Clockwork.There are many other things which may be and are daily improved amongst us; as Clockwork, wherein we sell nothing but Art and Labour, the Materials thereof being of small value; I have seen Watches and Clocks of great Prizes made for the Courts of Foreign Princes.
Paper-Mills.Paper-Mills are a Benefit to the Nation, as they make that Commodity from things of themselves worth little; so are are Powder-MillsPowder-Mills.; also ArtificersArtificers., who bring advantage to the Nation by supplying it with things which must otherwise be had from abroad for its own use, as also with others proper to be sent thither for Sales, and when Exported are more or less profitable as the labour of the Subject adds to their value; In like manner things are cheaper to us when we pay only for the first Materials whereof they are made, the rest being work done at home is divided amongst our selves, so that on the whole it appears to be the great Interest of England to advance its Manufactures,Methods to improve our Manufactures. and this I humbly conceive may be done these several ways.
By imploying the Poor.1. By providing Work-houses for the Poor, and making good Laws both to force and encourage them to work; but designing to speak larger to this before I close this Tract shall referr the Reader to it.
By freeing the Manufactures from Customs.2. By discharging all Customs payable on them at their Exportation, and also on the Materials used in making them at their Importation; for as the one would encourage the Merchant to send more abroad, so the other would enable the Manufacturers to afford them cheaper at home, and 'tis strange that a Nation whose Wealth depends on Manufactures, and whose Interest it is to outdo all others (especially in the Woollen) by underselling them in Foreign Markets, should load either with Taxes.
Logwood.Here I cannot but mention that of Logwood, a Commodity much used in Dying, which pays Five Pounds per Tun Custom in, and draws back Three Pounds Fifteen Shillings when shipt out, by which means the Dyers in Holland use it so much cheaper than ours;Dying and dressing our Woollen Manufactures at home. now if it was Imported Custom Free, and paid Twenty five Shillings per Tun at its Export, the Dyers there would use it so much dearer than ours here, and I think it would be well worth Inquiry, whither a Prohibition either total or in part of Shipping out our Manufactures thither and to the Northern Kingdoms undyed or undrest might not be made, I am sure it would be of great Advantage to this Kingdom if it might be done without running into greater Inconveniencies, which for my part I do not foresee, the Dutch discourage their being brought in dyed or drest, that they may thereby give Employments to their own People, and increase their Navigation by the consumption of great quantities of Dye-stuff, and the same reasons should prevail with us to dye and dress them here, But this deserves the consideration of a Committee of Parliament to hear what may be said both for and against it.
By not importing things manufactur'd.3. By discouraging the Importation of Commodities already manufactured either from our own Plantations or other Places, such as clay'd and refined Sugars, wrought Silks, Calicoes, Brandy, Glass, Earthen Ware, Irish Frizes, Tann'd Leather, Gloves, Lace, &c. and instead thereof we should encourage bringing in the Materials whereof they are made, to be wrought up here; this may be done by Laws, and also by being in love with our Home Manufactures, and bringing their Wearing into Fashion.
By freeing the Manufactures from Excises.4. By freeing the Manufactures from burthensome Excises, which do much discourage small Stocks, who are not able to carry on their Trades and make Provision for such great Payments; the Distillers have long groaned under them, and I fear the Glass-makers now will, especially those in and about London, who have another load by the Duty of Coals, besides the Swarms of Officers to which we lay open the Houses of those Men who deserve all the Encouragement we can give them, and ought to have things made as easie to them as may be; had the like Methods been used to our Wollen and Leather (as was intended) we might have repented it at Leisure; Taxes when laid on our Manufactures ought to be raised by such easie Methods as shall give least trouble to the Makers: Trade ought to be handled gently, and he that considers the Expences of this Nation at Five Pounds per Head comes to Forty Millions, and the Lands of England but to Twelve, will imagine easie Methods may be found out to raise a greater Tax annually then we pay, without loading either Land or Trade as now we do, a Scheme whereof may be easily drawn up.
By not exporting Materials till Manufactured.5. By prohibiting as much as may be the Exportation of things to the Plantations fit to be manufactured there till they are first done here, thus 'tvvas better Shooes vvere Transported to the Plantations than Leather, so things made of Iron, than Iron it self, this vvould employ our People, and add to the value of vvhat vve ship out.
