A. D. 1776. 589 



It being found that a profitable whale fifliery may be carried on in 

 feas fouth of 44 degrees north latitude, premiums from ^Cioo to /^5oo, 

 to continue for eleven years, were offered by parliament to the five 

 fhips, owned, and carrying men and apprentices, agreeable to the regu- 

 lations enacfled for the Greenland fhips, fitted out after the i" of Au- 

 guft*, and returning to port before the 1" of November, which fliould 

 bring home the five largefl quantities of oil, each being the produce of 

 at leafi: one whale caught by them. [16 Geo. Ill, c. 47.] 



Truftees were appointed to ered; a light-houfe, and to place land- 

 marks and buoys for the harbour of Cherter, and to regulate the pilots, 

 8cc. [i6G^o. ///, f. 61.] 



Several ads for inland navigations, improvements of towns, &c. were 

 alfo pafled in the courfe of this feflion. 



About the beginning of this year Meffieurs Blair and Irving had 

 lately begun to exprefs oil for the ufe of the woollen manufadurcs from 

 vegetables produced on the Mufquito fhore, in which country a form of 

 government fubordinate to that of Jamaica had been eftablifhed. But 

 their bufinefs was broken up on the 30'^ of April by a piratical feizure 

 of a velTel belonging to them, as fhe lay at anchor in the road of Black 

 river, by two Spanifh guarda-collas, who carried her to Porto-bello. 



During the feflion of parliament the old eftablifhed merchants in the 

 American trade made loud complaints, that the fuppreflion of commer- 

 cial intercourfe with America was in a great meafure illufive, and that 

 the trade was only changed into a monopoly in the hands of a fet of 

 obfcure pretended merchants, who, by an abufe of the licences granted 

 for carrying out neceflliry flores and provifions for the army, and by 

 clearing out their vefTels for Bofton, Halifax, or Quebec, iv'itb liberty to 

 go to any other port in America, fent out large cargoes of all kinds of mer- 

 chandize, and managed their bufinefs with great fecurity under the 

 fheker of that very prohibitory ad, which they were fo grofsly violating. 

 The bufinefs was brought under the confideration of parliament ; but 

 from the public attention being taken up with the duchefs of ICingflon's 

 trial, or from feme other caul'e, the inquiry milcarried f . 



Hitherto the American war, which, according to the predidions of 

 fome politicians, was to bring with it the utter ruin of the commerce 

 of Great Britain, was not found to be fo very diftrefsful to commerce, 



• By tliat time the Greenland (hips arc gcncr- Thus this worthy gentleman behind the curtain, 



ally returned into port. who was the teal exporter, (for the nominal mrrch- 



■j- While this aflT.iir was under inveftigation, it ant was only his tool) not content with enjoying a 



appeared, that one of thofc nominal merchants, great incom* out of the revenue drawn from the 



who loaded no Icfs than five large (hips with valu- commerce of the country, wanted to cngrols and 



able cargoes, had carried about a letter from a drain the very fountains, whence his emoluments 



pcrfon, who filled a very confiderable office in the flowed, and whence he had derived the capital h? 



fervicc of government, in order to obtain credit tor was now making fo bad a ufc of. 

 goods in the city, where he was utterly unknown. 



