PROFM3S AlJ FOR I Regulating and Advancing | THE I Woollen Mmufaflure] AN D TO Make it more Profitable - T o T H E Merchant and Maker^ Than formerly. Humbly offered, to the Honourable, Knights, Citi/^ens, and Biir-^ geffes in Parliament Aflembled; By One who hath had 30 Years Experience in that Trade, and in Im- porting of Wool from Ireland. Printed in the Year i6p8. (?) The Contents. t: A De/criptmi of the ManufaBure in General. ' II. The Occajtoji of the fuppofed Te- cay of Trade. III. Snndry (I(egulatlons ivh'ich will make it profit able both to Merchant. and Maker. IV. The Way to pre^^entthe Exportuti- * on of Wool! from Etigland and Ire- land to.foreign Tarts. ' f V. Hoiv much in the Tound weight j- the Cloths can be made and afforded cheaper in Ireland than in England, if they, had our Experience. in Trade. VI. Fdow to fettle the Trade, that Ireland may not injure England^ and yet eyfport their Cloths without Trohibition. A i A ^ Defcription of the Woollen Manufaliure under thefe five Heads^ viz. BroadclothSy Kerfies, Perpetuana'es^ Bays, Stuffs. Broadcloths are white^ dyed^ of mixt; white and ^yed are mofi Exported^ mixt are about half Exported^ and half Worn at home. Kerfies, as many Exported as worn at home. Perpetuana es or Serges are white dyed and mixt, white and dyed are mofi exported • mixt, about five Eytported and one worn at home. Bays, Cottons, -Jw/Pennyftones are white, and dyed, and mofi Exported. Stuffs are irnumerable for forts, and many I Exported. The ( 5 ) The Occajton of the fuppofed decay of Trade. The multitude of hands in the Manufadfure produce fucii vaft quantities of Goods, as glut aiJ foreign Markets, and the • Makers dealing beyond their Stocks do force their Cloths upon the Merchant Ja- fter than they can be fold, by which means the Merchant beats down the price. Our Wool! is alio expoited both from England and Ireland, without which o- ther Countries cannot make a good piece of Cloth, but with one Pack oi ours they work up four Packs of their own, and do help to fill up foreign Markets. The Merchant drawing Bills at difad- vantagecus Exchange beiore his Goods are fold, the Fadfor • to honour the Bills, fells the Cloth at any price, by which means our Drapery is fold in toreign Mar- kets for little Profit, and in ours many times for none at all, fo that w e drive a great Trade with little advantage. The deceufull making of our Broad Cloths, Keriiesancl irtuhs will n [alhb:y A 3 rum {^) Tuin the Trade if not prevented. If the Merchant abates 6 d. on a Piece of long Ell, againif the next Market the Maker hijth left out a lieere of his Pieces, which is (omany Threadsof the Warp, andren- ders the Piece one or two Shilkngs worfc, and the Merciiant many times perceives it not prefcmly, but lendsthem alter for the fame forts. Another remarkable ccca-f.cn of the Difcredit of our Drapery, is our not half fcovvringthem out ol the Oy! or Greafe, by which means the Cp'our looks dull, and they' are not half milled- But the greated mifchief, and that which will in- lollibly ruin ail, if not prevented, is the Scea, being a {Irong dick with Tenter- hooks, to which they fallen one end of the Serge, and the other end they faflefi in the Rsck or Tenter, and 3 or 4 men v/ith all their might flretch the Serge while it is wet, and foflretcht fix it in the Rack, by whipli means they either break the heart of the Cloth or Serge, and make it often longer than it was in the Loom: but if the heart be not broken, it will llirink fo when it comes into a Gar- nient and takes wet, as will abfclutely render the Garsnent ufdefs." Fof I ( 7 ) for ^medy of all thefe Ahujes in the Trade, and to make it profitable to the Nation in General. ^ I H E Merchants are fo ufed to the JL Scea, that an A6l of Parliament alone will not regulate it, unlefs feme faiall Fine be impofed, and an Infpedor appointed for every County, to look af- ter the deceitfull making and drefiing ^f the faid Cloths; and to keep up the Stan- dardin making, every long Eli Man, and fuch others as fliall be thought fit, may be enjoyn'd to put the number of the Warp of his Cloth in theForrel, this will keep up the price when they keep up tire goodnefs, and the Clotlis will fell by the number without feeing them, and there may be a little Fine upon a mil's Number, and the Infpeclor Ihoiild be to lee I'uch Qoths number'd as are appointed to be lb, and to look after the DreHing, that a Serge be not ftretch'd but by one Man, and that they are perfediy vvallied out of the Grcafe, for which lie may be allowed fix Pence on a Pack, to, be paid for him by the Exporters at theCuftom-houfe and at the Clerks to the Carry ers or Wagons, who lhali be accountable for it. A 4 Tnc ( S ) The next main Point is to prevent glutting the Markets abroad ; and if we CO this, our Goods will yield our own Price thfte. For Remedy hereof, let us follow the gof;d example of Nonvkh, and prohibit all Makers from weaving any Piece of C'oth, Bays, Serge, or Stuff, from the tenth Day of July to the twentieth Day of Augiifty which lhali be in every Year; this may alfb be the work of the faid In-- fpecflon This being- obferved, the Weavers Will be heipfuli in faving the Hay and Corn tiarvefl, and the glut of Goods will be the better confumed abroad^ fo that a quick Trade