By securing the Foreign Trade.6. By defending the Merchants in their Trades who export the Manufactures, and making it as easie to them as may be; To this end good Conveys should be allowed, and good Cruisers maintain'd to preserve their Ships, it being certain that what-ever is diminish'd out of the Merchants Stock doth so far disable him in Trade, and then consequently lessen his Exports and Imports; Courts of Merchants should be also erected for the speedy deciding all differences relating to Sea Affairs,Counrts of Merchants. which are better ended by those who understand them, than they are in Westminster-Hall, where all things are tried by the Nice Rules of Law, to whom after much Attendance and Expence they are often referred by the Judges, by this means they would see short ends to their differences, and not be detained at home to attend long Issues; but there can be no general Rules given for these Courts, which must be settled according as they best suit the convenience of every Trading City.
I am of opinion that the Trade of this Kingdom might be secured with no greater Expence to the Government than now 'tis at, but then better Methods must be taken, and Men employed whose Interests it is to see them put in Execution: When we first began this War the Nation had many Difficulties to cope with, the French seemed to vye with us at Sea, whilst their Armies outnumber'd ours at Land, but now blessed be God the Scale is turned, we force their Garrisons and storm their Castles whilst they look on unable to relieve, and at the same time our Navy-Royal blocks up theirs, whilst our smaller Fleets Bombard their Sea-Port Towns, we not only ride Admirals in the British Seas but also in the Mediterranean, and yet do now suffer more Loss in our Navigation than formerly we did; The French are come to a new way of fighting, they set out no Fleet, but their Privateers swarm and cover the Sea like Locusts, they hang on our Trade like Horse-Leeches, and draw from it more Blood than it is well able to spare, whilst we still go on as we did, without new Methods to countermine them; The French King breeds up a Nursery of Seamen at our Charge, whilst his Subjects are made Rich by our Losses; the Act for Cruisers was well design'd had it been as well put in Execution, the Parliament thereby shewed what might secure our Trade, but left things so discretionary to the Managers, that the Merchant knows not when he receives the Benefit thereof, or how to complain if he doth not, and by this means is in a worse Condition than he was before the making that Law, adventuring larger because he thinks he Trades securer; I confess for my own part I value nothing that cannot be reduced to a certainty in its practice, things seem difficult to those who do not understand them, if we are to Besiege a Town we make use of Soldiers, if to storm a Castle, Engineers, if to build a Ship, Carpenters, and so in lesser things, and yet Gentlemen are thought fit to sit at Helm, and steer the Ship wherein is Embarqu'd the Treasure of our Trade, who are altogether unskill'd therein, on whose good Conduct the Nation's Weale or Woe depends; Thus things do fall into Confusion, whilst Men undertake what they do not understand and set the Nation in a flame, whilst they injudiciously guide the Chariot of the Sun; This makes Foreign Commodities dear, and advances the Prizes of Materials used in our Manufactures, so that as Trade grows worse Expences grow greater, and at the same time no Body is a Gainer, The Merchant pays such high Fraights and Insurances, that he gets little by Trade tho' he sells his Imports for great Prizes; and yet the Insurers complain they lose by underwriting, and therefore advance their Premios, which is a new advance on Trade; and the Owners of Ships get nothing by their Fraights, because they pay great Wages to the Saylors, and meet with such Delays both at home and abroad that the length of time eats up all their Profits, so that Fraights must rather rise than fall; nor do the Saylors get, who generally brought home more Money to their Families in the time of Peace at three Years end when they served for Twenty-four Shillings per Month than they now do at Fifty, one lost Voyage bringing them more behind-hand than two good ones put them forward; Now if Heads well verst in Trade were set at work, Methods might be thought on to secure all with little Charge to the Government, and hereby the Kingdom might flourish, and be supplyed by the Merchant with Commodities cheaper, whilst the Insurers underwrote for less Premio, Fraights let on lower terms, the Wages of Mariners fallen, and All got more than now they do; our Numbers of Seamen might then be increased, and every Ship that goes abroad be a Nursery for the Fleet at home; Privateering, which is now become a Trade amongst the French, must then necessarily sink all concerned therein, its own Weight and Charge would crush it did we prevent their taking Prizes; and no doubt the Merchants of England would not oppose such Regulations in their Trades as they saw were to their Advantage, or refuse to be at some Charge when they saw those Payments saved Money in their Pockets, and that the management of things was put into the Hands of Persons engaged in the common Interest of Trade with themselves: This seems to me of great Importance in our Manufactures, when the foreign Materials shall be furnished cheaper to the Maker; besides if Trade were well secured the War would scarce be felt, Losses by Sea discourage the City, and the ill Consequences thereof reach the Country, whereby both suffer more than by all the Taxes they pay towards carrying it on.