46 BRITISH WOOL TUADB. 



ingly. This tended in no sligiit degree to the defeat of 

 the ends intencled, by hindering all who were not cold- 

 blooded from bringing to justice the actors in so trifling 

 an offence. This was soon however seen through, 

 and corrected, by the 7th and 8th of William III. 

 chap. 28, sec, 4, in which it was declared, that 

 '^ Whereas the statute of the 13th and 14th of King 

 Charles II., made against the exportation of wool, 

 among other things in the said act mentioned, doth 

 enact the same to be deemed felony, by the severity of 

 which penalty the prosecution of offenders hath not 

 been so effectually put into execution ; be it therefore 

 enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that so much of 

 the said act, which relates to the making the said 

 offence felon}', be repealed and made void." 



Adam Smith, when commenting in his '* Wealth of 

 Nations," on the laws relating to wool, reprobates 

 severely the ill-judged compliance of our government, 

 in yielding to the solicitation of our merchants, and 

 allowing them to sway with iron rule the commerce of 

 the world. *' The severity of many of the laws which 

 have been enacted for the security of the revenue, is 

 very justly complained of, as imposing heavy penalties 

 upon actions, which, antecedent to the statutes that de- 

 clared them to be crimes, had always been understood 

 to be innocent. But the cruelest of our revenue laws, 

 I will venture to affirm, are mild and gentle in com- 

 parison to some of those which the clamour of ouf 

 merchants and manufacturers has extorted from the 

 legislature, for the support of their own absurd and 

 oppressive monopolies. Like the laws of Draco, these 

 laws may be said to be all written ia blood." None of 



