The staple trade of England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was woollen. Coventry was one of the considerable seats of the industry, and known as a flourishing and wealthy town. In the
third year of Edward VI.—the time when this debasement of our coinage reached the lowest point—its trade was gone, and its population had sunk to 3000, "whereas within memory there had been 15,000."
In the extraordinary "Dialogue concerning the common weal of this realm of England," the scene of which was probably laid in this very decayed town of Coventry, the advance of prices, and the general tendency of the above argument, is more than amply borne out. "I have well experience thereof," says the "cappe" or hat manufacturer, "for I am fain to give my journeymen 2d. a day more than I was wont to do, and yet they say they cannot sufficiently live thereon. The city which was heretofore well inhabited and wealthy (as ye know every one of you) is fallen for lack of occupiers to great desolation and poverty."
"So the most part of all the towns of England," quoth the merchant, "London excepted; and not only the good towns are decayed sore in their houses, streets, and other buildings, but also the country in their highways and bridges; for such poverty reigneth everywhere that few men have so much to spare as they may give anything to the reparation of such ways, bridges, and common easements. There is such a general dearth of all things as I never knew the like, not only of things growing within this realm, but also of all other merchandise that we bye beyond the seas, as silks, wines, oils, etc. I wot well all these do cost
me more now by the third part well than they did but seven years ago."
"Such of us," says the knight, "as do abide in the country still can not with £200 a year keep that house that we might have done with 200 marks but sixteen years ago."
The course of the enhancement of foreign prices is thus argued between the merchant and the doctor.
Merchant.—"We that be merchants pay dearer for everything that cometh over the sea, even by the third part well. And because they of beyond the sea will not receive our money for their wares, as they were glad in past times to do, we are fain to buy English wares for them, and that doth cost us dearer by the third part, yea almost the one-half, dearer than they did before time, for we pay 8s. for a yard of cloth that within these ten years we might have bought for 4s. 8d. When we have thus dear bought outlandish ware, then we have not so good vent of them again as we have had before time, by reason there be not so many buyers, for lack of power, though indeed in such things as we sell we consider the price we bought them at."
Doctor.—"I doubt not if any men have licked themselves whole [i.e. recovered the loss] you be the same, for what odds soever there happen to be in exchange of things, you that be merchants can espy it anon. Ye lurched some of the coin as soon as ever ye perceived the price of that to be enhanced. Ye, by and by perceiving what was to be won thereon beyond
the sea, raked all the old coin for the most part in this realm and found the means to have it carried over, so as little was left behind within this realm of such old coin [i.e., good undebased coin], at this day, which in my opinion is a great cause of this dearth that we have now of all things." "Thereby" he adds again, speaking of this "basing or rather corrupting of our coin and treasure, we have devised a way for the strangers, not only to buy our gold and silver for brass, and not only to exhaust this realm of treasure, but also to buy our chief commodities in manner for nothing. It was thought it should have been a means not only to bring our treasure home, but to bring much of others, but the experience hath so plainly declared the contrary, so as it were a very dullards part to be in doubt thereof,... Do you not see that our coin is discredited already among strangers, which evermore desired to serve us before all other nations at all our needs for the goodness of our coins; and now they let us have nothing from them, but only for our commodities, as wool, felt, tallow, butter, cheese, tin, and lead. And whereas before time they were wont to bring us for the same either good gold or silver, or else equally necessary commodities again, now they send us other trifles as I spake of before, as glasses, gelly pots, tennis balls, papers, girdles, brooches, etc.... As I told you in your ear before, they send us brass for our treasure of gold and silver, and for our said commodities I warrant you you see neither gold nor silver brought