a possibility of Cavilling But there 's none so blind as they who will not see and by what you write I find had there been any thing in our Act that could not bear the Tryal of the strictest Enquiry on the aforesaid Heads it had certainly been long e're now ript up and printed in Capital Letters by those who were at the Trouble and Expence of Reprinting the Act at London in several shapes and under a new Title of their own framing of design to adapt it more properly to the Notion of Rivalship and Emulation which you say they so industriously preach in Coffee-houses Obj. Oh! but say they Tho' there be nothing in the Act that at present may seem to interferr with yet in the Consequence it may prove pernicious to the Interest of England In Answer to which give me leave to observe That as this Act was calculated for a Common and Publick Good so though it be a received and standing Maxim That No Evil is to be done that Good may come of it yet no reasonable Man will urge from thence the Alternative That we ought to forbear doing an apparent Publick Good because of a remote possibility of an imaginary Evil Consequence And before I step further pray let us take a short View of what Prospect there may be of this bug-bearing Consequence Why truly Scotland proposeth an Advantage by Foreign Trade and leaves it at England's door to accept or refuse being concerned for one Moiety of all the Profits Emoluments and Advantages arising from such Trade and by the bye England's embracing that Offer seems to me an auspicious Prognostick of future Success Now should we happen to be frustrate in our Expectation by this Trade then all the vain Jealousies of Rivalship and Competition fall of course But if it should as I hope it may answer our Wishes by a plentiful and prosperous Harvest in return to our Honest and Infant-Undertaking England sure would be mightily hurt to reap One Half of all the Profits thereof which I pray God may prove the happy Consequence so much fear'd by your Monopoly-men Yet all this you say cannot please them that are resolved to be implacable for that there are a certain sort of such good-natur'd Christians in the World as would chuse rather to lose a certain Benefit and Advantage to themselves than endure the very thoughts of seeing their Neighbours in any tolerable degree of equal Prosperity In allusion to which 't is no new thing to tell you That ever since the Reformation of Religion the Jesuits in their various shapes have left no means unessayed to propogate the several Sects and Schisms which during the last Age have like a general Contagion overspread this Island and undoubtedly gave the first rise to all the sad Catastrophe and dismal Consequences of the late bloody Civil Wars And even so since the Union of both Kingdoms under one Monarchy we have too too manifest and pregnant Proof of how far the Matchevilian Maxims of Policy have by the means of French Pensioners and Emissaries gain'd credit enough at the Court of England to improve the Remnants and Dregs of the ancient Feuds of both Kingdoms into an almost avowed Reason of State though a much mistaken one That it was the Interest of England to suppress and keep Scotland poor Which was indeed chiefly intended and contrived with design to leave England in the lurch and carry on the real Interest of France where this Maxim had its birth by regaining Scotland into their ancient League For the Sting and hidden Poyson of the Serpent lay in this That the People of Scotland from the natural consideration they must needs have of any severe Treatment or unreasonable and intollerable Exactions imposed upon them by their domineering Neighbours might in time be tempted like the Israelites in the Wilderness to murmur and look back into the Onions Melons Garlick and Flesh-pots of their old acquaintance Yet by the Influence of this Jesuitical Barbarous and Hellish Principle together with the general Corruption of such colleaguing and self-designing Ministers as have to the grief of these Nations been at the Helm of Affairs during those latter Reigns this poor Nation in particular hath been most unmercifully crampt and fetter'd in its natural Liberties both as to Religion Property Trade and indeed all the real Badges of a Free and independent Kingdom other than in shadow till the late Providential and Happy Revolution gave us not only a fair opportunity of reassuming all our ancient Freedoms and natural Liberties but also of extending the same in point of Trade far beyond those Limits which some of our Neighbours seem now unwilling to allow Us. And I would gladly offer it to the serious Consideration of any Honest Unbyass'd and Free-thinking English-man Whether upon His present Majesty's Accession to the Crown of England when Ireland was in a manner quite lopp'd off France making mighty Preparations for War all Europe invelop'd in almost unquenchable Flames and England it self not free from Intestine Divisions and Bosom Enemies who flatter'd themselves with the Hopes that