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<DATE>2013-07-04</DATE>
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<NAME>Olivia Bottum</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>ENGLANDS INTREST IN SECURING THE <HI>Woollen-Manufacture,</HI> OF THIS REALM <HI>Against the Artiffices, and de&s;igns of</HI> FRANCE, <HI>a&s;|&s;erted and made Evident to all true Lovers of their Coun|try.</HI></P>
<P><HI>To which is added a</HI> REPLY <HI>to &s;ome Objections Former<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> made to the &s;ame Subject.</HI></P>
<P><HI>LONDON</HI> Printed by <HI>Jo&s;eph Streater,</HI> for the Author, <HI>Anno. Dom.</HI> MDCLXXXIX.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE READER.</HEAD>
<P>IF I &s;hould value the Di&s;couragements I have met withal, not only by appearing Publickly in this Matter; but al&s;o, in my endeavouring to prevent the Mi&s;chiefs that accrues to this Nation, by the Exportation of Wooll: I mu&s;t have been both &s;ilent and un-active; but having conceived it to be the great|e&s;t Concern, not only to the Merchant and Clothier, but al&s;o to the whol Kingdom in general; I have expo&s;ed my &s;elf, becau&s;e the greate&s;t Strength of the Nation, which con&s;i&s;ts in the Multi|tude of People; the greate&s;t Riches, the greate&s;t Power upon the Sea in Shipping, and the greate&s;t Revenues of the Crown, in mo&s;t of its Branches; do all principally depend upon the <HI>Woollen-Manufacture,</HI> as more at large appeareth in the following Di&s;|cour&s;e: And con&s;idering that the&s;e great Advantages, are not only endeavoured to be gained from us by Forreigners, but more e&s;pe|cially by a Powerful Neighbour (viz.) the <HI>French</HI> King, while &s;ome at home, are not only Rea&s;oning, but appearing in Print for it; to &s;uch I will adventure to &s;ay, and doubt not to make appear, that they are Enemies to <HI>Englands</HI> Pro&s;perity, what ever Pretence, they may make to the contrary.</P>
<P>I am much convinced, that by this Means, and by the Cun|ning
<PB REF="2"> Artifices, and &s;ecret Contrivances of <HI>French Agents,</HI> that not only the <HI>Clothing</HI> Trade, but the very Intre&s;t of the Na|tion in General is at Stake, and in Hazard, to be utterly lo&s;t. This I have for &s;ome Years fore-&s;een, and publickly declared (tho' little regarded) that it will appear in time, that what I then mentioned, was upon very Good Grounds, and from my fore-&s;ight of that Ruine in our Trade, which will certainly come upon us, if not Timely and Indu&s;triou&s;ly prevented.</P>
<P>And tho' I have Wrote of this Subject, 20 Years ago, and re-printed the &s;ame in 71, and ab&s;tracted that Di&s;cour&s;e, and added a few Lines, as an <HI>Advertizement</HI> to the Merchants and Clothiers, and publi&s;hed that Di&s;cour&s;e in the Year 72, to all which, was Objections made, and printed in the Year 77, to which I al&s;o then made a <HI>Reply,</HI> as I thought &s;ufficient: And it did an|&s;wer my End therein, (viz.) in preventing the <HI>French Agents</HI> in their De&s;igne.</P>
<P>But finding in my Attendance, on a late Committee of the Ho|nourable Hou&s;e of Commons, appointed to con&s;ider a Bill depend|ing before them, for the Explanation and better Execution, of two Acts of Parliament, made in King <HI>Charles</HI> the 2ds. Reign, Prohibiting the Exportation of <HI>Wooll,</HI> that <HI>An&s;wer</HI> was urged by &s;ome again&s;t me, &s;uppo&s;ing no <HI>Reply</HI> was made to it: I have for that and other Rea&s;ons, now re-printed an <HI>Ab|&s;tract,</HI> both of my fir&s;t <HI>Di&s;cour&s;e,</HI> my <HI>Opponents An&s;wer,</HI> and my <HI>Reply</HI> thereunto; wherein I have endeavoured to remove that Gro&s;s Mi&s;take, as if the hindring the <HI>Exportation</HI> of <HI>Wooll,</HI> was the Cau&s;e of the low Price thereof, the Cau&s;e of the fall of <HI>Rents,</HI> and value of <HI>Lands,</HI> the contrary whereof I do A&s;&s;ert, and &s;hall plainly Demon&s;trate the true Cau&s;e thereof; Evincing,
<PB REF="3"> that the hindring the <HI>Exportation</HI> of <HI>Wooll,</HI> will Cau&s;e the re|covery of our <HI>Trade,</HI> the rai&s;ing the Price of <HI>Wooll,</HI> and con|&s;equently of <HI>Lands,</HI> which is the <HI>Principal Drift</HI> and <HI>De&s;igne,</HI> of the Following <HI>Di&s;cour&s;e.</HI></P>
<P>That tho the Subject I am upon is mearly matter of Fact, and therefore le&s;s &s;ubject to Controver&s;y; yet that it may be free from all Objections, I have added the Te&s;timony of two Witne&s;|&s;es, one a Gentleman of <HI>Kent, viz. Thomas Manley E&s;q.</HI> again&s;t whome there is little room to cavel; the other is Mr. <HI>Andrew Marvel,</HI> (who tho' Dead, yet his Name &s;till Lives,) <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> Member of the la&s;t Long Parliament; and very well known to many of this; who endeavoured to oppo&s;e that unfortunate Act, (for &s;o I mu&s;t in all humility call it) that prohibited <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Cattle: He Wrote that di&s;cour&s;e, under the notion of a Let|ter from a Younger Brother in <HI>Ireland,</HI> to an Elder in <HI>Eng|land,</HI> becau&s;e he was unwilling to be known to be the Au|thor, being loath to di&s;oblidg his Friends in <HI>York&s;hier,</HI> who were for Pa&s;&s;ing that Act.</P>
<P><HI>Since the following Papers was printed, I am informed that by <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eans of the &s;top at pre&s;ent to</HI> Iri&s;h <HI>Wooll, the Clothiers in the</HI> We&s;t <HI>want Wooll; which makes good what I &s;uppo&s;ed,</HI> Page <HI>the</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">th. <HI>therefore it may be con&s;idered how nece&s;ary it is to have a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tock of Wooll before hand, to keep the Poor at Work, when there <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ay be a &s;carcity of Wooll upon other occa&s;ions.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
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<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="abstract">
<PB N="1" REF="3">
<HEAD>An Ab&s;tract of a Di&s;cour&s;e formerly Printed Entituled <HI>Englands</HI> Intre&s;t by our Woollen-Manufacture; where|in is demon&s;trated, that the whole Nation is concerned in the Improvement thereof, and the evil Con&s;equences of the Tran&s;portation of our Wooll &V;n-Manufactured.</HEAD>
<P>FEw Princes have &s;uch means to &s;upport their &s;plendour and Greatne&s;s, as His Maje&s;ty of Great <HI>Britain,</HI> nor have many Countries &s;uch a va|riety of &s;taple Commodities within them&s;elves, and in &s;uch abundance, as th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;e Kingdoms.</P>
<P>So that if the&s;e Advantages were duly improved, this Kingdom might be a general M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">rt, for the&s;e parts of the World. But,</P>
<P>That tho&s;e Adventages are not improved, is obvious to all that look into it, by the &s;o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> complaints that are frequently made of the great Poverty and decay thereof; and indeed, (which is wor&s;t of all) by that general d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;peration of Spirit, which will not put orth a hand to help, &s;upport or prevent the total de&s;olation fo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r Country, up<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n a prepo&s;&s;e&s;t opinion, that all en<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">eav<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s will be rendred <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ruitle&s;s and abortive.</P>
<P>The con&s;ideration whereo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> hath greatly prompted me, who mu&s;t confe&s;s my &s;elf the meane&s;t of Thou&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, to u&s;e the utmo&s;t of my little skill, to try what might be done, towards the management of &s;ome Methods, that may prevent the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 words">; and (if po&s;&s;ible) that &s;ome good part of what is lo&s;t may be recovered.</P>
<P>I &s;hall confine my &s;elf to tho&s;e things only, whereof I have had not only credible information, but a con&s;iderable (though a &s;ad) experimental knowledg; and in a more particular and e&s;pecial manner, that of the Ma|nufacture of Wooll in <HI>England,</HI> which, among&s;t <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">any, is the riche&s;t Trea|&s;ure in his Maje&s;ties Dominions; the Flower, Strength and Sinew of this Nation, and therefore of full Merrit, to be had in parpetual remembrance, defence and encouragement, for the mo&s;t advantagious improvement thereof.</P>
<PB N="2" REF="4">
<P>The Dukes of <HI>Burgundy,</HI> (who had, as <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> am informed, the greate&s;t, if not the whole Manufacturing of our Wooll,) well under&s;tood, and long enjoyed; before King <HI>Edward</HI> the Third, the benefits accruing to that People by <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Wooll, which they received at &s;ix Pence <HI>per</HI> pound, by their indu&s;trous Manufacturing thereof; returned again to us in Cloath, at ten &s;hillings <HI>per</HI> yard, to the enriching of that People, and advancing the Revenue of their Soveraign; which being perceived, by the vigilent and indu&s;trous Prince, King <HI>Edward</HI> the Third, upon a vi&s;itation made by him|&s;elfe, to the Duke of <HI>Bungundy,</HI> during his re&s;idence there, he imployed &s;uch able Agents, among&s;t the <HI>Flemi&s;h</HI> Clothiers, repre&s;enting to them, the Danger they were in by the bordering Warrs with <HI>France,</HI> and the peaceable Condition of <HI>England,</HI> and Freedom of the People that are Sub|jects there (which are great Motives) propounds an Invitation for them to come over hither, wherein he <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">romi&s;es them the &s;ame Priviledges and Immunities with his own Subjects, by which promi&s;es) he pre|vailed with a great number of them to come into <HI>England</HI> &s;oon after him, where He mo&s;t Royally performed tho&s;e promi&s;es, and al&s;o replanted many of his own Subjects, who had been long &s;etled in <HI>Fla<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ders.</HI></P>
<P>And as a &s;uitable improvement of &s;o great a mercy, did wi&s;ely project, and al&s;o accompli&s;h the Manufacture of Wooll within the bowels of this Kingdom, to the great enriching of his own People, and al&s;o to the peo|pleing of his new-Conquered Dominions: the Memory of who&s;e Wi&s;|dom and Care for his People, is worthy to be had in remembrance, by <HI>En|gli&s;h</HI> men, unto the Worlds end.</P>
<P>The &s;aid King having thus &s;etled the Manufacture of Wooll, within the Kingdom of <HI>England,</HI> confined it by a penal Statute, which (at fir&s;t) reached not only to Goods, Chattels and Lands, but al&s;o to Mem|bers, and L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">fe it &s;elf; but, in a &s;hort time repealed; the two latter there|of, continuing the other in its full force, to remain to future Generations, which exceeding greate advantage, to the propriety of the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Trade, hath now coutinued three Hundred Years, by the vigilency of the govern|ment, and the Protection of its Laws in the careful execution thereof upon offenders, with more than a little diligence, to provide again&s;t the th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;t|ing de&s;ires o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Forreigners, to wre&s;t this Nations priviledg out of <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> hands; which by the Providence of God, through the care of our Ance&s;|tors, has been (for many Ages) enjoyed by the Nation, as it is indeed its proper right.</P>
<P>But &s;o it is, (for &s;ome years pa&s;t) the diligence of Forreigners, to enrich them&s;elves upon us, hath &s;o far exceeded our care to pre&s;erve our &s;elves, that its come to, if not beyond a que&s;tion, who hath the greate&s;t benefit of the
<PB N="3" REF="4"> Manufacture of <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Wooll? they who have no right unto it? or, they to whome of right it doth belong?</P>
<P>That this is &s;o, will appear by con&s;idering, that not only <HI>Holland</HI> and <HI>Flanders,</HI> have long &s;uckt the &s;weetne&s;s of our Trade, but <HI>France</HI> is like|wi&s;e learning to be too hard for us, as is manife&s;t by the great quantity of Wooll, that (of late years) have been imported there; how injurious it mu&s;t be to us, is al&s;o unque&s;tionable, if we con&s;ider the nece&s;&s;ary con&s;e|quences thereof.</P>
<P>For every Pack of Wooll &s;ent to <HI>France,</HI> doth prevent us (not only) of the benefit, of the Manufacturing thereof; but, of much more, by rea&s;on of the advantage that they make of their own cour&s;e Wooll, and fine &s;pun Linnen in their Drugets and Stuffs.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides our Damage in putting that value on the <HI>French</HI> Fancies, by giv|ing them double the worth for the &s;ame Manufacture (which we our &s;elvs make) of our <HI>Engli&s;h Wooll,</HI> &s;o much have we been deceived in this Matter, that whereas in the time of the late War with the <HI>Dutch</HI> and <HI>French,</HI> that <HI>French</HI> Druggets, and other Stuffs, not coming &s;o freely from <HI>France,</HI> &s;ome <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> broad Cloaths &s;triped, at <HI>10s. per</HI> Yard, were rent in three parts (<HI>viz.</HI>) Breadths, and put in the form of <HI>French</HI> Druggets, and each part &s;old at <HI>8s. per</HI> yard which makes that one yard comes to <HI>24s.</HI> which as <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">loth was &s;old for <HI>10s.</HI> and the like Fancy many have for <HI>Dutch</HI> Black Cloth, if it have the Name of <HI>Dutch,</HI> tho' our own Make, this is real Matter of Fact.</P>
<P>Now if we con&s;ider, what damage we &s;u&s;tain, by exporting one pa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">k of Wooll unmanufactured, (by which we may judge of the re&s;t,) that a pack of Wooll worth ten pound, if it be Manufactured here, and &s;o exported, would be improved to be wor<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">h one Hundred Pounds.</P>
<P>That it is &s;o, doth mo&s;t evidently appear by wor&s;ted-ho&s;e, that one pound of Kembed Wooll, worth twenty pence, will make two pair of Ho&s;e worth five Shillings the pair; or three pair, worth three Shillings four pence; which reckoned either way, s<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ten &s;hillings for one pound of Wooll, (though &s;ome is le&s;s, &s;ome more) there being twelve&s;core pound of Wooll in a pack, is &s;o many ten &s;hillings, makes a Hundred and Twenty Pound.</P>
<P>For when it &s;hall be ob&s;erved (as I have now demon&s;trated) that a Pack of Kembed Wooll worth <HI>20l.</HI> does, when Manufactured at home yeild 120 <HI>l.</HI> here in the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Market, out of which deduct 20 <HI>l.</HI> for the Wooll there remains 100 <HI>l.</HI> Starling, gains by the Labour of Spining and Knitting, be&s;ides the Dying, Leging, Packing, and fitting it for the Sea; when the additional advance thereon by home, and forreign Cu&s;toms, Freight, Land-Carriage and other incident expence, together with the
