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R 5^ Jn^ NCERNINO THB S E NT STATE OF THE R ItTI S H EM P I RE; A-, #ARTIGULARI.Y ItBSPSCTINO iinAtural Advantages Md DISADVANTAGES. ^tH^NSTITUTION^ ,A®flICULTURi IV. MANUFACTURES. V. Thtt COLONIES, AND VI. COMMERCE. }:.^ii mik^ ^'"'H!/\iim '1 r Primed Ir W. St RAH AN} and T. CAOEbt, in the Strand* -MpCCLXXIIi \ ■*?v« k €**■ Q.» l4M#M»4^ ';'l « , 1 f ■*•-■ ■•■*> INTRODUCT ION. POLITICS admit of two grand divifions; firft, the politics of things; and, fecondly, the politics of persons. The firft is of univerfal benefit, and can never be too much difcufled ; the latter too often degenerates into party; not, however, to the exclufion of ufeful reafoning. The Author of the prefent State of Europe has given us an admirable example of this better part of peifonal politics. An hundred thouland writers have exhibited the dark fide of the objed. In the POLITICS OF THINGS, wc havc many authors who have done honour to their country ; Petty, — Davenant, — &c. Thefe writers abound principally in fadls ; the knowledge of them in all the variations of which they are fufceptible, cannot but be of great importance to the coUeQive interefts of every country. It is neceflary to msdce a diftinftion between a people colle£iively xaAJeparately confidered; the coUedive interefts are politics; the feparate ones, the private affairs of individuals. The politics of a kingdom require a certain revenue for public expences ; and as the private affairs of individuals are, in a great meafure, dependent on the ftate of the public, the intereft of each is mutual. It is therefore of confequence to every individual, that the col- leQive body of the ftate be rich and powerful enough to maintain its inde- pendency; and to defend, fecure, and proted^ all its members in the variety of intercourfe which is neceftary among neighbouring nations. The complicated political interefts which the numerous improvements and refinements of modern times have given rife to, are all founded, and depend on, revenue. In luxurious ages, money does every thing. Is a kingdom rich ? An affirmative to this query includes every thing. The eafe of ralfing a fufflcicnt public revenue is the great objeft of ufeful politics. A gentleman at London, who lives in an excellent houfe, well furniftxed; keeps an equipage, and is attended by the fervants he A 3 chufes. ^ ..- ./ ^i CONTENTS. E S S A Y I. GS tke Natural Advantages add Difadvantages of tlie Britifh Dominions^ — — - Page i Thcfe pMticularly refpcfl!, SECT. 1. Situation* — — — ibid. n. CKrtiate, ^-^ — *- — . — 6 ' m. Extent, — — — — ft IV. Soil, and its Produdions, «>— — — la V, Riven and Ports, — — — — 15 ESSAY II. Of the Conftitution of the Britiih Dominions,. »9 S £ C T. L A general View of the prefent Liberties of Mankind, and thofe of Britain in particular, IL Of the Reprefentation of the People, m. Of the Reprefentatives, — — — rV. Of the Rojal Authority, — V. Liberty relulting^ fbom the Harmony of the WhoIe» VL. Of the Duration of the Conftitution^ — ibid, sa 41 44 48 50 ESSAY IIL Of the prefent State of Agricidture in the Britifh Dominions, 74. SECT. I, General Remarks, II. Indqiendency, III. Populoufnefs, IV. Richfs, V. Prefent State, VI.: Improvements, — ibid. 76 84 no 114 ■ — 159 E S S A Y IV. Of the prefent State of Manufactures in the Britifh Dominions, 173: SECT. I. Thofe from our own ProduSs, — 174. II, Thofe from foreign Produds^ — 190 ni. Population, — — — i- ip^ IV. Comparifbn between thofe of Britain and of other Coun- tries, — — — jgg, V. Means of promoting them* [ >? * \ — — 303; 6 ' ESS AT *« .' '•1 i»p ! "^^■PWI—p. E ; ; k Ym " ^CONTENTS. ESS \ Y V. Of the prefcnt State of the Britifh Colonies, D Page Q,z6 M SECT. I. Prefent State in refped of Situation, Population, Agrieul* tore, Manufactures, and Labour^ " ' '■» • 337 II. Staple Commodities, — — ■ - tj^i^ III. Benefits refuhing to Britain from their Settlements, 329 IV. Defeats in their Eftablifhment, and the Means of reme- dying them, — — ' — —7— 360 V. Security of their remaining under the Dominion of Bri- tain, — — 416 IV. Comparifon between them and the Colonies of other Na- tions, ■ ■ ' I ■ ,.^ I • '■■■■ 433 . VII. Of forming New Settlements, ' '" ' — 448 . E S S A Y VI. ' ^^' Of the Prefent State of the Comniterce of Great Britain, 481 SECT. I. Britifli Commerc* wi'tii the3aitic, — - 482 II. With Holland and Germany, — — — 485 III. With France, — ^^— — 486 IV. With Portugal, -*— ^ . , — 490 V. With Spain, — - — 491 VI. With Italy, — - — ' 492 VII. With the Levant, — 493 VIII. The Coafting'Trade, — — . ; 495 IX. The Inland Commerce of Great Britain, — 500 X. The Plantation Tradt, — 501 XI. The BritiOi Fiftieries, r^— 502 XII. The Eaft India Trade, r-— 511 XIII. The African Ti-ade, — - r— 53 6 XIV. General, State of Shipping, Navigation, Tonnage, and Sea- men, ' — — — - 528 XV. Of the Balance of Trade, — • — r- -533 ..XVI. Comparifon between the Commerce of Great Britain and thatof other Countries, — -j. .— . . S39 VII. Of the Cortfequences of Commerce to the general Welfare of the Nation j the Means of promoting it, and Conjec- tures on its future State, 7-; , — 545 i" jf^:-" ESSAY o . :••?'• Mfl'l'l I ."If. E S S A Y, I. Of the natural Advantages and Difadvantages B'RitxsH Dominions. of the.t nr^ HE SE particularly refpe^ 1. Situation, 2. Climate* ^ ■ ■ ■ 3. Extdit, 4. Soil, and its ProduHunUi. 5. Rivers and Ports» Y iS E C> T. iT. Of their Situation* T'tfE Britifliddniimons cohfift of Oi«tt Britain, Ireland, and divers colonies and fettlements in all parts of the world : there appears not any juft reafon for coniidering thefe countries in any other light ^han as jparts of dfte whole. In a too icommon acceptation of the above title,, fhe European dominions ard only meant j but the Iriffi might as well be ^o\ight foreigners as the coloniils : indeed the connedlion bdtVeen Gf^ Britain and the latter is more intimate than With the former. To d)viate th^itfore any objections which might be formed againil a partial and incbmplete view, the deareft method is to confider them all as form- ing one nation, united under one Sovereign, fpeaking the fame language, and ehjoying the fame liberty, but living in different parts of the world. Nothing is more common than to talk of nine or ten millions of Britifh fuli^e^s (the fuppofed number in- thefe two iflands) and five millions of Spaniards : but why an^f^ not the North Americans to be included in one total, and the Spanifii colbnifts in the other ? Such diftinftions are hf no means juft. '" ' ' • . B ^ The ' K POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay L - The fituation of the Britlfh ddmimons is moft undoubtedly zd^zil^ taji;cous in a ve»y high degree. The European territory being infular, is. a bleirmg of the greateft and moft ftrlking value ; for without recurring; to the connexion between that and a naval power, the benefits of pre- ferving a national charader,— of being more free from the devaftation of land wars than any continental territory can be, — of being fo di(lin£t from other nations, tbat the government may, in a multitude of inftances, W c:::ndud:):ed iii a more fteady» determinate^ and cheaper manner, than' in countries otherwife (ituated: thefe and many other advantages attend an ifland, in whatever part of the world it may be fituated, provided it be of fize fuflicient to contain a nation numerous enough for ielf-defence. Thefe circumftances are almoft equally advantageous in oblcure ages,,. or thofe of commerce and luxury; but there are many others which are |>articula;Iy relative to the latter. In times when trade multiplies the conyeniencies and fuperfluities of life to fuch a degree, that all the produ£lions of one clime become necef« iaries in a thodfand others ; the fituatipn of a country acquires a new relation to the Interefts of its inhabitants; tijefe are the interefts of com- merce :: thofe territories which are fo fituated as ta command the greateft: variety of produ£tions which nece01ty or luxuty renders ufeful, and at th& & me time enjoy the eafieft communication between each other, pofiefs in. this refped the beft fituatioiji'; and,, untefsfome peculiar obftru^onvasifes from government, national character, or fome other fource, will likewife command the g^reateft, commercie. A few inftances will beft explain tbia matteir*. The Spanifh dominions are the. beft fituated^ of any m- every refped,. but that of the principal being a part of the continent. They are the only people that poflefs- a chain of territories around the globe, which; tpight have a continued,, free, and. fpeedy communication from one to> another ; and this fuperiority refijlts from their American ports in the. South Sea,, and their iflands in the midft of it. It is true, they make fcarce any ufe of thefe advantages, but the reality of their exiftence is neverthelefs the famje* No other people can fend a fhip around the world that can touch at fo many neceflary ports of their own ; nor ought we to forget that this chain is every where compofed of corfiderable links. It is true, a break appears between Spain and the Philippine iflands ; but the communication by the weft moft certainly anfwers every purpofe of conjmerce, «- Bus M Sect. I. POLITICAL ESSAYS. But But if we except the infular fituation, and a commercial chain of ter- ritories, and fpeak only of the fituation of a principal dominion confider- able enough to maintain numbers fufficient for defence againft all in- vaders, the trad of country comprehended under the names of the Arabias and Turkey in Afta^ exceeds all others. It is every where fur- rounded by feas, except the line of divifion between that and Perfia, drawn ftraight from the Perfian gulph to the comer of the Black Sea, amd the fmall neck of land which conneAs Afia and Africa. Tliis fitua- tion is incomparable : As a part of the continent, it is more advantageous and compact than any other; and, were it an iiland, it would exceed in Situation all other iflands. By means of the Mediterranean, Red, and Black Seas, it has a prodigious fine communication with Europe and Africa ; itsfouthern coaft opens diredly upon all the countries of the eaft } and the gulph is equally advantageous for a communication with Perfia ;' and the fineft fituation for both empire and commerce in the world. • The fituation of the Britiih dominions, though not equal to that of the Spanilh, is greatly advantageous. All the northern parts of Europe are immediately open to the ports of England and Scotland, and the fouthern ones to thofe of Minorca and Gibraltar. Ireland, and the fouth-weft parts of England, bear immediately upon North America ; on the coaft of Africa her fettlements are coniiderable ; St. Helena lies advantageoufly for an Eaft India voyage ; and in the Indies itfelf the Britifti dominions are fecond to thofe of the Dutch, and of vaft impor- tance in themfelves. Thefe dominions fully enjoy a quick communica- tion from Europe to the eaft and weft ; but when arrived,, there is none from the one to the other : the only point in which Spain is Aiperior. The French are greatly inferior, in the want of ports and colonies of con*- fequence on the continent of North America ; of confiderable fettlements in the Eaft Indies ; and of a fufiicient extent of coaft cut by ports in Europe. The Dutch in the Eaft Indies * are fuperior ; greatly inferior every where dfc. But the great and material point remains : A continental territory of a moderate power in land armies, may be attacked, and If not conquered by a Aiperior one, at leaft involved in a multitude of miferies ; and in a variety of circumftances, no conduct, however prudent, will be fufficient * One great point of the Dutch fuperiority in the Eaft Indies, is the near neighbour- hood of that vail fouthern continent which will one day make fo great a figure in the world : an advantage, although not ufed, yet evidently real. B 2 . for ^■■BMM> 4 POLITICAL .ESSAYS. £^8 AY I. for preventiiig filch evils. Iti the quarrels of bigotry, ambition, or folly, fuch ^ territory may be forced into a part, and find ilfelf defolated by war, without a poffibility of efcape. But how different is the cafe with an ifland ! If the fituation in other refpeds, and the goverament, be. favourable to commerce, a great triade may be raifed, and a navy fortixed and fupported. When once this is effedted, nothing is wanting but pru- dent management in the adminiflration to keep entirely clear of all the quarrels and wars that fpread defolation around her. If a potentate be ever fo powerful by land, of what confequence is it to the iflanders ? He mufl: become fo by fea before they can have reafon to fear his menaces *, But this advantage can rfever attend any continental territory. No people fo connedled with others can have any tolerable fecurity but in extremely formidable armies ; and it would be a very eafy matter to point out from hiftory, how vain fuch a dependence has proved, chiefly from the fcheme* of ambitiotiy not defence^ which fuch. armies occafion f. A nation not numerous enough to keep up powerful armies, poffeffes fcarcely any fecurity; whereas in an ifland, five millions of people may be perfe^ly fecure, tliough not twenty leagues didant from a potentate at the head of thirty millions of fubjefts. The continental nation is infecure with aU her foldiers, and {he cannot render herfelf otherwife with the moft numerous fleets : whatever efforts fhe makes, nothing can give her a quarter of the fecurity which an infular fituation alone confers. It may be afked, where is the infular fecurity, if a continental neigh- bour becomes fuperior by fea? In anfwer to this, it is only neceffary to obfervc, that no earthly advantages yield abfolute lafety ; infomuch that we cannot eftimate any thing but by comparifon. In the cafe here ftated* the fuperiority of an ifland yet remains evident: — fuch more powerful potentate cannot pofiibly carry on an ofFenfive war againft his ifland neighbour with the fame eafe as againft a continental one: only fmaU • La France pcut tranfporter fon artillcrie viflorieufe devant toutes les places d'Allc- magne et de Hollandc j TAngleterre ne craindra la France tant que la marine Fran^oifc ne icra point a craindre. Avar.tages et Defav. de la France et Grande Bntagnt^ i^c. p. Ho. t " Comme Ifle," fays M. d'Angueil, fpeaking of Great Britain, *« pofledant une •' etcndue fuffifantc de tencs fertiles, elle a pu renoncer a refprit, d? conque,te, et n'a point *' tite tcntce d'ajmiter a foil coutinent des terres quiauroient etc a fa bienfeance : difpofition " favorable a Tcfprit de commerce, mais encore a fa liberie ct a fa tranquilite : la conftitu- " tion fcconlerve difficilcment fans alteration dans un etat dont les bornes s'etendent con- " fi itr ..blement. (Ceci foit dit fans application a nos polfefflons en Amerique, qui font des " acquifitions do commerce pliilot que dcs conquetes." Avantages et Dejavantages de la Ftvuit et Gtwtclt Bntagne^ (fc. />. 79. . armi^i SkcT. L POLITICAL ESSAYS. armies can be tranfported by fea ; — fupporting them is infinitely more difficult; nor can the fury of war l*pread as it does on the continent. Add to this, every ofFenfive ftroke depends on the winds, tides, and fecu- rity from the adverfe fleets;. But if we confider that there are only two fpecies of fecurity, the one againft invafions by land, and the other againft thofe by fea ; and that a continental territory muft be deficient in one, without reaping any benefit or fafety from the other ; and, on the contrary, ' that an ifland is neceflarily and abfolutely fecure againft armies, with a ^MTobable ability of being the fame againft navies ; the clear fuperiority of the latter muft be apparent at once.-: Powerful armies fpring up like mushroom 8 in every foil, but formidable fleets can only be built on the foundation of a vaft trade; a fabric not commonly found. What a ftriking advantage therefore is the infular fituation ! Without eVen the defence- of ,a navy,, a nc^ighbour^s power by land cannot offend the happy inhabitants of aa> iftaad ; he muft raife a commerce, command numerous failors, aotd build fleets c^ fhips, before his army can be wafted to its ihores. How different with a continental neighbour ! A general receives has inftruif^ionsi and in fix hours the grim fiend of war fpreads defolation and terror in the country of the unfortunately fituated enemy. Iq refpe£k, however, to the Britifh dominions, it muft be allowed, that it is only the European iflands which, are bleffed with the fecurity of the infular fituation. The American colonies and the Eaft-Indian territories are parts of a continent, and fo far liable to attacks from enemies more powerful by land. I fpeak not of the improbability of fuch attacks in-[ Anaericaj but the fituation remains neverthelefs open to them. If we coriibine in one view the feveral circumftances of fituation, fuch' as fecurity, national character, convenience of government, commerce,. 6v. we fhall find that no people upon earth enjoy fuch advantages as the Britifh nation. Some may be fuperior in 'one quarter of the globe, fome in others: in refpedt of the chain of colonies, Spain maybe fuperior; in the Eaft Indies, the Dutch; but every circumftance included, none' will be found on the whole fo truly complete *. ' ♦ Were Spain and Portugal one kingdom, and feparated by the fea from France, t.hi» circumflance, added to the advantages already mentioncc!, wouJd render it the f^reateft monarchy upon eanh in refpedl of fituation j but ail ihe blefliiii^s of litu 'ion would not. be powerful enough to balance the ill efftds of fuch a mine as Potofi. In point of fitua- tion, with refpea to the furrounding p..its of the globe, Madagafcar is the firft ifland upon earth: 2d. Borneo: 3d. Java and Sumatra: 4th. Japan: 5th. The Britilh ifles: 6th. Cuba. Thefe are the only ones large enough to fupport an entire nation ; but if climate, produaiona, or the fupeiiority of Europe to the other quarters, be conddcred, the fcalc would be very diftcrent. "Hp*" POLITICAL ESSAYS. E^SAY L S E C T. IL Of their Climatem TH E climate of the Britiih dominions is circumlbnced In the happieft manner pofTible. That of the principal in the northern part of the temperate zone, gives that vigour and rdbuftnefs of body which is neceflary to render its inhabitants, phyfically fpeaking, more powerful than any dependent colonies which (he might plant in hotter countries^ A colony from a people living in a very hot climate, tranfplanted into a cold one, would in a few ages infallibly ihake off the yokeof the mother country. The inhabitants of the torrid zone are nearly dependent on thofe of the temperate : a few colonifts and fettlers from colder regions fpread over that fiery country, command it around the whole world. The Chtnefe underfland trade better than any other Indian nation, and therefore have efcaped better. Befides enjoying vaft territories in the temperate zone, they make ufe of the forces raifed in the latter to defend the provinces fituated in the former. The Great Mogul, wanting thefe advantages, is a defpicable potentate, even to an European company of merchants. Were the produdions of Perfia, and the Turk's dominions, as valuable as thofe of Indoftan, thofe countries would be overrun in the fame manner. Again, in America the heat of climate had the fame effe€t ; the variations of heat and cold were felt as exactly as a thermome- ter could tell them in the courage of the Indians : the North American ones, in fpite of the fuperiority of fire-arms, made a furious defence, cut off all the fettlers feveral times, and preferved their liberty to this day. Not one nation was dcflroyed ; a circumftance not only owing to the humanity of the Englifh being fo fuperior to that of the Spaniards, (for had the Indians been weak as women, we may readily fuppofe they would have been fafe) but likewife to the difference between the courage of thofe nations ; the Mexicans and Peruvians were fheep in the paws of wolves ; their climate formed them fo. Nay, this flrong effect of cold on the courage of mankind is fo invariable, that a fmall tribe of people inhabiting a range of mountains fituated even in the torrid zone, are able, from the vigour of their bodies, and the |:ourage of their minds, to diftinguifti themfelves infinitely above all the flothful inhabitants of the hot furrounding plains. From whom did Alexander and Kouli Kan, in Sect. II. POLITICAL E&SAYS. in their cxpeditilions againft Ihdii:, meet wirh a repulfe ? FVoin the AflFgana, a tribe of mountaiQcers. A remarkable fadt, and worthy of rcfledion, that the contrail bclweei> heat and cold (hould twice be fe ftrikingly apparent in the fame fpot, and with fa many intervening ages -But to return : The climate of the Britifli ifles is peculiarly happy : it confers all the vigour and courage above mentioned— —(glorious foundations for Britifli liberty to build upon !),—?— without being fa intemperately cold as to leffen the comparative value of the earth's productions. And the infular fituation has a fine effect in improving the climate natural to the latitude^, the winters- being much lefs fevere on that account* than in the fame latitude on the continent, thus enjoying the benefits of a warmer fui^ without any of its ill effe^a f. "When commerce becomes neceffary^ the. inhabitants of welf-peopledl countries fead forth colonies to fettle in others. As to thofe which pro- ceed merely from too great numbers of people at home, not much autho- rity is to be placed in their hif!ory ; it is at befl very fufpicious J. Here we need only fpeak of thofe which arife from views of commerce, and the acquifition of riches. When colonies are planted with that defign^ the inhabitants of fuch. ?, climate as the Britifh ifles, if they a£k prudently^ fettle countries which produce the commodities moft ivanted at home ^ and fuch muft neceflarily be the produi^ of different climates. If we. * Ces pan fertiles fontdes plaines, ou Ton ne. peut rien difputer au- plus fort.: oH fc fouinet done a lui; et qiiand on lui eft foumis, Tefprlt de liberte n'y f^auroit revenir; les biens de la campagne font un gage de la fidelite. Mais dans les pais de montagnes on peut confervir ce que L'on a, et Ton peu a conferver. La-liberte, c*cft-d-dire, le gouvernement: dont On jouit, eft le feul bien, qui merite qu'on le defende. Eile regne done plus dans les paVs montagneux et difficiles, que dans ceux que la nature fembloit avoir plus favorites. LEfpritdtt Leix^ V. i. B. 18. C. 2. t The paflk>ns of mankind, overturn all the order of nature : it cou13 never be intended! that the inhabitants of one zone (bould ravage and enflave the other at their will ; nor that a certain fa^itious attendant of cold, called the courage of mankind, (hould ever come in. play ; for the moment it does, blood and difcord are the efFeds at once. This fingle cir- cuniftance ia fuffident to' prove^ that nature knows no fuch qiiality as courage; it arifes- merely from vanity and opinion. X We are told the Chinefe are the moft populous of air nations, infomuch that they are- ebliged to expofe their children ; but we do not find they fend colonies on that account to the great fouthern continent, which they might eafily do, and are better acquainted with it. than we are. But this fiory of their being t«o populous deferves hut liule crediw take: POLITICAL ESSAYS. ^ Essay L take a view of the fcattered Britifh dominions, we fhall find in them all the climates of the khoivn world. They extend from the line to the north pole, and of courfe might produce all the commodities common to the globe, unlefs a peculiarity of foil was difcovered to be necelTary to fome. To eftimate, therefore, the comparative merit of the climate of colonies, it is only ncceflary to compare it with that of the mother country. If they are the fame, or nearly the fame, the colony is ufelefs ; if entirely different, highly valuable. It is apparent from this remark, that there muft be a great difference in value between the Englifh coloniesy from variation of climate. SECT. m. 0/ their Extent, THE extent of a country is a point of very great importance. Inde- pendency is a moil valuable bleflihg tc any people ; and if a nation was to inhabit a very fmall tta.Gt of land, fhe would for ever be in danger of conquefl. This matter is worthy of a little confideration, as the Britifh ifles are fo fmall in comparifon with mod of the neighbouring countries. The fmalleft territories which either have been, or are atprefent diftinft from the neighbouring ones, are Scotland Ireland Portugal Denmark Swiflerland Holland ' 127,794 fquare miles S7.457 27>85i 14,418 12,884 7'546 There are fome important obfervations to be made on this little table. All * but Scotland and Ireland have continued (but with feme interrup- tions) diftindl countries ; and yet fome of them are much lefs than either of the firitifli ones. The reafon is evident j it was for want, in part, of • The ufrif'n of Denmark and Norway was not till 1376. 6 a national Sect. III. POLITICAL ESSAYS. 9 a national character and language ; which was particularly the cafe with Scotland, and likewire* in fome dtgree* the (ame with Ireland, with the additional circumftance of being divided into feveral kingdoms. Portu- gal, which is nearly of -the fame fize, has been but juft able to prefcrve her independency ; and in this cafe the points of language and charader come again in play. The difference between Spain and Portugal in thcfc refpeds is not ilrong. ' Denmark, more than any of the reft, has been conneded with different, neighbours. Swifferland has, and in all proba> bility will, preferve her independency, on account of her fituation, which is fo rugged and remark^tdy ftrong. Holland, which is yet Icfs, is kept alive, as an ingenious author fays, '* by the medicines of ftate policy.". It may be called an independent country ; but truth is ftretched to admit the expreffion; for her being as a diftind people depends abfolutely on the permiflion of her neighbours : any one of them could at once convert their High Mightinefs into lowlinefs *, were it not for the afliftance of other powers ; and this weaknefs exifts, notwithftanding prodigious popu- loufnefs, and a vaft commerce. From thefe circumfiances it appears, that an independent territory muft confift of a greater extent of country than thefe, or poffefs fome other peculiar advantages ; fuch, for ihftance, as the rugged rocks of Swiffer- land. Sicily, an ifland, and very near as large as Swifferland;: has, ever fince the time of the Romans, follov^ed the fortune of Italy. As to thediviiions of Germany and.Italy, notwithftanding their ftze areexcep- tions for being parts of a whole, the inhabitants having the fame cha- racter, fpeaking the fame language, &c, &c. changes in the Cbvereignty often happen, without being conftdered as revolutions of national im*; portance. England itfelf, though containing 49,450 fiquare miles, figures very poorly in point of fize with the other countries of Europe. But the united dominion of the two iflands, with the prodigious advantage of their languages and charaders being more alike than thofe of any two nations totally diftind, forms a national independency, fo firmly fixed on the fureft foundations, that none in Europe exceeds it. * Je dis que cette republique n'a aquis ce titre (puiffance) qvCi h faveur des interets poli- tiques de TEurope. La Hoilande, malgre fcs richefis, eft un etat pr6caire. Let InttrtU d* laFranumeltHttttAu, VoU 2.p,iy2' C The fo POLITICAL ESSAYS.! E«say I. The detached parts of the Britifh dominions in rcfpcft of extent, are protligioua : The North American cok>nies are alone fuppofed to con- tain, hy different accounts, from i,6oo,qoo fquare miles to upwards of a, 000,000, and by others nearer 3,000,000; besides the Weft India iflands, and the fettlements in the Eaft Indies ; tra^s of lands fo prodi-> gious, that there are few countries in the world equal to them. Indeed this vail extent of the North American, colonies is by no means an ad'- vantage in itfelf ; for all the benefits refulting from colonies would pro- ceed in a much fecurer manner from othets of much left fize; and cfpccially as fuch a vaft part of them is m> cikhate which can produce but little that is wanted in Britain. . ' s E c T. rv. Of their Soil and ProduSiiwt* THESE are points of very great iiyiportance ; for in many cties the very being of a people depends oh tlltt.^?odiu£^its f^ their' foiL Tboie of the Britiifti iik« are chiefly com, cattle^ lead, tint, &c, fach as tend to the maintenance of a numerous people, and yield them plenty of employment. Univerfal experience pit>v«s that fuch produ£t» are to be efteemed infinitely beyond idiamonds, gold and filirer : Mines of fuch rich commodities are only found in. th^' torrid zone; that is, in the territories (^ people utfable to defend them. But were they to bp fbtmd' arnidft the moft courageous peopb, tibere is ^eat reafon to believe th^> would change the charaderiftic of the nation ; this has been nearly thef cafe with Spain fince fhe poffefled herfelf of the Indies. But lefs valu- able, although more neoeifary pr^dufkions, conduce to iaduftry and labour, employ greater numbers of people, and keep fuch people more virtuous. A moft fenfible modem ttiithor expreflfes himfelf on this fubjeO: with' great juftnefs r -'—--** The fori of Switterlatid, in general, is, perhaps, that very (ort of foil, which a fober, fettfibte, induftndus natit>n ought to wifh for. It pours not forth its vegetable produdions fpontaneoufly ; but there is a force of nature in it fufficient to produce great return, if virtue and diligence are, the cultivators. .;^he lagacipus Machiavel feems- to think that a rich foil tends to leflen the induftry of people that inhabit it ; and if a nation like that of the Switzers is contented with the por- 5 tion Sect. IV. POLITICAL ESSAYS. ftt tion of land it enjoys, and meditates no future acquiiitions of terriObr^, then a trad of a earth which yields its produdions with fome difficulty^ will, in iht long run, make its inhabitants a wealthy, happy, and power- ful community. A rich foil cafy to be cultivated, naturally inclines the inhabitants ta indolence and remiflhefs: And hence it is that travel- lers of the bcft fettie have remarked that the caufe of there being fo many favage nations in America, is the fertility of the earth, and the vaft fupplies of animal food without care or trouble^" He then quotes from Burnet, that the country of the Grifons* who have almoji no foil at al/f is well peopled and they live at their eafe* whereas Lombardy, the fineft in the worldi has nothing but poverty and beggary over the whole, and then goes on ' " * ' Thus in Portugal, where the foil is richeft (as on the northern banks of the Duero) there the inhabitants are poorcft. Nature, with a fmall variation of more or left, has been almoft equally bountiful to all her tW^rioiiAr children in all places. I lay fome Arefs on the word induilrious, biecaufe it is evident that the richeil; foils in them- felves, if the cultivator is indolent and unattcntive* do not always pro- duce the largeft and beft crops. In this fenfe let us compare England and Sweden with Italy and Louifiana, and we ihall foon find that the fcale preponderates in lavoiu: of art and labour *,** The foil of the Britifh ifles is fuch as this moft ingenious author gives a due encomium on t It will* in point of fertility, bear no comparifon with the grcateft part of Europe : But this deficiency is (as here proved) no inconiiderable excellency : The foil of Spain is fo rich, that its hufband- men raife the brighteft and firmeft wheat in Chriftendom, and yet have no idea of deftroying weeds, and fcratch the ground inilead of plowing it f : But compare the Engliih and Spanifli huibandry'-^What a contrail T The Spaniards have fcarce ever a fuificiency of .bread. The foil of thefe kingdoms is*, upon the whole, what would be con- fidered in all the foutherq parts of Europe as very indifferent. England * EiTays on Huibandry, p. 74, 7$, 76. 88. That great genius M. 4e Mc^ntefquieu' dvi. likewife the eiFcds of foils with peculiar penetration : Les pais ne font pas cultives en railbn de leurfertilite, mais en . aifon do leur liberie ; & ft I'on divife la terre par la penfee, on fera etonne de voir la plupartdu terns des deferts dans fes parties les plus fertiles & de gi;ands peuplea dans celles oik la terre femble refufer tout. D* L'Efprit des Loixy V. i.p. 392. £Mh. Edit. And in another place. La fterilite des terres rend les hommcs induftrieux, fobres, cndurcis au travail, courageux, propres a ta guerre } il faut i)ien qu'ils fe piocurent ce que le terrain leur refufe, p. 393. t Eflfays, p. 83. G 2 'and 99 POLITICAL ESSAYS.. Essay I. and Ireland contain raft tra^s of what her own inhabitants reckon bad ;. :and Scotland vaftly more. The medium of the three is fuch a foil as requires moft unremitting diligence to render fertile in any confiderable degree : We ought not therefore to conclude that it is more peculiar to the ])rodu(Stion of corn than that of our neighbours ; but this feems to be the mifiake of an author, who on many fubjedks abounds with fenfiblc remarks. He fays, '* Trees are known by their fruit, and land by the corn and grafs it produces^ which are the fruits of the earth; and in which no part of the wotld that we have feen exceeds England and Ire^- land. Both the ilrong and loamy foil, and moift climate, equally contri- biite to produce the greateft plenty of Uiefe neceflaries of life, ^ich are the fupport both of man and beaft, and on which all others depend. This is like the foil th'it is more peculiarly adapted to wheat, the trade in which the trench, fc r that reafon, will find themfelves very much miftaken in their expectations of getting from England. There is but one pajf» de beauce m all France, but there are many fuch in England. Even the poorer and fandy lands in England frequently have a loamy fand at bottom, and as what we have feen called a clayey foundation in other countries \ According to this opinion, .the greateft quantities of wheat fhould be produced on the beft foil, which is an abfolute contradidion to the/affs t juft quoted from- the Effayf on Husbandry. This moift foil, let it be as rich as it will, is nothing to induftry ; it would therefore be- a moft ridicu- lous prefumption to depend upon the goodnefs of our foil for keeping the corn trade from the French ; for moft afluredly we fhall find our miibke if' we let that nation exceed us in induftry : It is not the want of a good foil that has hitherto kept their hufbandry back, but the oppreffion their kw& and conftitution are upon the induftry of. the hufbandman. If thift fame moift foil is fo peculiar to wheat, how comes the Spanifh wheat to weigh bufhel for bufhel ten pounds more than the Englifti f. Indeed the idea of our foil being peculiarly good for the production of corn and gcafs,. is. abfurd in another light, as thofe vegetables are univerfal growers^ provided they are cultivated with diligence and fkill %, And wheat fuc-^ ceeds no where better than in Ghifi in South America.. I have infifted thus much on corn, as it is by far the moft important product of all othecs. It is that which maintains the moft people, and! * Prefentjlateef Great. Britain and Narih Amerita^ ^.B J, t The difference is as 73 to 63. E/P>yf on Husbandry^ p. 99,. t lb. 89. tenders \ M Sect.IV. rOLlTICAL ESSAYS. «J renders . Jch people the moft independent *. But befides corn, the Bri- tifli iflei are extr«..nely happy in the mines with which they abound. Thofe of iron might be contrdcrable* if necefCty obliged the working them ; the importance of this commodity needs no enlarging on. Thofe of copper, lead and tin» are of great confequence* and the latter a mono- poly ; but none of them are perhaps of e<}ual value with thofe of coal ; for by means of fuch vail plenty of this kmd of fuel, the lefs quantity of fire-wood is neceflary, and of courfe the more land is applied to the production of corn : This is an advantage not equally boafied by any country m Europe^ and in France the want of it is fo heavily felt, that fevere laws are made againft decreafmg the quantity of land covered with wood, which is nece(farily a bar to the raifmg plenty of corn« Wood is the word crop a foil can mpport, for it io not only ufelefs in the point of feeding people — ^but at the fame time employs fcarce any ; grafa employs but few, but then it feeds many. What a prodigious beneficial produc- tion therefore is coal ! which yields an opportunity of converting fucli> vaft tracts of woods into arable lands fr It may not be amifs to obferve likewife in this place, that mines of fpch bulky and little comparatively valuable commodities, as I have juft men- tioned, are by no means open to the objections fo rationally formed' againft thofe of precious ftones, gold and filver. The former yield no fuch com- pendious method of becoming rich, but employ a numerous body of hardy,, daring and valuable men, to dig up their products ; many more in the carriage and roanufaQuring, and when the whole procefs is completed; the return of profit is far from being fo great, as to fpread fuch a fpirit of indolence as univerfally attends the fuperior produce of more valuable mines|; ' The (oils and produCtrons of the detached parrs of the Britifli domi- nions, are as various as the climates in which they are fituated ; but the • In refpeft of cattle there are none peculiar but ffieep, the wool of which is fbund fo much fuperior to that of many other countries : Thia produft employs vaft numbers of people, but perhaps, not many more than an inferior fort would. But this Is doubtful. t It furely is ncedlefs to except timber, the immcnfe valUe of wHich in relation to a navy aiuft be obvious, and will be treated of in another place. t Salt is likewift a moft valuable produ£Hon, it being (in thefe ages at leaft) a neccflarv of life, which if not produced muft be bought. And laflly, the feas which enclofe thefe fflands are richly ftored with flioals of infinitely precious fifli. What vaft multiiudes of BCOfile nearly fubfift on herrings I it is yur fault they are not of our own catching. value % t4 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay I. value of them can only be eiHmat.xl with a view to their ufdfulnefs in « commercial light ; for the Eurorean iflands producing every thing necef- fary for the life of man, the cobnies were planted for fuperfluous com- modities, which muft be procured by trade of other nations, if not pro* duced at home : The American dominions will in this light be found of intiniteconfequence. The Weft India iflands produce fugar, runi, c(^ee, and a long train of moft valuable et c£teras. The fouthem continental fettlements, rice, indico, cotton, filk, vines, hemp and flax, e^c The middle ones, tobacco and iron mines ; and both the laft a vaft variety of prodigioufly valuable timbers of all kinds. Further north, I fay nothing of the foil *, but the fea is filled with an inexhauftible treafure in the cod fiih f . If we take a view of the whole earth's produdions, we ihall find none of confequence beyond tfaefe mentioned but fpices and tea, both of wltich there is the greatefl reafbn to believe might be pro- duced in fome of the above named American dominions %, It is uoi: neceflary to examine here into the diverfity of opinions rela- tive to particular parts of thefe American dominions, which are moft proper for the beil productions ; all accounts agree that they are to be produced in vaft quantities in themt however they may vary in other refpeds* It may be afTerted, without the imputation of a paradox, that the detached parts of the Britifli dominions are of infinitely greater advan- tage to the principal than thofe of Spain ; but at the fame time it muft be confefTed, that the inferiority of the latter is owing to the pofleflion of their mines ; were it not for thefe, their American dominions moft undoubt- edly might, under proper regulations^ be of equal, at leaft, if not fup&< rior benefit. I lay fome ftrefs on the regulations^ as the contraft between the climate of Old and New Spain is not fo ftrong as between the Britifh ifles and fome of the Britifh colonies, from whence it refults, that greater precautions and more political management are necefTary with the former than with the latter. Nor are the fettlements of the French, Portuguefe or Dutch, to be compared with the Britifh ones, in point of foil and products. I but touch on this fubjedl at prefent, as it will be treated more particularly hereafter. * The fur trade is too inconfiderable to come into this lift. * t The £aft Indian and African fettlements are not thofe of agriculture, but mtrtly com* merce. X It will be neceflary to fpeak more of thefe, when the in^wimmtt of which the colonics are fufceptible are treated of. S E C T. StcT.V. POLITICAL ESSAYS. 15 S E C T. V. "^ 0/ their Riven and PMi, ■ , ' . ' •' • ' « DURING the firft age» of the world* mh'M minkind weve contented with the mere neceflaries of life, an eafy carriage was of no great importfince: The implements of husbandry and ft few handi- craft trades were all the materiaU they wanted to move. Food their granary and flocks fupplied. Their garments were of their own fpinning and weaving) and their houfes built with the timber which grew nearcit. Nothing but inllruments required any carriage. But when commerce arofe, and the wants of mankind multiplied, exchanges between coun- tries became common* till at laft the vail fabric encreafed to its prefcnt immenfe magnitude. In this age none but inoonflderable branches of trade can be carried 6a by land carriage ; the expences of which are fo great* that no roanufac^ tures or produd will fupport them. From this circumftance arifes the necefllty of navigation t Every other advantage that can be named will aot make amends for the want of this. The Britifh dominions* beyond a doubt, exceed* in this reipe^* the whole world. Great Britain* from the ihape, muft neceffarily have a vaft extent of fea-coaft ; and fortunately that coaft is aimed every where interfered by admirable ports ; infomucli that there in not a village in the iflaiid above fevr.nty miles from fome one of confequence enou^ for the exportation of every kind of commodi- ties ; an advantage unknown Jtt» moft countries. Ireland is on every fide fim-onnded by: the beft havenaiti Europe. Nor is h alone in pbrts that the British ifles are fo remarkably 'happy; in refpedof rivers tliey are nblefa diAinguifhed. An Inland navigation, extends throughout both the inlands, fo that there is fc^rce a toiwn-'but what ftands on a navigable river; the advantages of which are infinite to exportation. 'The (Jthcr eountrtei <^ >Eorc^: are very mudiiiViferior to tiiefci iflamfe in relpeft of navigaiioti ; none of' them have fuch an extent< of iiea-coailt — nonefuch a plenty of good ports in the coalla they have*. Spain • Sir WtUUm Teinple, fpeaking of tbcrfuperior force of the we(jl wInJs caufing the heaps of (and which block, up the Dutch poets, fays — '• This IpMfume is likewife thc-natural rcafon of fo many ^e<*p. and commddibos' havens found upon all the Englifli fide of the Cbannfelf iM)d fo few (vr iltdced lioiM) ii[ioti4he French and -Dutch : An advantage feeming V> btl giyon i4« by jnfture^ ^•ftfivtif, po be ^vrflod by,^py art: pr «3^cnce of our neighbours.'* W«)Jc^.fjolio, Vol. i. p. 44. poireflTca i6 PaHTlCAL' ESS A VS. Essay I. poflbfTes a very extended coaft with many good havens, but not to be -compared in any circuniifance with the Britifli Ifles. Italy has yet more coaft, but her ports are, inferior^. ^an^ her,, general fituation a more local one. Fr:.nce, in tfie(e points, ranlcs below Spain, and there are no ©iher terrltiories, m thefe ire^y^s, worth naming.: i 4(^or are the rivers of thef^ or any other country in Europe, equal to •nioie of the Britiih iflandstiif we epnAder tlmm merely as the means of am eafy: tranfportation of commodities* In refpejfk of length and breadth manyaU fMbabilitljr) thd richeft >ioiantrtet indie world*'' I .••' -biiiT/ K-riv-.i zin , .atvi".\'y!- . ,' : ' »; ■ ' . ■■•■ : >ir','/lf(f orfl nl '-non '■^• ^*'t*^v■; Pv- '■ ^ ■ I (i; ^' Ha^ng iketched thus fat j the advantages thefe dominions have received from Suture, I AttiU in the nekt place examine th6fe which depend on artf and the very firft of thefe is the Conititution of the gc^emment, from vrfaidi tefuMs idAdft tteey thing tibat Mows. ll '. ■ ■ .uJ 3jI;V' iil; •J EstAY !. m- ift river in ■ ' tons have i6fe whicli on of the ill^^^^K t%. m >■ ■ not 1^ ■ ' ■ . .1 ■ m 1 -■'•' V ^1 ) ?? uifc'jl (jjii* 1 - V i ;fi' ■ .... . ^ fijiiC'' ;.;i(: 1 ar.'fbi. ''' ■ . . 'I ^yr^^^:^ i^.\>ii>i\i.Dn 53a -Y ■f E- S-y?S •nf' J'JVil iT':'. ; i . ( i 1!.;: I S- Of the G)nftitution of the British Dominion $. THIS fubjedt df fuch greAf ioiportanee to all our brethren, ha« been treated of by ibme of the moft capital pens the nation has produced ; it would therefore ill become the author of thefe iheets to attempt a minute examination of every: pairtieular relative to it : A work of this nature would be incomplietei if thd^jedl ia general vras omitted |. it is therefore neceflary tc flcetch a eoneife view of it, with an eye as much as pofiible to avdid tinneceiQary repecitiOns of what has been ad* ▼anced by Others. The f^ibje^t will not be divided improperly in the fol- lowing manner : ;, I. General Vieiv of the prefent Liberties of Mankind, and tbrft of Britain inpartieular, S. Of the Reprefentation of the People* %. Of the Reprefentati'ues, ' ' 4. Of the Royal Authority, 5. Liberty refulting from the Harmony of the whole. 6. Of the Duration of the Confiitution, V' ■ 1(1 '• Oi S E C T. I. General View of the prefent Liberties of Mankind, and thofe of Britain in particular, LIBERTY is the natural birthright of mankind; and yet to take a comprehenfive view of the world, how few enjoy it ! What a melancholy reflection is it to think that more that nine-tenths of the fpecies fhould be miferable flaves of defpotic tyrants ! Let us view the globe and examine th^ fa£t. D 2 Tlie 90 POLITICAL |:SSAYS. Essay IL The largeft * part of the world, viz. Afia is by the bcft accounts defpotic throughout : Anarchy may rule th^ wandering Tartars and Arabs> but their numbers are very fmall. Hete we fall at once on the moft numerous body of people in the world in a ftate of flavery. Africa comes next, and what mifery involves that vaft country ! Liberty only exifts at the point of one cape, an exotic; plant of European growth, unlefs we exhibit the Hotten- tots as the only fpecimen of African freedom ! In Europe itfelf, what a difproportion between liberty and flavery ! Ruflta, Poland, the chief of Germany, Hungary, Turkey, the greateft part of Italy, Spain, Portugal,. France, Denmark and Norway. The following bear no proportion to them, viz. The Britifh ifles, Sweden, Holland, Switzerland, and the Germanic and Italian ilates. And in Ainerica, Spain* Portugal and France, have planted defpotifm ;. only Britain liberty f* ^ On the whole, what a trifling part of the globe's inhabitants enjoy what all, by nature, have a right to |. How infignifica.nt is the number of thofe who poiTefs this greateft of all bleflings, compared to the unhappy tribes that are cruelly deprived of it ! The inhabitants of the world are fuppofed to amount to about 775,300,0010 cf fouls, of thefe the i^rbitrajry governments command 741,800,000, and the free ones only 33,500,000 ; and of thefe few fo large a portion as 1 2,500,000 are fubjeds of the British empire t- .,ci..4. ^ui^ ^ • -^ - • ^ ^^ >.-^ .•vui#'.»int.c *.'! Ki';AVu> The • The proportion between the quarter^ of the worFJis givrn in a cFear manner fey Dr. Camp- hell : '* if we fuppofe the whole habitable world (inowtii he doubtlefs means) to be divided into ihrre hundrcW parts, Europe will contain of tliefe twcnty-feven ; Afia, one hundred and one; Africa, eighty-two } and America, ninety." Prt/mt State of Europe^ p. i ^, f The Dutch in Arrerica are too inconfiderable to mention, - :|; Mnny objeclions may be made to fome of the following particulars, but 1 copy it here for I he frfke cf proporticnv Great Britain and Ireland France - - - . Spain and Portugal Italy and Mediterranean Ifles (ti rmany UiiiteJ Provinces Auilrian Netherlands Swiflerland and Geneva Sweden - - Dfnmark and Norway RuOla Carried forward 10,100,000 18,400,000 11,000,000 6,800,000 20,600,C0O 3,200,000 i,5ooyooa 3, lOOjOCO 3,300,000 3,700,000 17,000,000. 98,700,000 Hungary Sect. I. POLITICAL ESSAYS. SI The contraft between the liberty enjoyed bv the BritiHi nation, and the arbitrary power under which fo great a part of the world at prefent groatis, is not only very ftriking, but of all the fpecies of pblitical liberty known; none is fo truly defirable as that. The fubjeds of republics are gbne-- rally governed with no fmall feverity*, and univerfally labour under the niifery of the executive authority being lodged by turns in the hands of certain individuals who are naturally pront to' treiad tdd much on their fellows : In ariftocratical republics the people are flaves, and, perhaps, of the word fpecies. But the executive part of government lying in a mixed monarchy in the hands of the king, and he poffeffing no other power but Brought forward - » - « Hungary - - - - Poland _ - - - . Turkey in Europe - Europe - - • ■ T - Afia - - • - - Africa - - - - - To America this writer gives 160,000,000, which muft be over the truth, I fhall call it but ... F R B I. Britain - - - - S ay a fifittntb •f Germany Holland, Swiflerland and Geneva Sweden Britifb America Free Indians, Aippofe Total 98,700,000 5,000,000 3,200,000 18,400,000 125,300,000 450,000,000 150,000,000 50,000,000 775,300,000 tii I) 10,100,000 1,300,000 6,300,000 3,300,000 2,500,000 10,000,000 Slaves The latter three and twenty times as numerous as the former. 33,500,000 741,800,000 * A flight ftroke in a celebrated modern author, will give us n tolerable idea of liberty at Geneva, which is commonly reckoned fo very free a republic. Tranfportons maintenant M. Wilkes a Geneve, difant, ecrivant, imprimant, publiant centre le petit confeil le quart de ce qu'il a dit, ecrit, imprime, public hautement a Londres centre le gouverncmenr,^ la cour, le prince. Je n'afiirmerai pas abfolument qu'on I'eut fait mourir, quoiqueje le penfe } mais furement il eut 6te faiii dans I'inftant meme, & dans peu tres grievement puni. And adds by way of note. La loi mettant M. Wilkes ^ couvert de ce cote, il a fallu pour I'inqui^ter prendre un autre tour ; & c'eft encore la religion qu'on a fait intervenir dans cette affaire. And obferves, Chez vous (tht tetpU of Geneva) la puiflance du petit confeil eft abfolue a tous ^gards ; il eft le miniftre oc le prince, la partie Sc le juge tout-i-la-fois : il ordonne & il execute ; il cite, il faifit, il emprifonne, il juge, il punit lui-meme ;. il a la force en main pour toute faire ; tous ceux qu'il employe font irrecherchablcs } il ne rend compte de fa conduite ni de la leur i perfonne ; il n'a rien a craindre du legiflateur, auquel il a feul droit d'ouvrir la bouche, U devant lequel il n'ira pas s'accufer." Lettres icrltts dt la Mtntagnet Oeuvret dt Roufeau^ Vol. ix. p. 330— 332* Such Is republican liberty ! what 22 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IL what is given by the people^ this evil is at once prevented. And in what- ever other points the comparifon is made, the fuperiority will be found to reiide infinitely on the fide of the mixed monarchy, or the BritKh conftitution. What ought to be the fentiments of this nation, during the prefent and future ages, on this remarkable and moft generous diftindion ! Nonefurely but thofe of the warmeft gratitude to Heaven for blefling in fo peculiar a manner thefe happy kingdoms ! none but the moft ardent tribute of ever- lafting praife to the fteady valour of our patriotic anceftors, whofe magna- nimity won, guarded and tranfmitted fuch glorious rights to their much envied pofterity ! What refolutions ought fuch reflexions to create but thofe of the moft determined fpirit to preferve what has hitherto efcaped fuch a variety of attacks ! And in cafe of any future facrilegious hand being lifted againft this facr.d temple of the nation's honour, to dare the blackeft ftorm with that heroic i:ourage which Britons ever felt in defence of Britilh Liberty. S E C T. n. Of the ReprefentaUon of the People, TH E eflence of freedom is, every individual being governed by laws which he confented to frame: But as an unanimous confent is, in all cafes of this nature, impoflible, the majority of voices is juftly con- fidered as the general fenfe of the people : And as it would be utterly impradUcable (except in ftates which did not confift of above a fingle city, and fmall territory) for all the people to give their vote in any affair, a reprefentation of them becomes neceffary : That is, the people At large fubftitute a number much fmaller than their own, to receive their privileges, and ufe them in that compendious manner, which is not pof- fible for fo numerous a body in perfon. And whatever public adl or law fuch reprefentatives give their aflent to, fuch affent is neceflarily fuppofed to be that of the fubjeds at large. This is the great principle of the Britiih conftitution. It is needlefs to begin with ftating the exiftence of the executive power in the perfon of the king, or to enquire into its origin ; all this is prevented by the reader's imagination, who will, moft certainly remark fufficiently often, that this is but a iketch, not an elaborate expofition of fo vaft a fabric. Sect. II. POLITICAL ESSAYS. 23 It muft be extremely evident that the great excellency of fuch a go- vernment as I have here ftated, confifts in all the people being really reprefented, and not nominally fo. Nothing is more obvioufly fimple than this principle of liberty ; that, as e'very man cannot poflibly attend the public bufmefs in a legiflative capacity, all (hould at leaft be reprefented by others of their own chufing. It is neceffary to apply thefe maxims to the Britifh conftitution, and examine how far it is confonant with them. Beginning with the reprefentation of the people of Great Britain. id by laws Pent is, in luftly con- )e utterly a fingle te in any he people eive their not pof- dl or law fuppofed e of the ftence of into its vill, moft not an It 'n The Hou(e of Lords is partly reprefentative and' partly not, for the- fixteen Scotch peers reprefent the peerage of Scotland at large, and the. hxQxo^s^rt fuppofed to reprefent the whole body of the clergy ; but the- £nglifli pciers fit there by their own hereditary right, in, the lame mannec as the King fills his throne, rcprefenting none.. The neceflity of the nobility's forming in the conftitution a lialance- between the regal authority and the commons, is fo very plain in itfelf,> and fo well proved by hiftory, that it is needlefs to be particular in proving-, k ; but as the clergy of England have no other reprefentatives than the bifliops, it is neceffary to enquire a little into the voice they have in framing the laws under which they live. This enquiry is made almoft in two words. The clergy are not reprefented at all. This body, fo very numerous, have no more to do with their advancing their nominal repre-- fentatives, the bifhops, into the Houfe of Lords, than with the eledion. of the pope. The cardinals reprefent them as much in the conclave as the bilhops in the legiflature. It is furprizing the ecclefiaftic bench could ever be called a reprefentation of the clergy ; when they owe their pro- motion to mere royal favour. The fad, ilript of all unmeaning names, is a prerogative in the King to introduce ttuenty-fix men into the Houfe of Lords, to fit during life, but %vithout a devolving right to their poflerity. But as to calling fuch twenty-fix the reprefentation of above twenty thoufand clergy, who know them but by name, it is a contradiction in terms. The fixteen Scotch peers, being really a reprefentation of the Scotch nobility, are quite another affair.. • • The commons of England are reprefented by five hundred and thirteea members of the Lower Houfe; thofe of Scotland by forty-five, making ill all five hundred and fifty-eight. Whether the number of the people amounts to eight* nine,, or ten millions, is no matter, but it is of impor- 7 tance 24 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay II. iiiH tance whethei any of thofc numbers can be fuffic'iently reprefented by fo i'mall a body as five hundred and fifty-eight men. The greateft number of people may certainly be reprefented by a very fmall one, and equally too. The ten millions might eled from ten men to ten thoufand in the mod equal manner ; the enquiry therefore, is not whether the nation can be equally reprefented by fo few as five hundred men — but whether there is a proportion between the people reprefented and their reprefentatives ? Whether fuch a number is fufHcient for all the purpofes of legiflation, and at the fame time great enough for the prefervation of liberty ? There are a million of advantages attending the executive power being lodged in one perfon ; but none in the leglflative authority ; On the contrary, many are the benefits which flow from the legiflature being very numerous * ; the people are more completely reprefented. It opena an extended field for the abilities of mankind to be exerted for the public good. It throws a greater weight and power into that fcale by which liberty can alone be fecured. It renders all attempts of obtaining an undue influence, either regal or ariflocratical, over the reprefentativesi extremely difficult • i.f Thefe advantages are prodigious ; but do they attend the number of the 6f itifh reprefentatives ? I fhall confine myfelf to the lafl circumflance as the moft important of all. If it appears from a review of the Englifh hifloryi fmce the conflitution has been fixed on its modern principles, that any remarkable influence has been obtained by one part of the legiflature on another, it will from thence refult that the number of reprefentatives is too fmall, as they might be fo numerous (without any inconvenience f) that no fuch influence would be poffible. The conflitution could not be really caUed permanently fixed on fettled principles until the revolution. King William was by no means a * *' I believe it may pafs for a maxim in ftate, that the admtniftration cannot be placed in too few hands, nor the legiflature in too many." Swift's Works, Vol. iii. p. 88. f ** What ! fays a politician, is the number of thofe men that are lifted above their fellow fubjeds to be encreafed ? Are we to looic up to two thoufand governors inftead of five hun- dred ? Should priviltgtd perfons become more numerous than they are ?" This is playing on the mere furface of things : The Britifti fubjeiSt have but one governor, as the executive power is lodged in only one perfon. The reprefentatives have no kind of individual fupe- jriority over uie people in general. Privilege is a eollt£tive fuperiority : What would be the value of a right to eltSf^ if the perfon of the eUiled were not guarded by certain privileges ! Thofe of the members of parliament are precife with regard to their fellows) they are politically undefined only in refpe^ to the defence of general liberty. popular 5 Sjbct. n. CONSTITUTION. 25 ■'■ft*? popular monarch ; fome traits of his charadt^r were t.en diametrically oppoiite to popularity ; and he laboured imder the difadvantages of being ignorant of the people's temper and language ; nor had he by any means a juft idea of that <:onftitution he had faved from the baleful attacks of ' the bigoted James. He was conftantly involred in a Hoodyi but on the whole an unfuccefeful war with France, from which circumftance there arofe a neceffity of burthening the people in a manner at leaft unufual : But notwithftanding thefe difadvantages, the great bufinefs of his life, the humbling France, was carried on with fcarce any interruption ; his government was not quite iofmooth as fome have been fmce, but of what confequence were all the oppofitions that were formed to his meafures ? Not one of them were changed for a moment : And yet it is commonly aflerted that in his reign began the too great influence of the people, and as an inftance, the parliament's addrefling him to know who were his advifers to refufe his aflent to the place-bill in 1693, and voting fuch advifers enemies to their country. This has been often quoted as a proof that the crown has loft the prerogative of refuiing aflent. A flight examination will prove the abfurdity of this opinion. The addrefs of the Houfe of Commons was a very home one — but of what avail was it ? Let us tranfcribe the King's anfwer. It was as follows : ** Gentlemen ! I am very fenfible of the good oflices you have exprefl*- ed to me upon many occaflons ; and the zeal you have fliewn for our common intereft : I fliall make ufe of this opportunity to tell you, that no prince ever had a higher efteem for the conftitution of the Englifli government than myfelf ; and that I ihall ever have a great regard to the advice of parliament. I am perfuaded that nothing can fo much conduce to the happinefs and welfare of this kingdom as an entire confidence be- tween the King and people, which I fliall by all means endeavour to pre- ferve ; and I aflure you, I look upon fuch perfons as my enemies who fliall advife any thing that may leflen it." If the King had a£ted in a manner to deferve a warm remonftrance ; what fatisfaftion for fuch a condud is to be found in this anfwer ? But in the debate which arofe on receiving it, and in which every bitter thing was faid that either wit or malice could infpire, what was gained by the oppofition ? On the propofal. That an humble application be made to his Majefty for a farther anfwer, it pafled in the negative by fo vaft a m^ority as S29 againft 88*. Of fo little confequence to the crown was this * Sec Ralph's HiJJory of England^ Vol. ii. p. 477. magnified Ik 26 POLITICAL ESSATS. Essay It magnified infult on royalty ! A political writer of that time fpeaks k very clifFerent language from thofe who think the prerogative of the crown leflened in this affair. He fay8^— ''— ** It might have been expe£ted that a dired and categorical anfwer flioutd have been given to fo home an addrcfs ; yet it feems the Houfe* Jror all the millions given, mud be treated only with whipt cream or perfum'd air; which would not have iatisfied, if the adept i had not found their account in a previous treat of a 93,000 1. cliftribution." And adds " That if any of our preceding Kings had given fuch an anfwer upon a petition of right, or the like occafion, it •would have enraged an hornet's neft ; and no left than the voting a frefli addrcfs, or adjourning till they received a more fatisfaflory anfwer, would have contented the Houfe."— — And again, " How can any fay, He hath- a great regard to the advice of parliaments? when, at that very fame inftant, neither the advifers of the rejeding the bill are delated, nor the prayer of the reprefentation touched upon *." But thofe who thin'- that liberty gained fuch a triumph on prerogative, fhoukl not forget that King William exercifed this very prerogative afterwards, viz. in the year 1 696, by refufing his aflent to a bill for regulating eledions. Regal authority paffing thus uninterrupted through this reign, let us next examine that of Queen Anne : The critical fituation of the affairs of Europe rendered the greateft abilities neceflaiy in thofe who -uided the helm of government. The Marlborough miniftry were equal to the tafk ; they conduced the affairs of the nation with great honour and profperity for feveral years, but their power was almoft unlimited. They carried oni a very extenfive war on their own plan ; and great as the expence was, compared with all that had preceded it, the parliament complied imme- diately with every demand.— — Their liberality almoft anticipated the wifhes of the minifters, for the war then carrying on was a truly national, though a continental one, and the fuccefs attending it laid the foundation for the future grandeur of Britain, by breaking the enormous power of France. Tlie nation was extremely fortunate in this minidry continuing in power long enough for fuch prodigious adlions to be performed ; and it was to all appearance fowell founded in the extenfive influence of fo powerful a family, the credit of the truly national meafures they were fo liiccefsfully engaged in, and the unbounded countenance they met with from the people's reprefentatives, that no one conceived an idea of their power ccafing, at leafl during their mittrefs's life. But Ihe had only to Price of the aluicatUn.. fpeak Sect. 11* CONSTITUTION. fpeak ami this mighty fabric vanifhed from the fight, nay, the fate ^ Europe changed at once: The Queen's chambermaid did not chufe that ihc nation (hould any longer be vidtorious under the duke of Marllwrough ; that hero was therefore difgraced and degraded : that man, the grcatcft in hla walk this country ever produced. This lady was of a pacific difpofi- tion, peace muft therefore be concluded in a hurry at all events. The change from warlike to pacific meafures was fudden and abrupt ; it was contrary to the intereft of the nation ; it was of all other things the moft beneficial to her enemies ; it was the mere engine of party.— What there- fore did the people's reprefentatives fay to all this ? Such a conduct might iigure mighty well in the eyes of a woman of the back ftairs, but not fo with the people. True, but their reprefentatives were of another opinion : A change in the Queen's ideas directly effected one in theirs, inl'omuch that the new miniilers, guided their reiolves with an eafe equal to that of the glorious ones they fucceeded. And all this in an affair diametrically oppofite to the interefls and inclinations of the people, during and after the conclu- fion of a peace totally inadequate to the fucceffes of the war, and while thofe very men were deeply engaged in meafures too black to fee the light, but which were attended with fo much guilt, that two of the chiefs thought proper, on the death of the miflrefs they had deluded, to feek their fafety in the fervice of their friend the Pretender. From the accelfion of George the Firfl to Sir Robert Walpole's mini- ilry, the court met with little difficulty in any parliamentary bufmefs. His power forms a very remarkable period in our biilory ; rot he was fcarcely become the minifter before an oppofition was formed againft his meafures in parliament; but as there was no material objeftions to be made to them at nrft, the oppofition was not very ftrenuous. But the conti- nuance of his power, and the conflant increafe of it, added to fevefal unpopular circumftances, produced by degrees a fpirit in the nation which co-operated with the views of his perfonal enemies, and formed together a very ftrong oppofition. But all the authority of the crown being in a manner delegated into his hands, he found himfelf fiipcrior to every attack ; and this palpable proof of the greatnefs of his power, with the 'well known means offupporting iff raifed a perfect flame in the nation againfl him, which being aggravated by the partial, witty, and malicious writings of his foes, fcattered induflrioully throughout the kingdom, threatened not only to deprive him of his power, but to bring him as a delinquent to juflice. Nothing however was further IVoin the cafe J this continued many years, and would have continued to the day E 3 . of '■*jit,: s8 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IL ■iii m ■iliii'! of his, or his m.ifter's death, had not the court of Spain, relying too much on the certainty of peace with England, committed fomc outrages on her fubjcds, which were painted by the op]x>fition in fuch aggravated colours, that the whole people breathed nothing but war, and by this means gained a fuperiority in parliament, more through an ovcrfight of the miniiler, than any permanent advantage gained by his enemies ; for thofc who were deepcft in the politics of that period, have fince agreed that he nii^bt have vanquiflied even that oppolition. But without admiti- ting of fuch a fuppolition, what a number of years did Sir Robert enjoy his power in exprcfs contradiction to the wilhes of the people; the majority of whom would have deprived him of power years before he loft it ! Not fo with the majority of their reprefentatives. And when he was no longer in office, how clearly did the vaftnefs of his influence appear in the pretence of bringing him to juftice ! Of what avail were the cries of the people ! In that, as at every other time, the crown arofe fuperior to all. H But theminifter was driven to the wall — every thing muft for the future be condudted according therefore to the ideas of the people; for the leaders of the late oppofition of courle fucceeded to power, and their fouls were compofitions of patriotifm itfelf ; But, unfortunately, this virtue has of latter ages been of a very equivocal and fickly growth ; its prefence and abfence are fo equally attended with great effeds in tht Britiih conftitu- tion, that it may not be amifs to beftow a little attention to that fpecics of it which ought to be peculiar to this country. The reader will pardoii the digreffion.— — Patriotifm has generally been taken in the lump, and fuppofed to con- fift merely in the loving one's country better than any thing elfe, even to the faciificing fortune and life itfelf to ferve it ; and the latter is cfteemed the very higheft fpecies of it : But a very little confuleration will convince us that this is a miftake. If patriotifm confifts merely in. a romantic exertion of the mind, that man who knocked his brains out againft a wall in a fit of fury at the misfortune of his country, would be a patriot ; hut the virtue is a mere name if its impulfe does not conduce in the higheft degree to the public good. From which diftindion there necef- farily refults another; that it muft adt according to the conftitution and v^-^ants of a country : Thus patriotifm muft vary in different nations, and cannot poffibly be the fame in all, unlefs we are fatisfied with fo indefinite an exprcffion as love of one's country, which comprehends many cafes which can fcarcely be admitted asjuftly arranged. Among i\iai. Sect. II. CONSTITUTION. Amonc; the Greeks and Romans, this virtue confifted in military heroifm, in defending their country to the very laft extremity, and being at all times ready to lay down their lives in battle for its prefervation : It was even confined to this fpccies of undaunted courage; for thofe nations being ever at war, all their virtues and vices were tinged with the efFeds of it. There are fome inftances of a political or rather conftitutional patriotifm among them, but they are extremely equivocal ; they rather dilplay an unconquerable love of freedom, and a refolution of dying fooner than become fubjeft to a fellow-citizen, and fuicidc was generally the end of this, which is fufficient to prove that the emotion was of pride rather than a fmcere amor patH^e ; for an adtion, however coura- geous it might be efteemed, which v.rs an eafe to themfelveb only, not their country, waa a ftrange kind of ^ .riotifm. In arbitrary governments, efpecially if they are of long (landing, patriotifm degenerates into loyalty to the prince and courage exerted in his fervice. The principles of fuch governments naturally confound the ideas of right and wrong : But in any nation fo governed, it is impoffiblc there Ihould exift a true patriot; for if there was one he would facrifice his own life to gain that of the tyrants, and were this fpirit more general, tyranny would not be fo common. . -.; - " It may be faid thefe are murderous dodrines, but I think they are the meekeft in the world ; for of all murderers, arbitrary power is the moft bloody, and 'o endeavour to flop the efFufion which flows from fo accurfed a wound, u the moft humane purpofe upon earth. What a melan- choly refledlion is it to think of twenty millions of people being pillaged of their liberties for bedecking a tyrant with a property of their lives and fortunes ! Wli it a want of patriotifm in fuch a number of people, to be deftitute of a tcvv determined fpirits to lay down their own lives to extir- pate the tyrant's race, and reftore the liberties of their countiy ! * In fuch a mixed government as ours, before the bounds of prerogative were diftindly known, patriptifm confifted in firmly withftanding the arbitrary proceedings of the court, and bearing the brunt of royal power rather than fubmit to thelcaft infringement of liberty ; and when that power became inlupportable to fouls that knew the value of freedom, in taking up arms and fighting the battles of the pkople, freely laying down their lives for their country with the fame magnanimity that diftinguifhed the happieft ages of Greece and Rome. Such were our Hampdens, fuch the i P POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay II. the patriots that flood forth in the caufe of liberty in the rcign of Charles the Pirll. ,.,, But when the fpirit of the conftitution was changed, and the bravery of the fubjeft had reduced prerogative within the letter of law^ open violence gave way to difguifed influence. — The terrors of the Star Cham- ber and High Commiffion were fucceeded by a fyllem of bribery and corruption ; which was niade ufe of to efFe£l legally all the defigns of the court, however extravagant or contrary to the intereft of the nation at large. The fpirit of patriotifm then changed j for who can aflert it then operated like that of the Greeks and Romans, which confifted merely in military heroifm ! Sacrificing his life for the fervice of his country, has as little to do with a modern Britifh patriot, as the flavery of Turkey is to be compared to the liberty of England. In the latter ftate of our confti- tution, the true patriot is he who ads in contradidion to the vice of the times, which is venality. Who, inftead of dying for his fellow-citizens, ferves them with integrity-r-that is, without reward. He wKo ads for pay receives his return in revenue* titles or diftindion, he can thdefore have no right to praife, he is totally venal. The true patriot will make it the great bufinefs of his life to oppofe all meafures which he thinks ob- noxious to his country's good, and he will not fall into the deteftable meannefs of being bought off from fuch an oppolition by any bribe in the power of royalty to beftow. If his oppofition to fuch meafures is fuccefsful, and he overthrows the fupportqrs of them, he will on no account decline the offer of fucceeding them» as he can never ferve his country fo eflFedually as in office — — -3ut in this new fituation he will be as inflexibly attentive to the nation's good as ever, and as he receives no fort of gratification for the trouble of his pofl, he will ever be ready to quit it fooner than be warped from his virtu*^. , j,. *' . - i . ' >. If heaven renders his fervices profperous, and bleffes his old age with the delicious view of the benefits he has procured his country, he will retire amply, nobly, glorioully rewarded ! not in the miferable diftinc- tion of titles, ribbons, penfions, or fuch honours ! but walk from the ftage of life clothed with that renown which outlives all earthly gran- deur— —the plaudit of his country. But it may be faid — What ! cannot a man who has ferved that country, receive the rewards which a gracious fovereign may beftow, without the imputation of having fold his honour !"— — Doubtlefa : I attempted but 5 to Essay II. 1 of Charles the bravery /aw, open Star Cham- bribery and figns of the le nation at flert it then d merely in Duntry, has "urkey is to our confti- vice of the )w-citizen8, tie ads for n therefore i^ill make it thinks ob^ ; deteftable ly bribe in neafuree is vill on no r ferve his he will be eceives no idy to quit age with ', he will )le diftinc- from the hly gran- t country, thout the npted but to Sect. II. 7 CONSTITUTION. 31 to draw the pldure of a complete modern patriot, and to (hew that no honours or di(^in£tions muft ever come in competition with a nation's applaufe ; but it would be ftrange prejrdicc in the people to fuppofe a man can no longer be a patriot becaufe he has acceped the marks of his monarch's favour. The effe6l of fuch favour fhould be alone examined ; if no changes of condud and opinion enfue; if the fame firmnefs of mind, the fame in- flexible integrity are the guide of his aflions and his fentiments, he may • yet be a true patriot, though enriched by a penfion and bedecked with a ribbon. But why do the ideas of the people fo confound thefe diftinc- tions with the lofs of virtue ? Becaufe the laft has fo generally followed the firft, that a long courfe of experience, with fo few exceptions, has rendered them almoft fynonymous terms. True patriotifm was the virtue which the people expelled to have come in full play among the oppofers of Sir Robert Walpole, when that mini- fter was driven from power. It is very well known how much thofe expectations were anfwered. As the war was become neceffary, and the crown had a very particular point in view which had nothing to do with the interefts of Britain, her views were evidently directed to the encompaffing that point ; it mattered very little who were her minifters provided they would obey, without afking queftions. Penfions, places, peerages and ribbons, were diftributed ; the pretended patriots became fafcinated at once, and dropt into mere tools of power. The people had raged for a war to get rid of an old minifter, and their new ones made them pay fcverely for the reproaches they cad on them for no longer being patriots. They overwhelmed the nation with a confuming uniiiccefsful war, carried on on foreign principles, without letting the nation have the fatisfadion of feeing one jot of integrity, difintcrellcdnefs, or common moderation in thofe who guided at home : adminiflration continued to be carried on upon the bafis of corruption alone; which method of govern- ment was found lb very compendious, that no wonder others fliould be laid afide for it. ,,^; ^ .• ^^^ ^^ T^ :mju> .: - . v;: '. .^! From that period to the prefent time, has proved a very remarkable one in the hillory of the Eritirt\ conllituiion ; and flicvvs in the clearell manner that it is founded on the prineijtles I have been fkc telling : The crov.m lins (but few inJhinces excepted) been laudably indifferent as to men, preferring thofe who could l>e)l carry on the alTairs of the nation — according to tlie royal ideas ; nor can one inflancc be produced in which fuch royal bnfnufs has been retarded, through the fcrupuloufncis of the jieoplc's rcprcfcntalives. All forts-, kinds, fpecics, and combinations of miniftr'es 3a. POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay II. miniftries have been in power : Compofitions of the moft heteroge- neous qualities have been jumbled into adminiftrations. ^Thofe who agreed in nothing elfe, have all agreed in one point, to carry on the bufi- ncfs of the government according to the ufual orders and with little further confideration. The fafliionable term has not been // // requifite for the nation'^ good thatfo and Jo Jhould be performed \ but it is requi~ fitefor the Gov£RNM£NTy2> audfo. The idea of adminiftration fwallows up all others. ... I hinted at a few inftances, however, wherein not only meafures were to be purfued, but certain men to purfue them : And in one it hap- pened, that the minifter did not poflefs that fhare of popularity which many thought requifite to the exiftence of his power, and coming into office at a juncture extremely critical, fuch concurrence of circumftances it was expected would a little difturb the even flow of adminiftration, which fo univerfally arofe fuperior to all oppofition : — But nothing was further from fa£t : It was found that not only meafures might be di(Aated but men likewife.— — I am very fenfible that both are the undoubted pri- vilege and prerogative of the crown and extremely right that they ihould ; but I mention the fads, in anfwer only to thofe who urge the non-exiftence of thofe prerogatives, except in the letter of th j coa- llitutioa. What therefore has of late years beea the fplrit of the Britiih confti- tution ? Does it appear from this review that the people's reprefentatives have given attention only to the good of the conftituents ? Have they a£ted on the truly national plan, by giving their aflent to no meafures but fuch as they knew to be beneficial to their country ? Have they ever been remarkable for fudden changes in points of the higheft importance, on as fudden changes of minifters ? Have they, in fine, by their condudl in general, given the people reafon to fufpedt them biafled in their opi- nions by any influence but that of the people's good ? Thofe who are beft acquainted with our modern hiftory, may poflibly anfwer thofe que- ries in 'le negative. Let me however fuppofe an afiirmative ; in which cafe let me alk. Whether fuch influence does not arife from the fmallnefs of theii" numbers ? Whether fuch influence could obtain if the number of reprefentatives was much greater f In this cafe, is it not likewife evident that the modern principle of our conftitution is itijuencef The crown has a right to the fervices of a^! Its fubjedSf Sect. II. CONSTITUTION. as fubjeds, and fervice extends to all kinds of offices and places. It is therefore entirely legal for the King to beftow his favours on the reprefen- tatives of the people as well as on any other of his fubjedls. The infAience therefore of which I am fpeaking, is lawful ; and it will eafily be con- ceived that under fuch circumftances it might foon become the real fpirit of the conftitution. Mr. Hume has remarked in his Hiftory of Great Britain, that the firft Inftances of this influence in Charles the Firft, were the firft proofs of a regular conftitution ; and the obfervation is undoubtedly juft: But it is equally true, that this proof of a good conftitution may degenerate into the ruin of the beft. For if the number of thofe to be corrupted is fo fmall that the bufmefs can eafily be efi^efted, the liberty of the people muft in many cafes be in imminent danger, by a poflibility exifting of their guardian's being bribed to make a market of their truft. If there- fore, from the preceding review of our hiftory, it appears that the num- ber of reprefentatives be not fo large as to fecure them from influence, it neceflarily refults that the conftitution would be better founded more on the interefts of the people, and be in every refpeft fuperior, were the number fo encreafed as to put an end to the idea of all fuch influence as I have mentioned. Haying thus difcufled the point of the number of the reprefentatives, let us in the next place enquire into the equality of the reprefentation, and examine what proportion of the people are free^ or in other words what number of them are governed by laws, to which they confent by means of their reprefentatives. The Houfe of Commons is chofen by the freeholders of the county, by certain corporations in fome towns, and by the freemen in others. The eledlion by freeholders is equal and rational, but the number of their reprefentatives amounts only to one hundred and twenty-two ; indeed the difference of propriety between this eledion and that of the boroughs is very evident ; for the wretched fyftem of the vileft bribery and moil deteftable con uption, which is carried on in the latter, cannot poflibly obtain in any fuch degree in the former. But to pafs on to by far the greateft number of the reprefentatives, thofe of the towns. Many that contain ten, twenty, and thirty thoufand inhabitants, have their members F cle^Sled 34 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay II. clcded by their corporations, which feldom contain above thirty or forty men; and in others certain '■f the inhabitants that are free of the town, more numerous indeed than in the former cafe, but very far from compre- hending the tocal. Such are the electors of the reprefentatives of Great Britain ! 1 hav6 formed many calculations of their numbers on a variety of plans, and could never raife them, with the utmoft attention to the fubjedl, to much above two hundred and fifty thoufand: I am very clear they do not amount to three hundred thoufand : If the people at large, therefore^ amount to eight millions, about a thirty-fecond part c r fomething more of them have votes. Precifenefs is not to be attained in fuch a cJ.cula- tion, but I believe this is not far from the truth. •n It mud be confefTed by all, that this is a very imperfect reprefentation : Vaftly the greateft part of the people have no more to do with the choice of the members, than the Turks have with that of the Granc' Vifier ; how therefore can any one aflert thatthe people of England are reprefented in par- liament ? And as for the few that vote for the reprefentatives, what are the rcquifites for the duly performing fo important a duty, that are peculiar to thofe that enjoy the right? I have already allowed the propriety and equality of the freeholders votes ; but why are the members of corpora- tions to poflefs the right of eledion, in exclufion of thoufands of towns- men equally, and in all probability better qualified for the purpofe. In what manner are nineteen out of twenty of the inhabitants of the boroughs reprefented ? How are many of the moft populous places iii England, efpecially manufadluring ones, that have no charters ? Where are we to find the reprefentatives of the moft important body of men the nation boafts, the farmers ? In what manner are the labourers repre- fented ? It may be faid, in anfwer to thefe queries, that there could be no- benefit refult from members being eledcd by people fo low and depen- dent, but that I deny; the very increafing the number alone, by whom- foever eleded, would have vaftly beneficial confequences : But let me alk if the labourers themfelves are not as able to eledt with propriety as that loweft fcum of the earth, the frefemen of moft boroughs ? Surely, if we have the leaft regard to the ufe of any body of men, they rank infinitely before them ! How much more worthy therefore of being reprefented i& the refpe£lable body of the farmers ! As to thefe clafles of men being dependent, can they poftibly be more fo than nine-tenths of the prefcnt conftituents ? Far from it ; on a general view of the latter, it will be 4 ipuvA Sect. II. CONSTITUTION. 35 found (count/ freeholders excepted) that fcarce any people arc fo meanly and vicioufly dependent *. Upon the whole we may fairly determine, that infinitely the greateft part of the natipn ^about thirty-one parts out of thirty-two) are totally go- verned by laws to which they never, in the moft diftant manner, gave their aflent ; and of courfe cannot be faid to enjoy real liberty. For a Frenchman has as much to do with the edicts of a king of France, as this vaft part of the Britifh people with the aOiS of the Britifh parliament f. If any thing but a great addition to the numbers of the reprefentatives could have in fome fmall meafure obviated thefe objeai^ons, it was the triennial bill — — We know the fate ^f i^ ' t' ' ^ ."' ^' ' • Reprefentation of Ireland, ■■ii: If l.'» r ■•<• ,j'''?-i* I '■ This point will be difpatched io a few words : All the objeftions which have hitherto arofe in examining the reprefentation of Britain, are appli- cable to that of Ireland ; with fome additional ones refulting from her being a conquered country ; for her legiflature does not confjft only of her king and natives, but a numerous body of foreigners, for fo the English are to be called, while fuch pernicious diftindions of intereft are continued between the two iflands : But I muft neceffarily fpeak more of the ill confequences refulting from this diviilon in another place. Reprefentation of the Colonies, To what degree does the legiflative power of Great Britain extend over her colonies ? A queftion one would appr.^hend not difficult to anfwer ; but fome late proceedings have thrown it into an unexpe^ed light. A • Why are not copyholders to vote ? Are they not as independent as freeholders? For what purpofe preferve this ridiculous rag of an exploded fyltem ! f What mere fluff therefore is the obfervation of Roufleau : he endeavours to prove we have no liberty, but the reafun he gives is abfurdity, Le peuple Anglois penfe etre libre ; il fe trompe fort, il ne I'eft que durant Teleflion des memures du parlcment, fitot qu'ils font elus il eft efclavc, il n'eft rien. Du Contra£l Sodaly p. 214. Dr. Blackftone's flight remark is more worthy of attention, as it proceeds from one who has difplayed fo juft a knowledge of our conftitution ; (peaking of the election of tb'i reprefentatives, he fays, " This is the fpirit of our conditution ; not that I ^ert it is in fadt quite fo perfeft as I have here endea- voured to defcribe it 5 for if any alteration might be wiflied or fuggcfted in the prc.ent frame of parliament, it fhould be in favour of a more complete repreTentation of the people." Cc.n;::«ntarUs$n the Laws 0/ Eng/andt Vol. \. p. I J 2. 2d Edit. F 3! ' pirt 3^ POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IL i':!|i;y M mm' part of their Inhabitants came from foreign European countries, and another part tranfported tbemfelves from the Britifli Iflands ; both are blended together, and live under governments, delineated in charters granted by the crown. If the inhabitants of fuch fettlements therefore are exempted from the unlimited controu! of the Britifh parliament, the exemption muft indubitably refult either from the; terms of their charters^ or the want of being reprefented in the legiflature. All prctenfions founded on charter or grant of the crown, fuppofing an exemption exprefled or implied, are totally without foundation, as one part of the legiflature cannot poflibly grant an exemption from the power of the whole. Such charters would be illegal, and of courfe void. '■« ' The other plea of a want of reprefentation muft be examined more particularly. And here it is necefl*ary to eftablifh a few uncontrovertable maxims by which we may the better judge of the point before us. I. None of the Aibjeds of the Britifli dominions can alienate tbem- felves from their allegiance. II. By retiring to uninhabited lands, they do not alienate themfelve» from Aich allegiance. .. rii ,: ;:;: ,r III. All foreigners fettling in the Britifli dominions, enjoying the pro- tection of the Britifli laws and government, and accepting grants of lands from fuch government, are to be confidered in the fame light of obedi-jnce as natural born fubjeds. , ^ ^ , .; IV. No laws made by fuch fettlers c n have any force, merely on the authority of thofe who frame them. They muft be ratified by their principal. ,. ,. Y. Much the greateft part of the people of Great Britain are not repre* fented in parliament. VI. There is no fuch thing as a •mrtual reprefentation. Let us now examine the pretenfions of the colonies by thefe maxima. I fliall fele£t them from the principal writings in their favour*, which fums up all the arguments fcattered in numerous others^ * Annual Regijltr^ '765, p. 34. H Sect. II. CONSTITUTION. m re not repre- It is urged in the firft place, " That thofe who firft planted them, were not only driven out of their mother country by perfeculion, but had left it at their own rifk and expence ; that being thus forfaken» or rather worfe treated by hei, all ties, except thofe common to mankind, were diffolved between them, they abfolved from all duty of obedience to her, as fhe difpenfed herfelf from all duty of protedion to them. As I mean to confine myfelf to mere law and conflitution, it is almoft needlefs to refute the palpable falfities contained in this paflage, fuch as comprehending the nvhole number of the inhabitants in \.\\epart that left their native country voluntarily, not driven from ity or rather ivor/e treated — all ties being diffolved between them— the duty of protedlioa being difpenfed with. Thefe falfities, efpecially the laft, are too abfurd to demand an anfwer from any one. But to affert that they are abfolved from all duty of obedience is in dire£t contradidtion to maxims ift, 2d, 3d and 4th to the common adminiftration of their governments and to the authority of the very laws under vvhich they live. It is next afferted — " That it was extremely abfurd that they fhould be ftill thought to owe any fubmilfionto the legiflative power of Great Britain, which had not authority enough to Ihield them againft the violences of the executive ; and more abfurd ftill that the people of Great Britain ihould pretend to exercife over them rights, which that very people aiRni* they might juftly oppofe, if claimed over themfelves by others." It is. neceffary here to explain the imaginary diftindlion between the people oF Great Britain here and the people of Great Britain there. Suppofe a large part of the kingdom of Scotland to have been, from diftant ages tO! the prefent time, a wade uninhabited wild — or fuppofe the fea to with- draw itfelf from any part of this ifland, and leave a large tradt of dry- land, eithtf contiguous to it, or feparated from it by a fhallow channel ;, fuppofv, in either of thefe cafes, certain turbulent fpirits who did not chufe to live at home, or who could not others, induftrious ones wh» chofc to leave their home in expet^ation of living better elfewhere— — others, foreigners, tranfplanted at the government's charge j fuppofe, I fay, a colledion of fuch mifcellaneous people fettle in the above mentioned tracts ; the crown, at their requeft forms them into a corporation, and as an encouragement to their agriculture and population, allows them. to frame regulations among themfelves, to have the force of laws wheri < ratified from home. Laftly, fuppofe the colony multipdies, becomes greatly uleful to the printipal, and without having the burthen of any- public expences laid upon them,, are nevertheleis pxoteded and defendeiB by 38 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay II. Hi^:, by the nation at large; I defire to know wherein the inhabitants of fuch a colony would vary from the people at large, more than other feparate jurifdidions, of which there are many ? I defire to be informed, how it can be aflcrted that they are lefs reprefented in parliament than thirty-one parts out of thirty-two of the original people of Great Britain ? And where is the difference of the above cafes and our American fettlements, except the diftance ? which moft certainly makes no other than a dif- ference of expcnce to the mother country in defending them. How then can it be fail' that the people of Great Britain expeft of them what they would not lubi))it to themfelves! They do fubmit to it, unlefs, by the people of Great Britain, are underftood only two hundred and fifty thoufand individuals ! The pretenfions of the American colonies are no better founded than thofe in the above fuppofition : They do not form an idea of rejeding the legiflative authority of Britain, until it impofes fome- thing difagreeable to themfelves. They live under the protection of the Britifli laws and conftitution. Britifh money is fpent in millions lo defend them. But Britifh authority is -quite another affair, they chufe to have nothing to fay to it. As to the indeterminate affertion of a want of power to fliield them againfl the executive part of government ■-common fenfe and law flatly contradifl; it. Within the extents of Britifh liberty there can exifl no fuch want. The next plea is — " That it was their birthright even as the defcendants of Englifhmen, not to be taxed by any but their own reprefentatives j that, fo far from being aftually reprefented in the parliament of Great Britain, they were not even virtually reprefented there, as the meaneft inhabitants of Great Britain are, in confequence of their intimate con- nedion with thofe who are adually reprefented ; that, if laws made by the Britifh parliament to bind all, except its own members, or even all except fuch members, and thofe adually reprefented by them, would be deemed, as moft certainly they would, to the highefl degree oppreffive and unconflitutional, and refifled accordingly by the reft of the inhabitants, though virtually reprefented; how much more opprcfhve and unconfli- tutional muii not fuch laws appear to thofe who could not be faid to be cither adlually or virtually reprefented ? That the people of Ireland were much more virtually reprefented in the parliament of Great Britain, than it was even pretended the people of the colonies could be, in confequence of the great number of Englifhmen, poffeflcd of eftates and places of truft and profit in Ireland, and their immediate defcendants fettled in that country, and of the great number of Irifh noblemen and gentlemen in both houfes of the Britifh parliament, and the gi eater number fl'll con- ilantly Sect. II. CONSTITUTION. 39 ftantly refiding in Great Britain ; and that notwithftanding the Britifli parliament never claimed any right to tax the people of Ireland, la virtue of their being thus virtually reprefented amongll them." The hinge of this argument turns entirely upon the people of Great Britain, not a£lrtally reprefented being virtually fo and a virtual re- prefentation of the Irifti, not giving the parliament of Great Britain a right to tax them. I have already cftabliihed it as a maxim, that there is no fuch thing as virtual reprefentation, and fure I am that all the ima- gination of fuch is at beft founded in abfurdity. But th*" foundations of this reafoning and all the conclufions are abfolutely falfe, for nothing is cafier than to demonftrate the people of the colonies as much virtually reprefented, fuppofing there is fuch a thing, as the greateft part of the Britifh nation. The cafe is plainly this : infinitely the greateft part of the inhabitants of Britain are not reprefented at all, for fo the common fenfe muft determine : What connexion is there that amounts to what is called a virtual reprefentation, between the whole body of the Britifh farmers and the raggamuffin voters in fome boroughs, or the incorporated mem- bers of others ! This virtual reprefentation is a mere fmoke-ball : And yet we find all fubmit to be taxed by the reprefentatives of thole of whom they know no more than of the North American favages ! Why do they yield this obedience ? Not, in good truth, becaufe they are virtually reprefented, but becaufe they live under the protedlion of thofe reprefentatives, who vote the public money which is raifed to defend them, becaufe they and their poflerity are and muft be Britons, let them fpread over whatever continents they may becaufe no fubjedt of Britain can alienate his allegiance to the Britifh law ; — — • arid becaufe the legiflative authority of King, Lords and Commons, is as defpotic over all Britons, let them live wherever they pleafe, as that of the Grand Turk is over his own fubjefts.— — What a poor evafion there- fore is it to ftate a cafe of refiftance of this authority in thofe only vir- tually reprefented ! Such refiflancc might happen, but it would be abfo- lute rebellion, and punifhed accordingly ; it matters not to quote the villany of fuch an a6t of parliament : If it is an a6t, obedience muft be inviolable, for the moment the fubjedt takes upon him to judge whether it deferves obedience, he rebels, and if fupported, the conftitution is at an end. Abfolute defpotifm muft lodge fomewhere, and nothing can be more unlimited in pewer than an aCt of parliament. The fault of any part of the nation being taxed by the reprefentatives of others, is the deficiency in our conftitution explained above ; but as this deficiency is at prefent conftitutional, obedience is requifitefrom all,- electors or not eledlors» from the farmers in Britain and the planters in America. To 40 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay II. To quote the virtual reprefentation of Ireland, is to produce an inftancc without the Icaft fimilarity : For Ireland having a legiflature of its own, throws it entirely out of the qucftion, unlefs the colonifts will aflert that their Council and Lower Houfe are to be compared, in point of legal independency, with the Lords and Commons of Ireland.— —And yet what numerous ads of the Britifh parliament are to be quoted, that alTume zfovereign fuperiority over the whole people of Ireland. But can it be fuppofed that this arifes from a virtual reprefentation ?— Ridiculous ! — This argument, of the Irifli being more virtually reprefented in the Bri- tifh parliament than the colonifts, is a weapon that cuts two ways ; for, as they fay, it refults from the refidence of the Irifli in England ; fuch refi- dence is merely a matter of inclination ; the gentlemen of the colonies may, if they pleafe, be reprefented in the fame manner: View the fugar colonies, and fee what a lumber of planters refide conftantly in England, and how many of them are even in the legiflature itfelf ; can the North Americans aflert, that thefe are not virtually reprefented ? And yet fuch reprefenta- tion is in their own power whenever they chufe to become, in proportion, as valuable to Britain as the Weft Indians. The colonifts think themfelves very hardly ufed by the Britifli parlia- ment's afluming a right to tax them. Their numbers are fuppofed to be above two millions ; but why are thefe two millions to be fo outrageous on a want of reprefentatives, when there are above feven millions in Britain that are no more reprefented than themfelves ! It has been propofed that members (hould be eleded by the colonies.— ^By all means, the reprefen- tation of the people cannot be too general, but, in the name of common reafon, let the latter feven have the indulgence as well as the former two. Let the farmers of Britain be reprefented equally with the planters of America. The inhabitants of Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchefter, and twenty other moft populous towns, remain upon a par with their brethren of Bofton, Philadelphia, Charles-Town, &c. Let the additional reprefentation be extended — but let it be equal — the meafure will then be one of the beft that ever was adopted. SECT. Sect. m. CONSTITUtlON. A » 4« J, S E C T. in. Of the Reprefsntatives, ^ IT is abfolutely ncceflary, when the Reprefentatives are cleded, in whatever manner the eledion has been performed, that they Ihould be, firft, independent; and fecondly, equally balanced with the Houfe of Lords. It would be needlefs to explain the neceffity in general of their being independent, fmce it is fo ftrilting j but the particular point of their priiruege, as known at prefent, merits a little attention. It has been frequently afTerted, that the greater the privileges of any particular body of the people, the lefs are thofe of the fubjedits at large \ and this maxim has been often applied to the privilege of parliament. But furely the rights of the people*8 Reprefentatives are in reality the rights of the people, who ele^ them to thofe privileges as well as their feat. The neceffity for their enjoying them is much greater, for evil deiig; s muft be of a vaft extent to operate immediately upon a people at large, but the bufinefs. is much more eafily begun on five hundred Reprefentatives, who cannot therefore be guarded too fecurely. The reign of Charles I. difplayed to all the world the importance of privilege to the people ; and reafon ought to fatisfy every one, that the liberties of the country are but another name for the privilege of par- liament. This right mvift fometimes fall on men who make an ill ufe of it among their fellow-fubje£fcs, and it is their condudl which irritates fo many people againft the inequality it occafions ; but fuch evils are of trifling confe- quence in comparifon with the great benefits refulting from it ; for we flioujd confider that it might become poffible enough to a wicked mini- fter to make ufe of private means to get rid of refractory members, when he would not dare to ufe open ones. Nor ought accident or the intereft of individuals to be fufFered to enjoy a power of detaining the people's Reprefentatives from the great bufinefs of the nation; wefhoukl remember that the vote of a worthlefs man, given through pique anil obftinacy, may in fome cafes be as valuable as that of the beft. Privilege, in refped of independency on the crown, is of the utmoft importance : And here 1 cannot do better than quote the words of a very . G * great w.!' H'i '^ rbllfrc'Kh ESikts. M*9Av 9. great author, highly defcrving every one's attention : " Privilege of par- hamcnt, fays he, was principally eHabliihed in order to protect its mem- bers, not only from being molcfted by thtir fellow-fubjcdls, but alfo, more efpecially, from being opprclfed by the power of the crown. If, there- fore, all the piivilcges of parliament were oVice to be fct down and a(cer- taincd, and no privilege to be allowed but what was fo defined and deter- mined, it were eafy for the cxecutiVe power to dcvifc Ibme new cafe not within the line of privilege, and under pretence thierc )f to harafs any refraflory member, and violate the freedom of parliamttit. The digpnity and independence of the two HoufcB are ther'erore in great meafure prc^ fcrved by keeping their privileges indefinite *.'* * The balance between the two Houfes is likewife a point of very great Importance ; for if the Lords become fo numerous and powerful, as by their riches and influence to create a large number of the Commond^ and otherwife rule their rclbllition«, the cortftitution is in danger not of becoming ariftocratical, but of the authority of the crown encreafing too much ; bccaufe the royal authority can never have any thing to fear from the power of the Houfe of Lords, fupport of the throne being almoft inherent in the nobility of all nations : Whatever fuperiority of power they gained over the Conii!nonsi w'dmld be bm kfi iadditional weijght m the fcale of royalty. ' - :■'* ■„.. t.-'US. If thefe principles are applied to ttie prefent ftate of the Britiih con-^ (litution, they will open a field of very important refled^ion. The encreafe of the peerage has, of late years, been extremely rapid. The law is conftantly carrying numbers to that honour, and large fortunes never fail to have the fame effed. In a natibn which carries on fo prodijgibus a commerce, and which runs fo immenfely in debt, and has fo vaft a circu- lation, a great inequality of wealth muft abound, and of courfe over- grown fortunes : Thefe feldom fail to advance their poffeflbrs to the peer- age ; which, with the law, and great abilities in other's of the Houfe of Commons, altogether encreafe the number of the Houfe of Ldrds pro- digioufly. Their property becomes immenfe, and their command over a great number of boroughs, very evident. Thefe circumflances in tinie may have great efFeds; but as, the balance between the two Houfes has been kept pretty much in equilibrio fince the regular fettlement of the conftitution, it is very much to be wifhed the happy medium may con- tintie ; fince an interruption of it muft be attended with confequences of Blac\Jlont*i Commtnt&r'm on the Laws of England^ Vol. i. p. 16^^. infinite Mils A V a. vilege of par- te£l its mem- but alfo, more J. If, there- ivn and afcer- led and deter- new cafe not o hftrafs any The dignity meafure pre- of very great fverful, as by le CSoiiimon^ inger not vn encreafing thing to fear throne being fuperiority of tional -wtijgfat Britiih con- The encreafe The law is les never fail prodigi6as a vaft a circu- courfe over- s to the peer- the Houfe of f Ldrds pro- )mmand over ances in tinl'e Houfes has :ment of the im may con- ifequences of Sect. III. CONSTITUTION. 43 :-|^ infinite importance. I have ventured thcfe diftant hints the rather as many are even at prefcnt apt to imagine our conftitution tending too much to democracy : A miftakp atifing poflTibly from the bulinefs of the laft century, which is not yet forgot ; but this opinion I cannot think founded on a judicious and impartial examination. The fpirit of it ii totally changed fince the days of Charles I. no comparifon, therefore, of that period with the prcfent can juftly be made. Adminiftration, it is faid, meets with few difficulties in the Houfc of Peers; bufinefs is there regular and feldoQi interrupted j but amoog the Commons the cafe is different. Inferences are therefore drawn to the cffed I have mentioned ; but in anfwer to this it (liould be remembered, that oppofition to the crown is more contrary to the fpirit of the Nobility than to the Commons. This circumftance is of importance' -But a readier anfwer is at hand to deny the fa£t : Let the times be quoted when the Commons have been deaf to the miniftry*8 demands — and in bufinefs fo peculiar as raifing money. What a figure will the defeats of the miniders make in comparifon with the failings of the oppofition ! indeed it is a thing almofl unknown in our conflitution. Debates and oppofition make a greater noife in one Houfe than in the other, and are more talked of by the race of politi- cians, but fuch circumflances deferve no attention. Only remark the fuccefs of adminiflration. Review a few years. Do you not from ,^ence conclude, that no meafures have been adopted but the mofl patri- otic ones ? Why do you Co conclude ? Becaufe fo many have met with the fanftion of the Commons as well as that of the Lords. I cannot therefore difcover in what manner this democratical leaven is to be ,found. A very ingenious writer, indeed, has laboured hard to prove, that the Houfe of Commons may not only ftrip the King of his prerogatives when they pleafe, but alfo vote the Houfe of Lords ufelefs. His words are, ** As to the Houfe of Lords they are a very powerful fupport to the crown, fo long as they are in their turn fupported by it ; but both expe- rience and reafon fhew us, that they have no force nor authority fufficient to maintain themfelves alone without fuch fupport *." I cannot difcover in what manner reafon is to fhew this ; but mufl own that my reafon fhews me the very contrary, and that on this obvious account ; power follows property, and the peerage has been fo increafed, that it is not in the power of the people to chufe a Houfe of Commons that fhall balance the property of the Houfe of Lords ; and what follows, as a I . 1 • Humt's EJfayt, Vol. i. p. 39. 8vo edit. ncccflary m 4* POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay H. neceflary confequence of fuch great property, is the peerage having a double power, their own third — and a very confiderable Ihare of that pofleffed by the Commons. Read a lift of the latter, and mark the num- ber of relations of peers, and doubtlefs many intimate friends ; every man^s private knowledge will give him fpecimens of this fufficier *o form a ge- neral conjeiSlure upon. How many boroughs are at the abLlute difpofal of peers ! — But in what manner does experience prove the opinion iketched by the author ? that of the laft century can only be meant ; and I hope .the peerage in Charles I.*s time will not be compared with that of the ^prefent. Their property nor their numbers were by no means a balance; but the cafe is very different now. Upon a moderate computation there has been added to the Houfe of peers, within the laft twenty years, three hundred and fifty thoufand pounds a year. I queftion whether Charles the Firft's peerage much exceeded this fum. ■ . ' ni • ,. .1 ,1 X t ^ S E C T. VL Of the Duration of the Conftitution, -..;■ IF the adminiflration of government conducts itfelf lb exceeding^ fmoothly. and fo much to the ample fatisfadlion of the crown, at the fame time that the liberty of the fubje£t is fo finely fecure ; it muft be confefled that this period is blefled with a moft happy mean of power and freedom : But from this pleafing confideration of it there refults a very natural enquiiy concerning its duration. A people mufl: be ftrangely i)igotted to themfelves if they could think only of their own liberty and not of that of their poflierity ; or if they could enjoy the greatefl: free- dom in any branch of the conftitution with eafe, if there was the leafl: yeafon to think they pofleffed it in return for that which might one day enflave their country. It has been ihewn in the preceding fe£lion with i A m Sect. VI. CONSTITtJTION. ^ 1 with how much cafe the adminiftration of government is conduced : This is a very great advantage doubtlefs, but we mull here examine the principles of it, and endeavour to difcovcr if it proceeds from caufes which may be attended in the long run with fatal confequences to liberty in general. The fagacious Montefquieu prophecies the deftrudiion of our conftitu- tion ; his words will form no bad text to comment on in the prefent enquiry. " Comme toutes les chofes humiines ont une fin, I'etat dont nous parlons perdra fa libeiie, il perira. ^' '..c, Lacedcmone & Carthage ont bien p^ri. II perira lorfque la puifTance legiflative fera plus corrumpue que I'cxecutrice *." The executive power becoming corrupt is an equivocal expreflion ; for the term muft in this place mean an inordinate defire of greater power than the laws allow : Such corruption cannot fo much arife from the principles of any age as from the accidental difpofition of the fovereign. The legiflative power, therefore, becoming more corrupt than the execu- tive, is nothing more than becoming corrupt itfelf ; for no one can doubt but liberty is gone when the legiflative part of the government is corrupted enough to negleft it, without meafuring the degree of fuch corruption by that of the executive part. There can be no doubt but Mr. de Montefljuieu means to found rhmdeftruftion of the Britifli conilitution in luxury: This is plain eaotf the inftances he quotes, Rome, Carthage and Lacedemon ; and likewife from a paflage in liv. 7. ch. 4. " Les republiques finiflent par le luxe." And it it is very plain he extends it to free monarchies, by his rer' ■, " La monarchie fe perd, lorfque le prince rapportant tout uniqueme lui, appelle I'ctat a fa capitale, la capitale a la cour, & la cour a fa i^- le perfonne," which is a mere definition of luxury in the effeds. M.,,ir .'l.v' But in what manner Is luxury to be the ruin of a conftitutlon which is fo little open to the changes and alterations which were for ever in that of Rome — — vljjch in its nature cannot be liable to fuch an overturn as the lofs of th«; fenate's authority at Carthage; and ars to Lacedemon no parallel can be drawn between the government and principles of Sparta and Britain — and yet luxury undoubtedly ruined all three : It is evident from the flighted attention, that if (he likewife deftroys the liberty of • De L'Efprlt des Loix, Jiv. 21. ch. 6. H 2 Britain, I» POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IL •Britain, it muft be by extending dependence on the crown : If ever the prodigal wants of" the legiflative power render them depending on the executive, the conflitution will be undone and palpably by luxury. In a preceding fedilion I mentioned the prodigious influence of the crown, hy means of the infinity of its dependants.-—— The earl of Bath, in his much admired tradl, fpealcs of this fubjedl with a particular view to the flifcty of the conftitution : No apology is neceflary for the quotation. *' (^onfiderably above an hundred millions of debt, the fum we muft be obliged to fit down with at the end of the prefent war, is a burthen, which, however immenfe, experience has taught us, contrary to all theory, wc lliall be able to bear without bankruptcy. As our cxpenccs liavc encreal'cd, we have found, contrary to the predidions of gloomy poliiiciaris, that our abilities to bear them have encreafed alfo. But though our debts be not too great for the riches of our country, they are much too great for the independency of its conftitution. For when I confider the infinite dependence upon the crown created by means of them, throughout tiie kingdom, amongft all degrees of men ; when I relied: on the many thoufands of placemen of every denomination, who are employed in the colledion of the vaft variety of taxes now levied oa the public ; and take a view of a far greater number of fervants of the crown, both civil and military, for whofe fupport fo cojifiderable a ihare of the public revenue is fet apart, too many of whom I fear might be tempted to aflift in extending the influence of the prerogative to the prejudice of public liberty ; when I confider our vaft load of taxes, in this point of view, I cannot help obferving the amazing revolution in our government which this fingle article has brought about; nor enough lament the unhappy circumftanccs of affairs, and the neceflities of the war, which have forced us to an annual expence, unknown to former times, and which will he almoft incredible to jwrterity. I believe I can- venture to fay upon memory, that the expenccs of the war for all King William's reign, about thirteen years, were not, at a medium, above three millions and a half a year ; and Queen Anne's, though the laft years were exorbitant, were little more than five millions. What they are noiv I figh to think on, twelve or fourteen millions fhad his hrdjlnp -wrote later he might have faid eighteen or tiventyj are demanded without referve ; and what is ftilL more, voted without oppofition. Nay, of fo little confequence is it now thought, by our reprefentatives to deliberate on the weighty bufinefs of raifing money on the fubjeft, that fcarcely can forty of them be got to- gether, to hear the eftimates for at leaft one hundred and four/core thoufand ir.eKy fot fo many we have now in our pay; and to borrow eight millions. ;!!.i ' ' ■'■<■ Sbct.VI. C 6 N S f ITU T I O N. 53 "f (he might afteriifards have /aid twelvej the fum by which our expences ttcceed our incojne *.|' The noble author, in this paflTage, (ketches the danger of the conftitu- tion from the vaft riches which commerce has poured into the country, in creating fuch a dependence upon the crown ; which is but in other words the work of the corruption foretold by Montefquieu. Such great wealth, and yet greater credit, increafes the inequality of mankind, and multiplies at a prodigious rate the wants and expences of all ranks of people. Venality is the univerfal confequence, and when every man knows there is a fund capable of gratifying, to fo high a degree, the craving defires of all who can return the leaft equivalent, dependence muft enfue ; the extent of which can alone overturn the conftitution of Britain. For if, in this vaft chain, the legiflature fhould compofe a link, the ruin would immediately follow. The enquiry, therefore, turns upon the poflibility and probability of fuch a fatal pitch of corruption : That it is pofllble no one can contradict but as for the probability let us all pray to heaven to avert fo dire a misfortune. The expediency of a place- bill has often ftruck the Houfe of Commons itfelf, but never came to any thing : The prefent law of re-eledlion, on accepting any, would be of infinite confequence if the number of reprefentatives was greatly increafed, but while they are fo few in comparifon with the total of the people, and while fuch numbers of boroughs are either entirely venal, or totally dependent on the great and rich, it muft be allowed that this adt is very far from enfuring fecurity to the conftitution. The wonderful eafe with which adminiftration has been carried on in the bands of fuch a variety of minifters of all abilities, proves plainly enough that the influence of the crown is prodigious ; and it is this general in- fluence, not the great abilities of a minifter, that is moft to be feared by a free people : It is the venality of the times which faps the foundations of V ell-wrought fyftems of liberty, and which provides the tools of defpo- ti 'in ready for the hands of the meaneft tool of power. " If the people is growing corrupt, fays Lord Bolingbroke, there is no need of capacity to contrive, nor of infinuation to gain, nor of plaufibility to feduce, nor of eloquence to perfuade, nor of authority to impofe, nor of courage to attempt. The moft incapable, aukward, ungracious, fhocking, profligate, and timorous wretches, invcfted with power and niafters of the purfe» * Lttttr to Tiva Great Men^ p. 43. wilt H POLITIOAL BSSAYS, Essay II. ^vill be fufHcient for the work* wheq the people are accomplicea in it. Luxury is rapacious; let them feed it; the more it ia fed the more profufe it will grow. Want is the confequencc of profufion, venality of want, and depen^dencc of venality. By this progreflion the firft men of a nation will become the penfionera of the lesift ; and he who has talents the moft implicit tool to him who has none *," Does not this mafterly fketch exhibit to us pretty nearly the picture of the prcfcnt age ? Do we not behold ^ moft uncommon eagernefs to poflefa the public money ? With what unabating ardour are penfiona, places^ poAs« ofiices, commiifions, an4 the whole range of crown preferment, (ought after even by thofe who were born to independent fortunes ! No wonder that thofe deftitute of fuch advantages Iliould become the tools of power. In fuch an overwhelming tide of avarice, very few are attentive to corred: as much as is in their power the fatal principles of the times, which lap, fo imperceptibly to the multitude, the foundations of their freedom : The moft notorious venality paftes with nothing but a flight cenfure on the charaQer of the individual ; ideas of public danger feldom arife from inftances in this way the moft profligate. The Coutt Kalendar is a par- lour window-book in every houfe, for ever pored over for the amufement of longing avarice ; how few figh over thofe immenfe lifts through the love of liberty alone !— — War, taxes, debts, funds, and all the confe- quences of our prodigious trade, are regretted no further than as burthen- ibme to individuals, not as parts of that vaft fabric of dependency on the crown, which they moft undoubtedly form, and from which there is reafon to fear the worft of confequences. Can any one read the lifts of the Lords and Commons, without trembling to find fuch a prodigious number of places, commiflions, <6'c. enjoyed by thofe only guardians of Britifti liberty. Can any one imagine, that the multiplicity of thofe without doors, who poflefs pofts in the gift of the crown, are in the leaft degree independent, whilft we have feen Uich /weeps amongft them more than once on changes in the miniftry ? The variation of parties prove clearly enough the importance of the chain of dependency to thofe who conduit the public affairs. I have already obferved that the prefent enjoyment of liberty does not fufFer from the fmoothnefs of parliamentary bufmefs, nor from the extent of the regal influence, nor am I here applying the venality of the age to the age itfelf ; I rather aim at point- ing out the tendency of fuch univerfal dependency, and the danger there is that our happy conftitution may not long remain on thofe fecure foun- dations which have hitherto formed fuch a peculiar bleffmg to this '7fl * Idea of a Patriot King^ p. 1 20. country. SicT. Vt. C O K S T I T U t 1 O N. ' ^ # more I country. The fplrit of independency and freedom raifed the fabric ■ it is the fpirit of venality that can alone deftroy it. Our anceftors, in recalling the conftitution to its true principles, or more properly fpcaking, in creating it, guarded with the utmoft pre- caution the fubjefts liberty againft the open power of the crown ; but they could not be aware that a new monller, called public credit^ would be born to befiege that fortrefs by fap, which they had laboured fo indc- fatigably to fecure againft the attack by florm. But this hydra-headed enemy threatens to overturn the mighty fabric, founded on their blood and wifdom : Happy for our pofterity if fome future patriots fhould bring back that conftitution, which is the peculiar glory of their country, to its true genuine principles, which are far enough removed from venality and dependence *. The prodigious commerce carried on by Britaifi, which has been fc> many years upon the encreafe, hath introduced immenfe riches and ftill greater public credit, which, by multiplying their figns, and enlarging to a vaft degree the national circulation, hath introduced a moft conl'uming luxury, which neceflarily is attended witk the effects I have been difplay- ing. This nation has hitherto enjoyed all the convenience, eafe, and • The beft inftituted governments, like the bcft conftituted animal bodies, carry in theny the feeds of their deflru£tion i and (hough they grow and improve for a time, thty wiH footir tend vifibly to their diflblution. Every hour they live is an hour the lef^ (hat they have to live. All that can be done, therefore, to prolong the duration of a good government, is to draw it back, on every favourable occafton, io the RtR goad prlnct'plei on which it was founded. When thel'e occafions happen often and are well improved, fuCh govertments are prof'pcrous and durable. When they happen feldoiti, or are ill improved, thefe political bodies live irv pain or in languor, and die foon. ,tJ'mu 50 'f^^Jdea of a Patriot King, p. 136. Time only, and long experience, can bring remedies to the defeds in the cuftoms of a finte, whofe form is already determined ; and this ought always to be attempted with a view to the plan of its originttl conftitution : This is fo certain, that whenever we fee a ftate coniluited by meafures contrary to thofe made ufe of in its foundation, we may be aflured a great revolution is at hand } nor do the application of the bcft remedies operate upon dif- eafcs that refift their force. Sully's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 37a. 8vo. In forming this government a latent evil crept into the vitals of the ftate, and hath, ir» the courfe of time, poifoned every part of the conftitution. Corruption, that undermining mifchief, haih fapped the foundation of a fabric, whofe building was cemented with the blood of our beft citizens. The growing evil hath fpread far and wide, tainted the minds of men with fuch incurable degeneracy, that the virtue of our forefathers is become the ridicule of every modern politician. ALf, Ad'-Jitlay's Introdu&im ta her Hiflory cf Englandy vol. i. p. i6» elegance .) J. *J.^^^»^i\^ *,. r^v ^^ POL IT iq At ^fl»A'Y:8. Essay U. elegance of luxury* without paying for thofe enjoymcnrs with the lof» of liberty. But it is not from thence to b« concludal, that a perpetual immunity from the natural cflFeds of fo potent a caufe, is to be the pri- vilege of Britons: The conftitution is ipoft undo\ibtcdly open to this nttack, and there is too muchreafon to fear that it will one day fall under ir. Many circumflances may accelerate or retard the cata(lrophe» but unlefs much Hronger patriotic, efforts are made, than we have any rea- fon to exped^, venality mud inevitably ruin that glorious monument of Briufh liberty.— —I have hitherto confii^ed ipyfelf to tliis fuigle bane of fj:eedom, but there are fome other points yrhich require a little attention. Tlic difpofition and gehius of a monarch muft be of no trifling con- fequence, in times that are critical to public liberty ; either in the very period of the coq^i^ or.nnoppofedr deilrudion, or in thofe which are preparatory to it. It has been often obferved, that republics and free monarchies frequently owe their liberty to a want of great abilities in thofe individuals, whofe iiations give them an opportunity to endeavour, at lead, to enflave their country : The remark is in a great meafure juA, and hiilory will, in abundance of countries, prove it; but it is very far from being univerfal. The fpirit and temper of fome nations, and the principles of fome conflitutions, muft form exceptions to this rule, and frequently difplay certain fitqations, in which ftriking abilities are more apt to retard than accelerate the work. To apply this rcafoning immediately to the conftitution of Great Bri- tain, it is necefTary to obferve, that in what age foever a defign was formed againft it, the fureft way of fucceeding would be to fall in with the manners and principles of the tim^s, to affift them imperceptibly in operating their natural efFed, to wait very patiently their courfe, and never a^ively exert perfonal genius, but in certain critical moments when adivity enfures fuccefs : Even this ufe of genius would be of no effedfc without the preceding patience and inaftivity ; it would even mar the work. This is an cxad pi;<;' iitr.tf, fc i " Such ^ \. Sect. VL C O N S T I T U T I O N. 6f Such a condud, purfued in a confiftent manner, witli the commoa management of the venal tribe, and above ah with due patience, would be the only method that could be attended with fuccefs. The difficul- ties of it, and the time requisite for eflFeding it, would depend upon the degree of venality which governed the times : In an age wherein Luxury, with all her attendants, aiofe to a very high pitch, the bufmefs would b& eafily performed ; fo eafily that it would furprize even the monarch him- felf. I have made no mention of military force ; as neceflary as it might be when the work was finiflied — even an idea of the ufe of it would mar all in the execution. From this rough draught of a pernicious plan, it furely appears, that by far the moft important par*^ of it is to have patience enough to leave the vices of the times to work their natural efFeds : The alTiftance given them requires art and cunning nore than ftriking abilities, which, in nine hundred inftances out of a thoufand, would be too impetuous for the buQnefs ; whereas very moderate ones are not infinitely more common,, but much nearer connected, with the requifite cunning and deceit : For if the monarch's genius was known (and how improbable that it fhould not . ) that very circumftance would keep alive fufpicions if ever raifed,, which in the other cafe would never have had being. As to the cafe of fuch a defign being the work of a minifter, it is cer- tainly very poflible and in many cafes probable, efpecially if he is a popu- lar one, and is able tolerably to preferve the opinion of the peoplis after his acceffion to power. But in this refpedl, as in the former, the degree of venality common would determine it : But if ever it was efFefted by a^ minifter, his mafter would confequently be of very moderate abilities. " There are very great qualities, fays Dr. Campbell, requifite in a prince who aims himfelf at overturning a conftitution : But paflive obftinacy is a quality not hajd to be met with, and this condud:, by a defigning minifter,, will do the work to the full as well *." This maxim is drawn from the deftrudion of French liberty; the latter part is applicablie, in a good, meafure, to the conftitutlon of Britain : But the 'uery great qualities men- tioned in the former part, 1 think I have fliewn, muft be very uncomnion- ones, from the necdfity of being fo intimately blended with very mean ones, dilfimulation and cunning. This^ however, is with refped to the venal age and conftitution of Britain : In other times and' countries, the: maxims n^ight admit of very few exceptions. * Prtfent Staff tf Europe^ F«*S7' Hrorox 63 POLITICAL ESSAYS. lESBAY n. Prom thefe remarks we may venture to conclude, that if thofe men» ■who, from their rank or fortune, may have it in their power to proteft the liberty of their country, would really do their utmoft in fo noble a bufinefs; the only means of being fuccefsful, is, in all venal ages, to rcfifl thofe temptations which carry off the common herd of mankind. In fuch times, the only true patriots are thofe who refill all manner of bribery, be it dreffed up in ever fur-' delufive colours. Were fuch men aduated with the good of their cbuairv they would never fuffer fufpicion to be lulled afleep, by the circuml?.mc )f having either a really virtuous prince on the throne, or one whc appeared fuch. No part of a nation ought to overlook, for one moment, any thing that regarded their liberty, how certain ibever they might be of the good intentions of their fove- reign. An idea of a conftitution being fecure in a venal age, it is plain ought never to arife from feeing no violence of any kind offered to the laws, fmce it is fufficiently evident that liberty may be in real danger without any fuch violence happening. Nor ftiould a people thus circum- ftanced think that nothing is fo much to be dreaded as a monarch of extra- ordinary genius ; that very circumftance of dreading fuch an one is fecurity fufficient ; for we have found that nothing is fo fatal as a blind idea of fafety which throws fufpicion alleep. M. de Beaumells juftly obferves, that an a{i if parliament in England, which ftruck at the liberty of the prefs, would be of worfe confequence ihan one to allow an augmentation of fix thoufand men in the army. He might have faid of twenty thoufand, for armies in England are at lead: voted annually, but fuch an ad: would be perpetual. A minifter that procured an addition to the ftanding army, would be confidered in a woHe light than anoiher who added twenty, thirty, forty, or more millions to the national debt of this country, and yet the latter is by far more pernicious to the conft?»ution than the former. To add two or three hundred thoufand to the civil iift, which is for life, w^nld be very different from augmenting an annuahy voted army. To enad, that the members of the Houfe of Commons fhould fit, like thofe of Ireland, for life; and in fhort a multiplicity of other laws, which fuch a monarch as I fuppofcd, or a popular minifter of abilities, would catch the critical moment to procure, would be of infi- nitely worfe confequences than any thing which had a tendency to vio- lence. I would not, however, be thought to fink the ill confequences refulting from Handing armies ; they are extremely pernicious among a free people, and extend to a vaft degree the chain of regal influence ; I ■would only be underftood to mean that they are preferable to laws, which, carrying no apparent violence in their afped, like military force, do not raife fuch a fpirit of fufpicion and unpopularity in the people, and confe- quently Sect. VI, CONSTITUTION. 