abuses How much necessary may it then be supposed that there should be very good incouragement given to such honest publique spirited men as should diligently enquire after such sinister practices and as it was before touched those Smuglers are not only well acquainted with some Attorneys and Smugglers are befriended Clerks who will either use undue practices or make delaâ—es but they make good interest with the Under-Sheriffs in the Countyes where they drive their Trade and then these Undersheriffs also have strange tricks and delays in their returns in which some of them will take part with the Offenders instead of executing the Law against them so that such Offenders are incouraged and by this means it is that our Wooll and Fullers Earth and other prohibited Goods are exported so frequently out of the Kingdom and Forrein prohibited Goods and Merchandize imported so that our Manufacture is in a great measure gone to decay other Countries are greatly enriched who also live at a lower rate and work cheaper than our People in England whereby our Trade is much taken off in Forrein parts and our poor live idle with the other inconveniences consequent thereto as hath been already spoken to By this means it is in good part that so much of the Treasure is exhausted Treasure of the Kingdom is exhausted and drawn away to other Lands the general complaint now being what shall we do there is no Money stirring and Lands are reduced to a lower value than formerly they were Now though all these Mischeifes do not flow in at one time and place yet it is like a Pond that is soon filled with many Springs when as one Spring would do it in length of time that which may seem to be at first but a small Evil will in process of time with constant Practice destroy the happiness of the whole Kingdom as a little Leak if not taken notice of and amended will in time sink the greatest Unfaithful Officers Ship or empty the greatest Cistern even so will Offenders unfaithful Officers being the only persons in trust with those affairs fill the Kingdom with Forrein prohibited goods and commodities and empty it of our Wooll and Fullers Earth with other prohibited goods which evil Practices are now so frequent that if not timely prevented by our Ministers of State our Kingdom will be soon filled with Poverty and emptied of Wealth and Happiness by this loss of our Trade and Manufacture which now is in so great danger of sinking and that without all hope unless those that guide the Helm do steer the great Concernments thereof into some secure Harbor and there amend what may by searching be found amiss by displacing such Officers as have proved in the least unjust either by conniving at the Offenders or abetting and assisting them to the great discouragement of those that are faithful in their Imployments and that care also be taken that all due encouragement and countenance be shewed to such as are found to be just faithful and exact observers of the Lawes that are extant against such Smugglers and abusive persons And without doubt there is much Wooll Shipped off from Ireland annually unto forreign parts which might be Wooll out of Ireland as well wrought up in the countrey among themselves there being no want of people and such as for the most part live a lazy kind of life as I have credibly been informed or elce their Wooll if they work it not up might soon be transported over into England in twenty four hours time or thereabout with a fair wind and be wrought up in England which would turn to a treble account of profit as hath been already demonstrated but this I shall refer to others that are more knowing in the Irish trade but I am very apt to beleive the reports that I have heard concerning great quantities of Wooll carryed from thence both to France and Holland but to lay aside the informations of others although very well worthy of belief in all points I shall according to my promise in my Epistle speak to those things of which I have had some large experience I was a Clothier my self and Apprentice to the Trade many years and afterwards set up for my self and followed my Trade many years thriving very well thereby till about nineteen years agoe that I was burnt out of all and put upon the adventures of fortune and taking notice of the occurrances of affairs I did find large testimonies of the decay of Trade with the occasions thereof but while I did keep the Trade going I have rode far and near to get Spinsters and other work folkes and gave great Wages as also did all other Clothiers and yet could not procure half so many as we would have imploy'd but suddenly after our disorders and disregard to our Lawes as aforesaid the Market fell and many Clothiers were forced to leave off their Trades because Clothiers leave off they could not vend their commodity All those poor people formerly so imploy'd were ready to starve for want of bread in and about those places where the Clothiers left off and failed and every day it grew worse and worse and those confusions