135 



igation and commerce of New England, but directly oppressed and re- 

 strained them. Omitting notice of the acts of Parliament which do not 

 rehite specially to the subject before us, the first law to claim our at- 

 tention was passed in 173J3, after a discussion of two years. This act, 

 by imposing duties on rum, molasses, and sugar, imported into the col- 

 onies from any West India islands other than British, was designed to 

 break up an extensive and valuable trade widr the French, Dutch, and 

 Spanish islands, where these products of the plantations were exchanged 

 for fish. It is said that, previous to the commencement of the trade to 

 these islands, molasses was thrown away by the planters, and that this 

 article, whicii is now so extensively used in food, was first saved and 

 put into casks to be brought to New England, to be distilled into rum. 

 Certain it is, that on the passage of the act of 1733, the people of the 

 northern colonies insisted that, unless the^^ could continue to sell fish to 

 the planters of the foreign islands, and to import molasses from thence 

 to be manufactured into spirit, for domestic consumptioH and for trade 

 with the Indians, they could not prosecute the fisheries without ruinous 

 losses. The penalty for violating the act was the tbrfeiture of vessel 

 and cargo. Yet New England never submitted, though a fleet was 

 sent to enforce obedience; and the interdicted trade with the French, 

 Dutch, and Spanish islands did not cease until a late period of the con- 

 troversy which terminated in the Revolution. In tact, therefore, a 

 measure which threatened to ruin the cod-fishery of New Enghnid, 

 produced, as I incline to believe, no serious injury to it, for quite thirty 

 years. 



But in 17G4 the act was renevt^ed, and the collection of the duties 

 it imposed on rum, molasses, and sugar was attempted by the officers 

 of the crown, in a manner to create the most anxious concern; for, the 

 jurisdiction of th(3 admiralty courts was enlarged, and the people were 

 deprived of the trial by jury in all cases arising between them and 

 the government under this law, and the trade and navigation laws 

 generally. 



The most alarming discontents followed the collisions and quarrels 

 which constantly occurred between ship-masters and merchants, on 

 the one hand, and the officers of the customs on the other, in various 

 parts of New England, and especially in Boston, Salem, Gloucester, 

 Falmouth,* and elsewhere in Massachusetts ; and the impression be- 

 came general among commercial men, that their business and property 

 were both to be sacrificed to appease the clamors of the planters of ihe 

 British islands, and to test the ability of the mother country to "raise 

 a revenue in America" under the "sugar and molasses acts," as this 

 odious law was called in the politics of the day. 



Meantime, the southern colonies ridiculed the madness or folly of 

 their northern brethren, in resisting taxation upon so homely a com- 

 modity as molasses, and made themselves merry over the accounts of 

 the quarrels of the Yankees for cheap ^'^ sweetening.''^ 



Ill truth, the South, from first to last, never seemed lo understand or 

 appreciate the North upon this question, and forbore to come to the 

 rescue for years after the leading men of JMassachuselts had wasted 



* ^ov! Portland, Maine. 