65 fluently are more dangerous in being more filent enemies : Add to this their being perpetual, the other only annual : The latter may be dropt at the year's end, the other cannot. If a monarch was toarife, who having^ played the hero, planned the de- ftrudion of liberty by military force; or if a paifive prince, of a quite contrary caft, had a generalillimo that fketched the fcheme for him, in fuch cafes (landing armies would be one tool to work with ; and not only . Handing armies, but thofe prodigioufly numerous bodies of military men who are difnriifled at the clofe of a war ; fuch would be ready at their general's call — too ready, it may be juftly feared, to execute all com- mands ; for a man who has led the life of a foldier four or five years, is good for but little many years after. Thefe would form very different tools from thofe Charles the Firft had to work with ; but even thefe would be good for nothing alone. To depend alone on the military in a luxu- rious age, would be a£fcing contrary to its principles, and of courfe lofing the advantage of wind and tide : In fuch an age, foldiers are fuch no longer tha^ they are paid as fuch— —and pay will create armies at any time. Were the fcheme therefore to be founded on force, venality muft be the corner-ftone : Money muft regularly be had, the army voted for one year would difband if not continued by parliament ; and the bufinef& would, I fancy, be more than fuflicient in any age for one campaign. It is not from hence to be concluded, as I before obferved, that (landing armies, and prodigious temporary ones are of no bad confequence. All that necefTarily arifes from thefe remarks is, that venality and cor- niption are chiefly to be feared, and that open violence, or laws tending to promote it, are not fo much to be dreaded, as thofe which add to that fpecies of pjwer which is founded merely on the principles of the age,. and which being filent and almoft unperceived in operation, do not raife fufpicions and unpopularity. We fliall clofe thefe remarks wi:h a reflexion or two on the depravity of mind, and want of political penetration, in any monarch that may arife in Britain, who fhould ^e diffatisfied with his legal power; for it muft be palpa]>le to any one, that the prcfent power, in|luencc, richcp, and fccurity of a King of Great Britain, are by far more conliderable than they would be if he was to be(;ome abfolute. His immediate power over the perfons of his liibjeds would indeed be greatly extended, but the- formidablenefs of ills kingdom, the figure made in the eyes of the v.-orld, and every thing that arofe from being the monarch of a genc/c is, brave- aivd 64 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay II. and wealthy people, would vanifli at once: In this fuperior confideration of power, his would be inferior. In point cf riches he would likewife greatly lofe, for what comparifon can be made between the prodigious riches of this kingdom at prefcnt, which are ever at the reafonable com- mand of the crown, and the fums that could be raifed on the people by arbitrary power, when trade, ngficulture and credit, were either withered or deftroyed. In point of Iccurity there is no compariibn ; oio- narchs now reign in the hearts of their fubje«Sts — and what is mme, evpn in their purfes — They would tiien exift but by means of their (woxa. Liberty has been fo long and deeply rooted in this nation, that the ^ofs of it v/ould be attended with much more jfiital efFed?. than it was either ia France or Spain ; the revolution there was much flif^^hter, tbr the power of the crown was in both countries much nearer allied to defpotifm, than it is inBritain ; and of couife the change ccild not l)e efiedcd without a more total dei bullion of every tV.ing that depended on iiberry ; If this circutT\fta^ce was* attended to by a Britifh King who had i'ormed the idea, if he was a true politic van lY weald alone make him drop the defign. Such a prince would very cafiVy manage to reign in fa^A as dcfpotic as any prince in Europe, perfedly ^oniiflent with the liberty of bis fubjedls: This may appear to fome a puri^r'ox, but not to fuch as are really acquainted with the principles of our conftitution. What makes the Kiug of Great Britain figure among the fir ft potentates of Europe ! What renders him at this day the firft in the Chriftian world ! ^The liberty of his fubieds. M\ ! m The Engliflx have, by more hiftorians than one, been much reproached for entering fo readily into a civil war againft their fovereign, in the middle of the laft century ; and the fame refledions have been made againfl other nations that havt been adtuated by the fame fpirit ; it may not therefore be amifs, in concluding this fedion, to enquire into the propriety of this opinion, and draw a flight parallel between the value of liberty, and the unhappy eflfeda which mufl: necelfarily attend the aflertion of it by means of the fword : If the latter are found to out- weigh the former, thofe who have made fuch remarks are doubtlefs in the right, and have proved fufficiently, that a nation, when fhe finds her liberties attacked, had better refign them all at once, and by that means €(cax)e the horrors of a domeitic war. m , ting the pp(ition, we flTpyld then, fays he, fuffer the tyranny of a failion^ fubdi-oided into new fadions. But what fhall we fuffer in the REPOSE of abfplute monarchy : The term of ty runny is very readily be- llowed on the demQcratiffil mpde,, but apcording to this author the defpotic is quite another thing f . Will not thofe who have the moft common ideas of comraop liberty call that a tyrar^ny, and the delegated authority of the tyrant to the Ipweft of bis officers, a fubdivifton of tyranny ? with this miferabl^ addition, that this violent government ivill fivohahly laji long. Find repofe in abfoiute monarchy ! What is this bleifed repofe ^ I know not a cafe to which it is applicable. The immediate oppreffipn of the monarch himfelf, though otceffively heavy, may be fomewhat regular; bi|t are not the miferable inhabitants of fuch coun- tries expofed to tyr^nijy in the fliape of every fuperior? What repofe has the induftrious hufbandman (and let us not forget that thofe who live by cultivating the land are three-fourths of the people) under the grind- ing exa£tions of every petty revenue-officer I Under the oppreffive fupe- riority of the loweft of the noblefle ? What repofe do the inferior noblefle meet with under the uncontrouled authority of the great lords ? What repofe do the great themfelves meet with, when awed into fubmiffion by the fupercilious eye of a cpurt mipion, or the frown of a La Pompadour ? This fpecial repofe coplifts in a chain of oppreffion from the throne to the beggar, encreafing every link, until the lower ranks are all tyrannized into the moft wretched mifery. Such a people perpetually fuffer, under the deceitful appearance of repofe^ all the miferies that can arife from the worftof faAion or of civil wars. ^ . » • EJfay$y Vol. i. p. 48. 8vo edit. t In another paflTage of the fame volume, (p. 138.) he exprcfsly fays this — * And thus a fpecies of government arifes (abfetutt wonarchy) to which, in a high political rant, we may give the name of tyranny^ but which, by a juft and prudent adminiftration, may afford tolerable fecurity to the people, and may anfwer moft of the ends of political fociety." The plain fcopeof this is, that the term tyranny is to be ihifted from the government of one man and his minions, where, accordir^g to all common ideas, it everrefted, on to that of the people,' where fo few ever conferred it. / >o K 2 But 6S POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IL But it ivQuld have been happier for us to have ejlablijfjcd abfolute m&' iiarchy from the be^'inning,, rather than fubmit to factions and civil war». A moment's rccollettion of our own hiftory will give a decifive anfwer to this ftrokc. It would luve been better for this nation to have eftabliflied the abfolute monarchy of Charles the Firft. Would fuch voluntary efta- bliiTiment of defpotifm in the Stuarts, who were the acknowledged Kings, have been as eafily fliaken off as the violent ufurpation of a Cromwell ? What has been may be.- -We have experienced the good, and do all experience it, of giving the preference to \ civil war ; we have found it from the beginning of our monarchies, the only road to liberty : Why therefore fhould we feek repofe in defpotifm, to avoid that which has io. often led us to freedom'! The civil war, in the middle of the laft century, had, to every appearance, the moft unfort^'nate iffue, for it concluded in the abfolute power of an ufurper, and yet fo unexpected a circumftance did not prevent the moft noble fyftcm of liberty in the world being founded in fome meafure on thofe very convulfions. But had Charles IL fucceeded to the abfolute power of his father, would he have been puflied from his throne with as much eafe as Richard Cromwell ? Oliver's poflc- rity fhould have been a fucccffion of the ableft men, to preferve the power he had gained ; the firft weak man in a ufurpei'** line is overturned* Not fo with the hereditary fucceffors of once legal Kings^ to tvhom a voluntary gift of freedom is made. Will the Danes recover their liberty when they have a fool upon the throne ? e^j ttif. ■ It was impoffible for thofe tnen who drew the fWdi'dat the fevdlutlbn,' to forefee that the affair would terminate without bloodflied. Had cer- tain perfons diredled their refolves, they would have advifed peaciabh fubmiffion to the true euthanajia of the conftitution, to feek repofe in that. But thcfe nations, who owe near a century of freedom t6 the brave refolutions of their patriotic anceftors, ought to reverence their fame, and eagerly to imprefs an adequate idea of the facred value of free- dom in the minds of their children, that it may defcend to the loweft poftcrity, that if virtue fhould, in future ages, again call for the public arm to revenge public injuries, they may feek their repofe, not in the tranquillity of defpotifm, but in the fame meafures which fecured it to tlicir brave anceftors. ^^ ' But there is very little rcafon to paint thefe civil wars, which are car- ried on in defence of public liberty, in fuch horrible colours. Take a nation at large, and its fufferings in them are by no means fo terrible as fome authors would have us to underftand. The great men, of prodi- git>us pre erty, may indeed be pretty well ftripped ; but when we fpeak Sect. VI. CONSTITUTION. 69 of a nation^ fuch are but oi little confequcnce: The plundering them and diftributing their pofleflions to others is a lad thing for fuch indivi- duals, but of no bad confequcnce to the people. All the lower clafl'cs, upon whom government (and efpccially that which is feverc) bears the harded, never feel their own confequcnce, or natural rights, fo much as in fuch times of public difturbancc^ r This circumflance fuggefts the analogy between the people^ thus enjoys ing their own importance, and the blaze of genius of all kinds, which have, in different ages and countries, been fo ftriking during and after civil wars, and other (to appearance) horrible convulfions. This iixO:, I- Ihould apprehend, muft be as ftrange as any opinion of the little mif- chief done by them — not to mention the formidable power which fo often fuccecds them, founded on the encreafe of the people, trade and riches. At what times is it reafonable to fuppofe the arts, fciences and litera- ture would make the greateft progrefs, if any particular ones arc more favourable to them than others ? Would it be fuppofcdby any perfojn who Thad not attended to their hiftory, that times of civil and foreign war, rapine, plunder, and all kinds of domeftic horrors, would be precifely the ages of tlieir greateft fertility ? Hiftory fcarcely produces a fad more aftonifli- ing than this ; and yet it holds fo regularly true, that one might almoft be led to fuppofe fudh convulfions neceflary to their well-beinj^'. The age of Philip and Alexander, is as much known for bloody wars, revolutions, and a general flame and difturbance over all Greece, as by the infinity of gcniufes of every kind flae then boafted ; which formed i'uch a colledion of great men in all kinds of arts and learning, as have never been equalled. The age of Auguftus, which was almoft a concentration of Roman genfhis, was formed in the midft of civil wars, called terrible by all, in the midft of cruel and bloody profcriptions : All the great men that compofed the court of Auguftus, formed themfelves prior to the fettlement of the empire : Virgil was forty years old at the battle of AQium. If ever a complication of military horrors befel a country, it was on Italy, during the age of Leo X. that country was ravaged feveral times from one end to the other by a variety of enemies. During the fpace of thirty-four years, Italy, to exprefs myfelf in the words of her own hiftorians, had been trampled under foot by barbarous nations *. The kingdom of Naples was conquered four or five times by diff'crcnt princes, and the ftate of Milan underwent more frequent revolutions.- ■ .* % i ■ . > • Du Bos Rejiexhn$ Critiques fur hi Poefuet fur le PdnlurCi torn, ii. p. 232. Much know- ledge on this Cubjcwt may be gained from M. du Bos. Tl v^ 70 POLITICAL ESSAYS. I^-'=iX U. The V^'iictlans faw (cvcral times their enemies armies from their i .-.cN, ami I'lircnce was almofl; conlhintly in war cither with the family of Me- dicis, who wanted to cnflavc her, or with the inhabitants of I'ifa, whom they were deliious of fubduing. RomCv more than once, beheld holUlc or fiH'pcftcd troops within its walls, and this capital of polite arts was plundered by the arms of Charles V. with as much barbarity as if it had been Uormcd by the Turks. And yet it was exadly during thefe thirty- four years, that the arts and fciences made that progrefs in Italy, which is confidercd in our days as a kind of prodigy. Laftlyi that coUedion of great men of various profefTions which ornamented the period, called by French authors, the age of Lewis XIV. were all formed in the infancy of that reign, a time of great domellic confufion and civil war. Thefe inflances are fufficient. They prove evidently, that, terrible as the times of fuch convulfions may be thought, they moft indubitably are of all others the moft favourable to the advancement of human genius. It therefore furely cannot be thought furprizing that they fhould be fo in general to the lower clafles of a people, fince both eflPefts proceed froiu the fame caufe; the opportunity every man enjoys of aflerting his rights, and purfuing the bent of his genius. The moft numerous ranks of 4 nation, in tranquil times, live in a regular fubjedtion to their fuperiors— their minds and perfons are equally regulated by others — ^but in a period' of domeftic troubles they feel their confequence, and being no longer fuch machines, they after t to the utmoft the rights of entire freedom ; great confufion enfues, but a multiplicity of geniufes, which in calmer times would never have made one advancC) burft from obfcurity and enliven the otherwife dark horizon *. ; But * " Toute chofe d'ailleurs egale, le gouvernement fous lequel fans moyens ^rannrs, fans naturalifations, fans colonies, lescitoyens peuplent&multiplient d'avantage,eftinfaiTliblement ]« meilleur : Celui fous lequel un pcuple diminue & depertt eft le pire. On doit juger fur le meme principe des fiecles qui meritent la preference pour la profperite du genre humain. On a trop admire ceux ou Ton a vu fleurir Ics lettres & les arts, fans penetrer I'objet fecret de leur culture, fans en confidcrer le funefte efFet, idque apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur, cum pars fervitutis eflet. Ne verrnns-nous jamais dans lesmaximes des livres I'intoret groflier qui fait parler les auteurs ? Non, quoiqu'ils en puiflTcnt dire, quand malgre fon eclat yn pays fe depeuple, il n'eft pas vrai que tout aille bien, & // nt fuffit pas iju'un poete ait ant millt tivrcs dt rente pour que fen ftecle foit le meilieur de tous. 11 faut moins regarder au rcpos apparent, & a la tranquilitc des chefs, qu'au bien ctrc des nations cn^icres, & fur tout des etats les plus nombreux. La grele dcfolc quclqucs cantons, mais die fait 'arcment difette. Les ^meutcs, les guerres civiles erfarouchent beaucoup Ics chefs, mais cilcs ne font pas les vrais malheurs des peuples qui pcuvent meme avoir du relache tandis qu'on difpute a qui les tirannifera. C'eft de Itur citat permanent que nailTent leurs profperites ou leurs calamites reelles ; quand tout refte ecraife fous' le joug, c'cft alors que tout deperit ; c'eft alors que les chefs les de- truifant a leur aife, ubi folitudincm faciunt pacem appellant. Quand les tracafleries des grands agitoicnt le royaume de France, & que le coadjutcur de Paris portoit au parle-' ment Sect. VI. CONSTITUTION. 71 But But it ii» of no material confequencc to my argument, whether this more favourable pidture be accepted or not : The great queflioii being, Whether the fecurity of liberty is not a work of fuch confequencc, that no danger or hazard can be too great to riik for it ? A (jucry which I am very fcnfible will not univerfally be anfwered in the affirmative ; and I the rather hint this from remarking fome modern ideas of liberty and free- dom, which heaven forbid fhould ever become common in this kingdom. They refult from travelling through various countries ; travellers, finding that there are fome arbitrary ones, in which the people ;xxtfyjlematically governed, and not as defpotically as in Turky, conclude that fuch a con- fUtution is a modification of freedom, and attribute to the principles of modern politics, a general freedom, as they are pleafed to call it. This equivocal liberty is fully explained by a late author, and as the* fph'it of the paflage is remarkable, I fhall give it without apology at full length ; was not the whole chain of thefe new fangled ideas contained in it, I fhould be obliged to have recourfe to fome ot^her quotations, but as it happens to be very complete, it will fingly be fufficient. " Trade and induftry owed their eftablifhment to the ambition of princes, who fupported and favoured the plan at the beginning, principally With a view to enrich themfelves, and thereby to become formidable to their neigh- bours. But they did not difcover, until experience taught them, that the wealth they drew from fuch fountains was but the overflowing of the fpring J and that an opulent, bold and fpirited people, having the fund of the prince's wealth in their own hands, have it alfo in their own power, when it becomes ftrongly their inclination, to (hake off his autho- rity. The confequencc of this change has been the introduftion of a more mild and a more regular plan of adminiftralion. (In "what countries ? Not Jurely in arbitrary ones ; and the niildnefs of free ones is not owing to trade, but theftvord, ivhicb droi>e out tyranny.) The money-gatherers are. become more ufeful to prince?, than the great lords ; and thofe who are: fertile in expedients for eftabliihing public credit, and for drawing money from the cofi crs of the rich by the impofition of taxes, have been preferred to the moft wife and moft learned counfellors. (This, it muji irfent uh poignard dans fa pocliP, ccia p'cmpechoit pas que le peuplc Francois ne vecut hetircux & nomlreux d.ins une Ijotincte li libre aifance. Autrefois la Grccc fleurifl'oit au ffin des plus cfuellcs gucrrcs ; le fanp y rouloi" n flots t^f toiit Ic pavs ctoit rouvcrt d'hommcs. II I'cmbloit dit Macliiiivel, qu'au milieu des nT tirircs, des proftrijitioiis, ilcs gucirt-s civilcs, notre republiqiie cii (Icvint plu^ puiirdiito ; la vertu do f:S citoyciis. kiir> nxturs, leiir i k'c- pendance avoiciit pins d'c'ffct pour l-.i rcnfc>rcfr, i^iic toutcs fcs difTcntioiis ii'en avoient nour Taffoiblir. Uii pcti d'agitntion d(^niie du reflbrt aux aines, & ce qii' f;iit vndmcnt profperer I'tfpece eft moins la paix que la liberie." ¥.b\xR'c&\x duCcntruH Saiul, p. uji, -, ' .-,.,, , he •7.1 P O L I T VCiAL: E SiS^ Y S. Essay IF. "I be toitftffdJy iPa Hery extmordhtary, argMnent,* t^ piU^eUife advauAages I liberty has received from tradt ;' iJ.th\s-fisi}ieM\\/^ #«a( ft-EcULAR plan ).//w Author before meant ^ as it -evid^jitly i^rhtitipldins^iMJelfJiiffieiently, it is-frecifely the very thing.Ii^Jhsecottfideradin-tkit'fi^ioni this mild PL A N is the tranquillity ivhicjb ^tpHfis an .tfijlan^d < people ; It is in this MILDNESS that confijls thefe new ideas of liberty.) As this fyftem is t'il«%v; /no wonder if it has produced phflenftoena'both' nfew and farprizing. i Fdiimerly the power of princes was eUnployed to d^j-oy liberty, and to tilj^ilablifh-rarbttrary fubordiiiation ; but In our days we hi^ve feen thofe wj^o tiihave bed comprehended the true principles of the new plan of politics, •arbitrarily limiting the power of the higher clades, and thereby applyirig Viheir authority towkrds the extenfion of public libeftf^ by extinguifhUig "every fubordination, other than that due to the eftabliflied laws. (T^e foHacy vfthis argument is palpable : What are thefe eflabli/hed laws ? The '■edi(is\of arbitrary primes. But this neivfyfiem of liberty is in every thing 'q^n^ent. What a eoHtrq/i is this to thefentiment of Montefquieu, *' La Monanchiefe perd lorfque le prince rapportant tout uniquetnent d l^i^ t^pclle Petat hfa capitale, la capitale d la cour^ Gf la cour hfafeule per" janife^l ivhich is the cafe "with every arbitrary King in Europe.) The ^^ndamental maxim in fome of the greateft miniilers, has been to reftrain the power of the great* lords. The natural inference that people drew lirom fuch a (lep, was, that the minifter thereby intended to make every thing depend on. the prince's will only. This I do not deny.. But what life have we feen made of this new ocquifition of power ? Thofe who look into events with a political eye, rbay perceive feveral ads of the moft arbitrary authority exercifed by fome late European fovereigns, with no other view than to dlablifh public liberty upon a more extenilve bottom.; fjt is pity this Author did not ey({plain his ideas of the words public liberty:- They hoivever are not difficult to be gueffed at ; the fpecies of freedom •which is built on fuch rot ten foundations is very evident.) And although the prerogative of fome princes be increafed confiderably beyond the bounds of the ancient conilitution, even to fuch a degree as perhaps juftly to de- ferve the name of ufurpation ; yet the confequences refulting from the revolution cannot every where be faid, upon the whole, to have impaired^ what I call public liberty *." I cannot * An Enquiry into the Principles of Political CEconomy. By Sir James Steuart, Vol. i. ; p. 248. ^ Swift obferves, that there is a fct of fangtiine tempers who deride and ridicule in the number of fopperies, all apprehenfions of a iofs of Englifh liberty {If^orks, Vol. iii. p. 55.) Such ridicule, however, is very bsdiy founded ; nor ought we to put loo much confidence in the lively maxims of fuch an a[!,iccable author as M. Heaumelle; he is, however, very fcnfiblc of the value of liberty properly fo called.——" England, fays he, is a very ftrilcing inftance Sect. VI. CON S TIT OT I O N. 7S I cannot hdp tddii^ here a £hort feotence from Roufleau ; not that F apply it fully to diis author, of whom I am totally ignorant, but to all whoT prefer an equivocal fpecies of liberty to that which is the birthright of Britons. " Lea ames balTes ne croifent point aux grands hommes : De vils efclaves fourient d*un air voqueur si ce mot de liberte f .' » hiftance, that in unfliiken and fteady conftitatibn is a hippinefi that dinnor be too^4carif purchafed.— — The conftitution of £ngland is immortal, becaufe a wife people cannot be - cnflaved by an enemy at home, nor a free people by an enemy abroad. Romeperiihed ; and «ra« it poffible for her to fubfift ? her fyflem tendea to aggrandizing herfelf ; it* did not vitA to her prefervation. England is arrived to fwh » pafs, as to be f mpofibic for her to peridn becaufe revolutions, which fhould have been the bane of her fyftem, have ferved only to com- plete it." (Mts p*njn.) Luxury has not done the utmoft againft this, conftitntion, for atirtfough the above- recited Author would have us believe that the operations of trade on conftitutions are not hurtful in changing them ; yet I ihall very readily agree with Rollin, who declares, that—'* The moft judicious hiftorians, the moft learned philofophcrs, and the profoundeft politicians, all lay it down as a certain and indifputaUt maxim, that where* ever luxury prevails, it never fails to deftroy the moft flourifliing ftMes and kingdoms; end' the experience of all ages and all nations does but too clearly demonftcate this maxim.".' Aiic. Hi/t. Mamurs 0/ tht ^J^iant^ Art. i. Self. I. f Contraff Socialf p. 2oa. This iacred word ought not to be proftitiitcd to that free* dom a people enjoys, which is open to the political prefcriptions of ftate phyficians, fuch as en<: fnjet. en eft la premiere fonAion, vous croirics faire votre charge, ]e le veux ; mais vour feriez' dans le fait la plus grande faute poIitiq»e. A est egud vous femes ccla : C'eft cependant, ce qu'on fait tous les jours en votre nom, fens preiexte de la police, de pi^veir les malheurs- les difiettes, & atitres mafques du monopole, qui abufent de votre follicitude paterneile. Car dire au laboureur, je veux avoir la clef de votre grenier, c'eft lui dire, je veux ordonner, a vos fraix & a vos rifques, de votre admioiftration journaliere, de votre travail, de vos^ femailles, de vos rcceltes, de vos achats, dc vos ventes, de vos repas, de vos moments,. &;c. par mon auiorite confiee a. une multitude d'agenta etrangert i vos iot^rets & aux. miens.* Tbeoth dt Vlmpat. p. la.. Vol. i. ESSAY lence . ►^ ..n-. » ( f4 ) -I. •'i'jflT'fl Vi >.' ' ' ■ ,, I '.1 ,1 1 1 =s V 8,^ 1«aake Qorn Ari^i^^f^ ^f, QOJi||^p^ tratte among many others, as ihe Dutch do, they would always, l^jtHe^jr^- mon courfe of affairs, be fupplied. But even this fupply wbujfd depend Upon their trade at large, and upon the good-will of their neighbours ; for in the firft place, the demand at home for corn, ' Wot 1)cWgc'>n(lant but various, would not alone fupport fuch a commence as \7oultf be^iiectif- fary for commanding a fufficiencyj and iii^ the next, an unfiJrefteri c«kii- bination of political circumflances, or an untholight-of geiiefal'lcarcity, might cut off a fupply from others. From all which circuniftanccs it may eafily be deduced, that a nation that does not raife corn enough to feed itfelf, mujl, in the nature of things^ be dependent Cor bread and life on others. ---*"-... r,. , Even the fertile kingdom of France, naturally i5 dtil^' to tn^nt'aitt a vaftly greater number of inhabitants than Ihe poflefles, has been enth-fcly dependent on her neighbours for bread, and even on her greateft enemy. It is very well remembered how the war of 1744 terminated ; when the infinite diflrefs of famine, which fell on all France, not only obliged them to pay the Englifh for vaft quantities of corn in fpecie, but even neceffitated them to conclude a peace in the midfl of a career of conquefl, and not the dread of a Ruflian army as fome have fondly imagined. This dependency of a people fo amply provided with land, refulted from a want of culture, which mufl have the fame efFefts as a want of foil — and in many refpedjs even worfe, for the people that have no land, know they muji be fupplied by others and trade accordingly, but thofe who poffefs a fine fertile traci, conclude, of ^courfe, that corn will be raifed at home ; but when fatal experience convinces them, that in order to have had it raifed, it was ncceflary to have fown, they are obliged to turn their eyes to their neighbours, and then mufl: be fupplied in that imperfeift manner which is ever the confequence of a vafl demand put off to the moment of confumption. Witnefs France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, all countries extremely fertile. National independency can therefore refult alone from agriculture—-— Not froifl pofTeffing a rich foil, but from the due cultivation of it. If a • • nation v_> 78 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay III. nation relics on being fupplied by her neighbours in the hour of want, Ihe -will be totally dependent on them, without having her neceffities totally removed ; for when once a famine begins to fhow itfelf, all the fudden importations that art and fpecd can devife, will not be able entirely to Aop it. Either the extent of the want is not known till too late ; or the inland carriage or freight is too difficult, for we generally fee vaft numbers ftarved while abundance of Ihips arrive in their ports with corn. Tliis was the cafe in France in 1 748, and in Naples a few years ago. If, on the other hand, a nation depends on a regular trade for her corn, (he mud., like the Dutch, be liable to combinations among her neighbours^ which are poflible, and may prove her ruinj and at the fame time wilt find her very cxiflrence to depend upon her commerce at large ; aiid as nothing is more fludluating than trade, fuch a dependence, every one wilt allow, is f ;• "'Terent from that on agriculture. But it " be faid, how are any people to depend abfolutely on agri- culurc ! . who arc they that do depend upon it alone ? Itwillbeeafy to 1 ": 1} ':fe queries, and I fliall not avoid them, as it it impoilihie ta fpenl .AjcU'ately on Britilh agriculture and its confequences, wiihoat firft . unfoidinp; * 'tain general principles, which, h> being appli-^d to theftate of Great it iln, will throw the fubjedl in .he cleared: point of view ;. for which reafon I fhould be forry if the reader thought I was running wild from my fubjcft, while I endeavoured from foreign examples and general combinations to trace thofe principles of dependence on agriculture^, on which the welfare and profperity of Britain are founded. When a nation is faid to depend on agriculture, it is not to be under— flood that ftie, literally fpeaking, depends on nothing elfe : Some manu- failures are equally neceflary, iince the bufinefs of cultivation cannot be carried on without a great variety of carriages and implements, nor can. » the profit by cattle be extended to its natural height without manufa^ure»> of wool and leather : It would be a very great abfurdity in any people to- follow agriculture fo univerfally as to buy their ihoes and cloaths of foreigners : All that is meant by the affertion is the depervding chiejiy upon agriculture ; not chiefly on c .. imf r : like the Dutch ; on mines^ ^ like the Spaniards ; or on manufadues, as the Frer -b did until lately,, and yet do in too great a Ac^cc Thefe in fiances will, I apprehend,, t'ufficiently explain the meaning of liu term. i In anf\ver, therefoi*e, to the above query, it may be replied, that the Swif/.ers depend on agriculture. Thcv poirels feme commerce in the fuper- llaous quantity of their {oil's produtlioub, and nxany necefiary manufac- tures. '*'m. • P; S^CT. II. AGRICULTURE. n tures, but both are fubfervient to their agriculture. Poland depends en- tirely upon her agriculture. Sweden and Denmark in a good meafure ; and if France fucceeds in the attempt at exporting corn, manufadures will no longer be her principal aim ; as they were while reftriftions were laid on husbandry, in order to feed manufaftures the cheaper. Great Britain likewife depends chiefly on agriculture, but the aflertion requires more limitations to be precife than any of the former ones ; for beHdes the dependence for the neceffaries of the age*, fhe has involved hcrfelf, by means of her public debts, in another : If it was afferted, that her entire dependence was upon agriculture, her foil muft then not only yield a public revenue fufficient for all the purpofes of government, but likewife for the intereft of her debts ; and if it was found that fuch im- pofitions would be i.ifupportablc to a free people, then (he may clearly be iaid to depend on an aggregate of commerce, manufadures and agri- culture. In the whole circle cf politics there is not a more curious point than this of dependence on agriculture; for numerous arc the writers who ti-eat the very idea with difdain, and many others who are equally ftrenuous in its favour : The difficulties in which it is involved, do not however refult fo much from the mere queftion in itfclf, as the ftate and fituation of thofe nations to whom it i« applied : Thus, if it is mentioned with the leaft reference to Britain oi- France, a thoufand objedions immediately are ftarted with refped to taxes, credit, debts, and a multitude of other particulars, which may be of great confequence to the' cpplication of the principle but cannot affefl: the principle itfelf. To enter much into the fpirit of manufadures and commerce, would be ta anticipate my fubjeft, but it is neceflary here to difting iilh between the commerce of thofe commodities which are merely luxurious, or of a refined elegance, and that of the neceffaries of the age : As a part of that prodigious whole of modern political oeconomy, that fabric of credit, ta\es, military power, ^c. which the great kingdoms of Europe take fuch pains to ered, the firft is necefliiry— but lefs complicated principles of adminiftration require only the laft. Let it not be imagined that the commerce of neceffaries would be in- confiderable to Britain. Very far from it. This nation might depend, • The neceflwies of life is of all others the moft indefinite term : They vary in every age. »-The reader will take the meaning from the pafiage in which he finds the cxpreilioii, and cxcufe verbal prccifion. in PQI^linriCAL ESSAYS. Em AY Illi m • ''• ■■ till !''i in ^« mumwr I %Kn tjttqft e^ppUiocd, on ^er agricitltDrei- and that o/ati^ ^Difrct :w])icb would Ai9 uk (\iix»diaation to it, without lofing any of her {)rs!f€nt |ioUtical imppna|v;es,. very p^bly without decteafing her pu|bUc f,^yei>^t land in altpfiqibability i^cre^e her people thereby : For the balance fLibe ^JijJe qli l«*«uf^ pftfjft iie„ag|inift ,^, country fitu^ted.in t^e Ittf^ Ij^d^, <^, Britain If jj|d..#ll[!i^n^,difgHpce^f»d3 to 4cpopulatioi»,: , Fj[0!» JWbfP9enir(e; majyifiiod^wlibi/th^MiOcp^ci^ op, agricwltqre is upc^vaU i|(qoq|6(|ien!; w^tK ,^urne>9|i|$r^aaufa^ures and an etstenfive commerce: j[^.\« o|))jy; it^o^r^Cii^i with thf^ f^xcefs pf thefe, or, in other words, with the ii^JatlW* l^yrniiiig, ipjh,*n,^grie. Or^ MUm ^9^fy.^^s^v>M3^Y^,f^ lali^^eairi ^p^ft4e^e§f) rwned mosie t^ «t«ee ; her «nanu£»<^rj^^ iC^^cpuffe^ ha:Ve, fuffo^ feyerely : Her credit iwice Hmcki d«ad|t a^i jK»t>^ithftandjt^ tbeie heavy ftvokes, ihe x as managed IQ^iraife iii^ijieiiiV; revenues to eoodui^ ^peiiuve waivy ifldlfi^ ply tb€! «K)j^ pcodi^ qfiarJtio EwQ|}^ but her inlgud t^^M Germany isffd ^vv^:q?rlpi^ntTa#erce ai^d, manufactures could yieldv Iff|hat kingdom, therefore* cpuldvin tj^ 9 times, of horrid confuiion, «^(j^if|; from fuch a^«j^al i;uin,]fjf ttad^ national bankruptcy, aci4 a|ir:i£;ii[^ ccfeful wari ;tt'ft^;fould» iii fi^jh -iii p<*i.Qt!> fupport a cgjQf»|im»i9fi w^ all &ICT. U. A OKI CULT U R-Bt ^ 8i all the ordinary expence* of govemhie^ii Hn^ pief th*»tri^c«?ft''6l*i»'\^ro^ tfgiobs debt, by means of her agriculttrt'e,'' how «rfuch"^etter might fhe be able to flouriih by it in times of peace and regularity, \7ith fuch trade and manufaftures as depended on itl It is extitmfely plain from this inftance that mighty kingdoms, efenm'thts ttge of eofhimerce, may esift asidflouri/h by agriculture alon^, it v>>elf as^^Alch fmall dates as Switzerland. If any doubt remained, furely quoting China wouM remove it in a moment. — The moft populous and rieheft cmpir* upon earth en- joys not trade enough to export their own maniifa^ures on their own bottoms, nor manufadure a fmgle commodity that is not the prodi^CI: of their own foil. ' ' ' '.'■'.''.'• f The independency refultiag from agricultutv, tdcen in a literal mean- ing, might be thought^to fignify the ucurity of p<^bfling a fufficiency of bread : But as all fuppodtions of recurring to priimaeval (implicity of living are extremely abfurd in modem, and of courfe refined ages, I fliall never annex that meaning tw the; term^ but ufe ku I have hitherto done, the produdiioH of the i^e/iirki^of the age :^ This independency muft therefore be proportionally perfect according to the vatiety of ufe- ful produds of wluch a foil is capable : Many c^ the productions of the temperate zone are neceffiiry in the torridi and vice verfa, China, and the British and Spaniih dominions, are tne only ones upon eanlh that are perfect in the variety of latitudes. China lies in the hotteft «Ad almoft the coldeft climates, by which means her productions are prodigioufly various. Spain f the Britifh dominions produce; produ^ fufficient to render this nation to the full as independent of thofe ^ 6ther countries, as the Chinefe themfelvee are: Thelnanufa^ures and* * M commerce ■ii. Ptttl'TfCAL HSSATS. EsiATnt, i^ontmerce which refult from them, the extenfive navigation this variouii agriculture occafions, arc truly fuch as depend' on it, and' which I nave already obfcryed, are confiften« with i. national dependence upon that. ; .Before I. conctude thi^ li^oift. it i^'neceflary to takcf a conciC' Ymw of fdverai kingdqmd audi ft^tcp in. refjiw of the dependence they place ctn agricid,tiire, and draw a (joqn^»alon between them and Great Britaiti ; by which means it will be thieeancr to form an idea ot the degree of the letter's dependenfce on that raoft ufeful c^ all arfi : Prtmifinj*;, however, tliat alt very numerotre bodies of ptt^Tfe li^iafeiting large domains, fuch as^ Britain, France, Spain, <^'c. mud, in,the nature of thing*, depend, fof the al)fo|lutc pecefTaries of life,, mpftly upon their own foil, the variation o( dependence' lies m their political cecotlomy'; m pti^rtion as this is ^ore or lefs perfedt,. they will, in a re|g;uJar degree, t&ot6 Or lefs depend ajf certain tiiilpS uppn theiif neighbstrrs. iii'i t'l-aiite rqlie$ m4re tipotl ^hef agncilHu#*l t^an Great BriYAin, for w^ K'npvs^ tF^a,t, i^cuqiibered as me is whh debts, flfte can fubfift and carry oA an, iiXj^jenfiVe, war without foreign ciomirieiriife or cVedlt : This- might be the theiceforc we may venture to cOtidiidClbe . i^r«c ^f , dqpemieiice oti agrfcafture in favour of France' *^ "' '- '^■^^;'*^} To ifi a^i^ t4*ne ihe depends, raw filk being reckoned . t produftions : It will doubt- lefs be obferved, that if this is an inflanpe of the expediency of a depen- dence on agriculture, it psoMes that Aich a coadudt is productive of great mifery. But the anfwer to this I fhould apprehend equally palpable. - That the ill effe6^s of tKe pc^tlcal ^conduct of luly does not afife frotn the infufficiency of agriculture itfelf but from an infuffident agticultut^d i CuJ.l»y»jtio9i fo finiferabl^giiuded, and fp hwribly oppr^flied, cab yield a flouiiihi^ indepen4ene.e »o where: Tlbis i^ftance, therefore, jurpves noiithjiog ag«g»il a^iQ^lttures on ,Uie ' fowig^ *> be i^nodwcwl' It^ly* however, Ai^ not feed her own inhabjtaifkts« yews pf fyat»^e frequeaitly ix>me ; add tp 1^, that the Aipplies ifep nff^iffn ifrom tt^vflH^iw, the .amount of her maau&Ctureo g^ tr^de, bei^g uke^i i^o fh^ account, dphxQ: a good deal from her ^epende^noe on b^ agricujuvpe; zb4 if we conitder hP^ infioitdy iiuporior Britifh huft>jindry 1$ xt ^iiJ^'G^ the countrjf of Vir^ii^ and 1^ quiantJiues of «orj& ihe V^ipprts tp, thjs y^ tx^iji we may 1 think determine that an equality fubfifts in this point : But I freely own the epptrafl between thefe countries is foexceffive, thataprecife parallel is very ^ifljcult -tp ^hWj- TMs Ip^^wife i^ ,tiie c^; with C^ritemy* ' whjch is fo fplit into a variety of intei'efts, that aii infinite difFerente is ^und among them in refpeCt of df^pen^^we ou.agricuUiure : B.at oji the whole there is gpi^ fsafpa to believe that Great Batain is iqfecic*, . . ' V. ;With Poland the cai^ is clear at ithe firft view : She has nothing but Bgxiculture: Gpmmeroe .and manufa«aures ^fft fiquM^f MRkffc«wnj;tp her. Sihife Great Britain obftruCied thejexportatipn of cprn.aboji^ t>vcnfy ^yea^^ ago, or not fo much, (but I write from memory) jSwfiden has- taken fyfih : : .' M 2 effeaual IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 1.1 Hi 2.5 Hi 14.0 I nm: 2.0 JA L2I IHu ii.6 J^ V. ^' Va / ^v ^.*- Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WeST MAIN STRUT WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4S03 ^:^ '^ r^% ,«* ^. VQsLX^lUJ^V *Pfi4>^s. efSeaual Tpabfr. to pd^i hflfe q^^i ^V/J^ ^j iiipplied' herfdf en^ly* ^ iftjj^ Bf^»ft?>ti " She is ianich itt{wrV>«qte:pffl^t,ftif[WR ^4 agriculture. The ifame obifervation is appliq^Ujif tt^, ^7- ' . ' bi>' 'iitfj 6d ,i^dmuii sUnirm^Jab -i^dio yts to tqoo,oi Vt toH " Shc'J8!eqaa%irifirtriiB*iPd^^ ^ rikK>8ut Sflritireilattdbtear««»i^(fb«f p^$|»i% :^^ki/ai[lmple*dttiiiMt)Mia»ri^bkf^^ iSftiWi^ tance^ Mt hUjdtinadgaiiU]i>«p«il^(^a«i9lt^^$^o ol, .'^brl'^.^di no b^ IN proportion as a nation de|>ehd»^upoiiilier,]ag9iQuljtiMxe, the ^njlcif^ etk^oyed by iu ib. companfon with the total of the people9 will be crditttP Of ld*8? • But pdi^cianii)diffeci^Atly!io{;0pinioi!» concg^niagnthc tt^diency of 4 Very^fett piM>pbrtion)l»eing fo o^Qupied. Some i^ert* f>*'i«l (JSit-Mo) [\kni\i 1 ,■ ictfcv.u'u^ < -•(•^ oil// iii.m 5dJ ..1. rXiJniiu^ ajri o1 jld RUDiv-i */> sd jua/j/io bi'lbiij ' -^M^n) i>iI>anUifii4'gi«d)aBflight(dxfnuaifiiom ^^^^fti^'s, mfrnPsS^-rra •tiFheu^nifpaffoite vnliplogr ft(ii«i}ftl»8nj^iiigiiqpUure,ip4^i9yjKjflffa the^ait»^hiclirardjneaeflttDf-£!u:jihantgii)gjth$^ gr^at^ ^dy,^nt^g^^ thtf ^mikXA in general wtU lbc>moM p^ufc}n» Si nftA. §f fe^r |iiand^ ,fi|^ en^j ptoy^itknthitmplMar^ there isliUvb^leviQri^ ^Xl Jit ofi,^ '^ • N}^pajj«ii^,^|f#j^j,«^,|jjs,|.,^ , >i^ 1 •».*• I.. j:'>lWir>t v\ quence 8^U lit.- ir A^^a^tii^h^^iTtit'^'i 'i&tidfii^ If fl^lSe)«»A%lBtcdNiiii ifualrai mO^ ** For if xo,oop, or maj od^er determinate number, be employed t^^l^yy ^it^)b df a^^iiiPf? iBifqiilliulaMr,A0fiiIf« ie>v^i%>iniiii. .^M^g'fc^ tfiae '^^&6<$nttljUr%fi ltii»i«fiMde'£f4dbfi}f3Qiii8 mSiodtk iiiiftbad<^%ak^W|l^ i^I«09 Tiding fbod, ^^pt^^6k#^M^f«i*tlii^^ a cekS^ ^\iidl#^mftl«^fi^VftA:l(>«lc«M9«aifbel«i^ ed on the whole. In aidliH^'«Heflpler|MQd«i^» d^ho ih6i^%(fiV feed' tbii»relVeli 'liftiV'I'pereeicMtlKUDBsdKintfa^tf vgai^ ad^t^^hf &it^ I^r6ivt€dd»^^n^ istraeoefiUry/ilaifCii^aki^fllMfc^ thto a^li6)r,4hibb^G^t hHjycAuiiiSap b^ijpfii;,^ 11% Had^bjjcd the maxim to tie etadea&'df thB rdW g^eral. jpeholy the proprietiM' and his'-femily, ^who>ak-e aU en^ployed in the cifh^vation, and t|^ere is no fuperfluous (Quantity here produced for the maint^ance of oj^ers. By the fuppofition we imply, that the bit of Ij^Q^ is fufficienf fpr,^i;|[^^ini(ainiu^ thj^ man and his family, and nothing n^);e,; h^r fa^s no ^a>% tQ )^^^ n^^ can by him be fuipplied to an-^ other p^;a tirii4ei 'and the fpot of ground for fubftjftence. We may further coneluae^ that as to the laft part he is only l^ol to himfelf } hint as^tathe fii4 he'is U&fut to the foclety, and becomes a fnember of it \. craifeqitently, vrere if net Tor l^is t.^<^> the fbte would lofe nothing, though the vine-drefleF vi'd 1^*8 Iknd'Were 1)oth fwallowdd tip by an earthquake. The food and the con^me^s vrouMboith difappeikr rogether, without the leaft political harm to any bodyi confequentIy,fucb d %eej^es of agriculture is no benefit to a ftate ; and confeqaently neither b Wat fpecies of multiplication, imf^ed by fueh a diftributicm ofpropelrty, ttiy benefit. Thus an oyer-extenfloiy o^ a^fficulture and divifion of Ijuids, becomes an afoufe, and fe^cbafequentlydoeia^ over-multiplication/^ The author, in this pafTage, allows ttlat the Vk^ofi occafions muhipli- catton. The great point laboured to be proved, is, that lands may be too Aiiich divided : This was- ae €it9i\>tl6it t¥ib'!a\i^r wrot^t as ever it will after. VThait is the line of difljin^toji'? Vf\iii dlvlfioA is prc^p«r and wh'att improper ? No body can aflert^ thaii thejre pi^ht t^ be otity a fq.\iare pefcl:^ allotted to each perlon, for that woijil^ libt fuMee even for a holibre ;. fup^ po& we extend this perch to the fize of the yine-dreffi»-'s fan», amd ftrikef off his labour in the vineyard; the author aflerts that it is fp fmaU as not td befitfficient for manufadildres, fait, and r6yal iitipofitioiftr; this, fheifd^ fbre, is precisely the fame cafe als the rod' of gt-ound, begaafe infufficient ^ his maintenance, which' includes- mantefaOiiires; as W^U is fbod-^'^-^fdi^ the nsan and his family nrnfti be cloiathdd, and uie implements of hui* bandry. Buc the ideas, in the above .extra£^, flow ftom a very diffisrent fource; "Were it not from the vin€-dreflfer*s tride,,the ftate wouldt lofa nothing wer^ he fwalk)v7ed up by an earthquake." This appears to be a^ miftake, becaufe it is fmpoflible he fhould exjift wittMut a trade, althoilgti! that fuppofition is made by the authori w^en,lie ^pedkfi^ of 'th« whlS^' kii^dom being parcelled out. " There wpuld not evBirtc'biillfe fp^ thci^' v^ho had not ^veiA" — —There would^ therieforfe, foi? thofi? wHi^^ had fpm^;. — *^Mer9^ the ftnmbling-block : Iconfider br^a^ and clotfthhig inr tli^ f^^fjijjghti W n9JC, fVCn bread couM' be Bad vvithotft impl^iftents^T-rrfii evcin tja^s IP tl^Je %i?f arc the ^measbreiad^ if tlie Vitifr^drdBfei" coutU ndt' p^y t(ij^^,» he cQuld not feed; his land wpulii bp (eized^ Thiaiis a fiippofitioU of 'a tod 88 POLITICAL E&SAYS. Essay Ul» minute divifion of land, fo is tibkt of the fquare perch ; nor is there any dif- ference between them : The^q^iinllty fufiK^ient for perfuing agriculture as a means of dtred fubfiftktid^, fBiilR: be cotifiderable enough to yield food to the cuhivator and his familyi atld a furplus of fomeprodud or other* which may be exchanged wilA> ottliTti (either immediately, or by means of money) for the remaining n^^xfllrieff 6f (rfe, fuch as cloathing, impk- ments, taxes, &c.'8tC4 I ft|^)ei|' tO''kny oii^,' whether to fuppofe a piece of land, fo fmall as ncrt to yidd the latter, would not be as abfurd as the fquare perch. For to imagine that a kingdom could be parcelled into fuch bits as Sir James fuppofes, and cultivated for fubfiitence, efpecially in fo perfed a manner as he defcribes, without, at the fame' time, fup- pofing a number of manufafhirers and neceifariee, and in confequence a circulation, and a general batid of fociety, which ties the whole people together, is a fuppoHtion which leads to no principles, and from which nothing but error can be deduced. The importance of the fubjefl will plead my excufe for dideavourisg te aaalize it yet further. Sir Jatoes's words— ^ ** By the fuppofition we imply, thtt die bit of land is fuffident for maintaining the man and his family, and nothing more.'* ^It fliould feem.' from this, that ih&fmaU' ntfs of the bits of lands is fuppoiititious, not real ; but be that as it may» and to transfer the inftance from France to England, let us take a nearer, examinatioh of a little Englilh freeholder. Himfelf, his wife and child- ren, we will fuppofe to make a family of fix perfons : He poffeifes a free- hold of twelve acres of lan(d, eight arable and four grafs. The latter maintains two cows amply, with a little affillance from the arable, and if much afliftance is taken, then three. His eight acres he throws into a tourfe of huibandry, railing three acres of wheat pofllbly every year ; or more probably, two acres of whe"!, two of barley or oats, two of peafe* iipd two of clover: This would be the mod advantageous courfe, as tur- Aeps woi^ only be proper when he could purchafe beafts to be fattened itrith them ; in which cafe they fhould be grown inftead of peafe.— -^His two acres of wheat will maintain the whole family very amply in bread | befides which, they may eat the produce of one cow. His cows, his clover, and his offal corn, will maintain a fow extremely well \ when he fats any of her pigs, he muft ufe (bme of his barley or peafe. His cloverf. and a little running with the cows in the grais, and one acre of oat^ will keep the two horfds, with which he tills his land. But I muft here ' dbferve, that if he kept a yoke of oxen for that purpoTe, his profit by growing turneps would be great, ai^ his oxen would be mueh eafier fed. than horfes. Now let us examine ii^l fiucjpliis he will have $fx wear and ttNir, tloathing and taxes* Tbe ^yp^if^ gf | f^.— An mm of barley, if ■' " ' he' Sect. III. A GRI CU LTTir RE. .»9 hf, ^t8,i>o,hog8.T^Thc produce of ^%^* '^ fli^brit in, a year ; I allow him two fatted for )bl8 own. ufe, e'l^lit ings him ten pigs therefore are fold IewP»'f-"The two acres of turneps o|'.petfc,r-*And thcpoultry he keeps. — IHiS furplus Sir James Sceuar^^pi^ri^cfdl 1^3. t^ade. Nothing can be a Stonger proof .that fuch a furirt|a (|f^d iprobiJjly greater than I have (f^^ed) would remain, thpn j^he rf**? W^^t^'f 1^^ ^^^ fuch fpots of lai!id by.fvcupicra whp^maintvantjhcipf^iw^^ ^e able to pay formanufa^res, occ. but UiiC!i? 1^^ ^ifl live by no means fo well as I jtprefupp^cd the owner Jhf|^. , But Sir James will doubdefs ^(ky What are to become of the four children ? They will grow up a^id marry, and if a kingdom "was por- tioned into fuch fmall freeholds, what iis^tp^^naintain them and their children. A tingle thought on the manage ment pf this little farm will convince us what a variety of manufadJureiUiareaneceflfary to fupport it. Cloathing* houfehold furniture, implements of tillage and carriage, (hoe- ing, ^airy^iOtenfilB, &c. &c.- &c. iWbat^ mulj^de of trades, are >^t to work b^ ti^tliaile fiieeholder I 'frotn w|i|enco aretihefe manufaduvesto b^ peopled^ biitby the children of ,fl:^hinlel^^/(hf ll^ture eiick-eafex)f population^ ButiihiiW prcteed^ip aUQjtl)er^,p9fl%fi'ij» $ir James*« Inquiiy, which fur* ther>d|fpH^s his f^timpoja on tbis^mpPiJi^ant'point. — '-r-" In our days, the priftcipftl 6bje<^ is tt>;fi;i^p9r(,^ l^\«^^(lr^ wKereasthe^ produce of a very kniddUpg; ^ttme ^&nf bixurious eatabies, delicate cookery and French wines — the exhibitors of public fhows and entertainments ; Ita- lian frngeis and French dancers — the induftrious gentry oS Newmarket and White's. — In a word, in the encouragement of precifely that fpecies of induftry which is pernicious- to the welfare of a kingdom : But if the great man does not indulge himfelf in any excpfs—- yet what are the ma- fadurers he employs ? None that work up the produds of his owi» country. — Embroideries, lilks, o\ iental and foreign furniture, coftly pro- ductions of the fine arts— keeping a variety of attendants in a ftate of celibacy, befides the confumption of foreign manufactures and produds.. Thus the income of this trad of land is expended very little to the benefit of the kingdom at large, or the fpot in particular ; for the expence* of a ihort fummer refidence, is but little, compared with what is wafted ia the capital : It is lucky for the neighbourhood if the vanity of waters j lawns and plantations, feize him : Thefe fometimes take large fums, but not often. Adjoining to this trad of land lies another of the fame rent, but be- longing to a thoufand freeholders of fifty pounds per annum^ living ins- then: neat manfions on their rents, in the midit of as many or perhapst •v -.*^ •'•Pag* 126, more SSCT.III*- A G R I CULTURE. 91 more tenants. What a population Is here ! and what a confumption of neceflary manufadures and home produdls 1 Suppofe they cultivate their ovm, freeholds, as their incomrwiU be large enough to live without any^ vrork but managing, of courfe their ethployment of labourers would be very gnat, and population equally ilourifliing ^. Mow, whether the 50,000 1. a year was the income of oivs man, or divided among a thou- fand or five hundred. Or even in elUtes of thi^e or four hundred pounds a year j in both cafes the wealth would iall m$o the pockets of the induf- trious, but what a wonderful dffferenice is there to the public between the endft of fuch induftry !— The one is' for ever exerted to the rtioft bene- ficial purpofes, the other to the moft pernicious ones f. Aa to the point of country gentlemeti of fmall eftates being of Aich trifling confequence, I fhall quote z palTage on the fubje£fc from a real polidcian, who is very far from feekiiig far-fetched reJafons for ali modem pradlices. This author layB<^^^^^** lipecially amongft that valuable iet of men the country gentry of midkrtOe eftaUiy who are the mainjufport of every langdtm^ and formerly abounded more in this country than in half Europe. In ancient times, the fame eflates kept in the fame family for a great number of years ; but the misfortune at prefent is, that the tranfw tions of property Are over rapidf and too many family feats have changed their owaers: ' i — Veteres jam migravere coloni J". In Mr. Wallace's Dijertatiou on the Numbers of Mankind^ the great Importance of a minute divifion' of landed- property, is full^ proved by the moft impartial and judicious review of die political oecoAomy of u;e * For a proof of this aflcrtion, fee IT/t Farmtr's Ltturt to the People »f Englmit p. ^% and 73. ''^. S'il y a beadcoup de proprietalres mediocrcsj il y aura peu'de degr6s d'inegalite: Let pfopri«Uires refide^otit dortc daiit leurs hieritagto & plbfi^uii etnploieronf rexcedent de leurs denrees ^ faire la depenfede nouveauxetabliflemens de culture, afin'de pqorvoir iliieux leiir famille, d'augtnenter la propricte utile que les eiifHns'aui;6nt a pari'ager. Mais A les pro- prietatres font en petit nombre, il y aurade grands degres d'inegalite pa:rini eu'x, L'effet dc la richcfle fera de produire la valriete & le rafincment dcs jouiflances. Les riches laifTant le (oin de la culture ^ des cdous partiairet, fe raflembleront ic formeront dcs vifles ; la com- munication augmentee — augtnentera le nombre des caprices. Les fupcrflu de denrees lera emplo'i^ a lei fatisfairc ; & la certitude que les enfans auront un gi'and fuperflu, ne laiflaiit aucune inquietude fur leur fort, la folie ufera & abufera libremcnt, au lieu de planter & de creer: Mais ce luxe ne fera point malfaifant, puifqu'il ne' fera point opcre par un dcplacc* ment forc^ de la propriete. Prineipes et Obfervationes ceconomiqutSf torn. 1. p. 40. X EJfajs m Hufiandry^ p. 197; N a ancient 96^ POI^lTI^eiALi E^lSAYSi EiMiTsIiL anckift &tid m«6fl^^|oiiv flatioas*. -Vopolatiooiat a m^ft undoubted cba* fequenc^«of iftieh k dlvifibnf and tHope^ban ibe>(bo bot> if laaUiin' Great BriraiA %as mo#e ditid^, ih« would* be proportioMbif m^repopiw ions: ^k>Fe food woUldbe produced, with the attendant xonfiBquences. mentioned by Mr. Wallace in this ijuc^on iofitrted above,; fb» larger pmprietors have theit'i attchtioii called off from thetf lands by the Juxu-^ riphb refinemenVs of great cities: Wade trttAs arenot fo likely to t>6hrolcea up and cultivated utider th^ auf^c^tf of lach, as under the fmaller land* lord, who feels the neeeffity of makto^ his foo may bcrdoduAed ftyrttbofe ithp iVcehoklers who^may not I marry ; though I am w«il!{wriiiftfkldAhe number of fuch would be OGOceding fmalh ! To thefei 174060*000 yre^muft add the number of manufadureis tieceflary for fuppliying! the tota) with )Qloathing> imple- meat»» Sec and likewiHs the. number etmployedin puhlkk bufinefs ; this calculation muft: be very indefinite i* nre. cannot Judge by the prel'ent pro- portion, becaufe fuch numberrare ^mi^y^ ,for e:«portatton ; but by call- ing the total 95,000,000^ ROi exAgger«tton nted be feared. For this number there would be jufl two acrestiimd an half pfr head, a quantity highly (ufficient, and efpecially if >yrt:fmt(i^ that, no allowance la made for fim ; the coafts of thefe iflands, are fy prodigioufly well fupplied, and the lakes and rivers are fo abounding wiilhthem* that feme millions of people might undoubtedly be fed ••by them^ ,Coi|] pits and hedge rows would iupply firing. — ^The latter atiprcfent maintain the farmers in fue^y in fairms of lefs than twenty acres. ,Cven(& ditch, need not be loft; I have more than once feen a floping banked Qne,> and yielding a middling crop ofj potatoes* 1 which they would' all dcbirith4t<is another queftion. With what eafe might a certainty be gathered in thefe matters, if fome gentleman who has property in poor, and commonly called barren foils, , would try the experiment, by turning twenty acres of his pooreft land. into* w POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay UL into a little firmt and either give the property of it to Tome induArioui labjQurer, with a wife and four children, or at Icaft a leafe of 99 ycar< at g (hilling rent. The capability of fuch a portion of 'and's maiotaining Cucb a family would then be rendered cle^'i^vand the eicperiment would b^i perfect, if fuch ffurm wai thrown into the proper orderf by dividing It into feveral fields* well fenced with the hedge (hrubs mod proper for the foil ; and if any artificial grafs is diicovered that will realty grow luxuriantly oa fuch land, to lay down a field with it} by thefe meaas, fujch ipopr tracts would be m^de to turn to the befl account poffible. Of the Population refulting from a regular Encreafe of the ^t,. ty of Food, No maxim can be clearer than the dependence of population upon the quROtity of food produced by any people, provided fuch quantity be regu- lar ; for any furplus, by meana of favourable years, or other caufes, which occafion an extraordinary plenty, have no efFed on population for want of regularity ; but any encouriagement of agriculture, which, being general aild perpetual, has a confbnt influence on the quantity produced, muft encreafe population. In anfwer to this, it may be faid* that the additional quantity cannot have that effeA if it happened to be exported^ according to the prefent policy of Great Britain ; but this is by no means fo dear as the very exportation may be, and moft certainly is is\ encouragement to culture in general, and tends ftrongly to lower the price, for a proof of which, we need only to recur to the effects of ex- portation on the agriculture of England. There can be no doubt, but. if all the corn produced was confumed' at home, it would be a fign that population was at a great height; but then we fhould confider, that the proportion between the quantity of com produced, and the number of people to be fed, cannot, in the nature of things, be exa^; to have corn regularly plentiful and cheap, mor^ muft be produced than the. amount of the home confumption, or the quantity will prcfently degenerate to lefs. If thefe iflands had 25,000,000 of people in them, and the whole divided as above; even in fuch cafe an ope,n exportation ought to be allowed, and even a bounty at certain prices ; if no. exportation was allowed, the years which yielded confideraWy above the mean quantity, would prove difcouraging to the little free- holders in the price of the quantity eat by the 8,000,000 of fupemu- meraries. But ttcr. nt AGRICULTURE. If •!. PS But if an encreafe of population depends upon tlie quantity of food produced* and if Aich an encreafe is of great public benefit, it behoves this nation to encreafe the quantity of food by all poflible means. The earth's productions bear a regular proportion to the number of people employed in the cultivation ; it ought therefore to be tht fpecial care of the Icgiflaturc to encourage agriculture by wholefome lavrsi framed according to the fpirit of the times ; that no v^rohg balance may happen between the numbers employed in hufbahdry, and all other occupations y iince it is exceedingly evident from this reafoningi that no bufinefs is of fuch great confequence as that of railing food. No one was ever more fenfible of this truth than Mr. Wallace; he obferves with great juflice*. •* That trade and commerce, inftead of increafing, may often tend to- diminilh the numbers of mankind, and while they enrich a particular nation, and entice great numbers of people into one place, may be not a Kttle detrimental upon the \fe thdfe Tegetables ^hicli tend immediately to^ the increafe o£, food, ^nd thofe which are mateuals for mianufa£t|ii;f^y,iir foo4 for cattk whofe l{eiH is not eaten : And agaiiif bjB^ccn th^^^Mp^^^ of aj^anufafturcs, the pro- , dudion of which add fertility to t^<^;foi|i#»4- Prepare »t for bre^d coi;n, and thofe which exhauft that fertility* and require the fame tillage, ma- nure, fud preparation a^ bread c- rable quality of it, is its growing in poor fandy lands which will not bear wheat, by which means the culture of bi^ead corn is e^ttended, or might be, over the whole territory : Rye is the beft grain for bread after wheat, but is not in general reckoned Co wholefome, but mixed half and half is excellent; this miscture is called mafliik. Tbe tulture of rye iS' negled^ed as much as that of wheat; for there is not a tra£t of fand in the two iflands but would, with moderate improvements, produce cropa of Jr. It will grow to profit on land too poor to yield barley Croats : Was either wheat or rye the only bread com, one kitfid o€ foil muft he without it, but thefe grains are produced on fuch very different one8> that no trades of country can be too poor for yielding bread. The con* fumption of rye in England and Wales is 1,030,000 quarters* or" 412,000 acres at two quarters and an half per acre ; a very trifling tra^ of la .id compared to the quantity of uncultivated foil in England which would yield this grain. ' III. Peafe in utility follow rye. The white fort are of great import- ance in affording to the poor, in plentiful years, a nourifiiing food, and at a lov/ price. When hogs are cheap enough for them to keep one* or to purchafe pork, the flefh by means of pfeafe is made to go much further, and each is rendered the more wholefome ; but the poor make . many hearty meals on peafe, without the advantage of the addition of pork. Peafe are likewife of infinite utility in feeding and fattening hogs, by which means they conduce greatly to encreafing the quantity of food. Another flriking advantage is their ameliorating quality to the • The moft ingenious author of the EJays oh Hu/iandry, p. 51. fays, " England in a fruitful harvefi can produce corn enough (upon fuppoiition that none was fent into foreign countries) to fupport its inhabitants for four years." Quere whether the author means dott produce it, or is able by improvements to produce it ? The former certainly is not the cafe- with any country. See Enquiry into Political OEconomy^ Vol. i. p. i, Ii2, 113. England, fays the author of the Corn TraSs, p. 20j, mufl be 34 years faving the bread of one. Jsbct. nl. A^GRI CULTURE; 99 foil they grow upon: In all tic 4nd8 Ji.full ■vk^.tn vv But t|u8 root kas thofe qualities which I mentioned as belonging to peafe; the fiBedii% hd^^, and mciKwatiz^ the foil: hogs may even be fatted in great perfe^on on them : What a fource of plenty therefore is this vegetable, which will yield thirty-eight quarters per acre *» It ^ceeds every thing in preparing the land for wheat. ^ ' V. AppS^itrcfeareely to be called a crop when.properly planted, but they are neverthdefs, and in fome meafure for that very reafon, worthy of ranking^here. liquor h iisiidceflary as visuals; and there moft cer^ tainly is not nourifliment fufficieiU: f— . '.trying; i VI. Buckw1>eat. This g^ain ie lUcewife an ameliorajting crop, ajad prepares the land for rye ; if the crop is good, and very luxuriant, fo as to keep the foil entirely fhaded, the farmer never omits fowiog wheat or rye af~ t^pit; it is little eaten in 'England, but much in France, and mixed with dther meal would make very: good bread.; It is of all things that whic^ hogs fatten beft with, which is iingly fufficientto^roye its value* ■■/■'■ ' •■ --. -v/ '.ikr^il-.h if'^sf- -v^f ,;!r f VII. Barley mud be ranked here as an article of great uie for fattmg liogs ; particularly fo where the foil affcGLat it more than peaie, buckwhe/|^t», •piT' potatoes. * » ^^ VIII. Beans. A grain of uie likewife in &tting hogs, and manyveryr lieavy foils will yield it betker than any other produdion ; add. to .^&t that it prepares the land for wheat. > . tji ixi/iiuq :\ '' ■■' ■ ■ -■ •■■ ■' ' ■■•■•-' •■■••; ■■- • ■ ■■,,. '-:'.;— a 1 IX. Caitrets are one of the moft bene6«ial props, j^at caa,^ cultivi^t^d in very light foils; they improve the land, and yield a confidecablie quantity of food for fatting oxen, iheep, and hogs. r.f X. Turnips. Another improvizig crop ;. ,tl^, lM^ye..$]|^e ,j^ine. uf^ as the cartpti but in a lefs degree., /- :Ai no q<«i>^'5i'jff u^i^ £i,' ,^'_^^ XI. GraiTes natural and SLrtificIal* Tnefe vegettibles are of merit m proportion to the quantity of cattle they will fat. Some lands are of fuch a nature that. they, would yield, no .corn, fucb moft .undoubtedly ihould remain in grafs ; but arable ground feeds fo many more people than grafs, that all (hduld be. ploughed that poflibly can:, And this point is of fuch importance in the political oeconorny of ,tlvs kingdom, that the cultivators o£r it ought, by a fyftem of judicious n^anagemeot in the legiflature, to ifind it their own intereft to encreafe the lands, in tillage.^ for if grafing becomes moft profitable, population muA inevitably fuSer. Corn lands, if thrown into judicious eourfes of hui^b^ndfy, maintain v£t(t quantities of cattle, befidea [producing bread for the people} but if thje expences of it run too high by the coft of implements, their "repairs, or the high price of labour> then grafs, notwithftanding its inferiority of produce, will be found the mofl profitable. Artificial graifes prepare ... , the stcT.nf. A elRfFCUXT U R B. 10^ er. or of the land for coni} at the fame time that they maintain, more cattle, thaqi- the natural; they ought therefore to be encouraged as much as poffible,:< XII. Madder, weld, and other dying weeds, hops, &c. &c. Whatf- ever is neceflary for the home confumption; that is, would be purchafed from abroad if not produced at home ; provided fuch products do not impoverifh- the foil, and are' not planted in very large quantities, there is no objection to their cultivation : This is the cafe with theie articles*- XIII. Oats. This impoverifhing grain, "which fouls and exhau(ls the land more than any other, is of no real ufe. Oatmeal is not to be com- pared to bread madef of buckwheat, nor is it fo good fi food as potatoes^: and as to the utility of feeding horfes, it is only a means of multiplying a fpecies of cattle which alone may depopulate a nation; and which are already attended with an exceeding bad effect in. that refpe£t on' England- There is no really neceflary work which oxen will' not perform ^ and wh&t a differ£nce is there between encreafing, an animal whofe flefh is &od.fdr man* and another whofe. carcafe is eaten by. nothing but dogs. The confumption of oats is 400,000 quarters more than that, of wheats in England and Wales; an immenfe quantity. The whole confumption amounts by calculation to 4,25p>ooo quartera; and the dilproportion in Scotland is vaftly g^eaten \ ^ XIV. Hemp and flax. Thefe vegetables require the very richeft Jan^, great quantities of manure, and are prodigious impoverifhers. A vi- gorous culture of them is fingly fufficient to depopglate a nation,' for it would efFedually exclude ]^i^ft : I have not the, leaflidoiibt that it is more beneficial to purchafe than to raife them, if people are reckoned the riches of this country : Flax is much fown in Ii;eland,' and aiiy cul*- .ture is better than, fuffering the people -to be abfolutely idle; but if that of wheat was ■ properly encouraged by giving a bounty on the expor- tati(»n, and other national meafures taken ; or to fum up all in one word, if Ireland was abfolutely united'with Great Britain, this culture of hemp and flax would no longer be beneficial; it is the proper agriculture of colonies to yield fuch produ<^ions, and the Britifh ones would produce, under proper regulations, enough for all Europe. " One caufc. of the want: of people in Ireland, fays the author of the Prefent State, is the fovving of hemp and flax ; which is looked upon as a great improve- ment, as it may no doubt be in fuch a foil and. climate where the people are fo few; but fo long as they convert their lands to that ufe, they will nev€r have any number of people. Hemp and flax deftroy the beftcorn landsf and deprive the people of biead wherever they, are fowed;'. It is loa POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IIT. for this reafoa they are obliged to live upon potatoes, 'as the very beft corn lands are not' only occupied, but totally exhaufted, by hemp and flax; and they buy corn for fo few people in fuch a fruitful country. By fuch a metnod of agriculture you will never maintain people, but ex- tirpaite them as. much as by keeping of cattle and horfes inftead of them. It is to thefe two caufes that the depopulation of Ireland feems to be chiefly owing. This we may learn from the example of the Ukrain, and parts adjacent, thofe rich and fruitful countries which formerly overran all Europe, when the people made nothing but corn ; but by the planting of fuch quantities of hemp and flax, as they now make, they have hardly any people in them, and can never maintain any num- ber upon thefe poifonous weeds which deprive them of corn to eat. It is for this reafon that nioft of the landlords in England will not fufl^er their lands to be fown with hem^ or flax, under a penalty of five pounds an acre. However this nation may want thofe commodities, and noN withflanding the foil aiid climate are both fit to produce them, yet Britain is obliged to expend great fums for them, and can never have them of her owii growth Without a much greater lofs in people than they are worth*." To have laid a tax of flax therefore upon the pec^le of Ireland* ac- cording to the plan of Sir William Petty, was by no means the Way to enrich the people : Their prefent linen manuiadory is no anfwer to this bbje^libn '; for had the ports of Ireland been laid open for the exportation of corn, with the fame bounty as in England* that ifldnd would by thts time have been peopled and enriched to a rcrf ^ilfi^nt degree j and would have bee^i a more potent and confidi^i^Ie kingdom, in every refpedt, than what her linens will ever advanc6' 'liter to. I before obferv^d that induftry in any branch of employment is better than abfolute idlenefs^: all the poor in Ireland had better cultivate flax, and manufacture linen, than remain idle : all I would infinuate in this paflage, is nothing more than a comparifbn between the produdHon of corn which feeds the peo- ple, and that of flax which in one fenfe ftarves them: It certainly depo*- pulates, but as certainly enriches thofe it leaves : It is our abfurd politics with regard to Ireland, that prevents population in any cafe from being the beft of all riches t« ,1 Ilhall * Pr^efent StMeef Great Bf^aBi Mid North Jmtrka, p. laCr * ^ v ,- p: i ,:-i]S^i ' ■ ■,..'.■ 't - = , t Sir W. Petty, who in (b many refpeds was an ingenious calculator, was oioft cer- tainly, on the whole, a miferable politician. This remark thatjrehmd may lofc in riches (by lofing in people} by the identical man'ufliftinre which enriches it« has the sppcarance«f a paradox; Sect. III.' AGRICULTURE. wi ■ I fhall carry this fcale of produdlons no further : The tendency of all may be gathered from the foregoing ; but a few remarks on the means of producing great quantities of food for man, by the judicious manage- ment of the beneficial vegetablesi is not unnece0ary. Wheat has certainly the pre-eminence ; and next to it comes rye. There are two ways of cultivating them, by fallowing the land for their reception, or fowing them after fome other crop. It is to this day dubious, which (the conduct in both cafes equally judicious) yields the moll grain; from the very uncertainty one may venture to aflert the latter deferves the preference. Such preparatory crops as may be followed by thefe valuable ones, are therefore of infinite confequence, they are chiefly peafe, beans, buckwheat, potatoes, and fome artificial grafles, particularly clover : from hence it is apparent what prodigioufly beneficia)! crops peafe and potatoes are, they feeding men, the reft cattle —the latter encreafe the quantity oi food in that of meat; but what is direSlly applied to the nouriihment of the people, maint^ns by far more than any crop which yields it only in a fecondary manner. Beans yield more plentifully than peafe, and yet the quantity of pork an ac^'-e pro- duces by fatting hogs, by no means equals the quantity of food an acre of peafe diredly yields; without mentioning the difference in readinefs, for peafe may be boiled and eat, when hogs i^re not to be bought for the beans. T^hefe noble crops not only yield fuch plenty of food themielves> a paradox : Supppofe 4,oco,ooo of people were maintained in it by the culture of corn, (he wpuld be richer in that trcafure of population, with a balance of trade of 500,000 /. than with a balance of 1,000,000 /. by means of manufa£lures, with only 2,000,000 of people. Petty has an obfervation totally contrary — ** If all Ihe hufbandmcn of England, fays he, who now earn but 8 30o,ooo acres of peafe, at % quarters, — — 13,300,000 of potatoes, at la quarters, — - 13,300,000 of wheat and rye, at 2 quarters and an half, Quarters. 26,300,000 159,600,000 33,250,000 2x9,150,000 Suppofingthat four quarters of thcfe produdions were fufficient for the -' tnaintenance of one perfon a year on the medium of men, women and ' children, and one quarter of wheat it has been proved is the average con- fumption of mankind at prefent ; four therefore of thefe articles muft be reckoned a prodigious allowance ; the above 2 19,150,000 quarters would in that cafe maintain above 54,700,000 perfons. I am aware that there is nothing accurate in this calculation ; that nothing is here allowed for beer ; that there may be a doubt whether fheep enough could be kept for the purpofes of cloathing; and that the moil eligible fcheme of pro- ductions fhould be more various, and the people might have more articles of food: There is a great deal of truth in thefe otjedions but then I am very clear that the allowance of four quarters is fo extravagant, that I might perhaps fay the furplus of it is fufficient to make up all thefe wants, and efpecially ?.s no notice is taken of the millions which might be maintained by fOu nor of the performing all tillage with oxen, which would SCCT. IIT. A C RI C U L T U R E; 10? •would yield fuch quantities of fle(h, for in the above account 32,000,000 are fet apart for graifes and woods, (of the latter of which, but a fmall poi'tion would be neceffarjr, the hedge rows yielding a fufficiency) and •no food fuppofed to be yielded by them. As to beer none would be wanting^ cyder ought to be univerially fubAituted ■ in its room. Laftly, ■this calculation is meant rather as a proof of what numbers might be maintained in thefe iflands, than to fpecify any particular number ; but 4>ne acre per head is mentioned by many authors as fufficient, and is ad!tually the cafe in fome countries, at which rate, the number would hav^ amounted to many more. But whatever may be the opinion of the reader in thefe points, he will allow the importance of cultivating thofe crops in preference, which are the food of man. Wheat, rye, peafe and potatoes, claim the priority to barley, buckwheat, oats, &c. 4md carrots and turnips are not of fo great confequence in preparing for corn, ^8 in fatting cattle, becaufe fpring corn, aiid generally barley and oats, are the fucceeding one^ ; but if carrots were drawn time enough to fow wheat or rye, the cafe with them would be different. As to im- poveriihing crops which do not yield food, nothing more need be faid of them. Thus much is fufficient at prefent, on this fubjed, of the various merit of cultivated vegetables ; I have handled it in a fuperficial manner, rather as a means of awakening attention, than as a full examination; but its importance is fo great, that too much pains cannot be taken to elucidate it thoroughly; and my fubje^ will require fomething more to be iaid of it ia anotlupr place. Cf the Population refuh'mg from particular Methods of Cultivation, ** The repeated induftry and diligence, fays an excellent author, nec«f- fary to be ufed in this peculiar fort of hujoandry, (the new) will afford «ncreafe of employment to labouring men, and alfo to women and chil- dren, who could otherwife gain next to nothing. In proof of which, a .tra£k of land planted with vines, Tucerne, &c. will employ and maintain xnore country people, than doubly, or perhaps trebly the fame quantity of ground fown with corn. Nor can there be any rea:fon for dis- couraging or difcontinuing thefe minute advantageous labours, till a kingdom is found (upon fome other accounts) to encreafe in its popu- loumei^ *." • Effvfs OH Hufimiryy p. 38. P This io6 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Ebsay IU. Thl4 pafTage ftarts an optmon To nearly conneded with my fubjed* that it is abfolutely neceiTary to give it an examination. The quelUon arifing is, Whether that hufbandry which abfolutely yields the moft food for man, may be pronounced the moft advantageous to Great Britain^ without enquiring into the numbers employed by it ? -This point is ex- tremely important, and intimately concerns the well-being of this kingdom. I have already proved that population muft depend upon the quantity of food produced at home in a large kingdom : In fuch a fmall dominion as Holland, fo cut with navigable canals, th6 cafe Is different ; but in fuch trads as France, Spain, or Britain, no regular dependence can be placed in a foreign fupply. Population in thfc BfJflfli dominions cannot encreafe, without an encreafe of the quantity bf food; but fuppofe the Quantity is encreafed by ihcfanr. of a bitter ic^hure, arifing from a divi- fion of the country into lafger fkrms, it is imagined by many, that fmall farms are moft conducive to population therefore according to this . fuppofition, the encreafe of food might be attended with a decreafe of Seople. True,— of a decreafe of thofe employed in agricultbre ; btit it oes not therefore follow that it is general, becaufe the furplus may era- ploy themfelves in mknufkdlures, and eat the food produced, as well afe if they had produced it themfelves ; in which cafe, population would depend upon the demand for manufadures; if that was regularly alive and brifk, none need be idle. This fuppofition is ftarted for the fake of the conclufion, not that I think large farms diminifh the peoplei they certainly diminifh the number of farmers, but probably not the people in general. Suppodng the number of people therefore equal in both, the encreafe of food provided by the large farmers, may be exported, as an encoij- ragement for them ^9 continue and encreafe their labours, (which is encreafmg people) until population is arrived at fuch a pitch, as to con- fume the whole at home. And the encreafe might in this ihanner con- tinue progreffively with the exportation, as long as frefti lands continued to be brought into culture ; but when tfie whole foil became tilled, the number of people at home would put a flop to exportation, without any law to that purpofe. But in the midft of this train new Inventions appear, by the ufe of which, a more accurate hufbandry is introduced, requiring a much greater number of hands. But here it will be better to lay afide the fpeaking in general Sect. III. AGRICULTURE* 107 in ral general terms, as the cafe is in a good meafure the prefent one with thefe kingdoms.-rDrill ploughs .. id horfe hoes are difcovered, ufed, and re- commended, being attended with two excellencies { iirft, of growing a larger produce of bread corn |)artictilarly, than in- the old method ; and (econdly, of finding employment far a greater number of poor people. i am not entering into an examination of thefe inftruments, only en- quiring the extent of their confequences, fuppofing they a^ually per- form as their friends declare. The encreafe of the quantity of ftibd, I have already proved is a pcunt of infinite confequence ; but the queflioh Is; Whether that vail confe- quence remains, when it arifes from the employment of great numbers of hands which might be employed in manufactures, and when the common methods produce a larger quantity in proportion to the numbers employed ? Suppofe that three acres of land employed in the old huf-« bandry for three vears, yield the farmer nine guineas clear profit after maintaiiiing one labourer, and that the produce is 7 quarters and an half of wheat, 7 quarters and an half of barley, and 6 pounds worth of tumip^r or dover. Suppofe three acres in the fame time in the newhuf^ bandry yield the farmer likewife nine guineas clear profit, after maintain- ing two labourers and two boys, and that the three years produce is thir- teen (Quarters and an half of wheat. The queflion is, Which is mod bene- ficid to the publick f The probability of thefe fuppoAtions is not the jprefent enquiry, they are to be taken fer granted, as principles^ for the lake of the conclufions to be drawn from them. • -.. At forty (hillings, and two and twenty per quarter, the value of the firfl products will be 39/. 5 /. and of the fecond 37/. Now the thirteen quarters and an half would probably maintain many more mouths than the feven and an half, and the barley, and clover, or turnips, becaufe it is a great chance if the barley is applied to the fatting of hogs, and the clover, in all probability, will become the food of horfes, nor will the beef or mutton arifing from the turnips (if they fhould be the crop) form a balance. The three acres then in the new feed more people than in the old. But, on the contrary, the former takes up the labour of one man and two boys more than the latter. Which is beft therefore for the publick good, that this furplus fhould be fo employed, or fpared for manufadiures ? Sir William Petty would anfwer at once the latter; but the cafe is doubtful at leaft; for population will flourifh moft by their being regularly employed on agriculture, and providing a larger quan- tity of food, and populoufnefs is of itfelf the greateil of all riches to ■ .■^»j:- P a an 10* POtlTICAt ESSAYS. EieAY ViU an indu^llrious nation. But manufadlures nevfr yield (ucb regular em/> nloyment as agriiculture— there U iio certainty of a coutipuance of many brandies of them which depeiul on fafhiona, fpreiga rlvalfliip, &c. &c. -•-—From all which circumftances we may at Uaft 'deduce a balamjc. to< the proportional profit of the old hulbaudry. Wc may thmrfljle ri*!!! dude that mode of cultusc to be the beft* which employs moft pedpte at the. fame time that it yields the greateil quantity of food for man. But there are other variations of this fuppofition which mufl: not Be pafled over without notice^ What would be the.fefult if both methods were to yield the fame quaAtity of food* the. one requiring, as before mentioned, a greater aumber of hands than the other } In this cafe the old hufbandry would fpare^ more people for manufadures, Sec and at. the fame time that it provided food for them, than the new ; becaufe that yielding no more food than the other, and requiring contiderably more hands for the culture, confequently could fpare very few. The. quantity of food here being the fame, population would be the fame, if the furplus of the old employed by manufactures, met with as regular a. maintainance as thoTe required by the operofe culture of the new ; but the riches of the publick by trade would be greater by the former. Again ; fuppofe the old hufbandry was managed on an average, as I mentioned before, for the culture of food alone, in this cafe population would thrive by far more than any new method could occafion, becaufe the fuperiority of quantity would be on its fide. la the common method the inferiority is owing to the crops of barley, clover, and turnips, but if one of dired food was every year on the ground, the balance wx>uld. turn greatly. Throughout thefe fuppoHtions it is laid down as a maxim, that popu- lation flouriihes in proportion to the quantity of food produced; and that method is fuppofed to be the mofl beneficial which yields the greateft crops ; and the employment of people in agriculture has the preference to manufactures, unlefs in fuch modes of culture as do not yield equally with others : From all which one general conclufion may be drawn, that of all others, the mod beneficial fyflem of culture would be that which yielded a fuperior encreafe of quantity in proportion to the numbers em- ployed in it, which, it is very evident, would be in an improved itate of the old method. For initance, throw a tra£t of land into the courfe above treated of, viz. wheat or rye, peafe and potatoes, and let them be raifed in the common method ;— on the contrary, let another traCt be cul- tivated 8ccTk iir. AiOH I CULTURE. 109 tivatcd acfordb^td thenewmethnd^ anditippoTtf the prodaAn equal } that -virould be the I i* which* by adding aa. additional Land to the culture, would yield the gretteft additional quantity ; tor if the two method* (brtcd were on a par, the poor people employed in them wuuld have encourage- ment toencreafe according to the mtrtaft ot employment, and that encreafe muft depend upon the profit to the farmer ariimg from it; if cuUivfltor» in the old method began an improy:^ment by, ploughing, harrowing, ma- nuring, hoeing and weeding, which required an additional number of men, women, and children, at the fame time that a i>milar improve- ment waa undertaken by thofe of the oew, and at harTeft was to find a greater proportional encreafe of crop, in confequence of employing fuch an additional number of hands, than the cultivators in the other method found in confequence of their improvement, it would be decifive at once in favour of the former : And that they would find fuch a fuperiority, there is very great reafon to believe, but of that more hereafter. If there \t any truth in thefe remarks, and that there is common ex- perience fuidciently evinces, it muft fiirely be ftriking to every one, of what great importance all thofe improvements in agriculture are, which encreafe the quantity of food at the fame time that they employ an additional num- ber of poor people. No improveihent is fo great and obvious as that of break- ing up uncultivated lands, for fuch frefli culture is better by far than the mofl important conquefts; new territories are gained without theexpence of Tidories ; populous villages arife where fcarce a hut was formerly feen ; and thoufands are fed from thofe acres which were once a national dif- grace. This improvement has made great advances of late years in- England, but vad trads yet remain which are highly capable of culture, and which might be made to maintain a prodigious encreafe of people. In fuch improvements as thefe, the attention of gentlemen to agricul- ture is of great national importance ; thofe who pofTefs uncultivated lands have the opportunity of improving \ but others whofe eflates are already well cultivated according to common modes, can do but little in this way ; their attention Ihould be direded to the means of encreafing the quantity of manures, and to encouraging thofe tenants who fhow a difpofition for a lively and vigorous culture ; but if inflead of fuch en- deavours they bufy themfelves with drill ploughs, and horfe hoes, and all the gimcrackery of hufbandry, they moft aflfuredly will not be of fuch fervice to their country. Could the drill hufbandry produce as much wheat every year as the old does in its wheat years, or even a large proportion of it, the merit would 110 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay III. would be acknowledged by all; but while nothing but uncertainty attends it, while the machines are complex and expenfive, and while fo many have tried it with lofs, every perfon has a right to debate its con- fcquences freely. I know not a greater matter of reproach to our gentry of large eftates, fo many of whom bufy themfelves in agriculture, than this dubioufnefs of the merits of the drill culture : What a want of publick fpirit is there in fuch an univerfal negligence or avarice, that none fhould make repeated experiments on a large fcale and in the face of a whole country, on fuch points, that their country might be fatisfied either of the whimfical inutility of the pra^ice, or its excellence. S E C T. IV. Of the Riches artjing from Britifh Agriculture, THE greatefl of all riches is the poflTeillon of food, for from that refults all others, but the riches which form the fubjeds of this Sedion are by no means fo general ; by them are meant nothing but the money or merchandife in exchange, which the fale of the fuperfluity of the produdiotis of agriculture yield from foreign rations. It is obvious from this definition, that there mufl be fomething dubious in the nature and extent of fuperfiiuity ; for the juftnefs of the meafure depends upon the line of feparation between necefftty and fuperfluity : If any part of the produce neceiTary for the home confumption is exported, it is no longer the fale of fuperHuities, but of what ought to remain at home. I have already endeavoured to prove, that the great bufinefs of agri- culture is the produdlion of food for man, that population may never flop for want of plenty of neceflaries ; and it has likewife been fhewn, that the only means of having enough^ is to raife tnore than enough. But raifing more than the demand amounts to, only tends to fink the price, and confequently deters the farmer from fowing the next year that extent of ground which a brlfk market ai -"ays occafions: Thus, by means of aiming only at a fufficiency, and never at a fuperfluity, even a neceffity is not procured, nor famine always prevented. But when it is raifed for exportation, the farmers are not cautious of fowing too much, they are not fearful of glutting the markets, and by this means plenty is always procured at home. 6 But :4 Sect. IV. AGRICULTURE. 11 1 But ftill the query r^^mains. What is fuperfluity ? What is plenty ? What is the price at which corn ought to be at home ? The folution of thefe queftions is of infinite importance to fuch an induftrious nation a& Britain. For the expediency of having the neceflaries of life at a rea-^ fonahle price, that the poor may be able properly to maintain themfelves, is a meafure that has univerfally ftruck all ftatefmen ; but noui has beea fo blundered about ; and nine out of ten of the adls of ftate which have been framed for the purpofe in different countrie8> have had a direft con- trary tendency. Neceflaries vary in every country ; what are fuch in England are not fuch in France ; what are fuch in France are not fuch in Spain : There is. no term which hangs in fuch obfcurity as this ; how difficult it is to dif- cover them with precilion, even at home. Some parts of England feed on barley bread, in Scotland on oats, and in Ireland on potatoes, and thefe feveral fpecies being of a very indifferent fort when eat alone, they~ may be clearly determined abfolu,te necefTaries. Great numbers feed oa rye, and many on that and wheat mixed ; I make nd fcruple to give thefe the term of necefTaries ; but in many parts of England the po6r eat nothing but fine white wheaten bread ; this certainly is no necejfary of life, while wheat and rye may be mixed and eat ivith healthy and what is commonly called houfehold or brown wheat bread. And it is very difficult to allow even thefe to be neceffaries, while it is fo well known,. a meal of half potatoes and half wheat make a perfedtly wholefome bread : Indeed, we may lay it down as a maxim, that nothing is a necef- Jary of lifcy if any thing cheaper^ but equally ivholefomei ivtll ferve for regular food. The quantity is in the next place to be examined, for whatever vege- table production is converted into bread, a certain quantity of it mufl be neceffary for every one ; and I fee no reafon why that quantity fhould not be called as much as they can eat, for no poor perfons can be in per- fect health and vigour, that have not their belly-full conflantly ; and if they are induftrious and without their health and ftrength, the ftate fufFers as well as themfelves in a lofs of their full labour. From thefe circumftances it follows, that the price of food (whether it be bread alone when flefh is dear, or both when it is cheap) fhould be fo low that the induftrious poor may always be able to command fuch a fufficiency, without its de- priving them of the means of cloathing themfelves decently, and pro- viding themfelves with the other few neceflaries of life which need no. explanation. Whenever 113 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IIL Whenever the home confumption is fatlsfieil to this degree, the expor- tation of the Turpi us becomes a wife and prudent meafure. It caufes a certainty of a perpetual plenty at home, and becomes a mod valuable branch of trade. This has very clearly been the cafe with Britain ; fhe has for eighty years exported great quantities of corn, and yet has fed her own inhabitants cheaper by 9/. yd. per quarter fince that meafure, than ever (he did before, which is fuch a proof of the expediency of the meafure, as can be inflanced in fcarce any other. Were this efFedl the only one of a vigorous exportation, it would be decifive enough, but there are many others. In fixty-eight years fhe received upwards of 36,000,000 /. for her exported corn *, which being a very bulky commodity, employed an infinity of (hipping and failors, befides the very confiderable amount of the freight — And laftly, we may venture to determine that this vaft quantity has been really fuperfluous at home, becaufe the progreflion of luxurious living among the poor has been regular during the whole period, which would have been im- poflible, had any quantities neceflfary for the home confumption been exported. But an expenfive bounty has been granted on exportation ; Of what ufe can that be ? fay fome. Cannot the corn trade at leaft take its own courfe ? I ihould be more explicit in anfwering thefe queries, but muft in another place enlarge upon bounties in general, the lefs therefore need be advanced here. It is impofTible to fuppofe that ijich quantities would have been exported without the bounty, and as the exportation has been of fo great national advantage, the expediency of the meafure which advanced it cannot be called in queftion— If the feeding our own poor 9 J. 3 ^. per quarter cheaper than they would otherwife have been fed, and at the fame time receiving 36,000,000 /. for our furplus, be highly beneficial circumftances, and owing to the exportation, they are decifive in favour of the bounty, becaufe that muft, in the very nature of things, have had great effect in promoting the exportation. The riches flowing into a country through trade may, on the prefent occafion, be divided into two forts, ift. The exportation of raw pro- duds ; 2d, That of manufadures. To enter too largely even into thefe divifions would be to anticipate the fubjed ; but it is neceflary to fay a few words on the point which corn occupies in this general fcale. • Three Trailst p. 133. The Sect. IV. A'ORI C U L TUH E. US The exportation of manufadures has always been efteemed by far the moft beneficial, in refpe£t of the employment of hands : Allowing this to be the cafe, (although it ii nof uniVerfaMy fo) yet that of raw materials has many other advantages, and from a flight enumeration of them, it will be evident how high corn ranks atoong them. Ifl/Tliiy em- ploy a greater number of (hipping and failors. adly, Thpir freight amounts to far greater fums. sdly, The dejiiand fqr/tb^m is, and^evpr will be, much more regular, they confifting in general more of i>ecef- iartes of life than manufactures. 4thly, A multitude of the latter are wrought fropn foreign produ^s^ the price and exp^nces of wliich are to be dedu^^d from their manilf^^ured amount ; nothing of ytr^iich h th/: cafe with the raw produfSts. Other circumftances might be added to this parallel, but thefe are fufliQient ; atid it .19 .obvious «f what , fioiifefiueaGSs corn amounts to according to thefe ideas. ■ ■., ;.i. _ f!^ before I conclude this Se^on, I cannot pmit ob&riviqg wlk^ raft richi^ 'xnightbe made to floVr into this nation* from improvements in Agriiqulture for the purpofes of exportation. I fay, for the purpofe$ of j^^portation; becaufe if they were anfwered, population, by means of the Home con- fumption being regularly fupplied, ' would follow of courfe. Whoever makes a trade of corn will never want it to eat. Upon this, principle, what tracks of uncultivated land ^e tHercf in Great Britain a^d Ire- land, which might be made to freight whole fleets of I^erchaptmeQ. NoiiiiAg can be a (Irorfger proof that the domeilic policy of this nation is, in thefe refpeds, very far removed from perfe^ion, thaa feeing fuch a large portion of the foil uncultivated : It may befKid, ti)at;«U ^xtenfive countries are in the fame circumftances, and moft in a greater degree than ours : This may be the cafe molt certainly, but it is a weak argu- inent at beft. This nation enjoys another kind of liberty than is com- mon in extenfive kingdoms, and therefore ought not to be contented with fuch a degree of improvement as others enjoy— Its conftiturion re- quires more : Befides, we are in a train of political ceconomy, which, if propet-ly purfued, would carry improvements of this fort to a higher pitch ; of this the bounty on exported corn is a ftriktng inftance ; even the allowance of exportation at all is fcarcely known in other countries, after it has been ufed with fuccefs fo many years in England. What a fund of wealth would an univerfal application of this meafure, with ibme few well contrived laws, produce in thefe iflands ! Political manage- ment moft certainly mi^ht be carried to fuch a height, (and without of- fending one eftablifhed cuftom) that not an acre of wafte land Ihouldi be found in the three kingdoms. ^ .„..,, - > *» CL SECT. "4 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay III* S E C T. V. Gf the Prefmt State of Agriculture in the Briti/h Dominions* I Apprehend k will not be ftn ufelefs labour in this work, to {late the prefent degree of our improvements in agriculture; for by that means its progrefs or decline may be eafily marked, and the miftake of attri- buting capital improvements to a wrong period avoided ; which has been common in preceding times, for want of better annals to difcover the real progrefs of rural inventions. Thofe of the prefent age are but £:w in number ; the endeavours of modern times have been chiefly dire£ted to perfect what was well known to our anceftors. But I (hall take a flight view of each article of improvement which is pra£tifed at prefent, remarking upon the degree of its extent, and the fuccefs which has attended it. The mod important of all) and that upon which every thing depends, is the r . » ^ . , . ' Knowledge of Soils, This is the foundation of all profitable hufbandry, and can be gained only by experience; but that degree of it which even experience has hitherto conferred is but confined and uncertain, as appears by the failures of many farmers improvements in manuring, which prove fuf- ficiently that they knew not the real nature of the foil they cultivated : But at the fame time it muft be allowed, that the writers who have treated particularly of the fubjed, have been yet farther from difcovep- ing an accurate knowledge of it ; for an attentive perufal of all the works which have been publifhed in the Englifli language on agriculture,, will yield no fatisfa^ory and diftin£): ideas— -The terms they ufe have no precife definitions, and when they Ipeak the cleareft on any particular foil, a precife knowledge of what that foil is, cannot be gained from, them. For inftance, their remarks on the crops and manures proper for loam may be well imagined and exprefled, but what is the loam ^ general dire^ions for a generally fpecified foil may be well wrote^ but it does not follow that fuch foil fliould be minutely defined ; and without a moft minute defcription of the variations found in particular kinds of foils, it is impoflible ever to underfiand their real nature. But this ; minute knowledge i& perfectly poflefled by fome pra!■ i • ^ , -f'h The trails hitherto broken up, have confiAed chiefly of fuch lands as were eafily ploughed, the fuir/ace unincupdbered with whins, gofsbroom> white thorns, or other ftrong beggary; and which, from this curcum- fiance, appear to have been ploughed in former times. Such trails have been carefully feledled by our raoderi^ improvers, on account of the ejc- pence of clearing the otbers, which they have almoil univerfally left for their old ufe of feeding iheep ; and as every farm of this fort, it is; fuppofed, miill have Ibme walk, they pitched upon thofe flubborn ones- for it. This obfervation I have made in many of tl^e lighter couatjieSy and is very evident even in Norfolk itlclf. Now there can be no doubt but fuch rough traSs are the richeft ; which is fully proved by their fpontaneous produdions for thorns, whins, &c. &c* and ill proportion to their lize difcover the fertility of the foil — a very poor one, fuch as many tlut are ploughed upon account of the evennefs o,f theijr A% POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay III. their furface, and- which require vafl improvement, could not throw out fuch ftrong vegetables. But the expcnce of clearing deters the farmers from attempting their culture : if they could aft\)rd the firft ex- pence, there is great reafon to think the fuperior fertility of the foil ■would amply repay them ; and w'hcn thv'ir labourers were got into a regular 4nd handy method of clearing with well contrived grubbing in- llruments, they vvould be able to fix a price pef acre for the work; and from that time the improvement of fuch lands would be carried on with vigour, nothing deterring farmers from any aittempt fo much as uncertain cxpinces. Thefe obfervations are equally applicable to the method of paring and burning, or the more common one of ploughing in the turf. From the vaft number of roots which are found, the former might pro- bably anfwer bcft, unlefs firitig was fo fcarce that they would be necef- fary for the farmer's kitchen : Some grounds I have feen fo covered with rubbilh, that the value of it for firing was infinitely more than the whole expence of clearing ; and this is more particularly the cafe with thofe which abound with old ragged thorn fhrubs. In Norfolk the improvement of breaking up uncultivated lands has been carried to a greater extent than in any other county of England. Perhaps the greater half of it has within thefe forty years been (hecp walks, but now covered with exceeding fine crops of corn, &c. and yielding ten times the rent it did before. It is true this county is pecu- liarly fortunate in its veins of marie and clay ; the fpreading of which on the old fheep walks, have been the principal means of the prodigious improvement that county has experienced. The method generally pur- fued has been to marie the turf with from j-o to 80 loads per acre, and plough it in fometimes for winter corn, but generally for turnips ; after the turnips barley ; and with the barley, rye-grafs and clover, which they leave on the ground three years, and then dung it, or fold it and fow win- ter corn. It is to be obferved that the account given in the work entituled Les Eletii€ns du Commerce^ and quoted by M. de Boulainvilliers in his Les IntMtsde la France mat entendusy contains many miftakes ; forinftance, •* A une recolte de froment, fuccede une recolte de jachere : enfuite, deux, trois, ou quatre moiflbns, au plusd'orge, d*avoine, dejxjis ; apres lefquelles revient une annce de repos. Par confequent, fur trois, quatre ou cinq annees, il y en a toujours une de perdue, pendant laquelle la terre refte en friche & fe maigrit *." This paffage fo difgraceful to the hufbandry of Norfolk is all falfe ; fo far are the beft farmers of that county from taking three or four crops of corn running from their lands, that they take no more V'; ill * Les Jnterets de la France, torn. i. p< 144. .V. than Sect. V, agriculture:. "^ than one, regularly intermixing turnips and ^oveir } nor is fuch a thing as a fallow known ; in general, turnips fpi^ply its place. A little fur- ther it is faid, " Quelques uns fement un peu de trefle, ou de luzerne; mais avec peu de profit, ^tant obliges de donner du fourage h leura. beftiaux pendant Thyver." There arc two capital , miftakes in this paf* fage; there is not a fprig, of luceroc fown in the whole county by common farmers; and their cloyef is fp far frpm being attended with, little profit, -that it is extremely profitable mixed with rye-grafs, apd nearly fupports their numerous flocks of iheep with which they, fold their corn lands. In another place h^ fays, " La luzerne, la trefle, le faia- foin ont double la (j[uantit6 de nous fourage^" A ftrange aflertion» when clover mixed with rye grafs is the only grafs fown. And further on, " La luzeroe eft fans contredit la plus avantageufe de ces prairies artificielles." Not an acre fown in the county. It is very plain from thefe quotations, that there is much hearfay and many falfehoods \ there are however fome truths in it. This improvement of breaking up fhcep-walks in Norfolk has cer- tainly been carried to a vaft height, and the fpirit of it exerted in a ytxy noble manner : near half the county, as I obferved before, is an im- proved fheep-walk, regularly inclofed with ditches and quick hedgepy and ornamented with a vaft number of pkntations. Thofe veiry tra£l& of country which formerly yielded nothing but fheep and rabbit food, are now covered with as galhmt crops of corn a» any in England ; and in years which are not remarkably dry, with finer crops than the richefl: and ftrongefl counties yield. I know not a more plealing idea thaa what mnft occur on travelling- through the weftern parts of that county, to think what an alteration tillage has produced ; to think of the vaft number of people maintained, where formerly fcarce any were to be found ; and of the flow of wealth this cultivation has poured into the kingdom from a foil, which, in being wafle^ was once a nuifance. But at the fame time th? . the publlck has been fo nobly benefited", private advantage has been immenfc : Many landlords, in the courfe of twenty or thirty years, advanced their rents thirty, forty, and fifty pet cent. Some vaftly morej the inftance of Mr» Morley of Barfham is> well known, and I believe juftly f^ated by the author above quoted; from 180 to 800 /. another from 18 to 240/. Nor do I believe that any county in England can produce fb many inilanccs of a great advance of rents> from this great improvement of ploughing up fheep-walks, and marling,, of which more hereafter.. ■■■■*;■' " :" '■> The feo POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IIL The tenants likewife have reaped prodigious profit on thefe admirable improvements, and made larger fortunes by their agriculture, than any country I apprehend in the world can produce, the Weft-Indies alone excepted." Twenty- and thirty thouiand pounds are not at all uncommon ; fytac few have made forty and fifty thoufand, which in many other counties would a:ppear incredible, but in this excites no Airprize. it is not uncommon for a farmer to fell from a thoufand to fifteen hundred pounds worth of barley in one year, the product of one crop. Twelve hundred pounds worth of wheat has been fold, and was only the far- mers fecond crop, barley the principal. Thefe inftances will call to mind a multitude of others, and efpecially the names quoted by the Author of the Tours, viz. Mr. Curtis of Sommerfield, Mr, Mallet of Dunton, Mr. Glover of Creek, Mr. Car of Mailingham, Meflrs. Savarres oif Cidderftone, Mr. Burton of Rougham, Mr, Ro- gttfdn- ^ Narfttrd, and marry others: Their names ought to be more celebrated in the annals of mankind as good hufbandmen, than thofe of Alexander, Caesar, or Frederick, as great generals. The one feed the fpecies, the other deftroy it. The farmers fcatter plenty over a whole country, and render th«^e trades populous Mrhich were once a defert. The heroes enter a territory fmiling with peace and plenty, and kave it bleeding from innumerable wounds. What is the boafi of fuch a farmer ? He . has fertilized once barren lands, made waftes and wilds yield food for his fellow-creatures, enriched his country as well as himfelf, and inhabited thofe trails with meny which were once the refidence of Ifeafis, What fays the mighty Caefar i Veniy 'uidi, vicii I have flaughtered many millions ; I have defolated once fertile coun- tries, and inhabited thofe tra^s with beafis^ which were once ,the refidence of men^ ^The trump of fame fills the whole world with Csefar's mighty name ! Seek in another age the remnant of the farnvcr's fame, few traces will be found : What a ftriking difference of merit in the world^s eye, between cutting the throats of mankind, and feeding them ! There are yet vaft trails of uncultivated lands in other countries of England, which go by the names of warrens, fheep-walks, downs, commons, wolds, &c. &c. that have rich veins of marie, clay, and chalk under them, and might be broken up to as great profit as thofe in Norfolk have been : It is plain, common caufes do not operate ftrongly enough for their improvement ; if they did, fuch trads would not re- main wafte, for fo ought all lands to be reckoned that feed rabbits or Iheep alone: Publick encouragement fhould therefore be given to the converting them into arable farms ; fuch encouragement would not be very I Sect. V, AGRICULTURE. isi th m of be iry very expenfivft and the whole of it being expended at home would en- creafe the mofl: valuable of all circulation) that which enlivens induftry. Let any one travel from London to Exeter, BriftoU Lancailer, or Berwick, and take notice of the great quantities of land yet uncultivated ; the proportion in Scotland and Ireland is greater ftill : A (latefman that fhould turn thefe waflc tracts into arable farms, would deferve more from his country, than if he was to conquer foreign provinces of a thoufand times their extent. Inclofing of open Lands, Tliere are many trails of country in England well cultivated but not inclofed, whereas all that are inclofed admit of a much higher improve- ment than thofe which remain open. The beft Norfolk farms were in- clofed at the beginning of their improvements, and this ought to be the firfl:; for no ploughing, manuring, nor any excellent general ma- nagement can be made the mofl of without this being (irft executed, unlefs the farmer is at an immenfe expence in hurdles every year. In the counties where inclofures are mod common, and where wafte lands have been fo taken in, agriculture mufl in the nature of things be in a much higher flate of improvement than in others which have not purfued the fame courfe. i The advaiice of rents has been prodigious in feveral counties, in con- fequence of incloHng ; for the difference of cultivating a farm inclofed and open is found by all farmers to be fo great, that it will eafily enable them with profit to give vaflly more for the former than for the latter. Unlefs a field is inclofed, it is extremely difHcult to reap the utmofl ad- vantage of turnips and artificial graifes, without which no lading improvement could be (lArried on. £.iij 'i!';; it'-. i\''ii'i\\t t- Jil' ,' , J . ' There are many tracts of land in different parts of thefe Iflands fo ex- ceeding dry and fandy, that they are fuppofed to admit of no improve- ment, and therefore lie wafte ; but it is extremely plain to me at leaft, that inclofmg them is the proper improvement, and would be a real one; and for this reafon : The great fault of thefe lands is their extreme dry- nefs, they are fufficiently fo to make mortar with; now there is nothing which will correft this quality fo much as cutting them into fmall inclo- fures, and planting the rows with fuch fhrubs and trees as befl fuit the foil ; and there are many that do ; and every here and there planting whole fields, the profit of thefe plantations would be confiderable ; but that is l:^^, R - • • . ♦ - aoT. I2f POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay III. not the motive I mean, they would attrad aiul letain a great moiAure from the air, and Aagnate it like all woody countries, which are univerfaliy dafnp and moift : thus the foil which in common is blown over by a drying wind for miles without interruption, and neceiTarily dries up in a minute the wetnefs of rains, would always have a moifl atmofphcre hanging over it. I have often remarked that even a fmall plantation on thefe driving fandt has regularly been an improvement to the foil around it. For the very fame reafon that roads arc laid open and expofed to the fun and wina». thefe tracts of country fliould be ihut up and made as clofe as pofTible. Whatever landlords are pofTeiTed of fuch foils, would find an amazing profit, in time, from inclofing them and planting fome por- tions. This profit cannot he expeded immediately, for the improve- ment would not operate until the hedges and plantations were grown enough to intercept the wind ; this however would not be many years, and the foil would then be found, without the leaft further expence,- totally changed, and fufiiciently good to yield thofe crops which are the moil fuitable to the light ones. But if either landlord or tenant was then to beftow a marling or claying on it, the return would be great ; whereas before fuch inclofing and planting the whole expenoe would: be thrown away. j^pmpare the foil of many parks with the country around them; and. thofe parts which are known to have received no, fort of manure will be found much fuperior to the wafte lands adjoining. This fa£l: is always attributed on fuppofition to the owner's improvements by ma- nuring for the fake of beauty, but this frequently is by no means the - cafe, he raifes plantations for their beauty; and poffibly furrounds his park with them, and this it is which works the improvement ; and I am perf^aded will univerfally be attended with fuch an^efFeil on all the neighbouring fands. ' . . _ I think the mod driving, barren, and defolate trafts of fand I ever met with, are eroded by the roads leading between Barton Mills and Bran- don, and Bury and Brandon in Suffolk ; but thefe are terribly loofe and dry in their prefent ftate, and in a windy day fill the air with clouds of them. I inftance thefe particularly, becaufe I am fully perfuaded that inclofing them and planting a certain quantity, would fo far change the nature of the word of them, as to make them fertile enough to yield good crops of corn, turnips, and graffes. Every one who is acquainted with Sect. V, AGRICULTURE. laj with thofe trails uf country, will be fenfible what a prodigious improve- ment this would be. The method mofl; commonly adopted at prefent in inclofing) is that of a fingle ditch with a row of white thorn in the middle of the bank, and a dead hedge on the top of it. Nothing makes fo good a fence at fo fmall an expence as this, but the white thorns arc often planted on dry fandy foils which by no means fuit it; other ftrong vegetables thriving much fader, particularly whins, which well managed will grow to an impenetrable fence much fooner than the white thorn or i'uch foils. The new method ufed in Northamptonfliire is very xpenfive, but admirably efFedive. It is digging a double ditch, making a femi-circular parapet of the earth thrown out, and planting it with four, five, fix, and fometimes more rows of white thorn, by which means no dead hedge is ever neceifary, provided the ditches be made of a proper depth; the cutting of theie hedges yield an immenfe quantity of bufhes, which are very valuable for numerous ufes, and the fence is always impenetrable to man or beaft. ■ ' i I have feen many inclofuresinCambrldgefhire and Huntlngtonfliire, and elfewhere, confifting of nothing but dead hedges, with great numbers of live bufhes and underwood growing in a flovenly manner on each fide, but no ditch ; the hedge is made by interlacing the bufhes and under- wood between (lakes, by which meai much ground is fufFered to be overrun with rubbifh, meejly for keeping in repair a fence which is for ever coming in pieces : It is laid the tenants want the fucceflion of dead hedges for firing, but never was there a worfe method of their fupply- ing themfelves ; if pollard trees ar< lo fcarce as not to yield a fufficiency of croppings for that purpofe, certain fields ihould be planted entirely with underwood, to be thrown into regular cuttings for the farmer's fire, inftead of letting it depend on the deflru^tion of his fences. As to the prefent cuftom of divers proprietors agreeing to inclofe com- mons or common fields, and the certainty they are under of obtaining &dis of parliament for the purpofe when a general confent is properly notified, it is amazing that any one (hould be fo prejudiced or fo blind as to deny the greatnefs of the benefits which refult from them. It is a common plea that the poor cottagers fuff^er, but the fad: is the diredt contrary, for they meet with a prodigious additional employment, in return for a mere nominal advantage. The farmers turn fuch a number Ri of 124 PbtlTtdAt ESSAYS. Essav nr. of cattle, efpecially fhccp, into all commons, that the poor man's cow lii abfolutely ftarved, infomuch that a lefs addition of work than what the inclofing occafwns would make ample amends for the lofs of this imagi- nary benefit ; and all this on a fuppofition that the publick good had nothiag to do with it, which is fo far from being the cafe, that it would be abfolutely impoflible to have a flourifhing agriculture with great num- bers of thefe commons : Nor fhould wc forget that a dependence upon a right of commonage is apt to make a poor family more idle than they vot^d otherwife be, which is a publick loT^. , The objedlions are equally ftrong to common arable fields, the rife of rent tfpon 'tiKloBr^ fuch pvoves this fofficiently:. Wl^at a deteftable cramprfs it on an induftiious cultivator, to be neceflitated to plough and fow like hi^ neighbours, and have all the cattle of the county come over his lands at certain times ! Every friend of hufbandry improvements conuders the -mlHngiieis of the legiilature to allow of inclofing as one of tikis' '^i^ieft etxcoufigements to agricultuce this kingdom meets, with. I cannot difmifs this fketch without remarking that a ftrid attention to in^iing. ought not only to influence thofe who poflefs open fields, biit ^^i^i^hojfe whofe lands are already inclbfed— ^— to keep them fo, an4,t>y. ail attentive management prevent all gaps and weak places, which are cafi^ forced by cattle ftraggling in the road, or by their own, whtl^ confined to certain fields; and I the rather hint this, as a very fenfibfi^^^nd accurate obferver has remarked great aegle£t of this fort. Spej^rig of the excellent German horn-beam hedges, he fays, *^ It is not yii^Qommon to^^e the fides of high roads thus guarded for ten miles togetl^,; ^n(^ irwere/to be wiflied that all lovers of hufbandry in Eng- Jand Would fottovr the fame example. Even upon our great turnpike roads it is a melancholy, and to fay the truths a flovenly fight in a land famous for^ agriculture, to find fometimes no mounds or fences at all, (though the aiqjoinihg fields are rich arable and pafture lands) or at beft to meiet .^ith gaw and fhards every hundred yards, large enough not only for a rfjeep^^Dut even for an elephant to enter. Of this foreigners fee very g^ririg mfllnices, Bbt twenty mUes from our metropolis *" Nothing can %e more juft than this reproof; and I have taken notice of it in feveral parts of the kingdom : The greateft part of Effex and Suf- folk however is weil fenced, and efpecially againft the roads ; poflibly *H. f Eflays on Huibandl'jr, p. 114^ owmg Sect. V. A Oft I cut T U R E.r '«! owing to an article wfeich is in mod leafes there; that the tenant ihaU regularly do a certairl quautity of ditching in a fpecified manner every year. :hhi Marling. >\- u. ''f ;.. . . i.Ji! Vw'^i'-'' Marie ought to be donfidered as the prince of all manures, and if the time it lafts is taken into the account, it is likewife the cheapeft. The Norfolk improvements by this marie are the greateft of modern times; thofe vaft trafts of uncultivated lands which have been therj broke and mentioned above, are chiefly improved by marie ; and fo exceeding- ly fertilized, that thofe which have now been done thefe fifty years are yet good lands, bear fine crops of corn, and will be the better ^-^r ever with good management. The common quantity of marie laid o an acre in that county is from 60 to 100 load of about 35 or 40 budielfr each ; and the common expence of digging, filling, fpreading, and ufe of horfes, is reckoned to be from fifty (hillings to three pounds per acre. The marie is of a fbft, fat, un£tuDU8 nature, and not only enriches the foil but keeps it very clean from weed6; the harder it i$i (to the haidefl c^ all, which they call corkj the worfe. The revival of this great improvement in that county was begutt (a* the above quoted French author has remarked) by Mr. Allen of Ify|ig Houfb about 70 years fince, and carried on for ibme time by himyvith great fuccefs, before his method was adopted by hie neighbours; tiU Lord Townfhend gave his attention to the pra£Uce, and ehconraget^ it amongft his tenants, which forwarded it greatly in general; and the beneficial confequences which refulted from it becoming every day niore evident, this excellent improvement fpread, over, all the weftprn j)ajrtbf the county to the extraordioiry emolument ,q|^t^^/|ra^rs tM^d px^ "iCr ^nil.r^-i I have called this the revival of the improveaieni'^'^e^u^ t!$ere w great reafon to believe that marling was a very ancie^t^ cuftbm, though difcontinued in many counties for a great numbipr ,of|' yeaif^,V NothiQg can be a ftronger proof of this than a paffage iq, ..Fiiip^beipt*'8 treatife entitled Surveying, firft printed in the year 1539/; §pw^ngdf the im-* provement of bi^y and moffy ground, he fays, " And if there be* any marie pyttes that have been made of old time within the faid clofe, tharn 'Whan the landes begyn to weare, if he have nat fufficieht'of fuch bufliy and mofly grounde to breake up and fowei than there woulde be newc marie *I26 POLITICAL ESSAYS. E^SAY lU, marie pyttes made, and the landes new marled, the which is moche better than outher donge, muck, or lyme, for it will laft twenty yeres together, if it be welle done, and Ihall be the better while if is land. And I mervayle greatly, that in the commen feldes, where of old tyme hath been made many great marie, pittesi the which hath done moche good to the landes, that noive a dayes no man doth occupye them ne make none othery and they nede not to doute, but there is marie nowe as welle as was than *." It appears very plainly from hence, that the pradice of marling is extremely ancient, and this attentive obferver intimates the ^^great number of marie pitts which had been made, fo that there is rea- ■foti to fuppofe this excellent manure was more commonly ufed heretofore than at prel'ent; and that a very fenfible author of the prefent age had a good foundation for aflerting that " Marie (the moft lafling and cheap of all manures, which may be found in numberlefs parifhes throughout this kingdom) is known and ufed much lefs at prefent than in the two preceding centuries f.** Tliere is a common miftake, or rather prejudice, among many hu£- •bandmen on the better kinds of land, that marie, even when they have veins of it under their farms, do not work improvement on them; nor anfwer the digging and fpreading ; and this notion refiilts from their knowing it to be commonly ufed on fandy foils, from whence they con- clude that it is improper for their fields : But no manure is better for the richeft foils, or for thofe of common goodnefs, from eight to fifteen flbil- lings of rent : Such lands are fo ufed to dunging, that it does not work the effect of a new manure, and marie not only enriches fuch, but has a urery fine eSeCt in cleaning them from weeds, and fweetening them. No one can aflert that marie improves fuch lands a« much as thofc light ones it is commonly ufed for ; the latter have been raifed by it from If. 6d. 2x. and 2s. Gd. per acre, to los. 12 s. and even to 15^". and 16 J. which is a rife that the other cannot pofllbly experience. And it is certainly moft owing to this noble manure, that fuch prodigious improvements have been made in Norfolk : without it neither inclofing jnor ploughing up old land wo'Ud have produced fuch crops of corn as that county is famous for ;, but the amelioration worked I^y marie has ^covered thofe lands with gallant crop§,«^,CQrn, which without it would never have produced any. Several of the north-weft coui>ties of Eng- * Stt Ctrtain JneitHt TraSs ttncerning tkt Manogtmtta tf Landed Pr^ff^^^Survt^v.^t ; :^;v.u;tciij vjiom, i,:;^ . '' + EJJajs OH Hufbandryy p. 19 a. '' , ' land Sect. V. AGRICULTURE. m F^* Innd have been likewife wonderfully improved by marie, and efpecially ehefhire. r The improvement by means of- this manure which is yet wanting, i& the fertilizing in general all the walle lands in the three kingdoms ; and> this is yet a vaft field of amelioration for the minds of millions to range in.. The improvement by marie is not general in England, even where there is plenty of that which is exceeding good, vaft tra&s of land remaining yet unploughed in which thiff ttftnuire Abdnnds;' and in Scotland and Ire-i kind is found the greateft plerity of it, but' the ufe- made of in extends only to a very few fpots. It greatly behoves landlbrds Who i are the ©wners of wafte foils that can be fo imjooyed,- to be 'thenifelves at Ae expence of indofmg and mailing them, ahd then let them to tei^ntft who underftand the cultivation, but have not a purfe for improifing^r Oentlemcp whofe fortunes were large enough for fuch a noble iKrork,, wbiild fihd it the beft way of difpofing of their money, and that whiclv returned by far the higheft ihterefti But td fee> man of large ^ti^ne poffefling tracts of uncultivated land ' cdVerihgpoffiWy Aw^hole VeillB o£ marie, and nbnie of it inclofed, manured, and formed into new farms, is one of the moli wretched fpedacles the world affbrdsr and rendered peculiarly melancholy when we refledt that pofHbly as much money if < ftakedby him on a card, or ventured on a horfe-race, as would fcrtiliEe^ and people every wafte acre on bis eftate. jijn *" This bufinefs of improving^ wafte lands is of fuch ihfinite nationaV confequcnce as highly to deferve more than common favour from th«; orown itfeif : Some fcheme of attention might ppffibly be fallen upon which would be attended with great efttds. Kings an^ pHnces cannot be too fenfible of the great importance of encouraging agriculture among: their fubjedks; few of them know, or can conceive tht extent of the con- fequences of fuch a conduct ; a Cdnftantine IV; or an Henry the 6reat,^ are as feldoni to be met with in that fphere, as a Duke of Sully in> another. ,...^, .'" :• ^^ Us' "ir JIM. i :.i f.> *' Suppbfe in Britain an order of knighthood wafrinftituted with the common diftindions of a ribband,, &c. to be conferred on all who formed a complete farm inclofed, manured, and lett, of at leaft two' hundred acres of land which was wafte before fuch improvement. In this order there might be three or four diffxirent claffes, the loweft to confift. of thofe who cultivated, as above, aoo acres, and the others of thofe whO' improved greater quantities, and all to rank accordingly. The fove- reign himfelf (hould wear the enfigns of the order, that it might be held, in great refpeft, and it wofild- be proper to give the knights rank 7 before 128 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IIL before baronets or tbofe of the Bath ; no ancient prejudice would be oppofed by this, fmce they are both lionours of the other day, and totally ufelefs, compared with fuch an one as I have mentioned ; and the ori- ginal of the baronets fo mean as to caft a reflexion on the very title : Some fuch plan as this might be thought of, which, by attacking the vanity of mankind, might influence them greatly to fuch noble im*. provemenl-3. .^ "rBefides fomething of this nature, it would be of infinite confequence for the fovereign to give attention to the praffice of agriculture, by letting it be publickly known, that no perfon whatever fhould cultivate waile lands, that is, form a complete farm- on fuch, without meeting with^fome mark of royal favour. Suppofe, for inftance, a monarch was publickly to give notice, that it was lua will all perfons forming fuch new farms Aould tranfmit to him a plan of the lands before improv*;-, ment,' and another of them after it, with a (ketch of the building, incloHng, and manuring ; that he might have a perfect knowledge of every one's performances of this beneficial kind, and give them propor- tional marks of his favour. Hie execution of fuch a plan would work furprifingly in favour of agriculture, aad vaft trads of uncultivated lands be feen to take a new face. Chalking, Chalk is in general an inferioif manure to tnarle, but on many foils works great improvement. I believe others is no part of the kingdom in which it is ufed with greater fuccefs than in EiTex ; it is brought by fhip- , -ping from Kent, and is of a fat foapy kind, nearly a-kin to the beflb iparie; the expence qf manuring ^n.Acre of land with ip is veiy high, leldom being done effectually under five pounds. This chalk is of much •(the fame nature as that which thf farmers ufe in the Ifle of Wight ; and 'is better than that of Dprfetfhire, Hampfliire, Shropfliire, or Wiltfhire. Chalk is commonly ufed on much better lands than thofe which have been fo vaftly improved by marie, and confequently fuch flriking effects are feldcm met with from it-^but It. is ncverthelefa highly valuable. The moft perfed way of ufing it I ey? r ;cemarked» is in Eflex, and like- wife in the neighbouAood, of Ipfwich in Suffolk ; the mixing it witfi the^- dung, forming layers of each, and turning it over once or twice; but a yet better method I obfervc4 once, which was to fpread the chalk in the foddering yard i8 inches or two feet deep, before winter, and fodder all the cattle of the farm all whiter upon it; in the fpring it was mixed up together, ready to carry on to the land defigned for turnips. By this means no urine is loft) which is the ricbell of all manures. Pliny's I ly •if«cT. v;- .? 'A'<5ft t CULT U RE. X29 ^^ Pliny's fpeaking of the hufbandry of chalk amon^ the Britons, is a Vefy ftrikihg prorf that many prriftioes' by fdme thought modern inTcn- 'tidns, art in reality extrtmely ancient^ ihdvtk tnay Vftnture to conclude that the' agrwiulture of iiur Britilh ant^ftdr^ was i far from bting'niean, -if they iad made fiich an advance a* that df chalking their foil. Liming. This manure is more gfeherally ufed' in Ireland than in either England pr Sqqtlan^ f^iThe Jrij^i are IJrpngly prejudiced, in its favour foi; all forts of foils, eyeii limeftpne land ; though fome l^te e^per: ner ts have been made which prove it to be ve^y badjy a^dapted to the latter. It is how^ ever commonly ufe4. vvith great fuocefs ^ • and in jeye|ral cppntl^s of, Eng- land tjie We pf»^icejitjprefc;ijjt .cpnunije8,^^(i in' foipf ^t^ryerv gj^eat ; ^penic?. , preat p^rtjB of H?imj?mir,ei , )^ilj^£h jre, j Som^rfetfliire^ , jyeic^fU.^- ^ihire, jborfeUKirp, syid Shfopfhire,,', afe ^proyed by lime. . ii^ wuhm ' thirty^ years tte prance baa been much piore commoji than, heretofore, in feveral pjlrts of ScQtla^^I, wKicfei "bngdoin abounds grea,tly ivi^th lime- ftone, ; As fjood^ ^ °^^"^^ *^ ^'^^i,;^^* l^^^iJ^y W' "^eaijis a\^afting,onf, Ijut foon wfajrs outi, Th^jt jWl^cJjjjs bi^nj: frof]^ ft9ne. i«[,fl[»uc{h^ Ui^ bating off the futfafee of the foil aiid burning it, i* k ntcthtid more coiitttton in Gbmwal and t)le>fott(hireifhJttf'ih^iiy Otftflr JiW-t^df'^Et^rid. -Irt' tfl*^ fenny twtts' if GambridgcfhfJfe feild! liiiicoliiftifli^ ft i« dbihttttri to bum theftubbie* ruljifes/ pecds^'kiCd «*hi:f' t«b to;v Ikii the4>tarniflg'^ turf is a veryMiffei»fent (^midn.- 'Thertfeafc^n ^krh^ tto ^aiSite, eV<^ in thofe two counties, dots tlW flotirllh «l p*6ft*t asito^ett'aafoi'mttfiyils owing in fome mesifure to'a perpetuity at»iift'W^fl(i?M^- ;tieeby thofe farmers Wh6 are peciiliariy ivedded td tWe cilMi,- Irffeff- ing too often, vfrhich Ki!« odt&fioneA their beifigrfeftrairtid frori/'it by mafiy landlords; but perfotmcd wit?h jiiilgAnleht and''Hibdehltldn!,1>tl3'ah excellent methklcf nttiti^ih^kft^; and thc'bdl of iff'fbnbfeakift^AJh iurtcultiVated foils. 'It ffiln'c.