154 The Merchants of the Staple, 8fc. 



this web of apparent inconsistency, or to explain the motives which 

 led, from time to time, to enactments so opposite in their tendency. 

 Possibly an attentive study of the details of English History, not 

 as we have it in the pages of Hume or Lingard, who can deal only 

 with its great and leading features, but in the compilations of 

 Chroniclers and Annalists who dwell upon its minor incidents 

 might enable us to give probable reasons for many of them. 

 Sometimes the necessity of removing the staple from the dominions 

 or neighbourhood of a hostile state, — sometimes the wish to take 

 reprisals on a rival power, — sometimes the desire to conciliate 

 foreign merchants whose help was needed in raising funds for 

 special exigencies of state, — sometimes the necessity of yielding to 

 the demands of an influential class of native merchants or manu- 

 facturers ; — sometimes the importance of arousing the dormant 

 genius of the country, and making men, for their own advantage, 

 depend more on their own resources ; — sometimes even a private 

 pique, — have led within but a short space of time to conflicting 

 enactments. Indeed, it is said that to the last motive we owe the 

 most important of all the Acts that were passed, viz., " The Statute 

 of the Staple." It was in consequence of the displeasure of Edw. 

 III. with the Flemings, because the proposed match between their 

 young Earl and his daughter was broken off, that the staple was 

 removed from Bruges and settled finally in several English towns. 

 Imperfect as were their notions in political economy, it was cer- 

 tainly more than chance that dictated this contradictory policy. 

 The history of wool is indeed one of those subjects, which, when at 

 all deeply studied, seems to gather up into itself whole masses of 

 inferior events. Read side by side with the history of our country, 

 as in some sort a running Commentaiy, it often supplies us with an 

 interpretation of matters in themselves suflBciently puzzling, and 

 discloses to us many a glimpse of the inner life and social progress 

 of England during the 14th and two following centuries. 



And this would seem to be the most appropriate place in which 

 to say a few words concerning the " Merchants of the Staple " 

 themselves, and of some of the more famous of them who flourished 

 in Wiltshire. Of their general character, we have an accurate 