among us increased more more that very few men were of one mind and hardly any at all that minded the publique good but now some thoughts are busied of restoring things to their Lustre and trade to what it was before the decay Some wise men have been of the opinion that the abating the interest of money would greatly increase and advance trade and very probable it might be a good lift to it Others again being out of hopes of the recovery of the former trade think men must imploy their wits and knowledge in the invention of some new sorts of Manufacture and some covetous wretches have been very ready to declare their opinion that the increase of the interest of money and the abatement of Servants and Workmens wages to which adding great frugality and good husbandry would make the Kingdome to be happy and flourishing again and many there are that make it their business and study to outwit and destroy other men and under pretence of honesty and many by clandestine means swallow up the good and pious gifts of our Ancestors belonging to the Church and to the Poor for in this our Iron age men have left off to do good and loft their obedience to the Lawes of the Land and have ceased from the exercise of those two unspeakable graces Faith and Charity And therefore truly I fear we have little hopes of happiness or being restored to our Pristine flourishing condition Kingdome flourished under King Charles the first till we do return to our old obedience and exercise our selves in love and good works fearing God and honouring the King and not giving our minds to change but let every one endeavour to amend one and strike off from the error of his own waies and
Imploy'd comfortably to provide for themselves for it is not the numerous multitude of people in a Kingdom or Common Wealth that makes it to be Poor that they cannot live one by another but the contrary if all were imploy'd and set at work as there is imployment enough to be had they would prove the especial meanes to make a Kingdom Rich as may be clearly instanced by the Dutch how many scores of thousands of their Poor people are imployed about the Herring Fishing which makes them very Rich and brings in yearly near two Millions of Money or other commodities necessary for the Land which are equivalent to Money besides what they spend in the Land this may seem to some to be a thing incredible but I am able to make it cleare to any intelligent Person Thus then by the neglect of our own Manufactures of our Wooll flowes in like an inundation the poverty of the Land and hence arise those sad complaints that fill every Poverty for want of Imploy mans Eares throughout the Kingdom Alas What shall we do to live we have no Imployment for if the Trade of the world abroad for Cloath and Stuffes c. Be supplied from other Lands which make their Cloath and Stuffes of our English Wooll being Clandestinely Transported into Forreign parts our English Trade for that commodity must answerably decay and if the English Merchant hath not vent for that commodity abroad to other Nations the Country Cloathier must strike off in a great measure and consequently many of the Poor work folkes are answerably taken off from their imployments which formerly for many years they had been exercised in and so having no work they get no Money and so are reduced to a begging condition or worse these things are to be discerned clearly without the help of a Perspective-Glass by those that are in any measure intelligent in Politique affaires Thus the profit of the Poor that they should get to themselves for a maintenance is lost and the profit gotten by their labour to the Kingdom is also lost in the General Profit lost and this is brought to pass by the quicksightedness and diligence of our Neighbour Nations who finding dayly the sweetness of the Trade and so exceedingly enriching themselves by our commodity Viz. Wooll doe endeavour more and more to carry it on to their own advantage whiles we in England in the mean time neglect our own opportunities and advantages which do so clearely lie before us From what hath been before hinted doth necessarily Loss to the Kingdom follow the vast dammage and prejudice done to this our own Nation and Kingdom by the exportation of our Wooll for the dammage doth evidently appear thus Had not the French our English Wooll to work withall they could not work up their own Wooll into any Manufactures that should be acceptable or saleable in other Countries no nor in their own Land but they would be ready as formerly to buy our English commodities but now having our English Wooll so frequently among them privately gotten from England or Ireland they mix their own Wooll with it and work up two or three Packs of their course Wooll with one pack of ours so that every Pack of English Wooll exported from us and carried to France is treble loss if not more to England and on the contrary so much profit to France Thus then any man may perceive how Rich other Countries grow by our means by