In the time of Charles II., an act was passed for the erection of manufactories (Par. I, Sess. I, Cap. 40), by which it is enacted, that no native or stranger is to export wool nor skins with wool upon them, until made into work, or put to the best advantage, under the pain of first value thereof, half to the king, and half to the informer. It is also, in this act, ordered, "that none forestall the mercat of wooll, nor keep up the same to a dearth, under the pain against regrators and forestallers, and that for eschewing the deceit of putting stones, or the like stuffs therein, no wooll be wrapt up in the fleece, under the pain of confiscation, half to the king, and half to the discoverer and pursuer, declaring always that the Exchequer may licence the export of wool and skins, as they shall see cause." The French refugees, in 1635, brought money and talent into England, and contributed greatly to the erection of manufactories for _slight_ stuffs, and other French fabrics, never before made in England. The former law for burying in woollen not being well observed, it was repealed by an Act of Parliament, in the thirtieth year of that king (cap. 3.), which enacted a register to be kept in every parish, by the incumbent or his substitute, that every thing about the corpse of the deceased was made of sheep's wool, of which an affidavit was to be made by the relation of the deceased, and lodged with the incumbent, under the penalty of £5, a moiety of which went to the poor of the parish; the rest to the informer. But this was a sorry check, as vanity was so predominant among the rich, that they paid the penalty rather than want the pleasure of adorning their departed relatives with lace and linen. In 1667, France supplanted England in many foreign markets, owing to the care that Colbert at that time took to bring the French woollens to perfection. The English immediately turned their attention to other manufactures, in which, as in that of paper, they quickly excelled, and thus compelled the French to abandon markets, in which they had long remained without a rival. In 1698, a problem was started concerning the manufactures of the country--whether or not a general linen manufacture would prove beneficial to England? As London at this time abounded with new projects and schemes, all promising as usual a hoard of wealth, the question caused much excitement. It was at last determined that a novelty of this kind would lead to the sowing of a great quantity of flax in England, and the neglect of the woollen manufacture, which would follow, might probably lower the price of land; for, as they said at the time, "it requires about twenty acres of land to breed wool, for setting on work the same number of hands which one acre of flax would employ; and yet, in the end, the woollen manufacture will be found to employ by far the greatest number of hands, and yield the most profit to the public, as well as to the manufacturers."