SOME THOUGHTS UPON THE SUBJECT OF Commerce with
FRANCE.
BY The Author of the REVIEW.
JOB 21.2.
Suffer me that I may speak, and after that I have spoken, Mock on.
LONDON: Printed for
J. BAKER,
at the
Black-Boy
in
Pater-Noster-Row,
1713. (Price 6
d.
)
SOME THOUGHTS UPON THE SUBJECT OF Commerce with
FRANCE.
I Could by no means foresee when I formerly publish'd my Thoughts about TRADE, that it should come to be so popular a Controversy, as it is now:
I am very glad however, as things have since hapned, That as my Opinion of the Trade with
France
was always the same, and for the same Reasons that it is now; so that I did put that Opinion in Print so many times, and so long ago, That I have left no room for Malice it self, without shameful prevarication, to Charge me with having Chang'd my Hand or my Heart in the matters of Trade. The time will come, when I shall make it appear as plain in other Matters also.
Six Year and Nine Year ago, and when the Ministry who then Govern'd Affairs had Lock'd and Bar'd all the Doors of Trade against
France,
—I ventur'd to tell them in so many Words, That
Vide
Review, Vol. I, and Vol. IV. Pa. 318.
if they had been in their Trading Sences, they would have Traded with
France
all the while they Fought with
France. I told them THEN plainly, That we Cheated the Nation of the Profits of an Advantageous Trade, by Prohibiting our
Lead
and our
Corn
going to
France,
under the Weak and Foolish Pretence, of not Supplying the Enemy with
Bullets
to shoot at us; and not Supplying the Enemy with
Corn
for their Magazines; when at the same time we sold both our
Lead
and our
Corn
to the Neuteral Powers, who at a double Price sold them to
France
; so that the Enemy got our
Lead
and our
Corn
for Bullets and Magazines, and we only Cheated our selves of the Profit
Vide
Review,
Vol. 6.
.
I Complain'd THEN, That the
Dutch
had the Wit to have an open Trade with
France
all the time of the War, and became thereby able to carry on that War, while at the same time they got from the
French
in Trade, part of that Money they spent upon them in the Field; whereas we shut our selves out of the Trade and the Profits too, tho' we were able to get by it as well as they, and wanted the Gain as much as they.
I Published THEN in Print, an Account of a Calculation of the Gain we made from
France,
after the Peace of
Ryswick,
when by the Opinion of some Eminent Merchants then, and still flourishing in
London,
and who can witness if they please, on what foot this Calculation was made, this Nation Cleared 90000 Pounds
per
Month by the Trade to
France
; from whence came that wonderful Flux of
French
Pistoles among us, which Suprised our People, and Raised that ridiculous Clamour of the
Oyster-Barrel,
and of their being
sent over to
Bribe our Parliament Men.
The truth of which was nothing but this, That our prodigious Export of Goods to
France,
so much over-ballanc'd their Import upon us, that they were oblig'd to supply the Ballance in Gold; the Parliament was oblig'd to reduce the said Pistoles from 17
s.
6
d.
to 17
s.
and the quantity was so great, that if our Accounts at that time did not err, above Eleven Hundred Thousand of them were Melted down at the
Tower,
and Coin'd into Guineas
Vide
Review,
Vol. 4. N. 55.
.
All these things, Gentlemen, I Printed in
The Review,
there they stand as Witnesses for or against me, if I have gone from my Opinion, chang'd my Sentiments of things, or Written against my self, let it appear; if I have not, why am I Causelesly Bullyed and Insulted by vile Mercenaries, and Ignorant Journey-men Scribblers, whose Fathers, as
Job
says, were not fit to be set with Dogs of the Flock; and who do it only because they think they please you in filling your Mouths with Scandal and Reproach:
But further yet,
These things, tho' Written against the late Measures, and in the time of a Whig Government, They could hear then, and not Dislike, not Quarrel at, or Insult me for Writing; If the Ministry themselves found it clasht with their Proceedings, yet they were always so Generous and so Just to me, as to allow me a freedom of speech when I spoke my real Sentiments of things: Believing that I spoke what I thought I had good Ground to Support; and if they had not allowed me that Liberty, I should have ventur'd their Displeasure and have taken it: The Day being yet to come that I ever withheld Speaking what I thought was needful to say, and what I knew I could Defend the Truth of, for fear of any Man's Face or Power in the World. Upon which Principle I still act, as appears by my standing fast to my said Opinion, in a Time when it procures me such a Tumult of popular Rage, even among those, who, I thought, had some reason to have used me better.
But how comes it to pass that what I might say then with so much freedom, I must not speak a Word of now? Whence comes this Change of your Tast! I affirm, and dare tell you, I can prove to your Faces,
Trade is the same,
there is not one Addition or Alteration to any part of the Trade, which does not more and more confirm what I said then, and make it just to be said now. How comes it to pass that a Man could be a WHIG and say this Four, Five and Six year ago, and must be a TORY if he says it
Now!
What Gentlemen! have you transferr'd your Reason and Judgment of things to the Tories! Are the Tories come down to make the right judgment of Trade, and are the Whigs gone from it! you will not allow this sure! What then can be the matter!
I'll tell you plainly the matter, and prove it when I have told it; The
Party-strife
between the Gentlemen out of Power, and the Gentlemen in Power, has,
Cursed be the Misfortune,
hook'd in the Affair of Trade into the Quarrel, and your Commerce is now become a part of your Politicks.
The Consequence of the thing,
unhappily for the Nation,
is this, That whatsoever part the Publick Managers take, the private Party Managers oppose. It has hapned, that the Ministry have made a Treaty of Commerce: Immediately a lowd Cry is rais'd against Trading with
France,
as if we were to continue the Interdiction of Commerce after the War was over, and were still to have a War of Trade, tho' the War of State was at an end. Now, if you please, let the Tables be turn'd, take it the other way; Had the Ministry chosen the other part, and made no Treaty of Commerce, I undertake to prove that it had been the same thing; and the same
Lowd-Cry
had been raised, and that by the very same People, about Neglecting the matters of Trade, and taking no Care, when they made a Peace, to open the Trade again, as other of the Confederates had done for themselves.
I am sorry to speak this Scandalous Truth: But the Fact is so plain, and can be so easily proved, even upon Names, and Sir-names of Persons; and is already made so publick by other hands, that my saying it will be no discovery.
I have nothing to do here, with any Remarks upon these Proceedings, there will be a time for it; but at present it shews us by what Means, and for what Reason, with what View, and for what End, the Affair of Trade is Drag'd in,
as it were,
by the Hair of the Head, into the miserable
Party-strife
which this Nation is Involv'd in.
By this Means, what I might have said Four year ago without any Reproach, what I might Print then in the very teeth of a Ministry then in Power without Displeasing them, is made
Party Treason
to be spoken now; and that Liberty which I took, even at the hazard of Displeasing the Government, I must not be allow'd now, lest it be a Service to the Government; and all this by Tumult, Rabble, and Roaring, not by Reason and Evidence.
