SOME Linnen Drapers in London having petitioned the Honourable House of Commons against the Bill for Restraining the wearing East-India and Persia wrought Silks , &c. Which not meeting with the desired Effect , have therefore published the Reasons that incouraged the presenting the said Petition , which they have ushered in with a specious Preamble , wherein they declare , That they are induced to believe that it would be no inconsiderable Service to the whole Kingdom in general , as well as to the particular Satisfaction of that Honourable House to publish them , where , upon an equal state of the Matters controverted , it will incontestably appear , how fatal and universally detrimental the Consequences of such a Prohibition must of Necessity prove , which upon a serious Consideration of the few Reasons , which they have given , The utter improbability of such a Prohibition ever being able to Answer the great End thereby proposed , will be fully and satisfactorily demonstrated .

By this Preamble many may be be apt to conclude , That their Reasons must be very Substantial and Unanswerable ; but upon Examination they are found not so , and will admit of plain and easie Answers , which are thought proper to be made publick , with some Remarks thereupon . And are as follows :

They say , That Trade in general is always free , and will never endure to be shackled and compelled ; That when it is so , it will endeavour to remove into better quarters . But at the same time , they should have done well to have Recollected and Considered to whom they were Addressing themselves , which if they had done , they would surely have been more modest : For have not several good Laws been made by former Parliaments for Restraining Trade , by Prohibiting the Importation and Consumption of Forreign Commodities , and preventing the Exportation of our own , as Wooll , &c. which had been very ill done , and to no purpose , if their Assertion were true : And are not several Bills now depending to Restrain Trade ; As the Bills to Regulate and Settle India and Affrica Trades , and for the more effectual preventing the Exportation of Wooll .

They say in Answer to the Canterbury-men , That it was not they that beat the French , Dutch , and Italians out of their Silk Trade , but the East-India Goods which were Imported from the Year 82 to 89 , and sold very cheap that did it . Now supposing this were really true , 't is hard to imagine what Service this Assertion can do them , but very easie to foresee the contrary : For if the Cheapness of East-India Goods beat both Dutch , French , and Italians out of their Trade , must it not naturally follow , that they can and will , with as great ease , beat us out also .

They own a great Increase of Trade , but say , It only proceeds from the Rise of Guinea's ; The miscarriage of the War , and the Continual Demands and Exactions from abroad , and not from the Scarcity of printed Calicoes , Bengalls , and Persian Silks , there being more India Goods sold and printed these last four years , than in twenty before . But this is so contrary to the observation and knowledge of almost all sorts of People , that it requires a more than ordinary Confidence for such an Assertion . It must be allowed that the Trade in the Woollen Manufactures for course Clothes , Bays , &c. have been greatly Increased by reason of the War : But the Trade in Silks , Half Silks , and Worsted Stuffs , have gradually increased for several years last past , as the East-India Goods grew scarcer and dearer , these Manufactures supplied their use ( in great measure ) which has been the great Occasion of that Increase , as is evident beyond Contradiction . It 's true , that the late extraordinary and sudden Rise of all sorts of Commodities was occasioned by the Rise of Guineas ; but now , notwithstanding Guineas are fallen , and the Dutch take off but few of our Silks , Half-Silks , or Worsted Stuffs , yet their Price is not abated , which can proceed from no other Reason but the want of them in England and the Plantations , which want would soon be supplied , if the East-India Goods were brought in as plentifully as formerly .

They own That Raw Silk is the Produce of our Woollen Manufactures Exported : But pretend to foretel the Consequences of Prohibiting the Persian Silks , That it will occasion a Prohibition of our Woollen Manufactures there . But they may please to remember , that when the Trade to Persia was carried on by our Turkey Company , the Persians were well content to take our Cloath , and pay us in Raw Silks ; and we conceive it rational to believe , that they may be content to do so again if the Trade were turned into its old Channel .

