4. In Lieu of all to lay open the African Trade, that the Inhabitants may be supply'd with Negroes on easie Terms.
These are general Rules, but not without some Exceptions; for when I say the Commodities of one Plantation should not be carried to another, I mean those only which are fit for Trade, and may be brought hither, and be hence disperst again, as Sugars, Cotton, Indigoe, Tobacco, Ginger, and such like; but for Provisions, Timber, Horses, and things of like natures, they may and ought to be permitted, because this Nation cannot so conveniently supply them hence; and therefore the Act of Trade gave leave to transport the former from Ireland, which hath laid open a Gapp to that Peoyle, who carry the first Beef to those Markets, wherein they anticipate us, and get the best Prises, besides the Charges we are at in sending our Ships thither to load, which they save; Nor is this all, for going to the Plantations without giving Bonds to discharge in England what they take in there as the Law doth require, they frequently unload either all or part of their Loadings elsewhere, in opposition to the the Act of Navigation, therefore if a new Law was made that all Ships Trading to the Plantations from Europe should first give Bonds in England, and for default thereof be seized on their Arrival there, it would be a great Step towards preventing this abuse, and then plain and easie ways may be offered to hinder Landing any part of their Cargoes elsewhere; And when things are brought to this State, that the Product of our Plantations shall necessarily be center'd here, we may put almost what Rates we will on them to our Neighbours; it's true 'tis the Interest of England that what is consumed among our selves should be sold at reasonable Prises, but the higher they yield abroad the more Treasure they bring to the Nation, provided we strain not the Staple so as to be undersold from other Markets; But there must be a Regard had to our Fisheries, that the Liberty of carrying that Commodity direct to Foreign Parts be not restrained.
Next by their being brought home unmanufactured they would give great Imployments here; Cotten Wool by being spun up and made into several sorts of pretty things; Tobacco by Cutting and Rowling; and Sugar by refining; for I would have no Tobacco brought home save in Leaf, nor Sugar above Muscovado; the last would imploy abundance of Sugar-Houses in England to clay and refine it, not only for a home Expence, but to be transported to Foreign Markets; a Trade we have been lately beat out of by the Industry of the Dutch helpt on by our own Imprudence, for no wise Nation would have given such an advantage to a Rival Trader as by Law to put their Refiners on terms of working Sugars Three Shillings per Cent cheaper than our own, therefore when the thing comes to be well weighed, I believe 'twill be found the Interest of this Nation to suffer all those Commodities to be Imported Custom Free, and to lay a Duty on what is Exported again unwrought, (I mean all West-India Commodities) and to raise an Excise on what is spent at Home, for which easie and practicable Methods may be proposed; and this would salve all those Disputes about running Tobacco, or drawing back Debentures after relanded; which Duty might be collected with few Officers, and little Charge, and the King might have an Account of every particular Parcel how it was transferred from Man to Man till 'twas paid.
Africa.But if the Planter should complain at his being denied to Import wrought Sugars, it would be abundantly made up to him by opening the African Trade, that so he might be supplied with Negroes both in greater Numbers and at cheaper Rates than now he is; a Trade of the most Advantage to this Kingdom of any we drive, and as it were all Profit, the first Cost being little more than small Matters of our own Manufactures, for which we have in Return, Gold, Teeth, Wax, and Negroes, the last whereof is much better than the first, being indeed the best Trassick the Kingdom hath, as it doth occasionally give so vast an Imployment to our People both by Sea and Land; These are the Hands whereby our Plantations are improved, and 'tis by their Labours such great Quantities of Sugar, Tobacco, Cotten, Ginger, and Indigo, are raised, which being bulky Commodities imploy great Numbers of our Ships for their transporting hither, and the greater number of Ships imploys the greater number of Handecraft Trades at home, spends more of our Product and Manufactures, and makes more Saylors, who are maintained by a separate Imploy; for if every One raised the Provisions he eat, or made the Manufactures he wore, Trade would cease, Traffique being a variety of Imployments Men have set themselves on adapted to their particular Genius's, whereby one is serviceable to another without invading each others Province; thus the Husbandman raises Corn, the Millard grinds it, the Baker makes it into Bread, and the Citizen eats it; Thus the Grazier fats Cattle, and the Butcher kills them for the Market; Thus the Shepherd shears his Wool, the Spinster makes it into Yarn, the Weavet into Cloth, and the Merchant exports it, and every one lives by each other: Thus the Country supplies the City with Provisions, and that the Country with Manufactures; Now to advise a Government to monopolize, and consequently to lessen this Trade, by confining it to a limited Stock, is the same as to advise the People of Egypt to raise high Banks to confine the River Nilus from overflowing, lest it should thereby fertilize their Lands, or the King of Spain to shut up his Mines, lest he should fill his Kingdom too full of Silver; This Trade indeed is our Silver Mines, for by the Overplus of Negroes above what will serve our Plantations we draw great Quantities thereof from the Spaniard; a Trade we are lately fallen into by a Compact of the two Natious, for which a Factory or Assiento is settled by them at Jamaica, where what their Agent buys is paid for in Pieces of Eight, besides oftentimes Thirty per Cent Cambio for running the risque to the Continent, all discharged in the same specie with great Punctuality.
