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F ( 
 
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J) 
 
 FOUR TRACTS, 
 
 i 
 
 On POLITICAL and COMMERCIAL 
 
 S U B J E C T S. 
 
 I 
 
 9SiSSiS'^fSXfSSSLlp£i&&:^S^S)C^i^ 
 
By 
 
FOUR TRACTS, 
 
 O H 
 
 POLITICAL and COMMERCIAL 
 
 S U B J E C T S. 
 
 The THIRD EDITION. 
 
 BY JO SI AH TUCKER, D. D. 
 
 DEAN OF GLOCESTER. 
 
 GLOCESTER. 
 J^RINTED BY R. RAIKI^S, 
 
 i«^*N D. S L D B r 
 
 T. CADELL, XN mt BtkMXD, LONDQ 
 
 *«.DCC.LXXVIi 
 
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 1-776 
 
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 — IJ^\ M 
 

 CONTENTS. 
 
 'Tract I. A Solution of the important 
 ^lejlion. Whether a poor Country ^ where 
 raw Materials and Provijions are cheapo 
 
 • and Wages low, can. fupplant the Trade 
 of a rich manufadiuring Country, where 
 raw Materials and Provijions are dear, 
 and the Price of Labour high.^^With pt 
 Pojifcript obviating ObjeSlions, 
 
 Tract H. The Cafe of going to War for 
 the Sake of Trade, confdered in a new 
 Light ', being the Fragment of a greater 
 Wjork. 
 
 Tract III. A Letter from a Merchant 
 in London, to his Nephew in America^ 
 concerning the late and prefent Dijlut" 
 bances in the Colonies^ 
 
 Tract IV. The true Interejl of Grea* 
 Bntdimfet forth in Regardto the Colonies; 
 and the only Means of liumg in Peace and 
 Harmony with them. 
 
 - u- . 
 
¥ 
 
 . ^ 
 
 // 
 
 Tl 
 H( 
 
 cla 
 lik 
 Co 
 fon 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 'HE iirft of thefe Pieces was 
 never printed before, and is 
 now publiflied as a Kind of 
 Introducftion to thofe that fol- 
 low, or as a Sort of Balis on which the 
 fucceeding Arguments are chiefly founded. 
 The Piece itfelf arofe from a Correfpon- 
 dence in the Y**" ■ ^758, with a Gentle- 
 man of Nori. nrL 7, eminently diflin- 
 guilhed in J s^public of Letters. 
 
 Though I cannot boafl that I had the 
 Honour of making the Ge uJeman a de- 
 dared Convert, yet I can fay, and prove 
 likewife, that in his Publications iince our 
 Correfpondence, he has wrote, and fea- 
 foned, as if he was a Convert. 
 
 . A4 Thb 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 TwE iecond Tradt was firft publifhed 
 in the Year 1763, juft after the Conclu- 
 sion of the War. At that Jundure the 
 Mob and the News-Writers were fo en- 
 raged at the Thoughts of Peace, that the 
 Pamphlet lay neglecfted above a Year in 
 the Hands of the Publifher, and had very 
 few Readers. But the Approbation which 
 it ha§ fince met with, efpecialh/ from Abroad^ 
 where Premiums have been inflituted for 
 Diflertations on a like Plan, induce me 
 to hope that Prejudices begin to wear off, 
 and that it hath a better Chance now than 
 it had before of being read with Candour,, 
 and attended to with Impartiality. In-. 
 deed it was necelTary for me to publifli it 
 in this Colledion, becaufe of the \}{i2, 
 which will be made of the fame Train of 
 Arguments in the fourth of thefe Traa:s, 
 when we come to fhew the true Intereils 
 of Great-Britain with refped: to the Co- 
 lonies, and the only Means of living 
 with them on Terms of Harmony and 
 Friendfhip. 
 
 One Thing more I have to fay on this 
 Head : The Fadl fets forth, that it is a 
 
 Fifa^ment 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 Fragment of a greater Work. This 
 Work was undertaken at the Defire of 
 Dr. Hayter, then Lord Bifhop of 
 Norwich, and Preceptor to the Prince of 
 Wales, his prefent Majefty. His Lord- 
 fhip's Defign was to put into the Handa 
 of his Royal Pupil fuch a Treatife as 
 would convey both clear and comprehen- 
 five Ideas on the Subjedt of National Com- 
 merce, freed from the narrow Conceptions 
 of ignorant, or the fmifter Views of crafty 
 and defigning Men; and my honoured 
 Friend, and revered Diocefan, the lat© 
 Lord Bifhop oiBriJiol, Dr. Conybeare, 
 was pleafed to recommend me, as a Perfon 
 not altogether unqualified to write on fuch 
 a Subjed:. I therefore entered upon the 
 Work with all imaginable Alacrity, and 
 intended to intitule my Performance, The 
 Elements of Commerce, and Theory of Taxes. 
 But I had not made a great Progrefs, be- 
 fore I difcovered that fuch a Work was by 
 no Means proper to be Iheltered under the 
 Protedion of a Royal Perfonage, on ac- 
 count of the many Jealoufies to which it 
 was liable, and the Cavils which might be 
 raifed againfl it. In fad, I foon found that 
 
 there 
 
X PR E F A C E. 
 
 there was fcarcely a Step I could take, 
 tut would bring to Light feme glaring 
 .Abfurdity, which J^ength of Time had 
 rendered facred, and which the Multitude 
 would have been taught to contend for, as 
 if their All was at Stake: Scarce a Propofal 
 <ould I make for introducing a free, ge- 
 nerous, and impartial Syllem of national 
 Commerce, but it had fuch Numbers of 
 popular Errors to combat, as would have 
 cxdted loud Clamours, and fierce Op- 
 pofition ; and, therefore, as the Herd of 
 Mock-Patriots are ever on the Watch to 
 feize on all Opportunities of inflaming the 
 Populace by Mifreprefentations, and falfe 
 Alarms; ^nd as the People are too apt to 
 fwallow every idle Tale of this Sort, I 
 determined to givci no Occafion to thofe 
 who continually fcek Occafion. In fhort, 
 as I perceived I coiild not ferve my Prince, 
 by a liberal and unreftrained Difcuflion of 
 the Points relative to thefe Matters, I 
 deemed it the better Part to declined 
 the Undertaking, rather than do any 
 Thing under the San6tion of his Pa- 
 tronage, which might dilTerve him in 
 ihe Eyes of others : For thefe Reafons 
 
 I 
 
P R E F^ A C E, xi 
 
 I laid the Scheme afide ; and if ever I 
 fhould f efume, and complete it, the Work 
 fhall appear without any Patronage, Pro- 
 tection, or Dedication whatever. 
 
 The third Trad is, A Letter from a 
 Merchant in X(?W(?« to his Nephew in 
 America. This was firft printed in the Year 
 1766, towards the Clofc of the Debate 
 about the Stamp Adl; and the Cha- 
 radter which it afTumes, is not ahogether 
 fidtitious :— For an elSerly Gentleman, 
 long verfed in the Nor '-American 
 Trade, and perfedlly acquainted with 
 all the Wiles there pradtifed both dur- 
 ing Peace, and in Time of War, 
 and who had Relations settled in that 
 Part of the World, defired me to write 
 on this Subjedt, and to give the Treatife 
 that Turn of Expreffion, and Air of 
 Authority, which would not be unbecom- 
 ing an old Man to his dependent Re- 
 lation. He furnifhed me with Ibme cu- 
 rious Materials, and remarkable Anec^ 
 dotes, concerning the Smuggling Trade 
 which the Americans carried on with 
 
 the 
 
 4' 
 
 ^••i 
 
 "4 
 
 i 
 
:xi4 P R E f A C E. 
 the French and Spaniards during the Heat 
 of the War, even to the fupplying them 
 with Ships, and naval and military Stores, 
 for deftroying the Trade and Shipping of 
 the Mother Country, and even in De- 
 iiance^ of Mr. Secretary Pitt's circular 
 jLetter to the Governors of the Provinces^ 
 forbidding fuch an infamous Trafic, attd 
 traiterous Corrcfpondence. But if I was 
 obliged to the old Gentleman in thefe R«- 
 fped;s, my Argument was^ a Sufferer by 
 him in another : For tho' he admitted, that 
 the Colonies were grown ungovernable; 
 tho* he himfelf declared^ from his own 
 Experience, that we gave a better Price 
 for their Iron, Hemp, Flax- Seed, Skins, 
 Furs, Lumber, and mofi other Articles^ 
 than they could find in any other Part of 
 £,urope', and that thefe Colonifts took 
 nothing fcarcely from us in Return, hat 
 what it was their Intereft to buy, even 
 fuppofing them as independent of Great-' 
 Britain, as the States of H^Hand, or any 
 (Other People j and tho* he evidently faw,i 
 that the longer the Connection fubfifted 
 l^etwee;* the Colonies and the Mother- 
 
 Country, 
 
F R E F A C E. xiii 
 Country, the more heavy woiald tlie Bur- 
 dens grow upon thf ;«er, and' the greater 
 would be the Oppoi ^unities for the artful 
 and deligning Men of both Countries to 
 irritate and inflame the giddy, unthinking 
 Populace; tho* he admitted, I fay, and 
 allowed all thefe Prcmifes, he eotrld not 
 come at the Conciufion ; For he ftartled 
 as much at the Idea of a Separation', as W 
 he had feen a Spedire ! And the Notion of 
 parting with the Coloni«s entirely, and 
 then making Leaguts of Friendfhip witik 
 them as with fo many independent States, 
 was too enlarged an Idieafor aMTnd wholly 
 occupied within the narrow Cn-cle of 
 Trade, and a Stranger to the Revolutions 
 of States and Empires, thoroughly to 
 comprehend, much lefs^ to digeft. Tii 
 Confequence of this, I wa» obliged, as 
 the Reader will fee towards the Conclu- 
 fion, to give the Argumeht fuch a Turn, 
 as exprelTed rather a eafual Threat to 
 feparate, than a fettled Projed of doing it. 
 
 Now, to fupply this Defed, or ra- 
 ther to make the Conclufion to cor- 
 
 refoond 
 
 i< ,\ 
 
1 
 
 xiv PREFACE., 
 refpond with the Premifcs, I have add- 
 ed a fr rth Trad> wherein I attempt 
 to fhew what is the true Intercft of 
 Great-Britain in regard to the Colonies ; 
 and to explain the only Means of 
 living with them on Terms of mutual 
 Satisfaction and Friendfhip. Referring 
 therefore the Reader to the Tradl it- 
 felf, I fhall only fay at prefent, that 
 the more we familiarize ourfelves to 
 the Idea of ^ Separation^ the lefs fur- 
 ]prized, and the more prepared we fhall 
 be whenever that Event fhall happen; 
 for that it will and muft happen one 
 Day or other, is the Opinion of almoft 
 every Man, — ^unlefs indeed we except 
 the extraordinary Notion of the cele- 
 brated Dr. Franklin, and of a few 
 other exotic Patriots and Politicians, 
 who are pleafed to think, that the 
 Seat of Government ought to be tranf*- 
 ierred from htnct to America -, in Con- 
 fcquenee of which Tranflation, this 
 little Spot will necefTarily become a 
 Province of that vaft and mighty Em- 
 pire. Surely every home-born Engti/h- 
 
 man 
 
PREFACE. XY 
 man vrill readily prefer a Separation, even 
 a fpeedy Separation, to fuch an Union 
 as this ; and yet, alas ! the Time is ap- 
 proaching, when there can be no other 
 Alternative. '■ 
 
 ,tifi 
 
 I 
 k 
 
 'Ml 
 
 Pour 
 
FOUR TRACTS, 
 
 On POLITICAL and COMMERCIAL 
 
 SUBJECTS. 
 
 TRACT I. 
 
 "the great ^eflion refohed. Whether a rich 
 Country can Jiand a Competition with a 
 poor Country ( of equal natural Advan^ 
 tagesj in raifmg of Provijions, and Cheap- 
 nefs of Manufadiuresf-^mth fuitable 
 Inferences and Deductions, 
 
 \T has been a Notion univcrfally 
 received. That Trade and Ma- 
 nufadures, if left at full Liber - 
 /y, will always defcend from a 
 richer to a poorer State*, fome- 
 what in the fame Manner as a Stream pf Water 
 falls from higher to lower Grounds j or as 
 
 B a 
 
 N 
 
,» 
 
 la 
 
 Political and Commercial 
 
 a Current of Air niflies from a heavier to a 
 lighter Part of the Atmofphcre, in order to re- 
 ftore the Equilibrium. It is likewife inferred, 
 very confidently with this firft Principle, that 
 when the poor Country, in Procefs of Time, 
 and by this Influx of Trade and Manufadkures, 
 is become relatively richer, the Courfe of Traffic 
 will turn again : So that by attending to this 
 Change, you may difcover the comparative 
 Riches or Poverty of each particular Place or 
 Country. 
 
 The Reafons ufually alTigned for this Migra- 
 tion, or rather Circulation of Induftry and Com- 
 merce, are the following, viz* In rich Countries^ 
 where Money is Plenty, a greater Quantity 
 thereof is given for all the Articles of Food, 
 Raiment, and Dwelling: Whereas in poop 
 Countries, where Money is fcarce, a lefTer 
 . Quantity of it is made to ferve in procuring the 
 like Neccflaries of Life, and in paying th^ 
 Wages of the Shepherd, the Plowman, the 
 Artificer, and Manufadurer. The Inference 
 from all which is, that Provifions are raifed, and 
 Goods manufadured much cheaper in poor 
 Countries than in rich ones •, and therefore every 
 poor Country, if a near Neighbour to a rich 
 one, and if there is an eafy and commodious 
 Communication between them, muft unavoida- 
 bly get the Trade from it, were Trade to be 
 left at Liberty to take its natural Courfe. Nor 
 will this Increafe of Agriculture and Manufac- 
 
 . ' tures 
 
S U B J fe C T 1 ,9 
 
 tures, whereby die richer Country is drained, 
 and the poorer proportionably enriched, be 
 flopped or prevented, 'till Things are brought 
 to a perfedl Level, or the Tide of Wealth be- 
 gins to turn the other Way; 
 
 Now, according to this Train of Reaforiingj 
 one alarming and obvious Confequence muft ne- 
 celTarily follow, viz. That the Prdvifions and 
 Manufadlures of a rich Country Could never 
 find a Vent in a poor one, on Account of th6 
 higher Value, or dearer Price fet Upon them: 
 Whereas thofe of a poor Country vvoiild always 
 find a Vent in a rich one, becaufe they would 
 be afforded the cheapeft at the common Market. 
 This being the Cafe, can it be denied, that 
 every poor Country is the natural and unavoid- 
 able Enemy of a rich one -, efpecially if it fhould 
 happen to be adjoining to it? And are not we 
 fure beforehand, that it will never ceafe from 
 draining it of its TrAde arid Commerce, Induftry 
 and ManufaaureSj 'till it has reduced it, at leaft 
 fo far as to be on a Level and Equality with 
 itfelf? Therefore the rich Country, if it regards 
 its own Tntereft, is obliged by a Kind of Self- 
 defence to make War upon the poor one, and 
 to endeavour to extirpate all its Inhabitants, in 
 order to maintain itlclf in flalu quo, or to prevent 
 the fatal Confequenccs of lofing its prelent In- 
 fluence, Trade and Riches. For little lefs than 
 a total Extirpation can be fufficicnc to guard 
 
 , ^ 2 againft 
 
10 Political an^ Commerciac; 
 againft the Evils to be feared tiom this dange- 
 rous Rival, while it is fufFered to exift. 
 
 But is this indeed the Cafe ? -One would 
 not willingly run counter to the fettled Notions 
 ot Mankind •, and yet one ought not to make 
 a Sacrifice of Truth to mere Numbers, and the 
 Authority of Opinion •, elpecu.iiy if it Ihould 
 appear that thefe are Truths of great Moment 
 to the Welfare of Society, Therefore, with 
 a becoming Deference, may it not here be 
 a(ked,— Can you fuppofc that Divine Provi- 
 dence has really conftituted the Order of Things 
 in fuch a Sort, as to make the Rule of national 
 Self'Prefervation to be inconfiftent with the funr 
 damental Principle of univerfal Benevolence, 
 and the doing as we would be doffe by ? For 
 my Part, I muft confefs, I never could conceive 
 that an all-wife, juft, and benevolent Being 
 would contrive one Part of his Plao to be To 
 contradiftory to the other, as here fu^^pofcd ;— 
 that is, would lay us under one Obligation as to 
 Morals, and another as to Trade •, or, in fhbrc, 
 make that to be om Duty, which is not, upon 
 the whole, and generally fpeaking (even with« 
 out the Confideration of a future State) our 
 
 Inter eft like wife. .';.. 
 
 THEREfoftE I condn^G a priori, that thefe 
 muft be fome Flaw or other in the prece-ding 
 Arguments, plaufible as they feem, and great 
 
 as they are upon the Foot of human Authority. 
 
 Fer 
 
SUBJECTS. 
 
 zi 
 
 For though the Appearance of Things at firft 
 Sight makes for this Conclufion, viz. " That 
 *' poor Countries mufl- inevitably draw away the 
 " Trade from rich onv.s, and confequently im- 
 «* poverifli them," the Fad itfelf cannot be so. 
 But leaving all Arguments of this Sort, as be- 
 ing perhaps too mctaphyfical for common Ufe, 
 let us have Kecourfe to others, wherein we may 
 be affifted by daHy Experience and Obfervation. 
 
 Suppose therefore England and Scotland to be 
 two contiguous, independant Kingdoms, equal 
 io Size, Situation, and all natural Advantages; 
 fuppofe iikewife, that the Numbers of People 
 in both were nearly equal ; but that England 
 4iad acquired Twenty Millions of current 
 Specie, and Scotland had only a tenth Part of 
 that Sum, viz. Two Millions: The Queftion 
 now is, Whether England will be able to fupr 
 por^ itfrlf in itsfuperior Influence, Wealth, and 
 Credit ? Or be continually on the Decline in 
 Trade and ManufadUires, *till it is funk into a 
 Parity with Scotland-, ib that the current Specif 
 of both Nations -will be brought to be juft the 
 iatne, viz. Eleven Millions each. 
 
 Now, to refoive this. Queftion in a fatisfactory 
 Manner, a previous Enquiry (hould be fet on 
 Foot, viz. How came England to acquire this 
 great Sjurplus of Wealth i And by what Mt^ans 
 was it accumuliited ? It in the Way of Idlenefs, 
 it certainly cannot retain it long 5 and England 
 
 Bz will 
 
 ■ttt 
 
 \ 
 
 
 ^: 
 
22 
 
 i 
 
 Political and Commercial 
 
 will again become poor;-- perhaps fo poor as 
 to be lirtlc better than Hungary or Poland: But 
 ii" by C fe of regular and univerfal Indufiry^ 
 Jhc la n( , eaiis, which obtained the Wealth at 
 &#, will, .//)«r/k^, certainly preferve it, ancj 
 «ven add thereto : %o that England need not 
 cmei ain any Jealo-^fy againft the Improvement^ 
 fD4 Manufactures of Scotlend\~zn^ on the 
 other i land, 5ro//^»<^ without .iurting England^ 
 will likewife increafe in Trade, and be benefited 
 both by its Example, and its Riches. 
 
 But as thefe are only gener?! Aflcrtions, let 
 us now endeavour to fupport them by an In- 
 dudlion of particular Cafes. 
 
 CASE I. 
 
 ENGLAND has acquired 2o,ooo,oool .of 
 Specie in the Way of National Idlenefs^ 
 viz. Either by Difcoverics of very rich Mines 
 of Gold and Silver,— or by fuccefsful Priva- 
 teering and making Captures of Plate Ships, 
 —or by the Trade of Jewels, and vending 
 them to foreign Nations for vaft Sums of 
 Money. -or, infhorr, by any other conceivable 
 Method, wherein (univerfal In^iuftry and Ap- 
 plication being out of the Queftion) very few 
 Hands were employed in getting this Mafs f » 
 y/ealth (and they only by Fits and Starts, not 
 
 conftantly) 
 
SUBJECTS. 23 
 
 conftantly) — and ftwcrftiU arcfuppofed tore- 
 tain what is gotten. 
 
 According to this State 6f the Caf^*, itfccm* 
 evidently to follow. That the Provifions and 
 Manufadures of fuch a Country would bear a 
 molt enormous Price, while this FlufS of Money 
 lafted J and that for the two following Kcalons : 
 ift. A People enriched by fuch imprijper 
 Means as thcfe, would not know the real Value 
 of Money, but would give any Price that was 
 alked •, their fupet ior Folly and Extravagance 
 being th«? only Evidence which they could pro- 
 duce of their fuperior Riches. 2dly. At the 
 fame Time that Provifions and Manufadlures 
 would bear fuch an exceflive Price, the Quan- 
 tity thereof raifed or made within the Kingdom 
 would be lefs than ever*, inafmuch as the 
 Cart, and the Plow, the Anvil, the Wheel, and 
 the Loom, would certainly be laid afide for 
 thefe quicker and eafier Arts of getting rich, 
 and becoming fine Gentlemen and Ladies ; be- 
 caufe all Perfons, whether male or female, would 
 endeavour to put thcmfflves in Fortune's Way, 
 and hope to catch as much as they could of 
 this golden Shower. Hence the Number of 
 Coaches, Poft-Chaiies, and all other Vehicles 
 of Plealure, v;ould prodigioufly increafe ; while 
 th'J r^ial Sets of Farmer's Carts and Waggons 
 proportionably decrealed: Ihe Sons of lower 
 Tradefmen and Labourers would be converted 
 
 B 4 inte 
 
 'i 
 
 ir 
 
24 Political and Commercial 
 into fpruce, powdered Footmen; and that 
 robull Breed, which ufed to fupply the Calls 
 tor Jabonous Occupations, and common Manu- 
 iaftures, would turn off to commence Barbers 
 and Hair-Dreffers, Dancing-Mafters, Players, 
 J:* Idlers, Pimps, and Gamefters. As to the Fe- 
 male Sex, it is no difficult Matter to forefee, what 
 would be the Fate of the younger, the more 
 fprightly, and pleafing Part among them. In 
 ihort, the whole People would take anew Turn; 
 £ind while Agriculture, and the ordinary me- 
 chanic Trades became Ihamefully negleded 
 the Profeffions which fubfift by procuring 
 Amufements and Diverfions, and exhibiting 
 Allurements and Temptations, would be amaz- 
 angly iiicrealed,..-and indeed for a Time en- 
 riched; fo that from being a Nation of Bees 
 producing Honey, they would become a Nation 
 of Drones to eat it up. In fuch a Cafe certain 
 it IS, that their induflrious Neighbours would 
 foon. drain them of this Quantity of Specie 
 ---and not only drain them, fo far as to reduce 
 them to a Level with the poor Country, but 
 alfo fink them into the loweft State of abiea: 
 Poverty. Perhaps indeed fome few of the In- 
 habitants, being naturally Mifers, and forefecine. 
 the general Poverty chat was coming upon the' 
 Country, would make the more ample Provi- 
 fion tor themfclves ; and, by feeding the Vices 
 and adminiftering to the Follies and Extrava' 
 
 
 rr<5 
 
S U B J E C T Sl 
 
 25 
 
 gances of others, would amafs and engrofs 
 great Eftates. Therefore when fuch a Nation 
 came to awake out of this gilded Dream, it 
 would find itfelf to be much in the fame Cir- 
 cumftances of pretended Wealth, but real Po- 
 verty, as the Spaniards and Portuguefe are at 
 prefent. Nay, when their Mines, or their former 
 Refources of Gold and Silver, came to fail them, 
 they would really be in a much worfe; and 
 their Condition would then approach the neareft 
 of any Thing we can now conceive, to that of 
 Baron and Vaflal in Poland and Hungary^ or to 
 Planter and Slave in the IVeft Indies. 
 
 According to this Syftem of Reafoning, the 
 Expedition in the late * Spanifli War againft 
 Carthagena muft have been ill-judged in every 
 Particular; for if the End in View had been 
 only to open a Market for Britifh Manufadures, 
 this End was anfwered, as far as an hofiile 
 Method could have anfwered a commercial End 
 by taking the Forts at the Mouth of the Haven, 
 and therefore the Attempt ought not to have 
 been pufhed any farther : But if the Defign 
 was todeftroy the Fortifications round Cartha- 
 genay and to give up the Town to the Plunder 
 of the Soldiers, and then to have dcferted, or 
 to have reftored it to its former Owners at the 
 Conclufion of the War (for furely it would have 
 
 * The Reader is defired to bear in Mind, that thi$ Traft 
 was written in the Year 1748, juft after the Spanijh War. 
 
 been 
 
26 Political and Commercial 
 be.en the very Height of Madneis in us to have 
 ^een at the Expence of keeping it)- this was 
 an End by no Means worthy of national At- 
 tention, and not at all adequate to the Blood 
 and Treafure it mutt have coft,- -even tho' the 
 Proj.a had fucceeded. But if the real i^lan was 
 $Q o^>tn a Way to the Spamjh Mines by taking 
 th<r Port or Entrance ir to them, and fo to ge't 
 rich all at once without Trade or Induftry^- 
 this Scheme would have been the mod fatal Jnd 
 deitructive of any, had not Providence kindly 
 interpofcd by defeating it. For if we had been 
 vidorious, and had vanquiftied the Spaniards, as 
 they formerly vanquiOied the Indian inhabitants, 
 our Fate and Punilhment would have been by 
 this Time fimilar to theirs ;— Pride elated with 
 imaginary Weakh, and abjed Poverty without 
 Refource. 
 
 Hence likewife we may difcern the Weak- 
 nefs o^one Argument (indeed the only popular 
 one) fometimes infifted on with more Warmth 
 than Judgment in Favour of a general Natura- 
 lization, viz. That it would induce fuch rich 
 Foreigners as are not engaged in any Trade or 
 Bufinefs, and confequently would not interfere 
 with any of the Natives, to come and fpend 
 their Fortunes in this Land of Liberty. [What 
 is truly to be hoped from a general Naturaliza- 
 tion, is, that it would induce induftrious and in- 
 genious Foreigners, Men who have their For- 
 tunes 
 
Subjects. 27 
 
 tunes yet to make, to come, and enrich the 
 Country at the fame Time that they are en- 
 riching thefelves by their fuperior Induftry, 
 Ingenuity, and other good Qualities.] For as 
 to idle Foreigners, living on the Income of their 
 great Eftates, — pray, of what national Advan- 
 tage would they be to us ? What, I fay, even 
 fuppofing we could perfuade all the wealthy 
 Foreigners of this Clafs throughout the World 
 to come and refide in England? The real Faft 
 is, that no other Confequences could enfue, 
 but that this Nation, inftead of being chiefly 
 compofed of fubftantial Yeomen, and Farmers, 
 creditable Manufadturers, and opulent Mer;. 
 chr^nts, would then become a Nation of Gentle- 
 men and Ladies on the one Side, and of Foot- * 
 men and Grooms, Ladies' Women, and Laun- 
 drefies, and fuch like Dependants, on the other. 
 In Ihort we have Proofs enough already of^this 
 Matter, now before our Eyes, and in our own 
 Kingdom, if we will but make the proper Ufe 
 of them. For Example, the Towns of Bir- 
 mingham^ Leedsy Halifax^ Manchejler^ i^c. ^c. ' 
 being inhabited in a Manner altogether by 
 Tradefmen and Manufacturers, are fome of 
 the richeft and moft flourifhing in the King- 
 dom : Whereas the City of Tork^ and fuch 
 other Places as feem to be more particularly 
 fet apart for the Rcfidence of Perfons who live 
 
 upott 
 
 ''"! 
 
2^ Political and Commercial 
 
 upon their Fortunes, ar^ not without evident 
 Marks of Poverty and Decay. 
 •' Hence alfo we come to the true Reafon, why? 
 tlie City of Edinburgh^ contrary to the Fears 
 and Apprehenfions of its Inhabitants, has 
 tliriveri and flourijhed more fince the Union' 
 than it did before, viz. It has lofl: the Refi- 
 dence of the Court and Parliament, and has got 
 in its Stead, Commerce and Manufactures j 
 tiiat is, it has exchanged Idlenefs for Induftry : 
 And were the Court and Parh^ament oi Ireland 
 to leave Dublin by Virtue of an Union with 
 Great-Britain, the fame good Confcquenccs 
 would certainly follow. 
 
 CASE II. 
 
 EtJGLAND has acquired Twentv Mil- 
 lions of Specie in the Way of general 
 htdiijlry, viz. By exciting the Ingenuity and 
 Activity of its People, and giving them a free 
 Scope without any Exciufiqn, Confinement, or 
 Monopoly;— by annexing Burdens to Celi^ 
 hacy, and Honours and Privileges to the 
 married State ; -by conftituting fuch Laws as 
 diffule the Wealth of the Parents more equally 
 among the Children, than the prefent Laws of 
 Europ generally do ;--- by modelling the Paxes 
 in fuch a Manner, that all Things hurtful to 
 
 the 
 
SUBJECTS. 29^ 
 
 the Publick Good fhall be rendered proportion- 
 ably dear, and placed beyond the Reach of the 
 Multitude-, whereas fuch Things as are neceflary, 
 or iifefiil, ihall be proportionably^encouraged •, 
 and, in fhort, by every other conceivable Me- 
 thod, whereby the Drones of Society may be 
 converted into Bees, and the Bees be prevented 
 from degenerating back into Drones. 
 
 Therefore, as we are to fuppofe, that by 
 fuch Means as thefe, the South-Britons have ac- 
 cumulated 2o,ooo,oool. in Specie, while the 
 North Britons have no more than 2,000,000!. : 
 The Queftion now is. Which of thefe two Na- 
 tions can afford to raife Provifions, and fell 
 their Manufa6lures on the cheapell Terms ? 
 " Suppofing that both did their utmoft to rival 
 " one another, and that Trade and Manufac- 
 " tures were left at Liberty to take their own 
 «' Courfe, according as Cheapnefs or Iritereft 
 « direded them." *' 
 
 Now, on the Side of the poorer Nation, it is 
 alledged. That feeing it hath much lels Mo- 
 ney, and yet is equal in Size, Situation, and 
 other natural Advantages, equal alio in Num- 
 bers of People, and thofc equally willing to be 
 diligent and induftrious ; it cannot be but that 
 fuch a Country muft have a manifeft Advantage 
 over the rich one in Point of its parfimonious 
 "Way of Living, lov/ Wages, and confcquently 
 cheap Manufadures. 
 
 %m 
 
 
if 
 
 30 Political and Commercial 
 
 On the contrary, the rich Country hath the 
 following Advantages which will more than 
 counter-ballance any Difadvantage that may 
 arife from the foregoing . Articles, viz, 
 
 ift. As the richer Country hath acquired its 
 fuperior Wealth by a general Application, and 
 long Habits of Induftry, it is therefore in ac 
 tual PofTeffion of an eftablifhed Trade and 
 Credit, large Correfpondences, experienced 
 Agents and Favors, commodious Shops, Work- 
 Houfes, Magazines, ^c. alfo agreat Variety of 
 the beft Tools and Implements in the various 
 Kinds of Manufactures, and Engines for 
 abridging Labour;-- add tothefe good Roads, 
 Canals, and other artificial Communications' 
 Quays, Docks, Wharfs, and Piers ; Numbers 
 of Ships, good Pilots and trained Sailors :— 
 And in refpea to Hufbandry and Agriculture 
 it is likewife in PolTeffion of good Enclofures' 
 Drains, Waterings, artificial Grafles, areat 
 Stocks, and confequently the greater Plenty of 
 Manures ; alfo a great Variety of Plows, Har- 
 rows, ^c. fuitcd to the difl^erent Soils ; and in 
 Ihort of every other fuperior Method of Huf, 
 bandry arifing from long Experience, various 
 and expenfive Trials. Whereas the poor Coun- 
 try has, for the moil Part, all thefe Things to 
 feek after and procure.— Therefore what the ^ 
 Poet obferved to be true in a private Senfe, is 
 true alfo in a public and commercial one, viL 
 
 Haud 
 
SUBJECTS. 
 
 5» 
 
 Haud facile emsrgunt^ quorum vir tut thus ohfiat 
 Res angujia domi 
 
 2dly. The richer Country is not only in Pof-* 
 fcflion of the Things already rtiade and fettled; 
 but alfo of fuperior Skill' and Knowledge (ac- 
 quired by long Habit and Experience) for in- 
 venting and making of more. The Importance 
 of this will appear the greater, when weconfider 
 that no Man can pretend to fet Bounds to the 
 Progrefs that may yet be made both in Agricul- 
 ture and Manufadures ; for who can ta'ke upon 
 him to affirm, that our Children cannot as far ex- 
 ceed us as we have exceeded our Gothic Forefa- 
 thers ? And is it not much more natural and rea- 
 fonable to fuppofe, that we are rather at the Be- 
 ginning only, and juft got within the Threfhold, 
 than that we are arrived at the ne plm ultra of 
 vjfeful Difcoverics ? Now, if fo, the poorer 
 Country, however willing to learn, cannot be 
 fuppofed to be capable of making the fame Pro- 
 grefs in Learning with the Rich, for want of 
 equal Means of Inftrudion, equally good Mo- 
 dels and Examples -, — and therefore, tho* both 
 may be improving every Day, yet the -prablical 
 Knowledge of the poorer in Agriculture and 
 Maniifaftures will always be found to keep at a ' 
 refpedful Diftance behind that of the richer 
 Country. 
 
 Sdlv. 
 
p 
 
 32 Political and Commercial 
 
 3dly. The richer Country is not only more 
 knowings but is alfo more able than the other to' 
 make further Improvements, by laying out large 
 Sums of Money in the Profecution of the in- 
 tended Plan. Whereas the poor Country has 
 here again the Mortification to find, that the 
 Res dngujta domi is in many Cafes an infuperable 
 Bar to its Rife and Advancement: And this 
 Circumftance deferves the more Regard as it is 
 a known Fad and trite Obfcrvation, that very 
 few great and extenfive Projeds were ever 
 brought to bear at firft fetting out i and that a 
 vaft deal of Money mull be funk, and many 
 Years be elapfed, before they are capable of 
 making any Returns. In fhort, the Inhabitants 
 of a poor Country, who, according to the vulgar 
 Phrafe, generally live from Hand to Mouth, 
 dare not make fuch coftly Experiments, or em- 
 bark in fuch expenfive and long-winded Un- 
 dertakings, as the Inhabitants of a rich Country 
 can attempt, and execute with Eafe. 
 
 4thly. The higher Wages of the rich Coun- ' 
 try, and the greater Scope and Encouragement 
 given for the Exertion of Genius, Induftry, and 
 Ambition, will naturally determine a great many 
 Men of Spirit and Enterprize to forfake their 
 own poor Country, and fettle in the richer j fo 
 that the one will always drain the other of 
 the Flower of its Inhabitants: Whereas there 
 are , not the fame Temptations for the beft 
 
 Hands 
 
SUBJECTS. 33 
 
 Kands and Artiftsof a rich Country to forfake 
 the beft Pay, and fettle in a poor one.- 
 Though for Argument's Sake, it was al- 
 lowed at the Beginning, that the Numbers of 
 People in thcfe two adjoining States were juft 
 equal, yet certain it is,, that the Thine icfelf 
 could never have fo happened,-. the "richer 
 Country bemg always endowed with the attrac- 
 tive Quality of the Loadftone, and the poor one 
 with the repelling: And therefore, feeing that 
 the poorer Country muft necefTarily be the leaft 
 peopled (if there is a free Intercourfe between 
 them) the Confequence would be, that in feveral 
 Diftrias. and in many Inftances, it would be 
 impoffible for certain Trades even to fubfift. 
 becaufe the Scarcity and Poverty of the In ha' 
 bitants would not afford a fu.1icient Number of 
 Cuftomers to frequent the Shop, or to take off 
 the Goods of the Manufadurer 
 
 5thly. 1^ the richer Country, where the De- 
 mands are great and conftant, every Maniifac 
 ture that requires various ProcelTes, and is corn- 
 et f J' ^7."' ^"'''' '' ^^^°^d^"gly divided 
 and fubdivided into feparate and diftind 
 
 Branches ; whereby each Perfon becomes more 
 expert, and alfo more expeditious in the parti- 
 cular Part affigned him. Whereas |n a poor 
 Country, the fame Perlon is obliged by Necef- 
 fity, and for the Sake of gening a bare Sub- 
 mtence, to undertake fuch different Branches 
 
 C ' 
 
 ■ as 
 
34 Political and Commercial 
 
 as prevent him from excelling, or being 
 expeditious in any. In fuch a Cafe, Is it 
 not much cheaper to give 2s. 6d. a Day in the 
 rich Country to the nimble and adroit Artift, 
 than it is to give only 6d, in the poor one, to 
 the tedious, aukward Bungler ? 
 
 6ihly. As the richer Country has the greater 
 Number of rival Tradefmen, and thofe more 
 quick and dexterous, the Goods of fuch a' 
 Country have not only the Advantages arifing 
 from Quicknefs and Dexterity, but alfo will be 
 afforded much the cheaper on Account of the 
 Emulation of fo many Rivals and Competitors. 
 Whereas in a poor Country, it is veiy eafy for 
 one rich, over-grown Tradefman to monopolize 
 the whole Trade to himfelf, and confequently 
 to fet his own Price upon the Goods, as he 
 knows that there are none who dare contend with 
 him in Point of Fortune ;-or, what is full ar> bad, 
 the like Confequences will follow where the 
 Numbers of the Wealthy are fo few, that they 
 can combine together whenever they will, to 
 prey upon the Public. 
 
 7thly. and laftly. In the rich Country, the 
 Superiority of the Capital, and the low In- 
 teretl of Money, will infure the vending of all 
 Goods on the cheapeft Terms -, becaufe a Man 
 of 2000I. Capital can certainly afford to give 
 the bed Wages to the beft Workmen, and yet 
 be able to fell the Produce or Manufacture of 
 
 fuch 
 
 ', I • ! 
 
S U B 
 
 E C T S. 
 
 J X. ^ 1 5. 3^ 
 
 fuch Workmen at a much cheaper Rate than he 
 who has only a Capital of 200I. For if the one 
 gets only lol. per Cent, per Ann. for his Mo- 
 ney, that will bring him an Income of iool. 
 a Year; a Sum very fufficient to live with Cre- 
 dit and Reputation in the Rank of a Tradefmani 
 and confiderably more than double to what he 
 would have received in the Way of common 
 Intereft, evert if lent at 4I. and a Half per 
 Cent. Whereas, the other with his poor Capital 
 of 200I. mud get a Profit of at leafl 20I. per 
 Cent, in order to have an Income juft above 
 the Degree of a common Journeyman.— Not 
 to mention, that Men of fuperior Capitals will 
 always command the Market in buying the raw 
 Materials at the beft Hand ; and command it 
 alfom another View, viz. by being able to aive 
 longer Credit to their Dealers and Cuftomers.-^ 
 So much as to the reafoning Part of this Sub- 
 jca: : J^et us now examine how itand the Fafts. 
 
 And here it muft be premifed, that werc'a 
 greater Qiiantity of Specie to enhance the Price ^ 
 ofProvifions and Manufactures in the Manner 
 ufually fuppofed, the Confequence would be, 
 that all Goods whatever would be fo much the 
 dearer in a rich Country, compared with a poor 
 one, as there had been different Sets of People 
 employed, and greater Wages paid in making 
 them. For the Argument proceeds thus, 1 he 
 more Labour, the more Wages ;.-the more 
 
 ^2 Wages, 
 
^6 Political anet CoMMBRc^AL 
 
 Wagcsr the more Money i-thc more Monty- 
 paid for making them, the dearer the Goods 
 muft come to Market : And yet the Fa(5l itfclt' 
 is qukc the Reverfc of this feemingly juft Con* 
 clufion. For it may be laid down as a general 
 I'ropofition, which very feldom fails, Tlntoperofe 
 or ctmplicakd Manufa5iures arc cheapeft ia rich 
 Countries;- -and raw Materials in poor ones: 
 And therefore in Proportion as any Commodity 
 approaches to one, or other of thefc Extremes, 
 in that Proportion it will be found to be cheapciV- 
 oV dearer in a rich, or a poor Country. 
 ^ ^The raifing of Corn, for Inftance, employs 
 aconfiderable Number of Hands, har various 
 Procefles, takes up a great deal of Time, and is 
 attended with great Expencc. If fo, pray. 
 Where is Corn the cheapell V Why, Corn is 
 raifed as cheap in England' sls in Stotlaifd, if not 
 cheaper. Moreover, tho* Wages arc very h'igh 
 in Herlfordfhite, a« being in the Neighbourhood 
 of London^ and the Lands dear, and far from 
 being naturally good •, yet the Price of good 
 Wheat is certainly as cheap iti Hmfotdjhire^s 
 "ixi Wales y and fomctimes much cheaper ; tho* 
 the Wages in Wales an? low, the Rents eafy, arfd 
 the Lands in many Places fufficiently rich and 
 fertile, and the Lartd-Tax extremely light. 
 
