UNIVERSITY OF
AT LOS
A
DISCOURSE
O N
TRADE,
l^'^Z/ A N ,^^*f
f~ x^
Other Matters Relative to it*
viz.
OF Trade in general : Of the
Trade of England: Of Huf-
bandry, Feeding, Tillage,
Corn, Fruit, Fifh, Minerals,
Trees, Manufactures, Sheep-
Wool, Cotton- Wool, Hemp
and Flax : Glafs, Earthen-
Ware, Silk, Diftilling : The
great Advantages of a univer-
fal National Bank demonftra-
ted : Sugar -baking, Tobacco,
Tanning, Clock- Work, Pa-
per - Mills, Powder - Mills :
Method to improve our Manu-
factures, by imploying the
Poor : Of Courts of Mer-
chants, Silver Coin : An effec-
tual Method to prevent the
Running of Wool : Of our
Trade to the Eafi and Weft-
Indies, Africa, the Plantations,
Iceland, the Canaries, Spain,
Portugal, Turkey, Italy, Holland,
Hamburgh^ Poland, Rujfia,
Sweden, Denmark, and Nor-
way, France, South-Sea, &c.
What foreign Trades are pro- \,
fitable, and what not. An
Effay on National Credit, and
the Irijh Linnen Manufacture,
C5V. fcfr. fcfr.
Wrote at the Requcft of feveral Members of Parliament.
And now Publifhed for univerfal Benefit.
By JOHN CART, E%
MERCHANT of BRISTOL.
Printed for T. O S B O R N E in Gray's-Itm*
Moccxtv,
HF
T O
The Right Honourable
Spencer Compton, Efq;
V
^
c,
/
V
And to the Honourable the
KNIGHTS, CITIZENS,
and BURGESSES, of this
Prefent Parliament of Great-
Britain^ Aflembled.
May it Pleafe your Honours,
HE Fir/I Edition of this
little Trafly Relating to
Trade, the Poor y Sec.
'was Humbly Dedicated
to his Royal Highnefs the Prince
of WALES, when Governor of the
A a South-
403516
iv The DEDICATION.
South-Sea Company, which I then
thought, as I /fill do, might be of
Service to the Nation, by alluring the
Heir to the Cro<wn, into an Early
liking of Trade, and Setting before
him the Advantages that Accrue
o
from it, i&ith the Methods whereby
tt may be Improved', and therefore I
Contracted it into a narrow Compafs
to Encourage his Reading it.
THIS Second Edition, whereto
1 have added feme Jure and pra&ica-
ble Methods, for Difcharging the
Public Debts of the Nation, with
moft Eaje to the People, I humbly
Prefcnt to this Honourable Houfc ; If
it may be Ufefull in your Debates, I
//mil think myfclf very Happy.
'77 <S the Bal/ance of our "Trade,
that Jupplies ur with Bullion', if
That be in our Favour, it brings it to
us.
The DEDICATION.
ns.> if otherwife ^ it muft be carried
away.
THIS Ballance is /uf for ted ly
OUT Manufactures ^ which keep our
People at IVork^ and enable them to
Maintain themfelves by their own
Labour , 'who muft elfe (land ftill^ and
become a Charge on our Lands \ and
therefore I humbly conceive it to le
our Inter eft y Fir ft, to encourage their
leing worn at Home, and then to
give a Preference to Juch Things , as
are Purchased for them Abroad , ra-
ther than to thofe. 'which are lowht
J 7 O
for Bullion ; and if our Trade was
well regulated^ we Jhou ] d Joon become
the Richest , and confe^uently the
GreateSt^ People in Europe.
1 have made feme Ejjay at Juch
Methods^ as I doubt not^ leing Im-
proved lyyour Wifdoms^ and flrength-
ned
vi The DEDICATION.
ned by your Authority ^ may Tend very
muchtotheEffefiing thisgreeit Work\
And I humbly Offer the fa Propoft-
tions following, as fo many Fundamen-
tals^ neccffary^for the better Order-
ing of our Trade , the Dijcharging of
our public Debts ^ and Supporting the
Credit of the Kingdom, whereby His
Majefly will be rendred more Glori-
ous^ both at Home and Abroad.
THE Fir/I is^ a Committee of
Trade ? made up ofjuch Men as are
well vcr/l in the true Principles
whereon it is Founded, and thereby
enabled to make right Reprefentatims
ofjucb things ? as Jhattbe referred to
them by the Parliament ; W^ ? Hold-
ing their Places ' ? according as they are
thought capable of performing them*
will be careful to execute thojc Trujts
with Judgment ^Honour andHoncfly.
THE
The DEDIC ATIO N. vii
THE Second is, a due Infpetti-
on into the Affairs of the Poor, and
fulling an End to that Pernicious
Trade of Begging, which lean ajjure
this Honourable Houfe, from the Ex~
ferience we have had in their Regula-
tion at Briftol, may le done, and that
the Poor may be trained u to an early
Delight in Labour ; the Means and
Methods whereby That 'was Accom-
f lifted y though at firft Thought Im-
prafiicable, I have fet forth in the
Afflcndix. pag. 167.
THE Third is, the Keeping of
our own Wool at borne, and prevent-
ing the Wool of Ireland from being
Tranfported any where elfe except to
this Kingdom; which lam ferjuad-
ed can never be done, by any other
Method, but by a Regi/ter, and that
That will effettucdly do it ; toward*
which
viii The D E D I C A T I O N.
which I have made an EJJay in the
following Treatife.
THE Fourth is, the Encouraging
the Li nnen* Manufacture ^Ireland ;
*Tis not cajy to comprehend the Ad-
vantages that will thence arife to both
Kingdoms, isuhcn each of them fhall
le fully employed, on a Diflinct Ma-
nufatfure : I he Hands that are now
heft at PFork there, on the Spinning
of Wool, might le then turned to Lin-
nen, and a great Part of their Lands
would le taken up, in raijing Flax and
Hemp, for which they are very pro-
cr; and then a Stop might le put to
the Importation of thofe great Quan-
tities of Worfted and Woollen Tarn
thence, Jo pernicious to the Poor of this
Kingdom, the Spinning whereof, if
Imported in Wool, would amount to
manyThoufand Pounds per Annum,
to
The D E D I C A T I O N.
to be divided among them-, and it if
certain, that Spinning is the moft pro-
fitable Part of the Woollen Manufac-
ture ? becaufe it is done by Women and
Children^ who can no otberwifi be
employed.
IN the Tear 1 704, / was deftred
by the Mini/try to give my Thoughts.
ojjuch an Undertaking which 1 then
did, and frinted feme Considerations
relating thereto^ adapted for that
Time, which 2 have added in the
stiff endix, pag. 158.
NOR can this be any Prejudice to
the Linncns of North-Britain, being
of quite different Sorts ; which Jliould
alfijfor many Reajons be Encouraged^
by fuch Means and Methods , as on due
Conf deration may be thought proper.
THE Fifth is^ the carrying on the
Fificry, which dcfervcs all the En-
couragement the Legijlature can give
B ,>:
x The DP: DIG AT ION.
it ; and I think the readie/1 iswiy to do
it, is, by Incorporating Jitch Societies,
as are willing to fet upon it with joint
Stocks, but not cxtlufve to any others,
<wbtcb will promote Induflry, and /hut
out Stock-jobbing, the Bane of Jo
many good Undertakings.
THEfatb, <wd Meed the Foun-
dation of all the teft, is, the eflablifh~
ing ajubftantial Credit, large enough
Ip anfwcr all the Occasions of the Na-
tion, both -public and private, which is
the Wheel whereon all the reft muft
turn, avdwhercby, not only the Trade
of l Ix Kingdom, but alfe the Gccafions
of the Government may be fufflicd,
and the public Debts gradually funk,
by a o-ood Management : and This. /
-/ C5 *O '
humbly Conceive, cannot be fettled any
other way, but on a parliamentary
Foundation, any Thing lefs 'will be
too narrow.
IN
The DEDICATION.
IN the Tear \ 696, / made feme
Ejfay tetsuardsfmh a Credit, -which I
then frtfented to both Houfts of Par-
liament y and have now incerted it in
'? P a S- r 74* B U * the'B&nk
having about that tz?rie
furnifhcd his Majefly <mth a confide*
ratie Sum of Money T then very much
wanted, far the prefent payment of the
Army y which the Miniflry could not
otherisxfe have raifed^ tho they ap-
proved of theProjefiion^ were uwvuitt-
ing to dtfeblige at that ywtture, by
fetting up any thing like their s^ mdfo
that Mattw Jlept then, as it had
ever done^ if 1 bad not obferved that
the famous Mr. Laws had drawn a
Scheme from it, for the Service of
France, as near as the Conftitution of
that Kingdom will admit; not that I
think it can be laJKffg, the Foundation
leing laid on Sand ; Tet it hathferved
B a the
xii The DEDICATION.
the frejent Occajion, to fay ojj the
Debts of that Nation,byan incredible
Stock-job, which mufl iwtodl 'probability,
end inConjufton and Difcontent.
NOTHING can fuffort a Na-
tional Credit^ but afleady Government,
where tfe arbitrary Will of a Prince
cannot withdraw , or lejjen the Secu-
curity at his Pleajure; and had fash
a one been then eflabliflfd here, in all
Probability, we had been feveral Mil-
lions lefs in Debt, and not felt that
heavy load of Taxes, which hath of>-
fre/l our Lands, andinjui'd ourTrade;
nor do 1 think thoje Debts can be dij-
charged by any other way, private
Men now carrying off thofe Profits,
wUch/hould Jink them by degrees.
T"HE Advantages of a National
Bank, <md the good Ejje&s it will
have, in this Free Government, to-
wards the Lejfemng our national In-
cumbr antes*
The DEDICATION. xiii.
cumbrtwces, will plainly appear 5 when
it is confidcrcd, that one .hundred
Pounds borrowed, will circulate two,,
bejides it Jelf, and thereby reduce the
Inter eft, to one third Part of what is
faid to the Lender ; but if it circulate?
three , then to a 'Quarter, and it may
be, to much lefe, according as a Bmk
hath Credit, and is found UfefuL
BIT this Rule, if the Public fays
Four per Cent. for Inter eft ^ it may by
Circulation le reduced to one^ csnd
there is no doubt, but that a Wcll-con-
ftituted Bank j will be feon fill'd with
Money at that Rat e\ the great Ground
of Buying and Selling Stock beingjhe
vaft Sums of Money which lie dead
on Mcns Hands ? wloo'bope thereby to
make feme Profit, but would be glad
to diffofe of it, on ajubftantial Secu-
rity, at a moderate Intcrcfl ; befides
the Advantage it will be to ffidows
and
snr. The DEDICATION.
and Orphans, isubofe Money would be
fafcly lodged^ and Iring them in A
certain income 5 fir their Mainte-
nance ; and here will be no room left
^ */
fir Stock-jotting^ which hath now got
Juch a Footing^ even into our public
j4ffairs T that the Parliament doth not
give a L*and-Tax or a Lottery 7 where
the Subfcriftions to it are not Ingraft,
by thofe who have not Money, in or-
der to make an Advantage^ by felling
them to Juch as have, bejides the vajl
Chargein the management oj Lotteries t
AND as to Trade, the Bank of
England bath been very firviceable
to this great Metropolis, by making a
little Money firve the Ufes of a great
deal, but the Benefit thereof hath ex-
tended no farther ; and Wy other
Cities, and indeed the whole King-
dom, fhould not hive the fame Ad-
vantage^ (which it will, if a Nati-
onal
The DEDICATION. xv
onal Bank be eflabliffted^ and Cham-
bers fettled where defired] I cannot
conceive.
AND here ImuSirefer to the
^pfcndix, for the letter Illustrating
the Benefit thereof ^ and the manner of
its Inflitution^ as then intended^
ww$l now admit of federal
aiions. ?><
IF fuch a Bank were fettled, the
Charge of managing it would be very
little, and the Kingdom might grow
richer feme Millions every Year, and
the Government have an Addition to
its Security, by draivivg the Cafl} of
other Nations hither , vubofe IntereSt
would thereby become interwoven f wttb
ours ; and our Manufactures would
be encouraged by a Flux of Money >
which is the Life of 'Trade -, and this,
with the eajtnejs of our Government^
would bring the wonied Men of Eu-
rope
xvi The DEDICATION.
tope to fettle here j'which'wouldle an
Addition to our Wealth; the Trader
might hence le Jufflied y with fuch
Sums of Money as hejhall <want^ and
jforfe long time only^ as hejhall have
Occafon toufe if, whereby the Fi/he-
ry ? and other goodUndertakings ^ may
le encouraged* and our Wool be cer-
O '
tainly kept at Home ^jind the Gentle-
men of England may be hence far-
nifhed 'with Money at the common In-
tere/l, and be permitted to make their
Payments by Jucb Parts , as they can
beft fpare it; the 'want of 'which is
wwfuch a Clog upon their EJlates 3 that
it destroys many good Families ; WK? ?
<whe n they are once got into the Ufa-
rers Books ^c an find no <way to get out ,
till they have faid the whole Debt at
once, ft that their Eftates are devour-
edj by Procuration and Continuation.
NOR
The DEDICATION.
NOR is it herely intended tofut
a Force upon any Man ; 'twill be the
Interest of the Lender to put his Mo-
ney into this Bank, 'where he hath Jo
certain a Security ', and of the Bank
to take it in; and on the other Side^ it
will be the Interest of the Bank to
furnifh Money on theTerms here men-
tioned y and of the Borrower to receive 9
it; and this Jingle thing ^ wittin time
bring ft great a Pr&fit to the Public
as will very much Jink the Debts of
the Nation whilst a Common Ad-
vantage is Interwoven with it.
NEITHER will this break in on
the Privilcdges granted to the Bank
of England, by A& of Parliament;
for though they are allowed to lend
Money to the Government, on the
Terms therein mentioned ^ yet the
Government bath not bound uf itfelf y
from borrowing of any Others ? and
C making
xviii The DEDICATION.
making their Payments in fuch a
manner, asjhall be thought moft^Ad-
vantagious to the Nation.
IF any Objections (not grounded
on -private Inter eft) /hall le made to
what I have here offered, I believe a
Jatisfatiory ^nfwcr may be given to
them if this Honourable Hcufiftiall
think what I have Written, worthy
their Confederation.
^LL IJhall further add, is, that
it canfcarce be Matter of Dou't, but
that mofl Men will fart with their
Securities on fnvate Funds , and rely
on the General Credit of the Nation,
though at a lower Jntereft, whereby
thofe Funds will by degrees, become
a fart of the general Security -, wktcb
with whatnewT'axcsJhall be given,
will be fo ufijul in Circulation, that
it will be next to Imfo/ble,for the
tnojl malicious Projectors, to lejfen the
Credit
The DEDICATION. xlx
Credit of Juch a Bank^ or to make a
Run upon if, and thofe Taxes that
are heavieft on the Poor, and moft In-
jurious to our Manufactures, may le
taken off : And there will le this
farther Advantage , that the feveral
Offices, who are entrufted to buy for
the Ufe of the Puttie, according to
Juih Sums of Money ^ as Jhatt from
time to time le /^ffrofriated ly the
Parliament, will le enabled to Pur-
chafe all things on the lowefl Terms ^
^whcn their Bills on this Bank^Jhallbe
as pun&ually difcharged^ at the time
when tbey become due y as if they 'were
Bills of Exchange ^ and in the mean
time fafs from Man to Man in Pay-
ment, 'which 'will be an Addition to
the Cajh of the Nation^ whereby a
great deal will be Javed in what they
lay out; and Men of Induflry, but of
ftndl Stocks, will be enabled to deal
with
xx The D D 1C A T I ON.
'with the Government^ <wbicb no f w
they cannot do ; and will Endeavour
*>ho fiall Jupfly it on the be/I Terms ^
'when by Juch Payments^ they /hall
bcfurnij^d^ to go to Market again ;
and the Debts of the Nation will be
Jo Incorporated therewith ^ that it
'will be every Mans Interefl to (up-
-/ * j j.
fort its Credit', and the Eye of a, Par-
liament, 'which hath Po i wer to make
Examples of Offenders, 'who through
. J JJ
Fraud or Malice, Jhall offer Violence
thereto, 'will be Jufficieni to deter
any fromfuch Evil Pra&ices.
I am,
With all dutiful Refpeft,
Your Honours,
Moft Obediei%
Servant.
JOHN GARY.
ADVERTISEMENT.
H E following Sheets are the
Work of a Gentleman, a
very confiderable Merchant
at Brijloly whofe extenfive
Knowledge of, and Judgment in Trade,
induced forne Gentlemen who were well
acquainted with his Capacity, to deiire
him to give them his Opinion on Trade
in general, and ours in particular j he did,
without any Defign of being an, Author,
or the leaft Intention of printing it j but
having fhewn his Papers to thofe Gentle-
rne, they defired he would publifh them,,
a which
ADVERTISEMENT.
which he at laft confented to, and had
a fmall Number printed in Briftol, at his
own Expence.
THE Book having met with its defer-
ved Succefs, he re-printed it, with fome
confiderable Additions j but that Edition
having been fold of, and himfelf dying
foon after, it was with much Difficulty
I obtained that Copy from which this is
printed, nor mould I as yet have thought
of getting it re-printed, but,
THE many Prizes taken by our Ships
of War, as well as Privateers, fince the
Commencement of the War with France,
feeing a fufficient Proof of the Increase
.of her Trade, and the Decay of ours,
I imagined any Work that might tend
to the promoting our Trade, would meet
with due Encouragement j and I am apt
to believe -no Book on the Subject de-
ferves it more than this.
THERE is annexed to it, the A& of
Parliament made in the 7th and 8th of
King William, in favour of the City of
Briftol, for regulating their Poor; and
by way of Appendix, the Proceedings of
the Magiftrates in confequence of that
Aft, worthy of Imitation.
Our Streets being daily infefted by
fwarms of Beggars, perhaps the Publifh-
ipg thefe Proceedings may furnifh fome
Hints to thofe Gentlemen, who are daily
feeking after a Method of preventing the
many Robberies, Cruelties, and Outrages
committed in our Streets every Night of
late, and no doubt but many of thofe
who are Beggars in the Day-time, are
the very People who do fo much Mif-
chief at Night ; could they therefore be
brought under properRegulations,it would
undoubtedly in fome Meafure be a Re-
medy to that Evit, and at the fame time
encreafe the Riches of thefe Kingdoms,
by
ADVERTISEMENT,
by keeping fo many idle Perfons of both
Sexes employed.
I mall not trouble the Reader any fur-
ther concerning this Work, whofe Merit
will J hope fpeak for itfelf,
DISCOURSE
A
DISCOURSE
O N
TRAD E, &c.
N Order to difcover, whether a Of
Nation gets or lofes by fa*
Trade, 'tis neceflfary firft to en-
quire into the Principles where-
on it is built ; for Trade hath
its Principles, as other Sciences have, and as
difficult to be underftood ; but when they are,
'tis eafy to difcover whether a Nation gets or
lofes by its Management, and without this,
we are not capable of making any true Judg-
ment, it being pofllble for the Public to grow
B Poor,
2 A Difcourfe on TRADE,
Poor, whilft private Perfons encreafe their
Fortunes.
THE Defign of this little Treatife, is to
difiect and lay open the Trade of this King-
dom, as it is now driven, that fo thofe Bran-
ches that (hall appear to be Profitable may be
Encouraged, and thofe that are Otherwife may
be Amended.
THE Profits of this Kingdom arife from
its Product and Manufactures at Home, and
v from the Growths of thofe feveral Plantations
it hath fettled Abroad, and from the Fifh
taken on the Coafts, all which being raifed
by the Induftry of the People, are both its
true Riches, and the Tools whereby it Trades
to other Nations, the Products coming from
the Earth, and the Manufacturing of them
being an Addition to their Value by the La-
bour of the People ; now where we barter
thefe Things abroad for fuch as are only fit
to be eat and drank, or are wafted among our-
felves, though one Man may get by the Lux-
ury of another, yet the Wealth of the King-
A i dom doth not encreafe -, but it is otherwife
where we change them for Bullion, or for
Commodities fit to be manufactured again.
THE
A Difcourfe on TRADE,
THE firft Original of Trade both Dome-7/j
flic and Foreign was Barter, when one pri-
vate Perfon, having an Overplus of fuch
r . _
Things as his Neighbour wanted, furnifhed
him therewith for their Value in fuch whereof
'the other had plenty, but he ftood in need
of the fame, when one Nation abounding
in thofe Products which another wanted, fup-
ply'd it therewith, and received for them
Things equally neceffary in their ftead ; and
by how much the Products of any Nation
exceeds its Wants, by fo much it grew richer,
the Remainder being fold for Bullion, or
fome Staple Commodity, allowed by all to
have an intrinfic Value.
AND as People encreafed, fo did Com-
merce, which caufed many to go off from
Humandry to Manufactures, and other Ways
of Living, for Convenience whereof they
began Communities : This was the Original
of Towns, which being found neceflary for
Trade, their Inhabitants encreafed by Expec-
tation of Profit ; this introduced Foreign
Trade or Trafic with neighbouring Nations ;
and this a Defire to fettle rather on fome na-
vigable Rivers, than in remote Inland Places,
whereby they might be more eafily fupply'd
from the Country with Commodities fit to
B 2 export,
4 A Difcourfe on TRADE, {&.
export, and difperfe thither thofe they had
imported from abroad.
'The Trade I ma ll now take the Trade of this King-
ed tits dom, as it is divided into Domeftic and Fo-
reign, and confider each, and how they are
advantagious to the Nation, and rruy be made
more fo.
Inland THE Domeftic or Inland Trade confifts
tfrade. either in Hufbandry, Manufactures, or Buying
Buying atut&nd Selling-, the laft of which, whereby one
Selling. jy[ an ij ves by t h e p ro fi t he makes by another,
brings no Advantage to the Public ; Peoples
Occaiions requiring Commodities to be retail'd
to them in fuch fmall Quantities as would fit
their Neceffities, they were willing to allow a
Profit to him who bought them in greater ;
and as this Sort of Traffic came more in ufe,
fo the firft Buyers not only fold their Com-
modities to the Confumers in the Places where
they dwelt, but alfo to others, who being
feated in the Country at a diftance, made an
Advantage by fupplying the Inhabitants there :
This begat the Ingroffing Commodities, and
thence arofe Skill and Cunning to forefee their
Rife and Falls, according to their Confump-
tion and Profpect of Supply. Hence came
the Viciating our Manufactures, every one
endeavouring to underbuy, that he might
underfell
A Difcourfe on TRADE, $r. 5
underfell his Neighbour ; which Way of
Living being found in Time to have lefs La-
bour and more Profit than Hulbandry and
Manufactures, was the Reafon fo many fell
into it.
FROM thefe Bargains Differencies arifing,
encouraged another Sort of People, whofe
Bufinefs it was, either by their Wifdoms to
perfuade, or by their Knowledge in the Laws
to compel, the unjuft Perfons to do Right to
their Fellow-Traders (an Honourable Employ-
ment at the ftrft, and is Hill fo in thofe who
keep to the ftrict Rules of its Inftitution.)
Hence arofe Attorneys, Solicitors, and other
Officers, which were found neceflary to at-
tend on thofe Suits, and other Services of the
Law.
TRADE brought Riches, and Riches Lux-
ury , Luxury brought Sicknefs, and Sicknefs <*-
wanted Phyfic ; which required fome to fepa- I
rate themfelves to ftudy the Nature of Plants
and Simples, as alfo of thofe feveral Difeafes
which bring Men to their Ends, who for their
Advice received Gratuities from their Patients :
Thefe brought in Apothecaries and Surgeons,
as neceflary Attendants to their Employments ;
all which were maintained by keeping People
in their Healths. Many alfo of ripe Parts
B 3 were
A Difcourft on TRADE,
were fitted for the Service of the Church, o-
thers of the State ; great Numbers were em-
ployed in providing Neceflaries of Meat,
Drink, and Apparel, others in fitting Things,
for Delights and Pleafure, and by this Means
leaving Hufbandry and Manufactures, flock'd
off daily to Livelihoods, which though ufe-
ful and convenient in their relpe&ive Stations,'
yet cannot be faid to encreafe the Riches of this
Nation, but to live by getting from one aro-;
ther ; Hufbandry and Manufactures being the:
profitable Employments, out of which it: ga-
thers its Wealth.
. THE next Part of the Inland Trade of this.
Kingdom is Hufbandry, which anteceded
Buying and Selling in point of Time, though
the other is treated of firfl in this Difcourle 5
and this confifts either in Feeding or Tillage,
by both which we raife great Store of Cattle,
Corn, and Fruits, fit for the Food, Service,
and Trade of the Inhabitants.
- To begin with Feeding : And here I might
enumerate the various Sorts of Cattle raifed and
bred by the Care of the Husbandman ; but
thofeof inoft Note with refpect to our Trade,
are,
I. THE
A Difcourfe on TRADE,
1. THE Beef ; which befides the Excellen-
cy of its Flelh for Food, affords many Ne-
cefiaries for our Trade, and is very fervice-
able in Tillage ; with this we both nourifh
our Inhabitants at home, victual our Ships for
Foreign Voyages, and load them with the fe-
veral Manufactures wherewith it doth fupply
us j from the Milk we make Butter and
Cheefe, from the Flefh, Beef, from the Skin,
Leather, from the Fat, Tallow, and of the
Horns feveral ufeful Neceffaries ; the Over-
plus whereof, above our own Confump-
tion, we export, and fell in Foreign Mar-
kets.
2. THE Sheep; whofe Golden Fleece be-
ing the Primum of our Woollen-Manufactures,
does thereby employ Multitudes of our Peo-
ple ; which being of different Lengths and
Finenefs, makes them of various Sorts ;
whereof they afford us a yearly Crop whilft
living, and at their Deaths we have their
Flefh and' Skins , the firfl ferves for our
Food, and of the laft we make Things, fit
to be ufed at Home, and traded with A-
broad.
3. HORSES , whofe Labour is fo neceflary,
that we can neither carry on our Husbandry
or Trade without them , befides their Fit.
B 4 nefs
$ A Difeourfe on TRADE,
nefs for War, being accounted the boldeft
in the World , and for all thefe Ufes are
tranfported abroad ; for the firft, to our Plan-
tations in America ; and for the laft, to fome
of our Neighbouring Nations : But their
Flefh is of no Ufe, their Skins of little, the
Leather made of them being very ordinary,
only the longefl of their Hair is ufed in
Weaving.
THERE are fundry other Sorts of Beafts,
fome whereof require no Care in Raifing, o-
thers little, fucq as the Stag, the Deer, the
Rabbet, the Hare, the Badger, the Goat,
and many others, whofe Skins are neceffary
for our Trade, and ufeful in our Manufac-
tures.
TILLAGE is that whereby we raife our
Corn by turning up the Earth ; the feveral
Sorts whereof are Wheat, Rye, Barley, Peafe,
Beans, Vetches, Oats, &c. which not only
afford Nourifhment to ourfelves, and the
Beafts we ufe in Labour, but ferve alfo for
Trade ; as they give Employment to our
People at home, and are tranfported abroad,
more or lefs, tccording to the Overplus of
our Expence, and the Want of our Neigh-
bours, befides the great Quantities us'd in our
Navigation*
THESE
A Difeourfe on TRADE,
THESE Products are all clear Profit to
the Nation, being raifed from Earth and La-
bour ; but their chief Advantages arife from
their being exported, either in their own.
Kinds, or when wrought up, the Remainder,
which is fpent at home, tending rather to
fupply our Wants, than to advance our
Wealth : Which Exports being more or lefs,
according to the Price they bear in other
Countries, and thofe arifing from the Pro-
portion their Lands holds with ours in their.
Yearly Rents, are not fo great in Specie, as
when wrought up. Butter is the chiefeft,
wherewith we fupply feveral Foreign Mar-
kets, and did formerly more, till by making
it bad, and ufing Tricks to encreafe its
Weight, we loft much of that Trade, and
are now almoft beaten out of it by Ireland,
which every Year makes theirs better ; be-
fides, they underfell us in the Price, as they
do alfo in Beef, occafioned by the low Rents
of their Lands.
'TWAS the Act of Prohibition made for-
merly in England^ that firft ufhered them
into a Foreign Trade, their fole Dependance
before that Time being on our Markets, and
from hence they were fupplied with what they
wanted 5 but being thereby prohibited from
bringing
io A Difcourfe on TRADE,
bringing hither their Cattle and other Pro-
vifions, they endeavoured to find a Vent for
them in other Markets, which they did with
good Saccefs, and to more Advantage ; the
Sweetnefs whereof gave a Spring to their
Induftry, and put them on the Woollen-Ma-
nufactures, which they alfo vended where
they exported their Provifions, till in time it
became fo great and flourifhing, as to give us
Apprehenfions it would endanger ours.
Com. AS for Corn ; foreign Markets are fupplied
therewith, both from thence, and from the
Iflands of the Azores^ cheaper than the Rents
of our Lands will admit ; but our Plantations
have ftill fome Dependance on us for our Pro-
duct, and as the Lands of Ireland rife in their
yearly Value, they will have more. We al-
fo raife confiderable Quantities of Hemp and
Flax, both which are ufeful in our Trade.
Fruits THE other Fruits of the Earth, fuch as
Apples, Pears, Cherries, Plumbs, together
with the Herbs and Plants, ferve rather for
Food and Delight than for Trade; Some
Cider we do export ; alfo Spirits raifed by the
Diftillers, both from fome of thefe, and from
Early.
Ftft. ON the Sea-Coaft both of this Kingdom,
and alfo of Newfoundland^ and New-England,
art:
A Difcourfc on TRADE, f$c. 1 1
are caught great Store of Cod-Fifh, Herrings,
and Pilchards, which are faved, and ibid in
foreign Markets.
