SOME THOUGHTS UPON THE SUBJECT OF Commerce with FRANCE.

I Could by no means foreſee when I formerly publiſh'd my Thoughts about TRADE, that it ſhould come to be ſo popular a Contro⯑verſy, as it is now:

I am very glad however, as things have ſince hapned, That as my Opini⯑on of the Trade with France was always the ſame, and for the ſame Reaſons that it is now; ſo that I did put that Opi⯑nion in Print ſo many times, and ſo long [4] ago, That I have left no room for Ma⯑lice it ſelf, without ſhameful prevarica⯑tion, to Charge me with having Chang'd my Hand or my Heart in the matters of Trade. The time will come, when I ſhall make it appear as plain in other Matters alſo.

Six Year and Nine Year ago, and when the Miniſtry who then Govern'd Affairs had Lock'd and Bar'd all the Doors of Trade againſt France,—I ven⯑tur'd to tell them in ſo many Words, That ^* if they had been in their Trading Sences, they would have Traded with France all the while they Fought with France. I told them THEN plainly, That we Cheated the Nation of the Profits of an Advanta⯑geous Trade, by Prohibiting our Lead and our Corn going to France, under the Weak and Fooliſh Pretence, of not Sup⯑plying the Enemy with Bullets to ſhoot at us; and not Supplying the Enemy with Corn for their Magazines; when at the ſame time we ſold both our Lead and our Corn to the Neuteral Powers, who at a double Price ſold them to France; ſo that the Enemy got our Lead and our Corn for Bullets and Ma⯑gazines, [5] and we only Cheated our ſelves of the Profit^*.

I Complain'd THEN, That the Dutch had the Wit to have an open Trade with France all the time of the War, and became thereby able to carry on that War, while at the ſame time they got from the French in Trade, part of that Money they ſpent upon them in the Field; whereas we ſhut our ſelves out of the Trade and the Profits too, tho' we were able to get by it as well as they, and wanted the Gain as much as they.

I Publiſhed THEN in Print, an Account of a Calculation of the Gain we made from France, after the Peace of Ryſwick, when by the Opinion of ſome Eminent Merchants then, and ſtill flou⯑riſhing in London, and who can witneſs if they pleaſe, on what foot this Cal⯑culation was made, this Nation Cleared 90000 Pounds per Month by the Trade to France; from whence came that won⯑derful Flux of French Piſtoles among us, which Supriſed our People, and Raiſed that ridiculous Clamour of the Oyſter-Barrel, and of their being ſent over to [6] Bribe our Parliament Men. The truth of which was nothing but this, That our prodigious Export of Goods to France, ſo much over-ballanc'd their Import upon us, that they were ob⯑lig'd to ſupply the Ballance in Gold; the Parliament was oblig'd to reduce the ſaid Piſtoles from 17s. 6d. to 17s. and the quantity was ſo great, that if our Accounts at that time did not err, above Eleven Hundred Thouſand of them were Melted down at the Tower, and Coin'd into Guineas^*.

All theſe things, Gentlemen, I Print⯑ed in The Review, there they ſtand as Witneſſes for or againſt me, if I have gone from my Opinion, chang'd my Sentiments of things, or Written againſt my ſelf, let it appear; if I have not, why am I Cauſeleſly Bullyed and Inſult⯑ed by vile Mercenaries, and Igno⯑rant Journey-men Scribblers, whoſe Fa⯑thers, as Job ſays, were not fit to be ſet with Dogs of the Flock; and who do it only becauſe they think they pleaſe you in filling your Mouths with Scandal and Reproach: But further yet,

[7]Theſe things, tho' Written againſt the late Meaſures, and in the time of a Whig Government, They could hear then, and not Diſlike, not Quarrel at, or Inſult me for Writing; If the Mini⯑ſtry themſelves found it claſht with their Proceedings, yet they were always ſo Generous and ſo Juſt to me, as to allow me a freedom of ſpeech when I ſpoke my real Sentiments of things: Believing that I ſpoke what I thought I had good Ground to Support; and if they had not allowed me that Liberty, I ſhould have ventur'd their Diſpleaſure and have taken it: The Day being yet to come that I ever withheld Speaking what I thought was needful to ſay, and what I knew I could Defend the Truth of, for fear of any Man's Face or Power in the World. Upon which Principle I ſtill act, as appears by my ſtanding faſt to my ſaid Opinion, in a Time when it procures me ſuch a Tumult of popular Rage, even among thoſe, who, I thought, had ſome reaſon to have uſed me better.

But how comes it to paſs that what I might ſay then with ſo much freedom, I muſt not ſpeak a Word of now? Whence comes this Change of your Taſt! [8] I affirm, and dare tell you, I can prove to your Faces, Trade is the ſame, there is not one Addition or Alteration to any part of the Trade, which does not more and more confirm what I ſaid then, and make it juſt to be ſaid now. How comes it to paſs that a Man could be a WHIG and ſay this Four, Five and Six year ago, and muſt be a TORY if he ſays it Now! What Gentlemen! have you transferr'd your Reaſon and Judgment of things to the Tories! Are the Tories come down to make the right judgment of Trade, and are the Whigs gone from it! you will not allow this ſure! What then can be the mat⯑ter!

I'll tell you plainly the matter, and prove it when I have told it; The Party-ſtrife between the Gentlemen out of Power, and the Gentlemen in Power, has, Curſed be the Misfortune, hook'd in the Affair of Trade into the Quarrel, and your Commerce is now become a part of your Politicks.

The Conſequence of the thing, un⯑happily for the Nation, is this, That whatſo⯑ever part the Publick Managers take, the private Party Managers oppoſe. It has hapned, that the Miniſtry have made a [9] Treaty of Commerce: Immediately a lowd Cry is rais'd againſt Trading with France, as if we were to continue the Interdiction of Commerce after the War was over, and were ſtill to have a War of Trade, tho' the War of State was at an end. Now, if you pleaſe, let the Tables be turn'd, take it the other way; Had the Miniſtry choſen the other part, and made no Treaty of Commerce, I undertake to prove that it had been the ſame thing; and the ſame Lowd-Cry had been raiſed, and that by the very ſame People, about Neg⯑lecting the matters of Trade, and ta⯑king no Care, when they made a Peace, to open the Trade again, as other of the Confederates had done for themſelves.

I am ſorry to ſpeak this Scandalous Truth: But the Fact is ſo plain, and can be ſo eaſily proved, even upon Names, and Sir-names of Perſons; and is already made ſo publick by other hands, that my ſaying it will be no diſ⯑covery.

I have nothing to do here, with any Remarks upon theſe Proceedings, there will be a time for it; but at preſent it ſhews us by what Means, and for what Reaſon, with what View, and for what [10] End, the Affair of Trade is Drag'd in, as it were, by the Hair of the Head, in⯑to the miſerable Party-ſtrife which this Nation is Involv'd in.

By this Means, what I might have ſaid Four year ago without any Re⯑proach, what I might Print then in the very teeth of a Miniſtry then in Power without Diſpleaſing them, is made Party Treaſon to be ſpoken now; and that Liberty which I took, even at the hazard of Diſpleaſing the Govern⯑ment, I muſt not be allow'd now, leſt it be a Service to the Government; and all this by Tumult, Rabble, and Roar⯑ing, not by Reaſon and Evidence.

