man Yoke, fubmitted to the Name of Chrift. Three British Bishops of Caerleon (as 'tis fuppofed) of London, and of York, fubfcribed the Canons of the Council of Arles, A. C. 314. Under them were (as is faid) 25 other Bishops; which Number of Bifhops (confidering that the Province then reach'd as far as Graham's-Dike) was much the fame as there are now.

The British Church, upon the Invafion of the Saxons, was, with its People, driven into the Western Parts, as, Wales, Glacefterfbire, Somerfetfhire, Devonshire, and Cornwal, where it continued. When Auguftin the Monk converted Ethelbert, King of Kent, and his People to Chriftianity (A. C. 596.) by Orders of his Mafter Pope Gregory the Great, he laboured to bring the British Bishops to acknowledge the Pope's Authority, and him as their Archbishop. This when they refused to do, the Saxons, by his Inftigation, fell upon 1200 Monks and Priests of the Britib Nation and kill'd them.

The Saxons, and after them the Normans, owned Popes Authority; and after King John had bafely fubjected his Crown to the Pope, the better thereby to free himfelf from his too powerful Barons, England was, till the Reformation, one of the tameft Countries that any where fubmitted to the Roman Yoke. Our Parliaments indeed, did many times exert themselves vigorously; but ftill the Papal Yoke lay heavy upon the Shoulders of the whole Nation: But in Henry the VIII's Time, when Luther's Preaching had alarmed the greatest Part of the Kingdoms of the North, and inspired them with almoft an univerfal Confent to fet their Confciences free at once from the Romish Tyranny, England joined in with the general Torrent. Henry VIII. himself being enraged at Pope Clement VII's Ufage of him in the Matter of his Divorce from Queen Catharine of Auftria, abolish'd the Pope's Supremacy, and feiz'd upon all the Monafteries and other Religious Houfes in England, and divided their Lands amongst the Nobility and Gentry of the Kingdom; but in other Articles of Religion he continued a Papift: So that the Reformation went on but lamely in his Time. Under his Son Edward VI. it gain'd more Ground and the Superftitions of Popery were almost entirely abolish'd. Queen Mary, who reign'd but 5 Years, brou: ht Popery in again: But the bloody Executions of above 500 Proteftants in her Time, who were burnt for their Faith, did fo alienate the People's Affection from her, that Queen Elizabeth, who fucceeded her, found it no difficult Matter to fettle the Reformation again upon that Foot on which it ftill con

tinues.

Bishops were then Confecrated by other Bifhops, whofe Succeffion was unquestionable from the firft Planters of Chriftianity among us, and placed in every See where there had been Bishops formerly: Articles of Religion were appointed, which

ftill

Part I. ftill are required be to Subfcribed and Affented to by every Man that takes any Ecclefiaftical Preferment in our Church: And a Liturgy was enacted to be observed in performing Divine Service in the English Tongue: Afterwards, in K. James's Time, a Book of Canons was alfo fet forth, by which the Difcipline of the Church of England was fettled. And from all thefe any Man may frame an Idea of our Church.

And tho' there be feveral other Perfuafions in this Nation, that differ from the Church of England, as established by Law, and that were liable to fome Inconveniencies because of their Perfuafions till of late, fuch as Presbyterians, Independants, and Anabaptifts; nevertheless, fince this happy Revolution, all his Majefty's Proteftant Subjects, diffenting from the Church of England, are by an Act in the First of King William and Queen Mary, exempted from the Penalties of certain Laws therein mentioned. So that no Man is to be molefted upon account of his Religion, that takes the Oath of Allegiance to his prefent Majefty, and fubfcribes the Declaration enjoined in an A&t of 30 Car. II. entituled, An Act to prevent Papifts from Sitting in either Houfe of Parliament, when tendred to them.

There is alfo a Toleration granted to the Quakers, who scruple the taking of an Oath; and the Declaration every fuch Perfon fhall make and fubfcribe, is as follows;

A. B. Do fincerely promile and folemnly declare before God and the Mozio, hat will be True and faithful to King GEORGE: and folemnly profels and declare, that do from my heart abhoz, deteft, and renounce, as Impious aud Heretical, that damnable Doarine and Pulition, That Princes Excommunicated oz Deprived by the Pope, oz any Anthority from the See of Rome, may be Depoled, oz Murthered by their Subjets, of any other whatsoever: and do declare, that no Foreign Prince, Perlon, Prelate, State, ootentate, hath of ought to have any Power Jurifdiction, Superiority, Dze-eminence, of authority, Ec clefiaftical of Spiritual, within this Realm.