But Blessed be the Author of Truth, that has made it Eternal like himself, and as no Man ought to be AFRAID of speaking truth; so no Wise Man will ever be ASHAM'D of speaking truth, however unpopular and disobliging it may be, or to the Damage of what Party of Men soever, provided only that it be seasonable necessary Truth: And such is this I am upon, I am very sure of it.
What has Trade to do with your Politick Squabbles, and what Business have Party Men with the Commerce of the Nation? Trade is neither
Whig
nor
Tory, Church
or
Dissenter, High-Church
or
Low-Church:
In all the Broils and Tumults that have exercised these unhappy Nations about
Putting
IN and
Putting
OUT, Trade has stood always Neuter till now. There may have been Parties in the Parishes, in the Wardmotes, Common-Councils, and Common-Halls of the City, and so upward to the Privy-Council, Convocation and Parliament: But we never till now brought them upon the
Exchange
; there was never any
Whig-walk
and
Tory-walk, High-Church-walk
and
Low-Church-Walk
upon
Change,
that ever I knew of till now.
Certainly it is the Interest of the whole Nation to lay aside this part of the Strife: Parties have ruin'd our Peace, our Charity, our Society already, and almost our Religion too; If we let them Ruin our Trade also, What have we left? Well may the poor People wear Wooll in their Hats when they go to Vote for Parliament Men; I wish it may Direct them to chuse such Men as may put a speedy end to this Breach; for if Parties come to Govern our Trade, all our Commerce will be at an end, and by Consequence our Woollen Manufactures.
We see it every Day, and I believe neither Party will Deny it, That the Heats on both sides, are such among our Parties, That, as if they resolv'd to oppose one another in every thing Right or Wrong, what one Party proposes, however Rational and Just, the other will oppose,
only because these do it
; and at another time, the same Party shall espouse the very thing which they opposed, and be the Authors and Promoters of it themselves. Let the Passing Bills in Parliament prove this:
Both Parties
have brought in the same Bills when they have been in
Power,
which they have Voted against when brought in by the other Party in the time of
their
being in
Power: Take the alternative,
Both Parties have
Voted against
those Bills when they have been
out of Power,
which they themselves have brought in when they have been
in Power:
The Bills for quallifying Members, for Excluding Officers, for Regulating Elections, the Triennial, and the Occasional Bills, are all Evidences of what I say.
This is the present Case, and when it will be otherwise God only knows: But run to what Extremes you please, and push your own Disasters as far as you please; I am resolv'd, in all I shall say on the Subject of Trade, to speak of it as it ought to be spoken of
(viz.)
as a thing entirely unconcern'd with Parties, or with any of our Divisions, whether it be
with
or
against
popular Opinion,
with
or
against
those People who I hope mean well, or
with
or
against
the Government or Ministry is not the question to me: What I say now, I said before, I always said, and say again,
If we are in our Trading Senses, we ought to open the Trade to
France; and my Reason is the same as it was before, neither the Trade, or the Reason of the Trade, has suffer'd the least alteration,
We ought to carry on the
French
Trade, because we are able to do it to our Advantage
; and we who are a Nation depending upon Trade, ought
to Trade with every Nation we can get Money by.
I hope no body will think so grosly, as to suppose that I should mean by this, That we ought to Trade to
France,
whether it be to our Advantage or no.
It remains for me therefore to Examin next, upon what foot of Trade we now stand with
France,
and how it appears that the Trade may now be carried on to our Advantage?
I have nothing to do here with the Question so much Canvass'd lately in Print between the Writers of both sides
(viz.)
Whether the Trade to
France
was always to our Advantage or no? I acknowledge I was always of Opinion that it was not: I mean as to the Ballance of Trade. I was bred to the
French
Trade from a Youth and have known my share of the Particulars of it, and I know their Import was always very Heavy when our Duties upon them were Low, our Gust to their Wines, Brandy, Silks and Fashions High, and the Number of sorts of Goods Great, which we dealt with them in.
Yet I must own, since I have seen what has been alledg'd on both sides, I am more enclin'd to think, that what has been said on that Side as to our former Advantage by the Trade, is more probable than I thought it before; and I crave leave for a small Digression, to shew what has so enclin'd me: Not that I design to enter into the Dispute about it at all; but meerly hint at what I have Observ'd in it, which I had not Consider'd before.
It must be allow'd, that our Exportations to
France
in Woollen Manufactures were very great; I will not enter into particulars here, they are Publish'd on both sides many times over: Besides the Woollen Goods, our Allom, Corn, Fish, Lead, Shot, Cast-Iron, Wrought Iron and Brass, Block-Tin, Pewter, Skins, Druggs, Coal, but especially Leather, rise up to very great Sums.
Our Forreign Trade, or what is call'd Exports by Certificate, were likewise very great, and oftentimes much greater than any of the Accounts I have yet seen Printed;
(viz.)
our Plantation Goods; such as, Sugars, Cottons, Indico, Ginger, Pimento, Tobacco;
&c.
Our
East-India, Turkey,
and
Spanish West-India
Goods, as Cochenele, Indico, Gauls, Dyers Woods, Cotton-Yarn, Grograms, Oyl,
Spanish
Wooll; as also Elephants Teeth, Bees-wax, Drugs and the like.
But if these are not allow'd to Balance the Imports from
France,
as I say again, I thought always they did not; yet the two following Circumstances which I borrow from another Publick hand, do incline me to believe they might; and this is all I shall say to what is past.
These Circumstances are, (1.) The Carrying on the whole Trade in our own Shipping, the Advantage of which I must acknowledge. (2.) The Advance of the Price of the Goods sent from hence to
France,
which are for the most part-sold upon the Account of the
English
Stocks.
I have seen what is suggested by others on these Heads,
(viz.)
That the
French
are so encreased in Shipping, that they will now bring their own Goods hither, and that as much of the Trade is carried on by Commission from
France
hither, as by Commission from hence to
France,
which are to me of no force, nor is it true in Fact: The Drapers in
Cornhill
will readily testify in the Linen Trade, which is the Case alledged, That they always gave Commission to
Morlaix
for their
Dowlas
and
Lockrams.
As to our Freight out being Carried for a small Matter, it is true it was so, in such Ships as went for Wines for what Goods they could get: But as the Bulk of our Goods went to Ports which the Wine and Brandy did not come from, and from Ports in
England
which the Wine and Brandy did not come to, this cannot be the Case; our Corn, Coal, and Lead goes chiefly to
Dunkirk, Roan, Diep,
and other Ports of
Normandy,
from whence no Wines are brought.
But I am not Disputing with any body; I am neither to Defend the
Mercator,
or Confute the
British Merchant,
let them fight on their own way; I am giving my own Thoughts only, which I shall do as Impartially as I can.
I must Ingeniously acknowledge, that I formerly received my Opinion of the Ballance of the
French
Trade being 800000
l. per An.
to our Loss, from the Accounts given then about Town, and into Parliament, when I my self was in Trade; which made it be receiv'd at that time as a Common Opinion, and as such I Printed it in the
Review,
which some People are mighty well pleased to quote upon me now; and this Common Opinion was Derived from the Paper which past for Current Truth in those Times, called,
A Scheme, &c.
