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• Preface.
• A Select Collection of Early English Tracts On Commerce
• Thomas Mun, a Discoverse of Trade From England Vnto the East-indies: Answering to Diuerse Obiections Which Are Vsually Made Against the Same.
• Lewes Roberts, the Treasure of Traffike, Or a Discoourse of Forraigne Trade.
• Thomas Mun, England’s Treasure By Forraign Trade. Or. the Ballance of Our Forraign Trade Is the Rule of Our Treasure.
• Chap. I.: The Qualities Which Are Required In a Perfect Merchant of Forraign Trade.
• Chap. II.: The Means to Enrich This Kingdom, and to Encrease Our Treasure.
• Chap. III.: The Particular Ways and Means to Encrease the Exportation of Our Commodities, and to Decrease Our Consumption of Forraign Wares.
• Chap. IV.: The Exportation of Our Moneys In Trade of Merchandize Is a Means to Encrease Our Treasure.
• Chap. V.: Forraign Trade Is the Only Means to Improve the Price of Our Lands.
• Chap. VI.: The Spanish Treasure Cannot Be Kept From Other Kingdoms By Any Prohibition Made In Spain.
• Chap. VII.: The Diversity of Gain By Forraign Trade.
• Chap. VIII.: The Enhansing Or Debasing Our Moneys Cannot Enrich the Kingdom With Treasure, Nor Hinder the Exportation Thereof.
• Chap. IX.: A Toleration For Forraign Coins to Pass Currant Here At Higher Rates Then Their Value With Our Standard, Will Not Encrease Our Treasure.
• Chap. X.: The Observation of the Statute of Imployments to Be Made By Strangers, Cannot Encrease, Nor Yet Preserve Our Treasure.
• Chap. XI.: It Will Not Increase Our Treasure to Enjoyn the Merchant That Exporteth Fish, Corn Or Munition, to Return All Or Part of the Value In Money.
• Chap. XII.: The Undervaluing of Our Money Which Is Delivered Or Received By Bills of Exchange Here Or Beyond the Seas, Cannot Decrease Our Treasure.
• Chap. XIII.: The Merchant Who Is a Mere Exchanger of Money By Bills Cannot Increase Or Decrease Our Treasure.
• Chap. XIV.: The Admirable Feats Supposed to Be Done By Bankers and the Merchants Exchange.
• Chap. XV.: Of Some Excesses and Evils In the Commonwealth, Which Notwithstanding Decay Not Our Trade Nor Treasure.
• Chap. XVI.: How the Revenues and Incomes of Princes May Justly Be Raised.
• Chap. XVII.: Whether It Be Necessary For Great Princes to Lay Up Store of Treasure.
• Chap. XVIII.: How Much Treasure a Prince May Conveniently Lay Up Yearly.
• Chap. XIX.: Of Some Different Effects, Which Proceed From Naturall and Artificiall Wealth.
• Chap. XX.: The Order and Means Whereby We May Draw Up the Ballance of Our Forraign Trade.
• Chap. XXI.: The Conclusion Upon All That Hath Been Said, Concerning the Exportation Or Importation of Treasure.
• Samuel Fortrey, Englands Interest and Improvement.
• England’s Great Happiness; Or, a Dialogue Between Content and Complaint.
• Britannia Languens, Or a Discourse of Trade
• The Preface.
• The Introduction.
• Section I.: Trade National Or Private, Home Or Forreign Treasures Imported By Trade, Thence Land-rents, Populacy Increased, the Revenues of All Ranks of Men Depend Upon Trade, People and Treasure Make National Strength, Particular Advantages In Treasure,
• Sect. II.: The Several Kinds of Forreign Trade, of Trading With Home Or Forreign Navigation, Some General Application.
• Sect. III.: Of Forreign Trade Consisting In Exportation, of the Advantages of Home Manufactures, and Manufactures, Incidently Other Home Trades, and Imployments Are Considered; and Which of Them Enrich a Nation; of the Fishing-trade, and the Annual Export
• Sect. IV.: Of Forreign Trade From Port to Port, the Nature and Advantage of It, Differs From Meer Carriage, and Meer Importation; the Necessity of a Home Storehouse: the Ordinary Exporting of Money Or Bullion, of Dangerous Consequence; How to Be Avoided:
• Sect. V.: That Our Home and Forreign Market Is Incumbered, and Prejudiced By Extraordinary and Unequal Charges, and Cloggs In Our Merchandize Above What Are In Our Neighbour-nations, Viz. In the Building and Furniture of Our Ships, Victuals, Sea-mens Wa
• Sect. VI.: Other Cloggs On Our Trade, Viz. the Late Acts of Navigation, Which, With the Other Difficulties, Have Begot Monopolies; Made Our Navigation Yet Dearer, So Forreign Materials of Manufacture Cause Meer Importations, Hinder Our Forreign Vent of
• Sect. VII.: Forreigners Eased In Trade; Other Clogs and Difficulties Upon Ours; Want of Populacy, Incidently of Extream Prizes of Victuals, and How the Duration of Land-rents May Be Secured, Our People Restrained From Manufactures; the Abuse of the Act
• Sect. VIII.: That a Nation May Grow Poor By Forreign Trade, Viz. By an Excess of Meer Importations, Illustrated By Some Observations: This Facilitated By Exporting Money Or Bullion; the Fatal Consequences and Symptoms of a Consumptive Trade, Decay of Ma
