.^, ^ ^V.^-.'V?' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) {./ ,.v ^4. i^,^ 1.0 ■ 50 1 2.5 1^ 12.2 i 1.1 iriis 1-25 ill 1.4 I 1.6 V] <^ m A /A 'W '/ Photogr&phic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 m i\ iV :\ \ ^. L O N 3 O N: Printed for J. SCOT T, at the Black Swan, in Pater-Noster-Row, M.DCC.LVII. >- ^ LETTER T O A Member of Parliament, On the Importance of the American Colonies. S I R, • I Am much obliged for your laft Favour, touching the Operations for the enfu- ing Summer, and fincerely wifli we may heartily unite, in Defence of our Co- lonies, in a feafonable Supply of Troops and Ships, which would re-animate our brave Americans^ and give fre{h Spirits to our Soldiers and Sailors, who wi(h for no- thing more than an Opportunity to convince B our [4] our pcrfKiious Enemy, Brjtons arc a» brave a^ ever. I COULD vvifh to be excufed the Tailc you requcA", and extremely pleafed you could h ive nict with Ibme Friend better acquainted Avith our American Colonies, for your Information of their Importance, and the bell: Means of making them moft ufeful to their Mother Country. And though they are under the befl: of Kings, the bed: Syflem of Government, and in the Enjoyment of as many Advantages, perhaps, as any People in the World, the Benefits received from them (though great^are very fmall, to what they might be, was their Country better peopled and improved > it abounding with valuable Iron Mines, Mails, and Timber of various Sorts, for various Ufes ; Pitch, Tar, Tur- pentine, Furs, ^c, a fine Cod and Whale Filliery, large Navigation, of which they annually build feveral hundred Ships, and load with their own Produce for Spam^ Portugal, and Italy ^ Virginia, Carolina, the Wiji'Lidics, and iho. Bay, from whence they arc freighted to Great Britain, with Tobac- co, is] CO, Rice, Naval Stores, Furs, Sugar, Ltrg- wood, &c, in fctum for i?r/V///j Manufac- tures. I Yet, notwithftanding all thefc evident Advantages, and notwithftanding the very Being of our Sugar Illands (from ^vhcnce we draw iminenfe Riches) depends upon the Supplies they receive from the Northern Co- lonies, we have not, as yet, purfued the bed Meafures to promote them, as other Nations, who jufily efteem the Riches of their Plan- tations their own, and do all they can to ex- tend and make them as ufeful as their Situa- tion and Produce will admit. I am forry we have been wanting in the purfuit of thefe Rules and Maxints, as I am for the Infenfi- ^ bility of thofc, who grumble at the Expence of Nova Scotia ; a Settlement of as much Importance to the American^ as G/^^r alter is to the Mediterranean Trade, and i. finitely more beneficial, from its Situation, and Con- veniency for the Fifhery, and Confumption of Englijh Manufadturcs ; as neceflary for the Inhabitants, as they are conducive to the Increafe of our Trade and Navigation. That 1/ [6] That there are many valuable Iron Mines already difcovcrca ana imprr.ved iii hortb yiff'i'rUii f anc that tiu^y have Jinpoitcd as good L^r Ji'in, for frencial, and better for particiiL.f Ulcs. : . well '.rAV/i> to many in Lo/idon^ who xW'Q worked it. So glaring an Infatuation, for fur*; 'f v\\\i\ be, that a free Importation of this niicrelling Staple is not permitted into every Britijh Port» is greatly marvellous to thofe who have com- puted the immenfe Sums of Money, every Year, paid to Foreigners for that Article : It is urged, as I have been informed, the general Importation of Bar Iron, from the Colonies, vvouj^ hurt the Proprietors of the BritiJJ: Iron Mines j which cannot be, until they import more than England v/'ith her own confumes; and whenever that is the Cafe, it will be reafonable to check it; for I would by no Means urge an Indulgence to the Pre- judice of our Mother Country, wherefore, until this valuable Staple fuper-abounds, it is mofl heartily wifhed the general Good of the Nation may prevail in an unreftrained Importation -, and it may not be improper to lay a higher Duty on foreign Iron, as we advance towards the Maturity of our own. The [7] TiiF. advanced Price on Deals, begins to flicw how very intcrcfting they arc to this Nation, and the Prohibition in fome Parts of the Northern Countries, ought to teach us the NecefTity of promoting the Importa- tion from our own Colonies, and the more we import, the more we (hall be convinced of their Utihty, and the fooner a Bounty is given, the fooner we fhali enjoy the Be- nefits which have too long been given to Strangers ; and the vaft Number of Ships employed in the Deal Trade, one would have thought fufHcient to difcover the Ne- cefTity and Importance to a Nation whofc Security and Navigation depends fo