СНАР. XIII. Of the aft TRADE of ENGLAND, both at TH HE Trade of England is carried on two Ways, at Home and Abroad, in Britain and foreign Countries. At Home, by Land and Water. By Land, all Provisions and Commodities are convey'd in Waggons, and upon Pack-Horses; by Water, either by Sea, or upon navigable Rivers. This vaft Transport of Provifions and Commodities, both by Land and Water, employs a World of Waggoners, Carriers, Seamen and Watermen. And whereas London is in a manner the Centre of this Trade, hence comes the great Concourse there is of Carts and Waggons by Land, of Ships and Lighters, &c. by Water. To receive what comes by Land, we may reckon 150 Inns in or near London, where the Country-Waggons come to unload, and from whence they return at set Times, loaded with London Commodities, by which means, a vaft Number of Porters and Carmen are employ'd to load and unload the Waggons, and to carry the Parcels where they are directed. But among the Inns aforefaid, I do not reckon fuch as take in nothing but Coaches, and others that entertain only Livery Horfes, which are also a great Number. As to the Conveyance by Water, one may judge of the vast Number of Ships, Mariners, and Watermen, employ'd in England, by the Sea-Coal Trade only, which takes up conftantly 500 great Veffels, that fail to and from Newcastle almost all the Year round, and whofe Seamen are counted the best in England. This Trade therefore is kept on foot, and the Coals fetch'd 300 Miles by Sea (which might be had in the Neighbourhood of London) in order to encourage Navigation, and to have always a conftant Supply of able Seamen, ready for the Service of the State, upon any extraordinary Emergence. But if the Carriage only imploys fo many People both by Sea and Land, how great must be the Number of fuch as are imployed in the feveral Manufactures, both in the City and Country? London fwarms with them, and there are many Towns in the Country full of Manufactures of feveral Sorts. The Difference between the Trade carried on at Home, and Abroad, lies in this, that the first makes the Money circulate, whereas the other is carried on chiefly by bartering of Commodities; among which Bullion is one that is imported, much whereof is coined into current Money. If the Home Trade be fo prodigious, and of fo great Benefit to the Nation, we may reasonably conclude our Foreign Trade to be far beyond it, by the vast Number of Trading Ships con tinually tinually going to all Parts of the World laden with the Manufa ctures of Great Britain. Not but that England may very well fubfift without it; for fhe wants for nothing, but yields all Things neceffary for Life, and might make good Shift without the Help of Foreign Countries; which cannot be faid of Holland, her Rival in Point of Trade. But as Foreign Trade is very useful to employ Artists, fet the Poor to work, and improve Manufactures; fo 'tis an effectual Means to inrich the Nation, to ftrengthen the State, and make it formidable. England therefore trades in all Parts of the World, nor does any Nation whatever drive such a Commerce as fhe does with her own Commodities. This makes her ftrong in Shipping, multiplies the Number of her Mariners, makes the Nation rich, and procures her whatever the whole World can afford to gratify the Fancy, or please the Appetite. In short, 'tis by the Foreign Trade that Britain is become a Support to her Friends, and a Terror to her Enemies. And whereas the Dutch Trade does chiefly confift in the Transportation of Foreign Commodities from one Country to another, the English Trade confifts principally in exporting their own Commodities, not only over all Europe, but alfo to Afia, Africk, and America. Tho' the English make a greater Confumption of Foreign Commodities than any other Nation, yet they keep not only the Balance of Trade even, by the Excellency and Quantity of their own Commodities, but also come off great Gainers, by tranfporting what they cannot confume into other Countries. With France only they were formerly Lofers, when that Crown laid exorbitant Customs upon English Commodities, and England was fo kind to France, as to pass it by without any Retaliation: Infomuch, that by a modeft Computation, England paid yearly to France half a Million of Pounds Sterling, and that for Gugaws, and other Commodities, which England made good fhift