Middlemen in English Business 299 



This long credit introduced and forced by the Blackwell Hall 

 factors had a further effect in the fact that it drew over an '' abundance 

 of Interlopers, or Foreign Factors, from Holland, the Hanse Towns 

 of Germany, Flanders, France, Sweden, Etc." By this credit thev 

 were "enabled to make themselves Masters of Goods upon their 

 Principals abroad, whose service they court(ed) before they desire(d) 

 their bills for Payment."^ An intimacy and friendship seems to have 

 grown up between the home and these foreign factors and they worked 

 together in the prosecution of their credit operations. 



The development of these credit manipulations reached a crisis in 

 1695 when the clothiers applied to Parliament for relief and an act^ 

 was passed accordingly. The statute was effective for a few years 

 but the factors soon found ways of evading it, and the former abuses 

 were revived and developed. The said statute was named ''An Act 

 to restore the Market at BlackweU Hall to the Clothiers and for regu- 

 lating the Factors there." The governors of the Hall were to appoint 

 for the country clothiers "the most convenient Room in the said Hall 

 for the Sale of their cloth, and likewise Warehouse Room for the 

 lodging and safekeeping of any cloth of the said Clothier's unsold." 

 A strict register of sales — including the names of buyer, seller, factor, 

 date, cloths, and terms — was to be kept by them, to which the clothier 

 was to have free access at his leisure. .The factors were to make out 

 a statement of the effects of the clothiers then in their hands and of 

 the cloth sold, and money due. Hereafter ail cloth held by merchant, 

 draper or trader for eight days as bought on trust was regarded as sold, 

 thus ending the practice by the merchant of drawing out many pieces 

 of cloth so as to enlarge his display but with no serious intention of 

 buying. 



But the thing of interest at this point is the correction that was 

 planned for the credit abuses. In the case of all time-sales by the 

 factor, he was to get from the buyer within twelve days a note of the 

 sum due and deliver it to the clothier, and a penalty of double the sum 

 of the sale was attached for neglect in this matter, and all contracts to 

 the contrary were void. The effect of this statute and the devices 

 by which it was evaded and nullified are so lucidly told by one of the 

 abused clothiers that he deserves c|uotation in extenso, as follows: 



"For a little while this Act had its desired effect; these notes were 

 immediately returned to the clothier, who carried them to market for 



' "Abstract of Grievances of Trade," 7. 

 = 8 and 9 Wm. Ill, Cap. 9. 



