Some seasonable queries, on the third head, viz. A general naturalization

Some seasonable queries, on the third head, viz. A general naturalization

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Some Seasonable QUERIES, On the Third Head, viz. A General Naturalization.

Some Seasonable QUERIES, On the Third Head, viz. A General Naturalization.

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1. DOth not the Greatness and Power of a Prince consist in the number of his Subjects, and not in the extent of his Territories, witness Spain at this day? And can any thing contribute more to the Increasing that Number, than an Act of Naturalization?

2. Doth not the loss of so many thousand Men's Lives since the commencement of this War, make it as necessary, to recruit the Nation as the Army? And to make provision for the Increase of Posterity, and to invite in present Supplies, which may in some proportion fill those Wa [...]s that this fruitful Island hath still in it? It not being scarce half Peopled.

3. Is not the scarcity of People in any Country a real Poverty? A Nation wherein there are eight Millions of People, being twice as Rich, as the same scope of Land wherein there are but Four; for as Land cannot yield its utmost Increase but through Men's Labour and Pains, nor can such Increase be improved to the best Advantage but by the application of many Hands; and since there are many Parts of England uncultivated that would maintain Thousands of Families in way of Farming, and ten times as many in Subserviency, out of the Trade and Manufacture that would necessarily arise from the Product of such Farms: Is it not from hence evident? 1. That the Wealth and Trade of England would be greatly increased, by the addition of so much more Traffick and Commerce, as would arise from the Product of its now useless and unprofitable Part, and so many more Hands and Purses would be thereby contributary on all emergent occasions, to the Assistance and Support of the publick Government. 2dly, That the Nation is deficient in the want of so much Wealth and Plenty, as might be gained by the Increase and Assistance of so many thousand People.

4. Would not such an Act be much for the Advantage of the Nobility, Gentry, and all Men of real Estates? Since it would necessarily Advance the Rate of Land, by a greater consumption of the Native Product.

5. What reason can be assigned, why our very Artizans (unless under great mistakes) should be against such an Act? Must they not allow, that the Increase of Hands in Labour, improves and increases Manufactury, were it but by the Expence of them that are added; since one Man that Works, may have five or six that only Eats and Wears? And would not this Act bring Crowds of Inhabitants from Abroad? And Crowds of People make Industry necessary for Sustentation; and from Industry, abundance of Trade and Wealth doth naturally flow; as may be seen in the United Provinces, especially if compar'd with Ireland.

6. Do we not owe a great part of our Woollen Manufactury (the best branch of our Trade) to Qu. Elizabeths receiving in the Persecuted Protestants from Flanders? Whose Posterity are now become Natives: And might not we likewise enlarge our Merchandize, Navigation, Fishing, and all other useful Vocations, if Encouragment were given to invite Protestants of all Nations to settle here, with the same Security and Priviledges as Natives? And have not the poor French Refugees now among our selves, taught us to make those new Manufactures by which so many Thousands get their Livelihood, and have thereby more than Rewarded us, for our Christian Charity, and Hospitality towards them?

7. Are there not several Manufactures which we used to import from France and elsewhere, in time of Peace, because we could neither have them Made so cheap, nor so well in England; which, by Naturalizing French and Dutch Protestants, we may have as cheap here, and better, than the Few that Make them in England, can do? And if the Dutch Teach us their Way of Making, Linnen, and the French their's of Making Paper, or if they only make them themselves, Will not great Sums which are continually carried beyond Sea for those Commodities, be spent [Page] at Home? And if any of our own Artists should suffer thereby, Will not the good of the Whole, be more than a sufficient Compensation for the loss of a few?

