And as to what the said Author concludes that Paragraph with , viz. That it 's plain the Revenue will be lessened and the Funds prejudic'd by the Decrease of the Expence , which Necessarily follows the Dearness of Commodities by every ones sparing the Use , and saving the Waste of what is neglected when they are cheaper . This indeed is a very good Argument against the Additional Duty upon Salt ; and if the said Author pleases to enlarge upon that Topick , and lessen the Fund in the Opinions of those who are to lend their Money upon it , 't is possible he may Reconcile the two contending Companies of Subscribers , and meet with a Reward from the Government suitable to his Merits .

This Champion for the Rock-Salt , is pleased to raise two Reasons or Arguments on behalf of the Brine-Pits , and thinks that he has done his Work by answering them his own way , and so as to please himself ; The First is , that The Rock being worked out in time , the Brine-Pits will be spoil'd by their Water losing its strength : And the Second is , that the Rock-Salt may afford to pay a higher Duty because they have their Coals much cheaper : As to the First of these he finds it to stick so close upon him , that he is willing to get rid on 't at any rate , and therefore by a pure shift of begging the Question , allowing the Rock will be work'd out in time ( which GOD knows how soon that may be ) Yet , says he , the Brine-Pits would not be prejudic'd thereby ; If as is generally believed the Saline Petrefaction is caused by a Salt Water , and not Brine-Springs impregnated by the Mineral-Salt . This manner of refuting Arguments is so very Weak and Despicable that I might pass it over as not worth notice . But to inform him better , I shall desire him to look into the said Mr. Collins his Book , Page the 3d . where he will find that These Springs ( speaking of Brine-springs ) being remote from the Sea , are conceived to arise from Rocks or Mines of Salt under the Earth , the which are moistned by some Channels or secret Passages under ground : And thence he proceeds , and gives several Instances and Matters of Fact to Prove and Demonstrate that Assertion . But further , it is impossible that such a Profundity of Petrefaction as Twenty yards thick , which the Rock in one place ( and but one ) was found to be , could be produced by Salt-water ; for if Salt-water had that occult Quality ( which no Man ever affirmed it had ) as to Tinge , Crust , or Petrifie , yet its operation can go nor reach no further than where the Water runs , and that 's only the superficial Part : and besides , for a full and conclusive Answer to this Chimerical Fiction , If the Saline Petrefaction is caused by the Salt-water , then all the Brine-Pits would be turn'd to that saline Petrefaction , which to all Men's Eyes are apparently not so : It is therefore most certain , that the Brine-Springs are not the Efficient Cause of the Salt-Rock , but are impregnated by it ; and that being taken away , the Springs must cease to be salt . And so this Argument for the Brine , still stands good against that Author . Let us now see if he will have any better Success , in the Answer he gave to the other Argument , about the Coals being cheap where the Rock is refined , and dear where the Brine-Salt is made . The Answer he gives to this , is , That though he allows the Refiners have Coals abundantly cheaper than the Brine-Salt-makers ; yet , says he , the Charge of the Rock is great , whereas the Brine comes up with only a little pains of Pumping . Now if this Person were a fair Dealer , he would have descended to the Particulars of the Charge of each ; and to let him and everybody else see , ( which they may do , if not blinded with Prejudice or Interest ) that if the Rock-Salt upon refining draws back the whole Duty at the Pits , it will be impossible for the Brine-Pits to carry on the Trade . I desire these Truths may be consider'd :

