SOME THOUGHTS UPON THE SUBJECT OF Commerce with FRANCE.

I Could by no means foresee when I formerly publish'd my Thoughts about TRADE, that it should come to be so popular a Contro­versy, as it is now:

I am very glad however, as things have since hapned, That as my Opini­on of the Trade with France was always the same, and for the same Reasons that it is now; so that I did put that Opi­nion in Print so many times, and so long [Page 4] ago, That I have left no room for Ma­lice it self, without shameful prevarica­tion, to Charge me with having Chang'd my Hand or my Heart in the matters of Trade. The time will come, when I shall make it appear as plain in other Matters also.

Six Year and Nine Year ago, and when the Ministry who then Govern'd Affairs had Lock'd and Bar'd all the Doors of Trade against France,—I ven­tur'd to tell them in so many Words, That ^* if they had been in their Trading Sences, they would have Traded with France all the while they Fought with France. I told them THEN plainly, That we Cheated the Nation of the Profits of an Advanta­geous Trade, by Prohibiting our Lead and our Corn going to France, under the Weak and Foolish Pretence, of not Sup­plying the Enemy with Bullets to shoot at us; and not Supplying the Enemy with Corn for their Magazines; when at the same time we sold both our Lead and our Corn to the Neuteral Powers, who at a double Price sold them to France; so that the Enemy got our Lead and our Corn for Bullets and Ma­gazines, [Page 5] and we only Cheated our selves of the Profit ^*.

I Complain'd THEN, That the Dutch had the Wit to have an open Trade with France all the time of the War, and became thereby able to carry on that War, while at the same time they got from the French in Trade, part of that Money they spent upon them in the Field; whereas we shut our selves out of the Trade and the Profits too, tho' we were able to get by it as well as they, and wanted the Gain as much as they.

I Published THEN in Print, an Account of a Calculation of the Gain we made from France, after the Peace of Ryswick, when by the Opinion of some Eminent Merchants then, and still flou­rishing in London, and who can witness if they please, on what foot this Cal­culation was made, this Nation Cleared 90000 Pounds per Month by the Trade to France; from whence came that won­derful Flux of French Pistoles among us, which Suprised our People, and Raised that ridiculous Clamour of the Oyster-Barrel, and of their being sent over to [Page 6] Bribe our Parliament Men. The truth of which was nothing but this, That our prodigious Export of Goods to France, so much over-ballanc'd their Import upon us, that they were ob­lig'd to supply the Ballance in Gold; the Parliament was oblig'd to reduce the said Pistoles from 17 s. 6 d. to 17 s. and the quantity was so great, that if our Accounts at that time did not err, above Eleven Hundred Thousand of them were Melted down at the Tower, and Coin'd into Guineas ^*.

All these things, Gentlemen, I Print­ed in The Review, there they stand as Witnesses for or against me, if I have gone from my Opinion, chang'd my Sentiments of things, or Written against my self, let it appear; if I have not, why am I Causelesly Bullyed and Insult­ed by vile Mercenaries, and Igno­rant Journey-men Scribblers, whose Fa­thers, as Job says, were not fit to be set with Dogs of the Flock; and who do it only because they think they please you in filling your Mouths with Scandal and Reproach: But further yet,

[Page 7]These things, tho' Written against the late Measures, and in the time of a Whig Government, They could hear then, and not Dislike, not Quarrel at, or Insult me for Writing; If the Mini­stry themselves found it clasht with their Proceedings, yet they were always so Generous and so Just to me, as to allow me a freedom of speech when I spoke my real Sentiments of things: Believing that I spoke what I thought I had good Ground to Support; and if they had not allowed me that Liberty, I should have ventur'd their Displeasure and have taken it: The Day being yet to come that I ever withheld Speaking what I thought was needful to say, and what I knew I could Defend the Truth of, for fear of any Man's Face or Power in the World. Upon which Principle I still act, as appears by my standing fast to my said Opinion, in a Time when it procures me such a Tumult of popular Rage, even among those, who, I thought, had some reason to have used me better.

But how comes it to pass that what I might say then with so much freedom, I must not speak a Word of now? Whence comes this Change of your Tast! [Page 8] I affirm, and dare tell you, I can prove to your Faces, Trade is the same, there is not one Addition or Alteration to any part of the Trade, which does not more and more confirm what I said then, and make it just to be said now. How comes it to pass that a Man could be a WHIG and say this Four, Five and Six year ago, and must be a TORY if he says it Now! What Gentlemen! have you transferr'd your Reason and Judgment of things to the Tories! Are the Tories come down to make the right judgment of Trade, and are the Whigs gone from it! you will not allow this sure! What then can be the mat­ter!

I'll tell you plainly the matter, and prove it when I have told it; The Party-strife between the Gentlemen out of Power, and the Gentlemen in Power, has, Cursed be the Misfortune, hook'd in the Affair of Trade into the Quarrel, and your Commerce is now become a part of your Politicks.

The Consequence of the thing, un­happily for the Nation, is this, That whatso­ever part the Publick Managers take, the private Party Managers oppose. It has hapned, that the Ministry have made a [Page 9] Treaty of Commerce: Immediately a lowd Cry is rais'd against Trading with France, as if we were to continue the Interdiction of Commerce after the War was over, and were still to have a War of Trade, tho' the War of State was at an end. Now, if you please, let the Tables be turn'd, take it the other way; Had the Ministry chosen the other part, and made no Treaty of Commerce, I undertake to prove that it had been the same thing; and the same Lowd-Cry had been raised, and that by the very same People, about Neg­lecting the matters of Trade, and ta­king no Care, when they made a Peace, to open the Trade again, as other of the Confederates had done for themselves.

I am sorry to speak this Scandalous Truth: But the Fact is so plain, and can be so easily proved, even upon Names, and Sir-names of Persons; and is already made so publick by other hands, that my saying it will be no dis­covery.

I have nothing to do here, with any Remarks upon these Proceedings, there will be a time for it; but at present it shews us by what Means, and for what Reason, with what View, and for what [Page 10] End, the Affair of Trade is Drag'd in, as it were, by the Hair of the Head, in­to the miserable Party-strife which this Nation is Involv'd in.

By this Means, what I might have said Four year ago without any Re­proach, what I might Print then in the very teeth of a Ministry then in Power without Displeasing them, is made Party Treason to be spoken now; and that Liberty which I took, even at the hazard of Displeasing the Govern­ment, I must not be allow'd now, lest it be a Service to the Government; and all this by Tumult, Rabble, and Roar­ing, not by Reason and Evidence.