NOR is this all the Product of our Earth, Minerals.
whofe Womb being big with Treafure, brings
forth Lead, Tin, Copper, Calamy, Coal,
Culm, Iron, Allom, Copperas, and fundry
other Minerals, which are fold in foreign
Markets, whither we fend them : Befides a
great Expectation we have from a much richer
and more valuable Difcovery, lately made in
that Part of Great- Britain called Scotland.
AMONG the feveral Trees that adorn our ef reetm
Fields, the Oak, the Elm, and the Am, are
the chiefeft ; thefe not only ferve in Building
our Ships and Houfes, but alfo furnifh us
with materials, wherewith our Artificers make
many things fit for Commerce : And it were
much to be wifh'd, that better Care was taken
to preferve our Timber, for the Benefit of
Pofterity.
THE third Part of our Inland Trade \sManu~
our Manufactures, whereby our Products are /#*''"
improv'd in their Values and made ufeful in
fundry Manners, both for our felves and o-
thers, by the labour of our People; and fitted
for fuch Services, as of their own Natures,
without the help of Art, they could not have
been
12 A Difcourfe on TRADE,
been proper ; and thofe to fuit the Necefllties
and Fancies, both of our own, and alfo of
foreign Countries to which we export them ;
where they yield a Price, not only accord-
ing to the true value of the Materials and
Labour, but an Overplus according to the Ne-
cefiity and Humour of the Buyers : And this
adds to the Profit, and encreafes the Wealth
of the Kingdom.
THESE Manufactures, as they employ
Multitudes of our People in their Making,
fo alfo in Exporting them, and importing fo-
reign Materials to be ufed with our own, fuch
asOyl, Dye-ftufF, Silk, Wooll, Cotton, Baril-
lia and many others, which are either manu-
factured here by themfelves, or workt up with<
our own Product.
Steep**- AND firft to begin with Sheep's- Wooll,
Wool. .
whereof either by it felf, or mixt with Silk
or Linnen, we make Variety of pretty Things,
fit for all Climates, and proper for the Wear-
ing of both Sexes ; wherein the Invention and
Imitation of our Workmen have been fb great,
that they have out-done all thac went before
them. From a ftrong Cloth, fit to keep out
Cold in Winter, they have turn'd their hands
to a fine thin fort, which will fcarce keep
warm in Summer ; from hence they fell on
Perpets
A Difeourfe on TRADE, &c. 13
Perpets, Serges, Crapes, Stuffs, Sayes, Ra-
toons, Antherines, and many other Things,
fit both for outward Garments, and inward
Linings ; of various Colours, Stripes, and
Flowers, fome of them fo fine and pleafant,
as fcarce to be known from Silk : Befides
thofe Multitudes of coarfer Cloth for the Poor;
alfo Rugs, Blankets, and all forts of Furni-
ture for Houfes. And fuch a Progrefs have
they made in thefe Manufactures, that a Man
may have his Picture wrought at the Loom,
with the fame Exactnefs as if drawn with a
Pencil ; one Work-man vying to excell ano-
ther, they make Things to anfwer all Occa-
fions. And as for Arras and Tapeftry, I
believe it will be allowed, that they do not
fall ihort of thofe from whom they firft had
the Art : Add to thefe, Hats, Stockings, and
many other things, which are both worn at
home, and exported abroad.
THE next material for the Manufactures Cotton-
is Cotton Wool, which is now become a great
Imployment for the poor, and fo adds to the
Wealth of the Kingdom ; This being curioufly
pickt and fpun, makes Dimities, Tapes,
Stockings, Gloves, befides feveral things
Wove fit for ufe, as Wattcoats, Pettycoats,
and Drawers, of different Stripes and Fine-
nefsj
14 ADifcourfe on TRADE,
nefs ; and I doubt not the Workmen would
equal the Eaft Indies for Callicoes, had they
Encouragement ; with all which we fupply
our Plantations and other foreign Markets,
befides what ferves for our Confumption at
Home.
Hemp and HEMP and Flax are the Grounds for ano-
Tlax. ther Manufacture; for tho* Weaving of Lin-
nen is not fo much ufed in South Britain^
as of Woollen, yet in North Britain it is, and
may be farther improved, not fb much by
Laws todireflthe Workmen in their making
it, as by apt Methods to encourage them;
and even in South Britain feveral Counties
are imployed thereon, who not only fupply
themfelves, but furnifh thofe bordering on
them, with fuch Cloth as anfwers the ends of
French Linnens: Befides which great Quanti-
ties of Ticking, of all FinefTes, Incle, Tapes,
Sacking, Girtwhip, and many other Things
are made thereof; alfo Cordage, Twine, Netts,
with Multitudes of other Manufactures, which
imploy the Poor, and bring by their Exports
Profit to the Nation ; and I can not here o-
mit Sail-cloth, wherein we have made a won-
derful Progrefs in a little time, at the Charge
and Expence of private Stocks, who deferve
to be encouraged.
GLASS
'ADifcourfe on TRADE, c. 15
GLASS is a Manufacture brought to foc/af*.
great a Perfection, that it keeps many of our
People at Work , and the Materials whereof
it is made being generally our own, and in
themfelves of fmall Value, cofts the Nation
little, in comparifon of what it formerly did,
when we fetch'd it from Venice ; the Noble
Plate GlafTes which we now make of all forts,
both for Houfes and Coaches, do greatly fet
forth the Genius of our Workmen ; befides
the various Sorts of Utenfils made for com-
mon ufe, fit for all the Occafions of a Fa-
mily, which look almoft as well as Silver,
and it would be better for the Nation that
i
they were more ufed in its (lead; alfo the
Glafs for Windows, of different Beauties;
and Glafs Bottles , all which find a greater
Vent both at Home and Abroad by their
Cheapnefs,
AND as for earthen Ware, the Progrefs Earthea-
we have made therein is fuch, as may give w re
us Hopes, that Time will bring it to fuch a
Perfection, as to equal if not exceed the
Dutch.
SILK is another Material for a great Ma-^.
nufa&ure ; which being brought from abroad
Raw, we here Twift, Dye, and Weave into
different Goodnefles, both Plain, Striped, and
Flowered,
1 6 A Dtfcourfe on T R A D E, gfc.
Flowered, either by itfelf, or mixt with Gold
and Silver ; fo Richly Brocaded, that we ex-
ceed thofe from whom we firft had the Art -
befides great Quantities of Ribbons, Silk
Stockings, and other Things, nof only to ferve
ourfelves, but alfo to Export.
Drilling. DISTILLING is an Art fo exceedingly im-
proved, that had it not met with difcouraging
Laws, 'twould by this Time have attained
to a very great Heigth, and brings great
Profit to the Nation ; for next to making,
fomething out of nothing, is the making
fomething that is Valuable out of what would
otherwife be worth nothing ; therefore this
Art ought to have been handled charily, to
have been trained up with a great deal of
Gentlenefs, and not loaded with Taxes in
its Infancy, by which Means we were like to
difcourage it in the beginning ; however it
hath flill bore up under all the Weight laid
upon it ; 'twas a great miftake to appoint
Meafures by Aft of Parliament to the Diftil-
lers in their Workings ; Mens Knowledge
encreafes by Obfervation, and this is the
Reafon why one Age exceeds another in any
Sort of Miftery, becaufe they improve the
Notions of thole who went before them ;
Therefore confining the Diitillers to Corn
only,
A Dtfcourfe on T R A D E, <r.
only, was an Error, ( J Tis true, other Things
were allowed to be ufed, but on fuch Terms
and ReftricYions, as were next to a Prohi-
bition) who by degrees would have made
Experiments on that themfelves, ufmg it with
other Mixtures, and thereby drawing from
it a cleaner Spirit than it doth of itfelf afford,
which they might in Time have rectified to
fuch a Finenefs, as to have encreafed very
much its Ufe , no Kingdom can give more
Encouragement to Diftilling than this, whofe
Plantations being many, and well Peopled,
where thofe Spirits are fo neceflary, and ufe-
ful for the Inhabitants, and thefe depending
wholly on us for all things, would have caufed
a Confumption of very great Quantities, be-
fides what is ufed in our Navigation ; we have
many Materials of our* own to work on, fuch
as are Molofies, Cyder, Perry, Barley, and
others, all which in Time they would have
ufed ; for as they found their Sales increafed,
they would have made new Effays -, it was a
very wrong Step, to difcourage Diftilling from.
Molofies, Scum, Tilts and Wafh , an Error
the Dutch^ nor no Trading Nation, would
have been guilty of, and proceeded from ill
Advice given the Parliament, by thofe, who
C under
1 8 A Difeourfe on TRADE,
under Pretence of advancing Corn, defign'd
to difcourage Diftilling, only offered it by
that handle they thought it would be beft
received in the Houfe ; Trade and Lands go
hand in hand as to their Intereft, if one
Flourifhes fo will the other j Incourage Di-
ftilling, and it will fpend Hundreds of Things
now thrown away.
Sugar- REFINING of Sugars have given Imploy-
a ing ' ment to our People, and added to their Value
in foreign Markets, where we found great
and profitable Sales, till the Dutch and French
beat us out, occafioned by the Duty of 2 s.
4 d. per Cent, laid on Mufcovado Sugars,
i Jac. id. to be drawn back at Exportation,
whereby they were wrought up abroad cheaper
then they could be at home ; but that Law
'being now expired, and the Parliament have
fince granted a draw back on refined Sugars
when Ihipt out, hath very much helpt that
Manufacture.
TOBACCO alfo hath imployed our Poor
by cutting and Rowling it, both for a home
Confumption, and alfo for Exportation ; but
the latter is lefifen'd, as the Places, to which
we ufed to export it, work it up them-
felves.
TANNINP
T A Difcourfe on TRADE, j$c.
TANNING of Leather is an Employment T
which deferves to be encouraged* becaufe it
furnifhes us with a Commodity* fit to be far-
ther Manufactured at home, and alfo to be
tranfported abroad j I know the Exportation
of Leather hath been much oppofed by the
Shoemakers, and others who cut it at home*
and reprefented as attended with ill Confe*
quences, one whereof is the making it dear ;
but, would it not be of much worfe to con-
fine and limit that Employment to an In-
land Expence ? On the other fide, would it
not naturally follow, that when Leather rifes
to a great Price, the Exportation muft ceafe*
becaufe Ireland will underfell us ? And would
it not feem an unreafonable difcouragement to
Trade, if Tobacco, Sugar, and the Woollen.
Manufactures, were debarred from being ex-
ported, only becaufe they mould be fold
cheaper at home ? For fuppofe the Occafions
of the Nation could not confume all the Lea-
ther that is made, to what a low Price muft
Hides be reduced* for no other Reafon, but
thats the Shoemakers may get more by their
Shoes *, 'Tis true, if they could make out,
that thofe Countries muft then have their
Shoes from us, where we now fell our Lea-
ther, I mould be of their Minds j but it muft
C 2 need?
20 A Difcourfe on TRADE, &c.
needs be otherwife, feeing Ireland is able to
fupply them ; this proceeds from a very nar-
row Spirit, and fuch as ought not to be en-
couraged in a trading Nation ; a good ex-
port for Leather, will caufe a great Import
of Raw-H,ides, which will be more Ad-
vantage to the Nation, then if they were
tann'd in Ireland, and fent abroad thence.
Minerals. N OR can i om it the feveral Manufactures
made of the fundry Mineral we dig, and ren-
der malleable, which would be endlefs to e-
numerate, viz. of Tin, Lead, Iron and Cop-
per, wherewith we not only furnim enough
V for our own ufe, but fupply our Plantations,
and other Places Abroad, the Workman (hip
whereof adds much to their Value; and from
the laft of thefe we have of late made Brafs
and Battery; an undertaking begun by private
Stocks, and carryed on without the help of a
Patent for fourteen Years, and I am of Opi-
nion, it would be much better for the Nation,
if good Projections were rewarded fome other
way, and left open, to be improved by all
who were*willing to make Experiments at their
own Charge ; this in all Probability would be
a more likely way to bring them to perfection,
and in lefs Time, then to tye Men down like
the Motions of a Clock, to be directed only
by one leaden Weight ; of this we have a
late
A Difcourfe on T R A D E, f$c. si
late Inftance in the Project of Beech Qy/,
for if but one half of the Profit can be made
thereby, that is fet forth by the ingenious
Patentee, in his Book written n that Subject,
againft which I fee no Objection, if the Com-
putations are rightly ftated, I make no man-
ner of doubt, but that private Stocks would
before this Time have made a greater Pro-
grefs therein, than hath been done by the
grefent Undertakers, on the joint Stock ; and
therefore I think it would be very proper,
where fuch Patents are granted, after fome
reafonable Time, to enquire into the Pro-
ceedings of the Patentees, lead the Nation
be deprived of the Advantages it expected to
receive, by the granting thofe Patents. Clock-work
THERE are many other Things which
may be, and daily are improved amongft
us; as Clock-work, wherein we fell little but
Art and Labour, the Materials whereof they
are made being but of fmall Value ; Watches
and Clocks of great Prices being fold for the
Courts of foreign Princes.
PAPER Mills are a Benefit to the Nation, Paper"
as they make that Commodity from things of Ullls '
themfelves worth little; fo are Powder-Mills ; P ^ er '
alfo Handicrafts, who fupply us with things ^ r/ ; w ..
for our own ufe, which muft otherwife be
C 3 had
aa A Difcourft on TRADE,
had from abroad, and alfo with others, which
when exported, are more or lefs profitable,
as the Labour of oujr People adds to their
Value, Things being cheaper to us when we
pay only for the firft Materials whereof they
are made, the reft being Work done at Home,
is divided amongft our felves ; fo that on the
Methods to whole it appears to be the great Intereft of
improve ^ Kingdom to advance its Manufactures ;
our Manu-
and this I humbly conceive may be done
thefe feveral Ways.
"By imply i. BY providing Work-Houfes for the
Poor 6 P or an d niaking good Laws, both to force
and incourage them to work ; But defigning
to fpeak larger to this in the Clofe of this
Tract, I fhall refer the Reader thereto.
By freting 2 . BY difcharging all Cuftoms payable on
pur Manu- Qur Manufactures at their Exportation, and
fafiures f
from Cu/- alfo in the Materials ufed in making them
at their Importation; for as one would en-
courage the Merchants to fend more abroad,
fo the other would enable the Manufacturers
to afford them cheaper at home; and 'tis
llrange that a Nation, whofe Wealth de-
pends fo much on its Manufactures, and whofe
Intereft it is to out do all others, by under-
felling them in foreign Markets, fhould load
either with Taxes ; but there having been
fomething
r A Difcourfe on TRADE,
fomething done in this fince my offering it
to the Confideration of the Parliament in a
former Difcourfe, both as to the woollen ma-
nufacture exported, and alfo to dye Stuffs
imported, which hath evidently appeared to
be an Advantage to our Trade, it may be
reafonably hoped, that great Council of the
Nation will make a farther Progrefs therein,
when it mail come regularly before them ;
becaufe the Exportation of all our Manufac-
turers ought to be encouraged, and not re-
ceive a check by any Modus of railing Money,
that fo they may be rendred abroad on fuch
Terms, as no other Nation may underfell us ;
this whole Kingdom being as one great Work-
houfe, wherein if we keep our Poor im-
ployed, they will advance the Value of our
Lands, but if we do not, they will become
a Load upon them.
AND here I cannot but mention that
Logwood, a Commodity much ufed in Dy-
ing, which pays five Pounds per Tun Cuf-
ftom when imported, and draws back three
Pounds fifteen Shillings when fhipt out again,
by which means the dyers in Holland ufe it
fo much cheaper then ours do here ; now if
it was imported Cuftom Free, and paid
twenty five Shillings fer Tun at its Exporta-
tion,
44 A Difcourfe on TRADE, <r.
tion, the Dyers there would ufe it fo much
dearer than ours ; and I think it would be
well worth Inquiry, whether a Prohibition,
either total or in Part, of Shipping out our
Manufacturers thither, and to the northern
Kingdom, undy'd and undreft, might not be
made, I am fure it would be a great Ad-
vantage to this Kingdom if it could be done,
without running into greater Inconveniences;
the Dutch difcourage their being brought in
dyed or dreft, that they may thereby give
imployment to their own People, and en-
creafe. their Navigation by the Confumption
of Dye-Stuff; the fame Reafon mould pre-
vail with us to dye and drefs them at home ;
but this requires the due Confideration of a
Committee of Trade, to hear what may be
faid both for and againft it, before it be of-
fered to the Parliament.
%. BY difcouraging the Importation of
Commodities already manufactured (unlefs
. purchafed by our own, or by our Product) fuch
as wrought Silks, Callicoes, Brandy, Glafs, &V.
and encouraging the bringing in the Materials
whereof they are made, to be wrought up here ;
by which Means more Ships will be freighted,
and more Sailors imploy'd, befides the great
Advantage to the Nation in the Ballance of its
Trade,
A Difconrfe on TRADE, Qfc. aj
Trade, which muft be returned in Bullion, as
thofe coft lefs abroad than the other ; and this
will enable us to afford a greater Confumption
of foreign Commodities to pleafe our Palates,
fuch as Wine, Fruit, and the like, all which
fill our Ships, and are fit Subjects for Trade,
when they are purchafed by our Product and
Manufactures, and that the Profit of our
Trade will enable the Nation to bear the Ex-
pence.
4. By freeing the Manufactures from bur-^y freeing
thenfome Excifes, which do much difcourage ""' ' Manu ~
3 failures
fmall Stocks, who are not able to carry on/rom Ex-
their Trades, and make Provifion for fuch"^*
great Payments, befides the Swarms of Offi-
cers, to whom we lay open the Houfes of thofe
Men, who deferve all the Encouragement we
can give them, and ought to have things made
as eafy to them as may be -, had they been laid
on our Woollen Manufactures, as was once
haftily propofed, we might have repented it
at Leifure ; Trade ought to be handled gent-
ly, we may tax the Trader without medling
with his Trade ; and he that confiders the Ex-
pence of this Nation at Five Pounds fer
Head (accounting only Eight Millions of Peo-
ple,) comes to Forty Millions per Annum, and
the
ADifcourfe on TRADE,
the Lands only to Twelve or Thirteen, which
is more than they can be computed at by the
Act of Four Shillings in the Pound, may fee
how much we are beholding to Trade.
5. BY fecuring the Merchants in their
our foreign Trades, who export our Product and Manu-
V rade fafe r
andeafy. factures, and making their Bufinefs, m rela-
tion to the Payment of their Cuftoms, as eafy
to them as may be : To this End good Con-
voys mould be provided in Time of War, and
good Cruizers maintained to prefer ve their
Ships, it being certain, that whatever is dimi-
nifhed out of the Merchants Stocks, doth fo
far difable them in their Trades, and confe-
quently leffen their Exports ; great Care mould
Cujlomi. be taken, that the. Modus of their Entries at the
Cuftom-Houfe made as eafy to them as might
be, and a due Attendance given at the loading
and difcharging their Goods when the Cuftoms
are paid, fo that they may be difpatched with-
out Delay, and no unneceflary Remoras put in
their Way, the Lofs of one Tide being many
\ Courts of U mes tne overthrow of a Voyage ; Courts of
: Merchants. Merchants mould be erected for the fpeedy
deciding all Differences relating to Sea-Affairs,
which are better ended by thofe who under-
ftand them, than they are in Weftmnfter-Hall>
' where all things are tried by the nice Rules of
A Difcourfe on TRADE,
Law, and therefore after much Attendance and
Expence, are often referred by the Judges to
fuch as are converfant in Trade ; by this
Means the Merchants would fee fhort Ends
to their Differences ; but no General Rules
can be given for thefe Courts, which muft be
fettled, as they fuit the Conveniencies of
Trading Cities.
6. BY rendering the Bank of Engtand more fy mating
applicable to the Encouragement of our Trade mort u j- e .
than now it is, which I cannot believe the/'-
JVIembers of that Corporation will oppofe, ^
when it (hall manifeftly appear, not only to
be the Intereft of the Nation in General, but
alfo their own. And I humbly conceive that
it may be fo directed, that every Subject in
his particular Station, may receive a Benefit
by it.
EASE, Profit, and Security, will keep a
Bank always full of Money, the firft of which
was formerly anfwered by the private Bankers,
who received and paid out Money in the fame
Manner that the Bank now does, and their
Notes generally were as current i but being
founded on their own Credits, great Lofifes
often happened, which gave great Shocks to
Trade ; 'tis true, this Mifchief is now guarded
againft, by the Fund which the Bank of Eng-
land
A Difcourfe on TRADE,
land hath in the Hands of the Government,
yet Widows, Orphans, and others out of Trade,
Tbam '' are not P rov ided f r > which might be done,
if the Bank did take in what Money might
be tendred to them, for fuch People who are
not able to manage it themfelves, and to allow
an Intereft of per Cent, per Annum^
whilft it continued in their Hands ; which tho*
it may be below the common Rate, yet by
Reafbn of the Security and Readinefs of Pay-
ment, 'twould be preferrable to a greater, at-
tended with Hazard and Uncertainties ; by
this Means none of the Money would lie dead
and ufelefs , and on the other Hand, the Bank
might have Liberty to Jend any Sums at the
legal Intereft, on this Condition, that the
Borrower may repay it by fuch Parts as he can
fpare it, and be difcharged of the Intereft of
what he fo pays in, from the Time of its Pay-
ment, and from thenceforward be chargeable
with no more, than doth arife from the Mo-
ney that remains unpaid.
,, NOR is there fuch a fafe and fettled Courfe
Remit tan-
es, of Remittances from Place to Place as Trade,
and the other Occafions of the Nation do re-
quire; Men oftentimes paying their Money
for Bills which are not punctually difcharged,
and fometimes never, tho' they give a Pra-
A Difcourfe on TRADE,
mlo to the Drawer, which obliges the travel-
ling with fo much Money, and gives En-
couragement to Robbers ; but this alfo might
be prevented, if the Bank of England (that is
now fettled in London) did appoint Chambers
in other Places of the Kingdom, at fuch Di-
ftances as might beft fuit the Occafions of the
Country, and that their Notes given out for
Money, either at London^ or in any one of
thofe Chambers, mould be demandable in any
other ; or by drawing Bills at one Chamber
payable in another, the Receiver allowing for
fuch Returns after the Rate of per Cent.
in the Chamber where he receives his Mo-
ney.
IF the Bank was thus regulated, the Nation
would foon fee its good Effects; Truftees
might place out Orphan's Money with good
Security, and Widows and others, whole
Maintenance depends on their Intereft, would
have it duly paid to anfwer their Occafions ;
the whole Cafh of the Kingdom would be in
a continual Circulation, and not lie dead, as
too much of it now does ; the Gentry and
Traders, who are obliged on many Occafions
to take up great Sums at Intereft, would
have it made eafy to them, when they might
pay
3<> 'A Difcourft on TRADE, {&,
pay in by fuch Parts, as they could convent
ently fpare it ; and on the other Hand, it
would be no Inconvenience to the Bank to re-
ceive it, which will by this Means never want
Borrowers, and their Notes pafling in Pay-
ment, will circulate inftead of Money.
THESE Methods will prevent many Cheats
and LofTes, which are often occasioned by frau-
dulent and inefficient Drawers, and abate the
excefllve Pr<emio*s which are demanded by
Remitters, when they can take Advantages of
Men's Necefiities ; and the Taxes received in
the Country might be quicker and fafer paid
into the Treafury. And if the Bank was
likewife extended to Ireland, it would be an
Advantage to both Kingdoms, which I mail
fpeak farther to, when I come to difcourfe of
the Trade we drive to that Kingdom.
5y increa- J '. BY increafing the Silver Coin of this
fmg tkeSil- Kingdom, which are the Tools wherewith the
ver Com.
Trader works : It may at firft feem flrange^
that our Silver Coin fhould grow fcarcer, at a
Time when we are at Peace with all Nations,
our Trade open^ and vaft Quantities of Bul-
lion yearly imported -, but he that confiders
how much thereof is carried away to the Eafl-
Indies, and how little Encouragement the Im-
porter hath to fend it to the Mint, when he
cars
on TRADE, c. 3*
can fell it for more to export, than it will-
come too when coined, will ceafe to wonder ;
and except fome Care be taken in this Mat-
ter, we mall foon be reduc'd to fuch Straits,
that the Manufacturers muft Hand ftill : For
tho* Gold may ferve for large Payments, yet
it can't anfwer the Occafions of the Manu-
facturers, who are to make their Payments a-
mong the Poor.
Now if thefe, or fuch like Methods, were
made ule of, they might very much encreafe
our Silver Coin ; as,
1. LET the Eaft-India Company be limit-
ted in the Quantity of Bullion they mail fhip \fJ* f
out yearly, whether the Number of Ships
they fend be few or many -, and let them be
oblig'd to carry to the Mint fuch a fuitable
Proportion according to what they fend away,
as to the Wifdom of the Parliament lhall
feem meet.
2. LET Encouragement be given to all
Perfons, who fhall voluntarily bring Plate or
Bullion to be coined.
3. LET the Plate of Orphans be brought
into the Mint, which will tend to their Ad-
vantage as well as to the Nations, whereas
now great Quantities lie dead, and grow out
of
3* A Difcourfs on TRADE, &c.
of Fafhion before they come to ufe it, which
will by this Means be turned into ready Mo-
ney, and being put into the Bank, the In- 1
tereft thereof may be employ'd for their better
Maintenance, and the Trade of the Nation
will alfo receive a Benefit thereby : If it be
objected, that 'tis now Ibid to Goldfmiths, I
think this make the Argument for fending it
to the Mint much ftronger, becaufe it is much
better that it were turn'd into the Coin of the
Kingdom, then difpofed of in any other
Way.
As for Gold, there is no need to give En-
couragement to bring it to the Mint, 'tis on-
ly a Commodity, and not the Standard, as
Silver is ; befides, 'tis generally worth more
here than in any other Country ; and 'tis ap-
parent from the great Quantity thereof which
is coined yearly more than of Silver, that
it is every one's Intereft to fend it thi-
ther.
8. BY difcouraging Stock-jobbing : This
By difcou" ~. , " _
raging hath been the Bane of many good Deiigns,
Stock-job- wn j cn b egan well, and might have bsen car-
ryed on to Advantage, if the Promoters had
not fallen off by felling their Parts, and flight-
ed the firft Defign, winding themfelves out
with Advantage, and leaving the Manage-
ment
A Difcourfe on T R A D E, &c. 33
ment to thofe they had decoyed in, who un-
derflood nothing of the Bufmefs, whereby all
Fell to the Ground -, which may be prevented
( I mean, fo far as concerns incorporated
Stocks) by Laws framed for that end, or
by Claufes in their Charters.
9. BY ftrengthening the Laws againft the ty p""-
Exportation of Wool, by fuch Practicable
methods as may prevent its being done : For o
feeing the Nations Intereft fo much de-
pends thereon, no Care can be too great, nor
Methods laid too deep: Laws concerning
Trade, whofe ible Strength are Penalties,
rarely reach the thing aimed at; but practi-
cable Methods, whereby one thing may an-
fwer another, and all confpire to carry on
the fame Defign, hanging like fo many
Links in a Chain, that you cannot reach
the one. without ftepping over the other,
thefe are more likely to prevent Mifchiefs:
'Tis one thing to punifh People when a Fact
is committed, and another to prevent their
doing it, by putting them as it were under
an Inability ; Now where the Welfare of the
Kingdom lies fo much at Stake, certainly it
cannot be thought grievous to compell fub-
miflion to good Methods, tho* they may
feem troublefome at firft.
D AND
34 A Difcourfe on TRADE, &c.
7 be ill Con- AND that we may the better perceive the
jbippin"eut Mifchiefs that attend the carrying abroad of
our Wool. Wool unwrought to other Nations, let us
confider the Confequences thereof in what is
fhipt to France ; whofe Wool being very
coarfe, and fit only for Rugs and Blankets,
and fuch ordinary Cloth, is by mixture with
ours and Irijh, ufed in the making of many
Sorts of Stuffs and Druggets, whereby the
Sales of our Woollen Manufactures are leffen-
ed, both there, and in other Places whither
we export them ; and by this Means, every
Pack of Wool fent thither, works up two
befides itfelf, being chiefly combed, and
combing Wool, which makes Wool for the
French Wool, and the Pinions thereof ferve
with their Linnen to make coarfe Druggets,
like our Linfey-Woolfey, but the Linnen be-
ing fpun fine, and coloured, is not eafily dif-
cerned-, alfo our fineft mort Wool, being
mixt with the loweft Spani/h^ makes a mid-
dling Sort of Broad-cloth, and being woven
on Worfted Chains, makes their bed Drug-
gets, neither of which could be done with the
French Wool only, unlefs in Conjunction with
ours or Iri/h, Spani/h Wool being too fine and
too mort for Worfted Stuffs, and unfit for
combing, fo that without one of thofe two
Sorts,
A Difcourfe on TRADE, c. 35
Sorts, there cannot be a Piece of Worfted
Stuff, or middle Broad-Cloth made ; no o-
ther Wool but ' Englijh or Irijb will mix well
with Spani/h for Cloth, being originally raifed
from a Stock of Englijh Sheep, the Difference,
arifing from the Nature of the Land whereon
they are fed ; of this we have Experience in
our own Nation, where we find, that Lemjler
Wool is the fineft, next, Part of Shropfhire
and Stafford/hire, Part of Gloucefterjhire, Wilts,
Dorfet and Hampjbire, Part of Sujfcx, Kent^
Somerfet, Devon, and Cornwall, thefe are pro-
per chiefly for Cloth, fome Part for WorfteoV;
SuJJex, Surry, Middlefex, Hertford/hire, and
fome other Counties, produce Wool much
coarfer and cheaper : But then Berk/hire, B t uck-
ingham, Warwick, Oxon, Leicefter, Nottingham,
Northampton, Lincoln, and Part of Kent called
Rumney Marfh, the Wool in moft of thefe
Counties is fo proper for Worfted, that all
the World (except Ireland) cannot compare
with it, therefore requires our greater Care to
prevent its Exportation ; and more particu-
larly from Ireland, whence it is exported
to our Neighbouring Nations, and fold
cheap.
