Proposals for Building, in Every County, a Working-Alms-House or Hospital / as the Best Expedient to Perfect the Trade and Manufactory of Linnen Cloth

by Richard Haines

As the Case now stands, every Family in the Nation either directly or indirectly, send their Money every year to the Drapers for Linnen, the Drapers they pay it to the Merchants, and away it goes every year beyond Sea, and never returns; whereby our Wealth is made a Prey to other Nations, whose Poor are imploy'd and maintain'd thereby, whilst in the mean time our Nation is in a Consumption, our Poor live by Begging, Poverty increases, and our Lands lye unimproved, for want of this Manufactory.

But now under this Reformation, every Family that sends their Money to the Drapers, the Draper sends it to the Masters of these Hospitals, and they scatter it amongst all the Trades in the Nation; especially to the Farmers, and Tillers of Land, ready Money for Hemp and Flax; ready Money for Corn and Fat Cattle of all sorts; and the like for Butter and Cheese, or any thing they have to spare: And all this, or the greatest part, from those who before lay a Begging at their Doors, or were maintained by Contribution; and now, the more people Increase, the better it will be for the whole Nation: And doubtless, if an Imposition sufficient were laid on Foreign Linnen, Hemp and Flax, and Incouragement due to ingenious and industrious people given, (as in this Case, the Nation might well afford) then to be sure, our Hospitals would be suddenly stock'd with curious Artists, by which our new Manufactory would speedily be brought to perfection.

'Tis worth consideration also, how great an Ornament, besides the great Wealth these Hospitals would be to His Majesties Kingdom, and how much they would add to the Trade, Wealth, and greatness of those Towns near which they are erected.

13. Obj. You talk much of Charity, Let Charity begin at home with good Husbandry; If this course be taken, we shall pay dearer for Linnen, than now we do, and it must needs be best Husbandry to Buy where we may have it Cheapest.

Answ. If we send our Money beyond-Sea for what we want, then the more we Buy, the less Money we have to pay, which causes Scarcity of Money, and also, want of Trade, whereby to get more; but if we bestow our Money for Commodities made at home, our Money and Trade will continually Increase; and though for a little while we pay somewhat more, yet it is easier to part with 9 d. when Money and Trade are plenty and increasing, than to part with 6 d. when Money and Trade is both wanting; especially, seeing the 9 d. remains at home, and returns again, but the 6 d. is carried into another Nation, and lost irrecoverably.

14. Obj. In pag. 5. you suggest, That by your Engin, one Spinner may earn 9 d. as easily as 6 d. without it; But how can that be? since every Spinner now, may have a wheel to turn with her foot, and so have both hands at liberty, as well as with your Engins: And again, its a more usual fault to over-twist the thred, than to do it too slack; therefore no need of help to turn the wheel.

Answ. To this I Answer, First, That the thing we chiefly design, is to imploy and maintain such as cannot any other way earn half their living by any other Imploy, so that more than half the Spinners would be very young, and of little strength, and consequently to imploy one foot all the time they Spin, will be very tiresome; nay, the strongest body cannot do it, without easing the same, neither can they imply both hands so freely, as when they are discharged of that burthen, or incumbrance.

As for Example: Two men of equal strength, skill, and nimbleness in all points, were to run a long Race, and one of them must carry such a weight in his hand, as is more tiresome to him than the motion of his Legs, and oft-times, must ease the Burthen with his foot: May not the other, who hath all his Limbs free, be at the end of the Race and half-way back again as soon, and more easily than this can get to the end of the Race. Possibly some may say, This Simile is not parallel, and that I make it better on my side than it is. To which I say, for the Resolution of this Question, Do but inquire of those that Spin, which of the Two is most tiresome, The turning of the Wheel, (either by the Foot or Hand, no matter which) or the other part of the Work. I have almost as often ask'd the Question, as I see any a Spinning (since I invented this Engin) and the Answer has always been, The turning of the Wheel; although they imploy both hand and foot by turnes to do it: Besides, it is burthensome, and also injurious to the body; especially for youth, which are growing, to be from Morning till Evening, always sitting.

Secondly, Although it be true, That over-twisting the Thred is commonly a fault, rather than slack twisting the same; yet the Cause of this fault is, that they do not draw the Thred fast enough: But to the better advantage, this will be easily cured, for now all the aforesaid inconveniencies being removed, which render the Work most burthensome; they may for their ease stand or sit, when, and as often as they please, and freely imploy both hands from morning to evening, much more easily than they could one hand before; and the faster they draw the Thred from the Distaff, the more they Spin, with less danger of over-twisting the same; so that I do not know, but those that are some-time used to this easie way, may Spin as much in one day, as now in two.

Furthermore, these Spinning Instruments may in like manner be for Expedition very serviceable for Spinning of Wollen, I mean Serges, Worsted, Camlets, and Stockings, which being well made, are much more to be incouraged than Hair and Silk, these being Foreign Commodities, the other of our own Growth, especially, since it is so, that our home Markets for Wool, and Foreign Markets for our Cloth grow worse and worse, and in the opinion of most, scarce ever to be recovered; which, if so, it must needs be the best Husbandry to promote such Manufactories, as may be for the Consumption of our own Materials.