But I have really been amazed to see that Scheme detected of such manifest Fraud, proved to be wholly false, and designedly to be Imposed upon the Nation, even to stripping it stark naked from all manner of Covering; and not one Word said in its Defence; So that the Authors on that Side are careful to publish that they had no hand in it. Vide
British Merchant,
N. 14. Upon these things, Can any man blame me then that I acknowledge the Error, which I, among other People, fell into by taking that Account for True? And that I am not now of the Opinion, that the Trade to
France
was so much to our Loss as I then Printed it to be?
These are the Circumstances which, I say, have enclin'd me to believe, that our Trade to
France
fully Ballanced our Trade from
France
in former times.
If any Man Suggests that private Ends and Advantages have byass'd my Opinion, That Suggestion is False and Malicious; I Contemn the Slander, and Defy them to prove the least Circumstance of it.
But the Face of things is now Chang'd, the Trade looks quite another way ever since the first War, and whatever it might be before, it is certain that NOW the Trade to
France
must be to our Advantage, and that prodigiously, compar'd to what it was: And this is the Reason, that it has ever since that time been my stated Opinion, and I have always Professed it, and Printed it, That it is our Wisdom to open the Trade to
France
for the time to come, and nothing but Stupidity and a Trade-Madness can prevent it: This, I say, is the Reason for the alteration of my Opinion in that Case, without the least private view, or the least regard to who is for or against it.
I cannot but think, if Men were enclin'd to do me any Justice, either in this or any thing else; That my having Printed this, as my Opinion several times, and several years ago, before any Parties concern'd themselves about it, ought to Defend me against the Malice of those who suggest my doing it now upon the Influence of others: But Reason and Justice are not Lowd enough to be heard in the Noise and Clamour of this Day, Time will make Men Cooler, and I must wait till then.
The Question therefore now before us is very short and plain, (
viz.
) Whether it is our Interest to open a Trade to
France?
And whether we shall be Gainers by it, if we do it on the Terms of the Treaty of Commerce which is now proposed to us? I shall speak only my own Thoughts of it.
I have Examin'd as Nicely as I can the whole Treaty; I will not say, that several things might not have been added to it to make it more to our Advantage than it is: But the question then will be, Whether it was Rational to Expect greater Advantages could be submitted to by the
French?
If, indeed, we had been Masters of
France,
and had only one side of a Treaty to make,
viz.
to set down what Terms the
French
King should be obliged to yield to, without Conceding any thing to them on our part; then it should not have been a Treaty, but an Act of Parliament, Enacting in what manner the
French
should Trade with us; as we do with
Ireland
; which had it been our Case, I should have taxt the Ministry with great Indolence and Neglect of our Interest, that they had not forb
d the
French
making any kind, of Woollen Manufacture at-all, and taken off all Duties on the Importation of ours: They should have caused all Woollen Manufactures from
Holland, Flanders, Germany, Swisserland,
&c. to have been Prohibited,
&c.
They should have caused the
French
to send no more Ships to the
East-Indies, Turkey,
or
Canada,
and have caused
Martinico
and
Quebec
to have been surrendred to us, as they did
Newfoundland
and St.
Christophers.
I do acknowledg these are all Articles, in which the Treaty of Commerce might have been made better than it is.
They might also have Continued all the high Duties on
French
Goods in
England
as they now stand, and which are in the nature of Prohibitions, and made the whole Coast of
France
a Free Port to the
English,
and many other things might have been done.
But take the Treaty as a Convention between two Nations, in which we were to provide for the Equity and Justice of Trade, to settle the Equallities of Commerce between them, with due regard to the Proportions of Things, and the Circumstances of the respective Nations, for the Accomodation of the Subjects of both; and either Nation being Free, and without Dependance upon the other; I say, if we take the Treaty thus, as really it ought to be taken, I must Confess, and I must Speak my Mind freely and plainly, whoever it offends, I do not see how the Treaty could be made between the two Nations, upon more equal terms than it is; if I did, I should not be backward to speak it.
Nay, on the contrary, I do think, That the
French
King has struck such a blow by this Treaty to the Manufactures of Wooll among his own People, that if he stands long to the Conditions of it, all the Undertakers of Woollen Manufactures in
France
must be Ruin'd and Undone.
It might indeed have taken away some of the Clamour at this Treaty, if there had been some little Advantage given to the
Portugal
Wine Trade; but when I remember how the
French
and the
Portugal
Trade stood formerly, when I was concern'd in them both, how the
Portuguese
Wines, paid above Eight Pound
per
Ton Custom, more than the
French,
and that now the
French
are brought to an equallity. I must allow that it is a large step in Favour of the
Portugal
Trade, and what must necessarily leave the said
Portugal
Trade in a better Condition than it was in before the War.
Nor can it be possible, that what some People say, on that Head, can be true,
viz.
That the
Portuguese
will, on the Breach of this Article, esteem the Peace broke, and will prohibit our Manufactures: The People who Argue so, discover, that they know but little of the
Portugal
Trade; the encrease of the
Portugal
Trade is known to all the World, and the occasion of it also is known,
(viz.)
the Encrease of their Trade to the
Brasils
: This is not only carried on with
English
Goods, but with
English
Stocks also; and the
English
Merchants of
Lisbon,
send great quantities of
English
Goods to the
Brasils,
upon Account and Risqs of the
English
Merchants at
London,
and upon their own Accounts, or else Trust the
Portuguese
Merchants with those Goods; to receive their Effects at the Return of the Fleets from the
Brasils
; so that without the help of the
English
Stocks, as well as the
English
Goods, it would be but a poor Trade that is carried on to the
Brasils.
From hence it is easy to see that the Danger of Prohibiting our Woollen Manufactures in
Portugal,
is of no consequence; nor could they carry on the
Brasil
Trade, or indeed their own Trade, without our Goods; nor have they much Reason to complain, when upon a general Settlement of the Peace and Trade of
Europe,
Trade should be left to run in the same Channel which it used to run in, since they are put therein upon an even foot of Customs with the
French,
whereas before they paid near 9.
l. per
Ton Custome more than the
French.
I know the
Portuguese
have a Treaty, in which another kind of Proportion is settled, and much pains is taken, to magnify the Sacred Obligation of this Treaty; but such Treaties, must all, as the present Treaty is, be subject to the Determination of Parliament, otherwise it must be true as the
Mercator
has alledg'd, That we shall give the Prerogative a Power which it does not pretend to, and put it into the Hands of a single Agent, Envoy, or Plenipotentiary, to Repeal Laws, and Limit the Parliament of
Britain,
as to what they shall, or shall not, do; and as to what Duties they shall, or shall not continue, if laid on, or lay on anew; which I acknowledge is an Authority Destructive of the whole
British
Constitution, and inconsistent with the very being of Parliament.
