T. F. Harwood PRIVATE LIBRARY Shelf No.. Book No. ; INTO THE COLONIAL POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN IJN TWO VOLUMES. HENRY BROUGHAM JUN. Esq. F. R. S. VOL. II. PRINTED BT D. WILL1SON, CRAIG'S CLOSE, FOR E. BALFOUR, MANNERS & MILLER, AND ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE, EDINBURGH, AND T. N. LONGMAN & 0. REES, LONDON. 1803, THE COLONIAL POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN POWERS. INTRODUCTION. THE external relations of any independent ftate, BOOK that is to fay, its influence upon its neighbours, and its intereft in their affairs, muft always be re- gulated by its relative importance, and its rela- tive pofition. When a ftate is not independent, but infeparably connected with another coun- try, or attached to it as a fubordinate branch of its empire j in a word, when the ftate in queftion is a colony, or a diftant province, its relations to other colonies or independent ftates in the neighbourhood, muft be influ- enced chiefly by the external relations of the VOL. ii. A metro- 2 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK metropolis. * There are, however, certain circumftances in the fituation of different con- IIS { KL>L). 1 * ' tiguous colonies, which may be confidered a- part from the foreign relations of the mother countries, and which influence the mutual re- lations of thofe colonies. Thus, independent of any foreign consideration, a fudden in- creafe of power in the colonial dominions of any one nation, or an alliance between the co- lonial forces of two powers, would materially affect the fecurity of the neighbouring colo- nies. In a word, colonies may be confidered as ranged together in feparate communities or claries, mutually related to each other, and to the neighbouring dates, in the fame manner as if they were independent powers. Thus, we may talk of the great Colonial Republic, in the fame manner as we talk of the great Eu- ropean Republic. Within certain limits, too, we may fpeak of the Colonial balance, as we fpeak of the European balance of power, al- though the various relations of the parent flates mutt conflantly enter into every calcu- lation which we make concerning the equili- brium of the colonial fyflem. In this point of view, we may confider the different claries of European colonies, as forming fo many dif- ferent * Book I. Seft. I. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. ferent fyftems of federal power, analogous to the great political machine of Europe. Thus, there is one luch fyftem in the Afiatic, and another in the American fettlements of the European powers. The trifling eftablifhments in Africa, are at prefent altogether fubordi- nate and fubfervient to the two great colonial communities of the Eaft and Weft. The foreign relations of any one member of thofe fyftems, are, either its relation to the other colonial eftablifhments in the fame part of the world, or its relation to the independent ftates which exift there, including what are com- monly called the native powers. In the Afia- tic eftablifhments, the weight of the native powers is very great. In the New World, the independent ftates form a very fmall and infigniricant portion of the political fyftem. The events of late years, however, may fur- nifli juft grounds for apprehending that a very formidable addition to their number will, at no diftant period, be the confequence of the blind policy of thofe nations which have pour- ed into the Antilles the favage tribes of Africa. I purpofe to confine myfelf, in the following Book, chiefly to the mutual relations of the A- merican colonies, and that principally for two reafons. In the firft place, becaufe, for many years, all colonial balance appears to have been A 2 utterly 4 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK utterly deflroyed in the Eaft Indies, by the INTROD Decided preponderance of the Britifh power, v - > and the almoft total annihilation of its natural enemy. And, in the fecond place, becaufe the difcuflion is thus reduced to the relations between the Britifh colonies and the native powers j a fubject of infinite difficulty, and al- mofl boundlefs extent, where the materials are very fcanty, and where our conclufions muft be regulated, not fo much by general prin- ciples, as by the caprice of individuals, from the fluctuating and defpotic nature of the Eaft- ern governments. It will, however, be found, that our general conclufions apply to all colo- nies, although our particular details are con- fined to thofe of the New World. In this Book, therefore, I fhall confider the mutual re- lations chiefly of the American colonies ; and thofe relations depend, in a great meafure, upon fome circumftances which have already been explained in detail. So that the prefent Inquiry would be 'limited to an application of the conclufions formerly eflablifhed with re- fpecl to the relative importance of the differ- ent fettlements, if fome peculiarities in colo- nial affairs did not occur to diverfify this fub- jecl:, and to introduce new difcuflions, alto- gether unconnected with any of thofe in the Firft Book, The THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 5 The circumftances to which I allude, are B K chiefly of two kinds the tendency of colo- INTRO D. nies, in certain circumftances, to feparate ' v ' from their mother countries j and the dif- tinguiming fmgularity in the fituation of the American colonies, arifing from the introduc- tion of a race of men, differing equally from the original natives of thofe countries, and from the Europeans, who partly extir- pated, partly enflaved them. The former of thofe circumftances is of a general nature, appli- cable to all colonial fyftems ; but, from various peculiarities, which we have already defcribed, and which are particularly applicable to the American eftablimments, we mail find that it is one of the moft powerful deranging caufes which can operate upon the modern colonial fyftem. The other circumftance is almoft en- tirely peculiar to the colonies of America. Its effects are ftill more powerful and univerfal ; the frequent recurrence of its dangerous in- fluence is much more to be apprehended ; and at no period was it ever fo juftly the caufe of alarm as at the prefent. But although, for this reafon, we may look upon the times in which we live as a great colonial crifis, yet it is evident that the intermixture of races is a fundamental part of the colonial fyftem, and fo effentially interwoven with the whole fabric, as to prefent us with general confiderations and A 3 con- O COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK conclufions, not of a temporary nature, but ap- INTROD. ph'cable at all times to colonial affairs, fo long 1 v ' as the bulk of the American population mail confift of perfons in a fervile condition, and of a different race from their mailers. Thus, any principles which we may deduce from our ex- perience of pad years, will be applicable, not only to the prefent pofture of affairs, but to all future times, while Europeans mall poffefs ter- ritories in the New World, and fhall remain feparated from the inferior claffes of the people, by phyfical differences and political privileges. The inferences, too, which we mall dra\v from the ftate of things in the Weft Indian fettle- ments, (the mod interefting objecl of attention, at the prefent moment), will be applicable to thofe continental territories, alfo, where flavery is permitted, and the difference of race exifts, fmce thofe communities are all haflening to- wards the fame crifis to which fuperior wealth and induftry have already brought the iflands. Nay, many of our conclufions, although ftated for the particular cafe of the African negroes, will be applicable to the ftate of all commu- nities compofed in a great meafure of op- preffed and uncivilized men, unconnected, by natural ties or fimilarity of circumftances, with their oppreffors. The fubjecl, then, to which we are now to proceed is, in fact, neither of a locai. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 7 local, nor temporary nature ; although our fpe- BOOK culations, from a conftant reference to prac- IN - TRO D. tice, may often affume the appearance of mi- ' nute detail. The two great circumftances of difmem- berment, by a rebellion of the colonies, or the eflablifhment of civilized and independent dates in the colonial territories and the feparation of the colonies by a rebellion of the inferior -^ races, or the eflablifhment of uncivilized and independent communities in the colonial fyf- tern, are now to be confidered, not with re- fpect to their effects upon the interefts of the > mother country, or upon the internal ftate of the fyflem (compofed of colonies and mother country) in which the circumftances operate j but with refpect to their effects upon the in- terefts of the neighbouring colonies, or upon __ the internal arrangements and ftructure of the colonial fyftem, that is, the mutual relations of ^ the different colonies viewed independently of. _ their parent ftates. Thus, we are to confider the effects of fuccefsful revolt, or fuccefsfnl ^ negro rebellion, in the French fettlements, not upon the interefts of France, but upon thofe *~ of her neighbours in America ; and we are to _ inquire, what the probable confequence of luch changes would be to the colonial interefts of thofe neighbours. A 4 Befides 8 B o^o K Befides the two leading circumflances which INTROD. I have ftated, there are fome others, unconnect- *"""> J ed with them, and of more eafy confidera- tion, which will properly come under our ob- fervation in the next Book. The prefent In- quiry, therefore, divides itfelf into three parts, which I mail confider in their order. In the frft place, I mall endeavour to ex- plain the effects of colonial independence be- ing eftablifhed in any part of the colonial fyf- tem. In the fecond place, I mail confider, more particularly, the probable effects of independ- ence being eftablifhed in the Weft Indian co- lonies, and the probable confequences of tran- quillity being reftored in the revolted iflands, either by the re-eftablifhment of the ancient order of things, or by the fubmiffion of the negroes to the authority of the laws under a fyilem of freedom. And, in the third place, I mail examine the natural confequences of the French iflands re- maining in a ftate of revolt, and of negro in- dependence. SEC- THE EUROPEAN POWERS. SECTION I. OF THE MUTUAL RELATIONS OF COLONIES WITH "RE- SPECT TO THEIR DEPENDENCE ON THE MOTHER COUNTRIES. IT may be obferved, in general, that a co- SECT. lony is much weaker, and lefs fitted for vigor- ous meafures, either of defeniive or offenfive warfare, than an independent flate, of the fame natural refources. The diftant pofleffions of a defpotic fove- reign are never ruled with that energy which is charaderiflic of abfolute government in the parts near the centre of the fyftem. An un- limited monarch is always afraid of arming his deputies with the fame power which he him- felf enjoys, left they mould turn it againfl his fupremacy ; and never entruiis them with the delegated authority for a length of time fuffi- cient to render it folid and effe&ive. The fame regulations which would fecure the vi- gorous adminiftration of the colony or remote province, would endanger its dependence upon the parent ftate. Thefe muft, of neceflity, con- fift in fuch arrangements as tend to render each fubordinate agent dependent wholly on his im- mediate fuperior, in order to preferve complete difcipline, 10 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK difcipline, regularity and promptitude in eve- . IL . ry part of the fyftem ; and to prevent the ine- vitable dangers that refult from delay, from the jealoufy of office-bearers, and from the opportu- nity of an appeal or complaint to the govern- ment at home. A vigorous government can on- ly be infured, by entrufting fome one with dif- cretionary powers, and keeping as much as pof- fible out of view, the fountain from which this delegated authority is derived. But thefe are the very circumftances moft dangerous to the maintenance of dependence, and moft repug- nant to the views of all rulers. In every go- vernment there muft exift abfolute authority fomewhere. In colonial or provincial govern- ments, this power refides at a diftance. In every vigorous fyftem of adminiftration, the executive power muft be concentrated within the feweft hands poflible. In whatever man- ner it is vefted in the mother country, the ex- ecutive power in the colonial government muft be divided between two claiTes of rulers, one in the colonies, the other at home. In fact, the former are fubordinate and dependent ; the latter eflentially poffefs the fupreme power. In all the defpotifms cf the Eaft, it has been obferved, that the farther any part of the empire is removed from the capital, the more do its inhabitant? enjoy fome fort of rights and privileges j THE EUROPEAN POWERS. II privileges ; the more inefficacious is the power SECT. of the monarch, and the more feeble and eafily .__ ' . deranged is the organization of the government. Montefquieu has fancifully compared the con- dition of the people, under fiich a fyftem, to the ftratification of the earth according to the geological theories of the ancients. Whilft the centre is devoured by perpetual fire, and the middle regions are the fcene of barrennefs, the furface is blefl with falubrity, and clothed with verdure. The authority of the Viceroy in Spanifli America, though far more unbounded than that of any governor of the New World, is, neverthelefs, limned, according to the maxim divide et impera^ by the right of appeal, and the independent judicial powers veiled in the Audiences by the legiflative and inquifito- rial fupremacy of the great council of the In-' dies ; but chiefly by the fhortnefs of the period during which any one is allowed to hold fo magnificent a ftation. In this refpett, the Spanifh government has imitated the jealous policy of fome republics and ariftocratic com- monwealths towards thofe domeftic office-bear- ers whom, contrary to their general fyflem of fufpicion, they .thought proper to cntrufl with confiderable privileges and powers. The extent of the authority wa,s always in an in- verfe 12 . COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK verfe proportion to its duration. The Doge . ' , of Venice, whofe office lafted for life, had fcarcely the fhadow of power. ' Rex in pur- 6 pura ' (fays the Venetian proverb, fo admi- rably defcriptive of this office) ; ' fenator in cu- . c ria ; in urbe captivus ; extra urbem priva- tus. ' In Genoa, the Doge had more influ- ence, from his right of exercifing a veto, before as well as after difcuflion ; but he only re- mained two years in office. The fmaller re- publics in Italy were {till more jealous of the executive power ; partly becaufe the members of fmall communities are naturally more care- ful of their liberties ; partly becaufe, in thofe ftates, abufes of power are more felt. They deprived -their chief magiflrate of all real power, and limited, at the fame time, the du- , ration of his office. The Capitani of St Ma- rino were chofen for fix months only. The Gonfalcniere of Lucca was changed every two months. The Rector of Ragufa held his place for a fmgle month ; and the Governor of the Citadel was changed every day. It is from a jealoufy, much more natural, of their colonial adminiftration, but no lefs fatal to all energy and vigour of government, that the Spanifh Monarchs have endeavoured to coun- terbalance the effects of that extenfive dele- ^ gated power which the diftance and magni- tude THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 13 tude of their colonial dominions render abfo- SECT. lutely neceflary, partly by fovving the feeds of . ' . diflenfion among the different conftituted au- thorities, partly by limiting the duration of the mod fplendid appointment which any fubject in the world enjoys. They have endeavoured to unite energy of government with a fyftem of checks and counterpoifes ; to reconcile a vigorous adminiftration with the very circum- ftances which weaken and paralyze all the movements of delegated authority. The powers of the governor in the French colonies, under the ancient fyftem, were much more limited, and his means of acquiring in- fluence far more confined. His office was fel- dom allowed to continue for more than three years. His conduct was carefully watched at home by the Council of Commerce, who had branches in every feaport town, to examine all perfons returning from the colonies, and to encourage, fyftematically, all manner of com- plaints againft his adminiftration. His prero- gative in the colonies was limited by the rights of the fuperior councils, and the influence of the colonial aflemblies. His moft important functions were fhared by the intendant, who, on the other hand, was fupreme in his own de- partment of finance. From this fyftem of di- vided power refulted an adminiftration equally Vexatious- 14 Coi.axiAi. POLICY OF BOOK vexatious to the inhabitants, and deftructive of , , all efficacy and vigour, and, in the end, ruin- ous alfo to the intcreits of the Crown. In all thofe fyflcms of colonial government, the undivided energy and quicknefs of execu- tion which characterifes the primary operations of abfolute power, has been facrificed to that jealous timidity fo confpicuous in its conduct towards fubordinate agents, and fo deftructive of its belt interefts in all fchemes of delegated authority. The problem which Velafquez fo often attempted to folve, will always prefent the fame difficulties to thofe who, by deputy, would perform grqat actions, or govern exten- five and diflant territories. After a Cortez has been found, the moil difficult part of the enterprize remains to be achieved : the necef- fary contradiction muft be reconciled, of re- taining in fubjection him who is fit to conquer or to rule ; and of calling forth, at the fame time, all thofe powers which lead to victory, or command obedience. Montefquieu * has obferved, that a republic governs its conquered provinces with more abfo- lute and intolerable fway than a monarchy: that its remote poifeflions fuffer all the evils, without enjoying any of the advantages of monarchical government : * Efprit Je Loix, Liv. X. chap. 7, 8, & o. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. Ij government : and that the diftant provinces of s E c T - an ariftocratic commonwealth are, in this re- . ' fpecl, in the fame fituation with thofe of a re- public. Here, as in many other fpeculations, the love of conceit and paradox appears to have mifled this witty and ingenious author. That the government which a commonwealth eitablimes in its colonies and provinces mu(t of neceflity be extremely different from its do- meftic adminiilration, and that the fubjecls of the diftant territories will always enjoy very different portions of liberty from thofe in the capital and the neighbouring provinces, cannot be difputed. It is, indeed, a proportion fo ex- tremely evident, as fcarcely to acquire corro- boration from the uniform example of all the republics which have ever plundered and in- fefted the world. But it is rather fmgular, that Montefquieu mould difcover any thing in the nature of this form of government more friend- ly to the prerogatives of deputies and govern- ors of provinces, than in the monarchical con- ftitution ; more efpecially as, in the very chap- ter before, he had explained the dangerous tendency of intruding exteniive powers to fub- ordinate agents in a commonwealth, and ac- counted, upon this principle, for the apparent unwillingnefs of the Carthaginians that Han- nibal mould fucceed in his enterprife againfi Rome. * l6 COLONIAL POLICY OF Rome. The Roman proconfuls, indeed, (whom, in another part of his work, * he de- fcribes with great animation as the bamaws of the republic) exercifed over the provinces a power unknown in Latium during the free days of the ftate. But their office only lafied for a year ; they were fubjecled to various checks and controuls ; and they owed the maintenance of their authority, during that fhort period, not to any influence which they had an opportunity of acquiring over the peo- ple, but to the terror of the Roman name, of which they were the reprefentatives, and to the legions of which they received the com- mand when they fet out for their government. It may be worth while to attend a little more minutely to the ftrufture of the Roman pro- vincial governments, as this fubjeft, fo full of political inftruction, has been very much mif- underilood. While Rome continued under a republi- can form of government, the conquered coun- tries were in general converted into provinces, and committed to the care of the confuls or praetors, but more commonly to proconfuls and proprietors magiftrates whofe fole occu- pation was the provincial adminiftration. They were chofen by the Senate ; clothed with ex- tenfive * Liv. XI. chap. 12. *THE EUROPEAN POWERS. \J terifive powers of civil government and jurif- SECT. diftion ; and invefted by the people, in the ._ v ' r comitla curiata^ with the chief military com- mand. But this high authority was limited in two ways : they received their appointment only for a year ; and they were accompanied by a quosftor, likewife chofen by the Senate, whofe department was that of the finances, and who was always an officer of high autho- rity and fplendid rank. Under the republic, the governor was fometimes accompanied alfo by an officer called Legatus, the lieutenant, or fecond in command. We are told, indeed, that the clofeft connexion fubfifted between the go- vernor and his qureftor ; ' Ea neceffitudo^ ' to life the words of Cicero, ' ut illi proconful pa- 6 rentis loco ejfit. ' But as the quaeflor's ap- pointment was altogether independent of the governor, as his feparate functions were of great importance, and as his own private ftation, was always one of great dignity in the repub- lic, it is fcarcely to be imagined that the power of the governor mould receive no modification from the privileges of this afibciate. That a great familiarity mould fubfift between them, and a mutual complaifance mould be cultivated by both, was certainly neceflary for the manage- ment of the public bufmefc ; and would, in ge- neral, be conducive to their own intereflandeafe. VOL. ii. B But COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK Butiftheprefenceof the qua?ftor was not intended u y i as a controul upon the proconful or propraetor, it is not eafy to fee the ufe of his appointment. The whole bufmefs might have been entrufted to the governor himfelf. He was commiffioned to adminifter civil and criminal juftice, as well as to command the forces ; and his powers might have eafily been extended to the ma- nagement of the revenue, and the arrangement of the accounts of provincial expenditure, for the infpec~lion of the Senate. We may there- fore conclude, that, befides the limitation of the governor's power by the fhort duration of his office, he was farther checked by the qusef- tor, whofe office feems, in many points, to have refembled that of the Intendant in the govern- ment of the French colonies. Auguftus introduced a new arrangement into the provincial adminiftration. He took upon himfelf the management of a great part of the provinces, and left the reft to the care of the Senate. The former were called provin- citz Cafaris ; the latter provincitc populares. The imperial provinces were committed to magi- ftrates called pro/ides, and fometimes restores, inverted with as full powers as had ever been enjoyed by the proconfuls or propraetors, but accompanied by rationales, or procurators princtpis, who refembled the quseftor in the nature THE EUROPEAN POWERS. t nature of their offices, and exercifed, it is pro- SECT. bable, a fimilar controul over the governors. ( _^^ r ^ The popular provinces continued under the government of proconfuls and propraetors : but Auguftus no longer allowed thofe magi- flrates, chofen by the Senate, to command the forces of the republic. * One province, Egypt, feems to have been referved by the Emperor exclufively, and with peculiar concern. IE was governed by a Prcefeftus Augujlalls^ whofe powers were apparently of a ftill more exten- five nature than thofe of any provincial go- vernor during the republic ; for no fenator was allowed to enter the province without fpe- cial permiffion ; and Tacitus, talking of Egypt under the new form of government, fays - * JEgyptum ccpiafque quibus exercetur^ jam inde 6 a Divo Augufto equites Romanl obtimnt loco * Regum. ' f But though not accompanied ei- ther by a quasflor or procurator, his powers were controuled by a magiftrate of high judi- cial authority, called, Juridicus civitatis Alex- andrlni ' qul prafefti aEliones fpeculatus U(S etiam omnium prafidum com- 6 muniafunt : et debent ab his obfervari. ' [| A fhort time after Conftantine had made the law above mentioned, the Emperors Valentinius and Valens ordained, that the rationales fliould, for oppreffive conduct in his adminiftration, be tried by the prtefes, and, upon fufficient proof, be publicly burnt alive. * A clear demonftration, at once, of the evils experienced by the people under the provincial government of the empe- rors, and of the marked inferiority of the ra- tionalis to the governor. The Emperor Con- ftantine gave the governors alfo certain powers over the chief men in the provinces who might prove unmanageable or formidable. *[ It L. i. & 2. Cod. cle off. Reft. Prov. f- L. 5. Cod. Ubi caufce fifcales, &c. J Ibid. 6. I) Id. ibid. f Note A a. L. 2. Cod. de off. Reel. Pro-/. * L. 9. Cod. Ubi caufce fifcales, &c. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 2J It would appear, then, that the adminiftra- SECT. don of the imperial provinces was moft arbi- . .. , , > trary ; that the popular provinces, fo long as the diftinctibn remained, were ruled by divided authority, centred partly in the proconful chofen by the Senate, partly in the commander of the forces, and partly in the financial adminiflrator, both delegated by the Emperor : that the go- vernment of the provinces under the republic was much more tyrannical than the government of Rome and the contiguous territory, but not fo abfolute as the provincial governments of the emperors : and that, in every inflance, it was lefs defpotic, effective, and vigorous, than the adminiftration of the Emperors, or of a Dic- tator in the metropolis. It is manifefl, therefore, that the proconfu- lar tyranny in the provinces, inuft have been more grievous, in various refpecls, than the li- mited dominion of the Conful and Senate at home, perhaps even more odious than the fhort- lived power of the dictator, watched as it was by a people habituated to freedom, and termi- nating with the emergency for which it was created. But, at all events, there can be no reafon to imagine that the pr.oconfuls of the re- public enjoyed a more limited fway than thofe of the empire ; or that Rome, fo jealous of her powerful citizens, mould have been more libe- ral in clothing her provincial magistrates with JB 4 authority, C4 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK authority, than the monarchs of the Eaft were in their commifiions to commanders and fatraps. It is probable that both received the fame mare of delegated power, becaufe they received their appointments from Sovereigns equally jealous of agents placed beyond the immediate fpherc of their controul, and had to exercife their func- tions upon theatres where the fame exertions of authority were required. In modern times, we find, that ariftocratical and republican commonwealths, and limited monarchies, have invefted their deputies with powers fimilarly reftricled. The governors of the Venetian podeflas were not indeed fettered by the various re- ftraints which reduced the authority of the Doge to a mere name ; becaufe the provinces were governed without the complicated fyftem of ariftocratic tyranny which prevailed in the city. Yet the fubjccts of the republic in the terra firma were ruled by fo gentle a fway, as made the inhabitants of thofe provinces which were conquered in the war that folloxved the league of Cambray, lament their feparation from the dominion of Venice, whilfl this relaxa- tion of the provincial government certainly "con- tributed not a little to the unfortunate i{Tue of that conqueft. * It * The collc&ion of Venetian laws, entitled, ' Parti e f bandi Veneti, ' contains various edids limiting the powers r r the governors of provinces, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 2 It was not to be expected that the States- SECT. General, whofe extreme jealoufy of all fubor- . dinate authority cramped the operations of their generals wifn the prepofterous invention of field deputies in the campaigns on the Rhine, mould entruft their commanders in South America t with that unlimited power, without which the pofleflron of diftant fettlements can fcarcely be . acquired, and can never be long retained. Ac- cordingly, the rapid conquefts in Brazil, which the Republic owed, entirely to the enterprizing genius of Prince Maurice, and the patriotic zeal of the whole nation againfl Spain, were facri- ficed to that cautious and timid policy which fubjected his meafures to the controul of a mer- cantile board appointed to watch his operations, and to prevent him from counteracting the vi- gour fuddenly acquired by the Portuguefe go- vernment, under the newly eftablifhed dynafuy of the houfe of Braganza. The conftitutions of the Britifli colonial go- vernments in North America were formed upon the model of that admirable fyftem of domeftic policy, which has fecured the happinefs of the mo- ther country, raifed her to an unexampled height of profperity, and, notwithitanding its theoretical defects, left her in a fitnation of envied tranquil- lity, and folid practical freedom, amidfl all the political experiments and convuUlons that have maker? 26 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK fhaken the other nations of Europe. The go- . ' . vernments of the Britifh Weft Indies are ftill conftrucled upon the fame excellent plan. But it is impoffible to deny, that this fornj^f govern- ment, of which we are fo juftly proud at home, has communicated to our fellow fubjects in the New World, few of thofe advantages that we ourfelves enjoy under it. The author of the 6 Wealth of Nations ' feems not to have confi- dered this matter with his ufual accuracy *, when he fays, that the Englifh colonifls had their rights fecured to them, in the fame degree, and by the fame means, with their fellow citizens in Britain ; and that the colonial forms of govern- ment approached ftiil more nearly to the perfec- tion of liberty, than the model upon which they were originally conftructed. In theory, indeed, this is the cafe. They had, almoft all of them, two Houfes of Legiflature, and a governor en- trufted with the executive power. The confent of thefe three branches of the conftitution was re- quired in every public act of legiflation. But it appears very clear, that the relation of depend- ency which a colonial eftablifhment fuppofes, could never be enfured by a delegation of that au- thority to the governor, or an exteniion of thofe rights to the people, which give energy to the ex- ecutive power, and fecure complete liberty to the fubjecls * Book IV. chap. 7. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 1J fubjedts on this fide of the Atlantic. To take one SECT. example, only, of the radical difference between . the two fyftems. The influence of the Commons, from their flower of withholding fupplies, which almoft always prevents the negative of the Crown from being exerted in Great Britain, and is in- deed the great corner done of the Britifh confti- tution, has, evidently, almoft no exiftence in the Colonial fyftem. Accordingly, every meafure propofed by the Colonial Legifiatures, that did not meet with the entire concurrence of the Britifh Cabinet, was fure to be rejected, in the laft inftance, by the Crown. So that, whilft the directing influence of the people of Great Britain prevents the Crown from exerting its conftitutional prerogative, and in a great de- gree regulates all the operations of the Royal authority ; in the colonies, the direct power of the Crown, backed by all the refources of the mother country, prevents any meafure obnoxi- ous to the Crown from being carried into eflect, even by the unanimous efforts of the Colonial Legiflature ; and indirectly obtains from it all the meafures that are defired. If examples were required, we might refer to the hiftory of the abolition of the flave trade in Vir- ginia. A duty on the importation of negroes had been impofed, amounting to a prohibition. One Affembly, induced by a temporary peculiarity of circumftances, repealed this law by a bill which received 28 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK received the immediate fan&ion of the Crown. , ' , But never afterwards could the Royal afient be obtained to a renewal of the duty, although, as we are told by Mr JefFerfon, * all manner of expedients were conftantly tried for this pur- pofe, by almoft ever) 7 fubfequent Aflembly that met under the Colonial government. The very firfl Aflembly that met under the new conftitu- tion, finally prohibited the traffic. Nor is this political arrangement, which al- together reverfes the balance of the powers in the government of the colonies, the confequence of any arbitrary or accidental part of the fyftem. It is eflential to the dependence of the colonies, and a neceffary part of the fubordinate conftitu- tion. It is the legal mode of enforcing fubjec- tion, confidently with the forms of the Britifh government. It can only be counteracted by fuch a growth of refources, as may prepare the independence of the colonies, and muft, in the end, produce a complete feparation. This event will of courfe be more fpeedily brought about in the colonies of free ftates ; but, even in them, we have had fatal experience of the obftinate ftruggle with which fuch a confummation is al- ways likely to be attended. We may conclude, then, that the provincial or colonial government eftablimed in the dif- tant dominions of commonwealths and mix- ed * Notes on Virginia, QJJ. 8. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 29 ed monarchies, although more free than that with SECT. which an abfolute fovereign rules his diftant ter- . '. . ritories, is neverthelefs extremely different, in its principles, from the conftitutfon of the pa- rent dates ; and that, as the delegates of the ab- folute monarch, though armed with power fuf- ficient to annihilate all freedom, yet rule with far lefs fway and energy than their mafters at home : fo, the fubordinate fyftems of free go- vernments fecure, in a very inferior degree, the rights and privileges of the colonial or provin- cial fubjects, without falling into the oppofite extreme of defpotic government. Hence, one confequence muft inevitably follow ; neither of the two fyftems of delegated power will pof- fefs the advantages, either of a defpotic or of a free conftitution, in thofe fituations which call for the exertions of national force. While the one is deftitute of that undivided energy, and ap- propriate promptitude in all military operations, with which a defpotic government is always armed, the other, pofieffed in a ftill lefs degree of this advantage, muft likewife want all that force which a popular form of government ex- clufively derives from the united exertions of a free .people. In the conduct of military ope- rations, therefore, whether defenfive or offen- five, all colonial governments muft be extreme- ly imperfect j and the colonial governments of free 3 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK free ftates more imperfeft than thofe of defpotic " ( or abfolute monarchies. But it is not merely from the neceifary {true- ture of their governments, that colonial efta- blifhments are ill adapted to the meafures of vi- gorous warfare. The very circumflance of their dependence on another (late at a vaft diftance, mufl be productive of confequences the moft fa- tal to promptitude of counfel, and activity of exertion. Suppofing that an abfolute Monarch may fafely delegate undivided power to his re- prefentative, and that a free ftate may organize the government of its colonies, fo as to com- municate to the inhabitants the moft ample pri- vileges ; (till, fuch diftant pofiefiions, of what- ever kind, are in a very different fituation from primary flates. In them, it is not to be ima- gined that the influence of the government up- on the internal administration, can operate fo ftrongly as in the mother country. The prin- ciple of fear, or loyalty, or religion, or what- ever it is that renders the people thoughtlefsly fubmiffive to abfolute power, exifts in a much lefs degree, where the Monarch appears in the perfon of his deputy, than where he mines him- felf in the magnificent fulnefs of defpotic glory. The feelings of patriotifm, or virtue, or politi- cal expediency, or whatever it is that inclines a free people to obey its rulers, can have very lit- tle THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 3! tie force in a fniall part of a ftate, cut off from SECT. the reft by phyfical boundaries, connected with ._ . J the whole by no common intereft, and regulated by a government which is itfelf dependent on a diftant power. Indeed, if we confider the kind of men by ^/ whom colonies are always peopled, we mall be convinced that they are neither fit for fubmitting to the difcipline of abfolute monarchy, nor for being animated by the fpirit of a free conftitu- tion. They are either fettled, for a time, with the view of increafing their fortunes, and then returning to their native country ; in which cafe, it muft be a matter of indifference to them ia whofe hands the pofleffion of the province is placed, provided they are not themfelves mo- lefted : or they have taken up their refidence in the province, and made it their abode for life ; in which cafe, they are much more likely to feel the defire of feparating from the -parent ^/ ftate, than of efpoufing its quarrels. Whenever, then, a free ftate would carry on war from its diftant provinces, it has not only to attack the enemy, but to retain its own fubje&s in tranquillity and fubordination. To look for vigorous afliftance from thofe fubjeds, is abfurd. They cannot be expected to fight and to toil, that others may wear the laurels, or divide the fpoil. To them, it is much the fame thing what nation 32 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK Cation receives the taxes and contributions which . they muft pay ; and if their exertions are to turn the fate of campaigns in the planning of which they had no {hare, it feems but reafonable that they mould continue thofe exertions a little long- er, in "order to render themfelves independent, fo that they may reap the fruits of their own dangers and toils. But, befides the nature of colonial govern- ments, and the fituation of the inhabitants over whom they are eflablifhed, other circumftances eilential to diflant and dependent fettlements, muft always weaken and diftract the operations of provincial warfare. It is feldom that a ca- binet ought, in prudence, to entruft a general with full command, unfettered by any reftric- tions ; and more rarely (till, that a cabinet can be found willing to grant fuch difcretionary powers, when circumftances render it neceffary or prudent. When plans are to be formed by a council or prince on one fide of the globe, and executed by their delegates on the other, all the bad confequences may be expected to oppofe the faccefs of each meafure, which can arife from local ignorance, and from conftant delay. If a general has been found worthy of bearing the moft unlimited commiflion, and a cabinet wife and liberal enough to grant it, {till the fate of the conteft is periled on a fm- T'HE EUROPEAN POWERS. gle ftake his perfonal fafety and good con- duct : for it is fcarcely to be expected, that one army will contain two fuch men : and, be- fore time has been given to form them, or to felect them from the bulk of the forces, their fervices are indifpenfably required. As to the middle expedient of councils of war, they fel- dom or never produce any good effect. If they are appointed as a check, they mud ham- per the general, and do nothing but mifchief. If they are confined to the office of giving ad- vice, they may dill have the effect of controul- ing him ; and, at all events, they mud mare that refponfibility, which can never fall with too undivided a force upon the fingle head of the leader. On the other hand, when the government is near its military agents, they may fafely be entruded with ample authority, and can be di- rected by continual inftructions. Their con- duct is clofely watched their deficiencies ea- fily fupplied their places foon filled up. No great plan of operations can, in fuch a cafe, be frudrated by a random mot. The date which has the bed troops, and mod ample refources, will, in general, find a fucceflion of able men to command the one, and direct the other. Had Cortes been cut off in any of thofe enter- prizes which fo rapidly fucceeded each other VOL, ii. C during- 33 E t. 34 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK 'during the whole of his vaft and hazardous ca- .^ T ' . reer, the Mexican empire was faved, at leaft for a feafon. But when Montezuma was flain, a Quetlavaca was eafily found to meet the in- creafed difficulties of the emergency ; and, on his accidental death, in the courfe of a few weeks, there was no difficulty in finding a Guatimozin, who difplayed talents that would have faved his country againft any ordinary combination of dangers. But, further j troops may always be expeft- ed to fight better in prefence of their country- men, in fcenes with which they are acquainted, and under climates to which they have been habituated from their birth. With how many additional difadvantages have thofe forces to ftruggle, which are fent into diftant regions ; where the people with whofe defence they are entrufted, and the enemies whom they have to combat, are almoft equally ftrange and fo- reign to them ; where they may languifh in an unwholefome air, after fpilling their blood in the field ; and muft fubmit to all the rifks and delays of a tedious return, before they can receive the meed of their country's applaufe, for the victories which their fears and their toils have won ? Nor are the leaders them- felves on equal terms. They have not the fame eyes watching their conduct ; they do not THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 35 not take the field with the fame local know- SECT. ledge ; they are called upon to aft in a ftrange ._ ' _j country, at a vaft diftance from their fupplies ; and having in their rear, fhould they be forced to retreat, if not an enemy's territory, at lead one which belongs to a lukewarm friend. In fhort, the nation that carries on war in its co- lonies, either for their defence or extenfion, acts under the principal difadvantages to which every power is fubjecl:, when it engages in of- fenfive warfare, and which, other circumftances being equal, mud always turn the fortune of war in favour of an enemy who fights on his own ground. The hiftory of the Greek and Roman co- lonies will probably occur to my readers, as furnifhing exceptions to the proportion which I have been endeavouring to eftablim. The fubje&ion of the mofl flouriming of the former although independent of the mother country, and the great afliftance which the Romans de- rived from their colonial fettlements, in extend- ing and fecuring their conquefts, may at firfl light appear to preclude the application of the foregoing remarks, at leaft to the policy of an- cient ftates. But, a little attention to the real nature of thofe eftablifhments will mow us, that their hiftory prefents, in fact, nothing anoma- lous to our view. C a The COLONIAL POLICY OF The Greek and Roman colonies, as we have already fhown, * were effentially different in their conftitution and origin. The former arofe from emigrations caufed by an overgrown po- pulation, and feldom retained any dependence on the parent ftates. The latter owed their eftablimment principally to the ambition of Rome ; and they remained in ftricl: fubordina- tion to her power. But another difference be- tween the two forts of colonies has not been fo much regarded. The colonial fettlements of the Greeks were planted in diflant countries, and amongll barbarous tribes. They were efta- blifhed, not in Greece, or in the ftates imme- diately in the neighbourhood which had already been well peopled, but in Gaul, Sicily, and the fouth of Italy ; in Gyrene, and Egypt ; in II- lyria, and Afia Minor. The Roman colonies, on the other hand, were planted in the imme- diate vicinity of Rome. During the fecond Punic war, the city was furrounded by no few- er than thirty eftablilhments of this kind, f which ferved as fo many garrifons or advanced pofts, for her defence. Ancient authors men- tion no lefs than one hundred and fixty-four colonies fettled in Italy, from the foundation of Rome to the death of Auguftus. J It * Book I. Sea. I. f L iv y 1Jb - XXVII. Onuphrius Panvinius j Impcr, Rom. cap. VI. Note THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 37 It was not until after a neighbouring SECT. ftate had been completely conquered, that the . ' , Romans thought of colonizing its territories. In laying the plan of a new acquifttion, their firft ftep was, to fecure the alliance of fome ftate in the vicinity of the power mark- ed out for plunder or definition, and, if poflible, to excite diifenfions in the interior of the country itfelf. Having fucceeded in this enterprize, they faithlefsly involved their al- lies in the fame fubje&ion.. An advantageous treaty of peace, fecuring the payment of tribute, and prefcribing a change in the form of the government or the perfons of the rulers, gene- rally terminated the firft war. This treaty was then treacheroufly broken, and hoftilities recom- menced, for the complete fubjugation of the country, with circumftances of barbarity and oppreflion, which at once deflroyed the fpirit and the force of the vanquifhed. It was now that thefe favage plunderers of the world poured into the conquered territory a band of hungry adventurers, leagued by a conflitution fimilar to that of the parent city. Systematically regardlefs of the rights of pro- perty, they uniformly introduced thofe fettle- ments by an Agrarian law, which transferred part of the fubjugated territory to the allied C 3 powers 38 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK powers who were not yet fwallowed up, and ... v < divided another portion among the Roman fol- diers. The vanquifhed people eafily incorpo- rated with their new matters, whom they nearly refembled in manners and in warlike habits ; and the colonies, by which Rome was furround- ed, became, in fad, neither more nor lefs than an integral part of her own territory, lying con- tiguous to the centre of the ftate, governed by fimilar laws, and peopled by the fame fort of mixed and warlike breed. The Social war was thus, as we formerly remarked, a civil war, in the ftri&eft fenfe of the word. It was a conteft between the inhabitants of the country, and thofe of the city, for the porTeffion of certain politi- cal privileges, formerly difregarded, becaufe they conferred no advantageous distinction ; but now- more highly prized, becaufe they ferved to mark the fuperiority of the Romans over the inhabi- tants of the provinces or remote territories. It mult, however, be obferved, that the tranfma- rine and transalpine poffeffions of the republic were in a very different predicament from its Italian dominions. They were indeed fubdued by force of arms and intrigue, by bafenefs and political profligacy of every fort, juft as the bo- dy of the ftate had been more flowly added to the city j but they were not retained and fecured by THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 39 by the fyflem of colonizing and incorporating. They continued to form diftincl: dates, though governed by Roman magifirates and laws ; and they were kept in fubjedion by Roman armies. They did not contribute to the farther conquefts of the republic, unlefs by the tribute which they paid, and the paffage which they afforded to the republican forces. After the fecond Punic war, in which the enemy was reduced to the loweft ftate of humiliation compatible with the pre- fervation of nominal independence, no lands were feized, no colonies planted, no provincial government eftablimed, in Carthage. But the jealoufy of Mafinifla was excited againfl that neighbour, whom common danger mould have taught him to confideras his bed ally : and full fcope being given to that fyftem of policy which conquers by dividing, and by fomenting wars, the arms of Mafinifla were employed to fmooth the way for the total deflru&ion of the Cartha- ginian name, and, ultimately, for the accomplifh- ment of his own ruin alfo ; while the forces of both, fo long as they retained any power, were directed againfl the independence of Macedonia and Greece. When the Romans would avail themfelves of one conqueft, in order to make another, they adopted a middle line of policy. They did not at once complete any part of their work, C 4 however 40 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK however eafy. Inftead of reducing a fubjugated , ftate to the form of a Roman province, they allowed it to remain under its own laws ; and, by means of its conquered rulers, who were permitted to retain their places, they fwayed its fceptre, and appropriated its refources : a me- thod of proceeding, not peculiar to thofe crafty warriors, but adopted by military communities, in all ages, and in every part of the world ; by the Tartar hordes, by the conquerors of the Mogul empire, by the Princes of AbyfTmia, and, (till more recently, by the French chiefs, who have furrounded their dominions with di- rectories, and vice-prefidents, and landamtmans, and petty monarchs ; as the conquerors of the Eaft did with cawns, and nawaubs, and ful- tauns. It appears then, nrft, that the Roman colo- nies were, in moft material refpe&s, totally dif- ferent from thofe of every other country : and, fecondly, that the Romans never extended the policy of conquering, or ruling, by means of colonies, to their diftant fettlements. But the hiflory of the Roman policy, rich in every fpe- cies of inflrudlion, furnifhes us alfo with pofitive proofs of the weaknefs of colonial eftablim- ments, when attacked by the confolidated pow- er, and energetic adminiftration peculiar to in- tjependent flates. The THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 4! The firft conqueft that the Roman arms SECT. made beyond the bounds of Italy, was the . J . ifland of Sicily, and, foon after, thofe of Cor- fica and Sardinia. The greater part of the firft, and the whole of the two laft, were fub- jedl to the provincial government of Carthage : they were all ceded to Rome by the treaty which terminated the firft Punic war. Spain, the firft country on the continent of Europe in which the Romans obtained a footing, had, im- mediately before the invafion of Scipio, been conquered by the troops of Carthage. The rapid progrefs of the Punic arms under Hannibal, and the wonders which that fingular man performed, chiefly with a force collected from the conquered countries, may rather ap- pear an inftance againft our general principle. But before drawing fuch a conclufion, we mall do well to confider the chance which any na- tion has of producing fo great a captain as Hannibal. The events of the fecond Punic war, and the victories of Epaminondas, form, perhaps, the only inftances in the hiftory of the world, wherein great changes of affairs have, for a time, been brought about entirely by the accidental appearance of extraordinary men upon the theatre of human affairs. It is, in faft, the aftonifhing part of Hannibal's ftory, that, even according to the accounts of his ene- mies, he fucceeded, to a certain degree, in o- vercoming ^2 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK vercoming thofe phyfical and moral obftacles . ' . which all other men have found infurmount- able. ' Ac nefcio, an mirabilior adverjis, quam 6 fecundis rebus, fuerit. quippe qui, quwn et in ho* ' ftium terra per annos tredecim, tarn procul ab ' domo, varid fortunii bellum gereret, exercitu non ( fuo civili,fed?nixto ex collu-olone omnium gentium , ' quibus non lex, non mos, non lingua communis ; e alius habitus, alia I'e/iis, alia arma, alii ritus, * aliafacra, alii prope Dei ejjent : ita quodam uno 6 uinculo copulaverit eos, ut nulla nee inter ipfos, 6 nee adverfus ducem feditio exftiterit ; quum et e pecumafape inftipendium, et commeatus in ho- 6 Jtium agro deejfent. * * Such were the circum- ftances natural to a war carried on againfl an independent (late, from the remote provinces of the invading power. They were circum- flances which may be expected with certainty to recur in fimilar fituations, and inevitably to baffle fimilar attempts, unlefs carried on un- der the aufpices of fuch a leader as Hannibal. In modern times, indeed, the more complicated fyftem of warfare, and the more combined ope- rations of foreign policy, which regulate the intercourfe of dates, render it ftill more un- likely, than formerly, that the appearance of a fmgular genius, or any other fortuitous occur- rence, mould again produce confequences of importance * ivy, lib. XXV LI I. cap. 12. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. importance fufficient to make them be confi- dered as exceptions to the general pofition I have maintained. And, after all, it mould be remembered, that even in the cafe before us, Hannibal was not completely fuccefsful. The Roman colo- nies and provinces in Italy, as yet but partially confolidated, readily joined the invaders. * The jealoufy, and weaknefs of the motives which ruled the Carthaginian councils, as well as the great diftance of the fcene of action, and the length of the war, prevented proper fup- plies from being fent to Hannibal. The Ro- mans, fighting on their own ground, refufed, after their ufual manner, to hear of any terms, until the enemy mould, as a preliminary, eva- cuate Italy. Every defeat rendered them more obftinate ; concentrated their forces ; and in- flamed them with the valour of defpair. The talents of Hannibal himfelf, could not infpire his troops with thofe fentiments ; becaufe they were a mixed and difunited race, debauched by fuccefs, fighting chiefly for plunder, at a vail diftance from their homes. All thefe cir- cumftances were neceflary to the relative fitua- tion of the parties, and might fairly be taken into the calculation, as fure to influence the ultimate fate of the conteft. They are among the * Livy, lib. XXI. cap, 38. & lib. XXII. cap. 61. 44 COLONIAL POLICY Of ' K the neceffary obftacles to a warfare, carried on . /.. - from colonies or provinces againft primary and independent flates ; and in the end, they over- powered even the wonder-working genius of the Punic commander. Nor is the hiftory of the Greek colonies in Afia Minor, any exception to the propofition which I have been attempting to illuftrate. They were indeed conquered, as many other flates have been, by powerful neighbours. The Afiatic Greeks occupied a narrow ftripe of ter- ritory, furrounded on t all fides, excepting the weft, by the great empire of Lydia. Like many other communities of men as well as of nations, in fimilar circumftances, although op- pofed by a common enemy, they did not lay afide their hereditary antipathy, derived from diverfity of origin, and the ancient rivalry of their European anceftors. The federal confli- tution of each ftate was ill adapted to promote the union dictated by their obvious interefts ; and, fo far from the two nations agreeing in any military combination, it was feldom that the different cities of either, could be brought to act in one way. While the ariflocratic government prevailed in Sweden and Poland, it was not wonderful that Ruffia mould acquire an abfolute preponderance in their affairs, and upon part of the latter. The mutual animofity THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 45 ahimofity of the Northern Powers has, for the SECT. laft century, rapidly augmented the influence . J . of their natural enemy over them both ; arid the divifions of the Germanic Empire have enabled France to dictate at Vienna, Berlin, and Ratifbon. Divided councils are fatal; be- caufe they are weak and irrefolute, and never effective but in fome tranfient fit of a ftill more dangerous ramnefs and precipitancy. Diftant councils have the fame imperfec- tions in a degree little inferior ; and the dif- ference is more than compenfated by the divifion of fupplies, and the various delays effential even to the mod aclive and ener- getic fecondary government. If the fcheme entertained by the cabinet of Verfailles upon the Polifh crown, previous to the Auftrian al- liance in 1756, had fucceeded, and a French prince had been eftablilhed in fubordinate authority at Warfaw, the events of 1794 and 1 795, would in all likelihood have taken place in 1774, after a fhort and inefFe&ual flruggle. If Philip II. had fucceeded in re- ftoring the Spanifh dominion over the Dutch Netherlands, the armies of Lewis XIV. would not have been forced to retreat from the gates of Amfterdam, and we mould never have heard of the family compact. The hiilory of America prefents us with a variety of examples, all ftrongly confirming the fame 46 COLONIAL POLICY OP BOOK f ame pofnions. It was from colonies, indeed, if . and from colonies recently eftablifhed in the iilands, that the firft conquefts of the Spaniards on the continent were made with a rapidity which aftonifhed all mankind. But although the Crown of Caftile reaped the whole benefits of thofe brilliant exploits, they were almoft en- tirely the achievement of private adventurers, and refembled, in their energy and fuccefs, ra- ther the fpeculations of mercantile adventure, than the operations of a diftant cabinet. The fettlements in Cuba, Jamaica, and St Domin- go, ferved only as fo many convenient points of attack fo many ports where the adven- turers were collected, and from which the voy- ages were fitted oyt. The enemy, though nu- merous, was greatly inferior in all the arts of policy, as well as in military fcience ; and, though his force was concentrated, he was not in a fituation to make reprifals, or at- tempt a diverfion. Yet, with all/hofe advan- tages, it is manifeft that the Spaniards mufl have failed, had they not followed the maxims of the Roman conquerors, and paved the way to each fuccefs, by forming alliances, and fo- menting divifions. The Peruvian empire was fubdued entirely by perfidy and intrigue. The invafion of Chili was fruftrated, partly by dif- fenficns among the plunderers, partly by the better policy of the native tribes j and it is worthy THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 47 worthy of remark, that the fubjeclion of Mexi- SECT. GO was effected by conquering, in detail, the . remoteft provinces in the kingdom, and ac- quiring at the fame time the firm alliance of the Tlafcalans, a powerful and diftant append- age of the empire, without whofe affiftance Cortes could never have reached the capital, and whofe antipathy to their former mafters faved him from utter deftruclion in his re- treat. We have already taken notice of the effefts which the Dutch policy produced upon the ope- rations of Prince Maurice, and the power of the States-General in South America. The com- parative trial of force, indeed, between an in- dependent nation, and a province or colony in the new world, has never yet been fairly made. The European power in that quarter of the globe, has never, till very lately, received any check, either from the growth of the white po- pulation, or the increafed number of the Afri- can labourers 5 and the wife policy of the United States has kept them at peace with all their neighbours, fince they became independent of the mother country. But, in the very firft year of the unhappy conqueil which brought about that event, a (hiking proof was exhibited, of the dan- gers to which the beft regulated colonial efta- blifhment is expofed, by the neighbourhood of an 4- COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK an independent community, even during its ear- . ly infancy, and its druggies for exiilence. My readers will immediately perceive, that I allude to the celebrated expeditions of Allen, Montgo- mery, and Arnold. While the mod fanguine friends of American independence fcarcely ven- tured to hope that the colonifts would be able to maintain their ground againfl the forces of the mother country, they aftonifhed the world, by commencing offenfive operations. The ve- ry firft campaign of that unhappy war, was fig- nalized by a fuccefsful expedition of the revolt- ers againft the ftations of the Britifh forces on the frontiers of Canada ; and the gates of that province were thus thrown open to a mofl for- midable invafion, which threatened the total conqueft of the country before the end of the fame year. The gallant leaders to whom thofe operations were entrufted, actually reduced the whole of Upper Canada, and were only foiled in their attempts on Quebec, by the ill choice of the feafon, owing chiefly to the divifions of opinion that conftantly attend the offenfive mea- fures of governments newly formed upon a po- pular model ; the union of the befieged in de- fence of their large property, which they were taught to believe would be expofed to the plun- der of the rebels ; and the extenfive powers wifely confided by the Britim government to General THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 4y General Carleton powers formerly unknown in SECT. any of the colonies, and utterly inconfident with l __ a government bearing the fainted refemblance to a popular form. Thus had the infant re- public of America, immediately at the com- mencement of feparate operations, and above half a year previous to the formal declaration of independence, almod fucceeded in the conqued of a Britim colony, drong by its natural pofition, by the vigour of its internal adminiftration, by the experience of the veteran troops who defend- ed it, and by the fkiil of the gallant officer who commanded thofe forces ; while the only advan- tages of the affailants confided in the romantic valour of their leaders, the enthufiafm of men fighting in their own caufe, and the vigorous councils of an independent community. Let us now fuppofe, that in any other part of the American colonies, a free date was eda- bliflied, either with the confent of the mother country, or by forcibly difclaiming her authori-, ty. Let us conceive, that this new community is placed in the neighbourhood of colonies not connected with the new date by the ties of blood, or habits of mbjection to the fame go- vernment, but inhabited by a people whofe proxi- mity of fituation, diverfity of origin, and fnnila- rity of purfuits, as is uniformly the cafe, render- ed them a rival or hodile nation ; and that, of VOL. ii. D confequcnce, COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK confequence, in any conteft that may take place * ' , between the two communities, neither of them can labour under the difadvantage of a difputed title to independence, as was the cafe in the A- merican war. Let us, for inftance, fuppofe that the cabinet of Liibon, weary of the dependent fituation in which it is placed by every politic- al difference among the European powers, (hall abandon fo trifling a portion of its territory as Portugal, and transfer the feat of government to the great body of its dominions, the Brazils. In its prefent ftate, Portugal can neither preferve her independence in Europe, againft the united force of that power which, fince the acceffion of John IV. in 1640, has been her natural ene- my, and of France, the natural ally of Spain ; nor can {he, by a diverfion in South America, fecure the fafety of her European poffeffions ; nor can me again look for fuch a feries of good fortune, as that which, hi the war of 1762, en- abled England to fave her from the power of the Bourbons, by the brilliant campaigns in North America and the Weft Indies. But if the Court of Liibon, with the military and naval force of the kingdom, and the nonrefident proprietors of American eftates, remove to St Salvador, and adopt fuch reforms in the adminiftration, as a complete change of any kind may be fuppof- ed to render lefs terrific than innovation ge- nerally THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 51 nerally is n abfolute governments; then the co- SECT. ionics of France and Spain in South America, . y > will have to contend with a people pofTeiTed of a fertile, extenfive, and compact territory, more populous in Europeans and Creole whites, than any other portion of that vaft continent j and, above all, forming an independent ftate, govern- ed by a cabinet in the centre of its dominions. Difputes have even already arifen between the Spaniards and other nations, about the limits of pofleffions which, under the Spanifh government, feem fated to remain a wide defert ; and the Portuguefe fettlers have repeatedly endeavoured to injure their neighbours in America, and to increafe a territory already too extenfive. But, in the cafe which we have fuppofed, it is not ne- ceflary to affume, that views of ambition in the new world mail actuate the tranfpknted cabi- net. The fafety of the territories which it will retain in Europe, forms a more legitimate and more probable object of anxiety. While the court of Madrid, then, continues to prefer the rich colonies of Peru and Grenada, to the un- divided poffeffion of the Spanim peninfula ; while France is unwilling to increafe the domi- nions of Spain in Europe, at the expence of thofe territories in Guiana which have coft her fo many millions ; at the expence, too, of a great diminution of the Spanifh empire in America ; D 2 5 2 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK anc j w hUe Portugal retains a wifh to figure as i '_ , a European power, to poflefs ports in the neigh- bourhood of her befl markets, and to retain the territories to which (he owes her name and ori- gin : fo long we may expect to fee, in confe- quence of the propofed change, the prefent ar- rangement of dominion maintained in America, as well as in Europe ; but with this difference, that Portugal will have become independent of all foreign afliftance, and will have greatly in- creafed the value and ftrength of her South Ame- rican poffeffions ; me will owe the fafety and ag- grandizement of every branch of her empire to the vail fuperiority which all primary Hates pof- fefs over colonies in fimilar circumflances. This fuperiority, although the fituation of her Euro- pean pofleffions may prevent it from actually in- creafing her American territories, will, neverthe- lefs, raife her to a far more exalted rank than (he at prefent holds, and will, in every fenfe of the word, augment her refources, and extend her power. * The fame confequences will follow, if any of the European fettlements in the Weft Indian Archipelago mail, by whatever means, become independent of the mother country. The power of France to attack the neighbouring iflands of Jamaica, Cuba, and Porto- Rico, from St Do- mingo, * NoteCc. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 53 mingo, is much more limited than the power s E ' : i- of St Domingo would be, were an independent , ^ ^ government, and a primary narion, either of whites, mulattoes, or negroes, or of a mixture of the three races, eftablifhed there, by what- ever means ; always fuppofmg that the popula- tion and natural ftrength of the ifland is fuffi- cient to enable it to (land without the fup- port of the mother country. Now, as any re- volution of this nature muft, in all probability, take place direftly againft the will of the mo- ther country, it is manifeft, that the colonies will never be emancipated before they can exifl independent of her aid. In general, then, it appears that the emanci- pation of any colony, or its eftablimment as a primary ftate independent of the mother coun- try, is dangerous to the neighbouring colonies which retain their dependence, although we mould not confider the very powerful effects of example, and the contagious nature of revolt, in all communities fimilarly circumftanced. Such an event will be dreaded by all the powers having colonies in that quarter, as directly fub- verfive of the colonial balance, and the firfl ftep towards the ruin of their own colonial fyftem. We have feen, during the eventful hiftory of the lafl twelve years, how fatal to the balance of Europe the fudden changes in the internal D 3 affairs 54 COLONIAL POLICY Or BOOK a ff a j rs O f one ^ reat na tion have been. Al- ji i ^ , though various opinions have been entertained with refpecl to the merits of that revolution, confidered in itfelf ; although many have doubt- ed the juflice and expediency of interfering with its progrefs ; although fome have even maintained that its confequences, in the end, will be favourable to the interefts of other dates : no one has ever denied, that the great fyftem of European power has, in the mean time, been deranged, and that the caufe of the derange- merit mud be looked for in the new energies which the French revolution has developed, and in the views of policy which have regulated the nclors in the great drama. Beiides all thofe difturbing caufes which a colonial emancipation would immediately introduce into the fyftem, others which we have pointed out, of no lefs im- portance, ^are peculiar to the colonies ; and the nature of fubordinate governments would de- prive thofe fettlements which ftill remain de- pendent, of the energy and vigour fo neceflafy 1 for meeting the new crifis of affairs. It may be remarked, in general, that where a number of nations are placed in fmiiiar cir- cumitances, no change of importance can ever happen in one, without inducing a fimilar change in the reft alfo, This arifes chiefly from three caufes j from the force of example upon na- tions THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 55 tions united by conftant intercourfe, and placed ! E c T - in fimilar degrees of refinement ; from the di- , v , rect necemty which every increafe of power in one member of the national community impofes on all the other members, of providing for their fecurity by fimilar means, or from the power which any diminution of refources in one mem- ber affords to the others, of diminishing their preparations for felf-defence ; and, laftly, from the circumftance, that every great change in one part of the fyftem which is not wholly ac- cidental, muft be prepared and brought about by a certain combination of events common to the other parts, and may confequently be expected to take place nearly about the fame time, and in a fimilar manner, in thofe other parts alfo. The whole hiftory of that collection of fmail dates which occupied the terf itory of an- cient Greece, as well as of the petty Mates in- to which the North of Europe was formerly divided, furnimes us with conftant illuftrations of this general fact, that changes, but more particularly flowly progreflive changes, are always equable and regular over the whole members of fuch national fyftems as we are at prefent contemplating. But the hiftory of modern Europe affords flill more ftriking and recent examples of the fame truth. Confoli- D 4 dated > COLONIAL POLICY OF K dated into one fyftem of provincial govern- .'_ __. ment under the empire of Rome, the different dates, of which Kurope is now compofed, were feparated from their unnatural union, by the fame caufes, and nearly at the fame time. Re- duced by a people whofe character and man- ners were never effaced by the mofb rapid conquefts, or moft remote emigrations ; they were formed into divifions, under confti- tutions of the fame nature, peculiarly cal- culated to preferve that uniformity of cuftoms which originally marked the whole. The progrefs of political government has been limilar in all, from the dominion of the nobles to the tyranny of the prince, and, in thefe lat- er times, to the freedom of the people. i hat fpirit of commercial intercourfe, which pror duces a perpetual connexion, little known in the ancient world, has confpired with fimilan- ty of fituation, and the refemblance of man- ners, to render Europe a united whole within itlelf, almoft feparated from the reft of the world ; a great federacy, acknowledging in- deed no common chief, but united by certain common principles, and obeying one fyitem of international law ; a vaft fyftem, compofed of parts fimilarly conflitutedf liable to be affected in the fame manner, and nearly in the fame degree, by every external event, mutually in- fluencing each other, and keeping pace with each THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 57 each other's improvements, in fcience, in li- s E c T - berty, and in national refources. Thus, to . take a more particular inftance, as foon as the grand improvement of (landing armies was in- rroduced into one part of Europe, by the rife of the more peaceful arts, and the diminution of the power of the barons, the fame import- ant change was effected about the fame time, and by fimilar fteps, in all the nations of Eu- rope. The progrefs of this improvement, and its remote effects, were likevvife fimilar in all. It was extended, by the ambition of princes, to the keeping of a large force, for the purpofe of enflaving their fubjecls, and enlarging their dominions. This improvement was firft intro- duced into France ; and the example was fol- lowed by the neighbouring dates, both as a ufeful invention of policy for iecuring the prince's power, and as a meafure neceffary for the fafety of nations expofed to the new re- Iburces with which this important change had armed the French king. A circumftance, not fo obvious, appears to have regulated the formation of mod of the European dates, and prefents an illuftration, equally ftriking, of the principle which I have explained. There can be no doubt, that the confolidation of the fmaller dynafties into the different European empires were once 58 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK O nce divided, took place, in all, about the ' . fame period. The united empire of the Franks under Charlemagne, was too formidable a neighbour to the heterogeneous mafies of di- vided power, which were then prefented, on all fides, by Britain, Spain, Italy, and the North- ern kingdoms. Accordingly, we find that, in the fpace of little more than half a century, all the great unions took place, of which the prefent nations of Europe are compofed. The empire of Charlemagne was completed in the beginning of the eighth century ; the Saxon Heptarchy was united under Egbert the firfl King of England, in 827 ; the Pifts and Scots by Kenneth II. King of Scotland, in 838 ; the Norwegian petty lordfhips into one kingdom by Harold Hafager, in 875. The more conti- guous of thofe ftates were confolidated at the very fame time j the reft within a few years afterwards. A number of colonies, fituated in the fame quarter of the globe, planted about the fame time, by the fame people, and placed in almofl every material refpect in fimilar circumftances, will always form a national fyftem, the members of which are mutually affected by each other's fortunes. Any great change of circumftances in one important colony, will be followed by a correfponding revolution in the reft. The fudden THE EUROPEAN POWERS. ludden emancipation, for inftance, of the laves, or abolition of the Have traffic in one fettlement, will foon be followed by a general ceffation of the ilave fyftem in all the Weft Indian colonies. In like manner, a fudden fe- paration of one important colony from the mo- ther country, will, ere long, be followed by a general deftrucHon of the colonial fyftem. Hitherto, we have only viewed the mutual relations of the American fettlements from a point whence their appearance is uniform in itfelf, and the fame with that of all colonies. The deductions to which we have been led, are accordingly of a very general nature, and apply to every colonial or provincial fyftem depend- ent on diftant governments. But the fame con- clufions will derive additional force, as applied to the following Inquiry, if we attend to thofe peculiarities .in the fituation of the Weft In- dian iflands, which diftinguim them from ail other provincial and colonial fettlements. This forms, in part, the fubject of the next Section. 59 00 COLONIAL POLICY OF , SECTION II. OF THE INTERESTS OF THE EUROPEAN COLO- NIES, AS CONNECTED WITH THE RE-ESTA- BLISHMENT OF THE FRENCH POWER IN * %. THE WEST INDIES. I have explained, in the laft Se&ion, the reafons why a colonial eftablifhment is always, other things being equal, a more harmlefs neigh- bour than a primary ftate ; and why the fepara- tion of any one important member of the colo- nial fyftem, from its relations of dependence upon the mother country, would be mod pro- bably followed by a univerfal feparation of the colonies. I now proceed to examine, first, The peculiar circumflances which render the appli- cation of this conclufion to the ftate of tfte Weft Indian fettlements particularly ftriking ; and next, the peculiar circumftances in the filiation of the French fettlements, which render the con- clufion moft particularly applicable tc^mem. The refult of this inquiry will enable us tew determine the probable confequences of a totaf re-eftablifhment of the French colonial fyfteni, and to compare the effects of this event, with thofe of a total feparation of the French colo- njes, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. nies, to the other powers who have dominions in thofe parts of the world. I. The Weft Indian colonies differ from co- lonial eftablifhments in general, chiefly in the following particulars i. They are not peopled by feparate na- ons, like the countries of Europe, or the larger colonies upon the two continents of A- erica. The fate of war has frequently transferred the dominion of almoft all the iflands from one ower to another. Sometimes the permanent vereignty of the conquered iflands has been ansferred by treaty ; fometimes a ceffion of rritory has taken place by purchafe or ex- ange. In the Seven-years war, Britain was poffeffion of all the French Windward ands. In the American war, (he loft, to ranee, almoft all her own : and during a great: art of the late war, (he poffefled feveral of the Dutch and French fettlements. In the treaties which concluded each of thofe wars, indemnities and equivalents were fought for, by the belligerent powers, among the Weft Indian iflands. The Dutch owe their whole conti- nental colonies to an exchange with England : and the Swedes, having long ago loft their continental SECT. II. 62 COLONIAL fOLtCY OF x BOOK continental territories, are indebted ^lo a bar- ^' . gain with France for their only feu lenient in the new world. The confequence of all thofe changes of pofieflion, whether temporary or permanent, is, an intermixture of the different races of Europeans, who inhabit the Weft In- dian Archipelago. But the fpirit of commercial intercourfe has produced the fame effedl:, perhaps, in as great a degree, even in thofe fettlements which have conflantly remained under the fame maf- ters. The temptation of cheap and fertile land, large profits of ftock, and high wages of la- bour, have been found fufficiently powerful to overcome the attractions of home; and adventur- ers, after leaving their native country, have of- ten found it eafy to make a fecond change, from the fame inducements, and to remove to fo- reign iflands. The policy of almoft all the flates of Europe towards foreigners, in their colonies, has been fuch as to render their pri- vileges and fecurity equal to thofe of the na- tives : And, as a refidence in any of the AVeft Indian iflands, is commonly a temporary exile, fubmitted to for the acquifition of wealth *, the comparative advantages of the different colo- nial governments, are objects only of fecond- ary * Book I. Sed. I. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 63 ary confideration, as each conftitution fufficient- SECT. ly confers fecurity of perfon and property. . J - . * Thus, the mixture of inhabitants in the differ- ent iflands, co-operates with the identity of the climate and other phyfical circumftances, the fi- milarity of purfuits and of complexion (an im- portant confideration in countries where colour is the grand mark of diftinction) to coalefce the white inhabitants of the different iflands into one people, united by a common origin and common interefts. Although nominally diftributed into different political focieties, and participating in the views of their refpeclive mother countries, only in fo far as their immediate intereft feems to be concerned, colonies and provinces ne- ver can feel, in any ftrength, thofe national an- tipathies which divide primary ftates, and draw their fuel from independence, whilfl they ex- cite or blow up the flames of war. But leaft of all can we expect to fee principles of this fort arife in focieties formed after the manner which we have juft defcribed, fo long as they remain in the ftate of colonial or provincial de- pendance. If, however, a Reparation from the parent ftate takes place, the newly formed com- munity is placed in the fituation of all nations at their firfl eflablimment. With the new politi- cal inftitutions, a diftin&ion of manners, cha- racters and habits, begins to appear in its mem- bers, 64 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK ber?, and to divide them from the neighbour- ii , . '. . ing colonies, unlefs they, too, have followed the fame courfe, and joined themfelves in one community with the reft. 2. In another point of view, the circumftan- ces of the Weft Indian colonies are peculiar. The attachment of the white inhabitants to the foil, is perhaps weaker there than in any other part of the world. I have already traced the great outlines of the Weft Indian character, and contrafted it with that of the North Ame- rican colonifts. * I have enumerated the circumftances which tend to form that cha- racter ; and have particularly remarked, as a leading feature in their fituation, the tempora- ry nature of their connexion with the iflands, and the want of wives and families. The pre- valence of the negro flavery, too, and its ef- fects on the manners of the whites, have alfo been noticed, f It is eafy to perceive how lit- tle a fociety, thus conftituted, partakes of that compact and folid form in which national ftrength confifts, and how deftitute it muft be of the great bulwark of nations that ani- mated zeal and warm intereft which men take in the fafety and honour of a particular coun- try, * Book I. 3eft. T. + Ibid. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 65 try, becaufe it contains their property, the place SECT. of their birth, the habitation of their fathers, .