Front matter

A

DISCOURSE

ON

TRADE,

AND

Other Matters Relative to it.

VIZ.

Of Trade in general: Of the Trade of England: Of Husbandry, Feeding, Tillage, Corn, Fruit, Fish, Minerals, Trees, Manufactures, Sheep-Wool, Cotton-Wool, Hemp and Flax: Glass, Earthen-Ware, Silk, Distilling: The great Advantages of a universal National Bank demonstrated: Sugar-baking, Tobacco, Tanning, Clock-Work, Paper-Mills, Powder-Mills: Method to improve our Manufactures, by imploying the Poor: Of Courts of Merchants, Silver Coin: An effectual Method to prevent the Running of Wool: Of our Trade to the East and West-Indies, Africa, the Plantations, Iceland, the Canaries, Spain, Portugal Turkey, Italy, Holland, Hamburgh, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, France, South-Sea, &c. What foreign Trades are profitable, and what not. An Essay on National Credit, and the Irish Linnen Manufacture, &c. &c. &c.

Wrote at the Request of several Members of Parliament And now Published for universal Benefit.

By JOHN CARY, Esq; Merchant of Bristol.

LONDON:

Printed for T. OSBORNE in Gray’s-Inn,

MDCCXLV.

TO

The Right Honourable

Spencer Compton, Esq;

SPEAKER.

And to the Honourable the Knights, Citizens, and Burgesses, of this Present Parliament of Great-Britain, Assembled.

May it Please your Honours,

THE First Edition of this little Tract, Relating to Trade, the Poor, &c. was Humbly Dedicated to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, when Governor of the South-Sea Company, which I then thought, as I still do, might be of Service to the Nation, by alluring the Heir to the Crown, into an Early liking of Trade, and Setting before him the Advantages that Accrue from it, with the Methods whereby it may be Improved; and therefore I Contracted it into a narrow Compass to Encourage his Reading it.

THIS second Edition, whereto I have added some sure and practicable Methods, for Discharging the Public Debts of the Nation, with most Ease to the People, I humbly Present to this Honourable House; If it may be Usefull in your Debates, I shall think myself very Happy.

’TIS the Ballance of our Trade, that supplies us with Bullion; if That be in our Favour, it brings it to us, if otherwise, it must be carried away.

THIS Ballance is supported by our Manufactures, which keep our People at Work, and enable them to Maintain themselves by their own Labour, who must else stand still, and become a Charge on our Lands; and therefore I humbly conceive it to be our Interest, First, to encourage their being worn at Home, and then to give a Preference to such Things, as are Purchased for them abroad, rather than to those, which are bought for Bullion; and if our Trade was well regulated, we should soon become the Richest, and consequently the Greatest, People in Europe.

I have made some Essay at such Methods, as I doubt not, being Improved by your Wisdoms, and strengthened by your Authority, may Tend very much to the Effecting this great Work; And I humbly Offer the six Propositions following, as so many Fundamentals, necessary, for the better Ordering of our Trade, the Discharging of our public Debts, and Supporting the Credit of the Kingdom, whereby His Majesty will be rendred more Glorious, both at Home and Abroad.

THE First is, a Committee of Trade, made up of such Men as are well verst in the true Principles whereon it is Founded, and thereby enabled to make right Representations of such things, as shall be referred to them by the Parliament; who, Holding their Places, according as they are thought capable of performing them, will be careful to execute those Trusts with Judgment, Honour and Honesty.

THE second is, a due Inspection into the Affairs of the Poor, and putting an End to that Pernicious Trade of Begging, which I can assure this Honourable House, from the Experience we have had in their Regulation at Bristol, may be done, and that the Poor may be trained up to an early Delight in Labour; the Means and Methods whereby That was Accomplished, though at first Thought Impracticable, I have set forth in the Appendix. pag. 167.

THE Third is, the Keeping of our own Wool at home, and preventing the Wool of Ireland from being Transported any where else except to this Kingdom; which I am persuaded can never be done, by any other Method, but by a Register, and that That will effectually do it; towards which I have made an Essay in the following Treatise.

THE Fourth is, the Encouraging the Linnen-Manufacture of Ireland; ’Tis not easy to comprehend the Advantages that will thence arise to both Kingdoms, when each of them shall be fully employed, on a Distinct Manufacture: the Hands that are now kept at Work there, on the Spinning of Wool, might be then turned to Linnen, and a great Part of their Lands would be taken up, in raising Flax and Hemp, for which they are very proper; and then a Stop might be put to the Importation of those great Quantities of Worsted and Woollen Yarn thence, so pernicious to the Poor of this Kingdom, the Spinning whereof, if Imported in Wool, would amount to many Thousand Pounds per Annum, to be divided among them; and it is certain, that Spinning is the most profitable Part of the Woollen Manufacture, because it is done by Women and Children, who can no otherwise be employed.

IN the Year 1704, I was desired by the Ministry to give my Thoughts of such an Undertaking, which I then did, and printed some Considerations relating thereto, adapted for that Time, which I have added in the Appendix, pag. 158.

NOR can this be any Prejudice to the Linnens of North-Britain, being of quite different Sorts; which should also for many Reasons be Encouraged, by such Means and Methods, as on due Consideration may be thought proper.

THE Fifth is, the carrying on the Fishery, which deserves all the Encouragement the Legislature can give it; and I think the readiest way to do it, is, by incorporating such Societies, as are witting to set upon it with joint Stocks, but not exclusive to any others, which will promote Industry, and shut out Stock-jobbing, the Bane of so many good Undertakings.

THE sixth, and indeed the Foundation of all the rest, is, the establishing a substantial Credit, large enough to answer all the Occasions of the Nation, both public and private, which is the Wheel whereon all the rest must turn, and whereby, not only the Trade of the Kingdom, but also the Occasions of the Government may be supplied, and the public Debts gradually sunk, by a good Management; and This, I humbly Conceive, cannot be settled any other way, but on a parliamentary Foundation, any Thing less will be too narrow.

IN the Year 1696, I made some Essay towards such a Credit, which I then presented to both Houses of Parliament, and have now incerted it in the Appendix, pag. 174. But the Bank of England having about that time furnished his Majesty with a considerable Sum of Money, then very much wanted, for the present payment of the Army, which the Ministry could not otherwise have raised, tho’ they approved of the Projection, were unwilling to disoblige at that Juncture, by setting up any thing like theirs, and so that Matter slept then, as it had ever done, if I had not observed that the famous Mr. Laws had drawn a Scheme from it, for the Service of France, as near as the Constitution of that Kingdom will admit; not that I think it can be lasting, the Foundation being laid on Sand; Yet it hath served the present Occasion, to pay off the Debts of that Nation, by an incredible Stock-job, which must in all probability, end in Confusion and Discontent.

NOTHING can support a National Credit, but a steady Government, where the arbitrary Will of a Prince cannot withdraw, or lessen the Security at his Pleasure; and had such a one been then establish’d here, in all probability, we bad been several Millions less in Debt, and not felt that heavy load of Taxes, which hath opprest our Lands, and injur’d our Trade; nor do I think those Debts can be discharged by any other way, private Men now carrying off those Profits, which should sink them by degrees.

THE Advantages of a National Bank, and the good Effects it will have, in this Free Government, towards the Lessening our national Incumbrances, will plainly appear, when it is considered, that one hundred Pounds borrowed, will circulate two, besides it self, and thereby reduce the Interest, to one third Part of what is paid to the Lender; but if it circulates three, then to a Quarter, and it may be, to much less, according as a Bank hath Credit, and is found Useful.

BY this Rule, if the Public pays Four per Cent. for Interest, it may by Circulation be reduced to one, and there is no doubt, but that a Well-constituted Bank, will be soon fill’d with Money at that Rate; the great Ground of Buying and Selling Stock being, the vast Sums of Money which lie dead on Mens Hands, who hope thereby to make some Profit, but would be glad to dispose of it, on a substantial Security, at a moderate Interest; besides the Advantage it will be to Widows and Orphans, whose Money would be safely lodged, and bring them in a certain Income, for their Maintenance; and here will be no room left for Stock-jobbing, which hath now got such a Footing, even into our public Affairs, that the Parliament doth not give a Land-Tax or a Lottery, where the Subscriptions to it are not Ingrost, by those who have not Money, in order to make an Advantage, by selling them to such as have, besides the vast Charge in the management of Lotteries.

AND as to Trade, the Bank of England hath been very serviceable to this great Metropolis, by making a little Money serve the Uses of a great deal, but the Benefit thereof hath extended no farther; and why other Cities, and indeed the whole Kingdom, should not have the same Advantage, (which it will, if a National Bank be established, and Chambers settled where desired) I cannot conceive.

AND here I must refer to the Appendix, for the better Illustrating the Benefit thereof, and the manner of its Institution, as then intended, which must now admit of several Alterations.

