SIR THOMAS ROE'S SPEECH *

IN PARLIAMENT.

WHEREIN HE SHEWETH

The Cause of the Decay of Coin and Trade in this Land,

ESPECIALLY

OF MERCHANTS TRADE.

And also propoundeth a way to the House, how they may be increased.

Printed in the year, 1641. Quarto, containing twelve pages.

Τ

IT is a general opinion, that the trade of England was never greater, and it may be true, that if it be so, yet it will not absolutely conclude, that the kingdom doth increase in riches, for the trade may be very abundant, and yet, by consumption and importance of more than is expected, the stock may waste.

The balance would be a true solution of the question, if it could be rightly had; but, by reason it must be made up by a medium of the books of rates, it will be very uncertain.

Therefore we must seek another rule, that is more sensible, upon which we may all judge, and that may be by the plenty or scarcity of money; for it is a true rule, if money increase, the kingdom doth gain by trade; if it be scarce, it loseth.

Let us therefore consider; first, whether our gold and silver be not decreased, and then by what means it is drained; and lastly, how it may be prevented, and what remedies are applicable to effect it.

It is out of doubt our gold is gone to travel without license, that is visible beyond seas, and every receiver of sums of money must find it privately; and I fear the same of silver, for observing the species of late coining many half crowns were stamped, which are no more to be seen, and by this measure, I conclude the kingdom grows poor.

The causes of this decay of money may be many, it may be stolen out for profit, going much higher beyond scas, especially in France and Holland.

Much hath been drawn away by the stranger upon fears of our

This is the 156th number in the Catalogue of Pamphlets in the Harleian Library.

troubles, of which I have experience by exchanges, and exchanges are the great mystery, especially such as are used as a trade, and governed by bankers who make many returns in a year, and gain by every one, more than the interest of a year; and the greatest danger to a state is, when money is made merchandise, which should be

but the measure thereof.

And here I will propose a problem, whether it were profitable to a kingdom or not, that the stranger for many years had a great stock, here at interest, and still hath some; I confess it hath supplied the necessities of merchants, and helped to drive trade. But my quere is this, suppose the first principal were truly brought in by the stranger, yet doubling every ten years, what becomes of the increase? have they not lived by our trade, and the merchant-adventurers, and soaked the kingdom of as many times principal, as they have practised this usury many times ten years, and in the end drawn or carried all away? This is a point to a state very considerable.

Much coin hath been drawn away, without doubt, by the French, who have brought in wares of little bulk, perhaps without custom, but of dear price, and, having turned it into gold, have returned without investing any part thereof; and such petty merchants cannot be reached by the statute of employments.

Another cause of scarcity of coin, may be the over-strict rule of the uncurrentness of any good coin, and that it must be sold here, as bullion; in that case, what stranger will bring in money? Whereas, if every good species be current, according to this allay, and weight in proportion to our coin, or rather a little higher, it will draw, namely, money by degrees into England; as lower grounds do water from higher, though they see not the channels: And we see France, Holland, and Germany admit all good coins, though foreign, for and above their intrinsick value.

But I will end this search, by proposing some general remedies; for I do now but make essays, and give occasion to more subtle and particular disquisitions:

1. To the first leak of stealing away coin, I would make it felony by an act; for, if a man may justly suffer death for robbing of a private man, I see no injustice nor cruelty to inflict the same punishment upon him that robs a kingdom.

2. That the neighbour princes and states do cry up our money, and so entice it from us. This, in my judgment, ought to be provided for by our treaties, which was the old way, especially of commerce, by agreeing and publishing of placarts, according to a true par: For that prince, that will make a treaty of commerce, doth it for the use of the commodity; which, certainly, I would deny any prince, that would not consent to keep monies even, by their true values; at least, that would set a higher price upon our money, than the King hath done; and if our coin did either keep beyond the seas, the English value, or were bullion and uncurrent, the stronger should have as little of our money, as we have of theirs.

How to recover the stranger's money drawn away, since our troubles, is a hard endeavour, and can no ways be brought to pass, but by peace and trade; and the resolution of this will fall into the generat remedy, which I shall propose.

The pedling French trade must be met with, by diligent search, at the landing of these creamers, what they bring in, and by suffering none of them to pass any goods by private warrants; but that, according as they shall be valued, they give bond to invest it in English commodities, natural or naturalised, and that with surety: Nay, in this case, not to allow them exchange by bills; for it will not hurt the commonwealth, if, by any rigour, they were beaten out of their private toyish traffick.

I shall not doubt to offend any but the mint, which may be recompensed to his Majesty, in his customs, if money be plentiful; for all goods will follow money. If I did propose the currentness of all goods, and great species of foreign coins, for their true intrinsick value, according to the pay with ours; and if I say a little higher, according to occasions, keeping our own coin pure and constant to be cried down, as much under, according to occasions, I think it will be a policy both reasonable and profitable, by experience tried in other states.

But, leaving these empirical practices, I come now to the great and infallible rule and remedy, which is, in plain English, to settle and assure the ground of trade upon staple-commodities; which, like the lady of Whitsontide to her pipe money, will dance after that; for, as merchandise doth follow money, so doth money, commodity.

I said at first, it was a general opinion, that trade never flourished more than now, and it may be so; but we must consider this be not accidental and changeable, and depending more upon the iniquity or misery of the times, than upon our own foundation and industry; and, if that be so, then it is no sure ground for a state to rely upon; for if the causes change, the effects will follow.

