> \t "^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // r ^ A ^ A K<^ ^A e\ 4!^' 4^ ^ 1.0 I.I wo ^^ 2.2 Ui 140 11.25 I u ij^ ^:^*^ // Pholcgraphic ^Sciences Corporation \ MWtST WMtTN, MAMtTMIT ,N.V USM •7«.4S03 '<(^ ) CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIN/I/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Instituta for Historical Microraproductions / Inttitut canadiun da microraproductions historiquaa ^ C^ % Tachnical and Bibliographic Notas/Notas tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa Th to Tha instituta ha« attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy avaiiabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may aignificantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. n D n D Colourad covara/ Couvartura da coulaur I I Covara damagad/ Couvartura andommagte Covara raatorad and/or laminatad/ Couvartura raataurAa at/ou palliculAa r~l Covar titia miaaing/ La titra da couvartura manqua » Colourad mapa/ Cartaa g^ographiquaa an coulaur Colourad ink (i.a. othar than biua or black)/ Encra da coulaur (i.a. autra qua blaua ou noira) Colourad plataa and/or illuatrationa/ Planchaa at/ou illuatrationa wn coulaur D Bound with othar matarial/ RallA avac d'autraa documanta Tight binding may oauaa ahadowa or diatortion along intarior margin/ La r« liura aarria paut cauaar da I'ombra ou da la diatortion la long da la marga IntAriaura Blank laavaa addad during raatoration may appaar within tha taxt. Whanavar poaaibla. thaaa hava baan omittad from filming/ II aa paut qua oartainaa pagaa blanchaa aJoutAaa lora d'una raatauration apparaiaaant dana la taxta, mala, loraqua cala Atait poaaibla. caa pagaa n'ont paa «t« filmAaa. Additional commanta:/ Commantairaa aupplAmantairaa; L'Inatitut a microfilmi la maillaur axamplaira qu'il lui a At* poaaibla da aa procurar. Laa dAtaila da cat axamplaira qui aont paut-Atra uniquaa du point da vua bibliographlqua. qui pauvant modifiar una imaga raproduita. ou qui pauvant axigar una modification dana la mAthoda normala da filmaga aont indiquAa ci-daaaoua. I I Colourad pagaa/ D Pagaa da coulaur Pagaa damagad/ Pagaa andommagiaa Pagaa raatorad and/oi Pagaa raataurAaa at/ou palliculAaa Pagaa diacolourad. atainad or foxai Pagaa d^coloriaa. tachatAaa ou piquAaa Pagaa datachad/ Pagaa d4tach4aa Showthroughy Tranaparanca Quality jf prir Quality inigala da I'impraaaion Includaa aupplamantary matarii Comprand du matirial auppl4mantaira Only adMon avaiiabia/ Saula Mition diaponibia r~~| Pagaa damagad/ r~| Pagaa raatorad and/or laminatad/ Pagaa diacolourad. atainad or foxad/ Pagaa |~n Pagaa datachad/ rjl Showthrough/ I I Quality jf print variaa/ r~1 Includaa aupplamantary matarial/ I — I Only adMon avaiiabia/ Pagaa wholly or partially obaourad by arrata alipa. tiaauaa. ate. hava baan rafilmad to anaura tha baat poaaibla imaga/ Laa pagaa totalamant ou partiallamant obacureiaa par un fauillat d'arrata, una pdura. ate. ont AtA film^aa A nouvaau da fa^on i obtanir la maillaura imaga poaaibla. Th po of fill Or ba th( tic oti fir ale or Th •h Til w» Ml dif aa bai rig rac mi ThIa itam la fNmad at tha roductlon ratio ohaekad balow/ Ca documant aat film* au taux da rMuotton indlquA ol-daaaoua. 10X 14X ItX 22X MX 30X D 12X IfX aox a4x »x BX Th« copy filmad h«r« has b««n r«produc«d thank* to tha ganarosity of: National Library of Canada Tha imagat appaaring hara ara tha bast quality poasibia contidaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in kaaping with tha filming contract spacification*. Original copias in printad papar covars ara filmad baglnning with tha front covar and andlng on tha last paga with a printad or illustratad impras- sion, or tha back covar wfian appropriata. All othar original copias ara filmad baglnning on tha first paga with a printad or iliuatratad impras- sion, and andlng on tfia last paga with a printad or illustratad imprassion. Tha last racordad frama on aach microficha shall contain tha symbol ^»> (moaning "CON- TINUED"), or tha symbol ▼ (moaning "END"), whichavar applias. Maps, platas, charts, ate., may ba filmad at diffarant raduction ratios. Thosa too larga to ba antiraly includad In ona axposura ara filmad baglnning in tha uppar laft hand cornar, iaft to right and top to bottom, aa many framas aa raquirad. Tha following diagrams lliustrata tha mathod: 1 2 3 L'axamplaira fitmA fut raproduit grAca k la gAnArosit* da: BibliottiAqua natlonala du Canada Las imagas suivantas ont 4t4 raproduitas avac le plus grand soin, compta tanu da la condition at da la nattat* da l'axamplaira film*, at an conf ormiti avac las conditions du contrat da filmaga. Las axamplairas originaux dont la couvartura an papiar ast imprim4a sent fUmte an commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la darnlAra paga qui compotta una amprainta d'imprassion ou dllustration. soit par la sacond plat, salon la cas. Tous laa autras axamplairas originaux sont film^s on comman^nt par la pramiAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'imprassion ou dliustration at an tarminant par la darniira paga qui comporta una taila amprainta. Un das symbotos suhrants apparaftra sur la darnlAra imaga da chaqua microficha. salon la casr la symbola —^ signifia "A SUIVRE". la symbols ▼ signifia "RN". Las cartas, planchas. tabiaaux. ate., pauvant Atra filmAa A das taux da rAduction diff Arants. Lorsqua la documant aat trap grand pour Atra raproduit an un saul cNchA. H ast filmA A partir da I'angla supAriaur gaucha. da gaucha A droita, at da haut an baa. an pranant la nombra d'imagas nAcaaaaira. Laa diagrammas suivants illustrant la ntAthoda. 1 2 3 4 5 e »».,«««>«l / / A LErrER TO THB RIGHT HON. FREDERICK J. ROBINSON, PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OP TRADE, SfC. SfC. SfC. % K' r:: LONDON: PfllNTFD BY TIIOMaS OAVISON. WIIH tlKJ aI«S. yy^u LETTER TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE FREDERICK J. ROBINSON, PHtSIUENT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE, ^•C. vS'C. ^C. ON THE SUBJECT OF THE PROPOSED DUTIES OK COLONIAL TIMBER, AND ON SOME OTHES COLONIAL SUBJECTS; AND ON THE RI^LATIVE SITUATION OF THE BRITISH NORTH AMERICAN POSSESSIONS, WITU THE Wiwm Sbtatcs of ^merfw anb Cffwat i3raain; POINTINQ OUT THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF THE NORTH BRITISH COLONIES TO THE PARENT STATE, AND THE MEANS OF INCUBASING THEIR M'JTUAL PROSPERITY. BY WILLIAM SABATIER, ESQ. lATK CHAIllMAN OF THE HALIFAX COMXITTIlE OF TRADJC. LONDON: PBINTED FOR J. M. RICHARDSON, CORNHILI., AND JOHN WARREN, OLD ROND-STREET. '^ BY ORDER OF ^ THE tr;.v::ller8 K CLUB. ■.-6-~..t-i^«M'> .^' J CONTENTS. rara((raph 1 Introduction ...... 2 Maxims laid down, as guides to discussion 3 Settlements of the present British North-American colonics, — how eftected ..... 4 Benefits derived by Great Britain from her colonies, in a degree compared ..... .5 A protest entered against a proposed equality of colonial and foreign duties — subject of benefits continued 6 The direct consequences which would follow from the pro- posed duties on timber to the colonies, and the pro- bable benefit to the United States 7 Other direct consequences exhibited 8 Subject continued — ibid. 9 Statement of heavy injuries already inflicted on the colo- nies ....... 10 An instance in Nova Scotia — suppression of the whale fishery by the British government . 1 1 Subject continued — proposed revival and issue 12 Another instance — black r'Mjple removed to Sierra Leone 1'3 The colonial and United I urves fisheries li Brief history of the cod-fishjry — connnenccd in the reign of Henry Vllth. — claimed by Elizabeth — peninsula of Nova Scotia settled in 1719 — Cape Breton island conquered in 17.58 — American revolutionary war de- ranged the fisheries of New England — Nova Scotia thrives in consequence — Treaty of 1783 — Americans return after the war, and trade to the British West India islands — Captain Horatio Nelson interferes to prevent them — he quits the station— the Americans return to the same trade in the islands — the colonics again distressed in laoi- — the Americans again ex- cluded in consequence of colonial representations — American congress enact embargo laws — colonial pro- sperity the consequence — capabilities of the Northern Colonies— United States declare war in 1812 — The Halifax committee of trade avails itself of it, to prove to the ministry their ability to supply the West India Page 1 2 ib. ib. 3 5 6 ib. 7 8 ib. 9 Tl raragraph Va^c islands — treaty of IHOl between the rrench and the United States to guarantee tlieJr Hsiierie.s — apprehen- sions of the colonists — rcpre>entati(>ns to j^overnment by Nova Scotia — by Newfoiuulland — by the merchants of EngUnul tradinir to thjit inland — treaty of 1 SI 8- ID — Mr. Ikisted's publication . . , .10 15 Prerogative of the criiwn t«i alienate portions of the eni- piie — subject discussed — applied lotlie piesent case . l.j 16 Loyalty and morals of the colonists liable to be injured by American intercourse — the Halifax connnittee — their representations on the ^ubject — character and conduct of the Americans resorting to the colonies in conscqucnceof the treaty of 1783 . . .17 17 An instance — great pecuniary and political effects to the United States from it . , . . .18 18 How operative In the colonies — smuggling trade — the chief cause of the American rebellion — note on cattle — and another on grain in Nova Scotia — the Americans ad- mitted to trade to the colonies, by act of parliament, during the l.ist American war — again in 181 H — act about to expire . . . . .20 19 Removal of the Halifax careening yard estalilishment to Bermuda — N«)te on the properties of Halifax harbour . i'l« 20 Want of information in the government of the colonies — how far system has been attended to — .Mr. Cumber- land's opinion — want of infunnation favourable to the Americans — injurious to the coloni^its . . .26 21 Serious effects upon the colonies . . . .28 22 Consecpiences on the conduct of ministers— a better policy suggested . . . . . .29 2> Board of trade — impro.emcnt projKjsed — colonial legisla- tures would probably defray expenses , . .'iO 24' A recent proposal by ministry to the colonial legislatures — formerly attempted by the old colonies, but then rejected by the Iwitish giMirii->iim '-•MMMMMMj, Page Ireat- [)iidu- :nitc(l ritisli reton 69 71 ib. 72 73 74 3oard . ibid. com- Initcd i LETTER TO THE RIGHT HON. FREDERICK J. ROBINSON, ^C. SfC. C^T. Sir, Having receivetl from some Nova Scotia friends, now in England, and otlier persons, interested in tiie trade or wel- fare of that province, a request that I would furnish them with my ideas on the subject ot the projc-ted colonial timber duties, at present pending in purhament, and an account of the re- sources and population of that colony ; instead of returning an answer directly to my personal friends, I have preferably taken the liberty to address the information I happen to possess to you, Sir, as a gentleman of high rank in the State, in order, that through so respectable a channel, not only those persons who are immediately interested, but his Majesty's other ministers also, may derive some information not generally known to them. The following particulars mat/ perhaps lie found amidst the forgotten records of the Board of Trade, still the narrative will save a great deal of research, at all times irksome, and more especially at a time so variously occupied as the present. But, though, in respect for your and tiieir convenience, I mean to compress my statements as much as possible; yet, in justice to the subject, I shall venture to ex- tend this address until I have given my opinion on the general affairs of our Northern Colonies ; but of Nova Scotia, vith which I am best acquainted, in particular. To this view of their affairs, I propose to add some observations on the relative situation of the Northern Colonies with the United States of America, and with Great Britain ; and will, as I proceed, endeavour to ex- hibit the several interests of the three countries, under an aspect very different from that in which his Majesty's ministers and the public generally, have hitherto been accustomed to consider them. The whole, as I think, will tend greatly to t»* nn>Mi mi n | <^ tletcrmine the propriety or the impropriety of laying any burthen on colonial timber imported into the united kingdom, or of taking oft' any part which exists upon that which is im- ported by fbreigne«-s, under the j>resent distressed situation of tlic North American dependencies. U. I shall not, perhaps, l)e refused some credit for liberality of sentiment, when advocating the interests of the colonies, if, previously to discussion, 1 adopt these two maxims. 1st. That no colonial ap|iendage is worth retaining, unless it can be rendered of use to the |)arent state ; or, 2d. Unless it would become a means of annoyance to that state, if the possession Avere transferred to a rival coimtry. I hope to be able to prove that both these maxims apply to the reciprocal aftection of Great Britain and her colonies equally; t'lat the prosperity of both is essential to each; that the surest means of retaining the aAwtions of the colonies, is by adopting a liberal and steady policy, founded on correct information ; but which jnust all lie attained by a system widely different from that which prevsuls at the present tmie. 3. The settlements of aU the Southern British Colonies of North America were chiefly effected by private means. The colonization or conquests of those yet under the British dominion were made, without a single exception, at the cost of the British nation. Canada, Prince Edward''s Island, and Cape Breton by conquest ; but the settlement of Nova Scotia, including that of her offset New Brunswick *, was in the year 1749 exclusively produced by the invitations of the British government to her native subjects, earnestly soliciting them to step in to defend a frontier, through which the then most implacable of her enemies continually assailed the thirteen, now independent, colonies +. If Great Britain did originally so settle Nova Scotia, and that she did, the page of history, and every document extant or on record will attest, surely such an appendage, which has never, in a single instance, swerved from its allegiance, ought not to be visited with that cold arithmetical calculation, with which some would estimate pro- tection on a balance of revenue between such a colony and foreign rivals. 4. There are many other benefits which, as we shall see, Great Britain derives from the greater part of her numerous colonies, besides direct revenue; but though it is confessed that from the sugar colonies, now at tfieirneplus ultra, her ex- 1 i I cj tl t| u ct I * New Brunswick became a separate province in 1784. t !>ee paragraph 51. ng any ingdom, h is im- lation of iberalit^ mies. rality iS, if. ^, unless or, i to that a rival apply to colonies ;h; that onies, is I correct n widely lonies of s. The British the cost nd, and Scotia, ne year British them to n most lirteeii, nally so ry, and such an jwerved at cold te pro- ny and all see, lerous ifessed ler ex- |4. chequer is greatly supplied by the duties on the imports from thence; yet we, at the same time, know that the amount of the exports from Great Britain to the sugar colonies, from which revenue is derivable, and the intrinsic value of such ex- ports are very small ; consisting, principally, of some mill-work machinery, articles for j^riculture, ancl coarse negro clothing ; but, comparatively speaking, of very few fine goods. On the contrary, the imports from the Northern Colonies, to the mother country, produce, by comparison, very !'vttle, though some, direct revenue ; but every supply of clothmg, luxury, conveiiiency, much of food, and every article of manufacture in use within an increcLsinff colony, of well educated Britons, is supplied to them by the exjwrts from the British Isles to a very great amount. Tliey also, as well as other colonies, thus furnish a portion of direct revenue, and employment is given by their mdustry to many thousands of those manufacturers in Great Britain, who, at this moment, are soliciting protection from Earliament, on account of their deficient means to procure a ving ; which deficit will, no doubt, be still further nicrcascd, should the foreign traders be relieved by the sacrifice of our own colonies, and they by any means wliatever be disabled from going to the market of the parent country. Surely these colonial advantages, when thus fairly considered, are worthy to face a part of that direct revenue derived from the sugar plantations; but this is not the whole ainount of the commercial Ijenefits which the mother country derives from her Northern Colonies. They have much trade besides that to Britain, their fisheries, their supplies to the West Indies, their trade to the United States, and their intercourse with each other. All the capital and profits of this accumulated commerce are exix'nded in exportations from Great Britain, and far exceed the calculation of any person who is not very intimate with their affairs; much less can those estimate this amount, who are now deciding ujwn this most imjiortant in- terest of the Northern Gilonies, without having, as we believe, examined those representations which were made to govern- ment by them upon this very subject, several years ago. We may thus begin to perceive, that though all the colonies have not the same properties in common, and though the advantages arising from them are not equally prominent and obtrusive, that yet tney possess various excellencies, some one, some an- other, necessary to the health of tlic whole body. 5. I will now endeavour to exhibit some of the consequences likely to arise from the proposed measure of timber duties ; 1)ut I must, prcviouslv, take the lilierty to protest, for tlu- sake of Britibii as well a^ colonial interests, against the principle o{ supposed equality in placing British colonists and foreigners upon the same footing^: nothing in nature or politics being more unequal or unjust ; for not only have the former a natural claim to a preference, but the colonists, in some degree, par- take, in common with the domestic subjects, of those increased expenses incident to the national debt, and the conseouent amount of taxation, not experienced by foreigners ; but which, though the full weight does not fall upon the colonists, is so far felt in their trade and navigation, tliat they can, in no re- spect, compete with those aliens who, in any instance, are ad- mitted to the same market with them, though upon apparently equal terms. Foreigners and domestic British subjects, also, have free access to cveiy port ; but the colonial trade is limited in so many instances, and the monopoly in some cases so wholly assumed by the parent state, that, strictly speaking, no adequate calculation can be made on this subject, and the operation in profit and loss, can only be appreciated by experience. The duties of customs in Britain, are also, in some instances, heavier upon the goods of the colonists, than upon the same article imported by the native subject; and, in others, a total pro- hibition takes place against the colonists to the benefit of the mother country. Generally speaking, the colonists are under such great restraint, that it would not be a very difficult task to prove, that the accumulated burthen, by means of legal, customary, direct and indirect causes, is such, that colonial commerce is, in effective profit, greatly inferior to that of any foreign trade, or of that of the mother country itself. But still, the present colonists, unlike the old, when under British rule, do not complain of this state of things: — knowing how to appreciate, tliey take the average good and evil of their stations; they know that their domestic and agricultural blessings are such as, in their aggregate amount, and by comparison, form a happy counterpoise to many disadvantages; but also, feeling their commerce to be generally almost annihilated, they in- treat, that before a measure so injurious as that ^^' the timber duties, now proposed, takes place, the full scope of its effects may be maturely considered ; and that they may, as append- ages of the empire, be dealt with liberally. 6. The direct consc(iuences which, in every probability, would ensue, should additional disabilities be placed upon the colonial timber trade, are various. If in this case an accurftte cal- culatiun should, by possibiUty, take place, as is proposed, and the duties should even oecome so nicely arranged as to comprehend and fit the difference of the voyages made in one season, bc- • Af proposed by u noble lord in the last session of piirUaiiicnt. foreigners itics being T a natural jgree, par- e increased consequenL but wliich, nists, is so I, in no re- ce, are ad- apparently )jects, also, e is lin:ii:ed s so wholly lo adequate iperation in ince. The ;es, heavier ime article total pro- nefit of the ; are under lificult task IS of legal, at colonial hat of any tself. But der British ing how to !ir stations ; essings are »on, form a Iso, feeling 1, they in- the timber f its effects as append- )robability, upon the ccurate cal- ed, and the omprchcnd season, bc- * liirliaiucnt. tween the colonies and the mother country on the one hand ; and between foreign European states and Britain on the othf:r ; unless some other circumstances are considered and provided for, this description of arrangement will still operate unequally against the timber colonies. We know many persons assert but others deny, that though the timber of North America anszoers many good purposes, yet it is inferior to that of the Baltic*. Admitting this for the sake of argument, by the preference, in that case, which would naturally be given to the latter, when price at the same market was equal, the colonial trade would inevitably suffer ; but though the colonial trade would thus become Injured, if not an- nihilated, the United States, in the identical same article, might still, in default of better business, be able to adopt what the colonists would lose^ because, as just above stated, they, as foreigners, are competent to navigate cheaper than the British colonists ; and thus the effect would prove a transfer of the present vast amount of colonial shipments, in this article, to the United States ; who, by means of this addition, would, if any essential burthen were taken off from the imjxjrts of foreign timber, if not prevented by counter effects, imme- diately employ their idle shipping; and^ be encouraged, yet more than at present, to complete the canal now in progress from Lake Erie to the River Hudson, a distance of between 4 and 500 miles through the state of New York, which direct line also communicates with branches of such extent of woods, as will aggrandize the wealth of that and tlie nei^hbotirii^g states beyond calculation; and, in thid respect^ injure Canada, especially, in like proportion; for 'you may,: ^r, be assured that the Americans are Hot a people to expend such a sum as this canal will cost (seven millions of doll;irs) without some such object as this in view, though government may not be able to penetrate into 't at present. 7. In the mean while, if the colonial timber trade with England is made to fail, how are the Atlantic colonies to pro- cure salt to cure the fish now supplied to the West Indies ? for so defective are the profits, even at present, that nothing sustains the timber trade ao much as the outward cargo of salt, which (such is the distressed state of the fisheries) cannot Iwar a double fraight. If the fish supply to the West Indies should be destroyed or impeded, as it was in the year 1804, * To discredit this assertion, I need only state a wtll-known fiict, viz. — That St. Faul'ji church in Halifax was built in the year 1758, imd that when it wa« enlarged hi 18l7> and the towrr was Uikcn B»>t4wi«ii i i# M » j ' I s and that a neiglil)oiir, in whose i'ricndship you reposed tiie most im})licit confidence, should, by an offer oi' liigher wages, inveigle that servant to quit your fostering care ; what epithet would you bestow upon such a ncighljour ? 