But Bleſſed be the Author of Truth, that has made it Eternal like himſelf, and as no Man ought to be AFRAID of ſpeaking truth; ſo no Wiſe Man will ever be ASHAM'D of ſpeaking truth, however unpopular and diſobliging it may be, or to the Damage of what Party of Men ſoever, provided only that it be ſeaſonable neceſſary Truth: And ſuch is this I am upon, I am very ſure of it.

What has Trade to do with your Po⯑litick Squabbles, and what Buſineſs have Party Men with the Commerce of [11] the Nation? Trade is neither Whig nor Tory, Church or Diſſenter, High-Church or Low-Church: In all the Broils and Tumults that have exerciſed theſe un⯑happy Nations about Putting IN and Putting OUT, Trade has ſtood always Neuter till now. There may have been Parties in the Pariſhes, in the Wardmotes, Common-Councils, and Common-Halls of the City, and ſo up⯑ward to the Privy-Council, Convoca⯑tion and Parliament: But we never till now brought them upon the Exchange; there was never any Whig-walk and Tory-walk, High-Church-walk and Low-Church-Walk upon Change, that ever I knew of till now.

Certainly it is the Intereſt of the whole Nation to lay aſide this part of the Strife: Parties have ruin'd our Peace, our Charity, our Society already, and almoſt our Religion too; If we let them Ruin our Trade alſo, What have we left? Well may the poor People wear Wooll in their Hats when they go to Vote for Parliament Men; I wiſh it may Direct them to chuſe ſuch Men as may put a ſpeedy end to this Breach; for if Parties come to Govern our Trade, all our Commerce will be at an end, [12] and by Conſequence our Woollen Ma⯑nufactures.

We ſee it every Day, and I believe neither Party will Deny it, That the Heats on both ſides, are ſuch among our Parties, That, as if they reſolv'd to oppoſe one another in every thing Right or Wrong, what one Party propoſes, however Rational and Juſt, the other will oppoſe, only becauſe theſe do it; and at another time, the ſame Party ſhall eſpouſe the very thing which they op⯑poſed, and be the Authors and Promo⯑ters of it themſelves. Let the Paſſing Bills in Parliament prove this: Both Parties have brought in the ſame Bills when they have been in Power, which they have Voted againſt when brought in by the other Party in the time of their being in Power: Take the alterna⯑tive, Both Parties have Voted againſt thoſe Bills when they have been out of Power, which they themſelves have brought in when they have been in Power: The Bills for quallifying Mem⯑bers, for Excluding Officers, for Regu⯑lating Elections, the Triennial, and the Occaſional Bills, are all Evidences of what I ſay.

[13]This is the preſent Caſe, and when it will be otherwiſe God only knows: But run to what Extremes you pleaſe, and puſh your own Diſaſters as far as you pleaſe; I am reſolv'd, in all I ſhall ſay on the Subject of Trade, to ſpeak of it as it ought to be ſpoken of (viz.) as a thing entirely unconcern'd with Parties, or with any of our Diviſions, whether it be with or againſt popular Opinion, with or againſt thoſe People who I hope mean well, or with or againſt the Government or Miniſtry is not the queſtion to me: What I ſay now, I ſaid before, I al⯑ways ſaid, and ſay again, If we are in our Trading Senſes, we ought to open the Trade to France; and my Reaſon is the ſame as it was before, neither the Trade, or the Reaſon of the Trade, has ſuffer'd the leaſt alteration, We ought to carry on the French Trade, becauſe we are able to do it to our Advantage; and we who are a Nation depending upon Trade, ought to Trade with every Nation we can get Money by.

I hope no body will think ſo groſly, as to ſuppoſe that I ſhould mean by this, That we ought to Trade to France, whether it be to our Advantage or no.

[14]It remains for me therefore to Exa⯑min next, upon what foot of Trade we now ſtand with France, and how it ap⯑pears that the Trade may now be car⯑ried on to our Advantage?

I have nothing to do here with the Queſtion ſo much Canvaſs'd lately in Print between the Writers of both ſides (viz.) Whether the Trade to France was always to our Advantage or no? I acknowledge I was always of Opinion that it was not: I mean as to the Ballance of Trade. I was bred to the French Trade from a Youth and have known my ſhare of the Particu⯑lars of it, and I know their Import was always very Heavy when our Duties upon them were Low, our Guſt to their Wines, Brandy, Silks and Faſhions High, and the Number of ſorts of Goods Great, which we dealt with them in.

Yet I muſt own, ſince I have ſeen what has been alledg'd on both ſides, I am more enclin'd to think, that what has been ſaid on that Side as to our for⯑mer Advantage by the Trade, is more probable than I thought it before; and I crave leave for a ſmall Digreſſion, to ſhew what has ſo enclin'd me: Not that [15] I deſign to enter into the Diſpute about it at all; but meerly hint at what I have Obſerv'd in it, which I had not Conſider'd before.

It muſt be allow'd, that our Expor⯑tations to France in Woollen Manu⯑factures were very great; I will not enter into particulars here, they are Publiſh'd on both ſides many times over: Beſides the Woollen Goods, our Allom, Corn, Fiſh, Lead, Shot, Caſt-Iron, Wrought Iron and Braſs, Block-Tin, Pewter, Skins, Druggs, Coal, but eſpecially Leather, riſe up to very great Sums.

Our Forreign Trade, or what is call'd Exports by Certificate, were likewiſe very great, and oftentimes much greater than any of the Accounts I have yet ſeen Printed; (viz.) our Plantation Goods; ſuch as, Sugars, Cottons, In⯑dico, Ginger, Pimento, Tobacco; &c. Our Eaſt-India, Turkey, and Spaniſh Weſt-India Goods, as Cochenele, Indico, Gauls, Dyers Woods, Cotton-Yarn, Grograms, Oyl, Spaniſh Wooll; as alſo Elephants Teeth, Bees-wax, Drugs and the like.

But if theſe are not allow'd to Ba⯑lance the Imports from France, as I ſay [16] again, I thought always they did not; yet the two following Circumſtances which I borrow from another Publick hand, do incline me to believe they might; and this is all I ſhall ſay to what is paſt.

Theſe Circumſtances are, (1.) The Carrying on the whole Trade in our own Shipping, the Advantage of which I muſt acknowledge. (2.) The Ad⯑vance of the Price of the Goods ſent from hence to France, which are for the moſt part-ſold upon the Account of the Engliſh Stocks.

I have ſeen what is ſuggeſted by others on theſe Heads, (viz.) That the French are ſo encreaſed in Shipping, that they will now bring their own Goods hither, and that as much of the Trade is carried on by Commiſſion from France hither, as by Commiſſion from hence to France, which are to me of no force, nor is it true in Fact: The Dra⯑pers in Cornhill will readily teſtify in the Linen Trade, which is the Caſe alledged, That they always gave Com⯑miſſion to Morlaix for their Dowlas and Lockrams.