obtaining our commodity Other Countries grow Rich. to work upon and there People also do generally live at a lower rate and work cheaper by the day or otherwise than our People in England do by which means they may afford to under-sel us as usually they do at a Forreign Undersel us Market so that hereby they do acquire to themselves both good credit as well as great profit and this Originally as aforesaid is by our commodity which if it was carefully looked after by the Officers of the Customes in the out-ports cheifly there might be speedily a good stop put to this their Trade for if they got not our wool from England Custom Officers unfaithful or Ireland they could not go on with this their Trade of Cloath and Stuffes but the great negligence or unfaithfullness of some Officers belonging to the Customes is the Principal occasion of the exportation of our wooll into Forreign parts and consequently of the loss of the Trade of the Nation in so great a measure in this perticuler from whence followes clearely and undeniably the poverty of the Kingdom in general For one Trade depends upon another as it is in the body natural so it is in the body politique in the body natural one member depends upon another and is serviceable to the other by a natural Harmony and Correspondence even so doth one Trade or occupation closely and necessrily depend upon another here in England and such a connection there is in this point that if one chiefe Trade fail very many also do fall with it more or less according to their proximity or remotenes from it in their dependance and this may be applied cheifly and principally to the Trade Cloathing Trade Failing of Cloathing and the Manufacture of wooll in other respects how many several Trades are there that must of necessity depend on the Cloathing Trade as Card-makers Many other Trades fail also Spinners Weavers Fullers Dyers Cloath-workers Packers and those Trades which make Tooles and instruments for these are not also the Farmers at work in the mean time to provide bread for all these People and their Families and breeding up his Oxen Sheep Hogs c. That they may have Meat to eate are not the Merchants and Sea-men imploy'd in a great measure by this Trade and these last mentioned the Sea-men are the men who principally and cheifly bring in the wealth of the Nation the Gentry of the Land and all sorts of Shop-keepers are the receivers of this profit which the Sea-men by their adventures and industry do bring into the Nation all sorts of Lawyers Phisitians and Clergy-men are receivers and get their Money by their Tongues while the Adventurous Merchant and undaunted Marriner carries on the Trade of the Nation exporting our native staple commodities of the which through Gods abundant goodness this Land of ours is so well stored in several perticulers as might be instanced in Tin Lead Cloath Stuffes Stockins Herrings of which might be an hundred times as many if look't after and Sale enough for them too at Forreign Markets but the Dutch run away with the profit of these goods making two Barrels for our one Pilchards are a very good commodity of which we do get good store in the West Country and they do bring in good profit to the Nation either in Gold or Silver or such commodities as the Kingdom stands in need off By what hath been said it plainly appears how from the highest to the
lowest there is a necessary dependance of one imployment upon another and the falling off from one general Trade occasions the ruin of many inferior Tradesmen who had subsistence for themselves and Families thereby and this in our Kingdom of England is seated principally and cheifly in the Trade of Cloathing and the Manufacture of Wooll So that upon the failing of this Trade of which there is too great a cessation and decay in many parts of this Kingdom there comes in inevitably such a general loss to the whole Nation for first and most principally the King loseth hereby and that extreamly not only because his The King Looseth Subjects are not set at work and so are unabled to live comfortably and to pay such Taxes and impositions as are requisite for his Majesties support and defence against his powerful Enemies Nor in that the Honor and splendor of the Kingdom is hereby so much advanced and promoted as it might be but also because his Majesty looseth so great a revenue which would accrue to him in his Customes if the Cloathing Trade was carried on with Vigor so that the effectual carrying on or desisting from the Cloathing Trade is of very high Concernment and Importance to the King in profit or loss and so it runs through the meaner sort of People also as hath allready in part been spoken to For what Customes come in Yearly to his Majesty concerning The Kings Customâ—s the Manufactures of Wooll in its several and perticular sorts of the Old and New Drapery in all the Varieties of Stuffes made now a days and Stockins by being Transported to Forreign parts and what store of Money and other goods equivalent to Money being necessary