REASONS for Raising the Price of Tin, at the present; and keeping it from falling, for the future, in the Counties of Cornwall, and Devon: Together with some Proposals, in order to effect the same, without any Offence to our Neighbours, or Prejudice to the Traders, in that Commodity.  
I. BECAUSE the adventuring Tinners are very much Impoverished, and Decayed; The Price of Tin being so low, and the Materials, for that Trade, at such high Rates, that the generality of those adventuring Tinners, cannot pay Wages, maintain Themselves, and Families, and carry on their Tin-Works as they would, and should do.  
II. Because the poor labouring Tinners Wages, or Hire, is fallen, with the low Price of Tin, from above 30 s. to about 14 or 15 s. Nay, in some of the greatest Tin-Parishes, the poor labouring Tinners are forced to keep two Doles, and to work Day, and Night, for that 14 or 15 s. a Month, which doth not afford them, and their poor distressed Families, a fifth part of that daily Bread, which the good Providence of Almighty God seems to have provided for them, in the Noble, and Generous, Nature of the Tin, when 'tis improved to Perfection, by the best Art and Policy. And since the Running of Tin, from the Fire to the float, is like the Running of Malt-Drink from the Mash-Fat into another Vessel, and that the best of the liquour runs out first; I am of Opinion, That the Mundick( which in all probability runs first from the Fire, and so often remains uppermost in the float) is the finest of the Metal; and the Our of Mundick, is almost exactly like that of Silver. But, as yet, we want the Art of bringing in into its Natural Body.  
III. Because the County of Cornwall, and part of Devon, will be De-populated, and so undone; if the Price of Tin be not risen to, and kept from falling under 3 l. a Hundred. A Multitude of People, in those two Counties, having nothing to subsist on, but the Tin-Trade.  
IV. Because Tin, if risen at home, will be the dearer abroad, and bring us the nearer to that balance of Trade, which we have so long wanted. As Tin is valued here, so it will be valued in other Countries. And the Venetians,( who value themselves, on a Prospect of Futurity, even at the greatest distance) did( in the regaining the Western Trade, which they had almost once lost) lay so many, and so great Impositions, on their Currans, to make that Commodity the more valuable, and esteemed, among us.  
V. And lastly, The higher the Price of Tin is,( it being a precious Commodity) the greater Honour, and Interest, it will be to the King, and Country. But Moderation must be remembered, for fear of the Consequences of Excess.  
HAVING set forth, and shown, some REASONS, for Raising the Price of Tin; I may here say, That the greatest Causes of its falling were, The Factors, the Pewterers, the Merchants, and others, under-buying and under-selling one another: And if these Causes be not timely prevented by a Law, according to the Petition of the Tinners, it may be feared they will produce worse Effects. But if the Causes be prevented, by Art, and Honesty, the Effects will naturally cease; according to that infallible Maxim, which makes as much for the Physicians of the State, as for those of the Body, and the Mind.  
THE Reasons being given for Raising the Price of Tin, and keeping it from falling; I am, in the next Place, to show how both may be effected, without any Offence to any Foreigners, or domestics.  
1. BUT first( I think) we should look on the falling Price of Tin, as a judgement from Heaven: And( as Monsieur Mallebranch well says, in his Search after Truth) The Mind of Man hath two essential, or necessary Relations; the one to God, the other to himself.  
2. In the second Place, The Tinners are to do all the Justice they can, to the Nature of the Tin, in the first Refining thereof. When the Romans wanted money( as we do now a Price for our Tin) they applied themselves to Juno; her Oracle bid them Go, and do Justice, and then there should be no want of money among them. And they finding that Effect, upon their performance of the Oracles Prescription, they called their Goddess, Juno moneta; and Coined all the Roman money thereafter in her Temple.  
3. In the third Place, 
17 Car 1. The several Charters and privileges of Tinners, in Cornwall, were confirmed, and they to be sued only in the Stannery Courts.  The Cornish Lawyers, and others, should do all impartial, and speedy, Justice, to the Tinners; and all that in them lies, to have their ancient Customs, Laws, and Charters, set Forth, Published, and Practised: And when they are so, by Command of the King, and Parliament, it will ease, and advantage both the labouring, and adventuring, Tinners.  
4. In the fourth Place, The Pewterers are to take care, that their Tin be not corrupted, in Pewter-Plate, as our Silver hath been, in our Current money; to the great Dishonour, and Disadvantage, of the Nation. And by what Pewter I have seen Abroad, and by some that I have seen at Home, I am very confident, That by means of the most refined, and whitest Copper, or Brass, or some other Metal, for alloy,( if not by means of its own Nature) we may find Ingenious Men in the World, that will work our Tin, so as it shall, very much, look like Silver: And such I have seen at Venice, where they often melt down our course, allayed, Plate, to make finer, allayed, Plate, of their own. The Duty, upon our Pewter, being so little, and the course alloy so much, that it is cheaper to them, than fine Tin. And here, I think, with Submission, it might be well, if the Statute of 25 Hen. 8. whereby all Strangers are forbidden to work any Pewter, or Tin, in this Nation; Or that part thereof, whereby they are so debarred, were repealed.  
5. In the fifth Place, Such Bounds should be set ( Consensu Mercatorum) to the Price of Tin, that it should never fall under 3 l. a Hundred. The Books of Rates was risen, ( Consensu Mercatorum) by Edw. 1. Edw. 3. and Hen. 8. although the House of Burgundy complained of it, as being against the Treaty of Intercourse. I have known many Edicts made by the Government of Zant( and by Consent, and Connivance of the English Consul, and Factors) that Curra●ns should not be sold, under such a Price, when the Price of Currans was declining. And why is it not as reasonable, for us, to keep the Price, of our own Tin, from falling; as it is for the Venetians, to lay( as they do) Foreign Flesh, and Fish, under an Esteem, to keep the Price from rising? By which means, they keep in a great deal of money, from being exhausted, and do very much ease the Poor, and advantage the public. And if we will act extraordinary Things, we must( like the wise Venetians) go more than an ordinary way to work.  