D 2 As
$6 A Difcourfe on T R A D F, $*.
As for the Wool of North-Britain, I am
not fufflciently verft therein, to give a true
Account of the Nature of it.
Methods to I know many Methods have been thought
prevent the tf to p revent t hi s pernicious Mifchief, butall
Exportati- r r
i of Wml. the Laws I have yet leen, leem to reach but
half Way, they depend too much on Force
and Penalties, and too little on Method ; we
mufl begin deeper, and fecure the Wool from
the Time of its growing, till 'tis wrought up
into Manufactures, and I think nothing lefs
'than a Regifter, to be kept in every County,
will do it.
NOR will this be attended with fo much
Trouble and Charge to the Nation in general,
or to private Perfons in particular, as may at
fjrft be thought : The Time of Sheering be-
ing once a Year, thofe who keep Sheep may
give Notice to the Officer appointed for that
Diftrict, of the Number of Sheep they have
to Iheer, and the Day whereon they intend to
do it, that fo he may be prefent to fee the
Fletces weighed, and to charge them there-
with ; which Charge mufl remain upon them
till they fell their Wool, and give Notice
thereof to the Office, when the next Buyer
mufl be charged, and fo toties quoties^ till it
comes into the Hands of him that works it
A Difcourfe on TRADE, Sir. 37
up ; and all this may be done by the Officers
of the Excife, in fuch a manner, as may coft
the Nation little.
AND to prevent Frauds, let no parcel of
Wool above fuch a Weight as the Parlia-
ment fhall think fit, be carried from place
to place, but in the day time, nor without
a Letpafs, or Cocket, fetting forth from whence
it came, and whither it is going; and the fame
Method muft alfo be extended to Ireland, till
it is either ufed there, or fhipt thither ; and
if the Wool of both Kingdoms by theie or
any other Methods could be fecured from being
carried abroad, our Manufactures would find
a furer Vent in foreign Markets, and yield
better Prices : And the Wool of France would
lye on their Hands, and become almoft ufe-
lefs ; the Credit of the Nation would be raifed,
and our Factories abroad courted as much as
formerly they have been, becaufe the Manu-
factures we fhip out are fuch, as no Nation
can be without, nor can they then be well
(applied elfewhere ; they are not things only
for Pleafure, but for Ufe, and both the Rich
and the Poor ftand in need of them ; whilft
the Profit of this pernicious Practice of Ship-
ping out the Wool, is funk in the Pockets of
private Men, who former Laws accounted
D 3 Felons,
40351
A Difcourfe on TRADE, fgc.
Felons, and cannot be thought to deferve any
favour from the Nation.
BESIDES 'tis well known, that the export-
ing our Wool hath by the ill Conferences
thereof abated its Price a*t Home : This hath
been obferved by Calculations made by con-
fiderate Men ; and the Reafon is, becaufe
thofe Countries whither it is fhipt, being
thereby enabled to work up much larger
Quantities of their own, the Sale of our Ma-
nufactures are grown (lack abroad, and we
have been forced to fell them cheaper, which
beat down the Prices both of Wool and La-
bour i whereas if we had kept our Wool at
Home, this had been prevented , and itmuft
be allowed, that it was not our Intereft to fall
our Manufacturers, if we had been the only
Sellers ; for according as they yield in Price,
fo is the Wealth of the Nation advanced,
which our Forefathers well knew, when they
made Laws to prohibit the Exportation of
Wool, which cannot be too much ftrengthned,
or ftrongly put in Execution.
io. BY taking Care, that in all Treaties of
ging Tree* Peace, and other Negotiations with foreign
Peace to Princes, due Regard be had to our Trade
the Ad- anc j Manufactures; that our Merchants be
vantage
of Trade, well treated by the Governments where they
refide
A Dtfcourfe on TRADE, c. 3?
refide ; that all things be made eafy to them,
and both their Liberties and Properties fe-
cured ; that our Manufactures be not prohi-
bited, or burthened with unreafonable Taxes,
which is the fame in Effect ; that fpeedy Juf-
tice be done in recovering Debts contracted
afliongft the Natives, and pun idling Abufes
put on our Factories by them : Thefe are
Prefiures our Trade hath formerly groaned
under, whereby the Merchants abroad, and
Manufacturers at home, have been much dif-
couraged, and the Englijh Nation hath been
forced to truckle under the French in fome
foreign Parts, only becaufe that King fooner
refented Injuries done to his trading Subjects,
and took more Care to demand Reparation
than fome former Reigns have done ; but
Thanks be to God, we have both Power and
Opportunity to do the fame ; and there is
no Caufe to doubt His Majefty's Royal In-
clinations, to make ufe of both for the Good
of his Merchants, when things are duly re-
prefented to him .
AND thus I have run through the feveral
Parts of our Inland Trade, and fhewed, that "'
the Profit thereof arifes chiefly from our Pro-
duct and Manufactures : Before I proceed to
our Foreign Trade, I fhall fpeak fomething
D 4 of
4 A Difcourfe on T R A D E,
of Navigation, which is the Medium be-
tween both : This is carried on by Ships and
Sailors, the former are the Sea- Waggons,
whereby we tranfport and carry Commodities
from one Market to another, and the latter
are the Waggoners who drive and manage
them : Thefe are a Sort of jolly Fellows, who
are generally bold in their Undertakings, and
go thro* any Kind of Labour in their own
way, with a great deal of Chearfulnefs, are
undaunted by Storms and Tempefts, the Sea
being as it were their Element, and are al-
lowed by all to be the beft Navigators in the
World -, they are our Wealth in Peace, and
our Defence in War, and ought to be more
encouraged than they are in both, but efpeci~
ally in the latter, which might be done, if
better Methods were ufed to engage them in
the Service, and better Treatment when they
Manning are there : Now I mould think, if no Man
our Ships was f orcec j into the King's Ships till he had
ef War.
been three Years at Sea, nor to flay there
above that Time without his free Confent,
and then to be permitted to take a Mer-
chant's Employment fo much longer, and fo
toties quoties, 'twould encourage them to
come willingly into the Service, which they
look upon now to be a Slavery, whereto
they
A Difeourfe on TRADE,
they are bound for their Lives : This, and
the Manner of prefling them, hinders very
much the making of Sailors, Landmen not ^
caring to put their Hands to the Oar, leaft
the next Day they mould be hailed away to
the Fleet, tho* they underftand nothing 6f
the Sea : By this Means our Men of War
would be mann'd with able Seamen, and not
with fuch who only ftand in the Way, and
are ufelefs, when they are moft wanted ; nor
do I take Embargoes to be any Helps to-
wards it, for many Sailors do then lie hid,
who would appear to ferve in Merchant Ships,
and might be eafily met with at the return
of their Voyages : By thefe Means in a (hort
Time three would be a double Set of Mari-
ners, enough both for the Service of the Fleet
and of Trade, the laft of which would every
Year breed more.
THIS would alfo prevent great Mifchiefs,
which arife from prefling Sailors out of Mer-
chant Ships whilft on their Voyages, many
of them being thereby loft at Sea, and others
have been detained in the Weft-Indies^ to the
Difcouragement of Trade ; and it would alfo
prevent another Mifchief, too much practiced
abroad, where Captains of Men of War prefs
Sailors
4* A Diftourfe on TRADE,
Sailors from- one Merchant Ship, only to
make Advantage by felling them to ano-
ther.
Foreign I come now to the Trade we drive with
Foreign Countries.
Hm this HERE 'tis necefiary to enquire, how each
Kingdom *
may be encourages our Product and Manufactures,
how our Navigation, what Commodities we
h our receive in Return, and how the Ballance of
T '
'Trad" our Trade ftands with either, that fo we may
be the better able to know, which of them we
ought to encourage, and which to difcourage ;
I fhall therefore lay down fuch general Rules,
as I prefume will be allowed by all Unbiafied
Perfons ; as,
1. THAT Trade is an Advantage to this
Kingdom, which takes off our Product and
Manufactures.
2. WHICH fupplies us with fuch Com-
modities as we ufe in making our Manufactures,
and encreafes our Bullion.
3. WHICH uicourages Navigation, and
- breeds up Sailors.
AND confequently, any Trade which Ex-
ports little or none of our Product or Manu-
factures, nor fupplies us with things neceflary
for the latter, nor incourages Navigation, can-
not be fuppofed to be profitable to the King-
dom
A Dijcourfe on TRADE, &e. 43
dom in general, though perhaps it may be
fo to particular Perfons ; efpecially if it carries
away our Bullion.
I (hall begin with the Eaft-lndia Trade, Eaft-
which I take to be very prejudical to us, as , J.
'tis now driven ; becaufe it exports our Bullion, "\~ ,
fpends little of our Product or Manufactures,
n v
and brings in Commodities perfectly manu-
factured, which hinder the Confumption of
our own, and difcourage the wearing fuch as
are purchafed with them -, the chief Profit
thereof arifing from Underfelling the Labour
of our Poor, becaufe 'tis bought there cheap-
er, than by reafon of the Value of our Lands,
and the prices of Provifions, they are able to
work here. But having fpokea fully of this
in a former Difcourfe, and the Parliament ha-
ving fince been pleafed, by an Act made in
the i oth and 1 1 th Years of his late Majefty
King William^ to prohibit the wearing of
wrought Silks, Bengals, Stuffs mixt with Silk
or Herba, of the Manufacture of Perjia 9
China, and India, and all Callicoes painted,
dy'd, printed or ftained there. The Reafon
of which, is in the faid Act fet forth to be,
The great Detriment the Nation received as
the Trade was then managed, by exhaufting
the Treafure thereof, and taking away the
Labour
44 A Difcourfe on TRADE, &c.
Labour of the People, whereby very many
of the Manufacturers were become exceflively
bur then fome and chargeable to their refpective
Parifhes, and others compelled to feek for
Employment in foreign Parts, I mall not now
repeat what I then wrote, but will confider
how far the Remedy they then provided hath
anfwered the End.
THE making this Law, gave a new Life
to our Manufactures, and would have given
more, if the true Intent of the Parliament
had been anfwered : But we have fince found
that it has not ; fot it neither keeps our Trea-
fure at home, nor prevents thofe Commodities
from being worn here, which they defign'd
it mould ; and I very much queftion, whether
any thing lefs than a total Prohibition of their
Importation will do it ; for though they are
directed to be exported again, yet there is
great Reafon to believe,that they are privately
brought back, both from Ireland, our Plan-
tations, and other Places to which they are
fent, to the Lofs of his Majefty*s Cuftoms,
and the Prejudice of the Stainers and Paint-
ers her, befides the Injury to our Manufactures :
Otherwife, how come fuch great Quantities to
be worn and ufed here, when the Stock in
hand hath been fo long fince fpent ?
THERE
A Difcottrfe on TRADE, fc. 45
THERE are other Commodities, which the
Company may trade in, and the Tract of
Land within their Charter is large enough to
afford an advantagious Commerce there, the
Profits whereof might be returned hither, in
things no way injurious to our Manufactures,
fuch as Raw-Silk, Indigo, Pepper, Salt-Peter,
Spices, Drugs, China- Wares, Coffee, Tea,
and many other Things, if they were induf-
trious to make Difcoveries, as private Mer-
chants would do, if the Trade lay open ; and
I believe it will not be difputed, that great
Quantities of Raw-Silk, have been brought
thence fince the Making of that Law, than
were ufed to be done before.
I know it hath been alleadg'd, That by the
Exportation of thofe Manufactures again,
more Bullion in fpecie is brought into this
Kingdom, than is carry'd out for the buying v / ^^AJW
them in India ; but this was never yet made \
I f V-?
out, and it would be much to the Satisfaction
of the People, who daily fee that Bullion car-
ried away, and alfo for the Honour of the /
Company, that it was done ; which if it be
really fo, might be fet forth in this, or any
other Method that the Parliament lhall think
fit.
i. LET
iw
46 A Difcourfe on TRADE,
1 . LET them give an Account what Quan-
tities of Bullion they export on every Ship
they fend abroad, and on what Commodities
'tis laid out.
2. LET them fet forth, how and in what
manner, thefe prohibited Manufactures do, on
their being Exported again, bring in as much
Bullion mjpecie, as was carry *d out to pay for
them in the Indies.
AND I think it a proper Work for a Com-
mittee of Trade, to receive thefe Accounts
from time to time, and after a juft Examina-
tion, to lay them before the Parliament at
every Meeting, with their Opinions thereon.
BUT if they only mean, that the Exporta-
tion of thofe Manufactures is a help to us in
the Ballance of our Trade, which mud other-
wife be paid in Bullion, I anfwer, that our
own Product and Manufactures always have,
and afe flill fufficent to fupport the Ballance
of our Trade.
As for whiteCallicoes and Muflins, they have
beat out the wearing of Lawns, Cambricks,
and other thin German and Silefia Linnens,
which has been the Occafion of turning
many of thofe Looms to the Woollen Manu-
factures there, that were formerly employed
in the weaving them, and hath abated the
Exportation
ADifcourfe on TRADE, &c. 47
Exportation of great Quantities of Cloth ;
befides the -hinderance Callicoes give to the
confumption of Scots - Linnens, which being
thin and foft, are as proper for dying, print-
ing, and ftaining, as they are, and may be
made as white.
THE Eaft-Indies is a bottomlefs Pit for our
Bullion, which can never circulate hither again ;
whereas, if it was fent to any Part of Europe,
there might be fome hopes, by the Ballance
of our Trade, to bring it back again ; and
when our Bullion fails, that Trade muft ceafe
of courfe, which it will foon do, if the Com-
pany continue to carry out yearly as much as
our other Trades brings us in.
I wifh the Nobility and Gentry of this
Kingdom would be in Love with our own
Manufactures, and thofe which are purchafed
with them, and that they would by their Ex-
amples encourage the ufing them, which
would be attended with the Prayers of the
Poor, befides the Advantage it would bring
to their Eftates.
Atfo -as to Navigation, I think it will not
be difputed, that long Voyages rather ufe
Sailors than make them, both the Employers,
and the Employed, chufing rather to make
their firlt Experiments on fhort ones.
I
4* A Difcourfe on TRADE, 8*.
Weft-In- I w iH next proceed to the Weft-India and
Africa. -African Trades, which I efteem the moft pro-
fitable we drive, and join them together, be-
caufe of their dependance on each other.
Whether BUT before I enter farther, thereon, I will
Settling of confider of one Objection, it having been a
Plantati' n . , , r , - -
ens hath g reat Queftion among many thoughtful Men,
teen an whether the fettling our Plantations Abroad
has been an Advantage to the Nation; the
Reafons they give againft them are, That
they have drained us of Multitudes of our
People, who might have been ferviceable at
Home, and advanced Improvement in Huf-
bandry and Manufactures ; that this Kingdom
is worfe peopled, by fo much as they are in-
creafed ; and that Inhabitants being the
Wealth of a Nation, by how much they are
leflened, by fo much we are poorer, than
when we firft began to fettle thofe Colonies.
To all which I anfwer; that though I
allow the laft Propofition to be true, that
People are the Wealth of a Nation, yet it
can only be fo, where we find Imployment
for them, otherwile they muft be a Burthen
to it : 'Tis my Opinion, that our Plantations
are an Advantage to this Kingdom, though
not all alike, but every one more or lefs, as
they take off our Product and Manufactures,
fupply
A Difc'ourfc on T R A D E,
fupply us with Commodities, which may be
either wrought up here, or exported again, or
prevent fetching things of the fame Nature
from other Places for our Home Confumption,
employ our Poor, and encourage our Navi-
gation ; for I take this Kingdom, and all its
Plantations., to be one great Body, thofe being j . '
as fo many Limbs or Counties belonging to
it i therefore when we confume their Growth,
we do as it were fpend the Fruits of our
own Land ; and what thereof we fell to our
Neighbours, brings a fecond Profit to the
Nation.
THES? Plantations are either the great
Continent from Hudfon's-Bay Northward to
Florida Southward, containing Nova Scotia,
New-England, New-Jerfy, New - York, Pen-
fihania, Virginia, Mary - Land, Carolina ; and
alfo our Iflands, the Chief whereof are, New-
foundland, Barbadoes, Antegoa, Nevis, , St.
Cbriftophers, Montferat, and Jamaica-, the
Commodities they afford us are more efpecially
Sugars, Cotton, Tobacco, Piamento and
Fuftick, of their own Growth ; alfo Log-
wood, which we bring from Jamaica (but
firft brought thither from the Bay of Cam-
pecbia on the Continent of Mexico, belong- j^
ing to the Spaniards, but cut by the Subjects
E of
A Dtfcourfe on TRADE,
of this Kingdom, who have made fmall fQttle-
ments there) befides great Quantities of Fifh,
taken on the Coafts both of Newfoundlands^
New-England : Thefe being the Product of
Earth, Sea and Labour, are clear Profit to
the Kingdom, and give a double Employ*
ment to our People, firfr, to thofe who raile
them there, next to thofe who prepare Ma-
nufactures here, wherewith they are fupplied,
befides the Advantage they afford to our Na->
vigation ; for the Commodities exported thi-
ther, and thofe imported thence hither, being
generally bulky, do thereby employ more
Ships, and confequently more Sailors, which
leaves more Room for other labouring People
to be kept at work in our Hufbandry and
Manufactures, whilft they confume the Pro-
duct of the one, and the Effects of the other,
in an Employment of a diftinct Nature from
either.
TH is was the firft Defign of fettling Plan-
tations abroad, that we might better main-
tain a Commerce and Trade among ourfelves,
the Profit whereof might redound to the Cen-
ter : And therefore Laws were made to pre-
vent the carrying their Product to other Pla-
ces, and their being fupply'd with NecefTaries
lave from hence only, and both to be done
in
A Difcourfe on TRADE, &c. 51
in our own Ships, navigated by our own
Sailors, except in fome Cafes permitted by the
Act of Navigation ; and fo much as the Reins
of thofe Laws are let loofe, fo much lels pro-
fitable are the Plantations to us.
AMONG theie Plantations, I look upon
New-England to bring the leaft Advantage to'\ -jJj^
this Kingdom ; for the Inhabitants thereof
employing themfelves rather by trading to the
others, than railing a Product proper to be
tranfported hither, and fupplying them (ef-
pecially the Iflands) with Fim (which they
catch on their Coaft) Deal-Boards, Pipe-
Staves, Horfes, and fuch like Things of their
own Growth, which they cannot be fo well
furnifhed with hence, alfo with Bread, Flow-
er, Peafe, and other Grain ; and from thence
fetching the refpective Products of thofe
Iflands, and fometimes Tobacco from Virgi-
nia and Mary-Land, have carried them to
foreign Markets, to the great Prejudice of
this Kingdom : But to prevent this, they
have been by fundry Laws obliged to bring
them all hither, except what is confumed a-
mong themfelves : By which Means this
Kingdom is become the Center of Trade,
and {landing like^ the Sun in the midft of
its Plantations, doth n6t only refrelh them,
E 2 but
5* A Difcourfe on TRADE,
but alfo draws Profit from them : And in-
deed it is a Matter of exact Juftice that it
fhould be fo, for from hence it is that Fleets
of Ships, and Regiments of Soldiers are
frequently fent for their Defence, at the Charge
of the Inhabitants, towards which they con-
tribute but little.
BESIDES the forementioned Commodities,
we have from Carolina excellent Rice, and
there has been Cocheneel taken, which as yet
is but a Difcovery, and perhaps may not
meet with any confiderable Improvement, till
that Colony is better peopled ; what I have
feen thereof in the Hands of a Gentleman who
brought it thence, feems by its Figure, to be
much like what we call a Lady-Cow, or Lady-
Bird, but is very fmall, and I take it to be the
Fatus of an Infect, which laying its Eggs on
a Shrub called the Prickle-Pear, or fomething
very like it, leaves them there, till Time
brings them to Maturity, in the fame Man-
ner as the Caterpillar does with us in the Cab-
bage or Collard Leaves, wife Nature thus di-
recting, that the Fatus may find its Food, ib
foon as it wants its Suftenance. It gives a
very curious Colour when bruifed, but being
extraordinary fmall, does require long Time
to gather in any Quantity, and Labour being
very
r A Difcourfe on TRADE, gr. 53
very dear there, 'twill not yet anfwer the
Charge ; but by cultivating and improving
the Plant, which now grows wild, and by
being better acquainted with the proper Sea-
fons to collect them, when they are at a more
mature Growth, greater Quantities may pro-
bably hereafter be procured, and at lefs
Charge ; and I think it would be a good Step
towards it, if an Encouragement was given
on its Importation hither, in fuch a Manner,
as to the Wifdom of the Parliament fhall
feem fit and proper.
Now, that which makes thefe Plantations Africa,
more profitable to this Kingdom, is the Trade
to Africa^ whereby the Planters are fupplied
with Negroes for their Ufe and Service ; a
Trade of the moft Advantage of any we
drive, and as it were all Profit, the firft Coft
being fome Things of our own Manufactures,
and others generally purchafed with them, for
which we have in return, Gold, Teeth, Wax,
and Negroes, the laft whereof is indeed the
beft Traffic the Kingdom hath, as it occafi-
onally gives fo vaft an Employment to our
People both by Sea and Land. Thefe are
the Hands whereby our Plantations are im-
proved, and it is by their Labours fuch great
Quantities of Sugar, Tobacco, Cotton, Gin-
E 3
4 Difcourfe on TRADE,
ger, Fuftick and Indigo, are raifed, which
employ great Numbers of Ships for tranf-
porting them hither , and the greater Num-
ber of Ships, employs the greater Number of
Handicraft Trades at home, fpends more of
our Product and Manufactures, and makes
more Sailors, who are maintained by a lepa-
rate Employment ; for if every one raifed the
Provifions he eat, or made the Manufactures
he wore, Traffic would ceafe, which is a Va-
riety of Employments Men have fet them-
felves on, whereby one is feryiceable to ano-
ther, adapted to their particular Genius's,
without invading each other's Provinces :
Thus the Hufbandman raifes Corn, the Mil-
ler grinds it, the Baker makes it into Bfead,
and the Citizens eats it : Thus the Grafier fats
Cattle, and the Butcher kills them for tt^
Market : Thus the Shepherd fheers his Sheep,
the Spinfter turns the Wool into Yarn, the
Weaver makes it into Cloth, and the Mer-
chant exports it, and every one lives by each
other : Thus the Country fupplies the City
with Provifions, and that the Country wjtfy
Neccflaries ; now the advifing a former Reign
to monopolize this Trade, and confine it to
an exclufive Company, was the fame, as to
advife the People of JEgypt, to raife bigty
Banks
r A Dtfcourfe on TRADE, &c. 55
Banks to keep the River Nilus from over-
flowing, lead it fhould fertilize their Lands 5
or the King of Spain to fhut up his Mines,
leaft he fhould fill his Kingdom too full of
Silver : This Trade indeed is our Silver Mine,
for by the Overplus of Negroes above what
will ferve our Plantations, we draw greafi
Quantities thereof from the Spaniards, who ,
are fettled on the Continent of America, both
for the Negroes we furnifh from Jamaica, and
alfb by the Afliento, lately fettled by a Com-
pact of both Nations : 'Twas thefe which firft
introduced our Commerce with that People,
and gave us Opportunities of felling our Ma-
nufactures to them.
BUT tho* this Trade be now laid open,
yet it will not be amifs to enquire what Rea-
fons fliould perfuade that Government to mo-
nopolize it, and what has been the Confe-
quences thereof, in order to obviate any fu-
ture Attempts that may be made to get it
done again.
As for the Firft ; The Necefllty of having
Forts, Caftles, and Soldiers to defend the
Trade which could not be carried on without
them, had then Force enough to prevail.
E 4 BUT
A Difcotirfe on T R A D E, K^.
BUT let us confider what thefe Forts,
Caftles, and Soldiers were, their Ufe, and
whither the Trade is not as well fecured now
it lies open.
THE greateft Number of Soldiers, offered
as I remember at a Committee formerly ap-
pointed by the honourable Houfe of Com-
mons to enquire into that Affair, did not ex-
ceed One Hundred and Twenty on the whole
Coaft, nor did their Forts and Caftles appear
to be any thing elfe than Settlements for their
Factors, nor was it ever made out, or indeed
pretended, that they were fitted to wage a
National War, or to fecure againft a National
Invafion, nor were there any Magazines laid
up to expeft a Siege from the Natives ; nor
could they hinder Interlopers from trading
on the Coaft of what Nation foever ; but the
Company having obtained Frigates from the
Government, deftroyed our own Merchant
Ships (unlefs permitted on the Payment of
great Mulfts at home) whjlft they let others
alone : This, together with the Powers given
them in their Charter, to feize in the Planta-
tions, fuch as had the good Fortune to efcape
them on the Coaft, and alfo their Cargoes,
difcou raged private Traders, who elfe found
no Difficulties, the Natives receiving them as
Friends,
A Difcourfe on TRADE, c. 37
Friends, and chufing rather to deal with them
than the Company, whofe Factories alfo be-
ing at remote Diftances from each other, great
Part of that Coaft was untraded to.
NOR do I fee what Need there was to fight
our Way into a Trade, altogether as advanta-
geous to the Natives as to us ; for whilft we
fupplied them with Things they wanted, and
were of Value amongft them, we took in ex-
change Slaves, which were elfe of little Worth
to the Proprietors 5 and there was no Reafon
to think, that the People of this Kingdom,
who had fettled fuch large Colonies on the
Continent of America, (befides it feveral I- \/
flands) where there was at firft fuch fmall
Hopes of Advantage, without the Help of a
Company, fhould fall fliort in fecuring this
Trade, which carried with it the ProfpecT: of
fo great a Profit.
I will next confider the Inconveniencies
that have attended this Monopoly, and the
Advantage the Nation reaps by the Trades
being laid open i we now fend more Ships,
and fupply the Plantations with more Ne-
groes, and vend more of our Commodities
for their Purchafe : Befides, every Negro in
the Plantations gives a fecond Employ to the
Manufacturers of this Kingdom ; and had we
many
'A Difcowfe OH TRADE, K*.
many more to fpare, the Spaniards would buy
them, and pay us in Bullion, fo there could
be no Ground for putting this Trade into few
Hands, unlefs 'twas defigned thofe few mould
grow rich, whilft for their Sakes, the Na-
tion fuffered in its Trade and Navigation, the
Company having made this detrimental Uie
of their Charter, that they bought up our
Manufactures cheaper at home, and made the
Planters pay dearer for Negroes abroad, than
could have been done, if there had been
more Buyers for the One, and Sellers of the
Other.
IT is not to be doubted, whether the vend-
ing our Manufactures, and encouraging our
Navigation, on advantagious Terms, are the
true Intereft of this Kingdom, and that all
Foreign Commerce, as it advances either, is
more or lefs profitable to us ; but the confin-
ing this Trade to an exclufive Company could
promote neither ; and I believe 'tis one great
Reafon, why we know fo little of that great
Continent, becaufe the Company, finding
Ways enough to employ their Stock amongft
thofe few Settlements they had made on the
Sea-Coaft, never endeavoured a farther Inland
Difcovery ; whereas, now the Trade is laid
open, the bufy Merchant, that induftrious
Bee
A Difcourfs an TRADE,
$ee of the Nation, will not leave any Creek
or River untraded to, from whence he may
hope to make Advantage.
? Tis to Trade and Commerce we are be-
folding for what knowledge we have of for-
reign Parts, and it is obfervable, that the
more remote People dwell from the Sea, the
lefs they are acquainted with Affairs abroad.
Africa is a large Country, and doubtlefs the
Trade to ir, may be much enlarged to our
Advantage : Ufe and Experience, make us by
degrees, Mafters of every thing, and tho* the
firft Undertakers of a Defign may fall fliort
of anfwering their private Ends, yet they often
Jay open beaten Paths, wherein Pofterity do
tread with Succefs, though they mifcarried :
Now that all Places are permitted freely to
fend Ships, and to have the Management of
their own Affairs, Induftry is encouraged, and
Peoples Heads are fet at work how they may
out-do each other, by getting firft into a new
Place of Trade. Befides, the more Traders,
the more Buyers at home, and Sellers abroad,
and by this means, our Plantations on the
large Continent of America, are better fur-
nimed with Negroes, for want of which the
Inhabitants there could never arrive to thofe
Improvements they have done on the Iflands,
the
'o 'A Difcourfe en TRADE,
the Company having given them litttle or no
Supply, but chofe rather to fend their Negroes
to the latter, becaufe they were able to make
them better Payments ; but the Free-traders
have lince done it, to the great Advantage of
thofe Plantations, and of the Nation in gene-
ral.
As for the other Commodities brought in
returns from Africa, viz. Wax and Teeth,
one ferves for a foreign Export, without any
Difadvantage to our own Product ; and the
other is manufactured at home, and afterwards
carried to Markets abroad : And as for the
Gold brought thence, I need not mention how
much it doth advance our Wealth, all allow it
to be a good Barter.
ON the whole, I take the African Trade,
both for its Exports and Imports, and alfo, as
it fupplies our Plantations, and advances Na-
vigation, to be very beneficial to this King-
dom, and will every Year grow more fo, if it
remains open.