 The failing Garden-Stuff, and all Sorts of 
 Produce fit for the Kitchen is another Inftance •, 
 for this likewife is an cxpcnfive and ^operofe 
 
 •Affair, 
 
SUBJECT S. 37 
 
 Affair, requiring great Skill and Judgment. 
 But the Price of Garden Stuff is prodigioufly 
 funk to what it was in former Times "^d I 
 much Qucftion, whether any Town of Hote in 
 Scotland can now y\c with the common Markets 
 of London in that Refpeifb. 'Certain it is, that 
 formerly, vi^n. about lOo \ ears ago, a Gabbngc 
 would have coft jd in London^ when London was 
 not near fo rich as it is now, which at prcfent 
 may be bought for a Halfpenny. And were 
 you to, proceed on to Colliflowcrs, Afparagus, 
 Broccoli, Melons, C <cumbers, and all Sort? of 
 the choicer Wall Fruits, you would find the 
 . Difproportion ftill greater. 'But waving fucli 
 Exotics, even the common Articles of Pcafe and 
 Beans, Sallads, Onions, Carrots, Parfneps, and 
 Turneps, tire corifiderably cheaper than ever 
 they were known to be in former Times ; tho* 
 the Rent of Garden Grounds, and Wages of 
 Journeymen Gardeners,^ arc a great deal higher. 
 On the contrary, the raifing berth of fmall 
 and large Cattle is a more fimple Affair, and 
 doth not f mpby near fo jnany Hands as the 
 raifing ^f Corn or Gahlen-Stuff: Therefore 
 you will find that fmall and large Cattle are 
 much cheaper in poor Countries than in rich 
 ones 1 and that the Produce of fuch Cattle, for 
 the fame Reafon, viz. Milk, Wool, and, Hair, 
 ^Ifo the Flefh, Skins, Horns, and Hides, are 
 4:hcapcr likcwife. As to Milk, this being made 
 
 C 3 int* 
 
a^ 
 
 Political and Commercial 
 
 p'i 
 
 into Butter or Cheefc by a {hort and firigle Pro- , 
 cefs, and the Intervention of only one Female^ 
 %rvant, is indeed cheaper in the poorer Country r 
 But were Butter and Cheefe to have required a 
 more intri9ate Operation, and to have taken up^ 
 as much Time, and employed as many Hands 
 in the manufafturing of them, as Wool, or 
 Leather, it might be greatly queftioned' whether 
 the richer Country would not have produced 
 Butter and Cheefe at a cheaper Rate than the 
 poor one. And what countenances the Sufpi- 
 cion is, that in the Cafe of Wool, Hair, Horns, 
 and Hides, when manufadured'into Cloth, Hair 
 Cloths, Hornery- Ware, and Leather, th^ richer 
 Country hath generally the Advantage : Indeed, 
 if there are fome Exceptions, they are extremely 
 few. And it is an indifputable Fad at this t)ay, 
 that there are m9re Woollen Cloths, Stuffs, 
 Serges, 6?f. ipore Horn Combs, Ink-Horns, 
 Powder Flafks, Lanthorns, 0c. more Leather 
 ■for Sh.es and Boots, fent by the Manufa6iurers 
 of England into Scoi^l^nd, than by thofe of Scot- 
 land into England. 
 
 Wood, or Timber, is another Inflahce in. 
 Point : For Timber may be reckoned to be in a 
 great Degree the fpontaneous Produftion of Na- 
 ture, and therefore Timber is always cheapeft in 
 a poor Country. But what Ihall we fay of 
 fuch Manufadures, of which Timber is only 
 Ithe raw Material ? Are they cheaper alfo ?— 
 
 : This, 
 
S U B 
 
 E C T S. 
 
 This, I am fure, is muqh to be doubted ; efpe- 
 cially in thofe loftanees where the Manufadure 
 -is to pafs through feveral Hands, before it is 
 completed. Nay^ were you to go into a Cabi- 
 net-Maker's Shop in London, and enquire even 
 iqi common Articles, you would not find that 
 tl^ fame Articles of equal Neatnefs and Good- 
 nefs could be ^o^ght in Scotland much cheaper, 
 if fo cheap. .Moreover, as to Shipbuilding, 
 than which nothmg creates fo great a Confump- 
 tion pf Tiinber, Pray, how much cheaper is a 
 Ship of any Burthen, -yi?;. 3 or 400 Tons, built 
 at Leifh or Glajgow, than in the Yards border- 
 ing on the River Thames? And are npt Ships 
 -built at Surdam^ in Holland^ where theNeceffa- 
 rics of Life, and Wages canipot be cheap, and 
 where not a Stick of Timber grows, are not 
 they built as cheap there as in moft Countries 
 whatever, even fuch Countries which have the 
 raw Materials juft at their Doors ? 
 
 The like .Qbfervations niight be made to 
 extend to the building of ]arge and fumptuous 
 Houfes, and purehafing all the Furniture proper 
 for them ; and to almoft every other Article, 
 where many Hands, much Labour and Ex- 
 pence, great Skill and Ingenuity, and a Variety 
 of different Trades are required before the Thing 
 in Qucftion is completely finiflied. For in all 
 thefe Cafes, the rich, induftrious Country has a 
 manifeft Advantage over the poor one. London^ 
 
 C 4 tho' 
 
II 
 
 ,4© IbLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL: 
 
 tho' the icareft Place in the Kingdom to live ar, 
 GcSds '''^ ""^'^^^^ ^'"" P"''^^^^"5 Hoiifhold 
 
 . After fo much hath been faid on the Sub- 
 jcet, It would be needlefe to have Recourfe to 
 the Bri^nch of Metals for further llluftrations, 
 were it nci that there is fomething fo very ftrik- 
 ing in their Cafe, that it ought not to be omitted. 
 Iron Ore, for Example, is dug in Lancajhire, 
 and frequently fent by Sea Carriage into the 
 County of .^gyle, there to be fmelted, on Ac- 
 count of the great Plenty and Cheapnefs of 
 Wood and Charcoal. Now, when ir is thus 
 brought into Pigs and Bars, the great Queftion 
 is. What becomes of it ? Do you find that any 
 confiderable Quantity remains in Scotland? Or 
 is the far greater Part brought back again, m 
 Order to be fent into the manufaaurin^ Coun- 
 ties of £«^/««^?— The latter is indifputably the 
 Cafe, notwithftanding the Expence of Re-car- 
 riage ; notwithftanding alfo, that the Colliers 
 in Scotland could fupply as much Coal as even 
 about Birmingham, or Sheffield, were Coal the 
 only Article that -«^% wanted. But for all that, 
 Sheffield and Birmingham are in Pofleflion of the 
 Trade -, and will ever keep it, unlefs it be their 
 own Faults. 
 
 The Cafe of Sweden is ftill more extraordinary 
 (and furely Sweden is a Country poor enough) 
 for thi; Sn»edijh Iron pays a large Duty to the 
 
 Swedijk 
 
S U B J E C T S. 41 
 
 ^miifli Government before Exportation;— it is 
 then burdened with Freight into England ',~^iz' 
 pays a heavy Duty upon being landed here; — 
 is then carried partly by Water, and partly by 
 
 Land, into the manufacturing Counties; is 
 
 there fabricated,— re-carried again to the Sea- 
 Side,— there fhipped off, for Swedeny-pzys a 
 very heavy Duty, as EngifJ/i Manufadures ;-- 
 and yet, almoft every Article of fuch Manufac- 
 tures, as hath pafled thro' two, three, or more 
 Stages, before it was completed, is afforded fo 
 cheap at the Market of Stockholm^ that the 
 Swedes have loft Money in every Attempt they 
 have made to rival them. 
 
 JUDG2 now, therefore, what little Caufe there 
 is to feai that a poor Country can ever rival a 
 rich one in the more operofe, complicated, and 
 expenfive Branches of a Manufadure : Judge 
 alfo, whether a rich Country can ever lofe its 
 Trade, while it retains its Induftry ; and confe- 
 quendy how tbfurd muft every Projcd be for 
 fecuring vv encreafing this Trade, which doth 
 iriot tend to fecure, or cncreafe the Diligence 
 and Frugality of the People. 
 
 A Wkr, whether crowned with Viftory, or 
 branded with Defeats, can never prevent another 
 Nation from being more induftrious than you 
 arc ; and if they are'morc induftrious, they will 
 fell cheaper;' and confequently your former 
 Cuftomers will forfake your Shop, and go to 
 
 if 
 
 m 
 
 thfX 
 
 re 
 
■"HIWM liI 
 
 42 
 
 ii I,- 
 
 Political and CoM-MEiiciAt" 
 
 theirs; tho* you covered the Ocean with Fleets^ 
 and the Land with Armies:— In fhort, the 
 Soldier may lay Wafte, the Privateer, whether,, 
 fuccefsful or unfuccefsful, will make Poor j but 
 it is the eterrjar Law of Providence, that 'aT/ie 
 Hand of the Dillgeni alone can make Rich. 
 
 This being \^^ Cafe, it evidently follows, 
 that as no trading Nation can ever be ruined 
 h\xx. by itfelf, fo more particularly the Improye- 
 tnents and Manufactures of Scotland can never 
 be a Detriment to ^.ngland-, unlcfs the Englijh, 
 <3o voluntarily decline their Jnduftry, and be- 
 ccrme. profligate in their Morafe. Indeed when 
 this comes to pafs, it is of little Confequence 
 hy what Name that Nation is called, which runs 
 away with their Trade ; for fome Country or 
 other neceflarily mufl-. Whereas, wdre the 
 Englijlt to reform their Manners, and encreafq 
 their Induflry, the very Laigenefs of their Ca- 
 pitals, and their Vicinity to Scotland^ might 
 enable the Englifi to affift the Scotch in various 
 Ways, without prejudicing thcmfclvcs, viz. By 
 lending them Money at moderate Intereft.—by 
 embarking in Partnerfhip with them in fuch 
 Undertakings as require large Stocks and long 
 Credits,— by fupplying them with Models and 
 Inftrudlorsj—cxciting their Emulation, and di- 
 reaing their Operations with that Judgment 
 and good Order which arc only learnt by Ufe 
 -and Experience, 
 
 Nay, 
 
 r Ii 
 
 n.' 
 
SUBJECTS. 43 
 
 Nay, to pafs from Particulars to Generals, 
 we may lay it down as an univerfal Rule, fubjfe6l! 
 to very' few Exceptions, that as an induftribUS^ 
 Nation can never be hurt by the increafing Ih^ 
 duftry of its Neighbours ; and as it is fo wifely* 
 contrived by Divine Providence, that all Pebpl^ 
 jhould have a ftrong Biafs towards the Proddte 
 and Manufadtures of others ; - fo it foUoWsf 
 that when this Biafs is put imdtr proper Regti^ 
 laiions^ the refpedive Induftry of Nation afnd 
 Nation enables them to be fo much the betttf 
 Cuftomers, to improve in a friendly Intercdurfi^' 
 and to be a mutual Benefit to each other. A. 
 private Shopkeeper would certainly wifli that^ 
 his Cuftorners did improve in their Circum- 
 ftances, rather than go behind hand ; becaufe 
 every fuch Improvement would probably re- 
 dound to his Advantage. Whci-e then can be 
 the Wifdom in the public Shopkeeper, a trading 
 People, to endeavour to make the neighbouring 
 States and Nations, that are his Cuftomers, fo 
 very poor as not to be able to trade with him f ' 
 
 The Conclufion of the whole is this: Heaps" 
 6f Gold and Silver are not the true Riches of a 
 Nation : Gold and Silver got in the Way<; of 
 Idlenefs are its certain Ruin -, it is Wealth in 
 Appearance but Poverty in Reality : Gold and 
 Silver got by Induftry, and fpent in Idlenefs, 
 will prove to be Deftiudion likewife: But 
 Gold and Silver acquired by general Induftry^ 
 
 afird 
 
 ■M: 
 
h4^ 1*0LITICAL AND COMMERCIAL 
 
 and ufcd with Sobriety, and according to good 
 Morals, will promote ftill greater Induftry, and 
 ■go on, for any Thing that appears to the con- 
 trary, ftill accumulating ; (o that every Aug- 
 mentation of fuch Money is a Proof of a pre- 
 ceding Increafe of Induftry : Whereas an Aug- 
 mentation of Money by fuch Means as decreafe 
 Induftry, is a national Gurfe— not a Bleffing. 
 And therefore, tho' the Accounts of fuch a Na^ 
 tipn may look fair to the Eyes of a Merchant 
 or Tradefman, who (keeping their own Books 
 by Pounds, Shillings, and Pence) fuppofc, that 
 mil muft be right, when they fee at the Foot of 
 the Account, a large Balance of Pounds, Shil- 
 lings, and Pence, in the Nation's Favour ; yet 
 the able Statefman, and judicious Patriot, who 
 «re to keep the public Accounts by quitedifFe- 
 fent Columns,— by Men, Women, and Childrcii 
 tniiplayed, or not employed,— will regard this 
 Tumour of Wealth as a dangerous Difeafe, not 
 as natural and healthy Growth. In one Word, 
 '■the only poffible Means of preventing a Rival 
 Nation from running away with your Trade* 
 is to prevent your own People from being 
 more idle and vicious than they are ; and by 
 infpiring them with the contrary good Qua- 
 lities : So that the only War, which can be at- 
 tended with $uccefs in that Refped, is a War 
 againft yice and Idlcnefs ; a War, whofe Forces 
 muft confift of -not Fleets and Armies,— but 
 
SUBJECTS. ,45 
 
 lach judicious Taxes and wife Regulations, as 
 Ihall turn the Paffion of private Self-Love into 
 the Channel of public Good. Indeed Fle^ 
 and Armies may be neceffary, where the 
 Merchant and Manufadlurer are in Danger of 
 being robbed or plundered in carrying their 
 Goods to Market ; but Fleets and Armies cm. 
 never render thofe Goods the cheaper; aiid 
 confequently cannot poffibly encrcafe the Num- 
 ber of their Cuftomers ; fuppoling fuch Cuf- 
 tomers have the Liberty of trading wherever 
 they pleafe, and to the beft Advantage. But if 
 you fhould continue thefe Armaments, in order 
 to flop up the Ports of other Nations, and de- 
 prive them of the Benefit of a free Trade, what 
 will be the Confequence of this wife Manoeuvre? 
 Plainly this*, — That while you are getting One 
 Shilling, you are fpcnding Ten j while you are 
 employing a few in a Courfe of regular Induftry, 
 you are fupporting Thoulands in Habits of Idle*. 
 nefs, and at the fame Time involving; the Na- 
 tion in fuch immenfe Expences a'smuft, if per- 
 fifted in, inevitably prave its Kuin.—Grant,.^ 
 therefore, that during a War, a War crowned 
 wich uninterrupted Succefs (for no other caix 
 avail) grant, I fay, that in fome Articles you 
 «njoy an Increafe of Trade, at what Expencc 
 is this Increafe obtained, and how long is it to 
 laft ? Moreover, that Confequences will arife 
 when the War is at an End, and other Ports 
 
 ^Wi 
 
 ar** 
 

 46 Political and Commercial 
 
 ^re open ? (for fufcly it carinot be intended that 
 a trading Nation is to fight for ever,) and when 
 
 ^Peace is made, what new Duties, what addi- 
 tional Taxes are to be impofed for defraying 
 
 "both Principal and Intereft of the Charges of 
 fuch a War ?~ How are they to be levied ? — 
 
 'Who is to bear them?— And will you by this 
 
 'Means be better able to render your Goods 
 cheaper at a foreign Market than heretofore ? — 
 A plain Anfwcr to thefe Queftions would un- 
 ravel the whole Matter, and bring Mankind toi 
 a right Ufc of their Senfes. 
 
 H ;i 
 
 P O S T- 
 
POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 I HE only Set of Gbje(aions, as far 
 as they have come to my Know- 
 ledge, which have been hitherto 
 made to the Principles and Rea- 
 fonings'laid^own and illuftrated 
 in the foregoing Treatlfe, are the following : 
 
 ift. That according to this Hypothefis, 
 improvements, Induftry, 'and Riches, may be 
 advanced and inereafed adinfimtum\ which is 
 t Pdfrtion too extravagant to be admitted. 
 
 2dly. That in Confequcnce of this accumu- 
 lating Scheme, one Nation might cngrofs the 
 Trade of the whole World, and beggar every 
 other State or Kingdom •, which Opinion is not 
 ohly contradided by Fad and Experience, but 
 is alfo contrary to my own Syflem of Com- 
 merce, wherein I ftrongly declare againft Mo- 
 nopoly and Exclufion of every Kind/ 
 
f*- 
 
 4 » 
 
 Political and Commercial 
 
 i 
 
 gdly. That tho* a poor Country cannot 
 immediately and at once rival a rich one in 
 its Trade and ManufaAures, yet it may do 
 it by Degrees, beginning firft with the coarfcr 
 and lefs complicated Kinds, and then ad- 
 vancing Step by Step to others more com- 
 pounded, operofe, and coftly ; *till at length it 
 hath reached M«/ Summit of Art, Induftry, and 
 Riches, from which the rich Country hath lately 
 fallen, and from whence alfo this upftart Ad- 
 venturer muft recede in its Turn. And tj 
 ftrengthcn this Reafoning it may be obferved, 
 
 4thly. " That all human Things have the 
 " Seeds of Decay within themfclves :- -Great 
 " Empires, great Cities, great Commerce, all of 
 *' them receive a Cheque, not from accidental 
 " Events, but from neceflary Principles." 
 
 Thus ftand the Objeftions of that acute Phi- 
 lofopher, and celebrated Writer, who honoured 
 the above Treatife with his ingenious Re- 
 marks. Let us now therefore attend to the 
 Force of each of thefc Objedions with that 
 Care and Impartiality which the Caufe of Truth 
 dcferves ; and with that Refped alfo, which is 
 due to a Perfon of Eminence in the Republic 
 of Letters. 
 
 And I ft. I muft beg Leave to obferve, that 
 the Gentleman has, in Part at leaft, miftaken 
 my Meaning, where I fay, towards the Clofe 
 •f the Treatife, « That Gold and Silver ac- 
 
 " quired 
 
SUBJECTS. 4p 
 
 ;*« quired by general Induftry, and ufed with 
 •' Sobriety, and according to good Morals, will 
 " promote Hill greater Induftry, and goon, for 
 « any Thing that appears to the contrary, ftill 
 " accumulating :"— I fay he has !pift;aken my 
 Meaning, if he imagined, tl^at "I roundly and 
 pofitivcly there aflerted, that the Progrefs mttji 
 ie, ad infinitum : For I did not intend to aflert 
 any fuch Thing, and one Reafon, anriong others, 
 which reftrained me, was the Confideration 
 that I am not jVIetaphyfician enough to compre- 
 hend what Infinity really means. Therefore 
 what I undertake to maintain, is this, — That 
 fuch a Progreffion, as is here defcribed, rhay be 
 fofar carried on, as evidently, to prove, that ho 
 Man can pofitively 6it?int^ when ov where it muft 
 necefarily ftop : No Man can fet Bounds to Im- 
 provements even in Imagination: and therefore, 
 'till the ne pius ultra of all Advancements in 
 Arts, Sciences, and Manufactures, in Agricul- 
 ture, Trad t, and Navigation, ^f . ^c. is clearly 
 ■ demonftrated (a Thing which I prefume no one 
 will be in Hafte to attertript) w6 may ftill be ail- 
 lowed to aflert, that the richer manufacturing 
 'Nation will maintain its Superiority over the 
 poorer one, notwithftandirig this latter may be. 
 'iikewife advancing towards Perfedlion, This 
 being the Caufe it follows. r 
 
 ' 2dly. That my Hypothefis is fo far from 
 ^uppofing that one Nation may .cngrofs the 
 ^ -" D Trade 
 
i'"i 
 
 
 i; 
 
 50 Political and Commercial 
 
 Trade of I he whole World, and beggar all the 
 reft, that it remains juft the contrary : Bccaufe 
 it follows, from my Syftem, that every Nation, 
 poor as well as rich, may improve their Condi- 
 tion if they pleafe. The poorer Nation for 
 Example, may adopt the good Police,- -the 
 Abolition of Monopolies and exclufive Com- 
 panies, and feveral ufeful Regulations of rts 
 richer neighbouring State : All thefe it may 
 adopt wii/wu( Expence, at the fame Time that 
 it may avoid their Errors or M i (lakes ; for 
 Errors there will be, more or lefs, in all human 
 Inftitutions. Moreover, tho* the poorer Nation 
 cannot rival the Manufadlures of a richer one 
 at a third Place, or in a foreign Market, where 
 the Goods and Merchandize of both are fup- 
 pofed to be admifliblc on the fome Footing, yet 
 jt may, and ought, by Means of judicious 
 Taxes, to difcourage the too great or exceffive 
 Coniumption of alien Manutadtures, and efpe- 
 cially L.iquors, within its own Territories ; and 
 as this likewife may be done without Expsnce, 
 nay, to the great Advantage of the Revenue, 
 it therefore follows, that the poorer Nation 
 may get forwards in many Relpeds without 
 being obftruded by the rich one. To which 
 Confideration we fliouid not forget to add, 
 that there are certain local Advantages refus- 
 ing either from the Climate, the Soil, the Pro- 
 dudionsj the Situation, or ^ven the natural 
 
 Turn 
 
$ U B 
 
 E C T S. 
 
 Turn and peculiar Genius of one People pre- 
 ferably to tliofe of another, which no Nation 
 can deprive another of, unlefs by Violence and 
 Conqueft ; and therefore, thefe being out of 
 the Queftion, the iieceflary Conlcqucnce is, that 
 the poor Country is left at Liberty to cultivate 
 all thefe natural and local Advantages, as far as 
 k can. Nay, I obfervc further, that the very 
 fuperior Riches of a neighbouring State may 
 contribute greatly to the carrying of fuch a Plan 
 into Execution: And here I do not mean 
 merely to fay, that the Manufadurers and Mer- 
 chant Adventurers of the poorer Country may 
 avail themiblves of the Wealth of a richer by 
 borrowing Money, at a low Intereft, to be em- 
 ployed in Trade ; tho' by the bye, that is no 
 Imall Benefit : But what I lay the chief Strefs 
 on at prefent is, that a rich Neighbour is more 
 hkely to become a goo^ Cuftomer than t. poor one- 
 and confequently, that the Traders ax n,.. poorer 
 Country will find a better Marker, and a more 
 general Demand for t\i€\^ peculiar Produdions 
 whether of Art or Nature, by Means of the 
 fupenor Wealth and great Conllimptions of 
 their richer Neighbours, than they could pof- 
 hbly have had, were the latter equally poor with 
 themfelves. Moreover, vice verfa, I affirm on 
 the other Hand, that even the rich Country will 
 be benefited in its Turn, by this Acceffion o.' 
 Wealth flowing into the poor one. For when ■ 
 
 I 
 
 D 
 
 the 
 
\: J 
 
 III 
 
 52 Political and Commercial 
 
 the Inhabitants of a poorer Country feel them- 
 felves enabled, there is no Doubt to be made, but 
 that they will become alfo proportionably wil- 
 ling tQ purchafe fome of the more commodious 
 or more fumptuous Furniture, and elegant Ma- 
 nufadlures, of thofe Perfons, who are aftually 
 their beft Cuftomers, as well as richer Neigh- 
 bours. Indeed, to fay the Truth, thefe Things 
 are no other than the ufeful Confequences, and 
 almoft neceflary EfFedsof natural Caufes: And 
 *furely that Man muft have been a very great 
 Stranger to what pafles in the World, who can- 
 " notdifcein thefe daily Rotations of Commercial 
 Induftry. 
 
 But there is one Circumftance more, relative 
 to this Subjedt, which being not fo obvious to 
 common Obfervcrs, feems therefore to require 
 a particular Explanation. The Circumftance is 
 this. That the very fame Country may be re- 
 latively both richer and poorer than another at 
 the very fame Time, if confidered in different 
 Points of View ; and confequently, that all the 
 oppofite and feemingly contradictory Aflertions 
 concerning both the Cheapnels and Dearnefs 
 of Manufactures, may be found to corrcfpond 
 with Truth and Matters of Fadl. Thus, for Ex- 
 ample, England is undoubtedly richer either than 
 Scotland 01 Ireland, in regard to moft Branches 
 of Trade and Manufactures; and therefore it 
 fells thofe Manufactures much cheaper than 
 
 they 
 
S U B J EC r ^. , 5^ 
 
 they can be fabricated in either of thofe Coun- 
 tries. But neverthelefs, both Scotland and Ire- 
 land are richer than England in refped to one 
 particular Point ; for both thefe Countries have 
 got the Start of England w\th refped to the Linm 
 Manufa^ure, by more than Haifa Century; and 
 in Confequence thereof, their Capitals are larger^ 
 their Machinery is better, and their Correfpon- 
 dences are become more extenfive i fo that in 
 Ihort, almoft every Thing relative to the Lineri 
 Manufafture in thofe Countries is conduded 
 with more Adroitncfs. and managed to greater 
 Advantage than in Enpjand. Hence therefore 
 It IS eafily to be accounted for, how it comes to 
 pafs that the Scoich and Irifi can fell their 
 Linens, and more fefpecially their Hne Linens, 
 cbnfiderably cheaper than the Englifi Linen 
 Manufafturer is able to do. Nay, by Way 
 of ftrengthening the general Argument, I 
 would obferve further, that tho' the Modes of 
 Living aremore expenfive, tho' the daily Wages, 
 and Rents of Houfes and Lands, and the Prices 
 of Provifions, are athaddoul^led, if not trehled, 
 in the manufaduring Parts of ' Scotland and 
 Ireland, to what they were about 60 or 70 Years 
 ago, -yet the prefent Linens are both better and 
 cheaper than the former, in a very confiderable^ 
 Degree; fo that the Scotland and Ireland of the 
 Year 1763, if compared with the Scotland ot 
 Ireland of 1700, are as ftrong an Inftance, and 
 
 
 as 
 
5.4 
 
 Political and Commekctai. 
 
 M 
 
 as convincing a Proof, as can poflibly be defired 
 of the Truth of thefe Pofitions : — And hence 
 alfo we mayobferve, that the Riches oi England 
 m many Branches, and the Riches of Scotland 
 and Ireland in fome Branches, are mutually a^ 
 fiftant to, and reciprocally advantageous to each 
 other: For by mutually confuming and wear- 
 ing each other's Manufactures, the Englijhy 
 Scotchy and Irifli^ become the better and the 
 greater Cuftomers to each, other^ 
 
 The 3d Objedion needs not a Reply fo long 
 and laboured at the fecond : For when the Gen- 
 tleman propofedv, that the poorer Country fhould 
 firft begin with the coarfer and more fimple Ma- 
 nufactures, and then proceed Step by Step ta 
 others more operofe, complicated, and expen- 
 five, 'till at lad it had fupplanted the rich one 
 in. all its Trade and Manufad:ures,— he unfortu*. 
 nately forgot, that in Proportion as his poorer 
 Country made a Progrefs in thefe Things, in the 
 fame Proportion^ or nearly the fame, would tlie 
 Price of Labour, of Provifions, and of raw Ma- 
 terials, advance liketvife^ fo that all thefe ima- 
 ginary advantages would vanifli away like a 
 Dream, when they were molt wanted, and when- 
 he mod depended oh their AfTiftance. In fa6t, 
 his not paying due Attention to this Circum- 
 ftance was probably the very Thing which led 
 him and others into io many Errors on this 
 Head. But as he had one Objection more to of- 
 fer. 
 
.?■«; 
 
 SUBJECTS. 55 
 
 fer, let us fee whether the Weight of that will 
 make up for the Deficiency of the others. 
 
 Now his 4th Objedion, or rather his Obfer- 
 vation is, " That all human Things have tne 
 " Seeds of Decay within themfelves : Great 
 " Empires, great Cities, great Commerce, all 
 " of them receive a Check, not from accidental 
 " Events, but from neceflary Principles." From 
 all which it is implied, that the richer Nation 
 cannot maintain its Superiority over a poorer 
 one; becaufe when it comes to a certain Period, 
 it muft neceflarily fall to Decay,-—! fay, this 
 muft be the Inference intended, otherwife the 
 Obfervation is not applicable, and has nothing 
 to do with the prefcnt Subjeft. 
 
 Here therefo as the ideas and Terms 
 made ufe of, art -sorrowed from the State of 
 natural Bodies, and from thence metaphorically 
 transferred to political Conftltutions, one Thing 
 is taken for granted in this Argument, to which 
 I cannot readily aflent. It is taken for granted, 
 that as all Animals, by having the Seeds of De- 
 cay within themfelves, muft die fooner or later, 
 therefore political or commercial Inllitutions 
 are fubjed to the like Fate, and on the fame 
 Principles. Now this remains to be proved ; 
 for the Parallel doth not hold in all Relpefts ; 
 and tho' it be true that the Body Politic may 
 come to an End, as well as the Body Natural, 
 there is no phyfical Neceflity that it mtifl, A Set 
 
 Va of 
 
i! ^'\ 
 
 ■^ 
 
 li ! ^ 13 
 
 56 Political and CoivrMErciAii 
 
 of Rules and Regulations may be formed iot 
 the diftributing Property, the fecuring and dif- 
 fufing Induftry, ' the preventing the prefent 
 fhocking Vices of Ele«5tioneering, and in gene- 
 ral, for the correding moft^ if not all of thofe 
 Evils,' Which great Riches, Excefs of Liberty,- 
 and Length 0* Time, are too apt to introduce^ 
 I fay fuch a Set of Rules and Regulations may 
 be formed; againft the Admiffion of which into 
 our Code of Laws, there cani;iot bfe the leaft 
 Pretence of a Fhyfical Impojfibility. In one 
 Word, the Conftitution of the Body Natural 
 is fo framed, that after a certain lengtbof Time,^ 
 no Remedy in Nature can reftore it to its prif- 
 tine Health and Vigour ; for at laft old Age 
 will neceflarily deftroy it, if nothing elfe Ihall put 
 a Period to it foonef :— But the Difeafes of the 
 Body Politic are not abfolutely incurable , becaufe 
 Care and Caution, and proper Remedies, judi- 
 cioufly and honeftly applied, will produce thofe 
 EfFe(5ls in one Cafe, which it would be impoflible 
 for them to produce in the other. 
 
 tRACt 
 
T R A C T 
 
 II. 
 
 The CASE of going to War* 
 
 B E I N 6 
 
 The Fragment of at greater Work. 
 
 CHAP. III. Prevention of Wars, 
 
 ■\ 
 
 I D the Difficulty in this Argument 
 confifl: in the Dubioufnefs of the Fad, 
 .* Whether Wars were deftrudive to 
 * Mankind, or not,' that Difficulty- 
 would not long fubfifl -, for, if ocular Demon - 
 ftration can be allowed to be Proof, it is but too 
 manifeft, That both the conquering, and con- 
 quered Countries, are prodigious Lofers by 
 them. But, alas! in this Cafe the Difficulty 
 lies not in the Obfcurity of the Proof, but in 
 
 the 
 
58 Political and Commercial 
 
 the Feeblenefs of the Attempt to diflliade Men 
 from a Prafticc they have been long accuftomed 
 to confidrr in a very different Light from that 
 in which it will be here fet forth : And fuch is 
 the Inveteracy of bad Habits, fuch the bewitch- 
 ing, tho' empty Sounds of Conqueft and Glory, 
 that there remains only the Bare Poffibility of 
 Hopes of Succefs in thefe Endeavours ; for as 
 to all the Degrees of Probability^ they are cer- 
 tainly on the contrary Side. 
 
 However, as the Nature of 'my Argument 
 leads me to fet forth the fcveral Means of ren- 
 dering a Country populous, certainly the Pre- 
 vention of Wars, as one of the moft capital 
 Means, cannot be omitted : And therefore I 
 muft confider myfelf in this Cafe as People do 
 when they commence Adventurers in a Lottery, 
 where, though there are perhaps almoft an in- 
 finite Number of Chances againft any fingle 
 Adventurer, yet every Individual cherifhes the 
 flattering Expedation, that he fliall be the happy 
 Man to whofe Share the great Prize will fall. 
 Now, if a Condud, grounded on fo much Im- 
 probability, can efcape the Cenfure of general 
 Redicule, ic is to be hoped, thar my Folly, for 
 fuch I ackrK^wledge it, may efcape lilcewife ; at 
 leaii, as it is of fo innocent and harmlefs a Na- 
 ture, let me be allowed to petition, that mine 
 may be efteemed lefs irrational than that mili- 
 tary and political Folly which conMs io feeking 
 
 for 
 
SUB 
 
 E C T S. 
 
 J XL V. i; O. 5^ 
 
 for Empire by Means of Defolation, and for 
 national Riches by introducing univerfal Poverty 
 and Want. 
 
 In ancient Times, Men went to War without 
 much Ceremony or Pretence : It was thon»ht 
 Realbn good enough to juftify the Deed, if one 
 Man liked what another Man had ; and War 
 and Robbery were the honourable Profeffions : 
 Nothing was adjudged dilhonourable but the 
 Arts of Peace and Induftry. This is Herodotus's 
 Account of the Manner of living of the Bar- 
 barians of Thrace -, and this, with very fmaU 
 Alterations, might ferve to charaderife all other 
 BarSarians, either of ancient or modern Times. 
 
 But at prefent, we, who chufe to call our- 
 felves civilized Nations, generally affe6t a more 
 ceremonious Parade, and many Pretences^ 
 Complaints are firft made of fomc Injury re- 
 ceived, fome Right violated, fome Incroach- 
 jnent. Detention, or Ufurpation ; and none will 
 acknowledge themfclves to be the AggrefTors j 
 nay, a folemn Appeal is made to Heaven for 
 the Truth of each Afiertion; and the final 
 Avenger of the Oppreffed and Searcher of all 
 Hearts, is called upon to maintain the righteous 
 Caufe, and to punifli the wrong Doer. Thus 
 it is with both Parties ; and while neither of 
 them will own their true Motives, perhaps it is 
 apparent to all the World, that, on one Side, 
 if not on both, a Thirft of Glory, a Luft of 
 
 Do. 
 
 /. 
 
6o Political and Commercial 
 
 Dominion, the Cabals of Statefmen, or the 
 ravenous Appetites of Individuals for Power 
 or Plunder, for Wealth without Induftry, and 
 Greatnefs without Merit, were the only real and 
 genuine Springs of Adlion. 
 
 Now the Aims of Princes in thefe Wars are 
 partly the fame with, and partly different from, 
 thofe of their Subje6ls : As far as Renown is 
 concerned, their Views are alike, for Heroifm 
 is the Wifh and Envy of all Mankind ; and to 
 be a Nation of Heroes, under the Condud of 
 an heroic Leader, is regarded, both by Prince 
 and People, as the Summit of all earthly Hap- 
 pinefs. It is really aftonifhing to think with 
 what Applaufe and Eclat the Memoirs of fuch 
 inhuman Monfters arc tranfmitted down, in all 
 the Pomp of Profe and Verfe, to diftant Gene- 
 rations : Nay, let a Prince but feed his Subjedts 
 with the empty Diet of military Fame, it mat- 
 ters not what he does befides, in regard to them- 
 felves as well as others -, for the Lives and Li- 
 berties, and every Thing that can render So- 
 ^ciety a BlefTing, are willingly offered \ip as a 
 Sacrifice to this Idol, Glory. And were the 
 Fadt to be examined into, you would find, 
 perhaps without a fingle Exception, that the 
 greateft Conquerors abroad, have proved the 
 heavieft Tyrants at Home. However, as Vic- 
 tory, like Charity, eovereth a Multitude of Sins, 
 thus it comes to pafs, that reafonable Beings 
 
 will 
 
E C T S. 
 
 6i 
 
 S U B J 
 
 will be content to be Slaves themfelves, pro- 
 vided they may enQave others ; and while the 
 People can look up to the glorious Hero on the 
 Throne, they will be dazzled with the Splendor 
 that furrounds hini, and forget the Deeds of the 
 Oppreflbr. 
 
 Now, from this View of Things, one would 
 be tempted to imagine, that a Practice fo uni- 
 verfally prevailing, was found in the Courfe 
 and Conftitution ©f Nature, One would be 
 tempted to fuppofe, that Mankind were created 
 on Purpofe to be engaged in deftruftive Wars, 
 and to worry and devour one another. *' Per- 
 " haps the Earth would be overftocked with 
 " Numbers were it not for fuch Evacuations, 
 " falutary upon the Whole, and neceflary for the 
 " Good of the Remainder. Perhaps, likewife, 
 " there may be fome Truth in what is vulgarly 
 " given out, that one Nation cannot thrive but 
 " by the Downfall, and one People cannot grow 
 " rich but by the impoverifhing, of its Neigh- 
 •' bours." . 
 
 And yet, when we examine into this Affair, 
 neither Reafon, nor Experience will give the 
 leaft Countenance to this Suppofition. The 
 Reafon of the Thing we will confider now, and 
 referve the Fa6t *till by and by. Here then, if 
 Principles of Reafon are to be our Guide, one 
 Would think, that a Being overflowing with 
 Benevolence, and not limited in Power, might 
 
 /A" 
 
 nave 
 
62 
 
 Political and Commercial 
 
 III 
 
 iiji "■•. 
 
 have made a much better Provifion for his Cret^ 
 turcs, than what is here fuggeftcd : Certainly 
 he might have rendered their feveral Intereils 
 lefs repugnant to each other *, or rather, he 
 might have caufed them all to fpring from one 
 common Center, or to unite in one common 
 Bafis. And we are confirmed in this Train of 
 Reafoning, when we refledt, that even the Be- 
 nevolence and Power of human Governments, 
 narrow and imperfed as they are, do adtualJy 
 provide for the Safety and Welfare* of their re- 
 fpedive Subjeds by this very Method of aQ 
 Union and Coalition of feparate Interefls. 
 Thus for Example, the Inhabitants of one 
 County, or of one City, have not fo much as an 
 Idea, that they are, and muft be, according to 
 the unalterable Courfe of Things, the conftitu- 
 tional Foes of th6fe of another County or City 
 under the fame Government : Nor do we at all 
 conceive that this or that particular Town, or 
 Diftrid, cannot grow rich, or profper, 'till the 
 Diftri£ls, or Towns around it are reduced to 
 Poverty, or made a dreary Wafte. On the con- 
 trary we naturally conclude, and juftly too, 
 that their Interefts are infeparable froin our 
 own : And were their numbers to be dimi> 
 iiifhed, or their Circumftances altered from Af- 
 fluence to Want, we ourfelves, in the Rotation 
 of Things, {hould foon feel the bad Effeds of 
 i'uch a Chance. If, therefore, this is the Cafe, 
 
 with 
 
U B J E C T S. €3 
 
 to human Governments j and if 
 diCf, imwirhflanding all their Faults and Fail- 
 ings, can regulate Matters fo much for the 
 better; how then comes it to pafs, that we 
 fliould afcribe fo much Imperfedlion, fuch 
 Want of Benevolence, fuch Partiality, nay fuch 
 premeditated Mifchief to that great and equal 
 Government, which prelldeth over all ? Is it 
 do you think, that the Almighty God cannot go- 
 vern two large Diftrifts, France and England for 
 Example, as well, and as wifely, as you can go- 
 vern two fmall ones ? Or is it, that he hath fo 
 egregioudy blundered in his firft framing the 
 Conltitution of Things as to render thofe Ex- 
 ploits, called Wars, neceflary for the Good of 
 the Whole under his Admmiftration, which you 
 would juftly confider to be a Difgrace to yours, 
 and feverely punifli as an Outrage ? Surely no: 
 And we cannot without Blafphemy, afcribe 
 that Condud to the belt of Beings, which is 
 almoft too bad to be fuppofed of the worft : 
 iSurely it is much more confonant to the Didates 
 of unbiafled Reafon to believe, that our com- 
 mon Parent and wniverfal Lord regards all his 
 Children and Subjeds with an Eye of equal 
 Tendernefs and Good- will •, and to be firmly 
 perfuaded, that in his Plan of Government 
 the political Intereft of Nations cannot be re- 
 pugnant to thoie moral Duties of Humanity -nd 
 Love which he has fo' univerfally prefcribed. 
 
 So 
 
^iSiiia»^^M^''--~'^i*»>^''~ 
 
 ^4 Political and Commercial 
 
 So much as to the Rcafon of the Thing : Let 
 us now confidcr the Faft, and be determined by 
 Experience. Princes exped to get by fuccefe- 
 ful Wars, and Series of Conquefls, either more 
 Territory^ or more Subjeas, or a more ample 
 Revenue •, or perhaps, which is generally t^ 
 Cafe, they expeft to obtain all three. Now, m 
 regard t' Territory, if n.ere Superficies were 
 the Thing to be aimed at, it mud be allowed, 
 that a Cnmtry of a Million of fquare Miles 
 is more in Quantity than one of Half that Ex- 
 tent. But if Countries are not to be valued by 
 Acres, but by the Cultivation and the Produce 
 of thofe Acres, then it follpw^, that ten Acres 
 inay be better than a thoufmd, or perhaps ten 
 thoufandi and Bifhop Berklefs Qiiery may 
 come in here very apropos,.-May not a 
 *' Man be the Proprietor of twenty Miles fquare 
 « in North America, and yet be in Want of a 
 
 " Dinner ?** 
 
 As to Numbers of Subjefls, furely War and 
 Conqueft are not the moft likely Means for at- 
 taining this End-, and a Scheme, which confifts 
 in the Deftrudion of the Human Species, 
 is a very ftrange one indeed to be pro- 
 pofed for their Incrcafe and Multiplication : 
 l^Jay, granting that Numbers of Subjeas might 
 be acquired, together with the Acceffion of Ter- 
 ritory, ftill thefe new Subjefts would add no 
 real Strength to the State j becaufe new Acqiii- 
 
 fitions 
 
SUBJECTS. 65 
 
 fitions would require more numerous Defences, 
 and becaufe H People Icattered over an immenfe 
 Trad of Country are, in faft, much weaker 
 than half their Number afting in Concert td- 
 gcther, and able by their Vicinity to fuccour 
 one another. 
 
 Moreover j as tdthe Affair of the Revenue, 
 iand the Produce of Taxes, the fame Arguments 
 conclude equally ftrong in this Cafe as in the 
 former : And the indifputablc Faft is, that an 
 ill-peopled Country, tho' large and extenfive, 
 neither produces fo great a Revenue as a fmall 
 one well cultivated and populous ; ror, If it did, 
 would the net Produce of fuch a Revenve be 
 equal to that of the other, becaufe it :s^ in z P fan- 
 ner, fwallowed up in Governments, G. irds, and 
 Garrifons, in Salaries and Penfions, and all r he 
 confuming Perquifites and Expences attendant 
 or diffant Provinces. 
 
