Notice taken of them. But when one or two Alien Jews wanted to get Footing within the Precincts of an exclusive Company, and to Trade directly to Turkey, without going round about by Leghorn, then Heaven and Earth were to be conjured, every Thing sacred to be invoked;

O Religion! 0 Liberty! O my Country!

And all for what? Why truly to prevent these wicked Jews from exporting English Manufactures in the most advantageous Way, and importing Raw Materials for the farther Employment of our People.

Therefore as to the present Clamours, whatever Consequences may attend them, one Thing is undeniable, that they were first propagated, and are now continued, in order to bribe the Heart in a bad Cause, and corrupt the Understanding. And if this is not Bribery and Corruption in the worst of Senses, I should be glad to know what is.

But,—to put an End to all this Commercial Canting; and that we may hear no more of Naturalizations, either general or particular, I would humbly propose the following Regulations:

I. That Foreigners should be enabled to buy Lands: but disqualified not only from all Offices of Trust or Power, but also from voting for Members of Parliament, or for the Election of Magistrates in any County, or Corporation having a Right to fend Members to serve in Parliament; and that no Jew shall be permitted to have the Patronage of Livings, Schools, &c. Now when these restraining Clauses are added to the former, what reasonable Pretence can be devised against granting to Foreigners the Liberty of Laying out their Money in the Purchase of Estates? What Objection can be formed against investing the Father with a Privilege, which the Son, born in England, must necessarily enjoy in

a a much more extensive Manner? To be plain mth you, Sir, I know but of one \ which indeed will have its Weight in private, though it is of such a Kature, as not to be proposed publicly: It is this; If the Number of Bidders was encreased, the Market Price of Lands would be raised, and a Monopolizing Member of some exclusive Company, who had got rich by confining the Commerce of the Kingdom, would be obliged to give something more for the Purchase of Estates. It is true, the Country Gentleman would be benefited thereby, who perhaps sold Part of his Estate to portion out his Daughters, or to pay off a Mortgage: And the Kingdom would be enriched by such an Accession of Wealth, as rich Foreigners would bring in;—nay, vast Sums of Money would be prevented from going out, which at present are yearly sent abroad, in order to pay the Interest due from the public Funds; —and if any Foreigner, originally poor, got rich in this Country by his Labour and Industry, he might be enabled to lay out his Wealth, where he got it, instead of carrying it away, as is the Case at present. These are Advantages, National and Commercial;— But what is all this to the Monopolist? And why should he consider any Person or Thing, but his own particular Interest?

II. A Second Proposal is, that Foreigners residing in England, and importing Raw Materials in British Ships, navigated according to Law, for the Employment of our own Poor, or other Merchandises purchased with Britijh Manufactures, should pay no greater Duties or Impositions of Any Kind, than are paid by the Natural-born Subjects. For, in the name of common Sense, why should there be a Difference? And upon what Account must the Interest of a Nation be sacrificed for a few Individuals ?—Thus for Example, as the Importation of Camels

Hair,

Hair, Carmenia Wool and Goats Hair, Spanish Woo!,' and all Sorts of Wool for making our finest Cloths* Hats, &V. several Sorts of Hair, and several Sorts of foreign Drugs for Dying; Hemp, Flax, and unwrought Iron; Furs, Kelp for making Glass, csV. Olive Oil sor the Woollen and Soap Manufactures, Raw Silk, Mohair Yarn, and other Sorts of Yarn, Cotton Wool, Wood, &c. &c. I say, as the Importation of these, and such like Articles, is for the Employment of the People in honest Labour and Industry, to the unspeakable Advantage of the Kingdom in general, and of the Landed Interest in particular, why should not such Raw Materials be imported as cheap as possible? And what is it to the Kingdom, who hath the selling of them, provided the Manufacturers be not confined to one Market, but may take their Choice, and deal with those that use them best? And if other Merchandises are imported by way of Exchange for British Manufactures, why should there be an additional Tax laid upon them? That is, in plain English, why should our owh Manufactures be taxed the heavier, because a Foreigner benefited this Country by exporting them? — Private Interest, I allow, will plead hard for Confinements and Restrictions:—But the more it pleads for such Monopolies and Engrossings, the more plainly it appears, that the public Good can only be promoted by a free and open Trade, and by Rivalihips and Competitions.

III. IT is proposed, that all Foreigners residing in England, and navigating their Ships according to Law, shall be so far deemed Natives, as to be infilled to the Freedom of the 'Turkey, the Russia, or any other of our Companies trading to foreign Parts, upon paying the usual and legal Fines upon such Occafions. — The Reasons of this Proposal are so obvious, that even Monopoly itself cannot openly oppose

them,

them, but must take a round-about Way'in order to perplex the Subject, and to lead Men off from the true Scent. But let the Country Gentleman, let the Shop-keeper and Manufacturer, let all Persons, who have the National Good truly at Heart, rest the Matter upon this single Point, that Rivalihips and Competitions are the best Means of exporting the greatest Quantities of British Manufactures, and of importing Raw Materials and other Merchandises on the lowest Terms. For all Men, whether Natives or Foreigners, would be Monopolists, if they could: And therefore the only Way to cause this monopolizing Spirit to operate for the public Benefit, is to create as many Rivals and Competitors, as are willing to engage in the Trade. — Put therefore the following Case, viz. Were a certain Number of Farmers, or Country Gentlemen, to obtain an exclusive Charter for disposing of their Corn at their own Price, — another Set for selling Hay, i— another for Butter and Cheese, — and a fourth for Flesh and Cattle; would not the monopolizing Member of some exclusive Company immediately object to this Proceeding, and plead most vehemently, that all Markets ought to be free and open? And yet,

Mutato Nomine, de te

Fabula Narratur.

This being the Case, it is to be hoped, the Landed Interest will consider this Affair, and make the right Application.

IV. The last Proposal is, That the Merchants and Manufacturers of this Kingdom shall be allowed to send Commissions to what Factors or Agents abroad they shall think most useful, for carrying on their Affairs. For if a foreign Factor, by superior

Skill, Skill, or more .extensive Knowledge and Correspondence, by greater Œconomy, or less Factorage, shall be able to fell a greater Quantity of British Manufactures (suppose in Rufia, or Turkey, or our own Plantations) and make larger Returns of Raw Materials, than an English Factor either would, or could do; why should it be unlawful to employ this Foreigner? That is, in other Words, why should the English Nation be made a Sacrifice? Why should our Labour be taxed, and the Machines of Commerce obstructed in their Motion, meerly for the Sake of confining the Com mission-Money to an English Factor, and. of enriching one Man at the Expence of the Public ?—If the Trade was free, every Man would naturally choose that Agent, who would serve him best, let his Country be what it will. — And such Agent or Factor would be much likelier to continue faithful in his Service, as he knew he was on his good Behaviour, seeing that his Principal was at liberty to employ others, if he did not approve of him. In short, when English Factors know, that their Constituents at Home are restrained from employing any but themselves, they naturally run into Combinations, and are tempted to make a bad use of this exclusive Privilege. For the Power of Harm is Harm: And many Kings have proved Tyrants meerly by the Temptation of despotic Power, who in a limited Monarchy would have made excellent Princes,

Thus, Sir, I have finished my Observations, according to your Desire -j and have only, to add, that if these four National Proposals were passed into a Law, you never would hear of one Naturalization Bill more. For they contain all the Privileges (nay, and some additional ones) that are implied under the Term Naturalization. And as the Country Gentleman, the Shop-keeper, the Manufacturer, the Jour

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