11. Under these circumstances, however, when the late French revolutionary war and the late American hostilities ceased, an application, detailmg the abovt events, was made through our worthy governol) the Earl of Dalhousie, to go- vernment, to suffer a weaiUiy-person to remove to Halifax from Nantucket, for the like punpose as those persons invited in 1785, to restore that Jiafiery of which the province had been so ungenerously deprived. This application (with one omission that was readily acceded to by the. applicants) was received by ministry with the most unqualified approbation; but, after a tantalizing suspense of two yew's it was finally re- fused, on the plea, that the wealth of tlie proposed individiml would probably become too formidable a rivdlship to the loJtole capital of the British mercfumts engaged in tnc South Sea fisnery ! ! This application had been referred to the Board of Trade ; and by means of the report of the Board of Trade, we received the official approbation, in the first instance. To favour those individuals who possessed more pativnage than his Majesty's faithful but injured colonists, the Board of Trade inverted their own previous recommendation : " And there " came a traveller unto tlie rich man, and he spared to take of " his own flock, and of his own herd, to dress forth^ way-faring " man that was come unto him, but took the pocn* man''s lamb, " and dressed it for the man that was come to him." And, &;c. *' &c.; but I must leave it to you, Sir, to draw the inference. IS. About the same time another unwarrantable interference of ultimately serious consequence took place with these colonies. During the American revolutionary war, a considerable number of people of colour were collected by the British forces ; and, at the peace, they were removed to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. These people were, with very few exceptions, born in America, and were as much naturahzed to the climates of that continent as the white inhabitants were ; and being dis- persed in various parts of those provinces, became, in the course of six or seven years, very good settlers ; as domestic servants in particular, and, as inferior mechanics, they kept down the price of labour very considerably. Under the sanc- tion of government, these coloured people were tempted by flattering promises to suffer the Sierra Leone company to re- move them to the Coast of Africa, where (I believe it remains uncontradicted) nine hundred, out of the total number of fifteen hundred embarked, died in the first year; the other six hun- • •->tim,.Mk.t>b eposed the her wages, hat epithet n the late I liostilities was made jsie, to go- Halifax from ms invited ovince had (with one icants) was yprobation ; s finally re- , individual o the wliole South Sea [le Board of f Trade, we , To favour e than his •d of Trade And there d to take of \. way-faring man's lamb, And, &c. ^ inference, interference tese colonies, able number forces; and, ia and New exceptions, the climates id being dis- ame, in the as domestic 5, they kept ier the sane- tempted by upany to re- ve it remains iber of fifteen ther six hun- dred, it is said, did not survive five years, a very few excepted. The poor wretches ultimately, as appears by the printed report, became the bitter fruits to the Company of their imprudent zeal, by extravagant demands, endless complaints, and finally by insurrection ; and, in the colony of Nova Scotia, the price of labour instantly increased, till at length, from the reasonable rate of two shillings a day, it rose, within a short time, to four and five shillings. 13. These were certainly both acts of very great imprudence, and became unproductive in their effects ; lor the whale fishery didiiot succeed at Milford, and the black people didiwt live to re- ward the expenses of their protectors : — yet both cases having oc- curred many years ago, I should not have revived them at this late period, were it not, that by placing them with transactions of a very recent date, I wish, in pursuance of my plan, to show that, unhappily for both countries, the colonies have not, at ahy time since those transactions, received that permanent attention from their rulers, which can naturally have atendencytoexcite affection between them, and which can alone produce harmony, good will, and mutual prosperity. Those recent transactions we will now proceed to develop and explain. Every person in the least acquainted with the British Atlantic colonies, and with New- foundland in particular, knows that fish is one of the staple arti- cles of the former, and wholly that of the latter : — the eastern sections of the United States of America are also so interested in this very article, that they thereby become the most fbrmida- dable rivals these British appendages have. Well knowing how eagerly the Americans in their immediate neighbourhood wished to obtain these invaluable sources of wealth, the colonists, after they became alarmed, never ceased to express their superior claims to the fisheries, and repeatedly endeavouied to convince His Majesty''s government of the importance of the prize, the keenness of their apprehtnsions, and the character of the com- mon enemy, with which hey had to contend *. Still, in the face of the most respectful, earnest, and reiterated memorials fVom the colonists and the Newfoundland merchants, at a time when the people of the united kingdom were in the utmost distress for want of adequate employment, was that fatal treaty concluded, which has struck deep at the prosp; :ity of the colo- nies, and has induced the Newfoundland me' jliants seriously to contemplate the idea of gradually abandoning a business which has been occupied by British subjects, principally, during more than three hundred years; has employed a capital of three millions, * See note (*) to paragraph 30. lit 10 and a nursery of thirty thousand seamen. The history of this valuable fishery, as far as it concerns the present subject, being important to the discussion, I give it briefly as follows : 14. The cod-fishery of Newfoundland, and that of Canso, on the peninsula of Nova Scotia, commenced soon after the dis- covery of the former, by Sebastian Cabot, in the reign of Henry the Vllth., and in the year 1497. All nritions, ' how ever, long resorted to the banks and coasts of that island. Some time in the reign of Elizabeth, she sent Sir Hum- phrey Gilbert to take possession and claim the sovereignty of [)oth those countries, m the name of his mistress, under the right of original discovery. The persons found at Newfound- land acknowledged the right there ; but it is very uncertain whether any of Sir Humphrey's ships reached Canso ; but the French government, notwithstandmg, always disputed that claim, or resigned it, in the degree in which they were success- ful, or otherwise, at the conclusion of each succeeding war between the two nations. When New England was settled, the inhabitants entered largely into the cod-fishery, and pursued the trade with great success ; but with continued interruption from the French nation, when in possession of the peninsula of Nova Scotia, or of Cape Breton Island. The former, yielded by treaty to Queen Anne, but not colonized effectually by Great Britain till 1749, and the latter conquered by the British in 1758, enabled the people of New England quietly to pur- sue their wonted occupations, exclusively with other Bntish subjects, on Brown''s banks, and the other banks of Nova Scotia ; and on the great banks of Newfoundland, in common with the subjects of every European nation. And they also, with every other British subject only, resorted at pleasure to every part of the island of Newfoundland, and also to the Labrador coast, as soon as the French were expelled from Canada in 1759, to which government Labrador then belonged; but it had not been the custom of France to permit any roreigners to resort to their coasts to fish, or for England to permit alien vessels to do the like, or to traffic with their colonies, unless being in distress, and then they were only permitted to refit : the French, however, were accommodated with the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and the N.W. side of Newfoundland, in time of peace ; but were dispossessed of the whole concession in time of war. When tne American revolutionary war took place, it so de- ranged the fishery of New England, that at the peace of 1783, the government of the United States was compelled, in order to revive it, to grant bounties, which have been found so neces- ury to their prosperity, that they have been continued ever i 11 )ry of this ect, being s: Canso, on jr the dis- ! reign of ons, ' how lat island. Sir Hum- ireignty of under the "lewfound- uncertain I ; but the uted that re success- eding war as settled, id pursued terruption ^ninsula of er, yielded ictually by the British ly to pur- ler British iva Scotia ; n with the with every ery part of tr coast, as 1769, to it had not o resort to ssels to do [stress, and i^ever,were Miquelon, »eace; but e of war. it sode- ;e of 1783, m order to i so neces- nued ever since. It is, therefore, by no means surprising that the people of those eastern states, should be able to undersell the British merchants, who, independent of many other advantages pos- sessed by the Americans, have no bounty to support their sales at foreign markets. When Nova Scotia was colonized, in 1749, the British government gave very ^eat encouragement towards forwarding the fisheries of the new settlement ; but they lan- guished notwithstanding : principally because the merchants an well as the working people were poor, though there were other essential causes then existing, which contnbuted to the same effect. During the American revolutionary war, the No\'a Scotia fisheries seemed to rise from their lethargy, and, at the close of it, they had become very respectable ; but so soon as the Americans returned into the marnet, an injurious change took place against the British colonists : but still, as they were supported by some capital, the New England advantages could not completely suppress them. They continued sinking, how- ever, till they were again reduced to a very low ebb, brought to this state by the unauthorised admission of the American vessels into the West India islands. Shortly after the peace of the revolution, the then Captain Horatio Nelson stood up against this practice of admission to foreigners ; he made several seizures; was prosecuted in a court of law; but the then ministry stepped in to shield him from the consequences ; the principle ofalienship was established against them ; and, for a while, the United States vessels were excluded from the West India British Islands ; but as soon as Captain Nelson quitted the station, they were allowed again to resort there, until the year 1804; when, in consequence of the colonial representations m that year, the Americans being once more in a great mear- sure excluded from the islands, the colonial trade again revived ; and the congress of the United States being goaded into high resentment by the members of the eastern part of the union, and having in consequence adopted the embargo system, and " persisted in it, the fisheries of the northern colonies prospered more than they had ever done before, and were enabled to supply the islands at the same low prices, at which they had betbre been furnished by the joint importations of both coun- tries. Documents to this effect were transmitted to government in the autumn of 1813, when the United States had thought fit to declare war against England in the year before. These documents were brought as proofs of the capability of the colo- nies to supply those islands with their whole demand when they besought government, that should a peace take place the articU t)fthe treaty o/lTSS, admitting the Americant to resort to the J 12 coasts ami harhours of the British Colonics j should iwt again be revived*. There can be no doubt, the arguments used on the occasion, and the proofs brought forward in support of the declarations of injuries which the colonics had so long suf- fered from the treaty of 1783, were considered to be valid and of some im|X)rtance, because in the treaty of Ghent, the subject of fisheries was not brought forward ; and, still more, because, shortly after the peace took place, an order was issued by govern- ment to the commanding officers on the stations of Halifax and Newfoundland, to the effect of a total exclusion of foreigners from those coasts. During the three or four years which ensued from the commencement of the treaty of Ghent, the eager feel- ings of the Americans in the eastern states, expressed such great uneasiness, as indicated some scheme which did not seem to accord with the interests of tlie British Colonists ; and it was recollected, that, in the year 1801, or thereabout, the United States, and their good ally the French republic, entered into a treaty, by which they mutually guaranteed their fisheries in all parts of the world, and particularly any possessions which they * This inccnsiderate article of the treaty of 1783, has always been held to be the greatest misfortune that the administration of that day inflicted upon the North Atlantic colonies ; for so in- fatuated, so Ignorant, so indifferent, or so culpable was the British minister who negociated that treaty with Mr. Benjamin Frank- lin at Paris, that by one of the articles of it, the vessels of the United States were admitted into all the harbours of the Atlantic colonies, under some apparent, but under no real reserve; and their conduct towards the British subjects, as might have been ex- pected, from the period of their acknowledged independence, was so tantalizing, outrageous, injurious, and insolent, as to occasion continual quarrels between them and the native fishermen and settlers, the particulars of w hich have been fully laid before govern- ment by the suffering colonists, not by assertion only, but those representations have always been supported by the due solemnity of affidavits. That of Mr. Haman,of the Jersey-house of Jan vren and Co. which accompanied the petition and memorial of October, 1813,was, as far as I recollect, the most pointed and respectable; but of what avail all the labour we have bestowed during so many years ! ! — new ])cople come into office imperfectly acquainted with our affairs, and with the stroke of a pen perform acts which not only confirm but extend former injuries, and the colonists are left to writhe under their new difficulties and to conjecture the cause ; which if they kncxu it to be a case of state necemty, they would sub- mit to it with patience ; but when tlicy are reduced to the necessity of conjecture, the mind of man imdcr affliction becomes strangely wild and jealous. •« I 13 iwt again ts used on lupport of 3 long suf- t valid and the subject 7, because, by govern- [alifax and foreigners ich ensued eager feel- such great 3t seem to and it was he United ^red into a cries in all which they has always ainistration i for so in- thc British nin Frank- isels of the le Atlantic serve; and re been ex- dence, was ;o occasion ;rmen and )re govern- but those [>lemnUy of ren and Co. 1813,was, •ut of what years ! ! — 1 with our ;h not only are left to the cause; would sub- e necessity ■I strangely viiglU in future acquire to the eastward of the United State* , (that is, Nova Scotia) or within the Gulf of St. Laxvrencey (that is, the Magdalen islands.) To use a Seaman's phrase, it has invariably been the practice with republican America and with revolutionary France, through their public prints, to lay an anclior to windward ; a considerate politician will always, therefore, be able to form a surmise of the designs of such go- vernments, by their popular publications. With well-founded jealousies on the part of the colonists, the ministry were in the autumn of 1818, by the Halifax committee of trade, put into possession of all circumstances as they arose ; and were earn- estly suppUcated in the event of a peace or treaty with either nation, lo guard against any proposal which might infringe upon what the colonies considered to be their most invaluable birthright, (the principal means through which they gained a living for themselves and families, from the highest to the lowest) — THE FISHERIES. — And filially, in the spring of 1818, — I beg, sir, you will please to advert to the time, — but without any de- cided knowledge of their imminent danger, but as it afterwards turned out to be on the very eve of this ruinous treaty, (it could not be more than two months before the treaty commenced), an application was made to the ministry on this subject, through the Earl of Dalhousie, the Lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia, who strongly recommended it to the consideration of govern- ment ; — the representation was accompanied with a memorial, particularly detailing the history of the iisherieti, and elucidating their fall and rise on those occasions when the New Englanders partook of, or were excluded from them ; and which, in the proportion of their interference, invariably marked the poverty or the prosperity of those colonies. The apprehensions enter- tained on this occasion were immediately originated by a speech delivered in Congress, by a very popular member of that body, which denounced something very like a threat against Great Britain ; and which, in every probability, set the government at Washington in motion ; and tinally gave such an electric shock to the members of the British Cabinet, that a negociation, as it seems, on the subject of American claims, but principally of the fisheries, took place very shortly after. These fears on the part of the colonists were not singular ; — the people resident at Newfoundland also petitioned government ; the merchants of London engaged in that trade, likewise, in two several peti- tions, the one when the peace with France was expected, the other at the treaty of Ghent, well knowing the wishes and designs of the Americans, gave warning, where such notice was most likely to produce effect, of the intentions of those jxiwcrs ; 14 and, under the existing symptoms, which were so generally perceived by those who were interested in the event, an ho- nourable member of the House of Commons, in the session before the treaty took place, put a question to the ministers on the subject, who answered, " that there was nothing in con- templation which had any relation to the object of the honour- able member's question ;"" — ^yet, in the face of all these warnings and solicitations from the Atlantic colonists and Newfoundland, the fatal treaty of 181 8-1 9» was proposed^ agreed upon, and completed^ with such perfect — sucn studied * secrecy and cele- rity, that no person interested was acquainted with what had been actually pending, until the fatal conclusion was inserted in the pubhc prints in the spring of 1819; by which it appeared that the Americans were admitted into the harbours of the Atlantic colonies on still more dangerous terms to the colonists than they had been by the treaty of 1783; and, in addition, they are allowed to enter the southern harbours of Newfound- land and the Labrador, and dry their fish in the same manner as the French are permitted to do on the north-west coasts. The Newfoundland merchants and the colonists very justly consider that coast to contain the very best fishing-ground of the island, and that those of St. Pierre and Miquelon were amply sufficient for the domestic and the colonial supply of that nation ; it was also perfectly well known that the French, aided by a high bounty and by an extended trade, with which the possession of the north-west coast would supply their merchants, must become the rivals of the British mercnants in the Medi- terranean, as they possessed besides greater advantages of close neighbourhood to a market in that sea, and more frugality in outfit, manner of living, and other expenses, than British sub- jects do. But we now well know that these concessions to the French nation furnished to the American negociators a plau- sible pretence to gain the same indulgencies, though the same reasoning does not apply to the Americans as to tne French ; who, when fishing on the banks of Newfoundland, are at a great distance from their own country, and the Americans are, by comparison, very near to theirs; — but may not the same ar- gument apply in favour of every nation in Europe, by this indulgence to the United States ; and, if applied for, what but partiality is to refuse it ? 1 wish, sir, some person would show what Quality it is in the disposition of the United States towards Great Britam that gives thema title to become the most favoured * Studied, because it is notorious the Americans, as diplomatists, are the greatest babblers on earth. im th W( im L bl< I so generally 'ent, an ho- the session niinisters on ling in con- the honour- !se warnings ivfbundland, I upon, and cy and cele- h what had vas inserted I it appeared ours of the he colonists in addition, Newfound- me manner west coasts, very justly ^-ground of [uelon were pply of that ench, aided i which the merchants, the Medi- Ejes of close rUff; jality in British sub- iions to the )rs a plau- 1 the same e French; e at a gi'eat ns are, by i same ar- 3e, by this what but ould show tes towards t favoured plomatists. 15 government on this globe. But they have in very numerous iiistaiices been treated as if they were actually so entitled, and that poliry has been inverted, which any reasoning person would 'jup|x)sc' ought to have influenced our conduct, under the impression that, leaving the colonists for a moment out of the aui-;tion, the complaining millions of our own nation required le tirst attention ; but certainly in preference to a set of insatia- ble foreigners, who, as Mr. Dristed, one of their ablest writers, emphatically declares, Jiate and detest the British Nation with all their soul and with all their stren^h, 15. There can be no doubt that it is a prerogative vested by the constitution of thepe realms in the sovereign, to alienate any portion of the empire at his pleasure ; at least of his foreign dominions: the conquests of this nation on the continent of Europe have been yielded repeatedly : in like manner have the West India and American continental possessions : — lately the islands in the bay of Fassam-Acadie*, and many others that might be enumerated ; so that to question the right would be absurd, not so the expediency, and therefore, as it is a subject of the highest interest to the colonists, and we shall subsequently endeavour to show, to tJie nation at large, I will, in this place, offer a few remarks upon it. Wc will suppose two cases, (not hypothetical, because the parties on one side of the several ques- tions have often made proposals, and would again do so, were their hopes of accomplishment not become desperate), sup- pose the British ministry to advise His Majesty to give up, by treaty to the Dutch the islands of Scilly, or Gibraltar to the Spaniards, and His Majesty was to accede to such measures, as Charles the Second did in regard to Dunkirk. — Farliament might punish the ministers for the time being, who gave such injurious counsel ; and no doubt they would do so : but they could not restore to the nation what it had thus lost, unless it resorted to such measures as no parliament ever did resort to. It is, however, within my recollection that, during the late French war, a merchant of Boston said, that the people of New England would cover the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, on the coast of Newfoundland, with dollars in payment for them : this, no doubt, was speaking hyperbolically ; but he certainly meant that those States were so interested in gaining possession of some spot contiguous to the cod-fishing banks, that they would give a vast sum for such a possession ; — they would, in short, do that which the United States actually did when they * This is the true name : the more customary one is, Passam-a* quoddy : the vulgar term, among the Americans is, Quoddy. 