8. May not such a Loss however be provided against by the Wisdom of the Parliament, by Incorporating our own with the Foreign Manufacturers, and making them the Managers and Overseers of the same, if capable; or by such other Methods, as that Great and August Assembly, shall think fit? And by this Means, Will not the Mony which used to be Exported, be kept here, and circulate among our selves? And the Foreigners, who now live meanly, and in Garrets, be encouraged and enabled to live at a better rate; pay House-Rent and Taxes, wear better Apparel, and spend more liberally in House-keeping? By which means, the Fruits of their Labour will run through the Land, and the Nation become fuller of People, who will help to spend the Commodities which England afford, and which are supposed more, than can be consum'd either at home or abroad, which may convince any honest unprejudiced Person, free from the engagement of Faction or Parties, of the great Convenience, if not the Necessity of a Bill for a General Naturalization.

9. Would not this encourage not only the French Protestants, who are able to purchase, but many rich Merchants in Holland and Germany, to come and plant themselves here, where they may have all Necessaries in plenty, and the freedom of their Religion under a Government which they love, and in a Country where they may live free from Fear, either of the French King, or any other Oppressor. And considering the horrible Devastations of the Palatinate, the continual danger of the Protestants upon the Rhine and elsewhere, and the little Ground which is to be purchased in Holland; which might otherwise be a Sanctuary for them; How willingly would they upon any Encouragement, Flock hither? And what I wonder, in a such a case, could be England's loss by a general Naturalization? Would it not not rather be infinitely her Advantage; so have their Estates spent here upon her own Product; and their assistance otherwise upon any emergent Occasion? Would not the Wealth of the Nation, by their Estates, and their Support of the Government by bearing part of the Charge of it, be advanced, by bringing them into the Priviledges and Immunities of Englishmen, and which would in time make them so?

10. What can improve our Navigation, and consequently enlarge our Trade like this? For that Seamen and Merchants rest where they find most Encouragement; and wherever they come (except among such as oppose this Bill) they are sure to be welcome; and when the Benefit they bring to the Country, they Trade in, is observed, they will not want all the Inducements that can be to stay there. As to the first, viz. Seamen.

11. Can the Naturalizing Foreigners admit of any Objection? Are we not forc'd to make me of them at dear Rates, and they carry out our Mony to spend it at home? And as the scarcity of them, doth oblige Merchants to advance their Wages, so do they not thereby give advantage to our Neighbours, by cheap Navigating their Ships, to carry Commodities to a Market cheaper than we can, and consequently can afford to undersell us?

12. May not the want of them have a much worse Influence upon us, than the lessening, or even the loss of our Trade, by laying us open to the Invasion of the French, which we are no longer secure from, than we command at Sea? And if they be alone able, to contend with Us and the Dutch united; What might they not do, if assisted by other Allies? And therefore, is it not highly the Interest of England to make such provision in her Naval Force, as if she were left to her own defence, against the Power of more than the French at Sea? And what one way more likely to compass this, than by Naturalizing Foreign Seamen?

13. Would not this in some measure ease ours from the Press, when Foreigners are made as liable to it as they? And should we not be able to Man our Fleet with more ease and speed, when we can, not only, impress our own Native Seamen, but our Naturaliz'd Foreigners too? As to the second, viz. Foreign Merchants.

14. Whatever they may be in relation to our Merchants, yet who can deny, but they are, by their Trade and Expence, an advantage to all other Societies and Persons in the Nation? And ought not a general Good to take place of a private? Tho how their being Naturalized could injure our home Merchants themselves, is not easie to imagine; for that they are allowed to live and Trade, and have all the opportunities of improving their Estates without it: But this would bring them under the Taxes and Offices of Charge in the Nation, which would help to lighten our Burthens, and so far, be an advantage to our Merchants as well as others.