[17]As to our Freight out being Carried for a ſmall Matter, it is true it was ſo, in ſuch Ships as went for Wines for what Goods they could get: But as the Bulk of our Goods went to Ports which the Wine and Brandy did not come from, and from Ports in England which the Wine and Brandy did not come to, this cannot be the Caſe; our Corn, Coal, and Lead goes chiefly to Dunkirk, Roan, Diep, and other Ports of Normandy, from whence no Wines are brought.

But I am not Diſputing with any body; I am neither to Defend the Mercator, or Con⯑fute the Britiſh Merchant, let them fight on their own way; I am giving my own Thoughts only, which I ſhall do as Impar⯑tially as I can.

I muſt Ingeniouſly acknowledge, that I formerly received my Opinion of the Bal⯑lance of the French Trade being 800000l. per An. to our Loſs, from the Accounts given then about Town, and into Parliament, when I my ſelf was in Trade; which made it be receiv'd at that time as a Common Opinion, and as ſuch I Printed it in the Review, which ſome People are mighty well pleaſed to quote upon me now; and this Common Opinion was Derived from the Paper which paſt for Cur⯑rent Truth in thoſe Times, called, A Scheme, &c.

But I have really been amazed to ſee that Scheme detected of ſuch manifeſt Fraud, proved to be wholly falſe, and deſignedly to be Impoſed upon the Nation, even to ſtripping it ſtark naked from all manner of [18] Covering; and not one Word ſaid in its De⯑fence; So that the Authors on that Side are careful to publiſh that they had no hand in it. Vide Britiſh Merchant, N. 14. Upon theſe things, Can any man blame me then that I acknowledge the Error, which I, among other People, fell into by taking that Account for True? And that I am not now of the Opinion, that the Trade to France was ſo much to our Loſs as I then Printed it to be?

Theſe are the Circumſtances which, I ſay, have enclin'd me to believe, that our Trade to France fully Ballanced our Trade from France in former times.

If any Man Suggeſts that private Ends and Advantages have byaſs'd my Opinion, That Suggeſtion is Falſe and Malicious; I Con⯑temn the Slander, and Defy them to prove the leaſt Circumſtance of it.

But the Face of things is now Chang'd, the Trade looks quite another way ever ſince the firſt War, and whatever it might be before, it is certain that NOW the Trade to France muſt be to our Advantage, and that prodigi⯑ouſly, compar'd to what it was: And this is the Reaſon, that it has ever ſince that time been my ſtated Opinion, and I have always Profeſſed it, and Printed it, That it is our Wiſdom to open the Trade to France for the time to come, and nothing but Stupi⯑dity and a Trade-Madneſs can prevent it: This, I ſay, is the Reaſon for the alteration of my Opinion in that Caſe, without the leaſt private view, or the leaſt regard to who is for or againſt it.

[19]I cannot but think, if Men were enclin'd to do me any Juſtice, either in this or any thing elſe; That my having Printed this, as my Opinion ſeveral times, and ſeveral years ago, before any Parties concern'd themſelves about it, ought to Defend me againſt the Malice of thoſe who ſuggeſt my doing it now upon the Influence of others: But Rea⯑ſon and Juſtice are not Lowd enough to be heard in the Noiſe and Clamour of this Day, Time will make Men Cooler, and I muſt wait till then.

The Queſtion therefore now before us is very ſhort and plain, (viz.) Whether it is our Intereſt to open a Trade to France? And whether we ſhall be Gainers by it, if we do it on the Terms of the Treaty of Commerce which is now propoſed to us? I ſhall ſpeak only my own Thoughts of it.

I have Examin'd as Nicely as I can the whole Treaty; I will not ſay, that ſeveral things might not have been added to it to make it more to our Advantage than it is: But the queſtion then will be, Whether it was Rational to Expect greater Advantages could be ſubmitted to by the French? If, indeed, we had been Maſters of France, and had only one ſide of a Treaty to make, viz. to ſet down what Terms the French King ſhould be obliged to yield to, without Conceding any thing to them on our part; then it ſhould not have been a Treaty, but an Act of Parliament, Enacting in what manner the French ſhould Trade with us; as we do with Ireland; which had it been our [20] Caſe, I ſhould have taxt the Miniſtry with great Indolence and Neglect of our Intereſt, that they had not forb [...]d the French making any kind, of Woollen Manufacture at-all, and taken off all Duties on the Impor⯑tation of ours: They ſhould have cauſed all Woollen Manufactures from Holland, Flan⯑ders, Germany, Swiſſerland, &c. to have been Prohibited, &c. They ſhould have cauſed the French to ſend no more Ships to the Eaſt-Indies, Turkey, or Canada, and have cauſed Martinico and Quebec to have been ſurrendred to us, as they did Newfoundland and St. Chriſtophers.

I do acknowledg theſe are all Articles, in which the Treaty of Commerce might have been made better than it is.

They might alſo have Continued all the high Duties on French Goods in England as they now ſtand, and which are in the nature of Prohibitions, and made the whole Coaſt of France a Free Port to the Engliſh, and many other things might have been done.

But take the Treaty as a Convention be⯑tween two Nations, in which we were to provide for the Equity and Juſtice of Trade, to ſettle the Equallities of Commerce between them, with due regard to the Proportions of Things, and the Circumſtances of the re⯑ſpective Nations, for the Accomodation of the Subjects of both; and either Nation being Free, and without Dependance upon the other; I ſay, if we take the Treaty thus, as really it ought to be taken, I muſt Confeſs, and I muſt Speak my Mind freely and plainly, whoever it offends, I do not ſee how the Treaty could be made [21] between the two Nations, upon more equal terms than it is; if I did, I ſhould not be backward to ſpeak it.

Nay, on the contrary, I do think, That the French King has ſtruck ſuch a blow by this Treaty to the Manufactures of Wooll among his own People, that if he ſtands long to the Conditions of it, all the Undertakers of Woollen Manufactures in France muſt be Ruin'd and Undone.

It might indeed have taken away ſome of the Clamour at this Treaty, if there had been ſome little Advantage given to the Portugal Wine Trade; but when I remember how the French and the Portugal Trade ſtood for⯑merly, when I was concern'd in them both, how the Portugueſe Wines, paid above Eight Pound per Ton Cuſtom, more than the French, and that now the French are brought to an equallity. I muſt allow that it is a large ſtep in Favour of the Portugal Trade, and what muſt neceſſarily leave the ſaid Portugal Trade in a better Condition than it was in before the War.

Nor can it be poſſible, that what ſome People ſay, on that Head, can be true, viz. That the Portugueſe will, on the Breach of this Article, eſteem the Peace broke, and will prohibit our Manufactures: The People who Argue ſo, diſcover, that they know but little of the Portugal Trade; the encreaſe of the Portugal Trade is known to all the World, and the occaſion of it alſo is known, (viz.) the Encreaſe of their Trade to the Bra⯑ſils: This is not only carried on with Engliſh [22] Goods, but with Engliſh Stocks alſo; and the Engliſh Merchants of Liſbon, ſend great quantities of Engliſh Goods to the Braſils, upon Account and Riſqs of the Engliſh Mer⯑chants at London, and upon their own Ac⯑counts, or elſe Truſt the Portugueſe Merchants with thoſe Goods; to receive their Effects at the Return of the Fleets from the Braſils; ſo that without the help of the Engliſh Stocks, as well as the Engliſh Goods, it would be but a poor Trade that is carried on to the Braſils.

