Joseph Trevers

“ Yet no body doth, or dareth to prosecute the Offenders for the breach of our good and wholesome Laws, because the very principles of Nature in every man, teach himself Preservation, and he that minds but that, is afraid to meddle with these offenders who are commonly Rich men, and strengthened both with Money and Friends in the Counties where they dwell; so that every man that is willing to preserve himself, his Estate and Family, is afraid of appearing against these Transgressors in the behalf of the King, though it be never so much conducible to the good and welfare of the whole Kingdom ”

“ The poors labor profit to the Nation.
But then to enter into the consideration of the contrary, what an unspeakable loss is it to the Kingdome, to have such a Trade fall to decay, and so many thousands of poor must of necessity be multiplyed in the Land, which must beg, steal or starve, for want of imployment. But what think you if three or four hundred Tuns of Wooll in a year be exported out of the Kingdome (for so I have been informed) what a stroke doth that give, to the beating down of our Trade in England, and what a vast loss comes thereby to the Kingdome ”

“ Thus the profit of the Poor, that they should get to themselves for a maintenance is lost, and the profit gotten by their labour to the Kingdom is also lost, in the General, and this is brought to pass by the quicksightedness, and diligence of our Neighbour Nations; who finding dayly the sweetness of the Trade, and so exceedingly enriching themselves, by our commodity, Viz. Wooll; doe endeavour more and more, to carry it on to their own advantage, whiles we in England, in the mean time neglect our own opportunities, and advantages, which do so clearely lie before us. ”

“ It is also well known, that those which steal the Duties of the King’s Customes, and do Import and Export Prohibited Goods and Commodities, are none of the meanest persons in the places where they dwell, but such who oftentimes have great interest with the Magistrates about those places, and seeing they get their money so easily, by not paying the Kings due Custome for their goods, as honest Merchants do, and being Purse-proud, do not value what they spend, to ingratiate themselves into the favour of such Gentlemen, as have authority as aforesaid ”

“ So here I having I hope discovered the causes, and occasions of our lose of Trade, shall take the boldness to give in tacitly my advice, most humbly begging pardon for such a presumption, and in all submission, presenting my conceptions to better judgements.
Whether it would not be convenient to have a Committee of Clothiers, some of the principal of all Counties, with Merchants of the several Cities, and some other Tradesmen, and Artificers, to be appointed ”

“ Others again, being out of hopes of the recovery of the former trade, think men must imploy their wits, and knowledge, in the invention of some new sorts of Manufacture; and some covetous wretches, have been very ready to declare their opinion, that the increase of the interest of money, and the abatement of Servants and Workmens wages; to which, adding great frugality, and good husbandry, would make the Kingdome to be happy, and flourishing again ”

“ Thus then any man may perceive, how Rich other Countries grow by our means, by obtaining our commodity to work upon, and there People also do generally live at a lower rate, and work cheaper by the day or otherwise, than our People in England do, by which means they may afford to under-sel us, as usually they do at a Forreign Market, so that hereby they do acquire to themselves, both good credit, as well as great profit: and this Originally as aforesaid is by our commodity; which if it was carefully looked after, by the Officers of the Customes, in the out-ports cheifly ”

“ In the dayes of King Edward the third (formerly spoken of) and since, to the times of our late unhappy confusions, the Trade of Clothing made the Kingdome flourish for many years together, and doubtless would do so again, if our Lawes were but put into Execution, and every one were obliged to discover, and make manifest the Transgressors, for this is not a business for two or three men to do, let them imploy themselves with all endeavours imaginable, but the eyes of all men must be about this matter, tending to such a Reformation ”

“ All those poor people formerly so imploy’d, were ready to starve for want of bread, in and about those places, where the Clothiers left off and failed; and every day it grew worse and worse, and those confusions among us increased more & more, that very few men were of one mind, and hardly any at all, that minded the publique good: but now some thoughts are busied of restoring things to their Lustre, and trade to what it was before the decay. ”