IF such a Bank were settled, the Charge of managing it would be very little, and the Kingdom might grow richer some Millions every Year, and the Government have an Addition to its Security, by drawing the Cash of other Nations hither, whose Interest would thereby become interwoven with ours; and our Manufactures would be encouraged by a Flux of Money, which is the Life of Trade; and this, with the easiness of our Government, would bring the monied Men of Europe to settle here, which would be an Addition to our Wealth; the Trader might hence be supplied, with such Sums of Money as he shall want, and for so long time only, as he shall have Occasion to use it; whereby the Fishery, and other good Undertakings, may be encouraged, and our Wool be certainly kept at Home; and the Gentlemen of England may be hence furnished with Money at the common Interest, and be permitted to make their Payments by such Parts, as they can best spare it; the want of which is now such a Clog upon their Estates, that it destroys many good Families; who, when they are once got into the Usurers Books, can find no way to get out, till they have paid the whole Debt at once, so that their Estates are devoured, by Procuration and Continuation.

NOR is it hereby intended to put a Force upon any Man; ’twill be the Interest of the Lender to put his Money into this Bank, where he hath so 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 furnish Money on the Terms here mentioned, and of the Borrower to receive it; and this single thing, will in time bring so great a Profit to the Public as will very much sink the Debts of the Nation, whilst a Common Advantage is Interwoven with it.

NEITHER will this break in on the Priviledges granted to the Bank of England, by Act of Parliament; for though they are allowed to lend Money to the Government, on the Terms therein mentioned, yet the Government hath not bound up it self, from borrowing of any Others, and making their Payments in such a manner, as shall be thought most Advantagious to the Nation.

IF any Objections (not grounded on private Interest) shall be made to what I have here offered, I believe a satisfactory Answer may be given to them, if this Honourable House shall think what I have Written, worthy their Consideration.

ALL I shall further add, is, that it can scarce be Matter of Doubt, but that most Men will part with their Securities on private Funds, and rely on the General Credit of the Nation, though at a lower Interest, whereby those Funds will by degrees, become a part of the general Security, which with what new Taxes shall be given, will be so useful in Circulation, that it will be next to Impossible, for the most malicious Projectors, to lessen the Credit of such a Bank, or to make a Run upon it; and those Taxes that are heaviest on the Poor, and most Injurious to our Manufactures, may be taken off: And there will be this farther Advantage, that the several Offices, who are entrusted to buy for the Use of the Public, according to such Sums of Money, as shall from time to time be Appropriated by the Parliament, will be enabled to Purchase all things on the lowest Terms, when their Bills on this Bank, shall be as punctually discharged, at the time when they become due, as if they were Bills of Exchange, and in the mean time pass from Man to Man in Payment, which will be an Addition to the Cash of the Nation, whereby a great deal will be saved in what they lay out; and Men of Industry, but of small Stocks, will be enabled to deal with the Government, which now they cannot do; and will Endeavour who shall supply it on the best Terms, when by such Payments, they shall be Furnished, to go to Market again; and the Debts of the Nation will be so Incorporated therewith, that it will be every Man’s Interest to support its Credit; and the Eye of a Parliament, which hath Power to make Examples of Offenders, who through Fraud or Malice, shall offer Violence thereto, will be sufficient to deter any from such Evil Practices.

I am,

With all dutiful Respect,

Your Honours,

Most Obedient

Servant.

John Cary.

ADVERTISEMENT.

THE following Sheets are the Work of a Gentleman, a very considerable Merchant at Bristol, whose extensive Knowledge of, and Judgment in Trade, induced some Gentlemen who were well acquainted with his Capacity, to desire him to give them his Opinion on Trade in general, and ours in particular; he did, without any Design of being an Author, or the least Intention of printing it; but having shewn his Papers to those Gentlemen, they desired he would publish them, which he at last consented to, and had a small Number printed in Bristol, at his own Expence.

The Book having met with its deserved success, he re-printed it, with some considerable Additions; but that Edition having been sold of, and himself dying soon after, it was with much Difficulty I obtained that Copy from which this is printed, nor should I as yet have thought of getting it re-printed, but,

The many Prizes taken by our Ships of War, as well as Privateers, since the Commencement of the War with France, being a sufficient 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; and I am apt to believe no Book on the Subject deserves it more than this.

There is annexed to it, the Act of Parliament made in the 7th and 8th of King William, in favour of the City of Bristol, for regulating their Poor; and by way of Appendix, the Proceedings of the Magistrates in consequence of that Act, worthy of Imitation.

Our Streets being daily infested by swarms of Beggars, perhaps the Publishing these Proceedings may furnish some Hints to those Gentlemen, who are daily seeking 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 those who are Beggars in the Day-time, are the very People who do so much Mischief at Night; could they therefore be brought under proper Regulations, it would undoubtedly in some Measure be a Remedy to that Evil, and at the same time encrease the Riches of these Kingdoms, by keeping so many idle Persons of both Sexes employed.

I shall not trouble the Reader any further concerning this Work, whose Merit will I hope speak for itself.

A

DISCOURSE

ON

TRADE, &c.

Of Trade in general.IN Order to discover, whether a Nation gets or loses by its Trade, ’tis necessary first to enquire into the Principles whereon it is built; for Trade hath its Principles, as other Sciences have, and as difficult to be understood; but when they are, ’tis easy to discover whether a Nation gets or loses by its Management, and without this, we are not capable of making any true Judgment, it being possible for the Public to grow Poor, whilst private Persons encrease their Fortunes.

The Design of this little Treatise, is to dissect and lay open the Trade of this Kingdom, as it is now driven, that so those Branches that shall appear to be Profitable may be Encouraged, and those that are Otherwise may be Amended.

The Profits of this Kingdom arise from its Product and Manufactures at Home, and from the Growths of those several Plantations it hath settled Abroad, and from the Fish taken on the Coasts, all which being raised by the Industry 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 Labour of the People; now where we barter these Things abroad for such as are only fit to be eat and drank, or are wasted among ourselves, though one Man may get by the Luxury of another, yet the Wealth of the Kingdom doth not encrease; but it is otherwise where we change them for Bullion, or for Commodities fit to be manufactured again.

Its Original.The first Original of Trade both Domestic and Foreign was Barter, when one private Person, having an Overplus of such Things as his Neighbour wanted, furnished him therewith for their Value in such whereof the other had plenty, but he stood in need of the same, when one Nation abounding in those Products which another wanted, supply’d it therewith, and received for them Things equally necessary in their stead; and by how much the Products of any Nation exceeds its Wants, by so much it grew richer, the Remainder being sold for Bullion, or some Staple Commodity, allowed by all to have an intrinsic Value.

And as People encreased, so did Commerce, which caused many to go off from Husbandry to Manufactures, and other Ways of Living, for Convenience whereof they began Communities: This was the Original of Towns, which being found necessary for Trade, their Inhabitants encreased by Expectation of Profit; this introduced Foreign Trade or Trafic with neighbouring Nations; and this a Desire to settle rather on some navigable Rivers, than in remote Inland Places, whereby they might be more easily supply’d from the Country with Commodities fit to export, and disperse thither those they had imported from abroad.

The Trade of this Kingdom.I shall now take the Trade of this Kingdom, as it is divided into Domestic and Foreign, and consider each, and how they are advantagious to the Nation, and may be made more so.

Inland Trade.The Domestic or Inland Trade consists either in Husbandry, Manufactures, or Buying and Selling; Buying and Selling.the last of which, whereby one Man lives by the Profit he makes by another, brings no Advantage to the Public; Peoples Occasions requiring Commodities to be retail’d to them in such small Quantities as would fit their Necessities, they were willing to allow a Profit to him who bought them in greater; and as this Sort of Traffic came more in use, so the first Buyers not only sold their Commodities to the Consumers in the Places where they dwelt, but also to others, who being seated in the Country at a distance, made an Advantage by supplying the Inhabitants there: This begat the Ingrossing Commodities, and thence arose Skill and Cunning to foresee their Rise and Falls, according to their Consumption and prospect of Supply. Hence came the Viciating our Manufactures, every one endeavouring to underbuy, that he might undersell his Neighbour; which Way of Living being found in Time to have less Labour and more Profit than Husbandry and Manufactures, was the Reason so many fell into it.

From these Bargains Differencies arising, encouraged another Sort of People, whose Business it was, either by their Wisdoms to persuade, or by their Knowledge in the Laws to compel, the unjust Persons to do Right to their Fellow-Traders (an Honourable Employment at the first, and is still so in those who keep to the strict Rules of its Institution.) Hence arose Attorneys, Sollicitors, and other Officers, which were found necessary to attend on those Suits, and other Services of the Law.

Trade brought Riches, and Riches Luxury; Luxury brought Sickness, and Sickness wanted Physic; which required some to separate themselves to study the Nature of Plants and Simples, as also of those several Diseases which bring Men to their Ends, who for their Advice received Gratuities from their Patients: These brought in Apothecaries and Surgeons, as necessary Attendants to their Employments; all which were maintained by keeping People in their Healths. Many also of ripe Parts were fitted for the Service of the Church, others of the State; great Numbers were employed in providing Necessaries of Meat, Drink, and Apparel, others in fitting Things for Delights and Pleasure, and by this Means leaving Husbandry and Manufactures, flock’d off daily to Livelihoods, which though useful and convenient in their respective Stations, yet cannot be said to encrease the Riches of this Nation, but to live by getting from one another; Husbandry and Manufactures being the profitable Employments, out of which it gathers its Wealth.

Husbandry.The next Part of the Inland Trade of this Kingdom is Husbandry, which anteceded Buying and Selling in point of Time, though the other is treated of first in this Discourse; and this consists either in Feeding or Tillage, by both which we raise great Store of Cattle, Corn, and Fruits, fit for the Food, Service, and Trade of the Inhabitants.

