I. HE that duly conſiders the Quantity and Quality of our Engliſh Wooll will readily acquieſce in the Opinion of our Anceſtors, who term'd it The Flower of the King's Grown; The Dowry of the Kingdom; The Chief Revenue of the Kings; The Gold of our Ophir, and the Indies of England: It affects all Conditions and Callings of Men amongſt us, from the higheſt Peer to the loweſt Peaſant.

II. The Quantity of our Wooll is ſo Comprehenſive, that were it ſecured to Our Selves, induſtriouſly manag'd in its full Manufcture, and Exported by an Engliſh Merchandize and Navigation; it would give Imployment to ſo great a Number of People, that we ſhould ſoon become the Glory of the whole World, and be able to ballance the Affairs of all Europe.

III. Its Quality is more excellent, God and Nature has herein ſeemingly conſpired for a ſuitable Accommodation to all Ranks and Degrees of People, in the different goodneſs of ſeveral Counties Wooll, which is capable to be improved to any uſe, for the Benefit and Ornament of the Body in a great Variety of Fancy, and true Merit, from the thickeſt Drabb to the thinneſt Crape, branching it ſelf into various Occupations, which produce a wonderful Variety of manufactures, ſuitable to all Seaſons of the Year at Home, and the more different Climates abroad.

IV. By this Excellent Commodity we are able to Outdo our Neighbours in all Merchandizes abroad. In what Eſteem have our Engliſh Factories liv'd in at Hambro, Flanders, Holland and Dantzick in former times? And what Eſtates have been brought home to our Engliſh Nation? And how are we now declined? Near expiring at Hambro; quite extinct in Flanders, and very few Engliſh Merchants in Holland or Dantzick that reap any Benefit by our Golden-Fleece; and no great number at Home; and I think, I may truly ſay, That the late Growth of France has been chiefly owing to the Advantages they have gained this Thirty Five Years laſt paſt by our Engliſh Wooll.

V. To illuſtrate this Matter, I will compute (with all poſſible exactneſs) the Loſs to our nation by one Pack of our fineſt Kemb'd Wooll Exported into France (large quantities of which have been Kemb'd at Canterbury and other Places, and then carried into France and Holland) by which we may make an Eſtimate of our whole Loſs in its due Proportion.

  l. s. d. One Pack containing Twelve Score of our fineſt Kemb'd Wooll, I compute to be worth at this time 030 00 00 The Spinning of this into the fineſt Worſted, coſt Five Shillings per pound. 060 00 00 Four Ounces of this Worſted thus Spun, will make a Pair of Hoſe, worth Five Shillings the Knitting 240 00 00 This Pack ſo Knit, will make Eighty Dozen of Hoſe, which pay the King 7½ per Dozen Cuſtom 002 10 00 The Dying of theſe Hoſe, partly with materials of our own Growth, 000 00 00 the Cuſtom of Foreign Dy-Stuffs to the King, and the Freight, is a conſiderable Article of Value, tho difficult to fix at a certain Sum: And France hath had but little leſs Advantage in our courſer Wooll; being inabled by one Pack of ours, to work up two of their own into Manufactures of a bet ter Quality.

VI. The Imployment to their People, and loſs to ours (which is very conſiderable in ſo great a quantity of Wooll, an Account being taken of above Thirty Thouſand Packs which were Landed in one Year at Three Ports in France) I take to be but half our Loſs: For 'tis evident, as the French increas'd in their Woollen-Manufactures at Home, they prevail'd in their Merchandizes and Factories Abroad, particularly in Spain, which hath been their moſt gainful Trade; and by this means got themſelves into a Fabrick of Spaniſh Cloth, which doth hugely interfere with out Intereſt at Foreign Markets. Altho Spaniſh Woolls are as free for their Money as ours; yet were they confin'd to the Linens of their own Nation, or any other product of France, to procure them, their Merchants in Spain would make to great Figure in their Sortments. The long Wooll of England and Ireland in its variety of Bays, Perpetuana's, Stockins Uſe, which is no way to be equal'd by any other part of the World (and ſo agreeable to the Spaniards, &c. and the Weſt-Indies) is certainly the maſter-Wheel of the Spaniſh Trade; and we are capable of ſecuring this advantage to our own Subjects, which would hugely leſſen the Intereſt of our chiefeſt Competitors in Trade. If the Strength of England may be ſaid to be particular in any one thing (as Sampſon in his Locks) I ſhould readily aſſign it to the excellent Staple of our long-combing Wooll.