commodities for the Kingdom do they bring in again for our Cloath Stuffs c. so sold or bartered and what Customs again do all those imported goods bring into His Majesties Coffers may not be difficult to be computed besides the imployment of so many Ships and Seamen and training up young Seamen than which nothing in this age of ours is more necessary to be taken care about for there is I believe the greatest want of this sort of men in the Kingdom for although there may be enough found in the Kingdom to Man His Majesties Royal Navy and it may be some to spare yet it is believed there are not neer enough for His Majesties Service and for Merchants service too which may many times be carried on both together as occasion may require And if we do but look back a little to a few Generations past we may soon find what high Advantages have accrued to His Majesty in His Customs and to the Kingdom in general by the Cloathing trade being lively managed by the The Companies of Merchants Merchants and what worthy and noble Companies of Merchants have been Associated and Incorporated whos 's Trading hath for the most part consisted in Woollen cloaths as in the Merchant Adventurers Trading to the east-East-lands and in what esteem their Agents and Factors were in Forreign parts and how Rich and great their Stock and Treasure hath been in so much that they have been able to lend a very considerable supply and assistance to the King or Queen upon any Occasion and Particularly and Eminently may it be spoken to their Honor their Assistance of Queen Elizabeth of most happy Memory in the year Eighty Eight and since upon any Occasion of the like nature Neither is here to be omitted that company which is called the East-land Company whose principal Trading also consists East land Company in the same commodity of Woollen-Cloaths by which they do furnish all those Eastern Countries about the Baltick-Sea and to Russia by which means also our discoveries of those Northern parts of the World have bin made very Evident and well known to Us to the great Advancement of our Navigation to the Northward as far as Green Land and of late years hath given occasion of that Discovery about Hudson's Bay commonly now called the Northwest Passage made by that stout and adventurous Seaman Captain Zachariah Gillam But the main and chief Trades of all are the Turkey and Turkey Company East-India Trades and the Riches by those Companies procured chiefly by Woollen-cloaths So highly Advantagious to the King in His Customs to the Companies in particular and to the whole Kingdom in the general as is not a thing easily to be known or computed How the Turkey Company in particular by their discreet management of the Trade in those parts with that commodity of Woollen-cloaths chiefly do bring into England all the rich Goods from all parts of the Streights and how the East-India Company by their Trade in the same commodity East-India Company in a great measure do purchase the Rich commodities of India Persia China and the South-seas with the Odoriferous Drugs of Arabia and all such Goods as those countries afford for necessary Use and Delight although of late years the Dutch have wrought us out of a great part of the South-Sea Trade of which more might be largely The Dutch have spoiled our trade in the South seas spoken concerning their usage of our English-men in those parts but that it hath bin already sufficiently laid out in Print to the view of the English Nation And to add a little to what was before intimated what excellent Good ships built yearly Ships are annually built and prepared for the services of these two Honorable Companies whose imployment as aforesaid is principally for the Exportation of our Woollen-cloaths and if we do look back but to thirty years past four or five Ships of the Turk's men of War durst not adventure upon one of our Smirna Ships and also how worthy is it of Consideration to take notice how many of our best Seamen Seamen bred up and Artists are bred up in those imployments by the two last worthy Companies Imployment So that besides what Revenue is brought to the King in his Customs by these great Sea-Trades of these worthy Companies mentioned both for the Exportation of their cloaths c. and the Importation of all manner of Goods by this Stock so purchased abroad in Forreign parts our Merchants are grown marvellous Merchants grow rich Rich in so much that they are able upon any necessary Occasion that His Majesty hath for Money to furnish him at Can lend the King money a weeks warning and that which is worthy the noting also our Seamen are grown of late years to be the most famous in the world to the great glory honor and safety of His Majesty and the Kingdom and all this is evident by what hath bin said to arise chiefly next to the blessing of Heaven from the Manufacture of our Wool in England by our own people which how much it ought to be incouraged and of what high concernment it is to the Honor Wealth and Security of the Kingdom let the Sober and
