I. THese Goods are directly op­posite to the Employment of Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Manufactorers, and to the Consumption of Sixteen or Eighteen Thousand Packs of Long Fine Wool in one Year, of the growth of the largest Sheep that feed in Pasture-Ground; which Wool is not used in making of Cloth: These number of People are Wea­vers, Throwsters, Winsters, Yarn-Men, Wool-Combers, Hot-Pressers, Callen­ders, Fullers, Spinsters; whose Dwel­lings are in the Cities of London, Nor­wich, Canterbury; in the Counties of Suffolk Norfolk, Cambridgshire, Hart­fordshire, Essex, Norhamptonshire, some parts of Yorkshire; In many places be­sides in the several Counties of Eng­land: The Wool grows most in Lin­colnshire, [Page 4]Leicestershire, Norhampton­shire, Bedfordshire, Rumney Marsh, and of Pasture-Sheep in all Counties, which, by reason of the length of its Staple, is not used, or can well be used to make Cloth; but is generally sold to Norfolk, St. Edmondsbury in Suffolk, to be made in those and other Counties into Yarn, and in Yarn carried to Norwich and London to be wrought up into Stuffs made of all Wool, or mixt with Silk, one Pound of Silk to eight Pound of Wool.

II. Employment of these People, is the only way left to give a value to the Land in those parts, where they inhabit; for poor working People spend all or most of what they get by working upon the produce of Land; and you will always find according to the number of People, and according to what they get, so is the Price of Land; and it is evident all over the World, where the Price of Wages is low, the value of Land is little; and where many People live, Land is most valuable, which is the true Reason [Page 5]that Land near London, and other Towns, where Manufactories are set­tled, is three four, six times as valu­able, as Land of as good a natural soyl, where there is few Inhabitants or Navigable Rivers.

III. These poor People, when em­ployed, highly conduce to the Hap­piness and Safety of England. If any Person will please to take a view of England, before it was a Manufactory, they will find that this Island was of­ten insulted over, Ravaged and Plun­dred; yea, Conquered by Scots, Danes, Normans, Saxons, &c. But since England hath been a Place of Manufactury, no Neighbour hath da­red to Insult our Coast, or Invade us without our own consent; for these poor People are not only themselves ready to oppose, but by their Imploy­ment, give Incouragement to Navi­gation, and to breeding of Sea man to navigate our Coasting-Vessels to sup­ply their necessities with Coals, Corn, Malt, Cheese, Butter, &c. by which means the King always hath Sea-men [Page 6]ready to furnish his Men of War, that are the Bulworks of the Nation, and our Merchants are supplyed with Sea-men for longer Voyages.

IV. I would shew the Opposition between this Trade to India, and the English Manufactories, and that so it is Detrimental to the Nation; The Op­position lies in its Home Consumption and Foreign Exportation: The Silks, Bingalls, &c. from India, are used for the same Uses our Manufactures are, and so discourage Trades-men from driving larger Trade, it being uncer­tain when these Ships will come in, and uncertain what sort of Commo­dities they bring: Every Trades-man lies liable to be undone, if he venture to inlarge his Trade, as is plain by many hundred Instances in twenty Years space: And as to the Foreign Exportation, these Foreign Manufa­ctures have Spoiled our Foreign Trade for Fine Stuffs made in Norwich and London, for Womens wear into many places for Crape, &c. And for our A­merican Plantations, all Persons dealing [Page 7]there, know they will imitate the Gentry of England, and those Mer­chant's Commissions run for Fashion­able Commodities: Now if our No­bility and Gentry wear India Manu­factures, our West India Plantations will wear the same; and it is gene­rally true, so far as the Honour of any Nation extends, so far what they wear, will be in Fashion. This was the Policy of France, who designing to make themselves Great, discou­raged the Wear and Consumption of Foreign Commodities, and Incoura­ged the wearing their own, both at Home and also in England, by Pre­sents to the English Court, well know­ing what the Court did wear, the Cities and Gountries will not be long without: And by the way, it is my opinion, the French King and the Manufacturers of Lions, will spend a Hundred Thousand Pounds to keep the Trade of England for Exporting their Allamodes and Lutestrings.

But this is not all, the damage this India Trade doth, in respect to the Ex­portation of our English Manufactures; [Page 8]for it greatly hinders our Turkey and Italian Merchants, who Export vast quantities of Woollen-Cloth, Serges, Purpetuanys, Stuffs, &c. and the greatest of their Returns are in Raw and Thrown Silk, and Grogrom Yarn, which they bring home to London, expecting a Market among Throw­sters and Weavers; But these Trades-men being undone by India Manu­factures, are not able to buy these Commodities, and so these Advanta­gious Merchant, by having their Stocks lie dead upon their hands, can buy no more Cloth, &c. And the Cloathier, and Serge-maker, and thousands of Families that do depend upon them, much Impoverished, and many of them reduced to live upon Charity, to the great damage of the Landlords and Farmers, who, by Law, are obliged to Relieve them from their Lands.