But Blessed be the Author of Truth, that has made it Eternal like himself, and as no Man ought to be AFRAID of speaking truth; so no Wise Man will ever be ASHAM'D of speaking truth, however unpopular and disobliging it may be, or to the Damage of what Party of Men soever, provided only that it be seasonable necessary Truth: And such is this I am upon, I am very sure of it.

What has Trade to do with your Po­litick Squabbles, and what Business have Party Men with the Commerce of [Page 11] the Nation? Trade is neither Whig nor Tory, Church or Dissenter, High-Church or Low-Church: In all the Broils and Tumults that have exercised these un­happy Nations about Putting IN and Putting OUT, Trade has stood always Neuter till now. There may have been Parties in the Parishes, in the Wardmotes, Common-Councils, and Common-Halls of the City, and so up­ward to the Privy-Council, Convoca­tion and Parliament: But we never till now brought them upon the Exchange; there was never any Whig-walk and Tory-walk, High-Church-walk and Low-Church-Walk upon Change, that ever I knew of till now.

Certainly it is the Interest of the whole Nation to lay aside this part of the Strife: Parties have ruin'd our Peace, our Charity, our Society already, and almost our Religion too; If we let them Ruin our Trade also, What have we left? Well may the poor People wear Wooll in their Hats when they go to Vote for Parliament Men; I wish it may Direct them to chuse such Men as may put a speedy end to this Breach; for if Parties come to Govern our Trade, all our Commerce will be at an end, [Page 12] and by Consequence our Woollen Ma­nufactures.

We see it every Day, and I believe neither Party will Deny it, That the Heats on both sides, are such among our Parties, That, as if they resolv'd to oppose one another in every thing Right or Wrong, what one Party proposes, however Rational and Just, the other will oppose, only because these do it; and at another time, the same Party shall espouse the very thing which they op­posed, and be the Authors and Promo­ters of it themselves. Let the Passing Bills in Parliament prove this: Both Parties have brought in the same Bills when they have been in Power, which they have Voted against when brought in by the other Party in the time of their being in Power: Take the alterna­tive, Both Parties have Voted against those Bills when they have been out of Power, which they themselves have brought in when they have been in Power: The Bills for quallifying Mem­bers, for Excluding Officers, for Regu­lating Elections, the Triennial, and the Occasional Bills, are all Evidences of what I say.

[Page 13]This is the present Case, and when it will be otherwise God only knows: But run to what Extremes you please, and push your own Disasters as far as you please; I am resolv'd, in all I shall say on the Subject of Trade, to speak of it as it ought to be spoken of (viz.) as a thing entirely unconcern'd with Parties, or with any of our Divisions, whether it be with or against popular Opinion, with or against those People who I hope mean well, or with or against the Government or Ministry is not the question to me: What I say now, I said before, I al­ways said, and say again, If we are in our Trading Senses, we ought to open the Trade to France; and my Reason is the same as it was before, neither the Trade, or the Reason of the Trade, has suffer'd the least alteration, We ought to carry on the French Trade, because we are able to do it to our Advantage; and we who are a Nation depending upon Trade, ought to Trade with every Nation we can get Money by.

I hope no body will think so grosly, as to suppose that I should mean by this, That we ought to Trade to France, whether it be to our Advantage or no.

[Page 14]It remains for me therefore to Exa­min next, upon what foot of Trade we now stand with France, and how it ap­pears that the Trade may now be car­ried on to our Advantage?

I have nothing to do here with the Question so much Canvass'd lately in Print between the Writers of both sides (viz.) Whether the Trade to France was always to our Advantage or no? I acknowledge I was always of Opinion that it was not: I mean as to the Ballance of Trade. I was bred to the French Trade from a Youth and have known my share of the Particu­lars of it, and I know their Import was always very Heavy when our Duties upon them were Low, our Gust to their Wines, Brandy, Silks and Fashions High, and the Number of sorts of Goods Great, which we dealt with them in.

Yet I must own, since I have seen what has been alledg'd on both sides, I am more enclin'd to think, that what has been said on that Side as to our for­mer Advantage by the Trade, is more probable than I thought it before; and I crave leave for a small Digression, to shew what has so enclin'd me: Not that [Page 15] I design to enter into the Dispute about it at all; but meerly hint at what I have Observ'd in it, which I had not Consider'd before.

It must be allow'd, that our Expor­tations to France in Woollen Manu­factures were very great; I will not enter into particulars here, they are Publish'd on both sides many times over: Besides the Woollen Goods, our Allom, Corn, Fish, Lead, Shot, Cast-Iron, Wrought Iron and Brass, Block-Tin, Pewter, Skins, Druggs, Coal, but especially Leather, rise up to very great Sums.

Our Forreign Trade, or what is call'd Exports by Certificate, were likewise very great, and oftentimes much greater than any of the Accounts I have yet seen Printed; (viz.) our Plantation Goods; such as, Sugars, Cottons, In­dico, Ginger, Pimento, Tobacco; &c. Our East-India, Turkey, and Spanish West-India Goods, as Cochenele, Indico, Gauls, Dyers Woods, Cotton-Yarn, Grograms, Oyl, Spanish Wooll; as also Elephants Teeth, Bees-wax, Drugs and the like.

But if these are not allow'd to Ba­lance the Imports from France, as I say [Page 16] again, I thought always they did not; yet the two following Circumstances which I borrow from another Publick hand, do incline me to believe they might; and this is all I shall say to what is past.

These Circumstances are, (1.) The Carrying on the whole Trade in our own Shipping, the Advantage of which I must acknowledge. (2.) The Ad­vance of the Price of the Goods sent from hence to France, which are for the most part-sold upon the Account of the English Stocks.

I have seen what is suggested by others on these Heads, (viz.) That the French are so encreased in Shipping, that they will now bring their own Goods hither, and that as much of the Trade is carried on by Commission from France hither, as by Commission from hence to France, which are to me of no force, nor is it true in Fact: The Dra­pers in Cornhill will readily testify in the Linen Trade, which is the Case alledged, That they always gave Com­mission to Morlaix for their Dowlas and Lockrams.