Now it is true, that our great trade depends upon the troubles of our neighbours, and we enjoy almost the trade of christendom; but, if a peace happen betwixt France, Spain, and the United Provinces, all these will share what we now possess alone; and therefore we must provide for that day, for nothing stands secure but upon its own foundation.

To make, then, our own trade secure, we must consider our own staple commodities, whereof wool is the chiefest, and seck the way to both, to keep up the price at home, and the estimation of all commodities made of that, and to be vented abroad.

Some other helps we have, as tin, lead, and such like; but I dare confidently affirm, that nothing exported, of our own growth, hath balanced our riotous consumption at home, but those foreign commodities, which I call naturalised, that is, that surplus of our East-India trade, which being brought home in greater quantities, than are spent within the kingdom, are exported again, and become in value and use as natural commodities; and therefore, by the way, I hold it absolutely necessary to maintain that

trade, by a regulation with the Dutch, of which more reason shall be given, when that particular shall be taken into consideration.

We have yet another great help which is our own, and wants only our industry, to gather the harvest; which is our fishing and erecting of busses, both for the inriching of our kingdom, and the breeding of mariners; and this by private industry, though to private loss, is beaten out already, and shall be offered to the commonwealth, if they please to accept of it; and to give you one only encouragement, I do avow, that, before the Dutch were lately interrupted by the Dunkirkers, by their industry, and our fish, they made as great returns between Dantzick and Naples, as the value of all our cloth, which is one million yearly; and this, in a due place, I desire should have its due weight and consideration.

We have one help more, if we knew how to use it, that is, by the new drained lands in the fens, most fit for flax and hemp, to make all sorts of linnen for the body, for the house, and sails for ships; that is a Dutch and French trade: But, in Holland, one acre of ground is rented at three pounds, which if the Hollanders may have in the fens for ten or twelve shillings, it will be easy to draw the manufacture into England, which will set infinite people at work, and we may be able to serve other nations with that, which we buy dear from them; and then the state and kingdom will be happy and rich, when the King's customs shall depend upon commodities exported, and those able to return all things which we want, and then our money must stay within our kingdom, and all the trade return in money. To encourage you to this, I give you one example:

That if the several sorts of callicoes made of cotton wools, in the Mogul's and Dan's dominions, doth cloath, from head to foot, all Asia, a part of Europe, Egypt, much of Africa, and the Eastern islands, as far as Sumatra; which makes that prince, without mines, the richest prince in the world; and, by his Majesty's grace and privileges granted to the Dutch, I am confident we may make and undersel, in all linnen cloth, all the nations in Europe.

But I have now wandered far from my theme, which was the decay of trade, and of the woollen commodity.

I must first, therefore, present to your consideration the causes thereof, in my observations, whereof some are internal, and some external.

The internal have proceeded from our own false making, and stretching, and such like practices, whereby, indeed our cloth is discredited; I speak by experience, from Dantzick and Holland, northward to Constantinople, as I will instance in due time.

This false lucre of our own, and the interruption in the dying and dressing projected, and not overcome, gave the first wound, though, could it have been compassed, it had doubled the value of our commodity.

This hath caused the Dutch, Silesians, and Venetians to attempt the making of cloth, and now, by experience, as I am informed, the half is not vented, that was in the latter age.

Another internal cause hath risen from such impositions, as have made our cloth too dear abroad, and, consequently, taught others to provide for themselves.

Another internal cause hath sprung from pressures upon tender consciences, in that many of our clothiers, and others, have forsaken the kingdom, and carried their arts with them, to the inexpressible detriment of the commonwealth.

The external causes have been the want of perfection, and countenance to our merchants, established abroad in factories, by the state, and by the treaties; whereby the capitulations have not been kept, nor assured to them, neither in Prussia, nor in the Sound, nor Hamburgh, nor Holland, nor in the East; and this I dare say, that Laban never changed Jacob's wages so often, as the Hollanders have forced our merchants to change their residences, and the very course of this trade, by laws and tricks, for their own advantage, of which the merchant-adventurers will more fully inform you.

Another external cause is lamentable, a report of the increase of pirates, and the insecurity of the Mediterranean seas: whereby Bristol, and the western ports, that cannot have so great shipping as London, are beaten out of trade and fishing; and, if once those thieves shall find the way to Bank, and Newfoundland, they will undo the west parts of England.

I will trouble you with a consideration, very considerable in our governinent, whether, indeed, London doth not monopolise all trade: In my opinion, it is no good state of a body, to have a fat head, thin guts, and lean members.

But, to bring something before you of remedy, I say thus, for my first ground, that, if our cloth be not vented, as in former years, let us embrace some other way, to spend and vent our wools. Cloth is a heavy and hot wearing, and serves but one cold corner of the world: But if we embrace the new draperies, and encourage the Walloons, and others, by privileges, and naturalisations, we shall employ all the wool we have, set more people to work, than by cloth, and a pound of wool, in those stuffs, true made, will outsel two pounds in cloth; and thus we may supply France, Italy, Spain, Barbary, and some parts of Asia, by such light and fine stuffs, as will fit those warmer regions, and yot have sufficient for the cold climates, to be spent and adventured in true made cloth, by the reputation both of our nation and commodity.

But, in this course, I must observe, that these strangers, so fit to be nourished, and being protestants, may have privileges to use their own rights in religion, so as they be not scandalous, as the Dutch and French had granted to them by Queen Elisabeth; and certainly, the settling of religion secure in England, the fear whereof made many weak minds to waver, and abandon this country, is, and will be a great means to resettle both the great and lesser manufactures of woollen commodities.

For the external causes, we must fly to the sanctuary of his Majesty's gracious goodness and protection; who, I am confident, when the