{Transcription: CUSTOM HOUSE _The_ Custom House _for the Port of_ London, _or Grand Office for the Management not only of the Affairs relating to y^e Exports and Imports of the Opulent City, but of the_ Customs _throughout_ England _according to the Regulations of Parliament. It was built by_ K. Charles _the_ 2^d. Anno _1668, at the Expence of above 10,000 Pounds, the former House being—consumed by the Fire of_ London. _It is a large and gracefull Building, fronting the Water side, very Comodious as well for the Commissioners and the several Officers and Clerks above Stairs, as the Ware houses underneath,—and the Cranes for Landing and Lading the Merch^{nts). Goods.—&c._} Then, again, as to their “forwardness” in trading. In one year and a half the merchants of Holland, Hamburg, and Emden carried off from Southampton, Exeter, and Bristol alone near £200,000 in gold. And perhaps £2,000,000, taking the whole of the kingdom into account. The Dutch alone sent 500 or 600 ships every year to England, while we sent but thirty to Holland. A warning and an example is presented by the fallen and decayed condition of Genoa. Formerly this city was the most prosperous of all trading cities. All nations traded there; but in an evil moment Genoa declared a Customs duty of 10 per cent, which caused the whole of her trade to vanish. Why, again, Raleigh asks, do we not secure for ourselves the magnificent fisheries which lie off our shores? In four towns within the Sound are sold every year between 30,000 and 40,000 casts of herrings, representing £620,000. In Denmark, Norway, Sweden, etc., are sold our herrings, caught on our shores, to the amount of £170,000. This fishery represents over a million sterling in addition to all this. They are herrings caught off our shores, and yet we have no share in this great trade. The Dutch employ a thousand ships in carrying salt to the East Kingdoms; we none. They have 600 ships in the timber trade; we none; they send into the East Kingdoms 3000 ships every year; we 100 only. They carry goods from the East Kingdoms to France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy in 2000 ships; we have none in that trade. They trade to all the ports of France; we to five or six only. They trade with every one of our ports—with 600 ships; we with three only of these ports, and but forty ships. [Illustration: THE SOVERAIGNE OF THE SEAS, BUILT 1637 From a contemporary engraving by John Payne.] We neglect to take advantage of what we have. For instance, we send to Holland our cloth undressed; we let them take, for purposes of trade, our iron, our coal, our copper, lead, tin, alum, copperas, and other things on which we might employ thousands of people, and this country, which produces nothing, is enriched by carrying commodities about the world. The arguments of Raleigh in favour of taking up the fisheries appear elementary. He thus sums up the advantages:—