6. An Act, to compel Retailers to sell in Pewter Measures, will raise the Price of Tin, because it will encourage the Consumption of that Commodity. And as it will be a particular Advantage to the Tinners, and the Pewterers; so they ought to refine the Metal so much the more for it, and not to think erroneously, of getting more by the Corruption, than by the Purity, of Tin. There is a Tin-Work, in Cornwall, called Hellanoon, that produceth Tin; which( as some Pewterers have said) is worth 5 s. a Hundred more than any other Tin. And its extraordinary worth, must be like that of the finest Silver, either for making the finest Pewter-Plate, or bearing the more alloy.  
7. And lastly, If the taking off the present Duty, on Tin, exported, will encourage the Exportation, and Consumption, of the Commodity; then a Duty, on the aforesaid Measures, will answer the End, and be an Advantage both to the King, and Kingdom. And if the Essay-Master-General should be appointed, to Tax the Pewter, as he doth the Tin, by his Deputies, according to its Quality, and to stamp the finest Pewter( as the Sterling-Plate is stamped) the King, receiving a Duty thereon, would also advantage both the King, and Kingdom; For it would raise the Quantity, the Quality, and the Price of Tin: And the dearer all Things are( as in Cities, and Towns) the richer are the People, and the greater are the Wages of the Poor.  
In the 19th of King Hen. 7. the Pewterers of the City of London, and York, and of all other Places, complained of Persons, going about from place to place, exposing Vessels made of corrupted Pewter, to Sale, which were not worth the fourth part they were sold for. It was thereupon Enacted, That no Pewterer should, from thenceforth, sell, or work, any Pewter Vessel, in any place or places, within this Realm, but that it be as good, fine Metal, as the Pewter wrought within the City of London. And by the Statutes, of the same, ought to be, upon pain of forfeiting the same. And, also, it was Enacted, That all the Pewter made, should be marked with the Mark of the Maker thereof. And Searchers were thereby directed, to inspect the goodness of such Vessels, so made.  
But the Pewterers Searchers, and their Marks, not serving the Design of that Act, I think( with Submission) that the Essay-Master-General, of the Tin, and his Deputies, and His Majesty's Stamps, may supply the Defects of the others, and much advance the Quality, the Quantity, and the Price of Tin, His Majesty's Duty, upon that Commodity, and the Reputation, and Estates, of the Pewterers: For in the 25th of King Hen. 8. the Pewterers again complaining, did declare, That the Purity, of Tin-plate, was the increase; and the Corruption, the Decay of that Trade. And there is no great doubt, but the Tin, in the Indies, and elsewhere, will be accordingly advanced, as in the Case of Silver.  
NOW this being the last time( I think) of writing about the Tin, I must here inform my Reader, That when I printed the first Proposal, and sent it into Cornwall, and Devon, the Tinners, in general, of both Counties, were for it; and particularly, to have a Law made, That no Man should Sell, or Buy, Tin, under 3 or 4 l. a Hundred. And if all of them were here, in a Body, at this time, I am sure they would petition for that very Particular.  
But an honest Gentleman, and an adventuring Tinner,( of a good Estate, and a good Intention) asked me, in a Letter, If such a Law be made, what shall the poor labouring Tinners do, who are forced to sell their Tin for 48 s. to buy Bread, for them and their Families? To which I answered,  
When money failed in the Land of Egypt, 
Gen. 47  and in the Land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, and said, Give us Bread, for why should we die in thy presence, for the money faileth? And Joseph gave them in exchange for Horses, and for the Flocks, and for the Cattle of the Herds, and for the Asses; and he fed them with Bread, for all their Cattle, for that Year.  
So if our able Men, in the Counties of Cornwall, and Devon, would, upon occasion, supply the Tinners, for a Year, or so, with money, in Exchange for the Tin; the Tin would serve them, in the like stead, as the Cattle did the Egyptians.  
But if a Law be made, That no Man shall buy, or sell, Tin, under 3 l. a Hundred; a Hundred of Tin will pass current for 3 l. and be a more substantial Payment, than a Bank Bill, or a Goldsmiths Note: Provided, our able Men will first take it, upon occasion, for good Example; which they will the rather do, because then they will have it in their own Hands, and they will be able to make the most of it.  
For Germany( by its Nature and Situation) cannot afford so good Tin, as England; nor so cheap, by much, as 3 l. a Hundred: And when Tin was above that Price( as well as since it hath been under it) we have supplied Germany itself, with Tin, as well as Holland.  
AND, as for the East-Indies, I must here acquaint those, whom it doth concern, that I received the following Informations from one Mr. Gammon, who lives in Crutchet-Fryers. And saith,  
That he Traded full 3 Years in India.  
That he lived in Mergen, in the Kingdom of Syam, about 14 Months; which was the only Place, of Tin, he saw in India, from whence they transported that Commodity. And that in all the time of his being in India, he never heard of any Tin-Mines, in any other place, except in the adjacent Kingdoms of Perah and Johr; which Countries, together with the King of Syam's, where the Tin is, makes a long narrow Tract of Land, something resembling Cornwall and Devon.  
That he saw considerable Quantities of Tin, sent from Mergen to Mocha, in the Mouth of the read Sea; where, he has been informed, they have sold it for Cent. per Cent. Profit.  
That he came from Mergen, to England, in a Ship of Mr. Whites; which Ship was loaden with Tin, and designed for some other part of India: But the Companies War, with the King of Syam, obliging Mr. White to withdraw from Mergen, in the said Ship, he went to 