 In reference to the Views of the People—as 
 far as fuch Views coincide with thofe of thd 
 Prince, fo far they have been confidered al- 
 ready: But, feeing that the Thirft of inordinate 
 Riches in private Subjeds, which pulhes them 
 on to wifh fo vehemently for War, has fomething 
 in it diftind from the Avarice of Ptinces, let- 
 Os now examine, whether this Trade of War is 
 a likely Method to make a People rich, and let 
 us confider every Plea that can be offered. 
 "Surely, faythefeMen, to return Home laden 
 
 E 
 
 (C 
 
 71 siii 
 
S6 Political and Commercial 
 « with the Spoils of wealthy Nations is a com- 
 "pendious Way of getting Wealth-, furely 
 « we cannot be deceived in ib plain a Cafe: For 
 «' wc fee that what has been gathering together 
 *' aad accumulating for Years, and perhaps for 
 « Ages, thus becomes our own at once •, and 
 « more might be acquired by a happy Viftory 
 « within the Compafe of a Day, perhaps of m 
 «Hour, than we could otherwife promife to 
 « ourfelves by the tedious Purfuits of Induftry 
 « through the whole Courfc of a long labo^iQWS 
 
 "Life." „ . . 
 
 Kow^ in order to^ treat with this People in 
 their own Way, 1 would not awake them out 
 of their prefent golden Dream ; I would there- 
 fore fuppofe, that they might fucceed to their 
 Heart's Defire, though there is a Chapce at k^lt 
 of being difappointed, and of meeting with 
 Captivity inftead of Conqueft •, I will wave hke- 
 wife all Confiderations drawn from the intoxi- 
 catincr Nature of Riches, when fo rapidly got, 
 and improperly acquired : I will alfo grant, that 
 great Stores of Gold and Silver, of Jewels, 
 Diamonds, and precious Stones, may be brought 
 Home ., and that the Treafures of the Umverfe 
 may, ifyoupleafe, be made to circulate within 
 the Limits of our own little Country : And li 
 this were not enough, 1 would fliU grant more 
 did 1 really know what more could be wifhal 
 for or expeded. \^^^^ 
 
SUBJECTS. 67 
 
 The Soldierof Fortune, being thus made rich, 
 fits down to enjoy the Fruits of his Conqueft, 
 and to gratify his Wifhes after fo much Fatigue 
 and Toil • But alas ! he prefentJy finds, that 
 m Proportion as this heroic Spirit and Third 
 for Glory have diffufed themfelves among his 
 Countrymen, in the fame Proportion the Spirit 
 oflnduftry hath funk and died awa> ; every 
 NecefTary, and every Comfort and Elegance of 
 Life are grown dearer than before, becaule there 
 are fewer Hands, and lefs Inclination to pro- 
 duce them ; at the fame Time his own Defires 
 and artificial Wants, inftead of being Icffened' 
 are greatly multiplied ; for of what Ufe are 
 Riches to him unlefs enjoyed ? Thus therefore 
 It comes to pafs, that his Heaps of Treafure are 
 like the Snow in Summer, continually melting 
 away ; ib that the Land of Heroes foon becomes 
 the Country of Beggars. His Riches, it is true, 
 rulhed m upon him like a Flood ; but, as he 
 had no Means of retaining them, every Article 
 he wanted or wifhed for, drained away his 
 Stores like the Holes in a Sieve, 'till the 
 Bottom became quite dry : In fliort, in this Si- 
 tuation the Sums, which are daily and hourly 
 ilTuing out, are not to be replaced but by a new 
 War, and a new Series of Viftories ; and thefe 
 new Wars and new Vidories do all enhance the 
 former Evils ; fo that the relative Poverty of 
 the Inhabitants of this warlike Country becomes 
 
 E 2 f^ 
 
68 Political and Commercial 
 
 fo much the greater, in Proportion to their Suc- 
 
 cefs in the very Means miftakenly propofed for 
 
 enriching them. ' t n.- rv 
 
 A FEW indeed, excited by the ftronglnftinet 
 of an avaricious Temper, may gather and 
 fcrape up what the many are fquandering away, 
 and fo the Impoveriftiment of the Community . 
 may becbme the Enrichment of the Individual. 
 But it is utterly impoflible, that the great Ma- 
 jority of any Country can grow wealthy by that 
 Courfe of Life which renders them both very 
 extravagant, and very idle. 
 
 To illuftrate this train of Reafoning, let us 
 have recourfc to Fads : But let the Fafts be 
 ruch as my Opponents in this Argument would 
 wifh of all others to have produced on this Oc- 
 caiion : And as the Example of the Romam is 
 eternally quoted, from the Pamphleteer in the 
 Garret, to the Patriot in the Senate, as extremely 
 worthy of the Imitation of Britons, let their 
 txample decide the Dispute. « The brave Ro- 
 ^^mansl That glorious ! That godlike People ! 
 «' 1 he Conquerors of the World^. Who made 
 « the moft haughty Nations to fubmit ! Who 
 «put the Wealthieft under Tribute, and 
 « brought all the Riches of the Univerfe to 
 " centre in the 1 imperial City of Rome /" 
 
 Now this People, at the Beginning of their 
 State, had a Territory not fo large as one of 
 our middling Counties, and neither healthy. 
 
 nor 
 
SUBJECTS. 69 
 
 <nor fertile in its Nature j yet, by Means of Fru- 
 gality and Induftry, and under the Influence 
 of Agrarian Laws (which allotted from two to 
 fix, or eight, or perhaps ten Acres of Land to 
 each Family) they not only procured a com- 
 fortable Subfiftenqe, but alfo were enabled tp 
 carry on their petty Wars without Burden to 
 the State, or pay to the Troops; each Huf- 
 •bandman or^ittle Freeholder ferving gratis, and 
 providing his own Cloaths and Arms during the 
 fhort Time that was neceflary for him to be ab- 
 fent from his Cottage and Family on fugh Expe- 
 ditions. 
 
 But when their Neighbours were all fubdued, 
 
 :and the Seat of War removed to more diftant 
 
 Countries, it became impoffible for them tp 
 
 draw their Subfiftence from their own Farms; 
 
 or in other Words, to ferve gratis any longer ; 
 
 and therefore they were under a Ncceffity to 
 
 accept of Pay. Moreover, as they could fel- 
 
 dom vifit their little Eftates, thefe Farms were 
 
 unavoidably neglefted, and confequently were 
 
 foon difpofed of to engroffing f urchafcrs : And 
 
 thus it came tp pajs, that the Lands about Rome^ 
 
 in Spite of the Agrarian Laws, and of the feveral 
 
 Revivals of thofe Laws, were monopolized 
 
 Jnto a few Hands by Dint of their very 
 
 'Conquefts and Succefles : And thus a)fo 
 
 the Spirit of Induftry began to decline, m 
 
 t^roportion as the military Genius gained 
 
 E 3 ■ the 
 
70 Political and Commercial 
 the Afcendant*. A Proof of this we have in 
 Livy, even fo far back as the Time of their 
 lall King Tarquinius i^uperbus : For one of the 
 Complaints brought againft that Prince was 
 couched in the following Terms, That, having 
 employed his Soldiers in making Drains and 
 Conin'oa Sewers " they thought it an high 
 « Difcrrace to Warriors to be treated as Me- 
 « chanics, and that the Conquerors of the 
 « neicxhbouring Nations ihould be degraded 
 " in r Stone-cutters and Mafons," though thefe 
 Works were not the Monuments of unmeaning 
 Folly or the Works of Oftentation, but evi- 
 dently calculated for the Health of the Citizens 
 and the Convenience of the Public. Had he 
 led forth thele indignant Heroes to the Extirpa- 
 tion of fome neighbouring State, they would not 
 ),ave confidered that as a Dilhonour to their 
 Character. 
 
 *T Liv lib I. Romanes homines, viaores omnium 
 circa popuiorum, opifices ac lapicidas pro bellaconbus 
 faftos Thus reaibned the People of ;?.;«., as foon as ever 
 they began to be famous in the Oiarafter of M«/.m and 
 Vtlores. Anc], as this Vanity is natural to Mankind, have 
 not ibe Fri- nds of Commerce too much Caufe to fear that 
 our Opifices and Lapicidas., now turned into Vtaores omnium 
 circa Popuiorum, will reason after the fame Manner r And 
 vet the Romans were not fo mad as to fight for Trace ; they 
 fouehtonly for Conquell and Dominion, which may be ac- 
 miired by fighting : But to fight for the Sale, ot procuring 
 Trade, (s a Species of Madncfs relerved only for Bntons ! 
 
 But 
 
S U B J E C T S. 71 
 
 But to proceed : The Genius of Rome being 
 '•formed for War, the Romans puflied their Con- 
 • quefts over Nations ftiil more remote : But alas ! 
 ■the ^iriUs, the Body of the People, were fo 
 far from reaping any Advantage from thefe ncvf 
 Triumps, that they generally found themfelves 
 to be poorer at the End of their moft glorious 
 Wars than befjre they begun them. At the 
 Clofe of each fuccelsful War it was cuftomary 
 to divide a Part of the Lands of the vanquifhed 
 among the veteran Soldiers, and to grant them 
 a Difmiffion in order to cultivate their new Ac- 
 quifitions. But fuch Eftates being ftill more 
 diftant from the City, became in fa<5t fo much 
 vthe lefs valuable ; and the new Proprietor had 
 Ms Inclination than ever to forfake the Capital, 
 and to banifli himfelf to thefe diftant Provinces. 
 [For here let it be noted, that Rome was become 
 by this Time the Theatre of Pleafure, as well as 
 'the Scat of Emoire ; where all who wilhed to 
 ad: a Part on the Stage of Ambition, Popularity, 
 .or Politics ; all who wanted to be engaged in 
 Scenes of Debauchery, or Intrigues of State ; 
 all, in Ihort, who had any Thing to fpend, or 
 any Thing to expeft, made Rome their Ren- 
 vdezvous, and refurted thither as to a common 
 Mart.] This being the Cafe, it is not at all fur- 
 prifing, that thefe late Acquifitions were de- 
 ferted and fold for a very Trifle ; nor that the 
 Mafs of the Roman People were fo immerfed 
 
 E 4. in 
 
ya Politic /.L and Commercial 
 
 in Debt, as we find by their own Hiftorians, when 
 .we refled, that their military Life indifpofed 
 them for Agi 'culture or Manufaftures, and that 
 their Notions of Conqueft and of Glory ren- 
 dered them extravagant, prodigal, and vain. 
 
 However, in this Manner they went on, con- 
 tinuing to extend their Vidories and their Tri- 
 umphs i and, after the Triumph, fubfitting Ixjr 
 a while by the Sale of the Lands above-men- 
 tioned, or by their Shares in the Divilior^ of the 
 Booty: But when thcfe v/ere fpent, as they 
 quickly were, then they funk into a more 
 wretched State of Poverty than before, eagerly 
 ■wilhing for a ne a' W ir as thr^ only Means of re- 
 pairing their defp^ r^'c Fortunes, and clamour- 
 ing againft ev?ry Peifon tiiat would dare to ap-- 
 pear as an Advocate for Peace : And thus they 
 encreafed their Sufferings, inftead of removing 
 
 them. 
 
 At laft they fubdued the World, as far as it 
 was known at that Time, or thought worth fub- 
 doing ; and then both the Tribute, and the 
 Plunder of the Univerfe were imported into 
 Rome •, then, therefore, the Bulk of the Inha- 
 bitants of that City muft have been exceedingly 
 wealthy, had W ealth confiftcd in Heaps of Gokl 
 and Silver-, and then likcwife, if ever, the Blcf- 
 fings of Viaory muft have b^eri felt had it been 
 capable of producing any. But alas ! whatever 
 
 ^ Riches 
 
 rL 
 
SUBJECTS. 75 
 
 Riches a few Grandees, the Leaders of Armies, 
 the Governors of Provinces, the Minions of the 
 Populace, or the Harpies of Oppreflion might 
 have amafled together, the great Majority of 
 the People were poor and miferable beyond Ex- „ 
 prelTion-, and while the vain Wretches were ' 
 i^TUtting with Pride, and elated with Infolcnce, 
 '»H the Majiers of the Worlds they had no other 
 Means of fubfifting, when Peace was made, 
 and their Prize- Money fpent, than to receive 
 a Kind of Alms in Corn from the public Grana- 
 ries, or to carry about their Bread Bafkets, and 
 beg from Door to Door. Moreover, fuch 
 among them as had chanced to have a Piece of 
 Land left unmortgaged, or fomething valuable 
 to pledge, found to their Sorrow, that the In- 
 tereft of Money (being hardly ever lefs than 
 twf^ve per Cent, and frequently more) would 
 foon eat up their little Subftance, and reduce 
 theni to an^ Equality with the reft of their illuf- 
 tridus Brother Beggars, Nay, fo extremely low 
 >vas the Credit of thefe Matters of the World, 
 that they were trufted with the Payment of 
 their Inter^ft no longer than from Month to 
 Month i— than which there cannot be a more 
 glaring Proof, both of the abjed Poverty, and 
 of the cheating Difpofitions of thele heroic Ci- 
 tizens of Imperial Rome. 
 
 Now this- being the undoubted Fad, every 
 humane and benevolent Man, far from confider- 
 
 ing 
 
7^ 
 
 Political and Commercial. 
 
 ing thefe People as Objedts worthy of Imitation, 
 will look upon them, with a juft Abhorrence 
 and Indignation ; and every wife State, con- 
 fulting the Good of the Whole, will take Warn- 
 ing by their fatal Example, and (lifle, as much 
 as polTible, the very Beginnings of iuchz Roman 
 Spirit in its Subjedls. 
 
 TflE Cafe of the ancient Romans having thus 
 been confidered at large, lefs may be rcquifite 
 as to what is to follow. And therefore fufficc 
 it to obferve, that the Wars of Europe for thefe 
 two hundred Years lafl: paft, by the Confeflion 
 of all Parties, have really ended in the Advan- 
 tage of none, but the manifeft Detriment of 
 all : Suffice it farther to remark, that had each 
 of the contending Powers employed their Sub- 
 jects in cultivating and improving fuch Lands as 
 ■were clear of all difputed Titles, inftead of aim- 
 ing at more extended PoiTeffions, they had con- 
 fulted both their own and their People's Great- 
 nefs much more efficacioufly, than by all the 
 Viftories of a defar^ or an Alexander, 
 
 Upon the Whole, therefore, it is evident to 
 a Demonftration, that nothing can refult from 
 fuch Syftems as thefe, however fpecious and 
 plaufible in Appearance, but Difappointment, 
 Want, and Beggary. For the great Laws of 
 Providence, and the Courfe of Nature, are >noc 
 to be reverfed or counter- adted by the feeble 
 Efforts of wayward Man j nor will the Rules 
 
 of 
 
SUBJECTS. 7^ 
 
 of found Politics ever bear a Separation from 
 thofe of true and genuine Morality. Not to 
 n>ention, that the Vidors themfclves will ex- 
 perience it to their Cofts fooner or later, that in 
 vanquifhing others, they are only preparino- a 
 more magnificent Tomb for their own Inter- 
 ment. 
 
 In fhort, the good Providence of God hath, 
 as it were, taken peculiar Pains to preclude 
 Mankind from having any plaufible Pretence 
 for purfuing either this, or any other Scheme 
 of Depopulation. And the Traces of fuch pre- 
 venting Endeavours, if I may fo fpeak, are per- 
 fectly legible both in the natural, and in the 
 moral World. 
 
 In the natural World, our bountiful Creator 
 hath formed different Soils, and appointed dif- 
 ferent Climates; whereby the Inhabitants of 
 different Countries may fupply each other with 
 their refpedive Fruits and Produfls ; {o that by 
 exciting a reciprocal Induftry, they may carry 
 on an Intercourfe mutually beneficial, and uni- 
 verlally benevolent. 
 
 Nav more, even where there is no remarka- 
 ble Difference of Soil, or of Climates, we find 
 a great Difference of Talents ; and if I may- 
 be allowed the Expreffion, a wonderful Variety 
 of Strata in the human Mind. Thus, for Ex- 
 ample, the Alteration of Latitude between 
 Norwich and Manchejler, and the Variation of 
 
 Soil 
 
yS Political and Commercial 
 
 Soil arc not worth naming -, moreover, the Mar 
 terials made Ufe of in both Places, Wool, Flax, 
 and Silk, are juft the fame; yet fo different are 
 the Produftions of their refpedtive Looms, that 
 Countries, which are Thoufands of Miles apart, 
 could hardly exhibit a gn".ii.er Co; traft. Now, 
 had Norwich and Ma.. aejUr -jeen tlie Capitals 
 of two neighbouring Kingdoms, inftead of Love 
 and Union, we fhould have heard of nothing 
 but Jealoufies and Wars; each would l^ave 
 prognofticatcd, that the flourifhing otate of the 
 one portended the Downfall of the other ; cacl^ 
 would have hnd their refpedive Complaints, 
 uttered in the rnoit doleful Accents, concerning 
 their own Lofs of Trade, and of the formidable 
 Progrcfs of their Rivals -, and, if the refpedive 
 Governments were in any Degree popular, each 
 •would have had a Set of Patriots and Orators 
 clofing their inflammatory Harangues with a 
 delenda eft Carthago. " We muft deftroy our 
 " Rivals, our Competitors, and commercial 
 *« Enemies, or be deftroyed by them •, for 
 ** our Interefts are oppofite, and can never 
 " coincide." And yet, notwithftf iding all 
 thefc canting Phrafes, u is as clear ..„ the Me- 
 ridian Sun, that in Cafe thefe Cities had be- 
 longed to different Kingd ums (France md Eng- 
 land for Example) there would then have 
 been no more Need for either of them to have 
 gone to War than there is atprefc . ^nfhort, 
 
 if 
 
 ^^^ 
 
SUBJECTS. 77 
 
 if Mankind would but open their Rves, they 
 might plainly fee, that there is no o Argu- 
 ment for inducing different Nations to ight for 
 the Sake of Trade, but which would equally 
 oblige every County, Town, Village, nay, and 
 every Shop among ourfclves, to be engaged in 
 civil and inteftme Wars for the fame End : Nor, 
 on l!ie contrary, is there any Morive of Intereft 
 or Advantage that can be urged for reftraining 
 the Parts of the fame Government from thefe 
 unnatural and foolifh Contefts, but which would 
 conclude equally ftrong againll feparate and in- 
 dependant Nations making War with each other 
 on the like Pretext. 
 
 Moreover, the Inftinft * of v^uriofity, and 
 the Thirlt of Novelty, which are fo univcrfally 
 implanted in human Nature, whereby various 
 Nations and different People fo ardently wifh to 
 b-s Cuilomers to each other, is another Proof 
 that the ' iriou Manufafturesof one Nation will 
 .lever wans i Vent among the richer Inhabitants 
 
 1. 
 
 Indeed this Inftinft, hkc all other Inftinfts and PafTions 
 out to be put nnder proper Regulations, otherwife it may 
 do more Hurt than Good. But this Neceflity of due Re- 
 gulation IS no more an Objeftion agair the good Tendency 
 of the Inltma itfelf, than the Rules ol Temperance ;>nd 
 Sobriety are Objedions againft Eatin; id Drinkin^r in a 
 moderate and reafonable Degree '1 Inftinft itlelf js 
 certainly good^j but may be nrta.plie.:^ .nd what may 
 not?^ ihepoLiicaf Regulatiom it ftiould be under, will ! 
 mentioned elfewheie. 
 
 Ot 
 
yZ pOLlTirAL AND CoMMEkClAL 
 
 of another, provided they arc realbnably cheap 
 and good ; lo that the richer one Nation is, the 
 more it has to fparc, and the more it will cer- 
 tainly lay out on the Produce and Manufac- 
 tures of its ingenious Neighbour. Do you 
 objeft to this ? Do you envy the Wealth, or 
 repine at the Profperitv of the Nations around 
 you ? If yrtu do, confidf what is the Confe- 
 quence, viz. that you wifh to keep a Shop, but 
 hope to have only Beggars for your Cuftomers. 
 Lastly, the good Providence of God has 
 further ordained, that a Multiplication of In- 
 habitants in every Country Ihould be the beft 
 Means of procuring Fertility to the Ground, 
 and of Knowledge and Ability to the Tiller of 
 it : Hence it follows, that an Tncreafe of Num- 
 bers, far from being a Reafon for going to War 
 in order to thin tliem, or for fending them out 
 to People in remote Defarts, operates both as 
 an exciting Caufe to the Hufbandman to increafe 
 his Quantity, in Proportion to the Demand at 
 Market •, and alfo enables him tu raife more 
 plentiful Crops, by the Variety and Plenty of 
 thofe rich Manures, which the Concourfe of 
 People, their Morles, Cattle, ^c. &"€. product: 
 And it is remarkable, that very populous Coun- 
 tries are much lefs fubjed to Dearth or Famines 
 than any other. — So much as to thofe Stores of 
 Providence, which are laid up in the natural 
 World, and e-raciouflv intended for the V^c of 
 Mankind. As 
 
SUBJECTS. 79 
 
 As to the moral and political World, Pro- 
 "vidence has fo ordained, that every Nation 
 may increafe in Frugality and Induftry, and 
 confequently in Riches*, if they pleafe ; be- 
 caiife it has given a Power to every Nation 
 to make good Laws, and wife Regulations, 
 for \\ eir internal Government ; And none can 
 juftly blame them on this Account. Should, 
 for Example, the Pol'-r or the Tartars grow 
 weary of their prefent wretched Syftems, and 
 refolve upon a better Conftitution ; fhould they 
 prefer Employment to Sloth, Liberty to Slavery, 
 and Trade and Manufadures to Theft and Rob- 
 bery ; 
 
 * The Weakh of this Nation- that amazing Wealth, 
 which has been fo profufcly fquandered away in the two lalt 
 general and devouring Wars, is principally owing to th- 
 wife Regulations^ of that able Miniller, Sir Robert 
 Walpole. Juftice to his Charafter and Gratitude to his 
 Memory, demand this Tribute of Acknowledgement to be 
 paid him when dead, which was fhamefully denied him 
 while alive. Sed opimonum commenta deUt dies ! And the 
 Time is now come when his very Adverfaries frankly con- 
 fefs,, Th;i. this Plan of Commerce was manly and rational ; 
 that hj- Endeavours to prevent an infatuated People from 
 quarrelling with their bed Cuftomers, were truly patriotical j 
 and that his very Crmes were more owing to the Extremities 
 to which he was driven by his implacable Enemies, than 
 to any Malignity of his own. When he came into Admi- 
 Biftration, he found the Englijh Book of Rates almdl as bad 
 aj any in Europe ; but he kft it the very belt. And were 
 you to compare what he did for promotin)? general Trade, 
 (.and muGli more he would have done, hr.d it not been for 
 
 the 
 
So Political and Commercial 
 
 bery •, fliould they give all poflible Freedom and 
 Encouragement to indu'ftfious Artificers, and lay 
 heavy Difcouragements 6h Idlenefs and Vice, by 
 Means of judicious Taxes •, and laftly, fhould 
 they root out all Notions of beggarly P'^ide, and 
 of the Glory of making maroding Incurfions -, 
 \vhat a mighty, what a hippy Change would 
 foon appear in the Face of thofe Countries ! 
 And what could then be faid to be waiting in or- 
 der to render fuch Nations tfufly rich and 
 
 great? 
 
 Perhaps fome neighbouring State (entertain- 
 ing a foolilh j6aloufy) would take the Alarm, 
 that their Trade was in Danger. But if they at- 
 
 the Madnefs of iome, and the wickeiJniefs of others) were 
 you but to compare what hejaftually did, with what has 
 been done either before or fmce, in this, or any other 
 Country, not forgetting the Sully's, the Colberts^ 
 and the FlsurVs of Fraticiy you would find that he Ihone 
 as muth above all other Minifters, as England hath exceed- 
 ed the reft of the World in her late enormous Expellees. 
 
 The Author is in no Pain for what he has advanced on 
 this Head. Truth— unbought, unpenfioned, and impar- 
 tial Truth, is his only Motive : Indeed, what other Motive 
 can any Man have for fpeaking well of a dead Minifter ? 
 Nay, he will further add, That tho' the Minifter was nei- 
 ther complimented by Corporations, nor huzza'd by Mobs;' 
 vet as long as the 8th of George I. Cap. 15. (fee the Sta- 
 tute Book) fiiall remain among the Laws of this Realm, fo 
 long will thcfe Commercial Regulations be regarded by the 
 thinking and confideratc Part of Mankind, as doing more 
 true Honour y than all the Gold Boxes, or honorary Freedoms 
 ;hat could have been beftowed. 
 
 tempted 
 
SUBJECTS. 8t 
 
 tempted to invade fuch a Kingdom, they would 
 find to their Coft, that an induftrious State, 
 abounding with People and with Riches, having 
 its Magazines well ftbred, its frontier Towns* 
 well fortified, the Garrifons duly paid, and the 
 whole Country full of Vilkgcs and Enclofuresj 
 I fay, th^y would feel to their Coft, that fuch a 
 State is the ftrongeft of all others, and the moft 
 
 * As a ConGrmation of the abovci it may be obferved; 
 that this very Country of Great-Britain is become much, 
 more capable of Defence againft a foreign Invalion, thaa 
 it is ufed to be ; and that the numberlefs Enclofures, nev» 
 Canals, and artificial Navigations, which are now forming 
 almoft every Day, render it a Kind of Fortrcfs from one 
 End to the other. For while a few Regiments were ported 
 in Villages,^ or behind Hedges, or to line the Banks of Ri- 
 vers and Canals ; and while a few Light Horfe were em- 
 ployed in harraffing both the Front and Rear of the Enemy; 
 in falling on his Convoys, deftroying his Magazines, and 
 keeping him in a perpetual Alarm ; —his Progrefs would be 
 fo retarded, and his Forces fo weakened, at the fame Timi 
 tnat our own would be encreafing in Strength and Numbers^ 
 as would oblige him to retire without Danger to us, but 
 with great Shame and Lofs to himfclf. Had Ha ro l d ufed 
 the fame Precaution againft the Duke of NormuKdy^ inllead 
 of coming to adecihve Engagement ^ith him on his land- 
 ing, the latter mull have returned Inglorioufly, perhaps 
 with not a fourth Part of his Troops ;— if indeed he could 
 have returned at all, after he had penetrated a great Wav 
 into the Country far from the Refources of his Shipping, 
 Provifions, and Supplies. An Invafion of this Country is 
 certainly a pcffible Things notwithing all our Fleets, and all 
 the Vigilance of their Commanders. But the Invader 
 would not have the leaft Chance of conquering the Country, 
 unlefs the headftrong Impatience of the Englip to come to 
 Blows, fhould give him an Opportunity of bringing the Af- 
 fair to one deci/i'Vi Battlt. 
 
 F difficult 
 
Si Political and CoMMERciAt 
 
 difficult to be fubdued : Not to mention that 
 other Potentates would naturally rife op for its 
 Defence and Prefervation •, becaufe, indeed. It 
 '^vould be their Interefl: that fuch a State as this 
 Ihould not be fv^allbwed Up by another, and be- 
 caufe they thernfelves might have many Things 
 to hope frona it, and nothing to fear. 
 . Buf is this Spell, thi^ Witchcraft, of the 
 Tealoufv of Trade never to be difTolved ? And 
 are there no Hopes that Mankind will recover 
 their Senfes as to thele Things ? For of all 
 Abfurdities, that of going to War for the Sake 
 of getting Trade is the mofl abfurd ; and 
 nothing in Nature can be fo extravagantly fool- 
 ilh. Perhaps you cannot digeft this-, you don't 
 believe it : - I grant, therefore, that you fub- 
 due your Rival by Force of Arms : Will 
 that Circumftance render your Goods cheaper 
 at Market than they wer€ before ? And if it 
 will not, nay if it tends to render them much 
 dearer, what have you got by fuch a Viflory ^ 
 X afk further, What will be the Conduct of 
 foreign Nations when your Goods are brought 
 to their Markets ? They will never enquire, 
 whether you were vi6lorious or not ; but 
 only, whether you will fell cheaper, or at lead 
 as cheap as others ? Try and fee, whether 
 any Perfons, or any Nations, ever yet pro- 
 ceeded upon any other Plan; and if they 
 never did, and never can be fuppofed to dofo, 
 ' ' • ' ' ' then 
 
SUBJECTS, n^ 
 
 zhcn it is evident to a Demonftration, that Trade 
 will always follow Cheapnefe, and not Conqueft. 
 Nay, confider how it is with yourfelves at Home: 
 Do Heroes and Bruifefs get more Cullomers to 
 their Shops, becaufe they arc Heroes and 
 firuifers ? Or, would not you yourfelf rather 
 deal with a feeble Perfon, who will uffe you well, 
 than with a Brother-Hero, Ihould he demand ^ 
 "higher Price ? 
 
 Now all thefe Fads are fo very notorious, 
 that none can difpute the Truth of them. And 
 throughout the Hiftories of all Countries, and 
 of all Ages, there is not a fingle Example to 
 the contrary. Judge, therefore, from what has 
 been faid, whether any one Advantage can be 
 obtained to Society, even by the mod fuccefsfui 
 Wars, that may not be incomparably greater, 
 and more eafily procured, by the Ars of Peace. 
 As to thofe who are always clamouring for 
 War, and founding the Alarm to Battle, t 
 US confider who they are, and what are their 
 Motives; and then it will be no difficult Matter 
 to determine concerning the Deference that 
 ought to be paid to their Opinions, and the 
 Merit of their patriotic Zeal. 
 
 I. The firft on the Lift here in Britain (for 
 different Countries have differe;it Sorts of 
 Firebrands) 1 fay the Hrii: here in Britain is 
 the Mock- Patriot, and furious Jnti Courtier : 
 fje, good Man, always begins with Schemes 
 
 F^ of 
 
■■•frmitMi 
 
 H 
 
 Political and Commercial 
 
 of OecoRomy, and is a zealous Promoter of 
 national Frugality*. He loudly declaims 
 againft even a fmall, annual, parliamentary 
 Army, both on Account of its Kxpence, and 
 its Danger ; and pretends to be ftruck with a 
 Panic at every Red-Coat that he fees. By per- 
 liivering in thefe laudable Endeavours, and by 
 fowing the Seeds of Jealoufy and Diftruft among 
 the Ignorant and Unwary, he prevents fuch a 
 Number of Forces, by Sea and Land, from 
 being kept up, as are prudently neceflary for 
 the common Safety of the Kingdom : This is 
 one Step gained. In the next Place, after hav- 
 ing thrown out fuch a tempdng Bait for Fo- 
 reigners to catch at, on any trifling Affront he 
 is all on Fire ; his Breaft beats high with the 
 Love of his Country, and his - '1 breaths 
 Vengeance againft the Foes oi Britain : Every 
 popular Topic, and every inflammatory Ha- 
 rangue is immediately put into Rehearfal-, and, 
 O Liberty! O my Country! is the continual 
 Theme. The Fire then fpreads -, the Souls of 
 
 * All the Speeches and all the Pamphlets poured forth 
 againft Standing Aruiies during the Adminiltration of Sir 
 Robert Walpole, were levelled at?. Number of Troops 
 fo fmall that their higheft Compliment did not exceed 
 20,000 Men. Yet thele were rcprefented as very formida- 
 ble to the Conftitction by their Numbers 5 and more for- 
 midable ftill by that vail Acceffion of Power, which accrued 
 to the Crown from the Difpofal of fuch a Multitude of 
 Places. — How are the Times altered fincc ! 
 
SUBJECTS. S$ 
 
 the noble Britons are enkindled at it; and Ven- 
 geance and War are immediately refol/ed upon. 
 Then the Miniftry are all in a Hurry ; new 
 Levies are half -formed, and halfdifciplined : 
 — Squadrons at Sea are half-manned, and 
 the Officers mere Novices in their Bufinefs. 
 In fhort, Ignorance, Unlkilfulnefs, and Con- 
 fufion, are unavoidable for a Time ; the ne- 
 cefTary Confequence of which isfomc Defeat re- 
 ceived, fome Stain or Diflunour call upon the 
 Arms of Briiain. Then "the long wifhed for 
 Opportunity comes at lall ; the Patriot roars, 
 ,the Populace clamour and addrefs, the Miniftry 
 tremble, and the Adminiftration finks. The 
 minifterial Throne now being vacant, the Pa- 
 triot triumphantly afcends it, adopts thofe Mea- 
 fures he had formerly condemned, reaps, the Be- 
 nefit of the Preparations and Plans of his Prede- 
 ceflfor, and, in the natural Courfe of Thin«ys, 
 very probably gains fome Advantages; this re- 
 ftores the Credit of the Arms oi Britain : Now 
 the Lion is roufed, and now is the Time for 
 crulhing our Enemies, that t;hey may never be ' 
 able to rife again. This is Pretext enough ; 
 and thus the Nation is plunged into an Expence 
 ten Times as great, and made to raife Forces 
 twenty Times as.numerous,as were complained 
 of before. "However, being now vidorious, 
 " let us follow the Blow md manfully go on 
 " and let neither Expence of Blood nor of Trea' 
 
 F '4 "furq 
 
■wiisiii,f,.:..Vf,iiimtsmasmiii^Mftmi<mtmm 
 
 86 
 
 Political and Commercial 
 
 " furc be at all regarded -, for another Caruf- 
 ** paign will undoubtedly bring the Enemy to 
 " fubmit to our own Terms, and it is impoflible 
 «* that they fhould ftand out any lojiger.** Well, 
 another Campaign is fought, -and another, — 
 and another, — and another, and \et the Enemy 
 holds out > nor is the Carte blanche making any 
 Prosrefs in its Journey into Britain. A Peace 
 at lad is made : the Terms of it are unpopular. 
 Schemes of exceflive CEconomy are called for 
 by a new Set of Patriots ; and the fame Arts 
 are played off to dethrone the reigning Mini- 
 fter, which he had pradifed to dethrone his Pre- 
 decefibr. And thus the patriotic Farce goes 
 round and round -, but generally ends in a real 
 and bloody Tragedy to our Country and to 
 
 Mankind. 
 
 2. The next in this Lift is the hungry Pam- 
 phleteer, who writes for Bread. The Mlniftry 
 will not retain him on their Side, therefore he 
 muft write againft them, and do as much Mif- 
 chief as he can in orcer to be bought off. At 
 the worll, a Pillory, or a Profecution is a never- 
 failing Remedy againft a political Author's 
 ftarving-, nay, perhaps it may get him a Pen- 
 fion or a Place at laft : In the Interim, the Pro- 
 vince of this Creature is to be a Kind of Jackall 
 to the Patriot- Lion-, for he beats the Foreft, 
 and firft ftarts the Game; he explores the reign- 
 ino- Humours and Whim of the Populace, and 
 
 *^ bv 
 
S tt 3 J E C T a ty 
 
 by frequent Trials difcov^rs the Part where the 
 Miniftry are oipfl; vulnerable. But ^bgve alt 
 he never Ms to put the Mob in Mind, of what 
 indeed they believed before, that Politics is a 
 Subje<5l which every one underftands,— except 
 the Miniftry -, and that nothing is fo eafy as to 
 bring the King of France to fue for Peace pn his 
 Knees at the Bar of a Britifh Houfe of Com- 
 mons, were fuch - — and fuch at the Helm, 
 
 as honeft and uncorrupt as they ought to be. 
 " But alas ! What fliall we fay ! French Gold 
 '* will find an Admiffion every where 5 and what 
 *' can we expedt, when the very Perfons, who 
 *' ought to have faved us, have fold theii* 
 "Country?" This is delightful; and this, 
 with the old Stories oi Agincourt 2indL Crejjy, re- 
 gales, nay intoxicates, the Mob, and infpires 
 them with an Ethufiafm bordering upon Mad* 
 nefs. The fame |de4s return j the former Bat- 
 tles are fought over aga'n : and we have already ' 
 taken PoffelTion of the G-^r.-s of Paris in the 
 Warmth of a frantic Imagination : Though ic 
 is certain, that even were this CircumlUnce eve^ 
 to happen, we ourfelves fliovUd be tiv^ gk '^ateQ 
 L.ofers 5 for the Conqueft of Frame by Enjandy 
 in the Event of Things, would come to the fame 
 Point as the Conqued of England by France ; 
 becaufe the Seat of Empire would be trans- 
 ferred to the greater Kingdom, and the lefler 
 
 would be made a Province to it. [The phi- 
 
 F 4 lofophic 
 
 ,t3P 
 
i»#tigm)'Mm^M'a 
 
 ss 
 
 Political and Commercial 
 
 ii 
 
 lofophic Dr. Franklin adopts the fame Ideas 
 in regard to the prefent Conteft between North- 
 Amerka and Great-Britain. He fiippofes, agree- 
 ably to the Newtonian Philofophy, that there is 
 a mutual Attradion and Gravitation between 
 thefe two Countries ; but neverthelefs, that the 
 Powers of Gravitation and Attra6lion being fo 
 much ftronger in the vaft Continentof iVi7r/^- 
 America^ than in the little Spot of Great-Britain, 
 it therefore follows, that the former will fwal- 
 low up, or abforb the latter, and not vice v.erfa^ 
 The prefent aftonifhing Emigrations from Great- 
 Britain and Ireland feem to confirm the Hy- 
 pothefis of this eminent Philofopher but too 
 well : And it were greatly to be wifhed, that 
 the magical Spell, which is made to chain this 
 ourlfland to thofe immenfe Regions, weredif- 
 folved 'e're it be too late.] 
 
 3. Near a-kin to this Man, is that other 
 Monfter of modern Times, who is perpetually 
 declaiming againft a Peace, viz, the Broker, and 
 the Gambler of Change-alley. Letters from 
 the Hague, wrote in a Garret at Home for Half 
 a Guinea ; the firft News of a Battle fought (it 
 matters not how improbable) with a Lift of 
 the Slain and Prifoners, their Cannon, Colours, 
 ^c. Great Firings heard at Sea between Squa- 
 drons not yet out of Port; — a Town taken be- 
 fore the Enemy was near it ',— an intercepted 
 Letter that never was wrote ; — or, in fhort, any 
 
 : - Thing 
 
SUBJECTS. 89 
 
 Thing elfe that will elate or deprefs the Minds 
 of the difcerning Multitude, ferves the Pur- 
 pofe of the Bear or the Bull to fmk or raife the 
 Price of Stocks, according as he wifhes either 
 to buy or fell. And by thefe vile Means the 
 Wretch, who perhaps the or' .- Day came up 
 to London in the Waggon to be an Under-Clerk 
 or a Meflage Boy in a Warehoufe, acquires fuch 
 a Fortune as fets him on a Par with the greateft 
 Nobles of the Land. 
 
 4. The News- Writers are a fourth Species of 
 political Firebrands : A Species which abounds 
 in this Country more than in any other ; for 
 as Men are in this Kingdom allowed greater 
 Liberties to fay, or write what they pleafe; 
 fo likewife is the Abufe of that Blefling carried 
 to a higher Pitch. In fadl thefe People may be 
 truly faid to trade in Blood: For a War is their 
 Harveft ; and a Gazette Extraordinary produces 
 a Crop of an hundred Fold : How then can it 
 be fuppofed, that they can ever become the 
 Friends of Peace ? And how can you expe6t 
 that any Minifters can be their Favourites, but 
 the Minifters of War ? Yet thefe are the Men 
 who may be truly faid to govern the Minds of 
 the good People of England, and to turn their 
 AfFedtions whitherfoever they pleafe ; who can 
 render any Scheme unpopular which they diffike, 
 and whofe Approbation, or Difapprobation, are 
 regarded by Thoufands, and almoft by Millions, 
 
 as 
 
 j.|' 
 
^0 PoLrricAiL AND Commercial 
 
 9^ the Standar4 of Right or Wrong, of TrutH 
 orFaMhood: For it is a Fadk, an indifputablc 
 F:v5l, that tWs Counnry is as much News mad, 
 and News riddt i now, as ever it was Popery- 
 mad, ancl Pifieft-ri^len, iu ciie Days of our For^- 
 
 ifiiitbers. 
 
 5. The Jobbers ?;nd Contractors of aH Kinds 
 and of all Degrees for our Fleets and Armies •, — 
 the Clerks and ^aymaftcrs in the ieveral De- 
 partments belonging to War j— and every other 
 Agent, who has the fingering of the public 
 Money, may be faid to confticute a diftind 
 3roQd of Vultures, who prey upon their own 
 Species, and fatten on human Gore. It 
 "would be enc^lefs to recount the various Arts 
 and Stratagems by which thcfe Devourers 
 h^ve amaifed to themfelves aftoniftiipg Riches, 
 trom very flender Beginnings, through the 
 Cofitinwance and Extent of the War: Confe- 
 quently, as long m my Frofpeta could rem^ini 
 qf fqvieezingfonicvMvar more out of the Pockets 
 of an exhaufted, bur ; ifatuated People-, fo long 
 the Amtil^m Wgr-hoop would be the Cry of 
 thefe inhuman Savages-, and fo long would 
 they ftart and invent Objeftions to every Pro- 
 portion tint could be made for the reftoring 
 Peace, — becaufe Government Bills would yet 
 bear fome Pdce jp the Alley, an4 Omnium an4 
 !^r/>. would ftiU fell at Market. 
 
