592 



servants, and plenty of every thing but 

 money ; so that if a post- letter only came 

 to the house, there would be hunting of 

 pockets to pay for it. 



It is very customary for these farmers to 

 give orders on the store-keepers for such 

 payments as they cannot avoid during the 

 year ; which in general is British money, 

 raised from the sale of British goods : and I 

 should think that, if the English merchants 

 were to stop sending those goods, there 

 would be almost a total stagnation of busi- 

 ness for want of money in America ; and 

 the West-India trade is carried on by the 

 Americans with British credit. At horse- 

 races in America, it is usual to hear a suit 

 of clothes, a hat, or a pair of boots, &c. 

 offered as a bet, which staggered me at first; 

 but the reason is, the store-keeper pays all 

 with British property. 



House-builders and masons are numer- 

 ous in America more than find employ- 

 ment ; and there are very great inconve- 

 niences attending these two trades : the 