Ireland. I come now to difcourfe of Ireland, and of
the Trade we interchangeably drive with that
Kingdom, with whom it is neceflary to main-
tain a good Correfpondence, which muft be
done on fuch Terms, as may be profitable to
us both t and I think nothing is more likely
to
A Dtfcourfe on TRADE, c. 61
to anfwer this End, than the encouraging the
Linnen Manufacture there, which it is highly
our Intereft to promote, and theirs to fet upon,
being for the moft Part of another Nature,
than what is made either in the North or South-
Britain ; for, befides the Employment it will
give to the Poor, large Tracts of Land will
be taken up for raifing Hemp and Flax, both
which thrive well in many Parts of that King-
dom ; on the other Hand, the low Labour of
Ireland being employed on that Manufacture,
will no way prejudice ours, but make them
better able to trade with us, for fuch things
wherewith they are fupplied hence, it being '
undoubtedly the Intereft of this Kingdom,
that all thofe Nations we trade with mould
grow rich, by any Methods that do not make
us Poor ; and more-elpecially Ireland, whofs
Profits are generally fpent here.
BUT then, how fhall this Manufacture be
carried on ? Truly, the firft Step muft be, by
furnifliing Money on reafonable Intereft, and
receiving it again by fuch Payments as the
Borrowers can make, and buying up the Lin*
nens when made, and th$n the landed Men
will encourage it, on their own Eftates, and
thereby enable their Tenants to pay their
Rents better 5 which laft Effect it hath already
had
ADtfcourfe on TRADE,
had in the North of Ireland, where by fplnning
the Yarn in the Winter Nights, and getting
their Cloth ready, and fit for Sale, early in
the Year, they provide for their May Rents,
without being conftrained to fell their Cattle
whilft they are lean, and their November Pay-
ments do not become due, till they are fat>
and their Harveft is over.
Now thefe Loans muft be made, either by
a Joint-Stock raifed for that Purpofe, of by
the Bank of England, which will be attended
with good Security ; for by reafon of the
Regifter fettled there by Aft of Parliament,
I take the Securities of Ireland, to be rather
better than thofe in England : and this way of
lending Money, muft likewile be very accep-
table to all thofe whofe Eftates are under dif-
ferent Incumbrances, which may by this means '
be reduced into one, and paid off, as they can
fpare the Money by degrees.
NOR can I fee how any ill Confequences
wrll attend the bringing the Money to Par in
both Kingdoms, I know it had none when
the Crown-piece was fome Years fince reduced
from fix Shillings to pafs at five Shillings and
five Pence, and all other Money in Propor-
tion ; it neither caufed an Alteration in the
Rents to the Landlords, nor in the Price of
the
ADtfcourfe on TRADE,
the Product to the Tenants ; and I cannot
fee why the falling it to five Shillings (as it
pafifes here) Ihould carry with it any ill Effect;
the Lands of Ireland would thereby be more
worth to the Proprietors, who would then be
more willing, and better able, to fpend their
Money here, when they were freed from fuch
high Exchanges -, befides the Advantage to
the King in his Revenue.
THE Commodities we have thence are,
Wool, Hides, Tallowy and Skins, all ufeful
in our Manufactures ; as alfo fome Herrings,
which we export again ; and we fhip from
thence for other Markets, Beef, Pork, Salmon
and Butter ; we likewife fupply them with
Tobacco, Sugar, and other Plantation Goods ;
alfo with fine Broad-Cloth, Silk Manufactures,
and feveral other things made here ; and with
fundry of our Products, as Lead, Tin, Coal,
&V. of which lad, fo great Quantities are
carried thither yearly, that it will fcarce be
credited, how much they fay there it amounts
unto; befides Muflins, Callicoes, China- Ware,
Tea, Cof&e, and other Eaft-India Goods:
They have indeed, difcouraged the Importa-
tion of Callicoes, by loading them with a great
Duty, but I wonder they do not totally pro-
hibit them, for that fingle Commodity doth
more
64 A Difcourft on T R A D E,
more Injury to their Manufactures, both of
Ltnnen and Wollen, than all the Things they
import befides.
I mould be very glad to fee the Linnen
Manufacture there brought to a good Per-
fection ; and I am fure if the Government
were at fome Charge in doing it, 'twould not
be ill laid out.
Canaries, I mall proceed next to the Trade we drive
to the Canary-IJlands, which brings us nothing
but what we confume, and I believe takes
from us little of our Product or Manufactures ;
but fince we muft drink Wines, 'tis better to
have them from the Spaniard than the French ;
the firft takes off much of our Manufac-
tures, the other little -, and I am apt to think,
thofe Wines are paid for out of what we (hip
to Spain.
Spain. THIS brings me to the Spamjh Trade,
which I take to be very profitable to this King-
dom, as it vends much of our Product and
Manufactures, and fupplies us with many
Things neceflary to be ufed in making the
Latter, and furnifties us with great Quantities
of Bullion -, I mail divide it into three Parts,
Spain, Bifeay, and Flanders.
To begin with Spain, by which I mean,
that Part from the Bay of Cadiz inclufive, Eaft-
ward
A Difcourfe on TRADE, &c. 65
ward into the Straits of Gibraltar, as far as
Catalonia ; whither we fend all Sorts of
Woollen Manufactures, Lead, Fifh, Tin,
Silk and Worded Stockings, Butter, Tobacco,
Ginger, Leather, Bees- Wax, and fundry o-
ther Things. And in Return we have
thence, fome Things fit only for Confump-
tion, fuch as Fruit and Wines ; others for our
Manufactures, fuch as Oil, Cochineal, Indi-
go, Anata., Barillia, and fome Salt, with a
great Part in Gold and Silver, wherewith
they are fupplied from their large Empires
on the main Land of America, whither
they export much of the Goods we carry to
them.
THE Spaniards are a (lately People, not
much given to Trade or Manufactures them-
felves i therefore the firft they carry on by
fuch chargeable and dilatory Methods, both
for their Ships and ways of Navigation, that
other trading Nations, fuch as the Engli/h y
French, Dutch, and Genoefe, take Advantage
of them ; only their Trade to their Weft-
Indies, hath, on drift Penalties, been re-
ferved to themfelves ; but having no Manu-
factures of their own, the Profit thereof
comes very much to be reaped by thofe who
furnifh them : Nor is it fo well guarded and
F fecured,
66 A Difcourfe on TRADE,
fecured, but that the Inhabitants thereof have
been plentifully fupplied by us with Manu-
factures, and many other Things from Ja-
maica, and may be more, by the Liberty late-
ly granted to the South-Sea Company, where-
by we get greater Prizes for them, than
when they were firft fhipp'd to Cadiz, and
exported thence thither, which adds to the
Wealth of the Nation : This I take to be
the true Reafon why our Vent for them at
Cadiz is leflened, becaufe we fupply New-
Spain direct with thole Things they ufed to
have thence before.
BY Bifcay, I mean all that Part under the
Spani/h Government, which lies in the Bay of
that Name, or adjoining to it : The Com-
modities we fend thither are generally the
fame as we do to Spain, and in Return we
have Wool, Iron, and fome Bullion, whereof
the firft is the beft and moft profitable Com-
modity, which could we fecure wholly to our
felves , 'twould be of great Advantage to the
Nation ; but both the Dutch and French
come in for their Shares , tho* I am apt to
think the former mightibe induced to bring
it hither by way of Merchandize, if we did
ib far relax the Act of Navigation, as to give
them Liberty to do it.
THE
A Difcoutfe on T R A D E, &c. 67
THE third Part of our Spanijh Trade is
that to Flanders, whereby I mean all thofe
Provinces that were formerly under its Go~
vernment, but are now under the Emperors,
whether we fend Commodities much of the
fame Nature as thofe we fend to the other
Parts, tho' not in fo great Quantities, and a-
mong our Woollen Manufactures more coarfe
Medleys ; alfo Mufcovado Sugars and Coals,
but not fo much Leather as we have formerly
done, being fupplied with raw Hides from
Ireland, which are tann'd there : We have
thence Linnens, Thread, and other Things,
which are ufed both at Home, and alfofhipp'd
to our Plantations.
THE next is the Trade we drive to the Portugal:
Kingdom of Portugal, and its Ilhnds, where
we vend much of our Product and Manu-
factures, little different in their kinds from
what are fent to Spain j and from thence we
have in Return, Salt, Oil, Woad, Fruit,
and Wines, befides Gold and Silver : We
have, fince the War with France, increafed
our Importation of their Wines, which is
more our Intereft to do, than to have them
from France, whence our Imports have been
always more than our Exports would pay for,
and to this Kingdom our Exports are greater
F 2 than
OJ3
A Difcourfe on TRADE,
than their Products can make us Returns, ef-
pecially fince we have defifted from bringing
hither their Sugars and Tobacco, Commo-
dities wherewith we are more advantageoufly
fupplied from our Plantations in America, and
are now abk to furnifh foreign Markets
cheaper than they can.
THESE People were formerly the great
Navigators of the World, as appears by
their many Difcoveries, both in the Eaft and
Weft-Indies^ befides the feveral Iflands of the
Azores, Cape de Verd, and alib Maderas,
where they have fettled Colonies ; to thefe
they admit us a free Trade, but referve their
remoter Settlements on the Continent of Brazil
more ftrictly to themfelves, whither they ex-
port many cf the Commodities we fend them,
and in Return have Sugars and Tobacco,
which are again exported to the European
Markets, though little cf them hither : Befides
which, they have of late brought from thence
great Quantities of Gold ; rheir Iflands we
fupply directly with our Manufactures, and
from the Azores load Corn, Woad, and fome
Wines, which we receive in Barter for them,
and are the Product of thofe Iflands ; the firft
we. carry to Maderas, where 'tis again bar-
tered for the Wines of the Growth of that I-
fland,
A Difcourfe on TRADE, c. 69
fland, which are fhipt thence to our Planta-
tions in America : In thefe Settlements the
Inhabitants live well, and are plentifully fup-
plied, becaufe they "have wherewith to pay for
what is brought them ; but thofe refiding on
the Cape de Verd Iflands, being generally made
up of Negroes, Molattoes, and fuch like Peo-
ple, and having little Product to give in Re-
turns, are but meanly furnifhed, and have
fcarce enough to ferve their Neceffities, much
lels to pleafe their Luxuries, Afles, Beeves,
and Salt, being all we have from them, which
we generally carry to our Plantations in Ame-
rica : fome Salt we bring home ; Beef might
be made there very cheap, could it be faved,
being purchafed for little, and Salt for lefs,
but the Climate will not allow it , only the
Ifland of St. Jago is rich, well governed, and
a Bi (hop's See, where they are well fupplied
with Necefiaries, becaufe they have Money to
pay for what they buy.
THE Porlugueze, as they are now become
bad Navigators, fo they are not great Manu-
facturers ; fome Sorts of coarfe Cloth they do
make, which is often fhipp'd to the Iflands
of Maderas and the Azores* where 'tis worn
with great Delight, and preferred before any
other of the like Goodnefs, becaufe its made
F 3 in
,
70 A Difcourfe on TRADE,
in Portugal ; and they did once attempt the
making Bays, for which they drew over fome
of our Workmen, but it foon came to ari
End, and they returned Home again by En-
couragement given them here, fo prudent
a Thing it is to ftop an Evil in the- Begin-
ning.
Turkey. THE Trade driven to Turkey is very profi-
table, as it affords us Markets for great Quan-
tities of our Woollen Manufactures, together
with Lead, and other Product, fhipp'd hence
to Conftantinople, Scandaroon, and Smyrna^ and
from thence difperft all over the lurkijh Do-
minions, as alfo into Perfia. The Commo-
dities we have thence in Return are, Raw
Silk, Cotton-Wool and Yarn, Goat's- Wool,
Grogram - Yarn, Cordivants, Gauls, Pot-
Afhes, and other Things, which are the
Foundations of feveral Manufactures different'
from our own, by the Variety whereof we
better fuit Cargoes to export again ; and tho*
this Trade may require fome Bullion to be
carried thither, yet there is a great Difference
between buying for Bullion, Commodities al-
ready manufactured, . which hinder the Ufe
and Confumption of our own, fuch as thofe
brought from the Eaft-Indifs, or Things to
be fpent on Luxury, fuch as Wines and Fruit,
and
A Difcourfe on TRADE,
buying therewith Commodities to keep our
Poor at Work ; thefe muft be had, tho' pur-
chafrd with nothing elfe.
To the feveral Parts of Italy we fend great Italy.
Quantities of Lead and other our Product,
and many Sorts of Woollen Manu failures,
but chiefly thofe made f Worfted ; alfo
Fifli, and Sugars, both white and brown, the
Jaft principally to Venice ; We bring thence
raw and thrown Silk, and Red- Wooll ; alfo
Oyl and Soap, (of the latter we now make
a great deal in England,) both ufed in Work-
ing up our Wool, forne Paper, Currants,
and other things.
BOTH Venice and Genoa have made fome
Attempts on a Woollen Manufacture, being
furnifhed with Wool from Alicant, and thole
Eaftcrn Parts of Spain ; wrought Silks and
Glafs are not fo much imported thence as
the formerly were, fince we have fallen on
making them here.
THE Dutch likewife Buy many of our Holland.
Manufactures, and much of our Pro-
dud, as Coals, Butter, Lead, Tin, befides
things of fmaller Value, fuch as Clay, Red-
ding, &JV. which are exported to Holland,
not only for their own ufe, but being a
Mart of Trade for Germany, they difperfe
F 4 them
A Difcourfe on TRADE, &c.
them for the Expence of thofe Countries ; a-
mong whom they alib Vend our Weft-India
Commodities, fuch as Sugar, Tobacco, In-
digo, Logwood, Fuftick, Ginger, Cotton-
Wool, befides what they ufe themfelves ;
they are an induflrious People, but having
little Land, want Product of their own
to Trade on, except what they raife by their
Fimeries, or bring from the Eaft- Indies^ where-
of Spices and Salt-Petre are many times ad-
mitted to be brought hither, tho* contrary to
the Ac~l of Navigation ; indeed the Trade of
the Dutch confifts rather in Buying and Selling
than Manufactures, moft of their Profits arifing
from that, and the Freights they make of
their Ships; which being Built for Burthen,
are imployed generally in a Home-Trade, for
bulky Commodities, fuch as Salt from St. Ubes
to the Baltick^ Timber, Hemp, Corn, Pitch,
and fuch forts of Goods thence to their own
Country, which Ships they Sail with few
Hands ; and this, together with Lownefs of
Intereft, enables them to afford thofe Com-
modities at fuch Rates, that they are often
fetch t from them by other Nations, cheaper
then they could do it from the Places of their
Growth, all charges confidered : 'Tis ftrange
to fee how thefe People Buz up and down
among
ADtfcourfe on TRADE, c. 73
among themfelves, the Greatnefs of whofe
Numbers caufes a vaft Expence, and that
Expence muft be fupplied from Abroad, fo "^ j \ X*
A. LI iv jt-A/^W"' ~ '**-
one Man gets by another, and they find by /
Experience, that as a Multitude of People j
brings Profit to the Government, fo it ere- ?
ates Imployment to each other , befides they
Invent new ways of Trade, by felling, not
only Things they have, but thofe they have
not, great Quantities of Brandy and other
Commodities being difpofed of every Year,
which are never intended to be delivered,
only the Buyer and Seller get or loofe, ac-
cording to the Rates it bears at the time agreed
on to make good the Bargain ; fuch a Com-
merce to this Kingdom would be of little
Advantage, and would not advance its Wealth
more than Stock-jobbing, our Profits depend-
ing on the improving our Product and Ma-
nufactures; but that Government railing its
Income by the Multitude of its Inhabitants,
who pay on all they eat, drink and wear, and
almofl on every thing they do, cares not fo
much by what Methods each Perfon gets, as
that they have People to pay ; which are ne-
ver wanting from all Nations, for as one
goes away, another comes, and every tem-
porary Refident advances their Revenue j
therefore
74 A Difcourfe OH TRADE,
therefore to increafe their Numbers, they
make the Terms of Trade eafy ; contrary to-
the Cuftoms of Cities and private Corpora-
tions with us, the Narrownefs of whofe Char-
ters difcourages Induftry, and hinders Im-
provements both in Handicrafts and Manu-
factures, becaufe they exclude better Artifts
from their Societies, unlefs they purchafe their
Freedoms at unreafonable Rates.
Hamburgh HAMBURGH is another Market for our
Manufactures -, this City vends great Quan-
tities of our Cloth, as alfo Tobacco, Sugars,
and other Plantation Commodities, together
with feveral of our Products, which are alfo
thence fent into Germany ; from whence we
have in Return Linnens, Linnen-yarn, and
other Commodities, very necefiary both for
the Ufe of our felves and of our Plantations,
and little interferring with our own Manu-
factures.
Poland. POLAND alfo takes off many of our Ma-
nufacturers, wherewith it is fupplied chiefly
from Dantzick, whither they are flrft car-
ried, and thence difperft into all Parts of
that Kingdom, which hath but little Wool of
its own, and that chiefly in Ukrania ; but the
Expence of our Cloth hath been leflened there,
fince Silefta, and the adjoining Parts of Ger-
A Difcottrfe on TRADE, *. 75
many, have turn'd their Looms to that Com-
modity, occafioned by our difufing their Ltn-
nens, and wearing Callicoes in their Room ;
we have thence fome Linnens, alfo Potatoes.
RUSSIA is likewife fupplied by way of . Ruffia -
St. Angela, with our Woollen Manufactures,
and other Things, alfb with fome Tobacco ; .
but the Sale of the latter is decreafed, occa-
fioned (as I am informed) by the Indifcretion
of our Merchants that imported it ; who putt- '.
ing an excefiive Price thereon, caufed the Czar \
to encourage the Planting it in his Dominions, \
which being very large, and reaching from
the Mare Album Northward, to the Cafpiait
Sea Southward, befides its vaft Extent from
Eaft to Weft, affords Climates enough proper
for it , by which means, we are in danger of
lofing the Sale of that Commodity, fo profi-
table t the Nation, which we might have
continued, if they had not been too covetous
at firft : We have in Return from thence,
Hemp, Potames, Ruffia Hides, with fome
Linnen, and other Commodities, both ufeful
at Home, and fit to be carried abroad.
SWEDEN and its Territories, takes off Sweden,
great Quantities of our Manufactures, both
fine and coarfe, and fome of our Product, be-
fides Tobacco and Sugars, and other Planta-
tion.
76 ADifcottrfe on TRADE,
tion Goods ; but the Sale of our Cloth hath
been leflen'd there, occafion'd by their load-
ing it with great Duties, on purpofe to en-
courage a Manufacture of their own ; their
Wool is coarfe, fo confequently the Cloth
made thereof rriuft be ordinary ; however, the
Jate King encouraged the Wearing it, by his
own Example, and thought it the Intereft of
his Kingdom fo to do : Yet all forts of Serges,
Stuffs, and Perpets are carried thither, and I
think as freely as before ; from thence we have
Copper, Iron, and fome other Things.
Denmark DEN MAR K is fupplied from us with
i
Noway. Woollen Manufactures, yet takes no great
Quantities, and Norway lefs, the People of
the latter being generally poor ; fome To-
bacco and Sugar is alfo fhipp'd hence and fpent
amongft them.
FROM thefe three laft Northern Kingdoms
we are furnifhed with Pitch, Tar, Hemp,
Mails, Baulks, and Deal boards, all very ufe-
ful to us, and without which, we can't carry
on our Navigation, and therefore we muft
have them, though purchas'd with Money;
but the Parliament having encouraged the
| Importation of fome of them from our Plan-
tations on the Continent of America, our De-
pendence on them for thofe Things, will in
all
A Difcourfe on TRADE, &c. 77
all probability be lefiened every Year : I look
on any thing that faves our Timber, to be an
Advantage to the Nation, which Baulks and
Boards do.
THE French Trade hath every Age grown France. *
lefs profitable to our Woollen Manufacturers,
as the Inhabitants make wherewith to fupply,
both themfelves and other Nations, which
they could not do, were they not furnifhed !
with Wool from hence and Ireland, their own '-'.-'
being unfit to work by it felf : Nor doth
France fpend much of the Growth and Pro-
duct, either of this Kingdom, or of our
Plantations, and furnimes us with nothing to o ''c
be manufactured here, fo that the Trade we
drive thither, turns only to their Advantage ; ^ ^ &**<*
which being generally for Things confumed
among ourfelves, and our Imports exceeding
our Exports, muft needs be Lofs to the King-
dom; but if the Linnen Manufacture can be/
fettled in Scotland and Ireland, Paper, Diftill-
ing, and Silk Manufactures, encouraged here,
the Ballance will foon be altered, efpecially
fince the Portuguefe have made fuch Improve-
ments in their Wines; only their Salt we /hall
ftill want for our Fifheries.
As to the South-Sea Trade, I cannot under- South Sea.
take to fay much to it, being but lately en-
tered
;S A Difcourfe on TRADE,
tered upon, and limited by Act of Parlia-
ment to an exclufive Company, according to
, whofe Management it may prove more or lefs
\\r Advantagious to the Nation ; only in this I
believe we may be certain, that they will
never carry away our Bullion, as the Eaft-In-
s*\^* V'f dia Company does, but in all Probability, will
bring us more.
What AND thus I have run through the Foreign
<rrad"s are Trades driven from this Kingdom, and fhew'd
profitable how they advance its Intereft, by taking off
*Manufac- our Product and Manufactures, and fupply-
tures, and ing us with Materials to be manufactured a-
what are . , . , . -n i i r r
not. g aln > wherein 'tis a certain Rule, that lo far
as any Nation furnimes us with things already
manufactured, or only to be fpent amongft
our felves, fo much lefs is our Advantage by
the Trade we drive with them ; efpecially if
thofe Manufactures interfere with our own,
^
and are purchafed with Bullion. Therefore I
think the Soft-India Trade to be unprofitable
to us, hindering by its Silks, Muflins, and
Callicoes, the Confumption of more of
our Manufactures in Europe, than it takes
from us. The Spanifb, Turkey, and Portugal
Trades, are very advantagious, as they vend
great Quantities of our Manufactures, and fur-
nifti us with Materials to be wrought up here,
and
A Difcourfe on TRADE, c. 7?
and difperfe our Commodities to other Places,
where we could not fo well fend them our-
felves ; this Spain doth to its Settlements in
America ; Turkey to all its Territories, both
in Europe and Afia, and alfo to Perfia \ Por-
tugal doth the fame to Brazil. The Dutch?
Hamburgh, and Dantzick Trades are very ufe-
ful, as they fupply Germany, Poland, and fome
Parts of RuJJia, with our Manufactures, and
little interfere with us in theirs. Sweden and
Denmark are profitable, both in what they
take from us, and in what we have from them
again. Italy takes off much of our Worfted
Manufactures, and fends us little of its own,
fave wrought Silks, whereof we fhall every
Year import lefs, as we increafe that Manu-
facture at home ; but above all, I efteem the
African and Weft-India Trades to be moft pro-
fitable to the Nation, as they imploy more of
our People at Home, and give greater In- f.
couragement to our Navigation by their Pro- ^
duct -, but the French Trade is certainly our
Lofs, France being like a Tavern, with whom
we fpend what we get by other Nations ; and
'tis ftrange, we mould be fo bewitcht to that
People, as to take off their Growth, which
confifts chiefly of things for Luxury, and re-
ceive a Value only for the Efteem we put on
them
8o A Difcourfe on TRADE,
them, whilft at the fame Time, they pra-
hibit our Manufactures, in order to fet up
the like among themfelves, which we en-
courage, by furnifhing them with Wool.
fit Sal- THE Ballance of that and the Eaft-India
lance of
each " Trade, is always againft us, from whom ' we
Trade. fays in Goods more than we fhip them, and
therefore muft lefien our Bullion ; the Ballance
of Spain and Portugal is always in our Favour,
and therefore muft encreafe it ; as for the
Dutch, Germany, and Hamburgh, their Ballan-
ces are not yet agreed on ; fbme think we fhip
them mod, others, that we receive moft from
them ; I incline to the former : The North-
ern Crowns fupply us with more than they
take from us, but they are Commodities we
can't be without, at lead, till we can be better
furnifh'd with them from our Plantations in
America ; Turkey may require fome Bullion,
yet the Trade we drive thither is very bene-
ficial to us ; Italy will grow more and more
in its Ballance on our Side, as the Importa-
tion of wrought Silks is lefien'd, and turn'd
into raw and thrown. Now confidering,
that almoft the whole World is fupplied by
our Labour, and that our Plantations do
daily bring us fuch Incomes, 'tis ftrange, if
this Nation mould not grow rich, which
doubtlefs
'A Dtfcourft on T R A D E, t. Si
doubtlefs it would do above all our Neigh-
bours, were our Trade rightly looked after.
THOSE who cope with Us in our Manu- ?^kai
faftures, are chiefly the French 5 but let due chie ji v co p t
Care bs taken to prevent their being fupplied '" 7 ^j_ ;a
with Wool from hence* and from Ireland, nufatfurts*
and we (hall foon fee an Alteration therein:
'Tis true* they have Wool of their own* but
they cannot work it without ours or Irijh :
The Commodities they make, are generally
flight Stuffs, wherein they ufe a great deal of
Combing Wool ; and thefe they not only
wear themfelves, but fend them to Portugal,
and other Parts, with good Succefs ; to
countermine which* We have fallen on ma-
king them, by Afiiftance of the French Re-
fugees ; I wonder at the Fancies of thofe Men,
who are always finding Fault, that we do not
make our Manufactures as ftrong as formerly
we did* wherein I think they are to be
blamed, for we muft fit them to the Humours
of the Buyers* and flight Cloth brings as much
Profit to the Nation as ftrong, and the fame
Employment to the Poor ; yet where Seals
and other Marks are fet* let them be certain
Evidences to the Truth of what they certify,
either as to the Length of the Piece, or thai
the Infide is fuitable to the Outfide, or that 'tis
G truly
83 JL Difcourfe on T R & D E, 1c.
truly wove, and without Flaws -, the fame
with refpect to the Colour, that 'tis woaded,
or madder'd, or the like : But there is a great
deal of Difference between this, and obliging
"" the Manufacturer to make his Cloth or Stuff
to a certain Weight and Thicknefs, without
refpect to the Buyer, or the Climate to which
it is fent. As for the Dutch, as I take them
to be no good Planters, fo likewife no good
Manufacturers, their Heads are not turned
that Way, but rather to Traffic and Naviga-
tion. The Flanderkins were once famous in
the Art of Cloth-making, which they carried
on by the Wool they fetch'd hence : But King
Edward the Third, by keeping our Wool at
home, put a flop to that Manufacture. If
therefore the prohibiting our Wool to be
carried out, had at that Time fo good an Ef-
fect and Confequence againlt thpfe People,
why mould not our Care to prevent its being
carried out now, have the fame againft the
French ? We. cannot indeed hinder them from
Spanifb, but we may from our own and Irijh.
As for Sweden* I am apt to think their Ma-
nufactures will come to little. And as for
Germany^ the Woollen Manufacture is not fo
natural to then? as the Linnen, which they
would keep clofe to, if we gave, them En-
couragement,
A Difcourfe on TRADE,
couragement, by wearing it here, and fend-
ing it to our Plantations, which would be
more advantagious to us, than by the ufe of
Muflins and Callicoes, to put them on fen-
cing with us at our own Weapons, which they
very unwillingly undertake. The Woollen
Manufactures in Italy are but fmall, and thofe
chiefly among the Venetians, fomething a-
mong the Genoefe -, thefe we cannot hinder,
being fupplied with Wool from thofe Parts
of Spain which are near them, except we
could promote a Contract with the Spaniard
for all he hath ; and if it mould be objected
that we mould then have too much, 'tis bet-
ter to burn the Overplus at the Charge of
the Public (as the Dutch do their Spices) than
to have it wrought up abroad, which we
can't otherwife prevent, feeing all the Wool
of Europe is Manufactured fome where ; and
if the Act for burying in Woollen did ex-
tend to our Plantations in America, 'twould
be of great ufe towards the Confumption of,/
our Wooll i thus, when the Nation comes to
fee, that the Labour of its People is its
Wealth, 'twill put us on finding out Methods
to make every one Work that is able ; which
muft be done, by hindring fuch fwarms from
going off to idle and ufelefs Employments,
G 2 and
84 A Dzfcourfe on TRADE, &c.
and by preventing fuch Multitudes of lazy
People from being maintained by begging.
j s fafa^ to be noted in our
in Em-
ploying our Trade with Foreign Nations, that where
the y fetch from us our ProducT: and Manu-
factures, and make their Imports to us, in
their own Ships, we get lefs by the Trade we
drive with them, than if we did it in ours,
becaufe that doth alfo encourage our Navi-
gation ; and Freights are a great and profi-
table Article in Trade ; therefore we get more
by the Spanijh Trade, becaufe we generally
drive it in our own Bottoms ; and we lofe
more by the French Trade, when they bring us
their Wines and Brandy, than when we fetch
them ourfelves ; and accordingly we may take
our Meafures in judging of all other Trades.
Whether a IT hath been a great Debate how the Bal-
true 7 uj s- lance O f our Foreign Trade (hall be comput-
ment may 1
be made of^ and what Methods we mould take
*Unfe a of whereby to know it, and it has been thought,
Foreign fa^ t h e mo ft proper way to make a true
Judgment therein is, by taking an Account
from the Cuftom-houfe Books of our Exports
and Imports ; but if this Method would do,
yet I do not think there can be any Certainty,
either of the one or the other, drawn from
thence ; for, as for our Imports, the Bullion,
1 and
r A Difcourfe on T R A D E, r. S j
and fuch Things of Value, are not entered
there, and feldom prefented -, and as to the
Exports, feeing our Woollen Manufactures
go out Cuftom-Free, the Entries there made
of them cannot be depended on ; but fuppofe
a more exact Account of our Exports and Im-
ports could be had, yet, fince fo great a part
of the Trade of this Kingdom is driven by
Exchange, and fuch vaft Quantities of Com-
modities are Imported from our Plantations
for Account of the Inhabitants there, the Pro-
duce whereof they leave here as a flock at
Home, and that they are fupply'd hence w.ith
fo many Things for their own Confumption,
I cannot fee how any moderate Computation
can be this way made of our general Trade,
much lefs of that we drive with any partial-.
