s;uppo&s;ing either.</P>
<P>The other Sir, was Sir <HI>Walter Rawleigh</HI>'s Project a hundred Years ago, only he calls that a <HI>State-Merchant</HI> which we call a <HI>Council of Trade.</HI></P>
<P>Now Sir, whoever &s;eriou&s;ly con&s;iders, that <HI>England,</HI> after plowing the Seas a hundred Years, can &s;how but Seven or Eight Millions by Trade, and that the <HI>Dutch</HI> in the &s;ame time, has actually rais'd above a Hundred
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Sir</HI> Walter Rawleigh, <HI>Sir</HI> John Burrows, <HI>and twenty more, but e&s;pe|cially the grow|ing</HI> Dutch <HI>and</HI> French <HI>Fi&s;heries plainly &s;hews, what</HI> England <HI>has lo&s;t, may lo&s;e, and may get by Fi&s;hing.</HI></NOTE> Millions in Gold, with Seamen to defend it, out of <HI>England</HI>'s Fi&s;h-Ponds, mu&s;t &s;ure own a <HI>Council of Trade,</HI> has &s;ignify'd very little to the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Nation; and that <HI>England</HI> by ne|glecting Fi&s;hing, e&s;pecially the <HI>Newfoundland</HI>-Fi&s;hing, has not only lo&s;t Milli|ons which ought to be now in <HI>Engli&s;hmen</HI>'s Pockets, but has given <HI>The French</HI> opportunity to rai&s;e Millions, and that <HI>Fleet</HI> we now &s;ee, <HI>A growing Fleet</HI> Sir, rightly con&s;ider'd; <HI>Mountains of Gold,</HI> as well as tho&s;e <HI>Jewels Seamen,</HI> being to be rais'd by that <HI>Fi&s;hery.</HI></P>
<P>Now Sir, that <HI>England</HI> has neglected this Rich <HI>Fi&s;hery,</HI> decay'd <HI>Bridport</HI> in <HI>Dor&s;et&s;hire,</HI> that flouri&s;h'd upon making of Nets, and twenty places more, can witne&s;s: And indeed Sir, had the &s;ix or &s;even hundred Ships, <HI>England</HI> had on this Rich <HI>Fi&s;hery,</HI> encreas'd, as you know they ought to have done, in&s;tead of de|creas'd, the World mu&s;t own, <HI>England</HI> might have &s;ent abroad, as bold a Me&s;|&s;age now, as Queen <HI>Elizabeth</HI> did, which you know Sir, &s;ilences all ingeni|ous Writers upon Trade and Navigation in the Nation, and plainly &s;hews they &s;cribble and prattle to no purpo&s;e; and that if <HI>England's Power</HI> is ever to be rais'd, it mu&s;t be by a <HI>National Fi&s;hery</HI> or <HI>Never Rai&s;ed.</HI> But Sir, to do that, requires more Art, than mo&s;t Men imagine, <HI>Eng|land</HI>'s <HI>National Fi&s;hery,</HI> which has Vertue in't to get the Riches of the World, being to be rais'd without Six-pence
<NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="foot"><HI>That is Sir, in plain</HI> Eng|li&s;h, <HI>no Money mu&s;t be rais'd, no Man mu&s;t be forc'd to Fi&s;h.</HI></NOTE>, when all the Money in the Nation, and Ten times as much, won't do't: And this Sir, being the &s;ubli|me&s;t Le&s;&s;on, in that great Art or My&s;tery call'd <HI>Commerce,</HI> or the Art of rai&s;ing the Power of a People, I lay it before you; a Le&s;&s;on Sir, if you carefully Learn, and can fairly demon&s;trate, to the Nation, how it may be practis'd, there's no doubt Sir, you may have what Reward you plea&s;e, the true Art of Fi&s;hing being of more value to the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Nation than can be expre&s;s'd, or indeed the Philo&s;o|pher's-Stone, were there &s;uch a thing; for what's that Jewel Liberty, without this Art, or that Never-to-be-valu'd-enough Religion? for tho' it has pleas'd God, to ble&s;s the People of this Nation, with the Oracles of his Truth in their own Tongue, yet without this Art, how is it po&s;&s;ible to defend the&s;e Sacred Oracles? for what's the&s;e ine&s;timable Jewels, and all the Riches and Jewels in the Na|tion, without a Fleet? What's a Fleet without a growing <HI>National Fi&s;hery,</HI> or &s;olid Nur&s;ery for Seamen? e&s;pecially among Neighbours who&s;e Power is ari|&s;ing, who, you know, are Friends to Day for their Intere&s;t, and Enemies to <GAP DESC="missing" EXTENT="1 span"></P>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>The De&s;ign of the&s;e Thoughts is to &s;how</HEAD>
