1831.J [- J79 ] 



COLONIAL QUKSTION.— LATE MEETING OF UELEGATES AT 



BAItBADOS. 



It is still somewhat fashionable to maintain that colonies are of no ad- 

 vantage to the mother country, and some of our modern economists take 

 pleasure m repeatmg that neitlier our trading nor shipping interests 

 would suffer were our ancient colonial policy to be abandoned, and our 

 loreign possessions or at least the greater part of them, given up to other 

 states, or declared mdependent ! t. i' ci 



Against such doctrines we have repeatedly entered our protest • and 

 we affii-m that our commercial prosperity, naval superiority, and strength 

 as a nation has gradually risen with our colonies, and depend upon our 

 retaining them; and that m proportion as Great Britain deviates from 

 that course 7vhich made her great, she will become feeble. 



«f Q-'^H T>^^ "n '^'^"'^^ ^^'^ *° '''^^' "^ opposition to the arguments 

 ot bir H. Parnell and other economists, that the people of the United 

 States though essentially English in their habits, take, in proportion to 

 their numbers, an infinitely smaller quantity of British produce and ma- 

 nufactures than the inhabitants of British North America, the West 

 Indies, or other English colonies. Now, suppose that our transatlantic 

 possessions were not at once to fall into the hands of foreigners, but 

 merely to become independent of the mother country, and consequently 

 to be at hberty to take the supplies requisite for the use of their planta- 

 tions &c. from the cheapest markets of Europe and America— it must 

 be obvious that, even in this limited view of the case, a very great dimi- 

 nution of the demand for English commodities would be the immediate 

 consequence; that our manufacturers, agriculturists, and fishermen 

 would, of course, suffer by this loss of custom, and that fewer British 

 ships would be requisite for carrying on our trade with these places, 

 anv W-"" ' f \ere these colonies to pass into the possession of 



any foieign country-the United States of America for instance-this 

 i^r? Ir "''i ' P/'''^"'^? ^"^ manufactures would be still further re- 

 stricted, thousands of people in this country would be thrown out of em- 

 ployment, while at the same time, an immense property, and a numerous 

 rrenShXu^r/s'' -^^^ ^'^- valuable^/vanj::ges, be added t^ 



anvT,^w'"^*^?''^?'°P''''''°\'^'^""'^""^^l«' ^nd that independent of 

 any other considerations-such as the loss of national revenue, inhumanity 



inh„m"?'''''T • '-'^ ^'^' ''''™ ^^""'^y ^^^°^^ ^^^y ^re fit for it would be 

 wo.d^r~''K /"•'"f"'^^*' ''''' ^'^""^ ^"^j^^t^^ ^ ^ise government . 

 would pause before they risk the dismemberment of the empire, or drive 



DowPrfnl'n ^ ""'""^°"« .^°dy of loyal subjects, merelv to' conciliate a 

 dencvt fr ^A '""v"^' ^^^ ^'' ^^''y acquiring a dangerous ascen- 

 cris,?/n« t 'ff/-Y«t ™>"^ters seem inchnedio force on a serious 

 crisis, in spite of the most earned representations of the colonists ' 



Already, by the impolitic and unjust interference of the mother coun- 

 a/fhT!! l" f^'^^"^^', «^ 111 defiance of accurate information, the property 

 born! A T ^^' ^r" ^l™^"i«hed more than one-half; they have been 

 of tho tT / '■^^"^^tions and restrictions, adopted in utter ignorance 

 r,Ln ^. ', '°,"*:^y '" *''^ colonies; the labouring population have 

 vZble »; "J'S'" '^r"-^ ^'"'''' ^^'^'^'^^^^^'^ and Ve "lestruction of 

 i tirr'^ r ^l'^'''? ^'^^"'' "> ^^^igua, and we fear in other 

 Jslands, the slaves have lately commenced the work of destruction ; and 



U 2 