V. This Trade to India, carries away from England great quantities of Bul­loin and Treasure, which is not only the Sinews of War, but the Medium of [Page 9]Trade and Commerce: For Mony in the Body politick, is as Blood in the Body natural, giving Life to every part; as for Instance, in an other way of Trade, our Exporting-Merchant carries away our Manufactures, and for his Returns, (supposing it be to Spain) he brings Spanish Wool, and Pieces of Eight: these Pieces of Eight or other Bullion, made into English Coin, go from the Merchant to the Trades-man, from him to the Wea­ver, Sherman, Spinsters, &c. From them all to the Farmer; from the Far­mer to the Landlord, and some part sticks every where, which go to the Shopkeeper, and from him to the Mer­chant again, and the whole Nation is hereby easie; but if it go to the East-Indies, it never returns again: But this is not all, the Bulloin in Eng­land will not serve this Trade, tho' it encourage the Clipping our Coin half away, we must go abroad to Holland, to Hamborough, to Portugal, Cadis, and where not, to take up Silver, and thereby run the Nation in Debt, and turn the Ballance of the [Page 10]Exchange against England, and our better Merchants, and then they mur­mur against the Goverment.

I might give many other Reasons for the Bill's passing into a Law, but I designing Brevity, will pass to give an Answer to some Objections in a Book lately published: In answering which, I shall enter into the Heart of this Controversie. This Book is filled up with Flourish, and Rhetorick, and Conclusions, from false Hypothesis, that it is not easie at once Reading to grasp it; but my Time allowing no more, I shall do it as I can, not med­ling with any thing but what relates to this Bill now depending: His Ob­jections are many.

1. Objection. This Trade carries a­way our Woollen-Manufactures, espe­cially of late to a great value.

Answer: I confess the English Mer­chants have had a Trade many Years to Persia and Armenia for our Com­modities formerly: The Turkey [Page 11]Merchant carried Cloth to Scande­roon, and so to Aleppo, and the Car­ravans brought great quantities of Raw Silk, and sold to our Mechants, and for it took our English Cloth: Of late, Considerable quantities of Cloth, and some other Manufactures, though I believe not one half what the Com­pany is obliged to carry go by long Sea to India, and not finding a vent in that hot Climate, it is carried to Persia and Armenia; But what is this to our Bill, we are not contending which Merchants shall have this Persia Trade, but the Question is, Whether this be a fit Cover for the great quan­tities of Wrought Manufactures from the Bay of Bengall, and other Places of India, that take off little or none of our Woollen-Cloth, but is bought with the Money England should have to maintain the War, pay our Sol­diers and Sea-men, and keep our Poor at Work.

But it may not be insignificant, to shew what a Bargain we have made in changing Hands for this Persia Trade, the Cloathier hath got well [Page 12]instead of Money for his Cloth, of Good Responsable Merchants, he credits a publick Seal, or he hath a piece of Paper, called an East-India Bond, which after he has kept it till he is weary, he may take East India Silks for it at the Iuch of Candle to cloath his poor Spinners with, or else sell his Bond for as much, or more loss than he got by his Commodity, and the Nation made a very Indiffe­rent Change; for whereas the Turkey Merchant did use to bring his Silk home Raw, to imploy multitudes of Throwsters, Weavers, and Sea-mens Wives, and all sorts of Poor, that spent their Money they got up­on the product of Land. These East-India Merchants to enrich the Nobi­lity and Gentry of England, carry their Raw Persia Silk to the Bay of Bengall, &c. and work it up, that the Money it cost in Workmanship may enrich the Great Mogull, and imploy his Poor.

