26o A. D. 1747. 



nually increafing their quantity of indigo ; infomuch that (excepting 

 what comes from Eafl-Inclia, and fome which Spain imports from her 

 American colonics) France, till about this time, fupplied the greateft 

 part of Europe with it from their Weft-India iflands ; and Britain and 

 Ireland have been reckoned to pay to France about L200,ooo annually 

 for indigo. This would probably have been the cafe ftill, had not the 

 people of Carolina made this year a fuccefsful attempt to propagate in- 

 digo in that province. The planters had by this time carried the pro- 

 duction of rice to fuch a height, that, even in time of peace, its quan- 

 tity had overftocked thofe parts of Europe to which they were wont to 

 fend it, fo that they got but little by it ; the cafe was ftill worfe when 

 the war with France broke out in 1743, by reafon of the high freight 

 and infurances. This put them upon trying to employ their negroes 

 on fundry new manufactures of linen, woollen, &c. which they were 

 before accuftomed to take from Great Britain ; of which their mother- 

 country would foon have become jealous, and which, moreover, did not 

 much turn out to their own particular advantage. Upon this occafion 

 it was very fortunate for them, that the true indigo plant happened to 

 be difcovered growing fponcaneoufly almoft everywhere there ; where- 

 upon eflays began to be made a year or two preceding this year, 1 747 ; 

 and the indigo anfwered expedation fo far, that in this fame year about 

 200,000 pounds weight of it was ftiipped for England, and fold very 

 well, though not at firft quite fo well cured as the French indigo. This 

 fuccefs produced a petition to parliament from the Carolina merchants 

 in April 1748 for a fmall bounty on the importation of indigo from 

 Carolina, whereby the planters might be encouraged to proceed fo far, as 

 not only to fupply Great Britain and Ireland, but likewife foreign mar- 

 kets, with fo ufeful a commodity; while, at the fame time, petitions were 

 encouraged from merchants, clothiers, and dyers, from all parts of Eng- 

 land, in favour of this new produdion, fince brought to perfedion ; and 

 that as indigo is a commodity, without which a good blue colour can- 

 not be dyed, a bounty might be allowed on its importation in fomewhat 

 near the terms of the Carolina merchants' petition. Thereupon an ad 

 pafled [21 Geo. II, c. 30] for allowing dd per pound weight on ail indi- 

 go raifed in any of the Britifli American colonies, and imported into 

 Great Britain diredly from the place of its growth ; which has fince 

 then had a very good and fuccefsful effed. 



1748. — In the beginning of 1748 an attempt was made in parlia- 

 ment, and a bill brought into the houfe of commons, for the revival of 

 the ftatute [7 Anue, c. 5] in behalf of a general naturalization : but it 

 was thrown out by a great majority. The fubftance of the reafons for 

 rejeding it was, that we had poor proteftants of our own, -even more 

 than we could well provide for ; and as a moderate expenfe would en- 