much on the Increafe of Sailors ; which this bulky Commodity would create, and which might be cflFcdted by a fmall Bounty on our own^ or Duty on foreign Deals, fufficient to yield the Adventurer his firft Cod and Freight at the Britijh Market, and of Courfe not only enable the A^nericam to pay for more of our EugiiJJo Manufadlures, but fuch a Saving it would be of our EngUjh Oak, as ought [8] ought in Point of Prudence to be prcfervcd (or the Ulc of the Royal Navy. Another ncccfTury and coflly Staple for which feveral Hundred Tlioufands in ready Cafli is paid every Year to Strangers, might be faved by a Bounty on Hemp raifed in A- mericiiy their Soil being as fit for that Pro- duce, as the Soil of any Country in Eu- rope^ and if once become their Staple, would introduce great Numbers of induflrious Peo- ple, bred to that Manufadure, who would gladly exchange the Hardlhip of their North- ern Climes for the plentiful Country of A- mrrica^ where in the Courfe of forty or fifty Years, they might ralfe Hemp futiicient for the Britijh Navigation. PoT-AsH made in our Colonies, would grcatlv increafc our Trade and Navigation ; which, from fome late Experiments, we may reft aifurcd of the Certainty of its Ma- turity, by a fmall Bounty that would yield this Nation good Profit, and fave them large Sums now paid to Foreigners for it. For 4 1 I [9l For Iron, Deals, Hemp and Pot-Aili, the Ballancc againll Great-Britaifi is com- puted a Million Sterling in Cadi, one Year with another, an immenfe Sum indeed, which may be faved and paid for, with our own Produce, increafe our Trade and Na- vigation, multiply our Sailors, and other ufeful Subjeds, in one of the heft Countries in the World, though at a diflant, yet im- portant Part, evidently the Aim and Envy of the French Nation. Naval Stores is the clearcfl: Evidence of the vaft Utility of Bounties on our Plan- tation Produce, and proves bcfides the Be- nefits arifing from the Employment of ma- ny Ships, beiides the Advantage of Pay. mcnt with Britip Manufadlures ; and be- fides fettling, clearing and fitting the Lands for Agriculture. Tar that was formerly purchafed with Money of the Swedes at 3 /. per Barrel, has been fince fold on a Medium, under loj. per Barrel, and often much lower, that with the Bounty, after deducing Freight, Com- miflion, [ 10 1 miffion, G?^. barely yields the Importer his firfl Coft, a Demonftration the falutary Ends propofed by the Eounty, is anfwered in the Maturity of it, and now become fo natural to the People in Carolina ^ &c. that the Ad- vantages alone of clearing their Lands, will for ever oblige them to make a Sufficiency for the Britijh Confumption ; and an Ex- change of the Bounty y will lead them to the raifing of Hemp and making of Pot- Afli, until thofe Staples become as plenty as Pitch and Tar. These important Movements are with the British Parliament, the very Being and Spirit of the British Empire, we have every Thing to hope that may be thought conducive to their Welfare, the Removal of every Impediment to their Growth, and the Encouragement of their Produce by Bounties or otherwife, on the aforefaid Articles, or others that may merit Attention ; and whether an Expulfion of that Claufe in the Ad for promoting the Whale Fifhery, obliging all Ships built and fitted out in North America^ to make their Oil in fome Part [ " 1 Part of Great-Britain^ would not more ef- fectually promote the Increafe of our Na- vigation, intended by the Bounty 5 feems worthy of Confideration. That Impedi- ment removed, and the American Whalers at Liberty to make their Oil at Home, would not only enable them to give their Ships a full Freight, and fhip other Sailors to bring their Oil to the Britijh Market, but they would be at Hand to improve the Sea- fon for killing Whales on their own Coatls, without being expofed to a European Voy- age, which they dread from the Terrors of the Small Pox, an Indulgence this, in my Apprehenfion, without Rifque of Impofi- tbn, to be prevented by Certificate of their Voyage, fworn before the Governor and Council, as in the Plantation Bounty on Tar, where and when the Whales were killed, and when and where the Oil, &c» was made. The foregoing Impediments to an im- portant Branch of our Navigation, has led me to the Confideration of the ;iernicious Duty ovi foreign Melajfes^ in my Judgment, C one I' [ 12 ]. one of the greatefl: Impediments to the Tn- crcafe of the Northern Colonies. Melafles being an Article of fuch general Ufe, the People cannot cultivate their Lands or carry on their Fiihery without it -, Fadls well known to many in this Ifland, who have felt the Extremities of the Seafonsinthat Coun- try, and can