Note, That Acheen is not above 60 Leagues from the Tin-Country; and we may suppose, that in other Places more remote, the Price is higher: And, therefore, 'tis rational to conclude, That our Cornish Bullion would turn to a better Account for India, to carry from hence to India, than the Bullion of the West-Indies does; and I am sure it would be more for the Advantage of the Kingdom. And I do hearty hope, that notice will be taken of it accordingly.  
And if the Dutch would take more of our Tin, and the East-India Company transport less of our money: The former would help us, as we did them; and the latter would prevent the Effects of Camden's prophesy, in his Life of Queen Elizabeth.   Acheen, to seek for Provisions to bring him home to England, where he disposed of the greatest part of his Tin( which cost him, at Mergen, 3 l. per Cent.) at advantage, and sent the remainder to Bengall: And to ballast his Ship, in the room of the said Tin, he bought led out of an English Ship, that brought it thither from England, to sell it; being the Place where it turns best to Account.  
That he has been at Batavia, which is about 40 Miles from Bantam, and did not hear of any Tin made, either at Bantam, or Batavia; And that he has seen a great many Ships loaded at Batavia, for Holland, but never saw any Tin put aboard any of them. But their general Custom was, to put Logwood in the bottom of their Ships, filling the Vacancies with Pepper; And upon that they put Mats, and then Salt-petre enough( with the Logwood) to ballast the Ship, and then another lay of Mats; and so fill up, with Baile-Goods, strewing some Pepper 'twixt every height of Bailes. And that he is very well assured, that Tin may be transported from England, to a great many Places in India, tho' bought at 4 l. per Hundred, at much more Advantage, than can be made by bringing it to Europe, from any part of India, tho' bought at the cheapest Rate it can be had at any time there.  
HAVING got the foregoing Account from Mr. Gammon, I. waited upon Mr. White, at his Lodgings, near the Ro●al Exchange; and, confirming the foregoing Particulars, he gave me the following Account, under his own Hand.  
There is a great deal of Tin, in the Kingdom of Syam, and in the Dominions of several Princes, in the Malayan Country; the principal whereof are, Jahore, Perah, and Quedah: 'tis in all those Places sold by a Weight, called a Bahar, which is about 390 l.  
The Vend of this Commodity, is into all the Countries in India, Intra Gangem, and in Arabia, and Persia; and sometimes the Dutch have brought vast Quantities to Europe.  
In Syam it is the King's Commodity, and sold by his Factors, in his Capital City Judiiah, at a fixed Price, being 12 l. Sterling per Bahar.  
The Dutch have made some Attempts to engross this Commodity; And did contract, with the King of Syam, for the whole Quantity that was produced, in one part of his Kingdom, called Legare, at 9 l. per Bahar. And they obliged the King of Perah, by force, to sell all he has to them. And they used formerly, to block up the Port of Quedah, to prevent its Sale there to any but themselves, or other Europeans.  
HAVING set forth the foregoing Particulars, I must here acquaint the Reader,  
1. That I took a great deal of pleasing-Pain, to be confirmed in the Truth hereof.  
2. That I am satisfied, with many others,( or rather, that many others have satisfied me) That Markets are generally governed, by the first Market-price.  
3. That two third Parts of all the Tin, we raise in England, is transported Yearly un-wrought, as appeared to the Committee, by an Account taken from the Customhouse Books, besides the Pewter transported; and besides all the Pewter made, and used, in England.  
4. That the Consumption of our Tin( besides what hath been already shown) is very considerable: And one of the Pewterers, at the Committee, in the Speakers Chamber, did declare, That he himself sold more than One thousand Pounds worth of Tin yearly, out of his Shop, to Potters. And, if so, I leave it to the Nation to consider, what a vast Advantage this may be towatds the Revenue of the Crown, and the Raising of the Kingdom, if due Use be made of this Commodity.  
IN Fine, It is generally affirmed, That the best way to Raise the Price of Tin, is to keep it( by a good Law, and a good Execution thereof) from falling under 3 l. a Hundred, according to the first Proposal.  
Which Proposal, I cannot appropriate wholly to myself; for I took the Hint of it from a very good Friend of mine, who assisted me much in this whole Matter: And he acknowledges to have had the Hint from another Gentleman, who took the Notion from the Novissima Imposta, of the wise Venetians. And the whole Proposal, for Raising the Price of Tin, being occasioned by The Venetian, and other Grievances. The great Effects which may ensue thereon, to this Nation, must be chiefly attributed to the Providence of Him, who can draw the greatest Good, out of the greatest Evil.  
And I shall be more glad, than ever I was sorry, for my Misfortunes, by those means, if they may contribute any thing to the future Happiness, Interest, and Honour, of my Native Country.  
But it must still be remembered, That the first Buyers will cause the Price of Tin to fall, for the future; if they be not prevented, by such a Bound, as the Providence of Almighty God sate to the encroaching Sea, Hitherto thou shalt go, and no further.  