<PB N="4" REF="5"> Profit on &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">le in Foreign Parts, &s;hall be con&s;idered; it is rea&s;onable to conclude that this &s;ingle Pack &s;o Manufactured, and Exported by the <HI>En|gli&s;h</HI> Merchant, will Purcha&s;e Forreign Commodities to neare the value of 20<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>l.</HI> by that time the Cu&s;tomes of Importation are an&s;wered for the &s;ame.</P>
<P>And indeed the thing is naturally &s;o obvious, and the lo&s;s to <HI>England</HI> in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> Years &s;o apparent that t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> may ju&s;tly <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lence the greate&s;t oppo&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r, and convince any thinking Per&s;on tho him&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> never &s;o indifferent, or uncon|cerned in point of intre&s;t.</P>
<P>And if it be &s;o that the &s;ingle Exportation of one Pack o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Wooll unwrought be &s;o great a <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">amage to the Nation, it is an amazing thing o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">al|culate what the lo&s;s has been and does daily prove to the King <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> K<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">g|dom, while &s;o many Thou&s;and Packs have been, and &s;till are Yearly Tran|&s;ported; the mi&s;cheife ha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> not perhaps been <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> to every one, but is very ea&s;ily di&s;covered by &s;uch who give them&s;elves the lea&s;tle &s;ure to con&s;i|der.</P>
<P>To return it's aver'd, that the Export<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">tion of <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> and <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Wooll is of a Dangerous an<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> De&s;tructive Con&s;eque<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="3 letters"> to the very Being of our Trade, and to the riches and &s;trength of this Kingdom, and to his M<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">je&s;|ti<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s Cu&s;toms, notwith&s;tanding the Objections produced again&s;t it, with re|&s;pect of the Graziers Advantage thereby, &s;uppo&s;ing 40 <HI>s.</HI> upon a Pack of Wooll was advanced for a year or two by Exportation, yet other things would be le&s;&s;oned by it, it being not to be denyed at the &s;ame time, that the poore and laborious People can be em|ployed, as to have money to buy them Bread, Beet, much le&s;s Mutton, the want of which mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity full the price of all manner of V<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ctuals, and if we name only Mutton (which is relative to our &s;ubject) 2 <HI>s.</HI> in the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">arka&s;s, which comes to 10 <HI>l.</HI> for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> Sheep, they producing a Pac<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Wooll, at that rate <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s the value of the &s;a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">d Pack mode&s;tly computed: But then for Beef and Corn, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> that <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ned proportionable, it mu&s;t be o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> cour&s;e great|er damage to the Farmer and G<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">azier, it being reckoned three times the value of Wooll throughout the Nation, one with another. And &s;uppo&s;ing there &s;hould b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> grown yearly in <HI>En<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">land</HI> Two Hundred Thou&s;and packs of Wooll, one year w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">th another: And &s;uppo&s;ing that once in <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">our years the &s;heep were a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">l kill'd, (<HI>Viz.</HI>) 25 yearly of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">00, which 2<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Sheep valued &s;o low as 10 <HI>l.</HI> which is the value of the Wooll yearly &s;horn, from the 100 Sheep.</P>
<P>It may therefore prevaile upon us to beleive, that Beef and all &s;orts of Corn mu&s;t be of a far greater value than Mutton, (and con&s;equently of Wooll) becau&s;e the greate&s;t number of People by far, are the poor and laborious People which con&s;ume Beef, Bread and Bear, and few of &s;uch
<PB N="5" REF="5"> do often buy Mutton, or at lea&s;t any quantity proportionable to other provi&s;ion, and therefore whatever &s;ome others think, that a Country can be inriched without the poor laborious People, I am of another opinion: For it's matter of Fact, that in <HI>England</HI> it &s;elf, in tho&s;e part, where the in|habitance are thin, and the Countres not full of People, that the Land in tho&s;e p<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ts wi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> not yeild much above half the value, as Land of the &s;ame goodne&s;s will yeild near Townes well Inhabited, or Countries where Trade is good, and if thus in <HI>England</HI> it's much le&s;s in <HI>Ireland,</HI> which I think is a good Demon&s;tration.</P>
<P>T<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;e things con&s;idered on the other hand, it will manife&s;tly appear, that the Exportation of Wooll unmanufactured will not only be de&s;tructive to the Merchants and Clothiers Trade, and the expo&s;ing the poor to di&s;|tre&s;s, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o want of employment; but con&s;equently the Farmer and G<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a&s;ie<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> will not be able to pay his Rent: For if it be &s;o, that whil&s;t we have &s;ome little T<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e left there are &s;uch general complaints, what may be expected if our Foreign Trade &s;hould be wholly taken away, which is now in more danger, by the <HI>French,</HI> than it hath been this three Hundred Years pa&s;t, and we &s;eem to &s;leep and take no notice of it.</P>
<P>And then we <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> con&s;id<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">r what price Wooll will bear, when we, &s;ome of us b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> our remi&s;&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, and o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">her w<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">fulne<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> have lo&s;t our Trade, by the circumvent<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ng practi&s;es of Forreiners, and we our &s;elves helping forward, for fear they &s;hould not be able to do it alone, and all this for a meere fancied and &s;uppo&s;ed profit, for there was not more Art and S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ill u&s;ed by our A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ce&s;tors, to bring home the workers at fir&s;t to the Wooll, and Pro|hibiting <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">he Exportation thereof, and &s;etling the Manufacturing of it in <HI>England,</HI> than is now us'd to Export the materials unmanufactured to Forreign Artificers; and if by the means of that which is Exported al|ready, Wooll is now made &s;o cheap as it is, a greater Exportation would make it yet cheaper, &s;uppo&s;ing ten thou&s;and Pa<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ks &s;hipped into <HI>France,</HI> which by th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ir &s;ort of working it, and mixing it with Lining, and their own cour&s;e Wooll, and thinn<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">s of their work, goes as far there, and makes as many yards in the whole, as twenty thou&s;and Packs if Manufactur|ed here, into more firm and &s;ub&s;tantial Cloth and Stuffs, which Ten Thou|&s;and Packs, if they were not Exported into <HI>France,</HI> it would unavoydably follow, that <HI>France</HI> would have of us the quantity of Twenty Thou&s;and Packs, in our Manufacture.</P>
<P>B<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> all which it's obvious, that in time to come, the Wooll in <HI>England</HI> will be much more cheaper than now it is, becau&s;e, by the afore&s;aid meanes, more Wooll will be Exported, and le&s;s will of cour&s;e be u&s;ed in <HI>England,</HI> and that little which will be Manufactured here can beare little or no price, Forreigners making that them&s;elves, which we &s;hould fur|ni&s;h them with; which if it be true, as it's generally a&s;&s;erted, that <HI>Wooll</HI>
<PB N="6" REF="6"> is as cheap in <HI>France,</HI> as in &s;ome parts of <HI>England</HI> at this time, it's but rational to conclude it will be much cheapter hereafter, when our <HI>Wooll</HI> dos encrea&s;e on our hands, and our Manufacture decrea&s;e, both in quantity and value.</P>
<P>For the better clearing of this point, give me leave to in&s;ert one in&s;tance or two, as matter of Fact: That when <HI>Wooll</HI> was wholly Manufactured in <HI>England,</HI> and very little, if any at all Exported raw, the price thereof for &s;everal yeares togeather continued, betwixt 12 <HI>d.</HI> and 18 <HI>d. per l.</HI> weight, and I verily beleive as much, if not more, Wooll was grown in <HI>England</HI> at that time, (<HI>Viz.</HI>) betwixt 20 and 30 yeares agoe, then is now at this time, the rea&s;on is plain, from the great quantity of our Woollen Manufacture vended beyond Sea, which was &s;o con&s;iderable, that it kept up the price of Wooll at home. On the other hand in <HI>Ed.</HI> 3's. time, when all the Wooll was Exported Un manufactured, it was &s;old for 6 <HI>d. per</HI> pound, as is before a&s;&s;erted, by which it's manife&s;t, that the advance|ment of the price of Wooll, con&s;i&s;t, in the con&s;umption and vent of our Manufacture freely beyond the Seas, and not in the Exportation of our wooll un manufactured.</P>
<P>As the Price of Wooll to be Set at a con&s;t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nt Rate without vary|ing, it is very Improbable, if not Impo&s;ible, for that which Rules the Market's in this Affair is the Sale of the Woollen Manufacture beyond the Seas.</P>
<P>For Example Suppo&s;e the Pack of Stockings before mentioned &s;tands the Merchant at home, at fir&s;t buying 120 <HI>l.</HI> be&s;ides other growing Charges; now if this Pack be &s;ole abroad by the Merchants for 100 <HI>l.</HI> only, the Merchant at his next buying cannot pay 120 <HI>l.</HI> but the maker mu&s;t with|al ab<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">te proportonable, fir&s;t in the Wooll he &s;hall next buy, and then in the Wages, his Work folks in proportion being re<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">uced in their pay|ments. So on the other hand, if this Pack of Stockings valued at 120 <HI>l.</HI> here, be Sold for 200 <HI>l.</HI> Clear of all Cha<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ges, this advance puts the Mer|chants upon a Speedy buying, by which the Price is Advanced by the Merchants, and con&s;equently the price of Wooll, and Workmens Wages.</P>
<P>Now to an&s;wer an Objection, that we do not &s;o much depend upon the Export, as upon the were and Con&s;umption within the Kingdome, the mi&s;take is &s;o vi&s;ible that all which gives them&s;elves the lea&s;t trouble to look into Trade knows, that not above the <HI>5th.</HI> part of the Woollen-Manufacture made in <HI>England</HI> is wore here at home: and that at lea&s;t 4 parts of 5 of what is made here is Exported; and further quantities wiill be demanded when the Exportation of Wooll unwrought is effectually prevented.</P>
<PB N="7" REF="6">
<P>Before I conclude, give me leave to add here, what Sr. <HI>Walter Rawleigh</HI> in his time pre&s;ented to King <HI>James</HI> the fir&s;t, (<HI>viz.</HI>) that by meanes only of the Exportation of Cloth <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> and undre&s;&s;ed, was lo&s;t to the Kingdom above Foure Hundred Thou&s;and <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> yearly, to the workman&s;hip, which the Dre&s;&s;ers and D<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ers, and other Artificers would have gained thereby, be&s;ides the damage to the King, in di&s;courageing the Importati+on of Dying Stuffs, which pay a con&s;iderable Cu&s;toms, be&s;ides the hin|dring Navigation.</P>
<P>Now if it was thus with <HI>England</HI> when the Wooll was <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">de up into Cloth, and that only for want of the Dre&s;&s;ing and Dying it here, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o much lo&s;s came to this Kingdom thereby, what mu&s;t the lo&s;s be, when it's <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> Manufactured here at all, but the Materials Exported raw, without any manner of gain to any Artificier at home.</P>
<P>For if we fir&s;t con&s;ider his Maje&s;tie's lo&s;s, and next that of the Mer|chants and Clothiers, after which mu&s;t follow, the Detriment to all o|ther Per&s;ons depending on T<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ade, there being &s;uch a connexion of Trades one to another, that the d<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">mage of one harmes the re&s;t, and the profit of one advances others, while the whole is enlarged by the abounding of working and laborious People, who &s;upply the Farmer and Grazier with money, with which he payes his Rent to the Nobility and Gentry, and they again di&s;per&s;e it amonge&s;t Trade&s;men, by which circulation all de|degrees of Men are either employed or enriched or both, and hence natu|rally comes content, harmony and plea&s;ure, that one condition of Men take in the other, the poor by being employed are delivered from the fear of want; the Merchants and Artificers encouraged by certain markets, and ready Sale; the Nobility and Gentry &s;ecured in their Rents by thriving and able Tenants. And thus it is plain that em<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">loyment rati|onally is the &s;trength of any People, but Idlene&s;s brings Poverty, Shame and Ruine, which unavoidably followes the want of Trade. But to re|turn, in &s;hort there is &s;uch Connextion and Dependancy one upon another in <HI>England,</HI> that if one faile, all the re&s;t more or Le&s;s, either near, or more remotely are concerned. All Trades and Degrees of men, as Mer|chants, Artificers, Farmers, Seamen, Fi&s;her-men; being the People, which by their &s;tudy and labour do principaly, if not only bring in, or give acca&s;ion to the bringing in of W<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lth to the Nation, and the Nobi|lity, Gentry, Lawyers, Phy&s;itions, Schollars of all &s;orts; Shop-keepers are they that receive from the&s;e, and di&s;tribute it again, and all are con&s;e|quently concerned in this rich Trea&s;ure of Wooll, becau&s;e this being a Manufacture at home, &s;ets more hands at work than half the Nation.</P>