From hence it is eaſy to ſee that the Danger of Prohibiting our Woollen Manufactures in Portugal, is of no conſequence; nor could they carry on the Braſil Trade, or indeed their own Trade, without our Goods; nor have they much Reaſon to complain, when upon a general Set⯑tlement of the Peace and Trade of Europe, Trade ſhould be left to run in the ſame Chan⯑nel which it uſed to run in, ſince they are put therein upon an even foot of Cuſtoms with the French, whereas before they paid near 9.l. per Ton Cuſtome more than the French.

I know the Portugueſe have a Treaty, in which another kind of Proportion is ſettled, and much pains is taken, to magnify the Sacred Obligation of this Treaty; but ſuch Treaties, muſt all, as the preſent Treaty is, be ſubject to the Determination of Parliament, otherwiſe it muſt be true as the Mercator has alledg'd, That we ſhall give the Prerogative a Power which it does not pretend to, and put it into the Hands of a ſingle Agent, Envoy, or Plenipotentiary, to Repeal Laws, and Limit the Parliament of Britain, as to what they ſhall, [23] or ſhall not, do; and as to what Duties they ſhall, or ſhall not continue, if laid on, or lay on anew; which I acknowledge is an Autho⯑rity Deſtructive of the whole Britiſh Conſtitu⯑tion, and inconſiſtent with the very being of Parliament.

If a Treaty with Portugal is made, which goes this length, it is void in its own Nature, and is no Treaty at all; and if the preſent Miniſtry had made ſuch a Treaty with France, the Parliament would not have been bound by it, and indeed could not, without giving up the Peoples Liberties which they are en⯑truſted with.

Theſe are indeed but my private Thoughts, nor do I regard, in them, what has been ſaid by others on this Head, on either ſide; I ſay it again, All Treaties, ſo far as they reſpect the laying on, or taking off, of thoſe Duties and Taxes, muſt be Subject to Parliamentary Authority, or elſe we give up Parliaments to the Prerogative, and revive that fatal Exer⯑ciſe of it, the DISPENSING POWER, which I hope never to ſee done in Britain, eſpecially by thoſe who Eſpouſe the Revolu⯑tion Principle.

Alſo ſuch Treaties ought to be Subject to the General Treaty for ſettling the Tran⯑quility of Europe; and as it has been thought fit to make ſome alteration in that Treaty, if the Parliament ſhall confirm thoſe Altera⯑tions, I cannot ſee that the King of Portugal ought to think it unjuſt, becauſe he ought to have conſidered when he made that Treaty, whether the Perſons did not Capitulate with [24] him, for what they had no Power to make Good; and if by the Engliſh Conſtitution, they had not Power to make it Good, he ought not to be offended, that we do not give up that Conſtitution to oblige him; I am ſorry to ſee ſome People, who a few Years paſt, ſhew'd ſuch commendable Zeal for the Britiſh Conſtitution, be willing now to Sacri⯑fice it to a Treaty, whoſe Conditions made by a private Miniſter, exceed the Power that either he really had, or, that they who em⯑ploy'd him, were able to give him.

On the other hand, That the King of Portugal ſhall immediately look on the Infracti⯑on of this Treaty, as an Inſult, and a Breach of the Peace, and the like, and ſhould there⯑upon prohibit our Manufactures of every kind, which indeed is Prohibiting Commerce with us, and conſequently, Declaring War. This I cannot, perſwade my ſelf of, for this would be an open Defiance, and I am ſatisfied the King of Portugal has too much Senſe of the Equity of things, to break with England on that ac⯑count; or if he ſhould have ſo little Wit, England may find Ways and Means to reduce the Por⯑tugueſe to Reaſon, and to reſettle the Trade again to our Satisfaction; or elſe Portugal is repreſented to be a much more Potent Prince than I take him to be. The King of Portugal, if the Debate about the Peace between him and Spain continue, is like to ſtand in too much need of the Councils and Aſſiſtance which Britain is in condition to yield him; I ſay, too much to ſuffer him to break with Britain on ſo trivial an occaſion.

[25]I cannot but think our People give too much weight to the Portugueſe in this caſe, and make the Portugal Nation ſeem to carry a greater Poiſe in the Ballance and Trade of Europe, than their Circumſtances allow, ma⯑king England ſo much oblig'd to the Portugueſe, as to be afraid of their Prohibiting our Trade, as if they were not at all concern'd, to have their Wine, their Oyl, and their Fruit ſhut out of England, altho' they know if it ſhould be ſo, they are quite undone.

I inſiſt the leſs on this, becauſe I ſee it in debate by other hands; but I muſt own I cannot but wonder to ſee People lay, as it were, the whole ſtreſs of their Arguments upon a Treaty with Portugal, which if it ſhould be granted, to be ſo ſacred would be a dreadful Precedent for this Nation, in Giving up our Parliament, our Privileges, and our Conſtitution, to the Power of the Miniſtry, and enable them to tye up the Parliaments hands, by what-ever little Bargains they may make Abroad, pretending that They, (the Court,) have agreed that it ſhall be ſo and ſo.

I would calmly entreat ſuch Men to reflect a little, how oddly it would ſound in the Ears of all the Ancient Patriots of the Re⯑volution, and the Defenders of Engliſh Li⯑berty, If they were now alive, to have a Miniſter of State ſtand up in the Houſe of Commons, when a Money-Bill was before them, and ſay, Mr. Speaker, ‘"We cannot lay any farther Duty on ſuch and ſuch Goods from Portugal, for her Majeſty has made a Treaty to the Contrary: And Mr. Speaker, [26] Her Majeſty Commands you to lay ſuch and ſuch higher Duties upon, and not to take off ſuch and ſuch Duties from French Goods; for a Treaty is made that it ſhall be ſo."’

Let us but compare this with the Language of our Conſtitution to be found in Magna Charta, Sir Ed. Coke, Bracton, and all the Writings of our beſt Lawyers, and ſee whe⯑ther this is not laying the Axe to the Root of Parliaments, and Sapping the Foundations of the Engliſh Liberty, and all this to give a Sanction to a Treaty which ſtands in no need of it, and which, if the worſt comes to the worſt, ends in the Imaginary Reſentment of a Power who is in no manner of Condition to quarrel with us; This is a ſtep I confeſs I ne⯑ver expected to ſee taken in Britain, and it is really a Melancholly thing, to ſee our People willinger to give up their Liberties, and their Parliaments, than the Court to take the Sur⯑render.

I ſhall make no farther Reflections on this Caſe; We are to be very Thankful that our Liberties are fix'd, and very Careful that we do not undermine them with our own hands.

If the preſent Miniſtry had taken Mr. Me⯑thuen for their Precedent, and quoted my Lord N— for their Authority, and had abſolutely ſtipulated with the King of France to take off ſuch and ſuch Duties, &c. as by the Ninth Ar⯑ticle of this preſent Treaty is Expreſſed; and had not left it to the Determination of the Par⯑liament to whom it belongs, What would theſe People have ſaid then? And how might [27] the Miniſtry have referr'd them back to the Portugal Treaty for their Juſtification?