-f Wiih>|>ecuria^lttnii^iii»ihfete^m« fe^^o^ ibilli's Memoim fur iti V(flf/1Hr>^tf>»i^/f'Vh6 ']f>toved its -cAJdacy iri^i 4&ft (ti ;:> vjtjjffff^' The capital improvement in this article jias been madjC in Cambridge- ■fhire and Lincolnihire ; in which two counties near 500,000 acres have beep converted from a totally uieiefs and pernicious foil, into a moft pro- fitable one. Indeed, th^s birancl^ of hufbandry improvements has of; late been prpfecuted with ipore fucceft than any otheK" If'he vaft importance 'of it muft be allowed by every one, for the land recovered from the pernicioi;is waters is of a very ftfong and fertile* nattire, and when 'fecwrely banked in, letts for a great rent. The idea.pf the profiraUenefs of the ineafure is clearly ibrmed by all the laridlorcls who have property -in the ifens, but in the method of do;ng it tHey have by no means -reached perfc£kion; and it is a very difcotiragihg circumftance ever to have fo vaft a work as a confiderable fen bank hroke by the floods, whi(th yet fometimes happens, and has done of late extremely often. No bank is fecore that is not well planted with proper fhrubs ; thofe whofe root? are peculiarly ;in9tting» and /^rhich agree with the foil of which it i^ comp^xfed. To i^ant any others would be an abfolutely ufe- 1^ exppnce. Had. thofe ver 7 bank^ which cf late years have given way, ,^eeiti plajptted with fuch fhrults, and at a proper time, fo that their roots ..c^p^ght Jiave penetratcfl dgfpj the misfortunes arifrng from the floods t,,.W9Mld hav^ l;M:en ayoide4; tlie banks would never have broke. A bank ihould be tj^rcnivn up one yr^ar, and perhaps two, before it is planted, .thai the foi^rnpfs of th^ foii may be corredcd by the viciflttudes of the ,,i|irf;ather ; jfuf^ii a fweetening ^s neceflary to iofure a vigorous growth; ^. x4nd,the tops of aij, the plants fhould be kept low by pruning pretty often: \ 4^j,ji^|;i]y^.^3^1oi|«^ed to |:ife to h^ght enough for the cutting to be of iflP^t Y^HPr W^^ '^ °°^ %^^^c additional unhealthinefs of the coun<- • ,uy,.iw||ich ^wquW infail^ly cnfyc. For the very contrary reafon that I ^^ifibd the en(J|ofiQg dry ^ndis, wet lands are to b^ left open; the a^on .of tlje wip^s and fun isi too drying for the iif ft, but nothing can be too ^drying for the latter : A fen, be it of ever fuch extent, fhould be as open lasj^n, unbounded iieath; but the conunon pra^ice is the very coQ|;rary, ^fcd-bJa ♦ ^^^ ^, Hujhmirj, p. 84. .^.. . , ., even SiCT. V. A O^RTGU LTU R E. '' nt even the banks of all the ditches are ftuck with rows of aquatics, fuch as alder, willow, and fallow trees, by which means the air is Aagnated as well as the water, and this planting renders the country as unwholefome as the waters. For this reafon the plantations on the banks (hould be kept trimmed down as low as was confiftent with their praAice, and all cavities which their growth might occafion in the banks, kept filled up with earth, and the whole conftantly fown with rye-grafa, the mat- ting roots of which luxuriant weed would bind the furface in a wonder- fiil'inanner^ 'i (Md.y \ia^-^ \ n sivi' v) - Braining' bogs iff the great improvement in the prefent Irifh huf^* bandry ; and is of prodi'giaus confequence to that kingdom, which abound^ fo much with them : Their bogs when drained are extremely fertile ; and as that ifland is fo impolitickly managed as to render hemp and flax profitable- crops compared with the more common ones, their drained bogs are well adapted to produce thofe vegetables ; hops would likewife thrive greatly in them ; nor is any crop more valuable on^> them than that of cabbages for fatting cattle, M; de Tdurbitli's growing 'thirty- feven pounds worth on one acre'bf a drained bog. Nor is any foil more fertile in jAroducing oats, and fbmetimes beans ; but they muft be very ' Eerfe£Uy drained for grain. The crops of colefeed grown in the Cam- lidgefhire fens, called thelfle of Ely, are prodigious. There is another fpecies of draining which is highly ■ deferving.: a mention, though not marked with fuch ftriking effects as that of bogs ^ and fens ; which is that of common wet land both pafture and^ arable. - The ufual hufbandry of fuch foils is to throw them up in ridges, and cut ' ■with a plough what is called water thoroiighs; biit the trtie' lliethbd of draining them is not by means of opferi di-kiiais, btt tdV^rid dttes, which is much praaifed in Elfex a id Suffolk^* Thft mfetkbdWijitfl: to ', 13, 14, or 16 wide at top, »nd 4 below; they firft lay* in flbnes ■ quite free from dirt or gravel to the, depth 01 ib'indbek^ora foot, then fmall faggot wood 4; or 5 inor6, then a layer of'flhrW, knd la^ly fill it up with part of the' 'fifioul'd iJfu'g' but : this is'the moft pcrfeft way of making them. They frequently do them with wooil and ftraw without" the flones, and in EfTex fometimes with flraw alone, which it is faid will laft many years; which, if tnie, muft be owing to the earth farm- ing an arch when the fh-aw is rotten and gene. The great enemy to all ! thefe drains is the mole { if he makes his way accidentally through them« • it is twenty to one but he flops the current of the water, and this cir- - S 2 cumftance" >5« politigajl essays. EsrAsYiu; cumftance is a ftrong reafon for cutting as many outlet drains as pof- i\h\Cf that in cafe fome are ftopt, others may remain to cart'y off tho water. The expence of making them is for the labour from zd. to 3 d, per rod, but the prices of the materials vary in different countries: In a ftony foil they coft but little, and in a wood land tra^buihes are no very great expence : I believe upon an uverage the whole dxpence is about 6d. per rod. i' ' There is no improvement exceeds it; foils, which from their wetneft difappointed the hufbandmen*s expedtations, are converted at once into mellow, found, and beneficial lands^ Without, this operation ho ma- nures yield any return when fpread upon fuch fields ; the excefs of the water wafhes away the fait and nitrous particle^, but after draining every fpoonful takes effe^ and yields a return incredible to thofe who have not feen the experiment. I have many tinptts viewed in different counties large trads of land of very little v^lue, iwfaich, when drained in this mannec, would be worth three times the rent: But the misfori- tune in thefc cafes is^ that fiirmers who have hot been ufed to any. pratr tice in husbandry, will never be perfuided into it : It requires at; leaft k century to fpread a new, but really ufeful pradice, through a fingle county. Folding fheep was known in England in Henry VIIL^ ^%% and has not yet travelled quite through the kingdom. Hoeing of tun- nips is 150 years old, and not yet pradifed in more than one-third of the kingdom. " ^ The Drill Hufiandry, ii^m . The invention of the drill plough deferves, beyond a doubts to be noted amongft the principal of modern ones ♦. Thei origiinal idea hid great merit, although the ufe hitherto made of it has been but trifling': The great misfortune attending this implement is the complexity of .jJl . * After all poOible refearcbes <*ays the Author of the Efays tn Httfiandry^ I 6r^ it that Lord Sandwich is miflaicen in faying that Lucatell invented itf; he only was the (iril Spaniard that learned to ..53- 'It is equally hari t.) afcertain hi>w long the Chinefe have been in poflellion of a dril) plough, bur, in all probability, for many ages. An cr:ail model of one (where the contrivance 's ' bo ways contemptible) wis ("cut to the keeper 0/ the feals in France by father d'lncarnville, ■ and a piint of it may be levn in the Culture d:s Terresy torn. ii. p. 190, 191, :!^T^ sithat SWf. V.2 AORICULTUR E. 133 tliat }iiiv« been Made : The inventors aiming at rendering thctr ploughs univerfal for (owing any number of rows, and at any depths, and va- rious feeds at the fame time, has made them tr confift of fo many partb» (and thofH heceffarily very weak ones) that no care or attention is fuf- fidentito prefervethem from perpetual accidents; and this has been the cafe with all from Worlage's to Mr. Randal's. I am ftrcngly perfuaded that no drill plough wHiever prove ufeful in common practice, that fow» above one kind of feed at the fame time, or that cuts drills at various diftaoceft, or that foWB at different depths. I know of none hitherto invented' iiifiielaitly ilrong and firm in all its parta to prevent numerous repairs. Bqt with die cdtnmon farmers all implements fhould be fo firmly made, and the parts fb fbrongly fixed together, with no alterations neceflary for various works, as to bear fuch rough ufage, ai ploughs, harrows, rollers, &e'. &c.. and a drill to fow at the fame diilances, and depth, &c. might certainly fee madeinthat flrong manner. ' i m £^ *rhfe ptinciplefupon whicit this hufbandry is founded arc juft, and confonant to tlie ideas of 2AI good hufbandnlen in all ages and countries; foir there'is «o other effelfuat method of deftrbying ^eeds, nor can thfr oW method be fo coftdUded as to preferVe the foil equally open, loofe, and pulverized. r *; ..-- — . — _,-... , : , . 0' i • * * • .-.- • . . . . ^That this iQf^hod has not flourdOhed and aniwered upon expe^ence in tlie manner its advocates have expeded, muft be attributed to the ploughs hithertp. invented, being, of fuch a gimcrack make, and fo im- perfedl, that fair play could in no cafe be entirely given it. Whatever tjie hufb»ndry J)?^ if the inflruments are not perfect the practice will be incomplete. It ..muft however be allowed that much more care, .atten- tion, and expence, are neceflary in the neiv than the old method, Ancl this excefs may extend fo far, that the produce will not pay a return : In many inftances this certainly ^^s bpen the cafe, in others fuccefs has attended the experiments in it. • As t.ox\iepr4fmtJlate of the drill pradice, I wi(h It was in my power to lay before the reader every trial in the kingdom; were it irv my power, I fear the lift would make but a poor figure : However, the fol- lowing iketch will give a ilight idea of thofe whicli 1 apprehend arc iire moft worthy of attention. Sir D. Legard's in Yorkfhire are very fatisfadory. The foUowin/^ particulars will in a few words give the refult of them. Tivc ^'oit itttfy 134 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay TtL^ light, very dry, but a good hazel mould, and pretty rich. The refulc of an experiment on barley, as a comparifoa between tht two method t> was, in refpefl of produce. Neat produd of one acre in the old method •-■ Ditto Town in equally diftant rows with the drill plough Ditto ditto horfe-hoed — ■ 2 ^ * 30 3i •i^V This, us to produce, is determinate upon the above defcrlbed foil j but as a full regifter of all the expences of each method is not infertcd, it proves not whicli is the moft beneficial method. Another fet of experi''. ments is the regifter of the culture of fevea acre8» the refult of whicli was as follows : ^,., 3 acres of oats drilled, which yielded per ucre 5 ditto barley ditto ' — — 4 ditto* iWieat ditto " : — — — 3 ditto 'biA-ky ditto - ' ^ *— ^ ' 4'ditttt^%hcat'^ttb 3«^a**i-Mari — — 3 ' ditt6(ba!rl6y dittO: * ^5>^ ' 4 ditto turnips, value 61. 3 ditto barley ditto — 7 ditto .ditto ditto >' ' *r*— 7 ditto wheat ditto ''^'"^■■y- — Qt,B. 4 3 a 1. 3 I .4, 9 3 I o 1' 3 8 Q 3 I 3 P. a. 3 r o 4 2 a- 015 » 7 3 ^-fc ')m c To thefe ^ffibtfld add three other experiments; 'a|'^lttobiilrle^^tto«=^rf -^ai* — — 4;^iari^l5^t ditto' s^3^ ^'^^aai'^ -. — — l^ajlpr ditto — ^, _ - - ^ The fErean quantities per acre of ilA thefe crops are, Of oat? Of barley Of wheat It is to be remarked that wheat is a crop which thrives as well drilled and horfe-hoed as either barley or oats ; we muft not therefore attribute the poornefs of the crop to the method of culture, but to the foil, the real nature of which it is difficult to gain a knowledge of, for it is called ' in general a good hazel mould, yet it is afterwards called fo poor as S The fame gentleman in his experipnents on. drilled turnips found the produce as follow8> II tons per acre , . ) V. a7 ditto ditto. , o.l-.m And he vatues them as i/. los. the ii tons. The medium is 19 tons ; but unfortunately he does not mention whether he weighed ' the apple alone, or both apple and leaves : But I know by experience that in fome parts c^ the Jungdom the price of i /. lox. for 1 1 tons would be vtry high, a common acre frequently producing 20 and 25 tons only of apples, and the mean price p^r acre is reckoned between 34/. and 40/. per acre. An acre of potatoes horfe-hoed 38 quarters, which is very confide- rable ; the beft of all this cultivator's horfe-hoed crops *. The next experiments in the drill huibandry which occur to me are Mr. Wynn Baker's ; they were performed in Ireland, but it is neceflary for the fake of perfpicuity to mention them here. He made trial for comparifon of barley in both the old and new method ; the refult was that the old method produced per acre* Qi.B. P. Statute meafure f, ' 1 u " «— Ditto new method, , — — . ••. Old fuperior to new, ■ —■ Drill took lefs feed than the old method, by Yet in favour bf the old method, — o 2 o 2 3 o • I have extraflcd thcfc particulars from MilTs Hujlafidry^ Vol. i. p. 310. "i t In Mr. Baker's report to the Dublin Soriety, his meafure of land is the P/antathti, and (hat of corn by the barrel, ftone, and pound > but I have reduced them to the common £ng- liih meafures, reclcooing the bu&el of barley at 48 pound*. There 138 POLITICAL ESSAYS. EisayIIL There arc fome odd fradtions which I have omitted, and which would ha*'c reduced this i buOiel and 3 pecks fomething lower, but as a flight (lifFerence is immaterial, I was not lb felicitous about abfolute accuracy; an cfpeciully as this experiment is by no means conclufive, the ex- pt::. :3 being omitted; for though Mr. Baker does Turn up in an imper- I'ed and general manner the expences, yet it is evidently yrow his ideas in general., and not really minutcd^upon each crop. He reported to the Dublin Society at the fame time the following refult of a comparative experiment on turnips : T. civt. qrs, lb. An acre of drilled, ftatute mcafure, weighed ' -- s§ 9 o 25 Ditto old method ■ — — — — 27 i o 14 New method fuperior by 8 XI ■h The rows of thefe ddlled turnips were 5 feet iafunder. The ijuj^e objection which lies againd uine experiments out of ten has ^r(;e lik«- wife .in this,, for the expences are given in a vety imperfei^ m^niier; it appears however that the old method was the mod : expenfive^ but then the turnips! Were, thinned by hand, and weeded ^^^/ hoeiugf which ik fuch a way of going to work, that in turnip countries farmers would laugh at it. But notwithftanding thefe circumilances the new ntethod i^ppears th^.)no(^ advantageous *, ; ^ ;.,■ . ,. Now I am mentioning the new hufbandry in Ireland I fhould obferve that it feems to bepradtifed there IhyDBellingliain Boyle £fq; of Rath- farnam near Dublia: All the acc6uat I can meet With of his eecpert- mentsi,! iscoatatnid in the following paiTage from the Effays onHuJbAndnjr^ ■ p. . 9iLi ^^. That ekceUent huibandmaa, from 16 ik- or near' a peck of wheat fown, reaped about 50 bufhels qf ;gxain; which crop may be computed tb liave made a return of near two hundred pecks for one; on which account, the firft premium- was adjudged 4o-iMm by the Dublin Society, Nov. 18, 1765"- It is natural to imagine that this was performed up(^ the principles of the New Husbandry. . ,, The next praHIfer of the^ new method is Mr. John Willy of South Pertloerton ; the fubftance of his account is thi^ : He tried it iu fowing -wheat for fome years, but with ill fuccefs, and left it off ; but he con- tinued it for turnips and beans. His minutes prove nothing, for his ex- ;preflions are all indefinite ; he gi-ows turnips 2 feet around— ah^ ^^//Vv^x ■ * ■ Pl'^si'i 'IwiTSPt-mhi'- he Se'«V: v. A OR I CULTURE. fly» he has double the crop of &ny fown in the' old way. Bbif aii t^ a cer- tainty, or a r^gifter of expencesi no fuch thing is to be found in hit, account*.** Mr. Randal of York applied the new htiA)andry' to tKe ct/(tui[^e g#,) turnips, t)utall the mihiites I can meet with in his works a^ouni to ' nothing more than ** the iineft turnips ever feen in Yorldhu e dt , all accounts were grown in rows 3 feet afundert*" Hi^ likewife'in^/Mii ' having cultivated other vegetables, particularly potatoes, in that methods but has ptiblilhed no experiments on them. The SodeW of Af ts give a gold medal iii thef jrdu*' 1766 to the R^.'^ Mr. H. Lowther of Aikton near Carlifle» for his account of cultivating ^ wheat in this manner. - n- --, ».,.,- \: .■'if From thfs (hort ihetch of thofe gentlafiC^ ^St tette pradlifed iHe hew; hulbandry.it 'Appears, that very little can be aflbrted expeHm^iaUylathdr ,:( foc^ or agaioR it The trials thatliave^fi irn^de (S tl! are ^d^fttm^*' few, and all that have been publifhed are minuted in fb IncbmpWe a manner, that but little determinate knowledge is to be coUeOed from the whole. We find in a few inilances the produce, but feaitelT in any the clear profit. From whence we muft conclude, that this celebrated prac^ tice is known very imperfedly in this kingdom %• The Cultivation of New Vegetables, I muft be, allowed < to give this title to all not m&^rfitly cultivated, feme I ihell name that have been long in ufei' but are not y«t become ahfolutely general. I. Clover, Of all the sirtificial giafles this ia the beft known in England. (I fpeak of the common fpecies called the r^i and broad clover.) It has made its • Praaical Ohfirvatim addrdCrd to Dr. Templeman, p. a6. i Conflru&itnefttfitd-furrtwphught p.Zl<, X I may here add that it is as little known in France. All the famous experiments in the Culturtdtt Ttrrts, isfc, are manifeftly partial', nor arc the expences any where acturattfyin' ferted, and very feldom mentioned at all. Which fingle circum&aoce k enough abfolu'tely to deftroy the authority of any. T vwy >3? POLITIC At BSSAf?, iipA'ttS^: \7ay- through moft parrs of that kingdom, but has not yet been able to ' complete its progrefs through ail ^e counties ; nor is it by any means Wf// known in Scotland, if we may judge from Mr. Maxwell*^ earnei^.; recommendations of it tliere *. And I apprehend it to be quite unknown in Ireland frpm a paflagc ia Mr. Baker* s Report tOr the Dublin Society^ wherein he. ^ys that he Jewed a tittle of it for the firft time in his life ^^ indeed he ^ys it is of very general ufe, but therein he muft be imder- : ftpod to mean in England. But the excellence of the plant is undubitable: A crop which is fro-^ quently of fuperior value to any f, and uppn an average nearly equal; whidi, at the Jame time that it yiddsfo great; profit, prepares thb laiid for wheat, requires ho other praife : And anoth^ circumibnce which vi/i. of prodigious confequence, is the luxuriance z.nAJlreiigth of its growth;. : fome other grafles are even quicker in their growth than clover, butnone has ruch;ftreDgth in overpowering -weeds,*^ which renders it of peculialr advantage to common hi^ndmen; who^ in a bufinefs of any. extent*. .f (let theoretical writer^ aiTert what they pleafe) cannot poffiUy cultivate?: grafles wHch require much culture after they are; once fown« ...:.. -//^V ■■»■•'■ It is fbmewhat of a publick misfortune that thofe gentlemen whatv^'- have employed themfeWes in trying experiments in agridilture, have cultivated only the nru/^r, vegetables* or the old ones in a nemo manner t ' * PraHkal Hufiandmartf yzx'vm^a>nm ,■ ' < t A veiy remarkable inllance is that of Mr. Wood^s crop at Brockfliall near Kjelvedon iff Eflex. Irt ^954, 'helaiddoiwn a^ld qf 12 acres with it} and in May 175c iie turned into it the foUojiring citfUe, and ke[^ them in it 6 weeks -, 1 have added »h« vidiie of their r^ feed. iihorfes at \ $. 6und in a ivery fhort time, and Kills eyei^- weed the land is fab^fiSktoi I have found it of great ufe in ddScbying coudi and blade graft*' Ni>r is it ddicate in its culture, for li wUt t&ve well though 4*0% .n in 'floienlj ^elds inch as iwould jidd >no cidver. |t in»tft howsm: ■he adcnonMledged that it b)r no means in^oves tlu? i(ul|tice ^krrer; ml the coA^raryji it exhdufta it not a little; but i& found aDtocemirehievoAib^ltit this refpedl on good, than on poor land. : ' IV. Saittfoin. ' Qnc of the lineft grafles hn th|e ^orW» a^dt inuc^ (own; in tnany parts* of England: 1*01: poor light foils it has ftot a» ?qualV Wflisimany year?,, aiid yields very fii^e crop? of mojQt e;i^celI^Qt Ijia^y: I liaye feen t^wp, and two and half, and three tons of hay the prodii^ of one acre, in foils- that did not let f(»r above half a Cfown, which, in fuch, is the ne plus: itHra an their imprdtiCmint' : No tillage I a^^iprehend can? Dnake tlieim tiini td fi> great aeequnt* Sainfoin thrives vi^roufly on all foils that are not wk; land, gravel, and dry loams; but on dzy or any other wet foU the weeds jprefentiy deftroy it. In the eaftem part^ of the kingdom it is very little fhvnty which fs Terf furprifing, as it i« introduced even by a few farmers. I» the "Weft of England vaft quantities of it are to be feen every where. In Glou- c(!fte^fhire, Oxfordihire, Wiitfliire, &c. they underftand the advantages of it, and ufe it accordingly ; and in Kent upon their chalky foils they fow il more than any other grafSk It is greatly to be regretted that the culture of fainfoiji is not ex- tended to many parts of thefe iflands where it is fcarcely known; it would prove a much greater benefit to the hufbandry of feveral counties, than almoft an^ acquUltion they could make. ., Hie The TBkriitioas lif the ciritire df fidiifoin ibv tut iewt The wfhtipal Dde is die io^itg it -with a 4n]l pl<^u|^l^ 'frhteh ^mts initodilCMiy t«h famous Tail, '^crfio fqiifM it J^^^eitty'npmbr to the tiroad^^ift m^hod; «aad in YdUdht c Sir D%t»y jiqjard Htu'tiOids'ttaMf dtperiueiktiipOft it, wHicb prore that the loetliad' is iikeWi^ tipetf ttU lIUHl Hq^riDtfb. vvJfhbuIdiiM bmit irtaSfiking tHt fSW#'tfli(SR gttmTSS^^^^^^ iWmuftd thenifelVes with ^^Ini'a^kl aje^^k<thfe, K^Whiitte kilV ^O^iriAy ^ triils iiptth this pl&m; and y^tits nati^l eikB^naibe'ti fa^i'W jfi^ht ftt¥B ihduced fhefa t6 ha^ giVea It gfeat attehtfoii. Mr: Ti^l ttii*!*- aoodits culture tietter iMd aii7 ^ thiit has lac^e£Kd Hihtr'M'^t hut little precife dhd ddertiiinare Ichc^ed'^b' of tt 1^ "to i$fe Pfiid from his writings any more than from Sir Digby Legard*s. The -iiithor^f the Efdfs m MJBai/^ry hfSyhnkfii! tfie^^ citf^ftire, ahdciittti^da^lueeriie; lindihe i^c^l^^nis {(^ii it in m^CMut^e'^is r«>rtf« jitmfy the aiTertito : W Wi^ ttlei^^rie tb t% idi>rt^ ^fm/h- ptttsktrte expetkaHtHii the difforinre ^ cltiM^^ it jni m^ toix^n broadHioIt, and in the driH fh^6di-^-&Mi tfve idfWs ia'^tHif lat^yt Vi^' hd kt Various diffatlciS^, ift': l''%*#He in tfte" tntrfpi&itirie vra^y ih -Ac Me ihanner as \\Aeitie is .. ^'ed^ A ftriie^ 6f fucfit wgCniiiiki Ho^d 1^ jtttended With" grt«t fc:. V. Lucerne, \ Thett is {bme reaibn to believe this the prince of all artificial graffes. ISt grows quicker tHan any; yielcis as much in quantity as any; is of all the mo(^ nouriiihing; and lafts as long, if not longer, than any. As to its di^dvantages tberf are but few in comparifon with its excellencies. It ]nuft< however be allowed that it is of all the moil delicate, and re- quires the moft attentive culture; nor will it thrive well eithef on very hghtfiutdy, or wet days. The preibnt ftate of its culture in thefe kingdoms i^ oomprized in the experiments of gentlemen ; for I know of jno farmers that have intro- duced it into their fields. It has been chiefly managed in the three ways,) by tranTplantion, by drilling, and by fowing broEidH:aft. In the firil method the atithor of the Effhys on Hujbattdry, the Rev. Mr. Harte, Canon of "Wiridihjr, ftands foremoft : He cultivated lil(;emie in this manned during fevifral years, and regiflered his eXperimeilb with iueh accuracy, that they form the mod determmate coUrfe of any hitherto publiflied. The refult, in a few woriJS) was nearly as follows : s He \ ijA*8 .POLITICAL ASSAYS. SfitAYin^ He fi)wed the lucerne in a fmaU fpot for a nurfery, and from thence tranfplanted them in rows 3 £set 4 inches afunder, and the plants i foot in the TOWS**-— The foil -w^asa loam on a chalky bottom, and a (marly ,~'nie-£Kpence th^ firft year is o /. XT' if aftorwards a /.—- -^It grows in 4 year 1 o . or 1 2 : feet high A n acre will keep two coach horfes 5 months, and fatten a fmall hetferl>eridesi — —It will yield 5/. per acre, ani^uaUy, dear profit— —It ' is fix or feven weeks earlier than ev<;n broad clover, or winter vetches jjf I ' ; An acre feeded will be worth rJoaat 7/. 1 have^ omitted all the ..particulars of the culture, which are 4^awri up in a molt inxUigent man- . s^r, and nothing omitt«^: The reader may eafily perceive that the fore- s going pjurticuiars are really rj thepoitU^ and cpadufive. «. None of the other ciitivators of lucerne in this method publifhed ^ liheir experiments, fo t!iat it is very difi^cult Ut ■ know the refult ; but it appears jthat BelUnghum Boyle ETq; in Ireland, Chrifto^her Baldwin ..Eiq; 0^ Ciapham, Common in Surry, Peter Newcombe Eiqi of Hadleigh 'in Sudblk, and ■Crockat Efq; of Luxborough in EfTex, have each of i)f^aax tried it. Mr. Baldwin's foil is a fandy loam upon a gravel; his 7ro;ws ^Wv) feet afunder-— —and in acre will maintain s horfes, 2nd one beail that eats jufl half as much as a hoife, all the fummer, or from May to Michaelmas,- The refult of the other experiments are ^ not known. In.tlie drilling method there are likewife feveral : ^^Uiam Taylor of Cannon Hill Surry, 3 acres on a flrong clay— cut four and five times every year Three acres maintained five horfes five months *. Mr. Ray*S in Suffolk confifter^ of one acre on a gravelly loam, the rows 2 feet afunder, and maintains two cows from May to Oftcber.— — Chrif- tbphcr Baldwin's Efq; abovementioned ; the foil, culture, and produce the fame as his tranfplanted.—— Mr. Johnfton of Ilford in Effex has x acre, but no exaSi refult of it is found.— —Thefe are the principal ones hitherto publiflied, and, like the tranfplanted, prove that this vegietable is of very great importance. t ' ■ In the broad-caft mcihod the firft experiments to be mentioned are thofe of Mr. Rocque the great modem father of it. His foil was exceedingly rich ; but the profit more than proportioned, for he made upon an ave- rage thirty pounds per acre. This extraordinary profit arofe neither from foil nor culture, but 7^/«a/io«. The near neighbourhood of the capital furnifhed hiin with a market which is to be found no where elf( : * This^ experiment obtained the Society's Medal; and was published in the Mufaum Ru/licum. 7 I fhould re |y pr le I • d SbCt. 'fr. '^. (■ ■ .... ...... • - ... -j X ihould be more particular upon his experiments did not his fi|luaipion; r form fo ftrong an exception to all others: Mr. Baldnnh's fituadon ia^^r very near London, but the natural foil is not fo good. Qae remark it is '._ neceflary to make upon. Mr. Rocque's lucerne, and that is, he never j afcertained how long it would lail:, for he fucceffively had it on different \ , grounds — but never publiflied one regular regifter of any experiment for leveral years. The Rev. Dr. Tanner of Hadleigh in- 3u£foU^ has five acres of this grafs fown in the broad^iafl: manner i which has laded ^ r four years, and maintains about thirteen horfes and cows the fummer round. -Mr. Johnfton above mentioned has likewife an aicre of ii, but the feparate produA is not knownf-— — A gentleman:]: in Oncolh- fhire has tried lucerne in this method, and in drills by tranfplantation ; but fo very few particulars of his experiments are publifhed, tl^at it i» . . needlefs to mention them further than this; his drilled, in 3 feet, rowSyi,. the fecond year was cut four times, and each time was from 18 to 2.^ inches high; the foil light and poorifh. Thefe are the principal experiments that are known in thefe king* , doms upon this grafs : There are doubttefs many more, but, unfor* tunately for the publick, few that are publifhed.^— From thcfe , it ap- pears that lucerne is an object of great importance in hufbandry, and exceeding worthy of attention from farmers who occupy fmall farms, / and from all pra^ifers of an accurate and garden-like agriculture ; I do not recommend it to thofe who have an extenfive and various bufinels, as I am inclinable to think that it requires more care and attention than they can give, according to their prefent modes of pra^iice. If they would cultivate fuch a quantity as would conltantly employ a pair, of horfes and a man, and keep both for that fingle purpofo, (except now and , then ufing the former when the lucerne did not want them} he would find no difficulty in cultivating that, or auy other deficate pT^nt ; but trying only an acre or two it is feldom executed in a perfed: manner,, for it does not hppear a matter of confequence in the midft of a large concern; the efFeft of which is, the requifite articles of the culture are given at leifure times rather than proper ones, and one acre fails in the lame hands that would turn ten to an admirable account. • iji VI. Burnet.. The laft difcovered of our artificial grafles ; and it has been cultivated with fuch fpirit, that its properties and value are pretty well known ; t Ste The Six fFeeis Tour for thcfe Experiments. X Milts Hujbandryy Vol. iii; p. 4/6. . -1 ,vr » 144 PO^lTJCAIr E$Sr^Y/6. Ess^^lHst' It is no where S^t^ii^to tlu:.PQfpuQ^qi%f4i;mq^*8 'h^.; howey«r« the extent to'whiqh gMtl^'ittei^i W^,^^^^ it, ha^,ip]:ea4 a;more geaecil kifoWle^ii m ft' ^an'j 6n^ wpulq app;rehend cou]4, have attended So ncvt , a Jirafs. Aiccbr^i^i^ fb tne J^QJ|. lo^oirmatipii to be g^o^, the prefent Aate oT ?&''8ultur6 is licap-lyi^cc^s^tiae^i^ t^^ experiments o£ the followiagi Mr. Day^es Laio^be of Ri^ll^; Jn Keot, 7 acres— They yicMwlaoo bufhels o^Yei^^^ 200 i^a^ks.^of. cha^,, and 7 loads of hay, at one cutting^ot JuTy'6 ' 'In i± dayi? after, that cutting, 7 cows, 2 calves, and^i horiea«(>) were turned into it,' and ke^t till Michaolmas; and from the middle. o£it^ NdVcmber to d^iriOm^s^ p head of cattle kept in it.— — Chriftophcr fO Baldwin 'It"^''' at' Clapham acres-*— Soil the fame as that ' of his luL<:rhe ineptioned abQve<^-~--The produce not fpecified; buti< both the(e: g^tlemeo aflert thal^ horfes, cows, and Cheep, feed very iL^ heartily o^n burneit. In 1766. th^ fociej^^avQ a, gold med4 to Mr« John Searam:ke for cul- tivating 37 acres of .burnet». The ref^ilt of the experiment aot known. '« — -^Mr. Johnilon of Ilford aforefai4 has an acre or two in drills, but the; produce unknown.— -—'rhe Earl of Northington at the, Grange feveral acrkl^ "which have turned to great account* but the particulars unknown. Nor are any determinate particulars to be gained from Mr* Rocque*s experiments.— —John Lewis Efq; of Tracey in Devonfliire, 6 acres ' Soil a heavy .marly loam— 4 of them yield at one cutting looolb. of {toA, ' * m In refped to the number of acres fown w^th this grafs, it is, as I obferved before^ conflderable; but what is much to be regretted, none of .: thefe gentlemen have publiihed oneyu// experiment on it : They give us ti: genersu aifurances with a few particulars, but have not regiftered every it circum(^nce of foil, expofure, culture, produce,, expence, and pro5t. 'di All thefe articles are abfolutely neceffary for the perfed: ,underftandipg of o» one experimentj" and indeed i^re of fuch force, that when the trial is i^ judicioufly' made, they give fuch a value to it as to yield concluiiveiuei: knowledge as far as the circumftances of foil and managenient extend. Burnet however appears in general to be a very valuable plant ; and will, I doubt not, provre no inconfiderable acquifition in hufbandry. Vir. White Dutch Clover, There is no finer food foriheep than this. grafs, which lafts in the . ground for many years. No fields ihould be laid down for pailures - without .^T Xfe¥i c t L t tr R E. ^4^ ^without a frtiall quantity of it, for it thickens at bottom long before the natural grafles : But in refped of quantity of produce, it is a mere inothing compared to the common clover, lucerne, fainfbin, or burnet; it does not by any means equal even trefoile in this te(j^ St. h is no where in common ufe. ft. le . ^ VIII. Separated natural Grajfes, .^ An obje£l;*of prodigious utility, which had its birth in S^ '^.i in the icliool of Linnaeus; was tranfplanted into England by the ingenious Mr. Stillingfleet, and adopted by the fociety for the encouragement of arts : I*" has made however fcarceXny progrefs ; for even the London feed- (hops cannot fupply the finallefl demand ; which is fomlewhat furprifing, as grafs feeds multiply at fuch a vaft rate tvhen once fown carefully and kept clean. Indeed I know not of one experiment upoa thefe graifes even among gentlemen themfelves: It is true their culture is very delicate, . troublefome, and expenfiVe ^//r^; for the feeds muft all be gathered by hand, and fown in drills ; and as no drill plough can fhed theih, the drills muft be drawn by a line, and with a rake, and the feeds dropt in them by hand, and covered with a rake ; and they require when up to be hoed very conflantly, and the rows themfelves hand-weeded; the ex« pence of an acre the firft year 1 fhould not eftimate at lefs than fifteen or twenty pounds : This is a ftrong reafon for the fociety (if they would fpread the culture of feparated grafles) undertaking the execution them- felves ; which might be done with very little trouble, by publifhing the prices per pound at which they would purchafe the feeds; naming fuch as might eagerly induce poor people (on receiving the information) to gather a great quantity of t^ \ Then it would be in the power of the fociety to direct fome of - correfpondents to cultivate of each 'an acre, furnifliing the feed, ana wxprefling at what price they would pur- chafe tlTe produce, taking care to name fuch an oue that no lofs could be fuflained ; or elfe being themfelves at the expence, and receiving the produce ; as to the trouble, no cultivator, who was earneft in wifhing weU to experiment-making, would regret it. Mr. Rocque made fome experiments on a few grafl^es, but was very unhappy'in his choice: The Timothy is, comparatively fpeaking, a very weed ; for though cattle will eat the hay, yet they will do the fame with llraw : Mr. Ray's 4 acres of it in Suffolk turned out nothing com- parable to his common pailures ; and Mr. Lewis and a friend of hi? U both 146 POLITICAL ESSAYS. ESAAY lU^ both tried feveral acres of it Aivithout any fuccefs. His orchard grafa turned out nothing better ; and though the bird grafs bid fairer for proving of value, y€t no experiments hitherto known have fpread fuch a report of it as one would have expeded from Mr, Rdcque's encomium-, of it. The dwarf poa is a good grafs, but yields a trifling produce in. quantity. IX, Tumipu The next great improvement after artificial grafles (and efpecially- clover) was the culture of this root. It was one of the principal points of the Flemifh hufbandry, from whom we learned it above an hundreds years ago. And, ftrange as it may feem, has not yet fipread over the whole kingdom; for I cannot call the flovenly manner in which fome- counties cultivate it, the turnip hufbandry. ai In all the eaftern and fouthern parts of England they manage it. properly, that is, make their land exceedingly fine for it, and hoe them, well ; but in fome parts of the weft of the kingdom; and moft part of Wales, their management of them is z difgrace to- their agriculture ; for they plough but once for a vegetable which requires a gardeh. mould, and never beftow any hoeing : Nor has their projier culture: extended itfelf over all parts of the north of England, Managed in this wretched manner the turnip hufbandry is by no means profitable; but when cultivated with care and attention none is morefo; of which I cannot give a ftronger proof than by referring to the pra6:ice of the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, which raife I believe as many turnips as any five counties in England. The farmers of thofe counties find them the molt beneficial vegetable they can cultivate by way of a fallow, nor is any fallow more advantageous to the land, for the fineft of jJl barley is that which fucceeds turnips. The ufe of the ropt itfelf is of vafl importance when raifed to its natural fize, for the quantity of beef that is fatted folely upon them is immenfe ; befides the prodigious benefit of maintaining flocks of fheep in the winter and fpring, when there is fcarce any other food for them, and, at the fame time, improving the foil in the fineft manner. In a word, the advantages of cultivating turnips in the requifite method is fo extremely great, on all foils that are dry* enough to yield and admit the carrying or if ng them off, that the farmers in thofe parts of the kingdom w' .1 the culture is not known, fuffer a much greater lofs than com*-^ ^ imagined. Nor caa any gentleman pofreffing eftates in fuch Sect. V. AGRICULTURE. 147 fuch parts of the kingdonit do a more conflderable benefit to their tenants than aiming, by all poiTible means, at introducing the culture of turnips among them. X. Carrots, This excellent root is commonly cultivated only in the ifland of Guernfey, and in the neighbourhood of Woodbridge in Suffolk ; one- farmer in Norfolk has raifed large fields of them, but I do not hear that this example has been followed by his neighbours : The perfon I mean is Mr. Billing of Weafenham, who publifhed the account of their cul- ture at the defire of the fociety for the encouragement of arts, &c. About Woodbridge they apply them only to the feeding of their horfes, and ihipping them off for the Thames ; but Mr. Billing fatted many bullocks upon them, and with great fuccefs, befides keeping his flock, dairy of cows, and his hogs upon them: They yielded him about. 5/. 10 J. an acre profit, which is very confiderable, and more than double what can be made by turnips : So extremely beneficial is their culture, that vaft tra^s of land in thefe iflands, which at prefent are wafte, or nearly fo, might be rendered, by means of carrots, equally^ or more profitable than the beft wheat land : I have many times feen fine carrot land to a very confiderable extent, but none applied to the ufe in large except by that one farmer in Norfolk. It is inconceivable what an advance in the value of fuch lands would enfiie upon the intro- dudion of their culture. This however muft not be expected froni; tenants; landlords ihould cultivate a large field of them upon their eftates, and let their tenants not only fee them but view the procefs of, fatting cattle with them, and fee the beef at their own butchers. Ex- periments of this nature fhould be often repeated, and en a large fcale, for fmall ones do not catch the attention of common farmers. It is greatly to be regretted that more experiments upon this moft ufeful root have not been publifhc d, for the farmers about Wocdbridge and in the ifle of Guernfey, thou ;h they raife large quantities, publifh (as it may be fuppofed) nothing cc nceraing them, and Mr. Billing*s treatife is not drawn up in that accurate manner, in refpe£t to the expences, that one could wiih ; for it rather confifts of informing the reader what carrots will in general coft, than of a regifter of what his own really did coft. Nothing is fo eafy as the regiftering experiments in agriculture: All that is requifite is to minute every thing at the tme\ but if that is omitted, and a treatife afterwards drawn up upon any branch of culture, it muft confift of general aiTertions, indefinite expreffions, and injlruftions ' U 2 inftead 143 POHTI(3At ^$$kYB, . EsiAYlIE, inft^aid of fa^a-^a ^VJ^ (^ l^Wi is iporc 4Ai9^cylt to form, than ^ mere wcital of ff4f. "7 '. '^ XI. Par/nips* The fociety has offered a prenHM^in ^ the culture of this plant, but I never heard of one experiment being made upon them, or their being fown by farmers any where but in G^erofcy ; nor is it Ipnown to what extent tj(\e h(#>9i^dmen, even in tl^at iHj^^ cultivMe t^eni. XII. Poiatoet. This i« one oS Hkfi moft imjportaBt articles of hvSh^n^ryx for ^t th^' fame time that potatoes dean and meliorate the ibil, tfaiey in^reafe greatly the quantity of fix>d botl^ for oaen and cattle ; and 4re a moft pro«- ^table root. The field culture of them is not Jpnowo in any ei^te^ only in Ireland and the neighbouiliooa of iondon ; ai>d that jchie^y along the Eflex road about llfbrd; In Ireland thfy are plai>ted in very great quantities, the poor people living chiefly upon them, and ibme-. times £e«ding their cattle with them : Their culture in EflTex is ex- tremely profitable; for I have known them to yield from 2o/. to 39/. and even 35/. per acre, and that fo early as July } the diggin^g them up has {urepared the land £0 well, that fine turnips have fucceeded them ; o^, if they leave them in the ground till Michaelmas, wheat. Potatoes were cultivated in Yorkfhire upon a large (cale by Mr. Randal, the author of the Semi-Virgilian HuAxandry; but he planted them in rows, and horfe-hoed them; whereas in Eflex they dibble them in promif- cuoufly about 8 inches from each other. There could fcarcely be a greater improvement in Britifh husbandry than the introducing potatoes legularly into the courfes of common crops, for their value is far beyond turnips, and they improve and mellow the foil much more. It is a mif- taken notion to imagine that they will not thrive without dung, good hoeing is of as much importance to them as any manures whatever ; And they are of admirable uiie in fatting hogs. Xin. Cabbages, It appears from Mr. Randal's Sfmi-Virgilian Hujbandry^ that he cultivated the large Scotch cabbage in large quantities, and applied them to the fatting of. oxen. He afTerts that ap acre ipill fatten fix ; but he does not fay he knew one ever ^tf/. I^wev^r, there is rca|ba fu0icient to believe they may SfCT. V.' A O R I C U i T U R E. 149 may V^ turned to great account upon pretty rich foils. The turnip cab- bage was ufed for the food of cattle by the Author of the Eflbya on HufbandrV) but with whs^t fuccefs is not known. Mr. Wynn Baker in Ireland cintiv^ted them likewifc for fatting of cattle, and found that one acre would maintain four fatting bullocks feventy-fix days. No fpecies of the cabbage is yet cultivated by any common farmer — or at leaft, by none that are known. XIV. Madder, I may venture to caM the culture of this vegetable in England the effeil oi the fociety's attention. It was nevr cultivated to any extent before that patriotic fet of imprpvers took it under their patronage ; but at prefent there are a great number of acres yearly planted, infomuch that we bid fair for putting an end to the importation of it from Hol- land ; an obj.e£l of no inconAd^able importance. But the culture of madder would flourifh much more, if an accurate fet of experiments on It was laid before the publick : There is at prefent fo much uncertainty in the expences and produce, that the premium has not that great effe^ which would attend it were an exa£t regifter publifhed of the cultivation of a few acres in different foils. The prefent ftate of this article of modern agriculture in Britain is comprifed in the acres 'which have been planted in confequence of the Society's premiums. 1 know of none by common farmers ; they are the experiments of gentlemen ; except fome ' that have been tried in hop grounds in Kent, and, I fliould remarki with great fuccefs. The Courfes of Crops. The Britifli hufbandry in this refpe^t has received as great improve- ments as in any other cafe whatever : For before the introdudion of ,. turnips and clover, the farmers imagined that fine crops of corn could only be had after fallow years ; but experience having convinced them of the contrary, they have within a few years extended their ideas, and now gain in many parts of the kingdom as fine wheat and barley after falloiv cropSt as ever their anceflors did after a fallow. It cannot be faid that thefe beneficial pradices are yet become general ; but ii^ many parts of the kingdom they have carried them to great; perfet^on. The ^So POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay til. The courfes of the crops commonly cultivated in England are chiefly as follow : On 1. Fallow 2. "Wheat 3. Beans 4. Wheat 5. Peafe 6. Wheat 7. Barley. I. Fallow 3. Barley 3. Oats. 1. Fallow 2. Wheat g. Beans 4. Oats. rich heavy foils* 1. Fallow 2. Barley ^. Clover 4. Wheat 5. Beans 6. Wheat 7. Peafe 8. Wheat. 1. Fallow 2. Wheat 3. Barley 4. Oats. I. Fallow s. Barley 3. Clover 4. Oats. 1. Turnips 2. Oats 3. Clover and rye-grafs 4. Rye. 1. Turnips 2. Barley 3. Buckwheat On rich) but lighter foils, 1. Peafe i. Wheat s. Wheat 2. Peafe 3. Barley 3. Barley 4. Clover 4. Clover 5. Wheat. . 5. Oats. On light loams. X. Turnips i. Fallow 2. Barley 2. Barley 3. Clover 3. Oats Wheat. Clover. I. White peafe i. Turnip( 8. Turnips 2. Wheat 3. Oats 3. Oats 4. Qover 4. Clover. 5. Wheat. >s On fandy loams. I. Carrots 9. Barley 3. Oats, 1. Carrots 2. Oats 3. Clover and rye-grafs 4. Qover and rye-grafs. I. Turnips s. Buckwheat 3. Rye. 4. Rye. 1. Rye 2. Turnips 3. Turnips 4. Barley J. Clover and rye-grafs. I could extend thefe tables to feveral pages, but I believe thefe, with dianges in a few articles, nearly comprehend the common practice. In Scotland they fow but little wheat ; and both there and in Ireland bear is generally fubllituted inftead of barley. There is not a more important point in hufbandry than .this of vary- ing the £rops with judgment. The moft profitable courfe that can be followed / IJect. V# AGRICULTURE. »5» ibllowed upon heavy lands is to fow wheat after a fallow, and if they throw in barley after the wheat, never, on any account, to let any grain follow; for that is the fure method of exhaufting the foil, and filling it with trumpery. If beans are cultivated as they ought to be, that is, hoed clean twice or thrice, wheat fucceeds them advantageoufly ; after- wheat, if peafe are fown, they fliould be carefully hoed with fmall hoes, and hand-weeded if barley is defigned to fuccecd them. But in thefe refpedls of keeping what may be called the fal/ow crops thoroughly clean, the farmers are extremely culpable, for they frequently fow corn after them without taking the Icaft care to deftroy the weeds. This management is likewife confpicuous in their crops on the lighter foils ; if they give their fields a good turnip fallow, they are apt to run tl --m too much upon the credit of it : A good crop of clover will always cnfure a good one of wheat after it ; but then barley and oats coming fometimei fuccefTively, ruins the land again. The befl courfe, of all others ipon thefe foils, is fallowing for turnips ; then fowing barley, throwing in clover with it, ploughing up the clay, and harrowing in wheat. Thus crop- ped the foil will always be clean, and yield good crops ; efpecially if the turnips are fed on the land by fheep. Carrots, as J have already re- marked, are fown in few places, but they have all the advantages of turnips, and many more;, for their culture loofens thefoil to a greater depth,, and cleans the furface more, by frequent hoeings. The great point in this article of courfes is never to let two crops of corn come together, but to introduce pulfe, roots or graffes between them: it is a. very Ample .rule, but of great importance.. ^ General Management of Farms, Whatever profit may arife from feparate articles, fuch as ^^r^nurihg,. cleaning, properly cropping, &c. &c. it matters but little if tbv general oeconomy be not fuch as affords the requif:*''^ profit upon the whole. I apprehend the hufbandmen of this age have a more fuperioic knowledge in this article, over preceding ones, than in any other age. In fome parts of the kingdom, the general profit on agriculture is confiderable, and owing not altogether to low rents ot external caufes, but to an intel- ligent general management. In many parts of the wefl of England, and in Wales, a plough never moves with lefs than four horfes to draw it, and commonly with five or fix,, or fix or eight oxen ; and this on light, as well as heavy foils. . It is plain enough, that a vaftly greater number of thefe beafls muft be kept i5« POtlTlCAL ElSSlAtS. EasA'T III; kept on a farm fo tilled, than on one which is neter ploughed with more than two ; confequently a great lofs enfues from ufing more than the neceflary number ; — — I don't add, if the foil will admit of it, bccaufe I venture to conclude it fo, as I have many times been an eye^witnefs to fheir ploughing a great variety of foils, and feldom making any divine* tion between heavy and light ones. In the eaftern counties, they underftand this matter of proportioning the length to the work infinitely better ; the ftrongeft foils are ploughed up (and let me add to three times the depth of the weftern furrows) with two horfes, and a larger furface done than by fix in the weft. It is the fame with fervants and labourers as with horfes : I obferved, that in the weftern parts of the kingdom the farmers kept more by far than were neceflary, and more than the proportion of their brethren in the ^aftr^I need not add, that it is another fure way of impoverifhing them, nor is it of any fervice to the ftate, becaufe the fupernumerary hands are not employed to any advantage ; they are kept becaufe the people are indolent, and do not exert themfelves as in other parts of the kingdom ; befides, the extra number of working cattle occafions a neceflary increafe of fervants ; keeping fo many more than is really wanted, is kec^olng them in idlenefs, and a flovenly execution of thdr bufinefs : if the far«- mers who afted thus, ploughed, hoed, and otherwife cultivated theh: iields proportionably the better, they would benefit not only themfelves, but the ftate ; better crops arifing in return, their induftry would not be ufe- lefs ; one hundred acres might then be brought to yield as much as two. In die immediate management of the fields, there appears as great a .difference between the hufbandmen of difi^erent parts of the kingdom. A faffR> confifting all of arable land, is by fto means fo profitable as to have a part of it grafs ; but in fome counties the farmers plough up all their natural grafs, without regularly laying down a fufficienl quantity of artificial : in the improved parts of Norfolk, many very large farms require to be all under the plough, but then the farmers take care always to have a great flenty of clover and rye-graft, which maintains their numerous flocks. In richer counties, tvhere clover alone is their grafs, they are very negligent in not fallowing regularly for barley, that they may conftantly have clover fown with the firft crop. Where there is rwt a due proportion between the arable land and the natural graffcs of a farm, if the deficiency be not fupplied by artificial ones, all muft lufFer through a want of manure, for cattle cannot be kept without grals of fome kind or other. The clover, and the clover ana ryc-grafs huftan- I dry. Ulict. V. S A C R I C U L T U R E. 153 dl7^ are pttfe^^y Uildetfiood in StiflRotk and Norfolk, but fcarcdy knowii (advantiageoi^y) in Wales; waft hardly imroduced into Scotland in the year 1757* and is yet of no extent in Irelaaid. \ ' ' '■ ■ Alnch of the (kme natttre, aiid in part conipc^ed of this fault in s^f- f England (and ih tMny of Frattdg) thie pnftice todividd a farm mto two par^; half efvery yiar foWn With ^eaf, mnd the other half falfow^ The toaife df thi^e f^ki^ is^ bettieri bill by no means perfied. In many parts of the eaft of England ikit fatDaers always contrive to have natural grafs-^ Artificial grars----^ra^^— pulfe— <*aad roots* aad ihia management ihpuld be extended every where ; for the year's buflnefs is fo, that a Ids dtfpet^ahde iii had on th6 feaifotisi a»d niuph ^^oick tses^tt to be done in a (hort time. nr! . ■ ., ■ -■ 'i.^jbdi It ' • - , .'. I venture thcfe hints ra^iir a» the i^xpku^^n of an ides thaa as 't fidt detail of the ftri!>)ed: die reader will eafily comprehend the iaipor* tance of this general fjrftdii of inaila|;dnenti and be feafiUe that, it dctends to a greater vaHety of eafts thin' what i hav6 ^peciived. ThcCbi however, are fufficient to fliew, that in fome pairts of the kingdom raral ceconomy is better underftood than in others, and the contraft ought to excite landlords to intrqfhice the beft methods known among their tenants; an eafy matter to ihani^e by means of leafes, Whoi the defired pra&ice is nothing eflentially difietent from the common mediods. If diey jure required to proceed oh doattAtf prinei^es ti» vi^hat they have been accuf** tomed, they will never comply. Begrec of JEncouragemeni which j^ricuUure atprefent meets witbi No nation can be conduced by a eoniprehenfive and general iyliepi of political ceconomy, withoitt her agriculture, either in its immediate prac- tice or diftant comequehces, being the Aibje<^ of particular laws, intended for its encouragement. Such laws indeed art^ generally more r||re than they ought to be, for it is greatly in the power of the le^g^iature of any country to promote and extend the well-being of hufbandry ; nor does the whole range of poUtics prefent fo important an object Wife laws of this nature woiild, it it to be imagined, be o&eaer enadedi was agriculture * : X the 1^4 POLITICAL ESSAYS. 1^58 AY llti the only ^reat intereft of a ftate ; but there being generally feveral kin- dred ones, as manufactures, commerce, &c. thofe laws which tend to the promotion of the one, may in fome inflances be detrimental to the others and this circumftance is what too often prevents good laws having a being. The neceflity of a balance between various interefts, gives rife to a fear and timidity of advancing any one fingly, left others ihould fuffer; and {Of through an extreme caution, none are benefited: but if more courage and penetration occafioa a different condud, agriculture in modern timea has been fo (lightly attended to, that its interefts have generally beeii fiicrificed to thofe of manufa^res and foreign commerce. It is the part of a true ftatefman to fee more clearly into the real balance of thefe important concerns, and by difcerning the true combinations and depen- dencies of them, to venture freely on laws for the promotion of their well-beingy without being deterred through timidity. What finking inftances of faulty condud are the heavy burthens impofed in many countries upon the cultivators of the foil, and that through an idea that their being opprefted is of lefs ill confequence to the flate, than if the weight of taxes feU on others. , The famous Colbert, ia prohibiting the exportation of corn, drew an abfolute parallel between agriculture and manufactures, and palpably gave a preference to the latter* infinitely injurious to Franqe. That great mant in this inftance, ftiewed an amazing want of penetration. The firft and grand encouragement which agricji^lture met with in Eng- land, and which did more for it than all other ^meafures put together* was the bounty on exported corn; too much can never be faid in com- mendation of that excellent law : much do I wifti that I could go through, a lift of many fuch. The rule of political condu£t in Great Britain, of always granting ads of parliament for liberty of inclofure to whatever fets of landed proprie- tors agree in petitioning for them, has been of incomparable ufe in pro- moting good hufbandry. Indeed, without this maxim of ftate, wafte, and commonly -called barren lands, would fcarce ever be converted into profitable farms. Inclofures are the firft foundation of a flourifhing agri-> culture. — The bounty and the allowance of inclofures are the only great nGts of ligiflature in Britain which have been of prime confequence to,, and peculiarly defigned for the good of agriculture.. Convenience of carriage, refulting from inland navigations and im- proved rrads, are public works of great benefit, but dengned for other purpofet ^icfT.V; A G R I C U L t U k E. '55 purpofcs befides the encouragement of hulbandry. The cultivation of the earth cannot be carried near to perfetftion without this eafe of moving the produdl of it. For while agricuhure wa» exerted only for the feeding and fupporting a fmall neighbourhood) it was impoflible it (hould flourifh; as all exportation, even from county to county, or from diftrift to dif- trid, muft depend on the means of conveyance. When the roads were exceflive bad, and no rivers artificially navigable, the expence of carriage was greater than the value of the commodity,- and confer"ently all expor- tation from inland parts imprafticable ; but when tie boimty was given, which proved fuch a noble encouragement, and the improvements which an increafe of riches fpread over the country, co-operated in rendering an eafeof conveyance every where an univerfal neceffaryof life, rivers were daily made navigable, and all the roads of the kingdom wohderfully improved. Thefhape of the iiland is peculiarly beneficial for exporting its produce : fcarce a village in it is 'more than feventy niilesdiftant from the Tea; and, at prefeni> by means of numerous inland navigations, and good hard roads every ivhere to their banks, no farmer in the kingdom need be at any lols for e\en a foreign market for his corn; which, when ill-judged and hafly pro libitions on exportation do not abound, is fb' noble and vigorous an Encouragement, that evv«ry village in the kingdom is publicly benefited b^ it; and every landlord enriched by a rife in the rent of his farms, which has been regular for near a century. Befides thefe public encouragements, the agriculture of this kingdom has been greatly benefited by a judicious condud in individuals. Land« lords, by giving up ancient cuftbms in the leafes by which they kt tiieir farms, and falling by degrees into a fyftem of improvement, by aiding > their tenants, have done great things towards advancing of hufbandry. The eflfeds of this fpirit have been clearly feen, by open lands becom- ing inclofed ; by wet ones being rendered dry and found ; by means of thorough ditching and draining, in all its methods of' being performed; by dry foils being ameliorated by plantations, and marling, and claying ; • by the converting wade trads of land of all kinds into farms ; by per- mitting tenants to plough up unprofitable grafs, and lay down arable land inftead thereof, to fupply its place ; by joining in the expence of mod great improvements ; and by accepting a certain yearly portion of divers forts of lafting improvements, infliead of a part of the rent. Thefe circumftances, with various others, have beer, of incomparable ufe in promoting the intcrefts of Britiih agriculture: and with great fatisfac- tion I perceive this fyftem of encouragement is become pretty general. One can travel into very few counties, if any, wherein there is not kindled • an eagcrnefs for pufhing hufbandry to perfedion, and a warm endeavour X 2 at 156 POIITICAL ESSAYS. Essay HI* «« mfiag the vahie of land. And this latter aim haa been To extraordl- natily fuiQcefefuU thi^t throughout more than half the kingdom the prefent tenants are better able to pay twenty ihUHngs an apre, than fifty years^ ago only their grandfathers could pay ten. $uch, ar^ the glorious eflfeds of the fpirit and induftry of individuals> co-operating with the legiflatuxe. in the grand work of improvement ! , There is yet another circumftance relating to th^ iit^ention ' f f irllament,. which muA: npt be overlooked: gentleinenin thi8a|;e, bef 'as ucourage- ing 'their tenants, h^ve applied Uiemfelyes to ihepraffice of agriculture.. Never w«re ib many £irms in the hands, of gentlemen as at prefent. There is a kind of poifion ibr agriculture! which is even become faihion-^ able; and never was tqfif more rational! Hories» dogs, and the wea- Uier, have been the country gentleman's topics of confideration longv enough ; it was high time they Hiould U^eyr th^mfelves fomewhat more rational th^ the animals they dircourfe^ of. The culture and manage- ment of a few fields around their houTes* is become an obje£t of converfa- t}o(i as well as profit; and to fp general adegree^ that fcarce a vifit in the. Qouotry is ma>de without farming and country improvements finding a. QonSderable (hare in the convention : that foil, which was formerly beheld o^ly. as the footing of a^ dog,, and the food of a hunter, is now pregnant with a noble and rational ^mufement) healthy, cheerful, and profitable ; of afliilance to the poor, and beneficial to the iiate itfelf. The tr^^^ OP ipil in th^, kingdom and, in lyel^nd, which are at prefent. occupied by gentien^en, nw,y be fm>|)ofe4 by fome to be inconfiderable^, but ^m sure nw^iy reafons for thinking them far otherwife. It is not only gentlemen of landed elites who farm: younger brothers who inherit fmaU fortMnes, half pay o£Bcers, and various othex ranks of people, feem at prefent to confider agriculture as infinitely the moft genteel employ- ment they can apply to j and I might remark, that this idea of being fafhicwiable, and the fecurity of not finking in he eyes of the world,, allures an incredible number of people to make it their bufinefs. The wonder is, that thefe ideas did not become common before ; for it would be, amazing, if any young fellow, whofe ideas were above a counter, ihould not prefer the life of hulbandry to that of meafiiring tapes or filks ; to the infpc^ing wool-combers or weavers ; or even to the more profitable profpe^ of the compting-houfe clerk, content to tell, that two au4 two makejfour. We are not therefore to be furprized, that the coun- try life of this age ; that a farm tinged with the ftmplex munditiis of human lifei which modern luxury throws over every thing in the unir- v^fe, (hould have charms to captivate fuch numbers. But Sect. V. AGRrCULTURE. *^T But, as I was remarking, every gentleman that lives in- the country farms; a great number of clergymen occupy their own. glebes; and among the renters of land we fee many gentlemen, and their number daily increafes. The queftion is* How far are they ben€;ficial to the. general intereAa of agriculture ? but aot» I apprehend> a difficult one t» beanfwered. It fiiould be confideredf that unlef^ hufl»andry ^nraa axrtved at the fum* suit of perfe£tion« (which ev^ry one will adcnowledge to be far enough, from the cafe) all the opportunities of improvement ihould be canvai^d to the utmoft, and every thing at leaft tried. Now, all improvements ioi agriculture, in ages when very few gentlemen farmed, yet came from. ^ioTcfew: coniidering the iituation of common ^.rmers, it would be: iurprizing were it otherwife. Who introduced the culture of turnips? Who revived marling in Norfolk ? But particulars would be endlefs- We may, liowever, certainly conclude, that all future (as well as paft)^ improvements will come from gentlemen. If this is not a capital advan-> tage, nothing can be. And huibandry is of that nature, that it is im-> polGble to guefs what thefe improvements may amount to; for a great, number cf men. of fome education, and ideas fuperior to thofe of com-- mon farmers, being employed on examining the real lature of a variety of foils, and trying numerous experiments out of dern times, but it is very far from being arrived at the height of perfec- tion. Confidering the liberty and riches of this country, it is indeed amazing that our hufbandry is not in moft places better, and in all more extended. It is aftoniftiing, that fuch a vaft part of the kingdom ihould. remain uncultivated, while there are fuch aduating encouragers in being as exportation and allowance of inclofure. Our political arithmeticians calculate, that the wafte and unimproved lands in England alone amount to fifteen millions of acres. An entire accuracy in the number is not o£ confequence ; but it is plain enough to all, that a vaft proportioa of the foil is in that ftate. Thofe who are acquainted with the nature of foils, and have examined into the pretences of barrennefst muft be fenfible that there are very few trads of land but what may be applied to feme profitable ufe; and rocks,, fteep mountains, bogs and fens excepted, fcarce any but what will admit of vaft improvement by tillage. The prodigioufly extenfive tra€ts taken up in feeding rabbits and ft\eep, might all be converted into arable farms,, to the vaft increafe of the people and the riches of the country, without diminifliing the manufacture of wool : a fad well knowa by thofe who * Eflays on HuibanJry, p. 16. 18,^ tg^ attend t6d POIITICAL ESSAYS. Essay III, attend to the ftocic maitnained by many farmere on clover and rye-graft and turnips. When we hear therefore of mrllions 6f acres of unimproved land iit this noble and flourifliing kingdom ; when foils too dry for tillage, and too wet for grafs, are talked of, it fhould move every one's emulation to difprove fud^ ill-founded epithets, and appeal to that fpirit of improve- ment which has for fome years hA paft to glorioully diilinguiihed thefe realms. _ The conducing ou: ! i aandry to the utmoft pitch of perfedion, both in refpeft of breaking ujj uncultivated lands, draining bogs and fens, and difcovering all improvements of which the common pradical parts of it are fafeeptible,: is thus beyond a doubt the capital ohjcGt in the politics of Britain. It ought certainly to employ the firft attention of the legifla- ture, that fuch laws may be framed as are moft probable to occafiofi the wiihed-for perfe<^ion. It is in vain to expe^ that private intersfts fhould be powerful enough to effect fuch an important bufmefs : paft experience has fufificiently proved this. The great improvements which modem times boafl, were certainly fet in motion by a Angle law, the bounty on exported corn. Without fuch an unexampled fpur to the induflry of individuais» thofe improvements might never have been thought of. Nor ffaoiild we fuppofe, that becaufe the bounty has done^ mnch, it muft do aU, £xpetif rience will likewife^ convince us, that we muft not truft to that alone> efpecially as obftru^tions and even prohibitions on exportation grow more common than in preceding times. And the continuance of fb much wafte land proves, that more powerful engines muft be fet at work to operate the perfection of our agriculture. Perhaps population fufFers fb confiderable a decline, that a want of people may for half a century back haved)ftruded our improvements in a manner in a very material degree. It is true, fuch a prejudice could not appear in its full extent, becaufe the bounty working at the fame time in our favour, might every moment fupply the defeats occafioned by fuch a want of people. But in this cafe, the bounty has been of infinite and unknown benefit ; for what would have been the efFeds of it, had population been at leaft paffive ? — — Thefe, however, are but conjedures ; and to extend them would be to anticipate my fubje£k. Without multiplying refledions on a fa£t fo apparent as the want of perfe(Sting the agriculture of Britain, 1 fliall proceed to minute the principal means of effecting fUch itnprovement. I. Gaining a complete knowledge of the foil and culture of the whole iiland. 6 II. Breaking Sbct. VI. AGRICULTURE r6i II. BreakiDg up) or otherwife improving wade tra^> and peopling them. IIL Applying throughout the kingdom each foil to its proper ufe. IV. Perfed rural mechanics. So minute an aceuracy as to include every fubjed of improvement down to the minuted that can be mentioned, is not at prefent neceifary : tbefe general heads will, I apprehend, leave no important point untouched. I. Gaining a complete Knowledge of the Soil and Culture, Before defeds can be fupplied, and ill practices remedied, they muft be accurately known ; and the real date of our agriculture can be difcovered no otherwife than viewing it every where on the fpot. Proper perfons fhould be appointed to make a furvey of the whole Briti(h empire, who fhould take a minute account of every acre of land ; fpecifying the nature of the fur- face, and the dratums to a certain depth under it; with accounts of all the trials that have been made of manuring, the former with the latter; and of all other methods of manuring; together with the whole fyflem of culture and management, and the fuccefs which attends them ; to take an ex2i€t account of the breeds of cattle ; and, in a word, of every dr- cumibrce concerning rural oeconomy. The refult of fuch a general tour, when er graved by way of maps on p^r, in refped of foil, with refe- rences to the accounts of culture, &c. would form a mod noble repofitory of political knowledge. By comparing the nature and management of a variety of trades of land, the capability of the foil for profitable produc- tions would be known, and the defedls of culture and management, wherever found, would be apparent. By means of fuch a knowledge of the real date of agriculture, the legiflature would have fomc foun- dations to proceed on in whatever maxims they adopted, or whatever fydem of condu£t they planned ; whereas, at prefent, for want of fuch authority, the good or ill effed of laws are only guefled at, not clearly known. ^ ^^ The moment fuch a tour as this I have fketched was efFefted, regif- tered, and publifhed, the next bulinefs which fhould then be immedi"* ately executed, would be, the gaining a confirmation of all circumdances which appeared the lead dubious, or unfupported by requifite authority : fuch parts of fo conliderable a tour, performed by various perfons, would doubtlefs be found ; but were the whole, to appearance, fully fatisfac- toryt yet, a confirmation of it, refulting from experiment, would be of Y admirable* l62 POLItlCAL- ESSAYS. Essay ni. acTmiraWe confeqficnce, in rendering 'that demonftrition, which might be alone the refull of obfcrvation and reafon; and in cafe of miftakcs in dif- covering them, and yielding abfolute certainty in every circumftance. Such a, farther knowledge migTit be gained by various menns; but the principal, and what would fully cffed it, may be (ketbhed in a minute *. In the firft placj, gentlemen (hould fee found, who, from praftifing agriculture, really underftand it: fuch, I flayer myfelf, are by no means fcarcfc; clergymen, who farm their, own glebes, would form ^ great number of them ; and feveral intelligent occupiers, of a caft fuperior to common farmers, might be joined in the lift of fuch as a dependence might be placed in. Such inen ihould be requefted to execut given experiments, and regifter the operations and refult : the cxpences which the crops did not repay tp be reimburfedby the public. Foi! inftance,- in the general furvey above Sketched, a large tra£t of country is coloured as an Unciiltiviat^d fand ; which is imagined from reafon, and reoiarkiog, the neighbouring huibandry as not to anfwer cultivation. Greater certainty is wanted inthia matter than thofe who execute the furvey can g^in. A neighbouring gentleman or occupier is pitched upon, and defired to enclofe jin thd warft part of fiich tra£l:, a field of fifty acres, and to manure, ciil- tiiMLtOt and 'natiage' it according to given diredlions : fuch an experiment* as far aa it eattedded, would fet the affair in a clear light ; and is fufficient here to explain my-meaning* The fame remark is applicable to undrained fens and bogs, and to all kinds of injudicious practices in huibandry. V A ilill greater certainty, attended with numerous advantages of a fupe- rior kind, would I'efult from the execution of another plan, which fhould undoubtedly be an objeA of immediate attention : it is, the forming of divers eKpiritnental farms for the trial of a variety of pradtices in agri- culture on different foils, which remain at prefent in the dark. Such a plan for a light fatidy foil is already minutely fketched t, but others of the fame nature fhould be executed in bogs and fens, in the clay, loam, and chalk-foils, and extended to all parts of both iflands, from the cold latitude of the Highlands of Scotland to the moft fouthern counties of England : for this evident reafon, the hufbandry of a clay, for inftance> in the latter, muft be effentially diflFerent from that of the former; and experimenit would yield a determinate knowledge of both.— —To this. plan I fhould lafUy add the eftablifhment of premiums to encourage iudi- * Since this was written, the attempt has been partially made by a private gentleman, in the Tours through England \ but this r not the plan I propofe. The travdiers fhould be authorized by the Parliament, and < /ery village of the Icingdom minutely examined x many {hould be appointed for the work. ^ Utter ta Lord Give, 8yo. 1767. viduak S«CT. VI; A O R I C U L T U n S. 163 viduals to profecute the fame enquiries, ia whatever points might be the ealieft determined by them. From thefe feveral methods of profecuting this grand enquiry, there can be no doubt but an abfolutely certain knowledge of the BritiCh foil and culture, its omiflions, miftakcs, and defcds, would be gained ; (a knowledge the mod important that any nation cai^ acqt4re !) for in this cafe, the refult of the tour would form a minute and exad foundation f<^ all future operations, by difplaying the (late of the/urjkcf, its nature* culture, and management ; and exhibiting numerous inflances of im- provements to be copied and extended. Private information would next fucceed, of trials performed at the coft of the public, that fuch inflances of improvement might have better foundations than reaibning by anar logy; hence would refult a great certainty in divers points q€ enquiry. Then comes the eftabliHiment of experimental farms to yield a determi- nate knowledge of every foil, and all the variations of treatment requi- fite for carrying their produd: to the utmoft poiTible height. Andlaftly* the numerous experiments which would be performed by individuals in confequence of the premiums;— —and thefe would throw firefli lighten any fubjed of enquiry, which during the procefs of the whole work appeared not fo clear as was neceflary in an undertaking of this nature. And let me, laftly, remark, that the refvkjt of all thefe feveral means of acquiring the defired knowledge, combined into one general view of Bri- tifh and Iri(h agriculture, would be attended with fuch immenfe benefits, that their extent is eafier to be imagined than expreffed ; for every cir- cumftance being clearly known, every defedl and ^iftake rendered appa- rent, and even experimentally proved; every improvement of which both kingdoms are capable, examined* tried, and pointed out, what fur- ther could be wiflied for towards giving perfedion to the. whole f I will venture to afTert, that it would, at the conclufion of fuch a work, be eafier to advance our agriculture to the higheft pitch of perfection, tharh it was to execute the preceding preparation. No one can think- 1 have' iketched any thing impracticable : it would be an expenfive bufinefs, bufi every part of it might be executed even with eafe, were the money once found ; and who could repine at an annual grant of one hundred thou- fand pounds until the whole was HniHied P Upon fuch a plan it might be executed in twelve years : beyond aU doubt it might be done, and upoiv a more minute and extenfive plan than I have fketched in twenty. The returns would repay the expence an hundred fold. Whatever laws are now made any wife relating to rural oeconomy, are framed; in a great meafure in the dark; they are mere experiments. If they anfwer, they are continued ; if not, repealed: and thus the circle is frequently n-im^ • Y 2 ,,, - run. i64 POLITICAL ESSAYS. ElSAYlIfr run, Without any regular fyftem of legiflation being purfued: And it ihould be remembered, that thefe experimental laws are fometimei of dangerous confequences, at others, the repeals of them are equally bad t and yet fuch an uncertainty mull involve the whole bufinefs until I'ucb plan at I have iketched be executed. When it was perfedted, the cafe would alter at once; inftead of making laws in the dark, and having no means of certainty, but trying the effe^ of them, with defign to contiaue or repeal according to circumfpeCtioni the legiflature would have fure ground to proceed upon. They would' know wherein confifted the requifite afliftance, and thofe laws proper to- yield it be apparent to every one of common apprehenfion ; nor would^ the cffe& of any new projeds or plans propofed for their confideration^ be uncertain, but with a very flight examination difcover in what degree* they would be of benefit or mifchief. In a word, fuch a knowledge 6f our agriculture would prove the fureft guide upon which a ftatefman' could depend, by prefenting to his view the real ftate and ftrength of the kingdom he governed ; and by difplaying on all great' occafions of war, peace, or other important events, their effects on the finews- of alP power, population and huibandry. Such a knowledge as this being* gained, 1 come next to fpecify fome improvements, which we may con*^ elude would be the confequence of it, from the apparent want of them.^ • even «t a diftant view. • 'ff>/'f , n. Breaking up Wafiest &c: '' ' ■' ffii> . .1 . . ' There can be little doubt but the converting of wafte tt^dts of land into nfitable farms ought to be one of the firft Undertakings in the great inefs of improvement; for from thence refults the increafe of food, population, and riches. Thofe which are the property of the crown might be totally improved at the expence, and upon the account of, his majefty, who would gain iramenfely by the improvement. And as to thoTe vaftly numerous and extenfive ones, which are private property, as' it is evident from thei^; , being wafte, that private intereft is not %ong Enough, public money fhoulcT^e^aiipIied to induce^ idll proprietors to aA with that vigour which the public' go()d [requires.' ' ' ■ ' (I • The royal forefts, and othc^r waftes, (hot^ld ht immediately inclofed in fuch divifions, that thofe part;s whiph^e Covered ^ith grown timber may be preferved to that ufe, and otheH, in which young trees are growing, divided olBF for the lame purpofej'the dpen parts would then remain, which iicT. VT. AGRICULTURE. Us * which (hould be ftruck into indofed farms, and let to the beft advantage, li the foil was of a very poor kind* it ihould be manured with marlet chalk, clay, or earth dug from under the furface ; and if the land was any where fo wet as to require draining* fuch operation likewife is to be performed. The returns of rent for a foil heretofore wafte, would nobly repay all expences of incloAng, draining, manuring, building, &c. In refped to private property, a bounty (hould be given to encouri.ge individuals) upc ii fmall fcales; and honours* titles, ribbons, or medals» in others. In trads of dry Tandy foils, which feed nothing but rabbits* the legiflature might grant a bounty of five pounds per acre on all that was inclofed ; manured at the rate of not lefs than one hundred loads per acre, houfes and barns, &c. built, and in ihort converted to farms, and Ut to tenants. The moment a farm was thus completed, the bounty ihould be payable. . r A proper bounty (hould likewife be allowed on alt bogs and fens^ or other unprofitable trails which are converted into farms, and let. Exem})-^ tions from taxes, which is a capital encouragement in Frattcc, would not ^ fo proper in this country as bounties. In the north and weftern parts of Scotland, in many in Ireland, and> in fome in England, there are very extenfive trads of uncultivated land, amounting almofl to whole counties, which are fo very thinly peopled, that they would require colonies to be planted on them as much as any wafte in America: and for fuch a purpofe, foreigners fhould be invited to fettle with us, and brought from their country at the government's ex- pence; and the individuals, to whom fuch wafle lands belong, fhoxild ' either contribute confiderably to the fettlement of them in farms, or elfe t fell a fufficient quantity of land for that purpofe to the government, that proper tradts might be granted to the fettlers, under fuch refervaticms and > i'r conditions as ihould be found moft convenient. But the period p^uliarly adapted to fuch undertakings is the conclu- iion of a war, Vaft numbers of men and families are then difcharged the fervice, who have a profeflion and employment to feek, and for want of having a proper one provided, for the mbft part, apply to none, and of courfe remain a worfe burthen to the fociety than when paid by it: if any prove mo?e induftrious, they are very apt- to leave their country for foreign ones, , where they meet with that reception denied them at home. The ill cpnfequence^. o^ either alternative mufl be apparent to all ; foK no'£;9^ig|iers W9 can piro^iM:^ at a much greater expence, would be of -./'---. fiich' ^u P0j|.iTiCiA^^;,i|^,SAYs. ^r^x% focb national fervice a^ thefe military mep, who probably ^e ufed to s^* variety of hardHiips, iaurjng to labour. I cannot avoid remarking, the iadomlifion of ading upon this plaa at t\\^ conclufion of tl^e lafi peace: upon a moderate computation, one hundred thpuTand mea were then difr* tnifled, to feek new methods of livelihood^ fome encouragements, were given to thofe fettling ia America, who were difcharged there: but fucli a plan of policy was by no means beneficial to Britain, of which circun- fiance more in another place; , That fyftem of oecoppmy, which excludes the expences of fuch really national objeds as thefe, is not a whit lefs prejudicial than a fy^em of extravagance; critical feafons for noble undertakings are loft, wluch- can- not be recovered, of which the inftance we are fpeaking of is a notable one. After the vaft grants which had pafl the parliament for conducing a war ; after the immenfe fums which had been fent out of the king- dom; five millions a year to Germany; and on the conclufion of a treaty, not fve-pence to cultivate the arts of peace! Unhappy delu- fion ! Wretched oeconomy ! — ^The opportunity was loft ; — pray Heaven, it be long before another offers ! Foreign proteftants might be gained in confiderable numbers, and planted upon the tra(3s of uncultivated country above-mentioned, until the whole are fully peopled ; an objei^ of infinite importance^ The ideas of thofe who might command fuch works are, however, different; for when the Palatines were in England, infl^ad of keeping them there, the firft thought was that of hurrying them to America. Avoiding the expence of forming fuch colonies, is the more furprizing, as all the money is expended at home, and in the moft beneficial manner to agriculture, aqd induflry, of all others. When fuch trads of land as I have defcribed were converted into farms, the very returns of rent alone would bei of infinite conCequence, and fuflScient to repay the whole, cofl, but yet thofe returns would not be the moft confiderable that would enfue ; the new fetllers would give a vaft addition to the general confumption, not only in what immediately concerned ihemfelves, but ia the whole fyilem of employment they created.. This would be attended with an incrcafe of cirr culation; both would be prodigious while the improvement wast execut-"' ing, and of vtry confiderable extent afterwards, for the produds of the induftry of fuch a nuniber pf hands, with the confumption of necefTaries and employment of artizans they would be exchanged for, with the addi- tional commerce occafioned by the whole, would allogether^form an addition to the induftry, riches, and revenue of the kingdom, of the utmoft importance. jA\.*>! Sect. VL A b-lt ? Ob L t U R k i&f f L I U in. ji^plying'thrmi^hout the Kingdom each Soil tt> iti proper Cj^i . |" Thispart df rtirtil occofiorhyconcerhs land's lilready in !. This part of the defign is of vaft importance ; for notwithftanding the opinion of fome politicians, that the invention of thofe machines, which with flight labour perform the work of a thoufand hands, is prejudicial to a ftate, too much reliance ih.,^ld not be placed in it. This is not the place fully to debate the point, but thus much I Ihall here obferve: The idea is juft, under fuppolition that the people deprived of bufinefs by the invention of machines either will not, or cannot, by the ftate, be found in other employment; but for twenty thoufand labourers, for inftance, to complain S^CfT. v.; A G R I C U L T U R E. i6g complain of being deprived of three ftionths work, while twenty thou- fand acres of wafte land remain, is an abfardity under a government that ads for the good of the ftate. If every acre was completely cultivated, and all poffible incrcafe of manufaftures at an end, thefe machines would be pernicious, and their invention ought to be difcouraged ; but until fuch times come, it is weak politics indeed to fear any number of men being fo beneficially deprived of employment. The more men in fuch a fituation, that had been ufid to indi^iry, the better ; the varioiis parts of this general plan of improvement would be fo much eafier and fooner executed. The firft uMertafcing (hould be, to perftJfl: the inftruments already itt" ufe, among which the plough bears the pre"em?nence. The two material properties of which are, depth and le^elnefs of cutting, and eafe of draught Without exanlining the various plough's that arc ufed" in thefe kingdoms) ! (hall only remark, that the bell I have feeil is the common Suffolk one, which nearly refembles the Rotheram ploagjh. For com- tAoti V^ork, I apprehend nothing better is wanted than the firft, flightly varied to various foils. For double ploughing, which i^ one plough fol- lowing another in the famie furrow, I know of no particular inventions, e^tcept Mr. Randal's of York, and that only in an advertifemerit : fufficient and repeated trials fhould be made of them and others, until perfect ones ' were difcovered. . The improvement moft wanting in the plough is a contrivance^ of car- rying two, three, four, or more furrows at once; this I hate in part feen executed, but ufelefsly, as a proportionable ftrength of cai ie veration8, or able to work only in very light foils. For an exami- nation of moft, I refer the reader to Mr. Randal's defcription of his feed furrow-plough, where he criticifes them very jtiftly. His own, ingenious as the invention is, is ftrong enough only for light foils, but falls in pieces in 5*1. ' Z heavy 170 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IH. heavy ones, and in the very moving Irom field to field. The principle it is built upon is good, and will admit of an accurate regularity, but the parts are all too weak, and ibme too complex : no man can be more able to remedy thofe defeats, and improve the machine to perfedion in the courfe of a few trials, but thofe trials fhould nut be left by the public a ^ matter of private expcnce; with due encouragement, this gentleman would produce an admirable drill-plough, and is as likely to make great - improvements in the whole circle of rural-mechanics as any man what- ever. , As to horfe-hoes, various excellent ones are already known, which, with the common Suffolk foot-ploughs, and the fame couutry double- . breaded plough, are fufficient for all ufes. There are few inftruments of hufbandry more various in different coun- ties than the harrow ; as far as common ufe extends, th'^y anfwer their purpofe tolerably. The bell I have feen is that with bent reeth, and with, handles like a double-breafted plough; all have, however, a material*" defeat; if the !and be not plowed exceedingly fine, feveral harrowings axe neceffary, which knead and harden the earth by fo much treading of' the draught cattle, inftead of leaving it loofe and fine. The great thing, wanted is an harrow which will, with once going over the land, reduce all the clods on the furface to powder, and ftir the ground enough at tha fame time to cover any feed : fome extraordinary allowance of ftrength may well be allowed for fuch a machine, as the cattle might tread in different trads, and the teeth ftir up their footings, ami leave the furface- fine and level. Such an harrow might polTibly be framed upon the prin- ciple of horizontal wheels, grinding tlie clods turned up by perpendicu- lar teeth. A draining-plough is an implement of very great confequence, and' »A hicli has been an objed of attention above a century, but never any bid. fair for real utility, until the Society for the encouragement of arts, &c.- offercd a premium for one, for which the above-mentioned Mr. Randal was a candidate. What plough^ however, was found belt, or whether any wa« approved, is yet a fecret to the country in general as much a^ if no Society exifted. There is but little difference between no premiums or unpublified effe^s of premiums. Several forts of draining ploughs are much wanted. One to cut furrov/s acrofs ploughed fields, which fhould throw the moulds all out on one fide. \ ' One /■■ SisCT. V. AGRICULTURE. 171 One to cut drains in grafs-lands, which fhould throw the moulds out half on one fide, and half on the other. And one to cut, what are in the country called land-ditches, but more properly hollow-drains. For inftance, a drain thirty inches deep, eigli- * teen wide at top, and three at bottom, I fhould apprehend it might be done at one operation, but certainly at two j the moulds to be all cii one fide. As to machines which are totally unknown, and have not yet been objed? of any public attention, there might be feveral which would be of incomparable ufe ; thofe which have occurred to me are the following : A plough for cutting ditches and forming the moulds into a bank on one fide. I doubt it would require a ftrength too great to perform this at once, or even twice going ; but if the work was neatly done at three or four times, the benefit refulting from it would be prodigious. If a ditch-plough was invented, It would be very eafy to proportion it' to the cutting canals and navigable rivers, by means of feveral working one after another. A machine for thraChing of corn: a very flight attention to the me- thod of working with hand-flails, is fuflicient to convince one, that a more compendious manner of executing it might be invented : a range of flails on one fide the thrafhing floor, to be worked by machinery behind them, kept in motion by a horfe as in a mill, with fpace enough in front for men to move about, and lay the corn under the flails with forks, and when thrafhed clean, to turn out the flraW, would be neceflfary, and might in the building of all new barns be very eafily provided *. A machine for digging earth, &c. and throwing it into carts. Such an one fhould reft on four fmall wheels, for the convenience of moving; the fall of a beam, in the manner of thofe in oil-mills, might be ufed to flrike a very large fpade into the earth ; tlie firft motion to cut the fhape of the piece to be raif'ed ; the fecond, to fix the fpade to it ; the third, to raife it a little above the cart; and the fourth, to ftrike it in: all might be performed in a minute; and four or five repetitions load a common cart: a faving, which would be immenfe in the marling, claying, or othcrwifo manuring of large trads of land. * Since this was written, an admirable one, on a difFcicnt coni^ruSion, has been in« %2 ' -* ■.'»*i-fap>»"^nP».-'Mi -1 t.^ >>^yww,i -rr '¥ r'>ff f% tJ'' f f't'9 T'.ih' :.ilwiUv^ .. ic. 'U,%^^ ; d J ' *jt^ ji S- A [ 173 ] • •■] ^***^., E S S A Y IV. Of the prefent State of M A N U F A C T U R E S in the BRITISH DOMINIONS. ■ ft- • _^ IT would be intirely ufelefs in an effay of this nature to enquire into "the origin of manufadlur.s, or examine what are abfolutely neceffary to mankind, or whelhrr any are neceffary to a ftate of natt^re;; fiich difquifitions bdong to other d^figoe. I take it for granted, that many are neceffaries of life, and many more neceflaries of flate. To determine which are the moft important in both thefe refpedls ; to examine how far they ought to be extended ; and to endeavour to point out the means of attain- '*ing perfedion in them, are fubjefbs of real eonfequence, and fuch as merit .tafioitdy more able pens than mine todifcui^. , ^ la lb free a country as this, there miift of courfc be vaft numbers of political trads publifhed in a courfe of time; ekher profefTedly upcm the fubjed of manutadures in general, or which touch upon fome parts of them in particular. I have read a great number of fucb works, and made extrads from them of fuch paiTages as yield the moff information. To combine into one view all fuch pieces of inteUigenGc; to remark their extent, and add a few obfervations upon their prefent ftate and future improvements, is the purport of this {ketch. Where a barrcnnefs of materials occaiion voids, I hope it will not be expeded that I ihould make ttictti gcod out of my imagination. . t > I. I fliall confider manufadures under the feveral heads of I. Thofefrom our ouunprodu^s. II. Thofe from foreign product, • '- '^ i III. FopulatioH, IV. Companfon hetivecn tbofe of Britain and of other countries^ ■ V. Means •f promoting tk^m. : . I am m POtlTICAL ESSAYS. E88AV IV. I am fenfible the fubje*^: niight be more divided ; but the quantity of 4ny materials, which is by no means equal to what I could wi(h them» renders it neceflary to be more circumfcribed than if I was poflefled of a greater plenty. The fubjedt is likewife much interwoven with the articles colonies and commerce f which muft not be anticipatedi as.it is impofiible to connect all three under one head. f K SEC T. L ManufaSiures wrought from our own Frodti^s, TH E confumption of ms nufa£lures in thefe kingdoms is of an infi- nite amount ; if we tai e a view of all the neceflaries of life, food excepted, we fliall find that inanufadtures form a vaft proportion of them. What a prodigious number of blackfmiths, carpenters, wheelwrights, mafons, glaziers, bakers, brewers, &c. &c. that fupply the real neceffa- ries of life ! In common converfation, thefe artificers, &c. are not included under the exprelTion of nianufadurers, but that is a mere inaccuracy, 'for they are as much fo as the coftly eflablifhment of the Gobelins itfelf : they are found fo extremely neceffary to every movement in common life, .ajid fo fcattered about the kingdom, that we naturally call them by a dif- ferent name from fuch as work for foreign exportation, and are eftablifhed in a particular fpot or town. If to thefe we add the workers up of our Tniment,aridthefurnifher6of ourhoufes, what a vaft number of manufac- turers are required for the confumption of a fmgle man of fortune. ^ Our manufaftures from our own produds compofe a great part of our inland trade, and by the univerfality and perfedtion to which they are arrived, fave the nation much money, which ufcd in former times to be fent to foreign countries for what we now have at home. This was once the cafe even xvith woollen cloth itfelf, that raanufadure which fhould take the lead in all fuch catalogues as thefe. ■^ ^vut I fy^ Wool. ^XS-; ^c^^Wt In refped to the number of fheep, and quantity and value of theif wool, they muft vary confiderably in long terras of years. It might, for infiance, be fomewhat different twenty or thirty vcars ago from what it is at prefent, but whether incrcafed or decreafed, it would be difficult to determine J / 7 Sect. t. MANl^FACTUREa ns dek^minc; many reafbas might' be advaQce4, pri.ib^ijlih. fides , O^'.tt^e queftion. Salmon reckons the fleeces annually ^ fhorii in £ngland( at 12,000,000/.* Another calculates the wool ihorn and pulled in Great Britain and Ireland at 596,160 packs f* Another fuppof^s England to yield 500,000 packs, and Ireland 300,000, each pack 349 ib. % A fourth writer § makes it much more confiderable, as appears by the foHowing pafTage. — — " It appears by the toll-books, that there are brought into Smithfield market for flaughter, to ferve London within the bills of morta- lity, 36,000 Aieep and Iambs weekly. Now, allow 6000 of thefe through- out the feafons to be lambs, and that there are 30,000 fheep flaughtered one week withJmother, then the reft of England is generally computed to contain about feven times as many inhabitants as London within the bills: but fuppofing it contains only fix times as many, and that accord- iiigly, there are 210,000 iheep flaughtered in England weekly; and like-f- wife, that four years iheep are k«pt for ftock> or that there are always in being four times more than are thus flaughtered, as is ufual with flieep- mailers to compute, and allowing ev€ry iheep, one with another, to bear four pounds of wool, and every pack to weigh 240 lb. then the , yearly; WQoL of England, according to this computation only, amounts to\ '^f Packs. . . ' 728,000' Now, in the country throughout England, people feed as much on fleih as in town, and drinking lefs, they generally exceed them in the quantity they eat. . , , . , Then, as Scotland is of Ibfs extent, and lefs fruitful than >'^ England; admit there are but one quarter-part of the iheep in it, ' it amounts to Then, as Ireland is not one-fourth part lefs than England, but is full a» fertile, and taken up chiefly with feeding, it hath been judged by fome, who have taken great pains thoroughly to inform thenifelve», that it hath near as many iheep ih it as there are in England,- but fuppofe we fay only half the. quantity that England produces, or 182,000:^ 364icoo"> Total, packs, 1,274,000 In this calculation is not included the wool of iheep continually flaugh-- tcred, called vcU-wool, nor the wool of lambs.*' * Geographical Grammar^ p. 237; »757. .Ui. k.L :iV^ ii iri iiiliP^iHO^ + Propofah humbly vjj^tred to confideration of Parliament, p. 3.— 1737. X Trowers Plan ft*' preventing the clandejiint running ofwoQl^ p, 3. ■■ >IJ^^ \ London on tht wtol trade ^ ^. If ,—— I Ti<)t 1 a v,^wi--VA,V v» tL-fiv^K J- •I 176 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IV, '1 l^he Ta me author reckons, that all the wool and labtrar of England) tliat is confumed at home and fent abroad, amounts to 14*000,000 7. ,1 Davenant reckons the value of the unmanufactured wool of England at 2,000,000 /. and when niannfaCtured, at 8,000,000 /. Buiching lumps the revenue of wool at one-fifth of the whole land of England*. D*angucil fays, 44,000 acres of falt-marfhes in Romney maintains 1 32,000 fheep, and that 600,000 are kept in Dorietfhire in a circle oiF twelve miles f. Thefe authoiritie* are but dulhotM, however, we may fuppofe them to be near the truth, the medium of feveral opinions nearefl. Salmon makes the ffeeces ctf England 1 2,000,000 ; and if we proportion Scotland and Ireland in the (Ime manner as London did, it will be a fourth (3,000^000) for Scodkxnd ; and a half (6,000,000) for Ireland ; the total will be 21,000,000 of fleeces; and fuppoling each to weigh 3 M. (Salmon, reckoning them at 2 j. 6 d. each, copied, I apprehend, from better autho-*' rity) and the pack 240 M. the whole will amount to The next writer calculates the quantity at ■ ■ Trowel fuppofcs 800,000 in England and Ireland, io which I ihall add 125,000 for Scotland (a fourth) — -- London's account is ■ — .-. ■- Davenant reckons the wool of England worth 2 .000,0 -^c/. the price was then 5/. per pack, therefore the number of packs 400,r y), and with a fourth for Scotluiid, and an hsi f for Ir. mi 'He total is As to Bufchin 's '.;■ nothing is to be made c^'it. Packs. 262,500 596,160 925,000 1,374,000 700,000 The medium «^- .iiefe i /eral quantities is 751,532 packs; and it is obfervable, that the modiuni comes nearer to Davenant than any of the others, a prefumption in its favour, as he is undoubtedly an author of good credit. -The value of wool is at prefent 7/. per pack; this total amounts therefore to 54360,724 /. >n fi ftbhfifmrnTKuIr rtl From hence we find, that the mere produiSl of wool u^manufadlured amounts to a very confiderable fum. »u» • Sy/lm rfGntgraplyy, '.'%' -'-vn? t Aoant et DefervanU p. 1 1 1. - ;'**V-'" ■"•^,^11 .77 Chambers tells us, but without mentioning his afuthority, that a pack of fliort wool employs fixty-thrcc pcii'ons a week to manufadure it.iuto cloth; vi/. three men to fort, dry, mix, and make it ready for the ftock- carder; five to Tcribblc or Aock-card it; thirty-five women and girls to card and fpin it ; eight men to weave it ; four men and boys to fpoole it and reed quills; eight men and boys to fcoiir, burl, mill, or full it; row, (heer, pack, and prefs it. A pack of huge, long, combing wool, made into fluffs, fergcs, fagathiest &c. for the Spanifh trade, will employ for one week two hundred and two perfons, whofe wages anr nt to 43 /. 10 s. —Thus, feven combers, 3 /. 10/. — Dyers, 5 /. — O drcd and fifty fpinners, 18/. — Twenty throwers and doublers, twenty-five weavers and attendants, 13/. A pack of wool made ^.ings will employ for one week one hundred and cighiy-four peuon^, who will earn 56 /.—Thus, ten combers, 5 1. 5 s. — The dyer, i /. 16 s, — One hun- dred and two fpinners, i^ /. i%s. — Doublers and throwers, 4/. 105.— Sixty flocking weavers, 30 /. *. Another writer gives a different inflance, but not fo fatisfadory an one. ** Three packs of wool weighing, 720/^. manufadured into broad- cloths, camblets, ferges, hofe, &:c. on a moderate computation, one fort - with another, employ four hundred and fifty perfons, (I might fay a great many more, almofl fix hundred, but I am willing to keep within bounds) fuch as combers, fcribbiers, flock-carders, fpinners, weavers, ful- lers, burlers, dyers, dreffers, and preflTers, who, upon an average, will earn, each perfon, 5 j. a week, the whole amounting to iis/. lox. or 3 J. 4 bbin winder Builers of cloth Bavmaker .itui-uij-sn-.* I'rand-lipper* , • •! ». A a Calender Cloth-lhearcrs Camblct-makcrs Crape- maker h"JiV, •-i»4.^'.J; .».v*- Cullgttr IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) €v 4l^° V. ^ 1.0 1.1 1.25 l^|2£ 125 U£ Ki2 i2.2 u IIP u 1^ -1^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRiET WEBSTER, N.Y. MSSO (716) 872-4503 "%*• ^ ^ .*!« 17^ J^OLITICAL ESSAYS. EsSay Pl^. Befpiie vre attempt from thefe minutes to deterthine the amoutit of the labdur beillowed on our wool, Tome Account inuft be taken of the quantity exported unwrought, or rather runned, as it is totally cohtrary to la%; for it ivould be reckoning falfely to calculate tht whole produd as inanu-^ fadured at home. Cullgerr Con-drawer Clothier Carder and fpinner Doubler Dyer Duroy and fagathy maker Du^el maker Damaflc of Kittrmiiifttor, &c. Snterer of chaines, lie. Farmer, or turnip'grower for fliecp Fuller or tucker Fehmonger Finiflier of hats larmier to raife wooldtf Fa£kor of yarn, 9Cc. Farmer to raife feaflels Fariber to breed fheep Garter-maker 'by hand Glazier parter-maker by engitio Hat-maker Hat-dyer Handle- maker with teaflells Hatband and loopmaker Engine-maker Imbofler of cloth, tee. Knitters of Hockings I;andlorda or fetter of lands - Merchants Mafter wool-comber Mi\M es^s ind hofe-maker Mafter-fhips Mop-maker Mariners or failors Motinter lof draught-looms Mixer of wool Pickers of wool Pickers of pieces of calimancoes Jrefler ackers Pattern reader for draught-work Quill-windcr Quiltcr of petticoats, &c. 1 4k RantttlT'lMikiir I^owers pf doth Shepherd Slveep-«ra(her and Iheerer Sorter of wool Spinner of worfted or gerfev Scourer of ftuflla, tamies, &:c. Scribler Sbizer of (ihainea SeamferOfhofe Say-maker Shalloon maker Serge-maker mixt Shroud-maiker Sigg or ^ifs-gatherer for dyer»i A^ifter-thityWftlMs Tender of throwfter-mill Turner of (hroWfter-tnill Tainterer or fetter Tamey-maker Turnip-hewerro feed {twep^^ Tapeftry-maker Undertakers Of burials Weavtr of >lu(h Wool-winder Warperdfchairies Weaver of ftrge, ihaHooh, 'ita. Weaver of broad-cloath Weaver of cal fmancoes', tic. Weaver of wadding WekVet of iiig^ Weav«r of covevlidi Weaver of crape Weaver of drau^htdamafk, tic. Woollim draper WoolJUapler Wool-jobbers Weavers of linfeys ftrtp'd, kc. Wafte or thrumb dealers Waterer of cheyneys, tec. Weaver of carpets Yarn or woriled-maker Yarn or worfted-dealers Yarn-fa£lors. "^■M''*~^-' Befidcs thefe, he gives a yet longer lift of trades, mere or Ufit employed by iheep. As S^dT. h MANUFACTU RES. W^ As tb the quantity run, or owled abroad, as fome call it, opinions are various; one fuppofes the quantity from Ireland alone to be 96,000 packs yearly *. ■ Another author f, who feems to be yeiy well informed,' viewed many woollen manufadlories abroad, and gives the number of looms employed in feverkl places. " At Abbeville, looO employed in making paragons, befides many more in druggets, ferge, cloth-ferge, &C. all chiefly with Btitilh and Irifit wool. i At Amiens, feveral thonfatnds of looms, on filk^ arid i^orited ftnflfs, made with our wool, and their own mixed. At Mondidrie, a large mariufaififcory of (balloons and cloth ferge, chiefly on our wool. At St.- Omers, cloth, druggets, duroys> fagathies, (balloons, and flock'* ingS, 350 looms, betides a vaft number of ftocking-frames; fome of their goods all our wool, fome half and half. At Lifle, 1000 looms of camhlets alone, all of Englifh or trifh wool ; and a much greater number working on mixed wool. Many hundred looms, camblets, fattenets, pumelloes, &c. aUb 200 flocking frames; one half work all our wool, and half mixed. They can make no calimancoes nor camblets without half or two-thirds our wool. At Turcoin, many thoufand hands employed in Englifli and Irifli wool. At Roubalx, fine calimancoes, camblets, and other ftuflls, all of our wool. At Lannoy, and the whole neighbourhood around it, vafl numbers of various manufadures on our wool." From hence he proceeds with the fame tale to Amfterdam, mentioning a vaft number of looms, that work our wool alone, or a large proportion of it. A third writer fays, " according to a very moderate computation, the French have yearly 506,000 packs of our wool unmanufa^ured, and that one pack enables them to work up two of their own X" • Jn Enquiry hew far tbt decUmHgJhutt of the JVoolkn Manufaifurts dtts affiR tht EngKJk latidtd intert/lf p. i. t Obfervations on Britifli Wool, p. 20, &c. 173S. i CenfequenceS} &c. of Trade, p. 15. A a £ The x8o. i -, POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay ?V-: • fh(q^rft of thefe accounts tells us, that Ireland ruhs so,ooo packs. Novr, ^ ^.ccording to the formci' proportioni i" laha, and ko,ooo for Scotland ; in all, The third account* The medium) that will be 40,000 for Eng- — ^ — 70,000 pajcJcs. — 500,000 285,000 •;r I muft own the third account appears to me prodigious ; but the conH^i deraiion of the high price our wool bears abroad, makes one rather won** der that all is not run. At Abbeville it was 10^. per/^. andof afine long ftaple 10 ^d. when the author of the Obfervations on W^oo/ was there in 1739 ; who, by the bye, was fent by Sir Robert Walpole to enquire into the ftate of the foreign woollen manufadures'; confequently it is much dearer at prefent. If we therefore reflect on the account given by that well-informed writer, who fo fully explains the neceffiiy they are under to have our wool to work up their own with, we ihall not be.furprized at large aflertions of the quantity ; and 1 fhall venture to take the above mentioned medium of soyjooo packs. The total product. The export manufadured,. Mail'jfadured in Great Britain and Ireland. ' 75M3«- 285,000- 466i53i:-. The next enquiry is the value of the labour beftowed on thefe 466,532' packs. I have no method of gaining a knowledge of this pointy but by pro- ceeding as I have yet done, compare a diverlity of aflertions and opinions. Chambers tells us a pack of fhort wool employs (ixty-thrce perfbris a week, and one of long ditto two hundred and two a week, whofe wages amount 1043/. roj. The proportion of the firfl: is, five packs employ fix perfons a year; therefore 466,532 packs employ 559,838 : that of the fecond is nearly each pack four perfons a year ; confequently 466,532 packs 1,866,128 perfons; and fuppofing the quantity of each the fame,, the medium will be 1,212,983 perfons employed by wool, according to this account: And fuppofing all to earn on a medium the fame as the ao.;i perfons, the value of the whole labour will, fuppofing fucU perfons fujly- employed the whole year, amount to 13,582,028 /. The author of the Confequences of Trade fays, that 3 packs will main- tain 450 perfons a week, and their earnings be 112 /. 10 j. According to this account, the total number will be 1*345,765, and the amount of their labour 17,417,194/. Davenant Sect. L MANUFACTURES. ^V Davenant reckons the labour on wool in England, adds 6,ooo»ooo/. - to its valuei The proportion of a fourth for Scotland, and a fourth for Ireland (not a half, as hitherto calculated, becaufe a lefs proportion is- manufadured there than grown) will make this fum 9,000,000 /. London, above quoted, reckons the totiil wool and labour at 14,000,000 /; Chambers makes it — r — £. 13,582,038 The znthorof the Confequenceo/Tradey — 17,417,194 Payenant, — . — — —■ ■ 9,000,00a London, wool and labour^ 14,000,000/. If we dedud 5,360,000 /. the value of the wool, according to page 6B4, there will remain — -r— ?. .. r-— 9,740,000 The medium, — £. 12,434,805 I {hall here, for thcfakeof dearnefa, throw thefe feveral eftimates inta ongview. urbwth of wool in Great Britain and Irelandi — 75i>532 packs* Value of ditto at 7/. ■ jC* 5>26o,7q4 Exported umanufadured, — ■■ 285,000 packs.. Manufadured in Great Britain and Ireland, • 466,532 packs*. Value of the labour, — — ;C« 12,434,805 Value of ditto, and the raw material, — — i5»70o»539. le of the whole growtkand the labour, — ' 7*695,529 — I am fenfible that thefe conclufions are not all founded upon indubitable authority : I wifh an adual furvey of the kingdom prefented the world with fuch. Much important knowledge would refult from certainty. However, in default of what we could wifh, an attentive view of the beft in our power, thus coUeded, yields a more comprehenlive idea of this capital manufacture than is to be gained from the loofe and fcattered paf- fages which are met with in the feveral books and papers that have, been written on the fubjedt. From this view, the immenfe importance of manufadhiring all the pro- duct at home, appears in the clcareft light; for the amount of the lofs by fufFering 285,000 packs to be runned, is eafily difcovered by arith- metic. According to the proportion of that which is manufadured, the lofs is 7,596,090 /. an article of immepfe confequence to Britain ; for' it is a melancholy inftance to fee fuch numbers of unemployed poor, and feel fo heavily the weight of employing them, and at the fame time fuffer.- jSl POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IV* fufFer a raw commodity to be can:ie4 out of ihe country, which would give induftry and mainteaance to fu^h numbers of people. Such a fa^ wants |io painting to exhibit it in it» genuine deformity. But there is an attendant circumftance, the explanation of which will point out extenfive cdllateral eviU : for, as we loic the manufa^uring of fo much wool, others mud gain it ; and, unfortunately, the greateft fluire of it falls to the French, and th&reft to the Dutch and Netherlandera. It is true, the lofs itfelf is the great matter; but neverthelefs, it had muck better for the interefts of this country go all to the Dutch than tq our natural enemies. Not that the former are more deferving of it than the latter, but no acquiiitions can render them formidable to us; whereas the growth of the French manufifi£fcures, trade and navigation, is of undoubted confequence to us. The author of the Confequences of Trade afTertSt as a known iaSt, that the French work up two packs of their own wool to every one they have fromua, and which they could not work up without it. Indeed, in the Objervations on Britijh WooU it appears, that there are fome manufactures of ours intirely, and others which ufe half and half; but then fome add but a fmall quantity of it to thetr own. For which reafon I (hall fuppofe (and- by the beft accounts we have, it will be found no exaggeration) they are enabled by every pack of Britifh or Iriih wool to work up two of their own, which they otherwife would not be able to manufadlure at all into the finer forts of goods which they mofl want for the purpofes of trade. G)nfequently, that there is nothing improbable in this fuppofition, will appear by the following Hil of goods which foreigners cannot make without mixing fome of our wool with iheir own. The following are made of combing-wool: Says Borfleys Shalloons Spanifh crapes Burying crapes Tameys Prunellos Sattenets Harrateena. Cheneys Serges Sagathies iUi' Duroys Durants Ranters Buntings Boulting clothes Swathing lands Serge denim Camblets Camblettees Calimancoe plain Calimancoe flowered Damafks RufTets StCT.t MANUFACTURES. ^!4r Ruffeto Cadis Oui Evcrlafting^^ Gartering . uu . Cantiloons Quality binding , Worfted plufh Stockings Quarter diamond Bndfeye and diamond: Gaps ■■' Gloves Grograa Breeches knit> Paragon With many other forts of plain and figured fluffs. The following of combing-wool and cardihg-wool,. mixed together :: Bays Druggets corded , Broad rafh Flannel Cloth ferge Swan fkin German ibrge- Quinco bays or wading iiong ells Perpetuanas, Druggets plain The following of long-wool and filk-mohair and cotton, mixed i. Norwich crapes Caps and gloves Silk druggets Venetian poplins Hair plufh Alapeens Hair camblet Anterines Stockings Silk fattenets . Spanifh poplins Bombafmes, With divers forts of figuredr clouded} fpotted, plain, and flriped flufFs. . Having fliewn what a great number of different forts of fluffs are made of combing-wool, I would jufl obferve, that the foreigners cannot make any of thefe forts of goods with their own wool fit for a foreign Maiiiet ; but when mixed with the wool of Great Britain and Ireland, . then they are enabled to do it : and that is the reafon the foreigners covet «rar combing-wool before the clothing or flxort wool, which makes the lofs to us the greater. Since then Providence hath furnifhed us with fuch an ineflimable advantage, by virtue of our wool, above every nation . in Europe, it neceffarily follows, that our woollen goods mull be the mofl valuable and the mofl in vogue of all others; and confequently, that few foreign markets can, or will be without our fluffs, flockings, ,&c. and therefore muft be fupplied by our merchants, i/ive nuerefo kind to •urfelves to keep our wool at home\ and confequently thofe markets will i< beo ^u POLITICAL ESSAYS. Ess^Y IV. be ei.grofled by us; which will caufe a conflant demand for our wool- len manuladlures *. Nor can a greater proof be wanting of the necef- fity thty are under to have our wool, than the high price they give for it. To the clandeftine procuring it they owe the prodigious advance of their Spanifh and Levant trades; for without the goods which they work up by means of it, they could fupply neither of thofe markets. And it fhould be remembered, that thefe are the two branches of our commerce, the lofs of which our merchants have, for a long feries of years, moft complained of. Thus, to the infinite detriment of our trade, foreign nations, and the French particularly, by means of receiving from Great Britain and Ire- land 285,000 packs of wool, are enabled to form a manufadure of 855,000 packs, which is two of their own to one of ours : And calcu- lating the value of fuch a manufacture by the fame proportions above laid down for the Britifti ones, the ftate of fo much of their woollen manu- facture as depends upon our wool, will be difcovered ; and is as follows : Total packs, ' — ■ Imported from us, packs, — — ^ Of their own, packs, ■ — — Value of ditto, at 6/. — — — • the imported* at 10/. — — Total value, — — — Value of the laboiu* beftowed on the whole. Total value of their own wool, and the labour, 855,000 285,000 570,000 £. 3,420,000 $,850,000 6,270,000 30,724,675 24,144,675: If thefe totals are^ not fufficient to alarm every Britifh ftatefman, and open the eyes of the' moft blind, 1 know nothing that will. To fee that foreigners gain upwards of 24,000,000 /. annually, by means of fmuggled wool from us, is a very melancholy confideration. Yet this is not the extent of the evil; for all this fyftem of manufacture being founded intirely upon a runned commodity, the mifchief is, the returns are made in the fame manner ; fo that the 2,850,000 above mentioned is paid us in wines, brandy, cambrics, filks, toys, &c. &c. to the vaft detriment of the revenue, and the infinite prejudice of all our manufactures. Leather. This is beyond a doubt one of the moft important manufactures we have ; and yet, for want of preceding writers extending their inquiries, I cannot meet even with conjectures or calculations of any kind : under • Obfervations on Britifli Wool, p. 5. and 6. 6 fuch \^ ithf.t/-^ M AUGP ACTURESi ^S we 5,1 der Uch ftith ciituniftahett, k it tottlly bef ond my power ta prefent i lole^ rabUy compli^ yidt of okit leather mtaufiidOTyi It at tracy ooDJe£h]ret and opioioHM, unfupported by fads, vre hy no meana good autho- rity; but yet, the comparifon of fevoral, t^ affiftance of ibme fadt* leadt by degrees tof tns(h» or at leaft near it; and fuch ftiethodt arc the on!y ones privflite men have to afoertain the truth. Aliew caku* Yatiotit on the prefent ftfbjed will help one to form fome ideat of the great tonfequence and extent of thil Ma^niftarek • ^ 5Upp6iring tfiei-e ar^ ^,'006,6t}o of pMlplc in Oreat Britain and Ireland* and diat th^ee^fbufths of thtm -wtu le^ther^fhoest (which cannot be beyond tht reality)' tach pet^nr ttpiMi a/ medkiih, five ^air in a year, and the price, on a liiedKim, iix fliillingt a pair, (boots induded) this con- fumption amounts to .*— *- ' — — -. j^, io,i 25,000 Suppofe the cdnfutnptioh of leather, by co4chet»K;hain8v &x. i ooi^ooo By coteh, waggon, cai^i AtkA |4l(H^-4Kuniefs, 4nd iaddlet ahdhridltt, ''^--^' '. — -^ -^— ■ — i09iP99 fiy }eatl^er-bifeech<», (uppoiiifc 2000)000 of pair to be wore n anntiany at 10/. cm a^ average, -a— ■■ i<«ooo,oo<^ Total, 1 1,795,0109 Many may poffibly think thit calculation Qver'-rated.in fome pardcularSk and that may poffibly be the cafe, though I rather tliink not; but then, the numerout articles which are quite omitted, fuch as jackets, trunks, flanks, caps, cloakbags, binding of books, &c. &c. I am confident fupfjy fuch excefe, if any, and if none, would add confiderably to the above total. Each of thefe articles, and of many other more trilling ones, when th r POLITICAL ESSAYS. EttAY IV* dmnfeft to wh»cl> our own iron i« put,bt}ng, in a multitude of inftanoes* quite inmcttnixed witK the uiTc of foreign, and by many artificers worked up under the name of foreign iron, renders any gueUes evei^ quite raar dom thoughts. Our copper is lUcewife converted to, ao amazing number of ufes, and takes under die ipanufadiurers han^s a million of appear- ances; witnefs the fliare it has in the vail manufadlories of Shemeld, Burmingham* dec. where a multiplicity of utenfils, toys, &c. &c. are made of it, the workmanflnip of 'which amounts to many thoufand times the original value. Likewife the copper manufadories of Briftol, Clou- cefter, Swanfea, &c. wherein dbic ore is carried through the whole pro- cefs from the mine to its being .made into pips, and various other imple- ments. Indeed*' if the wh<]^e amount of the cpnfumption of Great Bri- tain and Ireland in thefe four: metals is confidered under the infinity of ihapes they take in the manufacturers hands, it will be found amazingly great. No family in the three kingdoms exifts without making a con- fumption of them, confiderablein comparifpn tp their general income. Not a kitchen is furnifiied witl^ut being filled, with thefe raetals ^ not a houfe built without a gi^eail)0(^nfum|>tioQ of them : In ihort, if we^ take a view of the whole circl« qc ^ome confuinption, food and doathing . alone excepted, we ihall find fcarce any thing but is either compofed ia.'. part of them, or made by means of them; and that from the cannon and.tlie balls of an hundred gun (hip, down to the pins in a woman's - drefs. If I might venture an Ojunibn^ I ihould hot hefitate to conceive all this amount hot far below the whole woollen manufadure ; ; But herein I may be miftaken ; it certainly is fuperior to that of leather^ which there is reafon to believe rifes in value, as above mentioned,, to neac. twelve millions fterling. r :ii . Indeed thefe metals have many peculiar circumftances attending them«; which contribute infinitely to their value : They are gained, not from the^ produd of the furface of the earth, (like leather and wool) which. mi^l< otherwife produce corn, but dug out of its bowels to the obftfu^on pf^ nothing, and inftead of which nothing could be obtamed In^-otherh words, the ore, as it lies in the bed, is abfolutc /pro^* The digging itr employs a confiderable number of men of the moft important kind, viz. bold and hardy to an extraordinary degree. And their capability of being \ worked into fuch an amazing number of the moft ufeful. implements for - the fervice of common life, and extraordinary neceffity, altogether reur der them fuch valuable objects, that a dependance on foreign nations for them would be a ftate of infecurity, as well as lofs by trade, in the pre&nt fituatton of human life, they are as much necefiaries of life as. bread and wool ; even bread itfelf cannot be gained without iron. I Thfe^ skT.ft ' Nf X K tr If A G T U R E a • 107 PlMM, ..ri 'to ^)uM ^j^,c 'vn)!'; t : - ,^e .iiviniifa<^Qfrf otf U^o it the $aple df both Ireland and Scotland* The fbUowing extnkd from a very itfgehl6W 'Writer *iinilnrefeht^ 'ferjr clear account of IrejS^d'a (hare of it. ' ** It is computed^ tlMt the yalue of linen made in Irelkiid yearly* amoulits to a million fteiifng; and that half thereof is yearly^iekportea, and that the remaining half ig confumed at home; reckoning y. a head for 2|Ooo»doo of peoj^le* one* with another, for all their confumptiop in linen. It ia alfi>, computed* that the follow- ing quantities of rou^h flax, worth 4di. per Ct. when fidly manufac- fund into linen, wilU at a medium of edarfe and fine, be worth the fol- lowing fums annexed to them, viz. one'Gt. of flax, when .manufadured into linen, will be worth i6/. a ton 320/. an hundred tons 32*000/. and 3*125 tons will yidd 1,000,006'/. ' '^ 1 It is alfo' eftimated, a good acre of flax will produee Z*4* 5* ^^^' ^* of flax ; and if we allow 4 Ct. or 32 ftone to be raifed ifom every acrei ode with another, iira good year, which is a reafonabk 'alk^ance ; od thia Al^pofition* the aford&id 3»iS5 tons of flax, which are, all that are atprelent.fuppofed to be made ufe oi in our linen manufiiifture, before eftimated to be of the value of a mil- lion fterling yearly^ nuqr be railed from ^S^i^ij acres only; and if we allow but 3 Ct. or 24 ftohe to be raifed froih eVery acre, one with another, which is a low comiputatbn, then it will re<}uire about 20^32 to raife the aforefud quantity, 3*125 tons. And as we import yearly 50* tons from foreign countries, we raife 2,606 at home on 13,000 acres. Thefe particulars will beft.appear if thrown into one view. • I » Acres of flax in Ireland, — ProduA, tons, ■ Imported, tons, ■ " ■ Total, quantity tons, — Value, — — — Value manufadured, — Ditto, foreign import deducted. Export, ' Home confumption, — — 15*000 2,600 500 3,100 £, 124,000 1*600,000 980,000 500,000 500,000 I ihould, however, remark, that by another f account, and which feems of very good authority, the ^x^/a/imi amounted in 1759 ^^ 14,093,43 1 yards, valued at a mecUum of i /. 4^. per yard £, 936,56a If the foimer f0i2^«»//ioit is added, — - — 500,000 The total manufadure will be *— — — — • Afr. Pritr of Dublin* +f ftj i^ — — — i,436»56» t Anitrjvti titiuiR\im% vol* ii> p* 417* Bbsi The im POLITICAL laSATS, Est4T IV. Tht £>IIowing table of Scodaadli miavhBbut will fet it in a Terr dear >9M99tof lip^ dof)^ &« (|l^> ^^ iiiSeotlpnd fifen Kpr.'y, t /a;^ »>»(«» »Wvi yW -U IHM >y' Ttar» IJH ^7n »7I4 r4 »7 If 173a 173^ 174« 174» 174* 1741 »744i *745^ 174ft »74r 174a 1749 »750 175^1 175* »755 i7ijr 175^ 31757 1758 1759 l/OO •#183,97$ 4iS«4>9» 4*2M»I«5> At8o4a9 r 4i^4(^¥ I 4«ifPJ^t|37 4i8i9}l9 n4f383 X3.l»36a H3f<»56 I77f460 «gPfj;7 it« ^8^,374 ^.759»943 o,4«2,593 8^i4,3<59 8,9»4.369 8,914^3'^ ^764,4oa 10,624,435 10,830,707 »i,747»7«9 Total -valtie, jf . 8,879,788 Befidea an immenfe quandty manufa^lored in private faniiliesi o^'?^J 187.^10 ^»5»9J7 »a9*3$4 a*4»«5* «22,87C^ 293,864 3«a,P45 , 3fi»»736 367,167 409407 445»3Mt 506,816 1 506,81611, 506^1611 401.511 424>X4i 451*390 f ftfilttbmiytis DOrimiaryj Art. Scotland, thuifac. \ An4trfia!f.J)f4t^tefi»fC«:fh^ mtruf vol. ii. p. 400. | Not having there jwars, I have Aippofed them th« fame as the f recediiig one. ^ Anitrfmy vol^ ij. £. i^f^. 415. 4^0. The; 5WT. I 5 M A» l^# ♦ P 7M*J^ if9? y»lu|0fF4i«Q, — r . — - C 558o» Valof, ^— r- •^* 450fOop ;it,' J^l^!^ ffo))C| |ind the bofdf va of Norfolk adjoining, they piatpe large quaQtitit a, but I ^\\evp the utc of it does not extend far, Scotch and liiOi linrni being infimtf^y mofe w9ro*'^The whpki- manufadlure of Iriflx linen, and the fale of Scotch, amounts to 1,886,5^2 L The totsd cf all cannot belefa therefore than a,5op,Qpo /« ,,■■ :- , ohfi.' ■ This ii beyood a)^ dp^bt t^e nobfeft manufacture in the wor)^, If wf CDnfider the ej^qylfue ^tility ai^d elegapce of the thing itfelf/^ tni^ meannefs of the materials from which it is made. Invention and ingf • nuity in' this manufacture raife a prodigious valuable commodity from the dregs of the ear.t]^. In refpeCt of value, glafs is created out of nothing. Labour, buildings, ar u tools, here confer all the value, which is the cafe with no other manufaiSture in the univerie.-r— .The CQnfuinption of Great Britain and Ireland is intirely fupplied by our own manufacturers, and no inconiiderable quantity exported ; but to determine the quantity apd amount is impoflible^ however it muft be to a very great value* In relpcCt of utility, and the low value of the raw material, paper fanks nearly with glafs. We formerly imported the whole confumption from France and Holland; chiefly from the former; but a better fpirit ariflng in the nation, this manufadore, like mod others> has made a glorious advance ; for the home confi^ption of thefe iflands- is i^t only fupplied by our pwn mills, (fmuggled goodfr in this and other cafes- cxcepted) but we export fbme to foreigners, and great quantities to our- American plantations. As to the amount of the manuifadurei^ I meefi wlt& ago TOLITiCAL ESSAYS. ElSAY IVk with no authorities to venture on any conje&ures. The importadon ftom France alone in 16631 amountt^ upwards of 10O1O06/. into EngM land, butthc whole coniumption mu4 have been more*' as Holland fupplted us with much; and at prelenc we probably confunw fix times as much, beiides the confumption of Scotland and Ireland* 1 cannot conceive the -whole to amount at prefeat to lefs than 1,000,000 A * Forceliain, Of late years this manufadure, in its various branches (of which thfre are a very great number) has made prodigious advances towards perfec- tion, and is carried on with fo much fpirit, particularly in Worcefter- fliire and Staffbrdfhire, that the value is very confiderable. The con-, fumption of thef kingdom is fupplied with them, the oriental only excepted; which is m£Bdent to prove, that the amount is immenfe. However, cbnjeChires in fuch a cafe would be too vague, for me to ven- ture on any particular fum for the total value of this manufadure. > Suppofe glafs, paper, and porcellain, to amount to 1,500,000 A Thefe.are the chief of our manufadures that are ivorked from our own. prpduce. There are many others, it is true ; but then they are either what are more properly csdled the works of common artizans, fuch as "^^hfelwrights, perukemakers, &c. or elfe too inconfiderable to merit a> particular article here. j! 1 SECT. II. Manufaflures nurougbt from foreign ProduSiu IT is certainly obvious enough to all, that this fpecies of manufa^res is by no means fo advantageous as thofe already mentioned ; for a very confiderable dedudion is to be made from the produd of thefe, on account of the materials purchafed from foreigners. Silk, Vaft fums were formerly paid to France for an infinite variety of wrought filks, which at prefent we make at home, fmuggled goods excepted, which indeed are very confiderable. As to determining the * The printing newi-papen alone in London, feveral yean ago, before there wefe fo many m at prefent, formed a trade of above 131,000 /. a year. See Lu Inttrtfti dt la F^anci Mai Eattndut, um» m. p* 29$* 1755* tf 4^>,. ;^w„ .);,Mv»ii ^.-^ u \. amount 9ect.il MANUFACTURES. 19! ampmtf of the prefent confumption, the only rule I have to go by is the quantity manuiaduredf formeHy imported) and that of the raw material at prefent. In 1663, the import of iilks from France alone amounted to near 600,000 /. a year to England. I ihall add a fourth for Scotland, and i, third for Ireland^ and the total will be — — ' jC' 95O1OOO To this we muft add the import from India, Holland, and fome from Italy, fuppofe thefe amounted to " 20^,000 At prefept there is fmuggled, according to . Sir Matthew Decker j|, 200,000/. in nlks, he fays, ** upon us;'* whe- ther he means England alone, I know not, but I will fup9 pofe Great Britain and Ireland, and that in 1663, as duties ''werie fo miich lower, that only a fourth part wasfmi^ Confumptidn in 1663,. 5«/}0O X,2p0»QQ0 Now, fuppofing we at prefent conAime twiee as much'as in 1663, no extravagant idea; for we are infinitely richer than we were then,, ana the number of thofe- who wear (ilk. I might fay trebled and quadrupled ■ within a century: however, to reckon it only double, our prefent ponr> fumption will be found to amount to 3,400*000/. . The next means of dilcovering our confumptioiji will be, by thie impor-* tation of the raw-commodity ;..but here I have few minutes to direct me: the medium ofmany accounts is a pretty certain rule to judge by^ , ''The quantity imported from Tiirke^r into the port of London ih 1780, . was 400,000/^. at H4.0Z, to the lb»*, which, at the rate of 80^. amounts to 400,000 /. But as this trade is much declined fince, I fhall fuppofe the value of the whole from China and Turkey to amount to:that fum. — — — £, 400,000 The Spanifh and Italian- importation, according to one ' : ^ — * 4,500,000 — ^ i/350>ooo — — 1,425,000 — — ' 400,000 writer f, is By another's account ^, — — The medium, — — Add the Turkey and Eaft India importation, I Caujis $/ DttEnt tf Fertigtf TraJt, latno. p. 107. 1531 * PeftUthwaytis DiStunaryy fitt.hz\hHr. t Tbeughutn thi Tims^ .iOt I7^5>: ifiiSiPoo m ^' i^OtlTlCAt feSSAYS. EsSATlV; -.TUl It the labour beuowcd oi| ^I^U coipiiii|oditV oh|y danxbles the Tdac, th6 amount then will be — — .i- — -. ' r-r'-'- i 3,65C',ooo ]^7 the firft account^ pr rather guefs, i , -^i^ — - 2,400,000 Medium, being the amount of 611^ own nUiiitXfa^ia^, •— 3)025,000 To which we may add» the importation of wrought filks, which, according to Poftlethwayte, is '; -i*- t,od6,d6o The total of our confumption and expdrtatibfVi " * -■ ■- 4,025,000 The manufa£bire of cotton is coniideraUe* not only in the amount of fiiofe goods Which are made of that alone, but more fo in the mixtures of it with wool* flax, &c. The manufadories in Lancafhire, Derby- fhire, and Chefhlre, ufe s ^vaft quantity of cotton; parti^ulnrly thofd which are employed in making fuftians. As to the amount of this manu- fa£tare, I find no ad^cKintft of k. ' t Tiie quantity erf" cotton anaiiadly imported (chiefly fitUi the Levant) for fehefe manufadures, and other tfes^ is aboQt 13,000 bags*, And amoiints in price to about 300,000/. As we are told f 5000 bags produced in Guardalnpe in 17^1, fold for J 13,702 /. at which profiortlon the whole will amdunt to the above meo'^ tionei fum. Manufaduredy it may amount perhaps to three times that valtie. Recapituldtio^. Amount of the woollen manufa^ure, — — ^. Leather, — "~~" — Flax and hemp, — — - ■ Glafs, psuper, and pdrcellain, — i- 3iik. '^^ — ^ Cotton, ' — — I apprehend the number employed by lead, tin, iron, &e. to be about 900,060; if diey earn, dne with HhtiiietXy o ip A a head» the amount will be — • — i^725»ooo 3»506,00O 1,500,000 3»o25»ooo 900,000 . 9,000,000 44*350*529 * >/» BtmmmitiM •ftht Ctmmtrcial Prineipbs tfthi latt HegtdatitHt 8vo. p. 37. 1762. t The Author of the Prtfint Stott, p. 148. rates it at muchlefs, only 90,000/.; but hit authority does by no means appear fo good, nttattig (czitt any (iatrtictrh^, and rating Ihe price fo low as 1 f . a pound, whereas it is oftetier double. t Confidering the nature of thefe manufactures, a inuch larger Turn muft be allowed to them than to any others, a itauch gtetitx proportion of grbirn pedpte beihg Employed in then. SECT. J cnmteofiWtdm^me'^1k^$im^^^^ tteit the eftablifhment of manufaaures'lia^, 'ihf this ref]^,' ih' miluiettc^ ; 6h ' the contrary, they, under certain circumftances, have a ftrong effe£t. Wfiitith^ fiSill'jpdWir ef i(^eultiii«, 1^1 ^f>HH^ «trfh:'b the uitneft, i8(fh^htlIieii'oitly>«^lat'ft)SglVt im^eild it If the f)dHti«(lrf^ift of lEi'c6Unt^^(£fitidt to tl» fa6ic ptAnti ^r, itt othe^wbfdif 1^ ffe puflrittg^ huibiii^i^ to'fHfe miiibill^tktit v^is! th« 'Ht^^ MMt{^ ^' tf(& r^iO^tiirew i BekH^A 6mrttiXlk}Miontiikt^im'pft!C^ fbr infhtncef^ \«^ \«ith(!>art»fidiig ufe df ta^ttsVhtcirrnjure^ either of them. c.jQ.rivt^t If tve iTuppdfe It rtAfildik of peii^fd emplG»y«d by a miAliJfkduir'd iatlTe prefent ftate of the political fyftem, that million of fubjellfts; ! and jthts amount of their earnings, are fo much profit to the ftate: Not becaufe irittriufa€ttlr<» €taiplfevt»«ht. tf the k^MurCv by a preceding management, had gradually turned that: rliiilion of mattu- fa£turers into cultivators of wafte land, no body can doubt a moment but they wooldbtj belter employed,! -and would' ihck-eafe iJheilif nufnbers iiffi- nitdy iflOBe than if they comWoed ffinnirfiadYers:! Their biifintfei^Jnouhi tetid ndtoffly to riialrtta^ffhig thtfmrclves'and'firmHi^Si but giving^ food to millioill of otherfi. Keverfethe m^ai, and Tappofe thi? million no longer t manufadurers, without the before-mentioned previous management of the l6g^natore, and then the imf)prt4hde of manufaaiure^ (taking ' things as they are) aj^ap^ at Oncej'for inftead of hiaintaining >themfelves, and! addiifg their labdorto^thd public ftock, they Would either ilarve or reniaia ; a ^lead weight upon the public. From hence it refults, that ^di part of the nation as are employpd In m^iiufadures, are profit^ibly employed, as they would not find a main- C c tenance Q^m" 'i mv^SSIfltirWrSi ■v^.; «9f POtIT4CAL ESSAYS •4 Essay HT* tfiotnee w«re pB|i9iMfa6hi»e» aai^Utcd^ As to the propriety of that fyf- tem of poUdci which is Uiei^uij^^^ u^^e^circumlun^ it has nothing to do here; I (hall hereafter /pesltc of mat, When I come to condder the general ftate of tiM^people. n ■ A^culture being a^ a fbmdf or improv- Tflg but ilowlyr A vaft alimber of tae lower people do not find employ- ncikt in it. This is the etiis with ^ndiole town^» and numerous vilkges> and even conliderable parts ol^ families, whoTe heads are hufbdndmen %^ for a farmer, though he employs a certain number of labourers, yet does not, and perhaps eannot do the fame by all their £uriiUes» who are able to work. What, in fiich a cafe, could thefe poor maintain them^lves by, did not manufadures come in to their affiftance ? t • In the preceding re£kion we have leen the value of our manufadures* let us now endeavour to aicertain the nujnber of people employed by them. This buiinefs was nearly done in the preceding fedion, in the inquiry into the value of the labour. It is difagreeable to mix fubjeds in this manner ; but as the number of people, in^ fome cafes, was ufed to difcover the value of the labour, and the labour in others to difcov^r .t|^e number, fuch a flight tautology is unavoidabljB.