• Sect. IX.: That a Consumptive Trade Must Render a Nation Still Weaker and Weaker: How Far the Meer Establishment of Absolute Power, Or Meer Liberty and Property, May Alter the Case.
• Sect. X.: Further Presumptions of Our Late National Overballance In Trade; an Account From the Mint In November 75. and Thence Our Former Ballance of Trade Estimated.
• Sect. XI.: Particular Decays In Our Exportations, and the Beneficial Parts of Our Trade; Instances In the Decay of Our Foreign-trade For Woollen Clothing, In the Several Countries and Ports We Traded To, In the Sinking of the Foreign Price of This Manufac
• Sect. XII.: Instances In Late Increases and Excesses of Our Forreign Importations, and Therein of the Decay of Some Other of Our Own Manufactures Which Supplyed Our Home Uses, Viz. In Linnens of All Sorts, More Dear Fine Linnens Used; Incidently of the
• Sect. XIII.: That a Considerable Part of Our Late Treasure Is Exhausted: Application to Our Publick and Private Revenues: Objections Answered, Viz. the Plenty of Money to Be Let On Securities, Stores of Money In London, Stocks In Merchandize, the Over
• Sect. XIV.: People and Treasure the True Pillars of the National Strength: the Odds In the Different Vse and Imployment of People. the Absoluteness of the French Monarchy No Cause of the Present French Grandure: the Late Application of the French Co
• Dudley North, Discourses Upon Trade
• The Preface.
• A Discourse Concerning the Abatement of Interest.
• A Discourse of Coyned Money.
• Postscript. Upon Farther Consideration of the Foregoing Matters, I Think Fit to Add the Following Notes.
• Considerations On the East-india Trade
• To the Reader.
• Chap. I.: The Objections Against the East-india Trade; Viz. the Exportation of Bullion For Manufactures to Be Consum’d In England; the Loss of the Labourer’s Employment; the Abatement of Rents Are Enforc’d.
• Chap. II.: The Exportation of Bullion For Indian Manufactures, Is an Exchange of Less For Greater Value.
• Chap. III.: A More Open East-india- Trade, Is More Profitable to the Kingdom.
• Chap. IV.: The East-india Trade Does Not So Much Diminish the Riches of Some Private Persons, As It Increases the Riches of the Kingdom.
• Chap. V.: The East-india Trade Is the Way to Increase Our Bullion.
• Chap. VI.: The East-india Trade Must Increase Our Exportations.
• Chap. VII.: Notwithstanding the Idleness of the Mint, the Money and the Bullion Are Increas’d.
• Chap. VIII.: The Increase of Paper Money Is to Be Ascrib’d to the Increase of Real Money, Rather Than the Apparent Plenty of Money to the Increase of Current Paper.
• Chap. IX.: The Kingdom Is Not More Impoverish’d By the Consumption of Indian Than of English Manufactures.
• Chap. X.: The East-india Trade Destroys No Imployment of the People Which Is Profitable to the Kingdom.
• Chap. XI.: The East-india Trade Is the Most Likely Way to Inlarge the Business In the Present Manufactures.
• Chap. XII.: By Being the Cause of the Invention of Arts and Engines, of Order and Regularity In Our Manufactures, the East-india Trade, Without Abating the Wages of Labourers, Abates the Price of Manufactures.
• Chap. XIII.: The East-india Trade Is the Most Likely Way to Set On Foot New Manufactures For Imployment of the People.
• Chap. XIV.: The East-india Trade Does Not Abate the Rents, By the Exportation of Bullion, By the Diminution of Consumers, By the Abatement of Wages; the Importation of Indian Manufactures Is Less Likely to Abate Rents Than the Importation of the Unwro
• Chap. XV.: The Importation of Indian Manufactures Abates Only the Price of Labour, But Raises the Price of the Produce of the Estate.
• Chap. XVI.: And This Is Confirm’d By Examples.
• Chap. XVII.: The East-india Trade Does Not Abate the Rents of the Landholder By Destroying His Monopoly.
• Chap. XVIII.: The Fishing-trade Is Not So Profitable As the Importation of Irish Cattel, Or of Indian Manufactures; and Is More Likely Than Either to Abate the Rents of England.
• Chap. XIX.: The Herring-fishery Not Practicable In the Present Circumstances of England; the Dutch Can Sell Cheaper.
• Chap. XX.: The Way to Bring England to Be Contented With As Little Profit In the Fishing-trade As Holland.
• Chap. XXI.: That the Way to Enable England to Catch and Cure Their Herrings As Cheap As Holland, Is, First to Have Materials For That Trade As Cheap: and That This Is Most Likely to Be Done, By Discharging the Customs Upon Such Things, By Making the T
• Chap. XXII.: The Way to Make English Labour In the Fishing-trade As Cheap As That of Holland; That the People Here Must Cohabit As Close Together; and the Most Probable Methods For Effecting This, Are to Erect a Free-port, to Impower Parishes to Send