Theſe things Clear up to me the Objection againſt the Treaty of Commerce which is Drawn from the Portugal Treaty, I do not by this reſolve the Queſtion, Whether it is pro⯑per to break in upon this Portugal Treaty, in order to make the preſent Treaty Effectual? Let no Man miſtake, or ſtrain my Words be⯑yond what I lay down as my expreſs mean⯑ing; I ſhall ſpeak to that by it ſelf: But I ſay this, with reſpect to the whole Treaty with Portugal, which I am not at all backward to declare my Opinion of, and the Reaſons for it, (viz.) That I think it cannot be juſtified; Thoſe who made it ought, if they had been living, to have anſwer'd for it.

I come back to the main Subject, and to my Reaſons as above, why I always was of the Opinion, That we ought to have kept open our Trade with France, (viz.) Becauſe we could get by the Trade; and that we ought to Trade with every Nation we can get Money by.

I think I need ſpend no time to prove the latter, (viz.) That we ought to Trade with every Nation we can get Money by. We are a Nation which Depends upon our Com⯑merce, and our whole Proſperity, Wealth and Subſiſtance depends upon it, the Landed Intereſt not excepted, whoſe Rents would ſoon be reduc'd to ſuch a Condition as to ſtarve the Landlords as well as the Tenants, a few of higher Dimenſions than ordinary excepted, if our Commerce ſhould fail: [28] This Commerce is ſupported and maintained principally by our Woollen Manufacture, which is ſo Conſiderable and Eſſential to it, that ſhould we have no more a free Export, or a Vent Abroad for our Manufactures, the Import we make from Abroad would ſo over⯑ballance us from all parts of the World, that we ſhould immediately be exhauſted of all our Specie, and the other Produce of our Country would ſcarce feed us: For this Rea⯑ſon, nothing but a blindneſs, which no Na⯑tion but ours was ever poſſeſſed with, would have led us to be acceſſary to the ſtopping the Exportation of our own Manufactures, as has been done by Prohibitions of Trade whether to France, or to any other part of the World.

I know it has been Objected, That if we had not, the French would: To which I an⯑ſwer, then the French ſhould, it was not our buſineſs to have done it firſt, to Prohibit our own Goods, becauſe if we did not the French would, is Dying for fear of Death, and like a Man Hanging himſelf, becauſe he is in danger of being Condemn'd to be Hang'd.

Our buſineſs had been to have Loaded the French Goods here with ſuch Duties as might have ſecur'd their Importations from hurting us, and to have left our Woollen Manufacture Free to be Carried to France, or any where elſe, as long as ever they would have bought a piece of them; and if they muſt have been Prohibited, it had been the King of France's buſineſs to have Prohibited them, not ours. It is our buſineſs to ſell our Woollen Manu⯑factures [29] to every body in the World that would buy them; becauſe the Produce of our Land, the Labour of the Poor, the Con⯑ſumption of Foreign Imported Goods which are the Returns of them, is all carried on by it, and depends upon it: In ſhort, we ought to Trade with every Nation we can Gain by, becauſe the Gain of our Trade is the Eſſen⯑tial Article on which the Wealth of the Na⯑tion depends.

Having lay'd down this Foundation, it follows to prove that we can, and may Gain by the Trade to France: This muſt be proved, by proving that the vallue of our Exportation to France, with its Appendices, and additional Circumſtances, ſhall exceed the vallue of our Imports from France; and this is proved by two Circumſtances which attend our Trade now, which did not attend it before the War.

• 1. The ſeveral Kinds of Manufactures which we are now Maſters of, and make ei⯑ther wholly, or in Part among our ſelves, which we formerly Imported from France.
• 2. The Loading the other Goods which we ſhall Import from France, with ſuch heavy Duties as muſt ntceſſarily leſſen their Con⯑ſumption.

There are other Reaſons to be given of leſs moment; but theſe are the Two main Rea⯑ſons which will prove our Imports to be very conſiderably abated.

[30]There was no other Reaſon ever given, or indeed could be given, why we ſhould not Trade with France but this, That we Im⯑ported ſuch unreaſonable quantities of their Goods, that infinitely over-ballanc'd what they took from us. Whether this was ſo or not, is not my queſtion, I have ſpoken of that before; But whether it ſhall be ſo for the fu⯑ture?

Let any Man inform himſelf how much, in a probable Calculation of things, that Conſumption of French Goods will be leſſened by the quantities of their ſeveral Manufa⯑ctures which we make here, and if he will be juſt, he will find them very Conſiderable.

They are under a very great Miſtake, who think the Wine and the Brandy are the only Conſiderable Articles which weighed down the Scale of Trade to the French ſide, there were ſeveral ſingle Articles which very much exceeded the Wine Trade.

The Accounts which thoſe who argue againſt this Trade ſhew to the World, and which are publiſh'd in Print, make the Linen Imported from France into England, amount to 600000 Pound, and they tell us the Lockrams and Dowlaſs alone amounted to by the ſame Account, Three Hundred and Sixty Thouſand Pounds; the wrought Silks Imported in one year, they make to amount to Three Hundred Thouſand Pounds, where⯑as by the ſame Account the French Wine is made to Amount to but 137500 Pounds, and the Brandy amounts to but 70000 Pounds; the Paper, they ſay amounts to 40000 Pounds, and the like,

[31]I am not Examining here, whether theſe Accounts are true are not, it is manifeſt they are not; if they are falſe, then they will not make out the Ballance which they are brought to prove; if they are true, they will Confirm the Argument I am upon: For theſe Great and Capital Articles are all in a manner deſtroy'd, and cannot be recover'd, tho' the Treaty now in ſuſpenſe ſhould take place.

The Silk Trade is gon, the Importations of one Part, (viz.) Alamodes and Luſtrings is entirely ſtopt, the Weavers themſelves gave it up before the Houſe of Commons; the Duty which is upon them, and which muſt continue upon them is, l. 1. 11. 6. per C. Weight, and is ſo great as utterly Deſtroys the Trade; not a Piece can be Imported to any Advantage, and take away the Profit of a Trade, you take away Trade; there can⯑not a Piece be Sold here, but what muſt be Run on Shoar by ſtealth; and if we cannot prevent that, it will be our own fault.

The other part of the Silk Trade is re⯑duc'd by Two things: 1. By the Improve⯑ments which our own Weavers have made in the Broad-Weaving Trade, which, ſince the Encouragement given them by Prohibiting the Wearing of Eaſt-India Silk, is ſo very great, that the French can never out-do them. 2. By the Duty of 12s. per Pound Weight, which is ſtill to remain upon the French Silks even by this Treaty: Under both which Circumſtances, the Importation of French Wrought Silks will be very Low. I know it [32] is Calculated in a publick Paper, to amount to between Fourty and Fifty Thouſand Pounds a Year; but I have Reaſon to believe, and am Confirm'd in my Judgment by Men of Experience in that Trade, That it will be very little, except what they may endeavour to get in privately by ſtealing the Duty, which as I ſay above, if we cannot hinder, it will be our own fault.