[Page 17]As to our Freight out being Carried for a small Matter, it is true it was so, in such Ships as went for Wines for what Goods they could get: But as the Bulk of our Goods went to Ports which the Wine and Brandy did not come from, and from Ports in England which the Wine and Brandy did not come to, this cannot be the Case; our Corn, Coal, and Lead goes chiefly to Dunkirk, Roan, Diep, and other Ports of Normandy, from whence no Wines are brought.

But I am not Disputing with any body; I am neither to Defend the Mercator, or Con­fute the British Merchant, let them fight on their own way; I am giving my own Thoughts only, which I shall do as Impar­tially as I can.

I must Ingeniously acknowledge, that I formerly received my Opinion of the Bal­lance of the French Trade being 800000 l. per An. to our Loss, from the Accounts given then about Town, and into Parliament, when I my self was in Trade; which made it be receiv'd at that time as a Common Opinion, and as such I Printed it in the Review, which some People are mighty well pleased to quote upon me now; and this Common Opinion was Derived from the Paper which past for Cur­rent Truth in those Times, called, A Scheme, &c.

But I have really been amazed to see that Scheme detected of such manifest Fraud, proved to be wholly false, and designedly to be Imposed upon the Nation, even to stripping it stark naked from all manner of [Page 18] Covering; and not one Word said in its De­fence; So that the Authors on that Side are careful to publish that they had no hand in it. Vide British Merchant, N. 14. Upon these things, Can any man blame me then that I acknowledge the Error, which I, among other People, fell into by taking that Account for True? And that I am not now of the Opinion, that the Trade to France was so much to our Loss as I then Printed it to be?

These are the Circumstances which, I say, have enclin'd me to believe, that our Trade to France fully Ballanced our Trade from France in former times.

If any Man Suggests that private Ends and Advantages have byass'd my Opinion, That Suggestion is False and Malicious; I Con­temn the Slander, and Defy them to prove the least Circumstance of it.

But the Face of things is now Chang'd, the Trade looks quite another way ever since the first War, and whatever it might be before, it is certain that NOW the Trade to France must be to our Advantage, and that prodigi­ously, compar'd to what it was: And this is the Reason, that it has ever since that time been my stated Opinion, and I have always Professed it, and Printed it, That it is our Wisdom to open the Trade to France for the time to come, and nothing but Stupi­dity and a Trade-Madness can prevent it: This, I say, is the Reason for the alteration of my Opinion in that Case, without the least private view, or the least regard to who is for or against it.

[Page 19]I cannot but think, if Men were enclin'd to do me any Justice, either in this or any thing else; That my having Printed this, as my Opinion several times, and several years ago, before any Parties concern'd themselves about it, ought to Defend me against the Malice of those who suggest my doing it now upon the Influence of others: But Rea­son and Justice are not Lowd enough to be heard in the Noise and Clamour of this Day, Time will make Men Cooler, and I must wait till then.

The Question therefore now before us is very short and plain, ( viz.) Whether it is our Interest to open a Trade to France? And whether we shall be Gainers by it, if we do it on the Terms of the Treaty of Commerce which is now proposed to us? I shall speak only my own Thoughts of it.

I have Examin'd as Nicely as I can the whole Treaty; I will not say, that several things might not have been added to it to make it more to our Advantage than it is: But the question then will be, Whether it was Rational to Expect greater Advantages could be submitted to by the French? If, indeed, we had been Masters of France, and had only one side of a Treaty to make, viz. to set down what Terms the French King should be obliged to yield to, without Conceding any thing to them on our part; then it should not have been a Treaty, but an Act of Parliament, Enacting in what manner the French should Trade with us; as we do with Ireland; which had it been our [Page 20] Case, I should have taxt the Ministry with great Indolence and Neglect of our Interest, that they had not forb [...]d the French making any kind, of Woollen Manufacture at-all, and taken off all Duties on the Impor­tation of ours: They should have caused all Woollen Manufactures from Holland, Flan­ders, Germany, Swisserland, &c. to have been Prohibited, &c. They should have caused the French to send no more Ships to the East-Indies, Turkey, or Canada, and have caused Martinico and Quebec to have been surrendred to us, as they did Newfoundland and St. Christophers.

I do acknowledg these are all Articles, in which the Treaty of Commerce might have been made better than it is.

They might also have Continued all the high Duties on French Goods in England as they now stand, and which are in the nature of Prohibitions, and made the whole Coast of France a Free Port to the English, and many other things might have been done.

But take the Treaty as a Convention be­tween two Nations, in which we were to provide for the Equity and Justice of Trade, to settle the Equallities of Commerce between them, with due regard to the Proportions of Things, and the Circumstances of the re­spective Nations, for the Accomodation of the Subjects of both; and either Nation being Free, and without Dependance upon the other; I say, if we take the Treaty thus, as really it ought to be taken, I must Confess, and I must Speak my Mind freely and plainly, whoever it offends, I do not see how the Treaty could be made [Page 21] between the two Nations, upon more equal terms than it is; if I did, I should not be backward to speak it.

Nay, on the contrary, I do think, That the French King has struck such a blow by this Treaty to the Manufactures of Wooll among his own People, that if he stands long to the Conditions of it, all the Undertakers of Woollen Manufactures in France must be Ruin'd and Undone.

It might indeed have taken away some of the Clamour at this Treaty, if there had been some little Advantage given to the Portugal Wine Trade; but when I remember how the French and the Portugal Trade stood for­merly, when I was concern'd in them both, how the Portuguese Wines, paid above Eight Pound per Ton Custom, more than the French, and that now the French are brought to an equallity. I must allow that it is a large step in Favour of the Portugal Trade, and what must necessarily leave the said Portugal Trade in a better Condition than it was in before the War.

Nor can it be possible, that what some People say, on that Head, can be true, viz. That the Portuguese will, on the Breach of this Article, esteem the Peace broke, and will prohibit our Manufactures: The People who Argue so, discover, that they know but little of the Portugal Trade; the encrease of the Portugal Trade is known to all the World, and the occasion of it also is known, (viz.) the Encrease of their Trade to the Bra­sils: This is not only carried on with English [Page 22] Goods, but with English Stocks also; and the English Merchants of Lisbon, send great quantities of English Goods to the Brasils, upon Account and Risqs of the English Mer­chants at London, and upon their own Ac­counts, or else Trust the Portuguese Merchants with those Goods; to receive their Effects at the Return of the Fleets from the Brasils; so that without the help of the English Stocks, as well as the English Goods, it would be but a poor Trade that is carried on to the Brasils.

