fembly at Glafcow, 1638. pafs an A& concerning Salmon-fithing; another about Salt-pans, Roger L' Eftrange, p. 330. By Act of Affembly at Dundee 1592. they prohibited all Trading with any of the King of Spain's Dominions, and they put down the Munday-market at Edinburgh, Spotfwood, p. 393, 394. But in this Cafe the Shoo-makers thought fit to affert their Christian Liberty against the Impofitions of the Prefbytery, and tumultuously gathered together, and threatned to chafe the Ministers out of Town; upon which the Market continued: Which, as that grave Hiftorian tells us, did caufe much sport at Court, where it was faid, That Rafcals and Soutars could obtain at the Minifters hands what the King could not in Matters morereasonable.

That Trading hath, ever since the Restauration of his Majefty, been ve ry bigh, notwithstanding the many complaints about it, it is very evi dent to any man who is never folittle acquainted with the Custom-house; but that it hath not answered to the

height of all mens hopes, is not to be wondred at,if we confider fome things which have hapned, which the Act of Uniformity was no way concerned in: Firft, there was a War with France and Holland, by which it was not to be avoided,but that many Merchants must needs become very great Sufferers: Secondly, At the very fame time there was a raging Plague,not only in London but in moft of the other Trading places of the Nation; which did not only fweep away great numbers of our Trading People, but may eafily be fuppofed to have had an unhappy influence upon Trade it felf: Thirdly, To accompany thefe Two great difficulties there came a dreadful Fire, the lofs by which is inestimable And Fourthly, there hath been a Second Dutch War. Now there are none of all these things can happen to a Nation, but Trade muft unavoidably fuffer by, and feel it ; and then the wonder will be very little if we confider that we have suf fered by them all. And these are things fo publickly known, that it is

to

to be admired, that men fhould have the confidence to take no notice of any one of them; but if they hear of any Difficulties which the Trading People do wrestle with, prefently overlook all these notorious Causes,and enter into long Harangues about Com. mon Prayer and Ceremonies. I may add that befides the fore-mentioned Calamities; If we are out-done in point of Trade by our Neighbours in Holland, it is not to be wondered at, if we confider the Nature of our Country, and the Manners of our People.

Our Country hath in it felf a great plenty of all things neceffary for the life of men, which Holland hath not ; they muft trade or they cannot live, which is not our Cafe: And if necef fity makes men expert,and their being expert brings them to thrive ; it is not to be wondred at: It is this very neceffity which every day makes vaft Numbers among them,glad to fubmit to all the Labour's &Hazards of all the Seas in the World,& all this purely to fupport their Lives with very courfe fare, and very small wages, now the goodness of

our

our Country affording to our People a more comfortable fubfiftence upon much easier terms than is to be had among them, is one plain cause why our People are not easily to be brought to take that pains, run into thofe dangers and fubmit to those severe terms, which with them is not less than absolutely neceffary: Not to say any thing of the return of their long Voyages, what vaft advantages do they make by Fishing upon our own Coafts, which we alwayes complain of, but will by no means betake our felves unto. Again he who hath got a vast sum of money by trading, hath here inEngland a perpetual conveniency of purchafingLand with it, and by that means he himself or his Son doth become a Country Gentleman, which in Holland is not to be done; by which means Trade is amongst us given over, when men come to be Masters of fuch great fums of Money as to be best able to command it, and to reap the most confiderable advantages by it: In Holland because Trade is the thing which every one is to truft to, their Wives and Children

Children are all inftructed in the Myfteries, and inured to the business of it, and fo the Stock and Experience of a Family defcends from Father to the Son,and increaseth from Generation to Generation: Now it is far from being a Miracle, that their Merchants fhould be able to out-do ours, who are frequently left by their Parents as large or larger fums of Money to begin with, as ours take themselves to be very well fatisfied with and give over: They go on and improve what we look upon as more adviseable barely to enjoy, and by that means prevent an increase which would have come eafily, and too often waste and confume what they in a few Years are by reason of their great Stocks inabled without difficulty to treble. And befides that different way of dif posure of the plenty of the Rich which is between them and us: They make another and greater advantage of the neceffities of the Poor, than we either do or can do, or it is fit for us to do: They make theirPeople to work harder, fare harder than any of ours will

do,