__ the fcenes of their childhood, the perfons of 'their friends, their wives and their children. Thefe views can fcarcely acquire additional ftrength, from the recollection of that extreme unwillingnefs which Weft Indians have ever mown to take a part in military fervice, uniefs for the immediate purpofe of repreffing infur- reclion. The hiftory of St Domingo during the adminiftration of the Prince de Rohan, is well known to, every one who is converfant with colonial affairs ; and the opinions of fome of the moft enlightened planters upon this point demonftrate, that their repugnance is defended by them on principle, as well as ma- nifefted in practice. * Now, it is not difficult to perceive the mag- nitude of the change which will immediately be operated upon the ftructure of fociety in the Weft Indian colonies, by any political revolu- tion which mall deftroy their connexion with the European powers. The peculiarities in the ftate of the population, muit indeed render the abolition of colonial fubordination a difficult tafk. But if the Weft Indian dominions of VOL. ii. E one ' Laborle, Coffee-planter of St Domingo, Appendix. < Malouet, Mem. fur les Colonies, 66 COLONIAL POLICY OF K one of the European powers mould become ifl- *---'- dependent, by any of thofe revolutions in the affairs of nations, which all the events of the laft thirty years forbid us to confider as chi- merical, or be abandoned in confequence of fome change of views, not impofiible, on the p3rt of the European ftates, then we may fafely conclude, that the face of things will undergo a rapid alteration in the new community, and that a flate of fociety will be introduced widely different from that which we have been contemplating as one of the diftin- guifhing features of the Weft Indian colonies. The iflands which remain in their prefent cir- cumftances will then be expofed, in all the im- becility of their unnatural fituation, to the flrength of a neighbour, animated with the ardour of fpirit, and armed with the new- born energies of an infant ftate poffefling the ordinary refources of an independent commu- nity, inhabited by a race of men connected with the place of their refidence, as the conquerors of Xerxes and Darius were with Greece, and the warriors of Stockach and the Nile were with Auftria and England. 3. But the grand feature, which, more than J all the reft, diftinguimes the Weft Indian iflands from other colonial eftablifhments, and chiefly merits our attention in this inquiry, is the pro- portion THE EUROPEAN POWERS. (>/ portion of flaves to free men of flaves, too, SECT. xvhofe race is totally different from that of their j mafters, who are diftinguifhed from them as much by their habits and their character, and by the extent of their progrefs in civilization, as by the formation of their bodies, and the co- lour of their fkin. If even colonies of free men, connected with their mother country by a common origin and fimilar habits, mingled in the fame body, fo as to form homogeneous communities, and unit- ed to each other by a fimilarity of interefl and character ; if fuch eftablifhments are inferior to independent dates in folidity and political ftrengrh : how vaftly is the difference aug- mented, by the exiftence of a foreign nation in the heart of the colony, held, by force and intrigue, in fubjection to the handful of white inhabitants, who, by violence or fraud, have tranfported them from their native country ? Military operations muft increafe beyond all calculation the danger and infecurity of this unnatural ftate of fociety. It is not the free fubjects only whom a diftant government has to keep in fubordination, and animate to acti- vity and vigour. The flaves, in number and force far more formidable than any European enemy, muft be held in obedience, whilft their mafters ar| engaged in the field, or divided by E 2 the 68 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK the factious difputes fo natural to a colonial ji , ' . government. Under whatever fyftem of poli- cy the iflands are adminiftered, it is evident that their capacity for the operations of war- fare is extremely weakened by the mixture of their inhabitants. Thofe who are delighted to contemplate the grandeur of ancient commonwealths, or the romantic exploits of conquerors in the dark ages, may perhaps be inclined to doubt, whe- ther the external fecurity and glory of a com- munity is fo incompatible with domeflic flave- ry as we have maintained. With refpeft to the bondmen or villeins of the Gothic nations, they were evidently of the fame race with their liege lords ; and they ap- pear to have been moft peaceable fubjefts, de- graded indeed by their fituation, but contented with their lot ; entirely ignorant of any higher condition, and in a great meafure destitute of * the capacity for enjoying it. It is a fat, known to fuch as have vifited thofe parts of Europe, where the inftitution of villenage flill fubfifts, that the peafantry have no defire for emancipa- tion. After the Auftrian law had been intro- duced into that part of Poland which fell to the Emperor's mare by the partition of 1773, it was found neceflary to furround many parts of the new frontier with imperial troops, to prevent THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 69 prevent the efcape of peafants into thofe parts SECT. of Poland where they might flill be received (^y-^ into the pofleflion of a matter. * But in the Greek and Roman republics, it will be faid, the influence of donieflic ilavery, in its fevereft form, neither deflroyed the fe- curity of the flate, nor embarrafied the opera- tions of war. I will not infifl on the radical difference between the character and compofi- tion of the free population in thofe countries and in the Weft Indian colonies, nor expatiate on the flru6lure of their laws, and the tenor of their cuftoms, by which every citizen was made a foldier, while the flaves were devoted to the meaneft and moft enervating occupations. It will be fufficient to remark, that in two particulars, a difference flill more effential to the comparifon, exifled between the flave fyf- tem of ancient, and that of modern times the diflinftion of race, and the relative proportion of the numbers. The captives taken in war, " and flill more their defcendants ; the home- born flaves, although of foreign extraction, and therefore denominated e Earban ; ' were men of the fame complexion, and in the fame flate of fociety with their maflers. When liberated, they immediately amalgamated with the mafs E 3 of J * Voyage de deux Frangois, torn. V. p. 106, Note D bable, that this number of flaves is exaggerated, otherwife the Athenians would fcarcely have ena&ed the laws above mentioned, to diftin- guifh the two claffes of inhabitants. * How- ever, that refined people treated their flaves with the greateft indulgence ; and to this we may afcribe their uniformly peaceable behavi- our. The flaves in Laconia are faid to have been fomewhat more numerous ; but the po- verty of the Lacedemonians induces one to fuf- pel an error in the calculation. The helotes, for inftance, may have been confounded with the flaves. The helotes were an intermediate clafs between the IWKOI and the mutyoi ; but they had always the chance of obtaining the right of citi^enfhip by their fervices and good behaviour. They were engaged in agriculture, and allowed to farm the lands at a very low rent. However, the cruel treatment and in- juftice of the Spartans frequently excited re- volts, both among them and the flaves, particu- larly after the conqueft of MeiTenia had in- creafed their numbers. Nor could any thing have kept thofe inferior claflfes in fubjection, but the perpetual flate of difcipline, and the martial E 4 habits r r- i - - 1 r-i T - - - , i L __i__i.i , ___^^_^^__ . . IT j_ J n^ n~ * Not? E ?, COLONIAL POLICY OF OOK habits which peculiarly diftinguifhed the free y '_ _._. barbarians who inhabited Laconia. In Thef- faly, the great Have market of Greece, there was a clafs of ferfs, refembling the helotes, oc- cupied like them in agriculture, and renting the land from the free citizens, on very moderate terms. In that country, rebellion among the flaves was very frequent, which muft have a- rifen from the large proportion of imported and unfeafoned hands, as it is not probable that a great (lock of flaves would be kept up for fale. The proportion of flaves to free men in the colonies and provinces of Rome, muft have been much fmaller than in the city, from the infe- rior wealth and luxury of the inhabitants, and their greater diflance from the great flave mar- ket. In Sicily, where the fertility of the foil, and the near neighbourhood of Rome, may be fuppofed to have encouraged agricultural fpecu- lations, and diffufed greater riches among the inhabitants, the flaves appear to have been very numerous. Accordingly, that ifland was the fcene of, the moft formidable fervile infurretion recorded in ancient hiftory. In the cruelty of the flaves ; the influence of fanaticifm and for- cery over their conduct ; the extent of the in- fection, which feems to have fpread over the whole ifland, and to have broken out repeatedly after being quelled : in the fuccefles of the re- bels THE EUROPEAN POWERS. % bels againfl the Roman commanders, who, af- s E c T - ter many defeats, only fubdued them at lafl by <__ y ' j famine, this fervile war feems to have borne a clofe refemblance to the rebellions of later times. When the Roman empire was tottering by its own weight, or verging to decay amidfl the various dangers that befet it ; among the caufes of its internal debility, we certainly cannot reckon the mixture of ilaves. Long before this period, the ceifation of conquefts had pre- vented the poffibility of importing new flaves, and had turned the attention of matters to breed- ing, and confequently to gentle treatment, as the only means of keeping up their flocks. The public law, and the policy of the emperors, con- curred with, or arofe out of the interefls of the citizens, and reftrained the matter's- powers within narrow limits. The reftrictions on e- mancipation were removed, and the privileges of flaves were increafed, while their treatment became milder. By degrees, they came to form a fubordinate clafs of men, in the fame community with their matters, and attached to the fame country ; neither formidable by their numbers, nor feparated by their character and conftitution, nor alienated by the hardnefs of their lot, r The 74 COLONIAL POLICY OF The proportion of negroes to whites in the Weft Indies, is extremely different from that of the Haves to their mafters in the worft times, and in the moft wealthy parts of the ancient ftates. The average in the Britifh colonies was, in 1790, about ten to one, exclufive of Barbadoes, the Bermudas, and the Bahamas. In the French colonies, the proportion was nearly that of fourteen to one ; and in the Dutch colonies, it was that of twenty-three to one. The average of the whole Weft Indies, was about ten to one. This average varies from the proportion of twenty-three to one, to the proportion of four to one. Inftead of abounding in the towns where the free men are moft numerous, and the government moft vigorous, as was the cafe in the ancient ftates, the negroes are chiefly diftributed over the country. The capital of Jamaica contains be- tween one fourth and one fifth of the whole white population of the ifland, and not above one fifteenth of the negroes.. In Italy or Greece, thefe proportions would have been juft reverfed. The proportions of flaves to free men, in the Spanifh and Portuguefe colonies, on the conti- nent, and in the fouthern ftates of North Ame- rica, more nearly refemble thofe of the ancient nations. In the Portuguefe colonies, too, and in THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 7 in moft of the Spaniih fettlements, the em- SECT. ployment and diflribution of the negroes, are . ' j fomewhat iimilar to thofe of the Haves in anci- ent times. To the wide diftinclion of race, and the dif- ference in the relative proportions of the num- bers, we have to add the various advantages of the Weft Indian Haves over the citizens, in bo- dily ftrength, activity, and fitnefs for the cli- mate, none of which diftinguifhed the ancient flaves from their mailers j and we mail be con- vinced, that in this, as well as many other points, the fituation of ancient ftates differed widely indeed from that of nations in the pre- fent times, and that the greateft caution is ne- ceffary in applying the examples of their poli- cy and hiftory to the affairs of modern commu- nities. We may reft allured, then, that the ftruc- ture of fociety in the Weft Indian colonies, is in an eminent degree unfavourable to internal fecurity at all times, and (till more fo to fecu- rity or ftrength in a ftate of warfare. But, on the other hand, there can be as li$- tle doubt, that the fatal difproportion of the two clafies, the great proportion of imported ne- groes, and the cruel treatment of the (laves in general, would be all materially altered by any revolution that mould feparate the colonies from the parent ftates, whilft the more vigorous ad- miuiftration ? COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK miniftration of an independent community would . t ' . leflen the danger arifing from fuch a mixture of negroes, or fuch abufes of the Have fyftem as might ftill remain. We have frequently had occafion to obferve, that the cultivation of the Weft Indies, or, what is the fame thing, the importation of African la- bourers, is carried on in a great meafure by cre- dit obtained in the mother country, and by the funds of mercantile houfes, which embark in Weft Indian fpeculations, but are chiefly en- gaged in the European trade, or at leaft in the trade of importing or carrying Weft Indian commodities. Now, the greateft part, if not the whole, of the capital thus employed in loans to planters, will be withdrawn as foon as the government of any ifland ceafes to be depend- ent. Men are never fond of riiking their mo- ney in the hands of foreign merchants, out of their fight, fubjecl: to the rapacity of a different government, and only recoverable by the laws of another ftate. How little of the monied ca- pital of individuals in Great Britian has ever been drawn to Hindoftan, by the temptation of enormous intereft, although recoverable by aUon in an Englifli court of law ! How -much lefs has been lent to traders in Batavia ! Nay, how feldom does any Britifli capital find its way acrofs the channel to countries fuch as France and Holland, the mercantile tranfa&ions THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 77 transitions of which are as well known on SECT. the 'Change of London, as in Paris or Amfter- (N __ Y _J dam ! If any traders continue to rilk their flock in plantation loans, the intereft muft be raifed as a temptation ; and this will have the immediate effect of retarding improvement, and diminiming the importation of negroes. As the planters of one hland, or confederacy of iilands, will not have it in their power to lay the increaf- ed rate of intereft upon their commodities, and as the produce of their grounds will not be aug- mented, the net produce will be diminimed by the rife in the demands of creditors. The plant- ers who employ a fmall borrowed capital, arid they who add a borrowed capital to their own ftock, in order to make up a fufficient flock for carrying on the bufinefs, will be unable to con- tinue in the planting trade ; and a number of fmall capitals, both real and borrowed, will thus be thrown out of the plantation employment. But the demands of European creditors, who refolve to withdraw their capitals; the rife of in- tereft required by others, as the price of the in- creafed rifk and inconvenience ; and the impof- fibility of fmall traders now continuing in the bufinefs ; muft immediately caufe a number of planters to difpofe of their whole ftock, and many others to fell a part of theirs. The con- fequence of their necemties will be, that their lands, 73 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK lands, buildings and negroes, will be fold much . under their real value. This cheapnefs will tempt the rich planters to lay out their furplus capital in fuch purchafes, inftead of engaging in the lefs pro- fitable and more hazardous fpeculation of clear* ing new land, by importing, or purchafmg im- ported negroes. Or if, inftead of purchafmg lands, they affift the debtors with money to fa- tisfy the European claims, the rate of intereft will be increafed, by the amount of the bonus : fo that the lenders will be fatisfied, without em. barking their money in new fpeculations of clearing and importing. This cheapnefs will at the fame time attract fettlers from other countries ; and the old planters, reduced in their circumftances by the change, will pro- bably, from their knowledge of the bufinefs, be employed on the eftates, and in the ware- houfes of the new owners. Thofe capitalifts, then, who, under the co- lonial fyftem, would have employed their flock in importing negroes, will now employ it in fupplying the place of the capital withdrawn by the merchants in the mother country, while the old fyftem of credit, being almofl wholly at an end, every proprietor will refide upon his lands, inftead of employing a fa&or or attor- ney. Great care will be taken of the flack of negroes in hand. The proportion of Creole to imported THE EUROPEAN POWERS, 79 imported negroes will be much increafed ; and SECT. humane treatment of the Haves will produce . ' its natural and conftant effect fidelity and at- tachment on their part. The condition of the whole body of negroes being greatly ameliorat- ed, they will gradually improve in habits of fobriety and voluntary induftry ; they will be- come more civilized and fafer inmates of the community. In the mean time, the diminifhed demand for negroes will not occafion much ca- pital to be withdrawn from the Guinea trade, at lead for fome years j but its profits will be lowered ; and nearly the fame quantity of flaves being imported to the Weft Indies as before, the planters of the iflands remaining under colonial government, will buy them cheaper than for- merly ; they will be tempted to engage in more extenlive fpeculations, and to manage their ftock with much greater careleflhefs. While the dangers of the independent iflands are diminifhed, and their internal weaknefs is corrected, the fettlements that remain in the ftate of colonies will be placed in circumftan- ces of increafmg danger and weaknefs. But, in the new communities, a rapid change will alfo take place upon the numbers and cha- racters of the whites. We have formerly had occafion to remark the difference between the conduct of thofe whofe f efidence in a country is only temporary whofe object is to accumu- late <5 COLONIAL POLICY 0? BOOK i ate wea lth in order to return home, and thofe . y ' . who live at home and fpend their money where they make it. * The flock of whites in the new (late will not be kept up by emigration, but increafed by marriage. The connexions with mulattoes and negrefies will be abandoned, or, if they are continued, their fruits will be con- fidered as lawful children, and the people of co- lour will thus be blended with the whites. In a fhort time, the difproportion of females will ceafe, and the augmentation of population will be carried on by natural means. Additional good treatment of the negroes may be expected to refult from the improvement of manners, and the greater flake which maflers will have in the country that contains their wives and families, even if the admixture of women in the com- pofition of the fociety mould fail to humanize the manners of the people, and ameliorate di- reftly the condition of the fubordinate race. It is thus, that the change which we are fuppofing to take place in the political condi- tion of any one of the iflands, mufl abfolutely, as well as relatively, increafe its refources and internal fecurity, and counteract the evil effefts xvhich the negro flavery produces upon the mi- litary flrength of the flate. 4- * Book r. Sea. r. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 8f 4. But, in another point of view, the Weft Indian colonies, and the other provincial fettle- ments of the European dates, are placed in pe- culiar circumftances ; namely, by the fyftem of foreign policy which has arifen out of the re- lative fituation of the European powers in mo- dern times. When a flate, whofe territories are of mo- derate extent, and whofe dominion is not efta- blifhed over diftant provinces, engages in war- fare, its refources may all be called forth in one effort j its attention is not diilrafted by remote and oppofing interefts. A fingle vic- tory may permanently increafe its dominions, or a fhort reverfe of fortune reduce its power. A (late, on the other hand, whofe poffeffions are widely diffufed over different parts of the globe, expofes, in every contention, a variety of points to the attacks of the enemy. In re- folving upon hoflilities, all thofe dangers mud be taken into account. The weaknefs of a par- ticular fettlement belonging to a rival power, is not more to be confidered than your own defencelefs fituation at fome diftant point. While the inducements to maintain a peace- able demeanour are increafed, the chances of various fucceis in war are multiplied. As com- plete good fortune in all quarters can fcarcely be expected : fo, neither need total difcomfi-% VOL. ii. F ture BOOK ture j n everv part be a pp re hended. The '^v^j chances of fuccefs and failure during a war between nations placed in fuch circumftan- ces, are always much more likely to balance each other, than in any fmgle and narrow conteft between ftates pofieffing fmall and compact dominions. If an unlucky campaign forces one of them from part of its pofieflions in the eaft, a contrary event may turn the fcale in the weft. The obvious convenience of re- taining each its ancient territories, founds the treaty of peace, in general, upon a mutual ref- titution of conquefls, and commonly leaves the territorial extent of the two powers nearly the fame as before the war. But the policy of modern times has ftill farther diminifhed the probability of fudden changes in the diftribution of national domi- nion. The fimilarity in the fituation of the Eu- ropean powers ; the refemblance of their lan- guages, manners, and laws ; the extenfion of their intercourfe by travelling and foreign re- fidence ; their union by the relations of fcien- tific and commercial purfuits have given birth to an intimate connexion in times of peace, and a common feeling of intereft in maintain- ing the exiftence of the prefent ftate of affairs. Each power, then, views with folicitude the dan- gers which befet the reft, and feels itfelf attacked when THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 8j when any of the weaker dates are expofed to s E c T * the infults or oppreffions of their more formida- . Y ' v ble neighbours in the fame manner that each nation watches over the fecurity of its diftant pof- feffions, and prepares to put all its forces in mo- tion, when any aggreflion in thofe remote quar- ters calls for revenge. As the power which would feize on a defencelefs province or diftant colony of another (late, muft be prepared to meet the whole force of the mother country,and defend all its own remote fettlements : fo, the power that would encroach upon the territo- ries of any one feeble neighbour, muft lay its account with preferving the ufurpation, by ex- pofmg its whole dominions and colonies to the combined attacks of the other ftates, who will immediately unite to reftore the former balance of power. Such, at leaft, is the theo- ry of political equilibrium ; and we have on- ly to lament, that an impolitic ambition, or thoughtlefs fecurity, fhould have fo frequently prevented its full application to the affairs of modern Europe. Yet we may eafily perceive how great the influence of the fyftem has been in maintaining the independence of the differ- ent ftates, if we only ccufider the very trifling extent of the changes which have taken place in the relative fituations of the European powers, and in the diftribution of the Continent, un- F 2 der 4 COLONIAL POLICV OF f e p ara te governments, during the long and fplendid period of modern hiftory. In like manner, we may remark, how few al- terations have taken place upon the pofition of the European ftates in the Weft Indies, and the diflribution of thofe valuable iflands, unequally as the ftrength of the different ftates in that quar- ter is proportioned. During the five long and eventful contefts of the eighteenth century, the only change which took place owing to the fate of war (if we except the expulfion of the French inhabitants of St Kitts), was the cefiion of Tobago by Britain, of Grenada by France, and of Trinidad by Spain. The firft of thofe iflands had only been annexed to the Bri- tifh Crown for twenty years, and the laft had juft begun to be planted by the Spaniards. The furrender of St Bartholomew to Sweden, and of the eaftern divifion of St Domingo to France, can in no degree be imputed to the fortune of colonial war. The former of thofe changes was the refult of a tranfaftion between two powers, who had remained during the whole century in conftant alliance ; and the lat- ter was an acquifition made by France, through her preponderance in Europe, at a time when ihe had more territory in the Weft Indies than ihe could govern. So few have been the per- manent transferences of colonial poflfeflions ia that THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 85 that part of the world where war has reigned SECT. the mod conftantly ; where every campaign . v i has been attended with fome important con- queft ; and where every ifland, except Jamaica, Barbadoes, and Porto-Rico, has experienced a temporary change of matters. But if any of thofe European fettlements were to become independent of the mother country, and to remain unconnected with the other parts of the globe, it is evident, that the fate of Weft Indian warfare would be inful- ated on the part of the new flate, and would be productive of conftant changes, which op- pofite events in different quarters could not modify or correct. If, for example, the French Weft Indies had, during the American war, been unconnected with Europe immediately, and mediately with Afia and North America, the peace of Verfailles could never have reftor- ed the conquered iflands to the Britifh crown. Britain muft have loft them for ever, and with them, moft probably, her larger fettlements alfo, unlefs me could recover each conqueft directly by force of arms. The fame may be faid of the Britifh conquefts during the Seven-years war, and during the late war, reftored on account of theNorth American colonies in'the one cafe, and of the Afiatic fettlements in the other. In the $panifh war of 1 74o,the reftoration of Cape Bre- F 3 ton 00 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK ton affords a linking illuftration of the pofidon . ' , for which we are contending. That important fettlement was taken almoft entirely by the ex- ertions of the North American colonifts ; and it was reflored by the peace of Aix-la-Cha- pelle, in order to procure the reiteration of our principal Eafl Indian fettlement taken by France. If Pondicherry and Cape Breton had not belonged to the fame European power, it is evident, that- the events of that war would have transferred the poffeiTion both of Calcutta and Cape Breton. In all fuch circumflances as we are now fuppofmg to be combined, the fortune of Weft Indian warfare alone would decide the polfef- fion of Weil Indian territory. We fhould no longer hear of America being conquered in Germany; nor of balances or fets-off; nor of treaties on the footing of the flatus quo ante bellum. The chance of war, in a few cam. paigns, confined to the Charaibean Sea, would determine the permanent fovereignty of the iflands. The right of property would be veft- ed by the mere act of occupancy, without the neceflity of confirmation by convention, or ac- knowledgment by the other nations ; and the iiil pojfidetis would of courfe be the bafis of each pacification,, Now, THE EUROPEAN POWERS,, 67 Now, it may be faid, that the independent SECT. ate which we are fuppofmg to arife in the . Weft Indies, will be deprived of the fecurity arifing from a power of making reprifals upon an enemy in diftant quarters ; that, of confe- quence, though more unembarrafled in its of- fenfive operations, it will be expofed to hoftile neighbours, likewife lefs hampered ; and that its defeats will be as irretrievable as its viclo- ries will be fecure. To a certain degree, indeed, this muft be the cafe. The new community cannot unite all the advantages of compadnefs and infula- tion with the benefits arifmg from extended and remote dominions. But we muft remem- ber, in theyfr/? place, that while it is placed at a diftance from the great commonwealth of Europe, it cannot be an object of fo much jeal- oufy and apprehenfion to the ftates compofing that body, as any of the European powers pof- feffing colonies in the Weft Indies muft always be. Suppofe St Domingo to be the independ- ent fettlement, and that it is conquered by the Spanifh government in the neighbouring ifland of Cuba : Great Britain, we may be allured, would view with greater alarm this aggrand- izement of Spain by the conqueft of St Domin- go, than the aggrandizement of St Domingo by the conqueft of C>iba. We have indeed F 4 proved^ ^ that an independent community in thofe parts, would be a more dangerous neigh- bour, than a colonial fettlement to thofe colo- nies which mould remain dependent. But this danger would only affect the colonial in- terefts of Great Britain j the acceffion of wealth and power to any of her European neighbours, brings the danger nearer home j and Spain, the natural ally of France, would not be allowed to retain her conqueft without a war in Europe or Afia. I do not affert that this policy would be the moft enlightened ; but I maintain that it would be the moft con- fident with that fpirit of national rivalry which divides the European powers, which is the great corner-ftone of the balancing fyftem, and which, notwithftanding its many evil confe- quences, has certainly done more to preferve the independent exiftence of nations, than ail the refinements of abftracl: politicians, their treaties of guarantee, and their codes of pub- lic law. In the fecond place, whatever might be the xvifii of European powers, their opportunity of checking the growth of the independent (late, and of preventing it from being conquered by a neighbour, is extremely different. In order to check its growth, they can only interfere by direct attack on the fpot ; in attempting to prevent it from being conquered, they have all the THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 89 the opportunities of attack which extended and SECT. fevered poffeffions prefent. To revert to the ( fuppofition which we have juft now made The-permanent conqueft of Cuba by St Do- mingo could only be prevented by a recapture of the one, or an invafion of the other. But the permanent conqueft of St Domingo by Spain, could be oppofed in Florida, in Cuba, in Mexico and South America, in the Medi- terranean, and in the Philippine iflands. All the powers of Europe mufl be averfe to a- ny change, either at home, or in the neigh- bourhood of their diftant fettlements. If their interference can prevent or correcl: one kind of revolution or change of power ; and if this interference cannot be effectual in oppofing an- other : we may be allured, that without com- pletely weighing the comparative evils of thefe events, or inquiring how far the prevention of the one may tend to bring about the other, they will intermeddle, as foon as the occafion prefents itfelf in which their interference is likely to be attended with effect. Laflly^ we may remark, that the powers of Europe poffefling territories in the Well Indies, are, from their relative pofition at home, al- ways ranged on oppofite fides of the great Eu- ropean balance. Such a change of interna- tional policy, as fliould unite France, Spain and Holland, C)O COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK Holland, with Britain and Portugal, is not to be fuppofed in any practical queftion. However clearly, then, the colonial interefts of thofe powers may point out to them the po- licy of a combination againft any one of the colonies which fhall have thrown off its de- pendence on the mother country, fuch a coa- lition can fcarcely be expected to be vigorous and fmcere. Notwithftanding the guidance of the moft enlightened ftatefmen, the councils of nations are often impelled by paffion and pre- judice, as well as thofe of lefs abftract beings. A more immediate and more urgent danger than the neighbourhood of the new ftate, whofe ex- iftence we have been figuring, would probably be neceflary to induce Great Britain to rifk a direct increafe of the French power, by unit- ing with the councils of the Thuilleries, or the court of Verfailles, in an offenfive Weft Indian league ; and if the rulers of the nation were guided by thofe wife and temperate views, they would have to encounter the ftrongeft preju- dices of the people, whom the fpirit of our free conftitution arms with a power fufficient to fway even the foreign policy of our national councils. We have not forgotten the part that France, Holland and Spain, took in our own colonial difputes againft their moft obvi- ous tranfatlantic interefts, which they facri- .ficed, perhaps with fufficient wifdom, to the THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 1 defire of curbing our more formidable marl- SECT. ii. time fuperiority in Europe. Upon fome occa- .___ y ' . fions, the right and prudent line of public con- duel may be adopted. We fhall afterwards endeavour to prove, that a policy is recom- mended by the prefent colonial crifis, fimilar to that which we at prefent maintain is the one always lead likely to be adopted. But furely it is very fair to argue upon any mea- fure, from the probability that, in many cafes, perhaps in a great plurality of inftances, the unwife and popular views of foreign policy will predominate in the councils of feveral ftates. The new Weft Indian power, then, will probably find allies even among the ftates whofe American fettlements lye expofed to its attacks. But, admitting that a community of interefts in thofe parts may unite all the rival ftates againft the new nation ; it will find warm and powerful allies among the other commer- cial countries of Europe, which have no nearer intereft in American affairs, than that of ob- taining a market for their goods, and attract- ing to their dominions a fliare of the rich pro- duce of the Weft Indian territories. Ruffia, Auftria and Pruffia, not to mention the Italian States, are perfectly unconcerned in the dif- tribution of the colonies, unlefs indeed that {hey would profit by any change which might overthrow g2 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK overthrow the whole fyftem of colonial fove- t^y^j reignty. It is not eafy to conceive a flronger inducement to either of thofe ambitious pow- ers, than the profpecl: of obtaining a footing in the Weft Indies, or the advantages of a favour- able commercial treaty, which the new power would readily grant them in any crifis of its affairs. * Things are widely changed fmce the time when the proud fpirit of Katharine refufed to acknowledge the independence of the United States. That third of dominion and territory which has guided the Houfe of Brandenburgh fmce the days of the Great Elector, and which neither the neighbourhood of Ruflia, or of France, have been able to fubdue, is only e- qualled by the defire of the Pruflian monarchs to extend their mercantile refources ; and the nineteenth century has opened with the found- ation of maritime policy in the extended Im- perial dominions. It is manifeft, that the u- nibn of the Germanic powers with the dates immediately concerned in the affairs of Ame- rica, could only be occafioned by a rapid ex- tenfion of Ruffia over the Northern and Eaft- ern parts of Europe ; an event which would, on the other hand, render the alliance of the ' great Baltic flate no very difficult achievement of policy to the new power, whofe independent exiftence in the Weft Indies we have figured. * Note F f. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 93 We may conclude, then> that befides the re- s E c T - fources of internal ftrength, this ftate will not be . ^' _f deficient in thofe of a federal nature, and that, while it expofes no diftant territories to the arms of its natural enemies or its rivals, it may avail itfelf of divifions arifmg from their relative pofition in all parts of the globe, and of alliances with their natural enemies and rivals in Europe. It is furely no fpeculative inference, from all the facts and principles which have been ftated, that fo long as the European powers mail per- fevere in the fyflem of colonial policy, the efta- blifhment of any independent dynafty in the Weft Indies mufl be immediately and diredly hoflile to their interefts. II. Hitherto we have compared the relative ftrength of a colony and an independent ftate in general, and of a colony and an independent ftate in the Weft Indies, without entering into the circumftances of the particular fettlements in that quarter. It remains to be confidered, whether the different colonies are not diftin- guifhed by diverfity of circumftances, and whe- ther the French dominions in the Weft Indies are not placed in a ftate of fmgular weaknefs by the peculiarities of their fituation, by the e- vents which have lately happened, and by thofe which muft accompany the reftoration of tran- quillity. The 94 COLONIAL POLICY OF The ftate to which the whole Archipelago, as well as the furrounding continent, once be- longed, ftill poffefles the bell eftabliihed, though far from the moft valuable empire in the new world. Vaft extent of territory, towns and fet- tlements thinly fcattered chiefly over thofe parts which are farthefl from the other colonies, a po- licy fingularly adapted to preferve internal tran- quillity, and a free population to which the ne- groes bear but a finall proportion ; thefe import - tant circumftances concur to render the conti- nental poifeffions of Spain as fecure as provinces fo remote can well be. The infalubrious nature of the climate on the eaft fide of South America and Mexico, while it has kept the fettlements on that coaft in the ftate of a defert, except at particular feafons of commercial refort, effectually prevents any fuccefsful invafion from the Weft Indies, and takes away the inducement to invade, by deftroy- ing all the immediate objects of attack. In no part of the South American colonies are fo few negroes employed as in the Spaniih fettlements ; and their treatment is better there, than in any other of the European colonies. Both in the Spanifh and Portugueze dominions on the Continent, the white population is much more flouriming than in the Weft Indies. Vaft bodies of emigrants have been conftantly fettling there fince the con- queft, as in the North American ftates. The Creoles form a large part of the community ; and THE EUROPEAN POWERS. and their numbers increafe with- confiderable s E c T - rapidity, though not fo quickly as they would . ' _, under a better form of government, a lefs cor- rupted religion, and a lefs indolent ftate of man- ners. The whites in the Spanim colonies a- mounted in 155010 fixty thoufand ; at prefent they are not under a million. Yet the ftru&ure of the fociety does not endanger the dependence of thefe colonies. So much of the national im- portance, both of Spain and Portugal, has al- ways been thought to depend upon their Ame- rican pofleffions ; and fuch large fupplies have been received from thence, in the form by which governments are moft apt to be tempted, that a very large mare of attention has uniformly been paid to colonial affairs in both thefe countries. Particular councils and minifters have been ap- pointed to fuperintend them. A regular fyftem of colonial government has been formed, and every thing hurtful to the fupremacy of the mother country has been carefully prevented from finding admittance. In the Spanim colonies, particularly, the Papal jurifdiction, fo abfo- lute over the mother country, has never been allowed to acquire a footing; and the tithes, the difcipline, and the patronage of the Church (the inheritance of the Triple Crown all o- ver the Pontifical dominions) have been mo- nopolized by the temporal monarch? of Caftile. There 6 COLONIAL POLICY OF B o O'K There has refulted, from this attention conflant- , ^_'_ . ly paid to American affairs by both the powers of the Spanifh peninfula, a fyftem of divifion highly favourable to the fecurity of permanent rights. A fpirit of difunion is carefully foment- ed between the Spaniards and Creoles ; and a fuperiority is given to the former, which greatly diminifnes the dangers of a feparation, encou- rages the habit of temporary refidence, and thus corrects the tendency of the increafing Creole population to promote the independence of the fettlements. A fimilar fuperiority is beftowed upon the negroes over the Indians ; and a divi- fion is cherimed bet\veen thofe two claffes, which gives the whites an opportunity of uniting with either -againft the other, and generally attaches to their interefts the leaft numerous though moll warlike of the two races. A policy of the fame nature has connected the Europeans with the Indians in the French and Dutch fettle- ments of Guiana, where the negroes are by far the moil formidable both in numbers and in ftrength. In thofe continental colonies of Spain and Portugal, then, as well from their pofition and extent, as from the ftate of their popula- lation and their fyflems of policy, there is lefs danger of a feparaticn, and lefs rifk from foreign attempts, than in the fettlements of Guiana ; and lefs danger and rilk in all thofe continental fettlements, than in the "Weft Indian iflands. We ... THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 97 We have before remarked, that the indolence SECT. and want of adventurous fpirit, fo confpicuous in ._ ' > the Spanifh character, as well as the reftriftive fpirit of the colonial laws of Spain, has prevent- ed the iflands of Cuba and Porto-Rico from be- ing cultivated, like the other colonies, by the rapid importation of African labourers ; but, of late years, this difference has been fenfibly diminim- ing. The mercantile company under the Af- fiento which lafted from 1769 to 1779, carried to the Havanna, yearly, from two thoufand five hundred to three thoufand negroes, for the ufe of Cuba and Trinidad, and only carried half that number to Carthagena and Portobello, for the ufe of the northern and weilern parts of the continent. * The field negroes of Cuba were found, by actual enumeration in 1787, to be fifty thoufand in number. Since that time, the ordinance of 1789 permitting the free importa- tion of flaves, granting a bounty on field negroes, and impofmg a yearly poll-tax on houfe negroes, muft have greatly increafed the numbers of the former. But, flill, the mild treatment of the flaves, provided for by new laws which keep pace with the increafed importation, the great proportion of whites, and the numbers of free blacks (eftimated at twenty thoufand in the Ha- VOL. n. G vanna * Report of Committee 1789, part VI. 90 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK vanna alone), who are always attached to the . Europeans, and ferve with diftinguiflied zeal in their regiments, muft render the pofleflions of Spain in the Weil Indies more fecure, in thofe particulars which we have been confidering, than the colonies of the other European powers. The Dutch iflands are in a fituation very different from their colonies on the continent, as we have formerly mown, * and equally differ- ent from the other Weft Indian iflands. But, whatever may be their internal fituation, their trifling extent muft always render them an eafy prey to any neighbouring Weft Indian power, which may be tempted to attack them by the hopes of mercantile plunder. The Danifh and Swediih iflands are in the fame fituation with the French and Britim iflands ; fo that our at- tention is now confined to a furvey of the pre- dicament in which the latter would be placed ihould the tranquillity of the former be re- ftored. It is impoflible to deny, that the dominions of France in the Weft Indies, are more extenfive and more fertile in natural refources, than thofe of any other power except Spain ; neither can it be diffembled, that the reftoration of tranquillity will put her in poffeffion of a much more exten- five and fcatterred territory than any independent power in thofe parts can be expected to confoli- date * Book I. Seft. III. Part L THE EUROPEAN POXVERS. 99 date under its dominion for fome time after its s E H C T< emancipation. But the example of Spain, both v^-y j in the Old and New World, and of France her- felf, in Europe, may convince us, that political importance and national ftrength, are not fo much proportioned to the natural refources and capability of a country, as to the (late of its fo- ciety and the nature of its inftitutions. The re- lative influence of France and of Great Britain, in Europe,, is not lefs proportioned to their na- tural refources, than their relative power in the Weft Indies is to their colonial refources. What- ever may be the fertility and extent of any co- lony peopled by a mixture of whites and ne- groes, the inhabitants cannot avail themfelves of their advantages according to the flave fyf- tem, without diminiming, at the fame time, their fecurity and military ftrength ; and this ex- actly in proportion to the rapidity with which they increafe their wealth. Every hundred hoglheads of fugar or rum, whereby their annual produce is augmented, muft be purchafed at the expence of that fecurity which is deflroyed by a propor- tional addition to the ftock of negroes, and an augmentation in the proportion of the imported to the Creole Haves. A colony which continues to raife the fame quantity of produce, will fend home fewer overgrown forj.'.ies, and augment, in a fmaller degree, the mercantile opulence of the mother country ; but it will enjoy greater G 2 fecurity, COLONIAL POLICY OF fecurity, and have Icfs to fear from its powerful neighbours, than if it had been conftantly in- creafing in point of weafth. It mud indeed be admitted, as we formerly dated, that the fame number of negroes in the French iilands, from the fuperior fertility of the foil, yield a greater quantity of produce. * But the tendency of this fuperiority, is by no means to fave either the labour or the importation of flaves : It operates, on the contrary, as an en- couragement to extravagant fpeculations, and carelefs management of the flock. The treat- ment of the flaves in the French iflands has been alleged by fome -j- to be gentler than that of the Britim flaves ; and Dr Smith, in parti- cular, feems to take this for granted, as a mat- ter of common notoriety. { Others have alTerted, that this clafs of men are nearly upon a level, in point of comforts, in the colonies of both nations ||. But, from the inquiries of the com- mittee of 1789, it appears clearly, that the mortality among the negroes in the French iflands, is much greater than in the Britim. It was computed, that of thofe imparted, one third died in three years, and of the Creoles, one fifth * Book 1. Seft. III. Part IV. f Laborie's Coffee Planter, Appendix. J Wealth of Nations, book IV. chap. VII. Note G g. j| Edwards' Hiftory of St Domingo, chap, i THE EUROPEAN POWERS. fifth yearly more than the number born;* while the annual diminution in Jamaica was only one fortieth per cent. ; and, in feveral of the iflands, the ilock was kept up, and even in- creafed, without any importation. I have fre- quently had occafion to notice the vaft importa- tion of flaves annually made in)o the French iflands, and the confequantly rapid increafe of the numbers during the ten years immediately previous to the revolution. It is manifeil, how- ever, that the total increafe was far from being in proportion to the number imported, either before or during that period, admitting that the births had been nearly fufficient to fill up the blanks occafioned by the deaths, and allowing for the difproportion of females in the numbers imported, f It would appear, therefore, that the natural advantages of St Domingo will never be turned to account wilhcut a yerj increafe in the negro population. But, in anpti .1 i view, this ifland, and indeed all the French co- lonies, are in a ntuation much lefs favourable to folid power than the Britim pofieflions, and more apt to render their independence a caufe of comparative ftrength. I have already had occafion to notice the extenfive fyftem of commercial credit, in- G 3 terwoven f Report 1789, part V. -J- Note H h. 102 COLONIAL POLICY OF tenvoven with the cultivation of all the Weft Indian iflands, and to point out the probable effects of their independence upon this fyftem. But there are feveral other circumftances con- nected with it which well deferve our attention. The credit upon which planters fpeculate, and in many cafes exift, is not of a folid and per- manent defcription, like the credit interpofed by commercial confidence in the tranfactions of Eu- ropean merchants and manufacturers. The rifk is much greater, the profits of confequence higher, and the fpirit of gambling more inti- mately connected with it. A rapacity of gain, and, in many inftances, an eagernefs of fpecu- lation approaching to the defperation of the gaming-houfe, influences both the creditor and the planter. The fair idea of reciprocal advan- tage does not always prefide over fuch tranfac- tions ; and a capitalift frequently rifks his money to a planter in circumftances nearly defperate, in order to have a claim upon his eftate, and to obtain it at a price prefcribed by the neceffities of the debtor. The complicated, difficulties un- der which a great proportion of the planters la- bour from thefe caufes, has been admitted by writers on both fides of the great queftion that has divided political inquirers into colonial af- fairs. The facts which the advocates of each o- pinion have brought forward, with the mofl op- pofite THE EUROPEAN POWERS. pofite views, are extremely important. The im- s E c T. mediate confequence of the difficulties which thus ' v ' * opprefs the planters, is an eagernefs for quick re- turns upon their Mock of negroes, and a conftant demand of new fupplies from the Guinea trader. The flaves are worked out ; breeding is of courfe neglected ; and the numbers are kept up or in- creafed by importation. Accordingly, the de- mands -of creditors, and the neceffities of debt- ors, have been uniformly pleaded by the fup- porters of the African trade, as arguments de- monftrating the neceffity of its continuance ; while the advocates of the abolition have urged the very fame facts to mow the evil effects of the trade, as well upon the happinefs of the maf- ter, as upon the condition of the Have. * The new actions, we are told, which are raifed in the different courts of Jamaica, amount annually to three thoufand, of which the greater part are actions upon bond ; and of thefe, nine tenths are brought by Have factors as creditors, -j- In three years, half a million Sterling pafled through the hands of one Sheriff, in confe- quence of judicial fales on executions chiefly arifing from fuch bonds j and the principal G 4 part * Edwards' Weft Indies, b. IV. c. 4. j and Parliamen- tary Debates 1791 & 1792. f Clarkfon's Impolicy of the Slave Trade, part 2, C?p. I. feft. 3. 104 COLONIAL POLICY OF part of the debtors in jail during that period were confined in confequence of thofe obliga- tions. * A fimilar account is given by authors who wrote long before the queflion of abolition had begun to divide the public opinion, parti- cularly by Mr Long, in his valuable Hiftory of Jamaica, f But the planters in the French iflands have always been involved flill more deeply in this ruinous and 'cruel fyftem, partly from the fupe- rior temptations of more fertile and extenfive lands, partly from the deficiency of capital, both among the creditors and colonifls, but chiefly from the grofs defects of the French la--' .fpecling the recovery of debts. In the Fhi- Book of this Inquiry, I have explained the fingular effects of thefe circumflances upon the flate of property in the French iflands. Cul- tivators placed in the fituation which I there defcribed, have no immediate interefl in what is called their property. The care of their ilock is the laft method of increafmg it that ever enters into their minds. Immediate re- turns, by whatever means, are the only method of improvement that occurs to them ; and as for any danger to be apprehended from increaf- ing the number of the negroes, that belongs to the whole * Clarkfon's Impolicy of the Slave Trade, part 2c pap. I. fcft. 3. t Vol. I. p. 437.. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 105 whole community at once, and therefore affecls s E { none of its members until it is realized. . - y ,. ' Things will laft my time, ' fays the Weft Indian farmer, as men have faid before him in all ages, and in every part of the world finan- ciers on the brink of national bankruptcy, and princes, or their favourites, on the eve of a revolution. If this was the date of the French iilands in the year 1789, it is eafy to conceive how the fyftetn muft have been affected by the events which have happened fince that time. The refloration of tranquillity in the revolted colo- nies, cannot at once render them a defireable refidence. Thofe only will repair to the fpot, or remain there, whofe money has already been veiled in Weft Indian property, from the temp- tations held out to purchafers during the period of the greateft confufion, or whofe eftates have remained on their hands for want of purchafers. The men poffefled of fuch extenfive capital as is required in Weft Indian fpeculations, will be ftill lefs inclined now, than before, to fuperin- tend a plantation in St Domingo. The culti- vators will, as formerly, confift, in a great de- gree, of perfons inclined to rifle their health, and facrifice the comforts of home, for the chance of acquiring a competency perfons of fmall capital, or mere adventurers. The de- vaftations of the revolutionary times, with the accumulated 106 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK accumulated intereft of old debts, will render . . y ' . credit at once more neceffary, and more ex- penfive than ever. Indeed, to fuch a flate have the proprietors been reduced, that the bed informed perfons feem to defpair altoge- ther of the colonial affairs of the republic. The interference of government will probably be neceifary ; and the nature of the expedients propofed by fome of the moft intelligent plant- ers, affords, as I before remarked, * abundant proof of their defperate fituation. Any afiift- ance which the government can afford, will, at the very utmoft, only enable the planters to go on. They are ftill in a fituation infinitely more defperate than before the revolution borrowing money at higher intereft forced to extract more labour from their flaves, in order to extend their culture, or reftore their defo- lated plantations. Some correction of the evils arifmg from the flate of the colonial laws, may indeed be expected more particularly, the re- covery of debts may be facilitated. But, be- fides that this muft, in the firft inftance, in- creafe the neceffities of the planters before it can lower the demands of their creditors for intereft, we may obferve, that the imperfec- , tions of the colonial laws arife, in a great mea- fure, * Book I. Sea. III. Part IV. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. fure, naturally from the circumftances of the s E c T * iflands, and cannot be wholly removed fo long ^^ as the dangers of a tropical climate render im- prifonment a punifliment of the higheft feve- rity, and fo long as creditors, are willing ra- ther to obtain the chance of repayment, or profit, by enabling their debtors to work, than, by completing their ruin, to lofe all chance of getting either, without repairing to the fpot. The low ftate of credit, and the complicated difficulties of the planters^ will always produce confiderable derangement in the adminitlration of the colonies. The firft affiflance which go- vernment may find it necefiary to give, will be the abatement of fome colonial imports, fuch as the poll-tax on flaves ; and the encourage- ment of abolifhing the duties formerly known by the name of c droits du domaine d'occident. J The adminiftration of the iflands, and their de- fence, will thus fall a burthen on the exhaufted finances of the mother country. As foon as the cultivation has begun to revive, we may be well afiured, that the government will attend more to the direct expences, than to the indi- rect advantages of fuch eftablifhments, Like all governments, it will view thefe iflands in the fifcal fpirit, and will alienate the oppreffed planters, by impofing on them the charge of ruling and defending themfelves, We have already Io8 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK already feen what their opinions are upon the , ' , fubject of colonial militia, even in the moft eafy and peaceable times. It is not probable that they will now grudge their labour lefs when their occafions are much more preffing. To the troops or fervices required for fup- prefling infurredion, they may poffibly make no objections. But the furtherance of any views of conqueft, or even the meafures necef- fary for their internal fecurity, will be viewed as encroachments upon their exhaufted re- fources, and will either be oppofed or receiv- ed with decided averfion. As to conquefi> it muft be clearly againft their intereft to be at variance with the neighbouring colonies ; and the dominion of England would probably be pre- ferred to that of France, as was the cafe about the beginning of the revolution, if fLe burden- ed them with the expence or interruption of providing againft an invafion. So long, in- deed, as the plantations depend upon credit from the mother country, their proprietors can have no objection to be connected with that nation whofe trading capital is the moft ex- tenfive, and whofe government is the mildeft and moft equitable of any in the world. Thefe confequences which, I apprehend, may be fairly expefted to refult from the late Calamities, and the prefent ftate of the Weft Indian THE EUROPEAN POWERS. IC>9 Indian colonies, are by no means to be confi- SECT, ii dered as accidental, or peculiar to the circuin- i^^^j fiances in which they have been placed. It is the lot of every didant province of an empire to experience many difadvantages which the contiguous didrifts never feel j and when fuch provinces are involved in any unufual cala- mity, much lefs care is bedowed upon their re-eftablifhment, than if the like misfortune had happened to a nearer part. I have ex- plained the reafon of this in various parts of the Fird Book. A colony or remote appendage is, by the policy even of thofe dates which have moft favoured the colonial fyflem, confidered merely as a mine from which wealth is to be drawn in the form of direft revenue, or, at the utmoft, as a fpot to which the overflowing population of the metropolis may refort in order to ac- quire opulence. Any unforefeen expence which this pofleflion may cod, is always grudged, as fo much actual and uncompenfated lofs. In feafons of calamity, it is left in a great degree to druggie with the burden of its own adverfity. After the dorm is over, it is left to recover as it bed can. The contiguous provinces, on the other hand, are viewed as neceflary and inte- gral parts of the empire, whole misfortunes mud be mared by all the red, while they mud be nurfed with fedulous care, for their own fakes. 110 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK f a k eSj i n every unforefeen difafler, and che- ... rifhed without a murmur, not from the pro- fpeft of future revenue, but becaufe they form an infeparable portion of the community. Ca- lamities, then, from which the contiguous pro- vinces foon recover without fu Raining any fe- rious or permanent injury, are long and fevere- ly felt by the colonies or remote provinces. Coldnefs or difguft arifes between them and the mother country ; and the feeds of fepara- tion are fown, which may either break out in actual rebellion or in factious divifions, when- ever a war is transferred, as all wars are, to thofe quarters. The probability of the French government being actuated in its conduct towards the re- volted iflands by lefs liberal views than the re- duced fituation of the planters demands, may be collected, not only from the fifcal fpirit which has uniformly prefided over the policy of all ftates towards their colonial eftablifh- ments, but from the ftate of the French re- fources, and from the accounts of the late tranf- actions in fome of the Windward iflands, more particularly the requisitions made in Guada- loupe, if, indeed, any reliance is to be placed on thofe flatements. But however enlightened its policy, and however eafy its yoke may be, if the co-opera- tion THE EUROPEAN POWERS. Ill tion of the planters is required in aclive mea- SECT. fures of defenfive, or, (till more,^ of offenfive u. ^L-j warfare, we cannot expect that any thing but difobedience and difcontent will be the confe- quence. Such, then, are the probable effects of the French colonial fyftem, and of the increafed dif- ficulties of the planters in the revolted iflands, in confequence of the lofles in general which their unhappy fituation during the late years has occafioned. But if we attend more parti- cularly to the nature of thofe lories, we fhall find reafon to aifent ftill more implicitly to the foregoing conclufion. The greatefl devaluation which the rebellion has occafioned, is in the numbers of the negroes. M. Malouet reck- ons, that during the firft ten years of revolt in St Domingo, the negro population was dimi- nifhed from five hundred thoufand to three hundred thoufand ; that the lofs was chiefly in males ; and that the number of children had rapidly increafed. * Laborie, in 1797, eflimat- ed the reduction at much more than one half of the numbers in 1789 ; f Edwards fuppofes it to have been two fifths of the fame numbers. { AH * Mem. Vol. I. p. 52. f Coffee-planter, Append. Art. X. 12. | St Domingo, cap. X. ; Note to page 1 75:. 112 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK All the plantations, therefore, muft be extreme- , , ly underftocked ; and the firfl confequence of a reftoration of tranquillity, will be the import- ation of a vaft number of new flaves to fupply a deficiency fatal to the colonial agriculture. In general, the proportion of females to the whole number imported, has been that of one to three. But now a much fmaller number of females will be required, at leafl for fome time : fo that the proportion of imported males will be much greater than before. The fituation of the ifland will indeed be more fa- vourable for breeding, from the fuperfluity of females. But the confequence of increafe from this fource muft be flow, in comparifon of the effects produced by the other kind- of increafe. The yearly augmentation will be at firft more rapid than formerly, becaufe the births will more nearly balance the deaths. But the treat- ment will be more harlh while the hands are deficient, and the importation will be greater than ever : fo that the natural increafe will be now brought to its former level, and the pro- portion of Creoles to new flaves will foon be much lefs than before. At the very firft, the whole will be Creoles ; but their peculiar fitu- ation will render them ftill more dangerous than if they had been imported. They are juft reduced from a rebellion, completely fuccefsful for THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 11 for a feries of years, bloody beyond all former SECT. example, and, from the variety of its military ._,., T ' operations againft all kinds of enemies, pecu- liarly adapted to render thofe engaged in it warlike, if not fkilful. Almoft all the men have borne a part in it. The women and child- ren have enjoyed the fweets of freedom and idlenefs ; they have fympathized in the caufe of their hufbands and fathers. All the confider- ations which before induced us * to admit the difficulty of reftoring the ancient flavery, and which have inclined many to believe it a hope- lefs project, prove the difficulty of retaining the whole mafs of blacks in fubjedion, more efpe- cially when new imports are perpetually adding fuel to the heap, and aggravated ill treatment is blowing up the fparks of the fcarcely fmother- ed flame. If it is uniformly found that import- ed negroes are dangerous in a colony, though many of them only exchange the fcene of their flavery, and all of them are kept in fubjeclion by irons during the voyage, and taught to re- gard their white matters as beings of a fuperior order ; how much more dangerous mufl thofe be, who have never known the yoke, or forci- bly broken it, and who have been for years in the fituation, formerly unknown to Africans, of VOL. ii. H matters * Book I. Sea. III. Part IV. t!4 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK mafters over white men and mulattoes by the n. i_. y - . right of conqueft ! In order to keep the new flaves in fubordination, and to teach them habits of labour, as well as to difarm them by divifion, it has always been found neceflary to diftribute them among the old (lock, and gradually to in- corporate them with the whole mafs. But now, there is no flock with which to combine the re- volted flaves. They are reduced to obedience, not in fmall numbers and gradually, but fud- denly, and all at one time ; while thofe new- ly imported are mingled with a body (till lefs fit than themfelves for the tafks and the flation of fervitude. While the revolt has diminimed the num- bers of the negroes, and rendered new importa- tions more neceflary than ever, it has alfo fwept away vaft numbers of the whites, by maflacres, by emigrations, and by difeafe, the conftant at- tendant upon hard duty in the tropical climates, at leaft to European conftitutions. * Malouet reckons that their numbers have been reduced to one half the population of 1789, or between feventeen and twenty thou- fand. It feems proved, that this ftatement of the whole amount is above the truth ; and the effefts * Laborie's Coffee-planter, Append. X. 12. Malouet, Mem. &c. IV. 32. Edwards' St Domingo, cap. x. note- to p. 173. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 1 15 :>s of the fubfequent events, with the necef- SECT. fary ilruggles that muft yet be undergone before . / tranquillity is reftored, will at lead counterba- lance the increafe of numbers arifing from new fettlers. When order is re-eftablimed, indeed, it is reafonable to fuppofe that a confiderable num- ber of new fettlers will repair thither with the ftock which may be employed in reftoring or extending the cultivation. But not to mention the temptations held out by thofe iflands which have never experienced the horrors of infurrec- tion, the acquifition which France has made of the Spanifh part of the ifland, cannot fail to at- tract towards that quarter a large proportion of thofe new fettlers. The mod valuable part of them, thofe who remove with their families^ and with the purpofe of making the colony their home, will certainly prefer a refidence fe- parated from the quarter where murder and de- vaftation have been naturalized, and will confi- der the fociety of their countrymen, when fur- rounded by the actors in thofe fcenes, as well exchanged for that of the Spaniards, whofe flaves are few in number, and, from gentle treatment, have remained untainted with the fpirit of mfurredion. The eaftern part of St Domingo, too, contains a vaft extent of the fin* eft plains perhaps in the whole ifland. The H 2 land COLONIAL POLICY BOOK j an j j s a ^h v i r g m f ii j watered by the largefi . and moil ufeful rivers. The accefs from Eu- rope and the Windward iflands is eafier, and the harbours are extremely convenient. Hence, we may expect that this quarter of the colony will allure fpeculators and merchants, as well as other fettlers, and thus prevent the old French territory from receiving a great increafe of white inhabitants. But the partial increafe of the whites in the weftern divifion where the negroes are, and not the total augmentation of whites in the ifland, is the circumftance that mud in- fluence the fecurity of the French power over the negroes ; for the two divifions are feparated from each other by a difficult country, of great extent, abounding in heights and ravines and im- penetrable forefts. The fituation of the colony, then, whether we confider the ftate of the black, or that of the white population, has been rendered infinite- ly more precarious than before, by the events of the laft twelve years. The tenure by which the one of thefe clafles is held in fubjection to the other, muft now be weak and delicate be- yond all former example. No political fociety that ever fubfifted in the world, has had fo much reafon to defire a ftate of complete tranquillity and repofe from all external danger ; none has ever exifted fo utterly unfit for being the fcene of new THE EUROPEAN POWER?. 1 17 new contefls ; none ever offered to its neigh- SECT. hours more certain pledges of pacific inten- . t ' . dons, {hewed lefs capacity for aggreiiion, or pre- fented to its enemies a greater number of de- fencelefs and vulnerable points. The military eftablimment which France will certainly maintain in this ifland, muft find ample employment in preferving internal tran- quillity, and checking the feeds of new revolt as they fpring up. It is idle to fay, as fome writers on colonial affairs have done, that ihe derives a formidable afpecl in that quarter, from the pretext which her colonial poffeffions afford her, of increafmg to a dangerous degree her force in thofe parts. It is not a pretext ; it is a real neceffity. In the Weft Indies, me has am- ple occafion for more troops than me can fpare from Holland and Belgium, and the depart- ments of the Weft, and the Italian republic, and the protection of whatever dynafty may happen for the time to be eftablifhed in the Thuilleries. With all her force, (he will find the prefervation of her colonies, as they at pre- fent ftand, the moft difficult tafk which {he has yet accomplifhed in the career of her towering ambition. The remarks which have been fuggefted by the recent hiftory of St Domingo, apply, though with lefs force, to the prefent ftate of H 3 Guadaloupe, BOOK Guadaloupe. That ifland has, though in a more .,_ v _ flight degree, been vifrted by ferious infurrec- tions : the defect of importation fince the revolu- tion, has checked the extenfion of cultivation, and probably diminifhed the flock of flaves. There, as in St Domingo, the negroes have en- joyed the fweets of liberty, and will return with great and natural reluctance to their former occupations. The conquered iflands have been exempted from all thofe calamities, anch their cultivation has rapidly increafed. Some danger muft, how- ever, always arife from change of pofTeffion : and we mall afterwards have occafion to defcribe more fully the probable effects of this event upon the adminiftration of thofe colonies. But the quef- tion now turns chiefly upon the ftate of the larger colonies, whofe fortunes the others muft follow : and if, from the circumftances of St Domingo and Guadaloupe, France finds it im- poffible to combine military operations there, we may reft aifured that for the very fame rea- fon me will remain at peace in her other iflands. A rupture with her neighbours, in whatever quarter, muft be attended with danger to the whole fyftem j and we may reckon upon the weaknefs or dangerous fituation of her revolted iflands, as if it extended to thofe which the for- tunes of the Britifh arms faved from deftruc- tion. Thus THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 119 Thus it appears, in the firft place, that a SECT. colony or remote province, in the general, is _ ^ - always lefs adapted than an independent flate to the operations either of defenfive or of- fenfive warfare, by the neceflary circumftan- ces of its fituation; fecondly, that the peculiar circumftances of the Weft Indian iflands, and the international policy of modern Europe, would render the independence of any one of thofc colonies peculiarly dangerous to the reft, and would render the colonial regimen a great- er fource of weaknefs to them than to any other eftablifhments of the fame kind ; and, laftly^ that the fituadon of the French colonies, after ilavery is reftored, muft be far lefs fecure than that of the other Weft Indian fettlements, both from the peculiar circumftances of thofe colonies, and from the manner in which the changes have been efFecled. We may con- clude, therefore, that the maintenance of the colonial exiftence of the French iflands, and of the negro fyftem, as eftablifhed before the re- volution, is much lefs hoftile to the interefts of the other European powers, who aim at preferv- ing their Weft Indian fettlements, than the fepa- ration of the French colonies from the mother country, more efpecialiy if that event is attended with the independence of the negroes. We are now to confider the probable confequences of a H 4 partial 120 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK p ar tJ a l fubjugation of the negroes, to the dominion ._ y ' ._. of France, and the interefts of the other powers in the Weft Indies. It cannot be doubted, that the total abolition of flavery in any one of the fugar colonies, and the cultivation of its territories by free fubje&s, whofe conftitutions are adapted to the climate, would be attended with the mod beneficial effects, and raife its comparative re- fources and ftrength to a very high pitch. The labour of (laves is much more expenfive than that of free men ; and the colonies, which fhould continue the old fyftem of cultivation, would be deprived of all that additional force with which the acquifition of a vaft population of free men would arm the new-modelled fettle- ments. But although the iilands are at prefent inhabited by a race of negro flaves, they are not pofleffed of men fit for the fituation of fub- jecls. They have as yet only the bodies of fub- jects bodies animated by the minds of flaves, in the rudeft ftate of fociety ; and no power un- der that which called them into exiftence, could at once transform them into men capable of fupporting the relations required for the confti- tution of a free and civilized community. We mall, afterwards, in difcuffing the various plans for the improvement of the Weft Indian fyftem, have occafion to enter more fully into the fub- THE EUROPEAN POWERS. J 2 1 jet of the negro character ; and to demon ft nite the utter unfitnefsof thofe men for the relations of voluntary labourers, in a regular and civilized ftate. At the end of the prefent Section, too, we mall attend a little more minutely to this matter. But, even if the negroes already in St Domin- go could be fuddenly transformed into peaceful and induflrious mbjects, their numbers are Ib reduced, that, in order to reftore the cultiva- tion of the ifland, and (till more, in order to extend it, a much quicker fupply of hands will be neceffary than the natural increafe can afford. While the flock at prefent in the ifland conti- nues free, the importation of fiaves is impoffi- ble ; and to expect induflry or fubmiffion from Africans newly brought over, and fuddenly let loofe, would be no lefs chimerical. Indeed, it is not eafy to conceive how they could be brought from Africa, as no one can have any inducement to import a favage over whom he retains no ex- clufive authority after he has landed him. All fudden addition to the number of hands, then, is inqoniiftent with the fuppofitiou of 4 commu- nity peopled by free blacks. In the mean time, until the chains of the negroes are either firmly rivetted, or broken for ever, the ifland muft re- main in a (late of infecurity within, which will require the mofl undivided attention of the rulers to the maintenance of order among the whites. 1 22 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK whites, and to the prefeivation of external tran- i,.,. v < quillity. But admitting, for the prefent, the poffibility of keeping the negroes in a flate of partial fub- jection, and of forming a regular community, confifting of free Africans for the populace and Europeans for the higher claiTes j let us fee what dangers the neighbouring colonies might have to apprehend from fuch a political eflablifhment. It has been fuppofed by fome, * that if France (hall fail in refloring the ancient order of things, me will have at her difpofal, a formi- dable body of the foldiers beft adapted to Weft; Indian warfare, and trained to military fervice, by a feries of hazardous operations. How can me fo well employ them, (it has been demand- ed), as in expeditions againfl her neighbours, at whole expence her turbulent fubjects will thus be occupied with military fervice, and her do- minions rapidly extended ? As this is perhaps the mod obvious of the dangers which can attend a partial re-eftablifh- ment of the French power in the revolted iflands, and as it has, at firfl fight, a very formidable appearance, it may be worth while to examine, a little more minutely, whether or not the alarm is real, * See, particularly, the Crifis of the Sugar THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 123 real, and to what extent fuch apprehenfions de- SECT. ii. ferve to be entertained. . _ . We muft remark, in the firft place, that thofe who dwell upon this topic, have greatly overrated the difpoleable force likely to be left in the hands of France after the fuppreffion of the rebellion in St Domingo. The author of the ' Crifis ' eflimates the whole negro population at five hundred thoufand, and the number of men able to bear arms at two hundred thoufand. Nei- ther the one nor the other of thefe accounts is in any degree near the truth. We have before (hewn, from the authority of the beft-infonn- ed writers upon the fubject., that the whole number of negroes has been reduced to lefs than one half during the rebellion ; and it is evident, that the recent tranfaftions in the ifland muft have ftill farther diminiflied their force. It is equally clear, that almoft all this extraor- dinary lofs muft have fallen upon the males ra- ther than the females, and upon the young and vigorous men rather than the infirm or the aged. In the imported Africans, indeed, there may be nearly the proportion of males able to bear arms which the author of the ' Crijis* has fuppofed. But as all importation has ceafed for twelve years, and as the blank occafioned by deaths has in fome degree been filled up in the natural way, and not ctherwife, it is clear, that, 124 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK t hat, even if as many females as males, and as . y ' . many weak or decrepit as able-bodied men, had fallen in the troubles, the natural proportions of the two fexes, and of the different ages, would by this time have been reflored. The polyga- my which prevails among the negroes might have retarded the total progrefs of population ; but its effecl: would have been the fame upon both fexes ; and it never could have deftroyed the relative proportions of thofe able to ferve and thofe unfit for war. The proportion of men fit to bear arms in any community is cer- tainly not two in five of its whole population. It has never been reckoned more than one in four ; and Sir William Petty makes it only one in fix. Admitting, then, what is evidently im- poffible, that the revolt, and fubfequent reduc- tion of the negroes, neither diminifhed their to- tal population, nor altered the proportions of their different clafles, the utmoft amount of men fit for military fervice, could not poflibly exceed one hundred and twenty-five thoufand. But, in fuppofing fuch a body at the difpofal of government for expeditions againfl the neigh- bouring iflands, or for the defence of -St Do- mingo, we mufl imagine that the plantations are to be cultivated, and the inhabitants feryed fc>y women and children alone ; in which cafe, it js eafy to perceive, that the planters muft be ruined., THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 125 II. ruined, and entirely alienated from the fervice SECT. of the (late, and that the colony will no longer be worth keeping : fo that, in every view which can be taken, after making all manner of con- ceffions, it appears, that the eftimate upon which the alarm is founded, is exaggerated many times above the truth. On the other hand, when we confider the multitudes who periihed in the conteft ; when we think upon what part of the black population the lofs inuft almoft entirely have fallen ; and when we take into our view, alfo, the new loflfes which mult happen before a final fettle- ment can take place, and the manner in which thofe lofles muft of necefiity be diitributed, we mall probably not underrate the total amount, if we conclude, that France will be unable to employ, in any military operations, more than ten thoufand negroes, confidently with the mofl moderate attention which me can beflow upon the planters, and the colony at large, as a valuable pofielFion. Now, in judging of the danger to be appre- hended from the ufe that a rival, or an enemy, may make of any refources, we are always to confider the point to which his own evident intereft directs him. As, in the detail of mi- litary operations, we are never to calculate up- on grofs blunders in the plans of the oppofite party : 126 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK party : fo, in fyftems of policy, we are not at . .!.._, liberty to luppofe that a neighbouring power will commit palpable errors, and act inconiHt- ently with its own obvious interefts. If, then, any fcheme propofed appears, upon a plain and fimple confideration of its confequences, to be diametrically oppofite to the colonial in- terefts of France, we may certainly conclude, that her neighbours are more furely guaranteed againft its ;_ Teds, than if they had bound her down by the force of treaties, or pledges, or hoftages, to purfue a fpecified line of con- dud. It is poffible that the apprehenfions arifmg from the exiftence of a confiderable number of warlike men in the heart of a flate formerly the fcene of their fuccefsful rebellion, and the defire of annoying a formidable and envied rival, may, for a moment, fugged to the rulers of France the idea of fending forth an army of negroes againft the Britim iflands. But a very little prudence will certainly incline them to confider, whether the execution of this plan may not be attended with {till more alarming confequences than any which are likely to refult from the dangerous crifis that fuggefted the idea. The fuccefs of the meafure can only be infured in two ways ; either the negroes, under the com- mand of Europeans, and aflifted by white troops, THE EUROPEAN POWERS, I2/ iroops, may, by the regular progrefs of a cam- SECT. paign, conquer the enemy's troops, and reduce , _, his pofleffions, or they may be led againfl him as the oppreflbr of their brethren, and for the purpofe of effecting their emancipation. If ten thoufand negroes from St Domingo, accom- panied by a body of French troops, land in Jamaica, and commence a regular campaign, it is not eafy to fee why they may not be op- pofed by the Britifh forces, with the ailiftance of a chofen body of Haves, which the Britifh iilands will be much better able to fpare for military fervice than the exhaufted colonies of France. So long as the fpirit of infurreftion is not fomented among the negroes, they are uni- formly found to be peculiarly adapted to the operations of war ; they uniformly ferve with unfhaken fidelity that government which has levied them from the plantations. The fudden acquifition of liberty, by the free gift of the ftate, and the exchange of fervile drudgery, for the comparatively eafy and honourable life of a foidier, is a benefit of fufficient value to fecure their loyalty : and men in this fituation are probably better adapted to receive the lelfons of difcipline and fubordination, than thofe who have always enjoyed the rank and privileges of free men. They have acquired habits of implicit obe- dience ; and the freedom now conferred upon them. 120 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK them, without weakening thofe habits, infpires - y . them with that impulfe to voluntary exertion which they before wanted. The fituation of foldiers is, indeed, the only one for which they are fitted by their previous mode of life. Unac- cuftcmed to have a will of their own, or to act with any view but that of direct obedience to another, they are formed to make part of the great machine which confifts of men, and moves at the found of a fmgle voice. Troops raifed in this manner have been found ferviceable, even againft infurgents of their own colour. The revolted negroes of Surinam have been frequently oppofed by bodies of flaves enrolled for the fervice : the acquifition of freedom has uniformly fecured their faithful obedience to the government, and their zealous fervices againli the liberty of their brethren. I mall afterwards have occafion to explain this circumftance more particularly, when, in the Fourth Book of this Inquiry, I come to examine the fituation of the free negroes. If fo great reliance can be placed upon the exertions of the negroes againft the immediate interefls of their brethren, and the caufe of negro freedom, it is evident that much more may be expected from their affift- ance when called out againft bodies of their brethren, who are in fubjeftion to the Europeans, and fighting folely for their caufe. Such a force as THE EUROPEAN POWERS. as the negro population could fpare from the labours of the field, would be more than a match for the embodied and half-fubdued rebels of St Domingo, accuftomed to riot in licentioufnefs, and as formidable to their em- ployers as to their antagonists. But, fuppofe the expedition has been attended with fuccefs ; that the negro army of France has proved victorious, without any affiftance from infurrection among the Haves of the in- vaded iilands, and that it returns to St Do- mingo in regular order, after adding a rich province to the French empire : will the ad- miffion of all thefe improbabilities bring us nearer to the point ? It is not the nature of great fervices to lower the pretenfions of thofe who perform them. If the exiftence of the half-fubdued negroes, in the heart of the com- munity, was fo alarming as to render fome en- terprife neceflary, which might find employ- ment for them ; furely their return after vic- tory, and victory over a European power, is not lefs to be dreaded. In order to prevent them from uniting, and renewing the iniurrection, Government has feparated _:em from the reft of their brethren; called them off from their peaceful occupations ; armed and embodied them ; allowed them to conquer, and thus formed them into a military body a feparate VOL, n. I clafs COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK c l a f s in the heart of the colony a rallying v ^' . point to their fcattered countrymen, who are free but opprefled, and only wait for their per- miffion to join them. The government has weakened and divided its own forces by the conqueft. Every white man that has fallen in the expedition, or is ftationed at Jamaica, is an irreparable lofs ; while the negroes are in the country of their fupplies, and can eafily repair the lofles which their numbers may have fuftained. The expedition, then, has only removed the danger a ftep farther, in order to render it doubly formidable ; and the Europeans in the colony have procured the fhort refpite of a Weft Indian campaign, by the notable expe- dient of changing a probable into a certain ca- taftrophe. If, on the other hand, the negroes are left in the conquered ifland, their confent to this banimment mufl be obtained, and fome means muft be difcovered to render them lefs formidable in a country where they have con- quered, than they were at home before the ex- pedition ; otherwife, the danger is only removed acrofs the narrow channel which feparates the one ifland from the other an exchange, -of which we are immediately to fpeak. But the only certain means of fucceeding in the fuppofed enterprife, muft be fought for in an appeal to the peculiar feelings of the ne- groes. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 13! negroes, or their reduction to the ftate of a free but fubordinate race of citizens, can only be a temporary change, preparatory to a more complete and permanent arrangement of things: that there is no medium between the fuprema- cy and the bondage of the negroes ; between the maftery and the extirpation of the whites : that any other fettlemerit which may be made in the mean time, mud either be a delufive fitu- ation for the negroes, or a deceitful calm to the Europeans : that a very fhort time will bring about the final adjuftment, and either deprh'e France of her colonies, or overthrow the nominal freedom of the negroes. The probable confequences of thefe two ex- tremes to other colonies, muft be a matter of the deepefl intereft to all the neighbouring powers in the Weft Indies. I have already confidered the effe&s which may naturally be expected to refult from one of them, namely, the fuccefs of the French caufe, and the com- plete reftoration of the colonial relations. In the following Seclion, I mail take a view of the confequences which may be expected to re- fult from the oppofite event, the total failure of France, and the eftablifhment of an inde- pendent African community in the Weft In* dies. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. SECTIO OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEGRO COMMONWEALTH IN THE WEST INDIES TO THE INTERESTS OF THE COLONIES WHICH REMAIN UNDER THE DOMINION OF THE MOTHER COUNTRY. THE events which have happened in the SECT. French colonies fmce the revolution, have . been fuch, as to fill every one with the ut- moft anxiety as to the fate of the whole colo- nial fyflem. The definition of negro flavery has been followed by its natural confequence, the complete overthrow of the European pow- er, and the efiablifhinent of an independent African commonwealth in the noblefl fettle- ment of the new world. Immediately after the peace which followed the unfortunate fuccefles of the French arms in Europe, the attention of the new govern- ment of France was turned to the colonial af- fairs of the Republic. Meafures were taken for reftoring the dominion of the Mother Country over her revolted iflands ; and an ex- pedition was fitted out, of a magnitude fuited to the importance of the fervice for which it was deftined, with that promptitude and def- patch 142 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK patch which have diflinguifhed all the opera- . v ' - tions of the Corfkan Chief. The probable confequences of this attempt have been difcufied in the Firft Book of this Inquiry, where I was induced to beflow confi- derable attention upon the fubject, not mere- ly becaufe it is peculiarly interefling at the prefent moment, but becaufe I confidered it as part of the general queftion, and intimately connected with the great topics of Weft Indian policy. For the fame reafon, I am now to difcufs particularly the confequences of the French expedition proving wholly unfuccefs- ful, and of the Africans obtaining the perma- nent fuperiority in St Domingo ; not becaufe this is an event which feems at prefent on the eve of being accomplifhed, but becaufe it is an event which at all times may be expected, and is in fact the natural confequence of that po- licy, equally incautious and inhuman, by which the Antilles have been peopled with African flaves. During the firft ftruggles between the differ- ent colours in the French ifiands, it was the unrverfal, and very natural opinion, in the neighbouring ifiands, that the exiftence of a negro commonwealth in thofe parts, muft be immediately fatal to all the other Have colonies. But the appearance of that remarkable perfon- THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 143 age, who acquired the chief power over the s E c T - new community ; the fmgular moderation of . his views, and the inoffenfive conduct which he uniformly held towards all the neighbour- ing fettlements, foon difpelled the alarm with which every one had at nrft been feized. To a panic much ftronger than was neceffary, there fucceeded, as is almoft always the cafe, a fear- lefs confidence, not warranted by any change of circumftances. The Europeans in the Weft Indies appeared, during the reign of Touflaint, to have forgotten how much of their fecurity was owing to the peculiar habits of that fmgu- lar man, and to the length and horrors of the preceding conqueft, fufficient to fatiate even Africans with plunder and blood. It was not confidered, that, from every part of his con- duct and profeffions, the negro chief appeared to refemble his countrymen in no one particu- lar, either of his intellects, his acquirements, or his feelings ; that this very circumflance of diflimilarity was, in all probability, prepar- ing his downfal, although his life fhould efcape the variety of accidents by which he was fur- rounded ; and that his fucceifor would, to an abfolute certainty, be a man differing from the reft of the negroes only in the greater ferocity of his nature, his fuperior cunning, and ftronger limbs. Neither was it remembered, that al- though 144 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK though years of bloodfhed and devaftation might fatigue the mod favage warriors, and difpofe them to enjoy an interval of repofe, yet the fame barbarians would fooner recover from their fatiety, and pant for the former fcenes of cruelty and licentioufnefs. We are now to confider, whether there be any room for the thoughtlefs confidence into which the Weft In- dian proprietors have been lulled, beyond thofe accidental circumftaiices which gave birth to the temporary calm ; the fatigue of the ne- groes, and the peculiar character of their chief. The events which have already taken place in the colonies prove fufficiently, if indeed any proof was necefiary, that the llavery of the Africans has had no great tender ~v to pro- mote their civilization, or infpire them with a reliih for the bleffings of order and regular go- vernment. The opprefiion of their matters may have united them, and combined their ef- forts with thofe of the mulattoes to effect the extermination of the Europeans. But this end was no fooner accompliflied, than the two par- ties attacked each other with renewed fury ; and, if a fhort time had been allowed to the conquerors, after fubduing the people of colour, there can be little doubt that they would have quarrelled among themfelves, and fplit into a number of petty barbarous dates. It THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 145 If is not in the nature of a rude people to s E c T. HI. unite in extenfive political afibciations. All ,_ \ - fuch unions prefuppofe the acquifition of con* fiderable (kill in the arts of government. At firft, the habits of filial fubmiffion, reverence for age, and awe of fuperior bodily ftrength, retain a fmgle family or kindred in fubj Action to the head of the houfe. The imperfect union of a few families generally fpringing from the fame common (lock, and kept in a partial fub- miffion to the oldeft, or the ftrongeft and rnoft cunning perfon of the tribe, forms the next ftep in the progrefs of the focial union. After conqueft or treachery has extended the partriarchal government beyond the bounds of the kindred race ; by an eafy tranfition, the regular fucceffion to the chief power becomes liable to interruptions from the fame caufes which have enlarged the territory of the tribe- violence and cunning. Still, the fubjedlion of a large community to one man ; the extenfion of his dominion over a multitude of fubje&s whom he feldom has within his fight j the obe- dience of thoufands of- men to the will of a . fmgle perfon, neither chofen by themfelves, nor pofiefled of any fuperior faculties of body or mind indicate no fmall proficiency in the arts of policy upon the part of the ruler, and a confiderable progrefs upon the part of the VOL. ii. K people. COLONIAL POLICY OF s o^o K people, in the habits of abftradion and in the ; . v i peaceful arts. After this fkill has been acquired, and thofe habits formed, we often meet with extenfive political aflbciations of men who are ftill in a very rude ftate. But the {lability of go- vernment, and the permanent duration of ex- tent and of power, inseparably connected with , the (lability of a particular dynafty in the fovereignty of the ftate, can only refult from fhofe fixed ideas of hereditary fucceffion, which, as they are on the one hand a great caufe of progreffive improvement, fo, indicate on the other hand, that a very confiderable progrefs towards refinement has already been made. Moreover, all fuch aflbciations of un- civilized men have arifen from fmall begin- nings ; have been gradually enlarged by the incorporation of conquered tribes ; and have been flowly confolidated, in fo far as they pof- fefs any folidity, by the events that take place, and the habits that are ftrengthened during a fucceffion of ages. It may fafely be affumed as a general principle, that a multitude col- lected at random from various- favage nations, and habituated to no fubordination but that of domeftic flavery, are totally unfit for uniting in the relations of regular government, or being fuddenly moulded into one fyftem of ar- tificial THE EUROPEAN POWERS, liikial fociety ; more efpecially after living for s E c T - a feries or years in a (late of tumult and difor- ._ l__ji der, unnatural even to barbarians. In the mod polifhed dates, the fudden and violent diffblu- tion of an eftabliflied government has a ftrong tendency to produce general difunion ; and we may recollect the alarm excited in the earlier ftages of the French Revolution by the terror of Federalifm, which became indeed one of the common topics of accufation in the code of political crimes. In fact, the fudden formation^ of a political body has always been found the/ moft arduous achievement in the art of go-t verning. The eftablifhment of the North Ame- rican colonies, gradual as it was, is the in- fiance in the hiftory of mankind, where this has been atcomplimed in the morteft time. Yet thofe infant dates were animated by poli- tical or religious enthufiafm ; united by a pofi- tion in the midft of favage nations ; and peopled by men taken from the heart of civil fociety fubjeds for whom the moft refined politician and profound philofopher of the age was invited to legiilate. * The free negroes of St Domingo will form a turbulent and licentious affemblage of hoftile tribes. A leader may now and then appear, K 2 whofe * Mr Locke. 148 COLONIAL POLICY OF fuperior talents enable him to acquire a temporary afcendant over a confiderable pro- portion of thofe petty Rates ; but his death or afiaflination will be the period of the union, and the ifland will again be divided among a number of petty chiefs. It is a moft profound remark of Machiavel, that a commonwealth is much more to be de- pended upon by its neighbours and its fubjects, than a prince : and, for precifely the fame rea- fons, which I mall afterwards explain more at length, a large ftate is much more to be de- pended upon than a fmall one, under whatever form the government may be adminiftered. The moft unftable and capricious of all neigh- bours muft, therefore, be a petty ftate, fubject to an abfolute prince. But the tribes of St Domingo will be fmall communities of turbu- lent favages, fubjecl to the authority of defpotic chiefs, whofe powers perpetually vary, and who fucceed each other, according to no order more regular than the caprice and violence of the human paffions. It is eafy to perceive, that fuch a government muft, beyond all others, be unfteady and changeful, utterly unfit for maintaining the regular alliance, or for pre- venting the depredations of its own fubjeds. From a community of this description, in- deed, we can fcarcely apprehend any very for- midable THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 149 midable combination of hoftilities againft the s E ( other iflands. The evils which foine have ,, \j thought probable from the reftlefs fpirit -of conqueft ufually predominant in the infancy of ftates, are, I apprehend, by no means fo much to be dreaded as thofe which muft arife from the fpirit of plunder. The negroes, in their ftate of flavery, have acquired many de- fires, which they will dill feek to gratify at the expence of their ikilful and induftrious neighbours. The love of tobacco and fpiritu- ous liquors ; the want of fire arms, and, in ge- neral, of the ufeful metals and the manufactures of Europe ; nay, the want of flaves from a- mong their brethren, will lead them to com- mit perpetual depredation upon the coafts of the neighbouring iflands. To fuppofe that they will fupply themfelves with fuch commo- dities by cultivating their own territories, and exchanging the produce of their induftry with\ European merchants, is to fancy, that they I have been civilized in the late times of anarchy and confufion; that they have acquired habits of peaceful induftry in a few years of maflacre and plunder. The pofition of St Domingo is particularly favourable to the occupations of a piratical commonwealth. The various .commodious har- bours on the fouth and weft coafts, furnifh the K 3 moil I5O COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK mo ft advantageous ftations for annoying the . outward bound trade to Jamaica and Cuba, and the veflels homeward bound, which take the windward paflage ; while the fouth coaft com- mands the direct communication between the windward and the two moft wefterly leeward iflands. Our Weft Indian merchants well remem- ber how feverely they fuffered by the privateering which the French, during the late war, carried on from the ports of Jacquemel and Les Cayes. In one year (1794-5), notwithftanding the ftrong naval force which we had in thofe parts to protect our trade, above thirty large veffels were captured and carried into Les Cayes. The negroes, too, at a fubfeqtient period of the war, attacked the fmaller veflels of the Britifh and American traders, in armed canoes ; and, after maffacrmg the white crews, carried the fliips into their harbours. * In a predatory fyftem of this fort, every cap- ture mufl furnifh the means of further acquifi- tions. The negroes, by their bodily ftrength, and their aftonifhing powers of enduring every fort of want, are admirably calculated for a fea- faring life. They are employed for this pur- pofe in many parts of the Welt Indies. In the Bermuda * Edwards' Poftfcript to his Hiftorical Suney of St Domingo. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. Bermuda Iflands, they are found to make as SECT. good failors as the whites ; * and they were of ._. v ' . fignal ufe, both as feamen and marines, in the privateers fitted out from that convenient flation during the American war. f The prof- peel of immediate plunder will unite and mar- fhal fmall bodies of men, whom it would be in vain to think of forming into more extenfive aflbciations by the general principles of duty, or remote views of political expediency ; and, in every quarter of the New World, men of European extraction, or adventurers from Eu- rope, are to be found, whofe defperate fortunes will league them with the freebooters of St Do- mingo, and fupply the deficiency of nautical knowledge. The events which have happened in the Weft Indies, indeed, may teach us, that the negroes will probably receive a more regu- lar affiftance from men lefs abandoned than thefe. Not to mention the ready afylum which the towns of Jamaica always offered to the Buc- caneers, and the eafe with which thofe pirates found a market among fair traders, wherever they carried their ftolen goods ; during the heat of the late civil war in St Domingo, the ne- groes were abundantly fupplied with arms and K 4 ammunition * Burke's European Settlements, part VII. cap. 2. f Governor Browii's Report. Report of Committee 1788, part III. *5* COLONIAL POLICY OP BOOK ammunition by North American traders, in re? n. ', > ' . turn for the colonial produce which they were thus enabled to feize from the plantations, after murdering the proprietors. * At fuch kinds of traffic it is needlefs to repine ; and it is e-r qually vain to expect that they mall ever ceafe. The genuine fpirit of commercial fpeculation cannot exifl in full force, without giving rife, at the fame time, to evils like thefe. The fame unreftrained propenfity to adventure that con- ducted the Spaniards over unknown regions to the conqueft of a new world, directed the de- predations to which their fucceffors were after- wards expofed. The temptation of high profits which opened to the Buccaneers the markets of Jamaica, led to the cultivation of the whole Weft Indies ; and, after covering with villas and farms the extenfive plains of St Domingo, contributed at laft to their de variation and ruin. From this fyftem of piracy, to a predatory warfare, upon the coafts of Jamaica and Cuba, the tranfition is eafy. The trade wind, blowing almoft without intermiilion towards the leeward iilands, will carry the gangs of thefe new Bucca- neers, in a fmgle night, acrofs the narrow and unbroken channels that bound St Domingo on the weft 5 and thefe irruptions will be made with * Edwards' Hiftory of St Domingo, chap. VL THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 153 with that carelefs prodigality of life, and that- SECT. indifcriniinate third of deftruction, which mark . ' . the military operations of barbarians. To a civilized community, Jndeed, eftablimed upon folid foundations, and united in one compact body for the purpofes of regular defence, fuch an invafion would not be very formidable. But in the colonies, the enemy has a powerful auxi- liary in the very heart of the fettlements, agamfl which his attacks are directed. The negroes of our colonies are already prepared for revolt, by the example of fuccefs which has attended the ftruggles of their countrymen on the oppo- fite fide of the Straits. It is nugatory to talk of the depreffed ftate and obtufe faculties of thefe men. They are of the fame fpecies with thofe whom the mulattoes of St Domingo gained over, by the promife of liberty, in fpite of the rooted antipathy which had formerly divided the two claifes. They are not more degraded than thofe who wor- mipped the Prefident of the Amis des Noirs as their tutelary faint : nor will the eftablimment of a negro commonwealth in the neighbouring ifland fo far alter their nature, as to render cal- lous to every thing affe&ing the fortunes of their race, the fame people who, at the begin- ning of the conteft, had mowed the livelieft Anxiety about the fate of the great queflion of abolition t54 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK abolition ; a queftion, in itfelf, only remotely connected with their interefts. * There is, in- deed, no direct communication between the peo- ple of St Domingo and the great body of field negroes in the oppofite iilands : But thefe have various opportunities of obtaining information from their brethren who are employed as houfe fervants, and who thus learn the ftate of affairs in a quarter that muft always principally occu- py the converfation of their mailers from the artificers in the towns, whofe intercourfe with the Europeans is more extenfive, and who are always better informed from the free blacks, who, as a body indeed, we mail afterwards fhow, cannot difturb the peace of our colonies, but who rank among their numbers many idle and diffblute perfons, ready to inftruct the Haves in what is going forward and, laft of all, from the negro fervants who return to the Weft In- dies, after having acquired, by their refidence in Europe as free men, a large portion of in- formation, and imbibed many of the opinions univerfally prevalent upon the fubjecl of negro flavery. Without fuppofmg, then, that the African inhabitants of St Domingo have be- come infected with that rage of profelytizing which * Edwards' Hiftory of St Domingo, chap. VII. Petition of Weft Indian Merchants to the Houfe of Com- mons, March 1792. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 155 which diftinguimed their -former matters ; or SECT. in that any meafures have been purfued in the o- ,_ ' . ther iilands for enlightening and exciting the negroes ; it is manifeft, from the conftitution of the communities of which they form a part, that they will have ample opportunities of infor- mation ; and, upon fuch topics, it is the fame aft to inform and to interefl men placed in their fituation. Indeed, when we confider how much of the fubordination of the negroes is derived from their habitual conviction of the decided fuperio- rity of white men, and their conftitutional terror of oppofing them ; furely nothing can operate more immediately the deftruftion of thofe feel- ings, and of all the force which the negro chains derive from them, than the fpectacle conftantly prefented to their eyes, plain and intelligible even to Africans, of their countrymen in the . neighbouring ifland pofTeffing the territory in full fovereignty ; clothed with the fpoils, and covered with the blood of Europeans. Thus, in all likelihood the neighbourhood of a negro ftate will have prepared our flaves for ideas of independence ; and the firft incur- fions of the enemy mud be the fignal for re- * volt. We have already noticed the extent to t which the plans of all the infurreftions hither- to quelled appear to have fpread. * This can arife * Book I. Seft. ill. Part IV. l$ COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK ar ]f e f rom nothing but the pronenefs of men, ^ v ' . in the fituation of the negroes, to feek for any change. However partial, then, the depreda- tions of our new enemy may be, their effects on the flaves will extend over the whole body. The freebooters may receive exemplary punifh- ment j but they will firft have communicated to our negroes the contagion for which they have been predifpofed. Nay, it is probable that no permanent footing will ever be gained by the invaders ; and at any rate, that, in the beginning, their efforts will be wholly unfuc- cefsful. But if they flir up the fpirit of revolt, by liberating the negroes on a few plantations before a fufficient force can be brought againft them, it fignifies little to Great Britain that her largeft colony mould fall into the hands of the Jamaica, inftead of the St Domingo Afri- cans, or that her planters and merchants mould have the confolation of being murdered by their own flaves. The fituation of Cuba is in feveral refpels lefs dangerous than that of Jamaica. The cul- tivated parts lye on the north-weft coaft, and muft be approached from St Domingo by the difficult navigation of the old Bahama channel. The negroes, too, though their numbers are much increafed fmce the ordinance 1765, and though they bear a greater proportion to the whites THE EUROPEAN POWERS. whites than in any of the Spanifh colonies, are SECT. yet far lefs numerous than thofe in Jamaica, . ^' and, like all the flaves of the Spanifh and Por- tuguefe colonifts, are much better treated than thofe of any ether European power. Were Cuba, then, to remain in its prefent ftate, it would offer few temptations to the incurfions of the new community, and would probably attract little of their attention, until, by being confolidated in the courfe of time into one ftate, and fubjedled to a regular and efficient government, they might be in a fituation to commence offenfive operations upon enlarged views of conqueft. The face of things, how- ever, is rapidly improving in Cuba. In confe- quence of the more liberal fyflem of policy be- gun in 1765, and extended under the admini- ftration of Galvez, that noble ifland, the largeft in the new world, has, by the variety of its natural refources, attracted the firft efforts of the mercantile fpirit in Spain ; and its culti- vation has been fo much extended, that in a few years its trade, inftead of employing fix veffels, as formerly, required no lefs than two hundred, and was capable of more than fupplying the mother country with fugar. Various events which 1 have before enume- rated, have contributed ftill more, of late, to accelerate the cultivation of this fettle- ment. 158 cbLOMAL POLICY OF BOOK men t. # But all thofe improvements are inti- . mately connected with the flave trade. They have uniformly kept pace with the removal of the reftriclions- upon the importation of ne- groes. The Afliento, transferred from France to Britain by the treaty of Utrecht, had been fucceeded by a monopoly as flrid in favour of a private company. The firfl fymptoms of fpeculation appeared in Cuba, after the law of 1770 had encouraged the importation of ne- groes at the Havanna. In fat, as the agricul- ture of the iflands depends upon commercial fpeculation, and upon the employment of flock in purchafmg hands, their improvement pro- ceeds, not according to the flow progrefs of population, as in other countries, but accord- ing to the amount of the flock employed, in proportion to which the population may be in- creafed to any amount. While, therefore, the rapid importation of negroes which the im- provement of Cuba requires, has been diminifh- ing the fecurity of the Spaniards, and while the trade which fupports the improvement of the ifland, and the increafed produce which is the confequence of the extended cultivation, in- vites the depredations of the tribes in St Do- mingo ; the cultivation of Cuba will foon be extended * Book 1. Sett. III. Part II. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 159 extended along the coafts ; and that ifland will SECT. be placed in the fame fituation of complicated dangers which we have already fhewn mud prove fatal to Jamaica ; with this difference, that Jamaica being mod probably in the hands of the negroes, Cuba will be expofed to a dou- ble chance of deftrudion. Yet the dread of thefe dangers, even in the event of the negroes fucceeding completely in St Domingo, will fcarcely prevent the import- ation of flaves into Cuba. It is the charac- ter of mercantile fpeculation to be clear-fight- ed, but not jfar-fighted. The trader feldom confiders any thing beyond the quicknefs and the profits with which his capital may be re- placed for the two or three firft times. He is not, like the agriculturift, interefled in the pre- fervation of the ftate, where his capital has been inverted in a folid form. He views a change of fpeculation without great reluctance, if it is not immediate ; partly becaufe he flatters himfelf with the hopes of independence in the interval, partly becaufe the fame fpirit which made him change before, renders him lefs ti- mid in repeating the rifk. The trade of plant- ing, though connected with the foil, is yet, from the extent of capital required in it, from the rapidity of improvement, from the large profits and the conftant riik. and from the temporary refidence COLONIAL POLICY 6F BOOK refidence xvhich the proprietors make on their . . efhites without families, while they are acquir- ing their fortune, much more nearly allied to commerce than to- agriculture, and promoted by the fpirit of mercantile adventure. But in fact it fignifies little, whether we confider that the lofs of Cuba is likely to fol- low its extended cultivation, or that the prof- peel of fuch an event will immediately check the prefent active fpirit of improvement. In either cafe, the confequences are highly inju- rious to the interefts of Spain, ftripped as (he now is of her mod valuable iilands, and un- able otherwife to continue the acquifition of that colonial wealth which alone can render her a match for the preponderating influence of France in the Gulf of Mexico, after the re- fources of the Republic, withdrawn from St Domingo, mall have been turned to the banks of the Miilifippi. In the fame manner will the eftablifhment of the negroes in St Domingo operate upon the fafety of Porto-Rico, if the Spaniards mould at- tempt to cultivate that very inferior ifland, after failing in Cuba, Porto-Rico is indeed fituated to the windward of the three great Antilles. But when a community of free negroes exifts to the leeward of a fettlement peopled by Afri- can flaves, the advantages arifmg from the ob- ftacles which the trade wind prefents to the depredations THE EUROPEAN POWERS. l6l depredations of the former, are counterbalan- ced by the temptations and facilities which it affords to the defertion of the latter. The Spanifh part of St Domingo, our own fettle- ments in Barbadoes previous to the fubjuga- tion of the black Charaibes in St Vincents, and the acquifition of that iiland by the peace of Paris, the plantations of Jamaica before the ex- pulfion of the Maroons, and thofe of Surinam fince the treaty of 1762 acknowledged the in- dependence of the revolted negroes, have all experienced in a great degree the manifold dan- gers of a neighbourhood which excites the de- fertion of the flaves, and leaves thofe who do not efcape, in a (late of mind ripe for infurrec- tion. But further Have we any reafon to believe that the French will be more fuccefsful in their Windward Iflands, than in the colony from whence we are fuppofing them to have been expelled by the negroes ? I have before remarked, that the attention of French ftatefmen having been directed al- moft exclufively to the great Leeward colony, by the events which have lately happened there, our information with refpeft to the pro* grefs of cultivation in the Windward fettle- ments is by no means extenfive or correcl. I have, however, detailed, the various data which we poflefs, in public documents and other four- VOL. u. i. ces COLONIAL POLICY OF ces of information, for calculating the prefent amount of the negro population in thofe fettle- ments, and the rate at which it increafed during the time that the population of St Do- mingo was doubling. The refult of thefe com- putations led us to the conclufion, that the proportions of the different races in thofe iflands were as unequal, and that the unequality had been as rapidly mcreafing, as in St Domingo. * But it is alfo of importance, to confider the fituation of the free people of colour in the Windward Iflands, fmce it is toTEem that the origin of the troubles in St Domingo may be traced. The circumftances to which the rapid multiplication of this intermediate clafs was owing in St Domingo, rauft have exifted in an equal degree all over the French Weft Indies. In general, a much greater proportion of the proprietors refided in the French fettlements, than in the Britifh and Dutch. In the French iflands nine tenths of the proprietors lived upon their plantations, or in the colonial towns ; in the others not above one fifth were fuppofed to refide. f The lazy, diflipated lives of thefe men were fpent in amours with ne- greffes or mulatto women j and as the fruits of this Book I. Sed. III. Part IV. t Robinet, Did. dc I'homme d'etat, Art. Colonies, THE EUROPEAN POWERS,' IOJ this intercourfe lay under all t]ie disadvantages s E c T - of the mixed blood, the idea of marriage with ,.,. v , , the mothers was out of the queftion. It will always be found, where the manners of a peo- ple are in this corrupt ftate, that marriage, even between equals, falls into difrepute. In the Britifli Weft Indies we fee the confequences of concubinage with blacks and mulattoes, in the fmall proportion of white women, and the flow progrefs of the white population. In the French iflands the numbers of the whites rather dimi- niflied than augmented ; and the natural in- creafe of inhabitants, which may always be ex- pected to arife from the cheapnefs of good land, and the paflions of a warm climate, muft be looked for, not among the whites, but among the mulattoes. Accordingly, the progrefs of the mulatto population muft be calculated, not from the numbers of the mulattoes at any par- ticular time, but from the numbers of whites. The free negroes, on the other hand, increafe according to the progreffive ftate of the flave population. The mulattoes and free negroes, are ufually included together in the clafs of free people of colour ; and it appears, that in ten years, ending 1789, this body had, in St Domingo, much more than tripled its numbers ; whilft the numbers of the whites had rather de- creafed. There is no reafon to fuppofe that L 2 the I$4 COLONIAL POLICY Of 3 K the people of colour were lefs numerous in the . other iilands in proportion. The fame govern- ment and laws prevailed over the whole French Weft Indies ; the fame diffblute manners ; the fame want of white women ; the fame fyftem of intrigue with blacks and mulattoes. In Martinico, the free people of colour bore a greater proportion to the whites, by the enu- meration 1776, than in St Domingo, by the enumeration 1779. In St Lucia, and Tobago, the proportion of people of colour was double that of St Domingo. In Guadaloupe, the pro- portion was a great deal lefs. But, in all the iflands, we have feen, that the cultivation and the wealth of the planters, their luxury, and the numbers of their flaves, were rapidly in- creafmg. We may therefore infer, that the numbers, both of the free negroes and free mulattoes, were augmented in them all with great rapidity ; and that, at the epoch of the revolution, this intermediate clafs had increafed fo as to bear the fame proportion to the whites in the Windward Iflands that it did in St Do- mingo. That their grievances were the very fame, we cannot entertain the fmalleft doubt. The colonial fyftem of St Domingo was common to all the French iflands. Even the flight dif- ferences which the eftablifhment of feparate legislatures THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 165 legiflatures have produced in our iflands, were SECT. unknown in thofe of France, where the parlia- , . ments had, as in the mother country, only the power of regiftering the royal edicts for the pur- pofes of publication and authentication. They were all under the immediate fuperintendance of the council of commerce, and in the department of the minifter of the marine: they were equally affected by the edicts which the King iffued in conformity to the advice of the minifter and council. The code noire was a general fyftem of regulations with refpect to the fubordination of the inferior races in all the iflands. The pri- vileges which it conferred upon the people of colour, and the modifications which thofe pri- vileges received, were the m fame in all. The ,difcontent of the mulattoes muft have been common to this race wherever it exifled. Si- milarity of origin and of government muft have aflimilated the manners of the whites. Subor- dination and grievances muft have univerfally alienated the mulattoes. Their rapid increafe in all the iflands armed them with power to refift; and it is probable, that the revolution alone, by emancipating the llaves, and efta- blifhing political equality among all the clafles, prevented the renewal of the events which ruined St Domingo, in fuch of the windward fettlements as remained unconquered, L 3 If l66 COLONIAL POLICY OF If, then, the natural advantages of the ne^ . y ' . groes fhould be found fo far fuperior to all the circumftances of policy, difcipline, and union, on the part of the French, as to render the eftablifhment of an independent (late in St Domingo the necefiary refult of the conteft, what is there in the fituation of the other fet- tlements which (hould prevent the negroes there from following the example of their brethren to the weftward ? And what is there in the cir- cumftances of the two races which mould pre- vent the blacks from fucceeding in the other iflands, as we are fuppofing them to have done in St Domingo ? The negroes of Guadaloupe have tailed of liberty ; and the French have been attempting to^reftore the yoke. The ne- groes of St Domingo have lived in unbridled licentioufnefs : order has been re-eflablimed, and a reftoration of the yoke is attempted. In Guadaloupe, infurreftion is by no means un- known ; but it has produced none of thofe ef- fects which, in St Domingo, muft tend to weaken the force, and reftrain the barbarity of the negroes. It has neither glutted the fury, nor leflened the numbers of thofe favage men. In St Domingo, no farther danger is to be ap- prehended from the people of colour, at lead for a confiderable time : their race is at pre- fent almoft extinft. In Guadaloupe, the ftate of THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 167 of morals, during the laft ten years, has been s E c T * peculiarly favourable to the increafe of this race, s v ... ,, A law has indeed proclaimed them equal with the whites ; but unlefs the convention poffefled the power of radically altering the nature of men in the colonies, whilft at home it could not even change their political prejudices, we may be allured, that the mulattoes have conti- nued the fame degraded and oppreffed race that deftroyed the colony of St Domingo. The code noire of Lewis XIV. might have faved that ifland, had the power of the Great Mo- narch extended to the minds and the habits of his fubje&s. The fubfequent tyrannical enacl:- ments were modified in their application, by the manners of thofe in whofe favour they were made, and of thofe by whofe means they were executed. The decrees of the revolu- tionary legiilatures on colonial affairs, have not been more efficacious than thofe of Lewis, and have been prevented from operating the equa- lization of the mulattoes, by the fame caufes wtyich formerly mitigated the fubordination of that clafs. The conqueft of Martinico, St Lucia, and Tobago, has indeed prevented any infurredion in thofe iflands, by cutting off all communica- tion with Guadaloupe, and enforcing ftricl: dif- cipline, by means of a numerous army, formed L 4 partly l68 COLONIAL POLICY OF K partly of negro regiments, whofe attachment J . to the Europeans, whether in war or in revolt, I have frequently had occafion to notice. When thefe iflands are reftored, and the ne- groes in Guadaloupe have been fuccefsful in their efforts to throw off their yoke, it is not difficult to forefee the termination of the French dominion in the windward colonies. A conqueft uniformly weakens tfre power of that government which, after defeat and ex- pulfion, regains its authority by a treaty of peace. Every change of mailers is attended with a change of confidential fervants and fa- vourites j and thofe who profited by the old fyftem, are feldom very friendly to the new order of things. The white inhabitants in Martinico were by no means fo averfe to the republican government as a few royalifts re- prefented them ; and the campaign of 1 793 in the Weft Indies, as well as in Europe, mowed the juftice of the maxim which Machiavel has enforced with his ufual fagacity, that much confidence ought not to be placed in the Re- ports of exiles, * It can fcarcely be imagined, that * Dlfcorfi fopra la prima deca di T. Livio, lib. II. cap. XXXI. Quant ojia pe ricolofo credere a glijbandlti. ' ' Debbe adunqur un principe ' (fays he) ' andare adagio a pigtiare imprefe fopra la re/utione d'un confinato perche il * p'tu delle volts n: fe rejla o con vergogna b con danno gravlf- THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 169 that the Britifh government, after , conquering Martinico in the following campaign, mould treat the royalifts and the republicans in its new pofieflions with equal favour : flill lefs can it be fuppofed, that the Britiih government mould betray no partiality for the Britifh planters, who, in confiderable numbers, had made this ifland the place of their abode. They were enrolled in diftincl: corps, and entrufled with arms : they filled the mod confidential places : they belonged, in fhort, to the conquerors ; while the other inhabitants held their property and privileges by tolerance, not by right. The reiloration of the ifland to France, is at- tended, of courfe, with the re-eftablifhment of the republican government, under the un- mingled influence of the French inhabitants. The Englifh and the Royalifts are permitted, no doubt, if they think proper, to depart in rafety. But the colony was not merely the place of their abode ; it was the fcene of their fpeculations. They muft have fome attachment to that foil in which their capital is vefted ; becaufe they could not fell their property with- out confiderable lofs ; nor remove their flock, and vary the employment of it, without fome rifk. They will remain, therefore, to repay, by fubmimon and oppreffion, the advantages which they enjoyed under a more congenial fyftem | IJG> COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK fyftem : and their difcontents muft divide and ii. weaken the new government, furroimded by people of colour and flaves. Nor will the perils of fuch a neighbourhood tend at once to unite the different orders of the community which is expofed to them. Men are not always reconciled by community of dan- gers. The more immediate impulfe is gene- rally obeyed j and fentiments of jealoufy or hatred prevent the falutary operations of that wife" fear which ought to be excited by the profpecl of the greater, though perhaps more diflant evils. The fame blindnefs which di- vides nations whofe circurnftances imperioufly dictate the neceflity of making a common caufe, diflra&s alfo thofe branches of the fame fociety whofe exiftence feems to depend upon a cordial and intimate union. In ancient times, that blindnefs enabled Rome to conquer the world, by fomenting divifions, and then fub- duing her allies. In more enlightened ages, it has prevented the mafter principle of mo- dern policy from maintaining the independ- ence of the European flates. It opened to Cortes the gates of Mexico ; enthroned Pi- zarro in the temple of the Incas ; and, after fubjecting to the Britifh fceptre the peninfula of India, will moft probably extend our domi- nion beyond tjie Ganges. It put into the hands THE EUROPEAN POWERS. hands of Katharine the balance of the north ; s E c T * HI. and in the fouth annihilated the exiflence of a ,- rich and naturally powerful (late. It has led the tricoloured cockade over the fairefl por- tion of Europe ; and raifed up a generation of pigmy republics and kings around the com- mon enemy of national independence. In the colonies of the great nation, the fame princi- ple took a different direction ; armed againft each other thofe whom the fear of a common enemy ought to have bound together ; and taught each party madly to call in the aid of that body which, in the end, was fure to over- whelm both. We can fcarcely be io fanguine as to expect, that the different clafles of whites in the reflored iflands will prove exceptions to fo general a rule, and unite to flrengthen the hands of that government which mutt of ne- ceflity diftribute its favours with fome partia- lity. Yet the danger will be every thing but inilantaneous. The people of colour in the Windward Iflands have their paflions as well as in St Domingo. They have their grievances too, and their temptations. They will diire- gard the certainty of defeat by the negroes, in. the event of a complete change ; and, looking only to the gratification of their prefent feel- ings, will be callous to that fear which, in their circumftances, is the fame with wifdom. The COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK The free fubjeds, then, of the French colo- . nies which are reftored by the peace, cannot be expected to unite in one compact body, as if no conqueft had been made, or no difference of race had exifted. We may indeed remem- ber the dangers which threatened bur own power in the ceded iflands, particularly Gren- ada and Dominica, during the courfe of the late war, (not to mention the events of 1778 and 1779), from that animofity between the French and Britifh fubjects which twelve years fubmiflion to the fame mild and equitable go- vernment had not been able to extinguifh, and which the dreadful examples then exhibited in St Domingo could not reftrain. It is not therefore defponding too much, to conclude, that the French government will find it at lead as difficult to retain poffeflion of the conquered iflands, as to overcome the ne- groes and people of colour in thofe which have never changed matters. Admitting, what is evidently untrue, that the example and com- munication of thofe iflands which fhall have become fubject to the negro dominion, can produce no direct effects upon the others which (hall yet remain to France ; we may be af- fured, that, in thefe alfo, the very fame caufes will confpire to overthrow her dominion j and that,, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 173 that, after the extirpation of the whites has SECT. been accomplifhed in the more leeward of the . ' . French iflands, it will be chimerical to hope for the continuance of European influence in any of the reft. It is now only necefiary, that we caft our eyes on the map of the Carribbee iflands, to be convinced of the immediate fall which, in this event, awaits the windward fettlements of the other European powers. If the leeward pofi- tion of St Domingo mall be fuppofed to have fecured Porto-Rico and the leeward Charai- bean iflands, whilft the depredations and domi- nion of the new commonwealths were fpread- ing over Cuba and Jamaica, thefe are now ex- pofed to inevitable deftrudion from Guada- loupe and Martinico. In fact, the fituation of the Carribbee iflands, when expofed to fuch a neighbourhood, is much more critical than that of Jamaica, from three material circum- ftances. In the firft place, they are fo fmall, that af- ter an enemy has landed and ravage^ the coafts, their defence, by the manoeuvres and the ftratagems of protra&ed warfare, is almoft impracticable. Secondly, they are furrounded by the enemy, upon the fuppofition that all the French iflands have been fubdued by the Africans, whereas Jamaica COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK Jamaica and Cuba had only to defend one poiitf ._. y '_ _, of attack. But, Thirdly, and principally ; they are effential- ly weaker than the great Leeward iiland, by the conftitution of their fociety, in which the difproportion of the colours is much greater. In Jamaica, the negroes are to the whites as more than eight to 'one. The average propor- tion of the Britifh Charaibean iflands (exclufive of Barbadoes) is eleven to one : and this is divid- ed among them very unequally ; for in Antigua, within fight of Guadaloupe, the proportion is that of nearly fifteen to one ; in Dominica, placed between Guadaloupe and Martinico, it is above twelve to one ; and in Grenada, at a mort diftance to the leeward of Tobago, it ex- ceeds the proportion of twenty-three to one. If, then, the iflue of the prefent eventful conteft mail be the eftablifhment of the negro power in the French iflands, what reafon have we to hope for the Britifh Windward colonies ? The whole Charaibean chain will be overrun by the African hordes, as it formerly was by the lefs numerous and favage Charaibes. Barbadoes a- lone, from its pofition, from its ancient and conftant eftablifhment under the Britifh govern- ment, but flill more from its large proportion of white inhabitants (above one fourth of the ne- groes), may ftand out for a feafon ; but, either overrun THE EUROPEAN POWERS,. IJ $ overrun by the neighbouring fettlements, or de- SECT. ferted by its own negroes, it will, after a few L - years of refpite, only enjoy the trifling confola- tion, of being the lad to (hare the fate of thofe valuable poflfeflions. Similarity of fituation, produce, commerce, and internal arrangement, have led us to confi- der the fettlements in Guiana as forming part of the Weft Indian colonies. In feveral mate- rial points, however, they differ from the iflands, and from each other. Accordingly, they may be expecled to have in fome refpects a different fate. Notwithftanding the attention which the French government has uniformly beftowed upon the ifland and neighbouring fettlements of Cayenne ever fmce the lofs of Canada, we have already feen how extremely flow the pro- grefs of thefe colonies has been. The number of negroes in 1770 was eight thoufand, accord- ing to the Cenfus, * which, however, is always confiderably below the truth. In 1780, they were between ten and eleven thoufand f j and in 1794, according to the author of the ' Crifis, ' they did not exceed fifteen thoufand. { The fcarcity of negroes, arifmg from bad credit and * Malouet, Mem. &c. II. 43. f Neckar, Finances, torn. Ill, cap. 13. P. 37- 176 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK an d confined capital, has been the chief caufe ii. . of the ill fuccefs which has conflantly attended the efforts of France to improve this colony. This deficiency in the importation muft have made the planters more careful of their ftock in hand, and rendered the condition of the flaves more tolerable than in the other fettle- ments. Accordingly we find, that their enfran- chifement, in confequence of the decree of Plu- viofe, An. II, was attended with none of the confequences in Cayenne, which in the other colonies it was fo well calculated to produce. After their emancipation, the negroes in gene- ral continued voluntarily upon the plantations of their former mailers ; and no irregularities whatever were committed by thofe men who had thus fuddenly acquired their freedom. * But befides the milder treatment of the Haves in general, and the greater proportion of the Creole to the imported negroes, another circum- ftance peculiar to the continental colonies, renders the fituation of the whites far more fecure in Cay- enne than in any of the iflands. The original pofiefibrs of the foil exift there in confiderable numbers ; and they live in the immediate vicinity of the Europeans. By an intercourfe with their civilized neighbours, uniformly amicable and mutually * Voyage a la Guiane, &c. cap* XI. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 177 mutually ferviceable, they have acquired many of thofe artificial wants which traffic and labour alone can fatisfy. They are thus much lefs a- verfe to exertions of induftry, than the reft of the American Indians, whom the Spanifh and Portuguefe invaders never fuffered to remain in- dependent until they mould become accuftom- ed to voluntary labour. The French planters, in different parts of Guiana, have frequently fupplied the want of negroes by the induftry of hired Indians ; * and this refource rendered them much lefs dependent, than they otherwife would have been, on their flaves at the period of the revolution. But the neighbourhood of the Indians has been attended with ftill more important confe- quences. As the French have conftantly and fuc- cefsfully cultivated the good will of thofe tribes, and kept them at peace among themfelves, there can be no doubt that, in the event of a rupture between the planters and their flaves, the Indians would unanimoufly take part with the former, to whom they have, upon all occafions, evinced a warm attachment ; and would aflift them in fubduing and puniming the negroes, towards whom they have, in every inftance, mown a violent antipathy f j a fentiment which, it may VOL. ir. M be * Voyage a la Guiane, &c. cap. XVI II. f Ibid. 178 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK b e prefumed, the whites have been at no great ii. . pains to eradicate. From the concurrence of all thefe circum- flances, it has happened, that as the emancipation of the negroes in Cayenne was attended with no inconvenience, fo, neither has the reftoration of the yoke been productive of the flighted commotion. From the laft communications of the French government upon this fubjeft, it appears, that the Have fyftem and the flave trade, are re-eftablifhed in this colony ; and that the progrefs of cultivation, fo long retarded, has of late years begun to be accelerated ; probably, in a great degree, from the new obftructions to the employment of capital in the other fettle- ments. But, if this improvement continues, and, ftill more, if all the capital vefled in Weft Indian cultivation mall be forced towards Guia- na by fuch a cataftrophe as we have been fup- pofmg in the iflands, the conflant effects of ra- pid improvement in flave culture muft fol- low ; an increafed difproportion of negroes ; greater careleflhefs and cruelty on the part of the matters ; an excefs in the numbers of im- ported over thofe of Creole flaves ; and a rapid multiplication of the free people of colour : fo that, if to thefe circumftances there be added the eftablimment of the negroes in the Carrib- bee iflands, the ruin of Cayenne is not likely to THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 175 to be fo far diflant as its fecurity during the late SECT. tumults might at firft lead us to expert. . ' . The probable fate of Dutch Guiana will expofe Cayenne to new dangers. The Butch, as well as the French in South America, have carefully cultivated the friendfhip of their In- dian neighbours. But a variety of circum- ftances have concurred to prevent this alliance from fecuring the tranquillity of the Dutch fet- tlements. The extenfive capitals employed in Surinam, Berbice, &c. have (as we formerly obferved) * rapidly multiplied the numbers of the flaves. In 1769, they amounted to fifty thoufand ; the whites to four thoufand. f In 1777, the flaves had increafed to feventy thou- fand ; J and, in 1789, while the whites ftill re- mained about four thoufand in number, the ne- groes were eftimated at ninety thoufand jj. The treatment of thofe flaves, thus numer- ous and thus rapidly poured into a fettlement fo ill flocked with whites, was infinitely more cruel in the Dutch plantations than, in any o- ther, as we have before feen : And, in their annual importation of five or fix thoufand, thofe from the Gold Coaft were uniformly preferred . M 2 by * Book I. Sett. III.- Part I. f Ennery, (apud Malouet Mem. &c.) III. 190, + IbW. Jj Voyage a k Quiane, &c. cap. X. BOOK by t f lat gainthirfty people, as the mod capable . T ' . of hard work, though certainly the moil prone to rebellion. * To thefe never failing caufes of revolt and defertion, mufl: be added, the accidental circum- ftance of the Maroon negroes left in the country by the Englifli previous to their expulfion in the year 1666. This body, during the whole of the laft century, was truly formidable to the Dutch fettlements. On various occalions they were fuecefsful in the warfare which they per- petually waged again/I their civilized neigh- bours, in a regular and fyftematic manner. Their numbers being augmented by natural means, and receiving continual additions from defertion, they grew every day more formidable. The peace concluded with them in 1761, was founded fo exaftly on the ban's of equality be- tween the two parties, that the Dutch plenipo- tentiaries were obliged to ratify the treaty ac- cording to the African forms, f In 1772, a war again broke out with thefe dangerous neigh- bours ; and the States fent a large force for the prote&ion of the colony. So much was the exiftence of the Dutch power in America fuppofed to depend upon the fuccefs of the ex- pedition * Malouet, Mem. III. 135. f La Richeffe de la Hollande, cap. V. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. l8l pedition againfl the Maroons, that the intrigues SECT. of the houfe of Orange were anxioufly directed u , / towards obtaining a preponderance in the colo- nial affairs, by the adoption of one particular plan of military operations. For this purpofe, an officer attached to the Orange party was fent out ; the colony was divided between the con- tending interests ; both parties, as ufual, endea- voured to engage the interpofition of France ; and, at laft, the Maroon invafions were checked by the eflablifhment of a permanent cordon * round the whole of the fide expofed to the Ma- roon fettlements. Whilft continual preparations for warfare have reprefled and prevented the incurfions of the Maroons, the grievances of the flaves, and the increafe of their numbers, by the extended cul- tivation of the colony, have encouraged defer- tion, and rendered the neighbourhood of the in- furgents as dangerous as before. The influx of Britifh capital during the late war, mufl have increafed flill farther the negro population of thofe fettlements ; and the change of matters, and mixture of nations among the whites, will,* as ufual, be unfavourable to vigorous and fe- cure government. The operation of the cor- don muft, in one quarter at leafl, tend to pre- M 3 vent * Malouet, IV. - 182 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK ven f; a ii communication with the Indian nations ; . . and there is reafon to believe, that the Maroons have found no difficulty, of late years, in unit- ing themfelves with the natives by marriage. * If, then, the iflands fhould be in the pof- feffion of negroes, it is not eafy to conceive a colony placed in a more critical fituation than Dutch Guiana furrounded, as it will be, on all fides by independent negro dates, and peopled by a feeble and divided body of Europeans, min- gled with a mod difproportioned mafs of flaves, who have fo fuddenly been collected together, chiefly from the mod ferocious tribes of Africa, irritated by every fpecies of cruelty, and treated with the extremity of rigid parfimony. The exidence of the French on the other fide of the river Marrowni, is evidently incompatible with the event to which fuch a combination pf difficulties and dangers will mod probably lead. Thus will the ruin be accomplished of thofe fertile fettlements in which the race of civi- Jized men has been difFufed, the miraculous effects of commercial fpirit been difplayed, and the prodigies of European arts and arms exhibited for upwards of three eventful ages. The favage nations of Africa, renewing a- mong themfelves thofe horrors to which they have * Voyage a la Guiane, c. cap. X. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 183 have facrificed their matters, will fpread over s E c T - in the faireft portions of the New World the bar- . ' . barifm that ftill covers their native deferts. And thofe regions where, for a while, the brightnefs of poliihed life had feemed to dawn, will relapfe into a darknefs, thicker, and far more full of horrors, than that which was (mail we not now fay ?) unhappily penetrated by the daring genius of Columbus. * Nox atra cava circumvolat umbra. s Quis cladem Hints noffis, quis fttnera fando ' Explicet ? aut poffit lacrymis square labores ? * Urbs antiqua ruit, multos dominate per annos : ' Plurima perque vias Jlernnntnr inertia pa/Jim ( Corpora, perque domos^ et reltgiofa deorum * Limina Cm dells ubique * Luffiis, ubjque pavor 3 et plurima mortis imago. ' II. MA BOOK i8 5 111. INTRODUCTION. _N the lafl Book, we were occupied with the examination of the foreign relations of the members of a colonial fyfrem in general, and more particularly of the European colonies, confidered as independent of the mother coun- tries, and viewed as forming a great federal community of fubordinate or fecondary dates, contiguous in pofition, and refembling each other in their origin and hiftory. But the mother country mufl always be af- fected by every thing that affects its colonies, fo long as the colonial policy is purfued by mo- dern dates. A colony is, in fact, only a remote province of the empire ; but it is not on that ac- count lefs valuable either in itfelf, or as aflifting and enriching the other parts of the ftate. This I have explained at great length in the Firft Book. l86 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK Book.* Hence the councils of a ftate will al- INTROD wa Y s be more or lefs influenced by a regard to *"- ' ' its colonial poffeffions. The interefts of the contiguous provinces will fometimes give way to the fuperior interefts of the colonies ; as the fortunes of the latter will, in mod cafes, be made fubfervient in their turn. Not only ought the domeftic policy of the ftate to be made fub- fervient in many inftances to that of the colo- nies its foreign policy mould alfo yield in the fame manner to the policy dictated by the ex- ternal relations of the colonies. This, however, has not often happened ; I have before fhewn f that the quarrels of the mother country alone are, in almofl every inftance, the caufes which involve every part of the empire in wars j that the foreign relations of the colonies are almoft always fubfervient, and poftponed to thofe of the parent ftate ; and that, fo far from involving her in their quarrels, they fuffer more than any part of the fyftem by the proper quarrels of the metropolis. Certain circumftances may, how- ever, occur, in which it is to be prefumed, that the policy of interfering in behalf of the colo- nies would be allowed by all. Thofe circumftan- ces are chiefly of two kinds. In * Seft. I. & II. f Book I. Sea I. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 187 111 they?/y? place, the colonies of a ftate may BOOK be directly attacked in fuch a manner as to mew INTROD clearly an intention of infult, or to demonftrate ' / ' views of ambition in the aggrelTor : no nation can poffibly tolerate either, without demanding immediate reparation and fatisfa&ion. The common principles of felf-prefervation muft im- pel her to defenfive meafures ; the principles of honour muft induce her to perfift in op- pofing force by force, even although me would previoufly have given up the invaded colonies without any remuneration : and common feel- ings of juftice muft incline her to view fuch aggreflions or infults, as equally injurious, whe- ther they are made in the remote or contiguous provinces of the empire. In cafes of this fort, no one can for a moment entertain a doubt that the mother country is imperioufly called upon to make war upon all the parts of the aggreffbr's dominions with all her own forces. Doubts may be entertained as to the expediency of colonial pofleffions, but no hefitation can ever be (hewn upon the queftion of war, when the colonies actually in her pofleffion, are invaded. On this point then, I mall not infift any farther. But, In the fecand place, a neighbouring na- tion may extend its colonial -dominions to a dangerous degree, by the conqueft of fome third colony, or of fonie of the native powers j or l88 COLONIAL POLICY OF or g reat an d fudden changes may take place * n ^ e i nterna l ftru&ure of its colonial fyftem, without any extenfion of its magnitude by con- quell or ufurpation; or plans may be laid for ac- quiring an extent of territory in other parts, not immediately belonging to the colonial commu- nity, yet ultimately fatal to its colonial neigh- bours in that community, if attended with fuc- cefs. None of thefe meafures can, indeed, be conflrued into a direct aggreflion ; (till lefs into an infult upon the national honour. If you have not guaranteed the conquered power, or united your fortune to its fortunes by defen- five treaty, you cannot be faid to be imme- diately concerned in the affair ; and thofe who doubt the propriety of interfering at all in fuch cafes, will certainly deny the expediency or fuch guarantees and defenfive alliances. On the other hand, it has uniformly been the the policy of modern times to view with jea- loufy every fuch meafure of a rival or neigh- bour, and to confider each event in the inter- national fyftem, as immediately affe&ing all its members. After all wars undertaken upon thofe principles, it is ufual, and indeed not unnatural, for men who think war the only great national calamity, to call in queftion the foundnefs of doctrines, from which much ap- parent evil has proceeded, balanced only by advantages THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 189 advantages of a nature too refined or remote BOOK to be perceptible to all obfervers. The fyftem INTR OD. of modern international policy has accordingly ' * ' been called in queftion repeatedly, during the courfe of the iSth century, and at no time more vehemently arraigned, than during the eventful period in which we have lived. I have endeavoured, in the Firft Book of this Inquiry, to mow, that it is a narrow policy which would confider colonies as feparate and fubfervient appendages of the flate ; that they are integral parts of the empire which is happy enough to polfefs them ; and that they ought to be confidered as fuch in all arrangements of do- meftic policy. I mall now endeavour to mew, that the fame principle ought to be extended to tjie foreign policy of the flate ; that in questions of this nature alfo, they ought to be viewed as parts of the empire ; and that, accordingly, the queftions of interference, balance of power, alliances, guarantees, &c. ought to be decid- ed, with refpecl to colonial relations, upon the very fame principles on which we may decide them with refpecl to the primary foreign rela- tions of the flate. I mail therefore now con- fider, in general, the principles upon which the modern fyftem of international policy is found- ed, and mail endeavour to mow that it is eflen- tial to the ftate of modern fociety. I mall at the COLONIAL POLICY OF the f ame time confider the circumflances in the natural fituation of colonies, which render thofe principles more peculiarly applicable to fuch eflablifhments. As the chief purpofe of this Third Book is to mow what line of policy is dictated to the European powers by the prefent flate of the French colonies, and that flate into which it is probable that they will very foon re- lapfe, even if tranquillity mould for the prefent be reilored ; moreover, as this particular inqui- ry is intimately connected with the general quef- tions of interference, for the fame reafons that the fubje&s of European policy in 1792 were connected with the fame queflions, it will ap- pear clearly how neceffary the general inquiry is, even for the difcuflion of this fpecial quef- tion. This Book, then, divides itfelf into two Sections. In the Firft, I mail explain thofe principles upon which the modern fyflem of foreign po- licy is founded in the highefl reafons of neceffi- ty and expediency, and thofe circumflances which render it peculiarly applicable to the co- lonies, even if we mould not confider them as integral parts of the fyflem to which they be- long. In the Second Section, I mail confider what is the line of foreign policy recommended to the European powers, both in the colonies, and in Europe THE EUROPEAN POWERS. Europe with a reference to the colonies, by the BOOK in prefent ft ate of colonial affairs. This Inquiry INTR Q D will confiil chiefly of a comparifon of the con- ' v ' clufions deduced in the laft Book, with thofe deduced in the Firfl Section of this Book. SEC- COLONIAL POLICY OF SECTION I. OF THE FOREIGN POLICY OF STATES IN GENERAL AND AS INFLUENCED BY THEIR COLONIAL RELATIONS. BOOK THE balance of power, and the general fy- . |[L j ftem of international relations that has grown up in modern Europe, have afforded to one clafs of politicians perpetual fubjecl of ridicule and invective, and to another clafs the conflant op- pcrt^r/ity of defending or attacking every mea- . or affecting to diicufs ev.;ry political fubject, by a reference to certain terms of art and abilraft ideas, of which it is fair to fufpedb that they little underftood the meaning and the force. Of thefe re^'~"Ts or declaimeK, the former feel are undoubtedly the mod dangerous. The refinements of modern policy which have fprung from the progreflive improvement of the human fpecie.s, and have, in their turn, fecured that pro- grefs, and accelerated its pace, are in no danger of being either corrupted, or brought into diire- pute, by the petulance of pretended ftatefmen. But the fophiflries and cavils which political fceptics and innovators have founded, partly on THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 193 a mifconception of the theory, and partly on a SECT. miftatement of the fads, tend directly to a de- _. gradation of the fyftem in the eyes of fuperficial reafoners, and may ultimately renew a ftate of things, from which the unaffifted efforts of na- tional heroifm would be altogether unable to redeem any one community. The attacks of thofe men have, moreover, been extremely inconfiftent and contradictory. While, at one time 4 they maintain, that the idea of a political equilibrium is pregnant with every fpecies of abfurdity, and would produce, if car- ried into the actual affairs of nations, thofe very evils which the fyftem is extolled for prevent- ing : at another time, they tell us that the no- tion is fimple and obvious ; that it arifes natu- rally out of the paffions of men ; that it is no refinement of modern ftatefmen, but has influ- enced the councils of princes and common- wealths in all ages of the world. Now the balance of power is an unintelligible jargon, in- vented to cover every fcheme ; to furnifh pre- texts for every act of national injuftice ; to lull the jealoufy of the people in any emergency j or to excite their alarms upon any occafipn. Now it. is ufelefs and fuperfluous ; an interfer- ence with the natural order of things ; or an attempt to effect that which would happen at any rate. Now it is pernicious in the ex- VOL. n. N treme : COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK treme ; the parent of war and oftenfive allian- .^. y ' . ces ; the exciting caufe of national violence ; the watchword of ambitious princes and deftroy- ing commonwealths ; a refinement only of in- juftice ; and a fyftem of nothing but treachery or caprice. It is very manifeft, without any ar- gument, that the fyftem of modern policy con- not be liable to all thofe accufations at once, and that the declaimers who have ufed fuch language with refpecl: to it, muft have been talking of very different things at different times. * But as the foreign policy of nations was never, at any period of modern ftory, fo in- terefting as at prefent ; as the primary relations of ftates to each other are generally thofe which determine their external colonial policy ; and as this whole fubjecl: has never yet been treated of in a general and fcientific manner, I {hall pro- ceed, in the firft place, to offer a few obferva- tions upon that fyftem, which has been fo little vmderftood either by fpeculative writers or prac- tical politicians. The national jealoufy, by which at all times the European ftates are animated, and which ranges them on different fides in each public crifis, has been denominated, not a principle of policy, but a national emotion. Nations, it is faid, * Note li THE EUROPEAN POWERS* 195 faid, like the individuals which compofe them, SECT. are moved by caprice, and actuated by paflions ; . ' excited to contention by envy and hatred ; foothed to reconciliation when exhaufted by the efforts of their enmity ; leagued in friend- fhip by the dictates of an interefted prudence ; united together by the thirft of plunder ; or combined for the gratification of fome common revenge. The principle (we are told) that has been pompoufly called the great fpring of civilized policy, is perhaps nothing more than a fyftematic indulgence of thofe natural feelings which impel the favage to attack his more wealthy neighbour, or unite rival hordes in a temporary friendfhip, when invaded by a powerful and common enemy. The policy (it is added) which we have heard extolled as the grand ar- canum of modern ftatefmen, and dignified with the title of a fyftem, is nothing more than the natural refult of a conflict between the defire of conqueft and love of fecurity, refined on by in- genious men, and fpun into a regular theory. Thefe remarks are partly true, and partly unfounded. It is true, that nations are guided by human councils, and fubject, of courfe, to the paffions and caprices of men ; but it is no f cfs certain, that the more regularly any fyfterri of government is eftabliihed, the more will men. of fober minds acquire a weight in the manage- N 2 ment COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK men ( O f a ff a i rs . anc j tnat the longer the art of . ' . adminidering the concerns of empires is prac- tifed, will prudence gain the greater afcendancy over pafiion. It is true, that the dictates of feelings not always amiable, and often outrage- ous, are frequently, more than any impulfe of reafon, the fprings which actuate the operations of dates ; but it is equally true, that in all ani- mals, the pafllons themfelves, even thofe mod liable to abufe and mod fatal in their effects when too ftrong, are implanted for the wifefl of purpofes ; that inftincl is the principle to which more than reafon the prefervation of life, the population of the world, and the main- tenance of order in the univerfe mud be afcrib- ed ; and that national councils may be operat- ing what no forefight could combine, while they appear to be fwayed only by prejudice and paf- fion. The exidence of rude dates is indeed frequently preferred, and their civilization in- fured by the operation of principles, to aflid the developement of which is the great pride of the mod learned and fldlful datefmen : yet, the want of this aflidance in thofe rude times, and the want of a condant fuperintendance and con- troul which renders the popular feelings ufeful in one cafe, and harmlefs in another, is certain- ly the caufe of that indability of national pow- er, and thofe perpetual changes of dominion thofe THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 197 thofe conftant broils, and that ftat^ of unceaf- SECT. ing infecuiity, to which we may attribute the , __, many revolutions in the lot of favage communi- ties, the frequent vicifiitudes of their political fortunes, and the long continuance of their bar- barifm. That the fyftem which we are now confider- ing has oftentimes been abufed, no one can de- ny. What human inftitution can defend itfelf from this charge ? But many of the evils which are afcribed to the principle in queftion, have been owing only to an erroneous concep- tion of its nature. Many of them have arifen from failing to carry the line of policy recom- mended by it, to the lengths which it enjoins ; and, in not a few inftances, thofe events which have been deemed pernicious, would have prov- ed altogether fatal, had they not been modified and controuled by its influence. We are defir- ed, with no fmall appearance of triumph, to view the hiftory of the lad century ; and to mark the manifold wars which the balancing fyftem produced ; the various intrigues to which it gave rife ; the definitive conquefts of which it furnimed the pretext ; and the national cataf- trophes which it could not avert. But had it not been for that wholefome jealoufy of rival neighbours, which modern politicians have learn- gd to cherifh, how many conquefts and changes N3 of COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK o f dominion would have taken place, inftead . of wars, in which a few ufelefs lives were loft, and fome fuperfluous millions were fquander- ed ? How many fair portions of the globe might have been deluged in blood, inftead of fome hundreds of failors fighting harmlefsly on the barren plains of the ocean, and fome thou- fands of foldiers carrying on a fcientific, and regular, and quiet fyftem of warfare, in coun- tries fet apart for the purpofe, and reforted to as the arena where the difputes of nations may be determined ? * We may indeed look to the hiftory of the laft century as the proudeft aera in the annals of the fpecies ; the period moft diftinguifhed for learning, and fkill, and induftry ; for the milder virtues, and for com- mon fenfe ; for refinement in government, and an equal difFufion of liberty; above all, for that perfect knowledge of the arts of adminiftration, which has eftablifhed certain general rules of conduct among nations ; has prevented the o- verthrow of empires, and the abforption of weak ftates into the bodies of devouring neigh- bours ; has fet bounds to the march of con- queft, and rendered the unflieathing of the fword a meafure of the laft adoption ; where- as, in other times, it was always reforted to in the firft inftance. In * Book I, Sea. I. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. I In the beginning of that century, we faw SECT. the gigantic power of France humbled by a co- ' i r alition of princes, each refolved to undergo immediate lofs, and run a great prefent riik, in order to prevent the greater chance of ruin at the diftance of a few years. In ancient times, the Stadtholder would have been more jealou-s of Britain or Auftria, than of France. The Great Monarch, like Caefar, would have found a Divitiacus in the heart of the empire. By fplitting the neighbouring potentates into adverfe factions, and fighting one againfl the other, he would in a few years have fubjugated the whole. No power would then have con- ceived that common prudence required an im- mediate -facrifice of peace, in order to ward off a diftant peril. All would have waited quietly till the invafion came on ; then, fighting with a defperate, but an infulated valour, all would have been conquered in detail, by the ambiti- ous enemy of Europe ; and the (lory of the Roman Empire would have been renewed, when fubmiflion to foreign power, lofs of li- berty, and interruption of peaceful purfuits, were no longer the phantoms of vulgar terror, or the themes of idle declamation, but real, and imminent, and inevitable calamities. In the middle of the century, we indeed faw an ancient crown defpoiied of its hereditary N 4 provinces ; 2OO COLONIAL POLICY OF provinces ; and the neighbouring ftates in vain attempting to crufli the new-born energies of the Pruffian power. It is, however, extremely doubtful whether the principles of an enlight- ened policy would not have favoured the rife of a power, whofe profefled and natural object ua the balancing of the Imperial Houfe, and the protection of the fmaller princes of the em- pire againft the preponderating, and formerly abfolute, fway of the Auftrian monarchs. At any rate, admitting the other powers to have been actuated by no fuch principles, or to have viewed the policy of Pruffia as tending to the deftruction of the equilibrium, it is clear that the fuccefs of the Silefian ufurpation muft, according to thofe views, be attributed to the actual dereliction of the balancing fyftem, and not to its inefficacy ; for, both in the Silefian and in the Seven-years war, * the part of Pruf- fia was openly efpoufed by fome of the great powers ; in the former, by France and Bava- ria ; in the latter, firfl by England and then by Rufiia herfelf. The prefervation and accu- rate adjuftrnent of the balance might perhaps have required fome fuch event as the acquifi- tion * It is well known that the peace of Drefden was only a truce ; that the war of i 756 owed its origin to the caufe of the former conteft ; and that the pofleffion of Sikfia wa$ only fecured by the peace of Hubei tfburg. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 2OI dan which Pruffia actually made ; but if the s E c T - immediate object of the fyftem, the mainten- ^ . ance of the eflablilhed divifion of power, was held to be a more important confideration', it is clear that the -part of Pruffia ought not to have been taken by France and Bavaria, in the one cafe, or by England and Ruifia in the other, until the ufurped dominions of Auftria had been reftored ; and then, the allies of that power ought inftantly to have deierted her, if me did not remain fatisfied with the fruits of their interference. Soon after the Seven-years war was termi- nated, the difmemberment of an ancient Euro- pean kingdom was projected, by the powers who had been mod exhaufted in the Sileunn conteft, and who wimed to indemnify them- feives for their loffes, at the expence of the Poles. The fuccefs of this iniquitous tranfac- tion, although it only demonftrates that [he modern fyftem has not been carried to its proper length, that it is incapable of changing the nature of men, or difarming the ambition and rapacity of princes, has been always quoted by a certain fet of politicians, as an irrefrag- able proof of the futility and inefficacy of the great principle of modern politics. That cala- mitqus event is indeed a fufficient proof, that fhe ilatefmen of Europe had for a while forgot- ten 5202 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK ten t h e } r mo ft f acre d principles ; and that the . princes who did not interfere to prevent it, were blind to their bell interefts. It ferves, therefore, to fhow us what would be the fitua- tion of the world, were the maxims of ancient times to be revived, and the falutary fyftem of modern Europe to lofe its influence over the councils of dates ; but, for this very reafon, the partition of Poland cannot, with any truth, be faid to prove the inefficacy of thofe prin- ciples, by acting in direct oppofition to which, the great powers of Europe permitted it to take place. If, however, the policy of the neighbouring ftates provided no check to the injuftice of the partitioning powers, the influence of the ba- lancing fyftem upon the conduct of thofe par. ties themfelves, was productive of the moft important and beneficial effects. Had the an,- cient maxims of national indifference and in- fulation prevailed in the cabinets of princes, at the crifis of Polifh affairs in 1772, the dif- tra&ed (late of that unhappy country would indeed have called in the interference of fo- reign force. But this interference would have proceeded from one quarter alone. Poland would have been overwhelmed, and its vaft re- fources appropriated, by one only of the con- terminous powers, probably by the Ruffian empire, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. . 203 empire, which would thus have fuddenly ac- SEC T. quired a preponderance fatal to the reft of Eu- . ' rope; and, without receiving any check from the proportional aggrandizement of the neighbour- ing dates, would have been enabled to flretch its refiftlefs arm into the very heart of the great weftern commonwealth. But the prevalence of that national jealoufy, and anxious attention to the affairs of other ftates, which is the ma- fter principle of the modern fyftem, prevented the ufurpation of Ruffia, even at the moment when me was actually miflrefs of the kingdom, when me garrifoned the capital with her troops, and ruled the national councils by a viceroy, under the name of ambaffador. With all thefe circumftances in her favour, (he was not even the firft propofer of the partition. Her natural enemies, Auftria and Pruffia, actually gained a greater fliare of the fpoil j and, inftead of being the firft victims of her extended empire, as they infallibly would have been in ancient times, they have themfelves acquired, at the fame moment, an increafe of refources, which enables them effectually to withftand the aug- mented force of her power. Although, then, it is extremely abfurd to adduce the partition of Poland as an inftance pf the balancing fyftem, (after the manner of the 2O4 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK the Pruflian ftatefmen *), it is equally ridicu- ^ lous to affert, that it proves the inefficacy of that fyftem, or to deny that the reft of Europe has been faved by the influence of thofe prin- ciples upon the parties in the ufurpation, which mould have led the other great powers of Eu- rope to prevent it. It is fcarcely neceffary to remark, that I by no means intend to affert any thing further than the injuftice and impolicy of the tranfaction upon a great fcale : at prefent, I only look to the effects of the balancing fyftem in main- taining the independence of the weaker ftates. The cafe of Poland appears to be one of the very few inftances which have ever occurred, of a nation being placed in fuch unnatural circum- ftances of embarraffment, turbulence, and de- gradation of every fort, that no change of af- fairs could poflibly render it worfe, and fcarce any revolution, by domeftic violence, or fo- reign invafion, could fail to alter it for the bet- ter. Setting apart the high-founding phrafes of patriotifm and national fpirit, and the feel- ings * Count Hertzberg (the King's firft minifter in 1772), in a fpeculatire eflay on this fubjeft, gives the partition as an appofite cafe of the balancing fyftem. It was made, he fays, * felon les pr'mcipes d'une balance dont les trois puif- * fanc- f s partageantes ctoient convenues entrc elks. ' Mem, top. i. p. 296. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 2Q ings of admiration which the very natural emo- SECT. tions of pity have taught us to couple with the ^ name of Poland, it is impoffible for a fober- minded obferver not to perceive, that ages of the moll debafing fervhude had utterly difqua- lified the Polifh boors for enjoying the privi- leges of free fubjefts ; that a lifetime divided between unceafing tumult in public, and the revellings of a boifterous, barbarous hofpitality, had utterly unfitted the reft of tfte State from co-operating in the formation of a conflitution which mould poflefs either energy or regula- rity ; and that the happiefl event which has ever befallen the fine country of Poland, has been a difmemberment, wept over and de- claimed upon by thofe who had no experience of its neceffity, or need of its benefits. Thofe benefits have moft undoubtedly been the paci- fication of that unhappy kingdom, by the only means which human fancy could have devifed for accompliming this end, without endanger- ing the fecurity of the other powers, namely, a fair divifion of the country among the neigh- bouring and rival powers, and a confequent communication of the ineftimable bleffings which their ancient fubjects enjoyed under a fyftem of peaceful government and regular police. The 2O6 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK nfhe memorable events which took place in. , , at the clofe of the i8th century, it is almofl needlefs to obferve, were the immediate confe- quence of an adherence to the principles of the modern fyftem of international policy. The internal (late of France would never have alarmed the neighbouring nations in ancient times. Without anxiety, they would have feen the overthrow of all regular government, the progrefs of Jacobin contagion, and the de- velopement of thofe popular energies which armed a people, devoted exclufively to war, with refiftlefs power to accomplim the grand object of their demagogues, the overthrow of altars and thrones, and the eflablifhment of univerfal empire. Far from combining to re- iift the progrefs of the new horde, they would have fplit into factions, and aflifled its deftruc- tive courfe. No efforts to check it would have been thought of, until all refiftance was too late ; nor would thofe modern Gauls have found refiftance effectual to oppofe them from the Manlius of any capitol in Europe. That this has not been the fate of every thing re- fined and valuable in Europe, is owing to the degree in which the maxims of the balancing fyftem began to operate their ufual effects at the very moment when the firft changes took place in France. But, that much injury has been THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 207 been done ; that many independent ftates have SECT. been humbled ; that fome powers have been . y ' , overwhelmed; and that melancholy changes have been effected in the distribution of domi- nion, has been owing to the unprincipled am- bition of certain princes, and the taint of difaf- feftion in the people of fome countries ; which have, together, prevented the modern fyftem of external policy from being followed out, and have given to the common enemy of national independence, an advantage proportioned to the negled of thofe found and neceflary principles. Let us hear no more, then, of the lad cen- tury, as affording arguments againft the balance of power. That eventful period in the hiftory of mankind, has been marked by the formation of vaft fchemes, which either by their fuccefs may allure, or by their failure may warn, future ilatefmen to cling flill clofer by thofe maxims of conduct which are necefiary to the preferva- tion of liberty and peace. The remarks which have been frequently made on the knowledge of the ancients in this branch of policy are for the mod part jufl. Mr HUME, fo far as I know, is the firft who dif- tinctly ftated this point, in an effay, replete with accurate reference, and fignal acutenefs of claf- fical illuftration j but mingled alfa with fome in- jurious perverfions of facts in more recent hifto- Ty; and with the rniilatement, in one or two- points BOOK points of the great fyftem itfelf, which he ap- i , t '_ , pears to treat with difrefpect. * The celebrated pafTage in Polybius, which has fo often been quoted, f is indeed a diftinft ftatement of one general principle in that fyftem ; and the ora- tions of Demoflhenes contain fome difcuffions of the mofl delicate parts of the theory dif- cuffions which, from the events of his times, we may be afl\ired were but imperfectly compre- hended in thofe early ages. { But the number of difcoveries, or inventions, which have beeii 1 fuddenly made in any branch of knowledge, is fmall indeed. All the more important fteps in the progrefs of the human mind, may rather be termed improvements, than inventions : they are refinements upon methods formerly known generalizations of ideas previoufly conceived. By how many fmall and flowly following fteps was the true nature of the planetary motions brought to light ? By how many infenfible gra- dations did that theory receive its explanation, from the great law of gravitation, which, con- ftantly and univerfally afting, keeps each body in its -place, and preferves the arrangement of the whole fyftem ? In like manner has that theory of political expediency been gradually unfolded, * Eflfay on the Balance of Power, f Polyb. lib. i. cap. 83. $ Particularly the famous fpeech for the Megalopoli- fans THE EUROPEAN POWERS, 2O unfolded, and its parts refined, which regulates s E c T - the mutual actions of the contiguous nations of . Europe ; fubje&s each to the influence of others, however remote ; connects all together by a common principle ; regulates the motions of the whole; and maintains the order of the great complicated fyflem. As the newly difcovered planets are found to obey the fame law that keeps the reft in their orbits : fo, the powers which frequently arife in the European world immediately fall into their places, and conform to the fame principles that fix the pofitions and direct the movements of the ancient ftates. And as, even in this enlightened age, we have not yet fucceeded in difcovering the whole ex- tent of the planetary law, or in reducing certain apparent irregularities of the fyftem to the com- mon principles : fo, in thefe days of political improvement, we have not attained the utmoft refinements of international policy ; and have ftill to lament the many irregularities which continue to diflurb the Arrangement of the Eu- ropean commonwealth. It is not, then, in the mere plan of forming offenfive or defenfive alliances ; or in the prin- ciple of attacking a neighbour, in order to weaken his power, before he has betrayed hof- tile views ; or in the policy of defending a ri- val, in order to flay, in proper time, the pro- VOL. u. O grefs 210 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK g re f s O f a common enemy it is not in thefe . v ' . fimple maxims that the modern fyftem con- fifts. Thofe are, indeed, the elements, the great and leading parts of the theory; they are its moft prominent features ; they are maxims dictated by the plained .and coarfeft views of political expediency : But they do not form the whole fyftem j nor does the knowledge of them (for it cannot be pretended that ancient ftates were in poffeflion of any thing beyond the fpeculative knowledge of them) compre- hend an acquaintance with the profounder and more fubtile parts of modern policy. The grand and diftinguifting feature of the balanc- ing theory, is the fyftematic form to which it reduces thofe plain and obvious principles of national conduct ; the perpetual attention to foreign affairs which it inculcates ; the con- flant watchfulnefs over every motion in all parts of the fyftem, which it prefcribes ; the fubjetion in which it places all national paf- fions and antipathies to-, the fine and delicate views of remote expediency ; the unceafmg care which it dictates of nations moft remotely fituated, and apparently unconnected with our- felves ; the general union which it has effect- ed, of all the European powers in one connect - ed fyftem obeying certain laws, and actuated in general by a common principle j in fine, as a . THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 21 r a confequence of the whole, the right of mu- SECT. tual infpeftion, now univerfally recognifed a- . aiong civilized ftates, in the rights of public envoys and refidents. This is the balancing theory. It was as much unknown to Athens and Rome, as the Keplerian or Newtonian laws were concealed from Plato and Cicero, who certainly knew the general effects of gravitation upon terreftrial bodies. It has arifen, in the progrefs of fcience, out of the circumftances of modern Europe; the greater extent and nearer equality of the contiguous ftates ; the more conftant intercourfe of the different nations with each other. We have been told by hiftorians, * that the principle of the balance of power, was a difcovery of the fifteenth century, made by the Italian politicians, in confequence of the inva- fion of Charles VIII. Again.fl fuch ftatements as this, it is perfectly fair to adduce the argu- ments of Mr Hume and others, who have traced, in ancient times, much more refined notions of policy, than any that dictated the Italian defenfive league. It was, in truth, not to any fuch, fingle event, that the balancing fyflem owed either its origin, or its refinement ; but to the progrefs of fociety, which placed O 2 the * Robertfon's Charles V. vol. I. 212 COLONIAL POLICY OF i B oo K the whole flates of Europe in the fame relative < ,1^, fituation in which the States of Italy were at that period j and taught them not to wait for an actual invafion ; but to fee a Charles at all times in every prince or commonwealth that ihould manifeft the lead defire of change. The circumftances of the European flates have been fingularly favourable to the deve- lopement of thofe principles of eafy and con- ftant union, of which I formerly defcribed the tendency to promote national intercourfe *, and to render Europe a united whole within itfelf, almoft feparated from the reft of the world a great federacy, acknowledging, in- ' deed, no common chief ; but united by cer- / tain common principles, and obeying one fyf- I tern of international law. It is from thefe natural fources, through this gradual progrefs, and not fuddenly from any accidental occurrences in the fifteenth cen- tufy, or from the cabinets of particular ftatef- men* that we muft deduce the refined fyftem of interference, which has regulated, for fo long a time, the councils of Europe in foreign affairs : and we are to confider the union of the Italian ftates againft the invafion of Charles, merely as a fymptom of the fame progreflive improvement, * Book II. Sea. III. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 213 improvement, which has fmce taken place in s E c T - the other parts of Europe. .... The queftiori, of the propriety of a nation interfering with thofe concerns of its neigh- bours, which 'have only a remote connexion with its own interefts, may be ftated in two different forms ; either as a general queftion applicable to any ftate, or in its particular re- ference to the fituation of a nation placed in certain circumftances. Thus, many politi- cians, who have no hefitation in recommend- ing the balancing fyftem to fuch powers as Auftria and Pruflia, placed in the heart of Eu- rope, and furrounded by many other ftates of various complexions and magnitudes, are yet of opinion, that the fituation of Britain is very different ; that fhe is, by nature, infulated from the reft of Europe ; that me can defend her- felf againft any invafion, by means of her na- tural barrier and internal refources j and that me ought not to facrifice the improvement of thofe refources, and the means of maintaining peace, to the vain wifh of holding the Euro- pean balance, and embroiling herfelf in the ftormy politics of foreign ftates. To enter fully into the difcuffion of this great national queftion, would carry me much beyond my neceffary limits : But I cannot avoid remark- ing, that, fo long as Great Britain is engaged O * in 214 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK j n a commercial intercourfe with other na- \ ' . tions ; fo long as her infular fituation only ferves to promote and extend thofe commercial relations ; fo long as other ftates poflefs a large portion of fea coaft, engage in a wide commer- cial circle, and are acquiring a navy of formi- dable power ; fo long as Britain interferes with them in other quarters of the globe, where her dominions are the mofl valuable and ex- tenfive ; fo long, in a word, as me ftudioufly affeds the colonial fyflem of policy ; it is an abufe of language to talk of her being fepa- rated from the continent of Europe by the flraights of Dover. The tranfport of an army by fea, is often more eafy than the march over a confiderable tract of land. The fate of a naval engagement is generally more quick, de- cifive, and dependent upon fortune, than the fiege of barrier towns, or the forcing of moun- tainous pafies ; and the elements may, by re- taining the Britifh fleets in Plymouth or Portf- mouth, while they waft the enemy's fquadrons from Breft or the Texel, deftroy in a moment that bulwark to which we vainly intruded the national defence, and render utterly ufelefs the whole natural force of the country, which, after a change of weather, may difplay, triumph- antly, its flags over every fea in Europe, while the Confular legions are revelling in the plun- der THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 2*5 der of the bank, or burning all the dock-yards SECT. in the kingdom. To fay that England may . . . - truft to her fleets, then, is to recommend a full reliance upon the chance of a fmgle battle, or the event of a fea chafe ; to inculcate a filly confidence in good fortune, and to counfel, that the fate of Great Britain mould be committed to the changes of the elements, the miffing of a wind, or the fettling of a fog. It is to her armies, that every nation, infular or continen- tal, muft look for her fure and natural defence. But although it would be abfurd to recom- mend, that the internal refources of a country mould be neglected, either in order to favour its naval force, or in order to commit its de- fence to the movements of intrigue, and the efforts of foreign policy ; yet he would be an equally dangerous counfellor, who mould ad- vife us to neglect thofe means of preventing war, and of rendering it harmlefs when it does occur, which are only to be found in a com- pliance with the principles of the balancing fyflem. When the different nations of Europe placed their whole glory in the fplendour of their war- like renown, and attended only to the improve- ment of their military refources, every perfon of free rank was a foldier, and devoted his life to the profeflion of arms. But, ^s foon as the Q 4 arts 2l6 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK ar ( S O f p eace acquired an afcendancy, and other < fame betides that of martial deeds was fought after, war became an object of dread, as de- ranging the main operations of fociety, and expofmg the national independence to unfore- feen cafualties and dangers. Indead of being followed for its own fake, it was now only re- forted to as a neceflary evil, to avoid a greater rifk. The firfl great confequence of this change in the occupations and character of men, was the feparation of the military from the civil profeffions ; the intruding a fmall clafs in each community with the defence of the reft ; the adoption of (landing armies, by far the mod ^ / important improvement -in the art of govern-/ ment, with which hiftory has made us ac- 1 quainted. As this great change has difarmed \var of aimed all its dangers : 'fo, another change, equally important, has arifen out of it, rendered wars much lefs frequent, and con- fined their influence to a fmall portion in the centre of the Continent. The European powers have formed a fpecies of general law, which fuperfedes, in mod indances, an appeal to the fword, by rendering fuch an appeal fatal to any power that may infringe upon the code ; by uniting the forces of the red inevitably a- gaSnft each delinquent ; by agreeing, that any project of violating a neighbour's integrity, flial! THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 217 {hall be prevented or avenged, not according s E ( to the refources of this nti^hbour, but accord- ^^^_j ing to the full refources of every other mem- ber of the European community ; and by con- flantly watching over the flute of public af- fairs, even in profound peace. Such, at leait, would be the balancing fyfiem, carried to its full extent j and fuch is the ftate of refinement towards which it is conflantly tending. The divifion of labour, too, and the feparation of the military profefiion, has been carried, by fome of the richer nations, to a (till greater extent than the mere, embodying of (landing armies. Thofe dates, which are the mod in- jured by the operations of war, are alfo the richefl in fuperfiuous flock. They have con- trived a fpecies of pecuniary commutation of war, fimilar to the commutation of military fervice, which .paved the way for the introduc- tion of {landing armies : they have managed to turn off the battle from their gates, by pay- ing lefs wealthy allies for fighting in their caufe at a fafe diflance. The operations of war are in this manner rendered very harm- lefs, and a foundation is laid for their gradual difufe. A few ufelefs millions, and a few flill more ufelefs lives are facrificed ; the arts of peace continue to flourifh, fometim^s with in- creafed profperity j and the policy of prefer- Ting 2l8 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK r ing to purchafe defeat at a diftance, rather I1T< , than victory at home of paying allies for be- ing vanquifhed, rather than gain the moft fplendid triumphs on their own ground has been amply rewarded by the fafety, increafed refources, and real addition of power, which refults from an enjoyment of all the fubftan- tial bleffings of peace, with the only real ad- vantages of neceflary warfare. * I have mentioned, among the circumftances which connect a country like Great Britain with the politics of the Continent, the poflef- fion of colonies. In fact, nothing can more directly contribute to give any (late an interefl in the concerns of all its neighbours, than the adoption of colonial policy. When a coun- try is of moderate extent (as I before remark- ed), f its movements are eafily .planned, and its external policy is of a very fimple confi- deration. All its interefts may be perceived at one glance ; they occupy a narrow fpace ; are all in the fame direction ; and do not op- pofe each other in different quarters. The ter- ritories, being compact and fituated in the neighbourhood of the government, may be eafily and promptly defended, on whichever fide * Book I. Sea. I. -j- Book II. Sea. II. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 2l fide they are attacked, and however fudden SECT. the invafion may be. Offenfive operations may . y ' be carried on fmgly from any point, without the danger of diverfions and reprifals in other quarters lying at a diftance and ill defended. In all thefe particulars, the fituation of a poli- tical fyftem, comprehending various and fcat- tered dominions, is widely different. The mo- ther country cannot move without confidering well the pofition in which her colonies may be left. An aggreffion on a colony, in like manner, will draw the metropolis into danger. Neither, in providing for the defence of the ftate, is it fufficient, that the territories lying contiguous to the centre of the empire be placed in fecurity. The more difficult tafk re- mains to be performed, of fecuring the colo- nies thofe points to which, in modern times, the efforts of the chief enemy are in general directed. * We have already feen, -j- how much lefs adapted a colonial eftablifhment is to the o- perations of warfare, than a primary and inde- pendent ftate. An enemy may, by fome fud- den movement, eafily make himfelf mailer of fuch a diflant part of the empire, by arranging all . * Book I. Sed. I. V Book II. Sea, I, 22O COLONIAL POLICY OF a u n i s own offenfive operations in fecret, and concealing every meafure calculated to put the colonial government on its guard, until the moment that the florm is ready to burfl. The only mode which is left of recovering this poffeffion, is an attack upon all the other parts of the enemy's dominions. But feveral cir- cumftances muft be taken into confideration, as influencing all fuch operations. In theyfoy? place, the power which has been defpoiled of its colonies by the fudden opera- tions of its neighbour, may be very inferior in refources to the aggreflbr, and may find it utterly impomble to attack him with any prof- peel: of fuccefs. That power may, never the- lefs, be quite able to maintain its independence at home, and to fupport its place in the Eu- ropean fyflem, from the fuperior efficacy of primary government, and the advantages of a defenfive pofition. Thus, it would be ex- tremely difficult, perhaps impoffible, for France to conquer Spain by a regular invafion of the European peninfula : at all times, however, me has had it in her power to feize the Spanifh territories in the Weft Indies. If France had taken pofleffion of Trinidad and Spanifh St Domingo, or the Havannah, how could. Spain have regained thofe valuable pofTeflions by any attack upon France in Europe ? In THE EUR.OPEAN POWERS. 221 In like manner, we may now (I apprehend) SECT. admit, that the conqueft of France, by the fingle ,- ^ efforts of Great Britain, is impoffible. She has, however, generally had the fuperiority in the colonies, both of the Eaft and Weft Indies : and when me avails herfelf, during war, of this fu- periority, France can never, by direct invafion of Great Britain, hope to regain her loft co- lonial pofieffions. In the fecond place, although the power whofe colonies are liable to invafion, may be a match for any one of its neighbours, and may be fully able to recover the loft pofiefTion by diverfion or direct attack, a combination of neighbours may be completely ruinous to its interefts, and prevent it from attempting thofe reprifais which might lead to a reftimtion of the conquefts that have been made. Thus, Portugal could by no chance whatever keep any conqueft me might make from Spain in America, or from France in the Eaft : an invafion of her territo- ries in Europe, would make the cabinet of Lif- bon, and caufe an immediate furrender of the fpoil. But, mould Britain unite with Portugal in Europe, to defend her againft Spain, it is evident, that Spain might be defpoiled of what- ever colonies a fudden movement had put into the pofleflion of her feeble neighbour. For 222 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK F or thefe reafons ; fir ft. becaufe the ftate in .__ ' . poflefled of colonies may either not be a firft- rate power, and unable to (land alone ; or may be unable to obtain reflitution by offenfive operations and reprifals, although a firft-rate power and able to ft and alone ; and, fecondly, becaufe a combination of rival powers may en- able any ftate to extend its colonial pofieffions at the expence of a firft-rate power, which could eafily have defended or regained its colonies from any fingle enemy it is abfo- lutely necefiary, that fome means mould be re- forted to for preferving diftant and expofed pro- vinces, beyond the mere unaffifted force of the mother country. The means pointed out by the policy of modern Europe, confift in the re- fources of foreign policy. If a ftate values its colonies, and is unable at all times to defend them, or to reconquer them when loft, it may, by uniting its interefts with another power placed in fimilar circum- ftances towards the common enemy, both im- mediately prevent its own lofs of territory, and in general curb the enemy's ftrength. If the colonies of Spain are feized by Britain, it would be in vain for her to contend with the force of the Englifh navy ; but me may call in the af- fiftance of France, whofe colonies and commerce are alfo expofed to the Britifh power ; whofe fi- tuation THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 22 tuation and purfuits render her the rival of Eng- SECT. land. As the dominions of Portugal, too, lye f expofed to the power of Spain, and as Portu- gal, for this very reafon, is an ally of Britain, Spain may make reprifals on Portugal, and by increafing, or threatening to increafe, her Euro- pean territory, obtain the reftoration of her co- lonial dominions, from that fear of deftroying the European balance by which every European power is naturally actuated. In fad, fomething of this kind happened in the Seven-years war. The fineft fettlement in the Spanifh Weft Indies had been conquered from Spain by Britain. Spain, wholly unable to invade either the Britifh co- lonies or the Britim dominions in Europe, in- vaded Portugal, when me found that even the alliance of France was infufficient to fave her diftant territories in that war, fo uniformly glo- rious to Great Britain. Portugal, though aflift- ed by Britain, would probably have yielded ; but her integrity was faved by the ceffion of the Britim conquefls in America. In like manner, the extent of the colonial conquefts made from France during the fame war, both in North Ame- rica and in the Eaft and Weft Indies, and in the German war itfelf, had probably, together with the expofed (late of Portugal, fome mare in procur- ing for Spain the reftitution of her moft valuable ifland ; and tended, by diverting the force of the Britim t24 tOLDNlAL POLICY OF BOOK Britifh aims to thofe quarters, and preventing it . _ y ' . from falling fo heavily upon the Spanifh colo- nies as it ptherwife mud have done, to fave Portugal, and enable Britain to retain from the enemy whom me had moft defpoiled, a defin- able part of the conquered territory. The con- quefts made from Spain were reflored almoft as foon as they were completed. Had the victo- ries in Canada been gained for the defence, as they were for the ccnqueft of a colony, their connexion with the campaigns in Germany w r ould have furnifhed an equally appofite illu- ftration of our general pofition. At any rate, that conquer! was entirely of a fubordinate na- ture. It was undertaken for the defence of the North American colonies ; it may be reckon- ed almofl as much a defenfive meafure, or a meafure of reprifals, as the recapture of Gib- raltar would be, or the taking of Guernfey and St Marcou. It would never have been thought of, had it not been neceffary for the prefervation of the colonies already in our pofTeffion ; and it could not have been made without the aid of the campaigns in Europe. The interference of Great Britain in the affairs of the Continent, was here fubfervient to her colonial, as well as to her European interefts. America w r as defended, rather than conquered, in Germany. France was driven, by the fate of European campaigns, from a natural part of .THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 2^5 of the Britifh colonial empire, of which fhe had : long kept pofleffion ; and the victories on the . St Laurence would in all probability have been infufficient to transfer the pofleffion of that im- portant territory, had France been fuccefsful in curbing the power of the King of Pruffia. If a ftate is opprefled by the combination or aggreffive alliance of feveral of its neighbours, nothing can be more natural, than that it mould defend itfelf by the fame means, and feek for the means of reconquering its colonies, by making offenfive leagues againfl the aggreflbr with fome power, which may in its turn be expofed to a fimilar injury from the fame quarter. Thus,' were a union between France and Britain to de- prive Portugal of her natural ally, and to prevent her from making reprifals upon France in Eu- rope, for the purpofe of regaining any of her colonies which France might have conquered, it would be the manifefl intereft of Portugal to feek the alliance of Spain ; and me, on the o- ther hand, being expofed to a fimilar danger from the new leagutf, would unqueitionably u- nite to force a reftitution of the conqueft. Au- ftria, too, from her European policy, would be obtained as a party to the alliance, although un- connected with the colonial interefts ; and Hol- land, both from colonial and L iropean views, would certainly join the common caufe againft VOL. n. P a 126 COLONIAL POLICY OF B o o K a league, equally hoftile to all the colonial and ., ' . all the European interefls of the different pow- ers. This policy would be imperioufly dictated to Portugal and thofe other powers, by a regard for their colonies, admitting that the fmgle force of each nation could refill the new confederacy at home. But, in the third place, it may be for the intereftof a power poffeffing colonies, to turn its views towards foreign policy, although no im- mediate danger threatens any part of its own colonial dominions. If a weak neighbour is ftript of colonies, or a weak native power is de- fpoiled of provinces in the vicinity of your own colonial fettlements, you are not, indeed, im- mediately injured ; you are not even directly threatened ; but the enemy of your neighbour may attack you next ; and the conqueft of that neighbour's colony has enabled him to feize your's with refiftlefs force. To wait until the blow is levelled with this increafed force, would evidently be foolifh in the extreme : prevent the arm from acquiring fuch powers, and never trufl to its ufmg the new ftrength with harmlefs moderation. ' Cui plus licet ' quam debet, femper phis velle quam licet. ' This holds of the foreign policy of a flate which has no colonial affairs to look after : but it holds doubly of one which has fuch af- fairs. A ftate,. which has only its own defence to THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 227 to provide for, may often truil to its internal SECT. refources, the fpirit of its fubjefts, and the ._ energy cf its adminiftration, for its defence againft the increafed power that an enemy has been fuffered to accumulate. The defence of a colony or remote province is a much more difficult tafk. We have formerly feen, that fuch fettlements poflefs few of thofe refources which enable a ftate to meet new emergencies and increafed dangers with extended efforts of national ftrength, and that the keeping of the country in fubjeclion is always part of the dif- ficulty attending its defence. Its fituation, then, muft be full of dangers, if the colonial power of a rival has been fuffered to acquire a fuddeh, increafe ; or if feveral of the native ftates have been fuffered to coalefce under one govern- ment, by conqueft or otherwife ; or if fome of the other colonies have fallen a facrifice to thofe powers ; or if the colonial fyftem of a neighbouring power has been deranged, its re- lations to the mother country deftroyed, and an independent community formed in its place. In proportion as colonial government and re- fources are always lefs to be depended on than thofe of primary ftates ; and in proportion as more is left to accident and fortune and fud- den movements of force or manoeuvre, in colo- nial warfare, than in the contefts of independ- P a ent 22? COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK ent ft ates . f 0^,. the ftatefman, entrufted IT-I. <- with the adminiftration of colonies, to keep a more watchful eye over the motions of all neighbours and enemies. They have to de- fend a part of the empire which is naturally feeble, and is connected with the reft by a fickle tenure : they ought then to ftrengthen and fecure it by all thofe fubfidiary meafures fo neceffary to prevent any crifis from endan- gering the weak part. The more healthy mem- bers of the body may ftand alone, and ftruggle by their native ftamina againft any unforefeen combination of accidents ; but the feeble Hmbs need extraneous fupport, and cannot, without imminent danger, be expofed to new and critical- fituations. A body in thofe cir- cumftances ought never, without abfolute ne- ceffity, to leave that (late of repofe in which a- lone its hopes of fecurity lye ; and nothing but a careful and vigilant attention to the affairs and plans of all its neighbours, can ever pre- vent the neceffity of adive exertions. It mud not wait till the attack comes on, fo full of rilks and dangers ; but prevent the approach of fuch a crifis, by leaguing with powerful neighbours, whofe affiftance may render the adoption of hoftile meafures certainly fatal to the enemy. It muft conftantly interfere in behalf of the eftablifhed balance of power; muft THE EUROPEAN POWERS. mufl prevent any change whatever from taking SECT. place in any part of the fyftem ; and muft not , ' . permit any neighbour to gain a dangerous in- creafe of power, by fwallowing up a weaker neighbour, left this change may bring on that crifis which it has fo much reafon to appre- hend will prove fatal, and left the total or even partial deftrudion of this neighbour may pre- vent the acquiiidon of his alliance and aflift- ance againft the common enemy. It is almoft unneceflary to give examples, or to put cafes in illuftration of thefe remarks. An acquifition of power by Pruffia would cer- tainly be dangerous to the Imperial Houfe > yet, provided that acquifition is not made at her expence, Auftria might probably be in- duced, by a (hare of the fpoil, as me was in 1774 and 1794, to connive at a change only indiredlly hoftile to her interefts. Although found views of policy certainly dictate the moft vigilant attention to her rival's affairs, and the moft unremitting care to prevent any change ; yet the effects to be apprehended from every increafe of the Pruffian influence, are by no means immediately ruinous to her power, or fatal to her fafety. The vigour of her govern- ment may draw forth new refources to meet the new dangers ; the fpirit of her people may be roufed, as it was in one part of the ftate, towards 230 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK towards MariaTherefa, by loyalty and almoft iu- iii. . . . i ' _, perflitious attachment to that illuftrious Houfe, or by an extended portion of civil liberty being wifely communicated to the mafs of the imperial fubjecls. The refources already in her pofiefficn may be economized by falutary reforms, or di- rected with more effect by wife changes in the civil and military adminiflration. The ftrength xvhich her rival has been allowed to acquire, may in this manner be refifted, and a (land may be made, until the other ftates have time to interfere ; and Britain may then be faved by the refources of federal power, added to her own exertions of individual force. But if any ftate poffefled of valuable colo- nies, as Great Britain, has incautioufly or ti- midly permitted a neighbour to extend his co- lonial refources, or a new and independent power to arife in the colonial fyftem ; if, for inftance, me has allowed France to matter fome of the Portuguefe fettlements ; or the French {laves or their maflers to erect in any of the iflands an independent commonwealth, it is e- vident that the Britim colonies cannot be fav- ed from ruin by any of thofe fudden exertions which a great crifis of affairs is calculated to call forth in primary and free ftates. A refift- ance cannot be expected long enough to allow the aid of alliance or diverfion to be called in. In THE EUROPEAN POWERS. i$l In the one cafe, the alliance of Portugal is out s E c of the queftion, fmce Britain did not make ._. v ' , a common caufe with her in the feafon of her difficulties : at any rate, her power to af- fifl has been either deflroyed or greatly dimi- nimed by the events which have happened ; and in the cafe of a new power arifmg in the fyftem, the means of making diverlions, or calling in the aid of alliances, are not to be ob- tained, for the reafons which I have formerly explained. * It is therefore the undoubted in- tereft of Great Britain to prevent every in- creafe of power which her rivals in the colo- nies may attempt to obtain ; to prevent the e- ftablifhment of any new community in that quarter, and, in general, to maintain the actu- al balance of the colonies. We have hitherto confidered the neceffity of foreign policy to a nation pofTeffed of colo- nies, in order to defend thofe colonies, and prevent them from being feized by an ene- my. But we have frequently had occafion to obferve, that total conqueft is only the great- eft, not the fole evil which can befal a flate. -j- Extenfive and alarming injury may be done to a nation by unfuccefsful invafion j and a co- P 4 lony Book II. Sea. II. f Book I. Scft. I. COLONIAL POLICY OF lony may be ruined to all intents and purpofes by a war, which may cover the troops of the mother country with laurels, and terminate in the complete defence, or even in the exten- fion of her colonial dominions. It is therefore of importance to take fuch preventive meafures as may fecure the colonies from invafion. It will often be in the power of a Mate to avert the war from its own fettlements, by turning that calamity towards fome part of the ene- my's dominions, or to fight two neighbours againft each other, one of whom might have annoyed the colonies, if unemployed. Thus, in the fame manner that colonial territories are highly ufeful to a (late, by affording a field in which war may be carried on with- out prejudice to the body of the nation : fo, the refources of foreign policy, may be called in to protect thofe colonies from the dangers of invafion, and to turn off the attack, or at leaft exhauft its fury in foreign contefts. The ilates which poffefs colonial territories are thofe which poffefs mofl fuperfluous wealth, and can bed afford to bribe or fubfidize allies. It is for their higheft advantage fo to employ their refources, as to fave their own territories from invafion. Next to their European terri- tories, their colonies call for the fame afiift- ance. They are indeed much more expofed to attack from their remote pofition and in- ternal THE EUROPEAN POWERS. *33 ternal weaknefs, as well as from the wifh SECT. which every European power has to turn the . dangers of war away from the metropolis, and to increafe its colonial dominions. But at any rate, a ftate pofTefTed of fcattered territory prefents more points of attack ; touches in more parts the dominions of rivals or ene- mies ; and, confequently, has more need of that policy which may enable it to avert the dangers of actual invafion, by diverfions, al- liances, and political intrigues. We may conclude, then, that, in every point of view, it is flill more for the mterefl of a nation pofleffing colonies, than for the in- tereft of a nation compact and fituated in one quarter of the world, to regard, with a watch- ful eye, every proceeding of its neighbours ; to interfere in their concerns ; to prevent their ufurpation ; to maintain the actual balance of power, by checking every attempt at ufurpa- tion or oppreflion ; to keep down the power of rivals, by befriending the weaker ftates; and, by acquiring a place and footing in the general concerns of the international fyilem, to retain the conflant power of defending all its poflef- fions in the fafefl manner, and preferve that tranquillity fo neceflary to its .colonial affairs. If the ftate in queftion is an ifland, this conclu- fion flill holds -, for, whatever may be faid of 234 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK its foreign relations in Europe, it is not inful- ( IIL , ated in the colonies, but forms an integral part of the colonial fyftem, as much as if it were fi- tuated in the heart of the European Conti- nent. Such are the general outlines of the modern fyftem, founded upon a conftant attention to the prefervation of a balance of power. The fcience which profefles to difcufs the general principles of this fyftem, and their particular ap- plication in detail to the aclual fituatron of the European powers, is, of confequence, next to jurifprudence and police, the mod important that can occupy the attention of the ftatefman. It has however been alleged, that this is an inquiry reducible to no general or fixed princi- ples ; that it does not deferve the name of fcience ; that it depends on the caprices of a few individuals, and the variations in their views or meafures, occafioned by accidental occur- rences. Mr HUME, in particular, at the very time when he recommends the drawing of our conclufions on fubjects of domeftic policy, as fine as it is poffible, adds, ' that in thefe af- ' fairs, the inferences reft on the concurrence ' of a multitude of caufes, not, as in foreign ' politics, upon accidents, and chances, and c the caprices of a few perfons. ' * It may, however, * Political Eflayf. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 235 however, be obferved, that the very fame gene- SECT. ral arguments, fo irrefidibly dated by tr- acute . and profound writer to prove that politics may be reduced to a f^nce, -j- apply as well to the foreign, as to the domedic policy of a date. A few more particular remarks on this point may ferve to fet it in a light fufficiently driking ; and to illudrate, at the fame time, the general foun- dation of the dability and expediency of the modern fydem. i. All the governments of Europe have tended uniformly, and not very (lowly, towards greater freedom and mildnefs, fince the rife of the commercial policy of modern times, and the general diffufion of knowledge by the art of printing. Indead of a collection of defpots, actuated, in all their plans of internal and ex- ternal arrangement by caprice or accident, the i fydem of European princes is now an aflem- blage of deputies from the different nations, which have intruded them with certain powers and commiffions for' the public good. In the execution of their trud, indeed, they are not di- rectly accountable to any human authority ; but, even in the dates where no conditutional con T troul is appointed to the power of the crown, the indirect influence of a numerous and en- lightened people is uniformly drong upon the councils f Effay III. ~ 7 ~ 2^6 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK councils of the monarch. It is always his in- , ' , tereft to rule by gentle and agreeable means, and to further, by every meafure in his power, the profperity of his ftate. This intereft, though for a while it may be concealed from his eyes, or overruled by oppofite paffions, can never be long hidden from him ; but muft always, in the long-run, force itfelf upon his attention ; and be, for the mod part, the guide of his conduct. The, government of the moft defpotic princes oifers conflant examples of a fubmiffion to that opinion, which can there fcarcely make itfelf heard ; and not a few inftances of obedience to the voice, which, from its refiftlefs power over divahs .themfelves, has been emphatically- called the voice of God. A check is thus provided for the violence of royal paffions, and a guide or regulator for the movements of even a def- pot's caprice. In the free governments of mo- dern Europe, however, the influence of public opinion is direct ; the voice of the nation is ac- knowledged ; and the will of the people is in general obeyed, the only doubt being as to the particular line of conduct which that voice and will directs. 2. As almoft all princes rule by the advice of minifters, and muft execute their decrees by the affiftance of a great number of deputies j the connexion of thofe men with the people at large j THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 37 large ; their refponfibility to their country ; the s E c T. odium and perfonal danger which attaches to a ._ ' . failure of any plan executed by their interven- tion, whether fuggefted by their councils or not ; muft quicken their perception of every national danger ; and embolden them to with- ftand, in the cabinet, any pernicious meafure dictated by the ignorance or caprice of their matter. Where fo many muft thus, in feme degree, concur in every aft of the fovercign power, and fo many are refponfible, in the eyes of the country, for every abufe in the govern- ment, it is manifeft that the chances of wilful mifrule, through the unprincipled caprice, or rafhnefs, or levity, or paffions of a fmgle mo- narch, are considerably diminifhed ; and that the true interefts of the country, in its relations to foreign Mates, can only be loft fight of or thwarted, during cafual intervals, when the mi- nifters are utterly carelefs of popular opinion in comparifon of their matter's will, and the tyrant is fo mortiighted and fo corrupted by his unfortunate fituation, as to defpife his belt interefts and difregard his chief danger. The aftual refponfibility of every minifter to the country, even in governments the moft un- principled and defpotic ; and the fubmiffion of the Sovereign to the will of the people, however debafed, is proved by fo many ftrikmg fafts of common 338 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK common notoriety, that it is fcarcely necefiary , ^ ' . to (late them in illuftration of the foregoing re- marks- ' The Soldan of Egypt ' (fays Mr HUME *) ' or the emperor of Rome, might ' drive his harmlefs fubjects, like brute beafts, ' againfl their fentiments and inclinations ; but ' he muft at lead have led his Mamelukes or c prastorian bands, like men, by their opinion. ' There is evidently fomewhat of inconfiflency between the two parts of this propofition. For, unlefs thofe Mamelukes and praetorian guards were fo numerous as to command the whole (late, and fo fepanued from the reft of the commonwealth as to participate in no degree in their feelings, and to be altogether unconnected with their wrongs, it is clear, that in the long- run they muft have been influenced by the na- tional opinion. At any rate, although, in the dome/iic concerns of Egypt or Rome, the in- terefts of the two orders might be frequently oppofed to each other, and thofe of the people be negle&ed, there can be no doubt that, in the external relations of the ftate, the two clafles formed but one body, and the beft interefts of the whole were the fame. The caprice of the foldan or emperor, then, could never, for any length of time, ftifle or difobey the voice of thofe * Eflay IV. on the Principles of Government. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 1 thofe bands whom he had to guide by their s E c good-will, and rule by their opinion ; that is, ^ by partly yielding to, and partly directing their wifhes. In the moft defpotic governments of the Eaft, the fury of a mob frequently obtains a change of miniflers, which is always a change of meafures. The vizier who commands a van- quifhed army, who advifes an unprofperous war, or concludes a difadvantageous peace, is gene- rally bowftringed at the firft murmurs of the mob, and his body thrown to appeafe them. This is a facrifice made by the moft abfolute of monarchs to the will of the moft enilaved peo- ple in the world. The power of the Grand Signior, which lays every Muffulman proftrate at his feet, does not extend to the enacting of any law which might add to the taxes of the empire. He may crufh the proudeft of his ba- fhaws, and fqueeze from the richeft of his offi- cers every particle of their accumulated wealth : he may bowftring thoufands, whom ancient opinion and religious prejudice has taught to believe that their lives were made for his fport : but he dares not iffue any regular ordinance for a fingle general impoft ; or the fame people, who, in the ftrange contradictions of this unna- tural ftate of fociety, had luffed the axe that was lifted againft their lives, would now raife their 240 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK their united voice with a force powerful to fhake , __j the innerrnofl receffes of the feraglio. When Peter the Great of Ruffia wilhed to invert the order of fucceffion to the Imperial throne, from an unnatural antipathy to the Tzarowitch, whofe rights had formerly been in fome degree acknowledged, he did not think it fufficient to iffue an exprefs edicT:, declaring the power of the Emperor to fix upon any fucceflbr that he chofe. He began, by accufloming the minds of men to fuch an unfettled and arbitrary mode of inheritance, in cafes of private pro- perty. He publilhed a previous ordinance, ob- liging each father to bequeath his whole real property to one of his children, leaving him the choice of his heir. This fmgular barbarian, notwithflanding the many vices that ftained his character, and the conflant cruelties in which his reign was fpent, had the merit of beginning the civilization of his boundlefs empire. He wimed to raife his favage and enflaved people to the rank of men ; and the ordinance which I have mentioned, is an inftance of fubmiffion to their will, from a real or fuppofed neceflity, and from a wilh to bring about a change in their opinions. The fucceeding Tzars have ad- opted a regular mode of receiving the opinions of the mod refpe&able and enlightened part of their fubjeds, and of impofing a check on their owft THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 24! own authority. Upon a new and general law SECT. being drawn up, the ukafe containing it is tranf- . ^' . mitted to each of the government l s, and the vice- roys may affemble the different courts to confi*. der it. If they unanimoufly difapprove, they may prefent a reprefentation againfl it to the fenate. The law is reconfidered, and is not obligatory on the realm, until another ordi- nance has been ifTued confirming the former. * The filly paffion for legiflation which diftin* guifhed the Emperor Jofeph II, produced ma- ny laws difagreeable to the people : and al- though the whole tenor of that weak monarch's reign demonftrates how little he was difpofed to recognize the rights of his fubje&s ; yet thofe obnoxious regulations were generally abrogated almofl as foon as patted. While he was dra- gooning the provinces of the Netherlands into a furrender of their moft facred privileges, and purpofely acting in direct oppofition to the wifhes of his conftituents in the Imperial diet, he could not obtain the acquiefcence of Auftria (where his power is abfolute by law) in a trifling and abfurd regulation prefcribing the interment of dead bodies in lime-pits : and the difcontent of that part of his empire obliged him to aban- don this idle meafure. f VOL. ii. Q^ 3. * Tooke's Ruffian Empire, rol. II. p. 395. j- Mirabean, Monarchic Pruffienne, torn, IV. p. 472. 4to edit. COLONIAL POLICY OF 3. It muft be evident to every one, that the only reafon why the theory of international re- lations has been fuppofed incapable of being re- duced to fixed principles, is, the apparently fmall number of men concerned in regulating the external policy of ftates. Where a great body of people are nearly interefted, and take a part in each meafure ; where their confent, advice, or acquiefcence, is neceffary to the exe- cution of every plan, it is clear that there is al- ways a much fmaller chance of capricious and irregular operations being carried through, than where 'one or two individuals only are con- cerned. It is a remark of Machiavel, diftin- guifhed by his ufual acutenefs and profundity, that although, in matters of general difcuflion, the people are often miflaken, yet, in matters reduced to particulars, they are moft fenfible and judicious ; that the prince is much more apt to be ungrateful, both through avarice and fufpicion, than the people j that the multitude is generally both wifer and more conftant than the prince ; and that thofe leagues or confede- racies are moft to be trufted which are made with free ftates, than thofe which are made with princes. For the demonftration of thefe im- portant and curious propofitions, both by rea- foning and illustration, I refer my readers to the difcourfes THE EUROPEAN POWERS. difcourfes of the Florentine Secretary, * more particularly the fifty-ninth chapter of the firft book, which is moft in confonance with our prefent reafonings, and contains as ftricl: a de- monflration of the principle, as any that we meet with in geometry, making allowance for the different nature of the evidence, f As we have feen, that in all ftates, whether free or enflaved, the regulation of public affairs is, in fome degree, influenced by public opinion, and that the moft defpotic princes are not free from its influence, either directly or through their fubordinate agents ; it may be inferred, that the principles of the Italian ftatefman are applica- ble, in fome meafure, to the movements of all independent communities ; and that the exter- nal, as well as internal affairs of ftates, are the more fteady, and the more reducible to certain laws, the greater the number of men is, to whofe management thofe affairs are entrufted, and the more extenfive the circle is, whofe opi- nion or will affecls that management. 4. The relative interefts of different nations are affected by various circumftances, either un- (^ 2 alterable, * Difcorfi fopra la prima deca di T. Livio. Lib. I. cap. 29, 47, 58, & 59. f Cap. lix. Di quali ctnfederationi o lega ahrt Jt fuo plu f,dare t o quella fatta con una Republic a, e di qutllt) fatta fen utffriactpe. 244 COLONIAL POLICY OF B o a K alterable, or only ftowly alterable, in their rela- tive fituation and domeflic ftate. The know- ledge and comparifon of thofe circumftances, forms the foundation of the fcience, the prin- ciples of which we are now confidering ; and it is very evident that this knowledge muft be of as difficult acquifition, as it is important and practically ufeful. For, in order to have a clear view of the foreign relations of any power, it is neceHary to be acquainted with the circum- ftances, not only of that nation, but of all the reft which compofe the European common- wealth ; to learn accurately their political ftate ; to inveftigate their national characters and ha- bits ; to confult minutely their ftatiftical fitua- tion : fo intimately is the federal power (the puijfance federative of the foreign politicians) blended with the internal force, and the rela- tive pofition with the infulated ftate of any country. The temporary circumftances of the different powers deferve alfo to be conf;dered in a practical point of view : the court in- trigues ; leading characters of the military or political departments ; and the diftinguifhed men in the literary world. Thefe make up, in the great book of politics, what may be called the chapter of accidents ; and it is a chapter which perpetually fets all the inferences and calculations of the other parts at defiance. Ex- cept THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 245 cept this laft head, it is obvious that every o- ther branch of the fubject is general, and redu- cible to fixed principles : the other circumftances which I have enumerated are of a general and invariable nature, or they vary ilowly and regu- larly, or according to certain laws, which it is the bufmefs of the political philofopher to afcer- tain. The laft kind of circumftances which I mentioned, are, indeed, more irregular, and their difturbing force is not denied. But,' in confidering the effects of the former, we muft lay out of view thofe deranging caufes, as we demonftrate (in Dynamics) the properties of the mechanical powers, without taking into view the effects of friction, or the refiftance of the medium in which the powers operate. In a practical point of view, thofe difturbing caufes muft be carefully weighed ; and to inveftigate them, is the bufmefs of the lawgiver, the prince himfelf, his minifters of ftate, with his agents in diplomatic affairs : in a word, of the practi- cal politician or ftatefman ; a character of di- ftinguifhed rank in every country, filling at once the moft dignified and difficult place which man can occupy, and very little deferring of thofe ill-tempered invectives which Dr SMITH has been pleafed to heap upon it, in a fit of peevifh- aefs, not unnatural to one who had feen how SECT. 1. 24-6 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK yer y feldom this great and important character __ has been adequately fupported. * That fuch difturbing caufes do exift to af- fed the foreign relations of every ftate, is no more an argument againft the fcience of which we are treating, than the undoubted exiftence and effects of caufes exactly fimilar in the do- meftic policy of ftates is a reafon for denying (what no one now thinks of doubting) that the principles of government are reducible to a ge- neral and certain fcience. The degree of vi- gour inherent in any form of government the freedom enjoyed by the people the influence of the privileged orders upon the great engine of the ftate all thefe are liable fo be affeded every moment, and are actually affe&ed by the characters of the leaders in the different depart- ments of the conftitution. Yet no one, fince the days of Ariftotle, has denied, that the doc- trines of a monarchical, ariftocratical, and de- mocratical government are reducible to certain general * My readers will be amufed with the little piece of ill humour which this truly great man vents upon the ftatefman or politician, in the paffage here alluded to. He calls him * an infidious and crafty animal ; ' forgetting, furely, that Cae- far, Cato, Demofthenes, Richlieu, and many others, who have made the world tremble at their names, or revere their memory, mud be ranged in this very clafs. Wealth of Na- tions t Book iv. cap. 2. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 4^ general principles ; and that the nature of go- SECT. vernment, in general, is a fubjecl: of fcientific _. ' ; inquiry. In fact, the foreign affairs of nations are much lefs apt to be influenced by accidental events, than is generally imagined. The death of a civil or military chief, who had fupported the greatnefs of a ftate, by the vigour and wif- dom of his councils, or the glory of his arms, is feldom, if ever, a caufe of great change in- the relative importance of that country. Great men rife in certain circumftances; they are difciplined in particular fchools ; they train up fucceflbrs for themfelves ; they are called forth by certain emergencies in public affairs. This is more particularly the cafe in great fyflems, either civil or military in the extenfive go- vernments, or vaft regular armies of modern times, all the operations of which are combin- ed, and mutually dependent one upon another. As thefe can only be carried on by the united exertions of many perfons of the fame habits and caft of talents, their fuccefs muft always depend on the union of men whofe abilities and experience in their arts are extenfive. If the general or the ftatefrnen falls, his place will be filled by fome of thofe whofe talents have affifled him in fubordinate branches of employ- ment; and the conftant demand for merit, in a certain department, will generally excite men 24$ COLONIAL POLICY OF R /"\ f\ rf to apply their attention to the acquifition of i i- i the excellence fo much wanted, and fo fplen- didly rewarded. Great occafions draw into public life fuch men as have long been labour- ing to fit themfelves for their ftation ; and new talents, new powers, frequently fpring up in a man's mind, when he is placed in a fituation of preeminent difficulty and fplendour fufficient to cah them forth. The great object of every nation mould be, to remove every impediment or check that may prevent fuch men from rifmg into the ftations for which their natural or acquired faculties render them fit. Under a free government, the reftriclions upon the rife of real merit are much fewer than under a defpotifm ; and the chance of preferment is ex- tended to a much wider circle. In thofe coun- tries, then, much lefs confequence may be at- tached to the exiftence, or to the lofs of a par- ticular man. It is feldom that vre meet with Fleurys, or Turgots, or Bernfloffs, or Haflans : But a Walpole, or a Pitt, is, happily for man- kind, frequently reproduced in the courfe of an age. Thus, the appearance of thofe illuf- trious characters, in whofe hands the fates of nations are placed, is much lefs regulated by accident than is generally fuppofed, more efpe- cially in modern times and in free dates. It follows, that, even in that branch of foreign policy which I have denominated the chapter of accidents^ THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 249 accidents, fome principles may be traced ; and SECT. that lefs is to be imputed to blind hazard than ^^^^j moil men are at firfl apt to imagine. May we be allowed to hope that the time is approach- ing, (not rapidly, or by violent changes, but {lowly and quietly, like all thofe arrangements of nature which tend to the fubflantial im- provement of the fpecies), when the eftablifh- ment of equal rights, and rational fyftems of regular government over the whole of Europe, fhall diminifh yet farther the confequences at- tached to the caprices and accidental fates of individuals, and (hall reduce to complete order all the circumftances that affe6t the intercourfe of nations ; fo as to fubject their whole move- ments to certain general and invariable laws, to reduce every eccentricity of courfe, and to correct all accidental inequalities or alterations in the fyftem. * I have now finiftied the general obfervations that I purpofed to premife, upon the nature and firfl: principles of the fcience which treats of international policy. I proceed to confider fome of the proportions in which the do&rine of the balance of power is contained. I have, in the foregoing ftatements, infifted the more at * See the general obfervation which Mr Stewart has made upon Mr Hume's do&rine, in his very profound and elegant work on the * Pbilofophy of the Human Chap, IV. fed. 8. 25 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK a t large on the poflibility of reducing the ex- ^__ ( ternal policy of nations to certain general prin- ciples ; becaufe, befides ihe direct negation of this propofition by Mr HUME and others, it has been very much the cuftom of inferior politi- cians, and of the common run of mankind, more particularly in Great Britain, to decry fuch fpeculations as vain and illufive ; to hold them up as objects fit only for the pedantic ftatifl of Germany and Holland ; and to defcribe them as points that mould be fettled by the finical, and too often contemptible characters, who are generally the reprefentatives of the greatefl na- tions, and who have brought a fort of ridicule upon the very name of diplomacy. The graved fubject that can occupy the human mind (inti- mately connected indeed with our prefent in- quiry, though not altogether of the fame kind with it), the law of nations, has been expofed to a fimilar contempt. Montefquieu himfelf, lawyer and hiflorian as he was, has, with his ufual paffion for an epigram, grofsly mifrepre- fented a fubjeft as important and refined as any in his own department of municipal jurif- prudence. He ferioufly explains ' the founda- ' tion of international law, ' by telling us, * that the whole fyftem is a fet of obvious co- ' rollaries to a maxim in ethics That in war ' nations mould do as little injury, and in peace f as much good, to each other, as is confiftent * with THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 25! 6 with their individual fafety. * Without afk- SECT. ing whether it is poffible that the author of this , \ . witticifm (hould ever have heard of the infults of flags, the precedence of dates, nay, the whole admitted caufes of judifiable war, and admitting that all the parts of the fydem may be drained, fo as to come under the general propofition ; we may be allowed to remark, with great deference to fo high a name, that fuch obfervations are extremely ufelefs and un- fatisfactory ; that we learn from this remark nothing which can give the flighted hint of the nature of public law ; that it is as indruclive as if one ignorant of mathematics were to fay, * the whole of this troublefome fcience con- ' fids of obvious corollaries from a very eafy ' axiom whatever is, is. ' In this manner might all fcience be fimplified ; and learners, who knew what 'corollary' was, might be charmed to hear, that they had but one pro- pofition to learn and remember, and that all the red was e corollary ? deduced from it. I trud that the remarks already dated, will fuffice to evince how midaken are all fuch views of foreign policy or international law ; that thofe fciences will appear drictly reduci- ble to certain general principles, and leading to important applications ; that thofe fubjecls will be found to be highly refined and delicate, ancj 252 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK an d as fully deferving of minute inveftigation _. as any within the range of the human intellect. As we proceed, farther illuftrations of thefe re- marks will occur, to fet their truth in a ftill ftronger point of view. i. Treaties or public paftions are the folemn and authentic expreffions of certain agree- ments, which the governments of friendly or neutral powers have entered into for their mu- tual advantages. In fo far as refers to our pre- fent fubjeft, they are chiefly of three kinds, amicable^ defenfive^ offenftve and defen/ive. The firft are fimple ceflations of hoftilities ; the next are agreements of mutual afliftance in cafe of attack from a third power; and the laft are more ftrift unions of intereft, for the ac- complimment of certain objeds mutually bene- ficial. The fecond are feldom pure and un- mingled. Many treaties bear the name of de- fenfive, which, by fecret articles, or more com- monly by mutual underflanding, and not un- frequently by the exprefs tenor of the ftipula- tions, are ftri&ly of the third kind ; and, in general, a padion bona fide defenfive, has a tendency to bring about one of the more inti- mate and effe&ual defcription. The monopolizing and jealous fpirit of mer- cantile policy, in modern times, has added to the THE EUROPEAN POWERS, 253 the kinds of treaties iuft now mentioned, a SECT. j i fourth, known by the name of commercial; of . ' which the objeft is, to fettle a certain rate of , trade between the high contracting parties ; or (what comes to the fame thing) to grant each other certain privileges of buying and felling, refufed to other dates. Thefe treaties are in every cafe abfurd ; they are meant to reftrain that which ought in its nature to be free, and to be regulated only by the unredricted opera- tions of private traders : they relate to fubjects in which no government ought ever to concern itfelf : they are only tolerable when their ob- ject is the abolition of reflections formerly im- pofed by foolifh rulers,, or gradually arifmg from the prejudices of the people. All treaties have been expofed to the invec- tives and farcafms of thofe who do not duly ap- preciate the nature of the inftitution. They are bits of parchment, and may be torn ; they are made by men of peace in their clofets, and may be violated by foldiers in the field ; they are deeds, by which dates affect to bind them- ' felves, while no court of public law exids, in which the party failing may be compelled to perform his part j they are intended to check the ambition of princes or commonwealths, but they are to be obferved by thofe who feel the checks, and may in a moment throw them off, 254 COLONIAL POLICY or B o o K O ff. e Qj ve mCj > fad Prince Eugene, in the ( _ true fpirit of thefe reafons ' Give me, ' faid the General, when he faw that his allies were flow to fulfil conventions made againft their obvious interefts, and refufing to gratify his ambition, againft their own fafety and beyond their means c Give me a battalion of foldiers, ' they will do more than a thoufand treaties. ' If all ftates were ruled by general officers, this fentiment would indeed be accurately true. In that cafe, a corporal would be a much more important perfonage than a publicift or an am- bafiador j but he would alfo be more intereft- ing than a municipal judge or jurifconfult : for all municipal law, as well as all public law, would yield to the truncheon and the bayonet. The fame fentiment would hold good, alfo, of all fuch treaties as thofe entered into about the time of Eugene, and thofe to which he evi- dently alludes treaties evidently difadvantage- ous to one of the contracting parties, and wholly beneficial to the others. But it hap- pens that, in the prefent ftate of fociety, Gene- rals receive their commiffion to act, and their orders to defift, from men flrongly interefted w in the prefervation of pacific relations ; in the maintenance of the national faith j in the exift- ence of a public code, to which all parties may at all times appeal. if, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 255 If, by fuch declamatory arguments, it is meant to demonftrate, that treaties will not of themfelves be fufficient to maintain peace or al- liances to preferve the independence of dates to infure fuccefs in war we muft admit the pofition; for certainly no one ever imagined that an ambaffador's feal and fubfcription com- municated to the fkin of a dead fheep the facul- ty of tranquillizing, or roufmg the public mind, levying armies, gaining battles, and taking towns. One would truil more to its powers in the hands of a drummer, than of a flatefman, to produce thofe effect. But that fuch folemn conventions as lead to treaties, fuch difcuf- fions as attend them in the nations contracting, fuch ratifications as finifli them, fuch ideas of pledge and form as they are uniformly fup- pofed to convey that all thofe circumftances have a moft powerful influence, cannot by aay one be called in queftion, who is acquainted with the hiftory of man, or the nature of the human mind. Independent of the fpirit, in- deed, with which thofe conventions are made, the mere pa&ion is but a bit of parchment. In- dependent of the fpirit which extorted the Magna Charta and Habeas Corpus, thofe re- cords of the freedom and fpirit of our ancef- tors would be moft unavailing to the liberties of the prefent generation. Both the one and other COLONIAL POLICY OP BOOK other are conventional figns legal modes of ,__ '. . expreffing a bargain certain folemn ads, the performance of which intimates to the world that certain intentions were perfected in the minds of the parties at the time certain deeds, leaving a record which may refrefh the memo- ry _of the parties, and to which the party fulfil- ling' may appeal. Neither the treaties of Weft- phalia (ROW, unhappily, a matter of hiftory), nor the Magna Charta, can be enforced direct- ly by the mandate of any human court, fupe- rior to both parties. If the circumftances which gave rife to the latter were materially altered, it would become obfolete, as the former has already become. While no material change takes place, they ftand on record before the whole world, to animate the parties contracting to check them in their conduct on their honour and good faith to mew the furround- ing nations what compacts have been made- and to hold up to execration thofe that break them. The foundation of the {lability of every treaty is the mutual advantage of the parties. It is a juft remark of the Florentine Secretary, that, even after the moft unequal conteft, no peace between nations can ever be folid, by which one nation gains much more than the other. If the one gains much real good, and the THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 257 the other only obtains fafety from total ruin, SECT. the peace will be broken ; either by the former, ._ \ , as foon as her power is recruited fufficiently to complete the work of conqueft ; or by the latter, as foon as me has breathed a little, and can hope to regain her loft ground. All fuch foolifh treaties are rather conventions of truce, than of peace. They were one great means of conqueft ufed by the Romans : they are ren- dered lefs frequent in modern times, by the principles of the balancing fyftem. The obfervation of Machiavel may be ex- tended to alliances in general between nations. Leagues, particularly thofe of a nature both offenflve and defenfive, have generally owed their inftability to a neceffary difunion of par- ties, arifmg from each poflefling views radical- ly incompatible with thofe of the others ; views, properly fpeaking, fecondary to the main ob- ject of the convention, but more interefting and more binding to the individual party, than any views of the common caufe. The remarks made abov., apply to thofe fubfidiary obligations, entered into by nations not ftrictly concerned in the ftipulations, in which the acceding powers guarantee the trea- ty or bargain to fupport the party fulfilling a- gainft all infractions committed by the other. Thefe are generally modified by the difpofition. VOL. ii. R of COLONIAL POLICY (it BOOK of all parties at the time when the requifition ^ /.' to perform is made to the parties guarantees. They are the refinement of the modern fyftem of interference. 2. The circumftances in the relative fitua- tion of the European powers ; their proximi- ty, their constant intercourfe, their rivalry, and the uniform defire that all princes have to extend their dominions, render it absolutely neceffary that no one power mould view with indifference the domeftic affairs of the reft, more particularly thofe affairs which have a re- ference to the increafe or confolidation of na- tional refources. For the purpofe of acquiring fuch informa- tion, the inftitution of ambaffadors has been adopted, or of privileged fpies, as they have been called by witty men, with much the fame propriety of fpeech that would mark the perfon- age who mould be pleafed to call Generals mafter-butchers, or Judges hangmen. From the inftitution of ambafladors, an eifential and pe- culiar part of the modern fyftem, have refulted the moft important confequences a conftant intercourfe between the two governments ; fre- quent opportunities of detecting and preventing hoftile meafures or artifices ; and ftill more fre- quent occafions of avoiding ruptures, by time- ly complaint, and explanation or redrefs. The natural THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 259 natural effects of the fyfteni to which this mat- SECT. ter has been reduced, are certainly the preven- . . ' _ iuj tion of wars, and the fyflematizing of the grand art of pacification. The relative influence of the national chang- es that happen in one part of Europe, upon the proceedings of the other parts, might be illuf- trated by a variety of facls from modern hif- tory. That influence feems to be wholly inde- pendent of all theory or fyftem it is founded on natural circumftances : and I have formerly ftated feveral of thefe, particularly the hiftory of {landing armies, and of the formation of the Hates which compofe the great national com- munity of modern Europe. * The right of national interference (a late refinement of this right of proportional im- provement) has, like all other valuable and fa- cred principles, been called in queftion. It has been denied, that the total overthrow of all re- gular government in the greateft nation of Eu- rope ; the abolition of every falutary restraint upon the operations of the multitude j the e- reftion of a ftandard to which every thing re- bellious and unprincipled might repair ; the open avowal of anarchy, atheifm, and oppref- fion as a public creed : it has been denied R 2 that * Book II. Sea. III. COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK t h at the exigence of this grand nuifance gave u^y.^ the vicinage (to ufe Mr Burfce's appofite illuf- tration) a right to interfere. Yet it is difficult to conceive what national changes, except the introduction of the peftilence, could give a bet- ter right to the neighbourhood to reject all in- tercourfe with fo infected a mafs as France then was. And if fuch defenfive meafures were abiblutely necefiary, it is evident that the flighted aggreffion on the part of this neigh- bour, juftined that open war, which was fo loudly prefcribed by the flighted chance of its leading to a restoration of order. The im- menfe acquifition of power which the French government acquired by the revolution ; the general levy and arming that immediately took place would have juflified all neighbours in extending their refources, upon the common principles of the modern fyftem. Now, if this increafe of French power had taken place on the Spaniih, inftead of the North fide of the Pyrennees ; if it had been, not a fudden aug- mentation of internal refources, but an increafe of territory and power by conqueft no one doubts the propriety of an immediate interfer- ence : nay, if this increafe had only been in contemplation, no one would hefrtate to confi- der the formation of the plan as fufficient caufe for war :- So thought our forefathers at leaft, when THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 2-6i when they attacked Louis XIV. a hundred SECT. . i. years ago. But, what difference is there, as to , '^ , foreign dates, whether fuch an augmentation of power takes place at the expence of the Spanifli branch of the Bourbons, or at the coil of the other branch of that illuflrious houfe? whe- ther this fudden change in the afpect of one powerful rival neighbour is the confequence of her foreign conquefts, or of her rapid internal changes ? whether the addition is drawn from, the pillaged provinces of Spain, or the over- throw of all the peaceful inflitutions, and the plunder of ail the wealthy orders at home? When fuch a fudden and prodigious increafe of refources takes place in one country, as can only be matched by a fimilar revolution deve- loping equal powers in the neighbouring na- tions, thofe neighbours are exactly in this di- lemma ; either they mufl wade through all manner of turbulence and danger, to the fud- den pofleffion of refources fufficient to balance this new power ; or they mufl fubmit to this new power. One mode of efcape only remains from alternatives equally cruel : they may unite againfl this common nuifance ; they may inter- fere, and abate it. If France had conquered the kingdoms of Leon and Caflile, who doubts that Britain and Auflria might have attacked her, though neither of them .were friends of R 3 Spain ? 