Feeding.To begin with Feeding: And here I might enumerate the various Sorts of Cattle raised and bred by the Care of the Husbandman; but those of most Note with respect to our Trade, are,

1. The Beef; which besides the Excellency of its Flesh for Food, affords many Necessaries for our Trade, and is very serviceable in Tillage; with this we both nourish our Inhabitants at home, victual our Ships for Foreign Voyages, and load them with the several Manufactures wherewith it doth supply us; from the Milk we make Butter and Cheese, from the Flesh, Beef, from the Skin, Leather, from the Fat, Tallow, and of the Horns several useful Necessaries; the Overplus whereof, above our own Consumption, we export, and sell in Foreign Markets.

2. The Sheep; whose Golden Fleece being the Primum of our Woollen-Manufactures, does thereby employ Multitudes of our People; which being of different Lengths and Fineness, makes them of various Sorts; whereof they afford us a yearly Crop whilst living, and at their Deaths we have their Flesh and Skins; the first serves for our Food, and of the last we make Things, fit to be used at Home, and traded with Abroad.

3. Horses; whose Labour is so necessary, that we can neither carry on our Husbandry or Trade without them; besides their Fitness for War, being accounted the boldest in the World; and for all these Uses are transported abroad; for the first, to our Plantations in America; and for the last, to some of our Neighbouring Nations: But their Flesh is of no Use, their Skins of little, the Leather made of them being very ordinary, only the longest of their Hair is used in Weaving.

There are sundry other Sorts of Beasts, some whereof require no Care in Raising, others little, such as the Stag, the Deer, the Rabbet, the Hare, the Badger, the Goat, and many others, whose Skins are necessary for our Trade, and useful in our Manufactures.

Tillage.Tillage is that whereby we raise our Corn by turning up the Earth; the several Sorts whereof are Wheat, Rye, Barley, Pease, Beans, Vetches, Oats, &c. which not only afford Nourishment to ourselves, and the Beasts we use in Labour, but serve also for Trade; as they give Employment to our People at home, and are transported abroad, more or less, according to the Overplus of our Expence, and the Want of our Neighbours, besides the great Quantities us’d in our Navigation.

These Products are all clear Profit to the Nation, being raised from Earth and Labour; but their chief Advantages arise from their being exported, either in their own Kinds, or when wrought up, the Remainder, which is spent at home, tending rather to supply our Wants, than to advance our Wealth: Which Exports being more or less, according to the Price they bear in other Countries, and those arising from the Proportion their Lands holds with ours in their Yearly Rents, are not so great in Specie, as when wrought up. Butter is the chiefest, wherewith we supply several Foreign Markets, and did formerly more, till by making it bad, and using Tricks to encrease its Weight, we lost much of that Trade, and are now almost beaten out of it by Ireland, which every Year makes theirs better; besides, they undersell us in the Price, as they do also in Beef, occasioned by the low Rents of their Lands.

’Twas the Act of Prohibition made formerly in England, that first ushered them into a Foreign Trade, their sole Dependance before that Time being on our Markets, and from hence they were supplied with what they wanted; but being thereby prohibited from bringing hither their Cattle and other Provisions, they endeavoured to find a Vent for them in other Markets, which they did with good Success, and to more Advantage; the Sweetness whereof gave a Spring to their Industry, and put them on the Woollen-Manufactures, which they also vended where they exported their Provisions, till in time it became so great and flourishing, as to give us Apprehensions it would endanger ours.

Corn.As for Corn; foreign Markets are supplied therewith, both from thence, and from the Islands of the Azores, cheaper than the Rents of our Lands will admit; but our Plantations have still some Dependance on us for our Product, and as the Lands of Ireland rise in their yearly Value, they will have more. We also raise considerable Quantities of Hemp and Flax, both which are useful in our Trade.

Fruits.The other Fruits of the Earth, such as Apples, Pears, Cherries, Plumbs, together with the Herbs and Plants, serve rather for Food and Delight than for Trade: Some Cider we do export; also Spirits raised by the Distillers, both from some of these, and from Barly.

Fish.On the Sea-Coast both of this Kingdom, and also of Newfoundland, and New-England, are caught great Store of Cod-Fish, Herrings, and Pilchards, which are saved, and sold in foreign Markets.

Minerals.Nor is this all the Product of our Earth, whose Womb being big with Treasure, brings forth Lead, Tin, Copper, Calamy, Coal, Culm, Iron, Allom, Copperas, and sundry other Minerals, which are sold in foreign Markets, whither we send them: Besides a great Expectation we have from a much richer and more valuable Discovery, lately made in that Part of Great-Britain called Scotland.

Trees.Among the several Trees that adorn our Fields, the Oak, the Elm, and the Ash, are the chiefest; these not only serve in Building our Ships and Houses, but also furnish us with materials, wherewith our Artificers make many things fit for Commerce: And it were much to be wish’d, that better Care was taken to preserve our Timber, for the Benefit of Posterity.

Manufactures.The third Part of our Inland Trade is our Manufactures, whereby our Products are improv’d in their Values and made useful in sundry Manners, both for our selves and others, by the labour of our People; and fitted for such Services, as of their own Natures, without the help of Art, they could not have been proper; and those to suit the Necessities and Fancies, both of our own, and also of foreign Countries to which we export them; where they yield a Price, not only according to the true value of the Materials and Labour, but an Overplus according to the Necessity and Humour of the Buyers: And this adds to the Profit, and encreases the Wealth of the Kingdom.

These Manufactures, as they employ Multitudes of our People in their Making, so also in Exporting them, and importing foreign Materials to be used with our own, such as Oyl, Dye-stuff, Silk, Wooll, Cotton, Barillia and many others, which are either manufactured here by themselves, or workt up with our own Product.

Sheep's-Wool.And first to begin with Sheep’s-Wooll, whereof either by it self, or mixt with Silk or Linnen, we make Variety of pretty Things, fit for all Climates, and proper for the Wearing of both Sexes; wherein the Invention and Imitation of our Workmen have been so great, that they have out-done all that went before them. From a strong Cloth, fit to keep out Cold in Winter, they have turn’d their hands to a fine thin sort, which will scarce keep warm in Summer; from hence they fell on Perpets, Serges, Crapes, Stuffs, Sayes, Ratoons, Antherines, and many other Things, fit both for outward Garments, and inward Linings; of various Colours, Stripes, and Flowers, some of them so fine and pleasant, as scarce to be known from Silk: Besides those Multitudes of coarser Cloth for the Poor; also Rugs, Blankets, and all sorts of Furniture for Houses. And such a Progress have they made in these Manufactures, that a Man may have his Picture wrought at the Loom, with the same Exactness as if drawn with a Pencil; one Work-man vying to excell another, they make Things to answer all Occasions. And as for Arras and Tapestry, I believe it will be allowed, that they do not fall short of those from whom they first had the Art: Add to these, Hats, Stockings, and many other things, which are both worn at home, and exported abroad.

Cotton-Wool.The next material for the Manufactures is Cotton Wool, which is now become a great Imployment for the poor, and so adds to the Wealth of the Kingdom; This being curiously pickt and spun, makes Dimities, Tapes, Stockings, Gloves, besides several things Wove fit for use, as Wastcoats, Pettycoats, and Drawers, of different Stripes and Finenss; and I doubt not the Workmen would equal the East Indies for Callicoes, had they Encouragement; with all which we supply our Plantations and other foreign Markets, besides what serves for our Consumption at Home.

Hemp and Flax.Hemp and Flax are the Grounds for another Manufacture; for tho’ Weaving of Linnen is not so much used in South Britain, as of Woollen, yet in North Britain it is, and may be farther improved, not so much by Laws to direct the Workmen in their making it, as by apt Methods to encourage them; and even in South Britain several Counties are imployed thereon, who not only supply themselves, but furnish those bordering on them, with such Cloth as answers the ends of French Linnens: Besides which great Quantities of Ticking, of all Finesses, Incle, Tapes, Sacking, Girtwhip, and many other Things are made thereof; also 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 omit Sail-cloth, wherein we have made a wonderful Progress in a little time, at the Charge and Expence of private Stocks, who deserve to be encouraged.

Glass.Glass is a Manufacture brought to so 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 themselves of small Value, costs the Nation little, in comparison of what it formerly did, when we fetch’d it from Venice; the Noble Plate Glasses which we now make of all sorts, both for Houses and Coaches, do greatly set forth the Genius of our Workmen; besides the various Sorts of Utensils made for common use, fit for all the Occasions of a Family, which look almost as well as Silver, and it would be better for the Nation that they were more used in its stead; also the Glass for Windows, of different Beauties; and Glass Bottles; all which find a greater Vent both at Home and Abroad by their Cheapness.

Earthen-Ware.And as for earthen Ware, the Progress we have made therein is such, as may give us Hopes, that Time will bring it to such a Perfection, as to equal if not exceed the Dutch.

Silk.Silk is another Material for a great Manufacture; which being brought from abroad Raw, we here Twist, Dye, and Weave into different Goodnesses, both Plain, Striped, and Flowered, either by itself, or mixt with Gold and Silver; so Richly Brocaded, that we exceed those from whom we first had the Art; besides great Quantities of Ribbons, Silk Stockings, and other Things, not only to serve ourselves, but also to Export.