Scotland would from the consideration of its being so long kept at Arm's-length be tempted to act by an Interest separate from that of England Whether I say upon condition of assurance then that we would follow England's Example in placing the Crown of this Realm upon the Heads of our present Gracious Sovereign and and His late Royal Consort of Blessed Memory when they fear'd our Demurring upon it England would not have willingly fulfilled and put us in possession of the long promis'd Union of both Nations and settled the same upon such an equal and lasting Foundation as that we might have freedom of Trading into the very Heart of their Plantations For how little soever the apparent Proportion be which our Nation may at present seem to bear on the Theatre of Publick Action as being in a manner wholly eclypsed by the refulgent and radiant Beams of England's more resplendent Greatness I may without Hyperbole justly say That as Matters then stood We had the Ballance of Europe in our Hands Yet all the Considerations we had in view of our own particular Interest and the Advantages which we might have made of that Opportunity soon gave way to the irresistible Zeal and Affection which we had for the Restorer of the Protestant Religion and common Liberties of Britain For lest that by any Delays in our Proceedings the Measures of England might be protracted We did in almost One Breath Declare the Throne Vacant our Selves a Free Independent State Their Royal Highnesses King and Queen of this Realm and war against all Their Majesty's Enemies as not in the least doubting but that such our generous and frank Proceeding with respect to our Neighbours at so critical a Juncture of Affairs might in due time reasonably plead for a grateful Resentment from the King and Parliament of England by an equally generous Condescension on their side
to our having the same freedom of Trade by which but a little time before the wisest and most leading Men of that Nation thought it their Interest to have secured our Affection And that this was the sence of the Court of England at that time needs no further Evidence than His Majesty's two successive Speeches to both Houses of His First Parliament wherein the consideration of an intire Union with Scotland was seriously recommended In order to which some Schemes were prepared and consulted by certain Noble Patriots of both Nations But no sooner had we in the interim solemnly consummated in manner aforesaid all that England could have either wish'd or fear'd from us on that Occasion but of a sudden all thoughts of such Union fell to the ground so that being left to chew our Cud upon that melancholy Proverb Post est occasio calva which in our Dialect may be render'd A True Scotchman is Wise behind-hand our next and only Remedy was to make the best of a bad Market In order to which we then Resolved to think of framing such wholsom and advantagious Lawes for the Advancement of our poor Trade as might not only rouze up and animate the depressed and often-disappointed Genius of our fellow-Natives but also invite and enduce Strangers more experienced in Trade to embarque upon the same bottom with us and to that end We did in the Third Session of this current Parliament Anno 1693 Pass a Preliminary Act conceived in general Terms for the Encouragement of Foreign Trade which you see narrated in the beginning of this last Act By the gracious and necessary Concessions of which we have a plain Demonstration through the Vertue of those Noble and worthy Patriots whom His Majesty's discerning Eye singled out of the Crowd of Pretenders to the Offices of State That our present King is not only Pater Patriae but Pater Patriarum and like the true Emblem of that Immense Deity whose Anointed he is diffuseth his Favours with a more unconfined and universal Influence than any of our late Kings of Britain Their natural Easiness of Temper giving many fatal Opportunities to the mercenary Ministers of those Times both to impose on their Masters and prey upon the Liberties of their fellow-Subjects whereas our present King doth not only penetrate into what is Just but hath also a Nobleness of Soul to execute with an impartial Hand what to him seemeth to be so And that the giving his Royal Sanction to this Act was the effect both of his Justice and Gratitude is plain from the natural Regard which in Reason we must needs suppose him to have had to our frank and seasonable Services when in themselves they were most Valuable and when indeed he stood most in need of them Obj. But you say the Out-cry is That these are such unprecedented Concessions and Exceptions as never were or ought to be granted by a Prince to any Society or Company of Traders in the World Ergo Hah Is the Hue and Cry got up then I am glad of it For certainly the Great the Grave and Wise Men of the Nation do never joyn in that Chorus But to be more serious 'T is true that these Concessions may seem somwhat strange to a People whose Wealth Capacity Naval Strength