Jar Nation, the Commodities which we re-
ceive at one place, being often carried to ano-
ther j thus we tranfport to Italy the Sugars we
receive for our Manufactures in Portugal^ and
bring thence Silk and other Things to be
manufactured here, and yet we muft not con-. ^ ? -^
elude we lofe by the Portugal Trade, becaufe
\ \*& A
the Returns thence fall fhort by the Cuftom- r
Houfe Books, or that we get more by the I *
Italian Trade, becaufe it doth not appear by
thofe Books how we exported Commodities
G 3 to
86 A Dtfceurft on- T R A D E,
' to pay for what we Import thence , and as to
the Profits we make by the Freights of our
Ships, it doth not at all appear from them,
nor at what Rates our Product and Manu-
factures are fold Abroad, or our Plantation
Goods to Foreigners at home ; fo the Thing
muft ftill remain doubtful ; and I know no
more certain way to Judge of it, than by the
Increafe the Nation makes in its Bullion,
which always arifes from the over Ballance of
bur Foreign Barter and Commerce.
Committee AND for the better Encouraging the Trade
of Trade. o f tn j s Kingdom, I think it well worthy the
Thoughts of a Parliament, whether a ftanding
Committee, made up of Men well verft there-
in, mould not be appointed ; whofe fole Bu-
finefs it fliould be to confider the State there-
of, and to find out Ways to improve it ; to
vup.fee how the Trades we drive with Foreign
Kingdoms, grow more or lefs profitable to us ;
how, and by what Means we are out-done
*$VJr '
vjf* by others in the Trades we drive, or hinder-
ed from enlarging them j what is necefiary to
be prohibited, both in our Exports and Im-
ports, and for how long Time ; to hear Com-
plaints from our Factories Abroad, and to
correfpond with our Minifters there, in Afl
fairs relating to our Trade, and to reprefent
all
A Difcourfe on TRADE, f$c. 87
all Things rightly to the Government, with
their Advice, what Courfes are proper to be
taken for its Encouragement; and generally
to fludy by what means and Methods the
Trade of this Kingdom may be improved,
both abroad and at home.
IF this was well fettled, the good Effects
thereof would foon be feen ; but then, great
Care mud be taken, that thefe Places be not
fill'd up with fuch who know nothing of the
Bufinefs, and thereby this excellent Conftitu-
tion become only a Matter of Form and Ex-
pence.
IN the Management of Things of much
lefs moment, we employ fuch who are fup-
pofed to underftand what they undertake, and
believe they cannot be carryed on without
them ; whilft the general Trade of the Na-
tion (which is the fupport of all) lies neglect-
ed, as if the Coggs that direct its Wheels did
not need (kill to keep them true: Trade re-\ \A#
quires as much Policy as Matters of State, V
and can never be kept in a regular Motion
by Accident ; when the Frame of our Trade
is out of Order, we know not where to be-
gin to mend it, for want of a fet of expe-<
rienced Builders, ready to receive Appli
G 4 lions,
'A Difcourfe on T R A D E, &c.
tions, and able to judge where the Defect
lies.
SUCH a Committee as this, will foon ap*
pear to be of great Ufe and Service, both
to the Parliament in framing Laws relating
to Trade, and alfo to the Government in
the Treaties they make with Foreign Na-
tions.
As to the firft, it hath fometimes been
thought, that when that great and glorious
Afiembly hath medled with Trade, they
have left it worfe than they found it ; and the
Reafon is, becaufe the Laws relating to Trade,
require more time to look into their diftant
Confequences y than a Seffion will admit ;
whereof we have had many Inftances.
To begin with the French Trade ; in the
22 d Car. II. a new Import was laid on Wines,
viz. Eight Pounds per Ton on the French,
and Twelve Pounds per Ton on Spanifh and
Portuguese : This Difference (with the low
Subfidies put on their Linnens by former Acls,
in refpect to thofe of other Places) was a
great Means of bringing the Ballance of that
Trade fo much againft us, that the Parlia-
ment in the fth and 8/ of Gul. III. thought
fit to make an Aft, (and is continued by this
prefent Parliament for a longer time) which
in
r A Difcourfe on TRADE,
in Effect, prohibited all Trade with that Na-
tion for One and Twenty Years, by laying
a great Duty on the Importations thence, in
order to prevent a Correfpondence, till the
Trade fhould be better regulated.
IN the i4tb Car. II. Logwood was per-
mitted by Act of Parliament to be imported,
paying five Pounds per Ton Duty , the fame
Act repeals two Statutes of Queen Elizabeth
againft Importing and Ufing it in Dying
here, and fets forth the Ingenuity of our Dy-
ersj in finding out Ways to fix the Colours
made with it; and yet at the fame time gave
a Draw-back of three Pounds fifteen Shillings
per Ton on all that mould be Exported,
whereby Foreigners ule it fo much cheaper in
their Manufactures than ours can here ; which
proceeded from a too hafty making that Law,
and being advifed, or rather abufed, by thofe,
who regarded more their own Intereft, than
that of the Nation.
BY an Aft made i Ja. II. an Import of
Two Shillings and Four Pence per Cent, was
laid on Mufcovado Sugars imported from the
Plantations, to be drawn back at Exporta-
tion ; the Traders to the Plantations ftirr'd V
in this Matter, and fet forth, That fuch a
puty would difcourage the Refining them
here,
A Difcourfe on TRADE,
here, by hindering the Exportation of refined
Sugars, which was then confiderable, and
carry that Manufacture to Holland and Flan-
den ' 9 but the Commiffioners of the Cuftoms
prevailed againft them, and the Bill pad ; the
fatal Confequences whereof foon appear'd ; for
the Exporters of Mufcavado Sugars, drawing
back two Shillings and Four-pence per Cent.
by that Act, and Nine-pence per Cent, by the
Ac~b of Tunnage and Poundage, foreign Mar-
kets were fupplied with refined Sugars from
- other Places cheaper, by about Twelve per
Cent, than we could furnifh them hence, by
v>>- < ..; _ \ J
which means we were beat out of that Trade :
jtiJK" ' " '''' ' '" ' '
and though the Duty of two Shillings and
V " &* Four- pence per Cent, was not continued on the
Expiration of that A 61, by the Parliament
id W. and M. as they did the Three-pence
per Pound on Tobacco) the bad Effects there-
of being then apparent, yet 'tis Difficult to
retrieve a loft Trade, trading Nations being
like expert Generals, who make Advanta-
ges of the Mi flakes of each other, and take
care to hold what they get.
BY a Statute 4th and 5th /sPVand M.
twenty Shillings per Ton was laid on Lapis
Caliminaris dug here and Exported, on an
Information given to the Houfe of Commons,
that
A Difcourfe on T R A D E, ffr.
that it was not to had any where elfe 5 the
Merchants concerned in exporting that Com-
modity, made Application, and fet forth, that
fuch a Duty would bring in nothing to the
Crown, but be a total Bar to its Exportation;
yet the Act paft, and we were like to have
made a fatal Experiment ; for till the Statute
of the 7th and 8th of the fame King, which
reduced the Duty to two Shillings per Ton,
the Exportation cealed ; and in the mean
Time, thofe Places which had been difcourag-
ed.from digging, and calcining it, becaufe we
undcrfold them, fet again to work, and fup-
plied the Markets where we vended ours.
WHAT Injury was done by the Act made
in the yth and ioth W. III. for the more
effectual preventing the Importation of Fo-
reign Bonelace, &V. doth fufficiently appear
by the Preamble of that made in the ntb
and iitb of the fame Reign, for repealing it
three Months after the Prohibition of our
Woollen Manufactures in Flanders (which was
occafioned by it) fhould be there taken off ;
but I don't underfland that is yet done, and
it may prove an irrecoverable Lofs to the Na-
tion.
I men-
r A Difcourfe on TRADE,
I mention thefe Things with great Sub-
miffion to the Judgment of that glorious Af-
iembly, the Wifdom and Strength of the Na-
tion ; to whom I only prefume with all Hu-
mility to offer my Thoughts, that it would
very much tend to the putting Matters of
Trade into a true Light before them, if they
were firft referred to a Body of Men, well
verfed in the true Principles thereof, and able
to fee through the Sophiftical Arguments of
contending Parties, to be by them confidered,
and well digefted, before they received the
Sanction of a Law.
AND as to foreign Treaties ; I do not
think our Trade hath been fo much bettered
by them as it might have been, for want of
fuch a Committee ; the Reprefentations made
by private Merchants, (who generally differ
according as their Interefts clalh with each
other) tending rather to diftract, than to in-
form the Government ; which would not be,
if their firft Applications were made to an
experienced Committee, who had Judgment
enough to fubftract out of them what was pro-
per to be offer'd ; by which means, our De-
mands might be rendered fhort and com-
prehenfive,
WE
r A Difcourfe OH TRADE,
WE have natural Advantages in Trade
above other Nations, befides the Benefit of
our Situation, the Foundation of our Woolen
Manufactures being as it were peculiar to our
own Growth, and may be retained amongft
ourfelves ; an Advantage the French have nor,
whofe Wealth arifing chiefly frona the Ex-
portation of their Wines, Brandy, Salt, Paper,
Silks, and Linnens, both we and other Na-
tions, have made fuch a Progrefs in them all
fmce the War began, as to render theirs lefs
fought for; whereas, nothing but our own
Neglects, and ill Managements, can let our
Neighbours into our Manufactures, which we
may foon put a flop to, by fecuring our Wool
at Home.
I cannot clofe this Difcourfe without fpeak-
ing fomething of Infurance. The firft Defign
whereof, was to encourage the Merchants to
export more of our Product and Manufactures,
when they knew how to eafe themfelves in
their Adventures, and to bear only fuch a Pro-
portion thereof as they were willing and able
to do ; but by the Irregular Practices of fome
Men, this firft Intention is wholly obviated ;
who without any Intereft, have put in early
Policies, and gotten large Subfcriptions on
Ships
ADifcourfe on TRADE,
Ships, only to make Advantage by felling
them to others ; and therefore have indul-
trioufly promoted falfe Reports, and fpread
Rumours, to the Prejudice of the Ships and
Matters, filling Mens Minds with Doubts,
whereby the fair Trading Merchant, when he
comes to infure his Intereft, either can get no
one to underwrite, or at fuch high Rates, that
he finds it better to buy the others Policies at
advance ; by this means thefe Stock-jobbers
of Infurance, have, as it were, turn'd it into
a Wager ; to the great Prejudice of Trade :
likewife many ill-defigning Men, their Policies
being over-valued, have (to the Abhorence of
honeft Traders, and to the Scandal of Trade
itfelf) contriv'd the Lois of their own Ships :
On the other Side, the Underwriters, when
a Lofs is ever fo fairly proved, boggle in
their Payments, and force the Infured to be
content with lefs than their Agreements, for
fear of engaging, themfelves in long and
chargeable Suits.
Now, if the Parliament would pJeafe to
take thefe Things into their Confideration,
they may reduce Infurance^ to its firfl Inten-
tion, by obliging the Infured to bear fuch a
proportionable Part of his Adventure, (the
Premio
AVtfcourfe on TRADE, &?. 95
Premio included) as to them fhall feem fit,
and alfo the Infurers, when a Lofs is fully
made out, to pay their Subfcriptions without
Abatement, which will prevent both ; and
if any Differences (hould arife, to direct eafy
ways for adjufting them, without attending
long IfiTues at Law, or being bound up to
fuch nice Rules in their Proofs, as the Affairs
of foreign Trade will not admit.
I know, that by a Claufe in a Statute made
primo Anv<e^ the wilful cafting away, burning,
or otherwife deftroying a Ship, by any Cap- fy the
tain, Mafter, Mariner, or other Officer be-
longing to it, is made Felony, without Bene-
fit of Clergy ; but that Statute is fo qualify'd,
that it is difficult to convict the Offender, be-
caufe the Fact muft be done, to the Prejudice
of the Owner, or Owners, or of any Mer-
chant or Merchants that fhall load Goods
thereon, elfe he doth not come within its
Penalty, fo it doth not reach the Evil I here
mention, viz. the abominable Contrivance of-
the Owners to have their own Ships deftroy-
ed, in order to make an Advantage by their
Infurancesj a Crime fo black in itfelf> that
it cannot be mentioned without Horror.)
Thefe Men, when they frame their dark De-
figns,
r A Dtfcourfe on TRADE,
figns, will take Care, for the Security of thofe
they employ, that none betides themfelves
mall load Goods on the Ships they intend
fhall be thus deftroyed, and it cannot be fup-
pofcd that they receive Prejudice thereby
themfelves, fo the Profecution on that Statute
is evaded; but if the Infured were bound to
make out their Interefts, and to bear a Pro-
portionable Part of the Lofs themfelves, this
would, as it were, naturally prevent fuch
fcandalous Practices.
BEFORE I enter on the Bufinefs of the
If Labour Poor > * wil1 confider of a Queftion tha t hath
it a Hin- arrifen, and I have heard fometimes debated
e- by Men of good Underftanding, which is,
taenti in "Whether the Labour of the Poor being fo
JuSs and high, does not hinder Improvements in our
c- Product and Manufactures; which having
tures.
fome Relation to the Subject Matter of this
Difcourfe, I fhall offer my Thoughts thereon,
with Submiflion to better Judgments, viz.
That both our Product and Manufactures
may be carried on to Advantage, without
running down the Labour of the Poor.
As to the firft, our Product, I am of
Opinion, that the running down the Labour
of
A Difcourfe on T R A D E, gfr.
the Poor, is no advantage to it, nor is it the
Interefl of that part of the Kingdom called
England to do it, nor can the People thereof
live on fo low Wages as they do in other
Countries ; for we mud confider, that Wages
fnuft bear a Rate in all Nations according to
the Price of Provifions-, where Wheat is fold
for one Shilling per Bufhel, and all Things
fuitable, a labouring Man may afford to work
for Three-pence a Day, as well as he can for
Twelve-pence, where it is fold for four Shill-
ings ; and this Price of Wheat arifes chiefly
from the Value of the Land ; for it cannot
be imagined, that the Farmer who gives
twenty Shillings per Acre, can afford it as low
'as he whofe Lands coft him but five Shillings
per Acre, and produces the fame Crop, nor
can Labour be ex peeled to be fo low in fuch
a Country, as in the other ; this is the Cafe of
England^ whofe Lands yielding great Rents,
require good Prices for the Product ; and
this is the Freeholders Advantage ; for fup-
pofing Neceffaries to be the Current Payment
for Labour, in fuch Cafes, whether we call
a Bufhel of Wheat one Shilling, or Four
Shillings, it will be all one to him, for fo
much as he pays, but not for the Overplus of
H his
A Difcourfe on TRADE,
his Crop, which makes a great Difference in-
to his Pocket ; you cannot fall Wages, unlefs
you fall Product ; and if you fall Product,
you muft neceffarily fall Lands.
AND as for the fecond, our Manufactures, I
am of Opinion, that they may be carried on to
Advantage, without running down the La-
bour of the Poor ; for which I offer,
i. Obfervation, or Experience of what
hath been done ; we have and daily do fee
that it is fo ; the Refiners of Sugars fell for
Six-pence per Pound, what yielded formerly
Twelve-pence ; the Diftillers fell their Spirits
for one half of what they formerly did : Glafs
Bottles, Silk Stockings, and other Manu-
factures (too many to be here enumerated) are
fold for not much more than half the Price
they were fome Years fince, without falling
the Poor.
BUT then the Queftion will be, how this
} is done ? Truly it proceeds from the Ingenui-
: ty of the Manufacturer, and the . Improve-
ments he attains to in the Ways of his
Working : Thus the Refiners of Sugars go
through that Operation by eafier Methods, and
in leis Time, than their Predeceffors did :
Thus the Diftillers draw more Spirits from
the
A Difcourfe on TRADE, f$c.
the Things they work on, than thofe former-
ly did who taught them the Art. The Glafs-
Maker hath found a quicker way of making
it out of Things which coft him little. Silk
Stockings are wove ; Tobacco is cut by En-
gines ; Books are printed ; Deal Boards are
lawn with Mills ; Lead is fmelted by Wind-
Furnaces , all which fave the Labour of
many Hands, fo the Wages of thofe employ-
ed need not be fallen.
BESIDES which, there is a Cunning crept
into Trades : The Clock-Maker hath im-
proved his Art to fuch a Degree, that La-
bour and Materials are the leaft Part the
Buyer pays for. The Variety of our Woollen \ .
Manufactures is fo pretty, that Falhion makes \ .
a Thing worth twice the Price it is fold for
after, the Humour of the Buyer carrying a
great Sway in its Value. Artificers, by Tools
and Laves, fitted for different Ufes, make
fach Things, as would puzzle a Stander-by to
fct a Price on, according to the worth of
Mens Labour. The Plumrner by new In-
ventions cafts a Tun of Shot for ten Shillings,
which might feem to deferve forty.
THE fame Art is crept into Navigation ;
Freights are much fallen from what they for-
H 2 merly
too A Difcourfe on TRADE,
merly were at, and yet Sailors Wages are dill
the fame : Ships are built more for Stowage,
and made ftrong enough; to beloaden between
Decks, and Voyages ar performed in lefs
Time. Wool is fteved'into them by fuch
proper Inftruments, that three or four Bags
are put, where one would not elfe lye ;
Cranes and Blocks help to draw up more for
one Shilling, than Mens Labour without
them would do for Five.
NEW Projections are every Day fet on Foot
to render the making our Woollen Manu-
factures eafy, which mould be rendered cheap-
er by the Contrivance of the Manufacturers,
not by falling the Price of Labour : Cheap-
nefs creates Expence, and gives frefh Em-
ployments, whereby the Poor will be ftill kept
at Work.
THE fame for our Product ; Mines and
Pits are drained by Engines and Aquseducts
inflead of Hands : The Hufbandman turns
up the Ground with his Sullow, not digs it
with his Spade ; covers his Grain with the
Harrow, not with the Rake ; brings home
his Harveft with Carts, not on Mens Backs ;
and many other eafier Methods are ufed, both
for improving of Land, and raifing its Pro-
duct,
A Dtfcourfe on TRADE, gr. 101
duct, which leflen the Number of Labourers,
and make Room for better Wages to be gi-
ven thofe that are employed.
NOR am I of their Opinion, who think
the running down the Price of our Growth
and Prod uft, that fo they may buy Provi-
fions cheap, an Advantage to the inland
Trade of this Kingdom, but of the con-
trary.
To underftand this rightly, let us begin
with the Shop-keeper, or Buyer and Seller,
who is the Wheel whereon the inland Trade
turns, as he buys of the Importer and Ma-
nufacturer, and fells again to the Country ;
fuppofe this Man fpends two hundred Pounds
per Annum^ in all Things necefTary for him-
felf and Family, as Provifions, deaths,
Houfe-Rent, and other Expences, the Que-
ftion will be, what Part of this is laid out
in Flefh, Corn, Butter, Cheefe, &c. barely
confidered according to their firft Coft in. the
Market ? I prefume fifty or fixty Pounds per
Annum to be the moft, whereon the Advance
to him will not be fo much, by keeping up
our Product to a good Rate, as the Profits
which will confequently arife in his Trade will
amount unto : For by this Means the Farmer
H 3 will
ioa A Difcourfe on TRADE, g*.
will be enabled to give a better Rent to his
Landlord, who may then keep a more plen-
tiful Table, fpend more Wine, Fruit, Sugar,
Spices, and other Things wherewith he is
furniihed from the City, fuit himfelf and his
Family oftner, and carry on a great Splendor
in every Thing ; the Farmer according to
his Condition may do the fame, and give
higher Wages to the Labourers imployed in
Hufbandry, who may then live better, and
buy new Cloathes oftner, inflead of patching
up old ones ; by this means the Manufacturers
will be encouraged to give a better Price for
Wool and Labour, when they flmll find a
Vent as faft as they can make ; and a Flux of
Wealth caufing a Variety of Falhions, will
add Wings to their Inventions, when they
{hall fee their Manufactures advanced in their
Values by the Buyer's Fancy ; this likewife
will encourage the Merchants to encreafe their
Exports, when they fhall find a quick Vent
/ for their Imports ; by which regular Circu-
; lation, Payments will be fliort, and all will
grow rich ; but when Trade deadens in the
: Fountain, when the Gentlemen and the Farm-
ers are kept low, every one in his Order feels
it : It being moft certain, and grounded on
the
A Difcourfe on TRADE, &c. 103
the Obfervation of all Men who have lookt
into it, that in thofe Countries where Pro-
vifions are Cheap, the People are generally
Poor, both proceeding from the want of
Trade; fo that he who will give a right
Judgment in this Matter, muft not confider
Things only as they offer themfelves at the
firft Sight, but as they will be in their Con-
fequences.
As to the other Part of Great Britain, call-
ed Scotland^ I can fay little with Relation to
this Matter, my Knowledge of that part of
the Kingdom being not futEcient to enable me
to do it : But I am apt to believe, that the
fame general Maxim muft hold good there
alfo, viz. That the Rates of Labour muft be
according to the Prices of Provifions, and
thofe according to the Rents of the Lands.
HAVING thus gone through the State ofTte Poor
the Nation with refpect to its Trade, I will
next confider it with refpetfl to the Poor.
AND here it cannot but feem ftrange, that
this Kingdom, which fo much abounds in
Product and Manufactures, befides thelmploy-
rnent given in Navigation, mould want work
for any of its People ; the Dutch, who have
little of the two former, if compared with
H 4 us,
104 A Difcourfe on TRADE, 1$c.
us, and do not exceed us in the latter, fufTer
no Beggars ; whereas we, whofe Wealth con~
fifts in the Labour of our Inhabitants, feem
to encourage them in an idle way of Living,
contrary to their own and the Nations In-
tereft.
THE Curfe under which Man firft fell, was
Labour ; 'That by the Sweat of his Brows he
Jhould eat his Bread : This is a ftate of Hap-
pinefs, if compared to that which attends Idle-
nefs : He that walks the Streets of London,
and obferves the Fatigues ufed by Beggars, to
make themfelves feem Objects of Charity,
muft conclude, that they take more Pains
than an honeft Man doth at his Trade, and
yet feem not to get Bread to eat : Beggary
is now become an Art or Myftery, to which
I Children are brought up from their Cradles ;
any thing that may move Companion is made
a Livelyhood, a fore Leg or Arm, or for
want thereof a pretended one , the Tricks
and Devices I have obferved to be ufed by
thefe People, have often made me think,
that thofe Parts, if better employed, might
jbe made ufeful to the Nation.
I will confider,
i. WHAT
A Dtftourfe on TRADE, &c. ioj
1 . WHAT hath been the Caufe of this Mif-
chief of Idlenefs, and how it hath crept in
upon -us.
2. WHAT muft be done to reftrain its go-
ing farther.
3. WHAT Methods are proper to be ufed,
in order to make a Provifion for thofe who
are pafl their Labour.
A s to the firft, we fhall find that it hath
proceeded, partly from the Abufe of thofe
Laws we have, and partly from want of
better ; Licences for Alehoufes were at firft
granted for good Ends, not to draw Men afide
from their Labour by Games and Sports, but
to fupport and refrefh them under it ; and as
they were then a Maintainance to the Aged,
fo poor Families had Opportunities of being
Supplied with a Cup of Ale from Abroad,
who could not keep it at Home ; great Ob-
fervation was alfo made to prevent idle Tip-
ling, our Fore- fathers confidered, that Time
fo fpent, was a Lofs to the Nation, whofe
Intereft was improved by the Labour of its
Inhabitants ; whereas, Alehoufes are now en-
couraged, to promote the Income of Excite,
on whom there muft be no Reftraint, left the
King's Revenue mould be leflened j thus we
live
ic6 ADtfcourfe on TRADE,
live by Senfe, and look only at Things we
fee, without revolving on what the JiTue will
^ be, not confidering, that the Labour of each
Man, if well employ'd, whilft he fits in an
Ale-houfe, would be worth much more to the
Nation, than the Excife he pays.
BUT above all, our Laws to fet the Poor
at Work are fhort and Defective, tending
rather to maintain them fo, then to raife them
to a better way of Living ; 'tis true, thofe
Laws defign well, but confiding only in Ge-
nerals, and not reducing Things to practicable
Methods, they fall fhort of anfvvering their
Ends, and thereby render the Poor more bold,
when they know the Parifh Officers are bound,
either to provide them Work, or to give them
Maintenance.
Now, if we delighted more in the En-
couraging our Manufactures, our Poor might
be better Employed, and then 'twould be a
fhame, for any Perfon capable of Labour, to
live idle ; which leads me to the fecond Con-
fideration, What muft be done to reftrain
this Habit of Idlenefs from going farther.
HERE I find, that nothing but good Laws
can do it, fuch as may provide Work for
thofe who are willing, and force them to work
that
A Dtfcourfe on TRADE, c. 107
that are able ; and for this ufe, I think Work-
houfes very expedient, but they muft be
founded on fuch Principles, as may employ the
Poor, for which they muft be fitted, and the
Poor for them ; wherein Employments muft
be provided for all forts of People, who muft
alfo be compelled to go thither when fent,
and the "Work-houfes to receive them ; and
the Materials which feem moft proper for
them are Simples, fuch as Wool, Hemp,
Cotton, and the like, which may either be
fent in by the Manufacturers, or be bought
up on a Stock raifed for that End ; thefe will
employ great Numbers, of both Sexes, and
all Ages, either by beating and fitting the
Hemp, or by drefiing and fpinning the Flax,
or by carding and Spinning the Wool and
Cotton, of different Finenefles ; and if a Re-
ward was s;iven to that Perfon who fhould
O
fpin the fined Thread of either, as they do
in Ireland for their Linnen, to be adjudged
Yearly, and paid by the County, or by any
other manner as mail be thought fit, 'twould . *-
very much promote Induftry and Ingenuity, ~\
whilft every one being ftir'd up by Ambition I
and Hopes of Profit, would endeavour to ex- \
ceed
icS A Difcourfe on TRADE, c.
ceed the reft ; by which means we mould alfo
grow more excellent in our Manufactures.
NOR Ihould thefe Houfes hinder any who
defire to Work at Home, or the Manufac-
turers from employing them, the Defign be-
ing to provide Places for thofe who care not
to Work any where, and to make the Parifh
Officers more Induftrious to find them out,
when they know whither to fend them, by
which means they would be better able to
maintain the Impotent.
IT feems alfo convenient, that thefe Work-
houfes, when fettled in Cities and great Towns,
mould not be only Parochial, but one or more
in each Place, as will beft fuit it ; which would
prevent the Poors being fent from Parifh to
Parim, and provided for no where ; and when
/ once the Poor mail come by ufe to be in love
with Labour, 'twill be ftrange to fee an idle
Perfon ; then they will be fo far from being a
Burthen to the Nation, that they will become
its Wealth, and their own Lives alfo will be
more comfortable to them.
THERE are other things which will em-
ploy the Poor befides our Manufactures, and
are alfo equally Beneficial to the Nation ; fuch
as Navigation, Hufbandry, and Handicrafts ;
here
A Diftourfe on TRADE, 8*. 109
here if thefe or fuch-like Rules were obferved,
they might be made more advantagious to
all.
A s firft, Let the Juftices of the Peace have
Power to afiign Youth to Artificers, Huf-
bandry, Manufacturers, and Mariners, and to
bind them Apprentices for a Time certain,
at fuch Ages as they fhall think 'em fit to go
on thofe Employments, who fliould alfo be
obliged to receive them ; and though this
may at firft feem hard, as hindring the Maf-
ters from taking Servants who may bring them
Money, yet after fome time it will not, when
thofe who were fo bound out themfelves, fhall
only do for others, what was done for them
before ; and this alfo may be now made good
to them, by fuch an Overplus of Years in
their Apprentifhips, as may be an Equivalent
to the Money.
AND as for thofe of elder Years, who will
rather Beg than Work, let them be forced to
ferve the King in his Fleet, or the Merchants
on board their Ships ; the Sea is very good
to cure fore Legs and Arms, efpecially fuch
as are Counterfeits, againft which, the Cap-
ftern, with the Taunts of the Sailors, is a
certain Remedy.
NEXT,
no
y Difcourfe on TRADE, fc.
NEXT, for Ale-houfes, Coffee-houfes, and
fuch like Employments, let them fee kept
only by aged People, or fuch who have nu-
merous Families.
LET Matters of Ships be obliged to carry
with them fome Landmen every Voyage,
which will increafe our Seamen ; and let the
Juftices have Power to force them to receive
fuch as are willing to enter themfelves, and to
fettle the Rates of their Wages.
LET young People be prohibited from
Hawking about the Streets, and from Singing
Ballads ; if thefe Things be allowed, they are
fitter for Age.
STAG E -Plays, Lotteries, and Gaming-
houfes mould be ftrictly look'd after, Youth,
in this Age of Idlenefs and Luxury, being
not only drawn afide by them, but alfo more
willing to put themfelves on fuch eafy ways
of living, than on Labour:
THESE, and fuch like Methods, being Im-
proved by the Wifdom of a Parliament, may
tend, not only to the Introducing a Habit of
Virtue amongft us, but alfo to the making
Multitudes of People ferviceable, who are
now ufelefs to the Nation ; there being fcarce
any one, who is not capable of doing fome-
thing
A Difcourfe on TRADE, &c. nt
thing towards his Maintenance, and what his
Labour doth fall fhort, muft be made up by
Charity : but as Things now are, no Man
knows where 'tis rightly plac'd, by which
means thofe who are truly Objects do not par-
take thereof; and let it be confider'd, that if
every Perfon did by his Labour add one Half-
penny per diem to the Public, 'twould bring
in Seven Millions fix Hundred and four Thou-
land one Hundred Sixty-fix Pounds thirteen
Shillings per Annum> (accounting ten Millions
of People to be in the Kingdom) fo vaft a
Sum may be raifed from a Multitude, if every
one adds a little.