<P>May I not with mode&s;ty and within Compa&s;s, &s;ay three parts of Labo|rious and Indu&s;trious People? Con&s;idering that mo&s;t of the Shipping is
<PB N="8" REF="7"> imployed in this Affair, and al&s;o &s;o many Trades that depend immediatly upon this of Clothing, that mo&s;t of other <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> are but for Provi&s;ion, ei|ther in Food or Conveniencies for <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">: and &s;o from his Maje&s;ty to the meane&s;t, all are more or <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> concerned, <HI>The King mo&s;tly;</HI> not only in that his People are by th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> mo&s;t imployed and provi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed for, (nor in that &s;uch a Staple Trade the li<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e whereunto the Wooll hath not maintained with &s;o good Advantage;) but becau&s;e &s;o gre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t a Revenue comes directly into him up<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters"> the Trade, occa&s;ioned thereby: Thus as the King gains, or &s;uffers <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word">, &s;o the Per&s;ons that have the greate&s;t E&s;tates or Trades, and &s;o <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> proportionable to the Beggar. And al&s;o concerning that an accu&s;to|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ry thing begets &s;uch an habit that is hard to reduce; as in our rough and und<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;t Cloth to <HI>Holland,</HI> &s;o it will be with all our Manufactures in <HI>France.</HI> I am the more large in the Demon&s;tration of this affair, not only becau&s;e this hath co&s;t me many years labour and &s;tudy to con&s;ult all &s;orts of concerned Per&s;ons, be&s;ides mine own experience about it; <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> becau&s;e it is &s;o hard to convince people of the me<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t capacity, but &s;ome of the wi&s;er &s;ort, how to cure this di&s;mal malady: which &s;ome di&s;pairing of, have rather thoughts of &s;etting up &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> other Manufacture (in Lieu of endeavours to prevent the exportation of Wooll and Manufacturing of that at home, look|ing thereon as a thing not to be overcome,) as that of Linnens in &s;ome capable parts of <HI>England,</HI> and a better in provement in the product of For|reign Plantation, which may al&s;o be &s;et upon together herewith as an Ad|dition; &s;o as &s;everal &s;orts of Per&s;ons may be &s;et better on worke, not ca|pable of this employment, and yet no prejudice to this of Clothing: For all other Countries have the Advantage of <HI>England,</HI> or a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e equal to us in other Manufactures proper to their Countries, but not in this of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> h|i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">g: and it will be found that all Trades in <HI>England,</HI> wholly di&s;tinct from this of Clothing, brings not the tythe of the Advantage that this doth.</P>
<P>Having given an Account in General, of the <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 word"> to <HI>England</HI> b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> the Woollen Manufacture, I did intend to have decended to Parti|culars, how all Per&s;ons are Concerned: But my time will not permit now; Leaving that for another &s;ea&s;on.</P>
<PB N="9" REF="7">
<P>Notwith&s;tanding what I have before &s;aid, I find by Di&s;cour&s;e with &s;everal Gentlemen of great Honour and Worth, that there are &s;ome Mi&s;takes yet remaining in their minds, who Impute the Cau&s;e of the low Price of Wooll, the fall of <HI>Rents,</HI> and value of Lands; becau&s;e Wooll is no more freely exported; to rectifie which mi&s;take I have been labour|ing many years, becau&s;e the con&s;equences of &s;uch mi&s;taken Notions is dan|gerous to this Kingdom; but if there was nothing more in it at this conjuncture, this were &s;ufficient to oppo&s;e it, that it contributes to the Greatne&s;s of the <HI>French</HI> King, into who&s;e Dominions our Wooll is imported, and who hath given &s;o great an encouragement thereunto, that to the Town of <HI>Caellis</HI> alone, there hath been at lea&s;t, within two years, brought in 40 Thou&s;and Packs of Wooll, from the Coa&s;t of <HI>Kent</HI> and <HI>Su&s;&s;ex</HI> (be&s;ides what is imported in other places of <HI>France,</HI> from <HI>Ire|land,</HI> and the we&s;tern Parts of <HI>England</HI>) for <HI>Rumney<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">mar&s;h-Men</HI> (who &s;o much complain) are not content only with the Exportation of their own Grouth, but buy Wooll 10 or 20 Miles up in the Country, and bring it down to the Sea &s;ide, and Ship it off; be&s;ides much Wooll is carried from <HI>London,</HI> to make a Trade of Exporting of it un-manufactured: <HI>Kent</HI> is the place, out of which more Wooll is exported, than out of all other parts of the Kingdom be&s;ides; &s;o the Woollen-manufacture in that Countrey, which before Wooll was &s;o much exported, was con&s;iderable, is now almo&s;t lo&s;t, tho' &s;ome &s;eems to be well plea&s;ed, that they have by that Means, rid them&s;elves of their Poor in that County: I would de&s;ire &s;uch to con&s;ider, what they would do with their Sheep, Bullocks, and Corn, if all other Countryes that now are employed in the woollen|manufacture, which is brought to <HI>London,</HI> and there &s;old to maintaine Trade was as Barren of the Poor as <HI>Kent</HI> is, tho' with it, they have lo&s;t the benefit of &s;o great and good Trade: Give me leave to compare the Pro|fit with the Lo&s;s, and &s;uppo&s;e <HI>Kent</HI> was wholy Independant, and that it did produce Six Thou&s;and Packs of Wooll yearly, and put the Rate of Ten Pounds upon a Pack, which in the whole amounts to Three&s;core Thou&s;and Pounds, and &s;o exported. And then to con&s;ider, what it would be worth <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">f made into Stockings and wor&s;ted Stuffs, that wooll being mo&s;t of it fit for it. And &s;uppo&s;ing that a Pack and half of rough wooll, made one Pack of Kembed wooll, and as &s;uch worth Twenty Pound, which if made up into Stockings, would Yeild one Hundred and Twenty Pounds, as be|fore demon&s;trated, which would amount to Seven Hundred and Twenty Thou&s;and Pounds; &s;o that if the &s;aid Wooll was Manufactured in that County, the profit by the Manufacturing thereof, would be &s;ix hundred and &s;ixty Thou&s;and Pounds, which in&s;tead of this Profit, the <HI>Kenti&s;h</HI> Gen|tlemen are willing to content them&s;elves, with fourty &s;hillings <HI>per. Pack</HI> ad|vance
<PB N="10" REF="8"> upon their Wooll exported, which amounts to but Twelve Thou|&s;and Pounds, tho' it be only to the enriching and &s;trengthening the <HI>French</HI> King, who alone has the Benefit of mo&s;t of the Wooll exported, and tho' this in rea&s;on &s;hould be &s;atisfactory to any, yet I &s;hall An&s;wer that que&s;tion, how we can work up the Wooll if not exported, Matter of Fact is not often di&s;puted, that it is matter of Fact, that before there was &s;uch great quantities of Wooll Exported to <HI>France,</HI> all the Wooll grown in <HI>England,</HI> and what was imported from <HI>Ireland,</HI> was all made up into one &s;ort of Manufacture or other, and a great part of it exported to <HI>France,</HI> which now having our Wooll, Prohibits ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter"> Manufacture; &s;o, that were the wooll wholy &s;topt, we &s;hould quickly work it up, and then no complaint of wooll upon hand. For I have known for &s;everal years together, when little wooll has been exported, that at Sheering-Time, there hath been but a very &s;mall quantity of wooll left on hand.</P>
<P>Give me leave further to add, that by the &s;aid Exporiation of Wooll to <HI>France, Exeter</HI> alone, hath lo&s;t the &s;ale of Three Hundred Thou&s;and Pounds worth of the woollen-manufacture <HI>P. An.</HI> next is the lo&s;s of a great part of the Cottens and Bays, made <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">n <HI>Dorcet&s;hire,</HI> as al&s;o Cloth-Ra&s;hes in <HI>Hamp&s;hire,</HI> from the Town of <HI>Hampton</HI> and <HI>Rum&s;y,</HI> two thirds of the Trade is lo&s;t in 20 Years time, next may be con&s;idered <HI>Welch</HI> Cot|tens, <HI>Manche&s;ter</HI> Bayes, and <HI>York&s;hire</HI> K<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">s, wor&s;ted &s;tuffs and &s;tockings, formerly a great Trade to <HI>France;</HI> And la&s;t of all, fine broad mixt Cloth from <HI>London,</HI> which Trade is now lo&s;t, for one Merchant in <HI>London,</HI> that had the buying of Fifty Thou&s;and Pounds <HI>worth</HI> of Cloth <HI>Pr. An.</HI> Sterling, now have nothing, which is the effect of Exportation of wooll to <HI>France;</HI> who as they have ta&s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ed the &s;weetne&s;s, and have &s;ound the Sinues of our Trade, &s;o they have not &s;pared any Co&s;t to gain it from us, by getting our wooll, either by Craft or Force from us, for there was not more Art and Skill u&s;ed by <HI>K. Edw. 3d.</HI> in bringing home the Ma|nufacturers at the fir&s;t to the wooll, than is now u&s;ed to Export our wooll; the con&s;equence of which is not only I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">jurious to us in the manufacturing of it in <HI>France,</HI> but in another Advantage to them, by the Improving every Pack of Raw wooll, as before hinted, by their &s;ine-&s;pun Linning and Cour&s;e wooll (otherwi&s;e only fit for Ruggs, or Seamens Garments) that it makes as much manufacture as three Packs, if u&s;ed in <HI>England,</HI> which together by the Cheapne&s;s of wages under &s;els us, and without our wooll, the <HI>French</HI> can make no middle &s;ort of Cloth, nor Stuffs, or Stock|ings, there being none in the Known parts of the world, to my be&s;t In|formation, fit for tho&s;e manufactures, which is the greate&s;t Trade in <HI>Europe.</HI> for confermation, give me leave to add the words of an <HI>Engli&s;h Merchant,</HI>
<PB N="11" REF="8"> living in <HI>France,</HI> in a Letter to a Friend of mine here, dated the 16 of <HI>March</HI> 1669, (viz.) <HI>we</HI> Engli&s;hmen, <HI>have our Throats Cut with our own Weapous, wondering at the Stupidity of the</HI> Engli&s;h, <HI>that they &s;hould &s;o long omit, to po&s;&s;e&s;s the King's Maje&s;ty with their Deplorable and dangerous Ca&s;e, in re&s;pect of the pre&s;ent and future Inconveniency thereof, in having &s;uch great quantities of Wooll that is &s;tolen into</HI> France, <HI>by which the</HI> French <HI>Make Cloth called Serge-de-Berry, in which they Cloath their</HI> Soldiers, <HI>and all made of</HI> Engli&s;h wooll, <HI>by which Means, the</HI> Engli&s;h <HI>Men have the Reputation of be|traying their Father for two pence, than no Marvel if they betray their Coun|try.</HI></P>
<P>And in another Letter from the &s;ame Per&s;on to my &s;elf, dated the <HI>5th.</HI> of <HI>March</HI> 1671, Re&s;pecting Stockings, thus (viz.) <HI>I have much rea&s;on to believe, unle&s;s &s;ome are made Examples, there will be a continual Abu&s;e of the Comodi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">y, both</HI> Engli&s;h <HI>and</HI> Iri&s;h, <HI>raw and kembed, abound much in the&s;e Countries, that they make abundance of Fabricks, and without our wooll they cannot make it. There is a City called</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ourney, <HI>that makes all &s;orts of woollen</HI> S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">ockings, <HI>it's but few Years ago, that they betook them&s;elves to it; a Trade which in my</HI> Minority, <HI>was con&s;iderable from</HI> London <HI>into the&s;e Countrys, but it's now lo&s;t; it is not above three Years ago, that there was a Scarcity of kembed Wooll in that quarter of the Country, and could have contemedly given double the Price for the &s;aid Wooll; I tould them care was then taking in</HI> England <HI>to prevent it.</HI> I Remembred at that time (<HI>viz</HI>) the beginning of the Year 166<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">, upon my Addre&s;s to <HI>K. Char. 2d.</HI> by the Importunity of &s;ome Merchants in <HI>Exon,</HI> for &s;ome Friggats at Sea, and a Party of Hor&s;e at Land, and &s;trict Orders then given, as at large el&s;e-where doth appear, a great &s;top was then put to that mi&s;cheif, but I being di&s;couraged, and al&s;o falling Sick in 1671, that Wooll was then Ex|ported in great plenty, that the &s;ame Gentleman &s;aith. <HI>That Wooll abound|ed, both</HI> Engli&s;h <HI>and</HI> Iri&s;h, <HI>that it fell in few Months one third part of its Price, and there he concludes thus,</HI> (viz.) <HI>you may ea&s;ily &s;ee how</HI> Englands <HI>Hearts-Blood is drawn from them; in a word</HI> France <HI>rejects our Fabricks at this day, pre&s;uming they &s;hall never want our wooll to make their own Fabricks, which are &s;o variable, as puts a gre<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">t &s;top to the Current demand, that u&s;ed to be of our Sollid Fabricks, for which they will pretend to give the Mode to all the world; and &s;o by this Means, in time all the world will be di&s;gu&s;t with our Fabricks, when they &s;hall receive the Mode from the</HI> French, <HI>con|&s;ider this I pray, that &s;o there may be &s;ome &s;peedy Remedy.</HI></P>
<P>What hath been done in pur&s;uance of this Letter, I have el&s;e where wrote at large; I &s;hall here only incert the main Objections, made a|gain&s;t what I have here A&s;&s;erted, (<HI>viz.</HI>)</P>
<PB N="12" REF="9">
<P><HI>1st. That for want of vending our &s;uperfluous wooll abroad, that the Tenant and Landlord are &s;o much damnified, that the one cannot pay his Rent, nor the other &s;u&s;tain his Taxes; and this is the chiefe&s;t, if not the &s;ole Rea&s;on of &s;inking our Rents, and throwing up of Farms, and the Mi&s;ery of the whole Country.</HI></P>
<P><HI>2d. That it is much more the Concern of the Nation, to pre&s;erve the Nobi|lity, and Gentry, rather than regard a few Artifficers, who are employed in the working up the wooll, or the Merchant who gains by the Exportation of our Manufacture.</HI></P>
<P><HI>3d. That it will be more for the Advantage of our woollen Trade, and le&s;s for that beyond the Sea, than the hindring of it hath been.</HI></P>
<P><HI>4th. That if a large Cu&s;tom was put upon all wooll that was exported by Strangers, and that at lea&s;t by this Means, they may come to pay double the Price of what our Clothiers do, and not only &s;o, but by this Means al&s;o, His Maje&s;ty may receive an advantage by the Cu&s;toms, that is Impo&s;ed upon it.</HI></P>
<P><HI>5ly. That our Fore-Fathers did never Prohibit the Tran&s;portation of Wooll, unle&s; upon &s;ome great Occa&s;ion, and for a certain Sea&s;on, till of late Years,</HI> for making good of which, a Summary of &s;everal Statutes are brought, from the Time of <HI>Edward</HI> the 3d. downwards, to our Times.</P>
<P><HI>6th. That the decay of our Clothing, doth not lie in the Exportation of our wooll, but on the contrary, (viz.) becau&s;e our wooll is not more freely Exported than it is, that in as much as the decay and fell of our Manufacture, comes properly from the Prohibition of our wooll, the &s;topping or hindring of it, is but the applying to our di&s;temper a wrong Remedy.</HI></P>