 ^. Manv 
 
^^ 
 
 w 
 
 SUBJECTS. oi 
 
 6. Many of tiic Dealt rg in Exports and Im- 
 ports, ar,d fevcral of the IVaders in the Colonies, 
 arc loo often found to be affiftant in promoting 
 the Cry for every new War •, and, when War 
 is undertaken, in preventing a. /Overtures to- 
 wards a Peace. Do you not fatham the Depth 
 of this Puhcy? you ar«not able to, compre- 
 hend it. Alas ! it is bui too eafily explained ; 
 and v/hen explained, but too well proved from 
 Experience. The general Intereft of 1 rade, 
 and the Inrcreft of particular Traders, are very 
 diftinit Things ; nay, are very often quite 
 pofite to each oilier. The Intereft of gent 
 Trade arifes from general Induftry ; and, the. - 
 fore an only be promoted by the Arts of Peace : 
 8ui tne Misfortur is, that during a Peace the 
 prices of Goods fe viom fludluate, and there are 
 few or no Opportunities of getting fuddenly 
 rich. A War, on the contrary, unfettles all 
 Things, and opens a wide Field for Speculation •, 
 therefore a lucky Hit, or the engroffing a Com- 
 modity, when there is but little at Market,— a 
 rich Capture, — or a Smuggling, I fhould rather 
 fay a traiterous, Intercourfe with the Enemy, 
 fometimes by Bribes to Governors and Officers, 
 and fometimes through other Ciiannels j— or 
 perhaps the Hopes of coming in for - Share in 
 a lucrative Job, or a public Contract : Thefe, 
 and many fuch like notable Expedients are che- 
 riOied by the Warmth of War, like Plants in a 
 
 Hot- 
 

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 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 
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 Kiotographic 
 
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 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. )4S80 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
V #? ^ JHf 
 
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 W 
 
 VQ 
 
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 '^2 Political and CoRiMERciAx, 
 
 Hot Bed ; but they are chilled by the cald ianr 
 guid Circulation of peaceful Induftry. 
 
 This being the Cafe, the warlike Zeal of 
 thefe Men, and their Declamations agiinft all 
 reconciliatory Meafures, are but too eafily ac- 
 counted for •, and while the dulcis odor lucri is the 
 governing Principle of Trade, what other Con- 
 duft are you to exped ? 
 
 But what if the Men of landed Property, 
 and the numerous Band of Engli/h Artificers and 
 Manufafturers, who conftitute, beyond all 
 Doubt, the great Body of the Kingdom, and 
 whofereal Interefts muft be on the Side of Peace; 
 what if they fhould not be fo military in their 
 Difpofitions as thefe Gentlemen would wi(h they 
 were ? Why then all Arts muft be ufed, and in- 
 defatigable Pains be taken to perfuade tfeem, 
 that this particular War is calculated for their 
 •Benefit -, and that the Conqueft of fuch, or fuch 
 a Place would infallibly redound both to the 
 Advantage of the landed Interefts, and the Im- 
 -provement and Extenfion ol Manufadlures. 
 Should (for Example) the Englifli once be- 
 come the Mafters of Canada^ the Importation 
 of Skins and Beavers, and the Manufafture 
 of fine Hats, would extend prodigioufly : 
 Every Man might afford to wear a Beaver Hac 
 if he pleafed, and every Woman be deco- 
 rated in the richeft Furs ; m return for which 
 our coarfc Woollens would find fuch a Vent 
 
 " throughout 
 
 i M. 
 
 
SUBJECT S; ^^ 
 
 " throughout thofe immenfe Northen Regions 
 « as would make ample Satisfadion for all our 
 *' Expcnces.'* Well, Canada h ta^en, and is 
 BOW all our own : But what is the Confequencc 
 after a Trial of fome Years' Pofleffion ? Let 
 thofe declare who can, and as they were before 
 fo iavifli in their Promifes, let them at lail prove 
 their Aflertions, by appealing to Fad and Ex- 
 perience. Alas! they cannot do itiNay, ft> 
 far from it, that Beaver, and Furs, and Hats 
 are dearer than ever: And all the Woollens, 
 which have beeo confpmed in thofe Countries, 
 by the Native InhahiHnU^ 4o hardly amouiU ta 
 4 greater Quantity than thofe very Soldiers and 
 Sailors would have worn and conJfucn^d, who. 
 were loft in the taking, defending, and ga^fifon-' ^ 
 ipg of thofe Countries. 
 « However, if Canada did not anfwer oui^. 
 fanguine Expeaations, fure we are, that 
 the Sugar Countries would make Amends for^ 
 «all: And, therefore, if the important Iflands 
 " of Guadaloupe and Martinico were to be fub- , 
 " dued, then Sugarsand Coffee, and Chocolate."' 
 " 4nd Indigo, and Cotton, ^c. ^c, would be-^' 
 ■ come as cheap as we could wifh ; and boch the 
 " Country Gentleman and the Manufadurer) 
 *' would find their Account in fuch Conquefts 
 "as thefe." Well, Guadaloupe and Martinico 
 are both tal^^n, and ;iiany pther IQands befides 
 
 C( 
 
 cc 
 
 JCC 
 
j|4 TowfltAL AND CoRiMERCIAL 
 
 arc added to our Empire, whofe Produce is the 
 very ianwr with theirs. Yet, what Elegance of 
 Life, or what Ingredient for Manufat^re, is 
 thereby becortie the cheaper ? And which of all 
 thefe Things can be purchafed at a lower' Rate, 
 ^ prefent than before the War? — Not oi'ie can 
 be nahicd. On the contrary, the Man of land- 
 ed Property can tell but too circumftantially, 
 that Taxes arerifen higher than ever, --that the 
 liitereft of Money is greater ;--^i:hat every addi- 
 ti6M\ Load of National Debt is a new Mort- 
 :gage ©n his exhauftcd and impoverifhed Eftate ; 
 —-and that, if he happens to be a Member of 
 Parliament, he runs the Rifque of being bought 
 cot of his Family Borough, by fome upftarf 
 Gambler, Jobber, or Cofttraiflor. 
 
 The Engltjh Manufadlurer, likewife, both 
 Jeesandi^Is, that every foreign Materral, of 
 Ufe in his Trade is grown much dearer,^ that 
 all Hands are become extremely fbarcc,— their 
 Wages pFodigioufty raifed,- -the Goods, of 
 courfe, badly and fcandaloufly manufafturcd,— 
 and yet cannot be afforded at the fame Price as 
 heretofore,— that, therefore, the Sale cd Englifi 
 Manufaftures has greatly decreafed in foreign 
 Countries fmce the Commencement of War; 
 — and wliat is worfe than all, that our own Co- 
 lonies, for whofe Sakes the War was faid to be 
 undertaken, do buy Goods in Halland^ in 
 
 Italy t 
 
•** 
 
 S ^ B J E G T S. ^g 
 
 //^and Hamkirgh., or ^nyotfeef Market whei** 
 tney can buy them eheapeft, without re. 
 garding the Intereft of the Motiicr-Country 
 when found to be repugnant w their own. All 
 thele Things, I %, the Ei^ijh Manufadlurer 
 .both fees and feels: And is not .this enougtt? 
 Or muft he carry his Complaifence ftiU fer. 
 ther, and never be a Friend to t^eace 'till it be- 
 conies the Jntereft of the Trader io befrieni 
 It hkewife? Surely, furely, this is rather too 
 much to be expeaed. In one Word, and to re- 
 turn to the Poitit from which we fet out, the Iil; 
 tereft of the Trader, and the Intercft of the king- 
 dom, are two very diftinft Things hecaufe 
 the one may, and (^ten doth, get rich by that 
 Courfe of Trade, wliich would biing Ruin and 
 Defplation on the other. 
 
 7. The Land and Sea Officers are, of couHk 
 the invariable Advocates for War. indeed k is 
 their Trade, their Bread, and the fure Way to 
 get Promotion ; therefore no other Languafic 
 cart be expedcd from them: And yet, toX 
 them Juftice, of all the Adva-faries of Peace 
 they are the faireft and moft open in their Pro- 
 ceedings 5 they ufc no Art or Colouring, and 
 as you know their Motive^ you muft allow for it 
 accordingly. Nay, whether from a Principle 
 of Honour natural to their Profeflion, or from 
 what oiher Caufe I know not; but fo it is that 
 
 thcjr 
 
ft6 Political A^t> CoilMSk^ciAL 
 
 they very frankly difcovcr the bafeknd dirtn- 
 genuous Artifices of other Men. And the Au- 
 thor of thefe Sheets owes milch of his IntelK- 
 gcnce to feveral Gentlennen of this Pi'ofeffion, 
 who were Eye and Ear Witneffes of ihie Faifts re- 
 
 latcd. 
 
 - Bu'-i' after all, What have 1 been doing ? and 
 how can I hope for Pl-ofelytcs by this Kind of 
 "Writing ?---It is true, in regard to the PointsT 
 atterfipted to be proved, I have certainly proved 
 that, '* Neither Princes nor People can be 
 ^ (iaiHers by the moft {ucc(i{sfar Wars i'^^ 
 <^' Trade; in paYticiilar will make its^ Way 
 *« tb'the Couhtry where Goods are mamt-? 
 *« faftured the beft and cheapeft:— But con- 
 ^''^quering N^tionsf tleither manufaftiire well 
 « nor cheap:— And confecjuently muft fink' 
 ♦i in Trade in Pi'dportiori as they eitend in 
 *« Goriqueft." Thefe Things are now incori- 
 teftibly clear, it any Thing ever was fo: 
 But alas! Who will thank me for fuch 
 Leffons as thefe ? The feven ClafTes of Men 
 joft enumerated certainly will not; and aS 
 to the Mob, the blood-thirfty Mob, no Ar^ 
 guments, and no Demonftrations whatever^ 
 can perfuadc them to withdraw their Vene- 
 ration from their grim Idol, the God of 
 Slaughter. On the contrary, to knock a 
 Man on the Head is to take from him hi* 
 
 AH at once. This is a compendious Way, 
 
 and 
 
S U B J E C T S. 5i7 
 and this they underftand. But to excite that 
 Man (whom- perhaps they have long called 
 their Enemy) to greater Induftry and So- 
 briety, to confider him as a Cuftomer to 
 them, and themfelves as Cuftomers to him 
 fo that the richer both are, the better it 
 may be for each other ; and, in Ihort, to 
 promote a mutual Trade to mutual Benefit i 
 This IS a Kmd of Reafoning, as unintelligi- 
 ble to their Comprehenfions, as the Antipodes 
 themlelves. '^ 
 
 ■ Some few perhaps, a very few indeed, 
 may be ftruck with the Force of thefe 
 Truths, and yield their Minds to Conviftion • 
 ■—Poffihly in a long Courfe of Time their 
 Numbers may encreafe ;-a„d poffibfy, at laft, 
 the Tide may turn ;--& that our Pofterity 
 may regard the prefent Madnefs of going to 
 War for the Sake of Trade, Riches, or Do- 
 minion, with the fame Eye of Aftoni/hment 
 and Pity, that we do the Madnefs of our 
 Forefathers in fighting under the Banner of 
 die peaceful Crofs to recover the Holy Land. 
 This ftrange Phrenzy raged throughout all 
 Orders and Degrees of Men for feveral Cen- 
 turies s and was cured at laft more by the 
 dear-bought Experience of repeated Lofles 
 and conunual Difappointments, than by any 
 good Eflias which cool Reafon and Re- 
 
 ^ fleflion. 
 
at Political and Commercial 
 
 flcaion coiild have upon the rational Fa- 
 culties of Mankind. May the like dear- 
 bought Experience prevail at laft ia the pre- 
 fentCafe! 
 
 
 i ; 
 
 TRACT 
 
t R A C T III. 
 
 Letter from aMerchantinZowflfow 
 
 :iT O HIS 
 
 NEPHEW ih AMBKICW' 
 
 Dear Co lis IN, - 
 
 [OUR Letters gave me formerly ho 
 fmall Pleafure, becaufe they Teemed to 
 have proceeded from a good Heart, 
 guided by a*- Underftanding more en- 
 lightened than is ufually found among youno- 
 Men : And the honeft Indignation you exprefs 
 againft thcfe Artifices and Frauds, thofe Rob- 
 beries and Infults, which loft us the Hearts and 
 
 G 2 Affedions 
 
100 PbtirrcAL and Commercial 
 Affbaioni of the Indians, is particularly to be 
 commended •, for thcfe were the Things, as you 
 juftly obferved, which involved us in the moft 
 bloody and cxpenfivc War that ever was known ; 
 and thefe, by being repeated, will ftimulate the 
 poor injured Savages to redrcfs their Wrongs, 
 and retaliate the Injiiry as foon as they can, by 
 Tome Means or other. Youdid therefore ex- 
 ceedingly right, in manifefting the utmoft Ab- 
 horrence and Deteftation of all fuch Pradices. 
 But of late I cannot fay, that I receive the 
 fame Satisfadion from your Correfpondence : 
 Yon, and your Countrymen, certainly are difcon- 
 tented to a great Degree •, but whether your Dif- 
 content arifes from a Defire of Change, and of 
 making Innovations in your Form of Govern- 
 ment, or from a miftaken Notion, that we are 
 making Innovations in it, is hard to fay> 
 
 6iVE me Leave, therefore, to expoftulate 
 witb^ you, on this ftrange Alteration in your 
 Coridua:. You indeed talk loudly of Chains, 
 
 and exclaim vehemeritly againft Slavery : 
 
 But lurely you do not fufpe^?, that I can enter- 
 tain the moft diftant Wifti of making any Man 
 a Slave, much lefs my own Brother's Son, and 
 my next of Kin. -~ So far from it, that whether 
 I can make you a Convert to my Way of think- 
 ' ing or not, I fhall ftill aft by you as my neareft 
 Relation •, being always defirous of allowing 
 that Liberty to others, which 1 hope ever to cn- 
 
 - ^ • • py 
 
 /i 
 
S U B J E C T S. loi 
 
 joy myfelf,— of letting every man fee with 
 his own Eyes, and aft according to his own 
 Judgment :--This I iay, I would willingly in- 
 dulge every Man in, as f&r as ever is confiftcnt 
 with good Government, and die public Safety. 
 For indeed Governments there muftbeoflome 
 Kind or other ; and Peace and Subordination 
 are to be preferved •, othcrwife, there would 
 
 •t)e no fuch Thing as true Liberty fublifting in 
 the World. 
 
 In Purfuarrce therefore of this rational Plan 
 bf Liberty, give me Leave to a(k you, young 
 Man, W'iiat is it you mean by repeating to me 
 
 ~fo often in every Letter, 1^/te Spirit of the Confti- 
 tution ? I own, I do not much approve of this 
 Phrafe, becaufe its Meaning is fo- vague and in- 
 t5eterminate i and becaufe it way be made to 
 fcrve all Purpofes alike, good or bad. And 
 indeed it has been my conftant Remark, SThat 
 when Men were at a Lafs for iblid Arguments 
 and Matters of Fa6l o thi political Pifputes, 
 they thea had Recouv. m f Spirit of the Con- 
 
 .ftitution as to their lau ..iift, and. the only 
 Thing they had to fay. An American for Ex- 
 ample nowinfifts, That according t uie Spirit 
 
 , of the Engii/h Conftitution, he. ought not to be 
 taxed without his.ovyji Coufent, given either by 
 
 *himfelf, or by. a Rcprcfentative in Parliament 
 chofen by himfelf. Why ought he not ? And 
 doth the Conftitution fay in fo many Words, 
 
 V^ that 
 
 
 % 
 
IW 
 
 Political and Commercial 
 
 that he ought not? Or doth it fay, that every 
 Man either hath, or ought to have, or was in- 
 tended to have a Vote for a Member of Parlia- 
 ment ? No, by no Means : The Conllitiition 
 fays no fuch Thing.— But the Spirit of it doth ; 
 and that is as good, perhaps better.— Very well : 
 See then how the fame Spirit will prefently wheel 
 about, and aflert a Dodtrine quite repugnant to 
 the Claims and Pofiiions of you Jmerkans^ 
 Magna Charta, for Example, is the great Foun- 
 dation of Englijh Liberties, and the Bafis of the 
 EngUPi Conftitution. , But by the Spirit of 
 Magna Charia, all Taxes laid on by Parliament 
 are conjlitutional, legal Taxes •, and Taxes raifed 
 by the Prerogative of the Crown, without the 
 Confent of the Parliament, are illegal. Now re- 
 ineniber, young Man, that the late Tax of Du- 
 ties upon Stamps was laid on by Parliament i 
 ^nd therefore, according to your own Way of 
 reafoning, muft have been a regular, conftituti- 
 onal, legal Tax. Nay more, the principal End 
 and Intention of Magna Charta, as far as Tax- 
 ation is concerned, v/as to afiert the Authority 
 and Jurifdidion of the three Eftates of the 
 Kingdom, in Oppufition to the fole Prerogative 
 of the King : So that if you will now plead the 
 Spirit of Magna Charta agsinft the Jurifdidion 
 of Parliamtnt, you will plead Magna Charter 
 againlt itlclf. 
 
 ' Leaving 
 
I! = I 
 
 SUBJECTS. 103 
 
 "Leaving therefore all tKjfc Ihiiting, unftable 
 Topics, which, like changeable Silks, exhibit 
 , different Colours, according as they are viewed 
 in different Lights; let us from the Spirit of the 
 Conftitution, come to the Conflitution it/elf. 
 For this is a plain, obvious Matter of Fad; 
 and Niatters of Fa6t are faid to be ftubboni 
 Things. Now the firft Emigrants, who fettled 
 in America^ were certainly jB»g-/f/i^/ Subjeds, — 
 Jubjed to the Laws and Jurifdidion of Parlia- 
 ment, and confequcntly to parliamentary Taxes, 
 before their Emigration ; and therefore fubjed 
 .afterwards^ unlefs fome legal, conftitutional 
 Exemption can be produced. . 
 
 Now this is the Qiieftion, and the fole 
 jQueftion between you and me, reduced to a 
 plain, fimple Matter of Fad. Is there therefore 
 any fuch Exemption as here pretended? And 
 , if you have it, why do not you produce it ? — 
 
 The King, you fay, hath granted Charters of 
 
 Exemption to the American Colonies." This 
 is now coming to the Point ; and this will bring 
 the pifpute to a fhort Iffue. Let us therefore 
 'firft enquire. Whether he could legally and con- 
 ftitutionally grant you fuch a Charter ? And 
 .fecondly. Whether he did ever fo much as at- 
 tempt to do it ? And whether any fuch Charters 
 are upon Record ? 
 
 Nov/, upon the firft fettling an EngUfli Co- 
 ^Ipny, and before ever you, Americans, could 
 
 have 
 
 «( 
 
 .4C 
 
 
 *• t 
 
If 
 
 1.04 BOLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL 
 
 have jchofcn any Reprelentadvcs, and thetcfore 
 before any Affembly of fuch Reprcfentatives 
 could have poffibly met, — ro whofe Laws, and 
 to what legiflative PQwcr were you then fubjed ? 
 To tht Ef^lifli moft undoubtedly; for you could 
 have been fubjeft to no other. You were 
 Mngiyhmen yourfelvea j and you carried the EngUfh 
 Gpvcrnment, and an Englijh Charter over along 
 with you. This being the Cafe, were you not 
 then In the fame Condition^ as to Conflitutional 
 Rights, and Liberties, with the reft of your 
 Fellow:fubje6ts, who remained m England t 
 (Certainly ypu were. I moft cordially agre^, 
 that you ought not to have been placed in ^ 
 „)v:orf^ ; ^nd furcly you had no Right to expeft 
 _ a better. Suppofe, therefore, that the Crowii 
 had been fo ill advifed, as to have granted a 
 .Charter tp any Ci;y or County here in England^ 
 pretending to exempt them from the Power 
 and Jurifdi(ftion of an Engltfli Parliament; — 
 what would the Judges ? What would the 
 Lawyers I nay, what would you Americans have 
 faid to it ? Apply this now to your own Cafe ; 
 for furely you cannot wifh to have it put upon 
 a fairer Footing ; try, therefore, and fee, and 
 then tell me ; is it poffible for you to believe, 
 that the King has a Power vefted in him by the 
 Conftitution of dividing his Kingdom into feveral 
 indepcndant States, and petty Kingdoms, like 
 ^iie Heptarchy in the Times of the Saxons? Or 
 
 (f I 
 
S U B J E C T S. 105 
 
 can you really imagine, that he ceuld crumble 
 the parliamentary Authority and Jurifdifbion, 
 were he fo minded, into Bits and Fragments, by 
 affigning one Parliament to one City or County, 
 another to another, and fo on ? Is itpoffible, I 
 fay, for you to believe an Abfurdity fo grofs and 
 glaring? And yet grofs and palpable as this Ab- 
 furdity is, you muft either believe it, or adopt a 
 ftill greater, viz. that, though the King cannot 
 do thefc ftrange Things in England^ yet he can 
 do them all in America -^ becaufe the Royal 
 Prerogative, like Wire coiled up in a Box, can 
 be ftretched and drawn out to almoilany T -*ngth, 
 according to the Diftance and Extent of his 
 Dominions, Good Heavens ! what a fudden 
 Alteration is this! An Jmerican^kading for 
 the Extenfion of the Prerogative of the Crown ? 
 •Yes, if it could make for his Caufe i and for 
 extending it too beyond all the Bounds of Law, 
 of Reafon, a^d of Common Senfe ! 
 But though I have for Argument's Sake, and 
 merely to confute you in your own Way, here 
 fuppofed, that the Crown had been fo ill-advifed, 
 as to grant Charters to the Colonies fo uncon- 
 flitutional and illegal, as thefe undoubtedly muft 
 have been ;— y et the Faft itfelf is far otherwife * ; 
 
 for 
 
 
 • Our former Princes claimed a Right, and frequently 
 cjcercifed the Power of levying To-ies, without the Confent 
 
io6 Political and Commerciai.. 
 
 for no foch Charters were ever grant^. Nay* 
 many of your Colony Charters aifert quite the 
 contr^ry^ by containing exprefs Refcrvations of 
 Parliamentary Rights, particularly that great 
 one of levying Taxes. And thofc Charters 
 which do not make llich Provifoes in exprefs 
 Terms, muft be fuppofed virtually to imply 
 them i becaufe the Law and Conftitution will 
 not allow, that the King can do more either at 
 home or abroad, by the Prerogative Royal, than 
 the Law and Conftitution authorize him to do. 
 
 However, if you are ftill doubtful, and if you 
 would wilh to have a Confirmation of this Argu- 
 ment by fome plain Faft, fome ftriking Proof, 
 and vifible Example, I will give you one ; and 
 ,fuch an one too, as fhall convince you, if any 
 ^hing can, of the Folly and Abfurdity of your 
 J^olitions: Tht City o{ Londm, for Instance, — 
 a Body Politic as refpeftable, without Offence, 
 
 of P'arifament. But upon fettling the Colonies, this fuppofed 
 
 :Kight which cott Charles I. his Crown, and his Life, was 
 
 notinftfted on in any of the Charters, and was exprefsly 
 
 ,friwn op in that which was granted to Lord Baltimore for 
 
 .Mmryhn^i' Now this Cla«fe, which is nothing more than 
 
 the Renuciation of cbjolite Prerogative, is quoted in our 
 
 New4>apers, as if it was ^ Rc-.iuuciation of the Rights of 
 
 Parliament to raife Taxes. Whereas the King in that 
 
 -Charter lUpuhted oxAy for him/elf, his Heirsy and Succefortt 
 
 not to raife Taxes by Virtue of the Prerogative Royal ; 
 
 which certainly he might do, and which was very proper 
 
 to be done for the Encouragement and Security of a ncvy 
 
 Colony. But he could not ftipulate for 0ie Parliament j 
 
 and iudeed he did ^ot attempt tp do it. 
 
 ac 
 
SUBJECTS. 107 
 
 as the greateft of your Coloirie with Regard to 
 Property^ and liipcrior to r »y pf them with 
 refped to Numbers ;~this great City, 1 fay, the 
 Metropolis of the whole Britijh Empire, hath 
 long enjoyed, before the Colonies were ever 
 thought of, the threefold Power of Jurildidion, 
 Legiflation, and Taxation in certain Cafes: But 
 no Man in his Senfes ever yet fuppofed, that the 
 City of London either was, or could be exempted 
 by thefe Charters from Parliamentary Jurifdic- 
 tion, or Parliamentary Taxes i and if any Ci- 
 tizen fhould plead the Charters in Bar to Parlia- 
 mentary Authority, or refufe to pay his Quota' 
 of the Land Tax, becaufe that Tax is not laid 
 on by an Ad of the Lord-Mayor, Aldermen, 
 and Common-Council J —I do not fay, indeed 
 that the Judges would commit him to Netvgatey 
 — but I do verily believe, that they would order 
 him to another Place of Confinement, much 
 jfitter for a Perfon in his unhappy Situation. 
 
 And now, my good Friend, what can you 
 fay to thefe Things ?— The only Thing which 
 you ought to fay is, that you did not fee the 
 Affair in its true Light before ; and that you 
 are fmcerely forry for having been (o pofitive in 
 a wrong Caufe. Confuted moft undoubtedly 
 you are beyond the Poflibility of a Reply, as 
 far as the Law and Contlitution of the Realm 
 are concerned in this Queflion. But indeed it 
 ieems to rnc by certain PafTages in your Letters, 
 
 that, 
 
 
aoS 
 
 Political and Commercial 
 
 «c 
 
 ^c 
 
 that, though yo^^ raife a terrible Outcry againfl: 
 the fuppofed Violation of your Charters -, you 
 ^ourfelf would not reft the Merits of your Caufe 
 upon the Proof of fuch a Violation j and th^t 
 •you would rather drop that Point, than attempt 
 tojuftify the Charge if called upon to do it. 
 
 What then is it, which you have next to 
 offer? Oh! The Unreafonablenefs ! the In- 
 juftice ! and the Cruelty of taxing a free Peo- 
 ple, without permitting them to have Repre- 
 " fentatives of their own to anfwer for them, 
 *' and to maintain their fundamental Rights and 
 « Privileges !" 
 
 Strange, that you did not difcover thdfe 
 bad Things before ! Strange, that though the 
 ' Britijh Parliament has been, from the Begin- 
 ning, thus unreafonabk, thus unjufty and cru^l to- 
 wards you, by levying Taxes on many Conp- 
 modities outwards and inwards, — nay, by lay- 
 ing an internal Tax, the Poft-Taxfor Exampite, 
 on the whole Brilifii Empire in yimerica -^—^nd^ 
 what is ftill worfe, by making Laws to afFed 
 ryour Property, — your Paper Currency, and 
 vcven to take away Life itfclf, if you offend 
 againft them: — Strange and unaccountable, I 
 fay, that after you had fuffered this lb long, you 
 ihould not have been able to have dilcovered, 
 that you were without Reprelentatives in the 
 Britijh Parliament, of your own ele^ing, 'till this 
 enlightening Tax upon Paper opened your Eyes ! 
 
 
SUBJECTS., log. 
 
 And what a Pity it is, that you have been Slavcp 
 forfo many Generations, and yet did not know 
 that you were Slaves until now. 
 
 But let that pafs, my dear Coufin; for I 
 always choofe to confute you in your own Way. 
 Now, if you mean any Thing at all by the 
 Words unreafonable, unjuft, and cruel, as ufed 
 in this Difputei you muft mean, that the 
 Mother Country deals worfe by you,, than by 
 the Inhabitants of Great-Britain ; and that Ihe 
 denies certain conftitutional Rights and Privi- 
 leges ta you abroad, which we enjoy here at 
 home. Now pray what are thefc conftitutional 
 Rights and Liberties which are refufed to you? 
 Name them, if you can. The Things which 
 you pretend to alledge are, « The Rights of 
 « voting for Members of the Britifli Parliament; 
 *■« and the Liberty of chufing your own Repre- 
 *« fcntatives." But furely you will not dare to 
 fay, that we refufe your Votes, when you comt 
 hither to offer them, and choofe to poll : You 
 cannot have the Face to afTert, that on an Elec- 
 tion Day any Difference is put between* the Vote 
 of a Man born in America^ and of one born here 
 in England. Yet this you mwft affert, and 
 prove toa, before you can fay any Thing to the 
 prefcnt Purpofe. Suppofe therefore, that an 
 American hath acquired a Vote (as he legally 
 may, and many have done) in any of our 
 Cities or Counties, Towns, or Boroughs -, fup- 
 
 pofe. 
 
no Political and Coaimercial 
 
 pdfej that he is become a Freeman, or a Free- 
 holder here in England-,— on that State of the 
 Cafe, prove if you can, that his Vote was ever 
 refufcd, becaufe he was born m Jmerica:--- Prove. 
 this, I fay, and then I will allow, that your Com- 
 plaints are very juft ; and that you are indeed 
 the much injured, the cruelly treated People,- 
 you would make the Word believe. 
 
 But, my good Friend, is this fuppofed Re- 
 fufal the real Caufe of your Complaint ? is this 
 the Grievance that calls fo loudly for Redrefs ? 
 Oh ! no> you have no Complaint of this Sort 
 to make : But the Caufe of your Complaint is 
 this ; that you live at too great a Diftance from 
 the Mother Country to be prefent at our Engli/k 
 Ele6tionSj and that in Confcquence of this 
 Diftance^ the Freedom of our Towns, or the 
 Ftfc'eholds in our Counties, as far as voting is 
 concerned, are not worth attending to. It may 
 be fo ; but pray confider, if you yourfelves do 
 choofe to make it inconvenient for you to come 
 and vote, by retiri^ng into diftant CountrieSj*-- 
 whar is that to us?^ And why are we to be re- 
 proached for committing a * Violation on the 
 
 * Birth -rights of EnglijJimen, which^ if it be a 
 
 * Violation, is committed only by yourfelves?' 
 Jt feems, you firtd it to be your particular In- 
 tereft to live in the Colonies ; it feems, that 
 you prefer the Emoluments of refiding there to 
 your Capacity, or Capability (take which Word 
 
 yow 
 
SUBJECTS. jri 
 
 you pleafe) of refiding and voting here.. No^w 
 this is your own free Choice ; and we leave you 
 at full Liberty to ad as you think proper: But 
 then, arc we obliged to alter our Political Syf- 
 tem merely to accord with yonr Convenience ? 
 Arc we to change and new model our fixed and 
 ancient Conftitucion, juft as you fhall fee fit to 
 command us ? and according as it ftaJl pleafe 
 you to remove from Place to Place? And is 
 this the Complaifance, which you exped the 
 Mother Country fhould fhew to her dutiful 
 Children ? Yes*, it is; and you demand it too 
 with a loud Voice, full of Anger, of Defiance^ 
 and Denunciation. 
 
 However, the Lion is not always fo fierce as 
 he is painted ; and 'till we are beaten into a 
 Compliance, it is to be hoped, that we may be 
 allowed to cxpoftulate with you in a few harm- 
 lefs, unbloody Words. Granting therefore, that 
 the Colonies are unreprefented in the Britijh Par- 
 liament : Granting that two Millions of People 
 in America have, in this Refpedt, no Choice, nor 
 Elcdlion of their own, through the Necefiity of 
 the Cafe, and their Diftance from the Place of 
 Ekaion:— What would you infer from this 
 Conceflion ? And wherein can fuch Kind of 
 Topics fupport your Caufe ? For know, youhg 
 Man, that not only two Millions which are the 
 utmoft, that your exaggerated Accounts can be 
 fwelled to ;.-I fay not only two Millions, but 
 
 fiv 
 
Ill POLITIQAL A*fD CoMMEftClAL 
 
 fix Million? at lead of the Inhabitants of Great-* 
 Britain^ are ftill unreprcfented in the Briiiflt 
 Parliament. And this Omifiion arifcs, not from 
 the Necepity of the Cafe, not from confulting 
 Intereft and Convenience as with you, but from 
 original Ideas of Gothic Vaflalage, — from va- 
 rious Cafualties and Accidents,— from Changes 
 in the Nature of Property, -from the Alteration 
 of Times and Circumftances, — and from a 
 thoufand other Caufes. Thus, for Example^ 
 in the great Metropolis, and in many other 
 Cities, landed Property itfelf hath no Repre- 
 fentative in Parliament ; Copyholds and Leafe- 
 holds of various Kinds have none likewife, 
 though of ever fo great a Value. This you 
 yourfelf very well know; becaufe when you 
 were here lad, you knew, that I was pofTefTed 
 of conliderable landed Property in London, and 
 of feveral Copyhold and beneficial Leafeholds^ 
 in the Country, and yet that I never had a Vote. 
 Moreover, in fome Towns neither Freedom^ 
 nor Birth- Right, nor the ferving of an Appren- 
 ticelhip, fhall entitle a Man to give Lis Vote, 
 though they may enable him to fet up a Trade: 
 In other Towns the moft numerous, the moft 
 populous and flourifhing of any, there are no 
 Freedoms or Votes of any Sort; but all is 
 open •, and none are reprefented. And befides 
 all this, it is well known, that the great Eaft^ 
 India Company, which have fuch yaft Settle- 
 ments, 
 
S tJ B ' fe C T 
 
 5. 
 
 11^ 
 
 hiehts, ind which difpofe of the Fate of Kingi 
 land Kihgdoms abrodd^ have not fd muck as a 
 fingle Member, or even a fingle Vote, quatenui 
 a Company, to watch over their Interefts at 
 home. What likewife fhall we fay in i-egard to 
 the prodigious Number of Stock-holders in our 
 public Funds ? And may not their Property, 
 perhaps little fhort of One hundred Millions 
 Sterling, as much deferve to be reprefented in 
 Pafliameht, as the fcattered ToWnfhips, ot 
 ftr^ggling Houfes of fome of youf Provinces 
 in America ? Yet We raife no Commotions ; we 
 neither ring the Alarm -Bell, nor found the 
 Trunipet J but fubmit to be taxed without being 
 reprefented, and taxed too, let me tdl you> for 
 your Sakes. Witnefs the additional Duties on 
 bur Lands, Windows, Houfes; alfo on our 
 Malt, Beer, Ale, Cyder, Perry, Wines, Brandy, 
 iRum, Coffee, Chocolate, 6ff . ^c ^c, for de- 
 frayirig thd Expences of the late War,— not for* 
 getting the grievous Stamp-Duty itfelf. All 
 this, I fay, we fubmitted to, when you were, or 
 at lead, when you pretended to be, in great 
 Diftrefs J fo that neither Men, almoft to the 
 laft Drop of Blood we could fpill,— nor Money, 
 to the laft Piece of Coin, were fpared : But all 
 was granted away, all was made a Sacrifice, 
 when you cried out for Help. And the Debt 
 which we contrafted on this Occafion, is fo ex- 
 traordinary, as not to be parallelled in Hiftory* 
 
 H It 
 
 T('? j 
 
 
114 Political and Commbrcial 
 
 It is to be hoped, for the Credit of human Na- 
 ttire, that the Returns which you have made us 
 for theife Succours, and your prefent feehaviour 
 towards us, which perhaps is llill more extraor- 
 dinary, may not be parallelled likewife. 
 
 ^ur as you Americans do not chur** to re- 
 member any thing, which we hay6 don^ For 
 you^ — though we, ahd our ChiltSren fhall havfr 
 Caufc to remember it ^till latett Pofterity i — let 
 us ccKnc to the Topic, which you yourFelves 60 
 wilb to reft your Caufe upon, and which you 
 imagine to be the Sheet Anchor of your State 
 VefTei. " You are not reprefehted -, and you 
 " are Two Millions \ therefore you ought not 
 ,^* to be taxed." We are not reprefcnted •, and 
 we are Sisc Millions j therefore we ought not to 
 be taxed. Which now, even in your own Senfc 
 of Things have moft Reaibn to complain? 
 And which Grievance^ if it be a Grievance, de- 
 ferves firft to be redrelfed ? Be it therefore fup- 
 pofed, that an Augmentation ougjit to take 
 place in our Houle of Commons, in order to 
 reprefcnt in Parliament the prodigious Numbers 
 of ^nVi//; Subje(^ hitherto uiireprefented. In 
 this Cafe the firft Thrngto be done, is to fettle 
 the Fiioportion. And therefore if Two Millions 
 (the Number of Perlbns actually reprefcnted at 
 preftnt); require Five Hundred and Fifty-eight 
 Reprefentatives (wbieh I think is the Number 
 of our modern Houfe of Commons) how many 
 
 . will 
 
SUBJECTS. ,15 
 
 will ^ix Mniidns require?— The Anfwer is 
 that they will requird Oi- ThouTand Six Hunw 
 dred and Stvchty-fouc Rcprcrcntatives. Now 
 thi^ is the fiffl Augmentation, which is to be 
 midt to our Lift of Parliament Men. And 
 aft(^r this Increafe, we are to be furnilhed, by 
 the n^nle Rule of Proportion, with Five Hun- 
 dred and Fifty-eight n^ore from the Colonies. 
 So that the total Numbers will be Two Thou- 
 SAND Seven Hundred and Nii^^tv Repre- 
 sentatives IN Parliament ! A goodly Num- 
 ber truly ! and very proper for the Difpatch of 
 Bufinefs ! Oh, the Decency and Order of fuch 
 an AlTembly! The Wifdom and Gravity of^ 
 Two Thouf^'nd Seven Hundred and Ninety Le- 
 giflators all met together in one Room ! What 
 a Pity is it, that fo hopeful a Projed: Ihould not 
 be carried inf;o immediate Execution ! 
 
 BVt, my noble Senator,— for certainly yoii 
 yonrfelf intend to figure away in fuch an auguft 
 AlTembly,— permit an old Man to reveal one 
 Secret to you, before you proceed any further 
 in your reprefenting Scheme— That the Com- 
 plaint itfelf of being unreprefented, is entirely 
 falfe and groundlefs. For both the Six Millions 
 at home, and the Two Millions in the Colonies 
 are all reprefented already. This perhaps may 
 ftartle you ; but neverthelefs this is the Fad. 
 And though I have hitherto ufed a different 
 Language merely to accommodate myklf to 
 
 iV 
 
 
 
 >». 
 
 
 1 
 
 • 
 
 
 H 2 
 
 your 
 
11^ Political and Commercial 
 your Ideas, an to confute your Folly in your 
 own Way, ih; ., ^ /tcU you, that every Mem- 
 ber ot f'«rViinic/it . Drefents you and me, and 
 our public Intcrefts in all efTcntial Points, juft as 
 murK as if we had voted for him. For though 
 one Piaci?, oronc Set of Men iiiay cleft, and fend 
 him up to pAf^'^iment, yet, when or '^e he be- 
 comes a Member, he then becomes the equal 
 Guardian of all. And he ought not by the Duty 
 of his Office,to fhe w a Preference to his ownTown, 
 City, or County, but in fuch Cafes only, where 
 a Preference (hall not be found to interfere with 
 the general Good. Nay, he ought in Confcience 
 to give his Vote in Parliament a^ainji the Senfc» 
 and-againlt the Inftrudions of his Eledors, if he 
 Ihould think in his Confcience, that what they 
 rcr lire, is wrong in itfclf, is illegal or injurious, 
 ana detrimental to the public Welfare. This 
 then being the Cafe, it therefore follows, that 
 our Birminghams, MaHchefters, Leeds, Halifaxes^ 
 (i^c, and your Bajionsy New-Torks, and Phila- 
 delp/tias, are all as realiyy though not fo nominally 
 rcprefented, as any Part whatfoever of the 
 Briiifit Empire :-^And that each of thele Places 
 have in fadi, infteacj of one or two, not lefs 
 than Five Hundred and Fifty-eight Guardians 
 in the Briii/h Senate. A Number abundantly 
 fufficient, as far as human Prudence can fuggeft, 
 or the prcfent impcrfed State of Things will 
 
 permit, 
 
SUBJECTS. ,,7 
 
 permit, for the Security of our Rights, a I the 
 i'refervation of our Libert' s. 
 
 But perhaps you will lay,' That rhough it 
 may be a Senator's Duty to regard the 'Vhole 
 racnerthan a Part, and to be the equal Proteftor 
 ofaNi-yethewill. i„ ftft. regard that moft, 
 wh>ch can belt promote his own Intereft, and 
 fecure h,s Eleftion .noAer Time. It may be 
 to: For who ran gu>n! againft all Pofllbility of 
 Danger f An- whit Syftem can there be deviled 
 but may h.. attended with inconveniences and 
 
 Imperfect.onsinfomeRefpeaorotheri'-.Never 
 thelefs, ,f your general Objeftion proves any 
 thmg. It proves a great deal too much: For it 
 proves that no Man ought to pay any Tax, 
 b«t that only, to which theMember of 4 own 
 Town, Cty, and County, hath particularly 
 affented: Becaufe all other Members being 
 chofen by other Perfons, and not by him. and 
 perhaps hy Perfons in an oppoCte Inter;ft are 
 therefore not & Reprefentatives, and confe! 
 ■quently not the true Guardians of /«. Property. 
 Bemg therefore .e,yM.«« Rej,refe«la>i.e in^uch 
 a Parhament. he .s under no Obligation to obey 
 w ' '" P^J' =">■ of its Taxes. ^ 
 
 Where now. my Friend, will you turn^ 
 .nd what c.n you do to extricate yot.rfelf from 
 
 Occalion? You cannot turn about, andfav that 
 -the other Reprefentatives. whom tWs Man'^et 
 
 t' 
 
 i 
 
 ur ^ 
 
 ciioie. 
 
 '1 
 
ii8 Political and Commercial 
 
 chofc, and for whom be had no Vote to give, 
 and againft whom perhaps he had particular 
 Exceptions, h^ve neverthele(s a Right of taxing 
 him becaufe he makes ^ Part of the ppdy 
 Politic implied in, and concluded by the reft^— - 
 you cannot fay this, becaufe the Doctrine o| 
 Implication is the very Thing to which you 
 obje<5l, and againft which you have raifed fo 
 many Batteries of popular Naife and Clamour. 
 Nay, as the Objeftipn is entirely of your ovyn 
 making, it muft go flill further: For if-your 
 Argument is good for any thing, it is as gop4 
 for North- America as it is for Great- Britain-, an(^ 
 co.nfcquently you muft maintain, that all thofe 
 in your feveral Provinc!?s ^ho tiave ro Vptfs 
 (and many Thoufand^ of fuch there are) and, 
 aifo all thofe Voters, whofe Reprefentarives did 
 not expresfly canfent to the A(^ pf your Aflem-^, 
 blies for raifing any of your own proyinciajl 
 Taxes, — ought not to be compelled to pay them. 
 Thefe now are the happy Confequences of ypui;' 
 own Principles, fairly, clearly, and evidently 
 deduced : Will you abide by them ? 
 