Distilling.Distilling is an Art so exceedingly improved, that had it not met with discouraging Laws, ’twould by this Time have attained to a very great Heigth, and brings great Profit to the Nation; for next to making something out of nothing, is the making something that is Valuable out of what would otherwise be worth nothing; therefore this Art ought to have been handled charily, to have been trained up with a great deal of Gentleness, and not loaded with Taxes in its Infancy, by which Means we were like to discourage it in the beginning; however it hath still bore up under all the Weight laid upon it; ’twas a great mistake to appoint Measures by Act of Parliament to the Distillers in their Workings; Mens Knowledge encreases by Observation, and this is the Reason why one Age exceeds another in any Sort of Mistery, because they improve the Notions of those who went before them; Therefore confining the Distillers to Corn only, was an Error, (’Tis true, other Things were allowed to be used, but on such Terms and Restrictions, as were next to a Prohibition) who by degrees would have made Experiments on that themselves, using it with other Mixtures, and thereby drawing from it a cleaner Spirit than it doth of itself afford, which they might in Time have rectified to such a Fineness, as to have encreased very much its Use; no Kingdom can give more Encouragement to Distilling than this, whose Plantations being many, and well Peopled, where those Spirits are so necessary, and useful for the Inhabitants, and these depending wholly on us for all things, would have caused a Consumption of very great Quantities, besides what is used in our Navigation; we have many Materials of our own to work on, such as are Molosses, Cyder, Perry, Barley, and others, all which in Time they would have used; for as they found their Sales increased, they would have made new Essays; it was a very wrong Step, to discourage Distilling from Molosses, Scum, Tilts and Wash; an Error the Dutch, nor no Trading Nation, would have been guilty of, and proceeded from ill Advice given the Parliament, by those, who under Pretence of advancing Corn, design’d to discourage Distilling, only offered it by that handle they thought it would be best received in the House; Trade and Lands go hand in hand as to their Interest, if one Flourishes so will the other; Incourage Distilling, and it will spend Hundreds of Things now thrown away.

Sugar-Baking.Refining of Sugars have given Imployment 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, occasioned by the Duty of 2 s. 4 d. per Cent. laid on Muscovado Sugars, 1 Jac. 2d. 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 since granted a draw back on refined Sugars when shipt out, hath very much helpt that Manufacture.

Tobacco.Tobacco also hath imployed our Poor by cutting and Rowling it, both for a home Consumption, and also for Exportation; but the latter is lessen’d, as the Places, to which we used to export it, work it up themselves.

Tanning.Tanning of Leather is an Employment which deserves to be encouraged, because it furnishes us with a Commodity, fit to be farther Manufactured at home, and also to be transported abroad; I know the Exportation of Leather hath been much opposed by the Shoemakers, and others who cut it at home, and represented as attended with ill Consequences, one whereof is the making it dear; but, would it not be of much worse to confine and limit that Employment to an Inland Expence? On the other side, would it not naturally follow, that when Leather rises to a great Price, the Exportation must cease, because Ireland will undersell us? And would it not seem an unreasonable discouragement to Trade, if Tobacco, Sugar, and the Woollen Manufactures, were debarred from being exported, only because they should be sold cheaper at home? For suppose the Occasions of the Nation could not consume all the Leather that is made, to what a low Price must Hides be reduced, for no other Reason, but that the Shoemakers may get more by their Shoes; ’Tis true, if they could make out, that those Countries must then have their Shoes from us, where we now sell our Leather, I should be of their Minds; but it must needs be otherwise, seeing Ireland is able to supply them; this proceeds from a very narrow Spirit, and such as ought not to be encouraged in a trading Nation; a good export for Leather, will cause a great Import of Raw-Hides, which will be more Advantage to the Nation, then if they were tann’d in Ireland, and sent abroad thence.

Minerals.Nor can I omit the several Manufactures made of the sundry Mineral we dig, and render malleable, which would be endless to enumerate, viz. of Tin, Lead, Iron and Copper, wherewith we not only furnish enough for our own use, but supply our Plantations, and other Places Abroad, the Workmanship whereof adds much to their Value; and from the last of these we have of late made Brass and Battery; an undertaking begun by private Stocks, and carryed on without the help of a Patent for fourteen Years, and I am of Opinion, it would be much better for the Nation, if good Projections were rewarded some 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 less 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 Instance in the Project of Beech Oyl, for if but one half of the Profit can be made thereby, that is set forth by the ingenious Patentee, in his Book written on that Subject, against which I see no Objection, if the Computations are rightly stated, I make no manner of doubt, but that private Stocks would before this Time have made a greater Progress therein, than hath been done by the present Undertakers, on the joint Stock; and therefore I think it would be very proper, where such Patents are granted, after some reasonable Time, to enquire into the Proceedings of the Patentees, least the Nation be deprived of the Advantages it expected to receive, by the granting those Patents.

Clock-work.There are many other Things which may be, and daily are improved amongst us; as Clock-work, wherein we sell little but Art and Labour, the Materials whereof they are made being but of small Value; Watches and Clocks of great Prices being sold for the Courts of foreign Princes.

Paper-Mills.Paper Mills are a Benefit to the Nation, as they make that Commodity from things of themselves worth little; so are Powder-Mills; Powder-Mills.also Handicrafts, Artificers.who supply us with things for our own use, which must otherwise be had from abroad, and also with others, which when exported, are more or less profitable, as the Labour of our People adds to their Value, Things being cheaper to us when we pay only for the first Materials whereof they are made, the rest being Work done at Home, is divided amongst our selves; so that on the whole it appears to be the great Interest of this Kingdom to advance its Manufactures; Methods to improve our Manufactures.and this I humbly conceive may be done these several Ways.

By imploying the Poor.1. By providing Work-Houses for the Poor, and making good Laws, both to force and incourage them to work; But designing to speak larger to this in the Close of this Tract, I shall refer the Reader thereto.

By freeing our Manufactures from Customs.2. By discharging all Customs payable on our Manufactures at their Exportation, and also in the Materials used in making them at their Importation; for as one would encourage the Merchants to send more abroad, so the other would enable the Manufacturers to afford them cheaper at home; and ’tis strange that a Nation, whose Wealth depends so much on its Manufactures, and whose Interest it is to out do all others, by underselling them in foreign Markets, should load either with Taxes; but there having been something done in this since my offering it to the Consideration of the Parliament in a former Discourse, both as to the woollen manufacture exported, and also to dye Stuffs imported, which hath evidently appeared to be an Advantage to our Trade, it may be reasonably hoped, that great Council of the Nation will make a farther Progress therein, when it shall come regularly before them; because the Exportation of all our Manufacturers ought to be encouraged, and not receive a check by any Modus of raising Money, that so they may be rendred abroad on such Terms, as no other Nation may undersell us; this whole Kingdom being as one great Work-house, wherein if we keep our Poor imployed, they will advance the Value of our Lands, but if we do not, they will become a Load upon them.

Logwood.And here I cannot but mention that of Logwood, a Commodity much used in Dying, which pays five Pounds per Tun Custom when imported, and draws back three Pounds fifteen Shillings when shipt out again, by which means the dyers in Holland use it so much cheaper then ours do here; now if it was imported Custom Free, and paid twenty five Shillings per Tun at its Exportation, the Dyers there would use it so 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 undrest, might not be made, I am sure it would be a great Advantage to this Kingdom if it could be done, without running into greater Inconveniences; the Dutch discourage their being brought in dyed or drest, that they may thereby give imployment to their own People, and encrease their Navigation by the Consumption of Dye-Stuff; the same Reason should prevail with us to dye and dress them at home; but this requires the due Consideration of a Committee of Trade, to hear what may be said both for and against it, before it be offered to the Parliament.

By not importing things manufactur'd.3. By discouraging the Importation of Commodities already manufactured (unless purchased by our own, or by our Product) such as wrought Silks, Callicoes, Brandy, Glass, &c. 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, besides the great Advantage to the Nation in the Ballance of its Trade, which must be returned in Bullion, as those cost less abroad than the other; and this will enable us to afford a greater Consumption of foreign Commodities to please our Palates, such as Wine, Fruit, and the like, all which fill our Ships, and are fit Subjects for Trade, when they are purchased by our Product and Manufactures, and that the Profit of our Trade will enable the Nation to bear the Expence.

By freeing our Manufactures from Excices.4. By freeing the Manufactures from burthensome Excises, which do much discourage small Stocks, who are not able to carry on their Trades, and make Provision for such great Payments, besides the Swarms of Officers, to whom We lay open the Houses of those Men, who deserve all the Encouragement we can give them, and ought to have things made as easy to them as may be; had they been laid on our Woollen Manufactures, as was once hastily proposed, we might have repented it at Leisure; Trade ought to be handled gently, we may tax the Trader without medling with his Trade; and he that considers the Expence of this Nation at Five Pounds per Head (accounting only Eight Millions of People) comes to Forty Millions per Annum, and 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 see how much we are beholding to Trade.