If a Treaty with
Portugal
is made, which goes this length, it is void in its own Nature, and is no Treaty at all; and if the present Ministry had made such a Treaty with
France,
the Parliament would not have been bound by it, and indeed could not, without giving up the Peoples Liberties which they are entrusted with.
These are indeed but my private Thoughts, nor do I regard, in them, what has been said by others on this Head, on either side; I say it again, All Treaties, so far as they respect the laying on, or taking off, of those Duties and Taxes, must be Subject to Parliamentary Authority, or else we give up Parliaments to the Prerogative, and revive that fatal Exercise of it, the DISPENSING POWER, which I hope never to see done in
Britain,
especially by those who Espouse the Revolution Principle.
Also such Treaties ought to be Subject to the General Treaty for settling the Tranquility of
Europe
; and as it has been thought fit to make some alteration in that Treaty, if the Parliament shall confirm those Alterations, I cannot see that the King of
Portugal
ought to think it unjust, because he ought to have considered when he made that Treaty, whether the Persons did not Capitulate with him, for what they had no Power to make Good; and if by the
English
Constitution, they had not Power to make it Good, he ought not to be offended, that we do not give up that Constitution to oblige him; I am sorry to see some People, who a few Years past, shew'd such commendable Zeal for the
British
Constitution, be willing now to Sacrifice it to a Treaty, whose Conditions made by a private Minister, exceed the Power that either he really had, or, that they who employ'd him, were able to give him.
On the other hand, That the King of
Portugal
shall immediately look on the Infraction of this Treaty, as an Insult, and a Breach of the Peace, and the like, and should thereupon prohibit our Manufactures of every kind, which indeed is Prohibiting Commerce with us, and consequently, Declaring War. This I cannot, perswade my self of, for this would be an open Defiance, and I am satisfied the King of
Portugal
has too much Sense of the Equity of things, to break with
England
on that account; or if he should have so little Wit,
England
may find Ways and Means to reduce the
Portuguese
to Reason, and to resettle the Trade again to our Satisfaction; or else
Portugal
is represented to be a much more Potent Prince than I take him to be. The King of
Portugal,
if the Debate about the Peace between him and
Spain
continue, is like to stand in too much need of the Councils and Assistance which
Britain
is in condition to yield him; I say, too much to suffer him to break with
Britain
on so trivial an occasion.
I cannot but think our People give too much weight to the
Portuguese
in this case, and make the
Portugal
Nation seem to carry a greater Poise in the Ballance and Trade of
Europe,
than their Circumstances allow, making
England
so much oblig'd to the
Portuguese,
as to be afraid of their Prohibiting our Trade, as if they were not at all concern'd, to have their Wine, their Oyl, and their Fruit shut out of
England,
altho' they know if it should be so, they are quite undone.
I insist the less on this, because I see it in debate by other hands; but I must own I cannot but wonder to see People lay, as it were, the whole stress of their Arguments upon a Treaty with
Portugal,
which if it should be granted, to be so sacred would be a dreadful Precedent for this Nation, in Giving up our Parliament, our Privileges, and our Constitution, to the Power of the Ministry, and enable them to tye up the Parliaments hands, by what-ever little Bargains they may make Abroad, pretending that They, (the Court,) have agreed that it shall be so and so.
I would calmly entreat such Men to reflect a little, how oddly it would sound in the Ears of all the Ancient Patriots of the Revolution, and the Defenders of
English
Liberty, If they were now alive, to have a Minister of State stand up in the House of Commons, when a Money-Bill was before them, and say, Mr. Speaker,
"We cannot lay any farther Duty on such and such Goods from
Portugal,
for her Majesty has made a Treaty to the Contrary: And Mr. Speaker, Her Majesty Commands you to lay such and such higher Duties upon, and not to take off such and such Duties from
French
Goods; for a Treaty is made that it shall be so."
Let us but compare this with the Language of our Constitution to be found in
Magna Charta,
Sir
Ed. Coke, Bracton,
and all the Writings of our best Lawyers, and see whether this is not laying the Axe to the Root of Parliaments, and Sapping the Foundations of the
English
Liberty, and all this to give a Sanction to a Treaty which stands in no need of it, and which, if the worst comes to the worst, ends in the Imaginary Resentment of a Power who is in no manner of Condition to quarrel with us; This is a step I confess I never expected to see taken in
Britain,
and it is really a Melancholly thing, to see our People willinger to give up their Liberties, and their Parliaments, than the Court to take the Surrender.
I shall make no farther Reflections on this Case; We are to be very Thankful that our Liberties are fix'd, and very Careful that we do not undermine them with our own hands.
If the present Ministry had taken Mr.
Methuen
for their Precedent, and quoted my Lord
N—
for their Authority, and had absolutely stipulated with the King of
France
to take off such and such Duties,
&c.
as by the Ninth Article of this present Treaty is Expressed; and had not left it to the Determination of the Parliament to whom it belongs, What would these People have said then? And how might the Ministry have referr'd them back to the
Portugal
Treaty for their Justification?
These things Clear up to me the Objection against the Treaty of Commerce which is Drawn from the
Portugal
Treaty, I do not by this resolve the Question, Whether it is proper to break in upon this
Portugal
Treaty, in order to make the present Treaty Effectual? Let no Man mistake, or strain my Words beyond what I lay down as my express meaning; I shall speak to that by it self: But I say this, with respect to the whole Treaty with
Portugal,
which I am not at all backward to declare my Opinion of, and the Reasons for it,
(viz.)
That I think it cannot be justified; Those who made it ought, if they had been living, to have answer'd for it.
I come back to the main Subject, and to my Reasons as above, why I always was of the Opinion, That we ought to have kept open our Trade with
France, (viz.)
Because we could get by the Trade; and that we ought to Trade with every Nation we can get Money by.
I think I need spend no time to prove the latter,
(viz.)
That we ought to Trade with every Nation we can get Money by. We are a Nation which Depends upon our Commerce, and our whole Prosperity, Wealth and Subsistance depends upon it, the Landed Interest not excepted, whose Rents would soon be reduc'd to such a Condition as to starve the Landlords as well as the Tenants, a few of higher Dimensions than ordinary excepted, if our Commerce should fail: This Commerce is supported and maintained principally by our Woollen Manufacture, which is so Considerable and Essential to it, that should we have no more a free Export, or a Vent Abroad for our Manufactures, the Import we make from Abroad would so overballance us from all parts of the World, that we should immediately be exhausted of all our Specie, and the other Produce of our Country would scarce feed us: For this Reason, nothing but a blindness, which no Nation but ours was ever possessed with, would have led us to be accessary to the stopping the Exportation of our own Manufactures, as has been done by Prohibitions of Trade whether to
France,
or to any other part of the World.
I know it has been Objected, That if we had not, the
French
would: To which I answer, then the
French
should, it was not our business to have done it first, to Prohibit our own Goods, because if we did not the
French
would, is Dying for fear of Death, and like a Man Hanging himself, because he is in danger of being Condemn'd to be Hang'd.