262 COLONIAL POLICY OF Spain ? But this was not abfolutely neceflary ; for, firft, they might have perhaps faved them- felves by defenfive alliance, and the peaceable improvement of their internal refources ; or, fecondly, they might certainly have acquired in Holland, or Denmark, or Spain itfelf, an extent of territory equal to that gained by France. But the former meafure would have been dan- gerous ; the latter both dangerous and unjuft. In like manner, Britain a-nd Auftria might have met the crifis of their affairs, arifmg from the new and fudden acquifition of refources which France made at the revolution. Firft, they might have united defennvely, as ancient allies, and worked all the while to improve their in- ternal refources ; or, fecondly, they might have revolutionized, and followed the French ex- ample. The firft, however, of thofe plans would have been dangerous ; the latter, both dangerous and unprincipled. One alternativ'e remained ; a union againft the unheard-of nuifance. I hefitate not, then, to lay it down as a prin- ciple applicable to this extreme cafe, that, whenever a fudden and great change takes place in the internal ftrufture of a ftate, dan- gerous in a high degree to all neighbours, they have a right to attempt, by hoftile interference, the reftoration of an order of things which may be fafe to themfelves ; or, at leaft, to counterba- lance, by active aggreffion, the new force fudden- ly acquired. If a highwayman pulls out a piftol from his bofom, mall we wait till he loads and prefents it, before we kill and difarm him ? Shall we not attack him with like arms, if he difplays fuch weapons, whether he takes them from his own ftores, or feizes them from fome other perfon in our fight ? * We do not attack a neighbouring nation for plundering or con- quering a third power, becaufe we wim to a- venge or redrefs the injury, but becaufe we mall be ourfelves affected by its confequences. Shall we be lefs injured by the fame confequen- ces, becaufe the dangerous power of doing us mifchief is developed from receffes within, and not forcibly matched from without ? That fuch a principle as we have now been confidering, is liable to limitations, no one will deny : it is indeed only applicable to extreme cafes. It would be going too far, to aflert that the right of interference is applicable to the cafe of gradual improvement, however great, in any nation ; nor to the cafe of that more fudden a- melioration which national refources may receive R 4 from * The doftrine of the balance of power is deduced by Vatell, from fimilar grounds. Vide Droit dca Gens, Liv. iiL chap. 3. $ 44. & fcqtj. 264 COLONIAL POLICY Of BOOK from the operation of a falutary reform, or a i ^ _'._. ufeful law, or a beneficial change of rulers. I only think the right competent in cafes of fudden and great aggrandizement, fuch as that of France in 1790 ; and then, I maintain, that, if it endangers the fafety of the neighbouring powers, no manner of importance mould be at- tached to the nature of thofe circumftances from whence the danger has originated. In- deed, it may even be fufpecled, that the eflfential, though not always avowed principles of modern policy, would bear us out in a wider interpreta- tion of the proportion. It would appear, that many of the alliances of ftates, formed with a view to check the growing power of a common rival, and always ending in ofFenfive meafures, have been formed without any pretext of violence having actually been committed by the dreaded power, or being apprehended from that quarter; and without any consideration whatever of the fource from whence this dangerous ftrength has been derived, whether from external acquifi- tions (the mod common cafe), or from the fud- den developement of internal refources, or from the gradual increafe of national ftrength while neighbouring ftates were more ilowly increafing s or were lofmg force. This increafe it is this comparative ftrength, which excites the faluta- ry jealoufy of modern councils towards neigh- bouring THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 265 bouring powers. The pretexts, indeed, for s E c T - war, have been various ; but the caufe of fuch . .. y ,,.j wars has generally been the fame. The pretext has been adopted in conformity to ancient u- fage or prejudices, or to humour the feelings of the multitude, and caufe them to take part, by working on their pafiions much more pow- erfully than if the real caufe were flated. The great maxim has generally been, ' Qbfla prin- cipiis ' ' Venienti occurrite ?norbo. ' I recom- mend it as a general watchword to all nations placed in the European community ; to thcfe, more efpecially, who are neighbours of Pruffia. and France ; above all, I recommend it to the greater powers of Europe, the natural guar- dians of the great commonwealth ; and to this country in particular, whofe preeminent rank among them gives her a tiric to interfere for others, as well as for her own immediate fafety. To her, I would addrefs q. language not unknown to her children in former times the language of the balancing fyftern ; ' Tu regere imperio papules, Ronmne, memento ; * Ha tibi erunt artes ; pacifque impotiere morem, f Parcere fubjeftisy et debellare fuperbos. * VIRG. 3. It has been urged, as a glaring incon- fiftency in a fyftem which has for its profeikd object 266 BOOK object the prefervation of peace, that, accord- v ' __ ing to its principles and technical language, certain nations are denominated natural ene- mies, and others natural allies. A little attention to the meaning of the proportion, in which thefe terms are ufed, will at once demonftrate the futility of the criticifm, and lead us to one of the mod general and fundamental doc- trines of modern international policy. It is not meant by this phrafeology to afiert, that ibme nations ought always to view each other with fufpicion and enmity. The intention of fuch a form of expreffion is merely to ftate a very general, and, unfortunately, an unqueftion- able fact in the hiftory of the human fpecies that nations placed in certain circumftances, are uniformly found to entertain towards each other fentiments of rivalry and animofity. The ba- lancing fyftem prefcribes the means of difarm- ing this bad principle in our nature of its de- ftrudive tendency, by teaching us to confider other nations as our natural friends, and by making the members of each clafs unite, fo as to act fyftematically with a view to the prefer- vation of national peace. A few obvious con- fiderations will mow what thofe principles are, and will comprife the more general doctrines of the practical part of the balancing fyftem. The circumftances which are uniformly found to conftitute natural enmity between na- tions. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. lj tions, are threefold ; proximity of lunation, fimi- SECT. larity of purfuits, and near equality of power. . ' . From the oppofite caufes arife the natural indif- ference or relative neutrality of ftates ; a reafon- able diftance, diverfity of objects, and conlider- able inequality of refources ; while natural alli- ance refults from the common enmity produced by a concurrence of the three caufes firft men- tioned in the relations of two or more powers towards the fame third power. But it may often happen that a Mate is in- volved in hoflile relations with another of which it is not the natural enemy, either from being the accidental ally of a third power primarily the enemy of this fecond ; or from being na- tural ally to this third power, in confequence of their common relations of enmity towards fome fourth or fifth power. Hence, indeed, arifes the intricacy, if it has any, of the balancing fyftem j and hence the multiplied relations of each individual power with all the reft, fo that no one can be permitted to remain, for a moment, an indifferent fpe&ator of what is palling in the rnoft remote parts of the European common- wealth. A few examples will illuftrate the fore- going propofition. Thefe illustrations contain the theory of what is called, in practice, the Eu- ropean balance. The utility and application of fuch fpeculations may, like their object, be tem- porary and local j the principles are of all times and 58 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK an d places j they are regular, fixed, and gene- '" , ral. In conformity to the proportion above enun- ciated, France is faid to be the natural enemy of Great Britain. Thefe ftates, feparated by a narrow channel, are of fufficient relative ftrength to be mutually formidable ; the one, by the ex- tent and compachiefs of her territory, and by her large and ufeful population ; the other, by her immenfe wealth, the defence afforded by her infular fituation, and the myriads of her fleets which cover the ocean. They are both engaged in fimilar purfuits ; becaufe the cir- cumflances of their fituation are fimilar. The ifland, however, is more adapted to commercial occupations, by the genius of her inhabitants, the nature of her produce, and the extent of her fea-coaft ; from whence has refulted a habit of application to manufactures, navigation, and trade, and, in confequence, fuperior (kill in the arts, and greater extent of trading capital. The other country, eminent alfo in thofe points of view, is, however, fo far inferior to the ifland, that her attention has, for above a century, been conftantly directed to emulate fo valuable a fu- periority ; while Britain, finding herfelf defi- cient in direct power to fway the continental ftates of Europe, otherwife than by intrigue and gold, has returned France the compliment of attempting THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 269 attempting to beat, on her own element, the na- tural miftrefs of the European continent. From this reciprocal inferiority, and confequent emu- lation, has arifen that fpirit of rivalry, which will, it is to be feared, permanently alienate from each other, the two nations mod formed to love and efteem each other ; beft adapted to entertain clofe and profitable relations of com- merce ; and able, by their union, to fecure the lafting peace, and fway uncontrouled the fceptre of the civilized world. Unhappily the natural pafiions of the people, and the ambition of their rulers, have taught both to ' bear no ' brother near the throne ; * to fuffer no equal in trade, in arts, or in learning ; and to divide, by their irreconcileable enmity, the other powers in the fyflem of which that enmity has become the corner done. Holland, from her proximity to Britain, her extenfive commerce, and her fplendid refources of national wealth, would have been our natural enemy, had France been out of the queftion. But as Holland lay ftill nearer to that ambitious power, with whofe purfuits me interfered at leaft as much, not to mention the jealoufy excited by her demo- cratic government and Calviniftic religion, it be- came her interefl to league with the enemies of her formidable neighbour. Accordingly, in all the wars of the two laft centuries, Holland has been found 270 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK f ou nd on the fide of England, with only two . _'._. -exceptions ; the impolitic conteft of Charles II. when he was in the pay of France, and the jea- lous enmity of Holland in the end of the Ame- rican war, as anomalous in Dutch politics, as the war of Charles had been in the hiftory of Great Britain. After the peace of 1782, the breach was kept open, chiefly by the fuccefles of the republican party, until the year 1787 ; when, by one of the mofl Ikilful and fuccefsful interferences in continental affairs, which the balancing fyftem has ever accomplifhed, the Stadtholder's power was re-eftabilfhed, French influence deflroyed, and the Dutch refhored to their natural alliance with England. The prefent alliance of the French and Ba- tavian republics is obvioufly no anomalous cafe : it is in every refpeft the refult of a conqueft, retained, as it was made, by the force of arms and the influence of factious intrigue. The day is perhaps not diflant, when even the prefent flight appearances of national independence will be thrown off, and the abforption of the United Provinces into the modern empire of the Franks, be (mall we fay ?) the laft great facrifice to the fweeping principle of ' Arrondiffement, ' one of the mofl fignal inventions of the 1 8th centuiy. Next to France, the greatefl power on the continent of Europe refides in the Houfe of Auftria, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 2?J Auftria, from the union of its hereditary domi- SECT. nions in Hungary, Bohemia, Auftria, the frontier . provinces, and the late acquifitions in Poland and the Venetian territories, with the Imperial crown, which confers an authority, chiefly of indirecl: influence, over the princes of the em- pire. The hereditary lofles of this power in the late war, have on the whole been trifling ; but me has loft much in the .power of fwaying the affairs of Italy, much of her influence in the Germanic affairs, and ftill more of relative force, by the aftonifhing increafe of France, and the augmentation alfo of Pruflia (her natural rival in Germany), to one or other of whom, or their dependants, has accrued every thing loft by Auf- tria. After all, the Auftrian power is great and formidable. It would be the greateft and moft formidable in Europe, were its extenfive territories fomewhat more compact, fo as to de- rive full advantage from their central pofition ; were it to acquire a fmall addition of fea-coafl in the Adriatic, fo as to have eafier vent for its numerous and coftly products in the foreign markets ; were its vaft refources called forth and wielded by a better formed government, or a wifer race of ftatefmen, fo as to take every ad- vantage of the fineft climates, richeft mountains, moft fertile valleys, and greateft variety of hardy fubjefts j and, more efpecially, were its armies, the 2^2 COLONIAL POLICY OF ROOK t ] le f ir ft m t } le W orld, organized upon a better plan, fo as to place at their head younger leaders : Were thefe advantages (the moil of which may be acquired) added to its immenfe natural re- fources, Auftria might be deemed the firft power in Europe, and dreaded by all her neighbours as rcfiftlefs in the fcale. The circumilances which render Auftria the natural enemy and counterpoife of France, ren- d, v her alib the natural ally of Britain, and the great continental fupport of the Britifh influence in Europe. In proportion to the 'enmity between thofe leading powers, this natural union between Britain and Auftria has always been more or lefs clofe, fince the feparation of the Spanifh from the Auftrian branch of the houfe. It has experi- enced only one remarkable intermiflion, and that a flight one, during the peace-loving admi- mftrations of Fleury and Walpole. In the war which fucceeded the fall of Walpole's miniftry, France fiding with the Bavarian Emperor, Eng- land naturally iook the part of the. Emprefs- Queen, at that time almoft crufhed by the union of her enemies. The fingular alliance of 17^6, the chff-d'tBwre of Kaunitz, and, according to the French politicians, the greateft error France ever committed, deranged, for a while, the na- tural relati- \e continental powers. Bri- tain Wc,s not Lin own out of amity with Auftria; but THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 273 but Auftria, ceafmg to be the enemy of France, SECT. ceafed alfo to be the ally of Britain. Yet ftill, . it is worthy of remark, that the afliftance given by us to Pruflia during the Seven-years war, in confequence of France Tiding againft Frede- ric II. *, was pointed, not againft Auflria or Rufiia, his two mod formidable enemies, by checking whom we could at once have faved him, but againft our natural enemy alone, to our defire of oppofmg whom, Pruflia owed the aid me received from us. Practical ftatefmen, as well as fpeculative writers on political fubjects, have been much divided in opinion upon the foundnefs of that policy which dictated to the French govern- ment the adoption of Kaunitz's fcheme of al- liance. The moft enlightened politicians in the reigns of Louis XV. & XVI. have loudly decried that fyftem, as deftruftive to the mili- tary, as well as the federal power of France : they have attributed to the treaty 1756, and the confequent military operations of France during the Seven-years war, not only the im- VOL. ii. S mediate * V'ule Hift. de la Guerre de Sept-ans, vol. I. cap. i. where that Prince himfelf details the reafons that induced him to undertake the war. One of thefe was, the certainty of both England and France not taking the fame fide ; whenc?, he could count on the nfiiftance of one of thofe powers. '2J4 COLONIAL POLlCjV OF BOOK mediate lofs of men and money at that crifis, . /. >> all for the benefit of Auftria, without any good to the concerns of France ; but alfo the fubfe- quent aggrandizement of the Auftrian houfe, already too powerful, by the exhauftion of Pruf- fia, and the valuable acquifition of territory from Poland, the natural ally of France and fcene of French influence, whofe deftru&ion they have not hefitated to impute to the Auftrian fyftem. The advocates of the alliance, on the other hand, without denying the lofles experienced by France during the war, and the ftill greater evils arifing to her from the Polifh cataftrophe, have afcribed thofe confequences to the mal- adminiftration of French affairs in the Seven- years war, and during the whole interval between the peace of Hubertiburg and the Revolution. They have maintained, that the wifeft policy which France could poffibly have adopted, was, the fecuring of a long peace by an alliance with her natural enemy. They have argued this point upon much the fame grounds as thofe chofen by the defenders of Walpole and Fleury j and contended, that no danger whatever could have arifen to France from the alliance of 1756, if the adminiflration of her domeftic af- fairs had been as wife and energetic as .the management of her foreign relations at that sra. It THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 275 It appears to me (although I cannot now enter into the difcuffion), that the doctrine of the former clafs of ftatefmen, with a few limita- tions, is by far the founded. All the benefits of repofe might have been gained by France, al- though (he had never entered into the defen- five treaty of 1755, or the fubfequent conven- tions of 1756 and 1757. The chance of France being attacked, was chimerical. By whom, but Auftria or England, could me poffibly be annoyed ? If by the former, of courfe the de- fenfive treaty was abfurd : if by the latter, clearly Auftria could never affift her ; lince the Britim forces would only attack by fea, or by a littoral warfare, or in the American and Eaft Indian colonies. But Auftria was liable to attack from that power which had defpoiled her of her fineft provinces a few years before. Befides, the objeft of the treaty turned out to be (according to the remarks on conventions which we formerly made), not defenfive, but offenfive. France was in fact to affift Auftria with 24,000 men to recover Silefia, and hum- ble the houfe of Brandenburg, or difmember its dominions. After the war broke out, the ftipulation was forgotten ; that is, the terms were changed, as is very commonly the cafe ; and, inftead of 24,000, France fent 100,000 men, to be defeated by the Britifh and Pruffian S 2 armies. 47 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK armies. . How could fhe poffibly gain by fuch . an object, though completely fuccefsful in at- taining it ? She was fighting for Auflria, con- quering, without reimbursement or reward, for her profit, and, if defeated, fharing her loffes. * The vicinity of Spain to France, their dif- tance from the reft of Europe, and the com- pactnefs of their territories, which renders them, as it were, parts of one great peninfula, might have rendered them natural enemies, had not Holland and Britain been fituated in much the fame predicament, with refpecl: to France, on the north. Befides, the infulated pofition of Spain, joined to her great inferiori- ty of ftrength from political and moral caufes, makes her naturally dependent on her power- ful neighbour. But, above all, the feparation of the Spanifh from the Imperial crown and the Auftrian dominions, and the confequent difputes between the courts of Vienna and Madrid about the dominion of Italy, have thrown Spain into the arms of the natural ene- my of the houfe of Auftria. I do not enu- merate, among thefe caufes, the family com- pact, which fo clofely united the two branches of the houfe of Bourbon, or the blood rela- tionmip * Note K k. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 277 tionfhip which was the caufe of that conven- SECT. tion. Thofe circumflances may have drawn , , clofer the natural ties of alliance between France and Spain : but, ftill, they are to be viewed as accidental and fubordinate. If it was the evident intereft of Spain to depend on France, and of France to rule over Spain, the death or marriage of one of the reigning branches, could never for a moment have pre- vented the union of the nations. The laft- will of Charles II. indeed, fet all Europe in arms, to break this formidable union. But does any one imagine, that had Alberoni fuc- ceeded in ftealing this document, the other powers would have fhut their eyes on the ftrides which Louis was making to obtain do- minion over Europe by playing off Spain a- gainft Auftria ? Or, had the combined ene- mies of that ambitious prince been prudent e- nough to accept of the terms extorted by his humiliation, and terminated the Grand Alli- ance-war at Gertruydenberg ; can any one fuppofe, that the union of the two natural al- lies, thus apparently broken, (for Louis' offers went to this length), would have fubfifted lefs clofe and compact at the next crifis of Eu- ropean affairs ? To fuch as believe that all great events de- pend more on chance than principle, and de- S 3 278 COLONIAL POLICY O? BOOK fpjf e a u general reafonings on the train of human . affairs, I would recommend one or two obvious confiderations. Did the alliance of 1756 main- tain indifloluble the unnatural union of the two powers ? Or, has the diflblution, \vith every cruel aggravation, of the marriage which had been intended to cement that temporary alli- ance, prevented peace and feeming amity from fubfifting between the murderers and the nearefl blood relations of the ill-fated Antoi- nette ? Has not one of the various means tried by Spain to regain that power over her feeble neighbour, which the Bragan9a revolution (1640) overthrew', confided in always endea- vouring to have a Spanim princefs on the Por- tuguefe throne ? And yet, has that prevented her from feconding her policy by open force, and attacking the throne which (he had imme- diately bef9re filled with her royal offspring ? Or, to come ftill nearer the prefent difcuffion, was not the family compact diflblved in 1793, under circumflances of complicated infult and violence to every branch of the houfe of Bour- bon, as well as of imminent danger to the mod defpotic and bigotted government in the weft of Europe ? And have the ancient politics of the Spanim cabinet in any refpect varied, in confequence of all thofe perfonal confiderati- ons, and grand occurrences ? No. After a few months THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 279 months of languid co-operation with the com- SECT. bined powers (from the expectation of crufh- , v ing the infant republic), as foon as Spain faw that the new ftate could fland alone againft foreign attacks, and had fome chance of fur- viving the revolutionary ftorms, (he inftantly returned to her natural policy, and refumed her alliance with France ; that is to fay, fhe refigned all her family regards, the confe- quences of which had once alarmed all Eu- rope ; facrificed much of her trade ; expofed her fea-coaft to the troops and fleets of Eng- land 5 rifked and loft her fleets by fighting the battles of France ; and put the very exiftence of her weak-handed government to the fevered trial, by a free intercourfe with republicans and regicides by acknowledging and receiv- ing into her capital a Jacobin emiffary with his crew. In a word, the Spanifh branch of the Bourbon line is as clofely united, or rather as fubmiffively dependent on the ufurper of that throne which the fifter branch once filled, as ever it was during the proudeft days of the French monarchy. In return for his homage, the haughty Sovereign of the two Indies is pleafed to receive for his fon, from the French Chief, a crown patched up of the Italian fpoils, taken from the natural enemy of Spain. The fer- S 4 vice 280 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK v j ce performed, and the boon granted, are t-. IY^J qualiy illuftrative of our general principles. The internal ftate of Portugal and her rela- tive pofition to foreign powers are equally fmgular and worthy of our attention. A petty ftate, thinly inhabited by a lazy and uncultivat- ed people ; governed by a fuccefiion of weak princes, and in general by minifters as ineffi- cient; fubjeft to a conftitution efTentially vici- ous in church and ftate ; the ark where prieft- craft and hierarchical tyranny have found a fhelter amidft the flood of liberal opinion that has fpread over the Weft of Europe ; ruined and depopulated at home by the moft cruel and mortfighted policy which defpotifm and fu- perftition combined could invent: Portugal has, for feveral ages, been reduced to a ftate of weak- nefs which muft have long ago rendered her an eafy prey even to Spain, had not her fitua- tion with refpect to that neighbour, and the danger (he thereby incurred of being fwallowed up, and augmenting the federal influence of France, rendered her the natural ally of Bri- tain. It is indeed worthy of remark, how ex- aclly the foreign connexions of this power, al- ways naturally dependant, have varied accord- ing to the circumftances of Auftria and Spain, and THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 281 and their relations to France and Britain. At SECT. the revolution, which, in 1640, feparated For- , J tugal from Spain, and placed the Houfe of Bragan9a on the throne, France was at war with both the branches of the Houfe of Auf- tria, and was accordingly the firfl to acknow- ledge the independance of Portugal, whom fhe defended during the firft twenty years of the war of the Acclamation. When France and Spain were pacified by the treaty of the Pyren- i nees in 1660, and the latter turned her whole force againfl Portugal, the weaker power would have fuccumbed, had not France protected her underhand, and enabled her to make the peace of 1667. During the fame war, the policy of Cromwell, his enmity to Spain as well as his alliance with France, induced him alfo to fide with Portugal; and he obtained the treaty of 1654, the moft advantageous treaty of com- merce that England ever concluded. This, however, was the only time that Europe ever faw the phenomenon of Portugal in alliance with both France and England. The protec- tor's treaty raifed Colbert's mercantile jealoufy. This was increafed by the marriage of Charles II. with the Infanta of Spain ; and the acceflion of Philip V. to the Spanifti throne, by uniting Spain to France, and oppofing her to Auflria, fixed Portugal as our natural ally, and deter- mine4 282 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK mined alfo her alliance with the Imperial _...' Houfe. In 1703, me joined in the grand alli- ance, and granted to Britain what has been thought by many an advantageous treaty of commerce, and was certainly confidered as fuch at the time by both parties. * In this firm union fhe has ever fmce continued, and has been repeatedly fupported by Britain in her difficulties probably faved from entire ruin, particularly in the Grand Alliance war, the war 1762, and the late conteft. The events of the laft of thefe wars have undoubtedly af- fected the balance of Europe ; and Portugal has been peculiarly expofed to the power and to the influence of the New Republic aided by its natural ally. How long me may be fuffered to continue, even in a (late of nominal independance ; how long her great ally may be able to fupport and protect her ; how long her rulers may be pleafed to ftruggle againft every difadvantage natural as well as political on this fide of the Atlantic, whilfl the fair and extenfive dominions of South America lye open to their occupancy; it is not within my pro- vince (although it were in my power) to in- quire. I might now proceed to trace the relations between the Italian Rates and the Tranfalpine powers * Note L l t THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 283 powers to the right and left of the Rhine ; be- s E c T - tween the Porte and Ruffia, or the Porte and t _ Britain or France : the connexions between the three powers furroundmg the ancient and dif- membered kingdom of Poland ; the mutual re- lations of the Northern Crowns. All thefe juntos of ilates form feparate affemblages, of particular interefts ; fmaller fyftems, influenced internally by the fame principles, and connected by the fame law with the general mafs of the European community. I have, however, gone through the chief points in the mutual relations of the great powers poffeffing American and Eafl Indian colonies. The mutual relations of thofe fecondary dates which form the different colo- nial fyftems, depend upon fimilar principles, and are regulated in the fame manner. It would be needlefs to give any particular example of thofe relations at prefent : In the next Section we mail meet with abundance. In the mean time, I truft it will be admit- ted, that enough has been faid to mew, that, in practice, as well 'as from theoretical confider- ations, this important fubjecl: is capable of being reduced to fy Hematic arrangement, and to fixed, general principles. I have now only to con- clude this general fketch, with repeating, in a form fomewhat different, the proportion which at the outfet I propofed to demonftrate, It 284 COLONIAL POLICY Of It appears that, by the modern fyftem of foreign policy, the fate of nations has been ren- dered more certain ; and the influence of chance, of the fortune of war, of the caprices of indivi- duals upon the general affairs of men, has been greatly diminifhed. Nations are no longer of tranfient or durable exiftence in proportion to their internal refources, but in proportion to the place which they occupy in a vaft and regular fyftem ; where the moft powerful ftates are, for their own fakes, conftantly watching over the fafety of the moft mfignificant. A flourifhing commonwealth is not liable to lofe its indepen- dence or its profperity by the fate of one battle. Many battles muft be loft j many changes muft concur; the whole fyftem muft be deranged, before fuch a cataftrophe can happen. The ap- pearance of an Epaminondas can no longer raife a petty ftate to power and influence over its neighbours, fuddenly to be loft, with the great man's life, by fome unforefeen vi&ory at Leuctra. In the progrefs of freedom, know- ledge, and national intercourle, this great change has been happily effected by flow degrees ; it is a change which immediately realizes the ad- vantages that every former change has gained to mankind ; a ftep in his progrefs, which fe- cures the advancement made during all his pre- vious career ; and contributes, perhaps more than THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 285 than any other revolution that has been brought SECT. about fince the invention of written language, , to the improvement and magnificence of the fpecies. Let ftatefmen, then, reflecl: on thefe things ; and, in the prefent awful crifis of affairs, let them often ponder upon the principles which mould direct their public conduct. Without neglecting the increafe bf their internal refour- ces, by wife regulations, and gradual improve- ments of the civil and military conftitution of the countries entrufted to their care, let them conftantly look from home, and remember, that each ftate, more efpecially if pofleffed of colonial territories, forms a part of the general fyftem, liable to be affected by every derange- ment which it may experience ; and, of necef- fity, obliged to truft for its fafety, and for the maintenance of its colonial power, to a concur- rence of other caufes befides thofe which do- meftic policy can controul. e Non arma neque ' thefauri regni prtfjidiafunt, verum amid : quos 6 neque armis cogere, neque auro par are queas ; * officio et Jlde parluntur. *' Sal. Jugurth. * * Note M m. SEC. ft86 COLONIAL POLICY OF SECTION II. OF THE RELATIVE INTERESTS OF THE DIFFERENT EU- ROPEAN POWERS AS WELL IN THEIR COLONIES AS IN OTHER QJJARTERS ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR COLO- NIAL RELATIONS. HAVING, in the foregoing Seclion, laid down, at great length, the general principles which ought to regulate the international poli- cy of flates, with refpeft both to their primary and their colonial circumftances, the following Inquiry will embrace chiefly the leading points in the application of the principles to the actual ftate of the European colonies in the Weft, and to their connexion with the other parts of the world. It will confift rather of an exemplifi- cation of our general views, than a full and minute detail of all the circumftances that in- fluence the mutual relations of the different powers in confequence of their colonial inte- refts. I mall begin with the circumftances which are proper to the aftual pofition of af- fairs in the colonial fyftem and mail then dif- cufs the interefts of the European powers in a colonial THE EUROPEAN POWERS. colonial point of view, with regard to certain SECT. changes which may happen in European af- fairs. PART I. OF THE INTERCOLONIAL RELATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN POWERS, AS INFLUENCED BY THE POSITION OF AF- FAIRS IN AMERICA, FROM attending to th'e deductions contained in the Third Section of the Firft Book, and to thofe contained in the Second Book, feveral practical inferences muft already have forced themfelves upon the reader. In the frft place I endeavoured to ffiew, that, from the natural fituation of Holland in Europe, her colonies are of infinite importance to her profperity, of much more importance than thofe of any other European power ; that, from the prefent ftate of things in the Spanifh and Scandinavian peninfulas, the diftant fettle- ments of the nations inhabiting thofe vafl tracts- of various territory, are an object of very fubor- dinate importance ; that to both France and Britain their colonies are of great importance, of 288 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK o f an importance every day increafing ; but , . that, in almoft every point of view, the colonial trade and agriculture are of much more import- ance to the wealth and power of France, than to the wealth and power of her natural rival. In judging concerning the probable con- duct of any nation in a given combination of circumftances, it is chiefly, and in a govern- ment perfectly free it would be almoft folely, neceflary * to inquire, what is the line of con- dud: recommended by the obvious interefts of the flate. Sometimes, however, more efpeci- ally in countries fubjeft to a defpotic govern- ment and far behind their neighbours in po- litical improvement, a lafting prejudice may affecl the tone of public meafures, and a uni- formly erroneous fyftem of policy may be long perfevered in, until it has become interwoven uith the character and fixed fundamental prin- ciples of the national councils. Sometimes, though more rarely, even in the freeft flates, a popular prejudice derived from accidental oc- currences or from the ignorance and falfe views of lefs enlightened times, may retain the public councils in a courfe of great and obvious error. If I might be fp bold as to hint at fuch an example, I mould not fcruple to give the Britifli * Book III. Sea. I. THE EUROPEAN POWERS^ SiSo; Britifh prejudice and confequent political flrug- SECT. gles in favour of the rock of Gibraltar, as an ._ .-/ * inftance of falfe policy perfifted in by a wife government, from deference to the loud voice of a people remarkable as well for high fpirit as for good fenfe, until it has become a point of national honour, and has for this reafon ac- quired a real and folid importance in the mu- tual relations of Britain and Spain. Inftances of uniform and fatal prejudice in the political fyftems of abfolute governments, are to be found in a melancholy variety and number; moft frequently in the domeftic policy of thofe ftates, and fometimes in that branch of their domeftic policy which forms the fubject of this Inquiry. A very obvious example is furnimed by the colonial hiftory of Spain and Portugal. The large fums uniformly received from South America by the cabinets of Lifbon and Madrid, have ftrongly attracted the attention of all the rulers of both countries to colonial affairs, and have given the poffeffion of America a falfe im- portance in the eyes both of the monarchs and of the people. Many years will in all probabi- lity elapfe before thofe nations mail have brought themfelves to admit even the idea of their ex- iftence feparated from their rich colonial fettle- ments ; and it is not unlikely that the fined provinces of the mother countries would be fa- VOL. ii. T crificed COLONIAL POLICY Of BOOK crificed by the fovereigns of the Indies, with * the full concurrence of their fubjecb, in order to preferve the diftant realms from which thofe high-founding titles are derived. In judging, then, concerning the probable conduct of thefe powers in any colonial crifis, it is not fufficient that we mould eflimate the real value of their American fettlements, which is unqueftionably great ; but we muft alfo take into the calculation, that much higher value which they have thus acquired in the eyes of the parent ftates, from ancient prejudice, national fpirit, and political ignorance. We cannot, be- caufe the Brazils and Peru are really of much lefs eflential importance to Portugal and Spain, than the Weft Indian iflands are to Britain and France, conclude, that any meafures tending to endanger their colonies, would be more readily purfued by the courts of Madrid and Lifbon, than by thofe of London and Verfailles. A crifis which mould end in the univerfal feparation of the colonies, though it would certainly injure the profperity of thofe different powers in very un- equal proportions, would moft probably be e- qually dreaded by all; and the meafures fuggeft- cd with a view to prevent fuch a crifis, would be as readily adopted by thofe ftates to whofe prejudices they appealed for their fupport, as by thofe whofe real and folid views of policy all con- curred in the recommendation. to THE EUROPEAN POWERS. In comparing the fituation of Britain with SECT. that of France, we find the prepoiTeflion in ._ J , / favour of colonial eflablimments equally ftrong, but much better founded in the former than in the hitter country, inafmuch as the difmem- berment of her empire would be much more fatal to her wealth and power. We may there- fore conclude, that France will be the laft pow- er in Europe to relinquim the plans of colo-i nial policy ; that me will conftantly and fe- duloufly avoid all meafures which have a plain tendency to deftroy her colonial fyftem 5 and that, unlefs fuch infane councils as thofe of the revolutionary times mail again fway her public affairs (a cataflrophe not to be reck- oned upon), me will never think of gratify- ing her ancient fpirit of rivalry or animofity a- gainft Britain, by purfuing fuch fteps as mud far more irreparably injure herfelf than her neigh- bour, It is furely the plain interefl of France, and confident with her prejudices as well as her interefl:, to maintain that flate of things which renders her territorial fuperiority over Britain as great as pofiible, and brings her wealth and maritime refources as nearly as poffible on a level with thofe of her powerful and opulent rival. To abandon her colonies, becaufe by fo foolifh and cruel a flep me may ftrip Great Britain of her fettlements alfo, T 2 would 292 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK would be as ridiculous a piece of national fpite, in . and as obviouily ruinous, as if Britain, in or- der to diminim the territory of France, were to make a treaty, giving up to fome third power all her dominions except the Ifle of Wight, provided France gave up to fome o- ther power an equal number of fquare miles. It would be a fort of policy fimilar to that which mould incline France to fet her whole fleet againfl the fleet of Britain, with orders to engage defperately, fo that fhip for (hip might be funk or burnt. Such conduct in a nation is exactly analogous to thofe eccentric actions which mark the deranged moments of individuals. And as no one in trade, or in fac- tion, or in private communication, fquares his behaviour by the expectation that his neigh- bours will act like madmen (however much he may lay his account with experiencing their faithleflhefs and cunning), fo, no (late needs ever purfue meafures framed with a view to counteract fchemes which can refult from no- thing but national infanity in a rival or enemy, however much all ftates ought to act as if their neighbours were influenced folely by re- gard to their private interefts. It will there- fore be always a fufficient guarantee to Britain againfl any line of policy of which me may dread the adoption on the part of France, if it can be fhown that fuch a line of policy will be more THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 293 more hurtful to France than to her. We mall s E c Tt even have a fufficient fecurity, in common ca- ... y _. fes, againft any meafures which are proved to be equally detrimental to the two powers. Such guarantees, in fact, are the beft that we can poffibly expect to obtain. Wherefore, if it has been mown that any fyflem of colonial policy would bring about the feparation of the French fettlements, we have the mofl complete fecurity againft its adoption. We need only dread thofe fchemes, which, whilft they do not materially injure our rival, are ferioufly detri- mental to our own influence or wealth. But fince meafures of this defcription, for fimilar reafons, may always be expected, they ought conflantly to be guarded againft, as if they were hanging over our heads, and were actual- ly in a train of preparation. In the fecond place, I have endeavoured to fliew, * that no meafures can be devifed more effectual for the deftruction of all the colonies, than the eftablimment of negro in- dependence in any one of them ; that, of all the colonies, the French are moft expof- ed to danger arifmg from this quarter ; and that the infurrection of the Britifh, or Spa- nifli, or Dutch {laves, would, to an abfo- T 3 lute * Book II. Sea. II. & III, 294 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK l u t e certainty, bring about their fupremacy in i ' __. the fettlements where they formerly laboured in chains. It can never be fuppofed then for one moment, that, in any event, France mail endeavour to overpower her colonial neigh- bours by the amftance of the negroes, unlefs me finds her colonial affairs utterly defperate ; and in that cafe, as I before remarked, it fig- nifies little what her conduct may be, as a much greater and more inevitable cataftrophe awaits all the flave colonies, from the deftrucr tion of thofe whence the French mall have been expelled. We cannot therefore admit the fairnefs of any view of the fubject, which reprefents the reftoration of tranquillity in the French iflands, whether, by a total or partial fubjedion of the infurgents, as dangerous to the other colonies, from the chance that France may then invade them, and fucceed through the help of infurrec- tion. We mufl be fatisfied that fuch a conquefl would inftantly bring on her own ruin in the Weft Indies ; and w r e need not fear that me will ever adopt fuch expedients in order to humble her enemies, or increafe for a few 7 mo- ments her own nominal power. It may indeed be faid, that in the American war, France, con- trary to her own mod obvious interefls, took the part of the North American colonies againft Britain. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 295 Britain. But, befides that a repetition of fo ac- SECT. knowledged a blunder is not to be fuppofed, f u- __^ we may remark, that the dangers of that policy were far lefs confiderable than thofe of the mea- fure which we are now fuppofmg. For, in the firft place, the colonies of France did not lye expofed to thofe of Britain in North America. In the next place, the dangers to be apprehend- ed from the growth of North America as an in- dependent ftate, were furely very diflant and trivial, compared with thofe inevitable calami- ties which the progrefs of 'negro rebellion mufl ever bring along with it, and of which France has already had fo bitter a tafte. Had the planters of Jamaica and Barbadoes thought of rebellion, it may be imagined that they would have received little aid from either Holland, France, or Spain, fo long as Surinam, St Do- mingo, and Cuba, were fubjecl to the Dutch, French, and Spanifli governments. Still lefs would they have met with a favourable reception in Amfterdam, Paris, and Madrid, had they propofed to execute their purpofes by the aid of their liberated flaves. Lead of all would their application for affiflance have been fuccefsful, had it been made in the prefent day, when the maflacres of Guadaloupe and St Domingo are frefh in the recollection of every European T 4 court, j- Note N n. 296 COLONIAL POLICY OF - v - . all whofe property or refidence lies in flave co- lonies. It is not therefore a thing to be taken into the calculation, that the re-eftablimment of tranquillity, by whatever means, in the revolted iflands, can affecl: the fecurity of the neighbour- ing colonies, by enabling France to purfue of- $enfive meafures againfl them, with the affift- ance either of free negro fubje&s, or of negro mfurre&ion. 3. It has been proved, * that any meafures which can be devifed for the reftoration of tranquillity in the revolted iflands, however fuccefsful, muft leave the colonial refources of France fo exhaufted, and her power there fo unflable, as to render the flighted move- ment, even of regular warfare, moft pregnant with dangers. Nothing, then, but abfolute ne- ceffity can ever tempt her to facrince a ftate of peace, in which her only chance of exiftence lies, for all the dangers and uncertainties of Weft Indian warfare. Her refources, too, are little adapted in that quarter for new efforts, admitting that me mould be fearlefs of the re- fult ; and it may be prefumed that the mother country is herfelf fomewhat exhaufted by the late contefl, expenfive and bloody in an unex- ampled degree. What better fecurity for paci- fie * Book II. Sed. II. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 2Q7 fic conduct can any ftates poflibly have, than SECT. that their natural enemy or rival is in a fitua- . tion of weaknefs and exhauflion, v. hich mud render all attempts to conquer or plunder abor- tive, and in a ftate of internal confufion or half- quelled tumult, which mufl render every fuch aggreffion a ftep to abfolute ruin ? I demand, if the poffeflion of her treafures, and armories, and dock-yards, would furnifh ftronger pledges of pacific conducl, or greater fecurity agamil any effects of a rupture ? 4. I have mown * that a colony is, in all cir- cumftances, a lefs formidable neighbour than a primary and independent community ; that, o^ all colonies, thofe in the Weft Indies are the weakcft and lead formidable neighbours ; that they are the colonies which would be moft improved in ftrength by a feparation from the parent (b. and that, of all the Weft Indian colonies, the French are not only' the weakeft, but are the fettlements which would be moft improved in resources by being feparated, in whatever way, from the mother country. Since the relation of colonial dependence, then, is a caufe of weak- nefs, its continuance is always to be favoured by each power belonging to the fyftem, and the independence of any one member of ii'at fyftem is uniformly to be dreaded as fatal, both to * Book II, Se6t. I. & li. COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK t th e dependence of the reft, and to their fafe- L. / ..- ty from hoftile aggreffion. In general, there- fore, we may conclude, that it is the intereft of every power pofiefling colonies, to league with whatever parent (late may be annoyed by colonial rebellion, and to affift its colonial neighbours, even if they mould be its natural rivals or allies, in crufhing all revolt, and preventing the inde- pendence of the colonial infurgents. No aflift- ance in troops, or treafure, or mips, can be thrown away, that is directed to prevent fuch a cataftrophe. The principles of modern policy evidently require, that every exertion mould be ufed to prevent a change immediately fatal to the fecurity of the national or colonial fyf- tem. If a colony is lefs dangerous to the fecu- rity of its neighbours than a primary (late, the independence of that colony is an event as much to be dreaded, and as vigoroufly to be refilled by thofe neighbours, as the conqueft of any of the petty powers in the European commonwealth. The motive to refift the change is the fame in both cafes. If France conquers Bavaria, me becomes a more dangerous neigh- bour to Auftria and Pruffia, than France and Bavaria were when feparate. Auftria and Pruf- fia, then, to prevent this, will forget their mutual animofities, and defend Bavaria ; nay, Pruffia will defend Bavaria, although that power is the ally, or rather the dependant of -Auftria,, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. ,299 Auflria. In like manner, if a free ftate in SECT. St Domingo is more dangerous to the Britifh iflands than a colonial eftablifhment in that ifland, Britain is called upon, if (lie values her colonial interefls, to affifl France in preventing the rife of fuch a free date. She thus aflifts her natural enemy, but fhe does not make the fituation of that enemy better than before : me only prevents a change hurtfuf to both. This inference is evidently of a very gene- ral nature ; it is applicable to all colonial fyf- tems, and to revolts of every kind. But it ap- plies much more forcibly to the fituation of the Weft Indian colonies, which are more liable than any others that have ever been planted, to be affected by a change of govern- ment, and by being feparated from their parent ftates ; mod of all does it apply to- the mutual relations of the French t colonies and the other fettlernents, from the peculiar circumftances which I have fully explained in the civil and political fituation of the former; While, then, the circumftances of thofe iflands preclude all poffibility of their being dangerous as colonies after tranquillity (hall be reftored, the fame circumftances would render them moft formi* dable neighbours as independent ftates. The other powers of Europe, therefore, but more efpecially Holland and Britain, are imperioufly called 00 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK called upon to aflift France in all her meafures . for reftoring the colonial ftrufture of her fet- tlements. Without abating any thing of that national jealoufy with which thofe two powers ought always to view their great rival nay, in confequence of the very principles which re- commend this jealoufy in European affairs, they ought, without any hefitation, to unite with her to prevent all revolt and all eftablifh- ment of new powers in the Weft Indies, if they value the balance of the colonial fyftem. and the pofieflion of their own colonies, incom- patible with any change which mail emancipate the rich fettlements of the French Republic. 5. Although all fuch changes in the colo- nial relations of the different members which compofe the* Weft Indian fyftem, muft be dan- gerous to the others which remain dependent, and muft deftroy the colonial balance, I have endeavoured to mow, that fome changes of this kind would be infinitely more hazardous than others. By tracing the probable confequences of the negro independence in any of the iflands^ more particularly in the French fettlements, where that calamity feems moft to be appre- hended, I attempted to demonftrate, in the Third Section of the Second Book, that the eftablimment of a free negro commonwealth in any THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 301 any part of the fyftem, would be the moft dan- gerous event that could poffibly happen to the other iflands, and would inevitably and fpeedily be followed by the extirpation of all the white colonifts the univerfal dominion of the Afri- cans over the Weft Indian fettlements. The negroes, then, are the enerrty moft to be dread- ed in America by all Europeans ; they are the natural foes of thofe white men who are diftin- guiihed from them by indelible marks in body, and by marks almoft indelible in mind. The hoftility has originated in every fpecies of cruel- ty and oppreffion on the part of the moft civi- lized but leaft numerous clafs ; it has been cemented by length and variety of injuries ; it has been occafionally inflamed by reciprocal fe- rocity, and barbarous revenge, on the part of the favages ; it is rendered perpetual by all thofe events and habits of animofity, and by thofe eflential marks of natural diftin&ion. With fuch a power as the New Black Republic, no European colony can form a league againft any other European colony, or any other negro ftate. The negroes are alike hoftile to all who have been mafters of Africans ; to all who are civilized and white. In oppofing them as ene- mies, after their independence has once been ac- knowledged, the Europeans have almoft every difdavantage to contend with ; and all idea of a peace with fuch men muft be chimerical a mere I COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK mere truce with the wild leaders of favage .__ ' , tribes, whofe numbers furround and overwhelm the handful of their weak and polifhed ene- mies. If any power, then, deferves the name of a natural enemy, it is the negro common- wealth 5 a flate with which no other powder can live in amity, or form an alliance ; a flate e- qually hoftile, and radically hoftile, to all its neighbours. If any crifis can call for vigorous meafures of prevention, it is that which may terminate in the eftablifhment of fuch a power; a power which, if once fuffered to breathe alone and independent, muft overwhelm every thing within its grafp. If the European powers value their colonial poflfeffions, it becomes them to unite againft this tremendous enemy ; to forget all rivalry, and join in oppofing the progrefs of this inevitable, calamity ; to interfere, at all e- vents, and abate this unexampled nuifance. * 6. Hitherto we have only confidered the ef- fects of the changes which we have been fup- pofing to take place, upon the interefts of the European powers, in a colonial point of view. Some of the changes that may be ima- gined, can indeed affect thofe colonial interefts alone. The extenfion of any one colony at the expence of its weaker neighbours, and the emancipation * Book 111. Sed. I. (Vol. II. p. 262.) THE EUROPEAN POWERS. Jd emancipation of any colonial eftablifhment from SECT. its dependence on the mother country by the efforts of the European colonifts, can only af- fecl: the power of the other parent ftates over their colonies, by bringing about the conqueft or e- mancipation of the other colonies. The only ter- mination of fuch a crifis, will be the univerfal in- dependence of the colonies, or a great extenfion of power the acquifition of univerfal colonial fove- reignty to one or to a few of the European powers. Of both thefe cataflrophes, I have already ex- plained the probable confequences to the com- mercial relations of the ftates, formerly fupreme over the emancipated or the conquered fettle- ments. * A mutual trade will ftill fubfift, in the one cafe, nearly as before j in the other, modified by the colonial policy of the conquer- ing power. But effects, widely different in- deed, will attend the more formidable cata- ftrophe of negro fupremacy being eftablifhed over the Weft Indian Archipelago. It is mani- feft, that all commerce with thofe rich and fer- tile fettlements will now be at an end. All the capital vefted in the Weft Indian trade will be inftantly thrown out of employment, and^that which is fimilar in colonial property will of courfe be buried for ever : all the cafh employed in colo- nial loans will be either loft, or fuddenly forcced back * Book I. Sea. L & Sed. II, Part I. 504 COLONIAL POLICY OP BOOK k ac k upon the European market : all the lofTes . of the planters will be immediately fhared by their European creditors and correfpondents : all circulation of population and wealth to thofe parts of the world will at once be terminated : not to mention the lefs important confideration of private diftrefs ; lefs important, only becaufe it is of a lefs lading nature. An univerfal earth- quake or deluge, which mould at once blot out thofe fertile regions from the faee of the phyfi- cal globe, is not fo much to be deprecated as the lamentable cataftrophe which mould abforb them in negro dominion, and deftroy their ex- iflence as a civilized quarter of the globe. It is needlefs to add, that the total lofs of thofe fettlements as colonies, or their complete fubjugation by any one European power, are bleffings to every party concerned bleffings furely to the very Africans themfelves, com- pared with tb; annihilation of the European name in the Charaibean Sea. Admitting, what I have demonftrated to be falfe, that ' all the dangers are real which fome fpeculative men have apprehended from the reftoration of the French colonial power ; admitting, what is evi- dently chimerical, that the affiflance, fo flrong- ly recommended to be afforded the French go- vernment in the Weft Indies, would flrengthen its hands at our own expence j and, to put the matter THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 30 matter in its ftrongeft light, admitting that every SECT. aid which Britain lends to her, is an expence i_ f and a danger embraced in order to ftrengthen our natural enemy, ruin our whole colonial fyftem, and eftablifh the univerfal fovereignty of France over the Weft Indies : what is all this, in a political, a commercial, or a moral point of view, but wifely and humanely choof- ing the leaft of two evils, and giving up what we can do without, in order to prevent a ihock, from which, although all feelings of humanity fhould be laid afide, it is difficult to conceive that the mercantile refources of Great Britain herfelf could recover ? France would, indeed, be more affe&ed than even Britain by fuch a {hock ; in other words, we mould have little to fear during our adverfity from the direct attacks of the French government. But, befides the dangers to be apprehended from other powers unconnected with America, and from thofe colonial powers fo much lefs involved in the calamity than the two nations hitherto the arbiters of European affairs are there no dangers in domeftic confufion ; no chances of ruin and revolution in commer- cial failure ; no evils in national bankruptcy, which may render the political independence of France and of Britain, little worth maintain- ing, and which either of thofe great ftates would feel but little alleviated by the melan- n, U choly 306 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK c holy reflection, that they were common to vJ^ both? It is natural that the prejudice mould be ftrong in this country againft any clofe alliance, and much more againft any active afliftance to an enemy whofe power in Europe we have had fuch reafon to dread, and of late years to lament. However clear the reafons may ap- pear in favour of the fyflem of policy propofed, and however definite the line between aiding France in the colonial fyftem, and favouring her pretenfions to univerfal power in the European commonwealth, it is eafy to perceive, that he who mail argue the queflion upon the grounds above expofed, and recommend the practical conclufions to which the reafonings in the laft and in the prefent Book of this Inquiry appear to lead, will have a great weight of popular prejudice to combat, and a variety of powerful declamatory topics to refift, from many re- fpeftable quarters. It is by no means my in- tention to propofe any thing but the utmoft vigilance towards our natural enemy in every part wherein the two countries are contiguous, and may interfere. In the colonial, as in the European fyftem, her boundlefs and conftant ambition may be fatal to the balance. Let us endeavour, by every precaution which jealoufy and political forefight can fuggeft, to keep her influence THE EUROPEAN POWERS. . 307 influence within due bounds, in that as in every SECT. other part of her extenfive empire. But let all .__ ^ ' . thofe precautions be regulated by circumfpeo tion, as well as prompted by alacrity, left the meafures adopted for the purpofe of avoiding a danger on one fide, may throw the fum of affairs into much greater and more irreparable diforder on the other. Let a union againftFrench aggref- fion be cultivated with all the European powers who can maintain the relations of amity, and bind themfelves by the faith of treaties. But let not the very firft principles of modern policy be violated, by permitting the colonial power of any European (late, even of France herfelf, to be annihilated, and annihilated too by the common enemy of all Europeans. And furely, if it is neceffary to ufe fuch argu- ments, popular topics may well be found in the ftate of colonial affairs, to flrengthen the conclu- fions which plainer and more valid deductions have eflablifhed, and to convince thofe whofe paflions muft be inflamed before they can liftea to the voice of reafon. Admitting every thing that can be urged againft the policy of affifting France, and thus enabling her to retain her American dominions, do the lives and proper- ties of thoufands of our countrymen in thofe parts claim no regard, that we mould for a mo- ment entertain the idea of facrificing them to ' U 2 a 3C- COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK a mean defire of needlefsly ruining our rivals . '.,_. in a quarter where they cannot materially hurt us, merely becaufe (he cataflrophe will injure ourfelves in a fomexvhat fmaller degree ? 'It * is*the fmfulleft thing in the world, ' (fays an author not very blameable for excefs of tender feelings) ' to forfake or deftitute a plantation ' once in forwardnefs ; for, befides the difho- * nour, it is the guiltinefs of the blood of many ' commiferable perfons. ' * It is indeed no common fate to which the Eu- I ropean fettlements in the Charaibean Sea will be / left, if their parent ftates defert them by fuffering the French negroes to triumph in St Domingo. It is not to the peaceable yoke of fome civilized nation, nor the quiet transference of dominion by treaty or conqueft, nor the miferies of long contefted invafion by regular troops, nor the hardihips of blockade and famine, nor even to the anarchy of Jacobin law. The worft of thefe calamities, which may be dreaded from the preponderance of France in the colonial fyf- tem, is nothing compared with the warfare of the African labourers. Hordes of blood-thirfly favages, intimately acquainted with every cor- ner of the planter's houfe, every retreat into which his family may be driven, every crevice in the whole country ; mad with unnatural rage againfl all that deviates from the fable hue * Bacon's Eflays, p. 164. edit. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 309 hue of their own ferocious brethren ; pouring SECT. over each fpot where European life exifts ; . * ' - Mattering on all fides, not definition, for that would be mildnefs, but every exquifite form of ingenious torment ; only (topping, in moments of fatiety to lay afide the fword for the torch, and, in the intervals of mercy alone, exchanging torture for murder; march- ing againft the parent with the transfixed body of his butchered infant as a ftandard ; facri- ficing the weaker fex to their brutal luft, amidft the expiring bodies of hufbands and kinfmen ; and enacting other deeds of fuch complicated horror, that it is not permitted to the pen of a European to defcribe or to name them thefe are a few features of the pi&ure which wretched eye-witneffes have given us of negro warfare ; and it is to fcenes like thefe that we mail inevitably expofe thoufands of our country- men, if we facrifice the fecurity of the Europeans to gratify either a foolifli jealoufy of our rivals in the Weft Indian commonwealth, or a ftill lefs ex- cufeable tendernefs for the barbarians who have unhappily been poured into the French iflands. * With the greateft fympathy, then, for the unmerited fufferings of the unfortunate ne- groes ; with unmingled deieftation of the odi- ous traffic to which they owe all their wrongs, U 3 and * Edwards' Hiftory of St Domingo, chap. VII, COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK anc | the Weft Indian colonies their chief dan- v > gers; the confident friend of humanity may be permitted to feel fome tendernefs for his Euro- pean brethren, although they are white and civilized, and to deprecate that inconfiftent fpirit of canting philanthropy, which in Eu- rope is only excited by the injuries or miferies of the poor and the profligate, and, on the other fide of the Atlantic, is never warmed but towards the favage, the mulatto, and the fiave. It appears, therefore, on the one hand, that the greateft of dangers to the Weft Indian com- munity lies in the fuccefs of the negroes, and that the reeftablimment of the old fyftem in the French iflands can alone infure the permanent fuperiority of the Europeans, either there or in the other colonies. Nothing but the fubdivifion of the negroes, and their fubjection to the power of mafters armed with abfolute authority, can prevent them from acquiring that afcendancy to which divided fuperiority in numbers and ftrength naturally and invariably leads. On the other hand, I have endeavoured to (hew that the complete fuccefs of the French Weft Indian policy, while it removes for the prefent all the dangers of our fituation, can never arm the re- publican government with power to overthrow the colonial balance. But, even if fuch a de- rangement of the fyftem was the neceflary con- fequence of the reiteration j we may fairly af- fert, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. Jll fert, that the welfare of all the European colo- SECT. nies, and of the parent dates fo far as their inte- . _ ^ __. refts depend on colonial affairs, is intimately connected with the fuccefs of the republican arms, unlefs it mail be faid, that a total extirpa- tion, or expulfion, or fubjugation of the white inhabitants is a lefs awful cataftrophe than the univerfal eftablimment of colonial fupremacy by any one European power. The interefts of all the whites in the Weft Indies are one and the fame. The negroes are truly the Jacobins of the Weft: They are the anarchifts; the ter- rorifts; the domeftic enemy : Againft them it becomes rival nations to combine, and hoftile governments to coalefce. If, according to the principles formerly detailed,! Pruffia and Auf- tria felt their exiftence to depend on a union againft the republican arms in Europe, (and who does not lament that their coalition was not more firm and enlightened ?) a clofer alli- ance is imperiouily recommended to France, and Britain, and Spain, and Holland, againft the common enemy of civilized fociety, the de- ftroyer of the European name in the New World. If, according to the obvious confe- quences of the fame principles, as formerly de^ duced, all neighbouring nations are juftified in providing for their felf-prefervation, by interfer- ing in the internal affairs of any one member U 4 of f Book III. Seft. I. $12 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK o f t h e great national community who may efta- ' _. blifh a ftate of things hoftile to their domeftic peace and independence ; by the fame rule, would the neighbours of any large colonial efta- blifhment, where the negroes mould be fuddenly let loofe and permitted to raife an independent ftate, be juftified in uniting to attack both maf- ters and emancipated flaves, until the intolerable nuifance was abated, and the ancient order of things reftored. * In the a&ual cafe, however, this inter- ference is not called for. The French go- vernment of the prefent day, different from that of 1792, is neither hoflile to the domeftic tranquillity of the neighbouring ftates, nor to the fecurity of their colonies, however danger- ous the power of the republic may be in Eu- rope. In the firft ftage of the revolution, it belonged to their peace in the Weft Indies as well as in Europe, to ftep forward and take part with one faction againft another in the manage- ment of the domeftic affairs of France with the planters againft the infane councils of the republican government in the colonies, as with the royalifts againft the anarchical principles of the Jacobins in the mother country 7 . At prefent, the powers which compofe the Weft Indian fyftem, are only required to affift the ftrenuous efforts of the French government in the revolt- ed iflands, as they would be called upon in Europe f jBook 111, Set, I. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 313 Europe to aid the regular government of France, SECT. were the Tacobins once more to ipread them- , +* V^MP*-^ m*m.% felves over the country, and to threaten an im- mediate reftoration of the reign of terror. Let us then at once adopt that fyftem^which our common interefts clearly point out. Let us not ftartle at a found, and fhrink back from the name of a French alliance, at lead in the Weft Indies. Let us remember, that we are in thofe parts expofed to a common enemy, whofe yoke would be incomparably more fevere than the dominion of Jacobinifm itfelf ; whofe ftrength is more to be dreaded than the boafted army of England or the Grand Monarch of the feven- teenfh century in the plenitude of his power. And as the aggrandizement of Ruflia would drive us, however unwilling, into an alliance with France, even in Europe : fo, let us make a common caufe with her where (he cannot en- danger our fecurity, where we are threatened with a foe more terrible than Tartars and Cof- facks. It is to be hoped that the French troops may themfelves fucceed in the great enterprize committed to their charge, becaufe, in that cafe, their conqueft will be more eafily retained. But if they fhall ftand in need of our affiftance, let us recollect, that in fubfidizing the colonial trea- fury of France, we are preferying that trade which fupplies our fleets with feamen, and pours millions into our exchequer.; that the troops which may be fejit to affift the government of St COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK St Domingo are fighting the battles of our own u. v ' .' colonies, and defending from the ineffable hor- rors of negro warfare, one of the fairefl portions of the habitable globe. PART II. f OF THE EXTERNAL RELATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN POWERS IN DIFFERENT QUARTERS AS INFLUENCED BY THEIR COLONIAL INTERESTS. WHEN a ftate poflerTed of colonial eftablifh- ments is drawn into any quarrel with its neigh- bours, every part of its territories may become the theatre of warlike operations, and all the branches of the empire muft neceifarily take part in the conteft, whatever may be the origin of the difpute. We have already feen how much more frequently the colonies are expofed to the evils of warfare than the mother country, although they are very feldom the caufe of the rupture. * If, however, a war mould be under- taken on account of the remote provinces, the contiguous diftri&s mufl of courfe bear their mare of its burdens, and the mother countries may thus, on account of their colonial interefls, be * Book I. Sed. I, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 3'5 be engaged in war with each other, in Europe SECT. and in the colonies at the fame time. This is . r one of the neceflary confequences of extenfive and remote. porTeffions, and forms an effential part of the very idea of a political union. It will indeed happen, in the great majority of cafes, that the interefls of the colonies are made fubfervient to thofe of the other provinces, which are generally more extenfive, and always more valuable. Thus, while the whole empire will inevitably be plunged into an obftinate war for the advantage or honour of the metropolis, the colonies may often fuflain injuries, or receive infults, of which a flight explanation or acknow- ledgement will be admitted as a fufficient repara- tion. . Accordingly, I have already * mown how very fmall a fliare the colonial interefls have had in producing thofe contefts which conftant- ly recur to divide the European powers, after a fhort interval of peace recruits their forces and treafures. It does indeed almoft always hap- pen, as I have formerly obferved, f that when any neceflity for reparation of injuries, or any change in the balance of power, is attend- ed with a transference of dominion in confe- quence of a decifive war, the territories given up as indemnities obtained by right of con- are taken from the colonial eflablifh- ments * BookY Sea, I, Book n Sea * IL 316 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK rnents of the humbled nation, becaufe every flate naturally wifhes to retain, firft of all, its contiguous provinces, and to make both the ca- lamities and the effeds of war fall as much as poffible on thofe remote diflrids, which, from their diftance, are too much undervalued. It would, however, be extremely erroneous to con- elude from thence, that the acquilition of thofe dominions was the object of the war on the one fide, or their defence the motive of refift- ance on the other. While the campaigns of Germany or Egypt may have led to no other change in the relative pofition of the belligerent powers, than the transference of fome ifland in America or fome factory in the Eafl Indies, it neither follows that the maintenance or the change of the colonial balance was the object of the war, nor that the change or the preferva- tion of colonial dominion is the only purpofe to which the fuccefs of the hoflile operations has been fubfervient. If the party whofe diftant territory has been defended, had not infured fuc- cefs by carrying on the war in every quarter, new aggreffions in the nearer parts of the empire would have been the confequence. If the flate whofe victories, in various regions, have procur- ed an enlargement of colonial dominion, had failed from confining the war to the colonies a* lone, its honour would not have been preferv- ed THE EUROPEAN POWERS, 317 ed or ralfed ; its name and influence in the fy- s E c T If flem, always proportioned to the total, rather . than to the partial fuccefs of a war, would not have been extended ; it would not have thus far diminiihed the power of a natural rival ; and, on the next rupture, it would have wanted all thofe means of intimidating the enemy, which are acquired by exhibiting proofs of military greatnefs in whatever quarter of the world. But although the colonial interefts of a ftate are thus iecondary and fubfervient, it will fre- quently happen, that the fituation of affairs in thofe fyftems where the diflant territories are fi- tuated, may call for a, facrifice on the part of the mother country, ahd a temporary fubmif- fion of her own interefts to thofe of the colo- nies. I have already pointed out * thofe general cafes where fuch an appeal to the, principles of modern policy is confident with ftrid: prudence, and have illuftrated this pofition by a reference j- to the prefent flate of affairs in America. The fafety of valuable poffeffions, as well as the ho- nour of the nation, may often call for active meafures of precaution, or of vengeance on the fpot, altogether dictated by colonial views. The fame views may fometimes be extended fo far as to prefcribe the moft vigorous interference with * Book II. Introd. f ^id. Seft. II. Part I. , COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK w ith the conduct of foreign ftate's, if it tends '__ , mediately to operate the deftruftion of the colo- nial balance, and affect the fecurity of our own pofleflions or thofe of our allies. Thofe nations which poflefs no colonies of any value (Sweden and Denmark for exam- ple), can never be called upon by any danger, even by the direct violation of their colonial property, to plunge their contiguous provinces into a ftate of war, for the purpofe of preferv- ing the benefits derived from fuch inconfider- able fettlements. The whole value of the ter- ritory loft by any fudden aggreifion of a neigh- bour, will not be fufficiejit to compenfate the expence and danger of 'recovering the poflef- fion, and revenging the infult. Yet, even thofe colonial dominions can never be given up to the forcible Attack of an enemy, without fuch an injury to the honour and name of the mo- ther country, as muft diminifh her influence at home, injure the fpirit of her people in all future negotiations, and weaken her fede- ral power in all future European wars. That ceffion then of a ufelefs territory (admitting the colonies to be in any cafe ufelefs), which ought not to be deemed any evil in a com- mercial or financial point of view, mould uni- formly be refufed to forcible aggreffion ; al- though, after the honour of the nation is faved by THE EUROPEAN POWERS. by retaliation, and after fome equivalent is pro- SECT. cured, it will never be wife for the government to adjuft matters very fcrupuloufly, by nicely comparing the revenge with the infult, or the indemnity with the lofs fuftained. But the name and honour of a nation can- not be immediately affeded by fuch changes as only tend indire&ly to endanger the fafety of its diftant fettlements, or ultimately to make the colonial balance. Thofe ftates, therefore, which poflefs colonies of inconfiderable value, can never be called upon, by the principles of found policy, to interfere in the affairs of their European neighbours, for the purpofe of pre- venting the adoption of any line of conduct only remotely dangerous to the colonial fyftera in which they have fo trifling an intereft. Thus, although the fupremacy of France in the Weft Indies would be highly dangerous to every other power poflefled of colonial territory ; and although that fupremacy would be a very natu- ral confequence of a compact between Britain and France transferring to the latter Jamaica and Barbadoes ; what could be more ridiculous than that Sweden and Denmark mould endea- vour to unite Ruffia with them in order to pre- vent or annul the bargain ? It would clearly be nothing more than common prudence in Sweden and Denmark to aflift France (as we have COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK have already feen) in quelling the infurreftion of . her ilaves, becaufe the danger arifing from fuo cefsful negro rebellion is immediate to every white colony. It would be equally neceflary for thofe dates to arm in all parts, and to avail themfelves of the refources of federal power, if unjuftly attacked in the colonies, be- caufe. their honour and name would demand this, and becaufe the certainty of retaliation in every quarter is the great check to fuch aggref- fions in a fyilem which, like that of the colonies * is not properly balanced of itfelf. But if no* thing fhort of war could prevent the projected change, it would never leflen the name, or (lain the honour of either Denmark or Sweden, to allow France peaceably to acquire the decided fuperiority in a quarter where their power is at any rate fo trifling, and to truft for their defence in the laft refort to their fubfequent exertions when attacked, and to the refources of foreign policy even although in the end thofe ftruggles and alliances mould fail to fave the colonies, or to obtain exact reparations and indemnities. Still lefs reafonable would it be for powers thus circumftanced, to hamper their European policy with colonial confiderations in matters more re- motely connected with colonial interefts, fuch as thofe which I mail immediately point out ; or to fuffer the circumitances of their trifling fettle- ments, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 3t merits, however nearly affected, to (land in the SECT. way of any amicable arrangements fubfervient _ / to the profperous management of their foreign affairs in the great national fyflsm. The pecu- liar difference between a remote and contiguous province confifls in this that whereas the lat- ter, however trifling in idfelf, muft at all e- vents be retained as a part of the empire di- rectly neceffary to keep the whole together, the former is disjoined from the reft, and al- though a component part in every other refpett, yet is only indirectly fubfervient to the exiftence of the whole body ; and may therefore be facri- ficed in fuch emergencies as would otherwife endanger the contiguous members of the fyf- tem. The cafe of Sweden and Denmark, with refpect to colonial affairs, is one in which the trifling value of the diflant fettlements will al- ways render the probable facrifice preferable to the loffes and dangers of hoftilities undertaken from motives of extreme precaution, and dic- tated by the view of preventing changes only ultimately dangerous to the colonial balance. But widely different is the fituation of thofe powers which poffefs colonies of great intrinfic value as important parts of their dominions and rich mines of commercial wealth. In va- rious points of view, their conduct muft be re- gulated by a regard to their diflant, as well as to their contiguous provinces. An invafion of VOL. ii. X their 321 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK their colonial territory is, next to an invafion of in . ' . their European dominions, the event moil to- be dreaded, even although unfuccefsful, and, if poflible, to be averted by all the refources of federal power. The attack, when made, is to be repulfed and revenged, not merely from a regard to national honour, but from a conli- deration of the real value of the pofieffion which is at flake. All the means which the cautious and longfighted views of modern policy can fug- geft, muft be put in practice to remove every danger that may arife in any quarter to the co- lonial balance ; becaufe fuch rifks, though in- , different to the name and honour of a flate, lead to a cataftrophe fubftantially hurtful, per- haps ruinous the lofs of an important branch of the national territory, the difmemberment of the empire. To prevent changes only ul- timately dangerous to the colonial fyftem, or even to obviate the effects of arrangements that may lead to fuch changes, the whole influence of the mother country mould be called forth ; that influence which her internal refources and her colonial pofieffions have confpired in be- llowing, and which will no longer beher's, even in affairs flriclly European, if me fhall be fo blind to her befl interefts as to neglect all the meafures neceffary for keeping her fcattered em- pire together. It THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 3^ It is eafy to imagine a variety of cafes, in SECT. which changes may be effected, of the nature . T . which I have jufl now defcribed. By amicable contract between two powers naturally allied, a transference of colonial dominion may take place. Such was the compact by which France fold to Sweden the only ifland which me pof- feffes in the Weft Indies. Had this ifland been of great importance, and had the tranfaction been reverfed, fo dangerous an increafe of colo- nial power to the French dominions would have called for the determined interference of the neighbouring dates, as much as if a fimilar compact had transferred to France a part of the European continent. By a treaty of peace, terminating either a general or a partial European warfare, a fimi- lar transference of colonial territory may be ef- fected. In the one cafe, all the powers poflef- fmg colonies will be confulted, as having an immediate intereft both in the- pacification and in the colonial fyftem. In the cafe of a partial treaty, fuch as that which confolidated the whole of St Domingo under the French do- minion, it becomes the other powers to inter- fere, according to the principles of modern po- licy. * If the matters at (lake in Europe be not more important than the colonial interefts, it becomes all parties to join againft the new fti- X 2 pulation, * Book III. Sea. I, COLONIAL POLICY <5F BOOK potion, regardlefs of the fides which they had[ '.,,_. efpoufed in the previous part of the conteft. If, on the other hand, as was the cafe at the peace of Bafle, the fate of colonial affairs is of lefs moment than the European interefts flaked on the conteft, the colonial powers are called upon, by the partial treaty which has taken place, to de- fer their oppofition until the end of the European difpute, and then to introduce the confideration of the change that has happened, into the difcuf- fion of the general pacification ; or if the fortune of war has unhappily confined their influence, as has been but too much the cafe in the inftance which we are contemplating, their colonial in- terefts require that they mould defer their op- pofition to a more favourable opportunity, when their ftrength mail be recruited, and the eyes of the powers, whofe defertion from the common caufe has produced all the evil, mail be opened to their real honour and advantage. Such ought to -be the conduct of the powers poffefiing Weft Indian colonies, in the prefent flate of affairs. The great increafe of territory which France has acquired in the iflands, is in- deed rendered lefs dangerous than it otherwife would have been by the augmentation of the Bri- tifh dominions in the neighbourhood ; and the change has attracted lefs attention than it ought to have done, from the diftra&ed ftate of the whole THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 325 whole French colonies in thofe parts. But as SECT. it is for the evident advantage of the other co- -_ lonies, nay eflfential to their exiflence, that the French fettlements mould be reduced to a ftate of order ; and as, in the event of their pacifica- tion, the vaft force of the newly acquired do- minion will far more than counterbalance the increafed power of Great Britain, it certainly becomes the other powers to aid her in attempt- ing to reft ore the colonial balance, before the complete fubjugation of St Domingo and its augmented cultivation mall have rendered it a formidable neighbour. I have already * ftated the greater probability of St Domingo becoming foon independent of the mother country, in its prefent united ftate, than in its former Hate of divifion. This circumftance, and ftill more the reiloration of Louifiana to France, forms an ad- ditional reaibn for an interference, in which the United States would mod probably bear an im- portant part. And it furely -deferves fome con- lideration, that Spain, engaged only as a ft> condary party in the great European conteft, mould not only have paid fo great a mare at home, but fhould have entirely furnimed the equivalents in the Weft Indies, The fame re- mark applies to Holland in the Eaft : So that, X 3 in * Book I. Sed. III. Fart IV. 326 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK j n ^e colonies, as well as in Europe, the fame in , '. , melancholy reflection muft ftrike every one who contemplates the events of the late memorable conteft. The great powers who began the war, and who were the principals in it from begin T ning to end, received all their indemnities, and equivalents, and douceurs, from thofe leffer powers who had only an indirect concern in the origin of the conteft, and were dragged into it unwillingly. The defeats, both of Auftria and Pruffia, were paid for by Venice and the German princes. The victories of France were, in Eu- rope, recompenfed by the fpoils of Germany and Italy. In the colonies, Spain and Holland alone were dripped of their fineft territories, In order to reward the fucceffes of the French and Bri r tilh arms. The time is certainly not yet ar- rived, in which the balance of Europe and of the colonies can be readjufted, and the viola- tion of public equity repaired. Unfortunately, the fpoil has been fhared by almoft all the great powers of Europe ; and thofe who have re- ceived an inadequate portion, will not, it is pro- bable, be inclined to make reftoration, until the facrifice is found neceflary, as a preliminary to the meafures that may be prefcribed by the wifh to ftrip thofe \vhofe mare has been dan- geroufly great. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. Nor can we expect that the colonial power SECT. of France will receive no farther augmentation . _ ' u . at the expence of her vaffal allies, if her pre- ponderance in European affairs fhall remain as formidable as it now is. If the other powers of Europe mall continue as blind to their interefls as they have hitherto been,, and fhall fuffer the New Republic, recruited during the prefent inter- ruption of hoflilities, to domineer over fo large a portion of the continent under the name of protecting and befriending it ; what fecurity is there to thofe ftates which retain their inde- pendence and poflefs valuable colonies, that new gifts and ceffions of colonial territory fhall not follow thofe which we have been confider- ing, and pave the way for the immediate acqui- fition of fupreme power ? In Europe, it may be enough for France to fway the continental ba- lance, by the affiflance of the fuborcjinate pow- ers whom flie ufes as tools, while me allows them to retain their feparate names and fictir tjous independence, without running the rifk of the internal difunion and the oppofition from without, which always attend the eflablifhment of unwieldy empires. She gains as much real power as me can retain over the deftinies of the world, by ruling Holland, and Italy, and Switzer*- land, and Spain, through the medium of their own governments. But in order to turn the Dutch and X 4 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK Spanifh colonies to her own ufe, the actual pof- v -_< feflion of them muft be transferred. This is the only way in which the advantages, whether po- litical or mercantile, peculiar to colonial efta- blimments, can be ufurped ; and we can fcarce- ly doubt, that the temptations held out by ter- ritories fo rich in natural and acquired refources as thofe of Holland and Spain both in the Eaft and Weft, will be a fufficient inducement to the ambition and the national avarice of France to reftore her colonial profperity in America ; to extend her influence in the Indian ocean ; to recruit her exhaufted treafury ; and to revive her commerce and her navy all at the expence of an ally who has more territory than me can cultivate, and a vaflal who dare not murmur, although her capital were to be facked by the republican troops. It is only by interfering in the immediate concerns of France, Holland and Spain, that Britain and Portugal can prevent a cataftrophe fo ruinous to their interefts immediately in the colonies, and ultimately alfo in Europe. By fubfi.lizing other powers lefs directly concerned in fuch arrangements, and by reviving that fa- lutary jealoufy of the French power in general, which has for fome years been lulled or terrified into a ftate of reft, a check may be given to fuch meafures as mufl in the mean time deftroy the THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 339 the whole balance of the colonial fyftem, and in SECT. ii the end complete the fupremacy of the great ._ ' j republic over the European commonwealth. The dates which poflefs territories in the Eaft: Indies, are certainly expofed to fewer dan- gers from the fide of Europe, than from the c- perations of the native powers. Yet, even from Europe, fome danger may be apprehended. The extenfion of Ruffia towards the fouth and eaft, and the feeble ftate of the princes to the north of Indoftan, feem to have filled the am- bitious mind of Katharine II. with plans for accompliming her darling object, the extenfion of the Ruffian commerce, by an invafion of the rich provinces that now form the great eaft- ern wing of the Britifh empire. To thofe who reflect upon the feeble tenure by which, at the peace of Kainardgi, the Bridfli dominions in India were held, the bare mention of fuch a fcheme as that attributed to Katharine, will not fugged any contemptuous ideas. Since the con- vention with Ruflia put an end, at lead for the prefent, to all fears from that quarter, the fortunes of the Britifh arms in the Eaft have no doubt placed our dominion in a very different fituation, by the extinction of our great natural enemy in the peninfula. But {till, many of the native powers poffefs a force, which, if united, might prove dangerous in the extreme, They all retain their jealoufy of England j COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK England ; and, upon half enlightened politi- cians, it would not be difficult for European councils to prevail, even if their real interefts were not (as they unqueftionably are) inimical to the exiftence of the Britifh name in the Eafl. From France and her allies, they have no prof- peel of affiftance, at leait according to the pre- fent diftribution of colonial force. From the wealthy and populous ftate on the eaftern fide of the Bay of Bengal, they may expect the moil cordial co-operation. The fame faluta- ry jealoufy of Europeans, which has fteadily prevented them from intruding into the Bur- man territories, and dictated to the natives a line of policy that might do honour to more enlightened flatefmen, would certainly induce that prudent people to co-operate in checking the progrefs of a nation, from whofe increafe nothing but deftruction can a- jife to all the Indian ftates. A Ruffian inva- fion, then, would be moft probably fecond- ed by the Eaftern powers, to whom the ruin of the Britifh interefts, though effected by the introduction of a new European tribe, would ftill be highly advantageous. Befides, it mould be remembered that Ruflia is by no means fo far removed from thofe fcenes, as to render the efforts of her own individual force contemptible, or the plan of conquering India by direct and feparate invafion, chimeri. cal. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 331 cal. From Aftracan to the northern frontier SECT. of Indoftan, the diftance is not greater than . from St Peterfburg to thofe plains where Suwa- rofF defeated one of the fined armies in Eu- rope ; and the affairs of government in Siberia and Kamtchatka are managed by communi- cation with the metropolis, although the dif- tance is nearly twice as great as that of Cal- cutta from the Gulf of Finland, and the route incomparably more difficult. If the Britifli empire in the Eaft has been acquired by all manner of intrigues, rather than by force, and fupported partly by the fame means, part- ly by armies fent from an immenfe diftance ; will it be impoflible for Ruffia to difpute the prize, partly by the aid of thofe ftates whofe pafTions and interefts conlpire to alienate them from the firft great intruders, and whofe jeal- oufy mud now be increafed, and their union cemented, fince the defeat of their chief ally ; partly by the force of thofe armies who may in fo mort a time march from Aftracan, a ftation peculiarly adapted to become the depot of an armament, from its maritime fituation, its own importance, and its eafy communication with the heart of the empire ? Is it then a chimeri- cal fear that makes us tremble at the confe- quences of that fyftematic ambition, which may pour into the peninfula a well equipped army of a hundred thoufand men, fingularly ad. COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK a pted to Eaftern warfare, and fliake the Bri- . tifh power in provinces remote from the feat of empire, peopled by a difunited mafs of inhabi- tants, retained in fubjeftion, as they were con- quered, by the force and cunning of a handful of men ; furrounded by powerful flates, ready to promote any change that may weaken the Europeans, and give them the chance of free- ing the great Indian commonwealth from thofe formidable intruders who have fo long revel- led in its fpoils ? An invafion, although unfuc- cefsful on the part of Ruffia, might have the moft fatal confequences to the Britifh power all over Indoftan. Such an attempt muft be viewed as a calamity which it becomes Britain to avert by every exertion. Her naval power ; her influence in continental affairs ; the force of her treafures ; her intereft with allies ; in fhort, all the refources of modern policy mud be exerted in Europe, to prevent the great northern power from attempting a blow, of which the ultimate fuccefs and failure are al- moft indifferent to the fate of our Eaftern em- pire, provided it is levelled with a force at all adequate to the magnitude of the occafion. * In the mean time, an equal jealoufy mould be entertained of any encroachments which Ruffia may * Note N n. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. may attempt on the fouth. She lately added to her dominion, if common fame may be cre- dited, a confiderable province of the Perfian empire ; and her encroachments on the Turk- ifh dominions deferve unremitting attention, as well on account of their ultimate confequences to the colonial fyftem, as on account of their immediate effects upon the adjuflment of the European balance. I mall now take an example of a remote caufe, which may, by a lefs obvious and appa- rent procefs, operate the deftru&ion of the colonial fyftem in the Weft, and affeft more immediately, though not fo dangeroufly, the colonial dominions fituated in the Eaft Indies. During the laft years of the eighteenth cen- tury, by far the mod eventful period in the hiftory of the human fpecies, a fcheme was put in execution, by the revolutionary rulers of France, which appears to have been frequently in the contemplation of the ancient Govern- ment. When the colonial power of the republic in America had been almoft extinguifhed, the foundation of a new and invaluable colony was laid by the fudden conquefl of Egypt. The unparalleled achievements of the Britim arms, towards the end of the war, reconquered to it the Turkifh empire. But it is almoft needlefs to obferve, that for many years before the French 334 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK French expedition, the Porte had ceafed to have ^_ ) any real power over this fine province ; * that the unexpected victories of the laft campaign have not in any degree reformed its domeftic ad- miniftration ; that it lies as much expofed as before to the armaments which France may a- gain fit out from her Mediterranean coaft ; and that a convention between the Porte and the Republic, dictated by alarm or obtained by the promife of affiftance againft two powers the natural enemies of both, may peaceably transfer a poffeffion almofl totally ufelefs to its prefent mafters. It is of fome importance to confider the natural confequences of an event fo extremely probable, to the interefts, firft of the Afiatic, and then of the American colonial fvftems. j I. The mofl obvious danger, but, I appre- hend, by far the leaft formidable that can arife from the eftablHhmentof any European colony in Egypt, is the rifk of invafion to which the Eaft Indian fettlements may be expofed. As France is the power moft likely to attempt the efta- blifhment of a colony in Egypt, and as me is undoubtedly the moft able to derive advantage from this acquifition, we mail, in general, take for an example the cafe of Egypt becoming a French colony ; a cafe already for nearly three years fully realized. i. * Note O o- THE EUROPEAN POWERS. I. In attacking from this quarter the Britim s E c fettlements on the Malabar coaft, France will ._ poflefs many very obvious advantages, from the near neighbourhood of her new colony. The communication between Alexandria and Mar- feilles is much eafier and fhorter than that be- tween the capital and the frontier provinces of fome European ftates ; between St Peterfburg, for inftance, and the Ruffian provinces on the Black Sea. The average paflage to Alex- andria is fifteen or twenty days ; and from, thence to Suez is only a journey of a week. It is poilible, with favourable winds, to defpatch a courier from Paris, who mall pafs through Egypt 5 deliver his inftru'ctions to the colonial government eftablimed at Cairo j carry on ad- vices to the expedition fitting out at Suez or Cofleir on the Red Sea, and proceed with defpatches to part of the armament arrived at Surat on the Malabar coaft, in fifty days. * But admitting the average to be ten weeks, how much fhorter is this than the time taken by a quick-failing veflel to reach Bombay from Bri- tain ? It muft, however, be remarked, that the route, though fhort, is almofl entirely by fea. So * Maillet, (Ed. de Mafcrier), Part. III. p. zoo. Ricard, III. 43. Niebuhr, Voyages, I. 205, 228, 248, & 356. (French edit, in 4.to.) COLONIAL POLICY OF So long as Britain retains the decided naval fuperiority in Europe, the communication be- tween France and her new colony is com- manded by Britifh cruifers. The fame remark applies flill more ftrongly to the communica- tion between Egypt and India. A powerful fleet, flattened on the Malabar coafl, may al- ways cruife off the Straights of Babelmandel, or in the Channel itfelf, or in the Red Sea, of which the navigation mufl be ftill more dan- gerous to a large, fleet of tranfports than to a fquadron of the line. Befides, the veffels ne- ceffary for the expedition mufl be constructed in the colony, where for many years ihip- building cannot be expected to flourifh ; or they mufl be brought round by the Cape, and con- fequently expcfed to the Britifh fleets. The navigation of the Red Sea, too, in every part extremely bad, is impracticable for large veffels within eighty leagues from Suez. * It mufl alfo be remembered that no part of the world is more fubject to regular and flrong monfoons than the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea ; and, what cannot fail to hamper any ex- pedition fitted out from Egypt with very great difficulties, the direction of the wind varies in different parts of the paffage at the fame time. Thus, during the fix months of northerly mon- foon * Econ. Polit. et Diplom. (Encyc. Method.) 11.254. Note P p. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 337 foon in the Red Sea, the foutherly monfoon s E ( prevails in the Indian Ocean. * .__ y ' * After the dangers of the firft coup de main, therefore, are over, (and in modern times fuch Hidden mocks have feldom or never any effect), the Bombay government, aflifted by the fqua- dron which the neighbourhood of Egypt will conftantly render neceffary in the Indian Ocean, may be expected to provide fufficiently for the defence of that fettlementi 2. There can be no doubt, that, from its aftoniming fertility, and advantageous pofition, Egypt, under a colonial government, will foon acquire immenfe wealth ; and that the exten- five population which it actually maintains, and the dill larger number of inhabitants , which it may eafily fupport, added to its other refources, mud render it a formidable neigh- bour to the fettlements on the Malabar coaft, the mod inconfiderable of all the Britifh co- lonies in the Eaft. But the dangers to be apprehended from this improvement of Egypt, are far from being immediate. To mention on- ly one circumftance The population of the country, thougn much greater than that of the Bombay eftablifhment, is made up of fo many VOL. n. Y different * Capper on Winds and Monfoons, p. 68. 72. Bruce, J. 431. Note 338 COLONIAL POLICY OP BOOK different nations, in fuch a low ftate of civili- . ' . zation, fo refractory and difunited, that for many years the colony will be very ill adapted to encounter the rifks of a ftate of war; and, at any rate, mud trufl for its defence and government entirely to the troops of the mother country. It can only, then, ferve as a point from whence India may be attacked, by ferving as a depot or paflage for French troops, while it offers every where the moft vulnerable points to attract an effectual diverfion from the enemy. When, on the other hand, the refources of the colony have been augmented and its inhabitants dif- ciplined and enlightened by the progrefs of civilization, it will become, as an ultimate ob- ject, an invaluable pofleflion. Its ftrength and profperity being derived from commerce, its inhabitants will naturally be averfe to war, and more particularly to war with fome of their bed cuflomers. If the mother country mould force it on to hoililities, me will probably meet with refiftance j and the amicable intercourfe may thus be continued between Egypt and Indoftan, to their mutual advantage, in fpite of the mother country's ambition. 3. The fhortnefs of the paflage between the Malabar coaft and Suez, has often induced fpeculative politicians to imagine that the an- cient THE EUROPEAN TOWERS. cient communication between Europe and India s E c T - might be revived with advantage, not only for . / the purpofe of conveying intelligence, but alfo for the purpofes of commerce. It has there- fore been imagined, that the nation poflefled of Egypt may deprive Great Britain of her Eaft Indian trade, and monopolize the wealth of the Eaft, by joining the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, or by making Egypt an entrepot for the Afiatic merchandize. Upon this point it may be remarked, in theyfr/? place, that the communication between the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean, even admitting the poffibility of joining the Red Sea with the Nile or the Mediterranean by means of a canal, would be extremely tedious and incon- venient for the courfe of mercantile tranfaclions. A fwift failing veffel, of fmall bulk, fit for beating to windward and for avoiding rocks and fhal- lows, might eafily carry defpatches down the Red Sea, at times when no fleet of merchant- men could encounter the monfoons. The mef- fenger intruded with them could, without dif- ficulty, perform his journey through Egypt in a week, either by the Nile and the canal, or by land carriage, while repeated difficulties would neceflarily occur to retard the progrefs of laden boats and caravans. I fpeak not of the dangers which valuable merchandize mud Y 2 run 34 COLONIAL POLICY Of i, in the prefent unfettled ftate of the country, from the various tribes of banditti that infeft both the river and the deferts ; or of the many difficulties and vexations arifmg from the pofi- tive inftitutions fupported by the Porte and the Beys, for the purpofes of legal plunder. * Ad- mitting that all thefe impediments to the com- munication (hall be abolifhed, as fome of them certainly muft ceafe with the prefent order of things, there are ftill various phyfical obftacles to the projected communication, which muft for ever diminish, perhaps deftroy, the fuperio- rity of this route in point of fhortnefs. The fame veffels which navigate the Mediterranean cannot afcend the Nile, and crofs the defert in the canal. The goods muft therefore be all unloaded at Alexandria. The canal and river boats can never encounter the tempefts and fwell of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. Ano- ther loading will therefore be neceflary at Suez, although the river boats mould be able to na- vigate the canal. Hence the lofs and expence of two additional loadings and unloadings muft be deducted from the profits of the cargo ; and the delay occafioned thereby muft be added to the total length of the paflage. Moreover, un- lefs * Note R r. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 34! lefs a prodigious number of veflels nr employed SECT. in this trade, the goods muft often pay for two .__ ' , veflels inftead of one ; fince it will frequ nt y happen, that the empty veflels canno immedi- ately receive a new freight. The profits, too, of the confignees in Egypt muft be taken into account ; or, if the goods are accompanied by fupercargoes, their wages come to diminifti the total gains. Laftly, however fhort the voyage may be, it cannot be undertaken at all times, on account of the monfoons. Niebuhr fays that a fkilful voyager may go from Suez to India and back again in a year, by taking advantage of the half-yearly wind. * But if the winds blow half-yearly, it is clear that two voyages may be made in thirteen months. Still it will not be poflible, after making every allowance, to per- form the voyage from Europe^ to India oftener than twice in the courfe of eighteen months. This will clearly appear from the following ftatement. The moft advantageous time of failing from Marfeilles, will be the middle of June. Sup- pofe that the average time taken in tranfporting goods from thence to Suez is fix weeks (it can- not poflibly be rated lower, when we confider Y 3 the * Pef, torn. II. p. 320. See alfo'Book I. Sett. J1I. c' Inquiry. THE EUROPEAN POWERS, 359 as much of the Weft Indian foil to have been SECT. ufed for raifing this produce, as would be ne- . _ v ' . ceflary were the whole territory of an inferior degree of fertility. Let us now fee to what ufes the Egyptian foil may be turned. 2. The wonderful fertility of Egypt in all forts of grain, is too well known to require any defcription. The only remark which it is neceflary to make, is a correction of the vul- gar exaggerations that have been grafted upon the real account of its fruitfulnefs. Inftead of one, two, and three hundred fold, the common return is twenty-five and thirty, and fometimes as much as fifty for one. But thefe crops are the produce of the moft carelefs hufbandry in the world. The indolent Copt fcarcely takes the pains to fcratch the rich earth on which he lifllefsly fpills his feed-corn ; and in four months his harveft is reaped. Another fuc- ceeds in the fame year ; and in fome favoured diftricts, particularly of the Delta, where a- bundance of water can be procured, the foil yields no lefs than three crops to thofe lazy and unfkilful cultivators. The ancient culti- vation of Egypt, indeed, when it was the gra- nary of the Roman empire, or the country in which Ptolemy Philadelphus amafled a treafure of one hundred and ninety millions, or the Z 4 conquefl , COLONIAL POLICY OF conqueft from which the Arabs drew a reve- nue of three hundred millions of crowns, can- not now be perceived. Thofe innumerable ca- nals by means of which the precious fupplies of the river were diftributed, and thofe refer- voirs which affifted the induftrious natives in ceconomizing that treafure, have for the moft part been neglected fmce the decline of the flate under the Saracen dominion. But, though choked up and ruinous, the works may without .much difficulty be repaired. The foil ftill .prefents the fame foft fubflance to the fpade, and the fame materials for the kiln, that formerly enabled the Ptolemies to excavate the entire channel of the river, and raife the flupendous mountains of architecture which alone, of all human works, feem capable of refitting the injuries of time. The fand that in many places lightly covers the fur- face of the country, fcarcely conceals the an- cient furrows over which it has been permit- ted to fpread ; and all Egypt offers to the cul- tivator thofe tempting profpects of exceffive re- turns which have allured Europeans to clear the thick forefls of the New World, with this flriking difference, that its fined foil is every year renewed, enjoying the perpetual advantages of the virgin ftate which only once belong to the American plains, while the labour of the cul- tivator THE EUROPEAN POWERS. tivator who firft fows a field, is no greater than SECT. that of his fucceflbrs who repeat the fame ope- ^ __, ration. * The quantity of grain at prefent raifed in this favoured territory cannot be ascertained with precifion. But it is enough to obferve, that bad as the Egyptian hufbandry is, the very fmall part of the community, who may be ra-J ther faid to reap the fpontaneous fruits of the river and foil than to till the ground, abundant- ly fupply the whole population of nearly four millions of perfons, feeding chiefly on grain and vegetables, befides exporting a great part of the grain required by the inhabitants of Con- ftantinople, and the whole of what is confumed in Arabia. It may eafily be imagined, then, with what eafe a fmall part of the twelve mil- lions of acres which according to our compu- tation form the fertile territory of Egypt, may be appropriated to raifmg the fupply of grain required for the fubfiftence of the community, while * Suetonius in Vefpafiano. Plutarch, in Antonio. Hiftory of Eaft Indian Trade, apud Harris's Collection, Vol. I. p. 419. Maillet, (Edit. Mafcrier) Part. I. p. 14. Ricard, torn. III. p. 433. & 443. Sonnini, Voyages en Egypte, chap. XXVI. & XLV11I Savary, torn. I. Let. i. ; torn. II. Let. 3. 18. ; torn. III. Let. 2. Vol- ney's Egypt, vol. 1. p. 55, 67. Eton'a Survey of the Turkifh Empire, chap. VII, 362 COLONIAL POLICY OF JB o o K w hile the part now employed in railing grain , ' . for exportation, and the ftill greater portion laid wade by abfolute negleft, is devoted- to the raifing of more valuable commodities. We have thus found our provifion grounds and pens, to ufe the language of the Weft In- dian agriculture, and in an abundance fo great as to preclude the neceffity of importation, un- der which almoft all the American colonies la- bour. Let us fee if we cannot difcover alfo the plantations. 3. From the narratives of various authors, ancient and modern, more particularly of thofe travellers who have vifited Egypt, and given us a defcription of their route, with no other view than to gratify their own or their reader's curiofity about the antiquities of the place, we may gather, that every article of Weft Indian produce, except coffee, flourishes with peculiar felicity on the banks of the Nile. The great Weft Indian ftaple, the fugar cane, appears to be indigenous in Egypt. It has been raifed there in all ages, fometimes in very confiderable quantities, and always from, feed. Its culture is attended with no difficulty, and trifling expence. In Faioum, more efpe- cially, it grows in abundance, and almoft fpon- taneoufly. Although the natives are but little acquainted THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 363 acquainted with the culture of the plant, or SECT. the fubfequent preparation of the commodity, . ^' . they manufacture a confiderable quantity. All the fugar ufed in the feraglio at Constantinople is made in Egypt ; and the peculiar excellence of its quality is a fufficient proof that the cul- tivation of the cane might be there carried to any degree of perfection. It is in fact to all appearance natural to the fpot ; whereas in the Weft Indies there is every reafon to believe that it is exotic. We muft remember, too, that the fugar lands in Egypt would produce exactly twice as much as thofe in the American iflands, although the foil were in itfelf only equally fertile : for in the Weft Indies the cane pieces muft be allowed to lye fallow every al- ternate year, whereas the foil of Egypt is annu- ally renewed. But, for this very reafon, the ground in Egypt muft be incalculably more productive, and muft have, for fugar culture, and the other branches of planting, as well as common hufbandry, the perpetual advantages which belong to a virgin foil. Flax and cotton are articles of Egyptian growth ; and only require a little care and fkill to render them equal to what they anciently were, when the linen and cotton cloths of Egypt were proverbially noted for delicacy and dura- bility. The exquifite dyes which are brought to COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK to fuch perfection by European induftry and T ' . art in the new world, need fcarcely be looked for among the Copts and Turks. So much of the value both of cochineal and indigo is ow- ing to the mode of preparation, that we may confider them as the growth rather of a certain ftate of fociety than of a particular foil. Ne- verthelefs, there can be no doubt that both the Infeft which furnifhes the materials of the one fabric, and the plant which produces the other by the intervention of one of the mod delicate and uncertain procefles in the whole circle of the arts, are to be found in their natural ftate in Egypt ; and are even ufed by the natives as dyes, after a rude and inefficacious preparation. Several of the mofl valuable fpices and per- fumes, not to be found in the Weft Indies, as caflia, myrrh, gums, frankincenfe, &c. are in- digenous in Egypt ; the pimento and others might without doubt be eafily introduced ; and no country is fo favourable to the growth of the filk-worm. Coffee, we are told by fome authors, has never been cultivated with fuccefs in Egypt, although repeatedly tried. Others, however, have pofi- tively denied this ; and have argued, with great appearance of probability, that a plant by no means delicate, requiring very little care, and flourishing in the worft of thofe foils which prodtiCQ THE EUROPEAN POWERS 36*$ produce the other Weft Indian ftaples, may be SECT. expected to thrive in a country fo very favour- , rt able to all thofe articles ; more efpecially as, in the neighbouring territory of Arabia, the finefl coffee in the world is raifed in prodigious a- bundance : and in Syria, which clofely refem- bles Egypt in its phyfical character, coffee can be raifed to a degree of perfection that rivals the famous produce of Arabia. A country perfectly flat, is not indeed favourable to the growth of this valuable fruit. In the Delta, therefore, we can fcarcely expect its culture to fucceed ; but in the Said, on the fides of thofe hills between which the valley of the Nile lies, we can hardly doubt the poflibility of bringing this branch of planting to as great perfection as that which attends the fcanty exer- tions of the cultivators on the other fide of the Red Sea. It has in general been remarked of the Egyptian foil, that it is not favourable to exotics, unlefs their culture is introduced gradually and carefully. We may be allowed to fufpect, then, that the experiments, upon the failure of which Maillet and others have afferted the impofiibility of raifmg coffee in Egypt, were not fairly tried. If, however, all the other articles of value which I have enumerated, mail be raifed in fuch abundance by the colonifts of Egypt, it fignifies COLONIAL POLICY OK B Ir K % n ifies little whether or not this one remains i y_> an exception. The neighbourhood of Arabia will amply fupply the deficiency ; the coffee planting of that rich territory will be promoted and reduced to a fyftem by the demands of the new colony ; and if the European traders refort to Egypt for all the other commodities which they formerly received from the Weft Indies, they will alfo ufe the colonifts as mid- dlemen in the coffee trade, while Egypt will be as much benefited by becoming the emporium of this produce, as by raifmg and felling her own ftaples. At this day, the Mocha coffee, fo much prized all over the w r orld, bears a much higher price than it ought, in confe- quence of the various taxes raifed upon the tranfport, and the reftriclions laid on the ex- portation, by the governments of the countries where it is produced and of thofe through which it muft be carried ; fo that the article which at Mocha cofts only from fourpence to fixpence per pound, cofts at Cairo no lefs than from one milling and threepence to one milling and tenpence, or even two millings and a pen- ny, and at Marfeilles about half a crown. * 4- * Bruce's Travels, vol. I. p. 81. Volney's Egypt and Syria, vol. I. p. 220. & 229. ; and vol. II. p. 318. Mail- let (edit. Mafcrier), Second Part, p. 15. Savary, torn. I. Let. THE EUROPEAN POWEfcS. 36*7 4. For the manufacture and tranfport of all s E c T - the articles which have been enumerated, Egypt i__J i pofleffes natural conveniences by no means enjoy- ed by the Weft Indian colonies. Abundance of cedar and palm trees are to be had, of a nature admirably fitted for the tool. It has however been found fo much more profitable to ufe the foil for other purpofes, in the beft times of this province, that timber has generally been im- ported. As the cultivated country all lies near the river, of which the navigation is eafy, and as various ftreams interfeft the valley to join it, the ufe of machinery, and the tranfport of goods by water carriage to the ports of fhip- ping, where the hill joins the fea, mufl of courfe afford ineftimable conveniences to the planter and manufacturer. Befides, the level nature of the whole territory and the aftoniming fe- cundity of all the domeftic animals are circum- ftances equally favourable at once to the eafy communication between the different diftricts, and to the erection of machinery wrought by wind or draught. Here are produced, too, in unrival- led Let. i. & 5. ; torn. II. Let. 3. ; and torn. III. Let. 4. Sonnini, Voyages en Egypte, chap. XXXI. & XLVIII. Niebuhr, Voyages, torn. I. p. 116. 117. id. Defc.de I' Arab. p. 127. Commerce (Encfc. Method.) torn. III. p. 790. Ricard, torn. III. p. 439. Eton's Survey, Ap- pendix, Art. I, COLONIAL POLICY OK ' BOOK i e( j abundance, fome articles of fignal fuboN >., / i dinate ufe in various branches of manufacture, particularly natron, faltpetre, and fal ammo- niac. I have already noticed the adaptation of the foil, both for eafy excavation, and for the manufacture of bricks and earthen ware. 5. The climate of Egypt has been fuppofed by many to be as unfavourable to animal life, as it is genial to the productions of the foil ; and one author, remarkable for a general and un- meaning fyftem of invective, has declaimed a- gainft it as the worft under which the human fpecies has been permitted to live. * There is however, every reafon to believe that thefe pre- judices are wholly unfounded, and that we ihould come much nearer the truth, were we to beftow upon the climate of this country praifes equal to thofe which all mankind have agreed to heap upon its foil. The extraordinary fecundity of all animals on the banks of the Nile, has been repeatedly defcribed, both by ancient and modern writers. This circumftance, of itfelf, forms a flrong pre- fumption, if not a fufficient argument, in favour of the wholefomenefs of the air. The prejudice againft Egypt on account of the frequent dif- eafes * Pauw fur les Chinois & les THE EUROPEAN POWERS.' 369 eafes of the eyes to which its inhabitants are s E c T - ii fubjed:, has of late years been removed by the , ' ' _ f . fatisfaftory explanations of the moft intelligent travellers ; and it now appears that this malady, fo long a reproach to the climate, owes its ori- gin in fact to the cuftoms of the people, their conftant ufe of hot-baths, the weight of clothes which they wear round their heads, and their fondnefs for the practice of fleeping in the open air, expofed to the chilling dews of night, after the heats of the day have opened all their pores. The plague, too, has been fuppofed by ma- ny * to be indigenous in Egypt. Yet nothing can be more certain, than that in ancient times it was unknown to the induftrious cultivators and merchants of this province ; and there is no doubt that it has often been confounded with other maladies. The true caufe of thofe putrid difeafes which fometimes prevail on the banks of the Nile, mufl be fought for in the habitual uncleanlinefs of the inhabitants refpecl:- ing every thing but their bodies ; the dirty clothes which they always wear, even after fleeping themfelves for hours in boiling water ; the un- common lilthinefs of their ftreets at all feafons of the year ; the innumerable pools of ftagnant water which they never think of draining or filling up. As for the plague, it is now proved VOL. ii, A a beyond * Eton's Survey, chap. VII. COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK beyond a doubt, that this difeafe is always of .-- ^' . foreign growth ; and has never, except after a fa- mine, been hatched even in Cairo itfelf, where nine hundred thoufand inhabitants are heaped together in a dirty, confined, and moulder- ing city. But, notwithfianding its conftant prevalence in fome parts of the Ottoman em- pire, and generally at Conftantinople, the com- munication between Alexandria and thofe in- fected quarters is never for one moment ftopt- No regimen or fyftem of health laws is adopted. Indeed, in the whole extent of the Grand Sig- nior's dominions, there never was a fingle at of quarantine performed. The univerfal belief of the Turks in predeflination, and their utter ignorance of medicine, both prevent any means from being purfued to check the progrefs of in- fe&ion, and preclude all chance of a cure being effe&ed, or the difeafe being eradicated, until the natural courfe of the feafons brings relief. How abfurd, then, is it to accufe the climate of engendering a malady which feems to be courted by all the efforts of the people, with the entire concurrence of their rulers ? No fituation in fa& can be more falubrious than that of Egypt ; a level plain expofed to the fea breeze, with no forefts or hills to obftruct the freeft circulation of air ; a perpetual vegetation of the plants mod adapted to purify it j and a conftant flow of water through all parts of the country THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 371 country increafmg the motion and coolnefs of SECT. the atmofphere. Accordingly, there can be no ._ t ' r doubt that the encomiums beftowed on the falubrity of the Egyptian climate by all the an- cient authors, are in themfelves juft, and per- fectly applicable to the prefent circumftances of the country. In no part of the world do we meet with fewer prevailing difeafes ; in no flate have the numbers of mankind multiplied more rapidly, and kept pace more exactly with their induflrious exertions, than in Egypt during the better days of its government and manners. The natives are not affected by the moft violent heats of the fun, fcarcely even by expofure to the effluvia of their ftagnant pools, or to the Xhamfin wind, which occafionally blows dur- ing fix or feven weeks of the year, and is the only unfavourable attendant of the Egyptian climate. The moil violent efforts of bodily fa- tigue are borne with eafe and fafety. Even the culture of rice, which in every other country is the moft unwholefome of all occupations, is in Egypt attended with no manner of inconveni- ence or injury to the health. * A a 2 It * Volney's Egypt and Syria, I. 67. 202. 244. & 255. Savary, torn. III. Let. I. Maillet, (edit. Mafcrier) Part. I. p. 14. Sonnini, Voyage en Egypte, chap, XXVJ. XXXI. COLONIAL POLICY otf It is evident, then, that the climate of the new fettlement will be found as far fuperior to the cli- mate of the Weft Indian colonies, as the fertility of the foil and the facility of cultivation. But, even if the difference in point of climate were wholly in favour of the old colonies, it is not certain that this circumftance would occafion any obftruc- tion to the improvement of the leaft whole- fome territory. On the contrary, we fee con- ftant examples of health being facrificed, without hefitation, to the profpect of wealth; and the mod deadly climates in the world have not been able ferioufly to retard the cultivation of thofe re- gions which prefent to the adventurer the irrefift- ible temptations of cheap and rich land. It is worthy of remark, that the greateft population and wealth which can be found in any Euro- pean ftate of equal extent, are collected in a diftricl: labouring under the inoft unwholefome of the European climates ; and that the colonies which have accumulated the moft fplendid trea- fures in proportion to their extent, have been thofe of the Dutch in Java and Guiana, fub- jet to the moft peftilential atmofphere that is breathed by men on the whole furface of the earth : So feeble an influence have the greateft of all dangers on the minds of men, if placed at a little diftance, and fet in oppofition to the ftrong paflions of avarice or ambition ! We THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 37-7 We have feen how favourable the ordinary s E ^c T. ftate of the climate in Egypt is to animal as . _. v ' _. well as vegetable life. It enjoys another veiy effential advantage, in being free from thofe de- ftructive hurricanes and earthquakes which fo often prove deftructive both to the wealth and the lives of the Weft Indian planters. * This circumftance gives the new fettlement a decid- ed fuperiority over the old colonies in point of capacity for improvement ; a fuperiority which cannot be compenfated, like the common ad- vantages of a wholefome atmofphere, by the daring fpirit of adventure fo conftantly diiplay- ed in thofe remote fcenes of industry and for- titude. Indeed, the general circumftances of climate affect (though much lefs considerably) the rich- es as well as the comforts of any fettlement, by their influence upon the progrefs of population j but of this we are to fpeak in the fequel. 6. The fituation of Egypt gives it as decided a fuperiority over the American colonies, as its great fertility, its favourable climate, and terra- queous diftribution. It is placed almoft in arou2 rulers. They are probably more ia- duftrious 3o COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK duftrious than the Arabs ; and they are faid to v Y- have at bottom a great natural fire of charac- ter. * Such are the materials of which the new community is fundamentally to be con- fir ucled. The handful of Turks and Ma'me- lucs dfcferve ho attention : they will proba- bly be exterminated in the ftruggle which may precede a conquefl of the country ; if not, they muft be funk in the common mafs. From thefe particulars it may be inferred, that trje general qualities or capacities of the materials of civil fociety, juft now defcribed, are favourable to the plan of government which a European dynafty will certainly adopt ; and that a fufficient number of cultivators, that is, of day-labourers, will not be wanting to perform the fimple and eafy operations of E-. gyptian agriculture, in the new form which it muft immediately aflame ; while the flewards, overfeers, upper fervants, teachers, clerks, and moft of the mechanics, will be brought over from the mother country. It is not, then, by flaves brought from a diflant country, and fcarcely refembling their mafters in any one particular, that the new colony will be cultivated. A numerous body of _* Volney, I. 202, Savary, torn. III. let. 2. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. of hardy and active peafantry will foon be s E ( formed, enjoying the freedom granted by the . mild forms of European government, working for the maintenance of their families, and re- warded by the enjoyment of pleafures, com- forts, and political privileges. The African Have trade, it is mod fervently to be hoped, will never find admittance into this promifing fyflem, from the temptations which very low prices and abundant fupply of negroes hold out. The government which we are fuppofing to obtain the rich pofleflion, will furely remem- ber the fates of the French flave-maflers in A- merica, abolifh at once the trifling commerce in men, which at prefent fubfifls in Egypt *, and prefer a ilruggle with fome fmall additional inconvenience or delay, to the contemptible and tranfient advantages that may be obtain- ed at the riik of ultimate ruin. We may conclude, then, that the ftructure of the new colony will be firm and pure ; as well adapted to fuftain all the (hocks to which it may be expofed, as any colonial eftablifhment can poflibly be ; clofely united 'to the mother country, both by commercial or cafual inter- courfe of inhabitants, interchange of population, and refpectable public character ; and more e- fpecially connected with it by the proximity of its fituation. * Sonnini, chap. XXXVI. 32 COLONIAL rOLlGY OF BOOK fixation. In all thefe eflential particulars, it will "__. have a manifeft advantage over every Ameri- can colony ; and they are circumftances affect- ing the wealth, as well as the political import- ance and relations of a remote province. But, above all, Egypt will be cultivated by a numer- ous body of free and hardy men ; labour will bear its ordinary price ; the produce will be raifed at an expence trifling indeed when com- pared with that of the Weft Indian negroes * j and it will be manufactured into' its moft re- fined forms, with the fame facility as in Europe, fmce labour will be nearly as cheap. This free peafantry will cultivate the moft fertile region on the face of the earth, with every conve- nience for manufacturing their raw produce and tranfporting their wrought goods j with a conftant facility of felling their commodities at home, * We may remark the important confequences of em- ploying hired labour, in the prices of Afiatic fugars, which are raifed entirely by free hands. In Cochin, the great fugar market of the fouth of Afia, the fine ft fugar is fold for left than a penny the pound, (De Poivre, Voyage d'un Philo- fophe, p. 89.) Although the truth of this fad is no man- ner of argument in favour of the emancipation of the ne- groes, or the culture of the Weft Indian colonies by free hands ; a purpofe to which fome zealous and worthy men have attempted to apply it, (Clarkfon's Eflay, part II* chap. I. 3. De Poivre, p. 90.) ; yet it proves clearly how much cheaper Egyptian produce will be raifed by free men, under a favourable climate, and in an excellent foil THJi EUROPEAN POWERS, home, and with a conflant demand for them from SECT. Europe and Afia. The goods thus raifed in the mofl frugal manner and in the moil luxuriant abundance, will be collected into depots by the wholefale merchant and manufacturer ; a clafs of men who will not be wanting in the new colony, as they are in the defective fociety of the Weft Indies. They will be tranfport- able at all feafons, fubject only to the addi- tional expence of a fhort, fafe, and eafy voy* age to the confumer. And thofe are the com- modities with which the Weft Indian plant- ers have to fupport a competition ! Is it fanciful to afTert, that every cane-piece which is holed in Egypt, muft neceffarily lay wafte two in the Antilles ? and that the tropical colonies of the New World muft be defo- lated, by the rapid operation of irrefiftible powers, exactly in proportion to the revival of induftry and (kill in the moft ancient theatre of human exertion ? The cultivation, that is, the conqueft of Egypt by a European ft ate, or its improvement by an enlightened and independent government, muft be as inevitably fatal to the exiftence of the European name in the Charai- bean Sea, as the eftablifhment of a negro com- monwealth j with this difference, that the latter cataftrophe will, in all human probability, work its effects by force and flaughter, while the former event will defolate the Weft Indies by a COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK a peaceful though fudden operation. The one , J"| __j is the violent, the other the natural death the true euthanafia of the old colonial fyftem. Such appear to be -the confequences, firft to the Afiatic, and next to the American co- lonies of the European powers, which muft ne- cefiarily flow from the improvement and cul- tivation of Egypt, in whatever manner that event mall be brought about. It remains to take a curfory view of the policy di&ated by the colonial interefts of the different flates, with refpecl to the combinations which may ac- celerate fuch confequences as thofe that have juft now been paffed under review. We have feen, that to the Afiatic colonies nothing but good can arife from the improve- ment of Egypt, whether under an independent government, or under the colonial dominion of any one European power. But the Afiatic colonies are of much lefs importance to the parent ftates than their American fettlements. The abfurdity, then, of facrificing the exiftence of the latter, to the partial improvement of the former, is abundantly obvious : and we have feen, that nothing lefs than the annihilation of of the Weft Indian colonies, by far the moft important part of the American fyftem, can refult from the improvement of JEgypt, whether it is effected by an independent or by a colo- nial THE EUROPEAN POWERS. nial regimen. It appears manifeft, then, and at firft fight altogether unqueftionable, that the improvement of Egypt is an event to be depre- cated, and if poffible prevented by all the Eu- ropean ftates which polfefs colonies in the Weft Indies. But a little farther attention to the fubject, may perhaps lead us to modify this conclufion in feveral important particulars. A great diftinction muft be made between the improvement of Egypt as a colony of fome European power, and its improvement as an independent ftate. Let us, in the firft place, confider the general confequences of the defo- lation of the Weft Indies, whether caufed by the eftablifhment of an independent government in Egypt, or by the efforts of fome power un- connected with the European community, or by the victories of fome European power. The improvement of Egypt can only de- ftroy the Weft Indian fyftem, by enabling a new fet of planters and merchants greatly to underfell thofe of the Weft Indies. All the confumers of Weft Indian produce, therefore, muft be great gainers by the change. Thofe only can lofe who are immediately concerned in the plantation trade, who have removed to the Weft Indies for the purpofe of felling their labour dear, who have inverted their ftock in. the purchafe of land, or who have lent their capital to perfons engaged in the Weft Indian VOL. ii. B b agriculture. SECT. II. agriculture. All thefe clafies of men will be ruined by the change ; the labourers will be forced to remove elfewhere, the proprietors will lofe all their flock, and the creditors all that part of their capital which they had lent to the proprietors. But the merchants-im- porters of colonial produce will gain by the new arrangement. They will trade to Egypt inftead of the Weft Indies. The returns of their capital will be quicker, though their pro- fits will be a little lefs j the riik will be con- fiderably diminimed ; and the cheapnefs of the Egyptian produce will increafe the demand for it. The manufacturer of goods formerly ufed in the colonies, will alfo gain by the change, inafmuch as the new market will be much more extenfive than the old. The general interefts of manufacture and trade will gain in like manner ; for a portion of the capital formerly employed in the more expenfive traffic will now be fet free by the diminution of the prices ; and the cheaper the confumer purehafes that produce, the more mo- ney will he have left to purchafe other articles. The general interefts, then, both of the mer- cantile and confuming part of the community, will reap great and folid advantage from this new diftribution of colonial property, whether that fhall be effected by France, Spain, or Hol- land, TH EUROPEAN POWERS. 387 land, or by feme independent government e- s E c T> ft'abliihed in Egypr, or by fome power uncon- u y -3 nccted with Europe. On the other hand, the interefts of the Weft Indian colonifts, and of thofe concern- ed in the agriculture of the iilands, will be ruined ; the mother countries will lofe all the advantages, political and commercial, which they formerly derived from purfuing the fyftem of colonial policy, and which I endeavour- ed to point out in the Firft Book of this In- quiry. All the capital embarked in colonial fpeculations and loans will of courfe be funk ; but the new capital conftantly accumulated, which would naturally have fought for em- ployment in the Weft Indies, will now be em- ployed either in the remaining colonies, or in the new community. Different nations will evidently fuffer in very different degrees by the change. Holland, whofe colonial policy is of moft importance to her, and whofe Weft In- dian colonies bear a greater proportion to her whole colonial dominions than thofe of any other power, will be moft of all injured. France will probably fuffer next, admitting that me is not miftrefs of Egypt ; after her Britain ; and then Spain, whofe interefts will be very little fcffefted : while Portugal can fcarcely fuffer at all by the change. It happens, however, that all the powers which poffefs Weft Indian ter- B b 2 ritories COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK ritories of confiderable importance, poflefs alfa , other colonies both in Afia and America, except Holland, whofe remaining colonies lye in Afia and Africa. The fcene of their colonial pro- fperity will therefore be changed by the new arrangement ; and inftead of cultivating the Weft Indian iflands, they will improve North and South America, Africa and Afia, after ad- opting thofe reforms, and introducing that li- beral fyftem of provincial policy, which the lofs of their fineft fettlements muft ftrongly re- commend. It is not eafy to form any comparative efti- mate of the advantages and difadvantages like- ly to arife from any event, fo as to balance the one againft the other, when the benefits are altogether of a commercial, and the injuries are both of a commercial and political nature. All the benefits which can refult to the (rates of Europe from the improvement of Egypt, are of a nature ftriclly commercial or ceconi- mical ; they end in the faving or the increafe of the national capital. The lofles to which this event will unqueftionably fubjecl the flates pofiefling Weft Indian colonies, are partly commercial, and partly political. It may be poflible to compare the commercial lofles with the gains likely to refult from the change ; and there can be little doubt that we fhall be inclined to ftrike a balance favourable to the change THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 389 change in this refpect, if we take into the account SECT. the vafl extent of the confumption of colonial i v , / produce, now reckoned amongft the prime ne- ceffaries of civilized life ; the fmall amount of the capital employed in raifmg that produce, compared with the capital employed in circulat- ing and in purchafmg it for confumption ; and the vent which remaining colonies will flill af- ford to the future accumulations of flock. On the other hand, admitting that an overplus re- mains in favour of the new arrangement con- fidered as a mercantile benefit, this balance, confifling entirely of commercial profit, cannot be compared with the remaining lofs attendant upon the event, and compofed entirely of po- litical inconvenience or injury. The wealth of France and Britain, for example, may, upon the whole, be increafed by the change which (hall deprive them of their Weft Indian colo- nies. But thofe-eolonies, confidered as an in- tegral part of the French and Britifh dominions, are productive of various advantages to the o- ther parts, befides contributing to augment the national capital. Thefe have been enume- rated in a former part of this Inquiry, * and they cannot properly be compared with any pecuni- ary confiderations. They therefore remain to induce an oppofition on the part of Britain and France to any plan which may improve Egypt at B b 3 the * Book 1. Sett, I. 390 COLONIAL POLICY Of BOOK the expence of the Weft Indies. Perhaps, . . ' , too, the total clear gain in point of wealth which is to be expected from the improve* ment of Egypt, may receive a great dimi- nution from the fuddennefs of the change. The fhock which the credit of the mother country is likely to experience from fuch an event as the rapid definition of the Weft Indian colonies, and the injury which the whole fyftem muft receive from a fudden change in the employment of part of the trad- ing flock, are evils of a ferious nature in all communities of modern ftructure. Joined to the political inconveniences and injuries be- fore mentioned, thefe circumftances will pro- .bably be deemed, by all the European powers, to afford fufficient reafons for deprecating, and If poflible preventing the improvement of Egypt, in whatever way that event may be brought about. But let us confider, in \hefecond place, the re- lative confequences which may be apprehended from the lofs of the Weft Indian colonies, if it is accompanied with the eftablifhment of a European power in Egypt. There is, in this cafe, no dif- ficulty whatever. A fmgle glance muft con- vince us, that this mode of improving Egypt is in the higheft degree hoftile to the interefts, po- litical as well as commercial, of every other Eu- ropean power befides the one to whofe lot Egypt may THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 39! may fall. It is evidently hoftile to the com- SECT. mercial interefts of Europe, inafmuch as the T poffeilion of the colony puts the whole produce under the power of one trading nation. Admit- ting that, for the purpofe of more rapid improve- ment, a free trade (hall be allowed at firft, then the Weft Indian iilands are laid wafte, and a mo- nopoly continues in the hands of the power pof- feffing Egypt ; the colonial produce will there- fore be fubjecled to imports, taxes, duties, and all the regimen of the fifcal fyftem, excited by the jeaioufy of rival traders and hoftile govern- ments. But the poffeffion of the new fettlement is ftill more dangerous to the neighbours of the mother country, from the immenfe addition which it muft fuddenly beftow on her refources. Whilft all her neighbours have loft their Weft Indian colonies, me alone has acquired one of import- ance equal to the whole colonial fyftem, placed almoft in the vicinity of her contiguous pro- vinces, and immenfely valuable, not only as a fubftitute for all the Weft Indian fettlements, but as an emporium of Eaft Indian and of Eu- ropean trade. This noble province will unite all the advan- tages of a colony, in a higher degree than they have ever exifted elfewhere, with moft of the be- nefits arifmg from a great extenfionof the proper Boundaries of the parent ftate. The poffeffion of B b 4 Egypt" >9 2 COLONIAL POLICY OF 4 Egypt muft of neceffity derange the European balance. After deftroying the colonial fyflem of the Weft, the keys of the Nile will probably beftow the decided fuperiority in the arbitration of European affairs upon the nation which fhall be permitted to keep them, as they anciently threw the fupreme power over the deftinies of the Roman empire into the hands of the firft pre- tender who was happy enough to feize them. It is unneceffary to point out more explicitly the conduct which thefe confiderations dictate to every European ftate, but more efpecially to thofe poflemng American colonies. In a merely colonial view, it appears that the poffeflion of Egypt by any enlightened power, however bene- ficial to the Afiatic colonies, is ruinous to thofe of the Weft Indies, and that the colonial in- terefts of all the other powers are oppofed to fuch a revolution. In a more general point of view, fuch a revolution is to be deprecated as fatal to the European fyflem ; and the dread of it will be efteemed at all times a fufficient reafon for vigorous coalition againft the ftate whofe views may be directed towards this quarter, fo long as the different members of the great commonwealth retain that fpirit, equally prudent and honour- able, which has fo often faved the whole fyftem from deftruction. Let Let us apply thefe remarks more particu- SECT, larly to the event which was in fat ac^omplim- . ^' . ed during the late war the conqueft of Egypt by France. The difficulty and expence in which the French Weft Indian adminiftration has for fome years been involved, appear to fome more than a match for the whole benefits of the colonial policy. It is even thought that fuch compli- cated difadvantages cannot long be borne, and that the negroes muft foon obtain the fupreme power in the French iflands. I have endeavoured to fhow * that this conclufion is not warranted by the circumftances of thofe fet- tlements ; but it has all along been admitted that the ftruggle by which the colonial exift. ence of the republic muft be maintained is one of no common difficulty and hazard. If, then, the pofieffion of Egypt mail transfer all the be- nefits of the Weft Indian fyftem to a Mediter- ranean colony, with various additional advan- tages which* the old fettlements never pofleffed, it is fair to conclude, that the Weft Indies will be abandoned by France at the very moment of her obtaining a quiet footing in the new pro- vince. Long before an independent govern- ment could fo far improve the Egyptian terri- tory * Book I. Seft, III. Fart IV, 394 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK tory as to underfell and lay wafte the Weft In- ITT . .- ' . dian colonies, the eftablifhment of negro fupe- riority in the French iflands will defolate the whole fettlements in the Archipelago. The ca- ftrophe, then, which we have been contem- plating f , will be moft fuddenly accomplifhed by the eftablimment of the French yoke in Egypt. This is, in every reflect, the mode of improv- ing that country moft hoftile to the colonial in- terefts of the European powers. In like manner we may, from this point of view, eafily perceive new inducements to aflift France in her ftruggle againft the Weft Indian ilaves. If her affairs in that quarter grow def- perate, me has only one way of retrieving her colonial exiftence ; me muft ftake her com- mercial profperity on the acquifition of Egypt, and prepare for making a ftrong effort in that quarter with the remains of her colonial troops and treafure, and the flower of her European forces ; me will of courfe abandon her Weft In- dian poflefiions at the outfet of the ftruggle, both in order to fave the continued expence of the war and government, and alfo in order to make a diverfion by means of the revolted negroes, who will now be fighting her battles as ef- fe&ually as they before fupported their own caufe. In Book II. Sea. III. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 395 In every point of view, therefore, two infer- SECT. ences may be drawn from all that has been ._ J . faid. We may with certainty conclude, that the colonial interefls of the European powers dictate the neceility of aiding France in the Weft Indies, and vigoroufly keeping her out of Egypt ; and that the European interefls of thofe ftates dictate the neceflity of purfuing the fame conduct in the Weft Indies, as well as in Egypt. The acquifition of Egypt is direftly hoftile to the European fyftem, and indirectly deftrudive of the colonial fyftem. The conti- nuance of the French power in the Weft In- dies, is directly eflential to the colonial fyftem, and indirectly favourable to the balance of Eu- rope, from its tendency to prevent the ftrong efforts which otherwife muft be made againft Egypt. The fuccefs of the French arms during the late war, and the blindnefs of fome European powers to their beft interefts, render it not im- poffible that France may fucceed in the at- tempt which we are now conceiving her to make. May not fome meafures be purfued with the view of continuing a kind of balance fuited to the new order of colonial policy which muft in the fuppofed event be introduced ? May not Britain, for example, obtain a fimilar {hare of the Turkifh empire ? The rich and retentive 396* COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK extenlive province of Syria, in little more than , J , in name a part o the Turkifh empire, is in many refpects a more valuable acquifition than Egypt itfelf. The pofition is not altogether fo convenient, nor the territory fo well diftribut- ed, nor the foil fo inexhauftible in confequence of perpetual renovation : But the fertile terri- tory is twice as extenfive j the harbours are more convenient and numerous ; the climate is ftill more variegated and falubrious ; the growth of animals wild and domeftic more a- bundant j and the fertility of the land in veget- able productions if poffible more rich and vari- ous. Befides affording every fpecies of ufeful grain in prodigious plenty, the climate and foil of Syria are admirably fitted for the culture of the fugar cane, the cotton and tobacco plants, the indigo and coffee trees, the vine and the olive, not to mention the cochineal infect and filk- worm, which thrive in great perfection and a- bundance. Even under the worfl conceivable fyftem of adminiflration, almofl all of thofe va- luable articles are at prefent raifed in great quantities, without any thing more than the molt contemptible exertions of induftry and {kill. In its ruined and defolated ftate, Syria produces a revenue of nearly one million three Hundred thoufand pounds Sterling j and its po- pulation^ THE EUROPEAN POWEltS. 397 pulation, rapidly diminifhed by a long fuccef- SECT. lion of execrable meafures in every department . '- _ . of government and police, is ftill reckoned at two millions three hundred and five thoufand by Volney, whofe eftimates are in other inftances greatly under the truth, f If this rich and delightful region were added to the Britifh empire, the acquisition of Egypt by France would be in every refpecl: harmlefs, and in many points of view advantageous. The Afiatic colonies would be faved from every chance of annoyance, whilft all the advantages formerly pointed out as likely to refult from the improvement of Egypt, would now in a mani- fold proportion attend the joint cultivation of Egypt and Syria. The general interefts of the European powers, and of Britain as well as France, would be promoted by the abundant production of colonial produce in its cheapefl form. The Weft Indian fyftem would indeed be overturned ; but on its ruins there would be raifed a more folid and valuable colonial ftruc- ture, a new fyftem, in which France and Eng- land f Volney's Egypt Syria, vol. II. p. 318. 359. 363. & 364. Ricard, III. 42 i. Geographic (Encyc. Method.) III. 318.- Econ. Polit. & Diplom. (ibid.) IV. 297. Commerce (ibid.) III. 784.' Eton's Survey, p. 292.- Harris's Colledlion, II, 841. ft feqq* 398 COLONIAL POLICY of BOOK hnd would be mutually poifed. The dangers ^J __, that might fo fairly be apprehended to the Eu- ropean balance from the conqueft of either pro- vince by one power, would now be rendered nugatory by the equal and oppofite acquisition* of the two great natural enemies whofe quarrels divide the European fyftem. The Turkifh em- pire would, indeed, apparently be difmember- ed ; and a certain defcription of politicians would lament the fates of the Ottomans, as they once wept over the deftinies of the Poles. But furely no fuch change could render the Sy- rians, Copts and Arabs, lefs happy than they at prefent are in their political circumftances ; whilfl any beginning of enlightened government muft be the dawn of national improvement, civilization and civil enjoyment to all thofe un- fortunate tribes of men. The lovers of humanity, too, might juflly rejoice in the execution of the project here (ketched, as the dawn of a happier day to a vafl portion of the human fpecies. The downfal of the odious traffic which has always been intimately connected with the Weft Indian fyftem, is the neceflary confequence of the propo- fed partition ; and if there were no farther argu- ment from general topics of philanthropy, this furely would deferve our attention, that it is not eafy to cloie our ears againft any fcheme, of which the neceflary confequence muft be, the THE EUROPEAN POWERS. the inftantaneous abolition of the African {lave SECT. trade. . I do not here enter at greater length into thefe fpeculations. The fubject is in its nature very much mingled with conjecture and hypothecs. I have flated the moft material facts, and attempt- ed to point out, both the probable confequences of the events which are fo confidently expected by many politicians, and the peculiar difficulties which attend the different branches of this Inqui- ry. Some of the conclufions which I have now drawn, appear to follow with fufficient certainty from a comparifon of thofe facts with the prin- ciples formerly eftablifhed. The reft, together with other inferences which may be purfued on this fubject, I leave to the difcernment of the reader, BOOK OF THE DOMESTIC POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN POWERS IN THEIR COLONIAL ESTABLISHMENTS. INTRODUCTION. IN the Firft Book of this Inquiry, I explained BOOK the relations between colonies and their mother IV> c , INTROD. countries ; that is, the internal itructure or the ._ , ^ , fyftem compofed of colonies and a parent ftate. In the Second Book, I proceeded to defcribe the relations between different colonies ; that is^ the ftru&ure of the fyftem compofed of various colonial eftablimments fituated in the fame part of the world. In the Third Book, I confider- ed the relation between different powers as in- fluenced by their colonial interefts ; that is, the effe&s produced by colonial relations upon the ftru&ure of the great national fyftem which we denominate the European Commonwealth. I now proceed to the laft object of Inquiry, the VOL, ii. C c Domeftic 402: COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK Domeftic or Internal Colonial Policy of the Eu- INTROD. ropean powers ; that is, the arrangements of co- '' * ' lonial admmHlration contrived with a view to promote the happinefs of the fettlements, and to preferve their dependence upon the mother country. As the great objects of all domeflic poli- cy are the prefervation of domeftic tranquilli- ty, the repulfion of foreign invafion, and the promotion of national wealth (which is in ma- ny refpe&s alfo the foundation of the two for- mer objects) : fo, the great ends of the internal adminiftration of colonial affairs are the increafe of wealth, and the fecurity both of the colonial government and the power of the mother coun- try from all the efforts of external and in- ternal violence. This branch of the Inquiry j therefore, divides itfelf into two general heads, the commercial and the political adminiflration of the colonies. Under the former head, are comprehended all laws relating to trade, agri- culture and manufactures, in fo far as thofe may be modified by the fubordinate predicament In which the fettlements are placed. Under the latter head, are comprehended all laws re- lating to the fecondary government eftabliflied in the colonies, their military as well as civil af- fairs, and their dependence upon the parent - ftate. This- THE EUROPEAN POWERS. This is the general clarification which is BOOK fuggefted by the circumftances common to all 1NTROD> colonies whatever ; but the peculiar ftru&ure < / of fociety in the American fettlements is of fuch a nature, as to prefent a feparate and pre- liminary object of fpeculation. The flave fy- ftem has now become fo radically incorporated with the colonial fyflem, as to form an efien- tial part of it, and to affect immediately and powerfully every branch of internal adminiftra* tion, whether commercial or political. Before \ve can proceed to difcufs a fingle meafure con- netted either with the wealth, the government, or the defence of the American colonies, it is abfolutely necefiary to examine the grand fea- ture which diftinguimes thofe fettlements from every other, and extends its influence fo widely over the whole fyflem, that no arrangement of policy can be adopted without a conftant refer- ence to the peculiar constitution of the colonial fociety. This fubject, then, is in itfelf complete, and is by far the rnoft important that can oc- cupy our attention in confidering the great weftern branch of the modern colonial fyftem. The domeftic policy of the Afiatic provinces being adapted entirely to the ftate of conquer- ed countries, does not properly fall within the plan of this work. The detail of the internal adminiftration of the American colonies pre- fents fo wide a field of difcuffion, that I do not C c 2 intend 464 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK intend at prefent to enter into it, farther thai* iNTRorr. * s neceffary for the difcuffion of the preliminary '"' v ' fubjecl:. The domeftic policy of colonial efta- blifhments is indeed the part of our genera! fubjeft which is the lead intricate and the moil completely underftood. The principles of national policy upon which fuch inquiries reft, are fufficiently comprehended by all in- quirers in modern times. The only difficulty which incumbers the difcuffion, arifes from the ftru&ure of the colonial fociety in America, and from feveral particulars hitherto mifunder- ftood in the general fyftem of colonial policy. Thofe errors I have attempted to remove in the Firft Book of this Inquiry ; and, after I fliall have finifhed the confideration of the Ne- gro Slavery, which forms the fubjeft of this Book, the remaining part of the Inquiry, which I propofe to omit, can prefent no mate- rial difficulty. It will confift of a few eafy corollaries from the principles laid down in the three firft Books, and from thofe which I am now about to explain. The complicated iniquities and the mani- fold difadvantages of the flave fyftem, have for" feveral years called the attention of European ftatefmen to the correction of abufes fo fla- grant, and the remedy of evils fo pregnant with danger to the fum of colonial affairs. Various expedients have been propofed during the THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 405 the wide difcuflion which thofe momentous BOOK IV queftions have excited. Some zealots have INTROD contended, with an inexcufeable thoughtleff- ,' r > nefs, that the crimes of thofe whofe avarice has' transferred the population of Africa to the Weft Indies can only be expiated by immediate emancipation of the flaves. The councils of fuch fanatics have unhappily been adopted and carried into effect by one of the mod enlight- ened nations in the world ; and we have fre- quently had occafion to view the confequences of thofe infane meafures in the courfe of this Inquiry. Others have propofed an abolition of the traf- fic which has been the original caufe of the evil. But they have differed among themfelves as to the time and mode of effecting this object. The abolition of the flave trade, however, does not feem, in the opinion of many, to be a fufficient remedy for the dangers of our colonial fyftem at the prefent day. Several fchemes have therefore been brought forward with a view to provide fuch remedies as the urgency of the occafion appears to call for. Of the plans fketched out with this view, the moft important are thofe which re- commend an amelioration of the condition of the negroes, and a gradual change in their hard lot. It has been fuggefted by many, that fettle- ments not yet cultivated may be peopled by free negroes ; and the moft fanguine hopes have been entertained of the falutary confequences Cc of 400* COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK o f f ucn a fcheme. The pofleflion of a great ex- INTROD. tent f wa ^ e lands, highly fitted for the purpofes .' y ' ' of Weft Indian agriculture, ftrongly recom- mends to every trading nation any project which may facilitate the clearing and peopling- of the defert, without the danger and expence attendant upon the old fyftem. Any plan, too, which comprehends the idea of free negroes, or includes the word, is peculiarly adapted to accord with the feelings of thofe worthy perfons who are fo keenly alive to the fufferings of the, Africans in a ft ate of bondage. It is natural, therefore, that the fchemes to which I allude ihould be well received, and even eagerly em- braced, before a fufficient interval is allowed for fober examination. The topic has been lately renewed by fome ingenious and virtuous men of this country. It is faid to have found a favour- able reception amongft a certain clafs of prac- tical politicians, and, if common fame may be trufted, it has for fome time occupied the atten- tion of men high in the public confidence. It has at various times, too, been canvafied, both by the fpeculative inquirers, and by the ftatef- men of other nations. It appears to have been a favourite idea of the virtuous and phi* lofophical Turgot, as well as of others con- hected with him in affairs ; and a project was completely prepared about the time of his me- morable adminiflrationj for conducting the cul- tivatiou THE EUROPEAN POWERS. iivation of French Guiana upon the principles BOOK of the free negro fyflem. * INTROD. The projects to which I am here alluding, are ' >r * dangerous in the extreme. They have all the dan- gers and defects of puny half-meafures ; they of- fer no remedy to the great evil ; they lull the attention of men during thofe critical moments when a real cure might be effected by bolder fleps. They give the interested advocates of the prefent order of things a plaufible pretence for affecting to concede on their part, and claiming recipro- cal conceflions from the other party. They af- ford the falfe friends of the abolition an oppor- tunity of deferting a ftrong hold which they do not wifh to fee defended, and of occupying a middle ground fafe only to themfelves. In po- litics, the bold and decifive meafure is generally the fafefl in the end ; though it requires ftrong- er nerves to attempt it, and a more capacious mind to perceive its fuperior wifdom. In the prefent great queftion, the bold and decifive line of conduct is either immediate abolition, or a fleady perfeverance in the fyftem now efla- blifhed. Paltry and timid minds would mudder at the thought of mere inactivity, as cowardly troops would tremble at the idea of calmly wait- ing for the enemy's approach. Both the one and the other haften their fate by reftlefTnefs and foolifh movements, inftead of boldly ad- C c 4 vancing * Note U u. 408 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK vancing to the charge, or firmly awaiting the INTROD onfet ' I purpofe, therefore, in the j>y? place, to ex- amine this very interefling queftion ; to prove, from the moft fimple and obvious confiderations, the inefficacy and impoffibility of the plans pro- pofed ; and to mew, that the dangers of the new order of things intended to be eftablifhed by fuch fchemes would be fo great, as to ren- der their utter impracticability a real bleffing. This will form the fubjeft of the Firft Section. In the Second Section, I mail 'proceed to confi- der the means of ameliorating the ftru&ure of fociety in the Have colonies, and of averting the dangers which impend over the whole fabric, from the preponderance of the inferior clafles, their low degree of civilization, and the fuc- cefles that have, in fome of the colonies, at- tended their efforts to revenge themfelves upon their fuperiors. The difcuffion of thefe topics will complete the general and preliminary view of Weft Indian policy, which alone I purpofe, at prefent, to embrace in this Book, and will comprehend the examination of all thofe queftions connected with the flave fyftem, which have not been con- fidered in the foregoing Books. An inveftiga- tion of the remaining fubjects that fall under rhe title of Domeftic Colonial Policy muft be deferred to a future opportunity.. SEC- THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 409 SECTION I. F THE FREE NEGRO SYSTEM, OR THE POLICY OF CULTIVATING THE COLONIES BY MEANS OF FREE NEGROES. IT has been remarked a thoufand times, that SECT. the defires and wants of man in a rude ftate L WvyHM are few and eafily gratified. The chief exer- tion to which neceffity impels him, is the pro- curing of food ; and his hunger is no fooner fatisfied than he finks into the luxury of re- pofe. When the natural fertility of the foil affords him fpontaneoufly a regular, though fimple and perhaps fcanty fupply, and the un- varied ferenity of the climate precludes the ne- ceflity of covering or flicker ; the powers of his mind become languifi and feeble j his cor- poreal ftrength decays ; %nd he regards as the greateft of all evils any occupation that calls for mental exertion, or is attended with bodily fatigue ; while this indolence in its turn en- ables him to fubfift on a much fmaller portion of food, than is required to fupport a life of ac- tivity and labour. Thus, the original inhabitants of Ame- rica were aftonifhed at the voracity of the Spaniards, 41 > COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK Spaniards, who, probably from the fame cau- . fes, are the moft temperate people in Eu- rope : and while the neceffaries of life were fo eafily procured, the conquerors found it ut- terly impoflible to overcome the conftitutional repugnance to labour of every kind, which they perceived in their new fubjeds. Before they had recourfe to an expedient which they knew muft in the end prove ruinous, the fyf- tem of refartimientos, every trial was made to call forth voluntary induflry : But they foon difcovered that men, who had no defires to gratify, would not fubmit to work ; and that no fear of diftant evil, nothing but the lafli of a mafter, could conquer the rooted averfion with which habit had taught the Indian to view every purfuit that required aftive exer- tion. Even after the plan, fo fatal to the in- habitants of the New World, had been adopted, the humane zeal of Las Cafas brought its im- policy and injuflice repeatedly under the re- view both of Ferdinana and Charles. The fub- jel was inveftigated by Ximenes, with his uf- ual boldnefs and ability : the minifler was over- come by the arguments of the ' Friend of the ' Indians : ' commiflioners of the moft un- doubted integrity and talents were appointed to inveftigate on the fpot, the whole merits of this great queftion, with powers fuitable to the importance of their office j but the refult of their THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 411 all their inquiries led to the fame conclufion, SECT. that the emancipation of the natives muft be the fignal for an univerfal ceifation of induftry ; and the Spanifh government had not fufficient virtue to embrace this alternative. Towards the latter part of Charles's reign, the confe- quences of the fyftem were fatally experienced in the rapid extermination of the Indians. An- xious if poffible to preferve fo large a portion of his American fubjects, the Emperor, with that quicknefs of decifioh which too often \ marked his councils, proclaimed their imme- diate and unconditional emancipation. Still it was found that their induftry and freedom were incompatible. The alarm was inflantly fpread over the whole Spanifh colonies : Peru, for a while loft to the monarchy, was only reflor- ed by the repeal of the obnoxious law : the quiet of New Spain was preferved, by a com- bination of the Governor and the fubjecls to fufpend its execution : and all that the power of the Spanifh government has hitherto been able to effecl:, confiflently with the profitable cultivation of its American pofleflions, is the eflablifhment of certain ^humane regulations, tending to mitigate the neceflary fervitude of the Indians. The negroes, though in a lefs degree, are nearly in the fame circumflances with that Vinhappy race, to whofe bondage and toils they 412 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK they have been doomed to fucceed. Born in . a lefs genial climate, and compelled to pro- cure their fuftenance by fomewhat greater ex- ertions, they are not content with fo fmall a portion of food, and view with lefs horror the labour of providing it. But beyond this their induftry does not extend. Like all favages, they are incited to exertion only by immediate neceflity. If you talk to them of conveniences, and comforts, and the delights of activity, you fpeak a language which they have not yet learnt to comprehend ; and the idea of a plea- fure which muft be purchafed by toil, prefents to their minds a contradiction in terms. Were they, indeed, allowed to remain in their own country, the influence of thofe defires which fpring from local attachment, the ties of kind- red, and the intercourfe of more civilized men, might by flow degrees awaken thofe appetites, and create thofe artificial wants, which alone can excite regular and effective induftry. But if fuddenly removed to a milder climate and a more plentiful foil, with their original repug- nance to exert more labour than neceflity pre- fcribes, it is not to b^ imagined that any thing except the power of a m after can prevent them from finking into the ftate of liftlefs in.