A Brief Survey OF OUR LOSSES BY THE Exportation of Wool.  
I. HE that duly considers the Quantity and Quality of our English Wool will readily acquiesce in the Opinion of our Ancestors, who termed it The Flower of the King's Grown; The Dowry of the Kingdom; The Chief Revenue of the Kings; The Gold of our Ophir, and the Indies of England: It affects all Conditions and Callings of Men amongst us, from the highest Peer to the lowest Peasant.  
II. The Quantity of our Wool is so Comprehensive, that were it secured to Ourselves, industriously managed in its full Manufcture, and Exported by an English Merchandise and Navigation; it would give Employment to so great a Number of People, that we should soon become the Glory of the whole World, and be able to balance the Affairs of all Europe.  
III. Its Quality is more excellent, God and Nature has herein seemingly conspired for a suitable Accommodation to all Ranks and Degrees of People, in the different goodness of several Counties Wool, which is capable to be improved to any use, for the Benefit and Ornament of the Body in a great Variety of Fancy, and true Merit, from the thickest Drab to the thinnest Crape, branching itself into various Occupations, which produce a wonderful Variety of manufactures, suitable to all Seasons of the Year at Home, and the more different Climates abroad.  
iv By this Excellent Commodity we are able to Outdo our Neighbours in all Merchandizes abroad. In what Esteem have our English Factories lived in at Hambro, Flanders, Holland and Dantzick in former times? And what Estates have been brought home to our English Nation? And how are we now declined? Near expiring at Hambro; quite extinct in Flanders, and very few English Merchants in Holland or Dantzick that reap any Benefit by our Golden-Fleece; and no great number at Home; and I think, I may truly say, That the late Growth of France has been chief owing to the Advantages they have gained this Thirty Five Years last passed by our English Wool.  
V To illustrate this Matter, I will compute (with all possible exactness) the Loss to our nation by one Pack of our finest Combed Wool Exported into France (large quantities of which have been Combed at Canterbury and other Places, and then carried into France and Holland) by which we may make an Estimate of our whole Loss in its due Proportion.  
 l. s. d. One Pack containing Twelve Score of our finest Combed Wool, I compute to be worth at this time 030 00 00 The Spinning of this into the finest Worsted, cost Five Shillings per pound. 060 00 00 Four Ounces of this Worsted thus Spun, will make a Pair of Hose, worth Five Shillings the Knitting 240 00 00 This Pack so Knit, will make Eighty Dozen of Hose, which pay the King 7½ per Dozen Custom 002 10 00 The Dying of these Hose, partly with materials of our own Growth, 000 00 00 the Custom of Foreign Dy-Stuffs to the King, and the Freight, is a considerable Article of Value, though difficult to fix at a certain Sum: And France hath had but little less Advantage in our courser Wool; being enabled by one Pack of ours, to work up two of their own into Manufactures of a better Quality.  
VI The Employment to their People, and loss to ours (which is very considerable in so great a quantity of Wool, an Account being taken of above Thirty Thousand Packs which were Landed in one Year at Three Ports in France) I take to be but half our Loss: For 'tis evident, as the French increased in their Woollen-Manufactures at Home, they prevailed in their Merchandizes and Factories Abroad, particularly in Spain, which hath been their most gainful Trade; and by this means got themselves into a Fabric of Spanish Cloth, which doth hugely interfere with out Interest at Foreign Markets. Although Spanish Wools are as free for their Money as ours; yet were they confined to the Linens of their own Nation, or any other product of France, to procure them, their Merchants in Spain would make to great Figure in their Sortments. The long Wool of England and Ireland in its variety of Bays, Perpetuana's, Stockings Use, which is no way to be equalled by any other part of the World (and so agreeable to the Spaniards, etc. and the West-Indies) is certainly the master-Wheel of the Spanish Trade; and we are capable of securing this advantage to our own Subjects, which would hugely lessen the Interest of our chiefest Competitors in Trade. If the Strength of England may be said to be particular in any one thing (as Samson in his Locks) I should readily assign it to the excellent Staple of our long-combing Wool.  
VII. And here I can't but mention one particular, by which in my Opinion, France hath had a great benefit 〈◊〉 our Wool, by our own Act and Deed. … t the coming-in of King Charles the Second, the … ds of Jersie, Guernsie, Alderney and Sark, were allow●●●hree Thousand Three Hundred Todds of English ●●●●l, each Todd Thirty Two Pounds. In the beginning of the Reign of His Present Majesty King William, those Islands were allowed by Act of Parliament, Three Thousand three hundred Todds more, and a Liberty given by the same Act to French, Dutch, Flanderkins, Hamburgers, Germans, Danes, Swedes, etc. to Export our Woollen-Manufactures to their Native Countries upon equal Terms with our English Subjects; and how these new Sett of Merchants fell in to the Exporting of our Wool and Smuggling of Goods, is pretty well known— Felo de se— And it will be very difficult to prevent this practice, as our Affairs now stand, having scarce EnglisH merchants enough abroad to give Notice of the landing of our Wool on that side. This Six Thousand Six Hundred Todds allowed to those Islands, doth chief consist of Combing-Wooll for Worsted-Hose, a valuable and useful Commodity at most Foreign Markets; and the amount of the Workmanship may be easily cast up by the aforesaid Calculation; provided there be no greater quantity Exported, which is very much doubted.  
How Commondious these Islands are in their Situation for France to reap the benefit of their labour, I need only mention, the Inhabitants (consisting of many French) are able to live very Cheap, and work accordingly, at about half the price we pay in many Places in England. They enjoy the Benefit of the Draw-back of the Custom of our West-India Goods, and pay not the least Tax to England. What Stockings are brought into England, and exported again, by the Carriage and Custom paid to the King, may be rendered Four or Five per Cent. cheaper by the French. The reason upon which this is grounded, I can't perceive.  
To allege that any part of the Creation is left insufficient for its own Subsistence and Preservation, must be a reflection upon Divine Providence; and that all parts of the World should be upon an equal Foot in obtaining this Subsistence, seems to be contrary to the Design of the great Creator. St. Paul valued himself in being a Freeborn Roman. These Islands have Wool of their own Growth, and doubtless must be very fair for Fishing, and by that means may be subservient to England, as we now serve them: Which practice will strengthen their Islands in Shipping and Seamen, for their Preservation; and what is got out of the Sea will be a clear Gain; the loss of our Fishing is very considerable, and much lamented. I know no such Instance of Generosity, to give away that which God and Nature has made our Birthright, whilst multitudes of our Woollen Manufactures have wanted it at Home, who are under many heavy Taxes. We may learn better of our rich neighbours, who are said to burn part of their Spices in the Indies, that we may pay them the better Price, which we do at this time with a Witness.  
VIII. As our Affairs now stand, it highly concerns us to secure our own Wool, which being effectually done but one whole year, many established Fabrics abroad with our Wool, must of necessity sink, and the manufacturers disperse, and many of our own brought home again, which many years would not recover. And we can promise to ourselves, at this juncture, no advantageous Settlement of Trade, but by an effectual Cure of this Evil; to the effecting of which, whatsoever Money is expended, will be brought in again to the King in his Customs, with a hundred-fold advantage to the Nation. To find out the Causes of Things, is said, to be a Work of Philosophy; to find out a fit Remedy, is of high Eminency; but to apply the Remedy, is a Matter of State and Policy.   
FINIS.