without during the Courfe of her late War with France. The principal Commodities of the Growth of England are Wool, of which vaft Quantities of Cloth and Stuffs are made, computed at the Sum of Two Millions Sterling per Annum. Tin, Lead, Copper, Pit-Coal, great Guns, Bombs, Carcaffes, &c. one Million. Moreover, the exports abundance of Corn, Red Herrings, fmoak'd Pilchards, and Salmon; befides abundance of Leather and Saffron. Many of her Manufactures are alfo in great Requeft, particularly her Sattin, Damask, Velvet, Plufh, Locks, Pendulums, and Watches; Barometers, Thermometers, Spectacles, Profpective Glaffes, Telescopes, Microfcopes, and all Sorts of Mathematical Inftruments, &c. great Quantities of which are exported to Foreign Countries upon account of their superior Accuracy and Curiofity. Befides the great Confumption, England makes of the Products of her vaft Countries in the New World, particularly Sugar, In digo, digo, Cocoa Nuts, Tobacco, &c. fhe fpares to the Sum of half a Million a Year for other Parts of Europe. Her Trade with Ireland, and Fishery with Newfoundland, is also very beneficial to her. With Ireland, by exporting her Wool, Beef, Hides, Tallow, Butter and Fish. It has been already obferv'd, that Holland has the Advantage of England in Point of Tranfportation; but Holland being but a narrow Country, full of Water, her Merchants find there but little Land to purchase with their Wealth gotten by Trade; whereas England being a fpacious, beautiful, and fruitful Country, her Merchants find Opportunities enough to purchase Estates for themselves and their Heirs; where they go to enjoy the Fruits of their Industry, and take their Eafe, when tired and fa tigued with the Hurry of Trade and Business. Companies of The Foreign Trade is regulated chiefly at London, by feveral Merchants. Companies (or Societies) of Merchants, impowered by Royal Authority, to make, from time to time, fuch Regulations for the Improvement of their refpective Trade, as they shall think convenient. By which Companies the Poor are fet to work, many great Ships are built, and a vast Number of Seamen employ'd. The principal are the East India Companies, the Old and the New, now united together, and whofe Capital Stock is Three Millions. Their Trade extends from Perfia to China. In Perfia they have two Factories, one at Ipahan, and the other at Gambroon. In India a great many, particularly at Fort St. George, Fort St. David, Achim, and York Forts, in the Isle of Sumatra, Callicut, Surat, and Pettipolee on the Coast of Coromandel, Rhajama in Malabar, and the Ifle of Bombay, &c. and in China, Amoy, Canton, and Tunqueeen. The Levant, or Turkey Company, fettled by the famous Queen Elizabeth, and whofe Privileges were increased by her next Succeffor, James I. The Company of Merchants Adventurers, the antienteft of all; first fettled by King Edward I. about 400 Years ago, for the exporting of Wool; but now they are only allow'd to export Cloths ready made. The Ruffia Company, eftablished in the Reign of Edward VI. upon the Difcovery made by the English of the Way to Archangel upon the Northern Ocean, which formerly was counted impráticable: Which Difcovery proved much to the Prejudice of Narva upon the Baltick, the Trade whereof turned to Archangel, to the great Benefit of the Czar and his Dominions. Therefore John Bafilovitz, who reigned at that Time, granted great Privileges to this Company, which made it flourish in a few Years: But the late Czar, Alexey Michailovitz, being difgufted at the Company, abolished their Privileges, and fet the English; in Point of Custom, on the fame Foot with other Nations. The The Company called the Eaft Land Company, whofe Trade is upon the Baltick, in Denmark, Sweden, and Poland. The Royal African Company, fettled by the late King Charles, who gave 'em full Power to trade all over the Western Coast of Africk, from Sally in the South of Barbary, as far as the Cape of Good Hope, forbidding all his other Subjects to interfere with them in that Trade. This Company has built, at their own Charge, many Forts upon that Coaft, for the Security of their Trade, namely, James Fort upon the River Gambo, Sherborough in York Island, Sierra Leona in the Ifle of Bence, Fort Royal, &c. but their Stock is at present very low. I país by several other Companies, as the Green Land Company for