will follow all Winter, and the Weaver will be better able to live in time of Karveft than in. Winter, for now they often want work in Winter, which this will prevent. Another ivay to prevent glutting the airoadj is to conjume what we can of the ManHjailure at home without prejt^ dice. % And firll, 'tis obfervable, that we have no Wooll from Spain in any other than wollen Pack-Cloths, If ( 9 ) If no Wooll be Imported from Ireland^ or carried to any Market or place of Sale in England in any other than Wollen or Linfey woolfey Pack-Cloths upon Forfei- ture. If no Woollen Manufadlure be pack'd or fent abroad in any other than Woollen or Linfey-woolfey Pack-Cloths, thefe will be as flrong and as cheap as thofe now ufed, and will confume above thirty thoufand Packs of Wooll every Year, and prevent fo much Goods from coming into foreign Markets, by which means, though we fend lefs Goods abroad, we fliall have better and fpeedier Returns than now; the looking after this alfo may be the work of the fame Infpecftor. Our Drapery will then fell at any Price, but if the Markets are ftill cram'd with Goods they will not fell at all, but as hunger is the bed fauce, fo it will procure any Price, for when our Veflels are ftopt, as they are often by the Froft abroad j as foon as they come, the People take the Goods at what price the Merchant puts upon them. J Another way to, improve our Manufailure^ is effeUually to hinder the Exportation of Wooll For ( lo ) ' For free venting of which, from England aod Ireland, letthere be provided and lecu- red to the Informers a Reward of fifty Pounds for every Perfon which on their Difcovery fiiallbeconvided of being aiding or afifting in the Exportation of Wooll; and one hundred Pounds for each Merchant, unployer or Mafter of a Vefiel, which Mo- ney may be paid them out oi the Exche- <}uer, and may be levied again upon the Perfons convidb, who fliall aifo ftand out- Jawed from thetimeof their Convidition, during Life; and if they cannot pay their refpedfive Fines, the Merchant lhall pay it for them. Let the Informers be fecure of Pardon, Protedlion, and Reward, and It will be irapoflible for any Man to ex- port VVooIl, for they employ 20 or 30 Men to fliip it by Night, and he that employs them mull ever after be a Slave to every Man he employs, and if he gives them not at any time what they ask, they prefently inform, and get 1000 or i^ool. fg that if this be but enadied, the Money will never come to be paid, for no Man will ever attempt to export Wooll again; there may be alfo with it a Pardon for ail pft Olfences. Another ( •• ) Another way to hinder Exportation of Wood from Ireland. It is high Treafon in Irelandio export any Wooil out of that Kingdom, fo that we take Licences from the Lord Deput}', which are granted only for a thoufand Stone, and run after this manner, viz. Suffer A. B. to export a thoufand Stone of Woolf on his giving- Security to land it in England, and paying 4 d. 5 the Stone Cu- dom. To difcharge this Bond and Seen- rity, we bring a Return from the Cuftom- houfe in England^ that fuch Wcoll was landed, fuch a Day, out of fuch a Vellel; and for want of this Return in 6 Months, the Bond is forfeited The Forfeitures of thefe Bonds were given by King Charles the Second, to by Patent, bearing date I have been informed by a worthy Gentleman at Keds, that the Merchants who have fliip'd Wooll, and given Secu- rity to land it in England^ have, in a pub- lick Coffee-houfe, agreed for the Forfei- tures of their Bonds before the Vefleis have failed. This Information is likely to be true, for that Wooll is often Exported and the Bonds feldom profecuted, is n^oft appa? rent. To ( 12 ) To prevent which mifchief, the faid Patent being prejudicial to the Nation in general, ought to be declared void by «he Exceptions therein, or elfe the Paten- tee fhould give Security for due Profecu- tion. Alfo the Colle<9:or or feme other Offi- cer of fuch Port as any Veflei Hiall enter Wcoll in for England ihould be required immediately upon fuch Entry, to advife the Officers or the Port, for which the Wool! is entered, of the Name and Bur^- then of the Veflei, the Name and Habita- tion of the Mafter, the Names and Num- ber of his Men and Boys, the Marks and Numbers of the Bags of WoolJ, and the Number of Stone which he hath enter'd; lb that if he come not to the faid Port in a reafonable time, the Officers may look after him, and when found, if the Wooll be not on board him, or Certificate, that by Strefs of Weather, he hath landed it in (bme other Port of England^ his VelTel may be feized and condemned to the Of- fleer J and the Seal of the Cuftom-houfe where he took in the Wool], with all the chief Officers hands to it, may be allow- ed to be evidence againfl: him, for the Officers cannot come viva voce^ to leave their places to condemn him ,* he may al- lb (•J) fo be liable to a hundred Poiind Forfei- turcj and be mit'lawed during Life. To hallance the Trade with Ireland, that Ireland may Trade without Trohilition and not injure England. How much in the Pound Weight Cloths may he made and afforded cheaper in Ire- land than in England, if they had our skill and fettlement of Trade. Every Stone of Wooll containing fix- teen Pound Imported from Ireland to England^ pays for Licence t s. 4