Our business had been to have Loaded the
French
Goods here with such Duties as might have secur'd their Importations from hurting us, and to have left our Woollen Manufacture Free to be Carried to
France,
or any where else, as long as ever they would have bought a piece of them; and if they must have been Prohibited, it had been the King of
France
's business to have Prohibited them, not ours. It is our business to sell our Woollen Manufactures to every body in the World that would buy them; because the Produce of our Land, the Labour of the Poor, the Consumption of Foreign Imported Goods which are the Returns of them, is all carried on by it, and depends upon it: In short, we ought to Trade with every Nation we can Gain by, because the Gain of our Trade is the Essential Article on which the Wealth of the Nation depends.
Having lay'd down this Foundation, it follows to prove that we can, and may Gain by the Trade to
France:
This must be proved, by proving that the vallue of our Exportation to
France,
with its Appendices, and additional Circumstances, shall exceed the vallue of our Imports from
France
; and this is proved by two Circumstances which attend our Trade now, which did not attend it before the War.
1. The several Kinds of Manufactures which we are now Masters of, and make either wholly, or in Part among our selves, which we formerly Imported from
France.
2. The Loading the other Goods which we shall Import from
France,
with such heavy Duties as must ntcessarily lessen their Consumption.
There are other Reasons to be given of less moment; but these are the Two main Reasons which will prove our Imports to be very considerably abated.
There was no other Reason ever given, or indeed could be given, why we should not Trade with
France
but this, That we Imported such unreasonable quantities of their Goods, that infinitely over-ballanc'd what they took from us. Whether this was so or not, is not my question, I have spoken of that before; But whether it shall be so for the future?
Let any Man inform himself how much, in a probable Calculation of things, that Consumption of
French
Goods will be lessened by the quantities of their several Manufactures which we make here, and if he will be just, he will find them very Considerable.
They are under a very great Mistake, who think the Wine and the Brandy are the only Considerable Articles which weighed down the Scale of Trade to the
French
side, there were several single Articles which very much exceeded the Wine Trade.
The Accounts which those who argue against this Trade shew to the World, and which are publish'd in Print, make the Linen Imported from
France
into
England,
amount to 600000 Pound, and they tell us the
Lockrams
and
Dowlass
alone amounted to by the same Account, Three Hundred and Sixty Thousand Pounds; the wrought Silks Imported in one year, they make to amount to Three Hundred Thousand Pounds, whereas by the same Account the
French
Wine is made to Amount to but 137500 Pounds, and the Brandy amounts to but 70000 Pounds; the Paper, they say amounts to 40000 Pounds, and the like,
I am not Examining here, whether these Accounts are true are not, it is manifest they are not; if they are false, then they will not make out the Ballance which they are brought to prove; if they are true, they will Confirm the Argument I am upon: For these Great and Capital Articles are all in a manner destroy'd, and cannot be recover'd, tho' the Treaty now in suspense should take place.
The Silk Trade is gon, the Importations of one Part,
(viz.) Alamodes
and
Lustrings
is entirely stopt, the Weavers themselves gave it up before the House of Commons; the Duty which is upon them, and which must continue upon them is,
l.
1. 11. 6.
per
C. Weight, and is so great as utterly Destroys the Trade; not a Piece can be Imported to any Advantage, and take away the Profit of a Trade, you take away Trade; there cannot a Piece be Sold here, but what must be Run on Shoar by stealth; and if we cannot prevent that, it will be our own fault.
The other part of the Silk Trade is reduc'd by Two things: 1. By the Improvements which our own Weavers have made in the Broad-Weaving Trade, which, since the Encouragement given them by Prohibiting the Wearing of
East-India
Silk, is so very great, that the
French
can never out-do them. 2. By the Duty of 12
s. per
Pound Weight, which is still to remain upon the
French
Silks even by this Treaty: Under both which Circumstances, the Importation of
French
Wrought Silks will be very Low. I know it is Calculated in a publick Paper, to amount to between Fourty and Fifty Thousand Pounds a Year; but I have Reason to believe, and am Confirm'd in my Judgment by Men of Experience in that Trade, That it will be very little, except what they may endeavour to get in privately by stealing the Duty, which as I say above, if we cannot hinder, it will be our own fault.
I might give many Reasons to prove, that the Importation of Linen from
France,
which is the princpal Article of their Importations, will likewise be cut short; and after having hinted the Encouragement given to the Linen Manufacture in
Ireland,
the very great quantity of Course Tabling made in
Lancashire, Westmoreland, Durham
and
Yorkshire,
the thin
Diapers
and other Linen brought now free of Duty from
Scotland,
and the more than usual quantity of Course Linen made in several parts of
England,
besides this, I say, itmay be observable, that whereas
they say
we Imported 60000 Pieces of
Lockrams
and
Dowlass
from
France
in a Year, there has not been Imported one Sixth Part of that Quantity one Year with another, of
Hambro Dowlass,
or of all the other kinds of Cloth which have been supposed to answer to the Uses which the
French
Linen was applied to; this must evedently Demonstrate that the gross of the quantity is made at home.
The Undertakers of the Manufacture of
Sail-Cloth
in
England
and
Scotland
may answer for me, how much they shall abate the Importation of
Vitre, Pertree,
and
Noyels Canvass,
with which we used to be supplied from
France,
for making of Sails, and if they may be Credited, they pretend to be able to make the whole Quantity; to which purpose, if the present Duties on the
French
are not high enough, and will not give them an Advantage of the
French,
sufficient to encourage and support their Work, on their Representing the same to the Parliament, no doubt they may have farther and higher Duties laid on, from which the Parliament are not at all Limited or Restrain'd by this Treaty.
I might go on to speak of other Articles, as of the Paper, the Encrease of Distilling, the making of Glass, and several other things, all which joyn to lessen our Demand of Goods from
Franee,
by the finding ways to supply the Consumption at Home: But I think these are sufficient to answer for an abatement so Considerable, as would make the Argument good, seeing I am assured by those whose Judgment and Experience I esteem better than my own, That we shall not Import in each of those two Heads,
(viz.)
the Silk and the Linen, so much by a prodigious Sum, as they have given an account of to have been formerly Imported.
The laying on high Duties, and those Duties lessening the Consumption of other Goods, is the next Article, and might take up some of our time here, but I find it is spoken to by other Hands; the thing is so natural none can deny it, There cannot be the same quantity of Brandy Imported when it is to pay upwards of 50
l. per
Ton Custom, as would be, or was, when it paid but 30
s.
altho' the Distilling of Malt Spirits were not to be spoken of. The like of the Wines.
These are the Reasons on one Part, why I think it will for ever be true, that we may Trade with
France
to our Advantage,
(viz.)
That their Importations to us cannot be so great by a very great Sum, as they usually were in the Days of King
Charles
II. and King
James
II.
I come now to the Exportation of
English
Goods to
France,
and I must acknowledg that I go in this Part, upon a Foundation which is to me very satisfactory, tho' perhaps not Discern'd by every one that Considers it.
