THE Present War NO BURDEN TO England.  
LONDON, Printed and Sold by Randal Tailor near Amen-Corner, 1692.   

The Present War NO Burden to England.  
SOme sort of People having wearied our themselves, in finding fault with the Government, and reviling sometimes the Dutch, as ready to strike up a private Peace; sometimes the whole Body of the Allies, as none of them having done their Duty: The general Cry of that Party now is, That Money being carried abroad for the Payment of our Forces, it will in time exhaust the Treasure of the Nation, and impoverish it: Which seems so palpable a thing, and gins to gain so much ground upon the Belief of many (otherwise well-affected) People, That a longer delay in showing the falsity of that Notion, might seem of a dangerous Consequence: Therefore I think it will not be improper, to prove, That the War increasing our Trade, and occasioning a greater Vent and Exportation of our Manufactures, and of the Product of our Ground, inriches the Nation, and augments its Stock.  
In the First Place, The Vent of our Woollen Manufactures is greater than heretofore, which appears not only by that it is generally advanced in Price, but in that there is a greater Quantity now exported than in Times of Peace, as may be seen by the Entries in the Custom-houses.  
Secondly, The Manufactures of Silk, Linen, Paper and others, have since the War been considerably forwarded; there is no longer need of importing flowered and mixed Silks, good quantity of plain Silk is made here, as likewise of Linen and Paper, which saves and keeps so much Money in the Nation, as formerly was sent out to purchase those Commodities.  
Thirdly, Corn, (which by the Blessing of God hath been hitherto plentiful amongst us, although very scarce amongst our Neighbours) Tobacco, Sugar, and many others the Products of our Ground, bear a better Price than they should in a peaceable Time, by the greater Exportation abroad; The Netherlands alone taking more of these Commodities and of our Manufactures, than what is remitted thither for the maintaining of our Forces, comes to; I say, taking more, over and above what they did in time of Peace. For how can it be imagined that so small a Tract of Ground, as the Spaniards have left in the Low-Countries, which doth not extend to above Thirty Miles in breadth, and an Hundred Miles in length, and which by the great and numerous Armies that continually harass it, yields little or nothing; should suffice to maintain Two Hundred Thousand Men and Horses of the Allies, besides the Inhabitants of eleven great Towns, and of an innumerable quantity of Villages, Castles, and Strong-holds: Certainly that prodigious Number of People must be supported and maintained from the Neighbouring Countries. The Dutch, indeed, supply them in a good measure, (for otherwise being obliged to send Money thither for the payment of their Forces, their Treasure also would in time be exhausted, and they impoverished) but they draw the greatest part of their Maintenance from us; our Wheat, our Malt, our Oats, our Tobacco, our Sugar, go thither for their Food; our Cloth, our Serges, our Bays, our Stockings, our Hats, are sent them for their Clothing; our Coals for their Fuel; our Lead, our Powder, our Arms, for their Warlike Service; our Tallow, our Pewter, our Leather, and Thousands of other Things, for their other necessary Uses: Nay, our Wine, our Brandy, our Salt, (that we take from our Enemies as Prize, and which otherwise would be destroyed) are sent and vended amongst them, and the Money it produces turned to the Nations Advantage; So that the fifty or sixty Thousand Pounds a Month we remit thither for the Payment of our Forces, comes Monthly to us again for the Payment of all those Necessaries; from whence perhaps this Inference might be drawn, that the more Forces we send into Flanders, provided the Allies do send an answerable Number, the Better England will far, and the Richer grow.  
Fourthly, Trade in general is much increased.  

1. The Plantations and West-indias' Trade is no less, but rather better; That of Jamaica especially, which is now Triple of what it was before the War, by the great Transportation of Linen, and other things from that Island, to the Coast of Terra Ferma of America.  
2. That of Turkey is as considerable, there going now as much Cloth for Turkey in one Fleet, as formerly did in two or three Years.  
3. That of Spain as good, we now sending thither some of the Commodities the French used to carry into Spain, and drawing from thence, Wines and other Commodities in a greater quantity than heretofore.  
4. The Trade to Italy is considerably Increased, not only by our getting from thence more Paper and Silk; (this last for the carrying on our Manufactures here at Home) but likewise by our sending thither abundance of Cloth, and other woollen Manufactures; Led, Tin, Leather, and other things for the service and clothing of the Forces in Piedmont, the Milanez, and other parts of Italy. The Islands of Sicily and Sardinia; The Kingdom of Naples, and the State of Milan, by the prohibition of French Commodities, drawing now from us several sorts of Goods which they usually got out of France.  
5. That of Portugal hath received a considerable Improvement; We fetching from thence more Wines than we did formerly, and sending thither in Return, a much greater quantity of Lead, Tin, Coperas, Serges, Bays, Says, etc. than in time of Peace.  
6. The Trade to all Northern parts, as Russia, Sueden, Denmark, Norway, is more considerable, by our greater importation of Hemp, Pitch, Tar, and other products of those Cold olymates.  
7. The Germany Trade, as that of Dantsick, Lubeck, Hambourg, Bremen, is three times what it was heretofore, by the great quantities of Linen we import from thence, not only for our own Use, but likewise for Transportation to Jamaica and Spain; as also because we send them more Cloth, and all other Woollen Manufactures, more Tin, Led, Coals, Wines, Brandy and Salt, than we used to do.  