<P>To all which Objections, I make the <HI>Reply</HI> following, which I de&s;ire may be Impartially con&s;idered; and if therein, there be any thing of Rea|&s;on, Truth, or Argument; I que&s;tion not, but that Per&s;ons of Honour and Reputation, will not oppo&s;e their own Judgment, e&s;pecially when their Intre&s;t is truly, and &s;o nearly therein concerned.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="reply">
<PB N="1" REF="9">
<HEAD>A REPLY To a Paper INTITULED, REASONS For a Limited <HI>EXPORTATION</HI> OF WOOLL.</HEAD>
<P>I Mu&s;t need &s;ay, that I had not thought of appearing in Pub|lick any more, and could not ea&s;ily have been moved there|unto, had not my Zeal to the Commerce of the Nation (which is at pre&s;ent &s;olely maintained by the Woollen Manufacture of it) Rai&s;ed my fears &s;o far as to believe a great Prejudice is coming upon Us, and &s;o far as to doubt al&s;o that we may be ha&s;tning of it, by tho&s;e very means we would endeavour to prevent it.</P>
<P>And therefore I cannot but like the dumb Child &s;peak, when he &s;aw a Knife at his Fathers Throat, I mean, when I con&s;i|der the extremity we are like to be in from the <HI>French</HI> Kings Vigilancy, and the great Endeavours that he hath of late u&s;ed to acquire the making of the Woollen Manufacture in his own Kingdome, and what Artifice and va&s;t Expence he doth u&s;e to effect his &s;aid de&s;ign, both in <HI>France,</HI> and by his Agents here in <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P>And to encourage the Manufacture thereof in his own Kingdom, he hath even very lately i&s;&s;ued forth his Edict, for the erecting Ho&s;pitals in many Towns in <HI>France,</HI> both for the &s;etting all &s;orts of Per&s;ons at work, (that are able) in the
<PB N="2" REF="10"> Woollen Manufacture, and for the Maintenance of all Indigent Per&s;ons, and not to &s;uffer a Begger there.</P>
<P>And if the <HI>French</HI> King, how fair &s;oever he pretends a Friend|&s;hip to us, by Defining by all wayes and means, to Under|mine our Commerce, and by it to prejudice us in our Trade and Strength by Sea, I may I hope be pardoned, if I am more that indifferently concerned, or more than ordinary warm, to think that we our &s;elves &s;hould endeavour to perfect His De|&s;ign by delivering up our Wooll, the Foundation of &s;o Rich a Manufacture, into His hands; for that which is moved, is moved principally (if not &s;olely) for the <HI>French</HI> Kings advan|tage, and that which is de&s;ired (if granted) tends to our own Inevitable ruine.</P>
<P>Nor can we hereafter thinke of &s;o Vain and Idle a Thing, as to recover our Woollen Manufacture once lo&s;t, or to pre&s;erve the Kings Cu&s;toms, or the Strength and Shipping of this Great Kingdom without it.</P>
<P>Upon all which con&s;iderations, I cannot but humbly entreat the Nobility and Gentry, (and more e&s;pecially &s;uch as have the Honour to &s;erve their Country, in Parliament) &s;eriou&s;ly to reflect upon the wi&s;dom of that Great Prince, King <HI>Edward</HI> the 3d. and upon the Method which he in his Reign u&s;ed, now &s;o long &s;ince to gain the Woollen Manufacture out of <HI>Flanders</HI> into this Countrey, and withal Impartially compare that with the pre&s;ent de&s;igne of the <HI>French</HI> King, <HI>viz.</HI> to Im|prove His Intre&s;t hear to gain the Trade from us.</P>
<P>And then to Con&s;ider whether, we have not Rea&s;on to do the utmo&s;t we may to Prevent his De&s;ign, or whether we have Rea&s;on to do all that we can (nay more than he him&s;elf doth ask or expect from us) by a Law to promote and Incourage his De&s;ign.</P>
<P>We mu&s;t be very &s;hort-&s;ighted, if we under&s;tand not that after he hath &s;upplyed his own Country, he will not only en|deavour, but will &s;oon be able, to &s;upply <HI>Flanders, Portugal, Spain,</HI> and the <HI>Streights,</HI> to gain an Advantage to his own Sub|jects; for if we may break the Laws of Commerce, and lay
<PB N="3" REF="10"> what Impo&s;itions he plea&s;eth upon our Cloth, and all other our Native Commodities, even while we are at Peace with him, why may he not al&s;o lay an Impo&s;ition upon all our Ships that pa&s;s the <HI>Streights,</HI> or that &s;hall dare to Trade or bring the &s;ame Commodities that he doth in any Port of <HI>Italy,</HI> or <HI>Turkey,</HI> where the Subjects of his Greatnes comes? And when our Commerce is lo&s;t and our Manufacture gon, and our Ships im|po&s;ed upon that &s;hall pa&s;s the Seas, what &s;hall be left to de|fend our &s;elves in ca&s;e we will not al&s;o receive his Codex, or what&s;oever he &s;hall (for the greatne&s;s of his name) thinke fit to require of us.</P>
<P>All which things, whether they be convenient not only to be wi&s;hed but to be Contributed to by a Law, I humbly leave to my Opponents them&s;elves to judg. For when the Trade that not only brings &s;uch a Revenue to his Maje&s;ty, but is the Riches and Strength of this Kingdom &s;hall be lo&s;t, as is now attempted, what Way or Means may we as Rational Per&s;ons, think (on) to prevent any of tho&s;e Mi&s;chefs before mention|ed.</P>
<P>This General being permi&s;ed, I &s;hall now enter upon the <HI>Di&s;cour&s;e</HI> it &s;elf: the main Aim or Scope of my Antagoni&s;t di|vides it &s;elfe into two Parts, the one to prove that there ought to be a <HI>Limited Tran&s;portation of Wooll;</HI> the othe that by a <HI>Li|mited Tran&s;portation of Wooll</HI> the Price of it may be <HI>Rai&s;ed:</HI> and by the <HI>Rai&s;ing</HI> of this, the Rents of Lands, may and will be encrea&s;ed, and his Maje&s;ties Cu&s;tomes greatly Advanced; and if the&s;e things were Really Practicable, I &s;hould not only be &s;o Ju&s;t to my Self, and to my <HI>Opponents,</HI> but &s;o Ju&s;t to the <HI>Na|tion,</HI> as not to put Pen to Paper to trouble the Reader, and much le&s;s to expo&s;e my &s;elf to a Stage of Contention, as I am now like to do; but for as much as the quite contrary will (if I mi&s;take not) apear, I &s;hall therefore Examine and Weigh tho&s;e Rea&s;ons and Grounds which my <HI>Opponent</HI> hath brought for tho&s;e <HI>A&s;&s;ertions.</HI></P>
<P>Whereas my Opponent doth endavour to Alarm the Nation, <HI>that for want of the vending our &s;uperfluous</HI> Wooll <HI>abroad, that the</HI>
<PB N="4" REF="11"> Farmer <HI>and</HI> Landlord <HI>are &s;o much damnified, that the one cannot pay his Rent, nor the other &s;u&s;tain his Taxes; and that this is the chiefe&s;t, if not the &s;ole Rea&s;on of &s;inking our Rents, and throwing up Farmers, and the Mi&s;ery of the whole Country.</HI></P>
<P>This Con&s;iquence is not allowed, that being a&s;&s;igned for a General Cau&s;e, which is but one among&s;t many, and that a ve|ry &s;mall one, the true Cau&s;e of the abateing the Price of Land and le&s;&s;ening the Rents, &s;hall be given in the An&s;wer to the next pretence in this Head; (Viz.) <HI>That it is much more the Con|cern of the</HI> Nation <HI>to pre&s;erve the Nobility, Gentry, and tho&s;e that the</HI> Land <HI>of this Country belongs unto; rather than regard a few Artifficers, who are employed in the working up of the</HI> Wooll <HI>of this Nation, or to regard the Merchant, who gains by the Exportation of our Manufacture.</HI></P>
<P>I Humbly crave leave to &s;ay, that the &s;aid Argument doth wholy depend upon a Suppo&s;ition, which is no way fit to be Granted, (<HI>Viz.</HI>) as if the Intre&s;ts of the <HI>Merchant, Mariner</HI> and <HI>Arti&s;icer,</HI> were not only Oppo&s;ite to, but wholy Incon&s;i&s;tent with the <HI>Nobility, Gentry</HI> and <HI>Farmers,</HI> whereas there is no|thing more evident than the contrary; &s;o that the whole Ar|gument it Self falls for want of a Foundation. For the clearing of which let us con&s;ider, that in as much as it is Impo&s;ible, that we &s;hould defend our &s;elves, as an I&s;land, otherwi&s;e than by the &s;trength of our Shipping, and &s;eeing this is much le&s;s po&s;ible to be done now, at &s;uch a Juncture of Time when our neare&s;t Neighbours do (partly out of Fear, and partly out of Emulation) multyply Shipping upon us, and u&s;e all endeavors that are po&s;&s;ible to gain the Dominion of the Sea from us, it is hence clear, that we mu&s;t either &s;ay, that the Intre&s;t of the <HI>Nobility, Gentry,</HI> and <HI>Farmer,</HI> is not the &s;ame with the Intre&s;t of the Nation, or if it be the &s;ame with the Intre&s;t of the Na|tion, it mu&s;t be their Intre&s;t then, to uphold the Trade and Shipping of this Country, and Con&s;equently to uphold the Merchants.</P>
<P>But for as much as all that under&s;tand Trade, do well know that all the Commerce of this Nation, doth for the value and
<PB N="5" REF="11"> bulk of it, Intirely depends upon the <HI>Woollen-Manufacture,</HI> Con|&s;equently it mu&s;t be the Intre&s;t of the <HI>Nobility, Gentry,</HI> and <HI>Farmer,</HI> to uphold the <HI>Woollen-Manufacture,</HI> as much as 'tis to uphold Trade, or to uphold the Strength of our Shipping by Sea. For what will the Lands of the <HI>Nobility</HI> and <HI>Gentry</HI> pro|fit them? or what will become of the Priviledges and Rights of <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Men, if through the Lo&s;s of our <HI>Woollen-Manufacture,</HI> we Loo&s;e our Trade, and by the Lo&s;s of this we want Ship|ping to Defend our Selves?</P>
<P>To this Argument let us al&s;o add, that if there be no oppo|&s;ition between the Intre&s;t of the <HI>Nobility</HI> and <HI>Gentry,</HI> and the Intre&s;t of the <HI>Farmer,</HI> (as no Man doth pretend there is) than there can be no Opo&s;ition between the Intre&s;t of the <HI>Nobility</HI> and <HI>Gentry,</HI> and the Intre&s;t of the <HI>Artifficer,</HI> who Works up the <HI>Wooll</HI> of all the Country.</P>
<P>For be&s;ides the Profit that doth ari&s;e to the <HI>Nobility</HI> and <HI>Gentry,</HI> by the Hou&s;es which are taken, and by the Lands that are Rented by the <HI>Clothiers,</HI> and by the Workmen under them it's well known, that the &s;aid <HI>Clothiers,</HI> and Workmen are Servi&s;eable to the Farmer, not only for the buying up of his Wooll, but for the buying up all manner of Victuals al&s;o; by the which not only one, but all the parts of the Farmers Rents come to be di&s;charged, one <HI>Clothier</HI> Imploying not only one, or two Hundred Per&s;ons, but &s;ometimes one or two Thou&s;and; and Con&s;equently, if we &s;hall admit that there are in <HI>England</HI> not above five Thou&s;and <HI>Clothiers,</HI> and that each of the&s;e (one with another) do maintain but two Hundred and Fifty Work|men, the whole will amount to upward of one Million; whereof if we allow for each of the&s;e People but four pound <HI>Per. An.</HI> one with another; the whole will amount to between four and five Millions of Pounds Sterling <HI>Per. An.</HI> which Yearly Sum the Farmer doth Immediatly recieve, and Con&s;e|quently the <HI>Nobility</HI> and <HI>Gentry,</HI> from the Poor and Contempt|ible <HI>Artificer,</HI> over and above what is further Contributed by them to the <HI>Shoomakers, Taylors,</HI> and other <HI>Trades,</HI> that could not live and be Maintained without them, nor the Farmer himel&s;, if all the&s;e <HI>Trades</HI> &s;hould Fail.</P>
<PB N="6" REF="12">
<P>And this leads us al&s;o, to take notice of another mi&s;take in my <HI>Opponent,</HI> and &s;uch as is no &s;mall one, which is, that in as much as it is Matter of Fact, and &s;uch as may be clearly de|mon&s;trated; that there is at lea&s;t if not much more than a <HI>Mi|lion</HI> of Per&s;ons, employed in the <HI>Clothing-Trade,</HI> and hath their dependance wholly upon the &s;aid <HI>Manufacture:</HI> It's hence eve|dent, how much my <HI>Opponent</HI> hath mi&s;taken him&s;elf in &s;up|po&s;ing, that though our <HI>Clothing-Trade</HI> &s;hould be lo&s;t, yet all the Per&s;ons that are now employed in it, might find work from the Farmers, fore&s;eeing it's Matter of fact, that the Farmer is able to &s;upply him&s;elf with as many Labourers, and more than he hath occa&s;ion for, without &s;o much as medling with that of the <HI>Clothing-Trade:</HI> It mu&s;t unavoydably follow; that if our <HI>Manufacture</HI> &s;hould be totally lo&s;t, as there will be above a <HI>Mil|lion</HI> of People; that mu&s;t either Starve or Beg, or be put to the Charge of &s;everal Pari&s;hes, or be forced to Steal or Rob, or leave the Kingdom; &s;o it's as evident that the Farmer after all this, will not only be le&s;s able to employ Labourers, than he was before, but le&s;s able to pay his Landlord, by four or five <HI>Millions</HI> every Year.</P>
<P>And when &s;uch an Abatement as this &s;hall be made of the Farmers Income: I &s;hall leave it then to any wi&s;e Man to Con|&s;ider what will become of the Price of Lands, or Value of Rents, and how much this will advantage the Grower or Breeder of Wooll? and to make good this Computation, and free it from all Su&s;pi&s;ion of Slightne&s;s, we will further offer to Con&s;ideration, that what&s;oever is the true Vallue of all the Woollen-<HI>Mannfacture</HI> of <HI>England,</HI> the <HI>Nobility, Gentry,</HI> and <HI>Commonalty</HI> do receive among them, near, if not more than Nine Parts of Ten. For ina&s;much as all who are well acquain|ted with the <HI>Clothing-Trade,</HI> do know that it is not a Tenth Part of the Profit, nor &s;ometimes the Twentieth that is gain|ed by the <HI>Clothier,</HI> or fir&s;t <HI>Employer,</HI> who frequently loo&s;eth of the very Intre&s;t of his Mony; con&s;equently it mu&s;t of ne|ce&s;&s;ity follow, that Nine of the Ten Parts, if not Nineteen of Twenty Parts of the whole Value of the &s;aid <HI>Manufacture</HI> mu&s;t
<PB N="7" REF="12"> be di&s;tributed to the Nation; &s;o that admitting the whole <HI>Woollen-Manufacture</HI> of this Nation, comprehending <HI>Cloth, Stuffs, Bays, Stokings,</HI> and all other of the &s;aid <HI>Manufacture,</HI> do amount to Four <HI>Milions</HI> of Pounds <HI>Sterling</HI> Per. An. (more or le&s;s) there will not come of that Great Sum to the <HI>Clothier,</HI> or fir&s;t Employer, much above <HI>Two Hundred Thou&s;and</HI> Pound (if &s;o much;) &s;o that <HI>Three Millions</HI> and <HI>Eight Hundred Thou&s;and</HI> Pounds Per. An. mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be di&s;tributed to the Nation by Virtue, of the &s;aid <HI>Clothing-Trade;</HI> whereof we cannot but &s;uppo&s;e the <HI>Farmers,</HI> and therefore the Nobility and Gen|try mu&s;t receive the greate&s;t Part.</P>
<P>It is well known al&s;o, that it is &s;olely by our Trade, that not only this Great City of <HI>London</HI> it Self, but &s;everal other Large Cities of this Nation do wholly Depend; and which, if our Trade were removed, they would &s;oon be de&s;erted by their re|&s;pective Inhabitants.</P>
<P>And then we cannot but offer to Con&s;ideration, where the Nobility, Gentry, or Farmer, would find a Market for their Commodities, or find a Price an&s;werable to them.</P>
<P>All which Particulars I have been the larger in, to remove that Mi&s;take, which is almo&s;t as Di&s;tructive to the Nation, as the <HI>Pe&s;tilence</HI> it Self; which is that mentioned by my <HI>Opponent (Viz.)</HI> that the Intre&s;t of the <HI>Merchant,</HI> or the Intre&s;t of the <HI>Clothier</HI> and <HI>Artifficer</HI> is not Con&s;i&s;tant with the Intre&s;t of the <HI>Nobility</HI> and <HI>Gentry;</HI> the contrary being made &s;ufficiently to appear.</P>
