An Essay on the State of England / In Relation to Its Trade, Its Poor, and Its Taxes, for Carrying on the Present War Against France

by John Cary

Trade in general.THE general Notions of a National Trade whereby it may be Discovered whither a Kingdom Gets or Looses by its Managment are things well worth our Consideration. It being possible for a Nation to grow Poor in the Main whilst private Persons encrease their Fortunes: For as in the Body Natural, if you draw out Blood faster then the Sangufying parts can suply, it must necessarily wast and decay. So where the Exports of a Nation in Product and Manufactures are outballanced by Imports fit only to be consumed at home, though one Man may get by the Luxury of another; the Wealth of that Nation must decay, all one as a private Person whose Expences exceeds his Incomes, though he may for some time live on the Main, yet in the end he must fall to ruin.

The Profits of England arise Originally from its Product and Manufactures at home, and from the grouths of those several Plantations it hath setled Abroad, and from the Fish taken on the Coasts, all which being Raised by the Industry of its Inhabitants are both its true Riches, and likewise the Tools whereon it Trades to other Nations, the Products coming from the Earth, and the Manufacturing them being an Addition to their value by the Labour of the People. Now where we Barter these Abroad only for things to be Eat and Drank, or wasted among our selves, this doth not Increase our Wealth, but it is otherwise where we change them for Bulloin, or Commodities fit to be Mannufactured again.

Its Original.The first Original of Trade both Domestick and Forreign was Barter; when one private Person having an Overplus of what his Neighbour wanted, furnished him for its Value in such Commodities the other had, and he stood in need of. The same when one Nation abounding in those Products another wanted supply'd it therewith, and received thence things equally necessary in their Roomes, and by how much those Products exceeded the Expence, so much both the one and the other grew Richer, the remainder being sold for Bulloin, or some Staple Commodities allowed by all to have the same Intrinsick Value. And as People increased so did Commerce, this caused many to go off from Husbandry to Manufactures and other ways of living, for Convenience whereof they began Communities, this was the Original of Towns, which being found necessary for Trade, their Inhabitants were increased by expectation of Profit; this introduced Forreign Trade, or Traffick with Neighbouring Nations; this Navigation, and this a desire to settle rather on some Navigable Rivers, then in remote Inland Places, whereby they might be more easily supply'd with Commodities from the Country, and disperse those they Imported from abroad.

The Trade of England.I shall now take the Trade of England as 'tis divided into Domestick and Forreign, and consider each, and how they are Advantagious to the Nation, and may be made more so.

Inland Trade.The Inland Trade of England consists either in Husbandry, Manufactures, or Buying and Selling Buying & Selling., the last of which is of least Advantage to the Nation, and rather to be allowed for Conveniency then encouraged, whereby one Man lives on the Profits he makes by another without any Improvement to the Publick, Peoples Occasions requiring Commodities to be Retailed to them by such small parcels as would fit their Necessities, they were willing to give a profit to him who bought them in greater. And as this way of Trade came more in use, so the first Buyer not only sold his Commodities to the Consumer at home, but also dispersed them amongst those who were seated in the Country at a distance in order to supply the Inhabitants there, who allowed them a profit on what they bought; this begat the Ingrosing of Commodities, and thence came in skill and cunning to foresee their Rise and Falls according to their Consumption and prospect of supply; hence came the vitiating our Manufactures, every one endeavouring to under buy that he might under sell his Neighbour; which way of living being found in time to have less of Labour and more of Profit than Husbandry and Manufactures, was the occasion so many fell into it. From these Bargains Differences arising encreased another sort of People which were thought useful, whose business was either by their Wisdoms to persuade, or by their Knowledge in the Laws to force the unjust Person to do right to his fellow Trader, an Honourable imployment at first, and is still so in those who keep to the strict Rules of its Institution, which Differencies being to be Decided in the Courts of Justice (at first setled in Westminster-Hall, and afterwards for the Subjects ease carried into the Country by Itinerent Judges) these Orators were desired by the Complainants to present their Suites to the King in those Courts, to be heard and determined by his Judges, and to set forth the Case of the Plantiff, and Produce Evidence to prove the Truth thereof against the Defendant, who also appeared by another to make his Defence. But as Suites increased, it was thought necessary to confine all to one Method of Proceeding, which was called The Practice of the Court, therefore another sort of People called Attorneys were appointed to observe that Mechanical part of the Law, and see that all was Regularly and Formally managed; hence arose Sollicitors, who were to attend both, as well to represent the Matter rightly to the Orator or Council, as to see the Attorney fit things for a hearing, and also to Reward them for their pains, so that this Produced another way of living seperate from Husbandry and Manufactures: And as Trade increased so Courts of Justice were Appointed in several great Towns and Cities, which being of different Natures, Multitudes of People gave Attendance, expecting to get livelihoods by them.

Trade brought Riches, and Riches Luxury, Luxury Sickness, Sickness wanted Physick, and Physick required some to seperate themselves to Study the Natures of Plants and Simples, as also those several Diseases which bring Men to their ends, who in requital for their Advise and Medicines received Gratuities from their Patients: These brought in Apothecaries and Chirurgeons as necessary Attendants to their Imployments, all which were maintained by preserving People in their Healths; many also of ripe Parts were fitted for the Service of the Church, others of the State; great numbers were Imployed in providing Necessaries of Meat Drink and Apparel both for themselves and other People, such as Butchers, Bakers, Brewers, Taylors, &c. Others to fit things for their Pleasures and Delights, and by this means leaving Husbandry and Manufactures flockt off daily to Livelihoods which may seem to come under the third Head, who though useful and convenient in their respective Stations, yet these Men cannot be said to Augment the Riches of the Nation, only live by getting from one another, those two being the profitable Imployments out of whose Product and Improvement it gathers its Wealth.

Husbandry.The next part of the Inland Trade of this Kingdom is Husbandry, which Anteceded Buying and Selling in point of time, though the other hath the Precedence in this Discourse, and this consists either in Feeding or Tillage, by both which we raise great Store of Cattle, Corn, and Fruits, fit for the Food, Service, and Trade of the Inhabitants.

Feeding.To begin with Feeding; and here it would be endless to enumerate the various sorts of Cattle raised and bred by the care of the Husbandman, but those of most Note as they have relation to our Trade, are

I. The Beef; which as it Transcends the whole World in the goodness of its Flesh, so it affords many Necessaries for our use and Trade, besides its Service in Tillage, with this we both nourish our Inhabitants at home, Victual our Ships for Forreign Voyages, and load them with the several Manufactures wherewith it doth supply us, from the Milk we make Butter and Cheese, from the Flesh Beef, from the Skin Leather, from the Fat Tallow, and of the Horns several usefull Necessaries, of all which the overplus above our home Consumption we Transport and sell in Forreign Markets.

II. The Sheep; whose Golden Fleece being the Primum of our Wollen Manufactures does thereby Imploy Multitudes of our People, which being of different lengths and finenesses, makes them of different sorts, whereof they afford us a yearly Crop whilst living, and at their Deaths Bequeath us their Flesh and Skins, the first serves for our Food, and the latter we make fit to be used at home, and Traded with Abroad.