I might give many Reaſons to prove, that the Importation of Linen from France, which is the princpal Article of their Importations, will likewiſe be cut ſhort; and after having hinted the Encouragement given to the Linen Manufacture in Ireland, the very great quan⯑tity of Courſe Tabling made in Lancaſhire, Weſtmoreland, Durham and Yorkſhire, the thin Diapers and other Linen brought now free of Duty from Scotland, and the more than uſual quantity of Courſe Linen made in ſeveral parts of England, beſides this, I ſay, itmay be obſervable, that whereas they ſay we Imported 60000 Pieces of Lockrams and Dowlaſs from France in a Year, there has not been Imported one Sixth Part of that Quantity one Year with another, of Hambro Dowlaſs, or of all the other kinds of Cloth which have been ſup⯑poſed to anſwer to the Uſes which the French Linen was applied to; this muſt evedently Demonſtrate that the groſs of the quantity is made at home.

The Undertakers of the Manufacture of Sail-Cloth in England and Scotland may anſwer for me, how much they ſhall abate the Im⯑portation of Vitre, Pertree, and Noyels Can⯑vaſs, [33] with which we uſed to be ſupplied from France, for making of Sails, and if they may be Credited, they pretend to be able to make the whole Quantity; to which purpoſe, if the preſent Duties on the French are not high enough, and will not give them an Advan⯑tage of the French, ſufficient to encourage and ſupport their Work, on their Repreſent⯑ing the ſame to the Parliament, no doubt they may have farther and higher Duties laid on, from which the Parliament are not at all Limited or Reſtrain'd by this Treaty.

I might go on to ſpeak of other Articles, as of the Paper, the Encreaſe of Diſtilling, the making of Glaſs, and ſeveral other things, all which joyn to leſſen our Demand of Goods from Franee, by the finding ways to ſupply the Conſumption at Home: But I think theſe are ſufficient to anſwer for an abatement ſo Conſiderable, as would make the Argument good, ſeeing I am aſſured by thoſe whoſe Judgment and Experience I eſteem better than my own, That we ſhall not Import in each of thoſe two Heads, (viz.) the Silk and the Linen, ſo much by a prodigious Sum, as they have given an account of to have been formerly Imported.

The laying on high Duties, and thoſe Du⯑ties leſſening the Conſumption of other Goods, is the next Article, and might take up ſome of our time here, but I find it is ſpoken to by other Hands; the thing is ſo natural none can deny it, There cannot be the ſame quantity of Brandy Imported when it is to pay upwards of 50l. per Ton Cuſtom, [34] as would be, or was, when it paid but 30s. altho' the Diſtilling of Malt Spirits were not to be ſpoken of. The like of the Wines.

Theſe are the Reaſons on one Part, why I think it will for ever be true, that we may Trade with France to our Advantage, (viz.) That their Importations to us cannot be ſo great by a very great Sum, as they uſually were in the Days of King Charles II. and King James II.

I come now to the Exportation of Engliſh Goods to France, and I muſt acknowledg that I go in this Part, upon a Foundation which is to me very ſatisfactory, tho' perhaps not Diſ⯑cern'd by every one that Conſiders it.

Our Manufactures, which formerly were loaded in France with Extravagant high Du⯑ties, and at laſt with a total Prohibition, are now to be Freely Imported into France, pay⯑ing no other Duties than as by the Tariff of 1664, which is about Ten per Cent. and with a ſmall Exception to the Woollen Clothes, and Cloth-Serges, which are to pay as by the Tariff of 1699.

This muſt let in our Manufactures into France in a full ſtream, and open a Door for a greater Conſumption of them in France than ever was before; and this, I ſay, is the Rea⯑ſon on the other ſide, why I pretend to prove we ſhall now be Gainers by the French Trade: For if the only Exception againſt the Trade, is that of their over-ballancing our Export, if then I prove that their Export to us ſhall now Leſſen, and our Export to them ſhall now Encreaſe, ſo that we ſhall for the future over-ballance them, then my Argument muſt [35] be Good, (viz.) That we ought to Trade with them.

It is brought as an Objection, and it is all the Objection that can be brought in the Caſe, (viz.) That the French make all our Manu⯑factures now as well as we do, and therefore will not want ours any more. Nay, ſo warm are ſome People to have this believed, that they affirm, tho' I doubt without Evidence, That they make as good Cloth in France as we do; and as good Serges and Perpets, &c. and in ſuch Quantities to, as that they can ſupply all the World; nay, and ſupply us to, if we will give them leave.

Theſe Gentlemen beg the Queſtion very peremptorily, and Demand that we ſhould ſtrangely take them upon Truſt: But the matter of Fact has never yet been proved, and this is not an Age to believe Men on their Words, in things of ſuch a nature, when Parties byaſs Men ſo much to ſtrain their Principles, as we ſee is the Caſe every day.

It has been ask'd in Publick by one Paper, and I muſt ask it here; it is ſo natural, it cannot be ſtrange if every Man, we talk with ſhould ask it,—Where is this Fine Cloth and good Woollen Manufacture that the French make? where do they hide it? How comes it to paſs that none of the Gentlemen who come over hither have any of it ON? Let the French Ambaſſador be a Teſt of this; or any other French Man that comes over, look on their Clothes, their Liveries, their Coaches. The French Ambaſſador cannot take it for an affront, that we ſay, an Engliſh Servant to a [36] private Gentleman, would have thought him⯑ſelf very ill uſed to have been Clothed in ſuch Trappings; How Courſe, How Ruſty the Black, How Spungy, how Nappy and Rough the Clothes, How ill made, How worſe Dreſs'd, and How worſt of all the Wooll of the Clothes they appear'd at firſt in! The Engliſh Colcheſter Bays would have look'd bet⯑ter than ſome of them look'd. If theſe are the Manufactures they boaſt of, I ſhall never fear, but when our Woollen Clothes, Stuffs, Serges and other Goods come among them at reaſonable Rates for the Cuſtoms and Duties, they will make their own way, and ſhew the French that they are not able to make our Ma⯑nufacture to any perfection.

It is ſaid, by thoſe who Object againſt it, That they have our Wooll, and have gotten Work⯑men from hence, and their People Work Cheaper than ours can do, and why ſhould they not make our Manufactures as good as we do?

This I deſire to Explain upon a little, and I ſhall leave my Opinion to the Judgment of thoſe, who are Impartial, if any ſuch are left among us; as for thoſe who will not judge Impartially, who will have it be, as they would have it be; and that will admit no Ar⯑gument but their own poſitive affirming a thing, theſe Sheets ſhall not meddle with them, nothing but Experience can deal with ſuch, and they are never Convinc'd till they are made aſham'd.

As to the French getting Wooll from Eng⯑land it is too true, that they get great quan⯑tities of Wooll both from England and Ire⯑land, [37] ever have done ſo, and I doubt ever will do ſo; How to have it prevented I do not undertake to ſay, It is like the Diſtemper of the Gout in the Body, which every Body has a Medicine for, and no body can Cure.

As to getting Workmen from England, I will not ſay but That may be True alſo, tho' we have not ſeen it proved; take that with you too; Traytors to their Country are al⯑ways to be had, who for a Morſel of Bread will do any thing; and as there is no Law to puniſh them, and they are out of reach alſo, we muſt always be Content.