atteft, that to the Hu{bandmaii in Summer, it is Death to drink Beer or Water in the Field ; and without a Mixture of Rum in the Winter, it is impoffible to endure the Cold : Sure then we may humbly hope the Abatement of a Duty on an Article fo necef- fary and ufeful, and that tends fo much to the Well-being of the Inhabitants from Georgia to A vfoundland, at leaft 2000 Miles, and that more or lefs affed:s every Man who confumcs, or that is in any Shape concern- ed with the North American Produce, with- out any Advantage at all, fave to a few Weji India Gentlemen, who have made great For- tunes by running and diflilling French Me- lalTcs into Rum, not only to tlie Prejudice of tlie North Americans^ but of the Iflanders, who cannot fubfift if the Northern Colonies are not fupported. Wherefore it is moft heartily IS e r '3 ] heartily wifhed the Trade of all the Ameri- cans may be put on fuch an Eftablifhinentj as fliall bell promote their mutual Welfare, and moft conduce to the general Good of their Mother Country, which cannot be, whilfl any of them enjoy Benefits to the Prejudice of the other, as the Iflanders have done ever fince the Year 1733, the Northern Colonies having fcarce had any MclalTes from our own Iflands, except from Jamai- cay fince the Commencement of the Adt -, and I am confident of a chearful Obedience in the North Americans^ to a reafonable Duty on foreign Sugars, and an abfolute Prohibition on all foreign diflill'd Spirits ; and I fincerely wifli a perpetual Prohibition to the French Trade, which I am convinced has ever been rather prejudicial than bene- ficial to the Colonies, Melafifes the only Arti- cle that can help them, they can get but little of, and what they do get, Brandy,Winc, and Silks are tack'd to it, which they had much much better be without, than fupply an a- vow'd Enemy with Bread, Flour, and o- ther Neceffaries, ^o per C^;/^ cheaper than they could be fupplied from Old France, to the [ H ] the Hurt of our Fiflicry, and Indian Trade ; of which they not only rival us, but they gain fuch an Afcendency over them, as make them Enemies at pleafure. A Matter that has long groan'd for Bri tains Interpofition, though never more than at the prefent cri- tical Conjundlure, to guard againft Supplies from her own unnatural Children, whofe Thirft of Gain douhles the Danger of a per- fidious Enemy, from whom we fliould not have much to fear, if we were honefl and true to ourfelves. 1 hope thefe Hints will not be ilighted, however oppofite to the Dodrine induftrioufly propagated by Frejich Advocates, that we had better fupply them with Provifions, &c. than let others j a Doc- trine fomewhat more unnatural than infuring their Ships, that leads fo direct to their Efcape. And which fhall lead me to ano- ther Confideration little thought of, tending to the further Improvement and Security of our Colonies, as well as the Eafe of this Me- tropolis, in the Removal of the Crouds of troublefome Beggars that throng the Streets, fome through perverfc Obftinacy, and 0- thers through Idlenefs abufc the Humanity of I [ '5] of the moll charitable City in the World, by making themfelves, but are not the Ob- jed:s they appear to be, whilft another Set of unhappy Men, confined in Gaols by their cruel Creditors, would gladly give their lad Farthing to obtain their Liberty, and for ever thank the Government for a PafTage to America^ where they would foon become ufcful to the Community y and if Beggars would not willingly embark, they fhould be compelled to earn their Bread ; thus would ■ our Streets be cleared of Vagabonds, and the Prifons emptied of unfortunate Debtors, by whofe Settlemcn' on the Borders of our Colonies, we might exped: a favourable Turn to the IndianSy who, by Nature fagacious, when they faw the 'Englip fo near them, and fuperior in Numbers, would court our Alliance againft the French, Another unhappy fet of Men, who by their Atrocity have made themfelves obnox- ious, and by their Crimes forfeited their Lives ; though by the frequency of Execu- tions, the Terrors of Death are fo far loft as not to anfwer the End propofed by it. Yet they arc [ i6] are not altogether unworthy of our Thoughts, and if fome other Punifhment (as there are Punifliments more dreadful to bad Men than Death) could be inflicted, whereby the Pub- lick may be fatisfied, and the Lofs of Life prevented, by fome Mark that no Art could efface, and condcmn'd for Life to work on the publick Roads, or Tranfported to attend on thofe who guard the frontier Setdements in America* And be thereby rendred ufeful to the Publick, in the Eafe and Security of the Hufbandman, and others expofed by their Employments, to the