Our Manufactures, which formerly were loaded in
France
with Extravagant high Duties, and at last with a total Prohibition, are now to be Freely Imported into
France,
paying no other Duties than as by the Tariff of 1664, which is about Ten
per Cent.
and with a small Exception to the Woollen Clothes, and Cloth-Serges, which are to pay as by the Tariff of 1699.
This must let in our Manufactures into
France
in a full stream, and open a Door for a greater Consumption of them in
France
than ever was before; and this, I say, is the Reason on the other side, why I pretend to prove we shall now be Gainers by the
French
Trade: For if the only Exception against the Trade, is that of their over-ballancing our Export, if then I prove that their Export to us shall now Lessen, and our Export to them shall now Encrease, so that we shall for the future over-ballance them, then my Argument must be Good,
(viz.)
That we ought to Trade with them.
It is brought as an Objection, and it is all the Objection that can be brought in the Case,
(viz.)
That the
French
make all our Manufactures now as well as we do, and therefore will not want ours any more. Nay, so warm are some People to have this believed, that they affirm, tho' I doubt without Evidence, That they make as good Cloth in
France
as we do; and as good Serges and Perpets,
&c.
and in such Quantities to, as that they can supply all the World; nay, and supply us to, if we will give them leave.
These Gentlemen beg the Question very peremptorily, and Demand that we should strangely take them upon Trust: But the matter of Fact has never yet been proved, and this is not an Age to believe Men on their Words, in things of such a nature, when Parties byass Men so much to strain their Principles, as we see is the Case every day.
It has been ask'd in Publick by one Paper, and I must ask it here; it is so natural, it cannot be strange if every Man, we talk with should ask it,—Where is this Fine Cloth and good Woollen Manufacture that the
French
make? where do they hide it? How comes it to pass that none of the Gentlemen who come over hither have any of it ON? Let the
French
Ambassador be a Test of this; or any other
French
Man that comes over, look on their Clothes, their Liveries, their Coaches. The
French
Ambassador cannot take it for an affront,
that we say,
an
English
Servant to a private Gentleman, would have thought himself very ill used to have been Clothed in such Trappings; How Course, How Rusty the Black, How Spungy, how Nappy and Rough the Clothes, How ill made, How worse Dress'd, and How worst of all the Wooll of the Clothes they appear'd at first in! The
English Colchester Bays
would have look'd better than some of them look'd. If these are the Manufactures they boast of, I shall never fear, but when our Woollen Clothes, Stuffs, Serges and other Goods come among them at reasonable Rates for the Customs and Duties, they will make their own way, and shew the
French
that they are not able to make our Manufacture to any perfection.
It is said, by those who Object against it, That they have our Wooll, and have gotten Workmen from hence, and their People Work Cheaper than ours can do, and why should they not make our Manufactures as good as we do?
This I desire to Explain upon a little, and I shall leave my Opinion to the Judgment of those, who are Impartial, if any such are left among us; as for those who will not judge Impartially, who
will
have it be, as they
would
have it be; and that will admit no Argument but their own positive affirming a thing, these Sheets shall not meddle with them, nothing but Experience can deal with such, and they are never Convinc'd till they are made asham'd.
As to the
French
getting Wooll from
England
it is too true, that they get great quantities of Wooll both from
England
and
Ireland,
ever have done so, and I doubt ever will do so; How to have it prevented I do not undertake to say, It is like the Distemper of the Gout in the Body, which every Body has a Medicine for, and no body can Cure.
As to getting Workmen from
England, I will not say but
That may be True also, tho' we have not seen it proved; take that with you too; Traytors to their Country are always to be had, who for a Morsel of Bread will do any thing; and as there is no Law to punish them, and they are out of reach also, we must always be Content.
But neither of these can come into the Party-question: The Government can no more hinder Men going over to
France
to teach the Clothworkers how to Dress their Cloth, than they can hinder Men going to List in Foreign Armies. The New Ministry can no more hinder the Exporting of Wooll, than the Old Ministry could; I believe they would willingly hearken to any means that would be effectual, and so would the last Ministry have done; but both have been tyred with the Quacking of Projectors, who have always Worried Innocent Men, Conniv'd at Rogues, and left the Disease worse than they found it.
But I shall undertake to prove two things here, that shall Confound all this Notion: (1.) That neither the Workmen, or the Wooll, will effectually answer for making our Woollen Manufacture. (2.) That neither the
French,
or any Nation in the World do, or can, Work Cheaper than the
English
both can and do.
From these Principles I insist upon it, That the
French
cannot make our Woollen Manufactures so as to prevent the Sale of ours, when a Trade shall be opened by taking off the Duties, as by the Tariff of 1664. but that on the Contrary, our Goods coming among them shall be so much better, and in proportion to that goodness so much Cheaper, that they shall in time destroy all their Undertakings of Woollen Manufacture, and encrease the Consumption of ours: On this account, joyn'd to what I have said before, it is, that I say we may gain by the
French
Trade, and is therefore another Reason why we ought to Trade with them.
The Original or Foundation of the Manufacture is the Wooll; the first step to the Working this Wooll, is the Sorting, Combing, Carding, and Preparing the Wooll: The first,
to wit,
the Sorting the Wooll, requires Judgment and Experience in the Master Clothier, who must know what kind of Wooll is proper for every Manufacture: From hence we find that in the Clothing Countries, they throw by a great quantity of their Wooll as not proper for their Work, and this is Carried out of those Countries to the Worsted Works, and to the Comber; again in the Stuff-making Countries, the Wooll which is not proper for them is pick'd out and laid by, and carried out of their Countries to the Clothiers; and, the like of other Manufactures.
This judgment perhaps may be carried over to
France,
by such Vagabond Bankrupt Clothiers and Combers as were not able to show their Heads at Home, Necessity may tempt such to go Abroad: As to the Carding, Combing, and Preparing the Wooll when Sorted, That is a Road which any one may Teach them, and which they perhaps may not want to Learn: So that this is not the Point.
The next Article is the Spinning, and give me leave to say THIS, as it is the Essential, so it is the Inimitable part of our Manufacture, and the
French
are utterly Unable to do this, and we are Unable to Teach them; They are so far from being able to Imitate the various sorts of Spinning which is now practiced in
England,
that really we cannot Imitate our selves: There is so much Evidence in this Truth, and it is so well known, and so prov'd by Experience, That I freely appeal to all the Manufactures of
Great-Britain
for the proof of it.
The Spinning, generally speaking, is the Work of the Women and Children, it is Learn'd from Mother to Daughter, as Birds Learn to Sing, Cocks to Crow, and little Children to Speak,
(viz.)
by Immediate Imitation: The manner is carried from one to another by that aptness which is in the young of every Creature to follow the old, and becomes a Natural Habit, like a Tone in the Speech, which is peculiar to this or that County, which they,
who use it,
know not how to alter; and they,
that do not,
know not how to imitate.