But neither of theſe can come into the Party-queſtion: The Government can no more hinder Men going over to France to teach the Clothworkers how to Dreſs their Cloth, than they can hinder Men going to Liſt in Foreign Armies. The New Miniſtry can no more hinder the Exporting of Wooll, than the Old Miniſtry could; I believe they would willingly hearken to any means that would be effectual, and ſo would the laſt Mi⯑niſtry have done; but both have been tyred with the Quacking of Projectors, who have always Worried Innocent Men, Conniv'd at Rogues, and left the Diſeaſe worſe than they found it.

But I ſhall undertake to prove two things here, that ſhall Confound all this Notion: (1.) That neither the Workmen, or the Wooll, will effectually anſwer for making our Woollen Manufacture. (2.) That neither the French, or any Nation in the World do, or can, Work Cheaper than the Engliſh both can and do.

[38]From theſe Principles I inſiſt upon it, That the French cannot make our Woollen Manu⯑factures ſo as to prevent the Sale of ours, when a Trade ſhall be opened by taking off the Duties, as by the Tariff of 1664. but that on the Contrary, our Goods coming among them ſhall be ſo much better, and in proportion to that goodneſs ſo much Cheaper, that they ſhall in time deſtroy all their Un⯑dertakings of Woollen Manufacture, and en⯑creaſe the Conſumption of ours: On this account, joyn'd to what I have ſaid before, it is, that I ſay we may gain by the French Trade, and is therefore another Reaſon why we ought to Trade with them.

The Original or Foundation of the Manu⯑facture is the Wooll; the firſt ſtep to the Working this Wooll, is the Sorting, Comb⯑ing, Carding, and Preparing the Wooll: The firſt, to wit, the Sorting the Wooll, re⯑quires Judgment and Experience in the Maſter Clothier, who muſt know what kind of Wooll is proper for every Manufacture: From hence we find that in the Clothing Countries, they throw by a great quantity of their Wooll as not proper for their Work, and this is Carried out of thoſe Countries to the Worſted Works, and to the Comber; again in the Stuff-making Countries, the Wooll which is not proper for them is pick'd out and laid by, and carried out of their Countries to the Clothiers; and, the like of other Manufa⯑ctures.

This judgment perhaps may be carried over to France, by ſuch Vagabond Bankrupt Clo⯑thiers [39] and Combers as were not able to ſhow their Heads at Home, Neceſſity may tempt ſuch to go Abroad: As to the Carding, Combing, and Preparing the Wooll when Sorted, That is a Road which any one may Teach them, and which they perhaps may not want to Learn: So that this is not the Point.

The next Article is the Spinning, and give me leave to ſay THIS, as it is the Eſſential, ſo it is the Inimitable part of our Manufacture, and the French are utterly Unable to do this, and we are Unable to Teach them; They are ſo far from being able to Imitate the various ſorts of Spinning which is now practiced in England, that really we cannot Imitate our ſelves: There is ſo much Evidence in this Truth, and it is ſo well known, and ſo prov'd by Experience, That I freely appeal to all the Manufactures of Great-Britain for the proof of it.

The Spinning, generally ſpeaking, is the Work of the Women and Children, it is Learn'd from Mother to Daughter, as Birds Learn to Sing, Cocks to Crow, and little Children to Speak, (viz.) by Immediate Imi⯑tation: The manner is carried from one to another by that aptneſs which is in the young of every Creature to follow the old, and be⯑comes a Natural Habit, like a Tone in the Speech, which is peculiar to this or that Coun⯑ty, which they, who uſe it, know not how to alter; and they, that do not, know not how to imitate.

Thus you may know the People who are Born and Bred in the ſeveral parts of this [40] Kingdom by the Shibboleth of the Place they come from, they cannot Conceal it; nor can a Man Born in another part of the Country Mimick them ſo but that he will eaſily be known to be a Counterfeit: This is plain in the People of Norfolk and Suffolk, Eaſt; Devon, Somerſet, Wilts and Dorſet, Weſt; Lancaſhire North-Weſt; Yorkſhire, Durham and Northum⯑berland, North; Scotland, Wales, and ſeveral other parts.

In like manner every way the ſame in its kind, and introduc'd the ſame way, (viz.) by a meer habit, and that not to be alter'd by themſelves, or imitated by others, is the Manufacture of Spinning Naturalized to the People of the ſeveral Parts of England, ac⯑cording to the ſeveral Countries they have been taught to Work in: Nay, even in the ſame Countries the Spinning differs, as the ſe⯑veral Manufactures which this or that part of the County are Employ'd in differs.

The Conſequence of this is Eſſential to the Manufacture, whence proceeds the variety of our ſorts of Goods, which appears not at all according to the Nature of the Wooll, but according to the different Places where it is Wrought; the Reaſon of which is the Spin⯑ning, and nothing elſe.

A Proof of this is eaſily known by this Ex⯑periment; take the Spinning of one County, and carry it to be wrought into another Coun⯑ty, and for another kind of Goods than it uſes to be wrought in, the Defect ſhall, preſently appear in the Goods, altho' for the Goods it was Spun for, it was the beſt of its Kind that could be.

[41]Nay, take the Spinning of one Town, and carry it to another Town where the ſame Kind of Goods are made, and it ſhall Work into that ſame ſort, of the Kind, which were made in the Town from whence it came. How comes it to paſs, That no Place in Eng⯑land can make the Bays but Colcheſter? the Says but Sudbury? the Serges but Devonſhire? the Kerſeys but Hallifax? the Fine Whites but Glouceſter and Worceſterſhire? the Tamies but Coventry? the Cantaloons but at Briſtol?

Nay, of theſe Goods, How come the ſe⯑veral Species to differ ſo from one another! Why cannot the Men of Bocking make as good Bays as at Colcheſter? Why are the Shaloons in Northamptonſhire better than thoſe in the Weſt? Why the Devon Kerſies better than the York⯑ſhire? and that theſe Towns, and Countries, tho' they have, or may have the ſame Wooll, are not able, with all their Skill, to Imitate or Come up to one another?

It is manifeſt that it is all in the Spinning; whatever the Difference is it is hard to deter⯑mine; but that ſuch a Difference is I affirm, and I appeal to all the Manufacturers in England for the truth of it: And this Difference runs thro' the whole Operation of the Manfacture that follows it, like an Error in the firſt Concocti⯑on, which is never mended in the ſecond; ſo an Error, or a peculiar way in the firſt Spin⯑ning, is never Corrected afterward; but as is the Yarn ſuch is the Stuff, let it be of what Kind it will.

Now this, I ſay, is impoſſible to be Carried into France: The People there Spin, and [42] perhaps may Spin Finer than ours, and I be⯑lieve they do; but unleſs they Spin the ſame Kind of Threed for the ſame Kind of Manu⯑facture that we do, they can no more Imitate ours, than one of our Towns or Counties can Imitate another.

For Example, Take a Woman that has been bred to Spin for the making of Flannel, ſuppoſe from Shropſhire, and carry her into Eſſex, and let her ſee how they Spin as much as ſhe will, and try as much as ſhe can, ſhe ſhall no more Spin good Yarn for making a Piece of Bays, or to Sudbury, ſhe ſhall no more Spin for their Work, than the Spinners there can for her Flannel; ſhe can no more alter her Hand effectually, than ſhe can ſhake off her Shropſhire Dialect from her Tongue, and learn to Whine and Talk as they do in Suffolk.