<P>That all ingenious Di&s;cour&s;es upon Trade, Navigation, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> &s;ince Sir <HI>Walter Rawleigh</HI>'s Time, even his not excepted, were only empty
<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI><GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 span">, Sir, all ingenious Wri|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters">pon Fi&s;heries, only learned|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters">ke out, that Fi&s;h is good <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters">'tis catch'd &mdash; All in|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters">is Writers upon Trade, in <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters"> Words, &s;ay nothing, and <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters"> blot Cart-Loads of Paper <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters"> purpo&s;e: Sir</HI> Walter Raw|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters"><HI>'s Project being the Cream <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters">ll the&s;e Je&s;ts, empty Noi&s;e, <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters">ain Amu&s;ements; a Pro|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters"> Sir, that never has been, <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters"> never will be of Six-pence <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters">o the</HI> Engli&s;h <HI>Nation, the</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters">li&s;h <HI>Nation, under God, de|<GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters">ing upon timely Rai&s;ing a <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters">ional Fi&s;hery; for the Day <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters"> Sea-Power's ma&s;ter'd, you <GAP DESC="illegible" REASON="left margin cropped or obscured" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1+ letters">v, All goes with it.</HI></NOTE> Noi&s;e, and vain Amu&s;ements, and never has &s;ignify'd, nor never will &s;ignifie Six-pence to the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Nation.</P>
<P>That the Ri&s;e of the <HI>French</HI> Naval Power, and the Fall of <HI>England</HI>'s Fi&s;heries, proves it with a Witne&s;s.</P>
<P>That all the Wits in <HI>Europe,</HI> were <HI>Solomon</HI> to help 'em, can't rai&s;e the Wealth and Power of <HI>England,</HI> without rai&s;ing <HI>England</HI>'s National Fi&s;hery.</P>
<P>That <HI>England</HI>'s National Fi&s;hery is to be rais'd by Art, not Money.</P>
<P>That upon that Art <HI>England's All</HI> depends, if <HI>England's All</HI> depends on Naval Power.</P>
<P>And now, Sir, if any of the&s;e Thoughts chance to awaken <HI>Great Britain,</HI> who knows but it may prove a Parallel Ca&s;e to what has formerly happen'd: A Goo&s;e, you know, awak'd tho&s;e that &s;av'd the Capitol, the Capitol &s;av'd <HI>Rome, Rome</HI> conquer'd the World. In other Words, Sir, if all the&s;e Thoughts in the <HI>Aegyptian</HI> Darkne&s;s we live in, does but afford us the Light of one Star, who knows but that Star may prove a Morning-Star, and lead in that Glorious Sun call'd <HI>England's Growing National Fi&s;hery,</HI> which as it ri&s;es will become <HI>Great Britain's Glory,</HI> and the Ga&s;e, Wonder, Envy, and Terror of the World.</P>
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<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P><HI>London,</HI> Printed for <HI>E. Whitlock,</HI> near <HI>Stationers-Hall,</HI> 1698.</P>
</DIV1>
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