<P>Another thing Alleged by my <HI>Opponent,</HI> is, <HI>that a Limited Exportation of</HI> Wooll, <HI>will be more for the Advantage of our</HI> Wooll|en <HI>Trade, and le&s;s for that beyond the Sea, than the hindring of it hath been.</HI></P>
<P>Which A&s;certion, if my <HI>Opponent</HI> had Really, Sufficiently, and Effectually made good, he might ju&s;tly have Merited the Name, for being the greate&s;t Ma&s;ter of Rea&s;on in <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P>And indeed &s;eeing a <HI>Paradox</HI> more &s;trange, and more hard to be Conceived, could not ea&s;ily be &s;tated, I could not but ex|pect, that &s;ome Arguments more Remarkable than ordinary,
<PB N="8" REF="13"> would Immediatly have followed it, but finding (contrary to my Expectation) nothing beyond a bare Affirmation, <HI>that if Strangers had a Liberty to Buy what</HI> Wooll <HI>&s;oever they plea&s;e, they would Pay Dearer for it, then they do, and that our Clothiers would therefore have it the Cheaper, and by this Advantage would be able to under-&s;el the Strangers in their Manufacture:</HI> I &s;ay finding little or no thing more; to be brought, either by way of Rea&s;on, or Argument, to maintain this Parradox, I was &s;oon convinc|ed that it remained as uncapable to be proved as it was before, and a little to evidence the Improbability of the &s;aid Con&s;e|quence, we &s;hall here offer &s;ome few Rea&s;ons to the Con|trary.</P>
<P>And <HI>Fir&s;t</HI> I crave leave to &s;ay, that it's no way likely that the Grower in any part of <HI>England,</HI> &s;hould not be willing to get the utmo&s;t Price for his <HI>Wooll</HI> that he can, and therefore not likely that any Grower what&s;oever, will &s;ell his <HI>Wooll</HI> to the Natives of this Countrey, for le&s;s Price than he pre&s;umes he may have of Strangers: And therefore not at all likely, that our own Manufacturers &s;hould Buy it Cheaper than others,</P>
<P><HI>Secondly.</HI> Admiting that it &s;hould be made Unlawful, for any Strangers to Buy up Wooll, till &s;uch a time or &s;ea&s;on of the Year, to the end that our Clothiers might fir&s;t Provide them|&s;elves of what they need, yet it would no way follow, but Strangers may have their Agents and Factors here, that may Purcha&s;e it at the &s;ame ea&s;e, with the &s;ame conveniancy, and at the &s;ame Rates that our Clothiers are like to do, nor can I perceive any thing propounded by my <HI>Opponent,</HI> that would be able in the lea&s;t, either to Prevent, or Obviate it.</P>
<P><HI>Thirdly.</HI> And this great Omition in my <HI>Opponent,</HI> I could not but take the more notice of, becau&s;e if no <HI>Expedient</HI> can be found out by him (which I doubt there will not) to prevent Strangers, from giving what Commi&s;&s;ions they plea&s;e, to Buy up what Quantities of Wooll &s;oever they think fit, here in this Country; as I &s;ee not how, or by what meanes, the Ex|portation of our <HI>Wooll,</HI> &s;hould be any way po&s;&s;ible to be <HI>Lim|mited,</HI> &s;o neither do I &s;ee how the <HI>Clothier</HI> here &s;hould be &s;uffici|ently;
<PB N="9" REF="13"> certainly Furni&s;hed, or how the <HI>Manufacture</HI> it &s;elf &s;hould be Capable of being any way pre&s;erved, and if the&s;e Mi&s;cheifs, and Inconveniencies cannot but follow, and cannot but be a Nece&s;&s;ary Con&s;equences of &s;uch a Law, as is pro|pounded by my <HI>Opponent;</HI> and that nothing to Obviate or pre|vent the&s;e Inconveniences, hath been either Regarded, or &s;o much as attempted by him, I cannot but take it to be a very great Blot to his Judgment, barely and boldly to Offer at &s;uch a thing, which is attended with &s;o much Hazard.</P>
<P><HI>Fourthly.</HI> Becau&s;e my <HI>Opponant</HI> &s;eems to put his chiefe&s;t Stre&s;s in this, (Viz.) <HI>that a large Cu&s;tome may be put upon all</HI> Wooll <HI>that is Exported by Strangers, and that at lea&s;t by this meanes, they may come to Pay double the Price of what our</HI> Clothiers <HI>do, and not only &s;o, but by this means al&s;o, his Maje&s;ty may receive an Ad|vantage by the Cu&s;tome, that is Impo&s;ed upon it.</HI></P>
<P>To try the weight or &s;trength of this Expedient, or rather to &s;hew the Vanity of it. Let us &s;uppo&s;e that <HI>3d. or 4d. Per</HI> Pound, &s;hould by a Law, be Impo&s;ed upon all Wooll, that &s;hall be Shipt out by Strangers; or others, as it will not follow, that the &s;aid Cu&s;tome &s;hould be Paid to his Maje&s;ty, for one half of the Wooll, that &s;hall be Paid to his Maje&s;ty, for one half of the Wooll, that &s;hall be &s;o Shipt out: Seeing under the Colour of one Hundred Packs, many Hundred may be Export|ed. So this will much the le&s;s follow, from the very Ob&s;ervation; which my <HI>Opponent</HI> him&s;elf hath made, of the nature of the <HI>Stealers</HI> or <HI>Tran&s;porters</HI> of Wooll; for if as he Confe&s;&s;eth they will be content with <HI>12d.</HI> a day profit &s;o they may play the <HI>Merchants;</HI> and if they are content to run the hazard of their Necks, and to be tryed as Fellons, for &s;o &s;mall a matter as this amounts to, which cannot be above 8, or 10s. upon a Pack, how much more then, will they be encouraged to &s;teal the Cu&s;tom of it when their excu&s;e &s;hall be fairer, and their ad|vantage much greater, and the hazard le&s;s a hundred times then now it is? but in the <HI>fifth</HI> and <HI>la&s;t</HI> place, let us admit for Ar|guments &s;ake, that if <HI>4l.</HI> was impo&s;ed upon every Pack of Wooll that was Tran&s;ported, and let us admit, that all this Cu&s;tome was duely Paid, yet I &s;ee not the lea&s;t Ground for my
<PB N="10" REF="14"> <HI>Opponents</HI> Confidence, that we &s;hall for this Cau&s;e be able to underfell the <HI>French,</HI> in the Woollen-Manufacture.</P>
<P>For be&s;ide that the Nature of their Manufacture being but flight; and &s;uch as takes up much le&s;s Wooll than ours doth, and a great part of their warps, being made of their fine &s;pun Linnin and their own cour&s;e Wooll: I &s;ay be&s;ides this, the Impo&s;itions that have been of late, Arbitrarily put upon all our Woollen-Manufacture in <HI>France;</HI> and con&s;idering al&s;o there is no Cu&s;tome at all put upon Wooll there, when Imported, both the&s;e will utterly prevent, our &s;elling the &s;aid Manufacture there, Cheaper than the <HI>French</HI> can make it, though they &s;hall not only give double, but treble the Price, that we our Selves do give for Wooll.</P>
<P>The next thing Alledged by my <HI>Opponant</HI> is, <HI>that our Fore-Fathers did never Prohibit the Tran&s;portation of Wooll, unle&s;s upon &s;ome great Occa&s;ion, and for a certain Sea&s;on, till of late Years,</HI> for makeing good of which, a Summary of &s;everal Statutes, are brought from the Time of <HI>Edward</HI> the 3d. downwards to our Times.</P>
<P>For an&s;wer to all which Statutes, I &s;hall make u&s;e of no other Argument, than what my <HI>Opponent</HI> him&s;elf hath put into my Mouth, which is; that Wooll was for many Ages, by the Wi&s;dom of the Government, at lea&s;t very often Prohibited; and that when&s;oever the Government it &s;elf &s;aw, there was a greater Occa&s;ion than ordinary for it, they did alwayes Prohi|bit it; and Con&s;equently, if the Intre&s;t of the Nation at pre|&s;ent be &s;uch, and the circum&s;tances relating to our Neighbours about us, be not only &s;o great, but &s;o In&s;tant and Importune, that the&s;e two con&s;idered, there will be much more Rea&s;on, and much more Nece&s;&s;ity, for the Prohibiting of it now, than formerly.</P>
<P>Then all that my <HI>Opponent</HI> labours at, in producing In&s;tances of other Kinds, and where the Circum&s;tances are not the &s;ame, falls wholly to the Ground; for the clearing of which, let us con&s;ider, that the Circum&s;tances peculiar to this pre&s;ent Time are, that we have not only been Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed for many Ages of the
<PB N="11" REF="14"> <HI>Manufacturing</HI> of our Wooll, but have of late &s;o Improved our Trade and Commerce by it, that we have Exported it by Shipping of our own, not only into <HI>France, Portugal</HI> and <HI>Spain,</HI> but into <HI>Italy, Turkey,</HI> and to the remote&s;ts Parts of the World.</P>
<P>By which means, as our Wealth came greatly to Increa&s;e, &s;o we our &s;elves become more Powerful in Shipping than ever, which greatne&s;s of our Trade and Strength of our Shipping be|ing not only Ob&s;erved, but forthwith Emulated by &s;ome of our Neighbours, and &s;eeing it was likewi&s;e clearly di&s;cerned, that the chiefe&s;t means for the Maintenance of it proceeded from our Woollen-Manufacture, as the <HI>Hollander</HI> therefore fir&s;t, &s;o the <HI>French</HI> &s;ince, have by many undue Lawes and Pre&s;|&s;ures upon us, contrary to the Ancient Treaties of Peace and <HI>Commerce,</HI> endeavoured to Rob the &s;aid Manufacture from us.</P>
<P>Nor is the &s;tate of the Conte&s;t now at pre&s;ent between us only, who &s;hall have the Trade, but who is fitte&s;t to have the Strength and Dominion of the Sea.</P>
<P>Wherefore if my <HI>Opponent</HI> be not only an <HI>I&s;lander,</HI> but &s;o much an <HI>Engli&s;h-Man,</HI> and be &s;o true a Subject to the Intre&s;t of his Maje&s;ty, which I doubt not but he is, as to think there is none &s;o fit as his Maje&s;ty to Command the Sea, then my <HI>Opponent</HI> mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity grant, that nothing ought at this time to be done by us, that may hazard the greatne&s;s of our Trade and Commerce, and Con&s;equently, that nothing ought to be &s;uffered by us, (&s;o far as we are able in any wi&s;e to pre|vent it) that may either le&s;&s;en or endanger our Woollen-Ma|nufacture, and Con&s;equently, if nothing can &s;o much hazard it, and hazard the very lo&s;s of our Trade, and of the Domini|on of the Sea it &s;elf through it, as the countenancing and con|tributing to the Woollen Manufacture now &s;et up in <HI>France,</HI> then this is not to be done by us, but is rather, if we will pur|&s;ue the Intre&s;t of the Nation, by all means to be prevented by us.</P>
<P>And Con&s;equently till my <HI>Opponent</HI> &s;hall be able to make it appear, that the Dominion of the Sea, if lo&s;t, will be no great harm to us, or till he make it appear, that we are able to keep
<PB N="12" REF="15"> the Dominion of the Sea; even, notwith&s;tanding our Trade and Commerce &s;hould be utterly lo&s;t, and notwith&s;tanding our Woollen-Manufacture, &s;hould be wholly carried away by our Neighbours.</P>
<P>Or till he make it appear by other Arguments than hitherto he hath done, that the <HI>French</HI> though they encrea&s;e their Wooll|en-Manufacture, will neither be able to Under-&s;ell us abroad, nor be able to prevent our <HI>Clothes</HI> and <HI>Stuffs</HI> from going into <HI>France,</HI> as formerly.</P>
<P>I &s;ay till my <HI>Opponent</HI> &s;hall be able to make good all the&s;e things, I mu&s;t crave leave to differ from him wholly, and plainly to affirm on the contrary.</P>
<P N="1">1. That the Tran&s;portation of Wooll, if allowed by a Law, can no way be Limited. Becau&s;e if the Tran&s;portation of Wooll &s;hall be allowed by a Law, no means, (&s;peaking ra|tionally) is able to prevent the <HI>Hollanders, Flandrians,</HI> and <HI>French,</HI> to give each of them &s;uch Commi&s;&s;ions as they plea&s;e, to Buy up here what quantity of Wooll &s;oever, they &s;hall think fit.</P>
<P N="2">2. In regard that this can no way be prevented, and that my <HI>Opponent</HI> him&s;elf offers not the lea&s;t grain of an Expedient towards it: I therefore farther affirm, that it cannot appear that our <HI>Clothiers</HI> or <HI>Manufacturers</HI> here, &s;hall have the lea&s;t Priviledg above the Stranger; either in poynt of Provi&s;ion, or point of Price.</P>
<P N="3">3. That our <HI>Clothier,</HI> or <HI>Manufacturer</HI> here, mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity have a far greater di&s;advantage, with reference to the furni&s;h|ing him&s;elf, than the Strangers abroad, in regard it cannot be thought, he &s;hall be able to rai&s;e any &s;uch &s;tock of Money as the Stranger can, to prevent the Strangers Fore&s;taling of him; and Con&s;equently (if it be Lawful to talk Rea&s;on) there can be no ground to Imagin, that our Manufacture &s;hould not in &s;hort time be utterly lo&s;t, and this being lo&s;t, as our Trade and &s;trength at Sea mu&s;t be Inevitable lo&s;t with it, &s;o not only the Honour, Welth and Rents, but the very Priviledges, Li|berty, and Property of the Nation, mu&s;t be hazarded to &s;uch
<PB N="13" REF="15"> Strangers as &s;hall carry away the Trade and &s;trength from us.</P>
<P>As to the next Allegation made by my <HI>Opponent, (Viz.) that the Tran&s;portation of</HI> Wooll, <HI>will better his Maje&s;ties</HI> Cu&s;toms: I &s;ee but little in it that may require my An&s;were to it, inas|much, as I have &s;poken already to this, under the <HI>Fourth</HI> head: Neverthele&s;s I mu&s;t crave leave to &s;ay, that my <HI>Opponent</HI> here al&s;o goeth upon an extraordinary Mi&s;take, it being not at all in di&s;pute between us, whether his Maje&s;ties Cu&s;tomes would be bettered if a Sub&s;idy were paid only for that Wooll that is now Exported, in&s;tead of having it all &s;tollen: But the di&s;pute be|tween us &s;trictly is what his Maje&s;ties Cu&s;tomes will hereafter amount to, Comparatively to what they at pre&s;ent are, in ca&s;e there &s;hould be a Law for the free and Unlimited Expor|tation of Wooll, and that by rea&s;on of this Law, and the Con|&s;equences that mu&s;t follow from it, our <HI>Woollen-Manufacture</HI> &s;hall come to be wholly and entirely lo&s;t: For it becomes not a wi&s;e <HI>Man</HI> (and &s;uch I mu&s;t in Civility Judge my <HI>Opponent</HI> to be) in making &s;uch Propo&s;als as tend to the altering of Lawes, to look at the pre&s;ent only, but to look more principally at the time to come.</P>
<P>And therefore it is not in this ca&s;e at all, to be con&s;idered what the advantage will be, that may come to his Maje&s;ties Cu&s;tomes for a few moneths, or a &s;ingle <HI>Year,</HI> but it is to be con&s;idered, what the advantage or di&s;advantage will be to his Maje&s;ties Cu&s;tomes for the time to come; admitting the&s;e In|conveniencies, which I have before mentioned to be unavoid|able, from the Law which is Propounded by my <HI>Opponent.</HI></P>
<P>Be&s;ides my <HI>Opponent</HI> cannot doubtle&s;s be &s;o Ignorant, as not to have Con&s;idered, that the greatne&s;s of his Maje&s;ties Cu&s;t|omes (which is at this Day greater than ever) is not at all Rai&s;ed Comparatively from the Export but from the Import, which is 10. if not 20. times greater than the Export, the Val|lue of all which Import mu&s;t proportionally fall, as the quan|tity of our Manufactury &s;hall faile to be carried out, and as our raw and unwrought Wooll alone &s;hall in&s;tead of it be Export|ed,
<PB N="14" REF="16"> and Con&s;equently to pretend that by &s;uch a Law as is de|&s;ired, his Maje&s;ties Cu&s;tomes would be advanced, is either greatly to betray Ignorance, or greatly to betray the Revenues of the Cu&s;tomes it &s;elf.</P>
<P>The next thing alledged by my <HI>Opponent</HI> is, <HI>that the cau&s;e of the decay of our</HI> Clothing <HI>doth not lie in the Exportation of our</HI> Wooll, <HI>but on the contrary,</HI> (Viz.) <HI>becau&s;e our</HI> Wooll <HI>is noe more freely Exported than it is, and that we may be &s;ure not to mi&s;take his Sen&s;e, herein he further adds, that ina&s;much as the decay and fall of our</HI> Manufacture, <HI>comes properly from, the Prohibition of our</HI> Wooll, <HI>the &s;topping or hindring of it is but the applying to our Di|&s;ea&s;e a wrong Remedy.</HI></P>
