WHereas there is a Bill depending, the Preamble whereof seems to be against Transportation of Wooll, the Scope and Consequence of it (as is humbly conceived) will tend rather to encourage it: For whereas it is suggested in the said Bill, that the Act made in the 14th. Year of His Majesties Reign, making Transporting of Wooll Felony, is ineffectual for the preventing thereof, and therefore prays the Repeal­ing the Felony of that Act, without confirming the rest of that Act; as if making Transportation to be Felony did encourage Transporting; that Suggestion with all submission is conceived to be a great mistake: For though it must be granted (whatever Laws have been or shall be made in this case) that some Persons for their own Lucre (though it be never so much to the Damage of the great Manufacture of this Kingdom, and notwithstanding all the Care imaginable) will adventure to transport Wooll. Yet for some Years after that Act of the 14 Car. 2. was in force, there was a great stop put to the said Transportation, untill Wooll so increased in Ireland beyond its Consumption there and here, that Great Quantities were actually transported from thence; but till that Glut the Act of the 12th. Year of His Majesties Reign (by which the Forfeiture was Three Shillings for every Pound of Wooll, besides the Wooll forfeited) conjoyned with the Act in the 14th. Year of His Majesties Reign, was found effectual to prohibit Transporting Wooll, for the Prosecutor had liber­ty to prosecute upon which Act he pleased as to the Forfeiture; and therefore there was not one Person in twenty prosecuted upon the Penalty of what was prosecuted on the Forfeiture of Three Shillings per Pound, that of Felony serving onely to make Offenders afraid, but those Acts of the 12th. and 14th. were in this found defective, that they did not sufficiently provide how to make good Proof of an Intention to Transport when Wooll was brought near the Sea-side: So that both Acts together, as the Forfeiture now stands (saving the defects aforesaid, and want of putting the Laws in execution) are far better as they are than with this new intended Alteration, as is found in Ten Years Experience, by those who have made it their whole business to at­tend this Affair, if those Persons principally concerned in point of Interest may be supposed capable of Judging; or those who have made it their business not onely to inspect it, but to keep a constant Correspondency about this matter beyond the Seas, and who for some Years have been partly at Sea, and partly on the Ssacoasts, to make Discoveries, and who afterwards have pro­secuted those Discoveries, some in the Exchequer, others at the Assizes, to the number at the least of One hundred Persons, who have been found guilty of Transporting Wooll contrary to those Acts, but many of them escaped the Penalties by the late gene­ral Act of Pardon.

And upon Complaint made about Ten Years since to His Majesty and Council, (who were very apprehensive of this Mischief, and willing by all lawful ways imaginable to prevent it) of some Negligence and Remisness of Officers and others, it was refer­red by His Majesty and Council to the Council for Trade, which Council for Trade making Report to the Board, His Majesty and Council passed this Opinion following.

Whereupon the late Lord Keeper Bridgman, being then in Council, prepared a Bill, and at the Opening of the next Session of Parliament caused it to be read in the House of Lords, and when it was committed, several Merchants and Staplers in Lon­don, and also Clothiers were summoned, and did often attend the Lords of the Committee, where two Judges were constantly present to draw up Amendments to that Bill, which took up at least 6 or 8 days at the Committee, and when the said Bill was reported and engrossed, by means of one Clause in that Bill, To burn the Ship wherein was found any Wooll,that Bill was at last re­jected by the Lords; and afterwards the substance of that Bill in anothor Session was put into the House of Lords without the Clause of Burning the Ship, and was engrossed and sent down to the Commons, and then committed, but miscarried also; and instead thereof the Bill now depending comes in, no ways approved of by the said Merchants and Clothiers, because instead of prohibiting it will be found in Expericnce to be the occasion of Transporting much Wooll: Therefore before this Bill pass, the said Merchants and Clothiers pray they may be heard, who question not but to give satisfaction to this Honourable House of the great Inconvenience thereof.

And further, the Bill now depending does propound to restrain Exporting, but by increasing the Number of Ports in Ireland to have leave to Export; and by increasing also the Number, of Ports in England where Wooll may be Imported, this Bill in­stead of restraining must needs give much more liberty to Transport than ever. So that now it will be utterly impossible to prevent Transportation of Wooll, because where Wooll is suspected and known to be Exported, it shall be pretended to be Imported, and very fairly coloured by this Bill.