16 induced Buonaparte to force the distracted court of Spain to yield to them Louisiana, for which tliey paid to the French, I say, sir, to the French, not to the proprietors of the country, fifteen milUons of dollars, and a further sum of three millions. It must be confessed that a very minute argumentator may be able to start a debate between the giving up in perpetuity a territory, and yielding what some persons may deem to be no- thing more than a loan or an indulgence of it ; but such a plea would, in this instance, amount to a distinction without a differ- ence ; for the fact is, that this loan to the Americans, if such it be termed, has ruined both the colonists and Newfoundland, whilst the possession continues, and has rendered war with that nation much more probable than ever ; — for should the govern- ment wish to redeem the pledge, nothing but a superior force will enable them to effect it; for every person ac- quainted with the American character, knows them to be a people more than any other disposed to convert an indulgence mto a right. At any rate, whenever the advisers of His Majesty thought proper to lead him into such an act as that of alien- ating his territory in fee or by lease, as it mainly affected the interests of his loyal subjects, there can be no doubt of the policy and justice too, of^calling those who did so advise, to accoimt for their conduct ; and such an investigation was na- turally to be expected from that body in whom the inter- ests of the people are in a most especial manner invested. Should a ship of His Majesty's navy be lost, no matter under what circumstances, a court martial is held with as little delay as possible, and a very strict iiivestigation made therein ; yet compare the loss of any ship in the navy with that sustained by the colonists and Newfounciland on the principal subject of this most injurious treaty, and the importance ot the former sinks to nothing. But when we come to reflect upon the impolicy of suffering such a case as this to pass almost without notice, as it has done in the great council of the nation, those who are suffering under the severe infliction, though, alas ! they possess no remedy, are lost in astonishment. For myself, 1 was in London at the time, and daily watched the public prints, with eager expectation, that some motion would be made in par- liament for papers, preparatory to any debate upon the con- sideration of tne bill which was introduced " for the pur- pose of more effectual!}' carrying the treaty into effuct,*" for I well know the lively feelings on the subject, among the mer- chants of the Newfoundland trade, and those of the British colonies ; but soi>n discovered the causes which made the for- mer quiescent ; — 1st. the utter impossibility of breaking the i of Spain to tlie French, the country, ree millions, ator may be verpetuity a na to be no- ; such a plea out a differ- is, if such it kvfoundland, ar with that the govem- t a superior person ac- ;m to be a indulgence lis Majesty ^at of alien, affected the oubt of the ) advise, to ion was na- the inter- r invested, atter under little delay lerein; yet J stained by yect of this >rmer sinks e impolicy out notice, se who are ley possess ) 1 was in rints, with de in par- ti the con- ' the pur- •ct," for I ; the nier- hc ]}ritish le the for- ■aking the f ir treaty; — and 2<.l, therefore, the hopes tijcy er.terlaiiied, by sub- mission, of inducing the ministry to consent to arrant n bounty upon tlieir fish, in order to make up for the disadvantages to which the treatv must inevitably subject tliem, or enable thcni to withdraw their capital. 1 had not then, nor can I ever have, any personal interest in this affair beyond an unalterable af- fection for the colony of Nova Scotia, with which I have been lonjx connected. As chairman of the Halifax committee of trade, such was the secrecy of the transaction, as well as the celerity of it, that I could not have received any instructions from that colony. But had an inquiry taken place, I should, notwithstanding, have then considered it to be my duty to offer any information I possessed on the subject, and, at least, to have p)inted out the numerous documents which had relation to the case. 16. This last transaction, though a very great injury to the prosperity of the Atlantic Colonies, as it affects their fisheries and those of Newfoundland, is not the only mischief which has arisen from the admission of foreigners. We shall perceive from the following statement, that the loyalty and morals of the jx'ople, and the revenues (as far as they can be affected by smugglers) of the provincial government, as xcell as those nf the parent c intry^ are very greatly injured in consequence of this inconsiderate inversion of ancient principle. The inter- ference with the fisheries is of a pecuniary nature; that which I am about to displav bears, I fear, a deeper and more fatal consequence. As the feelings u]X)n which this branch of the colonial statements were made, must display in a very favour- able point of light the attachment of the colonists to the British government ; 1 will, as briefly as I can, endeavour to explain those sentiments which occasioned such an accordance of their loyalty with their pecuniary interests; for to sup|M)sc that lojjalty^ unsupported by interest^ can find place in the breasts of a community of civilized freemen, is to irnamne that which never did nor never can exist. The Halifax committees*, sincerely desirous that the colonies should continue as far as possible, and as far as it %vas in their jx)wer to ensure such feelings, in habits, sentiments, manners, and affectit)ns truly British, assumed, in all their representations to government, a maxim directly opposite to the ancient turbulent propensities of the old thirteen revolutionized provinces; that the resort of JureignerSy in general, but of those of the United States in par- * The Halifax committees were instituted in 1804, and have been since annually renewed by ballot aiuong the inhabitants. 18 ticular, rvas injurious to, and subversive of' the allegiance of the colonists as subjects, and to their morals as men. In the for- mer instance, the Americans, when they became aliens, were in the habit of instiHin*^ into the minds of the inhabitants of the colonies the seeds of political discontent, by an incitement to imi- tate their successful example and shake off their connexion with their parent country, a practice which has never ceased to the })resent day ; and it is not many years since a provincial act was revived for the purpose of sentling aliens away from the pro- vince, who should be detected in such unwarrantable attempts. Profligacy and drunkenness usually accompanied, and do now more than ever, a certain description of people from the states; who, under the pretence of fishing, carry on a very different traffic. The real New England fisherman is a hardy, laborious, saving and good citizen ; always dangerous, it is true, as a political companion to a loyal Briton, though exemplary as a moralist. The others, of whom we now coni})lain, are the off- scourings of New England ; and these are the people who have been introduced to the colonies, and who, under a variety of pretences, bring an endless quantity of American, European, and East India goods, which tempt the lower class of the colonists to barter for such articles their colonial produce, even green and pickled fish, when to be procured at an under price. In this way the merchants are often despoiled of their property ; when after having trusted the fishermen with salt and a variety of other necessaries, they come for more goods with a plausible story of some accident or deficiency in the catch, which has no foundation but in the most perfect deceit. The extent of the sea coasts, full of harbours, and the very few revenue officers which government affords, suitable for checking smuggling, has always opened the most advantageous means to an illicit trade. I will cite an early, and rather an interesting, instance of it. 17. Immediately after the independence of the States was established, such was the eagerness of the manufacturers in England and Scotland to get rid of their goods, that any youth who could procure an introductory letter, might obtain a cargo of them to a considerable amount ; and such was the Quantity of every article of British manufacture shipped to tlie new States, that there was not a sufficient sale for one half of the importations there. The war had deprived the States of almost all their specie: but had overspread the whole country with depreciated paper money of various properties: the best of these currencies did not exceed in value 1*. 3c/. or 1.?. 6f/. in the pound for cash. On the contrary, the war had furnished I i 19 fiance of the In the for- ens, were in tants of the ment to inii- nexion with ased to the icial act was m the pro- e attempts, md do now the states; •y different , laborious, true, as a iplary as a ire the ofT- who have variety of European, iss of the produce, an under !d of their with salt ore goods cy in the 2ct deceit. the very table for antageous rather an tates was turers in ny youth 1 a cargo Quantity the new If of the )f almost try with best of ?. Gd. in Lirnished die remaining colonies with abundance of specie, chiefly in Spanish dollars. At this period, in consequence of a receiit and fortunate speculation in the China trade, these dollars were in great demand in the States, Accordingly, every means M'hich American ingenuity and contrivance could devise, was resorted to, to collect them from every quarter ; and amongst others, that of smuggling British goods of every description into the colonies; which being sold at public auction iov what they would fetch, brought together the dollars to a great amount; and those being remitted to the States, pur- chased the paper money in most estimation, from 1500 to 200O per cent below the denomination, and then in the hands of those who very reasonably distrusted the worth of it. On the other hand, every influence of those who bought this paper was then put in practice to enhance its value by means of the public press ; that effectual instrument of infinitely varied notes, for the most gross or the most refined intrigue, and no where so well understood as it is in the United States ; energy was not wanting to '* seize the glorious golden opportunity ;" public faith soon became the daily theme through which the dulcet music of vanity and lucre reached every portion of the new and exulting republic. Glory and riches bemg decreed by fate to become the nappy lot ot ^the infant Hercules, a vast me- tropolis was the select object and noble ambition of the southern States ; riches the golden meed of northern emulation. To bring these two prizes to perfection, and to unite so many dis- cordant interests to obtain them, was no easy task ; but as " Great actions are not always true sons Of great and mighty resolutions, " the prime hero of the United States, the noble-minded pre- siilent of the confederation, without completely j)erceiving what he Mas about to accomplish, yet with his accustomed good for- tune, placed one leg of his compasses in the middle of a swamp in the close neighbourhood of Mount Vernon ; and, first stretch- ing the other south-west, and then bringing it north and a good deal east, he most luckily discovered that the said spot liad accidentally become the accurate centre point of tlie new dominion; thus primed icith the most perfect iisinteresicihiesSf but with every energy of influence and eloquence, he exhibited the same as being, ni his unbiassed opinion, the destined seat of Cohunbian empire. The perch of the federal eagle was, at that auspicious moment, at New York ; but that branch of the liberty tree being deemed too slender for the growing strength and inqx^rtance of the imperial bird, ai'ter many wise debates, 20 she hopped to the then acknowledged superior station of Philadelphia. Although seated so much nearer, than before, to southern expectation, it was still much too distant lor northern influence ; the further removal, therefore, of the seat of empire became the fierce subject of frequent and eager debate in the general congress. This state of things most admirably suited the eastern policy ; a fair bargain and sale became the consequence ; the northern portions of the Ihiitcd States, in the end, absolutely refused to suffer the seat of government to be placed south of the Potowmack, and tlius oblige themselves to catch trout in ]Mr. Washington's pond ; but they cheerfully agreed to Jiah in any troubled icaters on tlie banks of Goose-creek. The southern States, not able to effect the full extent of their desires, concurred, in compensa- tion for this limited condescension, to fund, as a national debt, the aforesaid depreciated currency, at the par of twenty shillings in the pound ; by which operation the most desperate bankrupts, of the division north and east of the Potowmack, realized nn- mense fortunes; in m:.ny instances, exceeding a million of dollars. But, to return to the British colonies, whom we left exchanging their specie for English and Scottish manufactures; wliich, luckily for the eastern States, thus produced the early and the first dawn of their prosperity. 18. This traffic had not continued long, before it was per- ceived that many inconveniences were about to follow a practice so diflicult of detection, especially when aided, as it then was, by the treaty of 1783 ; for the smuggled British goods were no way distinguishable from those which had been legally im- })orted; and tiie Halifax custom-house, at that period, was not so well supported nor so well oflicered as it is at preseiit. Complaint, however, was made there ; but the answer returned intimated that " the officers would readily do their duty, pro- J vided they could receive adequate information." This was * '■I known to be a niere subterfuge ; however, a very spirited news- paper controversy took place at Halifax ; and in consequence a puolic meeting having oeen convened, and this answer stated, a proposal was adopted to appoint a committee to advertise for and convey information to the custom-house, a measure which relieved individuals from the odium of turning- informers ; but, strange as it may seem, imposed upon the officers a duty it was more thati generally believed they reluctantly performed. Vessels and snniggled property, however, to a large amount were seized, though late, and matters returned to tluir fonner routine. Whether this transaction was reporletl to his Mnjestv''s ministers I know not, but I have a personal knowledge that tliu tl w| til tl ■■I I station of lan before, distant I'or of the seat and eager lings most 1 and sale the Ignited lie seat of and tints >n's pontl ; waters on lot able to compensa- ional debt, :y shillings bankrupts, alized nn- of dollars. xchanainc s ; which, y and the t was per- a practice then was, oods were 'gaily ini- , was not present, returned uty, prt>- riiis was ted news- cjuence a er stated, ertise for ire which M'S; but, a duty it rlbrnied. J amount ir former Vliijesty's ! that thu I 31 then lieutenant governor was informed of every particular. One thing, however, is most certain, that no efficient measure was adopted to check a practice which every one who will take the trouble to read the history of the American colonies, during the early part of the reign of our most estimable sovereign George III., will be convniced was the principal, I had almost said sole cause of the American rebellion ; for had it not be- come a favourite system of the British government effectually to check the practice of smuggling in the colonies, there was not a single article of complaint brought forward at that time, which might not have been amicably settled ; but the govern- ment had too long shown a supineness which tended to en- courage the illicit trade, and then adopted imprudent means to impede a torrent which had gained strength from their own neglect. The minds of the people at large were become, through the almost universal prevalence of smuggling along the whole sea-coast, tainted witli every prolific vice unfriendly to order and good government. The measin*es adopted were such as suited the intentions of the ill disposed leaders, and also the minds of the interested multitude, which required but slight persuasion to follow their wicked propensities, and even to justify a resistance to su})port a practice, they re- conciled to themselves under the subterfuge that the laze having' JLved a penalty , the payment on detection loipcd arcay all stain. In like manner the same feelinjj is, in the present colonies. growing with their strength," and of ifiis the Government has been lately fully informed; for if the Halifax Custom- house correspondence on this subject, from the autumn of 181C to the date of the late treaty with the United States, is examined — and I earnestly recommend it to serious attention — it will, I am of opinion, give some intelligence of which those in power appear to be unacquainted. A short time before the late war willi the United States, pending the embargo system, the traders of Halifax generally, not believing their Committee of Trade to be sufficiently energetic, presented a memorial to the tiieii Lieutenant-Governor, complaining that many of their goods, teas especially, which they had imported from Europe, were spoiling in their stores, by reason of the supj)ly which the town and country |)arts of the province received through an increasing contraband trade, and re(juested that his Excel- lency would be pleased to recommend to his Majesty''s mi- nisters, to adopt j)reventive means to suit the evils under which tiiey laboured. But the trutii was, that the committee had then already made several rej,resentations on the subject, and lliat in a variety of ways, which had not been attended to; nor 2f2 t ' ; I I i- has the committee failed frequently to repeat them since. During the last American war, an erroneous apprehension existed, that the army and navy would suffer for want of flour, and the ministry opened two free ports in the colonies, St. John's and Halifax ; but though the Americans availed them- selves of this licence only in a very slight degree, those pro- vinces never felt any distress, nor even inconvenience, during a long period, but were generally sufficiently supplied, in our own vessels, from the States, notwithstanding the severity of their prohibiting laM's, or from England when the price paid the expense of importation, which I believe never happened but in one instance*. The principal reason why the Ame- • There is no colony belonging to his Majesty which now so abounds in live stock as Nova Scotia ; and yet in the years 17H3-4 and 5 attempts were made to persuade the peo|)le that they nmst inevitably depend upon the United States for their principal supply. A few spirited persons opposed this impudent piece of interest in certain individuals, for it was connected with tlie tntnsactions just mentioned in paragraj)hs 1 7 and 1 8 ; and the farmers by temporary higli prices consequent to the stoppage of the illicit trade just de- tailed, were induced to increase their stock ; which, as soon as the great influx of new settlers who came into the province at that time were supplied, increased so much that the greatest abundance took place ; and the accounts in his Majesty's treasury will prove that contracts were never wanted for the army, navy, and hospitals, both in pcn-t and out, during the whole of the French and American wars ; and I can very well recollect in one year of the latter, the contracts amounted to l,500,000lbs. We have, in like manner, been told that the province of Nova Scotia will not produce grjiin sufficient in quality or quantity for the use of the inhabitants, but I have never doubted that this assertion, like the other, has originated partly in interest, for the permitted importation of flour is a ready introduction of illicit articles : but at length a great effort is now making to improve the agriculture of the province, and if persisted in, without relaxation, will finally succeed ; but there are abundance of idle and interested people will make dilliculties without recollecting that all parts of England, even, are not equally suited for grain, and yet it may, with skill, be said fairly enough, to be a grain country. I am so convinced that skill alone is wanted to bring to perfection the pre- sent laudable and interesting niivsuit, that if the system of the Holkham agriculture were adopted, the province of Nova Scotia would become as fine a grain country as any in America j but I am ashamed to say that his Majesty is never made to issue a pro- clamation for the admission of grain without inserting the article of potatoes ; he might with equal propriety do the same with re- spect to Ireland, or favour the importation of rum into Jamaica. i t 4. I 2.S icm since, iprchcnsion nt of flour, )lonies, St. ailed them- those pro- ice, during ed, in our severity of price paid • happened the Ame- lich now so 'ears 17B3-4 it they niiist 2ipal supply, if interest in sactions just y temporary ade just dc- I soon as the ince at that >t abundance y will prove navy, and the French one year of W^e have, ^ova Scotia tity for the d that this rest, for the on of illicit improve the t relaxation, id interested all parts of yet it may, y. I am so ion the pre- 3tem of the iJova Scotia rica J but I issue a pro- the article me with re- Jamaico. 'J ricans themselves resorted to the free ports in so limited a man- ner, was occasioned by their inability to practise the smug- gling trade, on account of the great number of British cruisers on those coasts during the war, which rendered them liable to con- tinual detection. The returns made upon this first experiment, to destroy one of the most salutary of the colonial policies, are in the hands of Government ; yet with all this information, only three years (igo^ the measure of opening the same two free ports to the Americans in time of peace was repeated. What the effect produced has been, I am personally unacquainted, because 1 left the country before the measure had received a fair trial ; but of this I am certain, the experiment was rash, and not founded on the experience of the past events. It was, and is, also entirely uncalled for by any real necessity what- ever; it originated in private interest, and was acceded to from a partial and hasty inquiry — the result is, as I under- stand, a com[)lete disappointment to those who were personally interested in tlie measure, and to those also who flattered them- selves in some advantages to tiie trade of the country which they had conjectured but did not clearly perceive ; and, finally, has scarcely left a silver dollar in the provinces*. I have already Kaid, that among those persons who avail themselves of the indulgence of resorting to the colonies, there are many artful desperate strangers from the United States, bound by no ties of aecency but those connected with pecuniary interest ; — a set of wretches well known to the officers of the British navy, who, during the late, and even in the revolutionary, war, could at any time, from among them, procure pilots to guide British ships into any American port they wished to enter, for any purpose of assault they chose ; in like manner, by encou- raging such people to resort to, and examine, our harbours in time of peace, they are sure to improve in every facility to annoy us in time of war. In short, if it had been the wish of Government to disarm the country — to wean the colonists from their political and their moral duties — and to render them in thouglit, word, and deed, complete Yankies -f-, it was impossible to have contrived more certain expedients than those which have been adopted, by admittingy under various devices, the * This act is now about to expire, t I should not have lulopted this term if I could have found any other equally applicable. It means a New Englander exclusively ; but one of the lowest class, gifted with properties the most worth- less, but totally different from any thing to be found elsewhere. ' I i24 ctti::cns of the United States to hold^frcc intercourse xvith his Majesty's colonial subjects. 