THE STANXaRIES OF COEXWALL. 301 



chai'g'e of their Arinada at sea. The Zantiots liave not long- 

 known what to do witli their eurranR and. have heen persuaded 

 that we use tlieni to dye cloth withal, lieing- strangers to our 

 Luxury of Pies, Pottage, Puddings, Cakes, &c. To maintain 

 this Trade the English liave a little factory at Zant consisting of 

 a Consid and some mercliants." 



The fir«t part of tlie pamphlet deals with the iniquities of 

 the Venetians and our consuls and factors at Zante, hut a "stout 

 merchant" there, of course a Cornishinan, Mr. William Pendarves 

 comes in for no douht well deserved praise, Tlu^ upshot of the 

 pamphlet is that the then languishing tin trade of Cornv.-all 

 should be revived l>y the adoption of the policy of Venice, which 

 "having almost lost the Western Trade imposed a duty {called 

 the Novissima Imposta) of live dollars a thousand payable on all 

 currans that should he laden at Zant, Cephalonia, or Theacca, 

 on any Western ship tliat had not first discharged her full lading 

 at the said City of Venice, and such sliips onty as come from 

 Venice are called Free Sliips and are free from paying that 

 custom." He proceeds later on ''And we having so far lost our 

 Western tirade of Tin tliat the labouring Tinners can scarce get 

 tlieir bread, I am of opinion tliat we can regain it in somt^ degree 

 (if after the precedent) and example of the Venetians a novis- 

 sima imposta be laid upon all such as shall buy and sell tin in 

 the counties of Cornwall and Devon under three or four pounds 

 a hundred or such a price as The King's most excellent Majest}', 

 the Right Honourable The Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and 

 The Honourable The Commons in Parliament shall think meet. 

 And Tin bemg now at SOs. per cent, such an Imposition will be 

 of considerable advantage to the nation both in general and 

 particular." 



He proceeds to argue that all classes of the community would 

 gain by such a transaction and that there is no fear that the 

 advancing the price of tin will cause the less quantity to be 

 transported, because " there is no part of the known world 

 besides Cornwall and Devon that doth produce Tin unless it be 

 Germany and the East Indies, and the Tin which is made there 

 is not so good as our Tin by 20s. in the hundred, nor can the}' 

 afford to sell the same so cheap as £o per cent." 



