AS the Tax is laid , To carry on a War against France , and all in this Kingdom receive Protection thereby , it is but reasonable they should contribute thereto ; but instead therereof about Nine Tenths of the People are Excused , they burning such Coals , Wood , &c. as are not by it affected : Which layeth the Burthen upon so small a part of the Trading People , that one Tradesman payeth more to this Tax than an hundred Gentlemen of ten times his Estate , living in In-land Counties ; which hath caused such continual Complaints : Some of which are as followeth .

I. The Owners of Shipping , many of which are Tradesmen , being discouraged through the great Taxes that are laid on Coals , Ships , &c. with other Charges belonging thereto , Coals amounts to 1 l 14 s 5 d per London Chaldron , before deliver'd in the Pool , as appears by a Printed Case , delivered the last Sessions of Parliament : And they finding by these Discouragements that People in the adjacent Counties to the River of Thames , and other Navigable Rivers , fall upon Burning Wood , Turff , &c. in great Quantities , which formerly burnt Coals . And likewise there being in a great Storm about Two hundred Sail of their Ships lost , discourageth the Owners from Venturing to Sea . So that those Masters that lost their Ships , by Reason of the Discouragement aforesaid , want Employment , and many of the Coal-Ships are sent to other Places ; which has been chiefly occasioned by this said Tax . All this will much lessen the Importation of Coals , and prevent the Breeding of Seamen , for want of Building Ships , to make the aforesaid great Loss , and other Losses , both before and since , Good .

II . The poor Seamen , Watermen , Fishermen , &c. that burn Coals , though it should be but one Chaldron each Family per Year ; yet they being Impressed to Man the Navy Royal , there Wages being 23 s per Month , which is but 14 l , 19 s . per Year , out of which 40 s for Coals , and 3 l or 4 l per Year for House-Rent , the remainder cannot maintain their Families they leave behind them , but they must want ; which proveth an Addition to their Hardship , and is a great Discouragement to some of the most Serviceable People of the Kingdom , who are so constantly exposed for its Defence at Sea .

III . The Brewers ; Some of them burn Four or Five hundred Chaldron of Coals a Year : Which said Tax will lye hard upon them , together with the great Duty of Excise , and they paying to other Taxes their Quota , as well as others which pay nothing to this , seemeth exceeding hard , and , it s feared , hath and will be , if not prevented , a means to cause them so little to boil their Drink , sold about this City and Suburbs , that it may cause Distempers among the People .

IV . Likewise the Glassmen of London , who have by their Ingenuity arrived to such a degree of Perfection in their Art , that English Glass hath the Preference : But by this Tax both upon Coals and Glass , it 's fear'd , will prove not only a Discouraging their Market at home , but also to its Vent in Foreign Markets , and prove hurtful to the Endeavours of other of aur English Mechanicks hereafter , to out-vie other Nations in their respective Arts also .

V. The Dyers , burn great Quantities of Coals , and cannot dye the Woollen Manufacture of this Kingdom so cheap as they might if the Tax were off ; which will be a means to hinder our Merchants from Selling at other Markets as cheap as other Merchants ; and thereby will give the Dutch Opportunity to undersell us , they having their Coals from Newcastle , &c. and pay , if carried in our English Ships , but 3 s per Chaldron for the same we pay 10 s , or thereabouts to this very Tax , besides other Charges : All which tendeth to the Discouragement of our English Woollen Manifacture , as well as to the Trades , &c. aforesaid .

And therefore it is hoped this House will take the multitude of Complaints , of this Tax , into their serious Consideration , and ease the Traders and Poor of this great City and Suburbs from this Hardship .