 But however, not to pufti you into more 
 Abfurdities of this Kind, let us wave th^ pi^Cr 
 fent Point, and come to another. For, aftqr all 
 your doleful Complaints, what if it fhould ap- 
 pear, that thefe Five Hundred and Fifty-eigh^ 
 Parliamentary Guardians, who rcprefent you 
 only by Implication^ ^^^Y^> iw,fad, been kinder apdi 
 
 more 
 
SUB 
 
 E e T s. 
 
 J 1^ ^ J 3. 11^ 
 
 mtfre hiuntifnl to you Anjericans, than they have 
 been to their own Britijh Voters, whom they 
 reprefent by Nomination ? Aiid, what if even 
 this Argument, (o full of Sorrow and Lamen- 
 tation, fhoukl at laft be retorted upon you, and 
 made to conclude, like all the reft, the very Re- 
 verfe of what you intended? This, i believe, is 
 what you little expeded : But neverthelefs, this 
 is the Cafe : For if there be any Partiality to 
 be complained of in the Condud: of the Britifh 
 Parliament, it will appear to be a Partiality In 
 Favour of the Colonies, and againll the Mother 
 Country. Do you demand my Authority for 
 this AlTertion ? I will give it you :— The Sta- 
 tutes of the Realm are my Authority; and 
 furely you cannot demand a better. By thefe 
 then it will appear, that a Colonift, who is con- 
 fequently fubordinate to the Mother Country in 
 the very Nature of Things, is neverthelefs put 
 upon a better Footing, in many RefpeSis, than 
 an Inhabitant of Great -Britain. By thefe it will 
 appear, that the Parliament, like an over- indul- 
 gent Parent of his favourite, froward Child, 
 hath been continually heaping Favours upon 
 you, of which we are not permitted to taftc. 
 Thus, for Example, you have your Choice, 
 whether you will accept of my Price for your 
 Tobacco,— or after bringing it here, whether 
 you will carry it away, and try your Fortune 
 ^t another Market: But I have no Alternative 
 
 H 4 allowed 
 
120 Political and Commercial 
 
 flowed, being obliged to buy yours at your 
 pwn Price ; or elfe to pay fuch a Duty for the 
 Tobacco of other Countries, as muft an^ount 
 to a Prohibition. Nay, in order to favour 
 your Plantations, I am not permitted to 
 plaiit this Herb oq my own Eftate, though 
 the Soil fliould be ever fo proper for it. 
 Again, the fame Choice, and the fame Alterna-r 
 tive are allowed to you, and denied to me, in 
 regard to Rice ; with this additional Advantage, 
 that in many Refpefts you need not bring it into 
 England at all, unlefs you are fo minded. And 
 what will you fay in Relation to Hemp ? The 
 Parliament now gives you a Bounty of 81. pec 
 Ton for exporting your Hemp from North- 
 jimerica -, but will allow me nothing for growing 
 it here in England -, nay, will ta:^ me very fe- 
 verely for fetching it from any other Country t 
 though it be an Article moft eflTentially necef- 
 fary for all the Purpofes of Shipping and Navi- 
 gation. Moreover in refpeft to the Culture of 
 Raw Silk, you have an immenfe Parliamentary 
 Premium for that purpofe ; and you receive 
 further Encouragements from our Society for 
 Arts and Sciences, which is continually adding 
 frelh Rewards : But 1 c^n receive no Encou- 
 ragement either from the one, or from the other, 
 to bear my Expences at firft fetting out-, though 
 jjioft undeniably the white Mulberry-Trees can 
 thrive as well on my Grouads as they can ivy 
 ^"' Switzer- 
 
• ■ / 
 
 SUBJECTS. 121 
 
 Switzerland, Brandenhurgh, Denmark, or Sweden^ 
 where vaft Quantities are now raifing. Take 
 another Inftance :— Why fhall not I be permit- 
 ted to buy Pitch, Tar, and Turpentine,— with- 
 out which I cannot put my Ships to Sea j—and 
 Indigo^ fo ufeful in many Manufadlurcs j-^why 
 ihall I not be permitted to purchafc thefe Ar- 
 ticles wherever I can, the beft in their Kind, 
 and on the beft Terms ?— No, I fhall not ; for 
 though they are all Raw Materials, which there- 
 fore ought to have been imported Duty free, yet 
 I am reftrained by an heavy Duty, almoft equal 
 %o SL JProhibition, from purchafing them any 
 whcic, but from you :— Whereas you on the 
 i^oatrary are paid a Bounty for felling thefe very 
 Articles, at the only Market, in which you could 
 fell th^m to Advantage, viz. the Engiijh*. 
 
 Much more might have been faid on this 
 Subjed-, and the like Obfervations might have 
 been extended to the Sugar Colonies: But I 
 forbear. For indeed enough has been faid al- 
 ready (and, as it expofcs our Partiality and In- 
 fatuation a little feyerely, perhaps too much) - 
 in order to prove to the World, that of all Peo- 
 ple upon Earth, you have the leaft Reafon to? 
 complain. • 
 
 * Thofe who have not the Statutes at large, may fee the 
 Things here referred to, and many others of the like Sort, 
 in Crouche'& or Saxby% Book qf ^ates. 
 
 But 
 
tel Political and Commercial 
 ,;JBwf <iompkin ypvi will; and no fooner is 
 «ac ^Recital of imaginary Grievances filcnced 
 and confuted; but, like the Hydra in the Fable, 
 vp ftart? another. Let us fee, therefore, wha€ 
 is youcncxtObjedion, which I think, is thelaft, 
 that with all your Zeal, and Goodwill, you 
 are able to mufter up. — " The Inexpediency 
 *'. and Excefllvcnels of fuch a Tax ! a Tax i\U 
 ** drped in itfelf, and ill digefted ! unfeafonably 
 *^ iaid on 1 and exceeding all Rules of Propor^ 
 ** tipn in regard to the Abilities of thofe who 
 *>«. are to pay iti** 
 
 Now, my Friend, had there been any Truth 
 in tihefe Al!ertions, which I Ihall foon make to 
 appear, that there is not ; — but had there been, 
 the Flea itfelf comes rather at the lateft, and out 
 of Place from yoii : — From you, I fay, who 
 pccamptorily objed to the very Power and Au- 
 thority pf the Britijh Parliament of laying any 
 internal Taxes upon the Colonies, great or 
 fnaall or at any Time feafonable, or unfcafonabk. 
 And therefore had you been able to have 
 pfoyed the Illegality of fuch a Tax, it would have 
 been quite fuperfluous to have informed us af^ 
 terwards, that -this Ufurpation of your Rights 
 and Liberties was either an exceffive, or un- 
 feafonable Ufurpation. But as you have failed 
 in this firft Point ; nay, as all your own Argu- 
 ments have proved the very reverfe of what 
 you intended-; and y^ry probably, as yog yowr- 
 . lua felf 
 
SUBJECTS 123 
 
 fdf was iiQt originally quite fatisfied with the 
 Jyftice of your Caufe ;— and muft have fecn 
 abunidant Reafon before this Time to have al- 
 tered your former hafty, and rafh Opinion ;— I 
 will therefore wave the Advantage, and now de- 
 bate the Point with you, as though you had ac- 
 knowledged the Parliamentary Right of Taxati- 
 on, and only excepted to the Quantum, or the 
 Mode, the Time, or ^he Manner of it. 
 
 Now two Things are here to be difcuflfed ; 
 firft, the pretended Exceffivenefs of the Tax; 
 and fecondly, the Unfeafonabknefs of it. As to 
 the Exceffivenefs of the Stamp Duties, the Proof 
 ot this muft depend upon the Proof of a pre- 
 vious Article, — the relative Poverty, and Ina- 
 bility of thofe who are to pay it. But how do 
 you propofe to make out this Point ? And after 
 having given us for fome years paft fuch Dif- 
 pkys of your growing Riches and encreafing 
 Magnificence, as perhaps never any People did 
 in the fame Space of Time ; how can you now 
 retraft and call yourfelves a poor People ; Re- 
 member, my young Man, the feveral Expoftu- 
 lations I had with your deceafed Father on the 
 prodigious Increafe of Jmerican Luxury. And 
 what was his Reply ? Why, that an Increafe of 
 Luxury was an infeparable Attendant on an In- 
 creafe of Riches; and that, if I expeded to 
 continue my North- Amerhan Trade, I mull fuit 
 my Cargo to. tl\e Tafte of my Cuftomers ; and 
 ' not 
 
124 Political and Commercial 
 
 not to my own dd-fafhioned Notions of the 
 Parfimony of former Days, when America was 
 a poor Country. Remember therefore the Or- 
 ders given by him, and afterwards by you, to 
 have your Aflbrtment of Goods made richer, 
 and finer every Year. And are your Gold and 
 Silver Laces ;— your rich Brocades, Silks and 
 Velvets-,— your Plate, and China, and Jewels;— 
 your Coaches and Equipages, — your fumptuous 
 Furniture, Prints, and Piftures. Are all thefe 
 Things now laid afide ? Have you no Concerts, 
 or Aflemblies, no Play Houfes, or Gaming 
 Houfes, now fubfifting ? Have you put down 
 your Horfe Races and other fuch like Sports 
 and Diverfions ? And is the Luxury of your 
 Tables, and the Variety and Profufion of your 
 "Wines and Liquors quite baniihed from among 
 you ? — Thefe are the Queftions, which you 
 ought to anfwer, before an Eftimate can be 
 itiade of your relative Poverty, or before any 
 Judgment can be formed concerning the Excef- 
 fivenefs of the Tax. 
 
 But I have not yet done with you on this 
 Head. For even though you were poor (which 
 you know, you are not, compared with what 
 you were Thirty Years ago) it may neverthc- 
 lefs happen, that our relative Poverty may be 
 found to be greater than yours. And if fo, when 
 a new Burden is to be laid on, the proper Quefti- 
 pn is, which of thefe two Sorts of poor People, is 
 
 the 
 
. •' I 
 
 SUBJECTS, ti$ 
 
 the beft able, or, if you pleafe, the leaft unable 
 to bear it ?— efpecially if it be takeii into the 
 Account, that this additional Load is an Jme- 
 rican Burthen, and not a Briti/h one. Be it 
 therefore granted, according to what you fay, 
 that you are Two Millions of Souls ; be it alfo 
 allowed, as it is commonly aflerted, that the 
 Public Debt of the feveral Provinces amounts 
 to about 8oo,oool. Sterling; and in the next 
 Place, be it fuppofed, for Argument's Sake, 
 that were this general Debt equally divided 
 among the Two Millions, each Individual 
 would owe about the Value of Eight Shillings. 
 Thus (lands the Account on one Side. Now 
 we in Britain TiTt reckoned to be about Eight 
 Millions of Souls j and we owe almoft One 
 Hwndred and Forty-four Millions of Money ; 
 which Debt, were it equally divided among us,' 
 would throw a Burthen upon each Perfon of 
 ^out 1 81. Sterling. This then being the State 
 of the Cafe on both Sides, would it be fo ca- 
 pital an Offence, would it be High-Treafon in 
 us to demand of you, who owe fo little, to con- 
 tribute equally with ourfel ves, who owe fo much 
 towards the public Expenccsj-and fuch Ex' 
 pences too as you were the Caufe of creating ? 
 Would it be a Crime of a Nature fo very hei- 
 nous and diabolical, as to call forth the hotteft 
 of your Rage atid Fury ? Surely no :-And 
 yet, my gentle Friend, we do not fo much as 
 
 
11$ Political A^d CdiiMikciAL 
 
 alk you to contribtitc equally with ourfelvis, Wi 
 only demand, that you would contribute fifjii->- 
 thing. Arid what is this fdmething ? Why trilly 
 it is, that when we raife about Eight Miltion S 
 of Money annually upon Eight Millions of 
 Pcrfons, we expert, that you wolild contribute 
 One Hundred Thoufand Pounds (for the Srati^p 
 Duty upon the Continent alone, without cdni* 
 prehending the Illands, cannot poffibly anrounc 
 to more) I fay, we expedt, that you Ihould con- 
 tribute One Hundred Thoufand Pounds to be- 
 raifed on Two Millions? : That is* when each of 
 us pays, one with another, Twenty Shillings per 
 Head, we exped:, that each of y6u (hould pay 
 the Sum of One Shilling ! Blufh ! bTufh for 
 Shame at your perverfe and fcartdaflous Beha- 
 viour! — Words ftill more fevere, and perhaps' 
 more juft, are ready to break forth, through an 
 honeft Indignation :•— But I fiipprefs them. 
 
 Perhaps you will fay, and I think it is th6 
 only Thing left for you to fay, in Excufe for 
 fuch Proceedings, that you have other Public 
 Taxes to pay, befides thofe which the Briiijk 
 Parliament now requires. Undoubtedly you 
 have, for your Provincial and bther Taxes are 
 likewife to be paid: But here let me alk, is not 
 this our Cafe alfo ? And have not we many other 
 Taxes to difcharge befides thofe which belong 
 to the Public, and are to be accounted for at 
 the Exchec^uer ? Surely wc have : Witnefs our 
 
 County 
 
SUBJECTS. U7 
 
 .County Taxes, Militia Taxes, Poor Taxes, Va- 
 grant Taxes, Bridge Taxes, High Roid and 
 Turnpike Taxes, Watch Taxes, Lamps and 
 Scavenger Taxes, ^c, ^c. ^f.— all of t^hem is 
 numerous and burthenfome as any that you 
 can mention. And yet with ill this Burthen^ 
 yea, with an additional Weight o^ a .i^ational 
 ;tJebt of 1 8i. Sterling per Head,— we require of 
 each of you to contribute only One Shjljjng to 
 .every Twenty from each ofus ;— yes; and this 
 • Shilling to be Tpent too in your own Cqiantry, 
 for the Support of your own Civil and Military 
 Eftabliihments ; together with many Shillino^ 
 drawn from us for the fame Purpofe. Atas ? 
 had you been in our Situation, and we in ypurs, 
 would you have been content with our paying 
 fo fmall, foinconfiderable a Share of the Pijblic 
 txpences ? And yet, fmall and inconfiderabie 
 as this Share is, you will ndt pay it. ^6, ybU 
 will hot! And be it at our Peril, if we de- 
 mand it. 
 
 Now, my Friend, were Reafon artci Atgu. 
 ment, were Juftice, Equity, or Candour to be 
 allowed by you to have any Concern in this 
 Affair, I would then fay, that you Jmtn'caHs 
 are the moft unfortunate People in the World 
 in your Management of the prefent Controverfy. 
 Unfortunate you are, becaufe the very Attempts 
 you make towards fetting forth your Inability, 
 prove to a Demonftration, that you are abun- 
 dantly 
 
If 
 
 lis Political and CoMMiRciXi»j> 
 
 dant;ly iblc, were you but truly willing tjp pajf* ^ 
 this Tax. For how, and in what Mannqr do .. 
 you prove your Allegations? Why truly, by 
 breaking forth into Riots and Infurreftions, and 
 by committing every Kind of Violence, that . 
 can caufe Trade to ftagnate, and Induftry to 
 ccarc. And is this the Method which you have 
 chofe'n to purfne, in order to make the World 
 believe, thai you arc a poor People ? Is this the 
 Proof you bring, that the Stamp t)uty' is a , 
 Burthen too heavy for you to bear > Surely, if ^^ 
 you had really intended our Conviftion, yoii 
 would have chofen fome other Medium^: And , 
 were your Inability or Poverty the fingle toirit ^ 
 in Queftion, you would not have taken to fucK ^ 
 Courfes, as mud infalliby render you dill the ^^ 
 poorer. For in faft, if, after all your Com- ^^ 
 plaints of Poverty, you can dill afford to idle ,^ 
 away your Time, and to wafte Days, and 
 Weeks, in Outrages and Uproars -, what elfe ^ 
 do you prove, but that you are a prodigal, and | 
 extravagant People ? For you muft acknow- '^ 
 ledge, that if but Half of this Time were 
 fpent, as it ought to be, in honeft Irtduftry and 
 \ifcful Labour, it would have been more thaii 
 fufficient to have paid double the Tax Which is 
 now required. 
 
 But you will ftill fay, that though the Tax 
 may be allowed (nay indeed it muft be allowed) 
 to be very moderate, every Thing confidercd, 
 
 and 
 
S tr B J E C T S. 12^ 
 
 and not all cxccfTivei " It may ncvcrthelcfs 
 ** be laid on very unfeafonably ; it may be 
 «* wrongtimed, and ill-digefled." 
 
 Now, here I mufl: own, that T am r.)mewhat 
 at a Lofs how to anfwer you, becaiift- If am not 
 quite certain that I underrtand your Meaning. 
 If, for Example, by the Term iH digefted, you 
 would infinuate, that the American Stamp Duty- 
 would grind the Faces of the Poor, and permit 
 the Rich to efcapci-that it would affed: the 
 Neccflaries, and not the Superfluities of Life ; 
 —that it would prevent the Building of Houfes^ 
 cr the Clearing of Lands, or the Cultivation of 
 Eftates already cleared ;- or laftiy, that it would 
 diminifh the Number of your Shipping, or flop 
 the Pay of your Sailors : If thefe, or any of 
 thcfe are the Evils, which you would lay to the 
 Charge of the Stamp Duty, nothing upon Earth 
 could be a falfer Charge j and you could not 
 give a ftronger Proof either of your Defed: in 
 Judgement, or Want of Jntegritry, than by ut- 
 tering fuch Aflcrtions as thefe ;—Aflertions, 
 which both daily Experience and the Nature of 
 Things evidently demonftrate to be void of 
 Truth. We in Britain have been fubjeft to a 
 Stamp Duty for many, very many Years; a Duty 
 much higher than that which is intended for 
 America \ and yet we know by long Experience, 
 that it hath not been attended with any oi the 
 dreadful Confequences which are here fuppofed. 
 
 I 
 
 Lo 
 
 A IN, 
 
>30 PotirrcAL and Comm|Ticial 
 
 Again, as to the wrong-timinXy or the Xfn^ 
 feafonablenefs of this Tax :— Ifby this you rpcan 
 to fay^ that it was laid on, at a Time, when you 
 were poorer, and lefs able to bear it, than you 
 were before ,-that nfalfi alfo. For you never 
 were richer, and you never were more able to 
 contribute your Quoti towards che general ^x- 
 pences, than at the Jundure of laying on this 
 Tax. To prove this, let it be obferved, that 
 juft before this Event, you had not only 
 been draining the Mother Country by the im- 
 menfe Sums drawn from us to pay our Fleets 
 and Armies, when aaing in Defence of America v 
 .-and that your Jobbers and Contraftors had 
 not only been lucking our Blood and Vitals by 
 their extortionate Demands j— but you had alfo 
 been enriched by the Spoils^ and by the Traffic 
 of the numerous Colonics of Franca and Spain. 
 For you were continivally ading the double 
 Part cither of Trade, or War, of Smuggling, 
 er Privaxeering, according to the Proiped of 
 greater Gain, And wliile we at Home were 
 exerting our utmoil' to put a fpeedy End to the 
 %Var by an honourable Peace,— you on the con- 
 trary were endeavouring to prolong it as much 
 as pofifible v and were fupplying our Enemies 
 with all Manner of Provifions, and all Sorts ot 
 warlike Stores for that Purpofe. Nay, be- 
 eaufe a Part of thefe ill-gptten Riches was 
 laid out in En^lijh Manufaaures (there being 
 
 at 
 
« t^ B J E C T S. ,3, 
 
 at that Time hardly a PofTibillt) of purchanng 
 any but Engltfh, when our Fleets were abioiute 
 Maftcrs of the Sea) your Advocates and ^u- 
 thors trumpeted aloud the prodigious Profits of 
 this North- American Trade j- not confidering 
 Of rather not willing that we iliould confider,' 
 that while a few Individuals were getting Thou- 
 fands, the Public were fpending Millions. 
 
 Gnce more r-If by the Epithet mifeafonahle, 
 you would be undcrftooH to mean, that there 
 was no »ff^ of taxing you at all at that Juncture j 
 hecatifi the Mother Country ivasJiiU as able to carry 
 the additional Load, which you had brought upon 
 her^ as/he had been to bear all the reft : If this be 
 jyour Meaning, I muft tell you once for all, 
 '"'that you are egregioufly miftaken. For we can 
 bear no more: We cannot fupport ourfelves 
 JJUnder heavier Taxations, even were we everfo 
 Willing ; we have drained every Nerve already, 
 and have no Refourccs left for new Impofitions! 
 Therefore let what will come of the prefent Af- 
 fairs, let the Stamp Duty be repealed, or not 5 
 ftill the Expences of America mult be borne by 
 the Americans in fome Form, or under fome De- 
 nomination or other. 
 
 But after all •, perhaps you meant none of 
 thefe Things •, perhaps you meant to infinuate 
 (though it was Prudence in you not to fpeak 
 out) that the late Act was ill-contrived and ///- 
 timed; becaufe it was made at a Jundture, when 
 
 I2 
 
 -,«:-. 1 
 
1^2 Political and Commercial 
 
 neither the French not Indians were in your Rear 
 to frighten, nor the Englijh Fleets and Armies 
 on your Front to force you to^a Compliance. 
 Perhaps this was your real Meaning -, and if it 
 was, it i:nuft be confefled, that in that Senfe, 
 the late Aft was not well-timed; and that a 
 much properer Seafon might have been cholen. 
 For had the Law been made five or fix Years 
 before, when you were moving Heaven and 
 Earth with your Cries and Lamentations-, not 
 a Tongue would then have uttered a Word 
 againft it; all your Orators would have difpiayed 
 their Eloquence on other Topics ; and even 
 American Patriotifm itfeif would at that Seafon 
 ^ have made no Difficulty of acknov^ledging, that 
 the Mother Country had a Right to the Obe- 
 dience of the Colonies in Return for her kind 
 artd oenerous ProtecSlion. 
 
 Upon- the Whole therefore, what is the Caufe 
 of fuch aii amazing Outcry as you raife at pre- 
 fent?— Not the Stamp Duty itfeif; all the 
 World are agreed on that Head ; and none 
 can be fo ignorant, or fo ftupid, as not to fee, 
 that this is a mere Sham and Pretence.- What 
 then are the real Grievances, feeing that the 
 Things which you alledge are only the pre- 
 tended ones ? Why, fome of you are exafperat- 
 ed againft the Mother Country, on account 
 of the Revival of certain Rcftridlions laid upon 
 
 their 
 
S V B J E C T S. 133 
 
 -their Trade :— I fay, a * Revival; for the fame 
 Reftriaiion have been the {landing Rules of 
 Government from the Beginning ; though not 
 enforced at all Times with equal ScrStnels. 
 During the late War, you Americans could not 
 import the Manufadlures of other Nations 
 (which 'if is your conftant Aim to do, and the 
 
 * Ever fmce the Drfcovcry of j4merica, it has been the 
 Sy^einQf every EuropeuK?o^w^r,^vhidn. had Colonies in that 
 Part of the World, to confine . (as .far as Laws can confine) 
 the Trade of the Colonies to the Mother Country, and to 
 exclude all others, under the Penalty ai Confifcation, k^c 
 from partaking in it. Thus, the Trade of .the Spcvii/h Col 
 lonies IS confined by Law to OU Spain,-ihQ Trade of the 
 BraztU to Portugai,-,^i\\e Trade of Martinico and the other 
 French Colonies to OIJ France, -^^ndi the TtBi^cof Curacoa 
 and Surinam to Holland, B ut in one Inftance the ^ollandtrs 
 make an; Exception ^(perhaps a wife one) •vlx. in the Cafe 
 oiEuftatia, which, is open to all the World. -Now,. that 
 the Englijh thought themfelves entitled to the fame Right 
 over their Colonics, which o^her Nations claim over theirs 
 and that they exercifed the fame Right by.makin,? what 
 Regulations they pleafed, may be feen >y the following 
 Afts of Parliament, Wx. 12 of Car. 11. Chap. 18. — ic of 
 Car. IL Ch. 7.-22 and.23 of C. n.:Ch. 26 25 of C? H. 
 Ch. T^^-j and 8 of Will. IlL Ch. 22.- lo ?nd 1 1 of W. Ill, 
 Ch. 21. -3 and 4 of Ann. Ch. 5 and 10. -8 of Ann. 
 Ch. i3.--,2 of Ann. Ch. 9—1 of G.L Ch. 26.-3 of 
 O. L Ch. 21.-8 of ,G. L Ch. 15 and i8.-i i of G. I. 
 29-~-i2 of G. I. Ch. 5.-2 of G. if. Ch. 28 and 35. 
 ---3 of G IL Ch. 28.-4 of G. IL Ch. 15..-5 of G. IL 
 Ch. 7- and 9.--.6 of G. IL Ch. 13.-8 of dlI,Ch. 18.-^ 
 II. of G.IL Ch. 29.-12 of G. IL Ch. 3o.-,3 of G. IL 
 Ch. 4 and 7. 15 and 16 of G. IL Ch. 23.-with many 
 others of a later Date. I might alfo mention the Laws 
 made in the Reign of his prefent Majefty j but as thefe 
 ;i4aws arc now the Point of Controverfy, I forbear. 
 
 I 3 Mother 
 
1^4 Political and Gommerciav 
 
 Mother Country always to prevent) lb conve- 
 niently as you can in Times of Peace-, and., 
 therefore, there was no Need of watching yona 
 fo narrowly, as far as that Branch of Trade 
 was concerned. But immediately upon the? 
 Peace, the various Manufactures of Europe^^ 
 particularly thofe of France^ which could no|jr 
 find Vent before, were Ipread, as it were, over 
 all your Colonies, to the prodigious Detriment 
 of your Mother Country ; and therefore oir^ > 
 late Set of Minifters adled certainly right, in 
 putting in Force the Laws of their Country, ifly 
 order p check this growing Evil. If in fo 
 doing, they committed any Error j or, if the 
 Perfgn? to whom the Execution of thefe Law^f i 
 were intruded, exceeded their Inftruaions^; 
 there is no Doubt to be made, but that all this 
 will be rcdified by the prefent Adminiftration. 
 And having done that, they wi^l have done all 
 that in Reafon you can expedt from them. But 
 alas i the Expedlations of an American carry 
 him much further : For he will ever complain 
 and fmuggle, and fmuggle and complain, 'till 
 all Rellraints are removed, and 'till he can 
 both buy and fell, whenever, and wherefocver 
 he pleafes. Any thing ihort of this, is ftill a 
 Grievance, a Badge of Slavery, an Ufurpation 
 cri the natural Rights and Liberties of a free 
 People* and 1 know not how many bad Things 
 bcfidcs. , ■ .iui^tiuisi^i^.. 
 
 ' . But, 
 
^ U B J E C T S. x^ 
 
 BiSft, my good Friend, be affOF^d^l^iat tlieie ' 
 rafe Reftraints, which neither the prefent, hOir 
 .any future Miniftry can exempt you from. 
 They are the (landing Laws of the Kingdom ;' 
 and God forbid, that we (hould allow that dii^ 
 penfing Poweh to our Minifters, which we fo 
 juftly deny to our Kings. In fhort while you ' 
 are a Colony, you muft be fubordirlate to the 
 Mother Country. Thefe are the Terms and 
 Conditions, on which you were permitted to 
 make your firft Settlements: They are the 
 Terms and Conditions on which you alone can 
 be entitled to the AfTiftance and Protedion of 
 Greai-Britam i-^th&y ^re alfo the fundamental 
 Laws of the Realmj—and I will add further 
 that if we are obliged to pay many Bounties for 
 the Importation ofyour Goods, and are excluded 
 from purchafing fuch Goods, in other Countries 
 (wher*^ we might .purchafe them on mucji 
 cheaper Terms) in order to promote your In- ' 
 tercft i— by Parity of Reafon yofi ought to b,e 
 fubjcd to the like Exclufions, in order' to pro- 
 mote ours. This then being the Cafe, do not 
 •expe61:, from the prefent Miniftry, that which ^ 
 -impoffible for any fet of Minifters to grant. 
 All that they can do, is to connive a while s^t 
 your unlawful Proceedings. But this can be 
 'but of fliort Duration : For as foon as ever 
 frelh Remonftrances are made by the Britijk 
 iManufadlurers, and Britijh Merchants, the Mi- 
 
 I4 
 
 ' I 
 
 ■ t. 
 
 ; r 
 
 
w 
 
 /I 
 
 ^^6 Political and Commercial 
 
 niftry (iiuft renew the Orders of their Prcdc- 
 ccflbrs i they muft enforce the Laws •» they 
 muft require Searches, and Confifcations to |pe 
 made ; and then the prefent Minifters will draw 
 upon themfelvcs, fur doing thir Duty^ juft the 
 fame Execrations, which you now bellow upon 
 thelaft. 
 
 So much as to your firft Grievance ; and as 
 to your fecoiid, ic iy, beyond Doubt, of a Na- 
 ture ftiU worlV; For many among you are forely 
 concerr^ed. That they cannot pay their BritiJJi 
 Debts with an American Sponge. This is an 
 intolerable Grievance ; and they long for the 
 Bay when they fhall be freed from this galling 
 Chain. Our Merchants in London, Brifiol, Li- 
 vprpoly Qlafgow, ^c. ^c. perfectly underftand 
 your many Hints and Inuendoes to us, on this 
 Head. But indeed, left we fhould be fo dull as 
 not to comprehend your Meaning, you have 
 . fjUi)ken out, and propofed on open Affociation 
 againft paying your jud Debts. Had our Debt- 
 ors in any other Part of the Globe, had the 
 French or Spaniards propofed the like (and furcly 
 they have all at leait an equal Right) v/hac 
 Name would you have given to fuch Proceed- 
 ings ? But I forget : You are not the faithlefs 
 French or Spaniards: You are ourfelves : You 
 are honeft EngliJJmen. ^ 
 
 Your third Grievance is the Sovereignty of 
 Qr^at'Briiain : For you wane to be independent : 
 
 Y^ou 
 
1. ^^ ■i 
 
 S V B J E C T S. 137 
 
 -YoU wifh to be an Empire by itfelf, and to be 
 no longer the Province of another. This Spi- 
 jit is uppermoft j and this Principle is vifible in 
 all your Speeches, and all your Writings, even 
 when you take fome Pains to difguife it. — 
 *' What ! an lOand ! A Spot fuch as this to 
 " command the great and mighty Continent of 
 " North- America ! Prepofterous ! A Continent, 
 " vvhofe Inhabitants double every five and 
 " twenty Years ! Who therefore, within a Cen- 
 " tury and an Half will be upwards of an 
 *' hundred and twenty Millions of Souls ! — 
 " Forbid it Patriotifm, forbid it Politics, that 
 " fuch a great and mighty Empire as this, 
 *' Ihould be held in Subjedion by the paltry 
 *' Kingdom of Great Britain ! Rather let the 
 " Seat of Empire be transferred ; and let it be 
 "fixt, where it ought to be, viz, in Great 
 " America /" 
 
 Now my good Friend, I will not (lay to 
 difpute with you the Calculations, on which 
 your Orators, Philofophers, and Politicians have, 
 for fome Years part, grounded thefe extravagant 
 Conceits (though I think the Calculations 
 themfelves both falfe, and abfurd) ; but I will 
 only fay, that while we have the Power, we 
 may command your Obedience, if we pleafe : 
 And that it will be Time enough for you to 
 purpofe the making us a Province to America^ 
 ■^, ■ - ■' iC\w : ■ when 
 
im i 
 
 II 
 
 138 Political ANib Commercial.' 
 
 when you fhall find yourfelves able to execute 
 theProjed. ^ ' ^^ 
 
 in the meaa Time, the great Queftion k,'' 
 'N^hat Courfe are ive to take ? And what are 
 we to dowith j(?«, before you become this great 
 and formidable People ?— Plain and evident it 
 is by the Whole Tenor of your Condud, that 
 you endeavour, with all your Might to drive us 
 to Extremities. For no Kind of Outrage,; 
 or Infult, is omitted on your Part, that can ir- , 
 ritatelndividuals, or provoke a Government to 
 chaftifc; the Infolenee, not to fay the RebelHon, 
 -of its Subjects ; and you do not feem at all dif- 
 pofed to leave Room for an Accommodation. 
 In Ihort, the Sword is the only Choice, which 
 you will permit us to make; unlefs we will 
 chufe to give you entirely up, and fubfcribe a 
 Recantation. Upon thofe Terms indeed, you 
 will deign to acknowledge the Power and Au- 
 thority of a Briii/h Parliament ;— that is, you 
 will allow, that we have a Right and a Power to 
 give you Bounties, and to pay your Expences ; 
 but no other. A ftrange Kind of Allegiance 
 this ! And the firft that has ever yet appeared 
 in the Hiftory of Mankind ! 
 
 However, this being the Cafe, fhall we now 
 compel you, by Force of Arms, to do your 
 Plity ?— Shall we procraftinate your Compul- 
 sion ?— Or fhall we entirely give you up, and 
 " ' have 
 
 :|' -I 
 
 : I I 
 
S U B 1 E C T S. ,39 
 
 have no other Connexions Vith you, thsinif 
 you had been-fo many fovereign States, or In- 
 dependent Kingdoms ? One or other of thefe 
 three will probably be refolved upon : And if 
 itihuuld be the firft, I do not think that we 
 have any Caufe to fear the Event, or to doubt 
 orSuccefs. 
 
 For though yOur Populace may rob and 
 plunder the iMaked and Defencelefs, this will 
 not do the Bufincfs when a regular Force h 
 brought againft them. And a Bruifi Army 
 which performed fo many brave Anions in 
 Germany, will hardly fly before an ^menca^ 
 Mob; not to mention that our Officers and 
 Soldiers, who pafTed fcveral Campaigns with 
 your Provincials in America, faw nothing either 
 m their Condua, or their Courage, which could 
 ^nfpire them with a Dread of feeing the Pro- 
 yincials a fecond Time.^- Neither fhould we 
 have the leaft Caufe to fufped the Fide% pf 
 our Troops, any more than their Bravery — 
 notwirhftanding the bafe Infmuations of fonieof 
 your Friends here (if indeed fuch Perfons de- 
 ferve to be called your Friends, who are in rea 
 lity your greateft Foes, and whom you will find 
 to be fo at the laft) ; notwithftanding, 1 fay their 
 Infmuations of the Feafibility of corrupting his 
 Majefty^s Forces, when fent over, by Means of 
 large Bribes, or double Pay. This is a Surmife 
 as weak as it is wicked : For the Honour of the 
 
 Brittfi 
 
 m 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 1 
 
I4<* Political a^td'CoKtmeiIcial 
 
 Briti/h SolditrYil^twt tell you, is itiots fo ealilf 
 <:orf upted. The French in EurGpe- never found 
 it fp, with all their Gold, or all their Skill for 
 Intrigue and infmuating Addrers. What thcni 
 in the Name of Wonder, have you to tempt 
 them with in America^ which is thus to over- 
 come, at once, all their former Scnfe of Duty, 
 all the Tyes of Confcience, Loyalty and Ho- 
 nour?— Befides my Friend if you really are fo 
 rich, as to be able to give double Pay to our 
 Troops in a wrong Caufe ; do not grudge, let me 
 befepchyou, to give one third oi fmgle Fay (for 
 wc alk no more) in a right one:— And let it not 
 be faid, that you complain of Pov^rrty^ and 
 plead an Inability to pay your juft Debts, at the 
 very Inftarit that you boaft of the fcandalous 
 JJfe which you intend to make of your Riches. 
 
 •But notwithftanding all this, I am not for 
 having 'Kecourfc to Military Operations. For 
 grantingf that we fhall be vidlorious, ftill it is 
 proper to enquire, before we begin, How we are 
 to be benefitted by our Vidories ? And what 
 pTuits are ;^ refult from making you a con- 
 quered People ?"t-Not an Increafe of Trader 
 that is impoflible: For a Shop-keeper will 
 never get the more Cuftom by beating his Cuf- 
 tomcrs : And what is true of a Shop-keeper, is 
 true of a Shop-keeping ^Nation. We may in- 
 deed vex and plague yoi^, by ftationing a great 
 Number of Ships cruize along your Coaftsj 
 
 and 
 
 
 ■5 ' 
 
gnd we>may appoint "ati Army^ of Cufto^-ho'tilc 
 Officers ta patrolc ( her d. Manner) two thoa- 
 fand Miles by Land. But while we are doirio- 
 thefc Things againjl you^ what fliall we be doirtg 
 for ourfehes? Not much, I am afraid r F6i We 
 fhall only make you tht; mOre ingenious, tfie 
 more intenr, and the more inventive todecdVe 
 us* Wc fhaW fharpen your Wits, whicfi a^e 
 |)Fctty fliarp already, to elude our Searches, arid 
 to bribe and corrupt Our Officers. Awi ^ter 
 that is done, we may perhaps oblige yoti to buy 
 the VaKie of twenty or thirty thouf^nd Potindjt 
 ,oi Briti/h Manufactures, mote thari you ^uTd 
 otherwifc have done,— at the ExpenCfe of two 61^ 
 three hundred thoufand Pounds Lofs to' C/fft^I 
 Britaht, (pent in Salaries, Wages, Ships, ;Fdffs^ 
 and other incidental Charges, h thi^-%^'a 
 gainful Trade, and fit to be encouf^akid' ill ^ 
 commercial Nation, fb many Millidits^il^ejjt 
 already? And yet this is the beftj wl&li'Sil^ 
 can exr>ea by forcing you to tMt %W'm^ 
 againft your Wills, andagainft your Itit&eSs .>',: 
 THEREFORE fuch a Meafure as this bieing'^'Ji- 
 demly detrimental to the Mother CouritfyJ',! 
 will now confider the fecond Fropofal, viz, To 
 procraftinateyour Compulfion.— But what c^ood 
 can that do? And wherein will this Expedient 
 mend the Mattter? For if Recourfe is to be had 
 at la-ft to the Military Power, we had better be- 
 gin with it at firft ; it being evident to the whole 
 
 World 
 
 &, 
 
 k< i 
 

 142 Political and C()M^f£RctAL 
 
 'EWorld, that: j^U Rf W^l ^ o»r Side will bnly 
 Itrengthen the.Qppolition on yours, and be in- 
 
 '^^Jtcrpfcted by you as a Mark of: Fear, and not as 
 j|U!i Inftance- of. L^ity. You fwcll with too 
 'ipi^qh vain Ira pOFt^nce, and Selt-fuiHcit-ncy al- 
 ,^ady ; and therefore, (hould we betray ahy" 
 
 , j'oten of Submiflion •, or (hould we yield to 
 tbefe your ill humoured and petulant Defires v 
 
 r^his would ooly ferve to confiro? you in your 
 pfeient Notions, wz. tliat you have nothing more 
 to do, than to demand with the Tone of Author 
 jrity, and to infift with Threatcnings and De- 
 fiance, in order to bring us upon our Knees^ 
 and to comply with every unreafonable Injunc- 
 tion, which you (hall be pleafed to lay upon Os. 
 So that at laft, when the Time Ihall come qf 
 
 ^appealing to the Sword, and of deciding oar 
 , Differences by Dint of Arms, the Confequencc 
 .Wthis Procraftination will be, that the Struggle 
 Vill become ib much the more obftinate, and 
 the Determination the more bloody. Nay, the 
 Merchants thcmfehes, whqfe Cafe is truly piti- 
 able for having confided fo much to vour Ho- 
 nour, and for having trufted you with fo many 
 hundred thoufand Pounds, or perhaps with fome 
 Millions of Property, and for whofe Benefit 
 alone fuch a Sufpcnfion of the Stamp A61: could 
 ^be propufed ; they * will find to their Coftsy. 
 
 t^ 
 
 • The Event has feverely proved this Conjecture to be 
 .bat.tQO jttftly founded. 
 
 that 
 
I 
 
 S ,U EJECTS. I4J 
 
 that every Indulgence of this Nature ^yill only 
 furnilh another Pretence to you for the fufpend- 
 ing of the Paytiscnt of their jujl Demands. la 
 
 ^;,ihort, you declare, that the Parliament h^th no» 
 right to tax you •, and therefore you demand a 
 KenuDciation of the Right, by repealing the 
 A6t. This being the Cafe, nothing lefs than a 
 Renunciation can be fatisfa<5lory ; becaufe no- 
 thing elfe can amount to a Confeffion, that the 
 
 . Parliament has aded illegally and ufurpingly in 
 this Affair. A bare Sufpenfion, or even a mere 
 Repeal, is no Acknowledgement of Guilt ; nay, 
 it fuppofes quite the contrary J and only poft- 
 pones the Exercife of this ufurped Power to a 
 more convenient Seafon. Confequcntly if you 
 think you could juftify the Non-payment of your 
 
 , Debts, *till a Repeal took Place, yon certam^y 
 
 .can juftify the Sufpenfion of the Payment 'till 
 we have acknowledged our Guilt. So that after 
 
 tall, the Queftion may come to this at laft, viz; 
 
 ' Shall we renounce any Legiflative Authority 
 over you, and yet maintain you as we have hi- 
 therto done ? Or Ihall we give you entirely up, 
 unlefs you will fubmit to be governed by the 
 fame Laws as we are, and pay fometWng to- 
 wards maintaining yourfelves ? 
 
 The firft it is certain we cannot db; and 
 therefore the next Point to be confidered is 
 (which is alfo the third Propofal) Whether we 
 are to give you entirely up ^—-Aiid c^ter having 
 
 olUgei 
 
W^' 
 
 144, t'OLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL 
 
 ohlit^i'dyou to pay your Debts^ wliether wc are td 
 have no further Conncdlion with you, as a dc- 
 pcnd<'nt StacC) or Colony. 
 
