A. D. 1685. 621- 



years after this (1687) he prohibited the importation of mofl; of our 

 woollen manufactures into France : yet King James, though naturally 

 inclined to favour commerce, facrificed the great interefts of his king- 

 dom to his enthufiafm and his high ideas of his royal prerogative. 



By an ad of parliament [15 Car. II, c. 14] the revenue of the gene- 

 ral poft-office, and afterwards alfo L24,ooo yearly out of the hereditary 

 excife, was fettled on the duke of York and his heirs male. In this firfl 

 year of that prince's reign, by the name of King James II, his obfequi- 

 ous parliament enaded, [c. 1 2] that both thofe revenues fhould here- 

 after be to him, his heirs, and fuccefFors, one entire and indefeafible 

 eflate in fee-fimple : fo that the poft-office revenue was made the king 

 of Great Britain's private eftate forever, and therefor is never to be ac- 

 counted for by him to parliament, as all public revenues are. It was 

 now eftimated at L65,ooo per annum. 



For the encouragement of ftiip-building, greatly decayed in New- 

 caftle, Hull, Yarmouth, Ipfwich, and other ports of England on the 

 eaftern coafts, occafioned chiefly by employing foreign-built fhips in 

 the coal-trade, and other inland or coafting trades, there was a duty 

 of 5/ per ton laid on all fuch fhipping by ad of parliament, [i Ja. II, 

 c. 18] one half thereof to be for the ufe of the cheft at Chatham, and 

 the other to the corporation of the trinity-houfe, towards the relief of 

 wounded and decayed Teamen, their widows and children. 



The weftern fuburbs of London continually increafing, more efpeci-- 

 ally in the parifh of St. Martin's in the fields, on a parcel of ground call- 

 ed Kemps-field, whereon, towards the later part of the reign of King 

 Charles II, fundry new ftreets were ereded, the inhabitants obtained an 

 ad of parliament [i Ja. II, c. 20] to enable them to ered the fame in- 

 to a diftind parifli, by the name of St. Anne's, within the hberty of 

 Weftminfter, and to tax themfelves for finifhing their new church of. 

 that name. 



Another ad of parliament, the laft ad palled in King James's reign, . 

 [i Ja. II, c. 22] ereds another parifh in the fuburbs, to be called St. 

 James, in the liberty of Weftminfter, till now part of the parifti of St. 

 Martin's in the fields. It appears by that ad, that the earl of St. A1-- 

 ban's, (Henry Jermyn, then deceafed) and the other inhabitants of the 

 new ftreets called Jermyn-ftreet, &c. in a place formerly called Sr. 

 James's fields, had been at the expenfe of above L7000 for ereding 

 their new church and laying out their churchyard ; but not having yet 

 finiftied the church, nor a manfion-houfe for its minifter, &c. they were 

 hereby enabled fo to do by a rate on the inhabitants. It appears by this 

 ad:, that fundry parts of this new parifli were not then built up into 

 ftreets, which, however, are fo in our days. 



About this fame time, and particularly in this fame year, there was ■ 



