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<DATE>2014-07-31</DATE>
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<NAME>TCP Staff (Michigan)</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B140629.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B28698">
<STC T="W">R482b</STC>
<STC T="G">816.m.14[75]</STC>
<STC T="C">R224836</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99885697</BIBNO>
<VID>185528</VID>
</IDG><!-- alt.stc G816.m.14[75] --><!-- alt.stc Cr224836 -->
<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB REF="1">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>REASONS for a general Liberty to all Clothiers to <HI>Sell</HI> their Cloath <HI>When, Where,</HI> and <HI>As</HI> they plea&s;e.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Again&s;t the Re&s;trictions and de&s;igned Alterations of the methods of Trade in the Woollen Manufacture, in a Bill now depending in Parliament, for the better preventing the Exportation of Wooll, by altering the Pe|nalty, and for the pre&s;ervation of the Market at <HI>Blackwell-Hall,</HI> &amp;c.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<OPENER>Humbly Submitted to the Con&s;ideration of the Honourable Hou&s;e of Commons.</OPENER>
<P>WHAT is ob&s;erved in the Natural Body, holds true in Bodies Politick, either in the Whole, or any con&s;iderable Part thereof; <HI>(viz.)</HI></P>
<P><HI>That all Sudden Alterations are dangerous.</HI></P>
<P>The pre&s;ent <HI>Rule</HI> of Trade in the Woollen Manufacture for Exporta|tion, is, <HI>Allowing a General Liberty to all Clothiers to &s;ell their Cloath <HI>When, Where,</HI></HI> and <HI>As <HI>they</HI></HI> find the <HI>greate&s;t</HI> Encouragement, without any <HI>Re&s;trictions</HI> as to <HI>Time, Place,</HI> or <HI>Manner</HI> of <HI>Selling;</HI> and under this <HI>General Liberty</HI> the Woollen Marufacture hath mo&s;t flouri&s;hed in its Exportation, and more particularly in the <HI>Turky</HI> Trade, the mo&s;t advantageous Market for our Cloath. But &s;hould the de&s;ign'd-Alterations in the Bill depending be once e&s;ta|bli&s;hed, Two things (among&s;t many other Inconveniences) &s;eem to be the Natural Con|&s;equences; <HI>(viz.)</HI></P>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> None but the Rich Clothiers can Trade.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> Small Quantities will be then &s;old for Exportation, and at far dearer Rates than the now Price.</P>
<P>The Con&s;equence of the fir&s;t ill Effect will be the Ruin of many Hundred Cloathiers, and their more Numerous Dependants.</P>
<P>And the fatal Con&s;equence of the Rich Cloathiers &s;elling &s;o dear, mu&s;t in time ruin our Trade with <HI>Turky</HI> and other Parts, where the Markets would be &s;oon &s;upplied by other Nations upon much ea&s;ier Terms than our Merchants then could &s;ell their Cloath.</P>
<P>That Maxim in Trade relating to private Per&s;ons, <HI>Light Gain makes a Heavy Pur&s;e,</HI> holds undoubtedly true with re&s;pect to our <HI>Exportations;</HI> for when we can upon more ea&s;y terms than other Nations, &s;upply Foreign Markets with any Commodity, then we may hope to be (if not the &s;ole, yet) the mo&s;t General Traders; and tho our Gains in the <HI>Yard</HI> may be but &s;mall, yet our Profit in the <HI>Whole,</HI> by the va&s;t Quantities we &s;ell, will be very <HI>Con&s;iderable.</HI></P>
