The Butlers having returned to their right mind, and Fitzmaurice being reduced to wandering with a few followers, Sidney busied himself chiefly with the affairs of the North. His marvellous power of despatching causes, his extraordinary knowledge of Irish septs and alliances, and his untiring industry, were the theme of general admiration; and the lightning rapidity of his movements struck terror into Irish hearts. Before he could bring the Northern chiefs to any settlement offering a chance of permanence, he had to hold two more sessions of Parliament, and to make arrangements for the Presidency of Munster, as he had already done for Connaught. The legislation attempted was chiefly commercial. Thus a Bill, which was at first thrown out in the Lower House by an effort of untutored common sense, was pressed successfully forward by the Government, who thought it important that the ancient staple commodities wool and wool-fells, raw or manufactured, wax, and butter, should not be exported except by the merchants of the staple towns. Such exportation had been already restrained by duties with a view of encouraging Irish manufactures, but the law had not answered expectation, having had the natural result of throwing the trade into French, Scotch, Spanish, and other foreign hands. Instead of repealing the Act which had done so much harm, the true protectionist policy of further restraint was adopted. Manufactured articles, to which linen yarn was added, might be exported by the merchants of the staple at Dublin, Drogheda, Cork, and Waterford, and by the merchants of other borough towns, on paying the custom; and all power of dispensing with the law was taken away from the Irish Government. The raw material had continued to be exported to some extent, but the intention to benefit Irish manufactures by forcibly retaining it was again recorded, and infringement of the monopoly was made felony; the Government being in this case also declared incapable of dispensing with the Act. It was soon discovered that trade could not be forced in this way, and the Queen was besieged by applications for patents, the projectors pretending to cure the evils of one monopoly by creating another. Lancashire and Cheshire had benefited much by Irish yarn, 4,000 hands being employed in weaving it at Manchester alone. The embargo, it was urged, had nearly ruined Manchester, and had not benefited Ireland, where the weavers were few, and the people naturally given to idleness; spinning, of course, requiring no industry. It was admitted that the lack of lawful outlet for the cloth had something to say to the want of weavers, but as the suitors for patents were Englishmen, that side of the question was not pressed.[184] [Sidenote: Monopolies. Prototype of Wood's halfpence.]