 Now, in order to judge properly of x\\\% Af- 
 fair, we mud give \ Delineation of two Political 
 Parties contending with each other, and ftrug- 
 glinp for Superiority : -And then we are to 
 confider, which of theic two, muft be firfl 
 tired of the Contcft, and obliged to fub- 
 
 mit. 
 
 Behold therefore a Political Portrait of thd 
 Mother Country ; a mighty Nation under one 
 Government of a King and Parliament, — firmly 
 refolved not to repeal the A6t, but to give it 
 Time to execute itfclf,— Ready and temperate 
 in the life of Power,"not having Rccourfe to 
 fanguinary Methods,- but enforcing the Law 
 by making the Difobetlicnt feci the Want of it, 
 —determined to protcdl and cherifti thofe Co- 
 lonies, which will return to their Allegiance 
 within a limited Time (fuppofe twelve or eigh- 
 teen Months)— and as dt^termined to compel 
 the obftinate Revolrers to pay their Debts, — 
 then to call them otf, and to exclude them /or 
 r^^r from the manifold Advantages and Profits 
 of Trade, which they now enjoy by nt) other 
 Title, but that of being a Part of the Britiflt 
 Empire. Thus ftands the Cafe : and this is the* 
 View of Things on one Side. 
 
 Observe 
 
 I 
 
SUBJECTS. 145 
 
 'Observe again a Profpedl on thcoUiefi viz, 
 ii Variety of little Colonics under a Variety of 
 petty Governments, Rivals to, and jealous of 
 each other,— never able to agree about any thing 
 before,— and only now united by an Enthufiaftic 
 Fit of falfc Patriotifm> a Fit which ncceflarily 
 cools in Time, and cools ftill the fafter, in Pro- 
 portion, as the Objeft which firft excited ic is 
 removed, or changed. So much as to the 
 general Outlines of your American Features ; — 
 but let us now take a nearer View of the Evils, 
 which by your own mad Condud you are bring-f 
 H]g fo fpeedily upon yourfelves. 
 
 Externally, by being fevered from the 
 Britijh Empire, you will be excluded from cut* 
 ting Logwood in the Bays of Campeache and 
 Honduras f— from fifhing on the Banks of New-i\ 
 ftundland, on the Coaft of Labrador, or in the,^ 
 Bay of -S/. Lawrence,- from trading (except by 
 Stealth) with the Sugar 'Iflands, w th the 
 5nV(/7/ Color^ies in any Part of the Glabe. "5^011 
 will alfo lofe all the Bounties upon the Impor- 
 taticJn of your Goods into Great Britain : You^- 
 will not dare to feduce a fjngle Manufacturer or 
 Mechanic from us under Pain of Death -, be- 
 caufe you will then be confidcred in the Eye of 
 the Law as mere Foreigners, againft whom 
 thefe Laws wece made. You will lofe the Re- 
 mittance of 300,0001. a Year to pay your 
 Troops ; and you will lofe the Benefit of ihefc 
 
 K TrooDs 
 
146 Political and Commercial 
 
 Troops to protect you againft the Incurfions of 
 the much injgrcd and exafjperated Savages ^ 
 moreover, in Cafe of Difference with other 
 Powers, you will have none to complain to, none 
 to aflift you : For aflUre yourfelf, that H^llandr 
 France^ and Spain, will look upon you with aa 
 evil Eye; and will bee particularly on their 
 Guard againft you, left fuch an Example ftiould 
 infedt their own Colonies ; not to mention that 
 the twolatter will not care to have fuch a Neflj 
 of profeflcd Smugglers fo very near them. 
 And after all, and in Spite of any thing you can 
 do, we in Britain fhail ftiU retain the greateft Part 
 of your European Trade j becaufe we fl^all give 
 a better Price for many of your Commodities 
 than you can have any where clfe -^ and we fhall 
 fell to you feveral of our Manufadures, efpeci- 
 ally in the Woollen, Stuff, and Metal \Vay, 
 on cheaper Terms. In fliort you will do thcnj 
 what you only do now, that is, you wiU trade 
 with us, as far as your Intereft will lead yoii, 
 and no farther. 
 
 Tai;? now a Piifture of your internal Sti^t^. 
 "When the great Power, which combined the 
 fcattered Provinces together, ^nd formed them 
 into onf Empire, is once thrown ofFi and when 
 there will be no common Head to govern and 
 prote^, all your ill Humours will break forth 
 like a Torrent : Colony wiU enter into Bicker- 
 ings and Difputes a^ainft^ Cplony 5 Fa(51:io.n will 
 
 mfriguc 
 
S tJ B J E C T S. 147 
 
 intrigue ahclliabalagainftFaaion; and Anarchy 
 and Confufion will every where prevail. The 
 Leaders of your Parties will then be fetting sdl 
 their Engines to work, to make Fools become 
 the Dupes of Knaves, to bring to Maturity 
 .their half-formed Schemes and lurking Defigns, 
 an^ to give a Scope to that towering Ambition 
 which was checked and reftrained before. In 
 the mean Time, the Mafs of your People, who 
 expeded, and who are promifed Mountains of 
 Treafures upon throwing off, what was called j 
 the Yoke of the Mother Country, will meet 
 with nothing but fore Difappointments: Difap- 
 pointments indeed ! For inftead of an imaginary 
 Yoke, they will be obliged to bear a real, a 
 heavy, and a galling one : Inftead of being 
 freed from the Payment of ioo,oool. (which 
 is the utmoft that is now expefted from them) 
 they will find themfelves loaded with Taxes to 
 the Amount of at icaft 400,0001 : Inftead of an 
 Increafe of Trade, they will feel a palpable De- 
 creafe *, and inftead of having Troops to de- 
 fend them, and thofe Troops paid by Great-Bri- 
 -iain,they muft defend themfelves, and pay them- 
 felves. Nay, the Number of. the Troops to be 
 paid, will be more than doubled •, for fome muft 
 be ftationed in the back Settlements to protect 
 them againft the Indians^ whom they have fo 
 often injured and exalperated, and others alfb 
 on each Frontier to prevent the Encroachmente 
 
 K 2 of 
 
eM 
 
 14U Political and CoMMiRCiAt 
 
 of each Sifter Colony. Not to mention, that 
 the Expenccs of your Civil Governments will be 
 neceffafily incrcafed ; and that a Fleet, more or 
 Icfs, muft belong to each Province for guard- 
 ing their Coafts, enfuring the Payment of Du- 
 ties and the like. 
 
 Under all thefe Preffures and Calamities, 
 your deluded Countrymen will certainly open 
 their Eyies at laft. For Difappointments and 
 Diftrefles will efFeduate that Cure, which Rea- 
 fon and Argument, Lenity and Moderation, 
 could not perform. In (hort, having been fe- 
 verely fcourged and difciplined by their own 
 Rod, they will curfe their ambitious Leaders 
 and deteft thofe Mock-Patriots, who involved 
 them in fo many Miferies. And having been 
 furfeited with the bitter Fruits of American 
 Republicifm, they will heartily wilh, and peti- 
 tion to be again united to the Mother Country. 
 Then they will experience the Difference between 
 a rational Plan of Conftitutional Dependence, 
 and the wild, romantic, and deftrudtive Schemes 
 of popular Independence. 
 
 And you alfo, after you have played the 
 Hero, and fpoke all your fine Speeches ; after 
 you have been a Guftavus Vafa^ and every other 
 brave Deliverer of his Country -, after you have 
 formed a thoufand Utopian Schemes, and 
 been a thoufand Times difappointed -, perhaps 
 cycn you may awake out of your prefent po- 
 litical 
 
S U B J E C T S. 149 
 lilicil Trance, and become a reafonable Man 
 at hft^ And aflure yourfelf, that whenever 
 you can be cured of you^ prefent Delirium, 
 attd Ihall betray no Symptoms of a Relapfe, 
 you will be received with Affeftion by 
 
 Tour old Uncky 
 
 Tour true Friend^ 
 
 And faithful Motiitor^ 
 
 A. B. 
 
 Ki 
 
 TRACt 
 
Tract 
 
 IV. 
 
 THE 
 
 True Intereft of Great-Britain 
 
 SET FORTH 
 
 In kEGARD to the COLONIES; 
 
 And the only Means of 
 
 Living in Peace and Harmony with them. 
 
 VERY ftrange Notion is now induf- 
 trioufly fpreading, that*till the late 
 unhappy Stamp- Adt, there were no 
 Bickerings and Difcontents^ no 
 Heartburnings and Jealoufies fubfifting between 
 the Colonies and the Mother Country. It feems 
 'till that fatal Period, all was Harmony, Peace, 
 and Love. Now it is fcarcely polfiblc even for 
 
 K4 the 
 
152 Political and CoMMBReiAL 
 
 jKhe pioft fuperficbl Obfervcr, if bis Kno^edgc 
 extemis; beyond the Limits of a NcwfpapeE, 
 not to know, That this is entirefyfalft. And if 
 he is at all convcrfant in the Hiftory of the Co- 
 lonies, and has attended to the Accounts of their 
 original Plantation, their Rife, and Progrefs, 
 he muft know, that almoft from the very Be- 
 ginning, there were mutual Difcontents, mutual 
 Animofities and Reproaches. Indeed, while 
 thefe Colonies were in a mere State of Infancy, 
 dependent on their Mother Country, not only 
 for daily Protedion, but almoft for daily Bread, 
 it cannot be fuppofed that they would give 
 tkcmfelves the lame Airs of Self-fufficiency and 
 Independence, as they did afterwards, in Pro- 
 portion as they grew up to a State of Maturity. 
 But that they began very early to fhew no other 
 Marks of Attachment to their ancient Parent, 
 than what arofe frorti Views of Sclf-Intcreft and 
 Self- Love, many convincing Proofs anight be 
 drawn from the Complaints of^ and th6 Inftruc- 
 ttons /(p, the Governors of the refpedive Pro*- 
 vinces •, from the Memorials of our Boards of 
 
 . Trade, prefented from Time to Time to his Ma- 
 jefty's Privy Council againft the Behaviour of 
 the Colonics ; from the frequent Petitions and 
 Remonftrances of our Merchants and Manu- 
 fadturers to the, fame Etfed j and even from the 
 Votes and Refolutions of feveral of their Pro- 
 vincial Afiemblies againft the Intereft, Laws, 
 
 and 
 

 .fi u B :)jtm c T s. 15^ 
 
 'Sod iGov#mnent of th^* Mother Countpyi y^ 
 I will wave all thefe atp^fcfit, ami content! rtiy- 
 felf with Proofe (till more authentic and Unex- 
 ceptionable; I rtiean the public Statutes of the 
 Realm : For from them it evidently appears, 
 that long before there were any Thoughts of 
 the Scamp* Adfc, the Mather Country had the 
 following Accufacions to bring againft the Co- 
 lonies, 'viz> ^ift. Thn they refufed to fubmitto 
 her Ordinances aad Regulations in Regard to 
 Trade. — 2dly, That they attempted to*frame 
 Laws, and to ered Jurifdiftions not owly Inde- 
 pendently of her, but even in direft Oppofition 
 to her Authority. — And 3dly, That ttiany^bf 
 them took unlawful Methods to (kreen them- 
 felves from paying thejuft Debts they owed to the 
 'Merchants and Manufadurcrs of Great BHiainJ 
 
 These arc the Obje«^ions cf the Mother-, 
 Country t6 the Behaviour of the Colonies long 
 before their late Outrages, and th^ir piefentGon- 
 duft: — For even as early as the Year i6;;^o, it 
 dofh appear, that many Complaints (the vefy 
 Words of the A6t) had been made againft the 
 jimerican Proprietors of Ships and Veflels, for 
 ^engaging in Schemes of 'iraffic, contrary to 
 the Regulations contained in the A61 of Navr- 
 gatiott, and in other Statutes of the Realm macfe 
 for confining the Trade of the Colonies to the 
 Mother Country. Nay, fo fenfible w^s the 
 Parliament, above an hundred Years ago, that 
 
 Pro^ 
 
154 Political and CoMMiRcuL 
 
 Profecutions for the Breach of thofc Laws would 
 be to little or no EfFcd, if carried on in Amf- 
 ricati CourtSj or before American Juries, that it 
 is exprcfsly ordained, " It Ihall, and may be law- 
 •« ful for any Perfon or Perfons to profecute 
 *« fuch Ship or Veffel [offending as defcribed in 
 ** the preceding Seftion] in any Court of Ad- 
 •• miraity in England-, the one Moiety of the 
 ** Forfeiture, in Cafe of Condemnation, to be 
 •* to his Majefty, his Heirs, and Succeflbrs ; and 
 ** the other Moiety to fuch Profecutor or Pro- 
 «« fecutors thereof" [See 22 and 23 of Ch. II. 
 Cap. 26, § 12 and 13. J And we find, that 
 two Years afterwards, vi:t, 25 oiCh. II. Cap. 7. 
 the fame Complaints were again renewed ) and 
 in Confequence thereof higher Duties and ad- 
 ditional Penalties were laid on, for the more ef- 
 feftually enforcing of the Obfervance of this 
 and of the former Laws : But in Spite of all 
 that was done. Things grew worfe and worfe 
 every Day. For it is obferveable, that in the 
 Year 1696, the very Authority of the Englijh 
 Legiflature, for making fuch Laws and Regula- 
 tions, f^emed to have been called in Queftion ; 
 which Authority, therefore, the Parliament was 
 obliged to aflcrt in Terms very peremptory •>— 
 and I niay likewife add, very prophetical. The! 
 Law made on this Occafion was the famous 
 Statute of the 7th and 8th of Wm. III. Cap. 7. 
 wherein, after the Recital of *^ divers Ads 
 
 " made 
 
S U B 
 
 E C T S. 
 
 J E u M ^v 155 
 
 iff. made for the Encouragement of the Naviga- 
 « tion of this Kingdom, and for the better fc- 
 « curing and regulating the Plantation Trade, 
 •' it is remarked, that notwithftandingfuchLawi, 
 «« great abules are daily committed to the Pre- 
 "judice of the Engli/h Navigation, and the 
 « Lofs of gneat Part of the Plantation Trade 
 " to this Kingdom, by the Artifice and Cunning 
 «« of ill difpofed Perfons.** Then, having pre- 
 fcribed fuch Remedies as thefe great Evife 
 feemed to require, the Ad goes on at §» 7. to 
 ordain, *' That all the Penalties and Forfeitures 
 " beforementioned, not in this Aft particular- 
 «« ly difpofed of, ihall be one third Part to 
 «* the Ufe of his Majefty, his Heirs, and Suc- 
 " ceffors, and one third Part to the Governor 
 " of the Colony or Plantation where the Offence 
 " Ihall be committed, and the other third Part 
 *« to fuch Perfon or Perfons as fhall fue for the 
 " fame, to be recovered in any of his Majcfty's 
 «' Courts at Wejlminfier, or in the Kingdom of 
 ** Ireland^ or in the Courts of Admiralty held in 
 •< his Majefty *s Plantations refpedively, where 
 " fuch Offence fhall be committed, at the Plea- 
 ^fure of the Officer or Informer , or in any other 
 " Plantation belonging to any Subjeft of England:^ 
 •« wherein no Effoin, Protedion, or Wager of 
 .," Law fhall be allowed i and that where any 
 *« Queftion fhall aiiit conct rntng the Importa- 
 *• tion or -Exportation of any Goods into or out 
 
 "of 
 
 /.'<' 
 
15^ PoLITICAt AMD CoMMfiRCtAL 
 
 •* of the faid Plantations, m fuch Cafe the Proof 
 •' (hall ii« upon the Owner or Claimcr ; and 
 «* the Claimcr fhall be reputed to be thcImpor- 
 •* tcr pr Owner thereof." >r r^nnri? ** 
 \- Npw here it is obvious to every Reader, that 
 t^c ' Sufjpicions which the Parliament had for- 
 ificrly conceived of the Partiality of American 
 Courts, and American Juries in Trials at Law 
 with the Mother-Country, were fo far from 
 being abated by Length of Time, rhat they 
 were ^rown higher than ever-, bccaufe it ap- 
 pears by this very Aft, that thfc Power of the 
 Officer or Informer wa? greatly enlarged, hav^ 
 ing the Option now granted him of three dif- 
 ferent Countries for profccuting the Offence ; 
 whefeas in the former of Charles II. made 16 
 Years before, he had only two. Moreover it 
 was this Time further ordained, that the Onus 
 />r^^^»^/ Ihould reft on the Defendant, and alfo 
 that no * Edfoin, Proteflion, or f Wager of 
 Law fhould be allowed him. 
 
 But above all, and in order to prevent, if 
 pofnbJe^, every Sort of Chicane for the future, 
 and to fruftrate all Attempts of the Colonies, 
 
 M 
 
 -L-k 
 
 • An Efloin fignifies, in Law, a Pretence or Excufe. 
 
 t A Wager at Law, is a Power granted to the Defen- 
 dant tOj/%'^«r, together with other Co«r/«rf«/or/, that he 
 owe5 nt>thing to the Plaintiff* in the Manner fet forthi— It 
 is cafjr' to fee what ufe would have been made of iich a 
 Power* 1^*<1 ^ bc^ ^owe^* 
 
 either 
 
SUB 
 
 J E C T ^ iSJ 
 either to throw off or evade the Power and Tu- 
 rifdiftion of the Mother Country,— It was at 
 § 9. " further ena£ted and declared by the Au- 
 " thority aforefaid, that all Laws, Bye-Laws, 
 " Ufages, c^Cuftoms, at this Time^ or y/\uck 
 «' hereafter (hall be in Pra6tice, or endeavour e^l 
 " or pretended to be in Force or Praftice, in any 
 ** of the faid Plantations, which are in any wife 
 " repugnant to the before-mentioned Laws, or 
 «* any of them, fo far as they do relate to the' 
 " faid Plantations, or any of them, or which are 
 " any ways repugnant to this prefent A(5t, or 
 
 "TO AN^Y OTHER LaW HEREAFTER TO BE MADE 
 
 " IN THIS Kingdom, fo far as fuch Law fhall 
 " relate to, and mention the faid Plantations, 
 " are illegal, null, and void to all 1n» 
 " tents and Purposes whatsoever." 
 
 Words could hardly be devifed to exprefs 
 the Sentiments of the Englifh Legiflature, mo -e 
 fully and ftrongly, than thefe have done : And 
 if ever a Body of uninfpired Men were endowed 
 with a Spirit of Divination, or of forefeeing, 
 and alfo of providing againft untoward future • 
 Events, as far as human Prudence could extend, 
 the King, Lords, and Commons of the /Era 1696,. . 
 were the very Men. For they evidently fore-, 
 faw, that a Time was approaching, when the 
 Provincial Aflemblies would difpute the Right 
 of American Sovereignty with the great and 
 general Council of xht Briti/h Empire: And/ 
 
 therefore 
 
i 
 
 lit POMTtCAt AND CoMMBRClAt 
 
 therefore they took cffcdkual Cure that whcnev^ ■ 
 the Time came, no Law, no Precciirrn, noif^ 
 Prcfcription fhould be wanting, whereby the 
 Mother Countiy might afTcrt her conllitutionaj 
 and inherent Ri|!;ht over the Colonics. 
 
 But notwithlliniling thefe wife Precautions, 
 fomc of the Colonies fbuml Wa) s and Me ms to 
 ^vade the Force and Meaning ( ven of this ex- 
 prciJiLawi atleafl; for a 'J'imc, and Vill the 
 Legillature could l)c luHicienily apiirizt d of ^he 
 Injury d. ligncd. I'hc Cok)nilis, who praaifcd 
 ihelc dinngenin>us Arts with moft Sutxcfs, were 
 ihofc who were endowed with chartered Govern- 
 ments^ and who, in Conlequence ot vhe extra- 
 ordinary Favours thereby indulged them, could 
 non\inatc or t\tdi their own Council, and (if 
 my Memory doth not fail me) their own Go- 
 vernors likewise I at leull, who could grant 
 Juch Salaries to rhcir Governors, and with fuch 
 Limitations, as would render them too dcpen- 
 dent on the Will and Pleallire of their Pay- 
 Mailers. Hence therefore it i ame to pafs, that 
 in the Colonics of Rhode IJland and Providence 
 Plantations, Conne^icut, the Mtjachufst^ Bay, 
 and New Hampfiirei the Governors of thefe 
 Provinces fuffered themje.ves to be perfuaded to 
 give their Sand Ion to certain Votes and Relolu- 
 tions of their Aflemblies and Councils •, whereby 
 Laws were enafted tirll to iflue out Bills of 
 Credit to a certain Amount, and then to make 
 
(( 
 
 (( 
 
 SUBJECT S. 15^ 
 
 a Tender of chofe Bills to be confidcred as an 
 aiieqimte Difchargc of Debts, and a legal Re« 
 leafc frqm Payment. A moft compendious Me*- 
 thod this for getting out of Debt \ And were 
 the like Artifice to be authorized every where, 
 I think it is very evident, that none but the 
 moft ftupid Ideot would be incapable of dif- 
 charging his Debts, Bonds, or Obligations -, and 
 that too without advancing 9ny Money. 
 
 However, as foon as the Briti/h Legidature 
 came to be fully apprized of this Scheme of Ini-* 
 quity, they paflcd a Law, *' to reguJ^u! ..^ 
 
 reftrain Paper Bills of Credit in his ri'ii«%'> 
 ** Colonies or Plantations, of Rhode-l^a,^ iin^t 
 
 Providence Plantations, Qonne£lkut^ ths 'Maf^ 
 «* fachufet's Bay^ and New Hampjhire^ in Ame- 
 " Tica\ and to prevent the same being le- 
 ** GAL Tenders in Payments of Money."— 
 This is the very Title of the Statute ; bqt for 
 further Particulars, and for the different Hegula- 
 tions therein contained, confult the A(5t \ 
 24th of George II. Cap. S3t Anno 1751. 
 
 Now will any Man after this dare to fay, th?it 
 the Stamp- Aa was the firft Caufe of Diflention 
 between the Mother Country and her Colonies ? 
 Will any Man ftiU perfift in niaint^iping fo gro6 
 a Paradox, that 'till that fatal Period, the Co- 
 lonies fhewed no Reludance to fu! unit to the 
 commercial Regulations, no Difpolicion to con^ 
 teft the Authority, and no Defire to Queliion 
 
 tht 
 
 %«». 
 
tiSo POLITlCAt AND CoMMERClAt 
 
 the Right of the Mother Country ? The Man 
 who can maintain thefc Paradoxes, is incapabk 
 x>f Convidtion, and therefore is not to be rea- 
 foncd with any longer. « But the Stamp-Aft 
 "made bad to become worfe:~Tht!: Stamp- 
 " A£t irritated and inflamed, and greatly en- 
 « creafed all thofe ill Humours, which were but 
 « too predominant litfore." Granted ; and I 
 will further add, that any other AA, or any 
 other Meafure, of the Briti/h Government, as 
 well as the Stamp- Ad, if it were to compel 
 the Colonifts to contribute a fmgle Shillingto- 
 wards the general Expence of the Britijh Em- 
 pire, would hav€ had the fame Effea. For, 
 be it ever remembered, that the Colonifts did 
 not fo much objeft to the Mode of this Tax- 
 ation, as to the Right itfelf of levying Taxes. 
 Nav, their Friends and Agents here in England 
 were'known to have frequently declared. That 
 if any Tax were to be crammed down their 
 Throats without their Confent, and by an Au- 
 thority which they difallowed, they had rather 
 pay this Stamp Duty than any other. 
 
 But indeed, , and properly fpeaking, it was 
 not the Stamp- Ad which increafed or hciglitcned 
 thefe ill Humours in the Colonics-, it was rather 
 thcRcduaion of Canada^ which called forth 
 thofe Difpolitions into Aftion which had long 
 been generating before •, and which were ready 
 ^ burft forth at the f^rft Opportunity that fhould 
 
S V B J E "C t S. 
 
 i6t 
 
 • For an undoubted Faft it isj that from 
 the Moment in which Caftada came into the 
 Pofifeffion of the Engli/h^ an End was put to 
 the Sovereignty of the Mother- Country oyer 
 her Colonies* They had then nothing to feai" 
 from a foreign Enemy 5 and as to their own do- 
 meftic Friends and Relations, they had for fo 
 many Years preceding been accuftomed to tref- 
 pafs upon their Forbearance and Indulgencej 
 even when they moft wanted their Protedion, 
 that it was no Wonder they fhould openly re- 
 nounce an Authority which they never thoroughly 
 approved of, and which now they found to be no 
 longer ncceffary for their own Defence. 
 
 But here fome may be apt to afk, " Had the 
 " Colonids no Provocation on their Part ? And 
 " was all the Fault on one Side, and none on 
 " the other?" Probably not-— Probably there 
 were Faults on both Sides/ But what doth this 
 ferve to prove ? If to exculpate the Colonies in 
 regard to their prefent refractory Behaviour, it 
 is necdlefs ; for I am far from charging ouf 
 Colonies in particular with being Sinners above 
 others •, bccaufe I believe (and if I am wrong, 
 let the Hiftory of all Colonies, whether antienc 
 or modern, from the Days of Thucydides 
 down to the prefent Time, confute me if it can) 
 1 fay, 'till that is done I believe, that it is the 
 Nature of them all to afpire after Independence, 
 and to fet up for themfelves as foon as ever they 
 
 i.Ul\Jk 
 
^i62 Political and Commercial 
 ^ifind that they arc able tofilbfift, without being- 
 »Hbeholden to the Mother-Country. And if our 
 (^Jmericans have expreOcd themfelves fooner' on 
 ■•?->this Head than others have done^ or m a more 
 1^ direa ;ind daring Mantier, this ought not to be 
 imptitcd to any greater Malignity, or Ingrati- 
 ottude in them, than in others-, but tO' that 
 free Conftitution, which is the Prerogative and 
 : Boaft of us all. We ourfelves derive our 
 Origin from thofe very Saxons, vfho inhabited 
 the lower Parts oi Germany, and yet I think it is 
 fufficiently evident, that wc are not over com- 
 plaifanc to the Defcendaints of thefe lower Saxons^ 
 I e. to the Offspring of our own Progenitors •, 
 " norcanwewith any Colour of Reafon, pretend 
 t to complain that even the Boftonians have treatfed 
 \is more indignantly than we have treated the 
 Hamvermns. What then would have been the 
 Cafe, if the little ifrfigriificant Elcaorate ot 
 Hanoijerhikd: prefumed ta' cetain a Claim of So- 
 ■; vereignty over iuch a Country -as Great^Britain, 
 , the P^'ridc and Miftrcfs cf the Ocean I And yet, 
 ' 1 believe, that in Point of Extent or Territory, 
 the prefent EleiStoral Domihions^ infignifiGant as 
 they are fometimes reprefented, are more th^n 
 ■'■a Moiety of Englan<^ . exclufive oi Scotland and 
 Walts: Whereas the whole Ifland oi Great- 
 Britain, is fcarcely a twentieth Part of thofe vaft 
 Regions which go under the Denomination of 
 
 North- America, ' ^ " '' ■ 
 
 Besides, 
 
SUB J £ C T $. ,S^ 
 
 Be^i^es, if the American Colonies belonging 
 to France or ^pain, have not yet kt up for Ih- 
 dependencei or thrown off the Mafk fo much 
 as the Engli/hQoXomts have done— what is this 
 ■fuperior Referve to be imputed to? Not to 
 • any greater filial Tendernefs in them for their 
 rcfpeaive antient Parents than in others i— not 
 to Motives of any national Gratitude^ or of na- 
 tional Honour;— but becaufe the Conftitution 
 of each of thofe parent States is much more 
 "arbitran/ and defpotic than the Conftitution of 
 ''Great-Britain', zndi therefore their refpeaive 
 Offsprings arc *awed by the Dread of Piinifh- 
 mehts from breaking forth into thofe Outrages^ 
 which ours dare do with Impunity. Nay more, 
 the very Colonies of France and Spain, though 
 they have not yet thrown off their Allegiance^ 
 are neverthelefs as forward as any in difobeying 
 the Laws of their Mother Countries, wherever 
 *^they find an Intereft in fo doing. For the Truth 
 of this Fa(5t, I appeal to that prodigious clan- 
 deftine Trade which they were continually carry- 
 ing on with us, and with our Colonics, contrary 
 to the exprefs Prohibitions of France md Spain : 
 And I appeal alfo to thofe very free Ports which 
 XhtBriti/h LegiOature itfelf hath lately opened 
 
 • But notwithftanding thh Awe, it is now pretty gene- 
 rally known, that tHe French Colonifts of Hifpaniola en- 
 deavoured lately to (hake off the Government of Old France, 
 and applied to the Britifl? Court for that Parpofe. 
 
 L^ for 
 
,1^4 Political and Commercial. 
 llo'r accommodating thefe fmuggling Colonifts to^ 
 ^trade with the Subjeas of Great-Britain, in Dii- 
 obcdience to the Injunaion of their Mother- 
 
 .Countries. 
 
 ' ' Enough furely has been laid on this SubjeA •, 
 and the Uplhot of the whole Matter is plainly 
 this,— That even the arbitrary and defpotic 
 Governments of France and Spain (arbitrary I 
 fay, both in Temporals znd in Spirituals) main- 
 tain their Authority over their American Colonies 
 'but very imperfedly •, in as much as they.can- 
 not retrain them from breaking through thofe 
 Rules and Regulations of exclulive Trade-, for 
 the Sake of which all Colonies feemed to, have 
 "^ been originally founded. What then fliall we 
 ' lay in Regard to fuch Colonies as are the Off- 
 'fpringof a free Conftitution ? And after what 
 '' Manner, or . according to what Rule, are our 
 'own in particular to be governed, without ufmg 
 any Force or Compulfionv or purfuing any 
 ^ Meafure repugnant to their own Ideas of civil 
 or religious Liberty ? la Oiort, and to fum up 
 ivU, jii one Word, How (hall vye be able to ren- 
 der thelc Colonies more fubfervient to the In- 
 terefts, and more obedient to the Laws and Go- 
 ' vernment of the Mother Country, than they 
 ' '"voluntarily chufe to be? After having pondered 
 and revolved die Affair over and over, ! con- 
 fefs, there feems to me to be but the five follow- 
 ' ins Vropolais, which can pQliably be made, viz. 
 
SUBJECTS. its 
 
 ift, To fuffer Things to go on for a while, 
 as they have lately dons, in Hopes that fome 
 favourable Opportunity may offer for recovering 
 the Jurirdi6lion of the Briti/Ii Legiflature over 
 her Colonies, and for maintaining the Authority 
 of the Mother- Country.— Or if thefe tempo- 
 rifing Meaftirc? fhould be found to ftrengthen 
 and confirm the Evil, inftead of removing 
 it;— then, 
 
 2dly, To attempt to perfuade the Colonies to 
 fend over a certain Number of Deputies, or 
 Reprefentatives to fit and vote in the Briti/k 
 Parliament; in order to incorporate America 
 and Gneat-Bntain into one common Empire.— 
 Or if this Propofal Ihould be found impradi- 
 cabje, whether on Account of the DifKculties 
 attending it'on this Side of the Atlantk, or be- 
 caufe that the Americans themfelves would not 
 concur in fuch a Meafure;— then, 
 
 jdly. To declare open War againft them 
 as Rebels and Revolters; and after having 
 made a perfed Conqueft of the Country, then 
 to govern it by military Force and defpotic 
 Sway.— Or if this Scheme fiiould be judged 
 (as it ought ta be) the mod deftrudive, and the 
 leaft eligible of any ; — then, 
 
 4thly, To propofe to confent that America 
 fhould become the general Seat of Empire; 
 and that Great -Britain and Ireland Ihould 'be 
 ^governed by Vice-Roys fent over from the 
 
 L ^ Court 
 
1 66 Political and Commercial- 
 
 Court Refidencies, cither at Philadelphia or 
 l^ew-Torky or fome other Ammcan imperial 
 City.— Or if tij ; Plan of Accommodation 
 ihould be ill-digeftcd by home- born Engli/hmen^ 
 who, I will venture to afiirm, would never fub- 
 ^lit to fuch an Indignity -, — thcn.^ 
 
 5thly, To propofe to feparate entirely from 
 the Colonies, by dcdaring them to be a free 
 and independent People, over whom we lay no 
 CJlaim; and then by offering to guarantee this 
 Freedom and Independence againft all forei{^.n 
 Invaders wliomfoever. 
 
 Now thefe being ii the Plans which, in the 
 Nature of Things, kcm cipabk iif being pro- 
 pofed, let us examine •: icii of them in their 
 Order. 
 
 FIRST SCHEME. 
 
 And I ft, as to that which recommends the 
 fultering all Things to go on as they have 
 lately done, in Hopes that fome favourable Op- 
 portunity may arife hereafter for recovering the 
 Jurifdidion, and vindicating the Honour of the 
 Mother Country. 
 
 This Propofal is very unhappy at firft 
 fetting out ; becaufe it takes that for granted, 
 which Hiftory and Experience prove to be falfc. 
 Itfuppofcs, that Colonies may become the more 
 obedient, in Proportion as they are fuffered to 
 grow the more headftrong, and to feel their own 
 Strength and Independences than which Sup- 
 i pofition 
 
 ■.■("t 
 
€^ m Be* JtE C T Si 167 
 
 fpofition there cannot be a more palpable Ab- 
 furdity. For if a Father is. Jiot able to govern, 
 his Son at the Ages of , 14 or 16 Years, how 
 can it be fuppofed that he will be better able. 
 when the Youth is become a Man of full Age 
 and Stature, in. the Vigour of Health and 
 Strength; and the Parent perhaps more, feeble 
 and dccrepid than he was before ? Befides, it is 
 a Fa6t, that the Colonics, from almofti one End, 
 oi North- America toiht other, have already re- 
 voltcd from under the Jurifdiftlon of the Britifh 
 J^cgilkture^— each Houfe of Affembly hat^ 
 already arrogated to itfelf a new Name, by 
 ftiling itfelf an House of Commons-, in Con-? 
 fequence of which Stile and Title, they have 
 already-declared, that- the JSnV(/Z( Houfe of Com- 
 4nons neither hath, nor ought to. have, any- 
 Right to intermeddle in their Concerns. Now, 
 ^terthey have advanced thus .far already, what 
 Rhetoric would you ufe for calling thefe Re- 
 volters back? And is it at all probable, that the 
 Provincial AfTemblies would be induced by the 
 Force of Oratory to renounce their own Impor- 
 itance, and to acknowledge that to be a Crimey 
 which both they, and thePeople whom they re- 
 ,prefent, glory in as their Birth-right and un- 
 alienable Prerogative ? Th? Man that can iiip- 
 jpofe thefe Things, muft 'have a moil extraordi-r 
 4iary Opinion of his own Eloquence, . 
 
 L4 But 
 
 li ! 
 
(1^8 Political and CdMMEkciAL 
 
 V, " 
 
 y-;iB^T.«htre perhaps fome may be inclined to 
 . afik, Wjry would you meddle with the Colonies, 
 .at all ?' ,And why not fuffcr Things to remain 
 in Jiatu quo? The obvious Anfwer to which 
 Queftions is this, — * That it is not the Mother- 
 Country which meddles with the Colonies, 
 but the Colonies which meddle with the 
 Mother-Country: For they will not permit her 
 to govern in the Manner Ihe ought to do, and 
 according to the original terms of the Conftitu- 
 tion i but are making Encroachments on her 
 Authority every Day. Moreover as they in- 
 . crcafe in Riches, Strength, and Numbers, 
 their civil and military Eftablilhments muft ne- 
 ceflarily increafe likewife j and feeing that this 
 Circumftancc is unavoidable, who is to defray 
 the growing Expences of thefe increafing and 
 thriving Colonies ? — " The Colonies themlelves 
 *' you will naturally fay, becaufe none are fo fit, 
 ** and none fo able :" And perhaps fome Ame- 
 rican hdvocdXt^ will likewife add, "That tJie 
 
 * See the preceding Letter from a Merchant in Londm to 
 his Nephew in Jmerica ; wherein it is proved, to a Demon- 
 flration, that the Powers, which the Colonies will not allow 
 the Mothier-Country notu to exercife over them, are no other 
 than what always belonged to her from the vtty fii ft Period 
 of their Settlements, and according to the original Terms of 
 their Conftitution. The Queftioii therefore is, Which of 
 the two, the Colonies, or the Mother-Country ,^ ufurps on 
 jfhe legal Rights and conftitution al Privileges of the other ? 
 
 *' Colonies 
 
SUB J E C T S. 169 
 
 « Colonies do not refnfe to defray thefc Ex- 
 !i*i pencesv provided they (hall be the file Judges 
 # of the Quantum to be raifed, or the Mode 
 <^ of raifing it, and of the Manner of it3 Ap- 
 " plication," But here lies the Difficulty, 
 which remains yet to be folved : For if the Co- 
 lonies are to be allowed to be the file Judges in 
 thefe Matters, the Sovereignty of the Britijh 
 Legiflature is entirely at an End; and thefe Co- 
 lonies become in Faft, as much independent of 
 their Mother- Country, as we are independent of 
 Hanover or Hanover of us*,— only indeed with 
 this Difference (which an American always chufes 
 to forget) That whereas we lay a Duty on all 
 raw Materials coming from the Eleftoral Do- 
 minions, we give a Bounty on thofe which are 
 imported from the Colonies. Befides, many 
 will be apt to afk, Could not this Matter be 
 f onjpromifed in fome Degree? And will nothing 
 lefs content the Colonies than a total Revolt 
 from under the Jurifdidion of the Mother- 
 Country ? Some well-meaning Perfons have 
 
 propofed, that each Colony, like each County 
 here in England^ fhould be allowed to raife 
 Taxes for its own internal Ufes, whilft the Briti/h 
 Parliament, the fovereign Council of the Briti/fi 
 Empire, lliould prcfide over the whple j and 
 therefore Ihould enaft fuch Laws for the levy- 
 ing of thofe general Taxes, as are to be applied 
 fqr the common Prote(flion, the Good^ and Be- 
 •-'T' ncfit 
 
%jh Por.ltlCAL AND Co^fMEWciAt 
 
 ncfit of all. But the Misfortune is, that the Co- 
 Ibnies will not confent to this Partition of Pow^f 
 and Jurifdiftion ; conlequently any Scheme of 
 this Nature is utterly imprafticable. Indeed the 
 late Stamp Aft itfelf was no ■^'^r f}^in-2. Part 
 of this very Scheme-. F' , -ney to be 
 
 raifed by that Tax, was ro be applied to the 
 foie Ufe of the Colonies, and to be expended no 
 "ubhere elfe but in the Colonies. Nay it was not 
 the Moiety, nor yet the third, nortliu lourth 
 jPart of the Sum which Great- Britain was to 
 "have railed on the fame Account, and to have 
 ^expended m the iame Provinces :— So anxious 
 ^as the ancien . Indulgent Parent not to lay too 
 iieavy a Burden en her favourite Children. But 
 ^^las! Fayouritcs of all Kinds feldom make thofe 
 returns of Gratitude and Obedience, 'vhich 
 tnight be expeded. For even as to that boafted 
 Loyalty, which the Colonies have hitherto pro- 
 fefled to maintain towards his Majefty K^ng 
 ^eorgi^- -th\% ftands, and muft fland, according 
 to their prefent political Syilem, on u ; precari- 
 ous a Footing as any of the reft of our C ims : 
 For if the Britijh Parli^men hav . no E ^ht to 
 •make Laws to bind the Colonies, they certainly 
 ought not to be allowed topr' .»:^ be to theri whQ 
 Jhallhe their King •, — much lefsoughtthey to pre- 
 tend to a Right of enading. That it (hall be a 
 •moll capital Offence, even High 'r% ' ;on 
 itfcJf, in a Colonift to dare to cont jiTc^. the 
 ^ ' . Title 
 
SUBJECTS! 171 
 
 Title of any Prince or any Family, fx h/e 
 Jmerican Throne, whom the Britijh Parliai cnt 
 ihall place thereon. 
 
 Besides, fome of thofe lower Houfcs of 
 Aflcmbly (which each Province now afFefts ta 
 call its Houfe of Commons) have already pro- 
 ceeded ♦^o greater Lengths of Sovereignty and 
 Independence than a Briti/h Houfe of Commons 
 ever prefumed to do except in the Days of the 
 grand Rebellion. For they have already arro- 
 gated to themfelves a Power of difpofmg^ as 
 well as oiraiftng the public Monies, without the 
 Confent of the other Branches oi the Legiflap*. 
 ture; which is, in faft, nothing lefs Jian the 
 Ereftion of fo many fovereign and independent 
 Democracies. Na" more, there is a general Com- 
 bination and Confederacy entered into among 
 them dl : For each Houfe of AITembiy hath, 
 lately appointed a ftarsding Committee for cor- 
 refi^ nding with the Handing Committees of 
 ot her Provinc ^ m order the more effecftually to^ 
 oppofe the .*utho ar J Jurifdidion of the 
 Mother-Country. 
 
 What thei is to be done in fneh a Cafe? 
 Ev ident it is beyond a Difpute, that timid and 
 temporifing Meafures ferve 10 no o . '^r Purpofe 
 but that of confirming the Colonics in their 
 Oppofition, and ftrcngthening them in their 
 prcient Revolt. 
 
 SCHEME 
 
'I 
 
 i! 
 •I 
 I''/ 
 
 Mf» POLl'tlCAL AND Coi^MERClAl 
 
 SCHEM E 11. 
 
 ^^Wherefore the 2cl Propofal is, To attempt 
 to perfuadc the Colonies to fend over a certain 
 Number of Reprefentatives to fn and vote in 
 die Biitijh Parliaments, in order to ina)rporate 
 America and Great Britain into one common 
 Empire. 
 