By rendring our foreign Trade safe and easy.5. By securing the Merchants in their Trades, who export our Product and Manufactures, and making their Business, in relation to the Payment of their Customs, as easy to them as may be: To this End good Convoys should be provided in Time of War, and good Cruizers maintained to preserve their Ships, it being certain, that whatever is diminished out of the Merchants Stocks, doth so far disable them in their Trades, and consequently lessen their Exports; great Care should be taken, that the Modus of their Entries at the Custom-House Customs.made as easy to them as might be, and a due Attendance given at the loading and discharging their Goods when the Customs are paid, so that they may be dispatched without Delay, and no unnecessary Remoras put in their Way, the Loss of one Tide being many times the overthrow of a Voyage;Courts of Merchants. Courts of Merchants should be erected for the speedy deciding all Differences relating to Sea-Affairs, which are better ended by those who understand them, than they are in Westminster-Hall, where all things are tried by the nice Rules of Law, and therefore after much Attendance and Expence, are often referred by the Judges to such as are conversant in Trade; by this Means the Merchants would see short Ends to their Differences; but no General Rules can be given for these Courts, which must be settled, as they suit the Conveniencies of Trading Cities.

By making the Banks more useful.6. By rendering the Bank of England more applicable to the Encouragement of our Trade than now it is, which I cannot believe the Members of that Corporation will oppose, when it shall manifestly appear, not only to be the Interest of the Nation in General, but also their own. And I humbly conceive that it may be so 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 first of which was formerly answered by the private Bankers, who received and paid out Money in the same Manner that the Bank now does, and their Notes generally were as current; but being founded on their own Credits, great Losses often happened, which gave great Shocks to Trade; ’tis true, this Mischief is now guarded against, by the Fund which the Bank of England hath in the Hands of the Government, yet Widows, Orphans,Widows and Orphans. and others out of Trade, are not provided for; which might be done, if the Bank did take in what Money might be tendred to them, for such People who are not able to manage it themselves, and to allow an Interest of ### per Cent. per Annum, whilst it continued in their Hands; which tho’ it may be below the common Rate, yet by Reason of the Security and Readiness of Payment, ’twould be preferrable to a greater, attended with Hazard and Uncertainties; by this Means none of the Money would lie dead and useless; and on the other Hand, the Bank might have Liberty to lend any Sums at the legal Interest, on this Condition, that the Borrower may repay it by such Parts as he can spare it, and be discharged of the Interest of what he so pays in, from the Time of its Payment, and from thenceforward be chargeable with no more, than doth arise from the Money that remains unpaid.

Remittances.Nor is there such a safe and settled Course of Remittances from Place to Place as Trade, and the other Occasions of the Nation do require; Men oftentimes paying their Money for Bills which are not punctually discharged, and sometimes never, tho’ they give a Præmio to the Drawer, which obliges the travelling with so much Money, and gives Encouragement to Robbers; but this also might be prevented, if the Bank of England (that is now settled in London) did appoint Chambers in other Places of the Kingdom, at such Distances as might best suit the Occasions of the Country, and that their Notes given out for Money, either at London, or in any one of those Chambers, should be demandable in any other; or by drawing Bills at one Chamber payable in another, the Receiver allowing for such Returns after the Rate of ### per Cent. in the Chamber where he receives his Money.

If the Bank was thus regulated, the Nation would soon see its good Effects; Trustees might place out Orphan’s Money with good Security, and Widows and others, whose Maintenance depends on their Interest, would have it duly paid to answer their Occasions; the whole Cash 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 Occasions to take up great Sums at Interest, would have it made easy to them, when they might pay in by such Parts, as they could conveniently spare it; and on the other Hand, it would be no Inconvenience to the Bank to receive it, which will by this Means never want Borrowers, and their Notes passing in Payment, will circulate instead of Money.

These Methods will prevent many Cheats and Losses, which are often occasioned by fraudulent and insufficient Drawers, and abate the excessive Præmio’s which are demanded by Remitters, when they can take Advantages of Men’s Necessities; and the Taxes received in the Country might be quicker and safer paid into the Treasury. And if the Bank was likewise extended to Ireland, it would be an Advantage to both Kingdoms, which I shall speak farther to, when I come to discourse of the Trade we drive to that Kingdom.

By increasing the Silver Coin.7. By increasing the Silver Coin of this Kingdom, which are the Tools wherewith the Trader works: It may at first seem strange, that our Silver Coin should grow scarcer, at a Time when we are at Peace with all Nations, our Trade open, and vast Quantities of Bullion yearly imported; but he that considers how much thereof is carried away to the East-Indies, and how little Encouragement the Importer hath to send it to the Mint, when he can sell it for more to export, than it will come too when coined, will cease to wonder; and except some Care be taken in this Matter, we shall soon be reduc’d to such Straits, that the Manufacturers must stand still: for tho’ Gold may serve for large Payments, yet it can’t answer the Occasions of the Manufacturers, who are to make their Payments among the Poor.

Now if these, or such like Methods, were made use of, they might very much encrease our Silver Coin; as,

1. Let the East-India Company be Limited in the Quantity of Bullion they shall ship out yearly, whether the Number of Ships they send be few or many; and let them be oblig’d to carry to the Mint such a suitable Proportion according to what they send away, as to the Wisdom of the Parliament shall seem meet.

2. Let Encouragement be given to all Persons, who shall voluntarily bring Plate or Bullion to be coined.

3. Let the Plate of Orphans be brought into the Mint, which will tend to their Advantage as well as to the Nations, whereas now great Quantities lie dead, and grow out of Fashion before they come to use it, which will by this Means be turned into ready Money, and being put into the Bank, the Interest thereof may be employ’d for their better Maintenance, and the Trade of the Nation will also receive a Benefit thereby: If it be objected, that ’tis now sold to Goldsmiths, I think this make the Argument for sending it to the Mint much stronger, because it is much better that it were turn’d into the Coin of the Kingdom, then disposed of in any other Way.

As for Gold, there is no need to give Encouragement to bring it to the Mint, ’tis only a Commodity, and not the Standard, as Silver is; besides, ’tis generally worth more here than in any other Country; and ’tis apparent from the great Quantity thereof which is coined yearly more than of Silver, that it is every one’s Interest to send it thither.

By discouraging Stock-jobbing.8. By discouraging Stock-jobbing: This hath been the Bane of many good Designs, which began well, and might have been carryed on to Advantage, if the Promoters had not fallen off by selling their Parts, and slighted the first Design, winding themselves out with Advantage, and leaving the Management to those they had decoyed in, who understood nothing of the Business, whereby all fell to the Ground; which may be prevented (I mean, so far as concerns incorporated Stocks) by Laws framed for that end, or by Clauses in their Charters.

By preventing the Exportation of Wool.9. By strengthening the Laws against the Exportation of Wool, by such Practicable methods as may prevent its being done: For seeing the Nations Interest so much depends thereon, no Care can be too great, nor Methods laid too deep: Laws concerning Trade, whose sole Strength are Penalties, rarely reach the thing aimed at; but practicable Methods, whereby one thing may answer another, and all conspire to carry on the same Design, hanging like so many Links in a Chain, that you cannot reach the one, without stepping over the other, these are more likely to prevent Mischiefs: ’Tis one thing to punish 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 so much at Stake, certainly it cannot be thought grievous to compell submission to good Methods, tho’ they may seem troublesome at first.

The ill Consequences of shipping out our Wool.And that we may the better perceive the Mischiefs that attend the carrying abroad of Wool unwrought to other Nations, let us consider the Consequences thereof in what is shipt to France; whose Wool being very coarse, and fit only for Rugs and Blankets, and such ordinary Cloth, is by mixture with ours and Irish, used in the making of many Sorts of Stuffs and Druggets, whereby the Sales of our Woollen Manufactures are lessened, both there, and in other Places whither we export them; and by this Means, every Pack of Wool sent thither, works up two besides itself, being chiefly combed, and combing Wool, which makes Wool for the French Wool, and the Pinions thereof serve with their Linnen to make coarse Druggets, like our Linsey-Woolsey, but the Linnen being spun fine, and coloured, is not easily discerned; also our finest short Wool, being mixt with the lowest Spanish, makes a middling Sort of Broad-cloth, and being woven on Worsted Chains, makes their best Druggets, neither of which could be done with the French Wool only, unless in Conjunction with ours or Irish, Spanish Wool being too fine and too short for Worsted Stuffs, and unfit for combing, so that without one of those two Sorts, there cannot be a Piece of Worsted Stuff, or middle Broad-Cloth made; no other Wool but English or Irish will mix well with Spanish for Cloth, being originally raised from a Stock of English Sheep, the Difference, arising from the Nature of the Land whereon they are fed; of this we have Experience in our own Nation, where we find, that Lemster Wool is the finest, next, Part of Shropshire and Staffordshire, Part of Gloucestershire, Wilts, Dorset and Hampshire, Part of Sussex, Kent, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, these are proper chiefly for Cloth, some Part for Worsted; Sussex, Surry, Middlesex, Hertfordshire, and some other Counties, produce Wool much coarser and cheaper: But then Berkshire, Buckingham, Warwick, Oxon, Leicester, Nottingham, Northampton, Lincoln, and Part of Kent called Rumney Marsh, the Wool in most of these Counties is so proper for Worsted, that all the World (except Ireland) cannot compare with it, therefore requires our greater Care to prevent its Exportation; and more particularly from Ireland, whence it is exported to our Neighbouring Nations, and sold cheap.

