IT cannot but seem something strange that it should be thought neces­sary in this Age of ours, that pretends to see so much further than their Ancestors: for a Man to give himself any trouble [Page 2] to Oppose an Assertion, which in the mildest Con­struction, cannot pass for less than a Paradox. But since it has been long ago Remark'd, That there is scarce an Opinion so un­reasonable, but has been defended by some Philo­sopher or other; It may appear the less wonderful, that there are still People to be found, no Philosophers indeed, who engage them­selves to maintain the most Palpable Contradiction, and such a Task in my O­pinion, [Page 3] have they under­taken, who would per­swade the World, that the East-India Trade is Pre­judicial to the welfare of the Nation.

A Trading Genius has always been found the most effectual Means to Inrich a People, prefera­ble to all other ways, be­cause wherever it is seen, it never fails to settle the most lasting Marks of its Advantages. This is so very obvious, and the Ex­ample of it so Notorious, [Page 4] that it would be a perfect superfluity to offer any thing for its Confirmati­on; The prodigious Rise of a People our near Neighbours by this, from a very small Begining, is an undeniable Proof of its almost Miraculous Pow­er; and here at Home likewise it cannot be de­ny'd, That our Commerce and our Riches have both increas'd together.

This has been the great Engine that has wrought us into that Fund of [Page 5] Wealth, which serv'd not only to Inrich us in Peace, but has enabl'd us to de­fend our selves thus long, at so great Expence a­gainst the Invasion of a most Powerful Enemy, to­wards which Extraordi­nary Service, I think it need not be doubted, but the East-India Trade has contributed, in proporti­on, as much, if not more, than any other.

The inlarging of our Commerce, and the im­provement of Navigati­on, [Page 6] were the chief Rea­sons of its first Establish­ment by that Great and Wise Princess Queen Eli­zabeth, which it has ap­parently effected in both, by Imploying and Incou­raging the Building of some of the best Ships in the World, and by bring­ing such store of Useful and Necessary Commo­dities, as make us able to furnish those very Coun­tries in Europe, from whence had they been left sole Masters of the Trade, [Page 7] we must have been con­tented to have receiv'd them, and should have re­ceiv'd, 'em at second hand.

Besides the Example of the Dutch, who are so sen­sible of the Benefit of this Merchandise, that I am perswaded they would not Exchange their Intrest in it, for the best Jewel in the English Crown. Me­thinks the late extraordi­nary endeavours of our Scotch Friends, who are generally esteem'd wise [Page 8] enough for themselves, to establish a Commerce thi­ther, should make our Op­posers of this Trade con­sider, whether it is a thing so damageable as they say it is. No Man Courts a Mischief, was the enter­taining of this Trade to India, so pernicious as these mistaken People would perswade us; I dare Answer for them, they would be so far from striving for a share in it; that they would not give so much as Thanks for the whole.

[Page 9] After all, it is very mani­fest, that not only the Dutch are, and the Scotch promise themselves to be great Gain­ers by this Traffick; but that we our selves have like­wise reap'd considerable Pro­fit from it to. The continu­ance of the Company; the Advance of their Actions to treble their first Value, not long before the breaking forth of the Troubles in In­dia, together with the good­ness of their Credit, appar­ent by their borrowing what Sum they pleas'd, at [Page 10] 4 per Cent, when the general and fix'd Rate was six, were all indisputable Evidences at least of their thriving; and if the Qualities of the Goods they brought are duly consider'd, their usefulness, not only here at home, but also the great Advantage they bring us by a second Transportation: It must be concluded that the Nation was so far from loosing, that they brought a mighty Im­provement along with 'em.

'Tis true indeed, if we were oblig'd to take the Re­port [Page 11] of this Affair from some People, one would ima­gin this Trade to be not on­ly unprofitable, but redicu­lous, and that we were as foolish and extravagant in our Traffick with these Indi­ans, as those other are said to be with us, who give us Gold, &c. for Toys and Trifles: First, they take it for granted that we carry thither nothing but Mony. And what do we receive in return? Why, nothing but China Beads, China Pictures and Monkey-fac'd Babies, [Page 12] as one lately in Print sadly complains against them. These are the Rare Things, say they, that are so far fetch'd and bought so dear; And truly if this be the Case, I must confess it is more than time to look after it. But upon further Exa­mination, I question not but it will appear to be quite o­therwise.

For the more effectually carrying on of the Trade to those Parts, it has been found absolutely necessary to Ex­port thither, considerable [Page 13] Sums in Specie, beside quan­tities to a great value of our Native Product: But if the Account this Mony turns to, be well reflected on, it will appear that we are no loosers by the Bargain. He that parts with his Mony for a Commodity that will yeild him six times as much as it cost him, never reckons him­self any thing the Poorer, tho at the present he doth lay out the Mony: And this is the very Case of the East-India Traders, who tho they do Export some Mony, the [Page 14] Commodities they bring for it, effectually Answer six times the Value of the prime Cost, when they are brought hither.

