hibiting the export or import of merchandise by English subjects in any but English ships, "other foreign princes," says this recital, "finding themselves aggrieved with the said several acts, as thinking that the same were made to the hurt and prejudice of their country and navy, have made like penal laws against such as should ship out of their countries in any other vessels than of their several countries and dominions; by reason whereof there hath not only grown great displeasure between the fo reign princes and the kings of this realm, but also the merchants have been sore grieved and endamaged." The damage sustained by the merchants of course consisted in the monopoly freights they were obliged to pay for the carriage of their goods, the effect of which was to diminish trade by diminishing consumption, and a share in the pressure of which was borne by every consumer in the kingdom. The law was now so far relaxed that merchandise was allowed to be exported and imported in foreign bottoms upon the payment of aliens' customs; and the two great companies of the Merchant Adventurers and the Merchants of the Staple were further empowered, twice in the year, to export goods from the river Thames in foreign vessels, on payment only of the ordinary duties.
Many particulars respecting the foreign commerce of England at the commencement of the reign of Elizabeth have been preserved by Ludovico Guicciardini (nephew of the great historian of Italy) in his Description of the Netherlands, which was written about this time. The Dutch, he tells us, were wont to import annually to Bruges upwards of 1200 sacks of English wool, worth 250,000 crowns. And "it is marvellous," he adds, " to think of the vast quantity of drapery imported by the English into the Netherlands, being undoubtedly, one year with another, above 200,000 pieces of all kinds, which, at the most moderate rate of 25 crowns per piece, is 5,000,000 of crowns, or 10,000,000 of Dutch guilders (above 1,000,000l. sterling); so that these and other merchandise brought to us by the English, and carried from us to them, may make the annual amount to be