And they muft fubfcribe a Profeffion of their Chriftian Belief in these Words.

A. B. Profels Faith in God the Father, and in Jelus Chaift his Eternal Son, the true God, and in the Holy Spirit, one God bleed for evermoze: and do acknow fedge the Holy Scriptures of the Mid and New Testament to be given by Divine Inspiration.

In Oliver Cromwell's Time the Jews were in fome measure tolerated in London, and they are fince continued by the bare Permiffion of our Princes, and fuffered to hire a private House, wherein to hold their Meetings; they were not at first confiderable either for Number, (not making above 80 or 100 Families) or for their Wealth or Abilities, being for the most part Poor and Ignorant, to what they are in other Countries; yet of late they are increas'd, and have built themselves a fumptuous Synagogue near Dukes-Place, within the City of

London.

CHAP. VII.

of Trade.

TEXT to the Purity of our Religion, we are the moft conand Extenfivenefs of our Trade. Trade is either Inland or Maritime.

By our Inland Trade, we appear in time of Peace to have great Stocks of Money, well divided into many Purses.

But that which makes us moft confiderable in the Eye of the World, is the wonderful Greatness of our Maritime Trade; for upon the Three Articles of Exportation, Transportation or Re exportation, and Importation, no Kingdom or State in the World can any ways match us. France pretends to little more than the first of these; Spain, Italy, and the two Northern Crowns, to the Firft and Third; Holland only vies with us in the Second.

First then for Exportation, our Country produces many of the moft fubftantial and neceffary Commodities in the World, as Butter, Corn, Cattle, Cloth, Iron, Lead, Tin, Copper, Leather, Coperas, Pit-coal, Allom, Saffron, &c.

Our Corn fometimes preferves other Countries from starving; as it has lately done Holland, Flanders, and Portugal. Our Horfes are the moft ferviceable in the World, and highly valued for their Hardinefs, Beauty, Strength, Courage, Goings, by all Nations. With Beef, Mutton, Pork, Poultry, Bisket, we Victual not only our own Fleets, but all Foreigners that come and go. Our Iron we export manufactur'd in Great Guns, Carcaffes, Bombs, &c. Our Cloth is fent to all parts of the World, the Baltick, the Mediterranean, the Eaft and Weft-Indies, &c.

The Manufactures of Wool in Broad-Cloth, long and fhort; Northern Dozens, Rafhes, Kerfies, Bays, Serges, Flannel, Perpetuano's, Says, Stuffs, Frize, Penniftone, Stockings, Caps, Ruggs, &c. exported, may be computed to amount to two Milli

ons per Annum. Dr. D'avenant and Mr. King having calculated the yearly Produce of Wool in England to be Two Millions Sterling, and that the fame, when Manufactured, will be Eight Millions, they allow Six Millions for Home Consumption, and Two Millions for Exportation.

Prodigious and almoft incredible is the Value likewife of other Goods from hence Exported; viz. Hops, Flax, Hemp, Hats, Shoes, Ale, Beer, Red-Herrings, Pilchards, Salmon, Oysters, Saffron, Liquorice, Watches, Ribbands, Toys, &c.

The Veftments, Hats, Shoes, Houfhold-ftuff, carried from hence yearly to America, are computed at 2c0000 l. I mention not Wool and Fullers-Earth, because they are prohibited.

England produces yearly 5,000,000 Chaldrons of Sea-Coal, 1,200,000 Pounds of Tin, 800 Fodders of Lead, 800 Furnaces of Iron, 800 Tuns of Allum; of all which great Quantities are exported to foreign Parts, to the Value at least of 500,000 1. per Annum.

Secondly, Our Transportation or Re-exportation: For the Wool, Butter, Hides, Tallow, Beef, Herrings, Pilchards, and Salmon, which we tranfport from Ireland, being the Concerns of our Merchants, and paying Duties to his Majefty, have been reckoned at 300,000 l. per Ann.

We tranfport from our Plantations in America, befides what we confume our felves, of Sugar, Indico, Tobacco, CocoaNuts, &c. befides the Fifh, Pipe-Staves, Mafts, Bever, &c. from New-England and the Northern Parts of America, to 400,000 l. per annum.