Thus you may know the People who are Born and Bred in the several parts of this Kingdom by the Shibboleth of the Place they come from, they cannot Conceal it; nor can a Man Born in another part of the Country Mimick them so but that he will easily be known to be a Counterfeit: This is plain in the People of
Norfolk
and
Suffolk, East; Devon, Somerset, Wilts
and
Dorset, West; Lancashire North-West; Yorkshire, Durham
and
Northumberland, North; Scotland, Wales,
and several other parts.
In like manner every way the same in its kind, and introduc'd the same way,
(viz.)
by a meer habit, and that not to be alter'd by themselves, or imitated by others, is the Manufacture of Spinning Naturalized to the People of the several Parts of
England,
according to the several Countries they have been taught to Work in: Nay, even in the same Countries the Spinning differs, as the several Manufactures which this or that part of the County are Employ'd in differs.
The Consequence of this is Essential to the Manufacture, whence proceeds the variety of our sorts of Goods, which appears not at all according to the Nature of the Wooll, but according to the different Places where it is Wrought; the Reason of which is the Spinning, and nothing else.
A Proof of this is easily known by this Experiment; take the Spinning of one County, and carry it to be wrought into another County, and for another kind of Goods than it uses to be wrought in, the Defect shall, presently appear in the Goods, altho' for the Goods it was Spun for, it was the best of its Kind that could be.
Nay, take the Spinning of one Town, and carry it to another Town where the same Kind of Goods are made, and it shall Work into that same sort, of the Kind, which were made in the Town from whence it came. How comes it to pass, That no Place in
England
can make the
Bays
but
Colchester?
the
Says
but
Sudbury?
the
Serges
but
Devonshire?
the
Kerseys
but
Hallifax?
the
Fine Whites
but
Gloucester
and
Worcestershire?
the
Tamies
but
Coventry?
the
Cantaloons
but at
Bristol?
Nay, of these Goods, How come the several Species to differ so from one another! Why cannot the Men of
Bocking
make as good
Bays
as at
Colchester?
Why are the
Shaloons
in
Northamptonshire
better than those in the
West?
Why the
Devon Kersies
better than the
Yorkshire?
and that these Towns, and Countries, tho' they have, or may have the same Wooll, are not able, with all their Skill, to Imitate or Come up to one another?
It is manifest that it is all in the Spinning; whatever the Difference is it is hard to determine; but that such a Difference is I affirm, and I appeal to all the Manufacturers in
England
for the truth of it: And this Difference runs thro' the whole Operation of the Manfacture that follows it, like an Error in the first Concoction, which is never mended in the second; so an Error, or a peculiar way in the first Spinning, is never Corrected afterward; but as is the Yarn such is the Stuff, let it be of what Kind it will.
Now this, I say, is impossible to be Carried into
France:
The People there Spin, and perhaps may Spin Finer than ours, and I believe they do; but unless they Spin the same Kind of Threed for the same Kind of Manufacture that we do, they can no more Imitate ours, than one of our Towns or Counties can Imitate another.
For Example, Take a Woman that has been bred to Spin for the making of
Flannel,
suppose from
Shropshire,
and carry her into
Essex,
and let her see how they Spin as much as she will, and try as much as she can, she shall no more Spin good Yarn for making a Piece of
Bays,
or to
Sudbury,
she shall no more Spin for their Work, than the Spinners there can for her
Flannel
; she can no more alter her Hand effectually, than she can shake off her
Shropshire
Dialect from her Tongue, and learn to Whine and Talk as they do in
Suffolk.
How many attempts of this kind have been made in
England, (viz.)
to Transplant the Manufacture of one County into another, and we have very rarely found it practicable; If then one County cannot Imitate another, if one Town cannot Imitate another, nay, in some Goods one Manufacturer cannot Imitate another, tho' they have all the same Materials too, How should another Nation Imitate us?
And what is the Reason that we find such Struggling, such Envying, such Quarrelling among our Manufacturers, like tittle Parties in the Trade, to get one another's Spinners away, and to get this or that Town Spinning away, but because the Goodness of a Manufacture always depends upon the Goodness of the Spinning: How comes this or that Clothiers Goods to be known at
Blackwell-Hall,
and to be enquired for by his Name, and by his Mark, and to Sell better than his Neighbours, and the like of other Goods, but that he has better Spinners than his Neighbours?
I might Dwell upon this, Prove and Explain it by many Arguments and Examples; but I believe every one who has any Experience of Trade will grant it.
If then, I say, we cannot Imitate one another in our Manufactures, where we have plenty of all Materials, Choice of the Wooll, and Experienc'd Workmen, only by Reason of the Difference and Difficulty of the Spinning; How shall a Foreign Nation adapt their Spinning to our Manufacture? a Nation that have a great scarcity of Wooll, and must mix several Kinds, and the Wooll of several Nations together, that have a scarcity of all other Materials, and above all must take such Wild and Untaught Spinners as they can get?
Nor will it Argue in this Case to say they can have Spinners from hence; for I affirm, the best Spinner in
England
cannot teach another to Spin as she Spins, if ever the Learner had Spun any thing before; but if she Teaches, it must be young Children from Five year and upwards, or some that had never touch'd a Wheel.
When this is done, this Teaching Spinner can Teach only to Spin as she Spun her self, be it for whatsoever Species of Manufacture she was brought up to; and I dare say, that the Nation can very rarely shew a Spinner that can Spin very well a Yarn for more than one Kind of Manufacture; so that by this Rule the
French
must get Spinners over to Teach their People, Distinguisht by their Work for every kind of Manufacture we make.
This is a Reason why the
French
cannot come up to our Manufacture, and a Reason which, I flatter my self, cannot be answer'd.
There is yet another thing which affects indeed some of our Manufactures only, but so many of them, and that so Considerable a part, (
viz.
) our Clothing, that I believe it renders it Inimitable in any other Part of the World, and this is the Water: I have not time to Enlarge upon this; but let the Men of
Stroud water
in
Gloucestershire
be the Standard, and let us see any other Part of this Nation come up to them, and then we may suggest that other Nations may also do it.
This would take up a Tract by it self to Explain, and to Examin the Reasons, why one Kind of Water should be better than another, for Dressing, Milling, Washing, as well as Dying; and why, tho' the
Dutch
or
French
were able to fix brighter and better Colours than we can, yet the Wooll it self shall not work so kindly, the Nap of the Cloth rise so well, nor the Shearer work so close, with the Dressing in one Water, as it shall in another; and for this Reason the Clothiers in some Parts Carry their Goods many Miles to these or those Fulling Mills, when there are others nearer home.
I am so near the Close of this Tract that I cannot Enlarge; but I come to another Case in our Manufacture, wherein I find we are run down by a Vulgar Error, which however at this time is made mighty Use of, and makes more Noise than is for our Reputation, especially as it comes out of our own Mouths, and this is, That the
French
People Work Cheaper than we; nay, so great is the assurance which our People speak it with, that they are not slack to say, that they can Work Cheaper by Four pence in a Shilling.
I am bold to say, such Discourse is enough to Convince any Man that understands Manufacturing, that the People who speak it, either say it without knowledge, or against knowledge, I am afraid it is the latter.