- activity, which feemed to be the natural con- dition of the Indians. * Accordingly, * Park's Travels in the Interior of Africa, Chap 's Letters, No, XV, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. Accordingly, the negroes who have been SECT* tranfported to America, are uniformly found . to be totally deficient in active induftry. That thofe who continue in a ftate of flave- ry mould exhibit the appearance of an in- dolence which nothing but the immediate terror of the lafh can overcome, is perhaps more the confequence of their degraded con- dition, than of their uncivilized ftate. But the want of activity is not confined to the Haves. The free negroes in the Weft Indies are, with a very few exceptions, chiefly in the Spanifh and / Portuguefe fettlements, equally averfe to all ^ forts of labour which do not contribute to the / fupply of their immediate and moft urgent/ wants. Improvident and carelefs of the future,/ they are not actuated by that principle which inclines more civilized men to equalize their exertions at all times, and to work after the neceflaries of the day have been procured, in order to make up the poffible deficiencies of the morrow : nor has their intercourfe with the whites taught them to conlider any grati- fication as worth obtaining, which cannot be procured by a flight exertion of a defultory and capricious induftry. The flaves, indeed, who are forced to la- bour during the whole week for their mafters, fhew fome fymptoms of application in cul- tivating their own provision-grounds on the holidavs 414 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK holidays allowed them. But the moft indolent , ' _, of men, if pufhed into activity for the advan- tage of others, will naturally continue their ex- ertions, at leaft for a fhort time, when they are themfelves to reap the fruits of the addi- tional toil ; and the voluntary labour for their own profit, during the little interval of liberty, may become tolerable, by forming a contrafl to the unrepaid and compulfory fatigues, in which by far the greater part of their days are fpenr. In facl:, even under thefe favourable circum- ftances, the flaves in our Weft Indian iflands allot but a very fmall proportion of their free time to the work for which they are with cer- tainty to be recompenfed, by gains that no matter ever interferes with. Out of the fix days per month (befides accidental holidays) which are allowed them in Jamaica, for the cultivation of their grounds, the more induf- trious do not allot above' fixteen hours to this employment. * But from the accounts which have been received of the free negroes, it appears that their induftry is frill more fparing. Of their invincible repugnance to all forts of labour, the moft ample evidence is produced in the Report of the Committee of Privy Council in 1788. The witneffes examined upon Que- ries 37. & 38. from all the Britifh iflands, con- cur * Edwards' Weft Indies, Book IV. chap. 5. [note.] THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 41$ cur In this (latement. It will be fufficient to s E J C T refer more particularly to the evidence from '-. v j Jamaica and Barbadoes. In the former fettle- ments, Meflrs Fuller Long Chifholme ftate, that free negroes were never known to work for hire ; and that they have all the vices of the flaves. The Committee of Council of the ifland, befides corroborating this aflertion, add, that the free negroes are averfe to work for themfelves, except when compelled by imme- diate neceffity. Mr Brathwaite, the agent for Barbadoes, affirms, that if the flaves in that ifland were offered their freedom on condition of working for themfelves, not one tenth of them would accept of it. Governor Parry Itates, that the free negroes are utterly deftitute of induftry ; and the Council of the ifland adds, that from their confirmed habits of idlenefs they are the pefts of ibciety. * The accounts which foreigners have given MS of the fame clafs of men in almofl all the other colonies, agree moft accurately with the ftatements collected by the Committee of Privy Council. M. Malouet, who bore a fpeciai com- miffion from the French government to ex- amine the character and habits of the Maroons in Dutch Guiana, and to determine whether or not they were adapted to become hired la- bourers, informs us, that they will only work one * Report 1788, part IIL 6 COLONIAL POLICY OF o o K one je<3: appears to have been formed, fufficient to dif- arm them of all defigns hoftile to the fecurity of the whites. Let us for a moment confider the fituation in which this freedom will place them. It * Nccker, Adminift. des Finances, torn. I. chap. 13,, -}- Rapport a 1'Aflemblee Legiflative 1792, THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 429 It is propofed that the planter fhall have a prefer- SECT, able right to purchafe the labour of the negroes . J . whom he imports, and this right of preemption is defcribed as an additional encouragement to fpeculation. But it is manifeft that this is not merely a gratuitous encouragement ; it is a ne- ceflary part of the plan. No man could ever be found foolilh enough to buy or import ne- groes, if, upon their landing, another might reap the profit of the fpeculation, by hiring them for his own ufe. It is therefore not an arbitrary regulation added for the farther encouragement of cultivation, but an eflential ingredient of the fyftem, that the importer or purchafer of a ne- gro mail have the fole right to his labour for a term of years, at a rate of wages fixed by law. This, is called by the projectors, particularly by the author of the Crifis, ' the known relation of indented fervant ; ' and the fancied analogy feems at firft to give the fcheme a more feafible afpecl:. But it mould be remembered, that in- dented fervants in the North American colonies were always men accuflomed at home to labour for hire ; driven from their country by want of employment, or the profpect of greater wealth, and eager to find work in the new world. They were, therefore, exactly in the fituation from .which the greateft exertions of induftry might be expected, whether for profit or for hirej and COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK an j there was no occafion for coercion to pre- IV. . - y - vent them from being idle. The free negroes, on the other hand, muft be forced to work ; and accordingly, it is farther admitted, that maf- ters mould have the power of inflicting moderate chaftifement. It is very clear, that the two modes of exciting induftry, punifhment and hire, are utterly incompatible. They appeal to different principles, and give rife to oppofke ha- bits. Belides, it is not eafy to conceive a fyftem of regulations which mall prevent this power, neceffarily entrufted to the planter over his fer- vant, from degenerating into the tyranny of the mafter over his Have. But, at any rate, admitting the poflibility of drawing a line between the two relations, it is evident that two orders of men will be formed in the fettlements : the Whites, pof- fefling all the land, entrufted with the whole civil power, clothed with domeftic authority : and the Blacks, whofe lives are fpent in poverty and fubjection ; toiling for mailers whom they confider as a different race of beings, and in whom they recognize the enemies that tore them from their country. Between thefe two orders there can exift no bond of union but that of force ; they are the oppreffors and the oppreffed. Similarity of complexion and fitu- tion will conftantly unite the one againft the other : and there will be no intermediate clafs, ^ f at TH EUROPEAN POWERS* t leaft for a feries of years, to foften the (ran- SECT. fition, to hold the balance, or to conned the y __, two clafles to together. The White will always view the Black as a being of an inferior order, bought with his money, depending on him for fupport, and born for his ufe. In all the co- lonies of the Europeans in the New World, the colour is made the ftandard of diftinction 5 and by its different fhades the approaches to a Hate of equality with the "whites are regulated. * Nor is it of much confequence, whether we confider the difadvantages attached to negro blood, as having originally been the caufe, or the refult of the contempt which the difference of colour excites. The prefent race of plant- ers, who are to found the free negro fyflem, labour under the prejudice, from whatever caufe it may have arifen ; and he who fhall fuperintend the eftablimment, may poffibly find it fomewhat difficult to change the nature of thefe men. Nay, mould he fucceed in finding, or creating a new generation of white proprie- tors, half the work would dill remain. The Africans, too, muft undergo a radical change : they muft be enlightened with the ideas of ab- ftracl: philanthropy, and infpired with the fenfe of general expediency, and the love of order. In fuch circumftances, it is idle to talk of laws and regulations. Men muil firft be found ready to obey, * Wimpffen's Letters, p. 63. 432 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK obey, and to conform. Manners and circum- ._- u ' _ . fiances are independent of pofitive inflitutions. t They prefcribe bounds to the decrees of def- \ potifm, and give laws to the legiflator in the ( plenitude of his power. It will be vain to think of fecuring the privileges of the negro vaflfal, fo long as the hand of nature has dif- tinguifhed him from his lord, and the circum- ftances of his fituation have given his brethren the fuperiority in numbers as welt as ftrength. The magiftrate, however appointed, will ge- nerally be inclined towards the caufe of his fel- low Chriftian ; and mould he even be impartial, how is the negro to adduce his evidence ? The mere circumflance of flavery, is not the only reafon for rejecting the teftimony of the Blacks againft the Europeans, in the American colo- nies. The diftindion of race ; the radical dif- ference of manners and character ; the perpe- tual oppofition of interefts, as well as prejudi- ces ; the inefficacy of oaths in the mind tempt- ed by paffion, uninfluenced by religious im preflion, and a ftranger to the dictates of ho- nour, thefe are the circumflances which ren- der a negro's teftimony utterly inadmifllble a- gainft a white man ; and they would mark the fituation of the vaflal as decifively as they now do that of the Have. We muft therefore ex- ped that abufes, beyond the knowledge of any conflituted THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 433 conflltuted authority, would foon affimi'Iate the villenage of Trinidad, &c. to the flavery of our old poffeffions ; and that there would refult from the new fyftem, a ftate of fociety tainted by radical evils, beyond the reach even of parlia- mentary legiflation. The modifications of fla- very eftablifhed by law in favour of the negroes, would, without rendering their fituation much more tolerable, give them far greater opportu- / nities to difturb the peace of the colony. Ac- - tuated by the fame efprit de corps, which even under the whip of the driver has fo often broken out into revolt, and given rife to plans concerted with wonderful prudence and unanimity, in fpite of all the regulations by which, in the organization of the old colonies, they are fe- parated from each other ; the vafial of Trini- dad would be free from many of thofe ob- flacles which the Have fyftem throws in the way of infurre&ion. The laws, for inftance, which prevent flaves from poflfeffing horfes, fire-arms, and ammunition ; thofe which re- ftricl: their powers of locomotion, and thofe which prohibit them from meeting for the pur- pofes of recreation, are utterly inapplicable to the condition in which it has been propofed to place the negroes of the new fettlements, if it is intended that there fhould be more than a nominal difference between the projected fyf- tem and the one at prefent eftablifhed. VOL. it. E e. It 434 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK i t i s ea f V} t h eri} to f ee t h e refult of all this, u^-y.! , The planters, knowing that by law their vaflals have certain rights, will ufe their power over them with far lefs moderation than if they lay wholly at their mercy. The negroes, on their part, finding how nugatory their conftitutional privileges become, in the particulars moft ef- fential to their happinefs, and united by every 1 tie which can induce men to make a common caufe, will avail themfelves of the few advant- ages of which their fuperiors cannot deprive them, and will at once revenge the injuries of their race. From every view of the fubjecl:, therefore, we are led to the fame conclufion, that, admitting the plan to be practicable, its confequences mud be fo inevitably fatal, that we are eafily reconciled to the profpeft of the various difficulties which cannot fail to pre- vent its adoption. But, it will be faid, the magnitude of the change produced upon negroes by their e- mancipation, has been proved by the example of the free negroes in all the European co- lonies ; and more particularly by the unfhaken fidelity of thofe flaves who have been taken from field work, and entrufted with arms, fometimes in the midfl of rebellion. The univerfal prejudice of our colonifts againft fuch troops will be overlooked j and the hif- tory THE EUROPEAN BOWERS. 435 tory of the revolts iu Surinam, of our own SECT. black corps, and in general of the free negroes _ \'-' in the different colonies, will be appealed to as proofs, that the dangers of our fituation arife from the bondage in which the bulk of this unhappy clafs of men are kept. Thefe fads it is by no means my intention to difpute ; but I apprehend that a little reflection will mew how imprudent it would be to draw from them any inference in favour of the fcheme now under confideration. There is perhaps no principle more uni- ) verfal in its influence over the mind of man, S or more confpicu/)us in its effe&s on his con- duct:, than the defire of being diftinguifhed a- { mong his fellows. The eagernefs of indivi- duals to better their condition, is indeed one of the mod powerful of the fprings by which the great machine of fociety is moved. But the love of diftin&ion feems to be the mod univerfal criterion, by which they judge of the comparative advantages of different fituations ; more efpecially in a rude ftate, where comforts and luxuries are little prized. This defire, it is evident, direcls itfelf in relation to the clafs to which we ourfelves naturally belong, and at which our envy or jealoufy is always point- ed. The fortunes of thofe who are removed to a great diftance, either above or below u, E e 3 have COLONIAL POLICY OF no p OW er to raife fuch emotions. All our ideas centre in our own order. Thus, it i$ not among the polifhed ftrangers who vifit his coaft, but among his kindred tribes, that the favage warrior pants to fignalize himfelf ; and where the principles of policy are fo imperfect- ly underflood, the aid of the foreigner is cheer- fully accepted againft a rival horde. This is the very principle that attaches the free negroes in the Weft Indies to the party of the Europeans. A flave, born or trained to fervitude, courts the favour of his mafter, be- caufe it diftinguifhes him from his fellow flaves. After he has obtained this mark of diftinclion, he naturally takes the fide of his mafter, 'part- ly becaufe his comrades view him with diftruft, and partly becaufe his relative importance is connected with his mafter's fafety. In like manner, the flave who has obtained his liberty, views this- honourable diftinclion, not with a re- ference to other freed men whom he refembles in every thing, or to Europeans whom he fcarcely refembles at all, but to the great body of flaves by whom he is furrounded, and to whofe clafs he once belonged. The free ne- groes form in each fettlement a fmall body naturally related to the bulk of the inhabitants, but proud of the diftinguifhing circumftance \vhich raifes them above the common leveL They THE EUROPEAN POWERS, 437 They are as it were the privileged order in the SECT. African community. As the nobles in the ._.' European monarchies have for the moft part rallied round the throne, fmce the commonal- ty became an order independent of their au- thority: fo, the free negroes have generally join- ed the whites, in their refiftance to the great body of enflaved blacks. They are as much interefted in preventing a univerfal emancipa- tion, as the ariftocracy of a well regulated 1 // kingdom would be, in oppofmg a fyftem of levelling, or a plan for conferring on the lower / ~ Le orders all the privileges of nobility. So long, then, as the free negroes bear a ve* ry fmall proportion, both to the Europeans and ilaves, the former may always count upon having their affiftance againft the latter. This is hap- pily the fituation of all our Weft Indian pof- feffions, and of thofe parts of the United States where flavery is tolerated. In Barba- does, they are not much more than the twen- tieth of the whites, and fcarcely the fixty- eighth part of the flaves. In Jamaica and Do- minica, where they are moft numerous, their proportion (including the large body of free people of colour) to the whites in 1790, was that of one to three, and t the flaves that of one to twenty-five ; and thofe negroes who have at different junctures been armed, both in our own and in the Dutch colonies, bore a E e 3 COLONIAL POLICY OF ftill fmaller proportion to the body of the people. If, however, we fuppofe that the numbers f of the free negroes are fo much increafed as / to equal thofe of the whites, the cafe is ma- terially altered. By degrees they will confider themfelves as on a level with thofe who were / once their matters. Being always lefs induf- / trious and wealthy, they will view the Euro- ' pean proprietor with envy. Idlenefs, difcon- tent and indigence will give birth to projects of plunder; and the flate of degradation in which they have been held by the whites, will add a mixture of revenge. Accuftomed now to regard the European more than the flave, and fufficiently ftrong to fancy that they can manage the latter, and keep their ground againfl either, they may poffibly form the dangerous fcheme of attacking the whites, and of calling in the affiftance of the enflaved negroes. Unhappily this is no longer a matter of fpeculation. The devastation of the fineft co- lony in the world was produced by thefe very means. The rebellion in St Domingo was be- gun by the free people of colour, who were nearly equal to the whites in number, and kept by them in the fame ftate of inferiority and oppreflion in which the free negroes are all over the Weft Indies. It ihould feem, then, that fome danger is to be apprehended from THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 439 from the free negroes, even in the iflands s E ( where the bulk of the community are enflaved. u y j Accordingly, the policy of our colonies has watched over this intermediate order of men. with a jealous eye. \ 7 arious laws have been made to prevent too great an mcreafe of their numbers, to enforce their fubmiflion to the whites, and to limit their influence in the com- munity. In Antigua, * St Vincent, f and the Virgin Ifles, J they are obliged to chufe a white man for their patron. Unlefs they have landed property, they cannot become freeholders, and are incapacitated from pofleffing more than eight acres of land. If they ftrike the meaneft white fervant, they are to be fummarily and feverely whipped ; whilft a white who ftrikes a free ne- gro or mulatto is only to be bound over to the next feffions, and punimed at the difcretion of the juftices* In the Bahamas, |j there is a heavy tax upon all free negroes or mulattoes who come thither > and in Barbadoes ^[, the evi- dence of a flave is received againfl them. In what light they are viewed by the colonial jurif- prudence of France, we may gather from the fol- lowing paiTage of the Code Noire; a fyftem of laws diftinguimed for nothing fo much as its extreme mildnefs towards the negroes. ' D'ailkurs, les E e 4 * Aa 1702. t Aft 1767. \ Aa 1783. II A.a 1784. f Aa i 739 . 440 COLONIAL POLICY OF B o o K e ne gf es en general font des hommes dangereux / t^ y __i ' prefque pas un de ceux auxquels IJQUS a'vez ren- * du la liberte qui n'en ait abuse, et qui ne foit * porte a des exces danger eux pour la fociete. ' * But if fuch are the dangers to be apprehended from a body of free Creole negroes, gradually formed in old eftablifhed colonies, where the whites and flaves are numerous ; what muft be the fituation of the new communities, when, in confequence of the plan now propofed, they mail, in the fpace of a few years, be peopled with freed and imported negroes, in numbers and ftrength far exceeding the whites, bound to them by no defire of diftinguiming themfelves from a fur- rounding multitude of flaves, or of uniting a- gainfl an enemy equally formidable to both ? In St Domingo, the influence of manners foftened the rigour of the laws againfl the free people of colour ; they were connected with the whites by the ties of blood ; and the property which they poflTefTed defended them ftill farther from oppreflion. In the new colonies, the man- ners will be ftill more fevere than the laws upon the free negroes quite unconnected with their oppreflbrs ; and, long before they can acquire the protection of property, matters will have come to a crifis. In St Domingo, the flaves formed * Edit. 1762, 31 Mars & 5 Avril. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 44! formed a third party, to whom indeed the mu- SECT. lattoes appealed, but whofe affiftance could not , ' . be procured without much difficult manage- ment, and whofe fubje&ion to the whites afford- ed them an opportunity of moderating, in many parts of the ifland, the violence of the combined attack. In the new colonies, the vaffal negroes will have no fuch fteps to take ; the contagion will fpread at once ; and the Whites have no auxiliaries to whom they can appeal. * The pofition of St Domingo to the leeward of the other French colonies, enabled the vigorous go- vernment which was eflablifhed there to throw in very feafonable fuccours. Admitting (to take the inftance of our own colonial affairs) that our ifland eftablimments could afford relief to Trinidad, the cataftrophe will probably be over before a fingle tranfport can reach the Gulf of Paria. After the French in St Domin- go * It is, indeed, propofed that government fliould take into its pay a certain number of the imported negroes ; and the author of the ' Crtfis ' more particularly remarks, that they will be faithful from their gratitude to the power that has delivered them from flavery, and will delight in the. honours of a military life. But, in- the jirjl place, government, fo far from emancipating them, has only carried them off from their own country to a Weft Indian garrifon ; and, fecondly, when flavery is abolimed, we find that military fervice is a fevere punifhment to field negroes. Vide Touflaint'a Pro- clamation. 442 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK p- had been fubdued, the two great claffes cf IV " . __ v '_ , men whom common enmity had united, in- ftantly turned their arms againft each other, with a rage (till more exterminating than that which had marked their combination. Both par- ties, now, pretended authority from the Republic, and in both armies the Whites acquired fome in- fluence. An opportunity was thus given them to undermine their enemies, to reconcile the conquering party, and to put in motion all the powers of intrigue, by which ill cemented alli- ances of halt-civilized men may be quickly dif- folved. But in Trinidad and the other fettle- ments organized upon the fame plan, our vaf- fals will form one united band, bent on the ex- termination of the European name, unfit for any union or compromife by which the whites may re- tain a footing, and,after having expelled the plant- ers, capable only of renewing, in the moft fa- voured quarters of the New World, thofe fcenes of favage life to which their forced intercourfe with Europeans will rather have increafed their attach- ment. Then will Trinidad, more particularly, be to all the Carribbee iilands that windward fire which we have before proved that the Leeward fettlements would experience in the negro com- monwealth of Si Domingo ; with this only differ- ence, that its inhabitants, lels civilized and totally unacquainted with the arts of peace, xvill devote themfelves THE EUROPEAN POWERS* 443 themfelves to the extirpation of the Europeans SECT. in thofe feas. '- / ' c Sufpefla majoribus noftris fuere ingeniafer- ' vorum, etlam cum In agris, aut domibus iifdem, * nafcerentur, caritatemque dominorum ftat'im ac- ' ciperent. Poftquam verb nationes in familiis ' babemuS) quibus diver/i ritus, externa facra^ 4 aut nulla fimt^ collu . '. . with too great a number of the former, and dif- perfmg them carefully among the latter, for fe- curity and difcipline. Notwithstanding all thefe precautions, the fpirit of adventure has always proved fufficiently ftrong to increafe very ra- pidly the numbers of the new hands. In pro- portion as the facilities of the African trade have been great, and the capital turned to the colonial agriculture extenfive, the iflands have been filled with hordes of native Africans, until, in fome cafes, the numbers of bad fubje&s were fo much and fo quickly augmented, while the neceflary proportion of the Creoles was of courfe decreafmg, that extenfive and fatal rebellion has been the lamentable confequence. As the large flocks, fmall profits, and pecuniary incum- brances of the Dutch planters, have rendered their flaves remarkable for bad treatment, an& continual though partial infurreclion or defer- tion, the unexampled rapidity with which the French colonies were peopled during the ten years previous to the Revolution, produced, in all the fineft parts of thofe fettlements, fo fatal a difproportion between the two kinds of ne- groes, as has fhaken the whole Weft Indian fyftem from its foundation, and rendered its ex- iflence a matter which many enlightened men rather wifh for than exped. The hiftory of the French colonies furnifhes as fatal a leflbn of THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 467 of the evils arifmg from the difproportion of SECT. Creoles to imported flaves, as the hiftory of ._ J - the Dutch fettlements exhibits a picture of the evils arifmg from the habitual feverity and op- preflion of the matters. The effects of the rapid importation are certainly more extenfively fatal to the fecurity of the community which is thus peopled, than the confequences of cruel treatment. But I have mentioned the latter as the greater im- perfection of the two, from its prejudicial ten- dency to the wealth as well as to the fafety of the colonies. The difproportion of Creoles can- not be faid to injure the opulence of the planters. The work performed by new flaves, is no doubt much lefs .confiderable than that which is per- formed by Creoles or feafoned flaves : their num- bers, too, are more rapidly thinned, both from the neceflary ill ufage they receive, from the change of climate, and from the influence of mental diftjejs, as well as unufual bodily fa- tigue. But thofe loflfes are only comparative ; they only prevent the total amount or produce of fervile labour from being fo great as it would be were the negro population equally extenfive, and all compofed of natives. The rapid importation of flavesj with all its dangers to the fecurity of the colonies, is, on the whole, beneficial to their wealth, by enabling all the G g 2 capital 468 COLONIAL POLICY O7 BOOK ca pital of the planters to find an immediate IV. > and profitable employment, although, certainly, the profit would be greater were it poffible to employ the fame capital in purchafing a ftock of Creoles. It may, however, be obferved, that, in the long-run, the fecurity of the iflands mud furnifh the fureft meafure of their opulence^ and that, in a confiderable number of years, the caufes which moft endanger the internal peace of the community, may be reckoned the moft detrimental even to the wealth of the pro- prietors. In the mean time, the fecurity of the fyftem is of fo much more confequence to both the mother country and the body of the colonies, in comparifon with the increafe of wealth (however difproportionate thofe confi- derations may be in the eftimation of indivi- duals), that the commercial benefits arifing from the rapid importation of new flaves, can in no fenfe of the word compenfate for the p-rand evils which flow direftly from the fame fource. And we may confidently ftate this as one of the chief defects in the ftru&ure of. Weft Indian fociety. Such, then, are the two great flaws in the prefent ftruclure of the American colonies. And to any one who mail confider the matter with tolerable impartiality, it muft appear ma- nifeft, that both of thefe evils have their origin in THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 46$ in the power which the Weft Indian planters s E c T - enjoy, of increafmg to any amount, and in any , given time, their ftock of hands. The cruel treatment of the negroes arifes evidently from the eafe with which the (lock , can be kept up by purchafe. If a man cannot buy cattle, either from want of money, or from the dearth or want of the article, he will breed. Although this plan muft immediately dimi- nifh his profits, he will alfo be careful of the lives and health of thofe beafts which he al- ready poflefies. This change will be effected in the ordinary ceconomy of live ftock, by the failure of cam, or the fhutting up of the mar- ket. But a much greater change will be pro- duced by the fame circumftances, upon that fort of management, if management it can be call- ed, which confifts in working out certain kinds of cattle, by fcanty feeding and hard labour ; upon the plan, for example, which certain poftmafters adopt, of purchafmg old horfes,and replacing the price with a tolerable profit, by feeding the wretched animals as cheaply as poflible, and forcing them to run. as long and as often as their limbs can fupport them. The want of a market muft either inftantly put a flop to this iniquitous trade, or re- duce its extent to a very narrow compafs. 4-nd fuch is precifely the trade of the negro G g 3 proprietors COLONIAL POLICY O? BOOK proprietors in the European colonies! We ' are informed, that fo long as a flave mar- ket exifts, men find their profit in working ou t a certain number of their Haves, and fup- plying the blank by purchafe, rather than by breeding. If this deteftable crime (I will not infult Liverpool, Briftol, and London by call- ing it a trade) is really attended with gain, as it certainly is but too congenial to the paffions and habits of flave- drivers, we can never ex- pect to fee its termination, while the poffibility of perpetrating it fubfifts. But it fignifies little to our general argument, whether this iniquity is really gainful or not ; nay, whether it exifls or not. The general cruel treatment of the negroes cannot be denied. Even they who have moft zealouily defended the flave fyfrem, have admitted, that the oppreflions of the negroes call for redrefs, however much thefe men may have differed from their anta- gonifts upon the nature of the remedy. This cruelty of ufage, then, is an undeniable evil in the flru&ure of the colonial fociety, and produces all thofe confequences which we have lately been contemplating. Nor can it ever be expected to difappear, while the paffions of men remain as blind as they hitherto have been; while their prefent interefts, or the gratification of their caprices, prevents them from purfuing their real THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 471 real advantage ; and while they retain the SECT, means of gratifying their paflions or whims by ._ ' . throwing away a little money. The evils of the opprefljons, too common all over the colonies, are no doubt felt by thofe very men who are guilty of them. The evils of the fudden importations, fo dangerous to the fafety of the fyftem, are alfo fuch as muft in the long-run fall upon the importers. But although both thofe lines of conduct affect the fecurity of the colonies, and although the for- mer afFecls alfo the wealth of the individual planters, it is evident that, according to a prin- ciple too extenfive in its operations upon the condud of men, the apparent and immediate is preferred to the real and fubftantial good ; and often the indulgence of fuch bad paffions as do not in the moment of excitement feem to be expenfive, is purfued at the riflt of deflruc* tion, and with the certainty of future lofs. It is unneceflary to offer proofs that fuch is the satural frailty of man ; a frailty from which few of his plans are exempt, and which all moralifls and divines have united in deploring. It is in vain to believe that the intereft alone of Weft Indian planters will ever lead them to that line of condud: which is really the mod advantageous. It is abfurd to expeft that men will ever be fo much reformed as to feek G g 4 the COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK t h e p atn to enjoyment or wealth which is molt . . ' . circuitous, becaufe it is mod eafy and beneficial in the long-run. But it is truly ridiculous to affect a belief, that this improvement will begin upon the fpot where the evil has firft origi- nated, and has been confirmed by habit, and to twin: our necks into grotefque and fantafttc poftures, by way of looking towards the Weft Indian plantations for this vifionary reforma- tion of the human character. ' Where it is ' mens intereft to act in a certain manner, we 6 may be afTured they will follow that intereft. ' True but it muft be a near, a diftincc profpect of intereft in which we mould confide. If the view is either dimmed by diftance, or obfcured by paffion, let us not reject the policy which enjoins that nothing mould be left to the a- cute vifion and prudent choice of the per- verfe and mort-fighted animal we have to deal with. In the cafe of the Weft Indian flave- market, to recommend that things mould be left to their natural courfe ; to maintain, that reftrictive laws are unneceiTary for inducing men to purfue their own real good ; and that interfering with their private plans may be detrimental to the public good, is a grofs and intolerable perverfion of the mod liberal and enlightened principle in modern policy. It is as contemptible a fophifm as the argument of any THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 473 any enthufiaft who fhould infift upon the anni- SECT. hilation of all criminal jurifprudence, and re- . "' , commend the method of reforming the world, by leaving every man to difcover that his trueil happinefs lies in the paths of virtue. Such ar- guments are furely as ridiculous, when applied to fupport the freedom of negro importation in the Weft Indies, as if they were ufed to bring the decalogue or the gallows into difre- pute. The only effectual method of preventing the cruel treatment of flaves, and deftroying the dangerous mixture of imported Africans, confifts in cutting off that fource which truly feeds the paflions, and caprices, and fhort- fighted wifhes of the planters. A conftant check muft be found out, which mail at every in- ftant arreft the arm of the tormentor, by fet- ting before his face, in diftinft and near prof- peel, the immediate and irreparable deftruc- tion of his ftock, as the neceflary confequence of cruel treatment. An arrangement muft be contrived, which (hall habitually lead the flave- driver to reflect, that not the eventual, but the certain and inftantaneous defolation of his eftate, muft be the confequence of oppreffive and cruel deportment towards the fole fup- porters of his wealth. The planter's habits of thinking may thus be, by fome fure means, moulded 474 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK moulded into a fteady form, and his conduct . adapted to the interefts, now rendered imme- diate, of his eftate and live ftock. Nothing muft be entrufted to that fear of infurre&ion, fo natural to all the colonifts, but fo much di- vided and frittered down by being (hared with the whole community, as to exert no percep- tible influence on the actions of the individual, when oppofed by paffion, or caprice, or tempting views of perfonal advantage. The difproportion- ate admixture of imported Africans muft be pre- vented, by the only means which can prevent or in the lead degree check it, the pofitive and definite meafure of cutting off the fupplies of Haves, and thus forcibly reftraining the avarice as well as the cruelty of flave-holders. The only plan, then, which can prevent the effects of the flave fyftem, the only method which can be devifed for flopping the cruelties that irritate the negroes to rebellion, flunt the growth of colonial opulence, and taint the body of colo- nial fociety, the only refource which can be appealed to, for fecuring the advances already made in cultivating the Weft Indies, and for preventing the increafe of the moft fatal mala- dy that ever threatened any political fyftem with fudden diffolution, the meafure formerly pointed out by every confideration of found policy, and now enforced by the moft obvious demandsi THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 475 demands of a menacing and awful neceffity, is the Total Abolition of the Slave Trade. Every confideration of found policy, every view of expediency, every call of urgent neceffity, now concur in this recommendation. The queftion of abolition, though one of the moft momentous that ever occupied the atten- tion of men, is extremely fhort and fimple. The whole argument is confined to a very narrow compafs. If we look to the nature of the traffic, its unnecejjary enormities are fufficient to make us forget the firft great and effential objection which may be urged, that it is not a trade, but a crime. We find that it is a crime of the worft nature, radically planted in the depths of injuf- tice, branching out into various new forms of guilt, prone to entwine with manifold acceflbry pollutions not inherent in the feed, terminating in every fpecies of noxious produce which can blaft the furrounding regions, and taint the winds of heaven. The men, then, who would perfuade us to cherifh fo monftrous a produc- tion, becaufe they have given it a name borne by the moft falutary and nutritious branches of the focial fyftem, are furely guilty of a mockery to our common fenfe, ftill more intolerable than any infult to our feelings. We can never flop to argue with them, or to hear the prepofterous applications which they make of principles pe- culiar COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK /culiar to things of a nature efientially different . ' . from this. We cannot allow fo great an out- ! rage upon the common forms of fpeech, as the defence of a glaring iniquity, by an appeal to views that belong to the great fource of wealth and virtue the commercial intercourfe of man- kind. The arguments which have been engrafted on this moft falfe view of the great queftion, are if poflible ftill more abfurd. Many of them confift in grofs miftatements of fads, ei- ther completely proved by the evidence ad- duced on the fide of the abolition, or fo tho- roughly well known, that no evidence of their exiftence was deemed necefiary by the enemies of the Have fyftem. Some of thofe topics are drawn from the narrower! views of mercantile policy, and the mofl infulting appeals to the bad paffions of mankind. Others are deduced from abfurd ideas of natural law or revealed re- ligion, and fupported by allegations which were inftantaneoufly proved to be falfe. To enter into any analyfis of thefe arguments, or of the fhort and fatisfactory anfwers which they have received, would be very unneceflary, after the fhort and fimple procefs of reafoning by which we have been led to conclude in favour of the abolition. Such a difcuffion of the queftion is DOW no longer requifite. All views of the ex- pediency THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 477 pediency of the meafure have yielded to the SECT. ftrong and unanfwerable convi&ion of its ne- . ' . ceffity, with which the events of the laft ten years have infpired every impartial ftatefman. It is upon this high ground that I wifh to reft the final difcuflion of the queftion ; without, however, prefuming to infmuate that any rea- fons whatever can be paramount to thofe plain notions of juflice (humanity is not an appro- priate term), which muft in all the councils of a great and honourable nation, be of themfelves the ruling principle of decifion. The argu- ment of necejffity is only introduced to fupply the place of the arguments formerly drawn from expediency. That which I muft be bold } to call the fundamental point, the folid and re- ) fiftlefs argument, is the appeal to the common/ principles of juftice. Although, however, I do not mean to enter into the difcuilions which formerly occupied mens minds upon this queftion, before the teft of experience had furnifhed us with unanfwer- able arguments ; yet may it not be ungrateful to record a very few of the affertions made by the fupporters of the flave fyftem, as a fpecimen, for the information of thofe who are not accuftomed to wade through the mafs of ephemeral matter, in which the difcuflion is to be found. i. For COLONIAL POLICY OF i. For the mod outrageous violation of mo- deration in this argument, the mod ludicrous and hyperbolical extravagance in defence of the Have fyftem, we mud look to the writings of the French colonifls. They have actually maintained, that the negro trade is the. only means of civilizing the interior of the great A- frican continent ; that the natural conftitution of the negroes is utterly repugnant to the cli- mate in which they are born ; that they mufl be tranfplanted to the milder regions of the new world, and civilized by main force. The illuf- tration or analogy by which this truly fmgular argument is elaborately fupported, prefents us with an abfurdity if poffible more flagrant. It is maintained, that if the Mexicans (who it feems were alfo born in a climate incompatible with their constitutions) had enjoyed the advan- tages of tranfplantation like the happy negroes, we mould not have witnefied the total extinc- tion of their numerous race : and this is called the evidence of experience in favour of the Have trade. I am confident that every reader will be aftonifhed, when he obferves the name of Barre St Venant cited as the author of fuch ar- guments. The above flatement is almoft a li- teral tranflation from his words ; and although M. Maiouet difapproves of the extent to which the argument is pufhed, his approbation of the general principles of M. Barre is unqualified, and THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 479 and he explicitly fupports the other congenial SECT. theme of his countryman, the only part of this ._ ^ ___j argument which has found its way into Great Britain, that the negroes in the Weft Indies are much happier than the European peafantry. * But will the reader believe that a flill more fla- grant infult has been offered to the common fenfe of mankind in purfuing the fame topics ? Will it be conceived, without actually refer- ring to M. Barre's words, j- that he imputes the origin of the Have trade among the Spaniards, entirely to their liberal views of benefiting man- kind, their rational plans of promoting the hap- pinefs and civilization of Africa ! ' On auroit de la peine ' (fays he) 6 a crolre ' aujourd^hui^ que ce fut far un motif d'huma- 4 nite que les Efpagnols allerent, les -premiers * en 1503, c here her des negres a la cote d'A- * frique, pour fuppller les foibles Mexicains dans ' le travail des colonies. Voyant que les peuples * eonquis etoient trop foibles pour fupporter le * travail dans leur pays natal Voyant enfuite ' que les negres ^ place s fous un cielbrulant, refide- ' roient mieuu Jous un climat tempers Voyant ' e nfin que^ de terns immemorial^ J'efc/avage exiftoit ' en Afrique avec des caracleres plus hidcux que ' dans * Barre St Venant, Col. Mod. chap. V. VI. & VII. Malouet, Mem. fur les Colonies, torn. IV. p. 77. & 84. See alfo Mcmoire fur 1'efclavage des Negres, * in torn. V, t P. 40- 480 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK f rf ans aucune autre coniree. Us crurent leur rendrs IV. . ' , c un bon ferule e de les retirer de leurs repair -es, 6 four en fairs des labour eurs. y After this, we are not furprifed to find our author exprefs a fort of regret that France was fo long of following this glorious example, and then exultingly enumerate the bleffings of the flave trade. ' Ce rfeft que cent vingt ans apres que les ' Francois les imiterent. ' Lette tentative a fertilise, line fartie du nou- e *veau monde ; elle a donne de nouvelles joulffances ' a Pancien ; bun conduite elle auro'it aggrandi la ' profperite des deux hejnifpheres. J * He may doubtlefs derive fome confolation to his patriotic feelings of regret, from the confi- deration that his countrymen, though late, have been fuch ftrenuous and fuccefsful imitators of the Spanifh philanthropy, f 2. The fame men who have aflerted that the negroes are happier in the Weft Indies than in their own country, and enjoy more of the comforts of life than the peafantry of Europe, might well be expected to deny all the allega- tions of bad treatment which have been fo often brought againft the planters, as well as the flave- traders. * P. 40. f Note W w. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. . 481 traders. In Britain, where this queftion under- SECT. ii went the moft folemn and ample difcuilion, the . ^' .. friends of the flave fyftem had every opportu- nity of bringing forward all their proofs. The firft debates which took place were introduced by the flave-carrying bill ; and the moft remark- able circumftance attending this difcuffion, was the grofs prevarication of the witnefles brought forward by the opponents of the meafure. The flave trade abolition bill was oppofed with equal zeal ; and the difficulties under which its advo- cates laboured in adducing their proof, muft be evident to every one who reflects that, from the very nature of the cafe, almoft all the wit- nefles had neceflarily an intereft in concealing, or modifying, or perverting the truth, in fo far as it was unfavourable to the planters and flave- traders, while almoft every one of the witnefles brought forward in exculpation, were immediate- ly concerned in the charges, being in facl the very parties accufed. Notwithftanding this, any perfon who ftudies with tolerable attention that invaluable mafs of information which the Com- mittee of 1789 have colle&ed in their Report, muft be convinced, as the Houfe of Commons were, that the whole cafe of the petitioners was clearly made out. As a fpecimen of the man- ner in which their opponents attempted to vin- dicate the planters from all charge -of cruelty, VOL. ii. H h I COLONIAL POLICY or tranfcribe a pafiage from Sir William Young's Tour to the Windward Iflands. This tour appears to have been undertaken during the greatefl heats of the negro queftions ; and the account of it publifhed by the traveller (who was one of the chief oppofers of the abolition) feems to be given to the world, with the precife view of Hailing the public mind, in favour of the gentle treatment of the Weft Indian flaves. It is publifhed in the fame volume with Mr Ed- wards's Hiftory of St Domingo, and to all ap- pearance for the fame purpofe. The very firft day that the tourift lands in the Weft Indies, he delivers the refult of his obfervations upon the ftate of the flaves ; denies that they appear to be abject and humble ; a- fcribes to them the greateft pride and felf-im- portance ; compares their manners and wit to thofe of the Roman flaves, nay to thofe of the flaves pourtrayed by the Roman dramatifts, who were of courfe much more refined in their characters and converfation than the ori- ginals in real life *. Such accounts, to fay the leaft of them, furely prove a great deal too much ; and the fame remark might have been applied to the following paflage, had we not pofleffed a more pofitive contradiction of the * Young's Tour, afud Edwards's Weft Indies,, vol. III. p. 262. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 483 the conclufion drawn from the facts contained in it. ' I particularly noticed every negro whom I 4 met or overtook on the road. Ofthefe I count- ' ed eleven who were drefled as field negroes, with * only trowfers on ; and adverting to the evi- ' dence on the flave trade, I particularly remark- ' ed that not one of the eleven had a fmgle mark ' or fear of the whip. We met or overtook a ' great many other negroes, but they were drefT- * ed. Faffing through Mr Greathead's large ' eftate, I obferved in the gang one well-look- ' ing negro woman, who had two or three * wheals on her moulders, which feemed the * effect of an old punimment. ' .* But even this folitary exception to the general good ufage of the flaves our tourift explains away j for he afterwards fays, f ' Never paffing a flave without obferving his ' back, either in the field, or on the road, or c wenches warning in the rivers, I have feen not ' one back marked befides that of the woman * obferved before on Mr Greathead's eftate (in ' whom I may be miftaken as to the caufe), 6 and one new negro unfold at Kingilon, who H h 2 ' found * Young's Tour, apud Edwards's Weft lndiei,.vol. III. p. 267. f ibid, p. ?2o, COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK found means to explain to me that he was i r , l fumfumm'd (flogged) by the furgeon of the ' fhip, and he feemed to have had two or three e ftrokes \vith a cat. ' Now, unfortunately for all this indu&ion of fa&s, we meet with the following note by Mr Edwards, upon the paffage firft quoted. * 6 In the Weft Indies, the punifliment of ' whipping is commonly inflifted, not on the * backs of negroes (as praftifed in the difcipline 4 of the Britifli foldiers), but more humanely, ' and with much lefs danger, on partes pofte- ' riores. It is therefore no proof that the ne- c groes whom Sir William Young infpe&ed had ' efcaped flagellation becaufe their moulders bore e no impreilion of the whip. This acknowledge- ' ment I owe to truth and candour. ' The praife of candour we cannot award to this note," becaufe .Mr Edwards was the firft publifher of this tra&, and becaufe every man who knew any thing about a Weft Indian plan- tation, would of himfelf have inftantly per- ceived the unfairnefs of the inference from the fads- an inference which, on Sir Wil- liam's part, may only have been ignorance, but on the part of Mr Edwards muft have been falfehood. It is fcarcely neceflary to add, * Young's Tour, afud Edwards' a Weft Indies, vol. III. p. 267. THE EUROPEAN POWERS, add, that the favourable account of the negro punifhment in this note, is as falfe as the al- lufion to Britifh military difcipline is infidious. But the fubftance of the note is valuable, becaufe it furnimes an authentic refutation of the Ef- fay upon negro happinefs, which runs through Sir William's whole narrative. What trull lhall we repofe in the portraits of this artift, when he paints to us the wit, honour, pride, contentment, gambols, mirth and comforts of the flaves, after we have found him fo fuper- ficially acquainted with the ceconomy of Weft Indian property ? Nay, what confidence can we place in the negative evidence of the other great Well Indians, when we find one of the mofl wealthy, intelligent, and refpeclable mem- bers of this body, fo ill informed, or fo duped by his fubordinate agents ? It may farther be re- marked as a fingular circumilance, that Sir William Young mould not have added foine retractation of his general affertions in the laft edition (1801) from which I quo^e. He is himfelf the editor after the death of Mr Ed- wards ; and he publifhes the t.ext with his friend's notes, exactly as he hn .Q written it at a time when, it is to be hope' j ? he was utterly ignorant of the miftatement ne was giving to the world. H h 3 . It ' COLONIAL POLICY OF 3. It is fcarcely credible, that men fnould have been found abfurd enough to defend the fyftem of negro flavery upon abflraft principles. I have, however, given one fpecimen of this mode of argument from the writings of the French planters. The Britim planters and their a- gents have fallen confiderably ihort of their foreign brethren in this line of abfurdity : but fomething of the very fame nature may be met with in the tenor of their reafonings. They have maintained, that in all ages flavery has ex- ifted ; that a worie kind than that of the negroes was known to the moil celebrated nations of antiquity ; and that Ohriftianity itfelf approves of the inftitution. If Parliamentary Reports may be trufted, thofe arguments were brought forward in a veiy elaborate fpeech, delivered by the agent for Jamaica in the Houfe of Com- mons, when the abolition was firft debated. To all fuch appeals it may be anfwered, that they are partly nugatory, partly falfe, and partly im- pious. The defence of negro flavery, by a refer- ence to its antiquity, is nugatory ; for what an- tiquity can juftify a crime ? The aflertion, that the lot of the enflaved negroes is lefs hard than that of the Roman and Greek flav.es, is com- pletely falfe. The appeal to the Gofpel in its behalf, is, I devoutly believe, mod unauthorifed by any dictum in that bleffed difpenfation. Bat if THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 4 if fuch a diclum fliould be found in the Sacred SECT. Writings, its total repugnance to the whole fpi- . rit of the fyftem, is a fufficient proof of its be- ing interpolated. If, on the other hand, its in- terpolation be denied, I hefitate not to declare, that there is an end of all rational faith in Chriftianity ; for what can more decifively dif- prove the divine origin of any fyftem of belief, than its inculcating or fan&ioning the flavery of the Weft Indies ? 4. The ground which the advocates of the ilave trade occupied, in order to meet the ar- guments of expediency, was in many refpecls as extravagantly high as that upon which they built their defence of its humanity and juftice. A traffic, which at the utmoft never employs more than five thoufand feamen, has been call- ed the pillar of the Britifh navy. A traffic which deftroys more failors in one year, than all the other branches of trade put together deftroy in two ; a traffic which is in fact the grave of our ableft feamen, has been ex- tolled as their beft nurfery. A commerce, in which a million and a half Sterling was never employed at any time, and which is, beyond any other, fubjecl to vaft rifk and unavoidable flownefs of returns, has been de- fcribed as the grand pillar of the Britifh com- jnerce. The moft extravagant falfehoods have . H h 4 been 488 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK been blazoned forth to fupport thofe allega- *,..-'._ tions. But for a full refutation of them, I re- fer my reader to the Report of the Committee 1788, if indeed any anfwer is necefiary ; for, admitting all that can be faid in favour of tho traffic, either as a nurfery of feamen or a fource of mercantile opulence, if the imme- diate confequence of continuing the trade mud be the lofs of the colonies, or their total de- rangement as a valuable pofleffion, furely every argument of this nature, in favour of the flave trade, turns with increafed force againft the end for which it was advanced, inafmuch as the lofs of the African trade will fall with redoubled and fatal effecl upon the national profperity, when, by a fnort delay, the traffic has grown in importance, and has drawn along with it another branch of commerce infinitely more valuable and extenfive. Although the abolition were not to prevent our total deftruc- tion in the Weft Indies, it is evidently advan- tageous if it only divides the lofs, and prevents the fhock from being felt all at once. The capital employed in the flave trade, will eafily find other employment in the trade of African commodities, or, if that opening is infuffi- cient, in the other branches of foreign trade. It is a capital returned more ilowly than any pther, and with greater rift. : it is, therefore, peculiarly adapted to find its way into the diftant THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 489 wn ufe. The profligate avarice of the Spanilh women, in fome parts of the continent, has imitated this fpecies of trade. The negrefles are per- mitted to proltitute themfelves, and acquire money from their paramours or keepers, pro- vided they pay to their miftrefles a certain part of their infamous gains, for having the ufe of their own bodies. * After a flave has in any of thefe various ways acquired property, he endeavours to purchafe VOL. ii. K k his * We are told that the fame d'fofraceful pra#>ce -jrevail- ed alfo in the French iflands. Wimpffen, Let. XXX, . 514 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK hf s freedom. If the matter is exorbitant in his IV. . y l . demands, he may apply to a magiftrate, who appoints fworn appraifers to fix the price at which the flave mall be allowed to buy his free- dom. Even during his flavery the behaviour of the mafter towards him is ftrictly watched : he may complain to the magiftrate, and obtain redrefs, which generally confifls in a decree, ob- liging the mafter to fell him at a certain rate. . The confequences of all thefe laws and cuftoms are extremely beneficial to the Spanifh and Por- tugueze power in America. While the flaves are faithful and laborious, the free negroes are numerous, and in general much more quiet, ufeful, and induftrious, than in the other colo- nies. Moft of the artificers are of this clafs ; and fome of the beft troops in the New World are compofed entirely of negroes, who by their own labour and frugality have acquired their liberty.* It is hardly necefiary to remark the ftriking analogy between the ftate of the Spanifh and Portugueze negroes, and that of the European bondfmen, at a certain period of their pro- grefs towards liberty. We find the fame gen- tlenefs <- -.-*-* Report of Committee 1780, part VI. Townfend'a Travels, vol. II. p. 382. Ricard, III. 635. Hiftory of Brazil, apud Harris's Collection, Tol. I. Campomanes, E- ducasion Popular, torn. II. p. 172. & note. Raynal, Hift. Pbilof, III. 270. D'UUoa's Voyages, torn. I. p. 31. & 129. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. tlenefs of treatment, the fame prote&ion from SECT. the laws, the Tame acknowledgement of rights, . ^' f the fame power of acquiring property, granted to the American Have, which prepared the com- plete emancipation of the European vaifal. In fome particulars we obferve another ftep of the fame progrefs ; for in many parts the negroes are precifely in the fituation of the coloni partiarii t or metayers, of the feudal times. In one refpefl: the negro is even in a more favourable fituation : his reddendo, (if I may ufe the expreffion), is fixed and definite : all the overplus of his in- duftry belongs to himfelf. The metayer was bound to divide every gain with his lord. The former, then, has a much flronger incentive to induflry than the latter had. As this difference, however, arifes, not from the progrefs of fo- ciety, but from the nature of the returns them- felves, eafily concealed, and with difficulty pro- cured : fo, in fome other refpe&s the negro is not in fuch favourable circumflances. But the great fleps of the procefs of improvement are materially the fame in both cafes. Both have, in common, the great points of a bargain be- tween the mafter and flave j privileges poffefled by the flave, independent of, nay in oppofition to his mafter ; the rights of property enjoyed by the flave, and the power of purchafmg his freedom at a juft price. This refemblance, in K k 2 circumflances 5*6 COLONIAL POLICY Of BOOK circumftances fo important, may fairly be ex- , peeled to render the progrefs of the two orders alfo fimilar. In the negro, as in the feudal fyftem, we may look for the confequences of thofe great improvements in voluntary induftry, more productive labour, and the mitigation and final abolition of flavery, when the flave (hall have been gradually prepared to become a free fubjedt. Some of the good effects that have flowed from the national character, and peculiar circum- ftances of the Spanifh and Portugueze, have been produced alfo in Dutch America, by that great competition of capitals, and thofe complicated difficulties, which lay the Dutch colonifls under the neceflity of attending to the fmallefl favings* If from this fource, combined with the facility of importation, has arifen a cruelty unknown in other colonies, it may be doubted whether a compenfation for the evil is not afforded by another effect of the fame eircumftances, the general introduction of talk-work, which the keen-fighted fpirit of a neceffary avarice, has taught the planter of Dutch Guiana to view as the moft profitable manner of working his flaves."* Nothing, indeed, can conduce more immediate- ly to the excitement of induftry than the intro- duction of talk-work. It feems the natural and eafy tranfition from labour to induftry ; it forms in the mind of the flave thofe habits which are neceffary * Malouet, Mem. fur ks Col. ill. 133. THE EUROPEAN POWERS. 517 jneeeffary for chara&er of the free man : it SECT. jthus prepares him for enjoying, by a gradual change, thofe rights and privileges which be- long to freedom. But this manner of employ- ing the negroes muil be coupled with mildnefs of treatment, and with the entire abolition of all other labour, in order to produce its good effefts. Talk-work is known in the windward iflands of France and Britain, without bringing any relief or improvement whatever. The toil of grafs -picking is, indeed, the mod intoler- able nuifance to which thofe unhappy men are fubje&ed. But that is a work impofed upon them in addition to all their other toils, dur- ing the intervals of the field work : it is made to interfere with their hours of reft and relaxa- tion. In the Dutch colonies, the cruelty of the flave fyflem prevents even the -complete adop- tion of talk-work from producing all its na- tural confequences ; for the toil impofed, and the punifhments with which the neglect is at- tended, are infinitely too fevere. The odious plan of working out the negroes, prevails both jn the iflands and on the continent j and while a fupply of flaves is eafily procured, the good effeds produced by the fyftem of management peculiar to Peru and Brazil, can never be ex- pected to take place in the colonies of France, Britain, and Holland until either the man- ners of the nations mall be changed, fo as to K k 3 referable 518 COLONIAL POLICY OF BOOK referable thofe of the indolent Spaniards and , Portugueze, or the views of the planters fhall be fo enlightened, as to imprefs them with a conviction that humane treatment is the mofl beneficial to their interefts. Such a change of character is not to be wifhed, and fuch an en- largement of views is furely not to be expected. We are, therefore, again led to the fame conclufion, in which every view of this large fubjeft ends that the only means of improv- ing the negro fyflem is the abolition of the Have trade. This great meafure, affifted by fubordinate arrangements, fimilar to thofe ad- opted jn the ancient flates, in the feudal king- doms, and in the South American colonies, will moft undoubtedly alter the whole face of things in the New World. The negroes, pla- ced in almoft the fame circumftances with the bondfmen of ancient Europe, and the flaves of the clamc times, will begin the fame career of improvement. The fociety of the Weft Indies will no longer be that anomalous, defective, and difgufting monfler of political exiftence, which we have fo often been forced to con- template in the courfe of this Inquiry. The foundation of rapid improvement will be fe- curely laid, both for the Whites, the Negroes, and the mixed race, out of the materials which force and cruelty and fraud have collected. A THE EUROPEAN POWERS. A ftrong and compact political ftructure will SECT. arife, under the influence of a mild, civilized, . ' and enlightened fyftem. The vafl continent of Africa will keep pace with the quick im- provement of the world which (he has peopled ; and in thofe regions where, as yet, only the warhoop, the lam, and the cries of mifery, have divided with the beads the filence of the defert, our children, and the children of our ilaves, may enjoy the delightful profpect of that benign and fplendid reign, which is exercifed by the Arts, the Sciences, and the Virtues of modern Europe. That this view of the future is altogether vifionary, I am ready to admit ; but it is vi- fionary/ only becaufe there is little chance of that great meafure being adopted, which every argument of neceffity, and every temptation of expediency concurs to enforce. All confider- ations of juftice being kept out of view, it might be thought- that the evident dangers of the prefent fyftem, as exhibited to us, firft in Dutch, and afterwards in French America, would awaken men to a right feeling upon their cri- tical fituation ; that the melancholy example of a noble province, facrificed to the rifks which every other flave colony runs, almofl within the vifible horizon of the remaining fet- tlements, would infpire the European powers with an anxiety to fearch for that internal dif- K k 4 order $20 COLONIAL POLICY, &C. BOOK order which \< rapidly working the diifolution i_ 1 . . of the colonial fyftem, and a diftruft of thofe ram or imerefted counfellors, whofe advice; has in other countries been attended with ruin,. 6 l\lu/ta funt occulta reipubliuz vainer a, mul- c ta nefariorum dviitm perniciofa conjttia : nullum * extfrnum penculum eft* non rex 9 non gens ulla, ' non natio fettimefcmda eft : inclufum malum^ S infeftivum ac dontefticum ejl. huic pro j'e quifquq c nojirum rnederi^ atqiie hoc cmnes fanare veils ' deb emus. * * But it feems to be the lot of nations to de- rive inftrudion from experience, rather than example ; and however acutely they may dif- cern rhe confequences of folly in the conduct of their neighbours, no fooner has the cafe be- come their own, than indolence, or timidity, or a fenlelefs co d nee in good fortune, I blinds them to the moft obvious applications of the Itflbns before their eyts : difeourages all ideas of reformation ; and gives birth to the I fame ftrange delu n, fo often fatal to indivi- duals, tha r the cir u ftan.es and the conduct uhich have v .i others, may prove harmlefs \ or beneficidi to tiiLinlelves, NOTES * Cicero, Oral. I. de Lege Agraria. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. NOTE A a. p. 22. THE tenor of the two laws laft referred to in the text, is NOTES fufficiently fingular to deferve more minute attention. AND The ordinance of Valentinius and Valens is conceived in ILLUST. the following terms : ' ' v "^ ' Univerfi fiduciam gerant, ut, fi quis eorum ab aftore * rerum privatarum noftrarum, five a procuratore vexatus fuerit injuriis, fuper ejus contumeliis vel deprasdationibus ' deferri quasrimoniam finceritati tuas, vel reftort provincial, ' non dubitet, et ad publicae fententiam vindi&as fine all- * qua trepidatione convolare : quse res cum fuerit certis pro- * bationibus declarata, fancimus, et edicimus, ut fi in pro- * vincialem hanc audaciam quifquam moliri aufus fuerit, * publice vivus concremetur. ' Cod. lib. III. tit. 26. leg. 9. I would here take the liberty of fuggefting an emendation of the laft claufe. Jnftead of ' in provinciakm hanc auda- * dam, ' I would fubmit the following reading : ' in pro- * innciH talem hanc audaciam. ' The preamble is fo general, that we cannot by any means conceive the reafon for the re- ftraining enactment in the end. Why fhould the provincial fubje&s alone have the benefit of this law ? Is it probable that the Roman citizens, refident in the provinces, would have lefs regard paid to the violation of their privileges ? But whichever reading we may adopt, the fpirit of the en- a&ment is equally plain and decifive. The edict of Con- flantine is as follows : Praefides 522 NOTE A a. * Prxfides provinciarum oportet, fi quis potentiorum cx- * titerit infolentior, et ipfi vindicare non poflunt, aut exami- * nare, aut pronuntiare nequeunt ; de ejus nomine ad nos, ' aut certe ad Praetorians Praefefturse fcientiam referre : * quo provideatur, qualiter publics difciplinae, et lasfis tc- ' nuioribus confulatur. ' Cod. lib. I. tit. XL. leg. 2. Thefe two laws prefent us with a ftriking illuftration of the wide difference between the (kill, or the tafte, of the an- cients and moderns, in the great arts of adminiftration. The fanguinary punimment awarded to fo high an officer as the Emperor's reprefentative, for an offence extremely common in all the provinces of the Roman dominion, would never have been thought of in the prefent times, although enormities much greater called for vengeance : and the open, direct, and plain terms in which the edift of Conftantine prefcribes the performance of what is always a matter of much nicety the reftraining of perfonal influence clearly prove how little the moft enlightened ftates of antiquity knew or valued the grand fecrets of adminiftration, particularly the method of ruling by influence, fo much and fo juftly valued in modern times. NOTE B b. p. 36. OxuPHRit's PANVINIUS has given a very elaborate enu- meration of all the Italian colonies. It is to be found in Grttvii Thefaurust torn. I. The Treatife of Robortellus on the Roman provinces deferves alfo to be confulted. The number of the colonies planted in Italy, amounted to one hundred and fixty-four ; while thofe planted in all the provinces were only one hundred and ninety-nine. Onupb. Panv. cap. XXI. It appears from this confidera- tion alone, that the Italian colonies were materially different, in their conftitution and ufes, from the colonies of the pro- vinces. NOTE B b, 523 The firfl foreign colony which the Romans planted was NOTES in Carthage, A. U. C. 710, when Julius Csefar formed the AND plan of reftoring that deferted" city by means of a colonial iLLUST. eftablifhment. The firft colony planted in Italy was that of '< y * Caennia, A. U. C. 4 D'ton. Caff. lib. XLIIL cap. 50. The practice of fending Roman colonies to the provinces (where they did not enjoy all the privileges of the Italian colonifts, Onupb. Panv'tn. cap. /.), was very common af- ter the experiment of Julius Csefar. He himfelf tranfplant- ed eighty thoufand citizens in this manner, Sueton. in Jul. Caf. cap. XLII. After the time of Auguftus, who planted twenty-eight colonies in Italy (Sueton. in O&av. cap. XLF~J.) the cuftom of planting Italian colonies feems to have been abandoned. His fucceflbrs did not plant fo many as twenty ; and preferred forming thofe fettlements beyond feas. Livy does not once mention a tranfmarine or tranfalpine colony ; although he conftantly relates the foundation of thofe in Italy. Dacia and Britain, the moft difficult and infecure of the Roman conquefts, had only, the former four, the latter five Roman colonies. Africa (the moft peaceable of all the Ro- man poffeffions long before the downfal of the Common- wealth) received, after the usurpation of Julius Cafar, no lefs than fifty-feven colonies, exclufive of Egypt. We may therefore conclude, that the Italian eftablifh- ments were founded with different views, and in a different age of the Roman hiftory, from the fettlements in the pro- Tin ces. NOTE C c. /, 52, THE plan of removing the feat of the Portuguefe govera- Rient from Europe to South America, is not altogether ima- gmarv. $14 NOTE C c, K o T E S ginary. It has on feveral occafiona (I believe as recently ai AND during the late war) been entertained by the regency of ILLUST. Lifbon ; Dumouriez, Etat prefent de Portugal, liv.IL c. 6. 1 y it The Portuguefe chara&er and habits are peculiarly favour- able to the conception and execution of fuch a project. Placed in a corner of Europe in which their political import- ance is extremely trifling, they arc fond of contemplating the magnitude and natural wealth of their foreign domini- ons. Diftinguifhed by their manners and turn of mind, as well as by their blood, from all the other European nations, they have little intercourfe with, or knowledge, of foreign countries, and feem to regard the affairs of Afia and Ame- rica with more intereft than thofe of France and Germany. Murphy's Travels in Portugal, />. 206. 4*a Murphy's State ef Portugal, chap. XXIV. In mentioning the weaknefs of Portugal, as fhe is fi:uat- ed with refpeft to Spain, I have not alluded to the advan- tages which rtie derived from the unaccountable weaknefs of the Spanifh generals, and the bad condition of the troopa during the war 1762; becaufe, at that period, the armies of Portugal were in a condition Hill more wretched, and as little provided for the operations of the field as in the war of the * ^etlamafian. ' Soon after the invafion of 1762, the ftiilitary talents of La Lippe, and the bold political geniys of Pombal, reformed a multitude of abufes in all the de- partments of government, and greatly augmented the r- fources of the nation-^ its army, navy, and revenues. But fuch improvements, in a comparative view of two European nations, placed in the relative fituations of Portugal and Spain, may almoil always be difregarded ; for, unlefs cir- cumftances exift in the one ftate eflentially different from thofe of the other ? any material augmentation in the force of the one will be attended with a proportionate increafe in that of the other. Accordingly, during the period wf which we are fpeaking, Spain did not fit an idle fpedatpr of C c. $2.5 bf the falutary meafures purfued in Portugal. The various NOTES domeftic improvements, the Freedom of the colonial trade, AND and the increafe of the navy, are proofs of this pofition. ILLUST. The number of guns in the Spanifti line in 1776 was only ' V""* three thnufand nine hundred and ninety-eight ; in 1788, it had increafed to five thoufand four hundred and ten. To-wnfend's Trav. II. 397. Where fome extraordinary event, indeed, places one na- tion in circumftances which another cannot emulate, we may argue from the fuperiority which this difference will confer ; as, for inftance> the emancipation of a colony, a fudden revolution in the mother country, or the transference of a feat of empire. But even thefe events tend generally to operate fomc change on neighbouring ftates, and they are commonly attended with fuch a change, even if they do not influence it ; becaufe, as we have feen elfawhere, (Book III. Se&. I.) in nations forming one community, like the European kingdoms, or the American colonies, the fame circumftances which predifpofe to extraordinary events in any one member of the body, tend to operate fome fimilar. cffedt in all the neighbouring parts. In eftimating the relative ftrength of Spain and Portu* gal in South America) we ought always to recolleft, that the province of Chili has never been completely fubdued and that the natives would be ready to join any foreign power againft the Spaniards ; that Portugal pofiefies the coaft next to Europe, commands the navigation of the Am- azons, and may eafily feize the keys alfo of the Plata ; and that Peru is feparated from the Atlantic by a vaft ridge of mountains, and an cxtenfive traft of country, level indeed, but neither drained of its morafles nor cleared of its forefts. 526 NOTE D d. p. 69. NOTES The authority which I have cited for this fact is indeed AND anonymous, and the work is, in this country, very little ILLUST. known. But, beiides that a fimilar circumilance has occur- U ""'""V"~ ' red in other inftances which might be enumerated, great confidence may be repofed in the ftatements of the two travellers. Their work abounds in plain and fober narra- tive, delivered with a minutenefs bordering upon prolixity. The information contained in it is full, various, and expli- cit, even to tedioufnefs. Of its accuracy in all particulars, I am inclined to form the moft favourable opinion, from finding it completely fo in thofe parts which I have had an opportunity of verifying by perfonal obfervation. The title ^f the book is, ^Voyage de deux Francois au nord de I' Europe, 1791 & 1792. The route lay through Denmark, Sweden, Rufiia, Poland, Auftria, and part of the north of Ger- many. NOTE E e. p. 71. No fmall diverfity of opinion exifts among the authors who have exprefsly written upon, or only occafionally refer- red to the fubjeft of the Attican population. As the in- quiry is curious, and as fome errors feem to have prevailed in the writings of thofe who are in general moft correct up- on clafllcal fubje&s, 1 (hall offer a few ftatements, which may perhaps fet the matter in a true light. Mr Hume, in his admirable eflay on the populoufnefs of ancient nations, (a rare fpecimen of a branch of fciencealmoft wholly new the application of philofophy to claffical anti- quities), NOTE E e, quitics), has ftated that Athenasus gives the population of A- NOTES thens at twenty-one thoufand citizens, ten thoufand ftrangers, AND and four hundred thoufand flaves, (E/fays, -vol. I. p. 416. iLLUST, edit. 1793.^ He then proceeds to argue againft this ftate- ment, as if Athenseus meant to enumerate only the popula- tion of the city. The ftrongeft of his reafons proceed upon the idea that this was the author's fenfe ; and it muft be ac- knowledged that they are fufficiently conclufive. But after- wards he infers, rather inconfiftently, that Athenaeus muft have meant to give the population of all Attica. * Be- 4 fides, ' fays he, we are to confider that the number af- ' figned by Athenaeus, whatever it is, comprehends all the inhabitants of Attica, as well as thofe of Athens, ' (p. 419.) His opinion, upon the whole, then, is, that Athe- naeus muft be underftood to fpeak of Attica ; but that, even for Attica, the number is too great ; and Mr Hume fuppofes the error of one cypher. Now, in the jirjl place, let us attend to the words of Athenasus, which Mr Hume appears not to have examined with his ufual accuracy. E%ETaor'u 9 Appcn.; IVimpffcn, Let, XXVIIL ; Edward?