2. Obj. Against this Bill, The East-India Trade is a Beneficial Trade to England, pag. 12.

Answ. Let us see the Profit: Is it the Company that get, or he that buys of the Company, or the Retailer, or the Weaver: As to the Company, I have heard for what I say, is by Hear-say, be­ing none of them; And therefore take it for Hear-say, I have been informed they formerly divided Profit and Prin­ciple, and Traded upon the Credit of a publick Seal, and sould grent quantities of Goods by private Con­tract, and I have heard great Quanti­ties of Guinnies have flowed about the Exchange and Coffe-Houses, and little more than are hath come to be esteem­ed worth three or four Millions, and many Honest Gentlemen drawn in to the Ruin of a Good Estate and Fami­ly; but I do not say the Company that Honourable Company did this; the Company say it was the Stock-Jobbers, But if so, I would willingly know, [Page 14]whether this Company might not have put out an Advertisement in some publick Print, to hinder such an abo­minable Cheat: But they have now a new Subscription of, I have heard 700000, and yet a Man may go upon the Change and buy, as I have heard, the Stock of this Company, for Five or Six Hundred Thousand Pound, and no Dividend made this Seven Years. Would not any Man wonder where the Profit of this Trade is; but still it is a profitable Trade, but you must know it is a Mystery, and it is not convenient the Nobility and Gen­try of England should know the profit of this Trade: and indeed I dare not say all I believe, to be true, but so far as I could ever perceive any profit it is.

First, In buying by private Con­tract, or at the Inch of Candle, great quantities of Goods by Persons that understand how things are managed in the Indies, and Selling their Goods for 10, 20, 30, 40 per Cent profit to [Page 15]the Wholesale-man, this Wholesale man sells them for 10, 20, 30 per Cent to the Retailer or Country-Chapman, the Retailer sells them at 10, 20, 30 per Cent profit to the Gentry, and by this time the Gentry pays as dear al­ways, and often much dearer than for our own Manufactures which are much better. But pray all this time, what doth the Nobleman, the Gentleman, or Trades-man or poor Farmer, or Ma­nufacturer get.

These Monopolizers, and Retailers vye with the Nobleman, hector the Gentleman, trample upon the Manu­facturer, and oppose every thing that is for the Nation's Good, if it cross their private Interest: But still this is a profitable Trade to England in its Exportation: but what is the Bill con­cerned in the Exportation, doth that hinder Exportation? I own this may be made a profitable Trade by due Regulation, and therefore I am for this Bill; for England being the best Mart in Europe for these Commodi­ties, [Page 16]no Wise Merchant will carry Goods from the better Market to a worse, if he can help it; but the Design of this Bill, is to oblige the India Merchant to set up Factories to sell Goods in Holland, Hamborough, Germany, Portugal, Spain, as well as Manufacturies in India, to make them, and by this means they will truly bring in Bulloin into England, as well as carry it to India, and till this is done, we cannot find such Exportati­ons, though for Four or Five Years past I have searched the Bills of En­try with all the Eyes I have; I have indeed found some Exports, and till this last Sale, near as many Imports, under pretence of former Exporta­tion.

But still this would have been a Profitable Trade, if the Company had not met with men great Losses by the French, and some Ships cast away at Sea: As to what was cast away at Sea, it is all Merchants Chance, and [Page 17]as to what the French took, let us consider their first Cost, and no Man strictly Loses what he never had, and we shall find the prime Cost is 40 Thousand Pound a Ship, 8 Ships 320 Thousand Pound; but what hath been lost, if the more than usual Profit of these Last Ships be consider'd, the Charles the Second, and the Hawk, I believe, had I Time, I could bring the first Cost of the Lost Ships, and the Extravagant Profit of what came in, to near a Balance; and thus you see this Profitable Trade.

Object. 3. This Bill designs the utter Loss of the India Trade.

Answer. Pray Sir give me a good Reason for it; he gives, several Mer­chants are sullen, the Dutch and Scots will have it, and we shall Lose all, as we have done Bantum, and the Spice Islands; for these Dutchmen and Scotch-men are dreadful Fellows: As to the sullenness of Merchants, I would to God all the Merchants in England that carry out our Silver to promote and [Page 18]set up Forreign Manufacturies, were so sullen as to do so no more, but would Employ their Stocks in setting up new Species of Manufactures in Eng­land, in Towns and Places where the Poor have no Employment, and I will give them my Assistance to the ut­most of my Ability; and for their En­couragement, there is no Two Cities in Europe, if joined together, have such a number of Men that understand so many deffering Species of Commodities, as London have, though now they are despised and reduced to the utmost Penury, and are willing to work for bare Bread, and cannot get it, who would be glad to be their Ser­vants? As to the Dutch getting the Spice Trade and Bantum, Sir, I will tell you what I have heard and be­lieve to be true, the East-India Com­pany set themselves so intirely to pro­secure Manufacturer, and finding the Gentry of England so easie to be de­ceived and gulled by them, they sligh­ted all other Trade in the Indies, and six'd wholly to that which was like to turn to private Interest, with little [Page 19]respect to publick Good, the Dutch took this Opportunity to fall in with those Trades that tended most to a General Advantage, and slighted Manu­factures till the English Imported up­on them, and then were forced to do something this way in their own De­fence, and against their Inclination, and are not yet very fond of them, as any Man may find, by comparing their Cargoes with ours. If I remem­ber well, the Martha and Sarah, two of the last Ships that came to Eng­land, had much greater quantities of these Goods than the whole Fleet of 12 Ships that came to Holland, and I despair of ever seeing our English Mer­chants endeavour much Trade, that is, for Real Good to England, so long as such vast quantities of Manufactures are allowed. And as to the Scots Company, I suppose its Original is well known; I will tell you my Thoughts of it; it was Contrived in London by Stock-jobbers, and others that designed only to make a noise; or if in earnest, it was only to bring these Goods to Scotland Custom-free, [Page 20]to Cheat the King by Running them into England by their Pedlers, and thereby under-sell our Company, and more effectually Ruin our Manufactu­ries; and Sir, I assure you I had this Company in my Eye in promoting this Bill, as well-knowing it would effectually Cross the Designing-Men in that Company; and whenever it is past into a Law, there is an end of the Scotch Company.