<P>It is an uncontroverted Maxim in Trade, <HI>The more Markets, the more Buyers, and the more Commodities are di&s;per&s;ed, the greater Quantities will be &s;old, than when confined to one Market.</HI></P>
<P>Whil&s;t <HI>Clothiers</HI> are at <HI>liberty</HI> to follow <HI>&s;uch</HI> Mea&s;ures in their Trade as they find mo&s;t con|ducive to their <HI>Intere&s;t,</HI> it &s;eems <HI>&s;trange</HI> and &s;carce credible, they &s;hould <HI>de&s;ire</HI> to be <HI>&s;hackled,</HI> and lye under <HI>&s;uch Re&s;trictions</HI> as <HI>this</HI> Bill would enact. If it was <HI>in fact</HI> the <HI>Intere&s;t</HI> of <HI>All <HI>Clothiers</HI></HI> (who &s;end Cloth to <HI>London</HI>) to &s;ell their Cloth <HI>only</HI> in <HI>Blackwell-Hall</HI> (as <HI>&s;ome</HI> would in&s;inuate) how comes it to pa&s;s that the <HI>Clothiers are the <HI>only</HI> part of Mankind that do not follow their Intere&s;t, when at <HI>Liberty</HI> &s;o to do. <HI>Intere&s;t will not lye,</HI></HI> but <HI>Plau&s;ible In&s;inuati|ons</HI> from &s;ome <HI>Gloce&s;ter&s;hire Rich De&s;igning</HI> Clothiers (the <HI>Chief</HI> Promoters of this Bill <HI>for their own <HI>Private</HI> Intere&s;t</HI>) <HI>may Err.</HI> And &s;eeing <HI>All Sorts</HI> of <HI>Clothiers</HI> do now <HI>in Fact</HI> u&s;e <HI>other</HI> Markets in Trade <HI>be&s;ides Blackwell-Hall, <HI>&s;uch</HI> their Practice</HI> is a <HI>&s;tronger <HI>Argument that the pre&s;ent Method of Trade</HI></HI> (which is now followed out of <HI>Choice,</HI> and <HI>not by Re&s;traint</HI>) is for the <HI>General <HI>Intere&s;t of that Trade,</HI></HI> than any <HI>Cunning Pretences</HI> or <HI>Colourable Arguments</HI> can prove to the <HI>Contrary.</HI></P>
<P>Whereas it was objected again&s;t the Packers, That they give too large Credit:</P>
<P>An&s;w. <HI>Credit is the life of Trade;</HI> and without <HI>Credit</HI> the Woollen Manufacture will &s;oon decay; and con&s;idering the <HI>greatne&s;s</HI> of the Trade, there is not <HI>one</HI> in&s;tance to be given of &s;o <HI>&s;mall</HI> Lo&s;&s;es in &s;o <HI>large</HI> returns.</P>
<P>And it is humbly conceived (for the Rea&s;ons before alledg'd) That &s;hould this Bill pa&s;s, the Exportation of Cloath would be much le&s;s than it now is, which would ex|tremely prejudice the Woollen Manufacture, and thereby much abate the Price of <HI>Wool.</HI></P>
<P>By the Title and Preamble of this Bill, the preventing the Exportation of Wooll &s;eems to be the main de&s;ign of the Act; but by the body of the Bill it appears that <HI>other things</HI> are therein chiefly intended; for it <HI>takes off</HI> the <HI>Greate&s;t</HI> Penalties again&s;t that Exportation, and Enacts <HI>Le&s;s Penal</HI> in their <HI>&s;tead.</HI> But the great drift of the <HI>Rich <HI>Gloce&s;ter&s;hire Clothiers</HI></HI> (the fir&s;t promoters of this Bill) by Pa&s;&s;ing this Act, would be the <HI>enriching</HI> them&s;elves out of the <HI>Ruins</HI> of the Trade of many other Clothiers of the Poorer &s;ort; who&s;e pre&s;ervation again&s;t this de&s;ign tends not only to the &s;aving many Families from Ruin, but al&s;o keeps up the <HI>value</HI> of <HI>Wooll,</HI> which (with humble Submi&s;&s;ion) is of as great concern to this Nation, e&s;pecially the Countrey Gentlemen, as can come before this Honourable Hou&s;e; to the great Wi&s;dom whereof, the Premi&s;es are mo&s;t humbly &s;ubmitted.</P>
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