and draw it away from Merchants Strangers, that gat the whole Gain from us, if they refused to submit themselves to the Laws and Ordinances of our Land. For, as our Laws stood in old time, that Merchants could not make any Exchange of Money over the Sea from hence without the Queen's License; so then they must of necessity employ the Money of their Wares brought in and sold, in our Commodities, or else to be charged to have imported the same out of the Realm, and never should be able to deny it. Which Commodities of the Realm, when the Stranger could not transport as cheap as the English Merchant might, by reason of the high Customs he must pay, then would he leave the Trade to our own Men. And so by this means all Merchants Strangers would leave the Realm, being not able to use Exchange as they were wont to do, by delivering the same unto our Men under the true Valuation of our Standard; whereby they had impoverished the Land a long time of many thousand Pounds a Year, and also had most pitifully bitten our Merchants by the said Change, Rechange, Interest and Usury. In this Suit Fabian continued till the Year 1590. but whether ever granted, I know not.

The main Matter that awakened these old Laws of Employment, was, that the whole Trade of Spain, Portugal, Flanders, Artois and Brabant was then in the Hands of the Low-Country Men, and of the French. The Popes Allom also consigned to Philip Corsini. And they all made no Employment of the Wares brought in and sold. And so were in danger of spoiling the Realm.

By what is said above it appears, that these Strangers were not without the Envy and Ill Will of the English, among whom they came to sojourn. They grumbled, and so Fabian complained to the Lord Treasurer, how that if any Commodity happened to be in request, by and by the Stranger Leger gave Advice on the other side of the Sea. And if the Commodity were foreign, they had it here with the first, and enhanced the Price on the other side. And that by this means the whole Trade of Wares almost came into their hands, the English Merchants excluded, that were wont only in former times to be made rich thereby. But if the Commodity were of our own native Country, they ran upon it likewise, enchancing the Price here, and set it away, taking the first Market on the other side. That they enchanced their Commodities at their Wills and Pleasures, to the Discommodity and Hindrance of the Commonwealth. That they bought and sold among themselves, to the Hindrance of Freemen. That they were wont to defraud the Queen of her Customs by their subtle Devices, &c. And about the Merchants Strangers Exchange, Peter Osborn, the Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer, shewed what an Inconvenience that was to the English Nation. Which Objection he said, all the Italians in the World, nor the Low-Country Men, should ever be able to answer.

This also appeared by the Displeasure that was taken at the many useful Manufactures brought in and set up here in London, and other Places of the Realm, by the Strangers; pretending, the great Loss the Queen sustained in her Customs hereby, as well as other Disprofits to the Subject. Concerning which, Thomas Smith, the Queen's Customer, wrote thus to the Lord Treasurer, being required thereunto. "That he had sought out, as near as he could, the certainty of the Queen's Losses and Hindrances in her Customs inwards, by the late Increase of made Wares here, which were accustomed to be brought into this Realm, and answered her Highness Custom and Subsidy for the same, at the least to the Value of 1000l. yearly, which did arise in these Commodities following, viz. striped Canvas, striped Sackcloth, tuft and plain Mocadoes, Norwich and Sandwich Grograms, Searges, Sayes, Draperies and Tapestries, and all kind of Fringes, and Laces of Gold, Silver and of Crewell, besides Bays and Frizadoes. Of which Commodities in time past was very few, or none at all, made here. Furthermore, that he had learned, that there was a great number of Bays made in England at Sandwich, Norwich, Colchester, and Thetford: whereof many were spent there, and many were sent for Portugal, Spain, and the Low-Countries. That he had also learned, that the number of Bays making here did much hinder and decay the making of Welsh, Cheshire, and Manchester Cottons, and of other coarse Cloths made in the North Parts, as Northern Cottons,Cardinal Whites, Northern Streittes, Northern Checks, and Penistones; and also of Pyndewhites and Playnes, made in the West Country. That the Decay of the making of these Commodities, did not only hinder the Queen's Custom outwards, but also a great number of the Poor, which were wont to be set on work by the same. For he had learned, that the Strangers set few English on work. And lastly, that the making of Bays, Frizadoes, and such like here, did much raise the Price of Wools and Fells in this Realm; whereby here Majesty was much hindred in her Customs outward of the Staple."

And that the Citizens still stand alike ill affected towards these Strangers, appears from their late Endeavours to hinder the Naturalizing of them; which was much used in the Reign of the late King William; shewing to the Parliament the Inconvenience thereof, in a Paper, entitled,

AS it hath been the Prudence of the Princes (Kings and Queens) of this Nation, always to take care to make a Distinction between natural born Subjects, and Aliens of other Kingdoms; and have never encouraged, nor indeed tolerated them in any thing further than that which might one way or other be for the Interest of their Native Subjects: So it has no less been their Care of the Great and Populous City of London, to preserve the Trade thereof to the Native Freemen of the same, especially and principally against the Incroachments of Aliens of other Kingdoms. Witness, the ancient Oath administred to every Freeman, who swears not to take the Child of an Alien Apprentice; which clearly points out to us the Mischiefs they apprehended would thereby redound to the Trade of the said City: And Witness also the several Tolls and Duties anciently and time out of mind laid upon the Goods of Aliens imported and exported out of the Port of London, called Scavage, Package, Balliage and Porterage; and for weighing of Goods and Merchandizes, called Tronage; and other things, which in Process of Time are become considerable Revenues of the said City; which said Duties, amongst other things, are as a Security appropriated by a late Act of Parliament for Payment of the perpetual Interest of the Orphans Debts; and other Part thereof doth help to maintain the Charge, and support the Magistracy and Grandeur of the said City. Now by the Naturalizing of Aliens, the Revenue of the City would be greatly lessened, if not totally lost, and the