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A36822 Dum spiro spero an humble representation of the state of our woollen manufacturers. 1700 (1700) Wing D2519; ESTC R235 9,146 18

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DVM SPIRO SPERO An Humble Representation OF THE STATE OF OUR WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES LONDON Printed in the Year 1700. 1. IT 's evident to most Thinking People That the utmost Endeavours are still used by the French King to obtain that in a Peace which he could not procure by a WAR By Supplanting us in our Woollen Manufactures And if some Extraordinary Care be not taken he is in a likelier way to succeed having the chiefest of our Allies as hearty on his side in carrying on this Design as they were on ours in carrying on the War The Advantages obtained by a French Interest in the beginning of the Reign of King Charles the Second in invading the Right of the Ancient and long-establisht Company of Merchant-Adventurers of England and putting the French Merchant upon an Equal Foot in Trade with the English by taking off Aliens-Duties the Ancient Revenue of the Crown being corroborated by a Law made in the beginning of the Reign of His Present Majesty King William which in the Heat of Friendship gave away our Merchandize to gratifie our Neighbours hath prevailed to an alteration of the Guardianship and Care of our Woollen Manufactures for Flanders Germany Holland and the East-Country in point of Inspection Merchandize and Navigation to which Parts Two Thirds of our Woollen Manufactures are Exported The Good Genius of this Present Time the beginning of the New Century tending to a Consideration of this Notable Commodity of ours the which there is not the like in any Foreign Parts as is exprest in the Statute of Edward the Sixth of Blessed Memory I will endeavour to the best of my Judgment to represent the true State of our Woollen Manufactures as they now stand and the Discouragements they labour under by which the good or bad effect of this alteration to the Publick may somewhat appear And instead of Improvement under this Foreign Guardianship I find the case of our Woollen Manufactures to be much alike to the Man in the Parable that went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among Thieves that robb'd him of his raiment wounded him and left him half dead c. II. It is manifest That as these Merchant-Aliens increase in England the Woollen Manufactures increast in a like proportion in Foreign Parts and the French became considerable Merchants with our Woollen Manufactures in Spain Turky and other parts Good Proof was made before a Committee of Parliament by the Inspection of two Frenchmens Books That the Exportation of our Wooll was carried on by these men Printed Tickets were given out in Holland to give notice of the Sale of considerable quantities of English Wooll and reported by some that the Dutch Men-of-War that came out to fight the French were assisting in carrying over Fullers-Earth and returned home not empty-handed of a little resemblance if so to the Woman in the Fable that was afflicted with a Dimness in her Sight and agreed with a famous Occulist that anointed her Eyes with a certain Material that took away her sight wholly for a time and then robb'd her of a good piece of Houshold-stuff This Practice comes up to the Letter of my Simile To ascertain the loss to our Poor in this particular I will here set down a Calculation made by the Honourable Sir Matthew Hale of the distinct value of the Wooll and the Workmanship In a Course Medley Cloth containing 32 Yards long to the making this Cloth 90 pound of Wooll 54 of ab 34 of warp 2 of mixture at one Shilling per pound l. s. d. 4 10   1. Parting and Picking 00 03 00 2. Colouring 00 16 00 3. Breaking and Spinning the Ab 01 07 09 4. Breaking and Spinning the Warp 00 18 06 5. Cards and Oil 01 00 00 6. Weaving Spooling and Warping 01 01 03 7. Milling and Burling 00 12 00 8. Shearing and Dressing 00 18 00 9. Drawing 00 01 06 10. Carriage and Factorage 00 07 00   11 15 00 Out of which deducting the Materials of Wooll Cards and Oil 05 10 00 There remains for Expence of Workmanship 06 05 00 In our Finest Manufactures a Calculation is thus made viz. One Pack of our finest Kemb'd Wooll containing twelve Score I compute to be worth at this time l. s. d. 30 00 00 The Spinning of this into the Finest Worsted cost 5 s. per Pound 60 00 00 Four Ounces thus spun will make a pair of Hose worth 5 s. the Knitting 240 00 00 This Pack so knit will make 80 dozen of