19. Government, within the last two or three years, have been in the habit of dealing very harshly with the northern colonies; — indeed, it has been the practice, as the foregoing statements will prove, whenever it became convenient to stop a gap at the importunate solicitations of a foreign power, or of a superior domestic or even private interest in England, that the colonies have been resorted to as a satisfaction to intrigue or interest ; their establishments, which have existed during many years, and been erected at a vast expense of labor, risk, and property, have been stripped without merc}"^, or suffered to consume in inaction. The removal of the careening-yard establishment at Halifax, for instance, is generally thought to have been eifected by complete misn ^presentation. Had the object been that of economy, in suck times as these, no one could have complained ; — had it been a measure o^ juatifiahle resentment for the misbehaviour of a town which had grossly conducted itself, as happened a few years ago in the case of Falmouth, no murmurings against the punishment could have had any weight upon the mind of any candid person : but if it did become a proper measure to shut up the careening-yard at Halifax, why select the island of Bermuda as a preferable spot at which to renew it ? that is, why go from a healthy to a sickly climate — from one of the very best and safest harbours known in the world, accessible in every season of the year, to an open roadsted, in the most turbulent of all the latitudes * — * W*i know that Government has been told in the face of truth, that the harbour of Halifax is inaccessible in xmnter. The fact is, tliat there is no harbour in his Majesty's dominions more accessible in every season. The entrance from the ocean is well buoyed, and roomy between ; it may almost be said never to be closed with ice, for that circumstance never took place between the winters 1788-9 and 1816-17. In the former instance it was shut up above George's Island only (and that is a league within the beach) during some weeks ; in the latter instance the same took place during ten days, when every other harbour in America as far south as Cape Fear was shut for two months j and yet, in the midst of the severest weather of that winter, a sloop of war forced its way through the ice ; and, at that time, any vessel could work up, and anchor in safety within Major's Eeach, There are but two harbours in the world ever set in competition with that of Halifax : — Trincomalee in Ceylon, and Cromartee in Scotland 3 but the former is very inferior to Halifax in several respects. Yet the packets are not suftbrcd generally to go to Halifax, direct, during the months of M il J on ■Ml J rse xvith his years have he northern he foregoing ent to stop a 3wer, or of a md, that the » intrigue or luring many ►r, risk, and • suffered to reening-3'ard thought to I. Had the liese, no one :)f ju.'di/lable had grossly II the case of t could have rson : but if reening-yard a preferable healthy to a est harbours the year, to atitudes * — ace of truth, 'he fact is, re accessible luoyed, and sed with ice. Iters 1788-9 up above ach) during e during ten ith as Cape the severest hrough the anchor in )nurs in the rincomalee ner is very ets are not months of from a country abounding in every necessary of life to one where ever^ article of the market is scarce, dear, at an advance of two hundred percent beyond th ther, and, generally, de- ficient or bad in its kind ? But to conclude a long catalogue of ills adopted and advantages abandoned, — for the Halifax yard is a very complete one, and from the beginning of its establish- ment to the present time has cost a great deal of money, — the persons who have advised this measure, have led the govern- ment into an immoderate expense ; have, at the best, put the result to a great risk; and have injured the private property of hundreds in Halifax, who had placed their confidence in the stability of the institution. I am very far from mentioning this last event as a reproach ; if those who projected it really have brought themselves to a conviction that it is a measure of pro- priety, it is well for the nation that his Majesty possesses such zealous, faithful servants ; but it certainly is very fairly made to range with other cases, to prove that the northern colonies have not been spared when it suited the conveniency of Go- vernment to inflict misfortunes upon them, be the motive what it might. The province of Nova Scotia, however, in general, and the town of Halifax in particular, have no permanent cause to distress themselves on this subject ; it will not be long before the advisers of the measure will discover hov/ grossly they have been imposed upon ; and then the establishment, November, December, January, and February, but proceed imme- diately to Bermuda or New York j but, in the last American war, necessity obliged tliem to go to Halifax in every month of the year j and, in no single instance, did they meet with any difficulty in going into that harbour ; but still this experience did not in the least affect the old inveterate practice on the return of peace. It is, in all things, very difficult to induce the British ministry to profit by experience : that the mere man of office should act thus, is not surprising, it belongs to such people ; but when gentlemen at the head of departments continue in error only beoause others have done the like, it then becomes rather derogatory to their cha- racter and superior stations. The fact is that the climate of Nova Scotia is greatly altered within the last forty years, and has little resemblance to the accounts given of it in former times ; it is, upon the whole, a very fine climate, and gradually still further improving. No expe- rienced seaman will contend against a keen north-wester on any part of the American coast j but if he will yield to it, and bear oft' into deep water, he is almost sure to be favored with a southerly wind in the course of forty-eight hours, and can then make his port with a leading breeze. . •. E I QG under some pretence to save appearance!?, perhaps under some affliction, will be restored to the original spot, from whence it has been a national injury to remove it. 20. It is a very great misfortune that, from a very early period of colonial history, except in a very few cases, the colo- nies have been governed by no uniformly regulated system. But systevn, subject to as little vacillation as the affairs of sub- lunary beings will admit of, is a sort of colonial charter of great importance in the government of colonies, and the more uni- formity there is practised in the execution, the better will it be received. When persons choose to take up their residence in the colonies, tliey know, or are supposed to know, the terms they have voluntarily adopted : but if a changeable policy and practice are to be left to the discretion of any persons whom- soever, an injury may be sustained by any change, unless adopted upon the greatest circumsp)ection. Were the mi- nistry, on the settlement of a new colony, to beat up for volunteers, and to announce, at uie same time, " that those must understand that it was hi^ .Majesty's gracious intention to infringe at pleasure all the luir promises contained in his proclamation; and that whenever they, by perseverance, in- dustry, and economy, with due allegiance, loyalty, and attach- ment, had attained opulence and all the advantages of civilised life, his said most gracious Majesty would deem it to be proper that his ministers, for the time being, or those of his royal successors, should, at »heii' option, perform, or cause to be per- formed such acts as would deprive them, the said colonists, of every benefit they, by their said perseverance, &c. had ob- tained ; and from time to time again restore and again rescind, whenever it appeared to suit themselves or their friends, &c. &c." — I am of opinion. Sir, that a new settlement made under such an invitation would meet but with very few volunteers ; and yet, this practice, but without tlie due notice of such in- tention, has actually taken place within the colony of Nova Scotia. I believe I am correct in asserting that the only uni- form practices ever established for the government of the colo- nies, and, until of late years, steadily persevered in, took place so early as the reign of James the First; and were tnree- fold: — 1st. A monopoly to the modier country of colonial trade ; this, in some articles, has undergone a relaxation. 2d. A prohibition ot the resort of colonial vessels to foreign ports ; this has, at various times, in a d^ree been allowed, and is found, by experience, to be attended with no injurious con- sequences, but is still very properly confined to parts south of Cape Finisterrc. 3d. An exclusion of foreign vessels from the i under some n whence it very early Bs, the colo- ted system, airs of sub- ter of great more uni- er will it be esidence in the terms policy and ons whom- c, unless c the mi- nt up for that those s intention lined in his erance, in- and attach- of civihsed > be proper f his royal J to be per- olonists, of c. had ob- lin rescind, •iends, &c. lade under olunteers ; >f such in- y of Nova ' only uni- f the colo- took place ere three- f colonial elaxation. :o foreign >wed, and rious con- ! south of from the I V colonies; no administration before Uie preseii has tured upon an infringement of this most salutary i This very limited system in the government of the c< •r vcn- liatiun. •nies, wf '>Ie warn have reason to suspect is occasioned by a most deplo' of inquiry into the state of them ; and, thus, one evil fK'get^ another. [ am borne out in the assertion, by a variety of facts, that the proper offices do not possess the necessary information for the good government of the colonies, and, in a very high degree, by what has fallen from Mr. Cumberland (and higher authority there cannot be), who, during more than half a cen- tury, was the agent of Nova Scotia, equally long an officer in the Board of Trade ; and, at one time, secretary of it. In his Memoirs, speaking of his first introduction to office (8vo. edit. 1807, vol. 1. p. 137) he says as follows: — " Having been told ** to inform myself about the colonies, and shown some folio " books of formidable contents, 1 began more meo with the dis- " coverers of America, and proceeded to travel through a mass " of voyages which furnished here and there some plots for tra- " gedies, dumb shows, and dances, as they have since done ; but " in point of information applicable to the then existing state of *' the colonies, were most discouragingiy meagre, and most op- " prcssingly tedious in communicating nothing. I got a sum- " mary, but sufficient, insight into the constitutions of the re- " spective provinces; for what was worth knowing was soon ** learnt." This want of information I have suspected during uiany years past. It appears that in the affairs of the colonies, the former ministries, though less than the present, have gene- rally acted from the spur of the moment ; and that, considering this part of their duty peculiarly dry and irksome, they have seldom regarded either any fixed principle of action or pre- cedent. This neglect, if 1 am not greatly mistaken, originated, and then gave permanency to the errors which caused the American rebelhon ; it is also under this laxity of research, that the United States have acquired, by the late treaty, the possession of the colonial fisheries. This paucity of means, in attaining the history and value of each colony, and where there are documents, the want of proper method to save time, and the exertion of patience in the research, is, to every person con- cerned, a very great and varied evil ; but the consequences must be endured by the public, as long as matters remain as they are ; for it induces ministers to act on private information, which is generally partial and imperfect, often interested, im- projjcr, and unsafe. If they act on their own immediate feel- without a private guide, and without documentary pic- ing.-. i •28 cedent, lliey are liable to become involved in a labyrinth of politics the most discordant to the interests of the parent state, to the dej)endencies, or to foreign countries. In the colonies, unheeded practices are established for want of a timely check ; instead of legislative uniformity throughout all the colonies, the practice is become so variable even in the different assem- blies, — ever obstinate and tenacious of their own imagined rights, and whimsically intrusive on those of others, — that dis- putes about forms and privileges, the most ridiculous and arbitrary, are continually producing dissensions between the se- veral chambers or the governors, though the British Parliament it professedly, or ought to be, under a parity of circumstances, the sole guide of legislative forms and privileges. Neither the amount of jxipulation, trade, and cultivation, nor the local properties, natural and artificial, — neither those which actively exist, nor those which are latent, whether available to the parent state or the colonies themselves, are sufficiently regarded, or even kno>vn where they should be so ; but, however intrin- sically valuable some colonies may be by nature, they are often rendered by neglect a burthen, and entail an unnecessary waste of money, as is notoriously the case with Cape Breton and Prince Edward's Islands, which are suffered to remain (though sixty years in our possession), in a state bordering ou dereliction ; a prey to internal confusion and discord — an eternal thorn to those who have to listen to their trifling com- plaints, and to reconcile and redress their real or their ima- ginary grievances. This state of things is endured for the sake of the little patronage they produce, and the monopoly their lands are under ; and yet both these islands are very ex- tensive and beautiful spots, and might be rendered, if properly managed, and unshackled as to grants, of great and variecl worth*. J21. This catalogue of errors on the part of government, and of patient suffering on that of the colonies, might be much extended, but those already detailed are of so obvious a tend- ency, that I flatter myself they will sufficiently show the im- policy of making any addition to them by the ])rojected timber duties. Were the colonial trade otherM'ise generally pros- perous, those proposed duties, though Inconvenient, might be borne without serious injury ; but in the present distressed state in which the commerce of the country is generally placed, and the dependency of the fisheries on that of timber, absolute ]*ai-;i«;rai.>hs '27, '2s, ;uk1 '2!>. »yrinth of rent state, i colonies, ily check ; colonies, nt assem- imagined -that dis- ilous and en the se- arhament m stances, L'ither the the local li actively le to the regarded, er intrin- are often necessary >e Breton () remain lering on pord — an ng" coni- leir ima- for the lonopoly very ex- properly i varied irnment, le much a tend- Ithe im- timher pros- liight be stressed [placed, Ibsolute J^9 ruin to the colonies must prove the consequence of further depression ; and as it is not in human nature that a people can see their hard-earned property melt and disappear from their view with every day's expenses, without alarming apprehen- sions; it must be expectecl that their thoughts in private, and debates in public, will turn to subjects not very conducive to public tranquillity ; and when our rulers allow themselves to recollect that such numerous instances of errors, or misdirected authority, have been exerted towards the Atlantic colonies in so short a space as that between the independence of the U.nited States and the present time, and inform themselves of the now universally acknowledged truth that the American rebellion originatecf, and Mr. Oswald's treaty was concluded, in the same species of mismanagement and want of information"*, I 1^ do anxiously hope they will review the facts here detailed — the proofs of which are all within their own reach — with the necessary candour and liberality ; and recollect, before it is too late, the value and force of public opinion when favorable, and the danger of general prejudice when adverse, to the mea- sures of government. It is in vain to coniide in poxver when opposed to feeling ; the fiercest tempest will never blow a ^ man's coat from his back ; it may force him, indeed, to wrap ' it closer round him, but it is the benign influence of the sun that will alone induce him to lay it aside. Should affection favor any cause, inclination has the power of enchantment. — The Canadian militia, so impressed, set the vain boasting American general and his threats at defiance. Had it not been for the favorable dispositions of the mass of the colonial people in the late American war, I need not ask what would ' have become of that country under its then Governor-General ? 'J'he benefits, however, once received, the duty of a return is forgotten. 522. The cause of the colonial misfortunes will, upon inquiry, be found to consist partly in the misinformation actually re- ceived, and partly in the want of some safer species of intelli- gence to which Government should direct its chief attention. 'Ihere is also still too much of that feeling remaining, which induced the first Lord Chatham, when minister, to say, though so contrary t) liis latter ]K)licy, " that he would not suffer the Americans to manufacture a hobnail." It is, however, the duty of those who, in these modern times, officially direct the * Note l- vermnent, in jn'ocuring such information, if pains were taken * Paragraph -. Si mcli weak ley do, for ry govern- which the mere po- arrow and or die im- inted widi lie empire, lal benefit rt not only 'cial trans- [imittee of [irged and day, when be colonies the same ;t, to such T subjects. k\'orthy the lie present ice, having ice, having he empire iir to each, 2 to collect officers in inidci- due rials for a II comprc- but un- if properly D of a few each dt- d history ; in trade, capabili- lefit of the legislators ns of Go- vere taken to impress them with aii opinion that it was intended, after strictly enquiring into the accuracy of the statements to be procured, to apply remedies to evils, and promote improve- ments, I think there can be no doubt the several legislatures would furnish the pecuniary means which would be consi- dered necessary to carry such a plan into execution, provided they could, at the same time, feel assured that those enquiries would be so sfuarded that they would not be converted into private JobA' ; and that it was the design of Government, not only to apply the information received to the promoting of the general prosjjerity, but, to what is also of very high impiiTtance to the colonies, the dispatch of public business, which now, at times, languishes almost beyond any hope of attaining the object in view. 24). It has become a very recent policy of Government to endeavour to induce the jirovincial legislatures to pay the civil expenses of tlie several colonies. How far it is their design to proceed in tliis scheme, I know not; but if. Sir, you will take the trouble to enquire, you will, I believe, find, that in con- formity witli New England coxtemplatei) independence, their legislatures, from a very early period, insidiously en- deavoureil to tempt the British ministry to accept an offer to support the governors and chief justices of the colonies; but " timeo Danaos, et donafirenfci" — they wisely declined a boon which would have placeil weak human nature too much under tlie temptation of interest; and in hands, too, which might use it to improper purposes. Ikit the above plan of procuring pecuniary aid from tne colonies is by no means of this ex- ceptionable description ; and when his Majesty's ministers shall have made up their minds to adopt a more steady policy, and a more lilieral system towards the British dependencies than that which now unhappily prevails over the North Atlantic posses- sions in America, i would rec our con- northern g; but so nee) as to the bay of tat it IS a t was with ;o give up B from the )n so little but knows Were this e Atlantic, benefit the ep them in lot think it Vorhithian overnment )ly end in both na- »r to prove )olicy; and ience, and re immedi- hat good must ever our minis- ?rstand the the great :ter is not all other it is there icts of the risit them, untry, our tain party ut with an inversion of principle to others perfectly unaccountable) act, at least, as though they thought too favorably of them. They may, perhaps, have discovered some powerful motive which has induced them to give a preference to the American States, over the interests of their faithful colonists, which to these is not so very obvious; and I sincerely hope the result may prove to the immediate sufferers, as well as to the nation, that the treaty of 1818-19 may become the last sacrifice to which they have to submit. Whatever character other persons may have affixed to the Americans, the mercantile class of this united kingdom can indeed, and do, in commerce at least, judge of them with tolerable accuracy, by means of that trusty guide, their ledger. But the inhabitants of the United States are neither to be fairly estimated by the practices of some of their traders, nor by their rulers at Washington. I have the happiness to have formed friendships in that country of which any Englishman might be proud ; but I must confess they are not among the most pro- minent characters. Those persons, in general, who are considered public characters, are such as have usually not been able to succeed in other capacities ; persons of considerable natural abilities, who are willing to accept small pay and high popularit}^ with a chance of thereby acquiring an increase of practice in some profession to which a retired name is not quite favorable. If, by any means, such persons can contrive to fill a public mission, their fortunes are made, upon a return to private life, by the mere force of celebrity ; but such characters may, in the United States, still continue to be orators at public meetings, and at the same time increase their professional profits by the exercise of their eloquence. Whether that profession be law or physic ; whether the party be a justice of the.pP'ice, the owner of a shop, or the keeper of a tavern — if he be ambitious of honors, and if he be active, cunning, noisy, and glib, whatever be his educa- tion, moral principles, or condition in life — he may, by dexte- rity at a caucus*, through the activity and zeal of his pot-com- panions, become a senator, or delegate to the state legislature, or to congress, or the governor or president of a federal state; and though these honors, when acquired, can be enjoyed for a period extending, according to the diverse nature of the re- spective states, from six months to two years only; and though the party is liable then to return into private life, and, accord- ing to some constitutions indeed, must do so ; yet the eclat of such a short-lived choice clothes the aspiring patriot with, at least, a rag of influence during the remainder of his days. * A cant term for election management. I-. 