A. D. 1754. 305 



of London, fays was taken from the general regifter at the cuftom- 

 houfe for the year 1732, and therefor an authentic one, be genuine. 

 Moreover, as he thinks, London poflerfes one fourth part of the foreign 

 trade of the whole nation, becaufe fhe pays three twelfths of all the 

 cuftoms ; then, if, as by his account of London's fhipping, they amount- 

 ed to 1417 fliips, navigated by 21,797 feamen ; and that in the year 

 1728, there arrived in the port of London from all parts beyond fea 

 1839 ^'"i'^ifh (hips, 213 foreign (hips, and 6837 coaflers, which lad muft 

 generally imply they were Britifh, furely the firfl computation muft be 

 far fliort of the tonnage, foreign and coafting, of the whole kingdom, 

 which fome conjed;ure to amount to at leaft 500,000 tons. The num- 

 ber, however, of London's fhipping, has very confiderably increafed 

 fince the year 1732. 



The bold and long-proje6led fcheme of France, for hemming in our 

 American colonies between theirs and the Ocean, by erecling a chain 

 of forts all along the weft fide of our colonies as far as the bay of 

 Mexico, began now to ftievv itfelf more openly, though in a time of 

 profound peace. Immediately after the laft peace of Aix-la-Chapelle 

 they had inftruded their Indians and Canadians to diftrefs and plunder 

 our Indian traders in the country about the great and far-extended river 

 Ohio, though properly fubjeft to the Britifta crown, as being a conqueft 

 of the five Iroquois nations, allowed by France in the treaty of Utrecht 

 to be under the Britifti dominion. 



It was reafon enough for their purpofe, that the pofteflion of the 

 river Ohio feemed to them abfolutely requifite for their great purpofe 

 of connec1:ing Canada with Louifiana, or the Miflifippi country. For 

 that end they now deftroyed our fort in that country, after defeating 

 Colonel Wafhington, whereupon they eredled another in its ftead, wliich 

 they named Fort Du Quefne. 



We had in the lame year, 1754., in the public news from France, an 

 extraordinary inftance of the great increafe of their Eaft-India com- 

 merce from Port L'Orient, the ftation of their Eall-India ftiipping, and 

 of all their warchoufcs and m;:gazines, viz. that the fale of the cargoes 

 of fifteen French Eaft-India ftiips then amounted to about thirty-fix 

 millions of livres, or about one million and an half fterling money. 

 And upon this occafion it was remarked, that from the year 1664, 

 when this comixniy was frft eftabliflicd, to the year 1725, the courfe of 

 exchange between France and the other ftatcs ot Europe was generally 

 to the difadvantage of France, becaufe thole countries fupplied her with 

 naore merchandize than they took oft' from her : but that, ever lince 

 the year 1726, when the French Plaft-India coiiipany, by their great 

 importations from India, began to counterbalance the Enghdi and 

 Dutch in that trade, the courfe of exchange has been generally in favour 

 of France. 



Vol. Jll. Q^q 