Innovations of the Indians j for it is a melancholy Reflec- tion, that fome Method or other has not been difcovered for the Salvation of Num- bers that ought, in good Policy and Hu- manity, to be faved. Amongst others, though feemingly dif- tant, the following Confideration immediate- ly concerns the Welfare of the Colonies, and fupplicates Redrefs from the Mother Country; even allowing the general Charac- ter of the People, that they are clofely e* nough attached to their Intereft j yet it is evident ■' ;fte--*fe>tiw>fm»'rwiitii nLWi [ 17] evident they have long criminally negledcd the Cultivation of their Lands, to the Sur- prize of their Friends, and Joy of their E- nemies -y a Fatality having hitherto attended every Effort tending to the right Improve- ment of their Country, in a great Degree owing to a wretched Infenfibility, efpecially in New England^ that has prevailed in ima- ginary Riches, of vaft Trads of wafte Lands, from being really fo in their Improvement ; and to this Day they remain obftinate, hav- ing obtained them for a Trifle, they hold the Terms of Settlement fo very high, that the Induftrious, who would improve them, dare not undertake it. An Impediment this, the the greateft that can happen to a Country in its Minority j and, though of the laft Im- portance, without the Interpofition of Par- liament, it is probable may never be re- moved. It is, therefore, greatly wiflied, a 'Penny Sterli?igj per Acre^ may be levied on all wafte Lands in America, where the Pro- prietor fhall not conform to the Terms fixed by the Legiflature, and the Tax applied as a Bounty on Hemp, to be paid in Propor- tion to the Quantity raifed ; though it is pro- bable I''- •H ii [ i8 ] bable fuch as would flupidly continue in their Error, will fay, it is needlefs for the Britijh Parliament to intermeddle with an Affair that lies more properly with the Government to which the Lands appertain ; but fuch Ob- jedion muft vanifh, when it is known the major Part of the Proprietors are Members of their General Court, who have hitherto oppofed this falutary Tax, as moft affeded by it. This is a tender Point I own. The Bri- tijh Parliament, to their lafting Honour, have never interfered with Charter Governments, but when abfolutely neceflary for the public Utility ', and here, without the Gift of Pro- phecy, a Man may affirm, without fome Check or other to the Monopoly of Lands, the Province of the Majfachufefs Bay will never be peopled nor improved as it fhould be. But before we quit this Subje(5l, I muft beg your Attention to the Report of the Day, touching the Supplies for North America^ whither any Thing more than Coffee-Houfe News I cannot advife you ; if with any Foundation I am ferry for it 3 to me it ap- pears a Matter of fuch Moment, as ought to be well thought of at this critical Conjunc- ture, [ 19] ture ; efpecially if any Regard Is to be had to the DiftreiTcs of the People, that are but to6 evident to admit a Thought of any additional Burdens ; wherefore, however plaufible fuch a Projed: may at firft View appear, upon a fe- cond, 1 am pcrfuaded,it mufl be efteemcd very ill timed to talk of new Taxes upon a People whofe Country is invaded by enterprifing cru- el Enemies, and for whofe immediate Aiiifl- ance, the united Prayers of the Nation fur- round the Throne, is whimfical enough : No, let us rather exert our utmofl Efforts to rid them of their troublefome Enemies ; for the frefcnt ^lejiinn is not about Taxes, but it is ^whether England or France jlmll be Mafler of North America. And as this is the Cafe, I cannot think we can be at any Lofs to de- termine which is moil probable to decide it, new Taxes, or repealing an old one that has been fo long grievous to the People ; for, if I am rightly informed, the Sixpence a Gal- lon Duty on foreign Melaffes (feldom or ever paid) is to be reduced to one Penny, and therewith the Cuftom-Houfe Officers, ^c, (now paid at home) are to be paid in the Plan- tations, and the Drawback on Exportation of D fo- ■I [ 20 1 reign Produce from Londony to be taken ofF, and a Duty of Ten/tr Cent, paid on their Im- portation into the Colonies ; however feafi- ble thefe Alterations may appear in Times of Peace, they appear unfeafonablc in Time of War; and if, hereafter, any fuch Tax fliould be thought eligible, it ought, even then, to be fo cautioully framed, as not to burden the Fiflicry (that rich Nurfer}' for Sailors) or any other Staple that needs nurfing ; left for an imaginary Good, we create a real Evil, and, perhaps, a Tax on Superfluities, Gfr. the only Tax that ought, in point of Pru- dence, to operate at all, may meet with fome Oppolition. Suppofe it were India