The Maintenance of Free Trade [3]
commodities in kind did cease, and the body of Commodities doth not worke without the Spirit which is exchange, so that this observation being neglected: the whole instrument of Trade must needes bee out of order, and discompounded, like a distemptered Lock, which wil neither open nor shut. When the Art of navigation and shipping had continued many yeares, and marriners did imitate each others obsrevation, before the Science of the Mathematics was invented: It hapned that two great Whales with a great volubility swimming in furious manner, did approach an English ship of Traffique which was bound for the Coast of Barbary, laden with disvers good Commodities and Staple wares. The marriners (as the manner was:) did with al diligence cast overboard divers empty barrels for the whales to play with all, and to keepe them from the ship. The whales not pleased therewith, and a suddaine storm arising, did endanger their ship, which made them unawares to cast overboard many good wares and rich Commodities, wherewith one of the whales was playing. But the other whale more fierce, strook the Ship many times with his Taile, and at last broake the Rudder of the Ship, whereby they were much hindered in their Sailing, and all the shippes of their fleete tooke the Start of them and arrived to their destined ports, the rather because they lost also their sayling Compasse by the violence of the saide Stormy wind and tempest. And the marriners had leisure (with a Calme) to discourse of the Accident to question which was the most necessary and Active thing of True sailing. Some did attribute the same to the winds and Currant of the Seas; Others to the sailes and agitations of the winds in them. And others to the compasse made by the admirable virtue of the loadstone. But all of them were Novices in their profession; whereupon a merchant standing by (being a passenger in that voyage) used these or the like speeches. My friends and good fellows, I doe not a little admire to heare you thus ignorant in matter of your profession: Can not the losse of the Rudaer of our ship make you sensible to understand, That the Active Part of sayling is to bee ascribed thereunto, seeing it driveth the ship according to all the points of the winds and variation of the Compasse being fastened upon the Paralell of the Keele of Equality? Shipwrights will tell you, That if it be not Rightly placed, it doth interrupt sayling: and if it be not of Compentent length, but that the upperbuilding of the ship doe sway the same, it maketh a ship unserviceable: That neither the direction of the Compasse, nor the Recptacle of the Sailes forewind, can make her performe her voyage as other shippes doe. I perceive you are like unto him that did attribute to the letters of a clocke diall, the shewing of the houre, and not to the hand or Index, which is the Active thing to shew you the same, albeit it can not doe the same without the other, which the Thing Passive: you must therefore truely distinguish and attribute the efficient Cause of Sayling to the Rudder of a Ship, and the other are called Secondary or mean Causes. And they all agreed that this observation was true. Is not the Moderne Merchant of Hackney or the Author of the Treatise of Free Trade like unto these Novices? who perceiving two great whales to have assulted the English ship of Traffique, The cruellest being the warres in Christendome and the Pirates, The other more gentle, being the Policy of Princes and States in the Course of Trade; hath published in the yeare of Grace, 1622. The Causes of the decay of Trade in England, and the means to make the same flourish, without observation of the operative power of exchange, which is the Rudder of the Ship of Traffique fastened upon the Rule of the equalitie of Moneyes according to their weithg and fineness, to be denominated by the valuation of Princes as a matter perculiarly appertaining to their Praerogatives. And because that therein, hee hath like unto Esops Jay clad himself with the feathers of other Birds: I hope it will not be impertinent, To