<P>Which Argument, had it been brought by a Stranger, we &s;hould immediately have turned it into Merriment, as &s;up|po&s;ing that he thought us &s;uch Children, that any thing would ea&s;ily Deceive us? but being brought by a Gentleman, and an <HI>Engli&s;h</HI>-Man, I confe&s;s I could not po&s;&s;ibly think what might be the meaning of it, unle&s;s it were, that my <HI>Opponent</HI> was re&s;olved to cro&s;s the Proverb for a while, and by a piece of Wit to make it appear, that it is not always <HI>True,</HI> that <HI>Intre&s;t cannot Lye;</HI> for that nothing can be more contrary to <HI>Truth,</HI> than what is here alledged, or more again&s;t the Intre&s;t of the Nation, and of an <HI>Engli&s;h</HI>-Man than what is here A&s;&s;erted, (if that be the very Intre&s;t of my <HI>Opponent</HI>) is mo&s;t Clear.</P>
<P>For if it be <HI>True</HI> which my <HI>Opponent</HI> faith, <HI>that the decay of our</HI> Clothing-Trade, <HI>is not from our Exportation of</HI> Wooll, <HI>but rather the Contrary, becau&s;e no more of our</HI> Wooll <HI>is not Carried out Raw and</HI> Un-Manufactured, it mu&s;t follow then, by how much the more our <HI>Wooll</HI> is thus Exported, by &s;o much the more our Manufacture will not only be Pre&s;erved, but Encouraged, and the Rea&s;on for this mu&s;t needs be, that if we are once rid of our Wooll, and have got a good Price for it, we need not trouble our heads &s;o far as to Imagin, that they who Buy it will do any thing with it, but only will lay it up to look upon it: For if we &s;hall Seriou&s;ly Believe that they will have &s;o much Wit as to make U&s;e of it, and to make U&s;e of it as becomes
<PB N="15" REF="16"> Rational Per&s;ons, in order to the Increa&s;e of their own <HI>Clo|thing</HI> by it, we cannot be &s;o &s;otti&s;h as to think, that they do intend after this to Buy our Manufacture any more, but do on the contrary de&s;ign to prevent, and &s;hut out the Importati|on of it, as a thing not Expedient for them.</P>
<P>And if this and no other be really the intent of Buying up of our Wooll by our Neighbours, then mu&s;t it not nece&s;&s;arily follow, that by how much the more Wooll they have, by &s;o much the more Manufacture they will make for the Furni&s;hing them&s;elves, and Furni&s;hing their Neighbours, and then by &s;o much the le&s;s Place, or Po&s;&s;ibility, there will be that we &s;hould be able to Furni&s;h them, and then al&s;o by &s;o much the greater &s;top mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity be put to the Vending our own <HI>Cloths:</HI> And is it not plain that by how much the le&s;s we Vend of our Manu|facture, by rea&s;on of the Increa&s;e of it abroad in other Places, by &s;o much the more our Manufacture mu&s;t decay: Not only in point of Price, but in point of its Nece&s;&s;ity and U&s;e?</P>
<P>And is it not then as manife&s;t, that by how much our Ma|nufacture Decayes, our Trade mu&s;t Decay, and our Welth mu&s;t Decay, and the Strength of our Shipping mu&s;t Decay, and we our &s;elves mu&s;t be the more made a Scorn, a Prey, and a Laughing-&s;tock by it to our Neighbours: And if all this be not for the Intre&s;t of the Nation, but the contrary wholly, is it not plain that my <HI>Opponent,</HI> &s;eeing he is an <HI>Engli&s;h</HI>-Man, and &s;eeing it is for the Intre&s;t of the Nation that he Writes, doth cro&s;s the Proverb, and give us a Demon&s;tration by his thus Arguing, that Intre&s;t may now and then Lye, though not alwayes?</P>
<P>But in the next place, to try whether my <HI>Opponent</HI> be in ear|ne&s;t, or not, let me humbly Beg of him, to tell me truly, why tho&s;e naughty Men that U&s;uerped the Gouernment in the <HI>Year</HI> 1647. did upon &s;uch Penalties &s;trictly Prohibit the Exportation of our Wooll; if he faith, it was becau&s;e they were not only Rebels, but Men of no Rea&s;on, and Under&s;tood not the Intre&s;t of the Nation: Will he not by this brand many of the Parlia|ment al&s;o that now &s;its? who though they did not Confirm
<PB N="16" REF="17"> the Rebels Law, did think fit at lea&s;t to mak a new Law to the &s;ame purpo&s;e, even &s;oon after his Maje&s;ties mo&s;t happy Re&s;toration.</P>
<P>Granting then that the Laws now in force of the <HI>12 and 14</HI> of his Maje&s;ties Reign, were not made by other, than by the Wi&s;e&s;t and mo&s;t Loyal Per&s;ons of this Nation, the &s;aid Per&s;ons mu&s;t con&s;equently have &s;ome grounds or other for making of the &s;aid Laws, and if we may gue&s;s at their grounds by their own words in the preambles of the &s;aid Lawes, they appear mainly to be the&s;e three following, <HI>(Viz.)</HI></P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. For the &s;etting on Work the Inhabitants of this Realm.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. For the Improving the native Commodities of this Country, to its bea&s;t, fulle&s;t, and utmo&s;t u&s;e.</ITEM>
<ITEM>3. And that the advantage accruing hereby might Redound to the Subjects of this Kingdom, and not to the Subjects of forreign Realms, as hitherto, and as it would, and mu&s;t otherwi&s;e do.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<P>WHerefore, either the&s;e <HI>Three</HI> grounds, when the &s;aid Lawes were made, were either good and &s;ufficient Motives for the Prohibiting our Wooll, and for the laying &s;o great a Penalty upon &s;uch as &s;hould Export it, or they were not: if my <HI>Opponant</HI> &s;hall &s;ay, they were not good and &s;ufficient Grounds, then he mu&s;t &s;ay that the Wi&s;dom of the&s;e Honourable and Loyal Per&s;ons, who at that time &s;erved in Parliament, were indeed not much better than that of the U&s;urpers of the Government in the <HI>Year</HI> 1647. But if the &s;aid grounds were Good, Valid, and Sufficient, and &s;uch as did both Regard and Comprehend the True and Sincere Intre&s;t of the Nation; then my <HI>Opponent</HI> mu&s;t confe&s;s, that the &s;aid Laws ought to Stand, or he mu&s;t &s;hew wherein the Ca&s;e is altred now, from what it was then, with reference to the &s;aid Motives or Grounds, that the &s;aid Parliament then went upon, in making the &s;aid Laws. For,</P>
<P N="1"><PB N="17" REF="17">1. If my <HI>Opponent</HI> can make it appear by Letters that he hath lately received, that the <HI>Hollanders</HI> have laid down their Wooll|en-Manufacture, and that they in <HI>France</HI> are alltogether grown Sick and Weary of it, and that the <HI>French</HI> King hath wholly forbidden it, and hath relea&s;ed all the Impo&s;itions that he hath of late <HI>Years</HI> put upon it, then I mu&s;t needs confe&s;s the Ca&s;e is al|tered, and that the &s;aid Laws ought Ju&s;tly to be Repealed; or,</P>
<P N="2">2. If my <HI>Opponent</HI> hath received Information from &s;ure and good Hands, that the <HI>Hollanders</HI> make u&s;e of no other Wooll than that of their own Grouth, though they breed few or no Sheep; and that he hath al&s;o received Information from good and &s;ure Hands, that the <HI>French</HI> make u&s;e only of their own <HI>Wooll</HI> in all their Manufacture; or,</P>
<P N="3">3. If my <HI>Opponent</HI> can make it appear, that the &s;etting on Work the Inhabitants of this Realm, is not now a thing &s;o conveniant or fit, as it was when the &s;aid Acts were made; or,</P>
<P N="4">4. If the Improving the Native Commodities of this Coun|try to its be&s;t and utmo&s;t U&s;e, be found by Experience to be no good Policy, but to bring many Inconveniences with it; or,</P>
<P N="5">5. If it be much more advi&s;eable that Forreiners &s;hould go away with the Gain of our Manufacture, and with the &s;weet of our <HI>Trade,</HI> rather than that his Maje&s;tie's Subjects &s;hould have it, in all the&s;e Ca&s;es I mu&s;t confe&s;s, it mu&s;t Inevi|tably be for the Intre&s;t of the Nation to Repeal the &s;aid Acts, and lay them a&s;ide.</P>
<P>But on the other hand, if none of all the&s;e Five Ca&s;es can po&s;&s;ibly be put, and that tho&s;e very Rea&s;ons and Grounds do &s;till remain, and are the &s;ame now, which they were when the &s;aid Acts were made.</P>
<P>Then my <HI>Opponent's</HI> motion to Repeal the &s;aid Laws, mu&s;t be again&s;t the Intre&s;t of the Nation, or Intre&s;t doth not alwayes &s;pea&s;t True; which was the Paradox intended to be Argued by my <HI>Opponent.</HI></P>
<P>As it is clear then, that by both the&s;e Arguments, my <HI>Oppo|nent</HI>
<PB N="18" REF="18"> hath wholly mi&s;taken him&s;elf in the Cau&s;e of our Manu|factures decay, to evidence yet farther the manife&s;tne&s;s, and palpablene&s;s of this mi&s;take, we affirm that it is Matter of Fact, that our Woollen-Manufacture did greatly encrea&s;e after the &s;aid Prohibition of Wooll; and not only encrea&s;ed, but bore a good Price, and that I may not be found like &s;ome o|thers, who regard not the Credit of what they affirm (and particularly, like him who hath contracted the Arguments of my <HI>Opponent,</HI> and hath publi&s;hed them together in one Sheet of Paper) I will to ju&s;tifie what I &s;ay, appeal for the Truth of it, not only to the <HI>Cu&s;tome</HI>-hou&s;e Books, and to the quantity of Woollen-Manufacture there entred; but to the <HI>Gentry</HI> them&s;elves: And to the Price that the Land bore (and Vict|uals) for many Years together after the &s;aid Prohibition.</P>
<P>Yea, as our Manufacture did encrea&s;e for many Years toge|ther, after the &s;aid Prohibition of the Exortation of Wooll, &s;o it had to this day &s;till encrea&s;ed, had not tho&s;e accidents hap|pened, that laid &s;o effectual a Foundation for the ruine of it, as it was neither in the Power of the <HI>Clothier,</HI> nor in the Power of the <HI>Crown</HI> to prevent: I mean tho&s;e new and immoderate Taxes, which were laid upon our Manufacture by the <HI>French</HI> King, on purpo&s;e to encourage his own workmen to gain the &s;aid Manufacture from us; and on purpo&s;e to prevent our <HI>Cloth</HI> and <HI>Stuffs</HI> from being brought into his Country, (the Fruits of Exportation of Wooll) although we Yearly take of his Com|modities, to the value of above a <HI>Million</HI> of Pounds <HI>Sterling,</HI> and I meane in the &s;econd place, the making that unfortunate Act again&s;t the Importation of <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Cattle, which hath not only tended to the ruine of the Grower, but to the ruine of the <HI>Clothier,</HI> and to the ruine of the very Trade of <HI>England</HI> it &s;elf; and which if it &s;hould continue to &s;tand un-repealed, mu&s;t ne|ce&s;&s;arily, and inevitably ruine more and more: Both the <HI>Gen|try, Merchant,</HI> and <HI>Clothier</HI> every day.</P>
<P>And therefore as a further Proof of what I &s;ay I &s;hall give one in&s;tanca in&s;teed of many, and leave the Truth of it to be &s;trictly examined, and judged accordingly; which is, that
<PB N="19" REF="18"> &s;ince the &s;aid accedents have befallen us (I mean of the <HI>French</HI> Kings Arbitrary Impo&s;&s;itions upon us, and that Act again&s;t the Importation of <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Cattle) <HI>Exeter</HI> alone, hath lo&s;t of what it did formerly Vend, near, if not above <HI>three Hundred Thou&s;and</HI> Pound <HI>Sterling</HI> every Year; And if we &s;hall reckon Proportion|ably for all other Countries and Cities, we &s;hall then ea&s;ily &s;ee there is a Ju&s;t Ground for the Decay of our <HI>Woollen-Manufacture,</HI> and for the fall of the Price of our <HI>Wooll</HI> by it, and for the fall and ruin of our Rents, not as my <HI>Opponent</HI> Alleageth by rea&s;on of the Prohibition of Tran&s;porting our <HI>Wooll,</HI> but truly and real|ly by rea&s;on of the Multiplycation and Increa&s;e of our <HI>Wooll,</HI> to that degree, that the Exportation of it hath almo&s;t been Ne|ce&s;&s;ary, in the Judgment of &s;ome.</P>
<P>The &s;erious con&s;ideration of which true and real cau&s;e of the decay of our <HI>Manufacture,</HI> I &s;hall humbly leave to the Wi&s;dom of the Parliament. And &s;hall likewi&s;e leave it to their Wi&s;dom to be con&s;idered, whether in this Conjuncture of Affairs, and according to the Circum&s;tances which now attend Us, while our Neighbours do not only Emulate us, but are become actual Rivals with us, not only for our <HI>Clothing,</HI> but for our <HI>Trade</HI> it &s;elf; and for our Strength and Dominion at Sea, we &s;hall, or ought &s;o far to contribute towards the De&s;ign, and towards the Certainty and Effectualne&s;s of our own Ruine, to permit at any rate our <HI>Wooll</HI> to be Exported, and by this means make our Neighbours &s;corn the <HI>Commerce</HI> and <HI>Trade</HI> they formerly had with us, and thanked us for.</P>
<P>But if any Caveller &s;hould &s;ay that after all I cannot deny, but there is a &s;urplus of <HI>Wooll</HI> which cannot be wrought up by <HI>Clothiers</HI> at home, and that I offer not one word, how it &s;hould for the future be di&s;po&s;ed of: (I an&s;wer)</P>
<P N="1">1. That it appeareth not by any thing which my <HI>Opponent</HI> hath hitherto &s;aid, at lea&s;t not by any thing that he hath hither|to proved, that the <HI>Clothier</HI> either cannot or doth not work up the Wooll of the proper grouth of <HI>England</HI> to the full of it, but if a far greater quantity of Wooll be brought into <HI>England</HI> from <HI>Ireland</HI> then ever until of late Years, as the <HI>Clothier</HI> cannot be
<PB N="20" REF="19"> Re&s;pon&s;ible for his not Buying up all the Wooll which is &s;ent into <HI>England,</HI> &s;o neither can he or ought he to be Re&s;pon&s;ible for the Glut proceeding from the Importation of it, or for the cheapne&s;s of the &s;aid Wooll, by rea&s;on of the &s;aid Glut. Non. with&s;tanding which Glut I may pre&s;ume to &s;ay, (or at lea&s;t to &s;uppo&s;e) that if an account was taken both in <HI>Ireland</HI> and <HI>Eng|land</HI> before the time of &s;hearing, there will not be found one quarters Grouth, or at the mo&s;t 6 <HI>Months</HI> Un-Manufactured, in the greate&s;t Year of plenty of Wooll and dulne&s;s of Trade; which duly con&s;idered, doth require more care for a &s;tock be|forehand in <HI>England,</HI> and not to &s;uffer it to be Engro&s;&s;ed and Stored up in <HI>France</HI> and <HI>Holland</HI> as now it is: Which is the true cau&s;e of keeping our Markets low for our Manufacture, and con&s;equently that of Wooll al&s;o, which when our Trade &s;hall be revived and brought into the right Channel, will be Incouraged by a full Employment, we might finde a want of <HI>Wooll</HI> before the next &s;hearing; notwith&s;tanding our great complaint of a Surplus of <HI>Wooll,</HI> as it hath frequently accurd in <HI>Corn</HI> very lately, and more formerly as in Sr. <HI>Walter Rawly's</HI> Remains.</P>
<P N="2">2. If the proper and only way for removing all evil effects, be to remove their re&s;pective cau&s;es, and that this is and mu&s;t be acknowledged by all rational Per&s;ons, then con&s;idering what we have &s;aid before, and not only &s;aid but proved and made it appear, (<HI>Viz.</HI>) that the cau&s;e of the &s;aid Surplus of <HI>Wooll</HI> (with the Cheapne&s;s of it at pre&s;ent) among us, is partly from the <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Act that Prohibiteth the bringing in of live Cattle, and puts the Kingdom upon the Breeding of <HI>Wooll</HI> whether they will or no, and partly by the Decay of our Manufacture, through the &s;upply that we our &s;elves do make to our Neigh|bours of our own Wooll, for the Promoting of their Manu|facture, to the Ruine of our Selves.</P>
<P>The proper Remedy then, for the removeing the Cheapne&s;s of our Wooll on the one hand, and Employing our Poor, and Recovering of our Trade on the other hand, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be the Re&s;training the Export of it from <HI>Ireland,</HI> and from hence.</P>
