River Improvement 133 



Parliament " a new edition of his scheme under the title of " A 

 Mediterranean Passage by Water from London to Bristol, 

 and from Lynne to Yarmouth, and so consequently to the City 

 of York for the great Advancement of Trade and Traffique." 

 In the course of his Dedication he said : 



" Observing by traversing this island, that divers Rivers 

 within the same may be moulded into such Form as will 

 admit of Vessels of thirty Tun burden, or upwards, to sail in, 

 unto the great Relief of divers Countryes in this Island, by 

 means of the same, at less than half the Rates now paid for 

 Land carriage . . . and considering at how easy a Charge . . . 

 the same may be brought to pass ... I humbly presume . . . 

 to become Importunate to your most Excellent and Royal 

 Majesty for the enterprize of and ready effecting this Work, 

 being an Undertaking so Heroick, that 'tis beyond the Level 

 of any others to attempt." 



Among the reasons he now advanced in favour of removing 

 the obstructions and difficulties to be met with in the making 

 of rivers navigable were the " Wonderful Improvement to 

 much Trade," and especially the trade in coal ; " the great 

 Ease of the Subject " ; increased public revenue 



" And what is well and worthy of Observing, the High- 

 wayes hereby will be much preserved, and become a very 

 acceptable work to the Country, which now notwithstanding 

 their great cost, is a grievous Toil as well to Man as beast, 

 being now so unnecessarily plowed up by Waggons of Pro- 

 digious Burthens, which in this Island are dayly travelling." 



Andrew Yarranton, who brought out in 1677 a remarkable 

 book, entitled " England's Improvement by Land and Sea," 

 might be described as a Pioneer of Protection as well as an 

 early champion of improved inland communication. He 

 considered that the best way of fighting the Dutch, who were 

 then a source of trouble to the country, would be, not to go to 

 war with them, but to capture their trade and commerce. 

 To this end he elaborated a scheme under which, instead of 

 importing every year " vast quantities " of " linen cloth of 

 all sorts," of iron, and of woollen goods, England would 

 " settle " these industries here, fostering them by means 

 of import duties to be imposed on foreign manufactures for a 

 period of seven years, and supplementing those duties by the 

 setting-up of a general system of banking, itself, in turn, 