'Twould be tedious to enumerate the Value of our Transportations from Denmark and Sweden, Spain, Portugal, the Streights, Turkey, Guinea, &c. The most confiderable of all is that from the Eaft Indies, from the first beginning of that Trade till now. In its Infancy, viz. Anno 1613, of Pepper only, befides what we confumed at home, we tranfported in one Year to other Countries, after it had paid Duty here, to the Value of 200,000 l. and now of late Years, our Exportation, of what we bring from thence, after we have fufficiently fupply'd our felves, is computed at 500000 l. per Annum, in Pepper, Salt-petre, Callicees, Silks, Drugs, Diamonds, Pearls, &c.

The third Article of Trade is Importation, the bringing hither fuch Goods from beyond Sea which we confume among our felves. The Ingenious Mr. Samuel Fortrey, in his excellent Difcourfe of Trade, hath made appear, that we yearly imported from France, almoft 1,600,000 Pounds worth of Goods more than the Value of what we exported thither, viz. of Silk, Sattins, Taffeta's, Stuffs, Armoyfins, Paduafoys, Tabbies, Cloths of Gold and Silver, Velvets, Ribbands, Gallowns, Laces, Silk Buttons, to the Value of 600,000 l. per Annum. Linnen 400,000l. per Ann. Wines 600,000 l. per Ann. Serges and

Calons

Calons 150,000 l. per Ann. Hats 120,000 l. per Ann. Hatbands, Feathers, Fans, Girdles, Hoods, Masks, Looking-glaffes, Watches, Pictures, Medals, Cabinets, Cafes, Bracelets, Tablets, and other Toys, 150,000 1. per Ann. Paper 100,000 l. per Ann. Houfhold-ftuff, as Beds, Matreffes, Coverlets, Hangings, Fringes, &c. 100,000 l. per Ann. Brandy, Cyder, Vinegar, Verjuice, &c. 100,000 l. per Ann. Caftle-Soap, Honey, Almonds, Olives, Capers, Prunes, &c. 150,000 1. per Ann. Pins, Needles, Box and Tortoife-fhell Combs, c. 20,000 1. per Ann. Perfum'd and Trimm'd Gloves, 10,000l. per Ann. Fine Ironmongers Ware, 40,000 l. per Ann. All which, befides Salt, Cork, Rofin and other things to a great Value, amount to 2,540,000 l. per Annum.

Now tho' it is poffible Mr. Fortrey might reckon the Overballance of the French Trade much greater than truly it was, fince at the very fame time the French eftimated the Over-ballance on the English Side: Yet, doubtlefs, the Nation loft yearly by the French Trade a confiderable Sum.

And at the fame time, all the Commodities exported out of England into France, as Woollen Cloth, Serges, Knit Stockings, Lead, Pewter, Allum, Coals, &c. did not amount to above 1,000,000 l. per An. So that the Nation was yearly impoverished by the French Trade, almost 600,000 1. per Annum. Thus our Gold and Silver was exported to fetch from thence ftrong Drink and Fripperies, to the Debauching and Emafculating our Bodies and Minds.

For the Toys of other Nations we likewife expend great Sums of Money, or leffen our Effects abroad by Bills of Exchange, and that (which is the greatest Shame of all to us) even for bare Freight, fuffering the Hollanders, Flemings and Hamburgers, to be (in a manner) the common Carriers between us and all Parts of the World; a Grievance which the Act of Navigation, 12 Cha. II. reftrain'd, by forbidding all Foreigners to import any thing hither, but each one the Product of his own Country.

⚫In ancient Times the great Trade of this Nation confifted in unmanufactur'd Wool, which Foreigners coming from all Parts, bought of us; infomuch that the Cuftoms of English Wool exported in Edward the Third's Reign, amounted at 50s. a Pack to 250,000 l. per Ann. an immenfe Sum of Money in thofe Days: And that exceffive Cuftom upon unmanufactur'd Wool foon gave Encouragement to the making of Cloth here, more effectually than the Laws againft Exportation of Wool are now found to do: Yet moft of this Wool being fent but juft cross the Seas, to Flanders, France or Holland, the Exportation for the moft part was in very fmall Veffels to what are now in ufe; and neither of the Indies being then discover'd to our Merchants, we had for almoft two Centuries after but