I am not unsensible how much more difficult it is than ordinary at present, to perswade People, that Mony in Specie can be parted with out of the Kingdom, to any Advantage: Yet, that I may not seem to insinuate only, without affirming any thing Positive: I will venture to advance this Assertion, That Mony expended in Foreign [Page 15] Trade, and especially in this Trade to India, does not dimi­nish, but increase our Treasure.

To make short work of this, I might alledg the Ex­amples of Venice, Florence, Genoa, Holland, &c. to con­firm this Position, every one of which freely allow the Exportation of Mony, and have by Experience found it exceeding Profitable to 'em; but least none of these should be thought parellel to our Case, I shall further in­deavour to evince it by Rea­son.

[Page 16] And first, it must be ac­knowledg'd that there is no way for us to procure Trea­sure, but by Foreign Com­merce, we having no Mines of Gold or Silver, to any purpose here in England: Now, as the Use and Want of our Commodities occasi­ons the Vent of them in Foreign Countries, so from the want and use of theirs on our part, there ariseth a mutual Commerce between us; and if we export Goods to greater value upon our own Ships, than we receive [Page 17] from them, The Overplus at the End of the Account must be paid us in Mony.

The Ballance being thus on our side, with respect to the Exportation of our own Product and Manufacture, if by any means we can in­crease our Exportation, the Nation will thereby become proportionably the Richer: And here it will be necessary to distinguish between the Profit of the Merchant, and the Profit of the Kingdom; they very often falling un­der very different considera­tions; [Page 18] for Example, suppose 5000 l. sent upon an English Bottom to the East Countries to Buy Corn, which after some time is carry'd with much Difficulty and Charge to be sold again into Italy or elsewhere. Suppose then the Merchant is forc'd to sell this Corn for only so much above the prime Cost, as he has ex­pended in Charges, it may be 2000 l. in this Case, tho the Merchant has gain'd no­thing, yet it is plain the Kingdom has increas'd 2000 l. by this Trading, [Page 19] from whence it follows, that the longer and more remote the Voyage is, the greater the Profit is to the King­dom. For if 10000 l. is car­ry'd to India to buy Muslins, the Merchant, upon a Se­cond Transportation, by Reason of the Great Char­ges he is at, &c. in so tedi­ous a Voyage, must sell them again for 70000 pounds, to be but a moderate gainer. Though it is apparent again that the Kingdom has by this means Seven-fold in­creas'd its Treasure.

[Page 20] If it be Objected, That this will be Return'd in Goods, and not in Money, as it was at first Issu'd out; I Answer, That this is im­possible, because seeing the Ballance was on our side, and the Exportation of our Ma­nufactures exceeded our want and use of Foreign Goods before, it will follow necessarily, that upon the Encrease of our Exportati­on which we have purcha­sed elsewhere with our Mo­ney, The Ballance will be so much the more to our [Page 21] Advantage, and, by conse­quence, at the end of the Reckoning, we must receive the Increase in Treasure.

And this will serve like­wise to Answer those who say, That the Dutch, the Genoese, &c. are oblig'd to Trade with Money, because they have few Manufact­ures of their own to Traf­fick with. For if the Trade of our Manufactures be gainful to us, and the Trade with Money be gainful to them, What should hin­der us, that have Means and [Page 22] Opportunity, from joyning them, and making our Pro­fit of them both together?

But it is Objected, That the Importation of East-India Goods, does not pro­duce any of these Good Ef­fects; But hinders the use of our own Manufactures, there­by depriving a great many People of their Living. In Answer to this, I shall consi­der, what are the Goods chief­ly brought from India, of what use they are to us, and what Influence they have up­on our home-made Commo­dities. [Page 23] As to the First, to a­void being tedious, I shall onely name such as usually compose the greatest and most valuable part of their Cargo's, which are Callicoes, Muslins, Bengalls, Sattins and Taffities. Pepper, Salt-petre, Raw-silk, besides China-ware and Diamonds. These are the chief Goods which are brought hither from India. Let us consider, in the next place, of what use they are to us; On which occasion I might inlarge upon the Ho­nour it is to the Nation to [Page 24] extend its Commerce to such a Distant part of the World, &c. but I shall rather chuse to insist upon the real Profit that is gain'd by them, which in this particular case is far greater to us, than the Na­tives from whence we have those Commodities; for, if they yield us, upon a Second Transportation, but four times the Price they cost in India, it is evident, we, i. e. the Nation, get three times as much as they can do who sell them. The Charges of Freight, Wages, Ensurance, [Page 25] Custom, &c. being only be­tween our selves, without a­ny lessening of the Treasure of the Nation. Thus by our Industry we inrich our selves by the Manufactures of o­thers, as much, nay more pro­portionably than by our own. Besides the Additional Ad­vantage that we have by the Exportation of Considera­ble Quantities of our own Product, such as Cloath, Tin, Lead, &c. which are carry'd thither, towards the Purchase of those Beneficial Commo­dities; Beneficial indeed, if [Page 26] we consider further that they are in a manner as good as so much Money in the Stock of the Kingdom, by their aptness for the Support, Enlarging, and Furnishing the best of our other Trades to Holland, the East Countries, Turky, Italy, &c. thereby, as I said before, increasing our Exportation, and, by consequence, the Ho­nour, Wealth and Strength of the Kingdom.