As for the Wool of North-Britain, I am not sufficiently verst therein, to give a true Account of the Nature of it.

Methods to prevent the Exportation of Wool.I know many Methods have been thought of to prevent this pernicious Mischief, but all the Laws I have yet seen, seem to reach but half Way, they depend too much on Force and Penalties, and too little on Method; we must begin deeper, and secure the Wool from the Time of its growing, till ’tis wrought up into Manufactures, and I think nothing less Than a Register, to be kept in every County, will do it.

Nor will this be attended with so much Trouble and Charge to the Nation in general, or to private Persons in particular, as may at first be thought: The Time of Sheering being once a Year, those who keep Sheep may give Notice to the Officer appointed for that District, of the Number of Sheep they have to sheer, and the Day whereon they intend to do it, that so he may be present to see the Fleeces weighed, and to charge them therewith; which Charge must remain upon them till they sell their Wool, and give Notice thereof to the Office, when the next Buyer must be charged, and so toties quoties, till it comes into the Hands of him that works it up; and all this may be done by the Officers of the Excise, in such a manner, as may cost the Nation little.

And to prevent Frauds, let no parcel of Wool above such a Weight as the Parliament shall think fit, be carried from place to place, but in the day time, nor without a Letpass, or Cocket, setting forth from whence it came, and whither it is going; and the same Method must also be extended to Ireland, till it is either used there, or shipt thither; and if the Wool of both Kingdoms by these or any other Methods could be secured from being carried abroad, our Manufactures would find a surer Vent in foreign Markets, and yield better Prices: And the Wool of France would lye on their Hands, and become almost useless; the Credit of the Nation would be raised, and our Factories abroad courted as much as formerly they have been, because the Manufactures we ship out are such, as no Nation can be without, nor can they then be well supplied elsewhere; they are not things only for Pleasure, but for Use, and both the Rich and the Poor stand in need of them; whilst the Profit of this pernicious Practice of Shipping out the Wool, is sunk in the Pockets of private Men, who former Laws accounted Felons, and cannot be thought to deserve any favour from the Nation.

Besides ’tis well known, that the exporting our Wool hath by the ill Consequences thereof abated its Price at Home: This hath been observed by Calculations made by considerate Men; and the Reason is, because those Countries whither it is shipt; being thereby enabled to work up much larger Quantities of their own, the Sale of our Manufactures are grown slack abroad, and we have been forced to sell them cheaper, which beat down the Prices both of Wool and Labour; whereas if we had kept our Wool at Home, this had been prevented; and it must be allowed, that it was not our Interest to fall our Manufacturers, if we had been the only Sellers; for according as they yield in Price, so 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 strengthned, or strongly put in Execution.

By managing Treaties of Peace to the Advantage of Trade.10. By taking Care, that in all Treaties of Peace, and other Negotiations with foreign Princes, due Regard be had to our Trade and Manufactures; that our Merchants be well treated by the Governments where they reside; that all things be made easy to them, and both their Liberties and Properties secured; that our Manufactures be not prohibited, or burthened with unreasonable Taxes, which is the same in Effect; that speedy Justice be done in recovering Debts contracted amongst the Natives, and punishing Abuses put on our Factories by them: These are Pressures our Trade hath formerly groaned under, whereby the Merchants abroad, and Manufacturers at home, have been much discouraged, and the English Nation hath been forced to truckle under the French in some foreign Parts, only because that King sooner resented Injuries done to his trading Subjects, and took more Care to demand Reparation than some former Reigns have done; but Thanks be to God, we have both Power and Opportunity to do the same; and there is no Cause to doubt His Majesty’s Royal Inclinations, to make use of both for the Good of his Merchants, when things are duly represented to him.

Navigation.And thus I have run through the several Parts of our Inland Trade, and shewed, that the Profit thereof arises chiefly from our Product and Manufactures: Before I proceed to our Foreign Trade, I shall speak something of Navigation, which is the Medium between both: This is carried on by Ships and Sailors, the former are the Sea-Waggons, whereby we transport and carry Commodities from one Market to another, and the latter are the Waggoners who drive and manage them: These 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 Chearfulness, are undaunted by Storms and Tempests, the Sea being as it were their Element, and are allowed by all to be the best 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 especially in the latter, which might be done, if better Methods were used to engage them in the Service, and better Treatment when they are there: Now I should think, if no Man was forced into the King’s Ships till he had been three Years at Sea,Manning our Ships of War. nor to stay there above that Time without his free Consent, and then to be permitted to take a Merchant’s Employment so much longer, and so toties quoties, ’twould encourage them to come willingly into the Service, which they look upon now to be a Slavery, whereto they are bound for their Lives: This, and the Manner of pressing them, hinders very much the making of Sailors, Landmen not caring to put their Hands to the Oar, least the next Day they should be halled away to the Fleet, tho’ they understand nothing of the Sea: By this Means our Men of War would be mann’d with able Seamen, and not with such who only stand in the Way, and are useless, when they are most wanted; nor do I take Embargoes to be any Helps towards it, for many Sailors do then lie hid, who would appear to serve in Merchant Ships, and might be easily met with at the return of their Voyages: By these Means in a short Time three would be a double Set of Mariners, enough both for the Service of the Fleet and of Trade, the last of which would every Year breed more.

This would also prevent great Mischiefs, which arise from pressing Sailors out of Merchant Ships whilst on their Voyages, many of them being thereby lost at Sea, and others have been detained in the West-Indies, to the Discouragement of Trade; and it would also prevent another Mischief, too much practiced abroad, where Captains of Men of War press Sailors from one Merchant Ship, only to make Advantage by selling them to another.

Foreign Trade.I come now to the Trade we drive with Foreign Countries.

How this Kingdom may be said to be enriched by our Foreign Trade.Here ’tis necessary to enquire, how each encourages our Product and Manufactures, how our Navigation, what Commodities we receive in Return, and how the Ballance of our Trade stands with either, that so we may be the better able to know, which of them we ought to encourage, and which to discourage; I shall therefore lay down such general Rules, as I presume will be allowed by all Unbiassed Persons; as,

1. That Trade is an Advantage to this Kingdom, which takes off our Product and Manufactures.

2. Which supplies us with such Commodities as we use in making our Manufactures, and encreases our Bullion.

3. Which incourages Navigation, and breeds up Sailors.

And consequently, any Trade which Exports little or none of our Product or Manufactures, nor supplies us with things necessary for the latter, nor incourages Navigation, cannot be supposed to be profitable to the Kingdom in general, though perhaps it may be so to particular Persons; especially if it carries away our Bullion.

East-Indies.I shall begin with the East-India Trade, which I take to be very prejudical to us, as ’tis now driven; because it exports our Bullion, spends little of our Product or Manufactures, and brings in Commodities perfectly manufactured, which hinder the Consumption of our own, and discourage the wearing such as are purchased with them; the chief Profit thereof arising from Underselling the Labour of our Poor, because ’tis bought there cheaper, than by reason of the Value of our Lands, and the prices of Provisions, they are able to work here. But having spoken fully of this in a former Discourse, and the Parliament having since been pleased, by an Act made in the 10th and 11th Years of his late Majesty King William, to prohibit the wearing of wrought Silks, Bengals, Stuffs mixt with Silk or Herba, of the Manufacture of Persia, China, and India, and all Callicoes painted, dy’d, printed or stained there. The Reason of which, is in the said Act set forth to be, The great Detriment the Nation received as the Trade was then managed, by exhausting the Treasure thereof, and taking away the Labour of the People, whereby very many of the Manufacturers were become excessively burthensome and chargeable to their respective Parishes, and others compelled to seek for Employment in foreign Parts, I shall not now repeat what I then wrote, but will consider how far the Remedy they then provided hath answered 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 answered: But we have since found that it has not; for it neither keeps our Treasure at home, nor prevents those Commodities from being worn here, which they design’d it should; and I very much question, whether any thing less than a total Prohibition of their Importation will do it; for though they are directed to be exported again, yet there is great Reason to believe, that they are privately brought back, both from Ireland, our Plantations, and other Places to which they are sent, to the Loss of his Majesty’s Customs, and the Prejudice of the Stainers and Painters her, besides the Injury to our Manufactures: Otherwise, how come such great Quantities to be worn and used here, when the Stock in hand hath been so long since spent?

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, such as Raw-Silk, Indigo, Pepper, Salt-Peter, Spices, Drugs, China-Wares, Coffee, Tea, and many other Things, if they were industrious to make Discoveries, as private Merchants would do, if the Trade lay open; and I believe it will not be disputed, that great Quantities of Raw-Silk, have been brought thence since the Making of that Law, than were used to be done before.

I know it hath been alleadg’d, That by the Exportation of those Manufactures again, more Bullion in specie is brought into this Kingdom, than is carry’d out for the buying them in India; but this was never yet made out, and it would be much to the Satisfaction of the People, who daily see that Bullion carried away, and also for the Honour of the Company, that it was done; which if it be really so, might be set forth in this, or any other Method that the Parliament shall think fit.

1. Let them give an Account what Quantities of Bullion they export on every Ship they send abroad, and on what Commodities ’tis laid out.