“ But if the Wooll of England, and Ireland were improoved to the best advantages, and secured from exportation to Forreigners, doubtless England would be the General Market for the whole Universe, for matter of Cloathing, and what would soon be the Riches, greatness, and Splendor thereof, (by the Almighties blessing) is not a thing very difficult to be imagined, by any sober judicious Person, Merchant, or Traveller. ”

“ When the trade of clothing was driven roundly, one family, that doth not get twelve pence a week now, have then received twelve, fifteen or eighteen shillings a week, which money went round to the Farmer for provision, or to the Shopkeeper for necessaries for their Families, and this again to the Merchant, or to the Landlords, according to each man’s Trade, and correspondence. ”

“ England is exceeding happy in a good and gracious King, but extreamly unhappy in some unfaithful Officers, and divided people, we are also happy in good Lawes, but unhappy in that they are so much corrupted, it is nothing with some Councel to make good, bad, and bad good ”

“ Thus then by the neglect of our own Manufactures of our Wooll, flowes in like an inundation, the poverty of the Land; and hence arise those sad complaints, that fill every mans Eares, throughout the Kingdom, Alas! What shall we do to live, we have no Imployment; for if the Trade of the world abroad, for Cloath and Stuffes, &c. Be supplied from other Lands, which make their Cloath and Stuffes of our English Wooll, being Clandestinely Transported into Forreign parts; our English Trade for that commodity, must answerably decay ”

“ It may not be here unseasonable, to insert a word or two, concerning our Fullers Earth, for cloth cannot be perfectly finished without our Fullers Earth, to scoure and cleanse the fine clothes, that are milled with Castle sope, and all other midling cloths that are fulled with Sope; so that none but course clothes that are milled with Medicine can be well done, without the assistance of our Fullers earth, except at a greater charge, neither is there any other Countrey, besides our King’s Dominions, that have any Fullers Earth like ours in England ”

“ Whether all people ought not to be encouraged, that shall discover such as Transport Prohibited goods, either into the Kingdome or out of it; and that care should be taken for them in a very special manner, that they might be protected from vexatious Suits, and Troubles, which are usually brought upon them that do discover such transgressors, that so others may be terrified from such like discoveries, all-though therein, by making known such Smugglers, that they may receive the justice of the Law, they do the King and Kingdome the highest service that may be ”

“ The Premises considered, I hope I may make bold to say, that setting aside all the rest of the Rich and Staple commodities of England, which nevertheless are as good as any Country can parrallel in the world, as Tinn, Lead, Iron, &c. this very commodity produced from our Wooll, is of more worth and value to England, (that is to say) will bring in more profit to the Kingdom of England, than all the Silks or rich commodities of any Country whatsoever ”

“ Pattent against Transporting Wooll
do more harm than good.
I have had discourse with some persons who have had the thoughts of getting a Pattent, to put the Laws into Execution, that are against the Transportation of Wooll, and other prohibited commodities; but I can hardly think they would be careful and diligent in that imployment, except they should reap a considerable profit for their labour, how should they expect to ballance their expence. I refer to the censure of the judicious, except it be by conniving at, (or compounding with) the Offenders ”

“ Why should the humour of our people in England so far engage them to an old custome of burying the dead in Linnen, as to contradict and disobey so good a Law as was lately made by Act of Parliament, for the burial of our dead in Woollen, doubtless there was reason enoug then produced in Parliament, to sway with the King and those two Honourable Houses for the Enacting the same, and whether it be not as decent to cover the dead Corps in Flannel, as it is with Linnen ”

“ That they may have Meat to eate, are not the Merchants and Sea-men, imploy’d in a great measure by this Trade, and these last mentioned (the Sea-men) are the men, who principally, and cheifly bring in the wealth of the Nation: the Gentry of the Land, and all sorts of Shop-keepers, are the receivers of this profit, which the Sea-men by their adventures, and industry do bring into the Nation ”