The very great Damage we sustain'd by the Loss of the Ann, the Seymour, and the o­ther East-India Ships, is an [Page 27] undeniable Instance of the Consequence of that Trade, and the Mischief of its In­terruption: for had those Ships come safe, we should have had Goods enough to have Paid the Army beyond Sea, without sending a Farthing-worth of Silver out of the King­dom; and to have sold for a­bove three times as much Mony as was at first sent out to Buy them.

As to the Objection, That the Importation of Made Goods, such as Bengalls, Taf­fities, &c. hinder the use and [Page 28] vent of our Manufactures, and thereby puts a great many out of their way of getting a Living; Let it be Suppos'd, but not Granted, that some People are put by their usu­al course of gaining a Live­lyhood by this: yet, if there are a great number of others imploy'd by the same means, This cannot be a reasonable Objection against it. At this rate the Brewers may be op­pos'd to the Vintners; the Weavers of Worsted against the Silk Weavers; Norwich, &c. against Spittlefields: each [Page 29] of which would undoubted­ly imploy many more hands, should the other Quit their present Business, and take to something else.

But indeed the Indian-made Goods have not that troublesome effects, but on the Contrary, another very convenient and profitable one, which is, that they hin­der the Importation and Con­sumption of Abundance of such Foreign Goods as we should else have bought, and were wont to buy at much greater Prices. Muslins are bought [Page 30] for ¼ of the Price of either Chambricks, Lawns, or Hol­lands. Callicoe's a great deal cheaper than Scotch-cloaths, or other Linnens; Indian-Sattins and Damasks, than French, or Halien; and the Taffities have so great an Advantage of Florence Sars­nets and French Avignions, that they have caus'd a ge­neral disuse of them through­out the Kingdom.

The India Goods are so dif­ferent in their qualities from the Product of our Country, and the main of our Manu­facture, [Page 31] that it is absolutely impossible they should ever do them any Injury, Woolen Cloaths, Led, Tin, Iron, Corn, Leather, the Fishery, &c. will always be as useful, and as vendible in Foreign Countreys, as if we had ne­ver so much as heard of the East India's.

But the Made Goods do, it seems, particularly injure the Broad Silk-Weavers, and put them beside the way of living they were brought up in.

[Page 32] Now, besides what has been said already to this, that supposing this were true, yet that it could not be esteem'd a Publick Damage, because if it does take from one part of the People, it makes sufficient Recompence, by the Imployment it gives to another, much more to the Be­nefit of the Nation in General: And it may be remembred likewise, that when this was urg'd by the Workers in Worsted, with far greater Reason, a few years ago, as an Argument against them, [Page 33] they could, by no means, al­low it to be a good one.

Besides this, I say, there is to be added, That this Objection is not true in Fact, as even Experience has testi­fy'd. For, would the Pre­judice these Men have a­gainst the East-India Trade suffer them to speak Truth, they would be oblig'd to ac­knowledge, that the late Scar­city, and Dearness of Indian Goods, has been so far from bringing them any Advan­tage, that on the contrary, their Business and Work [Page 34] was never in so low a Con­dition, as since there has been almost none at all.

For a Plentiful Importa­tion of these Made Goods is generally one means to cause a Considerable Diminution in the Price of Raw Silk to the Weaver, which present­ly sets him at Work upon several sorts of Silks, so ex­treamly Different from the Indian, as gives him a suffi­cient share in the Com­mon Trade. VVhereas the Excessive Dearness of Silk discourageth him, and puts [Page 35] the Buyers upon seeking for something else, that may supply their use cheap­er.

It must be confess'd, that these People at pre­sent lye under extraordina­ry hardship, and it were to be wish'd, that some Proper Method could be found to Relieve them. But why must this be attribu­ted to the East India Goods all of a sudden? Since we all know, that in the Time of their greatest Plenty, as I said but just now, they [Page 36] were much better imploy'd; than since their greatest Scarcity. That Conside­ration alone may go a great way to convince both them and us, That the Decrease of their Trade is owing to some other Causes, if not included in the Ge­neral Decay of the Inland Trade; the Natural and Inevitable Consequence of the Interruption of the Forreign; and that like all other Restless People, who don't know where to fix the Rea­son of their Misery, they [Page 37] have blindly stumbled up­on this, the next in their way, to discharge their un­easiness upon.

So that upon the VVhole it cannot reasonably be thought, that their Mis­taken Prejudices can make any ill Impression upon this part of the Nations Trade: A Trade, to sum up all, that is accompa­ny'd in every Respect, with so many, and so great Advantages; A Trade, which is such an Ad­dition [Page 38] to our Honour, such an Improvement to our Navigation and Shipping, such an Enlargement to our Exportation, and such a Barr to the Consumpti­on of other so much dear­er Forreign Commodi­ties.

In Fine; so every way Fitted to the General In­terest and Profit of the NATION, That I am perswaded, that were it Encourag'd, as it might be, it would Equal, if [Page 39] not Excell, any other For­reign Commerce that is us'd by this KING­DOM.