40 There is, therefore, a redundancy of orators in every village and town in the union, to assay their pin feathers upon every hustings, from the election of a constable within the hundred, to the choice of electors of the president, for the extended period of four years at Washington. The accumulated mass of such talents is sure to furnish a succession of statesmen, capable of devising and executing any plan of policy that may well astonish the sober understandmgs of the common diplomatists of this country, who, in general, have not been celebrated for skill in the art diplomatique. An Englishman, at the best, is but a clumsy negotiator; he possesses neither the versatility of the French- man, nor the persevering, undeviating, obstinate assurance of the American. He brings forward his sine-qua-non at the first interview, or nearly so, as at Ghent, which, ere long, he virtually abandons, in substance, in order to save the shadow*. The Americans are dealers from an early period of life. An English boy, who should at school accustom himself to buy and sell beyond the comraou incidental barter for marbles or such trifles, would be despised and hated by all his fellows ; but in America the practice of traffic among bovs of all ages, in almost every article whatever, is so general, that a youth, when he comes from school into mature life, is too frequently already an adept in every refinement of jockeyship and dealing; can chaffer, cog, and waver, with any Jew in Christendom. If such early tuition can abund- antly furnish the political world in America with adequate charac- ters worthily to support the interests of the government at home and abroad, the more 'nimble classes in trade ai-e equally stocked with those talents which have rendered them so distinguishable in every country in Europe, not less than among the British manufacturers and merchants in tliis kingdom. I wish to be un- derstood as speaking ^6^;itra//^: — it is no question but that there are men of great worth in the legislatures, in the government, and in the foreign commerce of the United States ; but I do f.ssert, that the education and the habits of the youth, in many other particulars besides those I have mentioned, are unfriendly to those feelings of the mind which constitute the most valuable quality a nation can enjoy ; and that the British negotiators, from not having sufficiently understood these circumstances, have not been aware of those snares into which they have fallen. The moral worth of the United States of America is to be found among the great mass of the people, who take but a • I could., were a concise address like this a proper occasion for such a display, give some ludicrous instances of this method of saving time, and smoothing over the sacrifices made by our negotiators. J 41 ery village pon every undred, to 1 period of )s of such capable of 3II astonish ists of this skill in the It a clumsy le French- jsurance of at the first le virtually )w*. The ^n English ly and sell >uch trifles, in America most every comes from spt in every and waver, can abund- late charac- int at home lly stocked inguishable the British sh to be un- t that there overnment, but I do ,h, in many unfriendly Dst valuable [legotiators, umstances, they have merica is to take but a occasion for od of saving ?gotiators. distant interest in the government, or who, at least, attend to their dealings (for almost every person has some traffic or other) without that individual interference in it which is too apt to warp the integrity of the mind, and the urbanity of the dispo- sition. This effect is particularly observable m the United States, where the sovereign people possess more decided influ- ence than they do in other coimtries ; and where the orator who can deign to pander to their base passions, is he that will obtain the largest share of those favours, of which, in that coun- try, a larger share than in any other, appertains to them to bestow*. 35. Thus educated and thus practised, it has hitherto been the fate of this infant government, to find a succession of suit- able characters to fill the various departments of state ; and who, though collectively not devoid of system, yet possess in their politics a certain versatility, a species of flexible attach- ment to that system, which, moi'fc than any other, knows how to advance or recede according to the exigencies of intercstj which all writers confess is there the principal spring that guides the national councils. The government of Washington accord- ingly always makes great pretensions, and talks high to support them ; yet it has shown in every instance in which it has tried the same experiment with the powers of Europe, except that of * My own experience in this opinion of the government of the United States, has been greatly assisted by the reluctant testimony of Mr. Bristed ; who, in his work on the resources of the United States, has enabled me to draw out causes which he has endeti- voured to hide amidst a great deal of bombast, exaggeration, and false inference j but which is a work of great value to that British statesman who knows how to make use of it. A British subject may thereby appreciate the amount of the good will which the citizens of that country bear towards this nation j the ambitious projects which that government has formed to itself; the danger there is to this country from neglect, and the caution which the ministry should use towards it, if they expect to render these kingdoms and their colonies prosperous. That this view of the case is sanctioned by the opinion of others, I am convinced ; and His Majesty's minis- ters will also, I believe, agree in the same, when they recollect that at the time Mr. Bristed*s work first appeared at New York, in the spring of 1818, at the very eve of the treaty of that year, one of the British consuls thought the work of so irmch importance, that he sent several copies of it to the office of the Secretary of State. What conclusion can we draw from such facts ? I beg, also, to recom- mend the address of the elegant, learned, s nd reverend Mr. lUick- minstcr of Bt)ston, jmblishcd /At\\ his seriuoiis. 4*2 Great Britain, that when its claims were withstood, it knew how to abandon them. A feeble or a timid government will alone ever be subject to its importunity ; for, whether it be by force or by cunning, it invariably pursues, with republican prmciple, the object to its probable attainment. If the United States conceded to the French during Buonaparte's reign whatever Avas required of them by him, it was because they knew there was more to gain than to lose by that most abject submission. If they made war against these kingdoms in 1812, it was be- cause they supposed and hoped the British isles were about to submit to the French power. If, after they found themselves , mistaken, they pursued that war, it was because they perfectly understood the character of that commander-in-chief who was opposed to them. If they threatened the Neapolitan govern- ment, it was occasioned by its present weakness and late mis- fortunes; and if they finally abandoned their silly and unjust pretensions, it was because they unexpectedly found that that government was better supported in another quarter than they calculated upon. If they persisted in their unjust claims upon Spain, that revolutionary ally^ to whom any moral man would suppose they, at least, rested* under some degree of obligation, it was only because they confided in the weakness and distracted state of that country; they accordingly first obtained Louisiana; — and how ? — by giving a vast sum in public and a large sum in private to France, to induce the then miserable court at Madrid to yield the immense country at the mouth of the Mis- sisippi to tnem ; a country which, agreeably to republican po- licy, they had previously revolutionized ;— they afterwards en- couraged Miranda to revolutionize the Spanish provinces of South America, then prosecuted Colonel Smith for assisting Miranda, and finally abandoned that prosecution in consequence of the memorial of that gentleman to Congress, published to the whole community in America, and never contradicted ; but if they denied to the court of Spain, alone, their participation in that transaction, they did it against the conviction of every honest man in the United States, blushing for the disgrace which such conduct inflicted upon their country; they finally invaded the Floridas, murdered two British subjects with a cold-blooded indifference, which excited universal horror in these kingdoms, and in our two houses of parliament, and no less in America ; then threatened ill-fated Spain as long as its weak government had existence ; but as soon as the Cortes of the Spanish penin- sula seemed to promise some better times and more energy of action, the cautious invaders of the Floridas took the alarm, and, having quietly withdrawn their pretensions in the first n ei a if '13 place, wilJ, probably, linaliy ubaiulon or renew lliein as expe- diency or interest suggest*. oG. Had we at all times known these our old dependencies, now converted into the most inveterate enemy we have, many errors and misfortunes would to this day have been avoided ; and much vexation and imnierise loss of trcasiu'e spared; and, if we are still capable of learning by experience, the nation mav yet escape many fatal snares now laid for us, some of which, though but in embryo, are warming into life, and will, as as- suredly as the crocodile in the egg, be hatched into mischief-|-. I think it probable that I may be laughed at, be turned into ridicule, for uttering such apprehensions, perhaps abused with acrimony, for I know those States once possessed the patronage of a very numerous party in this kingdom, which from the pe- riod of their revolutionary struggle, and in a lesser degree on every opportunity since, have come in to their support ; and have at times held such an ascendency as to carry their preju- dices almost by acclamation : — were this predilection in I'avour of the States as powerful as it was formerly, I would not waste my time in offering such a precious gift as reason upon the hopeless effort. At that fa;tal period, (but that delusion, thanks to Heaven, has gone off" like a passing cloud, and few per- sons recollect it) we were with confidence told, that the mighty British empire, — and I speak it not in irony, for I know she * I forbear to comment upon the kidnapping and the delivery of my friend General Bowles, the chief of the Creek nation, to the Spaniards at Havannah — that is a tragedy which I hope at some future day to hand down to posterity, for their sympathy and exe- cration. f When the treaty between the French republic and the United States, for the mutual guarantee of their fisheries, was concluded, in the year 1801, as mentioned in paragraph 14 of this address, few people foresaw, or very transiently, what those governments were aiming at ; but as soon as the Hahfax committee of Trade was formed, they took the earliest opportunity to put His Majesty's ministers into possession of their apprehensions on the subject of the fisheries ', and whenever an opportunity offered either to the governor of the province or the agent, whose zeal and assiduity can never be forgot, this guarantee treaty was never omitted by the committee as one of those anticipations which most assuredly meditated mis- chief to the colonies. The government of the United States is not composed of idle people, who do any thing without design ; the treaty of 1801 was executed in 1818-19. And many another such exploit is now in training to the discomfort of these kingdoms and the British colonies. 44 would indeed be liighly so, were her counsels directed by her true interests — I say, sir, the time was, when we were told that the late of this empire depended, both in its commerce cid in its political existence, — I can scarcely whisper it without a laugh, — ON THE SUPrORT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMEllICA. But when that bulrush becomes the staff of such a giant, bow- ing with decrepitude to his fate, I fear the reed, weak as is the support, will go into his side and pierce him. There are no greater errors in politics or common life than terror and pre- sumption ; in the one we invite, in the other we glide into mis- fortune. America, as an enemy, is neither to be feared nor despised, for she possesses both her weak and her strong points ; — as a friend, her government is neither to be confided m nor contemned ; in the former instance, it will surely mis- lead or overreach ; in the other, it will as certainly remember and requite ; but a certain dignified, civil, but cold reserve will clieck and often defeat that importunate solicitation to which the plain and straight forward propensities of John Bull are too apt to render him the dupe. It our negotiators are pru- dent, in dealing with the Auierican government, they never will hastily complete any treaty; and more especially if they arc pressed, they may fairly suspect that there is something behind the scenes which does not m.eet the eye ; but if they will con- sult the records from their colonies when they have any*, or the experience of various friends; who are most likely to be uninfluenced ; truth, or a reasonable conclusion may, by a comparison of facts and sentiments, be formed ; or, at any rate, gross errors may be avoided : but impatience and headlong ne- gt)tiations are almost sure to be succeeded by injury somewhere, and repentance past remedy. 37. There is not a more trite maxim thzix that which says, *' thai to pay aggrcssioii is to encourage xcroug:'''' nor is there in politics a more useful one, or of more universal ap- plication ; but it emphatically applies to the United States of America, to whom concession oecomes the most effectual appetizer; it reminds us of the wit of a lord lieutenant, who in giving to George II. the character of a certain gentleman in Ireland, said that " if his Majesty would bestow upon him " the crown of his three kingdoms, he would ask the Isle of " Man for a kitchen garden." In like manner, the Americans having originally received a more extended boundary than reason could have granted, seized upon the British territory west of the Mississinui ; then treated for a fn-e access to our ississippi * ^ee parairraph J(> y her true d that the cr,d in its I laugh, — AMEIMCA. ant, bow- ^ as is the ere are no and pre- ; into mis- cared nor er strong e confided J rely mis- remember jserve will I to which 1 Bull are are pru- never will i* they are ng behind will con- 2 any*, or ely to be ly, by a any rate, idlong ne- niewherc, lich says, :"" nor is .rersal ap- States of effectual it, who in leman in ipon him le Isle of niericans ary than territory .>ss to our 45 West India Islands, and rejected the same with disdain, be- cause a limitation of tonnage M'as proposed ; obtained a more free access to our East India possessions than our own subjects then enjoyed ; seized upon Moose Island in Passamacadie Bay in time of peace, and by the unaccountable indifference of the British negotiators, lately received that island, Dudley, and Frederick, in the face of every remonstrance from the legisla- ture of New Brunswick ; at the same time laid claim to Grand Menan ; obtained Nootka, a part of Newfoundland and Labrador, and after thus securing our fisheries, now in a manner under another form, became their owr; ; are endeavour- ing also, by some means or other, to secure the timber trade of the colonies ; for I do highly suspect them, as every person acquainted with the subject must do so, of having united their interests with the Prussians and the other northern powers to this very purpose* ; and by placing these in the fore ground, and by thus, as it were, ploughing with other men's cattle, they expect to gain as much or more behind tho curtain, than they could do under the recollection of that recent attainment of the fisheries conceded to them by the late treaty. 38. Being left to imagination alone to conjecture the cause of the late concessions, and no other admissible motive occur- ring to my mind, but that which arises from the prevailing re- port, though many invidious ones are abroad, I am led to suppose that his Majesty's ministers were induced to grant to the demands of the United States, the fislicries of Newfound- land and the colonies, by the fear of involving Great Britain, at this inauspicious period, in a new war with that country ; and as other acquisitions arc contemplated by that insatiable republic, it becomes a very desirable object to exhibit the position in which the country of the United States stands, in case they should again have the temerity to hazard so dan- gerous an experiment as that of going to war with a superior naval power, under ihn fallacious hopc^ that she may again throw away that superiority, as Great Britain has done in all her contests with that country. By exhibiting their weakness and the superior advantages which may be opposed to them, I hojie to convince his Majesty's ministers, whatever delusions tlie Americans themselves or tlieir friends in this country may throw out, that every military and nautical advantage is on the side of Great Britain. I am very far from wishing to attract any credit to myself for a discovery which I know does not * Paragraph fi. 46 belong to me, but will freely own that I derive the system, here only sketched, from the received opinions of some of the most zealous friends of these kingdoms, Avho as military and nautical men, could in both the contests perceive advantages overlooked by their superiors, and which system is recorded to have been approved by our great naval hero, when he was no higher in rank than Captain Horatio Nelson*. I will also in the second place touch upon some financial effects, which I derive from personal knowledge, confirmed by Mr. Bristed's obliging communica- tions to the pubhc*f-; and in the third place, hint at some com- mercial means of retaUation possessed by Great Britain, which in the wrathful philippics delivered by the orators of the Ame- rican republic if, against this country, have not been so prudently attended to, as might have been expected from persons so ex- perienced, as they usually are, in commercial affairs. The whole of these hints, capable of great enlargement, will, I hope, operate as an inducement to the government of the United States to " seek peace and ensue it ;" and to that of Great Britain, to take courage ; and, by showing on this side an affection towards our colonists, rely, as we then safely may do, upon their faith and allegiance. S9. JPor the purposes I have in view, I will divide U r country of the United States into three portions, and dra\ a line from the head of Delawar Bay, at Wilmington, due west, to the foot of the Allegany mountains; which, under various names, run south-west from CatVkill, on the Hudson Iliv.er, in the state of New York, till they lose themselves in Georgia and Florida. The country west of the Allegany will comprehend one division ; that south of the Delawar line the second ; and that north of it the third. From Long Island, in the state of New York, to Augusta in Georgia, thence down the river Savannah, 2ti0 miles to the sea, and thence along the Atlantic shores back to Long Island, incloses a triangular tract of sandy land, in its nature so barren, that the spots ca))able of advantageous cultivation are like islands in an ocean, unil form exceptions only to the general character of miserable * I do not pretend to insinuate that the plan here laid down was not attempted in the last war j but, alas ! how wretchedly ! My fears are that the failure may be attributed to the si/stem in- stead of the general execution of it by commanders in chief) who withered the laurels of a Wellington and a Nelson ; and by statcS' vicn who, at the distance of 30()0 miles, spoiled what was well de- vised by imprudent interferences.— (Note (*) par. 45.) I Sec paragraph 43. X Sec paragraph 34. rstem, here )f the most lid nautical overlooked I have been her in rank ;cond place m personal ommunica- some com- tain, which f thp Ame- ) prudently sons so ex- The whole pe, operate 1 States to Britain, to on towards their faith divide t. and drav. igton, due |ich, under le Hudson mselves in egany will lar line the Island, in ence down EHce along triangular the spots I an ocean, miserable laid down rretchcdly ! system in- cliic/', who II by statct- (18 well dc- 4. 47 sterility; the rest of this vast wilderness is absolutely in- capable of a thick population ; and even Avhat these bounds do contain, are renderetl, in a considerable degree, inert by their situation as slaves, or, as slave owners, indolent, not improveablc nor hardy: it is a mistake to suppose them warlike; inde- pendent of my own observations on these points, I have Mr, Washington's opinion, as well as that of every otiier author who has written upon the subject of this general character of the southern people ; not, however, without many exceptions of great merit; but from this general character I infer, as their revolutionary leader did himself expeiience and bitterly lament, they are not enduring of privations, nor capable of subordination. Their young men may be induced to arm on an emergency and go through a short campaign : yet their habits and weakly frames are utterly averse from any tiling approaching to a laborious, protracted warfare. The in- habitants of those states, which are situated nortli and east of the Dclawar are, on the contrary, by comparison with their neighbours, an enlightened, improving, keen, (rather too keen) active, spirited, and enterprizing people; capal)le of fatigue, aand generally speaking form a good militia, if well commanded. The country south of Long Island, especially tiie Delawar and Chesapeake bays, is assailable every where, by the means of suitable vessels*, through its immense waters, which will shelter the fleets of an enemy, anchored beyond the reach of the shores. These waters are also studded with islands, that afford shelter to the small vessels, so convenient to a fleet, and pecu- liarly so in the warfare here recommended. The whole naviga- tion of this part of the American coast furnishes great facilities to an enemy; for the paucity of the inhabitants on its barren lands, renders the defence of the numerous open cities and towns (located in this miserable country for the conveniency of foreign comnierce) a matter of great expence, labour, and diffi- culty. An enemy can watch his opportunity without the least compulsion upon his ojierations ; and attack any spot as from a centre point, ^vithin a circuit of many hundred miles ; and which, tobe always prepared for defence in each cpiarter, would require immense armies of regular iroops; and, indeed it may be reasonably doubted whether any attainable force would be capable of repelling an attack macle in a desultory warfare, by well-practised, well appointed flying squadrons; which is obvi- ously that mode of annoyance the most tantalizinf^ on one side, and the most encouraging, because eft'ectual, on the other. The * See paragraph 'H 48 Delawar and Chcsapeak are both bays of such extent, as to com- prehend a sea coast of from five to six hundred miles each, and the former especially; but both are surrounded with towns, which, in time of war, fit out privateers ; if they are assailed in port in- stead of being chased at sea, the principal'taeans of American re- taliation will be cut off. But the divisions forming a fleet under such a system, should be each itself very complete, and capable of a separate or a combined action. If the season of the year is well chosen, an incursion may be made in suitable places, be- yond a mere sudden and momentary descent ; but notwith- standing the favorable circumstances here enumerated, no army should venture to take post in the United States for more than a few weeks, in the same spot or district, unless under some peculiar situation, force, commander's skill, resources, or ex- traordinary object in view ; but, in America, a protracted incur- sion is always hazardous : for the militia forces of the interior, from one end of the continent to the other, are, on an emergency, and during a short period, alert, and like hornets when they do come ; being numerous and sharp: for every youth in the Uniticl States is skilful with his gun at long-shot and bush-fighting ; no European troops are an equal match to them under shelter of woods or houses, neither can the Americans on their side stand a charge of the bayonet, in an open country. The attack at Washington was sudden, secret, and of course successful ; made with great skill and gallantry; but not more so, as it is said, than that which immediately followed at Baltimore, which failed because the people of the interior had sufficient time to come together, in overwhelming numbers. The expedition to New Orleans had many more bad properties attached to it, than I choose, at present, to speak of; but one of them, and perhaps the most fatal of the whole, was want of secrecy. It was talked of at Paris many months ; and at Halifax and Ja- maica several weeks before it took place. In truth an incu* ion should never be made any where in America beyond a safe retreat to the navy, and it is, besides, perfectly unnecessary in the United States ; for an active, if secret enterprize, especially if covered by the stratagem of a feint, will command any one de- sirable object within the time thus limited. The districts south of Long Island are those which will favor this mode of warfare to the greatest advantage ; but Long Island sound and Penob- scot bay are other points from which this species of warfare may be advantageously directed ; and the whole of this coast, from the east end of Long Island, to Passam-Acadie bay, being abundantly supplied with large and small harbours, the priva- teering mode of hostility is that which greatly prevails there. It • f s to com- lach, and ns, which, n port in- erican re- eet under d capable he year is laces, bc- notwith- ated, no for more ider some IS, or ex- ted incur- ; interior, nergcncy, n they do lie United -fighting ; er shelter their side ^he attack Liccessful ; 0, as it is which it time to xpedition led to it, lem, and recy. It and Ja- ncu* ion id a safe essary in specially y one de- cts