^, To begin widh wiool. , According to Chambers' account, quoted at page 180, the AumW employed in Great Biiuin and Ireland, in.tl^e manufaifture of wool, is 1,212,983. • Ill .'Uj Hie Author df the Confequences of Trade makes ttw number (fee page •i'fV Davenant fkys, the manufa^ure adds 9,000^000 to its value, (fee page iSx) which, calculated according to the price of labour l^for^ v^x^fffk^d^^ is equal in number to 808,655. •. , »t»fw^iiib9y,*i| - , ; To thefe I (hall add the following authorities, not quoted before. Mr. Anderfon * fays,'' our manufadure of wool employs 1,500,000 perlbns.*' The paifage feems to concern England alone; if we add therefore a fourth for Scotland, and the fame for Ireland, the number will be 2)250,000. '-1^ Sir Matthew Decker f fays, **lf Efiglifli wool was intirely kept at home, the maUufaduring of it muft en^ploy at lead one million of people; who maybe fuppofed to maintain at leafl another million of • Htftorical DeduUion efCommtret. i Caufes 0/ tbt Decline 0/ FtreigH Trade, 173^* p. 5^* helplefs ■ n} '1,-fJ Sect. til UA Wtf F-f^O^T '^ fit% iielplers infants, Sec,, alid Vh% Tan/rWo^ AU woul4 be J,5!p6,dp95( -^cdu^l^j^^ >a fbir S^il«l «i«i^C/&iin^ Chainbei-a* accoiiiiti^" n"'''l-i-iAJ"'>'"'S^---r-» 'yj^^ifmi^i i',9ia»983 The a^thbr^ 6f the Ohifiijuina^rtf TMti^ " ---p-wM^v -^ - 1 1,345*765 Tk^mi "'■• U-u.- ''■•!— ' .^.'•-^/^ .'>*-A-, •804,65/ MH^Ahaerf6n» ^ ^ -i^- ''-^— .--^-^ «,a5o.'X>d Sir M. Dtcker,-' > • -^^ ■— -^-^-^i- ^ «,i7i, 770 Thcniediurhf ' ^^i^^^J-t^i^^ 'l,557»834t • This nuiiib^r is very confiderablef and proves the great importance of the woollen manufa^re; but if \ire condder the quantity fmuggled abroad, we (hall find this number, great as it is, ought to be much greater. In tlie preceding fe£l!ion, the quantity appeared to \)t 385,000 packs; now, calculating thefe to employ the fame proportion in number as what we keep at hornet the lofs of employment will be' found to amount 10^95 1^644. And as foreigners, particularly the French* work up two packs of their own wool to every one they receive of ours, and in goods which they could not make at all without ours, fuch a manufac* ture, according to the proportions already laid down, will be found to employ 3^596,390 of their people } and all this by means of our fmug* gle$d^)^ool! .:■-)■/ ' Were all the lands of thefe iflands fully cultivated, and every perfon in them fully employed, this circumftance would not be £0 melancholy a one ; but while we have fo many millions of idle poor, it is really a very dreadful one. It is furcly a proof of exceeding wea^ politics, to fufFer fuch a confuming lofs for fo many years, as this nation has experienced this, perpetually to wafte it. The lofs of fo much employment, iii the cOurfe of an age, becomes that of as many people : For the lower claflfes of a Hate wafte or increafe in proportion to employment. There is not a demonftration in Euclid clearer than, increafe employment and you will increa/e the people. If a new manufadure was difcovered, which regU'» larly maintained a million, in ^ty yeari; a million of people would be as good as added to our numbers; for what was wanting in a real increafe would be made up in the difference between the number of the idle in the two periods* But of this more hereafter. "The next manufii^re is that of leather. In the laft fedion the amount of its value was conjedured; and conjedure is the only guide I : ■■■■.'.-,' t Poftleth^ayte Ciys, the Sjpanifli cloths alooe employ a million of people^ if fo, the t«Nrl^9i{t;:>i9aking,judedudionjipoa accounLo£ihat inf^iii^n^pOf fip^j^pj^ ^ntf ; TMs deduaiottjXthink, c^i^d jh»ll n?i^^ pljin,v g)yijog the reader; my awtJ^oriigF* ■ MMn \.m\ infj^aor- of. jth^ «uf-, to|Qi9, piij^^/he9, like Dayienant^ hisfioUtiQil arithaietijB>.we have, at Iqaf);,, the f^^fadHoii of knowing, thjitt^fj^'Hrittisr. M. re(4r PFflPrtt^ti^s o^ gainingi H^ knowledge. Biui; wjb#t aii joniazin^ liunitif r,pf ^jTeirti^ns 4;^ even, iij|(^jc^d; by the nation^ withpiu^ a^^pp^^ipl^ his, ^^t^o^itiyi ^}ay,., wliat a number are to be found even in the works of Davehant (j(i^f|^^ not concerning our imports and exports, that have no other authority^ than inere; calculation and conje^ure f , 'But, as I remarked bj^or^, whe^-e* authority is watiting, «re j;nu9 compare the opjnipns^iof pther^ and' adopt; the medium ; and where even; opinions are wa^^ng^ it isjthei^ time eaouglvto add to the number of, cpnje^lures jdrc;ady;iq| bejf^g. ^ A^ tp the iQanvfiidures of lead, tin, iron, and coppe^;,frpm,4he, very;:: great extientpf; them, I Gom:eived them to employ more peopli^ thap lea-^,' thj$r<> ;.|Supppre,,howeveri thev only e^y^al it, the numbex; will then ^ 892,509}, 4y> 900,000 people. , as tid-Ia^jvv 3^q-vK.j ■'. r.o Flak mtd Jhmp, ■ ■■■'- ■ i-'^ .^ii.'-i >lr. Prlf>r;.pfDvWIp, beCore quoted, fays, it is cpmputca that t^Q following quantities of rough flax, fuch- as W.^ have from Riga, worth 40 X. per Ct. will give employment for the whole year to the following nuiflbciii,^ ,p^fcn8»i o^i? wi^j anp^f r^ , incjnding fpwW^s,, hqcklfiiy, weavtfrij,-bkftch€i?«> ^c. viz, fOnci Q. o^;^^ mill, .employ fqr a ym Zj^ hands ; a ton will employ 40 hands ; ioo tons will employ 4000 han^s ; 1000 tons wiUeoiploy 401,000 handfeNofWi as. the whole quantity ufedin 1,^ I u .-t/ ,,■.-» .;<,iO^ wx'\;\--- -' Ireland''' HtiilH' y Stcr.'OI^ M AN UF A crURiESij 197 Irdaad amounts to 3125(008, it em|il0y8;'«6Dr6qu9ntIy^ I45>ooo hands; and 1395 tona in Sico|laiid> cmplpys s,(hSiso,i together, x 81, 250 people, , befides a confidcrablc part of the hptnie confumption. of Scotlai^d s^t mdqded. But I ihoyld reiu^rk, . thft ,Sk M^tthew^ Decker \ ia;ailighter calculation of this fort, in refpe^'to linen an4 iillc, reckons the Aumbec employed to maintain as many more ; in which cafe, the numbef ^epend^ ing on this manu£i£tory in thofe two kingdoms iS; 362,500 perfons.. What number (hould be added for crj^mbrics, (ail-cloth, £ngU,(h linens,. &%&c. I have no grounds to conje^ure, but they cannot lefs tha^ make: Ae number 18 1^2 j:o up 300,000. Glafs, paper,^ and. porcelain, though by no m^s eq^alto many of thcr preceding articles, are certainly of very confiderable confequence in the employment of the poor; fuppofe they aoipunt to. 1,500,000/. and the labour ^ of the fum; if the people earn 6/. per head, their num^- ber will be 225)000. But this is a^ mere conje^iure. As to filk. Sir Matthew Decker * computes, that the manu^durers of it earn, one with[ another, 6/. a head^ and the amount of the labour 4 of the va^ue: According to this cak«Uation> the number em-^ ployed by it is 375,000. But with refpe£t to the cotton, there is no conje^ring the number, becaufe it isfo mixed with other materials; but fuppofing the value of it manufadurcd to be three times the prime coil, and the manufacturers to earn, as in filk, 6 /. a head, the number will then be 190,000. J know not what othCf rule to, conjecture their amount by.. Recapitulatiom The woollen manufadure employs Leather, Lead, tin, iron, and copper, Elax and hemp, — Silk and cotton,. — — Paper, glafs, and porcelain,. ^^S$1»^U people^ 892,500 900,000 aoo,ooo- 225,000 4»«5o»3i4. If wededud about 192,500 from leather, 100,000 from iron, &c. and aftIV' the.hemp, the remainder, 3,757,^34, I fliould aifigu as Etigland's fliare-J^^ • CaufesofthePcolineof ToreignTrade, lamo, p. 107. ^ I muffc-' ip8 POLITICAL ASSAYS. Essay IV. I 'inK^'het^ bmxnuiOrenMg^^ ivliitt l hvrt mentioned often alnmdf, that rdb not pttdttMC'to 6fkt thek totals to the reader as accurate and tonclufiire; thofe"wh1ch are Korrtied from the opinions of others, or from &€t9 of aeknowledi^ probhhility, I gi^e as fiich, and where they.aie wantki|gV'liaveiilkllMctU«d OMij^ftuPe in^'theiv nooml 1 may probablyrbe miftaken ftR^ftn7|)0«MfSi but! can ibarcely think' fuchimiilakes to ari(b to any , h6wever, to the c6ii&j)Arii)ii^ with Btitain, let it be obfeH'ed, thiat they by no means equal us in any capital article: Ahd, as to the ^Hi'fcole amount, there is the gteateft realba to believe the advantage infinitely oh the fide of thefe kingdoms. '^^ The rame''obfervatioris are'a^]j)lifcabl6 to Germany j with this diffe-i^' reniiej that being tbiefly an inland country, her manufadures are tWdft*^ for hofhe confumption, irt a vaftly greater proportion than thofe of H6rl*^^ land; fo that whatever may be the amount of them, (of Which lam totally'^ ignoi'a'nt) fhey'are, and muft be, of the lefs coftftquericc ft) Britain. Tlifcl;* ndi'thd'hnktSonsare'yet poorer in niartufaaureis. '- . • . if. As to Italy, Spain, and Portugal, it is WtH known they are 'not What deferve' the tht^ of manufacturing countries. iPor although thty' poffefi^ '^ fdmc 'martufaTJ^Ures, and Italy in partifcjular a few for e^jportatiOn, yet the whbie' is of fuch trifling confequehce^, When coi'n'pared with th6fe of Bi-itaih, tliatno rivalflilp is to be apprt^didcfd from thcfm. >xsinti.. al- liance th^ remains the only country impientioned; and in refpeft tof"' her nianufadures, fome minutes may be found, which will afllft hr' •» • Sic VViUiafn TempU obferved in 1668, that they had then paOed the meridian of theti^^ trade. - * Iketching Sect. IV, MANUFACTURES. 201 (ketching their amount ; but calculation and conjedure muft, I fear, be called in to aflift, vrhere expK it authority is wanting. M. de Voltaire (aya, " In 1669, forty-four thoufand looms for weav- Ihg cloths were computed in the kingdom. The manufadlures of filk being brought to great perfe^ion, produced a commerce of more than jEifty millions of t^t time *'" or near 4,500,900 /. now. ' M. de BoulainTilIiers averts, that the confumption of gold and (liver in the mahufaiChires of laees, &c. amounted in 1754 to two millions f.. The fame author (aysi, " If the government was to take an account^ houfe by houfe, throughout the kingdom, they would not find a lefs fum perhaps than ten milliards of induftry X" This is exprefsly manufac-^ tures confumed at home ; for he is fumming up the prodigious quantity of cmamens entyrement inutiles. Soon after, he fays, ** If it was pomble to make an exa£t comparifon between the manufa^ures which England annually employs for her own ufe, with thofe which France applies in the fame manner, (I fpeak of national manufactures) we fhould find, in proportion to extent and population, that France confumed perhaps fix times as much. That is tp fay, in the fame proportion, if an hundred thoufand workmen ' werfc neceffary in that nation to fupply inferior demands, five hundred thoufand would be wanted for ours. Another writer fays, " Tlie manufafturers of Lyons fend abroad; more or lefs every year, as many different forts of workmanfhip in filk ias fell for fifteen millions : And Paris fupplies foreign countries in gold- fmiths work, jewellery, clocks, watches, gold, and filver lace embroidered, and a multitude of toys and trifles, to the amount of ten miUiona jaore§." Total, 1,093,750/. An Engllfh writer gives a detail of the export of French manufadures to England and Holland alone, when her commerce was at its height, amounting in the whole to 4,500,000/. || which now would be 7,693,000/, The proportion between the real value of French money now and ia *SitcltdeLouii'K\V.XQm.\\. p. 112. ' f Lti Intertis de la Franc* malentendus, torn. ii. p. 121. 1756. X Ibid. torn. iii. p. 229. or 437,750,000/. § Memoire du Marq. du Mirtbtau pour conaurlr ou prix^ p. 254. \.^n Jtiquky into the Revenue^ Credit^ end Commerce of France^ 8vo. p. 37, &c. 174:1* It is chiefly copied from Fortry, who had undoubted means of gitining intelligence. D d. . 1683^, aos POLITICAL ESSAYS. Em AY IV. 1683, being as 117 to 200, according to Voltaire, that is, IT7 millions, vfcre then as good as soo now. It appeared before that foreigners gained by Britifh wool alone above 34.0010,000/1 Suppofe the ihare of France -^ of this* it will bp 29^00,000/. The reader will doubtlefs fee the impoiTibility of calculating the exadt tmount of tFxendh manufa^ures from thefe paflages.; but they, ncverthe- lefs, «xe not withowt ^tr lUfe ; for fuch prodigious feparate articles muft* when joined, amount to an infinite film. I am fenfible they are declined iinoethe diktedf tfome of thefe articles, but then, the very fadt of their being once fo Aonfiderable in them, while vre know they have beeo gaining in others, is yet a matter of great confequence. That vaft expor- tation to England and HoUaod is igreaUy leflTened; but then, U),ey have one to Tthe Weft Indies, Spain, Portugal, and efpecially the Levant, whicb at that time did not exift: It is likewife fuppofed they have IqA fome millions of people, but yet, their numbers at prefeat are very conHder- able, amounting, by the loweft calculations, to 16 or J7,oc.Q,qQo; the home confumption of manufa^lures among whom, with a confiderable earportation, muft, altogether, amount to a prodigioi^ annual total, jauod forms a ffSifm of ;induftry highly to be dreaded ,by any rival nation. We may therefore venture to determine, that the French manufa£ture8» although we know not.theexa^ proportion of them to the Britifli ones, are of great importance in , the commerce of £urope: And if a conje^ure is 'allowed, I ihould apprehend them fuperior in, amount to our own; and mod certainly they are more to he dreaded by us thanthofe of all Eurojpe beiidos* We fliould confider, that the French fupply their own confumption iwith almoft all the neceffary manufadures. The amount of this, added to their exportation, muft form a fyftem of induftry of vaft extent: JFor fuppofrng they poflefs in proportion to Britain, fetting any fuperiority a£ our exportation againft their confumption, which M. de BoUlainyilliecs fays is fix times greater in proportion than ours, their manufa^ures will by that rule amount to a prodigious total. SECT. 8icr. T. MANUFACTURES* ao3 S E C T. V, Of the means of promoting the Brit,^^) Manufaciurtt, AS it appe?*« from the preceding review of our manufadhires, that they are undubitably of infmite importance to the benefit of thefe kingdom») in bringing vaft fums of money from foreigners, and giving employment to feveral millions of hands, who, were it not for them, would, according to our prefent fyftem of policy, flarve, or become a moft heavy weight npon the community, it is furely an. inquiry of very great confequence to attempt to difcover the beft methods of promoting and extending this fyflem of manufafbires ; fmce there is- great reafbn to apprehend their not advancing will fpeedily be followed By their declenfion. But indifcriminate and general encouragement is not that upon which the profperity of our manufadturing intereft depends. 1 have already confidered them under two heads ; thofe working upon our own pro- dudts. and thofe working upon foreign ones. It is very plain that the former are of the highelt value, and confequently no encouragement fhould be given to the latter, that can in any manner be of detriment to the others ; and if both are under an equal want of aflUlance, the firft fhould always hare it in preference to the lad. There are an hundred feafons for making this diftindlion ; but one or two will fet the propriety of it in a clear light. A very large dedudion is to be made from the pro- duct of thofe manufactures which are wrought from foreign materials on account of fuch materials. Thus, we pay abroad an immenfe fum for raw filk in hard money ; whereas if a million is received for woollen; gooiis, the whole is profit to the nation; no fuch deduftion being made from it. Secondly, A great precarioulnefs attends the former manufac- tures. If foreign princes or ftates refufe us the raw commodity, our manu- fadhirers ftarve ; if bloody wars in fuch countries prevent the produftion, we are in the fame melancholy lituation; if the production fails through natural caufes, it is the fame. Our manufacturers have often experienced bad crops of cotton in the Levant; — and wofub is the condition of many of our fabrics in fuch a cafe. Thus it appears, that many caufes may operate to the hazard and deftruClion of thofe of our manufactures which. are wrought from foreign products. And thefe reafons, as I before obferved, are fufficicnt to induce us to give the greateft encouragement to the other fpecies. D d a But ao4 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Es«AY IV* But thofe which are gained from nothing, if I may ufe the expreffion, fuch as glafs particularly, . and paper, &c. are fuperior in value to all ; which every one muft be fenfible of, who confiders the receipt of their produdion is abfolute profit. Suppofe all the wool of Britain fold abroad unmanufadured, and the hands at prefent employed on it turned to making glafs ; the general produdt (providing a market for the glafs was found) would be in6nitely greater than before. ——As far, therefore as a market can be procured, thefe manufactures are, of all dlhers, the moft profitable and important. Next come thofe which work up our own valuable products ; ^nd, laftly, thofe which depend on foreign ones. But whatever fliould be our policy in promoting our beft manufadures, none lliould be difcouraged. - All kinds of them thrive beft in company ; that is, in the fame country. It is an infinitely difficult matter to raife manufaQures at once, among a people who poflefs none; but it is an eafy matter to add new ones where there are an hundred old ones. The ipirit of induftry is eftablifhed, and a general ingenuity among vaft numbers of people. Is it not apparent, that a weaver of any kind would fooner be taught a new fpecies of weaving, which he never faw, than a labourer from the plough ? It is for this reafon that manufactures are fo very diffi- cult to fix among thofe who have not been accuftomed to them. To ima- gine that Colbert was the father of the French ont j, is a great miftake ; and M. de Voltaire's account of them by no means juft; for one would imagine from him that the minifter created the whole fyftem. It is true, he extended them infinitely, and was the creator of the exportation in French bottoms; but France fold to the value of five millions fterling before Colbert was heard of. As fingle manufa faAure in this kingdom, and thereby to rival cur enemies in this branch o^ trade, but noiije that I have heard of have fucceeded, except one of the worthy proprietors who eftablifhcd the i9anufa£tory at Penryn in Cornwall. This gen.leman, whofe uncommon diligence in fromoting the good of his country deferved a better fate, went himfelf into thofe parts of ranee where this branch of manufacture was carried on, and difcovered the principles on which it Is made, and afterwards eftabliflied at a great expence a manufaAure thereof at Penryn, where be made druggets equally light and fine with thofe of France, and could deliver them at the Lifbon markets for the fame price that the French do theirs ; and, if he had had a quick return, get a good profit for himfelf. But, reader ! exprefs thy fur- prize! when I tell thee, that this branch of manufacture, which would be attended with fuch national advantages, was intirely flopped, and the worthy introducer thereof almoft ruined, b^caufe he thought it his duty to vote againft the prefent reprefentatives of the bo> rough of Penryn at the laft general election. Thefe druggets are made in France of the beft of the Spanifh or Turkey wool, which is very well prepared, and fcribbled j and afterwards fpun into the finefl yarn that this wool can be fpun into. When placed in the loom, the chain and filing, or warp and woof, muft be of one quality, and be driven pretty clofe, as this cloth muft not be beat up clofer after it is wovej (thefe laft particulars arc what the generality of our manufatSturers have erred in) a yard of this cloth, which is half- ell wide, when finifhed, ibould not weigh above four ounces. The French fell their drug- gets at Lifbon from \ s.bd. to i s. lod, per yard," Propejitions for improving tht Menu- faifurtif i^t, of Grtat Britain, 8vo. p, 32. 1763. ««iB.7ei i * i i f by sbt' POLITICAL tSSAYS. Essay iV. mi^kfets, "U^re i^Miiity 'fe'na^fed' to 6Xt*ttd thdr ti^ffic' 'cVenf ^in 6Mt akcksi to tlife' gfkt^'incfeife poffibly bf tlibfe Whicft' might bfefbi-i? have been trifling. ' Fbt Mjind^;' d hoiifd 'at' Lifbdn ifras fajiplied by the BritifH ' irferchants ^ith iS^j^^Vi^Hiities of on&ente^ opened/ Which bMw-e might not e«ift; The Jfreticii Hierdhants tate the oppdrtunky of ftipj^ying the chief dcmanjd t6 recd^ttiend their oWn inanilfa6:ute8i which anfwer this fmaUer ar(icldS |i6 t'a1k»«'H£'*the Englifh j and as there is nrmch lefs trouble in ftw dekliqg^th^n iiltttattyi'thfe jPbrtligdfefeis induded once to dof6 withthb pMp(iuttoii; if* Hii' fPf (inch 'goods are' as cheip ias the Englifli, and very probAbly^ if 'tWey are a'ffnall matter deafer. Thus, the Britifh exporta- tion is deprived of feveral articles in confequence of the lofs of one mate*- rial 6n^ ;' arid this is generally the dafe in tr^ade throughout the world."-* rhive (ketdhed the means of prevetttih^'fuch evils, which might "very OTit J* b^ executed, and would tifc^ittfndcd^'vkttt' divers good confeqttifadiil; S^fi.'^'i *'•' '"'. -•Ttc;{ y. ;v:j 3.'v;';. .. - '. . ill ;.! lU "-^h6Aer' misfortune attending mattttfa£ttiler8 being left fo tnueh' ttt t^ferfyfelVes as tfhey aVe in Britain^ and which might readily be feihetiied 8y»fli6'Mfpeaor6 juft propofed, is the making goods of a biad Hndi-^*^^ and for the fai}«'6f ^great profits, deftroying the credit of the rt'ati6n''ih iiU commercial matters. It is true, we have many ftatutes to guard againft Ih^ "iilltiriy, but laws which do not execute themiJelves are much ^rfe thari hone. The condudof the French is wifer. " It would be tedious,** fiy^ a very lenfible and well-informed writer, ** to enumerate all the ordinaHi'.es and arrets of council which havepaffed'in France uponrthiis fubitfdt J thefe prefcribe an affize of meafurement and quality in the feVe- ral manufadttires of woollen and linen cloths^gotd and filv^brocadesi aia* modes, luftrings, leather, hats, papdr, tapeftry,'glaf8, andalVofhcr^kinds of ne(;effary implements and utenfils, made and wrought in each refpeCr tive province. And for the preventioh of frauds^ in putting a falfe glofe or colour, cir iifing bad materials in their compofition, marks and (lamps are fixed Up6h them ■ hy way of fandHoft-df their being made anfwerabte to the fliandaVdt'^* And it'is ordaihed by^feVeral awets of council, that all the manufadtures which do not anfwer the marks and ftamps fo refpecr tively put upon them, fliall be expofed upon a gibbet in the public market-place, with the name of the maker -wrote underneath, at full length; and upon a 'repetition of the ^Hjce deceit, the maker himfelf to hp chained to the gibbet for a certain number of hours, and ever after deprived of his freedom to work in the fame trade. It is by fuch punifh- -" - i I meats Sect.V. MANUFACTURES. S09 tl ments we (hould endeavour^ on our pat-t* to prerent the like frauds, which may deftroy the credit of any of our manufadures, that credity upon which the poflibility of their being fold at all^ doth intirely depend. It is a ftrangc negledl in policy, that in a national concern, any tradefman fhould be fufFered, with impunity, to facrifice the honour of his country, and create fuch diffidence and diftruil amongft foreigners, as to leflen our r general intercourfe of commerce, and bring a lofs and difgrace to the wholq kingdom *.'* One inftance of this deftrudion of natiotial credit I ^all add. The manufadure of guns for exportation to the coaft of AfricM^, &c. in the neighbourhood of Briftol, affords them exceeding chei^pj the . barrels, if I miftake not, for half a crown or three {hillings each, but by making them in a moft fcandaloufly dangerous manner, and totally unproved, they burft in the hands of the people who ufed them, and con- fequehtly to the deftrudion of our trade, as much as to the perfons of the purchafers. This (and fome other inftances of the fame ftamp) was what enabled the French to rival us fo fuccefsfuUy in the African trade, , and to beat us out of the North American Indian one. The manufadurert laid the blame upon the Briftol merchants, and ^(Terted, that they had more than once offered to prove every barrel for an additional 0x-pet>ce in the price, but were always refufed: And thus, between both, the trade itfelf was near loft, and in a manner which is very (hocking to think of. What a proof is this of the neceility of infpedlors of our manufactures, for the prevention of any fuch vile goods being fent abroad. III. There are many manufactures of fo exceedingly complicated a frame, that the price of labour, were it as low as poffible, would confume aknoft all the profits. In fuch, machines have been introduced, and are of infinite benefit ; the experience of which has extended them to a few other cafes, and in whatever works they are ufed, they infallibly lower the prices greatly of all the goods that are made by means of them. This is a fad fo well and univerfally known, that no perfon afligns the want of more to their not fully anfwering the ends expefted ; but in general to an opinion embraced by fome, that they fhould not be extended too far on account of depriving numbers of people of their employment. But as others have advanced arguments to the contrary, I ihall lay the flate of the controverfy before the reader, and afterwards endeavour to extrad the truth. Montefquieu fays, *^ Thofe machines which arc deftgned to abridge art are not always ufeful. If a piece of workmanfhip is of a moderate • Laws and PoUcy af England relating to Trade^ 4to, p. 39. am - . ■ E e 1764. price, 2 fo P d L'l T Fc kt ' is SAYS. Essay IV. pricfe,-i\jell as r^ cqlhilfy it^i^iiBili t'(i'tlfe bkkcf and to the biiyer, thofii maehihes Whichi^^lUrftefe^i^'Aknuiaao^^i^^ br id otlhtt wordfe, dinjiriiih thi'nliii^lierc^Worfcmeh, nhiuW be perni|Ciou8.-** r. r*J 'i'";ii ■ ■ . ■"'•'• I An6thef HktfWtfe'/ib^eiVes;-^ ' '' ■ ■' ' Nt?r can there be any tcalba^ V fdr'difcbUrdgirig ^oi^ dlftontibuing thefe ininute advahtafeeoiii l^botih^i till' '^' kibg^^ 'ik fiiuhd' ftt^on foiiie' other kdcoants) to ab^te^' in5rholb, d^i^S|ii^l?« tiimef than ufeful in ai well-peoplbd country^ except* ydti'tan 'havi"i[lii'e arid quick vent for what commodities you ti>us pro- • ^'MI'tfel*Boiili5aVill^ir6*'(SAttttf^^ into the debate; '"^A » malady," fays h^,''*'^^ expanded over our arts. 1 wo ild fpeak of ma*'^? ch^^ which tend to fimplify and diminifh the labour in our manure- tdrasi" *tli*e cabinets of our minifftfeife are every day filled wiih projefts; of'mac'hines ](>Voper for lelTening^ the riubibeif' of hands employed in aiir^' f^itcL 'Erimi hence it tefultSi tl^ati a multitude of artizans in Frdtibtf^ are become uftlefs, and mtift '6flfer their induftry to otiiers. IfdonblH^ fbeijtfe'Wty 'of l^riugfe 'ahd movements. AH the manufaftures of'tlie4 kiti^^^i^ViL' will Toon forip th^felves ; they will be in no want 6f artizfesi'/ Tfeeiim objed'bf mahitfadares is employment, or, which is thefatrte'' tHlhgi of giving fubfiftance to a great number of men. Wandering'"'' fronl thi^ i^%^e,'''i'i'co'ntra^^ inmttltiqnitfclf of artsy ilr i^ ^ di^iiiittifliin^ th^ ntimb^ bf nien ; for, every tinie ' that we place bounds.' r to fubfift'anpe,- v/e db tl^ fa«ne to population. So eftablilhcd is our pre- : judlbe, and fb genei'ally is it received, that we are come to confound' the produ|$lof induftry with the means of fubftance, which ought to create '^ inattft'ry; two things very different in their principle-jMd objeift. — ^Let'^ us fuppbfe a manufadlOry to employ ten ihdufand; citizens, and'oii the^"' other h'^rid' five hundred machines, which produce the fame amount of:'-! labour in the fame art. It is certain, that the firft gives a living to as *' much greater number of fubje£t6, and therefore completes a much more ' impbrtant obje^. *the ftiaihteria(hic/ of* tet^ thO:ufend artizam, whod'raw '• their l^dbfiftaWce^rHiiiV^^^^^ fcrnlfe in the fttiite.j* multitude • ' of other fmaller nianui^adures, 'fid^'tb fet the incorivehierice of this pre- r^ judice in the ftrongef light, we muft'begin by curing another. I fpeak '' to thofe who eftablifli it as a principle, tbqt wlien a machine diminifhea the artizans of one art, that thdfy diredUy apply therafelves to another.— • Since the tafte of mankind is fo very refined, and that one great luxury always fucceds another, the arts are become fo complicated, that a mar* . has JSfECT.V. M A N (J F A Cr U R E S. fill baji not tipic in thp courfe of his lif<; (pfii^i^er s^^PT? one. If hti\ti&9 ^l^at by; any accitjent, he can never h^ivejj^ny-lippiej pf VipDJaoiijg it: It it Was not fo, we (hoqld not find in cveij V;!ypl^|;jp|]j j^jjicV in an art, fo many idle men, and fo great a nunfW of ufdefs fucgeas!-— It is objeded, (and here lies the ftrength of their ^yftfip)j^^fmachines,/irt 4ii;iuqiihing the price of labo^r^ bring in |^|^efit;t/ifche8 to^'^q^ B|jt diey do not bring into their accoun)t the weci^rif^W /paM^r' fa xyl»ip^ thcfe riches are diftrlbuted ; they concern only aimallnA^ber ^^ lars, the proprietors of the machines. The^ cannot ^emondr^lie igednis-'', tricaliy, that a fum flittti millions, which circulatec ampngft fijftar'thou- fand manufaftuiers, is better for the ftatt^ than on^ of aa hundr«a which circulated ambngft a thouiknd*." ' m ?i\f'-'tMitH-u'^ Thefe are the chief writers 1 know that are ^^ainfl the intr ^ sxuipbines i let us now take ayiew df thofe tkai ^re J^r than. ^ ^^ > .. .rv^r^t--' • ' ;: '■ --'- '■"- '■'•'-•■ : ■•» -u-'v;! iorlv/ ;(i'>A!, M. D'Angueil rcttiarks,— ^^ Induftry and the genius of mankind |ii|^ . a fuccefllTe influence upon the ^^^P of rmanufa^res in diminimi9ff die laboiar in the number of hands emplo]jred. Such is the efFdSUof .wiaUtf ! and wipd-millst and other machines bt a precious invention, SiQi;4^Uj^^ I hfive already mentioned. Thofe for fawiiig planks, i^ whicU, ^uijidar ,* the infpeiftipn of^one man, by means of a fingle ax, he hiajy^ in a winmr' . hour^ cut ninety planks, each three toifes long. The loom^^fdr^ r^EiMifii^ ' with twenty or thirty Ihuttles, ufed at Manchefler and Glai^pwJ/ahd iii . Holland, .and doubtle^ known elfewhere, It is, howeverj <3)J^(ae(|,''"(li^t ' every machine which diminiihes the workmen half, at that inftant takes from half the means of fubfifling, at leall until a new employment is found for their induftry, either in fome work for which frefh hands are wanting, or at leaft by means of fuch good markets caufed, by the ma- chine as doubles the interior as well as exterior confumptipn. Such' induftry is not always ready ttjreplflice a man in employment ; noT isif probable that other manufafturcs {hoijldwant workmen, while fuch nisin^ bers of poor are a charge to the ftate; and cfpecially as thofe workmeny without employment, chufe rather' tb be maintained m a ftate of charity and idlenefs than in a manjV\fa|^V|re tp which they are ftrangers. Inr finci that conl'umption;has bo^Qd^,; .tu/j^p/ujppofingit even dpjubled, itdimi^ nifties again w%i^ ; ^fQ^dgners .)^a,Ve procured t'he fapie machines, from which time the inventor receives.np fucther benefit from his invention— .". * Lcs Interets de la France ni»l cntendus, tomJiii. p. >72-r— 278. A perfon who C(t clown, profeflcdiy to tranflate an author, is ttiek'^hibfe if he fails in any refpe^. I hope it is otherwife with a qu6tation : the fen(bof'a vTTitsr iiv thils cafi, though without his elegance, appears to me prefcr^Ue t^ an extraia foreigt^ Jftngvage.'^^* ^^j ihdf^^6 ^iUhdaflr under which commerce is emharrafled^ fpr } lacred in'ifl^^ "ihe meanid 6f Aibfilting buc%f a! labour burthenibp« to lib^fctyi^rrrbe^^re ^^^ lepgltii df'a^ii^kiticefhips^privcsaUttie teanqf^dures o^ j||),,uifv)jyt7 ''^fulitf^rt^efflA^ td thfiinj"*-^beoaufc tl^ejpriiiUpgjM i»nd i^o/iojv^s . '^^f* fbrtigiil ^biniiifctlce 'j[)reveni! an inoreafe of conUimption jrr-we ?nMft t^^- 'fore'reii6iin<^^'y ay^iijipg 'jhem^lVi^ of inachines, force us' t0' adopt their ufe to pcefervi: oq^ i^eig^s ^^xvfieHi ^)^ m'^t at' the ^me niirket; The iureft proEt is al^ay&ei^^d ^fWmiif^i!ialtion-wh6 is moft induArioiisjjIand^ allthings equal, ,^hd, pj^^n '^^m&mdu^h the- mod free will be the moft indui^rious. i ail9^^. '^AHit^eii' thkt the ufe of madhines ihould be gcadual, left a fi^^^i^ /pfe of them occai^on k fooigreat Tacaoiey in j employment : ilutt thif!i,p;Fu^f)ce is not particularly neceflary, except in a ftate of fuch difaavantages as '^'ftil^ whether from the difcowtn^meiKt^ m wven- ''^foiij^br th^' {Proximity ^ perfection, our induiiry ieemsitioi)ei,at.a point ^'/Hvfte gradations ttt to^i and violent changes the le^ tQ'b«/BM<^ f,t\V ^7 '*lM[t Bertrahd fiys, "It Teems there are certain ifpeculatora, 'vvhQ.^ppre- \^M danger ^r^m ibie introdu^lion of thofei;itiacllinesi<^kfch Ctl9fi^cn ' labb^.^' Btit if tliey fometimeis diftrefs the wcMdbta0niiitji8!jnev^r; ;f9^ a 'continuance. In a land of induftry, the more petiiple t^epyiA$ ; , ipftead; of '- ^KicH,' there ire rtibre thant'eVer; > BeHdes. theiprinters, coitipofitors, cbr- " ikidii/tif ' hocikMht'sy ' pa^t^mslkin-sii^ thcire ' ^e i &< tflaiDuiand .. times more '^'hi^thbr^ thiiii tllere Were- iik th^'ififteenthb cbntofyif j And) how many more workmen mi^h t Vit ha^ enlpk>yiB(icntj iff, like the ioduftfiious Chiqefe, 'Ve difcoveredth^^ admirable ifecr^t of qewhitening writtea-paper ? It is faid, that near Pekin there is a village intirely inhabited by workmen, who s;j{«i?> «t l"«';d <'•' iuti^: Lit Advantages i^ Difadvantagts, &Cr p. 29^^^- clean "SECtiV! 'U A^a FlA^OTlUBdl |S. tm -^^ 'A/KttftM*' wHtw iaour own lAiigU»gf^if«4#]|s«#!»(^y^»f|!^;^^ ufta-i-***" Sihce the price of a rti«aiif«^ui^ ^flpfii^f^jf(^^i|9^j.pjj;jyi^^iYiigcs .pai4i tthd the iiutobcr* employfed;in/makiflg,i^ ,^ o^^^}^t\y^^if^er 'i.^Kat*. fiiall be <{i»ployed. aboOtJ it,iUw^ir/w<^rj,|«jrt^ j^^jji^jffliagujf^^jjp ^^Nq^i in oi»der to coiaplctc a week .by ^>y r^j^^.i^gjfjfl^^g^jnMpJj^ '4f^ utcbri¥^J»Sy^r.j^fgjj4P^yJJ^Jfj,w^ inoncj id to be got by it, yc|t aialpttiUi&x^ i^ogii|ifig.«n4!5n^jQ^.p.J^^i^- ever they can make thehi arifwwj4tfai»«jp§^,rjvft4;jfe\5^ ' Uhb^t, Inftances of thia appcatf ^ia a/^irc9\irre c e0ilcerni4g the benefit of em|^yingi<^,pje^idie,. a j^fcomni^4a4^ ''^■%i 6fFered of that whidh rauft tc^eftroyitjje [()^fffity,qf f^ejiTj \^}ff^^A\l f'^t eari be alleged in|dnfTOer,ittSthisjJ8iiith«it)6^cejQtih^r fi^n^f^j^e f'iife^bf foch engines^ and areth^isby isirtWed t^fOjflFer t^^foE^¥i^ r'^^jl^ Ibw^ rate ; it is in vaint for ns to i perievere* iq, , toiifome, ^{i^jij^ds, tr^^R^H ^^liivrin lay us under an obligation .to demand Jargf^ PK^^^^^Qfrlpufi^f^ff^o- ^ dil^iia pro^tioQ tothe greater «Kjft in mafcingcjiegi.^'^j.^^J ^^^^j, ^^ -"; Ih Sir Jjimea Stewayt?a iriywr/vt I itndjlhe «it^;i§^l}yvi^9f^fl^ Jhe ' ifollowing cxira6k»A*riili^ve his fisniis of th^ fiatt^,nfTr3^V>A|nW9^c F^f^^^ -will al^dgethe labour of men, cannojt bei iintr<;>4u9€d ^//^^j^^^jfij^'^aa extenfive manufacture, without throwing many people into iidleiiefs. The introduction of inachines can, I think, in no other vvs^y fpr!0>^.jbLir^|JLil by ^ 'talking ptiople idle>^ thanibijr the fud let l^m be, ever i fo , ^^van^agpf^^^Sy, ■(muft be accompanied withf inconvenience*.'— ^ J, want to malf;^,* lappart. .' crofs a river, in order to efljabliih a.btidge, a inill, a. duic^ i^c. rof t^is- purpofe, I'mti^ tumoffvtb' water, tbat is, ftop th^,r^cpj, wpuj^, ij^ff? a good okgecaion againft ^mydroprofjement tQ,fay»i(^t3j;U(^.57^ter| /yjjo^ld^ oiverflow theineigfeibouring lands^i is^i(ilifioul^.i}^cj\i^^^jQ\mff^^fi^. ' dtot as not^td IbVe prepared ainewi iahaiinetifpFj^jut \ iJj^fJj^i^iiejJjlJMjjthe, - river j it i& tbe'bufmcis of the- f^te;i5Q, njgifce i^be ,peyrj fil\^pei,/aa it is the public^ which, is tp^ reap the bpnefi^i . pfi ^t^,.fli^q% rrrrri^rTTr ^4^^^ • Ejfiy/ur L'E/prit dt la LtgiJIathtif Bern. Mentt 1 765, torn, ii* p» 1I9.- k; )i;r) i2£.)i-. t Laws and Policy^ &c. p. ^iMp.? ,q ,>% ,i»^vk\Mft,i.\,vv,,^ ^Un5.w5«w;tV ui machine ti4 tOD I TTC'A L ESSAY S. EltAYlV. machirM,ptoye«' h«^|fi4l,1t 5^^^ be^,lBBtj|u(c it preicnt%.|hf).,i|^te with an addinpns^l min^D^^^^.^^ bred to labour; cbnfequently, lif thefe ^re afterwards^ found without breao* it muft proceed from a want of attti^tRSn m t)ie'(^fttefi^H^ for «h indubious niati made idle, may con- ftantly be emplnfi^d' tp a4yjaYtage) and with profit -fo him- who employs ^ ._ . . J r ^ - B^is of augmenting (virtus^ly) the number-of thii!li^duftriod8.wi^p^t the eSfp«9)f:al objedions which have been made againft themj in countries^ where ' tfi? hiimbers of the idle or trifling induflrious are' fo great, that every Expedient Vl^ich can afciridge labour is looked upon as a ftheme fbri ftarvin'g the poor. There is no folidity in this objection, 'ami if there were, we are hot at prefent in queft of plans for feeding the poor, but for accumulating the^ \j^ea)th, of a trading nation, by pnabliqg the iliduftrious to feed themlelves'at the expence of foreigners. -The introdudlioo' of- machines is found to reduce prices in a furprizing manner : And if they - have the effed of taking bread from hundreds, formerly employed in performing their ftmple operations, they have that alfo of giving bread to thoufands, by extending numberlefs br^nch^s of ingenuity, which witiiout fii (a d: I'll •b ■in I lit )'iJ SsaTiVj li M ANU I A*G T tJ:ri E S.* narroW'UttiitA. What dredyeatri Whoi faw-mills prom|)t8 manv to buiild ?. . Ati^ thU uA^ has, '^oo.^i)ute4,|!''<^tiy . to fncreafe, not diminUn, the ntiihber both oif iWitl^s iua^^^cktttijiitcxs, a4^, well as tofxtend navigation. 1 iliall only 'a4d9 iii faVbiirplflruch expsrf dientsi that expeWehte (hev^s the advahtag« gained by ctfxjaiA; ipAachjbe^f , is more than enoug'h to compenfate every inconvenience arin^^fr9|mcpn7f, foiidated profits and cxpeniive living ; tiidlhatthe firiflii^Ventf^rs. g^fq^i thereby a ftipcriarity which nothii^ but ^dbpting t^e fao^e ij^veotioQ 9)|0{, cowiterbWance *.'^ ; .^>^^., ■ . . ; -^,^,i,,:,,y • .Hr f,A^^^vf««ymAi Tlii!i4ub}c^iiiiduoedme ttigive theic opinions fuH playv that by fiioh aaoppo-*-!,,] ration of arguments iind aflertions the truth inightbe diigoycjtedv ^aa Wia^ears very clearljr tli me, tWdVfHh Wi^i /of msichinehf^W^r^M'^^^ the advantage of the argument Montefqiiieii's fUppofitiQil of tfie^.m^^^t rate!prico between buyer and icller defiroys the total effedbf ^is ;oni|:^|piK.' ,^ becaufc there is no fuch Ihing' as that moderate peicti the ijeidnaent'^nej^ ^'| mercant^ nation- offd*8 manufadhire^ cheaper tfiail another; it' Wil]^ o^nirv, ., m:ancl.the trader be the former price as. moderate as Wt ^Cj aoi^JUtVo^',' the rival workmen^ ' i.ji.h. , .,. -^j t,'^ il^Jl\u^ ■ ' >i < ' • . i-. •'••';*( ^iiit .m: — - . •, :,,.., I'Mh Hartef lilfcewifc condemns their ufe only in. cafe jbf^ not poir€«nrt^V a^j^rf and tik'w^'Otut for *tBi\,goods tbus' pnbdiioedy'.hxXt xY^ svitj: eixd: Qjn ' machines is' the ffcijtiifitiOn bf ftrch a quick vent;! nor can' a<>y, fale ^e f^pj-; Inre^as. that': whidh ;Mi founded upbn cheapnefs of price. If the machine does riot anfwer thefe |JtirJ)Ofes, it will fall of itfelf. -There are none ye^, invented and in ufe' but what immediately anfwered thofe points, and con-»*' tinued'with equal fuccefst until foreigbcil^ copied tliem,, There is reafoa from hence- to itnigiiiei that this very ihgenious writet p^je* * Ah Inquiry Ihie the Frit/ttpUs ef jP^ftfcalUtimmYf. 4to, vol. k p. 1 19, 1767. the- ■#'-Sr- 4ltr POjLIi'MCAL IS^SAYS. EaiAY IV. ik* twO'firft«ofither« it ; and, ai< to the iecond, his coa«|pwirQn ot the machine to a nativrali/a* tion adt ir ii very juft :-«— -^intdnftriQuahanda that want work wjiU alwaya^ Hnd it in an induftrious manufacturing nation. The objedion to the ine- quaMty of the poficilion of the riches acquired by machines, is not indeed exprenly anf^ered, becaufe it is fuch an one as no body could have atfdCtta, M. de Bouiaiavil^iers fliould certainly have remembered, that monfytannot- enter a' ttadiiig'maQufadturing country without circu- lating, and it cannot circulate without caufing employnient : indeed the very term means no more than payment for merchandize, goods, or labour received; The objddion to the ufe df machines therefore, urged by thefe authors, are more thananfwered by the others, and the point eftd-; Uifhed, that it is highly enpedient to ufe them. But I fhall venture a few veiAArks before 1 difmifs the fubjeCl, on thofe points which I think the above-quoted writcrsyor machines have not fully explained. . I ' *I*he examples there produced" of tlie pradlice of other nations: are viry pcninent ) if the French or Dutch underfell us by me^r^s of machinesi it would be highly impolitic not to copy them. I have already, in this fedUo^, remarked the danger of being underibld by foreigners^ even in I one artiicle^ and (hewn that the lofs of feveral, and laftly, or a whole trade^r foliowa th^t of a trifle. The French begin to underfell us in a commodity r at Lifbon, the manufaduring of which employs five thoufand induftrioua hands : In this fituation, a machine is invented, which will make the old quantity of that commodity, with the labour of only one thoufand hands : it is eftabliflied, and the trade regained at once, with fecurity. In this cafe, four thoufand hands are rendered idle, and deprived of bread. Let me even extend the fuppofit^on farther than is neceflary,. and fuppofe the Icgiflajure to take no care to provide them with frelh employment. The misfortune is a very great one ;'^but let us reverie the medal : inftead of acting in this manner, we aim only by common means to regain the market, and of cpurfe meet with no fiiiccefB : they increafe their exporta- tions, and in the progrefs of ten or a dozen years, we find our expor- tation of this commodity at an end dwindled to nothing. The differ- ence of theie cafeft is only that of four thoufand at once being out of employment in the one, and four hundred annually in the other. But. then comes a difference infinitely greater: with this branch our rivals have wormed us out of three or four others; and at the end of twenty years more, very probably have drove us fairly out of the whole trade, to the deprivation (though gradually) of the work of forty thoufand people. ^'*" -" - .^ ^ ■'■■*#*. ■'4 '4 ■' > * " dtcr. V.' M AKiff B^A CTU ft ES. •Iff /Qi^jf f^efent machines, our fUk-mills, ftocking-frames, water-mills, Wte'^ (^^LfcWm Mid y«d^bfNii^i at « Airtt'fok'erah. hit' of the loffi/ of a whole trade.— ^I«W>'Oh*fljrtely«iln 4rt tf^ii cde affett, tliat tht lihachine ii nbt <)f vcr^ (Uperior beiidit.<^l!.^t ub'imigihe another hy~n, tor; , . ,rinl,<(ii vJ I.*)..... „; .^^hn oijj !o nf.f((jftr)f| ,fft ki '(ii\,.iip "•''ifh^AtiinfaHcy df a ticw irtiatllifadJWre, Whidhhid§'falrv'»fAlm)uglit^«!|Wp titiou^, to be of confldefaWe imftbrtiMe,' diflfi^Ulten, jbut manufadurers, that are idle andi^ vyautpf ^work.-- — t haye pKerved among many manufadlure^^ .that when jthq pay^F A C,T UJ^^ E S. 2^9 other manufadlories; and as to the difficulty of learning again,, it is in nuiperous. branches a very d^ight affaii^ an;d wdu14 °^ vkftfy facilitated by- having worked at, another bufinefs before. Wou^dnbt a.^fkyerof favs or bays be taught to weave ruffdls and calimaricoes 'ta(&ch fooner tlian^ a tiaciainith ? or than oi^e who had never learnt^ any ttade ? Hbwever, we frequently, in mahufa^lunng towns, fee t6e varjr tircumftanqe I fpeak of. When a new HtSLiActi is introduced, ihe maftdrs of it ateatJ^ome diffi- culty In the verjr beginning, but they glover' it: ndt fey eSnploying people Vho never worked at any tfade, but |iy fctting thofe lo it who have pradifed a bufinefs of fome refembljinct. ^In fhort, there cannot be a more falfe opinion than to imagine mduftrious hands rendered idle cannot be found with new employmeiit ih fuch a nation as this. The legiflature might, at a very fmall expence, (btit if it was a large one, it matters not) efbblifh a manufadory in that jplace where a machine had occafioned idlenefs, to yield new employment, in cafe individuals.did noiti on private views. — i— When, I make ufe of the expreffion, the legiflature to ^ojb andjoy I apprehend the reader underflands my meahing to be notliing more than providing the money neceflary for fuch lender takings ; tlj^t the government may appoint either private agents ' tp manage the affair, or by means of infpeaors, as befo^^meotioned, under thif'boatd 'of trade. '*•■""- ' '":' "'"' ' t! From whatever circumflances this fubjed): can be confidered as relative to i from whatever points of view it is beheld, there is the gireatef) rea- fon to believe, that machines for Jimplifying ivork and abHdgiitg labour in manufaSiures ah admirable inventions, of prodigious ufe in rendering com^ modities cheap, and in employing and maintaining great numbers of people, ■j -• . , ■ iV. As it appears fo flrongly, that felling manufactures chiiiip ii the only way to have them ffourifhing, no methods of attaining that end fhould be overlooked. I have already endeavoured to prove, that on this account there fhould be a balance between the price of labour and that of provifions, that foreigners may not be able to undcrfell us ; for this rea- fon likewife, the Jituation of manufafiories fhould be attended to with great care at their eflablifhment. There is always a diflPerence between the prices of provifions, fipc. in great cities and in the country; fo that they may rife in the fbrnler too^'high for thd pr6Q>ferity of niantifadures, which therefore fhould ever be e.ftablifhed ih diflant provinces. f * ■ ' • ' . ' *»/ ■ I know it may be urged, that the pi:ice6 of pi-oVifions are frequently too low ipr the profp^rity of m^^ifadtures, (indeed oftener than too high, while there r«(muns noexa^ WUace)ani^ in that.cafe, the rife occafioned i. F f a c; by by a' greSi'ptri' *1tjie>^li(^ nv ;(('.«'> ))i,i).; f j; ^ I'p-abJr 3'. Proyifion^^^taitt]^ may rife to' ftt'eli klifelglif ill Mer^e kihgdmik, that , thejabouyjrijg jpopr ri^uft Wo^ lii'^days iiiihe i^^k to btf^ble td-live, atnd even g(^d ^o^r8 ev^^y^^ay.' l*hat is j^recifi^y the j^rbjper height of {ilricdB ; but then, 4^, additional price will hive cVil cohfb^uenceft ; mafters rnnft raiie their wa|g;e8, and thair ^uft i)% ^r&hddd with a gi^eater price of the nianufa^ures ; the competition of foreigners then takes effe^, and the whole ^aWic gbfes'lb iruiri.' This height of ^pricei etcifts in London, for inftance, when the country enjovs the exaft m<^ditim. — i*- By the height of prices, the reader will doubtlefs underftand houfe-rent, and all tuccj^ JarieSjo/li/e&syrtlliBfoo^, Thefe fads fufficr^ently fhew, that the fitu'ation of manufaAoriet is ai* article of great importance ; and confequehtly one way of prom©tiBg their profperity iSi,by eflablifhing them in the country inftead bf great cltle8» and removing thofe into the country which are already in London ; a biifi-^, ^nefs which may by fotilche thought"a difficull^, but an earned endea^ur» I am perfuadcd, might effed it/ '^ " ^^i' 'f V. So tnuch has been occafionally mentioned "bii the pHces of^to^- lions, that it is necefTary to add a feW remarks upon thehalaince heltweea them and labour. Hitherto I have been particular in expreffing the fieccf- fity of high prices, as conducing fo much to general indllftryi but this has been conftantly updn fuppofi'tion, that our prefent policy is conti- nued, o^ forming no other balance than forms itf^lf. But if a proportion be minutely enacted to remain betw^n the prfe^ of htbotir lind the j[)rice of necefTaries, in all its variations, then iik ^^k \i<^i^d be dlfFeif^^-^and jthe lower the prices of the latter the more dttr man^SUrdtfres-woulii thrive. V But here again is another difficulty ; the proportion laid down muft extend "to every fpecies of labour whatever, orelfe manufadurers, did it onlycon*- <:ern them, would quit their refjpedive avocations, and. turn hi^xmdmen^ artizans, or wh^t not, for tl^'tokJe df better v^rfg*8» •'( .^. f. :> r • This prbpoM^on Wrtiitd ■ be niti eify matter% la^ and^yetlefs to execute equally; byt ye^t I'bleiiev^ it might be ddne. It miift be very comprehenfive : for iiiflance, it nwlft not be taken froni wheat or bread alone, but from e^ery ihihg. 'Whe?t,.v*'e'wiHYay,'is fifty Ihilline^s aquatrter ; — malt^ thirty-fix ;-^rye, fliifty^,s^rice, rmy^encc j^r'poimidr; — (alt- S/h, three half-pence^— biitter, ^fix-peAcej**-^cheefc, (the meditmi. between 7 flet, SicT. V. .M/Ar, ^ #3f| F 4/1 jTj J rB, ^e. ^ "i: -. nee half- •TCnfees irthere articles fliould certainly lie tucen an account of,' and^ctdiibtl^fer tbdny ihoi-er for the labouring pocr of the iwholenAltio)?. To thefe ihould he added , %\ke pr^ce of cloaths, moes» iMid^'ltbcking^i of cfei'tsiifll dfetfonfiiinMttd kinds y ^oMfe-rent alfoj but by what lutc, 1 loxbvir n6tl tliefe' ^sotitem^ the poor in general; but thofe who find t&ieir ovni' iii^uin^tiis "and tools for their feveral byfineflbs, ihoyld haye anaj^itti^pf ||bicir |h^ , I have only &]^>ored priees for the (ake of' ixpkuaiirg ihy Idie^^r let iU8 fee what proportica can be gained from them. ^^ ^<^ " A quarter of wheat9 A quarter of malt, A ditto of rye, A pound of rioe* Pitto of falt-fifh, "Ditto of butter^. Ditto of cheefe> Ditto of beef, Ditto of mutton, JDitto of veai, vIKittoof pork, Dktie of candles, Ditto of foap^ Ditto of fait, A bufliel of potatoes,. ■■ ' A yard of woollen doth, (to be fpecified) A puTjOf ihoe9> ,(to be deiJcribed) A ditto of ftqcking?,. ( ditto ) ;! . ' o o o a £* 6 12 7 Thefe prices we find amount to (ix pounds twelve fliillings and feven- pence. Suppofe it is enade^, that the juftic^'s (if the peace, at every quarter'-f(^ona, ,fliaU, in a fpeciiied manner, be infoi^ed of the prices of thefe n«ceularie$; ^d when |hs total appears ' ail a'bove, liaVe a power , ^-Affixing a day's labour (whether in huibandry, manufa^ures, &c. &c. i§f(«nly with' the addition of toqls m fepte cafes, as above-mentioned) of tiw^lve liour^ at one (h^lingt qr ^wliat oth^r price was found more ade- ri^uate ;. and duepf foiu:i'K^i)bifrS) or more or lefs, in proportioh; that m. ♦ ■=1"'. ztm f?^'f^^*:fA¥,SAT8- Ebsay IV* is, in fewer words* a total of fiom 6 /. 12 x. to 8 /. ^j. to be a penny «ii hour; frbm 4A. fg^f. tdJS7. iiivtd'be Areefatthings; from 3/. 6/. to 4/. 19/. tb'berah litalf^pietat^y, from i /. 13 >. to 3/. 6x. to be afor- thirig ; and a1)oh^'8 /; Cx. to rife in the Iknle proportion, and eac^fina- tion toholidft^fefll&toieffions. - ^ ■ M'x,W' ■ •- ■■;^'-"i ■; ■ ■ i . - ■ ^\u This i^ a ih^iket^h^ $tid T am very far from inferting it as an acolr- •riate' mattery I mean olnly to ihifw a compendious mediod of ftaiting a proportion. 'Ab to' the QDJe^i^ whfch maybe made to the funtis^ithd quantiticaf1iave*lifixed, there are ntuneroust—-— for inftaace, rioe iis^ as miich a heceffki^ of life as wheat, and yet tlhe|>rice might fink to be cheaper than dirt, without being felt in the total; hence the neoeffity of not bringing fo large a quantity of wheat, rre* and malt to account as a quarter ; and yet, it muft not be reduced fo low as foap and candles, &c. becaufc food is more ncceflary than deanlinefs or candle-light. Firing I omitted, which ihould not be forgot, both coals and wood, and that^gaia without juft forefight, would, near coal-mines, occafion other 4iffi(»il— Mod of the articles fliould therefore be rated by the pound ; but Ui«a; the number of pounds (hojjild yary in proportion to the ufefulnefs of eatfh article. Were proportions between labour and prices of necellaries thus £xed» the pbor would always be fecure of a proper maintenance, as their pay would ever rHc with a neceflary rife of their expences; nor would fliey facrifke any tliing for this benefit but the ability of fometimes earning enough in two days to maintain tj^em a week, which in fome cheap years Is the cafe at prefent. A facrifice which would be highly advantageous to them, for fuch great earnings always lead them into drunkennefs and lazinefs, and a confequent deep wound to ourmanufadures.t Thole who are n^oft converfant with the condud of the laboun^g poor, Ldoiibt not are thoroughly fenfible ^ this. . . ji . VI. The la ft method of promoting our manufadures in general, which I (hall infert here, is that of giving bounties on their exportation, which ts in many cafes the iaaoft powerful of all. Applying a (hare of the publk income to the benefit oiperticular tr^^es, or lets of people, is thought hj many a fpecies of inequalhy and injuftice; and as fuch has been much railed againft in the bounty on exported corn. Neverthelcfs, that bounty has proved one of the nobleft and raoft truly national meafures that ever, was adopted by any people; and fimilar ones, in cafe of declining manufafturcs, would operate effects proportionably as Sect. V. .a y A ?, ?, ^ J. /J) 1 T T J r q M AN tJF ACrUTl ES. stiSS j^'f 1-.'/ Yiin:^ - 3doi ,1? .v« ct .lit .\Omo.a ip Ik'oj i,. ,;:b'(Ov,^ -uv/; ti^km wMh thofe flfra«otljerrto\fiipp^y4a%^j«irlj^fc^ tb^ate^, to h9^X^.^hs^k out pf ^fef^ic;,\^tJca^^, iif aIl,iyrf>l^ilitgf,jjrefrcBt;,the lofsp, ^ut the interposition of me'puUic f T*bUftQterp|g^tk|^ ^^]|iliii;f!l,to coh>- fill in general \sivrs of eneouragement) fuch as' tne preceding articles w^^sH J haye n^m^ij^) ^|yijt^M,^hy,c^i3ring>t^jpoliee.ai^ ipanagom (^mi^au^ai^uitfB |bQMlbigh^.%:P^|^as powblej U^t^ after ^t is affeij^, sMfpreigQ^ FvvaUhip' yet likely ;i:9ii^k^ fi)^^, Jiffrtieuia^ lipuntl^^ fhigiuld then be affiled, vr^idl ..ace iucbl^pQW(^^ foteiga nation adopting tKe meal^re. caj&^^e^pyou^J^ojDo^ Jb^ their lliroFkfAen. We A<»vr .leen thi»,in, thft-bq^nly oh c^W'^hput finding tbeoi wife enough to ibllaw uft ifor ^xtyJfx ]jpari: at^ii ii^ej^^ opened ^l^,^Bii and begin with, aliowi^ of Tbefore inftanced the French ^an^ t^^tch^undertelling ^u^ at^h^ Sjpanifh,, and Levant rriarkets, j^aJV.^gb^ ip^cies o& drug^et8» pf a :^ery ftneU price ; and quoted the^eiptmrkablejPji^ijn cafe, ,V(hj^e >^n indiH^i* otiq^ mismufa^turer had ellabliCKis^^a i^hricotf' thofe druggets, whicli he could* afford to fell as cheap as the t<'rench; and-^he had a quick returnr, make a reafonable profit for himfelf. Inilead of fuffering fuch an under- t^ng to be cruflied in its inf|uicyy fuppofi? ^, bounty had, heen granted trpcoi'tlkt, exp<»rtation of thofe druggets, we fhoul4 thim have bea|; our msSs at dtein owp;,\;eap(Mis; regained. a valuable jbr^pchoof trad^ and tvrentyaxtioks (of exportation we had Jolt, with .45. ^ When we.conc^ to compire the navigation of Britain with that of France^ we fhatl f^nd, that her Levnnt trade maintains a fifth of all the failors employed by the whole Commerce of Ffancetji Now, iff we confider the former ftate of our own trade to. that part of p.tbe> world, and the very trifling (hare France had in ityweiikall att>nce V»tn\) nig(hir ^Ikmnties woild have faved this n&tion not only the fifth of &e prefent French exportation, but much of that nation's Spaniih trade. For had bounties been given at firft upon thofe articles of mfaut&L&nm which the French founded their fuccefs upoii« we (houhi. bat^ift ff cferrsd tiofe irftdn^ as k would have been im- poflibie'for tlw* lo^iMdiirfd)>Q|icitUUui, l&c; eohiitig to Mirkef, wtih the advantage «i' a puUiapcikiliinlbxm theiii ekfdvcataiDal The boun^est we will fuppof%/fliig|h»^«v«adnliiM!ed fork; few ^^jiHl^an hundred t^u- iand paru«dp a> ^Mrif.bnti tliia^ prefntvatbn of thofe trades fliight VroTI be worth, feveraljBilKoas.r) Air huodralthou&nd pounds arejpaid out of the pockctti'^^d^e«hierchknt8, faiIorS|Vi6^- allorsi ihlp<4nitlder8, and all tl&t depend oh navigation; t6 tfie ik-mers iiichereinplbymeBt of itbdfr'jioor, v#ho would otherwife buithen their rates ^!i- ' "* and to the landlords in the fame €flFed:, with the ^kUtravi of an increafb^n wethh aodr^irculatiiaoiiiwhicH Iraifes the value of tH^r i»|)di. ijnjonfe word, thei'ptibikpgmfdnhakQt^tyi and the ptubKe^dee^^s the benefit: And I appw^hend this fa flock of feamen ^ ■ ■ j ftivijgatidn, general wealth, &c* &c. &c* \ . .' A modern author gives a different infbnce, dwagii to th« fame pur- pofe? of the benefit ^ bounties.—*** Let me fiippofe a^ liation, accuftoroed . XP export to the value of a million fterling of fifli evvry jrear, underfold in this article by another, which has found a fiihery 6a its own coafts fo abundant, as to entible it to underiell die firfl by twenty per cent. This >eing the cafe, the ftatefinan may buy up. all the filh orrlus iiibjeiS^s, and . underiell his competitors at every £aragn mafket,'at the loTs df perhaps a^SQtOOoi. What is the confequence^ That the kntlUon he paid for the fi(h remains at home, and that 750,oooi comes in from riAnad for the price of them. How is the 150,000/. to be made up? By a )general Mnpofition upon all the inhabitants. This returns into thetmfalic coffers, and all ftands as it was. If this expedient be not followed, what sire the ..(ooiequences f That tbofe employra in the fifherr are forced to flarve ; lliat the fiih taken are either upcm hand, or fold by the proprietors at a great loifs; thefe are undone, aad the nation for the futute lofes the acqui- ation of 750,000/. a year ♦.*" II 9 Jnfmrj intt tbt Primifki tf ftkiuA OHimmf% vol i. p. 29!. J. Gk ESSAY I '246 ]; E S S V. Of the Prefent State of the B R I T I SH COT. ON IE S. • ■ • . ■ ■■ TO treat this fubjeft to its utmofi: extent, would require the com— pafs of feveral volumes ; but a minute'defcription of the countries, which form our Americap fettlementa, or a^ , hiftory of their- tranfatCtions, are ec^ually beyond the bqu^nds- of my^ plan, t mean to lay. before the reader the prelent fta^ pf their agriculture, population, com-, merce, Sec. to inquire into the advantages we reap from them, and the probability of a continuance ; and to point..ot\^. wherein fuch advantages^ may be improved. Thefe inquiries will open . the way to many pthers^ very curious and important; in forming whrcH, I forefee my principal difficulty will be, the feledtion of matei::ials j for I have a profufion ly- ing before rae, a vaft many of which muft, T doubt, be rejected, and yet more to be compared before their authority is allowed. This extenfive fubje£t will not appear confined, if divided into the following parts : I. Prefent Jiate in rejpe^ offttuatioih population^ agriculture^ manufac^ tureSt and labour. II. Staple commodities. III. Benefts re/ulting to Britain from her fettkments. IV. Defe6ls in their ejlablijhmetitt and the means of remedying them* V. Security of their remaining under the dojuinion of Britain. VI. Comparifon betiveen them and the colonies of other nations. VII. Of forming new fttlements. Thefe articles of inquiry will, in their fubdivifions, include every thing^ that concerns my plan ; which is to give, in proportion to my ability, a more comprehenfive view of the Britifh colonies, in a fmall compafs, than is to be met with in any of the numerous volumes written on the fubjed: efpeeially as feveral eK,cellent works publiihed before the laft general peac^ are now very imperfect. D ii U 1 • SltCT. I. ' COL ON! ES. S E C.T. I. itft^ Of their Siiuatiofiy Climate, Extent, Number '^^ Peopld Tncreafe^ ^gricuU ture, Commerce^ Fijheries-, Manufaffuresi and Labour, FOR a few remirks on the natural advantages of the Britifh colonies, 'I refer the reader to the beginning of theFirft Effay, where the fub- je^ i^ touched upoil juft fo much arto give a tranfitory, but connedled view' of the whde Britifli empire : a few obfervations muft be added hcr6 OO their . i Sititationt Climate, and Extent* The fitii^ddti of the Briti(h fettlements lis advantageous in a very great degree; for the benefits which are at prefent known fo well to refult from colonies, depend, in a great meafurie, crti their didance from the mother- country ; "^ for in this confifts the increale of navigation, and the confequent inqreafe of feamen. Our colonies enjoy this advantage: I mention it not as a peculiar one, but as a benefit we enjoy as well as other nations ; and in refped of fituation, this circumflance is the mofl important, next to that fpecies of it which caufes a climat;e different from our own. The ufe of colonies is the production of commodities which cannot be produced at home, that the manufaiiurcf of the latter may be exchanged for the produ^ions of the former, without foreign competition, which ufe would not be aiifwered by fettlements in a di'mate the fame as that of the mother- country» The climate of our American fettlements varies from the excefs of cold to extreme heat ; and as that of Britain is temperate, the extremes are fo far themoft beneficial, as moft requiring her manufadtures : But then, it is to be remembered, that thofe of our colonies, whofe climate moft re- fembles our own, yet vary confiderably from it : Hence a greater degree of benefit refults from tliera than if the temperature was exadlly the fame in both. ' . When we fpeak in this manner of our American climates, we mufl not be guided by their latitude, but produdlions. For inftance, thofe which are too cold to produce wheat ; thofe which are fertile in producing it; and thofe which, however well they might produce bread-corn, yet pro- duce but little, on account of more valuable articles. The firft contain Mew biitain, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Canada, and New England. G g 2 The tt%^ POLITICAL, ESSAYS. Ell AY V. The r«cond# New Yorlc, New Jerfey, and Pcnfylvania. The l»ft, all fmiti MAr^land to the moft fouthcrly of the Weft Jndian iflands. The difference between the climates of North America and Europe in point of latitude, is very remarkable ; for latitude 45, which ia Europe ia that of the middle of France, temperate and warm enough for the pro- duction of fuch excellent wines, is in,America that of the middle of Nota Scotia, a region of froft, and aln^oil perpetual fnow; a contraft yery ftriking, but refolvable into the vaft regions of ice and fnow to tlie north, as far as the Bid degree, and probably much further ; whereas the European and Afiatic continents terminate about latitude 70 *, and perhaps in no unall degree^ * I fhall here take the liberty of tranfcrlbing a paflage on tbis fubjcA from a late writer, who t'n the courfe of his work ^ives many rtafons to imaghie him perfet^y acquainted with th^ country, and others, which oecafion a very difi* tnt opinion. However, the followiog ia not 6he of the latter. ** Thefe fevere colds are cc Amonly attriboted to the woods, with which that continent is covered ; and it' is knsgijied, that the clearing of thefe will abate the rigor of the climate, which is as contrary to ali reafon and' experience, aa all the other common, opinions relating to that continent Btid' the colonies ill' it. Now, as thefe vulgar errors proceed from iin ignoraifce oPthe climiite, it tnay be proper to give feme account of it here, as far as our room wnTl permit. 'Thie coldneA of the dtmate, which is felt all over North AnieriCa, appears to proceed chieily'and principally from the three folloivisigvattfes, befides otbeft Which coQ(}>ire with them, particularly the nature of the foil* ••^^t 1^ »\. ' ' ■' • ■ ■ -ilji •• II Tttkt conttufent, in all probability, e^ftetids tb the north pole, as no end could ever b« foiind'b'the'Iand,^' although "ic has been Tearched all far north as ths latitude 8a end 8a ' degrees. In thefe northern parts, America is as extenfive from eaft to weft §. both Greene, land and Spitzbergjep >appi^r^ to^be parts, of that continent, or at jcs^ft njghly join to it in thofe frozen regions. Thus'Korth Ameir^^a exten<|s over *th<;. greateft part of the frigid zone, and is by that means con(|antIy overwhelmed with froft pnd' fiioW}' wKereas Europe and Afia terminate, in or about the 70th degree of latitude. Thiis America extends farther north (han ai^y other part of the world, and by that meatfs i$ fpi'much colder. — r" Europe is .fMiraupded, by t^e >v|^mer ocean, ^|iich is always open ; Afla, b v ^ icy fea^' (the man giacitfl(',l*nd America by a frozen continent,' wljicH ocf^^ditas the dlv<;rfit^ of cli« mates in theie ^rc^ continents. " '. ' ' ' ' ^'' .,■•,. .■ ,( ■ II. That continent, which is thus extep^ye iq the northern P^L^*, is one intire group 6f high mountains, covered with fnow, or rather ^yith ice, throughput ti\p whole year. Thefe and the country to , the, ibutbw;^rd of ij/fif^ ifl^^Q ^ >» ^y JIMl !^J>a9>?f4« <^'''le£);^e|f|-t|^||i^ vf^p^^infpSji^fLi^hn'iifii Skl^n't fiay do in the nwtb, mm4f^mm^ho^.mf'^f'9imf^hni >. ,',,: 'i:, ,;. , , , . „, SccT. L C aL O Nl E & M9^ degree to the height of thelatldj< THofe«xcefl&vr.CQld» adding dming a larger part of the year, and the fouth^riyldtitudeiinA hbtiuotithe^ftof a«aufet ; fuch violent variations, that many produdions, which one would imagine would flouri(h there, by no iheans^ do. Even wheat, that hardy and almoft univerla; grower, thrives n*t.in NeriWBiigland, ,The preceding fcale of climates, according to produ^ioni, jraiotS! out thofe colonies at once which are the mod advantageous to Britain, and Ukeyvqfc the rule to judge of /the climate of fettkm^Btti tn general: The latitude mud not be our guide, but the produdk' of the foaL i ./ >ii:ohu ul-u -i , j^j^. ,j>at> . Aa to the ■eTctent of^our American oolonies, the accounts I have met with WK various, but It will not be difficult to come near the truth. -UU AU the eountriet which li« within the verge of thefe ifionntains, or north of New En^aixi, are perpecutlly involved in frofti, fnows, or thick fogsj and the colds which ace felt in the (buth puKced from thefe froeten region* in the north, by violent north -weU winds. Thfcfe are the peculiar winds of that continc;nt, and blow with ^itiry which no wind exceeds. Itiaftpcars from many.obfrrvations, that they blow qiute aqrofs the Atlantic pceaa tq,£)mr^, Thji^igrcat lakes of Canada, which.are an inland fea, extending north-weft fpr ia,pf;,|'goo miles, give-force and direAion to thefe/Wln^s, which blow from the northern frozc^^^ioiu, and' bring the climate of Hudfon!» Bay |o tjhe mod fouthetn parts of that contin^^ F^^f^'^,t cvef'theyi>low for any time. Northerly winds are cold in all counuies, {nortft^^ff^f^hnt/. Ifupptft hi means) and as thefe hhw with fuj^l!^ violence, and from fuchiroz^en,|re^Mh>^fW„ are fo much colder than others. Every one may obferve, that the extreme colds ifi jSforth America proceed from the windt, as 1 found by keeping a journal of the wtpxefjjjff^ for fifteen years ; whence a north vitfttrly and cold weathef are ip a manner fynuaii|(^u^«^t^^i{^,fi),,, all our colonies. inf. ...m,,.': n -.iJ ■,; .,1 ■x.'r •;;,' Many imagine th^t thefe colds proceed from the tntvH lyfng in thwr inclulivc, 102,000 fquare miles '' ; New England and New York i6«ooo * ; New Jerfey and Penfylvania 11,000 '' ^ Virginia and Maryland 24,000 * j North and South Carolina 51,000 '. The whole Britifli dominions that will produce any thing the nation wants, from the ocean to the Mifli- fippi is 500 miles long and ^50 broad, or 375,000 fquare, and all that is fit for culture but 137,000 *. Leaving thefe ftrange afTertions for the prefent, let us pafs on to ano- ther writer much more candid : New England, according to him, is 300 miles long, and aoo broad *■, at the broadell part; fay therefore, 150, or 45,000 fquare; New York 200 by 50, or 10,000'; New Jerfey 150 by 50, or 7,500 " ; Penfylvania 250 by 200, or 50,000' ; Virginia 340 by 200, or 48,000""; Maryland 140 by 130, or 18,200"; the Carolinas 400 by 300, or 120,000 " ; Georgia 100 by 300, or 30,000' : Of Nova Scotia he only gives the latitude '' ; Newfoundland 300 by 200, 60,000 '. Salmon, although a trifling writer, is pretty accurate in his meafurements : New Britain, he fays, is i<$oo by 1200', confequently 1,920,000 fquare ; Nova Scotia 500 by 400 ', therefore 200,000 fquare; Canada 1800 by 1200, confequently 2,160,000 fquare ". Tt would be very eafy to extend authorities to infinity, but it is need- lefs to give any more fmce moft writers vary. I fhall however examine our American dominions (by Emanuel Bowen's laft new map of North America) according to the treaty of peace concluded in 1763, by which means fomething conclufive may be gained. As to the general extent the ufe of knowing it is but little, further than a matter of curiofity, and • P- 134- * P' 23- • ?• '32' * P- *33' • lb. ♦ lb. » p. 2a5. ^ yfecBunt of European S(Ulem<.nts, vo\ ii. p. 163. 'lb. p. 186. * lb. Mb. • p. 207. " p 226, . " p. 241. ' p. 264. 1 p. 274. ' p. 280. • Geographical Diiiienary, p. 587. « lb. 592. ■ lb. 635. Sect. I* COLONIES. 331 as ferving to difcover the wilful miftakes of a writer who contrads it to Jt6oo,ooo fquare miles. If a line is drawn from the cape of Florida to the Icy-mountains, north of Baffin's-bay, the length is 57 deprees, or 3,933 miles; the breadth varies greatly. The promontory of Florida is but 100 miles broad ; from Cape Charles, in Maryland, to the forks of the Ohio 700 ; from Cape Cod, Maflachufet's-bay, to the jundion of the Miflifippi and the river La Roche lOco ; from the north point of Cape Breton to the part of the Miflifippi neareft Lake Minity 1900 ; from Cape Charles, New Britain, to longitude 105, weft of London, latitude 50, 2100. Now, Florida be- ing fo very narrow muft be omitted, and its length 350 miles deduced from the above mentioned 3,933, there will then remain ,3,583. The medium of the other breadths will not be far from the truth ; but under rather than over it. It is 1425, confequently the number of fquare miles 185,105,775, to which we muft add 95,000 for Florida and Newfound- land; the fum total will then be 5,500,775, very different fromi, 600,000 as the above-mentioned author afTerted. But without fuch immenfe regions into the account, let us next enquire into the extent of thofe parts which either are cultivated, or will, in all hum^n probability, admit of being fo, and that only to the extent of thofe accounts which we have yet received; for as many trads to the north weft we have reafon to believe them all inhabited, and know that New Britain' is by Elkimaux ; yet, as our knowledge of thofe countries is very imper- {e€t, I fhall not take them into the account. Nova Scotia, New England, New York, Penfylvania and New Jerfey, bounding them by the river St. Laurence and the two lakes, form a pretty equal oblong fquare of 900 miles long, and near 400 broad on a medium. This makes — — - Maryland, Virginia, and the country through which the Ohio run8> extending northwards to the fouthern banks of lake Erie, and in a level line from thence to the jundlion of the MifTifippi, and Molngona form another oblong tra£l, very equal, 700 miles long, and 350 broad ;.. that is — — - The two Carolina?, Georgia, and all the fouthern traifl to, tlic level of the Gulph of Nfexico, form a fquare 450 miles north to fouth ; and upon a medium 650 call to wcftj or — — ■ — — Square Miles, 360,000 245,000 292,500 I'loritia, VOL^'^lfJilf f$SAYS. EsmyV. Florid^; i^o'^^o^^'^^'^^^f^ '^'^ ^'-"'^^^^^^^^^^ The north Weft 'Iii'ia8it3i^1(f(c6iiftdft1ieriv^^ St. Laurence, I call but 80 liiidlee brda^'; it is id length from Mon- treal to ladu&c 300 miles ; this is — — The ifland which is enclofed by the lakes Huron, Ontai^o and Erie, and th^ river XJtaevas, Is ah indented oblong 360 miles longt by about 150 broad on a medium : This country is faid to be moft of it fertile. — — The peninfula* between the lakes lUionois and Huron, and the (bait between the latter and Erie, down to the former line, from the ibuth of Erie to the jund):ion of the Miflifippi and Moingona, is an oval 3000 miles long .by 100 broad ■ — - — — '■ The country, bounded by the lakes Illionois and Superior, . the Miflifippi and the above-mentioned line, is an oblong 360 miles long by 280 broad — • . — Square Miks, 6,000 — — 54>ooo 30,000 100,800 Total*, 1,133,800 litofe who will take the trouble of confulting the beft authors wlio h«ye!^^g|;iren an account of North America will find, that thefe tra^ of lani^'aMW cqiable of producing ; fome, all the neceflaries of life; m^Oift of ^bxm pleQty of foodf and fome raiment. As to the benefits refulting from thefe immenfis traiils of country to Great Britain, that it « very difi^ent queftion: we fliall by and by find that the lands the mofi fertile in food and raiment are not thofe which form the moft beneficial colonies ;to a nation which even exports both. * For the fake of > comparifon, I add the EiuropiBaii coontriet, M^ich equal the above* Great Britain and Ireland - ■ ■ ■ Holland ., ■ 1 . Flandert ■ — — ■ ■ Spain and Portugal > » < < / , ,< « Italy aad Mediterranean iflanda i—^-m . Swiflerland . ' Polaml . — . ».»««. Turkey in Europe, including Little and Crim Taitary .Denmark ' mhmm ■- 105.634 9.540 12,968 ■ «3«.«37 »"7«.094 ia!884 181,631 2aa,ooo a 12,140 14,418 1,163,82a I have Sect. I. COLONIES. til I have not joined the amount of our Weft Indian illands to that of the continent ; becaufe the value of the land bears no proportion in each : the following table will ihew their extent pretty accurately. IJlands. Square fiiUi, , Jamaica — Barbadoes ^. — . -— --:. l^'YT■ •« J^OO, ■ St. Chriftophera .a\' '■-■ ': "fW •••<• V'8P «.,... =tU ,^... Nevis ./-J ' .•i'^.'J''1tF'«iif»V*l!ft ux^iS.i^Mi uio>?»l • t rT"i£ttn-;TTrrT^ ^§Pn • ■MIHl'l' Mlif: Granada — Dominica — — ,■: ^^...vrr.28Q ^ . Barbuda — -r J,.,uvm^ i^mfr}^^ «^0 y.tOtm(i^''/i(* Anguilla — ;: -: "-7«.o^'-%! Soo '■ ■■-VKix^ itm im M» M0 " maf **^ uAi^ /■rfw 75^5 , . Population. TKe population of the Britifli condn^tal colonies gives ati'^^ni]^ bf i^dreafej unknown m anV other jpsirt of th^gli&e; buftf'itii^AtffiS' ohW t6 thdft \irho do ndt confider the effda of tii eaflly prbciirMalffi^f drfertUe'laridi' I fliaTl firft lay before the reader theAiutnbefSfigSbit^' in our colonies, and thdh add fome remarks upon their paft jynd 'futttre increafe. ^^ -i^- ' - - "' '. " ' JJOS! It is aflerted by the author of the Pre/ent Stafe, &c. That their num- bef««imotlrit «» ^^000,000^;' ia ftnother jdace, he fiiys, it i^^,ooo»oc5o, including thofe we have in Africa and the Eaft Indies p, but jipiuppores t^em again 3,000,000 in anothei- .place §. He fay^ there are 800,000 in Virginia and Maryland ||. In another paflage, he fays, there are nigh avhiillion and a half of people in theje northern colonics ^ wHfch he ^^'I know n6tebuyu(mf5syiitaIk5;9^.N^3^^ .i-\. iiiiii-i vtr' % Tills taW«~~mttft rerveiAAMMi of a mor e e e i rre ii it one: t h e f o u r fi rft, aH*Tttl|igo, are taken from TcmpIcmanV-ftirvey, Gronada and Doimnica from©r. CampbcHVJ*preffions in his CmfiteratUiff where, h&&yt, they ar»ni]hr|;^«gMin M B«rbJtdrieAt fe'SSAYS. Essay V» &C.-&C. fliofe tt^ii^h frbdute nh'tbing livetHthg ht Brifak, (p. i'6'6) fo, I ajiprehcftft, it is hWrflidf Ma¥j4dnd aiid Virginia. Is it ndt amazing .*» writer of fenfe 'Cah '\k Ho inttcdkhi'lte'atfa 'Avfen'tbhti^diadry ^ It is iucJb circumftances as thefe which make one cautious of depending upon a book, which were It'Cdhfiftent, would give us more inftiltaation than half that has been wrote; but 4n -another -place, nothwithftanding thefe ran- dom afTertions, he calculates them from the ta^nible people : He fays, •* In 1755 they^sirlis computed to be 1,600^000, when the moft exad ac- count of their number was taken ;*' he adds an 8th ^for deficiency, which makes i,8oo,cxdo at that time, but -then he goesbn— — ** And, perhaps, not mbdh lefsthan 2iOoo,ooo,"befides 5, or 1400,000 negroes j" frcwn hence, fays he, " They cannot, at prefent, fee -much Ihort of 3,000,000, incradin|; negroes, of which m any are ^iiily purchafcd *.'* Another writtSr fays. The Inhabitants of North ^metka are reckoned to be near 3,000,060 of people t» ^f\ third, gives tJie following account of their number ;: New England :j; ■ New York § rl^^ylyaraalF ^^^■'^ *■ ■.Virgmia **" ,|'V '.'^i^-^ •«-«* lOOjOooBlatks Maryland ft 60,000 Blacks 160,000 Blacks. Blacks tfnd whites, €xduiive of €!aK)iitfate, Gfee%ia, Nftva Scdlia, Canada and Flttrida, u^-*^ This account is therieffore very incomplete* 354,000 90,000- 60^000 1250,000 ^5,000 40,000 859,000 1,019,000: Another writer, and the Biioft accurate of all that-have wrote on Ameri- can affairs, fays^ there are 25,000 wliii:es and 39^000 blacks in South •p. 215. t Cenjidtrattons $» tht Trade and Finances efthls Kingdom^ 4to. 1766. I European Scttfements vol. ii. p. 168, copied fiom Douglas, who vrrote many years ag«: this, therefore, mud be much under the yuth. |p. 191. I p. 194. fp. 199. ••p. X16. ftp. 233. ^ Carolina ; Sect. I. Q I, O N I IE S. Carolina*: Another fays, the total ii fuppo&s the total above a taUlioq. j:,,^. toi i»ilfu)tt8.|: Dr. Fr4.»kliiji ■>• j.r +, Upoa thefe feveral accouintR, I mu|t9)?ferv^ that 'tB,e author of the European ScttUjnents wrote foaie years (aj^)put lo) ago, and coUe accounts, calculates them for ali our colonies ; whereas I by no means quote the palTage in the fame fenfe, but only in refpe<2: of thofe which poflef* neither cities, trade nor manufactures, and fuch parts of thofe which do poflefs them as are back-fettlers, and not within the fphere of their vor- tex. S^-, if the total doubles every 25 year^, the planting, and real/y increafing part, muft increafe at a quicker rate, and in all probability does. Such caufes will a is one contiYiued mea-*' dow : That of the Mlfliflippi, though a high fliore and dry, is a fertile plain.— —If we allow feven acres a head, wefliall make a fufficient allow- ance for unprofitable mountains: their number of inhabitants will thai be more than 102,000,000. ■■'p;,:''! bj:!'!)/-'.' I- . .r't ' As to population in our infular colonies, or thofe of the Weft Indies, in- creafe is there quite another thing ; they confume people inftead of increaf- ing them \ a contraft very Itriking in refpedl c*" negroes. The fugar iflands require a vaft annual fupply ; whereas, in the healthy climate of Virginia and Maryland, they very nearly keep up their number by procreation.. The following table will fliew the numbers in our iflands, according to the Account of the European Settlements, which I have compared with fome others ; but none of good authority having been publiflied fince the war, I find no reafon to make any alteration. It is true, we have made fome important acquifitions, which are peopling quick ; but then, it i& more than prcbable, that it is 6:0m old f^tltddflands. ^ Iflands. Jamaica *, Barbadoes f. tVhites.. 2;^,c?oo'i . 25,000 Blacks. 90,000 So,ooo • Vol. u. p. 69. ^« t Ibid. p. 89, I ffands^. 338 POLITICAL ESSAYS. IJlands. Whites, E Blacks, 'fit. GhnftojAekS'*, — — 7,000 aojooo AnteguafV — — 7,000 30,000 xd,ooo Montfert-aft R, — . 5,000 12,000 To didfe 1 fhall add BdfmudM **, 5,000 J:t:v- . : Essay V, 79,000 244*000 f-rt jIgrieuUure, The readier, doubtlefs, remarked, in my &etch <^ the fubjed, that not*' ^ivithfianding my afli^piDg a diviiion to the agriculture of the colonies, yet I formea another for their ^apie commodities : Thefe fubjcft^ though they inu.' be fomewhat bleiided, yet muH be examined in different lights, dtaple produdions are particularly relative to their condition as colonies, and the benefit of their mother-country ; but their agriculture, tajcen in general, refpeds their common fubfiftance ; an article to be con-^ fidfred feparately, as fome of the colonies have no ftaple productions at all. ui this inquiry, I fhall begin with the northern colonies, and proceed, regiilarly fouthward ; by whidh means thofe climates (in that country) willjbe beii; known, whidh are the fitted for producing commodities |br Britain, As to the territories of Hudfon*8 Bay, New Britain, and hlew- foundlandj t ijhall inot mention them here, fince from the accounts hitherto received they are totally unfit for agriculture : I muft remark, howevet, that we fhould never give too much into fuch ideas, as pre- conceived and falfe ones may occafion our negledling colonies which have a capability of producing fomcthing though unknown to us : I hint this efpecially with regard to the fouthern trads of Newfoundland. In flat- 1 ing the fketch of our colonies' foil and produce, which is necefTary before we can form any tolerable ideas of their importance, I fliall proceed as I have fo frequently done before, colledl the opinions of varipus authors,' f and examine how far and in what refpeft a dependance may be placed in * them. 1 fhall begin with Nova Scotia. " This provirjce," f^ys a very fcnfible writer, " lies between the 44th i and 50th degrees of north latitude ; and though in a very favourable part of the temperate zone, has a winter of an almoft infupportable length and coldnefs, continuing at leafl feven months in the year: to this immedi- • Ibid. p. 9a. t Ibid, ^ t Ibid. || Ibid. ** The ceded ifland« I ia not take into the account, as we kaow nothing of their num- kcx«. i ately SEfit. t. C O 1 O N I E S. 239 ktdy fucceeds, without the intervention of any thing that may be called fpring, a fummer of an heat as violent as the cold, though of no long continuance ; and they are wrapt in the gloom of a perpetual fog, even long after the fummer feafon has commenced. In moft parts the foil is thin and barren.; the cotn it produces of a flirivdled kind, like rye; and the grafs inretmixed With a cold fpungy mofs. However, it is not uni- forrtJy had: ^re are traQjs in Nova Scotia which do not yield to the beft land in "Nev*- l^ngland *." Tlie author of the Prefent State agrees very tveli with this, but makes it yet worfe : " All the countries north of the fettlements in New England lie within the verge of the north - -' fnowy mountains on one 'hand^ and ^e iflands of ice on the other, whiv itndcr the climate unfit for agriculture, on account of the pferpetuSl frofts, or ^ore pernicious cold fogs. Thefe mountains run down to the fea-coaft» atid leave but here and there a {pot fit to inhabit; fo a ridge of thefe bare and barren mountains runs throu^ the whole pcninfula of Nova Scotia. Hetace there are but a few incorifideraMe fpots fit to cultivate, and the land is ^covered wiA a c6jd jpungy mofs, in place of grafs* as a;ll countries are that are fo drenched With fhow. " The land is fo barren, that corn ** does not coifte up well in it ;. and though never fo much pains be tal^n * to manure it. Hill the crop Will be very inconliderable, ahd they are **• often obliged to throw it up at laft. For this reafon they are obliged- ** to fow corn on their toarlhes" Relation de PAcadie^p. ni, 28^'. "niis; is ftie account whicli th'e French give of Nova Scotia from one hundred years experience; and this has made it fo difficult to people that country,, wliibh hardly produces either com or grafs, if it be not hdd in a few marflies, and thefe are not fit for corn in any part of the world. The clearing of the woods would make thdfe countries niuch more uninhabit- ift)le than they are, (this is very apocriphdl ; experience /peaks the eon- trdry) as muft appear to all wh'> '\re acquainted with the climate c>f Nortli America ; and the land is not ththe charge of clearing, as it muft all he grubbed : the foil is fo ban that we fee manure itfelf will hardly maTce it yield a crop, not even noW, when it is frefh and fertile. The earth is fo chilled by the frofts, fnows, and perpetual cold fogs, both in winter* and fummer, that it feems not to have warmth enough in it to rot manure, and make it yield its nouri{hment*|". — It is not in the nature of things that any land, whatever it may be to appearance, can be fruitful in fuch cli-^- ^* Bwoptan SctthntniSy vol. ii. p. 274. '^ ' j ''?.i ' + Tn this, as in moft other accounts, variatioiis are to be met with : Thus, La Honton fay«i. ** Moft of the countries of Acadia abound with corn, poafe, fruit, and pulfe ; and have a plain diftinition of the four feafoos of the year, notwithiUnding that it is extreme cold for three months in winter. It is a very fine country ; the climate is indifferent temperate; the- air is pure and wholcfome \ the waters clear and light." Vol. i. p. 221. M - ;„-: mates* .240 POLITICAL ESSAYS. E<8AY.V. mates. In Aich frozen regions we never meet with a fruitful fbil in any part of the world, and much lefs in North America *» I apprehend there is no difHculty in forming a pretty accuiate idea of this country from thefe accounts ; and the more efpecially as there are no contradictory ones that can be depended upon in the leaft. It appears therefore, that to inquire minutely into the particular agriculture ofjttch a country would be abl'urd ; the nature of the thing fpeaks itfelf : Its inha- bitants, while few, mud fubfifl: with great difFiculty, and with all poflible induflry at lafl not fubfift from their foil : this is the cafe with Nova Scotia : take from them their fifhery (I am fpeaking in point of exiftence) and you render their life precarious. So much for the agriculture of this country. But, fays the reader, this is a part of jthat country which I have in another place exhibited as poflible to fupport a numercus people. True; but there is a very material difl^erence between that gra- dual effed by the extenfwn of old fettlements, and forming neiu colonies in it. Nova Scotia may be juft fuch a country as here defcribed, and yet come in future times to maintain a numerous p^ple. Many of our prefent back fettlements, far to the fouthwar^> had they been formed at once into a colony, would have appeared with as wretched an afped as Nova Scotia; but by means of being brought into culture by degrees, the. woods partly cleared, the foil improved, with other alterations which an advancing people occafion, the climate improves, and thofe tracts have turned out capable of fubfifting numbers of people, which once were thought inhofpitable defarts ; and let me add, would have remained fo, if colonies had been planted at once in them, inftead of advancing by degrees, and clearing as they advanced. Inftead' of planting colonies therefore in the midft of fuch defarts. New . England ihould have been let alone until her inhabitants, by the mere force of increafe, advanced into it, and in procefs of time they would have fpread over the whole. Canada comes next; but it is here neceflary to make a diilindtion between what is commonly called by that name and what is marked by the government by proclamation to be the bounds of the colony ; at pre- fent I fpeak only of what are colonies, and leave the countries prohi- bited from fettlers by proclamation to be defcribed in another place. Canada therefore, which is at prefent a colony, is a ftrip of land about two hundred miles broad, on the north coaft of the river St. Lawrence, and above fix hundred miles long ; likewife another very narrow ftrip to the fouth o' i river: The whole extending no further fouth than about haF between Montreal and Lake Ontario. • P. 243. Whatever lliCTvI. G L O ia I E Si a4i WhatCTCr has'becn faid of Nova Scotia it appKcaUei^tb this traft : By the gradual advancing of old fettlcments, it may certaihly be brought to Support its (hare of inhabitants ; but in the fame manner as with Nova Scotia, not by planting colonies in it. I fhould give the reader particu- lar extrads to fupport thefe aflertions, but it is unneceflary, and the more particularly^ as the French writers who have treated of Canada, and all who have advanced any thing in favour of its prefent tituation, have included, the territory of the Lakes in their defcriptions, which the pre- f«nt colony has nothing to do with, according to the above-mentioned proclamation of (Xlober 7, 1763, which defined the bounds of all our colonies. New £ngland is the next colony in fituation. The author of the Euro^ pemi Settlements gives the following account of their agricultifre;,but before I infert it, let me remark, that I do not quote this writer merely as the authority of one^ but as the coUeded authority of many. Thofe who will take the trouble to confult the books, from which it is prpbable be drew moft of hte intelligence, will find that he gives an epitpme oif the whole that was known when he wrote, which is not more than ten years ago } but as fome few works worthy of attention ilave appeared fince, it is neceflary to recur to him for the general account, and to them for par- ticular ones, either in confirmation or contradidion of what be ailertf ; that is, of what was the general degree of knowledge ten years ago. It ia true, I could have rendered this e0ay more uniform and entertaining, byi giving a fingle general defcription, combined for fuch materials as I po0efs, but uniformity and agreeablenefs are not what we want. Many different ideas are current concerning our plantations;— regulations have been given them, and bounds afligned ; thefe have occafioned a ferment ftnd a variety of opinions : It is the intent of thefe flieets to examine all the authorities we have, and endeavour to determine what is the real ftate of the cafe. Materials, it is true, will fall fhort too often; but neverthe- lefs, fuch as we can find fhall fpeak for themfelves. Though, fays th; above-mentioned writer, this country is fituat^d almoft ten degrees n :arer the fun than we are in England, yet the winter begins earlier, lafts longer, and is incomparably more fevere than it is with us. The fummer again is extremely hot, and more fervently fo than in' places which lie under the fame parallels in Europe. However, both the heat and the cold are now far more moderate, and the conftitu- tion of the air in all refpeds far better than our people found it at their firft fettlement. The clearing away the woods, and the opening the grountl every where, has, by giving a free paflage to the air, carried off I i thofe 94^ POLlTlCAt ESSAYS. Emay VJ thnfe noxious vapours which were fo prejudicial to the health of the firft inhabitants. 1 he temper of the iky is generally, both in fummer and iik winter, very ftcady and ferene. Two months frequently pafs without the appearance of a cloud. Their rains are heavy, and foon over. The foil is various, but befl as you approach the northward. It affbrdis excellent meadows in the low grounds, and very good pafture almoft every where* They commonly allot at the rate of two acres to the maintenance of a cow. The meadows, which they reckon the beft, yield about a ton o^ hay by the acre ; fome produce two Cons ; but the hay is rank an^ four. This- country is not very favourable to the European kinds of grain. The wheat is fubje£l: to be blafled; the barley, is an hungry grain, and the oats are lean and chaffy; but the Indian corn, which makes the general food of the loweft fort of people, flourifties here. The ground in which it thrives moft is light and fandy, with a fmall intermixture of loam. About a peck of feed is fufficient for an acre, which, at a mediimi, prodUees about twenty-five bufhels. — •— Their horned cattle are very mimeroua^ and fome of them very large. Hogs the fame *. They export fall forta of provifions; beef, pork, butter, and cheefe, in large quantittea; Indian eprn and peafe. * The author of the Prefent State varies a little from this account Let ts hear his defcription. — *' If it were not for Indian corn, which exhauft» fsind touch more than any other grain, thefe colonies would not have corn to eat fthe northern ones). Their barley is a poor hungry grain, and oats are lean and chaffy. On account of the long and hard winters, and backward fprings, wheat docs not grow till the exceffive heats of fummer come on, fry which it is drawn up before it has a root, and ftrength ta fupport it, and produces much ftraw, but little com. The corn grows in thefe violent heats of fummer, by which it often Jhriveh when it fliould fll, and comes to nothing. The harveft is two or three months later than it fhould be. About Bofton the wheat harveft is not before the middle of September; but about Perpignan in Spain, which lies exadly in the fame latitude, and in the fame fituation, furrounded by mountains- on the weft, and the fea to the eaft, the wheat harveft is always between the lath and a4thof June; as we are informed from the beft authority, M. du Hamelt in his Element d'jigricutture. The corn is frequently feized with a froft in the middle of fummer, and totally blafted. For thefe rea* fons, they are obliged to give a bounty on the growing of wheat in New England, we are toldt and do not make com to eat|." • Vol. ii. p. 163—166* t P. 173* % P. 156, Sk, from 9weT. l.^ COLONIES. 9^3 From thefe two accounts we may venture, howeveti to determine, that many particulars in the firft are yet unimpeacbed, and others which feem rather to clafh may be reconciled ; by the latter one would appre- kend dhe New Engianden in conftant danger of Aarving, whereas it is therdn oonfefled that they ratfe Indian corn ; and by the Hrft account, in iuch quantities as to export it. This corn exhauft lands, he fays, more than all other grain* yet they continue to cultivate it in quantities; their land miift therefore be good to bear it. Further, he fays, it has much draw, though little com : this is another proof of the goodnefs of the foil, and gives us great reafon to believe the former account of their grafs and dai- ries; for that land which will yield much ftraw will, with few exc^pr tions, be found fertile in grafs. — The foil of this colofty therefore appears to be good, notwithftanding its beft corn is mai^e ; and to be of a nature not very different in eSe£t icom that of Britain, as it produces plenty of grafs and bread-corn ; the diftin£kion between maize and wheat, as long as people can live on either, is of little confequence. The flrft writer mentions their growing flax, and fomc hemp, but unfuccefsfully ; of this more hereafter, as ^Jiaple, Hence we find, that the agriculture of ihis country is that of maintaining its inhabitants immediately^ and not fecondarily by way of exchange. -*• New York, New Jerfey, and Penfylvania, fays the firft quoted writer, admit of no very remarkable difFerence. The foil throughout is in gene- xal extremely fruitful, abounding not only in its native grain, the Indian corn, but in all fucK as have been naturalized there from Europe. Wheat in fuch abundance, and of fo excellent a quality, that few parts of the world, for the traO: which is cultivated, exceed it in the one or the other of thefe particulars ; nor in barley, oats, rye, buckwheat ; and every fort of grain which we have here. They have a great number of horned cattle, horfes, fheep, and hogs. Every fpecies of herbs or roots which we force in our gardens grow here with great eafe ; and every fpecies of ihiit; but fome, as thofeof peaches and melons, in far greater perfedion. They raife in all thefe provinces, but much the moft largely in Penfyl- vania. great quantities of flax. Hemp is a flourifhing article. In the year 1749, '^^7 exported from New York city 6731 tons of provifions, and a vajl quantity of grain. In 175 1, New Jerfey exported thirty- eight fhip loads of wheat, beef, pork, flower, and bread ; but that of Fenfylvania infinitely exceeds both. Thefe provinces ^e as healthy as can be wiihed *." * Vol. ii. p. 187. 191. 195. 205. Ii» The t44( POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V." The^Author of the Prefent State fays fo Httle upon thefe colonies in particulak't that I can only give the following flight extract from him : Spealcifig'of the northern colonies^ he fays, ** The winters laft for five or lix mbnths; the fnow lies four or five feet deep ; and the cold is twenty deg;ree8 greater even at the town of New York on the warmer fea-coaft, than the mod intenfe cold felt in England during the hard winter of J 739-40. By the obfervations made in January 1765, by the maflers of the college at New York, Fahienheit's thermometer fell 6 degrees below o» which is 21 degrees below ij', the greatefl cold in England.— —Water then froze inftantly, and even ftrong liquors in a very (hort time. — And we; are told it is not unufual there to fee a glafs of water fet upon a table in a warm room freeze before you can drink it. •'■ — In the inland part«y the cold is much more intenfe, and they have frofls the whole year, eves in the middle of fummcr; which have been obferved by many in the mOhth of July upon the mountains in the moft fouthern parts of Penfyl- vania, and even on the mountains of Virginia, although they are but very low. In the town of Philadelphia, which lies in the 40th degree of lati** tude^to the Ibuthward of Naples and Madrid, I faw the winter fet in with a NZoieaCftaorth-weft wind ; a hard frofl and ice of a conliderable thick* n9fii fori the loth of September t>'* .(»{;n J,i f ' tHPhe^e is nothing in this account which exprefsly contradr£t8 the for- men;' but'thd nhn^enfe cold mentioned in one, and the melons^ and thoft hbrbs which we force in England growing fo naturally, as fpecified in the other, forms i'ftrange contrail; and yet perhaps they may not be incon- iiftetit; fmce we fhall hereafter find, on indubitable authority, that lemons and- oranges are in America fpontaneous produdions, in places where Bri*- tiOioneb have been dejlroyed by the feverity of the frofts. It muft there** fore be rifolved into the flrange peculiarity of the North American climate. - ' It appears, however, that thefe provinces are very fertile ones in the produdioQ of all the neceflaries of life, infomuch that their princtparl export is of fuch. I fhould remark, that their exportation of hemp and flax is very trifling, compared with that of corn and provifions. <■ Vifginia feind Maryland come next. " The climate and foili fays my firft author, was undoubtedly much heightened in the firft defcriptions, for political reafons ; but after making all the neceflary abatements which expe- lience has fiftce taught us, we ftill find it a moft excellent country. The heats in fummer are excelTxvely great, but not without the allay of refreilv- ing fea-breezes. The weather is changeable, and the changes fudden and t P. 166, violent. SlCT. I.' r \t COLONIES. 245 Tiolcnt. Their winter frofts come on without the lead warning. After a warm day, towards the fetting in of winter, fo intenfe a cold often fucceeds at (o freeze over the broadeft and dcepcft of their great rivers m one night; butthefe frofts, as well as their rains, are rather violent than of long, continuance. They have frequent and violent thunder and lightning, but it does rarely any mifchief. In general, the fky is clear, and the air thin, pure and penetrating. The foil in the low grounds is a dark, fat mould, which for many years, without any manure, yields plentifully whatever is committed to it. The foil, as you leave the rivers, becomes light and fandy, is fooner exhaufted than the low country, but is yet of a warm and generous nature, which, helped by a kindly fun, yields tobacco and corn extremely well. There is no better wheat than what is produced in thefe provinces; but the cultuire of tobacco \:mpIoy8 all their attention, and almoft all their hands ; fo that they fcarcely culti- vate wheat enough for their own Ufe. Homed cattle and hogs have iliiiii^ tipHed almoft beyond belief V* The defcription of the author of the Prefent State is as follows: "It it commonly alleged, and' we fee in all our hiftories of Virginia, that their "^ands are extremely rich and fertile, infomuch that it is imagined the) will bear tobacco, or hemp and flax, for ever. But although their lands, particularly in Maryland and the northern parts of Virginia, are by far the bed of any in North America on this fide of the Apalachean moun- tains, they arc far from- being rich j the foil is in general very light, and fo fhallow, thaft it is fobn worn out by culture, efpecially with fuel: exhauding crops as Indian corn and tobacco. It is for this reafon that they are now obliged to fow wheat, and exported fifty or fixty Ihip loads laft year.-— Ohe-thir^ of the country may be faid to be a good and fruit- ful foil; a third-partis biit indifferent ; and the remaining third is very poor and mean, although not quite barren.— The fouthern parts of Virgi- nia are very poor and fandy, like Carolina, and all the conv.icrt to the .fouthward, whence they will hardly bear tobacco of any value. The l^ampsofVii^inJa alone would produce much more rice than all Europe and America confumed ; and the rice we have feen grow 'jpon them was nigh as large again as what is made upon the poor c^rounda in Caro- lina f." There is a very material difference in thefe accounts: Biit we fhould' liemark, that as the latter author aims rather at depreciating the foil of «ur colonies, fomething is to be allowed by way of abatement on that: m\Ui •M •P. aog. fP. 177. i84. I* account-. ^46 P0LITlCALr^€3AYS. Essay V. account.. Froni whence vre may cpnclude,^ (and jefpeci^Vy as he fays the ^oil of thefe colonies is the beft we have planted in North America) that Jlheir land is better than he reprefenjl^ it. But the culture of wjie^t is that pn which they differ fo much. The firft fays, theyjfow fcarceaay, iniportr ing it from other fettle^nentsj whereas the latter aflerta, that they export confiderable xjuantities, from which we may be very fure they ferve their home confumption. Yet thefe feeming conjtradidlions are pot difficult to xeconcile. I have already obferved, that the author of the Account of the European Settlement Si althomgh he omitted no authorities he 9puM confuih;> yet his materials. cannot be fuppofed later than five and twenty years: Islow, io long ago, the inhabitants of thefe colonies might cultivate nothing but tobacco, and at prefent nothing but com ; great ehangcfi inight happen in that period. We fliould remember, in that tiipc the war broke out, which was occafioned by their want oifrejh lands; inducing .them to pafs the mountains and fettle, upon trads ufurped by the French; they were not only driven back, but all their frontier fettlements waited and deftroyed during feveral years. AH that time the tobacco culture could only he continued on old lands, which it confequently exihaufted fomuch 3A to render them more profitable for wheat: nor were they a groat the h^er,for the peace, as the proclamation o^ O^qber 7, 1763, reduced them eiKcn to more fcanty bounds than the forts of the French. H^nce aitifea the difference we find in twenty-five years. It a^ppe^rs that now^ common hiifhandry, fuch as is praQifed in the mother-country, is become pore profitable than their ftaple commodity : a proof by the bye that they are become very populous, and that either themfelves or their neigbboufs liave pervious manufa(3:uring places which they fupi^y with provificuis. jjiw. „«r'^^;;l'»--.«i»-/.; ■?, .■ ,. '.-.^ . ^ ' '.■ 'yyii: vidf ^ The dext colonies in order are the Carolinas and Georgia, which I con- nect:, as their foils and produds are much the fame. The author of the Eurqpeqn Settlements gives the following account of them. " The climate and foil do pot confiderably differ from thofe of Virginia ; but where they differ it is much to the advantage of Carolina, which on the whole may be confijered as. one of the fineft climates in the world. The heat in fum- .,mer is very little greater than in Virginia, but the winters are milder and Cborter, and the year, in all refpeds, does not come to the fame violent extremities ; however, the weather though in general ferene, as the air is healthy, yet, like all An v'-ican weather, it makes fuch quick changes, and thofe fo fharp, as to oblige the inhabitants to rather more caution in their drefs and diet than we are obliged to ufe in Europe. Thunder and lightning are frequent ; and it is the only one (he fpeaks of South Caro- lina) of our colonies upon the continent which is fubjed to hurricanes ; but they are very rare, and not near fo violent as thofe of the Weft Indies. .... Part Sect.T. C O L O 1^ I E S. 247 Part of the month of March, and all April, May, aiid the grea(teft part of June, are here inexpreffibly temperate and agreeable ; but in July, Aut- gull, and for almofl the whole of September, the heat is very intenfe; and though the winters are fharp, efpecially wheh the north-wdl wind prevails, yet they are feldom fevere enough to freeze any confiderable water, afFedting only the mornings and evenings. The frofta hive never fufficient ftrength to refift the noon-day fun, fo that many tender plants which do not ftand the winter of Virginia, flourifh in Carolina ; for they have oranges in great plenty near Gharks Town, and excellent in their kinds, hoth fweet and four : olives are rather negledled by the plantes than denied by the climate. The vegetation of every kind of plant is here almoft incredibly quick; for there is fomething fo kindly in the air and foil, that where die latter has the mod barren and unpromiHiigi appearance, if neglected for a while, of itfelf it ihoots out an immenle quantity of thole various plants, and beautiful flowering fhrubs and flowers, for which this county is fo famous, and of which Mr. Catei(by, in his natural Hiftory of Carolina, has made fuch fine drawings. -^ The. whole country is in a manner- one foreft,. where our planters hayi^ hot cleared it. The trees ^re almoft the fame in every refpeft with thofe produced in Virginia ; and by the different fpecies of thefe, the qualitj^ of the foil is eafily known ; for thofe grounds which bear the oak, dife walnut, and the hickory, are extremely fertile; they are of a dark fendi intermixed with loam; and as all their land abounds with nitre^ itiia' a long time before it is exhaufted, for here they never tife any m^nuce.^ The pine-barren is the worft of all: this is an almoft perfedkly white; fand, yet it bears the pine-tree, and fome other ufeful plants, naturally, yielding good profit in pitch, tar, and turpentine. When this fpecies of land is cleared, for two or three years together, it produces very tolerable crops of Indian corn and peafe ; and when it lies low, and is ftdoded, it even anfwers well for rice. But what is the beft of all for this province, this worft fpecies of its land is favourable to a fpecies of the moft valu- able of all its produfts, to one of the kinds of indigo. There is another fort of ground, which lies low and wet upon the banks of fome of their livers; this is called fwamp, which in fome places is in a manner ufelefs, in others it is far the richeftof all their grounds; it is a black fat earthy and bears their great ftaple, rice, which muft have in general a rich moift foil in the greateft plenty and perfedion. The country near the fea, and at the mouths of the navigable rivers, is much the worft ; for moft of the land there is of the fpecies of the pale, light, fandy coloured ground ; and' what is otherwife in thofe parts is little better than an unhealthy and' unprofitable falt-marfli. But the country aS you advance in it improves continually ; and at an hundred miles difiance from Charles Town, whero - ; it „.e*«^^ ^ ?48 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V, ■*<».■ "'■"'■Sja j^ it begins to grow hilly, the foil is of a prodigious fertility, fitted for every purpofe of human life. The air is pure and wholefome, and the fummer heats much more temperate than in the flat country ; for Carolina is all an even plain for eighty miles from the fea ; no hill, no rock, fcarce even a pehblc to be met with: fo that the bed part of the maritime country from this famenefs muft want fomething of th<^ fine efFed which its beau- tiful produfts would have by a more variegated and advantageous difpofi- tioQ ; but nothing can be imagined more pleafant to the eye than the back country, and its fruitfulnefs is almoft incredible : wheat grows extremely well there, and yields a prodigious increafe. In the other parts of Caro- lina they raife but little, where it is apt to mildfew, and fpend itfelf in ftraw ; and thefe evils the planters take very little care to redrefs, as they turn their whole attention to the culture of rice, "which is more profitable, and in which they are unrivalled, being fupplied v«rith what wheat they want in exchange for this grain from New York and Penfylvania.— The land in Carolina is veryrcauly cleared^very where, as there is little or po underwood. Their ^orefts confift nioftly of great trees, at i. confiderable difiance afunder, fo that they can clear in Carolina more land in a week than in the forefts of Europe they can do in a month. Their method is, to cut them at about a foot from the grouild, and then faw the tree into boards, or convert them into ftaves, heading, or other fpecies of lumber, according to the nature of the wood, or the demands at the markets. If they are tbO far from navigation, they heap them together, and leave them to rot. The roots foon decay; and, before that, they find no incon- venience from them where land is fo plenty. Black cattle have multi- plied here prodigioufly j about fifty years ago it was a thing extraordinary to have above three or four cows, now fome have a thoufiuid, fome in North Carolina a great many more; very common *.** but to have two or three hundred is The Prefent State varies greatly from this account. " It is the great misfortune of the nation, fays that work, that an extenfive part of her dominions, which Hrs in a climate that might otherwife produce every thing we want from North America, is as barren as it is unhealth- ful, and unfit either to raife any confiderable colt lies, or to make any thing of confequence in them. Both North and South Carolina are a low, flat, fandy country, like a fandy defart, for a great diftance from the fea- coafl: ; and the farther fouth we go to (Georgia and Florida, it grows fo much worfe. It is fald by Mr. Cateflj}', who was fent to America on purpofe to explore thefe fouthern parts ok the continent, that a third part ■isii* ft' • Vol. ii. p, 24.1. of Sect. I. COLONIES. ^4at of Carolina is a pine barren, or afandy defart ; and he, with many others from vvhom we have had particular accounts of all thefe fouthern j^arts of North America, have aflured us, that th^ greateft part of the reft was little better. " In the inland parts indeed,[as he fays, the country is more high and hilly, but the hills are nothing hardly but batiks of f and, rocks or fiones^ with a few favannas or low meadow-grounds, which afford good pafluragein the vallies, which are called rich lands in Carolina. From Charles Town to Port Royal the country is very low and flat, vrith great numbers of fmall rivers and creeks, and fwamps and marihes on their borders, which are their rice-grounds, and only fruitj 'ul lands in the country. Thus, all thefe extenfive fourthern pans of North America produce little or nothing elfe^ and the lands are hardly ivorth cultivating^ if it be not in the unhealthful and deftru£live fwamps and marihes, which they are obliged to be at the immenfe toil and fatigue of clearing, drain- ing, and cultivating, at the rifque of their lives, in order to get rice to fupply the place of •wheats and to have pailurage on the low grounds, «^i- thtr of 'which the uplaids o^or^/.— — Many of our rice plantations would. have been broke up before this time, if it had not been for the afii (lance of. indigo, which has fupported them. •— — TTie only way to render Carolina. of any fervice to the na ion is, to fettle the inland and weftern ,par)is», %uhich are as fruitful and healthful as the eaftern and maritime p^t8,,t^ which we are confined, are the reverfe of both.— —The badnefs of the pafturage in the fouthern colonies renders it impradicable to maintiain ftocks of cattle fufficient to manure lands for indigo, hemp, and fla^,^." , On this account we muft in the firft place remark, that the author pal- pably contradicts himfelf : a third part of Carolina^ fays he, : is afahiy defart^ and the greatejl part of the rejl little better. But foon after t|ie cafe is greatly changed, for the "wefiern parts are fruitful and hi;althfid: From hence we mufl not allow of this part of his aflertion in contradidion to the account ^iven by the firft quoted author, who likewife fays, that the back country (that is, the weftern parts) is hilly and prodigiott/ly fruit- ful; whereas the other afl'erls the hills to be nothing but banks offand, rocks and flones. The one tells us that the inhabitanis give all their attention to rice, becaufe it is the mofl profitable culture; the other, that they cultivate it to fupply the place of ivheat. The former fays again, that their dry lands delight in indigo ; the latter, that their lands produce little or nothing, and are hardly luovth cultivating^ except in the ivet fivamps; one fays, the back country is yery fertile in ivheat, , and that the quantity of cattle kept in the province is prodigious ; the other, that; 1^ .U . • Page i39. 178. 235- K k it .ar'',\ their /*! 250 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. I their uplands tvill produce neither corn nor grafs. What are we to depend upon in this cafe, wherein writers vary (o greatly ? Give moft credit to that which is moft confiftent, or the account given by the firft. However, here we will have recourfe to a third *, of better authority than either. " The inland of South Carolina," fays this writer, ** for a hundred or a hundred and fifty miles back, is flat and woody : It i.: . emarkable for the diverfity of its foil ; that near th^ fea-coaft is generally Tandy, but not theref. c unfruitftil\ in other parts there is clay» loam, a i r ^rle. There are difperfed up and down the country feveral large iudian old fields, which are lands that have been cleared by the Indians, and now remain juft as they left them. There arife in many places fine favannas, or wide extended plains, which do not produce any trees; thefe are a kind of natural lawns, and fome of th <7i as beautiful as thofe made by art. The country abounds every where with large fwampd, which, when cleared, opened, and fweetened by culture, yield plentiful crops of rice t along the banks of our rivers and creeks, there are alfo fwamps and marfties, fit either for rice, or, by the hardnefs of their bottoms,' for paf- turage. Our climate is various, and uncertain to fuch an extraordinary degree, that I fear not to afiirm there are no people upon earth who, I think, can fuffer greater extremes of heat and cold : it is happy for u* that they are not of long duration.— —In fummer the thermometer hath been known to rife to 98 degrees, and in winter to fall to 10 degrees. In fummer the heat of the fhaded air, at two or- three o'clock in the after- noon, is frequently between 90 and 95 degrees ; but fuch extremes of heat being foon produftive of thunder-fliowcrs, are not of long duration ^ On the 14th, 15th, and i6th of June 1738, at three o'clock in the afternoon^ the thermometer was at 98 degrees • a heat equal to the greatcft heat of the human body in health ! - — I then applied a thermometer to my arm- pits, and it fuiik one degree; but in my mouth and hands it continued at ^ degrees. Sixty-five and ^ degrees may be called the temperate heat in Qirofina, which exceeds 48 degrees, the temperate heat in Eng- land, more than that exceeds 32 degrees the freezing point. When we- are in the ftrcets in a ierene dry day in fummer, the air we walk in, and infpire, is many degrees hotter than that of the human blood f. » From thefe feveral accounts we may venture to condude^^ry?, that the back or hilly country of thefe colonies is extremely fertile, pleafant, and wholefome ; Jecoitdly, that the maritime or flat part is fruitful in rice> indigo, &c. but verx unpleafant and unwholefome ^ thirdfyy that both A Dejiri^t'im of South Carolina^. 8vo. ijfit. t P. 5, 6. II. 17. 19. abound Sect, I. I COLONIES. «7i I abound in paAurage and moft of the necefTaries of life; but the back part in a very fuperior degree. We come next to Florida, the laft colony on the continent ; hut about ^hich the author of the European Settlements is filent. 1 ihall therefore begin with a very modern account, and contrail it with that of the Prc" fent State. " The fea-coaft of Eaft Florida," fays Dr. Stork, " is a low flat country, interfered by a great number of rivers, very like Holland, or Surinam in America : It continues flat for about forty miles from the coaft, and then grows a little hilly, and in fome parts rocky.— The trees of Florida are at a diftance from one another, and being clear of under- wood, this country has more the appearance of an open grove than a forefl:. The rains and the heavy dews, which are more frequent here than to the northward, create fuch a luxuriant vegetation, that the furface of the earth, notwithdanding the heat of the fun, is never without a good ver* dure. Thcfiiody foil is moft prevalent, efpecially towards the fea. There are generally four ftrata or beds of earth found in Eaft Florida ; the upper- moft is a mould of earth, a tew inches thick; beneath is a fand, half a yard in depth ; below that a ftrong white clay, refembling the marie in England, and may be ufed as a manure to the landy land ; this ftratum is commonly four feet thick : The fourth layer is a rock, compofed of petri** fled (ca-^elb. The fertility of Florida, is much aicribed to thefe two ftrata of clay and rock, which contribute to keep the fand moift, and pre- vent the rains from (lining away from the roots of the plants and trees. T!.ie lands upon the rivier $t. Mary's arc the richeft in the northern parts of the province j the abundance of cane-fwamps fufficiently ihews the fer- tility theneofl The beft trees that grow ia the fwamps on this river are the live oak and cediur, very ufcful for (hip^building ; their extniordinary fize is a ftrong tuark of '«.iie goodnefs of the foil. From this river to that of St. John's, is a tdcatl- of pine-barrens. We find a ftriking difference between the pine-barrens of Florida and thofe to the northward; the pine- barrens to the northward, fror i the poverty of the foil, do not anfwer the neceflary expeace of cleardn;;;. The clofenefs of the trees hinders the ^rafs from growing under them, fo that la ~e trads of land are no far- ther ufeful than to make pitch and tar: whe as in Florida, as the trees fland at a greater diftance, and both the rains and dews are more frequent than to the northward, the pine-barrens are covered with good grafs, of a perpetual verdure. Fhw tropical fruits and plants are found in great abundance upon the river St. John, and afford the ftrongeft evidence* that both the foil and climate are fit for fugar, cotton, indigo, and other Weft India produAions. The land about Aiiguftinc, in all appearance the worft in the province, is yet far from being unfruitful ; it produces two K k 2 ■ cropt ^*^ 252 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. crops of Indian corn a year; the garden vegetables are ift gr^it perfe(fHon." The orange and lemon-trees grow here, without cultivation, to a larger fize, and produce better fruit than in Spain or Portugal. ^The climate of Eaft Florida is an agreeable medium betwixt the fcorching heat of the tropics, and the pinching cold of the northern laticudes. Al! America, to the north of the river Potomack, is greatly incommoded bjr the feveri- ties of the weather for two or three months in the winter. In Eaft Flo- . rida there is indeed a change of the feafons, but it is a moderate one; in November and December many trees lofe their leaves, vegetation goes on flowly, and the winter is perceived. In the northern parts cf the pro- vince, a flight froll happened laft year, the fitft known there in the memory of man. I do not find upon inquiry, that fnow has ever been fcen there; the winters are fo ml!d, that the Spaniards at Augufiine had r. either chimnies in their houfes, nor g;laf8-window3. The tendered plants of the Weft Indies, fuch as the plantusn, the allegator, pear-tree, the l^anana, the pine-apple or ananas, the fu{;'*r"-cane, &;c. remain unhurt during the winter in the gardens of St. AugJiHne. — The f;)g8 and dark gloomy weather, fo common in England, are uftk'iown in this country. At the Equinoxes, efpecially the autumnal, the rs^ns fall very heavy every day, betwixt eleven o'clock in the morning; and four in the afternoon, for fome weeks together: when a fliower h over, the fky does not conti- nue cloudy, but always clears up, and the fun appears jigain. The mild- nefs of the feafons, and the purity of the air, are probably the caufe of the healthinefs of this countJ)% The inhabitants of the Spaniih fettlements in America confider Eaft Ibrida, with refpeft to its healthinefs, in the fame light that we do the fouth of France, and they look upon Auguf- tine as the Montpelier of Ametica. The Spaniards from the Havannah and elfewhere have frequently t eforted thither for the benefit of their health. Since it came into the hands of Great Britain, many gentlemen have experienced the happy effeds of its climate. Mr. Dunnet, thefecre- tary of the province, and Mr. Wilfon, a merchant there, both in a deep confumption, have afcribed the recovery of their health to the climate. It is an indifputable fad, which can be proved by the monthly returns of the ninth rea:iment in garrifon in Eaft Florida, that it did not lofe one fingle man by natural death in the fpace of twenty months ; and as this regi- ment does duty in feveral forts, at different diftances from Auguftine, St. Mark's, d'Apalachie at two hundred miles, Piccolata thirty, Matawzas twenty, it proves in the moft fatisfaftory manner, that the climate is healthy in different parts of the province— —The peninfula of Florida is not broad ; and as it lies betwixt two feas, the air is cooler, and oftener rclVcflicd witli mins than on the continent : the intire abl'ence of the fun iot eleven hours makes the dews heavy, and gives the earth time to cooi, ' ' . &>, Sect. I. COLONIES. aj3 fo that the nights in fummer are lefs fultry here than in the northern lati-» tude, where the fun Ihines upon the earth for feventeen or eighteen hour* i out of the twenty-four. The heat, which in South Carolina and the fouthern part of Europe, is fqmetimes intolerable for want of wind, is here mitigated by a never-failing fea-breeze in the day-time, and a land- wind at night. It is only in and near the tropics that the fea and land- breezes ire at all uniform and to be depended upon. -The white peoples . «rork if. he fields in thelieatef the day without prejudice to their health ;' gentkiiv.n frequently ride out for pleafure in the middle of the day;, and governor Grant is regularly on horfebark every day from eleven to three oVlock in the afternoon*.*' I fhould remark, that the author of this acrnunt refided fome time in Eaft Florida. As to Weft Florida, he fpcaks of it as a very \uiwholefome country. In a journal of a voyage up ?^hc river St. John, annexed to the preceding account, by Mr. Bartram, the king's botanift for the Floridas, we find nine parts in ten of the adjoining country fwamps and marfhes; and on the 3d of January, he records a frolt that froze the ground an inch thick ; thermometer 26 j the 2ift of the preceding month it was 74. The author of the Frefent State fpeaks thus diametrically contrary tor Dr. Stork. " Fjccept difmal fwamps, it appears from all accounts, that they have no other corn or grafs-grounds in Florida fit to maintain any? number of people. It is contrary to all reafon and experience to call Flo» rida healfhful. There never was a healthful country known upon the fea-coafts of America, whether north or fouth, from New York, or at leaft from Virginia to Peru : all the Britifh and Spanifli colonies in thefe climates are very well known to be very unhealthful on the low flat marfliy fea-coafts; and Florida lies in the very midft and worft fituation of them all. If it is healthful, it muft alter the very nature of things* It is a low fiat and marihy fea-coaft, fcorched with burning fands in a hot climate and clofe woody country, and flooded with exceffwe^ heavy. rains, which have no drain from the land, but ftagnate all over a low flat coun- try, and form thofe fwamps and marflies of which it is full, which become perfedlly peftiferous, where the waters ftagnate and corrupt in fuch a hot climate. There is not a hill in the whole country to drain it from the heavy rains, either in Eaft or Weft Florida; from which alone any one might perceive they can never be heathful : In thefe refpeds they reCemble all the moft unhealthful parts of our colonies and of all other parts of the world, and the climate is more intemperate : we ought •v: ■) '%; * An Account of Eaft Florida, by William Stork, 8vo, 1766. p. 24, 25. 27. 29. 39, 40, 4»j42, 43» ■ ' ' ' ' ■■ ^- ■'■ ■' \ not «54 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. not therefore to be deluded with ftories about the healthfulnefs of fuch a country, when all the world ftiews it to be the reverfe. The reafon that is given for the healthfulnefs of Florida is, that the garrifon of St. Auguftinci (he had jufl: before allowed the banks of Auguftinc lo be healthy, becaufe they are high and dry) after flaying there for twenty months, happened to efcape alive ; but furely that is no certain proof that the country is health- ful; it may be a fign that it is inhabitable, and fo are all parts of the v^orld, in fome degree, from Greenland to Gomorron, but that is no proof that they are healthful : They appear to be unacquainted with the ftate of health in North ^ nrierica, who draw that condulion from fuch aa obfervation. The tell us that Florida is healthful, would at the fame time perfuadeuv . it will bear fugar ; in which they feem not to know how much they contradid themfelves. The fmall ihare of health that people generally enjoy in all thefe fouthern and maritime parts of North America, proceeds from the winters, in which the people recruit their ftrength and vigour* fo as to be able to live out another fummer; but in fuch winters fugar is killed, when men recover ; but Florida feems to be unfit for either. Good lands in thefe fouthern parts of North America (hould be covered as they are upon the Miflifippi, and all other places, with tall, red hiccories^ as high and ftraight as elms; white, chefnut, or fcarlet oaks, tulip trees, black walnuts, locufts, &c. of which we do not ineet with one in Florida^ And it is not a tree or two of any kind that de- notes the quality of the land, but intire woods of them. But many who are Dnacquainted with theie things deceive themfelves, and impofe upon the na- tion, and it is to be feared do not know land when they fee it. If they find a few oaks on land they think it mufl be good ; but there are four and twenty difFerent forts of oak in North America, which grow on all forts of foil, from clay to fand, and from the beft to the very worft of all. Others again are as much deceived about what they call hiccory -lands.— So upon feeing a little clay upon the fandy banks, they tell us thefe barren fands have a clayey f^ndation.**— Mr- Bartram could find no clay till a bit was fearched for as a rarity, which proved to be only a concretion of fhells. The fandy banks in all thefe fouthern parts of North America have fome firata of clay and (hells in them, otherwife they would be waihed into the fca, where there are no rocks nor ftones to fupport them ; but you will find no clay in the land. But the way to judge of good lands is, from the corn and gray's they bear, and the crops they yield : fo that if any will tell us of good lands in Florida, what fort of grafs do they produce ? or do they bear any ? and what is it like ? Sandy foils in hot climates never produce good grafs; and in Florida they are covered with pines, which fpoil every thing, and even the earth itfelf, as we have faid. But what fort of corn will lands produce which bear no grafs ? We are told indeed, 3 Sect. I. COLONIES. 2^5 indeed, they have two crops of corn in a year, which it is well known the Indians of Florida always had, and yet they never had corn to eat for above fix months in the year. There are five very different forts of Indian corn, and a dwarf early kind, of which they have two crops a year in all the fouthern parts of America, and yet it yields fo little, that it is not worth planting ; if it be jiot in Canada and Florida, where the foil or climate are fit for no other. Thus you can neither have wheat, barley, rye, oats, good Indian corn, nor grafs ; fo that it is to be feared we da not know or confider what it is to plant fuch a country. It is furpriz- ing, that when this nation has fo few people, we (hould think of nothing but fettling the barren and peftiferous fea-coafts of Florida, and the Weft India iflands, which havti been called healthful as well as the other. The fwamps, which they would call rich lands, lie on St. John's river, which is the only part oi the country that is of any value. Now, the lands on the lower parts of that river are fandy and barren for one hun- dred and twenty-five miles, above which thefe fwamps extend forty or fifty miles farther ; and beyond thefe the river is fo choaked up with pond weeds, (a fure fign of an ofFenfive ftagnant water) that it overflows it» low borders, and drowns the country about it, which forms many lagunes or miry-marfhes, from that to its fource nigh the Cape of Florida. This is the whole of this country, which fome would extol and magnify. Ad for any uplands, we hear of none but what are all fand. The pine-bar- rens come down to the river fide, where it is not fwampy ; and the low grounds between the fwamps and the barrens adjacent are but two or three hundred yards broad, and thefe are all fand, fays our author. See Bartram's Journal, MAtivsCRiPT; 'which paffage •we do not find in the tdition that has been puhlijhed^ althoAgh it is the mofi material of the nvhoUi as it contains a general defcription of the country, and the author^ s pinion of it after he had viewed it : but as this is not in favour of the country, it was not deemed fit to print *.** I hope the candid reader will not condemn fuch long quotations, with- out confidering the great import:.ace and neceflity of gaining a know- ledge of a colony in refpedt of climate, foil, and agriculture, before any juft reflexions on the ufe of it can be advanced ; and where accounts that come from thofe who, to ^U appearance, are no trifling judges, or at leaft the beft we have to guide us, difller fo exceedingly, a flight or general mention of each is open to a thoufand miflakes, omiffions, and even falla-^ cies. Hence it is requifite to quote the author^s owa wordS} before a fair compartfon can be made. * Page i88» 189. 194. 199. aoo. 302. From 55^ POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. From both thefe accounts it appears, that Florida is in general a flat counliy, much intcrlcded with rivers, and abounding greatly with fwamps and marlhes. I do not at prefent inquire, whether thefe arc fer- tile or barren ; ihcy certainly muft be unwholelbmc. The maritime part of • the Caroiinas is the fame, and that we have already found it to be. A country lb hot, as any muft be wherein the theimometer rifes in Decem- ber to 74 *, and containing fomuch low and wet land, I Ihould apprehend muft, in the nature of things, be very unhealthy. But Dr. Stork declares the contrary, ai d even names inftances of no flight confequence. How is this to be reconciled ? The recovery of the two perfons from a con- j fumption was, in all probability, at St. Auguftine, and not in the country, . And the ninth regiment being alive muft be attributed to chance, poflibly , they were fickly; a circumftance not mentioned. The authoi oi the Pre- fent State., however, quotes this faiSt very unfairly; he calls them the garrifon of St. Auguftine, whereas they were quartered over the country; ' a material diftierencc. But in this and in the following circumftances, let J us never forget Bartram's journal being mutilated. His general opinion • of the country muft certainly be the moft important part of the work, and a part which every reader cannot but be furp^izcd at the want of. To j publifti it fo unfairly, difplays fuch a defign to fet off^ the country in a light more advantageous than true,' that I muiit own the credit of Dr. Stork's account is thereby greatly impeached, or at leaft the ftncerity of s',it. A defcription may be true, and yet not worth a groat; for if the ivhole truth is not publiftied, all had better been kept in darknefs. But the white people, it is faid, fupport their labour in the heat of the '.