THE CORPORATION of WEAVERS At London and Canterbury do Humbly Offer to the Consideration of The Honourable House of COMMONS.  
That this Kingdom will sustain great Evils and Damage, if a Bill now depending in this House should pass into a Law; which Bill enjoins the Wear of Cloth or Leather, and consequently Restrains the Wear of Silks and Stuffs, mixed with Wool, Silk und Hair, viz.  
THE restraint of wearing such Silks and Stuffs by the Nobility and Gentry seven Months in the Year, and by the Commonalty at all times, will necessarily impoverish and depopulate this Kingdom, there being no Trade that employ so many people as those relating to the Manufacturing of Silk and Hair; for upon the most modest Computation they are judged to be several Hundreds of Thousands of Weavers, Throwsters, Windsters, Dyers, and other Dependants thereupon; many of which have (according to Law) served Seven Years Apprenticeship to their several Trades, and have no other Freehold or Inheritance for themselves and Families to subsist on, and who by such a Law will (in a manner) be deprived of their Trades, and thereby necessitated to seek their Living in other parts, or become chargeable to the places of their abodes; For that the Merchant cannot give Credit, nor the Weaver, Throwster, etc. supply their Journeymen and Windsters the year round, without returns of Moneys for their Commodities; And their Journeymen, etc. possess nothing but what they get by their daily Labour to supply their daily Wants, Nor can their Journeymen, etc. expect to be employed in the Manufacturing of Cloth, for that (as hereafter is evident) Exportatien of Cloth to Turkey will be abated, and consequently the present Manufactures of Wool want employment.  
That although this Bill provides that Stuffs made of Mohair Yarn (being lined with Cloth or Stuffs made of Wool) may be worn in upper Garments by men only, yet such Stuffs (if Camlets are meant thereby) do not consume the 8th. part of Mohair Yarn imported, nor will they employ a 30th. part of the Manufactures that Mohair Yarn do now employ: For that Hair Shaggs, the Ground and Shoot whereof is Woollen Yarn, and the several Commodities hereafter mentioned, viz. Hair Prunella, which are customarily worn by the Clergy in the Summer season, together with Crispiana's, Tamalta's, Morellas, and divers other Stuffs are made of three parts of Mohair Yarn, and but one part Silk, and these are chiefly for the use of Women in the Winter season who are not allowed to wear the same.  
And although this Bill provides that women's Garments may be lined with Silk, etc. yet such Linings have Customarily been imported from the Indies, and the English Manufactures of Silk and Hair by such Provision no ways benefited.  
That such a Law will destroy the intention of the Bill itself, by lessening the Consumption of English Wool, and impoverishing the Manufactures thereof. For that the greatest part of our corpse clothes and Stuffs made of English Wool are Transported beyond the Seas, and chiefly to Turkey, in return whereof the Merchants necessarily import Raw Silk and Mohair Yarn wholly unmanufactured, which employs so many Thousands in this Kingdom. Now it the Consumption of Silk and Hair be abated, as it must be by the restraint of the wear thereof, the Exportation of Cloth which goes out fully manufactured, must proportionably abate thereunto for that Turkey doth not afford Commodities proper for England to be brought in returns, other than Raw Silk and Mohair Yarn. So that Whereas the Turkey Company have so late Exported 25 or 30 thousand clothes in one Year, they will by this Restraint be greatly reduced. And for that every of the Nobility, Gentry, and better sorts of Tradesmen and their Families will not wear our corpse Clothes made of English Wool, but fine Dutch Clothes, and Clothes made of Spanish Wool. It being evident, and the Clothiers themselves will acknowledge that Salisbury, Devonshire and Worcester Clothes from 11 s. per yard and upwards have not one Lock of English Wool contained in them, except Clothes made of that small quantity of English Wool which Lempster affords, the quantity whereof is very inconsiderable. Upon which it is manifest, That the more Silks are worn in England (if Manufactured here) the greater is the Consumption of English Wool, for such persons as wears a Silk or Mohair Garment doth certainly expend more English Wool, that being return of English Woollen Cloth.  
And the Consumption of Wool will also be lessened by the Restraint of the wear of Stuffs, made of part Wool, and part Silk; for that the several Stuffs hereafter mentioned, viz Bombazines Anthorines, Silk-Sayes, Crape, Silk Masquerade, Stripped Cheneys, Virgin's Beauty, Drafts of all sorts, Druggets of all sorts, Silk shades, Worsted Barratines', Glassamines, Katharina's, Tameenes, Estameenes, and all other or most Norwich Stuffs, with great Numbers of other sluifs too many to be here inserted, having but one part of Silk in them and nine parts of Worsted (which is our English Sheep's Wool; yet because of that little part of Silk, must not be worn in Apparel.  
That this Restraint will not only ruin the English Manufactures of Silk and Hair, but also great Numbers of French Protestants that fled hither from the Persecurions in France, who will be necessitated to depart into other parts, for it is well known that the far greater Numbers of such Protestant Strangers have been employed and wholly subsist by Manufacturing of Silk and Mohair Yarn.  
But now if it shall please the Parliament instead of Restraining the Wear of our own Manufactures to prohibit the Wearing of Silks and stuffs Manufactured the Foreign part, and that be cause Manufactured silks heretofore Imported from France was the return or product of Cloth, made of English Wool, but of late Years hath been the return of Money only, whereby the Consumptlon of Wool hath been abated about fix hundred thousand 1. per. Annum, this would certainly enrich this Nation; and cause a greater Consumption of Wool.  
For these Reasons and for that the said Restraints will in a manner prohibit the use of Silk & Hair stuffs, and be the present ruin of many Mercers and others, whose Stocks consist in Silks and Hair stuff. It is humbly prayed, That this Honourable House will be pleased to lay aside the aforesaid Bill.   

LONDON. Printed for John Wallis. 1689.