From hence it is easy to see that the Danger of Prohibiting our Woollen Manufactures in Portugal, is of no consequence; nor could they carry on the Brasil Trade, or indeed their own Trade, without our Goods; nor have they much Reason to complain, when upon a general Set­tlement of the Peace and Trade of Europe, Trade should be left to run in the same Chan­nel which it used to run in, since they are put therein upon an even foot of Customs with the French, whereas before they paid near 9. l. per Ton Custome more than the French.

I know the Portuguese have a Treaty, in which another kind of Proportion is settled, and much pains is taken, to magnify the Sacred Obligation of this Treaty; but such Treaties, must all, as the present Treaty is, be subject to the Determination of Parliament, otherwise it must be true as the Mercator has alledg'd, That we shall give the Prerogative a Power which it does not pretend to, and put it into the Hands of a single Agent, Envoy, or Plenipotentiary, to Repeal Laws, and Limit the Parliament of Britain, as to what they shall, [Page 23] or shall not, do; and as to what Duties they shall, or shall not continue, if laid on, or lay on anew; which I acknowledge is an Autho­rity Destructive of the whole British Constitu­tion, and inconsistent with the very being of Parliament.

If a Treaty with Portugal is made, which goes this length, it is void in its own Nature, and is no Treaty at all; and if the present Ministry had made such a Treaty with France, the Parliament would not have been bound by it, and indeed could not, without giving up the Peoples Liberties which they are en­trusted with.

These are indeed but my private Thoughts, nor do I regard, in them, what has been said by others on this Head, on either side; I say it again, All Treaties, so far as they respect the laying on, or taking off, of those Duties and Taxes, must be Subject to Parliamentary Authority, or else we give up Parliaments to the Prerogative, and revive that fatal Exer­cise of it, the DISPENSING POWER, which I hope never to see done in Britain, especially by those who Espouse the Revolu­tion Principle.

Also such Treaties ought to be Subject to the General Treaty for settling the Tran­quility of Europe; and as it has been thought fit to make some alteration in that Treaty, if the Parliament shall confirm those Altera­tions, I cannot see that the King of Portugal ought to think it unjust, because he ought to have considered when he made that Treaty, whether the Persons did not Capitulate with [Page 24] him, for what they had no Power to make Good; and if by the English Constitution, they had not Power to make it Good, he ought not to be offended, that we do not give up that Constitution to oblige him; I am sorry to see some People, who a few Years past, shew'd such commendable Zeal for the British Constitution, be willing now to Sacri­fice it to a Treaty, whose Conditions made by a private Minister, exceed the Power that either he really had, or, that they who em­ploy'd him, were able to give him.

On the other hand, That the King of Portugal shall immediately look on the Infracti­on of this Treaty, as an Insult, and a Breach of the Peace, and the like, and should there­upon prohibit our Manufactures of every kind, which indeed is Prohibiting Commerce with us, and consequently, Declaring War. This I cannot, perswade my self of, for this would be an open Defiance, and I am satisfied the King of Portugal has too much Sense of the Equity of things, to break with England on that ac­count; or if he should have so little Wit, England may find Ways and Means to reduce the Por­tuguese to Reason, and to resettle the Trade again to our Satisfaction; or else Portugal is represented to be a much more Potent Prince than I take him to be. The King of Portugal, if the Debate about the Peace between him and Spain continue, is like to stand in too much need of the Councils and Assistance which Britain is in condition to yield him; I say, too much to suffer him to break with Britain on so trivial an occasion.

[Page 25]I cannot but think our People give too much weight to the Portuguese in this case, and make the Portugal Nation seem to carry a greater Poise in the Ballance and Trade of Europe, than their Circumstances allow, ma­king England so much oblig'd to the Portuguese, as to be afraid of their Prohibiting our Trade, as if they were not at all concern'd, to have their Wine, their Oyl, and their Fruit shut out of England, altho' they know if it should be so, they are quite undone.

I insist the less on this, because I see it in debate by other hands; but I must own I cannot but wonder to see People lay, as it were, the whole stress of their Arguments upon a Treaty with Portugal, which if it should be granted, to be so sacred would be a dreadful Precedent for this Nation, in Giving up our Parliament, our Privileges, and our Constitution, to the Power of the Ministry, and enable them to tye up the Parliaments hands, by what-ever little Bargains they may make Abroad, pretending that They, (the Court,) have agreed that it shall be so and so.

I would calmly entreat such Men to reflect a little, how oddly it would sound in the Ears of all the Ancient Patriots of the Re­volution, and the Defenders of English Li­berty, If they were now alive, to have a Minister of State stand up in the House of Commons, when a Money-Bill was before them, and say, Mr. Speaker, ‘"We cannot lay any farther Duty on such and such Goods from Portugal, for her Majesty has made a Treaty to the Contrary: And Mr. Speaker, [Page 26] Her Majesty Commands you to lay such and such higher Duties upon, and not to take off such and such Duties from French Goods; for a Treaty is made that it shall be so."’

Let us but compare this with the Language of our Constitution to be found in Magna Charta, Sir Ed. Coke, Bracton, and all the Writings of our best Lawyers, and see whe­ther this is not laying the Axe to the Root of Parliaments, and Sapping the Foundations of the English Liberty, and all this to give a Sanction to a Treaty which stands in no need of it, and which, if the worst comes to the worst, ends in the Imaginary Resentment of a Power who is in no manner of Condition to quarrel with us; This is a step I confess I ne­ver expected to see taken in Britain, and it is really a Melancholly thing, to see our People willinger to give up their Liberties, and their Parliaments, than the Court to take the Sur­render.

I shall make no farther Reflections on this Case; We are to be very Thankful that our Liberties are fix'd, and very Careful that we do not undermine them with our own hands.

If the present Ministry had taken Mr. Me­thuen for their Precedent, and quoted my Lord N— for their Authority, and had absolutely stipulated with the King of France to take off such and such Duties, &c. as by the Ninth Ar­ticle of this present Treaty is Expressed; and had not left it to the Determination of the Par­liament to whom it belongs, What would these People have said then? And how might [Page 27] the Ministry have referr'd them back to the Portugal Treaty for their Justification?