Foreign Possessions Plantations Forts and Universal Settlements want no more to carry on what Trade soever they please than to will and to execute But on the other hand if they look upon Scotland and consider it as in it self it is deficient to a degree of Extremity in all the necessary Qualifications of Trade above-recited they must own of course that nothing less than these Concessions and Exemptions could give this New Company a prospect of so much as a Possibility of ever grappling with such infinite and almost insuperable Difficulties as they and indeed all other Beginnings must necessarily encounter with so that if such Exemptions had not been granted we had as good have erected no Company And as to these Concessions being without Precedent I will not pretend to give an Instance of any that are exactly the same with the Privileges contained in this Act but if I let you see much greater I hope that may serve the turn Nor to do that need I go so far from hence as to search into the Records of other Nations such as France Holland Denmark and others who have given illimited Powers and vast Encouragements to their respective Tradeing Companies but even in Scotland when we could not be presumed to have had any great Notions of Trade about Thirty five Years past upon the Restauration of King Charles II. in his First Parliament and the several Sessions thereof before the French King had time to plant his Janizaries in the Court of England there were several Acts Pass'd in favour of Trade and Manufactories with Privileges and Exemptions far exceeding any in this Act with respect to the Purposes for which they were granted Mutatis Mutandis And that I may not seem to speak altogether without Book I shall give you an Instance of one for all namely the Act Pass'd in the Year 1661 for the Fishings and Erecting of Companies for Promoting the same which being too long to be transcribed I send you by way of Postscript a short Abstract of the most considerable Privileges and Exemptions therein contained as they stand in order in the Act it self and all these were Granted for Perpetuity Whereas all the most Important Concessions in this late Act are limited some to Ten some to Twenty one Years in which time God knows we must run very fast to come up with any of all our neighbouring Nations who have started so long before Us. Now let us further compare both the said Acts and the Purposes for which they were severally intended and then with respect to this last we must think of going we know not whither undergo the Danger of boysterous Storms and long Voyages with which we are not acquainted tye up our Stomachs to strict regular and unaccustomed Diets prepare against the Effects of quite contrary Climates and there purchase Plantations Collonies Settlements and build Forts c. Yet as to the Time when all this will happen he must be a wiser Man than I that can tell But as to the former Act for the Fishing c. all Matters thereunto relating were to be transacted in view of our own Doors and in our own Power But then you 'll ask me How it came to pass that this excellent Constitution for our Fishings has had no better Effect Why truly I 'll tell you For the very same Reason which may possibly prove the Overthrow of this New Undertaking which God forbid if we have no better luck in getting honester Men at the Head of it For the Dutch who have got most of their Wealth by Fishing in other Mens Waters looking upon us then with a jealous Eye found a way as it was then believ'd to
Spinners a ready way to ruin the Clothing Trade of England but not to set up the Linnen which whenever it thrives must have a better way than the Methods the Company takes But because some pretend this Company may be of good use to the Nation in laying a Foundation for a Linnen Manufactory for Argument sake allow it doth take Let us consider beside what hath been said before of injuring the Woollen Manufactory how it will affect the Kingdom in the two Pillars that support it that of the Rents of Land and the imploying our Ships and Men at Sea which are thought the Walls of the Nation For the Rents of Land they must certainly fall for that one Acre of Flax will imploy as many Hands the year round as the Wooll of Sheep that graze twenty Acres of Ground The Linnen Manufactory imploys few Men the Woollen most Weaving Combing Dressing Shearing Dying c. These Eat and Drink more than Women and Children and so as the Land that the Sheep graze on raiseth the Rent so will the Arable and Pasture that bears Corn and breeds Cattle for their Subsistence Then for the Employment of our Shipping it will never be pretended that we can arrive to Exportation of Linnen there are others and too many before us in that and the Truth is he that cannot thrive at his own Trade will hardly in that of another Mans. If we are beat out of our Inheritance the Woollen Manufactory by Foreigners over whom we have such Advantages in our Wooll Fullers-Earth and long continuance in the Trade it can be nothing