The Maintenance of Free Trade [17]
parts of the Kingdome have usually heretofore exported, coloured Clothes, Kersies, Bayes, Sayes, Serges, Perpetuanoes, &c. which now they may not. So that all the Trade of the Merchants of the Staple, of the merchant Strangers, and of all other English Merchants, concerning th'exportation of all the Commodities made of Wooll into those Countries, where the same are expecially to bee vented, is in the Power of the Merchants adventurours only; and it is come to be managed by 40 or 50 persons of that Company, consisting of three or foure thousand. Nay one man alone, hath compassed into his hands, the whole Trade of coloured Clothes and Kersies for these parts, by the meanes of exchanges, and moneys taken up at Interest. It is impossible that the same number with the same ability, can manage the same Trade, as to the best profit in Times of warres, as in Times of Peace: Then much lesse can a lesser number, with lesser abilitie manage a greater Trade, in most Troublesome times, especially if they have borrowed 50 or 60 thousand pounds at use, for the service of the Company, and thereby engaged the Trade, and set themselves in debt; which causeth many of the best merchant Adventurours to give over Trade, and are become purchasers, or lenders of money at Interest. Many others of them have engaged themselves in the East Indian Company, which did carry away their money, and left the Cloth. This small number to manage so great a Trade incourageth the Clothier to adventure to make false Cloth, because it is impossible, that so few Merchants can search and visit every Cloth, as it ought to bee done, and the Clothiers conscience is satisfied. For he saith that the falsest Cloth is answerable to the best price, because none may export but they, and therefore they will give what price they please for this deceitfull Cloth hath cause great iarres and differences betweene the English Merchants and the forraine Nations for Tare or Rebatements, and the generall Report of the falsenesse of English Manufactures, hath caused a wonderfull decay of the sale thereof. The Trade thus limited to a small number of a Company, residing for the most part at London, is a generall prejudice to the whole Kingdome, which though it have made London rich, it hat made all the Ports and other parts of the Kingdome poore; for it enforceth needlesse and chargeable carriage and Recarriage of divers commodities, whereby they are endeared unto us, and it hinders all the Ports (being the Walls of the Kingdome) from having either forraine or domesticke Commodities brought unto them at the best hand, which causeth them to be almost desolate and forsaken: and it hindereth the Clothiers and new Drapers, (which dwell in remote parts:) from selling their Cloth and Stuffes at their next ajoyning Ports, for how can they sell, when there are no Merchants? It causeth all Chapmen to give poore and faint prices for Wool, because when it is indraped, it may not more freely be exported to the best advantage. So that the Grower is hindered in the price of his Wooll, for every losse and prejudice that comes upon cloth and the Clothier, doth fall upon the Wooll, and the Wooll Grower. And the Clothier saith, hee is prevented of his best Chapmen for his Cloth, for that merchants Strangers, or other English merchants cannot worke upon the advantage of Markets and the Clothiers necessitie, which beates downe the price of Cloth; the price of Cloth beateth downe the price of Wooll; the price of Wooll beateth downe the price of Lands which cannot be improved; and forraine Commodities are freely taken in Barter for the Returne of our home Commodities; when moneys nor Bullion can be imported, as that beene declared: so that the Hammers at the Minte, where the pulses of the common-wealth should be felt, are the life and moving. And it is come to such extremitie with the Eastland merchants, that they cannot vent their Cloth in Barter of other Wares to make Returne, and by money their losse would be incredible. Shall this be Proclaimed a Free Trade, when within ourselves, we