A. D. 1765. 427 



being the immediate iiicreafe of the revenue, without any regard to fu- 

 ture confequences. There were ftill, however, more EngUfli woollen goods 

 than Dutch or French confumed in Sicily, our returns being chiefly in 

 raw and thrown filks Hupped for England, and corn fhipped for Spain 

 and Portugal, the freights of which were confiderable. 



The merchants fettled at Conftantinople, and the feveral ports in the 

 Levant, complained of the great decline in the fales of Britifli woollen 

 goods in thofe parts, thofc of the French being now to the Bririfli a; 

 three to one ; whereas formerly they ufed to be only as one to three. 

 The want of a lazaretto in England for floring their goods, when there 

 is a fufpicion of the plague being in the Levant, was alfo complained 

 of as a great grievance, which, together witlv the importation of Turkey 

 goods by merchants not free of their company, and the hardfliips put 

 upon them by the Turkifh government, altogether rendered their trade 

 rather prejudicial, than profitable, to them. They reprefented their 

 trade as being more advantageous to the nation than any other, as their 

 exports confift almoft entirely in woollen manufactures ; and, by a rule 

 of their company, no bullion is ever exported : and, on the other hand, 

 their returns are in raw filk and moyhair, which are materials elFential- 

 ly necelliiry in fome of our mod; important manufaclures. 



Mr. Frafer, the conful at Tripoli in Barbary, reported, that there was 

 not a fmgle Britifh merchant fettled in the kingdom of Tripoli. 



According to the reports of the conful at Oftend, the Britifli trade in 

 Flanders had increafed greatly in the articles of tobacco, rice, and raw 

 fugar, fince the year 1740; but the importation of Britifh woollen 

 goods, earthen ware, paper hangings, and printed linens and cottons, 

 had confiderably decreafed, owing to the high duties laid on them by 

 the Auftrian government, and the prohibition of carrying woollen goods 

 through the Netherlands to France and Germany : he concludes, how- 

 ever, by faying, tliat, ' if we can preferve the trade as it is, the advan- 

 * tage is extreme, important, and confiderable, to the nation *.' 



Of the Britifli commerce with Holland, a very ample and circumftan- 

 tial account was tranfmitted, of which the following is the fubftance. 



There arrived in the rivers Male and Goree, for the ports of Roter- 

 dam, Dort, and Schiedam, from Great Britain, Ireland, and Britifli 

 America, 



• 111 tliis report tlicrc is a curious fpccimcn of cargo of pipes was landed, .ind fold there at fuch 



Dutcli llratatjcm. A mauiifaflurc of tobacco low prices, tliat tlic ikvv nianufaclure at once 



pipes had been fct up in Flanders, which the funk under the t,Iow. But if it could have l\ood 



Dutch wilhed to ruin. This they might have ef- its ground againft this one cli'ott of Dutch iiiale- 



ferttd liy a very large importation of the article ; volence, it is not prob.ible that tlieir cagcrnefs to 



but the hi^'.h duty rendered that expedient too ex- prevent any body from living but tliemfclvt* 



penfive ; they therefor loaded a large p/ih a.ill) would have gone fo far as ti» repeat fo cuilly a 



J<i/x-s, and purpofely wrecked her near Oftend. project. 

 Agreeable to the -marine laws of that e:tv, the 



3 H2 