First , The sinking of a Brine-Pit , by vast quantities of Timbrings and Plankings to support the Rammings out of the Freshes , costs never less than 1500 , oftner 2000 l. But a Rock-Pit is sunk for a very small Charge , because they need not ram out the Freshes : So that the charge of the Brine is greater than the charge of the Rock ; and that quantity of Brine which will make a Tun of Salt , is equally as valuable as that quantity of Rock which will produce the same : For what is the Brine or the Rock of value for , but for the Salt they produce ? Then consider , that the County of Chester is surrounded ( except a very little Part bordering to the Sea ) with Lancashire , Derbyshire , Staffordshire , Shropshire , Denbyshire , and Flintshtre ; in all which Counties , Coals are at 1 s . 9 d . per Tun ; but at Northwich in Cheshire ( where the Brine-Pits are ) Coals are at 14 s . 6 d . or 15 s . per Tun . Now the Rock being carry'd to the Coal in all those Counties , ( which the Brine cannot be ) and there made to Salt , it will under-sell the Brine-Salt in all those and other Places , just so much as the Coals are cheaper in one Place than the other , viz. 12 s . 9 d . or 13 s . per Tun . The Brine-Pits therefore being confin'd to such a narrow Limit of Trade as their own County only ( for the Trade to Ireland is destroy'd by the importation of foreign Salt there ) they will not be able , nor is it worth their Charge to maintain and keep up their Works , so must and will leave off : And this being of absolute necessity for 'em to do , let us consider seriously what must and will be the inevitable Consequence of it . The Brine-Pits , by not Working , will be neglected , and so will go to decay ; and Fresh-water-Springs will break into them , so they will be for ever lost : And then let us see how the Rock will supply us .

The Learned Author of the Paper , entituled , The Case of Refiners of Rock-Salt in Lancashire and Cheshire , fansies to himself , and would make us believe there 's a mighty Tract of Ground provided with this Rock-Salt ; and being twenty , or twenty five Yards thick , he reckons that a Foot square of Rock , will produce 240 Bushels ; which at 20 s . per Bushel , comes to 20 l. Duty ; and in proportion a Square Yard ( which for fear no one should be as wise as himself , he tells us is 9 square Foot ) will produce 180 l. Duty ; and that doubled is 360 l. Duty . All which is as much as to say , that Three pence and Two pence is Five pence , and Five pence and Five pence is Two groats and Two pence , and Two groats and Two pence is Ten pence . But all this does not prove to us , that we are certain of this great Tract of Ground so provided with this Rock as he speaks of ; and I can tell him of a Gentleman , Two , Three , or Four , that have good Estates adjoining to where this Rock-Salt is now gotten ; but they canot find this Rich Treasure ; neither is it believed in those Parts that it lies any where but in one small Tract of Land only . But supposing it were there in a larger compass , yet still it is but Supposition , not a Certainty to be relied on , either to answer this Perpetual Duty to the Government , or to supply the Occasions of the Nation with Salt : Nay , even this Rock-Salt which is known already , is not to be relied on , for any Number of Years , to supply either the Duty or the Occasions of the Country ; for no less than Four of these Rock-Pits have fail'd in a very short time ; and the Mineral is of that diluting Temper , that the Pillars must and will fail , by the Springs and Waters with which the Pits are , and always will be infested : And then I desire it may be remembred , that this Rock is gotten near to a considerable River ; so that Experience shewing us these Pits and Hollows do and will break and fall , and by those Breaches , that River and other Freshes will be let in ; and then we must fetch our Salt at excessive Rates from far , and bid farewel both to Rock and Springs . So that it were much to be wished the Wisdom of Parliament ( it being a National Concern ) would restrain the Proprietors of the Rock from digging and getting of it , and oblige them only to work the Brine thereof ( which all of them have in great plenty ) as the rest of the Brine-Pits do : For I can compare their digging and getting the Rock-Salt , which affords such a Rich and Perpetual Treasure of Brine to the Nation , to nothing better than that miserable Wretch , who had a Hen which laid him a golden Egg a-day ; but he not being contented therewith , ripp'd up the Fowl , and so lost all .

But if this shall not be approved of as yet , 'till the mischievous Consequence of getting the Rock do further appear ; It is humbly hoped that the Brine-Pits shall not be forthwith destroy'd , and the Rock-Salt wholly depended on for the Duty , by allowing the whole Duty at the Pit to be drawn back upon Refining , but that the Eight pence which keeps them at par shall be continued . That the Eight pence continued on the Rock will not hinder the Refiner , is evident , for that they have constantly work'd as before ; and that even notwithstanding the Honourable House of Commons did , early in this Session , declare they would not , nor indeed had they any Reason , to take it off ; It is therefore humbly hoped They will be Constant to that Resolution , and continue the said Eight pence upon Rock-Salt , as it was the last Year .