Judicious consider And if I should adventure to give my opinion freely touching the matter in hand I am very much induced to believe that were it not for the Cloathing-trade which imploys so many Ships and Men into several other Countries and for the value of our Cloaths bring their Goods by which means the poor also are set on work that a great part of the Traffick and Commerce of the world would fail and this Trade as formerly intimated is and may be most readily roundly and advantagiously driven in England were we but so pollitique and carefully as to keep our Wooll to our selves and within the King's Dominions of England and Ireland and to set the people closly to their work again And before I do leave the Argument I have ingaged in let there be considered the good quantities of Cloath and Stuffs English Cloath and Stuffs serve all the world that did go over continually to Holland and Flanders and by them there dispersed otherways the large quantities of Stuffs and Bays that are sent over to Portugall and thence Transported to Brazilia c with a very considerable number of Cloaths and Stuffs that go to Spain and by the Spaniards Transported to the West-Indies all over the good quantities of Perpetuanies and such like Stuffs that are carried out for Guinea together of late days with the large stores of Broad-cloaths Kersies Sarges Cottons Pennistons Duffels or Hogs Transported to our own Plantations of New-England and Virginia with what also must supply Barbadoes Jamaica and our other Islands in the West-Indies and forreign Plantations all which are the manufacture of Wooll Clothing more worth to England The Premises considered I hope I may make bold to say that setting aside all the rest of the Rich and Staple commodities of England which nevertheless are as good as any Country can parrallel in the world as Tinn Lead Iron c. this very commodity produced from our Wooll is of than the commodity of any Country whatsoever more worth and value to England that is to say will bring in more profit to the Kingdom of England than all the Silks or rich commodities of any Country whatsoever Yea doubtless more than all the Spices of the South-Seas yea I do believe and I have reason enough to lead me so to do than all the Spaniards Gold and Silver Mines in America for none of these I am throughly perswaded can any way equallize that yearly Revenue that doth or may come into the Kingdom of England by this one commodity diversly made up of our Wooll Neither doth any Nation in the world get so much by any of their Goods as England doth by this to the great enriching and advancement of the Merchant and the Companies Stocks trading and adventuring in these goods to Sea Encrease of Seamen the enriching of His Majesty the encrease of our strength in Shipping and consequently the breeding and training up of Seamen and increase of them wherein as before intimated a great part of the welfare safety of the Kingdom doth consist in these our days and the incouragement of whom is of great concernment to the Kingdom as the case now stands with England and her neighboring Nations or as the case may hereafter fall out to be for our Land is an Island as is known well enough not only to its Inhabitants but to all Europe and we have not nor cannot have Castles and Garrisons round about the whole kingdom by the Sea-side to beat off a forreign Enemy and to keep him from landing and invading our Nation for in fair weather in Summer The King's care for the Security of the Nation time there may be landing in hundreds of places about the Kingdom where there is neither Town nor Castle neer but such is His Majesties great prudence and care for the safety of his Land and People that he doth highly esteem and promote the affairs of Shipping more than ever any of his Royal Predecessors have done well knowing that his Ships and Seamen are the strength and security next to the protection of the Almighty of his whole kingdom I shall now endeavor to give some particular account but very briefly of the Profits arising to England by working up our Wooll into Cloth every two pounds of Wooll which is worth about twenty pence will make a yard of Karsey worth five or six shillings and every four pounds of Wooll worth about three shillings four pence will make a yard of broad-cloth worth eleven or twelve shillings so Profit by working up wooll that two thirds is the least profit that doth arise by putting our Wool into Manufactures which doth amount to above 230 pounds sterling profit in every Tun of Wooll so wrought up accounting twenty hundred English wait to the Tun so that if we should suppose but an hundred Tuns of Wooll transported out of the Kingdome in a year to France unwrought it will amount to 22400ll sterling which is so much clear loss to the Kingdome and trebble so much profit to France by their working up three times so much of their own with ours as hath been formerly intimated besides it is worthy of consideration that so many of our poor lye Poor