<PB N="21" REF="19">
<P>And here I mu&s;t take the Boldne&s;s to &s;ay that where a Nati|on is not Rich in Mines of <HI>Gold</HI> and <HI>Silver,</HI> it is not capable of being Enriched any other way, than by its Manufacture.</P>
<P>And con&s;equently if it be from our Manufactures alone, that the Riches of this Nation comes, and if it be from our Manufacture chiefly that our Shipping is Imployed, and our <HI>Marriners</HI> bread, if it be from our Trading alone, and from the Riches which our Trading brings in, that his Maje&s;ties Cu&s;|toms are Rai&s;ed, and that our Fleet have been hitherto Built and Maintained, and the Dominion of the Seas hath been Pre|&s;erved, than it is and mu&s;t be from our Manufacture only that our <HI>Bullion</HI> hath been brought in, and that the Rents of our <HI>Nobility</HI> and <HI>Gentry</HI> doth Depend and are Su&s;tained.</P>
<P>And therefore it mu&s;t be granted me, that there is no higher Intre&s;t in the Nation, than that which pre&s;erves his Maje&s;ties Cu&s;tomes, and that which Su&s;tains the <HI>Nobillity</HI> and <HI>Gentries</HI> Rents, and that which Supports our Navy and Shipping.</P>
<P>Then in regard our Manufacture alone doth all this, our <HI>Manuf<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ture</HI> alone and the Encouragement of it mu&s;t nece&s;&s;ari|ly be the greater Intre&s;t of the Nation it &s;elf: And I mu&s;t crave leave to &s;ay that whoever placeth it in any thing elce (as the circum&s;tances of this Nation, &s;tands at pre&s;ent) mu&s;t either mi&s;|take the Intre&s;t of this Nation, or can be no Friend to <HI>England.</HI></P>
<P>Wherefore it mu&s;t needs be plain to every per&s;on, that not only the breeding of Wooll, but the di&s;po&s;ing of it, and the di&s;po&s;ing of it to mo&s;t Advantage, is mow become the Intre&s;t of the <HI>Nobility, Gentry, Yeomandry,</HI> and of all others what&s;oe|ver that have a concern for the good of <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Ireland,</HI> and it ought to be Indulged to none be&s;ides our Selves, who&s;e whole proper and intire Intre&s;t it is, to be Sole <HI>Manufacturers,</HI> or Workers of it.</P>
<P>This Satisfaction al&s;o I had to encourage me to reprint my Sentiments, and Ob&s;ervations (<HI>viz.</HI>) that by one Gentleman a true lover of his Country's Good; whome I take liberty to name for his Honour, which is <HI>Thomas Manly</HI> E&s;q. of <HI>Kent,</HI> who in 1677. publi&s;hed a Di&s;cour&s;e, &s;hewing how far Exportation
<PB N="22" REF="20"> of Wooll is Di&s;tructive to this Kingdom; who&s;e own words do be&s;t &s;hew his well grounded Judgment and faithful regard to <HI>Englands</HI> welfare, I Tran&s;cribe them as they &s;tand, as an an&s;wer to the &s;lender Rea&s;ons meanly alleadged in favour of Tran&s;portation of Wooll, which are as followeth; <HI>Viz.</HI></P>
<LIST>
<ITEM>1. <HI>Our &s;tore of Wooll</HI> (&s;ay they) <HI>is &s;o great, that we have &s;ufficient both for our &s;elves and Neighbours.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>Its free and unre&s;trained Exportation will occa&s;ion a greater encrea&s;e in its price, which will &s;u&s;tain our drooping Rents, and draw con&s;iderable &s;ums of Mony from abroad, for &s;o de&s;irable a Commodity.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>That tho we u&s;e all care imaginable to prevent its Exportation, yet our Neighbours, by means of our own People, draw great quantities from us.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>'Tis to &s;mall purpo&s;e to keep our wooll at home, for that</HI> Ireland <HI>&s;up|plies our Neighbours therewith to a great degree.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>This Prohibition of wooll is a new practice, unknown to us till within the&s;e twenty years, and yet before that time, both wooll and Drapery yielded the be&s;t Rates for above 60 years la&s;t pa&s;t.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>To the Fir&s;t <HI>I An&s;wer.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. That I conceive our Yearly encrea&s;e of Wooll is now no greater than when the Rates were double, nay treble, to what they now are; and if &s;o, the fall and meanne&s;s of the price pro|ceeds purely from the lo&s;s of Forreign Markets for our Drape|ry, and from our own for&s;aking the wear of it, and not from the quantity above what we had 30 or 40 years ago.</P>
<P N="2">2. 'Tis very manife&s;t how the Rates of Wooll the&s;e la&s;t 15 or 16 years, have graduly faln from bad to wor&s;e, and how as by degrees we have encrea&s;ed in the wearing of Silk, Cam|lets, and frow&s;ie <HI>French</HI> Drugets, and as our Neighbours, e&s;|pecially the <HI>French,</HI> have enlarg'd their Woollen-Manufacture by means of our Wooll, which they mix with theirs, ju&s;t &s;o have the Rates of this Commodity with us &s;unk almo&s;t beyond belief.</P>
<P N="3">3. That &s;eeing we have a multitude of People, who for want of employment, want bread, and that the price of Wooll here is &s;o low as to tempt us to let out that commodity, which the wi&s;dom of this Trading Age hath hitherto &s;ecured
<PB N="23" REF="20"> under Publick Prohibition, as being the prime fund of our Trade and Navigation, and which is &s;o nece&s;&s;ary to our active Neighbours, that no Laws, how Penal &s;oever, have yet total|ly debar'd them from it, what do we el&s;e by &s;uch a de&s;ign, but declare that henceforth, being not able to manage that Manu|facture, we abandon all thoughts of an advantagious com|merce, nece&s;&s;itate our people to live on us, or dye at our doors, and &s;urrender to our Neighbours that Manufacture for which we were &s;o notorious? is not, this at once, <HI>to ca&s;t the Childrens bread to &s;trangers;</HI> and to remain for ever without hopes to main|tain, after &s;uch a dereliction, any Manufacture which our Neighbours may have a mind to &s;natch from us?</P>
<P N="4">4. If our Neighbours could have Wooll as good to all intents and purpo&s;es, and as plentiful and cheap from other Countries, it might peradventure, be advi&s;able, how far we ought to keep ours at home; but the ca&s;e being otherwaies, and they (our Rivals) being not able to carry on that <HI>Manufacture</HI> effectually without it, it &s;eems a great mi&s;take and dangerous to &s;pare it on any terms.</P>
<P>To the &s;econd Rea&s;on; <HI>That it will occa&s;ion the Rates of</HI> Wooll <HI>to ri&s;e, and thereby &s;u&s;tain our drooping Rents, &amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>I An&s;wer.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. The were and u&s;e of Silk, Camlets, &amp;c. have &s;o far &s;up|planted that of Drapery in <HI>Europe,</HI> that we mu&s;t never ration|ally expect tho&s;e Rates for Wooll which were u&s;ually given 30 or 40 years ago.</P>
<P N="2">2. If we find bad markets for Drapery now Wooll is cheap 'tis very improbable our Neighbours will take &s;o much Wooll from us as to rai&s;e the price thereof to that degree as may &s;u&s;|tain our falling Rents; for the dearer we &s;ell them our Wooll the dearer they mu&s;t &s;ell their Drapery, and con&s;equently &s;ell &s;o much le&s;s; or el&s;e it will be our &s;hame or ill fortune that they &s;hall vent much Drapery made of dear Wooll, and we vend little or none, now Wooll is cheap.</P>
<P N="3">3. The more Markets our Neighbours &s;upply with Drapery, by means of our Wooll, the le&s;s Drapery we mu&s;t Export; the
<PB N="24" REF="21"> rea&s;on is, becau&s;e there is a certain and determined quantity of Cloth con&s;um'd by the Trading World; whence it mu&s;t ne|ce&s;arily follow that &s;o much Wooll as they receive from us, &s;o much le&s;s Drapery we our &s;elves &s;hall Export, and con&s;equent|ly the price of Wooll remain the &s;ame it was before tho&s;e Laws were repeal'd.</P>
<P N="4">4. Upon repealing tho&s;e Laws we may bid adue to the Ex|portation of Drapery; the rea&s;on is, becau&s;e our Neighbours live, worke and Navigate cheapter than we; and having once our Wooll in common, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily under&s;ell, and beat us out of Trade: It being a great mi&s;take to imagine that the Exportation of our Wooll and Drapery may con&s;i&s;t together; and as great a mi&s;take to &s;uppo&s;e that the pretended encrea&s;e of the Rates of Wooll occa&s;ioned by an allowance of its Ex|portation, may ballance the mi&s;chefs accruing thereby; be|cau&s;e <HI>a Pound of Wooll Manufactured and Exported, is of more worth to as by employing our People, than ten Pound Exported raw at double the pre&s;ent Rates;</HI> unle&s;s, which is not rea&s;onable to imagine, we could introduce &s;ome other better employment for them.</P>
<P N="5">5. If our Neighbours tread on our heels in this <HI>Manufacture,</HI> begin to &s;upply us with their Drapery at home, and to &s;up|plant us therewith abroad, having only their own cor&s;e Wooll; which they mix with ours obtained at dear rates (by rea&s;on of &s;ecrecy and many chargeable contrivances alwaies attending a Prohibited tra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">ick) there is no doubt, when once the prohibi|tion is removed, and they by that means plentifully &s;upply'd therewith (which in an open and allowed commerce is alwaies cheape&s;t) but that they will &s;oon beat us wholly out of that Trade, and by con&s;equence e're long out of all other Com|merce and Navigation to boot.</P>
<P N="6">6. The Exportation of our Wooll will be &s;o far from &s;u&s;tain|ing our drooping Rents, that tho we may Export the whole yearly grouth thereof, yet I conceive it will not an&s;wer the value of our Drapery, which hitherto we have yearly Export|ed, and by con&s;equence, &s;o much lo&s;s mu&s;t redown to us, as
<PB N="25" REF="21"> the Wooll Exported may be of le&s;s value than our Drapery; without any con&s;ieration had to the want of employment for our People, or to the in&s;ignificant Navigation which the Freight of Wooll will occa&s;ion, compared with that of Drapery; <HI>and how Politick it may be to le&s;&s;en the value of our Exits, which already are &s;o trivial, and &s;o exceedingly overballanced by Importations to fo|ment our luxury, I leave to the j<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">dgment of every Man, who con&s;i|ders that 'tis the Exportation of the Growth and Manufactures, which de&s;erves the name of Trade, and makes a Nation Rich.</HI></P>
<P N="7">7. But &s;uppo&s;e that by repeal of the Laws the value of our Wooll &s;hould ri&s;e con&s;iderably (which for the rea&s;ons already given is very improbable) whereby our Neighbours &s;hould be enabled to manage that important Manufacture, which other|wi&s;e they could never effect, mu&s;t it not nece&s;&s;arily follow, that as they enlarge their Drapery &s;o ours mu&s;t le&s;&s;en, and gradual|ly &s;hrink to nothing, our Navigation decline for want of &s;o &s;taple a Commodity wherewith to Traffick, our Trea&s;ure yet more conveyed abroad to manage a wanton and Luxurious Commerce, multitudes of our People who &s;ub&s;i&s;ted by that Manufacture Expo&s;ed to ruine, and as many in every Age, thereby becoming u&s;ele&s;s and poor, mu&s;t become chargable, and may become dangerous to the Kingdom: all which mu&s;t and will inevitably &s;ubdue our Rents to a degree far beyond any relief or benefit, we may rea&s;onably expect from any increa&s;e of the price of Wooll, occa&s;ioned by the repeal of our Laws: hence an experienced Merchant, who in other Com|modities was him&s;elf a great &s;mugler, us'd to &s;ay, that the of|fence of Exporting Wooll, was like that <HI>Sin not to be forgiven; (tho' of an higher Nature)</HI> nor can the injury then be le&s;s to the Common-Wealth if it go out by a Law?</P>
<P>To the third Rea&s;on for repealing our Laws; <HI>That our Neigh|bours with the help of our People, get great quantities of our Wooll daily from us, notwith&s;tanding tho&s;e Laws to the contrary.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>I An&s;wer.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. That &s;uch practices are &s;hewd evidences of what e&s;teem that commodity is among them, and that what is thus purloy|ned
<PB N="26" REF="22"> co&s;t the Receiver dear, by rea&s;on of &s;ecrecy, &s;ubtil contri|vances, &amp;c. as hath been already hinted, (for who will venture hanging for nothing?) which upon repealing tho&s;e Laws will come freely to them, without any &s;uch incumbrances, and con|&s;equently cheapter, whereby they may be enabled to conte&s;t with us in this important Manufacture on even Terms.</P>
<P N="2">2. Our Neighbours by the&s;e under practices either have or have not &s;ufficient of our Wooll already; if they have, there will be no need of repealing tho&s;e Laws, and we may ju&s;tly charge the pre&s;ent dullne&s;s of Forreign Markets for our Drape|ry, upon the Export of our Wooll by the&s;e vile practices; which mu&s;t needs grow wor&s;e when tho&s;e Laws are repealed; but if they have not enough by rea&s;on of the prohibition, let us thank the Laws for it; and yet ob&s;erve that 'tis a pregnant Argument that by our Wooll, thus unduly obtained, they manage a con&s;i|derable Manufacture, for it &s;eems <HI>they get great quantities from us;</HI> and that if they had more they would enlarge their com|merce, which mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily undermine and le&s;&s;en ours.</P>
<P N="3">3. It is better particular Per&s;ons do Acts hurtful to the Pub|lick again&s;t Law, than for want of a Law, becau&s;e this latter would reflect on the wi&s;dom of the Government.</P>
<P N="4">4. Should we repeal the Laws again&s;t the Exportation of Wooll, becau&s;e again&s;t Law Wooll is exported, we &s;hould tran|&s;cribe their wi&s;dom that would repeal Laws again&s;t Fellony, be|cau&s;e ill Men contrary to Law commit Robberies; or immitate tho&s;e who will not &s;hut their doors becau&s;e Thieves &s;ometimes break in at the windows.</P>
<P><HI>To the fourth Rea&s;on, That 'tis to &s;mall purpo&s;e to keep our Wooll at home, for that</HI> Ireland <HI>&s;upplies our Neighbours there|with, &amp;c.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>I An&s;wer.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. If this be true, it is to &s;mall purpo&s;e to permit its Ex|portation in hopes to put a better value on it, which is the mo&s;t avowed rea&s;on for the repeal: for if our Neighbours be plentifully &s;upplyed therewith from <HI>Ireland,</HI> where 'tis much cheaper at pre&s;ent than with us, (and probably ever will) there
<PB N="27" REF="22"> is &s;mall rea&s;on to expect better Rates for Ours: for who will give us &s;ix pence for that pound of Wooll, which in <HI>Ireland</HI> may be had for four pence? unle&s;s it may be granted that ours is better than that of <HI>Ireland;</HI> which few of the Adjutators will, for certain Rea&s;ons, be willing to confe&s;s.</P>
<P N="2">2. If the <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Wooll enables the Forreigner to carry on that Manufacture to a degree hurtful to us, we have &s;mall rea&s;on to a&s;&s;i&s;t them further therein by affording them ours, &s;eeing they enjoy advantages, too many already; lea&s;t we immitate tho&s;e good Men, who break the pot becau&s;e their Wives break the pitcher; ruine our &s;elves becau&s;e <HI>Ireland</HI> hurts us.</P>