How many attempts of this kind have been made in England, (viz.) to Tranſplant the Manufacture of one County into another, and we have very rarely found it practicable; If then one County cannot Imitate another, if one Town cannot Imitate another, nay, in ſome Goods one Manufacturer cannot Imitate another, tho' they have all the ſame Materials too, How ſhould another Nation Imitate us?

And what is the Reaſon that we find ſuch Struggling, ſuch Envying, ſuch Quarrelling among our Manufacturers, like tittle Parties in the Trade, to get one another's Spinners away, and to get this or that Town Spinning away, but becauſe the Goodneſs of a Manu⯑facture always depends upon the Goodneſs of [43] the Spinning: How comes this or that Clothiers Goods to be known at Blackwell-Hall, and to be enquired for by his Name, and by his Mark, and to Sell better than his Neighbours, and the like of other Goods, but that he has better Spinners than his Neighbours?

I might Dwell upon this, Prove and Explain it by many Arguments and Examples; but I believe every one who has any Experience of Trade will grant it.

If then, I ſay, we cannot Imitate one another in our Manufactures, where we have plenty of all Materials, Choice of the Wooll, and Experienc'd Workmen, only by Reaſon of the Difference and Difficulty of the Spin⯑ning; How ſhall a Foreign Nation adapt their Spin⯑ning to our Manufacture? a Nation that have a great ſcarcity of Wooll, and muſt mix ſeveral Kinds, and the Wooll of ſeveral Nations together, that have a ſcarcity of all other Materials, and above all muſt take ſuch Wild and Untaught Spinners as they can get?

Nor will it Argue in this Caſe to ſay they can have Spinners from hence; for I affirm, the beſt Spinner in England cannot teach another to Spin as ſhe Spins, if ever the Learner had Spun any thing before; but if ſhe Teaches, it muſt be young Children from Five year and upwards, or ſome that had never touch'd a Wheel.

When this is done, this Teaching Spinner can Teach only to Spin as ſhe Spun her ſelf, be it for whatſoever Species of Manufacture ſhe was brought up to; and I dare ſay, that the Nation can very rarely ſhew a Spinner that can Spin very well a Yarn for more than one Kind of Manufacture; ſo that by this Rule the French muſt get Spinners over to Teach their People, Diſtinguiſht by their Work for every kind of Manufacture we make.

This is a Reaſon why the French cannot come up to our Manufacture, and a Reaſon which, I flatter my ſelf, cannot be anſwer'd.

There is yet another thing which affects indeed ſome of our Manufactures only, but ſo many of them, and that ſo Conſiderable a part, (viz.) our Clothing, that I believe it renders it Inimitable in any other Part of the World, and this is the Water: I have not time to Enlarge upon this; but let the Men of Stroud water in Glouceſterſhire be the Standard, and let us ſee any [44] other Part of this Nation come up to them, and then we may ſuggeſt that other Nations may alſo do it.

This would take up a Tract by it ſelf to Explain, and to Examin the Reaſons, why one Kind of Water ſhould be better than another, for Dreſſing, Milling, Waſhing, as well as Dying; and why, tho' the Dutch or French were able to fix brighter and better Colours than we can, yet the Wooll it ſelf ſhall not work ſo kindly, the Nap of the Cloth riſe ſo well, nor the Shearer work ſo cloſe, with the Dreſſing in one Water, as it ſhall in another; and for this Reaſon the Clo⯑thiers in ſome Parts Carry their Goods many Miles to theſe or thoſe Fulling Mills, when there are others nearer home.

I am ſo near the Cloſe of this Tract that I cannot Enlarge; but I come to another Caſe in our Manu⯑facture, wherein I find we are run down by a Vulgar Error, which however at this time is made mighty Uſe of, and makes more Noiſe than is for our Reputation, eſpecially as it comes out of our own Mouths, and this is, That the French People Work Cheaper than we; nay, ſo great is the aſſurance which our People ſpeak it with, that they are not ſlack to ſay, that they can Work Cheaper by Four pence in a Shilling.

I am bold to ſay, ſuch Diſcourſe is enough to Con⯑vince any Man that underſtands Manufacturing, that the People who ſpeak it, either ſay it without know⯑ledge, or againſt knowledge, I am afraid it is the lat⯑ter.

Could the Poor in France Work Cheaper than the Engliſh by a Groat in a Shilling, could the Spinner, the Weaver, the Carder, the Dreſſer, the Dyer, &c. perform all thoſe Works which are at the beginning of the Manufacture Four-pence in a Shilling Cheaper than the Engliſh, the Clothier that finiſhes it would be able to Sell it Eight pence in the Shilling Cheaper when it was finiſhed, for that Difference in the firſt Work would double in the Price of the whole Cloth, and ſo the Clothes which the Engliſh could not Sell under Twelve Shillings per Yard at Market, the French would ſell at Four Shillings per Yard, and of Conſequence muſt of Neceſſity have long ago had all the Trade of the World.

[45]As this, tho' but a ſhort hint, is ſufficient to Ex⯑poſe the falſhood of that Suggeſtion, ſo I ſhall lay one thing down as a certain Truth, which I know to be True of my own certain knowledg in many Ca⯑ſes, and offer to prove by good Evidence in others, and I ſhall leave it to farther Enlargement, if I am call'd to ſpeak to it again; The Aſſertion is this in ſhort.

That ſet the Goodneſs and Quantity of their Work againſt their Wages, and no Nation in the World Works Cheaper than the Engliſh.

Let no Man ſuggeſt that this cannot be made out, my Name is to this Book, I'll make it good, and at any reaſonable Hazard, I offer to prove it beyond the power of all the Cavils of the World: Take it in any, or all the Branches or Parts of the Woollen Ma⯑nufacture, I repeat it again in other Words, Set the goodneſs of the Performance, and the quantity of Work done, against the Wages, no Manufacturers in the World have their Work done Cheaper, or for for leſs Wages, than the Engliſh.

I do not deny but in Diligence they may out-do us, I know the Engliſh Poor are not ſo forward to Work as the French, and perhaps when the Engliſh have earn'd their Money hardly, they may ſpend it lightlier than others, and be as poor as any of them.

I know that if you higher a Frenchman by the Day, he ſhall come at leſs Wages.

I know if the French man Works for himſelf, he ſhall ſit to it more hours.

But then the Engliſh Day Man ſhall do more Work in leſs time.

Or the Engliſh Day Man ſhall make better Work.

And the Engliſh-man that Works for himſelf ſhall perform as much in leſs time than the French-man, or make his Work Deſerve more Wages.

I appeal to Spittle fields for the Truth of this in part, and even to the French Manufacturers there themſelves.

Had I room here, I ſhould produce Experiments which I have made of the Engliſh Manufacturing, againſt French-men, Dutch-men, Scots-men, and others, I can prove in them all, that we Work much Cheap⯑er [46] than any People in the World, allow Weight for Inches, as the Jockies call it, and I am not at all partial to my own Country in it neither: But I can⯑not Enlarge upon this Subject.