CHAP. XII.

By being the cause of the Invention of Arts and Engines, of order and regularity in our Manufactures, the East-India Trade, without abating the Wages of Labourers, abates the price of Manufactures.

BUT if the Labourer was afraid that the importation of East-India Manufactures wou’d lessen his imployment,It is objected, that by abating the price of Manufactures, Wages must be abated, he will not be better pleas’d that to increase the same, the price of English Manufactures shou’d be abated. For by this, the price of Labour, that is Wages, will be abated.

And consequently, the Labourer will be oblig’d to work more for Wages enough to buy the same conveniences of Life.consequently the Labourer must work more for the same things. For, tho’ there is a mixture of Labour with these things, tho’ the price of Labour is a part of the price of the conveniences of Life, tho’ by the abatement of Wages the price of these things is also abated, yet the price of the conveniences of Life is not so much abated as the Wages which are to buy them. This might be prov’d by Reason; but an Example will serve instead of Demonstration. Suppose that a third part of the price of Labour, a third part of every Man’s Wages is abated, then my Wages of Ten Shillings for Ten days Labour, are abated to Six Shillings and Eight Pence: Again, Of a yard of Cloth of the price of Ten Shillings, a part of the price is the price of Labour by which the same was wrought, perhaps One Shilling is the price of Wool, Nine Shillings the price of Labour bestow’d upon it; by abatement of a third part of the price of Labour, the price of Wool is not abated, the price of the Manufacture is abated to Six Shillings; and thus the price of the Cloth is reduc’d to Seven Shillings: With my Wages of Ten Shillings for Ten Days labour, I was able to buy a Yard of Cloth of the price of Ten Shillings; but with the Wages of Six Shillings and Eight Pence for Ten Days labour, I am not able to buy the Yard of Cloth of the price of Seven Shillings, I must be oblig’d to work more than Ten Days for Wages enough to buy the Yard of Cloth; and therefore, if the East-India Trade shall abate the Wages of the Labourer, he will be oblig’d to work more for Wages enough to buy the same things.

Again,Also, his share of Things must be lessen’d. By abatement of the price of Labour, the Labourer’s share of things is lessen’d; there is a mixture of Labour with all the conveniences of Life: As of a piece of Cloth, a great part of the price is the price of Labour by which the same is made, the Labourer’s share of the Cloth is as much in proportion to the whole Cloth as the price of Labour is in proportion to the whole price; then, if the East-India Trade shall abate the price of Labour without abating the rest of the value of Things, it will render the price of Labour less in proportion to the whole price of Things, it will consequently abate the Labourer’s share of Things. Then he will have no reason to be pleas’d with the East-India Trade, if to increase the imployment of the People, it must abate the price of Manufactures.