south 'warfare Penob- fare may ist, from being le priva- there. It y M) was, therefore, of the utmost importance that Moose Island should not have bjen given up, ; *^d nothing but a want of attention to the rights of the claim, ana the value of tlie object, would have yielded so important a possession. But the ministry which shall witness anotlier war with America, will find, that conte qu'il coute, that bay must be cleared of the enemy. These eastern coasts, however, are better inhabited than those to the south- ward, and the late concessions of the British fisheries will assist in peopling them still more; but their chief employment in time of war, being that of fitting out privateers, activity on the part of their opponents becomes of the utmost consequence ; and that activity may be ensured, I would recommend a share of all prize-money to be retained as a fund to be given for the capture of privateers, proportioned to their guns, tonnage, and hands found on board ; lor men of war and British privateers are not generally very anxious to look out for such prizes, as they usually become the most dangerous to our small cruizers and packets, and at the same time, are not so valuable as merchant vessels ; frequently not paying the expences of trial, which are so outrageously increased in the colonies, as to have become a serious hazard to the commanders of His Majesty's navy; and Avhere the pay is so small as it is in that service, must essentially ope- rate against activity and risk of prosecution. Such a bounty, if made important, and not merely noininal, will greatly encou- rage the desultory warfare on the American coasts ; and then it will be found^ that, as almost every man in the United States is a trader, the public of that country will be interested in pre- venting war, when no profit is derivable from it, and the British seamen will have less disposition to desert or resort to the States when they discover that not only there is little chance of em- ployment, but that what there is, becomes doubly hazardous to them, from the probability of detection. But if matters are managed by us as they were during the last contest, the inverse, as it was then, will be produced, and war will be again pro- tracted by the mere effect of partial interest. Though invasion upon the north-eastern coast of the United States may be ad- vantageously used, it must be in some degree varied from that to the southward, and jiractised with more caution and celerity ; for the inhabitantsare more expert, more active, morenunierous,nio^o condensed, and resident nearer to the shores. That the attention of our commanders should be very principally directed towards destroying privateers in the ports ';e enemy in preference to chasing such musquitos at sea, will oe evident to every person who recollects the tantalizing situation of the British merchants on the St. George's and Bristol channels, towards the close of 50 the last American war, by only one or two privateers ; wliosc activity and superior sailing eluded the vigilance of all the cruizers government could, at the importunity of those inter- ested, send against them. If this was the case at that time, let those who are masters of the subject imagine what would be the effect ; the same inattention to this object in practice ; if Great Britain had no port nearer than Europe to the country of the United States ; and yet we can scarcely ever hear the sub- ject discussed, but the ignorant, the indifferent, and the avowed partizans of the United States, do, with perfect calmness, be- cause with secret hope, anticipate how surely those States will one day become possessed of the British settlements in North- America. And I am perfectly of their opi lion if, unhappily, the same inattention for every purpose, e: ;cept deprivation of rights, is continued towards those colonies, which has of late prevailed. But those who will take the trcuble to examine the map of the American coast, will instantly perceive, without possessing much military and nautical knowledge, how admira- bly the peninsula of Nova Scotia is placed to harass, in time of war, the coasts of the United States, when the British fleets do that which they always may, and generally have done — com- mand all that floats upon the ocean. Expeditions with sea and land forces to the enemy's shores are readily made from thence in a few days ; and the safe ports of Annapolis Royal, Shelburne, and Halifax are at hand, to receive fleets of any num- ber and size of ships ; but that of Halifax is peculiarly favour- able to victual and repair them, by possessing better lands in its neighbourhood than Shelburn, though much inferior to Anna- polis ; and from its accessible, central, and approximate situation to those agricultural parts of the peninsula, which are able to furnish any quantity of provisions for any number of men, whicii probability can suppose during a war to become necessary *. But divested of Nova Scotia, and I take the liberty. Sir, particularly to address the question to that excellent and gallant admiral, one of the commissioners of the admiralty, than whom no one understands these subjects better ; I say, to what other ports can British fleets, whilst Britain has any, resort on that side the Atlantic for repairs, to victual, or shelter, and health, when the congress of the United States, in a fit of spleen, chooses to ex- clude British shins from their ports by embargo, or exclusion acts, or open hostilities, than those of Nova Scotia and of Hahfax in particular, Avherc the British purse has erected such a noble careening-yard ? — Where, Sir, in the sickly, or in the hurri- * See paragraph 1 1) and the note, — and 3 1 . 51 ; whose • all the se inter- lat time. It would Lctice; it* country the sub- e avowed mess, be- tatcs will n North- nhappily, Lvation of LS of late imine the , without kV admira- in time of 1 fleets do ne — com- with sea lade from lis Royal, any num- ly itavour- mds in its to Anna- i situation ■e able to len, which iry*. But irticularly admiral, m no one ports can Lt side the when the )ses to ex- exclusion ofHahfax h a noble he hurri- cane seasons of the West Indies, would British men of war, and particularly those of the largest size, resort to at all ; or, at any rate, so well as to the coast of Nova Scotia, where access, plenty, and safety abound in every season of the year*. 40. Every nation on earth, in offensive and indefensive opera- tions, possesses its peculiar defects and advantages; but in none are these qualities more marked than they are in the United States ; where the great waters, of which it is their custom to be vain, form a striking instance of weakness ; for, as we have seen, hostile vessels can there resort in safety, if superior in power to the enemy, and harass him at pleasure. But the whole of the United States waters being slioal, especially tiiose south of New York, (and thai o ' ^ew York will not admit any but the lesser seventy-four's) ; a hostile marine will require ves- sels of various force to meet this circumstance. In fact, the builders in His Majesty's dock-yards must greatly improve their marine architecture from what it was during the last war, if they hope to meet the Americans either in their ports oj- at sea ; they being infinitely our superiors in this science, at pre- sent. Tlie time of peace is that which is exclusively proper for such works, and the whole nautical skill and science of the na- tion, and the utmost prudence of the ministry, ought, in this important branch of public effort, to be exerted, in order that the nation may not again be so disgraced as it was during the last American contest ; in which, from a variety of errors, too obvious to the lamenting provincials. Great Britain was worse foiled than in any former instance of her history: for though it must be confessed that she never, in the commencement of any former war, was so completely in the right, as respected the matter in dispute ; so never did she come out by mismanage- ment, more completely humbled in the comparison of military and naval actions, with such a paltry foe. It is true that badly manned ships and long shot actions, are said to have been the principal causes of such misfortunes ; it may be so, and I partly believe it; but when the provincials saw such ships as the Acbar, Leander, and Newcastle, come out expressly to meet the American frigates, they lamented the ignorance of those who sent themi". I would earnestly recommend it to His Majesty's * See note and paragraph 19. t If there is any person that wishes to believe that the British navy lost no credit by losing the ships that were lost, I recommend to him to read Mr. James's Naval Actions, a work of great labour and ability J but, as a plain man, I cannot bring myself to look be- yond the fact that the ships were taLen in fair fight ; and that though the French revolution had ceased, and our navy remained at complete disposal, no class of ships was provided ecjual to the 5\Z <>;ovcrnnient lo recollect what they owe to a generous nation, like that which it ought to he then* pride to conduct to superi- ority in every respect ; and not inflict any further disgrace upon an army to which, next to the national spirit of the individuals who compose it, we are indebted for the high character it pos- sesses, to that illustrious commander-in-chief who has preserved it from the debasement of patronage; and on that gallant navy, which, when the debasement of patronage, like the plague, shall once thin its decks of skill and science, will again lower its flag to the most contemptible of its enemies*. 41. To the end, therefore, of obviating one very important inconveniency to which the operations of the British navy were subject, in the shallow waters of the United States, during the last war, I would recommend to the attention of our naval architects, the principle -j- adopted by the South Americans of the Pacific ocean, in navigating the rafts called Balzas, minutely described by Don Ulloa, in his work on the Spanish and French measurement of a degree of the Equator, from 1737 to 1745, a translation of which was published by the elder Mr. Stock- dale. 1 have myself seen a vessel built on this principle, which drew little water and sailed, well j. It is true that the Ameri- service. The fact is, that we are very little better by comparison now than we were then ; for the Americans ore improving daily. I fear if our ministers do not have compassion upon the nation, we shall want many able apologists in future contests. * \^ hen I say contemptible I speak only by comparison, and with reference to the past ; that enemy is becoming formidable with gigantic strides; and when we meet again in combat on the ocean and the lakes in Canada, will bring with him skill, science, and power ; and without a due proportion of those requisites on the British side, we shall experience the same disgrace as before. t Those who are not convinced of the utility of shallow draft vessels, may consult Stedman*s 4to. edition of the American war, at the attack of Mud-island, in 1777, to great advantage; and the whole work, if tliey wish to shun both Scylla and Charybdis. X A model having been built and approved, one of them should be built in England by way of experiment j and if successful when perfected, the timber suitable for a sufficient number, should be provided, stored, and seasoned for use in Nova Scotia and on the lakes in Canada j for I do assure you, sir, that the timber of both those countries is sufficiently durable, if well seasoned, for a fifteen or twenty years warfare at least ; and that there is no necessity to send water casks to the fresh water lakes of Canada j or frames of ships to be seasoned by a double voyage across the Atlantic, at an enormous expense of freight, as was the case in the last contest; for it is a fact, that the frame of a vessel was sent from England to Canada, wliere the merchants identified their own marks upon it, r)3 s nation, to superi- I'ace upon idividuals :er it pos- preserved It gallant ie plague, I lower its important lavy were uring the 3ur naval ericans of minutely d French ' to 1745, [r. Stock- ale, which le Ameri- omparison ,'ing daily, he nation, and with able with the ocean ience, and es on the 'ore. low draft rican war, and the jdis. m should sful when should be nd on the r of both ir a fifteen icessity to frames of itic, at an contest ; ng'land to upon it, cans are under e(jual disadvantages of shoal water in defence, as far as it regards their marine, as we are in attacking them ; and so sensible are they of their disabilities in this respect, that they know they never can collect a fleet in any one of their own ports, able to contend with such an one as Great Britain would bring against them. They will, therefore, unquestiona- bly from this time forward, use every means, adopt every device to procure such harbours as those of Nova Scotia, which can alone, as it were, parade a fleet of sufficient number to form a line bf battle, as that line would be reasonably supposed capa- ble of contending with the British power*. 42. The force requisite for a desultory warfare against the United States, should, as it has been just now said, consist of many complete but small squadrons, capable of acting singly or in concert ; these should be composed of some powerfully armed and some inferior vessels; an abundant marine artillery; pikemen or lancers exercised frequently at quartei'-staff f, cud- gel, and broad-sword ; some riflemen, particularly useful for the round tops, where the Americans are sure to place their best shots ; and the whole, when practicable, to be taught to take to the shore readily, and to equal the Americans at bush-flghting:|: ; which at the peace was sent from Canada, and sold by public auc- tion at Halifax. But to instance the mode of using colonial timber, I will state, that bj/ tvay of experiment, a brig, called the Halifax, was built at the Careening-yard there, by order from home, in the last war 5 and that part of the timber was growing in my woods only three months before she was launched : and now we shall probably be told that colonial timber is good for notliing, and the Halifax brought as proof. * This I shall probably be told is to be jealous overmuch 3 shall 1 therefore avow the cause of the jealousy? I will confess it^ and say, that they have obtained the islands in the bay of Passani- Aca- die, to which they brought no more title than they can bring to any part of the peninsula of Nova Scotia } and that unless some means are adopted to put a stop to such concessions, the most fatal con- sequences will some day befal this kingdom. — Sec paragraphs 15, 35, 37, 39. f There is no human being so formidable when fighting in close quarters as an English, Scotch, or Irishman ; nor any weapon more useful to him than a quarter-staff j at which the English yeomanry were in ancient terms very skilful. Qihry, could not the lancers, as foot soldiers, be so trained ? I If our troops at Crany Island had been properly exercised at embarking and disembarking ; if at that fatal affair, a proper time of tide had been selected, they would not have suffered as they did ; and if the British troops were but as well skilled in the woods, as 54 these exercises, with the practice of the great guns, much more generally promoted in the American than in the British navy, will furnish abundant employment in port and at sea, through- out the year. British commanders accustomed to act against nations in other parts of the world, where this mode of war- fare is unknown, or not often in practice, when they come upon the American station, either do not know or think lightly, until better taught by the Americans, of those means which become of the utmost importance, on this, to them, new conti- nent, where such arts are, for our safety and national character, too sedulously practised on one ade, and too frequently ne- o-lected on the other; and which has secured to the former advantages falsely imputed to other causes ; even including in this remark, our losses in the long-shot actions, where artillery skill ought not to have been so preponderating as we know it to have been on the side of the enemy; but which has discredited a navy that never suffered disgrace before. 43. The government of the United States, if their coasts are well watched, must labour under the disadvantage of short revenue ; and, in default of that requisite, I believe there is no other commercial civilized state so deficient in public spirit ; on this subject Mr. Bristed will afford much mformation and matter for opinion. A loan, beyond a very limited sum, is, in America, according to that gentleman, a desperate expedient, perfectly unattainable ; and from the public character abroad, by no means a reasonable expectation there. The pecuniary situation of affairs at Washington, towards the close of the last contest, was such as to convince any real politician, that the United States cannot extend, even under success, hostilities beyond three or four years ; but this advantage, as Mr. Bristed informs us, was thrown away upon our rulers, who, under those circumstances, hurried up a treaty, which only required a little procrastination to have brought a contest carried on, even under a series of disgraces on our part, to a favourable issue. To enhance the expenses of such an enemy, becomes, therefore, a species of very useful hostility; and there is no method so effectual to this end, as that of keeping the militia on the alert, and \qt never to make an attack at any spot, but under a high proba- bility of success. To keep such an army of regular troops in pay, as would guard the extended barren coasts of the soutliern they are in the open plain, the Americans would seldom dare face them. It is the effect of our errors, and not the American prowess wiiich has rendered them formidable : let the British fight those people as Ihey do the French, luid they arc as bure to beat them. iiiich more itish navy, I, through- act against de of war- come upon ik lightly, ans which new conti- character, [uently ne- ;he former eluding in i-e artillery : know it to discredited coasts are J of short there is no spirit ; on lation and sum, is, in expedient, er abroad, pecuniary of the last that the hostilities r. Bristed ider those ed a little ven under >sue. To erefore, a D effectual and yet h proba- troops in southern dare face n prowess ght those t them. 55 i states, along which their principal cities and towns arc situated, against an active enemy, would exhaust the resources of even a country whose commerce, like that of Great Britain, improves by war; but the United States, whose trade and commerchd agriculture is almost completely cut off by war, must be, in a short time, at the mercy of any nation which possesses greater revenue and power. The militia of America is taken, unlike that of Great Britain, from persons of from sixteen to fifty years of age, not drafted from the great body of the people; but the entire mass itself, old and young, of those ages tv'getlier ; and this constitutes the 300,000 militia, of which their vain boast- ing writers are so proud. Besides which, an American militia always brings with it the most unconquerably filthy and undis- ciplinable habits ; to which, if we add the carriage of artillery and baggage along their miserable sea coasts, we may then, in a degree, estimate their power and the expense to which the go- vernment must be put; and, upon a failure of customs, thev can be relieved only by an inland system of taxation ; which, in the estimation of a free-born American, Mr. Bristed describes as an intolerable grievance. 44. Let any person, capable of making an adequate calcu- lation, fancy to himself the situation of a country abounding in agriculturists, living principally by the exports of their raw materials during peace ; — one half of the inhabitants producing, and the other half carrying those materials to the markets oi' other nations; but suddenly involved, by a vindictive govern- ment, in a war, in the face of every interest the nation owns ; and thus cut off from all external commerce, at 3,000 miles distance from any friendly country — unable, but through great risks, to procure the common conveniencies of civilized life — obliged, whilst the produce is spoiling in the stores, and the ships rotting at the wharfs, to convey by land carriage, in default of navigation, along deeply indented coasts, of eight or nine hundred miles in geographical extent, the fruits of their industry from port to port, in order to steal the same through the cruisers of the enemy, and thread a labyrinth across the Atlantic, before the traders can offer the same to their former customers at advanced charges. Fancy, I say, such a nation, which, in time of peace, enjoyed an abundant revenue, wholly derived from duties on customs, suddenly by hostilities, which had not a single honourable point to support the horrors of contention, become deprived of that external revenue^ and obliged to resort to internal taxation to support the national expenses of such a war. I say, Sir, when a well informed can fancy such a scene, he will behold the actual perj pu 56 ture of llio United States of America in the years 1812-li>-14; and, in 1815, lie will see that nation without a single penny in its treasury, or a single friend or ally to lend her a stiver or a sous, boldly come forward, and be suffered to confer upon equal terms with an enemy that, considering the renowned beroes she possessed, miglit have crushed her in the dust ; and yet, by the most wonderful inversion of reason and com- mon sense, be permitted to come off with advantages she did not at first meditate. Was it not rather the duty of a ministry, whose country had been grossly insulted by such claims as the Americans set up against Great Britain (sailors rights, free ships, an abundance of other sucb pretensions) ? — Was it not rather reasonable to expect the ministry would have availed themselves of the distress in which that government had so involved itself, and to have insisted upon a relinquishment of such inadmissible claims — and not to slur them over for future ne«^t»tiations, when a change of circumstances may create a very reversed scene of diplomacy ? In fact, this change of position has already begun to show itself, and the unfortunate colonies have been made the first sacrifice; but the recent events in those sacrifices, though the effects are not yet so visible to this nation as they are beyond the Atlantic, may give to those who are able to reflect above the common ob- servations of the people as a mass, some foretaste of what they may expect in future. Let it be recollected that those pre- tended rights, by the discretion of our diplomatists, are rolled up in the archives of Washington, to be forthcoming at any convenient future opportunity ; and that all which has been since yielded, has not erased one iota of the original claims. 