2. Let them set forth, how and in what manner, these prohibited Manufactures do, on their being Exported again, bring in as much Bullion in specie, as was carry’d out to pay for them in the Indies.

And I think it a proper Work for a Committee of Trade, to receive these Accounts from time to time, and after a just Examination, to lay them before the Parliament at every Meeting, with their Opinions thereon.

But if they only mean, that the Exportation of those Manufactures is a help to us in the Ballance of our Trade, which must otherwise be paid in Bullion, I answer, that our own Product and Manufactures always have, and are still sufficent to support the Ballance of our Trade.

As for white Callicoes and Muslins, they have beat out the wearing of Lawns, Cambricks, and other thin German and Silesia Linnens, which has been the Occasion of turning many of those Looms to the Woollen Manufactures there, that were formerly employed in the weaving them, and hath abated the Exportation of great Quantities of Cloth; besides the hinderance Callicoes give to the consumption of Scots-Linnens, which being thin and soft, are as proper for dying, printing, and staining, as they are, and may be made as white.

The East-Indies is a bottomless Pit for our Bullion, which can never circulate hither again; whereas, if it was sent to any Part of Europe, there might be some hopes, by the Ballance of our Trade, to bring it back again; and when our Bullion fails, that Trade must cease of course, which it will soon do, if the Company continue to carry out yearly as much as our other Trades brings us in.

I wish the Nobility and Gentry of this Kingdom would be in Love with our own Manufactures, and those which are purchased with them, and that they would by their Examples encourage the using them, which would be attended with the Prayers of the Poor, besides the Advantage it would bring to their Estates.

And as to Navigation, I think it will not be disputed, that long Voyages rather use Sailors than make them, both the Employers, and the Employed, chusing rather to make their first Experiments on short ones.

West-India and Africa.I will next proceed to the West-India and African Trades, which I esteem the most profitable we drive, and join them together, because of their dependance on each other.

Whether Settling of Plantations hath been an Advantage.But before I enter farther thereon, I will consider of one Objection, it having been a great Question among many thoughtful Men, whether the settling our Plantations Abroad has been an Advantage to the Nation; the Reasons they give against them are, That they have drained us of Multitudes of our People, who might have been serviceable at Home, and advanced Improvement in Husbandry and Manufactures; that this Kingdom is worse peopled, by so much as they are increased; and that Inhabitants being the Wealth of a Nation, by how much they are lessened, by so much we are poorer, than when we first began to settle those Colonies.

To all which I answer; that though I allow the last Proposition to be true, that People are the Wealth of a Nation, yet it can only be so, where we find Imployment for them, otherwise they must 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 less, as they take off our Product and Manufactures, supply us with Commodities, which may be either wrought up here, or exported again, or prevent fetching things of the same Nature from other Places for our Home Consumption, employ our Poor, and encourage our Navigation; for I take this Kingdom, and all its Plantations, to be one great Body, those being as so many Limbs or Counties belonging to it; therefore when we consume their Growth, we do as it were spend the Fruits of our own Land; and what thereof we sell to our Neighbours, brings a second Profit to the Nation.

These Plantations are either the great Continent from Hudson’s-Bay Northward to Florida Southward, containing Nova Scotia, New-England, New-Jersy, New-York, Pensilvania, Virginia, Mary-Land, Carolina; and also our Islands, the Chief whereof are, Newfoundland, Barbadoes, Antegoa, Nevis, St. Christophers, Montserat, and Jamaica; the Commodities they afford us are more especially Sugars, Cotton, Tobacco, Piamento and Fustick, of their own Growth; also Logwood, which we bring from Jamaica (but first brought thither from the Bay of Campechia on the Continent of Mexico, belonging to the Spaniards, but cut by the Subjects of this Kingdom, who have made small settlements there) besides great Quantities of Fish, taken on the Coasts both of Newfoundland and New-England: These being the Product of Earth, Sea and Labour, are clear Profit to the Kingdom, and give a double Employment to our People, first to those who raise them there, next to those who prepare Manufactures here, wherewith they are supplied, besides the Advantage they afford to our Navigation; for the Commodities exported thither, and those imported thence hither, being generally bulky, do thereby employ more Ships, and consequently more Sailors, which leaves more Room for other labouring People to be kept at work in our Husbandry and Manufactures, whilst they consume the Product of the one, and the Effects of the other, in an Employment of a distinct Nature from either.

This was the first Design of settling Plantations abroad, that we might better maintain a Commerce and Trade among ourselves, the Profit whereof might redound to the Center: And therefore Laws were made to prevent the carrying their Product to other Places, and their being supply’d with Necessaries save from hence only, and both to be done in our own Ships, navigated by our own Sailors, except in some Cases permitted by the Act of Navigation; and so much as the Reins of those Laws are let loose, so much less profitable are the Plantations to us.

Among these Plantations, I look upon New-England to bring the least Advantage to this Kingdom; for the Inhabitants thereof employing themselves rather by trading to the others, than raising a Product proper to be transported hither, and supplying them (especially the Islands) with Fish (which they catch on their Coart) Deal-Boards, Pipe-Staves, Horses, and such like Things of their own Growth, which they cannot be so well furnished with hence, also with Bread, Flower, Pease, and other Grain; and from thence fetching the respective Products of those Islands, and sometimes Tobacco from Virginia and Mary-Land, have carried them to foreign Markets, to the great Prejudice of this Kingdom: But to prevent this, they have been by sundry Laws obliged to bring them all hither, except what is consumed among themselves: By which Means this Kingdom is become the Center of Trade, and standing like the Sun in the midst of its Plantations, doth not only refresh them, but also draws Profit from them: And indeed it is a Matter of exact Justice that it should be so, for from hence it is that Fleets of Ships, and Regiments of Soldiers are frequently sent for their Defence, at the Charge of the Inhabitants, towards which they contribute but little.

Besides the forementioned Commodities, we have from Carolina excellent Rice, and there has been Cocheneel taken, which as yet is but a Discovery, and perhaps may not meet with any considerable Improvement, till that Colony is better peopled; what I have seen thereof in the Hands of a Gentleman who brought it thence, seems by its Figure, to be much like what we call a Lady-Cow, or Lady-Bird, but is very small, and I take it to be the Fœtus of an Insect, which laying its Eggs on a Shrub called the Prickle-Pear, or something very like it, leaves them there, till Time brings them to Maturity, in the same Manner as the Caterpillar does with us in the Cabbage or Collard Leaves, wise Nature thus directing, that the Fœtus may find its Food, so soon as it wants its Sustenance. It gives a very curious Colour when bruised, but being extraordinary small, does require long Time to gather in any Quantity, and Labour being very dear there, ’twill not yet answer the Charge; but by cultivating and improving the Plant, which now grows wild, and by being better acquainted with the proper Seasons to collect them, when they are at a more mature Growth, greater Quantities may probably hereafter be procured, and at less Charge; and I think it would be a good Step towards it, if an Encouragement was given on its Importation hither, in such a Manner, as to the Wisdom of the Parliament shall seem fit and proper.

Africa.Now, that which makes these Plantations more profitable to this Kingdom, is the Trade to Africa, whereby the Planters are supplied with Negroes for their Use and Service; a Trade of the most Advantage of any we drive, and as it were all Profit, the first cost being some Things of our own Manufactures, and others generally purchased with them, for which we have in return, Gold, Teeth, Wax, and Negroes, the last whereof is indeed the best Traffic the Kingdom hath, as it occasionally gives so vast an Employment to our People both by Sea and Land. These are the Hands whereby our Plantations are improved, and it is by their Labours such great Quantities of Sugar, Tobacco, Cotton, Ginger, Fustick and Indigo, are raised, which employ great Numbers of Ships for transporting them hither; and the greater Number of Ships, employs the greater Number of Handicraft Trades at home, spends more of our Product and Manufactures, and makes more Sailors, who are maintained by a separate Employment; for if every one raised the Provisions he eat, or made the Manufactures he wore, Traffic would cease, which is a Variety of Employments Men have set themselves on, whereby one is serviceable to another, adapted to their particular Genius’s, without invading each other’s Provinces: Thus the Husbandman raises Corn, the Miller grinds it, the Baker makes it into Bread, and the Citizens eats it: Thus the Grasier fats Cattle, and the Butcher kills them for the Market: Thus the Shepherd sheers his Sheep, the Spinster turns the Wool into Yarn, the Weaver makes it into Cloth, and the Merchant exports it, and every one lives by each other: Thus the Country supplies the City with Provisions, and that the Country with Necessaries; now the advising a former Reign to monopolize this Trade, and confine it to an exclusive Company, was the same, as to advise the People of Ægypt, to raise high Banks to keep the River Nilus from overflowing, least it should fertilize their Lands; or the King of Spain to shut up his Mines, least he should fill his Kingdom too full of Silver: This Trade indeed is our Silver Mine, for by the Overplus of Negroes above what will serve our Plantations, we draw great Quantities thereof from the Spaniards, who are settled on the Continent of America, both for the Negroes we furnish from Jamaica, and also by the Assiento, lately settled by a Compact of both Nations: ’Twas these which first introduced our Commerce with that People, and gave us Opportunities of selling our Manufactures to them.

