Quantities of our Worsted Manufactures, and sends us little of its own save wrought Silks, whereof we shall every Year Import less as we encrease that Manufacture here; but above all I esteem the _African_ and _West-India_ Trades most profitable to the Nation, as they imploy more People at home, and encourage Navigation abroad, all their Product is our Wealth, and hath been a means to ballance our Losses this War, and yet they might be better improved to our Advantage; but the _French_ Trade is certainly our Loss, _France_ being like a Tavern, with whom we spend what we get by other Nations; 'tis strange we should be so bewitch'd to that People, as to take off their Growth which consists chiefly of things for Luxury, and receive a value only from the Esteem we put on them, whilst at the same time they prohibit our Manufactures, in order to set up the like amongst themselves, which we encourage by supplying them with Materials; and not only so, but they lay a Tax on our Ships for fetching away their Product, which must else perish on their Hands. [Sidenote: The Ballances of Foreign Trades.] The Ballance of that Trade is always against us, from whom we have in Goods more than we Ship them; The Ballance of _Spain_ and _Portugal_ is always in our Favour; as for the _Dutch_, _Germany_, and _Hamburgh_, their Ballances in Trade are not yet agreed on, some think we ship them most, others that we receive most from them, I encline to the former, the Exchange at all times seems to confirm me therein, and tho' a Pound in _Holland_ is now worth above a Pound sterling, yet I judge it to proceed from the great Remittances we are forced to make for our Armies, which the Exchangers know how to improve to their own Advantage; the Northern Crowns supply us with more than they take from us, but the Commodities we have from them are better than Money; _Turky_ takes Money from us, yet is very beneficial; _Italy_ will grow more and more in its Ballance on our side every year, as the Importation of Wrought Silks is lessened and turned into Raw and Thrown; Now considering that almost the whole World is supplyed by our labour, and that our Plantations do daily bring us such Incomes, 'tis strange if this Nation should not grow Rich, which doubtless it would do above all its Neighbours were things well managed. [Sidenote: What Nations do chiefly cope with us in our Manufactures.]