- day through fummer ; and governor Grant is on horfeback every day from eleven until three. Thefe are ftrong circumftances* and very inconfiftent 5 with fuch heat as one would imagine they muft endure : We may likewife ^^from reafon allow what he fays of the refrefliing land and fea-breezes, which muft render them more healthy than in Carolina. Let us there- fore fteer a middle courfe, and fuppofe that Florida, from its refemblance -to the maritime parts of Carolina, would be equally, if not more, un- wholefome, were it not for thefe breezes, which mitigate the heats, and - render it as wholefome as fuch a foil will allow. As to the point of its bearing fugar, Dr. Stork feems to have concluded ■ too quickly ; for the cultivation of that vegetable is very inconfiftent with • fuch a froft as Bartram records. The cane may grow at St. Auguftine, > and yet (as the author of the Prefent State remarks) produce nothing but • The thermometer in the Ccn jrion. during her furrounding the globe, and palling the line feveral times, never rofe higher than 76. Anfutii Voyage., 4to, p. 182. S , melafles- Sect. I." CO L O N I E S. 257 mclafles. What iKU author likewife mentions of the trees, which do and ought to diftinguifh good land, is very juft, and bears hard ngainfl Florida. Likewife Mr. Bartram's fearching for, and not finding a bit of clay, docs not very well accord with Dr. Stork's ftratum of clay fo near the fand. But the remarks on the corn and grafs, of the fame author, appear not to be well founded, becaufe Carolina, according to his account, has as little; and yet we know, on better authority, that it raifcs large quantities of Indigo, and maintains prodigious herds of cattle ; whereas, according to him, without grafs there can be no indigo, — and moft certainly no herds of cattle. This part of his argument is therefore the language of preju- dice. In the next paragraph he couples Florida and the Weft Indian iflaods together, and is equally againft both ; which proves in the cleareft manner that, politically fpeaking, he knows nothing at all of the matter. In debating the benefits of colonization, whoever of common fenfe quef- tioned the propriety of planting iflands in the Weft Indies ? This point I Ihall difmifs, as too clear to bear an argument. From thefe circumftances therefore we find, that Florida is not only unwholefome, but totally Improper for the cultivation of fugar : that it is very deficient in all land but fwamp and pine-barren. But as to their degree of fertility, we know but little. The one aflerting the latter to be very fertile in Indian corn, indigo, &c. the other, that it will bear no- thing ; however, if we reafon by analogy from Carolina, we may fup- pofe the fwamps to be good rice grounds, and the pine-barren to be not unfruitful in many ufeful productions. More exprefs determinations would be the refult of the quotation from Dr. Stork, had it not appeared that Bartram's journal was mutilated ; but fuch a circumftance makes one fufpicious, that he might be directed what to write, as the other was what to publifli : And this, with the greater reafon, as no anfwer to the very ■ heavy accufations of falfehood brought by the author of the Prefent State has appeared on the part of Dr. Stork, which it muft be allowed does not tend to ftrengthen his credit. As to Weft Florida, I find it agreed by all to be unwholefome, and as a colony good for nothing. The Weft Indian iflands come next in order: in accounts of which authors have been much more confiftent, and therefore I fhall not be under the necefllty of quoting various defcriptions of one thing . I fhall in general adhere to the author of the European Settlements^ as he col- lected his work from all the materials yet extant : But wherever I can call in later authority, I fljall not negled it. Jamaica claims our firft atten- tion. : -,■ .' . .^ L 1 ^ * ;?. f* The fi 258 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. " The face of the country, fays he, is a good deal different from what is generally obferved in other places. For as, on one hand, the mountaint are very ftecp; fo the plains between them are perfectly fmooth and lerel. In thefe plains the foil augmented by the wafli of the mountaint for fo many ages, is prodigioufly fertile. None of our iflands produce fo fine fugars. They formerly had liere cacao in great perfeAion, which delights in a rich ground. Their paflures, after the rains, are of a mofl beauti- ful verdure, and extraordinary fatnefs. They are called favannas. On the whole, if this ifland were not troubled with great thunders and lightnings, hurricanes and earthquakes ; and if the air was not at once violently hot. damp, and extremely unwholefome in mod parts, the fer-> tility and beauty of this country would make it as defirable a fituation for pleafure as it is for the profits, which, in fpite of .hefe difadvantages*. draw hither fuch a number of people *. The quantity of fertile land in Jamaica is computed at 4,500,000 acres, of which 1,600,000 only are patented, and not above 350,000 employed in any fort of culture.** I met with fcarce any particular dcfcriptions of Barbadoes; the lafl quoted author is filent in the points in queflion. " It contains about 100,000 acres, and from the immenfity of the pro'^ duce, is moft of it probably cultivated. The climate is very hot, efpeci- ally for eight months ; but not fo excefHve as in the fame latitude on thr continent of America, by reafon of the fea-breezes blowing all the year round. The rains fall when the fun is vertical. This exceflive moif- ture and heat is the reafon that their trees and plants grow to fudi a height. It is moflly a level country, with fome fmall hills covered with wood. No Englilh grain is fown here ; and only the Indian or Guinea corn is cultivated by the poor. Their flower they have from Britain. They have potatoes, yams, &c. -planted all the year f.' t» The climate of Antega is hotter than that of Barbadoes, and very fub- jeft to hurricanes ; the foil is light and fandy, but fertile to a very high, degree : much of it is overgrown with wood. It has no rivulets or fprings ; but the inhabitants fave a fufHciency in ponds and baf is. St. Chriflopher, Nevis, and Montferrat, are all the fame, except in refpeft of a want of water. Barbuda, the property of the Codrington family, is low land, but very fertile, and applied intirely to the purpofes of com- mon hufbandry, or raifing the neceflaries of life, which the inhabitants • Page 62. I Giogtapbical DiiJ'ionar^ 2 vols, fdio. 1769. Art. Barbadoes. 6 fell JICT. L) COLONIES. •59 jfcll to the other iflands. It abounds much with varlout kinds of cattle* maize, and peafe ; befides the common tropical fruits. A particular defcription of common hufbandry in the Weft Indies, fuch as is pradifed in this iflandf would bc'equally entertaining and inftru£live, but no author has given it : neverthelels, it ought to be the iirft foundation of new plantations; and by being too much negledbed at firft, frequently involves planters in numerous difKculties. Let iht Jiaple be ever fo prohtable, the iirft ftep in its culture fhould be commencing common fanner. The iflands rjdcd by the laft treaty of peace are next to be confidered; and herein I have a very valuable guide) whofe accounts are coUe^ed, with uncommon induftry, from a great number of authors. *' The air of Dominica," fays that writer, ** except in fome places that are marfliy and overgrown with wood, is generally reputed wholefome ; as a proof of which, the firft Europeans who vifited it report, that it was at that time very populous, and that the inhabitants were the talleft, beftlhaped, and at the fame time the moft robuft, active, and warlike of all the Giribbee Indians. The face of the country is rough and mountainous, more efpecially towards the fea-fide ; but within land there are many rich and fine vallies, and fome large and fair plains. The declivities of the hills are commonly gentle, fo as to facilitate their cultivation ; and the foil almoft every where deep black mould, and thence very highly com- mended for its fertility by the firft Spanifh, Englifh, and French, who have had occafion and opportunity to examine it, and upon whofe concurrent teftimonies therefore we may fafely rely. It is excellently well watered by at leaft thirty rivers ; fome, and particularly one of which, is very large, and navigable for feveral miles ; the reft very commodious for all the pur- pofes of planting *." ** In St. Vincent the warmth of the climate is fo tempered by fea-breeze*» that it is looked upon as very healthy and agreeable ; and on the emi- nences, which are very numerous, the air is rather cool. The foil is wonderfully fertile, though the country is hilly, and in fome places moun- tainous. But amongft the former there are very pleafant vallies, and at the bottom of the latter fome fpacious and luxuriant plains. No idand of the fame extent is better watered with ftreams and rivulets ; but there are hardly any marfhes, and no ftanding waters, in the iflc. Befides wild fugar-canes, it abounds with corn, rice, and all forts of ground provi- fions i"." * Candid and impartial Confidcrations on the Nature of the Zugar Tradty 8vo. 1763. by Dr. Campbell, p. 79. I Ibid. p. 90. L 1 2 The 26o POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V; " The climate of Tobago, though it lies only eleven degrees and ten mintites north from the equator, is not near fo hot as might be expected ; the force of the fun's rays being tempered by the coolnefs of the fea- breeze. When it was firft inhabited it was thought Unhealthy, but as foon as it was a little cleared and cultivated, it was found to be equally pleafant and wholefome. There is likewife another circumftance which may ferve to recommend this climate, and that is, the ifland's being o'lt of the track of the hurricanes to which our own iflands and thofe of the French are expofed, and from which their plantations and ihipping fuffer frequently very feverely. There are many rifing grounds over all the iiland, but it cannot be properly? filled mountainous, except perhA,p8 in the north-weft extremity, and even there they are far from rugged or impaf- fable. The foil is very finely diverfified, being in fome places light and fandy, in others mixed with gravel and fmall flints ; but in general it is a deep, rich, black mould.— —Hardly any country can be better watered than this is; but there are very few or no morafles or marfhes, or any lakes, pools, or coUedions of ftanding waters, which of courfe muft J'ender it more healthy, and all parts of it alike habitable ; and from the >-appy difpofition of the running ftreams an^ numerous fprings, almoft every where habitable with the like convenience. All ground provifiona are produced here in the utraoft abundance, as well as in the higheft per- fedion*." ' j.j •*' The fituation of Granada leaves us no room to doubt that the climate i» very warm, which, however, the French writers afTure us is very much moderated by the regular returns of the fea-breeze, by which the aif 19 rendered cool and pleafant. We may from the fame authority aflert, that it is wholefome ; for though ftrangers efpecially are ftill liable to what is Gftlled the Granada fever, yet this is at prefent far from being fo terrible as it formerly was, proves very rarely mortal, and, as it chiefly proceeds from the humidity of the air, occafioned by the thicknefs of the woods, it xvill very probably be intirely removed, whenever the country is brought into a thorough ftate of cultivation ; and this we may with the more bold- nefs predid, as the fame thing has conftantly happened in pur own and in* the French iflands. Befides, the climate has fome, and thofe too very^ peculiar advantages. The fea/otiSt as they are ftiled in the Weft Indies,' are remarkably regular; theblaftis not hitherto known. The inhabitants^ are r Jt liable to many difcafes that arc epidemic in Martinico and Guada— loupe; and, which is the happieft circumftance of all, it lies out of the tr.ick oi^ the hurricanes; which, with refped to the fafety of the ftttle- mcnts en fliore, and the fecurity of navigation, is almoft an ineftimable 5,r' ' ■* Page m- , . "'" ^ benefit. Sect, t. C O L O N I E S. 1^1 benefit.' ' Tliere are fome very high. mountains, but the number is fmall, and the eminencies fcatterec} through it are in general rather hills, gentle in their afcent, of no great height,, ferlile, and very capable of cultiva- tion. But, exclufive of thefe, there are on both (ides the ifland largp tracts of level ground, very fit for improvement ; the foil being almo(l every where deep, rich, mellow, and fertile in the higheft degree, fo as to be equal in all refpeds, if not fuperior, to that of any of the iflands in tlteWeft Indies, if the concurrent teftiraonies both of French and BritiH) planters may be relied upon. It is perfedly well watered by many ftreams of different fizes. All the different kinds of ground-provifions, which are fo requifite to the fubfiftance of Weft India plantations, arc here in great quantities, and fome kinds of grain ripen very kindly in this, which are either not raifed at ally or are raifed with difficulty in other iflands. ** Among the Grenadines are five iflands, larger than the reft, Carioua-^ con, PIfle de I'Union, Mofkito, Bequia, and Cannouan« Gariouacon is reprefented by the French,, who have vifited it, as one of the fineft and moft fruitful fpots in America; the foil remarkably fertile,, and from its being pervaded by the fea-breeze, the climate equally wholefome and pleafant. Cannouan, Union, and Mofkito, are allowed to be pleafant, wholefome, and extremely fruitful. The foil of the Bequia is equal, if hot fuperior, to the reft; but it has little frefh water, and is much infefted with venomous reptiles *." We Have in America, befides what I Have already defcribed, ** two clutters of Jflands,'* fays the author of the European Settlements^ ** the Bermudas or Summer Iflands, at a vaft diftance from the continent, in lati- tude 31, and the Bahama iflands. The former are famous for the fere- nity of the air, and the beauty and richnefs of the vegetable produdions ; but the foil could never boaft of an extraordinary fertility. The Baha- mas are very fertile, differing little from the foil of Carolina; the climate is fuch as will produce anything, and it is never reached by any froftsf.'*' Thus have we examined the agriculture of all the Br itifh colonies from Nova Scotia almoft to the line ; that is, their climate and products: as to the pradice of their common hufbaqdry, we are very ignorant pf it,. and confequently know not what improvements it may be capable of. Our fettlements to the north of the I'outhcrn parts of New England, are fo ex- ceedingly cold, that even the necellaries of life ar^ at prefent raifed in them with difficulty. 1 he iouthcrn parts of New England, New York, New • Page \^i~-.mm\^^. t;Vol, ij» p. 282. Jerfey> , t6t POLITICAL ES&AYS. E€SAY V. Jerfe^, and Penfvlvania, appear to enjdy a very whole&oie climate, and to product in the litmoft plenty all Hnds of provi(ion8» and other things necellii^ry ^or th'e liiaintenance and wdl'being of a numerous people. In a wbrd^ ' the^ nearly refemble their mother^ountry in the plenty of corn an fiibjedl. M The woollen manufadures of the middle and northern colonies are very confiderable, -and in a much more flourifhing conditio!) that; vas imar- gined a few years ago. " Their paftores," fays an- author I iiive often; quoted, ** will not maintain large cattle, and are only fit tofeed llviep and goats, on which they muft fubfift as people do in the Rke foil and climate in all parts of the world. Their ivool is likewife better th,m the iMgliJh^. at leaft in the fouthern colonies. It is of the fame kind with the Spaniih wool, or curled and frizzled like that, and might be rendered as line bjr the fame management. Sheep Ukewlfe maintain themfelves in thefe.* fouthern colonies throughout the whole year, without coft or trouble- Thus, by the ftep which the colonies have lately taken toraife ^H the: Iheep they can, they will foon have plenty of wool, With this they have- already made cloth worth twelve Jhillings a yard^ which is as good as:- any that is made of Englifh wool. Some of their wool has been fent to» England, where it fold for the price of the bcft ; although this was from: a common tobacco-plantation, where no care had been taken of it fince Aujiericfti .'"> i^^k fil$4 P O L 1 1 i 6 A^lP i ^\S A Y S. Es8a9¥. piiiT^g?! . Jtjiat thefe |ttanufa^jlure^ were in thq^. iquthern colonies,, but we ihalj; find/.byi aqd by tha^ tliefe have none : if tl^p wopl is the he&d it is the. n^iCtfe U9i^^f |i: fet^lements that buytanci n»aau|kijeWiJfer<:oirii4erabIe npianiifa<3fuie^ of hats In New EngHnd and in New, York^ which were rofejoXu;el),^flo^rijI]hi|Ti^ftate n^cj^r'tvrehty r^r the reft pf the colonies §. What therelore'lire 'tis .^mirrffl ?n^c»1>iV^ years ago, as to be fold oy^r the they at prefent ? ;■ !fc.£5 ,v • Prffint Suite, p. 142. , + European 5///%^//^ j^ol.. of p.^i^. *' '*^f Hffrf.^ I^i^ ', f Propofttiom for itnprcving Manufailura^ &c. p. 18. "^ ' ''^'^ § Ibid. p. 175. and Prfit'ms f$r imprmng Mai^altmrtSy )>i iS. See lifcev^ife the fol- T^wiiig'cxtradVsTrbm a'nwS-^aperin thii'cafef it Jo- ^VcYy goe anJ paper ; that th: town will, by^all prudent means, etiCourag^ fuch manu- factures i S|CGT.L;| :,v CO LO N I ES. 5^ In Penfylvaaia it is the fame. Many years ago they manufati^urcd almoft all their cloathing, linen, woollen, &c.* The middle colonics are much freer from maniifadures in the opinion of all, and indeed muil be, according to reafon ; and yet even Virginia exports /ome lii^en to Caro- lina f. But the author of the European Settlements fays they have none to mention. " The colonics grow," fays ?noiher writer, " many hundred tons of hemp and flax, but manufacture it all %'* So long ago as 1732, V^e find in the report of the lords of trade to the legiflature, concerning the ftate of the colonies, " The furvcyor-general of his majefty's woods writes, that they have in New 'S.n^axid fix furnaces and nineteen forges for rAakittg of iron i and that great quantities of hats are made in this pro- faftures, chat they will not ufe any gloves at fun'rals, unlefs manufa<5tured in the country; and that an ijiftrument be handed abouc for fubfcription for that purporc4 At the fame meeting t«ro perfons undertook to fupply the inhabitants tvith a fulficient quantity of (larch and Scotch fnufF, nanufadtured in the province, at the prime c6ft of, and •f as good a quality as, that imported from England. The paper-mar.' fa^urers gave affurances of their being able to furnifh the province with a fufllcient quantity of paper. Thirty thoufand yards of cloth, it was fuid, had been manufaflured in one fmall country town only of that province : upwards of 40,000 pair of women's (hoes made in one year in Lyi, of equal goodnefs with thofe imported from abroad. Calimanco and other ftuffs ma- nufadtured in the province, it is thought will in a few yeurs be made there iit fufficient quan- tity for the ufe of the inhabitants \ and an heib, called Labrador, has been lately found out, which begins already to take place of green and boheatea, is of a falutary nature, aod a mote agreeable flavour. , We are afltired from good authority, that many of the ladies of this town have faid, that in the lift of articles not to be purchased, tea ought by no means to have been omitted } and that they are refulved to omit the ufe of it for the future. In a large circle of ladies in Bofton town, it was unanimoufly agreed to lay slide the ufe rf ribands, &c. for which there has been fo great a refort to milliners in times paft. It is hoped that this refolution will be followed by others of the fex throughout the province. We muft, after all our efforts, depend greatly upon the female fex for the introduflion of osconomy among us : and it is affured, that their utmoft aid will not be wanting. [Thefe accounts are taken from the Boston (iAZETte, on the top of which is printed in italics, Save your Monty ^ and )ou will faiityaur Country !'\ ^ 12. Letters from Quebec Inform, that the new manufactures there are in a very flourifh- ing condition, particularly their cafi iron ware j great quantities of which they export to the fouthern colojiies. 13. This week a number of artificers in the fleel, copper, and caft iron branches, have been engaged, on great encouragement, to embark for New England. * European SettUmenUy p. ao6. Douglas's Nerth Americ, vol. ii. p. 331. , ^ Defcription of South Caroiinat I -6 1, p. 45. J Pi tfent Staff, p. 145. ...,*» ' ' ■ * ' Mm vince; 266 POLITICAI^ ^SSAYS. EwaV V^ vince; lilcewife that great quantities •^are exported to Spain, Italy, and ►IKl^lt ^^tch^^ elf -tk^'AAie^cah Mkuf^if^t^feicif'iil tifife 1 can meet v<^th thaf ire' to' b6'tK^ *lesrt depended ptwnT .io 'lit^. :0>ltl rjib/ililt?V/ -hIM;i «'jji(l?f ^.rlT- Ffbrii'tlide' the chief of ttifife i can meet witn mat are to De the leaf depenaca appnr it appears, that our northern colonies, or in other words, tnofc'w^icli m the preceding review of their hufbandry were found mpfl to refemble $he mothdi'-coutlt^ W i^dng ' fittTe hefidei Afe' n^c'e'lfa^^ ^^' jt^e, .^T^ oi^., more' inaniilfaili^iicJ; tlian all the reft put together. S^ery imppr,tWnt>^d^pc-' ttons will \k fi*b^ hferice fuggefted^ When I eome to icbfiifider ^he artlde pif" fta¥>l^ tiiimnt^klbs " ' ' ' " ^ YotK'" "" I. ; ' I . negrb ftaplW hVi-i'M Is now hA. rib more. And as to the Weft ir is welT'krtbxvti'by all, '^etr nctc^flii'i^i, ^vcn down to the ndmutett' 3i^M\ritiWdimptsiL .X. alf i%b^fcfed' firbro the motKe^-ccjutiiry. W6^'flia?I'^™ the ambunt very ii«(Al',"(iotiij6areil with, the necefta^lis <«? 2;!i66i696 'peopie. The author of tffie ^^iB-opeoft Setilemeiiis jtflerts'tjif: tpe'-^&^^lf^^r^%^:^t, . . . ^. , ,,,:.,,,...,,..,. ..^ .,, aitidflnfe'fo 4;ibOj^o6J and e^eh clbathing iV not ^rhaps of lb grpat an — — — — — ——— — -— — — — — — g -- — — — — — ^____ — _ , -,__ _ _.._ _- _^__ _— ._- ihort a million and a ha^f of the amount of the cloathing alone +,; a«d ih(i)U!cHl^^'dil' iha't Korih America' r^-ex^bi^fs again, a propY i^^ipunV^ ta ilcinonft^atib'n that the manufa^ures they invport from Bjitul'n ,l>ear na cofrtparifpn with wh^t they fabricate themfelves j an^^^iJT tlieyf^ire^of the •{' fcnitWi-h colonies ^'e aeduded, as tljey have Icarce any i^^ .huiadures, W,^ Ihall find thit'tll^'^Qi'ttiei'ifi colpmes if^ay poriiBW-^la^ wo^^^ "i . the ?i6finiti1pt5'on'bf I^Hdft'piodud'sj re-exporting what yiey imrortVwifli,, ' hfidei*abl^ addi'tibn of thdr bwh manufaaurcs, or^at icalt exporting zfa (if theii-'dvm nece(rafl^^'rabj^(^ tliaAj'^d 9?.th?ir confuinption ofy Britlfli fuperfluities. Ido nubt veijiture ttis as ah afleftlon, but tlie cafd, ccVtainly carries that afped^. --—A writer^ Vlip takes t|p t|ic pen abfol^v^ely ^ "^ \ Sec httrfJIofC. Bnlasfi, &c. • Jtftdcifon' ^fllpl Dcdunlinj vol", ii. p. 344. in sicV:^^ '''Wia'Hi.l 1 1 207 m tndf favour anerts that they do not purchAfe a /Pv/A^par^t ,c^f,jt|^^ijr/n^. tfefTaries from Britain *.—— The whites in the Weft kidies take off of Britifb njanufafture8 abpye i^o /• a fceai^ : XucUis.tlfe 4>ff«'*erfCfi.b;2t,wecn m fTaWw ^Iwll^ j^Liov/ t\ii[Jo cj 1u f^jr/iolo^ noHnon tlo tfulj ,^,-iii^(jr{f. ; BiiTii-Ma^eiMDy federal wmehmt^n argwiu^ dBloriies c^wio/ riianiifajfture to aiiy arnoupt, upio^i acooi4r).j:,pi^,t||p,de;arn,9f!i dfiabour and cheajpnefs of land, and thereipre trea^jaiU j^,5^ ^if Uiejr bp* coiiti'rig; a fnanufadurin^ people as id)?, tJrSains. and urijujll, j(\|(pjci![>i^8f, J^vi%t us in the firft place remember, that d may be tlM)iigh,t )an,,affnQnt' xnef.^ii^; known. Thus I ha,v€f alreaqy /bewn ftoin -^ar^^^^s ^^Qajties,, i?dhq of w!\ich have been ^formerly 6ur, muifu- fftdurea^i&c^ iaitooremtottt to require «!hb/aMentk)h dfiGhrcatliritain.' Tia an illi gaccej9fl/-jfquR,9fti Uis;l^.fi?, I^i§,plp?thipg|ir.di4ie.t» ei^^pepces ,in his liek«efe iancl Jqif j9f itimp,:lQl3fl^y his a^glf £^of bufin^fs,, (^eglef ; b^nfi(it(?q j^jfih^s c^w" c?ire pt, 4il! " ice) expencc of a driwr i^p^e^pjvm F^|t,"VM9rk»! a^fl,hi§ipUferiog'frP'niiimeto time} almoft !e; nji^\ i%fii^9hi^^if^9^^<^ ifet^ng np fcff tk^mf^kfi^^'^ f h • - n •. u •: : hbi>} ^ mx^) y ,. ad i^}i^Mj\iP? r«?oncile thefe reafoningg with tkcfa^s which are alrq^Uly pipjyi^^ jt i^ I^Qc^a^y to diilingaiQi betv^eei^ the northern and the, foutlbeKn colonies; by the northern I mean thoie to the north of MarylandUilnthc review I took of their agriculture it appear^, that the inhabitants of the i^f^t^f^ .qfiQ§,\fvi^i^€^. themCelves upon cmnmon ihuib^ndry ;. and, as Tej-y inconiiideral^le profit reCults from that when the farm& dire fmall* don- ^fequently ^hgy wi^ yield the lefs produds for ^he.purchaf&ofmaoufac- ti|Lres. The great^argun^ent of this gentien^aA is, that ev^ a labourer^ ^r workn^aa in a manufadure, will prefently fet up a farm few himfelf, a^fl^ij4 i^ii^i j^afily.had: This farm now raufth^ i^pon a viery fmgjl vfoite, ifjtj^ fpj-'wed out of a M^orkman's favings, and fo. fpon as the writer r^reien^s it ; the pofleflbr of it muft therefore find no inconiiderahle tlij^cultw in, procuring out of the fale of hia furpius a fufficientfum for ,th^,,py,rch;^fc 0^' ,manufaanj»fp<5Jm;f 4 ninc^teutbs of what they wote. But they not only manufadture as much as. poflible, but can fcarce afford , to piirchafe cvcn,tQols to cultivate their lands, A parallel muft not be drawn >. between a little iiirtner in England and a little planter in one of thefe * Clifiivjtlsns :oi:cerning the I;i£yiaj^.op\'\4Attki».i, fftpling 9/ Couatrie), ilt. I/JI. anhexej Xo The Intiffji of Great BntjiHf conjnhrcd^ %yo^ ijO*^. p. 52. ' . 1 aim. ' ' 1 -=. . ^ , - ' colonics i ■J' SfeCT. I. 'f :^. '^6©^-»0 N/i:E;si'^'^^'^ ^^ eoVomcs 9 Ivtehufe tberfobrtteft hafc/:ai fare/andr^qMicId Mt for I1U produdlfi, ^hrchfisi'bytit) mefiite tfei'iufe with the^lto^/^•:5/m/«|•;J in the cotdntesj ho? are the produds of' the latter jiear io^ va|[Uable as thofejof the ' former. . fM f< i-.v ',-»r'f': t ■: -r* •I ';! "I hi trpth, the difficilirltie^ c feVir ft/ fthall, attj tj\«f^ «ri ilMes^^in amount t6 ia' confidirabk fii-rti ;''klf^/aH kinds (a fpccies ctf chatlufadlilrersVaf^'ifctb^diii^ fo «tit*'jltit1ll)f f6 V'e^dieat. , Tft hirei*' A farrrtih England' t^illbfrnWiH '*!afiei* hh-^d'^arid flbctid Akh ^IVthefe'fciraimftances get V''' '^-nAnim-^^i vd je^inolo.. 88 .T*ke a'Vlew of Uhe^Sfie^itowto^, farlOi'iV fi^d. i&k'Wflh^ftBrtft'Hti' afid fouthern- cotonie^j^and^the difference will be yeV m'fte'ltHRliigi '*^"TK^fe is not'onciof bur fettl&rfiterits," foys an author I h'^.ve' dfteh c^itbted ■'• wliiti|i can be compaTedi iftf ihe'kbtfAdfifnce of people, thb rtiimbef of cdnfiderable ')*rtd tf^dirig'totvins, ittd 'the in*anufa£l:ures that are cfArried oh ih' them, to , ^feivJ England : 4he moft'pte^iousand flourishing plaj'ts 'of * the Vhother-f ! country hardly mafce abetfei* hppearance;** Boftott rhlany*'^eiM ago cdh- -tftined, according to the faWite Acdount, at'leafl: 2o:,odo' ihhabitafatsj, Nfew York ak)vc i2)Ooo:|:, Philadelphia' 13,000 §. Whereas' pafs the littie to the fouthward, and you will find no towns dt all that deferve mentioning. Thcfe cities at pre1ent*mift be intifch'iViorejidliiflo^'i** th^trade carried on by theni'isi vet7 bnfidtthMiw'ii'^tiMbe'iirttid^ M MMIl I ijj'ji ii/ili,i';i * It i'« well fcnoWn' tH4titiPwfettkw*ftts'hi^ke^<» btWMife' 6f tlAiber but tbtliftVoy i^as ..fitft as thoyoani which iit^cedJs neceflaryftti^lear thd lanJ for cohi and grafs. Prefint Stattt p. 242. ^ : fe;-' ., . , S , .0 into «70 P O L 1 1 WlM-O ftS(jS AYS. Eff A,v, ^^ digioufly exteufive, and that they.employ a VfAi^om^fUj^ff^mm'^w oi - i !No>!»; if lm^m»!J^ wavy «aWy Mtd^ (»nd Ubow io very 4fair« I wp^ld 4(k the twites |.^i}M»tj6ymn& hpw^thefe f#4f^^c^>p^\^o,)?^\fft/, Jj^,|tJ^Rf C4fe wafci*$l!Hcl£fette^'ifi Jl^fiK |Q>«0> -^PhW npt,||^yBo\wi?H,ff»r«»!r4»!ftlA*) tfft4«(C0ul4jw«(.^"Wll)eeWif^M; thftfoin^ftiipft <3^t)ftjh,;w<^W»b5!5^fl(^ /ijUtft»,diffieg^lo«l^o(t«Jt?i;j,.oVfe99W; mvmjllpf" t^4 ftflMrapni»e pjipsh^i^-cpHii^y, , hue /A4c»0(?t> »^?!pf0dJi4ce of the firft, ir%,f)(rd«r ^,^pyidepfV:,;Qi jf" pot p^i^jf^^i^ f bli(h«djil^ QQn3j^i. , v^ afl fld j jind th^ffefofrC, if any; q^lpny, wh^ /?^ fe^^j^rr is ii?(c^i«*fti»!gtJft^ l^lUyflr ,t s gift *q * iyftl tUje ,ii»4vftFy ; ef -the inother^cpv^n^y,, j a yerei $q pncQur.qgft.|fJje/intr9i^/i rSifi tiA tijuin bnfi ,8i luodr.! inih 3tJw v/orr;l Jon oL ,v£ij t)Hj v^«i •i^in /the CI ca exhibit but ;,vjw«w^«/; of their rivalfliip ? Fields of iv!/«, tnajeftlc cities, nnd fweliing canvas, are what we wjih at honu; not in ihecolomes. j They hid miKh4ieuei be ii>rcad ^^vcfnthe worte tftn nothing. _^^ ^ ^ J,^^ ,^^^ ,^; :...,:Av,v.5J i iUitrd " , "' ^ diittioh iSEcy.F. '^' ^ cift^ok^'i'^^. aji to wo*rfkli'i<'ttalUrtr''«fffc©;^i^ '• "(' 'i'"'" Vi^^ J^'^J 1'^"' ,r/('tiivi/i> '(n"(-'i"iMA 4he/e*i^ vantage ; ahi wHi«;h they are without ttKd' ^«fehy < ' ^ m^ir ti^me^oati- mfchUfe>fture« t\> iitth or ti^fHrphiJ^ as we'iWay ft^'b 'r^Pififk^h^'^ AH' Which, as wchavefecrtfroriiftyal^'Ifr'Wdllir'ti' u83i"i^«fi number of their (the colonies) inhabitaAffs,^ys'a^mkc(. 4.^ liic^hiitii^t three millions, is fmall in proportion to the extent of continent they p6fl^&. laindsareoonfequentfy^iftiM^^liMFUtAM^ ^''^ ot sA 'ftiotiiifh writer ^t^'kbi:^^tiliJulkri^1«tothe^^ia<^«04iKb(Mit*i| liiy? fiztidinfeh^ftareasfoHi^ws. I^giml^quottttiod af length )'tectt%iti^inO«wMi^ fbildii^his writing fOpbrticut^r'Iy^ favour /)^ns give for i«s ^h^iit^'^^iiiit^^'^llie' c)iiliipnbK W4\kiil. »'^Fhei<.i Jre'>6oo,Ql<<N<»th<^ttiNkx,' whd^^t^((k^^li^ ii$}' "fl^ri employments ti^kibio&tiiii i^^y«a^V^*#hibh^ k^i»i S&^^Mi^P&^'Si^itimi and noit two-ft^nceUd^y.' > M'>fh«JU>baitk96 cbl^^' nie^ tJief oiik^ ^o^^ by thdr agriculture thidin in 'arty otiver^ ; und 4^hbl^>' tHef- iit^i 6t iftidVfe hktil all employed in h, yet 800,000 peoplt tfiake hat^ abfcJiir^bdiobtp/^'i'yfeAf by their tobacco, whitWiS' 5 but 7/: e^^'^ihead'* pflpfihrii^y 'aridhdt abo^« fb or iltf. inelttdftngj all thfe^brtier WantheH'ol'* tlT»^^^i>icuk^. '"The lakiKirerS,^ ^ho are about a ! fifth «! Ijk ,r:'ji'j-> >\i\i{i,rti ^,\\i; in „l>l'ji'l ' qitlil/.7n lijnj )o \.u\\.s^\v.,\\ hi6 Jioirtx i, I Rtiulfitiens tf tie Celenu!, i>, tu ... ;, i. n.cj .Tiuw *> but. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4p ^ ^ 1.0 1.1 2.0 us ■u u 11.25 HI 1.4 I mil] 1.6 HiotogFaphic Sciences Corporalion 23 WIST MAIN STRHT WUSTIR.N.Y. 14SS0 (716) 172-4303 ■1>^ 5V 272 POLITIC A I, ESSAYS. E«say \L |)U< as nothing will dp that withojut manufjidures, they who \70uld eftl- •mafe the price of labour in the ccloriies Vy the daf, myft of cbu?ft"adyiit of manufadures. But on plantations every one is employed by the ytir, in order to make a cropf which lafts tor a twelvemonth. Now the wages of fuch labourers are four' or five^potlrtidi a year for men, and two tor, women, who are the chief manufkfturei'si this briiigs the price of lafediit' on a medium to 3 /. a year, which is but two-pence a day, for evct^ day in the year,— —The dcarnefs of da.y~hbour f here he appears to mean thofe that are literally /peaking hired by tht day) ih the colonies proceeds from two-caiifei : fi<*ft, the labourers Who' are thus' eilrif)ioyed by llic ycir, •in-order' to mfckea crop of ftaple cbmmiodities for Britain, indtheii'prdi^ •irinons with it, may lofe their •^hole crop by ftcgledtiu^'it'fdr' affew days, and cannot fpare a day's work without lofing ten times as much as it is worth ; and perhaps their whole year's fubfiftance, which is the true Caufe of the dearnefs of day-labour in the plantation* : fecondly, if the^e s^re any -dromon labourers to be^ founds who' are not -engaged by the year, as there feldom are, tfeycai^nOt' fiildemploymfouth, and: begin with the iflamls, proceeding northwards. For the fake of clearnefs j r fliall divide this fedlibn'intb" two parts ; in thie! I^Irst I fhall'treat of thofe colonies which have ftaplcs \frjl of fuch as are already eftablifhied, and Stdr.'ii. COLON IE S. 275 ■ arid Jitondly of fifch addirional ones as ' have been propofiid for them by various writers. The Second will comprehend thofe colonies which have none ; and theifein I ihall examine the ftat« of fuch commodities ^s have •beferibV'iPpme improperly called their ftaples. •'''f ;i*W6'colbnrc8 which pofTefs {laplecommodldes arc the Weft India iflands, >^*i-*4he fouthcm contwcntal ones, comprehending Georgia krid th6 Caroli- -nis, (as to.Florida, it being yet unfettled, the conjedures. concerning Jt wi'H be Examined at taft)—- andthe mid^Jlecoatihefltal ones, comprehend- ing Virrink and Maryland. , , "The JVeA ^n4'M Ijlandjf M\i:fyn' '• Tlie fti^le produwipns of thefe imraenfely valuably colonies are,,i|. 'iu^ar, 2^ cotton^ .^^jpim^to, 4.,w?»^ ff>J^;,p!'Wt.-°??te>!'« & /w^^<^y 7 MM t, „•.. . ..,-r ••' 0/^ Sugar, ■, ;^m:; jO ' . ■'■' \ ■ > • i ;ii ''■■ ' ^ / ■ ' • ' This plant, which ha^ made ; luch a piXHligious figure in the. commerce of the modern world, is of too much importance to be paffed (lightly over ; and yet to give a full 90QOunt of it would be but to repeat \*hat is to be m^t with in a thoufand common books : I fhall therefore dweH no farther rn the natural hiftory of it, than thofe particulars of the foil and culture it requires, which are necelfary to be fully examined and known, before vv^ can venture even a conjecture oii the poffible ^xtention of fo profitable a culture ; s^nd even tbefe particulars I ihall touch on with as much brevity as is confiftent with the defign of thefe papers. The fugar cane is a fmooth jointed reed, of a fhining greenifK colour ;. which, as the plant approaches to maturity, changes by degrees into a yellow. Their fize varies greatly according to the foil, feafori, and other circumfiances ; the moft ufual height is from four to feven or eight feet : In fome foils they never exceed two or three feet ; in others they rife to nine, ten, or more. The thicknefs of the middling fized ones is about an inch; fome of thefmall ones are little more than half an inch thick; the largeft three or four inches. The diftance between the joints or knots is no lefs various, but thofe which have them fartheft apart are efteemed the beft. This ufeful reed abounds with a juice extremely rich, fweet, and agreeable*. I mention thefe circumftances, as tending much to prove that a foil of extraordinary fertility muft be neceffary for fo luxuriant a • See an ingenious treatife, entitlid, The Art of making Sugar^ 410. 1742. p. 2. N n 2 vegetable ^6 POLITICAL ESSAYS. E«SAY V, 'vegetable to be well filled with juice ; and 'm all fuch cafes aa a<;cura^e cultivf^tion is highly requiiiite. ,^ But, as neceflfaiy as a proper foil certainly is to produce rich canes» yet they are cultivated on various ones, from a very fich black mould to even a light fand. They are produced in the greateft perfeiQion in light, i|>ungy, deep foils, which Ue expofed to the fun .during the whole time of his fhining, and have ju^ defcent eiiiough to carry off the rain water ^. From which it is apparent, that an exoeedlng hot climate ;s abiblutely neceflary to the growth of this plant : Now a burning fun exerted con« fiaatly upon a light foil, would render it poffibly barren, if great raina did not tall to keep fome moifture in It. The rains in the Weft Indies are prodigious ; we may therefore conclude, that if a foil is very light, and expofed to as hot a fun as pur iflands, that eoual moifture is nece^ary for the produdibn of fugar. But although we ipealc of a light fpungy foi/^ we are not therefore to fuppofe it pobr s on the contrary it has gre^t fer^^ tility in it, if compared with parallel ones in European climates. Poor grounds require to be well manured with dung, which is to be fpread over them, and the lands covered with the trafti. The latter is here of good iervi<%, prerenting the over-vehement adUon' of the fun from exhaling the moifture of the dung, which is aeeeflary to unpregnate the foil* In fliaHow worn-out grounds, whero the roots of the plant (bon reach the gravel or ftones, the canes prove ihiall and full of knots ; neverthe!eis» in moid feafons, they are found to be c^ exceeding good quality : their juice, though in no great quantity, is extremely rich. The Portuguefe in Brazil, and the Spaniards ii> New Spain, plant their fugar canee in the fooKT foils ot^y, or fuch as are exhaufted uid become too poor for pro^ ducing lobacco *. But conclufions are not to be abfolutely drawn from their example to the praf^lce of our colonies, becaufe various circum* itances may form an efleiktial difference. Their rich foils may not be fa proper for the cane as ours : Tobacco too may be a more profitable cul- tore ; tfaeefe pointa would make a local difference between the refpedHve chMck ^ foils. Low marfhy lands which lie nearly on a level with the fea, afford long^ large, weighty canes, wluch have a very beautiful appearance, but are- generally of a 't)ad quality. Stn ng red earths produce fine long, larg^ cana ; which, if cut in the dry fe»' The manner of planting them is as follows : Soihfe time after the land has been ftirred, a number, of trenches are made in the ground, from fif- teen to eighteen inches long, which is the length of the' pictes of cane which are cut with defign to plant : Their moft convenient depth is four or five inches in moifl weather, and in great drought^ fyvtn or eight : In each of thefe trenches two of the cuttings are placed, in''ftic"H a manner that the end of one may ftand about three inches out of the irthh, at one extremity of the trench, whilfl that of the other does the faknii at the bther extremity ; after which the trenches are filled up with the tarth that was taken out of them. The time moft proper for this work is the mid- dle of the rainy feafon. The tr*enchcs are fometimes ihkde promifca- oufly, fometiwies in h)w« ; the diftance between them arid between the plants in eacli row, in good lands,' three feet; in poor foils', two;):. In about ten or twelve days the plants are high enough to weed f ; which is done very iarefully, and is repeated at proper intervals two or three times, or oftener, till the canes have grown fo larg6 'as to keep down the weeds. At the age of five or fix months they are weeded again for the laft time ||. At the age of fixtcen months, or thereabouts, they are fit to be cut, though they may remain a few months after without prejudice §, in fome cafes with advantage ^. But before we proceed farther, it may not be amifs to make a few remarks upon their culture. The whole proccfs is performed by negroes, with hoes; and, upon that plan, the dilpofition of the plantation into fquares, as above-mentioned, is judicious. But I apprehend a little reflec- tion will point out a more advantageous method of cultivation. "Why cannot the grounds be prepared with ploughs ? The expence would, be- yond all doubt, be reduced greatly ; and the plough will command as various depths as the hoe, and even ftir the ground as fuperficially, if that is wanted. But as rich deep foils are the beft for the cane, there is great reafon to believe that deep tillage would be infinitely the moft advantage- ous wherever the ftaple would admit it. Then, I fhould apprehend, that ' a difpofition of the field into oblong fquares would be much better than - f Art of maitng Sugary p. 7. t ^tttUHty tic. p. 6. I •f jfceeuHt ef European StttUmenUy vol, ii. p. 100. || Art of making Sugary p. 8. ^ Account of European SettlementSy vol. it. p. l0e.—~Leiat, C Art of making Sugary p. 8. perfeft Sect, IUi COLONIES. •W perfcd fquares ; and particularly for this reafon, "horfe-hoeirfg upon th0 principles of the new hufbandry in Europe might he fubllituled ifor th^ common hoeing) and certainly would he performed for a tenth of the expence, and very probably would be found more efficacious : but, for thia purpofe, the canes mud either be planted by a line in regular rows, or in a furrow ilruck with a plough, which would be equally (Iraight and much cheaper. The cultivation which is required between the plants in the rows, muft be performed with hand-hoes ; but as to all between th^ rows, and even earthing the plants up, if requifitc, a horfe-hoe would dp it in any manner that can be effeded by hand ones, even to thq mcjce paring oiF the weeds ; but would occafionally cut much deeper than any man could ftrike a hand-hoe. There is no reafon to believe that the com- mon horfe-hoeing of ploughing from an^ to the rows alternate would not have very fine eflFe^s upon the canes. As they are fo long in coming to- maturity, the plantation is generally divided into three parts; one fallow^ knd two oc,cupied with canes ; fo that a crop may be had every year. Tl>ip part of the pradice (hould likewife be changed, and another principle of ihe new hufbandry adopted ; which would be, to have the intervals fa wide as to double the quantity cif land in a plantation, by which mean» the fame tillage that is beftowed upon the growing crop would likewife .prepare. the ground. foir the enfuing one: the crop would, in all probabi'^ lity,. be much greater than common, and the expences much reduced* The coft of the negroes on a fugar plantation is a prodigious weighty expence, and the charge of keeping up their number, an annual drain from ithe planter's pocket: by introducing this new culture, much the greater half of this, expence would be cut off. 1 need not enlarge upon the bene- jits refultingfrom,fuch a dedudion. — But whatever arguments were urged agajnii itf none ean be given for not makings the. experiment. Many planters in our iflands are too rich to fear thf chance of lofmg by a fmall trial : why therefore will they not make it ? l UvX indolence,, and idea of walking in beaten tracks, which is fo prevalent in all concerned in the culture of the earth,, indeed peculiarly fo, are the only circumftances to which we can refer for an anfwer. But to proceed. The canes are cut with hand-bills, and carried in bundles to the millr which is pow generally a wind mill; it turns three |;reat cylinders or rollers, plated with iron, fet perpendicularly, and cogged fo as to be aH moved by the middle one. Between thefe the canes are bruifed to pieces^ artd the juice runs through an hole into a vat, which is placed under the rollers to receive it; from hence it is carried through a pipe into a great refervoir, in which however, for fear of turning four, it is not fuffered t® reft long, but is conveyed out of that by other pipes into the boiling houfe. ^8o POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. hodfei ythere it is received by a large cauldron; here it remains until the fcuni, which conftantly arifes during the boiling, is all taken off ; from this it is^paflTed fucceflively into five or Hx more boilers, gradualfy dimi- tiifliing in their fize, and treated in the fame manner. In the lad of thefe it becomes of a very thick clammy confidence ♦. They then ferment it with lime-water, and fubfide it with a piece of butter; after which it is placed in a cooler, where it dries, granulates, and becomes ready to be ]put in pots : it is drained throueh thefe, the molatleS running off into a recejptade made to receive it, and from that rum is made. I have tnferted the^ particulars, as they tend to difplay a material circutffffitnce, the great expmces of forming a fugar plantation. Indeed, in iketching the ex<^ pence, I am under a very great want of materials ; for, ftrange as it may appear, I can j6nd fcarce any thing but imperfeft particulars, or mers 'gene- ral affertions. The laft quoted author dates the whole expence of a plan^ tz^fmof any confequence^ exclufive of the purchafe of the land, at yobo/.; but this is fo indefinite, that we can conclude nothing from it. The buildings alone form a very.confiderable amount, i. The fiig^ mill, with its iron cylinders, and the vat whi,ch is lined with (heeMeira f. «. The cidern, or rcfervoir. 3. The boiung^rhoufe, built of brick or ilone ; five coppers, (the lowed number ufed) rtouire one of thirtywfirp feet wide in the clear, and fifty in length, contamine five coppers ; the larged generally four feet in diameter, and three in height ; die others» leflened by degrees to the lad, which is only twenty inches in disunetet and eighteen in depth |. Befides thefe, this houft mud contain troughs, which the rough fugar is fet to cool in before it is barrelled, and moulds, into which other fugars are to be put as taken from the lad boiler; like^ w^ a cidern, almod the length of the houfe, five or fix feet deep, well paved and lined. This cidern is covered with joids, laid about fix inches diameter from each other; their ufe is for fetting the barrels or pots of mufcovado on, for the molades to drain from into the cidern. 4. Tlie curing houfe, for receiving clayed fugars, one hundred feet long and * Aaeunt of Eurtpean SittUmmts^ vol. ii. p. 100. ^ ^ Art of making Sugary p. 10. 1 1 (hould remark, that my authority here is Lebat. Whether the coppers are larger at pre- fent 1 know not, but from a paflage in the Eunpem Stttltmenti^ one would fuppoft thear infinitely fo. Having conduced the fugar to the lad capper, and raifed the fermentation, he faysy ** to prevent it from running over, a bit of butter, no larger than a nut, it thrown in, upon which the fury of the fermentation immediately fuofides; aveffil »/tw» trthrtt'hundrtd gallons requirtt no grtattr f«rct t» quUt it'" from which poffibly the reader mav conclude the the laft copper is fometimes of that fize } and if fo, the preceding ones muft m prodigioufly larger than thofe quoted above from Lebat. Thefe difficulties refult from oiur own writers not being particular in their accounts. twenty- 8ngi twenty-foi^r high, twenty-two wide; and. the iron two thick: this for drying the fugar is kept red hot eight days «nd nights. 6. The flill-houfe, near the boiling-boufe, for the ino^iTei^^ icumtnings of the coppers, and .other refufe matters to be diluted with, ^ water, and (bt a fermenting in ; generally in large calks, iron hooped ;. it is then conveyed into the iUU or copper, fet in a proper furnace *, Theie fix buildings, without mentioning other a^sioTuteTy necclTary ones, fucb as the habitation, &c. muft coft an immenfe fum ere^ing and. fiimifhing; for we are to remember, that they are l>uilt pecaliarly ftrong, fat. two reafons ; firft, that they may not be liable, to take fire, all havHig fuch fiery furnaces in them^ and. fecondly, to be as iecure as poflible againft hurricanes, which fometimes whirl away the ftrongeft as they would a feather. The perpetual repairs of«fuch conCuming fiirnacea arc likewife very confiderable; the coppers are foon worn out, and arc for ever new hanging. It is idje to give guefles where there i> To Utde autho- rity ; but I ihould not apprehend thefe buildings, with a middling dwell- ing hnufe, and a fmaller for an Overfeer, could be completed under 5000 /. From whkh circumftance I cannot but fuppo^, that they have methods of reducing thefe expences, by making fewer buildings do, or a large for- tune would be neceflary to tako a fmall plantation ; but how far Aich oeconomy is carried, we have no accounts, nor what is the lowefi fum of money neceflary for buildings. I do not think I am above the truth in my fuppoiition, as the mill alone was calculated in 1689 to ooft 500/. f And as the coppers, ladles, ikimmers, gudgeons, cafes, capoofes, (what- ever, they are) &c. on a middling fugar-work, coft 500/. more^. ' One vinriter fays exprefsly the expence of buildings and utenfils is from 3 to -5ooo/. II In refped to the amount of negroes to a given number of acres, their cxpences, and proportion of land to the above-mentioned buildings, &c. &c. I can. find very few accounts that are the leaft fatisfadlory ; fuch par- ticulars, however, as are to be gleaned up from the writers moft to be * /rt $f makiHg Sugar, p. 23. 26. 31. t Tbt Grtans »f tbi PkmtatUntt 4to, 1689. X Lrtttr tt a Mmbtr tf ParlUtmtnt »n the Imp«rtaHc4 of Sugar-Cokmrnt 8vo. 1745, p. 19. ' I Ibid. Appendix j p. ^t O o depended <9 d$t POLLTICAL ESSAYS. EUlAT Vi depended on* are as follows: Large plantatbna are generaltf under the care of a manager, or chief overfeer, who has commonly a falary of an hundred and fifty pounds a year, with overt iiffty years to » ' ifet oB butldirtge ; but Whether there'is a fet to each milK h very 6oii\nM^ m all probability not, as the proportion may be preferred much cheaper by buil(fihg otf a ibintn^rhit larger ftsAe, and having the coppers^ ciftemsy il<)vei &c. &c. tof^rdporfionably larger fizei.' ^ The negrbes eod, but of the (hip, 30 A a head) but afterwtv^Sy when inflru£ted in their bufinefs, are much more valuaMe; the loft of one 'W reckoned at 40 or 50/. foraikilful fugar-boiler even 400/. has beeti' giv^t- ' . , : ; As to the profits of a fiigar plantation, the pinblic knows at little of them as df the expences, but they mnfl certainly be very gread^as fo' liiany efiates are conftantly made in the Weft Indies^ " It is coihputdd^^^ fays a modern writer, " that when things are well managed, the rum and niolafles pay the charge of the plantation, and that the fugars are clear gain.** And in another place, he fays, ** The flaves pay 10 or la/. a head, clear profit by their labour (|.*' " The yield of Ipirits," fays another, *^ where all the molaifes and refbfe matters are applied to this uie, is between fixty and feventy gallons tb every hogfhead of fugar. In Burbadocs, where the mill and boilers are frequently wafhed, and fome- times a quantity of what they call rotten canes^ grovtnd on pforpofe for • European StttltmttttSt vol. ii. p. 104. t Groant of the Plantatiom^ 1689, p. iSi 1 Poftlrfhway«e*l Di&mory ofTrade^ vol. i.' Aft. Brhtfl> Jtmrita. I Murapean SetltemttUt vol, ii. p. 103. 126. 7 fermentation. SkoT. W C O L N IIJ 8. .^5 fermfntatioa« reventy*6ve gtllboi or more arp o^Mtine^* In Sk. ChHAtv- :]^ers, and Come other |^oc»» where the; 8r€?tel^ part of |he (cum% arc given to the cattle, and the fugar Uifcharges but Utile iiiola(re», the yield of rum upon the hoglhead of fugar 49 fcarcc thirty gallons 1*." A third makes the quantity of rum to a bogflbcAc) fifty gallons t> vhich appear! to be near the medium* ... ,, < V .'Before I difmifs this part of my fubje^lLi I mud rfmsrlr, tbat the poin^ of knowledge much wanting at prefent, in rplatiqa tQ the culture of fugar, are, minutes of the number of hogflieads of fugar produced from a given Clumber of acres and the price ; d^ number of punpheoQS of rum ; tlte cxpences of all kinds, particularly thofeof.rent (^ land* manure, culture, ^ear and tear, grinding, boiling, &c. the confumptiop of BritiAl HMu^ur fa£bures caufed by a g^ven number of acres; the number of (Wes: if thefe and other particulars were regiftered for a few yeafiSt in various iflands, infinitely more determinate knowljcdge would be the tefult than the public at prefent enjoys; and the vaft importintb/the nation, the Improveineht of our mahufaduresfiidUtated, and the eacpor" tatioo, of ;liefe bulky comnioditiei' prove a great l»eneiit to ouir riaviga- tion«." " ' -^ . ■^fftrt rji. Befides thefe articles of produce, our Weft India ifl&iids ptfflSsd fu^kdry liefs important articles, upon which it would be too^ tedious to dWcAl^^^p^ rately,'fuch as fuftic, red wood, guaiacum, farfaparilla, caffia, taniai^vAdl, gihger, aloes, cacao, fhe'cochineat j^nt, (but' know' hdt the rfifaifHige- ir.ent) fweet meats; andlaftly, coffee, an article which might bis'^iffl- menfe importance, as it is in the French iflands, but is ftrangely neg^e^ii^ in ours f Jamaica, however,* ''feiids hoihe in fome years above tW6<^^- dredcalksofif..; :, a:. :; ; . . hmmnd thnalri'eholU^'^t}^^ :&<^fi Xet us in the next place examine the quantity of thefe ftaples proailOsd in our iflands, as they will beft prove tl'ie impcutance of the Wei¥'fhdia commerce. But as accounts of their produce are fomewhat various, the fureft, though not the moft entertaining way, w^l be, to review" thefe , before we pretend to determine the fa€|:.— r-To begiitwith Jamaicdv the ,JlA|geftof our.iflands: . /■ - Dr. Brown, t makes-the jquantity of fug^r exported annually, ■ at a medium of four years, ending in December 17.5.1, to be about 4761 3 S^t O* net or fliort weight: this, at ij: Ct. to the. hogfliead, M — — 3 1,7.55 hhd?. And if we add the illand cpni^mption, which is 4*300 -i .Another writer fays, the export in 1753 was 2o,3i5hogf- he^ds, fome vaftly large, even to a ton weight, which he calculates at 424,795 /. :|: which at 15 /. a hogfhead, makes — — ■ 28,315 ' Confumptibn as before, — — -■■ 41300 •A third II makes the produd,'at 15 Ct. each, - — - But he allows only looD hogflieads for North America and ^ their own confumptibn, which is beyond all doubt too low. ho^Jheads, 36,055 32.615 32,000 '♦*^Siy, * Dr. Campbell'/ Conjiatratttns an ihi Sugar Trad*., p. 129. t Natural and Civil Hijltrj^ 1 7S6. I 'Lttttr tf a Mtmbtr of Parliamtntt 1745. p X European StttltmtnUt vol. ii. p. 72^ Mr. "V ,a86 ' POLfeTip^fe JEgS^AYS. Jsa^,y. Mr. ipQUiethwayte ' quotes aifthors.mihQvi. naming; tl|em, I^^Jhiadu vvbo mate tli {>ro4v4 20,990.000 /&. tjiis is at, ^5, CjE. • j; . , ,i.4}9[q^ 3ut tai<; r«iiie writw if> «ftoti^?r Wcft T q^foj.piljjjCr 'j^t^orj^ «£{,., ?iv- lOPiOfio, wastes l>t^ *• l^e cUc^lverc fpf^ pt. 2 Q, Jj : ^^^ , , ihall deduct a jthf ' '" ■ ' "' io,o6o And, ftrange as it may appear, in the Ikme page gives credit /iViJJJj"' .ua ,)Jc-? M|9di.i;w o^^hfffe ajwuntf» . ■ ■ trr-r T ui-.o-'-^?^^ ' . ,/ -'- ■T^ C ' 4?»5^5 i^757»?ijr Th^ vaj»c of tbcfe tf .^5 4 B«r, |bp5fl^!pa,4 ? J "^ Rum, 65 gallons to each hogihead of fugar', at 2/. 9^. per '<^^ ^-^'^^^ gallon ', . -^r— . . — T- £* '433t59i Cotton, '12C3 b]agil)y one accdtint*, ' ■''■y^y?}:^%):^m a.Ii n; ?r/ i^X ibo^-^iPanpther^; * ..-.: Ihr? 7'.': ^i; ,^f -,'- .n , >,; CJoffee, 220 calks , — — - : ^? -— tfe. ^^' s'.a^34a Pimento, 438,000/^.", — . — — — I5»632 Mahogany","' "■'""""■ ■^^Ms'-s •^-f>:.•,'uJiL:^^*i'fi.■i;ii^*-J-lJ-^ j--^ .' — 17,^5^ Sundries, as logwobdi nica^rs^, iMa^iletto, flx^Cf lignum- vitae, cocoii, ,ginger cahella! or Wintl^r's batiir, pdruviaa ^'« u ~4 ba^k, bal^itii, indij^O) aloes, hides, ftayes,dr^gfQbd8,^^f^ ^^^X^ and bullion fometimes e*iiort^ fVom Aeiicfe.' ■«v)i<^ Wlui^ yjf ti an A -— -7 32.142 'TbtaV 1,246,868 aqd bullion fometimes e^cported from thencfe,- "whc^^ili^ is hot fo eafily .computed % » Di^ieHory, Ait;' Aii^tillw. • ;^ T * ?''^' i*» Articl(t S«gifr, ' Importance tf the $Mgar Coloniety tj6o: - — '. ' Dr.CAmp\it\Vi GfHftJeratifias^p^ij. I take this price to avoid tlw diar|;e. of- exag^eratioi^t Dr. Brown malces the price in the ifland to be id/. « Jrt ef making Sugar, p. 34. ' Brown's Jamaica, * A confiderable part of their molaflfes is expoi'tedlindiftiiled to He«ri£ngland) but the whole fhould certainljr. be charged to the account of Jamaica. •• Ibid. ',.;.; ' EuroPfon StttltmttUtf. v0l. U, p. 73. ' Jn fixing this price, as well as that of rum, 1 am forced toli'ave recduffe to Dr. Br6wn, who gives a total in Jamaica currency; from which, by reducing many bags to one, &c. and proportioning the price, I find fts above. ' ■■'.,''> ■>-' \\i'; . \ ' » Brtfun's %mai(at " Ibidj! » Ibid. • Ibid. P The author of the Examination of the Commercial Principles, 1 762, p. 92. values Jamaica at 1,100,000 /. Perhaps the medium' may be nearer the Criith. ■ Bar- Sect. 11. ^f' * not piropor ti(5iSaWy fertile in tirem with Barbadocs^' JfOidod i*. ,ks* 306,433^ J Surtfean Settltmtnts^ vol. u. p. 89* • Article £ri>>/& Jmtrica. " Article 5r;//y& America, T Art tfmaktHgSmgtir, p. 33* ' CenfiieMTii..:; p'. 2^. * ^rf ef making Sugar^ p. 34, * Ii.iportanct of Sugar CoUnitu St, i88 POLITl,CiAL?i SHAYS. EsiatV,* St, Cbrig^hers^ < » ho^JJjeads, .;:(^:;;':! l^e author of. the Imfortancet 4eq. .agrees ia thU nyn^ber^ - Value at 15 /.. ,f .. ■• - — •^-*- t f,.,tf:h. j;-^^^ •' o' .J -ooo Rum, 30 gallons per hog(head §, and af is, ^d, per gallon, 37*^^5 iSti&dry artij^es I calculate, 3,oca * rmhthq^ii i.rAmi -..-1. - . , Montferrat* llie author b£ the 7>/i^/afif^, &Q. makes the produce The proportion of the negroes, taken as before, Mediuoi, ' ; ; . -t?t "" hcgjheads, 8,coo 5fO0,o 35tO0o Value at 15/. — — — "^ £' S^itS^Q Rum, 30 gallons per hog(head, at 2 /. 9 ^. as before, >4*437 Sundry articlesi fuppofe — "~" 2,000 * Art of making Sugar, f Art. Sugar, I /rf 0/ ffMi/V^ ff^ar, p. 34. Total, £. 68,937 t Buraptan StttUmmtti vol. ii. p. 92* As sccT.n. COLON I ESi •8g^ As to the iflcnds cedied by the peace of 175^* theur produce it yet ttxdmowiiy but they can fcarcety be brought ihto culture enough yet to yield any quantities of fugar. In all probability» however, the export of mahogany froiii them is not inccmfiderable^ from the fall of the price in England within thefe two years, which cannot \(rell be afenbed to any other caufe. . •' The totals of the preceding articles are as follpw^: .. _:■ \^ Sugar.' Jamaica, 1 Barbadoes, ■ Antigua, — — St. Chriftophers, — Nevis, Montferrat* » Before I proceed with^ the remaining articles, it is neceflary to take notice of fome accounts of the total quantity of our fugar in thofe authors who do not give the partieulars. Mr. Anderfon * fays, it is thought our idands produce 8^j:,ooo hogiheads, at 13 Ct. which, fays he, is ],soo,ooo Ct. but .n> that is a miftake, it is only 1,020,000, and at 15. Ct. hogJheaHs,^ makes — — 68,QQO^ Dr. Campbell f makes the quantity confumed by us in Europe ' '* SOjObd hogflieads, to wmch we muft add the confumption of America. The author of i\\.ePrefent State % makes that of the continental colonies 30,000 hogflieads : the iflands liiemrelves probably confume 5000 § : this account there- ,, fore will be ""~ 1 T" . — ^" — 115,006' Hhdi. Vahf. 48,515 C-mMs 30,266 303*990 15.500 232»50o 10,000 150,000 9,000 175. "5 3»50O 52,500 106,781 1,644,940 w ■ I - ' - --■ • * HiJItrUal Dtdultim efCommtret, vol. ii. p. 351a f Ctnftderatimii ttc, p; 30. J Page 272, § To Jamaica was charged 4300 hogflieads ; but that account, though taken from another writer, appearing to me very large, and totally out of proportion to the confumption of the northern colonies, I think it the fafer way to charge the whole at no more than 5000. But if this ihould be ooo> at t2 Ct. that is, at 15 Ct. 56,000; to which add nthe colonies: but as he wrote in 1745, their confumption probably was not above 20.000, in all — Account drawn from fevcral writersj as above, — General medium, — — -«• BtSATVil 2«7,O0O. Value at 15/. 76,000 106,781 jC. 1,472,340 Rum, JJOnaica, ^ Barbadoes, .-^— Andgua, ■ St. C^riftophcrs, , Nf^ '■■if:-f!Tfr MontTcrraty *^ Jamaica §, «— ' Barbadoes, i — Antigua/ jdrJ St. Ghriflophets, Nevis, "— Moiitferrat, Total pioduds, 303,99a — 63,933 — • 4"»*5o — 37»«a5 — ^4*437 Suttdriet, ~ £' 85.452 — 30,000 — — ro,ooo -ii— 7,000 — - 3,000 -^— a,ooo 794»3»S t ,'.t ■ UM5a • ♦1. 8,404,126 A modern author || gives us from the cuftom-houfe entries the imports from the Weft Indies to England m 1758, a year fubjeft to the loffes of war, they amount to — 1*834,036 * Page 27a. ri . } u t Lttttr tt a Mimhtr af Parliamtm, p. ii. %h ftrpng confirmation of this amount is an aflertion of the author of the Prtftnt Stale, p. 272. that the quantity is about 70,000 hogiheads, at 10 /. made in the iflands, beildes the exported molafles. ^ ExaminatimoftluCtmnurcialPtinclpliti^.i.'j. t • n It is very plain, to England al9ttt,zs he copies the expartt from the Tnttrtft ofGrtat Bri- tain, p. 57. (which exprefjy excludes Scotland and Ireland) and, to make the account com- plete, adds the imports. North SiCT/IR' ^'Gdtdiifrs. " BrougU^ over North America confumet 3«,ooo hogfheads of fugar> Ditto, in nimand melaflei* ^ — --— Let us allow for Scotland} &c. .TotaU according to this account, The firft made it, — Medium — — ' t9r 450,000 470,000 C* 3»754»o36 «45»964 3,000,000 8,404,120 -r >C. 8,702,060 As I have in every article taken the medium of all the accounts I could procure, that did not appear plain copies from each other, I cannot ap-^ prehend any thing here is exaggerated a (ingle (hilling ; but a. word or two is necefTary as to charging all the rum to the account of the iflands. I cannot fee any difference between exporting a part of their mekfies un- manufadured to New England, there to be diftilled, or di(UUing it them- felves : it is in both cafes equally theprodud);of the iflands : all the trade» confumpdon, exchanges, remittances to Britain, &c. &c. in confequence of thefe melaffes exportation are all occa(ioned by produds of the fugar cane : And as I am not here (lating i^e profits of the iflands: but their produce-, no dedudions are to be made from the above total upon account of the New England di(lilleries, no more than upon account of the African: negroes, or the Briti(h manufadures ; thefe articles cannot be gained, (b as to ftate exactly lYit profit ; nor is it of half the confequence of the produce if they could, as that is the foundation of fo mai^y fabricks raifed through- out our whole dominions i and efpecially as the iflands could^ with the utmoft eafe, diftil all their mela(res, whereas New England could fcarcely fubfift without them. , j-The number of whites in all thefe iflands, according, to the author of the European SettletnentSy does not exceed 74,000 ; now the above pro- duce divided amongft them makes 32/. <)s. per head, a vaft amount ! The fame writer makes the blacks 240,000 ; the total of whites and blacks therefore is 314,000. The above fum divided amongfl thefe gives 8 /. 12 j. I d. per head : a vafl: fUm for the average of men, women and children ! In St. Chriftophers, fays Mr. Poftlethwayte, there are not above 34,000 acres \X\9ii can be applied to any fort of culture — 24,000 • Prtfmt SttUe. P p 2 Nevis 29« POLITICAL ESSAYS. EstfArVr i.vjA ^i-^jv ,x >. I i^^wuj -. ' .rf.n< - -Brdught over • ^a4,ooo< N^eiris t calciilatelh lifbpb^trdn to 9t. Chrlftophen ; if the pro^ < ' i ' < > d'liii^^of fugar of A^at IfliiDd comes ofF 24,006, that 6f Ne^ < • ' i < < 91,600 ' 8,400 i^ 48^480 '' ^i 15*200 will proceed frbm Antigua, by the fame rule, IVtontTerrat, ditto, ' ' '" ' ' Bart>adoe8, ditto, ^ Jamaica, ditto, ' Total cultivated acres. ■fti 254,880 The total produA divided amongft theie makes per acre 10 L 12 s. aad> if fallow years were dedu6:ed, the product per acne would be ib much greater; and this befldes all they raife for their own andoegcoea food, or, in other words jii' and then winnowed, .whioh was formerly a very tedious operation, but it is now perfortnetd vith great eafe by a- very fimple machine, a wind fan, but lately ufed here, and a prodigious improvement. The next part of the procefs is grinding, whidb is done in fmall mills made of wood, of about two feet in diameter ; it i&.then winnowed again, and afterwards, put into a mortar made of wood,, fufficient to contain from half a bu(hel to a buihel, wbvT^ it is beat with apeftle, of a fize fuitable to the mortar, and to the ftrengt'i of the perfon who is to pound it : this is done to free the rice from a ^ck ikin, and is the moft laborious part of the work. It is then fifted &onLJthe flour and dufl made by the pounding, and afterwards by a wire fieve, called a market fieve, it is feparated from the broken and fmall rice ; which fits it for the barrels in which it is carried to market. They reckon 30 flaves a proper number for a rice plantation, and to be ■ tended with one overfeer : Thefe, in favourable feafons, and on good land, will produce a furprizing quantity of rice ; but that I may not be blamed by thofe, who being induced to come here upon fuch favpuiable ac- counts, and may not reap fo great a harveft, and that I may not midead any perfon whatever, I chufe rather to mention the common computation, throughout the province, communibus annis ; which is, that each good working hand, employed in a rice*p1antation, makes four barrels ai^ an half of rice, each barrel weighing four or five hundred pounds weight neat ; befides a fufficient quantity of provifions of all kinds, for the flaves, horfes, cattle, and poultry of the plantation, for the year enfuing. Rice laft year (he wrote in 1761) bore a good, price, beinj*., at a medium, about 2 /. 5 J. of our currency, per hundred weight ; and all this year it hath been 2 /. 1 5 j. and 3 /. ; though not many years ago, it was fold at fuch ■> low prices, as 10 or 12 j. per hundred *".** The fame writer qiiotes from an account in 17 10 a few other par- ticulars. " Rice is fowed in furrows about 18 inches diftance ; a peck ufually fows an acre, which yields feldom lefs than 30 buftiels, or more than 60 buftiels ; but generally between thefe two, according as the land . is better or worfe. Thriving bed in low moid lands, it inclines people to > Page 6. d improve «94» POLl^T^CjAIi P&SAYS. EiiATJV* improve that fori; of ground, mhkh. mentioned price therefore, of .3./. percwt. ia nearly o a yA per cwt. and as there are 4 cwt. in a barrel, it is x /• 14'' 4d, par barrel: and the flaves making four and a half, amounts, each flave, to 7 A 14. M, and as there remains time besides this work, for raifing provifions, &c. for the whole plantation for a year, the product of rice appears to be clear profit : and if indigo is planted at the fame time, we ihall find in the next article, that the profit is yet greater per head. Thirty negroes, at the common price at prefent, and of late years* 30 /. come to 900 f. the intereft of which fum, at 5 per cent, is 45 /. the profit on them at y L141, 6d, each, is 231/. 15 s. which is a very confiderable return from fo fmall a fum. As to the lofs of negroes, nothing can fairly be deduced, as Caro- lina exports a ^w negroes, inftead of importing them, which fhews, that their increafe exceeds their lofles. Ind^o, ** Indigo is a dye made from a plant of the fai^e name, fays the author of the Account of the European Settlements^ which probably was fo called from India, wheie it was firfl cultivated, and from whence we had for.a confiderable time the whole of wliat we confumed in Europe. This plant is very like the fern when grown, and when young hardly diflin- guifhable from lucerne-grafs. They cultivate three forts in Carolina, which demand the fame variety of foils. Firfl, the French, or Hifpaniola Indigo, which firiking a long tap root, will only flourifh in a deep, rich foil X ; and therefore, though an excellent fort, it is not much cultivated in the maritime parts of Carolina, which are generally fandy. The fecond fort, which is the falfe Guatemala or true Bahama, bears the winter better than the firft ; is a more tall and vigorous plant, is raifed in greater quan- tities from the fame compafs of ground, is content with the worft foils in the country, and is therefore more cultivated than the firft fort, though inferior in the quality of its dye. The third fort is the wild indigo, which • Page 70. t Stork's Florida, p. 66. X The faft may, and feems from Various authors to be fo, but not from the length of the tap root, fmce we fee fainfoine w.ith a prodigious long one thrives as well, and with common management better, on poor {halloyr foils than on rich ones. is SkCT.It' C O L O N I E a «05 itiiidig|Ciio«i»here; Thii,iftit'ii atittiTeof thetountr^, anfwers the pur- p0ie» of the planter l>eft of ■!!, with regard totliehardinefs of the plant, the c ^ rinef» of the cultu^ei and the quantity of the jproduce *." The fort cultivated in the fugar iflands, 19 (aid by another writer f, to require a high loofe foil, tolerably rich. It is an annual plant ; but the wild fovt is aperennial ; its ftalk dies every ydii^^ but it (hoots up again next fpring : the indigo made from it Ik as good a^ the other, and it will grow o» tery indiflPerent land, provided it be dry and loofe. The dry and loofe lands, which they make choice of for the cultivation of this plant, is what they call their uplands^ that is land which lies above the level of the fea, or. any of the contiguous creeks or rivers; it is for the moft part a thirfty> fandy gravel, with here and there a thin covering of hazel mould %> A modern § author is greatly miftaken therefore in faying, that indigo re- quires tbe^^ and nf^^, and flMJ^lsnds. 'it I I . v-^u^ For planting indigo, they generally firft b^ak the land Up#rith a plough, and i^terwards work it fine with Jiand-boesf. The time of * Vol. il. p. 248. t Difcription of Swth Ctrolinat p. 9. t Muftum Rujiicum, ' % Prtftnt Stattt p. 148. The paflage is as follows : I infert it to fhow the various account* we have of the fame thing, and how much attention is neceflliry to glean up the truth among them. ** Indigo thriva vtry Indiffertntlyy tither in tht fiil or the cHmatt (he is fpeakiog of our fouthern colonies]. Indigo is one of thofe rank weeds like tobacco, which not only exhauft the fubftance of the earth, but require (he very beft and richeft lands, and fuch as have > natural' moifttne in them j whereas the lands in our fouthern colonies are extremely poor and fandy» and hays abarren driiitfs in them, which rtndtrs thtmvtrx unfit to produce fuch a ci^op as this„ to any manner of advantage. This is planted by the French on the frefli wood lands of St. Ddmingo, which are too rich and moift even for fugar, and is intended to ^htuft their luxuriant fertility, as we do with tobacco, in order to render them fit for that and other crops. They likewii'e cut it every fix weeks, or eight times in a year, and for two years together j whereas, in Carolina, it is cut but thrice; and as the land has not fubftance and moifture to make it ihoot, after cutting, and the fummers are too fiiort, the third cutting is but of little value, as even the fecond is in Virginia. Neither does the foil or climate feem to be fit to yield that rich juice, which makes this dye in any plenty or perfie^iion. The French and Spanhrds make great quantities, worth eight and ten Ihiilinga a pound, when the little we make in Carolina is not, upon an average, worth above two /hillings, and a great deal has been fold fur a Hiilling, and lefs. This is therefore far from being f6 rich and valuable a commodity in North America as many imagine, although it is of great fervice in the rice colonies, and helps them to keep up their plantations, by mak* inga fmall quantity of indigo with their rices and on fome few fpots of better lands it turns to more account." p. 149. This proyicis nothing more, than the fuperiority of th6 French and Spanifli indigo, not that that of Carolina is not a very valuable itaple ; and as to the particulars of foil and climate, it rcfpefts hut oni fort at moft. The fucccfs with which the wild fpecies is cultivated, we find recorded on much better authority than this author's.— Vide the Dtfiription of South Carolina, f Mufeum Rujikum^ vol. vi. p. jSj* :, . . planting-^ ^ POLIT.CilrLIE5»8AY5. EllAT V. planting is generally after the frfcrtme luceeeding the renal equinox; the feed is fowedin fmall ftraight trenches,, about eighteen or twenty in- ches afunder; when it is at its heig^t,|it is' generally eighteen inches tall; the land muft be weeded every day, and the plants cleanfed from worms* and the plantations attended with the gceateft care and diligence. An acre of good land may produce about 80 lb. of indigo, and one flave may manage two acres and upwards, and raife provifions befides, and have all the win :er months to faw lumber* and be otherwife employed in ; but as much of the land hitherto ufed for indigo is improper, I am per- iiiaded, that not above * 30 lb.' of good indigo per acre can be expe^ed from the land at prefc^nt cultivated f. The manufaduring it requires attention and care, but is by no means very difficult nor expenfive; for the whole apparatus, befides a pump, con- fifls only of vats and tubs of cyprefs wood tt common and cheap in this country. There is perhaps ho branch of manufa^ure ih which folafge prcBts may be made upon fo moderate a fund, as that of indigo ; and there is no country in which this manufadure can be carried on to fuch advantage as in Carolina, where the climate is healthy, proviiions plenti- ful and cheap, and every thing neceflary for that bufinefs had with the grcatcft cafe §. And it is very worthy of remark, how conveniently and profitably, as to the charge of labour, both indigo and rice may be ma- naged by the fadie perfbns ; for the labour attending indigo being over in the fummer months, thofe who were employed in it may afterwards ihanufa^ure rice in the enfuing part of the year, when it becomesmoft laborious ; and after doing all this, they will have fome time to fpare for fawing^ lumber, and making hogfhead and other ftaves, to fupply the fugar colonies ^. The price of indigo in Carolina having been sts. 6d. per lb. of late years, 30 lb. amounts to 3 /. 15 /. the produft of an acre; and as a flave can manage above two, the product of the labour of each on the plant may be called 8/. which is ss.6d. more than at making rice ; but this is upon land plainly of an inferior kind. I fliall by and by extend thefe * A« this writer (the author of the Dffcrlptien) had undoubted opportunities of informa- t'on, wc muft conclude the quantities mentioned by other writers, over-rated. The Eurtptan SetiUmentSf vo). ii. p. 250. (ays, the medium produce is 50 lb. Tht £jpiys oh Hujhandry, p. 122. the produce of rich well managed land is foolb. Poffibly he means on the Miffi- lippi, where the foil is wonderfully ferti e. f Defer Iption^ p. 9, % European Sdtltments, vol. ii. p. ^50. ^ Ibid. f Defcriptiony p. 10. calculations SteivIK ^TCOl ONI ES; 40 calculfttions, when T have come to fpeak of the cxpencca and profit of a plantation in this country. Cotton, ' This plant is of three kinds : one creep? on the earth like a vine j the fecond is like a buQiy dwarf tree ; and the third is as tall as an oak : all three, after producing beautiful flowers, are loaded with a fruit as large M Awainutt whofe outward coat is entirely black { when fully ripe, it They The ufc in Carolina) is' a long fquare frame, confiding of four beams, about four feet hifgh, joined together by eight croik pieces, four above and four below; twQ Jong fpindles channelled, which crofs the fr^me, and turn round (poti^ary ways by means of fome trudillest op which the workman puts his feet, and of two handles on the fides. Before the frame is a move- able board eight inches broad, and as long as the mill, placed over againit the fpindles. On this board, the vTorkman who fits before it, puts the cotton in a pannier placed at his left hand, to fpread it to the right on the fpindles, when he puts them in motion. The fpace between the fpin- dles being wide enough to give j^flage to the cotton, which they draw in turning round, but not to admit the feeds, feparates them ; the cotton falling into a bag that hangs under the mill, and the feed falling to the ground between the workman's legs'. To dired the cotton into the bag, there is a board under the ft>indle8 like that above them, inclining towards it. A g<^ workman will cleanfe from 55 to 60 pounds in a day f . 1 have interted this account to ihew, that the whole apparatus is of very trifling expence, otherwife the name of a mili might have carried an idea of a very coftly machine. The cotton flirub is that which is chiefly cultivated. As to the foil which beft fuits this vegetable one modern writer fays, it is known to thrive beft in a light fandy foil, and the pine barrens are fit for it:t^: Another fays, old tobacco grounds are the beft lands for it ||. From vyhence we may conclude, that it does not require a rich foil. It certainly thrives very well in thefe colonies. * PoftlcthwayteV Diif, Art. Cotton. f Id. Ibid. X Stork's Fkrida, p. 57. |i Prtftnt Stalin p. 148. Skini. agS POLITICAL ESSAYS. Skins, Essay V. Thefe are ftaples of great confequence in the fouthern colonies ; thef confift chiefly of deer, beaver, and calf-lkins : further is not neceffary to be added upon this article, as no culture, and very little managementt has any thing to do with it. Naval Stores, • - Thefe confift chiefly of pitch, tar, and turpentine ; ruafls, &c. The three firft, and rofin, arc all the product of the pine-tree. Thfc ttifpiiitiaft is drawn fimply from incifions made in the Ir^ej they at-e made froth ad great an height as a man can reach with ah hatchet; thefb intiCioh^ thtUt at the bottom of the tree, in a point whdrc they pour their contehts intd a veflel placed to receive them. There is nothirig futth^r ill this pi*o-* cefs : But tar requires a more confiderable^pparatusi^nd greater ttottble* They prepare a circular floor of ddy* declining a littlfe to^ftrds the deht^erj from this is laid a Jhpe of wood» the u'ppef part ^ which is fevett With the floor, and reaches ten feet without the cirttimferencie J under the end, the earth is dug away, and barrels placed to receive the tat as it runs. Upon the floor is built up a large pile of pine wood, fplit in pieces, and furrounded with a wall of earth, leaving only a flhall iiper-* ture at the top, where the fire is fiieft klndl^. Wheh the fir6 begins td burn, they cover this opening likelvife* to tiofifirtethe fire froih flaming out, and to leave only a fuflicient heat to force the tar ddwntTiratd^ t:) tht floor. They tertiper the heat as they pl<^afe, by running a flick intd the wall of clay, and giving it air. Pitch is mf.de by boilirig tar in large iroii kettles fet in furnaces* or burning it in round day holds milde in the earth *. Oil of turpentine is obtained hf the diftillation ()f ttit^entine* Roiln is the refiduum or remainder of fuch tui'p^titine, affef- the oil is dif- tilled from it f. In the clearing of their gtoUnds, they lay afide all trees fit for mafts, boltfprits, and booms, of which they export what they do not ufe, and likewifc oars, &c. &c. Timber, Befides the feveral articles of tirtiber ufed in naval flores, thefe colonies export confiderable 4'antities of what they call lutnberj which is cedar« cyprefs, pine, oak, walnut, &c. &c. cut into a variety of goods, as boards, planks, pofts, fliingles, flaves, hoops, hoglheads, &c. &c. the fale of which ,*p • European Stitkmmts, vol. il, p. 454. t Defcription of South CarcHna, p. 71. IB * Sect.il COLONIES. 299 ia of great confequence to them, as the clearing their lands is thereby- made an article of profit. But it is much to be regretted, that they have not fawing mills ereded among them, which would infinitely increafe this branch of their exports. , , Silk. This article muft not be foi;got, although it is not yet carried to an hundredth degree of the perfedion which it would admit. It is neceflary- firft to remark, that mulberry trees, both white and red, are indigenous over all the fouthern, and even middle parts of this continent. Throughout the colonies of which I am at prefent treating, they are every where found in the greateft plenty, unlefa where deftroyed with the reft of the wood ; but they thrive fo vigoroufly, that plantations! of them, of any extent, may eafily be made ; and it is well known they are fit to feed the worms when fix years old : though the filk produced from trees of from fix to twelve years growth is not fo good as that which others yiield of eighteen or twenty years of age * ; the difference, how- ever, is of but little confequence in a country where millions of old trees are fpontaneous. The climate of the back parts of thefe fouthern colo- nies is warmer than either France or Italy, and yet much more temperate than the fouthern parts of the latter, and confequently better adapted to the bufinefs; for it has been remarked, that in France they make but feve^ or eight pounds of filk from the worms hatched from an ounce of eggs. In Brefcia, in Ita]y, eight, nine, or ten pounds ; but in Calabria eleven or twelve pounds f. Abundance of inconveniencies and expences attend the making filk in Europe, from which the inhabitants of thefe colonies are totally exempt. In many parts of France they hatch the worms in buildings ereded on purpofe, (which are neceflary in fuch climates for hatching large quan- tities) and warmed by ftoves and flues. In Italy the peafant« pay the landowners half the quantity they make fpr the leaves of the mulberry trees : which expence, and the having no rooms for the ufe but the com- mon ones of their cottages, are great burthens upon their induftry. But in our colonies it is very diff"erent ; timber there is in fuch plenty, and fo eafily converted into boards, ports, &c. from the nature of it, that there is no fuch thing to be feen as fuch mean cottages as are univerfal in Eu- rope. A little planter here can afford as convenient a houfe and <>ffices as • See M. Plonnbanie'j Memoir iipen the Silk-Jf^orm^ 8vo. t AUOUSTINO Sallo Vtnti Giomate daW JgrlcQltura^ 4to. 155O. Q^q 2 ft gentle- 300 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. a gentleman in England with five hundred pounds a year ; confequently the expence of rooms on purpofe for the worms is very trifling. The attendance, labour, and trouble are likewife inconfiderable. A modern writer remarks this with great juftnefs, " When it can be fhewed,'* fays he, " that two or three mulberry trees, or a proportional number of fmall ones will feed a fufficient number of worms to make a pound of filk; that the ftand which holds thefe worms will not take up a yard-fpace in a room ; that one perfon {killed in reeling can, with the help of a boy to turn the reel, wind off two or three pounds of filk in a day; that one pound of this filk will make five yards of padufoy; that the whole time from the hatching of the eggs to the reeling of the filk, amounts to no more than fix weeks j that a fmall part of each day is fufficient for the proper attendance ; and that, befides all this, it can be done with much lefs trouble than is generally undergone : thefe things I fay being con- fidered, the managing of the filk-worm will appear in a more inviting light, and be looked upon as an entertainment neither unpleafing nor unprofitable*.'* *' The produdion of filk,'* fays another writer, " will but little inter- fere with the other labours of a planter. A man and his fon, or a fervant, may, withoijt much trouble, gather leaves fufficient for as many worms as he can keep. His wife and daughter, or a fervant maid, may feed and attend the worms f.'* " Every inhabitant of a colony," fays an- other, " men, women, and children, might make at leaft a pound of filk per annum, which is 20 s. and would employ them but fix weeks J.'* Thd fame writer makes an obfervation, which is worthy of attention. ** There are three different forts of mulberry trees in North America, and a native filk-worm, which fpips its cocoons upon thefe and other trees, which are as large, and weigh as much as twenty of the common, and the filk is much ftronger. This would afford a material for a manufac- ture different from any that is known.'* ** The culture of indigo, tobacco, and cotton," fays Du Pratz, " may be eafily carried on without any interruption to the making of filk, as any one of thefe is no manner of hindrance to the other. In the firft place, the work about thefe three plants does not come on till after the worms have fpun their filk : in the fecond place, the feeding and cleaning the * Pullin'iC«//«r*e/"5/V,f, 8vo. 1758. ' t Impartial Enquiry into the Statt and Utility of tht Provinct efGttrgiaf 8vo. 1741. % Prtftnt Statt, p. 269. s pj: filk- Sect. II. COLONIES. filk-wonn requires no great degree of ftrength ; and thus the care em- fjloyed about them interrupts no other fort of work, either as to time, or as to the perfons employed therein. It fuffices for this operation to have a perfon who knows how to feed and clean the worms. Young negroes of both fexes might affift this perfon, little ikill fufficing for this purpofe. The eldeft of the young negroes when taught, might fhift the worms and lay the leaves ; the other young negroes gather and fetch them : and all this labour, which does not take up the whole day, lafts only for about fix weeks. It appears therefore, that the profit made of the filk is an additional benefit, fo much the more profitable as it diverts not the work- men from their ordinary talks. If it is to be objeded, that buildings are requifite to make filk to advantage: I anfwer; buildings for the purpofe coft very little in a country where wood may be had for taking: I add further, that thefe buildings may be made and daubed with mud by any perfons about the family ; and befides, may ferve for hanging tobacco in two months after the filk-worms are gone*.*" n The advantages which thefe colonies enjoy for the culture of filk have by no means been improved as they ought, but we may hope to fee bet- ter things in future. We are told, that a confiderable increafe^has of late been made in the growth of filk in Carolina and Georgia; and that at Purilburg f is become the ftaple commodity of the place J.'* And another writer informs us, that filk is become fo great an improvement in Caro- lina, that fome families make forty or fifty pounds in a year, without ne- gledling their plantations the leaft ; and that they find the negro children of great ufe in it ||. It would be ufelefs to enlarge here upon the infinite confequence to Britain of extending this ftaple, which is apparently fo well adapted to the country. I fhall in another place endeavour to point out the moft probable means of efFeding it. ** In the year 1757" fays another writer, " 1052 /^. of raw filk balls were received at the filature in Georgia, and the next year produced no * Hijiory tf Leul/ianaf vol. i. p. 325. + Called fo from one colonel Purry, a native of Swiflerland, who wrote a treatife, intitled, A Method for dttermimng the hejl Climate on Earthy 8vo. 1744. he fixes it about 32 or 33 de- grees latitude } and, confidently with his idea, founded Puriibui gh in latiiude 32, about forty years ago. X StorltV Florida J 1766, p. 58. H Poftlcthwayte'; Diiiionaryy Art. Bi'ttljb America, left 302 POLITICAL ESSAYS. «8SAY V, lefs than 7040 lb. thereof: And in 1759 there was received at Savannahi the capital of Georgia, confi^erably ajiove 10,000/^. although the feafun was not favourable *." Sundry Articles. Amongft many other produdg, fruits are of fome confequence ; oranges thrive very finely there, and are exported to the amount of 2 pr 300,000 annually. Saflafras is produced in tolerable plenty. Bees and myrtle-wax are very plentiful : the latter is the produce of a plant called the myrtle-n wax flirub. The procefs of making the wax is very fimple : they hruife the berrries, boil them in water, and ikim the wax oflF, which is naturally of a bright green colour, hut may be bleached like bees-wax ; and oa account of its hardncfs is well adapted for candles in hot countries f. They are however brittle, infomuch that they break inftantly to pieces ; noH only by falling, but if they are handled roughly. A very fenCible writev propofes as a remedy for this defeft, that a certain quantity of goats fuet be difTolved and incorporated with the melted wax :|:, wliich in all proba- bility would have the defired effedt, ' Thefe are. the principal ftaple commodities of the fouth^rii continents' colonies. Having laid this little fketch before the reader* I ihall in th^ next place endeavour to difcover the expences of forming a plantation in them for the cultivation of products, which are palpably of fuch gx^\ importance to Britain ; and try, at the fame tiine« if fome tolerably clear idea cannot be gained of the profit or income refulting from fuch p^nta*^ tion. I introduce this calculation here, becaufe the ftaples are of iQorc^ confequence than mod which remain yet to be fpoken of; and becaufe there is a much greater plenty of good land yet to fettle than in the mp^^ northerly colonies. Such an inquiry as this will not be ufelefs ; for there are many people in thefe kingdoms, as well as abroad, who are deterred from fettling in the colonies' on account of the uncertainty of th? expence. People who poflefs enough to live happily in a colony, but whofe poverty in the mother-country not allowing a way of living, and appearance^ equal perhaps to better, but pad times ; or to an unfortunate education fuperior to their fubftance, fall into courfes which are fure to end fatally in what manner foever they are accelerated : No community fuflFi^rs any • Anderfon's Dedu^IiM, vol, ii. p. 413. f Stork's Florida^ p. 48. But for a more accurate manner, fee Du Pratz's Hifioire de la Loui/iane, 1758, torn. ii. p. 37. X EJfoys on Hifiandry^ p. 128. lofs, S&CT«it. COLONIES. 303 lof&i but on tile cohtrary a confiderable benefit in Juch retiring to more "plentiful clitnes. — 1 iball form a fuppofition,'that the plantation is fettled by a perfon from Britain or Ireland, and include the expenccs of freight. But aa my materials for this (ketch are of no great extent, I muft make ufe of fome private intelligence which I gained on this head, where my public itiformation falls fliort. 1 had it on very good authority. Let us fuppofe that a man, his wife, atid two children, leave Britain to fettle in Catolina ; what is the lowed fum neceflary for the undertaking ? I fhall fuppofe them to take one man, and one maid fervant. Their ex- peaces oiF freight and ptovifions ivill, ohe with another, be 10/, each. In bur new cbldhy of Eaft tloridA the expence of the furvey and fees of 1500 acres, is 80 /. For waiit of particular iftfofmation, I muft ima- gine it is the fame in Carolina. fettler arrives them out To purchafe a negro or two, or even three, as foon as a fett! in the province, thfe ptice will be 5 /. extraoi-dihary. To buy of the fliip, they are 30 /. per head. The expence of converting a part of the tifhber on fhfe grant of land into a convenient comfortable, houfe of three fmall rooms on a floor, (by way of" beginning) is 25 /. Furniture is a very indefinite article* but 56/.. ihould be allowed for it. The expence of thofe articles which have a peculiar reference to the climate is 10 /• in all 60/. The firft year's provifions (or houfekeeping) for fervartts amounts to 6/, per head. As to negroes, they are frequently fed intirely upon Indian corn, of which twelve bufliels and a balf maintain them the whole year, witholit other food *. The price is 2 s. per bufhel ; confequently the year's food of each is i /. 5 s. The charge of their cloatbing, 2 /. per annum -f. The planter, his wife, and children, I calculate at 40 /. The wages of fervants carried from Britain are jufl what they can be got for; the common calculation is 10/. a year each. The implements of culture and clearing the land, fuch a^ axes, faws, pick-akes, fpades, hoes, &c. &c. are reckoned at 4 /. per labouring hand. • Prefcnt Stat*, p. 35. t European StttlmmtSy vol. ii. p. 105. Plantations 3^4 POLITICAL FSSAYS. Essay V,^ Plantations are generally chofen either upon the banks of navigable rivers, or fo near them, that every planter poflefTes a boat, Ivhich is abfo- lutely neceflary: The coll is lo/. Large plantations have floops belong- ing to them, of from ten to thirty, or forty and fifty tons burthen. In the fettling any plantation contingent expences will happen, which were either unforefeen, or the amount too uncertain to calculate. In fume eflimates I have feen, for plantations of ten labouring hands, thefe have amounted to 50 /. which is 5/. per head, which I £hail adopt. As to cattle, the number which I have feen minuted in one or two efti- mates for 1500 acres was, five horfes, ten cows, five oxen,' and twenty hogs : the horfes at 3 /. the cows at i /. the hogs at 5 x. but thefe pricest I have been informed, are now too high. Thefe articles thrown together will appear as under. Freight and expences on the voyage of the planter, his family, and two fervants, —— Survey and fees of 1500 acres, ' •— — One negro, and cloathing, — — — — Furniture, — '• «— — .i Firft year's expences. Thefamily> ^* 40 Two fervants, 12 One negro, 15 Wages of two fervants — — — Implements, — — ■ A boat, — . — Contingencies, — — — • Annual expence. Wages, — — Negro cloaths, ■ Wear and tear, — Qoathing the planter and family, if. 60 so 37 SZ 5 20 8 10 40 20 SSZ 5 4 40 66 Before tSfiCT. H. COLONIES. 305 Before I proceed to give any Iketch of the returns from fuch a planta- tion I Ihould obferve, the firft year 13 employed in clearing what may be called a home flail; that is, a gardep, and fuch a quantity of land as the labouring hands kept by the planter are able annually to cultivate. — Not fhould I forget a diftindlion often made ufe of in the preceding (heets be- tween the maritime and back parts of thefe colonies ; the firft are fruit- ful, but unwholefome, the latter much more fruitful, and exceedingly wholefome. . The beft land is likewife all taken up in the former, but vaft and fertile tracts remain uncultivated in the latter. For thefe reafons, I (hall fuppofe the planter to choofe his grant in the back parts. I have already quoted indifputable authority for aflerting the product of rice per working hand to be 7 /. 14/. 6 Potatoes *, 700 bulh. ^ . a. c 10 Calks, Onions,* < -n v**.wi*«7, I g^Q Ropes, Cattlet beef, &c. (•Bullocks*, 28 in n^ Live ftock, j Hogs, *, 158 *• Sundries*, Beef, 1,764 barrels, Pork, 3,1 14 ditto. Bacon, about* 3,aoo lb. Butter*, 130 calks, • This table is taken from the Defcrlptlen, p. 50. which is in Carolina currency ; but I. fiave reduced it, with no inconfiderablc trouble, to fterling, only leaviqg out the fractions of: a penny, which, however, are referved in the total. Thefe tables are of no ufe in their cur- rency, Uie difference between tbatand Jfterling being fo great. Naval^ 17 I per 1000 IB^ aj:i I 5 bulhel. 43« 8 bulhel. «3 14 3 cafk. 7 4 rope* 3 X II 5 bullock», 44! 8 6 hog. 63. 357 18 6 barrel. 1631 I 8 6 ditto, 4436' 4 lb. 36' I 2 10 calk, 148 %19 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. Commodities. Rates in Amount in Species. ^antities. fterl. money. fterl. money. Naval/tores. /. s. d. Pitch, 5,581 barrels, 6 5 per barrel. £' »77i «,^^ c Common, ^^'* \ Green, 8,784 ditto. 5 ditto. 696 291 ditto, 7 I ditto, 103 Turpentine, 2,397 ditto. 7 I ditto. 847 Rofm*, 07 ditto. 7 I ditto. 34 Marts * Q in nO 8 2 lo each. ^9 Boltfprits ♦, 8 inn" 17 I each. I Booms, 6 ditto. I 8 6 each. Oars *, 50 pair. 3 10 pair. 5 Vegetable produce of of other forti • Indigo, 134,118 lb. 8 6 lb. 16,764 Pot afties, 3 barrels, 2 17 1 barrel. 8 Oil of turpentine * ; 9 jars, ' ' 17 barrels, I 2 8 2 6 jar, lo barrel. 13 15 Cotton, wool *, 7 bags, 3 II 5 bag,. 9S Salfafras *, S2 tons. 2 8 10 ton. 67 t * Lumber*. - Boards, 61,448 feet. 5 14 3 per 1000, 349 Cedar boards. 8,189 ditto, 17 I per ioo» 70 Cedar plank. 1,331 ditto, I 5 foot, 98 52 ditto. I 5 ditto. 3 Cyprefs boards. 31,000 ditto, S 14 3 per 1000, III Ditto, 979 boards. I 9 each. 84 Heading, iZ^975 ^ 5 14 3 per 1000, 79 Ditto, 127,652 feet. 4 5 8 per 1000, 546 Ditto, pine. 1 48, 1 43 feet of boards. S 14 3 per 1000, 840 Ditto, 1,293 boards. 10 each. S$ Ditto, plank, 22 in n^. 2 I each. 2 Bay wood plank. 98 ditto. 8 6 ditto. 41 Scantling, 2,000 feet. 10 per 100, lo Shingles, 635,170 in n** II 5 per 1000, 3<54 Staves, 132,567 ditto. 4 5 8 ditto. 567 Timber, 4,000 feet. 14 3 per 100, 88 Ditto, 9 pieces. 5 8 each. 2 Walnut, 739 f^tt. I 14 3 per 100, 13 Ditto, 66 pieces. 2 10 each, 10 Commodities, ttWCT.Ui} f <30L0NIBS. r- J- v'f Coiftmoditiea. ■fu:?- .,■ So m.n\ 43 ditto, 3,000 ditto, 800 ditto, 1 fet, Species* Hogiheads* Tierces, Hoops, Cane$, Pumps, Animal produce of otberjorts, {Beaver ♦, Deer, Tallow* • Hogs-lard *, Raw filk. Wax* I Bees, ^" »i Myrtle, Mamtfailures, Leather tanned *, 10,356/^. Soap*, yboxeiy Candles*, 34 ditto. Bricks *, 7,000 in n^ Total amount* — Rates in fieri, money. ;^. p 8 6 ditto, 071 ditto, I 14 3 per xooo, o 5 o per 100, 900 lb. 141 in no, 730 hogflieads, 81 barrels, c 3^ jars, .1 26 caiks, 8 boxes* 1000 lb* yoo lb. o o SO I o s %9 o o 4 5 o 8 17 o II o o 3 per/*. 8 each, each, 6 barrels 1 jar, ocaik, 5 box, Sib. 8 lb. 3>3 Amount iar fieri, money. iC-34 16 5 8 3 4« 36,000 so 999 3$ stz o 5 olb. 8,58? 186 box, 10 s a 10 ditto, 73 o 14 3 per 1000, 5 £. 161,361 Total amount, exclufive of the articles marked with a *, 85,700 Recapitulation, Skins, — — Indigo, — — m.mm^ Naval ftores, — - — Lumber, — — — Com, — — Corn, provifions, and live ftoek, SUk, — * Sundry articles, •— • — t < « ■ t TTTTr 1 ■ ♦ t , I e 7 a « 7 7 9 I of the whole, of ditto, of ditto, of ditto, of ditto, of ditto. I « 6 9 TTTT • • • • T>TT ,AVtt of ditto. •♦• of ditto. TTFT i ft 'ft' of ditto. I very much regret the not being able to lay before the reader as dtftinft a table of later years; however, I mall add what particulars I can glean up. S f Exports iU POLITICAL 1ES9ATS. %iiA,TY^ Exports from Qiarles town In i754*> containing the trtiolet not marked ill the preceding table vAik a*, which were fo diftingyifhed, and thrown into a total by themfelyesi for the fake of a €om()arifon wkik di» fol« lowing. CommoSitieu Frtcf,'^' AMbMt^ Rice, Indigo, Deer Ikins, Pitch, Tar, Turpentine, Beef, : Pork, Indian cprn, Peafe, Shingles, Staves, 164,682 bar. at 216,924 lb. 460 hogHieads, 5,869 barrels, V\ »»945 ditto* , 759 ditto, 416 dittOf. - 1^560 ditto, 16,428 buON 9,l/)2^ittQ. I,II4!,QCX> in tC*% 206,600 in nS jf. I 15 ofperbar. ;^.i8'3,i9j 026/^. 27,11^ 50 o o esldht* '^'v "«3,ooQ 065 barrel,-'>i\nc 1,881 o ''5 ©dittoi o 7 J ditto, rf.b.faj'0 18 6 ditto, f.-l 8) 6 ditto, o a o t bufh. * ,5 ditto, .-.«rlt^ 5 per 1000, 4. 3, fr ditto, ,.r.a i •■] f. . 736 384 1,642 880 Total, — Ditto of thefe articles in 1748, "'CI' <: «'•'* X. 342.529 VJ54 fuperior to 'iii%\y ^ ' — StippoHng the other tiftfclcs iiicreafed in th^^(anl« proportion, they wiU'amohnt to ^ MUMlttN ;<-! in l747T> indigo amounted to 500,900 lb, Por Which increafe Ve n^fr add — ^ ^'' ^" • Total 1 757, without reckoning any other increafe than that ■>. a head; and this for the n;^^bo^e couatry, the export .of one port being ooijr reckoned,. the /vrholfi amount in corn, (Sec. and . iiaplA, is 5 /. 12 1. vJ, . Tijxjijtv Exporfced in tea months, 17 61, &om Chaoies Towa. dtnjoodities, J. : ({Uce, 100^000 bairds^ ', Pitch, (6, 376 ditto, :(Taf, . 93iiditto, ,'• Tuf-pentine, 4,808 ditto, 1 Oranges, f 61/300 jinn^j ::Pttto, I4i.barrd8r*»;n. / < iiPorkiandheef^ . n . oi^i^^ilnrsets*. 30* * Of thefe I know not the priceit 5 AnderfonV DtineHtn •fCtmmirti% vol. ii. p. 424. IS, in I' Sft 11311,561 By X Medium. U^Hkit total I Ihould, in confirmation, remark, that the Cmmtrtial Princhbs, p. Co, Tayi, ** the export of Cenlitia t$ Britain was, in 1761, 206,534 L Now, if we confider the vaft quaatity Si6 politi'cA'l essays. Essay V. H.i X i!:,^97 this account, the export of Charles Town in 176I1 is about 48,000/. lets than the calculation^ (^ it in 1754: but this circumftance, inftead of '. 't ln|raHdating the. former ftate, confirm* it. This year South C^rc^lina was {)£ icUreadfuUy haraiTed by an Ittdian war, the mention of which is^ 1 'ippre^ <. . iiend, fufiiclent not only to account for this dccreaftt but alfo for theffail- c juce of an increafe ; which there is the greateft reafon to believe would 'v-ihave regularly been enjoyed, had not the war prevented it. The iriregu- lar manner in which the Indians carry on a war, which is all by iiirprize^ aind cutting off the miferable inhabitants of detached dwellings, is a thou- fand times more fatal to plantings than a regular war. A vaft number of fettlements are at once deferted, confequently a proportionable deoreafe of exported produce. What the export of Charles Tonn has been fince, I have no fufficient authority to infert j but there can be no doubt of its being greatly increafed, as the peace has been fince concluded, and all the Indian affairs fettledc If we confider thefc circumitances, and reflect that the inhabitants of our northern coloniea have for many years been in the greateft want of frelh lands, petitioning in vain for them in their own fettlements, and therefore probably removed, to the fot^them ones : If~ we likewife confider, that the above tables contain the export of only one port, whereas that of Winyaw, Port Royal, Cape Fear, &c. &c. is not inconfiderable. When we duly refleA upon thefe points, I apprehend the- reader will not think it the leaft exaggeration ta qalculate the increafe^ to the year 1767, in the fame proportion as from 1748 to 1757. I cannot, upon the moft attentive refledion, fuppofe it fb little, for die reafons above-mentioned; but if it amounts Xp no more, the total was in 1767 calculated from the low year. 1761, 505*000/. a vail produce for a pro- vince which in 1761 confined only 25,000 whites, and 39,000 Uaoks. As to North Carolina and Georgia, I have very few materials to calculate ■their export from; refpeding the. latter, indeed fcarceany: fuch} how-^ ever, as they are, I (hall proceed to infert them. Exported from all the ports of • North Carolina in 1 JS^^^^. Commodities. Prices. ^' ^Amount Tar, 61,528 barrels. £. CO barrel, " 06 5ditt6, £' 15.38a Pitch, I2»055 ditto. 4,178 Turpentine, io»439 ditto. 071 ditto, . 3^651 "'? Carryover, 33,811 quantity of their rice Tent to the fouth of CapeFinifterr, and the export of lumber. Sec. fo the Weft Indies, it will plainly appear, that the above total is rather under than over the truth. And yet it is curious to remark bow' much per head this partial export amounu to of the whole colony, divided amongft 64,000 fouls (the numbec in ijin) i it nukea ^L 41. 4 J. each. » ■ Stavesi Sect^TL r C L ^ '■ e.ic\^'+. Mii'tir --■ fj, ' •?5'^!li;HD ri;/9 , o.Cdpnuodmes, ■ , , / ^ , . Stisve**. 763.330 in n\ Shioglea^ s ,500,000 dittOr Lumber* 3,000,647 feet,. Goror 61^580 bufliels^ Peafc, 10,000 ditto. Pork and beef^ 5,300 barrels. Tobaccoy 100 hogfheady Tanned leathery 1,000 cwu NiE,au , , sir ■ ' ' ' ,^ / V Amount. ' ' ^^IBrbugHtover ' JC.v^3,2ii o 5 o o I 6 ■5. It 14 x i o 8 tt^libdOr ^ ditto, o ditto, 5 buihely 5" ditto, o barrel, o hogihead % Ocwt» Befides, (ays my author f, 30,000 deer fkins^ a very con- fiderable quantity of rice, bees wax, tallow^ candles, bacon» lard, cotton; a vaft quantity of fquared timber of walnut and cedar, and hoops and headings of all ibrts. (X late they raife indigo. They likewife export no inconfiderable quantity of beaver, racoon, otter, £3x, minx, and wild cats flcins, &c. &c.. &c Now, as rice and indigo, I apprehend, are produced in. greater proportional quantities in South Carolina than in this province, let us fet them afide, and fuppofe the other< articles to bear the fame proportion to thefe inserted, as they do to- the fame articles in the export of Charles Town. Thefe articles in the export amount to - £, ^^Si^SS^ Thofe of which- 1^ quantity in North. Carolina is not fpecified, amount, in the Charles Town export, to - ^ - - ^ 8,75a Or near a^jc/i>; which; of 78,563, is - - - Add, on: account of rice, indigo, filk, &c. being deduced,, all of which they raife; and likewife on account of their proportion of the above-fpecified articles neceflarily being much, larger, as they are employed fo much lefs upoarice,. 1*426 1x400 708 5»445 7 JO 88,000 7B,5<^2; .^1 J3>095> 8,344 £. 100,000 There are many reafons, which would be too tedious to mention, for, fbppofmg this fum much under the whole export of North Carolina in that year; but it is a misfortune that thefe capital intereils of this nation- * For the price,, fee Imptrtmut rftbtBritiJh Phntaiimt, 1 731* The hbgflkead, he fayt«. i$ 600 lb. it 2'i d. t EunpMM Sittltmuts, vd. ii. p* 26o^ ^- Ii9 5 if POLIT^IC-Ati MftrAYS. B*iior*V« ate no 1>ette»* known. Such a fcarcity of authentic materials to compile fuch A work as this fi'6tnj inakea it too often ncceffary to have recoiirfeto con- jedure. As to the increafe' of this colony's exports fi nee- 1753, H»*ve no trtfethiod of oonrjeftitrifag it, but by fuppofing It the OiAi$ as in South Card* lini. Let me remark, hoVirever, that from 1!he acccMttits we have had in the j*ublic papers, cbpied from the Americtin ohfis, th«re is great reafoA to bd^icve the ittdreafe of this fettlement mHchrnofe fapid than thatof th6 other ; for mention Was particularly made 6f one diftrift in which the inhabitants were' ihcreafed in a few years from fbuir Kundreci to four thon* fand, with an obfervatibn that many other parts Of the colony were peon J)Hng equally faft. 'Nbw, the increafe of Sbuth Carolina 4tt Ifen y«art, from 1748 to 1757 inclufive, was that of doubling her export, and one- fourth over. According to this proportion, North Carolina in 1767 exported to the artiount of — *— " ' ' £» aS^^^oo South Carolina m th6 fahie ytitt^ « ■ ^ ' ■ uni i f * 505^0^ Total exports of the t#o GattjlifiAs in 1 7<57, #»****.hui 799,000 V} Suppofing tlift pro{>OHion» Of eaeh article of <*pert the fame as l»ef As f.oGcoi^a/I hfive no minutes to lay before the reader thatliave any fai isfadory authentrcity in them, or that I can confirm by comparifbn with i:he preceding accounts ; feat if we confider the cUmate, and even fuperior advantages in fe^tte ^efpefts 'Which it enjoys over the CaroUnas, and remember that a large part of it carries on the "produdion of caw filk in a very fpirited maftnfer, even to its being the ftaplc of Puriibtxrg, Ave {hall readily conceive that colony to be of great importance, and tQ export ilaples to a confiderable amount. The Tobacco Colonics* ...J !'•'";■;-■' , ■ The grand llaple of thefe countries, Virginia and Maryland, is, 1. tobac- co; befides which they export, 2, naval (tores, $* lumber. Tohacco^ At ox. IK COX. QNIE& Totacc9i ^f «• This plant* fays a'modern writer I hare often auoted *, is aboriginal in America* and of very ancient uie* though neither u> generally cultivated, nor fo well manufactured, as it has been fince the coming of the Europeans. When at its juft height, it is as tall as an ordinary (ized man ; the Aalk is ftraight, hairy and clammy ; the leaves alternate, of a faded yellowifh green, and towards the lower part of the plant of a great fize. The feeds of tobacco are firft fown in beds, from whence they are tranfplanted, the firft rainy weather, into a ground difpofed invo little hillocks like an hop garden. In a month's time from their tranfplantation they become a foot high ; they then top them, and prune off the lower leaves, and with great attention clean them from weeds and worms twice a week : in about fix weeks after they attain to their full growth, and they begin then to turn brownifli. By thefe marks they judge the tobacco to be ripe. They cut down the plants as faft as they ripen, heap them up, and let them lie a riigfht to fweat : the next day they carry them to the tobacco houfe, which is built to admit as much air as is confiftent with keeping put rain, where they are liung feparately to dry for four or five weeks : then they take them down in moift weather, for elfe they will crumble to duft. After this they are laid upon flicks, and covered up clofe to fweat for a week or two longer; the fervants ftrip and fort them, the top being the beft, the bottom the worft tobacco ; then they make them up in hogf- heads, or form them into rolls. Wet feafbns muft be carefully laid hold on for all this work, elfe the tobacco will not be fufficiently pliable." There are a great variety of kinds, as diftinguiftied by the planters when gfrowing; fuch as long-green, thick-joint, brazil, lazy, fhoe-ftrings, 6ec. But all the tobacco in the country, when brought to the warehouie, cofniss under one, of two denominations, viz. y^ranokoe and Stveet-fcented. "Chd latter is diftinguifhed by its ftem and flavour, is moft valued, and ^rows in greateft plenty in the lower parts of Virginia, viz. James river, at;d York river j and begins now to be planted alfo on Rapanhannock and tl'-' fouth fide of Potomack. The Aranokoe denominated by an Indian name, is generally planted upon Cheefepeak Bay, and the back fettlements on all the rivers f. It is ftrong and hot in the mouth, but fells very well in the markets of Holland, Germany, and the north |. * The fale of this commodity in the colonies being very different from that of any other, I Ihall add a ihort (ketch of the manner in which the * European SettltmentSi vol. m. p> 213. Mr. Poftlethwayte is more dlfFufe, but not/fo ckar. + MairV Cetnmerct f the Tobacco Coionies. See his Booi Keeping Methtdixedj p, 332. X European S:tllementSf vol. ii. p. 214. bufinefs $w POLITICAL ESSAYS. StSAT V* bufmefs is performed. There are favors who have their conftant refidence in the colonies, and whofe fole profeflion is to do bufmefs for merchants as they are employed. Their commiifion is ftated at lo per cent, on all fales and returns, and to them (hips with flaves are generally configned. But thouq;h this be the cafe* yet the BritiHi merchants who carry on the tobacco trade, find it their intereft to employ factors or fupercargoes of iheir owoi who go over to Virgitua or Maryland, and ufually fettle for fome years in the country. Their wages are commonly by the year, with bed, boart* and neceifary charges, as their employers and they can agree. Thefe carry with them, and are fupplied from time to time by their em- ployers, with large quantities of all kinds of European and Indian goods, which they expofe to fale in (hops or houfes, which, in the country, go under the name offfores. The merchants or ftorc^keepers, generally fell their goods on truft or time ; and receive payment not in ca(h, but in tobacco, as the planters can get it ready. Before a merchant open ftore in this retail way, it is his intereft to have it well provided with all forCi of commodities proper for cloathing and family ufe ; and the greater variety he haSt the better ; for wherever planters find they can be beft iuited and fcrved, thither they commonly refort, and there dUjpofe of their tobacca < ' The purchafmg of tobacco is now, by an infpe£tion-law, made ealy and fafe both to the planter and merchant. This law took place la Virginia in the year i73o,i)ut in Maryland not till 1748. The plantert hy virtue of this, mav go to any place and fell his tobacco, vrithout ^carrying a fample of it along with him ; and the merchant may buy it though lying lOO miles, or at any di(bince from his ftore, and yet be morally lure both with refpe^ to quality and quantity. For this pur« pofe, upon all the rivers and bays of Virginia and Maryland, at the diftance of about 12 or 14 miles from one another, are ere&ed warehoufes, to which all the tobacco in the country muft be brought, and there lodged, before the planters can offer it to fale : and infpedors are appointed to examine all the tobacco brought in, receive (iich as is good and merchant- able, condemn and burn what appears damnified or infufficient. The ;greateft part of the tobacco is put up, or prized into hoglheads, by >the planters themfelves, before it is carried to the warehoufes. Each hogf- head, by ad of afTembly, muft be 950 lb. neat, or upwards : fome of them weigh 14. cwt. nay even 18 cwt. and the heavier they are the merchants 4ike them the better ; becaufe 4 hogfheads, whatfoever their weight be, are lefteemed a tun, and pay the fame freight *. The infpefkors give notes of * Mair, p. 333. &c. from whom I have tranfcribed this account of the fale of tobacco, has fome other curious particulars too tedious to Infert, but which are worthy of notice by all conceracid in the trade. ^. receipt SifcT. lU G L Nflf^J?. a^ receipt for the tobacco* and the merchant« take them inpayment for their goods* pafling current- indeed over the whole colonies : a moft admirable invention, which operates fo greatly, that in Virginia they have no paper currency. '" Before I quit this article I ihould remark, that tobacco being a mod luxuriant rank vegetable, requires a rich deep foil : none exceeds frefli wood lands ; but it is agreed on all hands, that it Toon exhaufts the foil of its fertility, and cannot be'raifed to profit on a poor one : hence the neceffity of the planters fpreading themfelves over a vaft traft of country, to have plenty of fre(h foil for their ilaple, and to maintain large herds of cattle, for the making of dung to manure thofe fields, whofe vigor is exhaufted. It is this neceffity of enjoying great quantities of land, that has reduced their profit on tobacco of late years much under what it formerly was, infomuch that we are told by a modern writer, who certainly had the means of good information, that their fields do not produce a third part, acre for acre, of what they ufed to do. That formerly they made 3 and 4 hogfheads a (hare, that is for every labourer, where they cannot now make one*. If this is the cafe, there is a great decline indeed ; for tobacco being worth to the planters about 5 /. per hogfhead t> one per head will by no means pay the charges of cultivation, confequently there muft be other more profitable articles planted, or the cultivator be ruined. I but touch upon this point of their decline at prefent, that the reader may not be furprifed at finding their export lefs in proportion to their numbers, than that of the colonies already treated of. When I come to fpeak of the deJeSls in our colonies, I fhall enter more particularly into it. Naval Stores, Thefe, befides the articles of pitch, tar, turpentine, &c. (the manufac- ture of which is exadly the fame as in the fouthern colonies) confift of hemp, flax, and iron ; but as I can no where meet with any fpecified quantities, they being mentioned only in general as articles of produce, and as it appears that our colonies in general do not produce near enough for their own confumption, (of which more hereafter) I fliall not enter into a particular enquiry upon thefe heads in this place ; but refer them to the chapter of the defers of our colonies, as matters of infinite confequencc, hitherto not purfued with that vigor fo requifite to the publick good, where I fhall inquire into the flate and expediency of their production for ex- portation. Prtftnt Stattt p. 140. t Mair, p. 332. T t Limber. I 3 ft POLITICAL ESSAYS. Lumber, ESIAY V. Thefe colonies have* in common with all the reft, a trad« to the Weft Indies in planks, boards, ftaves, hogflieads, &c. &c. Tobacco employing^ them in the fummer, it is to be fuppofed of courfe (though no author I have met with gives a detail of their management) that they keep their flares in winter at fawing lumber, in the fame manner as the planters in . the fouthen\ colonies. I proceed now to the quantity of their exports — that is of their tobacco j for, as to the two laft articles, I can find no minutes of them; and authoi;$. are not agreed in the former. Mr. Poftlethwayte makes it 66,ooo hogf- heads *. Mr. Mair, 80,000 f. Another writer alfo, 80,000 :j:. A fourth, 65,000 §. A fifth, 62,Goo ||. A fixth, 45,000 f . A feventh, 90,000 **, The general n. dium of theie is 69,700, which I Ihall call 70,000 hogil> l^eads. The yalue is calculate at 5 /. per hogftiead ft* coniequently the> amount of the grand ftaple is 350,000 1. A collateral authority, which, greatly authenticates this medium, is the amount of the Britiih imports from iJiefe two colonies in the year 1 76 1 , which was in value 357,228 /. :|::|: and is likewife a proof, that their exportation to Britain, exclufive of to- bacco, is eixtremely trifling ; for although it^inay nQ^ be precifely neither more nor lefs than about 7000/. yet the coincidence of the above to tals is a ftrong prefumption that the variation is npt; con(iderable. As to the pro- portion between this exportof tobacco and the number of the people: The latter according to the author of the Prefent State ^^ is 800,000 ; but then as he makes the total of ourfettlements 3,000,000, and there appeared from feveral other accounts reafon to calculate them ?.^ no more than s,20o,ooo» I fliall adopt nothing more than his proportion, which is afligning the to- bacco colonies better than one third of the total, which of 2,200,000 is 730,000 ; call it therefore 750,000 fouls, and there is no great danger of exceeding on. either fide : 350,900 /. divided amcngft the number, is 9 x. 4^, each, I|; we take the 357,000/. it will amount to no more'thaou * DifHenary^ I7($6, Art. Tohaeca, f Btti'-Ketping, I757» p. 33»» :|: Eureptan Settliments, 1758, vol. ii. p. 216. § Mr. Heathcotc's Lttter, 1762, p. 21. H Anderfon's Z><://» portionably, and that tobacco takes up (to ufe an expreffion of divers authors wh6 have written concerning them) all their time and attention ; if We reflect on thefe points we fhall be fetifible, that their export of thofe ftaples cannot, in proportion to the total, or to their numbers of peoplef be near fo confiderable as in Carolina ; and yet there nahral ftores are bM: x-46 and lumber 1-48 of their export ; khd that in a fittlktioft fo much nearer to the Weft Indies, and eonfequently the freight (b much lighter. Indeed Virginia and Maryland ate fo populous, ahd their plantations of tobacco fo extended, that it is impoillble l}!leit> export of thefe articles cati nearly ck^ulal th»t of GaroKna ; f6r on the leaift removal of the fettlers to- clear lands not fituated dhfohtely upon the rivers, inftead of converting the timber to thofe purpofes, it is well known, they btirn it ail, as the cheapeft -nethod of getting rid of it: from whence it neceffarily refults, that the fiiore populous the country grows, wheaonce the banks of the great rivei?8 are clearedy the lefs proportionate quantity of thefe articles is exported. But notwithAanding all this, let ud fuppofe thefe exports to bear the fame proportion- as in Carolina. Sundry exports to Britain* ■ Naval Stores, 1-46 — ■ Lumber, 1-4S ' ■ . iC. 358,738 This amount is but 9 j. ^\d, per head ; and if it could be ftrained even yet further, we fhould find the divifion would leave but a trifle to each perfon. In the Weft India iflands the exported ftaples amounted to 8 /. 1 2 J. id. per head, and thofe of Carolina, 5/. \os.\ which, confidering they include men, women, and children, are great fums, and highly fu^ ficient for the purchafe of all neceflaries. Does not this fufliciently prove, if we had no other authority, that thefe colonies have either fome other exports befides thofe of ftaple commodities, or poifefs manufa^ures of T t a their »t4 POLKTICAL ESSAYS. EllAY V. tiieir own* nearly to tHe amount, of their confumption ? In my review of the agriculture of the colonies, it appeared that thefe fettlements were getting into the bufinefs of common farming ; much of their land being worn; out with tobacco ; and that they even exported large quantities of cpf n : 50 or 60 (hip loads were mentioned by the author of The Prefent ^fiiCt as the export of one year. But neither that quantity, nor any other ffhich it is probable they can have exported rtgularfy, (conddering that corn, and provifions are exported by all of them in fome degree, the fugar iflands alone excepted) would be fufficient to yield the innabitants imported manufadures ; confoquently we mud fuppefe their own to be more con- fiderahle than has hitherto appeared in any of our publick accounts. Vir- g^^a(8< exporting (bme linen to Carolina was a fufpicious circumCUnce» aal-exporting a'Commodity generally implies a previous fatisfadion 'of ih^ home confumption ; but yet, as the general idea was contrary, the ia^A)ira&- not then fo much indfted upon as the above ftate of their ex- ported ftaples gives reafon at prefent to imagine it ought to be. As to ^CMTi.pcportation of corn, it is indeed fomewhat better for Britain thau |iimmfaf£turing to. the fame amount, and not greatly, for her own ftaple Uc^p>^ tfa|)^pcodudion of which for exportation in the colonies, is only sHialling ^M^lf* 2tnd at the fame time employs (hofe.people who ought to he>'fj46»gi'thofe commodities which Britain purchates of foreigners, or canld. fell to them. But as the confequences of this ftate of the tobacco iMiilonieSi will be further treated of when I come to fpeak of the defers of ikcofknicsi I infert here little more than a narrative of the fads* if|«-l -ill ' The Northern Cohmes, "^n&r this title I comprehend Penfylvania, New-York, New Jerfey, Kevv England, Nova Scotia, and Canada. As to their ftaples, they conhfl of lumber, naval ftores, (hip-buildlng, pot-afhes* iron, and copper ; or, in other words, they have none but what are fecondary ones to the colonies^ to 'the fouth of them ; all of which enjoy fome particular article of culti- vatioii, whi<;h employs their people during the fummer months, and teaVe^ them the winter to attend to thefe matters, which to the northward are all they have. And confequently the hulk of the inhabitants are ro- tliihfe tdoTc than common farmers, cultivating the neceflaries of life. It 18 however a very great misfortune, that we have not as accurate accounts •publiftied of the particular exportations of thefe provinces a^ the worthy goVeViior of South Carolina has fiirnifhed of his. "We fliould then be able io determine with the utmoft exaftnefs their ftatc In refpe5 any accounts which are the leaft fatisfa^ory | but the following (ketch of their total export to Britain it of importance. In 1 76 1, New England exported thither — New-York, PenfyWania* — — • ■ Nova Scotia, — - --._ Canada, — — . i-.^. In this account New Jerfey is omitted, but I add -^ of New-York for it, that being the proportion of their inhabitants, •— • — 21,684 22,404 14*015 — 14,456 Now the inhabitants of the continental colonies having been found to amount to about 2,200,000 fouls, and thofe of the tobacco ones to 750,000; and South Carolina in 1 73*7 having 60,000, and her produce being3 36,000 /. fuppofrng her people increafed in proportion with her produce, and the fame in North Carolina, thefe two provinces in 1767 contained 129,000 people ; and that no obje^ions may lie againft the number left for the northern colonies, I fhall fuppofe Georgia to make this number up 1 50,000. Th; total of thefe will be 900,000, confequently there remaina 1,100,000 for the northern ones. I am fenfible that this calculation is partly founded upon fuppofition ; but the variation from the truth I am confident is not very great, and that rather to the leflening than increa^ ing the inhabitants of the northern colonies. The fpecified exports, divided among 1,100,000 people, amounts to is.gd. each. The reader will not,of courfe, be fo much furprifed at the trifling amount of this export relative to the general necefllties of a people, as he doubtlefs recollects the number and extent of the manufactures of the principal of thefe provinces : the exiftence of which would be as much proved (were proofs wanting) by the deficiency of flaples, as by the moft authentic catalogue of every fabrick in them. It is true they export much lumber, &c. to the Weft Indies, and perhaps fome fhips are built for Europe, not included in the above export. Suppofing thefe articles very confiderable, even more fo than they can poflibly be, yet the addition per head from them will fcarccly amount to any thing worth adding ; for the three principal of Examination of thi Comnircial PrincipUtt p. 4;. 661. them POLITICAL ESSAYS. EtSAY V. Ih^m are ip; well peopled and eKten(i,ve that their lumber muft be much decreafed, of which thei*e cannot be a. fjtronger proof than the neceffity more than one of their towns are under of being fuppliedeven with Jire- nvoo^ from a difbnoe by fea; which is ^ circumftaace that totally precludes fi-QiIx their neighbourhood all ideas of lumber., If w« call the divifion q.Sf 6d. a. head, I am confident thefe articles will be much more than al- lowed for. But they have a fource of wealth moreconfiderable than any hitherto men- tioned } not a^^i/)/^, indeed* and theBcfbre belongs not to this fe^on, but I muft not omit fpeakiog of it even here 9 it is their trade, including their ^{heries. It is well known that the people of Penfylvania, New-York, and New England, particularly the latter, and Nova Scotia, in a lefs degree, .carry on. a vaft fifhery, which proves the foundation of that great trade xanried-on from Bofton, New- York, and Philadelphia. The inhabitants of the firft have been called the Carriers, the Dutch of America. This ftradf^of which fnore. hereafter) muft add a little to the above export, and but a little; and even that little muft confift chiefly of commodities .belonging: to other colonies, and which of courfe oi^t to be charged to tl^eir account. Trade and fiiherie» may giVe thefe people tt^me/^hvt no fiapUs ) and let me add that the ktter, in the poiTeflion of colfmifts, are oS ten times the importance to a mother-country of the former. Money i» the refult of trade,which ought all We have found in the preceding enquiries into the mannfafhires anI I ES. 3^9 r^rThc. Wealtk neAilting fioni colonies ought certainly to arifc fromthc I cultivation of ftaple comttiodities^ that is from the produ^iQ;^ of thofo articles which a mother-country muft purchafe of foreigners, if her own '^ectlemtotrdid not yicMthenau; >Dif o£ iiich jw (he c*is fell to 'Mm. The ^dtffecencQ between pur chadilgfcff icommbdtty of a foreign coufiifcy, or of •^ eolonyi ia immeniet in the firft cafe, it is paid for probubiy with cafli ; •n ft^iipgt^'^^^ugftt^A* <>t^«^ a m^oit's jimottkc^ t)uii:!niftnufa!9MrQ»^ j^faoie cpmmodity with our own colo- 'vnifts ; for notflnly the mere amount Qf th^fugiir is lay6d, bnt Uke^ife all \^ihc pre/Its iipcfti thfc Kiultiyatiorii ^, &c. whicjaj&^ww^s comcs.^^fiiein if ficflil^nd aceumnlftUrf d«h^nd;f9rfiB :c sn /li ;|fc f^rrt- jrni . -I'h'i riiSi*;^ wji o'l.ilJ I'A'.h'vN lib .V-.-o^ooi 2.'; iv-.tr-*,ii«siy fit*^; - icfBuithe qa& is^rery diflisienti IS thdwe^llbflfiffs^ diffawttly { A coloiiy ; friay ibe «Ktremdyiflourifliii^«iid ridn fi{9mi«n ey(lc&d«d icob>j«ter€(} and profitable (ifheries: hor riches thus acquired add (q mHhx it Is timcv tathe ^.general national i3ock» but thea the- ume addition mightt and piiobably would hay&beisn joMide* had no fi«:h colony ex;iile4;tt^r only variation is, that:themotli(gt9a>untry;WouUi h^Vef enjoyed at ioil^ead of the colon|yF. Sudi aequire4Hiieal^]i is nothing raoi« jthan a di^if^on ^ it* jSiKhxolonifis aever 'did . nor «ver fiian fen(d home any fucb commodity a»^wiU p«y formaxld&flures;^ hid fuch ezifted, they would sever Mvir turned lUlhermen fthd'teerthants.— -«^From this ftate of the qtieflion, refult^. the . iproper iHidthod d£ CKamining the wealth accruing to Britaic from her r cofoniest which can only be in proportion to the amount of their exported :j!fiaples^ '■ \ K^ The amount of the Weft India exports appear to be £. 2,70: ,060 Thofe of the fouthern continental colonies to Europe *, 722,700 Thofe of the tobacco colonies, ■ ■ ■ " 357*2 a 8 Thofe of the northcrti fettlements, — — — 98,562 Total exported ftapksy iC- 3,8801550 That * Here I fhould remvic, that I have charged the whole Weft India export both to Europe and North Anienca, but left out all the exports from North America to the Weft Indies, and for this rcafon : bad the latter been inftried, the amount in this gtntral vitwt which refpet^s Britain a/wm, it would have been charged twice ; for the mother- countiy cannot export ma- nwfa&ures, upon the whole, to the amount of the ixcbange httvittn thole refpediive colonics, but only to the amount of thofe Aaples, which cither an exported to Europe, or might h, U » l«--i« 330 POLrTldAL feSSAYS. ^Tliat is, the iflands) The continent, Hi 1,178,490 Upon the latter fiun, 1 0i(ml4 vdntnork th»t the aMthor'of the Pr»/eiit State p. s 79, &c. offers more reafons than one for Aii^fiiiBr (h^ trthh prettf ^ell preferved; as will aippearby the folldmng pafikge. '^IHofom a richtjiidg*^ ment concerning t!ie ftate of the coicnie^, we ffiould in thv firft ^aee coil* fider the prodmcc \^ lAidr tfgticiiltuie in enumented commcldities % which^ with all :'ii»r otbf r proda^^ fcm to Btitaitij aire#fell knotvn, both £rom the seconricsof the cofto&i-houfe, tuetthaiits, a&d^^^nierti ifl wiioh hare been taMfuHy eMkmined for mary y«ak% 'paftj Md ftoat. theft ih>a^{xaf8y that die value of all their ttiVHA&nx^ commcdities is but 767^000 L per ^oaum: even &e higheft 'coiiaptefbitivon does ndt brklg it to' Soo,oo6/» Qieaning in net proceed* to tkft fAibtr;fs. Hieir ^hie hat kide«d ahvaya. ^en computed at £oo,ooo7. till within thefe few yeax^ paft; but -everyone who is aequiimied "^ith t^e o^nies may i^ 1^ their <'iemiinerat£d <:<»iifMiilkte» are^thttiilHef •fiort^iiheu' {ti^nce^cvoify thing they maike itaxiBed'k^ reflnittftfifes to Britain, in order to glirciiafe their neceflaries, and t^ pay orled firft from firitainj or made there, it is not to the pt%1^hlt puf^i?to' fedtotwd. And AnMi liSence refulta the proof, that all the exports of the iflands muft be inferted in the above ftate, as (hey, 'tvherever Tent, are evidently the means of fuch a demand fubfifting foe Britilh manufadiures ; but, at the fame time, that proportion of North American exports, which is balanced by im- ports from the iflands, Atoind hot be ieHtottbit tt tYlCahtbuht WtMtM tMhin Hte total be charged twite } ind erptf^Silly ii ttt^ cdtl^d i¥(Kt be rranfportd} tb Brftalh Sh ekuf(3 ^ccounti, the exportations from Bntain tibither in the yt^r 1759* wece , To this fum we muft add the amount of the negroes imported* at they lore j^fdi^ed^ with Britifh npnu- , . , ^/*anreft: ihcy «piwnt in t^e^jc^fpids io 15,000 annw- £• 877,571 4jf 0,000 Tcdil '^"*"'tt^ ■'<■'*- •< T l!^;V-..>-.*ii-.-!j 'f, 3971571 Their exported inples* Their imports from Beitnui^ XXiStrence, iiU '^*' 7i'■f?^'^''^')J^^>.rr'V.• J-^^V' rir fljxs irrodiglotts defiaehcf]^**^ft'tli'n oor^^IfW to thte continent, fince,QO QUierw3Ce j;an it be any thing nearbahnced j premifing firftj that aeonllderable liim (hoiild be (tedu^ed from it'on account of die re- CidcDCfi of Weft Indians in Britain, who ipsnd large eftates there. Tf thii llmoi^ to 174,4897, it u s va(! fum : I do not mean to ftate it predfely, <>r1^Jimit at to au^CiiQIi biit am ont^ forming a filppofition, for the ^e «f carrying oni the account in a clearer manc:er. Suppofing tlds, there will then remain i»20o,ooQiL to he accounted for. Let us now turn to the con- tinental coloiues. By the cufiom houfe accot^ntSf from the year 17^6 to i764inclu(ive, Uieei^pbrtations thither from Britain wereatameduimV t • - 7poq Ncigcrt8» at 30/. ■A?r!Jf*"or^ Export of ftaples to Europe^ il Dcfid«a«7,QCjftapka» ^ 310,000 £* 8,843,571 1,178,490 1,065,081 * Cmmtreial PrifuipUt, pi %Jl f Smpm SmUmtitt, vol. ii. p. 1 24. 129. . ^^ t I am fenftble that 30/. of manufaftures are not exported for every negroe ; but, as I am ^Mttli^ the general aocount of the cotonies* dUburiementt, it i$ neidCury to infert the price out i»f the fliip. T^ article of freight howeicr, wluch is a part, of it, is infioitfily valuable; f Pr*/it>* Stett afGrtat Britain and North Amtritef p. 280. Uua It 5^P. P O L I.T npA^Ll Hi& S AYS. dmay 3w?a ^UrM ei;trdme)y plainr'ftfoia this double account, that ithe eabcefs of ftapl«8 in the-'finft* mtifticmcdy, in feme meafurc at leaft, the deficiency o£ them in the fecond. In the preceding pages it appeared, that a donfiderw able part of the Wcj^ Indian ftaplea,werc exported^to North America, to the amonnt even of 920,000/. Aft, It is i)t^I-lttk>viM'1!he^ j^ytfiA.Asrphis of their caih to Britain', they cdn make good thid funi by nd^eiahs hitherto mentioned, but by the exchange of lumber and pfbvifions, which are both infinitely too' trivial to balance fuch an'accouQt.***Nothing^ therefore- remains (not to fpeak at ptefent Qf'//>fi> owii n)tiiu&^uite8)'/but; ^u*. i::jl „ - It niiy be faid, how can it anfwer to them to exp^tt'Our^^ufadures updcr fudi an aQcuwHlatp^ jjj^^g^^? B^? ^hcjanae query is equally appli- cable to all re-e;^port^tiQns frpm our cohtineiitM 6ofotaies,andyetW^kno\y^ by authentic papers* th^t fudSi a re-«xportation M cartied oh by'them-'all: even South Carolina, vrhic^ hiaisfuch a yerytrifling ih|ii;^ of commerpc, re-exports n>auy Bri^Jfiv inanuf^(iiuresi' ias m^'b^ rora'in-'thi- lif 3 va&i^ttA in the De/eriptiok I "h^ve fp often qUpted. T^i^te fafJ^ o^iiMt^ 0}^iMSi nientafive reafpnih^ ; th^i* caufe mutt be'i'jE^dt'reil'fer tKfc coiirfei 6f ^fSdjir, to OQcafion^tl .che^pnefs of freiglit; and mariy unknown circumllan(ies^ which may ihak'efuch re-cxjf)ortatton anffvet a«*weHinmahy,cafcstO'the re-exporter as to the original exporter. ' ' - ^ '' But if we cpnifider, th^taya-li portion pf tlVe manufadutes^iiportcd frqm^Prjktam to North America go to the h6ifihef fil 'coldniesi viz. thofe of Pettfylydhia*,' New England, &c. whofe exported fts^Hlfes aire fb very trifling, it naturally occurs to us, how they are paid for*.' "Thtisf the" ftaple export of Peafylvania is 22,404 /. and yet her importations from Britain were 30if666/. in the year «753 %, £ut let itaot be imagined^ that becaufe fhe imported^ rtie therefore confumed them. The opulent and traiJiftg city of Philadelphia is in that prbvince, from '\vhence em at above a million, without adding that they paid off an> part of that b&'lance : if they did not, their debt inftead of five muft be nearer fifty millions; which iliews that * they oertainly*did difchairge a lalrgrpart of it : if fo, wiiat partt>f it? This 19 a fecret: all that tranfpires is An affertioa of their being in. debl . '5>ooO)Ooe /. which is nothing more than one aflfertion to fupport another, mth proof for neither.>«'r-^However, fnppofing the debt 5^000,000 L and the^balance fo very regular as this writer i-eprefent» it,, that fummuft^ be '-many-years in accumulating to fuch an amount. Qiu^e, If they were not- in debt 60, 50940, 30 years ago Jt And liow much? All the ideas of the trade that can be. gathered from this author are totally confiflent with fuch a regulkr debt| arid 'another t> wh6 wrote feveral years ago, and •^hbfe materials are 20 6T"^ years old", fays it exprefsly of the people 0^ Virginia,' who have ajiaple j wHereis th'e northern colonies Aavr none. From which circumftances we may conclude, that this debt,, if fo large, \% ''of very long ifaiuiing, arid' lias been ihcrealed very gradually. ^^'' Of the 920,000 /. impbrfeH into North America from the iflands, Iiim- ^ber and provifions can pay but a fma^ fharc, fince a confiderable quantity of thr ^itter ^'ocs from uie mother-country. If 145,081 /. is fuppofed to dif- cha) it, it is a very Targe allowance ; there will then, upon the whole , "remain 1,200,000 /. jtaid by the northern colonies in the manner acc( above-mentioned. :'r k f!; ^' 'N6w, us the total of eic^'ort^fi'oiivtfie mother-country is in both ffates brought to account, the balance muft be flnick among themfelves ; that iS; moft uridoubtedly, muft be anfweredby the northern colonies: or in other wjrds, the amount of their dealings with the iflands rifes to 1,300,000 /. Lumber and provifions, as I faid before, will by no means pSrifwer fucli.afum ; it muft therefore undoubtedly be made up by export- • tng manufaduxes thither, and by their t.pa4e ^'Cidifyherkf A ■■ <%Kt-ft Fr*f*nt Statt, p. 284. f Eurtptan Stttlemtntij vol. ii. fuch a34 POLITtCilX. EtSAYS. fillAY^ fuch a balance, and Iea«e fufficienc profit* to raids the aorthern «obiuct iiicb flouriflnng Gonnnercitl ftatei. la whatever jnasmer the pmat ii cobn Aflered, it will be more and moK: evident, that tfait ie the ooJy wav of accounting for theittflfiqmne beiw c ta tfaeexforted naoufbduxes of Bri* taiii:and the eafxirted fla|dca of the ibgac ilttDdf« the in»thqm57i>3fe |^du€t the Weft Indian con{iimption9 -— — — • it,3,8a,490 Remaining Bntiih manufadlures for North America, — 1,188,875 JExported ftaples of the fouthern-continental, and tobacco colonies, — ■ ' •— 1,079,938 Hematns for all the northern colome«9 Tlbkeir export to Britain, ■ Balance, ' — 108,947 ^ 98f5^2 Confumption of Britifh manufadures in the Weft Indie6» 2,3881490 Export of ditto there, £'^77*57^ ,j l^J'egroes, — — - 450,000 Tht Weft Indies are therefore fupplied by Ncnrth America with manufadures to the' amount ^rf" — — 1,054,919 If to this we add the lumber, &c. — « 145,09 s The total is the amount, as before, of the dealings between ihe northern colonies and the iftands* ^^ ' ' ' I«300,ooo OE^f.lA oliifes. 