NOR is the fending lazy People to our
Plantations abroad (who can neither by good V
Laws be forced, or by Rewards be encou- -\
rag'd to work at home) fo prejudicial to the \ ^
Nation as fome do imagine, where they muft
expeft another fort of Tre^ment, if they LW&Ak-
will not labour ; 'tis true, they give no help j
in the Manufactures here, but That is made
up in the Product they raife there, which is
alfo. Profit to the Nation; befides, the Hu-
mours and other Circumftances of People are
to be enquir'd into, fome have been very ufe-
ful there, who would never have been fo here :
And
A Difcourfe on TRADE, &c.
And if the People of this Kingdom be em.
ploy'd to the Advantage of the Community,
no Matter in what part of the King's Do-
minions it is; many hundreds by going to
thofe Plantations, have become profitable
Members to the Common-wealth, who, had
they continued here, had ftill remain'd idle
Drones ; now they raife Sugar, Cotton, To-
bacco, and other Things, which employ
Sailors abroad, and Manufacturers at home,
all which being the Product of Earth and
Labour, I take to be the Wealth of the Na-
tion.
THE Employment of Watermen on the
River 'Thames breeds many Sailors, and it were
good to keep them ftill fill'd with Apprenti-
ces ; alfo the Employment of Bargemen,
Lightermen, and Trowmen, both on that and
other Rivers, does the fame, who fhould be
encouraged to breed up Landmen, and fit
them for the Sea.
IDLENESS is the Foundation of all thofe
Vices which prevail among us, People aiming
to be maintain'd any way rather than by La-
bour, betake themfelves to all forts of Villanies ;
the ill Confequences whereof cannot be pre-
vented, but by encouraging Youth in an early
delight
A Difconrfe on T R A D E, &c. 113
delight of living by Induftry, and on what
they call their own, rather than by Dc;pen-
dance on others, which will keep up a true
Britifh Spirit, and put them on honeft En-
deavours, and will get them Credit and
Reputation, and give them Opportunities of
advancing their Fortunes -, and if fuch an
Emulation went through the Kingdom, we
ftiould not have fo many lazy Beggars, or
licentious Livers, as now there are ; nor is
God more honoured among any, than He" is
among fuch induftrious People, who abhor
Vice, on equal Principles of Religion and
good Husbandry, Labour being ufually a
Barrier againft Sin, which generally enter
at the Doors of Idlenefs.
THE third Confideration is, what Methods
muft be ufed to provide for thofe, who either
are not able to work, or whofe Labour can'c
iiipport their Charge ; here I take Alms-
houfes to be good Gifts, where they are de- , r
figned to relieve old^Age, QLeducate youth ;
nor to maintain idle Beggars, or eafe rich
Parimes, but to provide for thofe who have
been bred up in careful Employments, tho*
not able to flem the Current of crofs Fortunes :
Two fuch have been fumptuoufly founded, fon '' t
T j Almshcufes
and
ii4 A Difcourfe on TRADE,
and fuitably endowed, in the City of Britfol 9
Edward Colfon^ Efq; a Merchant and Native
thereof, who is ftill living ; one of them for
twenty-four Men and Women, who had for-
merly lived well ; the other for one hundred
Boys, to be educated in the Principles of
Vertue, and afterwards fet out to ! Trades,
whereby they may get their Livelihoods ; a
Charity fo great in itfelf, and carried on fo
free from Oflentation, that the like is not to
be feen in any Part of this Kingdom, of the
free Gift of one Gentleman in his Life-time ;
which he hath fettled in the Society of Mer-
chants-Adventurers within that City, of whofe
Care and Fidelity in the well Management
thereof, he is fully fatisfied. 1
ANOTHER way to provide for thole who
are true Objects of Charity, is, by taking
Care that the Poors Rates be made with more
equality in Cities and great Towns, efpecially
in the former ; where the greateft Number of
Poor ufually refiding together in the Suburbs
or Out-parifhes, are very ferviceable by their
Labours, to the Rich, in carrying on their
Trades ; yet when Age, Sicknefs, or a nu-
merous Family, may make them defire Re-
lief, their chief Dependance muft be on People
but
A Dtfcourfe on TRADE, &c. 115
but one ftep above their own Conditions ; by
which means thefe Out-parifhes are more
burthened in their Payments, than the In-
parifhes are, though much richer, and is one
Reafbn why they are fo ill Inhabited, no
Man caring to come to a certain Charge :
And this is attended with another ill Con-
fequence, the wanting of better Inhabitants
making way for thofe Diforders which eafily
grow among the Poor , whereas, if Cities and
Towns were made but one Poors Rate, or
equally divided into more, thefe Inconve-
niencies would be removed, and the Poor
be maintained by a more equal Contribu-
tion.
AND that a better Provifion may be made
for the Relief of Sailors (who having fpent
their Labours in the Service of the Nation,
and through Age and Difafters are no longer
fit for the Fatigues of the Sea, ought to be
sr tf'
taken Care of at Home) let a fmall Deduction ^ ^
^
be made from the Freights of Ships, and from I
Stamens Wages, to be collected by a Society \
of honefl Men in every Sea-port ; this, with
what Additions might be made by the Gifts
of worthy Benefactors, would be fufHcient
to raife a Fund, to maintain them in their
I 2 old
u6 A Difcourfe on TRADE, t$c.
old Age, who in their Youths were our Walls
and Bulwarks , but it muft be fettled by Law,
and no Man left at his Liberty whether he
will pay or no ; thefe are generally the molt
laborious People that we have ; I do not mean
thofe fcoundrel Fellows, who often creep in
under that Name, but the true Sailor, who
,t- can turn his Hand to any thing rather than
begging, and I am many times troubled to fee
the mifcrable Conditions they and their Fa-
milies are reduced to, when their Labours are
done. Alms-Houfes raifed for them, are as
great Acts of Piety as building of Churches,
Age requires relief, efpecially where Youth
hath been fpent in Labour fo profitable to the
Hofpital Public as that of a Sailor ; and not only them-
for ancient fe\ ve ^ b ut their Widows ought to be provid-
and their } ed for; in this, the Worfhipful Society of the
Widow. M erc h an ts - Adventurers within the City of
r j^' . ; Briftol are a worthy Pattern.
AND as for thofe who loofe their Lives or
* V*
Limbs fighting againft the Enemy, them-
felves, or families ought to be rewarded with
bountiful Stipends, which if raifed by a Tax,
I doubt not would be cheerfully paid : 'Tis
attended with fad Thoughts, when a Woman
fees her Hufband preft into the Service, and
knows,
A Difcourfe on T R A D E, $r. 1 17
knows, if he mifcarries, her Family is un-
done, and Ihe and they muft come to the
Parifh j whereas, if this Provifion was made,
the Fleet would be more eafily mann'd, our
Merchants Ships better defended, Sailors more
ready to ferve in both, and their Wives to let
them go ; but great Care muft be taken, that
Charity be not abufcd, by being put into the
Pockets of thofe who are appointed to difpofe
of it.
THESE, or fuch-like Heads, being laid
down in a former Difcourfe on this Subject,
the Magiftrates of the City of Briftol were the
firft that approved of the Scheme, and de-
fired the Subftance thereof might be reduced
to Particulars, fuitable for that Place ; where-
upon the following Propofals were laid before
them, viz.
1. THAT afpacious Work-houfe be erected
in fome vacant Place within this City, on a
general Charge, large enough for the Poor
who are to be employed therein, and alfo with
Rooms for fuch, who being unable to work,
are to be relieved by Charity.
2. THAT the Rules of this Houfe be fuch,
as may force allPerfons to work, that are abk,
and encourage the Manufacturers of this City
I to
ti8 A Difcourfe on TRADE, &*.
to fupply them with Materials to work on ;
which they will "be ready to do, having fo
good a Security as this will be, for their
being returned to them again when wrought
up.
3. THAT all People who are not able to
maintain their Children, may put them into
this Work-houfe or Hofpital at what Ages
they will, where they mail be fettled till the
Age of Years, by which means they
may in the end be of no Charge to the faid
Work-houfc or Hofpital : And the good Ef-
fecls will be thefe, Children will be bred up
to Labour, Principles of Virtue will be im-
planted in them early by the good Govern-
ment thereof, and Lazinefs and Beggary will
be difcouraged. *
4. T H A T the antient People who are paft
their Labours, fhall have Lodgings, and
weekly pay, or be otherwife provided for, ac-
cording to their Wants, who may ftill do
fomething towards their mantenance, and the
Women may look after the young Children.
5. THAT the Rates of the Poor of this
City, being all united into one common
Fund, may be enough to carry on this good
Work i by which means the Magiftrates will
be
A Difcourfe on TRADE, c.
be freed from the Trouble which they daily
have about the Settlement of the Poor, the
Parim-Officers will be eafed, the Poors Stock
will not be fpent in Law, but they will be
provided for, without being fent from Parifh
to Parim, and their Children will be fettled
in ways of being ferviceable to the Public
Good, and not be bred up in all manner of
Vice, as now they are.
6. T H A T the Governors of this Hofpital,
or Work-Houfe, have Power to force all
poor People to work in it, who do not be-
take themfelves to fome lawful Imployment
elfewhere, but fpend their Time lazily and
idly.
7. THAT the faid Governors have Power to
fettle out the young People at fuch Ages as
they (hall think fit , the Boys to Navigation,
Hufbandry, and Manufactures ; the Maids in
Service, and to bind them Apprentices for
certain Years.
8. THAT this will prevent Children from
being Starved, by the Poverty of their Parents,
and neglect of the Parim-Officers, which is
now a great Lofs to the Nation ; forafmuch
as every Perfon if imployed, would by his
Labour add to the Wealth of the Public.
I 4 THAT
i2o A Difcourfe on T R A D E,
9. THAT this will encourage Men of
Charity to make Endowments, when they
ihall fee their Bounties fo well laid out.
10. THAT Application be made, in order to
procure an Act of Parliament, for the better
carrying on this Work.
WHICH Propofals being confidered of in
feveral Meetings of the Citizens appointed for
that Purpofe, were with forne Alterations
made the Model for an Act of Parliament,
which pafb Anno Septimo 5? Offavo Gulielmi
tferti'i, being the firfl Act of that Nature^
from which fundry Acts for many other Pla-
ces have taken their Frame ; and though the
Promoters thereof, met with more difficulties
and difcouragements in the Execution, than
they did expect, yet to the Honour of thofe
Gentlemen it muft be faid> that they never
looked back, but with the utmoft Application,
profecuted what they had undertaken, till
they brought it to fuch a Scate, as to render it
, plain and practicable to their Succeflbrs *, and
this good Effect it hath had, that there is not
a common Beggar, or diforderly Vagrant,
feen in their Streets, but Charity is given in
its proper Place and Manner, and the Ma-
giftrates are freed from the daily Trouble they
had
A Difcourfe on TRADE, Qfc.
had with the Poor, and the Pariflies they
lived in, and are difcharged from the Invidi-
ous Fatigues of their Settlements, when a
great deal of what fhould have maintained
them, was fpent in determining what Pariflies
were to do it.
I wifh it could be faid fo of the two Metro-
politan Cities of England and Ireland, where
fuch Swarms of lazy Beggars pefter the Streets,
that they are not only troublefome, but alfo
naufeous to the Beholders ; and the Church
Doors are fo crouded with them, that you can
fcarce pafs to your Devotion; nor do you
know when you beftow your Charity rightly,
thofe who do not deferve it, taking fuch
Methods to move Compafiion, that you can-
not eafily diftinguifh them from thofe who
do.
AND fince I have mentioned this Act, and
the well executing thereof by the firft Under-
takers, I think it cannot be amifs to fet it
forth Verbatim (being never yet printed, favc
only fome Copies for the Ufe of the Corpo-
ration) together with the Steps whereby the ,
firft Guardians proceeded, and as it was laid
before the Parliament Anno 1 700 ; which I
have done in the Appendix, becaufe it may
probaoly
ADifcourfe on TRADE,
probably be of ufe to thofe, who fhall be will-
ing to take Pains in a Work of fuch Service,
both to God and the Public.
BUT becaufe this Aft was adapted only
for Cities and great Towns, and can't be a
Model for the Counties at large, I will here
fubjoin fuch Methods as may be proper to
carry on this charitable Defign throughout the
whole Kingdom, if Power be given by fome
public Act of Parliament, for all Places to
incorporate who are willing (but may not be
able to be at the Charge of a private Act) and
to build, or otherwiie provide, Hofpitals,
Work-Houfes, and Houfes of Correction, for
the better maintaining and imploying their
Poor, under the Management of fuch Cor-
porations ; which in the Counties muft be by
uniting one or more Hundreds, whofe Parifh-
es muft be comprehended in one Poors Rate,
and each of them contribute to the Charge
thereof, not by bringing them to an equal
Pound Rate on their Lands and perfonal E-
ilates, as in Cities and great Towns, but by
Taxing every Parifh according to what it paid
before, there not being the fame Parity of
Reafon for that way of raifing Money in the
Hundreds, as there is in Cities and Towns ;
becaufe
A Difcourfe on TRADE, 1c.
becaufe in the former, the Parifhes do not re-
ceive an equal Benefit from the Labour of
the Poor of other Parifhes, as they do in the
latter; which Hofpitals, Work-Houfes, and
Houfes of Correction, to be provided at the
general Charge of the Parifhes thus united,
according to the Proportion that each of them
pays to the Poor.
THE Guardians of thele Corporations to
confift of all the Juftices of the Peace inhabit-
ing within the feveral Parifhes thus united,
together with a Number of Inhabitants chofen
out of each Parifh, in proportion to the Sum
of Money it pays ; which Choice to be made
every Year, or once in two Years, when one
half of thofe that were firft chofen mutt go
out, and the Remainder ftay in, to inftruct
thofe who were laft chofen j the Electors to
be the Freeholders of per Annum ;
and on the Death of any Guardian, another
to be chofen in his Room, by the Parifh for
which he ferved.
THAT the Guardians being thus fettled,
they fhall have Power to choofe a Governor,
Deputy-Governor, Treafurer, and Afllftants,
Yearly, and to hold Courts, and make By-
La ws, and appoint a Common Seal ; and alfo
to
A Difiourfe on TRADE, gr.
to Summon the Inhabitants to anfwer to Mat-
ters relating to the Corporation , and to com-
pel all People, who feek for Relief, to dwell
in their Hofpitals and Work-Houfes, if they
fee fit ; and to take in young People of both
Sexes, and breed them up to work, who they
fhall alfo be obliged to teach to Write and
Read, and what elfe mall be thought ne-
ceflary, and then to bind them out Appren-
tices ; and likewife to provide for the aged
and Impotent, and to affift thole whofe La-
bours will not maintain their Charges, and to
apprehend Rogues, Vagrants and Beggars,
and caufe them to be fet at Work, and alfo to
inflict reafonable Correction where they fee it
necefiary, and to entertain proper Officers,
and pay them out of the Stock ; with a Claufe
to fecure them from vexatious Suits ; and they
muft be obliged once in at leaft to
hold a General Court, where the Governor,
Deputy-Governor, or one half of the Affift-
ants, together with fuch a proportionable
Number of the Guardians as they mall agree
on, mall be prefent.
THAT the Court mail once, in fix Months
agree and fettle how much Money will be ne-
ceflary for maintaining and imploying the
Poor
"A Difcourfe on TRADE, c. 105
Poor for the fix Months next enfuing, and
certify the fame to the Juftices inhabiting
within the faid Hundred or Hundreds, at a
Meeting to be had for that Purpofe, who (hall
proportion the fame Regularity in each Parifh,
and grant out their Warrants to proper Per-
fons to Aflefs the fame, and afterwards, other
Warrants to col left, and pay it to the Trea-
furer of the Corporation -, with a Power to
inflict Penalties on the AfTeifors and Collectors,
if they refufe or neglect to do their Duty, in
Affefling, Collecting, and paying the faid
Money, according to their Warrants.
THAT each Corporation be one Body Po-
litic in Law, and be capable of Suing and be-
ing Sued, and be enabled to Purchafe, Take
and Receive, Lands, Tenements and He-
reditaments, Goods and Chatties, for the Be-
nefit of the Pcor.
THESE, or fuch like Methods, being
rectified by the Wifdom of Parliament, will
foon appear to be of great ufe to the Nation,
and alio to the Poor who are truly Objects
of Relief; and will alfo put a Stop to
wand'ring Vagrants, againft whom, every
Corporation will then be a Barrier, and none
will expect Charity, but from the Parimes to
which
A Dtfeourfe on TRADE,
which they belong, and who are the moft
proper Judges whether they deferve it.
Conclufm. AND thus j haye gone t h rou gh w j iat j
undertook, and have given my Thoughts of
thefe important Subjects; wherein I have no
other View than promoting the Welfare of this
Kingdom, by improving its Trade and Com-
merce and providing for the Poor in a regular
Method : Both which will tend to the Honour
of His Majefty's Government, and the advanc-
ing the Wealth and Profperity of the Nation.
FINIS.
THE
THE
APPENDIX
Anno Septimo & Odavo
GULIELMl IIL Regis.
An Aft for Er eft ing of Hoffitals and
Work - Houfes within the City of
Briftol, for the Better Employing and
Maintaining the 'Poor thereof.
H E R E A S it is Found by Ex-
perience, That the Poor in the
City of Briftol do daily mul-
tiply, and Idlenefs and Debauch-
ery amongft the meaner Sort, doth greatly In-
creafe, for want of Work-houfes to fet them
to Work, and a fufficient Authority to corn-
pel
Ue APPENDIX.
pel them thereto, as well as to the Charge of
the Inhabitants, and Grief of the charitable
and honeft Citizens of the faid City, as the
great Diftrefs of the Poor themfelves ; for
which fufficient Redrefs hath not yet been
provided : For Remedy whereof, Be it enaft-
ed by the King's moft Excellent Majefty, by
and with the Advice and Confent of the
Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons
in Parliament afiembled, and by the Au-
thority of the fame, That from and after the
Twelfth Day of May, which fhall be in the
Year of our Lord, One thoufand fix hundred
ninety and fix, there be, and fhall be, a Cor-
poration to continue for ever within the faid
City of Briftol> and the County thereof, con-
fiding of the feveral Perfons herein after-men-
tioned (that is to fay) of the Mayor and Al-
dermen for the time being, and of eight and
forty other Perfons, to be chofen out of the
honefteft and difcreeteft Inhabitants of the
City and County, by the Eleven Wards in
the faid City, and the Caftle Precincts there,
which to all Intents and Purpofes, fhall be
from henceforth for ever a Ward within the
faid City, (that is to fay) Four out of each
Ward, and of fuch other charitable Perfons
as
^APPENDIX.
as Ihall be Elected and Conftituted Guardians
of the Poor of the faid City, in a manner as
is herein after exprefied : And the firft eight
and forty Perfons fhall be Elected at a Court
for that purpofe to be held within each Ward,
by the Alderman of the fame, or his Deputy,
by the Votes of the Inhabitants of fuch Ward,
paying one Penny per Week, or more, in his
own Right, for and towards the Relief of the
Poor of the faid City, or of the major part
of them then prefent.
AND be it further Enacted by the Authority
aforefaid, that the faid Eight and Forty Per-
fons fhall be chofen in manner, as aforelaid,
the Twelfth Day of May next following, and
fhall continue in their Office until others fhall
be elected in their Rooms, according to the
Direction herein after-mentioned ; and in cafe
any of the faid Perfons fo Elected, or any
other Perfon fo Elected in their Room, fhall,
after their refpective Elections, happen to die,
That then it (hall, and may be Lawful to and
for the Alderman of the Ward, for which
fuch Perfon fo dying was Elected, or his
Deputy, at a Court to be held within the
faid Ward for that purpofe, within the Space
of ten Days next after the Death of fuch
K Perfons
The APPENDIX.
Perfons, to Elect others in their Place, in
"*%f
manner, as aforefaid ; which Court and Elec-
tion, fuch Alderman, or his Deputy, is and
are hereby required to Hold and Make :
Which faid Mayor and Aldermen, and Forty-
eight Perfons, and fuch other Charitable Per-
fons, fo Elected and Conftituted for the Time
being, fhall be called Guardians of the Poor
of the City of BriftoL
AND to the intent that the faid Guardians
fo Elected out of the faid Wards may have
perpetual Succeffion : Be it further Enacted by
the Authority aforefaid, That the faid re-
fpective Aldermen for the Time being, or
their refpective Deputies, mail and may, and
are hereby required, on the firft Thurfday in
April, in every fecond Year, from henceforth,
to hold a Court in their refpective Wards,
and then and there, by the Votes of the In-
habitants of fuch Ward, fo qualified, as afore-
faid, or of the Majority of them then prefent,
to Elect and Choofe two of the honefteft and
difcreeteft Perfons out of the faid Inhabitants
of the faid City, to be Guardians of the Poor
of the faid City for the faid Ward ; which
faid two Perfons, fo Elected, fhall be Guardi-
ans, and mail fucceed the two Perfons before
that
The A P P E N D I X. 131
that firft Elected, and then being Guardians
for the faid Ward ; and the faid two Perfons
fb firft Elected, (hall immediately upon fuch
Election, and Notice thereof given to them,
ceafe to be Guardians.
AND be it enacted by the Authority afore-
faid, That the faid Mayor, Aldermen, Eight
and forty Perfons, and fuch other Charitable
Perfons elected and conftituted, as is herein
mentioned and exprefied, for the time being,
(hall for ever hereafter in Name and Fact, be
one Body Politic and Corporate in Law, to
all Intents and Purpofes, and fhall have a
perpetual Succefiion, and be called by the
Name of The Governor, Deputy-Governor,
Affiftants, and Guardians of the Poor in the
faid City of Briftol-, and that they fliall be
enabled to Plead and Sue, and to be Sued and
Impleaded by that Name, in all Courts and
Places of Judicature within this Kingdom 5
and by that Name fhall and may, without
Licenfe in Mortmain, Purchafe, Take, or
Receive any Lands, Tenements or Heredita-
ments, of the Gift, Alienation or Demife of
any Perfon or Perfons, who are hereby,
v/ithout further Licence, enabled to transfer
the fame, and any Goods and Chatties what-
K 2 foever,
The A P P E N D I X.
foever, for the Ufe and Benefit of the Corpo-
ration aforefaid. And for the better govern-
ing of the faid Corporation, the faid Mayor,
Aldermen, and Eight and forty Perfons, or
the Majority of them, fhall have, and here-
by have Authority to meet on the Nineteenth
Day of May next following, in St. George's
Chappie in the faid City, or in fome other
convenient Place there, and fhall on that Day,
or any other Day or Time, that to them
fhall feem convenient, Elect and Conflitute
out of and from amongft themfelves, the fe-
veral Officers following (that is to fay) one
Governor, one Deputy-Governor, one Trea-
furer, and twelve Affiftants, to continue in the
faid Office for one Year, and no longer ; and
from thenceforth the faid Governor, Deputy-
Governor, Afliftants, Treafurer, and other
Officers, mail Yearly, and every Year, by
the faid Mayor, Aldermen, Forty-eight Per-
fons, and fuch other charitable Perfons as mall
be Elected and Conftituted as is herein men-
tioned and exprefied, or the Majority of them,
be Elected and Conftituted out of and from
amongft themfelves, on the Second fburfday
in the Month of April, or any other Day or
Time, as they fhall think convenient, to con-
tinue
The A P P E N D I X. 133
tinue in their refpective Offices for one Year
and no longer -, and the faid Mayor, Alder-
men, and Forty-eight Perfons, and fuch other
Charitable Perfons that fhall be Elected and
Conftituted, as herein mentioned and expref-
fed, for the Time being, or the Majority of
them, mail have Power, in cafe of the Death
of any fuch Officer fo Elected and Conftituted,
before the faid Year expired, to Elect; and
Conftitute others in their Room, to hold the
faid Office for the Remainder of the (aid Year,
and fhall have Power and Authority at any
Time or Times, for juft Caufe, to -remove,
difplace, and put out any fuch Officer out of
his laid Office, and to Elect and Conftitute
another in his Room.
AND be it further Enacted by the Au-
thority aforefaid, That the faid Governor, or
in his Default, the faid Deputy-Governor, or
in both their Defaults, Six of the faid Affift-
ants for the Time being, fhall have, and
hereby have Power and Authority, and are
hereby Enjoyned and Required from time to
time, upon the Second Thurfday in every Se-
cond Month in every Year, accounting Janu-
ary for the firft Month, to hold and keep a
Courc or Affembly of the faid Corporation
K 3 within
134 ne APPENDIX.
within the faid City of Erlftol^ of one and
Twenty of the faid Guardians at leaft, on
the Days and Time, and in manner, and for
the ends in this A6t mentioned ; (that is to
fay) The faid Governor fhall hold the faid
Court or Affembly between the Hours of One
and Two in the Afternoon 5 and in his De-
Jault, the faid Deputy 'Governor, or any Six
of the faid Affiftants, fliall, after the Hour
of Two, hold the fame ; and alfo, the faid
Governor for the time being, fliall have, and
hereby hath Power and Authority, at any
fuch other time or times as to him fhall feem
meet, to Summon, AfTemble and hold a
Court or AfTembly of the faid C r ^oration,
upon two Days Notice or Warning at the
leaft to be given of fuch Court or AfTembly
to be held ; and in cafe any twenty of the
faid Guardians, upon any Emergency, figni-
fyin'g it under their Hands to the Governor
for the time being, That it is their Defire
that an extraordinary Court or AfTembly of
the faid Corporation may be called and held,
the faid Governor fhall be bound, and is here-
by Enjoyned and Required to call and hold
fuch Court or Aflembly at fuch Time as the
faid twenty Guardians fliall fo defire ; and on
his
Z&APPENDIX. 135
his Refufal, the faid Deputy-Governor for the
Time being, on , fuch Signification, fhall be
Bound, and is hereby likewife Enjoyned and
Required to call and hold the faid Court or
AfTembly, and on his Refufal, any fix of the
faid Afliftants (hall have, and hereby have Au-
thority to call and hold the faid Court or
Affembly; at all which Courts or Affemblies
all and every Member and Members of the
faid Corporation for the Time being, are
hereby Enjoyned to appear and be prefent,
and not to depart from the fame without the
Licence of the faid Court or AfTembly, on
pain to Forfeit fuch reafonable Sum and Sums
of Money, not exceeding Five Shillings, to
the Ufe of the faid Corporation, as by the
faid Court or AfTembly, or any fucceeding
Court or AiTembly, (hall be AfiHTed upon
them, unlefs they can mew fome reafonable
Excufe to be allowed of by the faid Court or
Affembly ; and the faid Court or AfTembly
are hereby Impowered to Summon to appear
before them any of the Inhabitants of the faid
City to anfwer to Matters relating to the faid
Corporation, who are hereby required to ap-
pear upon fuch Summons, and anfwer fuch
Queftions, on Forfeiture, to the Ufe of the
K 4
The A P P E N D I X.
faid Corporation, of a Sum not exceeding two
Shillings and Six-pence for every Default to
be Levied as is herein after directed.
AND be it further Enacted by the Autho-
rity aforefaid, That the faid Corporation, at
the faid Court or Aflembly, fhall have, and
hereby have Power and Authority from time
to time to make and appoint a Common Seal
or Seals for the Ufe of the faid Corporation,
and to make and ordain By-Laws, Rules and
Ordinances for and concerning the better Go-
verning the faid Corporation, and the Poor
of the faid City, and fhall have, and have
hereby Power to Purchafe, Buy or Ereft an
Hofpital or Hofpitals, Work-houfe or Work-
houfes, Hoqfe or Houfes of Correction, and
to provide other Necefiaries they {hall think
convenient for the fitting to work the Poor
of the faid City, of what Sex or Age foever
they be, and fhall have, and hereby have
Power and Authority to compel fuch idle or
poor People begging or feeking Relief, who
do not betake themfelves to fome lawful Im-
ployments, and fuch other Poor who do or
Ihall hereafter receive Alms of the refpedlive
Parifhcs or Places where they Inhabit or Seek
the fame, or by any of the Laws now in force
pught
The APPENDIX. 137
ought to be maintained or provided for by
any Parifh or Place within the faid City, to
Dwell and Inhabit in fuch Hofpital or Hof-
pitals, Work-houfe or Work-houfes, and to
do fuch Work as they fhall think them able
and fit for ; and to detain and keep in the
Service of the faid Corporation, until the Age
of fixteen Years, any poor Child or Children
of the faid City, left to be maintained by the
faid City, or any Parim or Place in the fame,
or begging or feeking Relief, or which by
any of the Laws now in force ought to be
maintained and provided for by any Parifh or
Place within the faid City, or the Child or
Children of any other Perfon or Perfons, that
are or fhall be willing or defirous to place or
put their Child or Children in fuch Hofpital
or Hofpitals, until their faid Age of fixteen
Years , and after they fhall have attained their
faid Age of Sixteen Years or fooner, the faid
Corporation, by Indenture, fhall have Power
to Bind and Put forth fuch Child or Children
Apprentices, to any honefl Perfon or Perfons
within the Kingdom of England, for any
Number of Years, not exceeding feven Years,
as they fhall think convenient ; which In-
denture
i 3 8 ne APPENDIX.
denture (hall be binding to fuch Child or
Children.