These things Clear up to me the Objection against the Treaty of Commerce which is Drawn from the Portugal Treaty, I do not by this resolve the Question, Whether it is pro­per to break in upon this Portugal Treaty, in order to make the present Treaty Effectual? Let no Man mistake, or strain my Words be­yond what I lay down as my express mean­ing; I shall speak to that by it self: But I say this, with respect to the whole Treaty with Portugal, which I am not at all backward to declare my Opinion of, and the Reasons for it, (viz.) That I think it cannot be justified; Those who made it ought, if they had been living, to have answer'd for it.

I come back to the main Subject, and to my Reasons as above, why I always was of the Opinion, That we ought to have kept open our Trade with France, (viz.) Because we could get by the Trade; and that we ought to Trade with every Nation we can get Money by.

I think I need spend no time to prove the latter, (viz.) That we ought to Trade with every Nation we can get Money by. We are a Nation which Depends upon our Com­merce, and our whole Prosperity, Wealth and Subsistance depends upon it, the Landed Interest not excepted, whose Rents would soon be reduc'd to such a Condition as to starve the Landlords as well as the Tenants, a few of higher Dimensions than ordinary excepted, if our Commerce should fail: [Page 28] This Commerce is supported and maintained principally by our Woollen Manufacture, which is so Considerable and Essential to it, that should we have no more a free Export, or a Vent Abroad for our Manufactures, the Import we make from Abroad would so over­ballance us from all parts of the World, that we should immediately be exhausted of all our Specie, and the other Produce of our Country would scarce feed us: For this Rea­son, nothing but a blindness, which no Na­tion but ours was ever possessed with, would have led us to be accessary to the stopping the Exportation of our own Manufactures, as has been done by Prohibitions of Trade whether to France, or to any other part of the World.

I know it has been Objected, That if we had not, the French would: To which I an­swer, then the French should, it was not our business to have done it first, to Prohibit our own Goods, because if we did not the French would, is Dying for fear of Death, and like a Man Hanging himself, because he is in danger of being Condemn'd to be Hang'd.

Our business had been to have Loaded the French Goods here with such Duties as might have secur'd their Importations from hurting us, and to have left our Woollen Manufacture Free to be Carried to France, or any where else, as long as ever they would have bought a piece of them; and if they must have been Prohibited, it had been the King of France's business to have Prohibited them, not ours. It is our business to sell our Woollen Manu­factures [Page 29] to every body in the World that would buy them; because the Produce of our Land, the Labour of the Poor, the Con­sumption of Foreign Imported Goods which are the Returns of them, is all carried on by it, and depends upon it: In short, we ought to Trade with every Nation we can Gain by, because the Gain of our Trade is the Essen­tial Article on which the Wealth of the Na­tion depends.

Having lay'd down this Foundation, it follows to prove that we can, and may Gain by the Trade to France: This must be proved, by proving that the vallue of our Exportation to France, with its Appendices, and additional Circumstances, shall exceed the vallue of our Imports from France; and this is proved by two Circumstances which attend our Trade now, which did not attend it before the War.

• 1. The several Kinds of Manufactures which we are now Masters of, and make ei­ther wholly, or in Part among our selves, which we formerly Imported from France.
• 2. The Loading the other Goods which we shall Import from France, with such heavy Duties as must ntcessarily lessen their Con­sumption.

There are other Reasons to be given of less moment; but these are the Two main Rea­sons which will prove our Imports to be very considerably abated.

[Page 30]There was no other Reason ever given, or indeed could be given, why we should not Trade with France but this, That we Im­ported such unreasonable quantities of their Goods, that infinitely over-ballanc'd what they took from us. Whether this was so or not, is not my question, I have spoken of that before; But whether it shall be so for the fu­ture?

Let any Man inform himself how much, in a probable Calculation of things, that Consumption of French Goods will be lessened by the quantities of their several Manufa­ctures which we make here, and if he will be just, he will find them very Considerable.

They are under a very great Mistake, who think the Wine and the Brandy are the only Considerable Articles which weighed down the Scale of Trade to the French side, there were several single Articles which very much exceeded the Wine Trade.

The Accounts which those who argue against this Trade shew to the World, and which are publish'd in Print, make the Linen Imported from France into England, amount to 600000 Pound, and they tell us the Lockrams and Dowlass alone amounted to by the same Account, Three Hundred and Sixty Thousand Pounds; the wrought Silks Imported in one year, they make to amount to Three Hundred Thousand Pounds, where­as by the same Account the French Wine is made to Amount to but 137500 Pounds, and the Brandy amounts to but 70000 Pounds; the Paper, they say amounts to 40000 Pounds, and the like,

[Page 31]I am not Examining here, whether these Accounts are true are not, it is manifest they are not; if they are false, then they will not make out the Ballance which they are brought to prove; if they are true, they will Confirm the Argument I am upon: For these Great and Capital Articles are all in a manner destroy'd, and cannot be recover'd, tho' the Treaty now in suspense should take place.

The Silk Trade is gon, the Importations of one Part, (viz.) Alamodes and Lustrings is entirely stopt, the Weavers themselves gave it up before the House of Commons; the Duty which is upon them, and which must continue upon them is, l. 1. 11. 6. per C. Weight, and is so great as utterly Destroys the Trade; not a Piece can be Imported to any Advantage, and take away the Profit of a Trade, you take away Trade; there can­not a Piece be Sold here, but what must be Run on Shoar by stealth; and if we cannot prevent that, it will be our own fault.

The other part of the Silk Trade is re­duc'd by Two things: 1. By the Improve­ments which our own Weavers have made in the Broad-Weaving Trade, which, since the Encouragement given them by Prohibiting the Wearing of East-India Silk, is so very great, that the French can never out-do them. 2. By the Duty of 12 s. per Pound Weight, which is still to remain upon the French Silks even by this Treaty: Under both which Circumstances, the Importation of French Wrought Silks will be very Low. I know it [Page 32] is Calculated in a publick Paper, to amount to between Fourty and Fifty Thousand Pounds a Year; but I have Reason to believe, and am Confirm'd in my Judgment by Men of Experience in that Trade, That it will be very little, except what they may endeavour to get in privately by stealing the Duty, which as I say above, if we cannot hinder, it will be our own fault.