Whale Fishing; Hudson's Bay Company, and others. To fhew the Advantages Great Britain reaps from this Foreign Trade, 'tis computed, that what is brought in only by the Eaft India Company, as Pepper, Salt Petre, Callicoes, Drugs, Diamonds, and Pearls, &c. after we have fupplied our felves, amounts to 500000 l. per Annum. And what is transported hither from the British Plantations in America, viz. Sugar, Indigo, Tobacco, Cocoa Nuts, &c. befides Fish, Pipe-Staves, Mafts, Beaver, &c. from the North Parts of that Continent, 400000/. per Annum. Note, That fome of the aforefaid Companies trade in Joint Stocks, as the Eaft India and African Companies, the Morea Company being part of the Levant, and the Green Land Company; others in feparate Stocks, but in Common as to publick Expences, keeping out Interlopers, and the like. For promoting the Trade of Great Britain, and for infpecting Council of and improving His Majefty's Plantations in America, and elfe- Trade. where, there is a Council of Trade and Plantations eftablished. CHA P. XIV. Of the Coin, Weights, and Measures, which by the TH HE Britif Coin is of two Metals, Gold and Silver. The Coin. Gold is now either a Guinea or Half Guinea; the first going for 21 s. the Half Guinea for 10 s. 6d. 'Tis called Guinea, from a Country of that Name in Africk, whence most of the Gold is brought of which this Coin is made. We had, befide's Guineas, two forts of old Gold, one called a Bread Piece, and the other a Jacobus; the firft going for 23 5. and the last for 25 s. They are beth a fine Sort of Gold coined im 1 1 Wrights. in the Reigns of King James I. and Charles I. but lately called in, and recoined into Guineas and Half Guineas. The Silver Coin now current in Great Britain is of the best Silver, called Sterling; of which there have been formerly many Species, now reduced to four, viz. Crowns, Half Crowns, Shillings, and Six Pences. Befides which, there are alfo Silver Groats, or Pieces of Four Pence; and Silver Three Pences, Two Pences, and Pennies: But these are seldom seen in Trade. We have likewise abundance of Copper Farthings and Half Pence, which have been allowed to be coined for the Conveniency of fmall Change; but no Man is bound to receive them in Pay for Rent or Debts of any confiderable Value. What we call a Noble is 6 s. 8d. a Mark 13 s. 4d. an Angel 10s. but thefe Species of Coins are quite out of use, though the Names are ftill retain'd in Muicts or Fines in Law, &c. Sometimes we call 20 s. a Piece; and we feldom use the Word 'Tis prefumed there are in England Six Millions of coined The Office of the Mint, where all our Money is coined, and to which belong feveral Officers, is kept in the Tower in London ; but when the hammered Coin was called in to be recoin'd into mill'd Money, in the Reign of the late King William, five other Mints were erected, viz. at Briftol, Chefter, Exeter, Norwich, and York; both for quicker Difpatch, and for the Conveniency of People in the Country to carry their Bullion to the nearest Mint. That which gave Occafion to this general Reformation of our Coin, was the common and grofs Abuse of it by Clipping, tho' the Fact was High Treafon by Law, and for which a Multitude of Clippers fuffered Death. The mischievous Trade of false Coining, befides, grew at the fame Time to that height, that no Nation, perhaps, was ever so hard put to it by Clippers and falfe Coiners; and this, when we were engaged in a Burdenfome War with France. But with God's Bletling, and to the great Disappointment of France, the Nation was in a fhort Time fupplied with New Coin, the finest and most beautiful of any State in Europe. When you were under thofe Diftractions upon the Account of your Coin, faid a French Plenipotentiary to one of ours at the Hague, upon the Peace of Refwyck, we expected no less than a Convulfion in the State; but when we found how wonderfully you overcame Difficulties that were thought infuperable at so critical a Juntiere, we stood amazed, and concluded nothing impoffible for England to do. Thus the reforming of our hammered Coin into milled, entirely funk the Clippers Trade, and that of falfe Coiners is greatly abated, it being much more difficult to counterfeit mill'd than hammer'd Money. The legal Weights and Measures are the fame all over England; that is, according to the King's Standard kept in the Echequeri |