Hose which pay Custom 7½ per dozen 02 10 00   302 10 00 The Medium in our Woollen-Manufactures I take to be one Third Wooll two Thirds Workmanship III. Since this alteration of the Merchandize of our Woollen Manufactures greater quantities have been Exported White and not fully manufactured which has sunk the imployment of many Occupations and hindred the consumption of many of our Native Materials which are used in Dying c. IV. The Reputation of our English Manufactures which in former time was famous at all Foreign Markets has been wounded by these Foreign Interlopers When extraordinary care has been taken in France of late years to improve their own The Price has been always beat down and extraordinary Measure required which has forc'd the Maker upon slight making and extraordinary straining Cloth of an ordinary quality has been mark'd by these Foreign Buyers with Marks of our best Makers of Cloth and sent over as Cloth made by them and the most fallacious ways us'd to ruine the Reputation of our Goods and supplant the English Merchants Seals Tillets Coats of Arms Numbers all counterfeited by a foreign Interloper as was prov'd in Westminster-Hall by Mr. Banks and hereby an Odium has bin brought upon English Goods when no consumer of Cloth either at home or abroad when he finds himself abus'd and cheated but does resent the fact The Hudsons-Bay Company as is credibly told sold a parcel of Strained Cloth to the Indians with whom they Traffick for the Skins of Wild Beasts and the next time they came the Indians told them they had sold them thieving-Cloth and stole it from them again and would never permit the like abuse we read of Christians in the Primitive times in the Skins of wild beasts lo wild Beasts here in the Skins of Christians cheating of Indians A Burgher-woman at Hamburg bought some of this Strained Cloth to make her Children Garments which shrunk so abominably that her Children appear'd in a New Fashion and she brought them for a Sight to the Shop where she bought the Cloth the Man that sold it perceiving the matter broke out into the highest admiration and blest himself at the miraculous growth of the Children and hereby took off the edge of the Womans Passion A Welch Woman bought of a Clothier in Hereford Fair as much Broad-Cloth as would make her a Wastcoat and it was apply'd to that use and all well but afterwards meeting with some wet the Wastcoat
Clothiers and to have but one Seller of Allum which is the present Case savours very much of Monopoly Rape-Oil is at this time advanc'd to double the usual Price by the Ingrossing of Rape-Seed when to every Six Pound of We I one Pound of Oil is required to the working Madder the Growth of Holland is rendred to us at three times the usual Price Which looks as a Conspiracy to supplant our Clothing Trade VII The Scarcity of Money occasion'd by our vast Exportation to the East-Indies doth very much discourage our Clothing-Trade Above Five hundred thousand Pounds in Treasure have been exported in less than twelve Months time as appears by their Entries and as large a Summ suppos'd to be taken in at Cales Silver worth Five Shillings eight Pence per Ounce This being brought home chiefly in Muslins and Calico's it hinders the Consumption of the Flaxen Linens of Flanders Germany and Holland which hath lessen'd the Consumption of above Twenty thousand Cloths per Annum in those Parts and the Wear of considerable of our Norwich Stuffs at home and forc'd the Linen Looms in those Parts upon Woollen to our further Prejudice The Spanish Netherlands finding that the Consumption of their Linens were so much lessen'd in England were thereby induc'd in their own Defence to prohibit our Woollen Manufactures and hereby the whole Trade of Christendom is rendred un●asie The Case of Thousands of Manufacturers in England by this Foreign Management is exactly the same with this Man that went down from Jerusalem to Jerico and fell among Thieves that robb'd him of his Raiment wounded him and left him half dead I wish I had no Occasion to add farther quite starved and by chance there came down a certain Priest that way and when he saw him he passed by on the other side Doubtless of the Romish Persuasion who possibly as some Men do now might very much exclaim in his Thoughts against the villainous Practices of those Robbers who had thus barbarously abus'd this poor Man but was so far from lending a hand to his Assistance that the Text tells us he went on the other side And likewise a Levite when he was at the Place came and looked on him and