_Lapis Caliminaris_ Dug here and Exported, on an Information given to
the House of Commons, that it was not to be had any where else; the
Merchants concerned in Exporting that Commodity made Application, and
set forth, that such a Duty would bring in Nothing to the Crown, but
be a total Bar to its Exportation; yet the Act past, and we were like
to have made a fatal Experiment, for till the Statute of the 7th and
8th of the same King, which reduced the Duty to Two Shillings _per_
Tun, the Exportation ceased; and in the mean time, those Places,
which had been discouraged from Digging and Calcining it, because we
undersold them, set again to Work, and supplied the Markets where we
Vended ours.
What Injury was done by the Act made in the 9th and 10th W. IIId. for
the more effectual Preventing the Importation of Foreign Bonelace,
&c. doth sufficiently appear by the Preamble of That made in the 11th
and 12th of the same Reign for repealing it Three Months after the
Prohibition of our Wollen Manufactures in _Flanders_ (which was
occasioned by it) should be there taken off; but I don’t understand
that is yet done, and it may prove an irrecoverable Loss to the
Nation.
I mention these things with great Submission to the Judgment of that
Glorious Assembly, the Wisdom and Strength of the Nation; to whom I
only presume with all Humility to offer my Thoughts, that it would
very much tend to the putting Matters of Trade into a True Light
before them, if they were first referred to a Body of Men, well verst
in the true Principles thereof, and able to see through the
Sophistical Arguments of contending Parties, to be by them
considered, and well digested, before they received the Sanction of a
Law.
And as to Foreign Treaties; I do not think our Trade hath been so
much bettered by them as it might have been, for want of such a
Committee; the Representations made by Private Merchants, (who
generally differ according as their Interests clash with each other)
tending rather to distract, than to inform the Government; which
would not be, if their first Applications were made to an
Experienc’d Committee, who had Judgment enough to subtract out of
them what was proper to be offer’d; By which means, our Demands
might be rendred short and comprehensive.
We have Natural Advantages in Trade above other Nations, besides the
Benefit of our Scituation, the Foundation of our Woollen Manufactures
being as it were peculiar to our own Growth, and may be retained
amongst our selves; An Advantage the _French_ have not, whose Wealth
arising chiefly from the Exportation of their Wines, Brandy, Salt,
Paper, Silks, and Linnens, both we and other Nations, have made such
a Progress in them all since the War began, as to render theirs less
sought for; whereas, nothing but our own Neglects, and ill
Managements, can let our Neighbours into our Manufactures, which we
may soon put a stop to, by securing our Wool at Home.
[Sidenote: Insurance.]
I cannot close this Discourse, without speaking something of
Insurance; The first Design whereof was to encourage the Merchants to
Export more of our Product and Manufactures, when they knew how to
ease themselves in their Adventures, and to bear only such a
Proportion thereof as they were willing and able to do; but by the
Irregular Practices of some Men, this first Intention is wholly
obviated; who without any Interest, have put in early Policies, and
gotten large Subscriptions on Ships, only to make Advantage by
Selling them to Others; and therefore have Industriously promoted
False Reports, and spread Rumours, to the Prejudice of the Ships and
Masters, filling Mens Minds with Doubts, whereby the fair Trading
Merchant, when he comes to Insure his Interest, either can get no one
to Underwrite, or at such high Rates, that he finds it better to Buy
the Others Policies at Advance; by this means these Stock-Jobbers of
Insurance have as it were turn’d it into a Wager, to the great
Prejudice of Trade; Likewise many ill designing Men, their Policies
being over-valued, have (to the Abhorence of Honest Traders, and to
the Scandal of Trade it self) contriv’d the Loss of their own
Ships; On the other side, the Underwriters, when a Loss is ever so
fairly proved, boggle in their Payments, and force the Insured to be
content with less than their Agreements, for fear of engaging
themselves in long and chargeable Suits.
Now if the Parliament would please to take these things into their
Consideration, they may reduce Insurance to its first Intention, by
obliging the Insured to bear such a Proportionable part of his
Adventure (the Premio included) as to them shall seem fit, and also
the Insurers, when a loss is fully made out, to pay their
Subscriptions without Abatement, which will prevent both; and if any
Differences should arise, to direct easy ways for adjusting them,
without attending long Issues at Law, or being bound up to such nice
Rules in their Proofs, as the Affairs of Foreign Trade will not admit.