14. If the opposition this Bill meets with, or the design to blast it, should be chiefly levelled against the Dutch (as it is commonly said) How unreasonable, how ungrateful must that Design be? They are the People, who, under the Auspicious Conduct of the Illustrious House of Nassaw; so gallantly struggled with, and as gloriously overcame the Power and Pride of the Spaniards, who preceded the French in their Enmity to the Protestant Religion, and common Liberties of Europe: Who under the same Conduct, and by their most prudent Administration, have raised their Country to a Power and Greatness not to be paralelled. A people upon whom Providence hath had a peculiar care, not only in preserving them against all the Designs of the French, and other Enemies of their Religion and State; but in making them the Instruments of doing great things in the World; especially [Page] in contributing so effectually to the bringing about, or rather the effecting our stupendious Revolution, by which they gratefully repaid us for the Assistance which they received from our glorious Queen Elizabeth, and for which we owe to them, and our gracious Sovereign, their Illustrious Stadtholder and General; the preservation, under God, of all that is dear to us, as Englishmen and Protestants. And if those few of them now among us, should desire to be Naturalized, it is surely what in Gratitude we could scarcely deny; that of those who have hazarded their Lives to save our Liberties, a small Number, at least, should partake of them with us.

15. Why may we not as well make an Act for a General Naturalization, as Naturalize Foreigners by ten, twenty, or thirty at a time? And if no Petition to this purpose was ever yet rejected or denied; Does it not look, as if the declining to do it all at once, proceeded from something else, than a real dislike to the Bill; or the dictates of a publick Spirit?

16. As to what is said, or rather prophefied, of I know not what ill Consequences or Effects of this Bill; How easie were it for the Parliament to provide against them, and yet make an Act of Naturalization not only profitable to our selves, but advantageous to Foreign Protestants, without planting their Factories on us, to ruin our Trade, or permitting those who raise Estates in this Kingdom to go and spend them elsewhere? And if any Inconveniencies should happen hereafter, that are not now within view, they can never do much harm, since the Parliament meets now every Year, and will, after the War is over, meet every three Years, and may either alter, or quite abrogate the Act, if it should prove Inconvenient, or hurtful to the Nation.

17. Will not all that has been said on this Head, hold good, and every way true as to Ireland, which at this time differs but little from a new Plantation, and is now as a Blank in our hands, wherein His Majesty may Stamp what he pleases: And if such Methods were thought on, as might make those that would settle in that Kingdom, Freeholders of small Proportions of the Forfeited Lands yet undisposed of, at easie Rents, it would be a great Inducement to Foreigners to go and fill that Country, who would in time by Marrying into English and Scotch Families, become British; And so those of the Interest of England, would be Superior to those of the Irish, and Interest of Rome, and thereby secure it from future Rebellion.

It have been told, that that Kingdom since its first Conquest, has never been much Consulted by England in its Trade, but either left to its self, or treated like an Enemy. The great use that has been made of it, was for needy Courtiers; to dispose it into Grants, Imployments and Offices, without any regard to its Conveniencies for Trade and Commerce. Tho it may perhaps boast of the greatest Advantages that way, of any Country in the World: And that which continued it under these bad Circumstances, in the Reign of Charles the II. was the groundless Jealousies and Mistakes of England, fearing it grew too fast, and incroach't upon their Trade; whereas it is demonstrable, that Ireland neither interfers with, nor gains upon England, nor can any way hurt her, but where she by her own Laws, doth force it. I have been assur'd her chief Consumption is of the Product and Manufactury of England, and would be to her a Mine of Treasure, if rightly manag'd: And instead of being an Expence to the Crown, which hitherto she has been, the King might even now, in her lowest Ebo, save yearly above Seventy thousand Pounds, and the Kingdom be as well secur'd; and better perhaps Govern'd than ever it has been yet; but this by the by.

18. What could be a greater mortification to our Grand Enemy at Versailes (who by a thousand Barbarities hath declared himself the courge and Plague of Christendom especially the Protestant part thereof) than the passing of this Act And to see the strenghth of England augmented by such a considerable Accession of zealous Protestants, who by woful Experience know the Principles and Practices of the Papists so well, that there would be no danger from any, natural respect to their Country, of espousing the Interest of its Monarch, nor, upon any other score, the Interest of the late King, or of undermining, or any way disturbing the Government of his present Majesty. Especially, when they are no more Foreigners but Englishmen by Naturalization; and so will be obliged to defend our Rights and Liberties, as their own: And especially against the Efforts of the French to restore the late popish King; whom it will be always the Interest of England to keep out, as long as the Protestant Religion is the Interest of a Protestant Nation, and Liberty the Interest of a free people. I shall conclude these Queries by a word or two to our selves.