Nor is this all the advantage the Nation reaps thereby, it hath introduced another sort of Commerce, and given us Opportunities of selling our Manufactures to that People, with whom we now grow into some sort of Familiarity, and may be a means in time to make way for a larger Acquaintance, whereby we may reap the best part of the Treasure of those Mines, Jamaica being now become a Magazine of Trade to New-Spain and the Terra Firma, from whence we have yearly vast Quantities of Bullion imported to this Kingdom both for the Negroes and Manufactures we send them, which as it was opened for the sake of their having the former, so when that supply ceases, it will be removed to some other place, and our industrious Neighbours are ready to receive it, who would perhaps take more care to encourage it than we have done; for by the slow steps of the African Company, and the Hardships they have put on the Interlopers or private Traders, the number of Negroes imported thither hath been so small, and so much below our promises and the Spaniards Expectations, that this profitable Assiento or Factory hath for some time stood on Tiptoe, ready to waft it self to another Island, as it certainly had done long since if the Interlopers had not given a better Supply than the Company.
We will now inquire what Reasons should perswade any Government to monopolize or limit this Trade, and what have been the Consequences thereof?
As for the first; the necessity of having Forts Castles and Soldiers to defend the Trade, which could not be carried on without great Charge and a joynt Stock, these and such like Arguments attended with a Cloud of Guineas had force enough to prevail on an easie Prince, who though of a temper not inclined to Mischief, and had natural parts capable to understand both his own and the Nation's Interest, yet being perswaded by those Harpyes, who like so many Horse Leaches constantly hung upon him, and required more Treasure than his Income could afford, he was many times allured to do things which his own Judgment would not allow, so mischievous are evil Councellors (especially of the fair Sex) to the good-natur'd Prince.
But let us consider what these Fort Castles and Soldiers now settled by the Company are, their Use, and whither good Securities for the Trade may not be made by a regulated Company, out of Stock to be raised on its Members, to those to be admitted for small Fines, and to pay a Duty on the Goods they Export, such as the Court of Assistants shall think fit to settle; which Stock to be imployed for Buying or Building Forts where thought necessary, and defraying all publick Charges for carrying on the Trade.
I do not remember that the greatest number of Soldiers proved at the Committee appointed by the Honourable House of Commons, to enquire into that Affair did exceed one Hundred and Twenty on the whole Coast; nor did their Forts and Castles appear to be any thing else save Settlements for their Factors, which (to secure their Goods from the Natives, and the sudden Insults of other Nations) they guarded both with Men and Guns, all which was proposed to be done by a regulated Company; Besides, when more Factories are settled, consequently there will be more People, which will soon exceed their number of Soldiers, and be more formidable, whilst every Man fights for his own Interest, whereas those Soldiers (as it was there proved) were ill provided for, worse paid, and kept only by Constraint.
It was never made out (or indeed pretended) before that Honourable Committee that those Forts and Castles were to wage a National War, or to secure against a National Invasion, the defence of their Guns could not exceed their reach, which was not above a Mile at most; nor were there any Magazines of Provisions laid up to expect a Siege from the Natives; neither could they hinder Interlopers who traded on the Coasts of what Nation soever; but for that end the Company had obtained Frigats from the Government, who by illegal Commissions destroyed our own Merchants Ships (unless permitted on the payment of Forty or Fifty per Cent at home on the Goods they carried out) whilst they let others alone; This being seconded by their Factors in the several Plantations, who seized them and their Cargoes there if they escaped the former, discouraged our private Traders, who else found no Difficulties, the Natives receiving them as Friends, and choosing rather to deal with them than the Company; whose Factories also being at remote distances from each other, great part of that Coast was unguarded, and untraded too by them.