 • ? This is the Scheme of a very worthy Gen- 
 tleman, eminently verled in the Laws and Con- 
 ftitution of Great-Britain, and what is ftill 
 better, a real, not a p etended Patriot. Let us 
 therefore examine it with as much Refpedb and 
 Deference to his Opinion, as the Caufe of 
 Truth will permit ; which I am well perfuaded, 
 is full as much as he would require. 
 
 He begins withobferving v^ry juftly. Page 4, 
 •• 1 hat the Subjefts of the Crown of Great- 
 ^ Britain, muft (i. e. ought to) continue to be 
 ** fo in every Refpeft, in all Parts of the 
 " World, while they live under the Protcc- 
 *• tion of the Britifti Government ; and that 
 ** their crofljng the Atlantic Ocean with the 
 " King's Licence, and refiding in America for 
 *• the Purpofes of IVade, cannot afFedt their 
 
 ■* See a Pamphlet,—" Confiderations on the Expedl- 
 *« ency of admitting Reprefentatives from the American 
 ** Colonies into tue Bri/ijb Houfe of Commons." — London, 
 |>rinted ftr B. White, 1770. 
 
 "legal 
 
$ \J B J B CoffitC xrjrg 
 
 " legal Subjedlion to the governing Powers of 
 " the Community to "hich they belong. 
 
 " But yet he obfcrvcs, that the total V«?^ant 
 
 •* of the Rcprefentativcs in the great Council of 
 
 " the Nation, to fupport their Intercfts, and givic 
 
 ..*;♦ an Afl't U on their Behalf to Laws and Taxes 
 
 .** by which they are bound and affcded, is a 
 
 •' Misfortune, which every J '^nd to Liberty and 
 
 " equal Government muft be forry to fee th«rti 
 
 ;f» labour under, and from which he muft wilh 
 
 " them to be relieved in a regular and conftitu- 
 
 /* tional Manner, if/uch Relief can pojfibly be af- 
 
 . ^forded them, without breaking the Unity of the 
 
 .**Britifli Government." > 
 
 -v: . Hh therefore proceeds, at Page lo, to propofe 
 
 his Sclieme for remedying this . MisfortUfte ; 
 
 'S'/x* "That about eighty Ferfons' might be-a<i- 
 
 v^* mitted to fit in Parliament,, as Membeh 6£ 
 
 ^f} the Commons Houfe of ParHamcrit for ;*11 
 
 «,f* the Ki:;g*s Dominions in Jmericay the /F^f- 
 
 li^} Indies, as well as North-Jmerka-, znd thkt 
 
 , ^^ their Stile and Title fbould be, The Com- 
 
 f' MISSIONERSOP THE CoLONIES I?7 AMEftlCA;'* 
 
 vAfter this he goes on to fix the Numbers /e- 
 quiute to reprefent each Colony, their Qualifi- 
 cation, and the Mode of their Eledion ; alfo 
 the Time of their continuing in Office, and the 
 Manner of their being re-eledled, or fuperfeded 
 by others, if that fhould be judged necelTary: 
 In all whkh, tho' the Propofals arc jiot quite 
 
 con- 
 
 r 
 
': -'1 
 
 174 POLlTiCAt AND CokiMERCIAL 
 
 confident with the Unity of the BritiJ^ GoverH*- 
 mcnt, yet as he has obviated the Principal Dif- 
 ficulties, it would be both ill-natured and unjuft 
 to fpy out every fnnall Faulty or to maghify Ob- 
 jedtions. 
 
 But when he came to give us the Form^ the 
 Extent, and the Limitation of thefe Com- 
 miflions; nay^ when he propofes to circumfcribe 
 the Authority and Jurifdidtion of the Briti/k 
 Parliament itfcif, even after it hath been 
 ftrengthened by the Accefllon of thefe Colony- 
 Reprefentatives ; there^ I humbly apprehend, 
 the Importance of the Subjed Ihould prepon- 
 derate over mere Deference and Complaifance. 
 ;Nay I will go ftill further, and addj that if the 
 Meafures propofcd fliould be fhewn to have a 
 Tendency to beget endlefs Jealoufics, Quarrels^ 
 and Divifions, between the Mother-Country 
 and the Colonies, inftead of proving a Means 
 of Reconciliation, and a Center of Union, the 
 Gentleman himfelf, I am fully perfuaded, would 
 be among the fiift in rejeding his own Plan* 
 Let us therefore now dclcend into Particulars. 
 
 And I ft, it is propofcd, Page ii^ That they 
 
 (the Commiflioncrs) (hould receive a Commif- 
 
 . fion in Writing from their Eledors (vtz. the 
 
 * Aficmblies in each Province) " impowering 
 
 " them 
 
 • ^ertt Whether it is intended that the /otvfrHoares 
 in each AflembJy fhould have the folc Right of votings for 
 
S U B J E C T S. f}^ 
 
 •• them to fit and vote in the Britifli Houfc of 
 <* Commons, and confalt with the King, and 
 ** the great Men of the Kingdom, and the 
 «« Commons of the fame ia ParJiament aflem- 
 " bled, upon the great Affairs of the Nation, 
 •* and to CONSENT on the Behalf of the Province^ 
 
 jf' for ^^hich they were chofen, to fuch Things 
 •* as (hall be ordained in Parliament, ^^ w. 
 
 Now t\i\^ Form m\ght pafs very well amoti^ 
 ourfelves at Home, where the Majority are nbt 
 continually on the Watch to fpy out every Flaw, 
 real or imaginary: But in regard to the Coto- 
 nifts, and cfpecially an Affembly of Colonifts, 
 the Cafe is widely different : For it is well known 
 that their Wits are perpetually at work to aviil 
 themfelves even of the Shadow of an Argument 
 to oppofe the Right and Authority of the 
 Mother-Country. Therefore they will inamt- 
 diately feize on the Words Impowering and'C<?»- 
 
 '^fent^ and reafon after the following fallacious 
 Manner: -" The Aflemblies who eleJled the 
 ** Commiffioners, have a Right to inftruft 
 
 thcfe Commiflloners ? Or both Houfes jointly ? If the 
 former, then the Colony Governments would become ftilJ 
 more tiet.>2f)eratkal than they now are, tho* already fo, to 
 luch an exccflive Degree, as to be almoft incompatible with 
 any Idea of Monarchy : But if each Houfe is to vote fe- 
 parat.'Iy, what Jars and Faftions, and reciprocal Re- 
 proaches, would this occafion ! And hotv v/ould they bg 
 able to agree ? In fhort, either Way, the Profpeft :. alarm- 
 ing ! 
 
 ^* them i 
 
■HW 
 
 176 Political And CokMEiciAL 
 
 " them ; and thcfe Inftru6l:ions, when properly 
 "drawn up, are no other than fo many Trufts 
 "or Powers granted to them from Time to 
 -fh Time, by the AiTembly which eieded them -, 
 , ^,v which Aflfembly hath therefore a Right to con- 
 " tracSt or enlarge their Commiflion, as they 
 " (hall find it to be the Intereft of the Province 
 '* fo to do. CoMeqqcntly, if thefe Commif- 
 ^ fioners fliould at any Time vote contrary to 
 "their Inftru6lions, that is, to their Commifiion, 
 ** it follows, that in thefe Refpc£ks they have 
 " exceeded the Bounds prefcribed by their 
 ** Ele6tors. Therefore, being themfelves pro- 
 '* hibited from voting, and having no Authority 
 " to vote in fuch a Qiieftion, every Law wherein 
 " they gave their Suffrage, affeding the Interefts 
 *^ of the Colonies in general, or any Province in 
 - ** particular, is, ipfo faBo^ mill and void. 
 
 AcAiN,— .** The Colony Commiflioners are 
 " to give their Confeni in Behalf of the Province 
 " iov ''.vhich tht.y are chofen^ to fuch Things asfhall 
 " he ordained in Parliament. This is the Foun- 
 " dacion and Corner-Stone of all the Building : 
 " And theiefure, if fuch or fuch Commiflioners 
 ** did net give their Confent In Behalf of the 
 " Pt vinces for which they were chofen, then 
 " ic follows, of CoLirfe, that no Law, affeding 
 " the Interefts of fuch refpedive Provmces, is 
 ** obligatory, no Tax due or payable, nor any 
 " Regulations made by the pretended Authority 
 
 " of 
 
SUBJECTS. 177 
 
 « of the Briiijh Partiament without the Con- 
 *"■ fent of fuch CommiiTKMiers, are to be at all 
 « regarded by the Amricm Eledors."— Thefe 
 are a few of thofe blefled Conclufions, which 
 •the Politicians on the other Side of the Atlantic 
 will certainly draw from the TeriBs and Expref- 
 fions contained in fuch a Form. And what is 
 ilill worle, both our own hare-brained Repub- 
 licans, and our Mock-Patriots at Home will as 
 certainly adopt the fame Language, and echo 
 back thefame fpecious, tho' faife Allegations, 
 fFom one End of the Kingdom to the other. 
 Indeed many there are, even among ourfelves, 
 who, with the moft honeft and upright Inten- 
 tions, are at a Lofs at prefent how to difmtangle 
 ^themfelves from thefe fallacious Reaionings. 
 For having unhappily learnt in, Newfpaper Dif- 
 fertations, and from Coffee-houfe Harangues, 
 that the Deputies fent to the great Council of 
 the Nation, are the mere Attornies of. thofe who 
 eleded them j — the Inference is but natural, 
 that thefe Attornies ought to (\o as they are bid-y 
 and that, in Cafe of Competition, they ought 
 not to prefer their own private Opinions to the 
 Judgment of their Conilicuents.--! fay, this 
 Inference is natural j nay it is neceffary, jufl-, 
 and true, were the Premilcs but true from 
 whence it is deduced. 
 
 Wherefore, having often had the Advan- 
 tage of hearing no lefs a Perfon than the late 
 
 M ex- 
 
jyZ Political and Commercial 
 
 excellent Judge Foster, that true Friend to 
 all reafonable Liberty, Civil and Religious,— I 
 fay, having often heard him difcourfing on the 
 Rife and Origin of Parliaments, I will venture 
 to li^y his State of the Cafe before my Reader, 
 hoping that it may remove all his Difficulties (if 
 he has any) and work the fame Fuinefs of Con- 
 viftion in his Mind, which it did in mine. 
 
 « To rcafon accurately, faid this upright and 
 «« able Lawyer, on the Origin of Parliaments, 
 « we muft trace the Matter up to its conftituent 
 *' Principles. Now the firft Idea which ftrikes 
 *« one on this Occafion is, I'uat of a large Af- 
 ♦'^ fembly of different Tribes of Warriors, either 
 *« preparing for fome military Expedition, or 
 "got together, after a Vi6lory, to re the 
 <' Booty, and divide the Lands amopgtheCon- 
 «« querors. When all are met together in one 
 " Place, they chufe a Committee for managing 
 *« their Affairs -, having found it impradicable 
 " to tranfad any Bufinefs of Confequence in 
 " any other Way. Now this Committee, 
 " chofen by the whole Nation, a6lually affem- 
 ^'^ bled, gives us the firft rude Draught of a na- 
 <* tional Parliament, or a national Council. 
 « But in Procefs of Time, and when the Nation 
 « had made large Conquefts, and was cantoned 
 " into dillant ProviHces, it was found to be ex- 
 <* tremely inconvenient to affemble the whole 
 s^ Nation together into one Place. Therefore 
 
 « the 
 
SUB 
 
 E C T 'S. 
 
 4C 
 
 (( 
 
 (C 
 
 t( 
 
 •« the next, and indeed the only Expedient, was, 
 *' that each Canton, oreach Diftridt, which could 
 •* affemble, fhould be authorized to eled a De- 
 *'puty, or Dcputksy not for iifelf alom, that 
 " IS THE GRAND MisTAKE, but for the Nation 
 « at large, which could not aflemble ; and the 
 « Powers to be granted to fuch Deputy, or 
 " Deputies, were juft the fame as the Nation 
 " would have granted to them, had it been ac- 
 *' tually airembled. Hence therefore it comes 
 *' to pafs, that each Deputy reprefcnts the whole 
 « Nation in general, as muchas if he had been 
 " eleded by the whole Nation ; and confe- 
 quently fuch a Deputy is the Jtlorney (ifhe 
 mufl: be calkd by that Name) not of any one 
 "particular Tribe, Society, or Diftria:, but of 
 " the whole colkmveJy : So that it becomes the 
 " Duty of his Office to take Care of the Interefts 
 " of all the People in general, hcaufe he repre-, 
 « fents then; all. In Ihort, he cannot, confidently 
 " with the Duty which he owes to the whole, 
 " pay any Deference to the Requeft, Inttrudion* 
 " Remonftrance,or Memorial, of his particular 
 « Eleftors, except in fuch Cafes only wherein 
 " he is convinced in his Confcience, that the 
 " Meafures, which they require hmi to purfue, 
 are not incompatible -xith the public Good." 
 Thus far this great Judge of ihe Britifli Con- 
 ibtution. And tho' many impotant Inferences 
 might be drawn from hence, which would cf- 
 
 M 2 fedtualiy 
 
 «( 
 
i8p Political and Commercial 
 
 remove thofc Difficulties, with which the Sub- 
 jed has of late been artfully and ftudioufly per- 
 plexed (and particularly in the Cafe of the 
 Expulfion * of a Member of the Houfe of Com- 
 mons) yet I fhall content myfclf with one general 
 Remark at prcfent ? viz. That as each Clafs of 
 Men, each Society or Diftri<5t, throughout the 
 Britijh Empire, are as much reprefented by 
 thofc Deputies, whom they did not perfonally 
 eled, as they are by thofe whom they did •, it 
 therctore toliows, that there is no need, that the 
 Deputies, particularly eleded by them, fhould 
 givr their perjonal Confent to any A6ts of the 
 Lcgiflature -, becaufe a Vote of the Majority is 
 in fad a. Vote of the Nation to all Intents and 
 
 Purjjoles. 
 
 But it is now high Time to attend to another 
 
 Part of this Gentleman's Plan for admitting 
 
 Commiffioners from the Colonies to fit and vote 
 
 in the Britifli Houfe of Cominons. 
 
 ■ And that is, idly, the £;f/^«/ of their Com - 
 
 miflion, and indeed the boundary Line prefer ibed 
 
 to the Britifli Parliament itfelf, whenever it fliall 
 
 interfere in American Affairs. For it feems (fee 
 
 * Surely the Nation might have expelled Mr. Wilkes, 
 or have Itruck his Name out of the Lift of Committee, 
 kud it been uffembled, and had it thought proper fo to do. 
 What tilt. fliouK: hinder the Deputies of the Nation from 
 doing -he iume Thing ? And which ought to prevail in this 
 Caic, the Nation in general or the County oi Middle/ex ? 
 
 P. 14.) 
 
SUBJECTS. igi 
 
 P. 14) "That this legiflative Power of Parlia- 
 *' ment ihould be excrcifed but feldom^ and on Oc- 
 " cafions of great Neceffity. Whatever related to 
 " the internal Government of any particular 
 " Colony (fuch as raifing the neceflary Taxes for 
 " the Support of its civil Government, and 
 " pafiing Laws for building Bridges, or Churches, 
 ** or Barracks, or other public Edijices ) (houldbe 
 " left to the Governor and Afiembly of that 
 ** Colony to tranfad among themfelves, unlefs 
 " in Cafes where the domeftic DifTentions of the 
 " Colony put a Stop to public Bufmefs, arid 
 " created a Kind of Neceffity for the Interpofi- 
 " tion of the fuprcme Legiflature. But when 
 " any general Tax was to be impofed upon all 
 " the American Colonies for the Support of a 
 *' War, or any other fuch general Purpofe ; or 
 " any new Law was to be r.ii?de to regulate the 
 ' Trade of all the Colonies ; o' to appoint the 
 Methods by which Debts owing from the In- 
 " habitants of one Colony to thofe of another, 
 •' or of Great -Britain, fhould be recovcrvd \ or 
 " to direct the Manner of bringing Crim'n is 
 *' to Juftice who have fled from one Colony to 
 " another \ or to fettle the Manner of quar- 
 " tering the King's Troops in the feveral Co- 
 " lonies ; or of levying Troops in them, and 
 " the Number each Colony fliould contribute; 
 « or to fetde the proportionable Values of difFe- 
 " rem Coins that fhould be made current in the 
 
 (C 
 
 M 3 
 
 ic r 1 
 
 " iCVCIai 
 
l82 POLITICAI* AifD COMMEKCIAL 
 
 " leveral Provinces ; or to cflablifh a general 
 " Paper-Currency throughout America ; or for 
 " any other general Purpofe that relates to fe- 
 " veral Colonies :— In thefe Cafes the Authority 
 " of Parliament fliould be employed." 
 
 Here now is a Kind of Barrier fet up be- 
 tween thefe two contending Powers,, the Britijh 
 Parliament, and the Provincial Aflemblies ;— 
 a Barrier, which muftbe held fo facred by both 
 Parties, as to limit their relpedive Pretenfions, 
 and to extinguifh all. further Claims. Let us 
 therefore fee how well this Scheme is calculated 
 TO anfwer fuch good Purpofes. 
 
 And firil it: is faid, that the Parliament ought 
 to interfere but feldotn ; and then only on Oc- 
 cafions oi^reat Necejfity. Now here permit me 
 to afk, "Who are to be the Judges of what \s,fel- 
 dom or what is frequent? Moreover, who is 
 to determine between the Parliament and the 
 Provincial Aflemblies, whea there is a great' 
 Neccflity for the Interference of the former, and 
 whf n there is but a little one, or none at all ?--- 
 Obviciis it is, to all the World, thatthefejealous. 
 Rivals will never fettle fuch Points among 
 thcmfclves i and if ///^j will not fettle them, in- 
 deed if they cannot, who is to be their common 
 Umpire or Referee ? Belides, granting even 
 that this DifEculty could be got over in fome 
 Degree, another formidable one immediately 
 ftarts up, like another Hydra j wz. What are- 
 
 thefe 
 
SUBJECTS. 183 
 
 thcfe Colony Agents to do in our Houfe of 
 Commons, when no Colony Bufinefs happens 
 to be traniaded ? Are they to remain as fo 
 many Mutes, without fpeaking a Word, or 
 giving a finglc Vote for Weeks, ^ r Months, or 
 perhaps for a whole Scffion together ? Or are 
 they to fit and vote in all Briti/h Caufes, great 
 or fmall ; notwithftanding that the Briti/h Se^ 
 nators are precluded from voting, excepting in 
 extraordinary Cafes, in refpeft to the Colonics ? 
 In either Cafe here feems to be fomething in- 
 troduced into the Britifli Conftitution of a very 
 heterogeneous Nature •, fomething very repug- 
 nant to that Unity of Government, which the 
 Gentleman himfelf allows ought to be preferred 
 to every other Confideration : And I will add 
 further, that if the Colony-Commiffioners are 
 to fit and vote in all our Caufes, tho* our Britijh 
 Reprefentatives are rellrained from voting in 
 theirs, perhaps ninety- nine Times in an Hun- 
 dred, this will be the fetting up of one of the 
 mofl: partial, unequal, and unjuft Syftems of 
 Pacification, that ever yet appeared in the 
 World. 
 
 We therefore proceed to another weighty 
 Objection againll the prefent Plan. — The Terms 
 of this new Compad are declared to be, That 
 the Colony AfiTsmblies Ihall be invefted with the 
 Right of internal znd provincial Jurifdidion and 
 Legiflation ; while the Briti/h Parliament, even 
 
 M 4 after 
 
l84 Political and Commercial 
 
 after tlic Acceffion of thefe 80 Colony Com- 
 rniffioners, fhall ic content to retain only that 
 
 which is external and general. But here, 
 
 alas ! the very fame Difficulties return which 
 prefled fo hard b^-fore : For who is to judge 
 between the Britifi Parliament and the Provin- 
 cial Aflemblies in thcle Refpeds? Who will 
 venture to afcertain in every Cafe what is ex- 
 ternal and general ; and what is merely 'nternal 
 and provincial ? Nay indeed, may not the very 
 fame Things juftly pafs under both Denomina- 
 tions, according as they are feen from different 
 Points of View ? Surely they may \ and to 
 convince any Man of this, let him attend to the 
 very Catalogue of Articles, with which this Gen- 
 tleman hath himfelf prefented us. For at 
 Page 14, hcobferves, " That whatever related 
 '' to the internal Governx]:if nt of any particular 
 " Colony, Ihould be -'ft to the Governor and 
 " AfTcmbly of thar , , : rjy to tranfad among 
 « themfelvesi" among which Articles belong- 
 ing to internal Government, he enumerates the 
 building oi Barracks., and of other public Edi- 
 fices V and yet both he and every Man muft al- 
 low, that the building of Barracks, Forts, and 
 Fortrefles, the making of King's Docks and Ca- 
 reening Places for the Navy, the laying out of 
 military Roads, and the providing of Magazines 
 for Provifiohs and military Stores, confidered in 
 another View, are of a general Nature j in the 
 
 Eredtion 
 
S U B J £ C r 3. 185 
 
 Ercftion and Prcfervation of which, the whole 
 Britijh i^mpire is deeply intcrelted. And yet 
 were the Brilijh Parlianu to frrTie Laws, and 
 to levy Taxes on the Ar means iv.r thefc Pur- 
 pofes, whurt Outcries would immediately be 
 railed agaithl the Mother-Country ! Every 
 JFortrcfs, nay every Barrack, would be dcfcrioed 
 as an odious Badge of Slavery, and every little 
 Magazine would be termed a Monument oi 
 Tyranny and defpotic Power, and a Preparative 
 for deftroying the i>w Liberties that were left. 
 Again, at the Bottom of the fame Page, he 
 declares, that ihe Authority of Parliament 
 Ihould * employed in fettling the Manner of 
 ^ua tering the King's 5 oops in the feveral Colonies, 
 I will not objed to the Interpofition of Parlia- 
 meni in fuch a Cafe : For I well know that if 
 the Parliament did not interfere, the Troops 
 would very often have no Quarters at all ; and 
 yet this very Circumftance would afford an 
 American Affembly the mod inviting Opportu- 
 nity for Exclamation and Oppofition. " What! 
 " The BritiJJi Parliament to take upon them to 
 ** fettle the Manner of quartering the Troop in 
 " our own Province, and on our own Inliabif ants ! 
 " Who fo proper Judges as ourfelves, aen or 
 " where, or after what Manner they fliould be 
 " quartered? Andh.wcame theGentlemen.met 
 " at Wefiminjier^ to be acquainted with iW, Cir- 
 " cumftances of our People, and the Situation 
 
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i86 Political and Commercial 
 
 *' of Places, better than we, who refidc on the 
 •« Spot ? No ! Thefe Afts of the Britijh Parlia- 
 *' ment are all bare-faced Encroachments on our 
 *' Liberties, and open Violations of our Rights 
 . *« and Properties : They are the Chains which 
 «' our pretended Protedlors, but in Reality our 
 ' *« E^p//^;iTalk-Mafl:ers, have been long forpino- 
 ** for Us. Let therefore all unite, and man- 
 *« fully refift them -, let us poftpone the paying 
 *' of Debts, and enter into a general Aflbciation 
 «* to refufe their Goods, to diftrefs their Trade, 
 *' and to harrafs our cruel Enemies by every 
 *' Method in our Power -, and if we are thus 
 *' united, they muji yields as they did before.** 
 In fhort it Would be endlefs to recount all the 
 Topics which fuch a Scheme as this Gentleman 
 has propofed would certainly furnifh to every 
 popular Declaimer in every popular Aflcmbly ; 
 and the more improbable, the more abfurd and 
 unjufl his Harangues were in Point of found 
 Argument and jult Reafonir^g \ fo much, gene- 
 rally fpeaking, the more greedily would they be 
 received. 
 
 However, there is one Point more which I 
 cannot omit, becaufe it will throw a further 
 Light en this Matter, and dilclofe a new Scene 
 of patriotic Manoeuvres, and the Wiles of Po- 
 liticians. At Page 13, this Author lays down 
 a general Rule tor the Condud of Parliament 
 Yfith Reipefl to AmcTicr>^ viz. " That it ought 
 
 u. r/> 
 
SUBJECTS. ig; 
 
 " to be made a (landing Order of both Houfcs 
 " of Parliament, never to pafs any Law, whe- 
 ** ther for impofmg 3 Tax, or for regulating 
 " Trade, or for any other Purpofe whatfoever 
 « relating to any of the American Colonies, 'till 
 ^* one whole Year after the firft reading gf the 
 "Bill J iinlcfs it be to renew fome expiring 
 " Laws of great Importance, and of immediate 
 " and urgent Neceffity, fuch as the Ad for 
 «* Ifilleting the King's Troops, and perhaps fomc 
 " few others that might befpecially excepted in 
 *' the Order." 
 
 This is the Reflridibn in Point of Time, 
 which our Author propofes to lay on the Par- 
 liament of Great- Britain, *'• They never muft 
 " pafs any Lav/ for impofing a Tax 'till one 
 « whole Year after the lirft reading of the Bill :" 
 Why ?—« In order to give the feveral Colonies 
 " an Opportunity of making />rtf^^r Reprefenta- 
 " iions againft it, and to prevent the Parliamene 
 "from making injudicious Laws, not fuited 
 ^ to the Condition of the Colonies." A fine 
 Contrivance truly ! and a moft effedual Expe- 
 dient to prevent the Parliament from ever 
 ifaaking any Laws to oblige the Americans to 
 difcharge their Duty towards the Mother- 
 Country: For this Gentleman might have 
 known, indeed it is hardly poflible that the 
 Fad could have efcaped his Notice, had he re- 
 coUcdted it, that this very Circumftance of a 
 
 /y. > - 
 4iiirS 
 
 W ^'4'' ^^^^1 
 
«8S Political and Commercial 
 
 Tear's Procraftination was the main Engine em- 
 ployed tO' batter down the late Stamp- Ail. 
 When the Duty on Stamps was firft propofed^ 
 the Americans made as little Objedion to k, as 
 could be fuppofcd to be made to any new Tax 
 whatever. Nay, feveral of their popular Ora- 
 tors and Leaders ufed confiderable Intereft to be 
 employed as Agents in the Diftribution of thefe 
 Stamps. But when the Outs and the Pouters 
 on this Side the Water, faw the Advantage 
 which the Minifter gave them by a whole 
 Year's Delay, they eagerly feized the Op- 
 portunity; Emiffaries and Agents were dif- 
 patched into all Quarters ;— the Ncwfpapers 
 were filled with Invedives againft the new- 
 intended Tax. It was injudicious ! — it was ill- 
 timed !— oppreflive ! --tyrannical ! — and every 
 Thing that was bad ! Letters upon Letters were 
 \f^ott to America to excite the People to affociate, 
 to remonftrate, and even to revolt. The moft 
 ample Promifes were made from hence, of giv- 
 ing them all the AfTiflance which Fadion, and 
 Clamour, arid Mock-patriotifm, could mufter 
 lip. 
 
 Well, their indefatigable Endeavours proved- 
 but too fuccefsful v/ith an infatuated People : 
 For a violent Storm was raifed againft the Mi- 
 nifter for the Time being, and overfet him» as 
 they intended. Owy patriotic Outs then became 
 the mimjlerial Ins •» and therefore the Storm hav- 
 
SUBJECTS. 1S9 
 
 ing now done its Bufmefs, they had no further 
 Occafion for it, and wifhed it to fubfidc. But 
 here they found themfelvesegregioufly miftaken. 
 For the Americans had, in their Turn, learnt the 
 Art of making Tools of them, inftead of being 
 made Tools by them: So that having been 
 taught by thefe Preceptors to feel their own 
 Weight and Independence, they were not to be 
 wheedled by foothing and cajoling Letters to give 
 over their Enterprize, or to become a tradable, 
 obedient People for the future. In Ihort, hence 
 it came to pafs, that even during the Continu- 
 ance of this new and favourite Adminiftration, 
 the American Spirit was riling all the while, in- 
 ftead of finking. And as like Caufes will always 
 produce like Effefts, efpecially fivi.j Things 
 have been fufFercd to grow to fuch an Heighth, 
 evident it is to common Senfe, that any future 
 Attempt of the Britifli x^arliament to levy a Tax 
 on America^ will meet with no better a Fate than 
 the Stamp- A6t has done. Moreover, a Year's 
 Delay in laying it on will juft fo much Time 
 given the Colonies to prepare for Battle ; and 
 Woe to that Adminiftration which Ihall purpofc 
 it ; for they will certainly be overturned by 
 the fame Arts and Managements which the for- 
 mer were, and with much greater Eafe. 
 
 I fliould now have done with this Gentleman's 
 Scheme, were it not that I find him, at Page 28, 
 
 making 
 
 1 1 
 
 w 
 

 igo Political and Commercial 
 
 making a Kind of Apology to the Americans for 
 the Condud of our Parliament in paying the 
 King's Debts of his Civil Lift. And I own 
 myfelf more hurt by this Paragraph, than by 
 all the reft of his Pamphlet : For as I am tho- 
 roughly perfuaded, he wrote from Conviaion, 
 and not from any fmifter Views, one is forry to 
 find fo able, fo honeft, and upright a Man, 
 carried away by the Torrent of the Times to 
 fuch a Degree, as to adopt Notions, which are 
 ftlmoft too crude for a Club of Livery Politici- 
 ans met in fome blind Alley at a City Ale- 
 houfe. • His Words are thefc :— " It is certain, 
 " that no fuch (exorbitant) Grants as are above 
 " mentioned have been made, unlefs in the fingle 
 ** Inftance of" the Sym of 513,000! granted to 
 " his prefent Majefty for the Difcharge of the 
 « Debts of his Civil Lift. And in this Cafe I 
 " can eafily fuppofe, that a Motive of Com- 
 *' paflion for a Number of innocent Perfons, 
 *' who would otherwife have been Sufferers from 
 ** that Load upon his Majefty's Revenue, and 
 " an afFeaionate Defiie of relieving their ex- 
 *' ceilent Sovereign (who has in no Inftance en- 
 « deavoured to violate the Liberties of hisSub- 
 " jedls) from the unworthy Streights and In- 
 " conveniences, ill becoming the Royal Dignity 
 " into which fome of his Minifiers had brought 
 ' him hy the injudicious Management of his Re- 
 venue, may have induced many Members of 
 
 '^the 
 
 (C 
 
 *c 
 
S U B J E C T a i9f 
 
 ** the Houfe of Commons to confcnt to thU 
 •' Grant, without any View to their own private 
 *' Intereft ; though at the fame Time I ac- 
 ** knowledge it to be, conjidering all its Circum- 
 ^^Jiances^ a dangerous Compliance, and not 
 *' worthy to be drawn into Example." 
 
 Now if the Compliance of the Parliament 
 in difcharging this Debt was dangerous, the 
 Reafon muft be, becaufe the Circumftance of 
 contrading the Debt itfelf was really infamous; 
 therefore ought not to be avowed, but had bet- 
 ter be fuppreffed in Tendernefs to the Royal 
 Caufe. But can this Author point out any fuch 
 infamous Circumftances, if he were minded to 
 make the Difcovery ? — i dare anfwer for him, 
 that he cannot. And as I will not fuppofe that 
 he has more Tales to tell than any other private 
 Gentleman, and much lefs that he himfelf was 
 an Accomplice in, or privy to any fuch Scenes 
 of Iniquity as are here inGnuated, — 1 will now 
 undertake to prove to him and the World, how 
 as great a Debt as this, nay, a much greater, 
 might have been contradted in the Space of ten 
 Years, without the leaft Impeachment of Wafte, 
 Profufion, Mifmanagement, or any other Mif- 
 ftppUcation whatfoever. 
 
 Every Office, Dignity, Rank, or Station, has 
 
 9 certain Charadter to fuftain, which neccffarily 
 
 requires a correfpondent Train of Expences; 
 
 . jip that whether you confider the Demands upon 
 
 % 
 
192 Political and Commercial 
 
 a King with a Salaiy of 8oo,oool. a Year, or the 
 Demands on a private Gentleman with only a 
 , clear Rental of 800I. a Year, the Scale of Ex- 
 pences-muft be proportionate, the Demands and 
 Expences being relative one to the other. 
 
 We will therefore Reafon on what we are 
 moft converfant with (and with Refped to which 
 we may be allowed to be competent Judges) 
 viz. on the Cafe of a young Gentleman of a re- 
 fpedable ancient Family, juft come to take Poi^ 
 feflion of an Eftate, which clears him Sool. a 
 Year. 
 
 ift. Therefore being appointed Sheriff of 
 the County, he muft and ought to go through 
 thatexpenfive Office in fuch a Manner as would 
 refledt no Difgrace on himfelf, or the refpeda- 
 ble Family from which he is defcended (and 
 the Office of Sheriff belonging to a private Gen- 
 tleman is of much the fame Import in Point of 
 Expencc, as the Circumftances of z Coronation 
 in rcfpe<5t to Majefty.) 
 
 2ndly. Many Deaths and Funerals within the 
 above-mentioned Period create another Article 
 ofExpence, which muft be borne; with this 
 peculiar Circumftance attending it. That tho* 
 he mull bury a Grandfather fuitable to his 
 Rank^ alfa an Uncle, Aunt, a Brother and 
 Siflcrs»— yet he himfelf acquires no Addition of 
 JFortune by their Deceafcs. 
 
 3dly. 
 
S U 6 
 
 E C 'T S. 
 
 J li u T 5. rgj 
 
 3dly. Several A/<?rr/j^« in the Family, apd 
 Kis own * in particular, bring on a third Charge, 
 which furely in Reafon and Coufciencc QugJi^t 
 not to be objeded to. 
 
 4thly. Six or feven Chriftening^ and'Lyings- 
 ■in, expenfive Articles in all l^amilies., neceffa- 
 rily happen ifrom the Circumftanqcof the,Caf^, 
 to be peculiarly expenfive in this : And yet nqi- 
 ther the young Gentleman himfelf, nor any of 
 his Friends and "Well-wilhers to the paitiily, 
 ought to be fuppofed even to have wilhed to 
 have faved thcie extraordinary Charges. 
 
 5thly, A Train of une^cpeded Vifitants bring 
 
 on another heavy Load ; and though they were 
 
 .not invited, yet, as they chofe to come, they 
 
 imull be received with an Hofpitality fpit^blc to 
 
 * Some ihrewd Politicians have been wife enough to *ft, 
 'Why did not his Majeity marry a lar^e- Fortune, in order to 
 re-imburfe fome.of thefe Expences ?-J-What large Fortune 
 would thefe Wifeacres have wifljed him to have marrie4 ? 
 A Dutcky or Principality on the Continent, in order to en- 
 gage us Itill more in CV»//«f/j/«/ Meafures ? Oi- was itlo 
 be a large landed Eftate at JHome, to be annexed to the 
 Crown like another Putchy of Lancapr ? -^Th\% ujd 
 have had a fine Influence on Eleflionecring, and Enghjb 
 .'Liberties:— But ^erhapy they meant, that he fhould have 
 gone into the City, and iiave paia his Ad4rej9"cs to A^ifs 
 Flumhe, the rich Grocer's Daughter, o;- to Mifs Re/counters, 
 the Heirefs of the great Broker in ^Change-JUey. And 
 to be fure, fuch a Match as thi* would have corrcjponded 
 rarely well >yit]j the lublime Ideas of City -Politics.' Oor 
 antient Nobility would have been delighted in giving tho 
 .i^'wcedency to fuch illuftrious Princes of the 31ood. 
 
 .N hw 
 
I.p4 Political anq Commercial 
 
 his and their Dignity, and the Hclation of 
 Friendfhip and Family-Tics fubfifting between 
 them. 
 
 Add to all this, 6thly, The uncommon Dear- 
 pefs of all Sorts of Provifions, which for fome 
 Years paft hath exceeded any Thing known in 
 former Times •, and wl^ich alone hath aflually 
 fwelled the Amovint of Houfe -keeping in every 
 Family to a very confiderablc Sum. 
 
 Now the young Gendeman having fupported 
 himfelf under thefe fevcral PrefTures and grow- 
 ing Expences for ten Years together, at laft is 
 obliged to requeft his neareft Friends and dear- 
 |lelations to grant him fome Affiftance; be- 
 caufe he is 513I. or almoft three garters of a 
 Tear in Debt. Heavens ! What a Suni ! And 
 is this all a:gainft which fuch loud Outcries have 
 been raifed ? Yes, this is all ! Therefore, indig- 
 nant Reader, whoever thou art, Englijhman or 
 American^ lay thy Hand on thy Heart, and afk 
 thyfelf this plain Queftion, What wouldft thou 
 have thought of fuch a young Man, had he been 
 thine own Son, thy Grandfon^, or the Heir-ap- 
 parent of thy Fortune ? And what Sort of Treat- 
 inent would he have deferved at thy Hands ? 
 Therefore, mutatQ nomine — But \ will add no 
 piore: Let Nature and Humanity, Juftice and 
 Equity, plead their own Caufe. 
 . We have now, I think, very fufficiently dif- 
 jpufled every Part ot this Gentleman*? Plan : Nay 
 
 #..;&# «V 
 
 wc 
 
SUB 
 
 E C T S. 
 
 J r. \^ 1 5. 195 
 
 -vee have amply and particularly fhewn, that his 
 Apology to the Americans m Behalf of the Britijh 
 Parliament, for paying the Arrears of his Ma- 
 jefty's Civil Lift, was quite a necdlcfs Thing. 
 For if no ftronger Proofs can be brought of 
 their Venality and Corruption than this Inftance, 
 they ftill may be fafely.trufted with, the Guardi- 
 anfhip of thofe Liberties and Properties, whici^ 
 they have hitherto- not only preferved, but alfo 
 ftrengthencd and encreafed to a Degree un- 
 known before in this, or any other Country. 
 In one Word, the Scheme of aflUnian under 
 ourprefentConliderAtion^ is of fucha Nature* 
 as v/ould neccflkrily.tendto exafperate both Par- 
 ties, inftead of mollifying or reconciling, either. 
 And as the Americans have already given us to 
 underftand, both in their. Provincial Aflemblies, 
 and at their General Congrefles, that they wiH 
 not accept of an Union .with us ; .and .as 
 Great- Britain ^i not to petition for it ; furcly 
 more need n. .^e^ ed.fpr laying the.Scheme 
 afide.^ Indet^*^' ^ntleman himfeJf,.tDwards 
 the Clofe of his.ianaphlet, ^expreiTes l?ut little 
 Hopes of its Succefs: For, 'erall, the bed 
 Ufe he can put it to, ^eems to be the Juftifica- 
 . tion of the Mother-Country in declaring War 
 againfi the Colonies, in order to oblige them to 
 iubmit to her Authority, and to return to their 
 vOjpe^dience. So that this Scheme of Paciacatiqn 
 
 " B' 
 
 *.N.2 
 
 .J« 
 
196 Political and Commercial 
 
 is to end in a War at laft. Therefore we ar^ 
 now come to confidcr the 
 
 THIRD SCHEME. 
 
 The Expediency of having Recourfe to 
 Arms, in order to compel the Colonies to fub- 
 mit to the Authority and Jurifdiftion of the fu- 
 preme Council of the firiV?/^ Empire, the Parli^ 
 ament of Great Britain. 
 
 In regard to which important Point the Gen- 
 tleman reafons after the following Manner : 
 
 *» After fuch an Offer (of an Union, as above 
 ^< defcribcd) and the contemptuous Refufal of 
 *.' it by the Colonies, we may well fuppofe, that 
 "they (the Inhabitants of Great- Britain) will 
 *« ad as one Man, to fupport the jull and law- 
 « ful, and neceffary Authority of the fupreme 
 « Legiflature of the Britijh Nation over all the 
 «• Dominions of the Crown. The Jullice of 
 " their Caufe will give Vigour to their Meafures i 
 ** and the Colonies that (hall have the Folly and 
 " Prefumption to refift them, will be quickly 
 *« reduced to Obedience/' 
 
 It is poffible, nay indeed it is very probable, 
 that if a War was to be fpeedily undertaken, be- 
 fore Great-Britain and Ireland had been too 
 much exhautled of ^heir Inhabitants, emigrating 
 to North' America^ the Forces of the Mother- 
 Country might prev/ail, and America, however 
 onwilhng, be forced to lubmit. But alas! 
 Vidory alone is but a poor Compenfation for all 
 
 the 
 
S U 6 ) E C T a 197 
 
 the Blood and Tftafure which muft be fpilt on 
 fuch an Occafion. Not to mention, that after a 
 Conqucft of their Country, the Americans would 
 certainly be Icfs difpofed, even than ihey are at 
 prcfent, to become our good Cuftomtrs, and to 
 take our Manufactures in return for thofe Inju- 
 ries and Opprcflions which they had fuffered 
 from us : — I fay, Injuries and Opprejffions : be- 
 caufe the Colonies would molt undoubtedly 
 give no fofter an Appellation to this Conqueft, 
 tho' perhaps it would be no other in itfelf, than 
 a juft Chaftifement for the manifold Offences 
 they had committed. Moreover as the Ameri- 
 cans are endeavouring even at prefent to fet up 
 all Sorts of mechanic Trades in order to rival us, 
 or at leaft to fuperfedc the Ufc of our Manu- 
 factures in their Country, -can any Man fup- 
 pofe, that their Ardor for fctting up Manufac- 
 tures would be abated, by their being forced to 
 deal at the only one European Shop, which they 
 moft detefted. 
 
