Those who cope with us in our Manufactures are chiefly, the _French_, _Dutch_, and _Ireland_; as to the latter, it lies in our Power to give Rules to them; and for the _French_, let due care be taken to prevent their being supply'd with Wool from hence and _Ireland_, and we shall soon see an alteration therein; 'tis true they are of more danger than the _Dutch_, because they have more Wool of their own, but this they cannot work without ours or Irish; The Commodities they make are generally pretty slight Stuffs, wherein they use a great deal of Combing Wool, and these they not only wear themselves, but send to _Portugal_ and other Places with good Success, to countermine which we have fallen on the same by Assistance of the _French_ Refugees; I wonder at the fancy of those who are always finding fault that we do not make our Manufactures as good and as strong as formerly we did, wherein I think they are to blame, for we must fit them to the humours of the Buyers, and slight Cloth brings an equal Profit to the Nation with strong, and gives the same Imployment to our People; yet where Seals and other Marks are set I would have them be certain Evidences to the truth of what they certifie, either to the length of the Peece, or that the inside is suitable to the outside, or that 'tis truly wove, and without Flaws; the same in respect to the Colour, that 'tis woaded, or madder'd, or the like; and I take it to be a great deal of difference between this and obliging the Manufacturer to make his Cloth or Stuff to a certain weight and thickness, without any respect to the humour of the Buyer, or the Climate of the Country to which it is sent; As for the _Dutch_, as I take them to be no good Planters, so no good Manufacturers, their Heads are not turned that way, but rather to Navigation and Traffick, they were once famous in the Art of Cloth-making, which was maintained by the Wool they fetch'd hence, but King _Edward_ the III. considering the Advantage they made by imploying their People with our Growth whilst our own stood still, prohibited the Exportation of Wool, and the Importation of Foreign Cloth, and cunningly perswaded the _Dutch_ Manufacturers by Priviledges granted them to settle here; if then the prohibiting Wool to be carried out had so good an effect at a time when cloathing was the great Support of that People, why should not our greater Care to prevent it now have a far better, when the whole Trade of that Nation seems to be in the _United Provinces_, and they chiefly set on Buying and Selling? We cannot hinder them from _Spanish_ Wool, but we may from our own and _Irish_: As for _Scotland_ and _Sweeden_, their Manufactures will come to nothing, and it would be the great Wisdom of this Nation to encourage them to bring all their Wool hither, though at some charge to the Publick; as for _Germany_, the Woollen Manufacture is not so natural to them as the Linnen, which they would soon turn to, if we gave them Encouragement by