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England, for the Increase of their Trade, and Encouragement of Their Manufactures, by Daniel Defoe

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Title: An Humble Proposal to the People of England, for the Increase of their Trade, and Encouragement of Their Manufactures
Whether the Present Uncertainty of Affairs Issues in Peace or War

Author: Daniel Defoe

Release Date: May 15, 2010 [EBook #32384]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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AN HUMBLE PROPOSAL
TO THE
PEOPLE OF ENGLAND,
For the Increase of their
TRADE,
And Encouragement of their
MANUFACTURES;
Whether
The present uncertainty of Affairs
issues in
Peace or War.

By the Author of the COMPLETE TRADESMAN.

_LONDON_:

Printed for CHARLES RIVINGTON, at the _Bible_ and
_Crown_ in St. _Paul's_ Church-Yard: 1729.

(_Price One Shilling._)

PREFACE TO THE PEOPLE OF ENGLAND.

It deserves some notice, that just at, or soon after writing these sheets,
we have an old dispute warmly revived among us, upon the question of our
trade being declined, or not declined. I have nothing to do with the
parties, nor with the reason of their strife upon that subject; I think
they are wrong on both sides, and yet it is hardly worth while to set them
to rights, their quarrel being quite of another nature, and the good of
our trade little or nothing concerned in it.

Nor do they seem to desire to be set right, but rather to want an occasion
to keep up a strife which perhaps serves some other of their wicked
purposes, better than peace would do; and indeed, those who seek to
quarrel, who can reconcile?

I meddle not with the question, I say, whether trade be declined or not;
but I may easily show the people of England, that if they please to
concern themselves a little for its prosperity, it will prosper; and on
the contrary, if they will sink it and discourage it, it is evidently in
their power, and it will sink and decline accordingly.

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