45. Great Britain and the States south of the Delavvar line, are not then rivals to each other in any respect, but the States north of that line are rivals to this kingdom in every point of view, and to the northern colonies in a most especial manner. The southern States, though they produce the important articles of cotton, tobacco, tar, pitch, turpentine, flour, rice, and indigo, never convey those articles themselves, and are totally regardless who does convey them to market; they are perfectly indif- ferent whether it be done by their northern fellow citizens or foreigners, provided they feceive the value. But the northern States, in the only articles they produce, such as timber, staves, fish, oil, peltry, ashes, grain, and other articles of agriculture, become the complete rivals of the British colonies. In many articles of States manufacture; in the carrying trade of the southern States ; in that of the East Indies and China ; and in conveying the productions of Europe to other 57 i penny in stiver or a nfer upon renowned the dust ; and com- ?s she did 1 ministry, lims as the n-hts, free /^as it not ve availed nt had so shment of over for nay create change of nfortunate the recent lot yet so ntic, may iimon ob- what they hose pre- are rolled ig at any has been claims. ivvar line, he States point of manner. nt articles id indigo, egardless ly indif- citizens But the such as articles colonies. carrying idies and I to other r I E! countries, the northern States become the commercial rivals of Great Britain herself. In fact, these two districts of the United States have all the most essential properties of two distinct nations; they have little, perhaps no esteem, friend- ships, matrimonial, or family connexions in common ; and ge- nerally differ in politics, habits, manners, and moral principles ; they are connected by their federal government alone; but that chain, it must be confessed, is secured by a very sure link — INTEREST — the great Moloch of American adoration. Were it not that that union favored the eastern carrying trade of southern produce — were it not that a separate government would weaken them in the estimation of foreign powers, and create a double diplomatic expense, the imion of the now United States of America won! i dissolve in a very short time*. But were the southern inhabitants of the United States capable of appreciating the value of Great Britain to them, they would perceive that she was now tho princ5"'>al customer for their {)roduce; and that if she chose to encourage X.r southern co- onies, situated east and west of her centri- government in Europe, in producing cotton, tobacco, flour, and mt- ly other articles we derive from the States, thf civ mand of every other nation would not furnish them with such another market o% Great Britain alone does. I say, Sir, if such a policy were * Those who grounded the expedition against Castine, on the flattering hope that they should thereby separate the American union, and afford a rallying point, to the disaffected members of the convention at Hartford, committed a very gross mistake. It became the principal means of uniting all parties -, as soon as that inconsiderate measure was known, there was but one feeling throughout the United States ; the fact was, that no one had seriously contemplated a s^jiP^ation ; and the more the subject was agitated, the more obviiv; ; the interest became on the other side. But the possession of Castine was a fatal stroke to the de- scent at Baltimore, for if the fifteen hundred military, and the naval force, which wen employed at Castine, had proceeded to the Chesapeak, they wo^lu have been just in time to act, in concert with the other forces, against that town, and, together, would have formed an overwhelming power. This plan came from Eng- land, and was so generally condemned at Halifax, that no one would credit the report of its real destination, but insisted that the expedition was gone to the southward. It was a want of knowledge of American character that produced the plan, for there was no want of zeal in the execution. The cruelties exercised at Newark had made our troops very resentful. 58 adopted — and wliat national interest need prevent such a bounty to the colonies ? — what would become of the southern portion of the United States*? It is unnecessary that I * Indigo was onct a considerable manufacture in Carolina, but by reason of the increased attention to that article in our settlements in India, it is now nearly relinquished in the United States. Rice is now fast improvinc: in India, and better seed would still further increase the use of it in Great Britain ; if it could be rendered cheaper and better, the use of it would increase in pro- portion, and until it became an important article of consumption. The growth and cure of tobacco is as simple as of any other agri- cultural article whatever; and though some favored spots in Maryland grow the hitesfoot and some other superior sorts, yet if the growth of tobacco was generally encouraged through the Bri- tish colonics, in the warmer latitudes, improved sorts would, in every probability, appear in districts, as they do in every other production of the soil. Cotton, like tobacco, will grow in any warm climate, not subject to occasional frosts during the season of its growth; and superior samples are frequently rising in the market, and become as various in quality as new sorts produced from apple or potatoe seed. The Bourbon cotton once carried the preference, and has sold as high as (j.v. the pound ; then the Robleys, from Bourbon seed, grown in Jamaica, came into fashion, and bore 4,v, and 5s. : and now the sea idand of (Jeorgia has got the preference of all other cottons for the finer fabiics, but at the reduced prices of '2s. to 2t. 9(1. ; and there is no doubt, as the growth is diQused in tiie British settlements, new CNcel- lencies will luiexpectHlly appear to aid the changeable fashions of the day. Flour has h>ng been an article of great export from the States ; and has undergone, when in demand, the adulteration of pldslcy of Paris and of to/z/Ve maize; but any other country, which has twenty weeks to g* > v spring wheat, the Talavera in parti- cular; or l\)rty for winter wheat, and sixty- four daily averaged degrees of heat to ripen it, will perfect that grain. So that we know that the Cape of Good Hope and Canada, where it has, and several other colonies where it has not yet, been tried, will advan- tageously admit of encouragement in this particular, whenever it shall please the legislatiirc to bestow it upon the colonics. Under all circumstances, therefore, these kingdoms are under no agri- cultural obligations to the United States. In regard to our manu- factures, that nation will always receive those of England, when price and quality point out the preference, and not otherwise. There is but one way to school an .American, and that is by practical illustration ; but concession is the very worst expedient to gain favor with that (iovcrnment. 59 it such a I southern iry that I I Carolina, cle in our the United seed would it could be lase in pro- msuniption. other agri- d spots in sorts, yet if gh the Bri- i would, in every other row in any • the season sing in the ts produced )nce carried 1 ; then the came into of Cleorgia ner fabiics, is no doubt, new ex eel- fashions of It from the teration of try, which ra in parti- y averaged o that we it has, and will ad van- i^henever it es. Under er no agri- our manu- and, when otherwise, hat is by expedient should put a like question relative to the northern portion of the union, because the embargo system has already solved that problem definitively, Tiien I would wish to ask — Is it good policy to volunteer Into the hands of the Americans, rivals to both Great Britain and her faithful colonists, the articles of fish, already gi-anted — timber, probably now meditated — and peltry, yielaed by giving up Nootka Sound by the last nicst unaccountable treaty? Without which several articles of commerce, those aliens would be divested of their principal ability to commit the meditated hostilities with >yjiich they, in every fit of avarice or resentment, are pleased to threaten us. 46. It is a vain effort for human beings to guard against every contingency, be it In war or politics; but in order to render success probable, public as well as private persons adopt certain fundamental principles, from which they never swerve but with great caution ; and as private families, who keep their children well employed, stand the best ciiance of ensuring their happiness, so ought a government to furnish the same means of industry to her own domestic population, and to her colonies, in preference to strangers. I c( nfess it, how- ever, there are cases in which a nation may be forcibly called upon to deviate from this, which is obviously but a general rule: — for example, 1st. When being weak and incapable of defence against a more powerful neighbour, she may be obliged to sacrifice her natural mterests to deprecate her enemy, or to acquire the aid of a political friend hy his alliance, and make some concession to obtain it. — Thank heaven, this predica- ment is not among tiio number of our misfortunes, though the Government, in regard to tiie United States, has acted as if it were so. 2d. If wishing to encourage a particular domestic manufacture, a natiim, on a balance of advantages, is induced to prefer the natural product or agricultural growth of another state, though she, or her colonies, are capable of I'urnishing her with the same commodities; still the parent state, in good policy, should not xchoUi/ give up her own colonies in this par- ticular, because we know, from experience, that a |)olitical friend may become an enemy in arms, as well as a rival in peace ; and then what becomes of the necessary supply in war, if the whole of it is made to depend on such a precarious reliance of friendship ? Yet this is ])reciscljr' the case in the article of hemp, as it was and now is furnished by Russia. One nation sliould never place its sole dependepce upon another, especially if that other nation of the surest means al. or nea \i\ ))uwer ; it is one ot the e(|u to excite hostilities or rlyeq m 60 insult*. This want of good policy is also the case in regard to the articles of tar, pitch, and turpentine. These king- doms have been made to depend for the supply of those arti- cles, so essential to our nautical and commercial prosperity, not partially, but wholly, upon foreign states, though they possessed the means of perpetuating a supply from settlements of their own-f-. And 3d. If in the temporary involvement of * About the year 1801, the ministry were rather alarmed at the then aspect of affairs with Russia ; and gave instructions to the governors of Canada and Nova Scotia to procure information on the capability of those provinces to furnish the article of hemp. At a meeting on the occasion, being present by invitation, and, as a farmer, being tolerably versed on the subject, I delivered my sentiments ; but not being an officer of Government, which in a colony, still more tlian in this country, is necessary to stamp a })erson's sentiments with validity, or indeed with common sense, I heard no more on the subject. It is true, many hogsheads of seed were sent for from abroad, at the expense of the province, whose legislature oflbred bounties, and met the views of the ministry with their utmost efforts ; but from this importation of seed not a grain vegetated. Knowing this would probably prove the case, as soon as 1 returned home from the meeting, I procured about a pint of fresh seed from a lady, who was in the habit of raising it for her birds, in her own garden, and I planted the whole that same year, seed by seed, at the distance of a foot apart : the season was favorable, the soil adapted, and produced very nearly a bushel of clean seed. Not then knowing the result of the consultation, except the importation of seed, which I was weak enough to consi- der an earnest of future intentions, in the spring following I made up the sound seed I possessed into small parcels, and sent them to every part of the province, with instructions ; but by the period of harvest, every evil which his Majesty's ministers had appre- hended had vanished, and the project was heard no more of, at least in Nova Seotia. When 1 found this abandonment, I took the trouble to detail the plan which I had proposed at the meeting, and sent it to the Secretary of the Home Department ; but though it went in duplicate by the regular packet, yet I never received cvvii an acknowledgment. But 1 am still convinced, the plan is cilicient, and yet worthy the attention of (iovernnient. I think the plan could be executed to better advantage in Canada than in Nova Scotia, or in any Atlantic situation. f If his Majeiity's ministers in the year \J9d, when lireat Bri- tain was lit war with Spain, had listened to a proposal inviting them to take possession of the Floridas, they might have done so almost without opposition j and, in that case, there wouhl not n(»w exist any dispute between the governments of Spain and the United States, on the subject uf that country. No nation, not I 61 in regard ese king- hose arti- )rosperity, )ugh they ettlements ivement of med at the ions to the matiun on e of hemp, on, and, as Hvered my >vliich in a to stamp a mon sense, gslieads of le province, he ministry [' seed not a e the case, red about a f raising it le that same season was bushel of )nsuhation, h to consi- 'ing I made ent them to the period had appre- nore of, at ent, I took le meeting, jut though er received the phui is L think uhi than in (ireat Hri- sal inviting ve (h)ne so wouhi not [lin and the nation, not I , debt, finding it difficult not only to defray her expenses, a nation is obliged also to pay interest for the amount of what she has borrowed ; she will then, like a prudent tradesman, do ev( ; / 'hing in her power to render justice to her creditor ; ana t\\e will also, at the same time, set her children to work, and encourage them to become more industrious and inventive than before. But what would become of parents who, in- volved in a like situation, destroyed or ^avc mcay their even the United States, would have attempted to dispute the title of this country to those her Jbrmer possessions, as it was an event evidently anticipated by the Americans ; foi*" when the treaty of 1783 was negotiated, their commissioners, supposing that the treaty with Spain would yiekl up tiiose provinces, })roposed a separate article in the following words : — " It is hereby under- *' stood and agreed, that in case Great Britain, at the conclusion " of the present war, shall recover or he put in possession of *' West Florida, the line of boundary between the said province " and the United States shall be a line drawn from the mouth of " the river Yassons, where it unites with the Mississl})pi, due east *' te the river Apalachicola. Done at Paris, the 30th day of No- *' v<>mber, 17vS2. Signed by " 11. Oswald, J. Adams, B. Frank- ** lin, J. Jay, II. Laurens." This is also a proof that the United States had not then entertained any hankering after either that country or Louisiana ; but they have since discovered that West Florida on the one side, and Louisiana on the other, are the kei/s ()f the Mississippi ; and on this principle the above proposal was made to ministers in 1791). It is, therefore, evidently, even now, the interest of the United States to be at peace with Great Britain as long as she is suj)erior at sea ; for the possession of any one post on that river, before it branches off, will render the whole of the vast country, north and south of Ohio, worse than a useless waste. But the possession of the Floridas, merely as a source of supply for tar, pitch, turpentine, and live oak, would have become inva- luable to Great Britain. The particulars of this application to the niiiustry are now in my hands, and will reflect indelible disgrace upon the administration of that le, would the same this apo- her colo- vernment, employed, ■eful, con- leir inter- ich knows how to scr — their J usually would be ivy, they lat to dis- Statcs, is the two e at pre- ler which iring. I few who lat they, existing md, and lirbulcnt, 63 One of the great advantages of colonies, in all ages of the world, especially in the days of the Romans, has been that of taking off from the parent state the burthen of a superfluous population; but that wise people made use of colonies to strengthen, not to burthen, the parent state, and with that view always placed them in the close neighbourhood of her enemies, for the purpose of awing them ; tnen every Roman was proud of and attached to his country, for the only cause that could attach him — because the parent state made it his interest and his glory to be so. And will any one assert that, with a like attention, Britons are incapable of a similar feeling ? No, Sir, en the contrary, I am proud to say, that the colonists hailed with enthusiasm, as ardent as their fellow subjects on this side the water, the numerous victories the British heroes obtained over the French ; and only lamented that so few were gained over the enemies in their own neighbourhood. But I know not when and where the advantages of colonies h?ve been, and yet are, so available as in the British settle- ments of North America ; yet do I recollect, that in the last sessions of parliament, one of his IMajesty's ministers stated in the House of Commcns, that " they possessed an application " from Canada, requesting that no more emigrants might be " sent to that country ;" and this is one other proof how gene- rally misinformed Government is on colonial subjects ; but if the whole of the circumstances are once understood, the evil which, I have no doubt, has been stated somewhere or some- how pariially, will, on inquiry, be found susceptible of an ade- quate remed,y. When the inliabitants of these parent islands emigrate, they are — 1st. Those who possess property, and expect, by removal, to employ it to better advantage than they can do at home. 2d. Those who have no property, but expect to be able to live in comparative idleness, or find better pay and employment abroad. You may be sure, Sir, that the first class will always prove acceptable in every colony, unless to those few prejudiced people who are so grossly ignorant as to hate strangers only because they are such ; and some of these are to be found in every colony, not less than in many of the remoter spots in this country. But the second class, xchen they arrive almic, often become a dead weight upon the inhabitants of a colony, for three obvious reasons: — 1st. Because they have little wherewith to support themselves. 2d. Ik'cause they are fre- (juently of trades which arc useless in a new country, and re- G4 quire too much trouble to be taught anew, or are aged, iniirm, or impotent. And 3d. Being too frequently found to be idle and profligate in their habits, the settlers, from experience, are indisposed to receive them as servants into their houses, and dread to suffer consequences which that same jealousy does itself sometimes actually occasion; but good and diligent workmen, of those occupations which are useful in the colony, will always readily find employment ; and so far every sJ3ot of America, where slavery does not prevail, is a good poor man's country. But bad people arrive more frequently m the Bri- tish colonies than they did formerly, because the predilection in favor of the emigration to the States is unfortunately wearing off; and that country is not now, so much as it once was, the drain through wh'ch the kingdom was happily relieved from much of those impurities, arising from perverted politics, and bad morals, with which all nations are troubled more or less. There are several means of preventing the evils complained of; and as every well-wisher to the colonies sincerely desires to see ♦'.e tide of British emigration turned towards our foreign settlements, I will detail those means which are considered the most efficacious, some of which do not appear to have vet fallen under official attention ; but every true friend to his country must deplore that most wretched policy which has taken place in Canada, more than in any other province, of admitting American citizens to settlements*; and not only so, but in establishing every possible facility, public highways especially, in order to render that intercourse more easy, which it ought to have been the sedulous attention of the rulers in that country to have closed, if possible, with adamantine bars. 1st. Government, by official inquiry for the welfare of both countries, should endeavour to become in- formed of, and should remove, the obstacles which exist to the settlement of vacant lands; and those they will find to be, in some colonies, numerous, inveterate, and difficult of correction, though by no means insuperable. * It became a common practice a few years ago, with persons in possession of signories, to advertise in the United States news- papers for settlers of every description to remove to Canada, and especially to the lower part of the river and the Gulph of St. Law- rence. The Nova Scotians dreaded the consequences to the fish- eries of such indiscriminate settlements j and the council and assembly, in a joint address, warned his Majesty's government of the consequences : — but to what purpose have they done so ? I 65 , iniirm, be idle )erience, ' houses, usy does diligent s colony, y sJDOt of )or man's the Bri- edilection y^ wearing ) was, the ved from itics, and •e or less, lained of; ires to see ur foreign iidered the I have yet end to his which has ovince, of |ot only so, highways |asy, which rulers in Itine bars. [welfare of lecome in- icles which and those [numerous, gh by no ith persons lates news- Linuda, and \i St. Law- |to the fi&h- 3uucil and :rnmeut of le so? '2(\. That the difficulty of obtaining lands being removed; the conditions of possession may be made more easy than they are ; but be ever rigidly enforced. They are, now, often unreasonable, and are only partially executed. .3d. That encouragement should be given to persons of sufficient property to settle in compani/, when they shall have adopted others as servants in proportion to the associated persons embarking, or tlie ninnbcr of acres granted ; which should be preferablv some tract previously selected by an agent of their own number on the spot, sufficiently qualified to form a judgment. The good effects of these measures are already visible at the Cape of Good Hope, and ought to become general. 4th. The colonists, now resident, should be induced t<» appoint committees at the seat of government in eacli colony, as guides to single persons anc families, not connected in company with others; or generally to any persons who may require information of lands vacant and on sale ; masters who may want servants ; and to draw up printed directions for local informa- tion of every thing useful to settlers, as regards sea- sons, agriculture, method, and produce, 'rhis plan has been frequently put in execution, by the laudable zeal of individuals ; but it is of so much importance as to require legislative support. Every resident in a colony must have often witnessed the distress of wandering strangers, who were wasting their money and more precious time, under the want of informa- tion. 5th. Government should not interfere in any other respect than to rcffulcdc ,- and to remove obstacles in the way of real bona fide settlers ; and facilitate the departure of bad, restless characters out of the settlements; and so generally superintended, as to prevent evils at home and abroad; or, as Mr. Ikirke terms it. " to do good by preventing mischief." ()th. Government should reserve no emolument whatever, nor go to any ex})ense : the latter should never be made a pretence for the former; for you will. Sir, find upon inquiry, that when expenditure has been tendered by government, it has very seldom been de- clined ; yet, when accepted, it has seldom produced the good derivable InMU ])rivi'te efforts; a return, 66 unless secured with great caution, is generally neg- lected or becomes invidious by its enforcement; profitable, perhaps, to somebody ; but that, upon the whole, the purse of government has never overflowed from this source of revenue ; even the United States government, which is tolerably energetic in every measure to procure revenue, is many millions of dollars in arrears for the sale of lands, the payment of which it dai'es not now enforce *. 4)9. In truth, all direct and personal taxes upon the people of any colony are hateful to them ; they evade them by every means in their power, or they submit to them, only when en- forced under the acts of their own legislatures, for municipal or county purposes. The British custom-house duties in the colonies are productive to government, because they are not of a direct nature ; for being laid upon the articles and paid by the importing merchant ; the cost, profit, expenses, and duty become so mingled, that no one inquires into the particulars ; if he wants the article, he looks no further than to his means ; it is his inclination or his necessity that induces the purchase : but I have known even a provincial poll-tax of 2s. 6d. on each male inhabitant above sixteen years of age, though with many other exceptions, so unpopular, that the legislature thought it prudent to give it up. Government should show its wisdom m removing the very seeds of dispute; to render the British provinces happy and satisfied, the advantages whicl the parent state derives from its colonies should be limited to the fol- lowing particulars, and a clear understanding in this respect would produce benefits incalculable. Isi. The purchase, by the colonists, of the manufactures of the parent state. And be it ever remembered that the amount of this advantage must depend on the number of the inhabitants within the colony and the amount of their prosperity, 2d. The custom-house duties already imposed upon cer- tain goods landed in the colony -f. 3d. Those on the importations at home ; some of which require to be explained and others reduced. 