1 ns ' By thift ire find; in the M'pl4ee,^Iidt Che debt^f the eotnlnicat does not exceed 10,385/. per annum and confi^endy utterly ito{irart bable erer to have amounted by trade to any ^in|; Kke' j,ooo,ooo /. In tiie next St fs e^ialiy aMafent, that the northdi) 'colonies manofaduDe t6 1^' ii]^iiare^aid in matiufadores totaHy, k nrtift iiTa'good piiirr4'i«%Seh iflimimfftail cesr it is yet tnore erident that the ftcnthtonS coloinies cannot coofume many, if any, Briti& manufactures* 6tit hett it Willi doubtlefs, be faid* How is that poffible, when the pro* gt^^f niattcifadittir6s froto tfie workman in Britain to the ve^ confumer fli^h6fb tdonies is aftuaHy traced ^ery dav ?*— — To this I anfwer, That titch: tiettfimtptidn xX. fbmt of dttr nxahtrradures and Eaft India^goCids (which they cannot make at home) is undoubted; but when I allerted, ^at they confumed none, or very few^ of our manufadiires, I plainly tieaM, that affter the BHtifii export had fatisfied the demands which we kn6W tmfi exift, becatlfe 'the goods zrepaid for, theie will be nothing ilrtBiinittg foir thfefe noithem toloftic8.^-^-*-Their real tonfumption ift pal- ftHtilf adcotfntMi for ditisj iirftead tjf re-exporting the whole of thdr ttnport, they keep at home fufficient for their ufe, and export tH their &ikfn fabridn ah equal amount There is nothing difiicfult to be com- prehended in this, fince the c^eration is very (imple, and theit are a. tfyottfand itaifon^ for detei mining the ^€l to be fuch. To rtctend thefe tefle^Wons fdme^at fiirther, let tfi inquirte what h the , probable confumption of manufadures by a given number of people in^ TOteHea. Upon this jpoint the author of the Prefent IState writes as fol- lows: " To fupply the colonies With necejfaries from Britain, not to men- tion many o/A^r articles, would require at leaft 3/. a head, as appears from iha'ny particular eftimatesV But as we know the expdrt to America * Page 384* contaiQl Ifl^ POLiTICAl B-SSAYS. filSAV V. "Contains a Vtift quantity of yw^jr/&iVfV/, we may be certain their confump- tion much exceeds that fuo^v Indeed there is no poffibility th^tlr; H^quUI ihe rufTicicnt for cloaths* furniture* utcfifils, tools, and a long train oi^ et ' ceteras, which all civilized mankind mufX CQnfume. The expats of V South Carolina appeared to be 5 /. I8x. 64. a. he^d;. ,N9,w, as 00 . negroes are imported into that province} or at leail very few, - and fome ^ei^ported, that fum muft elther.be returned in manufa^^es or cafli ; and •as vye know it is not the latter, we may fafely determine it' to be the ^fbnner. /, ■ ., >. ^j- ' "• ' i x,' 1 - Fsom thia Aim we muftiledu^ a trifle fo|: fomi9;wh|eaj^ an4. flour im- '^ported from the northward: if we reckon this to reduce it tQ $L xo/. it vwill be a large allowance. As to Weft Indian commodities, therimport to jali^ the continent is 920,000 /. but thefi a veryj cpofi^^rab^^ |haxe of i^, is .Jfold to the Indians, and more of it confumed ip, the iiflipry,' by people .AQt cec^ned in the .numbers in our colonies s fome is likewi^ ie^t to the ^coaft of Africa : If we fuppofe their confumptipn to amount to ^^o^ooo/. it is as much as it can do ; which, divided amongft 2,200,000 people, is juil 8 .r. a head. This reduqes the confumption to 5/. is. but I mail call it* .^oc brevity, and to obviate accidental objections, 5/1 a fum which I do .iiot think ill agrees with the above-quoted author's calculation of 3/. for a partial confumption ; but whether it agrees oar not with that fum, it dpes .not appear ill founded, but, on the contrary, to depend for its truth upon ^ery important^^. ' ' ' , ■ . ^cannot fee aayreafpn for fuppofing tl^e confumption of people in Carolina to ;be .greater than the medium of the whole, but, on the con- trary, feveral for imagining it to be lefs. There is fcarce any trade in that province^ whereas the commerce and fhipping of the northern ones are . iirery coafiderable, and confequently occauon a vaft^ naval confumption, of which no fh^re comes into this calculation; and as that commerce brings in much wealth, it naturally caufes a proportionate confumption in sJl ^enriched by it ; and thefe articles muft appear very important, if we refledk jon the trade of Philadelphia, New York, and Boiflon, and yield no trifling .f*eafoa8 for not dedui£ling further from the above-mentioned fum of j/. Two millions two hundred thouiand people, confumipg each to the jonQuat of ,5 /. come in the whole to i i,ooo;000 /. Tbft SflCT.lIIr C L O N I E & The account therefore Hands thus : lijorth America confumption in general, — Ditto of Britiih commodities and negroes % »37 £, 11,000,000 1.888.875 Amount of their own manufactures confumed by thcmfelves, 9,1 1 1,125 Their export of ditto to the Weft Indies was found to be 11054,919 Total pf their manufadlures, — ■ 10,166,044 if to this fum the reader adds the amount of their exported ftaples, he vrill find it in the whole to rife to about 300,000/. more than the above- fuppoi<;d cbnfumption, which is a confirmation that it was not exagge- rated^ fheir manufadures and ftaples forming their whole income. La t. t\ • • From theiTeTeVeral views of Ihfe ftate of our colonies, in refpedto the import and confumption of manufa^ures, the following obfervations natu- rally occur.— That from a cobny's importing large quantities pf.Britifh goods, it does not therefore follow fuch is a benencial one. This is ftrongly verified by the imports of Penfylvania amounting in fome year's to above 200,000/. and thofe of New England may be fix times as much, whereas all the northern colonies together cannot confume much above the amount of 100,000 /. Whatever ideas therefore are entertained of the beneficial influence of the colonies upon the manufa^ures and trade of Britain, a diftindion ought conftantly to be made between, i. the iflands ; 2. the fouthern colonies.'; 3. the tobacco ones; and, 4. the northern. The firft evidently add immenfely to the wealth of the mother-country ; the fecond, though inferior to the firft, are yet of vaft confequence; the third are of fome f importance ; the fourth of very little, but probably of much detriment. — As this is the cafe, let an undiftinguifhing praife never attend them ; nor be it ever imagined, that juftice is done to this country by him, who, for a fmgle moment, ranks the northern with the fouthern colonics. I fhould not he thus particular, had wc not found in a multiplicity of writers u vaft number of fucK unmeaning and general exclamations of the benefit of our colonies, without the leaft diftindion between thofe who mj)ort our commodities, and they who confume them ; a difference, one •wpuld have thought, lufticient to ftrikc the moft inattentive obierver! • * See berore, p. 354. t I »m here fpcikin": of national general wealth, rot revenue. It may be faid, the reve^ rue from tobacco flioiild be taliciv into the arcount iii this fcalc ; if fo. that from the ifland$' prodtids (hould be the fame, which I (ball in anoihu pLicc (liew to be more conHderablc than the other : the comparifon is therefore ju(t. Xx And POLITICAL ESSAYS. 338 POLITICAL ESSAYS. isiAYV. Arid fi^re let me remind the reader, that this (late of manufaAures in the northern colonies is perfectly confiftent with the review of them whkh was given under the article mamfa^lurest where it appeared from all the accounts publi(hed, that the northern colonies poflefel a vafi tutmier ; the tobacco fettlementsyom^, but the fouthern ones none. And ac^rd- lingly we found thofe concluHons to agree perfe^ly with their ftaple pro- ductions) the only means of purchafmg them ; for thefe were m value directly in proportion to their manufadures : the fewer of the latter the more of the former. Lafltly, we compared their total confumption with their import, and from thence find a manifeft confirmation of the preced- ing methods of difcovering the fame truth. So that to afiert i colony's poflfefllng ftaples fuificient to emplov her people, is the fame thing as fay- ing (he has no manufactures of her own, but confumes thofe of her mother-country. It is i'ntir^ly unneceffiiry to look Irfto their imports : nothing we find is fo deceiving as thefe ; but the former rule is, and muft be, infallible. Of Aich infinite confequence to Britain is the production of ftaples in her colonies, that were all the people of thci northern fettlements, and all of the tobacco ones, (except thole adually employed in raifing tobacco) now fpread over thofe parts of our territories to the Southward and wefl- ward, and confequently employed in the fame manner as the few are which do inhabit them; Britain, in fuch a cafe, would export to the amount of above nine millions fterling more in man::fadures, &c. than (he does at prefent, without reckoning the infinite increaf^ in public reve- nue, freight, and feamen, which would accrue. To enlarge upon the advantages of fuch a change, would be impertinence itfelf. It appears from the preceding accounts that, in refpeCt of confbmption of Britiih commodities, every foul in the Weft Indies is worth better than fixty-eight in the northern colonies, eighteen in the tobacco, and rather better than one and a half in the foudiern ones. Likewife, that every one in the latter is worth forty-four in the northern, and eleven and a half in the tobacco fettlements *. Alfo, that every one in the tobacco colonies is worth three and three-fourths in the northern ones. Without extending the comparifon further, it may be obferved, that our colonies (in the proportions above-given) are of infinite confequence to this nation; for the wealth refulting from the exportation of 3,571,365/. * I do not forget the benefits refultins; to the public revenue from tobacco, but I am here fpcakingonly of the confumption of Britiih commoditiss. in 3bct. Ut COLONIES. 339 ere in in BritUh commodities, the largeft part of which are our own manufac- tures, is of the moft truly valuable land, and will be found hereafteV tc bear a prodigious proportion to what we gain by all other branches of our commerce. The exportation of manufa^ures is one of the muft beneficial articles of vrade} for it is the exportation of the labour of our poor which enables them to maintain themielTes, inflead of being a dead and heavy weight upon the reft of the coiamunity. And at the fame time that fuch general benefits refult from the exportation of our goods, parallel ones attend the articles imported ; for they confift of fuch as we either re(ell to foreigners with profit, or fuch as we muft buy of them with cafli, if we did not exchange our manufa&ures for them with our colonies : — a dif- ference which is immenfe ; and the benefits accruin,?; from both too great and extenfive to be accurately deter:^ned. — — Such general remarks as thefe, however, are to be found in many other writers, and for that rea- r£cm they Hiall be fhort ; but I know none who have deduced them from the fiune fads which I have attemptea to ftato and ex , 'aijo* Having thus examined the article of manufadur <» exported, and their fHrofit, I (hall now add a flight (ketch of ^e remaining < cdmftances which are to be brought to account before tl e whole benent to the wealth of Britain from the colonies will clearly appear. Thefe confift of freight, duties, and the re-exportation of apart (» the colony fbples. A modern writer * calculates the duties upon 31,000 hog(^ heads of fugar, and the rum imported p.pportioned to it to be 161,375 : adopting this proportion, the duties upon ^,156 hogflieads, &c. will be — — — ^, 514,000 Mr. Afhley computes the freight of 70,000 hog(heads at I2 Ct. to Eurojpe, to be 170,000 /. if fo, that of 68,156 will amount to f — — — — -_ — 206,902 30,00010 North America, fuppoii this article to bring in £-1(^5^000 '. AccbuhV quoted by Anderfon IT 138,541 Medium, — -— *- — — — I5i,77» Mr. Poftlethwayte nlakes the re-exportation ^ of the whole, ■ Mr. Anderfon -^ o£ it; the medium is juft 7, or 52,500 hogfheads, at 3 /. profit* Total of tobacco colonies **, JJlandu Staples, . — Duties, ' ' Freight,. ' — - 1%J. ^s, id. ^er head. Southern Colonies. Staples, - ■ ■ Freight, ■ Recapitulati(m, £. 2,702,060 — 5i4io6o — 636,902 3*85a»9^3 7i2,7QQ -250,000 973,700 4,825,665 Carried forward. 4 Tiifcriptkn of Stuth Carolina^ P- 43< y 1 dedudl 10 s. from the freight from Carolina, as it is a fomewhat (horter run to Virgi- nia and Maryland. ', , ^ Diethnaryy An. Tobacco. f Dtdu£iion of Commtrce^ vol. it. p. 387. ** As to the northern colonies' 98,000/. there is nothing to rcckop but the freight, which would make fo poor a figure that it is better omitted j befides, not knowing how many tons, it is difficult to calculate it. J Tobacco Tobacco Colohies, .i'*f*ftj?^Mf '^,ri Freight, >. " '.->'9ytHr''?i' ReHeacportatidn^ ' <-;» 165^000, •! ;'.1; Total of thele colonies, ' " — — Add the northern xolomest, ' ' i ' — Total benefit refultiag in wealtb to BriUia from all her colonies*. — — •»— •— — 5357»»6o rrrrf 5»75M? n:. ' ,T; -The reader will not imagine, that near si3^ million^ in ((ie^l^ig Icailh odfnes into the kingdom upon this apcount : h^^^* an old adage is a fufficieat anfwer to fuchanexpedation, that you cannot eat your cake and have your cake.^—If you confumeyQurcommoditiesiathome, you certainly caqnQt.fell them. But the natidn is imdoubtedly profited to this amount; becaufe, if thele produdions were not thus gained, they would neverth^lefs be jcpn- fumed; only purchafed of foreigners, inftead of our own people: m which cafe, the prices would be higher, and the duties paid to a French inftead of a Britifh government. Thiskingdom therefore is cert£^inly> as • much benefited by them (fuppofing the (onlumptioa i^ all cafes \\fiiuld be the fame) as if the whole amount was to come in cafh. , I leave it to the reader to. imagine what a vaft number of our people in: all trades and.opcupations ar(e maintained, by this moft highly beneficial article of colonies. Without adopting' the common-place, but miftaken afiertions, that every one in theiA maintains fix at home*; afiertions which, like moft that are copied at random, are hazarded without the icaft dif- tin(5lion between the northern and the fouthern colonics; We may however determine, that the above fum of more than five millions gives bread to a prodigious number of our people; in all probability to above a million, which is juft the dlff^erence of having that n?imber of induftrious poor, who maintain themfelves, or of idle vagabonds, who are a pert and burden to fociety. The wealth therefore accruing tc us from our fouthern.^ and middle colonics is of the moft valuable kind, and proves in the clearert manner, that no care and attention can be too great in their favour, in extending their culture of ftaples, fince every fliilling theyy© raife muft inevitably be laid out in the purchafe of manufactures. • Conttjl in AmerUa, 8vo. i757» Prcf. p. aov Hi I P-oivett. ^^ POLITICAL ESSAY6. .if*^?.!?. The benefits refulting to Britain from her colonies in this refped arc extremely evident; for whatever increafes the real and permanent wealdi of a ftate, increafes in the fame proik)rtion its power. But were, the one to follow only in confequence of the other, this would be but an idle dif- tindion, without a u: Terence. The addition which the cdoniies make to the power of the mother-cofilitry confifts in the number of her fedmen they employ, which is very coniiderable. The accounts I have met 'with of their nun^r are veiy confuied, vari- ous, and contradi^ory; but by giving fome attention to the partial repre- fentations of this point, and fupplying deficiencies by moderate compari- fons, we may poflibly come pretty near the truth. In examining what former writers have given upon this fubjed, and making proper allow- ances for the increafe that has haj^ned in feme of our colonies' exports, I (hall at firft keep intirely clear of their own t ade, navigation and fi£he- ries, as a material diftindion is to be made between the feamen fo em- ployed and thofe maintained by the immediate commriiication with Britain : the latter muft be inquired into firft, and then fome ftridures Ihall be given upon the former.-— —And filrft, with refpe£fc to the fugar iflands* ' 68,1 j^ hogfheads fent to Europe are For rum, and fundry articles, we may certainly add — - »-... 51,117 ton» 5,000 56,117 Now, I find the proportion of feamen to tonnage employed in the Weft Indian and Carolina trades is 100 men to 1000 tons*: the above tonnage employs therefore in bringing the fugars to Europe, That is, every fifty-five perfons in the iflands employs one feaman. — — — ■ ■ ■ ■ N. B. The trading voyages faken to Africa in the way thither, with fome other circumflances, it is very clear muft add fomething to this number ; but as fuch are not eafily cal- culated, no notice is taken of them, no more than of the fh ips which fail outwards freighted thither, but not loaded there inwards. Carried forward. 5,(^00 men. 5600 * See Dtfcription of South Carolina^ p. 41. and Rimarh tn tht Ltttir tt Twt Grtat Men, 8vo. i;6o. p. 33. 6 The Sitt, IR» COLONIES. Brotrght orer. The exported ftaples of South Carolina to Europe, when her produ&8 amounted to 161,000/. employed 770 Teamen ; confeqUently, produ^ions to the value of 7921000/. muft Every 34 perfons employ 1 (eaman. This fuperiority over the Weft Indies muft be owing to rice l^ng a much more bulky commodity in proportion to its viJue than fugar, and pitch and tar infinitely fo. Tobacco employs 5^^or> tons cf fhipping ; that is of men Every 2^0 perfons ii^ploy 1 feaman. S4^ 5600 men«. 3»700 3»ooo Seamen employed in carrying the produ^ons of the fugar, , fbuthern continental) and tobacco colonies to Europe^ 12,300 Tbta! 03 ^000 tons ; ttpon an average of 300* the number of ihips is 43 3 Oil. Be/ore I qnit this part of the fubjed, a word or two (houTd be added upon mt apparent difproportion between tobacco and ricc; &c. in the employment of feamen. Th^ou|;hout die wlK>te courfe of the preceding comparifons, the low eftimatioh of tobacco refuhs ehfii^ely from the popu- loufnefs of thofe colonies. Th^t coinmodity is as proper & fiapk as any in the world for a Britiih colony; and in this article of employing fiiilois is doubtlefs equal to any that can be named : all which woold appear ex- tremely evident, if it was poilible to infert the proportion of the total inhabitants of Virginia and Maryland that are employed upon tobacco alone: the high value of this ftkple would then be indubitab'.. But thofe provinces, inftead of being totally employed on its culture, have of late years grown fo very populous, and tobacco land fo very fcarce, that probably not a tenth part of the people are planters. The product of what they make is 350,000 /. ; now, if their income per head, and their ftaple in cafh be calculated at 5 /. lo^.- as in the rice colonies, the number will be 63,000 employed on it, orjuft ^-Vof their total; 44- of them are there- fore farmers, hufbandmen, manufa^urers, &c. who we may be very certain would cultivate tobacco if they could: But more of thefo defeds in their proper place. Thus much is inferted here, to (hew that the low figure thefe colonies make on a comparifon with the reft is totally owing to their populoufnefs, but not in the leaft degree to their ftaple,. being,, in that rcfpe£t only, inferior to their fouthern neighbours. It is neceflary to enlarge very little upon the great confequence to this^ country of an employment for 1 2,300 feamea belonging to our own ports,. extending, TOtl^^CAV ESSAYS. fcjAt^, , yx^^Amri^ tlieir wages amongft their countrymen, and always ready upon 'any call of the ftate to defend that nation they conftandy enrich, l^iie great advantages like wife of biiildiBg, rigging, viftuaUing, repavingy &c. of above 400 fail of large ihips is immenfet and altogether form a lyftem . of importance to Britain- that ranks very -high with any other. As to the navigation of the :: lomea'themfelves, it wasi neceflary, as I obferved before, to confider itby itf )f,: for many reafons which will appear by and by. It is very difficult f m lie materials I.poflefs at prefent to cal- culate its amoiiht ; for fdml* ot the writers of the northern colonies give in fome refpeds different accounts to thofe ^hiqh are current in Britain : ^however, i mufl have recourfe to fuch as I can command, and from them extract the truth as hear as poiTfblje. A late author tells us, that the Britilh plantations maintain 45,000 fea«? ^^en,'aild employ near 2000 fail of .fhips?^*^ Novfjits we hav^ found *he .number which Britain pojfejjes to be about 12,000, confequently their -own amount to 53,000 feamen. A North American writer likewife calcu- lates the ihips at 3000 f* ■/^coordingto thefe accounts, each (hip's compU- tnerit is about 22 men, and eas:J (hip iipon'an average 235 tons burthen, by the rule above laid down ; v»hich, number of men is not probably more per 100 tons than the truth, (although many of t^ie voyages are bu*- fbort) as the great numbers employed in the fifhery are included. Tha' theie. ac- counts are not exaggerated, there is fcmie reafpn to believe, irom an affertion of another writer, who, fpeaking of the confequences of the regulations of the colonies in 1763, fays, that adjopp feamen and fi(hermen were turned out of employment there ij:. Now, if 20,000 men were at once Qut of em- ployment, the total in as well as out cannot be lefs than 33,000 ; efpecially z^iht fjheria were not affected. And if we come to remark thefcutiments of various writers upon particular branches of their trade, there v'ill be more reafons, equally ftrong, for fuppo(ing this total not far from the re- ality. Gee, who wrote about 40 years ago, fays, the vefTels belonging to New England alone, employed in the fifhery and coailing trade, (without including that to Europe) amounted to 80b §, So p^oidigioufly as they have increafed fince, the reader will ealily believe thcni ;o be much more • Contefl in AmtrUa, Prcf. p. 7. - . t ^e«"' Diffirtations en tin Untm between Great Britain and her Cohntes, p. 17. X Ejpty on the Trade of the N'jrthern Colonies^ 1764, p. 26. ^ The Trade and Navigation of Great Britain tanftdtred, i2mo, 1738, p. 106. '"'* " • numerom Sect. III. COLONIES. 545 numerous of late years, and yet that number, at 2a men each, employed 17,600 feamen. To double the number would bring it much nearer the truth at prefent.— — The fifliery of the colonies, fays another *, is already much greater than that of Britain : the fifliery of New England alone amounts to 255,000/. a year, which is equal to the amount of the Dritifh fifhery. And yet New York and Philadelphia, with many other places to the northward, have large fhares of this fifhery j fo that the whole mult make a very great amount. Without turning to more authorities (although a multitude might be produced) for proving a point which feems fo ftrongly to prove itfelf, there will not be any danger, according to thefe fci^eral accounts, in deter- mining the navigation of the colonies to employ 33,000 feamen ; but laft any oQe^ions unfeen fhould arife, I (hall call the number pnly 30,000. It may jpoffibly be cxpeded, that I ihould enlarge upon the vaft confe- quences of fuch a number of feamen to a maritime power ; and efpecially atter what one of the beft of the North American writers has obferved with a degree of rapture : " In another century, the greateft number of Engliihmen will be on this fide the water. What an acceilion of power to the Britifh empire hy fea as well as by land ! What increafe of trade and navigation ! What numbers of (hips and feamen ! We have been here but Hide more than 1 00 years, and yet the force of our privateers in the late war (1750) united, was greater, both in men and guns, than that of the whole Britifh navy in Qijeen Elizabeth's timef.** What therefore muft they have been in the laft war ! But notwithftanding all this I am very far from placing to the account of Britain, one jot of all thefe line doings. And very clear I am, that the employment of the 12,000 feamen lint mentioned is of twenty times the confequence to this country of all t'iie 30,000 kept by the colonies themfelves. Hht more this fubje^> is inquired into, the more evidently and clearly will it appear, that the produdion of f>aple commodities is the only bufi- r.efs proper for c "!onies : whatever elfc they go upon, it is abibhitily im- pc(][ible that they ^ ould by any employment whatever make up for the want of the one really neceffary. For want of this capital foundation of a colony, our northern fettlements we have found are full of farmers, manu- fadfjreri, merchants, fifhermen, and feamen ; but no planters. This 1» prccifcly the cafe with Britain herfelf ; confequently a rivalry between • Prefmi Stat*, p. 327. t IT)* intirift of Gnat Britain ctnfidtud. Annexed to this, is Dr. Franklin's CbftrvaUous tn thi Intrtaf* t/Mankindf p. 56. Y J them 34^ POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay Vt them mufl: Inevitably take place. This in the article of fifherles we find fully taken place; for the northern colonies have nearly beat us out of the Newfoundland fifliery, that great nurfery of feamen! infomuchi that the Ihare of New England alone exceeds that of Britain. Can any oris think from hence, that the trade and»ai;<(§-^;//d;iof our colonies arc worth one groat to this nation ? There is not one branch of commerce carried on by thefc tiading r^rde- nients but might juft as well be in the hands of the inhabitants of tins kingdom, the fupplying the fugar iflands with lumber alone exc.^^ted, and that we have already feen is an abfolute trifle. Thus tbc; lading part of the colonies rob this nation of the invaluable treafure of 5o,cx>oT!?amen, and all the profits of their employment ; or in other wtirda, the northern colonics, who contribute nothing either to our riches or our power, de-» prive ns of iiiore than twice the amount of all the navigation we enjoy it^ confequence of die fof^ar iflands, the fouthern contineatai, and tobacco fet- tlements 1 The freij: h- of ihe llaple* of thofe fets of colonies bring us ia upwards of a million iterling '^j thai Is, the navigation of 12,000 fearaen: according to which propcit'.-.in, we lofe by the rivalry of the northern co- lonies, in this imgic article, two million's, and an half Aerling ! The hackneyed argument which hs^sbecn copied from wilier to writer> that let the colonies get what they wiU, it all centers in Britain, will doubt- lefs here be extcuded ; and they will fay, if the northern colonies get fo rpi,ch money, that money to them is the fame as ftaples to the fouthern ones, and equally laid out in merchandize with Britain. But fa^ks prove the very contrary : the cpnfumption of Britilh commodities in them I have (hewed, cannot be more than to the amount Qf 108,000/. They export thither in ftaples to the amount of 98,000/.; now one of their warmeft advocates above quoted aflTerts the fiflieries of New England alone to be 255,000 /. According to this reafoning, they would purchafe of us only for ihcfe two articles to the amount or 35:3*000 /. which beiog more than three times over falfe, fufiiciently proves that they may acquire riches without expending them with Britain. iy No one who has inquired the leafl: i nto the ftate of the colonies^ can be igno- rant that thefe northern commercial ones carry on a very confiderable illicit trade. A late writer fays, it amounted to a third of their aduai imports f . Now, under the title of their imports is included ali they receive from Britain and the Weft Indies, or in value to upwards of 917,000; a vaft * 1, 05!, 902/. t G:nfuh\riiin! on tit Trade and Finances of the Kingdom, 410. 1766, p. 75. . « • fum! Sect. III. COLONIES. 347 film ! and mnft In the nature of things be nearly fd miidh taken out of the pockets of their mother-country. Another writer lets us fomewliat mof« into their illicit trade. " The colonies to the northward (of the tobacco ones) have very little dire(St trade with Great Britain ; I mean they have nothing wi ;h which they can repay \ii for the commodities they draw from hence: They only trade with England circuitoufly ; cither through the Weft Indies, vlhich is to us the moft advantageous part of their trade ; or through foreign European countries, which, however neceffary, is a dangerous and fdfpieious channel. Our Engliih (hips meet others with the fame commodities at the fame markets ; and if (hefe markets happeii to be overftocked, we interfere with, and confequently hurt each other. But, what is (HU more material, there is much reafon to fufpedt, that no • fmall part of the benefit of our North Americain trade is, by this ttieinii hfi to the mother-emntryy Andfaffds to fore'ignen^ and fometimes to eiii^fheU Thefe northern provinces are, in efFe€l, not ftfbjeft to the axSof navigation j becaufe they do not trade in any of the con^moditie^ enurnerated in that a£t. They are therefore neither obliged dire£lly to bring their goods to England, nor^ when they have carried thetn Id other countries, are they neceffitalediO' take England in their way home. Whe^eald a!ll the eolohiei^ ■which produce any of the enumerated commodities, under whatever re- laxations, are always fubje^t ttf one or other of thefe regulations. For in- ftancei fliips from Bofton niay carry fiOi, corn, and provifions to France or Italy, amd retafn- again diradly to Bofton, loaded with foreign com- modities, iubjed to no other check than what mufl be confidered as none, that of a cuflbiii-hoye ofBeer in their own colony *." Such a circuitous commerce as this eafily refolves a thoufand diffic^ies, which may have appeared in the courfe of the preceding inquiries. It is a very ready outlet for any Aim8> however large, which they may gain by their trade and their fifiieries ; and fiiUy explains the manner how they may have much money to fpend, and yet lay none of it out with us. As to the point of their really being rich, or at leaft in good ctrcumflances, it \\ impoflible it (hould be otherwife : a people that poflefs the neceflaries of life in fo great a degree, have fo many manufadures, and a trade that em- ploys 30,000 feamen cannot be poor ; but the fad is equally ftriking, that Britain fupplies them with fcarce any thing. — But further, it will appear from other authorities, that their illicit trade is of yet greater extent. Notwithftanding the length of the quotation, I fliall here, as the point is -• An Examimrtim afthe cetimerdal PriHclpfes, p. 64,. Thefe fliips, however, carry out fome- tbing elfe befides corn and filh; for the Governor of Mafl'^chufets Bay in 1733, writes word to the Lords of Trade, that va^ quantities of hats are exported from thence to Spain and Por- tifgal : thus they carry out their own manufadlures to cramp our market, and biing hon>e French* goodi* to tnhrgt thM ofoitr mtmiet ! Y J 1 of 848 POLITICAL ESSAYS. ntAT V. of gr <^ ni^iau;* '* Soon after the peace pf Utiiccht»i« pernicioui conunerce began td ihew itfelf, between the Britiih northern colonies and the French fugar colo- nies, which began with barterijiig, the lumber of the former rum, and melaiTes, to be imported into any of his majeily*s colonies in Am^riga* as it .was thought were equal, to, and would anfwer all the ends of a probibition. . i. ^ 1 • . t f ■ n • : ■ , , . , . , , *' But e^j)erience has fliewn that all thefe laws are too weak to anfwer the purpofesTor which they are defigned, and that feme more eifef^ual re- medies might be found to keep the Britiih traders in North America with- in bounds i if Great Britain refolves to preferve her right of controuling the trade, (?f her own fubjefts in that part of th© world, and turning it into fuch channels only as,. her .wiidom ihall diredt, and think moil con* ducive to the intereils pf the whole community: for it can be made oppear beyond contradi^on, notwithilanding alL the laws that have hith?/;tob^ep.ma4e^ L.j ■ I ! at u iV^ \-r <{i fi "i.'Jh')'^'"^ :iTrnv*i' .1 V J. That a fettled courfe of trpf^ck h^s beefi carried on for feveral years by many of his majefty's fubjedts.jn JNJorih America, to the ports of Mar- feilles and Toulon, in which their ihips have gone diredly thither, laden with, pitch, tar, tv*iin-oil, timber-tree^ and planks, for building flaps jTpars» flayes, log wobct, beaver, martins, deer, and elk ikinSi furrs,. and naval t ftores; Sect. III. COLONIES. 349 / ftocM; and have returned back again, without ever touching in'Greal Britain^ with goods of the manufacture and growth of France* and^dtH^f* fordgo nations. * '^ ** II. That they have carried on th^ like trade with Holland. •^ IIlJ That, notwithftanding the aA made in the 6th yenr of his jirefent majefty's reign, the Britifli northern colonies ferve ihcmfelvcs chiefly with foreign fugar, ram, and melafTes, without paying the duties impofed by that aft, and fometimes import them in vcffels owned by foreigners ; and that this trade is now carried to fuch a height, that velTels have been purchafed for, and fixed in this commerce only, and conftantly and regu- larly employed in trading backwards and forwards between the foreign fugar colonies and Britilh colonies in North America ; and in order to fa- cilitate it, they have fettled correfpondcnts and fadors in the French iflands, and the French have done the like in our colonies in North Ame- rica.- ** IV. That this trade is not only connived at, but cherifhed and encou- raged by the foreigner Si with whom it is carried on, who well know how much it tends to enrich their own colonies and impoverifh ours. ■W3 ^ Some of the ill confequenees arifing from this trade to Britain are, ;n> M «« I.' lie will deeply afFedl the maiiufadhires and produfts of Great Britatt^^ ind in a much greater degree than is felt at prefent, if it be liot timely flopped ; caufe a great declenfion in the trade of the kiugdorri, and ,not only deprive the nation of a profit to which they have a natural right, but many perfons now employed in thef6 mantifaCtures will be brought to want the means of fubfiftence. "II. The number of Engliih (hipping, and confequently of failors, Will decreafe in proportion as this trade increafes, which Taps the very foun- dation of the naval power of the kingdom. The defign of the aft 15 Charles II. forbidding the importation of any commodities or manufaftures of £urope into the king's plantations in America, was intended to make a double voyage necefiary, where thefe colonies ufed any commodities of the growth and manufactures of Europe, but Britifh : for if they could not be ihipped in Great Britain, they muft be firft brought thither from the places of their growth and manufacture, and Great Britain would confequently have the benefit not only of that freight, but of as ir.any Ihips and failors as muft be employed in bringing them from thence. But if the northern " "■ '- ''^ -'^" '- ' ■■ colonies .35<^ POL CTil C A L ES S^A Y S. Essay V. colonies (liould bd allowed to q^vrrythdm direiftlir from the'^kicieafvbffte they grow- or are mnnufa filhermeni^nd UJ f ft-: ,i':in'^ * Their fliips were not then near (o large as at prefcnt. fiioremen SicT. UL C O L O N I E 5J O *» 551 ihoreineii»iai they ufuallyoall the younger perfons who were never bcfurc at r<3ft» I appeal to the reader, wliethcr fuch a yearly return otrciimcti, abiding at home with u»all the winter* and fpending their money here, which th«y got in their fummer fiihery^ were not a great acccfs of weahh and porwer to this kingdom, and a ready ftipply for his majc(ty*8 navy upon all emergencies."-- "He then proceeds to a particular alTcrtion relative to New England, as follows : — ** That New England is the moft prejudicial pliMitation to this kingdom. I am now to write of a people whofe fruga- litytindulby, and temperance, and the happinefs of whofe laws and inftitu- tion promife to them long life, with a 'wonderful increafe of people^ richrs^ and power : and although no mea ought to envy that virtue and wifJotn in others* which themfelves either can or will not pradfcife, but rather to commend and admire it, yet I think it is the duty of every good man primarily, to refpc^ the wel&re of his native country : and therefore, though I may offend fome, whom I would not willingly difpleafe, I can- not omit, in the progrefs of this difcourfe, to take notice of fomc particu- lars wherein.Old £ngland fuffevs dimsnution by the growth of thofe colo- nies fettled in New England." (And then, after fome very fenfible obfer- vations on the produ^ons of our colonies, he proceeds :) ** The people of New England, by virtue of their primitive charters, being ndt fo flridtly tied to the obfenratton of the laws of this kingdom, do fometimes aflume the liberty of trading contrary to the adt of navigation, by reafon of which many of our Ameriean commoditiesi, ej)>ecially tobacco^ and fome fugar, are tranfported in New England fhipping dire^ly into Spain, and^ other foreign countries, without being landed in England, or paying any duty to his majefly, which is not bnly arlofs to the king, and a pi'ejudice to;the aavigttion of Old England, but alfoa total exclufion of the old Englifh merchant from the vent of thofe commodities in thofe ports where the New Engliih veffels trade ; becaufe there being no cuftom on thofe commodities in New Englaend, and a great cuflom paid upon them in Old England, it mufl neceffarily follow, that the New Englifh mer- chant will be able to afford his commodity much cheaper at the market than the Old Englifh merchant; and thole that can fell cheapeil will infallibly engro& the whole trade fboner or later. —• Of all the American plantations^ his nvajeAy ha& none (o apt for the building of fliippiitg as New Englandy nor none comparably fo cpsaliiied for the'breed'rhg of f^d^' m«i», not only by reafon of that natural induflry of the people, but prin- cipally by restfbiv of their cod and mackerel fifherie^; and, in my poor opinion, there js nothing more prejudicial, and in pro- spec tmiorb dang BRtius TO AN"* OTHER KINGDOM', ffH^AN THE IN- CREASE OP S|lfPPlN« SN HE* 'COLONIES, P L A I*^ A TlONS, OR PRO- VINCES*.'* ' • Sir Jofiah Child's Difcturft on Trade, p. 225. &:c. 5 This JJJ POLITICAL ESSAYS. h>,.--KY V.> This latter opinion U of very great and material confequcacet and deferves in this age fix times the attention it did in the preceding one, as in all probability the navigation of the northern colonies is fix times in- creafed. We find that this celebrated politician, who lived To many years ago, was far enough from looking with an eye of approbation upon their extended trade and filheries ; is it not therefore very (Irange that fo many writers of this age ihould have given into fuch general and undiftinguiih- ing praifc of colonies, and indulged fuch vain and mi(laken ideas of the confequeuce of their navigation and failors ! Objeds by no means of our commendation, but of our juft jealoufy. Nor can any maxim in the poli- tical interefts of this country be clearer than the undoubted mifchiefi we have fuffered from thefe northern colonies ? fo very far are they from being advantageous to the kingdom ! If the following circumftances rela- tive to the power of this country are con(idered> thefe evils will not be thought ideal. I. They have beat us nearly out of the Newfoundland fifhery. II. They employ a great number of feamen in carrying their own pro* duds, and the (bples of the foutherly colonies, dire^y to European markets, and return home loaded with foreign manufadures, &c. III. They have been of great benefit to the French fugar colonies, and much afllfted in raifing them to the formidable ftate they are in at prefent. IV. They deprive this nation of the regular employment of thirty thouiand feamen, the very freight occafioned by whom amounts to two millions and an half fterling. Population, The benefits refulting to Britain from her colonies in refped of popula- tion is a point that hks been difputed at large, like moft others concern- ing them, without any diftindion between thofe to the northward and the others, which in all refpeds are fo materially different. The fenti- ments of writers, however, have been various ; many condemning the plantations as depopulating the kingdom, .nd others again aflerting, that we are more populous than we otherwife fhould be, on their account. Of the firft opinion I give the reader the following account in the words of an ancient author. I fhould not fix upon it in preference to others, had it not been quoted feen^njgly with approbation by a very inge- nious 8'ect. nX ■' '^'ibro k'i if i * ^ ^ m |uou8 wntjr of the prcfcht aee. *' It Was a''qucry,*''Yayi'?FicTirfl?er, ** pro- pofed to CHii nation m the reign of king James I. * whether our colonies %zd not di/peopled us vifibly, and throwp a damp upon the culture of the 'earth ? England besan its plan,taVibns n^ar an hundred years after Spain, and confequently thd efFedls thereof are not'yet fo vifible as in the'other Iciogdomr But our iphabitaiits are fenfibly wafted already, and' it has a -very ill effed upon quV tillage and hufbandry in all the fouthern parts of the ifland ;-— ~fo that ds the trade of Eneland grows by the plantation^ the landt dt Ei^gland^//^ the gentry and nobility fink, and ihe/ecurity and ilrength of (he kingdom abateth j.** 'Without infifting upon the miftakes there are in thefe fentiments, parti- cularly the great advance of the rental, as' well 'as the value, of lands at prefent, compared with them' befbre our plantations and trade were one- tenth of what they are now, I (hall pafs on to a more modern Writer. •* Our American colonics,*' fays M. de Bou^ainvilliers, *• have contri- buted not a little to dimini(h the pumber of our citizens. When it is liaid^ that our pfantations have augmented our commerce au hundred and fifty millions, it has been always believed that their utility ^as demon- fii-ated: but it' is clear, that this commerce has diminiflied our political power, becaufe it has been formed at the expence of our population. One confiderable branch of it is founded in the formation of thefe ella- blifliments. An exaA account of all the fubjeds who have perilhed by a premature death, without leaving any pofterity in France, fince we nave laboured to people America, woiild fright our minifters.' There can be no doubt but fuch an account would break the charm which has hitherto prevented our kings from opening their eyes. But one refledUon will fufiice.— — No perfon can be ignorant that the air, the climate, the country, the quality of the food to which mankind are accuftomed from their birth, form with them ^ iecond nature, and to which the iiril is tot'illy fubordinate. ExjpcrienVe demonftrates evei^y day,* that the differ- ence of climate between the fouth ahd the hbrth of France a,bridge8 the life of thofe who change thetr refi^^nce •' how much ftronger therefore muft the ravages in our population be in ellabliihmeuts formed in thofe new worlds always unhealthy, w]here' the feafqns are the reverfe of ours,' and where it is necepary that n^tui'e fhotll^ totally ehfingeher fyftem I— — If the government would take aA accSotlht' br tHe Aibjefts migrated into America, they would find that (ixtv out of one hundred perifhed on their * Effaf m Hujbanirf, p. ii6.' t Heylin'f Cafnufrapk), p. 941. Z z arrival. 354 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Ei»SAY v.. arrival. How can it be {uppdfed that the plantatiua of canes can indeme£l to this r.ation, in regard more efpecialiy ,to the inhabitants of the northera part of this ifland, who repair now in fuch numbers to our colonies, than when they were fcattered through Ruflia, and even throughout Alia as mechanics; fupplied Sweden, France, and Holland, with foldiers, or ilocked the wide kingdom of Poland with pedlars. Betides, fuch of thefe people as anfwer their ends, and having been fo happy after that as to furvivc, ge- nerally return hither, which fiom other cou.itries they feldom did or could, and therefore no jull or well grounded fear of depopulation from this caufe >cau poffibly arife. In the next place, 'his mode of vifiting our molt diftant territories is ib far from thinning the mot her- country of inhabitants, that it is one, and indeed the principal means of making us populous, by i)roviding fuch a van variety of methods for the commodious fubfiftence by lalxtur and induftry in this country, as before we had thefe plantations were utterly unknown, and which are alfo continually increafmg, m the commerce with our colonies is increafed. Upon this very principle it may be truly affirmed, that as the plantations preferve the (kill and labour of thofe who go thither from being loft to their country, as they would be if they wcnyt any where elfe ; fe by furnifliing a great variety of new employments* and different means of fubfiftence, they take away much of the neceility, and many of thofe temptations (c going abroad that there were, and ■which, as has been obferved, aftually operated to this purpofe in former times; and for the fame reafon that London is always full of people, and Holland is better inhabited than other countries, that is, becaufe there are more means of living in this city than in other parts of Britain, and in that province than through the reft of Europe; therefore, the fupport given by the commerce of the colonies keeps more people in, and attrads more people to Britain than otherwife we fhould have, or indeed without thofe helps could be able to maintain *." To have given my fentiments on this point, after the fubje<3: bad been Created in fo capital a manner, I thought much lefs to the reader's fatisfao- Dr. Campbell's Conjid/raiims en tht Sugar TraeUt p. 28. tlOft Sect. III. COLONIES. S$^ tion than inferting thofe of fuch diftinguiihed writers j for I muft always think, that a quotation, however long, which conne£l:s a fubje^, and throws the whole into a complete point of view, is better than re-compof- ing the lentiments of cichcrs, for the fake of avoiding Ibng exlradts. I Have but one (hort remark to add, which is, that both thefe writers, how- ever penetrating, fpeak only in general?. Their expreflions are, the colo- ■ niesy or the plantations^ without fpecifying any didindion between thofe ' which poflefs ftaples a ad thofe which bave none; or, in other words, between thofe which are beneficial to us, and thofe which are prejudicial, from the preceding review of ourfettlements it appears, that the northern eolonies arc very prejudicial to this kingdom, . particularly in becoming its rivals in manufaftures, trade, fiihery, and navigation. Now, admitting Tve fhould certainly lofe thofe fubjeifts who migrate thither, had we no colonies for them to go to, which is a clear fa£t, yet there is furely a very great difference between their increafing the numbers and riches of a people that are our rivals, and thofe of others from whom we have no-- thing to fear. The mechanics of Afia, and the pedlars of Poland, are of no injury to us in trade. But if this difference exifts, as it mofl afTurcdly does, there muft be ten thoufaad times a greater between migrations to • the prejudicial and the beneficial coIoincs j for in thie fiirfl they add to the evils we already fufFer, but in the latter they are attended with all thofe o excellent confequences fo well defcribed in the above quotations *. . The diflin6iion, therefore, between our colonies, which I have fo often ■ urged, hold as ftrong in this infiance as in all the reft, and their general force will be not a little evident, if we throw the fubftance of what has appeared relative to thefe three points of Britain's wealth, power, and population,, as affeded by her colonies, into the following plain conclu*^ Goa&i I.- That the fugar colonies add to tho wealth of this nation annually • 3i852v96«./. or 12 /. 5 j. i d. per head; for their inhabitants employ 5,600 of our fcamen, or i to every 5^ of their people, and incrcafe the popu- • lation of the kingdom by a variety of means. II. That the fouthern-continental colonies increafe the wealth of ihis nation annually 972,700/. or 7/. 10s. per head; for their inhabitants . • Hence refults a nerefllty of regulating the migrations ; for nine-ttnths of thofe who goto ■ America, go to thofe northern colonies. " In fome years," fays a late writer, " more peo- ple have tranfportcd themfclvcs into Pen fyl van ia than intoali the other fettlemtn's together.'* ' Europtan StttUme Is, vol. ii p. 205. It is highly neceHary abfolutc-ly to prohibit one finglc perfon going thither. Whoever leaves thektngdotn (hould be made to fettle where they may be beneficial to it. employ Z^o POLITICAL ESSAYS. EiiAY V, employ 3,700 of our feamcn, or i to every 34 of their people^ tnd in- creafe the population of the kingdom by various methods. III. That the tobacco colonies add to the wealth of this nation annually 831,498 /. or I /. 3 s. id. per head ; for their inhabitants employ 3000 of our feamen, or I to every 250 of their people, and increafe the popula- tion of the kingdom by divers means. IV. That the northern colonies, and fuch parts of the tobacco ones as are not employed on the culture of their ftaples, confume manufad^ures, not Britifli, to the amount of 10,166,044/.— —That the northern colo- nies 9*-'. ^'ghly prejudicial to the wealth and power of Britain, in beating: hero, of a part of her European trade, and much of her American comr -ce and fifliery; in depriving her of the employment of 30,000 ?r 00 t O NIES. 3^1 Cfti^e they CQUl4 OQt, afford to buy doathing from Britain ? Qr to go with- out food} becaufe they could not buy implementft of h«r to till the ground ? Of t!c> Ute in unfurnished houfeSt becaufe they had not wherewithal tp pttrohafe fwnitUre of the mothei:-country ? Such fuppofitions would have been ftrangely idle. Was it any more to ^ be wondered at, that finding ihoals of marketable fifh in their very harbours, they fhould catch and mi, them I and feeling the impoptaace of their fituation for trade, and the feamea their fiihery maintained, that they ihould enter into com- msroe 46 mudb asi they weife* able f For many years after their fettlement, it wa9 tsnpofiible they fliould have any manuuiElures worth fpeaking of; their fiihet^ and trade Weve therefi:>re gJl they had to purchafe them with, and: yetf great fc^y, methinks, it hafl been in them to bav« (hot their eyes to the only Ught they had to, guidie ihern* ; : Nece£Sty| howeiv^, increafedjlheir nofanufaj^ures by degreesi and they ffieve attended with an equal incre^ in their trade and fiihery* witU a.c laft theycouH do without the afi^ance of Britain in tii^ one, and rival her in i&t bthtrs. But af e they thefefinre to blame ? By no means. Thefe have been the natural confequences of their firft fettlements ; and though vb. fome inftaiures they may have carried their 9ppqfition^ to> the paother- country to an unjuflUialde length, yet the little attentjpn they met with £i'oin: hcxfeie to injorenfiog the few ilaplea they had, makea us not (nuch ifmprbedi aJ: their nffentment ; ^nd eTpeciatiy, while the chain of natural con^equenots o{i£ratcd fo firoogly in tlnowing them into fuch a fyftem of xivalry. - :j^-, ..i.rM .\ti \^^f. ■ S^^try:: It is tmpoffiblethat the manufa^urcfi of a ipolony ihoufd rife to the fupplyingthe hofme^eciifumption and flop there,, ^^hile fuch country po£- :£eaes a foreign trad:^%- Bxp^tation ;;27^ enfue : but when it-hat is the cal^ whatever precautions a mother-country may take to guard againft danger, yet the creation of that danger muft undoubtedly have been in herfelf. < But what ikall we lay to a fyftem of politics, dire^ly contrary to thefe plain fa€fcs, taking place feveral ages after the effects oifuch colquies were not only conjedured, explained, and writ upon by various authors, but after the commercial and manufacturing part of the nation mu&feel the confequences of them ; nay, after every man of common fenfe in th.e kingdom muft have feen, and confidered the difference between *:obacco and fugar, cir corn and filh ;— *And after all this, what are we to tnink: of expend- ing above a million fterling in planting another colony yet more to the north than any of the reft! a. colony, which many years after that ex- pence exported only to the amount of i8/, ds. 3f the climatC} a defeat of fuch prodigious confequence as to [be attended with, and cault' an hundred 9thers } and A8 this i$ fo very tQaoife^i %erc is ^hii i^ft occaCioh fdt eplarging upon ilu JE fhall there^yre pcKced to e^i^afti, as well as t arft'aSle, thcMfe which (exclufive of the 411^9^16) arft t^^ ^(^iUlt of Britain^ .Jfs policy ; Jb)f which I mean^vich as^ght^ve b'cfen pireverited, after the 6rtt grftti4 m^ake vca^madR. ' ,\ . ,^r ..- r- I. Thefe hbrthJei^"c6Iohime of thefe articles was weak, and ill-judged, aud o&en were not euccuraged at all. in. The great defed in the tohacc<^ oolcmies, and which has (.<:cafioned the decline of thoie valuable i«»lenieat$' in co^sipsurifon to their po;>ukition is, the want of fr*^ land far their ftaple. This they were deprived of by the encroachments of the French before the laft war j and, fmce the peace, by the bounds fixed to the colonies by thtt pBQClffWMtfioa of, OStor ber 7, 17^3* . ^\i it) "0«t9»^irt «t »»«.'».».« * Say fone «r my readers, iP thefe northern coTonies are ia prcpvidictB]; how c^e the French, a political people, to take fuch pains to feize and fettle Cape Breton i I arrfwer ; the French a^ed thereon with the utmofl prudence, for they fettled in Cape Breton, that is,huitt Louilbulg u a plan of Jlrmrtb aniftatriiy ; a frottSim to thtir Sitraptm fifiitry., th«y-dtd not colonize or //aar the iAand : nor did ever Louilbui^ riv«l St. Malo^ . The difiercncc thcfeftuc between the condu^ of the two nations is very great. IV. The ftcf-f.t?: '^-^h^&i&i^HV^^'''' 3^3 k'/r ■». "W. Tfcc t6>)dald prpclamatiop, in i^rai^ening th^ bounds of the colo- niest thr^w Vaft numbers in the porthern one^ as well as in the tpbacco ones, into manufactures, (i(hene8| trade,. Sec whp would have left thofe colonies, and become the ]^lanteti of ftii^le conxmodities in fertile lands* had fuch been provided for them, e/vtrhich^there is enough in our domi- nionsin North America, but /row which tba( proclamation totally excludes OC^j (•»)<•. ''"^. Eveh itl the fouthem-coiitinentaU and likewife in the tobacco colo- nies, the inhabitants might make feveral,9thec (^ples, belides what they at pfefi^ employ themfdves upon, tp the great prpfit of Britain } but, fpr \9«nt bf dnie endourajgement, fuc|i, improven^ats do not take place. And even the fugar colonies themfelvci^ are by Wb means cultivated in fo com- plete a manner as they might be ; mapy improvement^ bav^q been pro- pofed for diem, but none execute^.' ^' * *^ '''^'' • ' < ' "' nrl he ^ ' VI. Sctitt the lat^ wat, Biltaliilaid th6 trade of the cgiloQiea uoder fdme very'ftri£l iregutations, which certainly cut off many inlets by which they formerly received much Spanifh and Portuguefe coin. The principle upon which fuch regulations were :^ormed, of fecuring to the mother-country alone all matters of commerce, I have already attempted to prove juft and neceffary ; but it was a very g^eat omlffion at the fame time not to giye the p and found to.be equal to thebeft Swj^ifli iron t> as appears by the report f/f the officers of thofe yards. Even in the debate above-mentioned, the •Advocates for the colonies made good their prctenfions, and brought fo many proofs of the excellence of their iron, that, in fpite of a very warm oppofition, a bill paffed forthe n, in tendernefs to a p«ople who favour us in no individual inftance, but taking 30,000/. in cafli from us annually ! la tendtr- aefs to r!iem! fbanieon a biAorian, that could with fo much fang froui mention fuch a hH I The Sect. IV. COLONIES, ;65 The conftaiH feiperience of the coloni^ft in foitoe of thrir own manufac- tures cvner fince has proved the goodneis of their iron j but in others they have negleded their own metal for want of abilities to carry on the works. The fadt therefore, of their iron beinjg; of a quality proper to fubfHtute in the place of all th^ Swedifh, is» in the opinions of the mol^ dlfihterefted and bcft judges, indubitable %^,j,^,i, ,a.imi4i>,A^H„' "' , Hemp and flax are more doubtful points ; not the goodnefs of Cuth art they produce* but the pradticahiHty of their ralfing fufficient quantiti^.it,. A late author t ftiongly I'l York are by no means plants. " The proper i oak fibamp^ which has a t that the lands of New Epgland khd ? it^ and rich enough fbr 'riiofe exha'/(iinj; * em," (ays he, ** 19 fuch as a 'white y bottom, pr the IbW grounds upon the lides of a fwamp or brook, but not in them, t/pori thefe they grow fome that is very good, but it is not fo much as they require for their own ufe, nor can we expereafons which ^e urged ag^iinft Its uilture more !Q6rihwkKl not being applicahle to it here. HowcTer, whether it is pro- duced iiv^tli^fe northern provinces at all or not, is not o^fuch confequence as i^ w&l^fd tk had ^e no other where it may m^ C« coppeii we ar^ rie Is a very rich mine, in Neifir Jerfcy, As 'to mafts, yards, bdltfpflts, pitch, and tar, &c. &c. and even com* plete fhips, it is very well known that thefe colonies produce the firft \tk ereat abundance, and of an uncommon goodnefs, and build a large num** Eer*;dFt!hc latter. As to the ufe of thefe, more hereafter. ^''TPoVarties met with fome encouragement from the government : but a& "^thi-reWas a fatality npon all their attempts of encouragement, the very commodity was not known, for which a reward of 3Q00/. was given for the art to make ! The reafon why potaih ^as fo long before it could be -made to tutn to any account wias, their i^o't. Knowing what it was, but t6dk liio be 6hly a-cbmmoh &1t of a{hes,ma<^e j)y lixivation, and that both 11^ Britain and the plahtatiohs. .Ttliis appeara ft^om the government hav- tiitg given a reward of .3000 /. fo;' making iti^fih a common lixivial falt» that is made by evdry chemift'*8 apprentice, and even by the common (driuiitry-i opie in England, both for the chemi^s an4 thofe who make it iri{6 pedri (ghy by talcJning it again. But the pommodity t|iat is wanted by' the name of pota(h in Britain is made y«[ith much lefs lal^our and ex- pence than any of thefe lixivial falts, and at the fame time contains the >whoIeXub(lance of the afhes, inilead of nothing but the little fubftance * Mr. Auftin's Letttr in Muftum Rujiicumt vol. iv. pv 108. i^£urjipean SeitUtruntt, vol. ii. p. 188. tliac ttCTiTSt, ecJft o'NiEs. 367 that il^ fo them} While' it bewB a^ greater price iii Britain; by \7hicH means there it> not lefs; perhaps than a thoufand per cent, difference in the profits of making right potalh, andthisfaltofaihes that the government jiurehtfed the art of making*. ' ;H: ^' "^ From different lhanagementsi however^ this point at laft was bvougbt ftt lead to a Cei-tainty, that the colonies could fupply us with it ; lEor a few years agOj the potaibes exported by thefe norUiern colonic amountcfl to upwards of 36^000 A*]: ' " I ndW tome to the third deft^i thatof' t^e wantr of frefh land in our tbbacoo tolbiiieft, from the peculiar policy of themother-country in heia»> ming^thdr inHid)itant8 within even ftraiter boutids than waa oflaeredby die incroachments of the Freh'ch tfaemielves. Aa I have more than onoe heard this afferdon controverted, it is i^eoeflary to: beftow. a: few-' pages upon 'th<6 ^proVing^t. This^ clearing the lady^ if I may be allivwied J^ expreffio'n, il# rather tedious, but hi^ly heceflaryj for theie {isveral ,die£eda muft bi; notdnlypoiitted out, butexplainedi bisfore the reader can poffibly comprehend the expediency and pradicability of the remedies I/fltalU hereafter propc^Ci ^^ *< A field; planted with tobacco, and then with Indian com/' fays a late vnriter, " is as bare as a fandy defart, and hardly produces ablate of grafs, although it has much more manure laid upon.it- than any thing.; that grows. It is for this reafon that moft^of our tobacco -pkntatioBS are broke up; the -people have been obliged to quit them many years ago, after all their charges and improvements upon them, and to retire to the mountains, where they find Ibme fre(h lands fiit to produce that commo- dity, which are the fuppoort of the tobacco tradie ; but thefe wJU in a (host time be vTorn out as the reft have been, and when that happcn8«. there muft be an end of the tobacco trade, without afupply of frefh- lands fit to produce that exhaufting weed^ as well as to maintain cattle to manure them, with convenient ports and inland navigation to fhip oft' fuch a grofs and bulky commodity J." In another place, he fays,— -^" To live by planting, as it is called, or by the making of their prefent ftaple commo- dities for Britain, it is found from daily experience in the tobacco colonies, , where they have hitherto fubfifted in that manner, that a planter ftiould^ have forty or fifty acres of land for every labourer: where they are reduced to lefs, they are foon obliged to leave off that manner of living, . t Canttji in Jmirka^ Plef, p. 22* X Priftnt StaU, p, 151. That m P O L 18riQ4gIC 19!Sf1^ Y S. ^ilP^^Hi %mi3aeiD&\yft^i.mh\Vti^e ^fooph^ht&gm ^hdbjiiitii^TM^ ItlbOHb^pKHMr ibf^Gommodkies foe Britqpiss^heiniyife-Hicj (pnnot liive byi!^li SKfasulMithatthey^^dft iMitpf^ abov« n i^ird p«rt7of?vvi|ilc tMe^iiAtmnm^tAatt dh^yeteiaiiotiifli^^ipikf iMaiHlv'^'lliiiktiyitifirtit Mir fifbyi^Qiil} lMid«l&at)m)9^ crtire olHiged to remove tQ-7jtn|fi}li|f]iwA4 l^hr Apalachean mountains, wnere they ^ay have plenty^ good^ftii^ ^iftA. landU, &s a great f^rt of the pdot^evg^e in the tObaecocolotiQi have §^it^ #4f ^^.limMMki&itcfld 4of^»'^ iiay>.«tb«rtf^ cJMpip cooiiBCKdity ^j|^t^p>.:|^*^ .^,i .|l|6iK^e(%rel^ OQi!^^ of , <*- h{icQ$ tattdv^^r; fta^f«r.^ ^{s^^^ ip^g^,iM3it.^b(^ igfiei«pt ok «^ Wf«is»rg[eii again iippB ^^ojiii^i^ qC,.Oapb«f. jtl^^ i|.7^3*3«^W^t reftraified ail our planters to the fourccs o(,{1ik(*i^fmM^^fHS^^^<^ Atlantic Ocean; thkt is, to yet narrower hounds than thole entroachmeflts e^khe'fr€nCft.€venprq<^<;^,Yf^u#,.-f?ra|»ftan«A,i^^ hiiii^^if ^theyrwere vtoi^ iWaotii>g^^Qife.jar«»oti>e«» ^%^}^,p^ifmarina? the leail ^onfidcrate. ' ' > Hi.'Wi *''xai>»Va»' -t . ^ It 't 8bct. W, CO t ON I IS. ^ It h very well known, that plMitiag; tobapoa u^n tanib fiiffic)6ii% lertil«> or ki other words, >?■{/%, it much the moft profitable employment the people of Virginia and Maryland have : for which reafon they have oU continued to plant it as long as their lands would yield h, and ftnne •even to lofe } nor were they drove to change it for com and common fuming, until they muft either adopt thci tatter, or be ruined by their acco they prodiiced has been ibr near thirty years, as appears by the cuftom-houfe entries, nearly at a ftand; that is, it has increafed by no means in proportion to the increaf:: of the aumber of people *. In the year x 748, they were judged to pro- dooe as much as at prefentf ; whereas the people muft be near double. In the preceding flcetch it appears, that their tobacco does not amount to above 9/. 64. d, per head cf the whde people, whereas thofe totally em- l^oyed on fo good a flude earn 5 /. a head ; ^om whence it iii cleu:, that Dine-tenjtha of the people are employed op ibmetbing elfe, which is proof enough that they camui plant ti^coo, ikm. hmtg t£s firft cl^^eSt of them all. If thefe circumftkoces are ^My fon^crra, they mU lurdy be allowed a convincing proc^, thiit the afiSnrtioBS in the above |>afil^;es are not only true, but that it is impoffiUe iiv the j^refent fitte of things that they ihould be falfe. The real faA in this falie policy of Britain is this : She was above tea years ago fo well conviiMed /( , 1 .vi;^, orjly hints at a defence) in the following wcM-ds: — "The reader will obferve, aHft ^offibiy -Mth Tome 'ftlr|a42«VitKat> irtlna'dVftributich (he'has^ b4en ijb'eci^ii^ fhe^he^go^^t^iififentf^lhoifetof fiA(b emd Weft Fk!>tidai/An4 C^ami; laid dd^vnf l^ ^^ {ItocllMi&titfR) mfeichthc^ l<^gefi9rand>!perka{« tI^tiidft^VafuatfteMrt'6f'*dW todMiM^o^»'iM>t rbtet)4ak&»i > the) fine uiou»(rt«i ah thb %Hi}I^ iU^ft tyf tU€ 'OKidpandf <|fif^ Wabodid^ aihdf aiirioffi aU that «M!^ i^f li(Miif;ihiie^,'%liich Ki^olimie'lriMitr^de>of the Mffiffipft^iiHfejifviio of thei^ eomjpr^heindetf ih^#aifti4btitionl > Thegovcrimitot«f WlbarFliqF^ j{^k^(ihd^{ii ho fl^t 'abdve iWtf a'fl0grelftti^ne><>ihlfli«n;> A cotiftdbratton ti€rthe Indif* W ^^,^iit4^i^ahiilie^'<^k«'i[yiteci{4^ faaJve gtiveii aiien^ fibl«^aM'^6 ihi p^j^'tf {hdV'hkd>us fbmdfyfdanix^ tfi^MjRe 'cdhi^t!fy^mf»#«gli1^JeftaUiiflMtienf8. ' It win.in thii id[*^«Md4'^^i^ 'V^gfi^^t^i' Ws^fh^fo the^WeftfAitdlnitqtherAtlasitio Otean; referv^ ^I'^ij^t^ftff aal"ihi^ t^^c^ te^Hd dkefe «8 aii huntihg groQod'feicr ^e^ Wlairkis. ^ ' '1%^ ^ire^f -hdwevirv^ letairts it» > right of 'making '^t^ ehnei^ and dgrdements ttrith the Indians. This reftraint is founded -0n reafon and equity; but We cannot hdp obferving, that the neceility o£ fuch a rcftraint feenis to detrad ibmewhat from the force of t^ofe argu- Mik^' ^Whtvrt^b^^ i^fedttd prove the Talutfo^ our acquifition/^ romchia ciiterity^^'Abbiit-lft«1)*^ritt«ingrof die "Wttrv a map of the nlid^iettkw ik4ni^*^^'pixhWi^*fP*^>'Mit»haf^^ thefe back cduntfiel were f wdrld; ; 3n ^hiai pamphkt it waa }Mh^ihit>WtWi^mniA^^ -cxlient> dT'tiiintortty which even &iiii y4 ^itM ^W ^Wmik^Tm^Aittt sfiiefiiainiarefof the oounti^y was fueh*. ^atHafdFUt Iknd'beg2A #t^ Icjm^, affd^thnT'Ounftfttleinfenift muft ihortly^ tife/chedted' intf liiWittd^by ^fhii^ cJrttimftaticefsl // T^egriat! expedieneyv alMoff thi abfolute nedsffll^ 6f a 4W^^*«r' ex¥nt ,of foters 'trtritbrica there> ^^^ ti/gi:d tipori this principle ;'lkid^»nany'fcheme9'fcifittadeTaiidra i&i tfrere gfrounded ti;^it.^ 'Ic ts^irifible; thatfihe cxeoutioaof thefe fctietnei niilfllbd for k White >at4«^ilfii^pdflded. However, »tnrv cot im- jjrbbable that |)ai^ra1ar lritveablc land /on thehitbyer fide ©f the mountains to be much greater than in reality it is.*»'* • dmtuiii Reg^tVi J762, p. ZQ. "'*' -- . la V 7A2?,T SlCT.lVi il y/r m YAaP, I TAD IT I TOT // CO LO N I E S. ;<]tj III// vi'.r: ' •■•' r "-- ..-!)i';v/;o(ii//f)If.)'t'.iiUnf\o'jrT')l-){» c \?.ni\\d^\iH> /nM ttieifiHI pkcCir4a^f ppUpy^ if. venrde^^ fromicM^eripsLCta of our^ooxMkif^ittoilhfimx^ti thii^t very^Aime^ 1^^ i^imitntfiitAof Weft Florida \f Mi )e£lill^ih«d wAUitai^rintqittioa, p^}ji;f)j^^ ttttidtiin one-of thfltradsf^iftjthei Q«||t»tr]rrltofii>^9nfi(t(it;r'M]'^ fafi^iiiri::^aif^,: §1^4 ^^ othi^it igiM^^haft irt'iboti;a»itfaeaOuMf)r>igQ^ $De fti^ncPairwuycmtftkr world; of j«fhiohfm0il} hfrpaf^f^K^r J^ut i$ Ji>a7 ifc i^^ fliiltf W>M Fldrida-^as in poflfeffidnOf tbe-l^teQ^y>aaB«A9i()0f^th<^tp^ •«u.-lbi#si thecountny northitraikla^ as a^yripH^iii^ty^ii^^rA^ll^gr^Oji^ Bu'iPfMlSji who ifaewdrthdt tlie^ lbididi^(?Ni««fifilmi9rfmt)!i^:^i(^3^^^ teni thai! a«,i ekccpt the towftTotfjNwfiQ^ciiMV'WPifcM'^^^f^h^f^ tfy,' fwherc th^tqpfiheipal plantations 'i«rei\<* ri^hfr€|f0?eff:4W' ^&{%^^i prdvbti'iA^incKh i^nAiooe a^ thehithiirJ K W«(| Florida- v^^:pkfm^^ af aH tor >jpolitical motives rdattvet tortho xlearcoafty it OQl^ht Cj^^tfi^y^tiQ have been tupon the {dan (^the,to bate had ?i'.pf)r| f^ but alt dte plantations in the back caantey on tAKejirii^er. vihtos. fyj^^. nnlx^i •^i^Buvthvs'Wia not the onl^ poiakthk^fh^ ^t ' lAepdy imaginacy f for altibough' therptantiBca^ wore •kepifc^roi^i^tM^g behind the mountains, yet a chusxMJhrWvf^ prcfesved .^tougl&^tjbi^ heart of the whole country/ and jforts mueb. onore than defencelci^ plan- tations mdve the jcalouiry «f ^ tiM ih^liaM $ o prpof , ql?^jwhi(;bj t^ /Nitlipj: hknfelf i'u^ifhes; md with ; iiid^it is/ia jM^^ tj^^t^pta^y [ co^jtf a^^Si^^ former one I ififerteAteforovT-JtTT- 1^/Thedl^d«WfhWJiP!i4^inej| :f^hf^ confidered theifituactibniof)'lii»,iplftc*»^«f jftw^^t^i WCnli^ ^quiw^d % ?fJflr? queft and by tMatytittithaiitjcouhtby* \'^'^(^(radar chain, of f6rt^,^pc^i the fouth of Lake Eraei' whichi .fecured aU f l^e^ j^oinmunicationf^ , i|v;|i^,t^^ Ohio andi the Miffifiippi. trrW*! p«»0fefliNl i t^fi PfUfpitt Vfhiglviecflf^^,^ commtinicationjbfhlgheciaadJkJwer Atoflficain >W^^d dra^yn fM^^^^jOl fort* Toundmhe beft humtlng.bOtoitry %\zy ha4 mt" Now, J,^^^!^ defife'tokndWfWhCTciri we tot»ld;rt(^l?*'^^hjillvero(Fep4ed thp Ind^j^ J«^^^:^ tuuing oat their country into reg%tlaA,efiiabiy}m(<»tH> of! coujd; hay^ i draiWA! on n9 a feverer war.ithan enlbedupota thi^ »)a^rm they took atiOUr jforjst the feviereOsilndian war^we eva;)v««^e(ience(di!.!Mu(;h. l(qf|>jpaiou|)E -^j^^^ * /)» Pr<7/z' f///?. Loui/iana, vol. i. p. 52. A5« Mont. Mem. di la Louijiana, vol iii p. So. Ch^rlevux Hij}. N. France^ vol. vi. p. 263. Heirtra., Dec. III. 1. 8. C 8.' 13 b b 3 th?y / ' ^7t P O L 1 TiaAl^^^ as AY s. itkihV^in thftyi iuiTt takeq MkMieti^ihUf Itai;^ «xt«afl«iAfli«0fel«dii>^ fel«M^ to ' irritate them a& much as if eJiabliJJjments had attended them, which would ha««iMbpo£6if3biiiMic tfKifiQiaWimp4>itefl6eJ '^ jf tito tfndof ihUi^^tsi^V feiHknriai dotelnot a3dqnidi6)9tfaci«dMii^>irJchow'4K)» tilia^cftM ^n^v, onj ,?i But fuppofing it had given umbrage to the Indians, were we in the nainBMf:coinHnin^renf»>«0!gf«e«il|)iilfe aioft«na(iabl4iiitficiwtlf«IHai«ir4Iittedy > acknMvledtft dw4a0iiifo ttMiifS<ififUitti|i8|^1»ur4^a^ol9eaiQ|iiiiivv; tholoibwn^ fan»\i0xoig\!aiiaipT^Ai\^ Kkeeeratl^liodrcM tradcb^t ihoIuaftivoilicbiMJft^ i»i^lMdil'i^U"tlfi^ i^ouipliifili 2«Ml(ilift«o pinehidOT?-^ flief^Mit^tx^ta^oeidlilMiditft^tlM^fft^^ pbicMUfinv aiml repntim^9Bim&i6t'itf^^hiti^i WlUtte^'>^i*/i«fftJktr imeteAit^'tti^^^ kave to do in the cafe* is of little confequence, as I hatv^toved niiHt i«^«Xtl^»ady^ctettr ^th jre^»e€fe t^^fm^mn thjMF^o-tffove It^nethiii^ «iP the-«rfi i^^M^te^- ; - • ; ■ '^^ ■■^» .'■'^ >h^^i^^^^ •BWi ^i'^'gmhjm^ttiiklf^u^^^^jii^n^}^^ >}mi^mt»Miurt mere grSuttdfdi'uppftiHt^ifehti^fi'ejh Imd^ ^^dmb^'ik^^^ -^itj^Auifdi A» to ' Jelihm^^ ^f^' *lf» lA^mitmff^km6i, ^^m6HilrSekioM,**'^i^t. Mitchet ' ^ onl>^jferfeinhi^^<}tti^{^ihg he'h^^ there vta»wim^ matfr 0i^tlMPti^nA>'u%ii^tHifl ^d«Atilcrti|« <\M» kingdom had evepi«]t^itncedjiWhaf4oeB <^hij'%ritt^^'tt»fi»i bf hiihg^jujpwided ? He ' do€ir l»i|it^l^iisl^' Hj ^mUti^cf^ki fup^^'&it mAimn. libe fuf^enfion /jat^b€6A flhal'Of JIM ln^tilfe*ihkRfe^^adt4^6ii^ tdbsiddti^ tft-'tfher Very 'time wh«h theitncreiifing ntimberft'df^itf>^fef6^e rehired at 'qint^rapleitncre^fe of theii^ &ap\e. It h^«' beeli^ -thiif ieF the^xj^rt of Btitifh commodities. It has drove 'th^ptttple of th^'bolohiest^"ivhici eyery day grew more mime- reus, with'yjr«>cr mcbns of fupiport fi^Hi their land, into manufadtures. And this wtitterHvni'pdflibry agf^de,- tliat when once their rupeFnumcraries . '--, ., ^^tv/"* >'-^ • i. ■■>••?. i:-c ■ .^ , are I StfiftyWiil ■&'i^f^t 9 1*1 t.w$n t\i « ) 1 3rs' are;jb04tfliift)malxUfft£lurfr8}rif wi}i'flJ|iiiff»«iM»'Qth^)Bn£ai poUcj to sbir^.ii iFbs^iSii^^dr^io tte tl)hdiiiA[£aQi(Mlwsi.<{ ii, the want ^fximtnldaoing Aod^itqiMlwfibcltoi^ siid^chito fwticaHiul larly in the tobacco colonies, and thofe to the fouthward. aril ni 0'// 319W ^anr.ifjnl or*? :»J •j^E'tdrnitf nwiri bft Jt ooi)(%r^q(i\ t^fT Stifcsb iiivab Quiiifiyked ihttGeotgiAi -tMffmimftAt'mCarolutAi; :b>uir|r i havtfjnMftiivBth te> AQeouftt8r|)^,ithe «M)iiQw» of any .«n^ thotobiiQca fdhn- nt niefij«B([jagh'the]Kth)Bin0 ilr JmQiftiH>^iik>«(bit# (ttie ifoU^ntcflmtejciaiiclH} xvamuig>im^9iM9oni](SifiMM9iiQi «|iich^fiMii {aanidtiotfi ihikafvMijd^fi MvlbedTltDOSsaW ifiwMicOu^kJMiAMb^ftigrti;!^ vWmholeii} couBl*)s»lMidooieItJttfite €iHKMi)iett«ibi4A^ffi|i Q^^ |W5r vrencg littlig r«xperieiic^ m «h« bwfi«f6> iRPi;^ thUBvlhHiJe im»s {h«t iqHJw*^^ t tityrmigfct bei.fapQdl|Cfd4. .j i zn ,'j/mijjjDino:i ^Aihl 'io at t'llco aifi ni ob oi l!\ftiieiaiidTratrin« might likawi<«fl»fl p<«(l'MI)ail>it^(ey^oil)ieftftcQloi»bt:bl to thfbloUcf^pply 0^ aU t^f9^^^ifs^f€^^mlM ^>ftCiwWlfor,y th^l-^QpAii^Qid^s pr0d^«»Bt;,«f^(Jie»ijtlwo/ legiflaturc has never given any aMeiiUQp fc^uMvdry im^istiin^ jjojnt.rAi ?? many kinds of vines grow naturally in thefe colonies, it is furprizing that wes^tcre fo lOf»^«WJgl0a«d tj^rttt^pi^ngitQ/u^ytc^lfD^^ilil ^irtt from tbenceu v>>TI^^V«^"»9d*tyl«fl«wW t^W. i«^'eii9\^tb^thft|if»<'! ^«,o|^^^ tH mol^ftr-oaMnttgJ Afftodoi^jji^^g^K ,f$bfflft^Se^llQ^ f9i^ *fe«Pft ifl** >gU*istSt i\ re^Tofl 10 e}(pe4^ ;C^(i|^iii^(|l|fti4if»9yHb<:lifl^%t« 9Jfioiiif)C9toQie«9>w>(luUiio be:ft' difea ri)ml(l|iiibi9f OM£^fn!^^m?kii^ifer«^9hpirKxf7th^:C9m9*r«e.4>f Abn ». Fren^hi «n4'liKrtHie;;niilP|^it|^ theiteftf^Clftanf ibftttleSi ri A *iodetiir )i French wtotfJf i i:QlHp^Ai>liA4l.fl9Qr I^Jf^fe^ off ,iheif rtripes! to ^oignersy; f.> they igaiftA*wJlipnifft§rfif>il; f«i»»aiHfi I whjfll^ if(«»Qifl vthao byjilhe«r|>«rj(bnalin|?r{!/[itmj*ft§ftfif|<)dl|fef^§plt^^^ ^ft^^^ ■0?fm*^(4fl^imi^f4mnj be, kflewtl lit? the French ftnwee4 inthfi^atiemptstpCujilyili^mfekes'vy holly with ttnbacco • of ihflugTQHflh ofyjtho/foutheia pi}wii)peftifllJ'V^)c«|o iJttr.coJonies foe ,. thefeiWr-yifftWi p*ii rhaye bad the qffeif i«f,ft(^emMirn , ,^, cultiv^tifttg the- . . vine«« sfojufc ,th$^jliiu4%ye 3opic0i Ip? . Ae ,^B«fguragpmf nti f>f ;«fit^ wrtnu- " fa^ures, and commerce j but when we coaiiSer the greatnefs and import- ance *K*'. 374 U'jMU^'^'' -.-^/o !| ,,i ,( ,,r! POLITICAL ESSA Y9. E^ik^f. ^4< liamentlhi^gf a private ibciffty%^^,,,,j,,). ,f , ,,, .^v'^ , V I f , tkAiii«ntim« pam.of tJkfipcjpJftfHej^, YfW'J Ar jfMfC^^^ ai the. vine delights only ifi Ivis^ii 4?;y» W ftony foijj. , Bi^t, jn tl^e ^J^cJc parts of them they would th)^yf^itflcompara|>ly« Andin a^jotl^fr Dla^ he fays, that even in New England* he has known wine made whicn was n)iKh)r)>cKt«r,than New. Eng^*^4.f^p;^•, and jire^Vpn^d jfl^^ri^a^nto ^l^^^s gefld/WuLift»onit»"hJW ik^\\i»> iheqafc^ furely geafylvan^a in, j[l^, bad^ mif^r prodwc Sm^ » .WM?^ h H anptfe<;r P*%f % . l>f expfam^ ^1^^, wlm^ yet more. ** It was to fupply the nation with mk and winie tqat.o^e'^JQ- ' nies were firft fettled* and no part of the world is per|iaps more nt for the: purpofci! alwr ttWi wpodft ^re ^l^i^n^^i, . , AJlthpugh jjie, fq^ aq,4 ^cji^^ iw. i(ieryrfmg^4«^;wrti|»gv4f,V><^Ji^. produ^^^ ^et ni)i^||)cyfy^r9e^ and vines, are as it wa^-nf^tv|^,t9,;^iiemf,iXhat w^plepo^i^ii^em^ cpvcr* ed over with both as far north as Montreal and Annapolis iii Nova Scotia. 'We)l¥i¥C^lto&fteen diff/|!reqftfwrta of native grajf)cs^ber^»,t^|B lU^ieipfjWhLch growing Mfild are certainly not to be found in aj^y par(; or tjbe ^^prtd^ The ordinary forts of thefe in Virginia yield a wine fo like the pominon Bourdeaux wine, that it is difficult to diftinguifh the one from the other ; a^difiKynanotheriiortfoiiqie wiui? ha? been made, which w^a cpijj^a^e^ !?y good ijudges both' here and. there to the beft that is dranjc. ,(^hj?jf jfori yiddfwioie exadly like theJiibon,^ But, inftead of thefe they have' tranl- plaotf^ grapes from the hills^of Nprmandy to the maritime parts pf Vir^ gifua* and CapoUna^ where no oi^e^^ld j?3qpp<^,th^ to thris^e iiig^|^ .fp well arthey do. They ripen there i|:^,(he.j^eg;^|^ng. 9/^4 f^i^^l^ie pf ^H&uft? when noyone can expedl to make good wine ; although they yiel4 a very gwid fwine for. pwfeqjt dTink;ir^,*a|ffT th,^^, j^^jthpffl^ft, mfrgpizr for tji!|ir cUflftale ><(xf any gjape that gipws,j, i^9Mheii;,^^,it^;^be |ri|e ^r^yndy grapei , --iw: Whkh they go|. it §." •. ^^r>ot;her, wjjiter, w,, hfi li^qis drai^k,^^red,,win9i oflilWrefQFllv.pf jSou^Ji ^i;p^ln|^lit^l5,iiife^io|,tc^ ^H'"§l»f?i4y il^v j,n<; 'I 1 1 •ynKnicKwiiir/f ton of) Hjf/H; ,«oHrfn''-: ic'm/) ^'^hiloW '^'uliIj-) "^rt'^ijl.i ^Ck>ttaa 18 another M^ijti^lejBvVw Wprpaucedm A9 P^*"^,?,f W^.^'i'fPiW ? greater perfe^flion than in the foiithern coloniea : by ttie agreement of alt writers* hpw.iiprlj jfqeK?)^, t|»ey,4i%\as |p^ .^the^^^ppi^^ ^^i^f^et^in^^pvr * Rfjieeiiom «n thi DamtjUe ftlikj pt tper t» ht tbfervsd on the Ctndu/im tf a EtaUt 8vP. 1,7 63, p. 78. . ' ,t Page 20i). X P. 274. § Ibid, p, 269. '....■ J • I SiotWs Jiceuftt »f FiiiiJa, p. 66. .3 cclonies, Sect^.IV. mh'>Ah'\^xr 1 375 colonies* yet in this they all allow the cotton flirub tei thrive extelfentfy* and ^i^Id a cdttoh equal if nOtfUi^eridr t6 ihy fMLb^M*ir^)I#»tWtf thelef», trith a degree of that fupinenefs wi^lf^kh «tery tlhiil||4Miiftmur ing this Continent has been conduced* we have not this day fupplied our own d<^ihknj(i; hut depend Updn'tihe^di^^'dF'thb^Vint'f^ fo heeflfflr«fy'4n articWbf kihy of our mahutaAttfiaV'irhtf at^Mfv^^nffotne years to> grtell ' ftrelghts when ihat croj^ fails f* ^^^ td'tUiif'ltlftftftie' difference betwecHi taking it of a people with wh0itt We ii6 loii^ tiradd to advantage» Or of our totehy itii^icehftnge forotitniirtitiftaiir^ii','' i*^""'' -^ ?tiRrj Oxihi^l'iblil^^ril^ btie of thfe nioft imputhl9m< part* 6t 6iit cbl6hl68, that tht opuiitia, br pH^klypb^rfhilib, thrives' Q)d»^rt tan'^ttfly 'ii^'tkem!):^ • ' '• '*'' ''*"' •i *JJ'" *^^' vifj<^i/i p.- at.M a^' ..»-h>iii jyy . - - •' ■ ■•.■ " ' _ >M.v/ •,,;* to !ji;f[ o/i i)fir. .h"iM'>t :''iiM--'jw ,^oir We haV6 had hb direft accounts that ihaddeif^lWli'Btfih pi<6ductd!iiliiy* of oiir cdidhliii; htk that any quahtit!t Jjitch' ahd^tar, that have by ftkh\ means been broilghr AiBsif'to 'perfeafoii! »^"^ '-M^' v ^ i --^i v^'J on- ihv< i Even in the Weft frtdii'iflin34'thfc'po^«^'^f''tiilti^^«toh is'^t^ from bfcing exwndttl' to any tMnjtf'Jiki^ thfe^'W^adtU bf'foiMt might tKffi' Out of foUr millibri^'of atrids iii^s(tnkk^ii\bt 300,^00 are ctiltivated at all ; and vaft trafts^ 6f lahd lA 'thai!' iflknd iW^ 'be ' applied to vatfetisr articles of culture befides fugar ; articles which do not require fo many concurring circumftahces urtitcfdih'bfte fdH^'ti^'sL fiigar veWki <^^r ■ * Sw particularly P/ifeni'1State, % iift.^'t^pi^^'if ^WCltniS^i''^.-^' RffSji^ Hujbandryy p. 141. Poftlethwayte'i Diiiiimry, Art. Cotton and Britijh Amtrica. t E)totBitut!m of tht Comintrtitil PrinctpffS, kd f » 39. Muftum Rujiiatm^ vol.Kp. 44%. vol. ii. p. 117. X Ibid. p. 224. § Canjuitratiens en tht Sugar Trade, f^ 223. people -f;^ ?0tl^'l6kV isSAYS. '^fa. Mt V. w'^fqffmt vwrt Aiiicieiitlf cMoin|e4 to f«liW in the inltiid ^rtlT/'H^cCiAltx vKld oii^t thtn «> ttAk editi6% eocoti ooffe^ ginger, ik«i/tfi^pke» ihe 4yiM jwoodt and other tMngt which reqiiire no Ttft Uboari'mn ttM To .' biMFtheolome in carriage* tnd whi«h have aU a fufficient demtad^ at home |».«fi«of th^ ooMon from abroad* we ttiailc «mou- ii7ii|gM»e raifingnora of kiif lb«ie«od«rate piettiiiin. THe'wIllV^iaf- j^>4iy *liK> would oblige thorn lo Wf ett^iimenti on oo(!hhMA'« MHl vAri- ivioua other things, which we don*^ now think of» and whk h * Hn ' ^Ifaate , ^lioiild not refuiie. By degnei* and with good managemeMt) thbf iiTould imjpraveia the culture at mnaf of thefe article* ia'whiiBh'*' T'^neiiow , ddtddfre ; the careful would grow tolerably neh* and confiiMidbUlNirki :nJBf onanf vahi^bk couMBodkioft 4li cotioAt oochinfeal, and <««t<^ittdigo« iuy .yiMi attempted with fiiaaU caijpiteltw £>itcdpting the labour^ I d0Bl*t know •^dhatanT* of tfaefd requkv^bove'tipo or three hunched pbuhda to begin /loii^. /fio.that.whi|ftrthr great Iboks, and the land«odaer^an>piaimnonta(r twenty thoufand pounds^ or leA, pro* -Jcperl^ laid out; and Uie iflaod by thia means be rendered in a few Tears -v^tc^lim^ moreteneficial tDus» than it is «t prefent*. 1^ unrartu- dlatdiyjfuch ii^pottant mfut^* do not metc wi«I| ihit attoiiiott they fo .. „iM tuol'c-*^-) io {null) «l/ Kivaily<:^uirc. (ft ;, i 9\X #( poipt of. vaftly. .gfttiiar , cdnfoqiienae ithaa thd^, is the due im* iicfirpypQWtnt'Of . thoCii jicquiiil&aqB iwc rflr nn ientj wad' individuals jai^ totally unequal tocarryiogtelli a. |Mitnt&aior«iecutiont verir flight dif* f^ppointmcnt*.preienJiyiWcarybigioiiitbtiripatiekice,iimdIodot<*is/rearobittgbU^^The ^ i|ticu< nutmeg tree the fDulch^ wh6(^aU mUumflfponUvadt in that refped 1^ dco^ivcd, affirm to baVejfouiidtinrFobago^ It islre aifaiito of clQyM<«S4wclL«i cinnamon*. It ia-iaid^tofrowin Tome of tbe other Welt ^^ndia iflands. And general Codriogton hud o» the bcil ilr>alUil^ #feil .lUodpc^i atduBwn in itf prefeni ft»lt may be nMk an article of grnt t«Kie. i*;Xbie baikf when cured with cane, differs from that in the Eaft Indica by t ',beii)g ilaongerand more acrid kittle it is fraih* and when it has been kept ^ly^lipci^iMa 4tiiic* it/loTesahat pungenoy, aod ac((uires the flatour of cloves. ^/^Tbi%lia>#fiiBil«ty l^ fpica which the i^ortuguelir^callTncRHi de nMrdna-htti ^f,ii^i<,iftw\k'C0iulUgew^e % and the luXMm^ioneHa ganfattatn, . nTbrre ^■Uia vary confiderable fale of this at LiAon^Pari^j and tncnailltidy. ^This kinidoffpice is drawn chieliyfrom^SraatWandtke Fortuguefe'he- •Jlieptre . thai their . cinnamon traca ;iwm jtwynali^jbrbcgbr'frehi Oeylon ^)W)>ilei|iW«a4n (heir pofieifiontrbut lhlat,lhi9ng^tlle8lterat>oir«fribiif>and t^icHmaltf iriicy are degenerate(lr,(>ndo A^itSmp^ cf^ceivmi tkwmnj ifiiry ^'b«blybe inie. However, fridna'dhebrffTM' and: mtavber^ ier^reoia to ti^admiiol'nodcubt, that -the olnnamon troer^dua'lly!growing inr Tabigo • are the natural produ^ion of that ifland ;«iid':t'he point with us i«^ to koowviwhat improvements may be made wit)i refpeft to thefei^>Ita»ay vvfeema-^little new, but we hope ta tender *it highly probable, that Atrt^le ^■sdi^lecerwflHin cinnamon arifes from culture. In the ArfV places Selft^«ltt^> crcd, both by the Dutch and the Portugucfe, that there ire Ao itffiir^^aii ten different kinds in the iHand of Ceylon ; which is the eleareft etrictmce that this tree is every where fubjed to variation from the circumftances . «of foil and expofitioikr * It if n icoondly, «iiorwed; that even the beft, lineft, Ir^nd firAdifEBta^na flMe nf the Brazil and Tobago •htanrtaiAom«8 theitiee»muAl»!a(()eaii:&rc\in7ea;thGirprd^ It' is, t'thirdiyii^ jbfioiwediy ' idiat>the f^ii«ftlaiaki%eiVt dima^ ^/{tl-ee«'f4at^dolitiva1lidS')lieaiJ-theitie2^4l«ib^ mttumlhr^ tdvered ^vith' #Kite fcfqnd, .where tbeyldoD-penfedily Unihadcii? aAd'iJjIporbd-to thehotteft fdh ; i that atiii^c !ytar87©ld theyhegirirtoibark.'thebraiicheaV'bnd that the tree }ibftgP 4^^r^,Ce^Jftn;frt srh bib '{jffJ rxffir.fn amti'l ■)ib n'l ii fySlh c Jr.ffi jft/1 :hnr.(i rn lUjftK Dfl? eoilct oiirJ^di^pf oilf Ilii ,1b; t£ 3on ,.<> t'^^ i§fpj*^iiK>a tree* ip, ,ai p^c^iyf of ^^j^ilJi^tc3t>d«t iafii weottlltiwiire)«W«ij^di>t i?^V«r^ted to be «^f:Mlmjt{9^ i^^tmMAi^ ^^^^ ^^^}^'^P-'&i^'^''o£'. ipice in, or at leaft as it is brought to us from, the Eaft Indies. We ,o4nfr not doubt of the faft ; that is, of the nutmeg's growing here ; becaufe w'giindiit ^flerted in a book addjreflcd t(x JVJr, ije, iRgyej'en^ i tj»ca gosconbr of,nt'Q|?9gPf . . ;A l()i>AJJ vWJxo )M. ioiY^nlPd f f«>(li^feQO$Jllvjt^€ woti^ yf Jjp{ ftw^ ib^vo^lfee^ cU»fe^knQyfk^^Mi\^hei6^'jan fal^]^d,;r, /J.hA7«M*^nieg,rt|-^ tha^ i>«t|iuraUy grouts m.tbift(ifla«di!iajy ii» al^ pifpj)abiU^j;,MitrH(8, aji4ii|ij^y,nby(du«!^ar€ and[P$ip8fcJh»ni»nd»Kcd «s vftl^l^/ftPfaiMPftfg ;^<|his^^A^a|rg^fpvif,4ny vfiiei* efe.;. fbtiitbC finQureally ^lfe£lhem»ftn^iP^Wi^Wt|qatfgs{i;i ifilwiBfe are l^Rg4i) afidjMg#t?^,J|uvtouib: inferior in the flavour to the true nutmeg, and are very liable t£ibiefWQXJDap!>> eaten. The point is, to know how thefe defedts may be remedied : or, in o|^^r|q7G|F4si, wherein th« diifer^oce conflfts between the viriid» UfbldTs^ afi|^[pi(^^fif*j|iutweg, Sit)d,ihat; "v^hiich i»;;^^ aromatiq, ftn4 lolfficoiitfd! at t^-^^fi^ ]lflan4si and proceeds.) , Frpm, this fuocin^tf laccoantripft Ali^ (n»rl } turf ^Ofd Rfthod of cultivating thifis'ivalu^bkfpice, itwiH cejrtiiiolyitopileaif,!' th thp .^H^4:i»ut.i|fi|eg tree, MJt MCidled in To»? bago, may not be reclaimed and improved, fQ aft ^girtiliU^y to acquire all the virtue and odour of the true fpiee. There may, no doubt, many dif- ficulties occur, both in the cultivation and m tlate curing, butthie tigouit', the fagacity, the indefatigable dilrgfiic*} of Britifti.pjj^njterjh wiB^ wejjrii proj^j^ly^oyercorne all tl^qfe *.,'^, [^ fhp^jd prpp^(?4 ^ tranferibe jws artfwers* wjb^^are extremely fqi^iibje^ 19 alLol^fS^io^s ]X9>. itl^ei pf0^(aJ(tb£jt)«jaBi)O t nia(]ie, but the cxtrad; Ihf^y^ ^Irfivdy gi^'e^ i?grftwnftP4§/gBe*t'a ^iertgthj'/ as any extract, from awqrk nQtvplutn^npusb- ought j Lfl^all jb^t-tfordir^orfu the reader to the original, remarking, that a fairer oppoiitw.'ii J v;i^. y "' '■'■ , '.u,.r{ ion ijM<^ .c-.ij.iJo v(ij.;i> or, ^j-'iK) ;iri/i.: •.^'^^'^■''''f'^'»:^5:^-/39»;%* to i\ii :ilj tc:^ >iUi-u;ilonC! ri'>'-'7 Safcir./l^S^ .?^ Y ^cy3 fi OlU^Pt %i -^O'l m. ftfl)onfi5f9thtffetillima8>'gtv8^)u9,vih riC^ ldJtei!mi4itiititi^hitinm!^mi\^6( iMM^i ^^©«tT as to 4he diligence of BritUh i)hht€i«* ijifficfork, they'>^*4U^ effedt it in the fame manner th»,y did the making 6f jiitch and tar;-^^t^ is, not at all, till the legiflature takes the affair in hand :■ Not that a bouhtjr/ijfufficiettl'j-^^ibirtof tke tfliftttB'cif'ptbdtfc an endi 'fi^me- thiHgiiteirrdllifmiVI)e 'feidf iuitittoth'i^iplia^.'' i aMitprefent only fjpiiakiil^i cf^ifeSf^r'tKid k^k ^ittiii otie^^'tWdt^tMd ^j>eriment lias not y«t l^fetd^ made.oW .f^'^ibnl ili,^ :>'\i ,i!ior\ «fj o1 h\j,\ih)ul f; 'i Ai\ Hoji hi Vi ,111 a:ji(/l (jF.o^d J 'ji3fl gnrwcn^, ^ ccfla«lynJla!h8'?f©iifid'^ pleotyf of^ bbttteil^;«fi{0(byn«itrt^fttf"fu<*HJ^liah^ rendeyedidtoL'->W£Ji'>'^i3'''^i*^ '^^'^' f^pi""'"" 'J*^''!^ •>ilJ f>J luovfitijdj ni •loiialnl i^'nn'tjno! Th^i^^f^f' dfcf^, thst # JiftVJng'^e'ifiAfealWsl 4ftd ^ihTntt<5t>fnafddic« in their' tm^ultivafted ftatc, i* a«( ftratig^Utttfuri^Htical' ft ohe^a^'iMfHM^ could;^e^toftceivetfJfeecaufek^l thfe dtpeftice'of tdkm^h i^ sdread^lferfiife'tit^ the natidri inf tl'vil cftkbliflimentfe irt ^thc!m, without a^y of tt\«i' ^^doi^ififf'fc^g^ ^ The high ttieky foil of the 8Urifryi «'j'''''^'a"''j>''J^ '>'^'"'^'''^ V • - '.••••• ''•i^-'^ ;,. .:,- ■■; Mi tin 'rrjT;r>'}o brtf- «u1t'7 oih The Bahamas arc "rtiueh ttftbfeclonffia^VdMel'' Al! accoimts that wc linve'^ had of them rttiddf their ^^aii'feWHt^ tifybiid a'ddubt ; and the cxtt'aor!*^^' dinary flavdat'^ tMr pit^e^a^^d,' ^ttd'' oilier ' fMtaheous fruitfe^'^'hifcH'^ far exceed-4hy' ttthefti ki' thdt |SArt^^tKe World; adtled to their clit^'ali^^ which lis €xf(S€iCiyely faVbUffrble, fend'iie'ife^ rtdched by the leaft frofts; lealV^i" upon the wholbi'likle doubt, but thhtfugar and all other Weft Indkn'.^ commodities might be produced in them in great perfedion. But, notwith- ' ftanding this, we hAve fettled only Providence, which is not comparable ' to many others, and not planted an acre even of that with any thing but mere neceifaries for the ufe of the few inhabitants. Some of the others C c c ? are m voLnvhAi'^k^?^^^, iMk'FW tlie jrJQlmefa and 'ftagranpy (i^ *iifife'.HfotintaTiebus growthSi"^:fBy'jiiikrii acroun'ts^even; tiie' %m6ui^'tMii 4rfJlf^do^ 'ndt exdcfeil foiWg ef ^*»i:4)«he'. {)eQjpI,e a^re in danger of being frozen to death for nine months of the. lean fcarcely pr0duce bread to eat the other three^! ^^c i^fi ^'i I fnlidii anCai^Vnf wiSi^t %9)|>t the i:3;md^iem%\W/\i'U)h4m '^kik-m^'ittikmX that , j^^ ^oi-e; U'i'^MM inferted r ' I ' lA^ iliU^Wife^bc^ a^We3'^birf,mark,'i^at Inthife'ch'ciimftanccs relatiVd to^^ur ewit policyi, atqjS^ %pm^ regul^ {ittdh^rif nMbhg'dattV^Wr tbdrea* a|rrmiy"terie'ir'^^ thiur4)«A tdlall^ ig^p|S?^,';:3na?r^tK^^^^^ ij^^p^jjTucj^ i;eg^lations ^j^i^^ to'bfe wdndered^ th^l a jgeVfejt wlio give^' ni$ atteht^bh to mcfafures alon*, fhould fbe lunablo tOTjepoUqa; ^ilje 'dates of itft^^' riritiift?rtal Changes that haveM|>pe0-fjJVm^iK .fIMoW;'i(. ijiM'l-{j«^ ..^. :..^^^ OOP alad: Under this head it is, in the firft plac^ neceflary to give t(he reader an idea of the fertile trads of land on tWe.r|iy,vf'jliao ■yilj io ciifJnofn '.>njn ml tUr.^f> ci rrr.-n-rf ■;jnv\ft,'in -"y^'i rw »- n^'r^ The foil on th,^fbigh Jaaas is 'y^rj*^^^?*/!, it is a Mack llghit mmPS about three feet deep on the hills or rifing grounds. This upper ^alth lie's^^l* ttpOllifl(:rQ4(i»^ flte «W;4rp^6^^/>A ftiRj lli^ J^P,^!tft JPja,'gr*pga Qak^yaiMd ojas^j^vyft} aoatH^ ^ritef^jfji J>JttEthtAro*i?»i nativjct Fiench coufttuy. mingo " The ground a^^nfily) Wiwe roadq Qnet:t-j^.^y^,rjic^ thriye§ to ^rea wlttooiH [being planted ia.ja. f9*j;0}fj9r jTyjrgijnj^l.^. Jvinei a^^ for 500 leagu^^ yp thJllmirtiJ)-atfm cf tht CMnies ' ,;4 DhPiiiiM^- ^i-f- ^•'•'' ;-^^ '^'*''' §§ '^- p. n.iK'iM : 1^ Pre/intStaieypi 248. *'-' thela: POLIT-^GfAtfT ^S^^^A^S. 3SSJ8-Ayr:^^ Miflilfippi and Ohio than was in all our colonies. I have juftjtuii^thEoilglti thefe circumftances to (hew the reader, by way of contraft, the country we have.jiai\^niiLtd vrith,ll»rtl we ifj4fvti\imt; -aadchatadlerized the)0tifljftt5rn the7?{wr^, av»th)Qi^Mfi worU^ ,ip( vhi<3|^! )ipe¥£t(Stlty^pgi>eeA(§k):; Butalth^i'^jfana aBi^cKliAeiv6kltii.i- colony^ yo^ enter ope «>f the. &Qie(l lad h^alth^eiliin thetutiiver&f atid|A-e<^'' <:ifely;funr. ,notf .qmorl ,()'joi^do V No!«r.Jhe.:f:)?|i5k^^yvl^HcVtl7^^ fe'ttfti' «ven fettJIngiai^g^'Wunti^lbltd v^hat ftbe iFrtttclt had beg^n ^loiifetrleJbe'*' fore i fppvk WprOpf ofiwiJ3dr:degFee o£ ntrthJaliiiuiiev^Eiiid'i caftward ^\i?0^d^|-e^$,*Qi"( longitude from its wefteirn boiindaries^'iand'^'* taking it^Jq latigc f^ <: there w^puj^ l)(gplentyfj of country left neverthelefs for the Indians i^^hnw that trsi^i as Itfcould not 4/^ be> near wanting for many yeafsv ht^dm^i tef ^ firft be pu^chafed Of the Indians; (where I metin thef rendi had not bdtrgtK^^ before ; fpy f»r to the north of Weft Florida tlney had* add^ confeqii^ntl^'i our right to i( by the psAce took place) but '■ hyi 4dgree9^: tts' thie fettldfljent^ * extend* . . ,•/ y. c7i>l \oiaO xdT " .rnaiiJ finqi, ..-jimj ibj-uiuJ jid/noi;- The traA of country on Ae Ohibiisj^anfevery refp6£l:(i«ff estcelient is fhit ' •wrhich we have defcribed^ or, if'^ Aijea*tend to th43:aGcon»ts=of obi* 6t*^^^ people who have traveled it, JiiN bettu'i A -part of thi« country, lyihg ' on the back of Virgima, Maryland, and, l^ennfylvaiBjias w^s,;^Jt^at;jOur colonift$ i^intt^^ fo muqfci to ppffe^s . before $Hp , jj^ft , ws^r* for i-oultivitirtgi tobacco, bempf filk^and flax inj and we caraidt fuptodfeTthat'w6uld'4ia*«'e^' § " It is awrptched countiy (uHpartferdir) fays Charlevioik ,- - aai.T^.mtre bsTKnuWn^ on a flat and bleak fea ceaft— -the h& place on earth where dne vroaid^ expsd i to meet with any mortal, and above all with Chriftiaiis.'' Hi/f. N. FrAuti,^ ttoiri. vi. J). 863. S^rt- /ent Stattf p. ig^. -,i_-a i..; .,^; j.-(<, ,,.• ■^. .. , .: .■.o ; w;ij m bjiii;) ^Vm(i /jrii Ju.-ji '* n ;!ut' .'..^iiv 1* *j3ri .ri moi! 3:;wrtH:!.'/i •3'c(i;jii;v t oniojor) vhiont vi.ai nvX 'ij >-v •» .5 been S^ti. I^.i '^^'tkf^th^t-^iJ^^^oH z^^ lairdJfJatilxoineliiiL '-''"-' ^ ^ ,^/ji/ioi'o -n/o ilii m et// ru.n.oifK/Lnfc iqqTIinTiM :S«itiia«je the'tni£k» of cbunnry ;ftoiifwm^'Jf« BfJdaik'by^ th^ jifejici*^ iTiSjiKibdit! which, by themoftiunatocdiihtablrftfelteJ^.^lhV'harthdfe^^^ fd'* nwike;riojiifc:of» at.the ver^ «ijAe!wheti) {jhc iwaritfe ih^th^ t;wbllld ^ feotrfroBi tht nfiwiixolooy tcx ^e&iFkiridS^Jiiftl 'yfrc^j.^el^Jnt^^td^l^^ f iowliji/Jainiiciii 5fc. nradi cbeapervabenefiqfi|iB*'flii'"b«^r Tdrt-d^^^rrtj^fe!; ha»; cv^r /tecnitjpne from i Neiv4¥oVk,ir k: great aAd 'fpdigif'tiidlh^M'fy:' afforded irom thence for the rcdu^on of New-jOrkansy the flaViiiiiklii;^ 8cC9frrrtn-artd aB t^^filkf, flax, ind fuch- ligHti and: VahiafekfafHi^lefii'tffey^' WQuId, b«jj4onvcyed from the new xui\anyihy Afk^ttArid'kk^ carriagehtftiFwt tumberland, and frcm theric^ fev -watfeiri dowrt tfitfHVAl'^.'^ pQ6cpa4k*(tof Alexandria. The htenrp iamd' irob fpotti ' Ru£fia ' afffii tt^nfi^J^ poi'tefi l^y a ittuch Iqnger, more expenfive attd difficult inland navi^tibl^'i" ihan;^hat'o€thie Ohiaai^d)3M^filppii, w^ilh^the addilioii' of a vfe^y kkJhft"' derable land-carriage upon them. " The Ohio," fays a very ingetiifc^^^ writer, " as the winter Ihows are thawed by the warmth, or rains in the ,*' fpnng,! Riffift ift^vaftl fiopds y/iwfame' ^ilaicfei DdxcBcdJAg; twenty fe^t' \nt **• l>eight,) bat f«recflovting;'it Wigli and upright bank^."' « Thef^ floods cooitiiflie of fjilic height fotrt/At^j/^^^a tnorvth- or tvVo,''tie'- MP the Ohifilatyd Wl ViiffAJoeili-Wnanirgi^^Mitl^'AiPt^is'^f'iiV^' TaJtctf M' fepPioS^. D Jor^j3|D ^sfthe^fcai 1746, 800 thbuf*Ml'V^^-' of Adur was, in one winter, lent from the llliBois to New Orleans. t The: nmnfigBi!iuof> the contributions) far • prom rtting the cakWB of JUitlh 'Permfytvania, reprefented tet'^he Gtmeral AficmblyoJ that province,, iS September 1 77I-. « Thai; tbcy ijiaiwj h»d the pleafivfe to ftnd the fhil artJ) tUtfut^ cf the prbviticfri With the *■' fpirit they have raifed in the people, lb favourable to this now aticmpt, as 10 fencouragc the w profecution to a much greater extent, by which it fc-cni3 high|jj^ pf()ba\:^l«;, th<; article of' «' rowftlk miiy (hortly become a valuable remittance from h. nee to G »*• nv-'ntof the manufat^lories wc receive from our. mother-tour/.iy. Jreat Britain, in pay- K. ! POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. ^ ing guided in the time Dy tne late'or early breaking up of iHe winter. ^_j;'*'. The ftreain is then >tQp rapid to be ftemmed upivardx b^y i^lijpg or -** rowing) and too deep for fetting; but excellently fitted for largp vcf- f'i- ^j. ,^. fels going down } .then i^ii^^ of loo or aoo tons may go ffeom Fort Du *i^^ Qjiefne (now, called tortpPUt) to ica, with fafety. Hence in .j^rocefs of ^.. j-^jS^ie time, large fhip? maybe huift.'pn tl^e,Oljio» and Tent ^£f tofe^.mj^tih the .^JS^vy iprodiK:e<)f-the^»ti;^'j;^:^^ ^.^ou^tud^yi^ ^nk^ , , " As to the t>enefit8 of extending the ^mits of Weil Florida, and Ib^m- ;j-:, ing a new colony on the Ohio, very little here is requifite t© lie ipJCjrted ■<^ 'upon a point which all the precg^ing, pages fo fully expldtu: Jn the (,+,prcfe^t ftatepf.qiwoldopcs, manufa.qh excellent lan48ra,&:are wpon, the jy^, .)\'lifliflippi apd ,Ohio. : . . Qur- . tpbafl;^^j|fejput(pF employment for want of : land, and adually petitioij^^ for l^^„Jp^twel^.might*/', . "The inland ^^. parts of America, fays ^r>(5t|i^r, are w^l k^ow^ tc» l^fitted fpritheprodu<3:ion IjI, of hemp, flax and Xil^^jf^'^,, ji' Si^QhU^^i^ ■^[^.iPvi^j; Evans, li; 26, 27* 'V^'T-'iiC Ybli.i&'?5«itii 3tf \Jib h:di t>Ux«ivK| ytftunif^ ^S/v % I he late cxtenfive commerce of our merchants and traders down the Oht'oy proves, that it is, at a!l feafonf, navigable tor large boats of fifty or fixty tons burden, and that fuch boats can tafily fl/cT«i it, txtept in the time of freflie", as lue/igr/y aml^uth¥uu/ittii»di ^ner&^v TO . b'ow up the^ivct; ajid.a very ,(enGbl« engineer, who, a yej:jf few. Jfe^rs^^o, e^plqred the ,, ,j Oiiio andMiffiflippi, fay.a, Thatgood roa^fimay be made ontli^^ly^k J)a«k§ of thic^pl)ipi as ^6,{,4h.y ?re not i^tj^^ to,«M/7ibI»vofl.i. ^..334. ■ ' ;>.,^ _p%7\ \u <.j in-nwu lllw .- ^nf\in *<» .^rii.-i .,,§^<;tmW ■•[(• •'•fti ;'l r^'' COLONIES. S^S and'Ohio^ Oiys^ third $, have a natural nioiftufc in thcit, Vihich is tfis ''^.VcfyToirtiha't both liemp, flax, and indigo (Jelight in ; and thefc are the ** tjiij'^ fi/Rcomwodities that the natron xvs^iits from the colonic*. Upan ' iujcft lands, hemp and fla?c may be ma^e in quantities, as a ilapk com- modity to fend to Britain: whereafs, on the poof latids in our colonics and their fmall plaatationa, they can only mnke a little for their own ufe. The one would be the greate^i; fervicc, when the other is a preiudice to tEe nation. The climate lifccVife is as fit for thefe commodities. Here they might Cow hemp and flax in winter*, which is the only proper feafon '• ' for them in any part of North America. This would afix)rd tiine for ^^'^Qiaking another crop iq^fuminei*! which fli,ooo/. a-ycar; but fuppofe they make only oi^e hatf bf tliis, it is as much as all our colonies in North America now pro- diide. Sy thefe means, the nation might get the trade both of indigo, nemp, and flax, and fupply all Europe with thefe commodities, as we now do with tobacco; which lafl: thefe lands are as fit to produce, and in much greater plenty an(| perfection thjfin any other part -of North Americta. Anid when our tobacco plantation^ ire^orn oeft, there are »o lands to fupply their place 16 atfl th^'Britjli dcnniiilont butihofe oil the Miillf- l^eeing, theref6fethai^{hfe mPjtofcd'enlai%eraent of Weft Florida, and ar; ?! ' '' ffie ertabiifliment of a, nt^ toVplif^bii the Oluo, are notonly fo valuable in ' '' tlieiiifelves, but fo pcdilisitiy n^cOTary to 1 uAi this nation at this time, I would l^Ufijibly propofe that they be jimmcdiateiy!flMdop\ed'5. And if the whoile 5 Jf the «xpence to tHe kingdom is broueht as sLn argument againft filch a meafure-— lanAver, the ntceffity of it "is too urgent for any'exj^eilce to plrevertf* For want of it the fluti^s upon tobacco alene, to mention no other art itl«, ' Will fliffer rtiore in five years than the expellee will amount to \\\ fifty. But there is a veiy e«fy art ratiottftt metiod of affefl^ ing it, without increafing the public e.xpence a (hiiling i JiMktd ,nere thaa on.' : NovajSco- , tia coAa tbc natioii, to this day, more per annum ihaii the amount of any of the neyv colo- k' i\ rfiV Odd nies: V 386 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. There c^rv be f>ci.gf;e^^ jp^opf, pjT ,t^i^ ,ttf^p th^ f:cpe!|tc|d^gttitiqp» frooi nil part^ pf thofe colonie,9^;;fof,lj^y|e:j^)^?p[^^ and ;li9 wjany thoufancl fa^ll^^s,"^vJlo.l^aye^c^lpvedto^land!^tJ^ only rivals we )^)]fJB ^^H M?i iT feft R'anUtiqnfi i^^v^ ,jj^de k;)?^ advantage till ourtf were worn out, which was th^ real ana only cauie of *^aA«iQ,p99hpgj)ie.ads*, which quantity ^^^ in,ight|w}ili('gafeat cafe.a^d i?.9W'p''i^%"'^.^%'^'^» ^"^ when they wereprtQp ^94i^;*^Sflff*or^^l ,io9^Wpf^^ ^m}?^^^ faig^^t, ,aad 4^r we :fe. g.^^P'* ^o, the pJdiJ^Mii^,,^^ ^^yai^^^ *^ J^oi? ]mk yrhicWcemed ~A1 bluov/ -^lijfuKj to iiaiUiiti ,s liiii. j/.ycii; )£/'t itrd KJifob on Dd hed ':.i3rrr TraiwferthJs expence fo forming the Oh« colony propofed above, and thebufintfft i^ niifchievous on?^ sind in the ftiad flies : dorib : that is, withdraw a ufelefs barren expence, nay, a tfrtrtW (ii^itA kiWi-ia^off Be'ntfiefljtMatitJttiil'pWrpofci' *'^ tries Sect. IV. tries i& carried on without the leafl prejudice to any other occupations *. Bt th^d VaHbiis mfeans iWdxiiWimmT^^^'FWm'M^ l&, ijtji^ing the adyantage df ajcK a_|ti^h^fM^l'.4f|f^dtcf, and Uw rithtft 'mim^aW cdktAon neciflUHfe^ that cd^titferjifi oh ah averige^, Wfiich i A'/i *^Wal^J ' The Wpbrtlainee • bf xlvhich, tio feritain, is very evident. 'feoiints mai»oui^iinl{iortati{ih o]f hemp and dax frc^m Rtiflia tii^isi^iiifteirdf bcirtgbiifdiafab^ <"''^ bj .>lui;o vino [mm, h-.-! ■•'^* t '• /I:)!;!'/.-- ,iao r mow )i'j7r ^-iiw)' U'a 3;^j;inavfj,'. ^^%«i'fco^l6j^^t,'W'BUfanmglte^^ ' m it4s predfdy by MKtUiitit^tmm^tiMhi^^^ ^rfnirfaiaure* to fuch lengths': fdch 'fnd^i*a^erii'g'the oijly'pfeoplfe^i ajiV cduiitty by whdm manufadkures' citi b^ tartitd on. ' The 'htiittiVdiiri"itffe hands at prefent icattered about tf»^r^^tirth6ai cbJbnTc?— aH thbreTii^iBld^ who wanted to be til^ritt?^si' ^fidip'dhldtiit^ ftlf freilh E^ds, M'j^WlbdBly lib iivcbnfideralile htrinb^ 6fmfe^W-M^^ ^timclW'btx •"'^-^^^"— .v'Wbuia'pt tfii'i!Sun^jt;M mmiomi^'fmid'krim. tndh^ftidur^s Vkft liurobei-s ._,„._ ..__,_,. yw^'^withfeiie tye.6bia' ^_^^...,. ^_.., i%&ibVa'rfa%tewti'*!fypeHbf'p'^Bai'^'W'^ There can be no doubt but that above half a million of people would re- ijisA til • S( i1 f.i bf eemore 6 colonic}. •ono -jio '.•■>! (!•?. if (1 .'; (,'/;.. i ,') nietiyrj ri-jritri i-i'ilaljj 'i wj.ii)dji/' -.j,i iki!} ■ jno-' I thele articles of hK,a^yl,\y:40ii^,r.|V^9;i*i!?oni'!P :|0' W "^H W toljapco ■t Pcftktbwayty Ait. Naval Siortt. ips .q ^'Ai>\Z xA\-i-\\ ' Ddd 2 move m. POU^T^ipTAfe .fft^AYS. Bis^flr-V: nuWbrii/iflo hot tonnuer the haturre of the plan(^pg buTinQftMiltriVnflrica'. Good land is the firft and greateft neceffdry for which every thing is lacri- yr^^nWitficOcftfe, is pefipWrtillyiJrenndv- " ^jjtWte^iM9ht R*K»gWii«f the fettle&mentA ag^rt!rlrftoW%1ckiy beop^^^^ An^^jc^.vyciinds ^ifoil ntofcwithi- ftMi*if'^^lf'^!fc ^^oim«^^^^ 9^p,Jp)ers,p.f.ba^,f0fcllld«A^ g^Vi'ilo;;^t'!fi ^dnafcterlf tl)du AliSg^'inbii^ritrfiii^ on' liie-6jlicjA-T~M/haJl),, therefore, might not.bdresf- ' j^^mi^mS^m Vegulkr eitaHiiftimentl ;wh^^^^ t^e people woijl'd.,rajfeirim" hi*fid>lia^(^d m^V^in 1^ any pMot.fhcix old fettlenients ?--Tf--Nor4»'' it ■*'• 9^ pTi(qe,ifpr ;^he commodities " vfijr^, ^jdpfp ^hef;C«fe iwtth " ,1311,1 the, pUmery with'a " iQcefiairi^&of Jood Cbr his " 3p:^ ■ 4poiwi4 to "> do ' that be* * ,-je}^prq{]i^9p/.,i?t,f;eve?»_yliflav€'!orM! ^'^RrQlof/? .tWeibi-eir; HifffreigiWHj howvihlich) 1 tkefe nia,p^^>wrd$ hndit alon«^, \Y^ij,<|h i^tc alwayi^Ki )^.ijUei^tly no ^plfi^^AT (^il t (tuiin.y&rrmf^i ; ^ iV., till his land will no longer beat a ftaplc, and he knows not Vvlicr^,tq gf'tja-ii); mope tliat will. V ii^\ * fee. . x»iiLif •fc)* -q ^\ rt^\ Nor « h\uo-rT Sect. IV. cot ON I E S. 389 gdfadihmcl'i^ 'fettled, (TOdHll^jillg are'ptofitabteV'i^""" e pycry their i»arrtife«%iHtt^'h^e *dlcW(^^ Wi^^' ^al^^jf %^wii^e,jtfwt^ the fp^t}^- nwnt of the li^^pofcd trafts wbuld'w of in^nii;t|pi^t^^Mj^4^ {^l^r^thi^^rpj^- nuftdliirrt of thd colonic?, 'and of wSdij^i^uB beiem to mitaiii., , ,i,^ " -perhdp* floflcfs tfhah fhtrtf thbuftniJ TabbHrersifeavebfep'^m^^ "vt'histproViilccSvitWri^ theft t\V(^tV ^eiM'i'abour cofli^nu^ i^ d|5a^,f^%p "^cvcIK -fn fint?i by rchderin^ th6 ii^aii? of piffc^l^nglancl^ ** ' the pooi*, the domintohs^ of the (irbw\i arp ' ^rerigtjhened /»nd ex;pn(fc4 jf ■ = ** the Britiih nationT^fur^i the benfefit of its raaniufa^ories, and incr^a^^., " the demand for thi^m'^ ' f6r* f^ Ha^i^ ' , - -r T -.,--tmer^. With the trad^,Qf-, our motheH-cbtrriWy ;V»^^'To' '(fbnjliia^^^ jnt on thd'0j5/^%ie '^uff /Ijif tcjofc fbr herijip'a^^ ; as fuch greatjw"; niunberd 6f ^t1?e old'A^i^yKkit' faV'h^^^'.fiave removed and fettled t^riei! i which ■J-i-^;2i--*»i^'^ Ic^L-'^ii-'i-'j-'Cii . t;LniJ.ti.:'Jii._ii':i-' 'A—L _i j.. _l.'^_ ' ' enabJi- be-fcultivated to'the' Hi^'adtaHtag^, M^ fnahy of ^hpfe hills contain qjuaf/r^^x'. rieis of ftow^'f,* h'lld riot in the \6w iinhealtHy fea-epafts of opr /"rif/^w/;, cok)nie6U' '^Tb 'tht5lc aw fhouJd brnlg the fet^ler^ fr9rj>.Eu^^ pr atjea^, . (( ment l*uffer> r. /fi'/ i Du Pidtz, vol. i. p. i64. would m POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay IV, would itiCTBitft idi thofi;|Mipt8» v^eccit la bur intereft th^y ihould increafe ; and the report of the fettlers from tlvd i«dw icoloiiy on the Ohio would be a confUnt drain of pco|iltt from our UnproftaHe aorthem ones, by which means they would, in future times, as iweH as the prefeot, be prevented from extending their jnaikxfaAusei'*. It Thefe are iinaU gaiW tf th^ ^nefits lafKieh iwbiild rcOiltl to'Bi'itaint from fettling the tracts of land propofcd; and .y^t, great as theyislreiithey may be completed at a very fmall expence. v..',v-!oiu f'"?i." ' ■ • nllM''-- ■ '. ■ ' ■ ,: II. Furchafc allfiub StapUs as the Northern Colonizes can fupply ; and fell the manufc^ures of J^tain foc^ajp tbrou^hqiU fhemt iii,,4s ji^n alt . their fiwn J^amffaffurei, ,:,^^l ^\, .,j f.f,,', .- ,jV;,. fv^Wr'i'f Wr'to' .•-:•:; . JtAs weU kflpmA vith what unremitting diugence the inhabitants of the northern colonies have now fet about the bufmefs of fupplying them- (elves with every thing which they formerly took from Britain ; Aich an increafe of thofe fabrics which ferVe their home-eonfumption muft inevi- tably be attended with a parallel one of thofe which work for ex^iortation : And as this fpirit of manufaduring comes at a time when fuch numbers- of their peop4e are without employment, and co-operates with f.^ many cMher circumilances, it highly behoves the government to take fuch coun- ter-meafures as may e6Pe£tually prevent the mifchiefs threatened to our trade, our navigation, our manuiadureS) and reveniie. Let us fuppofe the preceding propofal of extending the limits of Wefl: Florida, and planting a new colony on the Ohio, executed ; great as their effe^s would be, yet they would be infufficient to anfwer all thepurpofcs which our prefent American affairs require. It before appeared, that the people in the northern and tobacco colonies amounted to i,ioo,ooOi Now, upon the fuppofition, that the jaew fettlements took off", as 1 before faid, 500,000, and that the northern colonies furniihed 35- ,000 of them« * Thofe authors who, from their Atuation in life, have haJ the bed means of undoubted infoimation, have all, in treating of the colony itianuf'adtures, dwelt upon the necefllty of not checking their fettlements, as the fureft method of preventing them. ** Let the extent of their fettlements, fays Governor Pownal, either by polic-y from home, or invafion of liidians abroad, be confined, the price of labour will much (ooner ceafe to be an objedion to manufafturine there, than is commonly apprehcniledt" Jdminijiratim of the Golonitst p. 199. *' All the penal and prohibitory laws that ever were thought on, will not be fuffi- cjent to prevent manufiiftures, if our people remain confined witbiA the mountains." tnterejl of Great Britain confidered, p< 17. t Hemp and Aax alone coft us 400,000 /, a year to Ruffia* ^' • • ' 4 yet Be Sect. IV. COLONIES. 895 yet there would remain 750,900, a nfiiy maicer nilhiber than the prefent exportation of their ftaples can nearly maintain ; for 98,000 /. would not niake4MlL>a ..edi, inftead of tmaam^KfS^^ bdferefvaairicedtlKf DMuU do, to jr/. and if their imttker i» tiiloiva in, Ae amount wiU ^ttlM a very trifle. Not, howerrer, th^ i thidk ifrifoflibl*, 4ii fo TeryuiiliiVoiif- able a climate, to procure ^atfim that will linUy'paf ftr mamifiCI«ir«ti the mod that can be expeded in any fcmft ' mi»ilfa6tufe all ihek ckmiha, &c. in their own Dumlies, and fix4 eanaot be prevented; nor it it near fo reauifite that they (hould u Iht feft» whieh «re, properly fpetkiog* munufaiiories. Now the pdinther6 is, what ' liro'thi .oonniqdMef ^hkh^hii^ intlioii wants and purchafes of foreigner* i6t iiioiwy, that theie'nordiem ebk>- nies can yield us in exchange for our manufadorr» f> ■' «« " Theft -trri^, deals, focaihes, and madder. ' jHn>if\'s\mi terfw ♦ft/'w iw-: ■; -v •! tl * Foi jfifr^^^oiood Potalhes let us l,f U ^j'sxj'tf^. y4(OjO/j<^ This is the amount of 6nr owa»ti«i alone | but if we «v^ carry the point to fupply that, we ihall undoubte^^ dio greatly more. Portugal and the Mediterranean alone oonfoaic in uon and imported timber to the amount of aboMe 5oo,ooO'A which trade Ufa more advaa« tageonfly for our colony >piodiilbiiWn(forJkiife'of!«iy other nation, it wmdd be no imppnbbableluppofitfOB i»export it to- the nortbem colbnies, manufadured into fail-cloth, with as little expence as much- of the hemp lies under novr ufed by New England, &c. ■ If Britain builds annually 40,000 tons, of fhipping, (F am onty ftating: t fuppoiition) this, at 3 /. \os: per ton, would alone amount to 1 40,000 Z a year. Nor can I' fee why the northern colonies fhould not build for all Europe. The building tradie might eafily be carried to the- underfelKng 1^1 other countries, and efpecially when the culture of Hemp and the working the iron^ mines are carried to perfedEon ; for then there is no country in the world that will unite all the requifites for building cheap fo completely as our colonies in North America ;, and that at the fame time while all the benefit redounds to Britain alone, and without there being the lead danger to her from fuch natural advantages in them. The danger would be great, if we at the fame lime fufFered them to be traders and fifliermen ; but I laid it down as a rule to proceed upon, that trade, fifhing, and manufaduring, were put an entire flop to among thein. 'i^-'- Now, the trade of fhip-building has not only the advantage of felling timber (a mere drug in America) to great advantage, but of obliging thofe who bought it, at the fame time to purchafe fome quantity of our hemp and iron. Thus, if we built 100,000 tons of ihipping annually for foreigners in our northern colonies, it would make up the former amount .500,000 /. ; and I am very well perfuaded that this might be eafily effefted. Supplying other nations with fliipping ch&aper than they have it at pre- fcat, would be no objeiftion to this plan, fince all the benefits they would 3 reap 59« rOHTICAL ESSAYS. £S3AY V^ reap therefrcwn are not comparable to thofe which we fhould receive from taking their money. Nor do I think, in true politics, it would be the leaft advifablc to refufe French gold, for men of wax thus bujlt: For we ma,y lay it down as^ a maxim, that the Frepeh wiH inever want as many or mpre men of w^r t;han they can man : expejiqncp f|iew8 this; fo that our enemy will not meet us with ,a (hip the more for our felling thenv And mofl alTuredly, we had better take his money than let it be given either to the Swedes or the Genoefe*. At all events, however, at the fame ^ime that their iron and timber, &c. was purchafed, and c^^manufadurers fold them, commiflionsihould be given them to build all the Ihips they were .able ; the factors fliould then purchafe and load them for Europe, and the veiTels be here fold to the beft account ; but in fuch a manner as to make it anfwer better for our merchants to purchafe them than build at home ; and, as the bufmefs in- creafed, veilels, cargoes, and all to be fold in diflferent parts of i^urope to whoever \70uld buy them; or, in ^ other vvords, to underfell all thofe countries who at prefent pofTefs thefe trades. i{}ti{ 5,; ii+iv.^ .iff^»b-I;:'; otnl In fhort, it is abfolutely neceflary that this nation (whatever meanft may be judged beiU fupply her colonies with manufadures as fully^ as pofuble; that is, fo completely, that no fabric fhall exift in them for lale : And if this point is well conddered, its importance will appear clearly to all. For while our trade with moft nations is, as we are told, on the decline, while our manufadures decreafe, and heavy complaiAts conie from all quarters, America is our only refource ; and it is fo noble a one, that we want nothing but the refolution to depend on that alone, and yet command more trade, wealth, and feamen than we have ever yet enjoyed. But if we fufFer our colonies to fupply themfelves v^ith manuniAures, and even export them to others, we fhall in another age make no more of our once flourifhing American commerce than we now do of our once capital Levant trade. I know of no means to prevent thefe evils but fuch as I am at prefent fketching; and I return in this manner to the importance of the objedk, to difplay the better the neceffity of providing flaples of fome * When the Earl of O. was at Toulon, a French builder fhewed him the Foudroyantjuft ofF the (locks. " There, my Lord," faid the Frenchman, with no flight heauteur, ** has the king of England fuch a fliip ?" " I don't know," replied his Lordfhip, coolly, " but 1*11 anfwer for it, hew/7/ have." The Frenchman did not clearly underftand him, but he comprehended his meaning better, when he faid, ** I am glad to fee you build fuch finefhips, for I (hall fee this among others brought into Portfmouth harbour, — And To it happened, for Lord O. was at Porifmouth when ibe came in. r/ :.;if ■1 XiOilrlj :< lit i'i i-Uo fore ■f >! Sect. IV. COLONIES. 3991 fort or other for thefe populous northern colonies, which muft either be fo managed or live by maftuf ji&ures*' ^■'■'* ' " I have already remarked, that in their climate, which is not fo favour- able to the maintenance of the people as the more foutherly ones, with refped, I mean, to ftaples,— That we cannot expe£t by any means fo fully to fupply them with manufa^res but many families mufl: manu- fadure part of their confumpticm ; whereas in the fouthern colonies and fugar iflands no one makes fo much as a pair o£ {lockings, or a pair of fhoes, or any individual article of drefs. And as there ie, and muft he^ fuch a difference, poffibly we ihouM deduA aos. a head from the fup- pofed confumption of America in general^, which was before found to be; 5 /. and reckon that we might fupply thefe northern colonies with Britiih commodities to the amount of 4/. per head: 750,000 people (I reckon no mcreafe, upon the fuppofition that the new fertile colonies would con^- ftantly drain them to that amount ; it ought, however, to be fo managed that they^ould do it, whether of themfelves or not) at that rate would take off 3,000,000 /. in goods of various kinds. I fhall not deduA any thing upon account of their Weft India lumber trade, becaufe their fhare is no great amount, and I think they might export it befides every thing I have iketched : the refufe of their raft trade would do for the Weft IndU market- :. Let US now inquire how much of thefe 3,000,000 /. we could, take of them in the above-mentioned ftaples ; and, firft, for our owa ufe : Iron, timber, potafh, and madder, — — — — Wool, we might certainly take of them to the amount of j.&3|fctiJ»x mi^i 'X.. '. y ■ WJ J^i*U'i*iti. ^'\3: J ft-V «, 140,000 200,000 1,080,000 Before we proceed further, let us take a flight view of the benefits' which would refult from their fupplying us even with this million. Aa i have fuppofed the trade and fiftieries of thefe colonies transferred, as in all common policy they ought, to the mother-country, they confequently can have no fund wherewith to purchafe neceflarie* of Britain but the- amount of her importations from them, for which reafon it ought not to be attempted to fupply them with manufactures to a larger amount; for this plain reafon, becaufe they could not pay for them : and if we took from them no more than this million's worth of ftaples, we could attempt no more than underfelling their manufaftures to the amount of a rail- lion's -I Ui. 400^' POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. lion's wordi of our goodB: And I ihould add» that £ven fuch a fale of Britifh commodities would be attended with great effeds; it would throw fuch a languor into the remaining two-thirds of their fabrics as would bid very fair for preventing their Qver rifmg again to that pitch which had given umbrage to the mother-country. When once their manufadures were reduced to the mere fujf^ly of that part of their own confumption , unfatisfied by Britain, they would then dwindle away in a regular propor- tion to the increafe of Britain's importatioa of fiaples *,. •ir|r>_ f^'* aKft A As to the great Importance of paying for 88o»oOo /. worth of the above goods in manufadurecv iaftead of caAi fent out of the kingdom> it is too <^iou8 to need enlarging upon. ^ /^ Now, as to the extending theie imj^rts for a foreign trade as well as an home confumption, all there-aidvanitaga woul^. 'n &ch caTe, beprc^r- tionally extended. y.}vi-*j,i^t:>^k-^ ■ ' • Suppofe we fdl t<| Portugal and the Mediterranean iron, naval *;iAore8, and timber, to the amount of — — ■ ■■ ■ jf, 500,000 To <»ther countries, Myr.'. y — — s *>i a ^imt^mm-i--^. 2oo,ocx> — ««. —-- — -- 350,000 — -— ■ 150,000 Shipping, 100,000 tons, Madder and potafli. i%^W»^ SiSip-.- £. -Jf200,000 By means of taking this amount from the northern colonies, we iliould fiipply their demand of neceilaries all but the fum of 720,000 /. Manufac- tures to which amount need not be an ob^ed of jealoufy to the mother- country, in a climate fo unfavourable to ftaples ; not, however, that the above esqportation might not be increafed to that amount : I am confident it might, and that for too many reafons to infert here. But that, or any exportation at all, or even the fupplying of our own confumption, depends totally upon the fpirit with which the government carried the plan into execution. All the trades of the world are open to thofe who will fell the cheapeft; and in proportion to the expence fubmitted to in the article of underfelling, to fuch a degree would the manufaduxes of the colonies decreafe, and Britaln'iB exportation of caHi for the above-fpecified • The operation of underfelling by an tstchangt of goods is very iimple. It is nothing but a transfer of debts. Certain pcrfuns in the colonies fupply the factors with 100,000/. worth of iron and deals, and the faftors fupply other perfons with the fame amount of manufac- tures; a mere transfer of bilU fettles Idiis at once. The Mmhr/elling 1'k9 in the price fixed upon the manufadures. commodities Sect. IV. C O X O N I E S. 401 commodities leflfen. In refped, however, to her own confumption, (he would have double advantage, by means of the power of laying duties on the rival commodities. The vigour of the proceeding fliould in thisi as in all other meafures, be proportioned to the benefits in view. The exportation of x,o8o>ooo/. worth of manufadures for thofe commodities which we at prefent pay ready money for, every one will furely allow to be an ob]e6t highly deferving the warmeft endeavours to accomplifh, and yery well worttt the expence requifite to eScCt it. This expence would not amount to fo much as many at firfl; fight may imagine ; perhaps it might be found, that the whole difference in a year or two might be made up by additional duties on the fame imports from other nations. I fee no reafon why iron, for one article, Ihould not be deli-' ▼ere.d in any part of Britain cheaper from our colonies than from Ruilia, a»> the American iron mines are in the neighbourhood of the fea-coaft, while thofe of Ruffia are all in Siberia, at.thc vaft diftance of three or four thoufand miles from Peterfburg. Our American iron wants nothing but being brought to market to drive away that of the Baltick ; but if it did not At once produce that efFe£l;, duties ihould be immediately laid, to give it the advan^ tage. — The only expence therefore would be, the difference of the freight of the deals and timber between America and Norway, and the Baltick. This difficulty fhould be leffened by an additional duty on the latter, and the remainder made up at the expence of the nation, until the colonifts were become expert in the trade,, and confequently enabled to fupply the demand cheaper than at firfl. AH kinds of timber lie much nearer water- carriage there than in the eaft countries, and are of lefs value as they grow. The only fuperiority of the latter is, that which refults, as Mr. Gee obferved, from having been fo long in the trade. The other fuperio- rities of the Americans, aided by an additional duty, would, in all proba- lity, bring the difference of freight to a trifle, fince it is Norway alone that is nearer to Britain, the Baltick being almofl equally diflant, and even much further from the weflern coafls of Britain. However, the whole expence of the plan would confifl in turning this fcale, whatever it might amount to, for a few years. There can be little doubt but 50,000 /. a year would fully effe«^ it. But if a much larger fum was requifite, it would be infatuation tolofe the benefits of fuch a prodigioufly advantageous effeStj through a principle of falfe oeconomy. For we Ihould not only make a heavy attack upon the manufactures of the colonifts, increafe our own above a miUion flerling, and put an end to a trade which drains the nation of its cafli, but at the fame time prodigioufly increafe our feamen, and con- fcquently our moft important and truly national power. Fff ' But 402 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V* But it is now time to examine into the force of thofe objedions which this propofal will probably meet with. I. It may be afl*ertedt that the employment of merchants) factors, &e. might foon degenerate into fo many Vs^/, to the vail expence of the na** lion, but to very little cffe€t in anfwering the wi(hed-for end. I readily admit the poiition, that fuch a plan migbt be made a job } and likewife, that when once it did become a mere job, all the good of it would be at an end. But then let me a£k> Is this an objection to the plan, or to its pojibk execution ? Are all meafures bad that can be ill extt«> cttled ? I deftre to know what parliamentary grants there are that cannot be made a job of? To obje£k to a beneficial meafisre, becauic it admita of being baidiy executed, is juft the fame as to avoid curing a diftemper and re-eftabli{hing health, becaufe health may be abufcd. It is found a very nece(&ry meafure for the parlkunent to grant 300,000 /. a year for buitding and repairing of ihips, and large Turns frequently for harbours, fortifications, bridges, &c. all which moft cevtainly may be made jobs of; whether they are or not, it is not my bufinefs to inquire, hlow, does any man obje^ to fuch grants, becaufe of fuch pofliblie evils attend- ing diem I By no means. There ia no ncceffity of their being converted into jobs; but M fomething of that natuce muft, and will infinuate itfelf into the expending the public money, yet the eye of the people, and the ear of the Houfe, are open to great ahufes.; and as to fmalier ones, they are fubmitted to as a port of the expence. The obje^ion againft fo advan- tageous a meafure, becaufe it is poffible to ainife iti, by being an argument that proves, too much) proves nothii^. > IL But, fay others, the extenfiive natun of this plan would occafiotk many more abufes than are common, and the uncertainty of the expence <^n a multitude c^ doors to knaveiy. The fa£t is contrary to this aflertion; for the government already have in many inftances infinitely more complex, uncertain, and extenAve meafures of expence to condud: than the propofed one would be. The providing for a military expedition ; the hiring tranfports ; the providing viduals, forage, bread, &c. &c. much of which is tranfa£ted through merchants, is an hundred times more complex and open to abufes thaa the plan before us. Such bufinefs is carried on in time of war, whea of courfe every department in the flate has fix times more bufinefs than in peace, and all the difficulties to be overcome proportionably greater. And as to the uncertainty of it, the latter vaftly exceeds the former; for the Sect. IV. COLONIES. 4^3 the propofed trade would be as regular as pofTible, the ports the fame, and people dealt with the fame. Why cannot the board of trade contra^ for fucn and fuch afTortmentfr of manufadtures, at well as other boards contract for ftoretf bread, hay, oxen, and what not? Why cannot (hips (only of a given burden however) be freighted with the one as well as the other ? If a train or an army is to be brought from America, do not the govern- ment contract for tranfports ? How much eafier to freight back with iron, deals, &c. But the prices of the commodities,— TheCc are as plain as the reft of the bufinefs. The fador receives a cargo of goods, and hts direc- tions are to fell them at the prime coft in the invoice ; or at five, ten, fif- teen per cent, above it, according to his directions. The iron, dealsf potaih, madder, wool, &c. returns configned to different ports, to be fold iikewife as per invoice, or as much above it as is thought proper, jls there any thing complex in this? Is the precarioufnefs, opeisnefa to abufe, &c. any thing like equal to the fervices above-recited ? and e{|[>e- cially tranfadled in a time of peace without the hazards or extra-expeiicQi of war. .fi* III. It would be injttftng th« tftefchanta. 1H ^ By no means. Thfc benefits refi^Iting from fuch a freightage woiil4 be vaftly greater than any thing they could lofe. But they would lofe nothing ; for when the American cafgois came to be fold, would they not haive their profit on them as well as on thofe from the Baltick ? But fuppofe they did lofe by it, whofe Interefts fhould give way, thofe of a particular fet of merchants, or thofe of the whole community? I hope it will not be thought an injury to our manufadurers, nor to our (ailors : the employ- ment of both would be as twenty to one. , . .^v.^ IV. But the RulTi&ns, if you did not take your iron and deals of them, as at prefent, would not let us have their hemp and Rax, which we could not da without. Was fuch an evinl to happen (which, however, is wonderfully impro^ bable, in a commodity that is paid for in bullion) it would be the moft fortunate circumftance of all. I have fuppofed throughout the pro^ofd, that at the fame time we executed it, the new colonies on the Mifliffippi and Ohio fhould be fettled ; there we might immediately raife ail the hemp we wanted ; for 500,000 people, who are now in want of employ- ment in our own colonies, and would, as I before obferved, fettle in thofe trafts, (for which they have petitioned more than once) would raife us much more hemp than we have occafion for, and give us a trade in it as F f f s well 404 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. well as a confumption. But if the prefent propofal was executed, and fuch hemp, through the want of management^ (for it could be nothing elfe) was not produced as we cxpe(Sted, yet fuch an embargo upon that of lluflia* as is here fuppofed, would at once execute the bufinefs* and give us enough of our own. For a proof of which, let us remember the great difficulties this nation was under in 1703 tor the want of an imme- diate fupply of pitch and tar for the royal navy, owing to a mpnopoly th^ Swedes had made of it, abfolutely infifting upon their own price and their own navigation, upon which Dr. Robinfon, the envoy, was ordered to remonftrate, which he did, but to no effect : upon which the bounty upon pitch and tar from America was given by the Parliament, the confequence of which was, we have ever fince been fupplied at one-third of the price we ufed to pay the Swedes, and the amount of the bounty much more than made up by the quantities exported to foreigners *. Now, for want of fuch impolitic meafures in the Swedes before, we had annually paid them a large fum in ca(h for thefe commodities ; and have done the fame to this day to the Ruffians for hemp and flax, and never vigoroufly fet about cultivating them in the plantations, (indeed we never had fiich opportuni- ties as (ince the lafl peace) becaufe the Ruffians condefcended to take our money as ufual ; but if they were once to a£t the part of the Swedes, the confequence would be the fame. But it is a mod unhappy thing, that this nation will not adopt fuch neceffiiry meafures until abfolutely drove to it* We fhall never command hemp and flax until we fettle the Miffiffippi and Ohio ; nor ever want them after. V. The expence would be too great for the nation (fo incumbered) to bear; eipecially as it would all be paid by the public, whereas the benefits would inrich individuals alone. The reader, doubtlefs, recolleds» that I propofed the execution of this plan to tail no longer than till the Americans were become ikilful in the bufinefs, and the trade fettled in the new channel ; after which, fuch du- ties might be laid on the fame goods from the eafl country as to amount to a prohibition, and enable the trade to America to fupport itfelf. Now, fuppofe the expence did amount to 50, 60, or even 100,000/. a year, and that it was continued for even five years, which is granting more than is neceflary, let me appeal to any unprejudiced perfon, if the benefit of fup- plying ourfelves with fuch neceffiiry commodities, inftead of lying at the mercy of others j— of purchafing them with our manufadures inftead of * See an account of the whole affair in Foftlethwaytc, Art. Naval Sttres, with Dr. Ro'^mfon's Letter. our Sect. IV* COLONIES. 405 our bulHbn;— of fetting t» work « vaft multitude of ourprerent unem- ployed poor; — of increafing greatly the number of our failors j — of laying the fure foundations of a conliderable export in thefe commodities ; — of reducing thofe manufadures of the colonies, which give fuch juft alarm to this kingdom : Let me, I fay, aflc, if thcfc are not objefts worthy of our money, if fuch truly national deligns would be a benefit' to individuals alone? Let thofegentlemen, who urge the necelTity of fuch oeconomyi exprefs their ideas of the expences which are neceflary, and thofe which are »«/> let us examine the iirft, and fee if the lift contains many five hundred thoufand poitnds as expedient as this. ■ ■ -But it is very common for many to preach againft public expences, without explaining what is neceffary : if that was done, we (hould find fums creep into the account, againfl which all their own arguments might be ufed, with fix times the propriety. M>!fi* pean oommerae; that is, growing vrorle and worfe every day. As the Portuguefe decreafe in their import of our manufa£biB-es, &c. it highly' behoves us- to leffitn our imports- of thcar wines. It would, however, be abfblutely necefiary inthecondudingof fuch air undertaking, to take cane that tdie planter, when his wine was made, did; not for a moment want a market : For there is in the whole extent of cultivation no damp equal to that of not being able to fell a product when; raifed. The produce of fiich vineyards as were inferior to others would) pay e^8 P (WL f t PCQl S qE3 SAYS. V^sa w iy. them vKty^eapmai^iikmteitkmmaj^^^ oilthe I -]^fetty tinudi 'ttcfCMxIiiigitir tj!ueis»eid|)aiciB. r> .If Ameriouk: .wioe%,wf re very ^ifity(t&\^htd^iixiM/raM rtamvth^tkm^QMoa to drmkiibcm. The mod )^tictl plan. woi4d tfaifai»l|»bfcp^ iiwke«not in»c^;di9ieE0|ictiA^heg)ri£e coixijiimptioa ^op|d bfi at, tl ^i| i» cpq ni ) fni | f dt^rtly JEfCTJcpgimenw^oiLfifSi^oa pf additional duties laid upon the latter jib that non^ would fall too much in price, and yet inducements enough in play td tempt the people to drink t^l^i^Mtt^^#iiB«(^oi^ ^ >(duchL \7c^]|4,;.ia f0me ^e^ftBtt»]d^p«^j¥^inn»thf^(^^ l:ie mmch fought after-^tlicS^^pfi^^ji;^ w as ^ort they wpuld npt be fo ij^u^ inrefpie^i bjyit this is nothing more than !ai^^l%f^1^r<^^(iniba^i^n c^ tlte1byee''kitigadmtf iik^'all'^rMtff at " 5i^'r^iifi6t, 'therefei]^ ii6 oven the trutfei i Now, iuppofing, rtwily ili^^isifnpplied bv the tobaccbcdottiei, it^i^U ibt^b^^ialaKii^* our manufadiiret. . r< IFhe'^Mo^e in thefe colonies appeared to be 750,000^ and I. before ^fuppdfcfdt'irjt^^bQ M'lqm; them, and iettteid the tra»£):s ofuthe MiififlSppi^^j&c. the remain^ av^. Mfa]^fiifi^ri^^^66cn^^ neeeffiiryHB^u- liW^iMtp(8^at''thti^dWeft-ta :H they eie^nmitr^^k ^mem'i dnchsLwLf" HUM vHnhiBt tirtAitfae {amount f^ihik 7io,odo y^niirtJtR ^ tJfld>^^rittirfa|q^y^%i^ landeoix- feAtiy^afi'kddiHoW^RAiM fe«i^M# ^aprifa^r eSj Afc/'to-khat amount: ^attkeyMefitflef^l\ll«^ ^ iH^d»tte,^tf<»^ t^^noncc', %)%fi'n;gl^ari)^4M^ fum, either ,iuiw.;iAiO bflfi o^KuoT l<^ tfkmli; •fUfrM.i, ,,jvj;j-'iij purchafed SiCT. IV. COL O N I E S. 409 f ^^rchaied of their northern neighbourst or made aoaongft themielvesi but chiefly the latter. JSuch would be totally demoliflied ; for 150,000 peofde leaving the counti^ to fettle elfewhere, and fuch profitable ftaples at the fame time ititarpdut^ among the reft* wotiM effe^uaUy min all the fabrics in the country. And|Ut advant^es frcHa, it, while they were employed about fuch beneficial articles as wine and (ilk; the latter of which might be extended to any amount, without the leaft danger of wanting a market. The importance of all which circumfiai^ces is too obvious not to be dear ; and the expence to the ns^tion .too fmall to require particular anfwers to the objefkions which may be made on that account.. IV. Iiaroduce fuchfrejh Staphs into the foutbem^continental and St^ar Colonies^ as the Soil and Qimate would admit, with profit \ c^/ttend the Culture of thofe not yet brmtgbt^to FerfMon, The new ftaples which particularly require our attentbn, are cochi- neal, tea, and fpices ; and the old ones, which greatly want a more vigo- rous culture, are cotton, cocoa and cofiFee. The poffibility of producing cochineal and fpices has alrea4y been proved, and the probability of tea,^ likewi^i but, left to the attention of planters alone, they never will be ^eftjed; unkf^ the government inter^^resy by giinng proper encourage- ment to fuch undertakings, it is idle to thuJc (u fuch exceedisigly bene- ficial events taking pUux. Thef« articles, however,, would require but a, fmall expence, and the, emi^yment of very few pNeople, o^nparpd with the extenfive bufineis before Cicetched, concerning iron aa4. ^i^^* 1° r^pe^ to the execution, ■ it would) in the firft place, be neceflary to gain as complete a JcnowJedge of the nature, and culture of thofe plants as poffible, by fuch means as the government difcovered to be the moft likely to fucceed. Plants, or feed* of the tea'ihrub, in cafe it was t^oi^t ipt to be already (which, how- ever, there is great* reafon to believe it i^ in South; Carolina, might be > gained by dexterous management from China ; and, in all probabilityi^ people with them to dired the cultivation; but neither one nor the other, would ever be gained if the £a(l India company had the leafl to do in the tranfadion, for reafons obvious enough. The opuntia or cochineal- fhrub is found in great plenty in all our illands ; the only thing requifite would be to gain the art of properly managing the infers : no difficult matter fure fo near the Spanifh colonies: and as to fpices, there are {Proofs fufficient of their being already in the iflands of Tobago and Granada, G g g ■ as ' If6 P O L I T I C A L ESS AYS. ^f SAY V, a9.;)^af been already dt%Iay;cdi (o that the grand bufin^rv would confift .iaiinaking profker ex{)efimaa«9 'itj^a, materials already in (MtfpcNiriffion* ■1,1 v',- ■ _ . ■■":.