I might give many Reasons to prove, that the Importation of Linen from France, which is the princpal Article of their Importations, will likewise be cut short; and after having hinted the Encouragement given to the Linen Manufacture in Ireland, the very great quan­tity of Course Tabling made in Lancashire, Westmoreland, Durham and Yorkshire, the thin Diapers and other Linen brought now free of Duty from Scotland, and the more than usual quantity of Course Linen made in several parts of England, besides this, I say, itmay be observable, that whereas they say we Imported 60000 Pieces of Lockrams and Dowlass from France in a Year, there has not been Imported one Sixth Part of that Quantity one Year with another, of Hambro Dowlass, or of all the other kinds of Cloth which have been sup­posed to answer to the Uses which the French Linen was applied to; this must evedently Demonstrate that the gross of the quantity is made at home.

The Undertakers of the Manufacture of Sail-Cloth in England and Scotland may answer for me, how much they shall abate the Im­portation of Vitre, Pertree, and Noyels Can­vass, [Page 33] with which we used to be supplied from France, for making of Sails, and if they may be Credited, they pretend to be able to make the whole Quantity; to which purpose, if the present Duties on the French are not high enough, and will not give them an Advan­tage of the French, sufficient to encourage and support their Work, on their Represent­ing the same to the Parliament, no doubt they may have farther and higher Duties laid on, from which the Parliament are not at all Limited or Restrain'd by this Treaty.

I might go on to speak of other Articles, as of the Paper, the Encrease of Distilling, the making of Glass, and several other things, all which joyn to lessen our Demand of Goods from Franee, by the finding ways to supply the Consumption at Home: But I think these are sufficient to answer for an abatement so Considerable, as would make the Argument good, seeing I am assured by those whose Judgment and Experience I esteem better than my own, That we shall not Import in each of those two Heads, (viz.) the Silk and the Linen, so much by a prodigious Sum, as they have given an account of to have been formerly Imported.

The laying on high Duties, and those Du­ties lessening the Consumption of other Goods, is the next Article, and might take up some of our time here, but I find it is spoken to by other Hands; the thing is so natural none can deny it, There cannot be the same quantity of Brandy Imported when it is to pay upwards of 50 l. per Ton Custom, [Page 34] as would be, or was, when it paid but 30 s. altho' the Distilling of Malt Spirits were not to be spoken of. The like of the Wines.

These are the Reasons on one Part, why I think it will for ever be true, that we may Trade with France to our Advantage, (viz.) That their Importations to us cannot be so great by a very great Sum, as they usually were in the Days of King Charles II. and King James II.

I come now to the Exportation of English Goods to France, and I must acknowledg that I go in this Part, upon a Foundation which is to me very satisfactory, tho' perhaps not Dis­cern'd by every one that Considers it.

Our Manufactures, which formerly were loaded in France with Extravagant high Du­ties, and at last with a total Prohibition, are now to be Freely Imported into France, pay­ing no other Duties than as by the Tariff of 1664, which is about Ten per Cent. and with a small Exception to the Woollen Clothes, and Cloth-Serges, which are to pay as by the Tariff of 1699.

This must let in our Manufactures into France in a full stream, and open a Door for a greater Consumption of them in France than ever was before; and this, I say, is the Rea­son on the other side, why I pretend to prove we shall now be Gainers by the French Trade: For if the only Exception against the Trade, is that of their over-ballancing our Export, if then I prove that their Export to us shall now Lessen, and our Export to them shall now Encrease, so that we shall for the future over-ballance them, then my Argument must [Page 35] be Good, (viz.) That we ought to Trade with them.

It is brought as an Objection, and it is all the Objection that can be brought in the Case, (viz.) That the French make all our Manu­factures now as well as we do, and therefore will not want ours any more. Nay, so warm are some People to have this believed, that they affirm, tho' I doubt without Evidence, That they make as good Cloth in France as we do; and as good Serges and Perpets, &c. and in such Quantities to, as that they can supply all the World; nay, and supply us to, if we will give them leave.

These Gentlemen beg the Question very peremptorily, and Demand that we should strangely take them upon Trust: But the matter of Fact has never yet been proved, and this is not an Age to believe Men on their Words, in things of such a nature, when Parties byass Men so much to strain their Principles, as we see is the Case every day.

It has been ask'd in Publick by one Paper, and I must ask it here; it is so natural, it cannot be strange if every Man, we talk with should ask it,—Where is this Fine Cloth and good Woollen Manufacture that the French make? where do they hide it? How comes it to pass that none of the Gentlemen who come over hither have any of it ON? Let the French Ambassador be a Test of this; or any other French Man that comes over, look on their Clothes, their Liveries, their Coaches. The French Ambassador cannot take it for an affront, that we say, an English Servant to a [Page 36] private Gentleman, would have thought him­self very ill used to have been Clothed in such Trappings; How Course, How Rusty the Black, How Spungy, how Nappy and Rough the Clothes, How ill made, How worse Dress'd, and How worst of all the Wooll of the Clothes they appear'd at first in! The English Colchester Bays would have look'd bet­ter than some of them look'd. If these are the Manufactures they boast of, I shall never fear, but when our Woollen Clothes, Stuffs, Serges and other Goods come among them at reasonable Rates for the Customs and Duties, they will make their own way, and shew the French that they are not able to make our Ma­nufacture to any perfection.

It is said, by those who Object against it, That they have our Wooll, and have gotten Work­men from hence, and their People Work Cheaper than ours can do, and why should they not make our Manufactures as good as we do?

This I desire to Explain upon a little, and I shall leave my Opinion to the Judgment of those, who are Impartial, if any such are left among us; as for those who will not judge Impartially, who will have it be, as they would have it be; and that will admit no Ar­gument but their own positive affirming a thing, these Sheets shall not meddle with them, nothing but Experience can deal with such, and they are never Convinc'd till they are made asham'd.

As to the French getting Wooll from Eng­land it is too true, that they get great quan­tities of Wooll both from England and Ire­land, [Page 37] ever have done so, and I doubt ever will do so; How to have it prevented I do not undertake to say, It is like the Distemper of the Gout in the Body, which every Body has a Medicine for, and no body can Cure.

As to getting Workmen from England, I will not say but That may be True also, tho' we have not seen it proved; take that with you too; Traytors to their Country are al­ways to be had, who for a Morsel of Bread will do any thing; and as there is no Law to punish them, and they are out of reach also, we must always be Content.