I am very ready to believe,Wages are not abated. that the East-India Trade by the importation of cheaper, must needs reduce the price of English Manufactures; nevertheless it is Matter of Fact, that the Wages of Men are not abated. As much Wages are given to the Plough-man, to the Sea-man, to the Weaver, to all kinds of Labourers as ever heretofore; so that the East-India Trade by reducing the price of Manufactures, has not yet abated Wages.

That this thing may not seem a Paradox,The East-India Trade the cause of doing things with Arts, and Engines, and more Regularity. the East-India Trade may be the cause of doing things with less Labour, and then tho’ Wages shou’d not, the price of Manufactures might be abated. If things shall be done with less labour, the price of it must be less tho’ the Wages of Men shou’d be as high as ever. Thus a Ship is navigated with a great number of Hands at very great charge; if by being undermasted and spreading less Canvass the same shou’d be navigated by two-thirds of that number, so as the difference of Speed shall be very inconsiderable, the Ship wou’d be navigated with less charge, tho’ the Wages of Sea-men shou’d be as high as ever. In like manner of any English Manufacture perform’d by so many Hands, and in so long a time, the price is proportionable, if by the invention of an Engine, or by greater order and regularity of the Work, the same shall be done by two-thirds of that number of Hands, or in two-thirds of that time; the labour will be less, the price of it will be also less, tho’ the Wages of Men shou’d be as high as ever. And therefore, if the East-India Trade shall be the cause of doing the same things with less labour, it may without abating any Man’s Wages abate the price of Manufactures.

Arts, and Mills, and Engines,Engines without abating Wages, abate the price of Manufactures; which save the labour of Hands, are ways of doing things with less labour, and consequently with labour of less price, tho’ the Wages of Men imploy’d to do them shou’d not be abated. The East-India Trade procures things with less and cheaper labour than would be necessary to make the like in England; it is therefore very likely to be the cause of the invention of Arts, and Mills, and Engines, to save the labour of Hands in other Manufactures. Such things are successively invented to do a great deal of work with little labour of Hands; they are the effects of Necessity and Emulation; every Man must be still inventing himself, or be still advancing to farther perfection upon the invention of other Men; if my Neighbour by doing much with little labour, can sell cheap, I must contrive to sell as cheap as he. So that every Art, Trade, or Engine, doing work with labour of fewer Hands, and consequently cheaper, begets in others a kind of Necessity and Emulation, either of using the same Art, Trade, or Engine, or of inventing something like it, that every Man may be upon the square, that no man may be able to undersel his Neighbour. And thus the East-India Trade by procuring things with less, and consequently cheaper labour, is a very likely way of forcing Men upon the invention of Arts and Engines, by which other things may be also done with less and cheaper labour, and therefore may abate the price of Manufactures, tho’ the Wages of Men should not be abated.

Again,And so does Order and Regularity The East-India Trade is no unlikely way to introduce more Artists, more Order and Regularity into our English Manufactures, it must put an end to such of them as are most useless and unprofitable; the People imploy’d in these will betake themselves to others, to others the most plain and easie, or to the single Parts of other Manufactures of most variety; for plain and easie work is soonest learn’d, and Men are more perfect and expeditious in it; And thus the East-India Trade may be the cause of applying proper Parts of Works of great variety to single and proper Artists, of not leaving too much to be perform’d by the skill of single Persons; and this is what is meant by introducing greater Order and Regularity into our English Manufactures.

The more variety of Artists to every Manufacture,Cloth; the less is left to the skill of single Persons; the greater the Order and Regularity of every Work, the same must needs be done in less time, the Labour must be less, and consequently the price of Labour less, tho’ Wages shou’d not be abated. Thus a piece of Cloth is made by many Artists; one Cards and Spins, another makes the Loom, another Weaves, another Dyes, another dresses the Cloth; and thus to proper Artists proper Parts of the Work are still assign’d; the Weaver must needs be more skilful and expeditious at weaving, if that shall be his constant and whole imployment, than if the same Weaver is also to Card and Spin, and make the Loom, and Weave, and Dress, and Dye the Cloth. So the Spinner, the Fuller, the Dyer or Clothworker, must needs be more skilful and expeditious at his proper business, which shall be his whole and constant imployment, than any Man can be at the same work, whose skill shall be pusled and confounded with variety of other business.

