WHereas the Merchant Adventurers (as they stile themselves) under pretext of Advantage to his Majesty, and advance of Trade, are restless in their attempts, to obtain a Charter confirm'd for the ingrossing the whole Trade of this Nation to themselves. If the said Charter should be confirm'd, the consequent Narration will manifest those persons unca­pable to buy from the Makers the twentieth part of the Commodities now made and vended in this Country, being easy to prove the said Company now Trade, as far as either Estate or Credit doth permit them, seeing several of them have lately come short, by extending their Credits in that particular: And if they were more in quantity, or greater in quality than now they are, the subsequent Particulars declare the Trade of these parts, to be far exceeding their power to manage, or Estates to compasse; which if so, an im­partial eye may easily s [...] the vast losse likely to ensue to his Majesty, to the Gentry, and to the Commonalty of this Nation.

I. The Particulars of Goods exported b [...] [...]hose Merchants, Free of said Company, and by those Unfree of said Company, will evidence how far his Majesty will be a loser, if said Trade should be limitted, and Charter confirmed.

Hence it is evident, should all Merchants not Free of said Company, be forbidden Trade, what an infinite losse His Majesty should sustain in His Customes, that in three Months those Merchants Free of the said Company, come short in pieces of those not Free of said Company, 9029 pieces, and in mony paid His Majesty for Custom, 316 l. 19 s. 6 d. ½ which the above-mentioned Par­ticulars do sufficiently demonstrate: And without dispute, the said Unfree Merchants would have transported greater quantities, had not the fear of the power of said Free Merchants deterred them. Moreover, the disproportion abovesaid is only of goods transported, which doubtlesse would be as great of goods imported, because it is not to be expected that the value of goods transported, will be greater than of goods imported: Hence it is deducible the infinite loss likely to accrue unto His said Majesty.

II. The impartial Judgement may also see the great losse which will be to the poor of this Nation, (if said Company should be established) who in this cause will be the greatest sufferers.

Wherefore to make this apparent by the consequent Particulars, may be seen in proportioning a number of poor-Workmen to each mixt Sarge, and Broadcloath, whence thousands of poor, extract a livelyhood and maintainance by their labour in making those Manufactures, which if stinted to a small number of men, (not sufficient to manage the least part of it) the Gentleman, Farmer, and all other people of what degree soever, will insensibly come to ruine by this decay of Trade; which will be more visible by an exact scruting into the Charges of a particular piece of Sarge.

I suppose you may see by this, that the making of a Sarge requires various sorts of people for each several Imployment, whose urgent necessities require a weekly supply of mony, or they must want bread, for it is not a work to be done by one person alone: Here also may be observed that the Wool of each Piece, cost but 23 s. the other 40 s. comes clear to the poor Workmen, who within the space of fourteen or sixteen dayes, by their industry and labour, bring this Wool into a Sarge, which contains 1. yard broad, and 22. yards long, fit for sale, and then reduce that into moneys for a new Imployment; the quick dispatch in making the said Commodity, and converting it to mony, is an advantage to the rich, and an help to the poor, who being supplyed constantly with mony, are made capable to buy off all sorts of Provision from the Gentleman, and Farmer, which could not be done, if Trade were limitted by this Company.

If there be 40. s. distributed amongst the poor for their labour, in making one Sarge, then those Sarges transported by the Merchants not Free of the said Company, would dispose amongst the poor in three months time, 17276. l. and the Merchants of Exeter, Free of the said Company, bestow amongst the poor, in three months, for the said Sarges, but 260. l. wherein they come short of the Unfree Merchants 17016. l.

Having now proved the losse that the poor should sustain, (were the said Campany confirmed) in the making those Sarges, transported by the Unfree Merchants: Next shall demonstrate the Par­ticulars of a Broadcloath, which redound to the poor for their labour, and wages, also what quantity is necessary for the making of an ordinary Spanish Cloth, (of Wool) about the price of 7. s. or 7. s. 2. d. per yard, and that very good, substantial, and loyal Cloth.

It is therefore now worth our noting, that the Wool of an ordinary Cloth, costs but 4 l. 10. s. 00. d. which comes short of half the value of the Cloth, the other part goes to the Workman, 5. l. 3 s. 00. d. for his labour and wages, in making of this sort of Cloth; But the charge of a better, sort will be greater, and proportionably advantageous to the poor Workman, according to the goodnesse of the said Commodity. This Trade of Cloth and Sarge, is carried on by a smal number of Merchants, of the said City of Exon, against whom the Dutch Company have a boundlesse malignity, be­cause themselves are deficient in the knowledge of those mysteries, wherein some of them are expert.

III. Having now particularized the advantage of a free Trade to the poor Spinster, Weaver, Comber, Dyer, Tucker, and several other such Trades for their labour in making a Sarge or Cloth, in one quarter of a year.

My intert is next to shew what a vast quantiy of Wool the making of those Manufactures doth expend, which if interrupted by the said Company, will be a general losse to all His Majesties Sub­jects, for they lose not only the disposing of their Wool, but the vending of their Corn, Butter, Cheese, Bacon, and other such like necessaries, which will follow upon the obstructing of Trade, and making scarce of mony.

This 13314. l. 4 s. being the value of the Wool expended on the Commodities transported by the Unfree Merchants, more than the value of the Wool used by the Free Merchants, is sufficiently able to shew the infinite loss apparently ensuing on the whole Kingdom, if none should be permitted to Trade, but such as are Free of the said Dutch Company.