VII. And here I can't but mention one particular, by which in my Opinion, France hath had a great benefit 〈◊〉 our Wooll, by our own Act and Deed. … t the coming-in of King Charles the Second, the … ds of Jerſie, Guernſie, Alderney and Sark, were allow •• • hree Thouſand Three Hundred Todds of Engliſh •••• l, each Todd Thirty Two Pounds. In the beginning of the Reign of His Preſent Majeſty King William, thoſe Iſlands were allowed by Act of Parliament, Three Thouſand thre hundred Todds more, and a Liberty given by the ſame Act to French, Dutch, Flanderkins, Hamburgers, Germans, Danes, Swedes, &c. to Export our Woollen-Manufactures to their Native Countries upon equal Terms with our Engliſh Subjects; and how theſe new Sett of Merchants fell in to the Exporting of our Wooll and Smuggling of Goods, is pretty well known—Felo de ſe—And it will be very difficult to prevent this practice, as our Affairs now ſtand, having ſcarce EngliſH merchants enough abroad to give Notice of the landing of our Wooll on that ſide. This Six Thouſand Six Hundred Todds allowed to thoſe Iſlands, doth chiefly conſiſt of Combing-Wooll for Worſted-Hoſe, a valuable and uſeful Commodity at moſt Foreign Markets; and the amount of the Workmanſhip may be eaſily caſt up by the aforeſaid Calculation; provided there be no greater quantity Exported, which is very much doubted.

How Commondious theſe Iſlands are in their Scituation for France to reap the benefit of their labour, I need only mention, the Inhabitants (conſiſting of many French) are able to live very Cheap, and work accordingly, at about half the price we pay in many Places in England. They enjoy the Benefit of the Draw-back of the Cuſtom of our Weſt-India Goods, and pay not the leaſt Tax to England. What Stockins are brought into England, and exported again, by the Carriage and Cuſtom paid to the King, may be rendred Four or Five per Cent. cheaper by the French. The reaſon upon which this is grounded, I can't perceive.

To alledge that any part of the Creation is left inſufficient for its own Subſiſtence and Preſervation, muſt be a reflection upon Divine Providence; and that all parts of the World ſhould be upon an equal Foot in obtaining this Subſiſtence, ſeems to be contrary to the Deſign of the great Creator. St. Paul valued himſelf in being a Free-born Roman. Theſe Iſlands have Wooll of their own Growth, and doubtleſs muſt be very fair for Fiſhing, and by that means may be ſubſervient to England, as we now ſerve them: Which practice will ſtrengthen their Iſlands in Shipping and Seamen, for their Preſervation; and what is got out of the Sea will be a clear Gain; the loſs of our Fiſhing is very conſiderable, and much lamented. I know no ſuch Inſtance of Generoſity, to give away that which God and Nature has made our Birth-right, whilſt multitudes of our Woollen Manufactures have wanted it at Home, who are under many heavy Taxes. We may learn better of our rich neighbours, who are ſaid to burn part of their Spices in the Indies, that we may pay them the better Price, which we do at this time with a Witneſs.

VIII. As our Affairs now ſtand, it highly concerns us to ſecure our own Wooll, which being effectually done but one whole year, many eſtabliſhed Fabricks abroad with our Wooll, muſt of neceſſity ſink, and the manufacturers diſperſe, and many of our own brought home again, which many years would not recover. And we can promiſe to our ſelves, at this juncture, no advantageous Settlement of Trade, but by an effectual Cure of this Evil; to the effecting of which, whatſoever Money is expended, will be brought in again to the King in his Cuſtoms, with a hundred-fold advantage to the Nation. To find out the Cauſes of Things, is ſaid, to be a Work of Philoſophy; to find out a fit Remedy, is of high Eminency; but to apply the Remedy, is a Matter of State and Policy.