AND be it further Enacted by the Autho-
rity aforefaid, That the faid Court or Affemb-
fy fo conftituted, as aforefaid, (hall have, and
hereby have Power to inflict fuch reafonable
Correction and Punifhment on any poor Per-
fon or Perfons within the faid Hofpital or
Hofpitals, Work - houfe or Work - houfes,
Houfe or Houfes of Correction, that fhall
not conform to fuch Rules, Orders and Or-
dinances fo made, as aforefaid, or mifbehave
themfelves in the fame ; and that the faid
Court or Affembly fo conftituted, as aforefaid,
fhall have, and hereby have Power to appoint
a Committee to confift of One and Twenty of
the Guardians at the leaft, who, or any five
of them, of which two fhall be Affiftants,
fhall from time to time, or at any time until
the next Court, have Power to inflict fuch
reafonable Correction and Punifhment, as
aforefaid, on any fuch poor Perfon or Perfons
offending as aforefaid.
AND for the better carrying on fo Pious
and Charitable a Work, be it Enacted by
the Authority aforefaid, That it fhall and may
be Lawful for the faid Corporation, in their
faid
the APPENDIX. 139
faid Courts or AfTemblies 3 from time to time,
to fet down and afcertain what Sum, or Sums
of Money fhall be needful for the Building
and Erecting of fuch Hofpitals, Work-houfes,
or Houfes of Correction, fo that the fame do
not exceed the Sum of five Thoufand Pounds,
to be raifed within the Space of three Years,
or any longer Time, as to them fhall feem
meet, by fuch Quarterly or other Payments,
as they in their Difcretion fhall think fit ;
and alfo from time to time, to fet down and
afcertain what Weekly, Monthly, or other
Sums, fhall be needful for the Maintenance
of the Poor in the faid Hofpital or Hofpitals,
Work-houfe or Work-houfes, Houfe or Houfes
of Correction, or within the Care of the laid
Corporation, fo that the fame do not exceed
what hath been paid in the faid City towards
the Maintenance of the Poor thereof, in any
one of the three laft Years , and fliall and
may, under their Common Seal, certify the
fame unto the Mayor and Aldermen of the
faid City for the time being , which faid
Mayor and any two of the Aldermen, or any
Five of the faid Aldermen without the Mayor,
may, and are hereby required from time to
time, to caufe the fame to be raifed and levied
by
140 The A P P E N D I X.
by Taxation of every Inhabitant, and of all
Lands, Houfes, Tythes Impropriate, Appro-
priation of Tythes, and all Stocks and Eftates
in the faid City and County of the fame, in
equal Proportion, according to their refpective
Worth and Values : And in order thereunto,
the laid Mayor and any two of the faid
Aldermen, or any five of the faid Aldermen
without the Mayor, (hall have power, and are
hereby required indifferently, to proportion
out the faid Sum and Sums upon each Parim
and Precinct within the faid City, and by
their Warrants under their Hands and Seals
to authorize and require the Church-wardens
and Overfeers of the Poor of each refpective
Parim and Precinct, to Affefs the fame re-
ipectively j and after fuch Affeflment made,
by like Warrant under their Hands and Seals,
to authorize the faid refpective Church- war-
dens and Overfeers to Demand, Gather, and
Receive the fame, and for Non - payment
thereof (being lawfully demanded) to Levy
the fame by Diftrefs and Sale of the Goods
of the Offender, refroring the Surplufage to
the Party fo di drained ; and if no Diftrefs
can be found, then it (ball and may be lawful
to and for the faid Mayor, and jiny two of
the
The APPENDIX. 141
the Aldermen, or any five of the faid Alder-
men without the Mayor, to commit fuch Of-
fender to Prifon, there to remain without
Bail or Mainprize, till the fame fhall be paid:
And after the fame fhall be received, to pay
the fame unto the Treafurer of the laid Corpo-
ration for the time being. Provided always,
That if any Perfon or Perfons, Parifh or
Precinct, find him or themfelves to be un-
equally Taxed or AfTefied, he or they may
Appeal to the Juftices of the Peace of the
faid City and County, at their next General
Quarter-Seflfions after fuch AfiefTment made
and demanded, who (hall and hereby have full
Power and Authority, to take and make a
final Order therein.
AND for the Encouragement of fuch as
(hail be Benefactors to fo good a Defign, Be
it enacted by the Authority aforefaid, That if
any Man charitably difpofed, fhall give one
hundred Pounds, or more, towards carrying
on the faid Work, It (hall and may be Law-
ful for the faid Corporation, at a Court where
there fhall be prefent three and thirty of the
faid Guardians at the lead, to elect and con-
ftitute fuch charitable Perfon to be Guardian of
the Poor of the faid City, and to continue in
the
i 4 2 The A P P E N D I X.
the faid Office, as long as to the faid Corpo-
ration mall feem meet.
AND be it further enacted by the Autho-
rity aforefaid, That the faid Corporation (hall
have the Care of, and provide for the Main-
tenance of all the Poor of the faid City, of
what Age foever they be, except fuch as fhall
be otherwife fufficiently Provided for by the
charitable Gifts of other Perfons, or in Hof-
pitals or Alms-houfes within the faid City al-
ready erected : And*in order thereunto fhall
have full Power to examine, fearch and fee
what poor Perfons there are come into, In-
habiting and Refiding within the faid City or
any Part thereof; and fhall have Power to ap-
prehend or caufe to be apprehended any
Rogues, Vagrants, or Sturdy-Beggars, or idle
or diforderly Perfons withjn the faid City and
the County thereof, and to caufe them to be
kept and fet to Work in the faid Work-
houfes, Hofpitals or Houfes of Correction, for
the Space of three Years.
PROVIDED always, and be it enacted by
the Authority aforefaid, That this Act, or any
thing herein contained, fhall not any ways
extend to give the faid Corporation any Pow-
er or Authority over any Alms-houfe or Hof-
pitaJ,
The A P P E N D I X. 143
pital, or any other charitable Gift or Ufe,
within the faid City, already Given, Settled
or Erected, but that the fame fhall be wholly
exempted therefrom ; any thing herein to the
Contrary notwithftanding.
AND be it further enacted by the Autho-
rity aforefaid, That the faid Corporation in
their faid Court or AfTembly, lhall have here-
by Power to choofe and entertain all fuch
other Officers as fhall be needful to be em-
ployed in and about the PremifTes, and them
or any of them, from time to time to remove
as they fhall fee Caufe ; and upon the Death
or removal of them, or any of them, to
choofe others in their Place, and to make
and give fuch reafonable Allowances to them,
or any of them, out of the Stock or Revenue
belonging to the faid Corporation or Hofpitals,
as they fhall think fit.
PROVIDED always, and be it further en-
acted by the Authority aforefaid, That no
Officer or Officers, who lhall be elected,
chofen, appointed or employed, in the Exe-
cution of, or by Virtue of this Act, or any
of the Powers or Authorities thereby given, .
fhall be liable for or by reafon of fuch Office
or Execution, to any of the Penalties men-
tioned
M4 the APPENDIX.
tioned in an Act made the Five and Twentieth
Year of the Reign of King Charles the Se-
cond, for the Preventing the Dangers which
may hapen from Popifh Recufants.
AND it is further enacted by the Authori-
ty aforefaid, That the faid Treafurer for the
Time being, and all other Officers belonging
to the faid Corporation, Hofpitals, Work-
houfes, or Houfes of Correction, fhall, from
time to time, before fuch Perfon or Perfons
as the faid Corporation {hall thereto appoint,
account for fuch Moneys, Stock, and other
Things belonging to the faid Corporation,
Hofpitals, Work-houfes, or Houfes of Cor-
rection, as (hall come to their refpective
Hands, or be under their refpective Care, up-
on every reafonable Warning and Notice there-
of, by the faid Corporation to them refpective -
ly given -, and on their Neglect or Refufal to
Account, as aforefaid, fhall or may be, by the
faid Mayor, or any two of the faid Aldermen,
committed to the County Goal for the faid
City and County of Bri/lol, there to remain
without Bail or Mainprize, untill they fhall
become conformable, and Account, as afore-
faid ; and if upon (uch Account there fhall
appear any Thing to be in their Hands be-
longing
The A P P E N D I X. 145
longing to the faid Corporation, Hofpitals,
Work-houfes, or Houfes of Correction, they
fhall pay and deliver the fame, as the faid
Corporation fhall direct, or give fuch Security
for the fame, as the faid Corporation fhall ap-
prove of, on pain to forfeit double the Value
thereof, to be recovered by the faid Corpo-
ration, by Action of Debt, Bill, Plaint or In-
formation in which no Protection, EfToign,
or Wager in Law, or any more than one
Imparlance, fhall be admitted or allowed.
AND it is further enacted, That all other
Pains, Penalties and Forfeitures by this Act
appointed, fhall be Levied by Diftrefs and
Sale of the Offenders Goods, by Warrant un-
der the Hand and Seal of the faid Treafurer
for the time being, refloring to the Offender
the Overplus.
AND be it further enacted by the Autho-
rity aforefaid, That if any Perfon or Perfons
fhall be fued for any Matter or Thing which
he fhall do in Execution of this Act, he may
plead the General Iffue, and give the fpecial
Matter in Evidence : And if the Verdict fhall
pafs for the Defendant, or the Plaintiff fhall
be nonfuited, or difcontinue his Suit, the De-
fendant fhall recover his Treble Cofts. And
L this
146 Ue A P P E N D I X.
this Aft (hall be taken and be allowed in all
Courts within this Kingdom as a Public Act ;
and all Judges and Juftices are hereby re-
quired, as fuch, to take Notice thereof, with-
out fpecially Pleading the fame ; and all
Mayors, Juftices, Sheriffs, Bayliffs, Conftables,
and all other Officers and Minifters of Juftice,
are hereby required to be aiding and atlifting
to the faid Corporation, and to fuch Officers
as fhall be employed by them, or any of
them, in Execution of this Act, or any of
the Powers or Authorities hereby given.
A N
A N
ACCOUNT
O F T H E
PROCEEDINGS
O F T H E
Corporation of B R i s T o L,
In Execution of the
of Parliament
For the Better
EMPLOYING and MAINTAINING
THE
POOR
Of That CITY.
T O T H E
RIGHT HONOURABLE
AND
HONOURABLE,
THE
Lords Spiritual and Temporal,
AND
Commons in Parliament
ASSEMBLED.
May it pleafe your Honour s 9
HUMBLY make bold to lay
before You, an Account of our
Proceedings in the City of
Brifto! 9 on the Adi of Parlia-
ment for Erecting Hofpitals and
Work-houfes for the .better employing and
maintaining the Poor of that City, which
L 3 patted
ijo Ue APPENDIX.
panned in the firft Seffions of the Parliament
begun at Weftminfter the 22d of November,
1695, whereby the Power inverted in the
Corporation commenced from the i2th of
May 1696.
THE firft Thing we did, was to choofe
four Guardians for each of our twelve Wards,
as the Statute directs, which, with the
Mayor and Aldermen, amounted to fixty
Guardians, and made up our Court.
THE Court being thus conftituted, at our
firft Meeting we chofe our Officers appointed
by the faid Act, viz. a Governor, a Deputy-
Governor, twelve Afliftants, a Treafurer, a
Clerk, and a Beadle.
THIS being done, we order'd the Guardi-
ans who dwelt in each Parifli, to bring in an
Account of all the Poor in their refpective
Parifhes, their Names, Ages, Sexes, and
Qualifications. Alfo an Account of the
Charges expended for maintaining them in
each of the laft three Years, that fo we might
bring it to a Medium. We alfo appointed
certain ftanding Rules for the better govern-
ing our Debates, and ordered all Things done
in the Court to be fairly enter'd in a Journal.
Ws
He A P P E N D I X. 151
WE likewife confidered which would be
rnoft for the advantage of the Corporation, to
build Work - houfes, or to purchafe fuch
Houfes, which being already built, might be
alter'd and made fit for our purpofe.
THESE Things fpent much Time, and it
was about the Month of September before we
could fettle the Medium of the Poor's Rates,
in order to certify to the Mayor and Alder-
men what Sum was necefiary to be raifed on
the City for the next Year.
BUT here we met with an unexpected
Remora, Mr. Samuel Wallis was fucceeded in
his Majoralty by Mr. J. H. and this Change
made a great Alteration in our Affairs : For
whereas the former had given us all the In-
couragement we could expect from him, and
had done us the Honour to be our firft Go-
vernor, the latter refolved to obftrucl us all
he could. And becaufe the Power of raifing
Money was vefted in him and the Aldermen,
he abfolutely refufed to put that Power in
Execution.
THIS, together with his other Endea-
vours to Brow-beat the Corporation, kept
us at a ftand till Oftober (97 .) only our Court
met, and difcourft things, and we laboured
L 4 to
The APPENDIX.
to keep up the Spirits of our Friends, who
began to fink under thefe Difcouragements,
and to defpair of Succefs, the Work feeming
difficult enough in it felf ; our undertaking
being nothing lefs, then to put to Work a
great Number of People, many of which
had been habited to Lazinefs and Beggary -,
to civilize fuch as had been bred up in all the
Vices, that want of Education could expofe
them to , and to cloth, lodge, and feed
them well, with the fame Sum of Money
which was diftributed among them when
they beg'd, lay in the Streets, and went
almoft naked.
YET all this would not have difcouraged
us, could we have prevailed on Mr. Mayor
to have joyned with us. We often fought it,
and he as often refufed us, till his time be-
ing expired, his Succeflbr granted our Re-
queft ; and then, having loft much time, we
were forced to make large fteps.
THE fir ft we made was, a Vote to take
on us the Care of the Poor of the City ; and
as I remember, this Vote paffed in October
or November 1697, though we had then no
Money raifed, nor could we expedt any till
after our Lady-day 1698. So that from the
pafling
The A P P E N D I X.
pafiing that Vote to this Time is about two
Years.
THE next ftep was to appoint a Com-
mittee of Twelve to hear the Complaints
of the Poor, to relieve them, and fet them
at work ; fix whereof were to go out every
Month, and to be fucceeded by Six more,
to be chofen by Ballad ng.
WE had formerly obtained from the Mayor
and Common Council, in the Majoralty of
Alderman Wallis, the Grant of a Work-houfe,
which then lay unoccupied, and the Court
had appointed a' Committee to place as many
Girls in it as it would conveniently contain,
both as to Lodging and Working. This is
that we called the New work-houfe.
BUT all things having flood ftill fo long,
we refolved now to loofc no more time ; yet
we had no Money, nor could we expect any
in lefs than fix Months, from the Poor's
Rates ; therefore we refolved to make our
feveral Loans for twelve Months without In-
tereft to the Corporation on the Credit of
their Common Seal ; in which Defign many
of the Citizens lent their Afliftance, whereby
we became foon Mailers of about fix Hun-
dred Pounds Stock. Likewife our Guardians.
who
ij4 We A P P E N D I X.
who were appointed to pay the Poor in their
feveral Parifhes, voluntarily advanced their
weekly Payments, till they could be reim-
burft by the Treafuren The other Stock
we employed to furnifh Beds, and other Ne-
ceflaries for our Children to be taken in, and
Materials for their working.
We had now two Committees ; one for
the Poor, the other for the New Work-
houfe.
THE Committee for the Poor met twice
every Week : And in this Committe we
proceeded thus :
Fir/I, We voted that the Poor of the City
fhould be vifited in their refpeclive Parifhes,
and that new Poor's Rates mould be made ;
and accordingly we ordered the Guardians of
each Parim to bring together the Poor on a
certain Day in fome convenient Place, where
the Committee met, and without Partiality
endeavoured to provide for every one accord-
ing to their Wants, we likewife took No.
tice of all the young Girls that were on our
Poor's Books, and of fuch whofe Parents took
no due Care of them : and thefe we recom-
mended to the Committee of the New Work-
houfe, to be taken in, and employed by
them.
OUR
Ue A P P E N D I X. 155
OUR Poor's Rates we made in this man?
ner : Every one that expected Relief, came
before us with their whole Families, except
fuch as was impotent and could not come :
In our Books we put down the Name of
the Man, the Woman, and each Child ;
together with the Qualifications of all, either
as to Age, Health, Civility, &c. what each
Perfon did, or could get by the Week, and
in what Employment. We likewife fet
down for what Reafon the Charity was be-
ftowed ; that when that mould ceafe, or we
could find out any other Way to provide for
it, the Charity mould likewife ceafe.
HAVING thus feen the State of all our
Poor, and provided for them, the Committee
fat twice a Week in the Public Court, to
hear and provide for all cafual Complaints ;
which we did in this Manner : We ordered
that the Poor in their refpeftive Pari flies,
mould firft apply themfelves to their Guardi-
an or Guardians, who were to relieve them
as they law fit, till the next Sitting of the
Committee, when they were to bring them
up with their Complaints, if they were able
to come j and this we did, left the Com-
mittee (three whereof made a Quorum} mould
be
The APPENDIX.
be deceived ; who could not be fuppofed to
know the State of all the Poor in the City,
and by this Means we had the Opinion of
the Guardian of each Parifh -, nor could he
eafily deceive us, becaufe he brought the Poor
with him, and thereby the Committee be-
came Judges of the Matter laid before them.
At thefe Meetings, Care was taken of the va-
rious Cafes and Exigencies which ofFer'd, and
in all Things there was a Regard, as much as
could be, to put People on living by their own
Labours.
To fuch as were fick, we gave Warrants
to our Phyfician to vifit them ; fuch as want-
ed the Afiiftance of our Surgeons were di-
rected to them, and all were reliev'd till
they were able to work ; by which Means
the Poor having been well attended, were fet
at work again, who, by Neglect, might with
their Families have been chargeable to the
Corporation ; for fome we provided Cloaths,
for others Work ; where we found People
careful, but wanted a Stock to employ them-
felves and Children, we either lent or gave
it ; where they wanted Houfes, we either
paid the Rent, or became Security for it ;
where we found them oppreft, we flood by
them i
Ue A P P E N D I X. 157
them ; where Differences arofe, we endea-
voured to compofe them ; fo that in a little
time all the Complaints of the Poor came to
this Committee, which faved our Magiftrates
a great deal of Trouble, and Care was taken
that none went away unheard.
THE Committee at firft fat twice a Week,
but now only once in a Fortnight ; not that
we grew flack in the Care of our Poor, but
becaufe their Number being fo much abated,
by thofe received into our feveral Work-
houfes, the Bufmefs not requiring their meet-
ing oftner.
THE other Committee, viz, That for the
new Work-houfe, having firft furnilhed it in
order to receive in the young Girls, began,
with fuch as were recommended to them by
the Committee for the Poor; and this Me-
thod hath been generally obferved ever fince,
both by that Committee, and alfo by the Com-
mittee fince chofen for our other Work-houfe ,
not that either of them depends on the other,
but becaufe the firft application for Relief is
made to the Committee for the Poor.
BUT before we took in the Girls, we firft
confidered of proper Officers to govern them ;
and thefe confifted of a Mafter, whofe Bufi-
nefs
ij8 The A P P E N D I X.
nefs was to receive in Work, and deliver it
out again, and to keep the Account of the
Houfe, fcfr.
A Miftrefs, whofe Bufinefs was to look
after the Kitchen and Lodgings, to provide
their Meals at fet Times, and other Things
which related to the Government of the
Houfe.
Tu TRESSES to teach them to Spin, un-
der each of which we put Five and Twenty
Girls.
A School-Miflrefs, to teach them to read.
SERVANTS in the Kitchen, and for warn-
ing, &c. but thefe we foon difcharged, and
caufed our biggeft Girls to take their Turns
every Week.
WE alfo appointed an old Man to keep the
Door, and to carry forth and fetch in Work,
and fuch kind of Services.
BEING thus provided, we received in one
hundred Girls, and fet them to work at Spin-
ning of Worfted Yarn ; all which we firffc
caufed to be ftript by the Miftrefs, wafhed,
and new Clothed from Head to Foot ; which,
together with wholefome Dyet at fet Hours,
and good Beds to lie on, fo incouraged the
Children, that they willingly betook them-
(elves to their Work.
WE
The A P P E N D I X.
WE likewife provided for them Apparel
for Sundays ; they went to Church every Lord's
Day ; were taught their Catechifms at home,
and had Prayers twice every Day ; we appoint-
ed them fet Hours for working, eating, and
playing; and gave them leave to walk on
the Hills with their Tutrefies, when their
Work was over, and the Weather fair ; by
which means we won them into Civility, and
a love to their Labour. But we had a great
deal of Trouble with their Parents, and thofe
who formerly kept them, who having loft the
fweetnefs of their Pay, did all they could to
fet both their Children and others againft us $
but this was foon over.
HITHERTO things anfwered above our
Expectations ; our Children grew fober, and
worked willingly, but we very much queftiwi-
ed, whether their Labours at the Rates we
were paid, would anfwer the charge of their
Maintenance ; and if not, our great Doubt
was how we might advance it, without pre-
judicing the Manufactures.
To clear the firft, we fuppofed ourfelves
in a fair way, having appointed their Diets to
be made up of fuch Provifions as were very
whojefome, afforded good nourishment, and
were
The A P P E N D I X.
were not coftly in Price, viz. Beef, Peafe, Po-
tatoes, Broatli, Peafe-porridge, Milk-porridge,
Bread and Cheefe, good Beer, (fuch as we
drank at our own Tables) Cabbage, Carrots,
Turnips, &c. in which we took the Advice
of our Phyfician, and bought the beft of every
Sort. They had three Meals every Day, and
as I remember, it flood us (with Soap to
wafh) in about Sixteen-pence per Week for
each of the one hundred Girls. We foon
found the effect of their Change of Living,
Nature being well fupported, threw out a
great deal of Foulnefs, fo that we had gene-
rally twenty down at a Time, in the Meafels,
Small-pox, and other Diftempers ; but by the
Care of our Phyfician, and the Blefiing of
God on his Endeavours, we never buried but
Two, though we have had feldom lefs than
one hundred in the Houfe at any Time.
HAVING thus provided for their Diets,
we next appointed their Times of Working -,
which in the Summer was ten Hours and a
half every Day, and an Hour lefs in the
Winter ; by which means we anfwered the
two Objections raifed againft the Poor, viz.
That they will not work, and that they fpend
what they get in fine feeding.
BUT
The APPENDIX. 161
BUT we foon found, that the great Caule
of begging did proceed from the low Wages
for Labour; for after about eight Months
time, our Children could not get half fo
much as we expended in their Provifions.
The Manufacturers, who employed us, were
always complaining the Yarn was fpun coarfe,
but would not advance above Eight-pence per
Pound for Spinning, and we muft either take
this, or have no Work. On the other fide,
we were labouring to underfland how we
might diftinguilh, and put a Value on our
Work, according to its Finenefs. This we
did by the Snap Reel, which when we were
Mailers of, the Committee ' made an Order,
That the Matter fhould buy in a Stock of
Wool, and Spin it up for our own Accounts,
and then proceeded to fet the Price of Spin-
ning by the Snap Reel, wherein we endea-
voured to difcourage coarfe Work, and to en-
deavour fine, becaufe we faw the latter was
likely to bring more Profit, not only to the
Poor, but to the Kingdom in general. We
likewife ordered fome Things to be made up
of the feveral Sorts of Yarn, at the Rates
we had fet them ; and on the whole, we
found the Commodities made of fine Yarn,
M though
l5a The APPENDIX.
though they were much better than thofe
made of Coarfe, yet flood us in little more ;
becaufe what the one exceeded in the Charge
of Spinning, was very much made good in
Abatement of the Quantity ufed. We there-
fore fent to the Manufacturers, and mewed
them what Experiments we had made ; but
finding them ftill unwilling to advance above
the old Rate, the Committee voted, that they
would give Employment to all the Poor of
the City, who would make Application to
them, at the Rates we offer'd to work,
and pay them ready Money for their La-
bour.
WE foon found we had taken the right
Courfe, for in a few Weeks we had Sale for
our fine Yarn as faft as we could make it,
and they gave us from Eight-pence to Two
Shillings per Pound for Spinning the fame
Goods, for which a little before they paid but
Eight-pence, and were very well pleafed with
it, becaufe they were now able to diftinguifh
between the fine and the coarfe Yarn, and to
apply each Sort to the Ufe for- which it was
mod proper : Since which, they have given
us Two Shillings and Six-pence per Pound
for a great many Pounds, and we fpin fome
worth
The APPENDIX.
worth Three Shillings and Six-pence $er Pound
Spinning.
BY this Means we had the Pleafure of fee-
ing the Children's Labour advanc'd, which a
little before I came up, amounted to near ,
Six Pounds per Week, and would have been
much more, but that our biggeft Girls, we
either fettle forth, or put in the Kitchen ;
and thofe we receive in being generally fmall,
are able to do but little for fbme Time
after.
THE Encouragement we had received on
this Beginning, put us on proceeding further :
The Court refolved to purchafe a great Su-
gar-Houfe, out of the Money directed by the
Act to be raifed for Building of Work'
Houfes, and fit it up for the receiving in the
Remainder of the Poor, (viz.) ancient Peo-:
pie, Boys, and young Children , which was
accordingly done, and a Committee was
appointed to manage it. This we called
the Mint Work-Houfe^ becaufe it had been
hired by the Lords of -the Treafury for that
M 2 THS
The APPENDIX.
THE Committee began to take in the Boys
in Auguft Jaft ; thefe we cloathed, dieted, and
governed, much after the fame Manner as we
had done the Girls, but put them on a diffe-
rent Employment, (viz.} Spinning of Cotton
Wool, and weaving of Fuftians : We have
now about one hundred of them together,'
who fettle well to their Work, and every
Day mend their Hands ; they get us already
Six Pounds per Week -, they are like wife
taught to read, and we fhall hereafter teach
them to write.
WE next took in our ancient People ; and
here we had principally a Regard to fuch as
were impotent, and had no Friends to help
them, and to fuch as we could not keep from
the lazy Trade of Begging ; thefe we cloath'd
as we faw they needed, and put on fuch Em-
ployments as were fit for their Ages and
Strengths, having our Eyes chiefly on thofe
to which they were bred ; we found it diffi-
cult at firft to bend them down to good Or-
ders, but by Degrees we have brought them
under Government.
THEN we called in all the Children that
were on our Poor's Books, and put them un-
der Nurfes ; thofe who can fpeak and go,
are
A P P E N D I X. 163
are carried down into the School, to learn
their .//, 5, C, fcfc. As they grow up, we
fhall put them into the working Rooms.
THE Boys are kept at a Difiance from the
ancient People, who do alfo lodge in diftinct
Apartments, the Men in feveral Chambers
on one Floor, and the Women on another ;
all do fomethino;, though perhaps fome of
i < XAT> A
their Labours comes to little, yet it keeps \ -te
them from Idlenefs : Both the Old and Young
attend Prayers twice a Day, (except the Bed- i \>$&'
ridden, for whom other Care is taken) and go *
to Church twice on Sundays. v ^>
WE have now three (landing Committees,
(viz.} For the Poor, for the New Work-
Houfe, and for the Mint Work-Houfe : The
firft gives all Directions, and makes all Al-
lowance, for the Poor, without whofe Order
no Guardian can act any Thing confiderable,
except in Cafes of abfolute Neceffity, which
at the next Meeting of the Committee he
mud give an Account of, and defire their
Approbation. The other two Committees
have Power to act in the Affairs of that
Work-Houfe for which they are chofen :
They receive in both Old and Young ; they
bind forth Apprentices, correct, order the
M 3 Dice
APPENDIX.
Diet as they pleafe, overfee the Working, fell
the Manufactures, when made, order the
Payment of all Moneys, which cannot be
done unlefs the Note be fign'd by the Chair-
man ; and generally direct every Thing re-
lating to thofe Houfes.
THE Accounts are made up thus: The
Treafurer's Account is audited every Year,
by a Committee chofen for that purpofe ;
at which Time he is fucceeded by another
Treafurer, chofen by the Court t The Ac-
counts of the Guardians who pay the Poor in
their feveral Parifhes are audited every three
Months, by a feleft Committee chofen like-
wife by the Court, and are then paid by the
Treafurer : The Accounts for each Work-
houfe are audited by the refpective Committee
every Month, when the Matter adjufts, not
only his Account of Cafh, but alfo of each
particular Specie of Goods he hath under his
Care, the Ballance whereof is flill carried for-
ward to the next, which when allowed of is
jQgned by the Chairman : And the Account
for each Houfe is fo dated, that it fhews at
one Sight, what the Houfe is indebted ; what
Debts are out-ftanding, and from whom ; what
Goods
APPENDIX.
Goods remain in the Houfe, and the Quan-
tity of each Specie.
AT the making up thefe Accounts, nothing
(unlefs very trivial) is allowed, for which an
Order is not produced, or found entered
in our Books, fo that 'tis very difficult to
wrong the Corporation of any thing, if the
Guardians fhould endeavour it.
THESE Committees keep their Journal
Books, wherein all they do is fairly tranfcrib-
ed, and figned by the Chairman.
THIS is what at prefent occurs to my Me-
mory touching our Work-houfes at BriftoL
I have been as brief as the nature of the Thing
would admit : The Succefs hath anfwered our
Expectation ; we are freed from Beggars, our
old People are comfortably provided for ; our
Boys and Girls are educated to Sobriety, and
brought to delight in Labour ; our youno-
Children are well lookt after, and not fpoiled
by the neglect of ill Nurfes ; and the Face of
our City is fo changed already, that we have
great reafon to hope thefe young Plants will
produce a virtuous and laborious Generation
with whom Immortality and Prophanefs may
find little Incouragement ; nor does our hopes
appear to be groundlefs, for among three
M 4 hundred
The APPENDIX.
hundred Perfons now under our Charge with-
in Doors, there is neither Curfing nor Swear-
ing, nor prophane Language, to be heard,
though many of them were bred up in all
manner of Vices, which neither Bridewell
nor Whippings could fright them from, be-
caufe, returning to their bad Company, for
want of Employment, they were rather made
worfe, than bettered by thefe Corrections ;
whereas, the Change we have wrought on
them, is by fair means. We have a Bride-
ivelly Stocks, and Whipping-Pofl^ always in
their Sights, but never had occcafion to make
ufe of either.
