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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. 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 their Pensioners to it, to give Privileges to such a Place; Also, all other Arts of working cheap must be allow’d.

LAstly, that the Dutch may have no Advantage over us for the Fishing-Trade by their cheaper Labour, The People might be brought to live as close together here for the better carrying on of this Trade, as they do in Holland. In England, they might for this purpose be brought as close together, without any publick Charge, and with exceeding Profit to the Kingdom.

First,A Free-Port might be erected without Publick Charge, By erecting any convenient Place in England into a Free-Port; this wou’d be a way of bringing great Numbers of People close together, very easie to the Publick; the thing wou’d be done at the voluntary charge of Merchants. The Merchant must be very much disabled to gain by his Trade, if either he shall be compell’d to carry out his imported Merchandises within the Year before the Foreign Markets call for them, or after the Year without drawing back the Customs. It is without doubt, the interest of Merchants to be oblig’d to neither of these things. Now the way to be compell’d to neither, is, that a Free-Port shou’d be erected in any convenient Place in England, that Houses and Ware-house shou’d be built for the reception of Goods, which at all times may be freely imported hither, and may again be as freely exported. Such a Place wou’d soon be built and peopled; the Interest of Merchants wou’d do the thing; it wou’d be done without any publick Charge. This wou’d be a way very easie to the Kingdom, of drawing great Numbers of People close together.

And it were also a very profitable way;and to the Publick Benefit. from a Free-Port at all times, all things may be exported, they pay no Customs at their coming in, and therefore are not limited to Times for drawing back their Customs, in order to their being carried out again; so that to erect a Free-Port, is to enable the Merchant to wait his own time; not to oblige him to carry out his Goods before the Foreign Markets call for them: it is consequently to enable him to sell his Goods so much dearer, it is to increase the Riches of the Merchant. The Riches of every individual Man is part of the Riches of the whole Community. Wherefore, if to erect a Free-Port is to increase the Riches of the Merchant, it must increase the Riches of the Kingdom. A Free-Port then wou’d be a very easie, ’twou’d be likewise a very profitable way of drawing great Numbers of People close together. And indeed, if this were done, if it shou’d please God to press the Dutch with greater difficulties than they will be able to overcome, whither is it so likely that they wou’d run their great Estates for shelter as into England; but the want of a Free-Port, together with the Act of Navigation, (which in other respects, is the best that was ever made for the security and improvement of our Trade,) makes England more dangerous than Rocks and Sands to Holland.

For increasing the People of this Place,Parishes might send the Pensioners to this Free-Port, this wou’d not be chargeable, Parishes might be impower’d to send their Pensioners to it; this also wou’d be done at the voluntary charge of every Parish, like the present way of removing poor Persons from one Parish to another; the Publick wou’d not feel it, the Way must needs be easie to the Kingdom.

And also, it wou’d be very profitable;but very profitable to the Publick. the poor People collected thus together, wou’d find more variety of Imployments, fit for Persons of all conditions, in a place exceeding Populous, abounding with variety of Business and full of Manufactures, than as now, dispers’d over all the Kingdom, confin’d to Parishes, in which they are of little use, disabled to go where proper Business calls for them. The Blind and Lame, Young and Old, Women and Children, by their united Labours, might be serviceable to one another, they are now dispers’d; they are neither useful to the Publick nor Themselves. Collected altogether, the Poor wou’d be more likely to provide their own Maintenance, to ease the Publick of this Charge; so that, to impower Parishes to send their Pensioners to this Free-Port, wou’d be a profitable way of bringing great Numbers to cohabit close together: At least, thus the Poor cou’d not be more chargeable to the Kingdom, than when dispers’d and confin’d to Parishes that have no Business for them, and which are therefore willing to part with them; so that if to collect the Poor together shou’d import no profit, yet it cou’d never hurt the Publick. But for the Reasons before, we may venture to conclude, That to impower Parishes to send their Pensioners to this Place, wou’d be a very easie and a very profitable way of making great Numbers of People cohabit close together.

Lastly,Privileges of a Place, the way to increase the People. To give present Privileges to such a Place, to give it a Freedom from Taxes, Customs, and Excises, must needs increase the People. And what hurt were this to the Publick, that people who chiefly live on Charity, shou’d be eas’d of Charges which they cannot bear? That it shou’d be made more easie for them to earn their own Living, by abating the prices of things? By this the Publick wou’d suffer no damage, and without doubt great Numbers of People wou’d be added to the place. So that Ways are shewn for bringing People together without any Publick Charge, and with exceeding Profit to the Kingdom.

Now,The Dutch then wou’d not be able to work cheaper by their closer cohabitation. after all other Preliminaries settled, the chief Application of this place, must be to Fishing, to building Busses, making Netts, and the several Appendages of this Trade; it must be suppos’d, that all things necessary might be imported hither as cheap, and might be sold here for as little profit as they are in Holland. Why then, in so close a cohabitation of People of the same Trade and Profession; besides that, Cheats and extravagant Prices wou’d be prevented; every one wou’d be a cheque upon his Neighbour’s Price, every one wou’d be oblig’d to live frugally, and sell cheap, for fear of being undersold by his more frugal Neighbour. It wou’d follow also, that every Work of as great variety, might be done with as much Order and Regularity as any like is done in Holland. No such wou’d be left to the slow and clumsy performance of single Persons; every one wou’d have his proper Share of every Manufacture; ’twou’d be the emulation and care of every one, to work as well and as cheap as others; so that every one wou’d be still advancing to farther Perfection upon the Invention of others. And thus perhaps, our whole Business might be done with as much Perfection and Expedition, with as little and as cheap Labour as it is in Holland.

So close a cohabitation of the People,All other ways of cheap Labour must be allow’d. wou’d still abate the price of things, by abating the Labour bestow’d upon them; the Carriage of things from one Work-man to another, wou’d be so much less: And yet, still it might be lessen’d by Navigable Cutts and Channels, to save the charge of Carriage.

Trenches also might be made, where, in the intervals of Fishing, the Buss might lodge secure, and be refitted with less Cost. Mills, and Engines, and all other Arts, shou’d be allow’d to save the Labour of Hands. And whatsoever other Obstructions there are, these also shou’d be remov’d. But, perhaps I have already nam’d enough to create a despair of the thing, to make it credible, That our Herrings are not likely to pay the Cost and Charge that must be bestow’d upon them. If I have done so, I have reinforc’d my former Argument; The Fishing-Trade is not so profitable as the Importation of Irish Cattel, or of Indian Manufactures.

FINIS.