idle idle and lose their imployment being ready to perish for want of necessary food notwithstanding the great plenty in the Land and no Kingdome hath the like advantages for the imployment of the poor in any Trade or occupation within doors whatsoever as we have for the poor in his Majesties dominion of England about the old and new Drapery and yet those poor that had their hands full of work in one kind or another according to what they were most accustomed either by sorting of wooll mixing breaking carding spinning spoling quilling weaving making of cards picking of â—esels and many other imployments concerning the working up wooll into cloth which have kept many thousands of men women and children at work who knew not how to get a penny another way but by this way Poor get Money if Imployed of working could in some comfortable manner live When the trade of clothing was driven roundly one family that doth not get twelve pence a week now have then received twelve fifteen or eighteen shillings a week which money went round to the Farmer for provision or to the Shopkeeper for necessaries for their Families and this again to the Merchant or to the Landlords according to each man's Trade and correspondence So that the profit arising by the working up of our Wooll into cloth or Stuffs here in England by our own people is almost unspeakable and is the great and chief wheel in the Kingdome to set all others at work as hath been already in several Trades mentioned and more do attend upon it when it is made into cloth as the Clothworkers Drawers Dyers Fullers Packers Merchants and Seamen But then to enter into the consideration of the contrary what an
goods are brought in among us to the great injury and undoing of many Tradesmen as Silk and Ribbon Weavers and other Artificers in and about London and several parts of the Kingdome which occasions the great decay and loss of our own Manufacture with the loss of the imployment of the Poor to the ruine of many thousands of men women and children that have had their dependance cheifly if not only on those Merchandises which are dayly Imported from France Flanders and other Sea-ports secretly into this our Kingdome There are many of our Sea-Port Towns and several Creeks and holes along the South-shore of England besides Dover Rumney Fairlee Hastings Foleston Rye Bredhempston c. where these things are practised and indeed in the Summer time when it is fair weather goods may be Landed on the Shoar and Shipped off from the Shoar on Vessels all along the Coast almost from Dover to the Lands end in Cornwal and many times there are both brought ashore and Wooll Shippâ—d off carried off such Goods as are Prohibited both wayes both for coming into the Land and carrying out of the Land and this done in a fair night and the goods brought in lye sheltred in Countreymens houses which can hide and secure them till there be a convenient opportunity to dispose otherwise of them with safety and these Countreymen help them to Horses to carry them to London or other Markets Neither do I here mention any thing of the North-Coast because I have hitherto been altogether unacquainted with those parts although I have reason to beleive that the same Smuggling Trade is also practised in those quarters for their Coast lying over against Holland doubtless the people there are as ready to comply privately in forbidden tradeing with the Dutch as along the South-Coast they are with he French notwithstanding there is sufficient Provision made in our Lawes against such sinister and evil Practices But about Kent and Sussex are most frequently imported Prohibited goods from France and Flanders and they are goods of such value that a single Horseman may arry five or six hundred pounds worth about him and yet it shall hardly be known that he hath any thing with him Now if these things were well considered what quantities of goods are privately imported and so as that they are seldome discovered with what also comes into the River of Chatham River Medway alias Chatham which lies about twenty seven miles from London by Land and the most convenient River in England I beleive to Land goods privately it would easily appear what loss it is to his Majesty in perticular in his Customes which by these and such like Practies are stollen and in general to the Trade of the whole Kingdome It is also well known that those which steal the Duties of the King's Customes and do Import and Export Prohibited Goods and Commodities are none of the meanest persons in the places where they dwell but such who oftentimes have great interest with the Magistrates about those places and seeing they get their money so easily by not paying the Kings due Custome for their goods as honest Merchants do and being Purse-proud do not value what they spend to ingratiate themselves into the favour of such Gentlemen as Smugglâ—rs mâ—ke maâ—y friends have authority as aforesaid and then make it their business by the assistance of such Magistrates and their