“ Nor in that the Honor, and splendor of the Kingdom, is hereby so much advanced and promoted, as it might be, but also because his Majesty looseth so great a revenue, which would accrue to him in his Customes, if the Cloathing Trade was carried on with Vigor, so that the effectual carrying on, or desisting from the Cloathing Trade, is of very high Concernment, and Importance to the King; in profit or loss, and so it runs through the meaner sort of People also, as hath allready in part been spoken to. ”

“ By what hath been said, it plainly appears how from the highest to the lowest, there is a necessary dependance of one imployment upon another, and the falling off from one general Trade, occasions the ruin of many inferior Tradesmen, who had subsistence for themselves, and Families thereby; and this in our Kingdom of England, is seated principally, and cheifly, in the Trade of Cloathing, and the Manufacture of Wooll. ”

“ Clothiers and their Imployments is more than ordinary.
Sir the great Ambition I have to manifest my Loyalty to the King, and my zeal to serve the Countrey, puts me upon these endeavours, to discover not only the advantages by our Manufactures, and the disadvantages to the Kingdome by the cessation thereof, but also the great Fraud; and Abuses in the Out-Ports by the Custome-Officers, which when reduced and brought into a better Method, by those cheif Officers that are concerned therein, I hope it may prove a good Balsome to heal our wounds, and a Cordial to our drooping spirits. ”

“ The King’s Customehouses, ought to be so many locks and Keys to the Kingdome, to let what is warrantable and lawful to come in, and to keep out what is forbidden its entrance, and to prevent the great abuses that are so frequently complained of, both in the Exportation of our Prohibited goods, and the Importation of Forreign goods forbidden by Law ”

“ So that upon the failing of this Trade, of which there is too great a cessation and decay, in many parts of this Kingdom, there comes in inevitably such a general loss, to the whole Nation, for first and most principally the King loseth hereby, and that extreamly, not only because his Subjects are not set at work, and so are unabled to live comfortably, and to pay such Taxes, and impositions, as are requisite for his Majesties support, and defence against his powerful Enemies. ”

“ Poor get Money if Imployed
I shall now endeavor to give some particular account, but very briefly, of the Profits arising to England, by working up our Wooll into Cloth: every two pounds of Wooll which is worth about twenty pence, will make a yard of Karsey, worth five or six shillings; and every four pounds of Wooll, worth about three shillings four pence, will make a yard of broad-cloth, worth eleven or twelve shillings: so that two thirds, is the least profit, that doth arise by putting our Wool into Manufactures ”

“ And by having our good English Wooll, they can spend two or three Packs of their own Wooll, mixing it with ours, by which meanes they make their Cloath and Stuffes pass very acceptably, both among themselves, and other Nations. Yea we our selves in England not being so wise, as we should be, for our own advantage, do buy the French druggets, &c. Made of our Wooll, mixed with theirs, and give great Prices for them too, when we do, or at least may make better of our own. ”

“ So that the profit arising, by the working up of our Wooll into cloth or Stuffs here in England, by our own people is almost unspeakable, and is the great and chief wheel in the Kingdome, to set all others at work, as hath been already in several Trades mentioned, and more do attend upon it, when it is made into cloth, as the Clothworkers, Drawers, Dyers, Fullers, Packers, Merchants and Seamen. ”

“ All Merchants strangers, were enjoyned to lay out their Money, they received for their Merchandise imported into this Realm again, in some Merchandise of this Realm, and to prove the laying of their money so out, and by whom it was so layd out, before the Officers of the Port, where it was so disposed of, or laid out, upon the penalty of forfeiting all his goods found within the Realm, and to suffer a years Imprisonment. ”

“ Whether the evil presidents, on some faithful Officers (being [Pg 47] vexed and molested by these Smugglers and their Adhærents) for doing their duty and being just in their places, for the publique good both of King and Kingdome, may not give occasion to many other Officers, to take Bribes, and comply with those Smugglers to cheat his Majesty of his due Customes, rather than to run the hazard of such molestations, to the utter ruine of themselves and Families. ”