POSTCRIPT.  
HAVING finished The Proposal for Raising the Price of Tin, I have Thoughts of writing another, To advance the Trade of led and Fish; Tin, led, and Fish, being the Principal Commodities of this Kingdom, next to the Golden Fleece.  
And if we will raise this Kingdom, by Art( as it is in Nature) above all other Nations, it must be by the principal Means of those Commodities: And not by such Projects, as the World may imitate, and still leave us As we are.   
FINIS.   

page. 5. line 30. for Tax, red Tare.  
P. 10. l. 13. for Vast Quantities, red Great Quantities of Tin.  
BUT since those Mistakes were committed, I have been informed, by Mr. Murry, That Sir John Buckworth gave him a Copy of an Account, which he had taken out of the Dutch East-India Company's Books; and by that Account, it doth appear, That the Dutch did not import so much East-India Tin, in 20 Years, as Cornwall produced in One.  
And now, if the first Buyers do not deal with the labouring, and adventuring Tinners, as the Dutch deal with the King of Perah, and his People; we may Raise, Consume, and Export, vast Quantities of Tin: For it is undeniably known, that our Tin is good for many Uses, which the East-India Tin is not.  
And if the United Provinces will unite with us, to transport Tin to the Indies, &c. instead of importing it from thence: And if they will take our Tin, in Barter, for those Commodities which they furnish our Armies withal,( as they very well may, considering what we have done for them, from the 1st of Queen Elizabeth, to this time;) they may very much advantage us, and themselves too; And the better enable our Great Invincible, and Victorious KING, to carry on a Vigorous War, in their Favour, and Defence, and in Behalf of the whole World.  
IN short, there is as much difference, in all Respects, between English, and Indian Tin; as there is between Bratanac, and Tutenac; as the Phoenicians called the One, and as the Indians call the Other.  
And as we improve the Quantity, the Quality, and the Price of our Tin, by Industry, Honesty, and Art; We may raise this Most High and Mighty Nation, to its third and last Degree of Grandeur, and call it( as it may come to be) GREAT BRITIN.   

TO THE KING, AND KINGDOM.  

HEnry the VIII. of this Great Nation,  
Began the Famous Reformation.   

His Daughter, Queen Elizabeth,  
Finish the Second, er'e her Death.   

And now the KING is almost Rife,  
To cut the Third out to the Life;   

And raise this Nation to that Stature,  
For which it was cut out by Nature.   

And 'twas the Nature of our WHITE TIN,  
From whence it hath the Name of BRITIN.