[Sidenote: Wilful casting away Ships by the Owners.]
I know, that by a Clause in a Statute made _primo Annæ_, the wilful
Casting away, Burning, or otherwise destroying a Ship, by any
Captain, Master, Mariner, or other Officer belonging to it, is made
Felony, without Benefit of Clergy; But that Statute is so
qualify’d, that it is difficult to Convict the Offender, because
the Fact must be done, to the Prejudice of the Owner or Owners, or of
any Merchant or Merchants that shall load Goods thereon, else he doth
not come within its Penalty, so it doth not reach the Evil I here
mention, _viz._ the Abominable Contrivance of the Owners to have
their own Ships destroyed, in order to make an Advantage by their
Insurances; (a Crime so black in it self, that it cannot be mentioned
without Horror). These Men, when they frame their dark Designs, will
take care, for the Security of those they employ, that none besides
themselves shall load Goods on the Ships they intend shall be thus
destroyed, and it cannot be supposed that they receive Prejudice
thereby themselves, so the Prosecution on that Statute is evaded; But
if the Insured were bound to make out their Interests, and to bear a
Proportionable part of the Loss themselves, this would as it were
Naturally prevent such Scandalous Practices.
[Sidenote: Whether the Price of Labour is a Hindrance to Improvements
in our Products and Manufactures.]
Before I enter on the Business of the Poor, I will consider of a
Question that hath arisen, and I have heard sometimes debated by Men
of good Understanding, which is, Whether the Labour of the Poor being
so high, does not hinder Improvements in our Product and
Manufactures; Which having some Relation to the Subject Matter of
this Discourse, I shall offer my Thoughts thereon, with Submission to
better Judgments, _viz._ That both our Product and Manufactures may
be carry’d on to Advantage, without running down the Labour of the
Poor.
As to the first, our Product, I am of opinion, that the running down
the Labour of the Poor is no advantage to it, nor is it the Interest
of that part of the Kingdom called _England_ to do it, nor can the
People thereof live on so low Wages as they do in other Countries;
for we must consider, that Wages must bear a Rate in all Nations
according to the Price of Provisions; where Wheat is sold for One
Shilling _per_ Bushel, and all things suitable, a labouring Man may
afford to work for Three Pence a day, as well as he can for Twelve
Pence, where it is sold for Four Shillings; and this Price of Wheat
arises chiefly from the Value of Land; For it cannot be imagined,
that the Farmer who gives Twenty Shillings _per_ Acre, can afford it
as low as he whose Lands cost him but Five Shillings _per_ Acre, and
produces the same Crop, nor can Labour be expected to be so low in
such a Country, as in the other; This is the Case of _England_, whose
Lands yielding great Rents, require good Prices for the Product; and
this is the Freeholders Advantage; for supposing Necessaries to be
the Current Payment for Labour, in such cases, whether we call a
Bushel of Wheat One Shilling, or Four Shillings, it will be all one
to him, for so much as he pays, but not for the Overplus of his Crop,
which makes a great Difference into his Pocket; you cannot fall
Wages, unless you fall Product; and if you fall Product, you must
necessarily fall Lands.
And as for the Second, our Manufactures, I am of Opinion, that they
may be carryed on to Advantage, without running down the Labour of
the Poor; for which I offer
1. Observation, or Experience of what hath been done; we have and
daily do see that it is so; the Refiners of Sugars sell for Six Pence
_per_ Pound, what yielded formerly Twelve Pence; the Distillers sell
their Spirits for one half of what they formerly did; Glass Bottles,
Silk-Stockins, and other Manufactures (too many to be here
enumerated) are sold for not much more than half the Price they were
some years since, without falling the Labour of the Poor.
But then the Question will be, how this is done? Truly it proceeds
from the Ingenuity of the Manufacturer, and the Improvements he
attains to in the ways of his Working; Thus the Refiners of Sugars go
through that Operation by easier Methods, and in less time, than
their Predecessors did; Thus the Distillers draw more Spirits from
the things they work on, than those formerly did who taught them the
Art; The Glass-Maker hath found a Quicker way of making it out of
things which cost him little; Silk-Stockings are Wove; Tobacco is cut
by Engines; Books are Printed; Deal-Boards are Sawn with Mills; Lead
is Smelted by Wind-Furnaces; all which save the Labour of many Hands,
so the Wages of those employed need not be fallen.