But neither of these can come into the Party-question: The Government can no more hinder Men going over to France to teach the Clothworkers how to Dress their Cloth, than they can hinder Men going to List in Foreign Armies. The New Ministry can no more hinder the Exporting of Wooll, than the Old Ministry could; I believe they would willingly hearken to any means that would be effectual, and so would the last Mi­nistry have done; but both have been tyred with the Quacking of Projectors, who have always Worried Innocent Men, Conniv'd at Rogues, and left the Disease worse than they found it.

But I shall undertake to prove two things here, that shall Confound all this Notion: (1.) That neither the Workmen, or the Wooll, will effectually answer for making our Woollen Manufacture. (2.) That neither the French, or any Nation in the World do, or can, Work Cheaper than the English both can and do.

[Page 38]From these Principles I insist upon it, That the French cannot make our Woollen Manu­factures so as to prevent the Sale of ours, when a Trade shall be opened by taking off the Duties, as by the Tariff of 1664. but that on the Contrary, our Goods coming among them shall be so much better, and in proportion to that goodness so much Cheaper, that they shall in time destroy all their Un­dertakings of Woollen Manufacture, and en­crease the Consumption of ours: On this account, joyn'd to what I have said before, it is, that I say we may gain by the French Trade, and is therefore another Reason why we ought to Trade with them.

The Original or Foundation of the Manu­facture is the Wooll; the first step to the Working this Wooll, is the Sorting, Comb­ing, Carding, and Preparing the Wooll: The first, to wit, the Sorting the Wooll, re­quires Judgment and Experience in the Master Clothier, who must know what kind of Wooll is proper for every Manufacture: From hence we find that in the Clothing Countries, they throw by a great quantity of their Wooll as not proper for their Work, and this is Carried out of those Countries to the Worsted Works, and to the Comber; again in the Stuff-making Countries, the Wooll which is not proper for them is pick'd out and laid by, and carried out of their Countries to the Clothiers; and, the like of other Manufa­ctures.

This judgment perhaps may be carried over to France, by such Vagabond Bankrupt Clo­thiers [Page 39] and Combers as were not able to show their Heads at Home, Necessity may tempt such to go Abroad: As to the Carding, Combing, and Preparing the Wooll when Sorted, That is a Road which any one may Teach them, and which they perhaps may not want to Learn: So that this is not the Point.

The next Article is the Spinning, and give me leave to say THIS, as it is the Essential, so it is the Inimitable part of our Manufacture, and the French are utterly Unable to do this, and we are Unable to Teach them; They are so far from being able to Imitate the various sorts of Spinning which is now practiced in England, that really we cannot Imitate our selves: There is so much Evidence in this Truth, and it is so well known, and so prov'd by Experience, That I freely appeal to all the Manufactures of Great-Britain for the proof of it.

The Spinning, generally speaking, is the Work of the Women and Children, it is Learn'd from Mother to Daughter, as Birds Learn to Sing, Cocks to Crow, and little Children to Speak, (viz.) by Immediate Imi­tation: The manner is carried from one to another by that aptness which is in the young of every Creature to follow the old, and be­comes a Natural Habit, like a Tone in the Speech, which is peculiar to this or that Coun­ty, which they, who use it, know not how to alter; and they, that do not, know not how to imitate.

Thus you may know the People who are Born and Bred in the several parts of this [Page 40] Kingdom by the Shibboleth of the Place they come from, they cannot Conceal it; nor can a Man Born in another part of the Country Mimick them so but that he will easily be known to be a Counterfeit: This is plain in the People of Norfolk and Suffolk, East; Devon, Somerset, Wilts and Dorset, West; Lancashire North-West; Yorkshire, Durham and Northum­berland, North; Scotland, Wales, and several other parts.

In like manner every way the same in its kind, and introduc'd the same way, (viz.) by a meer habit, and that not to be alter'd by themselves, or imitated by others, is the Manufacture of Spinning Naturalized to the People of the several Parts of England, ac­cording to the several Countries they have been taught to Work in: Nay, even in the same Countries the Spinning differs, as the se­veral Manufactures which this or that part of the County are Employ'd in differs.

The Consequence of this is Essential to the Manufacture, whence proceeds the variety of our sorts of Goods, which appears not at all according to the Nature of the Wooll, but according to the different Places where it is Wrought; the Reason of which is the Spin­ning, and nothing else.

A Proof of this is easily known by this Ex­periment; take the Spinning of one County, and carry it to be wrought into another Coun­ty, and for another kind of Goods than it uses to be wrought in, the Defect shall, presently appear in the Goods, altho' for the Goods it was Spun for, it was the best of its Kind that could be.

[Page 41]Nay, take the Spinning of one Town, and carry it to another Town where the same Kind of Goods are made, and it shall Work into that same sort, of the Kind, which were made in the Town from whence it came. How comes it to pass, That no Place in Eng­land can make the Bays but Colchester? the Says but Sudbury? the Serges but Devonshire? the Kerseys but Hallifax? the Fine Whites but Gloucester and Worcestershire? the Tamies but Coventry? the Cantaloons but at Bristol?

Nay, of these Goods, How come the se­veral Species to differ so from one another! Why cannot the Men of Bocking make as good Bays as at Colchester? Why are the Shaloons in Northamptonshire better than those in the West? Why the Devon Kersies better than the York­shire? and that these Towns, and Countries, tho' they have, or may have the same Wooll, are not able, with all their Skill, to Imitate or Come up to one another?

It is manifest that it is all in the Spinning; whatever the Difference is it is hard to deter­mine; but that such a Difference is I affirm, and I appeal to all the Manufacturers in England for the truth of it: And this Difference runs thro' the whole Operation of the Manfacture that follows it, like an Error in the first Concocti­on, which is never mended in the second; so an Error, or a peculiar way in the first Spin­ning, is never Corrected afterward; but as is the Yarn such is the Stuff, let it be of what Kind it will.

Now this, I say, is impossible to be Carried into France: The People there Spin, and [Page 42] perhaps may Spin Finer than ours, and I be­lieve they do; but unless they Spin the same Kind of Threed for the same Kind of Manu­facture that we do, they can no more Imitate ours, than one of our Towns or Counties can Imitate another.

For Example, Take a Woman that has been bred to Spin for the making of Flannel, suppose from Shropshire, and carry her into Essex, and let her see how they Spin as much as she will, and try as much as she can, she shall no more Spin good Yarn for making a Piece of Bays, or to Sudbury, she shall no more Spin for their Work, than the Spinners there can for her Flannel; she can no more alter her Hand effectually, than she can shake off her Shropshire Dialect from her Tongue, and learn to Whine and Talk as they do in Suffolk.