WHAT is done in that City, I humbly
hope may be carried on by the fame Steps
throughout the Kingdom ; the Poor may be
fet at Work, their Wages advanced without
Danger to our Manufacturers, and they there-
by enabled to live on their own Labours,
whereby the Charge of the Poor's Rates may
be faved, and a great many worthy Benefac-
tors encouraged to give, when they mail fee
their Charity fo well difpofed of. This I have
great reafon to hope, becaufe we have had
near one Thoufand Pounds freely given to us
within, the Compafs of one Year, and much
thereof
The A P P E N D I X. i6 9
thereof by Gentlemen who dwelt at a Dif-
tance from us, only were willing to encou-
rage a Work they faw likely to be carried
on, which might be of good Example to the
Nation.
I am,
Right Honourable
And Honourable,
Tour Honours moft
Obedient Servant,
JOHN GARY.
A N
A N
ESSAY
Towards Settling a
NATIONAL
CREDIT.
By JOHN GARY, Efq;
The Fifth EDITION, Correted.
LONDON:
Printed in the Year M.DCC.XLV.
To the Right Honourable the LORDS
SPIRITUAL and TEMPORAL, and to
the Honourable the Commons of
ENGLAND in Parliament Aj-
fembled.
AV ING lately prefented your
Honours with An EJJay on Coin
and Credit, the chief Defign
whereof was to fliew the Ne-
cefilty of Settling a well-ground-
ed Credit in this Nation, for Support of the
Government, and carrying on its Trade ; I
do now with all Humility lay before you Pro-
pofals to anfwer that End, which I have not
clogg'd with Compulfion to the Subject, fup-
pofing nothing of this Nature can be good,
where a common Confent, grounded upon
Intereft, doth not make it valuable.
BANKS
An ESSAY
BANKS, as I humbly conceive, ought chiefly
to be calculated for the Ufe of Trade, and
modeled fo as may beft content the Traders.
What gives them Satisfaction, will anfwer
all other Occafions of the Kingdom. Mo-
ney pafies through the Hands of the Nobi-
lity and Gentry, only as Water doth through
Conduit-Pipes into the Ciftern, but Centers
in the Hands of Traders, where it circu-
lates, and may be faid to be ufed ; and a-
mong thefe, Eafe, Profit, and Security, are
Arguments to keep a Bank always full : Be-
fides, when the Streights of the Government
are taken of, greater Sums will come into
Trade, which are now drawn out, in order to
make Advantages, above what the Profits of
Trade will bring in.
THE Heads whereon I propofe to build
this National Credit, are thefe which fol-
low :
THAT a Bank be erected on the Credit
of Parliament, the Profit or Lofs thereof to
redound to the Nation, whofe chief Cham-
ber mall be fettled in London^ but lefler
Chambers in other Places of this Kingdom,
at fuch Diftances, as may beft anfwer the
Oc-
on NATIONAL CREDIT. 175
Occafions of the Country, which Cham-
bers to account with that of London, and
that to Commiflioners appointed by Parlia-
ment.
THAT this Bank mail take in what run-
ning Cam mall be offered, and mall give
their Notes for it ; and mall alfo allow In-
tereft after the Rate of per Cent, per
Annum, after the firft Days, till thofe
Notes be paid, and lhall alfo pay it again to
the Proprietors, or any Part thereof, when
demanded.
THAT if any Man put in his Money for
a Time certain, not lefs than Months,
he mall receive Intereft from the Time
of paying it in, to the Time he is Re-
paid.
THAT this Bank mall let out any Sum a-
gain on reafonable Security, either Real, Per*
fonal, or Goods, receiving Intereft after the
Rate of per Cent, per Annum, till the
Borrower mall think fit to pay it in, which
he fhall do, by fuch Parts as will beft fuit his
Occafions, and be difcharged from the Intereft
of what he fo pays, and only pay after the
Rate aforefaid, for fo much as doth remain
in his Hands.
THAT
17$ An ESSAY
THAT Lombards be erected to attend
this Bank, for the Benefit of Traders,
under Regulations, which may Encourage
Trade:
THAT for the Benefit of Returns, the
Notes given in any one Chamber of this
Bank, fhall be demandable in any other, to-
gether with the Intereft due till Payment, the
Receiver allowing for fuch Returns after the
Rate of for each Hundred
Pounds, in the Chamber where he receives
his Money.
THAT to prevent Counterfeits, all Notes
given out at any Chamber, fhall be made pay-
able to or Order, and affigned from
one to another, each Affignee to be Warrantee
for the Note, both to the Bank, and alfo to
every later Aflignee.
THAT thefe Notes fhall be taken by the
King in all Payments, which will make them
current among the Subjects.
THAT this Bank do fupply the King with
all Loans at per Cent. Intereft per Ann. from
the Time of borrowing, to the Time the
Money is paid in again, and that it hath the
Taxes, or Funds fettled by Act of Parliament,
for it Security.
THAT
on NATIONAL CRECIT.
THAT all Debts con traded to this Bank,
fhall be of the fame Nature with D^bts con-
tracted to the King, and be firft paid ouc of
the Eflates of the Debtors ; and that Ex-
tents fhall lye accordingly.
THAT an Account be kept of Profit and
Lofs in each Chamber, together with the
Charges of the Officers, &c. And that it be
return'd up every three Months, as alfo Ac-
compt Current, to the Grand Chamber in
London, where the whole fhall be Examined
by the Commiflioners, and they be liable to
the infpection of the Parliament.
THAT Regifters for Lands be creeled in
all Countries, &V. where defired, by Act of
Parliament.
THAT Bills be pad on the Bank by fuch
as are appointed to buy for the Public Ufe
of the Nation, payable at the Time of their
Agreement *, by which means every one will
endeavour to furnifli the Government cheap-
eft, when their Payments fhall be punctual 5
the King will fave a great deal of Money,
paid now for Procuration, Exceffive Intereft,
&V. and the Fleet and Army will be well
paid.
N &c.
17* An E S S A Y
THAT the Commiflioners do once every
Year at Jeaft, make up the Accounts depend-
ing between the Public and the Bank, al-
lowing per Cent. Intereft as before;
and make Application to the Parliament for
its Reimburfement.
THAT Bills and Bonds be made Aflignable
by Law, and the Property be thereby tranf-
fer'd to the Affigne.
THAT Truftees may put the Money be-
longing to Orphans into this Bank, which
fliall be a Difcharge to them for fo much of
their Truft, the Intereft to be duly iflued out
for the Maintenance of the faid Orphans ; and
that all Plate and Bullion belonging to the
faid Orphans be by the Truftees coined up at
the next Mint, and the Money put into the
Bank for the ufe of the faid Orphans.
THAT the Money in this Bank be freed
from Taxes.
CONCERNING which Credit I fliall briefly
fpeak to thefe Four Things.
I. Firft, Its Security.
II. Secondly, Some of thofs Advantages the
Nation will reap by it.
III.
on NATIONAL CREDIT.
III. Thirdly, / Jhatt make fme Comparifon
between this Credit, and the prefent Bank of
England.
IV. Fourthly, I Jhatt fet forth the necejjity
of fetling the Nations Credit in this prejent
Sejfions.
I. As to the Firfti It hath the Legiflative
Power of the Kingdom of England for its
Foundation, a Security ftrong enough, and
nothing elfe can be fo, to build this Great Su-
perftructure upon, the well modeling whereof,
will keep it from being fubject to the Defigns
of private Perfons : This will laft fo long as
the Peoples Liberties laft, for no Change can
weaken it, fo long as the People of England
have a hand in making their own Laws, whofe
Common Interefb will be riveted and made
up with the Security of this Bank, that they
will in a fhort time become one thing, fo that
nothing lefs than a Conqueft will be able to
make it : This we cannot fear from any Na-
tion befides the French^ nor from them neither,
till Holland is firft fubdued ; therefore, as thofe
States muft firft truckle, fo far will our Bank
be more fecure than theirs : France cannot
erect a Bank on any fort of Security, becaufc
N 2 the
An ESSAY
the Will of the Prince being his Law, alters
according to his prefent Occafions : Nor can
'Spam do it j where, not only the Government
but alfo the Profits thereof, are divided a-
mongft its Minifters : As for Sweden, Den-
mark, and Portugal^ the Princes of Italy and
Germany, few believe their Circumftances to
be fuch, as to render them capable of creel-
ing a Bank, which may draw the Eyes of
Europe trflook towards it ; England only can
do it, for as an eafy Government is its own
Security, Ib that Security encourages Trade,
and thefe two, accompanied with the Profits
offered to a running Cafh, will make all -
rt>J>e defire to fettle their Monies here.
SEEING then, that nothing but the fame
Power which firft conftituted this Bank can
deftroy it, (a Power with whom we intruft
our Lives, Liberties, and Eftates) I cannot
fee the leaft Room left for diftruft ; for what
Advantage can any future Parliament expect
by a defign of feizing this Bank, when the
Treafure thereof may be drawn out, whilft
they are framing the Law; and the Con-
fequence thereof will be, the Ruining their
own Eftates, for which they can promife no-
thing
on NATIONAL CREDIT.
thing to themfelves, fave the being pofleft of
empty Papers.
WHAT farther Hazard the Nation can
run, mud proceed from the Negleft of the
Managers, or the Fraud of under Officers,
which, Care in the Firft, and Security for
the Lait, will prevent.
II. THE next Thing is to (hew the Ad-
vantages which England will reap by fetling
the Credit here propofed ; whereof fome do
immediately attend it, others are confequen-
tial.
THOSE which immediately attend it,
are,
ift. THE Rate of Intereft will hereby be
brought lower, to the Advance of our Lands,
<-'\ t^ 1
and Encouragement of our Trade, by
Methods altogether as profitable to the Ufurer,
who will be willing to let his Money Cheaper,
when it fhall never lie dead without his Con-
fent, his Security be unqueftionable, and freed
from the Charges of litigious Suits, which fo
frequently accompany doubtful Mortgages.
2^/y, BOTH Gentlemen and Traders will
hereby be fupplied with Money to ferve their
Occafions, on fuch reafonable Security as they
are able to give, when that Security fhall be
N 3 ftrength-
i8 An ESSAY
ftrengthned, by having the Preheminence
above all other obligations ; they may alfo
have Liberty to pay it in by fuch Proportions,
as they can beft fpare it, when it lhall be
equally the Intereft of the Bank to receive it
fo, which will never want new Opportunities
to let it out again.
%dly, THIS Credit will give us an Efleem
in Foreign Parts, draw their Moneys hither,
and confcquently their Trade, and thereby
their People, all which will be an Advantage
to England.
4/y. IT will fupply the Government with
Money to carry on the War at moderate In-
tereft, and make its Credit good ; whereby
the public Revenues will reach farther to ferve
its Occafions, and the Minifters of State be
Freed from many anxious Thoughts, which
now make them uneafy.
5/y. IT will make Returns from place to
place in England, both cheap and certain,
which will help our Inland Trade, and pre-
vent Robberies, now too much encouraged
by travelling with Money ; It will alfo be
profitable to our Foreign Trade, by bringing
Exchanges low in our favour.
on NATIONAL CREDIT, 183
6ly, THE Frauds put on the County, by
Counterfeit Notes will be prevented -, for
though the Method of Indentures and ftained
Paper now ufed by the Bank of England, may
be a Security to it felf, yet it is not fo to any
one elfe, feeing Art is able to counterfeit every
Thing, at leaft fo like, as not to be eafily
difcover'd : Now, what Satisfaction will it be
to thofe who have received their Notes inftead
of Money, to be told by the Managers that
they are counterfeit, when they know not
where, nor from whom to get Reparation ;
whereas, being Afiigned from Man to Man,
they are taken on the Credit of the Afllgnor,
who runs no other rifque thereby, fave his
Warrant that they are truly what he pays
them for.
7/y. THIS Bank will be free from Stock-
Jobbing, the Bane of all good D..figns,
which will find no room here, becauio it
cannot be divided into private and particular
Interefts.
THE Confequential Advantages will bethefe,
iy?. By this means the Taxes for carrying
on the War the enfuing Year, together with
N 4 the
184 An E S S A Y
the Twenty - five hundred and Sixty - four
Thoufand Pounds, which fell fhort on the
Salt Fund, may be raifed, by Methods, where-
in the King's Revenue, and the Peoples Pro-
fits, fhall go hand in hand, without Antici-
pations.
2ly. THE Funds now fettled on our Manu-
factures, which diicourage our Trade, and
ruin our Poor, may be funk and taken off;
fuch as thofe on the Glafs-makers^ Tobaccopipe-
makers, Diftillers, and others, many whereof
have yielded little to the Government, above
the charge of Collecting, and the beft of them
have done great Mifchief to our Trade ; now
feeing thefe are only fo many feveral Mo-
dus's of raifing Money, thofe Methods muft
doubtlefs do bed, which leaft injure our
Trade.
3^. THE Debt due to the Tranfport-
Ships may be paid off, and thofe People, to
whofe early Loyalty and Reduction of Ire-
land is very much owing, be contented,
4/y. THE Mints may be kept Imployed,
and the Kingdom thereby filled with Coin.
5/y. OUR Wool may be kept at home,
which I humbly conceive can never be done,
till a good Credit be fettled, any thing lefs
will
on NATIONAL CREDIT 185
will not be large enough to cover the Sore
intended to be cured.
6ly. TH E Plantation Trade may be better
fecured, efpeciaily that of Tobacco, and Me-
thods may be propofed to render it more pro-
fitable, both to the King, and alfo to the
Subjed.
7/y. THE Bank of England* 's Notes may
be brought to Par, and Tallies of all forts
in a fhort time be paid off at their full Value,
which I humbly conceive will be difficult to
be done, any other way, the fettling a Credit
on either, or grafting them both together,
feem improbable Methods to anfwer thofc
ends.
I humbly hope to make Propofals in this
prefent Seflions for putting thefe into praclife,
if a good Credit be timely fettled.
BESIDES thefe, many other Advantages
will accrue to the Nation, many of which I
have fet forth in my before recited Eflay on
Coin and Credit. Pag. 27, 28, 29.
III. THE third Thing is to make fome
Comparifon between the Credit here propo-
pofed,
An E S S A Y
pofed, and the prefent Bank of England-,
which I humbly conceive is fo fliaken in its
Reputation, as hath rendred it uncapable to
be made the Foundation of a national Credit ;
and whilft we labour to recover it, we may
run the hazard of deftroying our Trade, dif-
turbing the Government, and keeping our
felves under a lingring War, whilft we encou-
rage the French King, to try his utmoft Ef-
forts, hoping, that our Difficulties at home,
will force us to accept of a difhonourable
Peace.
'Tis certain, nothing can be the Support
of a National Credit, which is not better, or
at leaft fo good as Money ; and this is not to
be found in the Bank of England, whofe
Notes whilft they are One per Cent, worfe
than Specie, will always keep their Coffers
empty, becaufe no Man will put into it a
hundred Pounds in Money, when he can pur-
chafe a Note of the fame Value for Ninety-
nine ; and the Confequcnce will be this, that
the Lender, or rather the Jobber, will never
reft till he is repaid, that fo he may be ma-
king advantage by a new Purchafe , and if
this will be the Effect of a Credit worfe only
by One per Cent, than Money, what will it
be
on NATIONAL CREDIT.
be when 'tis funk to fixteen ; Whereas, on
the other fide, when a Credit is better than
Money, the Coffers will ever be full, becaufe
all Men will endeavour to put in their Mo-
ney, and be impatient till 'tis done ; and thus
it will be, when the Lender thinks himfelf
fecure, and makes more Profit by having his
Money in the Bank then in his Cheft, who
will therefore receive out no more at a Time,
then his Neceifities mail require, and for the
fame Reafon, thofe to whom he pays it, will
endeavour to return it thither again fo foon
as they can,
IV. As to the fourth Thing propofed,
The Necefiity the Nation lies under to have
its Credit fettled this prefent Seffions, it will
appear, if we confider, how London now
(lands in Competition with all England be-
fides, as to the Specie of Money, and how
it will ftand before another Seflions : 'Tis
generally agreed, that about one Moiety of
the Money of England is already Center'd in
that great City, and the reft is not enough to
pay the Debts owing to it, together with
his Majefty's Revenues, Bonds already enter-
ed into, and Taxes now to be given, for
fix
i88 'An ESSAY
Six Months longer, befides the Foreign Bills,
which are generally made payable there, all
which muft be return'd in Specie , for though,
by an Act of this prefent Seflions : Intituled,
An Aft for the farther Remedying the ill State
of the Coin of this Kingdom, it is among other
things provided, That all Money that lhall
be brought in upon Account of Taxes, or
Revenues, or Loans, at Five Shillings and
Eight Pence per Ounce, lhall be carried to
the next adjacent Mint, in order to be Re-
Coined, yet this will no way be Serviceable to
the Country, unlefs a Credit be fettled, it
muft otherwife be fent up to London after
coined for want of Returns, the Debts due to
the Country being paid there in Bank, which
is Sixteen per Cent, worfe than Money, and
thofe due from the Country demanded in
Specie, fo that the Money of England is every
Week brought up thither ; and then, if it be
next confidered, what Methods are left to
the Country to draw it back again, viz. by
Provifions and fome few other Things, 'twil!
be reafonabfe to believe, that feeing the fup-
ply made from that City to the Country is
greater than what is made from the Country
thither, all the CaJfh of England will center
there
on NATIONAL CREDIT.
there in a fhort Time, to the Ruining of the
other Trading Cities, and difabling of the
Country to pay future Taxes ; and this will
makv- the dependence on London Hill greater,
till by its own Bloatinefs it muft at laft burft,
when the Eftates of the Traders fhall confift
only in Debts due from the Country, which
muft flill lye out for want of a Specie to pay
them in , fo that all the Advantage London
will receive, is, that it will be laft ruined.
Now if a good Credit be fettled out of
Hand, and the Mints continued in the
Country, the Money that is now there, may
be ftill kept there, and Methods found out to
increafe it, and the Trade of England carried
on with an equal Circulation in all places;
this will keep up the Rents of the Lands of
England^ which muft otherwife fall in their
Values, fui table to the diftance they ftand in
from that great Metropolis.
IF it be objected, That the Management
of this Credit will be very coftly to the Na-
tion; I humbly conceive, that the Profits
thereof will not only fupport its Charge, but
alfo bring in a great Overplus, which may
be ufefully Imployed to the Nation's Ad-
vantage j yet were this Objection true, no-
thing
ipo An ESSAY
thing can be termed good Hufbandry which
fpoils our Trade, the flopping whereof but
for one Month, will be many Millions loft to
the Kingdom.
IF by rectifying this, or any better Pro-
pofal from a more thinking Head, the Credit
of the Nation may be fettled in this prefent
Seffions, I have reaped the End I aimed at,
the Good and Welfare of my Native Country ;
which I humbly fubmit to your Honours great
Wifdom, and fliall be ready to explain any
Thing that may feem doubtful, when I am
thereto commanded.
Tour Honours*
Moft Obedient Servant^
SOME
CONSIDERATIONS
Relating to the carrying on
The Linnen Manufa&ure
I N T H E
K I N G D O M
O F
IRELAND.
By JOHN GARY, Efq;
The Fifth- EDITION, Corre&ed.
LONDON:
Printed in the Year M.DCG.XLV-
S O M E
Relating to
The Linnen Manufa&ure
In the KINGDOM of
/ R E L A
D
H E Linnen Manufacture in
Ireland, being a Subject fo much
difcoursM of the laft Sefiions
of Parliament, I humbly pre-
fume to offer fome Thoughts
how it may beft be carried on.
O
BUT
i 94 The APPENDIX
BUT, before I enter upon it, I will con*
fider the State of that Kingdom, with re-
fpeft to its Foreign Trade ; the Ballance
whereof I take to be againft them, and muft
therefore be fupplied, by carrying out their
Coin, which is already grown fo fcarce, that
'tis to be fear'd, in a fhort time there will be
little left.
To explain this, I will lay down fome of
thdfe Steps, by which the Ballance of Trade
daily alters to their Prejudice.
ift. THE great Fall of their Produces,
viz. Wool, Tallow, Hides, Beef, &c. which
are abated in their Prices above one Third
of what they yielded before the War ; fo that
fliould the fame Quantities of thofe Com-
modities be bought up for Exportation, as
formerly there were, yet they would not
amount to the Value they then did.
2/y. THE Ports of Sfain, France^ and
Flanders^ which were their great Markets,
being now fhut againft them, the Profits
which they made by their Foreign Trade in '
the
The A P P E N D I X.
the Times of Peace, over and above the firil
Value of the Commodities exported, are allb
loft to the Kingdom.
3fy. THE Prohibiting the Exportation
of their Woollen Manufactures, whereby
their People were employed, and their La^
bours fold to Foreign Nations, hath very
much lefifened the Ballance of their Foreign
Trade,
4/y. THE great Sums of Money fpent in
this Kingdom by the Nobility and Gentry
of Ireland, who come over hither for Pkafure,
or neceflary Attendances, on the Court, Parr
liament, or private Affairs, and lend hither
their Children for Education ; the Purchafes
they have lately made of the Forfeited E-
ftates ; and the yearly Remittances thence for
the Rents of Lands belonging to the Nobility
and Gentry of this Kingdom, do all make
againft them.
5/y. THE great Confumption of Com-
modities among them from this Kingdom,
which, though it encreafes our Trade, and
makes it our Interefb to Support that King-
Q 2
Ue APPEND I.X.
dom, muft be allowed to be a Prejudice to
them.
ALL which being laid together, it Teems
apparent to me, that the Ballance of their
Trade mufl every Year grow more againft
them, till their Money is drawn away, ex-
cept fome New Manufacture, fit for Expor^-
tatiqn, be encouraged amongft them,
AND I think none more proper than that
of Linnen 5 which, befides the Employment
it will give to their Poor,' will alfo take up
large Tracts of Land for raifing of Hemp
and Flax ; and being a Manufacture no way
Interfering with our own, we may take if
from them, in Barter for what they have
hence, without any Manner of Prejudice to
the Trade of this Kingdom.
BESIDES, The People of Ireland, being
employed on the Linnen Manufacture, would
by degrees be taken off from making fo much
\\ 7 'orfted and Woollen Yarn as they now
do, which they fend hither at Cheaper Rates
than we are able to make 'em : The Price
of Labour in all Places being according
to
The A P P E N D I X.
to the Rents of Lands, the Poor can af-
ford to work there on lower Terms than it
can be expected they Ihould do here : On
the other fide, if the low Labour of the
Poor of Ireland^ was employed on Spinning
of Linnen Yarn, it would be an Advantage
to the Kingdom of Ireland, to have it fent
hither, becaufe it would enable us to make
our Fuftions, and other Manufactures, where-
it is ufed, cheaper than now we do ; whilft
pur own Poor might be employed on Spin-
ning of Wool j and we might afford to give
them better Wages, without fear of being
beat out of our Manufactures by any other
JsTation, provided Care was taken to keep our
Wool at Home.
THE next Thing to^be confidered is, how
this Work may be bed carried on i which I
am of Opinion muft be done by a Corpora-
tion, with a Joint-Stock, fufficient, not only
to buy up what Linnens fhall be made, but
alfo to furnim the Kingdom with Money on,
eafy Terms ; which will likewife encourage
the Raifmg of Hemp and Flax.
IF
7he APPENDIX.
I F the High Rates of Intereft in Ireland
be confidered, and the prefent [State of the
Linnen Manufacture there, 'twill not be
difficult to fee, how unlikely it is to be car-
ried on by private Stocks, who can make
Ten per Cent, per Annum, by letting out
their Money ; 'tis true, the late Act hath re-
duced it to Eight, but that Act having no
regard to Incumbrances entred into before the
25th of March, 1704, I do not fee how it
will much help the People of Ireland at this
Time, when the Scarcity of Money does dif-
able them to difcharge prior Engagements ;
fo that private Men have Opportunities e-
nough to fettle theirs at Ten per Cent, which
in all probability they will rather chufe, than
to lay it out in Linnens, unlefs they can be
allured of a far greater Profit, than they can
make by letting it out.
BESIDES, as Intereft is now managed,
'tis both a Clog to the Gentlemen's Eftates,
and a Difcouragement to Traders and Manu-
facturers, confidering, that the whole Sum
borrowed muft be paid in at once ; by which
means, being got into the Ufurer's Books,
they
APPENDIX. 199
they cart fcarce ever find the way out ; Now
if the Borrower had Liberty to pay in the
Principle^ by fuch Parts as he is able to raife
it, and the Intereft for fo much to ceafe from
that time, this would encourage Induftry^
and promote Improvements, both in Pro-
duct and Manufactures, which are the two
Things that encreafe the Wealth of a Na-
tion. 1
A N Infant - Manufacture muft be carried
on at a'fmall Profit, and muft as I may lay,
Fight its way through ; which cannot be
done, where Intereft carries fuch a Load
with it j and, therefore, I am of Opini-
on, that nothing lefs than a Joint- Stock,
can make Ireland Flourifli ; which will in
the Confequence turn likewife to the Advan-
tage of England ; the Gentlemen of Ireland,
being by thefe Means made more eafy in
their Circumftances, and having their former
Incumbrances brought Lower, will fpend
more of their Money here, and wear more of
our Manufactures there.
NOR will this way of Lending out Mo-
ney be any Difadvantage to a Corporation,
who
4QO Ue A P E N D I X.
who 'will find fit Opportunities of Employ*
ing their Stock, as faft as it is paid in ; and
the Profits thereof being returned hither in
Linnens, they may afford to fell them cheap*
er than private Stocks can do.
BUT I do not think this Work can be
prcfently brought about i 'twill not be eafy
to perfuade the Landlords nor Tenants o-
Ireland* to leave off" the way of Hufbandry
they are now upon, and to turn their Lands
to Hemp and Flax, till they fee fome En-
couragement ; but when they mall find thi
new Product bring ready Money, they wii
foon Set upon it ; if the Manufacturer receive
ready Money for his Cloath, he will be abl<
to pay ready Money both for Materials anc.
Labour, which Circulation will Encourage
both the Farmer and the Manufacturer ; and
by Degrees, Hemp and Flax-feed will be
Sowed in all Lands proper for them, and the
Owners will foon fee the Difference, be*
tween raifing Commodities, for which there
is a prefent Demand, and fuch, as lye on
their Hands : For though Ireland may in
time produce greater Quantities of Hemp
and Flax than they can work up, yet not
more
APPENDIX,
more than England may Take off, without
Prejudice to any Foreign Trade we drive ;
and their Number of Hands will in all Pro-
bability be encreafed by the French Refugees,
who will be glad to go thither, where they
may be employed in a Manufacture, fo na-
tural to them as Linnen is ; which will allb
give a fatal Blow to the Kingdom of Prance
in that Manufacture. "
THE People in the North of Ireland,
make good Cloth, fell it at Reafonable Rates,
and would every Year make much more,
had they Vent for it ; and it is to be obferv-
ed, that Money is not plentier, nor Rents
paid better, in any Part of Ireland, than
there.
THE Rents of Ireland grow due at two
Times of Payments viz. ift of May, and
i ft of November; the firft becomes payable
whilft their Cattle are lean, which puts the
Tenants under great Straits, and forces them
to fell very low, if they are preft for Money j
but the Second Payment is more eafily made*
their fat Cattle being fold, and their Harveft
over : This is the State of that part of the.
P King,
202 jfe APPENDIX.
Kingdom that depends on Feeding and Til-
lage ; but where the Linnen Manufacture is,
the Tenants are much eafier; they fpin in
the Winter Nights, and at other leifure times,
which being wove into Cloth, an4 whiten'd
early in the Year, provides Money for their
6rft Payment, without felling their Cattle be-
fore fatted for a Market.
. IT is necefiary for a new Undertaking* to
be attended with ibme lucky Accident j the
Linnen Manufacture can never be begun in
Ireland at a more feafbnable Time than now,
being imported hither Cuftom-Free, when all
the other Linnens of Europe pay confiderable
Duties.
TH E Gentlemen of Ireland at this Time,
feem to be Difcon tented, they find themfelves
Uneafy, but cannot tell where the Sore lies ;
therefore, fometimes they Complain of one
Thing, and fometimes of another ; but the
true Ground of all is this : Their Exports
are leffened, whilft their Imports encreafe
upon them, and the Specie of their Money
decreafes every Day ; by which means their
Rents come in (lowly, their Produ&s fall
on
APPENDIX.
on their Hands, and will more,, as they en*
creafe above their Expence; fo that their
Improvements rather turn to their Difadvan-
tage ; and their Lands muft fall (which 'tis
our Intereft to keep up) unlefs ibme new
Product be encouraged, which may be Ma-
nufactured amongft them : If this was done,
They would foon fee where their Intereft
lay ; and though I do not believe they would
all fall on fowing Hemp and Flax, nor is
it neceflary they mould, yet there would be
w r.'uch Land turned that way, as might
reftrain their other Products, within the
Compafs of their Exports, and Home Con-
ftion, and caufe a Circulation of Mo-
ney through all Parts of the Kingdom.
THIS will give a greater Employment
to the Poor of Inland, and encourage People
to fettle among them, without any Manner
of Prejudice to England ; and Create a mu-
tual Friendmip, and a profitable Correfpon-
dence, between both Kingdoms.
AND as the Eftablifhing fuch a Fund
will be an Advantage to that Kingdom, fo it
will
ao 4 ne APPENDIX.
will bring a confiderable Profit to the Un-
dertakers, befides the Benefit which may
arife from it to the Government, during the
Continuance of this War.
F 1 N I S.
552
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