Besides which, there is a Cunning crept into Trades; The Clock-maker
hath improved his Art to such a degree, that Labour and Materials are
the least Part the Buyer pays for; The variety of our Woollen
Manufactures is so pretty, that Fashion makes a thing worth twice the
Price it is sold for after, the Humour of the Buyer carrying a great
Sway in its Value; Artificers, by Tools and Laves, fitted for
different Uses, make such things, as would puzzle a stander by to set
a Price on, according to the worth of Mens Labour; the Plummer by new
Inventions casts a Tun of shot for Ten Shillings, which might seem to
deserve Forty.
The same Art is crept into Navigation; Freights are much fallen from
what they formerly were at, and yet Sailor’s Wages are still the
same; Ships are built more for Stowage, and made strong enough to be
loaden between Decks, and Voyages are performed in less time; Wool is
Steved into them by such proper Instruments, that three or four Baggs
are put, where one would not else lye; Cranes and Blocks help to draw
up more for one Shilling, then Mens Labour without them would do for
Five.
New Projections are every day set on Foot to render the making our
Woollen Manufactures easy, which should be render’d cheaper by the
Contrivance of the Manufacturers, not by falling the Price of Labour;
Cheapness creates Expence, and Expence gives fresh Employments,
whereby the Poor will be still kept at Work.
The same for our Product; Mines and Pitts are drained by Engines and
Aquæducts instead of Hands; the Husband-Man turns up the Ground with
his Sullow, not Diggs it with his Spade; covers his Grain with the
Harrow, not with the Rake; brings home his Harvest with Carts, not on
Mens Backs; and many other easy Methods are used, both for Improving
of Land, and raising its Product, which lessen the number of
Labourers, and make room for better Wages to be given those that are
Imployed.
Nor am I of their Opinion, who think the running down the Price of
our Growth and Product, that so they may buy Provisions cheap, an
Advantage to the Inland Trade of this Kingdom, but of the contrary.
To understand this rightly, let us begin with the Shop-keeper, or
Buyer and Seller, who is the Wheel whereon the Inland Trade turns, as
he buys of the Importer and Manufacturer, and sells again to the
Country; suppose this Man spends Two Hundred Pounds _per_ Annum in
all things necessary for himself and Family, as Provisions, Cloaths,
House-Rent, and other Expences, the Question will be, what part of
this is laid out in Flesh, Corn, Butter, Cheese, &c. barely
considered according to their first Cost in the Market? I presume
Fifty or Sixty Pounds _per_ Annum to be the most, whereon the Advance
to him will not be so much by keeping up our Product to a good Rate,
as the Profits which will consequently arise in his Trade will amount
unto; For by this means the Farmer will be enabled to give a better
Rent to his Landlord, who may then keep a more Plentiful Table, spend
more Wine, Fruit, Sugars, Spices, and other things wherewith he is
furnished from the City, suit himself and his Family oftner, and
carry on a greater Splendour in every thing; the Farmer according to
his condition may do the same, and give higher Wages to the Labourers
imployed in Husbandry, who may then live better, and buy new Cloaths
oftner, instead of patching up old ones; by this means the
Manufacturers will be encouraged to give a better Price for Wooll and
Labour, when they shall find a Vent as fast as they can make; and a
Flux of Wealth causing a Variety of Fashions, will add Wings to their
Inventions, when they shall see their Manufactures advanced in their
Values by the Buyer’s Fancy; This likewise will encourage the
Merchants to encrease their Exports, when they shall find a quick
Vent for their Imports; By which regular Circulation, Payments will
be short, and all will grow rich; But when Trade deadens in the
Fountain, when the Gentlemen and the Farmers are kept low, every one
in his order feels it, It being most certain, and grounded on the
Observation of all Men who have lookt into it, That in those Countrys
where Provisions are Cheap, the People are generally Poor, both
proceeding from the want of Trade; so that he who will give a right
Judgment in this Matter, must not consider things only as they offer
themselves at the first Sight, but as they will be in their
Consequences.
As to the other part of _Great Britain_ called _Scotland_, I can say
little with Relation to this Matter, my Knowledge of that part of the
Kingdom being not sufficient to enable me to do it: But I am apt to
believe, that the same General Maxim must hold good there also,
_viz._ That the Rates of Labour must be according to the Prices of
Provisions, and those according to the Rents of the Lands.
[Sidenote: The Poor.]