A Watch is a work of great variety,Watches; and ’tis possible for one Artist to make all the several Parts, and at last to join them altogether; but if the Demand of Watches shou’d become so very great as to find constant imployment for as many Persons as there are Parts in a Watch, if to every one shall be assign’d his proper and constant work, if one shall have nothing else to make but Cases, another Weels, another Pins, another Screws, and several others their proper Parts; and lastly, if it shall be the constant and only imployment of one to join these several Parts together, this Man must needs be more skilful and expeditious in the composition of these several Parts, than the same Man cou’d be if he were also to be imploy’d in the Manufacture of all these Parts. And so the Maker of the Pins, or Wheels, or Screws, or other Parts, must needs be more perfect and expeditious at his proper work, if he shall have nothing else to pusle and confound his skill, than if he is also to be imploy’d in all the variety of a Watch.

But of all things to be perform’d by the labour of Man,Ships made with more Order and Regularity, are cheaper. perhaps there is not more variety in any thing than in a Ship: The Manufacture of the Keel, the Ribbs, the Planks, the Beams, the Shrouds, the Masts, the Sails, almost thousands of other Parts, together with the composition of these several Parts, require as much variety of skill. And still as the Sizes and Dimensions of Ships differ, the skill in the Manufacture of the several Parts, and again in the Composition of them, must needs be different; it is one kind of skill to make the Keel, or Ribbs, or Planks, or Beams, or Rudders, or other Parts of a Ship of One hundred Tons, and another to make the same Parts of a Ship of Five hundred; and in the same manner, the composition of Parts of different Scantlings and Dimensions must needs be different. Wherefore, if the Demand of Shipping shall be so very great, as to make constant imployment for as many several Artists as there are several different Parts of Ships of different dimensions, if to every one shall be assign’d his proper work, if one Man shall be always and only imploy’d in the Manufacture of Keels of one and the same dimensions, another of Ribbs, another of Beams, another Rudders, and several others of several other Parts, certainly the Keel, the Ribbs, the Beams, the Rudders, or other Parts, must needs be better done and with greater expedition, by any Artist whose whole and constant imployment shall be the Manufacture of that single Part, than if he is also to work upon different Parts or different Scantlings. Thus the greater the Order and Regularity of every Work, the more any Manufacture of much variety shall be distributed and assign’d to different Artists, the same must needs be better done and with greater expedition, with less loss of time and labour; the Labour must be less, and consequently the price of Labour less, tho’ Wages shou’d continue still as high as ever. And therefore the East-India Trade, if it is the cause that greater Order and Regularity is introduc’d into every Work, that Manufactures of much variety are distributed and assign’d to proper Artists, that things are done in less time and consequently with less labour, then without abating the Wages of the Labourer, it may well abate the price of Labour.

The East-India Trade, whether by setting forward the invention of Arts and Engines to save the labour of Hands, or by introducing greater Order and Regularity into our English Manufactures, or by whatsoever other means, lessens the price of Labour. However, Wages are not abated; wherefore, without reducing Wages, this Trade abates the price of Labour, and therefore of Manufactures.

The East-India Trade abates only the price of Manufactures, not the Wages of the Labourer; then he is able to buy more Manufactures, more conveniences of Life with the same Labour; he is not obliged to labour more for Wages enough to buy the same things.

Lastly, If Wages are not abated, if only the price of things is abated, the Labourer’s share of the conveniences of Life may well be lessen’d without any inconvenience, without taking from the share of the Labourer, but by adding to the share of other People: And this is no hurt to any Man. Among the wild Indians of America, almost every thing is the Labourer’s, ninety nine Parts of an hundred are to be put upon the account of Labour: In England, perhaps the Labourer has not two thirds of all the conveniences of Life, but then the plenty of these things is so much greater here, that a King of India is not so well lodg’d, and fed, and cloath’d, as a Day-labourer of England.

Thus, without any Objection, without abating the Wages of any Man, without any inconvenience to the Labourer, the East-India Trade, by abating the price of Manufactures, increases their Vent; by increasing the Vent increases the Manufactures; by increasing the Manufactures makes more imployment for the People.