4th. Postage of letters. 5th. The supply of the other settlements with the ne- * 22,9J)6,547 dollars. — See the president's last speech, f These shoulc! be well considered and liberally proportioned to the profits of the article, the ability of the colony, and the indirect effects likely to result. i 07 rally neg- rcement ; upon the iverflowed ted States in every [lillions of 2 payment the people 1 by every r when en- municipal ies in the are not of d paid by , and duty )articulars ; his means ; purchase : 3(1 on each with many I thought it its wisdom the British the parent to the fol- his respect inufactures libered that ind on the ny and the upon ctr- of which th the ne- aeech. lortioned to the indirect cessaries with which they cannot supply themselves ; and yet afford revenue or employment ^.o the parent state; and without which supplies to those settle- ments from the other colonies, the parert state could not receive such benefits; for instance, the West Indies and Newfoundland. 6th. Relieving the parent state from a distressed popula- tion, •^ih. By receiving from the colonics those articles which she does not or cannot herself produce. 8lh. As an advanced post, to keep the enemy in check at home, and shield the parent state itself from that annoyance in war, which the experience of the last American hostilities, not less than tlie^r*^, proved could not be prevented, when that eqemy was not, as he might have been, more effectually attacked in his own ports. 9th. As a nursery for seamen, which in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, &c. for instance, very far exceeds the custom-house returns, by those who are, or were formerly, occupied in the gypsum, and are now in the coasting trade and the fisheries; and in Canada by persons employed in the navigation of the rivers and lakes, and by the North-west company. 50. I beg leave to add a few words on the last of these articles, as it respects the impressment of seamen. The present colonies have never denied, as the old colonies did, the right of the navy to impress seamen in war time; it is a great political question, to solve which they think themselves in- competent; but they claim the same exemptions, and none other, which are, in every exigency or indulgence, allowed in Great Britain ; and yet m all the numerous instances which have occurred within the present colonies of excessive infringe- ment of those rules which are laid down by acts of parliament, court decisions, and admiralty orders ; (I speak not of trifling instances) I have never known one in which that spirit of re- sistance was so conspicuous as it appeared on every similar oc- casion in New England ; though we read in history, that impress- ment was the usual practice in those colonies, to raise forces even yor land service, when volunteers proved insufficient for the ex- peditions against the Indians. But, Sir, you may be assured, the indiscriminate manner in Avhich impressment in the Atlantic colonies is generally conducted, is a great evil; and requires the most energetic enforcement of orders from government, . if there is any serious intention to apply a remedy to practices 6s which romler the colonists unha])})y, and drive Biltisli seamen to take sheher in the United States, where they man tlie public ships and the yjrivateers of tiic enemy, and wliere they submit to the severe infliction of American naval discipline, and fit^lit desperately, rather than return to tlieir native service. 51. The revolted provinces have been often aiid with perfect justice accused of iiigiatitude, fvsr having requited with re- bellion their p;irent, A\ho had entered into many wars, but that of the scrcrt years In particular, entirely on American account: correct as this accu:?ation i?, none of the prr^^^ii^ North American colonies up to this dav, are chargeable with a debt of this description. Great Britain has ibught no battles for them. The debtor side of l.lv. CoIquhcim''s political ledger, folio North American colonies, therefore, contains a gross error. J cannot fuid a single item of the nature of colonial defence or settlement, which of right should be placed to the debit of the present Northern Colonies"^. Whatever was expended, (and much it is said was wasted, in settling Nova) Scotia goes to New England account ; it v/as for her sake, and at her im- portunity, tJiat country was made a frontier post; and if ever it s'lould be thought wortli while to inquire into the case, it will be found that none was ever bolter suited to the purpose. Cape Bretcrn and Canada w^ere also r.fterv,'ards conquered to insure the safety of New Engkmd. Long did Nova Scotia suffer from French and Indian warfare, before she became free from the murderous consequences of New England security. If Great Britain (notwithstanding her fostering care) and her re- volted provinces have had two disputes which have cost each of them two round sums, the present colonies neither promoted the quarrels, nor have they, except in an increase of population, benefited much by them : Canada, indeed, has, on the contrary, suffered greatly by the two contests, in the burning of her towns, and the unjustifiable massacre of her inhabitants f, which it is true has not produced any love towards her enemies. Yet * See paragraphs 3. 29. t When Newark, in Upper Canada, was burnt under circum- stances peculiarly atrocious, it took place Avlien the thermometer was thirty degrees beiow zero, and women and children were forced into the open fields to shift as they could ; and yet when a retaliation tock place at Washington by the destruction of the public buildings, and one private house by accident, what a wailing (lid that inadequate chastisement occasion throughout Europe ! liut yoiu' true republican always assumes privileges he refuses to other.>r. (k) sli seamen the public ey submit and fiij-ht ith perfect with re- wars, but American wnt North [i a debt of > for them. Iger, folio ross error, lal defence le debit of expended, 5COtia goes at her im- md if ever he case, it e purpose, iquered to 3va Scotia ecame free curity. If nd her re- cost each promoted opulation, contrary, g of her sf, which mies. Yet fr cir(?lim- trmometer llren were yet when Son of the a wailing Europe I refuses to the })reseut Northern Colonies ask nothing of the parent country but that common justice which shall enable them to recover from those inflictions. If the foregoing statements and the reasoning U})on them are generally correct, (and I sincerelv be- lieve them to be so) the British North American provinces ap- pear to be v.ell worthy the protection of the parent country ; not for tJicir happiness alone, but for the sake of the ad- vantages v/hich she herself may derive from them, provided she adopts the proper means of making them productive ; and as it does appear that not expense^ but management, is a" that is required to effect this end, it becomes a pecuhar hardship that, after all the injuries thoy have hithv"'rto suffered, the colonies should yet have to contend against foreigners for nearly the only trade yet left to them ; and among those i'oreigners that enemy from whom they have sustained the most severe in- flictions. B'^l. It is now, Sir, high time that I should wind up this address, which I will do by exhibiting the most obvious con- sequences that would result, ivere the colonies of British North America tramfcrred to a 7-ii nl po70cr. In the present state of the European continent, it is more than j.)robable the civilized Avorld will generally continue at peace diu'ing some years; and that the American interests will (notwithstanding the late angry negotiations between the United States and S>jain) have a tendency to become more and more pacific, provided there should be any vigour and wisdom in the councils of the Cortes. It is also highly desirable that peace should continue to exist between Great Britain and the United States. There can be no question that it is essentially the interest of both powers to promote it; but those angry debates and sometimes enact- ments, which are almost annually brought into congress, are so many instances of irritated feelings, that exhibit a character of ill will in the American government, in spite of our manifold concessions, which keep that nation in a continued fever against this country ; but which I believe are cherished more by the o-overnment and the orators, to keep up their influence over ^ the mob*, than by that respectable class which constitutes the ' middling or great mass of the people; and in no country is* that class of society better informed or more worthy in every respect than in the United States of America. But as the effects of such angry ebullitions may by chance lead, as they often have before, beyond the bounds of congressional debates ; and what has occurred in a degree, may, as another emollient, be * Paragraph 34. 70 extended to a relinquishment of'.-i V)irc important territory ; I beg permission, by way of a cor;ii v/uence to what may by pos- sibility happen, but with ardeni ' tj < is ior a better result; to suppose that those valuable possessions, The British North American Colonies, are, by some fatality, some secret treaty, some expediency of concession, transferred into the hands of the enemy and rival of these kingdoms. The United States of America*: under such a state of things, I am of opinion, that that nation will have acquired, and then only can possess, every means which can tend to render it truly formidable to Great Britain. 1st. The American republic will be placed 3,000 miles beyond assault from any European state whatever. 2d. The United States have not, at this time, a single harbour capable of receiving a large fleet of first and second rate ships in safety. I have ventured to challenge any person to point out one on the western side of the Atlantic besides those of Nova Scotia, and Louisbourg in an inferior degree, calculated to receive a large fleet of line of battle ships at all seasons of the year-f-, and to refit them after an accident arising from weather or fight; but if in possession of the harbours of Nova Scotia, especially that of Halifax, the Americans would become much superior to either England, France, or Spain; and Britain, France, and Spain are in this particular alike interested in preventing such a general misfortune ; and woe be to them all if they ever suff*er such a junction ;{:. 3d. The British West India possessions, which require certain fresh supplies almost weekly, and cannot, therefore, receive them from Europe, will remain at the absolute disposal of the United States in time of war; which may compel Great Britain, under ap- prehensions of such an event, to submit to almost any terms they may please to dictate ; but, at any rate, will so greatly awe her councils, as to afford the States an undue influence over them ||. 4th. The island of Cape Breton and the peninsula of Nova Scotia possess many species of minerals not to be found in the United States, east of the Allegany: coal, gypsum, salt, copper, and freestone §, * Paragraphs 15 and 41. f Paragraph 19, note (*). X Paragraph 39 towards end. || Paragraphs. § 1 know there is a coai mine of very inferior quality in Virginia, 71 erritory ; I lay by pos- ter result; ^. BaiTisH ility, some iferred into ioms, The 3 of things, I, and then ier it truly ,000 miles I'hatever. e, a single )f first and Jntured to he western Scotia, and i to receive seasons of ent arising ion of the f Halifax, pr to either France, erested in woe be to require cannot, remain at in time of mder ap- to almost at any to afford insula of Is not to llegany: jVirginiu, 53. With coal of such varied and of such excellent quality, so abounding in quantity and so easily worked, aided by the native ingenuity of the inhabitants in the north-eastern di- vision; the United States would soon, so rival Great Britain in her manufactures, especially possessing as they do in the southern country, so many of the raw materials, as to become a very serious, if not fatal opponent to the united kingdom. With the gypsum of Entry Island, one of the Magdalens, they would supply the u])per countries on each side of the Canada lakes and the St. Lawrence River: and from the gypsiim of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton, the whole of the countries east of the Allegany mountains. With salt upon the spot, (for there are several salt springs) and every appearance of mineral salt in Nova Scotia, particularly at the river Phillipe in tlie Gulf of St. Lawrence; aided by the coal to refine it, almost at the door, there is not a state in Europe which could vie with the Americans in fisheries, even for their domestic supply, except with the support of large bounties and countervailing duties. The copper would always aid the manufactures of the States, for they would not keep the earth closed upon that metal as we do in the colonies. The freestone of Ram shag, in Nova Scotia, is inexhaustible, and equal to the best Portland quality *. 54. I have thus, in the first place, exhibited some of the consequences which will ensue to the Northern Colonies themselves if, in their present distressed situation, they are further borne down by any additional burthen upon their commerce: — 2d. I have shown some of the injuries already sustained by them at various times since the American independence: — 3d. I have made it appear that those evils probably arose from that want of intelligence in England, which it now becomes necessary to collect: — 4th. That this defect has apparently induced our rulers to yield the interests of the colonies to the importunity of foreign powers, not yet and one of better quality at Cumberland, near the Allegany moun- tains, in Maryland; and copper, I believe, in one iinproductive mine in the Jerseys : but these are not worthy to be otherwise adverted to. All the above articles of coal, gypsum, and freestone, abound in Nova Scotia. The country abounds in other minerals, but many of them are prohibited from being worked, and, therefore, the extent is unknown. — Paragntphs 28, 29, 30. * A very favorable specimen of this stone may be seen by every visitant of Halifax, in that elegant new building, the pro- vincial state house. 72 satisfied ; and in other instances siifTercd private interest to prevail over that prudence which matters of sucli importance required from the hand of power : — 5th. I have shown of wliat utiUty the Northern Colonies are to the British nation, and how by reasonable and not expensive means, th(jse colonies may become prosperous and happy ; and thereby be continued in loyalty and attach niciit, and be rendered a support to the paren* state; that this must be effected by means which alone it is in the power, and ^^ liich it is the duty and interest of Government to afford them : — 6th. I have, through the whole of tliis address, endeavoured, as much as possible, to make appear that distinction between the government at Washington and the mass of the people within the United States, which I am certain exists ; that the former, together with the populace, are those only 'vhich Mr. Isristcd n^eans, when he says, they so hate and detest us ; but that the middle clnss of the people arc lilieral, friendly, and well-wishers to British prosperity*; I liave eiKleavoured to prove, that in war the United States are not formidable, if we then treat them as an enemy, and not merely as a child, ji brother, or a sister, estranged for a while ; that as trailers they certainly are a conveniency, like every other nation that takes our manufactures from us ; but by no means, even in this point cf view, a fit object to be adopted in competition or in preference to our own faithl'ul colonies ; that those States are by no means an essential ingredient to British prosperity ; nor do they even merit to be considered among the most favored nations: — 7th. Induced ])y very frequent suggestions to myself, by perscms who have seemed to Jish for information, I have supposed a case which becomes a complete answer to those inquirers ; and which 1 think renders it evident that the possession of the Northern Colonies by the United States would all'ord to that country advantages over other nations, and over Great Britain in particular, which in ev v pro- bability would lead to consequences of a most fatal tendency : — and 8th. I have, as I hope, made evident to every candid mind the truth of those principles with which I set out, and then adopted as guides to my own progress in this address f, and as axioms of the highest iinjiortance to this government, to the colonies, and to the nation at large; but not yet sufficiently accepted or understood by those characters who have it chiefly in their power to give to them their due effect. 55. If, in this address, I am thought to liave been guilty of indiscretion, in thus bringing forwanl circumstances which some * l*arii!vr;i|»h .'M. 1 I'arngraph '2. 73 merest to nportaiicc 11 of wli.1t ition, and colonics continued ort to the licli alone ntercst of the whole to make ashingtoii ;, which I populace, ,'s, titci/ so people are )erity*; I States arc , and not hile ; that :lier nation jaiis, even iinpetition ose States osperity ; the most Ingestions ormation, mswer to that the d States nations, V pro- cncy : — lid mind nd then , and as , to the ficiently chiefly [uilty of h some i persons may be of opinion ought to have been burled in oblivion, I beg it may be considered that the present situation of the colonies is very critical to them; that they have no ostensible friend in parliament or representative there, invested with their interests, or acquainted with their past or present affairs; and yet that that honourable body is about to be called on to decide ex parte upon a proposed duty, which the colonies under their present depression are vitally concerned in and inadequate to the support of; that past experience renders it doubtful how far the consequences of a further accumulation of sufferings will be fairly appreciated in the face of a favourite scheme, in the other quarter where they should, but have not always received attention ; and that, partly from my own observations and experience, confirmed by the opinion of one far better versed than I am in public documents and in- telligence, the officers of the Board of Trade are not acquainted with the facts so essential tu be known in order properlv to judge of the effects likely to result from the present proposid measure, or the reasoning within the colonies to be expected from it. The foregoing observations are the fruit of a re- sidence of forty-six years, past at fretfuent recurrences in the now United States, in England, and the colonies, with a con- tinued desire to learn their several interests, which I consider to be inseparable between Great Britain and her colonies. But having in the pursuit of this oliject been f ivoured with the means of obtaining, as I think, accurate inlormation, I have expressed my opinion on the subject with a confidence, I trust, not too high, (because all that is past is supportable by proof, and all that is anticipated by the highest jirobability) and with that unreservedness whicli the urgencv of the case appears to recjuire. Retaining,^ therefore, as I do, a knowledp-e of some circumstances and events, not generally possessed by others, but interesting to the colonies and this nati('n, and having nothing to ho,;e, or to fear, I have made up my ni'iul, though reluctantly, and after long suppression, through yoiu' name. Sir, to make these matters public; anil leave it to those who have the |)ower, to act in the premises as they see tit. 60). If I am told that I might have made iIksc I'acts and sentiments privately known to those m jK.wer, instead of nub- lishing them to the world; my answer is, thai, flie cold re- pulsion of every projiosal not made by a ]ierson of official rank, is enough to disgust the /t al of indcpenutut loyalty ; but where is the official man thut will ^-uUmit unpleasant truths to the minister on whom he depcnils for [)roriu>iion ? In llie 74 eduts6 of a long life, the person who no^<^ has the honour to address you, Sir, has often endured the mortification of that feeling*; but now that his zeal has become nearly extinct, he conceives it to be his duty at this crisis, to place upon paper this imperfect epitome of a niuch more extenoed collection of facts and reasoning; and which he yet flatters himself he shall be aly'° to complete, in a manner to be of some use to the society of which it has pleased Providence to constitute him a member. 57. To the government of the United States I have no other apology to offer than the view I have alreadv taken of its inimical conduct towards Great Britain and her colonies. After pilfering our fisheries, I now see it aiming, as I verily believe, at the acquisition of our colonial timber trade-f*, the loss or even diminution of which will be most ruinous or injurious to the colonies, and, eventually, a serious injury to Great Britain herself. Yes, Sir, with the proud consciousness of ranking among the most loyal of his Majesty's subjects, with an apprehension prompted by that feeling, I see the federal eagle, like a bird of prey, watching the colonies situated near her own nest ; and, in anticipation, exulting in the acts of the British rulers : acts, which she herself, from polk?/, not less than from avarice, and they from misinformation, have promoted. 58. To you, Sir, alone, I am of opinion, I ought to offer an excuse for the liberty I have taken of making use of your name without license ; but when, after u debate with myself, I came to consider that there was nothing pcrsotial to you in • Notes (•) and (f) to pnriigraph 46. f To prove an act of state policy, or the secret confederacy of other nations, in as complete a manner us we are expected to do in R suit in a court of law, is out of the power of any private man ; but whoever takes the trouble to consider the interest which the United States have in imposing duties on British colonial timber, perhaps, also, for we are mainly in the dark on this subject, in taking duties off" from their oxvn (see paragraph 6.), how they have acted on some occasions (paragraph 14, note {*) to paragraph 36), ami die maniior in which they have since their independence, in very numerous instances, been embroiled with other nations (flee paragraphs 35 and 37), it will. I Jhink, be conceded, that the suspicion is so strong, that it amounts to something bordering on proof. It certainly is not a measure hostile to their interests, or we should have seen the arguments against it in their files of news- papers, mixed up with the disgusting tragh of theii dully abuse of every British transaction. 15 nour to of that inct, he 1 paper ction of he shall ; to the e him a liave no taken of colonies. I verily , the loss injurious :o Great isness of cts, with e federal ited near ;ts of the ; less than omoted. p offer an of your myself, to you in this address, and that, as president of the Board of Trade, such a rejHjrt from your office as these sheets contain, would, one day, perhaps, become necessary for the due information of his Majesty's ministers, I did not hesitate to adopt the means most likely to attract their attention ; which I am confident is all that is necessary to produce the desired effects, of saving the colonies from the danger impending over them, and of rendering them, what I am convinced the ministry wish, a huppi^ portion of his Majesty's empire ; than which nothing in this life can so highl}' contribute to the satisfaction of him, who has the honour to subscribe himself, hjr, Vour most obedient and very humble servant, WILLIAM SABATIEir London, iMnrrli 'iVil, \6'il. 2(leracy of to do in ate man ; which the al timber, object, in they have )aragra|)h icndence, T nations that the (lering on sts, or we of news- ail y abuse 'in. ■ f 1 ^]«1 F If • • ,rCt>i .>?>» "iuti . ^^i.:vr .?i/(6«ri} 'd 'ft f>". nA-j 'iiri ■ f ,: J**'*- M ■A rnivTRn bv tuomas dattiov, whitrtriars. uz * I • ' i, 'Jib it ». • 4 \.^f-