countenance to destroy all such as shall discover their fraudulent dealings or elce by some small Bribes to stop their mouths that so these Cheats may avoid the penalty of the Law and prevent others from the future from discovering their doings The King's Custome houses ought to be so many locks and Keys to the Kingdome to let what is warrantable and lawful to come in and to keep out what is forbidden its entrance and to prevent the great abuses that are so frequently complained of both in the Exportation of our Prohibited goods and the Importation of Forreign goods forbidden by Law and if the Officers were but as vigilant and faithful as they ought to be they might easily and readily prevent these enormities with their care and diligence which are so dayly practised But it is too well known how remiss and careless the Blank Certificates a Cheat. Officers are and neglectful of their duties in many of the out-Ports especially that it is a thing very usual with Smugglers to get blank Certificates with the Seal of the Custome-house to take up their Bonds that are given for the true delivery Exchanging the Master of the Vissel of their goods at some other Port in England and moreover there is a great cheat in the shifting Masters of such Vessels as take in such goods they will oftentimes exchange the Master before he goes out of the Liberty of the Port where the goods were Shipped and yet if all these things fail and their coast Bonds come to be forfeited and put into Suit it is not to be exprest the delayes shifts and deceitful tricks that are practised by some undersheriffs and their Deputies in their returns and in the Execution of the Law which ought to be done both with speed and justice but both these are by such persons omitted and these kind of doings do highly incourage these offenders in their sinful practices I have also observed that the Farming the King's Customes Farming the King's Customes hath been an occasion of great prejudice to the trade of the Kingdome and the publique good for when the weal and good of the whole Nation comes in competition with the Injury to the Kingdome present profit of the Farmers they are apt to resolve the question for their own advantage permitting Prohibited goods to be Landed so long as the due Customes for them come into their Coffers and the under-Officers knowing what the Farmers their Masters do are very apt to learn the trade to let pass our goods out of the Land that are also prohibited and those Smuggling Merchants that deal in such kind of wares can easily find out the blind side of such Officers that will be bribed to wink at such their deceitful practises such an unfaithful Officer shall be highly commeâ—ded among these theevish Merchants for a brave fellow one that knows his business and for a very civil person that will do a Merchant a kindness upon occasion Thus evil is called good and good is stiled evil as I said before those Officers that Springs to fill us with Forreign goods are faithful to King and Countrey are called Knaves Troublesome fellowes evil Neighbours c. these the honest good men ' c. Good Lord what a pass are we come to in this Nation people account it no sin to steal from the King and now a daies those that practice such things have changed the terme it is not by them called stealing Custome but saving custome for my part I am of the opinion that he that steals Custome from
the King to the value of twenty shillings deserves to be punished as well as he that steals so much from any other man For as I heard a Scholler once a reasoning either it is this or that c. so I say here either Custome is the Kings due or it is not but no man dares be so impudent as in words to deny it but they must needs acknowledge it a truth that it is his due and if so why then do they not give to Caesar the things that are his according to the Commandement of our Saviour and the Commandement of the King and Parliament it being established by Law and constituted for the publique good and the general advancement of the Trade of the Nation and such Officers as will not comply with these sort of people to cheat the King are called Fooles men that do not know their business but if another had that Office he would make something of it c. but such men minding the faithful and conscionable discharge of their duty to God to the King and Kingdome with the blessing of God live better and do a thousand times more good than others and may be principal Instruments to make the Kingdome happy and flourishing I have had discourse with some persons who have had the thoughts of getting a Pattent to put the Laws into Execution that are against the Transportation of Wooll and other Pattent against Transporting Wooll prohibited commodities but I can hardly think they would be careful and diligent in that imployment except they should reap a considerable profit for their labour how should they expect to ballance their expence I refer to the censure of the judicious except it be by conniving at or do more