■'!•,'■<(' r" ■ . - ■ •■ ■ , ! ■ , ^The proper method of^^omg' thtft^ "vrould be to ea>gag« fome mtelltgenty t^%^b}eplahter», whofe lands ftiemed of the proper kind) toUbiAefw, ,,eq'ftip4etev ai:^ Repeated triala; the' t«a) in the Wk* billy fAet^qV^^he Jp^^Qlinas; the fpices in Tobago^ and ^he ccwhioeal in Jamaiq^yi ^«^ ,The whole expence ihouM not onl^ be borne by the^gOi^eriinif:nt9;jbiVft)^h<|)k^s of the land (if it proved a k)fe} made good. A few acres would be fuffi- cier^ ifor all thefe -trials. Half kn one is quantity Aiificient fe>r SLjpice- park i all the forts already £(>und in the iflands ihould be cultivated in a mafjierly manner, according to given dire^Hons, and thei^, it .would pro- bably be found that the prefent inferiority of their produce arifes merely from a want of cultivation. If fome difappointments did happen, the^ fcheme {hoyk! neverthelefs be continued in full vigour, with fuch varia- tions from time to time as bid the &ireft ^ removing all difficuhi^s^ f The fame encouragement and. attention fhould be given tq cochinBcl ; the ; fuccefs of which: cannot be doubted: And in refpe^t to tea, a «ery fmall 4 quantity of Jland^. in different pknt^ttons} on ftich foils as bore the nearefb ^injiy to itbac which k Q^ub produoes it, would be fufficienl £»r J^ Jen&is. rtlany would doubtlefs be made before the true flavour was gained^. even if the plant was procured with the utm<^ certainty ; for there muft I ][]i9^')a|V[a|^ m the curii^g which notlung but^periencc could givt» un|efs «' ;ij^w^(rthH^C, were gaiM^ i ni rc> ,,, .TiiAt fuch experiments as thefc.are extremely practicable, no-one can , ,^eny ,; that fuccefs in iJieni wofkld be of vaft importance to- this -kingdom, ^Ifi'frcxjhodf WiH aHpw;^ 't^at^«tpedce of making them would be very f> J^riflfng, rhlift%e'appareiflit,& al| r ^li^ objeCKona then •can be made to the fyif^ertaking? 1 |lat^dr,i^i^^qi|M?^ that jare well founded. As to the r, expence, a ftlw Jiupdted ,pQUpdft;vf$>^e^ it ; but if it amounted to a , f/&w tho^fand^ it ought'n^YO^^ tc^ be; executed: for the benefits rcfult- ji^g frpm eveh'a\patit4kl &gwndrettleme)nts, they would be bought with oiir manufadures, and ^,cijjt«ire extend, in matters, of iuch vaft value aftd. demand, to any amount we plcafed, for the purpofes of foreign ex- portation : Nor would there be ^thc leaft neceffity for the public revenue being by thefe means hurt; fince thefe commodities from our colonies would tear the prefent duties as well as what we at prefent import j and after certain quantities being produced, additional duties laid upon the latter *; Sect* IV. CbLO NfEi ' ^ •4*1 what we exported to other nations, which woirid increafij to a great height, confuleriMg the monilrous prkJ^ (Med'^^^Hi^btiti^^^ <^^ jUxty timta the amount of the pricl'i^^hieitl't^i^t^uTfi'tti****!. mm» not aproper place to inquire aidiui^lfthtx^r'dtfi^^hklA^^ti^e?^ 4lrticl(» t b>iit the following m^cti im ^^mmir U Mti^ li^tkr^ttib iMrIc, •nd'Tcckoncd at the prime cofti ^^^"^^ ^^"^ xf^'o >*-^« Whon. -j^o^a/pirffv/ ■•('.. .. 'i,^. 'MfllC" !•'■''>' '";} ^ Na#, fuppdfiiig our coiifutoption'*^ tefeartiOes 1id?^s«*ri' #liit^a prodigious benefit would it be to th^'Mtl^n t^p^fehi^'tH^^^ffilfeF manuRaurefli ahd piroduce, and io bririg thttrihcrtrtt' ih' hlrf ^^n%?]bj^^ ! Add tdthiii the trade we^Aouldproeure in thiih^With' fiWi*t^fei:s^' If ^^i^^ immbile 4»ttK^t8 do Qol; prove the fi«oeffity oiT "^^^tfg^ffl^jnli^^ mng can. •'^'^'■'- '^^ '^'"-■'- X'''^'^"^ , /^***r- « s ' Jti^refpea «f coflfee, cocoa, atidxjoitbn^ they aS*6 Iffl p^fediitea^iril^ -quantities in our iflands, fo that to «xtetJdth«lrie^hirei fl^r^ it^i^y) di^>» cultics to be encountered : fome cotton is likewife raifed in the fbi^thern continental colonies. But we yet 4i^iohd:prtwr6dtrtifcl of ^4alk beihg'V^y ^onfidcrabte, andithtt*c3cpt'^xre Blit'fiiiiilli^Wcnt^'ne^fey areTtiffidehk^to manage a plantation of 50,000 coCtMi t^e^s, which intiaV nrdytice, one ♦ About 440iw,<»o/3/at4x. per i&.«mdums 86 Wo.dbo/JnihK] -Jfl) iRod i»{' t The Spaniard* biiBg«nnu»UyftboYe^i T^crhftps in with all fuch commodities, without letting the induftry of foreigners drain us of our fpecie for them* are too apparent to need anv enlarge- ment on.— —We therefore find, that, in the preceding articles, t^is'na-^ tion purchddes of foreigners the amount of a million fterliog).jLnd^ chiefly pay for in fpecie thole very commodities which her own colonies might fo eafily yield her in exchange for her manufadlures^^<^-^^^tj[iat1^,' for the labbur of her, at prefent, unemployed poor ; and all this' to be fe eafily e^e^d, only at iht exfience of a vigorous ittcintioa cu uCl^ in- terefbi and the price of a few thoufand pounds ! • > / ^ ViJkttvduceibeOtliut'e tfVtnes iHt9 Semmdiu, OndflaiU. tie Bahamas* The Bermudas or Summer iflands, being already peopled, want iiotltiq|^^' but a flaple, and none are fo proper as vines ; but the flight premiums of th^ foqpty fre much too inconfiderable to effect it. I ^all not enlajree upo^^^s nead*,as theconduA requifite for the fame bufinefs upon ^{ie continje^t would.be precifdy neceflary here. 'X It has- been •ttflerted, andtte fad, if at all confidered, cannot be douJbt- ed, that many people from the northern colonies would fettle in th^e iflands if their freight was feund by the government, and a fmall ^^ built upon each iiland planted, for the inhabitants fecurity againft pin^tcs and fudden invafions of an enemy. And,- as there is already a governor and oilifi ofHcefs eftaUiAed for all the Bahamas, nothing but a fmall fortification and gamfon up(Mi< -each ifland that was planted would be necefTary ; and they who know the rocky nature of fome of their coafls, will eafily. cohceive that the expence of a few fmall forts would be trifling compared to the very great advantages which would refult from the fcheme. And when plantations were formed, proper experiments upon various tropical productions fhould be encouraged, that the n^ofl beneficial culture might be the fooner difcovered. It is aflonifhing that fome i>£ * Hifinrt NaturtUt du Ctcta $t du Swrt 1720, isoto* . (J ■ ' our SAcT^iVt C^Ot QNIElSi 4«^. ndbie!pim6t)Vpoar.riich up4ertaking8j. ^bitiib 4rfifQ{ ijbt^;. honour j^iaU tbofe ivho L«¥e,the fpiriifjmi c^p^i^tijs^^ cx^ut^iUieniniio ! ''lJik^i^lid#^di d^Si'^flfe fit^^^^^tit experiences in het^donies. . Mu^ tjaJ' ^uaAnn Mii jfjiv; iTn'tfeb^ SfiTpl^cW^^ be put down, andHiiiWii' for fale ia a DoflibiUty of exifting ; all they could have would c;xtehd'ki^'' f^rthe^mikwiiai priyate people mieht make wfAif their fanimilb^^ -Their /ro^ imdj^O' would pe trapsferr^ to the nipther-cpuft|ry»,- which, by that means, would gaia ,39^000 i'^aqien, anda mil%a afl|4.<^■ half fterling annually in freights. B^in'^would' receive additionar^ples fix)mhel^ooIome.8 to thefbU^wV" ing a;nount, in exchange for her manufadures, which at prefent ihc pcrdiafes of other nations and chiefly with fpecie : a jifl^ ■ ■ < ' ' 300,000 .11 yd bi nrffti ivn M mmxl ;.. aoo,oo6s' >nA . yrnftnu la ^' — *— - 500,ck)0; ii9 mU-JJi !(>< h( >i <.ii> i < J- • ■ " .■. r- 100,000; Gotton, coffee, and chocolate '^i i!:*w-#nq' 1 .«-*--» 250,000! ' ■wfiar>fH»jirrrw€j|i.rry ove#,'' •' • t^i^^n-jqxj -ji-^-wiu! ^, ^ii^o^db^ > •;!■ frinTi Tlubv hijj'-v/ i!:..!/iv/ ;^'3;ifcjai.7.bfi Jtoij^ vtsv ;. >} ijo^jsqaioa 4 This muft be under the mark, as we pay Piedmont 200,000/1 and more to the Indie^.y>- See Poftktliwayte, Art. Silk and Ptgu, Iterilhd timber^ ^ -^.. Pota(hes, — — Madder, — — Wine*;.-"' •— •• Rawfilkf, — — ^ WooU Spices, Tea, Cbchineali ''-'Jf » :''■» \ « •••>'*y «« >» »««.■«< »«t 4»«i\ili«(t. Dittb; ^ tolWi'cxl 1e1$8ATS. ^ Iron, tunbcr and naval nores, — — £, y6o,oo<|. . Shipping i •ifirt.ow ii-^iir'si 50,000 ^5oa,aoiY 2C^,000 2,500,000 Ti ljt:[ifj<;}'. W 00 The reader doubdefs remarks, thar the article fpices, tea, "mneyiienlp, .>&c. is fo very low that we could not well fully iupply pur own confump- 4ibh, and re-export fo little, ef^cialty m articles whteH tt pefent are ^inonopoKes. The {hipping is reckoned fo low as 3 /. 10 s, per ton, a price which -jwould certainly underiell all Ihe world. ' Si|k, wliich makes fo confiderable an article, is m eommodtty ef&nh :tiniverfal confumption, that if the quantity was double, there could from :iihence ariie no doubts of a fale. ■ut'\y-', liiJ- .• • ' ' ', 'Whatever dbje^ons may be made to any particular article or articles, ithe others ihould be at the fame time exansin^d, when it would be found ^that what ope might be tlioqght to exceed in, in another would Ixai: a pro- portionate rife. ' ' If^o this account Should be added tlie duties upon the exported tea, fpice, •cochineal, and wine, whi«;h would all bear them well, and likewife on the tobacco ; all which wouid amount to a very coiiUderable fum. The difference of importing many of thefe articles in our own (hips, :or before in foreign ones, particularly the iron, .timber, &c. would .amount to near 10,000 :]: leamen. Audit would be calculating ihenavi- ^ To obviate all ohjedlons, I have left out of thts general account our own lliipping. . -^ The total made was 3,000,000 /. See page 408. t In 1747, the tonnage of the SwcdiQi and Danilh ihlps that camo to Bfitifli ports amounted to above 72,000 tons. , '•""■*' jT . " ■■ '"' . . gatioa ^^ CT. IVI. . COI ON lES '•!.• .4«^- l^atioa of the additional exports very low indeed, not to make them 'ain6ilbt4o 15,000 more. But if only 30,000 were gained in the whole, it would be a moft prodigious benefit, and make the whole number, up 50/300 additional feamen. What an imriienfe efiiploymcnt for- oar, qjanufa^urers would refult from this fyftcm of policy. Were fu<:h a demand to exift, and in the regular manner whicih it ccrtainljrwould>' Britain would foon regain her 16ft mdllion and a half of. inhabitants, whlehibme politicians aflert has taken place fince 'the revohition ; and at the fame time all our poor th^t could -wyrk would be employed', our rates prodigioufly lefl^ned, and ^ np one in thetmtion maintained by the public but fiich as were decrepld, lame^ MinAi &Cv Our vagrants would be feen no more. Employ ment> which )^eld8 maintenance, is the only means/of banifhing idienefs. Tli^'/icheljof'the whole kingdom would '^increa^'^; cbnrntn|»^c«i' would i confequeiitly increafe, and with • it prodigioufly the public revenue; which, as I before obferved, would likewife receive vaft additions from the new dutiesi In fuch a fituation, can any one doubt that the nation would not b" better able to bear a debt of three hundred millions, thaa < ihe is at prefont tpfupport one. of half the amount ! . What immenfe confequences would attend fuch a conduft'as I hJive Iketched! The gain of 50,000 feamen freightage to the amount of feveral miHiona* a fiihery Worth near half a millidn-^*— — the exporta- tion of manufadures to the amount of- above feven millions ! -A |)ro- digious increafe of revenue. TKde are aH article^ of the utrnoft impOT* tanceto her power, her wealth, and hctT)bpulation^ Tlie conftimption of Tranufafltires and imports in all the Briti{h colonies at ;;,/. a Iiea^arocmi^ts,!^^ ,r' "^ ""^ ;C^ '*»5^°^^ I Their prcfent ftaples, '--- '.' /'^irr^-'' --[^i^'i^^iSS^ The preceding additibial ""ones, for biir own ^ , confumptioni — — . .^-. ' ^,140,060 , .', 7,020,550 If the p'an was to be extended tio further than our own con- ' fumption, tlieir manufadlures would yet amount to — 5»479»45-^^ Exportation, — — — — —,—. 4,400,000 Their remaining manufactures, &c. — — — * 1,079,459 1 have 4i6 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V* I have formed this table to (hew, that the preceding propofitions. a(« by no means fo extravagant as many may Aippofe them* fince we find that th« full execution of it woald not be fufficient abfolntely to ftop all ttianu^ faduring in the colonies t That i%t would not be fuflSldent to render our northern ones as beneficial to us in that refpeA as the fouthem-conti- iiental;and the iflands. As we have two milUoni and an half of fubjeda in that part of the world, it tikrely highly requires our attention to have the fupplying them with manufk£hires totally toourfelves; and efpecially, when nothing is requifite to effed it but bringing to ma^et fuch ftaples as their country will produce. This remaining million worth of manu- fa4):ures, &c. mud be fuppofed to be the fam^y fabrics of the northern colonies, aa 1 before remarked the hnpoffibility of rendering dieir climate as beneficial as the foutherly ones. Indeed they would amount to m^ch more, as the additions would arife in a much greater proportion from the fouthern fettlements than from them. But if the plan was well executed it would be impoffible fn8, than this of the continuance of the colonies under the power of the mother-country. But this difference of fentiment has refulted, in a great meafure, from a want of clearly fbting the cafe : if fufficient ex- planations had been ufed by thofe who have declared either on one Jide of the quefti(Hi or on the other, mofi 6f thofe opinions might have been pretty well reconciled ; and yet at firft fight nothing appears more contradidory. If the cafe is examined, it will be found to admit few abfolute determi- nations; as will appear by the confideration of the following circum- ilances. If it is laid down as a pofition, that the colomes will be eternally de- pendent upon Britain, the fuppofition muft be founded upon reafons, which, when given, will difcover certain events or circumftances as prin- cipally conducive to fuch an end, and a change in which might probably be attended with a change in the conclufion ; fo that the moft determinate fuppofitions arc formed upon preconceived premifea.— On the other hand, ' cot » A5> J O N I E S. Oct •417 ViMijJfi> ^J'B<^iff3i'tc4 that the oo^oaita .wiU tuulai^tetiiy thcow «if all a]i^gJ4liW to ibhue mothsr-'cou^tiyi^ ib^ifr period. &>r (h^eventa muft he ^edt'.dqpfQf]^ibig.ciUi«r,Qn their Qf^Orrifhes,- power, or fituation, or on tlio condo^kiof iSie mothfir^countrf; j Sa (' w^ ia whatroever light the moft «kt«r9llP4|e'*fi«ruoa9 are viewed, .ycb th«yjnuft depend* according^ eveiv i$ir1^4^Qi8fiC thp& who advancettbe»k^:iiH^n many .circumibnceiB which nv«y.eitl||er quicken or retard. Aad .^bwrt ^va » the real cafe, the fad rs tp0 pbrious to need much inGifUpg on. '->,,,,^ , t\': jc :ini .■,..'■ z " ^< ■:,!>:• .)\';-)i-I' ! .' 1 U jiftunyoBTtainly ]ie«flced« WhetJier a colrfi ^ -J.; i; The firft dependence of our colonies, as well as all their people, is, to change the terms a little, upon corn worked iiito bread, and iron- wroi^ht into implements ; or, in other words, it is upon nkceffary agrici^lture and meceffary manufadures ; for a fieople who do not poflefs thefe, to think of throwing oflF the j^oke of another' who fupplies them with them, is an ' abfiird idea. This is precifely the afc with our Aigar iflanda Let us '^Ibppofe the continental-colonies ;t6 )>e as \Mgi^ xniSait nieeJIfary agrirulturt *k8 they really are, but to be abfolutcly without manufadurcs, could they -throw off theii' allegiaiice to Britiiin be thdr nuiftbers what they would? No, certainly; for that is nothing xomt than fuppofing they fhouldlhcow off their allegiance to hoes and fpades, and coats and fhoes, which is abfurd to imagine : can any one imagine that k rebellion can be carried u^n among a people, when the greateft fiiccefs muft be attenided with the lofs of half the fftf^r^nVx of life 1 * ;i :'7^ Let us fuppofe this ifland to be a French colony, that France is thefirft .na^al power in the world, and that we have a very flourifhing' agricul- 4<-turerbut no manitfadtures. We are afiionted at the condudi of our ^'-.xntiftels, rebel, and drive eveiy Frenchman out of the ifland : What con- I ^quences ' would attend fuch fucdefs^ even if we were three times as 1^ numerous as our n>after8 ? Why,' fuch a rebellion muft infallibly wither ^^away of itfelf, becaufe the intetefls^of the whole people would be at once * ruined The ground even would be untilled for want of implements, \^ and the people become naked for want of cloaths : How can that be, r fays one, when we poifefs and work iix)n mines, and fhear feveral mil> f lions of (heep ? Becaufe iron and wool unwrought is as ufelefs as ftone ; and it can never be imagined thaft a people wotild fubmit to all the evils of their want, until individuals, by an apprenticefhip to gaiiust difcovered 'the method of working the one into plough-fliares, and the other into cloth. The rebellious army and its chiefs, fuppofe them an hundred i^ ithoufand if you pleafe, would not only have the force oi France to con- Si tend with, but that of every individual in their own nation : by taking up arms, they laid, in fadt, an interdict upon the ufe of the earth and water •'—they would tell the people that they rebelled to free theoi> that they Sect^V^ >^iu^O'^^?^:h^%\y-'. -419 they mig^t j^?c i#i fi;^cdom. ; That^t^i^, fu^pofition. ia no e;ttravi»g^t one* is v^rilieil In our own fugar iflanpst dnd m the ibuthci;n-contin£nt|al ones, lupporing they had no connealbn with their northern neighbours. To ^flqrt thftt hjch people, however npipqrpu^, 9pul4 rebel againft Bri- tain, is, a^mu^h af to fay, that they^,<;oi|lc( r^^jcl/figainft their meat arj'd drink^-:^ — i^Frora hepc^ we ipay d^^ernai|j^e. tW, 9^,lopg as our colohles are totaiiy free from manufactures^ it is mpojjttfle^ m any cafe whatevei", . that they fhould throw off their allegiance ; and Ukewife, that the diflicul- ties, in th,e way of fuch an event, are proportioned to the manufactures f^h cplpnics poflefs. , >!4ib lipcalc of manunctures here parttculariy, becaufe they are ihuAntefy neceflWry to form a^ tndepende pf , vaj^ i^or tance. , Let us 'now, aiccpf^ing tp thefc ideaa, take a view of the, pr!efci«,,i^v5>f the Britifh colonics, 0^ the continent of North Ana^riiw^i^, .nci-olr nVih Ti) They forma terri-^ry which, in refpe^ of agricultuire, poiTeiTes all the neceffaries of life - 'and that to fo complete a degree, as always )to have a fuperfluity ready for the demand of thofe that want ; but never are in want themfelves. In every thing refpedling food they are perhaps the moft independent people in the imiverfe. As to m^^nufaCtures, they 4)oflei8 moBi of thofe which are real neceffaries, being fupplied by Britain .only to the ainount of lefs than one eleventh part * a{ their confumption; and as they trade to the Weft Indies, in manufactures to the ej^tent of above a million fterlingi, there is g^eat-rcafon to rl^Ueve.tl^at.ev^n jthi» eleventh confifts of fcarce any weeffiir,iesj,»!i \ts ^ppples theramount. of their confumption of European imports to.be chidly fu^rflqous manu- nufaCkures and India goods : and, from the preceding review of them, there arifes great reafon to believe that this is really the cafe. So that I very much queftion whether the confumption of neceifary manufaChires in thefe continental-tcolonies is one-twentieth part fupplied by Britaip. But as in the .preceding (heets I made a regular diftinClionbei ween the . refpeaiye )fi9%ie8^9fl, ,thi& conti^efif,.,^fliu9ded,SW; .th^ir. prMv^JftOQupf 4til>. • Thf'if conrui(li|)tion,,.j»fiij<'*). j '^"heir ditto of import*^,,, J, — — ;f. ti>ooo,coo '""ftaples? U6 POLITICAL ESSAYS. fifcs^Y V. ftaples, iihd as f drop that dinM^ioii aft prefent, it is noceflary tO'C^ip^tn the rcafons for this condudl. , .* ., • (f.n^y, ■ , . . ,, . , Tlic foutherf. ♦X)ntintrital-oolonte8 were found to export Naples to Aft nmount fufiicient to purchase all thctr neeelfarieS) and to have no ta».na* fadures of their own ; for which reafbn, had they been disjointed from the others, as the fiiigar iilaf^ds ate^ tfcey, of coutfe, would have httt% taken no notice of in this inquiry; but as they are joined to the others, who poffefs fuch an abundaiKc of tnanufadhires as to be able ftilly to fupply them, and are at the fame time fo much more numeroiis «nA powerful, thefe fouthern people muft be fuppofed to follow the fortunes of (heir ftronger northern neighboart, a« they might &) it without in- convenience, relatire to the import of fteceflfarieB : and if any general prejudice againft the mother-country, or other caufe ading equally on alU there can be Uttlb doubt but thefe weaker colonies might be induced to join the ftrt>nger ohes^ and efpecially as the f ^j^^fpf^f a^4 ^ jit.iji^/^^ ^fj^p^f^ ment which ta^ed thenv in ftampw? To which i anf>?f0r j ,;ijlj»t oqiy^^^ as tfaefe feveral circumftaacea uodpubtediy ^^«> yet tlie gi^j^f^^uii^^r doa upon which their. opera,(;ionmv|l h^ hid» is. thq ^^,^).}iifr gjcij^e^ p^^ ^^ h; A^ I ;have affeE^edi i^, . |hat i^, ^ Q»fr^ an , wd«|^n4?|it ^ri[j,i4ii^fl? and mami^aftufcs /^rie nc^eff^rjjij #pd i^^ , ^thPi^ciiiPMmjftaqc^jf ^ (^^4?^ navigation, . jwd , miji^icy, , ffi(^fi»?iq?, But it doe? i^ot.from then(9fij??f^Jf,,|thatttt)t,^9u)df^iVler the e^ecutipn.palier to thxee fpilUons of people than it might o^erwijCe be to rix.rrr-X hiji^ty ^thipuiiM^d ,feafnen, tw€pty fail of the Une, a pp9|i)iUty of colle£^it»g ,tjijfW much likewife would depend upon ther fitu^uiqnj c^ Britain , at! th^oUme,! "F.qx inftancef.yirhether ihe was in the midi^ qfai^cr cefsfulpr, ap^unluccefsfu} war}— -in the midft of a feGurepeacep{'j,a4pu|>Jir fulcontefi : A certain concatenation of events might give; the coJlpiWi^, a^ oppQrt^^iQrpf not only ftriking the blpw, but preventing all future j^ppte^ in thfe mother-country of rcverjing it,, ^^a effect. of, ^tq^ji^lvcijccuii;^" fiances therefore muft he greafc , , ,,; ■ uhifliPa ; •im ,--^-^i)!m . ■< Is it in the power of the colonies at prejent to throw off the dominion of Britain ? It is impoifible to &y what utuhought-of circumftances might cffeGt; — but in all human probahilityy tacYery -appearant^, Britain would now be able aot?'A few ■yfcdfs'bdbre -the French and their Iiidians made the moft defperate aind criiel Mtatka ftpon them. The government detaionftrated clfeariy to them allr that the leaft unkm of councils and force would extii^tid tKc^ir ene- !ifnyt 'and all the attention poilible was given to uiute them agi^fl: the enemy ; ' but neverthclefs, they continued broken and difuuited j and had it not been for the efforts of Britain herfelff ihe enemy would have ravaged their provinces to the very coaft. ** See,** faid the advancers of this opinion* *^ how likely it is thai: the'd6l6toie» fliotild - quence of which will be, thefe 1,850,000 increaling every day, muft ma- nufadute totally for themfelves ; and the more their numbers and manu- factures increafe, the more profitable will it be to raife the neceifaries of life : aU planters then will be C(Miverted into common farmers ; fo that thefe people will then form a nation of hufbandmen, manufacturers, and fifliermen : Britain*s fifhery, and not improbably that of France tooj will fall into the hands of thofe who are fo much better fituated for it than cither. Now, before we extend this fuppofition further, I fhould remark, that this fituation of thefe colonies would to Britain (as far as refpeCted them alone) be no better than an a^ual revolt; for all fhe would in fuch a cafe enjoy more than after the revolt, would be merely their nominal allegiance. And I fhould alfb obferve, that this is now the cafe with thole I have diftinguifhed by the title of the northern colonies; infomuch that Nova Scotia, Canada, New England, New York, New Jerfey, and Penfylvania, would be nearly of as much benefit to this country buried in the ocean, as they are at prefent. But to proceed with my fuppofitionf. Thefe colonies will arrive at the ftate I have fuppofed, infinitely fooner than their territory will be peopled to the utmofl number of inhabitants it will fupport. Their bounds of the rivers heads will leave them 3 300,000 iTECT.Vlr Ct)^LOK IIB. ^*5 '56d,d6o%il*eiAite8df lerritoty, ('•vlthtoHt reckoning the government of Cftna^a) 6r i9940oo,t>oo of acres y ^^hietn «fk>wf^^g ten acres a head, will maintain 19,300,000 inhabitants. But it will by no means afFed my argument, if twehnr acres a head are allowed ; the number then would be 9,600,000 In five and twenty years, by natural increafe, they will be ^dered, whether Britain is populous and powerful enough to keep in allegiance any number of Americans whatever independent, in refpe£fc of agricul- ture, manufadures^ and commerce t Is it to be fuppofed that we can be fecure of the fubmiflion of ten or cwelve millions of them fo circumftanced, and whofe communication wtch her wi'.l confift alone in receiving hef governors ? It is impoflible to ftate ex^iSlJy the Ixalance of piiwer :betweep Great Britain and North America ; but the latter enjoys fome peculiar advantages, which are cr very great confequeace. In cafe cf a rupture between them, it is the interejft of all thofe powers in Europe, whom Bri- tain rivals either in general power, naval dominion, trade, commerce, or manufa<^ures, that the polonies ihould become independent ;-^that is, it is the intereft of all our neighbours : cpnfequentiy, we ihqu^ not only have the precife power of the rebels to deal with, but the probable afliflb- ance they would ; receive from others, in refpcifl of fupplies of military Aores, artillery, or whatever fife might be mofl: wanting tor t^em ; and this in an efpecial degree, if we were engaged in, a war. Themo^t faiv- guine admirers ^f the power of this country, will -allow, jthat ytt might ^have our hands fo full at home,.a'S to be able ^o give but a weak attention to the rebellion of feveral millions of fubjedls above a^thoufand leagues off. ** T^e center of power," fays governor Powpal, *^ inftead of remaln- , ing fixed, as it now is, in Great Britain, will, as the magnitude of power ^ and intereft cf the col nies increaiies, be drawn out from the i^and by the ^ fame laws of nature, analogous in all cafes, by which the centjer of gr^- 5 vity of the folar fyftem, now near the furface of the fun, would, by an in- f creafe of the quantity of matter in the planets, be drawn out beyond . that furiace. Knowing therefore the laws of nature, ihall we, Uke true -philofophers, follow, where that fyftem leads to form one genj^ral fyftem of dominion, by an union of Great Britain and her cplonies ; , fixing, yv\)JXQ it may be fo fixed, the common center in Great Britain, or (hall we, with- " out ever feeing that fuch center muft be formed by an intercommunion of the powers or all the parts which form the dominions of Great Britain, like true modern politicians, and from our own narrow temporary ideas . of a local center, labour to keep that center in Great Britain by force agaiiift increafing powers, which will finally, by an overbalance, heave that center itfelf out of its place ? Such meafures would be almoft as wife as fc his, li'i ^Ecr.Vj^ COLON IE is. 427 hv6t whd, Standing in a fcale, ihould thnift his flick up againft the beam td pfevcBt it from defdending, while his own weight brought it the faftei; down *." And another very fenfible writer remarks, to the fame pur- |K)fc : "A fhip might as well attempt to carry her lading hung at the end of her boltfprit, as a government to manage a people widely dif- perfed, and more numerous towards the extremities than towards the center^f.^' " - ' ■ -:.,: ■ JMOmv But it may be faid, that thefe opinions are applicable alone to the in- creafe of people in America, and not to particular modes of Britain's policy refpefting them. Dropping Mr. Pownal's idea of a union there- fore for the prefent, let us inquire how far it is probable, that a good po- licy may prevent the evils already explained. "'I have before examined the importance of keeping the inhabitants of colonies abfolutely without manufar, .1*. jj^^V/, wherever they were traced. That fiie fhould keep the inhuad navigatfon oF t£e condhenr, that i9, , oi^all the great lakes and navigable rivers, to herfelf, and not fuffer aaj f€tf of m^n to navigate them* and thereby communicatee^ from one part oC , llhe continent to another. iuji , ^^ That ihemo':}Td never fuffer any provlhclartrdops or militia to beraifed*. httt.r^erve intirely to herielf the defence of the frontiers.. That ihe fiiould throw whatever ob(bcIe» ihe could upon all plans of communication from colony to colony, or con veniencies x>f fpeedy remo- vals fuom place to place* - ■ -— ^- i- w;, . , •'lOjJjyiji.'u;) JO Uu", ■ That in {M-<^rtion as any colony declined in ftiipl^s, and tRreatcnecT , not to be able to produce a fufficiericy of them, the inhabitants ihould >! receive fuch encouragement to leave it, as nzorir than to drain its natiural in- creale, unteis new Aajdes were difcovetcd fot it. "- '■'-' ' ■ - ., " ', , ■ ■ ) . ; ii< ui'.f.tr: , ■-'■•" ■ '■ -w • Thh potRt, which h of infinite importance, would pretty fujly be occafioned \>y other ' pans of the plan. Bu^, to enfure.fo great a point, no new towns fliould be fufFered, nor even villa2:e8 ; than which not'^itlg Could be eadir to manage : nor woukl they be any where necella^ but by the magazir >:, of naval (lorel for loading fhips. All poiT^ble decreafe of - numbers in the cities alicf in being, fhould be effedled. So fyftematically abfurd is it to . found towns and citlce, as Ucitain has hitherto conltamly done, in all the colonies flie has furmed. ,,f . A people y 82 CT. W y COL ON lES. 429: A people clrcnrnfiknced as the North Americanft would be, if fuch a fyilein "wsls fully and completely executed, could not poflibly even think of withdrawing themfclves from the dominion of Britain, until thei^* fiaples failed them, and they were droves in fpite of all laws and prohibi- tions, to herd together in towns for the purpofes of maAufa£turing thofe neceiTaries which their ftaples would not pay for. No matter what theif nuQiberS' might be, they would remain fubjed): to the mother-country as • long as (he could provide them with ftaples, and that principally would depend upon providing their increafe with frefh land. It is true, (he would find an end of her territ(»y at laft, and then the natural courfe of things would form towns and manufactures of that increafe which (he before tQol; off by means of plenty of land. A connection "« 1 ' then arife between town and town, and colony and colony; numbers -^ovild^cd tkxt ftrength which refults from connexion alone, and the influence of the mother- country wpuld be too weak to oppofe the confequences.- > That this fyftem. would laft feveral ages, there is no doubt ; for, until the * evf^nt above d jdi^cedpame to pafs, Britain's power, her population, her ricthes, her navigation, her maritime power, would all increafe with the increafe of the colonies, as*longas they den^nded their manufadures of her i confe- qjiiently, the proportioa of power between the mother-country and her de« ■ pendentS'\yould not be deftroyed ii) favour of the latter, as I6n^ a^ the caufes which oc^afioned anincrea,re in the one had the fame e(Fe£t on the other; Ther€ canbe no comparifi}n between the power of Great Britain with" 10,000,000 of fubjeds united, po(refling formidable armies, and yet iftore potent fleets J— and that of 39 or 40,000,000 of people fcjatered over fuch an immenfe continent as North America. I will venture to a(rert, that Ave millions of people in our colonies, as they are at.prefent fituated, would be more dangerous to Britain than ten times as many fituated as I have fketcbed. But when once (from whatever caufe) towns arife, and manu-, faftures are introducedr tha- )ple, whofe only weakflefs confifted in the want of connedion^ would ^ ce feel that powei* which policy had k&pt even from their imagination. — —It may be faid. How are we to procure ■ flSiples ? ——What are we to do w*th them ? &c. &c. All, I pretend to - aiTe^t, are» the cohfequences .of employing all the Americans upon ftaples. —— If Britain omits to find a market for them, or if (he omits tofupply „ manufactures in return, there is an end of that conduCt' Wliich oGcafioried thofe confeqyences. They, howiver, who will well coniider the articles . of general confiunptiony and the population which refults from regular em- ployment ^ will not, I apprehend, put H coaclufion To footi to the atjovc fup'- pofrtion as the want 01 ireflx land.^ .,. ,.„ ^.o ..i vi * > D4). ..t n, ,jnvo liiniiim^ on.... ^. ,., .^ , j -, U^^^^oi But • rd?- I •'> A 430 POLITICAL ASSAYS. EiiayV. But the event at lail comes, and the colonies cah no Idnger be employed on ftaples. What will then be done* I do not pretend to foretell } but may I deviate from my fubje^t into a fuppofition that has but a flight cdnnec* tion with it ? The King of Great Britain in that period will be mudli w.inting to himfelf if he does not determinei al all events, to retgn over the molt numerous part of his fubje^ts. Let him man his royal navy, and at the head of a gallant army, and thofe who will follow royalty, transfer the feat of empire to that country, which feems almoft peculiarly formed foruniverfal dominion. In fuch an age, the monarch who reigns over America will figure veiy differently from him whoeommands in Bri- tain alone. There would, however, be very little difficulty in fuppofing the total couverfe of the prefent cafe j— America to be the feat of gpver^-^ jnent, and Britain the dependent *. ., '^ i ;. However, * There is fome amiirement at lead in reflecting upon the vaft confequences which Come time or other niuft infallibly attend the colonizing of Anierit:^. If we cooflder the progrefs of the empires which have hitherto fubfided in the world, We (ball find the (hort duration of their mofi glorious periods owing to caufes which will not operstte againi^. th9t .of. North , America. Thofe eoip'res were formed by conqueft ; a great many nations, different in cha- racter, language, and ideas, were, by force, jumbled into one heterogeneous power : it is rrtoft furprizing that fuch diflonant parts ihould hoM togetHer (o long. But when the band of union, force, was weakened, they, returned to their origiml 'and natural feparation s language and national chara£ler formed insup}r' fov'erejgnti^s outof theforme|rconneAed varie- ties. , This, however, >yill be very difFereiiit with North Ameirica. The habitable parts of that country, Including the dominions of Britain and France, and of Spain, north of lati- tude 30, contalh above 3,500,000 fquare miles. It would be-very idle to remark j that this includes what at present does not belong to our North Americans. If they wanted it, I warrant it would foon be theirs. This extent of territory is much greater .than that of any empire that ever exifted, as will appear by the ibllo wing table: Perfian empire under Darius contained Roman empire in its utmoft extend, China, > ■ -■ r— Great Mpgui'v — — ■ "- 1,650,060 fquare miles. I «6 1 0,000 I. 749.000 1,116,000 The Rufllan ^pire, including all Tartary, is larger than any of thefe. But I might as well throw into the American fcale the countrie; about Hudfon's Bay, for the one is as likely to be peopled as the other, whereas all I have taken in will afTuredly befo. Befides, North America is a(5^ually peopling very faft, which is far enough from being the cafe with the Ruffian defarts.— — ^ — Now, the habitable part of the prefent Britiih dominions alone in .North America contains above i,200,coo fquare miks, or almofl equal to any of the 'above. But the whole, as I before obferved,is 3,500,000, or more than the Perfian and Ro- man together. In refpefl therefore to extent, and the means of maintaining numbers ot people, it is fuperior to all. But then comes the ndvantagc which is.deciftve of its dura- tion. This immcnfe continent will be peopled by Britifh fubje(Sls, whofe language and na- tional character will be the f.inie. The few Frenchmen in it, or foreigners imported by us, will be confounded by the general population, and the whole people, phyfically fpeaking, /!!U. Go that th'- eds of decay. Town in the very formation of the ancient empires, will have H ofth meni laft, upon I the Tdtxix {he trade -depe 3*3/; Sect, V, C I O N I E S. r 43? However, T^thout fuppofing this to be the cafe, is it not thebufinefs (^ this country to ward oiF fuch a blowt by a feries of political manager ment, as long as poiTible ? And as it is eafy to forefee what mufl coipe at laft, to prepare for the event, by not having her whole dependence fixed upon An^erica alone. If (he has arofe to her prefent power by means of the poflefiion of colonies^ it furely behoves her to provide trefh fettle- nfents to fucceed the benefits which have refulted from the old ones, that (he irtdy not fall into a flate' of contempt on fuch a lofs of manufadures, trade, and navigation, as mud enfue whenever her colonies becon>e inde' dependent. But I forbear at prefent t;o extend this refledtion. , have no exiftence here. The conqueft of South America bv fuch an empire would be n9 political condudl; but I do not in this refpedt think it would endanger the national charac- ter, becaufe the tHimber of people in that continent is very ^ew in comparifon with what the other will foon contain ; nor will they increafe as long as fuch rich mines are worked among them ; — and likewife, on account of thofe few hot being original nations, bred, if I may fo exprefs it, on the foil, (t|ie cafe with North America) but only, the ofF-fets of Eu« lope budded in the.peftiferous mines s — all of wh9m prpfemly unk into nothing. — However, there' is no neceifity to extend the fuppofition fo far. Tothefe advantages we (hould likewife add others of great importance. The fituatlon of the empire admits of no attacks but thofe 6f a yet mqre powerful one, by fe^, which in fad is of none. South America, fo;- a million of retfpitt, too long to be here inferted, ci^n never, (fuppoHng herfelf not to fall before t^e other) :by' many degrees, bi; equa'f in power. Arid this benefit has ncrver been enjoyed, Hoi is at j^retent by any einpiri in the Vbrld., Fur- ther, the peopling of this valft< tradt, from a. nation' renowned in trade, ixayigation,. and naval, power, has occafionedi all the ideas of the. original to be tranfplanted into ,thi^ copy ; — and having been fo long enjoyed, with the amazing and unparalleled fituatlon for commc^rce between both Europe, Afia, and the great fouthern'Continent, and at the fame time ponef' iing, above other countries, the means of building, fitting out, and maintaining a great navy) " the inhabitants of this potent empire, fo far from being in the le/^ft, danger from the attaclcs of any other quarter of the globe, will, have it in their power ,^o engrofs ' the whole commerce of it, and to reign, not only lords of America, but to poAels* in the ut- ftioft fecurity, that dominion of fea throughout the world, which their Britifii anceftors ; enjoyed before them ! • ' None of the ancient etfipires therefore, nor the prefent one of . China, which fell a prey to a handful of Tartars, ,can be compared to this of North Ame- rica, whith vi^ill as furely cxifl-, as the land is now in being that will once be trod by the lirft people the world ever knew.- , .*>-..'>) ,.•«■>■<■■..( 4|' «< II eft vrai," fays a 'i'tench writer, •'-que la pofitton libre &.heureufe de rAmerique ' feptenti ionale, R ies c ilonies Angkkifes parviennent a ne- pa^ paicu- le droit decontrije pourra deranger beaucoi p toutes nos combmaifons Europearies. ' Des pais inimenfes, fer- tiles & neufs, dans lefqu^ls il n'y auroit ni impots ni milices puifqu'il n'y a plus d'invafion ;\ craindre pour ellcs, meriteroient I'attention la plus ferieufe de la parte cle tous Ies gouver- nemens; ic la politique fera forcee de tourner toutes fes yues du cote de 1^ ^ien-faifance avec plus d'attention encore qu'^llene I'a fait. - Les etati qui fcront Ies pli}^ tarJ ufage de cette remarque fe trpuveronti coup fu^ clans rimpoffibilife de remcdier au m'al : car Ja gran- ' deur des pcines ou des fervitudes n'e' fiit quVtfcrbitre I'atfoclte des mauvaifcs moeurs ; le re- . roede n'eil pas lali *Principes,rt Olfervatians QuommiqutSy ' torn. ii. p* 143. ■ M .v.. But ^i* POLItlCAL tfPS>AY8. Rsif V V. But here It may doirlHl^ be itiked^ Why hot fbrm n union between Cireat Britain and North America* ftmd by that meanti '{ilrtfVent the confe- (j^uences I hare {kctched from taking place ? In ahJIWer to \^hich, I do not pretend to offer objections to the pljm> becaufe I think it would enfuic to a Briton the dominion of the eountry, and probably bring aibout that revohjtion which I hinted at btforej v*z. America being the principal, and Britain the dependent, which may be thought better than the colonies, Sbeing totally disjointed from her "by throwing off their allegiance; but "that it would by any means infure this country the feat of government, I very much quedion : that point indeed ^ippears to be impoflible wheti the colonies are come to be very numerous and poffefs manufadures. For it is extremely doubtful, whether fuch a potent people as I have iketched, would fubmit to fend their reprefentatives to meet thofe of fuch a little paltry place as Britain, at the diftance of above a thoufand miles. So that when Mr. Pownal mentioned the union between them, in analogy to the attractive center of the folar fyftem, he certainly meant that the feat of government Ihould be attracted by the fuptfrior graivity, wherever that vcxiited, or elfe his comparifon could not be jufl. "But, without lookmg into ftiturity, if this union did take place, I do ■not fee any effed it would have of itfelf that was beneficial to Britain : If the plan I before laid was on that account to be executed, fo far it would be advantageous ; but then, all the benefits that refulted from it would equally Tcfult from fuch a fyflem of policy without it. Whatever the government of tlie colonies is, it is the making of ilaple commodities alone that can ^rove advantageous to Britain : no union upon earth, nor any change that 'did not employ the Americans upon their culture, inftead of manufac- tures, trade, fifhcries, &c. would have any effedts that We are in wint of. And why fuch a change fhould be expeded more from the union than ^rom our own ideas of the neceffity, I cannot difcover. Upon what terms iiich an union was ever thought of I know not, but probably upon thofe •of confolidating the colonifls and ourfelves into one people ; but whether upon fuch or not, certainly they would enjoy in confcquenae of it a free trade ; and there wants no remarks upon that to prove, thsit any trade is •very contrary to the proper bufinefs of colonies and the intercft of Britain. But there remains another circumflance which is not a trifle : Would the colonies accept of an union ? Probably they would accept of Bri- tain's faniStion to their manufadures and free trade, though I am not dear in that : but they would undoubtedly rejed a partiial union. It does not rould would certainly be a prejudice. 431 opt appear Uiat th? laft would be of any advantage to Britain } the ftift "dc Upon the whole, in whatever light this point of the independency of ^he colonies is viewedt it appears that any condud in Britain, except that of the employing them on (laples alone, in the manner (ketched in the •preceding fe^ion, will be vain and ufeleis ; That no union will make •amends for the want of this policy : That her prefent fyftem tends immediately to r^^ndet them independent : That the longer this fyftem iscpntinued) the left will it be poflible ever to retrieve the miftake. SECT. VL Cmpari/ott ^between the Colonies of Britain^ and tbofe of other Countriet. THIS general view of the Britifli colonies would be incomplete if th^y were not compared withthoCe which other European qations have planted in America ; tKat we may difcover to what degree this coun- try has been fortuziate in the ihare ihe poflefles of the American fpoil. In this inquiry it will be neceflary to confider the reipedive fettlements in two lights,; Jirfiy The prefent ftate and advantages now received ; in^fecondfyt Thofeof which they are capable, were the policy of the principals fuch as it ought to be. ? ' ''l^^^'- The Spa^niih colonlef daim thefirft attention. The extent of their habitable parts is infinitely greater * than thofe of the Britifh. How . populous they are m not known, but in number of fubjedts I apprehend they muft greatlj eaj^ceed u^. — —In population, refpeoing the extent of country* (y^ch if the moft ufeful population) thev are much behind us. In the artkue oi^ neceflaiy ^^a^ there is reaion to believe their terri- tory equal |o that of Britain; for though they poltefs many wretched, unwhdkeibiac, and barren tra^s, efpecially upon fome of their coafts, yet the moft of j^o^ provinces they have attempted to people are exceedingly fertile in all |pro^nd provifions, and thofe which are not have a regular and plentiful fupply nom the reft. As to that yariation of product be- tween the mother-country and her dependents, which forms the great * Templeman (who ii not, however, always accurate) makes Spanifh? Stuart miles, America to contain — — » • ■ ■ <' J 4>697<936 TowrbicbwemuftaddLouiiiana, — — — — — • 1,080,000 ToUl, >i Kkk Utility 4.U POLlti^AL fcSSAYS. Em AY ▼♦ utility of colonics, vrc muft confider the wants of Spain before we deter* mine how far her detached dominioni are perfe^ in this refpedl. ' Thiit icingdom is abundatitl^ fertile in all the produdions of ntct^Mj agi'icuhuret flic has plenty of'^wine, oiU and rich fruits; fugar, tobacco^ hemp, flax, and cotton, are likewife cultivated in fereral of her provinces. She abounds greatly in W(X)1 and filk ; thus pofTefling within herfelf not only the products of Ore: t Britain in much greater perfedlion, but like- ^ife the rtioft valuable ones which the Britifh colonies yield. At firft fipht, therefore, Spain wlants nothing from her fenl^tnetits but fpiccs, coffee, chocolate, and drugs, (tea is but little drank there) and they fend her only the two laft. Hence it.is very difiicult to aflfert what is the pro- per climate for extenfive Spaniih colonies, fince a fmall fpice ifland might produce all that ihe wants from any part of the world. It is eaiier to fay what their climatt ought not to be;^^«-it ti^tolnly ought Hot to rival (as Spaniih America does) the mother-country in. any of her produc- tions : £vefy fugar-Work, &c. in New Spain had much better be in her Euro^iin dbtninions, as the is in no want for more ufeful artides of the land they Would bccUpy. So that if wt fufficiently confider the ftate of Old Spain, there will apj^ear abundant reafons for giving thti pftferente iii this article of variation 6f the cultivate produdh of the earth to the cblonies of Britain, who certainly receives fVoltt thetn, in proportion to the iiumb^r of their people, much mbre Valuable returns of this fort than Spain does from hers. i But the grknd product of the Spsinifh colonic^ is gold and filver. Of what utility arfe thefe to Spain? To enlatge here tipon the evil effeds which tertairtly have enfued to ihut kingdott'^rtilri the immenfe richea poiifcd into her from America, WbUld be n6thin)5'fti6re than copying What ah hundred' writers have faid already. Tfliofe moUritAinS of pnedous wetah- mod indubitably tended gi-eatly to difiJeopleOld Spaih ; and the reafon why there has been fo great a difPdrence Itt this refpe€l between the'tfmigrationis ftom Spain and Britain tvidcntly is, that in orte cafii the inducement is fo fhining, the idea of l^eedy and ithmenffc Hch^s fo bewftthing,'Hftrat naittbers go Who tbuld well mairithih themfeWes at'hbmfc, exrchstnging the fmAil profits of ittduftry for the ittiagittafy gtiat ones of idlenefsj ahd as the martufaaufes they eottfiime,' t^en itrlved in the Indies, are not of Spanifh fabrication, they employ none of thofe that are left l>ehind. On the contrary, with Britain uie cafe is toliafly different ; none leaves this country to go to the pla«*ations but tht^'who cannot ft*y at home r* they do not change induitry for idlenefs : when arrived in America it is neccHary to be as ihduftriCtIS As in Britain j— — nor do they flock Sect. YI. COL OH I E a. 4^5 flock thither with the idea of gabing fu44eQ fortunes, but merely a re- gular fubfinence, which will never attraA fuch numbers as the other ; and oetides thi>» they import great quantities of Britilh manui'at^urcs, thereby providing employment for numbers ; o^ul in a free, healthy country, 4Mphyment is only another word foy po/>»/a/ifl».-*-'^Hence came the wcak- nefs of Spain an4 the ftrength of Britain* and hoth fiom the lame caulb the American fettiements. As to the riches of the Spani(h Indies, they certainly are immenfe ; one of the firft political writers * of this age, calculates the revenues of the Mexican mines alone, and from undoubted authorities, at 94,000,000 /. which is an aftonilhing fum, if we confider that all thofe of Peru, inclu^' ing tlie capital ones of Potofi, are not taken in(Q the account, which pro- bably are fuperior. Sut the accounts of the circulation of {w,u immenfe fums are very uniatiafadory. We n^y conclude* that but a fn>aU portion of what is obtained frpm the minef remait^ in America* a^ mauufadures are there fp fcarce : the fums tranfported to the Philippine iflanu., whic. are known, are incooTiderable eomjpared to the total ; and the following taUe o^ Old Spain*s importations from all her colpnii^ will ihew that a finajil part of it cpmes openly to l^urope. Mr> Poftlethwavte -f-, frctn whom I tranfcribe it* givea the A1198 in pieces of eight, which I h ;vc , ^tduged to fterliog at 4 ^» ^^/^ ProduH of Uinet, In gold* *'-'^ -^— ^ In rUvcr* '-'— ^-"^ In precious ftones* < 4rtifk$ n9i prg4wt4 h Old $paiih In Vigcmia wool, "^ — In quinquina* i,^ 1-, f^ In logwood, *»• •»*■ In cochineal, ■ rPlw indigo* "r^^ £. 787,000 ^,75P,ooo ^54,000 7»79i|00O •»-• 1 1*000 **• 9,QQO — 225,0.-0 •^'^'^ 303,000 Jrticks pr9dH(e4 hy Qt4 Spain* In fugar, tohiMco* and Awidry articles, •*- 450,000 iokide^t f"^ -"-^ -"-^ i4»oQQ Editor of HanisV Vijtgttt >aJau|i Kkk s t Dia'unarff Art Piru* 8,598,000 lam 4^* POLITICAL ESSAYS. • «s«ay V. '*^ I'irti'jperfuaded that this account, from the fmallnefa of the amoun|| ft4i*ft^)iither be incomplete, (and yet it includes the cargoes of the galleons, flota, and rcglfter fhips) that of a year remarkably low, or one in time of war ; but he does not exprefs when. And yet another modern writer* ^ifcSs the kin;j*s revenue from the Indies but 900,000 /. which is bring* IM/thte- 'account yet lower.-— —However, thefe authorities are not tobefo 4v^'Fdtfpended upon as the very judicious editor of the collcdionof voyages alJoN^ quoted, who tells us, that the king*s fifth of the Mexican mines ilbtle; in 1730, amounted to 3,000,000/. On) < '^feut all thefe accounts prove fufficiently, the value which comes to Spam WedfViio proportion to the to^al : illicit commerce muft take oflF immenfe ftWtlfijT probably much more than the mother-country receives : and thus, 6^'^ht* prodigious riches with which thefe colonies abound and fupply •M th^ Vtrorld, Spain eten receives but a fiaall (hare; and of what ihe does reteive, retains a ftill lefs : for the new world which fends her fo much wealth is but a means of paying the debt fhe owes to the old. Notwith- ftandi^ng the poffeffion of the Indies fhe is one of the pooreft countries in Europe ; fo that' ihe has depopulated her own provinces to people Ameri- cSh^dEnes, that Ihe may hsrve wealth in reputation, and poverty in reality; that Ihe may have the fatisftdionof feeing treafures which fhe cannot enjoy, attd in being the miners of thofe wifer nations who draw their wealth from the induftry of well employed people. Can any colonies which rt«dl the mother-country in cultivated produdls and ruin her by fpon- taneous onesj be compared tus in the Phillippine iflands ; fo that this country wants nothin* but a beneficial fyftem of politicrto be fiip- plied with all thofe commodities fhe demands, from her own domiiiibns. When her European territory was become fo populous as to require the (ubftituting corn and the other necefTaries of life ia the room of fugar, ,v * Cbrke'j Ldttrt tn the Spanifi Nation^ p. 250^ «•»«••> i iv it )<' ' .,;^1 w ' ■ tobacco^ CT Vr. Cb LO N I fe S. 4^ tebtfcco, and other produds, which (he at prefent receives from America, ' but ought to cultivate at home, then and not till then will be the time to * encburage their cultivation in her colonies. ' / As to mines, I muft fuppofe that (he determines on continuing to work them; if fhe does not, (he had much better abandon all America than keap fuch immenfe territories for the fake of the few other products they yield her. ** Spain,*' fays one of the moft agreeable of the French authors* ♦* has only two methods of recovering from that extreme poverty into which her exceflive riches have thrown her ; the one is to abandon the over-abundant mines of Peru, and re-aflume the tillage of her lands ; the other is^ to fell in Europe the goM, wrought and manufad^ured^ which (he receives in ore from the mhies of America.'*^ And in another plac6, — — ** They count in Spain feven millions of foub; it might maintain fix tim^s the number; it wants, therefore^ fix degrees of happinefs, of riches, and of power. Do you beKeve, if a king of Spain would ferr- onfly refolve upon it, that he might not repeople his country ♦ V* Kot by manufa^huing his precious metels* p^'lFrom whence refults the mifchief ? Frofn Spain's not exchanging her bWn manufactures for the produds of hereoloiiies. Such a plan' would he very eafily executed. I am apt to believe, that laying open- the trade of 'title Indies to all Spanilh fhips that were loaded with theirown manufac- tures alone, would at once efFe£( it. But fuch a regulation, counteraded by bribery and the fpirit of monopoly, would be worfe than none. That 'mde is excefliVely profitable, as appears very plainly from the prodigious 'prices that ate paid by the merchants fbr licences to fend out a regifler 'ihip. This profit would raife the juice of all their own raanufadures* and confequently encoutage their fabric. High duties fhould, at the fame time, be hud on foreign manufactures, and higher ftHl on the importation of all thofe cohtniOdities from the colonies which the mother- country might produce. A branch of this beneficial fyftem would be the laying open the trade of corn,' thkt the new manufacturers might not be fed by France, Britain, Holland, and other countries, who by exporting food take care never to be hungry. The retaining a large quantity of their own metals would not be the great end of fuch a fyftem, the employment and increafe of their people would be the moft beneficial coc^quence : keeping the gold and filver at home would be but the elFedt of this, not the eaufe. In fueh a fituation: no country in Europe would poflfefs fiieh important refources.-— — Not founded inr the- quantity dug^ * Jifft Ptn/ttpar M, deBaumcIle, p. t5ar-'ao3. firom '\. n^ POLITICAL E8SAY5. EssatX 'j^loBfeiicr mines — ^-^lut in.^e demand for the labour of her poor» ooca- •>(iQfteSpaai^ds took pofleflion of the American treafures* the general im,- ^ppftjapqe of every nation, maijufafituring for itfclf.'was by no means fo •W^Urknown as at prefent. We, at prefent, have her example to guide our ^«sg»iO»i»g r^e ^^ none by D^jbiph tif eat twonder that the4azzling profpedof imii^en^ riches ihould bliod i^eiff'nf^tk^^efp^daXiy when we confider that fo great a genius as Sir Walter iMi^lf^ A^^ as much tim^ labour, and expence, in hunting for gold in 4.@|9(a4»jbiasc|^ did for planting tobacco in Virjginia. c ^maybeafked, What would be the conlequeoce >o Britain of as ric^ a mine as that of Potofi being difcovered in ber colonies ? I kfiow,iiot .pre^ifely tjljie law of "England in refpe£t to the crown's right to all tnin^ ,pfr precious inetais, or to a certain Ih^re in them ;■ ■ but if a king of tJCIrej^ Britain was to have his fifth like the king of Spain, I may venture toioxo^ <^6 fuppofition, which is, that it would be of very little coniequeoce itp the nation what was the refult.—— However, dropping this idea, it is «yiJ^y.crr*equal the benefits .refiiltiog from very beneficiail ibples that have J *0!.V' # hi' filicV.Tt. .aY COt&i^iEtl ion, 4S^ bave A quick demanJ» fuch as Aigj^r, Tdbacco, indigo, iSIkt &c. and Ibf thii re^fon; an hundred thouiand pounds worth of the latter Would i^atife k dittnand of an equalquantity of Britifli goods, but not that fum dug ih ore out of thee9rth; fo^no more would be fo exchanged than the pro- fierty of thofe teho ftaid in America : the gi*eateft forttm« would be brought over to Britain in:fi^ecie, and co^fumedhere, poffibly in the fciper' fltiities imported from fbragners, but moft certainly would n6t be attefid-^ ed with the "Biiint tSeCt^ as parallel iiims gained by a long couvft'^f indnftry.*" ■ ' * 'l t inuft however be allowed riiat this fuppofition extends only to an equality of produdl. If themetails caufe a gii'eater demand )df manufactures than the ftaples, fo far they are more be;aefic'>a). But :t may be a(ked, Where is the good of keeping fuch imnientfe treafures at homei WiH there not i^thtrterult evil from it ?— To which I anfwer, That the kfitping ,thc treafures ia npt the aim, but the means ©f ketjphig theiiii the^ ia^^ot be kept '*rrtho(iit TnaiiWft.^urhig to thei^ amoati,t) and^t^is tiot'the ptrfftfljon of the riietad, ^)ut^ iiiiisihnfaaurerd cortftamljjr employied, that »« deBtib^e. Ho#evcf , Ac e^aiiitile^of France proves,, that a vaffcfpeitie is of no :li confequenee to an induflrious -nation : herttade is 'fo advantage bus, tliat '?ei« It iiot foV her warsi her fubfidks* atid he^ £aft liidia cb{iip;my, fiie ivpuld accumulate three-^urths of (he i^eciie of ^Eiimpei and wher6^t«!Dtrid he the'dlffcrence iii this kingdom, df a d^tthition or four hupdfed iton^0h8;^1n bullion, and three 'hiitidted ankl e&hty miHions hi paper ahd^iwerfty m btdllon ? It \^Uld he'verydlft- Cidt to hoard all tec^ived from mines : there are ever caiifes enough to dlfl[i|>ate fuperfluous riches, nor are fuch caufts to be cbnfidered as evils. \ .^tttihc advan^^ei which Spain might receive from her colonics are topq^al thofc of Spain. At prefent the adyantagea.receiyql from it ^y ]^or|ugai are mueli inferior to ihe benefits xefuUing to Britain from Her c(Jonie$; nor do I apprehend it is in thcipower of the mofl; political oon^u^to ren^ dnr th^le advantages equal .to the confequeme«, which Vpuld.aUend finulwr improvement in the pohucs, of Bntam.«-----^f' Ttugalrecayea annually 5,009,000/. in gold ftomBcwMl,, befides a grcrl;jffmo,iint in prc- ciou« 'loncsj fugar, tobacco, hides, .&c. The rqyad - y^ ^tfroip, j^t wlonyia.replcQn^ at^=,909iOQgZ*i l^ ...■,^,,. T ,,, -^.^i^.^^^, r:iiU*"riw The cmonies ox France are the only ones which remain to be compared «irith thofe of Great Briitain; and thefe cottfill in ^ugaf iC^and^ alope. Th^ importance will beft apjpear Jfrom » few ptain iTaias, ^which are" to be metwwith in the works o£ fqvcral fW^tej^f wb^^^ve tre^u^ of 35yje^ Indian affairs. A modern author f fay^, *' Th^ hj a calculatlQa bon^ the year 174% the exported produce of Hifpamok, :^^8^ Lsoo^ooo ^ ^^t that i| wsiS much under*jated." And there a(re^ many reaibns to believe that it was. Another writer % iays, " Hifpaniplafiiroduces more thaaall th9 Blitiih iflands-ir" if fo, the.anjkount is above 2,7oo»boo /• Ouadaloupe* we well know, was, in a year, fubjeA to the IplTcf^f war, and^pduBve f^ the export^! to North America, worth to Britain ^9,qo6 /. § j^W.^ajBnoj^ fcd^on t})f^ whoite prpduce therefore. at 1«^ tha^i^, 790,960/, ^)^ y?^ f^i^ ppi^ Martinico ai^d'theic fmaller iflands equals the .^tal apo^pt will, |»ej 4, 1 00*000 A— -We are told |> on pretty good authority, that the Ffen^ iflands jproduce x3q,oco hogiheads annually. I before £tiewed that the Brltifli ones yield 98,000, the value of which, with the rdl of their pioduds, amounted to above 2,7oo>ooo,/« by wh^<^h Proportion the French produds of this fort come to above 3,300,00c/. ITq this^we'muila^d. the amount of other products not raifed lu the il^riti(h iflands ; ihefcamonig others, are .coffee ^9 cocoa, and indigo. Of the firft they raiie ai^aljy. 9*400,000 ib. ** which at I i. 6 d, is ' — - — JT, 700,000 Cocoa, 176,000 /^. at 6 Aim and the former total is^ remai^abto Mr. Poftlethwayte quotes authors who make the number of negroes im- ported into the French iilands to be 30,000, and in another plat^e thntiBp- pofei them to be 150,000; which {inall number, however, he>take!i|;fl« he exprefles it, merely that objedions may not be made to his cakuIattoiC The medium is 35,000 : now if 15,000 negroes, in the Britiibiflaiids,! raife commodities to the amount of 2,700,000 /. 25,000 in thS'JBTSiioUl ones yield 4,500,000 /. ^ . u^ ^ ^di The medium of thefe three diiFerent methods of afcertainingiilie/pva^ dudt of the French fugar iflands is 4,266,000 /. which fitniilixtfiiid) cannot be far from the truth. ^ — — • — — ^w442J66f09«» All the ftaples of the Briti(k colonies continental and rnfulary) «; v^m^a^ ali '^r were found to Amount to — twiv^ StB^Of/iom The French fugar iilaudsi fuperior to all the Britifli colonies by\ u386i90pk The'freight of the Britifli fugar-ifland produAs, or 2,700,000 /, ammint-t ed to 636,000 /. confequently thofe of France come to 1,000,00a/! ,.Pro^t dud and freight together to 5.,a66,ooo /. that is, within 489^00^ &'af ;the^ total value of all the British colonies in produds, duties and freight^) and this without reckoning any of the French duties. If to ihefe cir-^ cumflances we add the produii of their ifles of Bourbon and France,^ which produce, in no inconfirlerablc plenty, fugar, ebony, cotton, wliite-^ pepper, gum-benjamin, aloes, tobacco, rice, and many yeors ago coffee, to the amount of 100,000/. annually*. j.hefe articles, I fay, wi|;lutlj.c amount of the French duties, will, beyond ^ i doubt, carry the proqud of the French colonies much beyond that of the Britifh ones. ..,^,.«h„\ r This ftate of the fettlements of France gives, I apprehend, ^^^YerjajC^pair fuperiority over Great Britain. But it will be yet clearer if we leottu^ejh • MtdtrnUnmr/al Hi/lery, vol xi. p. ijo. •'*%m(\. .^»i .» LU ' ^'^"^>^'\tk^ 44* POLltlGAL ESSAYS. IssAy v. that thefs colonies are not in any degree neur in a complete ftate of culti- Tation, infonuich that it has been calculated By thofe who are well acquainted with the Weft Indies, that where Britain has there one acre of Avafte land capable of cultivation, the French Iiave above 5o,cxx); and as theproduds of this land are among the richeft in the world, and infinitely fuperior to thofe which Britain receives in general from- North America^ there arifes the greateft probability of a vaft increafe in this moft profit- -able trade, and that without fuppofing any change in the fy|iem of Francei "Whereas even the prefcrvation of the benefits already enjoyed by Britain,. in confequence of her coldnies, tlepend* on a total change in her fyftem. Let us add to all this, the abfoltite feetJfrity that the French iflands caa never throw ojfF their allfegiance to France j—— the conti*ary of iwiiich^ it iS to be feared, is the cafe ■tvith the Britifh cofonies. .* The other E aropcan fettlemfcrits are iTao snconilderaWe to rtqmv^ SECT. VII -l>fc..,U djf tl^e tlxpedlencj of^ormng Nswjt -ff"*^ m*- *lj* \i'iS jil Ui:'> THERE is a too common jprejudi<:e to' be cbinbzi^ed \iritK tipi'n the very mention of fuch a plan as that of i hdW colony. It is directly ^aid, are we not plagued enough with colonies, not to want any more ? ^aVe we not colonies enough ?^ — ^Yes, doubtlefs, too many bad onesj and for that reafon we fhould plant more good ones. . If the old fettle- ments of Britain are grovvn pofjdlbfis ' o\it df proportion to the benefits they yield her ; if her American tfi^de is'at a'ftand rather than upon the increafe; if there is in idea the leaft danger of her lofing their allegi- "ance; if thefe evils threaten at the very time when the nation moft requires (in confequence of her immenfe drains of treafure, and her debts) an increafe of that beneficial tfafEf^k fhe'has for fo many years enjoyed by their means; furely it behoves her to look a little Into futurity, and prepare for the worft of events. All the'eVils, inconvenrencies, and fro- ward conduft Britain has experienced from her fifbjeiSls in America, fhould never blind her fo much as't'o put her out' of conceit with colonies in general ; ihe has received, artd continues to YeceiVe, too much benefit from thofe which were planted in a proper climate, to allow of fuch un- juft and undiftinguifhing ideis. Every thing that fhe has met with of that fort came, as I have before attempted 'to prove, from thofe v^rhich (he very unpoiitically fettled in an improper climate ; and the greater the evils which refult from fuch a miftake, the greater the expediency of ^ 5 planting Sect. Vll '^r AC OL ON lE.a ro'j 443 planting new colonies to fupply the deficiency of fuch ill-concerted old ones. For it is going back ftrangely, if our colonies do not incrgafe in value when the neceffities are fo greatly increafed in this nation, T hus, there cannot be a falfer argument than to anfwer the propofers of iuch plans as this, by referring to the old colonies, with fuch fpceches as, tiie have more than 'we know hotv to manage already. Since every thing which ViXDves the force of that truth, proves the expediency of not rely- ing on fuch unmanageable fettlements. And I fhould likewife obferve, that this neceflity of extending our views, is great in proportion to the want of policy in Britain. If her prefent fyftem is continued much longer, • her trf'iei her riches, her navigation, and her power, will fink very low, uitiefs lome expedieni of this fort is devifed and executed, to fupply the iintjvcnfe vacancy flie will then experience. But let her condud be ever fo ju/l to her old colonies, we have already found, that (he can fcarcely hope for fully fupplying them with manufadures ; and even if flie did, that the time would at laft come, when fhe muft expedk a period to their alle- giance. I do not, however, venture to aflert, that the neceflity of plant- ing new colonics would be by any means fo great, if fhe vigoroufly determined to make the moft of her old ones; but her prefent fyftem appears fo very contrary, that there can be no imputation of Sketching mere impradicable ideas, in propofing the means of remedying the evils that will arife from fuch miftaken politics. It fliould never be forgotten in all fuch di^uifitionft concerning plan- tations, that Britain does, and will perpetiially^'celotaze. The queftion is not, whether the furplus of her population (hall emigrate or ftay at hofnei*-^-but whe)ihQr:they ihall go' to old and difadvantag«ous * fettle- i|iisn^s> or to n/9w:andibeneficial onepi fihoe to one or the other they cer- t^Q}y/wi\l . gp, . pr Aay : ia Britain to be tiainged' or ftaryed. ■xii:'^ I ■■ft^rft*- //i**f The prodigious confequence to^.Great'Britahi of all tropical {)rodu6Hon8, ;^nd t;he fpiall, or rather no of Britifh cone u£t. In fuch a fituatiou) can any thin^ be more expedient than to endeavour to open new markets for our raanufadute** where we need not fear either the rivaUhip of the fcttlers» or that of foreignerl ? Markets in which the purchafers can ftnd will pay thofe prices which will never be gained in Europe. Such a market, at the diftance of a thou&tid leagues, is much more advantageous than an European one. A large portion of thofe commo- dities which Europe takes of us is carried from this ifland in foreign (hips, by which means we lofe the freight, tht building, fitting out, vi^ualling, &c; . of the Hiipping, and that yalunble Articlj3» the employment and maintenance of the feamen : All thiefe we fully ei^f in i£e <»& of auri commodities tranfported in our own bolttomi.; lad fionifequeo^y ftich ui. exportation is infinitely more valuable thaa iKn^ athet* Add to tbi^ that fiKh colonies as I have iketched can only be fbtmeddt «,vaft diiUnce< from Britain, and of courfe all thofe articled I juft mentioned would htti tenfold greater than in an exportation to any part of Europe^b 'Hitte ia no^ ccAnparifon in the national benefits refulting from a voyage ;af..a>ibip' of five hundred tons to China, or to Portugal, for inftaoce: Tlufefic'teiic*i fits increafe in direct proportion to the length of the voyage. i ' '' ' . . ,■,... ,;;1f; * I have frequently reflefted upon the execution of thefe ideas, andimsnl gined the objedions which would mofi: probably be made to .thdm, 'but : none that ever ftruck me were of the leaft real weight. I have already . cofifidcred that extremely vveak one, of our having more old colonies Iban we know what to do with, and fhewn that one of the principal motives! for engaging in thefe undertakings refults. ftom that very fa^. ThcMfe who.plumie themfdves upon a regard to public oeconomy, may oh^Gt the . , expence, but in all fuch cafes that is the weakeft of all pleas: If the. execution would be attended with great advantage, it deferves the expence, and -any pirfon of the mcft ordinary capacity may, by throwing a careleffs • eye 6v;er the parliamentary grants, difcOver that it is the principle of the ' Britifh goveirnment to expend the public money for thofe purpofes whiclj| «. advance t^e public good. . ihall draw no invidious compariioos betweeki 9iiik fuch / 8ect. Vtl. f^ C O L^OT^TI E S. 447 fuch expenees as thcfe, and ibme to which the nation is very well recon- cilidv . ''^ Others objeA* that we hare trade, commerce, manufaAures, and riches enough, and that excefs of wealth will be our ruin; that the public is cxcemvely poor, but Indirvidttals immenfely rich; the very contrary of which ought to be the cafe. I mUft allow that I have known fuch argu- ments advanced with a wit and livelinefs that has pleafed, but very far from having convkiced me. For fuppofing the f adt8,viz. public poverty, and private weakh, what hare they to do in reference to each other ? Will any one be fo hardy as to aflfert, that the wealth of individuals caufes the poverty of the public. From whence come thofe riches which the public really enjoys ? from wlicnce comes the ability of the public to be fo very poor P Stirely Ardm -private v^alth. Public riches are but another name for the produdl of taxes. Upon what are taxes laid ? Upon private con- fumptton ; that is, upOn privafte wealth. There is only one tax in Britain thHt isnbt laidiupon confumption, and that is, the land-tax, which is but a-fifth of the'w4idlto. 'So tlhat thifr plea, that we have trade enough and too much riches among individuals, is a very idle one, and nothing but the mere fport of imagination. While we are a trading and a naval power, «nd -burdened -UTith ^Aft/debts, trade, navigation, and riches, are eflential Xtb^rhdfrij^timdiHdref' Miches ihould flow into the pockets of individuals, -o^ th^y' v^ill tiev^r c^ne to the cofiers eff the puWlic— — It would be dif- ■ gracing (he underftandinjg of the reader to go through all the' common- place rubbifh that is nfually urged in anfwer to fuch propofitions as thefe. I^nowbutfew at^uments againft them that are founded even in ajhetu '^6f reafon, much left any that are built upon reafon itfelf. * ^ Alltiaral enterprizesi parttclilarly thdfe which relate to the fettlemcnt of niW colonies, hovrever adventurous and daring, are of high import- ance to fuch a maritime power as Britain. It is inconceivable what vigour, alacrity, and fpi?it, is exerted by private adventurers, who fail in queft of new countries, and new means of growing rich. This country, pbove ' ill others, Ihould'hdld fuch adventures in the higheft repute, fmce the foun- datron of all the powe^'knd confequence fhe enjoys was laid in the noble fpirit of adventure of the two laft centuries. Thanks to thofc gallant, brave, and daring private adventurers, for all the colonics at prefent in the pofleffion of Britain, and all that advantageous commerce carried on bv their means. I am very far, however, from infinuating, that fuch new colonies as are at prefent wanted by Britain fliould be left to take the chance of private difcovery and fettlement; and for tvro very matcrid reafons : frj^i they would never be undertaken at all j this age being to- . .i... ^ tally iW^ POLITICAL ESSAYS. .»E«5AY V. tally deficient in that noble fpirit which aCkutted the Colunibufet, the Magellans, the Gamas, the Drakes, and the CaTCndiflies, of the lad age: and, fecondlyy temporary reafons might occafion the fettling of improper . trades and countries, 'which would require the fame trouble and expence as the bed in the world. A nobleman of rery great fortune, and the fpi- rit of the lad age, indeed would be a very proper perfon to undertake and direct fuch expeditions, under the fuppofition that the inftru^tions wluch he gave his people were fuch at promifed public as well as pri- • vate benefits, and that in relation to only one point, viz. the fixing in hot climates alone. But the countenance and fupport of the government would in all cafes be neceflary. Having ventured thefe few remarks upon the general expediency of forming new colonies, which I (hould have extended to a greater minute- nefs, had I thought the objedions which could be made to the plan any other than the common-place notions of the vulgar, great uAfmalU and founded neither in reafon nor experience, I fliall now proceed to men- tion fome of thofe countries in which it would be moft ^vantageous for . Britain to fettle fuch colonies. The firft territories I (hall prefume to name are the iflands of Mindanao . and Gilolo, in the neighbourhood of the Philippine Iflands, both formerly tributary to the Spaniards, but have long ago thrown c^ their yoke, and have at prefent no connection with them*. Mindanao contains 39,200 fquare miles, and Gilolo 10,400 f. The equator erodes the latter, and no part of the former i^ above 10 deg. north from it. Accordingly, their .produdions are as rich as poflible. A modern author, who is very accurate, and hasexamined all accounts extant of the Indian idands, fays |, that they produce all the vegetables found in the other iflands of the Archipelago, of St. Lazarus; . that is, a vad variety of palm trees, the mod excellent cocoas, and the bed of caflia ; wild cinnamon, nutmegs and cloves § ; ebony and fandal wood; • with gold in every mountain; but cinnamon in much greater plenty and perfection than in any. As to fugar-canes, they have long thriven fo well, that fugar there is at a very low price, and exceedingly good in . its kind II . Ladly, a vad plenty of elephants in Gilolo**. Thefe cir- * Mtdtm Umvtrfal HiJItry^ vol. ix. p. 447. . , f Templeman'i f «rv merce, in cunfideratiom c^ a prpportionable tribute, or other fervices«-~ Although the property and pofleffion of the Ladrones and Marian Iflands belong to the Spaniards, yet all mankind have an equal right to know the fituation, hiftory, and circumftances of thefe iflands, and their inhabi- tantSi as well as the advantages that have been drawn, and might be • Alodtrn Unhtrfal Hi/?«iyj vol. ix, p. 562. t Culvcrii Introd, in Univtrfam Gtsgraphiam, lib. v. cap. 11. Luyt's Introdu£fio ad Gfi^ra- phiatn, ki\. 3. cap. 13. Du Bois Oeographic miJetne, p. 2. chap. 14. ait. 5. X p. Charlevoix /li/loire Ju yapon^ vol. i. p. 6. 171. 470. II fitirera, cap a'^. I ^ ?. Benlii, Tab Purchas'i Pilgnmag,\ b. v. chap. 14.. fc<5l. i. ^ DiW[^'\pi'i ytyagdt vol. i. p. 432, 433. •* A.odtrn Univtrfil IJiJhry, vol. ix. p. 570. .m M ra m a drawn, 45« POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V; drawn, from them. And whatevrr niotites they may have had for making fo little ufe of what they do pofleft, there can be no motives to us to be as filcnt as they ; and if, from the influence of thefe motives, they fhould con- tinue for ages'tb c6me to adl with the fame fupinenefs they have done for two centuries '^ft, this will not alter the nature or the reafon of things ; or detradt in any degree from the truth of what we have averted from the lights of hiftory and experience, much lefs preclude the reft of the world from, examining into the poffibility and praaicability of finding fome means or other fbr bringing thofe Scattered iflands and continents, what- ever they may be, lying in the vicinity of thefc poffeffions of the Spa- niards, into cdnnedHon and correfpondence with other known ppi.-ts of the globe j arid therefore we thought ourfelves at ftill liberty to treat this fubjea as freely and as copibufly as, it appears to us, the advantages which might flow from a better acquaintance with th^ iflands and con*- tinents deferved *. Next we meet with the Archipelago called the New Philippines.- Their fituation has been very imperfedly laid down, at which we cannot wonder,jfor the Spaniards have even denied their exiftence. That, how- ever, is' liovv incontertable. The accounts of their latitude and longi- tude differ,, probably, from the great number of them, or neighbouring iflands, littlb known. Thofe diflinguiflied by the above name are fituated to thefouth of the Marian iflands, between the loth and 13th degrees of north latitude. The author whom I chiefly follow in thefe accounts, has given many very fatisfaftory reafons for fuppofing them the fame which were feen by Magellan, the inhabitants of which met him with canoes loaded with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, nutmegs, mace, and gold, wrought into many antic forms f . To the fouth-eaft of the Marian Ifles were other clutters, once named Iflas de Abrofas, Mira Como- Vas, &c. &c. and the Ifle of St. Bartholomew, which lies in latitude 14 degrees north, and 20 degrees eaft of Guam; it is larger than any of the Marian Iflands if. But we have no accounts of their inhabitants or produce, probably becaufe only feen by fliips in their paflage. To the fouth-weft of the Marians lie others called the Coral Iflands, the Archipelago de los * Modern Umverfal Htjloryy vol. ix. p. 587. Dtfcourft of Lopez Van concerning the Spa- n'tjh Power in the Indies^ in Hackluyt's Foyagetf vol. iii. Sir W. Monfon'j Naval Traifs. Atlas Afaritimus, p. 297. t Msdern Univerfal Hijiory^ vol. ix. p. 593. RamuGe ractlto ielle Navigalloni et Fiaggi, torn. i. p. 350. Purehas'j Pilgrims^vo], i. b. ii. chap. 2. p. 37. Eden*; Hijhry ofTrmaile^ p. 430. % GalvanoV Diftovtriest tranilated by Hackluyt. Reye», l^Edt. VH. do L ONIE S. 45$ Rey6s, and feferal others*. When firft thefe iflands were difcoveredt tliey were ^ery full of people, who had proas of different fizes. " But though," fa^ my author, " we have thcfe and other particulars in our ot(f colledions, yet we find no mention of them in modern books, as if it was defigned they fhould retir* again from the knowledge of men, and relapfe'into thefr original ohfcuHty. If this arifes from negligence, it ought to be prevented J if from ft point of miftaken policy, we ought, in juftice to the rights of mankind, to defeat it f. As we are fincerely perfuaded of the great importance of the New Philippines, a- d look upon them, cpnfidered in: this light, as a kind of literary introduction to a com- mercial difcovery, in favour eitherof Spain or fome other country, we have treated rhem accordingly j and though there are fome variations in ac- counts of them, yet, after all allowances made, the great fadts, as to the number and nearnefs of thefe iflands, their abounding in the necelTaries of life; their having a multitude of inhabitants ; their living under a cer- tain form of government ; their having the art of boat-building, and navi- gation, in fome degree of perfedlionj and their being an ingenious and docile people, are put beyond all manner of doubt. Thefe iflands are un- qdeftionably rich and valuable, becaufe they poflTefs almoft all the bleflings that the indulgence of Nature can befl:ow. They have a foft and ferene climate, not expofed to exceffive heat, though in the midft of the torrid zon'e; and never vifited by a blaft of cold. Their foil is wonderfully fruitful; and from the conjunction of thefe they produce all the neceflTaries of life; Their fituation again is fo fortunate, that if they wanted the '■greater part of thefe bleflings, this alone would compenfate all their ' want9; for they lie at an equal diftance from all the rich countries in the ■ "World, furrourtdcd by the widefl: and the mildeft of all fca&-< and capable ^ fVom thence of the fafefl, the moft commodious, and raoft e;;. ilive navi- gation :{:. Ar(i thefe then countries to bedefired? Yet neither are thefe all their advantages ; for mark but the number and nature of their inha- , bitants : the latter fhews us that the former muft be very great : we know but very little of them, but we know enough to be 7.'ry fure of this, ' Becaule we know they are peaceable and prolific. There would be no dif- ficulty in introducing improvements in their conduft of civil life, which would lead them to the difcovery of more wants; but, at the fame time, would inRrudl them how they might be fupplied. They have already m great fund of induflry, which is the genuine fource of wealth; and,, • Heirera Defalpthti dt las ladlas OccidtntaleSf cap. 28. + M:dem XJnivirfd Hijhry^ vol. ix. p. 595. % Galvano'i Dijhvaies in Hackluyti Eden'; HiJ}ory cf TravaUt, Du Bois GeograpUi modtrney p. 701. with 4S4 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. with a very Httle helpj would render them a civil, polite, commercial na- tion, in countries the beft adapted to, and probably as well furnifihed as any with materials for an enlarged commerce. Some relations a^ually fay, they poffefs both gold and filver. That they have fpice too is more than probable, fmce almoft all the countries to the v/eft of them certainly ihave fpices, though the inhabitants, from prudential motives, chufe to xonceal them. But whether they have or have not precious metals, or rich fpices, they may have many other valuable commodities, of which we, and perhaps they, 1. ive not the leaft knowledge, but which a ipirit of commerce would quickly bring to light. We know what prodigious pains the Dntch take to prevent cloves from growing in tliofe iflands to which they were given by nature ; and with what pairs, as well as policy, » they have fecTired the monopoly of mace and nutmegs, as well as with what anxiety they prevent cinnamoc from being br(Might into Europe by any but themfelves *. Wc have already &ewii, that notwitbltanding all this care and concern, there are both cinnamon and cloves in Mindanao ; and it is very certain, that there is ftill greater plei y in the fmall iflands of Meangis, which either make a part of this Archipelago, or are within a few hours fail of it. We farther know, that thefineft nutmegs in the world Me at no great diftance from thefe iilands, and yet where they are out of the power of the Dutch f. What then fhould hinder the tranf- planting all thefe rich fpices into fome or other of thefe iflands ? or what ihould hinder them from growing when tranfplanted out of iflands nearly in the lame latitude where they grow by nature ? more efpeciaUy when it is remembered, that the very thing we propofe to be donc» the Dutch have adually done already, and with the greateft fuccefs 1[., For manag- ing fuch a deiign, and carrying all the arts of cultivation co the higheil perfection, what nation could be wiflied for more fit thsn, without the leafl: thought of an attempt of this nature, thefe peo|de are described to be ? What, with lefs injury or corruption of their old manners, could fupply the wants that a higher degree of civility would introduce, better than this project, if carried into execution ? There is no need of arms, of expence, or much trouble, to do all this : fo that if the fources of immenfe wealth arc not in thefe iflands, they may be fetched from next door. They may be kept too with the fame eafe that they are brought. To * Diiimnatre de Comment^ torn. ii. p. 891. DampierV f'ej'/Jfrt, vol. vi. p. 1 73. + Gulvano'j D:fcoveries in Hackluyt. Dampier'/ Continuation of the Voyage to New Holland^ chap. iii. Hijioire de I'Exptdition dt T'rois VaiJJiaux, chap. i8. kSt. 3., X Funnel'j V'^/age round the Worlds rhap. 9. Memolro fur U Commerce det Holtandois dam toutts Us etats Empires du Mondty p. 14.5. 147. bring &*!CT.Vil. COPHO If TES.: 455 bring all this to pa&, there wanti only an adive fpirit, a tolerable degree df contrivance, and a fteady per£:veraace in thofe who fhall attempt it^. The next countries, whidl it is here re^^uiftte to mention^ are fundry confiderabic iflanda, which were once diicoirered by the Spaniards in the fame ocean, but fouth of the line. But I fhould previoufly remark, that fvear two hundred years are elapfed fince they have been ieen ; for not- wtthftandiogr the sreat Etches t}iey certaifuly abound with, and the im- jncnfe beacntft which' undoubtedly have rei'ulted trom their pofleS^n, yet tJte Spuuaffda, after ode IHHQonceited aite^of^t at finding them again, have «o( only neglected them intirely, but even forbid all fuctheir trials ; leavii^ llien mtk^ to eternal obTcurity, or to the forjCiine of a more active people. The QtAf circumftances known are, that the fituation of ibme of them is in 1 1 ^Mrth Ijktjtinde, 800 leagues weft of Lima ; othejrs 1500 leagues ; others in 6 and 7 fouth latitude; others 10 fouth latitude, and longitude 200 a 10. Some modern writers have fuppofed all thefe accounts. mere miftakes and variations, but there is much greater region for fup- fioling then to^^ relate to different iflands. Some of them have been called 4he 106^ of Solomon ; the Solitary Ifles ; the Ifles las Marquifas, &c. &c. The aecpupts of them inform us, on very good authority, that of thofe 6t0«t^aibout 9 and i^iouth latitude, eleven were diicovered of confider- able fize, viz. about 80 leagues in circumference ; one 150. In modern maps the longitude of thefe ifles is, from 150 to 180 weft of London; others Irqaa JO to i|* &c, &c. They were all well inhabited by people who .^;|4)?^f A|>^^,^^^^^^' They abounded with cloves, ciniumon, ginger, and g<>h^, of g. p. 327, &c. Dobbs's A({ount e/ Hudjoti't Bay, p. 143, 144, 145. jJ were, 45^ POLITICAL ESSAYS. E$8A;Y V. were» America to Afia* and would afford prodigtous afCftance to fuch &^ would touch at them in their paflage acrc^a. t^atimmeorefea. .They are indeed placed by Nature juft where Art would fix them, to facilitate the navigation of fo important a part of the world, and forming a^rand link in that vaft commercial chain, which I ihall by and by more particularly explain. But, befidee thcfe very important iflands, other covnlries^ were difco- vered in the beginning of the laft century, in JR>itth latitude 19 atid 20^ longitude 140 weft of London; and more again by^Davis in 1659, in latitude 30, and longitude 100 ; fituations very advantageous for form<* ing a line of connection a'*-. **" this prodigious ocean. Likewife in latitude 58 and longitude 80, or ■'^reabouts, a clufter of iflands was difcovered by Sir Francis Drake. ^ 'k JUand'sIilands, on this iide Capelibrny are well known. > . -r ■ oi si^J, . ';.; ;{vr ."! t /-•; ;■ ;■, iU r -m Having thus traci ' ^iiai'i of unfettled iflands, which extend through the Pacific Sea, ard -vjiiv'' '••e open and free for any nation to poffefs, | fhall, in the next place, . ? .ipt more particularly to ftate the peculiar advantages which would remit to Great Britain frorid forming fettlem^nts in fuch of them as were found, upon examinatiooy the moft projper for thepurpofei ;;.....*» s. . ■. ? '^rfe'^^gfeat objefliion to forming colonies in the oriental iflands, fuch at Mindanao and Gilolo, has been, the length of the voyage, wliich either weft or eaft Is Idnger than any undertaken even by the EurOfiean Eaft India cotppanies, except that to Canton in China; but ivhere very rich com- modities are in queftion, a long courfe of experience proves this to be no real objedion; but if it was, yet the moft political and fenfible method of profecuting fuch an undertaking would fully remove it : And this leads me to explain the reafon of my making mention of fuch a number of iflands as I did in the preceding pages ; for it might with fome be obje£kcd, that fo many undertakings,— —fo many fettlement^ ator -^ to be thought of, would diftrad the attention of government, a.^. bring the whole to nought. But I apprehend that a little attention to this point wil fet it in another light. The great objedl in view is, the fettling a fixed communicat-on with the above-defcribcd, and other countries, by the rout of Cape Horn, which would be attended with exceeding great advantages. The voyage to the extremities of thefe countries, Mindanao for inftance, would be two ' '-"''■' months Sect. VII. COLONIES. 457 montlis (horter than by the Cape cf Good Hope *. And, by means of fuch a chain of fettlements as I have fketched, all the terrors of fo long a run as that from Cape Horn to Mindanao, &c. would be at an end. The run even to the New Philippines extends through above 150 degrees of longitude ; but even if no more intermediate iflands were difcovered than thofe above laid down, this run would be divided into four parts, and confequently reduced to four voyages^ of lefs length than numbers ■which are already common in the circle of commerce. There are cer- tainly many objections to the manner of carrying on a trade which requires fuch extreme long runs without touching at land. The crews of ihips rauft neceflarily be very unhealthy, and a confiderable number of them generally loft ; for provifions of all forts fpoil, and frefh water is difficult to be ftowed in fufficient quantities : thefe circumftances confe- quently increafe the expences of freight; and in cafe of bad weather or accidents, fhips are not well prepared to meet them. All thefe evils attend the navigation of the Spaniards between Acapulco and Manila, and have ever attended moft of the expeditions which this nation has undertaken againft the Spaniards in thofe feas. But all thefe inconveniencies would be removed, if thofe iflands before named, or fome of them at leaft, were formed into a regular and con- nected chain of fettlcments from Falkland's Ifles, or Sir Francis Drake's, to che New Philippines, or Mindanao. By which means this immenfe navigation would lofe all its terrors, and a beneficial commerce be as beneficially carried on. The great point of converting foreign fettle- ments to the good of the mother-country, might be fully and fyftemiiti- cally purfued, if fuch a plan was executed on enlarged principles, and with a fpirited activity. This will clearly appear if we reflect a Uttle upon the proper method of reducing thefe ideas to pradice. A fmall fortrefs fhould be, in the firft place, eredled either on the Falkland or Drake's Ifles, (many advantages would refult from one on e«ich) with a colony around it juft fufficient for procuring the necefTaries of * See D:imp\eT' s Foyage, in Harris, vol, i. p, 106, 107. The fuperior advan'agcs of fai.- ing to the eaft by Cape Horn, inftead of that of Good Hope, did not cfcape the penetration of a modern author I have often quoted. " If amongft the variety of projects," fays he, " fjrmed by thofe powers that are endeavouring to raife a naval ttrength, they ftiould ever fall upon a fcheme for traverfing the South Seas, and entering this way in;o the Indies, (which is far enough from being improbable) we fliall quickly be convinced that the politics of the Spaniards, Englifli, and Dutch, in negleding and difcouraging that rout, are but indifferently founded, and that thi profits of an Ealt India trade, carried on this way, would very much furpafs thofe that arife from that which is now in ufe." Modern Vmvtrjal Hijitry^ vol. ix. p. 4j6. N n n ' , life 458 POLITICAL ESSAYS.' ESBAY V. life in plenty for fliips that touched. This, or a fimilar plan, executed on fome of the neighbouring coafts, Ihould at all events be the firft ftep in this grand fcheme, upon the principle of clearing the way as we advanced, and knowing every ftep that was to be taken; for, in opening new chan-i nels of trade, to be carried on upon fuch an extenfive navigation, uncer- tainty in the fituation of iflands, coafts, and ports, would be greatly dif- couraging. And as fome of the preceding named ones are yet very little known, they ihould be further fought for and examined, as the fcheme advanced : for inftance, from the fettlement in the neighbourhood of Terra del Fuego fliips fhould be difpatched in fearch of Davis's Land ; there would then be an infinitely greater probability of fuccefs than by fending them from England ; in which cafe they ,. ^ Jd, on their arrival in the South Sea, be pofTibly more fit to put into port than to explore an unknown ocean. In this manner ihould the expedfced difcoveries be attempted from one to another, until tl e extremity of that vaft ocean was gained. A fettlement fliould be foi ned, and a fniall fort ere£ted, as before-mentioned, upon an advantageous harbour in Davis's Land, for the production of provi- fions and necelTaries. From hence I ihould remark other difcoveries ihould be attempted, more in a line between Drake's Ifles and ihofe marked in the maps under the name of Quiros ; whether, for inftance, land could not be found fome where near the interfeftion of lat. 40. and long, 120. If fuch was to be found it might prove more advantageous to the general de- fign than Davis's Land, in which cafe the latter might be abandoned. Probably none of the territories fouth of the latter would be found to abound^ with any rich commodities, fuch being the product of hotter climes. It is fomewhat dubious if Davis's Land would prove rich, but being in the latitude of the northern parts of Chili, perhaps it might. By the word rich I do not mean the producing gold and filver, but tropical fruits. But although nothing more than a fertile foil and healthy climate, with a plenty of necefTaries, were procured by thefe means, the fettlements ought nevcrthelers moft certainly to be fixed, as their great importance in forming links of this grand chain of navigation, and facilitating all future difcoveries, would thereby be eftahlifhed. Next comes the iflands in lat. 19 and 20. and long. 140. which have not only the lame merit as the preceding ones, but the great additional circumftances of their climate, and coniequently valuable produdtions : accordingly we find them very rich in all their vegetable produce, particu- larly in iiig-ar and Ipices, &c Thefe iflands are known to be fomewhat numerous, for which reafon they fliould be very well examined before fettlements were fixixl, that the mofl; advantaocous might be the firft ob- jeds of attention, iluoe it rccjuires as much trouble and cxpence to form ^ " •■ a colony Sect.VH. COLONIES. 459 a colony in a difadvantageous fpot as in the moil beneficial one. Had the government of England pofleffed a true knowledge of the ufe of colo- nies when America was firft fettled, the fouthern parts would not have been neglected for the northern. Hifpaniola, Porto Rico, &c. &c. would not have been left unoccupied for the fake of New England, New York, &c. For thefe reafons the abovementioned illands fliould be well ex- amined before the firft fettleqaent is fixed : a very eafy matter when the fhipping for the purpofe zxGyi^fre/h from Davis's Land. When once a colony was advantageoufly fettled and duly proteded by a garrifou, the great number of iflands from lat. 6 to 15. and long. 160 to 1 80. (among which are thofe fo famous ones the ifles of Solomon) fliould from hence be explored. The fame plan fliould be purfued, of examining attentively, before the fpot was chofen for a fettlement ; but| when once it was fixed on, to render it immediately fecure by a fortrefs. After thefe, the New Philippines and the Liquois Ifles, the Baflieest and laftly the great ones of Mindanao and Gilola : the plan of being well feated in the lafl fettled before the next was undertaken, fliould, through- out this fcheme, be always adhered to. By being fecure, I mean to be abfolutely certain of fituations, to have formed an amicable connedlion with the natives, and to have enl'ured at all times fuch a plenty of necef- fary provifions, that the fliipping might at any time be viftualled. Thefe, with a few other circumftances, are always neceflary in the place from whence new difcoveries are attempted. Before we proceed, it will not be amifs to beftow a little attention upon the general policy which thefe various fettlements fliould principally be founded on. It is needlefs to mention the necefllty of chufing prudent and experienced men for the execution of defigns, which muft either fucceed or fail, in pioportion to the underftanding of thofe employed. Much likewife depends on fixing upon proper fpots to fettle : low marfliy fea coafts (and efpecially in hot climates) fhould every where be avoided ; for fuch are always unwholefome, and feldom fertile in the produiftion of any thing but rice : on the contrary, high, dry, and hilly coafts, are ever extremely healthy, and fuch are no impeachment to ferlility of foil. All the valuable produdions we are acquainted with, are raifed upon found good land that is dry ; witncfs fugar, fpiccs, cotton, indigo, coff^ee, niulberry-trces, vines, &c. &c. ; and to thefe wc may add all the necef- farics of life, rice only excepted. A trad: of fuch land fliould therefore always be fought for, lying around a proper fpot for a fort ; and either upon a fecure bay of the fea for fliipping, or on Ibme navigable river. If N n n i« upon 460 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. upon the latter, the higher up (provided the depth of water allows) a fpot is fixed on, the more likely it is to iind good and healthy land, fince the trads adjoining the mouths of moft rivers are low and unwholefome. But if an ifland was found which bid fair to be of great confequence, the whole coaif of which was marfliy, it would be moft advifable to move up into the country, on the banks of a river that was navigable only for fmall floops, rather than fix on an unhealthy coaft. For a fmall armc d (loop would at all times command the river, in cafe of accidents, againil myriads of Indian canoes. When the fpot was fixed on, the fortrefs ftiould be immediately ereded ; that is, put together (for I fuppofe it to have been framed in Britain) and the cannon deftined for it diredly mounted ; in that fituation it would be proof againft all attacks from Indians, or fuch ihips as probably would prove hoftile. But much greater ftrength would be requifite; the garrifon (hould for fome time he employed in facing it with earth, or what- ever materials could be gained that were moft proper for the bufinefs j if it was fituated on a rocky fpot, proper workmen Ihould be left to form out works in the rock. FortrefTes, ftrong at leaft for thofe Teas, fhould at all events be creded, and fuch as would not be battered into nothing by the unexpected arrival of an enemy's fhip or two. As foon as military fecurily is gained, providing the necefTaries of life come next : but I ftiould premiii that all ilie land ufed for the fort, or plantations, fhould be regularly bought of iho natives. From all the accounts we have had of the iflands in the Pacific Ocean, they have none of the n any inhabitants that would not fell any quantity for a little iron, or a f ""^'il tools not that their ignorance fhould be made a foun- datioi \<:>\ i'\i public knavery as to give them a penny for what is worth an h. ■ ■r;-J md; ; but yet, as the real value of their land is the ideal one fixtu .... by tl two parties, a medium fhould be taken : If they afked ten hatchets, and t>.o or three hoes and fpades, they fhould have ten or a dozen pounds worth of goods given them ; but regularly diftributed, and in fuch a manner as to prevent as much as poffible quarrels amongft them- felves. The bargain fhould be made with great form and ceremony, marks fet up to diftinguifh the boundaries of the grant, and the terms obeyed by the garrifon religioufly. The next bufinefs would be (if the feafon was proper) that of culti- vation. All the implements, cattle, ftock, &c. of a.i Englifh farm fhould be landed from the fhips ; and, unlcfs the ifland was very populous, fome hogs and fheep, &c, tiirnra wild to breed. It is well known what infi- nite SiCT. VII. COLONIES. 461 nite benefits have refulted to many nations from the method the Spanifli difcovcrers always had of fetting afhore a few hogs wherever *hcy came. ^ ■ Seed of all kinds ihould be left for trials; whatever the climate was wheat or maize would infure bread: probably wheat alone^ if only high, dry, and fpund lands were planted. Maize (hould never be adopted but Irora nece0ity, as it is fuflicient to render barren the fertileft trails j fo exhaufling is its nature. But whatever rich commodities might be the produds of the ifland, the attention of the garrifon and fettlers ihould not, on any account, be drawn off from the certainty of always having a plenty of neceflaries : the cultivation of thefe fhould be the firft bufmefs. When once that independency was gaiuc' time to examine the fpontaneous growths, whi( means of knowing accurately what flaples might greateft profit. n would be the >uld be the fureft ti'ated with, the The conduct to the natives would be that part of the bufinefs which would require the greateft capacity in thofe who directed the affairs of the colony. For fome time the chief dependence would be on them for necef- fary provifions : all fuccefs would depend on managing them dexteroufly. The utmoft caution Ihould be ufed to give them no offence : if they were found to be ever fo weak and defencelefs, it fhould never be forgot, that they might prove the mofl dangerous of all enemies. Only prudent and cautious people fhould be allowed to traffic with them ; and that at a cer- tain hour of the day, in th.e prefence of the governor and his principal officers ; for which purpofe a warehoufe might be erected within cannon- fhot of the fort, to which tne goods to be exchanged fhould be carried— and all perfons punifhed Tcverely that traded with the natives in any other way ; — and thofe yet more feverely that, under any pretence whatfoever, ill-ufed them in any manner. Stridt orders fhould be given to every one to have great patience witii them in all matters, and efpecially till their language was learned, after which much of the difficulty would leffen : they fhould be kept out of the fort, but fuffered to walk about the plan- tations at will, to induce them to imitate the methods of culture: all that were willing fhould be fully inflrud):ed in the cultivation of whatever valuable flaples their land produced or their climate would allow ; and the ftrongeft inducement in the world to engage them to it, would be fhew- ing them the quantity of goods they fhould receive for certain quantities of fuch flaples in return. The chaplain of the fort fhould be an honefl well-meaning clergyman, who fhould learn their language as foon as pof- fible, a powerful flep towards civilizing them, and extending their wants ; confcquently their demand for manufa^ures of all kinds would greatly w \r 1^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I lU lit lAO |20 i.25|,.4|,.6 "■" ■■-•■■ < 6" ► 9%, ^ ^J>i *%"^* ^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716)872-4303 \ ^ 4S 4s '%^ ^ J^ POLITlC^i^iSAYS. l£l8 A Y V^' greatly iircVeafSjaAji tlicly Would fbon fihd tKat ihe only means of pro- curing rhem, woiild be to ajiply their induitry to the raifing fueh commodities as their iieW neighbours had taught them. ''f ffioiilS 'ftei^i W(f,itkktfti<;h colonies' ai-e of all others the moft bene- ficial ; foi: iiUih^rbirii''hiUbns of allies are by fuch means gained, whofe labour is is valuiblle to the mother-country as that of the moft ufeful fub- je'fts. Populous cbtoAifis are gdined at once without theexpence, wafte» (^ time of pfedplifi^' thierii : ' fbr i fmall garrifon and a few fettlers would be'fufficieht for apy illland of a moderate ^ze. New markets w6uld be! ppeni;d fdi* Britilh manufadures, in which there would be no danger of con^j^titibnv ai)d ftich purchafers found as could afford to buy them, not- ^ithftdndifig'thfe ffi^h pncebfthe labour bcftoived on them. Thus, to main- tain our own poor at the expence of nations now unthought of, would be a glorious effort of policy; and might undoubtedly be ten times eafier efftd^d, and it iritt(;h leils'^elcpeWcethAh forty fchemes which are every day talked 6f for pirocUniig European miu^kets, in which we are conftantly underfold. ; -^ Suov^.^i'. 'f'H »■(■ > ('•! ■ ■• '' ■''1tyj)c^n fome fuch ^l^ri iV this I'havH'vfentUred to fketch, fliould colonies be tracfed acrofs the Pacific Oeeafn, frbm Catle Horn to Mindanao: But I fhould riStharfc, that whetf \ve cknie to the New Philippines, theLiquois nfandfe, Mlhdartk'6 oi'Gifola', Or ihy other countries in the neighbour- hood of other EUroJi^^n powers, and ambngft Indians who may have been met with by Eurbpeatii b'efore, greater caution would be requifite ; much ftrohger fortreiTes, ahd ihore powerful garrifons (hould be built and efta- biifhed^ fbr the prodi^ioUlty profitable and flourifhing commerce fuch fet- tlements iebuld raife, might naturally be txpedted to kindle the envy and jealbufy of both the iS][)anikrds and l)utch : the latter efpecially would dread the lofs of their monopoly of fpices, a confequence which certainly would enfue; for which reafons the fettlements thus formed ihduld be ftrongly guarded, and freqttdntly vifited by {hips of war. But if our falfe friends, the Dutch, did Jprefurtie to meddle, or for One moment think to adt in a manner derogatory to Vhe honour of the BHtifh flag, it would be a Ihame- ful, .1 dijfgraceful, and a wretched cOhdudl, that did not with the utmoft fpirit refent the injury, and effedlually humble that proud company of merchants, who founded their power upon the moft bloody maffacres, and the cruelleft treachery the world ever knew. Their hlftory, from their foundation tb this day, proves, that the maxim of the Batavian politics is not to complairi of injuries real or imaginary, through the States General, but to fit out fome ftout (hips and take immediate revenge themfelves. In cafe the execution of fuch a plan as I have Iketched, and a confequent but ft unjuft S«:cT. yif. .'? ■■" CO L ONI E S. /> ;T 4<^3 ujnj^uft ill;tr«itflie^t from the Dutch, which, confidering their unremitted diligence tp )ceep the fpice trade to themfelvesi .iiiight he expe(Xcd where- svfr they \ve,i;e attempted tp Ijef^jfed ; the oo^ly, r^uro proper to be made wp^ld be ^th^ to fit Qut 4 ;i%oi4t iquadrofi and Mfack them in the £aft itfeif, pr tp ftize,^U their £hips we met with,, and keep them in pawn for full rppfiratiop to tte honour of the crown as well as the interejis of the spjgj^cT, J£ eyer t^e fecond aft of the tragedy of Ambpyna, or any thing tending toy^ards it, comes in play, pray heaven wenjiay liot have ^ Ja(«,ep,ofBfijtain rece|ve an immenfe increafe. 5ut, ^tb»t a,U,the gr;eat;pwpq/BS .tobeanCweted by the execution of thefe dei- iigns/ might be regularly and fyftematically brought about, inftead of dfepending on uncertjl|n con'ti'ngjencies, and the wavering refolution of individv^aTs, a regular fioi^wHpicaiicMxfhould bckept up from-Britain tp tbeoioil remote of thfie iettlemepts ; a few men of war fhould every year malse the tour of the Ibttled iflands, to affift and relieve the garrifpns, to examine the ftate of the fpr,tifi<;latipns, Jp teQ^^ anlifs, and prpmdte the , expciition pf \i?hat'w?is ipund beneficial : tji^y i[hpi|ld like- wife take under their convoy the {hips which carried out the manufac- tures and commodities for trading with the natives, and which were to return loaded with fuch produds as were the effefts of that trade, or of ^ul^iyation. Such a regular conneftiojn with the mother-country, and ap- pearance of the Britifh flag and force in thofe remote feas, would give the greateft fpirits poflible to all that were concerned in the colonies. Hav- ing thus conduced this part of the defign fo far towards pcrfedion, let us in the next place form a flight idea of the vaft confequences which pro- bably would, but undoubtedly might attend it in relpect of the great, honourable, and important point- that of discoveries. The exiftence of a grea.t /out hern-continent is now no longer doubted ; and that it would in every refpeft prove highly worthy of being exa- mined (whatever end was propofed, whether colonizing, trading, or the mere acquifition of frefh knowledge, at prefent unconceived) no one can difpute, notwithftanding the care with which certain nations * reprefent ^.. it JXi. • Efpecially the Dutch, who have fpared no pains to ftifls all ideas of the real nature and extent of this uiv(jif,as.been rfijoficj,." f,iy ttje authors of 464 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay V. it as totally unworthy of attention. That the e^ctent of it mnft be im- m6nfely greati there are divets rfeafons to pi^ve*. Bat the points of laiid already feen in it prove this '"ivithDut recurring to r^afon at all, Gr^at trails have beeqi partly^.coafted, which extend from the line to fouth latitude 40 : now this jis the climate f of thd world which abbUnds with the richeft produ<^i6ris; fd that thofe who would perfuade us that fuch countries are of little worth, fpeak as much in oppofition to common fenie and reafon, as to all the experience of mankind. However, the few accounts we have had of the little that has been difcovered, prove fuffici- ently that thefe .countries abound in produd^s of the richeft kinds. Not ■ .■ ''-^^v*- ■ ;, . to the Univerial Hiftory, ** that ndtwithftanding the vaft importance of tbefe lOaavda (tht ^itt »ius) there were countries at no gfrehends eight or ten millions of fquare leagues, which make above a third part of our globe. In this vaft trad it is impoffible but there muft be to the fouth of Afia fome itnmenfe continent to keep our globe in equllibrio during its rotation, bv ferving as a rounterpoife to Northern Afiz. VVhoeyer examines the two hemifpheres of tne jgtobe divided borfzontally, that is, by > .'. er r (as they fliould always be) and not by the pieridian, muft be ftruck in obferving fc r. *and in the one beinifphere and fo little in the other i efpecially as he knows that the i.vich a country as all authors fpcak it ; if gold, ivory, and other commodities of great value arc common in the fouchern part of Africa, front Melinda down to theCape of Good Hope and op again to Cape Gonzalez ; here are the fame parallels in New Zealand, New Holland, and Carpentaria. If Peru overflows with fllver, if all the mountains of Chili are filled with gold, the Brazils with every fort of wealth, this con- tinent enjoys the benefit of the fame pofition ; and therefore whoever thoroughly difcovers and fettles it, will infallibly be poflcfTed of territories as rich, as fruitful, and as capable of improve- ' ment as the Moluccas, the Cape of Good Hope, Pcra, Chili, or the Brazils, and indeed as any that have hitherto been difcovered in any part of the terraqueous globe. If wc re- flttSt upon all the circumftances mentioned in the journals wc have quoted, the credit of the feveral authors, ihcir appaient coiuiedlion, and the impoflibility of making forgeries coin- cide fo exa6Hy with rcal'on, with experience, .and with each other; we muft conclude there is ample evidence of there beinj a continent and many iflands to thefouth, all rich, fertile,"' nnd pcpulous. If a trade to ihefe was opened, the fame reafon fhews that it muft be very commodi uis, and produce as great orgrcater advantages than thofe which have refultcd from the difcovery of America. Is it not therefore aflonifhing that this powerful and bufy nation fhould never have undertaken to gratify their curiofity, by the fullefl: convidlion of the ftate ' of this continent !" Mod. Univ. Hiji. vol. ii. p. 357, 359. ^^HarrisV Collecliatit vol. i. JrJijl. da Navig. des Ttna jlujl, p. 257. 466 POLITICAL ESSAYS. "Essay V, fully anfwered; for it ia impoiTthle tooonceivethat people inhabiting fuch cHmates, and confequently poiTefliag the cominoditte« rnoft valuable in Euxope, (houlU not be as eager to exchange their produds for ours as w could be : and it is much eafier to be conceived than exprefied how far thisjtqiechange might be carried, or how mmty miUions ^ people might . |:|e^F|>lied iwitli £uropeaa manufadureSii if thefe vaft oountriel were dif- ^-> What was the amount of manufafiiuring for trade before the diicoverj of America ? A mere trifle ; fufficient to «nrich and employ- a lew paltry ^anfertowns, a city of Antwerp, or a State of Genoa : but compare the prqgr«fs made iince that e^ent ; confid^r the trade of Europe before and unce^ think of the exportation ^ Britifli, Dutch, French, and other manufadbires, nine-tenths perhaps of which are confumed in America, or in Africa in conieqoence of America. What comp^^ibn can he -drawn between the riches of Britftin now and -in the time of Queen Hiisabeth f and yet if we come to examine the matter, we (hall find the fuperiority of the Ifk^ef times tp th^e former, to be chiefly owing to the diicoveryof America. jW^l^is the preifent grand wantof Britain ? A new demand for manufac- i^ix^ gwat enough to fet at work three riiillions of idle hands, who are pipvr f burthen upon the three kingdoms. Is fuch a market to be found in Euc^q^ ? Tbofe who are fo apt to cry out, We hav« trade enoi^h, and more colonies than we know what to do with— — ^ould be alked. Have you aiay unemjfipyed poor ? If you have, you Iwve enough of neither one qr, the other. What is the ufe of trade ? The enabling your own poor to nuintun themfeives at the expenceof foreigners. .*this, great continent of the fouth, and the iflands in the Pacific Ocean, are the only places i»itei-e we can ever hope to find fuch a market as Bri- tain wants ; and an attentive confideration of what is hitherto come to light concerning them, and the probable flate of what is not yet known, will convince us that thefe countries bid exceedingly fair for opening the moft advanta|^Qu», demand for manufadures that Britain has ever yet known. •,;!■? -tv* ^;,;, ■;-!«:,!- '^''V.t f!-^«iq -^fuiiiiJisa '-i. ■ But if tjbkero not likewiie the greateft realbn to fappofe that thefe im- menfecoMotries,i extending from the Line pofliUy to the- South Pole, mud abound iintK^prOdu^tions of which we can have as little idea, as the European^ could entertain of thofe of America before it^was difcovered f If we throw a care lefs eye around us, what a new world of commodities, and many of the rnoft ufeful natures, broke upon us on that event ! There are egual reafons, nay fuperior ones, for fuppofing thefe unknown coun- 3 tries •Is* Sect. VII. COLONIES. 4G7 tries to abound in peculiar produdions. A number of commodities are there probably in bcing» vrhich would open new fpecies of manuftic- tures unthought of, and give bread to millions now unborn. But without confidering the& points mcrelT' in a commercial light, is it iiot aflonifliing that the princes and great men among the maritime powers of Europe, have no more curiofity to become acquainted with the ideas, the manners, the cuftoms, die knowledge^ of io confiderable a part of the globe? all which are at prefent as unknown as thofetif the inhabitants of the Moon. What a wonderful idea is it to think of the arts, the fcieuces, and the fpecies of human learning, which may refide among thefe unknown people ; and wait only for thd adive curiofi- ty of fome European to extend them in a million of beneficial fliapes to the reft of mankind! Wohdiers, as furprizing as glafs, printing, and magnetifm itfelf, may exift there in the womb of obfcurity ; which, im<* ported to Europe, would' open new fields for the minds of mankind to range in. And let meat the fame time add, that we are in want of fucH, to us, unknown fpdteiss of human knowledge. There has, for abohrp a century paft, beoti a ksnd of languor in the learned world— —a totil ceflation of all great Ind nfefiil diicoveries, which has thrown the viHaraieft purfuers of the arts and fciences into a beaten trad):, in which they are con- tented to refay, in a new manner, what their more fpirited anceftors had faid before. Nothing gives a greater adivity and vigour to the human mind than unthought of and important difcoveries ; they open new regions of fcience, and lift the ideas of mankind from the dull rotation of comriion- place fads to the glorious fphere of invention : one difcovery brings on another ; the general circle of knowledge is enlarged, and every ait and icience receives new improvements. Thefe are noble advantages, but they can never fpring from the tame and infipid rdpofe which broods at prefent over Europe. But befides the arts and fciences unknown to Europe, which it is pof- fible the inhabitants of thefe vaft counti-ies may be pofTeiTed of, nature would certainly prefent frefh kingdoms to the eyes of the natural philo- fopher. "What new wonders of creation might we not exped to fee amongft the beafts, birds* fifhes, reptiles, and infeds, of foconnd^rafale a country as extends from the Line to the Pole ! What a variety of new vegetables, and probably many of confiderable ufe, would be difcovered,. to ttie prodigious advancement of botany ! What might not aflronomy exped from the view of fuch an unexplored firmament, and the neigh- bourhood of what may be called a New Pole ! In a word, what a frefll world will be broueht to light by that prince who has genius and refolu- tuiiity of i prince'^s ^hrdlling hisf'ndtne amongJthe inoft famoms difco^ verers, but by determining fteadily to penetrate intio the receiTesrof thefe immenfe regions, and bring them at once to the light of the wprld in a fcientific fyflematic manner, if I may' be allowed the expreflions z^r^r— not to ftnd out a fcattered fhip or twoi juft to prove the pra^ic^ility of the fcHeme, but come home after having done nothing j but to.profecutc it vigoroufly, by taking fuch meafures as ftiould be in uo danger of proving inefFedual. There is no prefumption in aflerting, that the inonarch who does this will gain a greater, a better founded, and a more lafting fame than the hioft renowned conquerors. What myriads of kings have been born to eat, drink, reign, and fleep, and have left the theatre of human ad.'ons, without a name equal to that of the meaneft American difcoverer ! How few, w;hofe fame is comparable to that of a C)olumbus> a Magellan} a Raleigh, a Drake, or a Cavendifh I But let us liiften a little to the voice of timidity and {loth, which too often ufurp the garb of prudence ; ■■ l et ns hear what thofe' men will advance, who, had they lived in the court of Ferdinand and Ifabella, had. ridiculed the great Columbus for a vifionary projedbsr. Let us examine the t)bje£lions which are moft likely to be in general made to this whole plan.; and fee if they are founded in real prudence and found policy, or only a fet of faihionable arguments equally advanced againft all great and new difcoveries, and commercial improvements. I before examined the propriety' of aflerting that we have colonies enough; andattempted to prove, that the more perplexed the affairs of this country with her old colonics are, the more burthenfome they prove to her, the greater the danger of their becoming lefs and lefs beneficial, or the more the difficulties that occur in changing the policy which has occa- fioned their defeds ; by fo much the more neceflary is it to- feek out and plant new ones. But, in addition to fuch an objedlon, it may per- haps be aflerted, that fuppodng it ivas found prudent to aim at the ejla-k bliJJjment of a nenv colony or two ; yet^ to execute fiich a plan as I have laid doivn, "would be impra^}cahle<, from its extent, ivhich ivould occafton, numerous failings, mid much ill-fuccefs, and at lajl defeat the ivhole i«/f/;- tion : But if on the contrary, fuccefs did attend it, the number offortrejfes and fettlements •would be too great to keep up without an immenfe wa/ie of ' men and money. -■ - In anfwer to this objedlon, let us in the firfl: place remembe^j that the diftradion which fomctim.es refuUs from the engaging in many under- ' fi . ^ takings Sect.VIL COLONIES. 4S9 takirigs at dflce (a circumftance, however, th^t feldom attends the ope* rations of able men) would not be a confequenc^ of the preceding plaq;^ becaufe it id cxprefsly propofed to make pretty furcof one fettleipent fjrtti and ufe that as the mean's of proceeding :■; every part of the ro^d'to be well furveyed (if I may ufe the expreflion) and known befor^ it^ii» extendedi'fo that the defign would be uniform throughout, and, ever^l fuccefs but a preparatory ftep to further attempts ; confequentjly, if ,,any failings olr' itt-fucccfs unexpefledly interrupted the execu;tion, fvicK miu- for tunes 'wonld be fpeedily known and reniedied before a furt|i6r pro^i^fs was undertaken; that the great principle of the defign n^ightridt'be for- got, that of forming a chain of fet dements and ports acrofs the |*acfficf. Ocean. Biit if a link was broken in the center, and the extremity lepgt^- ened before the reparation of it, the conduft would be unppliticat, arid" more of i piece- with the politics of Spain, who pofleflcs a navi^atioiJL already acroft'this ocCan, and might have a chain of conneftron, but ne*^ gleets it, than fimilar to what might he expeded from a trading power.- — The ftrength of the preceding objection therefore muft lie (if any where) in the extent "of ' the fettlements after the defign was completed. ', ■ '"^ \r\ ft f *t*o this' part' of Mi it' ts no improper anfwer to refer to'the^eitent'd? the Portuguefe fettlements in the Indies, when they werq^ ia the height^ of their power; that is a vaft chain of poflefl^ons, fettlemenits, colonics,* fortrefles, cities, and iflands, from the coaft of Zanqueb?r in Africa, alqng^ all the coafts of Perfia, Indoflan, the Pcninfula, to Chma, and even ja- pan ; befides the numerous iflands in the Indian Archipelago. The great extent of thefe poflefltons did not prevent their wifeit governors from fit- ting out (hips to difcover the great Southern Continent : — they regularly' found that this connected chain of fettlements and fortrefles, inffead of being: a burthen upon them was the caufe of their power j each link ftrengthened the other : A great trade was carried on, miichf 'i^'ping and many Ifeamen employed ; and while their power lafted in the in lies, their monai'dhy Veas more confiderable than ever it was before or has been fince^ Nor did the defigns of the Dutch, of railing themfelves in the Indies on the fpoils of Portugal, fucceed from the unwieldy extent of its pofTcflions* but from the avarice and depravity of the Portuguefe governors and CDmmanders ; and from their raifing up fo many Indian enemies, who were ready to join the firft of their foes. Thofc who will read the hif- tory of the Portuguefe empire in the Indies with the leafl: attention, wiU be fenfible of this tadt. The Dutch, whofe Indian politics have been fo hip;hly ma^^nifijd, ^ycre far enough from thinking that any inconvcniencics rcfiilted from exf,:ni uf pojTcflh.is r -470 POLITICAL ESS.AYS. Essay V. poMfffions ; for^ they not only built their power upon the ruins of that of W^PbrtUgUcic, but exceeded them in the number and flrength of their '(ckiev and xbrtrefles ; and as they conduded their affairs much better thati thjeift ptedeceflbrs^ they were attended by fuccefs, which has now conti- jdiira uhihterrupted above a century and a half. — If thefe nations, there- il^i hivi found the benefits of ading in this manner, and never expe- neac'w kMy inc^onveniencies from numerous commercial forb^e^cc^^ and ftilVitiiiijM '^-ildtAy.piQxi ijS great weaknefs in fancying that yk (hould, vrhcy'nre'neait'itlkree' times over a more numerous nation than both the Putch '^nd l^ortoji^ucfe together. But if this circumftance was not fo, yet that of (j^at Bntain*8 being the fird naval potentate in the univerfe, would moce than balance forty weights in the oppoflte fcale, fince a paltry ibrt, Wheirever fituated, under the protedion of the Britiflx flag, no one will deny to be more fecure than large cities under the dominion of na- tiooa weuier at fea. The lafl war is a noble proof of this truth. - The prefent American pofTefllons of Britain are no impeachment of this rieafoning, becaufe they arc fo populous and internally powerful as to be in no want of garrifons and fortreflfes ; in fa£t, a|l w^ have on that con- tinent, yfiaintained by the mother-country, amounts d^ly to a few trifling forts tdkeep in awe an handful of raggamuffin Indians. Our American, colonies iierefore fupport — or, at leaft, might fupport themfelves.— — Howprer, the comparifon between the niunber of lettlements and fort* relies of the Dutch in the Indies, and thofe propofed by Britain in the Pacific Ocean, will bear no proportion ; for the former have more in one fpice ifland than would be fufficient to extend the propofed chain from Cape Horn to Mindanao: and if difcoveries were multiplied in the pro- grefs, and fettlements formed on the great Southern Continent itfelf* yet the number of our fortreiTes need bear no proportion to thofe which the Dutch, a nation fb tirifling compared with ourfelvest maintain in India. Thefe comparifons fhew us, therefore, at leafl^ that this, in^agi- nary formidablenefs of extent of fettlement is a mere phantom, and np cbjedion to the execution of fuch commercial plans as would, prove fo greatly beneficial as thefe. In a word, the truth is this, if the confe- quences refulting from the plan are good, it deferves the trouble, and ex- pence ; if bad, the contrary. The very latitude and population of tlie cCluhtries before fketched are alone fufficient to prove thefii;fl:^ nocj^- cumflances give any reafon to fufpedl the latter. i-'i*. One very confiderable advantage of the fuperlor naval power of Britain, is the eafe with which fhe can connedl and fupport diflant fettlements. Every natio& in th^ world but her, who is the firfl maritime power, would, on Sect. VII. COLONIES.' ^ifi on fuch an occafion as this, be neceflitated to buud much itronger tq^ TtSks and keep larger garrifons on account of iucli inferiority. If the vaft importance of a fquadron of men of war, annualW vifiting th^fe new- formed fettlements for a few years, be conHdered, it will be found that this expence of troops and forts would hj no means be fo great as at firft iight may be imagined. Ltt us fuppo^ one in the neighbourhood of Cape I^bm ; a fecohd either on Davis's Land or fome ifland more to the weftward ; a third and fourth in the other iflands fouth of the line ; a fifth in the New Philippines ; a fixth in the Liquois ; and a feventh in Mindanao.— The Dutch have above twice this number oli Jirong fort" reffes in ^Jhigle ifland of Cevlon for the fake of ingrofling i^t Jingle commodity of cinnamon. If other difcoveries were attempted, and a trade opened with the great Southern Continent, others would be necefTary ; fuppofe double the number, they would form very weak foundations to build an argument upon againft the propriety of the fcheme. The lingle town of Gibraltar cofts the nation twice as much as ten fuch fortrefles i(k the Pacific Ocean, and not one hundredth part of the benefits refuh from it. Nor would the drain of men by colonizing be greater : I always fup* pofe the government to have prudence enough to guide the einigrat^ona that are made to any colonies. Emigrations there mud and will be whe- ther we have many or no colonies, and abundance of foreigners always at the command or Great Britain to tranfport wherever (he pleafes ■ ■ i « We have every day inftances of this : the only point therefore is, to deter- mine what colonies (hall firft be peo^iled. ' The next objedion may, T think, be fomCwhat of the following nature: ■ ' As a principal defign ofthit plan is to procure Jpice-ijlands^ the Dutch nvould not otily take umbrage at it, but prevent the execution^Jlnce it is ivelt known hotv fiverely they treat all/hips they meet -with near their fpice- ij^tindti br even attempting to make difcoveriej on the fouthern countries^ And di the Spaniards have extenfive claims in the South Seas ^. and are very atttbitious oftetephg the navigation of it to themfilves, they likewije ivould beoJeHdedatthiscondnil, If the fchenjie was a mere chimera, from which no good could refult, ii would ht weak to MWg any oblediOns to it : but if, on the contrary, gireat and noble advan^ges V^Ould probably accrue to this country from itsexe- ; cution, to bring fuch an objection as this could only move the laudable indignation of every Briton. The Dutch have furely no pretenfions or claim to a monopoly of fpice a moment longer than t^e culture of then* * is negleded by other nations. They have not fprmed even pretqnfion* to any one of the iflands or countries I before fketched, unlefs drawing; the ^v POLjJIiqAi-^l^ilAYS. ^^s^x^^ 5M,t vyhatpyer,tl)ey claim in£|U(;^8,i|Qt;,^ ,Ki??W 44}mval.it. .1 ,, .The Spanish .?launs here IVint^d ;^ ^j^ ipuch of ^thp farn^ nature. They IjAVe a captain,' with a company or two of ib'l4ier3, ln"a paltry fort at 'Avitn i-v o-iupc n rio-TiK tn M.'hnf flnr'S \t crivf a fight ^ To 4 WholC COntl" America, ttie whole ,was ights of MaficIIaii : W4 of any kinci Whaiev^f which the Sj^kniards f-ii-ll-^^liat is, We left it for thofe' who' Vy^uW.-liiiiii have^a^^'Ae; and have therefore a^ript'fli^We'ito : a 473 fMT.vn. .3 COLONHf gcHui ip hi* YO^fAfe, to diicovcr t n6W jflitiidi 1^ ^s alhcke, )>1ants a crafiit t^ ;^C^ (^1* *^^i^* After biva, cam6$ jKr^ Francis Drake ; he ^ot* tlliQr^i make a tre^jty vritk the nativM» aivl jpisrcbafts a certain quantity of Hfnjf builds A fort, and leaves a^arriibn'i yrho has the beft'rf^ht tt) ibat UUiici? Surely the latter. But its his ri^fi^ extends no further tHifi 1^ Diireh^, — -^^tbers inaylikewirc come and purchafe ; but if the eonl^ momtles of fucb ifla^ad arerichi that Will not be fo convenient:— -i—^fbrcc If thep JivOUgbt in. Whatever fuccecds, matters no|t to the prefcfli'iioint} r— — that j^o^^Imi ofa fingle Icre j^lves a better right, than the ttttt difco- ireiT. Ana thali according to the ideas of Europeans^ any nation has a iignt to form feJttlements in whatever countries are unpofejfed by others. Spain had a very good right to fet^^.Q»fifofpii|^ .,Q9j;^Hbftanding England iras the firft dilbovcrcr. ',," . ' In refpe^ to the iflands of the Pacific Ocea^t the Spaniards do not themfelves know w)hat they firft difcovcred: — their firft navigators chrif- fiedetl certain iflands, which the beft Spanifh writers now are quite dubi- ous about.-— *>-Soine aflfert that Magellan's iflands were here., others in (1(1 that they were there. One Oiys he failed through the Ladrones ; — an- other contradicts it, and aflerts it was through the New Philippines. But whether it was one or the other, or neither, matters not a farthing in xefpeA ot right. They have, what ive call, a right to what they pof^fs ; and if they chufe to extend thofe pofTeflions, fo far as they extend them tb far will their right be extended. But to imagine they have an exclufi ve light to what they do not poflefs, is as contradidory to the condud of the world as it is repugnant to common fenfe. Magellan failed through the Archipelago of St. Lazarus : -— The Spaniards from hence lay an cxduflve claim (according to fomeof their old writers) to eleven thoufand iflands. They took care to fix upon a number large enough, that it might extend, I fuppofe, to all that ever were difcovered in the Pacific Ocean. But whatever their claims of this fort are, they, by no means, are objec- tions to Britain's executing fuch a plan as I have {ketched ; for Spain ha|s neither juftice for their foundations, nor power for their fupport. Thirdly, It may perhaps be afTcrted, that the length of the voyage to ihefe parti of the world is too great to ejlablijh prof table jettlements. This would be an objection of importance, were none but commodities of fmall value, but great bulk, to be brought home; but is of no effed againfl: the produddon of fpices, cochineal, raw filk, &c. &c. or even fugar; for the firft come to Europe now by as long a rout, and a confiderable quantity even of the laft. Qunmon experience therefore tells us, that no aavigation is too long for the tranfport of valuable commodities. The only '1.1 w. tfSSA YS. U 1^i^^^ • ii{\.\ ituf >(pedaHy iWiS^ Iky t»»e tHjin to A^If d&$ ,b^ *d; jiaipje ,^t (J^iJ j&^ip^rft^ iriOftih8i*i"'BuW on the omt han4,'^Mt(^]^ )V^^ t'-yfa«4fd fThefe ire theit5TO(eittu.f^w^,% ^m!Cjj,,ag4 fc^e^jj(-^^.y and^^tooftt valuablci; , nor is r o^vigA^w, ?fq ^v^>f 9Bl?g^'^. Wlrft^Xl ^^i few jrf»bi?|i octaf^oo? t^m. ,*I>€y,.«ncQurage ,%^.^i^4^t9]>' ««'< «V4^. refpeds, of incomparable value t6 a maritime "atipHj.;ii^f^it|^B^ thofe branches of commerce, and thofe fettlements wtrcii are the l^ppc. , of long vof^ages, ought, from €¥ei?y fe^fili^le., »^qplq, jt?Plr^f9Cive peculiar dttention^--*— '■ Thenotion of foiling ^7 9r Wco^Jfi^ift^ J^ 4n4ie8," fe^s a very penetrating writer, ^» fiiftieptered J^tp'tl^ i^^m^tioi^b^^^ liittibo*; and yet there is great rc^feh tPBref^m?,,jt)^t^^f (tfijji^^^^ fi1^4iavemade.a right cakulatJQn, apd h^ ^^(^ij^ftgg^ rA'ai; «^^^^ itfferngitiidemuft betraverfedittfjjcll a cOijrfp, »i'3fjwf ,te£>^ege;d Igv4h.:t0'fcim a matter extremely dpubtful, if,M^ji^^«^,W iftXk^feriiis of years, and thit a very ftbrt oirte^ ft|?iie^ taf CjQluiwbtife tq that of Magellan, there Icarce jijteqrj^oed tljii'^y^, tl^'isi was t^fleeitedv Jitodertakcft, and executed j ?injj (cofiftcjiieptly ipcq^patfw^^ ^i^ifer iwjiroveiaent was made in this p;i^ of navigatio© tWtf in the ^anl;^ hbttdreds, and even thou&ods of years preqe4in|;i,; ^^^^ f<»^ ^ihctit^is $pke^ men>in adiwt to excite their Jacttftief v jand ja injUame H^it e&Shgi hy inmktlany and to make" oiu dijcwf^ ajjiep to^anothef. '^t nims: h) means Kkt theJfithatjj^AT 90 wucir WAS' lix^Uz p $0 ^sWALil A TIME i attd^vthens^UB i^thjifc/n^^ans ibc^l^^^ It may, laftly, be objcacd, that the execu&''^fJ3''/i^'^M'^ii1a ■^tlajhivith^^heiintar^ pfwr Eqft India company i/qr0lt^ou^h^jfe/y '■'''>{••*■,, 'f ■ , • - ' : "■ ' .^> ,.:., : • '« It may be fugwefted,'* fays a modern author, *• t!iat }f the court of Gpaiii-warf t^ffo ''•-■ , » ,./i --..