less than a Miracle for us to take from them their Linnen Manufactory in which they have so much the Ascendant over us I shall end this part of my Discourse with the answer of a West Country Man to his Neighbour that asked what Voyage he had made in a Fishing at New Found-Land that proved not good I have made said he a brave Voyage as you may guess for I have sold my Bible and bought a Tobacco-Box Would it not be so to this Nation if they should change the Noblest Manufactory in the World for the poorest and most despicable So are those People in all parts of the World that are Imployed in the Linnen Manufactory which only thrives where the Country is crowded with Poor and Bread not to be had at the charge of the Parish where the Tenant is but a Vassal to his Lord and there is no power in any to relieve but in the Lord who is a stranger to the practice It is a mistake in them that believe the Linnen Manufactory in Holland to be the Product of their own Country it is only the easie part that of Weaving and Whit'ning most of their Thred comes from Saxony where there is both Laws and Necessity for Industry both of which one as the blessing of God the other by the impunity of our Government this Kingdom is free from And thus you have my Opinion and Grounds for it that if it were possible to raise a Linnen Manufactory it is not profitable to the Kingdom but of most dangerous Consequence to put that in the Heads of the Poor that may alter the Imployment of their Hands I know some Countries where they would have ill Entertainment that should on any pretence change the Hands of the People and this at least gives a pretence to the Spinners of Woollen to stand on their terms with their Masters I now come to your third Enquiry My Opinion of the Company for the Linnen Manufactory of Ireland and for that I have the same value as for this of England but for different Causes and they are these First Though it must be allow'd that Ireland every thing being consider'd is the aptest part of the World for a Linnen Manufactory yet under its present Misfortunes I cannot see how it can be great in it and that which may be set going in the Kingdom towards so good a Work a Company seems the ready way to blast for at the first Planting of a Country and as Ireland now stands so it must be considered every Man comes with his design in his Head some perhaps with a little Mony in their Pockets lay a Scheme for making Linnen Cloth they intend to settle themselves where they may find most Spinners and spend their time in Riding the Country round to incourage them and buy up the Linnen Yarn These Undertakers have their Friends and Partners in England to whom they send over their Linnen and have back in Returns Tobacco for by the way it is to be noted they of Ireland are forbidden any but what comes directly from England Hops and English Manufactories This now is a Trade and probable incouragement to make a growing Manufactory that England may gain by and this way was begun in the latter end of Charles the Second's Reign with hopeful success But here these honest Men will meet with an invincible Enemy with their Standard the Broad Seal set up giving notice that they are the Men that will incourage and set on foot the Linnen Manufactory and this being Proclaimed puts an end to our several English Undertakers and Foreign supplies of Poor that might be drawn to Ireland by the Incouragement of a Universal Freedom and Liberty in setting up the Linnen Manufactory But however a Company may operate to the driving out the poor that are already in that Business of Linnen I know not but sure I am there is Experience of other Places that Companies keep out new Stores But the Company will tell you they hinder none from working or buying Linnen this would not be believed if they had not the Broad Seal to tell us so They are the first Men I ever heard of that were at the Charge of passing a Patent only to tell us they intended to do no Body wrong nor proceed in the Trade they incorporate themselves in whatever Belief the first part of their Declaration may gain I leave the Squires of the Company I mean those that pay the Reckoning to judge but for the last part that they intend not to proceed in the Trade most believe and yet they equally do Mischief as if they did since in the Opinion of the World these Men that incorporate get great Privileges great Men to head them and of their Fraternity raise great Sums of Money of one half of the Company to be admitted in with those that pay nothing but a Trifle for a Pretence I say all this gives Ground for honest Men that know not the Original Design to believe that they intended to do as much mischief as they have power for that is proceed in buying Linnen Yarn c. 2. As the time is most improper for setting up a Linnen Manufactory in Ireland so are the Methods and Constitutions of Companies in Ireland destructive to both Kingdoms Ireland I take to stand in its Relation to England much in the same Nature with our Foreign