Object. 4. Against this Bill, No Coun­try Manufactures made so Dear as the English; and, if we would have a Trade, we must make our Manufactures Chea­per.

Answer. I thought I should under­stand the Price of Workmanship as well as this Gentleman, and I will venture to Assert the quite contrary: Do but consider the Price of Provi­sion in England, and the Goodness of our Work, and we shall see by exa­mining, as to our Cloth, who work Cheaper? Pray tell me, Do not our Cloth-weavers work for Five Shil­lings [Page 21] per Week in the Country, our Cloth-dressers tyed up to a Penny per Hour, our Serge and Perpetuary-wea­vers for the same, and often less; our Stuff, Crape, and Fustian, and Flan­nel-weavers, for as little, and lower, according to the Price of Provisions in the Places where they live: Nay Sir, take our Silk-weavers, and do they get more than Ten or Twelve Shillings per Week, and pay two Boys out of it, unless they make Rich Works, which take a Month or Six Weeks time before they get a Penny? And is it not reasonable the Price of this sort of Work, should answer the Time they lose? And how poorly must Families be Maintained with such Wages? But these must be Slaves to the Humours of Proud Re­tailers, and Importing Merchants, though a Wise Management would make them great Blessings to England. Sir, what do you think of our Eng­lish Spinsters and Winsters that work for Three or Four-pence per Day?

Object. 5. We want more an Act to set up Publick Work-houses.

Answer. pray, Sir, first find Employ­ments for them that are willing to work, if they had it.

Object. 6. This Bill tends to make Wooll Dear.

Answer. Pray Sir, it is a great mistake that we should have Wooll dear: And what do you mean by VVooll being too dear? The Merchant never thinks Spanish VVooll too dear, or Cotton-wooll too dear: Give me leave to tell you, we have great quantities of fine long VVooll in England, that a Pound of it will run 20, 30, 40 Thousand Yards in length, and make light, fine, thin, strong Stuffs, much better than India Cotton, and Bengall Silks; nay, out-do by far, for fine thin Goods, any Spanish VVooll, fit to answer all uses for VVomen and Children, and no Nation in the World, that ever I heard of, had such a quan­tity; [Page 23]and it is a shame to England the Price is so low, as had I Time I could evidence fully. Sir, you call the Price of Wooll unnatural, I fear you imagine you are at the Bay of Bengall; it is very natural to me to give a just Value to the Product of my Native Country.

Object. 7. The Publick reap no Ad­vantage by Home Consumption.

Answer. Consuming is not a com­mon way of getting, but we have a Proverb, A Penny saved is as good as a Penny earned; and if we spend our own Produce, we shall save all our Pence that go to India, and by wear­ing our own that is over-plus, we should bring our Commodities into general Repute, and by that means Export more, and we should save by that: And what do we save by pay­ing as dear for India Goods, as for our own, as I am ready to Evidence we do.

Object. 8. Silk is a Manufactory of Forreign Growth, and if the Luxury of wearing Silks were Abolished, it would be Beneficial to this Kingdom.

Answer. Pray Sir, how do this and your other Arguments hang together? What would become of your profita­ble Trade of Bengall? Sir, give me leave to try to make the Silk Trade a profitable Trade; and since our No­bility and Gentry like Silk, let them wear it: Sir, our Turky and Italian Merchants carry our Cloth and Serges to Turky and Italy, and this Cloth being fully Manufactured, Employs many Thousands of People, and takes off great quantities of Wooll. The People spend their Money upon the Lands, and so work for more; these Merchants bring Home Silk unmanu­factured, and Employ many Thou­sands of People more, and these also spend the Money they get upon Land; the Gentlemen wear the Silk, and thereby consume more Wooll, and Employ twice as many People as they [Page 25]would do, if they wore Woollen Gar­ments.