How many attempts of this kind have been made in England, (viz.) to Transplant the Manufacture of one County into another, and we have very rarely found it practicable; If then one County cannot Imitate another, if one Town cannot Imitate another, nay, in some Goods one Manufacturer cannot Imitate another, tho' they have all the same Materials too, How should another Nation Imitate us?

And what is the Reason that we find such Struggling, such Envying, such Quarrelling among our Manufacturers, like tittle Parties in the Trade, to get one another's Spinners away, and to get this or that Town Spinning away, but because the Goodness of a Manu­facture always depends upon the Goodness of [Page 43] the Spinning: How comes this or that Clothiers Goods to be known at Blackwell-Hall, and to be enquired for by his Name, and by his Mark, and to Sell better than his Neighbours, and the like of other Goods, but that he has better Spinners than his Neighbours?

I might Dwell upon this, Prove and Explain it by many Arguments and Examples; but I believe every one who has any Experience of Trade will grant it.

If then, I say, we cannot Imitate one another in our Manufactures, where we have plenty of all Materials, Choice of the Wooll, and Experienc'd Workmen, only by Reason of the Difference and Difficulty of the Spin­ning; How shall a Foreign Nation adapt their Spin­ning to our Manufacture? a Nation that have a great scarcity of Wooll, and must mix several Kinds, and the Wooll of several Nations together, that have a scarcity of all other Materials, and above all must take such Wild and Untaught Spinners as they can get?

Nor will it Argue in this Case to say they can have Spinners from hence; for I affirm, the best Spinner in England cannot teach another to Spin as she Spins, if ever the Learner had Spun any thing before; but if she Teaches, it must be young Children from Five year and upwards, or some that had never touch'd a Wheel.

When this is done, this Teaching Spinner can Teach only to Spin as she Spun her self, be it for whatsoever Species of Manufacture she was brought up to; and I dare say, that the Nation can very rarely shew a Spinner that can Spin very well a Yarn for more than one Kind of Manufacture; so that by this Rule the French must get Spinners over to Teach their People, Distinguisht by their Work for every kind of Manufacture we make.

This is a Reason why the French cannot come up to our Manufacture, and a Reason which, I flatter my self, cannot be answer'd.

There is yet another thing which affects indeed some of our Manufactures only, but so many of them, and that so Considerable a part, ( viz.) our Clothing, that I believe it renders it Inimitable in any other Part of the World, and this is the Water: I have not time to Enlarge upon this; but let the Men of Stroud water in Gloucestershire be the Standard, and let us see any [Page 44] other Part of this Nation come up to them, and then we may suggest that other Nations may also do it.

This would take up a Tract by it self to Explain, and to Examin the Reasons, why one Kind of Water should be better than another, for Dressing, Milling, Washing, as well as Dying; and why, tho' the Dutch or French were able to fix brighter and better Colours than we can, yet the Wooll it self shall not work so kindly, the Nap of the Cloth rise so well, nor the Shearer work so close, with the Dressing in one Water, as it shall in another; and for this Reason the Clo­thiers in some Parts Carry their Goods many Miles to these or those Fulling Mills, when there are others nearer home.

I am so near the Close of this Tract that I cannot Enlarge; but I come to another Case in our Manu­facture, wherein I find we are run down by a Vulgar Error, which however at this time is made mighty Use of, and makes more Noise than is for our Reputation, especially as it comes out of our own Mouths, and this is, That the French People Work Cheaper than we; nay, so great is the assurance which our People speak it with, that they are not slack to say, that they can Work Cheaper by Four pence in a Shilling.

I am bold to say, such Discourse is enough to Con­vince any Man that understands Manufacturing, that the People who speak it, either say it without know­ledge, or against knowledge, I am afraid it is the lat­ter.

Could the Poor in France Work Cheaper than the English by a Groat in a Shilling, could the Spinner, the Weaver, the Carder, the Dresser, the Dyer, &c. perform all those Works which are at the beginning of the Manufacture Four-pence in a Shilling Cheaper than the English, the Clothier that finishes it would be able to Sell it Eight pence in the Shilling Cheaper when it was finished, for that Difference in the first Work would double in the Price of the whole Cloth, and so the Clothes which the English could not Sell under Twelve Shillings per Yard at Market, the French would sell at Four Shillings per Yard, and of Consequence must of Necessity have long ago had all the Trade of the World.

[Page 45]As this, tho' but a short hint, is sufficient to Ex­pose the falshood of that Suggestion, so I shall lay one thing down as a certain Truth, which I know to be True of my own certain knowledg in many Ca­ses, and offer to prove by good Evidence in others, and I shall leave it to farther Enlargement, if I am call'd to speak to it again; The Assertion is this in short.

That set the Goodness and Quantity of their Work against their Wages, and no Nation in the World Works Cheaper than the English.

Let no Man suggest that this cannot be made out, my Name is to this Book, I'll make it good, and at any reasonable Hazard, I offer to prove it beyond the power of all the Cavils of the World: Take it in any, or all the Branches or Parts of the Woollen Ma­nufacture, I repeat it again in other Words, Set the goodness of the Performance, and the quantity of Work done, against the Wages, no Manufacturers in the World have their Work done Cheaper, or for for less Wages, than the English.

I do not deny but in Diligence they may out-do us, I know the English Poor are not so forward to Work as the French, and perhaps when the English have earn'd their Money hardly, they may spend it lightlier than others, and be as poor as any of them.

I know that if you higher a Frenchman by the Day, he shall come at less Wages.

I know if the French man Works for himself, he shall sit to it more hours.

But then the English Day Man shall do more Work in less time.

Or the English Day Man shall make better Work.

And the English-man that Works for himself shall perform as much in less time than the French-man, or make his Work Deserve more Wages.

I appeal to Spittle fields for the Truth of this in part, and even to the French Manufacturers there themselves.

Had I room here, I should produce Experiments which I have made of the English Manufacturing, against French-men, Dutch-men, Scots-men, and others, I can prove in them all, that we Work much Cheap­er [Page 46] than any People in the World, allow Weight for Inches, as the Jockies call it, and I am not at all partial to my own Country in it neither: But I can­not Enlarge upon this Subject.