harm than good compounding with the Offenders so that by such a design as this the transgressors may be encouraged to sin more and more for if such Patentees should too much discourage that sort of people that carry off the Wooll c. to other Nations who are the only men that must bring grifts to their Mill it would be as ridiculous a thing as for Lawyers to perswade people to peace and by that means lose their Practice and it is generally beleived that there would be more Prohibited goods transported then than what have been before if the care for the putting the Lawes into Execution were once committed to Pattentees for as in other cases of the same nature the love of Money is so natural and money so much hunted after that it may be acquired that the minding of putting the Lawes into Execution and men doing faithfully and uprightly their duty is not a thing now a dayes at all regarded or taken into consideration as it ought to be But I hope that his Majesty with all the Peers of the Realm and all others are made in some good measure sensible of the great concernement of Trade and the sad effects and consequents of exporting our Wooll Fullers earth c. as also of the idleness of our poor people occasioned by the loss of forreign Markets for our woollen Manufactures that I think it is high time for all Loyal Subjects to give their utmost assistance to discover all Offenders and make them manifest in their kind and for all Superiors to give their just assistance that the Lawes may be put into a speedy and severe execution against all Delinquents as soon as made visible In the dayes of King Edward the third formerly spoken of and since to the times of our late unhappy confesions the Trade of Clothing made the Kingdome flourish for many years together and doubtless would do so again if our Lawes were but put into Execution and every one were obliged to discover and make manifest the Transgressors for this is not a business for two or three men to do let them imploy themselves with all endeavours imaginable but the eyes of all men must be about this matter tending to such a Reformation and the Courts of Judicature must be expeditious and severe in the administration of Justice against such Offenders when once convicted and let not one of them be spared who deserve to be punished without mercy because for a little private advantage they do their utmost to bring ruine on the whole kingdome I could also declare other things that might be very assistant to the increase of Trade and the prosperity of the Kingdome which is not so convenient to be made publique before it be debated among the Clothiers and Tradesmen It hath pleased his Majesty to plant such Commissioners now for the management of his Customes that it is hoped they will do much good especially in the regulation of the Out-Ports concerning those notorious evil practises which have been continually done among them and for the encouraging of those Officers that are honest and faithful if they should be troubled at any time or be any wayes damnified about lawful seizures by reason of Actions brought against them that they shall be releived by the Commissioners and the charges that may arise in such cases at the Law to be born by the common stock I could say something for the Staplers though not much Concerning Staplers Quaere 1. because I cannot find by our Lawes that any such people were in those dayes when the Trade and Manufacture of Wooll was first brought into England and yet Wooll was sent to the Staples and all the Manufacturers thereof had those sorts that suited best for their trade and we got and kept the whole trade of our English wooll and of other Countries to our selves in this Kingdome and had the command of the forreign Markets which was the occasion of the first setling all those Companies as hath been formerly and briefly set forth and I doubt not but that those Staplers will set a gloss upon their business and without question their money doth speak much for them lying for the most part in and about London so near to the Fountain of the Lawes yet I do verily beleive those people have much to answer for as to the ruine of many poor people occasioned by their Exportation of Wooll beyond Sea by which evil practice the Trade of the kingdome is in a great measure lost as hath been set forth already something largely by reason whereof many of our poor people in the kingdome are ready to perish for want of Bread notwithstanding the great plenty in the Land and this is because they want work I should lose time further to complain seeing all people are experimentally sensible of the loss and decay of Trade to the great disadvantage of the Nobility and Gentry in the Land as also to the great detriment of the Farmer and Merchant although indeed the Poor are most pinchingly sensible hereof throughout the King's Dominions and hence ariseth the want of Money the thing by all men complained of and the fall of Rents occasioned thereby I shall now proceed by way of Quaery to