Now Sir, Is there any false La­tin in this way of Trade? And as an­gry as you are with the Silk weaver, what would the Turky and Italian Merchants do with their Silk, but for them? Would you have them carry it to the Bay of Bengall?

Object. 9. Two sorts of Silks come from India, and only hinder the French, Dutch, and Italian Silks.

Answer. Sir, I can tell you Twenty sorts of English Stuffs made of Wooll, and Silk and VVooll, that they are di­rectly opposite, to which neither French, Dutch, or Italians ever did, or can pretend to Import upon us, though we have done sometimes up­on them: And as to the Dutch and French, except Alamodes and Lute­strings, I know of none have come to England for many Years from Italy; we have some, but nothing compara­ble to the Woollen Manufactury we [Page 26]carry thither, though you are pleased to tell us, more Silks are Imported from Holland than from India. Sir, I know of none but Velvets, besides what come by the way of Holland from Italy.

Object. 10. We want Hands to carry on our Manufacturies.

Answer. We want Employment for the Hands we have; if we had more Employments, we might easily have Hands enough.

Object. 11. The East-India Trade doth not interfere with such Manufactaries as is the Interest of England to pro­mote.

Answer. Doth not this Trade inter­fere with the Norwich, and London, and Canterbury Trade; and with the Shallone-makers in Essex, Suffolk, Hampshire, and the Makers of Rutteens and the new Manufactury at Ketter­ing in Northamptonshire, and at Peter­burrough? Sir, I could compute these [Page 27]to be great numbers, and to work up 25 Thousand Packs of English Wooll, and when Employed, to get two Millions of Money in a Year: And though this Money is laid out upon the produce of Land, yet the Farm­er and Landlord find the Benefit; and is it not the Interest of this Na­tion, to incourage these Manufacto­ries? What, nothing goe down but Cloth? I confess, I love that Manu­factory, but what shall we do with Lincolnshire Wooll, &c. You are a­gainst burying of it.

Object. 12. No Laws to render this Prohibition Effectual, but summary Laws.

Answer, If it do no good to us, it will do you no hurt; and since you see so far beyond others, you need not oppose the Bill.

Object. 13. A Prohibition is not to be made in time of War.

Answer, I think it a very fit Time, when we want Mony to do what we can to get it; and the East In­dia Manufactories being bought so Cheap, if Exported, are very like to fetch us Money; or if not Imported, will hinder the carrying Money a­way; and we shall be able to hold out the longer: Pray Sir, is it a fit time for thousands of Families to Starve, or run to Ireland, or Holland, and there set up the English Manu­factories.

Object. 14. But the want of Employ­ment proceeds not from East-India Goods, but want of Mony.

Answer, That want of Money and Credit, is a great Cause of a stop to Trade; but there is this difference between the Petitioners for this Bill, and other Manufacturers in England; others can Trade as far as they can, in hope of a Trade at one Time or other; we have no such hope, we know not, but next Month more [Page 29]Ships may come from the Indies; though we have enough and too ma­ny of their Goods already; and what sorts they will bring, we know not; and they can under Sell us, and we cannot be supposed to carry our Silks back again to Turkey, Italy, or Hol­land; so that if we lose our own Market for English Silk, we must take one for India; though we know we go for to Ruine our Native Country, our Friends and Relations; and though happily you may be wil­ling to it, I believe, the Gentry of England, that have taken such Care for the Preservation of the Breed of Cattle, will provide for the Subfi­stence of some of the best of Manu­factories that ever England or Europe had. This is what of Argument up­on first Reading, I can find against this Bill in this Book; I may take a Time to examine it Paragraph by Paragraph; in the mean Time, I beg the Lords and Commons of Eng­lands, to take one Instance, to shew the Profit of this Trade to India,

Suppose Merchants should carry from hence Clothiers, Spinners, Weavers, Sheermen, Fullers to Spain, and in­stead of bringing Spanish Wooll to England to Employ our Poor, should carry our Money to Spain to Employ their Poor, and then bring the Spa­nish Cloth to England, and under-sell and out-sell our Clothiers, and when they are Impoverished, and their Poor Starving, should come to the Parlia­ment for Relief, and these Merchants Cry out, Oh! this is a Beneficial Trade to England, it is Cramping Trade to touch it; the Clothiers are too numerous, we will give Money to Ruin them; the Spanish Wooll Ma­nufactury is unnatural to England, as 'tis a Forreign Growth; and yet this would be a Tolerable Trade upon ma­ny Accompts, compared with that of India.