Goods, and the Drawback not only taken off, but a Duty paid in the Plantations, what would become of the Trade of the India Company ^^ wherefore, if any fuch Scheme has been planned, it is to be hoped, it will be laid afide for the Prefent j and, inftead of new Taxes, let us ftudy until we find out every Impediment to the Growth of our Co- lonies, and let us not forget the moft Infant Settlement of Nova Scotia, and the Neceffity of the fiimc eftablillied Form of Govern- ment [ 21 ]• ment there, as in the other Provinces around them, the mofl effcdtual Means to revive and cf^ablilh the Fifhery, for which the Place is the bell formed, by Nature, of any in A' merica, and, ol Couifc, mull thrive bed under a Civil, Annapolis Royal being a melancholy Proof of the Impradtability of eilablilhing a Colony under a military Government ; and, when a good Plan is fettled, let us not forget the Government that is bcfl adminiftered is beft, in a proper Care to appoint fuch Oflicers as will faithfully execute the Laws, and pu- nifh thofe that negled their Duty. And. if it be, as fomc have hinted, there are too many People in Office, let their Numbers be re- duced, and a flridl Examination made into their Law Proceedings, which, it is likewife faid, are numerous and exccfiive j and it may not be arnifs to examine the Conduct of thofe who make the Place an Afylum toward their ncceffitous Debtors, and if, as fome complain, they excrciie Cruelty towards them, they fliould forfeit their Protcdion. Such Reforms muft give an agreeable Turn to the Place, and engage new Settlers to [ 22 ] to come amongft them ; and I think it would not be ill judged to prevent the Incrciiic of Lawyers, which arc not eftccmed the befl Friends to an infant Settlement, nor, indeed, to any Settlements at all ; therefore thcVVilh and Prayer of every Friend to the Briiijb Em- pire. Their Number may be limited (at leall:) in the Colonies, as they were in England^ in the Reign of King KdwardWX. The Judges and their Salaries equal to their Dignity and Importance, and a Time fixed for the De- finitive Judgment of all Caufes. Such fa- lutary Inflitutions would reconcile jarring Interefls, banifli litigious Members, or make them become peaceable, and introduce ho- ncfl:, induftrious Inhabitants, the befl: Secu- rity and truefl Riches of a Country. Tnii: foregoing Confidcrations, however diflailcful to thofc who envy Britain her v;\luable PollciTions in America^ are as evi- dently conducive to her true Riches and Se- curity, as they are to the Growth and Im- provement of her Colonies, and both as ne- ccii'ary to be purfued, as it is to eradicate the unnatural Sufpicion of their becoming one IL. [ »3 1 one Time or other independent 5 with as much Rcalbn, a Man may rcfule to buiid or repair a valuable Houfe, &c. for fear of its being burned j an Abfurdity to which there is too much Rcafou to iinpute former Neglects, wliich ought now to be banillied from our Minds, left tiic Dregs of it fliould fatally impede the Purfuit, or abate the Ar- dour of the prefent Mcafures to rid that important Country of its perfidious Enemy, the Senfe and Spirit of every honeft Man in the Nation. I HAVE, notwithftanding the Brevity of my Remarks, by the Importance of my Sub- ject, been unavoidably led beyond the Bounds of a Letter, which I am fure you will not only excufe, but pardon every Defcd, as well as accept an honeft Intention for your Information of the Importance of our Colo- nies ; the bcft Methods to remove the Impe- diments to their Profpcrity ; and multiply the Benefits derived, and others we may derive from them, that have enabled us to incrcafe our Navy, and make the moft confiderable Figure in the Mercantile World 5 that the Produce 1 , i il !) [ «4 3 Produce of the Colonies do not, and if we puriiie the foregoing Hints, never will in- terfere with the Produce or Manufadlurcs of their Mother Country ; whofe Intereft it is to obtain a thorough Knowledge of what they arc capable of producing, and by Boun- ties or otherwife, promote fuch Staples as fhe is obliged to purchafe with Money of Strangers, which will difcover to her, many Benefits too long negledied by an ill-ground- ed Jealoufy, the Caufe of French Encroach- ments, and the Calamities of the prefent Day j and by a hearty Purfuit, and right Im- provement of the foregoing Staples, a Re- peal of the Melajfes ko, a Tax on their wafte Land, laying afide the Thoughts of any other Tax at prefent, and exerting our Strength iu their Defence, Britain may foon enjoy that Independency, which they are juflly entitled to from the innumerable Benefits derived from her Colonies. 1 V^'T ' FINIS. t > • >M- t * 1 ; '^»!-., I