8. That of Holland and Flanders, what a vast addition hath it not received? By the prodigious quantities of Corn of all sorts, Sugar, Tabocco, Tin, Led, Coals, Cloth, Bays, Says, Serges, Stuffs, Stockings, etc. of our own Manufacture and Product, we send thither; in such a degree, that where there was formerly one Vessel Trading between the Netherlands and the Island of Great Britain, there is now Scores of Ships employed in the mutual Service of both Countries.  
9 The Trade of France indeed is lessened, but is much more advantageous: Our Money (and in a considerable quantity too) was yearly sent to that Kingdom for its Products, whereas now whatever we get of French Commodities costs us nothing, but is sold by our Privateers, and Merchants concerned with them, in Flanders and Germany, for good Money, which is so much profit, that accrues to the Nation.   
In fine, it appears by the Custom's Books, That we export more, and that the Customs yearly render more than they did in Time of Peace: There being not one Foreign Commodity of any kind, wanted here amongst us, nor any of ours, that our Friends are not supplied with: And (which is Remarkable) Trade is not thus generally increased; but notwithstanding our many (and so much talk of) Losses, 'tis much better than in time of Peace, it being Noted, that since the War, not above four or five Merchants of any Name, have gone off th' Exchange; whereas there yearly broke some dozen, if not some Scores in Peaceable times.  
And although the Ships our Enemies have taken from us, be many (which there is good ground to hope, by our late Signal Victory at Sea, and the burning of so many Enemies Capital Ships, will in a good measure be prevented for the future) 'tis certain that most of them have been retaken by us, or by our friends; for if it be true, that the French have little Trade, and few Ships of their own; how doth it happen, that our Privateers, and those of Zealand, Ostend, Brandenbourg and Biscay, have taken so many prizes as amount to no less than Twenty Five Hundred Ships, unless we have retaken our own; And indeed the French do little brag of their Profits by Sea, there being Letters writ from France, and writ very feelingly too, that say, those damned Zeelanders have not left us one Ship to Trade withal: And if I am rightly informed, although their Trade be small, Shipping however is so very scarce amongst them, that they want Vessels to carry on that inconsiderable Trade they have, and upon the least Occasion must hire Danes and Suedes, and sometimes force them too, to Carry their Goods and provisions from one Port of France, to the other.  
If from Trade, we turn our thoughts to other parts of the Nation; is there any Sort, or Rank of People that can complain they suffer: The Wages and Salaries of labouring-men are rather higher than in time of Peace: The Handycraft-men want no Work, and vend it easily, and at good Rates; Nay, several Handycrafts are set up by the War, which are needless in times of Peace: The Farmer sells his Corn, his Timber, his Hops, his , better than at any other time, and thereby is enabled to pay better his Rent: The Shop keeper h●th as good and as great a Retail: The Rich-mony'd-man an Opportunity of Lending his Money to a better Advantage: The Land-man indeed must pay Taxes, and if the Tax were equally laid, a small Share of his Revenue, (which is the only visible hardship); but in lieu thereof, how many Gentlemen are there, that have Employments, and by those Employs, get more than they give towards the War? What Family is there, that hath not either a Brother, a Son, or some other near Relation in the Fleet, or in the Army? And thereby is put in a Capacity not only of maintaining, but of raising itself: Many a Younger Brother, that in time of Peace had been ready to starve, hath now by the War, Hundreds to spend a year; Nay, many Vagabonds, and other idle people of the Nation, have by the War an Opportunity of Honestly and Lawfully getting a livelihood in the service of their Country.  
War is said to be a Curse to a Nation, 'tis true, but 'tis only so, where the Seat of War is, where all is Committed to Plunder, Rapine, Fire, Flames and utter Desolation. But how many Nations have Raised their Name, and Rendered themselves Famous and Rich by War? The Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Suedes, are Memorable instances of it, who all grew Great, Potent and Rich by their Wars.  
The Dutch, when they formed themselves into a Commonwealth, were a handful of people, and had neither Ships, Money, or Strong Towns to boast of; but under the ever Auspicious Conduct of the Princes of ORANGE, and by a fourscore years Spanish War; They grew to that vast Wealth and Immense Grandeur, we have seen them arrived at.  
And what have not Advantageous Wars brought into this Nation? Our Conquests in the West Indies, have for certain advanced our riches: The Fifty years' War of Edward the Third against France, cost England an immense Treasure, and yet all our Chronicles say, England was never so rich as in his time: Our great Queen Elizabeth had not always a peaceable, though a happy and a golden Reign: Oliver was not in Peace, whilst he governed; but no body than complained the Nation grew poor, every body was sensible it grew Rich: And had not the Richards, the Henry's, and others our Heroic Princes, Rendered by their Wars abroad the English Name formidable throughout the world? I don't know, what our last Thirty-years-peace, would have brought us to, and whether we had been not the prey of a Neighbouring Prince, otherwise greedy and Powerful enough, but who perhaps was daunted by the remembrance of our Ancient Valour; and the glorious Achievements of our Ancestors.  
FINIS.