 But what is ftill worfe, if poflible,— though 
 the Britijli Troops might over-run the great Con- 
 tinent of North- America at firft, it doth by no 
 Means follow, that they could be able to main- 
 tain a Superiority in it afterwards for any Length 
 of Time : And my Reafon is, becaufe the go- 
 verning of a Country after a Peace, is a much 
 more arduous Talk, in certain Circumftances, 
 than the conquering it during a War. Thus 
 
 N 3 for 
 
 i,.i 
 
198 Political and Commercial 
 
 for Example, when a Peace enfues (and fqrelf 
 it is not intended that we fhall he for ever in ai 
 State of War) then a civil Conlt'itution cf fome 
 Kind or other muft neceflarily be eftablifhed ; 
 and in the Cafe before us, there feems to be no 
 other Alternative, but either the permitting the 
 Colonies to enjoy once more thofe Advan- 
 tages of Englijh Liberty, and of an EngUfli 
 Conftitution, which they had forfeited; or 
 clfe a Refolution to govern them for the 
 future by arbitrary Sway and defpotic Power, 
 If the latter i^ould be the Plan adopted, 
 I then humbly fubmit it to be duly weighed 
 and cOrifidered, what a baleful Influence 
 this Government a la F'ruffe would have 
 on every other Part of the BritiOi Empire. 
 England ircc^ and America in Chains ! And how 
 foon would the enflavcd Part of the Conftitution, 
 and perhaps the greater, contaminate the free 
 and the leflef ? Nay, as America was tound to 
 increafe in Strength and Numbers, an Army of 
 Englifli-hbrn Soldiers (for no others could be 
 truiled) firft of 50,000, and afterwards per- 
 haps of ioo,ooo» Wouldy fcarcely be fufficieiit 
 to keep thcfc turbulent Spirits in Awe, and to 
 prevent them, at fuch a prodigious Diftancc 
 from the Center of Government, from break- 
 ing out into Iniurredlons and Rebellions at 
 every favourable Opportunity. But if the 
 former were to prevail, and a Return QiEngliJh 
 
 Liberties 
 
s xi'^a 
 
 J 
 
 E C T S. ig^ 
 
 Liberties was again to take Place, it muft alfo 
 follow, that the Syftem of Trials by Juries 
 muft return with them : And then, when yimc- 
 rica fliall grow ftronger and ftronger every Day^ 
 and England proportionably weaker, how is an 
 Infurredion to be quelled in America ? And 
 what Rnglifh Officer, civil or military, would 
 dare to do it ? Nay, I afk further, granting that 
 he was fo brave, or rather fo fool-hardy, as to 
 attempt to do his Duty, who is to protect him 
 in the Execution of his Office ? Or how is he 
 to be preferved, by. due Forms of Law ^ againft 
 the Determination of an Ah ican Jury^? A 
 Tumult is excited -,— the Military is called . 
 forth J—- the Soldiers are infvilted j— many per- 
 haps wounded, and fome even killed. 1 he 
 Patience of : the Officei's w jrn out, and in their 
 own Defence, they are obliged to give the Word 
 of Command to fire. The Relations of thofe 
 who /^// by this Fire, bring on an Appeal of 
 Blood. The American Jury find the Officers 
 who commanded, apd perhaps the whole Corps 
 who fired, guilty of wilful Murder \ and then 
 all the Power of the Crown, legalty eicerted, is 
 not able to fave the Lives of thcfe poor innocent 
 Men. * Pitiable furc is fuch a Cafe; and yet it 
 
 * Since the firft Edition of this Pamphlet, an A€t has 
 paft for remedying the Evils fojuftly apprehended relative 
 to the Cafe oi Appeah of BlooJ,— Bet ftill, tho' this Diffi- 
 
 '•A 
 
 ! •■ 
 
 N4 
 
 IS 
 
200 PpLITICAt AND CoMAiERClAL 
 
 IS a Cafc^which would, and muft frequently thca^ 
 h^pen in the natural bpurjTc of things, ac- 
 cMingj to our legal Conftitution. 
 
 Juries are as confclentious as ot"her Juries in 
 
 bringing ih their Ver^i& according to Lawj 
 
 arid that It i« very uricharitabie even to fuppole 
 
 the coritrary.~Be it fo:' B(utthe Quc^ion here 
 
 runs on, A^Thkt will be the Silggeftions of Corv 
 
 Icience in the fireail of an jmerican on fuck an 
 
 dccafion ?~What :\votild'l^^ Ideas of Law^ 
 
 Jiiftice, or Equity, when kngiandzttdJmerica 
 
 i^ood in Cbmpention^^C^rt if ^riycr tkp 
 
 Jnhabitahts of that Country 'ftoqld com?i (^nd ' 
 
 they are for the moft Part come already) *tp be 
 
 fuljy perluad^d, that the in/^)?arliamenth^^ 
 
 ^no Right to make taws, cltliier'to tax or toio- 
 
 ^erri them (an)i tHe'liaying^pe beateip them 
 
 will not be talcen as'a convincing Proof that 
 
 ^we always have cither the ^1^^^^ or the/Power 
 
 ^to bekt tftism] 'then; e^ery^ Attempt tdwaBs 
 
 ihrowingloff this odious Tokq^^'wouiaa^ 
 
 ^^heir Eyes as 'lb iijan^iioljie 'Struggles for ^he 
 
 ^^paufe of XiBerty': .And .therefore the, bafe 
 
 ]^ngltjh Hirtlifig, who' Wpul'd 4are to injure this 
 
 -fcred Cauid, deferveidtodie a thousand beatlis. 
 
 Such uri-^biabteclly would be tKe Language, and 
 
 Tuch the Sentiments of "the great Majority of 
 
 ^^mrims^ Whenever (tich a Ofe fhoilld liappen. 
 
 in a Wordj jin crf-oneftw Confcienc^^ and a 
 
 . l^lfe 
 
 J^t a'^. 
 

 201 
 
 SUBJECTS. 
 
 falfe Zeal, would ^uve juft the fame bad EffeBis 
 in the hew Wotk ffpeftrng civil GoverniridiV, 
 as they have foVrtiferiy had in the old, in reg^rrd t6 
 il^ligion : A^d therefore^ either Way, whfc*thrt- 
 M^e fhould treart: thefe ArHericms as an enfta^^d 
 People, or whether we ihotiH reftore t6 "the^, 
 after a Cbnqueft,. the fame Coriftitutit)n S^i-hi^ 
 viettipy bt^rfelves, the Event would finally com^ 
 'to this,— iThat England 'would, be the grfc^t^ft 
 Siiffefer V arfdthat America is not to be gov^i'n- 
 ed ^gainft it's 6\vn IhclinatidnSj, Wherefore fet 
 ijs now come t6 the ^>1 i^; 
 
 "^"^ > O U % T H S C ft E M E; ' ' 
 ; ''Yo colifentr that Ameriek fliou)d becdiiie 
 ^e gcfteral Seat of Empire^ and t:hat Grm- 
 Britain aAd inland Ihduld be governed bV 
 Viee-Roys fent dver from the Cdurt Reftdd^ndfcs 
 tiihtr at F^ifddelphia, or New-Tdrk, orat fdinc 
 bther AmeVicdn Imperial Gity. 
 ^ N6w. wilid as fuch-a Scheme may ^pp^'^r, 
 there ate certainly fomej^«iifri^iz»/ who ferioiifiy 
 embrace it : Artd the late prodigious Swarms 
 of Emigrants encourage them to fuppofe, that 
 a Time is approaching, when the Seat of Em- 
 pire muft be changed.. But whatever Ev^Hts 
 may be in the Womb of Time, or whatever 
 Revolutions may happen in the Rife and Fall 
 of Empires, there is not the lead Probability, 
 that this Country Ihould ever become a Pro- 
 vince to North-America, For granting even, 
 
 that 
 
 ■li 
 
202 Political and CoMMEkciAt. . 
 
 that it would be fo weakened and enfeebled by 
 thefe Colony-Drains, as not to be able to deifend 
 itfclf'from Invaders, yet America is at too great 
 a Diftance to invade it at firft, much lefs to de* 
 fend-thcConqueft of it afterwards, againft the 
 neighbouring Powers of Europe. And as to 
 any Notion that we ourfelves fhould prefer an 
 American Yoke to any other, - this Suppofition 
 is chimerical indeed : Becaufe it is much more 
 probable, were Things to come to fuch a dread- 
 ful Crifis, that the Rnglijh would rather fubmit 
 to 2l French Yoke, than to ati American; as being 
 the lefler Jndignity of the two. So that in (hort, 
 if wc muft reafon in Politics according to the 
 Newtonian Principles in Phibfophy,— the Idea 
 pf the lefler Country gravitating towards the 
 greater, muft lead us to conclude, that this 
 ifland would rather gravitate towards the. Con- 
 tinent of Europe, than towards the Continent of 
 America ; unlefs indeed we fbould add one Ex- 
 travagance to another, by fuppoling that thefc 
 American Heroes are to conquer all the Worl^. 
 And in that Cafe I do allow, that England muH: 
 become a Province to America. But 
 
 Solamen miferis focios habuijfe doloris. 
 
 Dismissing therefore this Idea, as an 
 idle Dream, we come now lallly to confider the 
 FIFTH SCHEME. 
 
 To propofe to feparate entirely from the 
 North-American Colonies, by '°claring them to 
 
 be 
 
1^^- 
 
 S U B J E C T S. 20^ 
 
 be a free and independent People, over whom 
 we lay no Claim-, and then by offering to guar- 
 rantee this Freedom and Independence againflE 
 all foreign Invaders whatever. 
 
 And, in fad, what is all this but the natural 
 and even the neceflary Corollary to be deduced 
 from each of the former Reafons and Obferva,- 
 tions ? For if we neither can govern the Jmeri- 
 tans, nor be governed by them ; if we can 
 neither unite with them, nor ought to fubduc 
 them i what remains, but to part with them 
 on as friendly Terms as we can? And if any 
 Man ihould think that he can reafon better from 
 the above Premifes, let him try. 
 
 But as the Idea of Separation, and the 
 giving up the Colonies for ever, will ihock many 
 weak People, who think, th#t there is neither 
 Happinefs nor Security but jn an over-grown 
 unweildly Empire, I will for their Sakes enter 
 into a Dilcufllon of the fuppofed Difadvantages 
 attending fucK a Disjundion ; and then will fet 
 forth the manifold Advantages. 
 
 The firft and capital fuppo/ed Difad vantage is. 
 That, ifwefeparate from the Colonies, we JJiall 
 lofe their Trade. 3ut why fo ? And how does this 
 appear? The Colonies, we know by Experience, 
 will trade with any People, even with their bit- 
 tereft Enemies, during the hotteft. of a War, 
 and a War undertaken at their own earneft Re- 
 queft, and for their own Sake-?,— the CrAr^r.',^. 
 
 I 
 
t ' If' 
 
 
 104 Political and Commercial 
 
 I fay, will trade even with themj provided they 
 Ihall find it their Interjcft fo to doi Why thert 
 fliotrfd any Man fuppofe, that the fame Selfj- 
 Intapeft will riot induce them to trade with us? — 
 ."With us, I fay, who are to commit ho Hoftilitics 
 dgainft them, but on the contrary, are ftili to 
 remain^ if they pleafe, their Guardians and Pro- 
 tcftors? 
 
 Granting, tlierefbre, that North- Amricd 
 was to become independent of us, and we of 
 them, the Queftion now before us will turn on 
 thisfingle Point,-— Can the Colonifts, inageneral 
 Way, trade with any other European State to 
 greater Advantage than they can with Great- 
 Britain? If they can, they certainly will ; but 
 if they cannot, we (hall ftill retain their Cuftom, 
 nocwithftanding wC have parted with every 
 Claim of Authority and Jurifdiftion over them* 
 Now, the native Commodities and Merchan- 
 dize of North- America^ whicli are the moft fale- 
 able at an EuropeanMzvktt^ are chiefly Lumberi 
 Ships, Iron, Train-Oil, Flax-Seed, Skins, Furs^ 
 Pitch, Tar, Turpentine, Pearl- Aflies, Indigo, 
 Tobacco, and Rice. And I do aver, that, ex- 
 cepting Rice and Tobacco, there is hardly one 
 of thefe Articles, for which an American could 
 get fo good a Price any where elfe, as he can in 
 Great-Britain and Ireland, Nay, I ought to 
 have excepted only Rice-, for as to Tobacco, 
 iho' great Quantities of it are re-exported into 
 
 France* 
 
SUBJECTS. 205 
 
 Francey yet it is well known, that the French 
 might raife it at Home, if they were permitted, 
 much cheaper than they can import it from our 
 Colonics. The Fad is this,— The Farm of Tor 
 bacco is one of the five great Farms, which 
 make up the chief Part of the Royal Revenue; 
 and therefore the Farmers General, for Bve- 
 Ends of their own, have hitherto had Intereft 
 enough with the Court to prohibit the Cultiva- 
 tion of it in * Old France, under the fevereft Pe- 
 nalties. But neverthelefs the real French Pa- 
 triots, and particularly the Marquis de Miraheauy 
 have fully demonftrated, that it is the Intereft 
 of the French Government to encourage the Cul- 
 pvition of it ; and have pointed out a fur6 and 
 ^afy Method for colleding the Duties ;— which 
 was the folc Pretence of the Farmers General for 
 foliciting a Prohibition. So that it is appre- 
 hended, that the French Govemmtnt will at laft 
 open their Eyes in this Refpedl, and allow the 
 Cultivation of it. Tobacco therefore being 
 likely to be foon out of the Queition, the only 
 
 * Great Quantities of Tobacco are permitted to be raife4 
 "in French Flandersy Alface^ and all the Pais conquifes, 
 i.e. the newly conquered Prownces j becaufe the Inhabitants 
 of thele Countries aie indulged in many Liberties, whicl| 
 are denied to the Provinces of Old France. But the Far..jers 
 General keep a itrift Watch, that none ot this Tol>acco 
 fhall be permitted to be brought into Old France, f>cept 
 by thtnifeives or their Agents. Ana the Penalty .. ainft 
 Smuggling in this Cafe is Very trirei and kvcxQ. 
 
 remaining^ 
 
 n 
 ■ m 
 
 
 it 
 
It!- 
 
 «o6 Political akd Commersciai. 
 
 remaining Article is Rice : And this, it muft 
 be acknowledged, would bear a better Price at 
 the Hamburgh or Dutch Markets than it gene- 
 rally doth in England. But as this is only one 
 Article, out of many, it fhould be further con- 
 fidered, that even the Ships which import Rice 
 into England^ generally bring fuch other Pro- 
 duce as would not be faleable to Advantage 
 in other Parts of Europe : So that there is no 
 great Caufe to fear, that we Ihould conftderably 
 lofe the Trade even , of this Article, were the 
 Colonies to be difmembered frO/n us. Not to 
 mention that all the Coafts of the Meaiterranean 
 and the South of Europe are already fupplied 
 with Rice from tht Colonics, in the fame Man- 
 ner as if there had been an afbual Separation ^ 
 — no Rice- Ship bound to any Place South of 
 •Cafe-Finijiere being at all obliged to touch at 
 any Port of Grm Britain. So much, therefore, 
 as to the ftaple Exports of the Colonies. 
 -Let us now confider their 7/»por/j. And 
 here one Thing is very clear and certain. That 
 whatever Goods, Merchandize, orManufadures, 
 the Merchants of Great-Britain can fell to the 
 reft of Europey they might fell the fame to the 
 Colonies, if wanted: Becauie it isevident, that 
 the Colonies could not purchafe fuch Goods at 
 a cheaper Rate at any other European Market! 
 Now, let any one caft his Eye over the Bills of 
 Exports from £(?»</(?», Brijioly Limrpool^ Hull^ 
 
 Glafzow^ 
 
U B J E C T S. 207 
 
 Clafgow^ &c. &c. and then he will foon difcovcr 
 that excepting Gold and Silver Lace, Wines, 
 and Brandies, fome Sorts of Silk and Linens, 
 and perhaps a little Paper and Gunpowder ; I 
 fay, excepting thcfc few Articles, Great BrU 
 tain is become a Kind of a * general Marc 
 for moji other Commodities : And . indeed were 
 "it not fo, how is it conceiveable, that fo little a 
 Spot as this Ifland could have made fuch a Fi- 
 gure either in Peace or War, as it hath lately 
 done ? How is itpoffible, that after having con- 
 traded a Debt of nearly One Irlundrcd and 
 'Forty Millions, we Ihould neverthclefs be able 
 to make more rapid ProgrefTes in all Sorts of 
 Improvements, ufeful and ornamental, public 
 and private, agricolic and commercial, than 
 any other Nation ever did ?-"Fa(5t it is, that 
 thefe Improvements have been made of late 
 Years, and are daily making: And Faas are 
 ftubborn Things. 
 
 But, fays the Objedor, you allow, that Gold 
 and Silver Lace,— that Wines and Brandies,— 
 
 ■V ♦l 
 
 I am credibly informed, that it appears by Extradi 
 from the Cuftom-houfe Books, that more Englijh Good* 
 are fent op the two Rivers oi Germany, the ff'e/er and the 
 plbe, than up any two Rivers in North Jmerica. Yet the 
 North-Affiericans and their Partiians are continually up- 
 braiding us, as if we enjoyed no Trade, worth mention- 
 ing, except that with tl^e Colonies. 
 
 fome 
 
'd 
 
 tfoS Political and Commercial 
 
 fpme Sorts of Silks,— fome Sorts of P^pQr» ' 
 Gunpowder, and perhaps other Articles, can 
 he purchafed at certain European Markets on 
 cheaper Tc^rns than they can in England: And 
 therefore it follows, that we fhould certainly 
 !ofe thefe Branches of Commerce by a Separa- 
 tion, even fuppofing that we could retain the 
 reft. Indeed even this doth not follow ; becaufc 
 we hav€ loft them already, as far as it was the 
 Intcrcft of the Colonies, that we fliould lofr 
 them. And if any Man can doubt of this, let 
 Jiim but confider, that the Lumber and the Pro- 
 vifion VelTels, which are continually running 
 4own from Bojion, Rhode fjland, New-Tork^ 
 Philadelphia^ Charles-'To'wny &c. &c. to Marti- 
 mco^ and the other French Iflands, bring Horace 
 iw Return not only Sugars and MolaflTes, but 
 alfo French Wines, Silks, Gold and Silver Lace, 
 and in fhort every other Article, in whu:h they 
 can find a profitable Account : Moreover thole 
 Ships" which fail to Eujiatia and Curacoa^ trad^ 
 with the Butchy and confequently with all the 
 North of Europe^ on the fame Principle. And 
 as the Ships which fteer South of CapeFiniJlerre^ 
 what do they do ?— Doubtlefs, they purchafe 
 whatever Commodities they find it their Intcrcft 
 to purchafe, and carry them Home to North- 
 ^xnerica. Indeed what fhould hinder them frpm 
 afting agreeably to their own Ideas of Advan- 
 tage 
 
S tj B j E C t S. io9' 
 tagc in thefe Refpeas? The Cuftom-houfc 
 Officers, pcrha^is, you may fay, will hinder them. 
 But alas ! the Cuftom-houfe Offic-rs of North- 
 Americay if they were ten Times more numerous^ 
 and ten Times more uncorrupt than they are, 
 could not poffibly guard a tenth Part of the 
 Coaft. In fliort thefe Things are fo very no- 
 torious that they cannot be difputed; and 
 therefore were the whole Trade of North- 
 America to be divided into two Branches, viz, 
 the Voluntary^ refulting from a free Choice of 
 the Americans themfelves purfuing theii* own 
 Intercft, and the Involuntary^ in Confequence ■ 
 of compulfory Ads of the Britijh Parliament ; — 
 this latter would appear fo very fmall and irtcon- 
 fiderable, as hardly to deferve a Name in an 
 , Eftimate of national Commerce. 
 
 The 2d Objefbion againft giving up the Co- 
 lonies is, that fuch a Meafure would greatly de- 
 creafe our Shipping and Navigation, and con- 
 fequently diminifh the Breed of Sailors. But 
 this Objcftion has been fully obviated already : 
 For if we fhall not lofe our Trade, at lead in 
 any important Degree, even with the Northern 
 Colonies (and mod probably we Ihall encreafe it 
 with other Countries) then it follows, that nei- 
 ther the Quantity of Shipping, nor the Breed 
 of Sailors, can fuffer any confiderabie Dimi- 
 nution: So that this.Suppofition is merely 
 
 O a 
 
 !|H! 
 
 .rxi^^uwt- 
 
U', 
 
 2IO Political and Commercial 
 
 a r ''c, ind has no Foundation. Not to mcn- 
 tW., th »t in Pro|jorfion as the Americans fhall 
 be obligeu to exert themfelvcs to defend their 
 own Coafts, in Cafe of a War ^ in the fame 
 Proportion fhai' Great-Britain be exonerated 
 fwm that Burden, and f?nall have more Ships 
 and Men at command, i > proteft her own 
 Channel Trade, and for other Services. 
 
 The 3d Objedion is. That if we were to 
 give up thefe Colonies, the French would take 
 immediate Poflefllon of them. Now this 
 Objeftion is entirely built on the following 
 very wild, very extravagant, and abfurd Suppo- 
 fitions. 
 
 1 ft. It fuppofes that the Colonifts themfelves, 
 who^ cannot brook our Government, would 
 like a French one much better. Great-Britain^ 
 it feenis, doth not grant them Liberty enough •, 
 and therefore they have Recourfe to France to 
 obtain more :— That is, in plain Engli/h, our 
 mild and limited Government, where Preroga- 
 tive is afcertained by Law, where every Man 
 is at Liberty to feek for Redrefs, and where po- 
 - puLir Clamours too often carry every Thing 
 before them,— is neverthelefs too fevere, too 
 opi reflive, and too tyrannical for the Spirit > and 
 Genius of Americans to bear; and th'.^r'N, 
 they will^pply to an arbitrary, defpotic Govern - 
 nnnt, where the Popple have no Share in the 
 • ■"- " ■■"' Lc- 
 
SUBJECTS. U, 
 
 Leginaturc, where there is i.j Libc r/ of t!-d 
 l^refs, and wher General Warrants and Lett'res 
 
 ^«r^f/;f/jarc;>re/^/^/tf,— in ordertoenjoy greater 
 Freedoms than they have at piefcnt, and to be 
 refcued from the intolerable Yoke, under which 
 they now groan. What monftrous Abfuiditics 
 are theic ! But even this is not all : For thefe 
 Americam are reprefcnted by this Suppofition, 
 . as not only preferring a French Government to 
 a i>y/////, but even to a Government of their 
 '^wn modelling and chuftng ! For after they are 
 fet free from any Submiffion to their Mother- 
 Country ; after they are told, that for the fu- 
 ture they muft endeavour to pleafe themfelves, 
 feeing we cannot pleafe them ; then, inftead of 
 attempting to frame any popular Governments 
 for redreffing thofe Evils, of which they now 
 lo bitterly complain,— they are reprefented as 
 t!:rowing themfelves at once into the Arms of 
 France-,, the Republican Spirit is to fubfide; 
 the Doftrine of pafTive Obedience and Non- • 
 refinance is to fucceed ; and, inftead of fetting 
 tip for Freedom and Independence, they are to 
 glory in having the Honour of being numbered 
 among the Slaves of the Grand Monarch. 
 
 But 2dly, This Matter may be further con- 
 sidered in another Point of View : For if it 
 ihould be faid, that the Americans miaht ftiU 
 detain their Republican Spirit, tho' they fub- 
 
 ^ 2 mitted 
 
 
 
 »•»■ * 
 
212 Political and Commercial 
 
 mitted to a French Government, becaufe thr 
 French^ through Policy, w6uld permit them fo 
 to do ; then it remains to be confidered, whether 
 any arbitrary Government can difpenfe with 
 fuch Liberties as a republican Spirit will require. 
 An abfolute Freedom of the Prefs ! No Con- 
 troul on the Liberty either of Speaking or 
 Writing on Matter^ of State ! Newfpapers and 
 Pamphlets filled with the bicterefl Inveftives 
 againft the Meafures of Government ! Aflbci- 
 ations formed in every Quarter to cry down 
 Minifteiiai Hirelingr,, and their Dependents ! 
 The Votes and Refolutions of the Provincial 
 Affemblies to aflerc their own Authority and 
 Independence ! .No landing of Troops from 
 Old France to quell Lnrurrc5:ions ! No raifing 
 of new Levies in America I No quartering of 
 Troops ! No building of Forts, or eredting of 
 Garriibns ! And, to ilim up all, no raiftng of 
 Money without the exprefs Confent and Appro- 
 bation of the Provincial American Parliaments 
 firfi: obtained for each of thefe Parpolest — 
 Now I aflc any reaibnable Man whether thefe 
 Things are compatible with any Idea of an ar- 
 bitrary, defpotic Government ?---Nay more, 
 whether the French King himfelf, or his Mi- 
 nillers, would wilh to have fuch Notions as 
 tJ;efe inftilled into the Subjeds of 0/^ France. 
 Yet inftilled they muft be, while a Communi- 
 cation 
 
S U B J E C T S. 213 
 
 cation is kept open between the two Countries ; 
 while Correipondences are carried on-. Letters;, 
 Pamphlets and Newfpapers, pafs and repafs,; 
 and in ihort, while the Americans are permitted 
 to come into France, and Frenchmen into Ame- 
 rica. So much therefore as to this Clafs of Ob- 
 je6i:ions. Indeed 1 might have infifted further, 
 that Great-Britain alone could at any Time pre- 
 vent fuch an Acquifition to be made.by France, 
 as is here fuppofed, if Ihe fhould ,rhink it ne- 
 ceflary to interfere, and if fuch an Acquifi- 
 tion of Territory would really and truly be. an 
 Addition of Strength in the political Balance 
 and Scale of Power*. Bpt furely 1 have faid 
 
 O3 ;.enough,i 
 
 * The Phasnomenon of that prodigious Increafe of Trade, 
 which this Country has experienced fince the happy Revo- 
 lution, is what few People can explain ; and therefore they 
 cut the Matter fh or t, by afcribing it all to the Growth of 
 our Colonies : But the true Principles and real Caufes 
 of that amazing Increafe are the following : 
 
 1. The SupprelTion of various Monopolies and exclufivc 
 Companies exifting before, for foreign Trade. 
 
 2. The Opening of Corporations, or the Undermining 
 of exclufive Privileges and Companies of Trade at Home; 
 or what comes to the fame Thing, the Eh*ding of their bad 
 EfFeds by Means of legal Decifions in our Courts of Law. 
 And N. B. The like Obfervation extends to the Cafe of 
 evading the Penalties of the Aft 5th of Ciueen Elizabeth, 
 againft exercifmg thofe Trades to which Perfons have not 
 
 . ferved regular Apprentice/hips. 
 
 3. The Nurfing up of new Trades and new Branches of 
 • Commerce by Means of Bounties, and national Premiums. 
 
 4. The 
 
214 Political ANp Gommercial 
 
 enough ; and therefore let us now haften briefly 
 to point out the 
 
 Manifdd Advantages attendant onfuch a Scheme, 
 And I ft, A Disjunftion from the Northern 
 Colonies would effedually put a Stop to our 
 prefent Emigrations. By the Laws of the Land 
 it is made a capital Offence to inveigle Arti- 
 ficers and Mechanics to leave the Kingdom. 
 But this Law is unhappily fuperfeded at pre- 
 fent as far as the Colonies are concerned. 
 Therefore when they come to be difmcmbered 
 from us, it will operate as ftrongly againft 
 them, and their Kidnappers, as againft others. 
 And here it may be worth while to obferve, 
 that the Emigrants, who lately failed in fuch 
 
 Mul- 
 
 4. The Giving of Drawbacks, or the Return of Duties 
 on the Exportation of fuch Goods as were to have paid a 
 Duty, if ufed and confumed at Home. 
 
 5. The Repeal of Taxes formerly laid on raw Materials 
 coming into the Kingdom. See 8. G. I. C. j c. 
 
 6. The Repeal of Taxes formerly laid on our own Ma- 
 nufactures, when exported. See ditto. 
 
 7. The Improvements in various Engines, with new 
 Wntions and Difcoveries for the Abridgement of La- 
 
 8 Better Communication? eftablifhed throughout the 
 Kingdon, by Means of Turnpike Roads and Canals, and 
 the rpeedy Conveyance of Letters to every great Town and 
 note. Place of Manufadlure, by Means of Improvements 
 m iht I'' ll-Office. ■ ^ 
 
 9. Happy Difcoveries and Improvements in Agriculture 
 and :n the nfechanic Arts. 
 
 10. Larger 
 
SUBJECTS. 215 
 
 Multitudes from the North of Scotland, and 
 more efpecially from the North of Ireland, 
 were far from being the mod indigent, or the 
 lead capable of fubfilling in their own Country. 
 No; it was not Poverty or Neceffity which 
 compelled, but Ambition which enticed, them 
 to forfake their native Soil, For after they 
 began to talle the Sweets of Induftry, and to 
 paftake of the Comforts of Life, then they 
 became a valuable Prey for thefe Harpies. 
 In fhort, fuch were the Perfons to whom 
 thefe ' Seducers principally applied ; becaule 
 they found that they had gotten fome little 
 Subftance together worth devouring. They 
 therefore told them many plaufible Stories — 
 that if they would emigrate to North-AmmcOp 
 
 10. Larger Capitals than ufual employed both in Huf- 
 bandry and Manufaftures ; allb in the Importation and 
 Exportation of Goods. 
 
 Nov/ all thele Things co-operating together would ren- 
 der any Country rich' and flourifhing, whether it had Co- 
 lonies or not : And this Country in particular would have 
 found the happy EfFefts of them to a much greater De- 
 gree than it now doth, were they not counter-aded by our 
 Luxury, our Gambling, our frequent ruinous and expen- 
 sive Wars, our Colony-Drains, and by that ill-gotten, 
 and ill-fpent Wealth, which was obtained by robbing, 
 plundering, and ftarving the poor defencelefs Natives of 
 the Eafi-Indies. — A Species of Villainy this, for which the 
 .Englijh Language had not a Name, until it adopted the 
 Word Nabobingf 
 
 O4 th^r 
 
2i6 Political and Commercial 
 
 they niight have Eftates for nothing, and bct 
 come Gentlemen for ever; whereas if they 
 remained at Home, they had nothing to ex- 
 pea beyond the Condition of a wretched 
 Journeyman, or a fmall hhorious Farmer. 
 Nay, one of thefe falfe Guides was known 
 to have put out public Advertifements, fome 
 few Years ago, in the North of Ireland, wherein 
 he engaged to carry all, vho would follow 
 him, into fuch a glorious Country, where 
 there was neither Tax, nor Tithe, nor Land- 
 lord's Rent to be paid. This was enough: 
 It took with Thoufands: And this he might 
 
 fafely engage to do. J^ut at the fame 
 
 Time he ought to have told them (35 
 Bifliop Berkeley in his Queri.^s juftly obferves) 
 That a iVIan may poflefs twenty Miles fquare in 
 this glorious Country, and yet not be able to 
 get a Dinner. 
 
 adly. Another great Advantage to be de- 
 rived from a Separation is, that we fhall then 
 fave between 3 and 400,000!. a Year, by being 
 difcharged from the Paym:;nt of any civil or 
 military Eftablifhment belonging to the Co- 
 lonies : For which generous Benefadion we 
 receive at prefcnt no other Return than Invec- 
 tives and Reproaches^ 
 
 3dly. The ceafing of the Payment of 
 Pountics on certain Colony Produaiona wili 
 
 be 
 
SUBJECTS. 217 
 
 be another great Saving-, perhaps not lefs 
 than 20o,oool. a. Year: And is very re- 
 markable, that the Goods imported from 
 the Colonies in Confequence of thefe Boun- 
 ties, could not have been imported into any 
 other Part of Europe, were there a Liberty 
 to do it ; becaufe the Freight and firft Coft 
 would have amounted to more than they 
 could be fold for: So that in Faft we> 
 give Premiums to the Colonies for felling 
 Goods to us, which would not have been 
 fold at all any where elfe. However, when 
 the prefent Bounties Ihall ceafe, we may 
 then conlider, at our. Leifure, whether it 
 would be right to give them again, or not ; 
 and we Ihall havev it totally in our. Power 
 to favour that Country molt, which will 
 Ihew the greatell Favour to us, and to our Ma- 
 putadures. 
 
 4thly. When we arc no longer conneded 
 with the Colonies by the imaginary Tie 
 of an Indentity of Government, then our 
 Merchant Exporters and Manufadlurers will 
 have a better Chance of having their Debts 
 paid, than they have at preient: For as 
 iyiatters now Hand, the Colonics chufe to 
 carry their ready Calh to other Nations, 
 while they are contradting Debts with their 
 Mother- Country; with whom they think 
 they can take greater Liberties: And pro- 
 
 ViUCU 
 
2fl^- PbLITlCAL AN-D COMMERCIAL 
 
 vidcd- they are trufted, they care not to 
 what Amount this Debt fhall rife:— For 
 V^hen the Time for Payment draws on, they^ 
 are feized with a Fit of Patriotifm ; and' 
 then Confederacies and AfTociations are to dif- 
 charge all Arrears ; or, at leafl-, are to poftpone 
 the Payment of them^ne die. 
 
 5thly. After a Separation from the Co- 
 lonies, our Influence over them will be 
 much greater than ever it was, lince they 
 began to feel their own Weight and Im- 
 portance-: For at prefent we are looked 
 upon in no better a Light than that of 
 Robbers and Ufurpers; whereas, we Ihali 
 then be confidered as their Protedlors, Me- 
 diators, and Benefadors. The Moment a Sepa- 
 ration takes Effe6t, inteftine Quarrels will 
 begin: For it is well known, that the 
 Seeds of Difcord and Diflention between 
 Province and Province, are now ready to 
 fhoot forth; and that they are only kept 
 down by the prefent Combinations of all 
 the Colonies againft us, whom they un- 
 happily fancy to be their common Enemy, 
 When therefore this Objedl of their Ha- 
 tred fhall be removed by a Declaration on 
 our Parts, that, fo far from ufurping all 
 Authority, we, from henceforward, will af- 
 fume none at all againft their own Confcnt; 
 the weaker Provinces y^\\\ intreap our Pro- 
 
 teftion 
 
SUBJECTS. ai9: 
 
 teflion againft the ftronger; and the lefs 
 cautious againft the more crafty and dc- 
 figning: So that in fhort, in Proportion as 
 their fadious, republican Spirit Ihall in- 
 trigue and cabal, ihall fplit into Parties, 
 divide, and fub-divide,— in the fame Pro- 
 portion Ihall wc be called in to become 
 their general Umpires and Referees. Not 
 to mention, that many of the late and pre- 
 fent Emigrants, when they fliall fee thefe 
 Storms arifing all around them, and when 
 their promifed earthly Paradife turns out 
 to be a dreary, unwholefome, inhofpitable, 
 and howling Wildernefs,— many of them, I 
 fay, will probably return to us again, and take 
 Refuge at laft in Old England, with all its 
 Faults and Imperfedions. 
 
 Lastly. Our JVeft-India lOands them- 
 felves will receive fignal Benefit by this 
 Separation. Indeed their Size and Situation 
 render them incapable of fubftrafting all 
 Obedience from us; and yet the bad 
 Precedents of their Neighbours on the 
 Continent hath fometimes prompted them 
 to Ihew as refradory a Spirit as they well 
 could.— But when they come to perceive, 
 what are the bitter Effeds of this un- 
 tradable Difpofition, exemplified in the 
 Cafe of the North-Americans, it is proba- 
 ble, it is reafonable to conclude, that they 
 
 
 VTi 
 
!Zf20 PoLITrCAL AND COMMERCIAL 
 
 will learn Widom by the Mifcarriages and 
 Sufferings of thefc unhappy People; and 
 ithat from henceforward they will- revere 
 the Authority of a Government, which has 
 the ' feweft Kaults, and grants the greateft 
 Liberty, of any yet known upon Earth. 
 
 But after all, ther^ is one Thing more, 
 to which 1 muft make lome Reply. — - 
 Many, perhaps moll of my Readers, will 
 , be apt to alk,— What is all this about? 
 And what doth this Author really mean? 
 '--Can he ferioufly think, that becaufe he 
 hath taken fuch Pains to prove a Sepa- 
 ration to be a right Meafure, that there- 
 fore we fhall feparate in good Earneft ? 
 And is he ftill fo much a Novice as not 
 to know, that Meafures are rarely adopted 
 merely becaufe they are right, but be- 
 caufe they can ferve a prefent Turn ? 
 
 Therefore" let it be aflced. What prefent 
 Convenience or Advantage doth he propofe 
 cither to Adminillration, or to Anti-Admi- 
 niftration, by the Execution of his Plan ?— 
 This is coming to the Point, and without 
 it, all that he has faid will pafs for no- 
 thing. 
 
 I frankly acknowledge, I propofe no pre- 
 fers Convenience or Advantage to either- ; 
 nay, I firmly believe, that no Minifter, as 
 Things are now circumflanced, will dare to 
 
 do 
 
s' u B J E x: T s. 
 
 2%r 
 
 do fo much Good to his Country; and as 
 to the Herd of Anti-Minifters, they, I am 
 perfuadcd, would not wi(li to fee it done 5 
 becaufe it would deprive them of one of 
 their moft plentiful Sources for Clamour 
 and Detradion : And yet I have obferved, 
 and have myfelf had fome Experience, that 
 Meafures evidently right will prevail at 
 laft: Therefore I make not the lead Doubc 
 but that a Separation from the northern 
 Colonies, and alfo another right Meafure, 
 viz. a complex Union and Incorporation with 
 Ireland (however unpopular either of them 
 may now appear) will both take Place within 
 
 half a Century : And perhaps that which 
 
 happens to be firft accompliflied, will greatly 
 accelerate the Accompyilbment of the other. 
 Indeed almoft all People are apt to ftartlc 
 
 at firft at bold Truths: But it is ob#. 
 
 ferveable, that in Proportion as they grow 
 familiarized to them, and can fee and con- 
 fider them from different Points of View, 
 their Fears fubfide, and they become re- 
 conciled by Degrees: Nay, it is not an 
 
 uncommon Thing for them to adopt thofe 
 fatutary Meafures afterwards with as much 
 Zeal and Ardor, as they had rejected them 
 before with Anger and Indignation. 
 
 Need I add, That the Man, who will 
 have Refolution enough to advance any bold 
 
 un- 
 
!:.< 
 
 ii2 Political and Commercial 
 
 •unwelcome Truth (unwelcome I mean at iw 
 firft Appearance) ought to be fuch an one, 
 whofe Competency of Fortune joined toanatu- 
 tural Independency of Spirit, places him in 
 that happy Situation, as to be equally indifferent 
 to the Smiles, or Frowns cither of the Great, 
 or the Vulgar ? 
 
 Lastly, fome Perfons perhaps may wonder, 
 that, being myfelf a Clergyman, I havefaid no- 
 thing about the Perfecution which the Church 
 of England daily fuffers in America, by being de- 
 nied thofe Rights which every other Sed of 
 Chriftians fo amply enjoys. I own I have hi- 
 therto omitted to make Mention of that Cir- 
 cumftance, not thro' Inadvertence, but by De- 
 fign ; as being unwilling to embarrafs my gene- 
 ral Plan with what might be deemed by fome 
 Readers to be foreign to the Subjed: : And 
 therefore I Ihall be very Ihort in what I have to 
 add at prefent. 
 
 That each religious Perfuafion ought to 
 have a full Toleration from the State to worfhip 
 Almighty God, according to the Didlates of 
 their own Confciences, is to me fo clear a Cafe, 
 that I fhall not attempt to make it clearer ; and 
 nothing but the maintaining fome monftrous 
 Opinion inconfiftent with the Safety of Society, 
 —and that not barely in Theory and Specula- 
 tion, but by open Praftic'; and outward Adlions, 
 —I fay, nothing but the anowedly maintaining of 
 
 fuch 
 
SUBJECTS. 223 
 
 fuch dangerous Principles can j'liftify the Magif- 
 trate in abridging any Set of Men of thcfe their 
 natural Rights. It is alfo equally evident, thac 
 the Church of England doth not,- cannot fall 
 under the Cenfure of holding Opinions incon- 
 fiftent with the Safety of the State, and the Good 
 of Mankind,— even her Enemies themfelvcs 
 being Judges : And yet the Church of England 
 alone doth not enjoy a Toleration in that fuJl 
 Extent, which is granted to the Members of 
 ■every other Denomination. What then can be 
 the Caufe of putting fo injurious a Diftinaion 
 betv,een the Church of England, and other 
 Churches in this Refpedt .? The Reafon is plain. 
 The Americans have taken it into their Heads to 
 believe, tJ^at an Epifcopate would operate as 
 fome further Tie upon them, not to break loofe 
 from thofe Obligations which they owe to the 
 Mother-Country ; and that this is to be ufed as 
 an Engine, under the Mafque of Religion, to 
 rivet thofe Chains, which they imagined we are 
 forging for them. Let therefore the Mother- 
 Country herfelf refign up all Claim of Authority 
 over them, as well Ecclefiaftical as Civil ; let 
 her declare North-America to be independent 
 of Great-Britain in every Refped whatever ;-. 
 let her do this, I fay, and then all their Fe'ar^ 
 will vanifh away, and their Panics be at an End ; 
 And then, a Bifliop, who has no more Connec- 
 tions with England either in Church or State, 
 
 than 
 
mrm 
 
 
 
 224 Political and CbMMERctAt 
 
 than he has with Germany^ Sweden^ or any other 
 Country, will be no longer looked upon in Amt- 
 rica as a Manfter but a Man. In (h )rt, when 
 all Motives for Oppofuion are at an End, it 
 is obfcrvable, that the Oppofition itfelf foon 
 ccal'es and dies away. In a Word, an Epifcopatc 
 may then take Place j and whether this new 
 Ecclefiaftical Officer be" called from a Name 
 derived from the Greek, the Latin, or the Ger- 
 man, -chat IS, whether he be ftiled Epilcopus, 
 Superintendent, Supervifor, Overfcer, ^c. i^c, 
 it matters not,- -provided he be invefted with 
 competent Authority to ordain and confirm fuch 
 of the Members of his own Perfuafion, as fhalf 
 voluntarily offer themfelves, and to infped the 
 Lives and Morals of his own Clergy. ^ 
 
 FINIS.