1830.] us they were, and at they are, 139 



the major part in this country, and the residue in the Colonies, might, on 

 taking out a licence for that purpose, clear out from Great Britain for 

 the Colonies, there load and carry sugars to any foreign port of Europe. 

 By the 15th Geo. II. this permission was extended to ships belonging to 

 Great Britain, navigated according to law ; and these enactments con- 

 tinued in force until they were repealed by 34th Geo. III. cap. 42. 



In the mean time the duty on sugar and other tropical produce had 

 been gradually increased, till, in 1799, it had reached to 20*. the cwt. 

 on sugar, equal to about 38 per cent, upon the price at which it was 

 then sold. 



By statute 4th Geo. III. cap. 15, coffee, pimento, and some other 

 articles, were added to the list of those subjected to the regulations 

 of Charles the Second ; and the " Free Port Act" (6th Geo. III. cap. 49) 

 legitimatized the trade with the Spanish Colonies, by permitting the 

 importation, in one-decked vessels, of live stock and other commodities 

 (tobacco excepted) into Dominica, and also into certain ports in Jamaica, 

 with the further exceptions of the articles sugar, coffee, ginger, and 

 molasses. But these indulgences were superseded by the 21st and 27th 

 Acts of the same reign. 



The export and import trade between Ireland and the Colonies, which 

 had been prohibited since the time of Charles the Second, was not again 

 thrown open until the 18th and 20th statutes of Geo. III., when Ireland 

 was placed on the same footing, in that respect, with Great Britain. 



Our limits will not permit us to enter into an account of the various 

 regulations attempted for adjusting the intercourse between these Colo- 

 nies and the United States, after the latter had attained their indepen- 

 dency. Suffice it to say, that that intercourse was courted principally 

 with a view to obtaining supplies of essential necessity ; and that, up to 

 a recent period, it was strictly limited to British shipping, navigated 

 according to law, and presented no material deviation from that broad 

 principle of appropriation which governed the first legislators in the time 

 of Charles the Second. 



We have considered it necessary to take special notice of the tenor and 

 bearing of these early enactments, because many persons have been so far 

 misled in regard to the relations between the Colonies and the mother 

 country, as to suppose that every interference has been solely with the 

 view of conferring benefits on the former, and that the latter has 

 derived no adequate remuneration for the trouble of governing them. 



Although, as may easily be supposed, these restrictions, imposed solely 

 for the benefit of the mother country, prevented the West Indians from 

 enjoying the full advantages, which, in other circumstances, they might 

 have derived from their productive industry, and commanding geogra- 

 phical position for trade, yet there was no attempt made at home to 

 detract from their importance in the estimation of the public ; and the 

 firm, tenacious, and uncompromising measures of the British Government, 

 inspired the colonists with a strong feeling of security in the stability of 

 their property. Respectable families felt no hesitation in embarking 

 in colonial pursuits ; and, notwithstanding the pressure of the measures 

 imposed by the mother country, the Colonies continued to rise and flou- 

 rish under her protection ; and it seems to have been reserved for some 

 of the economists and philanthropists of modern days, to discover that 

 the Colonies were an iniquitous burden, and that the negro population 

 carried there would, instead of being gradually trained to habits of civi- 

 lization, be more happy if forcibly emancipated, like their former bre- 



T 2 