They assert , That the Prohibition desired will undeniably be the loss of three parts in four of the East-India Trade , to the Ruine of many of his Majesty's Subjects , and the unspeakable Benefit of the Dutch and Scots . But herein they mightily contradict the East-India Company , who oft-times in print , and otherwise have affirmed , That three parts in four , and lately to a Committee of Lords , that two parts in three in value of their whole Trade , is Exported to Forreign Markets ; And this Prohibition will leave them a great part of their home Consumption , as Druggs , Salt-petre , Indico , Raw Silks , White Calicoes , Muslins , and abundance of other Commodities , and instead of Wrought , they may bring in greater quantities of Raw Silk . But if it be true what they assert , That three parts in four of the East-India Trade depend upon our home Consumption , they have made a considerable Discovery , by which the Nation may see how much they have been imposed upon by the East-India Company , and how much more prejudicial that Tade is than most People imagined . And as to the Scotch , nothing ( as is conceived ) can be a greater Mortification to them than this Prohibition : For thereby the great Expectation of running their Goods ( which will be Custom-free ) upon us will be wholly cut off , and they left to find out Trade in Forreign Markets , which will be very difficult for them to accomplish .

Neither can we apprehend this Prohibition will be of any Service to the Dutch , but the contrary ; for thereby their profitable Trade of Running India Goods upon us , will in a great measure be cut off .

They say , That this Prohibition will exceedingly diminish the King's Customs , and discourage the Loan upon that Branch of the Customs . This in great measure must be allowed ; but at the same time it ought to be considered , that if the Customs arise by the bringing in of Manufactured Goods ( which are the Purchase of our Bullion ) to be consumed at home , to the hinderance of our own Manufactures , and the imployment of our People , that this may sink the King's Revenues in its other Branches , as much , if not more : For how can the Excise for Bear , and Custom of Tobacco , and other Commodities , be as great as now it is , if the Labour and Wages of the Poor be taken away , or can the Tenants pay Rent if they want good Markets for their Commodities ? Or how can Landlords live comfortably and pay Taxes , if Tenants fail to pay their Rents ? And when any Branch answers not the Loans that are ordered upon it , it has and will no doubt be made good some other way .

They assert , That the Prohibition desired will not incourage the making Silks in England , except the Dutch and Italian Silks be prohibited also . And the Reason they give us is , That the Dutch and Italians can have as much work done for one shilling , as we can have for three : Which is not true in fact . It 's very well known that our English Silk-Manufactures have been greatly increased since the India Goods have been scarce and dear ; and that notwithstanding that Scarcity , neither the Dutch or Italians have advanced their Trade thereby : For it is plain and evident , that the Ingenuity of our English Workmen outdoes them ; and the difference in Wages is nothing so considerable as they assert , which is ballanc'd by the Customs paid upon those Forreign Commodities . But if it shall appear that either the Dutch or Italian Trade be found prejudicial to the Interest of this Nation , it 's hoped those Trades may be also Restrained in due time .

They own , That the Prohibition will open a way for the Imployment of a great many Weavers and other Workmen . But to answer this , they say , It will take away the Imployment of many thousand Dyers , Callenders , Stiffners , Printers , &c. But this is so poor an Argument , that one would think they should be ashamed to offer it : For are the number of Printers , and other Workmen imployed upon Callicoes , &c. to be compared with the number of Spinsters , Combers , Weavers , and many other Artificers imployed in the Silk and Woollen Manufactures ; and may not these Printers , &c. as well be imployed in printing our own Manufactures , since Printing is or may be as well done upon them as upon Callicoes or India Silks .

They say , That the Nature of Trade is to Exchange one Commodity for another . But what Service this can do them in this Case , is not easily to be imagined ; because the Trade in Controversie is not Exchanging Commodity for Commodity , but chiefly Money for Commodities .

They tell us , That this Prohibition will turn to no better account than to make our own Manufactures dearer at home , and India Goods cheaper to our Neighbours , which will make our Manufactures wholly useless to them . And yet notwithstanding they say , That our Manufacturers will set higher Rates upon their Goods ; which seems to be a Contradiction . We are very sensible that whenever the East-India Trade flourish , they will bring in Goods enough to supply all Markets , which will unavoidably bring down the Price of our own Manufactures : And for this very Reason it is that this Prohibition is desired , That seeing we cannot prevent the Mischiefs which that Trade will do us in Forreign Markets , we may in some measure help our selves by preventing our falling under the same Evils at home .

These are all , or the most material Reasons that they have offered , which with the Answers and Observations thereupon , are with great Submission humbly offered to the Consideration of the Parliament .