passed by on the other side One in great probability that might come from Geneva who seemingly took a little more Consideration of the Matter he came and looked on him and then passed by on the other side and to satisfie himself in not relieving of him after he had as it were made a Judgment of his Circumstances in all likelihood he might attribute his Misfortunes to his own Idleness or Intemperance that brought him to this helpless Condition and wish that better Care was taken in England to provide Work-Houses and Houses of Correction for such idle People after the Example of Holland c. But a certain Samaritane as he journied came where he was and when he saw him he had Compassion on him and went to him and bound up his Wounds pouring in Oil and Wine and set him on his own Beast c. True Friend this The Circumstances of our Woollen Manufactures and the Man that fell among Thieves being so much alike it makes a little Resemblance between this Priest and Levite and our Commissioners of Trade but I correct my self for it no way appears that these Men were under any other Obligation to his Relief than common Kindness and good Neighbourhood Our Woollen Manufactures are perfectly unfortunate in the Age we live in the Aulnage which was design'd by our Ancestors to secure her Reputation is now turn'd into the greatest Oppression a formal Court kept up by Commissioners Officers sent out to lay a formal Arrest upon Goods if the Nib of the Seal be not well stamp'd and Judgment given amongst themselves Of a little Resemblance to Aesop's Court where the Wolf sate Judge and summon'd the Lamb to appear I hope this will fall under Consideration with the rest of the Grants being carried on in England according to an Irish Understanding Trade being at a low ebb in England and a great Scarcity of Money during the Reign of Richard II. Henry IV. Henry V. and Henry VI. as appears by strict Laws made in those Reigns to force Merchant-Aliens to imploy their Money which they receiv'd for their Foreign Commodities upon the native Commodities of this Realm In the 3d. and 4th Year of Henry IV. the Woollen Manufactures of this Kingdom came under the Consideration of this good Samaritane and effectual Means were us'd for its Incouragement and Preservation which soon encreas'd our Treasure Anno Tertio Edw. IV. Cap. 1 A Law was first made to incourage our English Navigation and in that Law a Clause was added to prevent any Deceit which should be wound up in Wool upon a Forfeiture of 6 d. a Fleece in which any Deceit should be found In the next place a Law was made to prevent the Importation of wrought Silks And then another Law was made Cap. 3 to prevent the Importation of Woollen Cloths Woollen Caps Silk in any wise imbroider'd and many other Commodities express'd in the said Law Cap. 4 which were prejudicial to the Artificers of sundry manual Occupations To incourage the Wear of our Woollen Manufactures a sumptuary Law was Cap. 5 next made And the next Year a Law was made for the true making of our Woollen Manufactures expressing in the Preamble the Inconveniencies which had ensued to the Realm by the deceitful making of Cloth and good Care was taken in this Law Anno Quarto Edw. IV. Cap. 1 that Work-People should do their Part faithfully that the Master should deliver just Weight and pay them for their Labour in Money and not Commodities A Law was next made Cap. 4 That no Person during Three Years should buy or take any Promise of Bargain for any Wool then not shorn of the Growth of Berks c amounting to twenty eight Counties before the same be shorn and until Bartholomew's Day following but they which shall make Cloth or Yarn of them upon pain of Forfeiture of double the Value thereof And the Duke of Burgundy having at this time prohibited our Woollen Manufactures in Flanders Cap. 5 a Law was made to prohibite all Merchandise of the Growth and Workmanship of the said Duke's Dominions until he revoke his Proclamation prohibiting our Manufactures The Charter of the Merchant-Adventurers of England was confirmed by this King and at this time he call'd in question the Charter of the Merchants of the Stilliard who had obtain'd Privileges in England for some extraordinary Services done in assisting Henry III. in his Wars abroad and they were permitted to Trade under these Terms viz. To pay Aliens Duties and to colour no Strangers Goods Upon this just Foundation Trade was carried on until the End of the Reign of Henry VII strengthened only with this farther Addition in the last-recited Reign Anno Primo Hen. VII Cap.