Having thus gone through the State of the Nation with respect to its
Trade, I will next consider it with respect to the Poor.
And here it cannot but seem strange, that this Kingdom, which so much
abounds in Product and Manufactures, besides the Imployment given in
Navigation, should want work for any of its People; the _Dutch_, who
have little of the two former, if compared with us, and do not exceed
us in the latter, suffer no Beggars; whereas we, whose Wealth
consists in the Labour of our Inhabitants, seem to encourage them in
an Idle way of Living, contrary to their own and the Nations Interest.
The Curse under which Man first fell was Labour; That by the Sweat of
his Brows he should eat his Bread; This is a state of Happiness, if
compared to that which attends Idleness: He that walks the Streets of
_London_, and observes the Fatigues used by the Beggars to make
themselves seem Objects of Charity, must conclude, that they take
more Pains than an Honest Man doth at his Trade, and yet seem not to
get Bread to eat: Beggary is now become an Art or Mystery, to which
Children are brought up from their Cradles; any thing that may move
Compassion is made a Livelyhood, a Sore Leg or Arm, or for want
thereof a Pretended one; the Tricks and Devices I have observed to be
used by these People, have often made me think, that those Parts, if
better employed, might be made useful to the Nation.
Here I will consider,
1. What hath been the Cause of this Mischief of Idleness, and how it
hath crept in upon us.
2. What must be done to restrain its going farther.
3. What Methods are proper to be used, in order to make a Provision
for those who are past their Labour.
As to the First; we shall find that it hath proceeded, partly from
the Abuse of those Laws we have, and partly from want of better;
Licences for Ale-houses were at first granted for good Ends, not to
draw Men aside from their Labour by Games and Sports, but to support
and refresh them under it; and as they were then a Maintainance to
the Aged, so Poor Families had Opportunities of being supplied with a
Cup of Ale from Abroad, who could not keep it at Home; great
Observation was also made to prevent Idle Tipling, our Fore-Fathers
considered, that time so spent was a Loss to the Nation, whose
Interest was improved by the Labour of its Inhabitants; Whereas
Ale-houses are now encouraged, to promote the Income of Excise, on
whom there must be no Restraint, lest the King’s Revenue should be
lessened; Thus we live by Sense, and look only at things we see,
without revolving on what the Issue will be, not considering, that
the Labour of each Man, if well employ’d, whilst he sits in an
Ale-house, would be worth much more to the Nation, than the Excise he
pays.
But above all, our Laws to set the Poor at Work are short and
Defective, tending rather to Maintain them so, then to raise them to
a better way of Living; ’Tis true, those Laws design well, but
consisting only in Generals, and not reducing things to Practicable
Methods, they fall short of answering their Ends, and thereby render
the Poor more bold, when they know the Parish Officers are bound,
either to provide them Work, or to give them Maintenance.
Now, if we delighted more in the Encouraging our Manufactures, our
Poor might be better Employed, and then ’twould be a shame, for any
Person capable of Labour, to live Idle; which leads me to the Second
Consideration, What must be done to restrain this Habit of Idleness
from going farther.
Here I find, that nothing but good Laws can do it, such as may
provide Work for those who are willing, and force them to Work that
are able; And for this use I think Work-houses very expedient, but
they must be Founded on such Principles, as may employ the Poor, for
which they must be fitted, and the Poor for them; wherein Employments
must be provided for all sorts of People, who must also be compelled
to go thither when sent, and the Work-houses to receive them; and the
Materials which seem most proper for them are Simples, such as Wooll,
Hemp, Cotton, and the like, which may either be sent in by the
Manufacturers, or be bought up on a Stock raised for that End; These
will employ great Numbers, of both Sexes, and all Ages, either by
Beating and Fitting the Hemp, or by Dressing and Spinning the Flax,
or by Carding and Spinning the Wool and Cotton, of Different
Finenesses; and if a Reward was given to that Person who should spin
the Finest Thread of either, as they do in _Ireland_ for their
Linnen, to be adjudged Yearly, and paid by the County, or by any
other manner as shall be thought fit, ’twould very much promote
Industry and Ingenuity, whilst every one being stir’d up by
Ambition, and Hopes of Profit, would endeavour to exceed the rest; by
which means we should also grow more excellent in our Manufactures.