-; -i..^_-.. —>.^ — r, — «paintag,their.carao ihereV iarted from tHi cotjft of' Peru to China, e b^eficial,, th^gbw^eeiWnly 11^51^^ not fVotrcanir ^^'c^th'd*^^ ftaVf" traced in tlif |>re<;e^jg plan. .4iji ^iej of oiir own V^^ebnif futtely dugbt to give way tothe/otl^eri i Jhtt; if cit&H India coaitnbditie^'N^ei^ t&u^ n^ed, tea ibr iiiftanoei vy^l4 Mr]/^ M^kt ati ihfiiiif^ diffi^^^nce'to Britain betw^n the j>ur(^iiQg >(hein. Wf^ liiver, or with her oWii manufadtai'esi The oxpOrMtioa of bullion, ia iiot ihe great mifchief ; it is the want of that of manufaAures. "ilie end <>f ii^de iihd C^oiifimerce df wh&ttvtr kind is indulftry ; that is, employment for our poor: no matter what the means' a#B<^Wluoh conduce to (bis ^n^t ''^^to^M^'tiWtijyi t^eii^ ftek^aretSie on3y ones imhich carry even an appearance of reafon with 6iem: And that it is but an B^[^pe«vaatie> imore, arguments ipdght be brought, tQ,|>rofV|S than I have ihfi^ on;; But fin^e th^ pl^n of fettling variqvs iftainds* S(c. in the V-di/fx- Se 0cw» an^ ppfnii^gf |i ^rade iWth' the inhabitant^ o Ibuthern continent, i&tnot 0Qlyjpr?(ii^^lie*'but (o extr^mel)^ e3t;^(;4i^i','^et )q> in the next place! confidier ot what great importance that ^hain of ^^ildm^ht^, which r firft fketcl^ed, would be towards faoilifiating any £urti)ier (^i(- yett ia all probabil^tyi^^he Pficj^^Q^c^aa might be full of iflands} and haye alfo -hinted more than once at an hypotheu|^ .ui<^,. tf ja^- niitted, would eftabli^'tbis fyAem^ ' (Obfirvationt Phyfiqut tt Mathematiqut an. (Htirii-a iMqription^tastndm Ocddeatahs, cap. a8. Eden^s ISftory a/ Traviiki^rgi^W. Monfin'rJN^ The Kew P!iilit>ptn?s, hoewithftanding, is the moft ftrmng^proolnfi^^H^, lince. fihef r^n^v^it evident, that what we fuppofe of the vrhole is 8t-lc«(t..#ue of, a part; nor i^ this proof at all lefs authentic for its being accidental ; for that i$ a pregnant teftimony in favour of another propofition more than once mentioned, that the Spaniards are not (b muCh ignohirft oi this as indifpofcd to acknowledge and unwilling to have it difcoveied. This appears from - .the S»fTi.SJk 9 9f'fi}fi^^A ^iW -, tra^ji^',0>pijfd)il(Mie,b<; j^pttiiiSJf o W^t^nt^^^^^ iatercourfe te^w<^|i t*hj^Mj 3^4 41m; wdj^^^/,^^ too eafily afFrpMteitV ai' defcriptioiis. Npr would the additional expence incurred by theie means itr;i-: fl'i^-^xtradrdinaiy ftriAneTs'of therr kWingetieni' whicfnwe 1i«ve<^ood-re«(en^to-b«Iteyt< arc not carua1hr,defe£Hve, biH intentionatly reftri^ted in this futicuht, (GalveHf, Sir IVilf Bani Jl^mbni Naval 'Ttefffs. Lord Anfon^s Vtyagt.} The Ame thing appears from their chains, But managed w'rth great prudence andaddrefs; for all new i(Utid» ate l;i(erted as fooii as'dtfcbv^ted/tM^HeWnt'the ftibnize oFtheir wifliitig to conceal tlierti \ but then, ifland» lon^'t^fOffsl^iretiMit^d are left out; fothatthe ni6dern charts are not M all fuller tkm tboRe ihimlh^p cenWies ago. Add to-this^ that nodifcoveries whatevei;;tcm|^tithi9in»tion tqp^ fcetd i^y furthCTi Ti6*p,^afiiy f6ivcr that "might be done, or with wl»t^ycr,<^dv:am^geous.cthie^firftdiieOv«ry by Magellan nHhff'AcclMpnIlgftibf ^t» luazar rus, comprehending, according to their computation, eleven thoiiraadjiflaQdA>.,^^.(^S(/^«<4< Jio Raccofu'^ (ic. iim. i-py^YS' '^Jtr^f«lsCt*iqwJld de las Mbs I^iUkcai,A^,'\f. > P^hU y'Mefi •Hf/hfre tkt ffleiMoriinn^H Ht, i; ) ' "& Uha* how much fotfvrrfoUhfdimSlrijQeffiay 'cU(h wj^ their politics, there is nothing tltatbrthtin that they dti}vr not m/uMh fiomusin their .opinj<>n* Afodti-nUnh'trfitfjJiftJryiS.'Ql.bl'.p.bii,^'''' t-^HJ^^JJi. jji.ud iji loi ouiianJus ei)l Kb 1g '""•''■ '^" •/, '"■ '-^^'-i" ■ ■'' '■^•'J rt'^^fioimofri O.K. nijrfj :)-iu;ri noi5ilu<:»)-,q vuiJofUe w..i» ■•ii.aijqfc .H' i iyJl^^oonl n svfid oj goilS-wnij uns:>W its lift^'i'h' m^ aiMvity which diftiht Sidmtiit3^'M\iW^obtiSbhi"<^^pHm feU'fVbb^hdi'^envrcd fituatitm as foon as t!rfilt^v|got%titt^''lliii3iilfe «!feho died' ^Atti^the prudence of guarding what wSs ilrejldy-' gair/4J*i' ih^ettd'^ kee^?Ag^'4iive for the fame Jjiirj^bfe that cbtirag^c \^hich' iHonfe'wbn k. 1<^ verdi'dpWtifh courage ^pbfear'in fuch i^Iorfiirtas «ght 'i^ *i^ the raidft'k|'^^^th«itM;fircamaivi^ai^ world ill the face of potent mivies P SlooipSf lik'i^i'rdiQibhlKb, piiltiaceBi cockboats ! A feaman would now aflc 'k Mp 6if ' all^ huiitdfi^;^ijl td^|t^* form that Which our Drakes and Gavendi^trc^t^t^'ia^biK c^its^iiainfy- tons. — —This, however, is no repfoach, iei8'ih^tfk^i^of'<9i^'i(^)j'And that heroic fpirit of the fifteenth century f|ij^g;' fifelm, 'iiid"w*w kepi alive by the ipirit of difcovery. ^ ^ Ifhall conclude with a few admirable remarks of a late author, fpeak- ing of the difcovery of the New Philippines ; ** It is, indeed, very fingular* that, confidering their fituation, the number of them, and their lying, as it were, within feveral circles, one within another, in the very midft of countries pofiefled by the Spaniards, they (hould remain for two centuries, in a manner, unknown, or at leaft unnoticed. It is yet more firange, that after the firft intelligence of them, and that too by accident^ they (hould remain upwards of fifty years, in a manner, half difcovered. It is certainly very fuprizing, that in an age fo enlightened as this, an event of this fort fliould be fo little confidered or attended to; and that the finding of thefe iflands (hould be regiftered amongft the relations of mifiionaries, the collections of focieties deftined .to the promotion of fci- ence, and be, in a manner, wholly (lighted by the greiat world* by geo^* graphers,' hiftorians, and ftatefmen: From all of whom, from the nature of things, difcovedes of this kind claim -more immediate regard*." This .certainly (hews, that the noble and heroic fpirit which di(lingui(hed the fifteenth century, and which was attended with fo many illuftrious eventi^ * Le S^jfit (let Loix, liv. 20. c. i^S. and Sect. VIT. COLONIES; I '111 ..Miifi ''. I' ji ijjii. 479 and fuch prodigious advantages ^lp^c^j^at|iUQt9o£E^urope)hoiyevc;r^ 4^^^ managed in fome refpefts, and in all perhaps out too much mifapplicd, has b^ie^, gI^d^aUy ^vajpors^ting,. and is now on the point of being, extip- guiOi^S And this fro^thf ycij^ principle that firft excited, and ought etvjw.tp lfeqp;i^,?iive„,a,nrQp^ity, to commerce; which, while we^^^^a- 'VmJihfapf¥!9f^^ ^1? ceafe tp extend} and, while we quay^ql, J^j;^ ^^4 pWt*[»boyt,lwJi*<;Wffilwve, difcpu^rage thofe difcoveries that ipjgh,^ e^iploy, enrifilb i^n^^^ntcftt us all.— But it will be faid, that the viewsi oi^pfpcp^^ a^ p^i^i^i^ are very different from the vilions of rpeculative;ine^«\{irl^p travel pn^y .,io their clofets, make difcoveries upon paper, ^nd^ j(iraq»^e fcheme^. for titwn^elTes^ and men of ^ like turn to admire, .but wnioh great piiqifteie treat with deri^on. The truth of this is not to b^ diflpu^?)^. But th^ p^int to, ie^ijguii;^ ;ntp is, who are moft likely tOi be in ttie right? Princes 2fnid politicians are great names; perfons of {ciencQ and fagadty are grj^at men. The former are generally occupied about tli^ conceirns of th^yiir own times ; the latter look forward, and endeaypui^ the benefit qfpp^^i^^yr. I^^as not Ferdinand, though honoured wjrt^ ]tJl>f t|tl«(fif rrtft ^ife the Grcaty and the Catholic, who difcovered ,tij^ j:if^. '^QCldy. but|)O0i;<^lumbu8; who had been treated as a chimerical project tor,|apci, whofe.yaft deligns had peri(hed in embrio, if Ifabella ha^ hot' enabled him to carry them into execution by pledging her jewels*; , ' ', \^.y JiMtTH Uttivtrfal Hifttrji vol. ix. p. 57 j •(lav , i OW3 tMi^ihiJiR -yd oof tK/it h- rjv()jlif> 3xfj to gji r// ji 3/; <'gni-ii§ iid'T *■ ;^ biC33i sjiw'b'jmnn aiom mifit) btnjf -Jiffj '^o «3iTjvoj>ib ,i^;^nirfnc> Uafi .^•i -j!V f»l fKiSKi iiai> /Jji I 48' ] E S 8 A Y VI. OfthePj'e^tScateof the COMMERCE of GREAT BRITAIN. THE tranfitton from agriculture, mtnufa^hires* aad eolooies, to commerce, is Aot abrupt ; for the firft are tlie caufesyitad the latter is the eflfeftc As it would occafion much confiifion to examine all the branches of -the Bcitiih commerce in one genoal view, I £hali aifign to each a feftion ; firft giving a oondfe ftate of the trade, and then adding fuch -reflefkions as are neceflary to elucidate the faAs* Upoa jtfiis plan, i3ie following divifiona will be neceflary.; 'h Britijh Commerce with the. Baltic. ^ II. With HoUand and Germany. - in. mtb France, IV. fFitb Portugal* > V, With Spain, • t VI. With nay. VIL Wtth the Leuottf, VUI. Tbe-coajiing trade. IX. The inland commerce of Qreat Britain, X. The plantation trade. » *. * ■ * XI. The Britijhfijheries. XII. The Eajl India trade. XIII. The African trade. .-^y XIV. General Jlate offhippingt navigation, tannage, andfeamen. XV. Of the balance of trade, XVI. Comparijbn between the commerce of Great Britain and that of other countries. XVn. Oftbfi confequences of commerce to the general welfare of the nation', the means of promoting it ; and conjeSlures on its future fate, Q^qq '^^i POLITiCAl ESSAYS. Eisat VI,. S E C T. 1. P/tbe Brttijh Commerce nvitb the Baltic^ | THE exports of Great Britain to Ruflia, Sweden* Denmarlc, an^ Norway, coniift of (bme manufadlures, tobacco* tin, and lead. Her imports are timber, iron, copper, hemp, flax, iinen cloth, linen yam, leather, furs, and potafh. This trade ought to be confidered in two lights ; in reipe^ of the balance of the whole, which is paid in cafh, and the ba-* lance of the exchange of manufadures. It is very 'well known, that there is a large balance againft us in the Baltic trade; but that, although a rery difadyantageous circumftance, (for it is always beneficial to pay foreigners with the labour of our poor, that is, with manufa^ures) is not the only one to be confidered in forming an eflimation of a branch of commerce. The only manufacture we import is linen cloth, the amount of which is not comparable to the quantity of our own fabrics, which we export; befides the tobacco, which is the fame thing, being purchafed in American with them. So far therefore this trade is advantageous. And as to our other Baltic imports, they are all raw commodities, to be manufa^ured here, or at leaft necefllaries} hemp, flax, iron, copper, &c. are both; and timber is of great confequence to us in fparing the confumption of our own growth, which is much more valuable. And if it is confidered,. that the more timber we raife the lefs com we (hall produce, it will not be found difadvantageous to import enough, for all common demands from other countries. All thefe imports, except linen cloth, (which, however, is a very pernicious one, and ought to be prohibited in favour of our Scotch and Irifh fabrics of the uime kind) occaflon a very confldexable employment of our own people: - • ■■ they are the foundation of many very important manufadures ; they are of very great confequence to the fitting out of our royal navy ; and, laftly, are moft of them neCeJfaries, Thefe benefits are highly adequate to the evils of exporting our own coin and bullion. But here It may be fald, How are thefe remarks to be reconciled with my account of this trade elfewhere, in reference to our colonies^ The cafe is very difl^erent. I am here dating the trade as it is in itfelf ; to in- terweave the interefts of our colonies would be to confound the fubjeft, and only to repeat what has been faid before. This commerce being as beneficial as I have ftated it above, is no proof that it would not be more beneficial to purchafe the fame commodities of our coloniils intirely with manufactures. That is too evident to require a repetition; it is impof- fible 5 BSCT. I. C O M M £ R C B. ^Z ilble to urge the propriety of fuch a meafure too ftrongly: but as fuch points were before enlarged upon, I (hall take no further notice of them here ; nor in any fucceeding branch of trade, where the fanie obfervatioas ate equally applicable. In refpeA to the amount of Great Britain^s Importations from the Baltic, the following accounts flxew the ibte of the trade, according to our commercial writers: Irctt, Mr. PofUethwayte * fays 23,000 tons; tins, at xa/. per ton, is — — ^— — £, 376,000 Another t makes it 32^0 tons, which n - 304,000 A third :j:, 30,000 tons, — — ^«— 840,000 A fourth II, 17,000 tons firom Sweden ; and, as the Ruflia import is oae-third§, the whole is better than s 2,600 tons, or -^ — *— 471,200 A fifth f makes the Swedifh import 25,000 tons ; the third added, it is 33,300 tons, or — 399t6oo OcQcral medium of thefe aecounts is 27,500 tons, or r~ 3i4fOoo ffmp and Flax, One account makes this import ** Another tt« — A third W, . J ' i- Medium^ es^f^ — •1 300,000 400,000 500,000 400,000 Timber, Mr. Poftlethw^yte §§ makes the import 200,000 * Diilitnarft Art. NiNMlSttrm in another place. Art. /r«ii, he makes h 350,000/. f PrtfiMt Statt $fGrtat Britain mi Ntrtb jtmtrica, p. i a6. It Rufinsftr ttutumpi^ tit Imptrtatitn tflrnifrtm America^ p. I. I Avataagtt It DtfinHmtagtt it la Franety ttdilaG, Brtttgntt p. X34J ^ Anderfon*/ Z>«fti^M« tfCnuimut vol. ii. p. 3{8. 4 PnptJititHtftr uuturi^iHg Mmtt^aOurts^ &c. p. laa. •• Prifmt Sttttit p. 9. , ** f I Mufitm Xij/Haim, vol. i. p. 457. 1[X CtHttJi in Ammtttt Pref. p. 34. ^^ Diaitiwjf, An, Navel Sttrtt, Q^ 6a. § Ah /lct$unt tf th* EfftQi which bavt rifuHnifrtm tbt Society^ 8vo, p. 7. I Sjfttm tf Giografhyt Gccj 486 POLITICAL ESSAYS. EllAT VI, Gee *, agree ft that with Holland it is confidciibly in her favour. One fuppofcs the balance 1,400,000/, a year %, Bftlanoe in favour of Bri- tain on both, 650,000 /. 1,1 The greateft obje£tion that is to be made to there trades is, die import of linens. To confume a foreign manufacture, which is the fame as the ftaples of two of our kingdoms, is very bad politics ; flnce every Dutch- man or German that is employed in the makmg of thofe linens is juft a family loft to Scotland or Ireland. Some other manufactures are like- wife imported, which might undoubtedly be made at home, and thereby yield employment to our own poor. But, upon the whole, as thefe nations^ efpecially the Dutch, take off a very confiderable quantity of our commo- dities, the commerce is certainly very beneficiaL SECT. III. 0/ the Britijh Commerce with France, THERE is no country in the world which yields more of the neceT- faries, and even fuperfluities of life, than France : The i»t)du£tions of Spain would be more univerfal, if die induflry of the Spaniards wai equal to that of the French ; but the latteir are fo well fitted to die tafk of making the moft of every natural advanta|^, 'that there is no comparifon between the articles in which the two nations fupply their own confump- tton and the demand of foreigners. As France is pofTeffed of fuch vafl advantages, it is eafily fuppofed that few nations gain much by com- merce with her. In fadt, ihe imports fcarce any manufacture of Great Britain: we are told, indeed, of a few flannels §, but the quantity is very fmall ; our chief exports are tobacco, horn, plates, tin, lead ; corn in years of fcarcity ; wool, coals, allom : of thefe the wool is the chief. But, i\k return, we take of the French, laces, lawns, brocades, velvets, fHks, toys, and paper; and, befides thefe manufadures, large quantities of wine, brandy, fait, &c. A fingle glance of the eye is fufficient to difcover how great a lofer Britain muft be upon this commerce, for fhe imports a great quantity of manufactures, and no raw commodities to work up henelf; whereas France takes of her none of the former, but, in proportion, much of the latter. Shfi had much better be paid in bullion than in unmanu- * Tradt and Navigatim ef Great Britain eanfidiriit p. 27. t Mair, p. 233. Anderfon, vol. ii. Appendix, p. 68. X Imptrtana of tb* Ofttnd Company anftdtrtdf 8vo. 1726. ^Mair, p. 231. fa^ured l-i' i Sect. HI. O M M E R C E« 4^7 fadkured wool, wlilch it her priacipd import, notwithftasding it is a clan- deftine ouc* Mr. Hume, in his rer^ ingenious Political EiTays*, attempts to prove, that the high duties laid m E^dand on French wines have heen the refult of jealoufy and hatred, rather than true politics ; and he grounds his opi- nion i^pon the increafe of vineyards in Frar.ce. " Each new acre of vine- * yard,** fays he, ** planted in France, in order to fnpply England with wine, would make it requilite for the French to take the produce of an Englilh acre Town in wheat or barley, in order to fubftft themfelves ; and it is evideitt, that we have thereby got command of the better commo- dity.**— But, with fubmiilion to fo (uperior a writer, a few circumftances Ihotlld be remembered: Firft, our -demand for wine would be perfectly regular, but theirs for com only accidental, upon account of unufual fcarcity ; and it would be only in fueh years that we fhould pay for their wii'.e with our corn ; whereas we pay the Spaniards and Portuguefe regu- lar^.y with either corn or manufa^res, which makes a prodigious diiFer- cnce. Indeed, it is an abfolute impoflibility, that any nation, except fuch a peculiar one as the Dutch, (hould have a regular demand for corn : Spain itfelf has not, nor even Naples. Secondly, a kingdom that has fo much uncultivated land as France, might greatly increafe her vineyards without decreafing her culture of com. The edids of the kings of Trance for prohibiting freih vineyards, prove nothing to the coiltrary, AS the corn trade till lately was under fo many reftridions in that king- domt that, had there not been a vineyard in it, fuch edids, and many others of the fame nature, would have been publifhed. They all pro- ceeded from a juft notion of a want of corn, but were framed on very wrong principles. At prefent the exportation of corn is allowed duty- free, which has for thefe four years, and doubtlefs will continue to prove, that to^poflefs a plenty of food nothing is neceflary but to have an open corn-trade ; while France pofTeiTes that, (he may increafe her vineyards more thap to the amount of all the Britifh confumption, and yet never take a fhlp-load of corn from Britain. The plan therefore laid down by the author would be very far from giving us a command of the French corn-trade. Thirdly, upon a fuppofition that the French demand for corn .increafed.in proportion to our import of wines, yet it does not by any means follow, that we Ihould be fecure of fupplying that demand. Bar- bary, Sicily, and Greece, formerly exported large quantities thither, and always rivalled us in ferving the French markets ; fo that granting the au- thor's fuppofitions, yet the deduftions he makes from them appear to be * Vol. i. p. 348. 8vo edit. not 488 POLITICAL BSSAyS. E«flAV VI. not well founded; for our import of wine would be very certain and regular, but our export in return the very contrary : but with Spaia and Portugal both are regular, National prejudice and. hatred fhould never g^de matters of commerce* but if we confider that the^^reat end of trade is the exportation of Iaboui> or, in pther .words, the employment of our poor at the expence of foreigners, .we (hall not havcany reafon to think our anceftors .aAed un- politicaUy: in laying fuch reftri^ions on the trade to France, iince ail benefits, of, that nature refult from it, not to us, but to our enemy : -'- to that nation who Mr. Hume acknowledges to.be our natural enemy. The following tables. will (hew the progrefs of our French coramercp for this century paft. ,It is with great pleafure that every one muft reflet • upon the .advantageous change that has been effected : Imports from France 1 663. :Manufa€ture8 of velvets, fattins. filks, cloth of gold and filver, — — ^ — » ■ mmrn^ JQ, 6oo,ooe m - — — 150,000 » -— iao,ooo Mercery ware, toys, &c. — 1*. M p x8o,ooo .Paper, " ■■ - IOO,OQO Ironmongers ware* — — — •- 40,000 ■ -«■ ■'— 400,000 Houfehold ftuffs, --— — 100,000 •..—*. - ..» 600,000 - - 100,000 Saffron and fruits, &c. ^— M - 150,000 jjtji^e^oQD Befides vaft quantities of C^i. . The exportf thither amounted ii> • vn« 1,000,000 Balance in favour of France *t i,^90»ooo • There is great reafon to believe this fiate a juft one, ai .it wa< taken from the French accounts. Stc BnglaruTs Intere/Iy hy %. Toiueyt 8vq, 1713, p. 17. ;r^ Impous Sbct.iii; commerce. Imports and exports 1674, Imports, Linen manufadures* — — . 1 Silk ditto, — VTvaSy 11,000 tons, at la /. 10/. — Brandy, 4000 tons, at so /. — Paper, 160,000 reams, at $s, <' Prunes, fkins, fait, feathers, and rofin, — Sundry final! articles, ' — • ^89 300,000 J37»Soo 80,000 40,000 — 31*400 — 40,000 I»i36,i50 Beiides toys, gloves, laces, and embroidered garments and beds. Exports, Woollen manufadures. Silk ditto, — Lead, tin, and allom. Sundry other articles. C 81,728 3.560 • 56,400 30,000 171,031 Balance in favour of France, befides the above-named articles, 965,129 * 1,136,150 linens, — >n Paper, •-—' Wine, — Brandy, Kid (kins, Shillings, &c. included, is Woollen manufactures. Lead, — — Shillings, &c. included,, is Balance in favour of England, In 1700. Imports, Exports, £' 41*451 3,377 17,239 6»839 ■ 577 67,874 £-47»'5i ' 28,939 70,091 t 2,217 • Account drawn from the cuftom-houfe. See Letter to Ar, Motre, 8vo. 1714. p. 18, iDavcntint't /itceunt of TraJti iwo. 171 S'P' li. . . R r r I de «- 49^0 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Eisat VI. I 4o not infert this a(^unt as of good authority, becaufe many cir- cumftances in it are fo enormoufly dijSFerent from the foregoing ones, and becaufe the author yiras employed by the miniftry pqrpofeTy to repre- fent the Frenph trade in a, favourable light ; thirdly, oecaufe a repr^fenta- tion (quoted by Davenant, but not invalidated) from the lords of trade and plantations to king William in 1697, infifted, that the balance waa in favour of France a million ilerling ; and party, I ihould remark, had no, ii^terefl; then to combat either way. I meet with no accounts from that period till 1 741, when the follow- ing flight {ketch of our imports was publifhed : Cambrics, •— — Paper, "Wines, 2000 tons, at 40/. Brandy, 20CO tons, at 40 /. C 2OOy000 10,000 80,000 80,000 370,000 But a great variety of articles are omitted. Ireland at prefent imports French wines to the amount f of 150,000 /. per annum. A late author % tells us, the balance of Great Britain's trade with France is 500,000 /. a year againil the former. ^ ?f i * *r - S E CT. IV. * •- Of the Britt/h Commerce with Portugal. TH E Portuguefe trade is undoubtedly one of the moft valuable car- ried on by. this nation, for we export thither vaft quantities of manufa^ures, but receive none in return, nor any commodities that inter- fere with the produds of thefe iflands. This circumftance proves how extremely beneficial the commerce is, and how very careful we ought to be to prevent foreign nations fupplanting us in it. I hint this, becaufe feveral modern writers, and it is fuppofed with reafon, have infifted much on the progrefs made by the French in their Portuguefe trade, for a few • y/« Inquiry i'tto the Rtvtnuiy Crtdit, and Cemmtntf of France^ p, 37. t EJfayson Hujbandry^ p. 129. % Muir, p. 232. years Sect. IV. COMMERCE. 491 years before the laft war. As we have fufFered fo exceedingly in our trade to Spain, by means of the fame rivalfhip, fuch a beginning ihould occa- fion an attention in the government to remedy, if poflible, the threatened evil. It is remarkable that Lord Townfhend, during his command in Portu- gal in the laft war, obferved, at feveral grand entertainments, and a bull- feaft, that the nobility and gentry were all dreifed in French cloth ; and upon mentioning the circumftance politely to a few of them, the reply was, " We are not rich enough to purchafe Englifh cloth ; ■ ■■—the French make theirs exadly to our tafte, and fell it much cheaper than yours* which does not pleafe us fo well.'* It is impollible to keep a market that is ferved in fuch a manner, and againft fuch induftrious rivals. As long as it continues the politics of Britain to buy that wine of foreigners which fhe might produce in her own colonies, it is very well judged to pur- chafe it of Portugal ; but if the French fucceed in their defigns, fo far as to occafion Britain's paying for fuch v^ne with any thing but her own commodities, the import from Portugal ought to be burthened with as high duties as that from France. As to the particulars of this trade, I have turned over a variety of our modern writers, and find none: Mr. roftlethwayte, with all the minutenefs of two vaft folios, and a long article on the fubje^t, affords me not a fingle circumftance worth tranfcribing. Mr. Anderfon, in two more, yields aS^ little ; nor have I feen any other books or trads that are more fatisfac- tory. A modem French writer fays, " That Great Britain employs in her Portuguefe trade 1200 large (hips, but that is a palpable exaggera- tion : and that fhe draws from that kingdom a balance of 1,750,000 /. * and this I hope is not one. '^ yiM *■■ ■ i SECT. V. Of the Britijlj Commerce ivith Spain. THE commercial writers of this country for many years fpoke in the warmeft terms of our Spanifh trade, and with very great reafon ; for, till the recovery of France, under the regency of the duke of Or- leans, it was the moft advantageous branch poflefled by Great Britain, taking off vaft quantities of her woollen manufacture and her corn, in return chiefly for filver : during which beneficial ftate of affairs Spanifh money was as common in England as ever Portuguefe has been ; but by degrees the French, through their dextrous negociations, and by means * Les IntertU di la France mal enttnJus, torn. iii. p. 313. R r r « of 49* POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay VL of having a prince of the houfe of Bourbon on the throne of Spain, to* gather with the fuccefs tlieir induftry met with in rivalling the £ngli(h manufadures ; altogether, were able nearly to beat us out of the Spa- nifli commerce, infomuch that it is queflioned by fome, whether the balance with Spain is in our favour or not ; but it is generally agreed that if it is, the amount is very fmall *. The commodities we export to Spain are woollen goods, corn, rice, fifli, tin, lead, leather, and iron wares j and receive in return, wines, oil, fruiis, wool, indigo, cochineal, &c. Of thefe cochineal and wool are very advantageous articles, being of great importance to our manufactures; nor are any of the other articles to be complained of, while they are paid for with our commodities. I can meet with no particulars of this trade Co late as to be now of any authority .^ SECT. VI. 0/ the Brit'i/h Commerce ivith Italy, ; OUR Italian exports are chiefly woollen manufadures, leather, tinv lead, fifh, &c. ; and we import filk, wine* oiU fruits, anchovies,, brimftone, gloves, toys, drugs, &c. As the manufadures we receive bear no proportion to thofe we fell, nor even to the unmanufactured com- modities we import; this trade is very beneficial, notwithflanding the balance of it is, we are told, againfl us fi even to the amount of 300,000 /. :{l a year. I can meet with no particulars that are worth inferting ; fo- firangely deficient are our commercial writers ! One author § fays, The import of filk from Italy is 100,000 /. per annum ; another || s 00,000 /. ^ a thtrH near 1,500,000 /. If ; a fourth near i»35o>ooo /• ** In what manner is the truth, to be acquired where the diffierence is fo amazing I * Gee'j Tradt and Navigation »f Great Brkain anftdirtiy p. 16. Mair, p. 232^ t Mair, p. 232. X'^wWcim^i Geography. § HcathcoteV £*«*r, p. 59. I PoftlethwayteV Diiiitnary, Art. SiH. fl Thoughts on the Tmttt &c. p. p ** Account of thi Benefits of the flotiety, p. lo. The two laft fay, Spain and Italy j but as Spain fends us very little, the chief muft be from haly* «' SkcT. Vlt. COMMERCE. 491 SECT. VII. Of the Briti^j Commerce ivtth the Levant, IN the opinion of our moft fenfible writers, this trade has for many years been on the decline, and entirely owing to the French manu- fadurers iinderfelling us ; but it is at the fame time obfervable, that this: opinion, though generally fuppofed to be well fonndedj has not been proved by any authentic papers, even to that degree of proof of which commercial matters are fufceptible. However, the Britifh colonies have^ in ferae articles, rivalled the Turkey produfourths of its value. ThiiB dominion coniifting of two iflands, and one of them ftretch- ing out fuch a kngth of coail, occafions the greateft eafe in conveying the prodiiiils of the mod internal parts to the fea-coail, which neceffarily gives rife to a very confiderable quantity of fhipping. Infomuch that the coaft- ing trade of thefe iflands is greater than all the commerce, foreign and domeilic, carried on by any nation in the worlds Holland and France alone excepted. The truth of this fadt cannot well be doubted ; and a very remarkable one it is. All parts of thefe iflands are by no means equally cultivated, fome abound greatly with manufadures and grafs, confequently have a great demand for corn, which we find is regularly the cafe, the eaftern parts of England generally fending large quantities to the weft ; befides which, the trade in this commodity from port to port is prodigious : what a num- ber of fhips does malt alone employ ! The manufacturing parts of the kingdom work up a prodigious quantity of raw materials, which are pro- duced at a great diftance from them, wool for inftance, which is a very bulky commodity. The tranfportation of beer and cyder from port to port is very great. The manufadlures of Scotland and Ireland are all brought to London and other ports by fliipping, as are the commodities of thofe kingdoms. The fait trade is perhaps more confiderable than any of thefe ; for the fall ports being fituated chiefly on the northern coafts of England, the Clipping that is employed in difperfing it to all the others in the two iflands is great. But coals form the grand article of the coafting trade of Britain, and employ an incredible number of (hips. All the fouthern parts of Eng- land, comprehending near three-fourths of the kingdom, have no coals; much the largeft part of Scotland, and all Ireland, are likewifc deftitute ; I #- 8;!fJ f; ^ P O ii¥l g iTL^rffeS AYS. JmA^iT'^fr, iillift af the confumption of wood in feveral of '6tor^MaflW5l^re8. j)articu- %ny that of iron, is prodigious, and fo great in all other ftf^els^a^Tb j^der it exceflively dear in every part of the khigdom, the confintititt^ Wtoals is increafing every day at a vaft rate. Many pariflies, evttf fti -the fouthern part of England, have lately found their poor in cdfel^,'*4^- 'ndkd of wood; which (hews an immenfe extehfion of theirl^ll, Imn -J^Tmers, and others whoada8overfeer8,moft undoubtedly find them^ ^■^'^ and ufe them in their own houfes. The Accounts of raerckaH^A'^Si er upland traders are confident with this; for all agree, that the trade ha8^b<(K»i ^conflantly on the ii^^reafe as long as they can remember. Inland navi- gations are extended' eveiy feflion of parliament, and Oonfequently coiAg find their way into parts of the kingdom, whcrtf they fbrtfttttf were either very^dear, or not ufeif at all. In whatever light the coal'tJE^de is viewed, ,it will be found, froih every circumftance, to have increafed prodigioufly, and certainly does increafe every year that paffes. '-' ' ^%bon after the reftoration, the fhipping-trading for coals toNewCafHe alone amounted to 80,000 tons*; which, at a medium^ bf '150 tons, make 533 fail. : " .^^ ;' In 1728 there arrived upwards of 6,800 coafters ^t Lonabn- alone f. \ .-AJjout the year lyco, the coal trade alone employed- l,'j*bo fail of Ail()^, from 100 to 200 tons; and it was calculated, that the whole coajft- ^ing^trade of the kingdom employed 100,000 feamen J. ,^^'^>M} T- 'Another writer |I calculates the coal trade of Newcaftle toemploy'ltroo ^lips, and 10,000 feamen and bargemen; and the number conftantly . tjnder ground digging them to be 30,000. According to this accdiiat, iHc total is probably more than i ;oo fail. ' « .?^i£/-vJ9i;^j '.^. ^ ^ ■ y- ,y>ii] \ ^ Befides thefe trades, that from Britain to Ireland in fundry other ibiil» modities is vaftly great, which will eafily be believed from the folldWihg table of the exports thither above thirty years ago; and, if the iher6afe of wealth in that ifland fihce be confidered, the incrcafe of thefe iSxports may eafily be imagined. t. )f p. 170. c-idifti^ • S'\rWi\]\imPetty'sPalitifalAnlhmeiic, 8vo, 1755, + Vtaitland'j Hi/lory of 'London, folio, vol. ii. X Avontagci is Defavatitfiges^ &c. p. 138. ' i, ' ' I Poftlethwayte'j Did. Art. Mtddleftx. But all that is quoted from this prince of pla- giarifts (whofe great work is a continual quotation, without the acknowledgment of a li.ne) is improperly filled, in calling it extra<^s from a writer ; for who is the real author 1 know not in all cafes, though in many I have reilored much to the iight authors. . ^ .. Denomi' s«cT.#in. COMMERCE 497 .3>*. ■ > Diiummaticiu, Tabu, Aleandbeer, -. - • ♦! • " 716 Apples, - ;Ur - - • - - 156 Baric, - - - - - - - tM«5 Battery, - '• - - • - - - 697 nil CardfjforiPool, - - - - • - - 436 lUtl Chcefe, - - 900 Coaches, -------- 786 Coals, . -- • . - - - 41,115 Cordage, - - - -^ ' - - 19 Com, Wheat, - - - £. SA»^fi Barley and mlt^ - - 25,632 Flour, - - - so,3s8 •■ 100,090 Earthen wire, • - • -- •- - • 4»77'» Fans, - "^ 1 . - - - .# - 742 Flax, - ----- 3^91 Glafs,— Bottles, - - - S*'^i^ Drinking, - i - 846 ^H Rhenifliwcbi - ~ - ^ - 3x8 1 Wares, * - - 1,919 . ^H^a^^ tf\J^tA ill mm , MM 10,010 GloVes, - - - - - - - 84 Gunpowder, - - • • • - • ai3oa m Hats,' ----- - •. • 396 Hemp, - - ----- - 11,987 Hempieed, - -~ - - -- v- - a7 nIM HerringSj - - - • • - . 9,994 Hops, - - - - - - - 46,995 iH^ulRI Hoffes, - — - • - - - 4iO«> Inkte^ - - - - - - - - 1,957 Iron, ^Unwrought, - - - 42,610 w^M Knives, ^ - - 5»"9 Pots, - .- ' ^5S Sciffars, - - - - 109 Scythes, - • >' " l»907 x- 1 a^H jKBat Small parcels, - - • ^97 111 ' Hardware, - - - 3»W j|W] Curried over, 53,975 1 I^H 1 i^H '^^ ' ~* S f f Dmn^ - - - - ■" , - > 1 in m ^ POl^TlrC^ft ;8rAY&L .BitL% 1«(| /jV^«;^ Denominations, ■Mi V* " B»oughto?er, IV^i -Ore, - - j»»',JU Needle*, - - "f -Wire, - - m;- .rniwiTvaTir^^^tV^ V Value* - 53f975 rtr^it f»r:#ti'H - 1,187 - ^Mt'ihK -' 574 - j^-is^ Lace, Laipp-bkck, • L^O^flir- - - - ■* -. - . - '^^p I^men,— Bfitifli, - - -- -« iC* ^97 - ,-»i)«hv*) Calicoes, <;.:.',{ ;.-., 3 ^- --673 ^tea^rr/.^ -.-,„,(0 Cambrick|: () . . ----- f^rtttjcrt »'bl\ /I Hollands^.; -t - '■- - - 867 ^ini.M <5<»o,; Renting, — * - - 194 ' >'\X,^ Lawnsf - *- - a,59'- t:>Uvv /• iniii..? ^|.r -Millincfy ware, - - 5,129 - ,?fu;i JP/' - •• • " ■• 37^59^ lanfeed, - . »•„ - -- — ,whi 44,5^- Madder, - ::^^ ' * -v ... ,; > 3,141 ?i^U..'' . - •■ ■ •iv • • ■• -• ^•i,-.;:lru-,4J. 2,097 fapcr,—— Brown, v,.,: -- • * wa " .Kkir:! Cap, Vnfi - - - - .. - 8^.;,Mhi(::,i;i -- ' - a»S55 ,iyi'j^^ #^rti.f o ,,, Writingr- - • — - t,357 40^ ^[forg^fdens, .,1,^^.-, . - . ...;.n.i^? ,■ - - -- -m^^ ffiani^aaurc&J*, ,ii,o%» yj/^a'? t^bmrrx- - - ■ t^" .visg^^ial 'P'^r^f^Cep, ai.>S"t>/Uiil>».-*Ji..ll ~ -■ ■.r-.,«,M ^^^n,'itt77! Sugai*, - -- -- --•*. •» • ,iS45»M^ (^^0, - - - - - - . - - - . - . • ;i0jij- Tio^ brafs, &c., &c.ii*sPBW^ler, - -- 683'.'yH'f!:Maj Vt*r-i*./ftail , l?himblee, - - - 65 : ''? ' Toys, - '^— — _ , - - . 2,^z Threadi gold, filver,i^'wi4Ji?d* ^ffi^ Wn#>\Of^n\ .-pv^.vi «*.f\ 6,968 WcT^wn. '^- --^ ^ c fy^A ^ #11 ift'tf ^ ' .a'.trfjr ^pholftery'^wrf*;' Irit^xc'Ci* n..1;,^'l.; - ,-'.yi , • ..^^. ,, ,. »: Woollen go • Wi-IJ'^r ^. 1,874 ^tf<,Tl " Draipcrfr ' - ''i'" ^' 13,69* ^y|'. , u. ". 3- *{:.■..- Yarn, '■ -' •■■- '*^ '" " •^^: ■ ■.:-,'^ ... -nil -3(1 .1 >i c\\ 1' .-.'Z;^-::;^ tVood, Staves, ^ tt'?> t -Ji 'h^, Balks, aat)-bbWdli' i< *^ ' f '' a 419 ' ' Qap^bolt, ' ''' ••»•" — " ?"«i»"»' •' ***•'- 631 Dctttfti ' -'^^ '♦'' '^;H' •- 13,705 1* IK Value. ao7 4.959 ^^^ v.: • , Tftftibcl^- ■;: ^-i^>r "J • ■;.!u'^ ••^•■' 4,1^6 \,^- Woodpaware, - * • 1,146 Total, including (hillings, iStc. f '^''^ " "^"i ■' iiiii iii ly.' 34>03li Excluflve of the materials of the articles marked *i which, if we confl- der the value of, particularly filk, and the vaft difproportion between the refining and the value of fugar, will, doubtlefs, ratfe this fum to abov^ 600,000 /. ; to which muft be added, all the various articles which lit- land can neither raife nor manufacture, or is not included, fuch as fpicesi ooffoe, codiinoal, tsotton, indigp^ ginger* pimento, rum, brandy, wiiil, fx:i4t% marble, tobacco, rice^ and a variety of other articles ; Freivch cli- f^el.^lone.ris 150,909 /< t fo that^ exclUfive of fiich a multitude of pafticii- hE8i here is 750)000 /• ; the total muft be confiderdbly above a miUioa /■) j'»»wji -i' h'-ivf^"* '.an W^ are told by a modern writer ||» that Great Britain receives commo- dities from Ireland to the amount of above 490,000 /. The balance muft be at Jeaft a6o,ooo /. Now, ;if we conf^der what a confidcrable part of this commerce is car* ried onr by Britifli and Irifli coafleifs, ,we fhall readily allow, that the num- ber of fbips and feamen ekni^loyed by it muft be very great. '!» ^^ ,,,.,,^ Dublin Seciety's Weekly Obftrvetiens^ 175^9 Glafgow Edit. l2mo. p. ii. i Ejfayt ttt Hujbandry^ p. 129. y Mair, p. 234. Sff a '■0^ ^I^the'coaftrade, as tiie au^'^ott aSs^^tt^d ft((iW. 4ldn(^i^1tyyedMf«M»<< £ulof Ihips feveral years ago, the number is (idttaihlyiiltit^'gitatdr 'M^^ ,coals and fait cannot now employ lefs.than sooq; and Ireland) com, maltt liquor«, wool, manufadures, 09c. 6ec. &c, ioj all probability add a third of that number to it, which will make the total 3600 fail. But I cannot conceive it pofTible, that thit ouiiil>fi' can.en^)lo;^ i^^qi^^^^en^^ -^fiippoAng the medium to be 10 men, the number .will be oiit ^30,000 : vut thefe are ofltyr<:qu^tt,tf-(^oiUd-. cevuinly run up the number greatly. If x 50 tona bf; the , poyf^f^ijl^ jbifr>4 d«n'bf our eoafters, the total tonnage ia 45^qoq„^,\i .>o (.»>ft!f»1rfr^r^♦^*';fv ^Fht^e ir )i peculttt' value in inch » branch fl|f^■> .-T--) V Tis vdry common to meet with very great panegyrics upon tl^e vari^ ' Ota grdat rivers in aJmoA being made navigable jt a vag expense. ' mfomuch iif 'il ':'\ B$QT^Jni ,A.QM^.P^a,9^-t roq 50X XltAVf Na^'Mhid sldtf in ithir place than to draw iotp.ai 9<^hfe 'iotal benefit Britain reoei^f^^jf means of her tolorii^Si and'examinedithraugh the medium of their prq^^, dudions/ not tK^ }o^n^en,t pf die poor in all countries, and th? fupport of^navalpowe^ peculiarly iguBj^t taih) whatever trades beft anfwer thefe purpofes are the moft benenoal. Tlie iifliing trade is of incomparable value in both refipefU; occafu^ng a vaft ooi^umption of our manufadures, and emplgytng great number^ o£^:amea. The three grand fiflieries are, ,j, ,,,,,5^^., •yififlit>sfiiiiMiift » vi** The Newfoundlahd. • , , .< 3. The herring. , , i^gm^a^^^m 3. The whale. " ' -f<' 'HO' ^'1 bai^ inet with no writer that has difputed t^e tmmeoiis.iippQrUtiQSiel the Newfoundland filhery, but the accounts of Jts jRTcfent ,ftfi|g ^4i amdunr ai^extremtiy v&tidus, Whkh is in a good meafure owing to ihanyj \i^riter8 finking the value of it for piii-ty purpofes, in comparifon Si'ith the Frenth fi*(!hery j and others, oft the contrary, magnifying It with the ^hie views. 1 diall purfue the method I have hitherto followed, 'and attempt gaining the truth by feeking the medium of th|e different accofints. ^ A modern writer t fays* the whole Britifh commerce, pi America* car- ried on by ifur own fliips, employs 1300 fail, and s 0,000 feamen; but^, * Their whole exporutjon i* about 4,000/. a year. ^See Anderfpo, vol. ii. p. 367. f Anietfon's DtduiiitH of Ctmmtrctt Introd. vol. ii. p. 17. 9 men he lie?.. m :^ 7(i 6 m m¥ r' c i^ 1. 1 -s^' |l«4o««mot :fip(?cifir pwticiu\«#.; Now w wft h*ve ^mnd the ftaple trades^ ^ tb« wK#le, eacckuye of th^ ^fhery* to amount to 4$$ fail* and 1 8»3e» ^9KH 1^7 l^s 4ccio«H»t tJi^e BritiOi ;nAiei7 ^mploya 767 ihip8» and 7,700 men. ■;;ifi:;Y^'i'0J6'*iir{' ^Xriift,ac^utit^ given hf Poftletjiwayte f include the fiflieiy of the colonies, and ' 'confequently are, in refpe£k of dired authority. ufelefSk. Q»ber> Pr rei^^ie? visithffte (to twa ; . I IBM ^CfBe^- fore calllhfi jnean price of the latter 6 s. gd. and the proportion of quan» tity will ao^kcthe mean price of the whole 9^. xo d.^er quinju^* -^^i'' -' From thefe data we may draw the following conclu5oBs:—-Tl^jri500 bdalfr^/fcbmprehended under that one denomination, I take to confifl of fetaopiieri, it^Uqp^k «nd |i>pa^ ; ftpd m ^^c tjd«s 85Q,3qo, and ? co; quin^ tals, the medium is 450 ;. which, at g ^. 10^. amounts to 220/. and the 1,500 to 330,000 L The i^o.'iianking^ vefi^is^ I appr^head to* he fhipi* bfiDia. art. Bhtijh ^iriea and: Ntw/ouHJ/anJ. ^^ . . , *^ , . vni i ' ' *^ ^'» "^'^'' ' ^• ^-t. vol. 14. p. J92. I. Sir William Pepperel'j Journal t/tht Siegt ef Levjffurfy^ ^^ nuUBJioiixa -iortw ' • Tbrtt PiJ/hlatitru tn a Uttien, &c. p. 36.. ^^ .xw" ^ \ t^rS'M\^-' ' 6 of 504 POLITICAL ESSAYS. £S8AT Vf. of 150 tons above mentionedt from England, New England, &c. thefe •catch ai much as they fell in Europe for 3,600 /. but then the freight, or 2x. bd.per quintal, is to be deduded^f*, that is, we (hall fay, arourdi*} the remainder 2,250 /.; the 150 fail therefore 337,500 L The total fiihery £.667,500 The yefTek of ij'o tons carry each so raen$, the fhallops, Aec. 15 T, the boats fat. \. The number employed by the firft is theirfere 3,000'; and taking the medivm of the latter, or 10, and' die number is 15,000: total 18,000, befides the crews of the fhips that only can^ the fi£ii. This agrees pretty well with the above computation of so,ooo. A modern R writer tells us, that the New England fiihery amounts to 255,000/. and that it is equal to the Britifli one: According to thia ac- count the latter is fomediing better than -^ of the whole. Value of the fifh caught and fold by &itain Freight of ditto, .^ - - 03,000 Total, • ^ -. •■'PT^-'-' - 318,000 This agrees with feveial other oomputatioas, that make it 300,000 /. ^ps of 150 tons, - - - ** 57 Suprwie ^lere axt 300 fiul of earners, Britain's ihare is 114 Total fiiips. Seamen, lam^U' -.',^r 7,50* This number of men likewife agrees pretty well with various accounts. t Htnaray'i Lttt, m Imp, tftbi Rif. Gm. vol. ii. p.«6e. } P«ftlethwayte'« Dia. Art. BritiJtjtmtrUt, f Sir WUliam Peppefd. ,^_ ; 4 5 AfbXtj*s Mmurs and CaafiJtrtatMt, p. 17, tie, I ?r*/mt Suut, p. 327. ' The QtcT. XL CPMUfeRCE. i^i %Hm .t**i'' ««'^-*3*tiHK-*-,i^ ''':m's<,^m'i7^"'*''^^;^.'^- The liernng ihoaU being one of the greateft curiofities in nature, t &all begiii this (ketch with an account of their progrefs* as given by a _,^oderft.author,. ^ ,.. , , , v^^.u «>..; ^.^he Jjl^e^l^ars )^s again, lie on the back of Yarmouth fands ^ as do likewife the French, Flemings, Fluihingers, Bremeners, and Hamburghers. Laflly, they come into the narrow feas, ivhere the French on one fide, and our weft-country fifhermeh on the other, meet them again; and t!>y this ti.iie they caft their rows and be- come fhotten ; after which they difappear m theie parts. On the fide of Worth Britain they fare no better j the merchants of Glafgow, Aire, Dumfries, and on the coaft of Galloway,' are engaged more or lefs in the herring fiiheries: And merchants of Londonderry, Carlingford, Bielfaft, Carrickfergus, and Dublin, n;ieet them on that iide ; and, beginning upon them at. the L^wes and weftem iflands, give them no reft i until having run the gauntlet, as we may fay, through the Irifh channel, they come out into the Severn fea, where again they are attacked by th6 Euglilh inerchants of Devbnfhire, from Minehead to Barnflaple and Btddeford, an^ fo on wefliward to towns on the north- ihore of Cornwall; wher^ i)n^i^y thouiinds of tons are catched and cured for trade, a^d many (hips loadM off with them for Spain and the Medi- terranean, (befides an incredible number confumed by the people on ihore) : The merchants of Pembroke, Swanfea, and all the coafts of South Wales, from Milfbrd-HaVeh to the mouth of Briftol river, above King-Road, doing the fame: Afler which, being Ihotten, they fwim wef^Ward into deep waters, to their own fpecies, and are feen no more. Thus we have brought thefe jB(h round the ifland, offering themfelves indifferently, as they pafs, to the nets of all the neighbouring nations; who, for their own food, and for fale to other countries, where the fhoal does not come, take an inexpreflible number. Whither they go afterwards is Uncertain. As to the fuggeftion that the quantity is by this time exhaufted, the con- trary is fo evident, from the mighty (hoals which are feen in the Severn (eas, and on the weft and fouth coafts of England and Ireland at their T 1 1 s parting. 5o8 POLITICAL ESSAYS. EttAY VI. parting, that it rather r<;ems the niinibef taken bears but a very fmall proportion to the whole that might oe. , It 18 alio certain, that thefe fhoals pf herrings are purfued and devoured in great quantities by the more ravenous. and larger fifh; fuch as the vforpoife, dog-fiih, fin-fifli, and the divers forts of fea monfters with which .^efe northern feas abound. It is Ukewife truei that the herrings are vfound again upon the fhores of North America, though not in fuch quaa- ■ tities as liere; nor are they feen farther fouth, even tn that country, ..than the rivers of Carolina : Whether theft may be part of that mighty hj^ioal, which at their firft coming by the coaft of Greenland might, in* ttiftead of coming to the fouth-eaftward with the rejft, keep to the coafts of .•America on the north- weft fide, or whether thefc may be the remainder < of thiem that pafs our channels, is very uncertain ; but we know that ..they are not feen in quantities in any of the (buthern kingdoms, as Spain, t Portugal, or the fouth parts of France, on the fide of the ocean, or in th^ Mediterranean, or the coaft of Africa *. „ f It is aftoniftiing that fuch immenfe treafures ftiould annually vifit the .coafts of thefe kingdoms, and the greateft prpfit of them be reaped by fo- reigners. Notwidiftanding the very fpirited and judicious writings that have at various, times been publiflied upon the expediency of vigoroufly Y\,purfuing this great fifliery, yet the, Dutch have never been effedually ri^- hr^yalled in it : The art of curing the herrings is yet peculiar to them, not- ^ jwithftanding admiral Vernon made a voyage to Holland on purpofe to difcover it. We have ev^ry^ catural advantage, and the benefit of a bounty of I /. 10 s. per ton for liufles that are built for the fiftiing -f* ; it ^is therefore worthy of atteution, that we (hould not be able to cope with our {(leighbours. Some, reafons however may be |;fven for it. "The people at home who are fond of fafliionable novelties, giving 'ckt'ravagaint prices for Britifh herrings; foreign markets were thereupon ^Qighted, as the fmall profits they yielded, bore no pro(x>rtion to the expen- '.five manner of carrying on the trade. The great home conrumptioQ, ritibowever, was but of very fhort continuance; the dearnefs of the commo- ^.^t^'^ity having foon abated the ardour of the people for purchafing it ; and the demand ceafing at home, the courfc of the traue, which had fcarce 'any other channel, was immediately ftopped. There is plainly not the ••a: ) >-^? »/ '■'* Pofttethwayte*' Diif. Art. Fijhmu ; from whom tak«o I kiwvr not. t Ttndsl'i Ctiainuaitn t/Fjflnt vol. xxi. p. 413. leaft SicT. XL '. COMMERCE.: - J leaft need of any public encouragement for fupplying the markets at home, where the commodity ib fo pleatiful, and in luch a fuperabundance, that the people, for want of knowing how to difpofe of the fiAi (hey caught^ have often been obliged to ufe them as manure for their lands. When fifh are in fuch plenty on any, even the remoteft ooafts of Britain* nothing but extortion or mifmanagement can make them dear in any of. our great cities that have a free communication with the Tea, The bounty therefore ought to be limited folely to thofe fifh that are carried to a fo- reign market ; and, confidering^ this gratuity, and the great fuperiority of our natural advantages, were we to ftudy carefully the leaft expeniive methods of conducing the trade, by carrying it on through all the fea- fons, and by building and ifitting out the buffes where workmanfhip and naval ftores were at low prices, there is the greateft reafon to expeA that we might foon be able to Xindeiiell the Dutch at foreign ports. The her-- tings, as they fall from, the net, are reckoned to coft them fix (hillings a barrel, and it is cdmimted that we might have them for two. Mr. Mar- tin even fays, that they have been bought in the weftern ifles for a groat a barrel. The Dutch have no lalt of their own, but are obliged, to buy part of what they ufe from us. Naval ftores can be carried from the Baltic to the weftern ifles as cheap as from thence to Holland. The ports of Britain are open all the year round ; but feveral of thofe of Holland are often frozen up for months together. We lie more convenient than the Dutch for the navigation to America, and to the ibuthern and northern parts of Europe ; and if they can fare hard, and be very laborious, they- are, in thofe points, exceeded by the bold fifhermen of the weftern and northern! iflands, who fatisfy themfelves with a very fcanty fubfiftence,- and make nofcruple of braving the wintery feas in fmall open boats *»*^ )>' It is with concern that I am not able to prefent the reatder with an accurate account of the prefent ftate of the Britifti fiftvery ; but although it is not comparable to that of the Dutch j yet, if we confider the con- fumptiondf thcfe iflands, and the preceding- accounts- of the nnmerous ports that partake in the bufinefs, by reafon of their vicinity to the ihoals, we fliall find no difficulty in imagining the number of feamen employed by it very great. The fifheries of cod, ling, lobfters, mackarel, oyfters, &c. upon our own coafts are likewife very conftderable^ in refpeift of thp employment of feamen, although they form no branch of foreign trade. The reader will not, I apprehend, think me ait all extravagant in fup- pofingthe two iflands to maintain 3o,ocx3 home fifhermen of all forts: it is &arcely probable that the total number fliould be lefs. .,.'■.>■ ■.'oj • Rtfltiiions tn Domt/iU Peiityt p. 22. s^^ P O LITI C A 1./ E'SfS d Y S. EdfiLviVi? li • Tf'f'^JJf The Whale Fi/hery, Jan lut .11 ; ^i^al ...nrhlfi is JuAly reckoned one of the moft valuable fifheriesin the ivorld: it Mvas Jfim diicovered) together, with: the ifQst8,iicoaft8» and frozifcn teiw' ritories of Greenland, by the £ngliifh» who fifhed in them for fo^i^een or fifteen years before any other nation : i and when the Dutch pufhed.theni'* felves into it, were beat off; and the exclufive right claimed biy the En^i lifh finiermen, and with as much, if not more jultice than other exclufive rights have l>een fince: but unfortunately the JDiitchibe^an their toperaU tioii& in the reign of James I. To ndendon; more it needle& ; it is st dnce fufficiently evident that they, carried their ipoUAi- He vi'Iio would fiibmit.to the affair of Amboyna, it was not to; be lexpeded would aft with fpirit in the prefer vation of a fiihery. That nation, as.i)irell as others, were at firft obliged to hire Engliih karpooners and Aeerfinen ; but the tables are now ftrangely turned, for at plrefci^r thatts.pteqfeljy the caiewith'Us. ''' -j.w u. - ,• ^j'. .i iv; jiL 'i' ,' . . • . ,j ' .i ' iT ?vffi fir>jr/f'. , i (' .briH^ j; .If it is confidered that the fliips who undertake ' thiff fifliery are leeiT) flout and large, from 200 to 500 tons, and that each is attended by &oqv four to feven (hallops, and carry forty, fifty, and fixty men ; that they are fiirnifhed with immenfe quantities of new caiks to put blubber oil< in ; with a great variety of harpoons, knives, grapples, axes, anchors,v.&c &c. S^c. ; and laftly, that the produft of the nfliery ka material of ma- nufafturb, it will eafily be conceived that this fifhery is of immenfe na-- tional value ; occafions a vaft confumption of manufaifiures ; is^the£xirce of great riches, and perhaps the beft nurfery of bold during feamen that is in the world. In tht yeaf ifi^i thiBoAth'-&SL company undertdolcto mvive the Bri* ti(h whide fifliery, and engaged pretty largely in the branch till 1732 ; but then finding themfelves confiderable lofers, they gave it up: they accordingly fold all their (hips, ftores, and utenfils; and upon finally ihiting their accounts, it appcared,^> in. ..a.; •, ].''•' '-' '"''' ' ' That their ^otal in all the laid eight years fiihcry, btought home at th^ rate of one whale per fhip. It hasi moreover, been a maxim among ine whale fifhing adventurers, that one good y«ar in feven ufually makes up the IbiTes of lix bad ones. But un-* happilyiaUthefe eight ye^rs happened to be bad, not only to th« com>* pany, but to moft of the adventurers dF other nations *. oHirno; fin 1/33, ;a bounty wa« |pranted by jpaiiiariient of no lefs than fibs. a iton Ay)Qn,aU ihips of 2po tons and upwards, employed in this fifhery : a. i^w fliipp were thereupon fitted out ; and in 1736, one from London -caught: no lefs thi^i feven whales. In 1740, an additional lox. a ton bounty 3lf as > granted 4ur}ng . the continuance of the War, and a freedom frompre^Og* tin. 1748,, the bounty was extended to 401. and for the American colonies as well as Great Britain; and naturalisation granted to all foreign proteftanta who ferved three years on board our whale- fifliing fliips. But notwithftanding thefe noble encouragements, very few fhips have engaged in it'; and the Dutch uqderfell thofe that have; which h a gr;eat national misfortune: for fuchiifheries as thefe are the mofl defirable branch of commerce this kingdom can engage in ; as they occalion a great and. fure confumption of our manufadures, and at the feme time breed up an infinite number of excellent feamen. ■ ; S E C T. XII. 0/ the Britj/b Commerce ivith the Eajl Indies, THIS commerce, which renders Europe but a fieve through which the treafures of the weft are conveyed to the eaft, without even the idea of a return, has been for that reafon greatly condemned by many very ingenious political writers t» as impoverifhing this part of th* world to in- troduce fuperftuities, and even manufadures, to rival the European. Much has been wrote for and againft this trade in general. The moft mafterly an- ♦ AndevCon* ! Dtdu£Iion cf Cemmerce, vol. ii. p. 339. f For many general argumeats in favour of totally abandoning the Eaft India tradr^ fee, annons; other writings, Hi/ieire dts Indti OritntaUs, p. i. chap. lo. Advantages of tke Eaji India Tradt to England canjtderedy chap. i. Man's Di/courft of the Eaji India Trade. Ccn- f:dcration$ on Commerce in general. Cafe of our own again^ foreign Manufactures. Sir William Monfon'j Naval Trails. Paxton'j Difcourfe of the Nature, Importance, and Advantage of Tradef p. 29. Rttnaris upon a Starch into the Caufe of our want of Silver din. HvfCt 5^12 POLITICAL ESSAYS. EssAy VI, fver to the objedtions againft it, is that of the very ingenious atlthor of ihe Hiftory of the European Tride to the Eaft Iddies, in the Moderft v Univerfal Hiftory *; but it is veiy obTervaUe that this writer bends the ibrength of his argument chiefly againft the complaint of carrying away ^ur ulver, which, perhaps, is not the worft part of the trade : ke fcarce mentions the importation of oriental manufadures to rival the European^! when none of the latter are tiiken In excluuige> nor in return f 250 red^od* at 30/. - 600 chefta China ware and drugs, U uu Total, iCv »»503.344 i>673»ooo 642,475 100,000 ^5^575 203,850 63,000 7*500 • 994600 , iy — 30,000 9*»50o 43r>5^ ' 45i400'. The- freight was reckoned at 10/. per top; the ij fl^ps, 1700 m^n; their wages and j^vtsvifions 5 /. |>eri3aionth POP tnati.' Cy/^r above goods f foreigners andtht eoTonks B^tgBt, 578,400 callicoes, at 13 X. ^d, «*r— , -w jC 3959^'^ Prohibited goods, — '■ 7^75^ i>85o,poo/^. of pepper, at I/. — ^ ^ ' ; j ■■ . 700,000 lb. of coffeci at I X. 3 ^.. -^ -— All other goods, — — ' I * 650)000 Of the exportatbn, the IntUion is abore ^of the wkolft^ Wodlen manufactures fbmething better thao t», ' Iron, brafe, &c. &c. fflaaufadur^s^,^^ 'tn lu ■ > « Total manufa^res, ^^ , i^vllc Commodities, not 4* The ro-expcfftatioft of the imports does not amount to ^ of the whole* The proportion of the cargo to every feaman homeward-bound it, . 1,691 /.; in the outward-bound, 884/. Tirere is no other trade in th<5^ worl4i. except the Spaniih galleons, &c. that eib^lcya icy f4^ pien. v / - ■ .^ .:- ,-ii'i'i-: •• ■ ^• Some years the company has so, 95, and even 30 ihips, and lately^ * many more ; but thea4hey are now fitldonvaboTcr ^oo jttiis, . and jna^y 250. The average in4)Ovts and exports perhaps will not beii^Uadtabe- half as much Again as tl&e-above. The ieamen theo employed by them ^may be 3,500* OF thereabouts ;but4here aremaay zaareTeafoni to tkiaJbthe num* * SimtThtu^tt »n thffrtfint Stati *ftur Tradi /« Jnditu By a Mtrtbaia efLondtn, p. 7, &c. 5d:r bcr in di IicT.Xn. COMMERCE; 515 Wr left than grtattr. The •rtieU tea will l«rve to ihew this ; for the prefent importation U by no means half as great again as the above-fpecified one. Vintm 1735 to 1745* the medium importation waa >>> 95*4^4 ^^* |iri>« 174^ tp i7i&«t — ^ — S»957»634 :• v . To which I fhall add, ,TKe CBDportatioa tO' Ireland between 1754 and X758 was, on « mediumt -^ " — • x i a»ooo XXttCb to America* ' •••-• — ^— — 182,000 ; From this ftate it appears, that the above-mentioned quantity of im«i ported teai did 90it mils above a fifdi of the annual amount; and confe- qucntJy that the allowance above-mentioned is much too great. ■ It is •ftoniihing how the Britiih confumption of this weed increafes ; in 1730 it WM vtAjf fioo^ooo ib, "* and now it is ^,000,000 M. f . -cm : By the above^ccount It likewife appears, that Gee was much miftaken in fuppoflng that the re*exportation of India commodities more than i^ud^ied the export of bullion thither :]:. It does not near equal it. Let us in the next place confider the long-debated point of the expedi- ency of laying opew the trade to the Indies. As we have feen the extent of commerce carried on by the company, it remains to be inquired whe- ther it would be nationally improved by all the Britifh merchants being admitted to trade at will to the Eaft Indies. The two principal arguments hitherto made ufe of in favour of an exclufive charter are ; frfi, die pradice of all other European nations trading to India : If a company is dtfadvantageous, why do others conti- nue fo firm in that method of carrying on the trade ? Secondly^ the great variety of empires* kit^doms, ftates, and even barbarous nations, with whom that trade is carried on, and even in whofe dominions it is necef- fary to have fettlements, gives rife to fuch a necellary attention to a mul- tiplicity of interefts, that nothing but a company can be fuppofed able to manage them with the requifite {kill and afTiduity ; on the contrary, ;^ri- vate competitions would ruin the national intereft iii thofe parts. In moil political controverfies, all opinions have fome pcculiaryor/tf on which they are built, and which carry much appearance of plaufibility; but in the point in queilion, even this appearance is wanting. The argu- . • Tbi Cafi «fthe Dtaltrs in Tea^ p. I. Schemt effertd toprtvtni thiclandeftint Impetiatien, p. l« •f AMttman ]in(en'i State cf the Tea DutieSy folio, Budget, 410, 1764, p. 10» % Trade and Navigatien cf Great Britain een^dered, p. j^o, i U u u 2 ments 5?^ POLITICAt ESSAYS, Essay VI inent^ urged in favour pf the monopoly are not only defident in fads for their foundation, but they have not even the femblance of convidion. What dedu£bions can reafonably be made from the praAice of other |)ower8 ? If the general conduct is bad, is that a reafbn for our periifllng in it ? Muft we continue in a wrong tra^ becaufe our neighbours do the fame ? It is not, however, clear, that the cafes are parallel ; I never yet found it proved} that the Dutch Eaft India trade, for inftanciev 'ftnd our our own, were upon the fame footing; it may be prudent Yor them to continue their company, but it does not therttfore foUowi, that it is^tlKS fame with us : -^But, in fa£k, there is a material difference which may, very probably, at leaft, occafibn their encouragement of a company: That.con^pany is not a parallel monopoly with the Britiih; but it poflefiet a perfedt monopoly in an article from which it excludes the whole world, vi;. the fpice trade. By diifolving their company they may think, and perhaps with juflice, that their exclufive p(^effion o£ that vaUiabk hntudk might be endangered. The guard and watchful caution of the govern- ment in preventing foreigners from interfering, might not equal that of an avaricious company, whofe vigilance is fo extreme: beiides, who would have the care of the cultivation of the fpices?i ; If the iilands were turned into colonies, properly fo called, the trade would be k>fl at once: but at all events the danger would be great. Befides which circumflance, it may perhaps bear a queftioh, . Whether the Dutch require an extenfion of the fale of their own manufactures equally "w'uh n&i It is from hence evident enough, that conclufiohs from the condud c£ the Dutch are by no means juft, when applied to this nation, fince there is fo eifential' 9, difference between the circumilances of their Eaft India trade ^nd ours. And if we view thofe o( oth^r powers, we fhall not find any material reafons for adoptintg their ideas of fuch mcmopolies. That of France has been almoft from its eftablifhment a mere creature of the Fifench miniftry ; never flouri(hing but when loaded with favours, gifts, and exemptions; but dropping into a mere name upon the leaft inatten- tbn of the minifters. And what is very obfervable is, that the only really -jt-, profitable commerce carried on with the Eaft Indies by the French was that of private merchants under licence, at a'^time when the company was unable to fit out a fhip*: thefe, in proportion to their ftock, made fix times the profit that ever the company had done, notwithftanding their being (hackled by many articles of the licences. . • : ■ Thus an attention to the pradice of foreigners in their commerce with the Indies is very far from proving that the trade can be carried on hy a company alone ; for the few inftances of private commerce prove the • S^ce Mtdnn Uaherfal Hijery^ vol. ii. p. 92. 95. ??cd;x; - • : . u J u / '^ ▼cry '^ tf Sect. XII, COMMERCE. 517- ▼cry contrary } and no one can with any certainty pronounce, that the ijnne experiment made with the trade of a whole nation would not be attended with the fame fuccefs. f,f,tl.flxouId not he forgot, tliat the'Portuguefe carried their Indian com- .merce to an height unequalled hat by the Dutch, without ereii' the idea 2 ^^/^e lai^ngaiUle this. African company, is proof fufficient that we>ma7 deviate, however, from the pra^ice of other nations, without fearing any ill cohfequences. We have an open trade to Africa of a much more t>eoeficial ilature than when we had a regular company, and' yet other: ^tibiif cpiitinub their African companiea ; which ihews thi^i, thU ki^i^d of. . ^ ling 18 iibt always juft.i >W*^ mui i -.. ^- ir. "iv. tj^iTrt- "Kf: ■■r'w. The idiVerfity of 6riehtal intsrefls is in the next jplace quoted, i and the difficulty of private merchants conducting fo extennve a tradey at fuch a -vkft diltahte. But in what fa^ thefe ideas are founded, I know not. It fiitiuld be remeniberedy that moft of thofe politicians, who have projected an bpen Trade/ and wi-ltten the warmeft in its favour, allow the neceffity of keeping up £:)rts- and military eflablTfliments in the Indies ;• the expence to be (hared by the private traders, either by a tax or in payment for the licences to trade; but if the nation was to beat the expence, as well as of >' thefe of the coaft of Africa, there can be little doubt but the public would* .. in very numerous ways, be repaid much more than theamountl The point in queftion therefore is, the mere article' of trading. Whe- ther private merchants, by th?ir own fuperqargoes on board their fhips, are not as capable of conducing the Iridiafi commerce as any com- ^^any'sifervai^its can be. Thofe who iniagine the nations of the Eaft to b^ bBrbKrous.in matters of commercer know biit little of hs commercial hif- tory* 1 Theyjare a9 aftive, as experienced, and as univerlal Incirchants iri that quarter of the world as any of ours can b6 in Europe. Trade is perfedUy well underftood throughofut the Eift Indies. Indeed, it is thd folebufinefs that takes up all their attention ^ a private Britidi fhip can • 'Hsfort tot no port in fildia but Ihe will meet with traders ready for ex*. lihange^ who will difpatch her as quick as in any poit of Europe. In'refpedt to any connections with minifters or princes iri that part of ' the world, or the avoidipg quarrels, &c. it flibuld h6 afked, In what manner do the companies manage thefe matters ? By addrefs ; by circum- fpedion; by an attentive prudence and motleration? Nothing further from the cafe ; by the fword. Art and addrefs is ufed at the firft efta- bliiliment of a company, but when once it is fixed, what do they become but ^5! **' *"-''"' ' conqueror* mi I » 5x8 P OUT 10 A L BSg^YS. RWA.y VL conqueror^ and tyraQt^ ^ Pid|K)t th« Portugudfe, t^ Putch, ^ad 49^s not .x>u^ own company n^Qw, prove tbe U;iM^ 9^ this aflTertiQi^ ? U it nost abfon lute ridicule to pretend, that private mer^t^ant» will offen^ tUe (^riei^t^ii .'potentates, and involve themfelves in quarrels, when the company is per- petually at war widi one or other of them, and cutting the thvoata of Nabobs, ilirring up infurredions, and kindling a flame through uhe en^r« of one of the firft potentates of the Indies i And all for th&fake of plun- dering, firfl: one party, and then another. Is it not a farce to fuppqfe, .that private merchants would give greater offence than thefe warlike an^ conquering mpnopolifts ? ' Trade and the fword ought not to be managed by the fame people. Bar- ter and exchange is the bufinefs of merchants, hot fightjlng of battfes and •dethroning of princes. If the trade was laid open, private traders would reap all the commercial advantages of ppwerfuV fortrefles aijid |[j^rrii^s ; that is, fccurity and reputation ; aind would be kept clear of the mifchieii; of them, ^i heir attention would be ingrofled by their prefer bu{iQ,ef8; it would never be their intereft to i^nyolve themfelves in any quarrels; an4 if they were oppreffed, it would, I fhould apprehend^ be as much in the power of the king pf Great Britain to revenge their ills,, as in that of a .company. The fbrce and power in the Indies would be the fame, only t ■ Aould fuppofe the reputation of one fomething greater than that of the other. Was ever the fervant of a company more refpe pences, they are able to trade for mucH fmal|er promts than any company poffibly can, "j ,.*5.rfe*;. m'H'Ai^ But what 18 of yet greater confequenc^ is, the competition which would arife. Many (hips arriving in the Indies from Britain, belonging to dif- ferent owners, cannot fix any determinate price on their cargoes of manu^- . fadures and commodities, but mufl, a^d wo^ld, as in all other trades, take the firft opportunity of difpofing of them to a moderate advantage, left others fhould underfell themi aadt4?af the be^. market. The confe- * A ilriking inftance of tbis is in the merchants of St. Maloes iuiimg privllegea of the Trench Eaft India company to carry that trade on which the latter, was unable to conduft without lofs, and this with many difadvantages too. ^* It is not eaiy to conceive," (ays Dr. Campbell, ** how thefe merchants of St. Maloes Could carry on their commerce to the Eaft Indies with any confiderable profit, if we reflet oh the many inconVeniencies to which they were expofed ; for, befid^s the hard agreement nhade with the company, they laboured under a variety of reftriflions. To mention only a few. The fabje^s of the Mogul made no dif- tin£lioh between'them and the Kaft India company; the debts of which were fo large, that thefe private traders durft not fend any (kips to ^ut^t for fear of having thefr effeSts feized ; they were likewife )ffecluded from fending any veflfcls to China on the fcorc of the new coniv. pany erected for carrying on,thatV;oinm.erce : And,>in cohfequence of the treaty of Utreobr, they were prohibited frotft fending any (hips into the South Seas ; which was one great point they had in view, and might certainly be confidered as capable of turning more to their ad- vantage than ail the other powers that were l*ft them." ( Hifloire dt la Ctmpagnie Ses IndeSf p. 87.) But it feems that all thefe and many other difadvantages were balanced by this favourable circumftance, that privaU trurthanlt only were concerneiin this commerce^ and managed their own money and their own affairs as they thought fit ; fo that they could go on with more vigour end lefs expencey make whatever changes they thought convenient^ and reap all the benefits of the com" panft privileges^ without being fubjeSied U their incumbrances. Modern Univcrfal fliftory, vol. ii. p. 95. X X X quence 5«8 POLITIClAL ESSAYS. fef»Air Vt, f^uenc^ of tbis is, the dropping the price of < Bridfli good* in Iridia, ^M^h is but.sinother name for enlarging die iale of them. The g^nd advali^ t^ee of all others to maniiloAuret is, their being fold cheap; whatever ri^fes their price, and in whatever market, whether taxes at horae or mo-^ pppolies abroad, cramp their iale, and ftarve thofe poor, who otherwife plight live by their induftry. Competition would ad in the fame manner, in the carrying out our manufadures as in the fale of them. A company fends out not a ton of ihipping more than is abfolutely ncceffary to their contraded fphere of trade ; but private merchants very often difpatch fuch numbers of Ihipa wherever they trade, as to glut their markets ; which, howeveri it may lefTen private gains, is of admirable confequence to the public^ TnAead of the Britifh trade to half the globe employing two or three and twenty- {hips, we fhould have two or three hundred conftantly employed in it. " There are a greater number of fhip-tonnage,'* fays Sir Matthew Dec- ker, i^ employed in the trade to the free port of Leghorn onty, than all the three Britifh companies employed in their monopolies to three-fourths of the world; like the fable of the dog in the manner, not eating them- felves, but preventing thofe who would*." Now, the increafe of the ihipping employed in any trade infallibly increaies the exportation of manufaaures; rather than go out to the Indies empty, the merchants would load their fhips upon {peculation, or for the mere freight, which is never done by the company : All which tends powerfully to the great poii^t, the eonfumption of our manufadures* The great objedion to the coniumption of tea in Fritain is, its not be** ing porchafed with manufactures. It pays a great duty to the crown; but fo does. wine, and many other articles which we purchafe totally with manufadures. What a noble advantage would it be* if the. trade in teai was reduced to barter, inflead of being bought with filver! In fuch a, cafe, the increafe of its eonfumption would be a public good, inftead of an evil, both in the employment of the poor, and the enriching the reve-^ nue. But this will never be done by a company* Private merchants would prefently effect it. They would foon fink the price of our manu- factures fo greatly in India, that they would be taken in exchange foe numerous articles for which our company pays, nothing but filver. It is very difFcult to fix bounds to the increafe of trade which would refult from fu^^'. a change, in fuch immenfe and rich countries as thofe of Cau/ts ef tht Decline of ''artign Trade, I2mo, p. 44. the sicT.xn, ^ f v\CO^M^E>At;^^"^^ *5^23 ;tl\^^ft| the altil?ity of pri'^te liivcrittifeifiWuW opek new markcM at ^^(^tiuntfaought of r «n(l find out «fr • * Dtvenant't opinion is (o totally cotiinry to this remark, that one would thinle Mm, wlMt he was more than once reproithed with being, a retainer of the Eaft India company. ** When a company," favs he, ** has .the.ftcengtb and- wealth fuch as eftablilhment (a- pnutr/ulexelujv* mt) would heget, they .might uftrt therofelve^ beUijfm in high Mtmpiy tot ^t HOVtiVn. and future advantage of tneir country: They may ieiouhiato profitable ddighsrand not ftarthe ekpence ot frt/hdi/nvtritSt '■).■'-. .\\s^; t *( Tea, mean dirty drue," fays a very fenfible writer, though his language has not the commercial fobriety, ** eftabliihed by luxury, is become a neceflary of life. Ridiculed by the Chipefe, our hairdy feamen .brave all climates^ difScuhies and hazards, to bring them gold and filver, to take in return a few dried herbs and baked earthen wares. Infatuation I Arguments are vain, tea muft be had ; but furely not at this rate. Had this fair eflate, the Indies (ipore valuable than the reft of our trade) never been granted in mortmain' to' this' roonaftery of voluptuous fecular priefts, but the private £ngliih merchant preferved in the ' rights of his birth, tobacco, or fome other produ^ of ours, would have be«n' the fole pur- ' chafe of tea; weed for weed; not a dollar exported but for gold in return, which was the trade at firft ; but the Chinefe now hold both for tea. Or, in cafe this trade be laid open, by compounding for their charter, the government taking the trade into their own hands, VVhat a fund of wealth, what increafe of revenue ! equal to the whole of the prefent. What a new world for trade ! The rich, the populous, the luxurious nations of interior Afia; all hiftories tell us their extent from Turkey to Japan : thefe are now (hut up front the £ngli(h merchaht for the fake of this monopoly, admitted by all to be bad, maintained by unjuftly obliging a people to buy their goods at one houfe, and no where elie ; whereby the fame tea it u>ld at Gottenburg 100 per cent, cheaper than at home ; which alone is a fufficient profit for the fmugglers : nay, it is fuppofed that the revenue does not fuifer a lefs fum yearly by that article than 200,000/. (( Supported by inflicting oaths on their wretched agents, hat this bane of otnr peace and fafety reigned a long courfe of years, bringing poverty upon us by regular gradations: Without (kill, without induftry, and without wealth, have they proceeded in the difcou- ragement of the former, and dilGpation of the latter; nor in thirty years trading has tntflnf httn eddtd for the benefit of our navigation : no increafe but of perjuries. X X X 2 9a« SM POLWt'CALiRsaAYS.. E«4T ¥r. IE any one doubts whether the exportation' of maQufiidurcs would increafe Mpon laying this.^j^e op^A* l^t him refle^ a. moment upon the conduct pf the company, jfffp^^ag thfiir ferva^tii' c^crying out dotjiii' they l^y an abfoUite probibUion vpoii. it, Vijhich wQ«ld/be needleiB, did they not knqw that their feiva^t^ ta^ui(uft>rJkU <;^r/» ; .for the company wants not money to fupply all the cloth that caa be vended, with the USUAL profit. In the year 1741, a fei^ure vras made in. one of the out- ports of a large quantity of c^pth deOgped for Ind^ belonging to one. of the company*s fervants, when at the fame time, by, the dtcay of our woollen trade, the poors rates were at 8 i. in the pound in fome of our clothing towns ; from whence this abfurdity arofe, that whilft- our clo- thiers were f^arving, the exporlatioa of cloth w^s a contraband trade^):. Thefe feizures have happened frequently fince, and our rates ia many manufa&urin^ towns are 10 s. in the pound, H^w-very contrary to fa£t, therefore, was Davcnantft aflcrtjii&i;;! ** A cp^pa^iy may f^i^d out manufa^lurea and commodities, bu|i atO interloper may gO: with ready bullioaand fpoil their markets §." The very revcrfeis thecafe.^ It it Hac fente dcrivata cladet In patriam populuqique fluxitt. • ' / But that others may difcover clearer evidence of this perfridous tradi^,' the ihjiiry: done to our publi(f credit already, and likely ftill to do, by carrying it on in the manner above laeittioncd-, (for no lefs than the value of 350,000/. in gold and filverhas been ihippied for It>dia within lefs than three months laft paft) and be convinced of the abfolote neceffity oJP putting an immediate ftop thereto ; or thatat leaft it may be limiied to three years, and Vter that to be entirely prohibited, (fucb probihimm are weak, and favour of barbarity \ laying th* trfd* ppmvfuiUei fffe£i) iU withautfuckfotli/h laws) and: the exportation to be coniiflled to our own manufa^iues only* That, thefe, und«r the judicious management of the regular httA merchant,. Willi undoubtedly procure usaconftantandmowreafonablefoMly ( tofilyjitone half the prefent monopolized price, though more difficult now than at firftv by ths fiiftethe Chinefehav6 had.of our wife policy., ' ' ' To appeal to the underftanding of the unprntidiced, whether if the trade beaade free and apftn, according to the juft rights of £ngli(h>-born fubjedts, our private merchants, by whofe hands alone is the profit now produced ta the. nation (or rather j^he lofs mitigated) by Indian commodities re-exported to European countriei, could not very {hon\y ituplty from two to thru hundnd fine capital Jbips j take r/^ 3,000,000!. yearly', of woollon, linen, and oilier manufaiJures ; give real bufmtf thereby to more than loo^oco families now preying upon each other, doubling the revenue or more ; the fears of lei&ning which, at this neceffitoui junc- ture,, are weakly urgpd." Thoughts on the prefent State of our Trade to. Jndiot }f. ijk , X Sir Nf. Decker's Deeline of Foreign trade, i2mo. p. 43. And for other unanfwerable. arguments, fee Sir. Jofiafi Child oaTVfljSf, p. no. Advantages \i DefavantagesdeU FrmteH CV- -de Brttagne, p* 236,. 237k 251. Tb* I^ws and Polity of Ei^land^ relating to Tradoy 1765.. p. 97. Poftlethwayte, Art. 5/fl«, (copied from fevcral.) ReJUiliom on the Eajl ^,. zn and J/ritan-Companiesy, 1.695. p. lou § Difmrfts m th( Public Rtvmtft and Trade of England, 8vo* 1698, vol. ii. p. 4«>' obfcrvablc: SteT. XH. .?''• com Mlt,RiQ)E. i ( ' q 525 obferrabhi' thkt'ithis \vriter,u4i\ i^i»/4cfen|ce, pjf an wclufiye companyi gt^utid* all oa the pofleilion of fort6,.&p, which, is no ODjedidn t6 a.' regu* latcd-one; witnefs our African. . >>ru If this point, of the benefit attending a free trade to the Eaft' Indies, B&< viewed in ever fucK various lights, the afpefi: will be in all the fanii^ : the infinitely beneficial confequences of it mufl be apparent. I fay n6- thing of the regulatio.n of the trade, whether to lay it abfolutely opeii, • or to continue the company with great eafe of admifllon to all who de^ mand it : but if the latter, the reflridtions fhould be very flight. Sir Jpfiah Child would have the purchafe and charges not to exceed 26 /. • Whatever regulations of this fort are adopted, provided the great end of a free trade be obtained, the advantaged which would immediately flow inltp the nation at large, would be prodigious*. Our mantifar^urea would : flouriih ; our poor be fet to work ; our ihipping and feamen vaflly in-r- creaied; the general profit of ot}r commerce enlarged;, and our public revenue immenfely enricheti. Thefe are beaefits all of the greateft and. mofl important kmd;, and highly deferve the confideration of the legif- lature, before they grant a renewal of a mofV pernicious charter, wlucK never had ten words of found reafbnin^ urged in its defence. It has been frequently proved^ that the great bocjy of Britifh merchants would make it- turn to the government's account, by means of requifite fubfcriptions, if t^ey would difTolve the company : which, with the great confequentjal increafe of revenue, is fuHiciieat furely tp open the eyes of the mofl pre- - judicedll. ;, ^ 4j I The opinion of the, grand penConiiry deWltte fhould never be forgot, with regar4v.^o ' the Dutch India trade, which ftands muqh more in need of an exclufive charter than pur's : — ** The ftates found that the trade of thcfe Societies (theEaft and Weft India, and Green- land Companies) was carried on with fo great prejudice to the reft of the people who V^ere excluded, that if our governors had then or fhould now deal in the fame manner with the trade of Europe, byereding. companies exclufive of all others ; for example, one company; for the dealers in the Mediterranean ; a fccond of the French and Spanifh merchiuits-j,, a third for the eafVern and northern merchants ; a fourth for the Bridfh and Irifh traders i a fifth for the haddoc]»^ cod, and herring fiiheries : I fay, if they had done this, one tenth part of our inhabitants would not have been able to live and earn their bread ; fo that Hol- land would foon have been ruined, even though the tradeof thofe companies had been carried on with fo great induftry, that notwithftanding any refolutions taken by France, England,. Sweden, and the States of Italy, to difturb, prohibit, and prevent foreign manufadtures, and confequently thofe of Holland to be brought into their countries, yet each of thofe companies, in the fmall compafs of our Europe, had driven a greater trade than the whole Eaft India company now drives, to the incomparably greater, mightier, and richer Afia,, both in goods and money-; for it cannot be denied that the free eaftcrn trade alone, the her- ring iifhing alone, and the Ffencb. trade aloncj produce ten times more profit to^the ftute and the cummonality of Holland, than twelve or iixteen fhips which yearly fail from Hol- land, to. the Eaft Indies do novr yield to. the ftate and. the iiihabitaBts."' Thi^ paiCige is very. 526 POLITICAL ESSAYS. '?i^."r'3B t**- 'Jll7^#^I>ji SECT. ^UI. 'W ,M • n. 0/* /Ar Briti/h Commerce with the Coafi of Africa* U'vi'Jlii 'Ji> •5(^T ^'|"^H|S moft beneficial oonBnKzce.jD^i for foany yeai^l, tifa&cl'1:1ie '^''jl" management of an excludve company ; and, like all othei* branched fo conducted, was carried on with an eye merely to the profit of the mo- nopoly : the nation fufFered greatly; and yet numerous were the writeifs 'who denounced ruin % to the kingdom on the alteration made in it, which has proved of fuch infinite advantage. I will mention but one fa£): which was given by a fenfible writer of the laft century : " I fliall only take notice}" fays he, '* how the export of the woollen manufactures of the county of Sufiblk have been reftrain^d. Before this African company was incorporated, the clothiers in Suffolk yearly vended 25,000 cloths to Africa ; but about two years after this company was incorporated, the clothiers in Suffolk, as they did before, endeavoured to have vended tlieir cloths in the African trade, but they were not permitted ; and the com- pany would take off but 500, and thofe at fcarce half the prices they were fold before: hereupon, both the great inquefl of Suffolk, (the Guildhall and the franchife of Bury) at their next ailizes, prefented this as a grievance ; and implored Sir Jervis Elvais, (who is now knight of the fhire for Suffolk) and fome others, to reprefent this to the king and council : but the duke of York being prefident of this company, no re- drefs could be had ; and fo the cafe now ffands at this day. So it is fub- mitted to the wifdom of parliament, whether this exaction by this company, be not the ruin of many multitudes of poor Engliih artificers ; and gives the employment in them, as well as navigation to Afridk, with thefe to the Dutch and other nations *." But notwithflanding this and an iiundred other fuch fads, which were produced and proved, yet fo pernicious a monopoly continued till wiihin thefe few years. It is very obfervable that Suffolk, at this day, has not one cloth manufactory: and no wonder, if one monopoly reduced them in two years 24,500 veiy remarkable, fays a modern fenfible politician, contains a variety of fads equally curious ana important, deferves to be read with the greatcft care, and to be weighed and examined with the utmoft attention. f Caft of the African Company unftdtrii^ 8vo. Th* NeaJJity of continuing the African Com- fanft Charier t 4to. The African Trade the great Pillar and Support^ of the Plantation Trade, 4to. An Addrtjs to the Ltgtflaturey in fawur of the African Company, 8vo. The Folly of laying open the African Trade, 8vo. Thoughts on Trade in general, and that tf Africa in particular. * Refe£iions upon the Eajl Indian and African Ctrnfanies, by Roger Coke, £fq} 4to. 1695. p. 10. z cloths. 8 cl 11^ Sect. XIH. C O M M E R C E. 5» cloths. Were tliat grand onet the Eaft India company, laid a(ide,<||^e; woollen manufadory would flourifh oyer the whole kingdom. . /; ' ; n . ■ '' <*H The few particulars of the prefent (late of this ttladie, which are ftat^^^' ' tered through our tracts, are foon colle^ed. The exports thither in the"^' year 1761, were, Utenfils, ftufFs, and fpirits, — ^ — ,— ;C' *54»3^' %**<» Eaft India goods, — — — — 78,^76^ "^ ' ' ' 1 332*957 The returns are gold-duft, ivory, gums, and flaves %. This flight: ftate is fufficient to prove that the African trade is of very great import- ance : but, befides thefe circumfiances, the immenfe article of our Ame- rican colonies dependency on it, renders it to the higheft degree advan- tageous. It would however be much more fo, were we not rivalled in it by our northern colonies ; who bring hither their own manufadures> to the detriment of the Britifh export. The late regulations . of it arc judicious, and.promile fair for being attended with very good effeds §1 and» t Cmmtrcial Pri'neipitSy &c. p. a v. % For the number of flaves purchafed by the Liverpool fliipt, (ee Pofilethwsyte, ktts England. Who, under that article, would look for this account in a dictionary that had thefollowingflave trade, /^r/Ve yfeful here to draw a recapitulation of Aefiu^s, pollened in the foregoing fedions, and to compare them with dmer |;end'2J' ondt * I concerning the total of Britiih commerce, ^j thefe means the reader will be the better enabled to form one idea of the extent and fitiiation of our trade, # .i ..,4 ■ , •/^■>.- > ■ . . .,| Firft, with refpe£t to imports and exports. ImfX)rts, Exports, Baltic Trade. Balance, - • - - 734*060 f colonization : But, without carrying the idea quite fo far, it will at the leaft certabi^ ^ * give (lability, order, and credit to the Britifli trade upon the coaft, and make o^r eftablifli- ments fuperior in ftrength, extent, and influence to thofe of any bthtrEuropCaa power .^''oU Coujidtrat'ims m the Tradt and Finmutt of this KingdtHy p. -Poft]ethwayte'iy^f- , can Expedition, ip,g\.'—— Dictionary of Commerce, Art. Guinea. t Maupertuis'^ Letter to the King ofPrujfut, Phihluical MifctUany, vol. i. p. 361. Holland^ f«eT. xnr. M M E It Clk f BildocebftTotirof Brittioy • • BiiUoce aftmft Britain^ iMinee in fiTour of Briuisi* Primei; PortugaL Ifafy, 8 3 f . 500,009 Bab&ce againft Britain, • « •• Levant. UaoceinfaTOurof Britaio, - • Jfritttin andfretand, In&voorof Britaiiif • • • Briuan and her Colmtieti Bxports, » « • Balance* s • -> jf. 1,750,000 £, toOfOoo 9 £• *00,0<^ 5 f • 700,000 •r 670,838 !,' EqBhdies, Balance i^gainft Britain (being the eiport of bullion) about £r 900^000 Apicdt Expo^ttt e r - £ £. 33a,957 Balances in favour of Britain» I agaioft ditto, 7 Britain's general g^ • Of which, by Ireland and CSoIonies* 4»37o»838 2,334»ooo 2.036,838 i»370»83B It # POL'ltftrAt felJB'AYS. EsiATVt It 19 unagined that iR^ Poftu^tide Mdhivitit balahcei are much exag« gerated, and I believe with reafon y but this general balance cannot be» as the intefeft paid by Britain to foreigner^, for money in her funds, amounts alone to a larger fum. SomeUiing* however, is to be added for the Spani(h and African trade ; but political writers tell us, the firil; it ■ Tftry forall, and^he golJ?duft of the laft imot .very ^OBfid^«|bM;» ,> ^^f^f ^ A modern writer tells us, the exports to foreign parts l^^amountto^ ^ - ^. , - if* £» ^590,opo . The imports, - - - ^ - 5,006,006 ^ Balance, - - -' , - - • 1,500,000 ' But this iftckides.jieither Ireland nor the Hanta^ioosj ' r: ; rf. ^i T. ' "tbefe iHre, - - - • '1,370,83$ ■, '" .■••v-,\ " . Total, according to this account, - ' ?■ r 2,870,838 Export* to the Baltic, - f 3 3 ''•^^•^ 1,000,000 ' To the Eaft Indies, about ^vp-.V.-*t ^u ^'^^f'^^^^''^^' - 800,000 Ct^^... ■ . ,».^... ^ — ^ ';^ This deduAed from the abcve^otal 6,5 ^OiOpoZ^ there remains, 4,700,000 *"* fbr all other countries. ' kjul ,, ^, I inftrt this adSount, becaiffe I am unwilling to flfght any authority $ IBut the plculation is jpoft undoubtedly too low, of which there cannot be ^. greater, proof than what Davenant gives f ^ --^ W " . - t'' ' ' 'V '- Our general exports, layshe, for ifegg^'we ^*''^%^» ^^ j^. 6,788,166* "^ Now, thofe xyho refleft upon the immenfe increafe of our trade fince . that period, will eafily believe that theie accounts are not to be reconciled. '^^ The next article -i fhall examine is, the-ihips and iieamea employ ■;'!:: ^ni/oi! •{d.^risi;..; . i ,' • Stcond Rtpsrt to thtComm'iJfuntrs far Public Amunt$y 8*0. 1715. ]»• 71* '• • The 5I« a«CT.XIV, COMMERCE. The aflfertlon cif one autjbqr, tliftt Portugal employs laoo large fliips, muft not be ()ep«Q4ed op« - Ships. *tht coafting trade» of 150 tons, s £ 5 3000 The Plantation trade, of 300 tons* - -^ • "• 45 J The Newfo^ridltod fifhery, of 200 tons* ' • ' •• 171 The £aft India trade, of 300 tons, - * •■ - 25 Total x>fthde articles, • - S • - 3629 Tonnage of the coafting trade* • • — — — — — — Plantation dittOi - - ■ »" ■ J : . '■ ' fifliery, - •• " • — — — £aft Indies ditto, - Totally • •■■?■ .■.-■• w^ . ' m /• Sflamen of tiKe coafting trade* f* ■■ ■ , Plantation ditto, - . Newfoundland fifhery, " a ll other :fifheries, Eaft India ditto, - - < ■ , • Total, - V Anderfon conje^uree the number of fhips trading beyond feai to be, ------ To thefe, if we add the coafters, thtre will be - ^ .- ^The total is all employed by Britain, - •• ^ And, fuppofing the medium tonnage of the latter to be 200, the amount is, • - ■« ,.- - That of the coafters, * '■ - »' li^f^xfj ;;;;.::. : - 450,000 130,000 34,200 7»5P O 621,700 ..30,000 12,300 7»5oo 12,500 s>5oo 64,800 3000 3000 6000 Total tonnage, • • i - • m Suppofe the average feamen in the foreign trading ftiips to be -rrf' 10, the total is, - . - - - The coafters, ., ,f|..^?lj .,r. .rT V The home fiftieries, ^ ? j . • • •*>. Total feamen, - ^ Yyy 2 iv. . - ; 1 I'M'^iiiii) • TTft Cafipftht BKitiJh AJirchatitty Owntrj ofShipti anJ'ctbtn^ ' ; ; ' -^.i ' |bUii)iJ t Poftlethway te'f Diifionaty, Art. Navigation. X Tableau OecoHomiqucy tom,.i^i. p. 5, Qb/ervaiitm Ottonemigitts, torn. U* p. 2od. § Pre/tut Statt of Euro]^^ .^.Xl^-m^^-- m^v^}. ia*i t> '^ wwW^ }*Vl te"* * *, 'Hi A'; i SECT. siWijm ^7C0'MMER!Cri^C J9» JlJg^toJ^a^iy tne.ljirogrefs f>f trade from' time to time, and to be a|))e ^. ^Icq^rqr pretty accura^^^ the balance; becauf? whatever is ^aid to^ otlijer; cqun^e's iii' bullion, as a balance upon the year's trade, is juft fo mucfct lofs to any nation, that has unemployed poo;-; or unpurchafed commodi- ties. As to the ill confequences of fending away our gold and filver, cpnfider^d n^erely in itfelf, they are perhaps trivial*; aijd ihoijild Jbe Coh^derM in no other light tlian a proof that we do not exporik ' V cfu^cj quantity of products and labour. By knowing the balance of each tr^'er we are timely acquainted with thofe articles in which the induffccyor foreigners rival us ; and arfr confequently much better enabled to appl^ the neceflary remedy, than if the evil was unknown to us, or only cori-% jeaured. This r^ncark is allowed by all to be juft; but the great' dil^ D8lance» , j^,.,,,_. ^^^^ i,'r.^JL>£ii iif.(rjn'.* .f^.^ai l ■* v^'lniijii -jdx viuUnli/j 'tefe which y^be(ffl'i' '-^tuJ'x.>^3^-'":;a/^ ^ The quantity of foseiga coin. And|, .'£i c m\ ion at .ijiib , The quantity of flxippingpiyjTi;. j.joj o/i) Us\: I>;ji;iw3iii^ isj jt In the firft placet the Cuftom^houfe entries can give but little iodght into the real ibte pf the balance; for. the quantity of goods that ar«^ finuggled is prodigious; and of them the Cuftom-houfe can give i no ac^; count. Falfe entries are common f: the rates are various ; and many articles are not rated at all. For thefe and other reafons, it is apparent • See HumeV .^jti, vol, i. p. 341., ahji'vvs^a ..* .^ aw .ffi*>< fisijwaMiHVj ^MVia^vj i Gce'i TratU and Nwigatitn efGmt Britain ttufidtrtdt f. ^17* ^> •'^'t^'^ '» ^'^^'^^ i ^eio- SU POrtrxCAL ESSAYS. Essay VI. Jit . 1 their autharity i* weak, and accordingly has been rejedcd by numerous writers J. Thecburfc of exchange Is agreed to be of ufc, like all means whatever of acquiring knowledge ; but that it wilt point out the general balance of our whole trade* or the particular ones of fcvcFal, is clearly contrary to truth. That it will not (hew the general balance, appears from this ; dll remittances afFeft the courfe of exchange, wae lor they be fubfidies to foreign princes, the pay and maintenance f iioops, the intereft of clebts, or the expences of travellers : all thefe articles are confiderable, and fufficiently prove that general knowledge is not to be thus acquired. And if it be confidered, that the balances to or from nation to nation are often transferred to others; that is, the balance we owe to one coun- try is paid by bills of exchange upon another, who owe a balance to us ; in whicli cafe the courfe of exchange varies indeed, but in quite a dif- ferent quarter from the tranfadions of trade which occafioned that vari- ation : from hence, I lay, it is evident the courfe of exchange can tell nothing but the temporaje. balance of remittance^ but not that of trade* ' The quantity of gold and filver abounding in a country can be no more the figns to depend on than the preceding ones. Gee fixes on this as the .true criterion ; but a very few reflexions will Ihew that he was totally miftaken. The intereft of debts, fubfidies, foreign wars, and abfentec^s, export gold and filver as readily as the worft 'of trades ; how then caa the quantity abounding fhew us the ftate of commerce? But even if none of thefe caufes operated, the maxim would be equally fallacious ; and for this reafon, a people may export their coin without any of thefe helps : the creation of paper currency indubitably drives it away j for that being current at home, but not abroad, will ftay at home, and the univerfal currency be fent abroad. This is generally agreed ; but thofe who favour paper currency, allow the fa£t, but dmw this inference from It : That it goes abroad in trade to colled more ; but that more will go off in the fame way. And allowing the full extent of the argument, yet the quantity at home can never ihew the profit of trade. ii Hi" Others aflert, that the plenty of foreign coin current in any kingdom, is the fure fign of any particular trade's (if not the whole) flourilhing. This plea has a fti-ong appearance of reafon, but will not always hold good. For inftance, Portugal owes a large balance to Holland, and ■if.' l.rm ■ * T J GeeV Trade and Navigation ef Gnat Britain confidered^ p. 171. Hume*/ UJfapi vol. i. p. 342. Sir J. Child on 7r««V» P* >64< Lmd, Mag, vol. xxx. p. 84. pAyi «¥cf . t^. COMMERCE. 52S r- if "•■i pays it in coiri ; and Holland owes a balance to Britain, and pays it with Portugal coin. How does this (hew us the balance of our trade with Portugal ? No one can aflert, that all the Portuguefe coin current in Eng- land comes immediately from Portugal ; it is a fadt very much to be doubted. The currency of foreign coin fhews evidently that fome balance 18 greatly in our favour ; and if it ceafes, that fome trade is turned againft us. But another circumftance has a great effed: upon the fludtuation of iill coin, and that is, the intrinfic value of it ; for we certainly may have * Taft payments in it, and yet not an ounce of it current. This is very- apparent. Sir Jofeph Child was certainly, in matters of commerce, a very pene- tratirtg genius, and yet, in this article of the balance, he fixes upon a proof as weak as any of the preceding. The quantity ofjhipping is his criterion. But furely it is apparent, that much (hipping may be employed in lofing trades ; and very profitable trades carried on without any {hip- ping at all. It would therefore be very ftrange, if fhipping proved the balance. Great numbers of fhips may be employed to carry out coin in return for bulky commodities ; ihould we conclude therefore, that, in pra- portion to the quantity, the national trade thrives ? No, furely. But let T33 drop the idear of naval power for a minute, as we are fpeaking merely of trade, and fuppofe that the nation had no fliipping at all, would this make foreigners ihe lefs willing to purchafe our lead, our corn, our tin, or mftnufa£lures ? On ttie contrary, would they not be more eager to do it on account of the freight ? Should we be obliged to purchafe any larger quantity of their manufactures than was agreeable to us ? And might not the balance be infinitely in our favour neverthelefs ? Experience can an^ fwer all thefe queries. This iJuas the cafe with France before Colbert arefe. Several French writers have attempted to prove, that fhe received of her neighbours a greater proportional balance while the Dutch had; the nayigation of all hef products for fale, than flie did in her more brilliant days : All agree, that her commerce of this fort was immenfely great. Shipping, feamen, navigation, and naval power, are great and magnificent poflefli^'^s ; but let them never be brought in com- petition with the fale of products and manufactures; for in a fcale ©f value, the cargo is fu>„ly of abundant greater confequence than the vehicle that conveys it. People that have much (hipping make inucii nc'fe in ^he v^orld, and are every where known and talked of; thole who fell their produ^s to whoever will come for them', are never feen from home, and little thought of; but their profitable balance may tJO/R. irithout any of the buftle which (hipping occafion». Was the ^ ' balance -vA-finSfll? 53< POtlTICAl ESSAYS. .fisSAY VT. iaUnce of trade againft France in the laft years of the late war, when her d(hipping was demoliflied ? Is the balance of trade againft China and Japan, -who polTefs, comparatively fpeaking, fcarcely any fliips ? — This idea of ihipping, marking the balance of trade, is a mere chimera. No one can liave a greater idea of the confequence of ihipping rnd feamen, and par- ticularly to this country, than myfelf ; but as to fup|)ofmg it the criterion of the balance or national profit of a trade, it is totally inconfiftent with •common experience and the lead refledion. It may be alked. If I am fo free in rejeding the fyilems eftabli/hed by others, whether I have any to offer in their (lead? In anfwer to which, I /hall freely oflFer my conjecture amongft others, which is, that, circura- ilanced as Britain is, it is impofChle to fix on any general maxim as a criterion to judge of the balance of trade. I have reflected on this fub- je«3: with the utmofl attention I am able* and can devife no means of diP covering whether the balance is for or againft us. An exa£t regiiler of 2II exports and imports, clandeftine at. vvell a? legal, would tell it at once : But fuch a regifler is an impofTibiHty, according to the prefent fyftem* of Tevenue. We have found, that the feve."l ideas above-examined arc s^il fallacious. If we confider the cafe with a Uttle attention, we (hall iind equal dISculties in forming other ideal bounties of the nation's com- anerce. The circumfta.ices which render an attempt of this fort fo impradlicable are, the fums fytuK in England by Irifh and Weft Indian abfentees ^which have nothing to do with the balance of trade) ; thofe expended by Englifh travellers ; the mtereft paid by Britain ta foreigners for money lodged in her funds ; and. laftly, the expences of continental connections, which are immenfe. All chefe amount to great fums, and are attended in all national refpe£ts with the fame effects as favourable or unfavour- able balances of tradr. ; confequently, there refults prodigious, if not in* fuperable, difficulties, in afcertaining the difference between their effects and thofe of commerce. Paper currency finifhes the lift. If the former objedions were removed, this would involve the whole in obfcurity. - ' If none of thefe caufes operated, the quantity of coin, bullion, and plate, in the kingdom, with excifes to tell the amount of what was con- fumed in laces and embroideries, would be an infallible rule to judge by ; ■which could never deceive, becaufe thefe could then be increafed by no means but by a favourable balance, nor decreafed but by an unfavourable one. But it is evident enough, tliat this is very far from being the cafe at preient. The Sect. XV. COMMERCE. 537 The flourlfliing (late of manufadures traced to any particular amount, \7ill not fliew whether trade is for or againft us, becaufe the trade of produds is independent of them. It is poffible to have half our manu- fadurers ftarving, and yet a greater balance than the prefent fuppofcd ortc brought in from the export of products alone. Vice verfa ; the decay of the latter cannot prove it, becaufe the former may flourifh proportionably. The ftate of population cannot prove it, becaufe it is fo much afFeded by circumftances that have no connedion with foreign trade. The confumption of great quantities of foreign luxuries cannot prove even a decline, contrary to Sir James Stewart ; becaufe, at the fame time fuch confumption may be more than balanced by an exportation of raw commodities. The rife or fall of the rents of land cannot poflibly prove it, becaufe they are affeded by the quantity of paper current, by taxes, by a general wrong balance, owing to the above-mentioned caufes; all vyhich may operate againft land, while the balance of trade favours it. The number of unemployed poor cannot prove it, becaufe that is affeded by the ftate of agriculture and maimfadures, which are but two foundations for trade out of many ; and by many other caufes. The number of unemployed poor in France is immenfe, although the balance of trade in favour of that kingdom is very great. * In fhort, circumftances which are not the proof may be multiplied without end, and we fhall be never the nearer difcovering what is the proof. ... hSy t^!al4i::^jil5?> , «• The beft knowledge we can gain Is that of the cuftom-houfe, becaufe in their entries there is/otne foundation to calculate upon ; whereas in other methods there is none. And although the amount of fmuggling is very great, and numerous entries falle ; yet, by means of minute and attentive comparifons between one article and another at different periods, fonie flirewd guefVes may be made at the truth, which will always prove much more fatisfadoiy than any other means of acquiring this branch of commercial knowledge. As to the prefent balance of the Britifli trade, I attempted to Ihew by thefe means in the preceding fedion, that it was pretty con fiderable in her favour. Z z z U v«_ i im I ^« POLITICAL ESSAYS, Essay VL It may, perhaps, here be alked, What are the confequences to this uation of a right or wrong balance of trade ? Thefe depend totally upon the extent, and the demands of another kind upon her. If the rental of the Irilh and Weft Indian eftates that arc fi>ent in England be not fuffi- cient to pay the Intercft of her debts, the balance of trade inuft be foapplied; and if all is infufRcient, paper and credit comes in. Nothing, however, can be clearer than the mifchief of owing more than can be paid without the leaft extraordinary operation. Such a balance of trade therefore, at tvill not permit this kingdom*8 paying all demands on her in -a commoa courfe of bufinefs, muft be of pernicious confequences. It mull, however, be remembered, that we may fo increafe our debts to foreigners, that ho balance that can well be conceived probable can enable us to pay their intereft. A balance m oar favour is a proof that foreigners take more produds and fabricks from us thaii we do from them, which is an advantage of the higheft confequence, becaufe it fuggefls at leaft a ftrong probability that they employ more of our poor than we do of theirs. But even this is not thereby proved; for if our exports are raw unmanuiaftured produds^ and our impcNTts thofe which have received the laft hand, a coniiderable hahnce may be in our favour, and yet the trade diikdvantageous ; and for the above reafons, becau& we employ a greater number of their pooi^ thaii they do of ours. for this reafon the balance may, upon the whole, be againft us, (as hr as it relates to trade alone) and yet the comaierce very beaeficial, andupoa prccifely the fame account. r ) :> ,: ^ ,••;"»• SECT. Sect. XVI. COMMERCE. 539 SECT. XVJ. ,^ CQmparifon between the Commerce qf Great Britain attdthat of other Countries, THE reader will not expeiSt to find a complete ftate of the trade of ' Europe laid before him in this fc^ion : If it is fo very difficult to gain an adequate idea of our own commerce^ much more fo muft it be. to acquire one of foreign trade. But although perfection cannot even be thought of, a concife view of thofe particulars which are to be met with in various authors may have its ufe, and give us a better idea of the weight of Great Britain in the commercial world than if they were entirely flighted. The Dutch claim the firft attention. I fliall begin with thoie branches in which they are almoft unrivalled. In the Eaft Indies they are con« feffedly fuperior in trade to all the world ; the particulars, however, of this trade, are no ythtvc/atisfySiorily to be found. Such citcumftances as have any thing conclufive in them are very foon colle£ied, and prove clear enough the immenfe importance of the Dutch India trade. The number of ihips they employ in it amounts generally to between feventy and eighty; that is, about forty outward, and thtrty-iix home-, ward bound *. But their great fuperiority over England does not confif^ chiefly in the fliipping that i& employed l^ it, but in the value of the car- goes ; as an inflance of which, take the article j^icrx, among; a great many, others common with, other companies. One year with another the produdi: of cloves is 1,000,000 of powndsf;, of nutmegs, 800,^000. *{;; of mace, 200,000 1(; of cinnamon, 1, 000,000 §; their fliare of the pepper amounts to 5000 tons IT. The product of thefe fpices at the company's fales in Holland may be thus computed : 100,000/^. of cloves, at ioj. per pound, 8,00,000 lb. of nutmegs, at 6 x. 6 ^« 200j0qo ib. of mace, at 18/. 1,000,000 /^. of cinnamon, at los. 5000 tons of pepper, at i j. 3 d. per pound **, 275,000 180,000 500,000 700,000 Total, 3,155,000 • Me^rn Univirfal Hljitryt vol. x. p. 46?. f lb. 454. % Tb. 460. |j lb. §Ib. 449. f Davinant on Public Rtvenut and Trade, vol. ii p. 62. Of the Eaft India Trade. ** I have laid the pepper low, as the quantity feems io vety large \ and perhaps Davenant exaggerated, as be certainly did, in airerting the Dutch fpjce trade to amount on the whole to ioL millions. > Z Z Z 2 That -r iMttvwaMiMMlM 540 POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay XVT. That the profit upon this product is immenfely great, may he gathered from this circumftance ; the moft valuable of them coft the company in India fo little as about an halfpenny per pound *. Davenant fays the pepper cods them two-pence. 3,000,000/^. ztl-d. — 5,000 tons, at 2d. • Freight )f 14,200,000 II;. at 3 J. f Total charge. Profit, >C- 6,200 177,500 277,000 1,878,000 From this flight (ketch it appears very clear, that the Dutch Eaft India trade is greatly fuperior to that of Britain. In their fifherics the Dutch are equally fuperior to us. Their herring fifliery was for ages regularly on the increafe. It has been computed, that it employed 8000 bufles, fhips, and veflels of all forts; 350,000 fea and fifhermen ; and 350,000 netmakers and curers J. This is an im- tnenfe calculation; and yet the great De Witt himfclf afferts, that 450,000 people were employed by it in his time in the province of Hol- land alone §, which is a confirmation. It is aiferted by others, that the value of the filhery amounts to 10,000,000 /. annually to them. In the laft century they undoubtedly catched 300,000 laft annually of herrings alone, befides cod, ling, hake, &c. and, at the medium of prices, thefe were worth 5,000,000 /. H Other writers, however, affert, that this fifhery is much fallen off at prefent : The following is a ftate of it in the year X748, as given by a modern author. It employed fliips from 70 to ico tons, — 1,000 Fifhermen, — — Seamen, &c. — — — — 86,000 They caught, lafts of filh, -— 85,000 Worth, f ^.1,700,000 This ftate makes it of prodigious confequence ; and an incredible nur* fery of feamen. • Modern Univerfal Hijiory^ vol. X. p. 453. X Britannia Lan^ •ens^ ?• 31. ' I Smith'j England's Improvementi revived^ p. 249. f Avantages et DefavantagtSy &c, p. 143. •)■ Davenant, utfupra, § Memoirs^ p. 34. Their Sect. XVI. Commerce. i'4X Their Greenland fifliery has certainly not declined; fome writers are of opinion, that it is greater at prefcnt than ever it was ; while the Eng- lifli poflclVed a (hare of theirs, it amounted to a vaft fum. | In forty-fix years, ending lyaii they employed in It 6,995 {hips. * 32,908 whalesi 16,000,000/. 279,800 151 6, coo 347,886/. Caught, Value, at 500 /. each f* — — The medium crew of the fhlps is forty men and boys ; the total number therefore X' ■ Ships per annum, — — Seamen, ditto, ■ — — — — Value, ditto, - Value of the herring and whale fifliery per annum, according to the lalt and leaft account of the former, 8,047,826 /. A very little refle«Slion will be fufficient to (hew the vafl importance of fiftieries which bring in fuch prodigious fums, and employ fuch num- bers of feamen ; nor ai"e the feamcn the only people employed, the num- ber on land in building, fitting out, and repairing the (hips, and making the numerous nets and fiihing implements, muft be incredibly great. The Baltic trade Is the moft confiderable carried on by the Dutcti'in Europe, and immenfely great ; employing conftantly no lefs than' 1200 fail of large fliips ||. Prodigious magazines of all the Baltic products are ready in Holland for the fouthern markets, which they almoft wholly fupply. The (hips ufed in this trade are all bulky, and of great burden» fo that we cannot ef^imate them at lefs than 300 tons upon an average, which makes 360,000 tons of (hipping ; and the feamen, reckoned at no more than 12 to the (hip, amount to about 15,000. " To thefe branches of their commerce, we (hould add their trade to Bri- tain, France, and all the fouthern parts of Europe, Baltic produce excepted ; likewife, their African and Weft Indian commerce : aJl thcfe are of confe- quence, and muft undoubtedly employ a great number of (hips j parti- culars of them, however, 1 cannot difcover. '(i >f5ii:, • PoftlcthvrayteV DlSt'maryy Art. Grunland. + Andcrfon'f DeduHion, &c. vol. ii. p, 350, X EMn's Memorial to Sir John Eyks, ] Nugent'; Grand Tourt vol. i, p. 28, y4.t^fv i»^.9^ii ^^:T »i.«q«»-'i «}.. Khali 54« POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay VL I fliall next examine fuch parts of the French commerce as arc known with any tolerable certainty; and, firft, their plantation trade, which will be foon difpatched, as the amount of their Weft Indian products arc already infertcd in another place. 68,000 hogfheads of Britifh fugar, exported to Europe, formed 51,000 tons; 120,000 hogflieads, therefore, the French produft, make 90,000 tons, and the proportion of men taken, as before minuted, for the Britifh iflands, the total employed by the article, fugar, in France is ^ Coffee, indigo, &c. is not quite a fourth of the value; buta« they are by no means fo bulky, we will call the ftiipping employed by them a dxth, or — -— -.~- Total, 9,000 10,500 ".%. N. B.- Mofl of the French mclaflfes and rum are bought by Englifh fhips. A modern writer * makes the number of feamen employed by this trade — . . . . QjOj'O Mediimt, — 9>77«> I may here be permitted to remark, that coincidence within lefs than a thoufand n^en is foi^iething of a proof that the preceding calculations are not far froni the truth. The fame writer iays, the number of their ihips employed in this trade is 336. The Newfoundland fifhery of France is faid by a late writer f to be four times greater than that of Britain ; if fo, its ftate is as follows: Value and freight of the fifh, ■ ■ Another author :j: makes the French fifhery to produce A third § makes it — .. . . — r- £, i,272,ooo< 684 30,000 j^'. 1,350,000 981,692 • An Attmnt eftbt Southern Maritime Prtvinees «/ Ffatuet /^.to. 1764, p. 1 33. t Prefent Statey p. 175. % Hcathcote'j 2>///r, p. a6. J Sir William Pepperel'* 7Mr» i»534 Value, in proportion to the Dutch, . £, 66,800 To thefe I (hall add their coafUng trade from Bourdeaux,&c. to Rouen, which is faid by Mr. Pofilethwayte to employ from 150 to 200 fail; let us, to avoid the imputation of exaggeration, call it —— ^ ..— — .• - — -— ijfo Tonnage, at 100, the medium, . ^ _. ' ' ' , ^SPJl^ Men> at 5L* ,tQ each fhip, — -—. — t-* . ^35^ ! Recapitidation, Total fhipsf, — Tonnage, — — ' Seamen, ■ - Great Britain's coafting trade was found to employ Men, Ships, Tonnage, Men, Ships, Tonnage, Men, Ships, Tonnage, Men, Ships, Tonnage, Men, Herring fifhery, — Ships, Tonnage, Whale fiihcry, — The whole French commerce. The former alone, fuperior by ■;.{, >i »l:iU — 279>54o 57.588 3',ooo ihips. 8,778 2S8 * This is the proportion of their fliips trading to I^oUand. . f If the (hipping of Europe be eo,oco, Dr. Campbell fays France pofltiTes aooo. The Sect* XVI. C OMM Ba C £.' The tonnage of Britain's coafting trade» That of aU. French (hipa, — Tlbe former fuperior by -— Seamen <^ Britain's coafting trade, Plantation ditto, — — Fiflieries ditto, — — All the French commerce^ ^ The former fuperior by — 5^5 450,000 ^ ' 279*540 .!;■■■ 30,000 13*300 20,000 170,4.60 62,300 57»588 — 4»7i3 Thefe heads of comparifon reduce the parallel to a very plain ftate. The whole commerce of France has, by a modern writer*, been ya«« lued at 8,750,000 iper annum, but evidently too low: his deiign, how- ever, was to undervalue every thing but agriculture. It would be mere trifling to compare the commerce of Britain with that of any other power than Holland and France. SECT. XVIL 0/the tmpwtance of Commerce to Great Britain — The Means of promoting it — And Conje^ures on its future State* IN this fe^tion I fludl fpeak of commerce in its common extent, com- prehending the pofic^ion of dipping and the employment of feamen. I {hall avoid entering minutely into the examination of a point that has been canvaiTed by a million of writers ; only touching on a few circum- ftances, which it is requifite ihould not be wholly omitted in this Eifay. . The importance of trade to this nation confifts in, firfi^ the employ- ment of our poor ; fscondly^ the acquisition of riches ; thirdly ^ the fup- port of naval power. A very few words will fliew that thefe inter^fts arc in fome meafure diftind, and certainly of high importance. It may perhai>s be thought, that the employment of our poor, and the acquifi- tion of riches being the fame thing, I have made a diftindlion without a difference. I do not deny their being in fome relpeils the fame thing, but certainly i.ot in all; a bfmg trade, that is, one in which the balance i% again ft us, may employ vaft mimbers of our poor. The importation tv Tntntts til la Ftmm mat tnunduiy torn. ii. p. 315. 4 A of 54<5 POLITICAL ESSAYS. EssAV VL of raw commodities to be manufa tion may be juftty made between the employment of our poor and the acquifition of riches. An increafe of riches, in fome fituations, Is no farther defirable than as they increafe induilry ; in fuch cafe, 4he prinpipal aim of commerce '\» the employment of fuch of the poor as the eftablifhed agric.ilture and ma- nufadnres will not maintain; for commerce increafes both; befides immediately employing great numbers. A people may carry on much trade in felling their produds and manufadures to foreigners in their own portS) as was remarked before ; but in that fituation,. neither their agriculture nor manufadureis can be carried on to near the extent and per- fe(fliQn which attends a briik trade being joined with them. Where a fingle p'.irchafer is found in one cafe, a thoufand will be met with in the ather 'y and the more products and manufadtures a nation fells, the more of Her poor is undoubtedly employed. The beft markets for thefe are found out and preferved by commerce ; for v/ithout it, a kingdom would fell nothing but what her neighbours could neither do without themfelves, nor fupply others with. If Portu- gal demanded cloth, and the Dutch fupplied them, they moft \indoubtedly would give the preference to their own; and as long as they could poflibly fupply the market, would never buy ours for that purpofe. Without commerce, the immenfe confumption likewife, and fingjular benefits of colonies could not be enjoyed: all which is fufficient' to prove, that foreign trade is of prodigious confequence to the increafe of the fale of produds and manufadures, and confequently to the employment of the poor. If it is fald that commerce, by increafiirg of luxury, decreafes popula- tion, occafions a greater inequality among mankind, and adds to the num- ber of the poor, I anfwer j fo does every thing but feudal barbarity ; manufadures, agriculture, as a trade, &c. &c. and that there is fcarce any medium betvre' a ftate of polifli villainage and a commercial pro- fperity. Sv/itzerland, without a fingle Ihip or a. port, experiences the latter. But conjedluree about the decreafe of mankind, in confequence of luxury, are very equivocal, and never amount to a proof. In great cities the fad is undoubted, but the cafe may be very different with a nation at large. That luxury increafes the number of the poor, there can be no doubt; but at the flimc time it fiu-niihcs them with the means of employ- ■I . , ment Sect. XVII. COMMERCE. 547 meat and fubliftence: if they fail of reaping this benefit from it, the fault moft afluredly is not in commerce or luxury, but the government under which they livj. There h no caufe fo powerful as to operate beneficial cfFeds contrary to the influence of bad government, or a want of good. Suppofe we have a million of unemployed poor in England, can any one of common penetration imagine that the Britifh government could not fet them to work, and make them maintain themfelves to the advantage of the whole community ? We fliould not rail at commerce and its attendant luxury for eSe&% pernicious, merely for »/ant of abilities to render them beneficial. In a kingdom where the foil is well cultivated, where numerous manu* fadures are eftablifhcd, and where a large foreign trade is carried on, no one need be idle or. unemployed,; if the laws be fuch as encourage in- duflry alone: aU wiilrbdibufy and. diligent ; all maintain themfelves and families; every one .will lite comfortably, arid add to the ftock of the public : the good influence of commerce will be fufficiently apparent. So much to the employment of the poor ; the acquifition of riches is quite another affair. Great Britain has almofl: periodically a confuming war to carry on againfl a powerful neighbour ; and flie has the intereft of immenfe debts to pay to foreigners : flie has likewife prodigious internal expcnces to fupport. All theie demand a great revenue ; and every branch of induftry mud fhare in fiipporting the burthen: agriculture, manufadtures, and commerce. Whatever has by degrees been brought to yield, through either firft or fccond caufes,a large reven; ' . is become not only beneficial, but an abfolute necelfity. Suppoic the public income 10,000,000 /. and the necefTary expences as much, and that commerce and its confequences pay one-third of this ; if that thiid, in cafe of failure, cannot be elfewhere fuppUed and eafily too, commerce i ; indubitably a neceffary. This is not the place to ftate proporticms of this fort accurately ; but the prefent ftate of Great Britain is fomewhat reprefented in the fuppofition. Now, althoug^i great taxes are raifed on lofmg as well as advantageous trades, yet in proportion to the riches is the confumption of a nation; and whatever trade is carried on with a balance againft a people, certainly impoverifljes them; and no logic isl-equifite to prove, that a poor people cannot confume equally with a rich one. The general plan of modern taxation in moft of the European kingdoms and flates is that on confump- tion i tlx? exciles in Britain form much the largeft part of the public reve- , 4 A 2 nue: 548 POlineAi: £SSAYS. EsSAYVT; nue: And we may be afFured^ that the cuftoms paid onihe imports of a lofing trade.(unlefs on commodities to be re-exported, or further manufac- tured) by no means equal theeonfcviuent lofs in excifes, by the decreafe of the national riches from this confumption. The mere poiTeflion of riche» is not the great point (though of no fmill confequence) ; it is the confump- tion they occaiion, the induftry they give rife to, and the infallible jour* ney they regularly take to the coffers of the public. Thi* idea is not, iwwever, to be carried to an infinite extent, becaufe an over-quantity of riches is pernicious, in raifmg the prices of every thing too, high, and doing mifchief thereby to the general induftry. I extend thcrefledion no further than the a£hial or probable neceffities of the ftate- AsOteat Britain pays fuch immenfe fums in intereft to foreigners ; is at fuch prodigious conftant expences of government; and is never far removed from the expedation of a war j and as much of her revenue de- pends on commerce and its ronfequences (wnich are by-the-bye much greater than at firft apparent); for thefe reafons, a regular acquifition of riches by commerce is become an abloiute neceffity of ftate. V Laftly ; in refpe<3 of naval power. This point will require very little attention to fettTe. While Britain has fo powerful an enemy to cope with as France, fbihe fyftem of military power mufl: be formed for defence ; ta (ay nothing of plans of attack. This fyilem muft be that of land or feft forces. The Hrft, to be depended on altogether, would perhaps be infuffi- cient; moft certainly it would be dangerous to liberty: But if both thefe obje^ions were removed, there remains another very material one ; it is naval power alone that can protedi, defend, and ftcure the poflTefiion of any colonies. The moft powerful armies would a^.one be ufelefs in this refpeO:. A iuperior French fleet, with ten thpufand men> would redutb Iialf the Britifh colonies, though an army of ten times that number was encamped at Portfmouth, without a fleet to waft and convey them. A« a naval power can have no other foundations than an extended-commerce, there wants no other proof to (hew that commerce is neceflary to Great Britain, independent either of the employment of the poor, or the acqui- fition of idches. -Ji If. The means of promoting this branch of indufljy are lb prodigioufly various and exteafive. that it will not be expelled every particular fliouM be explained here. It would fill volumes upon a fubje^ that has filled a thoufand already; a few remarks, however, arc neceflary, and efpecially if the fubjed: be £3und to adnxit aay that are not already hackneyed by «ommoa uie.^ fitcT. xvir. COMMERCE; 549 It has been generally aiTerted, that the fludhiations of trade from nation r.o uation are owing to high prices of the neceffaries of life, which raife the price of ail produ^S) manufadures, merchandize* 6cc. &c. and, in ihort, every thing that receives the leaft value from labour: And as thefe high prices are die efFedls of riches, and as riches are the effeds of trade, trade deftroys itfelf. I ihall only remark at prefent, that how juft fo- ever this idel may be, it is but an idea, and no where clearly to be traced in modern hiftory* The Dutch carry on an irnmenfe trade at prefent in oppofition to very powerful and induftrious rivals ; and yet the neceflfa- ries of life are now dearer in Holland than in any part of Europe. We have rivalled them in many articles very fuccefsfully, and yet no one can prove that our fuccefs has been owing to a greater cheapnefs of provi-^ (ions. The French have rivalled both» and yet it is fuppofed that an Englifliman earns a greater proportion of wages, in proportion to the. neceflaries in both countries at the fame prices, than a Frenchman cin do. But thele aiTertions can be nothing but ideas, and founded on no proof, /".'becaufe we have not at any period had an ctulOl comparifon between the prices of necefTaries in dif{«rent manufaduring countries drawn to a head, and a complete parallel between them. There can be no doubt but prices might be imagined fo high as to deftroy all induftry ; but this is tnere imagination. Great intereft for money, monopolies, want of ftocks in trade, want of {kill in agriculture and manufadures, injudicious taxes, &c. &c. &c. thefe and a thoufand other circumftances may . opiate againft the growth of commerce, and their evil confequcinces be attributed to what arc called high prices of proviiions. "Whenever trade in general, or any one branch in particular, declines, the firft bufinefs is to difcover the nature and extent of the evil. If any difcouragemcnts or burthens exift, which are fuppofed to afFed it, they fhould be immediately removed; but if this does not work the deHred cfTedl, fiich encouragements fliould be given by the government as bid faireft for fuccefs* The cviltf of trade generally confift in being underfoM by other nations. Let us fuppofe the article of trade which declines, to be the export of fome important manufadure in which foreigners underfcll us, without making their goods better than ours. In this cafe, a general view fhould be taken of fuch manufadure, and every circumftance confidcred that can enable others to fell it cheaper; the plenty and price of the ori- ginal raw material fhould be examined ; the methods of manufacturing it ; whether the rival people poffefs any machines which perform that work with them, which with us is tlie effcd of manual labour : The price, plenty, and goodnefs of all extraneous commodities which are 7 ufcd ,r^ 55© POLITICAL ESSAYS. Essay VI. ufed in the maiiiifadure, fuch as dyes in woollen* &c. good^, oak bark in leather, cord wood in iron, &c. all duties, culloras, excifes* &c. fhould be examined, that have the leaft reference to the manufac- ture in queftion. When fiich a furyey is taken,, the requifite meafure will be known with certainty, and a flight affiftance very judicioufly apf^kd will avail more than a large one hazarded aX random. Affiftance fuffi- cient to reftore the exportation Ihould, however, be determined on at all events; for no expences that can efFett it can be of fuch ill confequences as the lofs of a branch of exportation. Thefe remarks are equally appli- cable to the trade of commodities, to fiflieries for exportation, &c. &c. When every other endeavour fails, bounties lliould be giyea: They cannot fail : no private manu . Uurers and merchants can rival a government. But fuppofe trade 5 leral declioes, without any particular reafons to be affigncd, exce]>t iha4,,uf a general rivalihip, what then is to be done ? Why, a general .•-'d n i;-; :^d reform of all thofe evils which have probably contributed to the ...stb-^une; an annihilation of all companies and mo- nopolies ; a due regu' -of paper currency ; a repeal cdf fuch taxes as operate againft indufti ) . bounties upon exportation;, a ftrong endeavour to open new markets ; thefe and many other means might be taken to preferve trade from declining in apy nation: But there are fome others peculiar to Great Britain. If this nation preferves her colonies fecurely toherfelf, and prevents their interfering with the manufadlures and produds of. their mother-coun- try ; and a political attention be given to other trades, (without extend- ing it fo far as the taking off of taxes or giving bounties) any one may venture to aflert, that it is impoffible the trade of Britain fliould decline; on the contrary, it muft regularly increafe with tlie increafe of the colo- nics. And this branch of our commerce, is, and muft be, (under thefe circumflances) fo very confidcrable, that, added to our coafting trade and fiflieries, it will occafion fuch a circulation of induftry, fuch large flocks in merchants hands, and fuch an extenfive navigation, ♦^hat a nation polTcf- fing fo much muft poffefs more ; a fliare o^ other ; 'adcu muft be enjoyed by it in fpite of all rivalry. Here then are the great means of prcf/:. ing, and even increafmg the commerce of Great Britais, the particular methods of managing this bufmefs have been treated already in another place. Let her manage her colonies in a political manner, and all the melancholy ideas of a lofs of trade through too high prices of provilions, &cc. will be found, mere dreams. Let the colonifts fprcad themfelves over that vaft continent j provide them with ftaplcs, and they will never manut'adure. Form ■J Sect. XVII. CO M Me k C E. ist Form a chain of fettlements acrofs the Pacific Oceanj and open a trade with the great fouthem continent. Lay open the Eaft India trade; and profecute thofe fifheries which are*^ fo peculiar to our coafis. Embrace a large and comprehenfive policy, and the rival (hip of fo- reigners can never aflFcfl the commerce of Great Britain. Such is the iyftem which this nation ought to purfue. Let us next ha- zard a few cQnjeftures on the fyftem which fhe probably tvill purfue ; this is the only means of forefeeing the future ftate of our commerce. The North American colonies will probably be left upon the footing they are at prefent ; that is, they will be confined to the moll abfurd of all bounds; their tr^ide will be reftri^ed, and trtvial jealous inquiries made into their manufadtures : this will inevitably drive them whether they \yi)l or not to manufadhiriug in a much more extenfive manner than they do already, until the export of Britain drops to the mere fupply of the iflands ; coniequently the Britifh trade muft then depend much more than at prefent upon her foreign trade. Forming new colonies, or engaging in any fuch extenfive plans, will be- rejeiSted with fcorn, and confidered as mere fanciful projcds. The trade to the Eaft Indies will continue in the hands of a pernicious^ monopoly, from a mean and falfc fyftem of oeconomy. When the trade of Britain is left open to the attacks of foreign rlval- fliip, it will all decline, and for thefe reafons; firft, numerous and opprellive taxes muft be raifed on branches of induftry ; which, however well they might bear them when unrivalled by others, will fall to nothing when fubje£ted to foreign comj)etition. Secon^y, The national debt will incrcafe fo much, that the payment of the intereft to foreigners will impoverifli the kingdom, at a time when> exportation declines. A debt, which a people with an incrcalipg trade eould bear with eafc, may be fufficient to ruin another jveople -^vith a de- • «r?afing one. 1 he cfFcdl of this impovcrifliinent will I e a i'aliing c!? in • the national confi'-.nption, and conftqucntly otthoib branches of iliepub- )\<: revenue, whiLii raifed on coniampiion ; but as monga^ cl taxes nuift fce made good, others will be fiiccefiivciy laid until trade be reduced to aothing. The more the debts iucrcaie, the more likewii'c will paner- «urrcncy 15* POLITICAL ESSAYS. 'EftAT Vf. currency abound^ until the immeafis quantity of the figna of wealth ivill be attended with worfe evils than ever arofe from a too great (hare.^|C4^/' wealth : the trade of paper and money will be more profitable tt^ ivu commerce loaded with impofitions, and fubje&ed to the rival^^'^ foreigners; confequently the trading ftocks will be leffened.— — AnotJttr . confequence will be, an extravtigant rife in the price of all neceflaries, to the great enhancing of that of labour: and however well a flourifhing com- merce will bear prices equal to thofe of the neighbouring nations, it is clear enough that a declining one will not endure thofe which ztcfupe- rior. But if, according to the opinions of many writers, an equal dear- uefs is of bad eflPed at. prefent, how much worfe confequences, accord- ing to their reafoning, mufl attend it, when we have a declining, inftead of an increafing, commerce ? In fhort, there is no trifling reafon to believe, that the prefent fyftem will be continued; viz. to let matters rub on in the old way, and take care of themfelves. Our minifters will be perpetually bufy and in a hurry with doing nothing; or, what is worfe than nothing, plaiftering over evils, and mending them by patch-woric ; engage in little paltry regulations and improvements ; and preach up ceconomy to thofe who advife efFedual proceedings. The national debt will be annually increafed, ' without fuch meafures being taken as will enfure a parallel increafe of trade; the lail to enable the nation to bear the firft. Unfortunately, the old dilatory fleeping plan will no longer do. We are now at a crifis. For- merly it mattered but little, whether our ftatefmen were afleep or awake: And why ? Becaufe the increafe of the colonies did the bufin^s for them: their increafe occafioned the national trade to increafe, and all went on filently, but profperoufly. But late ill-judged meafures have irritated the colonifts, and at the fame time, by ccNofining them, forced them into thofe manufadures which their anger made them wi(h for. Their fcheme, according to the prefent condu^ of Britain, muft fucceed, and will end in the ruin of a vaft part of our commerce and manufaAures ; fo that for the future, trade will not increafe* as it has done, of itfelf, and without attention; becaufe the caufe which operated fuch good e£Fedis will every day be turning againft it. May we not therefore call this a crifis in the Britifh Commerce ? We have hitherto defied the rivalihip of foreigners ; let our American trade decline inftead of increafing, aod the cafe will be greatly changed. THE END. ^•* lift ' ji^" . -:■: ^ %-i ' H"' \^