A. D. 1698. 703 



in hopes to find the parliament looner or later inclinable to grant them 

 an exclufive trade ; tor which end they petitioned Queen Anne, in the 

 year 1707, though without effect. 



London at this time abounded with new projects and Ichemes, pro- 

 mifing mountains of gold: there were alio fundry rational new projeds 

 introduced, moftly by the French proteftant refugees ; the chief of thofc 

 projedors was one Dupin, who was inftrumental in advancing the ma- 

 nufadures of fine Unen, thread, tapes, lace, &c. and of fine white writ- 

 ing paper. He pretended, that the court of France was fo much alarm- 

 ed at his firft fetting on foot the paper manufadure, that Barillon, the 

 French ambaffador at London, obftruded it to his utmoft, and enticed 

 the chief of our workmen into France, from the paper mills in England. 

 But with refped to the linen manufadure, more efpecially in the Ibuth 

 parts of England, it is probable it will never prove very fuccefsful ; 

 neither, perhaps, is it for England's benefit that it fhould fucceed there, 

 fince it might not a little interfere with our antient and noble woollen 

 manufadures, and alfo with the iilk and fteel ones, by diverting our 

 workmen therefrom ; fince, in the opinion of many, the fowing of much 

 flax in England, and the negled of the woollen manufadure, which 

 would inevitably follow, might probably lower the price of lands; as,, 

 obfervers fay, it requires about twenty acres of land to breed wool for 

 fetting on work the fame number of hands which one acre of flax would, 

 employ : and yet, in the end, the woollen manufadure will be found to 

 employ by far the greatefl; number of hands, and yield the mofl: profit 

 to the public, as well as to the manufidurers. That even in the linen 

 manufadures of Holland, the Dutch have only the eafieft and mofl; pro- 

 fitable part thereof, viz, the weaving and whitening of it; for it is laid,, 

 that mofl; of the yarn is fpun in Germany, Pruflla, &c. where the 

 people, being poor, can fpin cheaper than the people of Holland or 

 England can do. But in coimtries where labour and lands are cheap, 

 as in Scotland and Ireland, the linen manufadure has been found to be 

 profitable to the community. The farther planting of the new colonies 

 in America, with fuch projeds at home as iniurance offices, faltpetre 

 works, copper-mines, penny-poft projed, and many more, were now 

 much in vogue : ' fo have I feen,' fays the author of an Eflay on pro- 

 jeds,. printed in the preceding year, ' fliares ot joint-flocks, and oilier 

 ' undertakings, blown up by the air of great words, and the name of 



* fome man of credit concerned, to perhaps Lico for one five hundredth 

 ' part or fhare, and yet at lafl dwindle to nothing.' Writers about this 

 time complain heavily, ' that the Royal exchange of London was crowd- 

 *' ed with projeds, wagers, fairy companies of newnlanufadu^^s and in- 

 ' vention.s, ftock-iobbers, &c. To that very Toon after this time, the 



* tranfading of this airy trade of jobbing was juftiy removed from off" 