Nor should these Houses hinder any who desire to Work at Home, or the
Manufacturers from Employing them, the Design being to Provide places
for those who care not to Work any where, and to make the Parish
Officers more Industrious to find them out, when they know whither to
send them, by which means they would be better able to maintain the
Impotent.
It seems also convenient, that these Work-houses, when setled in
Cities and great Towns, should not be only Parochial, but one or more
in each Place, as will best suit it; which would prevent the Poors
being sent from Parish to Parish, and Provided for no where; and when
once the Poor shall come by use to be in love with Labour, ’twill
be strange to see an Idle Person; Then they will be so far from being
a Burthen to the Nation, that they will become its Wealth, and their
own Lives also will be more comfortable to them.
There are other things which will employ the Poor besides our
Manufactures, and are also equally Beneficial to the Nation; such as
Navigation, Husbandry, and Handicrafts; here if these or such like
Rules were observed, they might be made more advantageous to all.
As First, Let the Justices of the Peace have Power to assign Youth to
Artificers, Husbandry, Manufacturers, and Mariners, and to bind them
Apprentices for a Time certain, at such Ages as they shall think
’em fit to go on those Employments, who should also be obliged to
receive them; and tho’ this may at first seem hard, as hindring the
Masters from taking Servants who may bring them Money, yet after some
time it will not, when those who were so bound out themselves, shall
only do for others what was done for them before; and this also may
be now made good to them, by such an Overplus of years in their
Apprentiships, as may be an Equivalent to the Money.
And as for those of elder years, who will rather Beg than Work, let
them be forced to serve the King in his Fleet, or the Merchants on
board their Ships; the Sea is very good to cure sore Leggs and Arms,
especially such as are Counterfeits, against which, the Capstern,
with the Taunts of the Sailors, is a certain Remedy.
Next, for Ale-houses, Coffee-houses, and such like Employments, let
them be kept only by Aged People, or such who have numerous Families.
Let Masters of Ships be obliged to carry with them some Landmen every
Voyage, which will increase our Seamen, and let the Justices have
Power to force them to receive such as are willing to enter
themselves, and to settle the Rates of their Wages.
Let Young People be prohibited from Hawking about the streets, and
from Singing Ballads; if these things be allowed, they are fitter for
Age.
Stage-Plays, Lotteries, and Gaming-houses should be strictly looked
after, Youth, in this Age of Idleness and Luxury, being not only
drawn aside by them, but also more willing to put themselves on such
easy ways of living, than on Labour.
These and such like Methods, being Improved by the Wisdom of a
Parliament, may tend, not only to the Introducing a Habit of Virtue
amongst us, but also to the making Multitudes of People serviceable,
who are now useless to the Nation; there being scarce any one, who is
not capable of doing something towards his Maintenance, and what his
Labour doth fall short, must be made up by Charity; but as things now
are, no Man knows where ’tis rightly plac’d, by which means those
who are truly Objects do not partake thereof; And let it be
consider’d, that if every Person did by his Labour add one
Half-penny _per diem_ to the Publick, ’twould bring in Seven
Millions six Hundred and Four Thousand one Hundred Sixty six Pounds
thirteen Shillings _per Annum_, (accounting ten Millions of People to
be in the Kingdom) so vast a Sum may be raised from a Multitude, if
every one adds a little.
Nor is the sending lazy People to our Plantations abroad (who can
neither by good Laws be forced, or by Rewards be encourag’d to work
at home) so prejudicial to the Nation as some do imagine, where they
must expect another sort of Treatment, if they will not labour;
’tis true, they give no help in the Manufactures here, but That is
made up in the Product they raise there, which is also Profit to the
Nation; Besides, the Humours and other Circumstances of People are to
be enquired into, some have been very useful there, who would never
have been so here: And if the People of this Kingdom be employ’d to
the Advantage of the Community, no Matter in what part of the
King’s Dominions it is; many hundreds by going to those
Plantations, have become profitable Members to the Common-wealth, who
had they continued here, had still remain’d Idle Drones; now they
raise Sugar, Cotton, Tobacco, and other things, which employ Sailors
abroad, and Manufacturers at home, all which being the Product of
Earth and Labour, I take to be the Wealth of the Nation.
The Employment of Watermen on the River _Thames_ breeds many Sailors,
and it were good to keep them still fill’d with Apprentices; also
the Employment of Bargemen, Lightermen, and Trowmen, both on That and
other Rivers, does the same, who should be encouraged to breed up
Landmen, and fit them for the Sea.