The Gentlemen Wool Merchants and Sergebuyers CASE.  
Showing,  
THE Engrossing the Wool of Ireland into private Hands, projected by some particular Factors upon Commission for Foreigners, is highly prejudicial to the public Trade of the Nation, will keep down the price of English Wool, and lessen the value of our Lands in England, by causing the Rents to fall.  
These Sergebuyers Factors to Foreigners upon the Credit of their great and large Commissions, draw all the Sergemakers about the Country to court them for a Market and Sale of their Serges, which they take in from the Country at their own Rates and Prices, commonly without any certain Price, or fixed time of payment. And thereby these Factors have generally in their Hands very great Sums of the Country's Money (that is, value in Serges) for which they neither give Bill nor Bond. The Sergemaker having no other so certain and ready Market to depend upon, are miserably awed and subjected to these great Factors, that they dare not dispute or ask for Money in four, five, six; or eight months' time; and can rarely get enough to support the poor Labourer, the Comber and Spinner with daily Bread; but now some few of these Factors are not content and satisfied with this great and profitable Commission Trade, and the Credit of forty or fifty thousand Pounds of the Country's Money in their Hands at a time, without giving Bill or Bond for the same, as is above set forth. But they proceed further, to employ and settle Factors of their own in the Kingdom of Ireland, particularly in the chief Cities and Towns of Trade, as in Dublin, Cork, Waterford, etc. to engross and buy up all the Wool in that Kingdom they can lay their Hands upon, which they import into England, and impose upon the Sergemakers they own Money to for their Serges, 6d. 8ds. 12d. per Stone, and more above the Market Price; So that by this Method and Practice, in Fact they buy up Serges here in England upon Credit without Money, and Wool in Ireland with the Country's Money: The Irish Bills of Exchange being answered and paid in London by the Foreign Bills remitted them for Serges. Thus the poor Sergemaker is shamefully abused, being forced to take Wool after a strange manner, bought with his own Money, which they privately pack up, and send about the Country, to the poor sort of Sergemakers Houses, who must take it, and dare not refuse it in what condition soever, wet or damnisied, as oftentimes it happens to be: By this evil Practice they break and forestall the Staple Markets. And to further and force this unfair Trade, they seldom will buy Serges from any, but those that will take Wool from them; their common Answer being, your Serges do not smell of my Wool: So that the Sergemaker dares not buy a lock of Wool from any Body but them. And the poorer sort at least (whose whole Stocks lie in their Hands) has command of neither Money, nor Bill, to buy as formerly from the Gentleman and Farmer, or to come to the Staple Ports and open fair Markets, where great quantities of Wool are always to be bought at current Price: And it must be observed, the breaking the ancient Staple Ports and Markets for Wool, and letting it thus fall into private Hands, more especially into men's Hands that are in the Interest of Foreigners, whose business is to buy up Serges as cheap as they can, his Commission being greatest that can serve their Interest best and buy cheapest. This, with humble Submission, if rightly considered, must appear a Mischief of the highest Consequence to the Trade of this Kingdom, and perfectly destructive to every Gentleman and Farmer's Sale of his Wool And if the Causes of the present low and dead Price of Wool be nicely inquired into, There does not appear a greater than these Sergebuyers engrossing, private Selling, Forestall, forcing and breaking the open fair Markets; and allowing but other Markets for Cattle, etc. to be so broke, forced, and forestalled; every Gentleman would soon feel the Consequence; and surely no particular Commodity ought more to be preserved than the noble Staple of Wool this Kingdom so justly values herself upon.  
This Evil being grown to that pitch and height in three Years time, that no Merchant that is not a Serge-buyer and Wool-Trucker as themselves can deal in Wool but to loss, being perfectly beat out of the ancient Trade and Way of living both in England and Ireland, and to become Agents to these Men to their Mortification.  
So that it is evident these sort of Men must have the whole Market for Irish Wool to themselves, which is a great Quantity, and of a vast Value: And of consequence the prices both of Wool and Serges will be in a very little time entirely in their Power, if not prevented.  
The Engrossing the Wool of Ireland (upon a quite different purpose, viz. to advance and keep up the Price of English Wool) has been attempted by several Bodies of Men, but was always found too big to be mastered whilst the Markets were kept open. But now by this Foreign Assistance and Method it is to be done, and is already in a great measure effected.  
2. These Sergebuyers and Wool-Truckers getting so very considerably by the Wool they dispose off after that manner, they can serve the Foreigner much cheaper than any other Factor and Serge-buyer that is not concerned in Wool, which makes them all very uneasy, and to declare publicly, that they must likewise come into the Wool-trucking Trade too, or lay down their Commissions. And yet notwithstanding it may not be amiss to observe, that these Men in Prudence (altho' they wish hearty a stop may be put to this Practice) are afraid to appear to prosecute this matter in Parliament, lest they should by these Wool Trucking Merchants be represented Enemies to the Interest and Profit of those Foreigners they have Employs from, and so lose their Commissions. And the poorer sort of Sergemakers, whose whole Stocks are in their Hands, lie under a greater fear of being more oppressed if they should appear and the Design not succeed and take effect.  
The Continuance of this Trucking Trade will force the Sergemaker to make deceitful trucking Goods, to the Discredit of the Manufactory, or leave off the Trade. And the Gentleman and Farmer in a short time must come to the Serge-buyer for a Market for their Wool at his Price.  
The Grievance of this trucking Trade in other Cases having already been censured, condemned, and provided against by a Law, it is conceived that matter needs not again in this Paper to be enlarged upon. But only to observe, That notwithstanding there is still a sort of Men amongst us, that for their own private Interest would unmercifully oppress and enslave Mankind were it in their Power.  
To conclude therefore, hoping what has been offered (tho' a great deal remains to be said) may be sufficient to convince the World this Project wholly tends to the Ruin of our Trade, the Enslaving and Impoverishing our People, and the Interest and Benefit of Foreign Nations.  
All which is humbly Submitted to the Wisdom of the Nation.