<P>To the la&s;t Rea&s;on, that the prohibition of Wooll is a new practice unknown to us till within this twenty years, and yet before that time, both Wooll and Drapery yielded the be&s;t Rates, for above 60 years la&s;t pa&s;t.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>I An&s;wer.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. That 'tis very true, but it does not follow that the prohi|bition was therefore nece&s;&s;ary, or that the &s;ame brought a pre|judice upon either; but that other rea&s;ons already given,, mu&s;t be a&s;&s;igned for the fall and meanne&s;s of the Rates of tho&s;e Com|modities; it being no wayes que&s;tionable, but that the Ex|portation of our Drapery had long &s;ince expired, had not the prohibition of Wooll interpo&s;ed.</P>
<P N="2">2. Statutes are provided to an&s;wer the pre&s;ent emergence and rea&s;on of Affaires, and adapted to the occa&s;ion and Intere&s;t of the Age wherein they are made, &s;o that what was judged unnece&s;&s;ary in former Ages, may be of &s;uperlative u&s;e in this; and if the rea&s;on thereof again cea&s;e, may be as in&s;ignificant in the next.</P>
<P N="3">3. We had no need of &s;uch re&s;training Laws long before they were enacted; for till the peace of <HI>Mun&s;ter, England</HI> alone enjoyed almo&s;t the whole Manufacture of <HI>Europe:</HI> But <HI>France</HI> (who then al&s;o received Woollen-Drapery from us) agitated &s;ince that peace by a mo&s;t &s;agacious Coun&s;el (who under&s;tands the advantages of Manufactures and Navigation) and fild with
<PB N="28" REF="23"> an active nnd enterpri&s;ing People, 'has unhappily added that Manufacture to the many other advantages they enjoy for com|merce, above mo&s;t other Nations; and hath all things propi|tious for the managing thereof except fine Wooll, &s;uch as ours is, to mix with their own: Mu&s;t our Ance&s;tours proceedings then who were governed by rea&s;ons far different from ours, be pre&s;idents to us? or is it not rather high time to employ our ut|mo&s;t skill to retain &s;o nece&s;&s;ary a Commodity at home.</P>
<P><HI>I have lately met with one Merchant of no &s;mall pretences to the intrigues of Trade, who, although he will not allow that the Rates of Wooll may encrea&s;e upon the repeal of our Laws, (which is the prime rea&s;on alleadged for repeal of the prohibition) yet affirms that if the prohibition were removed, and due Impo&s;ts charged upon Wooll, it might thereby, better than the prohibition, be either retained at home, or rendred &s;o chargeable to our Neighbours, that we might have &s;uf|ficient advantages over them in that Manufacture.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>To which, <HI>I An&s;wer.</HI></HEAD>
<P N="1">1. That he which affirms all this, mu&s;t maintain, that either His Maje&s;ties Officers of His Cu&s;toms will be more indu&s;trious to Collect the Duties, and Impo&s;ts &s;o to be charged on this Commodity, than they were to make Seizures of it by vertue of the prohibition, tho' they had a Moyety of the Seizure, or that the Exporters will be more con&s;ciencious in paying His Maje&s;ties Impo&s;tes, than they were in obeying His Laws which prohibited the Exportation, tho' they ventured their Necks in|to the bargain, or that the Forreigner may be le&s;s de&s;irous of it after the repeal than before.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Impo&s;ts mu&s;t be either much, or little; if much, it may be worth venturing to &s;ave the payment; as is &s;o fre|quently practi&s;ed in payments of the like nature; but if they be little, the payment of them will be ea&s;ily ballanced, by the ad|vantages our Neighbours have over us in cheap dyet, labour, &amp;c. as has been already &s;hewed.</P>
<P><HI>If, to what has been &s;aid, it be replyed, that it is better Export Wooll, than neither Wooll nor Drapery.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>I Rejoyn.</HEAD>
<P>1. That it is &s;o, were it true that we Exported no Drapery,
<PB N="29" REF="23"> and remained without hopes of ever &s;haring again in Forreign Markets: but thanks be to God Matters are not yet arrived to &s;o ill terms, and probably never will, unle&s;s &s;ome a&s;piring Neighbour (who may de&s;ign to engro&s;s all Traffick) beat us out of the <HI>Mediterranean</HI> Sea, or that we let out our Wooll by a Law.</P>
<P>2. If we do yet more effectually provide to keep our Wooll at home, 'tis a thou&s;and to one but our Drapery will off: but if once we Export our Wooll by a Law (charge it with what Impo&s;t, and confine it to what Ports and &s;ea&s;ons you plea&s;e, as &s;ome vainly or &s;lily propo&s;e) we may bid an Eternal adieu to the Exportation of our Woollen-Manufacture.</P>
<P>Who will buy our Wooll, &s;eeing we &s;light it our &s;elves? will the <HI>French?</HI> to what end? to employ their People, and carry on a Manufacture as univer&s;al as their other de&s;igns, have they not of late charged our drapery with heavy impo&s;itions, meerly to di&s;courage its coming among them, the better to employ their own people? and mu&s;t we then return the civility with &s;uch advantage to them?</P>
<P>4. And la&s;tly, to Export our Wooll becau&s;e at pre&s;ent we want vent for our Drapery, is for ever to confirme in that want; and is a choyce like pulling down my hou&s;e for fear it may be burnt, or like hanging my &s;elf lea&s;t any other kill me.</P>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<HEAD>Thus far Mr. <HI>Manley;</HI> but before I Conclude, give me leave to ad one Te&s;timony more, Written by an unknown Author; under the name of a Letter from a Younger Brother in <HI>Ireland,</HI> to an Elder Brother in <HI>England:</HI> Occa&s;ioned by the Act again&s;t <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Cattle, Printed the &s;ame Year 77. the &s;um of which followeth, viz.</HEAD>
<P>THe <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">all of Rents, cheapne&s;s of Wooll, and decay of Manufacture in <HI>England,</HI> be|ing Sugje&s;ted to be principally occa&s;ioned by <HI>Ireland,</HI> the <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Cattle were thereupon Prohibited, by an Act of Parliament, and declared to be a publick Nu&s;ance.</P>
<PB N="30" REF="24">
<P>Admitting that &s;ome off tho&s;e Counties might be prejudiced by the Importation of <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Cattle, yet what&s;oever proffit accured to others by it, did upon the mutual ne|ce&s;&s;ities of all, &s;ettle into the common Stock of the Nation. And it &s;eems but rea&s;on|able that what&s;oever private obligation a Parliament-Man hath to the place where he is Elected, yet, when once he comes to &s;it, his Tru&s;t and his mind is enlarged, and he does no more con&s;ider him&s;elf as the Polititian of a Shere, or the Patron of a Borrough; but as a Repre&s;entor of the univer&s;ality: whereas otherwi&s;e, if any County, one or more chance to be more Fertile than other in Members of Parliament, and they Act by &s;uch narrow Mea&s;ures; the deci&s;ion would be by multitude, not by Rea&s;on.</P>
<P>And notwith&s;tanding if we were to tell Counties, tho&s;e that are not advantaged and are realy agrieved, make the greate&s;t plea, for if we account like Merchants by Proffit and lo&s;s, all the proffit that can be made (and that very &s;mall) by this Act, returns to &s;uch Counties which are proper for breeding, and that &s;mall proffit is l<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;t to them, if not much more by their Corn for want of Trade by it, and the whole Nation hath hereby lo&s;t in great mea&s;ure the vent of its home and Forreign Commodities to <HI>Irland,</HI> and the increa&s;ing product to <HI>England</HI> in general by <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Cattle, <HI>in Specia.</HI></P>
<P>But as to the Political Point, you did herein, as much as in you then lay to cut off all that &s;tronge as more Natural dependance of <HI>Ireland</HI> upon <HI>England,</HI> and to govern it rather by the force of Authority, than by the Influencial benignity of Intre&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Ireland</HI> being thus expo&s;ed, their Corn not fit for Tran&s;portation put them upon in|crea&s;ing their Flocks of Sheep, which produced great quantities of Wooll, by which means the price in <HI>England</HI> con&s;equently decrea&s;ed, through the whole Kingdome, though the <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Wooll with the duty in <HI>Ireland</HI> fraughts and Facturing, the Charges wear <HI>2d Per</HI> Pound, for that in the judgment of &s;ome, as the <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Cattle was grown to a Nu&s;ance &s;o the increa&s;e of Wooll occa&s;ioned by the Prohibiting Act, comes to the &s;ame Fate.</P>
<P>That as among our <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Gentry, who&s;e Rents depend upon the product of Wooll, doe find their E&s;tates by the late cheapne&s;s of it, much reduced, yet there are other rea&s;ons than <HI>Iri&s;h</HI> Wooll.</P>
<P>But than fir&s;t of the Manufacture in <HI>Ireland,</HI> about 20 years &s;ome We&s;tren Clothiers reduced to extream poverey, moved them&s;elves and their Families over into <HI>Ireland,</HI> invited by the cheapne&s;s of Wooll and Victuals there, which Errected then a <HI>Manu|facture</HI> at <HI>Dublin,</HI> which hath &s;ince increa&s;ed. About the &s;ame time 60 Families from <HI>Holland</HI> come to <HI>Lymrick</HI> which by the occa&s;ion of the &s;ucceeding Warr decayed; but after this more of the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Clothiers went over and fixed about <HI>Cork</HI> and <HI>King|&s;ale,</HI> where they continue and are grown not incon&s;iderable: &s;ome <HI>French</HI> have &s;ince re&s;orted to <HI>Waterford,</HI> to make Druggets there, and other Commodities of their fa&s;hion, and about a year or two agoe &s;ome Merchants of <HI>London</HI> rai&s;ed another Ma|nufacture at <HI>Clonmell,</HI> managing it by Agents.</P>
<P>But a more evident and certain rea&s;on of yours and our con&s;uming for want of vent or con&s;umption, is the wares with which formerly, and of late years <HI>Europ</HI> has ge|nerally been infe&s;ted, &s;o that in mo&s;t parts thereof which were &s;upplyed from you, the People have been much Impoveri&s;hed, and thereby nece&s;&s;itated to be their own Clo|thier fir&s;t and from thence Enabled, (indu&s;try increa&s;ing,) &s;ome of them to fur|ni&s;h their Neighbours. And to this &s;everal of your own Subjects have concurred, who either not finding them&s;elves well and ea&s;ie at home, or inti&s;ed over by greater pro|fit, have in&s;tructed Foreigners in the whole My&s;tery of Clothing, till they now have made it a &s;taple Commodity, thus by the reciprocation of humane Affairs, that Trade which the Warrs, upon the foreigners reffuge with you, fir&s;t introduced, is upon occa|&s;ion of the Wars recovered back again, and the Drapery re&s;tored to them in great mea&s;ure, even by the means of your own Subjects, furni&s;hing them with Wooll. But the grand Spring of this whole Matter lies in <HI>Frame,</HI> that King is a mo&s;t vigilent and
<PB N="31" REF="24"> Potent Prince &amp;c. for he hath made Warr with all <HI>Europe,</HI> with his Sword, again&s;t his E|nemies; but again&s;t his Frinds by Trafique; which is indeed as the more ju&s;t, &s;o the mo&s;t effectual way of de&s;troying them: But among all, none hath on this later account more &s;uffered than <HI>England,</HI> for be&s;ides the Wine which we purchas at mo&s;t Ex|ce&s;&s;ive Rates, and for the mo&s;t part with pure Money; and be&s;ides the&s;e Trinkets, of which we are &s;o fond, and to the making of which the <HI>French</HI> Genius was formerly Ad|apted, he hath now for many years, applyed his People to the more &s;olid Trades of Cloth, and Stuffs; indeed of all things valiable, embracing in effect, or in projection, the uni|ver&s;el Monarchy of Commerce; never did any Prince except ours, addict him&s;elf &s;o wholly to the encouragement of Trade and Navigation, &amp;c. To this he hath either wholly Prohibited, or, which is <HI>Tant<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="2 letters">neunt,</HI> laid &s;o exce&s;tive Impo&s;itions upon all <HI>Engli&s;h Manufacture,</HI> &amp;c that they are in a manner totally excluded, and you have no Commodity to exchange with, but whatever you have of his mu&s;t be Bought with a Peny, in&s;omuch that I have &s;een hear a particular, drawn up as tis &s;aid in your Parlia|ment; wherein they computed be&s;ides, the <HI>Lucrum Ce&s;&s;aerum,</HI> that your Nation &s;u&s;tains a clear lo&s;s of Eleven Hundred Thou&s;and Pounds Yearly by the <HI>French</HI> Trade; hereby the <HI>French,</HI> that were before, at be&s;t, but the <HI>Milliners</HI> of <HI>Europe,</HI> are now become, or pretend to be, the Cape <HI>Merchants,</HI> and their King gives, not only the Mode, but the Garment to all <HI>Chri&s;tendo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e;</HI> and the World puts it &s;elf into his Livery at their own Expences; well may you complain of the Death rather than the Deadne&s;s of your Manufacture, when from this Cau&s;e it receives &s;uch an ob&s;truction, even to Suff<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">cation, when you are not only deprived of that general and gainful v<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">nt that you had formerly in <HI>France</HI> it &s;elf, but in all other Places where you Traffique, you meete the <HI>French</HI> now at every turn; and the Forreign Po&s;t brings news from all Parts that they are before you, and have under&s;old you in the &s;ame Commodities.</P>
<P>And to this Di&s;ea&s;e &s;o Mortal, and which is beyond any privat Man to remedy, your &s;elves do more particularly contribute, by tho&s;e va&s;t quantities of Wooll which they tell us here, are daily and now more than ever Tran&s;ported for <HI>France</HI> (a thing that you always prohibited, but it &s;eems, at lea&s;t &s;ome of, you always Tole|rate) &s;o that in effect <HI>Calice</HI> is &s;till no le&s;s your Staple, than while it was formerly under the <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Dominion, I will not excu&s;e <HI>Ireland</HI> from the &s;ame Crime; altho' in le&s;s Proportion; but you have I hear, a <HI>Milicia,</HI> that in Defiance of all Authority, Convey their Wooll to the Shallop with &s;uch Strength that your Officers dare not offend them: While what&s;oever we do of that kind, is more Mode&s;t; and where&s;oe|ver it loo&s;es its way afterwards at Sea, it is fir&s;t entred for <HI>England,</HI> and pays, both the King's Duty and that to the Lord Lievtenant, for Licence; &s;o that as we cannot Trade, &s;o neither can we Steal with you on equal Terms; by this time I hope you are &s;atisfyed and convinced that <HI>Ireland</HI> de&s;erves not your Complaint, but your Pity; and that tho&s;e things which &s;ome have a&s;cribed to us, are but the common Calamity of both Nations, occa&s;ioned by the Flux of Humane Affairs and Accidents of the pre&s;ent Conjuncture thorow <HI>Europe;</HI> and therefore that you will not only con&s;ult how to re|dre&s;s our common Grievance, but that you will al&s;o remedy tho&s;e more particular Pre&s;&s;ures that we &s;uffer by or under you: Whether you will think fit to rever&s;e your Act again&s;t our Cattle, I know not; nor can I an&s;wer for the Effect that it would produce; but I have often ob&s;erved how gladly Waters that have been diverted, re|turn and fall into their former Channel.</P>
<P>Though I am no Politician, dare &s;ay in General, that it concerns you to u&s;e us kindly, and to Indulge us in all things that tend to Civilize, Cultivate, and People this Nation.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
