Much French Wooll wrought up by mixing with ours.
And by having our good English Wooll, they can spend two or three Packs of their own Wooll, mixing it with ours, by which meanes they make their Cloath and Stuffes pass very acceptably, both among themselves, and other Nations. Yea we our selves in England not being so wise, as we should be, for our own advantage, do buy the French druggets, &c. Made of our Wooll, mixed with theirs, and give great Prices for them too, when we do, or at least may make better of our own.
The care then being taken for granted, that English Wooll is the best, and most fit for Cloathing, Stuffes, Stockins, &c.
Poor to be Imploy’d.
How necessary may it be rationally supposed then, for our own People to be imployd in the working up our own Wooll, and how many thousands would be imploy’d of the Poorer sort of people, about such work, who might thereby, gain to themselves a very comfortable living, and free the Kingdom from those great burdens in maintenance of the Poor; they being able by their Labour, (if Imploy’d) comfortably to provide for themselves; for it is not the numerous multitude of people in a Kingdom, or Common Wealth, that makes it to be Poor, that they cannot live one by another, but the contrary, if all were imploy’d, and set at work, as there is imployment enough to be had, they would prove the especial meanes, to make a Kingdom Rich; as may be clearly instanced by the Dutch, how many scores of thousands of their Poor people are imployed about the Herring Fishing, which makes them very Rich, and brings in yearly, near two Millions of Money, or other commodities necessary for the Land, which are equivalent to Money, besides what they spend in the Land; this may seem to some to be a thing incredible, but I am able to make it cleare to any intelligent Person.
Poverty for want of Imploy.
Thus then by the neglect of our own Manufactures of our Wooll, flowes in like an inundation, the poverty of the Land; and hence arise those sad complaints, that fill every mans Eares, throughout the Kingdom, Alas! What shall we do to live, we have no Imployment; for if the Trade of the world abroad, for Cloath and Stuffes, &c. Be supplied from other Lands, which make their Cloath and Stuffes of our English Wooll, being Clandestinely Transported into Forreign parts; our English Trade for that commodity, must answerably decay; and if the English Merchant hath not vent for that commodity abroad, to other Nations, the Country Cloathier must strike off in a great measure, and consequently many of the Poor work folkes, are answerably taken off from their imployments, which formerly for many years, they had been exercised in, and so having no work, they get no Money, and so are reduced to a begging condition, or worse: these things are to be discerned clearly, without the help of a Perspective-Glass, by those that are in any measure intelligent in Politique affaires.
Profit lost.
Thus the profit of the Poor, that they should get to themselves for a maintenance is lost, and the profit gotten by their labour to the Kingdom is also lost, in the General, and this is brought to pass by the quicksightedness, and diligence of our Neighbour Nations; who finding dayly the sweetness of the Trade, and so exceedingly enriching themselves, by our commodity, Viz. Wooll; doe endeavour more and more, to carry it on to their own advantage, whiles we in England, in the mean time neglect our own opportunities, and advantages, which do so clearely lie before us.