* NOTE H h. 535 6V Domingo, Appcn. and chap. /. , Barre St P'enant, Co!. Mod. NOTES P. 1 02. ; Ma/ouet, &c. sV. Morfe has indeed (American AND Geography] ftated this number at fix hundred thoufand, and ILLUST. Laborie at five hundred thoufand ; but thefe ftatements pro- * y ceed upon rough calculation of the numbers probably omit- ted even in the moft accurate returns ; and that of Morfe 19 in all probability much exaggerated. We are therefore to confine ourfelves entirely to the official number of four hundred and fifty-five thoufand, and to compare this with the official number, two hundred and fifty thoufand, of the year 1775. We have here, then, a total increafe of two hundred and five thoufand negroes in fix teen years. But according to the progrefs of the importation, and the natural progrefs of the po- pulation, the natural and forced increafe combined ought to have been much greater. Suppofe that, by the natural mode, no increafe ought to have taken place, and that the propaga- tion only balanced the mortality, both in the original flock of 1775, and in every fubfequent increafe by importation ; the total increafe of the firlt fix years, admitting that there were two males to every female imported, and that no ac- account of the odd males is to be kept, fhould have been fixty thoufand ; and of the fecond period, (ten years}, on the fame fuppofitions, about a hundred and feventy-four thoufand ; and the whole increafe fhould have been about two hundred and thirty-four thoufand, or above twenty- nine thoufand more than the adlual increafe. But this difference is evidently much lefs than the truth ; for no account has been taken of five thoufand male ne- groes annually imported during the firft fix years, and eight thoufand fix hundred and fixty -four during the laft ten. In order to correct the calculation, we (hall fuppofe that one death in twenty of the population is a fair eftimate for the Weft Indian climate, being much more than in the worft climates of Europe. It may eafily btr computed, that at the L I 4 ecd NOTE H h. end of the fixtccn years, there would remain, of the odd males imported during that period, above eighty thoufand. Befides, no account has been taken of the fuperior ac- curacy with which the returns were made at the end of the period under confideration. This circumftance muft e- vidently increafe the difference ftill farther. For we find, that during nine years ending 1784, the total numbers had only increafed from two hundred and fifty thoufand to two hundred and ninety-feven thoufand : whereas, fuppofing the propagation only to have kept up the ftock, the import- ation during that period mould have produced an augmenta- tion of a hundred and twelve thoufand at leaft. Inftead, therefore, of a difference of a hundred and nine thoufand, in the whole period of fixteen years, we may fafely conclude, that there was a difference of nearly a hundred and forty, or that the common good treatment experienced by the lower orders of the moft unhealthy countries in the world would have produced on the population of St Domingo an increafe greater, in the proportion of feven to four, than the increafe which actually took place during the fixtecB years of great importation. The nature of the treatment experienced by the ne- groes in that ifland, may from this ftatement eafily be e- ftimatcd. But feveral calculations have been prefented to us, directly confirming the fame pofition, and demonftrating, that the cruelty or hard ufage of the French colonifts was extreme. I have mentioned^ in the text, the general ftatements of the Report of 17^9 upon the treatment experienced by the flavea in all the French iflands. I (hall now add the particular tefti- snony of two able men, who drew their obfcrvations from perfonal knowledge. Baron Wimpffen (Lettres, No. XXV.) flates, that of the negroes imported into St Domingo, twenty per cent, die during the firft year, while only five per cent. are born ; and of thefe five, one infant dies of the tetanus in the firfl. fortnight. M. Malouet fays that it requires from four NOTE H h. 537 fbtfr to five thoufand births, befides the annual importation of NOTES eighteen thoufand flaves to keep up the ftock ; and that the only total addition is the contraband with the Englifh iflands. Effai fur St Domingue, p. 148. & feqq. Thus, ac- cording to Wimpffcn, the deaths among the imported ne- groes are above five times more numerous than among the people of any other country, and the births five times lefs numerous ; and according to Malouet, the mortality of the whole ftock is between two and three times greater than that of the natives of any other country on earth a fuffici- ent commentary upon the boafted humanity of the planters in the French iflands, and a ufeful leffon upon the profits of ibe flave fyftem. NOTE I i. p. 194. Asa fpecimen of the inconfiftencies and raifreprefentations which diftinguim the cavillers upon this fubjeft, 1 fhall ad- vert to the remarks of a very celebrated author, whofe truly philofophical fpeculations have done much to introduce plain and found fenfe into political inquiries, and to affift us in forming large and extenfive views of the hiftory of nations. After taking notice of the policy which induced Vortigern king of the Britons to call in the ailutance of the Saxons againft the Romans, Mr Millar obferves, that this meafure has been univerfally blamed as weak and foolifh ; and he adds, that Vortigern afted exadly upon the principles of the balancing fyftem. H'iftorical View of the Englljk Govern" merit, p. 25, 4/0 edit. Now, it muft be evident to every one, that this conduct of Vortigern was not juftified by the principles of the balancing fyftem ; for, of all events, that fyftem holds an invafion to be the leaft ddirable ; and, in ftead of demanding the aid of allici on your own ground, it prescribes 53^ NOTE I i. K T E S prescribes the granting of aid to allies upon their ground, in AND order to prevent invafion. In fad, nothing could be lefs JLLUST. politic tnan Vortigern's condu&, upon the plaineft principles !" '/ ' of common fenfe. He actually called in a conqueror, whom he armed with the power of deftroying his kingdom. He imitated exaclly the policy of the horfe in the fable. The reader will find many good ideas upon the general fub- jel of the European community, mingled with feveral ob- vious mifconceptions and puerilities, in Voltaire's ' Ht/loire * de la Guerre de 1740, ' Part J. chap, i. NOTE K k. f. 276. THE fubjecl: of the Auftrian alliance was one of the moft interefting difcuffions, in the politics of the eighteenth century previous to the French revolution, and perhaps not a little connt&ed with that great and deplorable event. Thofe who wifh to iludy this queflion of foreign policy, may confult, in the firfl place, the very interefting collec- tion of ftate papers, publifhtd in two volumes oclavo by the French government foon after the King's flight, and repub- lifhed lately in three volumes, with fome additions and notes by M. Segur, a gentleman well known in the diplomatic circles of the Continent, as the able negotiator who con- cluded the commercial treaty between France and Ruffia. This publication confiils, chiefly, of a ' Tableau fpcculatif y ' or Raifonne ' of the foreign relations of France, drawn up by the Sieur Favier, under the direction, and with the aflift- ance of the minitlry. The object of the treatife is evident- ly to decry the Auftrian alliance, as the caufe of every cala- mity that befel France during the remainder of Louis XV. 's reign. The notes of M. Segur contain the chief argur on the other fide of the crueftion. While Favier afcribes NOTE K k. 539 every evil to the Auftrian fyftem, Segur, without denying NOTES the calamitous ftate of affairs fubfequent to 1756, both in AND Poland and Germany, attributes all to the mal-adminiftra- ILLUST. tion of French affairs in the Seven-years war, and during * v ' ' the whole interval between the peace of Hubertfburgh and the Revolution. He argues the queftion rather upon fpeci- allies ; Favicr adopts the more general views of the fubjec"r., which his antagonift condemns as un found. As Favier per- petually recurs to the fame text, endeavouring, like moll theorifts, to reduce every thing under one head, and twill- ing all fadls to humour his main pofition : fo, the new edi- tor follows him through his whole courfe, and, under the head of each power whofe relations to France are difcuffed by Favier in the text, we meet with a feparate argument in Segur's notes, tending either to modify or overthrow the favourite conclufions of the former politician. In general, Favier, though a practical ilatefman, and writing for a fpe- cial purpofe, feems to be an advocate for thofe enlarged fpe- culations which 1 have attempted to defend in the Second Seftion of the Third Book. Segur is very decidedly an ad- vocate for the minute and detailed views of foreign policy into which diplomatifts fo naturally fall. His talents in this line are, however, unqueftioned ; and it affords no fmalt proof of his liberality in political matters, that he whofe fame in the diplomatic world refts on the negotiation of a commercial treaty, mould be the loudeft in condemning all fuch conventions as abfurd and impolitic. The hiftorical writings of Frederic II, by far the mofl valuable of all that lively and ckver Prince's works, afford much inflruclion upon the fubjedl of this controverfy, be- fides exhibiting to us a concife and connecled view of the relative pofitions of different powers at the moil important periods of his reign. He has left us, in the ' H'lftotre de la * Guerre de Sept-ar.s, ' a very valuable, and apparently a ve- ry sut.hentic i.arratJve of that moll important con t eft, which was 540 NOTE K k. NOTES was the firft fruit of the new alliance. This trcatife is, in- AND deed, a model of compofition in the branch of hiftory to ILLUST. which it belongs the mere detail of military tranfaftions. ' T It is full and minute, without being tedious ; it is fufficient- ly profeflional and even deep, without any obfcurity or dry- nefs ; it is written by one who could really fay, pars mag- * na fui : ' yet in the whole courfe of the performance, we are never offended with the flighted violation of modeily or coolnefs, while we read the tale of the hero with all the in- tereft natural to fo rare an occafion. Laftly, as the ' Hif- toire * is compofed by one who was a ftatefman, as well as a general and an author, although politics bear a very fubor- dinate part in this book, the narrative is fo drawn up, as to throw a full and fatisfac\ory light upon the whole political tranfa&ions of the day, and, as it were, to fit any hiftory which mall comprehend the politics, in the fame manner that it embraces the military affairs of the war. The introduction to this work contains fome general re- marks upon the ftudy of hiftory, and the importance of rightly ufiiig collections of fafts. Thefe opinions of the Royal au- thor countenance many of the fpeculations in which I have indulged in the text, and are well worthy of the attention of thofe men of detail who laugh at all general views of policy, as the effufions of theorifts, and productions of the clofet. For it can hardly be aflerted that the King of Pruffia was, what Auftria and Poland would indeed have wilhed he had been, a vifionary and fpeculative man. Some anecdotes and interefting fafts with refpeA to the fecret hiftory of the Auftrian alliance, may be found in Soulavie's Memoirs of the reign of Louis XVI., and may tend to complete the knowledge of the fubjeft which the reader has acquired from Favier, Segur, and Frederic II. I am confident, that the refult of the whole inquiry will lead him to adopt the opinion which I have curforily ftated up- on this affair in the text. NOT? NOTE L 1. p. 282. THE Methuen Treaty has been held up by all French writ- NOTES ers, down to the Abbe Raynal (who affects to write upon AND political as well as fentimental topics), as the chef-d'auvre of iLLUST. Britifh policy, and the pitch of Portuguefe dependence. ' y ' Moft of our Englifh ftatefmen were of the fame opinion before the days of Smith and Hume. The former of thefe celebrated writers has fully difcufied the fubjeft, and endeavoured to (hew that this treaty was highly difadvanta- geous to England, even upon the principles of the mercan- tile fyftem. In his general reafonings againftall fuch treaties, it would be Jmpofiible to find any weaknefs or difficulty ; but he feems to have mifapprehended the ftate of things which led to the Methuen Treaty ; and his arguments a- gainft it, on this fpecial view, are not fatisfaftory. In faft, it muft ftrike every one who fees his ftatement, that it proves too much ; for furely, if the flipulations of the con- trail are fo leonine as he defcribes them, it is impoflible to fuppofe that any man of common underftanding, I mean any perfon endowed with the faculty of counting his ten fingers, could for one moment have miftaken the nature of the bargain. The ftatements of Dr Smith (Wealth of Nationt, Book IV. chap. VI.} are the more impofing, that he pre- faces them with a literal tranflation of the treaty, the ftipu- lations of which are fhort and fimple. He then proceeds to obferve, that, by this bargain, Englifh woollens are admit- ted on no better terms than before the prohibition which it thus repealed ; but that they are admitted on no better terms than that of other nations, while the Portuguefe wines are admitted into England with a great preference. ' So far, ' therefore, ' (fays he) the treaty is evidently advanta- ' geous to Portugal, and difadvantageous to Great Britain. ' Vol. II. p. 327. edit. 1799. This 542 NOTE L 1. ' This tlatement, however, is fundamentally erroneous, in- afmuch as it omits to confider the otent and nature of the prohibition repealed in the treaty. In 1644, (the jealous fpirit of the French cabinet having a fliort time before pro- hibited Brazil goods), Portugal prohibited the entry of all French goods. The hands of the nation were, during the remainder of the feventeenth century, turned to manufac- tures, particularly thofe of wool ; and with fo much fuc- cefs, that in 1684 the government under Erricira's admi- niftration prohibited all importation, either of the raw ma- terial or of woollen goods. This occafioned great mur- mur?, chiefly on account of the diminution fuftained by the revenue ; and at the fame time Britain was endeavouring to fupplant the French wines in her home market, by the in- troduction of the Portugueze. Both governments, there- fore, were foou difpofed to conclude a bargain, which fhould again open the Portugueze market to Britifh woollens, and fhould promote in Britain the ufe of Portugueze wines. This gave rife to the arrangements which terminated in the Methuen treaty. Thepaclion, then, is fhort and fimple ; it is, that Portugal fhall repeal the law of 1684, in favour of Britain, and that Britain, in return, fhall admit Portuguese wines at two thirds of the duties paid by French wines. The preference is mutual. The prohibition of 1644 againft French goods remains in full force : the prohibition of 1684 remains alfo in full force againfl French and all other woollens, except Britifh woollens. Bn'tifh woollens alone are admitted ; all others excluded. Here, then, is a mo- nopoly of the Portugueze market granted to Britifh goods, in return for a preference given to Portugueze wines over thofe of France. Wherefore, the advantage granted to Britifh woollens is much more general than that given to Portugueze wines. Dr Smith's objection proceeds entirely from confining his view to the terms of the treaty, which do not exprefsly fay that the laws of 1644 and 1684 are to rc- totia NOTE L I. 543 main in force, unkfs in fo far as the latter is repealed by NOTES the treaty. AND I fhall only add, that the French wines having be- ILLUST. fore the treaty been heavily loaded in England, and the ' -v ' * Portugueze wines encouraged, the Methuen treaty pro- duced a very trifling effect in favour of Portugal ; not much above a thirty-fecond part being for fome years add- ed to the former importation by the diminution of duty ; while the repeal of the law 1684, in favour of England, gave her woollens an immediate monopoly of the Portu- geze importation market, from which they had been totally- excluded fince that law was enacted. Whatever truth, then, there may be in all Dr Smith's reafonings againft commer- cial treaties, (and no one can for one moment doubt their accuracy), we muft admit, that by the Methuen treaty Britain gains more than Portugal ; that the mutual advan- tages are exactly of the kind propofed by the lovers of the mercantile fyftem ; and that the bargain, upon the princi- ples of thofe men, is mutually advantageous, but more fo to Britain than to Portugal. The law of 1644 might indeed have been repealed next year (in 1704), and that of 1684 might have been repealed in favour of France, or any other country. But this would evidently have annulled the Meth- uen treaty, as much as if a preference had been granted to French wines by Britain, in direct violation of the com- pact ; or as if Portugal had inftantly renewed the exclufion of Britifh goods. Although, therefore, the letter of the treaty is certainly a little defective from extreme concifenefs, the fpirit and in- tention of it is clear, and, on the principles of the mercan- tile fyftem, unexceptionable. NOT i. 544 NOTE M m. p. NOTES THE fubftance of the general reafonings and views detailed AND n this Section, was publifhed in the Second Number of a I L LUST, periodical work, conducted by a fociety of Literary Gentle- < ' v ' men in Edinburgh, entitled the ' Edinburgh Review. ' NOTE N n. p. 295. THE confidence with which I have termed the conduft of France, during the American war, a blunder, is fully juf- tified by the addition of ' acknowledged, ' which we arc entitled to make, from attending to the fentiment uniformly exprefled by the ableft ftatefmen of France, both at the time and fince the American revolution. Such views are extremely interefting io difcufling the American colonial politics of the prefeot day ; becaufe they {hew us clearly what would have been the advice of thofe enlightened men upon the great fubjefts of Weft Indian policy. To us who have, on many points of the fubjeft, the benefit of twenty- /even years experience, the errors of fuch men are no left Jnftruftive than their happieft conjectures. They may teach us what meafure of modefty is becoming in political difcuf- fions, and guard us againft rafhly founding our practical deduftions upon the moft plaufible general theories. M. de Vergennes having, about the beginning of the American troubles, laid before the cabinet a memorial up- on the conduct fuggefted to France and Spain, by the ftate of the colonial affairs of England, M. Turgot drew up a long memorial upon this fubjeA. The original paper of Vergennes is loft ; but the memorial of Turg6t was found among NOTE N n. 545 among -Lewis XVI. 'a papers ; and feveral long extracts from NOTES it are inferted in the publication formerly referred to, < Po- AND * litique de tons hs Cabinets Je I 1 Europe.' The excellence ILLUST. and importance of thefe fpecimens leave the greateft room ' v ' to lament, that the whole of this interetting ftate paper was not laid before the public. The firft extraft contains the conclufion of the whole efiay ; in which the author recapitulates, with his ufual ac- curacy, the inferences deduced from all the former parts ; and probably adds new force to his previous arguments, by again placing the refults before his reader in a varied ar- rangement and more luminous concentration. The general opinion to which all M. Turgot's reafonings lead him, is, that the fuccefs of England in her colonial ftruggles, would be the iflue moft advantageous both to France and Spain. Some of the views upon which this juft and philofophical conclnfion is founded, feem not to be mark- ed with the liberality that formed fo diftinguiming a fea- ture in almoft aft the opinions of this enlightened ftatefman. Thus, he fays, (Vol. //. />. 395. edit. 1793.^ that if the. colonies are not reduced without a fevere effort, it is fo much the better for France ; becaufe the ftruggle will leave them completely exhaufted, and in no condition to affift the wealth and power of the mother country for many years ; and if the ftruggle is (hort, the flouriming ftate' in which it leaves America muft be a fufficient diverfion to the force of England. The latter view is analogoug to thofe pofitions which I attempted to lay down in the Second Book of this Inquiry. The former view is in fome refpects illiberal and inaccurate. The commercial ad- vantage of England, whether derived from her colonies, or the other branches of her dominion, or her foreign trade, is evidently an advantage to the commerce of France alfo ; am', this benefit reaped by France mini improve her refour- ' VOL. ii. Mm ces, 546 NOTE N n. NOTES ces, while die direct advantages of the colo:.;.-.l trade are AND promoting thofe of Britain. ILLUST. M. Turgot expreffes himfelf in a tone of confidcrable co?i~ T ' fidence with refpect to the event of the American war, then only begun. ' La fuppofuion de la feparation abfolue des ' colonies de la mctropole, me parok infiniment probable. ' />. 39). He then ftates his opinion upon the general quef- tion Je crois fermement que toutes les metropoles feront ' forcees d'abandonncr tout empire fur leur colonies. ' /. 396. The views wuich lead him to form this and other fimilar conclufion?, are apparently dictated, in fome degree, by his confidence in the principles of national progreflive improvement, which he deems to be connected with the ab- olition of colonial relations, in the true fpirit of the ceco- nomifts, a fet whofe tenets he appears greatly to have fa- voured. See, particularly, p. 396. in the reft of the firft extract, we meet with many for- cible arguments againft the interference of either France or Spain in the affairs of North America. He alfo obferves, that a reunion of England with America, if prompt and fudden, might menace France and Spain with danger. /> 397- In another extract from the fame memorial, we mett with the following fingular opinion, introduced at the end of an inveftive fomewhat declamatory againft colonies in ge- neral,, formerly quoted (Book I. Seft. 1.) ( II n'eft pas * vraifemblable que les Anglois foient les premiers a quitter ' des prejuges qu'ils ont long-terns regardes comme lafource * de leur grandeur. En ce cas, i/ n'e/} pas pojjlble de doutcr * que leur obftinatkn n'fnfraine I'uniin de hurs colonies a fucre 1 avec celles du continent feptentncnal. ' p. 415. The opinion of Vergenncs appears to have been in aH material rtfpefts the fame with that of Turgot, upon the conduft which France mould purfue with regard to Ameri- can affairs. His memorial is loft ; but reference is conftant- NOTE N n. 547 ]y made to it by Turgot. Malouet, an author well verfed NOTES In colonial affairs, was of the fame way of thinking ; and AND drew up two memorials in fupport of this opinion, at the ILLUST. defire of S.utine, then minifter of the marine and colonies. v - -y ' ' Sartine was decidedly againit the interference, and wifhed to lay the arguments forcibly before the King, who yielded with great difficulty to weaker counfels. Mem. fur ks Col. Km. III. NOTE N n. p. 332. * THE plan of an invafion, fuch as we have been confidering, was actually entertained at one time by the late Emprtfs of Ruflia. At the period of the dreaded rupture with Eng- land on account of Oczacow, a plan was prefented to her Majetly by Prince NafTau, minutely detailing all the parti- culars of the route by which a Ruffian force might pafs through Boehara to Cafhmir, and thence to Bengal. The avowed object of the expedition was to be the re-eftablifh- ment of the Mogul ; a trick by which the good will of the Bocharians was expected to be gained. But as little could be apprehended from that weak and difunited people, we are naturally difpofed to look upon the invention as a very ignorant one ; for it would enfure the enmity of the much more powerful Mahometan princes in the Peninfula. Be this as it may, the Emprets highly approved of the plan ; and counted on the junction of the difcontented from all parts with her forces in the north of India. Potemkin turned the fcheme into ridicule ; and the pacification that M m 2 immediately * The letter N n is repeated in this reference by an error of the prefs. 548 NOTE N n, NOTES immediately followed prevented any farther fteps from being AND taken. Eton's Survey, p. 501. (Appendix.) ILLUST. The direct attack of India feems not to be the only *- v ' mode of annoying the Englifii power which the Ruffian court has thought of. Plans appear to have been entertain- ed hoflile to Japan, and even to China, for many years. Ibidem, p. 504. (/4ppendix.) NOTE O o. p. 334. IT is ridiculous to think that the late exertions which have been made, and the new exertions which it is to be feared may foon be neceflary againft France in Egypt, are at all connected with the interefts of Turkey. To that weak power it fignifies indeed little how many of her nominal provinces fhe ceafes to call her own. That Egypt was of no manner of ufe to Turkey, for many years before the French invafion, is an undeniable faft. So long ago as when Norden travelled there, the Bafliaw ruled, or rather obtained the tribute only by intrigue. Norden 1 s Travels, I. 63. But in the fubfequent part of the century, the dependence of the Beys and their fubje&s was reduced ftJll lower. Irwine's Travels tip the Red Sea, p. 340-392. 4/0 edit. Brown's Travels, chap. V. We are informed by Bruce, that at one time there have been in Cairo alone four hundred perfons pofleffing abfolute power, and dependent only on the Beys, unlefs when one of them ufurped the chief dominion. Travels, vol. I. p. 27. a clear proof of the anarchy which fubfifted there at that time, and of the little power which the Porte could exercife over the province by any means. At a ftill later period, the very acknow- ledgment of fnbjeftion was almoft withheld, the Pacha's authority NOTE O o. 549 authority openly denied, and the tribute fent or refufed at NOTES pleafure, until it became a mock ceremony, confiding in AND the annual departure of mules fuppofed to be laden with ILLUST. money for the Porte, but in reality carrying rice bags, or 1 v~ ' ftones. Eton's Survey, p. 287. Svo edit. NOTE P p. p. 336. SOME authors have alleged that the navigation of the Red Sea is only dangerous to the unfkilful feamen who at pre- fent frequent its coafts in badly conftrufted veffels. Ricard, Trait e de Commerce^ torn. III. p. 439. M. Niebuhr, too, in every refpeft a better authority, tells us, that though the eaft coaft is very dangerous (on account of fhoals) for coafting, yet it is ftudded with good harbours ; and that clear failing is as eafily performed from Djidda to Suez, as from Djidda to the Straights of Babelmandeb ; a run which Europeans make without a pilot. Defcript. de I* Aral'u^ P- 33- If, however, we may credit the accounts of various other perfons, particularly of Mr Bruce, (Travels, vol. I. faffimj, there are in the Red Sea natural impediments to a tolerably fafe navigation. Not to mention the violent ftorms and the currents (particularly in the Straights) which all authors admit, and the lifting fands produced by thofe currents and ftorms, it appears that this channel, per- haps more than any other, is ftudded with funken rocks ; and, what is almofl as bad, with folitary rocks in every quar- ter ; in fuch a manner that, to ufe the language of Mr Bruce, the ftem of the veflel may be ftriking, while the Hern is in good anchorage, or in a hundred fathoms of water. Ig fuch a fca it is vain to think of fafety even from the beft M m 3 charts j 550 NOTE P p. MOTES charts ; at leaft, to a peifon unacquainted with practical na- AND vigation, it muft appear very ftrange, if the moft accurate 3 L L U ST. delineation of thofe rocks could enable the moft {kilful feaman ' v ' to avoid them, when we know how wide an approximation is given by all the operations of the compafs and quadrant. The force of the currents and winds appears to be con- ftantly driving fand up the Red Sea, fo that veffcls of fome bnlk cannot now approach fo near Suez as formerly. Nie- luhr's Voyage^ /. 175. NOTE QJJ. p. 337. MR CAPPER, in his work on winds and monfoons, (a work much more valuable for the number of facts which it con- tains, than for the illuftrations afforded by thefe to his ge- neral theory), feems, from the flat contradiction which one page gives to another in feveral inftances, to have fallen 'into fome material errors. In p. 45. & 68. we are informed, that the S. W. monfoon blows on the Malabar coaft from April to November ; and the N. E. from November to A- pril. In page 72. Mr Capper tells us, on the authority of M. D'Apres, that the foutherly monfoons blow in the Red Sea from the end of Auguft to the middle or end of Mar ; and the northerly monfoons the reft of the year. In the very next page he fays, that the foutherly rnonfcon blows from the Straights to Yambo, at the fame feafon that it blows in the Gulf of Said, (commonly called the Indian Sea), or, he adds, from April to September ; and that, from the middle of May to Auguft, the foutherly monfoon extends from Yambo to Suez. Here are two flat contradictions ; firft, in the duration of the Malabar monfoon ; and next, in the time of the Red Sea monfoon. Our conlidencc in Mr C.'s NOTE <^q. 551 O.s acuracy is certainly fo newrut linker) by fuch a cir- NOTES cumftance ; and perhaps its effeft may be fomewhat increafed AND by the msnikft inftances of careleffnefs or error which one ILLUST. is furprifed to meet with .upon other matters. *. v ..' In Mr C.'s very ftrange differtation (p. 217-222.} upon the omniprefence of the Tartars, (if 1 may ufe the cxpreffion), we find a comparifon between the Perfic and Saxon languages introduced as decifive of the author's hypothecs not that the Pcrfians and Saxons were radically the fame people, but that the Tartars and Saxons were one nation. The final and ftrongeft inftance of fimilarity is taken from the famous word Wittenagamote, (H'iitenagemote), ' a compound word (fays ' Mr C.) of high political import, that has the fame found * both in Perfic and Saxon. In the former, it is derived from * Wetten, a native country, and Gemmaiet, an affembly -- * According to Blackftone and Hume, it is the afitrnbly of ' of Wife men ; but in both languages it literally means * the National Affembly' p. 221. Now, not to mention that the fimilarity is entirely confined to the latter part of the compound word, by the author's vittual admifiion, it is a little fingular that he fhouUi have quoted the two terms, Wdten and Gen,maiet t as Ptrjic, when they are in faft pre- cifely Arabic. In like manner we find him, in one page, carefully inferting vocables in the Oiiental characters, and in another fo completely mifpelling Eailern names, of known etymology, as to make us fufpecl: his accuracy, if not his proficiency in thofe languages ; for inilance, Irc.ng and Tur- ang, for Irony and Turany ; Guardafui, for Gardefan ; Ba- belmandel, for Balelmandeb. pages 218. 41. Si. 73. For fuch reafons as thefe, 1 have been inclined to queiiion Mr Capper's general accuracy in minute particulars, and to pre- f er the authority of other writers upon the fubjeft of the monfoons, where he happens to differ from them in his ftate- rm nts. M m 4 NOTE 55* NOTE R r. /. 340. NOTES ALMOST all the authors who have di feu fled the fubjcft of a AND communication with India by Egypt, have founded their ILLUST. reafonings rather upon the political than the phyfical ob- ." y ' ftacles to fuch an intercourfe. Thus Maillet, who difcufies this point, contents himfelf with mentioning, that under Colbert's administration the fcheme failed, from the prejudice of the natives and of the Turkifh government, which he de- fcribes. Edit. Je Mafcrier, part. If. p. 2OO. Niebuhr only difputes the advantages which France would derive from a commerce with India, through Egypt, by enumerat- ing the various difficulties arifing from the political circum- ftances of the country, as the taxes, extortion?, and delays impofed by the Arabians, the Porte, and the Beys. Foy- age y torn. 7. /. 225. & tjm. II. p. ic. NOTE S s. /. 353. IN the obfervations which I have been led to make upon the connexion between the Afiatic colonies, and the improve- ment of Egypt, I have never exprefTed any doubt upon the advantages which would refult both to the colonies and the mother countries, from the abolition of the company trade and government at p re lent tihblithcd ; nor have I taken at all Into the confideration of this fubjcc"l the injurious confc- quences of fuch an event, to the perfons interefled in the a&ual fyftem. It may, however, be obferved, that any fcd- deii deftru&ion, even of fo ruinous a plan as the Afiatic ad- imniftrafion, would be attended with confiderable inconve- nience, and even with feme danger to the credit of the mo- ther country. ' S-uch 3 ' NOTE S s. 553 Such,' as Dr Smith well obferve?, ' are the unfor- NOTES 4 tunate effects of all the regulations of the mercantile fyf. AN D * tern! They not only introduce very dangerous diforders ILLUST. * into the ftate of the body politic, but diforders which it is ' ' "ST * * often difficult to remedy, without occafioning, for a time * at leaft, ftill greater diforders. ' Wealth of Nations, vol. II. p. 427. edit. 1799. It is not, however, to be fuppofed, that the cultivation of Egypt can at once ruin the prefent fyftem of colonial go- vernment in the Eaft. Ample time will be given for making thofe arrangements which may be requifite to withftaud the ihock, and when the downfal of the companies has been prepared, it will produce, to the whole commercial interefts of each mother country, advantages amply fufficient to coun- terbalance, even in the very beginning of the new arrange- ment, any inconvenience refulting from the change. See alfo Book 1. Sea. III. Part II. at the end. In a political point of view, the fame remark may be made. The trifling afliftance received by the government from the companies, will be nothing compared with the vaft increafe of refources which the free trade and reformed colonial government will place within reach of the ftate. The naval force of the nations pofftfiing Eaft Indian terri- tory, is indeed clofely connected with the refources of their Indian Companies. Thus, we have feen how very power- ful the Dutch Eaft India Company was in former times; and the Eaft India Company of England is, I fuppofe, one of the firft maritime powers in Europe probably the third ; that is to fay, it could fit out a greater and better fleet of men of war than any power, except England and France. But this force would certainly not be loft to the nation. The government, if occafion required, would, after a few years, have the ufe of almoft as many large (hips frc-m the open trade, as formerly from the Company. Large veffell rauft always, as we have already feen, (Book 1. Sect. II. Part 554 NOTE S s. NOTES Part I.) be employed in the very diftant branches of traffic ; AND and the befl way to multiply thofe, is furely to extend that I L LUST, traffic which requires them. NOTE T t. -p. 377. THERE is a confiderable variation in the flatement of differ- ent authors upon the fubjec~l cf the Egyptian population. That the reader may judge of the grounds on which I have fuppofed it to be four millions, I mail lay before him the different ftatements, after pr.emifing that the falfehoods which have at different times been related about every thing connected with Egypt, and more particularly about the numbers of its inhabitants, feem to have made M. Volney wifh rather to avoid exaggeration, by running into the op- pofite extreme ; and that the accuracy of M. Savary is in general acknowledged by all writers by none more thai: by M. Volney. Maillet, after flating the ancient population of Egypt at feven millions five hundtcd thoufand, and remarking that the Arabian writers call it twenty millions, allows its picfcnt amount to be four millions, and that of Cairo to be five hun- dred thoufand.- Edit, de Mafcricr, Part. I. p. 24. Ricard, in one part of his woik, fays, ' On y cor.jpte cinq ou fix ' millions d'habhans. ' 111. 434. \ and in another part he adds (after eftimating the population of Cairo at feven or eight hundred thoufand), On ne craint pas de s'ecarter * beaucoup de la verite en fuppofant a 1'Egypte fix cu fept * millions d'habitans. ' Ibid. p. 443. The treatife on Commerce in the Encyclopedic filetbciUque, mentions the number of towns to have been anciently twenty thoufand ; and adds, that at prtfent there are nine thoufand towns and twelve hundred villages. Tcm, II. p. 790. Savary NOTE T t. 555 Savary gives nine hundred thoufand for the population NOTES of Cairo, and four millions for that of all Egypt. The AND former fum appears to be exaggerated. Tom. III. Let. I. ILLUST. ^ II. ' ' According to Volney, the population of Cairo is only- two hundred and fifty thoufand, and that of all Egypt two millions three hundred thoufand. Egypt and Syria, vol. I. p. 238. Eton follows him in his account of the latter, and confirms that of the former by a private interlineation. Sur- vey, chap. VII. And as Browne has given nearly the num- bers mentioned by Volney, viz. three hundred thoufand, and two millions five hundred thoufand, it is probable he follows him too ; but he fpeaks with evident uncertainty. Travels in Africa, Egypt, and Syria, chap. V. It may be obferved, that Volney founds his conclusion on a very rough eftimate, from the number of towns and villages, which he fays is only two thoufand three hundred, and the average of inhabitants only a thoufand to each, including the capital and Alexandria. NOTE U u. p. 407. THE valuable work of M. Malouet contains pretty full in- formation upon this fcheme (in the preparation of which he was employed) for introducing the free-negro fyftem in- to Guiana. The reader will particularly find this matter difcufied in the fecond feclion of the Memorial, (in vol. V.) entitled, ' Nouvellts Obfervations. ' He will alfo find in this, and in other parts of the collection, notices of the ex- periment actually tried (it is needlefs to fay without any fuccefs) for cultivating Guiana by a colony of peafants from. Alface and Lorrain ; an experiment never exceeded in coflly abfurdity, except perhaps in the Spanim colony of the Sierra Morena. 556 NOTE T t. KOTES Morcna. M. Malouet (p. 114. et feqq.} argue?, though AND without much of his ufual acutenefs, againft the general ILLUST. pl an f cultivation by free negroes. His reafonings are ap- < v ' plicable to a variety of plans, which appear at different times to have been propofed by fpcculative men, for the. abo- lition of the flavc fyftem, by providing fubflitutes in the colo- nial cultivation. This branch of his argument was written Tery lately ; but in other parts of his colle&ion we meet with fimilar topics urged againft plans of a like nature, which appear to have found advocates among French ftatefmen at the beginning of Lewis XVl.'s reign. Vol. IV. In this country, various crude and ill-digefted fchemes have been propofed at different times for the cultivation of the Weft Indian territories. The fyftem of free blacks has been urged more lately, and with much greater ability, in a pamphlet entitled the * Cr'ifs of the Sugar Colonies, ' publifhed about a year ago, by a gentleman who has not chofen to give his name to the public. Widely as the opi- nions contained in this Inquiry differ from many of thofe delivered in the ' Crifis, ' it is impoffible not to admit the merits, and to praife the motives of this performance, which, though very hafty, and written apparently under the warm impreffions of the moment, difplays fufficient talents and ac- quaintance with the fubjeft, to make us regret that profef- fional avocations have prevented the author from fully difr cufling the interefting topics of negro flavery. NOTE V v. p. 462. OTHER inftancesare not wanting in Mr Edwards's writing*, more particularly in his Hiftory of St Domingo, which prove how very rafhly he was inclined to admit, upon the ?rcft fufpicious teftiracny, facb favourable to his opinions, or NOTE T t. 557 or rather his interefts, as a (lave proprietor. The .fame NOTES rafhnefs, however, appears to have dire&ed his belief, in o- AND ther inftances where he had not even that excufe. ILLUST. In the firft edition (1796), he publifhed, among a variety '< y * of fa&s obtained from perfonal converfation with a gentle- * man of St Domingo, on whofc veracity and honour he could place the fulled dependence, ' a charge of unparalleled atrocity, againft a very worthy and refpeclable French plant- er, fon of the celebrated Count de Grade. This gentleman was dated, in the mod pofitive terms, to have been prefent at the deflru&ion of the Cape, and to have warmly aflifted the negro infurgents in their diabolical work of maffacre and devaftation. During four years was the character of this unfortunate gentleman ruined in the eyes of all Mr Edwards's readers. And, in the next edition of 1800, appears a certificate from twenty refpectable perfons, that M. de Grade had, during the whole time of the infurreftion, acled with the utmoft vi- gour and fidelity, as Adjutant-General of the forces againft the rebels, and that no part of his conduct had ever furnifii- ed the flighted grounds for a murmur of fufpicion againft him, from the time of his arrival in St Domingo to the moment of his expulfion, when, after various miferies, he {hared in the univerfal ruin of his countrymen, and was driv- en pennylefs from his home. In publidiing this reparation of M. de Grade's injured character, Mr Edwards dates, that experience has convinced him that no great dependence can be placed on the accufations raifed by men againft * their fellow citizens in times of civil commotion, and a- midd the tumult of conflicting pafllons. ' p. 19. edit. 1801. and he omits the recital which he had publifiied in 1796 againd M. de Grade : yet, drange to tell, fo enamoured is he of every bit of private information he can fcrape together., that he republidies every other fad in the lift of thofe which he had received from the fame quarter 5 and repeats his at tedation 558 NOTE T t. NOTES teftation of the honour and veracity of the gentleman from AND whom thefe facl?, together with the foul calumny againfl I L LUST. IYI. de Grafle, were received ! p. 147. " v ' The Teflament de Mort d'Oge, ' is alfo inferted in both editions of this work. This document is the foundation of a black charge a- gainfl the Council of the Cape, and all the military chiefs of the colony under the ancient regime. They are indeed convifted, if this paper be authentic, of having been in league with the people of colour, and of having aftually caufed every one of the dreadful fcenes which have, fince the revolution, overwhelmed St Domingo in countlefs horrors. Now this paper was received by the author from an emi- grant, to whom he acknowledges his obligations for the chief part of his information through the whole work. This gentleman had belonged to the revolutionary government ; had been arrefted, perfecuted, and fent over to France in chains ; but had been captured by the Englifii, and faved. At the time of publication he had returned to St Domingo to look after his property : he had again fallen into the hands of his enemies ; and the lad aft of his liberty was to tranfmit the document in queftion to Mr Edwards, wich o- other valuable papers p. 13. ff 14. Now, two circumftances mould have unqueftionably prc- vented Mr Edwards from giving credit or place to this tef- timony, even if we mould omit the previous and general confideration of the high improbability of the charge. In \\izjirft place, the anonymous informer did not com- municate the document to Mr Edwards, when he faw him in England, and received from him many obligations, (p. 140.) ; but he fent it after his return to St Domingo ; Governor Blanchelande and all his aflbciates implicated in the charge, being then dead. But, frcondlf, it is evident that the anonymous informer was a perfon of moft fufpicious credibility. He was of the party NOTE T t. 559 party diametrically oppofite to the men whom he accufes, NOTES and held a high office. He was one of the numerous colo- AND ujfts and partisans who believed, and firmly believed, that II. LUST, the counter- revolutionifts were as much their enemies as the * ~v amis cks noirs, and who hefitated not to impute, partly to their weak, and partly to their treacherous counfels, all the miferies of the rebellion. If the furious difputes of thofe difmal times could infpire the contending factions with fchtmes fo mad as an appeal to the inferior races, any accufation brought by one party againfl the other, ihould be received with the moll fcrupulous caution. Although Mr Edwards did not receive the copy of Ogc's Tijlament de Mart' until the year 1795, (p. 242.} the accufation founded upon it was brought forward againtt Go- vernor Blanchelande and the red of the ancient adminiilra- tion, nine months after Oge's death, and before the fall of the perfons accufed, (p. 72.) It had therefore an evident and important purpofe to ferve. It was meant to hailen the fate which foon afterwards overtook thofe unhappy men. The fpirit of the remarks made by the anonymous gentle- man, in his letter to Mr Edwards fent along with the paper, and infertfd in page 24.2. (edit. 1801), ought furely to have imprefled Mr Edwards with fome fufpicions of his partiality and rancour. The rafhncfs of admitting this document as evidence, is - greatly increafed by the anecdote which I fir (I related, con- cering the avowed error into which a fimilar credulity in another inftance led our author. It will be difficult, 1 ap- prehend, to prove that any circamtlances could prevent Mr Edwardb's own obfervation upon the little faith due to ac- counts of partizans, from applying to the teftimony of the anonymous informant. In chapter V. we meet with a new and fignal inftance of raihnefs in our hiflorlan. He fays, after relating the mutiny of Colonel Mauduit's regiment (1791), that this unhappy man, 560 NOTE T t. NOTES man, on being defined to make unworthy concefiions to his AND foldiers, ' darted back with indignation, and offered his bo- ILLUST. fom to their fwords : it was pierced with a hundred fwords, v """~"'v all of them inflicted by his own men, while not a fmgle ' hand was lifted up in his defence. ' p. 81. edit. 1801. In a note (p. 254.) to this pafTage, we are informed that the circuniftance of Mauduit falling undefended, is per- fectly falfe ; for that, after the preceding paffage was print- ed, a detail of the whole tranfaftion was fent him from St Domingo. This account, indeed, differs widely from the narrative given in the text. It reduces the hundred wounds to a fingle fabre-cut, and decapitation. It fubftitutes for the mocking defcription of unnatural excefs upon the re- mains of Mauduit, given in page 82, the more ordinary proceedings of fixing his head on a bayonet, and dragging his body through the ftreet ; and it relates the generous ef- forts which were made to fave his life, partly by his own officers, and partly by the citizens whom he had mod ha- raflTed. It may perhaps be thought that Mr Edwards, after re- ceiving this information, mould have been at the expence of cancelling pages 81. & 82. and reprinting a correct nar- rative from the authentic materials. But, at any rate, it is evident that this method of proceeding was clearly prefcribed to him when called upon to revife his work for a new edition. Inftead of altering his account, according to the authentic materials, he reptiblifhes the original ftory, with all its ex- aggerations and falfehoods, fo pofitively contradicted in the note. If any effeft is to be produced by the continuance of the narrative, it muft be the effeft of deceiving ; and if any. one perfon reads the text, without turning to the notes, (as , may calily happen to many readers), Mr E. has been guilty of misleading and ;c .p ,,iing upon this perfon, as completely *i if the note had not been published. The NOTE V v. 561 The rafhnefs of Mr Edwards in admitting fafts, is not NOTES greater than his rafhnefs in adopting opinions. What mall ^ND v/e fay of the judgement of a man well verfed in Weft In- iLLUST. dian politics, who could account for the unnatural horrors u y J of negro warfare by fo extravagant an hypothefis as the fol- lowing, which he fays is incontrovertibly proved by the ftatements contained in his work ? * The rebellion of the negroes in St Domingo, and the ' infurreftion of the mulattoes, to whom Oge was fent as * ambaflador, had one and the fame origin. It was not the * flrong and irrefiftible impulfe of human nature groaning * under oppreffion, that excited either of thofe claffes to * plunge their daggers into the bofoms of unoffending wo- * men and helplefs infants. They were driven into thofe ' exceffcs, reluctantly driven, by the vile machinations of ' men calling themfelves philofophers (the profelytes and ' imitators in France of the Old- Jewry aflbciates in Lon- * don), whofe pretences to philanthropy were as grofs a * mockery of human reafon, as their conduft was an out- 1 rage on all the feelings of our nature, and the ties which * hold fociety together. ' p. 16. (Edit. 1801.) It muft furely be no common meafure of prejudice which can induce any one to go farther than the nature of un- tamed favages, in order to find out rcafons for their bloody proceedings. It is no ordinary degree of thoughtlefs vio- lence which can fo far blind this author, as to make him for- get his conftant topic of declamation againft the civilized friends of the negroes, and afcribe to their machinations, and not to the ferocious pafllons of the flaves, all the horrors of the infurretion, after declaiming fo often againft their pro- ceedings, merely becaufe they tended to awaken thofe very paffions in the negroes. In one page, the unnatural cruel- tics of the rebels are accounted for, by imputing them to the inftigation of their European abettors ; in another, thofe abettors are accufed of blind imprudence, for letting loofe rot. ii. N n uncivilized 562 NOTE V v. NOTES uncivilized men, whofe habits rendered fuch enormities in.- AND evitable. ILLUST. I have judged it necefiary to enter into thefe details, ~ ~v~ that the reader may be mafler of the grounds upon which I venture to call in queflion fo refpeftable an authority as the very popular writer of the Hiftory of the Weft Indies. 1 tnift, that the circumftances mentioned in the test, with thofe contained in this note, will fufficiently juilify the cau- tion which I have uniformly difplayed in receiving his ftate- ;?, upon fubK&s immediately connected with the negro quefh'ons. When a \vork has for fome time been known to the world under the name of a hiilory, it is fometitnes not ufelefs to examine its pretenfions to this important title whether they are derived from right, or only admitted by courtefy. And when the ftibjeft of the performance is in- tefefting to a variety of paffions and feelings ; when, in fhort, it forms one of the leading topics in the politics of the day, it is prudent to inquire, whether this hiftory is the mature and deliberate work of a fuber-minded and impartial writer, or the efFufion of a partizan, who, if his fubjeft had been lefs extenfrve, and the fize of his traft consequently fmaller, would have ranked, not among the hiftorians, but the pamphleteers of the day. The anecdote of Mr Edwards, \virh refpeft to Gallifet's flaves, which I have alluded to in the text, is not, fo far as I know, related by any other writer in favour of the negro fyflem, except by M. Laborie, an author in many points guilty of confiderable unfairnefs in his ftatements. His work, however, was not published till after Mr Edwards' s firft edition (from which i quoted that anecdote) had ap- peared ; and, at any rate, he differs materially from that au- thor. He imputes the rebellion of Gallifet's flaves, not to the wile and indulgent treatment which they met with, but to the exoeflive laxity of their difcipline, and their extrava- gant wealth. Some of them were poffefled of above 300!. currency ; NOTE V v. 56; currency ; almoft all of them had excellent clothes, fur- niture, plate, &c. The plantation, according to Laborie, was a perpetual fcene of feafting and merriment. If we fhould take this as the whole account of the fact, it would be fufncient to account for the prevalence of licentioufaefs, riot, and a rebellious fpirit among Gallifet's flaves ; for furely the poHeffion of fo much property, perhaps the en- joyment of fo great indulgence, is inconfiftent with the con- dition of bondage. When considerable wealth is acquired by flaves, fome provifion ought always to be made for the purclrafe of their freedom 5 otherwife they are placed in a lituation which, if it continues, mud' lead to licentioufnefs and indifcipline, or, if checked, muft produce infurrection. But the material circumilance mentioned by Mr Clarkfon, and omitted by Laborie, who moft probably knows it, is the change of management which had been introduced into Galiifet's plantation for fome years previous to the revolu- tion. This had the effect of rendering a fupply of new and unfeafoned hands neceflary, and at the fame time muft have irritated to the higheft pitch thofe who remained, and felt the effects of the new regimen. If M. Laborie's account be combined with the ftatement of Mr Clarkfon, (although it ib very poffible that the latter ftatement may be complete in itfelf, and that Laborie's addition may contain 1 an exag- gerated picture), we (hall have ample grounds upon which, to explain the circumftance fo unfairly Hated by Mr Ed- wards : for what materials coiild the wit of man have devifed more prone to explofion, than a mixture of ne\v and un- broken flaves with wealthy and licentious Creoles, who have been fuddenly fubjected to a vigorous fyftcm of management, after a life of eafe and indulgence ? N n 2 NOTE 5 6 4 NOTE W w. NOTE Ww. p. 480. ar g ument has been repeatedly urged in favour of Have trade, certainly too abfurd to merit a ferious ana- s or refutation, had not many very refpe&able perfons lent it the fanftidn of their names. It has been faid, that the African Have market is fupplied alraoft entirely by the wars which diftraft that continent, and by the execution of certain judicial fentences prefcribing flavery for fome of- fences, as witchcraft and adultery. It is well known, that no man, according to the cuftoms of raoft African nations, can fell his home-born Have, unlefs in the cafe of famine. I mall for the prefent admit, that the flave market on the coaft never furnifhes any temptations fufficiently power- ful to induce the breach of this African law ; and I fhall fuppofe that no flaves are ever brought to the traders, who have not been either taken in war, or fold in confequence of their crimes. It is evident that the argu- ment for the traffic gains much by thefe gratuitous con- ceflions ; yet, in what ftate do they leave it ? If the flares captured in war, and the criminals condemned for witch- craft, are fold at a good price, is it not obvious that a premium is held out for the encouragement of wars, and of futile accufations ? It is faid, that if the flave market were fhut up for ever, the fame wars and accufations would con- tinue ; with this difference, that captives would be butcher- ed, and criminals put to death. No doubt, the abolition of the flave trade would neither eradicate war, nor falfe accufations from the ftates of A- frica. To a certain degree, both of thefe evils would con- tinue in that barbarous quarter of the globe, becaufe both of NOTE W w. 565 of them are produced by other caufes, as well as by the NOTES flave trade ; by other pafllons, as well as by avarice. It njay, AND however, fairly be eftimated, that more of the wars and iLLUST. falfe accufations which keep Africa in a ftate of difcord v ~v " ' and barbarifm, are engendered by the temptations of the flave market, than by any other caufe. Does any one de- ny, that the common receivers of ftolen goods encourage, beyond any other caufe, the commiffion of robberies and thefts ? Yet the expulfion of every common receiver from a country (were fuch a thing poffible), would not abolifh cither of thofe crimes. But furely nothing could be more abfurd, than to difpute the propriety of taking all poffible ileps for rooting out fuch pefts of fociety, merely becaufe a complete cure of the evil would not be effected by this remedy. As to the argument, that mafiacres and executions would be the confequence of the abolition, we may be fure that, for a few campaigns of African warfare, or a few terms of the African courts, victories und convictions would end in the death of fome men, who would otherwife have been fold. This would be exaftly the confequence of the pre- vious demand for men occafioned by the trade. It always takes fome time before the fupply can accommodate itfelf to the varied demands of any market, whether the Variation be that of increafe or of diminution. No meafure, furely, could be better calculated to pre- ferve the lives of wild beads in any well ftocked country, than the prohibition of exportation to foreign menageries ; yet, for a few feafons, this law would certainly increafe the number of animals devoted to death j becaufe thofe whofe habits had been formed by the old practice, would continue to hunt, and many would dill hunt for amufement, or the gratification of cruel paffions : and as the price of wild beafts would fall in the home market, men would grow carelefs of preferving their lives : nay, more being for fome N n 3 time 566 NOTE W w. K o T F s time caught than the fupply of the home menageries requi'r- AND ed^wany rouft of neceffify be killed. But the- fupply would 1 1. LUST, foon accommodate itfelf to tl>e kfTer demand ; and though '- ' y*- ' fome rr.en continued to hunt for paftime, an infinitely fmall- er n would he taken and killed than former- ly. This cafe is precifcly that of the African flave trade. The abolition of this traffic will dimimfh the demand for flaves by feventy or a hur.drtd thoufand. The flave trade carried on by the Earl, through Egypt, J^ extremely trifling. In Cairo, which is the flave market of E_ and the entrepot of other countries, there are only fold annually from fifteen hundred to two thoufand negroes ; and the price never exceeds one hundred crowns, the average being ab&')t ten pounds Sterling ; not above one fifth of the price in the Weft Indies, and not one half of the price on the weft coaft. Sonninl's Voyage in Egypt , chap. XXXVI. Report of Committee 1789, Part VI. Edwards' Wejl Indies, B. IV. c. 2. Btfides, it is univerfally admitted, that no corrparifon whatever CEII be drawn between the eaflern and the weftern f!ave traffic. The treatment of the neg Cental nations which employ them as fiaves, is mild ar.d gentle : they ?.re ufed entirely for dcnncfric, ond even honourable purpofcs^: they fooh acquire their fretc of their maflers, and partake as much of the vcinitme comforts of the focit-ty in v negroes do in Europe. SGI.. Travn\, I''/. I. p. 302. Il is maintaintd by fome, that tl the call and weft of Africa, ; flefh, and the praftice of him But, befi-Jcs that this f. the character of tl, : - krs have given, (Park': admitting all the advai NOTE W \v. 567 gained from the Have traffic, do we by the inflant aSoIt- NOTES tion of this traffic, lofe any of the fteps already gained in im- AND proving Africa ? For who can be fo foolifli as to imagine iLLUST. that the Africans, in whatever manner tiiey have been t / - -' civilized, will ever return to their ancient habits of can- nibalifm and human facrifices ? Let us, then, by abolifhing the trade, fecure and carry forward thofe very improve- ments which the trade may have been the means of begin- ning. The labours of the African Aflbciation cannot be men- tioned with too much refpeft. An inftitution more purely difinterefted, more unqueftionably influenced by the higheft motives of utility, and the moft exalted views of univerfal benevolence, has never yet arifen among men. ' Their fuc- ceffes have been proportioned to their deferts ; and the pub- lic are waiting with impatience for the annunciation of new and fplendid achievements, planned by their wifdom, and effected by their afliftance. That Africa will probably owe much to the labours of the Society, we may fafely aflcrt ; but while the great caufe of barbarifro ex ill?, and while thole who wifli well to that quarter of the globe in the Aflb- ciation, yet cling to the root of the evil, we cannot ex- peft any fenfible effeds to refult from this very praifcworthy Eftablifhment. It is indeed a matter deeply to be regretted, that the So- ciety fhould, except at firit, always have entrufted the ir.i- po'tant office of fecretary and editor to perfons patrimor.. interefted in the negro flave trade. The narratives which have been publimed by Mr Edwards, for inibnce, are evi- dently influenced by his views of the negro fyilem. If we may credit common report, confirmed by the ftatements of Sir Wiiliam Young, in his edition of his friend's la ft. volume, (Policy of the Weft Indies, vol. III. Pnfator: p. 8.), Mr Park's Narrative was the work of Mr Edwards. Qqr confidence in many of the traveler's flatements is by N n tin's 5 68 NOTE W w. this circumftance greatly diminished ; yet enough is fl.il! con> tained in Mr Park's work to juftify ftronger inferences than any of thofe which I have drawn with refptcl to the con- nexion between the flave trade and the barbarifm of Africa. As this work is in the hands of every one, 1 (hall only refer my readers to the various admiffions made by the traveller and his teaaSfur, of the extent to which plunder is carried on in Africa, for the purpefe of felling the captives. The whole account of the negroes, above referred to, and the previous ftatements contained in chapter II. deferve particu- lar attention, as coming from perfons evidently inclined to favour the negro fyftem. To Mr Edwards has fucceeded in the office of fecretary and editor, Sir William Young ; and he fcruples not, in the laft publication {Hormmari's Journal}, to augur moft favour- ably of the effects of the Society's labours in civilizing the great African continent. This ftrenuous advocate of the flave trade ferioufly imagines, that the efforts of a few learned men to explore the interior of the country, will be fufficient to enlighten and humanize its barbarous inhabi- tants, whom the conftant exertions of traders and factories are inciting to war and plunder, by the irrefiftible temptation of fetting a price upon their enemies taken alive. The men who can fo eafily conceive hopes of human improvement, muft furely wonder how the premiums of our old Saxon king fhould have extirpated the wolf from this country, when a few nobles and vlrtuofi would every now and then defire to obtain a living fpecimen for fport or fhow. INDEX. N. B. The Numerals refer to the Volume ; the Figurtt l r j the Page. Africa, inland commerce of, how carried on, i. 5^1. , - the moft peaceable of all the Roman pofiefiions, ii. 523. Number of colonies planted in, after the ufurpation of Julius Cxfar, ib. Alexandria, port of, ahnoft choked up, ii. 374- AmbaffaJort, confequences arifing from the inftitution of, ii. 258. America, North, by whom originally planted, i. 42. South, Spanifh and Portuguefe poffefiions in, 51. Their political inftitutions tend to promote a circulation of inhabitants, ib. North, particular circum- ftances with regaid to the fettlements of, 59. Hiftory of manners in, 64. South, manners of the Spaniards, in, more pure than thofj of the Europeans in the iflands, 84, - . peculiarities attending the colonies in, Ji. 5. Original inha- bitants of, aftonifhed at the voracity of the Spaniards, 409. Arabia, coffee trade of, would be advanced by the improvement of Arabs, form a large proportion of the population of Egypt, ii. 377. Arts, warlike, preferred to thofe of peace by the- ancient policy, i. 10. Athens, the occupations of peace deemed unworthy of free citizens there, i. n. Surpafied by Carthage in the refinements of commercial mag- nificence, ib. Raifes a contribution from all her colonies, Sic. for the purpofe of refitting the Perfian power, 29. Seizes, under various pre- tences, the great depofit bank of Delos, 30. Her colonies furren- dered to the dominion of Per fi a by the peace of Antalcidas, 31. Suc- cefo of her colonial policy, to what owing, ib. Attica, flaves there obliged to diflinguilh themfelves from citizens, ii. 70. Ancient population of, ib. Augujlut, new arrangement introduced by, into the Roman provincial adminiilration, ii. 18. Avjiria, next to France the greateft power on the continent of Europe, ii. 270. The natural enemy of France and ally of Britain, 272. Authority- of the viceroy in Spanifh America, how limited, ii. u. Of the doges of Venice, and Genoa, ib. Capitani of St Marino, &c. ib. Of the governor in the French colonies under the ancient fyitem, 13. Of the Roman proconfuls, 16. Of the governors of the Vene;iaa podeftas, 34= 57 INDEX. B J^Ahamas and Bermudas, expcnce of their civil eftablifhment, how de- frayed, J. 558. Balance of power, how reprefented by different parties, ii. 192. Ex- ample of its utility in the beginning of laft century, ii. 199. Ufur- pationr of Sikfia to be attributed to the aftual dereliftion, and not the inefficacy of the balancing fyftem. 200. Partition of Poland does not prove its futility, 202. Memorable events at the clofe of the 3 8th century, the immediate confequence of adherence to its principles, 2c6. Has not yet attained perfection, 209. Its grand and diftin- guifhing feature, 210. Said to be a difcovery of the 1510 century, 211. Circumftances of the European ftates fnigularly favourable to its devclopement, 212. Bahic, exports from, of what they confift, i. 225. Barbauots, -kc. fubjtct to the duty of 4* per cent. i. 550. Extraor- dinary taxes levied from, ib. Bataviam remarkable for their maritime fktll at a very early period, i. 291. Bedouins, their character, ii. 377. Bcrbicc, origin of the colony of, i. ^^. Brazils, charader of the Portugueze in, i. 87. How firft colonized, 469. Privileges granted to the fettlers, 470. Its traffic confined to a few ports, 471. Diamond mines in, when difcovered, 473. Re- gulations in the internal policy of, made by Pombal, 477. Loft by the Portugueze after their fubjugation by Spain, 480. Recovered, tb. Importance of to the mother country, how to be eftimated, 483. Gives Portugal no inconfiderable weight in the continental politics, 484. Britain, Great, unacquainted with the real calamities of war, i. 131. Derives a confiderable clear income from her colonies:, 134. Cuftom- houfe rates there of a very old date, i8<;. Wealth of, arriving at a ftate of overgrown magnificence, 215. Regulations of, for encourag- ing colonial produce, 241. 244. How nn eftimate may be formed of the comparative advantages derived by Britain and France from their colonial pofftffions, 502. Infurreftions in the Weft India fet- tlements of, 510. Extent of her poffeffions in, and imports from, c. in 1796, 529. Average export of negroes from Africa to the Weft Indie?, 531. Amount of the population in the Britifh Weil Indies, before the rebellion in St Domingo, 539. Value of exports and imports, &c. ib. Expence of the civil government of the Bri- tifh North American colonies previous to the Revolution, 546. Of the eftablifhmentr, of Canada, Nova Scotia, &c. 547. Revenue of the Britifh Weft Indies, whence derived, 546. Expence to Britain of the civil eftablifhments of her Weft. India colonies. ,559. Revenue .ved from them, il. I N D EX. 571 Britain, coailitution of her colonial governments in North America, upi on what model formed, ii. 25. According to fome politicians ought not to interftre in the politics of the continent of Europe, 213. Their opinion mown to be erroneous, 214. Superiority of her naval force not altogether to be depended on, ib. Ntccflarily connected with foreign policies, by her pofTeffion of colonie?,^ 2 i 8. Her intereft to prevent every increafe ot power of her rivals, &c. 231. Bucaneers, ready afyluin offered to them at Jamaica, ii. iji. .Burmans, wife policy of, ii. 330. r, extracts from, i. 5^6. Canada, &c. expence of the efhblifhments of, i. 547. Capital, circulation of, whence it a.ifes, i. 92. Circiimftances by which it is influenced, i. 93. That employed in the commerce of a ftate with its colonies flo'vly replaced, 167. Affords in the end greater profit to the mother cougtry, 170. L:irge capital, w;iat the effects of, ib. Proportion of ft a men to the capital which employs them, on what it depends, 180. Small capitals, how employed, 193. Great and fmall capitalift contrarfti'd, 195. Capital employed in a remofe trade, how limited, 196. Larre, pov.v.r which it poiTefTes of engtofllag a trade, 198. How the colony trade may he opened to men of fmall csrjitals, 199. 203. 351. Natural tendency of ! 209. Agriculture, as well as commerce, attracts the capital of the mother country, 210. Intereft of traders 5:; ;t of their capitals not the fa:nc, in all raL-s, with that of the community to which they belong, 254. What ill be the ; the colonial trade in the event of a reduction of profits from competi- tion, 256. What the circumftances . ."-idiu^ na- tions a power of turning fuch an opening to their t. 266. Dutch have among them fewer large capitals than are to be met with, in natit; !ent, 350. Their refources confift in the vaft num- ber of fin:'!; capitals everywhere QJrTufjd, 351. Obftacles which pre- vent fmall capitalifts from engaging in colonial fpeculations, how re- moved by them, 353. Cargoes, how to compare the bulk with the value of, i. 185. Carthage, army of, how recruited, i. IT. Her com- ','nfive when compared with that of the Romans, c. ib. Small, when com- pared with that of modern time?, i 2. ; Her colonial relations differ- ent from thofe of Rome, 20. Her monopoly rtfemblcs that of the Europeans who have colonized America, 2r. Treaties with the Romans, 22. Their fingular nature, 24. Power of, why not firm- ly eftablifhed over the provinces of Sicily, Sardinia, &c. 26. Except Tyre, the only ancient ftate that engaged in the more diihnt trades, .122. 57 2 INDEX. Cayenne, number of negroes in at different periods, ii. 175. Their c- mancipation did not produce the fame bad effefts as in the other French colonies, 176. Nor the reftoration of flavery, 178. Will be expofed to new dangers by the probable fate of Dutch Guiana, 179. Chili, province of, has never been completely fubdued, ii. 535. China, foreigners prevented from refiding, &c. in the contiguous pro- vinces of, i. 2 1 6. Claudius, powers of the procurators extended by, ii. 20. Cockfighter, deteftable character of, compared with the colonifts of flave fettlements, i. 74. Coff:e, a flat country not favourable to the growth of, ii. 365. Might probably fucceed in Upper Egypt, ib. Price of at Mocha, 366. At Cairo and Marfeilles, ib. Colonies, eilablifhment of, approved by the mercantile fyftem of policy, i. 5. Condemned by the ceconomifts, 6. In what light viewed by both, 7. 107. Dr Smith's opinion, ib. Evidently biaffed by the temper of the times in which he lived, 8. Modern European, means by which acquired difhonourable, 36. Title by which they are held founded on injuftice, 37. How fettled, 38. Of North America, by whom originally planted, 42. Weft Indian, cultivation of, how carried on, 44. Motives of the fettlers there, 46. Malouet'? picture of fociety in, 48. Population there, how kept up, 49. Of the French and Dutch in Guiana, 50. Of Spain and Portugal in South America, 51. Agricultural, of North America, their manners, of all, the moft pure and unexceptionable, 59. Charadler of the firft fettlers, ib. Of thofe who, at various times, afterwards emigrated thither, 60. Their way of life inimical to refinement, 62. Hiftory of manners in, 64. Their religious fanaticifm, 66. Wtft Indian, views of the fettlers in, 68. Their manners, how affe&ed by peculiarities of fituation, 70. Contamination of, how to be accounted for, 77. Circumftances which ferve to balance the bad effects of, 77. Separa- tion of colonies from the mother country, why to be dreadtd by both, 97. Agricultural, cpntrafted with a mercantile colony, 98. New colonies, why ill adapted for fupplying men to the army, 1 15. Co- lonies, in general, contribute eflcntially to their own defence and go- vernment, 133. Non-refident proprietor, how he contributes to the fupport of government, 154. New colonies, markets for the manu- factured produce of the mother country, 155. 159. Afford a de- mand, not merely for the labour, but alfo for the people of the mo- ther country, 163. Objection, that they are hurtful by the drain which they occafion of the population, removed, 167. Colonies, weaker than independent ftates of the fame natural refoarces, ii. 9. Greek and Rqman, origin, <5cc. of, contraftedj 36, INDEX. 573 C'oloriifts, character of, 38. North American, i. 59. Weil Indian, 68. South Amtrican, 83. Colonization, general view of the modern fyftem of, i. 36. Commerce which a country carries on with its colonies, in every refpe& a home trade, i. 148, 154. Every operation of, replaces two capi- tals, 149. Profits of, are all accumulated in the hands of the fame people, ib. What the greateft advantage that a nation can acquire from any trade, 160. That which a country carries on with its co- lonies replaces the capital more flowly than fome others, 167. Has all the advantages of a home trade, except the quicknefs of returns, 168. Caufes of the flownefs of returns, 169. Utility of, inbreed- ing feamen, 174, 187. In the fuperior fize of the vefTcls employed in it, 180. Colonial exports, of what they principally confift, 223. Thofe from the Baltic, 225. From the Mediterranean and Germa- ny, 226. Superior advantages of moderate profits and quick returns, 254. Colonial trade, what the confequence of its being thrown open to all nations, 258. Communities, relative fituation of, widely different in ancient and mo- dern times, J. 10. Companies, exclufive, have at different times obtained the management of colonial trade, in every country of Europe, i. 249. Spani/h and Portuguefe companies, 250. French, ib. Dutch, 251. Connexion of different parts of the fame country with one another, and with the capital, how influenced, i. 41. Copartneries, the moft unprofitable of all trading fchemes, i. 204. Copts form a confiderable part of the population of Egypt, 379. Cha- rafter, &c. of, ib. Corinth defpifed by her colony at Corcyra, i. 28. Coutinho, Cunha de, Bifhop of Fernambuco, abfurd propofal of, i. 579. Credits, commercial, probable effefts of the independence of the Weft India iflands upon, ii. 102. Cromwell obtained the moft advantageous commercial treaty that Eng- land ever concluded, ii. 281. Cuba, the largeft and moft fertile ifland in the New World, i*. 442. Rapid increafe of its trade, ib. Cuba, number of field negroes in, in 1787, ii. 97. Lefs expofed to danger from the negroes of St Domingo than Jamaica, 156. State of, rapidly improving, 157. Situation of, becoming more dangerous from the rapid importation of negroes, &c. 158. D "T\Acia, &c. the moft infecure of the Roman conquefts, ii. 523, Deles, great depofit bank of, removed to Athens, i. 30. Delta of Egypt, form and extent of, ii. 355. 574 i x D i- x. Demeunier, his (latement of th.e capital lent by the Dutch to foreign governments, i. 297. Denmark, when (he firit acquired fettlements in the Eaft, i. 487. Ex- clufive companies repeatedly tried, it. Privileges and regulations of the Danifh company, 4^9. R : ;>hts of, purchased by the king, 490. Commercial profperity of Denmark, by what affedled, 491. Daniili Weft India iflands given tip to an exclufive company, 493. Pur- chafed by the king, and trade laid open to all his fubjedls, ib. All returns from Santa Cruz made to Copenhagen, 494. Value of her colonies, how to be estimated, 495. Extent of her Weft Indian trade at different periods, ib. Domingo, Sf, pr-.ipricT.cr of, refiding nt Paris, how he contributes to the neecfikies of the {late, i. 153. Great fertility of its foil, 521. Its rapid improvement previous to the revolution, 522. Proportion of negroes in, to exported produce, 523. Number of negroes exported from Africa to, at different periods, 531. probable confequences of its being erected into an inde- pendent ftate, li. 87. Defperate ftate of the proprietors in, 106. Diminution of the negro population in, during the revolt, u r. Si- tuation of, has been rendered much more precarious during the laft twelve years, 116. Number of men able to bear arms, 123. Pofi- tion of, particularly favourable to the occupation of a practical com- monwealth, (49. Number of negroes in, at different periods, 428. Dominica, civil and military eftablilhment of, i. 557. Dutch, their character in the Weft Indies, i. 75. Formerly the car- riers of Europe, 270. Their mercantile fplendonr, whence it has avifen, 282. Perplexity of their political circumftances, during the iirft ages of their independence, 284. Their greatnefs afcribed to the peculiar diiliculties of their utuation, 286. Their liberal policy the refult of fituation, &c. 291. Were remarkable for their induftry and ficill in maritime affairs in very early times, ib. What the period of their greateft fplendour, 192. Their army and navy at that pe- riod, 293. Vaft fums they have lent to foreign governments, 297. Difadvantages they incurred from the lofs of the Brazils, 301. Caufes of the downfal of their commerce, 303. Fatal effefts of the increafed opulence of other nations upon their commerce illuftrated, 309. Their forces and population at different periods, 313. Acquisition of colonial dominions, the only means which can prevent their total ruin, 315. Hiftory of their Eaft India Company, 320. Their charter, on what conditions obtained, 321. Their capital, how di- vided, ib. Profits of, enormous for fome years, 322. Additional powers conferred upon them in the renewal of their charter, 323. Their military eftablifhment, &c. .at different times, 324. 326. Caufes of their decline, ib. Became more tenacious of their privi- INDEX. 575 leges, as the profits of their trade were diminiflied, 327. Effedl the diflblution of the Oilend Eaft India Company, 328. Meafbres they take to check the contraband trade of their own countrymen, il. Have always difcouraged fettlers, Sec. at the Cape of Good Hope, 329. Their dividends at different periods. Average premium paid for lenewal of their charters, 335. Hiftory of the Weil India Com- pany, ^36. Amount of thei.- original capital, 337- Their govern- ment, ibt Their affairs at firft extremely well managed, 338. Ra- ruliy decline after the lofs of the Brazils, 340. Diffolved, and a new company erected* ib. Redactions in their charter, 342. Are obliged to fell two third (hares to defray the expence of the original purchafe of thtir charter, 343. and with their co-proprietors af- iunie the name of the Surinam Company, 344. its affairs, how adminiftered, il. View of the progrefs of dividends, &c. 345. Origin of the colony of Berbice, 345. Proprietary government of North America, in what they differed from the Company admini- ftrations of Guiana, 346. Dutch Welt India Company, the moft harmlefs mftitution of the fort ever erected, 348. Circumftances which have contributtd to the aftonifhing increafe of the Dutch fettlements, 350. 359. Bad treatment of their flaves, 361. Pe- culiar fituatioa of their iflands,- 366. Dutch, their conqucfts in Brazil facrificed to a timid and cautious po- licy, ii. 25. rsmiJls difspprove of the eftaSlifhment of colonies, f. 6. Their views of this fuhjeci erroneous, icy. 141. , pi.-ciiliar adminiftratinn of, under the Roman emperors, ii. 19. Conquel! of, attempted by the revolutionary rulers of France, 333. Has long ceafed to own any real fubjeftion to t'. ^.|. In- vafion of the Eaft Indian fettlements, the greateil . Ancient, preferred the warlike to the peaceful arts, 10. Colonial, relations of, more complicated than thofe of domeftic adminiftration, 104. Reftridive i'pirit of that of all the European powers has gradually relaxed, 251'. Colonial fyf- tem of,' illuftrated by fimiles drawn from the functions Ot f tht animal fyftem, 273.^ falfe, inftances of, ii. 289. Po-ybius, date of the firft treaty between the Romans and Carthagi- nians fettled by, i. 564. Pombal, unaccountable conduct of Portugal daring hit tdnliniftrttioa, i, 474.' What the objefts of his policy, 477- CONTENTS OF VOL. II. BOOK II. Of the Foreign Relations of Colonies. Introdu&ion and Plan of the Second Book - f- i SECT, I. Of the Mutual Relations of Colonies with refpet to their Dependence on the Mother Countries - 9 SECT. II. Of the Interefts of the European Colonies, as con- netted with the Re-eftablifhment of the French Power in the Weft Indies 6$ SECT. III. Of the Confequences of the Eftablifhment of a Negro Commonwealth in the Weft Indies to the Interefts of the Colonies which remain under the Dominion of the Mother Country e 141 i CONTENTS OF VOL. II. BOOK III. Of the Foreign Relations of States, as in- fluenced by their Colonial Relations. Introduction and Plan of the Third Book - 1 8 c SECT, I. Of the Foreign Policy of States in general, and as influenced by their Colonial Relations - 192 SECT. II. Of the Relative Interefts of the different Euro- pean Powers, as well in their Colonies, as in other quarters, on account of their Colonial Relations - 286 PART I. Of the Intercolonial Relations of the European Powers, as influ- enced by the Pofition of Affairs in America - 287 PART II. Of the External Relations of the European Powers in different quarters, as influenced by their Colonial Interefts - - 314 CONTENTS OF VOL. II. BOOK IV. Of the Domeftic Policy of the European Powers in their Colonial Eftablifhments. Introdution and Plan of the Fourth Book 401 SECT. I. Of the Free Negro Syftem, or the Policy of Culti- vating the Colonies by means of Free Negroes 409 SECT. II. Of the Negro Slave Syftem, or the prefent State of Society in the Slave Colonies, and the Means of Improving it 445 Notes and Illuftrations to the Second Volume - 521 INDEX. 583 Population, natural increafe of, proceeded rapidly in the ancient ftates, i. 13. Superabundant, how difpofed of, ib. Striking analogy be- tween the emigrations of men and the transference of flock in modern ftates, 218. Porto-Rico, confequences of the eftablifhment of the negroes in St Do- mingo to, ii. 1 60. Portugal, colonial policy of, i. 455. Circumftances of, in^many parti- culars referable thofe of Spain, ib. By its relative fittiation, &c. forms a fubordinate branch of the European commonwealth, ib. In what refpefts (he refembles Holland, 456- In what different from Spain and Holland, 457. Has never made any confpicuous figure in Eu- rope, 459. Great extent of the Portuguefe empire during the i6th century, 461. Direction of the Portuguefe trade with India gene- rally retained in the hands of the fovereign, 467. Brazil, how colo- nized, 469. Gold and diamond mines when difcovered in, 472. In- confiilency of the colonial hiftory of Portugal fince that time, ib. Had attained her higheft pitch of glory at the death of King Sebaftian, 479. Cruelly opprefled under the reigns of the three Philips, 479. Trade of, at that time only fupported by the African and Eaft Indian, fettlements, 480. Has fuffered an irretrievable lofs in the ruin of her Eaft Indian commerce, 482. Importance of Brazil to, how to be eftimated, 483. Gives Portugal no inconfiderable weight in the con- tinental politics, 484. Portugal, fuppofition of confequences which would enfue on her trans- ferring the feat of government to the Brazils, ii. 50. Internal ftatc of, 280. How rendered the natural ally of Britain, ib. Foreign connexions of, have always varied according to the circumftances of Auftria and Spain, &c. ib. Plan of removing the feat of, from Eu- rope to South America, not altogether imaginary, 523. Advan- tages flic 'enjoys over Spain in South America, 525. Portuguefe, their character in Europe, i. 85. In the New World, ib. Poj/effions, diftant, of a defpotic government, never ruled with the fame energy as the parts nearer the centre of the fyftem, ii. 9. Potidea, a Corinthian fcttlement takes the part of Athens, i. 28. Provinces, contiguous, of a ftate, do not furnifh fupplies to, in propor- tion to the benefits they receive from government, i. 108. Exempli- fied in Britain, 109. In Holland, ib. Pru/ia, feizes upon Silefia, i. 124. Attempts to raife the commercial importance of her dominions, 290. Defperatc fituation of, in 1740, iz6. acquifition of power by, dangerous to the Imperial Houfe, ii. 229. Object of the affiftance given by Britain to, during the Sevea- years war, 273. INDEX. R ufa, re&or of, ii. 12. Roynal, Abbe, his ftatement of the money lent by the Dutch to foreign governments, i. 298. Red Sea, navigation of, only dangerous to unfkilful feamen, it. 549. Relations, natural, which connect the different parts of an empire, i. 92. Commercial, in what degree they promote union, &c. 95. Renfrew, county of, in Scotland, great difproportion between the num- bers engaged there '"n trade and in agriculture, i. 570. Robertfon., Dr, his eftimate of the population of Spanifh America, i. 587. Rodney, Lord, value of prizes captured by, at St Euftatius, i. 366. Rcme^ emigrations from, whence they arofc, i. 14. Privileges of her colonies, 15. Taxes,, ho