Do we not pretend to, I know not, what Priviledges as His Majesty's Natural born Subjects; and very justly too? But if this be the only or best Claim we have to them, Ought we to resent our Disappointments, or yet grudge others (tho never so much Foreigners) that regard, that's due to their Merit and Service?

If we consult the Foreign Accounts, Do we not find on our Enemies side, what Princes, even of the Blood, as well as the very Chief and Prime of the Nobility and Gentry, do fight and fall in every Engagement? And had their King the Courage to Head any of his Armies himself, would they not, all attend him as one Man? Nor is this requisite only, as a Testimony of their Loyalty, or matter of Complement [...] but [Page] what is really necessary. Nothing can animate the Common Souldier more, than to see the Flower of the Nobility and Gentry engage with him in the same Hazards; and where they lead the way; the other, at least, if Englishmen, will be sure to follow.

I am not over prone to put Men upon the hazard of their Lives, but this I may venture to say, that our very Lives ought to be less dear to us, than the Enjoyment of the Gospel, and the Liberties of our Country. And suppose the the issue of this War should prove as dismal as some of the Fretting and Repining Spirits among us seem to foretell; tho God be praised, there is no likelihood of it, yet it were better, that the last day of our being a Free People should overtake us doing our Duty, and struggling with our Chains, than helping to put them on; And it were every way more Eligible, to die in the defence, than live in the Reproach and Bondage of our Nation. But yet, this is not meant to extend to any whose publick Employs or the Affairs of State require their Presence at home: Nor would I extend it to any Gentleman, who in his private Capacity, and but to his own Family, might be more serviceable here than abroad; But yet, this cannot obstruct its being a very odd sight, to see, every Year, the Court and the Park, the Theatre and the Tavern, as well as other places of Ease and Softness crowded with young Gentlemen, the Sons and Relations of the Nobility and Gentry, while the King is exposed to the Fatigue, the Infection, and the Danger of the Camp: And all this, to secure their Religion, their Estates, and their Liberties, from being lessen'd and incroach't on. If the preposterousness, the undutifulness, and ingratitude of such a Course, does not appear; It is because it is not duly Considered.

Honest Vriah would not allow himself the lawful Solaces of his House,1 Sam. 11.11. while his Lord Ioab, tho but his Fellow Subject was Incamped in the open Field; especially when the Ark and Israel did abide in Tents too: But how many among us, even such as might be spared here, and to whom the Camp might prove a place of Improvement, choose to Caress and indulge them selves at home: while not only the Ark, our Religion is in hazard; not only Ioab our fellow Subjects; but even David himself, the King is Incamp'd in the open Field? And if our Undutiful, Cowardly, Call them what you will, Omissions of this kind, put the King upon a Necessity of imploying and preferring more Foreigners, than otherwise perhaps he would; may we not thank our selves?

But a word to the Wise, is enough.

FINIS.

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Title statement

Some seasonable queries, on the third head, viz. A general naturalization

Edition statement

1697

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Text Creation Partnership,

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2003-01 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A60859

ID [STC]

Wing S4609A

ID [STC]

ESTC P6451

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99830306

ID [PROQUEST]

99830306

ID [VID]

34756

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(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A60859)

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— Some seasonable queries, on the third head, viz. A general naturalization, Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731, attributed name..

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4 p.

s.n.,. [London :: 1697]. (Sometimes attributed to Daniel Defoe (Moore, Novak ("probably")). Attribution disputed by Furbank and Owens, Defoe de-attributions) (Caption title.) (Imprint from Wing.) (Reproduction of the original at the Harvard University Library.)

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