Could the Poor in
France
Work Cheaper than the
English
by a Groat in a Shilling, could the Spinner, the Weaver, the Carder, the Dresser, the Dyer,
&c.
perform all those Works which are at the beginning of the Manufacture Four-pence in a Shilling Cheaper than the
English,
the Clothier that finishes it would be able to Sell it Eight pence in the Shilling Cheaper when it was finished, for that Difference in the first Work would double in the Price of the whole Cloth, and so the Clothes which the
English
could not Sell under Twelve Shillings
per
Yard at Market, the
French
would sell at Four Shillings
per
Yard, and of Consequence must of Necessity have long ago had all the Trade of the World.
As this, tho' but a short hint, is sufficient to Expose the falshood of that Suggestion, so I shall lay one thing down as a certain Truth, which I know to be True of my own certain knowledg in many Cases, and offer to prove by good Evidence in others, and I shall leave it to farther Enlargement, if I am call'd to speak to it again; The Assertion is this in short.
That set the Goodness and Quantity of their Work against their Wages, and no Nation in the World Works Cheaper than the
English.
Let no Man suggest that this cannot be made out, my Name is to this Book, I'll make it good, and at any reasonable Hazard, I offer to prove it beyond the power of all the Cavils of the World: Take it in any, or all the Branches or Parts of the Woollen Manufacture, I repeat it again in other Words,
Set the goodness of the Performance, and the quantity of Work done, against the Wages,
no Manufacturers in the World have their Work done Cheaper, or for for less Wages, than the
English.
I do not deny but in Diligence they may out-do us, I know the
English
Poor are not so forward to Work as the
French,
and perhaps when the
English
have earn'd their Money hardly, they may spend it lightlier than others, and be as poor as any of them.
I know that if you higher a
Frenchman
by the Day, he shall come at less Wages.
I know if the
French man
Works for himself, he shall sit to it more hours.
But then the
English Day Man
shall do more Work in less time.
Or the
English Day Man
shall make better Work.
And the
English-man that Works for himself
shall perform as much in less time than the
French-man,
or make his Work Deserve more Wages.
I appeal to
Spittle fields
for the Truth of this in part, and even to the
French
Manufacturers there themselves.
Had I room here, I should produce Experiments which I have made of the
English
Manufacturing, against
French-men, Dutch-men, Scots-men,
and others, I can prove in them all, that we Work much Cheaper than any People in the World, allow Weight for Inches, as the Jockies call it, and I am not at all partial to my own Country in it neither: But I cannot Enlarge upon this Subject.
CONCLUSION.
THese are my Reasons why I think we are sure to Gain by the
French
Trade, and I have set them down with as much Clearness and Impartiallity as I can, and altho' the Treatment I receive from the World at this time, might be justly allowed to move me, I have done it Calmly, and without any of the Rudeness which these things are now debated with: Yet I cannot but say, that I am Injuriously dealt with in these matters; every Man has a right to Think of these things, as his Reason, Experience and Judgment, Dictates; and I do not know any Law that forbids him making that Opinion publick.
But I must Complain of a Treatment which I Confess, I never saw given to any Man but my self in this Nation: I am Treated by the Writers of the Town, as if it was Criminal in me to give my Opinion, because it differs from theirs, and with the utmost Fury and Scurtillity; I am Treated as one that had lost my
English
Liberty, and ought not to have freedom of Speech allow'd me.
When other People Publish Pamphlets and Papers, which Argue against these Men, these Answer them upon me, they adventure upon the meer Guess at Language, to call me the Author of any thing they do not like; tho' oftentimes I not only have not been the Author, but the first knowledge I have had of the thing has been when I have seen my self Insolently Treated for Writing it.
I lay'd down the
Review,
because my thoughts of things did not agree with the present Opinion of those People for whom I had so much Respect, that I was weary of differing with them; and in the last which I Publish'd, I hinted my Design, of Going Abroad, to be out of the reach of this Clamour, as soon as publick Obligations would allow me; I am fallen upon by the scurrilous Writer of the
Flying-Post
as a Cheat, because I am not gone abroad, and yet he knows I am under Bail not to stir, and that Running from my Bail has not been any part of my Practice.
Whether I am Concern'd or no, I am dayly Insulted and told, That I am not to be Treated with Decency, have the LYE given me in Print, by Men that do not think fit to let me know their Names, or to give me leave to ask them whether they will do it to my Face or no.
Persecution has been Condemned by all Sides as an Unchristian Practice; but if Causeless Slander be not a Cruelty worse than Death, and the Persecution of the Tongue be not the worst Kind of Persecution, let any Impartial Man judge.
Under all this Treatment I arm my self with Patience, and Desire to Return these Men no Evil for their Evil, I have Ruin'd my Family in the Service of the People who I find now so Angry; and because I could not Desert them, Suffer'd all that the Rage of their Enemies could inflict; and I have liv'd to see those very People Reproach me with that Suffering, and that Fidelity which they once acknowledg'd was a Service to them, is it seems now my Infamy: Whether my Suffering merited their Thanks at that time I do not determine; but sure it could not merit Thanks then, and their Reproach now: I appeal to themselves.
But be all these things as he shall Direct who Governs the World, and God be praised these Men are not to be my Judges at last, In the mean time, If I am not allow'd to give my Opinion in Things which no Law prescribes me in; Where then is Justice! where Charity! where
English
Liberty! and how do these men shew themselves Tyrants even of the worst Kind! who would deprive a Man of his Liberty of Speech, because he does not say what they approve of!
It is my satisfaction that I am hitherto pursuing no end but what I firmly believe to be the True Interest of my Country; and I am fully perswaded, that even the People who are at this time so Warm, will in a few years be Convinc'd they are in the wrong; and be asham'd of those Men who now endeavour to Enflame and Exasperate us one against another; In the mean time I have here given my Reasons for my present Opinion relating to the Trade with
France,
which I have done rather as a Testimony to future Times of the Foundation upon which my said Opinion is grounded, and to Answer the Calumnies of those People who Malign, and, without provocation, Insult me, than from any prospect I have, that the soundest Reasoning will allay the Ferment which the Parties among us have unhappily put the Nation into.
I make no question, in its proper time, to clear my self likewise from the Charge of having
Chang'd Sides
in OTHER matters, and to bring some People to acknowledge they do me Injustice in the Treatment they now give me; but the ferment is too great for Reason to take place, and I am content to suffer the Injury, till it shall please Him that Guides the World to give me an Occasion to do my self Justice.
But in Matters of Trade I think now is the time to speak—A Trade with
France,
or no Trade with
France,
is now the question: I have first, to remove Scandal, proved to you what my Opinion was of the
French
Trade formerly, and what I said then about it; and now I have offer'd my present Opinion; if then what I say now of it, is no more than what I said formerly, it will hardly pass with any Reasonable Man, That I am Chang'd, unless to Change, and to be the Same, be proved to be
One part of Speech.
God deliver this Kingdom from the Dreadful Consequences, which our Blessed Saviour says, must follow a Nation Divided against it self.
FINIS.