But tho’ this Trade be now laid open, yet it will not be amiss to enquire what Reasons should persuade that Government to monopolize it, and what has been the Consequences thereof, in order to obviate any future Attempts that may be made to get it done again.

As for the First; The Necessity of having Forts, Castles, and Soldiers to defend the Trade which could not be carried on without them, had then Force enough to prevail.

But let us consider what these Forts, Castles, and Soldiers were, their Use, and whither the Trade is not as well secured now it lies open.

The greatest Number of Soldiers, offered as I remember at a Committee formerly appointed by the honourable House of Commons to enquire into that Affair, did not exceed One Hundred and Twenty on the whole Coast, nor did their Forts and Castles appear to be any thing else 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 secure against a National Invasion, nor were there any Magazines laid up to expect a Siege from the Natives; nor could they hinder Interlopers from trading on the Coast of what Nation soever; but the Company having obtained Frigates from the Government, destroyed our own Merchant Ships (unless permitted on the Payment of great Mulcts at home) whilst they let others alone: This, together with the Powers given them in their Charter, to seize in the Plantations, such as had the good Fortune to escape them on the Coast, and also their Cargoes, discouraged private Traders, who else found no Difficulties, the Natives receiving them as Friends, and chusing rather to deal with them than the Company, whose Factories also being at remote Distances from each other, great Part of that Coast was untraded to.

Nor do I see what Need there was to fight our Way into a Trade, altogether as advantageous to the Natives as to us; for whilst we supplied them with Things they wanted, and were of Value amongst them, we took in exchange Slaves, which were else of little Worth to the Proprietors; and there was no Reason to think, that the People of this Kingdom, who had settled such large Colonies on the Continent of America, (besides it several Islands) where there was at first such small Hopes of Advantage, without the Help of a Company, should fall short in securing this Trade, which carried with it the Prospect of so great a Profit.

I will next consider the Inconveniencies that have attended this Monopoly, and the Advantage the Nation reaps by the Trades being laid open; we now send more Ships, and supply the Plantations with more Negroes, and vend more of our Commodities for their Purchase: Besides, every Negro in the Plantations gives a second Employ to the Manufacturers of this Kingdom; and had we many more to spare, the Spaniards would buy them, and pay us in Bullion, so there could be no Ground for putting this Trade into few Hands, unless ’twas designed those few should grow rich, whilst for their Sakes, the Nation suffered in its Trade and Navigation, the Company having made this detrimental Use 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 vending our Manufactures, and encouraging our Navigation, on advantagious Terms, are the true Interest of this Kingdom, and that all Foreign Commerce, as it advances either, is more or less profitable to us; but the confining this Trade to an exclusive Company could promote neither; and I believe ’tis one great Reason, why we know so little of that great Continent, because the Company, finding Ways enough to employ their Stock amongst those few Settlements they had made on the Sea-Coast, never endeavoured a farther Inland Discovery; whereas, now the Trade is laid open, the busy Merchant, that industrious Bee 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 beholding for what knowledge we have of foreign Parts, and it is observable, that the more remote People dwell from the Sea, the less they are acquainted with Affairs abroad. Africa is a large Country, and doubtless the Trade to it, may be much enlarged to our Advantage: Use and Experience, make us by degrees, Masters of every thing, and tho’ the first Undertakers of a Design may fall short of answering their private Ends, yet they often lay open beaten Paths, wherein Posterity do tread with Success, though they miscarried: Now that all Places are permitted freely to send Ships, and to have the Management of their own Affairs, Industry is encouraged, and Peoples Heads are set at work how they may out-do each other, by getting first into a new Place of Trade. Besides, 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 furnished with Negroes, for want of which the Inhabitants there could never arrive to those Improvements they have done on the Islands, the Company having given them little or no Supply, but chose rather to send their Negroes to the latter, because they were able to make them better Payments; but the Free-traders have since done it, to the great Advantage of those Plantations, and of the Nation in general.

As for the other Commodities brought in returns from Africa, viz. Wax and Teeth, one serves for a foreign Export, without any Disadvantage 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 also, as it supplies our Plantations, and advances Navigation, to be very beneficial to this Kingdom, and will every Year grow more so, if it remains open.

Ireland.I come now to discourse of Ireland, and of the Trade we interchangeably drive with that Kingdom, with whom it is necessary to maintain a good Correspondence, which must be done on such Terms, as may be profitable to us both; and I think nothing is more likely to answer this End, than the encouraging the Linnen Manufacture there, which it is highly our Interest to promote, and theirs to set upon, being for the most Part of another Nature, than what is made either in the North or South-Britain; for, besides the Employment it will give to the Poor, large Tracts of Land will be taken up for raising Hemp and Flax, both which thrive well in many Parts of that Kingdom; 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 such things wherewith they are supplied hence, it being undoubtedly the Interest of this Kingdom, that all those Nations we trade with should grow rich, by any Methods that do not make us Poor; and more-especially Ireland, whose Profits are generally spent here.

But then, how shall this Manufacture be carried on? Truly, the first Step must be, by furnishing Money on reasonable Interest, and receiving it again by such Payments as the Borrowers can make, and buying up the Linnens when made, and then the landed Men will encourage it, on their own Estates, and thereby enable their Tenants to pay their Rents better; which last Effect it hath already had in the North of Ireland, where by spinning 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 constrained to sell their Cattle whilst they are lean, and their November Payments do not become due, till they are fat, and their Harvest is over.

Now these Loans must be made, either by a Joint-Stock raised for that Purpose, of by the Bank of England, which will be attended with good Security; for by reason of the Register settled there by Act of Parliament, I take the Securities of Ireland, to be rather better than those in England: and this way of lending Money, must likewise be very acceptable to all those whose Estates are under different Incumbrances, which may by this means be reduced into one, and paid off, as they can spare the Money by degrees.

Nor can I see how any ill Consequences will attend the bringing the Money to Par in both Kingdoms, I know it had none when the Crown-piece was some Years since reduced from six Shillings to pass at five Shillings and five Pence, and all other Money in Proportion; it neither caused an Alteration in the Rents to the Landlords, nor in the Price of the Product to the Tenants; and I cannot see why the falling it to five Shillings (as it passes here) should 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 spend their Money here, when they were freed from such high Exchanges; besides the Advantage to the King in his Revenue.

The Commodities we have thence are, Wool, Hides, Tallow, and Skins, all useful in our Manufactures; as also some Herrings, which we export again; and we ship from thence for other Markets, Beef, Pork, Salmon and Butter; we likewise supply them with Tobacco, Sugar, and other Plantation Goods; also with fine Broad-Cloth, Silk Manufactures, and several other things made here; and with sundry of our Products, as Lead, Tin, Coal, &c. of which last, so great Quantities are carried thither yearly, that it will scarce be credited, how much they say there it amounts unto; besides Muslins, Callicoes, China-Ware, Tea, Coffee, and other East-India Goods: They have indeed, discouraged the Importation of Callicoes, by loading them with a great Duty, but I wonder they do not totally prohibit them, for that single Commodity doth more Injury to their Manufactures, both of Linnen and Wollen, than all the Things they import besides.

I should be very glad to see the Linnen Manufacture there brought to a good Perfection; and I am sure if the Government were at some Charge in doing it, ’twould not be ill laid out.

Canaries.I shall proceed next to the Trade we drive to the Canary-Islands, which brings us nothing but what we consume, and I believe takes from us little of our Product or Manufactures; but since we must drink Wines, ’tis better to have them from the Spaniard than the French; the first takes off much of our Manufactures, the other little; and I am apt to think, those Wines are paid for out of what we ship to Spain.

Spain.This brings me to the Spanish Trade, which I take to be very profitable to this Kingdom, as it vends much of our Product and Manufactures, and supplies us with many Things necessary to be used in making the Latter, and furnishes us with great Quantities of Bullion; I shall divide it into three Parts, Spain, Biscay, and Flanders.

To begin with Spain, by which I mean, that Part from the Bay of Cadiz inclusive, Eastward into the Straits of Gibraltar, as far as Catalonia; whither we send all Sorts of Woollen Manufactures, Lead, Fish, Tin, Silk and Worsted Stockings, Butter, Tobacco, Ginger, Leather, Bees-Wax, and sundry other Things. And in Return we have thence, some Things fit only for Consumption, such as Fruit and Wines; others for our Manufactures, such as Oil, Cochineal, Indigo, Anata, Barillia, and some Salt, with a great Part in Gold and Silver, wherewith they are supplied 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 stately People, not much given to Trade or Manufactures themselves; therefore the first they carry on by such chargeable and dilatory Methods, both for their Ships and ways of Navigation, that other trading Nations, such as the English, French, Dutch, and Genoese, take Advantage of them; only their Trade to their West-Indies, hath, on strict Penalties, been reserved to themselves; but having no Manufactures of their own, the Profit thereof comes very much to be reaped by those who furnish them: Nor is it so well guarded and secured, but that the Inhabitants thereof have been plentifully supplied by us with Manufactures, and many other Things from Jamaica, and may be more, by the Liberty lately granted to the South-Sea Company, whereby we get greater Prizes for them, than when they were first shipp’d to Cadiz, and exported thence thither, which adds to the Wealth of the Nation: This I take to be the true Reason why our Vent for them at Cadiz is lessened, because we supply New-Spain direct with those Things they used to have thence before.